by Nolan Fury
Chrome and Surge broke out in maniacal laughter.
Mark’s mortified eyes widened. He quickly tucked himself away. “I’m a grower, not a shower!”
“You have to grow a hell of a lot for me to be interested.”
Mark’s face flushed. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not that hot, anyway.”
He stormed out of the room and Bill followed.
We all had a good laugh. I think it was the first time Curtis had laughed in weeks. But it didn’t take long for the somber mood to return.
In my heart, I gave it a 50-50 chance. Those were the odds on Madison still being alive. If missing persons aren’t located within the first 48 hours, the odds of ever finding them plummet significantly. But I was going to do everything in my power to find Madison.
“I still don’t see how you are going to be able to help,” Curtis said.
I figured it was time I let Curtis in on my little secret. I hoped my little demonstration was going to work. But I wasn’t sure. I could already tell that my powers had been diminished. I hoped I still had super strength. It was my natural ability when I entered the Ultraverse. Perhaps that’s the one I would retain.
Curtis had one of those super strong, unbreakable, unbendable bike locks. His bike was leaning against the wall, and I took the lock from its bracket.
“What are you going to do with that?” Curtis asked.
“Just watch.” I gripped the U-shaped bar and pulled it straight. It was easier than I thought.
Curtis’s eyes bulged. “How the hell did you do that?”
“It’s a long story, and you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
He looked stunned. “Okay. This is just weird.”
I handed the mangled lock to him. He examined it carefully, then attempted to bend it himself. The metal didn’t budge.
“I don’t get it. How did you do that?”
“I’ve been working out a lot for the last few weeks,” I said.
His eyes narrowed at me.
“Come on!”
I told him the story of the Ultraverse. He looked at me like I was crazy. And there was a high degree of skepticism in his eyes.
“So, you’re trying to tell me you are a superhero?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what I am. But I have certain abilities now. And I’m going to use those to help find Madison.”
Curtis looked at the mangled bike lock again. “How the hell am I gonna lock my bike now?”
10
I grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt from the closet and put on some shoes. It was weird wearing Earth clothes again. The fabric felt so different from the advanced material of my superhero suit.
We were about to leave and find another place to crash. The three of us weren’t going to fit into my single bed.
Curtis grabbed a sleeping bag and unrolled it on the floor and offered his bed.
“No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll take the floor,” I said.
“I insist,” Curtis said. “I don’t mind really. I’m just glad to have you back.”
“So who gets to sleep in the bed with Ben?” Surge asked.
“You can have Ben tonight,” Chrome said. “I get him tomorrow.”
“Fair enough.”
Curtis watched the discussion with disbelief.
I flashed him a sly grin and shrugged.
He leaned in and whispered, “Can you take me to the Ultraverse?”
He was half joking.
I looked at the clock beside Curtis’s bed. It was 11:45pm. I figured we probably wouldn’t get very far tonight, but every second wasted made the situation more difficult. I headed across campus with the girls to Kayla’s dorm. She lived in Thornton Hall. It was a lot nicer than my dorm. But they didn’t party any less than we did. Drunk college students weaved through the hallways, and the smell of beer and vodka filled the air, along with the incessant sound of pop music.
I knocked on Suite 1423, but there was no answer.
“She’s not there,” a girl said.
“I’m looking for Kayla.”
“She’s at the Kappa party.”
“Thanks.” I cringed. My last experience at a Kappa party was horrible.
“I like parties,” Chrome said.
“Me too,” Surge added.
“I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”
“Don’t be such a wuss,” Chrome said.
I tried to explain to them my last fiasco at the Kappa house, but they didn’t have much sympathy for me.
We made our way across campus. The sounds of the party echoed off the buildings as we drew near. From the outside, it looked like a madhouse. There was a constant stream of people coming and going. Somebody was puking in the hedges along the house. The same bouncer that kicked me out was working the door.
We hovered in the street for a moment, planning our next move.
“They’re not going to let me in,” I said.
“Do you really need anyone’s permission?” Chrome asked.
“This isn’t the Ultraverse. I probably shouldn’t draw attention to my superpowers.” I knew I had my super strength, but something about being back home, standing in front of the Kappa house, made me feel like my old geeky self. I saw an open window on the second floor. I figured I could crawl in that way, unnoticed.
I told the girls to go in through the front door and that I’d meet them inside. They had no problem getting in. The bouncer had to put his tongue back into his mouth as they strolled to the front door.
“Welcome, ladies,” he said, his eyes glued to their pert asses as they passed by.
I moved to the side of the house. When no one was looking, I leapt to the second-story window and grabbed the sill. I couldn’t fly here on Earth, but I could easily jump two stories. Probably even three.
I pulled myself across the threshold and tumbled into the dim bedroom. The squeak of bed springs filled the air as two people went at it. Moans and groans filled the air, and two sweaty bodies ground against each other. A stunning blonde was on top, riding a frat-boy like a rodeo queen. They were too preoccupied to notice me.
I crawled across the floor, pulled open the door and slipped out of the room. I made my way downstairs.
The house was packed with drunk college kids. Girls in tight skirts and shorts with Greek letters embroidered across their asses. There were blondes, brunettes, and redheads. Shiny hair styled in pigtails, ponytails, and braids. Tight tops accentuated perfect gravity defying breasts. It was enough to make me almost miss campus.
The smell of spilled beer and whiskey filled the house. A DJ in the main room spun tunes, and colored lights swirled. There were a few kegs scattered throughout the house as well as a temporary bar.
Chrome and Surge had barely made it past the entrance foyer when they were mobbed by several frat boys hitting on them. Their pathetic attempts to score the hottest babes at the party made me laugh.
I made my way through the horde. Chrome and Surge flung their arms around me as I arrived, much to the chagrin of the frat-boys. They looked like they had just been given an advanced level calculus problem that they couldn’t solve. They just couldn’t make sense of how I scored these two fine women.
We weaved through the party, looking for Kayla. I asked around, but nobody seemed to know where she was.
“I think I saw her earlier in the evening,” a cute blonde said. “But that was six beers ago.”
I scoured every inch of the house, except the bedrooms upstairs. I didn’t see Kayla anywhere. It was possible she was up there, but I didn’t feel like interrupting people in darkened rooms who were taking care of business. I figured I’d look out by the pool first.
Scantily clad sorority girls staggered around the pool, clinging to drinks in plastic cups. Their wet skin glistened, and small strips of fabric struggled to contain bouncing breasts. Pert asses jiggled. Bikini tops floated in the pool, separated from their owners. Many of the girls displayed their endowments.
Guys jumped off the roof into the pool creating tidal waves. Tiki torches flickered, illuminating the area with an amber glow. The teal pool lights glowed. Water splashed as half naked college kids frolicked in the pool.
I felt out-of-place wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
“This looks like fun,” Chrome said. “Maybe we should all enroll for the spring semester?”
11
A curvaceous brunette with a deep tan made out with a dude on a lounge chair by the pool. I had met Kayla a few times before when she was with Madison. I was pretty sure the girl on the lounge chair was Kayla, but her face was glued to the blond-haired guy. I hovered at the end of the chair for a moment, but they didn’t notice me.
“Kayla?”
She didn’t respond. I called her name again and finally she broke free of the dude’s lips. She scrunched up her face and glared at me. Her hair was tousled, and her eyes were bloodshot. She slurred, “What do you want?”
“It’s me, Ben. Curtis’s friend.”
“So?”
“We’re a little busy, dude,” her man said, clearly annoyed. “Piss off!”
“I need to talk to you about Madison.”
“I already talked to the cops. I told them everything I know.”
“Well, the cops aren’t doing much.”
“Oh, and you think you’re going to be able to do something?”
The dude climbed out of the lounge chair and got in my face. He towered over me. He had blue eyes and a square jaw, and his biceps were larger than my thighs. “She doesn’t want to talk to you right now. Or ever!”
“This is important,” I said.
Chrome and Surge watched with amusement.
“Look, you little punk. You need to beat it.”
He shoved my chest, expecting me to fly back into the pool. But I didn’t budge. He might as well have been pushing against a steel wall. His face twisted up perplexed.
“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, but I really need to talk to her,” I said, calmly.
“You’re going to talk to my fist if you don’t get the fuck out of here.” His body tensed, and his arm reared back.
“I think that would be a mistake on your part.”
“You’re the one making the mistake. Now run along, you little runt, before you get hurt.”
“I think you’re the one who’s going to get hurt,” I said with a smile.
The dude had enough of my shit. He cocked his fist back and swung as hard as he could. The old me would have been shaking in my shoes. His fist would have pummeled my face and broken my nose. But not now. I ducked, stepped aside, and used his momentum to push him into the pool.
He splashed into the water, and all eyes fell on me. The partygoers looked on in shock. It was unfathomable that I would have stood up to a guy like that, much less managed to throw him in the pool.
“Hey! You’re the little perv I threw out of here a few weeks ago!” The door guy yelled. The big meathead stomped toward me. “You’re going to regret coming back.” He had a diabolical grin on his face.
I prepared for his attack. He swung his wrecking ball fist at me. I blocked the punch, then jammed my fist into his rib cage. He curled around the blow, groaning with pain. I put an elbow into his face, then kicked him into the pool alongside his buddy.
The two surfaced and flung the water from their hair. Blood trickled from the doorman’s nose. They both couldn’t believe what had happened.
“You just made a big mistake,” the bouncer said.
“Actually, if I were you, I’d pretend this didn’t happen. It’s kind of embarrassing for you. You just got your ass kicked by a geek.”
The bouncer glared at me. He exchanged a glance with the dude that was making out with Kayla. They both wanted to beat the snot out of me. Between the two of them, they figured they could take me.
They swam to the side of the pool and climbed out. They boxed me in, approaching from either side. They just knew they were going to kick my ass.
I had faced powerful super villains before. This was a walk in the park.
The big door man charged me. He threw another right cross. I sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it into an unnatural angle. I brought him to the ground with an arm bar take down. I put pressure on his wrist, bending it forward, almost to the point of snapping. He screamed in agony.
The dude charged me.
I roundhouse kicked him in the face. He flopped to the ground, clutching his mouth. Blood exploded from his lips. He wasn’t going to be kissing Kayla anymore tonight. I’m pretty sure I heard a few loose teeth clatter against the concrete. He writhed on the ground in agony.
I kicked the door guy in the ribs. I heard bones crackle and air rush out of his lungs.
They were both done for the night.
I turned back to Kayla. “Feel like answering some questions now?”
She nodded.
Chrome took her hand and pulled her from the lounge chair, escorting her from the party.
As we walked toward the back gate, I heard a shy voice say, “Hi, Ben.”
It was Emma Michaels. My high school crush. The girl that had set me up and made me the laughingstock of campus. She was absolutely gorgeous. Auburn hair, creamy skin, and green eyes like emeralds.
I gave her a cool, “Hey,” and kept walking.
It was all I could do to hold back a grin. I had kicked some frat-boy-ass in their own house, and I had just blown off my high school crush. I felt vindicated.
12
Kayla puked twice as we walked across the campus. She had a little too much trashcan punch at the party. She stained the shrubs by the administration building crimson red as she heaved.
Surge and Chrome helped Kayla back to Thorton Hall. By the time we reached the door room, she was done. She passed out on her bed, still wearing her makeup and fully dressed. She was too drunk to answer any questions. We took the opportunity to look around the room since she was Madison’s roommate.
It was a stark contrast to my dorm room. It was neat and tidy, well appointed, and very girly.
Surge put covers over Kayla. It didn’t take her long to start snoring.
“I think one of us should stay here and watch her,” Surge said. “She’s pretty drunk.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Chrome said. I was surprised to see her volunteer for the job. “You guys get back to the dorm and get some sleep. Something tells me we have a full day tomorrow.”
She was right.
We left Kayla’s dorm and headed across campus toward Kingston Hall. Most of the foot traffic had died down by this hour, and campus was calm and quiet. The orange mercury vapor lights cast large swaths of light down on the pebbled walkways. We strolled past expertly manicured hedgerows, academic buildings, statues of historical figures, and elaborate water fountains. It was a beautiful campus. Large oak trees provided a green canopy overhead. In the early evening, birds swarmed the area, settling in to roost for the night. You had to be careful you didn’t get shit on at dusk.
“Who was the girl at the party?” Surge asked.
My face crinkled, trying to figure out who she was talking about.
“The one who said hello.”
“Oh, Emma.”
“She was cute,” Surge said, fishing.
“Yeah, but she pulled a total bitch move.”
“She seemed into you.”
“Doubtful.”
“Trust me. I can tell when a girl is interested.”
“Are you encouraging me to fuck her?”
"Not necessarily. I'm just trying to get past my jealousy issues."
I looked at her suspiciously.
A cute girl jogged past us, her ponytail swishing with each step. She wore shorts and a tank top and had worked up a good sweat. She made it to the end of the block when a van screeched beside her. The side door opened up and two thugs jumped out. They grabbed her, pulled her into the van, and sped away. The side door slid shut and tires squealed. The
van rounded the corner, leaving tire marks on the concrete. The roar of the engine echoed off the buildings, and the van disappeared into the night.
I sprinted as fast as I could and rounded the corner. But the van had vanished. My heart pumped, and my chest heaved for breath. I was fast—Olympic sprinter fast. But I wasn't Ferrari fast.
I clenched my jaw in frustration at my inability to catch the perpetrators.
I didn’t have a cell phone. If I was going to be back on Earth for any length of time, I needed to get a new one. I ran to a call box that was attached to a light pole. The security phone dialed the campus police the minute I lifted the receiver from the handle. I reported the incident, and within a few minutes a campus patrol car arrived with flashing blue lights.
The car was state-of-the-art. It looked mean, aggressive, and fast. The white paint was immaculate, and the matte black push bar on the grill provided a nice contrast. It was decked out with multiple floodlights, and blue and gold decals adorned the side of the car. It was overkill. And the vehicle had probably never gone over 30 miles an hour on campus.
Officer Frank climbed out of the driver’s side. He wore a navy uniform with gold piping on the side stripes and lapels. One too many donuts distended his belly over his utility belt. His gold nameplate glimmered in the beam of the overhead lights.
He moved to Surge and me with the swagger of a motorcycle cop. I’m pretty sure he was one of the cops that had chased me across campus when I was buck naked after my first Kappa party. I was praying he didn’t recognize me.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“Like I said on the phone…” I retold the story verbatim.
“Are you sure she entered the van against her will?”
“Positive,” I said, growing impatient.
“And you’re sure these weren’t just her friends playing a prank.”
“I don’t think friends play those kinds of pranks.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“They dragged her into the van, kicking and screaming. I don’t think she was happy about it.”
“You said the van was black?” he said as he scribbled on a notepad.
