Electromancer

by Daco

  “Leverage to get more fees from the government,” a woman shouted. “Just like that company Enderon did many years ago.”

  “You all know that my father and I have never been interested in that,” Alexa said. “We’ve been fortunate to have means. If we were interested in money, we could’ve gone public with our holdings years ago and lived in The Big Apple or Parisia or TinselTown. That hasn’t happened.”

  “What about The Magpie that was supposed to end the world’s energy crisis?” someone hollered.

  “We don’t know what happened to The Magpie generator,” Alexa said. “We’ve decided to retire it to give the plant engineers time to analyze and repair the problem. I remain confident in my father’s work. He had full faith in The Magpie and what it could bring us.”

  “Then what happened in The Big Apple? You supply the energy to that city, too.”

  The Mayor wanted to put a stop to these haranguing questions, but he feared that if he tried, he’d have a riot on his hands. Besides, Alexa was acquitting herself quite well.

  “My company was sabotaged,” Alexa said. “We’re investigating. Meanwhile, that was an attack, not only on the citizens of The Big Apple, but on me as well. The problem was solved when a third party intervened.”

  “You mean Electromancer?” a woman asked. “Another media hoax.”

  “Electromancer isn’t a hoax,” Alexa said.

  The room fell silent for a moment, and then there were titters. Some had to stifle laughter. With that statement, Alexa seemed to have lost all credibility. For his part, The Mayor thought that she’d gone temporarily mad, to believe in an electrified superhero. The good news was that the laughter seemed to defuse the anger in the room.

  “I have a question, Ms. Manchester,” Debra Debit, one of the council members, said. The Mayor didn’t like Debit. She was angling for his job, always supporting CABOOSE and trying to turn WEEDS against him. But now, he was grateful that she was changing the subject.

  Debit continued, “For everyone’s safety, wouldn’t it be best to end The Magpie experiment and bury the Electromite in a lead coffin so that it can’t do any more harm? We cannot allow a public utility, though owned and operated by your family’s corporation, to put any citizen’s life at risk. I’m not convinced that what happened at The Mick is not related to what happened in The Big Apple. It seems odd to me that two disasters have occurred like this, and if fingers must point—”

  “Someone else is behind this,” Alexa said. “He goes by the name of Momo and controls a criminal enterprise called The Momaxita.”

  The Mayor felt his cheeks flush. There were more murmurs in the crowd. He wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the good citizens of Kensington City called for Alexa to be committed to the loony bin.

  “We can’t let progress be stopped by some madman,” Alexa said. “My father worked too hard for this. To help you all. The Magpie was sabotaged, and it all leads back to this Momo. As far as burying the Electromite, that doesn’t make good sense, Council Member Debit. My father had full faith in the mineral, studied its effects, and determined that it will safely create a limitless source of energy.”

  A smirking reporter made his way to the front. “So tell us more about Electromancer, Ms. Manchester. Are you and she personal friends? Do you take tea together? Double date?”

  Alexa’s mouth went slack jawed. For the first time, she seemed to realize that she was being mocked. For a moment, it appeared that she was going to lose her temper—The Mayor could almost see the sparks coming out of her eyes—but then she seemed to make a Herculean effort to calm herself down. This wasn’t such a bad development, The Mayor thought. A vulnerable Alexa was a more receptive Alexa. Perhaps that would help with his marriage proposal. And now he could come to her rescue.

  “I can vouch for Ms. Manchester’s honesty and credibility,” The Mayor said. “If she believes there is an Electromancer, so do I. In fact, Alexa and I are engaged to be married.”

  The Mayor looked down at Alexa’s hand. She wasn’t wearing the ring he’d given her, but instead held it between her fingers. He took the ring before she could stop him and slid it back onto her finger and then held up her hands for all to see. “Isn’t that right, my dearest?” he said, staring into Alexa’s eyes.

  “Well, I ... I,” Alexa said.

  The Mayor faced the audience. “Not only that, we plan to be married before the next election for Prime Minister, as I have every intention of making a very important announcement in the coming days. I’m so happy that I could jump for joy.” And indeed, The Mayor did feel an urge to spring up into the sky, to leap from aisle to aisle and share his happiness.

  Dani Dowdy, who’d long had designs on The Mayor, promptly fainted into the arms of the man seated to her right, while her twin sister, Della, also hopeful that The Mayor would choose her, warbled a disappointed, “No, it can’t be.” The two women, glamorous socialites who resembled Marilyn Monroe in double vision, had often publically vied for The Mayor’s affections.

  The rest of the crowd burst out in a round of applause, many shouting congratulations. The Mayor was beaming, his arm around Alexa’s waist. She stood stiffly, with an equally stiff smile on her face. Then she pulled away from him, hurried down the stairs, and rushed out of the building.

  Suddenly, Miss Hensinger, who obviously hadn’t left to tend to her flowers yet, pushed her way to the front. “Now look who’s acting frisky. Gone and turned himself into a fool. Never mind all that, Mayor. It seems Mr. Zachary Zero has slipped away again.” She turned to District Attorney Stumpy Stellar. “Sir, if you can’t guarantee good work from your felons out on parole, then I suggest that you lock them up. Now, has anyone here seen Zero?”

  “There he is,” a man shouted, pointing to Zero trying to slip out a side door.

  “Catch that rascal!” Miss Hensinger cried.

  “I’ll get him for you, Henny,” Mr. Corn said, and in a mad dash, he started toward the side door.

  “Never you mind. I can catch him myself, Corny!” Miss Hensinger said and immediately dashed out in pursuit of the parolee, followed by the ever-persistent Mr. Corn.

  When the crowd laughed at the spectacle, The Mayor again pounded his gavel. With Alexa’s abrupt departure, he no longer felt springy and giddy. Under the circumstances, he couldn’t follow her.

  “Ladies and gentleman, order,” he said. “Please. Let’s come to order. Let’s take up the matter of that eyesore, the Sugar Express Train Depot.”

  The CABOOSE members stood up, raising signs protesting against the destruction of the depot.

  Before The Mayor could make his statement, the door to the room burst open. It was Alexa Manchester. The Mayor exhaled in relief, but then saw the look on her face.

  “Is there something wrong, Ms. Manchester?” he asked, though it was completely out of order to do so.

  “Yes,” Alexa said. “I’m here because I want to be completely transparent with the citizens of Kensington City, as I promised I would. I just spoke to Charles Chin, chief engineer at The Mick. It seems that the Electromite is gone.”

  “What do you mean gone?” The Mayor asked.

  “Gone as in stolen!”

  Chapter 10

  Later that afternoon ...

  Alexa sat in silence as Sigfred drove her back to the mansion. She felt ill, betrayed. She felt like a failure. Her fellow citizens had mocked her, derided her, acted as if she were both crazy and corrupt. Now, someone had stolen the Electromite. Was it Momo? The Mayor had suggested that the mineral hadn’t been stolen but disintegrated when The Magpie’s internal core went into meltdown. Charles Chin disagreed—if there had been a meltdown, there would’ve been trace elements found on The Magpie’s floor, and there were none. Alexa also tried to tell The Mayor about Momo and his threats, but he clearly didn’t believe her, even when Sigfred confirmed it. But Bobby Baumgartner was a decent man. He’d rescued her from the wrath of the angry citizens of Kensington City.

  Alexa
stared down at the emerald ring on her finger, wondering how long The Mayor had felt this way about her. How could she have been so blind about his affections? He’d always seemed so enamored with the Dowdy twins. Maybe she’d intimidated him, and he’d finally gotten the courage to share his feeling for her. He was handsome, wealthy, and eminently successful, always serving the people. Why couldn’t she love a man like that?

  Sigfred’s cell phone rang, and to her chagrin, he picked it up. She hated it when he drove and talked on the phone at the same time. During the call, he responded with mostly “yes,” “no,” and “I didn’t know that.” They didn’t speak until they’d almost reached the mansion.

  “So, you’ve accepted Mayor Baumgartner’s proposal of marriage,” Sigfred said. “How could you lead him on like that?”

  “I beg your pardon. I’m not leading him on.”

  “Oh, really, Ms. Manchester? Have you told him you’re Electromancer?”

  The words came at her like a bolt of lightning. “I don’t plan on being Electromancer ever again. You don’t seem to realize that I almost got myself killed in The Big Apple. If it hadn’t been for—” Alexa thought back to the incident at the power plant and how that awful man had sprayed water on her, trying to electrocute her. No, not her. He was trying to kill Electromancer.

  “You were so determined to make things right,” Sigfred said. “Have you given up already?”

  Just how did he expect her to respond?

  “What happened to the messenger who delivered the package from Momo?” she asked. “Have you identified him yet? Found him?”

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is no.”

  “Well, then you haven’t made things right, either. And you didn’t have to penetrate the casing of a high-voltage generator. All you had to do was identify a messenger.”

  He took a deep breath as if gathering his thoughts. “Your powers are needed, Ms. Manchester. This isn’t over and will only get worse. The Big Apple may have had its electricity restored, but you can be assured that Momo isn’t finished with his war on you.”

  Alexa felt the anger rise, the tiny prickles of electricity beginning to course through her body. She didn’t know if she was angry at Sigfred or herself. But she did know that if she didn’t control herself, she’d explode in rage at the thought of Momo. “What are my choices, here, Sigfred?”

  “Not easy ones, Ms. Manchester. You can either give in to a terrorist like Momo by transferring control of the Manchester holdings and hope that he’ll be satisfied and won’t wreak more havoc on the world, or you can fight him.”

  “What are the odds that he’ll be satisfied if I give him the holdings?”

  Sigfred shook his head.

  She understood. “Then there’s only one choice. Electromancer.”

  “I’m afraid so, and that leaves no room for The Mayor. Whom you don’t love anyway.”

  She wanted to argue, but she suddenly felt exhausted. Why debate it any longer? More than that, Sigfred might be right.

  When they reached the mansion, Gladys greeted Alexa at the front door, and Sigfred drove away to the market to pick up some provisions for Chef Yurdlemon. Alexa didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. A moment ago, she and Sigfred were talking about saving the world, and now he was speeding down the highway in search of veal chops and fava beans.

  “Is it true?” Gladys asked.

  Alexa held up her hand. “Mayor Baumgartner, my fiancé, will be announcing his candidacy for the prime ministerial election in the coming months. I suspect late next spring.” She hoped Gladys didn’t detect the ambivalence in her voice.

  An awkward silence passed. Alexa waited for Gladys to utter some words of approval. They never came. What Gladys did say was, “The Mayor’s executive assistant called while you were at the power plant this afternoon. It seems that you and The Mayor are hosting an engagement dinner party this Saturday evening. At your residence, I might add. The assistant already provided a guest list. Bobby Baumgartner certainly works fast. I’ve been tasked to prepare the invitations. We’ve sent save-the-date e-mails to all the invitees.”

  All this was happening so quickly, almost at the speed of light—the speed of an electrical current. Alexa felt that this was all wrong, but then she looked at the ring, which sparkled green.

  “Yes, an engagement party,” she said almost without volition. “Brilliant, Gladys. Help me decide what to wear.”

  Alexa walked up the staircase to her bedroom suite with Gladys following close behind. Miss Marbletop was perched in her favorite chair soaking up the late afternoon rays. After stroking the cat’s head, Alexa went into the dressing room, where she began sorting through dresses.

  “Nothing works,” she said. “I don’t think any of these suit my figure anymore.” Her motions became frantic, and she felt a wave of panic.

  Gladys put a hand on her shoulder. “Stop, dear.”

  Alexa closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

  “Are you all right, Alexa?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. It’s just that ...”

  Gladys went to the far end of the closet and found a shimmering silver gown. “This one will be perfect, dear.”

  Alexa nodded. Silver ... the color of electrical sparks. She walked over, sat down on the edge of her bed, and patted the space next to her. Gladys sat down beside her.

  Alexa held up her left hand. “It is a beautiful ring, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, dear. Exquisite. I’ve never seen a more perfect emerald.” There was no excitement in Gladys’s tone. If anything, she sounded sad.

  “Say it, Gladys.”

  “This dinner you’ve planned ... Alexa, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s the day after Momo’s deadline. You’re talking about an engagement party while the world’s future is at stake. And Bobby Baumgartner isn’t someone you ... Have you told him about Electromancer?”

  Alexa shook her head. “First Sigfred and now you. Who says I want to be Electromancer? Who says that the shutdown at The Big Apple was caused by Momo? What if it was merely an accident? Coincidences happen all the time. What if I do transfer all of the holdings to Momo? If I marry Bobby, I’ll have plenty of his money.”

  “Is this about money and security, Alexa? Gold digging? That’s not you. When you left here this morning for the City Council meeting, you intended to make it clear to The Mayor that you wouldn’t marry him. What’s changed?”

  Alexa looked at the emerald again. The jewel sparkled brightly as it caught the light, almost as if it were shooting off beams of pure electricity. “I never knew emeralds sparkled like diamonds. I always thought of them as colorful, but not ... I had a crush on Bobby as a girl. Maybe I’m truly in love with him. It’s all so dreamy.” Alexa did feel lightheaded, as if she were in the middle of a pleasant dream.

  “Alexa, it’s impossible. You’re Electromancer, there’s a madman after you, and your head is suddenly in the clouds. You have to come to your senses!” Gladys grabbed Alexa’s hand and rather roughly removed the ring from her finger. She closed her fist, concealing it.

  “Give that back!” Alexa shouted, feeling the anger rising.

  “I will not. Not even if you transform and shoot electricity at me.”

  Alexa did feel a slight current of electricity rising, but then looked at Gladys’s face, all at once stern, resolute, and loving, and her anger faded.

  “I would never harm you,” Alexa said.

  “I know that, dear. But tell me ... how do you feel now?”

  “I feel ... a bit like a fog is lifting. Normal.”

  “How do you feel about Bobby Baumgartner? Do you still feel that love?”

  Alexa thought for a moment. Whatever feelings that had caused her to express a desire to marry The Mayor had evaporated. She couldn’t even recall the feeling. Abruptly, tears welled up in her eyes. “Gladys, what’s happening to me?”

  “It’s the ring, I believe. Or more precisely the emerald. It’s as if the thing has b
ewitched you. Mesmerized you.”

  In a flash, it all made sense. She’d gone to the council meeting intending to tell The Mayor that she wasn’t going to accept his proposal. During the hubbub that had occurred during the meeting, The Mayor had slipped the ring back on her finger, and in front of the entire world, he made it known that he intended to marry her. Only when that emerald was on her finger did she accept his proposal—the precise opposite of how she’d felt in the morning. The precise opposite of the way she felt now.

  “Should I cancel the engagement dinner?” Gladys asked.

  “No. I don’t want to embarrass Bobby that way. I’ll go on with the charade for a while longer and then break it off afterward. I’ll be the heavy. He’ll do better marrying one of the Dowdy twins anyway. Damn it all, he can marry them both.” She gazed out the window and up into the sky. She imagined herself flying through all its vastness. Yes, the answer was in her heart. She would soar—that was her role in life.

  “While I’ve been sitting here talking about banalities, Momo is out there, planning to attack The City of Angels,” Alexa said. “Worse, someone stole the Electromite. I suspect it’s Momo, which will give him even more power. I ... Electromancer has to stop this madness. There’s no other choice.”

  “My dear, you have a heart of pure gold.”

  Alexa tipped her head toward her shoulder. “No, Gladys. More like platinum.” At that moment, Alexa realized that her family heirlooms—the diamond and platinum jewels—had not been lost or stolen, but had been absorbed inside of her body when she was pulled inside The Magpie and transformed into Electromancer. Perhaps becoming Electromancer wasn’t something that had just happened to her. Perhaps it had been her destiny all along.

  Alexa gazed over at the silver gown hanging on the hook. “The gown is perfect. Perhaps by Saturday, we’ll be rid of Momo, and the party can be a victory celebration.”

  The problem was, after what had almost happened to her in The Big Apple, Alexa didn’t know whether her “engagement party” would become her memorial service instead.