The two men stood side by side, gripping each other’s shoulders, brothers-in-arms, watching the paramedics perform final checks. Powerhouse motioned to Green Thumb and she stepped under his other arm. When X moved to pull his suit back up, Powerhouse pulled her tightly against him, his tears mixing with hers. Green Thumb ignored her “no public displays” rule and soaked up the comfort.
The three of them wiped their faces as they left the room. The rest of the rooms had been opened. If any children had been imprisoned in them, others had retrieved them. Green Thumb’s shoulders sagged in relief. She couldn’t do this again.
It was one thing to destroy marijuana plants, or to tie up the “bad guys” for the police to retrieve. Since when did this job she never wanted involve putting a face to an evil so far outside of her imagination? She would never forget watching a little boy die in such a cruel and inhuman way. It was almost unfathomable that the man behind this was Tori’s father.
They walked out of the building and over to the ambulances. The night sky was lit up with floodlights. A helicopter hovered somewhere above. Two ambulances had given way to a row of them in the last thirty minutes. The trio looked for Tori and Ben, and found Tick Tock and Lexie, too.
Tick Tock nodded to the three of them. “Everyone’s fine,” he assured them.
“Not everyone,” Green Thumb said. “I quit.”
TORI sighed against Joe’s hand, pressed against her cheek, and let the soothing sense that all was well permeate her being. She hadn’t wanted to let go of him since he climbed into the ambulance with her. But he’d been quiet, scary quiet. Lying here in her hospital bed, doctors and nurses finally gone, Tori knew they needed to talk. But where to start...
“Does our insurance cover a hospital stay?”
Joe stopped staring at the floor and turned to her. “What? Sure, I guess. Don’t worry about that right now, baby. Get some rest.”
The clock on the wall said 11:35. Maybe he didn’t want to talk right now. Maybe he wanted to go home. Maybe he was mad at her, thought tonight was her fault, hers and Lexie’s.
“You should go home,” she told him. “You need your rest, too.” At least she wasn’t crying and carrying on. That was something. She was determined to learn how to be a stronger person.
“No.” Joe’s voice was hard. “I’m not leaving you.”
Surprised, Tori raised her eyes from her knees back to her husband. Or maybe he wasn’t mad at her. This marriage thing was harder than she thought it would be. There was a lot more guessing than she’d expected.
“Mickey is upgrading the security systems at our house. Until he’s done, we’re staying with my parents.” Joe looked around the hospital room, a private room in a small wing away from any other patient rooms. “This is a special wing built especially to cater to people like us. The security is good, but I’m not leaving until you do.”
Fear crept back up Tori’s stomach and lodged in her heart. “Because of…?” She didn’t even want to say his name. She hadn’t been able to process the activities of this evening yet. It all seemed too unreal.
Joe’s shoulders shook like the weight of the world rested there. “Tori, Kane Curtis is one of the foremost villains in the Midwest. His father was part of a group called The Nine. They’re…” He struggled to find the right words. “I don’t understand what happened tonight, but I am not letting him hurt you or your sister or Ben. You don’t understand how…” He stopped and shook his head. Then he kissed the back of her hand hard. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t.” Tori wanted to soothe him somehow, but he had shadows in his eyes she’d never seen before. “Joe, I’m sorry about all this. I didn’t know any of it, I swear! Besides…” She was afraid to say the words out loud. What if…? “Maybe he’s…gone. Forever.”
They stared at each other, thinking through the possibilities, but unwilling to say them out loud. “We’ll see,” was all Joe said.
Tori was eager to forget about Kane for now, so she let it go. More important to her was what the future held for her and Joe. “I need to ask you something, Joe. And please be honest. I’m worried that somehow I… Are you sure you want to be married to me? Of your own free will?”
The words were barely out of her mouth before he climbed up on the bed with her and pulled her close. “Of course!”
“Are you sure I didn’t make you?” Her heart clogged with hope as she waited for his answer.
Under her ear, his chest rumbled as if he chuckled, but his voice didn’t sound light-hearted. “I’ve never wanted anything as badly as I want you, Tori. You didn’t make me marry you. I couldn’t wait. There’s something between us. I can’t explain it. Something that pulls us together. I know when you’re in trouble. I can see it and feel it. It’s horrible.”
Really? How? She wanted to ask but he continued.
“Did you know that I can be as strong as any metal I touch? And I heal quickly, usually within a few hours. But ever since I met you, I feel stronger. I don’t know if it’s real. Maybe it’s my imagination. But I feel different when we’re together.”
Tori snuggled closer. “Ever since we met, I’ve felt safe with you in a way I’ve never felt before. I was afraid you’d think it was some girly, clingy thing, so I didn’t want to tell you.” She thought about the feeling, how it came and went. “Even when I’m scared, like when my car blew up, there’s something about you that makes me calmer. I feel stronger in that way. I think you’re right, we’re connected somehow.”
Joe rubbed his chin on the top of her head. “Something.”
“Do you know of anyone else like us?”
She felt him shake his head.
Weird. All these things were so weird. And somehow, it all tied back to Kane and the Paladins.
“Am I one of the bad guys to you?” She wished she could take the words back. She didn’t mean to think out loud.
Joe pulled away and stared into her face, his hands cradling her head. He took his time, studying her like he was trying to understand a puzzle.
Tori didn’t take offense. She really wanted to know. Would she have tendencies one way or the other? Would the others accept her, or would they worry that she couldn’t be trusted? Joe would know the answer.
“I think we all are who we choose to be,” he said finally. “Some days, it’s hard to be good and easy to take the wrong path no matter who you are. I think you want to be one of the good guys.”
She smiled softly at him. “I choose to believe that God made me on purpose, for a reason. And that he brought us together for a reason.” Not that she wasn’t scared something in her blood could make her do something horrible. Kane scared her more than anyone she’d ever met. But she believed that Good was stronger than Evil, even when Evil won some of the battles.
Joe smiled, but she could still see the shadows. Something was still bothering him.
“Did something happen tonight? Something I don’t know about?”
He pulled her close again, his chin resting on her head. His embrace was almost painful. Her heart felt like it was breaking a little for him. Something bad had happened. She knew it.
“Hayley said there were more children.” Tori tried to guess, but Joe stayed silent. “Did something happen to one of them?”
After a moment, he nodded. Tori felt something wet drop on her cheek. Tears. Oh no. She closed her eyes. Maybe she didn’t want to know right now. She searched for something else to talk about.
“I’m glad we’re living in the version where Peter Parker and Mary Jane both know. You know, so we don’t have to keep secrets from each other.” She felt his grip relax, so she continued. He needed to think about something else.
“Chad at the comic book store told me that there are different versions of many of the origin stories. I like the Spider-Man one where they get to be together. Don’t you?”
Joe chuckled. This time, Tori could tell his mood was easing. She was catching on to this marriage stuff, after all.
> “I know we don’t have a lot of money, worse now since I’m unemployed and car-less, but I bought some comic books so I could do some research and–”
Joe chuckled more. “Tori, that’s fiction, not research.”
She poked him in the bicep. “Well, it was all I had. Somebody hadn’t gotten around to making time to help me yet.”
She felt better, too, now that they weren’t talking about the scary stuff anymore. She tried to make him laugh. “Maybe Superhero X will make time for me now.”
Then she had another thought. “And Hayley! How long has she been Green Thumb? How long have you worked together? You pretended not to know each other when I introduced you at Thanksgiving.”
“She’s been on the team a few years,” Joe said. “I get the impression she’s had her powers since at least high school, maybe earlier. She doesn’t talk about it much.”
“And I thought Hayley was the normal one of us girls.” Tori recalled some of the things Hayley had said tonight, horrible things about her past that Tori had never known. Sure, she knew Hayley’s home life was pretty bad because Tori’s parents had actually allowed Hayley to live with them when the girls were seniors in high school. But Hayley was better at keeping secrets than Tori would ever have imagined. She’d never had a clue.
Joe laughed. “Hayley is definitely not normal.”
“Hey!” Tori poked him again. “That’s my best friend you’re talking about.” Well, almost. “My second-best friend, that is.”
Joe kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I like taking in rescues. Just ask Snickers. Found him sleeping under my porch a few years ago. Look how good he’s got it now.”
Tori laughed and pulled away. “Hey! I am not a rescue!”
“I beg to differ,” Joe protested. “First, I rescued you at Halloween…” Joe went on to list all the times Superhero X had rescued her, embellishing the stories to the point of absurdity, making Tori laugh until her cheeks ached.
Once again, light had chased away the darkness. Tori kept up the banter as long as she could. When she started nodding off, Joe kicked off his shoes and got under the blanket with her, muttering about hospital rules and who was going to be able to make him move anyway.
Tori fell asleep in his arms. Despite the small bed, the aches and pains, and the darkness she now knew waited for them both, she slept well. Her heritage notwithstanding, she wasn’t a super villain. She could handle anything else.
FOUR days later, Tori and Joe stood in his parents’ kitchen sneaking hot chocolate chip cookies off the cooling rack when his mom wasn’t looking. When Hannah finally caught Joe, she whacked his hand with her spatula.
“She made me do it!” He pointed at Tori.
“Hey!” She gave him a mock affronted look. “You can’t use me as your excuse if you don’t get a cookie for me, too.”
He laughed and kissed her. “Sorry.”
“Kiss me again,” she said quietly, pulling his shirt to get him closer, “and I’ll let you blame me all you want.”
“Hand check!” Bull called from where he sat with Hayley, holding her hand.
They all laughed, and Joe and Tori pulled away from each other. A little bit away.
The big kitchen, filled with a mish-mash of chairs, was getting crowded as more people arrived. Tori tried not to be nervous. This would be her first Paladins Guild meeting. Today she might get an idea of whether she would fit in with this world, or if everyone would consider her an untrustworthy outcast.
Owen sat down at the table, which Tori had come to learn meant it was time to settle down. She took a seat and Joe sat next to her. She squeezed his hand. It would be okay. It would. She took a deep breath.
“I’d like to get through everything before our other guests arrive for the big game,” Owen said. “I’ll try to be quick. Duke, Mickey, Bill, great work Wednesday night. Your teams worked effectively together, and with law enforcement. The SLU complimented you all on the scene, and other agencies have contacted them with kudos and questions about how they can work with us as well. Great job, everyone.”
Everybody nodded and smiled at each other. Tori chuckled at a couple of high-fives.
Joe whispered in her ear, “Excellent job, wife.”
She grinned and kissed his cheek.
“Unfortunately,” Owen continued, “no one has seen Kane Curtis since Wednesday night. He has not been arrested and is considered at large.”
Tori looked down at her lap. Everyone knew that was her fault. Either she hadn’t stopped him and he escaped, or she…did something to him. Either way, he’d gotten away with a long list of crimes. Tori couldn’t stop thinking about it. How could God let him go unpunished? It wasn’t right.
“Altogether, we had a very successful episode,” Owen continued. “Now before any rumors start clouding up the truth, I want to make a formal announcement.” He waited until he had all eyes on him.
Tori waited curiously.
“Many of you know that Hannah and I were happy to welcome a new daughter-in-law into our home.” He smiled at Tori. “What you may or may not be aware of is that Tori has discovered she has a super power, probably more than one. The circumstances around why she only just found this out is her business, but I would like you to welcome her to the Double Bay chapter of the Worldwide Order of Paladins.”
Everyone clapped. A few people cheered. Tori tried not to slide down her seat in embarrassment.
“In addition,” Owen’s voice gained a degree or two in intensity, “I want to be clear that no one here will talk to anyone outside this room about Tori’s affiliation or lack thereof with the Curtis family. You are not to confirm or deny anything. You are not to participate in gossip among yourselves. Your only answer to questions is ‘I don’t know.’ Does everyone understand that?”
Owen looked to each person individually, waiting for them to say yes before moving to the next person. Tori thought he would skip over her. She did, after all, know some of the answers to the questions, so how could she lie? But he spoke to her last.
“Tori, you and Joe and I will discuss this in more detail later, but this goes for you, too. For the safety of our teams, we cannot let rumors grow about a Paladin’s link to The Nine. Do you understand?”
Tori nodded her head. Wow. She hadn’t realized how the ripples in one person’s life could brush up against so many others’.
Owen smiled slightly and nodded. He talked about other chapter matters, and closed the meeting on time, keeping to his thirty-minute schedule.
“Any questions before we adjourn?”
Tori looked around and tentatively raised her hand. Joe cleared his throat, getting Owen’s attention. She wasn’t sure if she was glad about that or not. What if her question made Owen upset? Or upset the others? This was her first meeting, after all.
“I hope you don’t mind but…earlier you said that Wednesday night was successful. Just Wednesday night, or everything related to it?”
“We call a single event or multiple related events an episode,” Owen explained, not appearing to be annoyed. Yet.
“And you said it was successful.”
Owen nodded.
“But,” she looked at Joe, then looked to her other new teammates, “we didn’t find Kane. He’s not going to be punished for kidnapping or child abuse or illegal genetic research or anything.”
“But we found Ben, the reason we went in,” Owen said, “and we rescued seven other children as well.”
“But if we’re looking at the multiple related events, we didn’t find Evan Ruffalo’s killer, or his son Jason.” Tori’s voice strengthened as she found the confidence to speak out. “We don’t know who killed that mugger that we think Kane sent. We didn’t find the car bomber. That’s a lot of things we didn’t get done. I don’t really understand how that is successful.”
“We look at our work differently than law enforcement,” Owen explained. “Everything that you mentioned is important, and law enforcement agenc
ies work on those kinds of issues every day. They relate to justice. Our work is ancillary to law enforcement. We helped them find Ben and other missing children that they couldn’t find before. The events of Wednesday night should curb additional illegal genetic research here in Double Bay.”
He nodded to the people gathered. “The city and some state and federal agencies have had another good experience with professional Paladins, which means we and Paladins elsewhere will be more likely to continue working harmoniously with, instead of in contention with, local and outside law enforcement. And, hopefully, we’ve kept The Nine from expanding their reach here.”
Tori saw a lot of heads nodding.
“I understand your question, Tori.” Owen smiled gently at her. “It’s hard to feel like you’ve done enough. We’ve all felt that way. We’ll support you and your sister as you both decide how to proceed with your lives, and we’ll help you through the difficult times. But we all have to learn to accept that we can’t do everything. Our abilities do have limits.”
Joe put his arm around her shoulder. Tori nodded, but she was going to need more time to understand. Whether it was too much TV watching or what, it was hard to see things differently than how she’d always perceived them before. She’d always thought the good guys won. Every time. She was going to have to re-think her view of the world.
“Okay, if there’s nothing else,” Owen looked around the room with a grin, “welcome to our Super Bowl party. Please make yourselves at home.”
Chairs rattled as people got up and moved around. A few people patted Tori’s shoulder and welcomed her to the chapter. She thanked each one and tried to remember their names. She saw Owen speaking privately to Hayley. She hoped Hayley wasn’t really going to quit. Tori needed her no-nonsense friend to help her navigate this new world.
Joe leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I know a love seat with our name on it.”
Tori giggled, glad that Joe was trying to distract her from her thoughts. “Excellent. Lead the way.” Today she would chill out with her friends and family. She’d think about serious matters tomorrow.
Unexpected Superhero (Adventures of Lewis and Clarke Book 1) Page 31
