Cosmic Girl Rising Up

by R S J Gregory

  “Well, if it isn’t the flying midget. Cosmo Baby, is it?” Devlin says in a dreamy Antonio Banderas-like voice.

  “Cosmic Girl.” I correct him.

  “Potato, potata.” Devlin says and shrugs. “And to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure? Signed photo perhaps, a souvenir?”

  His cocky smile annoys me so much, I want to slap him.

  “I’m here for you.” I state quite simply.

  “You’re not my type, darling.”

  “Let’s not play games. You know why I’m here.” I say.

  “You’ve come to thank me, then. You’re welcome.”

  “I owe you nothing. I never wanted these powers. I had no choice.” I say bitterly.

  “Ah, but look at you. Look at what I made you.”

  “You didn’t make me who I am. My parents did that. You’re nothing.” I spit back.

  “But without your powers, what are you? Just another pathetic teenager, a loser. And you would also not be standing right now, am I not correct, forty-two?” He purrs as he sits forward in his chair, and places both feet on the floor.

  “I wasn’t a loser.” I growl back at him.

  “You were hardly the prom queen, darling.” Devlin says and laughs.

  “If I were a loser, I wouldn’t be here, would I? I found you. I followed the trail of scumbag breadcrumbs you left. I figured it out.” I state.

  “Now. What have you done to Mr Richardson?” I ask.

  Devlin’s eyes look cold, and a small smile appears on his smug face.

  Okay, that’s not a good sign.

  “Why the bombings? And who did them?” I ask.

  “They were terrorists, darling. I merely exploited them.” He replies calmly.

  “But, they killed people. You are responsible for all of their deaths. And murder.” I almost shout at him.

  “They do not matter. But the ones that survived. Now, they are interesting. Like yourself.” He replies, and smiles, he actually smiles at me.

  For a few minutes, I just hover and stare at him, whilst I try with every fiber of my being to not rip him to pieces right here and now. I just breathe.

  “I hear you had some excitement in Las Vegas.” Devlin says after a few minutes.

  “Some.” I reply.

  “Good luck in getting a mobster to testify against me.” Devlin says and smirks.

  “I don’t need to.” I reply.

  He frowns and looks up at me as I hover in front of him.

  “You see, I have all the evidence I need. I’m afraid your little bomb did not go boom.” I say, and smile as he takes in this new information.

  “Enough!” Devlin roars, and stands up.

  In a flash, two gold handguns materialize in his hands, and before my head can even think about warning me, I already know what’s coming.

  His eyes glint, and the corner of his mouth curls up as the first gun fires.

  My head explodes in pain, and I hear the ringing in my ears, as I try to focus and dodge the first barrage of bullets.

  They wiz by my right ear as I move to the left, then as he corrects his aim, I duck and fly backwards. He lowers one of his guns, and shoots them both simultaneously. One gun is aimed at my tummy, and one is aimed at my chest. I quickly hover to the right, and almost fly out of the open door. I grab the door frame and try to steady myself as the wind tries to suck me out. I see him move his guns and aim at me and fire again.

  I have no choice. I let go, and fly outside as the bullets slam into the doorframe and floor.

  I glide over to one of the windows, and he begins shooting the glass where my face is. I duck just-in-time, as the glass shatters above my head after a few hits. I fly underneath the aircraft, and keep pace with it as it continues on its journey westwards. Damn. What do I do? I don’t want to hurt him.

  Well, okay, I’ll be honest, yes, I do want to hurt him. Badly. But I need him alive so I can hand him over to the Feds.

  I fly to the front of the jet, and rise up in front of the cockpit window. The pilot frowns at me, and then Devlin appears behind him.

  “You gotta be kidding me.” I moan as my head sends me another warning.

  I fly up over the cockpit as he opens fire. The windshield explodes, and as I fly above the cockpit, I begin to see bullet holes appear in the fuselage.

  This guy is nuts!

  I fly over the main compartment until he stops firing. I fly lower and press my right ear against the top of the main cabin. I can hear Devlin inside. Sounds like he’s reloading his guns. Oh, great!

  I try and judge the place where I think he is the best I can, and then fly up a few feet, before pitching forward. I rip through the aircraft like it’s paper.

  Damn it, I misjudged it.

  I land a few feet behind Devlin, and turn around as he begins to bring his guns around to aim at me.

  Enough already!

  I scream as I launch myself at him, just as the first bullets leave his guns. I twist in the air mid-flight, and the bullets graze my shoulder and thigh. Then I’m crashing into him.

  I wrap my arms around his waist, and continue on my trajectory, right through the aircraft. The back of the jet rips, and then tears loose as I rip through the fuselage, and all of the cargo underneath begins to tumble towards the ocean.

  “NO!” Devlin screams above me.

  I raise my head and look at his face. His eyes are bulging, and his face is flushed red. I feel a gun barrel pressing against my left temple.

  “Get my luggage!” Devlin orders me, and presses the gun harder into my skin.

  “Do I look like a porter?” I reply.

  “I’m going to count to three. Get my bags….or you die.”

  “I hate to break it to you. But that won’t kill me.” I reply.

  “Are you really so sure?” He grins in my face, and raises his right eyebrow.

  “Do you want to bet your life on it?” He says menacingly.

  Hmm, not really, no. BETH, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

  I smile back at him, and then look down. “Which bag, exactly?” I ask.

  ‘Hello? Britney, where are you?’

  “Those two large steel ones.” Devlin says and points at two small slivers of metal as they continue to tumble down towards the blue ocean.

  Beth. I need your help. Devlin’s got a gun to my head. Can you distract him?

  “Those look awfully heavy.” I say. “How can I carry them and you? You are a bit of a lump, you know.”

  “How dare you? I’m in amazing shape.” Devlin says and slams his gold gun against the side of my head.

  “Ow, oh my god, please stop. No, no, please don’t hurt me.” I say sarcastically.

  “Shut up, or I’ll shoot you on principle.” Devlin growls.

  Then I see his expression change. His eyes go wide, and he looks around him. Then he looks at me with a confused expression.

  “How interesting. Are you doing this?” He asks calmly.

  I shake my head and smile.

  “How is this…..no, NO. Stop it. Stop it! Get out of my head. Aarrggghhh!”

  He brings his guns up to bang against his own temples, and I move quickly and snatch them from his grasp, crush them, let them fall, and then I wrap my arms around him again before he realizes what’s just happened.

  He bangs his empty fists against his head, and then opens his eyes and looks at his hands, and then looks at me in shock. Part of me wants to squeeze the life right out him until his eyes pop out. The other part of me wins, though.

  “Now, Mr De Marco. I have some friends I’d like you to meet.” I say, and tighten my grip on him and begin to fly east, towards the shoreline.

  Thirty

  Devlin struggles in my arms and whimpers all the way back to the mainland. I see the familiar golf course, and bank right and head over the beach until I see Devlin’s hilltop mansion.

  I see a number of black cars, and a couple of vans parked near his house. I see my friends below on the rooftop. Paul has his white glo
ved-hands raised towards the men in dark suits. As I descend, I call out to them.

  “Hey, guys. I’m back!” I call out.

  Beth looks up and waves at me.

  “Look what I found.” I say as I get lower.

  Beth taps Paul on the shoulder, and he looks up at me. He lowers his hands, and the men in suits begin to enter the grounds. I fly over the roof and descend to where the suits are waiting.

  “Is Agent Forest here?” I call out.

  A tall woman in a white blouse and black pants walks forward through the men. I recognize her flaming orange hair, and red round sunglasses that’s perched on her small nose.

  “I’m Agent Forest. You’re Cosmic Girl, I presume?” She asks in a stern voice, with a southern drawl.

  “This man…” I say as I descend, land, and shove Devlin forwards. “is responsible for multiple murder, kidnapping, torture..”

  “Yeah, I get it.” Agent Forest says, cutting me off in mid flow. “Any evidence of this?” She asks.

  “Plenty of evidence inside.” I say. “And, also this.” I say, and slip my Chinese lucky cat backpack off, and unzip it.

  I reach inside, and I pull out my tape recorder, and a handful of cassettes.

  “Taped confessions, of him, and of his accomplices.” I say and hold them out to her.

  “What?” Devlin moans in disbelief as he sees me hand over the cassettes to Agent Forest.

  Agent Forest nods to one of her men, and he steps forward and cuffs him.

  The agent reads him his rights, and then Mitchell walks over to Devlin, still in his costume and motorcycle helmet. Mitchell is a few inches taller than Devlin, due to the helmet and boots. He stops inches from Devlin, and remains silent. Devlin takes a step back.

  “Boys, keep an eye on him.” I say, and then nod towards the open glass door.

  “Let me show you what we’ve found.” I say to Agent Forest, and turn and saunter towards the house.

  After an hour of careful examination, and sifting through Devlin’s notes, Agent Forest makes a phone call. Then a shocked Agent Forest takes me into a corner of the secret office.

  “Paul Richardson was found in his home this morning. His skull was crushed.”

  “No!” I moan.

  “Okay. I believe you.” She whispers to me as we face the wall, and she pretends to examine the spot where the cabinet was.

  “Great.” I say.

  “Sssh!” She hisses, and gives me a warning look. “There’s a problem.” She whispers to me as she stares at the floor.

  “What’s up?” I whisper back.

  “I have orders to take you in.”

  “What?”

  “You and your friends. You’ve got people spooked. They want to study you.”

  “Who wants to study us?” I ask and peer over my shoulder.

  “Who do you think? These powers you have….they’re valuable.”

  “Oh, great. So, now what?”

  “Run.”

  “What?” I ask, and slightly raise my voice.

  “It’s that, or….”

  I dread to think what they have in mind. This is just great.

  “What about Devlin? He’s the one who gave us these powers. He’s responsible.” I whisper back to Agent Forest, as we both crouch to examine the floor more closely.

  “I’ll feed that information back. But they’ll still want you. You’re a threat.”

  “Me?” I raise my voice in shock.

  “They think you’re dangerous.”

  “I’ve done nothing but help people.” I protest.

  “They don’t know you. You’re an unknown variable. That scares them.”

  “They scare pretty easy.” I moan.

  “I’ll make sure I make my men busy in here. Slip out, and run for it.” Agent Forest whispers, and then reaches out and touches my arm. “Don’t let them see you run. Or they will shoot you.”

  I turn and look worriedly at her.

  “Thanks.” I whisper and touch her hand gently.

  Then I turn and head towards the pin board section with all of the photos.

  While people busy themselves, I snatch all of the photos of myself and my friends in a nanosecond, and scrunch them into a ball and keep my fist clenched. I walk towards the steps.

  Beth. We need to make tracks. Can’t use the bus, so we’re gonna have to make a run for it. Let everyone know. We’re done here.

  ‘What’s up?’ Beth’s voice asks inside my head as I begin to climb the steps slowly.

  We’re in trouble. No time to explain. Get everyone on the roof.

  I emerge into Devlin’s bedroom, and when I exit into the main living area, I see some F.B.I. agents standing by the window carrying automatic weapons. Their heads turn as I enter the room. I can almost feel their eyes on me as I walk as casually as possible over to the glass staircase. I see a blur near the first steps, and then I hear a commotion outside.

  Uh, oh.

  I race to the stairs in a blur and head to the roof. As I emerge, the others are standing around and trying to stay away from the edge.

  “We need to get out of here right now.” I tell them.

  “How? They got the road blocked off.” Stuart says nervously, and points down below.

  I look around, and then look at the ocean when I hear the surf pound the rocks far below.

  “The ocean.” I say and turn and look at the water.

  “I don’t know, it looks a bit choppy.” Beth says as she looks over the edge to the water below us.

  “I hear footsteps. They’re coming up.” Paul says.

  “Jessica. Come here!” I call out.

  She runs towards me, and I scoop her up into my arms.

  “Go!” I shout, as the roof door bursts open.

  I launch myself towards the blue water and accelerate as fast as I can for a few seconds and then stop and turn around. The shore and hilltop are a thin line on the horizon.

  “I hope they’re okay.” Jessica says as she hangs in my arms.

  “They’re tough. They’ll be fine.” I say. I hope they’re okay.

  I look up, and then rocket upwards towards the clouds.

  “Yeah!” Jessica screams in delight.

  “Hang on. I’m gonna go supersonic. Put your face next to my chest.” I say.

  She ducks her head, and presses her left cheek against my chest. I take a deep breath, and then accelerate faster. I hear the sonic boom far behind me, and keep accelerating.

  I stop when we get to the outskirts of Chicago. My tummy’s not going to be ignored any longer, it’s demanding my immediate attention.

  I land behind a dumpster outside a Wendy’s. Do a quick change, and then I wait for Jessica to get changed while I keep an eye out. Once she’s back in plain clothes, we head inside. I ask if she can pay, as I left my purse at home.

  I order some cheeseburgers, a slice of apple pie and a mug of coffee. She orders herself a slice of apple pie and a lemonade. We take a booth by the south facing window, and I get stuck into my first cheeseburger.

  “Do you think they have enough on Devlin, to put him away?” Jessica asks as I finish my first cheeseburger.

  “God, I hope so. The taped confessions should help.” I say, and then take a gulp of coffee.

  Oh, god, that’s better. I was ravenous, and my mouth felt like carpet.

  “I can’t believe he did all of this.” Jessica says and shakes her head.

  As I’m chomping into my second cheeseburger, my head suddenly feels weird. Like feedback coming from a speaker, making my head vibrate. Then it’s all over, and I blink and look around.

  “What the hell?” I mutter as I chew.

  Then the door opens, and in walks Beth, Stuart, Paul and Mitchell, back in plain clothes. They follow Beth as she looks in our direction.

  I take a gulp of coffee and wave them over.

  “Hey, guys.” I say.

  “That was interesting.” Beth says and sits down next to me.

  Stua
rt and Paul take the next booth, while Mitchell sits next to Jessica across from me.

  “So, are we the bad guys now?” Mitchell asks me.

  “Of course not. The government has plans for us, that’s all.” I say and take smaller bites of my cheeseburger.

  “So what do we do?” Stuart asks as he peers over the seat at us.

  “We stay below their radar.” Paul says.

  “Who says we have to do anything? We’re done, aren’t we?” Beth asks.

  “I can’t give this up. I need to keep going. But you guys don’t have to risk anything more on my behalf. You guys are done.” I say and wipe my mouth with a paper napkin.

  “Hey, I’m not giving up on this. I’m having way too much fun.” Paul says and grins.

  “There are still people out there who need help. We can’t back down now.” Stuart says.

  “Then we have to be careful. No sticking around afterwards to take bows.” I say.

  I sigh and sit back. The past 24 hours are catching up with me. The F.B.I. have taken Devlin into custody, finally. I can feel a weight lift from me. Tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes, and I wipe them away and clear my throat.