He couldn’t help himself, he liked her answer. She always had a way of reminding him that he was more than his abilities. He stood next to her in an instant. He wanted to take her in his arms. He could see that his rapid shift in location unnerved her. He ran his hand over her long blonde hair, which wasn’t as soft as he’d remembered. The difference was probably from all the times she’d dyed it to disguise her connection to her sister. He knew she did it to protect Rain, but Ella felt the offense as the sister, not the hero. She’d never looked into Dina’s actions to see Dina was just trying to protect her—them. Understanding suddenly dawned on him as to why she left. Her earlier words about being a risk to them only emphasized the rationale. He’d been as blinded by hurt as Ella was. Could it really be that simple? Did Dina stay away because she loved them? When she looked up at him he saw the longing in her expression. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.
He put his hand on her cheek, stroking the softness with his thumb. She felt so delicate. Her eyes never left his. He ran the pad of his thumb over her lips. He wanted to kiss her again, but refused to give in to the feeling. Zane closed his eyes and returned to his apartment without saying a word to her.
* * * *
Dina sat staring into empty space. He’d gone as suddenly as he arrived, and she really hated how he could do that. A normal guy would have had to say goodbye before he ran away. There was nothing normal about Zane, or the mixed-up emotion between them. Biting her lip, she picked up her phone and listened to her voicemail. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
“Hello, lovely. I’ve missed you. I see that you’re still hanging with the old crowd. I’ll be watching you. If you want a real man for your little television show, I’m here for you, just say the word.”
Ian sounded downright creepy. She wondered if he was dramatizing his creepiness or if all the evil he’d done had actually changed the way he spoke. He didn’t sound like the teenager she remembered. He’d been scary powerful as a kid. The idea of that kind of uncontrolled ability wielded by a man bent on destruction gave her the heebie-jeebies.
Closing her eyes, she tried to shut out the fear. Should she call Ella, Zane, or Bridget? No, she wouldn’t say anything. They all had enough to worry about right now. He was just messing with her. He hadn’t threatened her. Maybe this was the way a super villain said “break a leg”.
Even if the others wouldn’t tell her, she wasn’t stupid. She knew he was behind the recent string of electricity related crimes. All the recent freak accidents weren’t accidents at all. Shaking off the feeling of someone watching her, she deleted the message. The creepy call had come from a private number, which seemed to belie his statement about finding him.
She forced the bad memories away as she noticed the time. “Fuck.” She cursed under her breath. She stood up, straightening her skirt before rushing to the conference room. The ten contestants would be waiting. She was late.
Right away, she noticed how the group eyed each other up and down as if estimating the level of completion they could expect. She tried to hide a smile. This was going to be interesting. To get everyone’s attention, she cleared her throat. Ten heads snapped in her direction, looking at her expectantly.
Sitting down and opening her portfolio, she started to pass out the ten booklets of paperwork and information to the assembled group. Many of them looked unhappy. She noticed Purity opened hers enthusiastically. When each woman had one, she started her presentation. “Welcome, ladies. This will be a historic, unprecedented television event. There are a few rules that you should be aware of before you sign these. Firstly, no one is to remove Mind Man’s mask. If he chooses to unmask for you, he’ll make the call. I highly doubt it’ll be on camera.”
She hated the tone in her voice. She sounded like a grumpy, elderly librarian. Being friends with the contestants would be a mistake. She had to maintain her façade of iron-control if she was going to keep the chaos at bay, but that didn’t mean she liked being the bad guy. The looks the girls were giving her made it clear—she wasn’t going to be popular.
“Secondly, no one is to ask him about his secret identity on camera, and I would caution against bringing it up at all. He’ll tell you if you establish a real connection with him. If he’s not ready to tell you, and you ask, I’m betting it’ll be a sure way to get yourself eliminated. We start filming on the sixteenth. You’ll not be able to go to work, school, or home. We’ve rented a remote location for the filming, and when you go on your dates, he’ll be taking you by doing his poof thing. You’ll be going to some very exotic locales. This will be the chance of a lifetime. If you break any rules or speak to the media, you’ll find yourself terminated from the show immediately. Each of you has a contract in your packet outlining this specifically. I’d like for you all to take a moment to look over the terms before you start signing.”
They were still eyeing her up like she was an unloved den mother in a sorority that just wanted to have fun. Dina bristled.
She watched the women sort though the paperwork she’d given them. She could see some of them were reading carefully, but others seemed unconcerned about the details.
“I’d like anyone who’s not comfortable with the terms of this agreement to leave now before any more is discussed. Otherwise, I need you to sign the privacy disclosure immediately.”
They all signed. No one wanted to leave.
Dina cleared her throat. “Mind Man is a very private person, and you can understand the importance of his work. He’s agreed to this for his own reasons. I won’t speak for him or about him. Does anyone have any questions at this point?”
Ten voices spoke at once.
Dina interrupted. “I don’t mean to treat you like juvenilely, but please raise your hands so we can maintain order.”
She pointed to Candy, as the woman seemed very excited to ask her question. “Ms. Dell, how do you know Mind Man?”
“I see I need to repeat myself. I’ll not discuss him or speak for him with you. I’m only the producer. He is in charge of how much he tells you about himself. My meeting with him is entirely private and not at all interesting, so please stop wondering or worrying about it.”
She pointed to Virginia, who asked, “Do you know his secret identity?”
“I just addressed this issue with you. Do you have a question not about what I do or don’t know about this man?”
Pouting, Virginia slunk back in her seat.
They all asked her various questions about him, all of them except Purity who sat very quietly, listening to it all. The contestants seemed unable to comprehend she wasn’t going to tell them anything personal about the hero or the man. Finally, she looked over at Purity and addressed her directly.
“Thank you for being respectful of me. Would you like to ask any questions at this time?”
Purity smiled sweetly. “You said he’ll be poofing us here or there. Is that dangerous? And has he tried to do it with another person before?”
“That’s a very good question. I’m sure that it’s safe. He has assured me he’s taken others along when he’s disappeared before without any negative side effects.”
They all signed the paperwork and agreed to meet at an undisclosed location. Dina planned to call them with the location that morning to minimize the odds of the media finding out where they’d be filming. If the paparazzi arrived, it would spell disaster for Zane and for her career.
* * * *
Zane stepped outside to run errands. A misty drizzle hung in the air, making the warm day extra muggy. Even a hero had to eat and go to the bank. He hated taking time away from his work during the day to go. When night fell he’d be too busy to catch up on the tedious tasks his day job required of him.
When he’d first escaped the laboratory he’d started reading comic books. His youthful mind had hoped to gleam some sort of hope that he could reverse what’d been done to him, but of course they’d been good for nothing except entertainment. Comic book heroes always had e
xotic backstories and more money than a man could spend in a lifetime. Not him, he lived paycheck to paycheck.
His heard something. Stopping, he listened hard, releasing his control over his advanced hearing. He hissed as pain radiated from his ears to his skull. The massive amount of noise hit him hard—cars, construction, people. In a city this big the noise was almost unbearable, but he let himself adjust. It took a few moments, but he was able to catch the sound of a gun firing and a woman screaming. Zane ran down an alley, then turned and ran up three blocks. He never broke a sweat, and didn’t feel the exertion a normal person might. He stepped behind a dumpster and stripped off his suit, wrapping it in his long coat to keep it clean. He found the mask in his coat pocket. He’d learned a long time ago to plan ahead.
He rushed into the nearby bakery where a man was holding a young cashier at gunpoint. There was blood and Zane noticed a middle-aged man lying motionless behind some boxes.
“I’m serious. Open the till.”
The girl shook, but the ding of the register opening set the killer in motion. The man raised his gun, ready to coldcock the girl.
“Stop!” Zane ordered. He pushed his thoughts into the man’s head and the thief stilled. Zane could feel resistance, but he held on to the mind.
“Drop the gun and step away from the girl,” Zane commanded.
The criminal moved with exaggerated motions. The unnaturalness of each movement apparent, his angry eyes were red. This guy was high. Not good. The drugs made his thought patterns erratic and Zane struggled to hold on as the adrenaline in the man’s blood made the drug race faster through his body. Zane’s head ached.
The thief’s arm swung up and down, he still held the gun. He looked like a puppet with a broken string. “Drop your gun,” Zane repeated.
The robber’s fingers clenched and unclenched, but he managed to hold the gun. He fired and the bullet hit the ceiling spray plaster over the terrified young woman. She screamed and dropped behind the counter.
“Dad?” she called shakily.
Zane could feel her agitation and fear as she moved toward her father.
“Daddy?” the girl whispered.
Zane’s focus on the criminal returned and he fought a wordless battle of wills. The shooter’s desperation made him fight harder, and Zane struggled to hold onto his control. He heard the woman dialing a cellphone and whispering to the 9-1-1 operator. The man’s arm jerked again. He pointed the gun at Zane and fired.
He let go of the other mind so he could teleport, but he wasn’t as fast as the bullet. It grazed his arm. He glanced down at the wound on his bicep. He’d had worse. The same thing that gave him abilities made him heal rapidly.
A woman gave a startled shriek. Zane looked up to see that he was in that old, first apartment he had shared with Dina and the others. He sighed. When he thought safety, this was where he always seemed to end up. The middle-aged woman who rented the place scowled at him.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
She stood at the stove and shook her long cooking spoon at him. This wasn’t the first time he’d poofed into the old kitchen. She rolled her eyes at him and her lips quirked with annoyance.
He teleported back just as the burglar was scooping money from the till and aiming the gun at the cowering girl. This time Zane grabbed his mind with more fortitude. The crook dropped the gun and wobbled away from the girl and her father. Then he dropped the money. Zane felt the drug in his system and he manipulated the substance enough that he was able to clear the thug’s mind for a moment. The robber blinked at Zane and looked confused. He was full of inner turmoil, desperate for another fix. Zane held him paralyzed until the police arrived. The moment they came running in with their guns ready, he brought himself back to the dumpster.
With practiced skill, he had his suit back on in less than five minutes. Then he slung his damp coat over his arm and walked away as if nothing had happened. He watched the ambulance arrive and hoped the shopkeeper would live to bake another loaf of bread. He knew what it was like to be alone, and he hoped the young woman didn’t have to endure that pain.
* * * *
Dina walked to the coffee machine. The nasty brew tasted like sludge, but it was full of caffeine—something she needed desperately.
“Hey there, girl,” Emily Montgomery called out to her. Dina stopped and gave the friendly reporter a big smile. “Did you hear about the robbery? Your star saved a woman’s life.”
Dina felt cold. Just like the old days. I’m standing here wondering if he’s alive. “No,” Dina replied quietly. She was cautious to keep her face blank.
Emily chuckled. “No worries, your show will go on. Mind Man saved the day and from all reports, he left when the police had the suspect in custody. You aren’t going to have to cancel the show.”
I guess I’m wearing more of an expression than I thought. “Um, thanks, Emily.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said cheerfully and walked past Dina to the elevators.
When Dina put her money into the machine she noticed her hand shaking. Her heart was racing. This was why she didn’t watch the news, she couldn’t face him dying. Just like Aaron. She pushed the dark thought away and managed to get her coffee with only a little spillage from her tremors. Taking a deep breath, she took a sip and closed her eyes. Zane…
Chapter 6
A bird sang, with annoying cheerfulness, in the gray dawn light. The hour was very early. Worry had kept Dina from sleeping most of the night. She missed Honey, her cat. She’d taken him for boarding at a very well rated kennel. She knew he would be mad at her when she picked him up again. Honey loved to sleep on her stomach. Guilt over the creature’s probable discomfort didn’t help her relax. She got up and turned on the laptop. Dina worked past midnight before the sandman called and she lay down and fell into a fitful sleep.
Zane would be poofing in later. She hoped he remembered to wear the costume he hated so much. Rebellious thoughts about how the midnight blue spandex clung to every inch of him suddenly tormented her. The mask covering his eyes added to his sex appeal. She didn’t think of masks as particularly erotic, but on Zane the thing was crazy sexy. She knew how her hand would feel sliding effortlessly over all that silky spandex encasing the hard body underneath. Closing her eyes, Dina imagined she could even smell his cologne. Today was going to be a very long day. She bit her lip. I hope I can get through this without ripping off his clothes or ripping out a contestant’s hair. The last thing she needed was to become some kind of crazy, jealous ex-girlfriend for the camera.
She arrived where the bus waited in the early morning light. There was still a cool chill in the air and it was relatively smog free at this hour in the day. The girls started converging on the quiet parking lot of the abandon gas station. Dina stared out into the distance, remembering when the station had been open. She and Zane came there for cheap hotdogs and slushies. Those had been the only dates they could afford.
“Ms. Dell, can we get on and go? I just want to get on the bus and go back to sleep.”
Amber’s whining broke Dina’s daydream, and she quickly covered her spaced out look by looking down at her planner.
“We’re waiting for Purity to arrive, then we can go. Everyone is tired, but we need to be incognito and leave early. If you want to go home instead of doing the show, you still can.”
“No, I don’t want to leave, but I just want to get going.” Her whiny voice went up an octave, grating on Dina’s last nerve.
“Just go find a place on the bus if you want and go to sleep. I promise you won’t miss anything. I’m not going to tell you where we’re going until we get there.” She noticed that all the girls piled onto the coach bus after Amber got on. She saw some shoving and arguing as they picked seats. She wasn’t getting on before she had to. Her head already ached. If the fighting kept up, it was going to be an unbearable day. Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t stop her dark thoughts. Great, let the competition begin. To her relief, she saw Purity.
/> “Get on the bus, Purity, the ladies are waiting, and we need to be going before we get noticed.”
Purity grabbed her small bag and hopped on the bus. At least one of them had packed lightly. Dina couldn’t believe the amount of baggage the other contestants had brought. It was only a few weeks, not years. She picked up her briefcase and climbed onto the bus, feeling the trepidation of impending trials. Bickering was the first sound she heard.
She stood and cleared her throat until the others fell silent. “Thank you all for coming. We will be in complete seclusion for the next six weeks. I must request you relinquish all phones, laptops, and tablets to me. Mind Man’s security is essential.”
They gawked at her as if she’d just requested they give her a limb.
“No Facebook or texting?” Lacy asked.
“No Facebook or texting,” Dina replied. “I’m sorry. Before we leave please turn over your technology, or you can get off the bus.”
She heard some muttered “bullshits”, but soon she had a seat full of communication devices.
When they’d returned to their seats, she tapped the driver on the shoulder, letting him know he could go. A three-hour drive would feel like three days if the attitude of the contestants didn’t improve.
They’d be going into the mountains to a small campground the studio had rented in its entirety for the duration of the filming. Each cabin would house two girls, a way to increase the drama. The staff had been provided with top-of-the-line, rented RVs. She had a camera crew waiting to catch the women’s arrival and reaction to the rustic local.
Over the next three hours, she learned a lot about the show’s contestants as she tried not to give away the destination. Spas, mansions, expensive hotels, and even a yacht were just a few of the theories the group speculation suggested. They never came close to the truth, and Dina knew it’d be some good television to see their reaction.
Purity barely spoke to the others. She was definitely studying them, and it made Dina uncomfortable. She knew it was more than her potential jealousy that was making her feel mistrustful of the other woman. She couldn’t put her finger on what was actually bothering her about Purity. Her sweet, caring demeanor seemed too good to be true. Sure, Dina knew she could be jaded from working in the entertainment industry for so long, she’d seen plenty of two-faced, ladder-climbers, but there was something about this girl that gave her pause.
Reality Hero Page 7
