A Shot at the Big Time

by Christina McMullen

  At least the jerks hadn’t screwed up my timeframe too much. As I blasted the water, creating ice walls and slick roads that were sure to cause major inconveniences, the other Coalition members were already on the job, keeping their respective rivals busy. The idea was that Magnificent Man wouldn’t have any excuse not to come out himself. Plus, there was the bonus bait. Silencer and his crew were actually dumb enough to stand around, knee deep in the mess they made, laughing and high-fiving like the brainless wonders they were, allowing me to flash freeze them where they stood.

  “Halt, evildoer!”

  I looked up in confusion. Unless Magnificent Man’s voice had changed and he suddenly decided to start using Lady Freedom’s catchphrases, something was amiss. Any asthmatic puff of breath that might have been left in my sails disappeared along with my hopes of luring out Magnificent Man.

  In hindsight, I should have calculated for Jet Set’s tardiness. If he ever showed up to anything on time it would be a miracle. Lady Freedom touched down in front of me, surveying the impromptu ice sculpture that used to be 7th Avenue with the appraising eye of an art critic.

  “Your work?”

  “Yes and no,” I shrugged, pointing to where Flame Bro-er was attempting to melt the ice trap without charbroiling his cohorts. Poorly, I might add. “They’re the ones who caused the water main to break. I just stopped it before the water hit Autumn Oaks.”

  Lady Freedom eyed me for a moment, put a finger to her lips, turned to the trapped goons, pointed, and then looked back at me.

  “Aren’t you one of them?”

  “Them? No,” I said with a derisive laugh. “I mean, I’m a Malevolent, but I’m not part of that group,” I explained. “I’m Frostbyte, the Coalition’s newest member.”

  “Thought so,” she said, giving me another knowing look. “That’s a Jhasha, isn’t it? She does good work. Nice detail.”

  “Thanks,” I said, completely taken aback by the casual conversation. “Could have used some pockets though.”

  “Oh, girl, you are telling me! These utility belts just don’t cut it.”

  “See?” I threw my hands in the air in disgust. “Why is that so hard for designers to figure out?”

  “Blah, blah, blah, works of art, something, something, clean lines,” she said with a rude wanking gesture and ending by blowing a raspberry. “So, what are we doing here? We gotta make this official?”

  “Official? Oh… You mean… Yeah, I totally see your point.” I tried to hide my sigh. Of course Lady Freedom was going to jump on the opportunity to snag a new foe if it meant she could offload that little creep Jet Set. “I don’t know. I just don’t think I could fight you.”

  “Why? Because I’m a woman?”

  “No, sexism is Mr. Unbelievable’s game,” I said with a snort that was surprisingly followed by a chuckle from Lady Freedom. “It’s just that I’ve got a vendetta against Magnificent Man and well… I can’t think of anything to hold against you. You actually seem pretty cool for a ‘Fig.”

  “Fair enough,” she said with a good natured shrug. “You’re not so bad for a Cackler, yourself.”

  Cackler? That’s what they call us? Oh that was really dumb. None of the current Mals had an evil laugh with the exception of Oddball and his was sporadic at best.

  “If you want to round them up, I won’t get in the way,” I said with an exaggerated yawn, turning my head in the opposite direction.

  “Thought not, but what are you planning to do?”

  “Well, I was kind of hoping you might call in some back up?”

  “Ah kid, I’m sorry,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “The old guy ain’t gonna believe I need backup against one Cackler and a gaggle of pre-packaged heavies. Even if he did, well, I hate to break it to ya, but that’s one tough nut to crack.”

  “Yeah, so I’m finding out,” I muttered. I didn’t get it. I’d done my homework. It’s not like there had been anything special about Rock Tower. He was a big guy with thick, pebbled skin and super strength who liked to knock shit over.

  “Well, I suppose I’d better wrap this up before the Pubescent Wonder starts whatever mischief he has planned.”

  Pubescent Wonder. I laughed so hard my stomach cramped and I singlehandedly justified the nickname of Cackler.

  “If you ever, ya know, change your mind, I’ve been thinking of branching out.”

  “Oh?”

  “The Gang’s cool and all, but I kind of have this vision of one day fronting an all-female task force.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I lied. Lady Freedom was pretty cool and if I ever had a chance to have drinks with her I would totally take it, but I couldn’t get behind the ‘Figs line of thinking. For better or worse, I was a Mal through and through.

  I stuck around just long enough to watch Silencer and company get hauled off to jail, though it did nothing to alleviate my disappointment in the evening’s turn of events. For that, I needed a drink. Or several drinks, but I had a feeling if I walked into Lucky’s dressed in my costume, I was going to grab all the wrong attention and going home to change would have just had me sitting home all night sulking. There was another option. At least, rumor had it there was another option.

  I turned off of 7th and made my way deeper into the inner city. Down here, the buildings were packed so dense that some of the smaller establishments were practically hidden in plain sight. I was looking for one of those establishments. I passed it twice, missing the unobtrusive metal door devoid of decoration both times, but on my third circuit, I remembered the destination I sought sat above a bakery and followed the smell of butter tarts.

  I expected a bouncer. A doorman at the very least, but the only occupant of the small vestibule was a potted fern and yet, I swear I could feel someone looking at me. I heard a sound like muffled music drift down from the second floor and went up to explore. There I found another door, this one emblazoned with the image of a black hooded figure wearing a monocle.

  Yeah, this was the place.

  The Gentleman Ninja was every bit the throwback to the golden age that I’d heard it was. Dark, smoke filled, and humming with the sounds of conversation and jazz, the oak paneled bar made me feel like I stepped back in time. Except the low light was less for atmosphere and more to hide the dents and dings from years of rowdy altercations and the jazz was likely to cover the sounds of bodies hitting walls and beer bottles breaking over heads.

  In fact, it looked like a fight was already in progress. I ducked a flying beer bottle and made my way to the bar, trying to act casual and not gawk like a tourist. There were a few of my contemporaries, including, I noted with displeasure, Jet Set, but the majority of the patrons were old timers, retired talent that earned the right to hole up in a hidden bar while the next generation saved or destroyed Maxima City. In fact, the bartender was none other than Ace Guy, the second worst thing to come out of the disco era behind polyester bellbottoms.

  I felt a little silly because for a moment, I had actually expected to see the original Gentleman Ninja running the joint. Considering he’d retired and opened the bar right around the end of World War II, he was more likely haunting the place. That and the guy was notoriously camera shy and well, a ninja. But his influence was everywhere, from the pictures and newspaper clippings that graced the walls to the shuriken shaped coaster that was slapped down in front of me.

  “What’ll it be, mamma?”

  “Vodka tonic,” I said, sliding a twenty across the bar and ignoring the outdated slang coming out of the even more outdated man in the poly-sateen costume that stretched a little too tightly over his belly.

  “Cash? Cute. And they call us the throwbacks,” he said, replacing my money with a drink and throwing me an air kiss that made me want to flash freeze his testicles.

  I had a cutting comeback on the tip of my tongue, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of none other than Rock Tower down at the other side of the bar. This was my chance to grab some insider information. I
grabbed my drink and stood, but he got up at the same time, presumably to leave since I don’t think most folks put their hat on to use the restroom. I downed my drink, thinking I was going to have to chase him down, but froze as my eyes locked onto those of the man who had previously been hidden by Rocky’s massive bulk.

  Magnificent Man.

  I took a deep, cleansing breath—which turned out to be not so cleansing in a smoky bar—and pushed my way through the crowd. This was it. I had the enemy in my sights. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Vengeance was mine.

  “Ice girl! Fancy meeting you here.”

  I’d barely taken three steps before I hit a wall of purple chest armor, sculpted to look like a muscular torso.

  “It’s Frostbyte,” I corrected through gritted teeth, staring up into the masked face of Nocturno. “But if you’ll excuse me—”

  “Yeah, that’s nice, listen, about the fight the other night…”

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve got somewhere I gotta be.”

  I really didn’t want to start a fight. Well, I really didn’t want to start a fight with anyone except Magnificent Man, but Nocturno wasn’t giving me any options. No matter where I stepped, he remained in my way.

  “Absolutely, Deep Freeze,” he rasped in that grating voice he used. “I just wanted to let you know I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

  “It’s Frostbyte and I said move it!”

  I iced the patch of floor under Nocturno’s feet and gave him a less than gentle nudge as I pushed past him, only to find an empty bar stool, still spinning lazily, where Magnificent Man had been only moments before.

  “You bastard!” I hissed. “You did that on purpose.”

  “Did what?”

  “You let him get away!”

  “Who?”

  “Are you really this dense? Magnificent Man!”

  “Oh, was the old buffoon here?”

  “I really don’t have time for this.”

  I reached out and grabbed his arm, dropping my temperature so low I had to dial back and remind myself that murder was wrong. Especially in front of a bar full of witnesses. But to my surprise, Nocturno just smiled at me as he grabbed my hand and removed it from his arm.

  “Sorry, Snowball, after the other night, I had a few temperature related mods done to the ol’ Noc suit.” Smart move, really, but annoying, because now I was going to have to take it outside, and into some dark alley where hopefully no one will be around to assess damages. “But listen, let me buy you a drink—”

  “Are you for real?”

  Back in college, I dated a guy who was really into Absurdist Theater. I didn’t get it then, and I don’t get it now, but at that moment, it felt like I was starring in a play based on a half-finished manuscript written by a first year art student.

  “I’m as real as real can be, Polar Gal. Look, since Magnificent Man is gone, it’s not like you’ve got anywhere else to be, right?”

  “Well, as a matter of fact, I can think of a dozen places I’d rather be…”

  Like, out in a dark alley, kicking your ass, I added in silent frustration.

  “Pick your poison, Ice Queen.”

  “Ice Queen is one of your contemporaries, fool,” I said with a sigh. “And vodka tonic.” Yes, I was pissed off and yes, I was still planning on kicking his ass, but a free drink is a free drink. “What are you even doing here? I thought you’d be out fighting Take.”

  “Pft! I dropped her fine ass off down at the station about an hour ago.”

  “You what?” I nearly wasted half my drink at Nocturno’s casual declaration. “Take’s in jail?”

  “Probably not,” he said with a shrug. “She’s had plenty of time to convince them there was a mistake.”

  “Huh?”

  “She just takes off her mask and claims mistaken identity. Says she was on her way to a costume party. Works every time.”

  “Every time?”

  “Once a month, give or take.”

  Good grief! I already knew the MCPD hired the dumbest, most gullible, and easiest to bribe idiots to the force, but I figured there was a limit to the stupidity.

  “In fact, she ought to be showing up here any minute.”

  Dammit! If Take caught me kicking Nocturno’s ass she’d definitely hold me accountable for the damages.

  “Well, thanks for the drink. Don’t suppose you could let Magnificent Man know I’m looking for him, could you?”

  “Sorry, Ice Pick, you’re on your own,” he said with a shake of his head. “You wanna know a secret? I never liked that guy.”

  “That’s not much of a secret, actually.” Seriously, those two fought each other more often than they fought us. “If you don’t like him so much, you should be helping me take him down.”

  “Listen, Frigidaire, it don’t work like that.”

  “Are you going to keep doing that?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Using every name you can think of besides my real one? Because that last one was just give up.”

  “It’s kind of my thing,” he admitted with a shrug. “Anyway, Blizzard of Oz, let’s be honest here, the guy’s washed up. He’s a has-been. He wouldn’t be a very worthy opponent.”

  “You don’t get the concept of vengeance, do you?”

  “My whole career is based on the concept of vengeance, Snow Day.”

  “Okay, so you don’t get the concept that everything isn’t about you,” I muttered.

  “I’m rich,” he needlessly informed me, crossing his arms over his chest and lifting his nose indignantly into the air. “I don’t have to grasp that concept.”

  “Color me surprised,” I said as I got up, left a tip on the bar, and ducked out the fire exit just as Take was walking through the front door.

  Logically, I didn’t actually think Magnificent Man would be hanging around in the narrow alley behind The Gentleman Ninja, but that didn’t stop me from being disappointed when I stepped out into the fetid emptiness. Disappointed and irritated because I was all turned around and had no idea which direction would take me back to where I’d left my car. Not that it mattered. I was pretty sure the meter I’d parked next to had expired hours ago, so what was another few minutes?

  It was hard to ignore the bitter disappointment in knowing how close I’d been to finally having closure, but I couldn’t call the night a complete bust. I’d learned a lot while talking to Nocturno. A lot that I’d suspected, yes, and a lot that I hadn’t wanted to be true, but at least now I was better prepared for the curveballs being part of the A-list continued to throw at me. The only problem was the significant difference between seeing the obstacle and having a plan to get over it.

  Chapter 15

  Getting a bill for eight thousand dollars in repair and maintenance from the municipal water works didn’t come as a shock. If anything, it was actually a little lower than I had estimated. But it still annoyed the shit out of me that I was on the hook for damages I not only didn’t do, but that I actively tried to minimize. Worst of all, Silencer and company only spent the weekend in jail before they were sprung by their respective bosses. Sure, they missed out on a weekend and were all expected to report to work on Monday, but that hardly made up for eight thousand dollars, in my opinion.

  At least I had the money and didn’t need to take up Take’s offer for a loan, but that was by sheer luck. Good thing too, because if the rumors I’d heard were true, I couldn’t afford her interest rates.

  Apparently, good bone structure—whatever that means—is not all it takes to be a model. Turns out, I have no patience and even less poise, so I lost that opportunity before I even got in front of a camera. But as luck would have it, the massive warehouse that had been rented out for the shoot didn’t come with a working air conditioner. I’m sure the oversight led to someone finding themselves out of a job and I’d have felt bad, but their loss was my gain.

  Okay, so there’s not a lot of glamour in being a human air conditioner, but for my troubles,
I was compensated rather nicely. Not only did I get what I would have made modeling, but Jhasha insisted on giving me a hefty bonus to boot. Too bad most of it went to the city before it had time to get acquainted with my bank account.

  Of course, this meant I was again being pressured to find another income stream, which meant another uncomfortable round of suggestions including the underwear line that Take refused to give up on. Manifestation was the only one who came up with a suggestion that didn’t involve sex, suggesting I develop my security programs into a full software suite I could sell to businesses. It wasn’t a bad idea in theory, but considering most of the companies in town that weren’t already using my programs were the ones I was typically breaking into, it made for a paradox of improbability. Normally, this would have given the project an extra layer of appeal, but I didn’t have time to solve puzzles. I needed a quick buck.

  What I didn’t need, was extra expenses.

  “Have you considered your mode of transport?”

  “My car?” I asked, wondering what this was about.

  “Calling your rolling shoe box a car is an insult to cars,” Jet Set sneered. It was going to take all of my control to remember he and I were on the same side.

  “Not your personal vehicle,” Take said, sliding a warning look to Jet Set. “Your work vehicle.”

  “They’re uh, actually one in the same,” I admitted, grateful that my talent made it possible to at least look like I was keeping my cool.

  “Well that has got to change,” Harold announced, flashing the full on gameshow host smile as one of the underlings wheeled in what I truly hoped was nothing more than a practical joke being played at my expense.

  “That’s a scooter,” I needlessly pointed out. A tacky one at that. The powder blue color might have been cute in a retro way if say, I was looking for a way to get around a small Italian city, but the silver and white snowflake decals made it look like something a winter fairy on a budget might ride into a little girl’s birthday party.