by David Bruno
“So, we win together or die together, kind of a Bonnie and Clyde thing, huh? I’m in it to the end, but I don’t want to die, sweetie.” Benny grinned. She continued. “I think I can do the bubble again. It just feels different than the regular shield. It’s like I have a new switch in my mind. Let me try.” Vanessa concentrated and a bubble instantly formed around her. “I did it!” she screamed proudly, jumping up and down. She turned off the bubble and gripped Benny in a tight bear hug. His sore body was not ready for her affection.
“Ahh! That hurt.”
“Oh, sorry.” She released Benny so he could catch his breath.
“Can you make it bigger to fit someone else?” Vanessa concentrated harder. Sure enough, a new bubble appeared and began to expand. It was soon large enough for two. “Can I get in the bubble with you?” Vanessa dropped the bubble, allowing Benny to stand next to her. A new bubble formed around the pair. Benny gently embraced Vanessa inside her protective cocoon, and held her firmly against his chest.
“I just might now be a little more useful in a fight,” Vanessa said as she looked up at Benny. “Let’s take five and work on an offensive use for the shield.” He leaned forward and rested his head against Vanessa’s.
Vanessa rested for a few minutes to rehydrate, trying to remember exactly what she’d done. In a battle she would have to create the bubble instantly without thinking about it. After a few minutes, she stood and snapped the bubble on and off several times. She varied its size and started to become at ease with this new power.
“Okay, Vanessa. I’ve been thinking about something,” Benny said. “What if you can throw your shield forward to push away an attacker? Doing that at will would be offensive, correct? It would be like another jiu-jitsu move to add distance between you and an attacker.”
Vanessa thought. “Hmmm. I might be able to do that. I don’t want to hurt you though. How about you armor up before we try?”
“You want to try on me right away? I guess that’s alright. Try to make a small shield from your hands if you can and give me a good punch.” What’s the worst that can happen? She pushes me away?
Vanessa did as he asked and formed a shield over each fist. She then punched him, over and over. She was surprised how easy it was to punch with the shields. No matter how hard she hit, she didn’t feel the force of the punches.
Benny was taken aback by her strength. “Enough, Vanessa. You’re really strong and I dig the new fist shields. But I’m getting really powered up.”
“No. We keep going.” Vanessa kept punching Benny. You tested me, big guy. It’s my turn. His armored skin became deep pink as he absorbed blow after blow. It seemed as if she had become possessed by some unknown force—one that hated Benny. Benny finally took on a proper defensive posture as she hammered him. Then suddenly she stopped.
“Enough, Vanessa, please. This is how accidents happen,” he begged.
With a rebel yell, Vanessa screamed, eyes wide and piercing. “AHHHH!” She pushed her hands out in front of her. At the speed of a synapse, a large shield formed. An instant later, the shield fired forward with explosive force, directly at Benny. It smacked into him like a freight train, lifting him from the ground and hurling him a hundred yards away. Vanessa abruptly came to her senses as she saw Benny’s helpless body fly through the air and crash to the ground in a cloud of dust. “Benny!” she shouted as she ran toward him.
As she approached Benny, he squirmed as he tried to stand. Instead of pink, his skin had turned bright red as if painted with blood. His eyes glowed white, his hair stood on end, and he did not speak. His appearance was as unique as it was terrifying.
“I’m sorry, Benny. I don’t know what came over me. Umm, what’s wrong with you? Are you okay?”
Benny scanned the area and found a large rock nearby. He moved over to the rock as if he was buoyed by a large balloon. Each step covered six to eight feet like he was walking on the moon. When Benny reached the rock, he raised both arms into the air and looked upward. His muscles grew in size and his once loose-fitting gear stretched over his bulk.
Vanessa observed from a distance.
Just then, Benny crashed downward as if his weight had increased by ten orders of magnitude. At the same moment, he unleashed rapid strikes from both arms on the rock, over and over. Vanessa’s bubble shield powered on and she crouched inside it. The ferocity of Benny’s punches pulverized the boulder into pieces. The ground trembled as if in an earthquake. When the dust settled, a crater had replaced the rock. Piles of pebbles littered the area.
Vanessa’s safety was preserved only due to the instantaneous nature of her shield. Without it, she might have been killed from the flying rock and debris.
Benny fell to the ground, exhausted and barely conscious. Before long, the red skin faded to its normal tone. His eyes returned to their natural gray, and his hair fell back into place.
Vanessa ran to Benny, and once again knelt down and held him. “I’m so sorry. What the heck was that?”
Benny laughed. “We did it, babe. If we can do these things anytime we need to, the Agency doesn’t stand a chance. You unleashed a level of power in me I didn’t know I had. Unimaginable energy sizzled and pulsed through every fiber of my being. I felt… immortal.”
Vanessa pulled him to his feet. “What if they have a small army of people who can do the same things as us?” Babe?
“What did Max say? We’re real. They obviously need us because we are superior to their own creations. I think he used the word ‘perfect.’ If we stand together and fight their imperfect antiheroes, there is no way they defeat us.” Vanessa’s eyes lit up. Benny had always thought she was perfect, from the moment he first cast his eyes on her in her Metallica shirt, listening to her fake accent mere days ago—even before he’d known she had powers.
“You sure got a fresh dose of confidence, sweetie.” She squinted at Benny’s stare. “You know what? I believe you. We can do this. Okay now, Mr. Demigod,” she quipped. “Let’s get back to the RV. I’m starving.”
Benny’s stomach growled loudly.
*****
“Let’s get cleaned up before dinner. I worked up quite a sweat,” Benny said, sniffing his shirt as he ate a pair of cereal bars to temporarily assuage his hunger.
“You’re gross. Go get cleaned up,” Vanessa demanded.
Benny went for a shower. When finished, he lounged on the couch to relax and stream a show. Vanessa went next.
Benny felt a little better and rejuvenated. His hand and joints were sore from the intensity of their training, but he was happy and confident that he and Vanessa could work together and even discovered new ways to use their powers. If they were to take on the Agency, they needed to rely on each other.
A few minutes later, a syrupy voice interrupted the TV show.
“Hey, sweetie.” It was Vanessa, wrapped in a towel and barely covered. She was fresh out of the shower and still damp. She leaned against the wall, put one knee over the other, and slipped her hip to the side. Water dripped onto the floor from under the towel. Drops from her wet hair ran down her neck, over her shoulder, and down her cleavage.
Benny gazed at her and noticed the water on the floor. His heart skipped a beat. “You should put on slippers. You might fall,” he said. What’s happening?
“Oh, Benny, you’re so oblivious.” She bit her bottom lip, looked up at him and dropped the towel.
His eyes widened and fixated upon her statuesque perfection.
“Let me thank you properly for today.”
CH 17
PIECE OF THE ACTION
TWO DAYS TO GO
Benny woke abruptly and glanced at the clock. 2:35 a.m. I’m so freakin’ hungry. As he recalled the events of the past evening, he glanced at the silhouette of the angel sleeping peacefully next to him. He couldn’t help but smile. Slowly and purposefully, he moved from the bed, trying hard not to make a sound. He proceeded to the refrigerator and took out a package of luncheon meats and cheeses. One by on
e he folded slices of meat and cheese and inhaled them. He repeated until there was no more. Not satisfied, Benny looked in the cabinets. Cupcakes! He tore the box. Six pastries later, he’d had enough. With a slug of water and a gentle tap on his chest, his feast settled in his belly. Back to bed.
The sun came up and peeked through a small opening in the blinds, right into Benny’s face. Ugh. Time to get up. 7:15. He listened to Vanessa breathe for a moment and wondered how somebody that he had met just a few days earlier could have become so special to him so quickly. Maybe it was because they were so similar. However it had happened, he was grateful. They had become so occupied with their tryst that they had forgotten about dinner the previous evening. His late-night binge sat like a rock in his gut, refusing to be properly digested. He knew Vanessa would be hungry when she woke so he carefully stepped out of bed. With an airy burp, he kick-started his digestive system and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Soon the smell of coffee, toast, bacon and eggs filled the RV. A soft groan came from the bedroom. Vanessa was stirring. Benny smiled.
“Do I smell coffee and breakfast?” Smells better than cereal. She glided over to Benny, wrapped only in a bedsheet, hugged him from behind, and gently kissed his shoulder.
Benny glanced at her briefly with a grin as he stirred a large pile of scrambled eggs. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Did you have a good night?” he asked.
“I sure did. I think you did too,” she giggled. “We deserved it. I really appreciate the training we did yesterday. It was just one day but we did so much. I feel like a superhero, and I’m so sorry for throwing you down the field. One day they’ll make comic books about us,” she laughed. She held up the small stuffed dinosaur that she’d found in the bedroom. “Who’s this little guy?”
“Oh, that’s my dinosaur. My dad bought him the day I was born. The day mom died. Dad said he would protect me from bad dreams and such.” Benny stirred the eggs.
“Does he? Does he have a name?” Vanessa asked.
“I don’t think so, and no,” Benny smiled. “I keep him around as a memory. Besides, even if he did, I don’t need him anymore. I have you.” Vanessa’s heart raced.
“I like him. Let’s call him Roger T. Rex,” she said with a smirk.
“Okay. What’s the T stand for? Tyrannosaurus?”
“Nope, Tiberius. Duh! You know, like Captain James T. Kirk.” She snickered as she took it back to the bedroom, figuring it best to get dressed before breakfast. After all, it wasn’t quite ladylike to sit at the table in the buff.
Wow. Beautiful, superhero, loves the same music, and respects the original Star Trek. She may be perfect after all. “Breakfast is ready,” Benny announced as he cracked a crooked smile.
Vanessa stared at the massive pile of food Benny had prepared. “Good God, did you make enough?”
“Well, we didn’t eat dinner yesterday. I only made a couple dozen scrambled eggs, two pounds of bacon, half a loaf of toast with peanut butter, a dozen pancakes, coffee, and juice. I also have half a box of cupcakes in the cupboard if you want. I wanted to fry up some ham too but I ate it last night. Sorry.”
“That’s okay, I’m good. I hope you plan to eat most of this,” she said with her jaw hanging.
“Suit yourself,” he said as he started eating. “You should see what I can eat after a real workout.” Vanessa politely ate her breakfast but couldn’t help watching Benny. When he wasn’t talking with his mouth full, he wasn’t a sloppy or impolite eater. It was just the sheer volume that amazed her. She knew it made sense, but seeing it in person was astonishing.
Between bites, Benny told her, “I had to learn how to cook when I was a teenager if I wanted a decent meal. Dad wasn’t very good at it. Since I eat so much, I figured I needed to.”
Wow, I found a guy who can cook. “What else can you make?” she pondered with her hands under her chin.
“I have some recipes I got from family and the Internet. Much of what I make is improvised based on what I have in the fridge. My grocery list is usually large, and I go through a lot of food quickly. But there are a few things I make well when I have time. I like to buy a bushel of tomatoes and fresh herbs to make real tomato sauce. It takes all day but it’s really good.”
“You’re a hermit traveling the country on a mental-health mission of some sort. If you don’t have the time to make a nice dinner each day, nobody does. You’re making me hungry. What’re you going to make for me this evening?” she asked as she batted her eyes.
“Are you trying to manipulate me?” No matter her answer, he would do anything to make her happy.
“Me? Never,” she pouted.
“Oh, my. I, uhh, I made you breakfast. We better eat and continue training. You’re really hot and all, but don’t forget Armageddon is two days away,” Benny reminded her as he pointed to the spread of food before them.
“Fine for now. But you owe me a nice dinner.” She sat back quietly and ate.
“I owe you, huh?” he questioned.
“Of course. It better be good too. I’m not cheap. As you reminded, let’s try to enjoy ourselves a bit. To be honest, I’m scared.” Her smile turned into a frown as she pondered the enormity of what they were up against.
A brief tune came from Vanessa’s mobile phone, which was charging on the countertop.
Vanessa went to check on it. “It’s a text from my dad.”
“What’s he want?” Benny wondered. “After how we left things, it’s probably just about the Agency, not wondering how we’re doing.”
Vanessa looked at her phone. “He asked me to call him. He says it’s very important. There’s also some address.” Dad, why couldn’t you just ask how I’m doing? I’m your only daughter.
“Go ahead and call him. What can he do to us from there?” said Benny. “Put him on speakerphone so I can hear too, if you don’t mind.”
Vanessa touched the speed-dial button for her father. Max answered. “What do you want, Dad? We have you on the speaker. Benny’s here with me. Whatever you can say to me, you can say to him too.”
“Vanessa, are you okay? I’m worried about you. Are you two an item now?”
At least he began the call by asking how I’m doing. “Of course I’m okay, if you really care. Benny and I are fine. What do you want?” she asked coldly.
“I care. I always cared. You’re my little girl. But there is real danger. That address I sent, it’s for the laboratory operated by the Agency. It’s where we were based and where we did all the experiments. Vanessa, it’s also where you were born.”
Vanessa’s mind wandered at the idea of her being designed and born in a sterile lab full of such evil people. As some consolation, she also knew that she was not like them. She was better than the people who had created her—and that included her father.
“The lab’s just outside Edwards Air Force Base, near Lancaster, California. They’re just about ready to enact their new plan. They didn’t even bother telling me all the details. Guess my days are numbered. They keep demanding I send you both there. If you don’t go, they’ll come after all of us. All I can gather from my few remaining sources is they found a quick and clean way to use the meteoric alloy to more effectively give adults superpowers, enslaving them. It has something to do with helicopters. That’s all I know for sure, but I suspect from this limited information that they need the choppers to drop something, perhaps the alloy, over some population. They don’t need to raise infants any longer or rely on less reliable gene-splicing techniques. If I’m right, this technology means that if they succeed, their plans could immediately be put into action. The suffering will be unprecedented.”
“Looks like we’re obsolete, Vanessa. Maybe we aren’t perfect after all. When this began, all I wanted was to get away from this nightmare. But we already agreed to do it. How can we let innocent people either die or turn into superpowered slaves?” Benny asked, hunching his shoulders.
“Benny’s right, Vanessa. Your country and the wor
ld need you. In two days, they’re going to act. You need to stop them. If they’re using helicopters to drop the alloy, they must be destroyed. You need to not only stop the helicopters, but also destroy the lab and all the specimens. These include frozen human fetuses and endless blood and organ samples that we made. You also need to destroy the adult humans who have been part of the experiments. The human guinea pigs. Nothing must remain.”
“What? You want us to kill everyone?” asked Vanessa. She hoped she’d heard incorrectly. “How can a father ask his daughter to do something like that? I won’t. How does that make us better than them?”
“Benny has killed before. He must again. It’s for the greater good.” Vanessa glanced at Benny as he gulped, recalling the moments when he’d taken those lives. “You as well, my baby girl. I hate that things are like this, but all must be destroyed. It’s a lot to ask, I know. You’re not like the heroes in cartoons and comics who never really have to make the difficult life-and-death decisions. This is real life. Those people in the lab have been brainwashed and used in experiments. They aren’t themselves. I’ve seen it many times. Some have had their DNA so corrupted they’re barely even human anymore. They will attack you. They cannot be saved. I know the Agency has backups of their electronic data at an off-site facility. But destruction of the lab will set them back significantly, maybe a decade or more. If we’re very lucky, the government will investigate and find the truth and stop the funding. Without money, they can’t implement their plans. I wish I could get help from the CIA. But I didn’t exactly leave them on good terms. You two are our only hope.”
Benny asked, “Didn’t Dr. Doe say that they needed us to be ‘inspiration’? They’ll be expecting us. I don’t want to walk into a trap.”
