Tekgrrl (29 page)

“Stay out of its range,” Paul commanded me, and then he ran forward to blast heat at the monster.

I wondered if it would just enjoy the attack (didn’t lizards prefer humid areas?) but the creature hissed and howled, trying to get away. It picked up the nearest object, which was a car, and hurled it.

“Paul!” I shrieked. He dove out of the way at the last moment, ducking behind another car as the one the lizard hurled crashed down. The lizard, hearing my shout, turned its attention to me.

“Stay back, ugly,” I commanded, holding up my Shocker. “I have a modified Taser and I know how to use it.”

The lizard growled and hurled itself at me. I pressed the button and let the Shocker blast hit him at full power. What would normally paralyze a grown man simply knocked the lizard guy off his feet. He got up, shaky, but still able to move.

“What does Doctor Chaos
do
to these people?” I snapped, looking around for something, anything to stop the rampaging beast.

Toby stepped in, swinging what looked like a flagpole as a baseball bat. The blow knocked the lizard man into a building across the street.

I looked at him. “Nice property damage, Tobe.”

“Hey, circumstances being what they are…”

Paul popped up behind us. “I’m going to hit it with everything I have. Mindy, concentrate your telekinetic powers on trying to keep that thing back. Toby, while we’re doing that, sneak around behind and hit it with something heavy.”

Toby looked around. “Like that dump truck over there?”

“Sounds as good as anything else,” Paul said. “Ready, team?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I muttered. The lizard man was getting up.

“Let’s do it, then,” Paul said, and he set to work.

The lizard man growled as the heat started to build on its skin, burning. It howled, hate raging in its eyes. It started to push past the pain and move toward us, however.

I concentrated, focusing all of my energies on this freak of nature in front of me. Poor sap, he had probably been some rent-a-thug the villains managed to dig up who couldn’t hold a steady job and make enough money to pay the bills, and he’d likely turned to thug work to make ends meet. And this is how he ended up: a rampaging mutant creature that we had to take down before it hurt somebody. Somebody like us.

I concentrated, trying to push the lizard man away from us and toward Toby, who wasn’t as strong as Lainey and was still having a bit of trouble hefting the rather heavy truck. My head started to pound and I felt a strange sort of light-headedness as I let go. I was there, but it was like I was floating outside of my body, experiencing only that which was around me, but all of it at once. I could sense the creature’s struggle against myself and Paul, Paul starting to weaken from the use of his powers, powers he hadn’t exercised in a while, and Toby’s strain in lifting the car, hefting it to smash it on top of the animal.

I’m going to be a lot harder to get rid of than that animal. Mindy.

I practically shrieked. The voice had never used my name before.

That’s because I’m close now. I’m almost there, and our bond is growing stronger.

“Bond? What bond? The stalker voice bond?” I snapped. “Now go away, I’m busy!”

You and I, we have a connection you can’t even begin to realize. Or sever.

“Shut up!” I snapped and focused my anger with the voice upon the lizard man. I lashed out with everything I had.

The lizard man suddenly went flying back into the building behind him, crashing to the ground in a heap. Toby delivered the coup de grâce by dropping the entire truck atop him. I watched as Paul went over and, using his heat powers, fused the metal together, making a combination cage and handcuffs.

“Great work, everyone!” Paul said, just as sirens sounded and cop cars pulled up. The police, they were always a day late and a dollar short. Either that or they just liked hanging back, waiting for us to do our jobs so they could come in for the clean-up.

I’ll be seeing you soon, Mindy,
the voice said, and then it departed.

“If you show up, I’ll kill you,” I growled under my breath.

Paul looked over at me. “Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “Voice problems again. But he went away without too much trouble after babbling something about bonds and connections.”

Paul’s face clouded. “We’ll figure out a way to stop it, Mindy.”

“You know how villains are, Paul, they like to hear themselves talk. We’re bonded, blah, blah, blah.” I shrugged. “It’s the usual. I’m not worried.”

The police stepped up in front of us, looking worried, checking one face, then another. “Thank you for helping. This creature escaped from four of the American Agents earlier tonight.”

I looked at Paul and burst out laughing. “Now that is priceless.”

“Never send a second-rate team to do a first-rate job,” Toby said.

“W-who are you people?” one of the police officers asked as reporters appeared seemingly out of nowhere and started snapping pictures. They were filming the creature and the police and us.

I realized they were seeing our glamours and not us. “Just people that want to help no matter what,” I said.

“Forget that,” Paul said, ripping off his glamour key and tossing it on the ground. He didn’t look any different to me, of course, but the rest of the crowd around us literally gasped. “We’re the Elite Hands of Justice, and we’re not going away because the so-called American Agents say so.”

“White Heat,” I heard the reporters murmur.

“Who’s that with you?” another one called out.

I pulled the key from my around my neck and tossed it to the ground. “Tekgrrl and the Magnificent,” I said, as Toby did the same. “We’re still here, and we’re still doing our jobs.”

“We are here to help the public, not to be slaves of the media or any government,” Paul said. “We’re here to save people and we’ll continue to do so, even if we have to do it as outlaws because a politician says so.”

The police started clapping. “About time you showed back up,” someone called out.

I turned to Paul. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted you more,” I said softly. “Rebellion is hot on you.” And in front of an unconscious lizard man, the police, the reporters and Toby, I kissed him.

“So I guess you all are pretty shocked,” I said the next morning as we sat around the couches in the common area at Fantazia’s, watching the television Lainey had acquired for us.

The news coverage of our capture of the lizard man last night and the aftermath was on every channel. The aftermath was played just as much as the capture. From the serious networks, there was speculation regarding where we had been and what this would mean for our future. Political pundits were arguing over whether or not Simon should step down from his post. Forrest and Wesley were still investigating the Dragon connection, but everyone in Washington was alarmed that four members of the American Agents had a connection to a so-called “terrorist” organization, especially since those four members had disappeared last night. News of that had leaked, and the public was rocked, especially since it was coming out that several other high-profile villains had escaped when AssaultR got away, and the American Agents hadn’t been able to apprehend them—and then Simon had done his best to cover that all up. The non-evil team members had tried their best, but they just didn’t have the powers or experience we had. And since Simon was too busy playing politician to actually lead his team or go on missions, they had been practically on their own.

An investigation to see if Simon had abused his new government post for personal reasons was being called for, as well as to see how closely he was tied to the Dragon. Considering he had almost been killed fighting the Dragon, I doubted he had anything to do with the guy or even been aware of the connection. Simon could be pretty oblivious. But news crews showed people protesting the American Agents and calling for our return. The lobby of our headquarters had been taken over by protestors. Footage of a tearful teenage girl crying for our return was being played incessantly.

Meanwhile, the tabloid and entertainment shows and networks were having a field day about Paul’s and my embrace. It was practically the kiss heard round the world. My dating history and his had been trotted out and compared by a talk-show host. The age difference had already been brought up several times, and there had been several unfavorable comparisons of me versus Kate. I knew I didn’t stack up next to the gorgeous goddess, but did the rest of America have to rub it in? Judging by the way we spent the rest of last night and most of this morning, and by the way Paul sat next to me on the couch, hand on my leg, absently rubbing his thumb across my knee, he didn’t care.

As I looked around the room at my teammates, I wondered at their reactions to our new relationship. Shock? Horror? Disapproval?

“Shocked?” Lainey said. “Not really.”

I gaped. “Huh?”

Wesley gave me a kind smile. “You didn’t exactly do such a good job of hiding when I showed up the other morning, Mindy.”

“He asked me if there was something going on with you two,” Lainey added. “And Toby mentioned his suspicions after patrolling with the two of you. Apparently you kept disappearing on him…”

I turned red. “And here I thought we were being subtle.”

“It’s been obvious to me since I showed up,” Cyrus said, barely looking up from his computer. “It’s all in the body language. So unfair. You could have done better, girl.”

I looked at Fantazia, who shrugged, looking bored with the whole thing. “You think I don’t know what goes on in my own pocket universe?”

Luke had been sitting next to Selena in silence on one of the couches. When he finally met my eyes, he looked hurt. “Guess I’m the last to know.”

Selena gave me an embarrassed smile. “Lainey told me.”

Kate had been sitting quietly through the whole ordeal, hands in her lap, eyes downcast. She seemed to be the nine-hundred-pound gorilla in the room at whom everyone kept shooting sideward glances. I hoped it wouldn’t get awkward between the three of us now that Paul’s and my relationship was out in the open. Although, if Kate made a habit of acting strange around her old flames and their current mates, the only safe person would be Toby.

“Well, then, if everyone already knows, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Paul said.

“I’m not going on patrol with you two anymore,” Toby remarked, walking into the room with Forrest in tow. “It was awkward enough when you two were hiding it. Now that you’re out in the open, it’s going to be a million times worse. The image of you two making out is seared into my brain,” he said, delicately shuddering.

“He was traumatized,” Forrest put in. “I had to do a lot of consoling.”

“I’m sure that was such a hardship,” I said to Toby, who winked at me. It was good to know that our friendship hadn’t been truly affected.

“So, it’s obvious from what we’ve been seeing that at least a few of the American Agents weren’t on the side of good,” Paul said, getting down to business despite the fact that he hadn’t removed his hand from my leg. “What’s the talk in Washington, Forrest?”

“I’ve done nothing but field questions all morning,” our liaison replied, taking a seat on an overstuffed chair. Toby perched on the arm and put a hand on Forrest’s shoulder. “My phone didn’t stop ringing until I stepped in here.”

“This is a no-cell-phone zone,” Fantazia explained.

“It’s probably going to voice mail then.” Forrest shuddered. “In light of everything, the higher-ups, including the president himself, are starting to wonder if they made a mistake by giving Simon so much power. They’re suffering bad publicity over this. Not only is there a possible connection to a dangerous terrorist group with half of the team, the other half of the American Agents are vastly inexperienced and have barely been able to apprehend any of the villains they’ve fought. The American people are begging for your return, and the pols are starting to wonder if it would be better to disassociate themselves with Simon and his team.”

Paul snorted. “They wonder, huh?”

“Glad they finally see reason,” Wesley said.

“And of course, the four missing AA members are wanted for questioning. No one’s seen hide nor hair of them. We think someone in the magic community tipped them off that you were asking about them,” Forrest said to Wesley. “Simon has been calling all morning. The president has asked him to meet with you to see what can be done to resolve the situation. I haven’t told him I’ve been in contact with you at all, and he certainly doesn’t know where you are.
I’m
not even entirely certain where we are, but if the two of you”—he nodded to Paul and Wesley—“are okay with meeting him to discuss things, I will set up an appointment for this afternoon at a safe location.”

Toby looked at Paul and Wesley. “Well? What do you think?”

Paul gave Wesley a look. “Do they really think they can insult us, let Simon try to arrest us, drive us from our home and then a minor apology is going to make everything all right?”

“They know it won’t,” Wesley said. “Especially not Simon. But don’t we want to show that we are the better people and agree to at least discuss things like rational adults?”

Paul laughed bitterly. “I hate being the better person.”

“It doesn’t get any easier with age,” Wesley agreed. He addressed Forrest: “Set it up. This doesn’t mean we’re coming back like everything is forgiven and back to normal, though. I doubt Mindy and Paul will be taking any defense contracts for a while, and we won’t be offering to do security at any White House functions anytime soon. I think the clean members of the AA can handle that much.”

Forrest nodded. “I will make sure they understand that. Thank you for agreeing to see Simon, though. A lot of people will be relieved, including myself.”

“Most of the American public from the looks of it,” Lainey said, motioning to the television, which was still showing sobbing people calling for our return.

“Does this mean I’m no longer a prisoner here?” Cyrus asked.

“No,” Paul snapped.