New York, Sunday June 10th, 2007

The office was modest sized, and the only thing impressive about it was just how unimpressive it actually was. The walls were blank, empty of any paintings, awards, diplomas or decorations of any type. There were no bookshelves, potted plants, or other personal touches in the room either. In fact, the only furniture…the only objects within the room…were two chairs and a desk that was set between them.

I wasn’t the least bit surprised by the sparse furniture and complete lack of decoration to the room. In fact, I expected that by tomorrow, even the desk and chairs would be gone, leaving the room completely empty. After all, this was only a temporary office, established simply as place where the man on the other side of the desk could meet with me and perhaps a few other people.

At the moment, I was sitting in one of the two available chairs, looking across the desk at a man who had thin hair and thick glasses, but who was otherwise non-descript. His name was Michael Sinclair…or at least that was what he called himself. His real name was Edwin Javart, though he probably had no idea that I knew who he really was. He wouldn’t be very happy if he knew that I was aware of that name either, so I kept this knowledge to myself…for now.

‘Michael’ was an agent…a profession middle-man who took clients who were looking to have less than legal activities performed, and connected them to people like me, who could perform those activities. In theory, the client and talent would never actually meet, and all communication would go through the agent so that both sides would remain anonymous to each other. In practice, I never liked dealing with anonymous clients. You never knew when they might decide that since they were anonymous, they could screw you over without consequence.

Yesterday, Michael had contacted me, saying that he had a profitable job lined up and he wanted to see if I was interested. Last month, I’d done a job at Sartek, and that had turned into a complete disaster. Ever since then, I hadn’t felt motivated to go out on any more jobs, not even the ones I normally did just for fun. And though my first thought was to turn Michael down flat, he had hooked me up with some good jobs in the past, so I figured that I owed it to him to at least hear him out first.

“The job should be fairly simple,” Michael told me and little warning bells began going off in my head. “The client just needs someone to acquire a specific item from a private residence…”

“What’s the catch?” I asked.

“The security system will undoubtedly be cutting edge,” he answered carefully. Again, the little warning bells began to ring.

“And where exactly is this residence?” I asked Michael, looking him straight in the eyes. “What is the address?”

“You know I can’t give that out unless you agree to the job,” Michael tried to tell me, so I continued looking him in the eyes, making him squirm just a little. My appearance can be just a little intimidating at times, and though I usually try to tone it down so as not to scare people, sometimes my devilish good looks can be an advantage. After several long seconds, Michael slid a sheet of paper over to me. I looked at the address for a moment, then let out a sigh, recognizing it.

Among some of the people in my profession, there is an unofficial ‘bad idea’ list that gets passed around as both a friendly warning and a professional courtesy. The homes and businesses on this list were ones that no one in their right mind should try robbing, usually because there were particularly dangerous complications. For some of them, it was because the security systems were known to be especially lethal and effective. For others, it was simply because of who they were owned by…and the likelihood of their retaliation. The address that Michael had given me was on that list.

“Sorry,” I said as I got up to leave, “but I’m not stupid enough to rob Doctor Diabolik…”

From the look on Michael’s face, it was obvious that he’d known exactly who owned that home. He’d just been trying to get me to agree to the job before I found out. He protested, “Sure, Doctor Diabolik owns the property…but he doesn’t actually live there…”

I paused at the door and gave Michael a flat look. “No, but I heard that his kids do, and that would probably make it even worse.”

“Come on, Imp,” Michael pleaded. “I need someone to pull this job… The client is breathing down my neck and starting to make threats…”

“Not my problem,” I responded.

Michael had a calculating look in his eyes as he continued, “Well, if you aren’t good enough to handle a simple townhouse…”

I rolled my eyes at this obvious attempt to manipulate me through my professional pride. “If you’re looking for someone good enough to handle the security but stupid enough to take the job, I recommend you go talk to Heller…”

Michael let out a sigh at that, they wryly admitted, “Actually, she told me to try you…”

“Then I’ll have to thank Howler for that recommendation the next time I see her,” I mused aloud with a shake of my head. I looked back to Michael and told him, “Sorry, but I don’t have time to stay and chat. I have another important meeting scheduled in a little bit, and I don’t want to be late for it. See ya later, alligator.” And with that, I walked out the door, not even bothering to look back as Michael called out my name.

A short time later, I arrived at the site of my next meeting, an empty rooftop. Since it was late afternoon on a Sunday, most of the offices inside were closed for the weekend and there was little chance that anyone would interrupt. Still, I made sure that no one else was there and that the door to the stairway was locked. After all, there was no reason to take any unnecessary chances. Once I was satisfied that it was safe, I sat down on a bench that had been left on the roof as part of a smoking area and proceeded to wait.

I didn’t have to wait long before the person I was waiting on arrived, stepping through the locked door as though the door itself wasn’t even there. Melissa…aka Mischief…was a teenage girl of about thirteen or fourteen, with long blonde hair and the kind of pretty features which would probably make her into a real looker in just a couple years. At the moment, though, she still lacked much in the way of real curves, making her look more like the girl she had been than the woman she would soon become.

“Imp,” Melissa exclaimed as soon as she saw me. A broad grin appeared on her face as she ran over to me. “You came…”

“Of course I came,” I responded with a roll of my eyes. “I told you I would…”

This was the fifth time I’d seen Melissa, and only the third time that I’d intentionally come to meet with her. Every time we saw each other, she always got excited, acting almost like I was giving her some kind of gift just by showing up. I had to admit, I rather liked that since it was a pleasant change from the way most people reacted when they saw me. Hanging out with this kid was definitely good for my self-esteem…not that it needed any help.

“So,” I asked her with a grin. “Have you been practicing like I told you?”

“Yeah,” Melissa responded, nearly bouncing with excitement as she scrambled to take off the backpack that was slung over her shoulder. A moment later, she emptied the contents, dumping a dozen padlocks onto the ground in front of me. She gave me a smug look and bragged, “I can open all of them now…”

“Good job,” I said, holding out another lock…one that hadn’t been in the collection I’d previously given her. “Now try this one.”

Melissa pulled out the lock pick set that I’d given her during our third meeting and sat down beside me before going to work. I didn’t say a word as she carefully worked at the tumblers, not wanting to distract her just yet. That would come later, once she was a little more confident in her ability to pick a lock. After a minute, the lock popped open.

“Not bad,” I told her, putting a hand on her back. “With a little practice, you’ll eventually be able to get that one down to about five seconds.”

Melissa grinned at that, looking rather pleased with herself. “I’ve been practicing on other locks too…like all the ones on the doors at home…”

“Good thinking,” I said, nodding my approval. Then I warned her, “Just don’t let anyone see you doing that…or tell them that you’re learning how to pick locks. This is the kind of skill that works best if no one knows you have it…”

“And Dad would probably get mad at me,” Melissa said, deflating just a little, though only for a second. Then she pointed out, “But it’s not like knowing how to pick locks is a big deal… I mean, I can walk through doors anyway…”

I nodded at that, having wondered how long it would take her to figure that out. Since she could turn intangible and walk through doors, she didn’t really have a lot of need for lock picking, though I thought it was still a useful skill to know.

“If you think your dad would be a bit stuffy about this kind of thing,” I told her with a grin and a wink, “you should meet some superheroes. Now that is a stuffy bunch.”

Melissa giggled at that. “Do you know a lot of superheroes?”

“I know a few,” I responded with an even broader grin. “But it’s not like we’re exactly friendly or anything. I mean, most of them just don’t want to give me a chance…”

“I wonder why,” Melissa said in a sarcastic note, right before she burst into giggles.

“Speaking of superheroes,” I announced with an evil grin, suddenly having an idea for something that would be fun. Actually, I’d thought about it off and on since last month, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity. “I happen to have a superhero’s phone number…”

I reached into one of the pouches on my belt and pulled out my cell phone, one that was made by a devisor so that it couldn’t be traced or tracked. In my line of business, the extra expense for such a phone was well worth it. Last month, I’d called a superhero on this phone…my old ‘buddy’ Chickenhawk. I’d only acquired his number by luck, because I just happened to be in the right place when someone nearby gave it out. I still had that number saved in memory.

“Be vewwy vewwy quiet,” I cautioned Melissa, putting a finger to my lips to emphasize the request. “We’re hunting Chickenhawks…” And with that, I switched my phone to speaker mode so Melissa could hear, then I dialed the number.

“Hello?” Chickenhawk answered over the phone.

“Hello,” I responded in a sweet tone. “Is Seymore there? Last name Butz?”

There was a long pause before Chickenhawk demanded, “IMP? Is that you? How did you get this number?”

Melissa started laughing but clamped both hands over her mouth. I just grinned and hung up the phone, deciding that I’d have to amuse myself at Chickenhawk’s expense again sometime. But before I called him like that again, I wanted to have some good material ready.

“That was great,” Melissa exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Can we do that to someone else?”

“Sorry,” I told her with a chuckle, “but I don’t exactly have the home phone numbers for a lot of heroes…”

“Ohhhh,” Melissa responded, clearly disappointed. “And I wanted to get Doctor Amazing…”

“That would be fun,” I agreed. “Maybe I can find some phone numbers for another time, but for now…”

I did a sleight of hand gesture and suddenly had a pair of handcuffs dangling from my hand. Melissa’s eyes went wide as she stared at them, looking but curious and worried at the same time.

“Modern handcuffs can be a little tricky to pick,” I told Melissa, “so we’re going to start with an older model and then work your way up. After you’re able to pick these, we’ll cuff you so you can practice getting out of them. Trust me, knowing how to get out of handcuffs might come in handy someday…”

I worked with Melissa until she was able to unlock the cuffs twice, then we moved to the next stage, cuffing her hands in front of her and seeing if she could still unlock them. I sat back on the bench and watched patiently as she worked on the handcuffs, remembering just how long it had taken me to get out of the cuffs when my old mentor had done the same thing to me.

“And no using your powers,” I reminded her. Melissa just stuck her tongue out at me while she continued to work at the cuffs.

“They never taught me anything this cool in school,” Melissa finally said, appearing quite happy in spite of the fact that she was handcuffed.

“Yeah, schools are boring that way,” I responded with a grin. “But you can still learn a lot of useful stuff there.”

Melissa struggled for a few more minutes before admitting, “It’s a lot harder to get this way… I can’t bend my wrists enough…”

“For cuffs,” I offered a bit of advice, “sometimes you need to hold the pick in your teeth…”

Just then, a loud voice suddenly called out, “Let the girl go!”

I immediately recognized the tone of voice, even if not the voice itself. That was the self-important tone a lot of those obnoxious heroes liked to use, so I immediately looked around the source, spotting it a moment later. A man had jumped from a nearby building that was several stories taller than this rooftop, and he was coming down right towards us.

“Run,” I told Melissa, right as the man landed on the roof a short distance away.

The hero, for that was what he obviously was, was wearing a green and light gray costume with a few touches of gold metal trim. He had a green mask over the upper part of his face, though he hadn’t bothered to cover his dark brown hair. And though I’d never met this hero before, I recognized the costume and knew who he was.

“My name is Jack Rabbit,” he told Melissa in a confident tone, “And I’m here to save you from this monster.”

“Hey Jack Ass,” I exclaimed, annoyed by the interruption and not exactly happy about being called a monster either. “We were in the middle of something.”

“I’m not going to let you hurt this girl,” Jack Rabbit exclaimed, charging straight towards me. I dove to the side to avoid his punch, though I barely managed to move in time. He was fast. “How DARE you kidnap this girl…?”

“Wait,” Melissa called out, turning intangible just long enough to slip out of the handcuffs. “It isn’t what you think…”

“Villains like you make me sick,” Jack stated with a sneer. “You’re mad dogs that need to be put down, and Jack Rabbit is just the one to do it…”

“Oh God,” I mocked him with an exaggerated groan. “Tell me you’re not one of those idiots who always talks about themselves in the third person… It’s no wonder your name is Jack Ass…”

Jack jumped at me again, and though I jumped aside, he reacted quickly. As soon as he landed, he turned and threw a punch at me. I saw it coming and barely had time to focus all the energy form my aura into one spot, creating a small PK shield for him to drive his fist into. There was an explosion of force on impact, far more than would come from a punch alone, and I was suddenly throw back…and over the edge of the building.

“Oh shit,” I exclaimed, right as gravity grabbed hold of me.

I felt a surge of terror as I fell four stories, but I was experienced enough that I didn’t let that stop me from doing everything I could to survive the fall. I shifted position in mid-air, then concentrated every bit of energy from my aura around my feat in order to absorb as much of the impact as possible. When I hit, it was at a bad angle and there was a burst of pain all through my legs and hips.

I let out a scream of pain, though I quickly bit down on my lip to cut it off. I already knew my legs were broken, probably in several places on each, and strongly suspected that my pelvis was probably broken as well, though I wasn’t quite sure of that. I was just lucky it wasn’t worse.

This wasn’t the first time that I’d been jumped by some hero who attacked me on sight, and I doubted that it would be the last. There was just something about my appearance that drove those do-gooders into a frenzy…and it wasn’t just because I was an irresistible babe. However, there had only been a few times during my career where a hero had hurt me this bad, and that was something I always hoped to avoid happening again.

I didn’t know if Jack Rabbit had thrown me off that roof intentionally or not, or if it had just been carelessness on his part. What I did know was that I REALLY didn’t like that guy. But in spite of that, I didn’t really take it personally. It was just part of the game, and if I took it personally every time some hero attacked me, I’d have a pretty long vendetta list. People usually had to go the extra mile to earn that particular honor.

In spite of my pain and injuries, I made an effort to sit up, knowing that I couldn’t afford to be caught napping when there was a hero nearby…or when cops might show up at any moment. I looked up towards roof I’d been thrown off of, wondering how I was going to get back up there, when I saw Jack Rabbit jumping off the roof, leaping for the next building over…while holding Melissa in his arms.

For a brief moment, I felt worried about the girl, until I remembered that in spite of what he’d done to me…Jack Rabbit was a hero. He was probably taking her back home, whether she wanted to go back with him or not. I scowled at that, knowing that after this, Melissa and I would have to find a new meeting spot…assuming this incident hadn’t scared her away for good.

Since Melissa was safe with the hero, I turned my attention to dragging myself somewhere safe so I could hide and heal up. Still, I looked up and in the direction I’d seen the hero leaving, muttering, “What a Jack Ass.”

--------------------

New York, Wednesday June 13th, 2007

I crouched down on the corner of the large roof, completely invisible as long as I remained motionless, and patiently watching the smoking area that had been set up on the other side. Though I’d never worked an office type job in my life, or any other legitimate job for that matter, I’d always thought that smoke breaks were supposed to be about ten minutes long, just long enough to go smoke a single cigarette. However, these guys had all been out there for half an hour, smoking several cigarettes each. I was starting to wonder if they’d ever go back to work.

When they finally finished their break and went to the stairway to return to work, I muttered, “Finally,” and stood up to stretch. I’d been sitting in one spot for awhile, and even my patience was starting to wear thin.

This roof was the place I normally met up with Melissa, and it was the last place I’d seen her a couple days ago, when our lesson had been interrupted. I frowned at the memory of Jack Rabbit’s intrusion, silently cursing him for being such an asshole while simultaneously hoping that he got the kid home safely. I didn’t like Jack Ass, but he was supposed to be a hero, and that job came with certain responsibilities…like protecting kids.

I walked past the bench that had been set up for the smoking area, going to the stairwell that led down into the building. The door was unlocked, obviously to keep the smokers from accidentally getting stuck on the roof, so a moment later, I was inside the building and able to check the drop box that Melissa and I had set up to exchange messages. Technically, it was an old fire extinguisher on the wall, but right behind the fire extinguisher was just enough space to hide a letter. But to my disappointment, there was no message waiting for me.

I’d been hoping that once Melissa had a chance, she’d leave a message for me to let me know that she was safe, and of course, to set up another meeting so we could finish our lessons. Still, I told myself that the lack of a message didn’t necessarily mean anything. After all, she was a teenage girl and might not have had an opportunity yet to slip out and leave me a note. Or, she just might not have thought about it, which was equally likely. However, neither explanation really soothed my worry.

To my annoyance, I didn’t have any other way of contacting Melissa, which hadn’t really been a problem until now. I didn’t know Melissa’s phone number, where she lived, or even her last name. It suddenly struck me that when it came to people I did business with, I always did a bit of research on them so I’d know who I was working with, but since Melissa was just a kid…I hadn’t bothered.

“Sloppy,” I muttered in disgust. For some reason, that girl kept making me lower my guard, and now I was paying the price for it. “I have no business getting involved with a kid in the first place…even if she is my biggest fan.” Then a little voice whispered in the back of my head, reminding me that she might also be my ONLY fan.

With a sigh, I returned to the roof and considered what I was going to do next. Since there wasn’t anything I could do about Melissa at the moment, I decided that I needed to blow off some steam another way. Like many women, I often dealt with stress by engaging in a little retail therapy. Of course, my version of retail therapy involved shopping at an art museum after hours. It was still a little early for that, but there was no reason I couldn’t head in that direction. After all, one of my favorite paintings had recently been put back on display, so maybe it was time to pay it a visit.

As soon as I had a destination in mind, I grinned eagerly to myself and then began to climb down the outside wall, using my powers to blend in with my surroundings so that even if someone had been looking in my direction, they still wouldn’t have seen me. A minute later, I reached the bottom of the building and the alley where I’d parked my bike.

My bike was a custom made motorcycle that was sleek, black, and far better than anything you’d find on the public market. Not only was it fast and maneuverable, it was also so quiet that it barely made a sound, which could come in quite handy in my line of work. And since Highwayman had given her a tune up when he was in town last month, she was running like brand new.

After putting on my helmet, which was also custom made for me, designed to fit over my horns, I took off as fast as I could. New York traffic was often a pain in my tail since it kept me from going as fast as I’d like, but with a bike like mine, I wasn’t necessarily limited to the lanes…or even the road itself. It was with an evil grin that I shot down the sidewalk for a short distance in order to bypass a particularly slow knot of traffic, then I continued on my way.

I’d only gone about two blocks when I suddenly noticed something ahead of me…a figure jumping from the top of one building to the top of another…over the road. There were a lot of capes in New York…heroes, villains, and everything in between…so it wasn’t really all that unusual to see something like this. Normally, I wouldn’t have given this sighting much thought, but I was pretty sure that was Jack Rabbit. On an impulse, I changed course and began heading in the direction I’d seen him going.

When I didn’t immediately see Jack Rabbit again, I was worried that I’d lost him. But then I caught another glimpse of him leaping between buildings, and this time, I realized that he was carrying something…or someone. Remembering the way he’d carried Melissa away, I gave my bike a little more gas and tried to catch up.

A minute later, the Jack Ass stopped moving, giving me time to catch up. I found him on a side street, squaring off against some guy in golden Roman style armor. I didn’t know if Goldie was a hero, villain, or just some schmuck on the way to a costume contest, but he didn’t seem to be afraid of Jack. Suddenly, Goldie flung out his hand and fired a beam of green energy.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” Jack Rabbit exclaimed as he easily jumped to the side and avoided the blast, though Goldie immediately fired another half dozen blasts in his direction.

Just then, Goldie grunted and bent over, even though Jack hadn’t gotten near him. A moment later, a figure suddenly appeared beside Goldie, holding a baseball bat. The newcomer was a teenage girl, wearing a red and brown costume and sporting a red mask that covered the top half of her face. However, in spite of the costume and mask, there was absolutely no mistaking who the girl was. Melissa.

“What the farfegnugen?” I blurted out in surprise.

“Good job Mouse Girl,” Jack Rabbit called to Melissa.

“All right,” Melissa exclaimed excitedly.

“You little punk,” Goldie said, getting back to his feet.

Melissa let out a squeal of fear, dropping the baseball bat and then vanishing, only to reappear beside Jack Rabbit. The hero jumped forward, straight at Goldie, who he punched. There was a faint flash of light as Jack’s fist made contact with the other man, and then Goldie was sent flying back to where he smashed into a wall.

“You shouldn’t have retreated, Mouse Girl,” Jack Rabbit scolded Melissa. “I know this is your first time out as my new sidekick, so you’ll learn…”

“I…I don’t wanna be your sidekick,” Melissa protested weakly.

“Mouse Girl,” Jack Rabbit started.

However, Melissa started to back away. “And my name isn’t Mouse Girl… It’s Mischief…”

Jack Rabbit shook his head in obvious disappointment. “It seems that you weren’t ready for this yet. Don’t worry...we’ll go back and do some more training, then we’ll try this again. Trust me, you’ll be a great sidekick in no time at all…”

“But I don’t want to,” Melissa protested again, looking rather confused.

I was more than a little confused myself, because none of this made any sense. I was glad to see that Melissa was all right, but the last thing I’d expected was to find that my pseudo-protégé had become some hero’s sidekick. I felt a little hurt by that, and if it wasn’t for Melissa’s odd reluctance and confusion, I’d probably be feeling pretty betrayed as well. Instead, I was starting to get worried.

“Hey, Jack Ass,” I called out, hopping off my bike and starting towards them. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do since the last time I’d run into Jack Ass, he’d kicked my tail but good. Still, there was something screwy going on here and I aimed to find out what.

“IMP!” Melissa exclaimed, her voice filled with relief at the sight of me. That was a relief to me as well, since I really didn’t like the idea of her ditching me in order to go run off playing sidekick.

“You,” Jack Rabbit snarled in response. But instead of charging at me, he turned to Melissa and said, “Don’t worry Mouse Girl. I won’t let that villain touch you again…”

“But…,” Melissa responded, looking a little confused again.

“Hey, Little Bunny Foo Foo,” I called out to get the hero’s attention back to me. I doubted that I’d be able to beat him in a straight up fight, but I could certainly distract him and then pull my vanishing trick. “I think we need to talk…”

Jack Rabbit grabbed Melissa and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder. Only then did he turn back to me, giving me a cold glare and promising, “I’ll deal with you another time, villain.” Then, before I could even think of a snappy comeback, he took another one of his super jumps, leaping away with Melissa.

I just stood there for a moment, feeling a bit dazed and confused. Had Melissa just been kidnapped by a superhero? It certainly looked that way to me, though admittedly, I wasn’t an expert on kidnappings. Heck, for all I knew, this was the traditional way for heroes to recruit their sidekicks…sort of like when cavemen used to get their wives by bonking them over their heads with clubs and then dragging them home. Or maybe that was just in the cartoons.

Though I didn’t really know what was going on, I was certainly going to find out, and that meant learning everything I could about Jack Ass. Fortunately, I knew just the person to help me with that…and I happened to know where he liked to hang out at this time of day.

After a few mutterings of choice profanity, I spared a glance at Goldie, who still wasn’t moving, then I climbed back onto my bike. Though I was curious about whether or not the armored man was all right, I didn’t want to be there when the cops showed up. I could hear the sirens and they were pretty close, so with that, I took one more glance in the direction I’d seen Jack Ass going, then I took off.

--------------------

New York, Wednesday June 13th, 2007

Superbad was a grungy dive bar, and about the only thing it had to make it stand out from the crowd of such places was the fact that most of the clientele were supervillains. As soon as I stepped through the door and looked around, that was made clear, not only by the costumed memorabilia that decorated the walls, but also by a couple customers who were there in costume. One of them even had some kind of death ray sitting on his table, right next to a beer.

I gave a brief nod of acknowledgement to Starstone then turned my attention to Bob Zabrowski, who was sitting in the back corner in his usual spot. Bob was a stocky and seedy looking man in his early fifties, who sported a crooked nose and nasty looking scar right across his face. He was also one of the best informants in New York, at least when it came to digging up the dirt on people in the business. And unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. Digger was sitting at Bob’s table, and they were obviously having a business discussion. As if to prove that, Digger slid a stuffed envelope across the table to Bob.

While I waited for Bob to finish up, I occupied myself with the old juke box in the corner. I took my time flipping through the selection, then grinned when I saw the one I wanted. A few seconds later, the jukebox began playing the Macarena, which earned me glares from several of the other customers. I just stood there, trying to look cool and professional, though my tail swished back and forth behind me in time to the music.

Once Bob and Digger were finished with their business and Digger got up to leave, I went over and took his now vacant seat. “Bob,” I greeted him somewhat pleasantly. “I need to call in a favor.”

“Of course you do,” Bob responded gruffly, glancing down to his left hand and the stub where his little finger used to be. “You don’t exactly show up just to play poker.” He took a long drink from his beer, then asked, “Whatcha need?”

“Jack Rabbit,” I stated.

Suddenly, Bob tensed up and he gave me a cold look. “What?”

“Jack Rabbit jumped me a few days ago,” I explained with a deep scowl. “Now I have some unfished business with him, so I need to know anything you can find out about him.”

Bob was silent for a moment, then he finally said, “If you’re going after that asshole…I’ll tell you everything I know... No charge.”

I blinked in surprise at the ‘no charge’ bit because that wasn’t like Bob at all. Bob was in the business of trading favors, and even if he liked you, he didn’t give information away for free. But then I saw his grim expression and the burning look of hatred in his eyes. Suddenly, I understood. This wasn’t business. This was personal.

“He’s the one who retired you,” I said quietly.

Years ago, Bob used to be in the business, working as a small time villain known as the Rat. He had some kind of low level ESP ability that let him find just about anything he needed. If he wanted to get into a locked building, he’d be able to find any doors or windows that had been left unlocked. If he wanted to get into a safe, he’d find where someone tucked the combo into the pages of a book so they wouldn’t lose it. And if someone was chasing him, he’d find an open escape route. But then one day, he’d run into a hero who got particularly rough, busting Bob up good, putting him in the hospital for a month or so, and leaving him with a bad case of PTSD. Bob had retired after that and now used his abilities to find information and goods for people who were still in the business, trading them for favors as a way of keeping his hands in the game.

Bob nodded grimly and took another drink from his beer. “If he happens to end up six feet under…I’ll owe you a big one.”

“I’m not an assassin,” I reminded Bob with a scowl. “Besides, killing heroes is bad for business.”

Bob just grunted at that. He gave me a flat look and stated, “Jack Rabbit is from the same hero school as Iron Mike. In a lot of ways, the bastard is even worse.”

“What do you have on him?” I asked, growing more curious by the moment.

“His real name is John Mitchell,” Bob answered with a deep scowl. “But knowing that doesn’t do much good. He doesn’t have any close friends or family, and he doesn’t seem even use that identity.”

“That’s nice,” I commented, “but not very useful.”

“Then how about this,” Bob continued with a snort. “He has three power gems. One pumps up all his physical abilities. You know…strength, stamina, reflexes…the whole bit. Puts him on par with an exemplar two…maybe even a three.”

“I noticed the reflexes,” I responded wryly, remembering just how fast that bastard moved.

“Yeah,” Bob agreed with shake of his head and a look of disgust. “One of the gems does something with kinetic energy. That’s the one that lets him do all that jumping…and those damn rabbit punches.”

I nodded at that. “I’ve seen those rabbit punches in action…first hand.”

“So have I,” Bob responded with a grimace.

I felt a moment of sympathy for Bob, though I was careful not to show it. He was the kind of guy who didn’t like anyone to pity him. “And the third gem?”

“Mind control,” he answered.

“Mind control?” I repeated in surprise.

Bob nodded. “It’s not very powerful though. He can’t just take over your mind and make you do whatever he wants, but if you give him enough time, he can use it to brainwash you. From what I could find out, It works best on people who don’t have a strong sense of self…like kids and crazies.”

“So that’s what he did to her,” I exclaimed with an angry snarl, digging my clawlike nails into the table top and leaving some gouges.

For a moment, Bob just stared at me with a flat look, then he pointed out, “This is personal for you too…”

“A little,” I reluctantly admitted. I winced at that since I really didn’t like to show any kind of weakness around Bob or my other professional contacts. In my business, if people saw an opening, a lot of them would try to exploit it. “Jack Ass took a kid I was teaching...a potential protégé.”

“Then it sounds like you’ve got a problem,” Bob told me with a scowl. “Jack Rabbit…he ain’t gentle with kids.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded in a cold hard tone.

“Sidekicks,” Bob explained with a shake of his head. “That guy goes through them like Kleenex…”

At those words, I felt a surge of fear and worry, though I tried to keep it from showing. “Explain.”

Bob snorted at that, then sat there with a thoughtful look his face for a moment before he carefully continued. “Jack… From what I’ve been able to find out, he was one of those jock stereotypes… You know the kind…quarterback on the football team and the big man on campus…but not good enough to go pro. Then he got out into the real world and found out that he’s just another nobody, and that all his sports victories mean jack shit.”

“Well, boo hoo for him,” I responded, playing an imaginary violin. “Such a tragic origin…”

Bob actually chuckled faintly. “Anyway, one day he gets his hands on these power gems and he sees his chance to live his glory days all over again.”

“So, he puts on spandex and acts like the big man on campus,” I mused, not at all surprised. I knew the type and had run into ‘heroes’ like that on more than a few occasions.

There are a lot of different reasons that people put on spandex and become heroes, but the most common one seemed to be ego. A lot of ‘heroes’ got into the business because they wanted praise and glory…because they wanted people to look up to them…or because they wanted to prove that they were better than everyone else and should be put on a pedestal.

And then there were those who just liked to show off how powerful they were…usually by beating up on other people. In most places, these guys might be considered thugs and bullies, but as long as they called themselves heroes and mostly went after the ‘bad guys’, people not only looked the other way but cheered them on.

“That’s interesting,” I stated, giving Bob a cold look. “But what does it have to do with the kids?”

“He’s a jock,” Bob answered with a sneer. “And every jock needs fans to cheer them on and remind them how great they are.”

Bob paused at that and looked down at his empty beer mug with a scowl. Then he looked at me expectantly, so I scowled back impatiently and waved for the waitress to bring us each a beer. It was only after the beer arrived that he continued his explanation.

“Jack finds these kids with powers,” Bob told me with a deep scowl. “Runaways... Homeless…” He shrugged at that. “Then he takes them home and brainwashes them into becoming his personal cheerleaders. Before you know it, he’s dragging around a new sidekick.”

“Damn,” I gasped with a cold knot in my stomach.

Bob nodded and took a sip of his drink. “He’s gone through four of them that I know of. One of them ended up in a wheelchair and two others were planted six feet under.”

“And the fourth?” I asked grimly.

“Disappeared without a trace,” Bob answered with a shrug. “Couldn’t find anything to tell me if he escaped or ended up buried too.”

I was a professional criminal…a supervillain with thirty years of experience...and I was shocked and horrified that anyone could do this to kids, much less a supposed hero. There were laws against taking underage kids as sidekicks, and I would have thought the other heroes would have interfered just from that alone, but that only proves I gave the heroes too much credit again. After all, those hypocrites were always ignoring that sidekick law and any of the other ones they claimed to enforce, whenever they became inconvenient. Just look at the Kiddy Crusaders, who were basically sidekicks of the Empire City Guard, or Shadowmage and that Pixie kid he had with him. Heroes always seemed to be putting kids in danger, and they had the nerve to call me reckless and irresponsible.

“Fucking heroes,” I spat out bitterly.

“A bunch of self-righteous hypocrites,” Bob agreed. “The whole damn bunch of them.”

We bumped our glasses together at this ‘toast’ and then drank. We were both silent for the next minute, me as I considered what this meant for Melissa and the kind of danger she was in, and Bob because he looked like he was lost in thoughts. I had a feeling that this talk about Jack Rabbit was stirring up his PTSD, which made me feel a little guilty for putting him through that.

“He had a kid with him,” Bob finally said, his voice quiet as he stared into his beer, not looking at me. He took another long drink, then continued, “The boy must have been about eleven or twelve…and he was laughing and clapping the whole time…like it was some kind of damn game. Mouse Boy, the asshole called him. He was the first sidekick. Died in some kind of ‘heroic sacrifice’ before I even got out of the hospital.” Bob made quotation marks with his fingers when he said ‘heroic sacrifice’.

There was another long pause before Bob continued. “The last time it happened, some investigator showed up.” Bob snorted at that. “A couple days later, he closed the case, deciding that the kid was really eighteen…and just small for his age.”

“The mind control thing,” I stated in understanding.

Bob nodded. “Probably how he keeps getting away with it.” Then he looked me in the eyes. “I hate kids. They’re loud…obnoxious…and they just get in the way. So when I say that what he does to kids is fucked up…you know it’s REALLY fucked up.”

The more I heard about Jack Rabbit, the more I could understand why Bob had been willing to sell me out to Hexagoner in exchange for having him killed. However, I probably would have been a bit more understanding if Bob hadn’t also turned over Alicia. Sending some kid off to be used as a human sacrifice tends to counter any sympathy I might otherwise have had.

“And where can I find Jack Rabbit?” I asked in a grim tone.

“I wish I could tell ya,” Bob responded with a deep scowl. He took another long drink, then added, “After he lost the last sidekick, he split town for a awhile. He only came back a few weeks ago and I haven’t been able to find where he’s staying yet.”

I didn’t say anything as I took a long drink of my own beer, feeling the knot of dread and outrage tightening up in my gut. I wasn’t a hero. I was a supervillain…a professional thief…and a damn good one at that. In spite of what I’d done for Alicia a couple months ago, I didn’t make a habit of rescuing people and I wasn’t about to make it a regular thing. However, there was absolutely no way in hell I was going to let Jack Ass have Melissa. There was no way he was going to do to her what he’d done to those other kids.

With that, I stood up, finished my drink in one long gulp, then looked Bob right in the eyes. “I won’t kill him for you,” I told him again, “but if I find an opportunity to rob him blind, or make his life a living hell…I’ll probably take it.”

Bob nodded at that, then responded, “If you do the same thing to him that you did to that guy in Jersey…it’ll be a damn good start.”

I gave Bob a faint nod, then turned without saying another world and left the bar. I might not be a hero, but I was damn good at pissing them off, and at that moment, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to piss one off more.

--------------------

New York, Thursday June 14th, 2007

I was on top of a tall building, crouched down on the corner and looking out over my surroundings. From my silhouette, if anyone had seen me like that, they might have thought I was a gargoyle. But since I was currently invisible, that wasn’t likely to happen.

“The dark and brooding figure sits and broods in the dark,” I announced, narrating my behavior as a way to keep from losing my mind to boredom. The truth was, most people wouldn’t call me dark and brooding, and since it was only mid-afternoon, it wasn’t really dark out either. However, I never let a few facts get in the way of amusing myself. “The powerful queen silently surveyed her domain…”

I’d been waiting there for almost three hours and it was starting to get to me. Patience didn’t come to me naturally. It was a learned skill that I’d picked up long ago out of necessity. As my mentor used to tell me, an impatient thief didn’t last long in the business. However, in this case, it would be more appropriate to say that an impatient fisherman doesn’t catch the fish…or the Jack Rabbit.

Bob hadn’t been able to tell me where Jack Ass was currently hanging his hat, but with a little research, I’d been able to find where he operated. There was a large area near where Melissa and I had been meeting, where Jack Rabbit was frequently seen. This was his chosen territory, the place he came when he wanted to beat up on criminals. I suspected that he lived nearby, but since I didn’t have the time to search every single building on the chance of finding him, I’d set myself up to watch and wait. He was bound to show up again sooner or later. And I was really hoping it would be sooner because I didn’t like the idea of leaving Melissa in his hands for a minute longer than necessary.

I scowled and clenched my fists tight enough that my nails tore into my palms and drew blood, though I didn’t care. Bob had told me a lot about Jack Rabbit, and though Bob was usually pretty accurate with his information, I’d suspected that this time he might have exaggerated a few details in order to motivate me. But when I’d asked around, no one else knew as much as Bob had, though what I did find out confirmed everything he’d said. Jack Rabbit was a real bastard, and he was well known for using ‘unnecessary force’ during his fights. Criminals he faced usually ended up in the hospital, and more than a few of them had either disappeared or had later been found face down in the river.

I felt a surge of guilt as I thought about the fact that Jack Ass only had Melissa because she’d been hanging out with me. I’d even seen him run off with her, and I hadn’t given it a second thought because he was a ‘hero’. I cursed myself for my stupidity. If anyone should know that most heroes weren’t worth the cost of the fabric in their capes, it was me.

Now here I was, planning to track down a dangerous enemy so I could rescue a teenage girl…a girl who was kidnapped because she happened to have powers…and because she’d run into me. It was deja-vu…all over again.

I didn’t have to wait much longer before I finally spotted Jack Rabbit in the distance, jumping from one building to another. And though I was tempted to chase after him, lead him on a merry chase and then pull my disappearing trick, instead, I pulled out the binoculars I’d brought with me and watched him. In spite of the fact that Jack Ass had finally appeared, I still had to remain patient, gathering information and awaiting the right opportunity. Patience was one of greatest tools a thief could have.

I’d chosen my current perch because it was not only one of the tallest buildings in the area, but also right in the middle of Jack Rabbit’s territory. From here, I had a great view and could watch him from a distance without having to actually chase after him. And with the way he was bouncing around like a Mexican jumping bean on crack, that was a good thing. I could use my powers to enhance my jumping…and even do my own version of a rabbit punch…but there was no way I’d be able to keep up with him.

For the next two hours, I tracked Jack Rabbit from a distance, watching as he’d disappear down side streets or inside buildings, going where I couldn’t see him. However, each time he’d eventually return to the rooftops, leaping around as he continued his patrol. Then he finally landed on one rooftop, carefully looked around, then disappeared into the stairwell. When I’d first spotted him, he’d been in the middle of leaping away from that same location.

“Gotcha,” I announced with a smirk.

When Jack Rabbit didn’t come back out after another half hour, I decided that I had my place…or at least the right building. I just needed to go give it a closer look. With that, I stood up and stretched, then I finally left the spot where I’d been sitting for half the day.

This wasn’t the first time that I’d followed a ‘hero’ around and waited for him to lead me to his home, though I didn’t do it on a regular basis. Usually, when a hero came after me, I just considered it to be a professional disagreement and nothing more. As far as I was concerned, there was no reason to drag private lives into a professional issue…unless they made it personal. And by taking Melissa, Jack had made this very personal.

I arrived at the building in question a short time later, a modest sized brownstone that served as an apartment building. It was fairly old and not up to current security standards, which meant that the stairway to the roof didn’t have any kind of alarms or cameras on it. For someone who liked to slip in and out of the building from the roof without being seen, this would be considered an advantage. This place was looking very promising indeed.

I took my time looking over the roof, checking for any hidden cameras, alarms, or traps, then I let myself into the building through the stairway. I didn’t see any closets or convenient spots for a hero to change costume, so if Jack lived here, he probably had an apartment that was very close to the roof exit. After all, I doubted that he’d wander around the building in costume, at least not if he wanted to keep his identity secret.

Since I now had a place to start from, I returned to the roof and then began climbing around the outside walls, staying invisible so that no one saw me. I carefully peaked into each of the apartments on the top floor, and found that most of them were empty. However, the apartment that was closest to the roof entrance was occupied, which caught my interest since there were several empty apartments between this one and the main stairway for the building.

“Top floor,” I mused, feeling rather pleased with myself. “Old building with no elevator. Furthest from the stairway but closest to the roof entrance. And since I doubt many people would be happy about having to make this kind of hike to get into their apartment…which is probably why most of these ones are empty…I think we have a winner.”

A minute later, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw Jack Rabbit walk into the room I was watching, without his mask on. Melissa came in right behind him, staggering a little and having a dazed look on her face.

“Winner winner chicken dinner,” I muttered, fighting back the temptation to just go barging in. That wouldn’t be smart, so I continued to watch and wait.

“But I wanna come,” Melissa protested without much energy or enthusiasm. “I’m bored…”

“You’ll be ready to go into the field soon enough,” Jack assured her with a grin. “I shouldn’t have taken you out so soon. You weren’t ready yet.”

“I’m ready,” Melissa protested again, though she looked like she was half asleep. “I’m gonna be a great sidekick…”

Jack Rabbit looked rather smug at that. “Yes you will.” He put a hand on Melissa’s shoulder and continued, “I’ve worked with other partners before…brave young men and women who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice.” He paused again, looking sad and almost pained, which sickened me when I considered his role in their sacrifices. “I’m certain you’ll do them honor.”

Melissa frowned, and for the first time since arriving, I saw a spark of excitement in her eyes. “I’m bored…”

“Patience,” Jack insisted. “I came back to check on you and make sure you’re all right. We’ll work on your training tonight when I get back. But for now, drink this…”

Jack handed Melissa a glass of liquid, which she accepted and drank without question. However, she scrunched up her face when she was done and said, “That tastes gross...”

“You’ll only need your medicine a couple more times,” Jack told her. “Once you’ve finished your training, you won’t need it anymore.”

Melissa nodded at that, and in a weak voice, she said, “I’m gonna be a sidekick…”

“And who is the greatest hero in the world?” Jack Rabbit asked in in a smug tone. When Melissa hesitated, he had a faintly annoyed look on his face as he reminded her, “It’s me…Jack Rabbit…”

“No,” Melissa responded with a weak shake of her head.

“We’ll work on that tonight,” Jack assured her. “But for now, I have to get back to work. There are a lot of evil criminals out there that need to be punished…”

I watched all this with a scowl, though I remained outside the window and made no move to break in. Instead, I tried to figure out where Jack was keeping those power gems, because I was sure he had them on him somewhere. If I could identify where he had them hidden, then a little light fingered work might relieve him not only of the gems, but also his powers. Unfortunately, he could have them hidden almost anywhere on his costume, and I couldn’t tell where.

A couple minutes later, Jack Rabbit left the apartment while Melissa was left behind, collapsed in a chair and looking as though she was about to fall asleep. I waited until then, then used my PK claws to cut a hole through the window so I could let myself inside.

“Melissa,” I cried out, running over to the glassy-eyes girl. “Are you all right?”

I had to gently shake Melissa before she seemed to register that I was there, then she looked at me for several seconds before smiling. “Imp…”

“Come on,” I told her. “It’s time for you to go home…”

“But Jack…,” she started to protest.

“Forget Jack Ass,” I told her firmly. “We’re getting you out of here…”

Melissa nodded weakly. “Okay…”

I put a hand on Melissa’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze to try comforting her. However, in her current state, she didn’t seem to really notice it, and that just disgusted me more. How could anyone do this to a kid?

“I’m gonna be a sidekick,” Melissa told me in an almost conspiratorial voice.

“Not if I can help it,” I responded with a scowl.

Then she had a confused look as she admitted, “But I don’t wanna be a sidekick… Do I?”

I hesitated a moment, then gave Melissa a gentle hug. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d hugged someone, or at least, the last time I’d done it without the intention of either distracting them or picking their pockets. At the same time, I was furious at Jack Rabbit. He’d kidnapped Melissa, drugged her out of her gourd so she wouldn’t escape, and he was using mind control on her. Jack Ass suddenly went up to the very top of my shit list…and the last person I’d been this pissed at had been the Crimson Kid.

For a brief moment, I considered what I could do to screw with Jack while I was there, and a few good ideas came to mind. For one thing, I could turn on all the faucets in his bathtub and sinks, then plug all the drains so the place got flooded. However, I doubted the apartment owners or the people who lived beneath Jack deserved something like that. And I could replace every bit of food in his kitchen with carrots, which would be funny as well as a good starting move in a campaign against him, but I didn’t have time for that right now. Right now, I had to focus on what was important and then I could come back to deal with Jack Ass later.

“I’m getting you out of here,” I told Melissa, pulling her up out of the chair since she didn’t do much to help me. Fortunately, once she was up, she followed me to the door, even though she might as well have been staggering like some kind of zombie.

There was absolutely no way I was getting Melissa out of here the way I’d come in, especially not in her current state, so it looked like we’d have to take the stairs down. We’d just left the apartment and started down the hallway to the stairs when I heard something behind me. I snapped around and saw Jack Rabbit, who’d just come back down from the roof, probably having come back because he forgot something. He froze near his apartment door, staring at me with a look of surprise.

Since I knew there was a good chance that I’d have to deal with Jack Ass today, I’d come prepared. I casually reached into one of the pouches on my belt, pulled out a carrot, then stood in a cocky pose as I took a bite out of it and asked, “What’s up Doc?”

“What?” Jack Ass snarled angrily.

He was obviously pissed off and a bit stunned, and probably with good cause. After all, I’d not only found his home and then invaded it to steal back his sidekick, I had the nerve to mock him as well. For someone with an ego like his, the mockery would be particularly effective…which was one of the reasons why I’d done it. The other was that it was just plain fun.

“I know you’re the one with the rabbit theme going on,” I commented with a smirk, using the carrot to point at him, “but you just don’t have the chutzpah to pull off a line like that…”

Jack Ass snarled again and charged straight at me. “Run,” I ordered Melissa, pushing her in the direction of the stairs. However, she went back only a short distance and stopped. I would have yelled at her to move, but Jack was on me. I dropped to the ground, just barely avoiding one of his rabbit punches, which hit the wall right beside where I’d been standing. There was a loud ‘boom’ as his fist hit and the wall virtually exploded from the massive impact. I scrambled back to my feet and called out, “That’s coming out of your deposit,” as I ran away from Jack, towards the roof entrance and away from Melissa.

“How DARE you?” Jack yelled at me. “How dare you invade my home and kidnap that girl…? I won’t let you harm her…”

“That’s ironic,” I commented wryly. Then as he charged at me again, I sang out, “Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail…”

Jack Ass was moving fast, but we were inside the hallway which limited our mobility, both for good and ill. When he reached me, I adjusted my PK aura so that it was frictionless and slippery, then slid right beneath him and out of his reach. Jack was fast, but he was also pissed off and charging like a bull, using his strength rather than his speed. I intended to take full advantage of that.

“You have a top floor apartment,” I teased Jack as I moved back down the hallway. “Didn’t you know that rabbits are supposed to live underground?”

“I know who you are…Imp,” Jack spat out, glaring at me with a look of hatred in his eyes. He sneered, looking more than confident in his ability to handle me. “I’ve asked about you… I know you’re a thief…and that you steal people’s souls…”

“Nope. I never touch the things,” I responded with a smirk of my own. “They have horrible resale value…”

Just then, I hear Melissa chanting, “Imp. Imp. She’s our girl. If she can’t do it, I’m gonna hurl.”

I glanced back to Melissa, who in spite of her drugged state, was actually watching with a grin and a faint gleam of excitement in her eyes. I couldn’t help but grinning at that. Even drugged and under the influence of mind control, she was still cheering me on. I never should have doubted the kid. However, Melissa’s cheering had the opposite effect on Jack Ass, who looked even more pissed than before.

“VILLAIN,” Jack yelled at me. “I’ll destroy you, you evil monster…”

“Sticks and stones,” I started to respond, but Jack was already charging me again. This time, I avoided his attack by diving to the side…through the open door and into his apartment. “I wouldn’t expect anything better from a bunny brained nincompoop…”

“You’re going down,” Jack screamed as he rushed into his own apartment, swinging wildly. I had more room to maneuver here than I did in the hall, so when he came at me, I used my aura to give a little extra ‘oomph’ to my legs as I jumped to the side.

At the moment, I had Jack Ass off balance and reacting out of anger, and I didn’t want to give him the chance to calm down. I grinned and began singing, “Little Bunny Foo Foo, hopping through the forest…”

Jack charged at me again, and this time when I got out of the way, his rabbit punch ended up hitting his TV instead. It was a large TV and looked expensive, or at least it had. The entire thing was ruined now, and Jack was almost frothing at the mouth because of it.

“Poor Little Bunny Foo Foo,” I teased the furious ‘hero’. Then I jumped back again, getting on top of his couch and continued mocking him, “Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot…so I’ll become something that scares them…a bunny wabbit.”

“I’ll kill you,” Jack snarled, leaping at me again.

Again, I dodged to the side and smirked, “You’ll have to do better than that, Foo Foo…”

Just then, Jack Ass suddenly let out a gasp of pain and clutched his chest. A moment later, he dropped to his knee, letting out several loud gasps for breath and looking as though he was about to fall over dead from a heart attack. I’d seen this tactic before, though admittedly, it was the first time a ‘hero’ with such a huge ego had tried pulling it on me.

“Are you all right?” I asked with mock sympathy as I played my part.

When I approached Jack Ass, he jumped up and tried to catch me with a ‘surprise’ attack, just like I’d been expecting. I dodged to the side, channeled all the energy from my aura to my fist, then punched him in the side with my own version of a rabbit punch. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as his, but it did the job and he went flying back, smashing into a book shelf.

I followed that up by throwing a smoke bomb at him and smugly announcing, “Silly rabbit. Tricks are for Imps.”

Then, while he couldn’t see me, I readied two metal throwing spikes, each about four inches long. And as soon as he started to emerge from the smoke, I threw the spikes. One hit his thigh while the other went right into his shoulder. Jack Ass screamed in pain and dropped to his knees, though this time it wasn’t a trick.

I watched Jack for a moment, then glanced around his apartment, which was completely trashed due to our fight. I grinned at that since he himself had caused almost all the damage with those rabbit punches of his.

“What a maroon,” I commented as I turned and started for the door.

Melissa was standing at the door, and apparently she’d been watching most of the fight. She still looked pretty dazed and confused though, and the spark of excitement that she’d briefly shown earlier was gone. If anything, she looked as though she was about to collapse and go to sleep, which I couldn’t have…at least not yet. I led her towards the main stairs, but by the time we reached the top, she was basically dead weight. I had to pick her up and carry her down to the ground floor, which made me very thankful we were going down instead of up.

We passed several people on the stairs, all of whom took one look at me and then went running in the other direction. Since I had to get Melissa to safety, just turning invisible and sneaking out wasn’t an option, much to my annoyance. Then when we reached the ground floor, I was suddenly struck with another problem…what to do with her. Melissa was drugged to the gills and needed someone to look after her. I couldn’t take her to the hospital, because I could almost guarantee that someone there would call the MCO. And I couldn’t take her to the Empire City Guard either, because not only would they arrest me on sight, but I feared that they might just hand Melissa right back over to Jack Ass. After all, heroes stuck together and all that.

“Damn it Jim,” I muttered, “I’m a thief…not a doctor.”

There was only one place I could think of where I trusted Melissa to be safe, so that was where I had to take her. All I had to do now was find a car to hotwire, and we’d be on our way…back to the Imp Lair.

New York, Friday morning June 15th, 2007

Mornings were my favorite time of the day. They were calm, peaceful, and I could usually enjoy them by myself before I had to go out and deal with all the idiots of the world. This morning, I was sitting back in my favorite recliner, watching reruns of old Hanna-Barbera cartoons while I sipped my coffee and read the paper.

The newspaper in my lap wasn’t a new edition. In fact, it was several weeks old, though I had no intention of throwing it away. Instead, I was thinking of framing it and hanging it on my wall. After all, the picture that covered most of the front page was absolutely priceless.

It was a picture of an anthropomorphic polar bear, who was both buck naked and completely without fur, which made him look more like a giant naked mole rat than a polar bear. The look of humiliation on his face while he desperately tried to cover his genitals was utterly fantastic. The headline read ‘FUZZY WUZZY ISN’T FUZZY,’ which made me laugh every time I read it.

“At least Fuzzy Wuzzy learned his lesson,” I mused with a smirk.

Of course, I still had to teach Jack Ass a lesson as well, and I seriously doubted that dousing him with depilatory, then having him depantsed and photographed in public would have the same effect. Besides, Jack Ass deserved something worse than that for what he’d done to Melissa. Far worse.

With that, my thoughts turned to the girl who was currently sound asleep in my spare bedroom. After I’d brought her home yesterday afternoon, I’d put her to bed in my spare bedroom, where she’d remained without getting up since. Melissa was sleeping off all the drugs in her system, so I was letting her stay in bed for as long as she needed, though I did make sure to keep checking on her.

I wasn’t comfortable with someone else being in my home, in my sanctuary from the world, but this was the second time I’d brought someone here in the last couple months. I’d taken the same precautions I had when I’d brought Alicia here, hiding my mail and anything else that might give away my other identity or where I lived, and I’d even gone a step further. I’d covered up all the windows. Alicia hadn’t been familiar with Manhattan and I’d known that there was no way she’d be able to find my home again unless I brought her back. However, Melissa was a local and the view from my windows might very well give her a good clue as to where to find me.

“I need to get a new safehouse,” I mused. A safehouse would be perfect for this kind of situation, and for a number of others. I used to have a nice safehouse set up for emergencies, but it had been compromised and I’d been forced to abandon it. Then I went into my sabbatical, and I’d gotten a bit complacent and hadn’t set up any replacements. “It might be time to fix that.”

I set the newspaper aside and began making mental notes on what I’d need for a new safehouse when I heard noise from down the hallway. Melissa was out of bed. I imagined that she’d be confused and a bit afraid at waking up in a strange place, though I had tried to make things a little easier for her. I’d left some clean clothes for her, right beside her bed.

“The bathroom is right across from you,” I called out. A minute later, I heard the faucet running from the bathroom.

I didn’t have to wait for very long before Melissa emerged from the hallway, dressed in the clothes that I’d left her and looking very nervous. She looked around with wide eyes, as if she was afraid that something might jump out at any moment. Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised at that. After all, she’d just woken up in the home of a notorious and oh so fabulous supervillain.

“How do you feel?” I asked Melissa, giving her a gentle smile. That seemed to relax her a little.

“I feel kinda sick,” she admitted awkwardly. “And I have a headache and a really bad taste in my mouth…”

“That’s the drugs wearing off,” I explained. “Jack Ass kept you drugged up so you wouldn’t think of leaving while he brainwashed you…”

“Jack Rabbit would never,” Melissa started in protest, only to pause with an odd and expression. She shook her head and exclaimed, “He’s a total jerkface…”

“The jerkiest,” I agreed with a grin. “I think you’re a bit more stubborn than he expected, and don’t think that he expected it would take so long with you. From what I’ve heard, one of his previous kids only took two days to turn into an obedient puppet…”

Melissa gave a visible shudder at that. “I don’t wanna be a superhero,” she announced with a pout. “Superheroes are all serious and don’t get to do anything fun.”

“True,” I cheerfully agreed. “But to be honest, most people in my business aren’t much better. In fact, most people in my business don’t really have a sense of humor…and a lot of them are pretty mean.”

“That’s too bad,” Melissa said, looking disappointed at the revelation.

“So,” I abruptly asked her. “Do you want breakfast?”

Melissa’s eyes went wide at that and she nodded an emphatic agreement. “I’m hungry…”

“Let’s see,” I mused as I went to my kitchen and began looking through the fridge and cupboards. “I have bacon…and Fruit Loops…and bacon…and Captain Crunch…and bacon…” Then I paused and exclaimed, “Oh, and it looks like I still have some grits in here too…”

“Grits?” Melissa exclaimed, sticking her tongue out with a look of disgust. “Yuck. Can I have some Fruit Loops?” She hesitated a moment, then added, “And bacon?”

“A girl after my own heart,” I responded with a chuckle.

Melissa ate her cereal while I cooked the bacon, and as she ate, she talked about her time with Jack. “I thought he was the greatest hero,” she admitted with a look of disgust. “And I wanted to be the best sidekick ever…” She scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at that. “I still kinda want to…”

“That’s the mind control talking,” I assured Melissa, setting a plate of bacon down in front of her, then helping myself to one of the slices. “Since he didn’t get to finish the job, it should fade away pretty quickly. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”

Once Melissa was finished eating, she looked to be much more like her normal self. That suddenly made me wonder if it had actually been a good idea to feed sugar to a hyperactive girl. It was too late to worry about that now.

“Is this your house?” Melissa asked, looking around curiously.

“No,” I lied, swishing my tail back and forth behind me. “It’s just some apartment I picked at random. I figured it would be a good place to lay low since the owners are on vacation…”

Melissa nodded at that as she continued to look at just about everything. “Well, they have a really pretty Picasso,” she exclaimed, pointing to the wall.

“That’s a Monet,” I corrected her.

A moment later, I noticed that Melissa was standing there with a smug look on her face, and it suddenly dawned on me that I’d corrected her without even looking at the painting. The rugrat hadn’t believed my lie for a moment, and she’d just set me up to prove it. I actually felt rather pleased by her initiative.

“You got me,” I admitted, sweeping my arm around the living room in a grand and dramatic gesture. “Welcome to the Imp Lair.”

“You live here?” Melissa asked, looking around with an expression of surprise and a little disappointment. “It’s…nice.”

“What?” I asked wryly. “You were expecting my home to look like a carnival threw up all over it? Or maybe you thought my decoration style would be more Dante’s Inferno.”

Melissa deflated a little and look self-conscious as she admitted, “Sort of…”

I just laughed at that. “I might have a fantastic sense of humor, but I also have good taste and like nice things.”

My houseguest nodded at that, then looked around with an even more curious expression. “Do you have a dungeon here for your enemies?”

“Just the closet,” I admitted with a grin. “But it can hold a whole dozen clowns. And I’m afraid all the death traps are out of order. I mean, that Jehovah’s Witness gave my sharks food poisoning and I ran out of fuel for the flame throwers in my bottomless pit.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” She said with a broad grin of her own. Then she paused and abruptly exclaimed, “Candice Kade…”

“WHAT?” I blurted out in stunned disbelief. How could she possibly know my original name?

Melissa rushed over to the wall and pointed to one of my paintings that hung from it “This by Candice Kade, isn’t it?”

“Um…yes,” I responded, letting out a sigh of relief. I chuckled faintly, asking, “You recognize the artist?”

I gave Melissa a curious look, surprised that a kid her age would recognize one of my works just from the style. In fact, a kid her age probably shouldn’t even know my name. But then again, she had broken into an art gallery and swiped…or at least she’d hidden one of my paintings. Maybe my painting hadn’t been quite as random a target as I’d previously thought.

“Oh yeah,” Melissa responded with a broad grin. “We’ve got one of her paintings in our living room… She’s my dad’s favorite artist…”

“I see,” I commented, feeling rather pleased by that. “It sounds like he has good taste then.”

Melissa nodded emphatically, admitting, “I really like her paintings too… I mean, she always hides stuff in them…”

“Really?” I asked with a faint smirk. I looked over the painting, which I’d only recently finished. It was a battle scene between a hero and villain. Neither of them were based on real people, though they were both modeled off stereotypes. The villain was dressed in black and red and had an air of menace about him while the hero was one of those guys with square-jawed good looks and a brightly colored costume. “And what is hidden in this one?”

Melissa took that as a challenge and immediately began examining the painting more closely. After a minute, she exclaimed, “Here…” She pointed to the hero as she explained, “Look behind his cape… It sort of looks like a devil is peeking out from under it…”

“Why, so it does,” I commented, keeping my tone neutral and wondering if she’d catch the other bit that I’d hidden in the painting.

“And here,” she added, pointing to the villain…or at least to his shadow. “His shadow looks sort of like an angel…with wings and a halo.”

“Good eye,” I told her with a smile, delighted that she’d actually caught those details. Melissa just beamed under the compliment, looking almost like she was about to start bouncing again. Then on a sudden impulse, I said, “I’m working on replica of one of her paintings… Do you want to see it?”

“Can I?” Melissa asked excitedly, which only made me grin more.

I led Melissa to the back room I’d converted to an art studio, then proudly stood back as she looked it over. There were several easels set up and holding pieces that I was still working on, but there were also some finished pieces scattered around the edges of the room as well. Melissa’s eyes swept everything, then she slowly went to the easel that held one of my own original pieces, one which was close to being completed.

“Wow,” Melissa said. “It looks just like one of hers…”

“I do my best,” I responded wryly, wondering what she’d say if she knew that I was Candice Kade. Unfortunately, at the moment, I couldn’t take credit for my own works, at least not as the originals they were.

“You’re really good,” Melissa told me with a grin. Then before I could respond, she rushed over to another painting and asked, “Is this one a fake too?”

I winced slightly as she’d referred to my original piece as a fake, though I could hardly blame her since I’d just told her it was. Unfortunately, this was just the price I paid for having a secret identity. But in spite of that annoyance, I was still quite happy to have that second identity. After all, the fabulous Imp might be famous as an art thief and forger, but that same reputation was a disadvantage when it came to developing my own art career.

Once Melissa finished looking around my little studio and all my paintings, she asked me, “What now?” She looked just a little nervous, and I wondered if she thought that I’d never let her leave now that she’d seen the inside of the Imp Lair

“Now,” I announced, raising my voice and taking a dramatic pose. Melissa’s eyes widened in anticipation of whatever my brilliant plan was going to be, so I almost felt bad about disappointing her. “You call your dad and let him know you’re all right…”

“Oh,” Melissa responded, deflating a bit. She gave me another nervous look, then awkwardly said, “He doesn’t have a phone…” She wasn’t a very good liar.

“Then I’ll just give you a ride home,” I offered, but Melissa’s eyes went wide at that.

“My dad would kill me if he knew I was with you,” Melissa admitted, looking a bit ashamed as she said that.

I watched Melissa for a moment, then let out a sigh. Obviously, she didn’t want to let the professional thief know where she lived, and if I’d been in her shoes, I probably would have been wary too. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of my chosen career was that people had a hard time trusting me for some reason.

“Then how about this,” I suggested. “I can drop you off at the police station, then you can call your dad to pick you up from there.”

Melissa hesitated a moment, then nodded her acceptance. “Okay.” Then she gave me a hopeful look and asked, “Can we still do the lock picking thing?”

“Sure,” I responded with a broad grin, swinging my tail back and forth behind me. After this whole kidnapping thing, I was afraid that the kid would be scared off and wouldn’t want anything to do with me. Of course, it would have been smart of me to avoid her in the future as well, but I liked the kid and had fun spending time with her. “We’ll have to arrange a new meeting spot though. One that isn’t so out in the open.”

“Yeah,” Melissa agreed with a broad grin and a gleam in her eyes. “Maybe we can do it here…”

“I don’t think so,” I responded, reaching out and ‘booping’ her nose. “A secret hideout doesn’t do much good if it isn’t secret…” Then I paused at that and mused, “Well, I have been thinking of setting up a new safehouse, so that might work… I wonder if there are any abandoned amusement parks for sale…”

“That would be so cool,” Melissa exclaimed, nearly bouncing with excitement. “You could get robot clowns, and a big pool filled with sharks…”

“With frickin laser beams on their heads,” I agreed in my best Doctor Evil impression, which made Melissa burst into giggles.

For the next hour, we continued to make ‘plans’ for my new evil lair, with each of us taking turns at coming up with completely outlandish death traps for it. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun doing something that wasn’t either illegal or related to art.

--------------------

New York, late Friday morning, June 15th, 2007

“Are we there yet?” Melissa asked, for what had to be the tenth time in the last two minutes. When I didn’t immediately answer, she repeated, “Are we there yet?”

I glanced over to the passenger seat of my ‘borrowed’ car and said, “If you ask that one more time, I’m turning this car around and we’re going home…”

“Really?” Melissa asked with a broad grin and a mischievous gleam in her eyes. I wondered if she just wanted to find the way back to my place, without the blindfold I’d made her wear when we were leaving. I suspected that if she did figure out where I lived, I could expect her to start playing ding dong ditch with my doorbell.

“No,” I responded with a grin of my own. “We’re here.”

With that, I made a sweeping gesture to the large building that I’d just parked the car in front of. I’d spent the last three decades avoiding the police, so it felt kind of wrong to be parked right in front of the police station, especially when I wasn’t even invisible. Instead, I was wearing an oversized coat and hat, as well as a large pair of sunglasses, all of which would help to hide my devilish good looks and unique features, though this wasn’t nearly the disguise I’d need if I wanted to go inside.

I stared at the police station for a moment, chuckling evilly as I remembered the one time I actually had gone inside that building. About ten years ago, I’d slipped inside and left some laxative laced donuts in their break room…and then I’d locked the bathroom doors. That had been a lot of fun, though more for me than it was for the cops.

“This is it,” I told Melissa.

“Ah,” she responded, sounding disappointed though she gave a quick glance to the police station, probably thinking about the fact that the sooner she went in and called her dad, the sooner she’d get back home. Then she abruptly leaned over and hugged me, quickly blurting out, “Thank you, Imp.” A moment later, she teleported out of her seat and reappeared right in front of the car. She gave me a quick wave and then rushed into the building.

Once I’d made sure that Melissa was inside, I pulled the car out and began to drive away, though I didn’t go very far. I parked the car just down the street, then I quickly made my way back to the police station, though I made no move to go inside. Instead, I positioned myself across the street, in a spot where I could easily see who was coming and leaving from the main entrance.

After everything I’d just gone through with rescuing Melissa, I’d decided that it was time to find out a little more about her, such as who her family was and where she lived. My plan was to wait for her dad to come pick her up, then to follow them home.

I was only waiting for half an hour when a familiar figure suddenly appeared, though it wasn’t one I was happy to see. Jack Rabbit landed right in front of the police station, then calmly walked right through the front door. A minute later, he came right back out with Melissa in hand. She had a somewhat dazed look on her face and I felt a surge of fury at the realization that he was digging his hooks in again.

“I saved you from that villain,” Jack Ass was saying, though he was far enough away that I could barely make this out. “I took you off the streets and gave you a home…a noble purpose… And this is how you repay me?”

“What the hell?” I blurted out in stunned disbelief.

Jack Rabbit put a gentle hand on Melissa’s shoulders and assured her, “But I know it isn’t your fault. That evil monster used mind control on you. She twisted your loyalties. Fortunately, my contact in the department called me as soon as you arrived. Once we get home…to my new warren…we’ll resume your training…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I snarled, silently cursing the police with every profanity I could think of. I knew those bastards were useless, but to hand a kidnap victim right back to the kidnapper…

I was already in motion, running towards them as fast as I could. If Jack Ass was able to jump away with Melissa again, I might not be able to find them again in time.

“Melissa,” I called out to get her attention.

Melissa turned to look at me, blinking as the dazed expression faded. She blurted out, “Imp…,” then suddenly teleported away from Jack, appearing right beside me.

“Glad you’re back,” I told the girl, glaring at the hero and snarling, “We need to get out of here now…”

“You MONSTER,” Jack yelled, glaring at me with an expression of pure hatred. Obviously, he was taking our last encounter rather personally.

“If it isn’t Little Bunny Foo Foo,” I exclaimed in mock surprise. “Fancy seeing you here…”

Jack snarled and leapt at me, showing no signs of the injuries I’d given him during our last fight. I’d flung throwing spikes through his thigh and shoulder, but he was acting as though he wasn’t injured at all. As I dove to the side to avoid his attack, I wondered if his power gem boosted his healing the way it did his strength and reflexes. If so, that was pretty inconvenient for me.

Jack had missed me in his first charge, but now he was close and came at me in shorter lunges, making it more difficult to avoid him. He suddenly shot forward at full speed, and I barely had time to concentrate all the energy in my aura into one spot. I managed to create a small PK shield right before it hit it. There was an explosion of force and I was thrown back, even with my shield having stopped the worst of the impact.

“You leave her alone,” Melissa yelled, suddenly appearing right behind Jack. She tried to punch him, but he snapped around and backhanded her, knocking her to the ground.

“She’s gotten into your head again,” Jack accused. “But don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you, Mouse Girl. I couldn’t expect you to resist her mind control…”

I scrambled back to my feet, wondering if Jack was so delusional that he actually believed all that…or if he was just saying this for the benefit of the people watching us. I quickly glanced around, realizing that there were enough people nearby to make this a very uncomfortable scene for me, especially if they bought into what he was spouting. If so, I imagined that there would be pitch forks and torches appearing before long.

The cops were starting to gather too, though they were standing back without doing anything. Instead, they all seemed content to watch, probably because they wanted to see Jack Rabbit wipe the floor with me. I’d never had a very good relationship with the police, so I expected them to start cheering Jack on at any moment.

I gave Jack a cold look, and in my best imitation of Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, announced, “Worst superhero EVER.”

“I’m putting an end to your crime spree right now,” Jack Rabbit exclaimed, this time making me sure that he was playing to the audience. “Jack Rabbit will make sure you never harm an innocent person again…”

Jack Ass seemed to enjoy having a crowd to play to, though I couldn’t say the same. I liked getting attention, but this was too much and too hostile. I didn’t like being out in the open like this, not when I was surrounded by cops with itchy trigger fingers.

“Run,” I ordered Melissa. “Get away from here…” With her powers, she wouldn’t have a problem getting away from Jack…as long as she wasn’t fogged up with drugs or that mind control power. And once she was out of here, I’d be able to pull my own disappearing act.

Melissa started to run away, then to my surprise, she floated up into the air. I was a bit startled by that since I hadn’t known that flying was one of her powers, and from the look on her face, neither had she. But then I realized that Melissa wasn’t actually flying…and this wasn’t under her own power. A new player had just arrived and was floating in the air above us.

My eyes went to the woman, who was wearing a purple and white costume, with a long purple cape that billowed out around her. Since she wasn’t wearing a mask, I had a clear view of her face and her shoulder length black hair.

“So, what is he calling you, little one?” the new arrival mused, looking straight at Melissa, who was floating just a short distance in front of her. “Miss Mouse? Mouse Lass? He has a habit of naming all of his sidekicks after those rodents… I suppose his ego simply won’t allow him to have a sidekick named after something more intimidating than a bunny rabbit…”

I grinned faintly at that. Anyone who could make fun of Jack Ass and his overblown ego was someone I might potentially like. If nothing else, this woman had earned a few bonus points, though I was concerned by the fact that she’d stopped Melissa from running away and was using what appeared to be telekinesis to hold her up in the air.

“Paradigm,” Jack Ass exclaimed. “Release Mouse Girl immediately…”

“I think not,” the woman…Paradigm responded dismissively, though she did give Melissa a curious look.

“Well, I think so,” Melissa responded, sticking her tongue out at Paradigm before she suddenly teleported away, reappearing on the ground a short distance away.

“A useful ability,” Paradigm responded, then suddenly vanished, only to reappear beside Melissa. “As I well know…”

Melissa let out a squeal of fright and started to run away, but she was suddenly pulled back to Paradigm with invisible hands. I snarled and started towards Paradigm, wondering what I was going to do against both her and Jack Ass at the same time. I hated getting involved in these kinds of fights, but it seemed that ever since I’d come off my sabbatical, I kept being pulled into them. And as I well knew, I kept getting injured as a result.

While I was trying to come up with a plan, Jack leapt right at Paradigm, his fist cocked back so he could punch as soon as he made contact. However, Paradigm gestured to Jack and he suddenly went flying back into a group of police. At that, the crowd immediately began to disperse as most intelligent people…or at least people with any sense of survival…wanted to avoid getting caught between two fighting paranormals.

“It’s WABBIT SEASON,” I yelled out, realizing that I could use this to my advantage. If Paradigm and Jack Ass were focused on each other, then Melissa and I should be able to slip away while they were distracted. I grinned and began singing in my best Elmer Fudd voice, “Kill the wabbit. Kill the wabbit…”

Jack Rabbit got back to his feet and ran straight at Paradigm, but she gestured and he suddenly went up into the air, and not under his own power. A moment later, he came falling back, though when he hit the ground, he obviously used his own power to neutralize the impact. He barely hesitated before charging at Paradigm again.

Melissa saw me gesturing to her and she teleported again, slipping out of Paradigm’s grasp the same way she had previously. Unfortunately, this didn’t go unnoticed as Paradigm suddenly snapped around and I found myself flying back away from her. I hit the ground hard enough to leave bruises over most of my body, though I was thankful I hadn’t broken anything. By the time I was back to my feet, Paradigm had already grabbed Melissa again.

“I can use you,” Paradigm announced, right before she pulled out something that looked like a stun gun and shot Melissa with it point blank. The girl collapsed to the ground while Paradigm merely gestured and the unconscious body rose into the air. “If nothing else, I can find a use for your powers… But first…”

I snarled in anger and tried creeping towards Paradigm, hoping I could strike her from behind. I had a couple of metal throwing spikes in hand, and I fully intended to put a few holes in her if she didn’t put Melissa down. Ironically, I was counting on Jack Rabbit to help me rescue Melissa…though he didn’t know that. I just figured that he’d charge Paradigm head on, which would provide me with the distraction I needed.

“Release Mouse Girl at once,” Jack demanded. “If you touch one hair on her head…”

“Please,” Paradigm said dismissively, floating up in the air and taking Melissa with her. “Save your threats, John. You know what I want. Give it to me and I’ll let you have the girl…”

Jack Ass stood there for a moment with a grim expression before announcing, “I’ll never give in to your evil…”

Paradigm actually rolled her eyes before responding, “Spare me the theatrics. Unlike most of those idiots, I’m not fooled by your act. Now, if you want the girl back, you know what I want. If not…I’ll find another use for her.” And with that, Paradigm and Melissa both vanished, though I didn’t see them reappearing anywhere else. They were gone.

I stood there for a moment, frozen in anger and frustration. I’d held off on throwing my spikes at Paradigm because I hadn’t wanted to risk hitting Melissa, but I’d waited too long and lost my opportunity. A moment later, I turned my angry gaze on Jack Ass, who looked almost as frustrated as I felt. I was damn temped to use my spikes on him, but the more rational part of my brain reminded me that this wasn’t a good idea…at least not now.

I took a deep breath, then I turned and hurried off as quickly as I could, before another hero showed up…or even worse…the cops got their act together and started shooting. Fortunately, between my ‘ninja vanish’ trick and all the chaos, I was able to slip away without any difficulty.

--------------------

New York, Friday afternoon, June 15th, 2007

I stood atop a tall building, pacing back and forth with a pair of binoculars in my hands. This was actually the same place where I’d spent half the day yesterday, crouched down in wait for Jack Rabbit, but today, I didn’t have the patience to sit still…or even remain invisible when I didn’t need to. I was too worried about Melissa.

I used the binoculars to look out at the surrounding area, but I still saw no sign of Jack Rabbit. I clenched the binoculars so tightly that I almost feared they would break in my hands, and in a way, I kind of hoped they did. At least that would give me some kind of release.

First, Jack Rabbit had kidnapped Melissa, then I’d gone through all that trouble to get her back. And as soon as I turn her over to the police, where I mistakenly thought she’d be safe, Jack Ass went and kidnapped her again. Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, that Paradigm woman showed up and kidnapped Melissa from Jack. This was all so ludicrous that it almost sounded like the madcap plot of an old cartoon, though I certainly wasn’t laughing.

I didn’t know much about Paradigm, other than the fact that she wasn’t local. If she was, I would have heard about her before now since I tended to keep track of who the local players were. And of course, I knew that she and Jack had some kind of history together. From what Paradigm had said, Jack would know how to contact her if he wanted to make the exchange, which meant that Jack was my best chance at finding her…and Melissa.

Looking for Jack was easier said than done, especially after I’d already tracked him down once. When I went to his apartment, I wasn’t surprised to find that he’d cleaned it out and moved. Apparently, he didn’t want a supervillain…no matter how fabulous and talented she was…to know where he lived. And so far, he hadn’t made another appearance in his usual territory.

“Come on little bunny,” I muttered in frustration. “It’s wabbit season and I haven’t got my limit yet…” I scowled at that since I preferred taking the role of Bugs to Elmer. After all, Bugs had a LOT more style and panache…like me.

When I took another look around without seeing Jack Ass, I shook my head in disgust. You knew the world is screwed up when heroes were the ones who kidnapped kids, and a villain was the one who had to go rescue them. I was no hero and I resented being put into the position where I had to act like one. However, there was absolutely no way I could turn my back on Melissa.

Then without warning, I suddenly began falling…straight up. I let out a brief shriek of surprise, but a moment later, someone grabbed me from behind and demanded, “WHERE IS SHE?”

I immediately recognized the man’s voice, which told me exactly who I was dealing with and what was going on. “Chickenhawk,” I exclaimed, knowing that the hero must be trying to take me as high up as he could, so I couldn’t slip away from him without falling to my death. With that knowledge, I immediately turned my aura frictionless and slipped right out of his grasp.

Seconds later, I channeled all the energy of my PK aura to my feet, so that when I landed back on the roof, I was able to absorb as much of the impact as possible. As soon as I hit, I was already rolling, reducing the damage even further, which left me with bruises over much of my body. However, if I’d waited any longer before pulling that stunt, I’d be dealing with broken bones instead.

A quick glance upward revealed Chickenhawk flying down towards me. Chickenhawk…or Superhawk as he insisted on calling himself for some silly reason…was a superhero who actually had a fairly decent looking costume…not that I’d ever admit that to him. His costume was dark blue and white, and it consisted largely of tight fitting body armor, that was so sleek and lightweight that from a distance, it could almost be mistaken for spandex. He had a cowl that covered most of his head, except for the lower part of his face, and his chest was adorned with a symbol that resembled a bird in flight.

“Chickenhawk,” I called out with a grin I didn’t feel. I didn’t have the time or inclination to play with the hero right now, but in spite of the situation, appearances had to be kept. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be dropping in. I would have baked a cake…or maybe a whip cream pie…”

Chickenhawk held out his hands and fired a ball of glowing blue energy...which I knew was some kind of warped gravity effect. I knew from personal experience that if he hit me with that ball, it would alter my personal gravity for a few seconds. In fact, he’d obviously hit me with one of those from behind, which was why I’d gone flying up into the air in the first place. This time, I saw it coming and easily dodged to the side, though he followed up with another attack.

“I like pie,” I continued with my mouth running almost on automatic. “And whip cream. And whips. And whip cream and whips together…” I paused at that to give Chickenhawk a suggestive wink.

However, the hero obviously didn’t appreciate my witty banter because he looked pissed. “Where is she?” he demanded again, flying straight at me with a raised fist, looking like he actually intended to punch me. He was serious.

“You’ll have to be a little more specific,” I said with a false cheerfulness, jumping to the side right before he would have hit me.

“A girl,” Chickenhawk answered, pausing to float a couple feet in the air. He glared at me as he stated, “The one you kidnapped…”

“Kidnapped?” I asked, a little surprised at the accusation, though I knew I shouldn’t have been. Of course, Jack Ass had been running around and telling stories, and as usual, the other heroes had eaten it all up without question. “I’m sorry, but you have the wrong Imp. Please check your accusations and try again later…”

Chickenhawk snarled. “Witnesses saw you take the girl yesterday…not far from here. And sources told me that today, you were on the scene when she was taken from the police station. Now, WHERE IS SHE?”

“Ah say boy,” I announced in my best Foghorn Leghorn voice. “Ah think your mask is on too tight. Your logic is as screwy as a curveball in a tornado…”

The hero’s response to that was to form two glowing blue balls simultaneously, one in each hand, and then he fired both while flying straight at me. But in spite of the multiple attack, I was able to focus all the energy from my aura to my legs, giving myself a little extra push as I leapt up to avoid the incoming barrage. My jumps weren’t nearly as impressive as what Little Bunny Foo Foo could do, but they were still useful.

“You’re going to tell me what you did with her,” Chickenhawk exclaimed, pausing to hover several feet in the air again. He was watching me with an intense look that told me he wasn’t kidding around.

“I’m disappointed,” I said with a mock pout. “We’ve been dancing for years, so I thought you would have recognized my moves by now. You should know by now that I’m not into kidnapping, and I don’t take hostages. Never ever ever.”

“There are witnesses,” he stated as though this was the end of it. But then he paused and I could see his body language shift just a little. It was doubt.

“Then I’m sure your witnesses told you the girl was kidnapped by a crazy hero,” I commented with a forced grin and a casual wave of my hand. “He wanted to make her into his sidekick and teach her how to be a hero, but you know, that’s a fate worse than death and no kid deserves that. So I decided to help the kid out and saved her from that horrible fate.”

“I don’t have time for your nonsense,” Chickenhawk snarled. I was sure he was about to attack me again, but he held back and demanded, “Tell me where…the girl is.”

“No can do,” I responded with an exaggerated shrug. “I know who has her…but not where.”

“What?” Chickenhawk demanded.

I gave another shrug, trying to look casual with my tail swaying back and forth, though I was prepared to jump the moment Chickenhawk moved. Since he’d stopped charging at me like a crazy man, I decided to reward his good behavior by tossing him a treat. But honestly, I was just eager to get rid of him so I could get back to what I’d been working on.

“After I got the kid away from Jack Ass, I took her to the police station and dropped her off at the lost and found,” I explained with a false cheerfulness. “But then, Little Bunny Foo Foo came and took her away again…but then…surprise twist…some new chickadee named Paradigm showed up and sidekick-napped her.” I paused at that, them mused, “Of course, your witnesses could have told you all that if you’d asked. There were a lot of them there.”

Chickenhawk almost seemed frozen for a moment as he repeated, “Paradigm?”

“Yep,” I agreed.

“Where did Paradigm take her?” Chickenhawk demanded. “Which direction did she go?”

“Can’t say,” I responded with a shrug. “She pulled a beam me up Scotty, then went bye bye.”

Chickenhawk was silent for several seconds, then he angrily accused me, “You’re lying…”

“Afraid not,” I commented. “I’ve told you what I know, so go away.” Then I shifted into my Foghorn Leghorn impression and said, “Ah say, go away boy. You bother me.”

Chickenhawk snarled and suddenly fired another ball of blue energy at me, though I saw it coming and easily jumped to the side. He threw another one, but I avoided that one as well.

“I believe our business here is completed,” I said, giving an exaggerated yawn, just to yank his chain a little. Then, in my best Schwarzenegger accent, which was probably pretty bad, I stated, ”Hasta la vista, baby.”

With that, I threw a smoke bomb at my feet and pulled my trademarked vanishing act. I used the smoke for cover as I jumped back, dropped down, and activated my chameleon field. By the time the smoke cleared, I appeared to have vanished.

“No!” Chickenhawk exclaimed, dropping from where he’d been hovering a little above the rooftop. As soon as he landed on the roof, he looked around and then screamed, “MELISSA!”

Chickenhawk let out a howl of anguish, the kind that was filled with fear, anger, and nameless other emotions that couldn’t be put into words. A faint chill ran up my spine as I realized that he wasn’t merely looking for some missing girl. This was personal for him. Very personal. Then all the pieces suddenly snapped into place.

“You’re her father,” I blurted out in sudden realization.

Chickenhawk snapped around, obviously surprised to hear my voice since I’d supposedly teleported away less than a minute ago. He scanned the area with a grim intensity, though of course, he looked right past me without any indication of seeing me.

“Imp,” he snarled, not bothering to deny my statement.

“You’re Melissa’s father,” I said, for once not teasing or taunting him. Instead, I stared at my frequent opponent, suddenly feeling sorry for him. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have your kid taken, knowing that they might not even be alive. “She’s a good kid. Smart, gutsy…and a wicked sense of humor.” Then I weakly joked, “And she has great taste in role models…”

“Enough with the jokes,” Chickenhawk snapped angrily, still looking around for any sign of where I might be hiding. I had a feeling that if he found me, he might very well take all his frustration out on me. “This is serious…”

“You’re right,” I admitted grimly. “This is serious, maybe even more than you realize.”

I watched Chickenhawk, remembering everything Melissa had said about her father and trying to imagine what was going through his head. He was worried…desperate and frantic. Unfortunately, this also meant that he wasn’t in his right mind. Chickenhawk wasn’t a detective, and he certainly wasn’t in any condition to track his daughter’s kidnappers at the moment. In his current state, he was likely to get her killed...along with himself.

After several long seconds, I made a decision. It wasn’t an easy decision, and I knew that I was going to pay for it. I was going to pay a great deal.

“I take Melissa’s kidnapping very seriously,” I announced, keeping my voice calm and serious. I’d known Chickenhawk for years, or at least the two of us had sparred and danced around for all that time, but this was the first time I’ve ever talked to him like this. “I take this seriously enough that I’m dropping my mask.”

“You don’t wear a mask,” he snapped in response, still looking around for me.

“We all wear masks,” I told him with a sigh. “Some more figurative than others.” I hesitated a moment, knowing that once I did this, there was no turning back. However, I couldn’t see any other way of getting through to him. “I’ve spent years, playing up my quirks, carefully building a reputation as being impulsive, reckless, and childish…just so people like you would underestimate me.”

Chickenhawk paused at that, looking surprised. “What?”

“I take this seriously enough that I’m revealing I don’t have the power to teleport,” I added, standing up and walking towards him. My aura couldn’t adjust quickly enough to match my movements, so Chickenhawk saw me as a blur in the air. “I merely have the ability to hide in plain sight.” Once he was staring right at me with a look of surprise, I dropped my aura entirely. I slowly approached him, holding my hands out to the side to show that I wasn’t going to attack.

“Imp,” he stated, looking more stunned and confused than hostile. I’d completely thrown him off his game, and at any other time I would have been smirking over that.

I looked Chickenhawk right in the eyes, then grimly told him, “I take this seriously enough that I’ve just surrendered two of my greatest advantages…just so you’ll know I’m serious...so that you’ll believe I’m sincere when I say…I’m going to help you rescue Melissa.”

Chickenhawk just stared at me, and for a moment, I was afraid that I’d overloaded him with too much at one time. Then he finally demanded, “Why would you do that?” His tone was filled with suspicion, and with our history, I couldn’t really blame him.

“I’m a professional thief,” I answered proudly. Then I sneered as I added, “But I would never steal a child, and I feel nothing but disgust for those who would. Besides, I like Melissa, and there is no way I’d let either Jack Ass or Paradigm keep her.”

“Then what are you suggesting?” Chickenhawk asked, still suspicious but no longer quite as hostile.

“A truce until this is over,” I answered him simply. “A temporary alliance until we find your daughter.”

“You’re not serious,” Chickenhawk started, though this was probably the only time I’d ever been completely serious with him, and I think he realized that. “Why would I ever work with you?”

“Because you need me,” I replied in a calm tone, looking him right in the eyes. “I have contacts and resources you don’t, ones that you’re probably going to need.” I paused at that, then admitted, “I was already looking for Melissa when you interrupted me. I can find her…but I’m not as confident in my ability to handle Paradigm once I do. If we work together, it only increases our chances of getting her back alive.”

“You’re serious,” Chickenhawk gasped, staring at me in surprise.

“Yes,” I responded, resisting the urge to make a smart-ass comment since that would sabotage what I was trying to do.

Chickenhawk stared at me for several long seconds, as if trying to make sense of me. Then, he finally said, “I have one condition.” He paused again, probably to give me the opportunity to protest. “I’m not going to blindly trust you or your contacts with my daughter’s life. If we’re going to do this…then I want to be there when you talk to your contacts.”

“Then I have a condition of my own,” I said in response. “If I’m going to let you peek behind the curtain, then when this is done…you forget everything you’ve seen and heard. I don’t want my friends and business associates getting harassed because I helped you.”

I hadn’t included my own secrets in this condition because I’d surrendered those as a show of good faith. It was too late to negotiate for those, and it would only be counterproductive.

“Agreed,” Chickenhawk said, holding out his hand. I hesitated a moment before taking it.

As soon as Chickenhawk and I were finished shaking hands, I stepped away from him and pulled out my cell phone to make a call. “It’s me,” I told Bob, knowing that he’d recognize my voice. “About that meeting we have set up for tonight… We need a change of venue. I’m going to be bringing someone with me, and we’ll need a neutral location…”

I talked to Bob for about half a minute more before I hung up. Turning back to Chickenhawk, I said, “We have a meeting with one of my contacts tonight at six. It’s a fairly public place, but we’ll have enough privacy to talk. You’ll want to dress down so as not to draw much attention, and we do NOT want my contact to know who you are. If he thinks that you’re a white hat, he might not tell us anything.”

“Understood,” Chickenhawk responded.

I reached into one of my pouches and pulled out a business card. It was blank, except for my logo on one side…a black circle with devil horns and a little devil tail. I used to use these calling cards for some of my jobs, but I’d stopped that a few years ago. After I’d run into Melissa, who asked me for my autograph, I’d begun carrying a few of these around again as well as a small pen…just in case I ran into someone else who wanted my autograph.

“Here,” I said, quickly writing the address on the back of the card before handing it to Chickenhawk. “This is the address, so I’ll see you there at six. For now, I have a few things I need to take care of first.”

With that, I turned and walked away from Chickenhawk, then I stopped, turned to give him a bow and announced, “Until tonight.” I threw a smoke bomb at my feet and did my ‘ninja vanish’ trick again. It wasn’t nearly as effective now that Chickenhawk knew how it worked, but I’d always been a sucker for a good exit.

--------------------

New York, Friday evening, June 15th, 2007

Barnaby’s was a small hole-in-the wall restaurant, the kind of place that you could walk right past and completely miss unless you knew it was there. The inside only had six tables, and the décor was just as bland and uninspired as the outside. And then there was the food from the Italian-themed menu, which was good though certainly not worth going out of your way for.

However, Barnaby’s did have one thing going for it. The owner was welcoming to mutants, regardless of which side of the legal divide they fell on. He didn’t ask questions and didn’t care who his customers were or what they did for a living, just as long as they paid their bills and didn’t cause any trouble.

I was currently sitting in the back corner of the small dining room, looking over the empty tables. The lack of customers wasn’t unusual for Barnaby’s, and I suspected that they were only able to stay in business because of the large tips that were left by people like me.

I’d come to Barnaby’s in disguise, which I hadn’t bothered taking off yet. I was wearing an oversized coat, wide brimmed hat, and large pair of sunglasses, all of which helped to hide my devilish good looks. However, none of that really mattered at the moment as I was currently using my powers to be invisible.

The meeting wasn’t until six, but as I usually did in business meetings, I arrived early, just to check out the area and make sure there were no unpleasant surprises. So far, I’d been sitting here for twenty minutes and I still had almost half an hour to go.

A couple minutes later, another customer entered the restaurant, stopped at the doorway and cautiously looked around. Then he went to one of the tables and sat down. I just remained where I was, silently examining him.

The newcomer was tall and athletic, with a loose fitting jacket and a baseball cap that had dark hair sticking out from beneath it. However, the fact that he was wearing sunglasses indoors was an immediate warning that something was up with him, and which begged for closer scrutiny. That closer scrutiny helped me to notice that the skin color on his face was slightly off from that on his neck and hands, which was an indication he was wearing a skin mask.

Skin masks, or any of the other names they were known by, were made to look like human skin and alter your appearance without making it look like you were wearing a mask. But unlike with the cartoons and movies, skin masks often couldn’t pass a close inspection unless they were high quality…like the one Chickenhawk was currently wearing.

As someone whose unique good looks tends to draw a lot of attention when she goes out in public, I’ve looked into a lot of different ways of hiding my features, including skin masks. Unfortunately, they didn’t really work well for me. For one thing, good quality skin masks had to be custom made for the wearer, were usually fragile, and they were always expensive. For another, they didn’t really stick right to the tiny black scales that covered my forehead and cheeks, and that wasn’t even taking my horns into account.

After watching the disguised Chickenhawk for a minute, I waited until he relaxed a little then got up and went over to him. “Fancy meeting you here,” I commented, setting my hat onto the table and taking a seat across from him.

“Imp,” he greeted me in a carefully controlled tone.

I waved for the waiter to come over, then said, “I’ll have the house merlot.” I looked to Chickenhawk.

“I’ll just have water,” he said, finally removing his sunglasses. Then once the waiter was gone, he turned to me and gave me a suspicious look as he asked, “I hope you didn’t just get me here for dinner.”

“I don’t make a habit of eating dinner with people who want to put me behind bars,” I answered him, though I had to admit, it would be interesting. “My contact always gets a lot more talkative when he’s eating, so whenever I need some information from him, I always make sure that there’s food.”

Chickenhawk nodded, then looked towards the door. “How long before he arrives?”

“We’re both early,” I told him with a shrug. “Bob will be on time.”

At that, the waiter arrived with our drinks as well as a plate of garlic bread. I took a minute to much on the bread and sip my wine, feeling amused at how uncomfortable Chickenhawk was. Of course, this whole situation was pretty awkward, though I refused to let him see me sweat.

“That’s a pretty nice skin mask,” I finally said, making Chickenhawk jump a little in surprise. I didn’t blame him for wearing a mask like that since he obviously didn’t want me to see his real face. And from the way he reacted to my pointing it out, I suspected that he hadn’t expected me to notice. “Did Brandywine provide it?”

Chickenhawk hesitated a moment before responding, “Yes, she did.”

“And is she going to be involved in this?” I gave him a curious look. “I’d imagine that she’d want to help her niece.”

Chickenhawk looked surprised again and he scowled before asking, “How did you know she was my sister?”

“She told me the first time I met her,” I responded with an amused smile. It would have been more accurate to say that she told her teammates and I just happened to be nearby, but that was a minor distinction.

The hero didn’t look happy, though I suspected that this time he was more annoyed at Brandywine than me. After all, he couldn’t be thrilled at having his archenemy know his personal business. Then again, I knew that Melissa was his daughter, and that was even more personal.

“No,” he finally answered. “She and her team are caught up in something critical. She’ll drop everything and come if I need her, but at the moment, she wouldn’t be very helpful…not until we find Paradigm.”

I nodded at that and took a sip of my wine, trying not to look relieved. It was awkward enough dealing with Chickenhawk, so I didn’t want to throw Brandywine and the Shielders in the mix as well. Especially when that would have meant dealing with Fuzzy Wuzzy, who probably bore quite a grudge against me for my little payback.

“So,” Chickenhawk asked, giving me a faintly smug look. “I assume you expected to use this as an opportunity to see me without my mask.”

I just rolled my eyes at that. “If I wanted to know what you look like without your mask, I could have found that out a long time ago.”

During one of my first encounters with Chickenhawk, he’d made the mistake of grabbing my tail, which is actually pretty sensitive. Getting my tail pulled hurts, so I’d decided to teach him a lesson about doing that again. That lesson involved ambushing him, drugging him into unconsciousness, then stripping off his armor and every stitch of clothes he had on except for his underwear and mask. After that, I’d just dropped him off in Times Square.

Chickenhawk blushed as he obviously remembered the incident and how I’d had every available opportunity to unmask him. I noted the blush and gave even more credit to whoever made the skin mask. That was very good quality.

“Why didn’t you?” he asked, sounding curious.

I was tempted to give him a smartass answer, but since we were actually having a relatively civil conversation, I decided to skip that for now. “Because I don’t care who you are under your mask,” I finally said. “It’s irrelevant. We’re professional rivals, emphasis on professional. I see no reason to bring your private life into it…unless you give me a reason.” Of course, since I was helping him find his daughter, I was already involved in his private life, though I didn’t mention that.

Chickenhawk gave me a curious look, as if he couldn’t quite decide what to make of me. Of course, I wasn’t acting the way he was used to. This was the first real conversation we’d ever had, and only the second time I’d talked to him without all the jokes and mockery. If I’d known that playing it straight could throw him off, I might have tried it earlier. Or not.

“Melissa,” the hero abruptly said, his voice a rough with emotion. He gave me a grim look as he demanded, “How do you know her?”

I hesitated a moment, not sure how much to tell him. However, when I looked into the eyes of the desperately worried father across from me, I nodded faintly and decided to be honest. Even if he was an arrogant and self-righteous prick of a hero, he deserved that much.

“I had no idea she was your daughter until a few hours ago,” I commented.

Chickenhawk nodded. “I’d gathered as much.”

“Do you know what your daughter has been up to?” I asked Chickenhawk with a weak chuckle. “Do you know how much she’s been living up to her codename?” From the look in on his face, I was pretty sure he didn’t. “About two months ago, she started tagging my logo all over the streets…trying to get my attention.”

“What?” he demanded with a look of stunned disbelief. He looked like he was about to protest that Melissa would never do such a thing, but then he paused to shake his head. “Go on…”

“When that wasn’t enough,” I continued wryly, “she decided to up the ante. She pulled a heist and fingered me.” I frowned at that, feeling a little guilty for snitching on Melissa this way.

“WHAT?” Chickenhawk blurted out again. His eyes went wide at that for a moment, then he shook his head again and scowled. “The art gallery where nothing left the building…”

“Bingo,” I said in agreement, taking a sip of my wine.

I also took a few seconds to savor the moment when the big hero realized that his own daughter wasn’t exactly following his footsteps. Then I felt guilty for enjoying his shock. At any other time, I wouldn’t have a problem with rubbing salt in the wound and teasing him about it, but these weren’t normal circumstances.

“I tracked her down and had a bit of a talk with her,” I told him. “She asked for my autograph, then she asked me to teach her how to be a supervillain…”

“WHAT?” Chickenhawk gasped again.

“You keep saying that,” I teased him half-heartedly. “I think you need to work on your vocabulary.” Then I decided to be a bit merciful. “I told her no, of course, then sent her on her way.”

“Thank God,” Chickenhawk muttered with a look of relief.

“We ran into each other again,” I continued, pausing to take another sip of my wine. “Long story short, I made a deal with her. She promised not to pull any more antics like what she did at the art gallery, at least until she turns eighteen…and I agreed to teach her how to pick locks.”

“You were teaching a thirteen year old girl how to pick locks?” he demanded.

“Actually,” I responded with a smirk, swirling the wine in my glass. “It’s kind of useless to someone who can simply walk through doors, though she was picking it up pretty quick.”

Chickenhawk let out a long sigh at that, then muttered, “At least now I know why I keep finding all my cabinets unlocked…”

I chuckled faintly at that, then told him about how we’d run into Jack Ass, and how I’d rescued Melissa from him. I told him about what happened at the police station, though I left out the small detail of how I’d planned on following Melissa home in order to find out more about her.

Once I was done talking, Chickenhawk just sat there with a dark look on his face, absorbing everything I’d told him. I imagined it was pretty rough, realizing that there was so much going on in his daughter’s life that he’d been completely unaware of.

Then Chickenhawk finally looked at me again, staring with an odd expression. He looked like he was about to say something when Bob finally arrived. Bob came in, gave Chickenhawk a suspicious look, then came to our table.

“Imp,” Bob greeted me, not taking his eyes off Chickenhawk.

“This is…,” I started to introduce Chickenhawk.

“Ben,” he quickly interjected, probably before I could assign him an annoying name like I’d been about to.

He said the name with an ease that made me think it was one he was familiar with. Since I doubted that Chickenhawk would give us his real name, I suspected that Ben might be his middle name, or the name of someone he knew.

“Ben is a client,” I explained to Bob. “He’s hired me to do a job that’s closely related to what we were already talking about, and part of our contract is that he wants to be closely involved in all aspects of this job.”

Bob scowled at that and didn’t look very happy about having ‘Ben’ here with us, but he didn’t protest. After all, I told Bob that I’d pay for dinner, and he wasn’t one to turn down free food. Instead, he gave ‘Ben’ a suspicious look, and without a word, he dropped two folders onto the table in front of me.

While Bob ordered his food, I looked through the folders. The first one was on Jack Rabbit, and contained everything that Bob had told me previously plus a few more details. The other folder was on Paradigm.

“I already had most of the information you called me about this morning,” Bob finally said. “I just had to dig it out and check for any recent changes…”

“So, what can you tell me about Paradigm?” I asked, knowing that Bob sometimes had a few nuggets of information that never made it into the folders.

Instead of answering that, Bob responded with a question of his own. “Have you ever heard of a guy named Dominion?”

Ben shook his head at that while I nodded and said, “He was a wannabe world conquerer who made a bit of a name for himself back in the eighties. He was lower B list, but he made a few moves towards going up the list right before he suddenly vanished from the scene.” I shrugged at that. “He had too much ego to ever retire quietly, so I always figured that one of his enemies must have caught up to him.”

“You seem to know a lot about him,” Ben probed, giving me a curious look.

I just shrugged at that. “I did a job for him back in eighty-six.” That earned me a look of surprise from the hero.

Bob nodded at that. “Turns out, he died of natural causes, if you can believe it. Massive stroke. Died in his sleep.”

“But what does that have to do with Paradigm?” Ben demanded impatiently. I gave him a warning look. The last thing we needed right now was for him to go pissing off Bob. That could wait until after we had the information.

Bob scowled at Ben, then promptly ignored him and told me, “About ten years later, a pair of lovers stumbled across Dominion’s hideout…and his set of power gems.”

“Paradigm and Jack Rabbit,” I stated in understanding.

“Yeah,” Bob agreed with a nod. He paused to take a drink of the beer that had just been brought over by the waiter. “From what I’ve been able to find out, they initially decided that they wanted to use the gems to change things…to make a difference in the world.” He snorted derisively to show what he thought of that kind of idealism. “Then they started fighting over what that meant, and before long, they came to blows, with each of them walking away with half the gems.”

“Jack’s power gems give him health, jumping, and the mind control thing,” I said, more for Ben’s benefit than for anything else.

Bob scowled intensely and I saw a flash of hatred in his eyes. “Fucking bastard likes glory and attention. Paradigm prefers to avoid the spotlight. She’s all about trying to change things from behind the scenes.”

“And what about her powers?” Ben asked grimly.

“Telekinesis and teleporting,” I answered, having seen both of those earlier today.

“Yeah,” Bob agreed, taking another drink of beer. “She has three of the gems too. One is levitation and one is for teleporting. It’s the last one though that’s the real doozy. It’s just an amplifier. On its own, it’s pretty damn useless, but when you use it with another gem from the set…it boosts it. Makes her levitation and teleporting a lot more powerful than they’d be without it.”

At this point, the food arrived and Bob began to dig into his lasagna. I’d ordered some chicken parmesan earlier, so I was happy to take a bite of my own dinner. However, Ben hadn’t bothered ordering anything and seemed impatient and annoyed that Bob and I actually were eating. I could certainly understand his frustration, but hurrying Bob rarely did any good.

Once Bob had taken a couple bites, he finally continued. “Jack Rabbit and Paradigm have been going at each other for years…mostly trying to get each other’s power gems. I mean, if the asshole gets that amplifier stone, he suddenly gets upgraded to being a brick, with concussion blasts, and he’ll be able to control anyone’s mind in an instant.”

“And that’s what Paradigm was after,” I exclaimed in understanding as I remembered the way she’d tried to trade Melissa to Jack. “She wants his power gems…”

Bob nodded at that, taking another long drink of beer. “Especially the mind control one. She’s all about trying to ‘fix’ the world, and from what I hear, she wants to do this by controlling the people in charge.”

“Dominion tried something like that,” I mused. “But he couldn’t resist showing off how powerful he was and bragging about people being his puppets… ”

“Paradigm is a softer touch,” Bob said. “She might even be able to pull it off.”

Ben was scowling intently at this, obviously not comfortable with the way Bob and I were comparing the styles of the two villains so casually. Of course, he had a personal stake in this…as did I.

“Paradigm took a kid,” I grimly told Bob. “The same one Jack Ass took previously. What’s she likely to do to one of his sidekicks?”

Bob scratched his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged as though it wasn’t really important. “No idea, but the kid will probably be better off than with Jack Rabbit.”

That definitely didn’t ease Ben’s fears, or my own. I talked with Bob for a few more minutes while I finished my dinner and wine, and at the same time, I flipped through both folders for any information I could use. Unfortunately, Bob had no idea of where we could find either Paradigm or Jack Rabbit, much to our shared annoyance. However, there was something in one of the files that caught my attention.

Once we were finished, I put my coat, hat, and sunglasses back on, then slapped thee hundred dollar bills down on the table to pay for both the meal and the privacy. With that, I left Barnaby’s, regretting the fact that I’d have to avoid the place for a few months at least. Now that Chickenhawk knew it was one of my hangouts, it wouldn’t be safe coming back for awhile.

Ben left the restaurant right behind me, and as soon as we were out, he commented, “I never realized that villains used informants like that. I suppose it makes sense.” Then as we both stopped on the sidewalk outside, he grimly asked, “Do you trust him?”

“No,” I answered honestly, which seemed to surprise Ben. “Bob is good at digging up information…and finding people who can help him get whatever he needs. And most of the time, his information is good. However,” I paused at that, giving Ben a wry smile as I added, “he has a personal grudge against Jack Ass, and I wouldn’t put it past him to point us more towards him than Paradigm.”

“He didn’t give us anything useful,” Ben growled impatiently.

I just grinned at that and pointed out, “Actually, he gave us quite a bit. Now we know what Paradigm’s powers are, how they work, and we have a better idea of what she’s after.”

“But we don’t know where she is,” Ben snapped at me. “This was a waste of time.”

“You need to work on your patience,” I teased Ben, which made him to stop and stare at me with his mouth open. After all, I’d spent years building up the reputation of being reckless, impulsive, and impatient, so I was probably the last person he’d ever expected to hear that from. “He also gave us this…” I opened Paradigm’s folder and pointed to the list of her known associates. “I happen to know this young lady…and since it’s Friday night…I also know exactly where to find her.”

With those words, I saw a look of hope pass over Ben’s extremely realistic skin mask. “Then let’s go have a talk with her.”

--------------------

New York, Friday evening, June 15th, 2007

“Well?” Ben demanded impatiently. “Where to?”

I just stood where I was for a moment, staring down the street and scowling at the knot of worry in my stomach. Actually, there were now two knots of worry. One of them was for Melissa, while the other one was for myself. I knew that I shouldn’t have told Ben that I recognized that name, because he’d insist on coming along to question her. The smart move would have been to keep that nugget to myself, then go and question her by on my own.

“I must be getting soft,” I muttered.

I’d told Chickenhawk about this lead because I’d wanted to give him a little hope that we were making progress, that we’d find Melissa. And admittedly, I’d made a deal with him and I actually wanted to keep it.

“What did you say?” Ben asked me.

“Nothing,” I responded with a scowl of annoyance.

Then without another word, I took an abrupt turn down and alley and immediately spotted what I was looking for. It was a plain wooden door, though it was painted with a black domino mask on the front. This was the door to the Black Mask…a bar for supervillains. I glanced to Ben, knowing that if I brought him inside, things could end very badly for both of us. After all, bringing a superhero into a supervillain hangout was begging for trouble.

“This isn’t a place for you or your kind,” I told Ben, giving him a flat look to let him see how serious I was about this. “It would be a lot better if I go in and talk to her by myself.”

“We had a deal,” Ben reminded me grimly.

I nodded faintly at that. “Then remember your part. If anyone here finds out who you are…the best case scenario would be that we’d both get kicked out.” I didn’t mention what the worst case scenario would be as I looked him over, thankful that he was still wearing his Ben disguise. That would definitely help a lot.

A moment later, I put my hand against the door and stated, “I have a one-time guest.” If I didn’t specify that, then the very act of bringing Ben through the door would register him as a customer in good standing, and he’d be able to come back anytime he wanted. Bringing a hero here once was bad enough, but there was no way I was going to give him a full time pass. “Come on.”

After we stepped through the door, I paused for a moment to look around the central room, knowing that there were also several back rooms that customers could use to discuss private business. There was a large and very well stocked bar, and even a live band in the back corner, playing some soft jazz. And while I took all that in, I also took mental note of who the other customers were.

“This is also one of the few places in town where I can come to socialize and get a drink as myself,” I told Ben in a quiet but firm tone. “If you do anything to get me banned from here, I’ll be VERY unhappy.”

Just then, a voice called out, “Hey, Impy…”

I looked over to Blue Diamond, whom I’d already noticed sitting at the bar, talking to some man I didn’t recognize. She was waving to me, so I waved back and then started towards her. Ben followed close behind.

“Hey, Diamond,” I greeted ‘the world’s most lovable supervillain’ with a grin. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, about the same as usual,” she responded in her Long Island accent. Then she looked to the man she’d been talking to, gave me a wink and added, “You know me. I always have a great time...”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” I told her with a grin of my own. A moment later, I turned to Carl, the bartender. “Yo barkeep,” I said loud enough to get his attention. “I’ll have a goblet of your freshest virgin blood.”

I’d ordered that drink mostly just to see if I could shock Ben, and the look on his skin mask face was priceless. He watched Carl intently as the bartender ran around, mixing up a crimson colored drink, which he set down on the bar in front of me.

I took a sip of the crimson cocktail and immediately noted the cherry taste. “Not bad,” I told Carl, who was waiting for my response. “I think it’s just a little on the sweet side though…”

“I’ll make a note of it,” Carl said. “Would you like a different drink?”

“No, I’ll be good with this,” I told him with a grin. Then I glanced to Ben and asked, “You want anything?”

“I’m good,” Ben said with a scowl.

I shrugged at that, then went to go find a table, bringing my drink with me. Ben followed, and I noticed that he was looking around with a very wary expression. I guessed that I couldn’t blame him, being a superhero who was surrounded by ‘the enemy’. If anyone here knew who he was, they’d probably jump at the chance to kick his ass.

“That was Blue Diamond,” Ben said in a careful tone. “When you went to talk to her, I thought she was the one we were here to see…”

“Nope,” I responded cheerfully. “Just a friend I was saying hi to.”

Ben didn’t look like he knew what to say to that. Instead, he looked around again, then mused, “So, this is where you come to socialize…”

“Yep,” I agreed. “All work and no play makes Imp a dull girl.”

Ben snorted at that. “I don’t think that dull is a word anyone would ever use to describe you.”

I grinned at him. “Why, thank you.”

We didn’t have to wait long before a waitress came over to check on us. Brandi was gorgeous, with golden blond hair, breasts that were bigger than her head, and the kind of looks that said she should be a porn star or stripper rather than merely a waitress. Personally, I thought the blonde Barbie look was a little overhyped, and that she’d look even better if she added a little something extra…like horns. Horns were sexy.

I gave Brandi a friendly smile, then asked, “Can you have Janine come over when she gets a chance? There’s something I need to talk to her about…”

“Sure thing,” Brandi responded with a smile of her own.

Then just as Brandi walked away, another figure started towards the table. He was just over six feet tall, heavily muscled, and currently wearing jeans and a shirt that was just a little too tight on him.

“Hey, Imp,” he greeted me, pausing to give Ben an appraising look…as if trying to decide how difficult it would be to beat him in a fight. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

“Musclehead,” I greeted him back. “What’s up?”

Muscle wasn’t currently in his working clothes, but he was in the business, though he had a different specialty than mine. Whereas I specialized in sneaking into a place and then walking out with some valuable goodies, he was professional muscle. He worked for various criminals as a bodyguard, enforcer, leg-breaker, or doing just about any other job that just needed someone to be very big, very strong, and very intimidating. At the moment, he was mostly powered down so wasn’t as big as he could be.

Muscle had apparently decided that Ben wasn’t worth bothering with, because he ignored his presence completely. “I’ve got a big job coming up, and my current employer says that he’s looking for a thief to help out… I recommended you for the job.”

“Thanks for the offer,” I told Muscle, cutting him off before he could go into any details. In spite of Ben’s promise to look the other way for now, I didn’t want to put it to the test. “But I’m pretty busy right now and will be for the foreseeable future.”

Muscle stared at me for a moment, then asked, “This isn’t because that Hexagon job, is it? I mean, that was just business…”

“Naw,” I waved that off. “I don’t take that personally. Like I said, I’m just pretty heavily involved in my own job.” I gave a nod towards Ben. “We were just working out some details…”

Muscle nodded at that, seeming to get the hint that I wanted to be left alone. He started to turn, then paused, “Oh, by the way…you might want to keep an eye out for Crash Test Dummy…” He chuckled as he said the name, a name that I’d given to the other villain. “He does take what happened personally, and he has it out for you…”

“So I disarmed him,” I said with a roll of my eyes, referring to the way I’d cut off the man’s hand. “He was trying to kill me, so I think we’re even…”

“It’s not the hand he’s pissed about,” Muscle told me. “I think he’s already found someone to make him a replacement. It’s the name… You’ve got everyone calling him Crash Test Dummy now, and he’s not happy about that…”

I just grinned at that, and I would have flicked my tail back and forth behind me if it wasn’t for the fact that I currently had it stuffed down the leg of my pants. It was very uncomfortable, but doing that helped to hide my tail when I went out and about.

Once Muscle was gone, Ben commented wryly, “So, it’s not just the heroes you do that to…”

“Nope,” I agreed cheerfully. “I’m an equal opportunity nicknamer.”

A minute later, another waitress came over to us, though this one wasn’t here to take our drink orders. Janine was a tall and slender black woman, with what could be called a willowy build. She gave me and Ben curious looks, then said, “Brandi said you wanted to talk to me…”

“Yeperooni,” I agreed, gesturing for her to have a seat. “This concerns a job I’m currently working, and I hope you might be able to help.”

“Help how?” she asked, giving me a suspicious look.

“Well, a little birdy told me that you used to do a little minion work for Paradigm,” I commented. The look in Janine’s eyes immediately told me that this was correct.

“For about a month,” Janine admitted with a shrug. “I figured it would be a great way for me to earn money for my tuition and make a few contacts in the business for when my dad retires…”

“That’s right,” I mused. “Your dad is the Silver Scepter…”

Janine nodded at that. “And when he retires in a year or two, I’ll get his gear and become the new Silver Scepter. I figure, it would be a good idea to learn as much as I could beforehand, so I’ll be ready to hit the ground running…”

“Good idea,” I told her.

However, Ben seemed surprised by this and blurted out, “You’re planning to become a villain?”

“Why not?” Janine asked him. “I mean, it runs in the family, and it can pay pretty well… I figure, if I make a couple good scores and invest my money right, I’ll probably be able to retire in about fifteen years.”

Ben looked almost mortified at that, so I quickly asked, “So, working here is good preparation?”

“Of course,” Janine responded, looking rather proud. “Waitressing is a lot less risky than minion work, I make a lot of contacts in the business, and of course, the pay is WAY better. You know how people tip here after they make a big score...”

I nodded at that, having tipped quite generously myself after a few big jobs. “Anyway, back to Paradigm… She has something I want, and I need to know where to find her…” I slid a pair of hundreds across the table to her.

“I’d tell you if I knew,” Janine said, glancing to the money with a disappointed look. “Paradigm has this base with her people in it, but only the top ones know where it is. She teleports most of the people in and out for security.”

“Damn,” Ben snarled, slamming his fist against the table in frustration and making Janine jump.

Janine looked from Ben to me, hesitated a moment, then admitted, “I don’t know where this place is…but Jack might.”

“Jack Rabbit?” Ben demanded.

“No, MY Jack,” Janine told me, suddenly reminding me of her ex. “Jack and I met while working with Paradigm…and left together.”

I nodded thoughtfully at that, then asked, “Does Jack still work in the same place?”

“As far as I know,” Janine said. Then she looked around and added, “Sorry, but my break is about over and I have to get back to work.”

“Thanks for your help,” I told her, gesturing for her to keep the money. “And give your dad a raspberry for me when you see him.”

With that, I got up to leave and Ben followed after me. As soon as we were outside of the Black Mask, I let out a sigh of relief. That could have gone much worse.

“So, that’s the Black Mask,” Ben mused, looking around and obviously trying to remember where the door was, probably so he could come back and check it out some other time, regardless of our deal. I just smiled faintly, knowing that since he was a one-time guest and not a customer in good standing, he wouldn’t be able to find the door. It tended to move around and avoided people who didn’t belong. “I’ve never heard of another hero getting in…”

I grunted at that, knowing full well the risk I’d taken just getting him in this one time. “I heard that the heroes have their own bar,” I said, giving Ben a curious look. “The Golden Cape?”

This time, it was Ben who grunted, not bothering to confirm or deny it. Then he gruffly asked, “Where to now?”

“Not too far,” I said, pulling my hat down low to help hide my face as I waved for a taxi.

A short time later, we arrived at our destination. I smirked and told Ben, “Keep your head down and don’t draw attention. They don’t like your kind here…”

“Heroes?” Ben asked as we went inside.

I paused at the entrance and looked around the busy club and all the women who occupied it. A couple of the women looked in our direction and glared at Ben with clear hostility.

“No,” I said with a smirk. “Men.”

Ben’s eyes went wide as he realized that I’d taken him to a lesbian club, and he suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable, which made me chuckle to myself. This was so amusing, I was tempted to drag him to some S&M club just to see his reactions there. However, finding Melissa came first.

“I didn’t know you were…,” Ben started awkwardly, which only made me laugh. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it…”

I just smirked at his reaction as I looked around, immediately spotting the bar. I gestured for Ben to follow as I started for the bar, and the woman who was standing behind it. She was lean and athletic, with short blonde hair and a half dozen rings through one ear.

“Hijack,” I greeted the former villain, who’d recently quit the business after an especially close call with the law.

Hijack gave me a momentarily worried look at being caught, until I pulled my hat off and gave her a good look at me. Then her eyes suddenly widened and a grin formed on her face.

“Imp,” she said, quickly glancing around to see if anyone else was listening in. “I never expected to see you in a place like this… I didn’t you know you were part of the sisterhood…”

She gave me an appraising look, as if trying to decide how attractive I was. I found that amusing since I was still wearing the far too large coat, which hid my figure anyway.

“I’m not,” I told her with a grin. “I came because I needed to talk to you about something.” She gave me a curious look so I told her, “One of your former employers. Paradigm.”

Hijack quickly glanced around again, then scowled. “One minute,” she told me, then rushed over to pour some drinks for a few people before coming back. “What about Paradigm?”

“My associate and I need to find her,” I said, giving a nod towards Ben, who was trying to avoid notice as much as possible. “Janine said you might be able to help us.”

Hijack shook her head. “Sorry, but I’m not gonna snitch on anyone…”

I just stared at Hijack for a moment, deciding that I could trust her with this bit of information. I had to. “She took a kid. A teenage girl.”

“Why would you care about some kid?” Hijack asked, giving me a suspicious look.

“She’s my protégé,” I stated, which made Ben jump a little. “I was starting to train her, but long story short, Paradigm kidnapped her and vanished. I need to find Paradigm so I can get the kid back.”

“We don’t know what Paradigm might be doing to her,” Ben exclaimed, nearly pleading.

Hijack nodded at that, then let out a sigh. “Well, I seriously doubt Paradigm would hurt her… Paradigm would never hurt a kid. She was really interested in brainwashing techniques and how to change people’s views, so she might try something like that on the kid, you know, get the whole Stockholm syndrome thing going on…but she wouldn’t hurt her.”

“So, Mel…the girl is relatively safe?” I asked Hijack.

The bartender nodded again. “Oh yeah. Paradigm probably has the kid in a nice room, giving her good food, and acting like her best friend so she can win the kid over. I’ve seen her win people over like that before. If that doesn’t work, then she might move onto drugs and hypnosis, but she always says to try the soft approach first.”

“That’s good news at least,” I said with a sigh. I looked to Ben and said, “It looks like she’s not in immediate danger, which gives us enough time to find her…”

“But we still aren’t any closer to finding out where,” Ben pointed out grimly.

”Wisconsin,” Hijack abruptly said, getting Ben and I both to immediately look at her again. She looked just a little self-conscious as she admitted, “I don’t know exactly where in Wisconsin…other than that her base is somewhere rural.” She shrugged and admitted, “When I was there, I heard some of her people talking.”

“But you can’t narrow it down any more than that?” I asked, feeling excited and disappointed at the same time.

“Sorry,” Hijack told me with a shrug.

I nodded at that, then slipped her a couple hundreds. “At least now we have a place to start.”

Ben and I left the club after that, and as soon as we were outside, I pulled out my phone and gave Bob a call. The call only lasted a minute, with me telling him what we’d learned while he promised to keep looking. Once I hung up, I turned back to Ben.

“Now that Bob has a place to start looking,” I told Ben, “he’ll be able to narrow things down. In fact, he promised that he’d have the location for us in just a couple days.”

“A couple days?” Ben spat out impatiently, the worry clear in his voice. “What if he can’t find it?”

“This is Bob,” I stated, sounding more confident in him than I actually felt. “If he promises that he can dig up some information, he can.”

“And what am I supposed to do until then?” Ben demanded.

“WE need to get to Wisconsin,” I told him firmly. “That way we’ll be in the neighborhood and ready to act as soon as we can narrow things down.”

Ben nodded agreement. “Good idea.” He seemed in a little better mood now that he’d been assured that Paradigm wouldn’t hurt Melissa, and that we at least had a direction to start looking. “It looks like we’ll need plane tickets.”

“Excuse me,” I said, giving him a flat look. “There’s a teeny tiny little problem with my traveling by plane…” I took off my hat and pointed at my horns. “Two of them.”

Of course, I had a magic amulet that would hide my unusual features and let me look like a normal person, but that would mean giving up my Candice Kade identity. I’d already given away too many of my secrets and would probably end up giving away more. However, that small piece of my life was the one thing I wouldn’t give up unless I had absolutely no other choice.

“We have a couple days before we get the information we need to act,” I pointed out. “And there are other ways to travel besides aircraft.”

For a moment, Ben looked like he wanted to argue, then to my surprise, he nodded. He actually had a faint look of relief as he said, “Getting there as soon as possible doesn’t do much good if we have to spend several days waiting. I suppose we can drive…”

“Yay,” I said, shuddering at the idea of spending that much time trapped inside a car. Still, I didn’t want Ben to see how uncomfortable that made me, so it was with a false sense of enthusiasm that I exclaimed, “Road trip!”

New York, Saturday, June 16th, 2007

It was Saturday morning, which meant that I should be home, dressed up in my favorite PJ’s and eating a bowl of sugary cereal while watching cartoons on TV. Of course, they didn’t make good Saturday morning cartoons like they used to, but that was beside the point. What I shouldn’t be doing was hanging around an empty parking garage and waiting for a superhero to show up.

My bike was currently parked off to the side, in an out of the way corner where it wouldn’t be noticed. I was hidden as well, using my aura to blend into my surroundings so that I was effectively invisible. As usual, I’d arrived early to the meeting, just to reduce the chance that Chickenhawk would be able screw me over.

But in spite of my precautions, I was worried. I didn’t know if Chickenhawk might have decided that he no longer needed me, and it would have been quite easy for him to warn the Shielders, the Empire City Guard, or even an army of cops that I’d be here. After all, he’d been trying to put me behind bars for years, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to come after me. He knew where I’d be, and I’d already told him about my invisibility so they could come prepared for that.

I knew that I’d made a mistake yesterday, telling Chickenhawk about my invisibility and my intentional image management. Those secrets had kept me ahead of the cops and heroes for thirty years. They were part of what had made me so successful as a thief, and I’d thrown them away. At the time, I hadn’t been able to think of any other way to convince Chickenhawk to trust me, and that was going to come back and bite me in the tail. Of course, I’d known it would when I made the decision.

Then, just as I was about to convince myself to turn tail and run, a single car drove into the parking lot. I let out a sigh of relief when it parked and only one person stepped it. It was Chickenhawk in his Ben guise. He hadn’t cut me out or turned me over to the cops. He’d actually come to meet me here, just like we’d agreed.

“Imp?” Ben called out, looking around the parking garage. “Are you here?”

I hesitated just a moment, long enough to glance around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else trying to sneak up on us, then I dropped my camouflage and stepped into view. “I’m here,” I answered, though I couldn’t resist teasing, “Did you miss me?”

“Like a hemorrhoid,” Ben responded. However, after a few seconds, he admitted, “I was a little worried that you’d changed your mind and wouldn’t be here.”

I nodded at that and looked over his car, a nice looking sedan. I noticed the tags on the plates and commented, “A rental.”

Ben nodded faintly. “I was afraid that if I left the transportation to you, you’d hotwire the next car you saw.”

“I would not,” I protested in mock offense. Then I grinned and pointed out, “I’m very picky about which cars I steal.” That earned me a disapproving look that had me chuckle in amusement.

With that, I adjusted the backpack I had slung over my shoulder. This wasn’t the thin pack I often wore almost as part of my costume, but a larger one that contained everything I’d need for a couple days of travel as well as pulling a job. I wasn’t sure what I’d need when we got there, so I tried to be as prepared as I could without bringing too much. It was a careful balance.

“I figured that I’d follow along on my bike,” I commented. “Or maybe scout ahead…”

“I don’t think so,” Ben quickly disagreed, gesturing to the car. “You’re riding in here with me. I want you in my sight at all times.”

“What?” I asked with a grin. “You’re starting to enjoy my company? I do tend to grow on people.”

Ben snorted at that. “I’m just afraid that you’ll just go robbing every convenience store and gas station we pass…”

I stiffened at that, actually feeling a little offended. Sure, I had no problem sneaking into a place and taking what I needed…or just really wanted…but I was not some cheap thug to go knocking over convenience stores. I’d never stolen anything at gunpoint in my life and I wasn’t about to start now. After all, any idiot with a gun could do that. It took skill, style, and panache to do what I did.

“Let’s get going,” Ben said impatiently. “I want to make sure we’re in Wisconsin and ready to go as soon as your contact narrows down Paradigm’s location.”

I didn’t bother arguing with him since I’d been thinking the same thing. So without a word, I threw my bag into the back of the car, then climbed into the passenger seat. I squirmed just a little uncomfortably, dreading the long trip, which would only be made worse by the fact that I only had Chickenhawk for company. However, I’d already paid a large price to help Melissa, so I could handle this as well.

For the first couple hours, we drove in near silence, with neither of us talking. I just looked out the window and tried to ignore the feeling of being trapped, as well as the knowledge that the man beside me had spent years trying to lock me up. I was pretty tense at the situation, and eventually I pulled the sketch pad out of my backpack. I’d known there would be some downtime on the trip, so I’d brought some paper and pencils, which were just what I needed to distract myself.

I began sketching a portrait of Melissa, which wasn’t easy in a moving vehicle and since I had to work from memory. However, those very difficulties were what made this a good distraction. Ben gave me a curious look, but he didn’t say anything. I didn’t show him what I was working on, and he didn’t ask, which was fine by me.

Eventually, I began to relax a little, and I could almost forget that the man driving the car was Chickenhawk and think of him as Ben instead. After all, Ben didn’t look like the Chickenhawk I knew, nor was he acting like him. For one thing, he was a lot more pleasant to deal with. Of course, I suspected that he had a similar perspective on me since I wasn’t acting the way he was used to either.

Then, as if reading my mind, Ben commented, “I’m not used to you being so quiet…” He hesitated a moment, then admitted, “I didn’t think you knew how…”

I just grinned, and in my best imitation of the Disney character Stitch, who was one of my all-time favorite Disney characters, I exclaimed, “BLUE PUNCH BUGGY,” and punched Ben in the arm. Then I made sure to point out the window at the blue VW Bug that we were passing.

“Forget I said anything,” Ben muttered.

I was briefly tempted to go into a nice round of The Song that Never Ends, just to really annoy him, but instead, I went back to my drawing. After all, I had a couple of days to drive Ben crazy, and I didn’t want to blow all my material at once. And besides, I wanted to work on my sketch without any interruptions.

It was around noon when we finally stopped for gas, and to my relief, I saw a burger joint next door. I was cramped, hungry, and going a bit squirrely from being stuck in the car so long, so I was more than happy to see food available. As soon as we stopped, I threw on my hat and oversized jacket and virtually jumped out of the car. Once I was out, I let out a long sigh of relief and began to stretch.

“Oh yeah,” I exclaimed, especially stretching out my tail, which I hadn’t tucked down my pants this time. I just hoped my coat managed to hide it well enough.

“You’ve been pretty tense,” Ben said, giving me a curious look. “Are you claustrophobic?”

“Of course not,” I quickly responded in a slightly defensive tone. “No one who spends as much time crawling through ventilation shafts and crawlspaces as I do could possibly be claustrophobic.” Then I paused, deflating just a little bit as I admitted, “I just don’t like riding in cars.”

Ben nodded at that, and for a moment, he looked amused. However, he deflated a little himself and then shook his head. “I think I understand,” he said carefully. “I really don’t like flying in airplanes.”

I blinked at that. “You’re afraid of heights?” That was certainly unexpected.

“Of course not,” he snapped defensively. “No one who flies around as much as I do could possibly be afraid of heights…” Then he gave me a wry smile as he added, “Flying under my own power is one thing. Flying inside a giant chunk of metal, with no control over where I’m going, is another.”

For several seconds, the two of us just stared at each other then we both started chuckling. I couldn’t believe that he’d actually admitted that he was afraid of flying in planes…nor could I believe I’d told him about my discomfort with cars. Then again, at that moment, we weren’t arch-enemies. We weren’t hero and villain. Right now, we were just two people who had something in common. We were both worried about Melissa.

I felt sad as I suddenly realized that once Melissa was safe and back home, there was no way Chickenhawk would let us hang out again. A hero, even one I was getting along with at the moment, would never let his daughter be friends with a villain…and his arch-enemy at that. However, I quickly reminded myself that I’d never let Chickenhawk stop me before, so why should now be any different. After all, I had a lot of experience sneaking past him, and I was sure I could use that to arrange an occasional visit with Melissa.

Once we’d finished gassing up the car, I gestured to the restaurant next door, then gave Ben my best puppy dog look…kitty cat look…and pleaded, “I can has cheeseburger?”

Ben stared at me for a moment, then he shook his head, though I saw a faint smile. “Melissa does the exact same thing,” he told me in a quiet voice. Then he cleared his throat and added, “I am getting hungry…”

A couple minutes later, we were at the burger joint. Ben went to order our food while I stayed outside, waiting in the outdoor seating area. I had my coat on with the collar up, and my hat hung low. In New York, most people didn’t pay much attention to anyone else on the streets, so I could get away with disguising myself this way. However, here I was drawing a few curious looks, though that was probably just because I was dressed up like this in June.

When Ben got back with the food, my Imp senses said that the smart move would be to go back to the car and eat on the road, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. After that long drive, I was happy to take any excuse I could to delay getting back in the car. Without saying a word to Ben, I sat down at one of the outside tables and began to eat. It seemed that he was happy to take a break from driving as well, because he didn’t complain at all as he sat down across from me.

We ate for a couple minutes before Ben abruptly said, “They make good shakes here.” I glanced at him, suspecting that he was just trying to make some kind of small talk in order to break the silence. “They use fresh fruit,” he continued. “The strawberry shake tastes like real strawberries…”

“And the snozzberries taste like snozzberries,” I agreed sagely, which earned a faint smile.

“I’ve been wondering this for three years,” Ben said, giving me a curious look. “On that Merkwood job…how in the world did you get that painting out of there? There was supposed to be a curse on the painting…one that would kill anyone who touched it…yet you walked right out the front door with the damn thing…”

I grinned, remembering the job he was talking about. An art collector named Felix Merkwood had ignored his head of security and had decided to forgo many of the normal security precautions, and he’d hired some finger wiggler to provide protection, then left the painting out in the open…daring anyone to risk the curse. It had actually worked quite well, killing three would-be thieves before I became involved. My little trick was something of a trade secret, or at least something that I might want to pull again someday, but I was in a somewhat good mood at the moment and couldn’t resist bragging a little.

“I never touched the painting,” I told Ben.

“Other people tried with gloves,” Ben pointed out, “with a robotic drone, and even with something that was supposed to break the curse first… None of that worked.”

“That’s because they aren’t me,” I said with a smirk. Then I chuckled at the memory before explaining, “I never touched the painting…or made any attempt to move it. The truth is, I put up a fake wall in front of the painting in order to hide it, then ran out the front door with a fake…making sure everyone saw me.”

“What?” Ben blurted out in surprise as well as confusion. “Why would you do that?”

“Sorry, but I can’t tell you more,” I told him with a shrug, actually disappointed that I couldn’t. “Client confidentiality.”

The truth was, I’d been hired by Merkwood’s head of security, who was less than pleased at having all of his security recommendations and professional experience ignored. He wanted me to ‘steal’ the painting, just to embarrass Merkwood, and then later on, he could ‘recover’ the painting and come off looking like a hero. It had worked pretty well too.

“I see,” Ben mused, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. “Insurance fraud. Merkwood hired you to fake a theft so he could collect the insurance…then he changed his mind and happened to ‘find’ the painting before the insurance payout.”

“Something like that,” I agreed cheerfully, letting Ben keep his wrong guess.

Suddenly, someone came up from behind me and yanked the hat off my head. I jumped to my feet and saw a man in his early twenties, staring at me with a look of shock as he backed away. “Holy shit,” he exclaimed to his friends. “You were right… She is some kind of freak…”

“She’s a mutant,” blurted out a young woman who seemed to be with him, right before she turned and ran.

However, a middle-aged man, who didn’t seem to be part of their group, announced, “It’s a demon!”

“Everyone calm down,” Ben commanded as he got up, but no one seemed to be listening.

The middle-aged man grabbed his crucifix necklace and held it out at me as if it was some kind of weapon. “Begone foul demon,” he ordered. “Go back to the pit where you belong…”

“Great,” I said with a sneer and a roll of my eyes as I went to pick up my hat from where the man had dropped it. “Another exorcism.” I gave Ben a wry look and asked, “Why is it that everyone who ever saw the Exorcist thinks that they’re qualified to perform an exorcism?”

“I cast you out,” the man continued yelling at me. “In the name of the Lord, I banish you back to hell…”

Ben tried calling out, “Sir, this isn’t necessary… She isn’t…”

However, the man ignored Ben, and just as I was turning to walk away in disgust, he yelled, “Begone you grotesque whore of Satan…”

I froze at that and slowly turned around to face the man. I might be a beautiful, talented, and oh so fabulous thief, but even I had feelings that could be hurt. “Grotesque?” I demanded. “Whore?”

“Imp,” Ben warned me, once again sounding like the Chickenhawk I knew. “Don’t you dare touch him…”

I just sneered, not surprised that Chickenhawk would side with this jerk. Cops and heroes always sided with people like him over people like me. “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me,” I taunted the man with a forced grin.

For some reason, the man seemed to get pissed off that I wasn’t taking him seriously, which actually amused me a little. I gave him an evil grin and his eyes widened and he took a step back. He tried holding the crucifix out even more firmly. “I am protected by the Lord,” he exclaimed. “Begone foul demon. You will not take my soul…”

“Why would I want to take that filthy thing?” I teased him. “It’s all black and rotten from all your sins…” He gasped at that, and the woman who stood a short distance back, and who I assumed was his wife, looked absolutely horrified. “Besides, we already have claim on your soul. We’re fixing up a nice spot in the pit…just for you.” Then I winked at him and turned to walk away, smirking as I said, “I’ll see you in a few months…”

“Imp,” Ben said, making me glance at him. He was staring at me with an odd expression, and I couldn’t tell if it was horror over what I’d told that man or pity at what he’d been yelling at me. I actually hoped that it was the former rather than the latter.

“Ain’t I a stinker?” I asked in my best Bugs Bunny voice, right before I turned and started walking back to the car as quickly as I could. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before the MCO and cops show up.”

We got into the car and took off again pretty quickly. Ben scowled and told me, “I doubt anyone there knows who you are…”

“It doesn’t matter if they know who I am or not,” I responded. “Someone is going to call and report that a vicious mutant was violently attacking a crowd of innocent people…and they’ll probably say that they saw me eating a baby or something too.”

Ben gave me a look of surprise, saying, “That’s pretty cynical…”

“No,” I responded in a flat tone, turning my attention back to my sketch paid. “That’s experience.”

We drove in silence for several minutes while I tried to focus on a new sketch. “Imp,” Ben finally said, sounding a bit hesitant. “About what happened back there… Does that kind of thing happen to you very often?”

“Only when I go out in public,” I answered evenly, not even bothering to look at him.

For the rest of the day, Ben and I barely spoke to each other, which suited me fine. I was perfectly happy to focus on my sketches, which reminded me of when I was younger and used to do this all the time. However, whenever we stopped for food and gas, I had to keep an even lower profile than I had been, which made me a bit irritable. It took all my willpower not to take my irritation out on Ben or any of the people we ran into. As fun as that might be, I couldn’t afford that kind of distraction, not when Melissa was still out there.

Eventually, we reached this place in Indiana that was right over the Ohio border and decided to stop for the night. We could switch out drivers and go through the night, but neither of us wanted to push it like that, not when it wouldn’t do any good. Until we knew exactly where to find Paradigm and Melissa, there was no point in wearing ourselves out.

We went into a hotel lobby, with me being dressed up in disguise and standing back so as to avoid attention. And to top it off, I coughed occasionally, which gave me an excuse to keep my head down and obscure the view of my features even more. However, in spite of the fact that I wanted to avoid attention, I was also bored and needed to release a little steam.

“I called ahead and reserved a room,” I told the woman at the registration desk, coughing and keeping my head down. “The honeymoon suite…”

“What?” Ben blurted out, snapping around to give me a look of shock, which only made me grin. He quickly turned back to the woman and said, “We’re not together like that. We need two separate rooms…”

As Ben started to pay for his room, I realized that I could easily take a peek and see what name he had on the credit card. Then again, I could easily pick his pocket and see his driver’s license, though I doubted either of those things would do any good, even if I was inclined to snoop. After all, anyone who was prepared enough to have a high quality skin mask would also be equipped with some good fake ID.

“I’ll cover my own room,” I said, coming over and coughing again as I slid my credit card across the desk.

A minute later, the woman told us, “It looks like you’re all set Mister Smith…Miss Montoya.”

“Montoya?” Ben asked me as we turned to walk towards our rooms.

“Indigo is my first name,” I told him with a smirk. “My name is Indigo Montoya…”

“I did NOT kill your father,” Ben quickly said, cutting me off. Then he gave me an amused look and asked, “Did you pick that identity just to set up a Princess Bride joke?”

“No,” I lied, disappointed that he’d ruined the punchline.

I pouted a little as I walked to my room, annoyed at the ruined joke, especially since I’d put a lot of money into creating a fake ID and debit card in that name. However, Ben had caught the reference, so I had to give him credit for that.

--------------------

Sunday, June 17th, 2007

It’s official. I don’t care what all those buddy movies say. Road trips SUCK.

For the last two days, I’d been trapped inside a car, fighting the urges to both scream in frustration, and to climb out the window and simply ride on top. I didn’t like riding in cars at the best of times, because some part of me always felt trapped, and that if something went wrong, there was nowhere I could go. It wasn’t usually as bad when I was behind the wheel and in control, but on this trip, I hadn’t been. I’d been riding in the passenger seat while Chickenhawk drove. Not only was this situation ludicrous, it was like one of my worst nightmares come to life. About the only thing that could make this experience any more uncomfortable would be if it was also that time of the month.

Though I’d never admit it to Ben, the stress of the situation had slowly been growing worse, making me a bit grumpy and not at all like my usual happy-go-lucky self. Because of this, I’d been making Ben stop more and more frequently so that I could stretch my legs and release the stress. That was what we were doing now as we parked in front of a convenience store.

I climbed out of the car, dressed up in my usual disguise with my coat collar up and my hat down low. I adjusted my sunglasses, suspecting that if anyone saw me like this, they might think I was some kind of pervert. However, that was better than them seeing me for who I really was and making a scene. After what had happened yesterday, I didn’t need a repeat of it…or an angry mob with torches and pitchforks.

“How are you doing?” Ben asked me, looking a little concerned, though that could just be because all these stops had been slowing us down.

“I’m just peachy,” I responded, flashing him a fake grin. He didn’t buy that, but he was polite enough not to call me on it. I pointed to the store entrance and exclaimed, “Onwards…to energy drinks and chocolate…”

Ben just gave me a flat look and pointed out, “The last thing you need is sugar or caffeine…”

I just grinned at Ben and went inside, keeping my head down and looking for some snacks. I took my time as I did so though, wanting to delay my return to the confines of the car. At this rate, instead of sugar and caffeine, maybe I should look for some weed…not that it would do me any good. My regen burned drugs of just about any sort out of my system in no time at all, which unfortunately, included sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

I was just picking up a jumbo sized bag of M&M’s when two men entered the store together. I spared them a glance and wouldn’t have given them any further attention of I hadn’t heard one of them say the words ‘gene filth.’ I immediately froze, then stepped into the corner, a blind spot where I couldn’t be seen by either the man at the register or the security cameras. A moment later, I adjusted my aura so that I blurred into my surroundings and became invisible.

“I tell you Jimmy,” a stocky man with a baseball cap said. I noticed that he wore a t-shirt with the Humanity First logo plastered on it, which immediately confirmed my suspicions of this man, even before I heard the rest of what he had to say. “Mutants are a threat to the human race. They pollute the gene pool…which is why they’re called gene filth. And if we don’t filter them out now while we still can, then in just a few generations, the gene pool will be totally corrupted…and there goes the human race.”

I snarled as I listened to him casually talk about something that sounded an awful lot like genocide against mutants. If it actually came down to it, I didn’t know if he was the kind of guy who actually could do something like that, or if he was fine with the idea but not the reality. Either way, I REALLY didn’t like that guy. People like him were the reason I had to wear a disguise just to go buy M&Ms.

“I’m not disagreeing with you, Mal,” Jimmy, the taller and skinnier of the two responded. “Not at all. But I’m a bit more worried about the short term problems… I know you don’t have any kids, but I do. I’ve got a daughter, and I’ll be damned if I want her to go to school with one of those freaks. I mean, you know what kind of crazy shit they can do…”

Mal and Jimmy continued talking about the ‘mutant threat,’ though I didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying. Instead, I waited patiently until they walked past me, then once they had, I decided it was time to leave. I dropped my camouflage, then stepped out of the corner and quickly walked out of the store.

“Let’s see,” I mused as I stopped outside, right next to the garbage can. I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then I emptied the two wallets I’d pinched and dropped them into the garbage. “Only a few hundred cash…”

Though I doubted that I’d have any real opportunity to have fun with the credit cards before they were reported stolen, there were other things I could use. I looked at the drivers licenses, which I was keeping, as well as a card that I’d found in Mal’s wallet. It was a card with the phone number for the MCO hotline to report dangerous mutants. I just grinned evilly.

I quickly made the call, then tried to sound terrified as I exclaimed, “I’d like to report a dangerous mutant… He looked so normal, but then I saw him shoot some death rays from his eyes and kill my cat…” After that, I gave them Mal’s name and description, as well as the address I’d taken from his license. I had only just hung up and put my phone away when Ben came out of the store with a grim look on his face.

“I take it that you saw the clowns,” I commented cheerfully. Ben just grunted at that. “I thought it would be a good idea for me to remain out here…where they couldn’t see me.”

“Good idea,” he responded with a faint nod of approval.

“You know me, Boo Boo,” I said, shifting into a Yogi impression. “I’m smarter than the average Imp.”

Ben smiled faintly. “That’s debatable.”

We hurried back into the car, and for once, I didn’t hesitate about getting back in. I did NOT want to be hanging around when those guys realized that their wallets were missing, which was bound to be pretty soon.

As we drove off, Ben gave me a curious look and said, “I’m just surprised you didn’t do something crazy to them…” He almost sounded disappointed.

“I’m not crazy,” I stated in my best innocent look, which probably wasn’t very good considering my appearance. “My psychiatrist says I just have a few issues to work through.”

Ben snorted at that, though he smiled a little as he pointed out, “You have enough issues to fill a magazine stand.”

“Ooooh,” I exclaimed, grinning at Ben in approval. “Someone made a funny.”

I was in a much better mood after this, though I knew it wouldn’t last for too long. Messing with idiots who deserved it was something that always put a grin on my face, but even that couldn’t negate untold hours of being trapped inside a rolling death trap without any control. Still, it might at least hold me until we stopped for the night.

But while I was in a good mood, my thoughts turned to the fact that I actually knew someone who lived in Wisconsin, someone I hadn’t seen in several years. Out of curiosity, I looked up where he lived on the map and saw that it wasn’t quite on our route…but it wasn’t very far out of our way either.

While we drove through Illinois, getting closer to the Wisconsin border, I kept looking over the map, tracking our progress. My eyes kept darting to a specific spot that wasn’t on our route, and the closer we got, the more I itched to go see my old friend.

When we finally crossed the border into Wisconsin, Ben announced, “We’re here…” I could hear the anticipation in his voice…the impatience to find his daughter. I actually shared it.

I nodded at that, then hesitated a moment before saying, “I know a place where we can stop.”

“What?” Ben asked, giving me a curious look.

“I know a place where we can stay,” I explained, keeping my tone calm and relaxed, as though this was no big deal. “We’ll be safe there until we find out where we actually need to go now.”

Ben gave me a somewhat suspicious look, then after several seconds, he nodded. “Where to?”

I nodded and gave Ben directions, trying to remember the way to a place I hadn’t seen in about five years. However, it wasn’t too far and less than an hour later, we drove down a long driveway and pulled to a stop in front of an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.

When Ben turned the car off, I put a hand on his arm and gave him a steady look, letting him see that I was actually serious. “Remember our deal.”

He looked a little startled at that, then a little worried. However, he nodded and said, “I remember.”

With that, I climbed out of the car, not bothering with the coat or hat. We were far away from any neighbors that there wasn’t a chance of any of them seeing me, and the man who lived here was well aware of what I looked like.

I didn’t have to wait long because a few seconds later, the door opened and an old man came out. He had white hair that was a bit thin on top, and he was leaning on a cane. He took several steps past the front door, then stopped. I watched him for a moment, knowing full well that with the way his body was angled away from us, with the further arm being held against his body, that he had a gun ready in case we were a threat.

Suddenly, he smiled and announced, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite little Imp.”

“Frank,” I exclaimed, running over and giving him a hug. While I hugged him, my tail cheerfully swung back and forth, almost as though it had a mind of its own. “How are you doing?”

“Same as always,” Frank responded gruffly. “I wasn’t expecting you…”

I just grinned and cheerfully told him, “I was in the area and thought I’d drop by.”

Frank nodded, then gave Ben a suspicious look and asked, “Who’s your friend?” Then he abruptly demanded, “Is he a cop?”

“Not a cop,” I assured Frank, neglecting to mention that Ben was a superhero instead. “This is my associate, Ben. We’re working together on something and we needed a place to hole up for a day or two while we wait for a little bird to get back to me with a juicy worm.”

“Gotcha,” Frank told me, gesturing to the house. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

I nodded at that, then turned to Ben and proudly announced, “This is Frank…the man who made me the Imp I am today.”

“Really?” Ben responded, keeping a carefully controlled expression.

“He’s the one who gave me my name,” I said with a grin, which earned Frank a curious look from Ben.

I just looked at Frank and grinned happily, knowing that most people who looked at him would never guess that this old man was Frank ‘Mad Cow’ Cowan, who at one time, had been one of the best jewel thieves in the country. Back in the day, he’d put together a crew of professionals, old fashioned thieves without a single paranormal ability among them, and they’d pulled off a few very impressive jobs.

But out of all of Frank’s accomplishments, the one I was most impressed with was that he’d taken in a lost and scared girl, gave her a home and family, then taught her a profession, and helped her to find a future. Frank was not only my mentor, but also my father in all ways but blood.

Frank had retired from the business nearly twenty years ago, and he’d settled down here in the middle of nowhere, in a place where no one could connect him to who he was or what he’d done. I didn’t get out to visit him very often at all, but Frank was getting up there in age and I knew that this might possibly be the last time I’d ever see him. That was why I hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to stop by and see him again while I still could.

“Come on in,” Frank said as he turned to go inside, no longer bothering to hide the gun he was carrying. “I was about to get dinner going, so you got here just in time.”

“We’ll be safe here,” I assured Ben, who looked a little uncertain. And as a nice bonus, I could actually walk around without having to wear some stupid disguise.

“You’re in a good mood,” Ben said, giving me a curious look. “You really do trust him.”

“With my life,” I stated. Frank had proven that to me long ago.

I went to the car and grabbed my backpack, and once Ben had grabbed his bag as well, the two of us went inside. We put our bags in the guest bedrooms, then went to the living room where we sat and waited for dinner.

Ben glanced towards the kitchen, then leaned over and asked, “Is he a villain?”

“Hell no,” Frank exclaimed from the next room, proving that in spite of his age, his hearing was as sharp as ever. He stepped into the doorway and said, “I never needed some power or costume to do the job. I was a professional.”

I didn’t take Frank’s comments personally, since I knew that he didn’t mean it as an insult to me. He thought my costume was a bit too theatrical, but I knew he also found it amusing.

“Frank used to be a jewel thief,” I said with a grin.

“Best in the business,” he agreed before going back into the kitchen.

While we waited on Frank to finish dinner, Ben and I just sat there, neither of us really sure what to say. However, I could see the questions building up behind Ben’s mouth, and I knew that they’d burst out at any moment. I let out a sigh, expecting a few questions about Frank and my past, most of which I probably wouldn’t answer.

“When Melissa manifested,” Ben said quietly, catching me by surprise. He had a worried look on his face and I found myself wanting to comfort him a little and assure him that Melissa would be all right. He let out a sigh and said, “She didn’t tell me. She had her powers for several months, and she didn’t even tell me…”

I nodded at that, having heard the same thing from Melissa. “Did she tell you why she took so long?”

Ben was silent for a couple seconds, then he quietly answered, “Because she was afraid…”

“Afraid?” I asked.

“She said that she was afraid of how I’d react,” Ben admitted, looking ashamed. “She was afraid that I’d forbid her from using her powers…or that I’d force her to follow in my footsteps and become a hero…”

“Kind of contradictory fears,” I mused.

“She’s thirteen,” Ben reminded me. “Thirteen year old girls aren’t known for being logical.”

I stuck my tongue out at Ben and said, “As a former thirteen year old girl, I resent that remark. Or is that resemble it?”

Ben chuckled faintly at that, then stared at me with an odd expression. “Melissa,” he said carefully, still watching me. “She said a friend convinced her to finally tell me…convinced her to trust me.” He paused at that, then asked, “That was you…wasn’t it?”

“I might have told her something along those lines,” I admitted, feeling a little awkward and self-conscious, which wasn’t something I was used to feeling. I gave Ben a grin and joked, “But if I knew who her dad was, I might have told her to keep it a secret.”

“I never thought I’d say this to you,” Ben said, giving me a wry smile. “But thank you. Thank you for trying to look out for her…for everything you’ve done for her.”

“Even teaching her to pick locks?” I teased with a grin.

Ben chuckled. “Well, maybe not that.” Then he joked, “If I didn’t know better, I might almost think you were a responsible adult.”

“Then it’s a good thing you know better,” I responded. “I mean, you wouldn’t want to make that mistake.” Ben and I both chuckled at that.

A short time later, Frank announced that dinner was ready. He’d just made up a quick batch of spaghetti, which was perfectly fine. I could tell that Frank was happy to have some company for once, because he was actually fairly friendly with Ben as we sat down to eat.

“So,” Ben said to Frank as we ate. “You were a thief?”

Frank glanced to me, though I wasn’t sure why since he’d already told Ben as much a short time ago. “Ben promised to keep anything he hears here to himself,” I said, glancing to Ben for confirmation. “It’s part of a deal we made.”

“Yes,” Ben agreed.

“And you trust him?” Frank asked me curiously, though there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes. Then again, this was Frank, who’d spend most of his life as a professional criminal. Suspicion came naturally to anyone in the business.

I stared at Ben for a moment before nodding my head. “As far as this goes…yes.”

I was a little surprised to realize that I actually did trust Ben to keep his part of the deal, but then again, if I thought he would have broken his end, I never would have brought him here and put Frank at risk in the first place. It was strange, realizing that I actually trusted a hero, but then again, I’d known Chickenhawk for years, and we’d spent a lot of time together over the last couple days, outside of our normal roles.

“The name is Frank Cowan,” Frank told Ben, holding out his hand as he introduced himself.

After they shook hands, Ben gave him a curious look and then his eyes went wide. “You’re ‘Mad Cow’ Cowan…”

“I never liked that damn nickname,” Frank muttered. “It makes me sound like I was a crazy killer or something.”

Ben stared at Frank with a look of surprise, then said, “You’re the one who pulled the heist on the Hauptman jewels…” He paused, giving a wry look as he added, “I work in…security, so I’ve looked into how some of the most notorious heists were pulled… That one was before my time, but I’ve heard a few people in the business talking about it.”

Frank chuckled at that. “Yeah, that was my crew,” Frank admitted, looking rather pleased. “But the truth is, our old mascot was the one who came up with that one.”

“Your mascot?” Ben asked in surprise.

“Yeah,” Frank agreed, giving me a knowing look. “Some smartass kid we used to let tag along with us.”

Ben noticed the look, then blurted out, “That was one of your jobs? That was almost thirty years ago…”

“It was one of my first,” I admitted. I wasn’t really comfortable letting Ben know much about my past, but I was the one who’d told Frank that he could be trusted to keep his mouth shut, so I couldn’t very well complain now.

“You were what…eighteen?” Frank asked me. Before I could confirm that, he added, “It was the job where she proved she wasn’t just our mascot anymore but a full partner.”

“It was also the last big job before the crew fell apart,” I reminded Frank.

Frank nodded at that, and I could see the memories fogging his eyes. “After you went off to college, it wasn’t the same anymore…”

Ben gave me another look of surprise and asked, “You went to college?”

I could understand his confusion since he was obviously wondering how someone who looked like I did could have managed something as normal as going to college. “Correspondence courses,” I answered wryly. “And a lot of hours sitting in the back of a classroom, wrapped up in bandages and pretending to be a mummy…or burn victim. I keep getting them confused.”

I smiled faintly, remembering that I’d earned my degree under the alias of Irene Meredith Polk, which at the time, I’d thought was pretty clever. Then I thought of Darren Atwood, an arts professor who had a small gambling problem, and who ran a side business painting forgeries as a way to pay the bills. Frank had hooked me up with Professor Atwood, who took me on as his apprentice. However, Professor Atwood had been a big believer in education, so he not only taught me everything he knew about painting and forgery, he’d also arranged for me to get a real education as well.

Ben looked like he wanted to ask me more, but he seemed to realize that I didn’t want to talk about my past. Thankfully, the topic of conversation changed and Ben told us a couple humorous stories about some of the mischief his daughter had gotten into. I chuckled as I listened, easily envisioning her doing those things and appreciate the creativity. The entire time, Frank kept glancing at me, a clear reminder that I myself had done a few similar things.

After dinner, we all sat in the living room and chatted, mostly making small talk. I wanted to talk to Frank about the old days, but I wasn’t comfortable doing that with Ben present. Ben, however, seemed quite interested in talking to Frank, mostly to ask him about the business and some of the jobs he’d pulled. I suppose that this was one of the few occasions were Ben could just have a friendly conversation with a criminal. Most of the time, we probably weren’t people to him, just ‘bad guys’ that he had to stop. Admittedly, I didn’t get to have a lot of conversations with heroes, or at least not ones where I wasn’t just mocking them.

Eventually, Ben got up and began to look around the room, or more accurately, walked over to a painting that occupied a central position on the wall. “This is a beautiful piece,” he told Frank as he admired the painting. “Do you know who the artist is?”

Frank snorted at that. “She’s standing behind you.”

Ben turned around to give me a look of surprise. “You painted this?”

“Yeah,” I responded, getting just a little defensive. “Did you think I could only paint forgeries?”

“I guess I never really thought about it,” he admitted, looking embarrassed. He looked over the painting again before commenting, “Like I said, it’s a beautiful piece…”

“Thank you,” I said with a grin. There was almost nothing I liked better than someone honestly appreciating my work.

“There are a few elements in it that remind me of another artist I admire,” Ben mused as he continued staring at the painting. “Candice Kade. I don’t know if you’re familiar with her work.”

“I am,” I responded wryly, suddenly feeling a little nervous that he might actually connect the styles a little more. Then again, my style had evolved and changed a bit over time, so it was unlikely he’d connect this piece with my more recent works. In fact, I was amazed he’d seen any similarity at all.

“Imp gave this to me, damn near twenty years ago,” Frank told Ben. “Gave it to me as a housewarming present.” Then he hesitated a moment before volunteering, “I’ve got a few more of her paintings around here somewhere, if you want to see them.”

“I’ve love to,” Ben said, giving me another curious look.

While Frank led Ben away to dig up the paintings, I went to my backpack and pulled out the pack of cigarettes I’d brought with me, then went out to the back porch to have a smoke. It was getting dark out, so I just leaned up against the railing and watched the moon as I smoked my cigarette. This was relaxing, which was something I needed at the moment.

Chickenhawk was getting too close…seeing too many things that I should be keeping private. He was even in one of my most closely guarded sanctuaries, learning some of my greatest secrets. The fact that I’d invited him here didn’t make me feel much better. Intellectually, I knew that I should keep Chickenhawk away, that I should guard these secrets as tightly as I always had in the past, and that I never should have allowed him anywhere near Frank. However, I just hadn’t been able to ignore the opportunity to see Frank again.

Ever since I met Melissa, I’ve been getting sloppy. I’ve been dropping my guard and getting careless. And while it was one thing to do that around a teenage girl, it was quite another to do it around a superhero. I had no doubt that once this was all done and over with, it would come back to bite me in the tail. But strangely enough, as long as Melissa got out of this all right, I didn’t really care. I’d deal with the fallout when it came.

A short while later, the patio door opened and Ben came out to join me. He looked up against the railing a few feet away and stared up at the moon. Neither of us said anything for a minute, though he was the one who finally broke the silence.

“Frank showed me a couple of your paintings,” he said, finally looking at me. “They’re good. You’re really talented.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. A girl likes to be complimented.

“I especially like the one in the living room,” he continued. “Just a touch rough, but still very nice. Very potent.” I practically beamed at that.

“All the ones here are older pieces,” I found myself saying. “I think the most recent painting that Frank has here is over fifteen years old.”

“I think I’d like to see some of your newer works then,” Ben said, giving me a curious look.

I just chuckled at that, suddenly remembering that Melissa had told me they had one of my paintings on their own living room wall. “Who says you haven’t?”

Ben snorted at that. “Besides one of your forgeries. These may be some of your older pieces, but it’s easy to see that you’re a very talented painter.”

At this point, I was almost feeling a little giddy from all the praise. I wasn’t used to getting a lot of praise for my art, at least not as myself. In my Candice identity, I was able to get some nice compliments, but this was one of the very few times that someone had actually complimented me as the Imp. For some reason, that somehow made it mean more.

I suddenly became aware of just how close Ben was to me, and just how big. He was tall and strong, and from what I’d been able to see, he had a very nice body. At that moment, something inside me stirred and I found myself wondering what he looked like without the skin mask.

“So,” I asked in a half-purr. “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

“What?” Ben asked, looking confused.

I froze, suddenly realizing that I was flirting with Ben…with Chickenhawk. I cold knot began to form in my stomach at that. I’d always known that I was a sucker for a sincere compliment…but CHICKENHAWK.

Of course, I’d flirted with Chickenhawk before, but that had always been teasing. I’d been joking and we both knew it. This time… I gulped, wondering what the hell I’d been thinking. Then again, the problem was that I hadn’t been thinking.

“Nothing,” I said, flashing Ben a forced grin, as though I’d been teasing him the way I always had before.

With that, I quickly turned around and hurried back into the house, heading straight back to my guest bedroom. My heart was racing at just how close I’d come to kissing Chickenhawk, though fortunately, I’d caught myself in time. I just couldn’t wait until this whole thing was done and over with so everything could go back to normal and my life would make sense again.

--------------------

Wisconsin, Monday morning, June 18th, 2007

I woke up bright and early, full of energy like I often was in the mornings. My thoughts immediately turned to last night, specifically, to the way I’d begun flirting with Ben. Of course, now that I’d slept on it, I realized that it was nothing at all. I’d just gotten caught up in the moment and had overreacted.

“I just need to get laid,” I mused to myself. “Eight years is too long.”

In spite of my unusual features, I’d never had much problem finding men who’d be willing to have sex with me. There were a lot of men, especially college students, who’d jump at the chance to have sex with a mutant or a villain…just for the bragging rights. I didn’t understand it, but I was sure it had something to do with a bonus point system involved with their dick measuring contests. And of course, there were a lot of guys in my business who were happy to look past my appearance. Unfortunately, I’d long ago discovered that most of the men who’d want to have sex with me were also ones that I wanted little to do with outside of the bedroom.

For several seconds, I just sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about how long it had been since I’d had anyone in my life and feeling lonely. Then I shook my head to clear it. I’d never been one for self-pity, especially over something like that. After all, I was the brilliant, talented, and oh so fabulous Imp. I didn’t need some idiot getting in my way and slowing me down.

“What I need is to liven things up,” I announced, already knowing just how to do that.

It was pretty early and neither Frank or Ben were up yet, so I made my way to Frank’s den. There was a bit more floor space than in my guest room, and even more importantly, there was a stereo. All I had on were the shorts and short crop top shirt that I’d slept in, but that was perfectly fine. I’d get dressed later. Right now, I just needed to move.

As soon as I turned the stereo on, the sound of Spice Girls came on, and I immediately began shaking my booty and tail along as I danced to the music. I even began singing along to, “Tell me what you want, what you really really want…”

After the Spice Girls came the Runaways singing Cherry Bomb, followed by the Macarena. I was in the middle of dancing to My Sharona and feeling much better for burning off some excess energy, when I suddenly noticed someone standing in the doorway watching. Ben.

I stopped, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious, though I was careful not to show it. I wasn’t embarrassed at being caught dancing, but by the fact that with the way I was currently dressed, Ben had a good look at my body and the patches of tiny black scales which covered my shoulders and lower back.

Ben was staring at me, but to my surprise, it wasn’t with the look of disgust that I would have expected. Instead, he actually looked…interested. But after what happened last night, I was probably just reading into it.

“Benji,” I exclaimed with a broad grin, noting that he’d put on the skin mask and wig when I hadn’t even bothered getting dressed yet. “Did you like the show?” I gave an exaggerated bow and added, “Feel free to throw money…”

Ben actually looked amused and he chuckled faintly. “Do you ever call anyone by their name?”

“Not if I can help it,” I responded cheerfully.

“And does anyone ever mock you?” Ben asked.

“No one dares to mock the great and powerful Imp,” I announced dramatically, wondering if I should point out that Heller liked to call me a horned bitch. Or was that horny bitch?

With that, I turned off the stereo and casually strolled out of the room, smirking as though I’d intended for him to catch me like the entire time. Once I was past Ben, I let out a sigh, shook my head, then decided it was time to go take a shower and get dressed.

I took my time getting washed and dressed, and when I was done, I went into the living room where I was immediately struck with the familiar scent of cooking bacon. I paused to take a deep sniff, listening as I could hear the sizzling from the kitchen. But then, I heard voices from the kitchen as well. Ben and Frank were having a conversation.

“Imp is quite a character,” Ben said from the other room.

“That she is,” Frank agreed. “She always has been.”

Since they were talking about me, I stayed where I was and just listened in. I didn’t feel the least bit guilty for giving into my curiosity and snooping, even on Frank.

“Most of the time, she seems completely insane,” Ben continued. “But over the last few days, I’ve seen another side… I just don’t understand that woman.” There was a long pause, then Ben abruptly asked, “How did you meet her anyway?”

There was an even longer pause and I didn’t think Frank was going to answer, but to my surprise, he slowly said, “The first time I ever saw the Imp, I was sitting in a diner and enjoying a cup of coffee. Then she came in. She was just a kid in her teens, looking hungry and obviously living on the street.”

“And let me guess,” Ben commented wryly. “She held the place up.”

However, Frank seemed to ignore Ben’s comment and he grimly said, “She asked the manager if she could get a job doing dishes or bussing tables…then he pulled a gun out from behind the counter and shot her.”

“Shit,” Ben exclaimed, which was one of the few times I’d ever really heard him swear.

“I kept the bastard from shooting her again,” Frank continued in his usual gruff tone. “But some cops heard the gunshot and came running. They burst in and saw the kid on the floor, unarmed and laying in a pool of her own blood. But after taking just one look at her, they decided that she’d obviously been trying to rob the place and that she’d been shot out of self-defense.” Frank paused for a moment, and though I couldn’t see him, I could picture the look on his face. “All she was trying to do was get a job, and she got shot for her efforts. Then to make it worse, the damn cops ignored the fact that she needed a doctor and started to cuff her right there instead…”

“My God,” Ben gasped, sounding horrified. “The poor kid.”

“Of course, even back then she was slippery,” Frank told him with a weak chuckle. “Even with a bullet in her, she was able to slip away from the cops and escape. A couple nights later, she broke in and emptied out the cash register. As far as I know, that was the first time she’d ever stolen anything…” There was another long pause before Frank said, “From what I’ve seen, Imp’s whole life has been like that. Every time she tries doing something legit, the world spits in her face.”

I scowled as I listened to Frank talking about my past, not happy to have those memories brought up. That hadn’t been a very good time in my life, and that incident had made me realize that no matter what I’d been raised to believe…the cops were NOT my friends. That incident had opened my eyes to a lot of things.

“I didn’t actually meet the kid until a couple weeks later,” Frank said. “After that thing in the diner, the local cops had a shoot on sight policy for her, and it seemed the local heroes decided to follow their lead. One day, I saw the kid running…being chased by one of the local heroes.”

“Let me guess,” Ben added, sounding somewhat amused. “She was mocking him the entire time…”

“She was screaming in terror,” Frank corrected him sharply. “She was just a kid…and some guy who could bench press a Buick was trying to beat the crap out of her. I really felt for the kid, so I helped her give him the slip, then I took her in and taught her everything I knew.”

“That’s…,” Ben started awkwardly. “It sounds like she had it rough…”

I definitely didn’t like this conversation, or at least not that Frank was spilling the beans about me. There were things about my past that were none of Chickenhawk’s business, and it surprised me that Frank would share them…especially with someone he barely knew.

“BACON,” I loudly exclaimed. Then I continued to manically quote an old dog food commercial that I only vaguely remembered as I rushed into the kitchen. “Bacon bacon where. It’s in the bag. I can’t read.” Then as I snatched up a few pieces of cooked bacon from the plate beside the stove and held them up in the air triumphantly, I finished, “It’s chewy, crispy, smoky BACON.”

Frank was standing in front of the stove, tending to the bacon that was still being cooked while Ben sat at the kitchen nook. Ben gave Frank an amused look and commented, “Now THAT is the Imp I know.”

Frank just snorted at that. “That is the Imp trying to distract us from our conversation.”

I stuck my tongue out at Frank. Of course he would have caught on to what I’d been doing. Frank had known me longer than just about anyone, and he knew me better than my own parents had. “And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling kids.” I sat down at the breakfast nook and took a bite of my bacon before adding, “I didn’t bring him here so you could give him my life story.”

“What life story?” Frank asked with another snort. “I’ve known you for thirty years, and I still don’t know your real name.”

“Imp IS my real name,” I pointed out to him, not for the first time. “Anything else is just another alias.” Then I gave Frank a suspicious look and asked, “Whatever happened to the grumpy old bastard who used to say, I ain’t telling nobody nothing no how?”

“I’m seventy-two years old,” Frank told me with a snort. “My doctor says I can’t drink, smoke, or eat any of the foods I like anymore…” He looked directly at the bacon as he said that. “And I haven’t been able to get it up for longer than I care to think about. Talking is about the only pleasure I have left, so I’m damn well going to enjoy it.”

Ben just sat back, watching this exchange with a look of amusement. Then he turned his full attention to me, staring at me with a strange expression. He looked like he was about to say something when suddenly my phone began beeping. I immediately jumped up to go check it, seeing that a text message had come in.

“What is it?” Ben asked with an intense look that indicated he already had a good idea.

I met Ben’s eyes, giving him the answer we’d both been waiting for. “We know where Paradigm is holding Melissa.”

Wisconsin, Monday afternoon, June 18th, 2007

I was sitting on top of a hill, staring through a pair of binoculars at the fenced compound in the distance. Normally when I did this kind of surveillance, I’d use my chameleon field to blend into my surroundings and become invisible, though I’d avoided doing so this time as a courtesy to Chickenhawk.

Chickenhawk sat beside me, once again dressed up in his familiar costume, just as I was dressed in mine. Now that we knew where Melissa was being held, we were both dressed and ready for action, though I’d been forced to call foul on my current partner’s plan to charge through the front gate. Only an idiot did that kind of thing without proper preparation. And though I’d normally say that I couldn’t expect anything else from Chickenhawk, I’d been recently around him enough to discover that he wasn’t quite as dimwitted as I’d always thought. The fact that he’d actually listened to my advice just proved that.

“Small visible compound,” I commented. “Four small buildings inside the fence.”

“You said visible compound,” Chickenhawk pointed out.

I nodded, having wondered if he’d catch that. “There are a couple vents around the compound. My guess is that the real base is underground, probably about the same size as the fenced area, though I can’t guarantee how many stories deep.”

“I’ve only seen half a dozen people outside,” Chickenhawk said.

“Wearing off the rack minion garb,” I added with a grin.

I remembered seeing those same uniforms the last time I was at Simply Faboo getting a replacement uniform made. They were basic uniforms, designed more to give a standardized look rather than provide any real armoring. Of course, that wasn’t a surprise, considering what I knew of Paradigm.

Paradigm didn’t usually go into places with guns blazing, but considered herself a mastermind and puppet master. From what I’d read in her file, instead of hiring soldiers and cheap thugs, she tended to hire hackers and accountants…people who could help her achieve her goals using less than physical methods. And if you weren’t expecting people to go into combat, why spend the extra money to buy them quality combat armor?

“Most of her people are probably underground,” I told Chickenhawk. “Hijack told me that Paradigm has about three dozen people working for her, but that she usually doesn’t have more than two dozen at her base. However, she may or may not have someone else with powers working for her too.”

“Then I guess it’s time to go get Melissa,” Chickenhawk announced, standing up with a look of fierce determination on his face.

“Wait,” I exclaimed, jumping to my own feet. “Don’t tell me you’re just going to go charging in there…”

Chickenhawk gave me a dark look and stated, “I’m going to get my daughter back…”

“Patience grasshopper,” I told him, letting out an exasperated sigh. I thought I’d already talked him out of just blindly charging in. Then before he could fly off, I asked, “What is your primary objective? Do you want to capture Paradigm, disrupt this entire operation, or recover the hostage?”

Chickenhawk paused at that, giving me a curious look. “You know damn well what I’m here for.”

“If you want to disrupt Paradigm’s current setup, then flying in would be the way to go,” I explained. “You’d probably create a lot of chaos and her people might even freak out. However, when you announce your presence that way, you’ll be giving Paradigm enough warning that she can simply grab the hostage and teleport out…before you ever reached either of them.”

Chickenhawk tensed at that and I saw the realization setting in. By being impatient and charging in, he could blow the entire thing and let Paradigm get away with his daughter. A moment later, his confidence seemed to fade and he began to almost deflate in front of me.

“We’re better off thinking of this as a heist,” I pointed out with a grin. “The best option is to sneak in, grab the valuable, then sneak back out before anyone notices…” Then I paused to muse, “Of course, if this was a normal heist job, I never would have accepted it. It usually takes time to gather information and plan a proper heist… Unfortunately, that isn’t an option this time.”

“It’s strange, hearing you talk like that,” Chickenhawk said, giving me an odd look. “You sound so…professional.”

“I am a professional,” I reminded him with a grin. “If I wasn’t, you would have caught me a long time ago.”

“A professional pain in the ass,” Chickenhawk muttered. Then he looked a bit chagrinned as he admitted, “I always thought you relied on dumb luck.”

I just grinned more broadly at that. “Good research and preparation can put luck on your side.”

Chickenhawk nodded faintly. “Then what do you recommend?”

“A hot bubble bath with a good book and a glass of chardonnay,” I responded almost absently. Chickenhawk gave me a dirty look, so I said, “As I said a few minutes ago, I’ll sneak in alone, see if I can find Melissa, then see if I can sneak her out. This is the best chance of getting her out unharmed.”

“And if you can’t get her out?” Chickenhawk demanded, his voice filled with worry and frustration.

“Then I’ve at least scouted the place,” I answered, meeting his gaze. “At the very least, I’ll get a look at their security and find out exactly where they’re keeping her. Then I come back and we make our plans with that in mind.”

“That sounds…reasonable,” Chickenhawk reluctantly agreed. Then he stared at me for a moment before shaking his head. “Not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine working with you…or that you’d be the voice of patience and reason.”

“I’m a woman of many layers,” I stated wisely. “Like an onion.” That earned a faint chuckle from Chickenhawk.

I just watched Chickenhawk for a moment, reminding myself that once this was over…once Melissa was back home…we’d go back to our usual game. I actually felt sad at that thought. And unfortunately, once we did, I’d be at a distinct disadvantage. I’d shown Chickenhawk too many of my cards, so now, many of my normal tricks would no longer work on him. I might be forced to snoop into his personal life a little, just to even the score.

“No distractions,” I muttered to myself as I tried to rein in my thoughts. “Not now.” This alliance was going to cause me problems in the future, but I’d gone into it knowing that would be the case. I’d deal with those problems when they came. For now, Melissa came first.

“So,” Chickenhawk asked me grimly. “What am I supposed to do while you’re out trying to rescue my daughter?” It was obvious that he hated the idea of sitting still while sending a villain in to do the rescue. I couldn’t really blame him for that.

“Wait here and be patient,” I told him. “And if I don’t call you within an hour of going in, feel free to come charging in.” After all, I might need a noisy distraction and he fit the bill perfectly, not that I was going to tell him that.

With that, I started down towards the compound, using the chameleon effect of my PK aura so that I’d draw less attention. Once I reached the fence, it was an easy matter to slip past it and get to one of the large air vents. I looked it over and found that it was wired to an alarm system, but that was no problem to bypass either. After a mere ten seconds, I deactivated the alarm, removed the grate, then slid myself inside.

The ventilation ducts were tight, but I used my aura to make myself slick so that I could slip through with ease. Then, once I’d gone far enough, I used my PK claws to create a nice exit for myself, and I began to crawl through the ceiling crawlspace instead. It was much roomier, and it offered me the advantage of being able to move aside the ceiling tiles in order to peek at what was below.

Several men walked past and I remained where I was, carefully listening to their conversation before moving on. A minute later, another pair of men passed beneath me and I eavesdropped on them as well while they complained about having to watch ‘the girl’ in room seventeen.

“Gotcha,” I whispered, assuming that they’d been referring to Melissa.

I found Melissa’s cell a few minutes later, with a door that had a fairly simple electronic combination lock on it. And though I could have worked my way around that…or simply used my PK claws to cut through the door, I’d long since learned the value of cheating. I pulled out a small devise I carried, which was about the size of a golf ball, and stuck it on the keypad. After a moment, the lock was neutralized so I opened the door and stepped inside.

The room didn’t look anything like I would have expected for a dungeon cell. There was carpeting, a comfortable looking queen sized bed, and walls that were decorated with a few pieces of generic art. All in all, it looked more like a decent hotel room. Of course, all of this fit with what Hijack had told me about Paradigm and how she liked to treat her prisoners.

“Not a bad setup,” I mused as I looked around. Of course, a gilded cage was still a cage, though the bling might distract some people from that fact.

Melissa was in the room, sitting back in a chair and watching TV. She hadn’t noticed my entrance, so I took advantage of that distraction to sneak up behind her. I suddenly put my hands over her eyes and cheerfully exclaimed, “Guess who.”

Melissa let out a faint shriek as she jumped to her feet. And as soon as she snapped around, looking like she was ready to start fighting, she froze. Her eyes went wide and a look of relief passed over her face, followed by one of disappointment. I imagined that she’d been expecting her father to come and save her.

“Imp,” she exclaimed, looking as though she couldn’t quite believe it. “You’re here…”

“You act like this is the first time I ever came for you,” I replied off-handedly.

“Oh my God,” Melissa blurted out, almost bouncing with excitement. Then without warning, the threw herself at me, grabbing me in a hug. I hugged her back a little awkwardly, though I had to admit that I enjoyed it.

“So,” I asked her in a casual tone. “Why didn’t you just walk on out of here?”

Melissa deflated a little then admitted, “I did… Then Paradigm caught me and brought me back…” She gestured to the golden metal collar on her neck. “And she put this thing on me, and it won’t let me walk through walls, and every time I try teleporting or doing anything at all it shocks me…”

“Oooh, a very pretty dog collar,” I commented as I moved closer to examine it. “Let’s say we get rid of this thing…”

The collar was a fairly smooth gold metal without any key hole, though I could see where the latch was. While I was carefully looking it over, Melissa continued talking. “It’s REALLY heavy…and it shocks me when I use my powers…and Paradigm says they’ll shock me with it if I try running away again…and that it has a tracking device in it…and…”

“It won’t be a problem much longer,” I told Melissa, cutting her off. She was rambling a bit and it was getting just a little distracting.

With that, I touched the collar, then extended my PK aura into it, feeling the latch inside and nudging it just a little. The collar popped open, so I quickly removed it from Melissa’s neck and looked at it a little more closely.

“Well I’ll be a monkey’s aunt,” I mused, noticing the black metal that lined the inside surface of the collar. It was a thin layer...very thin…almost as if painted on. “Ebidium. No wonder it was so heavy…and why you couldn’t just phase through it.” Then I shrugged and casually tossed the collar into the corner.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Melissa blurted out, grabbing me in another hug.

“Now then,” I said, giving her a grin. “I do have one question for you…” I paused and Melissa looked at me expectantly. “Why didn’t you tell me that Chickenhawk was your dad?”

Melissa’s eyes shot wide and she took a nervous step back, giving me a guilty look. “I…,” she started, staring at the ground awkwardly. “I didn’t think you’d want to be my friend…”

I let out a sigh at that since she was probably right. If I’d known who her dad was, I probably would have avoided her instead of teaching her. Then again, it might have been even more fun to teach her if I had known who her dad was.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and gestured for Melissa to sit next to me. “We don’t have a lot of time,” I told her gently, “but I think this is worth taking a minute for. I don’t care who your dad is or what horribly evil things he’s done…” Melissa giggled at that. “I don’t blame you for any of it.”

“You aren’t mad?” Melissa asked me hopefully.

“A little annoyed,” I admitted with a shrug. “Knowing that little tidbit would have saved me a lot of trouble and worry, but I can understand wanting to be seen as your own person.”

“I’m sorry,” Melissa said quietly.

Melissa looked so sad and pitiful at the moment that I couldn’t resist putting my arm around her for a half-hug. She seemed to brighten up a little at that. “So,” I asked, “if your dad is a superhero, why in the world would you want to hang around someone like me?”

“Because you’re so cool,” she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. Then she deflated just a little bit again as she grumbled, “And my dad isn’t…”

I chuckled at that, feeling just a little smug. “Most people would probably be pretty excited at having superheroes in the family.”

Melissa shrugged awkwardly. “He’s always so serious…and he never wants to have any fun. He’s always talking about being responsible and professional…and he just doesn’t understand. He’s always too busy for me.” She deflated a little more, then quietly admitted, “I figured that once I had powers, he’d make me become a hero too…and then I wouldn’t be allowed to have any fun…”

“And you thought that I’d be more fun,” I responded with a faint smile.

The girl beside me nodded, then stared at me for several seconds with an odd expression. “You can even make my dad smile.” I was a little startled by that statement, but before I could ask what she meant, she explained. “He’s usually grumpy and serious when he comes back from work…but not when he fights you. After he fights you, he comes home smiling or laughing…” Then she paused and admitted, “Well, sometimes he’s really mad…but after he calms down he starts laughing.”

“Is that so?” I asked, not sure what else to say to that.

I’d always thought that Chickenhawk was boring and stuffy, and it seemed that his own daughter shared that opinion. And though I knew my antics usually annoyed him, I never thought that he’d also find them amusing. Then again, after all the time I’d spent with Chickenhawk over the last couple days, I’d learned that he does have a sense of humor…even if it isn’t as brilliant and well developed as my own. Not everyone is lucky enough to be a comedy genius.

“So,” I asked as I stood back up, sweeping my arm around the room. “How would you rate the accommodations of this hotel?”

Melissa giggled at that, then grinned as she answered, “They have great room service…” She gestured to a side table which had a tray of candy sitting on it. Then she almost looked embarrassed as she admitted, “Paradigm was kind of nice… She kept coming in to talk with me, and gave me pizza and candy, and brought the TV so I wouldn’t be bored. One of the guards is really mean and scary, but Paradigm makes him leave me alone…”

“I see,” I said, in a flat tone.

It seemed that Paradigm really was trying to work the whole Stockholm Syndrome thing, just like Hijack said she would. She’d even been playing good cop/bad cop…or good kidnapper/bad kidnapper with Melissa, trying to make Melissa look to her as a protector as well as the source of all the good things. If we hadn’t found Melissa, then Paradigm’s manipulations of the girl might actually have worked.

“Let’s get out of here,” I told Melissa, pulling out my cell phone and scowling in annoyance at the fact that I didn’t have any bars. That was inconvenient. “If we take too long, your dad will kick down the front door…and then we lose the element of surprise.”

“He’s here?” Melissa blurted out, looking both excited and worried at the same time.

“Oh yeah,” I said in a cheerful tone. “He was so worried about you, he actually came and begged me to help him find you…”

Melissa gave me a skeptical look at that, though I wasn’t sure if it was over the idea that her dad would come rescue her, or that he’d ask me to help him do so. Then she looked a bit confuse and cautiously asked, “You and my dad are working together?”

“Classic team-up,” I responded with cheerfully. “Now, this is where things get tricky. You can’t go out the way I came in, so we’ll have to sneak out through the hallway. It’s a good thing we can both turn invisible.”

“You can turn invisible too?” Melissa exclaimed with a look of delight.

Normally I’d never tell someone about that power, but I’d already revealed it to Chickenhawk and this was the best way to get her out of here alive. “Just don’t spread it around,” I said, giving Melissa a steady look to show that I was actually serious about that. “Now, the problem is, you can’t stay invisible for long so will have to move quickly, and my powers won’t let me move quickly while invisible…”

“Really?” Melissa asked, looking a little startled at that revelation.

I just frowned a little, not at all happy about having to give up more of my secrets, especially about my weaknesses, but it was necessary. I’d already made the decision that getting Melissa out safely was more important than anything else.

“Pay attention and you’ll be able to see me when I move fast enough,” I told Melissa, even though my every instinct was to keep this to myself. “When I stop moving or disappear completely, you stop as well.”

With that, I gave Melissa a wink and a thumbs up, then activated the chameleon effect of my PK aura. Melissa let out a faint gasp, then she grinned excitedly before she suddenly vanished from view. Without saying a word, I opened the door, took a look down the hallway, and began heading for the exit. I didn’t bother looking behind me since it wouldn’t do any good, and I could hear Melissa’s breathing and footsteps.

I moved down the hall a little faster than I would have if I’d been by myself, but Melissa couldn’t be as patient as I could. However, when I saw a woman up ahead of us, I froze in place, as if I was playing a real life version of the game red light/green light. The woman walked right past Melissa and I, not even realizing we were there. But unfortunately, just as I was about to start moving again, I noticed Melissa pop back into view.

“Sorry,” she whispered self-consciously. “I couldn’t hold it any longer...”

“You should have gone before we left,” I joked weakly, glancing back and forth down the hall to make sure no one came and saw us. “How long does it usually take you to recharge?”

“I just need a little break, then I can do it again,” Melissa told me, sounding almost apologetic.

“Okay then,” I said, dropping my own invisibility so Melissa could see me. “New plan. Once you’re able to go again, we’ll look for a spot so you can hide and rest up for the next jump. We’ll do this a little bit at a time.”

Melissa pouted at that, then asked, “Why can’t we just run for the door?”

“Because someone would probably see us and sound the alarm,” I explained. “And that creates all kinds of problems. Remember, when you’re trying to sneak in or out of a place, patience is your best tool. You take your time and wait for your opportunities.”

“Now you sound like my dad,” Melissa grumbled. Then in what was clearly intended to be an impersonation of her father, she said, “You need to learn patience…”

I couldn’t help but laughing at that, even as I was a little offended by the comparison. “What do you know. Chickenhawk and I actually agree on something.” Then I quickly added, “But don’t you ever tell him I said that.” Melissa giggled in response.

Suddenly, a loud alarm began going off and Melissa jumped, demanding, “What’s that…?”

“Either they realized you’re gone,” I answered, “or your dad got impatient and decided to come knocking. Either way, that alarm doesn’t sound good.”

“What does sound good?” Melissa asked, obviously afraid though she tried hiding it.

“An MLT. A mutton lettuce and tomato sandwich,” I answered with my best Billy Crystal impression, though I wasn’t sure if she caught the reference. “Especially when the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes are ripe…”

While I was regaling Melissa with my impression, several uniformed men came running around the corner, though they nearly tripped over themselves stopping when they saw us. They obviously weren’t very good guards, because they fumbled a bit as they reached for the pistols strapped to their belts. I guess this was what Paradigm got when she hired hackers instead of soldiers. I just let out an exasperated sigh, thinking that this was why I didn’t like doing the whole rescue thing. If it had just been me, I would have been out of here without anyone noticing, but now I had Melissa to slow me down. Of course, there was no way I was about to abandon her.

I immediately threw a smoke bomb at the men, then rushed them while they were confused. “Knock knock,” I exclaimed, right before I knocked their heads into the wall. “Come on,” I told Melissa, who was staring with her eyes wide open. “Remember, those who taunt and run away live to taunt another day.”

Since Melissa had already rested enough, she turned invisible and we tried to sneak out as quickly as we could. We made it past a few armed guards who actually looked competent, then got into the elevator. A minute later, we emerged back on the surface, inside one of the four buildings I’d seen from a distance.

A loud booming sound came from somewhere outside the small building, and in response, Melissa ran right for the door to check it out. I grimaced and ran after her, wishing that she’d think before acting, because she was going to get us both in trouble. Melissa had paused just outside the door and was looking around, so I stopped behind her and was about to tell her to turn invisible again, when I realized we weren’t alone. Paradigm was floating in the air about twenty feet above the ground, with her cape billowing around her in a rather impressive manner.

“Did you really think you could catch me by surprise?” Paradigm demanded, though she wasn’t looking at me.

I followed her gaze, expecting to see Chickenhawk, though I was surprised to see someone else there instead. Jack Rabbit stood out in the open, looking just as cocky as every other time I’d seen him. So far, he hadn’t noticed me either, or if he had, he gave no indication of it.

“Actually,” Jack Ass responded with a smirk, “I believe I did catch you by surprise…”

With that, Jack Ass jumped at Paradigm, leaping an impressive distance and with a surprising speed. But just as he was about to hit her with one of his rabbit punches, she vanished, only to reappear a short distance away. An air conditioner suddenly tore loose from one of the buildings and went flying straight at the hero, though he managed to snap around and kick it, shattering it into pieces.

“How did you find me?” Paradigm demanded in a cold tone.

“I asked your mother,” Jack responded. “She always did like me…”

“My mother has dementia,” Paradigm snapped back angrily. “She likes everybody…”

“Now to take what I came for,” Jack Ass demanded. “Mouse Girl and your gems. I won’t let you abuse their power anymore…”

I rolled my eyes at the amount of self-righteous hypocrisy that came from his mouth. Heroes like Jack always annoyed me, because they were always spouting of some kind of self-serving gibberish about how they were morally superior. This time, it was even worse than usual because I knew exactly what Jack had been up to, and the fact that he probably rationalized every bit of it as being ‘for the greater good’.

Jack Ass looked like he was about to leap at Paradigm again, but then he abruptly paused and seemed to notice Melissa for the first time. “Mouse Girl,” he exclaimed, though his eyes settled on me a moment later. “Again, I find you in the presence of this demon. It seems I will have to remind you of where your true loyalties lay…”

“Leave me alone, you jerk,” Melissa yelled at him.

Jack took several steps towards us, then he suddenly went flying sideways and smashed into one of the buildings. From the look of surprise on Paradigm’s face, it was obvious that she hadn’t been responsible for that, which meant that I knew exactly who had done it.

“DAD,” Melissa blurted out, right before clamping her hands over her mouth.

Chickenhawk descended from the sky, and he was glaring at Jack Rabbit, looking pissed. He’d obviously hit Jack Ass with one of his gravity altering spheres, and from his expression, he was planning on doing a lot more than that to the other ‘hero’. But then, he looked towards Melissa and his anger was suddenly replaced with relief.

“Melissa,” he gasped. “Are you all right?”

“Um…,” Melissa responded, giving me a nervous look. “Yeah…”

Just then, Jack Ass got back to his feet and seemed to notice Chickenhawk for the first time. “Superhawk, isn’t it? I don’t know why you’re here, but it’s a good thing you are. Now it’s two against two, and these villains will fall.”

He obviously didn’t realize that Chickenhawk was the one who’d sent him flying into the side of the building, nor had he heard Chickenhawk and Melissa calling out to each other. If he had, he certainly wouldn’t be making the conclusion that Chickenhawk was here to help him.

“Another hero,” Paradigm exclaimed, spitting out the word hero. “You call yourselves heroes, but you do NOTHING to actually try fixing the problems of the world. Anyone who does…anyone who tries to change the status quo…you call a villain…all the while ignoring the real villains. An executive steals millions, destroys a company, causes thousands of people to lose their jobs and retirement accounts…and then he gets paid millions more to walk away and do it all over again. A politician steals from the public coffers and accepts bribes to work against the public good for decades on end. A company pours tons of toxins into the environment and makes obscene amounts of wealth for doing so. These are the true villains, yet your kind would rather bask in the spotlight and chase muggers than deal with them. But unlike you, I accept the responsibility that comes with my power. I accept the responsibility to deal with these problems as they should have been dealt with long ago. Maybe once the world regains its senses, everyone will see me as a hero…and you as the frauds you are.”

“Run,” I whispered to Melissa, glancing at the same time to Chickenhawk and Jack Ass, both of whom had paused while listening to Paradigm’s speech. “Get out of here and hide until this is over…”

“But what about…?” Melissa started to protest, until I gave her a gentle shove and she started to hurry away.

With that, I began to clap, which made everyone else turn and stare at me in surprise. “Great monologue,” I told Paradigm cheerfully. “One of the best I’ve ever heard. Passionate, dramatically delivered, and you provided a clear mission statement. So many fall into the trap of rambling on and completely losing track of any point they were trying to make…”

Jack Ass stared at me and demanded, “Are you fucking stupid?”

“Oh no,” I responded cheerfully, walking over and grabbing Chickenhawk’s arm. “We don’t have that kind of relationship.”

I was sure that if I’d been able to see all of Chickenhawk’s face, the look on it would have been priceless. However, it was Paradigm, who looking confused, demanded, “What kind of hero are you supposed to be?”

I just burst out laughing at that. “Me? A hero?”

“She’s a demon,” Jack Ass snarled. “She’s the worst sort of villain…”

“I’m a villain,” I stated with a grand gesture. “I am the fabulous Imp…by both name and nature. By profession, I am a brilliantly talented thief.”

“Imp,” Chickenhawk growled a warning. “What are you doing?”

“Providing a distraction,” I answered quietly. “Giving Melissa time to get away.” He seemed surprised by that, though I didn’t pay him any more attention. “Now, Paradigm,” I started again. “Or is that Pair of Dimes? Pretty cheap if you ask me. You should have gone for a full dollar, or a quarter at the very least…”

“If you aren’t a hero,” Paradigm demanded, seeming both angry and confused by my presence, which was actually pretty normal. “Then what are you doing here?”

“I don’t have any problems with your world domination business,” I answered with a shrug and a grin. “Not my business. However, I am a bit miffed with you. You see, you took someone who was under my protection and made me drive all the way out here to pick her up again…”

“The so-called Mouse Girl,” Paradigm said with a sigh. “She seems…quite energetic.”

“And she’s MINE,” Jack Ass snarled. “She’s my sidekick…”

“She’s my DAUGHTER,” Chickenhawk yelled, suddenly firing one of his warped gravity balls at Jack Ass, though the bouncing buffoon reacted quickly enough to dodge the attack.

I silently cursed Chickenhawk for jumping the gun and attacking like that when he should have done the smart thing, which was take advantage of my distraction to fly off, grab Melissa, and get the hell out of there. Now we were stuck in a brawl that could have been avoided. Of course, I really wanted to smack Jack Ass upside the head as well, so I couldn’t blame him for taking advantage of the opportunity.

Jack Ass jumped at Chickenhawk faster than my ally expected, and though Chickenhawk was already trying to fly out of the way, he caught a glancing blow from a rabbit punch. Chickenhawk was thrown back from the blow, and I suspected that if it wasn’t for his armor, he would have suffered some broken ribs. As it was, he looked a little shaken.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I muttered, right before calling out, “Go Chickenhawk. Kick his ass.” Then I shook my head and muttered, “If anyone in the union hears that I’m cheering on a hero, I’ll never hear the end of it…”

Chickenhawk grabbed a small forklift and threw it at Jack Rabbit, who immediately jumped out of the way. However, my usual opponent followed the forklift up with several balls of his warped gravity, which missed Jack Ass. One of them hit a barrel, which suddenly went flying right at the asshole, catching him from behind.

While the two heroes were fighting it out, I turned my attention to Paradigm, who was watching the fight with an expression of surprise and curiosity. Obviously, she was wondering why the heroes were fighting amongst themselves rather than coming after her, and she was smart enough to stay out of the way and let them do their work. Then she noticed me coming towards her and she tensed up, ready to attack me, though I made no aggressive moves. I had no real desire or reason to fight Paradigm now that Melissa had been freed. In fact, if I ever ran into her at the Black Mask, I’d probably invite her to sit down and have a talk.

“Yo, Dimes,” I said, giving her a broad grin. “While the menfolk are busy releasing all that excess testosterone, what say we have a little powwow.”

“What do you want?” Paradigm asked, giving me a suspicious look. Then she lowered herself back to the ground so we were at the same level.

“I’m not here to get up in your business,” I told Paradigm in a cheerful tone. “Like I said, I’m only here for the girl. If you’d actually hurt her, I wouldn’t be so friendly, but since she’s all right, I’m willing to forgive and forget…”

“How generous of you,” she responded, the sarcasm clear in her voice.

“You seem like a reasonable woman,” I continued, “and you have a problem with Little Bunny Foo Foo over there…”

“Little Bunny Foo Foo?” she asked, smirking faintly. “I’ll have to remember that one.”

That just made me chuckle. In spite of the fact that she’d kidnapped Melissa, I kind of liked this woman. Of course, she was one of those people who was motivated by a grand purpose, which meant that she could probably be quite dangerous while serving that purpose. Fortunately, her goals and mine coincided at the moment.

“If you’re willing to leave the girl alone,” I offered, “then all three of us can focus on kicking Little Bunny Foo Foo’s ass…”

Paradigm stared at me for a moment before giving a short laugh. “I can agree to that. I won’t touch the girl again.”

Suddenly, Melissa appeared right behind Paradigm and exclaimed, “Let’s see how you like it…” And with that, she snapped a familiar looking collar around Paradigm’s neck. Paradigm screamed in pain, grabbed at the collar and then collapsed to the ground. Melissa was excited and looking quite satisfied as she said, “She told me it would shock me if I was outside that room…”

I stared at Melissa, who instead of running away like I’d told her, had obviously gone back down to her cell to recover the necklace. Then I glanced at Paradigm, who was twitching helplessly, and did a facepalm. “Did you hear what I was talking to her about?”

“No,” Melissa responded awkwardly, obviously realizing that I wasn’t happy with her ‘help’.

“She’d just promised to leave you alone,” I said with an exasperated sigh. “And she was going to help us fight Jack Ass…”

“Oh,” Melissa said in a near whisper, seeming to deflate. “But I just wanted to help…”

“You can help by getting out of here so your dad doesn’t have to worry about you,” I pointed out, deciding that I was going to have to escort her out of here myself.

But then, Jack Ass called out, “Good job, Mouse Girl. I knew I could count on your loyalty…”

With that, I looked over to the ‘hero’, just in time to see him leaping away from Chickenhawk and going straight for us. He swung his fist at me, so I jumped aside, barely avoiding one of his rabbit punches. Then as I snapped around, pulling out a couple throwing spikes, I realized that instead of coming at me again, he was bending over Paradigm.

“Finally,” Jack Rabbit exclaimed, holding up Paradigm’s belt and revealing the three gems that had been hidden in it. “After all these years, I finally have what she stole from me, and I owe it all to you, Mouse Girl…”

Melissa paled and moved behind me, nervously asking, “Did I just make a big mistake?”

“Clever move,” I responded, not taking my eyes off Jack Ass. “Bad timing. Now get out of her. NOW.”

Jack Rabbit gestured towards Melissa and she suddenly floated up off the ground, courtesy of the levitation power gem that he now possessed. As she started floating towards him, she teleported away. I took immediate advantage of that to throw a pair of throwing spikes at Jack Rabbit, though he easily dodged them. He was even faster than before.

“That damn amplifier gem,” I muttered in realization. Now that Jack Ass had all six of those power gems, he had the same abilities as Dominion used to possess, which meant he’d just become a lot more dangerous. “Shazbot.”

“This is your last chance to surrender, you bastard,” Chickenhawk exclaimed, floating into the air again and holding a large chunk of metal above his head. It looked like he was about to throw it right at Jack Ass.

However, Jack Ass ignored him and instead turned his attention back to Melissa, who was running off. “Stop right there, Mouse Girl… We need to finish your training.” To my horror, Melissa stopped and stood there.

Chickenhawk threw the chunk of metal at Jack Rabbit, but Jack just gestured and the metal went flying right back, smashing into Chickenhawk and knocking him from the air. Intellectually, I knew that the smart thing to do would be to just hide and wait for a better opportunity, but at the moment, I was too angry to care. There was absolutely no way in hell that I was going to let this bastard dig his claws into Melissa again. I focused all the PK energy from my aura to my hands, concentrating it into the invisible PK claws that extended out several inches from each of my fingers. Then without a word, I ran straight at Jack, intent on hitting him from behind while he was focused on Chickenhawk.

“I think not,” Jack Ass exclaimed as he snapped around. I suddenly found myself being lifted off the ground and held in mid-air. “I won’t allow you to terrorize innocent people ever again…”

“Now THAT is ironic,” I commented, wondering if he really believed that crap, though I had the impression that he was actually trying to convince himself as much as everyone else. It was as though he thought that by insisting on something hard enough, he could actually make it true. “But about what I’d expect from someone named Little Bunny Foo Foo.”

While I’d been talking, I’d released my PK claws and was focusing instead on altering my whole aura, using it to interfere and resist the telekinesis that was holding me. I finally got it and slipped free of Jack’s grasp, but before I even hit the ground, he snarled and gestured. A massive wave of force smashed into me, throwing me back so that I slammed into the wall with an explosion of pain through my entire body. Everything went dark.

--------------------

Wisconsin, Monday evening, June 18th, 2007

Pain. I awoke to a world of pain, or at least to a body that was full of it. Nearly every inch of my body hurt, from the tip of my nose to the end of my tail, though my left big toe was doing surprisingly well considering the way the rest of me felt. There was no doubt that I had a number of broken bones, and what wasn’t broken was seriously bruised. Of course, that was to be expected since I was blasted right through a wall.

Thanks to the amplifier gem, Little Bunny Foo Foo’s rabbit punch could now be thrown from a distance, turning it into a focused concussion blast. And unfortunately, I’d caught one right to the chest, without even having a PK shield up to absorb some of the impact. As it was, I was lucky to be alive. Or considering the fact that I’d woken up on the floor of a building, wrapped up in chains, maybe I would have been better off not surviving.

I silently cursed myself for getting into this situation in the first place. I should have been more careful. I should have avoided a direct fight in the first place, because I knew that wasn’t where my strengths were. In the last couple of months, I’d been hurt more times than in the previous five years combined, and I was really getting tired of it. Just because I could heal from any injury didn’t mean that it hurt any less.

“At least I can heal,” I quietly reminded myself, moving my jaw a bit to assure myself that it wasn’t broken.

Though I was still in a lot of pain, I could tell that the injuries were well on their way to healing. From experience, I knew that by now, any damaged organs or internal bleeding would have been taken care of. The worst of my broken bones were probably fixed as well, though certainly not all the way. The bruising was the least threatening to my wellbeing, so that would be the last thing to clear up.

“The little bunny sure has a nasty kick,” I muttered bitterly.

After I’d pulled myself awake enough to focus, I looked around the room I was in. It was nearly empty, looking like it was used more for keeping people out of the weather and giving them a place to sit guard than anything else. My guess was that I was still in Paradigm’s compound, but instead of being taken underground, I’d just been tossed in the nearest building. And through the window, I could see that it was night out. I’d been here for hours…not days. If it had been days, I would have been completely healed.

I didn’t have to wait much longer before the door opened and Jack Rabbit came in, radiating a sense of arrogance and smugness. It was even worse than before, which was no surprise. He’d recovered Paradigm’s power gems, which he’d been after for years, and he was now much more powerful than before. However, what did surprise me was that Melissa came in right behind him, wearing the same costume I’d seen her wearing the last time she’d been following Jack Ass around.

“Melissa,” I gasped, though the effort to speak hurt.

“My name is Mouse Girl,” Melissa stated as though it was a simple fact. “And you are going to pay for your crimes, villain…”

I stared at Melissa in horror, then snapped my eyes to Jack Ass, who I glared at in hatred. With the amplifier gem that he’d taken from Paradigm, he didn’t even need to drug Melissa. He’d simply overwhelmed her resistance completely.

“I’ve heard you were slippery and difficult to capture,” Jack Ass told me with a smirk. “Personally, I found it rather easy. But then again, most people don’t have my power and abilities.”

“Or your modesty,” I pointed out sarcastically. “Of course, you have so much to be modest about…Foo Foo.”

Jack Ass kicked me, sending a sharp pain all through my side, though I grimaced and tried not to make a sound. I didn’t want to give that bastard the satisfaction. He looked far too pleased with himself as it was.

“You’re a dangerous one,” Jack Ass said as he looked down at me. “You kidnap children. You steal souls…”

I just stared back at Jack, looking him right in the eyes. They were filled with arrogance, but not the insane mania that I would have expected. Now I was certain of it. He didn’t really believe all that nonsense he was spouting, though he was trying to convince himself as much as he was everyone else. He had a script he was following and a role he was playing, and he was going to stick to it no matter what. His ego was so massive, he was actually trying to change reality…or at least how everyone perceived it…by sheer stubborn insistence.

“I’ve freed Mouse Girl from your influence,” Jack Ass told me. “And I’ve been trying to redeem Paradigm’s minions…turn them into a force for good. But you… You’re evil…and your total corruption shows in your features.”

“Oh,” I said, unable to resist taunting him a little. “You mean my devilish good looks?” That earned me another kick.

Jack Ass just sneered at me. “You’re beyond redemption…and I can’t risk you escaping and harming more innocents…” He paused at that, then mused, “I’ll have to consider what to do with you. For now, I have more urgent things to attend to…”

With that, Jack Ass turned and walked out the door. Melissa stood where she was, watching me for a moment. Then I saw it, a look of worry passing over her face. She stared at me with an odd expression, looking as though she was about to either say something or come over to me. But then, the moment passed and she snapped around and followed after Jack. That expression hadn’t lasted for long, only for a couple seconds, but it was enough to tell me that Melissa wasn’t completely under his control. She was still trying to fight it.

“Good girl,” I said with a weak grin. “Keep fighting him…”

A few seconds later, I turned my attention back to my own situation, and the fact that I was injured and chained up, which was going to make it a real pain in the tail to try escaping. If I’d been awake while being chained, I could have flexed my aura enough to provide some resistance and kept the chains from being pulled tight, but I hadn’t been conscious and they were very tight.

Time was on my side. The longer I waited, the more I’d heal and the better shape I’d be in to escape. However, time was also against Melissa. The longer she stayed under Jack’s influence, the more difficult it would be to break her away.

I struggled against the chains as much as I could with my pain, trying to get enough wiggle room to get out. However, I couldn’t find any wiggle room and was left with the feeling that I was tied up with more than just the chains. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d been tied up with duct tape, and then with the chains over that. For the moment, I was trapped and vulnerable, which I absolutely hated.

I wasn’t some helpless damsel in distress, and I sure as hell wasn’t a Disney princess. I’d long ago accepted the fact that I’d never have some white knight charging to my rescue, nor a Price Charming to sweep me off my feet. In fact, every white knight I’d ever met had come after me like I was some dragon that needed slaying, and every prince had been an arrogant prick. No one was coming for me, so I had to figure out how to get out of this on my own. Only then would I be able to help Melissa.

Though it wasn’t easy, I forced myself to calm down, to be patient and think clearly. I wanted to go yelling and screaming, to distract Jack’s attention away from Melissa and give her a chance, but I knew that wouldn’t work. Instead, I focused all of my attention on my bindings again…and on using my power. I tried using my aura to probe against the chains and bindings, trying to get a better sense of what I was dealing with and where the week points would be. This confirmed that I was indeed wrapped up in duct tape under the chains, much to my annoyance. That would slow me down, but I wasn’t about to let it stop my escape.

About an hour after Jack’s visit, the door opened again and I braced myself to deal with the ‘hero’. But to my surprise, it was a completely different hero who quickly came into the room. Chickenhawk closed the door behind him, then rushed to my side.

“Imp,” he exclaimed, actually looking concerned. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” I responded with a weak smile. “Just a little tied up at the moment.”

I just stared at Chickenhawk for a moment, feeling incredibly relieved to see him, but also a bit confused. He’d come for me. For ME. No hero had ever tried to help me before. Not once.

When I was younger…much younger…and before I’d discovered most of my powers…an angry mob had come after me, only lacking torches and pitchforks to be complete. I hadn’t done anything to earn their wrath, other than begging for a little spare change on the street corner, but that hadn’t mattered to them. They’d attacked me, left me beaten and bruised…and then a superhero arrived. I’d been so relieved to see him, thinking that he was there to save me, but after only taking one look at me, he decided that I was some kind of monster who’d been attacking those ‘innocent civilians’. After all that, after my ‘hero’ had turned his back on me, I’d barely managed to escape, running away with my tail between my legs.

“You came for me?” I asked awkwardly, a little afraid to get my hopes up. Chickenhawk nodded and gave me a gentle smile.

“When I saw Jack Rabbit blast you through that wall,” Chickenhawk said awkwardly. “I…feared the worst.”

“So, you beat the bastard?” I asked.

Chickenhawk hesitated a moment, then admitted, “No.” He began working at my chains, trying to get them off. “After he got those new gems…he became too strong. When he grabbed Melissa, I went after him with everything I had…and it wasn’t enough.”

I nodded at that, not surprised since they’d been pretty evenly matched before Jack Ass got his upgrade. Now, not only were all of his own abilities stronger, but he also had Paradigm’s powers as well. That made him very dangerous.

When Chickenhawk finished removing most of the chains, he started on some of the duct tape so that he could get my arms free. Once I could move those again, I tore at the tape which held my tail strapped against my leg. That had been extremely uncomfortable, so I was more than happy for the chance to flick my tail around again and get some blood flowing back into it. Before long, the only thing left holding me were the thick metal manacles that Jack had somehow found and locked around my feet.

“I don’t see a key for those,” Chickenhawk said, sounding a little frustrated.

“No problem,” I responded with a weak grin. I bent over and formed my PK claws, then I cut right through the manacles. Chickenhawk watched with a look of interest. I gave him a real grin and said, “Much better.”

I started to get up, then paused at the pain that hadn’t completely faded yet. Chickenhawk seemed to notice because he quickly said, “Here. I think you need this.” He held up several of those power bars and protein drinks that athletes liked to use. “I know regenerators need energy after they heal…”

I nodded at that, snatching one of the bars and tearing into it. I hadn’t realized until that moment that I was starving. Until now, the gnawing in my stomach had just blended in with all the other pains and discomfort. I gulped down the first bar then went for the second, knowing that my body was really going to thank me for this. Whenever I heal from some serious injury, my body needed to get the energy and resources for the repairs, and if I couldn’t get calories into my system, my powers would start cannibalizing my own body for what it needed.

“Much better,” I announced, gulping down one of the nasty tasting protein drinks. At the moment, it tasted like ambrosia. As I finished the can, I asked Chickenhawk, “So, how did you get away?”

“I took a page from your playbook,” Chickenhawk admitted a little self-consciously. “I pretended to run away…then hid and waited until I saw an opportunity. In this case, until I saw a chance to come back and free you.”

“Sneaky,” I said appreciatively. “You might make a good thief yet.”

Chickenhawk snorted, then pointed out, “Considering the way you’ve been trying to save Melissa, you might make a decent hero.” I nearly choked at that. “Have you even thought of being a hero?”

“Hell no,” I responded, simultaneously amused and offended that he’d suggest such a thing. I thought about making a snarky comment, but instead, I simply said, “That path has never been an option.”

Now that I’d eaten, I stood up and stretched, though my body still ached from even this effort. I’d healed a great deal, and all this food was helping the process, but I still had a way to go.

“Why not?” Chickenhawk pressed, much to my annoyance. As if he couldn’t tell just by looking at me.

“Someone once told me that monsters can’t be heroes,” I stated flatly, not happy about having old memories dredged up like that. At least not that memory. “And then the world proved him right.”

Chickenhawk looked surprised by my response. “You aren’t a monster.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I snapped.

Normally, a little probing wouldn’t do more than annoy me, earning a smart-ass comment in response. However, the situation was already getting to me and Chickenhawk was pushing in a spot that I might conceivably be a little touchy about.

Chickenhawk stared at me, obviously a little surprised by my outburst. He’d probably been expecting the snappy comeback I was famous for rather than something like that. I scowled, annoyed at losing control like that. Things had just been getting too personal lately.

“I know you’re slippery as hell and damn difficult to catch,” Chickenhawk said, not taking his eye off me. “I know that you’re probably the most frustrating woman I’ve ever met…and the funniest. I know you’re more interested in the art than the money from selling it, that you’re a talented artist in your own right, that you have a soft spot for kids, and that when you don’t think anyone is watching, you like to dance. And I know that no matter what anyone else says…you aren’t a monster.”

Chickenhawk put a gentle hand on my shoulder and gave me a concerned look. I was suddenly aware of his close presence and my heart rate sped up. I looked up into his eyes, feeling the urge to just grab him and give him a kiss. It was just like on the porch again.

“Of course I’m not a monster,” I announced with a forced grin, pulling myself away from Chickenhawk in spite of the fact that it was the last thing I wanted to do. “I’m the fabulous Imp. A brilliant, talented, and extraordinarily good looking art thief.”

Chickenhawk gave me a concerned look, obviously not falling for it. “Imp…”

“Now, where is that wascally wabbit?” I asked with a false cheerfulness. “Let me at em. I’ll splat em.”

“That bastard has Melissa,” Chickenhawk reminded me, his voice filled with renewed fear and worry. “How can you joke around at a time like this?”

“As a wise rabbit once said,” I responded quietly, giving Chickenhawk a weak smile. “A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Sometimes in life, it’s the only weapon we have.”

Chickenhawk stared at me for several long seconds before nodding faintly. “I understand.”

I took a deep breath, then got serious again. “You were keeping watch. What did you see?”

My companion straightened up at that and went into professional mode as well. “Jack Rabbit was keeping close to the surface of the compound, checking the buildings but not staying out of sight for long. Melissa was trailing after him the entire time.” His voice was carefully controlled, but I could still hear the worry and frustration in it. “He wasn’t away long enough for me to do anything until now.”

“I saw her trying to fight it,” I told him. “Jack Ass doesn’t have her completely. Not yet.”

Chickenhawk let out a faint sigh of relief. “I ran into one of Paradigm’s people. Most of them were escaping out a back route…”

I nodded at that, not at all surprised the minions had been escaping that way. None of the minions had shown up above ground during the fight, which was expected since they were mostly banker and hacker types. I’d strongly suspected that Paradigm had a back door in her headquarters, though I hadn’t known where the exit was located and there hadn’t been time to locate it.

“I made him show me where the entrance was,” Chickenhawk continued, “but Jack Rabbit had found out they were escaping this way and sealed it off.”

“Too bad,” I mused. A back door could have been useful.

“We have to get Melissa away from him,” Chickenhawk snarled, clenching his fists. He didn’t need to add the fact that it wouldn’t be easy, not with Jack Rabbit’s power boost. “There’s a hero team in Milwaukee…”

“You want to call in reinforcements,” I mused. “Not a bad idea, but we have a limited window of opportunity…” I grimaced as I pointed out, “The longer Melissa is under his control, the harder it will be to break her away. She’s still fighting for now, but if she gives in…”

“Then I’m getting her away from him NOW,” Chickenhawk exclaimed. “I’m not leaving her with him for a minute longer than I have to.”

I nodded at that. “What about Paradigm?” Not only did she know Jack Ass, but she also knew what her own gems were capable of better than anyone.

“I saw Jack haul her into one of the other buildings,” Chickenhawk told me. “I think he’s giving her the same treatment he gave you.”

“Then we should probably have a friendly chat with her,” I told Chickenhawk. “She may not have her powers anymore, but she may know how to work around them.”

The food that Chickenhawk had brought me had helped a great deal, but what I really needed now was rest and a chance to finish my healing in peace. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. As I’d told Chickenhawk, we had a limited window of opportunity and we needed to take advantage of it before it closed, whether I was in top shape or not.

“Let’s go,” I told him.

Now that Chickenhawk and I had a next move in mind, I would have just had him stay here out of sight while I quietly snooped around the other buildings to see if I could find Paradigm. However, Chickenhawk had already used up what patience he possessed and walked right out the door and into the open, not seeming to care if he was seen. I had little choice but to follow him, thankful that the compound seemed to be empty at the moment. Though it was night and everything outside the compound fence was dark, the compound itself was actually well lit. It seemed that everyone had gone downstairs for the night, including Jack Ass.

There were three buildings remaining, one of which was obviously used as some kind of garage. “Jinkies,” I said as I looked around. “Let’s split up and look for clues…”

“No need,” Chickenhawk responded. “I saw Jack Rabbit carry Paradigm to that building.”

We went into the building Chickenhawk indicated, and I saw that it was used mostly for storage. A single look around revealed numerous shelves full of food and supplies, probably things that could be grabbed and loaded into vehicles at the last minute, without having to go back down into the bunker. However, right in the middle of the floor was Paradigm, who was tied up in a similar manner to how I’d been.

“You,” Paradigm snarled as she looked up at me. “You set me up…”

“No,” I responded with a shake of my head. “My offer was completely sincere. Unfortunately, your kidnap victim didn’t get the memo in time and took an opportunity for a little revenge.”

Chickenhawk stood back, his expression grim and not giving much away. However, I was pretty sure that he was proud of Melissa for taking down a villain like Paradigm, even if her timing could have been much better. He watched the still bound Paradigm, making no move to free her, obviously remembering that she was the one we’d originally come here to stop.

“Little Bunny Foo Foo is still making a nuisance of himself,” I said as I bent down and began to free Paradigm. “And while you may not have the firepower you did before, you still know him and his abilities better than we do.”

“Oh, I know him all right,” Paradigm said with a sneer. “I can’t believe I ever dated that egomaniac.”

Just then, the door opened up again and Melissa stepped inside. She froze, looking the three of us over with an expression of surprise.

“Melissa,” Chickenhawk exclaimed in delight. However, there was no matching look on her face.

“JACK!” Melissa yelled, right before she turned and ran. Chickenhawk grabbed her arm, but she turned intangible and pulled free, screaming out, “They’re escaping…”

Chickenhawk ran out the door after Melissa and I let out a muttered profanity. I glanced to Paradigm, who was halfway freed. I’d gotten the chains off her and enough of the duct tape away that she could use her hands. After only a moment of hesitation, I left her to finish freeing herself while I turned and ran out the door as well.

Jack Ass was standing out in the middle of the compound, having just come out of the structure that contained the elevator. He and Chickenhawk were staring at each other, facing each other down almost like a pair of gunfighters in the Old West. Melissa was by Jack’s side, which pissed me off and obviously pissed Chickenhawk off even more.

“How dare you betray a fellow hero,” Jack Ass snarled. “How could you side with these villains? Have they seduced you with their evil?”

I just rolled my eyes and was about to make a smart-ass comment, when Chickenhawk exclaimed, “Enough with your nonsense. Release my daughter from your control. NOW!”

“Your daughter?” Jack asked with a snort. “Unlikely.” He put a possessive arm around Melissa’s shoulder. “I found Mouse Girl living homeless on the streets…prey for evil monsters who would have done unspeakable things… You can lie all you won’t, but I won’t let you steal my sidekick.”

“Go away,” Melissa yelled at her dad. “I’m Jack Rabbit’s sidekick. He’s the greatest hero in the world.” However, in spite of her words, there seemed a certain lack of enthusiasm that gave me hope.

“Melissa,” Chickenhawk called out to his daughter. “Remember who you are… You can fight this…”

Melissa hesitated a moment, and I could see the resistance pass over her face. Unfortunately, Jack Ass noticed it as well because he immediately fired a concussion blast right at Chickenhawk. Chickenhawk was hit by the blast and thrown back, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet. He’d been far enough away from Jack Ass that a lot of the energy in the blast had already dissipated by the time it reached Chickenhawk, and his armor seemed to have protected him from the rest.

“You MONSTER,” Chickenhawk exclaimed, flying up into the air and then throwing one of his balls of warped gravity at Jack Ass. However, Jack Ass teleported out of the way, reappearing up in the air behind Chickenhawk. As he unleashed another concussion blast, Chickenhawk let himself drop like a rock, avoiding the blast entirely and catching himself in the air again just before hitting the ground.

“You can’t beat me,” Jack Ass announced, his voice filled with arrogance. “I am the greatest hero in the world, and I’m damn well going to prove it…”

Normally, a fight between two heroes would have been good cause to sit back with a bowl of popcorn, but this time it was deadly serious and I was cheering for Chickenhawk one hundred percent. However, while they were going at it, Melissa decided to get in on the act and suddenly teleported behind me. I barely saw her from the corner of my eye, but it was enough for me to begin moving, avoiding her punch…not that it would have done much. After all, she was just a kid.

“Come on, Melissa,” I said, jumping back and out of her way again. I flashed her a broad grin and teased, “I thought you didn’t want to be a hero… You know, they’re all boring and stuff.” I jumped back again. “They don’t get to have any fun.”

“I’m Mouse Girl,” she said, teleporting again and trying to hit me from behind.

“You don’t look like you’re having fun to me,” I pointed out, hoping that I could get through to her. Then I jumped back, did a back flip, and then when I landed, I did a bow and grinned. “Ta da… Now me, I’m having fun.”

Melissa paused and watched me, her eyes going wide as I did another back flip and grinned at her. Then she started to grin back. “Imp,” she started, though a dazed expression quickly returned. “I’m Mouse Girl… I have to help Jack Rabbit… He’s counting on me…”

“Your dad is counting on you,” I reminded her. Unfortunately, even though I could get through to her briefly, it wasn’t doing much good. That power gem had too much of a grip on her mind.

Melissa kept coming after me, but even though she could teleport and get behind me, she wasn’t really much of a threat. I was just hesitant to fight back because I didn’t want to hurt the kid. It wasn’t her fault.

I looked over to where Jack Rabbit and Chickenhawk were fighting, and though Chickenhawk was going all out, I was pretty sure that Jack Rabbit was holding back. I was pretty sure he wanted to stretch the fight out and toy with Chickenhawk a bit more. I could appreciate wanting to get into a hero’s head and mess with them, but in this case, I wanted Chickenhawk to win.

Chickenhawk landed on the ground, then grabbed a large chunk of machinery of some kind and threw it at Jack Rabbit, who was floating in the air. Jack teleported out of the way, landed on the ground, then jumped at Chickenhawk, clearly intending to hit him with a rabbit punch. Chickenhawk flew up, so Jack grabbed his foot instead, using that to slam my partner onto the ground. Jack had a smug grin on his face as he went to kick Chickenhawk, and I REALLY wanted to wipe that grin away.

“I’ve had all I can stands and I can’t stands no more,” I exclaimed, right before I threw several of my throwing spikes at Jack.

Thanks to his upgrade, Jack was stronger, tougher, and faster than before. He snapped around, his reflexes now being fast enough to dodge most of the spikes…but not all of them. One of my spikes hit him in the shoulder, though it barely went in at all before bouncing off.

“That stings,” Jack Rabbit snarled, looking pissed off but not seriously hurt. Jack fired a concussion blast at me, but I used some of the juice from my aura to give me a small boost as I jumped to the side and out of the way.

“Oompa loompa doompadee doo,” I sang as I ran, knowing that Jack was far too powerful for me to fight head on, so I’d just have to resort to my usual tactic of annoying the hell out of him. “I’ve got another riddle for you…”

“Are you insane?” Jack demanded.

I just grinned, making a show of looking rather cocky as I continued singing, “What do you do when your mask is on too tight…? When your brain is small and you’re not very bright…?”

Jack snarled and fired another concussion blast at me, and I dove and avoided this one as well. However, as I hit the ground and began to spring back to my feet, Melissa suddenly appeared beside me and kicked me in the face. I sprawled backward, having lost my balance as well as having gained a split lip.

“Move, Mouse Girl,” Jack yelled and Melissa immediately vanished again.

I quickly scrambled back to my feet, seeing that I was in a race against Jack who was about to blast me again. Suddenly, Chickenhawk slammed into me from the side, tackling me and knocking me out of the way a moment before another concussion blast hit.

“DADDY!,” Melissa cried out, running to her dad, who’d taken the brunt of that blast and was now spread out on the ground.

“Melissa,” Chickenhawk gasped, obviously in a bit of pain. He stared at his daughter, a smile forming as he realized that for the moment at least, she was back to herself. However, even as I watched, her expression threatened to glaze over again, though she was fighting it back. I had no idea how long she could continue to fight against the power of the gem.

“Are you okay?” I asked Chickenhawk, who was slowly sitting back up.

Jack Ass just stood back, looking annoyed. “Mouse Girl,” he snapped. “What are you doing? Get back over here…” He must have used the gem to emphasize his command, because Melissa immediately snapped back under his control and teleported back to his side.

“Imp,” Chickenhawk said, looking to me. His expression was almost pleading for me to do something.

“Don’t worry,” I told Chickenhawk. “I’m the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn’t very nice.” Then I gave him an evil grin as I added, “But it can be damn fun…”

I blew Jack Ass a raspberry, then ran, scrambling up the wall of one of the buildings, pausing at the top to flip him off with both fingers. He snarled and fired a concussion blast at me while I just grinned, thinking about the fact that he had all sorts of nifty new powers, but he was barely using them. After all, he could teleport right to me, use telekinesis, or even mind control me. Instead, he kept blasting at me with an almost single-minded determination. I could take advantage of that.

“Little Bunny Foo Foo, hopping through the forest,” I sang, taunting the ‘hero’ since that would keep him too distracted to think about all the options he now had available to him. “You know, Foo Foo, you are the worst superhero I’ve ever seen. And let me tell you, I’ve seen a lot of them…”

Jack Ass snarled, then threatened, “You won’t be laughing once I get my hands on you…”

“You know that wide screen TV in your apartment,” I called out, intentionally reminding him of that encounter and how his apartment had been destroyed because of it. “That looked expensive…”

That seemed to do the trick because Jack Ass launched himself at me with a powerful leap, so caught up in the moment that he was reacting out of habit, forgetting that he had more options than that now. I dove to the side, barely avoiding one of his rabbit punches, then jumped back to the ground while he came charging after me. However, he wasn’t quite as distracted as I’d hoped because he suddenly teleported, appearing right in front of me, and right in the middle of throwing one of the rabbit punches.

I immediately focused every bit of energy in my aura to one spot, creating a dinner plate sized PK shield which he slammed his fist into. The shield absorbed most of the energy from the rabbit punch, though I was still thrown back and landed on my fanny. It was just too bad my little shields were too small to do any good against a concussion blast.

“Imp,” Melissa cried out, breaking free again. “Leave her alone…”

Melissa ran towards us and tried to get in between Jack Ass and me, but he casually slapped her away, sending her flying. “I’ll deal with your insubordination later, Mouse Girl…”

I snarled at that, and hissed, “That’s it. No more miss nice Imp.”

“Face me,” Chickenhawk demanded.

Jack Ass was pissed off and coming at me like a raging bull, so he completely ignored Chickenhawk and charged. I focused all the energy from my aura into one spot, then at the very last moment, I suddenly dropped down and snapped my tail around. The PK blade I’d formed around the tip of my tail sliced right through Jack’s leg, right above the ankle. He screamed as his foot was severed, then he fell forward, landing on his face. I smoothly slipped around, then held up my prize, Jack’s belt...which my deft fingers had snatched right off him.

“YOU are the weakest link,” I said with an evil grin. “Goodbye.”

Jack was on the ground, screaming as he clutched the bleeding stump where his foot had been. With the health gem and the amplifier, he’d probably be able to heal from that in no time at all. Too bad for him all his power gems had been hidden in his belt.

I grinned evilly as I pulled the gems from the slots on the inside of the belt, feeling smug as I found them. When Jack had revealed that Paradigm had been keeping her gems in her belt, I’d suspected that he kept his in the same place. It looked like I was right.

When Bob had given me the files on Paradigm and Jack Ass, he’d provided a brief description of each gem, or at least of the color of each gem. From what Bob had said, the violet colored power gem was the one with the mind control powers. That was the one I was after.

“Melissa,” I said, willing the gem to work. “You are completely free of the gem’s power and any commands you were given.”

The ‘Mouse Girl’ expression immediately faded from Melissa’s face, and she yelled, “IMP,” right before throwing herself at me, running into me hard enough that I dropped the belt and gems. She hugged me tight and blurted out, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…”

“Glad to help, kiddo,” I responded with a sincere grin, hugging her back and thinking that this made everything I’d gone through worth it.

“What about me?” Chickenhawk asked with an amused smile.

Melissa’s eyes went wide and she exclaimed, “Dad,” as she ran over and grabbed him in a hug. “I was so scared…”

I watched father and daughter hugging for a moment, then turned my attention to Jack Ass. My eyes went to his severed foot, and I couldn’t help but wondering if Bob would be interested in a rabbit foot keychain as a souvenir. After all, rabbit feet are supposed to be lucky.

“I can’t believe that you and Imp are both here,” Melissa exclaimed to her dad, still hugging him tightly.

That drew my attention back to them, and I suddenly found myself wishing that I could join them. I was a little startled by this feeling, and the realization that after everything we’d been through together, I just wanted to hold Chickenhawk and give him a kiss.

“What the hell am I thinking?” I asked myself, a bit shaken by the turn of my thoughts and emotions. “That’s Chickenhawk…”

Of course, I this wasn’t the first time I’d had these thoughts and feelings about Chickenhawk. I’d gotten all excited with him last night, though this morning, I’d convinced myself that it had been a one-time thing, or at least I’d tried to.

“No,” I gasped in horror. “No way…” There was no way I was falling for Chickenhawk. Not CHICKENHAWK.

My heart was racing, and even as I was shocked by the idea, just watching him made me want to run over and give him a celebratory kiss…and maybe more. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I couldn’t deny that I definitely felt something for him…something that both excited and scared me at the same time.

Chickenhawk was the guy who’d been chasing me for years, being a self-righteous pain in my tail and trying to put me in jail. I couldn’t be feeling this way about him. But he was also the guy who’d complimented me on my paintings, who had a sense of humor that kept peeking out when I didn’t expect it, and who’d given me kind words when I needed them.

And of course, Chickenhawk had come for me. When I’d been tied up and helpless, trapped in the cliché role of damsel in distress…he’d come to rescue me. Chickenhawk had come for me. He was the first hero…the only hero to have ever come to save me.

“He only came for me because he needed me,” I whispered to myself, remembering that we’d tried to free Paradigm as well.

He’d come for me for the same reason we’d gone for her…because he needed my help to save Melissa. I felt hurt at that realization and betrayed, though I knew it was stupid to feel that way. After all, I’d never expected a hero to come save me before…at least not since I was a kid.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at Chickenhawk and Melissa with tears starting to form in my eyes. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. I was falling for Chickenhawk. Intellectually, I knew that I shouldn’t…that it was one of the worst things I could possibly do. But my heart didn’t seem to care.

“He’s a hero,” I reminded myself, but my heart simply responded, “I don’t care.”

There was no way I could have a relationship with Chickenhawk. None. I was a criminal…he was a hero. I stole paintings…he put people like me in jail. And even if I was attracted to him…and maybe even more…there was no way he could feel that way about me. None. The world didn’t work that way and I wasn’t that lucky. As I stood there, I felt my heart starting to break.

Just then, I noticed something from the corner of my eye and snapped around, only to see Paradigm bending down and grabbing at the belt and spilled power gems. She spared a quick smirk for Jack Ass, then she gave me a faint nod before she suddenly vanished. She’d just escaped with all the power gems…all except the one I still had in my hand…and I didn’t care.

“She has a good idea,” I whispered, my voice catching.

I looked at Melissa and Chickenhawk again, feeling delight and pain at the same time. I wanted to be with them more than I should, and I felt like an idiot for feeling that way. I didn’t belong with them and I knew it. I fought back against the tears that were trying to come out. I’d learned a long time ago that tears didn’t do any good.

“Time to take this show on the road,” I told myself, smiling even though that was the last thing I felt like doing. “Exit, stage left.”

And with that, I turned and slipped away, not even bothering with the kind of flashy exit I normally took such pride in. Right now, I just wanted to get as far away from Chickenhawk as I could.

After everything that had happened between us, everything he’d learned about me, I didn’t know what I’d do the next time we faced each other as enemies. In fact, I couldn’t imagine going back to that kind of relationship, not after this. The thought of it made the tears start flowing.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” I demanded of myself as I hurried away.

I’d just saved Melissa and got to take down a particularly obnoxious hero in the process. I should be happy. I should be celebrating. However, celebrating was the last thing I wanted to do. Instead, I just wanted to go home, climb into my tub for a long hot bath, and then get completely plastered…not necessarily in that order.

“Imp,” Melissa called out from a distance behind me. I paused to glance back and saw her looking all over, though she couldn’t see me, not when I was using my aura and being careful about not being seen. “Where’s Imp…?”

“I think she decided it was time to leave,” Chickenhawk told his daughter as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Then he called out, “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”

I smiled faintly at that, momentarily tempted to reveal myself and go running back to them, though I restrained myself. “I’m done,” I said with a sigh, realizing that somewhere along the way, I’d lost a step and had gotten sloppy. I’d let the whole business get too personal and now I was hurting because of it. “I’m done with everything.”

Then on a sudden impulse, I blew Chickenhawk and Melissa a raspberry, even though neither of them could see it. I remained where I was for several more seconds, then said a silent goodbye before I turned and continued on my way.

--------------------

New York, Saturday evening, June 30th, 2007

I stood in the middle of an art gallery, surrounded by beautiful paintings as well as well as a few mediocre ones. This was my art gallery, not in the sense that I owned it, but because this was the gallery that permanently hosted some of my own paintings, and it was where I usually introduced my new pieces.

Tonight, the gallery was hosting a party, as they did about every other week. Sometimes the parties were hosted in honor of a specific artist or player in the art scene, but tonight, it was a more general purpose party. Many of the artists who were signed with the gallery had been invited to bring a new piece or two, to unveil for the many other guests. I myself had brought two new pieces, which I was quite proud of.

People surrounded me on all sides, though few paid me any real attention, or at least not any more than they would an attractive woman and artist. I was currently wearing a slinky black dress and stiletto heels, as well as my favorite accessory…a magic amulet which used some kind of illusion to hide my tail, horns, and other unusual features. As far as everyone here was concerned, I was a perfectly normal baseline.

“If they only knew,” I quietly mused to myself.

I had no doubt that if most of the people here saw what I really looked like, they’d freak out at the sight of me. And if they knew who I really was, none of them would be quite so friendly. After all, professional art thieves weren’t usually very popular, no matter how fabulous. The irony with that was that I’d already counted three of my previous clients in this room, and they’d be just as quick to condemn me as everyone else, even though they were more than happy to actually use my services.

But in spite of the fact that I was in the middle of a party, surrounded by beautiful art, and had a glass of a good quality merlot in my hand, I wasn’t really enjoying myself. I’d come to the party and had thrown myself into the role of Candice Kade, largely to try taking my mind off the events of two weeks ago, but it wasn’t really doing much good.

I smiled faintly as I thought of Jack Ass, who’d not only lost all of his power gems, but his foot as well. Bob had laughed his ass off when I’d told him about that, and he’d even declared that he owed me a favor for doing the deed. Unfortunately, Chickenhawk had turned Jack Ass over to the authorities, which was far better than he deserved. However, since Melissa was his daughter, I let him make the decision, though I reserved the right to go after Jack Ass in the future should the law be too lenient.

Paradigm was the other major player who’d gotten off lightly. Sure, she’d lost her headquarters, and all of her henchman had gone running at the first sign of violence, but she herself had not only escaped with all of her power gems, she’d also acquired two of Jack’s gems as well. Now she had all the gems in the set, except for one…the mind control gem.

Somehow, I’d come out of that with the mind control gem in my possession, though I had no intention of actually using the thing. I was a professional thief, and though I felt no guilt at all for relieving people of their possessions, stealing someone’s free will was something I wouldn’t do. That was a line I wouldn’t cross, no matter how much easier it would make my work. Because of that, I’d hidden the gem away in a safe spot, along with a few other items I didn’t want anyone else to find.

Of course, the real topic that I was trying hard to avoid thinking about was Chickenhawk. When I’d surrendered my secrets to him in order to earn his trust, I’d known that I’d pay for it. However, I’d just thought that I’d be giving him a massive advantage over me the next time we fought…and that he’d probably share the information with the other heroes, making it much more difficult for me to continue as I had been. But unfortunately, the price I was paying now was even greater than I’d expected.

Whenever I thought of Chickenhawk…of Ben…it was with a mixture of giddiness and pain. I couldn’t believe that I’d gone and fallen for a superhero, and with Chickenhawk at that. Out of everyone I could been interested in, he was one of the worst possible choices. There was no way a relationship between us could possibly work, and I was an idiot for letting myself get into this position in the first place. I was a professional thief…a supervillain…not some hormonal teenage girl.

I’d heard from one of my contacts that Chickenhawk had been looking for me, though there wasn’t any chance of him actually finding me. I hadn’t taken any jobs during the last two weeks, had avoided the haunts he knew of, and I hadn’t even gone out in my working duds. And even though I was tempted to go out to some rooftop and taunt him when he flew past, I avoided doing that as well.

And then there was Melissa. I hadn’t seen her since the fight at Paradigm’s compound, nor had I gone to our normal meeting spot or checked our hidden drop box. I liked the kid and missed talking with her. And though I wanted to see her again, it was better for everyone if I didn’t. After all, she’d only gotten involved with Jack Ass and Paradigm because of me, though admittedly, that wasn’t my only reason. I just wished I didn’t feel like I was abandoning her.

Just then, a voice beside me said, “Candice?”

I nearly jumped in surprise. “David,” I said, greeting David Herman, the gallery manager.

“You looked a little distracted,” David told me almost apologetically.

“Sorry,” I responded with a faint smile. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

“I can understand that,” David said, giving me a gentle smile of his own. Then he gestured to skinny young man with long blond hair, asking, “Have you met Apollo Claive… He’s one of our other artists…”

Before I could really answer, David grabbed Apollo and introduced us. I had a feeling that David was trying to play matchmaker, which both amused and annoyed me at the same time.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Apollo told me with a smug look. “Have you seen my new painting?”

“It’s very nice,” I lied.

Apollo’s new painting looked like some kid randomly splattered paint across the canvas in a style reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. I’d never been a fan of abstract art, especially not in this style. It seemed lazy and sloppy to me, which was what I’d expect from Apollo. He was one of those pretentious twits who lacked any real artistic talent but made up for it with a lot of self-aggrandizing bullshit.

I was trapped for several minutes as Apollo filled my ears with talk about his brilliance. I stuck around long enough to be polite, then took advantage of a small distraction to slip away from him.

I made my way back to the area where my own paintings where hung, then made a little small-talk with a few people who came over to check them out and meet the artist. Some of these people were fellow artists who’d been invited to the party the same as Apollo and myself, while others were potential buyers.

Then I noticed a woman who was standing a short distance away and who’d been there for several minutes. She looked to be in her thirties, with blonde hair that was pulled back into a bun. She was wearing a pair of glasses and was dressed in a professional manner that didn’t quite fit with the way most of the other guests were dressed. What really caught my attention about her was the way she was looking straight at me.

The blonde woman realized that I’d noticed her because she walked over to me. “You’re Candice Kade,” she said, gesturing to my paintings. “I have to say, those are some interesting pieces.”

“Thank you,” I responded with a smile. However, there was something about this woman’s body language that made me a little wary, though I wasn’t sure why. Then it dawned on me what it was. She held herself with a confidence that I very rarely saw.

“I’m Elizabeth Carson,” she introduced herself, pausing as if expecting that I might recognize the name. That made me look her over again, and though there was something about her that seemed vaguely familiar, I couldn’t place what it was. That set my Imp senses to tingling.

“Nice to meet you,” I said politely. From the way she was dressed, I didn’t think she was one of the artists or one of the people who just came to socialize and enjoy the art scene. She came off a bit too businesslike for that. “Are you here as a buyer?”

Carson smiled very faintly before responding, “Actually, I came to meet you.”

“Me?” I asked in surprise. Then I grinned, swishing my tail back and forth a bit as I decided that she had to be a buyer of some sort. Maybe she was interested in commissioning me for something specific, which could be both profitable and interesting. Most of my commissions to this date had been for forgeries, so this definitely tickled my curiosity.

“There’s something I need to discuss with you,” Carson continued, giving me an odd look, “though this isn’t the place to do so.”

Carson had definitely stirred my curiosity with that, and I was about to ask her for more information when I suddenly noticed a familiar face standing nearby. I looked over at Ryan Chambers, who was carefully examining one of my new paintings, much to my delight and curiosity. I wanted to know what he thought about my latest works. Ryan was a professional buyer, who people would hire to find just the right art pieces for their homes and offices. We’d talked about art on several occasions, and he’d previously bought several of my pieces for his clients.

“We can continue this conversation later,” Carson told me, giving me a faint nod and then turning to leave. “Perhaps when the party is over.”

I nodded at that, then went over and said, “Ryan…”

“Candice,” Ryan responded with a smile. “These are some interesting new pieces.” He gestured to the one I’d just finished last week. “This one is quite beautiful. I can easily see it on the wall of my own office…”

“Thank you,” I responded with a grin. My tail swished back and forth with my pleasure from the compliment, though no one could actually see it.

“And this one,” he nodded to the second new painting I’d brought. It was the painting I’d done of a battle between a superhero and a supervillain, and which I’d had hanging on my own living room wall for awhile. “This kind of fight scene is a little different than your usual works, but I can almost feel the fight… And as always, you’ve added a touch of whimsy. Very well done.”

“Thank you again,” I repeated with an even broader grin, delighted by the praise. I’d always been a sucker for a sincere compliment on my paintings.

I stared at Ryan for a moment, feeling very aware of his height and athletic build. He was definitely good looking too, and I felt an impulse to run my fingers through his blonde hair. I smiled faintly at that thought, pleased to find that I could still be interested in people besides Chickenhawk…especially in someone who wasn’t a hero.

Unfortunately, I knew that I couldn’t have any real relationship with Ryan either. As much as I’d love to romance him and let him take me to bed, that kind of thing wouldn’t work out very well. For one thing, even with the help of my magic amulet, I couldn’t get intimate with someone without them noticing my horns, tail, and scales. Covering my features with illusion didn’t do much good when the other person could feel them, and I seriously doubted that Ryan would be able to handle all of me. I was just too much woman for most men. And that wasn’t even going into the matter of what I did for a living.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that it took me a moment to realize that Ryan was talking again. He was smiling at me as he said, “David told me that you’ve got a distribution deal. Congratulations.”

I nodded my head at that, blushing a bit at where my thoughts had been going a few seconds earlier. “Yes,” I replied with a faint smile. “A national distributor is going to start selling some of my prints.” I was actually quite pleased at that, and not because of the money this deal would earn me, but by the greater exposure my work would be getting. The money was just a nice little bonus.

Just then, a familiar voice called out, “There you are…” I snapped around and was shocked to see a very recognizable blonde girl coming straight for me. It was Melissa. “I was looking all over for you…”

“What?” I blurted out in surprise and confusion, wondering how she could have possibly tracked me down in my Candice identity. But to my further surprise, she completely ignored me and stopped in front of Ryan.

“I told you I’d be looking around,” Ryan told her with an amused expression. Then he turned to me and said, “I’d like you to meet my daughter, Melissa…”

“Daughter…?” I gasped.

For a brief moment, my mind refused to make the connection, and once it did…it struck me like a physical blow. I stared at Melissa, then at her father. Ryan Chambers was Ben…was Chickenhawk. My heart jumped up into my throat, and for one of the few times in my life, I was overwhelmed and completely speechless.

As my mind began to move again, I thought of all the times I’d run into Chickenhawk, all the times he’d tried to catch me. On many of those occasions, he’d been waiting for me at an art museum, or where a private collector was hosting a show for their collection. For years, I’d suspected that Chickenhawk was somehow connected to the art scene, though I’d always thought he would have been an insurance investigator or something of the sort.

“This is Candice,” Ryan said as he introduced me to Melissa.

Melissa’s eyes went wide and she blurted out, “You’re Candice Kade?”

“Yes,” I responded with a weak smile. My eyes darted nervously to Ryan while my heart raced in my chest.

“I love your paintings,” Melissa exclaimed, nearly bouncing with enthusiasm. That was enough to make me chuckle a little, though it did little to defuse the situation. “We have one of your paintings at home, and it’s really cool to look at, and I love the way you always hide stuff in your paintings, and…”

“Candice has a couple new ones,” Ryan said, cutting Melissa off before she could ramble anymore.

“Really?” Melissa asked, eagerly turning to look at my new pictures. She stared at both of them for a moment, then complained, “But I’ve already seen both of these ones…”

I looked at my paintings, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten even further. Melissa was right. She had seen both of these paintings…back when she’d been visiting my condo.

“You couldn’t have seen these ones,” Ryan gently told her. “They’re brand new. Candice is showing them here for the first time…”

Melissa gave me a slightly confused look, then her eyes suddenly went wide in realization. “Oh my God,” she blurted out. “You’re…” Then she clamped her hands over her mouth, though she continued staring at me with a look of stunned amazement.

“What?” I joked weakly. “Are my horns showing?” Ryan chuckled, completely missing the joke, while Melissa nearly choked. Her eyes darted to her dad she watched for his reaction.

I just stood there for a moment, frozen in place and feeling like I was on the verge of panic. For two weeks, I’d gone out of my way to avoid Chickenhawk, and I’d even thrown myself into my Candice identity as a way to hide and distract myself. But now, Chickenhawk had not only found me here…he’d already been here waiting for me…right under my nose. Then I almost burst out laughing as I realized that the guy I’d been thinking of having a brief fling with, was the very same guy I was trying to distract myself from.

Ryan didn’t know who I was yet, but it was only a matter of time. Melissa knew, and though she was keeping quiet so far, I didn’t expect that to last for long.

“I…there’s something I need to take care of,” I told Ryan, feeling almost desperate to get away. “I’ll see you later…”

With that, I gave Melissa a wink and then hurried away. It only took me a minute to slip through the crowd, avoiding those people who wanted to talk to me until I reached the exit. Yet again, the brilliant and fabulous Imp had made a daring escape from Chickenhawk.

--------------------

New York, Saturday evening, June 30th, 2007

One of the great joys of life, as well as one of the best cures for stress, was a long, hot, soapy bath, enjoyed with a nice glass of wine. Unfortunately, this time, it just wasn’t enough. When I got out of the tub and slipped into my bathrobe, I decided that I needed something a lot stronger than wine. Unfortunately, alcohol didn’t have much of an effect on me, but that wasn’t really the point.

I sat down in my recliner with a glass of scotch, thinking about how I’d run away from Ryan a couple hours ago. I felt like an idiot for overreacting and panicking like that. I was a professional, so I damn well should have acted like it. I should have stayed, made some small-talk, then calmly slipped away once I had a distraction.

Now that I thought about it, I realized that this thing with Chickenhawk was merely a symptom of the real problem, one that had slowly been building over the last year or two. I’d been feeling a growing sense of dissatisfaction with my life. As hard as it was to believe, I…the brilliant, talented, and fabulous Imp…was having a midlife crisis.

My regeneration was strong enough that it actually slowed down my aging process, so that ever since I manifested, I’ve only aged at about half the normal rate. Physically, I was an extremely fit and healthy thirty-years old, though chronologically, I was actually forty-five. I’d been in this business for thirty years, and I was becoming tired of it.

“I’ve gotten sloppy,” I said with a sigh.

Ever since I’d come out of my sabbatical, I’d been making mistakes. I kept lowering my guard and getting careless, and that had resulted in my getting into fights I could have avoided and in being injured. If it wasn’t for my regeneration, I probably would have died half a dozen times in the last few months.

I took a sip of my scotch and considered what I was going to do about this, and what I was going to do about Ryan. Whether I liked it or not, I’d fallen for a superhero, and my heart was going somewhere that it had only gone one time before. I shuddered as I remembered how well that had turned out. I couldn’t go through that again. No, even if I was drawn to Chickenhawk…to Ryan…there was no future there.

Just then, I heard a knocking, though it wasn’t coming from my front door. It was coming from my patio door instead, which was a surprise since I was on the seventeenth floor and the only way for someone to reach my patio would have been to climb the wall or fly.

“Chickenhawk,” I whispered.

I felt a strange mixture of excitement, fear, and resignation as I realized who had to be knocking. Melissa must have told him who I was, and somehow, he’d found where I lived. But when I went to my patio door, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t Chickenhawk, Ben, or even Ryan who was standing out there. It was the blonde woman I’d met at the gallery, Elizabeth Carson.

When I’d met Carson at the gallery, I’d thought she looked vaguely familiar, though I hadn’t been able to place where I might have seen her before. But now that I had a context, I knew exactly where I’d seen her face before.

“Astarte,” I said as I opened the patio door and greeted her. I didn’t even call her Ass Tart, which was the nickname I’d given her the last time we’d met. I stepped aside and let her in, knowing that it would be pointless to try locking out Lady Astarte. “I hope you’ll forgive the lack of witty banter. I’ve had a tiring day and just don’t have the energy for it. Perhaps you’ll accept a rain check.”

As I let the visitor into my condo, I tried to act calm and nonchalant, but my mind was racing. I could escape out through my patio and climb down the building, but that would be pointless against someone who could fly. Or I could just do that long enough to let myself back into the building through someone else’s patio. There was also my front door, but if she’d come with backup, that would be my obvious exit and where they’d be set up to catch me. And then, I had a trap door cut into the floor of my bedroom, and from there, I could get into the crawl space between floors.

However, Lady Astarte hadn’t made any aggressive or hostile moves towards me yet, and that stirred my curiosity. The one other time we’d run into each other, it had been a short encounter with me taunting her, creating a distraction, and then running away. I couldn’t think of any reason that she’d hold a grudge from back then, or why she’d go through the effort of hunting me down now.

I looked Lady Astarte over again, noting that she was still in her professional business type attire, with glasses, rather than the costume I associated with the hero. “I don’t think that either of us is dressed appropriately at the moment.”

“I’m not here to fight you,” she said, giving me an even look. “I’m not even here as Lady Astarte. I’m here as Elizabeth Carson, the headmistress of Whateley Academy.” Then she paused, giving me a very faint smile before adding, “And as I said earlier, I wanted to have a talk with you once the party was over.”

I nodded faintly, then casually walked over to my liquor cabinet to refill my glass. “Would you like a glass of scotch?”

“No, thank you,” Lady Astarte…Carson responded, giving me a curious look. She was probably surprised that I could be polite and play the good host.

“Are you sure?” I asked her with a faint smile. “It’s a thirty year Glenfiddich that I liberated from Bruce Goodkind’s office.”

Carson actually gave a brief chuckle. “In that case, how can I say no?”

I poured us each a glass, then we went and sat down in my living room, facing each other across the coffee table. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors tonight,” I said, growing even more curious about why she’d come. After all, she’d obviously done her research because she knew about both of my identities as well as where I lived. Those were secrets I was usually very careful in protecting.

“Getting straight to the point,” Carson said, fixing me with her gaze. “I want to offer you a job.”

I stared back at her for a moment and then burst out laughing. “I’m sorry,” I told her. “Just a few weeks ago, I would have jumped on the chance to do a job for you, just for the irony of it if nothing else.” Then I shrugged and gave her a wry smile. “But I’m retired now. I don’t do that kind of thing anymore.”

Carson smiled ever so slightly, and she actually looked somewhat pleased by that answer. “May I ask why you decided to retire?”

Instead of answering immediately, I took a sip of my scotch. “I’ve been in the business a long time,” I finally said, not sure why I was telling her this. It wasn’t really any of her business. “I’ve decided that it’s time to try something else.”

Carson took a sip from her own drink, still watching me with a careful expression. “Then I assume you intend to focus exclusively on your budding art career.”

“Not really,” I answered with a shrug.

I’d already taken a year off from my normal work in order to focus on my art career, and while that had been immensely satisfying for my artistic side, it just hadn’t been enough for my impish nature. I craved excitement, or at least something that would keep me from getting bored, which was why I’d ended my sabbatical in the first place. Of course, things hadn’t worked out very well for me since then, but the issue still stood.

“I consider that more of a part-time thing,” I mused, giving Carson a wry smile. “Maybe I’ll become a security consultant or something… You know, help people find the weak spots in their security…” That kind of thing didn’t really appeal to me, but it an idea.

For a moment, Carson just stared at me, then she abruptly asked, “Have you ever considered a career in education?”

“Education?” I asked in confusion.

“I didn’t come here to hire a thief,” Carson told me. “I came here to see about hiring an art teacher for my school.”

I blinked at that, sure that I had to have heard wrong. “An art teacher? Me?” I gave her a curious look, wondering if she was going senile. After all, I’d heard that Lady Astarte had been around, using one name or another, since the forties.

“Whateley Academy is a school for mutants,” Carson explained patiently. “As such, we have unique requirements for our teaching staff, which can sometimes make it difficult to locate qualified teachers. I am in need of an art teacher, and I believe you would be well suited for the position.”

“Me?” I repeated. “A teacher? You’ve got to be kidding…” However, I could see from her expression that she was indeed serious.

“You were brought to my attention by one of my students,” Carson said, taking a sip of her drink. “Alicia Thacker. Miss Thacker told me about what you did for her, and she was quite enthusiastic about the painting lessons that you gave her. Along with being a superhero, I have also been an educator for many years, and I can tell you that for a teacher, being able to inspire passion and enthusiasm in your students is a priceless talent.”

“Alicia,” I mused, remembering the girl I’d saved from Hexagoner a couple months ago. She’d been a good kid, if a little odd, though I put that down more to her being Cajun than from being a mutant. Then I focused on the other thing that Carson had said. “I’m hardly qualified to be a teacher…”

“You have an art degree that you earned under an alias,” Carson pointed out calmly. I wasn’t too surprised that she knew about that degree, not after she’d found out my other secrets. Whoever she had doing the research was obviously very good. “And in spite of the illegalities involved with your career, you are considered to be something of an expert regarding paintings and art history.” Then she paused, smiling faintly as she added, “And then there’s your more recent secondary career as well.”

Before I could offer my next protest, Carson continued. “Nearly all of our students are mutants, and many of them have to deal with GSD or other challenges that their baseline peers can’t even imagine. I need…THEY need a teacher who won’t hesitate to accept them, who will remember that, in spite of their abilities and unusual appearances, they are still children who need to be taught.”

I took a sip of my scotch, feeling a little stunned as I considered that there was actually a school for mutants. “You have students with GSD?”

“Many of them,” Carson assured me. “And several of our faculty as well.”

For a moment, I just sat there, staring into my drink and trying to imagine a school full of mutants…a place where kids with unusual appearances could get an education…where they could actually be themselves and not have to hide what they looked like…and where they didn’t need to worry about being attacked by angry mobs. That kind of sanctuary sounded too good to be true, which made me wonder, just how different my life might have been if I’d had a place like to go to when I’d been that age.

“That’s very interesting,” I admitted before giving her a wry smile. “But you’re forgetting one small detail. I’m a professional thief. A supervillain.”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten that,” Carson responded, giving me a flat look, which was a clear reminder that she was a superhero and that normally we’d be at odds. “As a superhero, my job is to stop people like you, but as the headmistress of Whateley Academy, my responsibility is to my students, and I believe you can be of great benefit to them.”

“Whateley Academy is strictly neutral,” Carson continued in a professional tone, which gave me the impression that this was a lecture she’d given many times before. “Our students include the children of both heroes and villains, so both sides have a vested interest in protecting the school and maintaining our neutrality.” She paused at that, giving me the impression that she was actually cutting the lecture short and leaving out a few details, probably so that she wouldn’t overwhelm me with them. Then, Carson smiled faintly and said, “Our staff includes both retired heroes and former villains. You would hardly be the first teacher we’ve had with a criminal background.”

I took a long drink of my scotch, then just sat there for a minute, feeling stunned by this unexpected job offer. The idea of me being a teacher was completely and utterly ludicrous. After all, who in their right mind would ever ask ME to teach kids? I was a supervillain…a professional thief. I looked like some kind of a devil and I had the reputation for being anything but mature and responsible.

But even as I laughed at the idea, I thought about the few times I actually had taken on the role of teacher, and how much I’d enjoyed it. I’d told Alicia about various painters and their styles, and then I’d shown her the basics of how to create her own paintings. And more recently, there was Melissa, and all the time I’d spent with her, teaching her how to pick locks. Teaching those girls had been a lot of fun, more than I would have imagined.

Then my thoughts turned back to the school, a place where kids with unusual features could actually walk around in the open. A place where I wouldn’t have to hide my devilish good looks. The idea of working in such a place was actually quite appealing, even if it would be a legitimate job. In fact, the more I thought about Carson’s offer, the more interesting I found it.

The life of a professional thief and supervillain was an exciting one, but even someone as brilliant, talented and modest as myself could eventually start to get bored with it. Maybe it was time to shake things up, to change my life and try something new. Maybe it was time to get away from familiar surroundings and people who caused my heart to ache. And if nothing else, there was no way that a school full of mutants could ever be boring.

I downed the rest of my scotch, then flashed Carson a grin. “When can I start?”

THE END