Shortcuts

A paranormal superhero story with a supernatural twist

Superhero public relations

Comments have been blocked for this story but kudos and private messages are always welcome. Even highly critical private messages are welcome. I don't mind criticism when it's private.

Shortcuts
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 18

His job as Sarah bothered him but the worst part of the week had to be his nighttime wanderings through the Akashic records. The circular nudging continued every night, and it got old, especially after Lester figured out what the Dark Librarian was trying to do. It wasn't until Friday night that the boy had enough.

"Give it up!" he shouted into the darkness. "I don't want to learn telepathy!"

The nudging abruptly stopped.

"Isn't there some other helpful paranormal ability I could learn?"

He felt himself suddenly pushed sharply from behind and started moving forward, only occasionally having his direction corrected along the way. After a feeling of having traveled down through the ages, he was jerked to a stop, and there, he learned many amazing techniques of advanced healing along with complete knowledge of human anatomy. He could easily heal even the most serious injuries like compound fractures and crushed vertebrae, and all but a few of the most fast acting diseases and conditions could be cured in a matter of minutes. Combined with telekinesis and clairvoyance to look inside the body, any type of surgery could be performed, and combined with shapeshifting, his new ability could make permanent cosmetic and structural changes to all parts of the body, even the brain. It staggered his imagination.

"Wow," he said, half in shock, half in awe. "Thanks."

Lester woke up late Saturday morning, happy and well-rested, but his dreamy good mood ended when his phone buzzed on his desk with a text from Brian. He rolled out of bed, knowing that he'd regret it.

"gg? i want 2 propose 2 u!"

The boy groaned and texted back. "no marriage!"

"lol. sucker. i have proposal 4 u." Brian added an emoticon of a face with its tongue sticking out.

"ok. come over and talk."

"better if u come here. gg?" The hopeful boy added a smiley face emoticon.

Lester put a stop to the silly texting and called his friend, who told him about the huge demand for Golden Girl to join a chat room and chat with her zillions of fans. They talked about how to verify her authenticity, since no one would be able to see her, and they talked about security. She certainly couldn't chat from home or Brian's house. They knew she could be traced all too easily.

"This has been an interesting thought experiment but how is she supposed to find the time for this?"

"Dude! It wouldn't be all that often, just, let's say, once a month. That wouldn't be too bad."

"I guess not." Lester found his resolve weakening. "But no more about it over the phone. I'll meet you in the park after I have breakfast. We can discuss the details then."

"Sure. But isn't that Golden Girl's prime patrol time?"

Lester sighed. "Yeah. Sarah will meet you in the park just in case she needs a quick change into you-know-who."

"Sarah?"

"Come on. I've told you about her. She's Erin's friend and now workmate."

"What about… Crystal?"

"I don't think she'd want the chance of someone recognizing her in the park. And it wouldn't be safe for you to associate with her. We talked about this. Remember?"

Brian sighed. "Yeah. I remember. This sucks."

"Get over it. You'll still get to talk with a nice girl."

"It's not the same, dude."

"We'll see."

* * *

Lester had a quick but nutritious breakfast washed down with a glass of orange juice, checked to make sure his father was gone, as usual, and changed into Sarah, donning Golden Girl's purple jacket outfit and then mostly covering it with her long black coat. The sleeves of the purple jacket were too short but she was still slender enough to wear it. She had her hand on the doorknob of the front door when her mother caught her.

"You're not going out like that, are you?" Susan asked.

"What? My coat hides everything well enough."

"I meant no makeup. Silly girl."

"Oh, yeah." Sarah reluctantly went back to her room and applied a little mascara, a touch of eye liner and a subtle shade of lipstick using her new large mirror on her desk. Then she hurried outside for the short walk to the park.

Brian waited in the usual place on a swing. With the cold weather, no one else was in the park.

"Hello Brian. I'm Sarah."

The boy didn't look at her as he replied. "Hey."

"Come on," she said, sitting on the swing next to him. "At least look at me."

He turned to give her a quick look and turned away again. "You look too much like Lester."

Sarah frowned. "You mean I look like Lester's sister. I'm all girl, you know."

"I wouldn't know."

"Because you won't look at me!" She took some deep breaths to calm down, telling herself that he couldn't help being attracted to Crystal. Still, she found it vaguely insulting to not be at least given a chance.

Sarah gave the boy a good look, suddenly curious to see if she had any attraction to him. 'Nope. Nothing. Nada. Good! Then we're even.'

"Okay," she said, still trying to get on his good side. "Do you want to do this chat thing now?"

"Yeah," Brian said, looking down at his feet. "We could try the public library."

"Good idea! It's not far and it wouldn't matter if anyone traced us there."

"Nope."

They got up and Brian momentarily surprised her, standing a good three inches taller than her even with the two inch heels of her boots. She hadn't really noticed how tall he was. They walked without any conversation in the direction of the library, both trying not to think about the possibility of a relationship developing between them. But they couldn't help thinking about a certain question that confounded teenagers around the world: Could a boy and girl ever truly be just friends?

* * *

Sarah and Brian sat at adjacent computers in a large rectangular room of the public library. A series of tables along a windowless wall held all of the computers, and on the opposite side of the room stood two dozen shelves filled with books and magazines. The shelves were full and the aisles were empty. Virtually everyone preferred the Internet over paper.

The library limited them to thirty minutes of computer time but that worked out better for Sarah. She wasn't crazy about the idea of chatting with a bunch of Golden Girl fans for any length of time so the shorter, the better. She started resenting the attention that Golden Girl was getting.

'I'm getting jealous of myself,' she thought. 'How crazy is that?'

Brian logged into the chat room that was associated with the Golden Girl fan club website that he set up. He saw that there were a couple of dozen users logged in at the moment, discussing various topics about Golden Girl, and he gave Sarah a smile and gestured for her to log in using the Golden Girl user name and password that he gave her.

Brian started out the chat with a short introduction.

KingFanDude: "hey dudes. Golden Girl is here! all bow before her glory!"

SuperFan318: "seriously?"

SuperGirl7014: "where?"

GoldenGirl: "Here I am. Hi everybody."

SuperFan318: "no way!"

KingFanDude: "way."

SuperGirl7014: "prove it? please?"

GoldenGirl: "We thought of a way to prove it - at least to some of you. I can use clairvoyance to see and describe you. You can add that to my list of abilities."

Stranger67: "interesting. but how will you find us?"

GoldenGirl: "Give me an idea of where you are and I'll check you out and describe your appearance here in the chat room."

SuperGirl7014: "me first! please? i'm at home in springfield illinois. i live just across from southwind park. do you need my address?"

KingFanDude: "no addresses people! wait. this isn't going to work."

GoldenGirl: "Yes, it will. I only need a general idea of your location to find you. I found the park. @SuperGirl7014: Go to a window facing the park and wave."

SuperGirl7014: "ok"

GoldenGirl: "Got ya. You look to be about 10 with long, straight, light brown hair. I see a white tee shirt with Hello Kitty on it."

SuperGirl7014: "that's me! it's you! i mean you really are golden girl!"

Stranger67: "lucky guess. my turn?"

GoldenGirl: "Sure, Stranger."

Stranger67: "i live in grant's pass, oregon, just across the rogue river from riverside park. i'm at the window, waving at the park."

GoldenGirl: "Got ya. You're using a netbook? Seriously?"

Stranger67: "hey. it's cheap. but what else? that could still be a lucky guess."

GoldenGirl: "Your long, greasy blonde hair could use washing. Sorry. You've got light blue eyes and you're wearing a tee shirt that says 'Simon says….' There's no way I'm typing the rest of that."

Stranger67: "wow. you got me. i believe you. what about everyone else? are you going to have a peek at all of us?"

GoldenGirl: "Just one more should do it, I think."

SuperFan318: "i'm ready!"

GoldenGirl: "Okay, SuperFan. Go ahead."

SuperFan318: "i'm just north of tampa, florida. i live on the east side of lake magdalene. I'm at my sliding glass door. waving at the lake now."

GoldenGirl: "Got ya. You…. Oh, yuck! Just yuck."

KingFanDude: "what is it? what's wrong?"

GoldenGirl: "He's not wearing any clothes and he's got 'I heart GG' written in ketchup on his chest."

SuperFan318: "lol"

GoldenGirl: "I knew this was a bad idea. Sorry everyone but I think I should go now."

SuperGirl7014: "no! please don't go!"

GoldenGirl: "I'm chatting when I should be out fighting crime."

SuperGirl7014: "please?"

GoldenGirl: "@SuperGirl7014: How about I come to visit you instead? I've been thinking about checking out other cities. Crime is everywhere."

SuperFan318: "You can visit me!"

GoldenGirl: "I'm going now. @SuperGirl7014: Watch for me. Soon. Bye bye everyone."

KingFanDude: "and there she goes. this didn't go as well as I hoped. sorry. I'll see you later."

Brian and Sarah logged off, both of them breathing a sigh of relief.

"That wasn't your best idea," Sarah told her friend.

"No, but it'll definitely give your fans something to talk about."

The girl reluctantly nodded agreement.

"What about that girl? Are you really going to visit her in Illinois?"

"I said I would and you know I always follow through on what I say."

"How about saying I can have a date with Crystal?"

"Sorry, Brian. That's not going to happen. Nice try, though."

The two of them left the library and quietly walked back to the park. When they got there, they ended up on the same swings, still not talking to each other and both looking down at their feet.

Sarah wanted to give her friend a chance to talk a little more to her. She hoped he would, and while she waited, she used her clairvoyance to scan the downtown area for trouble.

"This is weird," Brian finally said after Sarah's second pass over the city.

"I'm still me," she said. "Why can't we talk like we do on the bus or phone?"

"It's not the same, dude."

Sarah growled.

"Sorry!"

The girl suddenly looked pensive. "I'll forgive you on one condition. I just noticed that you haven't once said my name. Tell me my name and I'll forgive you."

Brian snorted. "Is that a trick question? Too easy."

"Is it? Is it really? You've had trouble before."

Brian turned to look at her with a serious look on his face. "You haven't made it easy, but right now, right this minute, your name is Sarah."

She smiled at him. "Correct. You're forgiven, King Fan Dude."

Brian laughed. "Geek," he called her.

"Dork," she retorted, then added. "Hey. You know what? There's nothing happening in the city. I think I'll go visit that girl now. Wanna do me a favor?"

Brian's eyes lit up.

"Easy there," she said, giving him a wary eye. "I just want you to take my coat home for me. Will you? Please? Oh, and please tell my mother where I've gone so she doesn't worry."

"Sure!" He quickly agreed since he thought he'd get to see Golden Girl. But he was soon disappointed.

Sarah went over to the little rest room building in the park with Brian following her like a lost puppy. She went inside, handed her coat out to him, transformed into Crystal and then came out. The door opened wider but Brian didn't see her. He couldn't because she was invisible.

"Hey! Are you still in there?"

"Nope," she said back, startling him. "I'm invisible. Like I've told you, we can't be seen together."

"Dude!" he said, then his eyes went wide with fear.

"Don't worry. You're still forgiven," she said. "Thanks for taking Sarah's coat home for me and telling my mom where I'm going. Bye bye!"

She flew up into the air and shot to the east. The dull sound of her sonic boom soon followed, leaving the boy to slowly walk to her house to deliver her coat and message.

* * *

Crystal had a nice, quiet visit with the girl from the chat room. The girl's name was Vanessa and she wisely didn't tell anyone about the promised visit. There were no news reporters lying in ambush, no autograph hounds, no crazy fans of any sort, just a sweet ten-year-old girl who couldn't believe her eyes.

The visit surprised Vanessa's parents but they were warm and welcoming, and they were nice enough not to call anyone over to share in the visit. That could too easily snowball into an awkward crowd as friends and family called more friends and family. They simply sat around a small dining room table drinking various beverages and talking. Crystal and Vanessa both enjoyed hot chocolate. It warmed their bodies and their moods.

When it was time to leave, Crystal advised the family to keep the meeting a secret, except perhaps in the Golden Girl chat room and among close friends and family members. It would be hard to prove anyway, even with the few photos that Vanessa's parents took of Golden Girl with their daughter. There were already far too many fake photos of Golden Girl on the Internet. The superheroine and family parted on good terms. It was a feel good moment for all of them.

Before Golden Girl flew back to her home state, she had a quick look around Springfield. She wanted to establish her presence there, just in case Vanessa's family needed a little extra evidence of their meeting. She knew that the family would likely tell a few other family members at the very least.

The flying girl stopped someone from trying to steal a car. The young man screamed obscenities and ran off. She let him go since he hadn't managed to complete the crime. She didn't know the location of the nearest police station anyway, and a criminal wouldn't likely volunteer the information.

When she came across a cat stuck high in a tree, she couldn't resist, especially since the cat's owner, a young girl around seven, stood under the tree, calling to the cat. With the cold weather, the tree had only a few leaves left, making it easy to spot the stranded feline.

"Mister Meow! Please come down! Please!" She drew out the last word, making the flying girl cringe.

Golden Girl very slowly flew to the cat, speaking softly to him, and when he appeared ready to trust her, she reached out to him and plucked him from the tree branch and lowered him gently into the girl's arms.

The girl just stared.

"Hello. I've met Mister Meow. What would your name be?"

The shocked girl's cat squirmed in her arms. She absently let the cat jump to the ground and scamper off while she stood there, still staring at the superheroine.

Crystal smiled and reached out to lightly tap the girl's right shoulder. "I'm real and you're not dreaming. Shall I try to guess your name?"

"Cindy," she said in a quiet voice.

"Nice to meet you, Cindy. My name is Crystal."

The little girl slowly shook her head. "Nuh uh. You're Golden Girl."

"Yes, I'm Golden Girl. But you can call me Crystal."

The little girl shook her head no again, just as her parents arrived.

"There you are, Cindy. You had me worried sick!"

"She's okay," Golden Girl said. "She was just waiting for me to rescue her cat out of a tree."

The little girl's mother looked at the superheroine and cocked her head. "Golden Girl? Here?"

"That's me." She turned to the little girl. "It was nice meeting you, Cindy. Try keeping Mister Meow out of the trees. Bye bye."

The superheroine flew up and away while Cindy and her parents all slowly waved with shocked looks on their faces. They were soon joined by several neighbors, also waving and looking shocked.

Golden Girl made a few more passes through the city before she rushed home to get ready for work. Just to be sure that she was officially noticed, she made a last, quick stop, peering into the building of a local news station from outside, several stories up, and waving at the startled employees. She waited just long enough for a news camera to take a short video of her. Everyone seemed to appreciate that.

* * *

Hidden in plain sight somewhere within the suburban sprawl north of Chicago, stood a plain-looking four story building. On the top floor of that building, three strong looking men dressed in dark gray suits sat around an oval table, discussing the latest intel on a potential threat to national security. They felt secure enough to discuss any options because they sat in a sound-proofed conference room with no windows and a locked door.

The leader of the three men started the meeting. He was the tallest and oldest of the three, with thinning hair and a thickened waist. "What's the latest on subject Goldbrick?"

Man number two, the shortest and brawniest of the three, spoke. "The clairvoyance has been confirmed. All three of the identified subjects were located and they all matched their descriptions."

Man number three, the youngest of the three, played devil's advocate for the group. "It still could've been faked. They could've emailed photos or descriptions beforehand."

"Lying is inconsistent with the subject's profile," the short man countered. "And besides, why fake an ability?"

"I don't know. To get more attention?"

"Again, that's inconsistent with the subject's profile."

"Gentlemen," the leader interrupted. "Get on with the report."

The short man continued. "We haven't learned any more about the strength of the telekinesis but we can make an estimate of the minimum strength based on flying speed. According to satellite videos, the subject has exceeded mach four on at least three occasions."

"Mach four?!" the young man blurted.

"Compose yourself, agent," the leader growled.

The young man straightened his tie and held his tongue.

The short man shook his head. "Based on telekinetic flying speed and the subject's estimated weight, we believe the subject can lift a minimum of two tons. That would be consistent with the car chase incident, where the subject used telekinesis to lift a speeding car."

Beads of sweat formed on the young man's forehead. "Have we determined how these abilities manifest? I mean, how is this even possible?!"

The leader growled and glared at the man. "Get a grip, agent."

The short man suppressed a sigh. He had an answer for the young man. "They're all established paranormal abilities, except they're all at the extreme high end of what we thought to be possible. The subject is a dangerous anomaly. Combining clairvoyance, invisibility, flying and telekinesis into a single package would make for the perfect spy, and regardless of past good behavior, it's my opinion that the subject should be terminated."

"Terminated?" the leader asked.

The short man confirmed with a curt nod. "If the subject ever fell into the wrong hands or went bad, it could cause irreparable damage."

The leader turned to the youngest. "What's your conclusion?"

The young man frowned at the idea of termination. "According to the subject's profile and history," he said. "there is no threat and no reason to believe that a threat is imminent."

The other man snorted. "Short-term, perhaps. What about long-term?"

"Conjecture. We'd need at least six months of study to form any reliable long-term forecast."

"Conjecture, my ass," the short man said, glaring at the younger man.

"Gentlemen," the leader said. "Control yourselves."

Both subordinate men looked contrite for a brief moment before the short man spoke up again. "I stand by my recommendation for termination."

"Very well," the leader said. "Anything else?"

The young man looked shocked. "Has anyone considered containment?"

"Not possible," the short man said.

"We have electromagnetic and psychotropic weapons that could control anyone, even subject Goldbrick. And my team could create a containment room within two weeks to permanently hold the subject for study. If we could isolate the paranormal abilities and replicate a single ability in a test subject, we could create an army of improved spies. Restricting agents to a single ability would minimize any threat to our own national security."

For the first time since the meeting began, the leader smiled, and it bothered the short man. "You techies and your toys," he spat. "You're all soft."

The young man shrugged and held his high ground. He could tell that he had the leader's support. Operation Gold Fever just became a reality.

* * *

© 2015 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.