SG: The League #7 (3rd of the 3)

[Eric Burns]

        [Part Three. It pairs well with chicken, but then everything
    pairs well with chicken. There's no reason to keep bringing it up.]


     "The Hellfions?" Incandescence asked. She sounded amused. "Not
Hellfiore, or Hellfired, or Hellfireans? Man, I sort of wish I still had a
publicist on staff, Shiny."
     "Hey Sparky," Reflects answered, "I offered to give you the money back.
You could hired all the publicists you want, then."
     "I don't think so," Incandescence said. "Whatever metaphysical loophole
that lets you remember my old civilian life and benefit from a fortune I
never historically amassed in the first place might get unlooped if we do
that."
     "Are you saying you bribed the space/time continuum, Sparky?" Hazard
asked. She and Iceweaver had gotten in at the same time as Reflects and
Capacitor. Capacitor himself was being checked out by Ops in the medbay.
     "Someone had to, Boomer," Incandescence answered.
     "What are you people talking about," Kirby asked, clearly hopelessly
confused.
     "Well," Parvenu said, always willing to try and fill in a few
expository details. "When Incandescence was on Earth before, she had a
different identity where she made a lot of money as a child actress, which
was invested well. When she ascended to Heaven after we figured out she was
dead, her will went into effect and Reflects inherited most of it. But when
the bureaucratic mixup that let her return to Earth from Heaven went
through, it essentially seperated Incandescence -- or Matchstick or Hellfire
-- from the civilian identity she'd had before, and that civilian instead
went on to star in more movies, never having been a superhero. As a result,
only Reflects -- for unknown reasons -- can remember the civilian side of
Incandescence's past, and as a side-effect of that she continues to enjoy
the inheritance she received from--"
     "No, I got that," Kirby said, slightly annoyed.
     "Oh. Then what?"
     "Those three. 'Sparky.' 'Shiny.' 'Boomer.' What the heck?"
     "Oh." Parvenu shrugged. "I can't help you with that.
     "It's simple," Hazard said, standing back up. She pointed a thumb over
her shoulder at Incandescence. "She's Sparky."
     Incandescence slid out of her chair, shifting to point at Reflects.
"She's Shiny!"
     Reflects had preemptively stood already, making her own gesture back to
Hazard an elaborate, showy one. "She's Boomer! And! We are--"
     The three shouted in unison, executing an elaborate move with their
arms that was somewhere between competative cheerleading, something the
Power Rangers would come up with when drunk, and the semaphore signals one
would desperately flag towards a distant boy scout camp. "Chicks! With!
Attitude!"
     The three held pose for a long moment.
     "O...kay," Parvenu said slowly. "So... the Hellfions. They're a new
gang, then?"
     "Yeah," Reflects said. "And they're fixated on Sparky from before she
made the leap. Their fire powers seem to be the real deal. No idea if they
really are hellish in nature instead of some other kind of pyrokinesis."
     "Joy," Hazard said. "I wonder if this is some kind of public relations
strike against us."
     Kirby frowned. "Nah," he said. "No more than the Trudis do anything
more than piss Trudy Galloway off. "It seems like the same-old same-old for
Boston gangs. Someone charismatic came up with a Thing, and talked a bunch
of other people into it. I'd put seven to two they're being supplied by the
same middlemen we think the rest of the gangs use."
     "You are really beginning to freak me out, Kirby," Parvenu said. "I
know you're Trashman's son, but--"
     "Trashman and Healer's son," Kirby interrupted. "That's like being
'Trashman's son' but way better and with extra brainpower."
     "Which I thought went to your stealth abilities," Incandescence said.
     Kirby shrugged. "Ask Ops. She's the superintelligent one."
     "So... if the Hellfions *are* using the same suppliers... how can we
turn that to our advantage?" Reflects had steepled her fingers in thought.
     "Who says we can?" Hazard asked. "I'm just glad there's finally another
enemy I can probably cut loose against, at least a little."
     The four looked at Kirby.
     "What?" Kirby asked. "Do you need more coffee?"
     "So-if-the-Hellfions-are-using-the-same-suppliers-how-can-we-turn-that-
to-our-advantage?" Reflects repeated in a slight monotone.
     "Oh -- you're asking me? I'm an intern, remember?"
     "Sorry -- you'd just had some good insights. I just thought--"
     "I'm not saying I don't have an answer."
     Parvenu turned to look at Kirby. "You do?"
     "Sure. Right now the Hellfions are new -- that means they're still
getting used to how they do things, and almost everyone's a recruit instead
of a vet. Which means they're probably way sloppier than the other gangs
when going, say, to a secret base to meet with their suppliers. That means
they're easier to follow, easier to infiltrate--"
     "That would still take a lot of groundwork," Ops said, walking in.
Capacitor and Ordinal followed him, Capacitor bandaged. "And easier to
infiltrate or not, none of the active team are really experts in that kind
of infiltration or investigation."
     "I'm not terrible at it," Parvenu said.
     "You're our battlefield healer. We need that too much."
     "Speaking of which," Capacitor said. "If you can spare a couple to
un-par-broil me..."
     "I can take the mission," Kirby said. "When I stealth, no one can find
me, and I'm great at investigations."
     "No." Ops didn't leave room for debate.
     "But--" Kirby started, clearly not getting the 'no room for debate'
part.
     "Sorry, kid," Hazard said with a grin. "That whole 'nine year old'
thing trips you up again."
     "This sucks," Kirby grumbled.
     "Be that as it may," Ops said, "how do we take the opportunity this
lead represents given our current team and our current mission. Like we said
the last time this came up -- we can't risk the lives of civilians even if
it means--"
     "We have to cut this off at the source," Parvenu said. "Preferably
*before* Lochaber arrests us."
     "We can *totally* take Lochaber," Hazard said. "Don't even worry."
     "You and your Murphy invocations," Incandescence said, grinning.
     "I'll take care of it," Ordinal said, softly.
     There was a pause in the room.
     "You?" Hazard asked. "What -- are you going to get Rip in?"
     Incandescence turned away. Silently, Reflects put a hand on the fiery
girl's shoulder.
     "Rip's in the midwest doing important things," Ordinal said. "Don't
worry. I know someone who can handle this."
     "You do?" Capacitor asked.
     "Yes." Ordinal looked at Ops. "But he won't do it for free."
     Ops frowned. "We don't exactly have petty cash, Ordinal."
     "I'll pay for it," Reflects said -- she being the best off of the team,
financially. "How much are we talking?"
     "Twenty five dollars a day, plus expenses."
     There was another pause.
     "And... this guy doesn't *suck?*" Capacitor asked. "At those prices?"
     Ordinal smiled, almost nostalgically. "You haven't seen the expenses
yet."


                                * * * * * *


     Alice Mercury -- the surname was legal and everything -- made sure the
oven's temperature was just right before sliding the carefully assembled
Lasagna in. Off to the side she had bread dough proofing, and she needed to
get started on sides. She considered wine. Lil would probably like it.
Susan--
     Alice had no idea if Susan drank wine or not. She'd have said 'no' a
month ago, but apparently she didn't know her little sister nearly as well
as she'd thought. She didn't know she'd taken up criminal hunting outside of
the Exclusionary Zone, for one thing. She didn't know she'd been increasing
her abilities and her control over them. She didn't know that when Alice
wasn't looking, her sister -- formerly thought to be developmentally
disabled -- had turned into the kind of master strategist and paranormal
warrior that made her perfect to lead this new 'Lochaber' initiative. An
initiative that had been created explicitly to clean up Boston's crime
problem and unofficially to bring down the League.
     Which very unofficially was made up of Alice and Susan's friends. One
of the League members had been instrumental in resolving Susan's problems,
even.
     Alice and Elizabeth rarely argued. There was a world of difference
between 'rarely' and 'never.'
     "You look like you're cooking enough food for an army," Buddy said.
Buddy was a talking cricket from another altiverse that spent rather a lot
of time in Alice's hair. He was also one of her best friends. "I thought
this was just family tonight."
     "Kirby'll probably eat half this all by himself. And Susan's always had
an interesting relationship with food." Alice took a moment to stir a couple
of things and begin melting butter in a stainless steel skillet.
     There was a door request -- which actually was an elevator request,
since Alice, Elizabeth and Kirby lived on an entire floor of the tower. "Hey
MIKE -- who is it?" Alice seemingly asked the air.
     <<Tristan, Sammy and Harleigh,>> the building's Cybernetic Intelligence
answered in his permanently genial voice.
     "Okay -- pipe them through." She heard the ping of the open circuit.
"Hello?"
     <<("Hey, Ms. Mercury!")>> Harleigh said cheerfully. Like Tristan, Sam
and Kirby himself, Harleigh Campbell was a nine year old student at the
Academy. She was the product of the war years producing a baby boom among
the paranormal community, especially among the heroes and villains who'd
been hiding out at the Center of the Earth during the early stages of the
war, waiting for their chance to counterattack. She was... enthusiastic.
Putting her in a room with Sammy Burns was usually a recipe for trouble.
Tristan Burns wasn't particularly good at restraining them, given how easily
he could be distracted by interesting scientific experiments, dust motes,
shiny objects....
     Regardless, the group was often a disaster waiting to happen. Alice
approved of this wholeheartedly, and doubly approved of Kirby's friendship
with them. "Hey Harleigh -- what's up?"
     <<("Can Kirby come down? We're putting together an obstacle course.")>>
     "I thought the training rooms were still in use." Lochaber's training
had displaced the students of the Academy -- the actual reason for the whole
institute at this point -- almost entirely. Another point of tension between
Alice and Elizabeth.
     "It is. We're doing it in the Load Pan Bay."
     "That sounds like a terrible idea."
     <<("It is!")>>
     "Just so you know. Remember, if there's so much as a scratch on Ms.
Tirkoff's Austin-Healy, her wrath will be disproportionate and terrible to
behold."
     <<("We know!")>>
     "Kirby's not in. Let me check in with him." {{Kirby?}} Alice sent
telepathically.
     There was a pause.
     {{Kirby Rogers? If you're stealthing so I can't find you and refusing
to answer me, I will personally make certain your entire collection of
Hercule Poirot DVDs gets scratched.}}
     ((I'm here! I'm here!)) Kirby's mental voice sounded a bit rushed.
Alice had been 'Momma Alice' more than long enough to recognize the mental
sound of Kirby trying to cover up something he shouldn't be doing.
     Most days, Alice would do something about that. Today, she had too much
on her mind -- besides, you had to give kids a break sometimes. Otherwise,
they'd figure out you were onto them and change up their strategy. {{Good --
Trist, Sammy and Harleigh want to do something really dumb in the Load Pan
Bay and want you to go with.}}
     ((Oh... I can't. I'm with Ooaunt Mandy, doing my independent study.))
     Alice blinked. With Mandy? That hardly fit the 'doing something he
wasn't supposed to do' mold. {{Hey Mandy,}} Alice sent on a different
telepathic 'frequency,' out towards Mandy Harken -- old friend, ex ALU
member, current Chair of the Rogers Institute and superintelligent problem
solver. {{Is Kirby with you?}}
     ((Yes he is,)) Mandy's voice came back. ((Do you need him?))
     {{No, that's fine. Thanks!}} Alice shifted channels again. {{Okay, kid
-- your story checks out. Remember -- dinner tonight isn't optional. Your
Aunt Susan's going to be here.}}
     ((And you need me to be around so everyone's civil in front of the kid.
Gotcha.))
     Alice rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Harleigh -- he's busy."
     <<("'K! Bye!")>> There was the ping of the circuit disconnecting.
     Alice frowned slightly. What would Kirby be doing with Mandy that would
have him covering up his activities? And what was that weird mental name
slip -- 'Ooaunt Mandy?' It was like he was yodeling in his mind.
     "Hey Alice, is that butter supposed to be browning?" Buddy asked.
     "Ack! No!" Alice blurred into speed, moving to take care of the
cooking, distracted at least for the moment.


                                * * * * * *


     Darrin Bates, aka Capacitor, was -- as we said -- a simple soul. He was
an expert at all of the skills and talents that came with being a
superhero... though he was somewhat deficient on the 'hero' part. But he'd
been working on that, mostly.
     Beyond that? He was an electrical engineer in his day job and he liked
pretty women. A lot. There were reasons for this, mind, but we don't need to
go into those right now.
     Regardless, on any number of nights, Darrin would have company staying
over in his apartment. As we said -- he liked the ladies. But, after getting
burnt in the field, despite having undergone treatments and a few spells
from Parvenu, even Darrin wanted a night off. They'd been running hard the
last few weeks, and even Darrin's electrical bioenergies wasn't a substitute
for sleep.
     Naturally, at 1:19 am, there was a rather sharp knock at Darrin's door.
     His eyes flipped open with the sound. Knocking? That couldn't be... it
wasn't nearly that time of the month--
     There was a second sharp knock. Three hits in succession.
     Darrin rolled out of bed, grabbing pajama pants and pulling them on.
"Coming," he said, loudly enough to be heard, but hopefully not too loudly
as to wake the neighbors. His condo was nice, but there were three others on
this floor.
     Darrin reached the door, undid the chain, and pulled it open. He didn't
bother to check. He knew who'd be out there.
     Maria Mendez, looking annoyed and wearing a black trenchcoat that was
tied closed, pushed past him. She wasn't mirrored right now, and it looked
like she'd recently brushed her hair, making it a touseled mane around her
head. "About time."
     "Oh my," Darrin said, rolling his eyes. "Is it the fifteenth already?
Where ever does the time fly?"
     "Shut up. It's been a bad couple of days, all right? It's not like you
won't get something out of it, too."
     Darrin pushed the door shut. "Oh, I know. How I do know. Because if
there's something that never gets old, it's having you condemn me for liking
sex during the day and then showing up unannounced expecting it at night."
     "That's different," Maria snapped. "I have a condition."
     "A condition. That's what we're calling it, now?"
     Maria turned, eyes narrowed. Arm on her hip. The coat was still closed.
"What would you call it?"
     "A security hole. Pun intended."
     "Thus I'm here. Or should I leave?"
     Darrin looked Maria up and down, feeling the interplay of
electromagnetism around her -- her L-Phone's battery and circuits, her
watch, her key fob--
     Her underwire bra. Something she never wore, except when she showed up
at Darrin Bates's condo.
     Darrin sent a tiny amount of voltage through the wires. The bra-taser,
turned down to a sharp tingle instead of an incapacitating shock.
     Maria's whole body locked, her eyes closing, her breath coming in
sharply. Maria was ultra-sensitive to tactile stimulation. It wasn't as bad
as when she was fully mirrored and in a state of 24/7 tactile sensory
deprivation, but it was still there. As the tingle passed, she moaned very
slightly.
     Darrin knew Maria was using him at the same time she was insulting him
to everyone they knew. But Darrin -- as we have said -- was a simple soul.
And sometimes hypocritical sex could be the best sex of all.



IS HYPOCRITICAL SEX REALLY THE BEST SEX OF ALL?
IS ROMANCE DEAD, OR IF NOT IS IT ON LIFE SUPPORT?
WHO IS THEODORA TESLA -- AND SHOULD WE REALLY BE ADDING NEW
    CHARACTERS?
SERIOUSLY? THE BRA-TASER? WHO ARE WE TRYING TO KID?
SO... IS MARIA USING DARRIN OR DARRIN USING MARIA?
ARE THEY BOTH JUST KIND OF UNPLEASANT?
ARE WE REALLY STILL DOING A CITY OF HEROES PARODY THIS MANY
    YEARS AFTER CITY OF HEROES WAS CANCELLED?
HAS ANYONE ELSE RECOVERED FULLY FROM CITY OF HEROES BEING
    CANCELLED?


Not me! But I'll continue reading SUPERGUY DIGEST to help ease the pain!

               Episode Notes and Commentary Available at the
                    Superguy List Livejournal Community!
        The Superguy List Livejournal Community -- it still exists!
      http://superguy-list.livejournal.com/35545.html for Episode #7!


                This series uses characters graciously given
                                     by
                   Executive Producer *THE* Mason Kramer
         As Executive Producer Mason also contributed plot elements
                          and dialogue in places.
                 This story could not exist without Mason.
                   This story continues thanks to Mason.
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