Virus walked away from the factory, towards the police perimeter two blocks and a half away. I probably shouldn’t leave until I talk to the cops, she thought. Someone is going to have to tell them that the bomb is disarmed, at least. As she walked, Detectives Taylor and Keller saw her approach and waved her over towards them. News crews were beginning to arrive on the scene as well – Channel 5’s News Lemon – one of those ‘themed’ vehicles that looked like a literal lemon on wheels - had arrived first, as well as two more standard news vans; one from CNN, and one from GBN.
“Hey Detectives!” Virus called. “I guess we’ve got to stop meeting like this, huh?”
Detective Allan Taylor smiled. “Well, seeing as how we rarely see heroes and heroines any other times, I guess we’ve got to take what we can get. How are you doing? We heard screaming.” Virus could tell the Detective was concerned.
“Geez. I was that loud?” Virus said, trying to make it a joke. “Hazard Man’s robot dog hit me with a flame-thrower, and I didn’t have time to dodge. That little guy is nasty.”
Detective Keller nodded. “There’s something wrong with that dog. Oh – maybe it’s cause he’s got an nutbar for a master? You okay, Virus?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I heal pretty quickly – but it still hurt. I guess you can tell Hazard Man – I mean Dr. Pierce – got away?”
“Yeah.” Allan replied. “We saw his helicopter beanie thing carry him away. He looked hurt too.”
“Yeah, well I got in a lick or two before I got roasted.” Virus shook her head. “I was able to disarm the bomb, though. You might want to get some bomb squad people over there to dismantle it – it’s pretty nasty.”
“We’ll get on that, ASAP Virus. Thanks for the help. Anything we can do for you?” Detective Taylor’s concern was evident in his voice and demeanor, and it was plain he was offering her an “out” – again – with the news crews that were waiting for a statement.
“I can’t think of anything yet, but thanks, Detective. I suppose I’ll have to talk to the news sometime.” Virus felt touched
By Allan’s concern. As she talked, she couldn’t help but look at him – his athletic body, and handsome face. He looked like he liked to smile. She shook herself, realizing what she was doing. Oh my god! I’m checking him out! What the hell? Virus tried to get command of herself, and look more professional.
She felt herself blush more than a little, when she realized Detective Taylor was returning the favor, his eyes glancing up and down her athletic and curvy body. She surprised herself by liking the attention. What is wrong with me? She wondered. “Anything you want me to keep out of the news for now?” She asked.
“Not that I can think of.” Allan replied.
“Fair enough. You know, I think there was something wrong with Dr. Pierce.” Virus began.
“No shit.” Brian countered. “He has tin foil in his helmet.”
Virus couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes he does, but it’s not that. He makes a bomb large enough to kill thousands – but he warns them to leave before he explodes it. He kills one man with a laser – but doesn’t kill his enemy Trask. He cares about people enough to try and cure a disease like cancer – but he’s started calling normal people LCD’s – something that I don’t think he’s done before. I’m concerned he might be fighting himself, like a split personality of sorts.”
“Oh great,” Brian began. “Not only does he have weapons of mass destruction, he’s dangerously deranged and mental to boot.”
“That’s the point, Detective. I’m not sure he’s in charge – I mean Dr. Pierce. Maybe this Hazard Man is in charge – or maybe they’re fighting. That might explain his odd behavior. If he really didn’t care about people, he would have just parked his bomb, and walked away – and blown up the whole city block without warning. I think he’s still in there, somewhere.”
“I hope you’re right, Virus.” Said Detective Taylor. “But for now, we’ll have to start by finding him and stopping him.”
“I’ve got a few leads on that.” Virus told them both. “If they pan out, I’ll call – just in case ECPD wants to help with some backup.”
“You’ll need a number.” Allan replied, scribbling his cell phone number on a napkin. “And we’ll need one to call you, if there’s anything we discover.”
Brian smirked, trying to keep his comment to himself.
Virus nodded, not paying attention, and gave the number of one of her burner phones to the detective. “Call me if you find anything useful.”
“Ditto.” Detective Taylor smiled, and Virus realized she was right – he did have a nice smile.
I have got to get my hormones under control, Virus thought. Geez. “I’d better go chat with the news before they climb over the barricade to get to me.” She waved goodbye, and headed towards the news vans.
Allan looked over at Brian with his smirk. “What?!”
“Nothin.” Brian said, still smirking. “You know, nothing good will come of this.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Virus. I saw you two checking each other out. Exchanging phone numbers.” Brian ribbed his partner, putting his fingers up to his ears like a phone. “Call me!” he said, in a joke falsetto.
“Asshole!” Taylor laughed, realizing his partner was ribbing him. “There’s no way she’s into a schlub like me.”
“I dunno, Allan. She was checking you out pretty good.” Brian said. “You might want to be careful around her.”
“Give me a break, Brian…” Allan shook his head. “It’s not a big deal.”
“If you say so, partner.”
“I do say so.”
“Okay, then… I’ll just forget about it.”
“You do that.” Allan sighed, and got on the radio with the bomb squad. He smirked a bit to himself as he did. She was checking me out too? I couldn’t get that lucky.
* * *
Virus walked over towards the news vans, parked to one side of the street, out of the way of Emergency services. She didn’t have to wait long – in seconds three microphones and two digital recorders were thrust in her face by reporters of both the televised and print kind.
“Miss Virus! What happened here today? Did you screw up? We understand the bad guy got away!”
“Virus! Why is your name so ominous? Can you make people sick? What exactly are your powers, anyway?”
“Ma’am! I understand you’re pretty new to this. Can you make a statement about your battle with Carnage and Shrapnel? Is it true you can heal people?”
“Why do you have a biohazard symbol on your costume? Are you dangerous? Should we be afraid of you?”
Virus stood there a moment, shell-shocked by the rapid fire questions. “Whoa! One at a time, okay? Umm… A villain calling himself Hazard Man – the same man that attacked Bolivar Trask a day ago – was here, and he set a large bomb at Trask’s factory. It’s being disarmed – but in the altercation, Hazard Man got away. I believe he’s dangerous, and needs help. He has an accomplice – a dangerous robot that looks like a small dog. The dog should be considered armed and very dangerous.”
She took a breath. “As for my name, I picked it because I wanted to scare criminals. They’re a disease – and hopefully I can be part of the cure. I can heal people, yes – but I don’t know if I can make people sick. I’ve never tried, and I don’t want to try. I can control my own rate of healing, and share that power with other people. I can apparently change myself a bit – I can grow wings, for example, but I don’t know what my limits are, or if I even have any limits.”
“As for the biohazard symbol, I thought it fit for my name better. It’s something that should let the villains know to be scared. Normal folks have nothing to fear from me – and there’s no need to be afraid of me anymore than people should be afraid of Captain Patriot or Shade, Tesseract or Fathom.”
Virus took another breath… It was unnerving being in front of so many cameras, and she found herself being a little bit nervous and self conscious. She tried to steel herself, and stood up straighter. “My battle with Carnage and Shrapnel was part skill, part luck. Both of those villains are very dangerous combatants, and I admittedly am pretty new at this. The fact they tore each other apart before I arrived helped me greatly in defeating them – and luck played a part as well. Do I think I could have defeated them on my own, without their help? I’d like to say ‘Yes” – but I’m also glad I didn’t have to.”
“Do you think your relative inexperience is why Hazard Man got away?” Someone asked.
Virus gritted her teeth. They would ask that, she thought. Rub it in a bit more, jerks… “Yes. However, I believe when I meet him again, I will defeat him and bring him to justice so that he can get the help he needs. His robot won’t catch me off guard again.”
“Do you think his robot is tougher than you are? What would you rate yourself, and what would you rate the robot?”
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to rate myself. As for the robot dog, I barely saw its capabilities. I think it could be a serious contender. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more dangerous than Hazard Man, frankly.” Great, she thought. Tomorrow’s headlines are going to say ‘Newbie Heroine scared by Robotic toy!’ and ‘Virus says we should be scared!’ Fuck this. “I’ve got to get going, ladies and gentlemen. I’ll see you later.”
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There was a flurry of more questions, but Virus didn’t hear them – she grew her wings, and the powerful beat of the wings drowned out the reporters voices. As she flew back towards home, she reveled in the freedom flying gave her. I could really learn to like this, she thought. I think I need to manage my interviews a bit better next time too. She tried to relax, but her stomach felt like butterflies… Somehow this is all going to go balls up, isn’t it? She thought. They’re going to make me into one of those anti-heroes, or try to. Fuck! She flew on in silence, trying to calm her fears.
Colby got back to Darryl’s apartment a little while later, after flying around a bit to cool off. She smiled as she pulled out the apartment key Darryl had made for her, and opened the apartment door. He was so sweet in getting this made for me. He didn’t have to. I’ll have to make sure he gets a key for my place, when I get one. There was a message waiting on his answering machine, but since it wasn’t her place, she just left it blinking, and went to get cleaned up. I may be healed, but I still smell like I’ve been in a fire. Yuck.
She stripped naked, and headed to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and a washcloth along the way. As she stepped into the shower, she turned on the water and waited till it was warm, starting as she was sprayed with a cold burst of water from the taps. Soon she was basking in the hot spray, and washing her stress away. Today’s been a real winner so far, she thought sarcastically. I get my ass kicked by an animatronic stuffy, and the bad guy gets away. I need to do something to improve my game. She ignored all that for a little while, and let the water run over her skin, letting the sensations tickle her senses, and distract her from the stress. It took a while, but eventually it worked.
* * *
Darryl opened up his apartment door to see Colby struggling with part of her costume… She was trying to put on a sheer little black dress covered in a spattering of sequins – and Darryl finally recognized the outfit! It was one of the costumes that The Scarlet Scream wore back in the fifties – Darryl’s dad swore up and down she was the last of the heroine sex symbols from the fifties. Colby filled it out well… maybe a little too well. He blinked, and tried to focus. “Uh… Everything okay?”
“Urg! Could you help me zip this stupid thing up?” Colby replied.
Darryl laughed. “Sure hun. You look great!” He walked over, and gave her some help. Her dress fit like a glove.
“Thanks, Dar. I’m not sure this is the best idea, but I kinda like the theme you me and Laurie are going with. Pulp Heroes of the thirties and forties was a good idea, I think. You still planning on going as ‘The Spirit’?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a think for supernatural detectives, I think. I like how he has a healing factor too. And that red tie is snazzy.”
“You just like he wears a suit and a hat, so you don’t have to look weird.” Colby teased.
“Are you kidding? I’ll be dressing like my grandad. I’ll look like a goof.” Dar countered.
Colby moved up to Darryl, and put her hands on his chest, snuggled up close, and kissed his nose. “You’ll look stylish and badass.”
Darryl couldn’t help but smile. “How couldn’t I feel like a badass when you’re there with me, beautiful?” He kissed her nose back, and headed to the bedroom. “Is Laurie still coming over to help with the mask and makeup?”
“As far as I know, yeah.” The phone buzzed, and Colby laughed. “Speak of the devil – that’s probably her now.”
Colby picked up the phone, and buzzed Laurie into the building. “She’s on her way up!”
“I’d better hurry then.” Darryl closed the door to the bedroom and began to get ready for the party.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. Colby opened it, and was surprised when Laurie looked at her, smiled, and wrapped her in a firm hug.
“You look amazing in that dress, Colby! You must be so excited!”
“Thanks, Laurie. I am – but I’m also scared witless. What are people going to think?”
Laurie came into the apartment, and set her stuff down on the table. “They’re going to think that Darryl has a hot girlfriend, and that’s it.”
“Really?”
“I dunno. Some of them will probably check you out.” Laurie said. “You are dressed as The Scarlet Scream.”
“How do you deal with people checking you out? Doesn’t it get… weird after a while?” Colby looked a bit unsure of herself. “It was kind of weird when I went out today.”
Laurie smiled, and motioned for Colby to sit. “Well, first, everyone is going to be looking at everyone – it’s a costume party, after all. They know you’ll be looking at them too. Second, you’ll be fine. Darryl or I will be with you the entire evening, and you can leave whenever you want to. It’ll be okay. I take it something uncomfortable happened when you went out earlier today?”
“I was on the bus, and everyone was staring at me… Someone groped me, but I couldn’t see who it was, and people whistled. I didn’t know how to take it – and it kinda made me feel like I was on display – I was a bit scared. I didn’t like it.”
Laurie pursed her lips, thinking. “I know how you feel, Colby. I’ve had days like that. I’ve felt like I just wanted to scream ‘Leave me the fuck alone!’ to people. Some guys think any comment they make is a compliment and should be treated as such, but they don’t really know. Welcome to being a woman, I guess.”
“I… I know. I just didn’t expect it. Does it get better?”
“Yeah,” Laurie began, “I think it does. It takes time to build a bit of a thick skin. It also helps once you realize in your gut that you can sometimes use your looks as a sort of armor – and that it’s okay to like being looked at when you want to be. Sometimes a lady can take all those looks and use them as validation of ‘Yeah, I’m hot!’ – and it can be a real mood lifter. It can also be a sort of armor in that some guys will just figure you’re out of their league and back off. Other times, it’s just a pain in the ass. I’m sorry, but I can’t really whitewash it. Sometimes guys are just jerks – that’s why it’s so important to hang on to the good ones.” She nodded towards Darryl’s bedroom. “Are you two dating?”
“I… Yeah, I think we are.” Colby said, smiling to herself.
“He’s a good guy. I hope you two work out.”
“What about you, Laurie? You seeing anyone?”
“Not recently. I had a few dates but they turned out to be losers. I’m in that kinda-between stage of looking for a guy, and being fine on my own for a while. Frankly work is keeping me so busy I don’t have a ton of time for socializing anyway.”
“How is the hotel business doing?” Colby asked. Laurie was a hotelier for the Ramada Inn in the north end. Her job paid pretty well, and Laurie loved doing it.
“Not bad. Work is work. I think I did pretty well for myself. Fall Convention season is coming though… Urg.”
Colby laughed. She had heard so many horror stories of how people treated their hotel rooms, that it became a standing joke between them. After every major Convention season – usually in the summer and fall – she’d regale her friends with this year’s crop of horror stories of what they found in the rooms after the guests checked out. The contents ranged from illegal drugs, exotic animals, designer clothes, and in a few cases, dead bodies. You never could tell what she’d run into next at work.
“Can I get a hand with the makeup for tonight?” Colby asked.
“You bet, girlfriend. I figured you wouldn’t have a clue, so I brought a bunch of stuff. Let’s get to work.” Laurie started with foundation, concealer, and blush – then worked her way to eye makeup, lip liner and lipstick. “I’m doing your whole face, so that if you take your mask off, you won’t look like you have ski goggles on. It’s classier this way.”
“Whatever you say, Maestro. Can you show me how to do this sometime soon?”
“Sure. You get to buy the makeup, though – you would not believe what some of this stuff costs.” Laurie joked.
“Is it like paying 60$ for the same haircut a man would pay 10$ for?” Colby asked.
“Pretty much.” Laurie agreed, laughing. “But try showing up to work or at a social event without it, and you’ll definitely be noticed – and not in a good way.”
“I guess I have a lot to learn, don’t I?”
“Colby, you have no idea. I’ll do my best to help, but you literally have no idea.”
Laurie continued working on Colby’s face until she was satisfied. “There – go take a look in the bathroom before your boyfriend starts to hog it. I’ve got to get ready myself.” Laurie started digging in her bag for her costume… She was playing a genderbent version of “Doctor Sin”, the criminal mastermind that was one of the Scarlet Scream’s worst enemies. He had also faced off against the Spirit a few times as well – and was a well known villain of both heroes. Her elaborate fu-manchu style Chinese robes looked amazing as she pulled them out of the bag – all silk and real cloth-of-gold, thanks to Colby’s ability to change clothing into whatever she wanted. Laurie had to admit she was more than a bit jealous of her new girlfriends’ ability at times, but she certainly didn’t begrudge it to Colby. She was going to have a difficult enough time adjusting without her friends being weird about her change.
Colby went to the bathroom, and gasped in shock at what she saw in the mirror. The image of what she saw wasn’t a young woman going to a party – she looked every inch the Scarlet Scream – the red-headed bombshell that broke hearts all during the forties and fifties. She looked like a mature woman, out to get what she wanted – beautiful, sexy as hell, and confident. Colby couldn’t help but stare. That’s me… How can that be me? She was literally amazed at what she saw. Oh my god! I look gorgeous! I have to learn how to do that!
She moved closer to the mirror, and touched her face – the image in the mirror did the same. It is me. That’s me. It’s going to take some time to let that sink in, I think. Holy shit! Colby left the bathroom, and turned to Laurie. “I don’t know how you did it, but you’re amazing. Thanks, Laurie.”
Laurie preened at the compliment. “I aim to please!” Then she shouldered past Colby to get into the bathroom to change. “I’ll need a little while. You might as well get comfortable.”
Colby laughed, and sat down to wait. “You bet.”
Darryl came out of his room a moment later, and stopped dead in his tracks, staring at Colby. Oh my god! She’s gorgeous! He felt his heart jump in his chest, and his pulse quicken. Every single person at that party is going to be eating their heart out with envy! He thought. Damn!
“You look great, Colby!”
“Thanks, Dar. You look great too – stylish. You definitely don’t look like your grandad.” Definitely not, she thought. The 1940’s gumshoe look looks good on him. Damn… Keep your hormones under control, girl or you might not make it to the party. She grinned. “I like.”
Dar grinned back. “Great. You sure you’re ready for this?”
“No.” Colby admitted. “But as long as we’re together, I know I’ll be safe.”
Darrly came over and gave her a gentle hug. “Always.”
* * *
Constellation House at the university was pretty busy when Darryl, Colby and Laurie arrived. The parking lot was packed, which Darryl had anticipated, and a lot of people were already tipsy and tottering around the campus grounds. They could hear some rock music from inside the house even as far as their cab.
“Please tell me you’ve been to a party like this before.” Colby asked Darryl and Laurie. “I’ve never been to one.”
“That’s why we hope this one will be special!” Laurie replied. “But still remember the hints I gave you.”
“I remember.” Colby answered. Never take an open drink. Never allow yourself to be alone with a boy. Never take any ‘party favors’ if they’re being passed around – there’s no way to tell what’s in them. If you feel weird, or sick, call a friend ASAP. It was scary how much girls had to defend themselves to avoid having a disaster on a modern college campus. Laurie knew it wasn’t an idle threat too – her sister had been the victim of sexual assault in her second year of college, and it had taken a while for her to get over it. Colby knew Laurie didn’t want her to have to learn that lesson the hard way too.
“Good! Now let’s get in there, and have some fun!” Laurie took them by the hand, and led them up the path towards the frat house.
Darryl smirked under his mask – they were all wearing masks, except for Laurie’s “Doctor Sin.” Instead of Dr. Sin’s Fu-Manchu mustache, Laurie instead had incredibly elaborate eye makeup – and it looked spectacular! To be honest, he was excited about the party too. It had been a long time since he’d had a girlfriend, and Colby was something special. Something more than he had ever expected – and he wanted to show her off to some of his classmates. I hope Martin is here to meet her, he thought. I hope she likes Martin too. God she looks beautiful tonight!
Colby looked a bit apprehensive… In her prior life as Kayden, she’d never had the chance to attend university and all she knew about frat houses was the tripe that the media showed on television and movies. She knew the reality was different, but she didn’t really know what to expect. Get a grip, girl, she thought. You can be burnt alive by a flamethrower and walk away unscathed. A party with some people your age shouldn’t scare you… Still, she realized she was a bit afraid… not of being hurt, but of being found out to be a fraud… of being ostracized – again. She didn’t want to start her new life as Colby as an outsider.
Colby steeled herself, and followed Laurie and Darryl.