Waiting for a Miracle - Chapter 9

What a difference two days can make, let me tell you. Leona had been in stasis inside one of my nanopods while most of her wounds were being healed.

I say most, because as she looked from Wallace to me upon stepping out of the pod, it was obvious that her heart was still broken. That was going to change very quickly, because I had two days of plotting behind me, and the day was going to be a doozy with all the work I’d put into it.

Almost as soon as she had set foot on the floor, I went to Leona and picked her up, cradling her against my chest as I swept her off her feet. I carried her to a padded bed and set her down, kissing her neck before stepping back to smile at her warmly.

Leona couldn’t look at me. “I’m sorry Duggan,” she said, her gaze moving from her hands to the floor.

“No,” I said in a soft yet firm voice, raising her chin with my fingers. “There will be no apologies from you about this. You did more than any person had the right to ask, and I want you to know what that means to me.” I smiled wider, petting the point of her chin to keep her from looking away again. “I’ve got some presents for you. The first is the suit you’re wearing now.”

She looked down, shrugging. “It’s my usual costume.”

“No, this one covers your arms, legs, and neck with a clear polymer, making you nearly impervious to all damage.”

“Nice,” she mumbled, but she looked saddened by my revelation.

I expected that, since it seemed to confirm her lack of self-worth. Still I had to draw her attention to another detail. “You might notice that I still left a slit in the back.”

“For my stump,” Leona said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t think I want it sticking out if every hero intends to use it as a handle.”

“No, you’re mistaken.” I held up a titanium scalpel and a stoppered vial. “That slit isn’t for your stump.”

Leona looked at me in confusion, then she glanced at the scalpel with apprehension as I approached her. “Um, Duggan, what—?”

“You’ll feel only the tiniest pain,” I promised, yet I could still see how worried she was. I lowered both the vial and scalpel. “Would you like your kiss now or after?”

“Both,” Leona said.

I smiled and stepped closer to her, kissing Leona’s neck as I reached around her to lightly nick the tip of her tail with the scalpel. I heard her hiss in pain, and she was biting her lower lip when I drew back.

I said, “Just a moment longer, and then you won’t feel any pain.”

I opened the vial and let the clear liquid inside drip into the wound, watching her expression as the nanites went to work. I rubbed the cut as it sealed shut, and I noted with relief that Leona was finally smiling.

“So that’s it, huh? You just wanted to play with my stump? Hey, if you promise not to use the scalpel, I’ve got a smaller nub up front that could use a little—” She stopped her joke with a gasp and turned her head to look over her shoulder.

Her eyes grew wide as a pink tip emerged from her stump and new links of bone started growing under her quickly expanding tail. Even before it had grown to its full length of three feet, new fine black hairs were spouting from the base. In just a few minutes the hair covered her entire tail.

“Hey, what’s with this white tip?” Leona asked in a soft voice, her sarcastic comment muted by awe.

“Think of that as my personal signature,” I explained.

“It’s numb,” she said.

I nodded. “Yes, it still needs some time to attach itself to your nervous system. You’ll know it has when it—”

“Oh!” Leona yelped as the tail slid out of her hand and stood on end.

“Stands straight up,” I finished, smiling at Leona’s amazed expression. “So, are you ready for your other kiss?”

“Oh Duggan, I don’t need it now,” she whispered happily. “Thank you so much.”

Minutes later she was waving it naturally back and forth, smiling as it tickled her shoulders.

Wallace was spoiling the moment, reminding me with his expression of what a nice guy I was being. I didn’t care. I had a lot more in my plot to show him what a bad guy I still was.

I grinned at Leona, pointing at her tail. “Why don’t you take it out for a spin?”

Leona grinned and disappeared. I was glad I’d already put in earplugs, as every window in the lab burst at the same time from her first sonic boom.

Quickly taking an earplug out, I dug a cell phone out of my pocket and hit the speed dial.

“I’m here,” the D.A. answered. “I take it from my missing windows that you’re ready as well?”

“Indeed. Release him in two minutes.” I hung up, tucking the earplug back in just as a low rumble of thunder became noticeable.

The thunder grew until it was overpowering the plugs, and I had to clap my hands over my ears as they began to ring. Through my hands, I heard test tubes shattering in what sounded almost like a familiar tune. I looked at Wallace as he tried to shout over the deafening rumble, but his words were lost.

“I SAID—” he bellowed, then paused when he realized that the rumbling had stopped. He uncovered his ears, grinning sheepishly. “I was saying, those test tubes just played Greensleeves.”

I snapped my fingers and pointed toward Wallace as I laughed. “Yeah, I knew that sounded familiar!”

I looked up in time to catch a faint outline of Leona at my window. Another outline appeared briefly in front of me, a wide smile on her face. Just a moment later I felt her soft, warm breath on the back of my neck.

“Want to race me?” she whispered, a breathless laugh rushing past my ear.

Chuckling, I shook my head. “I’d lose in a split second. Besides, I still have another gift for you.”

Leona was shaking her head as I turned to face her. “Oh, Duggan, no more gifts, please! My heart is about to burst as it is. Save your gift for tomorrow.”

“Trust me, you want this gift,” Wallace assured her.

Now before I go on, let me tell you about Wallace’s new job in the last two days. He had begun to patrol the city, and the news had eagerly picked up his story, thanks in no small part to a “leaked” report that the Rocket had been his first bust. Popularity for Wallace spread quickly as people got wind of how poorly Leona had been treated by the rogue hero.

The way we reported the story was that the Rocket had beaten an innocent woman. The news outlets ate Wallace’s righteous manner up, and our new hero improved on that popularity with every patrol.

The funny thing is, without Miracle Man around, I was able to plot and scheme with impunity, and what I had in store for the Rocket was...well, you’ll see in just a little while.

Leona looked from Wallace to me with curiosity, and I leaned in close to her.  “You have to promise me you’ll run slow enough for Wallace and I to keep up,” I whispered. I stepped back and said, “While you were out, I got a phone call from your attorney. They just released the Rocket from jail. Would you like—?” But of course I was already talking to an outline. “Damn it!”

“She’s waiting.” Wallace pointed to a recurring outline on a windowsill.

Both Wallace and I slipped on collars before flying out of the lab. I was never so thankful for the collar’s ability to muffle sound. Even as the sounds were dampened, we were still being buffeted from heavy winds in every direction as Leona’s sonic booms reported her movement.

Everywhere we looked, we found her outlines. She perched on every streetlamp, clung to the sides of most every building. She was truly running and leaping circles around us. Every afterimage of her face had the same wicked grin, as if she were taunting us to move faster.

At last we arrived at the city jail, and we found a flickering outline of Leona pointing at something to the West just as a cloud of dust rose from the same direction. A second later, we heard the impact of what we presumed was the Rocket.

We flew quickly toward the cloud of dust to find a construction site. A hideously crumpled stack of I-beams surrounding a crater was the only evidence of the area of impact. I could not see Leona or the Rocket.

Remember the Rocket’s butt plug? Well we hired a crew to work with Bubba, and at my instruction, the Rocket had rotated cells five times a night. The security guards took it one step further by pimping him out to half the inmates of the county prison during the day, with a small percentage of the profits coming back to me, of course.

I digress, the Rocket had been catching more action than Ass Master on his best Halloween, and he was suffering from sleep deprivation. Leona could have beaten him even if she was moving like a human. Yet Wallace had been correct in his assessment of her perceived limitations, and Leona began moving just slow enough for me and Wallace to enjoy the show. Even then, she sometimes vanished for seconds at a time while the Rocket jerked and convulsed like an epileptic having a seizure in fast-forward.

I caught sight of one of Leona’s outlines picking up an I beam, and the next thing I saw was yet another explosion of dust several miles away from the construction site.

By the time we got to the park that the Rocket had landed in, the fight was over. The Rocket was on his knees, begging Leona for his life like a common civilian. It was absolutely perfect.

Leona dropped the twisted remains of the I beam she was holding, getting her breathing under control slowly. At last she looked at the Rocket.

“Go home, Dave,” she said, stunning me.

I never knew that she was aware of the Rocket’s real name.

She said, “Just run back home and keep playing with Devastator, because I’m through with you.”

“Devastator is dead,” the Rocket murmured. “They all are. I was arrested as a rogue hero, so I escaped and came here.”

Leona nodded. “Probably to try and kill me. Those cops couldn’t have decided that you were scum before I left, could they? Bastards even told me I deserved what you gave me. Well, you aren’t staying in this city, you son of a bitch. Get the hell out of my city, or I’ll kill you.”

“Excuse me?” We heard from behind us. We turned to see a local gang banger jump down from the low hanging branch of an oak tree. “I couldn’t help but overhear you talking,” he said as he put his surveillance equipment away.

I recognized him as he got closer. It was Lil’ Joe, a henchman of Bling Bling, a local gang leader and rap superstar. Lil’ Joe had worked mostly as a pimp, and we were on good terms since he was always quick to pay his monthly dues to me.

I nodded to him. “How’s business, Joe?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s doin’ fine.” Joe nodded to me. “Sup, LM? You decidin’ to go maskless now?”

I realized then that I had forgotten my suit at home. I smiled and shrugged. “It’s a possibility. What are you doing out here?”

“Stakeout for Bling, ya know? Some dudes around here have been selling some real bad junk and claiming they bought it from us. Course, they split when this fight started.” Joe walked over to where the Rocket was kneeling. He looked at Leona. “May I?”

“Be my guest,” she said with a wave.

Joe kicked the Rocket’s jaw as hard as he could. “Hey, ‘sup bitch?” Joe said quickly, punctuating every syllable with a kick to the Rocket’s ribs. “Heard Big Bubba really liked you. He told me you should feel free to visit him anytime.” He stepped back, looking at me. “Did he say there’s no superheroes in Frisco right now?”

“I believe he might have said something along those lines.” I smirked. “You think Bling Bling might be interested in that tid bit of information?”

“You know it,” Joe said with a short laugh. He looked at Wallace. “That is, if it’s all right with you.”

“I’m this city’s hero for now,” Wallace said, chuckling as Joe ran across the park to his Jeep.

“That’s it then,” Leona said. She let go of a long breath as she began wiping her hands.

“Nope, not by a long shot.” I walked over to grab the Rocket by his collar. “The final gift lies at the coliseum.”

Stomp, stomp, clap!

Stomp, stomp, clap!

“We will, we will rock you!” the crowd chanted as Leona, Wallace and I entered the coliseum through the side entrance. I led her into the ring, where sixty thousand fans sat chanting for a fight.

Their voices rose to the open ceiling rafters of the City Coliseum. Where there were normally banners strung from the exposed rafters for the basketball team, the City Citizens, now black streamers hung with LEONA written in bold white letters.

Just about every criminal in the city was there, and they sat cheering side by side with normal, average Joes that had read the paper for two days, building up a gut full of venom. Each of these people had paid for their dues to see this fight, at a mere two dollars per ticket. Peanuts really, so of course the place was packed to maximum capacity.

They were all ready to see the Rocket take a proper beating, and I was going to give them exactly what they wanted. Wallace got behind Leona and put his hands on his shoulders. I’m sure to most everyone there, it must have looked like Wallace was vigorously rubbing her shoulders as they walked down the narrow passage to the ring in the middle of the coliseum floor.

In fact, she was leaning back to resist being pushed into the spotlight, and Wallace was pushing her by the shoulders. On either side of the metal barrier, people stuck out their hands, calling to Leona. Families of instant fans stood among consumed villains. And all of them chanting, “Leona!”

I’m sure by then, Leona was wondering when her alarm clock would go off.

The ring only confirmed the dreamlike quality, as a man in a tuxedo and bright white hair sat on the middle rope beside the stairs. He was holding the top rope up, creating a wider gap for Leona.

The blue nylon skirting around the ring was also emblazoned with Leona’s name. The floor seats sparkled with camera flashes, some of them genuine fans, and some of them photographers that I’d hired.

While Leona gaped with an open mouth and wide eyes, I dragged the Rocket to a stool resting in one corner. I propped him on the stool and rested his head against the padding, and then I slapped his cheek.

I leaned in close, smiling as he cowered back from me and whimpered. “These folks want to see a fight, and they paid good money for the privilege to be here. You will fight Leona again, or I will kill you. I can heal your wounds and bring you back from a thousand broken bones just to do it again, so I promise that your death will last for months. Do we have an understanding?” I smiled even wider as he nodded.

I stood up and nodded to the announcer. He turned on his microphone and shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen! Allow me to introduce the man behind this fight, a man you all know and fear! Please welcome the top dog in City; he is the overlord of all crime! Give it up for Light Master!”

I took the microphone, grinning at the applause from the crowd. “Folks, tonight you are going to see the greatest thing since the blender was invented. Tell me, who here wants to see Leona whip the Rocket’s candy ass from one ring post to the next?”

The crowd roared with delight, and then they started shouting their approval even more as I handed the microphone to Wallace.

He smiled at the response, waving a hand for silence. The coliseum fell instantly quiet. Yes, just like that. He even had the super villains eating out of his hand. “This fight is a message to everyone in the city. While I will not tolerate any crime, this kind of scum must learn his place. This ‘hero’ has tainted the title and lent shame to all of us, so I think it’s only fitting for him to take some lumps. Don’t you?”

The crowd went nuts. He staggered back theatrically, sending a laugh through the coliseum before he handed the microphone back to the announcer.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event!” the announcer shouted, making himself red-faced. “In the left corner, weighing in at two hundred and twelve pounds, he is the lowest turd on the food chain. No really, he’s a pond-scum-sucking reprobate; a tactless, classless, tasteless loser, and an all around butt-munching hose-monkey! He is the Rocket!”

A chorus of boos and hisses erupted from the crowd. People sitting close to the ring actually started throwing their beers on the Rocket. In sealed cans, mind you. I guess we shouldn’t have given them away under the call of “free ammo.” Oh well, that was our mistake, not theirs.

“And in the right corner, weighing in at ninety-eight pounds, she is the diva of destruction! The goddess of gore! The deity of destruction! Fans of all ages, I give you Leona!”

The crowd exploded with cheers, and Leona ate up the attention. She leaped onto the top rope and balanced on it perfectly. She walked the ring on the ropes, waving to her fans as they cheered her on. Her tail swished back and forth, a flurry of activity that allowed the rest of her body to have the illusion of fluid grace.

Leona dropped back onto the mat and went to the center, were the announcer gave the “rules.”

“All right, we want to see a dirty fight!” the announcer yelled. “Go back to your corners, and when the bell rings, I hope Leona opens a can of chunky-style whoop-ass on the Rocket!”

The bell rang, and from where I stood, it was a nasty spectacle. The fight lasted all twelve rounds, and the audience cheered for every punch as Leona pummeled the Rocket hard, fast and continuously.

What most of the fans saw was her beating his face to a pulp until it looked like a lump of old mashed potatoes. What Wallace, I and a select few others saw was Leona running around behind him with every punch to keep him from falling down. With just a few seconds to spare in the last round, she let him fall.

The referee counted him out to a deafening roar from the crowd. I enthusiastically joined them in cheering for her, as did Wallace.

Suddenly, I was struck by the irony of this successful plot. For the first time since I had become a super villain, I had conceived a plot in which no one had died. The intention of my plot was for one man to get his ass handed to him, not to kill him.

Not only that, but for the first time, I didn’t care where Miracle Man was. The big guy never once crossed my mind during the entire plot, from its planning stages to this final outcome.

Some folks may feel that I cheated the fans by softening up the Rocket, but Leona had to move slow enough for the normal fans to follow her. Besides, I don’t think any of the fans cared that the Rocket “stepped” into the ring resembling a bag of soggy Puppy Chow.

Leona was beaming with pride as the announcer fitted a belt around her waist that proclaimed “Super Villainess” on a solid gold plate in bold silver letters.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our winner, the now recrowned super villainess!” the announcer said to the approving roar of the audience. “Let’s give it up for Leona!”

Leona leapt to the top rope again, turning to find me in the crowd. I smiled at her and blew a kiss to her, letting Leona enjoy the adulation of her fans.

Before any of you get the wrong idea about me and think that I did this all from the “goodness” of my heart, I should mention that I made nearly a million dollars that day from the tickets, promotional shirts, and hats, all tax free. I also got a very generous cut of the payout from the city’s bookies, who had rigged the odds thanks to some “inside information” they got two days before the fight.

Not bad, eh? Don’t you believe it.