Free So Not a Hero by S.J. Delos Page A

alone when a really nasty villain named Wrecking Ball tore through her building while fleeing from the EAPF. The whole structure had come down around her, creating a pile of rubble where a three-story condominium had previously stood. Alexis had just floated up through the debris like a ghost, completely unharmed and intangible. The panic of having the walls fall in on her had kick-started her particular Enhancement: Molecular Phasing.
    What had made the story so newsworthy had been the fact that less than a minute after becoming Active, the young girl had used her new powers to subdue the criminal that had destroyed her home and kept him contained until the EAPF could take him into custody. A week later, she was a member of the Good Guys.
    The man behind her stood up, eyes narrowing at me and throwing hard glances at Manpower. “This has to be some kind of joke, Greg,” he asked the older hero. “You brought Crushette up here? She’s one of Doctor Maniac’s crew.”
    Manpower looked over at me as if to apologize for his teammate, then he returned the glare coming from Rocket. “I am aware of her past, Robert. However, I believe her future is here with us. As a hero.”
    Phantasm’s face shifted from warm and friendly into a mask of guarded concern. She tilted her head to the side, looking at me. “You’re Crushette?”
    I shrugged, feeling like I’d just lost a potential friend. “I used to be. Now I’m just plain old Karen.”
    Rocket pointed at me, face twisted into a seething mask. The air in the room became stuffy and warm, probably due to the thermal energy leeching out of the pissed-off hero. “Don’t listen to her, Alexis. She is Crushette. She’s one of Doctor Maniacs little flunkies.” He shook his head, never taking his eyes off me for a second. “Aren’t you supposed to be in prison? What did you do? Break out?”
    I nearly spat back that I was more than just a flunky to Doctor Maniac, but I doubted that would help my case one bit. The room around us suddenly seemed way too confining and too hot. If this went south, I was going to be at a serious disadvantage. “I’m out on parole, actually,” I tried to keep my voice level and my body poised in a non-threatening manner.
    My shrink had noted that I had a tendency to stand as if I were ready to punch someone. Which, in most cases, I was.
    I glanced past the Rocket and Phantasm to the window on the other side of the room. Even though it was omni-plex, I could probably bust through it. It was the twenty story drop that gave me hesitation. Turning my gaze towards Manpower, I shrugged. “Told you this was a bad idea.”
    Manpower slid in between me and the flyer, facing his teammate. “Stand down, Robert. Karen is here because I asked her to come. I told you that I wanted to see about recruiting the girl who helped me with the Brickwall Gang yesterday.”
    “But you conveniently left out the part where it was Crushette that helped you.” He leaned to the side to look at me around Manpower. “What type of misunderstanding did you have downstairs? Someone mistake you for a supervillain? Oh, wait! That’s not a mistake, is it?”
    I felt my lips form a snide curl. “Is this about that incident in Matthews a couple of years ago? Are you really still pissed because you were stupid enough to fly into me?”
    Phantasm turned to Rocket. “You fought with her?”
    I snorted, angry smile taking over my face. “It wasn’t really much of a fight, Alexis. Super Rocket Genius here thought he’d take down the easy girlie target. Of course, if he’d bothered to do his homework, he’d have known that trying that Swooping Tackle move of his would have had more success against a lamp post. Poor wittle Rocket bounced off me and tumbled head over ass on the ground, out cold.” I laughed. “Actually made me feel a little sorry for him.”
    “Enough!” Manpower put his hand on Rocket’s chest. “Robert, I’m ordering you to calm down. Whatever went on