Shadowgirl

Chapter 3

As I neared the address from Raven's text, my mind raced through recent events. They lingered on the part where I had apparently become stronger and more beautiful. My extremities buzzed with suppressed joy at the thought of being able to crush metal in my bare hand. It was what I had always desired, a dream come true. A real, legit superpower! Super strength!

The only problem was that it came in a context of awfulness. Remembering the other events that had transpired at the warehouse, I felt a bit guilty for my internal joy. I mean, the fate of my planet was hanging in the balance, and here I was doing cartwheels over a newfound superpower.

I knew what I had heard Raven say before losing consciousness. All morning, I had been attempting to deny it, to dismiss it as the meandering delusions of a mind shutting down. I knew in my heart, however, that it had happened. I knew what I had heard. The words had been real. Raven had been ready to surrender our planet to those alien invaders.

And I needed to understand why.

I walked up to the front door of a nondescript, cookie cutter, suburban house and looked around. Was this seriously the place I was supposed to meet Raven? I had imagined a dark gothic mansion, or some high-tech secret underground lair. With a name like Raven, I'd always imagined him hanging out someplace Edar Allan Poe-ish... or at least comic book-ish, you know? Not a generic, lemon yellow house on a freaking cul-de-sac. I checked the map on my phone, comparing the address once more to Raven's text. It matched.

Shrugging, I rang the doorbell, peering into the picture window to see a living room that looked like something out of a Crate & Barrel showroom. A moment later, steps approached, and the door swung open. It was Raven, in costume, lines of worry etched around the visible portion of his dark, masked eyes. If I hadn't known what was at stake, what he had faced yesterday, the sight of the dark hero in such a prosaic setting would have been comical.

Shoving semi-amused thoughts of the incongruity to the side, I felt the familiar warmth of attraction radiate from my center, as I always did when in the man's commanding presence. However, this time his presence seemed less authoritative somehow. I wasn't sure whether it was caused by something in his posture, or simply the knowledge that I might be able to match his strength now.

Wordlessly, he stepped back to allow me inside, and I accepted the nonverbal invitation and entered. His eyes scanning briefly for any other movement outside the house, he slowly, deliberately shut the door behind me.

As I looked around the white walls and beige furniture, I mused aloud with a crooked smile. "I never took you for a suburb-dweller, Raven. Do you mow the yard in full body armor?"

"Cute," he said simply, turning to face me.

"Safe house?" I asked, surmising his reason for using the place.

"Yes," he replied simply. There was that trademark word economy again!

I turned to face him as well, sensing my features harden slightly as something—maybe my overwhelming curiosity, maybe my newfound powers—welled from within to give me the courage to speak the challenging question that had been on my mind to the de facto leader of super.org.

"Raven, did you surrender to that super-strong alien, Xymon?" I blurted out. As I spoke the first few words, my resolve seemed to instantly dissipate, my voice trembling slightly by the time I reached the word "surrender". Despite my instinct to lower my gaze, however, it remained intently fixed on his.

The normally stoic Raven blanched visibly at the question. He didn't seem prepared for it. I couldn't blame him. I was shocked that I'd had the courage to ask it, especially in so blunt a manner.