Consuming Fire

Chapter 30

For the first time in his life, Zac felt truly lost. He sat alone on a plush armchair in a room he'd come to like very much since arriving at the SSS – they called it the Lair. It was used as a common area for the 'fans' to watch movies and play video games and talk about the latest trailer releases and who their favorite super-villain was. Sometimes they even had debates. Zac went there to get away from reality, but today was different. Somehow, he felt the distance between he and the cabin grow a hundred times more. Even though he was surrounded by more powered people – the identities of which he didn't know yet – he missed his family too much to really care.

He watched a group of large, geek-looking guys in their twenties and three very unattractive women discuss one of the new X-Men movies in comparison to the comics with complete disinterest. There was a Bon Jovi song Zac remembered from his childhood playing in the background. Suddenly, it didn't matter anymore. Being funny or optimistic didn't make a difference.

"Hey."

Zac looked up from his trance and saw a girl of maybe twenty-five with straight blond hair layered with colors of pink and purple, looking like a goth Barbie-doll.

"Zac, right?" she asked. "The shape-shifter?"

He nodded. "Hi."

"I'm Ella," she said. "Well, my parents named me Barbarella ... you know, after the space cadet played by Jane Fonda?"

Zac shook his head.

"Yeah, of course you don't. Anyway, call me Ella."

"Hi."

Ella chewed pink bubble gum and waited for him to speak. He found he didn't have it in him.

"I'm from Vancouver," she said and sat down on the edge of his chair. He leant away uncomfortably. "Where are you from?"

"California."

"Oh yeah, there's a few here from California. I met a lot of these guys online, before I came here with my mom and dad. I'm a blogger and a writer. My parents run the Fanclub meetings here, and they're also avid illustrators and graphic designers."

"They sound awesome."

"Yeah, they're pretty weird though. So I've seen you down here a couple of times. Have you met anyone yet?"

"Uh no. I'm not used to making friends." Not when I'm a complete loner, at least.

"Well, I know some people who are dying to meet you." Her blue eyes glimmered and she nodded at the group sitting around the table. When Zac looked back at them, they hurriedly lowered their heads and pretended not to be paying attention. A part of Zac felt proud.

"So you've come to ask if I'd join you?"

"Only if you want to," she shrugged. "I can understand why you wouldn't, you're pretty famous around here."

Zac's eyebrows shot up. "R-really?"

Ella chewed her gum for a few more seconds before jumping to her feet and smoothing down her mini-skirt. "Come on, I'll introduce you. We're like a great big nerd family here." Ella pushed him by the back toward the table of eager people with their comics and their coffee spread out around them.

"Everyone," said Ella. "This is Zac."

He lifted a hand and waved.

"Dude, you have one of the best powers," said a loud guy with a weirdly shaped beard and a T-shirt that said 'SORRY LADIES, I'M IN THE NIGHT'S WATCH'.

"That's Peetee," said Ella. "No power."

Again, Zac waved.

"Hey, come sit down," said another girl and Ella shoved him to the end of the table. She had huge, fat dreadlocks wrapped up in hippy scarves. "I'm Dakota, I came up with Ironman before Marvel did."

"What the hell Dakota?" shouted Peetee. "We've had this discussion before, you did not come up with Ironman. He made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense issue 39 in 1963 before you were even born!"

"I mean the movie adaptation, dingus," said Dakota.

"Hey, Zac?"

Zac looked to his left where a boy with a beanie peered at him curiously. "What's your real form?"

"John, that's not-"

"Well," said Peetee, "he could be like Mystique and have several different true forms."

Despite priding himself in having a world of knowledge compared to his ICE companions, Zac didn't feel weird at all saying, "Who's Mystique?"

They went on to explain that Zac was similar to a character from the X-Men movies, which they decided to have a marathon of that night to give him a bit of a modern-day hero education. It excited Zac – a movie about a character with his power sounded awesome.

"Can I meet some more of you first?" he asked almost shyly. "Does anyone have powers?"

Many of their faces fell, as if this were the thing they were most embarrassed about. Zac felt guilty for humiliating them so suddenly.

"I mean, not that you guys aren't cool, but-"

"It's okay Zac," Ella smiled. "We're pretty lucky to even be around you."

"Yeah," said another guy with orange hair and freckles. "If I wasn't here, I'd be working at my local comic book store. Here, I get to actually live my comics."

"You said it Andy." Peetee and Andy fist bumped.