Pumpking

Issue 46

24 hours without incident

The second day on the Hercules was worse than the first. No alien invasions, but apparently the video footage of my fugue on the bridge had got around.

Apart from the eye-witnesses who said that it had been the scariest fucking part of the ordeal, I was now the chick with black alien armour and the ability to blow things up with a gesture. I was a scary fucking person.

I could visibly see the wider berth I was getting from people who breathed fire, from girls with fairy wings and men with hair that could strangle someone in their sleep. Barbarian kings from the past gave me looks, like I was a wild animal, and I swear all the security cameras were following my every movement.

I would have liked for an alien invasion if it would get people to stop staring at me and silently judging me.

Fast-lane was, unaffected by my breakdown on his shoulder. If anything it made me wonder how much experience he'd had with people afflicted by their Powers. He seemed so mellow and relaxed, it was distracting. He talked about the events of the previous day, but more about how he'd had to clean everything up.

No one called me a killer, or accused me of murder. What I'd done had been self-defence, I'd been justified, but that didn't make me feel better.

"Okay, so, how about we go to Milan?"

"Milan?"

"Italy?"

I gave Fast-lane a blank look. He returned it with a horrified one. "You've never been to Milan?"

"I've never left the country. What's in Milan?"

"Only the fashion capital of the whole WORLD. Do you live under a rock?"

"I'm not into fashion."

"Huh. Okay, neither am I, I just thought shopping would cheer you up."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you think that?"

He shrugged. "You're a girl. The rare species that seems to think a new pair of shoes will solve all your woes."

"Shoes are expensive."

"That's a custom-fit Tracey Newcastle shirt, isn't it?"

"It's not mine, Phantom bought it for me-" Ugh. Just thinking about how much money I owed him was going to give me an ulcer.

"Oh, well that explains why I didn't think it suited your personality much," He paused and then grinned, "I think I know what we can do. Let's go."

"Where?"

"Santa Monica."
It was almost half an hour later when we arrived at our destination. The teleporters had landed us near the beach front and we had a long way to walk. I didn't have any cash, but Fast-lane had changed into neat jeans and a tank, his wallet wasn't expensive looking but nice quality and he brought us pretzels and cola while we walked down the sandy avenues toward an old building on the wharf.

"So what is in Santa Monica?"

"Good pretzels." He announced, finishing off his fifth in a few seconds.

I strolled along beside him, noticing that he had trouble keeping the 'slow' normal walking pace. I guess it must have been good practice for him. The Pantheon always seemed to be in a hurry so it mustn't have been that worrying, but I wasn't running off to fight the crabs on the beach just yet. "Uhuh."

"Well, you don't like movies, cooking, sewing or shopping so aside from the obvious trouble with relaxing, I realized there is something not even you can be un-fun with."

"What is it?" I was interested now. Something even I would enjoy?

"Well, it's an old custom, you probably haven't ever heard of. From the twentieth-century."

We arrived at the old building and I looked up. "A skate-disco? Ice-skating?"

He laughed. "Uh, close."

Inside it was actually not all that busy, a glittering disco ball sent spirals of colour and wonder over the world, an older woman sat in a booth, selecting music from a collection. It was very archaic music. Bogey fever.... It was... odd.

We paid five dollars for a pair of rollerskates and were handed the chunkiest, most awkward, old looking shoes with wheels on them, "How on earth are we supposed to skate on these?" they belonged in a museum.

Collin laughed and showed me how to do the laces up. I'd heard about laces, before Velcro and plastic ties people had used string to keep shoes on their feet it was so... medieval.

I was surprisingly steady on the six wheels- they had thick, round stops at the front and back, all I needed was to glide in the middle.

Collin helped me clunk over and then, as we got on the disco floor, he showed me a few basic turns and gliding motions. We joined the elderly group that were slowly lapping around the room.

The music was loud and as we glided, suddenly the loud speaker announced it was time to go backwards. I gasped as Collin grabbed me and pushed us backward with a heavy stagger.

Then after a backward lap it was time for the bogey-doogie and we were all doing some weird hand motion between our legs.

Skating disco.

I relaxed and let him rope me into this ridiculous 'fun' of his. It had me laughing when I saw one of the most respected, honoured men in the world, hoping in those skates, skipping like a girl to some song from before either of us were born.