Mom, I'm Bulletproof

Chapter 10.1: Before...

"I don't know about this," Sam said, pacing inside his tiny flat. "I've only got another couple of weeks left in London before my money runs out. Flying to Boston for some meeting sounds like a lot. We can't do this over the phone? Or Skype?"

U.S. Amy sat at Sam's desk, wearing her full uniform, cape flag and all. Sam tried to avoid thinking, she's in my bedroom, she's in my bedroom, she's in my bedroom.

"Your powers are unbelievable," she said. "Everyone's going to be blown away when they meet you."

"And who is everyone, exactly?"

"There's the guy from Theater City. He's not in the public eye, but I get the sense he's a real expert in this stuff. And there's Future Girl, who's the official superhero of Mirai Academy."

Sam sat on his bed. "I tried getting into Mirai when I was in eighth grade, but my application was rejected."

"Their mistake," Amy said. "You're one of the smartest people I've ever met."

"You mean that?"

"Totally."

Sam felt his face grow warm. He tried to will himself not to blush.

"Who knows?" Amy said. "With Future Girl's tech and the other guy's experience, maybe you learn where your powers came from."

"I'm not saying this meeting is a bad idea. I've just practical matters do deal with. I want to stay in London. But that means finding another job. Preferably something in science. And then I need, I mean I want..."

"You want to know why your friend died."

"Yeah."

She got up from the desk and sat next to him on the bed. "If all of us work together, one of the others might know something that could help."

"I agree," he said. "But the money..."

"Is that more important than helping people?"

"Kind of a strange question from you," he said. "You're the one turning yourself into a brand."

She stood and faced away from him. His gaze danced around her red hair's many natural curls.

"I had the best intentions," Amy said. "I thought of raising money for charity. I hoped to spread positive messages for little girls."

Sam started to reach out to comfort her, but then stopped himself.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it. That was the stress talking."

"I know," she turned to face him again. "Things are tough for me too, money-wise. But I still believe the four of us working together is the answer."

"I still don't consider myself a superhero," Sam said. "I haven't done much since that night at the museum."

"But you did great," Amy said. "You fought like a pro. Not to mention you have the cool outfit and codename and everything."

"And I'm extremely lucky that the media didn't get a good look at me," Sam said. "I could very well spend the rest of my life in some secret government laboratory if people find out what I can do."

"I don't know," Amy said. "That never happened to me about people found out about me. And when I made my public debut, most people were all 'Wow, a superhero.' I think your fellow science geeks look at us as something outside of known science, and then they get on with their lives."

"For you, maybe. You're U.S. Amy, the coolest superhero."

"Really?"

"Totally."

This time, she started to blush and turned away from him. He thought a second time about placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but again stopped himself.

"Okay," he said. "I'll try to make it, even though plane tickets are way expensive."

She spun around with a smile and threw her arms around him. "Thank you."

He hugged her back, and they parted all too quickly.

"We are going to be spectacular," Amy said.

"I hope so." Sam knew she meant the entire group when she said "we," but he still liked how it sounded.

He walked her downstairs to the sidewalk outside, so she wouldn't have to awkwardly squeeze through his flat's small window again. She hugged him again said a quick goodbye, and flew straight upward, until she was out of sight, much to the delight of the Londoners and tourists walking past. Sam stayed in that spot, watching the sky for several minutes after she'd gone.

"You going to tell me what that was about?" a familiar voice said.

Sam pried his gaze from the sky to the sidewalk behind him and saw a white-haired man dressed in black with round-rimmed sunglasses – the Ergosphere.

"She's rounding up all the other so-called superheroes for a meeting," Sam said. "She thinks we can be some kind of all-star team, and she invited me."

"Cool." The Ergosphere then looked upward, as if also hoping to catch a glimpse of Amy flying overhead.

"It'll be expensive," Sam said. "Airfare, hotel. It's too much."

"Shame. You should go."

"I'm not one of them."

"You have the powers, the code name, the cheesy outfit."

"That's the same thing she told me."

"Great minds."

Awkward silence.

"Do I have to say it out loud?" Sam said. "You should go, too. You've got some kind of freaky powers, a funny name, and your own look."

"I work alone," the Ergosphere said. "Besides, I'm more of an..."

"...an explorer," Sam said. "I remember. But that time you abducted me notwithstanding, you are one of the good guys, right? You help people. Or, at least, you're not screwing people over."

"If I happen to help people, it's for my own selfish reasons, not for the greater good."

"If I'm going, you could..."

"I'm saying no," the Ergosphere said. "I have things to deal with far bigger than the things you're dealing with. I'm helping you out because our paths are currently overlapping."

Sam shrugged. "Could I at least trouble you for a ride?"

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Next: In all the universe.