Shimmer *The Seattle Superheroes*

Chapter Twenty Two: State of the Art

Chapter Twenty Two: State of the Art

Seattle; July 5, 2010; 12:21 p.m.

Some people say that acceptance comes with understanding. Once you understand a person, you can accept them.

Shimmer was beginning to understand Cane Branson, but that didn't mean she liked him. After all, liking someone and accepting them are different.

As Nash led her out of Training room Two, Shimmer was focusing on her breathing to avoid calling down a torrent of lightning.

"It's okay," a certain telepath's voice said in her mind.

"It is most certainly not 'okay,' Grant, and I'm about to lose my resolve not to kill him," Shimmer growled.

"And where would that get you?"

Shimmer remained silent, not willing to admit that she would never actually kill Cane, though she knew it was a fact that Nash was well aware of.

"Look on the bright side," Nash said. "The session is over. No one died, and he didn't mention the conversation with Garland. Are you really going to let a few digs throw you off your game?"

Sighing, Shimmer shook her head.

"Okay then. That's that. Now, I think that Level Eighteen should be up and running again. Let's go get you a super suit."

In the wake of Cane's non-stop badgering, Shimmer had entirely forgotten about getting a new suit. She took a deep breath and pushed away her annoyance. "Let's," she said, a small smile slipping onto her face.

During the elevator ride to level eighteen, Nash continued to cheer Shimmer by telling her his most ridiculous jokes. When a stern looking woman with glasses sent him a harsh look, he switched to mental communication.

"Why do elephants paint their toenails red?" he asked her.

I wasn't aware that they did. How do they do that without dexterous hands? She replied, her lips curling.

"Don't ruin my joke, woman!"

Fine. Why do elephants paint their toenails red? She asked, rolling her eyes.

He answered her aloud. "So they can hide in cherry trees."

A smile stretched across Shimmers face, widening when a lab technician gave Nash a worried look and inched away from him.

"Why are elephant's feet flat?" he continued.

"I have a feeling you are going to tell me," she said, earning a nervous look for herself from the technician.

"From falling out of cherry trees," Nash told her. When she continued to smile, but did not laugh, he added another. "Why are pigmies short?"

Shimmer raised an eyebrow, schooling the smile off of her face.

Nash waited for several floors before answering. "From walking under cherry trees."

A laugh bubbled out of Shimmer's throat, bringing a bright smile to Nash's face.

"Are you two insane?" the Technician burst out.

Nash and Shimmer exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.

"I'll take that as a yes," the technician muttered.

Good naturedly, Nash spoke up. "What floor are you from?"

With a worried twitch of the eye, the technician responded. "Eighteen."