Shimmer *The Seattle Superheroes*

Chapter Twenty Four: Emotional Mess

Chapter Twenty Four: Emotional Mess

Seattle; July 9, 2010; 3:52 p.m.

People often use exercise for stress relief. It's not uncommon to hear of the health benefits of yoga or Pilates, or of punching one's anger out on a bag of sand. It is known to some that physical exertion releases endorphins, which raises the mood. Some say that by punching an inanimate object, their anger towards animate objects is released in a healthy way. No matter the cause, reason, or result of exercise, most agree that it makes them feel better.

Shimmer was not entirely sure why she felt so much satisfaction after her fist had connected with a drug dealer's face. She had been filled with a sense of cool emptiness ever since her argument with Nash, so she didn't see how her mood could lift. The nothingness was not unpleasant, and her mood change concerned her. It shouldn't have been perceptible at all.

Of course, she was aware that she was furious. A dark rage bubbled constantly somewhere in her chest, but as long as she didn't think about it, she could submerse herself in a cold, empty bubble, protected by the rage she kept at bay. It was the most effective method of anger control she had, when she was feeling as she had that afternoon.

She had received word at one thirty-seven that Nash and June were on their way to the doctor's office. At the time, she had been scrubbing crime from downtown Seattle, but she had grown bored. Only a few minutes after the text message had come through, she melted into the power grid and had since then gone through many miles of wiring and a few power plants to find herself in Cleveland, Ohio.

The local criminals had been quite surprised when the well-known super hero in white had shown up out of nowhere and begun taking on crime with a vengeance. Shimmer couldn't figure out what she had been wasting all of her time with lately—when she set her mind to it, she could take on far more crime than a few petty thugs a night. The Cult was still a priority, of course, but there was currently nothing to do on that but wait. She was expecting the call that Nash and June were back any minute now, as it had been over two hours since they had gone, and the lump in the corner of her mind was making her feel a bit restless.

The drug dealer decided that one punch to the face was not enough, and tried to kick her in the stomach, so she let out a bit of that restlessness with an elbow to his abdomen.

You shouldn't be worrying about Nash, she told herself. He told you he didn't want your worry. It offends him that you worry. There is no reason for you to care about him, so there is no reason for you to worry.

She decided to ignore the lump again and the cool feeling came back.

"Come along, you," she said to the drug dealer, his hands now zip-tied behind his back.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, worried.

"The police station. Where do you think?" she replied. "I have somewhere to be."

After ridding herself of the criminal, she decided it was time to go home. No, she corrected herself, not home. The ISDA headquarters. That's not home.

On the way through the wires back to the west coast, she caught herself thinking about stopping to get Nash some pastries from a café she had heard about in Colorado. I've let myself get far too caught up in this, she sighed.

When she found herself in the familiar wiring of Seattle, Shimmer materialized in a back ally of the downtown area. She came out on the street and looked to the left; three shops down was the cheery logo of a green cup on a white couch. She turned to the right and walked two blocks to a Starbucks.