Shimmer *The Seattle Superheroes*

Chapter Twenty Eight: States of the Supers

Chapter Twenty Seven: States of the Supers

Indianapolis; July 17, 2010; 12:07 p.m.

Running away from people you fear may not be simple, but it's usually the easiest option. Running away from people you love, however, is quite difficult.

Shimmer had managed to get out of the ISDA headquarters without a run-in with Nash, but she had come close. So close, as a matter of fact, that Nash had spent fifteen minutes demanding Theodore tell him why there was a sparkle of lights in his office as Nash had walked in. By that time, however, Shimmer was long gone.

Sick of the South, with its bad music, hot weather and terrible coffee, Shimmer decided to try the Midwest, and she discovered that Iowans make even worse coffee than Southerners. And so she found herself in Indianapolis for the first time in her life.

Indianapolis, of all places, was one of the few cities that could claim its own Super—Pachman. Knowing what she now knew about the formation of powers, Shimmer was rather confused about what gene could cause someone to take on characteristics of an elephant. Nonetheless, Pachman was rumored to have armor-tough skin and an excellent memory. He was also quite possessive of his city, which was why most supers stayed away out of courtesy.

After Shimmer had told Cane about SEEL's super-testing, they had decided it would be best to warn the other Supers, and Shimmer, who really didn't care if she wasn't welcome somewhere, offered to venture into Pachman's territory. Now, all she had to do was find him.

How does one find an elephant shaped like a man in a population of over eight hundred thousand people? She wondered. Of course, she could always go around looking for crime and hope that they ran into each other, but that could take too long.

So, instead, she went downtown, found the first coffee shop with an outdoor portion, bought a house blend and sat down on the patio.

Pedestrians, shoppers and workers stared at her, slack-jawed, for a moment, before chaos began.

"Oh my God! It's Electra!"

"Electra! What are you doing here?"

"Can you sign my shirt?"

"Is something wrong with Pachman?"

"Oh my God!"

One girl pushed to the front. "Electra! Oh, God. You're real. I'm, like, your biggest fan," she gushed. "I've been trying to get my parents to move to the UK for ages!"

Shimmer raised her eyebrow, but otherwise ignored her.

"What are you doing in Indiana?" the girl asked.

"Drinking coffee," Shimmer replied, coolly.

"Please sign my face!" someone yelled.

"No, no, sign my phone!"

"No, sign my phone!"

"Will you take a selfie with me?"

"Will you sign my baby?"

Shimmer sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Why did you change your suit?"

"Where have all the Supers gone?"

"Will you sign my homework?"

Slowly, Shimmer set down her coffee. "Listen up, you lot, because I'm only saying this once," she announced, not bothering to raise her voice. A hush settled over the crowd. "I'm here because I want to be here. To my knowledge, nothing is wrong with your Super. I do not do autographs. I will not be giving out any. Now, I'm going to continue drinking my coffee."