The Marvels

Ep. 18 | River

Vidya slammed her history book closed and arched back against her chair with her arms outstretched. It took three hours, a box of Raisinets, and two small iced teas, but her homework was finally done.

She joined her parents downstairs for dinner. They were dressed for work: Mom had just gotten home, and José was going to a meeting later, but despite that, there was a full meal spread on the table: a steaming pan of lasagna, cheesy mashed potatoes, and what looked like...shellfish? They were experimenting.

Vidya put her pager face-down on her lap, and Mom noticed it.

"I don't mind you taking missions at night," she said lightly, "but midnight is your curfew. Don't forget."

"I won't," Vidya replied. They were pretty easy-going about her job. She still caught a hint of worry every now and then—even having the most defensive superpowers would never stop parents from worrying—but they were always supportive, and she appreciated it.

She was halfway through dinner when the pager rang, vibrating right off her lap. Vidya bent down and caught it just before it hit the ground, and she resurfaced above the table with a smile. Mom shrugged, and José grinned, winking. He had been in the middle of asking about her upcoming second date with Jonah, and the wink let her know she wasn't off the hook.

Vidya shoveled the rest of the lasagna into her mouth, not wanting to end up hungry later. She chewed on the wad of pasta and ran up the stairs two steps at a time. While swallowing and drinking water and throwing a mint in her mouth, she changed into her supersuit. And, of course, she blasted music while doing so.

The current song on shuffle was Hello, which didn't fit the mood at all, but she didn't have time to change it.

Vidya opened her backyard-facing window, made sure no one was watching, and took off. The sky was a brilliant orange, and she admired it as she flew to Terry's Automotive, processing the pager message.

Gear was one of those villains that you can't believe exist. He wasn't a super, just a guy in a somewhat impressive mechanical suit. It always broke down, and although he got away every time, he left a mess of nuts and bolts and oil behind. He was a joke, basically, and a rare sighting, too, but the investigators finally figured out his identity and location. Gear was actually Terrence Matthews, and he owned a mechanic shop that was a front for his illegal machinations.

Vidya figured out what she would do as she flew there. It shouldn't be a hard mission: just avoid his spinning razors, ice up the moving parts, and he would be immobile, and then he would get arrested. Easy peasy.

But when she got there, everything was already taken care of. Police cars waited on the street outside Terry's Automotive with their lights flashing, and the cops stood around idly. The garage doors were open, black and warped at the edges. The shop itself was in shambles, everything scorched and burned and still bright-red with heat. Gear himself was being loaded into an ambulance with burns all over his arms, and bits and pieces of his mech suit were still stuck on him. He was alive but severely bruised and dazed.

And standing just outside, looking into the shop and admiring her handiwork, was Flamethrower.

Vidya's first instinct was to fly away and act as if she didn't see her, but that would be the easy way out. No one got anywhere by taking the easy way out. She swallowed her instinct and landed next to the other hero.

"This was my mission," Vidya stated. Not angry, not defensive.

Flamethrower didn't even look at her. "I happened to be in the area," she said. "Didn't know you were coming."