bright neon glow about it. The feeling in the air makes me think of a less-crowded Tokyo. Having never been outside of Georgia means I’m no expert in world lighting. I walk around the car and hold out a hand to help Ann. The color on her face has resumed its normal state. Maybe the car ride chilled her out.
The pizza place has plate-glass windows facing the street. There is a miasma of garlic and grease floating outside the store. The smell is a beautiful thing. Through the windows I spot a handful of tables with a few people eating inside. I don’t know what time it is here, but the night seems calm. Probably late enough that most of the sensible people are in bed, leaving only the cool and/or crazy people left out. We walk to the order counter.
The cashier has her hair pulled back in a high ponytail and is wearing a green apron with white flour dusted across the front of it. “Hello, what can I get for you all tonight?”
“Do y’all do spinach pizza here?”
“We sure do.” She smiles. The gesture is friendlier than your typical service worker smile.
“Cool. I’ll take a large pizza with half that and half pepperoni-jalapeño. Oh yeah, and two cokes.” I point to the cooler nearby.
She taps away at her register. “That’s going to be seventeen dollars.”
I pull out my wallet and grab a twenty.
She looks at the bill and winces.
Shit, this is a different fucking country. She meant Canadian Dollars, not American. “Um, take Visa?” I hold up my credit card.
She smiles and takes the card. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring it out when it’s done.”
I open the cooler and grab a Dr. Pepper. “What would you like?”
Ann’s head drops to the side. “You said we were getting Cokes.”
“Yeah, two cokes.”
“But, that’s not a Coke.”
I sigh, getting it now. “Same thing. It’s just an expression. What kind of soda would you like?”
“I’ll have a Coke. You know, the real one with the red label.”
“Very funny.” I grab the drink and we take a seat by the front windows.
“So, you never told me how you found out about your powers.”
Ann traces her finger down her drink, leaving a line through the condensation. She shakes her head like she doesn’t want to tell me, but with a deep breath she starts, “No one knows what kind of powers a person will come out of the Engine with, all right?”
I nod.
“Sometimes it’s obvious. When Fogo came out of the Engine on fire, everyone knew what his power was. Others are more of a mystery. A lot of the heroes come out of the Engine looking exactly as they did when they went in. That’s what happened to me. The researchers weren’t surprised when I came out of the Engine with the same look as when I went in.
“So they put me through a standard set of tests designed to ‘draw out’ my new abilities, understand? Think of a superhero obstacle course. I failed every test. Flying? Nope. Super strength? Not an ounce. Telekinetic abilities? I couldn’t so much as bend a plastic spoon. No one at SHI knew what to do with me. By this point all heroes showed some kind of aptitude. I kept catching researchers whispering about me being a failed hero.”
Ann unscrews the cap from her drink. The carbonation hisses, and the drink still foams as she takes a sip. “Finally, they decided on one last tactic. They asked me to go on an actual mission with a tried-and-true hero. Maybe a high-intensity situation would break something loose inside my brain, yeah? Allow me to use my powers or something.
“The researchers brought in Meltin. His body could turn to liquid, like molten steel, before reshaping and hardening into anything. Meltin was one of the older heroes. They figured his experience might come in handy. That and he was bloody indestructible.”
I vaguely remember the name. If I remember right, he died in Asheville, North Carolina a couple years back. I don’t remember how he died, but I have a feeling we’re getting to that. My mouth
The pizza place has plate-glass windows facing the street. There is a miasma of garlic and grease floating outside the store. The smell is a beautiful thing. Through the windows I spot a handful of tables with a few people eating inside. I don’t know what time it is here, but the night seems calm. Probably late enough that most of the sensible people are in bed, leaving only the cool and/or crazy people left out. We walk to the order counter.
The cashier has her hair pulled back in a high ponytail and is wearing a green apron with white flour dusted across the front of it. “Hello, what can I get for you all tonight?”
“Do y’all do spinach pizza here?”
“We sure do.” She smiles. The gesture is friendlier than your typical service worker smile.
“Cool. I’ll take a large pizza with half that and half pepperoni-jalapeño. Oh yeah, and two cokes.” I point to the cooler nearby.
She taps away at her register. “That’s going to be seventeen dollars.”
I pull out my wallet and grab a twenty.
She looks at the bill and winces.
Shit, this is a different fucking country. She meant Canadian Dollars, not American. “Um, take Visa?” I hold up my credit card.
She smiles and takes the card. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring it out when it’s done.”
I open the cooler and grab a Dr. Pepper. “What would you like?”
Ann’s head drops to the side. “You said we were getting Cokes.”
“Yeah, two cokes.”
“But, that’s not a Coke.”
I sigh, getting it now. “Same thing. It’s just an expression. What kind of soda would you like?”
“I’ll have a Coke. You know, the real one with the red label.”
“Very funny.” I grab the drink and we take a seat by the front windows.
“So, you never told me how you found out about your powers.”
Ann traces her finger down her drink, leaving a line through the condensation. She shakes her head like she doesn’t want to tell me, but with a deep breath she starts, “No one knows what kind of powers a person will come out of the Engine with, all right?”
I nod.
“Sometimes it’s obvious. When Fogo came out of the Engine on fire, everyone knew what his power was. Others are more of a mystery. A lot of the heroes come out of the Engine looking exactly as they did when they went in. That’s what happened to me. The researchers weren’t surprised when I came out of the Engine with the same look as when I went in.
“So they put me through a standard set of tests designed to ‘draw out’ my new abilities, understand? Think of a superhero obstacle course. I failed every test. Flying? Nope. Super strength? Not an ounce. Telekinetic abilities? I couldn’t so much as bend a plastic spoon. No one at SHI knew what to do with me. By this point all heroes showed some kind of aptitude. I kept catching researchers whispering about me being a failed hero.”
Ann unscrews the cap from her drink. The carbonation hisses, and the drink still foams as she takes a sip. “Finally, they decided on one last tactic. They asked me to go on an actual mission with a tried-and-true hero. Maybe a high-intensity situation would break something loose inside my brain, yeah? Allow me to use my powers or something.
“The researchers brought in Meltin. His body could turn to liquid, like molten steel, before reshaping and hardening into anything. Meltin was one of the older heroes. They figured his experience might come in handy. That and he was bloody indestructible.”
I vaguely remember the name. If I remember right, he died in Asheville, North Carolina a couple years back. I don’t remember how he died, but I have a feeling we’re getting to that. My mouth
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