Karma Girl Part 32

"What day is it?" I asked, trying to take my mind off Sam's incredible smile.

"Friday."

"Friday the thirteenth?" Surely, I'd been asleep longer than just a day.

"No, Friday, the twentieth."

Sam filled me in on what had happened after I collapsed. Henry and Chief Newman had made sure the gla.s.s tubes and computers had been destroyed. Then, Fiona picked me up, and the superheroes had raced out of the ice cream factory. Moments later, the building exploded. Scorpion hadn't gotten to all of the bombs after all. The factory collapsed in on itself. While the superheroes had fully recovered from the effects of Frost's freezoray gun, there had been no sign of Malefica, Frost, or Scorpion since the explosion.

"Do you think they're dead?" I asked.

"I think Scorpion made it out. He crawled away while you and Malefica were fighting. I don't know about Frost. By the time we got down the stairs, the animals had all escaped. We're trying to track them down now. There was a lot of blood on the floor, along with some pieces torn from his costume. As for Malefica, it's possible she survived being in the vat. You did."

I flashed back to the factory. Malefica laughing, dropping me into the vat. The cold liquid closing over me. Freezing me, squeezing the warmth, the life from my body. I trembled and pulled the covers up to my neck. I wondered if I would ever forget that awful, awful cold, if I'd ever be truly warm again.

"Don't think about that," Sam said. "You're safe now, Carmen. The Triad will never hurt you again. I promise."

A shiver slithered up my spine. My inner voice whispered. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Well, I am. Rest now. We'll have time to talk once you're completely well."

Sam kissed my cheek and smoothed my hair back. His gentle touch brought hot tears to my eyes. I cupped his head in my hands and pressed my lips to his. Desire flared to life deep inside me. I wrapped KarmaGirl.

my arms around Sam's neck, drawing him closer, even as my tongue sought out his.

"If you keep kissing me like that, I'm going to have a hard time leaving," Sam murmured in a low, husky voice.

"Then don't," I whispered.

Sam disentangled himself from my greedy grasp. He pressed a kiss to the palm of my hand.

"Unfortunately, I have to. The chief 's orders. He told me in no uncertain terms not to do anything to upset you."

I arched an eyebrow. "You don't upset me. Quite the opposite in fact."

"I think the chief was speaking in code."

"Oh."

Sam smiled. "Sleep now. I'll be back soon."

"Promise?"

He crossed his heart. "Promise."

He kissed me lightly and left. The door hissed shut behind him. I touched my fingers to my lips. They still felt warm and tingly from his kiss. A goofy grin spread across my face. I sat up, wanting to go after him, to make sure this was real, that he was real, and not some figment of my frozen imagination. A rustle of fabric caught my attention.

Oh no. Not again.

I peeked under the covers. A brand-new pair of lab-rat, white pajamas covered my pale body. I sighed.

In a way, it was comforting to know some things would never change.

The next day and several naps later, I felt well enough to get out of bed. My first order of business was to have Sam help me upstairs to my suite, where I took a long, hot bath and pulled on some clean, non-pajama-like clothes.

I felt more like myself in my usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt. My stomach rumbled. I was starving.

I turned sideways and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. On the upside, being unconscious was certainly good for the diet.

Someone knocked on the door. I opened it. Sam was there, wearing an impeccable business suit just like always.

"Ready for dinner?"

My stomach rumbled again. I blushed.

Sam grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You can take it any way you want to, as long as you feed me."

Sam held out his arm. I took it, and we walked downstairs. Sam opened the door to the dining room.

Fiona, Henry, and Chief Newman waited inside. The three superheroes stood. When I entered the room, they clapped. Sam joined in as well. Fiona put her fingers to her lips and let out an ear-splitting whistle.

The chief wiggled his hand, and an enormous banner attached to one wall unfurled. It read TO CARMEN.

My eyes widened. I ran to the table and hugged all the superheroes, even Fiona.

"Sit, sit," Henry said. "You're our guest of honor tonight." He pulled out the seat at the head of the table.

I sank into the chair and wiped away the tears that threatened to trickle down my face. Sam disappeared into the kitchen and returned carrying an enormous chocolate cake. Fiona waved her hand, and candles lit up on the smooth, frosted surface. It also said TO CARMEN. Henry rushed forward and put a gla.s.s of champagne in my hands.

KarmaGirl.

"You guys, I don't deserve this."

"You most certainly do," Sam said. "All this and much more."

"No, it's too much," I protested.

"Nonsense." Sam lifted his gla.s.s. "I propose a toast. To Carmen!"

"To Carmen!" the superheroes shouted.

We raised our gla.s.ses high and clinked them together.

"We just wanted to show our appreciation," the chief said, his blue eyes twinkling. "If it wasn't for you, none of us would be here now."

"I don't know about that. You guys are the Fearless Five. You would have found some way to escape Malefica's evil clutches. You're superheroes. It's what you do."

"Let's not talk about that now," Sam said. A dark shadow pa.s.sed over his face. "Tonight, we're celebrating our rescuer, Carmen Cole. So let's eat. Our girl's hungry."

They brought out dish after dish of food. My mouth watered. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, vegetables. All my favorites. I took big helpings of everything, wolfed them down, and went back for seconds.

"Slow down there, tiger," Fiona said. "You're giving me a run for my money tonight."

My fork froze over my mashed potatoes. I stared at Fiona, but I didn't detect any hostility in the other woman's tone or gaze. I didn't even feel any warmer than usual. No sweat. No flare-ups. Nothing.

"I'm just kidding," Fiona laughed. "I'll fight you for the last piece of fried chicken."

I smiled. "You're on."

In the end, Fiona got the last piece of chicken. I retaliated by eating not one, not two, but three pieces of the scrumptious chocolate cake. We ate and laughed and talked and ate some more. It was one of the best nights of my life.

Once we'd finished dessert, the conversation wound down. Even though I was grateful for the party and festive atmosphere, there were still questions I needed answers to.

"So what exactly happened to me?"

The four superheroes exchanged glances.

"That's something we've talked about a great deal. We've concluded it was a combination of many things all working together." Chief Newman shoved back his empty plate and pulled a pack of RID pills out of his pocket. "Exactly how many of these did you take before you stormed the ice cream factory?"

"About ten or so."

Henry whistled. "You're only supposed to take one a day. Didn't you read the warning label?"

I shrugged. "I figured warning labels didn't matter when you were going up against the Triad and their vats of radioactive goo. I didn't really expect to make it out of the factory alive."

"Just as I suspected," Chief Newman said. "It's a good thing you took the pills. They absorbed most of the radiation you were exposed to. They saved your life."

"So what about . . . the other stuff?" I asked.

"Other stuff?" the chief asked.

"You mean when you burned Scorpion and threw him around like a rag doll?" Fiona asked. "Or do you mean when you iced Frost's freezoray gun? Or perhaps you're talking about when your eyes went all neon blue and glowy, and you wailed on Malefica?"

I swallowed. "Um, all of the above, I suppose."

"Well, it's quite simple," the chief said. "For that brief time in the factory, you, my dear, had KarmaGirl.

superpowers."

My mouth fell open. Superpowers? Me? "No way!"

"Believe it," Sam said. "We all saw what you did. Somehow, you found a way to use the Triad's power against them."

Deep down, I'd known that's what had happened to me. h.e.l.l, I'd been drunk with the power. A ball of worry took root in my stomach. Ever since I'd woken up, I had been hoping it was just a figment of my imagination.

The chief continued. "What we need to determine now is if it was just a fluke."

"A fluke?"

"A onetime occurrence," Henry said. "Sometimes, people gain or even lose superpowers after exposure to radioactive isotopes and other materials. Most of the time, the powers fade away after a few days."

"Oh." The tight ball loosened a bit. "How are we going to do that?"

"First of all, how did you feel after you came out of the vat? What did you see?" the chief asked.

"It was cold, colder than anything you could possibly imagine. My vision went haywire, and I could see these waves around you guys. The waves seemed to have different feels to them. I just . . . sort of . . .

reached out for them and stuff happened."

Chief Newman and Sam exchanged a quick glance.

"Why don't you see if you can do that again?" the chief asked in a gentle voice. "If you feel like you're up to it."

I took a deep breath and let it out. I pushed my chair away from the table and backed up until I could see all four of them. My eyes zipped from Fiona to Henry to Chief Newman to Sam, and back again.

Nothing.

Not even a flicker of a wave or a splash of color.

Relief surged through me. I didn't see anything. Not one thing- Wait a minute.

Sam shifted in his chair, and I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and squinted at him. Sam crossed his arms over his chest, and the faintest bit of color sparked around his arms. The air around him shimmered sapphire blue, just like before.

"Well?" Fiona asked. "Do you see anything?"

"Quiet, Fiona," Chief Newman said. "She's trying to concentrate."

I t.i.tled my head. Fiona's blond hair seemed to be glowing a rather red color. Fiona shot her father a sour look, and the color intensified. My eyes flew to Henry, who drummed his fingers on the table. Every time his fingers. .h.i.t the smooth wood, they sent out small, bluish-white waves. I turned to the chief. Lazy green waves swirled about his head. I looked down at my hands and wiggled my fingers. Silver waves radiated out from me.

Uh-oh.

My shoulders sagged.

"You don't see anything," Sam said.

I shook my head.

"No," I said. "Unfortunately, I see everything."

KarmaGirl.

30.