Mind Over Easy (10 page)

Beth stood right in the middle of it all. She didn't seem to be feeling any effects from the heat, the smoke or the fire.

"Beth, please."

"You know, I started this fire." Beth looked around from wall to wall. "And I knew you were going to be here. He told me you would."

Erica wondered if her friend was still alive. It was entirely possible she had been replaced with a dark soul, just like Sandra and the Torellos.

No, I would have felt it. She's still human.

The flames surrounded them and the smoke took over the room.

"Alright, Beth," she said. "The firefighters are going to be up here soon. Let's just get out of here together, OK?"

Erica felt a whoosh of air as Ted zipped around the corner and stopped right next to her.

"The fire marshal says this place is about to blow," Ted bent over and put his hands on his knees. "Why the heck is Beth here?"

"I'm here to help you reach your full potential." Beth walked up to one of the walls and started to lay her hand directly onto the fire.

"No!" Erica reached for her friend and felt the shudder of an explosion behind them.

Before she could react, Ted zipped ahead, grabbed Beth under one arm and gripped Erica underneath the ribs with the other. The three of them moved at an incredible speed through the air, smashed through a window and got far enough away from the building to avoid the burst of fire that followed them.

The three of them hovered in the night sky. Erica welcomed the cool air that brushed against her skin.

"Very impressive, Ted." Beth gave one last dreamy smile before digging her nails into Ted's arm.

Ted wrenched his grip from Beth's body and the girl plummeted toward the earth.

Ted's body tensed. "Hold on!"

Erica felt herself jerk downward as he attempted to hold onto her and fly at the same time.

He's getting good.

They punched through a cloud of smoke. Erica swore she saw a peaceful smile on Beth's face. Ted flew twice as fast as Beth's descent and snatched her up with his free arm about 10 feet before she hit the ground. The superhero slowed his flight and deposited his passengers safely on the lawn below.

Erica grabbed Beth's arms and wrenched them behind her before her friend could react. Meanwhile, Ted let himself collapse onto the grass.

"Let me go!" Beth squirmed as much as she could, but Erica's heightened strength was too much for her.

Erica watched Ted's chest heave up and down in rapid succession. "Is this nap time or something?"

Ted sounded like he'd just finished a marathon. "I... the flying... and... need a little break."

Erica couldn't help but laugh. Two firefighters came over to help restrain Beth – one of the apartment residents had seen Beth start the fire, and they had been looking for her. As much as Erica hated admitting it, she corroborated the story. When two deputies arrived shortly after, they placed Beth in handcuffs. Before they could take her away, Erica got her attention.

"Who did this to you, Beth?"

Beth whipped her long, red curls with a snarl. "Someone a lot more powerful than you."

As the deputies put Beth in their squad car, Erica sat down next to the still-recovering Ted.

She placed her hand on his chest, which had halved its previous rate of heaving. "You know, they say you're supposed to stand and stretch after strenuous activity."

Ted grumbled. "The guy who recommended that never flew through a burning building. Where's Beth?"

"They're taking her to the sheriff's office for questioning."

Ted took in a deep breath and sat up. "I don't think she did this alone. Was it the GHAers?"

Erica shook her head. "There's something else going on here. Something cosmic. Something from another world."

"Hashtag: Other world problems."

Erica rolled her eyes. "Date's over, funny man. It's time to get to work."

Chapter 16

The first time Dhiraj chatted with YNN's famous news anchor Rudy Bolger, he felt like it was a dream come true. He knew that getting your face in front of millions of people was a spectacular way to build your brand.

As a local makeup woman dabbed at his cheeks, he wondered if these appearances were worth it anymore. After all, the hero business was thriving with no need for national TV appearances.

Secondly, most of the chats revolved around the ever-present protestors from the Go Home Alien movement. Tonight's chat would be a three-way-dance featuring Dhiraj, Bolger and the leader of the GHA movement, Thomas Cobblestone. Instead of having carte blanch to extol the virtues of his best friend and his heroic exploits, he'd have to spend the time defending Ted with Bolger doing his best to stir up the pot for ratings.

"Are you nervous?"

Dhiraj had been ignoring the makeup woman, who was the same white-haired facial fixer who'd touched up Ted in his home a few months earlier. She had eyes that remained kind despite looking like they'd seen it all.

"I don't know." Dhiraj tried to touch his face before she stopped him. "Sorry. I wish the news wasn't always focused on the negative."

The makeup woman nodded. "You'll learn this as you get older, but a lot of people aren't happy." She pulled out a finer brush to put the final touches on Dhiraj's face. "When you're unhappy, sometimes seeing how terrible another person's life is will make you feel better."

Dhiraj let the point slosh around in his brain for a second. "Are you happy?"

The makeup woman roared with a laugh. "Of course." She dabbed one last bit of color underneath Dhiraj's right eye. "I get to make people beautiful for a living. Even you." She turned a mirror toward Dhiraj.

"You're truly doing the Lord's work."

She nodded. "Have fun out there." The woman packed away the brush. "The person who keeps their sense of humor usually wins."

"You should be in consulting." Dhiraj stood up from the chair and stretched.

"What, and actually make enough money to pay my bills?" The woman zipped her portable makeup suitcase. "Doesn't sound like much fun." She smiled and walked up the basement stairs to the kitchen.

Dhiraj's father gave him approval to take some of the money he'd earned from Ted-related speaking gigs to turn the basement into a television studio of sorts. It allowed him to make talking-head commentaries via satellite with ease. The only side effect was that several bands at Treasure High kept asking him to film music videos there. It only took two times for him to start issuing automatic refusals.

A freelance technician helped patch him into the feed while Dhiraj worked his earpiece into place. He spoke with the show's producer for a moment to get the rundown. He and Cobblestone would be introduced at the same time and he'd be given the first opportunity to speak. From there, the two of them would alternate until Bolger ended the segment. As the moments counted down before airtime, Dhiraj tried to remember the makeup woman's words of advice.

Sense of humor
.
I can do that.

The technician cued him in and Dhiraj could hear Bolger's used car salesman voice pipe in through the earpiece.

"Tonight, we have teenage entrepreneur and business manager for Ted Finley, Dhiraj Patel, on the program."

"Always a pleasure, Rudy." Dhiraj took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"We also have the leader of the Go Home Alien movement, Thomas Cobblestone."

"I'd like to point something out, Rudy." Cobblestone's voice was clear and powerful. His voice was the kind people would listen to. It made Dhiraj feel self-conscious. "While I'm here representing my movement, Ted Finley is off using his powers to look up cheerleaders' skirts or something."

Dhiraj smiled and let out a chuckle, even though his instinct told him to come to Ted's defense. "Now we know what you'd do with telekinetic powers, Tom." Dhiraj thought he saw the technician laugh with him on that one.

"Gentlemen, please." Bolger put up his hands as if he didn't love every moment of conflict between his guests. The twinkle in his eye betrayed him. "Dhiraj, we'll start with you. Earlier this week, the GHA movement protested outside a robbery in which Ted Finley saved the lives of six hostages. Was this excessive?"

Dhiraj wondered if his face betrayed his belief that Bolger's question was one heck of an overstatement. "Rudy, you know as well as I do that Ted Finley is a hero." Dhiraj let his eyes soften as he stared into the camera. "This week, he saved mothers, sons and daughters from armed men, doing what he could to keep families together. He was rewarded for his efforts by a couple of balloon filled with green paint to the side of his head. I wonder if Mr. Cobblestone would offer that kind of treatment if Ted had saved
his
children."

Dhiraj hoped he had Cobblestone backed into a corner. With a strong enough appearance, perhaps he'd be able to knock down enrollment numbers for new GHA members.

Rudy Bolger let out a "hmm" sound as he turned his attention toward Cobblestone. "Tom, do you think assaulting Ted after he saved six lives was out of line?"

Cobblestone laughed like everything he'd just heard was below his standards. "First of all, assault is one heck of a strong word for a little prank. We have disciplined the member who brought the tiny paint balloons to the protest." Cobblestone took in the air he needed for the long, prepared sentence he always spoke during his time on TV. "Ted Finley saved these families, but he'll never be able to atone for the murder of his two classmates, Jason and Phil Torello. The Torello family will never be whole again."

Dhiraj considered bringing up his stand-by defense: the fact that one of the Torellos tried to kill him with a giant rock. He decided to keep things lighter instead.

"Ted has mourned for the lives lost during the attacks of several months ago," Dhiraj said. "And now it's time for the GHA movement and Ted to work together: serving the public and using the power of many minds to solve problems."

Rudy Bolger turned his attention to Cobblestone. "Together everyone does achieve more, Tom." Rudy Bolger was amused at himself. "Could Ted and the GHA ever work together?"

From the breath Bolger took right before he spoke, Dhiraj could tell the GHA leader was in full attack mode.

"Work together?" Cobblestone let out an incredulous yelp. "We don't know how Ted gained these powers. We have no idea just how dangerous he could be. Ted is a nuclear explosion just waiting to happen – one that could kill everyone around him if we're not careful."

Dhiraj wanted to smack the rhetoric right off of Cobblestone's face. He knew exactly what to say to rile up his followers, and there was little Dhiraj could do to get him to change his tune.

"Could Ted be a threat, Dhiraj?" Bolger asked.

Dhiraj did his best to keep his cool. "Ted Finley is an honest-to-goodness hero, and that was the case even before he got his super abilities. He wants to keep everyone safe, including you, Mr. Cobblestone."

Cobblestone broke into the exchange immediately. "Keep me safe? Was that some kind of threat?"

Dhiraj rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying that Ted would protect you if you were in danger."

"Ted is the danger." Cobblestone was dead serious. "None of us are safe as long as he's allowed to roam freely. I'm nervous for Treasure and I'm nervous for the rest of the United States of America."

Dhiraj was unable to get a word in edgewise the rest of the interview until Bolger signed them off. As the show went to commercial, Dhiraj and Cobblestone remained on the line for around 30 seconds.

"What do you even want, Cobblestone?" Dhiraj asked. "A firing squad to gun Ted down?"

"It would be a start," Cobblestone said. "Take care, Dhiraj. Tell your friends I said hi."

Chapter 17

Ted missed the anonymity he used to experience when he walked into the main cafeteria. Before he'd gained the ability to move objects with his mind, it was rare for anybody to give him a second glance when he walked into the large hall filled with circular tables and semi-appealing smells. He'd had way too much attention when he sat down with Natalie the previous day in the Freshman cafeteria, and he had a fair amount of eyeballs on him as he maneuvered over to a table where Erica and Dhiraj sat waiting for him.

On most days before his powers, Ted would sit in a quiet corner with Natalie and Dhiraj. Natalie would discuss her latest game or sports in general. Dhiraj would talk about the newest money-making scheme he'd heard on a podcast or webinar. Ted would simply listen and enjoy the company. Nowadays, he was expected to contribute much more to the conversation than a smile and a nod.

"I checked her body for the symbol," Erica said. "As far as I can tell, Beth is still alive."

Ted smirked at his friends. "For once, can't we talk about who's hooking up or the latest cat video or something?"

Dhiraj raised his chin. "Personally, I like the one with the cat on the tiny sailboat."

Erica sighed and looked away as Ted stared in her direction with a smile. Dhiraj did the same.

"Fine," she said. "I saw the sailboat one, too. It was cute. Can we talk business now?"

Ted nodded.

"If Beth wasn't a dark soul, why was she burning down a building?" Dhiraj asked.

Ted couldn't help himself from glancing at Erica's hands, tracing up her arms and looking at the body of a girl he'd wanted to hold his entire life. He could've done without them having to talk burning buildings and dead people, but he figured he'd take what he could get.

Erica tapped her fingernails on the tabletop. "Dark souls may not be in play here, but there are many other worlds beside the Realm of Souls and yours."

Erica had mentioned other worlds before, but she'd remained tight-lipped about them during their training. Ted didn't know if there was some kind of pain there or if the living soul was on a need-to-know basis.

"Are the people on the other worlds like the dark souls?" Ted took out his chicken salad and started to devour it.

"No. Like yours, they're impacted by the war, but most of them don't support one side or the other."