“You mentioned you had powers?” I’m afraid to show my hand too soon but she talked about her abilities so openly that I can’t help myself.
“Yeah, check it.” Maggie glances to the door and James closes it.
A second later, the lines around her profile goes fuzzy and Nathaniel gasps.
“Whoa,” he says and now I’m frowning at him. He is looking at her the way I did when I first saw James Roe.
“I can see you,” I say.
Suddenly she snaps back into focus. “Dammit! Really? That’s two people now.” She thumbs to the actor. “He can usually see me too.” She crosses her arms and pouts.
She looks so put-out I try to explain. “Well, it’s weird. I can’t see you with visible light. I see your heat signature—like an impression of you. Your energy. It’s like a pretty marigold color.”
At this, she relaxes into a half-smirk. “Sweet.”
Nathaniel leans forward and examines her shirt. “Your clothes didn’t go away.”
Roe frowns at him and Nathaniel leans back.
“The clothes stay. Unless I’m soaking wet,” she explains.
“I wonder if it—” Nathaniel rambles words like hydro and suit, staring at her until I gently pull him back to my side.
He can geek out later. I need to learn more about this mutual friend. To think I’ve known Angel all these years and never had a clue about who they really are.
“O.G., I mean, Angel wishes they could be here. They have been wanting us to meet. All of us.”
My heart races and it’s embarrassingly obvious thanks to the machine next to my bed. “All of us?”
Maggie smiles brilliantly. “I don’t have all the info yet. Our friend is painfully cryptic. All I know is that we are not the only ones like us. With powers.” She wiggles her fingers dramatically. “And the sooner we find each other, the better.”
“More of us …” I whisper in awe. Inexplicably, tears gather in my eyes and I snort a sob. It’s humiliating but nobody seems to judge. In fact, Maggie gently takes my hand.
“I know. I was all alone too. But you aren’t anymore.” She puts her free arm through James Roe’s and lowers her head to his shoulder for a moment. “None of us are.”
My lip quivers too much to respond so I shoot a little tickle of appreciation into her hand.
“Ah! Warn a lady.” She shivers dramatically. “Actually, that was sort of nice.”
Her partner pulls her back under his arm.
“A superhero team?” Nathaniel says excitedly. “I knew there had to be more people like you. We can all get together and—Oh! Please let me be the tech guy. Is there a tech guy? I call dibs on the tech guy. I’ll be like Q. Just call me N. Okay, that doesn’t have the same ring to it. I will work on it.”
I smile at my adorable boyfriend. Roe raises an eyebrow.
Maggie shrugs. “I’m for it. Hell yeah! We can be super SHE-roes! Or Empow-HER.”
“That’s not very inclusive,” I tease.
“No boys allowed,” Maggie says with excitement in her eyes. Then when I laugh, she adds, “No, seriously. As far as we know, this is an XX chromosome thing only.”
“Wait, really?” I ask.
Maggie puts her hands up. “From what I’ve been told. I barely know more than you, I’m afraid to say.”
“All we know is that William Moore wasn’t acting alone.” James Roe,People’sSexiest Man Alive, says from the side of my hospital bed. Seriously, why is nobody else more freaked out by him?
“William mentioned Marty when he was monologuing,” I say, focusing back on the conversation. “He must have been referring to Zebulund.” I shudder in disgust. To be in league with a guy like that … well, actually, it doesn’t come as a surprise at all.
