The Thirteenth Man
?004 The Angst Guy (theangstguy@yahoo.com)
Daria and associated characters are ?004 MTV Networks
Feedback (good, bad, indifferent, just want to bother me, whatever) is appreciated. Please write to: theangstguy@yahoo.com
Synopsis: Compared to his intellectually and morally challenged classmates at Lawndale High, Daria抯 classmate 揗ack?Mackenzie is almost superhuman. What if he really was superhuman? Enter an alternate universe in which Mack is not only too good to be true, he抯 even better than that. What could possibly go wrong for a straight-arrow guy who can do anything and everything? Let us see.
Author's Notes: This tale spun off from numerous discussions on PPMB about one or more of the Dariaverse characters having super powers. In particular, the basis for this story was derived from story ideas put forth in the Creative Writing thread under 揇usting off an old Iron Chef: Paying For It,?mainly ideas revolving around Mack, who is without a doubt the only non-dysfunctional male in the entire Dariaverse. Mack does not often appear in fanfic, a situation this story tries to remedy.
牋牋牋牋牋?This alternate-universe story parallels events in the fourth-season Daria episodes, 揂 Tree Grows in Lawndale?and 揑 Loathe a Parade.?Events in the first-season episode, 揟he Misery Chick,?are of major importance, too, particularly the origin of Mack抯 real name and the situation involving Tommy Sherman.
牋牋牋牋牋?The information on quantum physics, including the Heisenberg Principle and the Copenhagen Interpretation (mangled just a teeny bit here), came from a fascinating essay on Space.com. While it抯 still online, see:
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/quantum_astronomy_041118.html
Also, a little bit of Ghostbusters went a long way.
Acknowledgements: My thanks go to Brother Grimace, who started an Iron Chef long ago about the guys of the Dariaverse, and got me to thinking then that more should be said of the male gender. Took me long enough. And thanks to Supergeek9 for making me change 搖mpire?to 搑eferee.?(D扥H!)And with that, enjoy.
*
There
were giants in the earth in those days . . . mighty men which were of old, men
of renown. . . . the wickedness of man was great in
the earth, [and] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. . . .
牋牋牋牋牋??span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Genesis 6:4-5
Chapter One
牋牋牋牋牋?揊orgive me,?the old man murmurs as his son helps him to his room. It comes out more like, 揊抔i?mih,?but Michael James Mackenzie understands what his father is saying. Though his father抯 arm is draped over Mack抯 shoulders and the old man抯 footing is unsteady, the burden is negligible.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抦 a bad example,?says his father, his voice slurred. 揅aught in my sins. Forgive me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ere,?says Mack, pushing a door open. 揌ere you go.?They reach his father抯 bed. Mack helps the old man lie down, then he takes the old man抯 shoes and sets them aside on the floor. Though it is a chilly mid-November outside, it is warm in the house with the furnace going full blast, and his father will not need a heavy quilt. The blanket at the foot of the bed will do.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇rank too much,?his father says. An arm covers his face. 揝lidin?again.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack smiles. 揌ardly,?he says. His father had two beers after making dinner, while reading The Wall Street Journal.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 can抰 slide. My life抯 such a mess.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?No response is necessary. A respected, methodical engineer for an electric power company, the elder Mackenzie is as solid as they come.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗y daddy,?says the old man, his head resting on a pillow, 搚our grandfather, he tried to set me right. He preached to me from the Good Book, but I didn抰 listen.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack nods absently, focusing on making his father comfortable. Sleeping in their clothes is no problem in the winter. It抯 a guy thing, he tells relatives, and there are rarely any women around to correct it.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 didn抰 want you to have the troubles I did,?says his father. 揇on抰 follow my ways. I have a bad seed. I disrespected my folks, ran around with my friends 憇tead of goin?to school, stealin?and drinkin? wasted my life and my talent棓 He feels about and catches Mack抯 hand with a shaky grip. 揌ear me out, Michael.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Giving in with a sigh, Mack pulls up a nearby chair and takes a seat. He is patient and has heard most of his father抯 sad stories about growing up as a minister抯 son.
牋牋牋牋牋?揌e tired to change me,?says the old man, once Mack is settled. The room is completely dark. 揧our grandfather said I had some good in me, that I had potential, but I was ruining it. He took a stick to me when he thought I needed it. Spare the rod, spoil the child. He laid it on good, too.?The old man takes a breath. 揌e meant well, my daddy, and he did the best he knew, but . . . I didn抰 listen.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou抮e a good man, Pop,?says Mack, solemn and unworried.
牋牋牋牋牋?The old man shakes his head. 揂ll of us are vulnerable to sin. My daddy did his best to keep his children from it, like his father before him. You especially can抰 give in to the temptations that drag other folks down.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack finds himself thinking of the singing group called The Temptations, and he fights down another smile. This isn抰 the time for mirth. 揑 know,?he says.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟he wisest among us will build altars to evil and sacrifice their most precious possessions on it, for unworthy things. Even Solomon fell prey to it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack frowns. King Solomon? This is a new wrinkle. He shrugs. Solomon抯 story is familiar from childhood trips to Sunday school, but Mack is not sure what part of the half-learned tale his father has in mind梐nd he doesn抰 want to ask. 揧ou抮e a good man,?he repeats, waiting for his father to get tired and fall asleep.
牋牋牋牋牋?揂ll things are possible with God,?says his old man. 揂ll things. I hope棓 He takes a quick breath 摋I hope the Lord forgives me. I wasted it, my youth, wasted it棓
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack nods, but the topic is getting old. His father is not in need of forgiveness. Why his dad will not let go of this senseless guilt is beyond him, but again he does not want to ask about it. It will prolong things, and his father needs to rest.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 have a bad seed,?his father whispers. 揑 didn抰 take to what your grandfather tried to teach me. He beat me till he almost knocked the black off of me, but I didn抰 listen. I thought I knew better.?He looks at Mack in the darkness. 揑抳e tried to make up for it, but I worry that I tried too hard. I worry I抳e asked too much of you, pushing you like I have, pushing you as hard as my daddy pushed me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou抳e been great,?says Mack, who cannot recall ever being spanked or whipped. 揋et some sleep, Pop.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揕ife was hard when I was young. I didn抰 care about tomorrow. Street games and liquor, that抯 all I cared about. Didn抰 care about no God until it was too late.?His father抯 grip tightens. 揗ack, forgive me if I ever did you wrong, if I ever棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou never have, Pop. Look, you need to get some sleep, okay? I love you, you know that. Just get some rest.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?This eases his father抯 mind, if only a bit. 揑 pray I didn抰 do you wrong, driving you to do all the things you can do. I think I drove you beyond where God meant us to be, beyond where people were supposed to go, but I thought it was for your own good.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂nd it was good, Pop. You did the right thing. Now棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 wanted better for you than I had. My father . . . he never told me he loved me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack hesitates in shock, a platitude on his lips. He has never before heard his father say this.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hen you were born,?says the old man, his grip tightening on Mack抯 hand, 搕hat night your mama died, I thought God was punishing me for my sins. I don抰 know if it抯 wrong to say that, or if it抯 true, but I believed it. I still do. I was a broken man. All I had was you. I couldn抰 let you down as I had let my daddy down, and your mama.?He coughs. 揑 had to make the most of what we had. I had to make it work, had to push you all I could to do better. I wouldn抰 beat you, I couldn抰 do that, but I抎 make you strong in my own way. You had to be strong to get along in this world.?The old man turns his head to Mack. 揗y daddy tried to do right, but he . . . I think he got things wrong sometimes. I forgive him, but . . . he still got things wrong.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack nods, listens, and waits.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 had to make you strong,?says the old man. 揝trong inside, so that you alone would be the master of you. I taught you, when you were small, that all things are possible. Not just for God, but for you, too. I had to make you believe in yourself, stretch your limits. I pushed you to be the best at everything, to never stop trying. You had to learn to stand up for yourself and give it your all, in sports and everything else, and you had to read. You had to read all you could, and I pushed you to do it, but I pushed you for more. I hope it wasn抰 too much.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑t wasn抰.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou are more than any man ever was, more than anyone else could possibly be. Maybe God helped, but maybe it was science, too. I don抰 know. My daddy, he didn抰 have faith in science. He caught me reading a science book one day, a book about rockets and such, and he took it away from me and beat me good. Study the Bible, he said, not this trash. He threw my book out, but I got it back. He never knew.?The old man cracks a smile. 揑 hid a lot of books from him. Never wanted you to do that, though.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Down the hallway, Mack抯 bedroom overflows with books, books piled as high as his sports posters. The elder Mackenzie bought many of those books for his son as gifts. He never stops buying them, never stops reading unless he抯 asleep.
牋牋牋牋牋?The old man抯 grip tightens on his hand. 揧our grandfather was right about one thing, though. Listen to me, son. He was right about one thing. Evil is real, Michael. I learned for myself that he was right. Evil is real. It抯 out there. You抣l see it one day, and you have to be ready for it.?He exhales, looks more tired than before. 揟hat抯 why I pushed you. Because I knew.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙kay,?says Mack after he finds his tongue. What the hell is he talking about?
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 saw it in my dreams,?says his father. 揙ne was before you were born. Someone offered me riches if I gave you up, left your mama and ran off on my own. I could do anything I wanted, have it all, everything, but I had to give you up. I said no. . . . Then after it was just you and me, after your mama died, it came back.?His father hesitates, then forces himself on. 揑t told me that in return for you, it would give me anything I wanted. I could be president, even that, if I抎 give up you. I couldn抰 do it.?He closes his eyes. 揑 wanted you more than anything. I felt it, the evil. I . . . I was thinking tonight about . . . it was about you going away to college, being on your own. I was afraid for you. You have to be careful. Evil is real, Michael. You have to be ready for it. You can抰 let it get to you like it almost got to me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?His father抯 grip relaxes. Mack blinks. What is all this crap about dreams? Maybe two beers was too much for you, Pop. You should cut down to one a night. We抮e not doing this dream thing again, for real. You抮e freaking me out.
牋牋牋牋牋?The old man
stirs and blinks. 揥hen you were born, we named you for Michael, in the Bible,?he whispers. 揟he archangel who抣l fight the Devil in the age to come, or so
the Book says.?Then the old man opens his eyes and smiles. 揑 almost changed
your name once, did you know? Came within a hair of it, that year I went back
to
牋牋牋牋牋?Michael Jordan Mackenzie? Mack shakes his head, grateful to have dodged this particular bullet if he dodged no others.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇on抰 think your mama would抳e approved,?The old man抯 grin fades. 揝he liked the name James. It was her daddy抯 name.?He yawns a long moment. 揇idn抰 change it. You抮e more than a basketball player, more than any man. All things are possible with you.?His eyes close again. 揟hey抮e all possible . . . with . . .?His lips move once more, then are still. Mack hears his father抯 breathing and heart rate slow, feels his grip relax, and knows his patience has paid off.
牋牋牋牋牋?So, he thinks, I抦 named for an angel in the Bible. That抯 a revelation. The awful pun becomes apparent a moment later, and Mack groans aloud. He is glad, however, that he waited and heard his father抯 story. It explains the old man抯 drive to see his son excel. It explains why his father always said: You can do anything you put your mind to, anything at all. All things are possible for you.
牋牋牋牋牋?And so they are.
牋牋牋牋牋?In his reverie, Mack listens as his father sleeps. He hears a cat walking along the side of the house in the cold of the night. Tree branches blocks away click together, and he hears them but ignores them. He turns his head in the pitch-black room and glances at the books stacked on the nightstand by the bed: A Brief History of Time lies on top of Stephen King抯 Insomnia, which lies on top of The New York Times, which his father gets by subscription on Sundays for the book-review section. Mack can read the titles clearly in the infrared light radiating from his father抯 sleeping body. It is a talent he gained when he was only a few years old. He merely willed himself to do it. His father said he could do anything if he tried, and he tried it, and it worked. It was reasonable to think that this power, to want something badly enough to get it, was a gift from God, and perhaps it was. Like the five loaves of bread and two fishes that fed the multitude two millennia ago, the gift kept giving. And giving. And giving.
牋牋牋牋牋?At age seventeen, a junior in high school, Michael James Mackenzie has willed himself to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from long radio waves to cosmic radiation. It抯 impossible for him to explain how he can do it, but he knows it works and that抯 good enough for him. He can hear the deepest subsonic noise and the shrillest ultrasonic shriek. He can detect and identify odors and tastes better than any creature, feel pressure and temperature changes only subtle instruments would note, suppress pain, enhance pleasure, and sort all this sensory input and keep it straight in his head.
牋牋牋牋牋?And there is more. His intelligence quotient is over three standard deviations above normal. Though he is careful to act like a normal teenager, his strength, speed, and endurance are, for all practical purposes, immeasurable. On a whim, he once placed his bare hands against a boulder in the wilderness and pushed, increasing the friction between his feet and the ground by willpower so he wouldn抰 push himself away. He concentrated and exerted himself for several seconds until the outlines of his palms and fingers were pressed six inches deep into crushed and smoking granite.
牋牋牋牋牋?Towering over most of his fellow high-school students at six foot three, he possesses powers perhaps greater than those of Superman. He can push a hole through a steel girder with his little finger, crush a rock in his fist, throw a pebble for miles, even梚f he dares do it梜ill . . .
牋牋牋牋牋?No. Not that. I will not kill. Mack shakes himself and gets up from the chair. His father gently snores as he leaves the bedroom. By long-learned reflex, Mack adjusts his strength as he reaches for the doorknob, so as not to crush the thin metal. He could hurt someone if he is not careful. Experience has taught him to always be careful. If he was any more careful, he thinks, he would be insanely paranoid梑ut maybe better that than the alternative. There are people around, in Mack抯 opinion, who deserve to be hurt if not worse, but he keeps the lid on, keeps his powers hidden. His father saw what was happening and raised him well, trained him to respect and love life, showed him the way to avoid the wrong. Luck helped, too, of course. His impulses are under tight, safe rein and he will never hurt another being by design or accident.
牋牋牋牋牋?He hopes.
牋牋牋牋牋?Adjusting
his footsteps and certain qualities in the floor on which he walks, Mack goes
without sound to his room and closes the door. The house is small but
comfortable. Only the two of them have lived in the eastern suburb of
牋牋牋牋牋?He reaches for his science book, but for a minute he hesitates and wonders for the ten thousandth time what his purpose in life is, what his destiny will be. Being a closet superhero, he has found, is largely a life of nonstop frustration. You read in the morning paper about where you should have been the night before. Lives are taken away, terrible events happen, millions mourn, but you can do nothing to stop it if you cannot see what is coming and be ready for it. Mack has not yet figured out how he is supposed to save the world like the heroes do in the comic books he secretly collects. Going public would threaten his father and their life together. It is enough for now to maintain the house, do his schoolwork, and be captain of the school抯 football team, a teenager going through the usual teenager angst and turmoil with a shaky love life on top of that.
牋牋牋牋牋?At least, he thinks, there are no supervillains around to screw things up. He feels a twinge, though, whenever he thinks this. He isn抰 sure it抯 the truth. What if there are evildoers out there whom he was meant to stop? Wouldn抰 Hitler have been such a being? Are there not Hitlers in the world today, and Hitler-wannabes, that would and should occupy his time? But would he do right in stopping them? How can you sort out the evil from the good through the morass of opinionated and inaccurate news reports? If you replace one Hitler, will a worse one take his place? How can you know the ultimate end of the good you try to do? Is it better to do what he抯 doing now, to keep his world small and handle only those problems within his senses?
牋牋牋牋牋?And what about Tommy Sherman?
牋牋牋牋牋?I don抰 want to think about Tommy Sherman.
牋牋牋牋牋?Restless, Mack puts down his science book, rises, and looks out his bedroom window. Feeling nostalgic, he restricts his vision to the human-visible part of the spectrum. Against the starry sky, beyond the branches of the trees, is a sliver crescent of a moon cupped around a faint glowing disk. Earthshine, he recalls; the light from earth is being reflected from the moon, what once was termed 搕he old moon in the new moon抯 arms.?In ancient days, it was a worrisome portent. There was a poem, wasn抰 there, about a Scottish sailor?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Embarrassed, he shakes his head and smiles at himself. It is hard梚ndeed, almost impossible梖or a true superhero not to be superstitious. Everything around him seems to have meaning, everything is a clue demanding to be learned so that the terrors of the future can be detected, fought, and controlled. It抯 important to be careful of that, reading meaning into random things, but at the age of seventeen nothing seems random. Mack has seen and done too much already.
牋牋牋牋牋?He has even been to the moon. Thirteen men have walked on the moon to this day. Twelve were Apollo astronauts. The thirteen was Michael James Mackenzie. He went there several months ago out of curiosity, to see if he could do it, and he did it and marveled at the magnificent desolation, the glory of a dead world, then brought back a few rocks that left gritty black dust over everything they touched and smelled like burnt gunpowder. They lie in a shoebox under his bed. He dares not go to other worlds yet, out of sight of the earth. It would be easy to get lost in the vastness of the universe. The earth is very small when seen from a great distance, small enough from the moon to cover it with your thumbnail. Mack has seen the earth from the moon and since then worries at night, if perhaps the earth is too small, too vulnerable, too precious, too easy to lose.
牋牋牋牋牋?Turning
from the window, Mack sits down and with a sigh does his homework for the next
two weeks. It takes him fifteen minutes. As he works he thinks about tomorrow afternoon抯
big football game between Lawndale High抯 Lions and
牋牋牋牋牋?Of course, were Mack not pretending to be incompetent as the replacement quarterback, the Lions would have no rivals at all. Being less than what he is grates on Mack抯 nerves, but it has to be done, and he does it. Getting Kevin back in the game will be good for Kevin抯 battered ego, good for the student body, good for the community抯 spirits, and, he hopes, good for the school principal, Ms. Li, who has been bargaining with the devil (say Mack抯 teammates, not entirely in jest) to turn Lawndale High抯 football team into a winner again. Moe, the twenty-year-old dropout she admitted to school to take Kevin抯 place as quarterback, is driving the team and his classmates crazy with his crude, oafish behavior. Mack fears he will have to do something to keep his teammates from being hurt, and he doesn抰 want to be forced into showing off who he really is, especially for a low-class thug like Moe the ringer. He cannot afford to give into his impulses again.
牋牋牋牋牋?As he did with Tommy Sherman.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack swallows. He doesn抰 want to think about Tommy Sherman ever again, but he always does.
牋牋牋牋牋?Behind him, the new moon cradles the old and waits.
Chapter Two
牋牋牋牋牋?So far, so good, Mack thinks the following day. It is midmorning, Friday, and his father should be plowing through technical drawings at work on his fourth cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Lawndale High抯 science teacher and shrill-voiced misanthrope, Ms. Barch, has not interrupted Mack抯 report on quantum physics more than twice so far. Mack is getting to the good part, too.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝o,?he says, shuffling his index cards without looking at them, 揌eisenberg抯 uncertainty principle basically means that when you attempt to examine something, you change it. You cannot predict with absolute certainty what every aspect of an observed particle will be. You either know where the particle is at, or what kind of motion and energy it has, but you cannot know both things for sure. The universe and the future are ultimately unknowable and chaotic, composed of nothing but possibilities.?He thinks of his father, surrounded by paperwork at his desk, and smiles. 揑t might be true for God that anything is possible, but ironically it抯 also true that anything is possible for us, too.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Barch
frowns at his mention of God and appears to be on the verge of speaking out,
but she subsides instead. Of the other eleventh-grade students in Mack抯 class,
most are struggling hard to follow his reasoning. A few, like Kevin Thompson or
head cheerleader Brittany Taylor, stare at Mack with a complete lack of
comprehension but apparent fascination at the authoritative way he presents his
report. At least, Mack hopes it is his speaking style they like.
牋牋牋牋牋?And Mack already has a hot girlfriend and no urge to ruin it.
牋牋牋牋牋?Only Ms. Barch and the two brainiest girls in the school, Jodie Abigail Landon and Daria Morgendorffer, seem to be keeping up with his quantum psychics report. Mack is pleased about that. Jodie is his attractive and overachieving girlfriend, an African-American like himself with cornrow braids and a jaded attitude about the System she works so hard to support. He sees her as a future politician and is not unhappy with that, though he thinks her cynicism and pragmatism have eroded her ideals. Her father pushes her hard to excel in all things, a situation with which Mack is all too familiar. Sitting beside Jodie is the short, brown-haired, glasses-wearing Daria: brilliant, sarcastic, and contemptuous of falsehood and hypocrisy. As long as neither of them raises a hand to ask a question, everything will be fine. Jodie and Daria together make Mack a little nervous, and he cannot explain why. At the moment, they watch Mack with intense concentration and total silence. Less than five minutes to go until the bell.
牋牋牋牋牋?揘ow,?Mack continues, raising a finger, 揳long comes this other scientist named Niels Bohr, and he and his physicist pals come up with this thing called the Copenhagen Interpretation of reality. It抯 about quantum physics, really, but you can say it抯 about reality, everything that exists. Bohr said that if the uncertainty principle is true, then elementary particles do not exist until they are observed. This is like saying reality itself doesn抰 exist until you see it, you follow me? In other words, an observer has to be present in order for something to exist. We create reality as we observe it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat抯 an oversimplification, of course,?interrupts Ms. Barch with a voice like fingernails screeching down a blackboard. She adds in a lower voice, 揗en like everything simple.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧es, ma抋m,?Mack says pleasantly, 揵ut it would be hard to get it across if it was any more complicated than that, I think.?He thinks better of his remark and adds, 揑抎 sure have trouble with it, anyway.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?His classmates smile, and a few chuckle. Can抰 look too perfect, Mack thinks before he goes on. 揝o, all space and time can be thought of as a gigantic series of probabilities, all of which are activated by an observer, any observer. It抯 like the universe might exist or might not exist, and it depends solely on whether we show up in order for it to become reality. To be or not to be, that is the question, and only you determine the answer.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗an!?exclaims Kevin, shaking his head. 揑 am so not following any of this!?Almost everyone else laughs, but they aren抰 mocking him. They feel exactly the same way he does.
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria, however, does not laugh, and neither does Jodie. Daria clears her throat and adjusts her glasses when the laughter dies. Mack turns to her and feels his stomach clench. He doesn抰 know why. It抯 just Daria.
牋牋牋牋牋?Who, like Jodie, is possibly even smarter than he is.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat happens,?asks Daria in a monotone, 搃f instead of observing, you go out for pizza??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?When the laughter dies down, Mack grins, relieved that she pitched him a slow ball. 揑 guess when you go out for pizza, you activate the reality for the pizza parlor and leave the rest of the universe at a zero probability of existence, except for the parts other people are observing,?he says. 揂lthough there have been a number of replicated experiments that show that the whole universe is connected together in weird ways, as if any change to one part of space causes a change to another part, and it happens instantly. What I mean is, reality is all linked together in ways we don抰 understand, and a change to one part can potentially affect another, anywhere. Getting back to your question, if you go into the pizza parlor instead of the library, the particles making up the library don抰 exist except as probabilities, but you can come back to the library later and make it real.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇o you
mean my bedroom disappears when I抦 not in it??squeals
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell, yeah, in a way,?says Mack, startled that Brittany actually got it. She抯 barely smarter than Kevin. 揑n quantum physics, the particles making up your bedroom would not exist when you left it, but your bedroom is still somehow connected with every other part of the universe in ways scientists don抰 yet understand.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟he male ones, anyway,?Ms. Barch grumbles.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hoa!?says Kevin. He gives
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h,?says Mack, 搕hat抯 not exactly棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揃ut I
don抰 want anyone in my bedroom right now!?
牋牋牋牋牋?揃abe!?says Kevin in shock. 揌ey, remember me??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat was before you got hurt and quit the football team, Kevvy! And I don抰 want my bedroom to just disappear!?The pigtailed cheerleader is on the verge of tears.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇oes anyone have a tranquilizer??mutters Daria. 揊or me, her, whichever.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋??i>Class!?shouts Ms. Barch. 揑t抯 Mack, but pay attention anyway!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 have a
question,?says Jodie. Her strong, melodious voice cuts through the mounting
racket in the classroom. Everyone falls silent梕ven the panicking
牋牋牋牋牋?揑s it possible,?Jodie says, never taking her eyes from Mack抯 for a moment, 揻or an observer, simply by wishing, to affect the commonly agreed-upon reality around him? In other words, if an observer activates reality merely by observing, is it possible for a certain observer to change reality, just by willing it to be so??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack抯 throat goes dry. Jodie is dangerously close to his own theory as to how he was able to gain and use superpowers. 揢h,?he begins, licking his lips. 揑棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat I mean is,?Jodie goes on, 揷ould the observer change the reality of himself, for instance, making himself stronger, taller, smarter, or better looking, solely by belief or will? If an observer is required in order for reality to exist, could a special observer, someone with a unique link to the universe or to reality, change reality for everyone else who observes his environment with him, solely by observing and wishing??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat??says Kevin. 揥hat was that??Others begin to talk, too.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell棓 Mack says, his hands sweating.
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria interrupts in her deadpan voice. 揧ou mentioned the Bell experiments, I think they were called, the ones done in Paris in the mid-nineteen-eighties in which altering the physical properties of one area of space caused a faster-than-light alteration of棓 Jodie at this point gently elbows Daria without looking away from Mack, but Daria is locked on and continues 摋another noncontiguous area of space, so if a human mind is one such area of space, could it by its own actions and by pure intent or belief, thus altering its physical properties, cause permanent alterations another area of reality??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂re you
still talking about my bedroom??asks
牋牋牋牋牋?揓ust curious,?says Daria, by way of apology.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗e, too,?says Jodie, who has not once blinked.
牋牋牋牋牋?A lifeline
comes to mind. Mack fakes a smile. 揂ffecting the world by willpower alone
isn抰 really science,?he says. 揥hat you抮e talking about is magic, and
I don抰 think they teach that at
牋牋牋牋牋?Everyone laughs梐lmost everyone. The spell is broken. He is saved.
牋牋牋牋牋?The bell to end class rings out in the hallway. Mack has never been so relieved. He clutches his unread note cards and heads back to his seat to get his books.
牋牋牋牋牋?揂 fair presentation,?cries Ms. Barch over the noise of the class抯 leaving, 揹espite the usual flaws one commonly expects when giving a masculine perspective. Remember your homework this weekend, class! Everyone, especially you hormone-driven males! Homework due Monday!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack pretends not to notice that two classmates have walked up to him as he collects his books and papers. He wants to escape and head for lunch, where he can be alone to think while Jodie is in French class.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ufficiently advanced technology,?says Jodie behind him, 搃s indistinguishable from magic.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂rthur C. Clarke,?adds Daria. 換uantum physics looks like magic, too, depending on your perspective.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat would take some technology to do what you were suggesting,?Mack says. He lifts his books and turns. Though he steels himself to meet their gaze, he still feels a spark of anxiety梐nd a little aggravation, too. 揟hanks a lot for almost tripping me up right in front of everyone,?he says, more pointedly than he wants.
牋牋牋牋牋?Jodie抯 face works梐nd a smile breaks out. 揑t was Daria抯 idea,?she says without shame.
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey,?growls Daria, 搚ou told me to do it first.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇o what??asks Mack.
牋牋牋牋牋?揓odie wanted us to put the screws to you,?says Daria. 揝he didn抰 want you to get a swelled head from having such a big brain.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria looked up your research topic and came up with the questions,?finishes Jodie. 揝orry if we messed up your lecture, Herr Professor.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Something about their manner does not ring true, but Mack doesn抰 want to deal with it. 揟hat抯 okay, it was kinda dry anyway,?he says, relieved. It sounds like the whole incident was just a joke. 揑 guess I did get a little full of myself.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Jodie snorts, her smile in full bloom. 揧ou were great, Mike.?Her gold-brown eyes shine. 揈verything抯 possible with you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 liked the part where you made Brittany抯 bedroom disappear,?says Daria. 揑f only you could have gotten the rest of her, too.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria,?chides Jodie, who knew Brittany as a friend years before Daria抯 family moved to Lawndale.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 can dream, can抰 I??Daria grumbles.
牋牋牋牋牋?Jodie takes Mack抯 arm and steers him toward the door. Her fingers do not linger on his elbow, to avoid being called by Ms. Barch for a PDA桺ublic Display of Affection. 揥alk me to French, would you, Einstein??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙f course, Madame President,?Mack replies, noting Jodie抯 position in the school抯 Honor Society, and they leave together. Daria gives them a wistful gaze before heading off to find her friend Jane, and Mack sees the look in her eyes and thinks Daria is lonely. Jane and Daria were once inseparable, but lately Jane is dating a guy from another school, and Daria is often on her own, looking downcast and lost.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack turns his thoughts back to Jodie and hopes the conversation will turn to the coming big game with the Washington Hatchets. He does not want to think about quantum physics for the rest of the day.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 was thinking,?says Jodie at his side, 搕hat the Copenhagen Interpretation as you describe it, and as Daria rephrased it, would explain why people think prayer can really make things happen. Prayer actually works.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揓odie, let抯 not go there.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗mm-hmmm. And you didn抰 say how it was possible for a live person to exist if he or she wasn抰 being observed.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h. Well, the person抯 observing, isn抰 he? I mean, if he抯 alive, he exists. 慖 think, therefore I am.?Descartes had it right all along.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h. Hmm, didn抰 think of that.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell, of course not. He was a guy, and you抮e a girl.?Mack prepares for Jodie抯 vicious arm punch, which follows a second later. Had he not been Mack the superman, it might have stung. He keeps his arm fleshy and tough, but deadens the nerves and flinches to make it look painful.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell done, Mister Smart Ass,?Jodie whispers, smiling at the students hurrying by in the corridor. 揧ou think throwing a football is all the physics you need to know, right? Let抯 see if you get any happy time before the new year starts.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack groans. It抯 only a game and he knows it, but he has to play along. The 揾appy time?he and Jodie share in their rare private moments is his key to staying sane in a crazy world. 揑 didn抰 mean it,?he says, hiding a smile. 揑t was the testosterone talking. I swear it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h, huh. Enjoy your time alone with your online hotties instead of with me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Twenty-five
minutes later, things with Jodie cheerfully patched up and lunch with extra
helpings eaten, Mack sits in Lawndale High抯 cafeteria and stares with a bit of
amazement at the spectacle of Kevin and Brittany deep-kissing in front of
everyone around. They抳e earned several PDAs by this time from various
teachers, but Mack is sure that Ms. Li will negate the punishments if Kevin
plays for
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria was eating lunch with her friend Jane Lane nearby when Kevin threw aside his crutches, announced he was rejoining the football team, and rekindled his off-and-on-again romance with Brittany. The Cynical One wanders over as Mack dumps his tray and prepares to leave for history class. 揕ove conquers all,?Daria says when she catches his eye. 揑f only it didn抰 leave so much collateral damage behind it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟ell me about it,?says Mack, amused. 揧ou coming to the game??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揓ane and her boyfriend Tom are going, so that would be a reluctant yes. I抣l try to work up a cheer.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hanks.?Mack starts to leave, but Daria doesn抰 move. He stops, unsure if she wants to talk more. 揑抦 hoping that with Kevin back on his feet, we抣l start winning all our games again,?he says to fill the space.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抦 a little curious as to why we抮e losing at all,?says Daria. Her voice is very low, and she looks around as if making sure they cannot be overheard. 揥e should be winning without fail, as I see it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat??His hands get clammy again. 揥ell, I hate to say it, but it is Kevin. He抯 the best quarterback that棓
牋牋牋牋牋?Five-foot-two Daria turns her face up to six-foot-three Mack抯, cool brown eyes peering into warm brown ones. 揥hat抯 the moon like, Mack??she asks in a whisper.
牋牋牋牋牋?With the greatest effort possible, Mack keeps his expression quizzical. Sweet Jesus, does she know?
牋牋牋牋牋?揟he moon??He stalls for time until he can think of a clever answer.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 was walking home from Jane抯 on the night of July twenty-seventh,?Daria says in a soft voice. 揑 took a different path than usual and was not far from your house at about eleven-thirty p.m. There was a full moon out, if I recall correctly.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She knows.
牋牋牋牋牋?I knew there were people around, Mack thinks, remembering that night. I knew there were people around, but I ignored them and went ahead and did it anyway梐nd I took off slow to watch the horizon change from flat to curved. Way to go, dope. He takes a deep breath as he turns his head. He cannot look Daria in the face.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 shouldn抰 have said anything,?Daria says, 揵ut I had to know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack shrugs as if it were a little thing. 揟hat抯 life,?he says lightly. He doesn抰 want to lie. In a way, it抯 a relief to have the secret out. And it figures Daria would be the one. 揇oes Jodie know, too??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria nods, her face paler than before. 揑 told her.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?His anxiety builds again. Great. Just great. 揑抦 surprised she believed you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝he didn抰, but then we did an experiment.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?It hits him. He closes his eyes and lets out his breath. The car. It was the car. Right after school at the end of September, Jodie gave Mack her dad抯 car keys and asked him to retrieve the Mercedes from a service station. She could not get it herself because of 揺xtracurricular commitments.?He arrived at the service station to find the car parallel parked in an alley behind the building, between two other cars with only inches of space from bumper to bumper. After a brief check to make sure no one was nearby, he gently dragged the car horizontally out of the slot, grasping the chassis under the side doors. Piece of cake.
牋牋牋牋牋?Except he obviously didn抰 check well enough for distant viewers. Daria and Jodie watched him do it, probably from an elevated position using cover. How Jodie, of all people, could go this many weeks and say nothing is beyond him.
牋牋牋牋牋?Or maybe today she felt it was time she did. That would explain the questions in class, the implications of which no one understood but Jodie, Daria梐nd Mack.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇id you use a telescope??he asks, without explaining what he means.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝he had binoculars,?says Daria. 揑 had a telephoto camera.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He looks up at this. 揇aria棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 didn抰 take pictures,?she adds quickly. 揑 was a little too surprised, Kodak moment or not.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?It sounds like the truth. Mack rubs his face and sighs. 揟hank God for small favors.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?When he looks down again, Daria swallows. It occurs to him that she is afraid. She did not know if he would tell her the truth, and she wasn抰 ready for it. 揥hy抎 you decide to bring this up now??he asks, more than a little tense. He doesn抰 want to make her feel comfortable, now that she抯 intruded into a place he wanted no one to visit.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hen you showed Jodie your report last week, it made her think, and she called me up. We抳e both been wondering. She won抰 ask you about it directly, though. She told me not to say anything to anyone, especially you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝o of course you did.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou aren抰 being careful about your secret, Mack,?says Daria with building intensity. 揑f you抮e trying to keep it a secret, you need to know if you make a mistake. You抳e probably made more than one, too. You ought to know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She has him, there. 揧eah,?he says, deflating. 揇amn.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou抮e going to tell Jodie I told you this??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o, of course not. Are you??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hen let抯 forget it.?The absurdity of his words becomes clear as soon as he says them. 揕ook,?he says in defeat, 揷an we talk about this some other time??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e don抰 have to talk about it at all, if you don抰 want to. I just wanted to let you know that you might be putting your secret in jeopardy. That抯 all. I think.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He lets out his breath. Daria can be trusted to say nothing, not even to her best friend Jane, if it is important enough. He hopes so, anyway. 揟hanks,?he says. 揑 really mean it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o problem. You know that Tommy Sherman is coming to the game, right??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The day is just full of shocks. Mack can only shake his head. What next? 揘o, I didn抰 know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌e抯 going to give a pep talk before the game. Ms. Li asked him to come. She was hoping it would make our team fight harder, maybe break our losing streak. Does she know Kevin抯 rejoined the team??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o.?He shakes his head, looking into the distance. 揟ommy Sherman.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou saved his life,?Daria prods. 揙f course he抎 come back.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah, I guess.?Damn it!
牋牋牋牋牋?揌e has an interesting spin on what happened when he walked out on the football field last year, visiting the memorial goal post that Ms. Li named for him, when you came out to talk to him about his behavior. I assume that was why you talked to him.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Shut this down, now. 揧eah, well, let抯 drop this, okay??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ure.?A bell rings in the distance. 揃etter head for our daily dose of American History. Not that we aren抰 living it right this second.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He sighs, suddenly worn out. 揥hatever.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria hesitates before she goes. 揑 am sorry, Mack. I thought you had to know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He nods. 揧ou were right, as usual. Look棓 He wants very much to say something like, For God抯 sake, don抰 tell anyone else, but the look on Daria抯 face tells him she has no intention of that. The secret is a burden for her, too, and he wonders if she regrets her little experiment, if she wishes she抎 taken another route that night in July that did not go past the Mackenzie home.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hanks,?he says again.
牋牋牋牋牋?She nods and leaves. Mack trudges out of the cafeteria to his locker to get his books for the afternoon. He wishes the day were over with and he was home in his room. Thanks to his carelessness, his secret is out of the bag. Who else knows梑esides his father, Daria, Jodie, and Tommy Sherman, that is? Nothing he can do about it now. Mack starts down the hallway toward history class, then makes a turn at a side hall and heads for the main office. He should let Principal Li know that Kevin抯 back on the team. This, he is sure, will bring a little happiness to someone today.
Chapter Three
牋牋牋牋牋?The meeting with Ms. Li does not go as planned.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou what??she shrieks at Mack, jumping out of her chair. 揧ou did what??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack is too taken aback to answer, so Ms. Li continues her rant. 揑抳e already signed a contract with Mister Lecht for his serv梖or his education at Laaawndale High for the remainder of this year! Moe has to play on the team!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗s. Li,?says Mack, recovering, 搘ith all due respect, the Lions are falling apart with this idiot bullying the players and disrespecting the school.?He adds this last part in the hopes that the principal, an ardent school loyalist, will be inclined to see his side. 揗oe doesn抰 throw as well as Kevin, to begin with, and he抯 not as agile. He stands there like a brick wall if he can抰 get a receiver, then he gets into fist fights with anyone who tries to take him down. He curses referees, players on the other team, and our players, too. We抣l get so many penalty calls, we抣l look like a prison抯 hockey team.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The middle-aged principal sits heavily at her desk and puts her face in her hands. 揗ister Mackenzie,?she groans, 搚ou have no idea the trouble I抳e gone through to turn the Lions back into the champions they deserve to be. Our entire community is suffering! Property values are plunging, morale is at an all-time low, and棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揗s. Li, please! Just a minute!?Mack uses his best calming voice. 揔evin can turn everything around, like he抯 always done, and we won抰 have the penalty calls to suffer for it. He抯 a great梙e抯 a good enough team player, a heck of a lot better than Moe. Maybe you could tell Moe that you抮e keeping him in reserve in case棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 didn抰 bring Mister Lecht in to be a reserve anything! I抳e . . . I抳e had to make certain concessions and promises that . . . oh, what抯 the use.?Defeated, she lowers her head to her folded arms on her desk.
牋牋牋牋牋?She抯 made some kind of deal with Moe to pay him off for playing for Lawndale, and now she抯 got to keep her bargain to keep him from spilling the news to the media and starting a scandal. Mack almost groans. Great. Just great. If I was in a normal high school, the principal wouldn抰 have squat to say about who was on the team unless academic issues were involved, but she micromanages this little gulag like a Stalin. If she ever had a soul, she sold it years ago.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗s. Li,?Mack says softly, 搃f Moe plays, we might win the game, but we抣l lose the respect of the community, the student body, everyone. The board of education could take away our right to play. There抯 nothing I can do to prevent it. He抯 practically destroyed the team as it is.?He takes a deep breath. 揔evin Thompson is our only hope,?he says梐nd winces. Whoa, did I really say that?
牋牋牋牋牋?For a long moment silence reigns.
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Li then raises her head, adjusts her glasses, and smoothes her hair with one hand. 揤ery well,?she says, looking at the wall behind Mack. 揔evin抯 back on the team. I抣l deal with Mister Lecht. Perhaps we can work something out.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Wonder if he抯 related to Hannibal Lechter. That would be funny. Not. 揟hanks, Ms. Li. You won抰 regret it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The principal of Lawndale High gives Mack a strange look, then shakes her head and reaches for the phone. He has been dismissed. Though he waves as he leaves, Ms. Li ignores him as she calls in an announcement for Moe to come to her office. The office staff gives him an excuse note to get into American History class late.
牋牋牋牋牋?The rest of
the afternoon proceeds as usual for a game-time Friday, though Ms. Li calls
Daria and Jodie to the office during last period to take part in a 搒pecial
pre-game event,?a euphemism that in the past has covered picking up trash in
the stands, directing traffic in and out of the school parking lot, and restocking
and manning the refreshment stand. The girls grumble about fleeing to
牋牋牋牋牋?Shortly after school lets out that afternoon, Mack is in the Lawndale Lions?locker room, suiting up for the game that starts in a half hour. His mind wanders as he dresses, going over long-familiar territory: what to do about his great powers. The responsibility part he understands well, but coming out of the super-closet is going to be super-tricky.
牋牋牋牋牋?Ever since Mack was ten, he has kept notebooks of all the things he needs to remember to do (and not do) as a superhero. He抯 read every comic book he can find that might have information on this matter. However, acting on this knowledge does not always work out as he thinks it should, even in the realm of the little things.
牋牋牋牋牋?For one thing, he cannot think of a good superhero name. Many superhero names are inherently dorky. Elastic Man, the Boy Wonder, Invisible Girl梠h, please. 揗axus?appeals to him most, as it is masculine, reflects the idea of being the maximum one could ever be, and is a little like his real name. It hasn抰 been taken by a comic-book hero, either, so far as he can tell. On the down side, it sounds like the brand name for a line of condoms or men抯 porno magazines. Also, he would not like to be called Max, but perhaps he could get used to it if he had to. There are worse things to be called: Michael Jordan Mackenzie, jeez, or especially?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey, Mack Daddy! How抯 it going, bro??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?One thing for sure, Mack decides: He will never have a sidekick. He sighs and closes his locker in the team dressing room. Kevin Thompson has just walked in, ready to put on his uniform. 揇on抰 call me that,?says Mack. 揋lad you抮e back, Kevin.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey, I couldn抰 let my team down! I抦 the QB!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat抯 great,?says Mack without enthusiasm. 揋o get ready, okay??He pulls a yellow-gold jersey over his head and shoulder pads. 揂nd put an elastic bandage over your knee, just in case.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ure thing, Mack Daddy!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揔evin!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 mean, sure thing, bro!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The gold jersey reminds Mack that he lacks a superhero costume. No material known could stand up to the punishment he could inflict on it just by flying around and bumping against things, not to mention the damage caused by an actual battle. On the good side, Mack has discovered that he can create a costume of sorts around his body simply by willing it to be so. The material appears out of thin air. If he wants the costume to be invulnerable to damage, it will be. With no skills at fashion design, he cannot come up with anything more clever than a thin bodysuit of a simple color, without a cape (he hates capes) but with a little padding in the groin to avoid making it look like he is wearing skintight Speedos. The invented suit doesn抰 pull away from his skin, doesn抰 leave him exposed, doesn抰 get in his way, and is serviceable if unimaginative. It抯 a guy thing, he knows. It抣l do.
牋牋牋牋牋?As he tucks
the jersey into his blue pants, he hears someone approach the locker-room door
from the gym outside. The footsteps are heavy; the stride is purposeful and
possibly angry. Not a regular
牋牋牋牋牋?The door bangs open; the heavy feet stomp in. The players around Mack cringe and move away. 揌ey!?yells Moe with a voice like a fog horn. He rounds a row of lockers to confront Mack. 揕i said I wasn抰 playin? What抯 the big deal??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack frowns. Took him long enough to come around and complain about it. Why抯 he even bothering to see me? I抦 sick of this joker. Both young men are massively built, Moe more so than Mack梟ot that it matters. 揟he big deal is,?Mack says, 搚ou抮e off the team.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抦 what??snaps Moe, eyes blazing. With his wide nose, thick features, beetled eyebrows, bad skin, and outthrust lower jaw, he looks like a pissed-off bull. A fairly stupid pissed-off bull.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou抮e off the team. Clean out your locker and go home. Or watch the game, I don抰 care. Just go.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hy don抰 you clean out your locker, kid??Mack recalls that Moe, at age twenty, is the oldest senior in the school抯 history. He was thrown out of several other high schools for fighting and conflicts with authority, despite his athletic abilities.
牋牋牋牋牋?The other players in the locker room stare nervously at Moe and Mack. Their fear of a violent confrontation is palpable.
牋牋牋牋牋?He抯 trying to start something, getting his jollies by pushing people around. 揕ook, man,?says Mack in a low voice, 揑 told you to get棓
牋牋牋牋牋?Moe抯 right hand goes for Mack抯 upper arm, probably to push him aside. Despite spouting veiled insults and mumbled threats on the playing field, he抯 never gotten physical with Mack before. Mack sees the move the moment it begins. His left hand comes up in a snap and catches Moe抯 wrist, intending to twist it backward just a little bit. In that same instant, Mack knows he is losing his self-control, but he doesn抰 care. He is rattled by the day抯 events and wants this creep to beat feet.
牋牋牋牋牋?Moe pulls back, and Mack tenses to stop Moe抯 escape. It doesn抰 work as planned. Moe is tougher than expected. Force struggles against counterforce as they pull against each other in their tug-of-war, muscles knotting. In less than a second, Mack realizes he is exerting his strength several times over his safety limit梐nd Moe is still resisting, still fighting, so far unharmed. Fearful of breaking Moe抯 arm, Mack releases his grip on his opponent抯 wrist, letting Moe stagger back off-balance. Alarms go off in his head as he increases all of his powers and armors himself more than usual. He takes a step closer to Moe, ready for whatever comes.
牋牋牋牋牋?揊or the last time,?he says, 揼et your sorry ass out.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Moe takes a step back as he rubs his wrist. He looks at Mack with evident shock. The look slowly changes to naked hate.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 will get what is owed me,?said Moe, who for a moment doesn抰 sound like himself. With a glare, he turns and leaves. The locker-room door bangs shut behind him.
牋牋牋牋牋?Delirious cheers ring from every throat around Mack. When his rage fades, he realizes the other guys are slapping him on his back, but for them it抯 like slapping a stone monument. Some guys already look at him in surprise, jerking their hands back in mild pain. Mack hastily relaxes some of his powers so that he feels more normal to the touch but is still protected in case Moe returns.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack doesn抰 remember much of what happens before Coach Gibson comes in. He is too unnerved by the confrontation with Moe, too upset over his breakdown in self-control. What the hell just happened? I could have killed him! If he hadn抰 turned out to be so strong, I might have ripped his arm off at the shoulder. What抯 wrong with me? And how抎 he get to be so strong? I was way above weightlifter level in power, wasn抰 I? What the hell is going on with that guy?
牋牋牋牋牋?After Coach Gibson gives his rallying speech, Mack is called upon to say something. Nothing exceptional comes to mind. He lifts his head, tired of it all, and says, 揕et抯 kick some butt.?The response is deafening in the packed space of the locker room. Even Kevin shouts Mack抯 name until he is hoarse.
牋牋牋牋牋?Outside, the stands are packed with supporters from both teams, though Lawndale抯 side seems listless until it sees Kevin Thompson, both arms raised and fingers making victory signs. Delighted applause then fills the air. In his recent efforts to seem less competent than Kevin at being a quarterback (and thus anything but superhuman), Mack has missed receivers or allowed himself to be sacked a few times. Lawndale lost a major game against its arch-rival, the Oakwood Taproots. Few fans cheer today for Mack except out of politeness and a grudging respect for his work as team captain. It doesn抰 matter. He thinks he came so close to screwing up everything with Moe that fading into the background is perfectly fine with him.
牋牋牋牋牋?After the National Anthem is played, principal Angela Li stands before a microphone on the sidelines. She seems as rattled as Mack, her face almost bloodless. 揝tudents, parents, teachers, and all other athletic supporters of our dear Laaawndale High!?she shouts. 揚lease welcome a few words from our guest of honor, the greatest quarterback the Lawndale Lions have ever known, the man who led us to victory in the state championships four years ago, Mister Tommy Sherman!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The roaring
is back, redoubled, from the throats of all who remember his achievements if
not his personality. Mack claps without spirit. He feels little warmth toward
Tommy, who used to be almost as big a self-centered jerk as Moe. Used to be,
Mack thinks, until he and I had our
little talk and I let things get out of hand. He absently scans the crowd
for Jodie, using magnified vision. It doesn抰 help. She is not in sight. Just
to be sure, he looks at the
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack sees Daria抯 parents near the front of the western side of the stands, and her fashionable younger sister Quinn is present as well. In moments, he also spots Jane Lane, Daria抯 best friend, but she抯 with her boyfriend from Fielding Preparatory Academy. Daria is nowhere in sight. Jane and Tom are scanning the crowd much as Mack is, with unhappy looks on their faces. Parking lot duty, for sure. Could be worse, Mack thinks. I could be picking up trash.
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey, Laaawndaaale!?Tommy Sherman shouts into the microphone, and the crowd responds with powerful cheers. He sounds as if he has a head cold. Even from a distance, eagle-eyed Mack can see Tommy抯 flat, crooked nose, an often-broken relic of his glory days in Lawndale football. Tommy wears a nice suit tailored for his huge frame. Business as a used-car salesman must be good. Mack hopes he isn抰 forced to buy a used car from Tommy one day, though half of Lawndale apparently has. He doesn抰 want to test Tommy抯 new reputation for honesty.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗s. Li asked me to say a few words 慺ore the game,?Tommy Sherman says, smiling. 揑 don抰 know that many words, maybe 慶ause of all the classes I missed when I was going to Lawndale棓 He pauses for the laughter to die down 摋but I did wanna say a little something 慴out learning new things.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Tommy Sherman抯 gaze roams over the Lions梐nd comes to rest on Mack. He swallows, but goes on. 揂nyway, I came back to school for a visit, a year ago, 慶ause Ms. Li wanted to show me the new breakaway goalpost the school was dedicating to me. That was cool and all, but when I came back, see, I wasn抰 that nice of a guy. No, it抯 true. I was kind of, uh, kind of a jerk. Yeah. I was all full of myself.?He looks pained and sneaks another glance at Mack. 揑 said and did some things that I抦 sorry for now. I made some people mad, and hurt some other people抯 feelings. I wanted to say I抦 sorry for it now, but what got me on the right track was one of your Lions over there.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He points. 揗ack Mackenzie. Hey, Mack!?He waves. 揧eah, the Mackster took me aside and got me all straightened out. I won抰 say I tried to have a fight with him, but I will say I thought I was the toughest guy in the world, but I was nothing, nothing compared to him. No, I swear! He抯 the man! No hard feelings, hey, Mack??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Embarrassed, Mack smiles and raises both hands in mock surrender. As angry as he once was with Tommy for trying to make it with Jodie, he has briefly forgotten all about it. Instead, he is terrified of what Tommy is about to reveal.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗ack showed me right from wrong,?Tommy says. 揑 never saw anyone move like he did when the wind broke that goalpost off and I thought it was going to kill me. He got to it faster than I抳e ever seen anyone move, then knocked it aside like it was a toothpick. He did that, and I抦 standing here today to tell you it was 慶ause of him that I抦 alive. That抯 the truth! Thanks, Mack!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Applause and cheers rise from all sides. Mack is mortified and rubs his burning face after waving back. It was a narrow escape. He is glad Tommy didn抰 linger on the fight between them. Mack is not proud of the way he goaded Tommy in their confrontation, letting the brutish sandy-haired twenty-something pound on him with no effect, then catching one of his fists and refusing to release it until Tommy apologized梐nd then promised to apologize to everyone else at school he抎 offended, especially to Jodie. Tommy did it, which stunned more than a few people that day, Jodie among them.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack, however, has felt nothing but shame since then. He didn抰 mean to teach Tommy a lesson. He wanted to kill Tommy. He almost did.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hen I left school that day,?Tommy says, 揑抎 learned more than I had in years. I wasn抰 the best at football anymore. I had to leave all that behind me and do something else. So I got me a job, down at Happy Herb抯 Used Cars, and this year I just cleared forty-five K, not counting bonuses, and I抦 engaged梱eah, thanks, I am, really!梐nd now I feel like I抦 somebody again! See, I was scared when I went back to high school last year. I was scared I wasn抰 going to be anybody anymore. Mack showed me the hard way that I had to move on and find something else to do, and I did it, and Mack, you are the man! Thank you!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The clapping and cheering is so loud, Mack can barely hear Tommy抯 last words. 揧ou can never stop learning! So, I want you Lions to get out there and give it your best, but remember, you抮e gonna learn that there抯 life after high school, and I抦 the proof! Now, let抯 have some kick-ass football! Go, Lawndale!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?As the marching band strikes up the Lawndale fight song, teammates again pound Mack on the back and shoulders in congratulations. He shakes his head and waves again to Tommy, still embarrassed and ashamed, but glad it seems to have turned out well.
牋牋牋牋牋?揙ne more thing,?says Ms. Li over the loudspeakers as the cheering fades and the players prepare for the game. Mack hears a curious note in her voice and turns to look back. She holds the microphone with a trembling hand and points to the eastern end of the field, in the direction of the repaired Tommy Sherman Memorial Goalpost. A short distance behind the goalpost is a large pile of cut firewood that several workmen have finished unloading from a truck and stacking into a rough pyramid shape.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑n honor of our newest addition to our student body,?says Ms. Li, her voice too high, 搘e will light a special bonfire, just like in the Olympics, in honor of . . . of the victory of education over the forces of . . . of everything else. This is for you, Mister Moe Lecht, and may it bring us triumph on the gridiron!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?A hulking, grim-faced figure shouts from the crowd nearby. Mack抯 super-hearing picks up his rough, familiar voice. 揑t抯 Moe Lek! My name is Moe Lek, not Lecht!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揜ight you are!?says Ms. Li, forcing a grin. She gestures at the workmen waiting near the large woodpile. 揚lay the fight song again, light the fire of knowledge, and let the game begin!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Standing around on the field, the Lions watch in puzzlement. 揥hat is she doing??asks Jamie White, one of Mack抯 teammates. 揑 thought setting fires on school property was illegal or something.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The workmen get cans of gasoline and start throwing their contents on the firewood. The Lawndale High marching band cheerfully begins the fight song one more time as the cheerleaders jump and shake their pompoms.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗aybe she got a permit,?says Joey, another player. 揝he抯 weird, man.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat fire抯 kind of close to the field, isn抰 it??says Kevin. 揑 don抰 want to, like, throw a pass and have it get all burned up.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack doesn抰 respond. He is listening. He heard something strange when he was concentrating on Moe correcting his name to Ms. Li. What he heard sounded like screaming.
牋牋牋牋牋?A workman pulls a small object from a pocket, then pulls out second object and holds the two objects together. Mack zeroes in on the man. He is trying to ignite a small firework with a butane lighter.
牋牋牋牋牋?And Mack can hear that strange sound clearly now, even over the band. Someone is screaming from the woodpile.
牋牋牋牋牋?Screaming his name.
牋牋牋牋牋?It抯 Jodie.
Chapter Four
牋牋牋牋牋?It抯 Jodie. Mack is positive of this. Despite the band playing the fight song, he can hear Jodie screaming for him in the direction of the woodpile.
牋牋牋牋牋?Or from under it.
牋牋牋牋牋?Sparks dart from the fuse of the firework in the workman抯 hand. He quickly draws his arm back for the throw.
牋牋牋牋牋?Ahead and to Mack抯 right, a referee in a striped shirt gently flips a football into the air, watching the events unfold just off the playing field. The football reaches the top of its short arc and starts to fall back toward the referee抯 hands.
牋牋牋牋牋?You think throwing a football is all the physics you need to know, right?
牋牋牋牋牋?The workman flings the firework at the gas-soaked woodpile. He does not seem to hear the faint screaming from below the logs, with the band playing so loudly.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack does not remember moving toward the referee, but he is there by the startled man now, the wind howling in his ears. His right hand snatches the football away in midair before it falls another inch. Turning, he focuses on the workman with the firework, plots his pass by instinct, and hurls the ball. He is seventy-six yards from the workman. On a nearly flat trajectory, the spinning ball crosses the gridiron like a tank shell, hits the firework halfway on its path to the woodpile and knocks it in another direction, then hits a sapling another twenty-two yards away and explodes with a bang. Its narrow trunk blown to splinters, the ten-foot sapling falls over in a shower of dead leaves. The crackling thunder of a sonic boom rolls over the Lawndale High School campus, as loud as if lightning had just struck the playing field.
牋牋牋牋牋?The firework pops harmlessly in the grass, far from the woodpile.
牋牋牋牋牋?After a few startled screams, the noise around the football field drops to nothing. Even the bands stop playing. Every player on the field and every spectator in the stands turns and stares at Mack.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝omeone抯 under the wood!?he shouts, pointing. He amplifies his voice, though not so much as to harm the hearing of those around him. 揢nder the firewood! Someone抯 under the棓
牋牋牋牋牋?No one looks at the woodpile. Every eye is locked on him in complete astonishment. The consequences of the last three seconds begin to dawn on Michael James Mackenzie.
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h, man,?he says in horror.
牋牋牋牋牋?He looks at the woodpile again.
牋牋牋牋牋?And sees another workman, startled by the football抯 passing, flip a cigarette at it.
牋牋牋牋牋?NO?o:p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He starts to run even as the yellow-white of the fireball blooms out of the piled logs, but running is too slow and he needs to get there now, and he抯 there, body-slamming into the top of the woodpile at rocket speed. Burning debris and smoke and bark and splinters fly through the air in a slow-motion cloud as he grabs at logs and flips them away, slaps them aside, digs through the searing yellow fireball, and below the flames and gas-soaked logs he spies a long wooden shipping crate about the size of a coffin. His hands seize the burning lid of the crate and rip it free, hinges and locks and all, flinging it into the air.
牋牋牋牋牋?Jodie抯 mouth had been covered with duct tape, but she rubbed her face against the top of the crate and peeled part of the tape back, just enough for her to scream, just enough for Mack to hear. Flaming gasoline and shattered logs fall in a hellish shower around them, though in Mack抯 accelerated perceptions the chunks of debris float down like lazy dandelion seeds. He reaches for Jodie, still in the middle of a scream and turning her head to look up at him with startled eyes, and he pulls her from the crate?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?梐nd he sees a second coffin beside the first, hears panicked movements inside it. Little wonder that Jane and Tom could not see Daria, nailed inside the second long crate as she is. He grabs a handle on the second crate and pulls, trying to moving slower so that he doesn抰 kill the two young women he抯 trying to save, and they are free of the flames and falling debris and are gone with the wind.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack circles around and lands on his feet on the football field, near the Tommy Sherman Memorial Goalpost on the ten-yard line. Setting his burdens down, he rips off the top of the burning second crate and lifts Daria out with care, setting her on the turf beside his hyperventilating girlfriend. Even without her glasses, Daria sees him perfectly well with eyes as large as saucers, but unlike Jodie she seems to have forgotten how to breathe.
牋牋牋牋牋?He throws the second crate away where it will harm no one, thirty yards beyond the well-scattered bonfire. Noticing his shirt is aflame, Mack tears it off and throws it aside. He creates a blue bodysuit around him from the neck down, seeing his blue football pants are ripped and burned as well, leaving only his hands free. Kneeling?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Slow down! Slow down or you抣l hurt her!梙e peels the duct tape from Daria抯 lower face with infinite care, after adjusting the tape抯 molecular structure so it is no longer sticky. He then begins tearing away the duct tape wound around the arms and legs of the two girls. They appear dirty, scratched, and bruised, but otherwise unharmed.
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h my God,?Jodie gasps, staring at Mack and close to passing out. 揙h, my God. Oh my God.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e didn抰 set this up, I swear!?says Daria, finding her voice. 揘ot this time! But you won抰 believe who棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑t抯 okay,?says Mack, working on their bonds. 揑t抯 okay. Hold still. Just a second棓
牋牋牋牋牋?Many more voices rise from all around, shouts and screams and cries and, curiously, even cheers. One name is repeated above all, not the superhero name Mack would have chosen. Perhaps making his bodysuit blue, like his football pants, has something to do with it, even if he doesn抰 have a red cape and a large stylized S over his chest. Then, too, Mack belatedly realizes that from the moment he saw the fireball burst over the woodpile, his feet did not touch the ground until he landed here. The crowd抯 mistake is understandable, though no one else thinks it is a mistake.
牋牋牋牋牋?Someone else is shouting, a loud voice from across the football field. Mack recognizes the voice and knows the only person Moe could possibly be shouting at would be him.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou dare do this??Moe bellows, his voice loud and deep enough to vibrate the ground under Mack抯 knees. 揧ou dare break the covenant? You would violate the old laws and welcome chaos??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Several football players have run up to Mack, though they slow down as they approach him. Kevin Thompson is the first to speak. 揗-M-Mack??he says. 揂re you really??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揋et Jodie and Daria out of here!?Mack snaps, looking past Kevin at the large figure standing at the fifty-yard line, near the Lawndale side of the bleachers. He rises from the ground and hovers to get a clearer view. The football players stare up at him with blank looks. 揋et everyone out of here as fast as you can! Clear the area!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou got it, Super Mack Daddy!?Kevin says, every inch the good soldier now. He does an embarrassed double-take and adds, 揝orry! I meant Super-Bro!?He rouses the other players, and they help Jodie and Daria to their feet.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗ack, what are you doing??Jodie cries, huffing away. 揥hat are you doing??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 can抰 talk now!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e have to talk now!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌e can抰 talk now!?shouts Daria.
牋牋牋牋牋?揋et them out of here!?Mack shouts at his teammates.
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mack!?Jodie shrieks, but two fullbacks have her by the arms and physically carry her and Daria off at a dead run.
牋牋牋牋牋?Turning away, Mack begins to move in Moe抯 direction, hovering about ten feet up in the air. No point in hiding anything from anyone now. 揥ho the hell are you??he shouts at his opponent.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou know me!?Moe shouts back. Everyone nearby backs away or runs. 揂ll gods of the earth know who I am! Why do you violate the covenant and take my sacrifices as your own??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hey抮e not your棓
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack stops. Sacrifices? Sacrifices?
牋牋牋牋牋?He looks in the direction of Ms. Li. She stares back from the podium at the fifty-yard line by the stands, gripping the sides of the lectern with trembling knuckles, open-mouthed, overwhelmed, exposed.
牋牋牋牋牋?Sacrifices. Burning alive. This is for you, Mister Moe Lecht, and may it bring us triumph on the gridiron. Moe Lecht, Moe Lek, Moelek, Molech: Leviticus 18:21, And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech桾obin, page 513a: MOLECH (MOH lehk), also known as MOLOCH (MOH lahk) n. bull-headed sun or fire god of the Ammonites and other peoples of the ancient Middle East (related to, confused with, or identical to similar gods of this period and region: e.g., Milcom, Malik, Baal), to whom infants and children were sacrificed by fire, their screams drowned out by music. Debased ancients made offerings to this gruesome deity when a critical favor was required of it?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Play the fight song again, light the fire of knowledge, and let the game begin! . . . I抳e already signed a contract with Mister Lecht for his serv梖or his education at Laaawndale High . . . I抳e had to make certain concessions and promises that桾obin, page 513b: Trafficking with this monstrous being was vigorously resisted by rulers such as King Josias, who defiled its sacrificial grounds and fought its high priests in an effort to prevent the destruction of all social and moral norms, but other rulers fell victim to the siren of absolute power and committed atrocities in the name of桰 Kings 11:7, Then did Solomon build a high place . . . for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The wisest among us will build altars to evil and sacrifice their most precious possessions on it, for unworthy things.
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o way.?Mack looks at Ms. Li, his voice carrying across the field. 揘o way that you would actually try to make us win a football game by summoning a棓
牋牋牋牋牋?White with terror, Ms. Li turns and dashes down the stairs from the podium, shoving her way through the surrounding crowd in her escape.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇amn,?Mack whispers as he watches her run. 揇amn you to hell.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Many onlookers are fleeing the area, but some are only pulling back to an assumedly safe distance, and a few are staying, watching, taking photos, filming with video cameras, calling on cell phones?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揋ive me my sacrifices!?cries Moe in a rage. He has grown a few inches in the last few seconds. His flat nose and jaw are lengthening into a muzzle. 揑 am owed by the law! You cannot break the covenant set down among the highest! You cannot interfere!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 can抰 what??Mack says, looking back at Moe. This can抰 be happening. This just can抰 be happening. This is impossible.
牋牋牋牋牋?揂 contract was signed!?Moe shouts. 揟he forms must be obeyed!?The wind from his voice blows dust and debris before him. His skin is turning a dull bronze color, his eyes a glowing red. When he speaks, a red glow can be seen in the back of his black throat. He is eight feet tall and still growing.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat the hell are you??says Mack.
牋牋牋牋牋?Moe桵olech梩en feet tall and still growing, snorts twin clouds of black smoke from wide nostrils. Its face strongly resembles a bull抯. The clothing Moe once wore tears to shreds over the creature抯 expanding frame until it rises to just over twelve feet in height, short horns and tall ears crowning its bovine head, a sort of bronze kilt wrapped around its waist and reaching down to the knees.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑,?says Molech, lifting its chin, 揳m a god.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Three seconds of silence pass.
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h, huh,?says Mack, recovering. His jaw muscles tighten. 揂 god. Were you hit on the head during football practice yesterday, pal??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Molech frowns, eyes burning bright orange. 揇o not mock me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗ock you??Mack shakes his head, feels a crazy smile coming on. He drifts to the right, drawing the monster抯 attention away from the escaping crowd. 揧ou抮e a bad special effect from a Sinbad movie, and you have the nerve to tell me I抦 mocking you??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>You!?Molech thunders. It points a huge bronze index finger at Mack. 揧ou have almost the strength that I have! I remember our brief play at wrestling. Are you a god??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The moment is almost comical. Are you a god? Ray, when someone asks you if you?/span>re a god, you say?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o.?Mack grins. He drops all limits on his powers and prepares himself for what he knows and hopes is coming.
牋牋牋牋牋?Molech抯 eyes widen. ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>No??it repeats.
牋牋牋牋牋?揂nd neither are you,?adds Mack, hovering in midair only twenty yards away. 揧ou抮e no god, Elmer. You抮e a man who got lucky one day a few thousand years ago and got some weird powers, probably the same way I did. You went off the deep end and decided you ought to be worshipped, and you抳e been nothing but a psychopathic egomaniacal pain in the butt ever since. You抮e no god.?He pauses for a beat. 揊rom the looks of you, you wouldn抰 even make a good hamburger.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The bull-giant抯 lips part. 揃lasphemy,?it says. The word hangs in the air like a poison cloud.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack notes that no one is within thirty yards of the creature. 揟hat抯 rich, coming from you,?he calls. 揧ou抮e the most blasphemous thing I抳e ever seen, except maybe for South Park, and at least that stuff is funny.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Molech begins to glow a dull red, as if heated from within. Its lips pull back from fanged teeth.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou, on the other hand,?Mack finishes, 搒uck ass.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?With a roar like a Saturn V taking off, Molech charges.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack launches himself right at the creature at a speed faster than sound, right fist swinging back.
牋牋牋牋牋?The bull-headed monster opens its mouth and a white fireball blows out, washes over Mack, and it is HOT. Mack screams and puts everything he has into the first punch into the end of Molech抯 muzzle, which knocks the monster抯 head halfway around its shoulders and breaks out two of its front teeth. Fists hammer and claws slash at almost invulnerable skins, thunderclaps ringing out a dozen times a second with every blow, nothing in either brain but a profound desire to see the other one die.
牋牋牋牋牋?After landing a kick between Molech抯 legs that would have felled Godzilla, and seeing the bull-giant do nothing more than grunt and grit its remaining teeth, Mack breaks off the fight and flies to a point a hundred feet over the center of the football field. He is not yet tired, but he feels a terrible need to collect himself. The first round feels as if it has gone for years, but cameras later show it lasted only nineteen seconds. A large part of the field and some of the abandoned spectator stands are burnt to ashes, including the Tommy Sherman Memorial Goalpost, which Mack tried to wrap around Molech抯 throat before it melted.
牋牋牋牋牋?Disaster sirens wail across Lawndale. Two helicopters and a light plane circle and watch from a half mile away. Perhaps thirty onlookers remain at a distance on the ground, blabbering into cell phones and running movie cameras in hopes of selling the result to a network or to America抯 Wildest Home Videos. If Mack felt he could spare a minute, he would collect all those morons and throw them into a shallow pond a safe distance away, but there抯 no time. They will have to fend for themselves. He prays he can keep them from getting killed.
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Coward!?roars Molech from the ground, immediately below him.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 don抰 feel like killing you right away!?Mack shouts back. 揑 want to make you suffer first!?At least until I can figure out how to kill you, you miserable pile of crap, and then you抮e going home to hell in a heartbeat. Weird, though, that you aren抰 flying up to attack me. Wonder if?o:p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack seems to disappear in an instant. Molech抯 eyes narrow as it stares straight upward, searching. A moment later, the creature spots something above it and starts to draw back.
牋牋牋牋牋?Falling like a meteorite, Mack hits Molech at the end of a hypersonic power dive from ten miles up. Cameras record the gigantic fountain of dirt that lifts into the sky from the center of the gridiron, the blast wave knocking down the scoreboard and almost all the remaining spectator stands, smashing windows for a quarter mile around. Half-buried at the bottom of a crater over twenty yards wide, Mack mercilessly pounds at Molech抯 face until oily black fluid sprays from the bull抯 smashed nostrils and ears. Molech抯 left eye is swollen shut, and he has no teeth left except for molars梑ut the self-proclaimed godling is still alive and fighting back. The monster glows white-hot, then turns even hotter until the dirt itself burns around them, rocks melt into lava, and every blow Mack delivers causes him to cry out even with his nerves deadened.
牋牋牋牋牋?Again, Mack rockets upward and hovers in the air, panting this time. The crater below him smokes like a volcano, ashes falling everywhere downwind across the city. I can抰 believe it! This damn thing will burn Lawndale to a crisp if it gets any hotter! I can抰 keep doing this! What the hell is left梡laying chess with it, winner take all? Didn抰 it occur to me that a five-thousand-year-old Power Ranger villain might stand up to whatever I could give it?
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Fight me!?roars Molech from the bottom of the pit. ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Come back and fight me, by the laws of the covenant!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat damn covenant are you talking about, Bossie??Mack shouts back.
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The covenant that the old ones agreed to! You are a god! You must obey the covenant set down when we divided our spheres of influence and how we would rule the earth! Fight me!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?I get it now, Mack thinks, wiping soot
from his face. There must have been other
humans like us way back when, and they made an effort to stay out of each
other抯 way, to prevent the sort of chaos that抯 going on now between Moe the
Moron and me. Maybe Moe can抰 or won抰 fly because he promised he wouldn抰,
leaving that to other 揼ods.?Everyone got special powers of his or her own,
everyone got sacrifices, everyone was happy梕xcept the people who were the
sacrifices.
牋牋牋牋牋?And Moe wants Jodie to be his
personal burnt offering.
牋牋牋牋牋?I抣l see him in Hell first.
牋牋牋牋牋?As angry as he is, Mack doesn抰 fly down for a third round. He aches all over, perhaps even looks as bad as Molech does at this point. It doesn抰 matter, and he doesn抰 really care.
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Fight me!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗an, you are a glutton for punishment,?Mack mutters. In a louder voice, he calls, 揑f I fought you on the ground, I抎 tear you to spareribs!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Nothing of the earth can slay me, fool! Nothing can pierce me, nothing can break me! Fight me and see!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack blinks. Nothing of the earth can slay you? Nothing of the earth? Nothing?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?An instant later, Mack is gone.
Chapter Five
牋牋牋牋牋?揘othing of the earth,?Mack mutters to himself in flight. 揘othing of the earth.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?It takes a moment to get oriented to a view of Lawndale from high altitude. He then spots his target and dives, trying not to break the sound barrier again and smash windows across the city. Enough damage has been done.
牋牋牋牋牋?Resisting the urge to crash through the roof of his home, Mack lands on the doorstep and hits the front door with his right shoulder before he抯 finished trying to turn the doorknob. The door falls, hinges torn off, and the knob-and-lock unit rips away in his hands. Cursing his impatience, he runs to his room, trying to slow down but smashing his bedroom door into unequal halves anyway. He swears violently and flips his bed against the wall, knocking down uncounted piles of books, and there on the floor among the swirling dust bunnies he finds his treasure: an old shoebox covered with black dust that smells of burnt gunpowder.
牋牋牋牋牋?Nothing of the earth it is, then.
牋牋牋牋牋?A world that has been biologically dead for over four billion years ought to be good for something. Mack takes one rock from the shoebox in each hand, then bolts for the front door, books and papers swirling behind him. Rocks梞oon rocks, but rocks all the same. The irony of using the oldest weapons known to humanity to slay a godling does not escape him. On his way out of the house, he remembers a poetic fragment he thought of the night before, a version of the Scottish ballad, 揝ir Patrick Spens? Last night I saw the new moon with the old moon in its arms. . . .
牋牋牋牋牋?He remembers the next line and immediately tries to forget it. The moment he is out the door and roaring into the heavens, the words come back with a childish ring: I fear, I fear, my captain dear, that we will come to harm.
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o more
harm,?he says to himself, feeling superstitious again and upset about it. 揘o
more, except to Moe.?He senses movement and noise, spies a light plane a few
hundred yards to his right, and dodges to avoid it, annoyed that he isn抰
paying attention. Damn! They抮e going to
know where梠h, the hell with it. Sorry for messing up the house, Pop, and for
messing up our lives as well. I tried to do the right thing, but I can抰 hide
my real identity now. My false identity, I mean. Wait, what do I mean? Who am
I? I抦 Michael James Mackenzie, Mack to my friends, but I抦 really a superhero,
Maxus, or whatever I抣l eventually call myself. I only looked like a Michael
James Mackenzie, but I never was. I was never normal. I was always something
else, someone else, just like Superman.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack sighs at himself. C抦on, man, knock it off. This philosophy stuff sucks. Find Moe and finish this thing. Finish it now.
牋牋牋牋牋?As he flies, he extends his senses and listens for the characteristics of Moe抯 voice梐nd he hears it.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑t is too late to bargain, mortal one.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Who is Moe talking to? Can抰 be me. Oh, no梥ome glory hunter抯 trying to get an interview with him, and he抯?/i>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou rejected my offers. I could have made you great among men, but梐h, you come with a weapon? You would punish me? More the fool you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack accelerates. He sees the school grounds from far above and comes down梐nd spots Molech, fresh from climbing out of the smoking pit, speaking to a man in a business suit who has driven his Taurus through the wreckage of the football field to the crater抯 edge.
牋牋牋牋牋?The Taurus has a familiar color and a familiar license plate. The man in the suit with his right hand extended, a handgun calmly aimed at the godling, is an older black man even more familiar than the car is.
牋牋牋牋牋?揚op??says Mack. He is so startled that he hesitates. His father has the handgun he kept at the house in case an intruder came by when Mack was away. The old man fires the handgun once, twice, three puffs of white smoke visible long before the crack of the bullets reach Mack抯 ears.
牋牋牋牋牋?Molech, battered from the earlier beatings but suffering no apparent harm from the gunshots, picks up a short aluminum pole that was once part of the Tommy Sherman Memorial Goalpost. With the air of someone flipping a stone at a mouse, the creature tosses the pole at the man firing the gun. The pole goes through the man抯 chest like a spear and clatters on the ground many yards away, streaked with red. The man crumples and lies still on the ground, the left side of his ribcage missing. The gun drops by his side.
牋牋牋牋牋?The universe narrows down to the fallen man抯 face, his eyes half open in death.
牋牋牋牋牋?揚op??says Mack. He lands beside the man, intensely aware that his hesitation led to this end, and kneels by the old man抯 head. A trickle of blood runs from his father抯 mouth down his cheek. His son puts out a hand, still clutching a moon rock, and runs the back of a finger down the side of his father抯 shaven face.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack turns his head and looks at Molech. The bull-headed monster appears uncertain of what to do. It watches Mack but takes a step backward, toward the crater.
牋牋牋牋牋?揗y father,?says Mack. He presses the back of his hand to his father抯 cheek, warm blood sticking to his fingers. Rising, Mack stares at the creature, then slowly walks toward it. 揧ou talked to him in his sleep,?he says calmly. 揧ou tried to get him to give me over to you, years ago, but he never would. You must have known who I would be, or suspected it. You knew what I might do.?He nods. 揚op must have known, too. He must have seen our fight on the news and梟o, he would never have had the time to drive here. He never went to work. I see. He drove here this morning and parked by the high school and waited. That was probably it. I think he was expecting you. Maybe he had another dream. Maybe he had a little of me in him, or I had a little of him. I don抰 know, but he knew. He knew. He was a good man.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The bull-headed giant steps back once more. Its wide-eyed gaze strays to the rocks in Mack抯 fists. 揥hat棓 it says.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack抯 first blow shatters the bones along the left side of Molech抯 skull next to its eye, smashing the eye into pulp as well. The second and following strikes crush the godling抯 face, chest, arms, and legs. Less than a second has passed since Molech uttered its last intelligible word. Falling, the huge creature struggles to block the hurricane of attacks even with its limbs broken in a dozen places, squealing in agony and terror. When it cannot raise its arms or kick with its legs, it tries crawl. Savage blows shatter its exposed spine, hips, and ribs. It writhes on the ground, trying to draw breath to scream.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟his is what death is like,?says Mack as he works, his voice almost businesslike and normal. He is not aware of how fast and hard his fists rise and fall, the rocks tearing into the thing that called itself a god. The blows scatter black dust everywhere over the giant, black dust that burns through the giant抯 bronze hide like hissing acid. The power of belief, Mack thinks. Molech抯 face is no longer recognizable as a bull抯; too many features are missing or pulped or burned away by the black dust not of the earth. It is mildly interesting to Mack that the creature still tries to escape when by rights it should be dead, interesting but not unexpected. It is even welcome, the monster抯 inability to die.
牋牋牋牋牋?Having no place left to strike that has not already been beaten into boneless ruin, and the moon rocks powdered and gone, Mack grabs the creature抯 body in his blackened fists, lifting it over his head. The thing that called itself Molech shudders and gasps, rubbery limbs twitching as they drag on the ground. Of its head, only the long right ear remains relatively intact. Mack wanted it that way. He puts his mouth close to that ear.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e are going to the land of oblivion, you and I,?he whispers. 揥e are going to the place where death is all, and nothing else exists but the ending of things. It is not of this earth, this place. We are going there together. Say goodbye.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Feet rising from the ground, Mack heaves the body of the godling ahead of him, then accelerates upward hard. He does not care if he sees the flat horizon change, or if anyone sees him go. When the sky turns black and fills with stars, he searches until he sees the crescent moon come around the curve of the earth, then accelerates again and continues to do so as fast as possible. The earth passes and falls behind him. The thing that called itself Molech, perhaps sensing what is about to happen, tries without effect to get free.
牋牋牋牋牋?The moon grows rapidly. The crescent抯 bright edge become tinted with blue, and stars around it change into purple streaks. Doppler effect, thinks Mack, guessing that he is moving at a sizable fraction of the speed of light. He does not consider whether he will survive the impact. With a broken godling in his grip, he drives for the middle of the dark side faintly lit by earthlight, until a prominent crater catches his eye and he aims for it instead. Copernicus? he thinks, and wishes he抎 studied lunar maps with more care.
牋牋牋牋牋?The disk of the moon changes into a true world in seconds, swelling to fill Mack抯 vision. The crescent curve changes to a radiant violet. Molech howls into a vacuum with empty lungs. The great crater ahead comes on in a flash, great mountains rising at its center, and Mack thinks of his father and does not remember the moment when they hit.
*
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Angela Li knows she will no longer be principal of Lawndale High School once Jodie Landon and Daria Morgendorffer talk to the police, so she works quickly in her office. She has again pulled back the carpeting and drawn out a giant double pentacle on the floor using chalk. After lighting the proper candles, she unrolls the papyrus with the incantation across the top of her desk and then sketches out a circle of protection around her desk and office chair. She likes the idea of commanding summoned things from her seat of academic power.
牋牋牋牋牋?She finishes the circle抯 runic inscriptions, puts the chalk aside, and is dusting off her hands when she glances at the door to the office and cries out, a hand to her mouth.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack is there. He looks around the office with a blank expression, as if seeing his surroundings for the first time. The door抯 locks are undisturbed. Ms. Li cannot imagine how he got into the room.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟he strangest thing happened,?says Mack, looking at her for a moment before his gaze drifts on. He wears the blue bodysuit that Ms. Li saw him create before she fled the field. The explosive thundering that shook down ceiling panels and smashed windows across the school grounds ceased a half hour ago. She can guess who won the fight with Molech.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack turns from a painting and looks at her. 揑 killed someone,?he says. 揌e used to be human, like me . . . I guess that抯 not correct, though, is it? He was like me, a human who had special abilities, someone who could do things no one else could do, but he did evil things. People sacrificed their children to him, and it抯 the strangest thing that I didn抰 kill him because of that, because he was evil. I killed him because he killed my father. Just because he killed my father.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Li gets the picture and slowly backs around the desk to the place where the papyrus lies.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack continues, his gaze wandering again. 揑 beat Moe almost to death with two moon rocks I had at home桰 found them over the summer when I went to the moon, sort of as a test run梐nd after I beat him until everything inside him was broken, I hauled him into space and ran him directly into the moon, as hard as I could. We hit in the crater Copernicus, I think. I抣l look it up later. I was going too fast, though. I think I knocked myself out or something, when I hit, got all confused, and when I came to a little later, the earth was gone. I抎 gone through the moon, all the way through it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He looks back at Ms. Li, seeming not to notice that she has positioned herself in the center of the circle of protection, next to the papyrus on her desktop. 揑 floated there for a long time,?he says. 揑t seemed like a long time, but now I think it might have been just a few minutes. I was somewhere in the outer solar system, and all around me were the stars, more than I could count even with my powers, every color there is. I thought for a minute I was gone, but then I realized I could see the sun, a really bright star, the brightest around me, and I headed back to it before it went out of sight.?He looks away. 揑 was terrified. It was so beautiful all around me, but I抳e never been so afraid in my life. I was afraid I would not find my way back. It took forever to pick out our little world and its moon, but I found them and came back, but I still can抰 get over it. I can抰 believe I抦 here again.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e should talk,?says Ms. Li in a low voice.
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 was thinking,?says Mack, ignoring her, 搕hat belief is everything. It抯 all that really matters. I don抰 see why Moe should have been constrained by his perceived limits, like not thinking he could fly, and I think now it had something to do with a failure of imagination on his part. That抯 weird, isn抰 it? I mean, this morning I gave a report in science about everything being possible, but he didn抰 believe it, Moe didn抰, and he made it so. Do you see? Some things were impossible for him, but they weren抰 for me. He believed that anything of the earth would not hurt him, and when I attacked him with the moon rocks, I nearly killed him. I think Moe was dying then. He did die when he hit the moon, I抦 sure of that. I sense nothing left of him anywhere, as if he抯 completely gone from our universe. I think he is. He抯 gone forever, and I killed him.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Li抯 hands shake as she touches the edges of the enchanted papyrus, trying to fix the spell in her mind before activating it while keeping one eye on Mack.
牋牋牋牋牋?揃ut this is that part that confuses me,?Mack goes on. 揇id Moe know that I had moon rocks? He would have believed he was vulnerable to them, you see. Or was it because I knew I had moon rocks, was that the key? Do you understand? Maybe it was both, that he made himself vulnerable by his doubt, wondering what it was that I had, and I made myself all-powerful in my certainty that I had a weapon that could hurt him. I don抰 know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗ister Mackenzie棓 Ms. Li whispers.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝ee,?says Mack, his voice rising, 搘hat also bothers me is that I killed Moe because he killed my father. I haven抰 dealt with that yet, that my Pop is gone, and I haven抰 dealt with your trying to kill Jodie and Daria to get Moe抯 help in winning a football game, which just blows my mind. And I haven抰 dealt with Moe being Molech, the actual being to whom people used to incinerate their children, which I can抰 figure out for love of anything梑ut it wasn抰 any of that that made me kill him. I killed him only because . . . because he killed my father. I was just fighting him up to then. If he hadn抰 killed my father, I抎 have . . . I dunno, I might have just beaten him up and told him to never come back again. But he killed my father and I tore him into pieces and plowed him into the moon at almost the speed of light, do you follow me, Ms. Li??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Li glances down at the papyrus, then back at Mack. 揑 understand,?she says in a hoarse, dry voice, stalling for time. The incantation will take twenty seconds to read. Maybe if he turns his back, and she whispers the key words?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌uh,?says Mack. He turns his back to look at another painting, a copy of an abstract. 揑抦 not sure I understand. It抯 almost too much. How many more are there like me? Old gods, demons, devils, monsters from myth梐ll of them people like me, who had a power to make things happen by sheer will? They have a code of behavior, a covenant he called it, and I don抰 follow it. I wonder now if Molech meant to kill me or raise me as his own, as another twisted godling, if he抎 gotten me away from my father. I don抰 know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Li is whispering. Mack does not seem to notice.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hey抮e going to close the school, you know,?he says. 揥e抣l have police and fire departments here from all over, and the governor will come, and the FBI, and who knows who else. I wonder what the news will make of it, all the camcorders and photos and eyewitness reports. Can抰 imagine what they will say really happened here. It won抰 be the truth, for sure.?He gives a single laugh. 揓odie and Daria will know, though. They know for sure. I wonder if they抣l talk about it to the media. It抯 been a pretty wild day for棓 Mack抯 voice imitates Ms. Li抯 摋Laaawndale High, wouldn抰 you say??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Ms. Li finishes her whispers. The temperature in the room falls to below freezing in seconds, and the ceiling lights go out. Only the candles around the pentacle remain lit. ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Arise and serve me!?Ms. Li shouts at the dark spot in the center of the pentacle.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack turns around. Out of the center of the pentacle, up through the floor, rises a thing made of night. It is all wings and eyes and tattered robes, and it rises to the ceiling, not making a sound.
牋牋牋牋牋??i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Azrael, Angel of Death!?screams Ms. Li, white-faced, ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you are bound to my commands!?She points at Mack with a trembling finger. ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Kill him!?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack stares at the tall figure made of night. It stares back at him without moving an inch.
牋牋牋牋牋?With a sigh, Mack makes a small hand gesture in the direction of Ms. Li. As he does, the circle of protection she inscribed around her on the floor vanishes, wiped away as if it had never been drawn or even thought of.
牋牋牋牋牋?揃elief is everything,?Mack whispers, as if talking to Ms. Li, though it is more to himself. He turns to the winged thing. 揟ake her away,?he says. 揑 do not ever want to see her again. And do not ever bother me in this world or any other.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Tattered robes swaying, the tall figure made of night moves in silence across the pentacle, erasing the chalked lines as it passes. It approaches Ms. Li, who steps back as her mouth falls open. She looks down and sees that the circle is gone, the circle that would protect her, and her eyes become impossibly big behind her glasses. A queer sound comes out of her mouth, a sound not quite a word, and when she looks up the Angel of Death is upon her and she is within its shadowed wings and the room is suddenly empty except for Mack, who stands and looks for a long time at the empty place where Ms. Li last stood.
牋牋牋牋牋?When finally he hears the sounds of many men coming up the school抯 stairwells and being landed on the roof by helicopters, he stirs and gives a small shrug. 揊unny name, Angela,?he says to himself, and he vanishes, too.
Chapter Six
牋牋牋牋牋?For the past week, since the day Lawndale High lost its football field and was closed down by the police, Daria Morgendorffer has left her window shades open at night and her bedroom lights turned on. She bathes and changes clothes in the hall bathroom she shares with her sister Quinn, but otherwise lets the world look in on her in her bedroom, where she has stayed every day as police cars patrol the streets outside her family抯 home.
牋牋牋牋牋?Tonight she has a hardbound book by Carl Sagan propped up on her stomach and seems to be reading with quiet intensity. She has not yet changed for bed and wears her usual outfit of green and black. The boom box on the floor plays Mozart抯 Concerto for Flute and Harp in C, K 299, at low volume. She stretches a finger to turn a page.
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria??says a voice in the room, barely above a whisper.
牋牋牋牋牋?She glances up without moving her head. Of course, she sees no one. 揌mmm,?she says aloud, 搕hat voice is back that tells me to kill and kill again.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?A groan is heard. 揇aria棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揔eep it down,?she says mildly, closing her book. She slides off the bed, walks over to the CD player, and pops out the Mozart. Selecting another CD from the pile on the floor, she pops that one in instead, and the sound of rainfall fills the room as she turns up the volume.
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hite noise,?she says, not looking anywhere in particular. 揋ood for drowning out conversations.?She scans the room, still sees no one. 揌i, Mack.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌ey. Is this okay with you? Me being here??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑s it okay having an invisible guy in my bedroom, you mean? It抯 fine with me as long as we don抰 rush downstairs and announce it to my parents. It might upset their quality time with the TV.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 was . . . sort of worried you wouldn抰 want to see me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揋ood pun.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat? Oh, you know what I mean.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria inhales deeply and sits down on the bed again, looking at the floor. 揧ou抮e worried that I wouldn抰 want to see you,?she repeats, scratching behind one ear. 揑 can understand that. However, I was a little more worried that I wouldn抰 see you again and say an appropriate thank you for rescuing Jodie and me from the clutches of the Wicked Witch of Lawndale. So, thank you, before we do anything else.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?A low chuckle. 揧ou抮e welcome. Have you been doing okay? Since梬ell, since the, uh棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 would have to say yes,?she says, her voice deadpan, 揵ut it抯 a qualified yes. I don抰 like being in confined spaces without having all the windows open, and I don抰 like those confined spaces to be dark, so I keep my room lights on all the time at night. It didn抰 use to bother me, until the crate thing. I even remember having a refrigerator box once . . . let抯 skip that. Otherwise, I think I抦 coping with life after Ms. Li抯 amusing after-school prank. I抳e coped with Quinn all these years, after all, so I抳e built up a certain resistance to mental and emotional traumas. Speaking of Ms. Li棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 was worried about you. You and Jodie, I mean.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂nd how is Jodie? I haven抰 seen her since last week. Mom told me that she moved.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h, yeah. Yeah, her parents packed up and left with her, her sister, and her little brother. They抮e not coming back.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 see.?Daria sighs again. 揟hat will drop the average IQ of Lawndale into the single digits, but I suppose it can抰 be helped. Have you seen her yet??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah.?Mack sounds tired. 揝he梩hey didn抰 want梠h, I guess it doesn抰 matter. They went to New York. Her dad had some connections there, and they抮e buying a place along the Hudson River, somewhere secluded and far away from Lawndale and the news media. They didn抰 want anyone to know where they抮e at.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria抯 eyes roam the room, trying to pick out where the voice is coming from. 揧ou talked to her??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah. Big mistake.?He exhales heavily and doesn抰 elaborate.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou know,?says Daria, 揾aving a conversation with thin air is interesting, but it lacks something. Perhaps you could appear somewhere in my room where I could see you, away from the windows梚f you wouldn抰 mind it, I mean.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 could, but the only place I could sit without being seen would be on your bed, near the corner.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria looks around, chews her lower lip, then scoots over on her bed until she sits at the foot of it. She removes the pillow and book and puts them on the floor, then watches the space at the head of her bed. Moments later, a dark translucent shape settles down on it, sinking into the mattress. Mack takes full solid form a few seconds later, wearing a black bodysuit without adornment. He looks as he always did. After glancing at Daria, Mack rubs his chin and looks at his hands in his lap. 揌i,?he says.
牋牋牋牋牋?揌i,?she says back, relatively calm despite her pale face. 揧ou were saying something about you and Jodie.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h. Yeah, she . . . I left her a note, like I did for you, and she saw me that night.?His face falls. 揝he said she didn抰 want to see me after that, though. It was too much, the kidnapping and everything with Ms. Li, but she said it was . . . more than that.?He swallows. 揝he said it was me. She didn抰 understand why I never told her what I could do. She said she just thought I was really strong, but she had no idea I could do anything else, really. I told her I thought you and she had worked it all out, but she said no, maybe you had, but she hadn抰. She hadn抰 really believed I could fly. She was just humoring you, and she wasn抰 ready for any of it when it all came true.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack takes a ragged breath, looking across the room. 揂nd then she started getting mad at me. Why didn抰 I trust her, and all that. And why did I think I had to fight this other guy, what was it with me that I thought I had to fight people, when if I had all these powers, I could work it out some other way.?He makes a helpless gesture. 揑 didn抰 think she got it, that there wasn抰 anything else to do, but she made me wonder if maybe she wasn抰 right, you know? If maybe I could have worked it out with Moe, or Ms.棓 Grimacing, he stops, wishing he抎 not said anything about Ms. Li.
牋牋牋牋牋?揂h,?says Daria, nodding as she watches him. 揂nd in the end, Jodie told you to go, and you left, and that was it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Her gaze lowers. After a few moments, she looks up. 揗ack??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抦 sorry about your father. I really am.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h.?His expression becomes sad, then slowly clears. 揟hanks. I am, too. He was a good man. I sort of sneaked into the funeral and saw you and Jane there.?His face tightens for a moment, then he relaxes and rubs his eyes. 揌e . . . Pop knew who I was. What I was, I mean. He could deal with it. He was the only person around who could, I guess.?He looks up and gives Daria a slight smile. 揂lthough you seem to be doing pretty well.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂s I said, I抳e had Quinn around most of my life. I could get used to almost anything.?Daria tilts her head. 揧ou said what you are.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat I am. I抦 human, I抦 sure of that, but I抦桰抦 different.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇ifferent in the way we were talking about in class last week? The quantum thing??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 think so. That抯 the only excuse I have for it that makes any sense. I mean, it shouldn抰 work like that, I know, but棓 He spreads his hands. 摋it does.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hatever you wish for comes true.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h, no, not like that. Just . . . well, sort of. It抯 hard to explain.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抣l bet. So, was Moe like that, too??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揢h, yeah. Yeah, he was. Just like me. Older, of course. He抎 been around for a long time, but in a lot of ways, just like me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑s Moe coming back??Daria抯 voice is strained, though she acts as if it were nothing.
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o. He won抰 be back.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She nods. The stain in her voice increases. 揂nd Ms. Li??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂h棓 . . . death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns . . . 摋no, I don抰 think so.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She nods again. 揥as any of this connected with that surprise asteroid strike on the moon last week? In Kepler Crater??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 thought it was Copernicus. Look, maybe it抯 not a good idea to talk about this, okay? You抮e asking all the questions, so let me ask you some.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She shrugs. 揝ure.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙kay. I know about the school closing down棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揊or only one more week, they announced this morning. Superintendent Cartwright appointed a new principal, don抰 remember his name. He said he抎 get the football season started as soon as he could, but the team has nowhere to practice yet. They might use a field at one of the middle schools.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揊igures they抎 try to get the games going again.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗mm-hmmm. Everyone抯 pretty mad about not having football to worship, but no one blames you for it. They blame Ms. Li. She told the workmen that the crates Jodie and I were in were full of fireworks. We were too well tied up and packed in for anyone to know otherwise. We were supposed to have the homecoming parade today, with that game against the James K. Polk Penguins, but that was called off.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack stifles a laugh. 揟hey抮e the worst team in the tri-county area. It would抳e been an easy win.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揈ven without you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He grunts and sighs. 揑 guess.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝till, maybe sometimes it抯 nice to be popular. Not that I would know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌mm, yeah. Speaking of which, I hear they抮e looking for me.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揊or you, and Ms. Li and Moe, too,?she says softly. 揘o chance of finding any of you, I think, even for the FBI.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揚robably not.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑t would have been interesting to see Ms. Li on trial. Two counts of kidnapping and attempted murder, improper use of public funds, possible charge of棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揟his isn抰 a good topic,?says Mack, not looking up.
牋牋牋牋牋?揙kay.?She pushes her glasses up on her nose. 揧ou know you抳e become Kevin Thompson抯 hero and role-model, right??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack rubs his forehead as if in pain. 揧ou抮e not helping, Daria.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揌e抯 decided to become a crime fighter, just like you. He抯 asking around, if anyone should see you, to find out if you need a sidekick. He抯 calling himself QB Man.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack抯 look of pain deepens. 揑 can tell you抮e enjoying this.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou could always send him into dangerous places ahead of you, sort of like having a canary in a coal mine. If he gets squashed, you know that there抯棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揇on抰 say that. Kevin抯 okay. He抯 just . . . he抯 okay.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟ommy Sherman抯 asking about a position with you, too. So are Brittany Taylor and the other cheerleaders, but I抦 not sure if 憇idekick?was the position they want with you. Their desired position might be more horizontal.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack coughs to keep from laughing. 揅oming here was a mistake.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揚erhaps, but where else do you have to go??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?His mirth fades, and he doesn抰 answer. Daria抯 face slowly turns bright pink. 揗mm,?she says, 搈y spider-senses tell me that I抳e put my foot into my mouth all the way up to the hip.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑t抯 okay,?he says. 揧ou抮e right. I don抰 have anywhere else to go. I抳e just been hanging around, being invisible or disguised as something. Boring as hell. The FBI抯 still looking over the house. They must have found the other moon rocks in my bedroom.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗oon rocks,?says Daria, leaning closer.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah. I got 慹m that night you saw me take off, last July.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou went out to get moon rocks and didn抰 bring me one? Some friend you are.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah,?he says, not laughing. He looks at Daria抯 closet door on the other side of the room, his shoulders slumped. 揑 was wrong about everything. I got it wrong across the board. I thought I was a superhero, and I抦 not at all. I thought I was unique, and I抦 not.?He looks into Daria抯 eyes. 揟here are a fair number of people around like me. Not more than a thousand, I抎 guess, but they抮e there. They have this whole set of rules they go by, to keep from getting into fights with each other and destroying everything. Some of them never came out in public, some of them did and pretended they were gods or angels or something, demons usually. The bad ones always made a mess, so the others came up with the covenant to keep the bad ones under control, more or less. I抦 the only one who doesn抰 follow the covenant. I抦 the only one who has no limits on what he can do.?He manages a cheerless chuckle, looking at his hands. 揟hey抮e afraid of me, the others are. They know what happened to Molech.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hey told you this??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah. They got one of them to come and talk to me. Old guy, beard, one eye. Sort of a Scandinavian accent, Swedish maybe.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria thinks. Her eyes suddenly narrow. 揧ou抮e kidding.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o, it was him. It was really him. He even had those two ravens with him. Maybe the others thought he was expendable. I think he was just too old to care. No fear in him at all. He wanted to know what I wanted to do, and I said I didn抰 know. He said that was wise, that I knew I didn抰 know, but I wonder if he wasn抰 having a little joke on me. I told him what happened with Molech, the truth, and he seemed satisfied with that.?Mack licks his lips. 揌e said if I wanted to join them, the others like me, I could. I didn抰 say anything about that, so we left it like that, for now anyway.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h,?says Daria, and she looks away. 揕ots of cute goddesses in the mythology books. A few succubi here and there, but there抯 plenty of potential棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 don抰 want them,?Mack says quickly. 揑 don抰 want to be one of them. I want to be Mack Mackenzie, football player and high school student and closet superhero, but that抯 gone. I had this weird hope that I could save my old life as a secret identity, you know, like in all the comics, and I could pretend to be normal sometimes and take a rest.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria waits a few moments before asking, 揥hy can抰 you rest now??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack inspects his hands again. 揑抦 not really over my father抯 death,?he says. 揑抦 kind of settled with it, but not really. My whole life is ripped apart on top of that, and I don抰 know who I am or where I can go, or what I抦 supposed to do.?His hands close into fists. 揂nd some of those guys in the covenant might have a problem with me. The old guy said there was some disagreement about me, but he didn抰 elaborate. Probably couldn抰 violate the covenant by telling.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗aybe he wanted you to know, just in case. Maybe he likes you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah, that would be great. Be Odin抯 best friend.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙r Aphrodite抯.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 told you I don抰 want that. Please don抰 say it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria抯 face remains impassive, but she thinks about this for a bit. 揥hat do you want??she finally asks.
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack starts to laugh but it fades, as does his smile. 揑 want someone to talk to,?he says.
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria looks away. 揘ow, that抯 funny. I抳e been thinking for some time that I抎 like that, too.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥hat? You have Jane. You can talk to her anytime.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She shakes her head. 揘ot since this Tom guy came on the scene. Every time we get together, it抯 Tom did this or Tom said that, or 慣here抯 Tom, bye Daria.?Kind of ruins the taste of the pizza. They抳e been really supportive of me over this last week, but I knew it wouldn抰 last. They抮e at a movie tonight. My parents won抰 let me out of the house, but I didn抰 want to be a third wheel anyway, so I didn抰 put up a fight. Wasn抰 worth it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 can抰 talk to my parents. Mom抯 going to sue the school system over Ms. Li, so she抯 preoccupied with getting that in motion, and Dad抯 done everything except lock me in my room to keep me safe from crazed high-school principals and minotaur demons, which leaves Quinn, which means I really don抰 have anyone to talk to.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?It抯 Mack抯 turn to nod.
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria shifts in her seat on the bed. 揝o . . .?she begins, but she says nothing else.
牋牋牋牋牋?揝o, what??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝o, nothing.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揝o, you were wondering if you and I could hang out.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 was actually wondering if you could read minds.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h. No, I can抰 do that.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou don抰 want to do that, you mean.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧eah, but I can抰, anyway.?He looks embarrassed. 揑抳e tried before, with Jodie. It doesn抰 work. I can sort of predict what people might do, based on their body language, but I can't really read minds.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat抯 good to know,?says Daria. ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Very good to know.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 suppose. I guess I do have some limits.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑f a man was able to read a woman抯 mind, that would doom civilization. No one would have children, nations would fall, and we抎 be at the mercy of the coyotes and possums.?br> 牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell, some of us.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗mm, yeah, some of us.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟o answer your unspoken question, sure. Let抯 hang out. If you want to.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揗e? Hang out with you? People will talk. Look at how you dress.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou don抰 like black? And people always talk. Let 慹m.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揟hat抯 true. All right, you抳e talked me into it.?Daria chews on the inside of her cheek. 揢m, I should warn you ahead of time that I抦 not easy to get along with.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揈xcuse me? Hello? This is Mack you抮e talking to, Mack Mackenzie. We抮e classmates, remember? I sort of know what you抮e like, Daria.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙h. Uh, right.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揃ut I抣l still hang out with you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou must be really desperate. Um, that didn抰 come out the way I抎棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揑抦 desperate, a little, but that抯 not why I want to hang out with you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 make a cute pet??/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揇aria, come on. I can talk to you. You抮e the only one I actually know who抯 even remotely on my level, other than Jodie. On top of that, you抮e about the only person alive who knows me and isn抰 put off by who I am.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙r what.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?He rolls his eyes. 揙r what.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揥ell, it does help that you aren抰 wearing a football uniform at the moment.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 won抰 do that anymore, promise.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria抯 fingers drum on the blanket. 揥e抮e going to have to think of more creative places to meet than my bedroom.?After a beat, she turns bright pink again. 揙kay, that one really didn抰 come out the way I抎棓
牋牋牋牋牋?揥e抣l work on it.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揋ood save. Thank you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o problem.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria takes a deep breath and lets it out, settling comfortably into place. 揙ne of these days, I抎 like to ask you what really happened last week.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揙ne of these days, I promise I抣l tell you.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂nd you owe me a moon rock.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揊or being my friend? Oh, fine, okay, I抣l get you a moon rock.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揂n interesting one, not just any common ordinary moon rock.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?揜ight.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?They sit together in silence until Daria says, 揑 really am sorry about your father. I wish I抎 met him before now. Everyone who knew him said he was a good man.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?Mack nods, biting his lower lip, looking at the wall opposite.
牋牋牋牋牋?Without thinking, Daria reaches her right hand out, and Mack takes it, and they sit like that for a long time, hand in hand, looking at the opposite wall.
牋牋牋牋牋?Footsteps sound on the stairs at last, mixed with parental voices.
牋牋牋牋牋?揟ime to go,?says Mack, letting go of Daria抯 hand with reluctance.
牋牋牋牋牋?揕ater,?she says without moving.
牋牋牋牋牋?揕ater for sure,?he replies, and he is gone, just like that.
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria抯 parents knock on her door, make sure that she is all right, then head for their own bedroom down the hall. Daria sits on her bed and looks at the place where Mack sat. She wonders if he抯 still around, invisible, but decides he can be trusted. He was always a reliable guy who did what he said he would. It isn抰 as if she can do anything about it if he isn抰 honest now, but still, she thinks he can be trusted. He seems to need her. It is a new feeling for Daria, to be needed by a guy, and she doesn抰 know what to think of it. She can still feel the warmth of his hand in hers. He seems to need her, exactly as she is. No one has ever needed her like that, except perhaps Jane, and certainly not in this way.
牋牋牋牋牋?揧ou were the thirteenth man on the moon,?she says to the space on the bed beside her, 揳nd you didn抰 bring me back a present.?She suddenly shakes herself and makes a face. ?i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Friends. You two are friends. This isn抰 like Jane and Tom. Get a grip.?/p>
牋牋牋牋牋?She gets off the bed, pulls down the shades on all her windows, and changes into her bedclothes without thinking once that she was afraid of being in enclosed spaces, or that someone might be in the room with her. It isn抰 worth worrying about. Not now. She shuts off the lights and lies in bed under the covers, aware that her head is about where he was sitting, and looks at the darkness with eyes open.
牋牋牋牋牋?Are there other monsters in the world like Molech, she wonders, waiting to prey on humanity as Molech wanted to? Will Mack be able to find and destroy them if they come out of hiding? Will some of the godlings of the covenant try to attack Mack from surprise, to destroy him before he can destroy them? Can she help Mack prevent that in some way, without getting herself squashed?
牋牋牋牋牋?And . . .
牋牋牋牋牋?Does Mack really need me? What does he really think of me? Is he put off by my habit of putting people off? He seems to like me, but does he really like me? Will he come back? Where are we going to meet? Are we going to stay in my bedroom the whole time? That could get rather clumsy in all sorts of ways. Speaking of which, is Jodie coming back, or is she gone gone? Is he still thinking about her? Why the hell do I even care about this? And why did I think of Jodie when I thought of my bedroom? I抳e always suspected that Mack and Jodie had something going on, but . . . did they? How did they manage that, with Mack all . . . super? Could Mack and I梂HOA, STOP!!!
牋牋牋牋牋?揑 must have hit my head on something,?Daria says aloud. 揑抳e never had this much brain damage before.?She shuts her eyes, rolls over, and makes herself go to sleep.
牋牋牋牋牋?Could Mack and I . . .
牋牋牋牋牋?Well, like he said, anything is possible.
Original: 12/27/04, modified 12/28/04, 09/26/05
FINIS