Joey"s eyes were wide, and she was jittery as h.e.l.l. Losing her power wasn"t just making her nervous-it was making her angry, too.
"Joey," Mich.e.l.le said. "I know losing your power is horrible, but you told me when we were in the PPA that knowing where all the nearby dead bodies were all the time made you kinda crazy. Wasn"t it a little bit of a relief when it went away?"
Hands shaking, Joey gave the letter back to Mich.e.l.le. "No, yes, no," she said. "In the PPA there were so many bodies. And so many of them were dead children. You remember, Bubbles. And at first, when my powers vanished, I was just me. And that was nice. But then I started remembering how it was before I turned into Hoodoo Mama ..." Her voice trailed off.
Mich.e.l.le frowned as she closed the door. "I don"t know what to do. It"s clear they want me to stay the h.e.l.l out of the public eye, and they"re willing to fu ... mess with you to get me to do it. Maybe I should reach out to someone from the Committee."
"No!" Joey exclaimed. "No! I don"t want anyone to know this is happening. What if they take my powers away forever? Jesus, Bubbles, what the f.u.c.k would I do then?" Her face began to crumple as if she was about to cry, and then a furious expression replaced it. "And, Bubbles, I want the f.u.c.ker who"s been yanking my power. This Mr. Jones motherf.u.c.king t.u.r.d p.r.i.c.k-a.s.s b.a.s.t.a.r.d is going to pay."
"I"d like nothing more than to see him pay, too," Mich.e.l.le said. She needed Joey to remember what had happened when her powers were taken. That was the most important thing right now. "This time was like the last time, right?"
Joey nodded, but she was still shaking.
"So," Mich.e.l.le said. "They grab your power, use it, and then you get it back?"
"Yeah."
"Then my guess is they can"t keep it. Otherwise, they"d just grab both our powers and be done with it. That"s what I"d do. And you were out both times they took your powers, so maybe there needs to be line of sight, or proximity?"
Joey nodded and looked relieved. "I"m glad you"re here, Bubbles," she said, with just a hint of a smile. "I mean, you know I still think you"re a c.o.c.ksucking b.i.t.c.h, right?"
"Well," Mich.e.l.le replied. "You got that half right."
"Let"s see what the Pumpkin wants for breakfast," Joey said as they went into the living room.
"Unless it"s beer and bourbon," Mich.e.l.le replied, "we"ve got to make a grocery run."
"You go make the run," Joey said. "I"ll be okay here for that long. But I"m pretty sure I heard her saying she loooves bourbon for breakfast. Girl after my own heart."
Momma and Aunt Joey were laughing. Adesina felt the knot in her stomach loosen a little-until they came into the room. Then it was clear to her that they were putting a nice face on things. She didn"t need to slip into their minds to know that.
There was a smile on Momma"s face, but it wasn"t one of her real smiles. And Aunt Joey was smiling, too, but Adesina could see the ghosts in her eyes.
"You up for some breakfast?" Momma asked as she sat on the couch next to Adesina.
"Your mom says you"re not down with bourbon for breakfast," Aunt Joey put in. "I keep telling her you"re my homegirl, but she doesn"t believe me."
Adesina made her sincere face. "I"d love bourbon for breakfast, Momma."
"Okay," Momma replied. "But I"m going to pour it over your cereal. Yum."
"Gah," Adesina said. Once she"d been very bad and snuck a taste of Aunt Joey"s bourbon. It was disgusting. "I want French toast."
"I"ll go to the market," Mich.e.l.le said as she leaned over and kissed the top of Adesina"s head.
"Be careful, Bubbles. They could grab your power," Joey said. She bent down to tie the laces of her ratty Converse sneakers. Her hands shook as she did so. "It was bad when they took my power. It"d be much f.u.c.king worse if they got yours."
Momma shrugged. "I"ve been out in public and they could"ve already gotten my powers. So I don"t think they"re interested in it, Joey." She leaned over and kissed Adesina. "Don"t let Aunt Joey do anything stupid like go out of the house, sweetie."
"I won"t, Momma," Adesina replied.
Dan rubbed his face. He"d been about to explode when he"d had Hoodoo Momma"s power. Even after using it, he was still jittery as h.e.l.l. But maybe that was because he was stuck in a van with Mr. Jones and the creepily silent driver.
"Uhm, can you drop me back at my house?" he asked as he fidgeted in his seat.
"Yes, Dan, we will drop you off at your house," Mr. Jones said with barely concealed distaste. "I"m very disappointed in you, Dan. These things need to be timed properly and you didn"t do your part."
A cold, slippery feeling slid into Dan"s gut. "Uh, I know," he replied. "It"s like I told you. I"ve never grabbed a big Ace power twice. And I didn"t know it would be so weird the second time. I just don"t know what happened. I"m sure it was nothing."
Mr. Jones didn"t reply. Dan rubbed his palms on his pants. A silent Mr. Jones was worse than a talking one.
He decided that the next time Mr. Jones wanted him for anything, he"d just say no. It"d never occurred to him that there might be limitations on what he could do, or that yanking a big power more than once might have blowback. He needed to figure out what the real parameters of his ability were. And there was no way Mr. Jones was interested in helping him with that. Mr. Jones was interested in whatever weird-a.s.s mind-f.u.c.k s.h.i.t he was up to. And nothing else.
The van slowed in front of Dan"s house. Dan was reaching for the door handle before it came to a stop. But before he could open the door, Mr. Jones"s hand was clasped hard around his wrist.
"Just a moment, Dan," he said. "I forgot to give you your pay." He held out a fat manila envelope.
For a fleeting moment, Dan thought about turning it down. But then he took it.
"I"ll be in touch," Mr. Jones said.
Dan nodded. What he wanted to say was "f.u.c.k no, you crazy p.r.i.c.k. I"d rather eat ground gla.s.s than deal with you again."
And it wasn"t until he got to the front door that he realized Mr. Jones had no wild card abilities in him at all.
I"m not afraid, Mich.e.l.le thought. Well, not much anyway. The streets were still pretty empty despite the fact that it was Mardi Gras. She went into the local corner store and began grabbing what she needed to make French toast.
"Hey, you"re the Amazing Bubbles, aren"t you?"
Mich.e.l.le looked up and saw a young girl. She was maybe sixteen with hair dyed black, black clothes, black Doc Martens, and a wealth of silver studded and spiked jewelry. A pale face with heavy black eyeliner and crimson lips completed the look. Mich.e.l.le wondered how she hadn"t sweated through everything, including the heavy Pan-Cake makeup.
"Yeah," she replied. "I am." She dropped a loaf of bread into her basket and started to the dairy section. The girl followed.
"I thought what you did at the parade was awesome," the girl said. "I mean, you were really great."
Eggs, half-and-half, and b.u.t.ter went into Mich.e.l.le"s basket. "Thanks," she said as she walked to the produce section. "Just doing what I can."
What if this is the wild card who can grab powers? Mich.e.l.le thought. What kind of sick a.s.shole would send a girl after me? But then she realized that if this was the wild card who"d grabbed Joey"s power, she would be just as helpless as Joey had been.
"Well," the girl said, "I just wanted you to know I really admire you. You"ve been my favorite wild card since American Hero."
Mich.e.l.le smiled at the girl. If they were going to grab her power, they would be doing it soon. "Would you like an autograph?" she asked.
"Oh, I couldn"t ask for that," the girl said. "But would you mind a picture of us together?" She held up her phone.
"Sure," Mich.e.l.le replied. Mich.e.l.le put her arm around the girl and smiled as the picture was snapped. "And what"s your name?"
"Dorothy," the girl said as she looked at the image. "Hey, this came out amazing."
Mich.e.l.le laughed. "Well, I am a professional. Or I was."
"Hey, thanks," Dorothy said. "Uhm, I just want you to know I don"t think you"re a lousy mother. I don"t care what anyone is saying."
Mich.e.l.le tried to keep her expression neutral, but she was irritated. And then she reminded herself that this was the way it was. You become famous, and you give up part of yourself. And Mich.e.l.le knew she was lucky. Even with all the weird c.r.a.p in her life, she could pay the bills and give herself and Adesina a decent life. So she made herself smile brightly and say, "I really appreciate that, Dorothy. It was nice to meet you."
"Mr. Jones would like to see you and Joey Hebert in two days, nine in the morning, at Jackson Square," Dorothy said. "He thinks it"s time for you to meet in person." She gave Mich.e.l.le a bright smile, then vanished.
For a moment, Mich.e.l.le just stared at the spot where Dorothy had been. Yeah, I was not expecting that, she thought. Then she went and grabbed a bottle of vanilla extract. It was going to be one of those lives.
Joey was washing the breakfast dishes while Mich.e.l.le dried. It was nice. Nice and normal, and that made Joey mad. She didn"t know why. But she knew it wasn"t the way she should be feeling.
After they"d finished eating, Mich.e.l.le had asked for a couple of Joey"s zombies to knock her around and fatten her up. It took a while, but eventually Mich.e.l.le stopped looking like a horrific thinspiration photo and was pleasantly plump. Joey thought Mich.e.l.le looked especially pretty when she was plump. Joey liked her girls curvy.
Then they"d come back inside and started cleaning up the kitchen. Adesina was flopped on the couch, playing her game, so Joey didn"t bother to have her help. Sure, her mother might have said they were spoiling the child, but Joey didn"t see it that way.
"I had another message from Mr. Jones," Mich.e.l.le said softly while wiping a dish.
Joey looked over her shoulder to see if Adesina had heard. But she was still engrossed in her game. "What the f.u.c.k did he want?"
"He wants us to meet him in Jackson Square day after tomorrow morning at nine," Mich.e.l.le replied. "Oh, and the messenger was a sixteen-year-old girl who can teleport."
"We"re not going to go, right?" Joey asked. "That would be f.u.c.king insane." Joey wanted to hit something. Hard.
"I"m going," Mich.e.l.le whispered. She kept drying dishes as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do while talking about some thug who wanted to steal your powers. "It"s the only real choice we have. Unless you want to go underground, leave your home, and a.s.sume a new ident.i.ty. Avoiding these people-whoever they are-just gives them power over you."
"But they"ve already got power over us, Mich.e.l.le," Joey hissed, soapy water splashing on the floor as she angrily dumped the frying pan into it. "In case you"ve forgotten, they"ve yanked my power twice. Maybe they"ll yank yours next."
Mich.e.l.le nodded, then opened the silverware drawer and began putting utensils away. "They might," she said. "But if that happened, it wouldn"t be the end of my life. I"d go back to what I was before. It wouldn"t change what I"ve done and it wouldn"t change who I am." Mich.e.l.le slid the drawer shut.
"Well, it"s f.u.c.king easy for you to say, Bubbles," Joey replied. "You had a life before your card turned. I had jack s.h.i.t. Except for my mother." The thought of her mother made a hideous lump form in the back of Joey"s throat. She swallowed and tried not to cry. "I was just a kid when my card turned."
And even though Joey had banished almost every moment of that day, flashes of what had happened would still swim to the surface. And she knew if she hadn"t turned into Hoodoo Mama, she would have died then.
"I know it"s easy for me," Mich.e.l.le replied gently. She dropped the towel on the counter and turned to face Joey. "And that"s why I need to do something to help you. If you"ll let me."
Joey threw her sponge into the sink. "And what the f.u.c.k do you think you can do?"
Mich.e.l.le grabbed Joey"s hands. "I can have Adesina go into your mind-into your memories-and she can ... help you."
Joey grew very still. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"You know that Adesina can go into your mind? Well, when we were in the PPA, after all the fighting had stopped and we stayed to help the children we"d found there, Adesina went into some of their minds and she ... she took their pain away. She made them forget what had happened to them." Mich.e.l.le paused and then she dropped Joey"s hands. She picked up the dishtowel, folded it, and then hung it on the rack. "I stopped her from doing it because I didn"t like how depressed she got afterward."
"Well, why would you f.u.c.king let her into my mind knowing that she"s already been in there once before and it wasn"t a f.u.c.king fun time?" Joey"s hands were shaking and she jammed them into the pockets of her jeans. "I don"t want her in my head. And I don"t want to remember. I won"t remember. Why should I?"
"I"ve been giving this a lot of thought," Mich.e.l.le said. "And I talked to Adesina about it-to see if my plan would even work. She"ll be in your mind, but not in the way she usually goes into someone"s mind. I"m going in for her. Well, more like with her." Mich.e.l.le rubbed her forehead and sighed. "I"m not describing this well. Adesina has linked two separate minds together before-by accident. So it"ll be difficult. But she wants to help. And given our time frame, I don"t see that there are any other solutions. So, yeah, I"m not going to be winning Mother of the Year anytime soon."
"f.u.c.k," Joey said rocking back on her heels. She shook her head. "I don"t think I can let Adesina do that. What if she sees ... something a kid shouldn"t see? What if you see?"
"Joey," Mich.e.l.le said, exasperation hard in her voice. "We can"t go on the run from these people. Christ, I can"t even figure out who they work for. You freak when your power is lifted. I think I have a way to fix that-or at least a way to make the memory this is triggering go away. You have to be okay with not having your power. Otherwise, they can get to you. And I can"t be here all the time. You need to deal with this. Yeah, it"s a suck solution, but it"s the only one we have. Do you really think I"d do this to my daughter if I could think of any other option? And may I remind you that Adesina is in danger from these a.s.sholes, too?"
"Honestly, Bubbles," Joey replied as she rocked back and forth on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. "I"ve seen you do some pretty bad s.h.i.t."
"Yeah?" Mich.e.l.le replied as she turned away from Joey and began putting dishes in the cupboard. "Welcome to the working world."
It took another two hours of arguing before Joey finally agreed to let Mich.e.l.le and Adesina into her mind-and then only with the understanding that if Joey gave the word, the experiment ended.
"Where do you want to do this?" Joey asked. They were in the living room, and Joey had cleared out the usual zombie guard because Adesina mentioned that they were stinky.
"It easiest when the other person is asleep," Adesina said. "That"s how I found Momma. When she was in the coma."
"Well, I"m not tired," Joey said.
"We could go upstairs and use the guest bedroom," Mich.e.l.le suggested. "You could lie down and just try to relax."
"f.u.c.k," Joey muttered as she turned and stomped out of the room. Mich.e.l.le and Adesina followed her. And Joey couldn"t help noticing that Mich.e.l.le didn"t say anything about her bad language in front of the child.
Adesina had a fluttery feeling in her tummy. She was pretty sure she could bring Momma into Aunt Joey"s mind. But once they were there, could Momma really protect her? Adesina loved Aunt Joey, but there were things lurking in the dark corridors and rooms there that scared her.
Aunt Joey lay down on the bed, and Momma lay down beside her. Adesina hopped up and snuggled between them. Aunt Joey"s body was rigid, her arms stiff and tight against her side. Momma rolled onto her side, reached out, and took Aunt Joey"s left hand. Aunt Joey sighed, then relaxed a little. And then Adesina slid into Momma"s mind.
It was a comfortable place for Adesina. Momma"s mind was like a big, open house. There were pretty views out the windows and lots of bright, airy rooms. There were a couple of rooms Momma wouldn"t let her go into, but Adesina didn"t mind. Momma had explained that some of it was grown-up stuff, and some of it was private.
And there were bunnies in Momma"s mind, too. Adesina liked the bunnies, but never could figure out why Momma had so many of them.
"Hey there, kiddo," Momma said. She was standing next to the windows looking out at the view holding a fat rabbit. "You ready to do this?" She turned toward Adesina, put the bunny down, and Adesina ran and jumped into her arms.
"I"m ready, Momma," Adesina said. And then she reached out for Aunt Joey.
One moment Mich.e.l.le was in her own mind, or at least Adesina"s interpretation of her mind-and the next, she and Adesina were in the front entryway of a version of Joey"s house. But it was bigger than Joey"s actual house. There were corridors that sp.a.w.ned from the main hallway. Mich.e.l.le saw that they were lined with closed doors.
"Joey?" Mich.e.l.le yelled. She tried not to shout in Adesina"s ear, even though she knew she wasn"t really carrying the child in the crook of her arm. "Where are you, Joey?"
"Here," Joey replied from behind her. Startled, Mich.e.l.le spun around. There, in the multicolored light from the stained-gla.s.s windows in the front door, was Joey. She looked frailer and younger than she did in real life.
"You scared the c.r.a.p out of me," Mich.e.l.le said. She reached out and touched the intricately carved chair rail that ran the length of the hall. "Your house looks different in here."
"Yeah, I don"t know if that"s me doing it or the Pumpkin," Joey replied as she slowly turned around and took in the front entrance and hallway. "I guess if I ever got around to sprucing the place up, it might look like this. And that front door is really f.u.c.king cool."
Mich.e.l.le kissed Adesina on the head and then put her down. "End of the line for you, kiddo," she said. "I want you to stay here, okay? Aunt Joey and I need to go the rest of the way alone."
"Wait," Joey said. She brushed by Mich.e.l.le and opened the first door on the left. "I did something for the Pumpkin."
Adesina and Mich.e.l.le turned and peered through the doorway. Inside the room were overstuffed couches upholstered in a faded chrysanthemum print. The couches were positioned in front of a large flat-screen TV. A couple of burly zombies played checkers on a table under the bay window. Several otters sat on the couches eating popcorn and watching cartoons on the TV. Adesina gave a squeal of delight, then ran into the room and hopped up on the couch next to the smallest otter.
Mich.e.l.le looked at Joey and then c.o.c.ked her head. "Really? Do otters even eat popcorn?"
"My head, my rules," Joey replied with a grin that surprised Mich.e.l.le. "Besides, Adesina really loves those otters."