Jesse & Jade #12
It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid...

by Neil Gow

Jesse and Jennie's Apartment

" You're pregnant?"

Jennie throws a cushion across the room at Jesse and tries to pull her bloated stomach in, to no avail. " That has to have been one of the biggest Christmas dinners I have ever had. What did Kiku call that stuff?"

" I don't know, it was some sort of Bahdnesian pudding with figs and honey and ... are you getting that 'I need to workout' feeling?"

Both of them looked at each other silently and then burst out laughing. Jennie pulled herself up in the seat and tucked her legs underneath her. " So, what did you get from the guys downstairs?"

" I..I haven't opened it yet."

" Neither have I. It feels like.."

" I know, clothes. You don't think they will have been that tacky do you? Underwear?" Jesse leans over and picks up the gaudy package that is lying on the floor next to her sofa. The present is wrapped in Batman and Robin paper, with a hanging Martian Manhunter tag.

" On the count of three?" Jennie holds hers up as well." 1..2..3!"

They both tear open the paper packages and sit in stunned silence. Inside each package is a white vest. On the front was a picture of Superman held in the sights of a camera. Underneath was a slogan - 'Watching those that watch over us.'

" I suppose that makes us official hero-spotters then?" Jennie drapes her vest over her body, a smile across her face. Jesse however, is not smiling.

" What's the matter? I think it's kind of sweet?"

" I don't know. Time was when we were the heroes and not the hero-spotters. I was never that major league, but you were there girl."

"Infinity Inc. was not major league!"

" It so was! I mean look at the guys you were with?"

Jennie shakes her head. " Where are they now Jesse? Only Al is still in the game - everyone else is retired...or worse."

Jesse looks down for a moment, forgetting the fates of Brainwave, Fury and the second generation Wildcat and Dr Midnight. " I'm sorry. I just thought you were so ... alive.. when you're dad gave you some of his power. I've never seen you when you've been able to do that."

" You haven't have you? It's strange. I've spent hours wondering what it must be like to be you - being able to say a few words and suddenly be able to call up your powers. The same with Kiku - even Rick only needs a mantra nowadays. Me? Well, I have to have my powers gifted to me."

" Do you miss them that much?"

Jennie's face changes from vague disinterest to annoyance. " How many more times are you going to ask me that? What's your problem Jesse? Yes, I miss my powers! Yes, I miss having the ability to reshape reality to my own will. Yes, I miss the fact that my entire family and ninety-nine percent of my friends have superpowers and are actively using them to aid humanity whilst I am sitting on my butt waiting for my roach of an agent to send me my latest cheque and checking my e-mail four times a day hoping that I get something - anything - back from the studios that were so interested in me a month ago. So, yes Jesse. I do miss my powers!"

" OK. OK. I'm sorry!" Jesse raises her hands to try and placate her housemate. " I don't know, maybe I've been like, reflecting my own problems onto you? I still miss it all - the adrenaline, the danger, the accolades."

" So why don't you go out there and do it? Pull on the spandex and pound the streets for a while? There's bound to be a few kids out there that wouldn't mind having their lives put back on track by a vision in blonde."

" I could, couldn't I?" Jesse runs her tongue around her teeth as she contemplates her decision. " It's not as if I've found anything else to do while we've been here? Mom has gone back home and Kiku is pretty settled into school now. Even Geist seems to have found his groove. What's the worst that could happen?"

" Darkseid?"

" In L.A.?.....nah! He has more class! You know what Jennie? I'm going to do that. Tomorrow, I'm going to get back out there and see whether I can blow the cobwebs off. Maybe I just need to work it out of my system?" She grins and flexes her fingers. "And with that in mind, I think I had better get some beauty sleep. I wouldn't want the adoring public to see me all baggy-eyed now, would I?"

And with that she is away into her bedroom with a flicker of speed force. Jennie sits and shakes her head. "You do that Jesse, you do that." Her hand is closed in a tight fist, hiding her birthmark.

Downstairs in the Lobby

Dwayne pulls in his coat and straightens his collar. Life in the Home for Retired Heroes, as he sometimes called the apartment, has allowed him to do something he has never really managed to do in his life since he found his power. He's had time to think about what he wants to do with his life.

Since he discovered he could do the invisibility-thing, everything has been a bit of a daze really. He sort of became a recluse for a while, unsure about how he could handle his power, and then he got that accidental mail from the people who were organising Blood Pack and he got involved in that. OK, so it was a disappointment when he found out that his invitation was just an administrative error, but he was still part of the show, and that was what really mattered.

When they split up and went their separate ways, he wandered from one place to another until fate finally brought him back to Jennie and Jesse. Stability at last, and a chance to think. So, if there was a strong light, he disappeared - that could be a problem, but not a huge one. It just meant he was better in the dark, at night.

So for once in his life, Dwayne has decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns - he was going to go out and find a Christmas party and see whether he still had the lines from his college days!

He pulls open the door to the apartment block and strides out into the night with romance on his mind.

Jessica's Christmas Party

Kiku and Vince stand at the edge of a crowded former-dining room, swaying slightly to the booming guitar music resonating from the speakers in the corner. This was Jessica's Christmas Bash. In high school circles, it was about as exclusive as you could get and yet still be called 'open'. Kiku and MZ had been invited automatically because 'Byrne talks out of his ass' to quote Jessica's older brother. Vince found it a little more difficult to swing an invitation, until he found out that said older brother had an English paper that was about to get the first recorded 'J' grade in Anaheim Heights history and offered to intervene.

Of course, bearing in mind Kiku's recent history at school parties, everyone was being on their best behaviour. Not one of Jessica's mothers crystal glasses was even chipped, never mind broken and those that had been brave enough to bring beer were sipping it in dark corners.

" This is for me?" Kiku holds the brightly-wrapped present in front of her, turning it over in her hands. Vince shuffles his feet and blushes behind his glasses.

" I didn't quite know what to get for you, you being well, you know?"

" No?"

" Well, like a girl?"

Kiku sighed and rolled her eyes.

" So I just sort of thought was would I want if I was a girl, and then I dropped that idea and I thought of what you would like if you were a guy, and I dropped that idea too and then.. and then..."

" And then?"

" I asked MZ."

Kiku's hands stop in mid-paper rip. "You asked HIM what HE thought I would want as a Christmas gift? Are you insane? Look at him!"

They both turn and look across the room, scanning the vista of the Christmas party they were at and settling on the wildly gyrating figure of MZ, taking up his normal disproportionate area on the impromptu dancefloor. A perfect example of arms, legs, hips and head in complete disassociation.

" He seemed to have a pretty good idea of what you wanted?" Vince takes half a step backwards, his left leg slipping behind the table leg. If the worst comes to the worst, he can always dodge behind the table and get a head start.

Kiku takes a deep breath and rips the paper open. Inside is a plain cardboard box. She glances at Vince and he flashes her a weak and hopeful smile. She pulls the top off the box and inside is a carved wooden figure. "This is a Bahdnesian idol, isn't it? How on Earth did you get one of these?"

" MZ knew a place down near the beach that had one in stock. He said you had mentioned that you were after one for ages."

" But Vince, this must have cost you a fortune?!"

" You know, I thought that too, but the shop wasn't like an antiques shop, it was a record store - which was strange - and they were having a clearance sale...not that I only spend $2 on your gift!"

Vince's back-pedalling is cut short as Kiku throws her arms around his neck and gives him a huge kiss.

" What's that for?" Vince staggers back a step and looks utterly shocked.

Kiku grins. " Just for being you Vince, just for being you. C'mon, lets go outside, where things are a little ... quieter."

" Really?!?"

" Really..."

On the dance floor, MZ lets his eyes flash green and performs a very slick James Brown slide. " I am the Godfather of Luuuurve!"

Outside Jennie and Jesse's Apartment

Rick looks up at the apartment building and takes a step forward, hesitates and then takes two steps backwards. OK..now this is more difficult than he expected. Come on Tyler, get a grip! You are a bona fide second generation metahuman. You've fought some of the nastiest villains you could imagine. You've buried your own father and fought off cancer. So what was the problem?

His self-reflection was broken by Gary throwing his head out of his apartment and screaming at the top of his voice " Up! Up! And Away!" and then hurling a load of balloons into the street. Geek-party, nice.

COME ON RICK! One foot in front of the other. It's really that simple! He strides forward and pushes open the door and leaps up the stairs, three at a time. He reaches the door of Jennie's apartment and stops. Sort hair, check collar, deep breath and knock.

After a moment, Jennie appears at the door. "Yeah? Oh hi Rick! What are you doing here?"

" I thought I might come over and wish you guys a merry Christmas? Can I come in?"

" Yeah, yeah, sure..best keep your voice down though because Jesse's had an early night."

" What? Miss Party Animal early to bed on Christmas night?"

" She says she's going to try doing the super thing again tomorrow."

" Really?"

" Honest."

" Now that's a turn up for the books. I didn't think Jesse was still into that - what with her business and the entire party thing going on."

" You know the score Rick, it's in our blood. You, me, Jesse. We're all part of it whether we like it or not - or does running your own detective agency not put you near enough to the action." Jennie slumps down in a seat and Rick settles opposite her.

" Well, put it this way, the last time I picked up a copy of the Daily Planet, Superman wasn't dealing with one missing person, one suspected adulterer and a kid whose mother is convinced is a member of a cult because she has a Marilyn Manson album in her collection. It pays the bills but it is nowhere near 'the action'"

Jennie laughs. " I suppose so. Did you have a good day? We tried to ring you to invite you around for dinner but we only ever got your voicemail?"

" Cult Kid did a runner this morning, after her mother burned the new hoodie her older brother had bought her. Mother rings me in tears begging me to find her. So I pound the streets and those dark little hideouts that the kids all flock to, and in the end it turns out that Cult Kid had caught a cab over to her grandmother's apartment to cry on a friendly shoulder. So ends the day of Rick Tyler, Professional Childminder!"

" I think we have some leftovers in the refrigerator? Kiku's out at a party tonight and she always comes back hungry. So does MZ for that matter."

" But he's a ..."

" I know, but he tries to fit in with the other kids as much as possible. I caught him talking to Jesse's Mom once about whether he should try to recreate puberty to enhance his school experience. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, the looks on her face!"

Rick grins. " How was your day?"

" We ate, we opened gifts, we had a walk. Kiku fretted about the social whirl she was about to enter and Dwayne is out for the evening hunting some fun. Not too bad really."

" So it's just you and me here now?" Rick tries not to smile, but a sly grin cracks one corner of his mouth.

" Mr Tyler!" Jennie throws a pillow at him. " What would my father say!"

" Oh I don't know, but it would probably be moving, inspirational and heroic. Anyway, I'm sort of glad Jesse is asleep, because I came around to see you really. To give you your gift."

" Me? What about Jesse?"

" Oh I sent her a book through Amazon already. The A-Z of Arkham, 1997 edition. She said it was the only one she was missing."

" That's sweet! So what have you got me? 'Green and Glossy: 101 tips for the perfect emerald scalp'?"

" No, I got you this." Rick holds out a long thing box and Jennie's heart begins to beat a little faster. She takes it and runs a finger over the smooth cover.

" Rick, you shouldn't have.."

" Hey, you don't know what it is yet! Go on, open it?"

Jennie's hands are shaking as she slips the lid off to see a silver chain with a tiny lantern hanging at the end. " Rick?"

" I thought you might appreciate it. When I got over the cancer, Dad got one for me." He fished out the chain around his neck, with a small hourglass on the end. " He said it was a reminder. A reminder that even though we don't do what we used to do, we're still part of it."

" A sort of second generation retirement watch?"

" Yeah, you could say that. Here, let me put it on you." Rick slips the necklace out of it's case and Jennie stands to let him move behind her. She can smell him now and she jumps a little when his hand touches her neck. " There, turn around." She turns with his arms still over her shoulders. " You look beautiful."

" Rick I ..."

Rick leans forward and kisses her lightly on the lips. He whispers " Merry Christmas Jennie Lynn."

She waits for a second and then kisses him back, this time more fervently. " Merry Christmas Rick"

They fall backwards in each others arms onto the sofa.

From the crack of the door of her room, Jesse turns and walks back to her bed, a look of disappointment on her face.

Out on the Street

Dwayne sighs as he walks back towards the apartment. Stupid, stupid fool. Let's just live in the real world for a while, shall we? It's Christmas and the one thing that parties at Christmas tend to have are lots of lights. In Los Angeles of course, the lights have to be bigger and better than anywhere else, so whenever Dwayne stepped towards a party, he disappeared.

Which would have been really helpful if he had wanted to sneak into a party. It would have been the prime move if he was tailing someone inside the party. It would have even been cool if he was some sort of creepy voyeur type and wanted to watch people making out. Thing is, he isn't - he wants to be the one doing the making out!

So he was left dragging his heels in the early hours of the day after Christmas Day, facing up to the fact that he will probably never had a proper relationship with a woman again. Merry freakin' Christmas. Even the girls seemed to have forgotten about the severe limitations of his powers. They sort of just knew when he was there, even when he was invisible. They would just talk to him, somewhere in the aether. He had even walked in on Jennie having a long and rambling moan about her agent to him, when he wasn't even there.

In the distance he can hear music playing - hey, at least someone is having a good time. The music gets louder and louder and then a car hurtles around the corner of the street in front of him. Hairs rise on the back of his neck, something trying to tell him that there is something very wrong about this scene. The car slows a little and through the open passenger side windows he sees two young men, laughing. He also sees the guns.

All his limited experience, all his limited training, everything he has learned over the last year does nothing whatsoever to save him now. Five shots hit him, two in the leg, one in the arm and two in the stomach. Before the pain really hits him, all he can do is see the laughing faces of the kids in the car and think 'This isn't right, I helped Batman!'

The bullets throw him backwards into a garbage can lying at the side of the street, under a street light. The noise of the bullets and the crash of the metal starts a dog barking. Blood bubbles up inside his mouth and he tries to move, or cry out, but he can't. Across the road a man sticks his head out of the window.

" Lousy kids, taking potshots! Doesn't look like there was anyone out there honey.."

Dwayne rolls over and tries to crawl his way along the street. He just has to get around the block and he'll be home. He just has to....

Fade away.

Next Issue: Jesse and Jade #13: Wait and see....