Jesse & Jade #2

" Don't do it!" Kiku waves the plastic glass above her head.

" To protect the world from devastation.."

" To unite all peoples within our nation.."

" To denounce the evils of truth and love.."

" To extend our reach to the stars above.."

"I'm Jesse!"

"I'm Jade!"

" Yeah, yeah, we're Team Rocket and that makes me Meowth. Thanks girls!" Kiku hurls an empty beaker across the breakfast bar at the ridiculously posed pair of 'resting' superheroines that were Jade and Jesse Quick.

" Oh but that Pikachu in your room is so cute!" Jade doubles up laughing.

" Yeah? At least I wasn't dumped by Green Lantern!" Kiku retaliates.

" Low blow! Low blow! Time out girls, before things get out of hand!" Jesse stands between the two of them as Jade glares at Kiku, her clenched fists at her side.

" OK! OK! I'm sorry. Geez, when you said not the mention the 'K' word I didn't think you were that serious!" Kiku backs up a little and raises her hands. " Sorry!"

" OK, just don't go there again. You're too young to understand .." Jade's voice trails off as the 'Don't patronize the teenager!' alarms go off in her mind.

" Too young eh? I suppose I was too young when I was orphaned as well? Or too young when I was thrown out onto the streets? 'Hey' I said, 'don't do that to me, cos I'm too young!'" Kiku storms out of the apartment dragging her huge shoulder-bag behind her. She slams the door before Jenny can apologize.

"Should I go after her?" Guilt is painted all over Jenny's face.

Jesse waves her hand. " No. It's her first day at school and she's going to get enough hassle today as it is. Knowing Kiku it's probably just what she needs to set her up for the day. So, apart from alienating our other flatmate, what else have you got planned for today?"

" Oh, you know. A trip up to Hollywood, a meeting with a producer, maybe a screentest..." Jenny grins.

" For real?"

" Hell yeah! You didn't honestly think I was coming here without having one or two irons in the fire, did you? I phoned one of my old contacts and he had a word with someone doing a show and voila I'm in line for a casting call. It's some remake of a 40s kids pulp science fiction thing, like Flash Gordon? They want to talk to me about being the 'beautiful alien princess.'"

" And of course it doesn't hurt that the kids that were weaned on the repeats in the 60s and 70s now have your picture pinned on the inside of their lockers and kids of their own to take as well?"

" Oooh! Spot the cynical business woman! I'm sure that thought never crossed their mind. And speaking of business women, what are you doing today? Another appointment with Mr. Beach and the Rays?"

" Actually, I'm going down to Chinatown to see someone about the catering for the party. I was thinking of going oriental for the buffet."

" Not Thai - it's so passe!"

" No, I was thinking Vietnamese, or maybe even Mongolian?"

" Vietnamese, yes - Rancid Yak Butter I can do without. Anyway, I'm late already. See you later!" Jade stuffs a bagel into her mouth as she rushes out. Jesse yawns and pads across the apartment.

Kiku hurries across the campus towards the main building of Anaheim Heights High School, knowing how stupid she would look if she was late on her first day. Jesse had helped her sort out the paperwork and such like for the school last week, so she had her timetable and all the other gibberish that accompanied a new school. It was still early enough on in the school year for her to be able to catch-up and her assessments had been pretty good so she had only been dropped one year to the 10th grade. There were still some stragglers milling in the strange corridors when as she burst through the doors, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

" Yes? Can I help?" A rather stern-looking old woman looked down at her over half-moon glasses.

" I..I..<gasp> I'm new <gasp> and I don't know where I'm supposed to <pant> be.." Kiku decided that she really needed to do more exercise.

" Oh, you're the new girl? That explains everything! My name is Mrs. Goodwin, the school secretary. I remember now, yes, I processed some of your forms. Let me look at your timetable?"

Kiku surrendered the crumpled piece of paper and took some time to look around her new school. Lockers, Halloween dance banners, noticeboards, seniors cruising the corridors - yes, it's just like she expected it to be.

" You'll be in room 4b - that's English with your tutor, Mr. Bronson. I'll take you now?" The old woman puts a rather firm hand on Kiku's shoulder and leads her through the corridors to the classroom. She raps on the door and then opens it. " Mr. Bronson? This is your new student, Kiku Thunder." There is a ripple of giggles from the other students in the class as Kiku enters. She had seen enough cable in her time to know what to expect - the cliques, the bitchy girls, the jocks. They were all there - a cross-section of American youth, all staring at her and making up their minds whether to like her, ignore her or hate her.

Where was the Injustice Society when you needed it?

Jenny strides along the street with the confidence of someone who has seen the end of the Universe and come back again for more. She had forgotten what the west coast life was like - the sun, the palms, the sun, the beaches - did she mention the sun? She had been a little worried as to what to wear for the meeting - normal fashion trends don't count for people with green skin - but she had settled on a batik sarong and a loose back vest top. It was too hot for anything else. She had added a pair of rather nice Raybans and felt just the right side of superstar for her confidence to be sky-high.

Lets face it though, it would have to be if she was going to get this part. She wasn't really an actress but the skin and the reputation would have to count for something, surely? She stopped and looked at the back of the business card, where she had scrawled the address where the meeting was taking place. 237 West Brenkley? This is it? Jenny feels herself developing that old 'I told you so' feeling as she looks the rather grimy office building up and down. Hollywood, this is not!

Jesse pulls on her sneakers and prepares to head out into the city to finalize the preparations for the party. She had set the date a week from today and she was thrilled with the response she had received so far. It would appear that between her business contacts and Jenny's old LA contacts they would have quite a gathering. The caterers had been booked but she still needed to have a tasting of some of their more exotic seafood dishes, and she had decided that she wanted a band to play - a string quartet would be nice - so she had to go and talk to someone about booking them. After that, a spot of lunch in that divine café she had found ( the one with the Algerian waiter with the ponytail..) and then she fancied a quick run. Maybe she could pop over to San Francisco and see what's happening there?

Her thoughts are interrupted by a crash from the apartment downstairs. What the heck? There was no-one down there! Jesse doesn't even bother reciting her speed mantra, she just trots out of the penthouse and down the stairs.

The lower apartment had been a godsend. She had wanted it as a gym, but it was a great crash-space for whoever was feeling the most stressed at the time. Sometimes she was down here (assaulting the state-of-the-art stereo with her favorite tunes...), sometimes it was Jennie (obscure European dance music) and more often than not it had been Kiku ( the very best the Backstreet Boys have to offer.) Of course, because it wasn't somewhere that they were in all of the time, it tended to be less pristine than the penthouse. Indeed, as she moved through the door she had to step over the evidence of Kiku's near addiction to Big Macs.

As Jesse looks around the room, it's obvious what the crash was caused by - a large pile of books that Jade had been thumbing through had fallen off the table onto some empty coke bottles. Jesse shakes her head - she really is going to have to have a strong word with Kiku! She was sure that she had told her to draw the blinds when the apartment wasn't in use. There were too many weirdoes around here with high-powered telescopes that would love a birds-eye view of three young women at play. Obviously the last time she was down here she had forgotten. Jesse shrugged - what the hey! She didn't pay for an apartment like this for nothing! The sun in the morning lit the place up beautifully.

Jesse had an appointment to keep so she just scooped up the books and dumped them on one of the sofas. As she left she very carefully locked the door. You can't be too carefully, even in a place like this.

As the key turns in the last lock, a shadowy figure moves out of the brilliant sunlight and slumps down onto the sofa. Geist really hopes she hasn't lost his place...*

( * Geist was a colleague of Jade's in the Blood Pack. Sadly his inclusion on the team was a clerical error because his ability to become invisible in bright light was counted as powerful enough.)

Jennie looks over the script and grins. "So this is all you need me to do?"

The man sitting across the table from her is a typical small-budget producer, sleazy, lecherous and a stranger to the laws of personal hygiene, but Jennie was used to that. She had been forced to deal with more than enough of these men in her time and she was quite good at it. " Yep, that's about it. You'll appear in the last part of the movie as the daughter of the Emperor Zang. Knowing that the hero will fall in love with you as soon as he sees you, he will play on the fact and threaten to kill you, only for you to be rescued. This is the only set of scenes we've got to shoot and then it's release. We've already got a screening set up."

" So it's a basic chainmail bikini bit part, with a bit of swooning, a swing and a hearty kiss at the end? I assume we're working from the school of minimalist costume design?" Jade laughed.

" You've worked in this town before?"

" Just a bit. So why would you want me? You've offered me the part without even so much as a screen test. What gives?" She folds her hands in her lap and fiddles with a tassel on her sarong.

" OK, you've got me - it's a budget thing. We had a girl to play the role but she couldn't handle the make-up and to be honest it's damned hard to do the all-over bodypaint thing - have you seen the X-Men? Mystique? Yeah right! So the bosses wanted me to chase you. We've seen your shots and your tapes and you've obviously got the right attributes..."

" I assume you mean my easy-in to the adult remake of the Wizard of Oz Emerald City special and nothing else??"

" Would I - so are you in?" The man grins back at her.

Jennie looks at the rather generous offer. " One last thing, who are the stars of the show?"

" The lead is Brett Baldwin, there's you - of course - and Zang is being played by an English actor, Lawrence Llewelynn." He holds out a picture of the man, easily in his late 60s, dressed as an intergalactic despot, set off by a dashing monocle.

Jennie looks closer. No, it couldn't be. I mean, how many old men wear monocles??!

Kiku opens her locker and tries to fathom why she has been given one. She looks up and down the hall and sees at least three people that she just knows could pick the lock in less time than it took to twist in the combination - and that doesn't include herself. That fact alone doesn't fill her with glee. Of course, the fact that she doesn't actually *have* anything to put in it is beside the point. It's a high school ritual and she's just bought into the game!

" Hey, Thunder. What sort of a name is that?" One of the big ox-like jocks that sort of 'existed' at the back of the class was grunting in her direction. His friends grunt in unison. Formation ignorance - nice!

Kiku ignores them and continues wondering about the logic behind lockers. Maybe if she climbed in and crawled far enough she'd... no, it didn't work - 'The Lion, The Witch and the Locker'.

"Hey, I was talking to you!" The ringleader digs a finger into her arm, leaving a red mark in her dark skin. " I ain't never had one of these before!" His friends whoop and holler their amusement. Kiku looks around for help but suddenly all of the other students have lost the will to intervene.

" Look, just back off, OK? I don't want any trouble.." Kiku tries to look convincing but inside she knows that the odds of her getting out of this trouble free are ... minimal.

" Oh sweetcakes, I don't want to be any trouble. That's the last thing on my mind." The goon runs his hand down the side of her face, like she was an animal. Kiku snaps and slams her right knee into his groin. His cheeks puff out and his eyes bulge as he grasps his tender abdomen and falls slowly into the locker. " B..it..ch"

Kiku turns and runs from the pursuing jock-mob, dragging her cumbersome bag behind her. Oh what a great way to start off your American high school career! Suddenly she feels a hand grasp her arm and she is yanked from her flight and into a janitors closet. The herd of football obsessed testosterone plough past it.

Kiku spins around in the half light and comes face to face with a boy, about her age, wearing s baggy black t-shirt and black jeans. His hair is disheveled and his wireframe glasses are perched on a rather sharp nose.

"Hi"

"Uhmmm... Hi?" Kiku looks around to see just what else might be going to happen to her.

" I'm sorry, I'm Vince ... I was the new kid until you arrived and well, you've seen that episode of 'Recess'?? It's all true.." The boy blushes slightly.

" Pardon? Recess? Thanks and all for rescuing me from them, but I don't really know what you're talking about. I've got a class to get to, so like.. bye?" and with that Kiku ducks her head out of the closet to check the coast is clear and leaves.

Vince just looks after her, his eyes entranced, until a broom swings down and smacks him on the head.

Jesse looks around and smiles as she lays out on the sofa. Both apartments are clean and tidy, just like she likes them. She took Jennies advice and used just a little superspeed to get things done - no use being a martyr to your convictions amid that mess. Mr. Chen, a very nice and amiable man, had confirmed the catering for the party at the weekend and the price she had negotiated was very reasonable. Kiku was due back from school soon and Jennie had phoned her to tell her that she was going to be in late - something about seeing a costume designer about a tail - which she assumed was a good sign.

Jessie finishes the last drop of her fruit juice and stretches out. This move was proving to be the best thing she could have done. What could possibly go wrong?

The doorbell rings.

" Use your key Kiku! That's what it's for!"

The doorbell rings again.

"Kiku!!!"

The doorbell rings again, and this time with annoyed repetition.

Jessie storms across the room, furious at Kiku for making her get up " I'm telling you, Ms Thunder, I'm not going to stand for this I...." She opens the door and her face goes white.

" Hi Jessie, hon!"

" Mom???"

Congratulations to Gary Dreslinski for suggesting the lettercol title - look for the dread Mr. D turning up as a neighbour in the next issue. Also,I promise that soon there might actually be something vaguely superheroic in this title..sooner or later anyway <g>

Stay slinky, Neil