Trial by Fire Read online

  "So do you even own pot holders?"

  "Yeah, of course. My roommate uses them, on the rare occasions that she's home and cooking. And I'm in the habit of using them, if only to avoid arousing suspicion."

  "Right, all those little ways you have to act 'normal' to blend in." Lacy rolled her eyes. She grabbed a pin and started to pin the left leg.

  "I never thought of it that way, but I guess so. Did you feel that way when you first started being able to run super fast?"

  "Yeah." Lacy kept her eyes on her work. "I've felt that way a lot, both about my superpower, and about my gender."

  "I'm sorry to hear that," Elena replied, not sure what else to say. She had a feeling that this had affected Lacy more than it had affected her, so she didn't want to sound dismissive or pretend she could entirely relate.

  "Well, that's why I tend to hang around other queer superheroes now." Lacy glanced up at Elena with a grin as she worked on the right pant leg. "And my job's pretty cool about stuff, too."

  "Where do you work?"

  "I'm a computer animator. I do graphics for video games at Anarchy Studios. I'd been working at one of the big companies when I started my transition three years ago, but despite their corporate policies, they handled it shitily. I had a rough few months of unemployment, but then I got the job at Anarchy. They're not perfect, but they're a lot better. Plus, they have a number of women on the team, unlike the last place I worked."

  "That's really cool. I'm glad your new employer is good." Elena felt a sympathetic pang at hearing that Lacy's last job had handled her transition poorly, but didn't feel like she should comment on it.

  "Yeah, they're great, and I love what I do." Lacy stuck in one last pin, tugged slightly at the pant bottoms, and, apparently satisfied, got to her feet. "All set with this! You can go take them off now."

  Elena worried slightly that Lacy would turn around and head out again now that the adjustments were done. However, when she returned in her regular clothes, costume slung over one arm, Lacy had put away her pincushion, but still had her laptop out.

  "Awesome, thanks." Lacy took the costume from Elena and put it back into the duffel bag. "Hey, have you watched any of the superhero documentaries?"

  "No," Elena replied. "Well, maybe one about the phenomenon, when I was in high school. I don't remember what it was called. I saw it with my parents."

  "Probably one of the shitty older ones, then. There haven't been a lot of documentaries made about it, in general, but a few years ago, an independent documentary about the Heroic Fraternity was released. And unlike any others I've seen, or even heard of, it actually has nuance. It's not just depicting them as national heroes, but also not taking the anti-superhero propaganda line that some countries do."

  "Sounds interesting."

  "Yeah. It's called Citizens. I have it on my laptop, if you want to watch it. Or I could put it onto a flash drive for you."

  "I'd love to watch it now, actually."

  Elena sat down on the sofa close to Lacy. The movie turned out to be just as interesting as Lacy promised. It delved into a history of superheroes in the United States, including some of its more shameful moments, from the Chinatown Riots in the 1930s to the dissolution of the Windy City Knights in 2002. There was a particular focus on immigration, race, and citizenship, as the title suggested. Gender came up as well, but LGBT issues didn't; Elena was slightly disappointed, but not surprised. She did enjoy the superhero interviews included in the film, both with retired superheroes and with Gekko, a hero active in N.Y.C. who chose not to be affiliated with the Heroic Fraternity, and Sprite, a current Heroic Fraternity hero.

  "What year was this produced?" Elena asked as the credits began.

  "2014. It caused a bit of fuss when it was released, but not as much as it could have since it wasn't a major motion picture. Just went to independent little theaters, that sort of thing. The Heroic Fraternity had no official position on it, but they clearly weren't happy. They censured Sprite for being interviewed without permission from them."

  "Really? That's harsh."

  "She's still active to this day. I think she knew she could do it because she's one of the oldest members of the organization. She joined back in 1980."

  Elena started to say how impressed she was that Sprite was still active after close to forty years, but her cell phone began to buzz in her pocket.

  "Let me see—oh, it's my mom, so I should take this." Elena got to her feet.

  "Sure," Lacy said, sounding unconcerned. "No problem."

  Elena hit the accept button as she walked to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Her mother was chatty as always, but Elena, not wanting to keep Lacy waiting for long, kept her responses brief and did her best to wrap up as soon as she could.

  "Sorry about that," Elena said as she came back into the living room ten minutes later. "That was what my mom considers a 'short' phone call. She wants me to come visit her and my stepdad for her birthday in September."

  "Do you want to?" Lacy asked.

  "I do, but I don't like travel that much." Elena returned to her spot on the couch, close enough to Lacy that their thighs touched. Lacy stretched her arm back around the couch, and Elena leaned in towards her slightly. The signals so far were subtle, but the longer they spent together, the more Elena suspected her interest in Lacy was mutual. "I was carted back and forth enough when I was growing up, since my mom moved out to New York City when I was seven and my papa stayed in San Francisco."

  "Did they get divorced when you were young?" Lacy asked. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she hastened to add.

  "I'm fine with talking about it." Elena reached out and squeezed Lacy's knee. She withdrew a moment later, unsure if that had been a bit much, but Lacy reached out, took her hand, and placed it back on her leg. Well, that was definitely a good sign. Elena smiled and continued. "They separated when I was three and divorced three years later. Looking back, they were smiling in all the pictures from their wedding until I was a toddler, and my relatives on both sides seemed surprised by the separation. My mother would never talk about it, except for saying that my papa was reckless. She always said it with such venom too. She's not a nasty person, and I've never known her to hate anyone other than my papa."

  "Reckless? Any idea what she meant by that?"

  Elena hesitated for a moment. She had never explicitly talked about this before, though she hadn't talked much about having superpowers at all, really. The only person she'd told about her superpowers, an ex-girlfriend, was no longer on speaking terms with her, and Elena still occasionally worried about the fact that she knew.

  Lacy, however, also had superpowers. And even though Elena hadn't known her very long, she trusted her.

  "I think there was some sort of accident, when I was young," Elena said, and exhaled. "The more I think about it, the more I suspect it's the reason I have superpowers. And my papa's reaction when I came out to him as a superhero fits with that, too. He didn't seem shocked or upset, just relieved."

  "That's an unusual reaction," Lacy agreed. "At Georgio's, you said your power manifested when you were a teen, but you didn't say anything about the origin of it. I know it can happen all sorts of weird ways, some of which we've figured out, and some of which we haven't."

  "Yeah, I don't know for sure. But I know my papa has always been weirdly quiet about the job he had when I was little." She hadn't talked about this, and she usually didn't think about it. Telling Lacy was easier than she expected, but still stirred up thoughts and emotions she hadn't dealt with in a long time. "He never said anything about it. All he said to me was that he quit when I was three, then was unemployed for over a year before he started teaching entry-level biology at City College. He's been there since."

  "What made you think it had anything to do with your superpower?"

  "When I was an older teen and did some snooping around, I found a picture of him holding me in his arms outside a lab, with a ridi
culously oversized pair of goggles on me." The corners of Elena's mouth twitched, but she felt sad thinking back to it. That one day had changed her parents' relationship irreversibly, and even though she had only been a small child, she couldn't help but feel a sliver of irrational guilt. "I was a toddler at the time, so it couldn't have been long before he quit."

  Lacy nodded, and Elena continued.

  "His job was at some start-up science firm called Benthic Solutions. They went under a few years later. There wasn't a lot on their website, but it looks like they worked with extremophiles to find 'unique solutions to the limitations of our biological composition' to 'mark the next chapter in human achievement.' They did a lot of research on extremophiles and the biological processes and make-up that made their existence possible."

  "Extremophiles?"

  "They're organisms that live in extreme conditions, such as thermophiles, who live in levels of heat that exceed the boiling point of water."

  "Wow." Lacy looked genuinely impressed. "So you think maybe you got exposed to some sort of extremophile, or a science experiment based off of them? It's great that you got a superpower out of it and not some awful condition—unless you did also get some awful condition, in which case at least then there's a consolation prize?"

  "None that I know of, but it's possible there is some sneaky negative effect I don't know about yet." It was easier to talk about the resulting superpower than think about the incident itself, and Elena relaxed the muscles in her shoulders that she hadn't realized she'd been tensing. "That's why I'm strict about keeping shape and going to the doctor. Well, that, and my superpower won't do me much good if I can't keep up with the rest of you."

  "I can run twice as fast as a cheetah," Lacy said teasingly. "There's no keeping up with me. But it's sweet of you to try."

  Elena laughed and Lacy joined in, placing a hand on top of hers. Cozy warmth enveloped Elena at Lacy's touch, and Elena's desire to keep Lacy around for a while longer tonight intensified.

  "I know it's getting later in the evening, but would you like to stay for dinner?" Elena asked.

  "Absolutely." Lacy squeezed Elena's hand. "I'll never turn down free food, especially if that means I get to spend more time with you."

  Elena glowed internally. "Great. I had been planning to make seafood stew this weekend, so I could make it tonight, as long as you like seafood and cream?"

  "I'll eat almost anything," Lacy replied. "Seafood stew sounds great. Can I help out?"

  "If you'd like to, but please don't feel like you have to."

  "I just said I'm staying to spend more time with you!" Lacy pointed out. Elena ran her thumb along the side of Lacy's hand, and her heart fluttered as Lacy smiled. "Really, put me to work chopping vegetables or whatever you need, as long as I can still see your lovely face."

  "Sure, I can have you chop onions and peppers," Elena said. She felt slightly shy, but didn't want to ignore Lacy's compliment. "And thanks."

  The two of them made a good team. Lacy worked quickly and neatly, slicing the onion and bell pepper into thin strips while Elena gathered the other ingredients and heated up some oil in a large saucepan. When Lacy came over to put the vegetables in, she touched Elena's shoulder as she asked what she could do next. The gesture made Elena glow internally, and that wonderful, brief touch lingered in her mind as she set Lacy to work grating carrots. Elena measured garlic and paprika, but her mind was so preoccupied with Lacy that she almost used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon. She caught herself just in time.

  A few minutes later, Elena thought with satisfaction, I could get used to this, as she measured out fish stock. The warm kitchen smelled wonderfully of the beginnings of stew, and with Lacy here, currently chopping parsley and tomatoes, Elena's apartment felt more like a home. After adding chardonnay into the broth as well, Elena poured some extra into glasses for each of them.

  "This wasn't that hard, but it already smells tasty," Lacy remarked, closing her eyes for a moment as she leaned in to smell the simmering soup. "And thank you," she said as she stepped back to accept the glass of wine from Elena.

  "I just need to add the tilapia, clams, and shrimp," Elena said before trying the chardonnay. It was dry with a touch of apple and oak, vibrant but not overwhelming.

  "Oh, how is it?" Lacy took a sip of her own glass and nodded approvingly. "Very good, apparently. So that's it for ingredients?"

  "There's cream, too, but it goes in at the end." Elena glanced at the pot; it'd be ready soon. She set her glass down and went to the fridge to grab the two white-papered packages of seafood and bag of frozen shrimp. She was grateful she'd bought shelled and deveined shrimp, even if they weren't as fresh as the other ingredients. Her mother would've been horrified, but unlike her mother, there was only so far Elena would go to prioritize quality over pragmatism.

  "Do you usually have a big production like this for cooking?" Lacy leaned back against the counter, not far from the stove, as she watched Elena rip open the paper to grab the fish inside.

  "Once or twice a week," Elena replied. "I don't know how to make a lot of complicated dishes, other than those I picked up from my mom."

  "Did you learn this stew from her?"

  "Yeah, she always called it caldillo de congrio. When she was growing up, her mother made it with conger eel, but you can't find it around here, so she'd just use whatever white fish was on sale."

  "Where did she grow up?"

  "She and my papa are both immigrants from Chile."

  "Were you born there too?"

  "No, they both moved here in the mid-1980s, and met and got married after they were in the United States."

  "Oh, cool. My mother moved to the U.S. from the Philippines around the same time, but my father is half-Filipino, half-white and raised in Montana. My grandfather was in the military." Lacy made a displeased face.

  The bubble of the soup grew steadily more demanding, so Elena turned down the heat and dumped in the clams. "Oh?"

  "Yeah." Lacy shrugged. "I don't think about them much, because I don't talk to them anymore."

  "I'm sorry to hear that." Elena wasn't sure what else to say as she carefully slid the fish fillets into the pot. She was curious to know more about Lacy, but on the other hand, she didn't want to bring up anything upsetting.

  "I'm not." Lacy drank more wine. "They weren't bad people, but they were clear that they wanted a son, not a daughter. They weren't great to my little sister either, but at least she was female-assigned at birth. I wasn't close to them anyway, not by the time I started transitioning."

  "That's really hard." Elena added some frozen shrimp to the pot and put the rest of the bag back in the freezer.

  "It is, but I don't dwell on it. I know I'm not the only one with crappy relatives. Has your family ever hassled you about your orientation?"

  "My mom hasn't been very good about accepting me as gay—though not as bad as my stepfather—and some of her relatives are just downright nasty about it. It could be a lot worse, of course, but any family rejection can be hard."

  Elena washed her hands and turned around to see Lacy holding out her wine glass.

  "Well, why waste our time lamenting over shitty family?" Lacy asked. "I'm much more concerned about spending time with people who like me for who I actually am."

  "Good point," Elena said as she took her glass and had another sip.

  "Toast to good friends and chosen family?" Lacy suggested.

  "To good friends and chosen family," Elena agreed, clinking her glass against Lacy's.

  The stew turned out as delicious as always, cream and egg yolk at the end giving it a rich, silky texture. Elena served it with warmed rolls and another bottle of wine. They ate it at the small kitchen table, the conversation drifting from college stories to favorite wines to alcohol in general.

  "Do you usually drink white wine?" Lacy asked. "Or did you just purchase it because it went with the stew?"

  "I'm partial to whites," Elena said. The bubbly feeling of her
second glass of wine was flowing through her veins, and words poured out of her more easily. "My papa always had good Chilean wine, and would let me drink at home as soon as I turned sixteen. My mother, on the other hand, didn't know about that, and my stepfather insisted I abstain until I was twenty-one. Of course I drank in college, but the two of them had no idea. So the first time I went to visit them after my twenty-first birthday, my mom made me this stew, actually, but the wine she used in it was terrible. Like, two-buck-chuck level of bad. So my stepfather makes some fuss about this being my first drink of alcohol at home, and my mom poured the rest of the wine into his glass—and then opened up another bottle of this stuff to pour me some!

  "I could barely drink it, it was so bad. It was chardonnay, but it tasted like dust and old wood, with undertones of basement. So my stepfather had no idea, and he tells me that alcohol is harsh, but once I'm more mature, I'll like it. It was so hard not to tell him no, I love wine, but this is garbage! I had no idea they were drinking such awful wine. Now I just don't drink with them at all, to avoid that."

  They both laughed.

  "Would you like to watch another movie?" Lacy asked. "I want to finish my glass of wine, but I don't want to drive home until I'm completely sober."

  "Sure, that would be really nice."

  Elena and Lacy ended up cuddled up on the couch together, watching an action movie on Lacy's laptop. By the time it was over, Elena's buzz was wearing off, but she and Lacy were still snug against each other and holding hands. She tried not to get ahead of herself, but she found herself wondering if they would cuddle again next time they saw each other. She hoped so.

  "I've been thinking about the meeting the other night," Elena said as the movie credits rolled. "Can you tell me more about the patrols Kinesis mentioned? Do we have an established protocol? Are they a regular thing?"

  "Oh, just doing patrols around areas where we think there might be problems. I've never really supported them. The chances that you'll randomly come across a crime in progress—even in supposedly high-crime areas—are really low."