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“Try this one.” Sarah held up another crystal.
We went through four until finally a crystal warmed as I touched it. “Got it. Now I’m in business.”
The delay had been enough to let the laser finish its evil work. One entire side of the booth suddenly split apart and fell straight down toward the crowd thirty feet below. The glass would become a guillotine unless I stopped it.
Amid rising screams, I concentrated on slowing the glass down. Not the people. They must be free to move out of harm’s way.
Sarah was on it. She used her most authoritative voice, a loud, deep tone, while holding up her cop ID and running toward the falling glass. “Police. Move away NOW!”
Ardis ran after her, to pull her away from the danger zone. My hand burned as I pushed the jewel to keep the entire glass box intact, even as the lasers continued their evil work. Another sheet of glass began a slow drift downward, floating horizontally back and forth as if it were a feather, looking peaceful and pretty. The sheet hit the ground with an explosive noise and shattered, spraying deadly shards of glass into the air.
Epic fail for the Dimensional Diamond. The sheet of glass could have killed someone. I wasn’t near enough to be struck by the flying shards, but others were. The screams intensified. Someone might have been seriously injured.
All my effort went to controlling the glass. Sarah had run headlong toward the danger zone. “Sarah,” I cried, “Get back.” Not that she could hear me with all the noise of people screaming.
Up on the mezzanine level, they’d finally realized their danger and run for it. Max looked down from a solid part of the floor and saw Sarah controlling the crowd. Did he see me standing farther back, rubbing a crystal? Did it matter?
Many bystanders must have tweeted the excitement, because staff on Segways began to converge near the disaster. Hopefully they saw the glass and stopped short of it. One more huge sheet of delaminated glass, the third side of the projected overhanging box, fell to what was now an empty area below. I urged the jewel to speed up the aging of the glass. Instead of creating sharp pieces as it landed, the glass sped through its natural life cycle as it shattered, becoming harmless rounded pieces. No more bystanders were at risk of the glass injuring them.
My hand hurt again, a lot. I dropped the jewel. The Dimensional Diamond was showing signs of fatigue, as was I. I stumbled to a side wall of the concourse, needing the support. My hand felt burnt, even through the glove and a layer of silicone. Why not? Comic book science, such as it was, ruled the diamond’s capabilities and attributes. Ordinary silicone, safe to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, didn’t stand a chance against the Dimensional Diamond’s weird science.
I leaned my head back against the wall and wiped the sweat off my brow with my good hand. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t keep this superheroine thing going forever. I was a mere mortal.
When I opened my eyes again, Roland had found me. From the sympathetic expression on his face, he had an inkling of how drained I felt. “You need a break.”
I said, “It’s just one damn thing after another.”
“Come on, I’ll take you to the green room.”
“Sarah and Ardis are here, too.”
Roland looked where I’d pointed. He used his walkie-talkie and soon all three of us glamour girls were seated in a golf cart taking us to the green room. I was glad of a rest. I let Roland huddle with Ardis to determine how the laser had been utilized. He could consult with his security force later to find the exact spot from which it had been deployed. Once we were in the green room, I tossed all the fake jewels on a table. That joke had laid an egg.
Sarah and Ardis picked at some food, but then decided to go back out to the show floor and stand in line to get autographs from Max Schwartz. Sarah winked. “He’s fine.”
“Maybe we’ll catch up at the ballpark later?” I asked.
“Not sure,” Ardis said. “I promised I’d help sell beadwork this afternoon.”
“I might go. I’m a King’s Strategy fan,” Sarah said. “Catch you later.” She waved goodbye. “Thanks for lunch, Rolly.”
Roland winced. He hated nicknames. Odd coming from a guy who knew a gazillion nicknames for every one of his favorite comic book characters.
I finally revived after eating some leftover cake from the CP seventy-fifth anniversary party. Day-old cake, yum. A soda or two. A little caffeine goes a long way. I couldn’t remember having breakfast. Roland coaxed me to eat some of the six-foot hero sandwich.
Once Sarah and Ardis left, Roland dragged a chair over to sit in front of me, while he wolfed down a hefty slice from the sandwich. “What did you do about 1977?”
I recited every detail I remembered from my visit to the classic old comic book con, paying special attention to descriptions of the people involved in the fistfight.
Roland was ecstatic. “Wow. Just... wow. You really went back in time?” His eyes sparkled with his excitement. “That is so awesome.”
“I don’t know who the other man was. I could draw him if I had my pad, but he’d be old by now. Howard Hogarth was already middle aged.” My shoulders slumped. “Meanwhile, we’re still drawing a blank about Mistress Miraculous. Although, I think she’s lost interest in the exhibition hall,” I said.
“Agreed. She’s done it twice, and we have the security on that so tight there’s no way she could do it again.”
“She could hire a plane to drop a bomb on the convention center.”
“A bit extreme, don’t you think? Everything that’s happened so far has threatened people, but very few have been seriously hurt.”
“She doesn’t mean to hurt people?” I said, with plenty of sarcasm in my voice. “If even one person loses his eyesight from that glass, she’s a criminal.”
We ran through our short list of suspects. I didn’t include Eric. He’d already gotten his revenge. Or Roland himself. He wasn’t a devious sort. “I still don’t think Jean Westover has anything to do with it. She’s nice. Nice people don’t try to harm crowds of innocent people.”
“The history of the world says otherwise, but let’s say you’re right. Who are we left with?”
“People like Howard Hogarth. What’s he doing here? Why is he always around?”
“He’s a sad old fellow. Hard to imagine that he’s hiding a festering sense of ill-usage. I don’t know much about him. He used to be a letterer. He attends comicons regularly, has for years.”
“What’s the next biggest thing happening, the culmination of the big events?”
“The extravaganza celebrating King’s Strategy, with the first episode preview at Comiskey Park.”
“How can I possibly keep a lid on trouble in a venue that huge?”
“The Dimensional Diamond gives you reach. If trouble happens you can react faster than I and my crew can. Plus, I’ll give you a GPS-powered tracker to wear. We can stay in touch in the vast new stadium.”
Roland pulled out a wristwatch.
I made a face. “You’re kidding. Does it signal a superhero?”
“The latest thing. Straight out of Dick Tracy. You know, the old newspaper strip.”
When he secured the watch on my wrist, his fingers touched my skin gently. Roland had always been a gentle lover. He was a sweet guy.
He stroked the soft skin of my inner wrist. I stared at his fingers, then at his face. His expression was...hopeful?
Ignoring the other people in the green room, he leaned in and put his lips on mine.
I pulled back, shaking my head. “No.”
“He’s the wrong man for you,” he said. “Come back to me.”
“Oh, Roland,” I said, my face crumpling in pain. Tears sprang into my eyes. Pain for him, and for me. “We can’t turn back time.”
“Why not?” His compact body crowded mine. Roland was suddenly the man, not the fanboy, the man who had wanted to marry me.
A memory of sweet nights and soft sighs swept over me. We’d been good together, once upon a time.
I was left open-mouthed as he stood. “Think about it,” he said, and walked away.