#13 - "Heroes for Hire"

Whitney had just stormed into her apartment, looking very annoyed at Jim Sculley. "James, I have been more than patient, but this is beginning to wear thin."

"What do you mean, Whitney?" Jim suspected what she was getting at, but didn't want to encourage her just in case she was wrong.

"You know what I mean! When were you going to tell me about Spectrum?"

"What do you want me to tell you about Spectrum?", Jim said simply. Whitney bit her lip for a moment and folded her arms, trying to hold in her emotions. Jim sighed for a moment. He knew that there was no getting away from the truth. He had hoped that this wouldn't have happened so soon but Whitney was forcing the issue. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"What do I want to know?! How could you hide something like this from me?!" Whitney was gesturing wildly as she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me that you were Spectrum?"

"I wasn't sure I was at first."

"Wasn't sure you were at first, what?"

"At first I wasn't sure I was Spectrum," Jim tried to explain, trying to find the words. "Once I did know, I wasn't looking forward to telling you..."

"I bet not," she interrupted.

"...considering his past." This certainly wasn't going as Jim had hoped. He had played the scene where he told Whitney his secret over and over in his mind. This was one of those instances that being a writer was a benefit. It was all planned out in his head. Unfortunately, Whitney was not following the script.

Whitney touched her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, considering her words. "Damn it, Jim, I thought you changed... and here we are back where we were in the first place."

"I just wanted to wait until Spectrum's reputation had improved," Jim explained in a calm voice. Getting excited surely was not going to help the situation. "Until I was more sure of myself. I had planned on telling you."

"When, James, when?"

"When the time was right."

"And in the meantime, we just go on living some kind of masquerade." Whitney turned away from him. "I guess I thought things were different this time."

"They are different this time." Jim just couldn't believe what was going on. Why couldn't she see that he hid this to protect her? If she would only listen to reason. "Would you have felt better if I told you right away? That you had a suspected criminal in your apartment?"

"I don't know how I feel now," Whitney said softly. "I think I need to spend some time alone."

"I'll leave if you want me to," Jim said, "but at least give me a chance to tell you the whole story."

"Why bother?", she said sarcastically. "You might as well just wait until it's more convenient."

Jim sighed again. "This is good. First you want me to tell you, now you don't."

"I don't know what I want." She walked slowly over to a couch and sat down, folding her arms.

Jim sat down next to her. She turned her head so as to not look directly at him. "Now you know how I felt. Other than the Spectrum part, I've truthfully told you everything. I don't know what happened while I was gone, but I do know that I didn't have these powers before I disappeared."

"We're not talking about when you were gone. I already accepted that part," Whitney got up from the couch, and faced Jim, looming over him. "You've been happily playing this hero game for almost three weeks now."

"Because I wanted to wait, so you didn't think I was a criminal."

"Okay, so now I don't think you're a criminal, James. I just think you're inconsiderate. You could have explained it to me, if you really trusted me," Whitney walked away again, then turned back. "You were worried that I would misjudge you and now that seems to be exactly what has happened."

After a long pause, Jim said, "Looks like I screwed up again."

"Big revelation."

"You want me to leave?"

"I think that would be a good idea." Whitney looked away and clenched her teeth, trying not to show any more emotion.

"If that's what you want." Jim got up and walked into the guestroom. He numbly picked up the phone and called for a cab. There was clearly no point in carrying out this scene. Whitney was not in the mood to listen and fighting about it would just make things worse.

In the other room, Whitney dropped into a chair and began to sob...

A few hours later, Jim wearily settled in a room at the Marriott Courtyard. He had considered dropping in on his father, but decided that one argument was enough for today. Perhaps spending a few days alone at a hotel would help him regain his frame of mind. Jim plopped the few belongings he brought with him on the room's table and clicked on the television.

"Nothing like the old idiot box to take your mind off life."

Jim lay on the bed, clicking through the channels. He replayed the scene with Whitney over and over in his head, trying to discover where he went wrong. Or maybe he hadn't really changed. He just unintentionally alienates those he cares about.

Cable was not being kind to him this evening. First he passed 'An Officer and a Gentleman', then a few channels away, 'Romeo and Juliet' was playing. "The last thing I need tonight is any love stories, that's for sure." He clicked over to the local news station. "Hey, what's this all about?"

On the screen was footage of two costumed people battling Blowtorch. One of the presumed heroes was a man dressed in dark blue and white who projected ice rams and walls. The other was female and wore armor. Jim watched as she placed her gauntlets on the ground and a violent explosion erupted under the flame-wielding villain's feet. After a few moments, the unknown supers had subdued Blowtorch and the scene switched to what must be a live broadcast.

"...we have a live interview from Gyro Jim with Los Angeles' newest heroes, Blizzard and Shockwave." The scene switched to a close-up of the pair. "Congratulations on your victory over the pyromaniac Blowtorch."

"Gyro Jim?", Jim Sculley muttered out loud in disbelief. "They still let this clown on the air?"

Blizzard wore a mostly blue costume. A jagged white pattern covered part of his torso and he had white gloves and boots, with icicle-like trim. His full-face mask was blue with white icicle patterns around the eyes. "Thanks, Jim," Blizzard replied. "Hopefully that's just another one of many victories for us."

"And you, Shockwave? What do you have to say to all of the greater Los Angeles area?" Gyro Jim moved the microphone over to Blizzard's armored partner.

"Hi?" She kind of waved tentatively to the camera. Clearly she was not as relaxed in the face of the media as her partner. Shockwave sported a metallic gold and silvery-gray armored suit. Her torso, gauntlets, boots and some trim was gold, while the arms, legs and helmet was gray. The suit shined with a highly polished sheen, except for a blackened mark on her right arm, obviously a scorch mark from Blowtorch's fiery weapon. Crimson trim accentuated the metallic colors. Shoulder length curly blonde hair tumbled from out of her helmet part way down her back.

"This is the second public appearance you have made that we have caught on film," Gyro Jim began. The screen switched to a still picture of Blizzard and Shockwave battling VIPER agents amid a cemetery. "As our viewers are now seeing, we have photos of you battling those slithering do-badders, agents of the infamous VIPER."

"Yeah," Blizzard's voice could be heard. "We came across VIPER last week out at the Lake Forest Cemetery and kicked their scaly butts. Snakes aren't too fond of the cold, you know."

"I wasn't aware of that. Is it true that VIPER stands for Venomous Imperial Paramilitary, Extreme Radicals?" Gyro Jim asked the heroes.

"How the hell should I know?", Blizzard answered. He couldn't believe he was asked such a stupid question.

"I am sure I speak for our entire viewing audience when I say we all want to know more about the two of you," Gyro Jim continued unfazed. "Where did your special powers come from?"

"Well, I just developed mine recently." Blizzard explained. "I can't say for sure where they come from. I just woke up one day and could do these things."

"Like creating ice walls and freezing things and firing bolts of ice around?"

"Yeah, even came up with ice armor. Shocky gave me the idea," Blizzard said, pointing to his partner. "And obviously, her powers come from her armor."

Turning to the armored heroine, Gyro Jim thrust his microphone into her face and asked, "Did you get this suit of armor from aliens?"

"Uh, no."

"Oh, man," Jim groaned as he lay back on the bed, not believing what he was hearing. "Someone ought to show that guy how to be a reporter." It got worse from there.

"It was bequeathed to you by the last member of an ancient hidden culture, then?" Amazingly, Gyro Jim asked his question with a perfectly straight face.

"Noooo..." Shockwave looked at Blizzard. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Actually, I'd rather not say where the armor came from. Don't you want to know what we stand for? Why we became heroes?"

"So, are you brother and sister?"

"No." Shockwave was becoming visibly irritated.

"Husband and wife?"

"What difference does that make?", Shockwave yelled, throwing her hands in the air. Shockwave was now visibly upset at Gyro Jim's irrelevant questions. "Aren't you going to ask us anything meaningful?"

Turning to face the camera, Gyro Jim dead panned, "As you can see, the heroes are unwilling to discuss themselves with the free press and our loyal viewers. I've had to deal with such unwillingness throughout my long, award-winning career."

"What...?!" Shockwave walked out of the cameras view in disgust.

"Perhaps we'll never know what causes people to take up the mantle of heroes. What causes a young woman to don armor and fight colorfully-clad criminals and maniacal maniacs? Perhaps she had an unstable childhood or perhaps she was hideously scarred in some bizarre grease accident working in the kitchen of a fast food establishment. But I can assure you, good viewers, I, Gyro Jim, will not rest until I uncover the truth behind this story."

Behind Gyro Jim, Blizzard was pointing at his head and twisting his finger, as if to say the man was crazy. It didn't matter to Gyro Jim. Only ratings mattered, and Gyro Jim's ratings were incredible. No one went to the lengths he did to get a story. Whether that story was true or not often got lost somewhere along the way.

Jim had to laugh out loud at this turn of events. He recalled the strange questions that he had been asked while as Spectrum. "Someone should do a legitimate story on super heroes, instead of trash journalism."

Gyro Jim turned back to Blizzard. "So what do you have to say in closing, Blizzard?" Blizzard looked down and pulled out a card and held it in from of the screen. 'Heroes for Hire', Gyro Jim read out loud.

"Blizzard and Shockwave are at your disposal for any legal adventure, including investigation, personal protection and recovery. Call 555-3265. Or we'll be out at the Tanghal Towers for the next few nights."

"And there you have it..." Jim switched off the television. He had enough of Gyro Jim's yellow journalism for one night.

Laying back, he considered his next move. If he didn't reconcile with Whitney, he was going to have to find a place to stay. He wasn't sure that moving in his with his father was such a good idea. No, getting his own apartment was probably the best course of action.

Unfortunately, that was going to put a drain on his funds. Even if the first story he sent out was accepted, it could still be months before he saw any cash. He needed something to help out right now. But what?

Sleep was hard to come by and he tossed and turned in bed. The day's events were certainly unexpected, but he should have seen it coming. Whitney was a private detective after all. All the clues were laid out before her. She wouldn't have been much of a detective if she hadn't figured it out.

Then it hit Jim in the middle of the night. "That's it!" Jim sat up and realized that the solution to his financial situation was right before him. "I'll try to write honest stories about superheroes! Freelance reporting in a field that I am rapidly learning about. I can start tomorrow night by interviewing Blizzard and Shockwave at Tanghal Towers..."

Jim was rather busy the next day. He picked up a mini-recorder to handle interviews and back up cassettes. Several note pads were purchased as well. His old editor had offered to buy stories from him before. Time to take him up on that invitation. Or maybe he could sell his prospective article to one of the super hero magazines. Superhype and Herotalk were always looking for new material.

Stopping at a flower shop, Jim had a dozen roses sent to Whitney and put in a short message in the card. It read:

"I'm truly sorry I hurt you. I was holding back telling you to avoid hurting you. Unfortunately, that blew up in my face. I just hope you can forgive me someday. Love, Jim."

After spending the afternoon researching the targets of his prospective interview and their exploits at the library, Jim headed downtown and to the Tanghal Tower. It had been built in the 1930's and was now scheduled for demolition. A new parking garage was going up in its place.

Jim flew in as Spectrum. From his aerial vantagepoint, he could see that work had already begun on the destruction of the Tower. He landed about a block and a half away choosing an out of sight location, changed out of costume, and walked the remaining short distance.

As Jim got closer, he noticed that most of the top stories had been razed to expose the inner floors. A tall heavy wood fence separated the sidewalk from the construction yard. Seeing a loose set of boards, Jim pushed them aside and ducked into the site.

"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" Jim looked around the area. Nearby a bulldozer and a crane were parked. Several piles of debris had yet to be cleared away. A trailer sat along the fence. A line of portapotties stood next to it.

Jim started to walk towards the tower, when a voice drew his attention to the upper levels of the partially destroyed building. "I sure hope you have a good reason for being here." Jim could see that Blizzard was standing on the edge of the third floor.

"Actually, yes I do. I saw the interview that clown Gyro Jim had with you and Shockwave last night. I thought you might be interested in being interviewed by a real reporter and asked pertinent questions. After all, did your companion not say she wished to tell her side of the story?"

"Oh great, another reporter," Blizzard mumbled to himself. "Well, I don't suppose we have anything better to do while babysitting this building. Where's your camera crew?"

"You don't necessarily need a camera for an article," Jim explained.

"Whataya know?! You're probably the first reporter I've talked to that can read and write." Blizzard created an ice slide and quickly zipped down to ground level. He glided to a stop a few feet away. "Ya got a name, Mr. Reporter?"

"Jim Sculley." The two shook hands.

"Awright, so whataya wanna know, Jim?"

Jim turned on his micro-cassette to record the conversation. "How long have you had your powers?" Blizzard was more impressive in person than on television. He was muscular and slightly taller than Jim.

"About three weeks now, from what I can tell. Who're you writing for anyway?"

"Freelance," Jim replied. "I used to write for the Times a couple of years back. What's all this about your Heroes for Hire gig?"

"Simple, really. Big companies, small companies, even individuals sometimes need help beyond what the average person is capable of. With all the supervillians running around these days, you can't always count on a hero showing up in time. That's where we come in. If you've got the dough, that is."

"I see. What kind of job are you doing here?", Jim asked. "At the site of a demolition?"

"Not really sure," Blizzard said looking around. "I mean, this place is bein' torn down for cryin' out loud. The owners seem to think that something could happen. They didn't tell us what and paid enough that we didn't ask. So here we are."

"Sounds mysterious."

Just then, Blizzard's partner, Shockwave, rounded the corner. She was propelled by a set of jet-powered roller skates. "And here she is," Blizzard said.

"What's going on here?", Shockwave asked, as she approached the pair.

"Just another reporter, askin' questions," Blizzard answered.

"Oh, good grief." Shockwave turned to leave. The last thing she wanted in the world was to have to deal with another reporter.

"Excuse me, Shockwave?!" Jim called out to her, taking several steps in her direction. "I, and my readers, would really like to hear what you have to say!"

She stopped for a moment and looked over her shoulder. "Really?" Whoever this guy was, he wasn't acting like that character from last night.

"Not all reporters are as slimy as Gyro Jim," Jim explained reassuringly. Shockwave chuckled for a moment, then turned to face him. Even with her armor and the roller skates, she was still a few inches shorter than Jim.

"If you mention one thing about aliens, Elvis or finding this armor in a Cracker Jack box..."

"I had no intention of mentioning any of those things," Jim assured her. Pointing the cassette player in her direction, he asked, "Why did you become a hero, Shockwave?"

"I see you were paying attention to our 'interview' last night." Shockwave paused for a moment. The expressionless helmet completely concealed her face, giving Jim no clue to what she was thinking. "Why did I become Shockwave? I..."

She stopped for a moment and raised her hand, as if listening to something only she could hear. Jim shot a puzzled glance at Blizzard. A moment later, she turned to faced Blizzard. "We have company, Bliz."

"Awright! Action!" Blizzard rose quickly into the air, an icy pillar forming beneath him.

"What do you mean?" Jim wasn't sure just what was going on. "What kind of company are you expecting?"

Shockwave grabbed Jim by the arm and led him back towards the gate, ignoring his questions. "We had better get you to safety. VIPER is in the area."

Jim didn't argue. Shockwave's armor amplified her strength to well beyond his. "Maybe we could continue this at a later time?" Shockwave wasn't listening and quickly skated off. "Or maybe not..."

Jim watched her disappear into the building and ran off down the street. If it was VIPER again, they might need a hand. Jim slipped into a dark doorway, but it was Spectrum who stepped back into the light. He flew up to a nearby building and stashed his reporting gear on the rooftop. He didn't want to risk his notes being destroyed accidentally in a battle. Sounds of blaster fire off in the distance had already reached his ears.

Flying back to the scene of the action, Spectrum noticed that Blizzard was holding his own against four VIPER agents, one of them dressed in the Minotaur exoskeleton that VIPER used at the Flying Beagle mishap.

A number of icy walls had been created and dotted the area. Blizzard was zipping back and forth amongst them, taunting his opponents. "You know, you guys are a real joke! No wonder no one takes you snakes seriously!"

The VIPER agents opened fire, shattering the ice walls with blaster fire. Blizzard rose into the air on a pillar of ice and fired a spray of icicles at the Minotaur agent. The jagged ice shards sliced through the armor and the agent staggered back. Unpleasant smelling fluid began to spurt from the exoskeleton.

"Sheesh!", Blizzard said. "You guys stink too!"

"Take this hero!" The heavy weapon agent aimed his blaster cannon at Blizzard and fired. The blast missed the hero, but shattered his pedestal. Twisting himself in mid-air, Blizzard formed an iceslide below him, and picked up considerable speed as he slid towards the ground. His form seemed to grow ice around it like a huge snowball. Blizzard yelled loudly as he crashed into the Mauler Agent, sending the man flying.

Regaining his feet, Blizzard said, "Now that was fun." He turned around just in time to see the other agents aiming their rifles at him. "Hi, guys."

"Die hero!"

Just then a bright light erupted in the agents' midst. Spectrum hovered overhead. "You looked like you needed a hand."

"Thanks," Blizzard waved back, "but my partner, Shockwave, is the one who could use some help. She just radioed me that a second supervillain has appeared on the opposite side of the yard."

"Gotcha!" Spectrum flew over the building, looking for the battle. On the ground below, he could see Shockwave. She was just regaining her feet. On the second floor a black man in black sweats and a red tank top was standing at the edge. As Spectrum flew in Shockwave suddenly caused a massive eruption to take place, bringing down part of the floor her opponent was standing on.

Spectrum covered his face as dust and debris flew everywhere. When the cloud had cleared, he could see Shockwave partially buried in the destruction she had caused. The unknown villain was nowhere to be seen.

"And that's why she's called Shockwave," Spectrum mused to himself. He flew in as Shockwave pulled herself free of the debris pile. "Blizzard said you needed a hand. I'm Spectrum."

"Uh, hi," Shockwave said, embarrassed at her lack of subtlety. "I'll try and dig this guy out. There's another villain around, but I don't know where she ran off to."

"I'll go take a look," Spectrum said and flew into the air again. He flew around the construction yard, but didn't notice any movement or sound. Then suddenly, an ice-ram flew past his head!

"Hey! Watch it, Blizzard! You nearly hit me." Annoyed at this unexpected attack by his ally, Spectrum flew down to the roof as the creator of the ice-ram stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Jim's draw dropped in surprise.

"The name's not Blizzard, Mister. It's Icicle!"