Chapter Two
May 21st, 10:14 AM
"So how was last night?" Margot asked, sipping her coffee. She sat across from her friend, roommate, and partner, the mayor's fetching, perky daughter, Erin Steele, in a booth at Lucky's, the girls' favorite brunch spot.
Erin laughed. "It was pretty insane."
"Okay," Margot said. She had figured that part out. Ever since the adventure in the "Gauntlet," Erin had asked her partner to monitor her from home. Margot didn't like it, but she understood the idea: if Margot was ever captured, then Erin's hands were tied, and her secret identity would be one step closer to being discovered For the past month, she watched her tracker from the comfort of their apartment, essentially crossing her fingers and waiting for Erin to come back. Last night, Erin hadn't gotten home until two in the morning, which was pretty late even by the Blue Lynx's standards.
"I was in the Casino, right? Just hanging out. In a cocktail dress. Trying to fit in, you know?"
Margot nodded. "I know." She had been researching the Rattlesnakes since their first attacks on the city. She had asked Erin to scope out the Paradise Casino, being fairly certain it would be the next place where the gang struck. But she hadn't expected them to attack so soon.
It was a different world, this city, now that Hammerson was out of commission. The merciless beatdown the Speaker of the House had experienced at the hands of Steve had left him in a coma. The surviving members of his crew, Sunny and Todorov, hadn't been seen in weeks. At first, this had all seemed like great news. But a fresh crop of criminals had appeared in Hammerson's absence, like new acne spread from a popped pimple. The Rattlesnakes were the fiercest, and most intriguing, of the lot.
"Anyway," Erin continued, "The Rattlesnakes showed up at around eleven. Shooting around, threatening people, marching staff off to the safe. Everyone was running around screaming. I ducked into the bathroom and changed into costume."
"Wow," Margot said. "You decided to fight them?"
Erin nodded. "Oh yeah."
"Didn't I tell you not to do that?" Margot said. "These guys are dangerous, Erin."
"I know, I know," Erin said, waving her hand. She took a long sip from her coffee. "Anyway, I ran at them, and I was kicking their asses. And then, uhh, some more guys showed up..."
"And?"
"Well, they caught me. They surrounded me, put me in a headlock."
"Erin!" Margot yelled. "You need to stop being so reckless!"
"Jesus, Margot, I know," Erin said. "I know."
She didn't. The Blue Lynx had "defeated" Hammerson, and now she thought she was invincible. Margot knew better. Erin was strong, fast, smart, tireless... But she was also just one young woman. She didn't stand a chance against a gang of twenty men, even with her gadgets.
"So they caught you. Then what?"
"Well, umm... " Erin said, blushing. "They chloroformed me."
Margot put her coffee down and frowned. "Erin."
Erin brushed her hair back. "You don't have to lecture me. I know I screwed up. But it all ended fine."
"They could've unmasked you," Margot said. "Maybe they did. If you were knocked out, you'd never know."
Erin shook her head. "No, they didn't. A man rescued me."
"A man?"
"A fellow superhero," Erin said, grinning. "A young guy. Handsome. Golden suit."
Margot stared at Erin. "And does this beautiful young savior have a name?"
"Oh yeah," Erin said with a snicker. "The Spaniel!"
Margot shut her eyes.
"The Spaniel?" she muttered. "Really?"
"When I woke up, I was staring into his eyes. And I looked around, and everyone, the whole Rattlesnake gang, was on the floor..."
Erin paused as the waitress came to the table. The middle-aged woman set down a veggie omelette in front of Erin and a stack of pancakes in front of Margot. The girls thanked her and she left.
"So, yeah," Erin said, cutting up her breakfast. "He must have beaten them all. And then he woke me up. And then he left."
Margot swallowed a bite of pancake. "You seem pretty excited about all this."
Erin blushed. "No. I'm not, umm, excited. But this is something new, Margot."
"How do you know he wasn't trying to unmask you, himself? And why was he there, anyway?"
"I don't know," Erin said, shrugging. "I'm just saying, he just seems like a good guy."
"But you know nothing about him," Margot said. "Just because he beat up the Rattlesnakes doesn't make him your friend."
"Sheesh, Margot, lighten up. Stop trying to be my mom."
Margot shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. She could feel a change coming over her the last few weeks. Ever since she had been relegated to "home duty," she was becoming more and more critical of Erin's choices. She knew this wasn't totally fair: it was impossible for her to judge a superheroine's decisions, many of which had to be made spontaneously. But in a situation like this, how could Erin not be more skeptical of this "Spaniel" guy? He didn't sound like an obvious ally, to Margot. Another superhero in town seemed more like a threat.
"I'm going to look him up online," Margot said. "Make sure he's legit. It's possible the media's already reported about him and I just didn't notice."
Erin nodded. "Okay. But listen to me, Margot: I looked into his eyes. I think he's trying to help us."
Margot smiled at her friend. "You amaze me sometimes, you know that?"
Erin grinned, and the girls ate their breakfast.
On to Chapter Three
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