Star Dust (A Paladin Adventure)

What comes next

I sat like that in the faded light, but I knew that one way or another, I'd have to face the consequences sometime, and better now than later. That teenager would have posted to social media, where the news would have spread. I hoped that my Poppy ID was still safe, at least from the public. I put a roast in the oven for a few days' dinners and sewed up the lining for the jacket. It didn't go into the sleeves; that lining was still in good condition, so I just inserted  heavy-duty foam along the top of the arms to help absorb blows. I put in the heavy snaps at the back of the neck and attached a hood. Roomy enough to drape nicely around my head, black on the outside, plum on the inside. I restocked my utility belt and went downstairs. I heated some dinner rolls and made a serious salad to go with the roast, which was nicely rare. I took cookies into the living room and, as anesthetized as possible with chocolate, turned on my laptop to check the damage. 

The news had the ID of Paladin splashed all over, with renewed interest in Steve's death and return and the demise of our marriage. Even as I watched, there was breaking news. Somehow they'd made the connection with Poppy. That was turning into an even bigger storm. Man, Bruce Wayne was not going to be pleased with me. I shrugged irritably. Not my fault I'm observant. I went to a website that had been opened a couple of weeks ago and entered information. That done, I snapped the laptop closed and started for the stairs to get changed.

As I came down, dressed in my outfit--the tights made a big difference--there was a knock on the door. "Emma?" Bucky called. I paused a moment. "I know you're on the stairs, I can hear you."

So I went down the rest of the stairs and unlocked the door. As I opened it, a couple of flashes alerted me to the presence of the media. I immediately rolled to the side, out of view, and Bucky, Sam and Steve came in. Steve shut the door behind him. I sighed and gestured toward the living room.

"I'm seeing it, but I don't quite believe it still," Sam said, Looking at me. I shrugged.

"I'm surprised you're going out," Bucky said. I shrugged again.

Steve sat down and clasped his hands. As the others followed his lead, he said quietly, "Please help me understand this, because I'm just not getting it." Before I could say anything, there was a faint scratching from the kitchen and I moved quietly to the side of the hall, ready to pounce.

It was Peter, in his Spiderman suit. He pulled up his mask and gave me a great big hug. "How was the dance, honey?" I asked.

"Really? You're leading with that?" he asked in disbelief. I shrugged and he relented. "It was nice. Got some slow dances." He smiled. "MJ loves her earrings. They look really pretty on her." I smiled too. He looked from me to the others, and his voice sharpened. "What the hell, sirs?" he blurted out. God bless him. He has such nice manners. "How could you let that happen?"

"It was Tony," Sam said simply.

"Are you ok, mom?" he asked anxiously as he looked around, and I skrinched up my eyes against the prickle of tears. "Where's Loki?"

I let go of a gusty breath. "Thor found a job for him," I summarized. "He left after lunch."

"I thought he wasn't supposed to go til later," Bucky said. I spread my hands.

"Have you eaten?" I asked Peter.

"I could go for a sandwich," he said hopefully, and he followed me back to the kitchen. So did everybody else, but I was just feeding Peter. "So what happened after Loki left?" he said, crunching on leftover veggies.

I sat down at the table. "Well, I closed the store on time, I didn't have any more customers." I smiled slightly. "Catwoman came in in plain clothes, actually made a purchase."