The Marvels

Ep. 16 | Tala Turan, Kennedy Laughlin aka Strike, and Maggotzilla

To most people, anyway. Vidya wondered if the Marvels were traumatized by it. Juggernaut should be.

"So..." Jonah trailed off when they were done talking about the maggot.

This was where all those dating tips would've come in handy: to fill the inevitable awkward silence. Vidya cleared her throat, grasping at straws. "So...how are you?"

"Good." He shrugged. "College applications are over, so it's the time when every senior starts slacking, you know?"

Vidya laughed. The general attitude of the entire twelfth grade was, we're over this. It was infectious. She'd slack off, too, if she weren't in risky territory with calculus.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Good." She shrugged, too. "Amber and I are working on a project for the upcoming art showcase, and I..." She was about to mention that she had a new job that kept her busy, just to be half-honest, but that would be too big of a hint.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "I don't really have much else to say."

Horrible choice of words—now he might think that she thought that he was boring. You idiot, she thought of herself.

"Let's get some snacks," she suggested before he could read too much into what she'd said.

They got funnel cake, and then they stood at the railing overlooking the ocean and talked. It got easier by the minute. Vidya slowly relaxed, and so did he. At one point, he asked if she wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel. She loved Ferris Wheels, but she wasn't stupid. She could see it now: them at the top, enjoying their date, and then her pager goes off, and she's screwed.

She suggested they get cotton candy instead.

It was after her first bite of fluffy, artery-clogging sugar that something in her pocket buzzed. She froze, holding the cotton candy in front of her face to hide her shock. The buzz had come from her left pocket. Was that the one with her phone, or her pager? She sneakily pulled it out only an inch to see what it was...

It was her pager.

Vidya handed her cotton candy to Jonah. "I'm going to the bathroom really quick."

He took it and nodded. "I'll wait here."

Once she was out of his sight, Vidya walked in the opposite direction from the bathroom. If Jonah was looking, he'd probably assume she was going to a different bathroom than the one that was just around the corner from where they had been standing.

Vidya pulled out her pager to read the message. It wasn't a demand from Fox to go to a last-minute meet-and-greet or interview; it was an actual mission. She shook her head at the irony—the one day she was hoping not to get one, and she got one. At least it was a solo assignment.

Vidya found a secluded spot. She may not have wanted this to happen, but she had prepared for it. Her jacket was one of those reversible ones with two completely different designs, and she flipped it inside out. She took off her shoes and threw them under some tarp. Her pants were just plain, common jeans, so she left them alone. She curled her braid into a haphazard bun and pinned it down with bobby pins she'd put in her pocket, and lastly, she put on her mask.

Without the suit, she may not look exactly like Frostbite, but nobody, not even Jonah—if he watched the news later—would recognize Vidya.

She took off into the sky, flying away from the Pier as fast as possible. The cold air tickled her bare feet as she headed back to LA. She knew exactly where Lorenzo's Pub was, even though she'd never gone to the parties her classmates threw there (the owner was the older sister of eleventh-grader Linda Lorenzo. She and her friends got away with a lot.)