Mom, I'm Bulletproof

Chapter 19.2: The Heart of It

"I'm excited." Amy sipped her cup of coffee, sitting across from her mom in her mom's kitchen. "Nervous and excited."

"I'm not sure I like this," Amy's mother said.

"Of course you don't."

"Why can't you just tell me where you're going?"

"Mom, these are bad people we're dealing with. I'm talking bad on a global scale."

"Amy..."

"They certainly know you're my mom. For all we know, they're listening right now. If I tell you what me and the others are planning, they might hear."

"And these others? These friends of yours?"

"Yeah, I told you about Dreamsmith and Future Girl. Proscenium is the one from Theater City. He acts all dark and intense, but he's all right once you get to know him. And now we've got this guy called the Ergosphere. I think he might be from outer space."

"If these other, um, people..."

"Superheroes, mom. It's not a dirty word."

"Why not let them take care of it? Why do you have to be there?"

"Mom, no. They need me."

"Doesn't that girl from Mirai Academy have the same powers you do?"

"Not exactly. She can heal people, and she doesn't have my super hearing. And it seems like she might be faster and stronger than me, if we're being honest. But keep in mind this isn't something we've officially tested. If we did test it, I'm sure I'd be..."

"Amy, even if you can do something about these so-called bad guys, there'll be even more bad guys after that, and more after that. What about you? What about your finances, or your career? What about your future?"

"I'm kind of their leader," Amy said. "We didn't have a vote or anything, but I'm the one that got this group together. This whole thing was my idea. I'm at the heart of it."

Amy's mom set her cup of coffee down on the table and closed her eyes.

"You're a good girl," Mom said. "You always have been. Wait here."

Mom got up and walked upstairs. Amy sipped her coffee quietly, wondering what was up. Mom returned with a small brown object.

"I want you to have this."

Amy's eyes widened. "Great-grandma's turquoise necklace? Mom, I couldn't."

"She would have wanted you to have it," Mom said. "Especially after what happened to you in the desert."

"I don't know," Amy said.

"Your great grandmother was a real cowgirl. She traveled all over the U.S. and Europe performing in the old-fashioned Wild West shows. She met a man out in New Mexico and fell in love. He disappeared, leaving only this bracelet behind. It became her good luck charm. She passed it down to her daughter and then to me."

Amy smiled. She had heard this story before.

"It's bulletproof," Mom said.

"It's what?"

"This bracelet was accidentally hit twice by stray bullets during those Wild West shows. The first was during a performance in Theater City, and the second during a trip to London. Both times, it saved your great-grandmother's life."

"No way."

"Remember when grandma and grandpa's house burned down?"

"Barely," Amy said. "I was really little then."

"This bracelet was the only thing that survived," Mom said. "Your grandma gave it to me, knowing it couldn't be destroyed. She was trying to protect me, I think."

Amy held the bracelet. It appeared to be ordinary aged twine, with a small blue-green pebble at one end. Normally, the bracelet was behind a glass case in Amy's parents' bedroom. This was only the second time she had touched it. The last time was when she was a little girl.

"Was it one of the Warrior Shamans who gave great-grandma this?"

"I hoped not. That's why I never told you, even after what happened to you in the desert."

"You warned me not to go."

"But you were determined," Mom said. "And you came back changed."

"For the better, Mom."

Mom looked down at her lap. "I wouldn't know. I wasn't given any special gifts. Just you, and my mother and my grandmother."

"Mom... I don't know what to say."

"Just take it."

Amy examined the bracelet. "How do I..."

"Here." Her mom lifted the bracelet from Amy's hand and fastened it not around Amy's wrist but around her upper arm. It fit snugly.

"Would this match my uniform?"

"Of course," Mom said.

Amy hugged her mom. As her mom's face pressed against Amy's shoulders and long red hair, her mom cried. All Amy could think about was a better world, where parents and children could be open and honest with one another.

A world without the Temple.

* * * *

Two days later, it was Saturday morning. Amy woke up in her apartment to a loud rumbling coming from outside. She had slept through her alarm again.

Using her super speed, and a little good old-fashioned human adrenaline, she got ready and flew out of her bedroom window. There was the Ergosphere's personal flying saucer, the Accretion, just as scheduled. Amy flew toward it, noting a door opening for her along the side. It slid shut as she flew inside.

Inside the Accretion's posh living room, Dreamsmith, Future Girl, Proscenium, and the Ergosphere stood ready and waiting for her.

"Let's go," was all she could think to say.

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Next: Against the submarine.