A long chapter, yayy. I'm currently at a camp so I can't update that often. however, I drop them hints everywhere so stay tuned ;)
- Ida
Chapter 3- Something science-y, cool, and cold
Mochi jumped at me as soon as I stepped into our townhouse. The white and orange ball of fur meowed loudly at me as if to say, "Where's my dinner, human?". Come to think about it, it would probably let out some profanities too. You could say my cat is quite edgy. And aggressive.
"Are you hungry?" Aunt Casey asked me. "I never say no to that question." I replied, hanging my half burnt jacket up high so Mochi couldn't rip it apart. It had special hatred for anything warm, soft, and belonged to me. It would never mess with aunt Casey's porcelain collection from Japan but he would try to create a nest out of my worksheets from school.
Imagine me actually telling the truth to my teachers; "My cat used my homework to make a nest because it's cold in winter and cats do not like coldness." That could make the dog eating homework excuse sound painfully basic (and probably land me in a detention room later on too.)
Aunt Casey opened up the cupboard and took her time staring at our emergency canned food. Emergency in aunt Casey's context being any situations that required her to cook.
I agreed with her wholeheartedly. Let my aunt into the kitchen and you will most likely have a real emergency to deal with a few seconds later. Mostly something related to fire and air pollution followed by a chronic food poisoning.
"We have Cheerios and Froot Loops." She sighed, scanning the almost empty cupboard. "How about we have some late night breakfast, huh?" "It's never too late to have a bowl of cereal." I shrugged and went to fetch the milk gallon from the fridge. Mochi jumped off the couch and lifted one orange paw like the Maneki-Neko. It learned that people love it when it does that and it would get its a piece of whatever that person was eating.
"The science center just announced that they found a new wealthy investor. He wants to launch a new project and I'll be--" She took of her high heels and kicked them away. "The head of the project."
"That sounds like less time for Mochi and painting." I said, picking the annoyed cat up, ignoring its soft paws drumming upon my forearms. It thrashed and let out a soft hiss, jumping away and bolted upstairs. "Mochi would love that." My aunt laughed. "He was such an adorable kitten. Now, he is an anti-social, paranoia, cynical cat."
I poured some Froot Loops into a mug and grabbed a can of cat food. "Maybe adulthood in cats also sucks." I grinned. "Maybe Mochi wants to go meet new people, gossip, and finally--" I picked up a piece of gray sticky note stuck on her binder and read it aloud. "Call that particular cat up to confirm a dinner date at the Spring Avenue tomorrow." Aunt Casey's almost choked on her Cheerios.
"It's that new investor I talked about." She stuttered. "Collin—Mr. Kavanagh-- and I need to talk—discuss on the new project he wanted to launch." I raised my brows and she threw her hands in the air in defeat. "He has the 5 o'clock shadow and Irish accent, Jamie." She sighed, taking off her glasses. "And he read my book."
"Which one? Mochi's Life?"
"Mistwood Resident series." She smiled wanly. "The whole series. He even remembered that guy who showed up for only a paragraph in book 2!"
"So he's well aware you have the basic knowledge of how to get away with a murder?" I joked. "Or to make lethal weapons out of household items?" Being the supportive niece I am, I had read every single book my aunt had written. And at one point, helped her edited the first draft.
If we knew more about martial art and less about moral codes, we would be perfect partner in crimes for each others.
Like actual crimes.
And my mom would be the police yelling at us over the blaring siren.
"You are the one that never stop coming up with those murderer life hacks, Jamie." She laughed. "Don't let anyone go through your browser history unless you want to be suspected of a murder. However, help me pick a dress?"
I promised my aunt to help her out even though I'm the walking example of a fashion disaster.
I opened the white door to my room and called for Mochi. "Mochi! Come out here. I have--" I read the can. "--Tuna delight for you." Mochi may thought that no means yes but it sure knew that Tuna meant food. "Mochi?" The room was dimly lit with street light from outside. I mentally scolded myself for leaving my window open this morning. As I made way toward the window to close it, Mochi's meow came from outside. I rolled my eyes. It got out again. I slid my ladder to the roof down in the middle of my room and climbed up with the mug full of cereal still in my hand.
The metal ladder felt colder than usual and I jumped at the first touch. When I reached the small, round window that could be opened up to the roof, my eyes widened. There was frost on the window. The ice body was creeping up the surface of glass, creating a random pattern looking as delicate as feather. I shook my head. I liked seeing this spectacular creation of nature but this was freaking summer.
I pushed the window opened and climbed up the rooftop. My socks didn't have good grip on white tile covered in thin layer of ice. "What the heck?" I muttered, walking over to Mochi's favorite area (which used to be the pigeons' favorite area until Mochi colonized it like a cruel tyranny it is).
"Mochi!" I called out.
"Come here, boy!"
"Mochi?" A low voice said amusingly followed by a chuckle. "Is that its name?" My heart leaped to my throat. My cat couldn't talk, cannot talk, and will never be able to talk. (And it better stays that way.)
I landed my eyes on the person holding Mochi in his arms and took a step back. You could guess what happen next. I slipped. Before my scream could be ripped out from my throat, something cold and solid seemed to grow up on my jean clad ankles and fixed them in place.
The mug was flying midair and the colorful content of it was about to rain down on Aunt Casey's flowerbed below. Suddenly, the liquid froze, merging itself with the ice on the surface of the roof. The mug was now standing on about a 1 meter high milk and Froot loops statue.
The super that saved me today walked over. He was lean build unlike most superheroes with biceps the size of a tree trunk. His dark blue mask played an illusion that somehow made his blue eyes looked as if they were shining. "For a girl who saved dozen of kids from fire accident today, you are surprisingly jumpy." He noted.
"Contrary to popular belief, I don't usually expect my visitors to show up on the roof!" I kicked the ice away from my ankles and fell ungracefully on my butt. Ouch. I leaned my back against the round window and wiped the remaining of ice from my jeans. "And why are you here?" I asked, brushing my brown hair away from my face.
"To see a..." He titled his head to one side as he tapped his chin, probably trying to remember a name of one of hundreds people he saved today. "Jamie Devlin?"
I eyed him warily as he stroked Mochi's soft fur gently. I made a mental note that I should buy a dog. Dogs bark at strangers. Cats don't care. Mochi nuzzled into his arm. It didn't even try to scratch or claw at him. That little traitor.
"Wait."I narrowed my eyes, suddenly realizing something. "How did you know I live here?"
He raised his brow. "It's my job to know about my job."
"Oh. So I'm a part of your mission? Is that why the police allowed you to look up my address?"
"I don't work with the cops." He scoffed, still not answering my question. "I'm not even wearing police uniform."
"How did you know, blue boy?"
"I like your sense of humor, sweetheart." He chuckled at my respond.
"Brackenbridge doesn't seem that big to me." He shrugged. "I know this neighborhood well enough to know that the route you took back home is quite secluded."
I looked at him incredulously. "Are you implying that you followed me?"
"Hey." He feigned offended. "I was only looking out for you, lady. I'm a professional, thank you very much."
"That's called stalking, mister." I raised my cereal spoon, pointing it at him accusingly. "I think I'm quite safe here so I guess you can leave now." I paused for a moment before adding. "Thanks for saving me today...I guess?"
"I just saved you from falling off the roof and breaking your neck on a Morning Glory flower pot, Jamie."He deadpanned bluntly.
Jerk alert.
"It's Petunia and I'm sorry I didn't expect my visitor to come knocking on my freaking roof then spread slippery ice everywhere." I retorted with a tight lipped smile, pointing to the ground..I meant roof. "It's not like we have a perfectly fine door down there anyway."
He rolled his eyes and sat down next to me. "Calm down. I just need to ask you a 2 questions concerning the incident today" He reached into his pocket on his suit and fetched out a wrinkled and ripped piece of paper from the newspaper. A photo of a blonde girl holding a red balloon was on it. She had the adorable toothy smile. I recognized her instantly to be the one I threw down to the police earlier today. The one in pink sweater and ballet shoes.
My eyes widened at the heading of the news. "THE MAYOR'S DAUGHTER GONE MISSING"
He observed my shocked reaction calmly. "So you have seen her before." He said. "According to the mayor, little Harmonia was on her way to her ballet class with her babysitter. She was, supposedly, in the same bus as you. Then, after the explosion, she just disappeared." He bit his lips. "Maybe you can give me some lead on this case?"
"I heard her screaming in the back seat so I went to pick her up." I rocked back and forth, letting the soft breeze ran through my hair. "Then, this policeman told me to drop her. I did. He set her down on the ground then something exploded and knocked me over before I could make it down."
"Wait, that's weird." He knitted his brows. "The police department went crazy searching for her today. You are telling me that there's one police who took her from you? They all denied seeing her. All of them. Can you remember the name of the police from the name tag?" I racked my brain for it but I was apparently too panic to notice details like that. "No, I can't. I'm sorry." I admitted. "But I know what he looks like."
"Maybe I should contact the Brackenbridge Police Department to let you identify this officer. I'll let you know the date." He said. "You are brave, kid."
"Kid?" I repeated, trying to trick him into giving me more hints on who exactly is he. "How old are you?"
"Guess." He challenged with a boyish smirk on his lips. Moonlight highlighted his prominent jawlines and straight nose under the mask. His skin looked so pale and his bright blue eyes seemed to shine in contrast to the darkness of the night.
I felt vaguely that I had seen him before. However, the dots weren't connecting itself. I couldn't even see the next dot from where I was so I was left with utter frustration of almost being able to identify the match in my brain.
It'd be too much of a coincident if he was that guy I punched today.
But their essence matched perfectly.
Geez. Did I really I just punched a superhero?
I narrowed the lists down and pointed the spoon at him. "I'm quite sure that you're not old enough to call me kid. You are at most a college freshman."
"Could be." He replied, ruffling Mochi's fluffy forehead. "Beating around the bush won't give you any more hints."
"My cat will beat you up if you won't leave it alone." I warned even though Mochi seemed to have found its new favorite person.
"Come on, now. It seems to like me. Right, Mochi?" He smirked, leaning over, pretending to be listening to Mochi. His bright blue eyes held mischievous look and his almost white lock added on to that made him look like some kind of mythical humanoid creature. Like an elf. "What's that, bud? You wanna come live with a cool superhero instead of her?"
I instantly took my cat back into my arms and he laughed at me when Mochi held onto him with its claws. It left small scratch mark on the shoulder of his super suit a little. "Mochi!" I hissed at it, snatching it into my arms. "I'm so sorry about your suit. Is that fixable? Do you need—"
"It's specially designed to last through battlefields, sweetheart. A cat's scratch mark is the least of my concern, trust me." He shrugged, patting his shoulder.
"Wouldn't wearing a mask and tights make you stand out more from the civilians?" I asked, wrestling with Mochi to keep it from leaping at the super. "If I were a super, I would just wear normal clothing so villains won't notice me coming at them and escape in time."
"That's a new way to look at it. If you were a super, huh?" He licked his lips, craning his neck to look at the sky. "If you were a super--both hero and villain, the first thing you'd want to do is find a nice mask. If your identity is revealed, well, not only you will be in dangers." A delicate silver snowflake was created on his palm and he tossed it in the air, letting it fall down slowly, occasionally pulled sideways by the breeze. "Those who are close to you will also be put at risk. So, don't leave home without your mask. No matter how impractical it is to fight efficiently with your sight limited behind 2 small holes."
"Sounds like what supers in the movies would say."
"That's the only part those directors got right about supers. But then again, who doesn't care about their family?" He raised his brow. "It's not only supers' thing."
I pushed stray of my hair behind my ear. "Masks ignite the curiosity. They are like present wrappers, you know?"
"Well, this ain't Boxing Day so you can't rip this one to shreds." He adjusted his mask, laugh edging his voice. "But I promise you, what's inside is worth the wait, sweetheart."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jack Frost."
"New nickname? So this ice-breaking session is actually working." He noted, running his hand through his blonde lock. "You called me Coldfront when I got you out of the bus--wreckage."
"But you're not him." I couldn't stop my self in time.
He paused for a moment. "Yes, I'm not him. I'm way cooler. Both literally and figuratively." That boyish smirk found its way to his lips again, showing that dimple on his left cheek.
I shrugged, trying to ignore disappointment. "What name do you go by then?"
"That's exactly why I'm here today. My second question for you--" He leaned back, resting his head upon the window. "--What should my name be?"
I ignored an urge to lift the bolt on the window. "What? You don't have one yet?"
He chuckled. "Come on, I'm new to this circuit. Just help me pick an identity, Jamie. A name. Maybe something science-y, cool, and cold." He said, tapping his dark blue mask idly. "Oh, and It must begin with C because it would take me ages to find a trustworthy tailor who is also secretly a scientist to fix this suit."
"Why did you get the letter C in the first place?" I raised my brow.
"You see when a new super with ice power orders a super suit, the tailor assumed he was Coldfront." He sighed, flicking on the letter C. "Pisses me off all the time. But I won't have to change it if you can help me pick a name that fits though."
"How about Caitlin Snow? She is a biochemist and she can shoot ice out of her hands." I suggested. "And if anyone says she is not cool, I'm willing to fight them on that."
"As much as I'd like that." He crossed his arms, smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "She is Killer Frost already and stealing another super's identity is not cool."
I threw my hands in the air. "Catelyn Stark of Winterfell?"
"That's vintage but I can create a blizzard with the temperature lower than Winterfell's winter. Not to brag." He rolled his eyes. "Is there any word about coldness that is not cold or cool?"
I thought for a moment. "Cryo. It means cold."
"That sounds very legitimate." He said. "But it's too short."
"Cryogenics?" I shrugged. "I got that from my physic class. It's the study of materials' behavior in low temperature."
"Now, that's too long." He commented flatly. "Too scientific to be cool."
"You are picky." I deadpanned, crossing my arms over my chest. "What about Cryonics? It means--"
"Low temperature preservation of organisms." He continued on my sentence. "A hope for human with present incurable disease."
"Someone did his research." I muttered, running my hand through my hair to keep it from sticking onto my face. A struggle of talking on the roof in summer night. The wind seemed to be trying to force me to eat my own hair.
He let out a low chuckle. "Cryonics. I like that." He got up and stretched his arms, yawning. "Okay, thanks for the suggestion. It's been a pleasure but I'm afraid I gotta run. I still have my real-life arch enemy to deal with."
"Having an arch nemesis since day 1. Not a very good start, don't you think?" I asked. "Who's this fearful enemy?"
"It's math homework that's due tomorrow." He laughed. "Arch nemesis? Really? They're just pretentious villains who holds grudge. No obsessive idealists. They are willing to switch side as soon as they see more benefits' in for them if they do so."
"You are one detailed analyst, aren't you?" I got up and dusted my pants off any ice frost. "But you left small clues here and there nonetheless. Math homework that's due tomorrow. I can use that information to figure out your identity, you know?"
"Well, you can dig around all you want, Jamie. Math teachers everywhere assign homework on daily basis anyway. You will have quite a hard time sorting those information out." He saluted me before jumping off the roof. "Good luck on that."
I should probably go get my math homework done too.