Cora and Atom

Chapter 2

Cora

Saturday dawned as a sunny day with just a hint of a cooling breeze. Cora slept with her bedroom windows open just a crack to let in some cross ventilation. The cooing of a pigeon on her window sill combined with the mournful sobs of mourning doves in the London Plane trees outside gently woke her up. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Cora's dad had put himself on the extra list for overtime assignments. He figured the family could use the extra cash flow to support his daughter's college expenses. He had left the house early to start a shift on the "Sea beach" N line. Cora's mother had been awake since Mr. Smith had kissed her goodbye for the day and left the house. She busied herself in the kitchen with a morning talk show on one of the cable news channels visible on the small wall mounted TV in the kitchen.

Cora rummaged through the cabinet under her bathroom sink to look for some sunblock. There was a half tube left over from the end of last summer. She squeezed out a small glob and played with it in her hand. It looked like the stuff hadn't gone bad over the winter which would save a trip to the store, she thought. She got her lounge chair out of the hall closet and a bunch of beach towels from the hall linen cabinet. Next she dug deep in the bottom drawer of her dresser and found her favorite bikini.

"I hope it still fits me", she said to herself, "but if not I guess I'll just have to sunbathe without it".

Cora found a pair of good sunglasses in her dresser drawer, and the latest paperback romance novel she was reading on her desk, a place mark at about the middle of the book. Going into the kitchen she said good morning to her mom and started to fill a thermos cooler bottle with cold water and some ice cubes from the freezer.

"Don't tell me you're going up to the roof again to sun yourself?" Nora asked.

"It's been all winter since I've got any sun mom! I'm as white as a ghost!", Cora complained.

"Be sure you put on plenty of sunblock then", her mother warned. "It's your first exposure in months, you don't want to over do it".

"Yes mom, I will. I still have half a tube left from last year, and it's still alive."

Cora slipped her bikini bottom on and tied the side strings. It still covered the essential areas and didn't feel to tight or binding. The top was a bit different. While it still looked acceptable, it was obvious that she'd had a little growth upstairs since the winter.

"Looks like I've gained a bit in the boob department", Cora laughed. She really hadn't developed much yet, and she wouldn't have noticed it except for trying on the bikini. Then again, she should have expected that since getting her first 'training bra' a few weeks ago. Her mother had warned her that she'd soon have to worry about some other 'joys' of womanhood, but THAT hadn't yet happened.

Mike

Mike Finkle had gotten up early. He was in a dark mood and up to no good. Mike road his bicycle the few miles from his house to Cora's apartment house and found a good place to stake out. He had brought a toy periscope to see around corners and was using it to spy on the door to her apartment. Mike sat there for at least an hour before Cora emerged. She was wearing a tee-shirt and shorts over her bikini and had flip-flops on her feet. In one hand she carried a large shopping bag that was stuffed to overflowing. In the other she gripped a folded up lounge chair. Cora entered the first stair case and the door closed behind her. Mike followed on cat's feet trying hard not to make a sound. He slowly opened the door to the stair case and peeped inside. He then entered and slowly closed the door behind him. Mike looked down between the flights of stairs but didn't see anyone. He looked up and saw Cora bent over on her knees picking the lock to the roof door.

"What a crafty bitch you are Cora", he smiled.

On the Roof

Mike watched as Cora worked on the lock. It took her only ten minutes to crack it. After she opened the door she removed a roll of "Duck Tape" from her bag and ripped off a strip which she used to block the door strike so the lock couldn't re-engage when the door shut. She then walked out onto the roof.

Mike walked up to the top level. He crouched down and peered out the bottom of the windows that provided a view of the roof from the staircase.

Cora unfolded the lounge chair and laid several layers of beach towels on top of it. She sat down in the middle of the chair and removed her Tee shirt and shorts stuffing them into the shopping bag. After looking around by force of habit, she removed her bikini top and started to apply the sunblock . She started with her arms and legs, then her back (which wasn't easy as she had to flex hard to reach everywhere). She then rubbed some on her breasts and stomach, finishing off with her forehead, nose and cheeks.

"I hope I've got everything important covered", she thought, "I don't want to burn". Cora lay on her stomach propping her self up with her elbows. She opened her paperback novel and started to read.

Atom

Atom had slept later than usual. Maybe staying up to watch that old Japanese monster movie on late night TV had something to do with it. He wandered into the kitchen wearing just his metallic briefs in his bare feet.

Dr. Tenamann had made a few "upgrades" for Atom the last time he had been in the country. Atom's formally "webbed" feet now sported five distinctive toes each. His limb sockets were modified along with his torso so that he could be lengthened later on to give the appearance of having grown a bit like a real boy. Atom's real father had also promised him another special upgrade later on, but hadn't been specific as to what that would be. Atom was happy to be the short ten year old child analog he was for the time being.

Sachiko Yamamoto was making herself and Ken'ichi some tea. Atom walked over to the 'fridge and got himself out a premixed bottle of Castor oil and mineral water. He shook the bottle rapidly to recombine the separated liquids and drank right from the bottle.

Ken'ichi was sitting at the table reading the Times. He looked up from the paper at Atom.

"So did Godzilla get his in the end again?", he asked.

"Yeah", Atom said. "I can't believe how fake that looked".

"What time did you get to bed, 1am?", his foster father asked.

"I would have except that the cable channel dug up an even older piece of Japanese junk", Atom laughed. "They ran several episodes of a live action Tetsuwan Atom TV show. It was in Japanese with some poorly translated English subtitles. I found the translations quite funny!"

Ken'ichi smiled. "I haven't seen that in ages. I almost wish I had stayed up with you. But then your mother would have had to come out and drag me into bed so she could get some sleep. She always complains she can't sleep without some of my 'attention'."

Atom didn't quite get Ken'ichi's last remark and he let it slid past him.

"I'm going to get dressed now", Atom said as he walked back to his room.

Since it looked like it was going to be a warm day Atom found a pair of short pants from the dresser, and an "Avengers" Tee Shirt with Iron Man and the Hulk on the front. He put them on and then pulled his classic red boots over his bare feet. He opened the window facing Cora's apartment building a few inches to let in some air, and to hear the sounds of the city below him. Sparrows chirped in a tree below his window and he could see the face of a squirrel starring up at him from the top of the tree.

Cora's roof

Cora had her back facing the door to the staircase. She was deeply into the romance novel, a typical story of a woman who meets her "prince" after he saves her from an unwanted suitor. She loved the stuff.

Mike slowly opened the door and closed it behind him without a sound. He walked on the tips of his Keds with all the skill of an experienced cat bugler. When he was within a few feet of Cora he spoke.

"Hello Cora dear. It's a wonderful day isn't it?"

Cora turned around and screamed. She grabbed one of the towels and held it in front of her chest. "What the FUCK are you doing here you monster!", she yelled out.

"Now that's not the way to talk to a good friend", Mike said as he picked up the shopping bag and threw it over the knee wall to the street below.

Cora got up and backed away from Mike.

"Leave me alone!", she screamed.

"Not a chance babe. Come here and give me a kiss will you", Mike said.

Cora looked to her right and left. She faked a move left and then broke into a run to her right, holding onto the towel with one hand. Mike chased after her. She tried to get past him to get back to the stairwell, but he blocked her path. There was a sheet of metal flashing running from the low knee wall along the edge of the roof that had been tarred down for a quick patch of a leak a few days earlier. The area was still wet from a quick overnight shower. Cora's flip-flops lost traction on the slick surface and she fell against the wall. She lost her balance and fell over the edge. Her arms flew up and four fingers manged to grab hold of the brick and concrete surface, she dangled seven stories in the air. She yelled the first thing that came into her head.

"HELP! ATOM HELP ME!"

ATOM

Atom was staring out his window into space, his eyes not really focused on anything in particular. He thought he heard Cora's voice so he put his hands to his ears and turned his hearing up to 1000 times gain. He heard it loud and clear. "ATOM HELP ME!". He looked to where the sound came form. He zoomed his vision in and saw Cora hanging from the edge of the roof. Her grip was failing.

It took only micro seconds. The He3 reactor in his chest powered up to 200% full power. Both of the ion-plasma ram jets in his legs fired full blast with full after burners blazing. Atom blasted out of the window like a sixteen inch shell fired from the gun turrets of the USS Massachusetts. He was going supersonic before he left the room, the window exploded outward and the pieces fell to the street below. In the Sachiko's kitchen glasses and crockery shattered from the sonic boom.

Cora's grip failed and she started to drop to the street below. A look of horror filled Mike's face and he turned toward the stair well to run away. Atom chewed up the half mile distance between his window and Cora before she had reached the level of the fourth floor. He had quickly decelerated and was hovering below her to catch her in his arms. (Author: I'll leave it as an exercise for the mathematically inclined to calculate Atom's velocity!)

Cora fainted the moment Atom caught her. He slowly flew upward over the knee wall and landed just in front of it. Atom walked over to the lounge chair and gently set Cora on it. Behind him he heard the door to the stairwell slam shut. Mike was bounding down the stair case two steps at a time. He thought he was about to be arrested for man slaughter.