Cora and Atom
Chapter 3
The roof of Cora's Apartment building
Cora opened her eyes and starred into Atoms large, moist brown eyes that were gazing back at her and smiled.
"Are you OK Cora?", Atom asked with concern in his voice.
Cora grabbed him and pulled him toward her. She pressed her lips against his wrapping her arms around his neck. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and started to probe, feeling the roof of his mouth, his teeth and tongue. Cora started to purr with delight.
For Atom this was a totally new experience and he didn't know how to respond. Deep in his subconscious a primitive instinct from man's caveman past that had been downloaded into Atom's brain from Adam Tenamann's own subconscious took control. Atom pushed his tongue into Cora's mouth and gently probed hers. Their tongues briefly wrestled each other and then withdrew. Atom felt a strange pleasurable warmth in his groin and wrapped his arms around Cora's trunk and held her tight.
Cora gently pushed him away and gazed into his eyes again.
"What just happened?" She asked.
Cora looked around and realized that she was naked from the waist up. She grabbed a towel and quickly wrapped it around herself, fighting back a blush of embarrassment.
Slowly Cora returned to reality.
"How did I get here?" She asked. "I fell off the roof!"
Atom quickly tried to make up a believable story. He wanted to keep his real identity as not quite human a secret
"You were just above the fire escape. I caught you and climbed back up the ladder", he explained.
Cora wanted to believe that. It would make matters simpler. But she knew where she had gone over roof. The horrible scene was still looping over and over in her mind. She had fell over the knee wall a good ten feet from the fire escape.
"No Atom, I wasn't over the fire escape. Not even close. Care to try again?"
Atom knew he was trapped. His secret was out. The only thing he could do now was to find the best way to explain it.
"Let's go down to your house so you can get dressed Cora. I'll explain things in a bit".
Atom had bought himself a little time. He still didn't know how he was going to tell Cora what had happened, how he was able to save her.
Cora knocked on the door to her apartment and her mother opened the door. She saw Cora wrapped in a towel with Atom holding her hand.
"That scumbag Mike from school followed me up the the roof and threw my clothes into the street", she told her. "Atom scared the asshole away".
Cora went into her room and Atom waited in the family area where Cora's mother was watching a movie on the DVD player. It was the original 'Superman' flick with Christopher Reeve. The flying scene where Superman and Louis Lane take to the sky over Metropolis was on the screen. Atom got an idea.
"Lets go outside Cora, I'll explain things to you.", he said.
They walked out of the building and into the street. There was a small park a few blocks away, and they walked there hand in hand. Cora sat down on a bench and Atom sat next to her.
Can you read my mind?
"I saw you fall from the roof from my bedroom window Cora. I got here as quick as a could, and caught you, then carried you back to your lounge chair.", Atom said.
"Yeah right, running at warp nine maybe", she choked back.
"Something like that" Atom said looking around to make sure they were alone.
He pulled his shirt off and pressed his index finger to his chest.
"Please don't faint on me girl", he told her.
Cora's eyes widened as a blue outline appeared on Atom's chest and revealed the opening of his chest panel. Atom opened it.
"I'm an android", he explained.
Cora almost fainted. "You mean like …. Astro Boy or something?"
Atom smiled, "I guess that's EXACTLY what I am". Atom closed his chest panel.
"Cora", he asked. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"Not exactly the thing you ask someone that just fell of the roof of a six story building!", she laughed.
"Yeah, I guess so. But ARE you?"
"Not if you're with me", she said.
"Stand on the bench then, OK?".
Cora stood on the bench and Atom got off and stood in front of her.
"Climb on my back Cora. Grab me around the neck and hold on tight. Wrap your legs around my waist".
Cora nervously did what Atom asked.
Atom put his arms behind him and wrapped them around Cora locking his fingers together.
"OK Cora, here we go!"
Atom slowly rose into the sky.
Cora held her breath as the ground dropped beneath them.
"We're flying!", she gasped kissing Atom on the cheek.
{Cue Astro Boy march music from '63 series}
Atom flew south toward the ocean. They reached the boardwalk and he turned to the west. The grounds of the old Steeplechase park were below them. Atom circled over the old parachute jump ride tower and slowly descended. He located a strong looking large beam and landed on it. He knelt down for Cora to get off. She sat on the beam with her feet dangling over the side and Atom sat next to her.
"You can see for miles from here!" he told her.
She looked to the west and could see New Jersey. To the east was Rockaway and the Gill Hodges Bridge. Behind her was all of Brooklyn with the towers of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in the distance. She could see the statue of Liberty, the Empire State building and the new Freedom tower under construction in Manhattan.
"This is super!" she smiled. "I love you Atom!".
Cora grabbed him and pulled him toward her. They exchanged a passionate kiss for several minutes.
Atom looked deeply in Cora's eyes and smiled. She returned the gaze.
"You know, I could stay up here forever with you Atom."
They sat with their hands locked looking at each other and exchanged a few more kisses for the next hour. Finally Atom had Cora climb on his back for the return flight.
{Reprise Astro Boy march music from '63 series}
They flew over Coney Island and turned north over Ocean Parkway. Atom buzzed over Prospect Park and turned West toward the Verrazano Bridge. He flew over the Narrows and then turned east at Cropsey Avenue toward Avenue U. They landed in the park where they had first taken off from.
Atom walked Cora back to her house. He found her shopping bag hanging in a tree and flew up to retrieve it. Cora took the bag from Atom.
"I wish that scumbag Mike would get hit by a bus", she scowled.
"Don't worry about him", Atom said. "He's all mine".
"No, don't hurt the idiot", Cora replied.
"Oh I wouldn't do anything like that", Atom laughed.
By now the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky.
"My mom is going to start getting worried. I think we should call it a day, Atom", Cora said.
"See you in school on Monday?", Atom asked.
"I can't wait", she sighed.
Atom kissed her goodbye and took off. He did a barrel roll and made an Immelmann turn to head back to his own house. It was the happiest day of his life.
Authors Note:
I had introduced the Cora character into my story "New York City on the Edge of Forever" and the idea of a love story between them popped into my head and would not go away. Rather than loose it I put the NYCOTEOF story aside for a bit to capture this one. "Atom and Cora" just poured out of me into the keyboard. I got some ideas from the original Superman Movie flying scene with Louis Lane and Superman buzzing over the city.
I hope you found this short tale to your liking, now I can get back to finishing my other work still in progress.