Malibu Mall Madness
Disclaimer: "I'm ready to watch you go insane!" - Greg Wilmot, The Completionist
Chapter 9: Old Friends.
The Malibu Mall
The disguised Dr. Cyber walked with purpose, waiting for the mad Surf Master to starting raising hell. However, what the arrogant cyborg scientist did not realize was that she was being followed.
Lila Cheney was a British astronomy-loving girl-turned-space-pirate-turned rock musician. She was also a superheroine of sorts, a member of the West Coast Misfits, a California-based offshoot of the Misfits. Membership in that team had its perks. One of them was getting trained by the Joes in various certain skills. Lila had learned well from the elite American group about how to follow a person of interest without arousing their suspicions.
What the bloody hell is it about that woman that makes the alarm bells in me head ring? Lila thought, peeking out at the disguised villainess from behind a column. As Dr. Cyber moved forward, Lila kept on her tail, keeping herself hidden behind the columns used to help hold up the next floor. And where in the name of Frexiv's six moons is she going? She doesn't look like she's going to any store...she then noticed that Dr. Cyber was slowing down her pace. Lila then mentally calculated the direction the doctor was going.
"She's heading towards a bank? They have a bank in here?" The British girl mumbled to herself. She rolled her eyes. "Of course. They bloody have everything else in this mall, why not a bank?" The interstellar teleporter continued to watch as the evil cyborg stood beside the bank. She discreetly pulled one of the lapels of her coat closer to her face.
"I am in position." Doctor Cyber whispered into a hidden microphone in the coat's lapel.
"Good." Shocker responded. "You know the signal."
"Of course I know the signal!" Cyber whispered harshly into the communicator. "I am not an idiot like that madman with the surfboard!"
"Cyber, stow that arrogant scientist bit, it was old before your first brawl with Wonder Woman." Shocker retorted. Cyber grit her teeth at the mention of the Amazing Amazon, but bit down her urge to retort.
"Fine, just send that madman out."
The food court
"Ha, ha!" Jenni laughed at a joke Roberto cracked. "That's funny, Roberto!"
"Glad you like it!" The Brazilian mutant smiled winningly. "Girls tend to love that joke." Ray rolled his eyes.
"I think she's the first girl to ever laugh at that joke."
"Ahhh shaddap, you walking battery." Roberto mocked.
"Oh, I'm sure other girls have found it funny." Jenni waved it off. "It's not a problem." She noticed her watch. Huh? Jenni took a glance at her watch. At first glance, Jenni's watch was a special custom-made digital watch, with a red strap and pink-and-white face, with full-color display, and white four-pointed stars on the strap. However, Jenni noticed the display was flashing an icon: A yellow 5-pointed star.
Jenni's watch was also a communicator, a way to contact other members. The little icons on the screen were a form of Caller ID. The yellow 5-pointed star indicated Lila Cheney. Every member had an icon like this. Paul's was a purple 5-pointed star. Craig's was the same, but black. Jenni's was a red four-pointed star. Ace's was a blue 8-pointed star. Kyle's was a yellow thunderbolt. Jake's was a red dragon. Jinx's was a hot pink pair of dice.
"You'll have to excuse me, boys." Jenni told the two young mutants. "I just remembered, I have to find Kyle."
"Aw, let the little jerk get himself lost." Ray snorted.
"Yeah!" Roberto added. "It might be good for the little punk."
"Kyle's not that bad." Jenni shook her head with a smile. "He just...has a lot on his mind..." She walked off. "And a lot of issues..." She muttered under her breath. She managed to find a secluded spot to speak. "Come in, Starway."
"Jen? It's me, Lila!"
"Lila, what's going on? Why are you calling me on the communicator?"
"I ran into a strange woman leaving the bookstore." Lila explained. "She made me suspicious, and I decided to follow her." Jenni blinked.
"Okay..."
"She's just loitering around in front of the bank." Lila continued.
"Wait, this mall has a bank?" Jenni responded in confusion. "Really?"
"Yeah, that surprised me too."
"Well..." Jenni shrugged. "This place has just about everything, so I figure it would have a bank. I saw a CVS Pharmacy on the third floor."
"A CVS." Lila answered. "A bloody CVS. Anyway, she's just loitering around the bank. She's not checking a phone or anything. Although I did see her fiddle with her lapel."
"Maybe she's waiting for someone at the bank, Lila."
"Maybe...but the way she was holding her lapel..."
"What about it?"
"The way she was holding it...I think she was talking to it." Jenni blinked at Lila's statement.
"Talking to it? You think she's talking to someone?"
"That, or she's mad as a box of cats."
"Yeah, or...wait..." Jenni noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "I just spotted someone."
"Who?" Lila asked "Oh God, if it's Cobra..."
"No, it's a guy hanging around in front of the Petey's Pizza place." Jenni remarked. "He's just standing there, not doing anything..." She noticed the man, Flame, fiddling with the lapel on his coat. "He's doing the same thing that woman you're talking about is doing."
"That can't be a coincidence."
"But if something bad is going to happen, what do we do?" Jenni frowned in concern. "We can't warn the X-Men, they'd get suspicious."
"...I don't know." Lila admitted. Meanwhile, Tessa had accompanied Kyle to a collectibles shop. The living computer had decided to look around while Kyle eagerly looked over at the comic books.
"Let's see..." Kyle pulled a comic out of a box. "Ooh, Captain Nebula #208. And only three bucks, wicked!" The young mutant smiled as he took the comic and put it on a small pile next to him. He blinked as he pulled out another comic book. "Back to the Future had a comic book? Based on the cartoon, I'll bet..." (1) The Bostonian mutant mumbled. Tessa glanced over at Kyle, and a smile formed on her own face.
It is nice to see Kyle smiling again. The Englishwoman thought. He is truly happy in places like this. She noticed a hockey jersey. Hmmm, Logan may like this jersey...
"Yo, Tessa!" Kyle called out.
"Are you ready, Kyle?" Tessa called out. "We have to get going." Especially since I can't be seen with Thunderbolt. It would make the X-Men ask a lot of questions, and answers would be extremely awkward.
"Yeah, the Thunderbolt is ready!" Kyle grabbed his pile and walked to the counter.
"You ready, son?" The man at the counter smiled.
"Yup! Got some sweet-looking old ones here!" Kyle grinned, putting the pile on the counter.
"Get a ten percent discount if you buy ten or more." The man remarked as he looked at the pile and added up the prices. "$32.40."
"That makes sense." Kyle nodded as he pulled some money out of his wallet. "Ten comics, four bucks each, ten percent off." He bought his comics and the two mutants left the store.
"Over thrity dollars for comic books, Kyle?" Tessa blinked. "That's awfully dear, Kyle." (2)
"Not really." Kyle shrugged. "Each comic was four bucks each. Some of these are really old, but they aren't significant issues, first appearances of a popular well-known character, or the like."
"I...see."
"Yup." Kyle nodded. "They're not part of any well-known stories, either." He smiled as he looked at his bag.
"You feeling a little better?"
"Yeah, I suppose." Kyle admitted. "When the Thunderbolt feels down, he turns to his comics. Although, he does miss his old shop back in Boston. Been goin' there for a long time. Knew the owner by name." He smiled wistfully. "Those were good times."
"Sounds wonderful." Tessa smiled.
"It was awesome." Kyle grinned. "Ol' Jerry knew what I'd like. You know, I still talk to him, through e-mail. And whenever I'm home, I go get caught up on my comics."
"Well, that's good."
"Yeah, I try not to forget about ol' Jerry." Kyle nodded. "Heck, he likes to joke that I helped him put his kids through college."
"Well, that's nice." Tessa chuckled, glancing at her watch. "I have to get going, Kyle."
"Yeah, sure." Kyle nodded. "Hey, Tessa?"
"Yeah."
"Be careful." Kyle warned. "The Thunderbolt does not trust those X-Men jabronies. He doesn't anything to happen to you because of those SOBs. They're an embarrassment to our species, and the Thunderbolt don't want to see your life get destroyed because of them."
"I'll be fine, Kyle." Tessa reassured with a chuckle. She then noticed something. "Hey, what is that?"
"What's what?" Kyle blinked.
"Look." Tessa pointed out to her left. "That person in the coat." Kyle lifted his shades and squinted his eyes.
"Huh. That broad in the trenchcoat."
"Indeed." Tessa frowned. "Isn't it a little warm to wear such a coat?"
"Could be a weirdo. We got our fair share of those here in Southern California." Kyle shrugged. Tessa grunted and shook her head. "You okay?"
"The woman's mind..." Tessa hissed. "It's screaming about something called a 'Surf Master' and his attack."
"Again, a weirdo."
"No, her mind seems too...well, well." Tessa shook her head. "I think I should tell the X-Men."
"Oh, great." Kyle groaned. "Those jabronies."
"I got a bad feeling, Kyle." The British woman told her younger friend.
"If it makes you feel better, fine." Kyle shrugged. "But remember, we don't know each other. After all, I'm not supposed to have any idea who the hell you are."
Well, well, well! Looks like things are picking up! What insanity will happen next? When will the villains attack? Can the X-Men and the Superstars save the day? Will the Superstars and the X-Men even work well together? And will the Superstars' secret be blown? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!
This bit was inspired by a trip I took to the mall recently. I went to a collectibles shop there which had several boxes filled with comics for sale. One was a Back to the Future comic book. It was not an adaptation of the film. I'm guessing it was based on the animated series. Yes, there was a Back to the Future animated series.
In English slang, "dear" means "Expensive".