Switcheroo
Chapter 3 of Sapphire Mermaid
Lois took notes in the Mermaid Cove, occupying a chair beside a maintenance door. Jimmy hopped across the channel for a better camera angle. On his side were the food and drink dispensers, facing the other side's hot plate, fridge, trash can, and utensils. Blonde Binia, the white mermaid, dangled purple flukes in the water while tackling a hot dog and fries. Redhead Ellie, in emerald, sat opposite with a salad bowl.
"As you can see," Binia said, "Ellie is the nature girl of the group. As for Sirtis, I don't know if she even eats or sleeps. She rarely hits the town with us."
Ellie forked through pasta, cheese, and olives. "Something happened this morning that has her a little wigged. I wonder if it's related to that hole back in the lumber section."
"They don't tell us anything." Binia used her fin to scoop water at Jimmy.
"Hey!" He ducked aside to shield the camera. Behind him was a curtained alcove. "What's back there?"
"You might say," Binia began, "it's the necessary room." They all laughed at his discomfiture.
Lois flipped a page. "Tomorrow you're doing an event at Spotes Lake."
"It'll be rough," Ellie said with a shiver. "We're used to heated water. Lakes are cold even in summer."
Lois scribbled. "It's for a good cause—disadvantaged kids. Jim, call Perry and see if we can stay an extra day."
Motion stirred the water beneath hanging leather strips that blocked the view from outside. A raven-haired head broke the surface.
"Sirtis," Binia chided, "don't you ever take a break? Come on up and socialize." Sirtis heaved herself up beside Ellie.
Though Lois knew the blue mermaid's secret, they had never met. "Sirtis, I understand doctors and scientists are always after you for study, especially the military. Imagine how they could improve their diving program."
"Yes." Sirtis rested on her palms. "I tell them all I am no one's freak."
Lois saw a chance to investigate. "We haven't had a chance to interview Sirtis. Why don't we detain her a few minutes before she joins you outside?"
"Sure." Binia accepted Ellie's empty bowl, added it to her own paper plate, and dropped them in the trash. Both slipped into the channel and swam back to the outer tank.
Lois wasn't sure how to begin. "Kara told us what happened."
"Then you know about me."
"Jim and I are the only humans who do. We worked with Kara to get Dalith back into the phantom zone. Now we're using the power of the press to track down these kryptonite guns."
"Did Kara tell you I killed the foreign spy?"
Jimmy shouldered his camera. "Jeepers, nobody blames you for that. Imagine the gall—using kryptonite is like pulling a cross on Dracula!"
"Jim." Lois winced.
"Oh, sorry. Bad comparison. But tonight we're gonna do some real secret agent stuff!"
"Allow me to explain," Lois said.
Downtown parking garage
Three off-duty mermaids got out of Binia's car and headed for the elevator. Little light illumined the dozens of concrete pillars, setting up an ideal situation for an ambush.
The red-wigged mermaid broke the silence. "This is the craziest thing I've ever done," Lois said.
Sirtis, masquerading as the blonde Binia, scanned the columns with X-rays.
Kara wore a black wig, making herself the target of the next kidnap attempt. "It should happen near the on-ramp, where there's room to maneuver."
With a squeal of tires, a black work van stopped, and two men jumped out. One of them fired a green beam at whom he thought was Sirtis, with no effect. Kara used heat vision to burn the other man's hand, making him drop his pistol with a yelp. Jimmy tackled him on the run, and Kara burned the other man's hand, dropping the ray gun. When the girls got into the fray, the ray man jumped back in, and the van tore off with more squealing tires.
"Stop 'em!" Jimmy yelled, tussling with his foe. "Kara, melt their tires or something!"
Sirtis tapped the man with her index finger, knocking him cold. "Recall that we want him to tell his cronies the ray gun does not work." She handed the weapon to Kara.
Kara grimaced at the sinister design, made of gray metal. "Lead. It's just one other thing the professor is going to explain."
"I can't believe it," Jimmy said, touching a knot on his head. "He'd never build anything that could hurt Superman!"
Lois pulled the wig off. "Maybe he's being forced." She smirked at Jimmy. "What are you grinning at?"
"This is my article!" he crowed. "The chief is really gonna be impressed!"
The real Ellie and Binia walked down the ramp. "This," Binia said, "is why we park on the street. So how'd it go?" She looked down at the unconscious hood. "Did you do that, Jimmy?"
"Yes," Lois rushed to say. "He's a regular Galahad." She introduced Kara as a friend from Metropolis.
"Excuse us." Kara moved some distance with Sirtis. She explained the Men in Black as the primary movers of the plot in the U S.
"Can we not destroy them?" Sirtis asked.
"It isn't so easy. They have tentacles everywhere, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're behind this hit."
"Is it safe for us to perform at Spotes Lake?"
"I think it is now. The enemy has no idea what went wrong with the guns, and they've lost two of them at this point. They may pay a call on the professor, and I intend to be there." Kara removed her own wig, debating what to say next. "They know about you. I guess they figured it out."
"Then," Sirtis said, "they will discover I am not you." She returned to the group, and the mermaids took the elevator up to their flat. Someone had evidently called police, because a patrol car came in to take charge of the captured gunman.
Periwinkle's lab
A bespectacled man with a ring of white hair puzzled over a schematic. There couldn't be a flaw in the gun, as the angry caller insisted. What could have gone wrong? He had no way to test it, since he'd never ask Superman to serve as guinea pig. It was most off-putting.
He looked up to see a blonde in a skimpy red suit and cape. The blue S marked her as related in some way to Superman. "Supergirl! What an unexpected surprise!" He shook her hand vigorously, noticing the rifle she carried. "Don't tell me yours doesn't work either."
She looked justifiably stern. "Professor, what induced you to make something harmful to Kryptonians?"
"That's the point! Some government men said a dangerous Kryptonian was on the loose, and they need help to stop her."
She closed eyes and blew a breath. "How could you be so naive? They tried to use it on me, to force me into some project they have going."
"Oh dear me. Supergirl, would you . . ."
"I'd be delighted to pose for you. Blast away."
He took her gun and stepped away. "Just a little tap." She didn't react, even when he used a full dose. "I simply can't understand it!"
"How many did you make?"
"A total of three."
"Show me how it works."
"Yes, yes, together we'll figure it out." He fetched a screwdriver and exposed the firing chamber. "Stay back, now." He took out a marble-sized piece of green metal.
"That little bit?" She looked skeptical. "I thought it made its own ray."
"No, no, it merely magnifies the energy many times." To his relief, she was smiling as she drew near. He tucked the metal away.
"It's hard to get mad at you, Professor. Give me all the kryptonite you have on hand. I'll use it on any Kryptonians who get out of line."
"Certainly. You don't know what a relief this is. But those men are going to be awfully disappointed."
"I'm counting on it," said Supergirl.