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  He gave me another smile, got back into the car, and pulled away. I shook my head and headed back to towards the tower when the transport behind me fired up its VTOL and lifted off the ground. The turbine downwash scattered dust, paper, and my hair in little swirling patterns and I was instantly aware of two facts.

  The first was that Detective Braddock seemed to be flirting with me just a bit. The casual glances. The warm and inviting smile. The way he stood near me. All of that sent unfamiliar signals running around in my head and made me feel warm and flush all over. Martin had never bothered with flirting. He’d always been direct and to the point. I found the experience pleasurable.

  Fact Number Two was the realization that when the psycho in the powered mecha had blasted me through the car, the seat of my yoga pants had taken serious damage. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been naked underneath. So while my Secret from Victoria was completely undamaged, the ass of my pants was missing and the air from the hovering transport was blowing across my panty-clad butt. Which explained the good detective’s parting comment.

  Just my luck to meet a really nice – and hot – guy and end up flashing my underwear as a first impression. I hoped at least he’d enjoyed the view. I held my bag behind me to deter any other viewers of my wardrobe malfunction and quickly made my way back home.

  CHAPTER 8: THE ‘D’ IN DYSFUNCTIONAL

  I managed to make it back to the tower with only two car horns and three cat-calls worth of appreciation for the gaping hole in the seat of my pants. When I crossed the lobby to the elevator, Joelle paused in her duties just long enough to give me a raised brow before a slight smirk formed on her face. Then she went back to doing whatever it was she did when she wasn’t answering phones, filling appointments, or ordering new furniture and appliances to replace ones destroyed by superhero catfights.

  I stepped off the elevator and immediately headed towards my room as fast as possible, praying that I wouldn’t run into anyone else before I could change. Unfortunately, I only made it halfway before Manpower’s voice echoed from a speaker in the wall.

  “Karen, would you mind joining us in the Briefing Room?”

  I pressed the glowing blue button beside the unit. “Uh, can you give me about fifteen minutes? I sorta need to get cleaned up.”

  The reverberating voice responded. “Now, if you please. This won’t take a moment.”

  I walked into the briefing room to see the rest of the team seated around the table, already in uniform. From the looks on their faces, they had been in the middle of a tense discussion before I arrived. The extremely displeased expression on Rocket indicated that the subject of their disagreement had been moi. I stopped in the doorway, keeping my hands behind me, and forced my mouth to smile. “Hey, everyone. What’s going on?”

  Alexis hopped up and rushed over to me with a big smile on her face. “Wow, your hair looks awesome.” Then the smile faltered and a frown appeared, accompanied by a wrinkled brow. “Did you know you had broken glass in it?” She reached out and touched my arm. Suddenly, the constant pull of increased density – to which I’d long become accustomed – vanished. Bits of car debris fell through my now-intangible form and tinkled on the tile floor. After a couple of seconds, the teen removed her hand and I was solid again. And more than a little awed. “There,” she said, “all better. What happened?”

  Manpower held up his hand. “We can discuss your adventure in hairstyling at a later time. Right now, we need to discuss a few things before we face the public.”

  I successfully navigated to the closest empty chair without flashing anyone and sat down so quickly that even the dura-steel frame groaned. Resting my hands on the table, I swept my eyes across the faces of the others. “Why do I get the feeling that the something is specific to me?”

  “Because it is,” Darla answered. Then she gestured to Manpower.

  “We were discussing how much about you should be revealed to the press.” He looked around the table and then back to me. “Some of us think it would be a bad idea to state that you used to be the villain known as Crushette.” His eyes moved over to Robert and Darla for a brief moment. “And some think otherwise.”

  Captain Awesome nodded. “I think it would be best to not say anything and let you dazzle the public with your …abilities.” He winked and gave me a flirty grin.

  Manpower shook his head. “While I don’t completely agree with Richard,” he said. “I feel that announcing the addition of a notorious ex-criminal to our roster, rather than an already established hero, might not go over well. I would rather the focus be on the fact that the team is back to full power and not your past.”

  I looked at Omega-Girl and Rocket. “Can I assume that you two would prefer that my criminal history be addressed?”

  Rocket nodded emphatically, but Darla gave a little shrug. “Only in the interest of full disclosure,” she said.

  “I think the public has a right to know who you used to be and that there is a risk in having you on the team,” Rocket spat and pointed his finger at me. “Even if you really are reformed, people should know that they can expect to be saved by someone from whom they used to hide in fear.”

  “I see.” I turned to Alexis and Daniel. “Where do you stand?”

  The teen looked down at the table. “I don’t think we should say anything,” she said. “Let them find out on their own.”

  Power Brain pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. “I’m afraid that secrets have a way of creating a backlash. I don’t think we should look like we are deliberately hiding your past.” He frowned and looked away. “I’m sorry, Karen.”

  “So, what is the verdict? Are we telling or not?” I asked.

  Manpower looked at me. “I think this decision has to be yours.”

  I sat silently for a few moments as a multitude of reaction scenarios flowed through my thoughts. Then I shrugged and ran my hand through my newly-shorn hair. “It’ll probably piss off a bunch of people that you guys recruited me, but I think Daniel is right that it will be even worse if it looks like we’re trying to hide who I used to be.” I stared directly at Robert. “Emphasis on the verb tense.” The flyer rolled his eyes and looked away.

  Manpower nodded. “It’s settled, then. Full disclosure.” He held up his finger. “However, we are not going to turn this event into a justification for our decision. We’ll simply say the former Crushette is now a hero operating under a new name. Which, by the way, we’ll need to decide on before two o’clock.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Is there anything else? Because I would really like to shower before my public grilling.”

  Manpower shook his head. “I don’t think so. Other than a codename. We can do that after you get cleaned up. Let’s reconvene in an hour.”

  Daniel leaned over to tap me on the arm, a rather pleased smile on his face. “There’s something for you in your room. I hope you like it.” A little color slipped out of the collar of his lab coat and up onto his face when I returned his smile.

  “Thanks.”

  I stood up and headed towards my room. Two steps along the way, I heard Alexis gasp, Darla snicker, and Awesome whistle. I’d completely forgotten about my pants. Without turning around to explain, I ran off down the hallway to the privacy of my room. I closed the door behind me before slipping out of the pants, holding them up to survey the damage. The entire bottom was gone, including part of the upper thighs. Which meant that my entire ass had been on display. Groaning, I threw the ruined clothing across the room and shook my head.

  The way things were going, I wondered if I should just do battle against evil in my underwear.

  I glanced over to the bed and spotted Daniel’s surprise: my newly fabricated uniform and accessories, lying on the bed waiting for me. I stepped over and ran my fingers along the front of the black and yellow suit. The material felt like spandex—and probably fit like it—but there was an underlying toughness I could detect in the fibers.

  I left the costume where it w
as and headed into the shower. Once under the spray, I turned the knob to the hottest possible setting and scrubbed away remnants of my encounter in front of City Hall. Alexis’ little trick had saved me the trouble of picking out the metal and glass bits one by one.

  After the quick bath, I pulled on a thong and went to work getting myself into the uniform. Daniel had promised it would be a perfect fit, and he hadn’t been lying. It hugged every curve and crevice like a second skin, yet didn’t feel the slightest bit constricting. There was hidden pocket on the hip for holding something credit-card sized and a layer of extra-soft padding in the chest that helped with comfortable support for the girls. My nipple comment had obviously struck a nerve.

  I pulled on the matching boots and gloves and walked around the room, appraising how I looked in the mirror. “Not bad.” I said to my reflection. “Not bad at all.” I did one last check to make sure everything was where it should be before rejoined the others, still sitting at the table.

  I strode into the room, took a deep breath, and smiled. Planting my hands on my hips, I tossed back my head in what I hoped would be a heroic pose. "So, how do I look?"

  "I love it," Phantasm said with a grin bigger than my own.

  Omega-Girl shrugged. "It’s acceptable."

  Manpower nodded slowly. "Very professional," he said.

  Rocket wisely kept his mouth shut.

  Captain Awesome stared for a few seconds and then turned to look at Daniel. "That doesn't look like any of my suggestions."

  Daniel swallowed and looked from the leader to me and back. "Well, uh, Karen requested something a bit more … modest."

  Richard threw his hands in the air. "For the love of Pete, Daniel. Full-body cover is one thing. But you could have at least put in a cleavage window. How else is she supposed to distract the bad guys?"

  I blinked and shook my head, pointing at Omega-Girl’s bathing suit outfit. "Darla’s uniform doesn't have a cleavage window."

  Awesome nodded. "Of course it doesn’t. Her boobs are too small to be an effective diversion.” He rubbed his hand over his own bottom, nodding to the blonde. “However, her butt is perfect.”

  “What the hell, Richard?” Darla yelled as she stood up. The action revealed her aforementioned barely-covered ass.

  Greg stood up and looked at them both. “Enough. We’re going to be standing in front of the world in about twenty-five minutes. Could we possibly act like the well-structured team of heroes that the general public thinks we are?”

  Darla plopped back down and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine,” she huffed.

  “Okay,” Manpower said, turning to me. “You’ve got a new look. Now you need a new name. Any thoughts?”

  Captain Awesome stood up and walked around the table to me. He didn't even bother to hide the way his gaze generously appraised the second-skin fit of the black and yellow outfit. "I do. Uber-Girl."

  I gave him a hard look. "Try again."

  Power Brain tapped a on the screen in his hand and then shook his head. "No dice. Some hero in Berlin is already using that one."

  "Besides,” I said. “I'm not going by anything that has 'girl' attached to it. It's demeaning."

  "Hey!" Omega-Girl yelled, glaring at me from her seat.

  I responded with the sweetest smile and my most Southern drawl. "But it works for you, Sugar."

  She returned the saccharine smile and held up a hand that had an energy halo crackling around it. “I have something else that works.”

  Manpower held up his hands. “Ladies, you can pound on each other at another time. In the training room,” he added, looking directly at Darla.

  “How about Wonder Lady?” Alexis offered.

  Richard snapped his fingers. “Oh! Bullet Babe!”

  “Bullet Babe?” The rest of us said in unison.

  He nodded. “You’re fast and make holes in things when you hit them. Sounds like a bullet to me.” Then he pointed at my chest, finger bouncing up and down. “The Babe part speaks for itself.”

  “I’m going to make a hole in you now,” I said as I took a step towards him.

  “Knockout,” Daniel said, still looking at his tablet.

  I stopped stalking towards Captain Misogyny and turned to look at the team genius. “Knockout?” I asked.

  “Uh, yeah. I mean, it makes sense, right?” He tapped on the screen and swiped his finger back and forth. “Like a homonym.”

  Awesome looked as if he’d just been asked to prove the Unified Field Theorem. “Like a what?”

  “Same word, two meanings.” I explained. Then I arched a brow at Brain. “You think I should pick a name that encompasses both my abilities and my appearance?”

  “Yeah.” Then he frowned and the blush swallowed the rest of his complexion. “I mean, not trying to objectify you or anything like that.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him for a second and then smiled. “Not bad. I like it.”

  The table chirped and Daniel looked down at it. The frown that formed on his face told me that I was out of luck. “Already in use.”

  “You may be stuck with Crushette,” Rocket said with more than a little glee.

  I sighed. “That’s not happening.” I walked around the table and leaned against it next to Daniel. The reinforced metal groaned slightly but didn’t act like it was going to collapse. “Back to the drawing board?”

  He glanced at me with a disappointed look. Then his face took on a curious expression. “Wait. We can abbreviate it. You know, use the initials.”

  “K.O?” Captain Awesome asked.

  Daniel nodded. “Well, I was thinking that since you’re half-Japanese, we could put a heritage spin on it. Call you Kayo. Spelled ‘k-a-y-o’.”

  I thought about it for a moment and then gave a little shake of my head. “It doesn’t mean anything in Japanese.” Though it was rather close to my birth name.

  “I think the idea is that is sounds like a Japanese name. Kay-O.” Darla said.

  I stood there thinking for a minute or two and then decided that Kayo wasn’t any worse than ‘Crushette’. “Why not?” I looked over at Mister Manpower. “Kayo it is.”

  He stared at me for a moment and then smiled, pulling his omni-plex goggles down onto his face. “Wonderful. Well, Kayo, ready to meet the world?”

  The butterflies settled a little bit and I grinned despite myself. I was still nervous about what was to come, but I was beginning to feel like I could pull this off. “Why not? Let’s do this.”

  Alexis slipped her arm through mine, giving me a little hug. “Welcome to the Good Guys, Kayo.”

  “Hope you survive the experience,” Darla added.

  The elevator ride down to the lobby seemed to take five times longer than normal. Probably because of the double combination of Rocket standing beside me, looking put out as a cat in a downpour, and Captain Awesome standing behind me. I didn’t turn around to look, but I swore I could feel his eyes roving all over my body.

  When the bell overhead dinged and the doors slid open, it was all I could do not to shove everyone aside in order to be the first out of the car. I clenched my hands into fists and took a deep breath as Alexis, Darla, and Daniel filed out first. Awesome exited next, slipping past me quickly with what felt like a passing grope, though I couldn’t be sure. Manpower gestured for Rocket and I to go next, but the flyer shook his head.

  “Not turning my back on her if I can help it,” he said.

  I shrugged and followed the others. A small platform and several rows of chairs had been erected in the center of the lobby. I was a little surprised to see that most of the seats were full. Charlotte is a huge city and sits on the border of two states, but there were more attendees than there should have been. I even spotted a couple of the big national news networks among all the local folks. This was apparently really big news.

  There was no way Martin wasn’t going to see the announcement.

  I followed the rest of the team onto the platform and took my place in the line
up next to Alexis. The assembled audience’s attention seemed to instantly zero in on me. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and leaned towards the teen. “Lot of people here,” I whispered.

  She nodded and looked out at the crowd. “Announcement like this draws in reporters from all over.” A grin played over her face and she shrugged. “We are the most famous team south of D.C, you know.”

  I nodded and turned my attention back to the crowd. Greg walked past me to a podium and spoke into the microphone.

  “Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming.” His voice emanated around the room and the attention of everyone present focused on him. “As you all know, the Good Guys suffered a devastating loss six months ago when Gigantica gave her life to save the city. Since then, we have patiently and carefully searched for someone to make us whole again.” He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words settle in. “However, I am happy to say that we have a new member to help us in our mission to keep the citizens of Charlotte, and the world, safe.” He turned and gestured in my direction. “It is my pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of the Good Guys, Karen Hashimoto, code named Kayo.”

  Flashbulbs flickered in my eyes and the realization that I was standing in front of everyone, being debuted as a hero slammed into me. I tried to smile, but my mouth felt all wrong and I worried that I might be snarling instead. I immediately stopped and the concern that I was appearing indifferent reared its head. I might have been famous—or infamous—as Crushette, but I’d never had to stand still under the scrutinizing eyes of a room full of strangers.

  Before my panic could overtake me, I felt a tug on my arm and turned to see Alexis’ hand at my elbow. She mouthed something and nodded towards Manpower. It took me a moment or two to realize that I was supposed to go up and say something.

  Nobody said anything about giving a speech.

  I shook my head and tried to smile at the crowd again. Regardless of how I looked standing there with a psychotic grin on my face, if I went up and tried to open my mouth, things would only get worse.