scooted away from her
finger before she could touch it.
“Magnets,” Evan explained. “Once you have it on,
it should repel everything away from you. Right now, they’re
repelling everything away from the table. I need to find a better
power source.” Kinetic energy was his first choice, with a backup
battery of some form.
The other three girls wandered into the
basement, joining Blessing in giving his work skeptical looks.
“Why do we need this?” Angela asked.
Evan sighed. He put his tools down and tried to
find an answer. There wasn’t a good one. “Mommy is undercover.”
“We know that,” Maria said.
“And she’s run into a little trouble.”
Angela smirked at her sisters. “I told you
so.”
“Daddy is going to help Mommy out. While I’m
doing that, I need to keep you girls safe. I’m making you some
shields. You will wear these while the minions watch you and Daddy
helps Mommy.”
“I want to help Mommy,” Maria said.
Evan smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, but this
is grown-up stuff.”
Maria’s eyes narrowed. Little sparks of solar
heat coalesced around her. “I want to help Mommy!”
“We can be super heroes too,” Blessing said. “I
can fly, just like Mommy.”
“Uh huh.” Evan nodded. “Except the people Mommy
is having trouble with are, technically, super heroes.” The girls
stared in shock. “They’ve gone rogue,” he explained.
Delila wrinkled her nose. “Then we can be super
villains.”
“Not a good idea!” Evan sprang to his feet in
alarm. “It’s not safe. Very, exceptionally, really not safe. I
can’t begin to describe how not safe that is.” He took a deep
breath and looked down at his little girls. They were children.
Little children. “Shouldn’t you be playing with dolls?”
Maria rolled her eyes. “We won’t get hurt,
Daddy. You’ll protect us. You never got hurt as a super villain,
did you?”
“Um...”
“See? We’ll be safe.”
Delila raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“Can we have costumes?”
He was blindsided with nowhere to run. “Sure.
I’ll have a minion get right on that. You do realize that if I let
you near a fight, your mother will kill me. She will skin me alive.
Literally. This is a very bad idea.”
“Mommy doesn’t like you leaving us alone
either,” Maria said.
“Minions don’t count,” Angela added.
Hert gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid
the genetic programming on these specimens is flawed, Master.”
Evan collapsed back into his chair with a sigh.
“Control models, Hert, they never do what you want them to.”
Chapter Eighteen
In the end, the minion programmed for
color and spatial coordination was given an hour to
watch What Not To Wear , a credit
card, and free run of the local sewing shop. The girls talked
dresses, designed costumes, and I changed the defensive shields to
match Locke, Rage, Strike, and Curse, the newest super villains in
the world’s pantheon.
Delila was my perfect walking
Lock-pick, all jazzed up in a Victorian suit of copper and black.
We added ruffles to the sleeves, and a little top hat. I turned her
shield into a watch and she was ready to unlock every secret in
existence.
Angela, who could manipulate emotion,
chose Rage as her name. She could make people happy, but as a
villain, she was going the other way. I dressed her like a young
Harry Dresden in a black leather duster, a black fedora, and armed
her with a small walking stick. Instead of the pentagram Harry
wore, I gave her a heart inscribed in a star for her defensive
charm.
Maria became Strike, a dark princess
with velvet gown, puffy sleeves, and a choker that held a black gem
covering the shield. Very much what I pictured Galadriel wearing if
she took the One Ring.
Last of all was Blessing, who changed
her name to Curse. We went for a mystic-in-the-desert look with a
red robe and hood, except we split the skirt and gave her tennis
shoes so she could run.
I never believed in impractical
finger before she could touch it.
“Magnets,” Evan explained. “Once you have it on,
it should repel everything away from you. Right now, they’re
repelling everything away from the table. I need to find a better
power source.” Kinetic energy was his first choice, with a backup
battery of some form.
The other three girls wandered into the
basement, joining Blessing in giving his work skeptical looks.
“Why do we need this?” Angela asked.
Evan sighed. He put his tools down and tried to
find an answer. There wasn’t a good one. “Mommy is undercover.”
“We know that,” Maria said.
“And she’s run into a little trouble.”
Angela smirked at her sisters. “I told you
so.”
“Daddy is going to help Mommy out. While I’m
doing that, I need to keep you girls safe. I’m making you some
shields. You will wear these while the minions watch you and Daddy
helps Mommy.”
“I want to help Mommy,” Maria said.
Evan smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, but this
is grown-up stuff.”
Maria’s eyes narrowed. Little sparks of solar
heat coalesced around her. “I want to help Mommy!”
“We can be super heroes too,” Blessing said. “I
can fly, just like Mommy.”
“Uh huh.” Evan nodded. “Except the people Mommy
is having trouble with are, technically, super heroes.” The girls
stared in shock. “They’ve gone rogue,” he explained.
Delila wrinkled her nose. “Then we can be super
villains.”
“Not a good idea!” Evan sprang to his feet in
alarm. “It’s not safe. Very, exceptionally, really not safe. I
can’t begin to describe how not safe that is.” He took a deep
breath and looked down at his little girls. They were children.
Little children. “Shouldn’t you be playing with dolls?”
Maria rolled her eyes. “We won’t get hurt,
Daddy. You’ll protect us. You never got hurt as a super villain,
did you?”
“Um...”
“See? We’ll be safe.”
Delila raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“Can we have costumes?”
He was blindsided with nowhere to run. “Sure.
I’ll have a minion get right on that. You do realize that if I let
you near a fight, your mother will kill me. She will skin me alive.
Literally. This is a very bad idea.”
“Mommy doesn’t like you leaving us alone
either,” Maria said.
“Minions don’t count,” Angela added.
Hert gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid
the genetic programming on these specimens is flawed, Master.”
Evan collapsed back into his chair with a sigh.
“Control models, Hert, they never do what you want them to.”
Chapter Eighteen
In the end, the minion programmed for
color and spatial coordination was given an hour to
watch What Not To Wear , a credit
card, and free run of the local sewing shop. The girls talked
dresses, designed costumes, and I changed the defensive shields to
match Locke, Rage, Strike, and Curse, the newest super villains in
the world’s pantheon.
Delila was my perfect walking
Lock-pick, all jazzed up in a Victorian suit of copper and black.
We added ruffles to the sleeves, and a little top hat. I turned her
shield into a watch and she was ready to unlock every secret in
existence.
Angela, who could manipulate emotion,
chose Rage as her name. She could make people happy, but as a
villain, she was going the other way. I dressed her like a young
Harry Dresden in a black leather duster, a black fedora, and armed
her with a small walking stick. Instead of the pentagram Harry
wore, I gave her a heart inscribed in a star for her defensive
charm.
Maria became Strike, a dark princess
with velvet gown, puffy sleeves, and a choker that held a black gem
covering the shield. Very much what I pictured Galadriel wearing if
she took the One Ring.
Last of all was Blessing, who changed
her name to Curse. We went for a mystic-in-the-desert look with a
red robe and hood, except we split the skirt and gave her tennis
shoes so she could run.
I never believed in impractical
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