CHAPTER SEVEN
Chase could sense that the coffee on his face and in his eyes was hot, it just didn’t hurt.

The ogre in the white suit, however, wasn’t so lucky. “Jesus! Arrrrhhhh! Jesus!” He dropped his mostly empty coffee cup so he could wipe at his face. “What the,” he started as he finally cleared his eyes of coffee and saw Chase standing in front of him for the second time that day. “You little,” was all Chase heard before he was up off his feet, sailing through the air away from old white suit.

The man had landed a square-center sucker punch across the bridge of Chase’s nose, his index finger knuckle in Chase’s right eye, his pinkie knuckle in Chase’s left. Chase felt only a dull, tingling ache as he soared back several feet. He landed on the ground with a thud and slid back a few feet more, slamming his back against a lamp post. Again, he felt only the dull, tingling ache. He popped to his feet, dusting himself off.

“Stay down or I’m gonna put you down,” the white-suited titan grumbled from the doorway.

“You are cordially invited to bring it the fuck on,” Chase said, waving the man forward with both hands.

White-suit crossed the distance between them much faster than his size would suggest. He pounded Chase’s midsection with a powerful uppercut, lifting Chase up off his feet once again. Chase hit the pavement tailbone first – still no real pain, although his tailbone should have broken from the impact. He got to his feet again, leaning back against the lamp post.

“That’s it,” he asked, “that’s all you got?” He smiled what he hoped was a condescending smile and whispered, “Pussy.”

The behemoth in the white-suit let out a bear-like yowl and lunged forward, arms out to grab Chase. Chase calmly, and without any obvious effort, leaped into the air a good three feet above the giant in the white-suit’s hunched shoulders. The big man slammed face first into the lamp post. Some of his teeth hit the pavement just a blink before his face. He was out cold.

Chase landed, feet straddling the bigger man’s legs as he laid on the sidewalk. The coffee shop patrons, who has gathered at the window to watch the show, started cheering wildly. Chase blushed and tried to wave them off. They just cheered louder. He put his hands up and entered the shop.

Men and women clapped him on the shoulder. One man stepped in front of him and said, “Thanks, man. That guy, he’s an ass. He literally pushed people around in here, forcing his way to the counter. He’s a menace and it’s time someone stood up to him.”

Chase just shrugged. “He wasn’t that scary, really. Most big guys like him are all talk.” He made his way to the counter. People began to make their way back to their tables or out the door and into the day.

Lydia was standing there, smiling at him. “Someone ate his Wheaties this morning,” she chided.

“That guy was a toolbox and not very smart. I just had to out think him,” Chase said, sidling up to the counter.

“He hit you so hard you flew through the air,” she said. “You should be a fine mist right now. Or maybe a thick paste. You should most certainly not be walking.”

Chase laughed. He loved the way she talked. She blushed a little at his enthusiasm. “Guess I’m just lucky, is all. He hits like a girl. Mostly,” he said, then followed quickly with, “No offense, of course.”

“I’ll ignore it just this once, since you can’t be blamed for all the testosterone flooding your system,” she replied. “What can I get you? On the house, of course. Hero’s discount.”

Chase smirked at her. “Latte, please. Grande. And a piece of the Cinnamon Coffee Cake.” His stomach grumbled. “Make it two pieces.”

“Taunting a jerk into K.O.ing himself is hungry work, huh,” she said teasingly.

“I guess,” Chase answered. He only half heard her because he was busy realizing how hungry he was suddenly. He was starving. He could eat seven or eight pieces of coffee cake the way he was feeling. He wondered if that was a side-effect of the powers. Maybe he needed to eat more frequently and in greater quantity.

“You okay,” he heard her ask and snapped back to the present.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, just remembered something.” He looked her in the eyes and she met his gaze. It was nice. He smiled. “So, how are you doing. If you dn’t mind my asking, of course.”

“No, no, of course you can ask. You’re a friend.” She leaned back abruptly and hollered, “Grande Latte, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, to go. And I’m on break.” She smiled at Chase again and came around the counter. She jerked her head toward an empty table in the back. Chase followed her.

He rushed ahead of her and pulled out a chair for her. She sat. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he said and seated himself across from her.

She smiled, warmly, before speaking again. “Anyway, yeah, I’m okay. Dylan and I…well, I think we’ve been done a long time but we just didn’t know it yet. We were like a relationship zombie, staggering around, going through the motions, but, you know, dead inside.”

“Relationship zombie?” Lydia dropped her eyes, embarrassed. “No, no,” Chase quickly countered, “I thought it was perfect. I was just impressed with your phrasing.”

She chuckled and continued. “Dylan’s…well, he’s real pretty. Really pretty. But, that’s sort of it. Do you know that he doesn’t even read comics. He just bags them and piles them around the apartment. Artfully. Yesterday I woke up and realized I was dating a guy who artfully piled comic books around his apartment for atmosphere. That was that.”

Chase gaped. “He doesn’t…not one. He never reads them?”

Lydia leaned in conspiratorially. “I know, right?”

“Not even EX MACHINA? Or RUNAWAYS?” Lydia nodded her head, shrugging. “ASTONISHING?” There was a pause as Lydia sat back and Chase put his head in his hands. “That’s…sacrilegious.”

“He says he loves comics. And he does. But he loves them as something he does, something that makes him different. Unique. He’s the hot guy that collects comic books.” Chase was still staring at the table top, fingertips massaging his forehead in disbelief. “The worst part is…” Lydia trailed off.

Chase looked up slowly. “What?”

“No, you know what, it’ll just make you upset,” she said, a mischievous grin crossing her mouth.

“What’ll make me upset? C’mon, you can’t start and stop like that.”

“Ok,” Lydia said, “but I warned you.” She leaned back in. “He has an AMAZING FANTASY #15.”

“That’s awesome,” Chase breathed.

“He’s never read it.” Lydia sat back to make her point.

Chase’s jaw dropped. “Never?” Lydia shook her head. “What condition?”

“CGC six point seven.”

Chase flinched in his seat. “Jesus. That’s all…he’s never read it? You’re sure? Never even…cracked it open a tiny bit?”

“Nope. He’s proud of the fact. Thinks it makes him, I don’t know…cool?” She shrugged her slim shoulders.

“He’s an idiot. A preening, Abercrombie and Fitch buying idiot. That’s AMAZING FANTASY fifteen! You read that! You cherish it!” Chase realized his voice was getting louder. Embarrassed, he looked at Lydia sheepishly.

She was watching him with the kindest, most tender look Chase had, quite possibly, ever received. “So,” she said, quietly, “how are you doing? With the April stuff, I mean?”

“Fine,” he said and he’d never been more honest. He felt better than he ever had, physically and emotionally. “I’m actually fine. She was…well, how to put this delicately?”

“Great in bed? A hellcat in the sack?” Lydia was wearing her mischievous grin again.

“Yeah, that’s about the size of it,” Chase said and laughed. “Yeah, she was. She was hot and she was…amorous and she liked me. So, of course I liked her, too. But, you know, after a while…” Chase shrugged and Lydia smiled in commiseration. “Also, she didn’t like comic books. Scratch that, she hated them. Hated. And Adam. She hated comic books and Adam.”

“That’s a weird relationship,” Lydia said as a girl in a Starbuck’s hat brought Chase’s latte and coffeecake to the table. “Thanks, Jess,” Lydia said to the retreating server.

“Me and April?”

“No, you and Adam. You’re like brothers. Actually, you’re more like sisters.”

“Ha ha,” Chase said. “Honestly, yeah, it is weird. I don’t know, he just seems so…helpless? No, clueless, that’s better. He just doesn’t have a clue what it takes to live in the real world.”

“So, why not let him find out on his own?”

“It’s like…therefore by the grace of God go I. You know – I’m two, maybe three steps away from being him. If I wasn’t so well-adjusted, funny, charming…”

“Don’t forget handsome,” Lydia chimed in, playfully.

“I was getting there – and handsome, well, I would be just like Adam.”

Lydia laughed, so Chase joined her. After a moment, they died down and Lydia looked at him, right in the eyes. “So, kinda odd that we both come up single on the same day, huh?”

“Yeah, odd,” Chase said, but he knew it was more than odd. It was fate. This was his origin story. This was the big first issue collector’s item with a foil hologram cover. This was the start of his life. “So…” He saw Lydia’s eyes go wide, looking at something over his shoulder.

He turned slowly in his seat. His came face to face with a belt buckle, shiny and silver. He craned his neck, following a coffee and blood stained shirt up and up, until he saw a badly bruised and bloodied face wearing a grin that showed more than a couple missing teeth.

“This your girlfriend,” the enormous man in the white suit asked, blood spraying Chase’s face. “I don’t think she’ll take a punch in the face too well. Do you, tough guy?”