Shades of Gray - By Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge Page 0,55

think the last time I saw George out of costume was a month ago.” Actually, it was five weeks ago—thirty-seven days, if you wanted to get technical. Holly knew. She’d gone back and counted.

“But it’s all good?”

“Yeah.” Holly smiled, thinking of George’s hands, of his serious eyes and sensual mouth. “He’s charming and funny and loving and just wonderful.”

“Good,” Valerie said, toying with her glass. “I’m glad the two of you work so well. I’ve heard … well, you know, Runners talk. One of your Jamies mentioned in passing to my Reggie that Blackout had another … you know.” She made a vague circling motion with her hand. “A thing.”

“If you mean that George lost his temper,” Holly said primly, “yes, that happened. But so what? He’s only extrahuman. He’s allowed to get mad.”

“In front of a reporter?” Valerie asked, arching an eyebrow. “Hols, you know that the press eats that shit up. And the way Reggie said it, it was less getting mad and more of Blackout seething in rage. He threatened to make the reporter afraid of the Dark.”

“The reporter had gotten too personal,” Holly said. “Wanted to know about our sex life. George isn’t the sort of Squadron hero to tell such intimate things to the reporters.” A not-so-subtle dig, that. The sex tape of Luster and Vixen had made the digital rounds and back again. Both Valerie and Lester had laughed about it, with Les going so far as to track his favorability ratings for the month after the scandal hit the vids. Of course, his ratings had soared through the roof, and he’d been nominated as Sexiest Hero of the Year. Valerie had gotten a cover story on Extrahuman Weekly. Holly wondered which of the two of them had leaked the tape. Probably both.

“You don’t want to go threatening the media, Hols. Bad press is more dangerous than the most powerful rabid.”

“Look, it was one time,” Holly said, exasperated. “George is a quiet man. He doesn’t get angry.” Often. Sure, he had his moments when a black fury would possess him, and he’d rant and say horrific things. And do some horrible things. But the moods would pass, then he was sweet, funny, loving George again. As long as Holly was there to temper him with her Light power during those moments, everything would continue to be just fine. Her power soothed his savage beast.

The thought made her smile. Her man loved her so much that she could quiet his rages, hold him as he walked in the Dark. She knew about his fear of the Shadow—there was little about George Greene that she didn’t know—and as long as she could help him, they both agreed there was no reason for them to report his outbursts to Dr. Moore or any of his staff of Therapists—men and women hand-trained by Moore to work with Mental powers and … troubled … extrahumans.

Neither of them wanted that.

“Hey,” Valerie said, “I didn’t mean to get you upset.”

“I’m not. It’s just sometimes, it’s like people expect the worst from George, just because he’s a Shadow power.” Holly sighed. “He’s a good man, Val. I wish more people remembered that when they saw him.”

“People have a healthy fear of the Dark. It’s normal. Well,” she said cheerfully, “off to my favorite room in the suite.”

“I should go. I’ve got to be at the Academy by four.”

“Teaching?”

“No. Visiting Hal.” Her voice grew sad. “Dr. Moore says he does much better after I see him.”

“That’s just terrible,” Valerie said, shaking her head. “Even when the other Mental powers started slipping, I thought Hal would stay strong.”

Started slipping. That was Valerie’s diplomatic way of saying Losing their minds. Right after Corp had given out the Ops comlinks, the three Mental powers in the New Chicago Squadron—and, rumor had it, all twenty Mental powers Americas-wide—had to be permanently restrained. And that was a diplomatic way of saying Pumped full of drugs.

Dr. Moore had quickly assured the Squadron and Corp that it was a power feedback specific to those with Mental abilities. The doctor was confident that they’d isolate the source of the feedback soon, then the Mental powers would be back on active duty.

No one blamed Dr. Moore for the Mental powers, perhaps appropriately, going mental.

Sometimes, Holly would wonder about that. And sometimes, she’d think about how Blackout, too, had grown unpredictable since he started wearing the earpiece. But then she’d think about something else, and the notion that Dr. Moore’s comlinks had caused