Used to Be: The Kid Rapscallion Story (16 page)

2002

continued

9

“How do I know Domina’s dead?” Jason asks. “Because I was there when Francis put a bullet through that bitch’s brain.”

10

Transcript from THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA V. RAPSCALLION

August 18, 2002

DISTRICT ATTORNY CALDWELL SANCHEZ

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will make my opening remarks short and to the point. We are here to put the hero known as Rapscallion on trial for the crime of child abuse. It is the contention of the state of California that Rapscallion has engaged in a pattern of behavior dangerous to the welfare of two young children: Kid Rapscallion, his first sidekick, and Indigo Impster, his current protege.

I will demonstrate, through evidence collected via the increased powers granted to law enforcement through the Vigilante Act, that Rapscallion abused Kid Rapscallion and Indigo Impster by forcing them to enter the superhero life, by placing them in unsafe work conditions, by seducing them to engage in activities beyond their capabilities, and most damningly, by forcefully drugging fifteen-year old children with a super steroid solution created by Flack Farmaceuticals.

I know some of you are likely troubled by how quickly this trial has been assembled. The Vigilante Act was passed only six months ago, yet here we are at trial. There is a reason for that, and it is not, as the defense will argue, because of prosecutorial zeal to make an example of one of the masked men that allowed 9/11 to happen. No, my investigation into Rapscallion on these charges has been taking place for years, when San Francisco Police Detective Harrison Ho first came to me five years ago with a troubling story of two separate instances of child abuse that can be connected to Rapscallion, and an attempted bribe to make evidence disappear. I have worked tirelessly over the past five years investigating these claims, but Rapscallion — and other heroes, I might add — have continually stonewalled me. It was only when Congress gave law enforcement the power of the Vigilante Act that I was able to make progress in this investigation.

So when the defense tells you I am in a rush to prosecute, ask yourself two questions: First, do the vigilantes who failed to protect us really see five years of hard work as a “rush to prosecute” a child abuser? And second, why would should we listen to anyone who would offer a shield of protection for a man responsible for ruining the lives of two children who were seduced by a glamorous life they were not ready to handle?

11

Nancy sits in the courtroom, dutifully taking notes. She has ordered Jason to have no contact with her during the trial. They are both aware that a trial can move in strange directions and secrets that have no business being discovered can be revealed. Jason has his own issues to deal with beyond the trial of his mentor, desperately attempting to find someone he will not name.

“Psst, hey college buddy,” a voice whispers in her ear.

Nancy turns around to see Kira Erdrich staring back at her.

12

“I’ve been watching your reports on the rise of 20-Sided Dice,” Kira says as the two women sit in a bustling diner near the courthouse. “It’s really good stuff. I mean, it’s obvious you’ve got an inside source, of course, but we need them to get the good stuff, don’t we?”

“We do.”

“So you’re saying it’s not Kid Rapscallion?”

Nancy drops her fork into her salad and sighs. “Is that what this is about?”

Kira takes a large bite out of a bean and cheese burrito. “The DA knows his secret identity,” he tells Nancy. “He knows his and Impster’s and Rapscallion’s, too. One of the flaws of the Vigilantes Act is that it does not allow a prosecutor to out the identity of a recognized superhero in open court.” Kira grins. “But that doesn’t apply to reporters.”

“You’re going to out his identity?” Nancy asks. “Why?”

“Oh, I’m going to do more than that,” Kira promises. “I’m going to out you, too, and the fact that you have been covering for … Jason … all these years. Your career as a reporter is over once this trial finishes, Nancy. Maybe two years ago people would be understanding of a reporter protecting her source, but do you think anyone is going to be sympathetic when they find out that you were protecting him from being brought up on murder charges for the killing of Duplication Girl?”

“Ja-Kid Rapscallion is not a murderer!”

“Maybe he didn’t swipe the blade across her throat, but maybe all of that cocaine he fed her makes him culpable. So maybe he’s not a murderer, but maybe he is guilty of manslaughter. Not that the public will ever have a chance to decide. I’m taking you down, Nancy.”

“Why tell me?” Nancy asks, her face red and her palms sweaty.

“I think it’s fun to give you a chance to be a real reporter,” Kira shrugs. “Beat my story and maybe you’ll keep your job after all. Consider me telling you this a repayment of the debt I owe you for letting me break the Kid/Duplication Girl relationship.”

13

Jason thrusts into Melody from a good place. Sex with his newest girlfriend doesn’t come with the psychological damage inflicted by Sandra Flack or Mrs. Overing, or with the passionate abandon experienced with Jula, Becca, or Duplication Girl. If this isn’t love, this is something close to it.

That it’s boring sex — a repetitive pattern of some fondling, some oral, missionary only — is something he tells himself is a good thing. Looking back, the goal with the others always seemed to treat sex the same way superheroes treat everything in their lifestyle: exaggerated and dramatic, like some brighter, splashier version of ordinary life. Normal rules never apply to capes, so why should societal norms conform?

He often thinks of Jula, Becca, and Duplication Girl as he slowly pumps into Melody, especially on nights when she takes her nerd glasses off and he sees a face that’s plainer than he would like. She doesn’t like him to talk during sex, especially if he uses the same words he used with Deege. He’s seen a few DGs around Vegas, but they never talk to him. Some still like him, some hate him, but all of them blame him for what happened to their central body, even if it was one of them who killed her.

Becca seems well. Fake Out is becoming a vital part of the Revolutionaries’ support staff. He thinks now he should have spent more time thinking about the non-sexual aspects of their relationship. She was beautiful and funny and smart and damaged by what her uncle put her through. Melody has information about Becca’s past, she claims, but wants to discuss it after dinner.

It’s his night to cook, and this pre-boiling-the-water-and-dropping-in-the-elbow-macaroni tryst is a way for him to add a little spice to the night. A way to … what? Be the man of the relationship? What does that even mean?

Melody starts to moan and her lips are wetted by her wandering tongue. There is an urge to use words to bring her forward, to push her further, but he resists and his mind replays a therapy session inside the Fort.

“You were damaged as a result of what Sandra Flack did to you,” Psychic Navigator had told him during one of their first therapy sessions. “Of what Domina Tricks did to you through the mind-controlled Mrs. Overing. She used her Influence Net, a large net, made of black rope, that makes a victim susceptible to her commands. This is important, Jason. The I-Net cannot make you do something you don’t want to do, but it can make you do something you prevent yourself from doing. Do you understand the difference?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want to shove your dick between Striped Star’s tits?”

“What? Jesus, Navigator, you can’t say that!”

“Exactly,” he said. “I can’t say it, but I can’t deny that somewhere inside of me is the truth that I would do it, if given the opportunity. That’s what the Influence Net can do. If Domina can plug into something you want, she can break down whatever moral or social blocks you construct to keep you from doing it. Mrs. Overing fantasized about you, just as you fantasized about her, and so you were both susceptible to Domina breaking down the walls that you built to prevent that action.”

“That’s so messed up.”

Psychic Navigator nodded. “These are the obstacles we must overcome in your development. Even what Winton did to you by stealing memories of these events from your mind and placing them inside the Amulet of Anamnesis has stunted your development by denying your mind its ability to cope with problems in the long-term. That does not absolve you of the responsibility for what you put Belle Flower through on an emotional level, or Duplication Girl on a largely physical level.”

“What about Becca?”

“It is your healthiest relationship,” Navigator told him. “Yes, she turned out to be a villain, but from your perspective, there are more positive than negative aspects in how you treated her. Did you love her?”

“I loved being with her.”

“Do you understand why those are different things?”

“I do. I think. No, no, I do understand.”

He starts to rock faster into Melody as the phone rings. When the answering machine picks up, it’s the agent for a rising pop star who’s performing in Vegas next weekend. She’s interested in setting Kid Rapscallion up with the pop star for a date.

“It will be good press for you both,” the agent says and hangs up.

Melody says nothing, but turns her head to the side when he tries to kiss her. She’s a sophomore at UNLV but this is different than his relationship with Nancy had been.

This, at least, is what he tells himself as he finishes inside of her.

“Wash your hands before you make dinner,” Melody says.

“Yes, dear,” he replies, his mind thinking ahead to what he wants to do with the pop star.

14

Jason fills the pot with tap water and sets it on his stove, flipping the burner’s dial to “High.” He has moved out of the Grand Vegas and into a small duplex on the outskirts of the city, though Old Man Cuellers still allows him a free room at the casino anytime he wants it. Melody is taking a shower, and he is to have dinner as ready as possible for when she exits.

She does not like showering together, though she will do it if he pushes her.

Pre-9/11, he would have pushed her, but since Deege’s murder and his brief imprisonment in the Fort by Belle Flower and Becca, he has tried to be a better person. There were therapy sessions with Navigator and chemical therapy with the Big Brains. Some part of his mind still scoffs at himself for attempting to be … what? A hero? A good guy? Jason doesn’t think he’ll ever truly be these things but Psychic Navigator has helped him see that part of a person is forged by the experiences of youth, and Jason’s experiences were neither normal nor healthy.

“Your original parents abandoned you when you were four,” Navigator explained, handing him the same kind of report on Edward and Ingrid Kitmore that he might hand him about Mr. Monster or Pot Kettle Black. “There is no dramatic origin attached to this, I am afraid. They are not alien refugees or spies or brilliant chemical engineers, on the run from a foreign power. He is a drug addict and she was a nurse that was eventually fired for feeding that addiction. A year after they abandoned you, their bodies were found in Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, torn apart and partially digested. Copious amounts of heroin, speed, and crack cocaine were found in their belongings.

“You then spent years bouncing around various orphanages and foster homes. Most of these experiences were bad, some were good, but all of them were temporary. We can start giving you the foundational support you have lacked, if you are willing.”

The water begins to boil, and he reaches for the package of macaroni.

He hates his life.

15

“This is really good, Jason,” Melody smiles.

“It’s not tough,” he smiles back, looking down at the elbow macaroni with marinara sauce in the center of the table, the leaf-less salad bowl on its left, and a small loaf of garlic bread on the right.

“Remember the first time you tried to cook it?” Melody asks playfully.

“Boy, do I,” he says, smiling, half-hoping this is all some sick game of Domina’s to convince him that being boring is actually the right way to live.

16

Jason knows not to press Melody for information, that she will tell him when she’s ready and only when she’s ready. It’s her small way of controlling him — one of them, anyway — and what made him seethe when she first started staying over is now something he accepted.

“Not every battle,” Psychic Navigator told him, “is worth fighting.”

Melody does the dishes and he dries them and he tries hard to keep his mind focused on what she wants to talk about: Chandler and Monica’s decision to have a baby. Jason doesn’t know if this is a conversation that’s really about the TV show or about the two of them, but he quickly does his part of the conversation by saying, “I’m way behind on my
Friends
viewing, hon. Tell me about it.”

As she talks, his mind wanders to all the villains he’s defeated in the past week: Thumbtack & Thimble, Punch Baby, Catagin&tonic (dumbest name ever), Bottled Lightning, Stormy Wednesday (her powers literally only work on Wednesdays), Rich White Dudes, and the new team of Podunk Pete and Prospector Patty.