 Wednesday,
10:47 PM
Three days, one hour, thirteen minutes, and counting...
Oh, man. It was his lucky day. An original
1951 Action Comics #158, The Kid from Krypton, shimmered
before his eyes, thirteen minutes from closing on eBay.
Yes! Clark
Kendall raised both arms in a two-fisted salute to the superhero
gods. He'd lusted after this particular Superman comic book
for ages. Now it was as good as his.
He typed in his bid the old-fashioned way.
On his laptop keyboard. It launched into cyberspace just as
the telephone shrilled.
He snagged the receiver. "Heroes Incorporated...
Yeah, we deliver... Go ahead..."
He shifted the phone to one shoulder as
he watched the eBay screen refresh. "One roast beef hero
sandwich, no onions... one Italian hero, hold the mayo... Drinks
with that?... Two Cokes... Your address?... Right. Got it.
Twenty minutes."
He cut the connection, wondering how long
it would be before the hungry customers figured out their dinner
wasn't coming. Amazing. Even with absolutely no advertising,
the fake New York-style sub shop four levels above his head
still managed to attract business. Almost made him want to
open a strip mall take-out restaurant in Newark, New Jersey
for real.
Almost, but not quite.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his
nose and squinted at the laptop screen. Damn. Someone had topped
his bid. He typed in a counter offer and sent it scurrying
across the broadband connection.
"Hey, Clark."
He swiveled his desk chair toward the door,
swallowing hard. Diana Price had come looking for him? More
luck. That only happened in his dreams.
He watched as the shapely Amazonian princess
sashayed into the Heroes Incorporated control room, forty-four-and-a-half
double D's all but exploding out of her skimpy costume. When
she leaned over the back of his chair and brushed her chest
against his shoulders, he nearly passed out.
"What are you doing?" she
asked, peering at the computer screen.
Trying desperately
to breathe, Clark thought, but masculine pride prevented
him from cluing Diana in on that little bit of information.
"I'm on eBay," he told her. "I
put in a bid on a Superman comic book."
"Think you'll get it?"
He craned his neck to get a better look
at her boobs without being too obvious. Did he think he'd
get it? God, he hoped so.
 "Clark?
You okay?"
He gave himself a mental shake. "Yeah,
fine. Listen," he said, forcing a casual tone. "My
shift's almost done. You want to go out for a drink afterward?"
Diana's red lips quirked knowingly at him.
Too knowingly. He knew he was toast even before she started
laughing.
"I can't." She presented
him a smile reserved for children, puppies, and guys who
were about to get the shaft. "I've got a date with Bruce."
Clark's fist closed on his mouse so tightly
it was a wonder the thing didn't let out a squeal. Bruce Wynn,
superhero. Scratch that. Superjerk.
"He's just using you for the
sex, you know."
Diana only laughed. "That's what makes
it fun." She gave him a little hug. "Aw, Clark, are
you jealous? That's so sweet."
He felt his cheeks heat. Sweet. Yeah,
that's what every superhero aspired to be.
As if on cue, Bruce appeared at the door,
arms crossed over his steroid-enhanced chest. Muscles bulged
under his gray spandex shirt and black tights. He wasn't wearing
his cape, but Clark could almost see the shiny black fabric
flapping in an imaginary breeze.
Bruce nodded toward Diana. "Babe." His
moody gaze shifted the tiniest bit to the right. "Clark."
Diana gushed a reply, making Clark slightly
nauseous. Sure, Bruce was something to look at — and
if you believed half the rumors, a veritable god in bed — but
was that all a woman wanted in a guy? You'd think the ripped
physique, perfect profile, and gloomy angst would get old after
a while.
Bruce and Diana melded into a liplock. Clark
pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned back
to eBay. Only two minutes left, and he'd been knocked off the
top again. Hell. He upped his bid into four figures and sent
it flying. No way was he going to let this one go.
The phone rang again.
"Heroes Incorporated," Clark
droned, then snapped to attention when Captain Marvelous'
radio-announcer voice crackled across the line.
"Clark, round up the troops.
We've got a situation."
"A situation, Captain?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Bruce
and Diana disengage.
"Can't say any more on an unsecured
line, son, but I can tell you it's not good. Tell every hero
we've got on the books to report to my ready room in one
hour."
Damn.
Clark couldn't remember the last time the Captain had ordered
a full HI assembly. This was major. Another threat to life
as they all knew it, most likely.
His gaze drifted back to eBay. His mysterious
opponent had posted a winning bid two seconds before the countdown
expired.
It looked like Clark's luck had run out.
top
END OF EXCERPT. LIKE IT? ORDER IT!
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