Mermaid Pirate Dispatch

Steph was slouched over a spread of papers and textbooks at the kitchen table, her open backpack on the floor under her chair. I smiled. At thirteen years old she was surprisingly studious. I realized, of course, that her math teacher probably had a lot to do with the miraculous explosion of effort and interest she’d been investing into her studies.

I went about my business grabbing a glass of juice.

She looked up at me and smiled. “Hey,” she said. “Can you help me with my homework?”

“Sure, what is it?” I set the still empty glass next to the bottle of orange juice and made my way to her side.

“Math,” she groaned. “We just started a new unit on arc angles and lengths and it’s just too much.”

I glanced over the stapled homework packet and muttered some of the questions out loud. “Find the length of arc A given a radius of 3 meters and… Find the area of the sector defined by points A, B, and D…” I sighed and turned the page. “Calculate the angle ACF given an arc length of 5 inches. What is Gizmo Man’s greatest weakness?” I rolled my eyes and dropped the papers on the table. “Nice try,” I groaned.

Steph giggled. “Come on, some of this is really hard!”

I went back to the juice. “You two are cute, you know that? Real cute.”

“She says you have to have a weakness.”

I shook my head. “You mean besides you and your ridiculously charming personality?” I capped the juice and turned to return it to the refrigerator.

She let out a hoarse guffaw and slapped the table. “Sure,” she said. “Besides that.” I could hear the classic teenager eye roll maneuver even with my head in the fridge.

I came back up smiling. “Haven’t got one,” I said.

“Well she’s planning something big for this weekend,” Steph said, an obvious lie.

“I’ll be sure to cancel my plans with mom and dad,” I said coyly, rolling my eyes. I took a sip of orange juice and felt it tingling all the way down my gullet.

Steph peered at me, silently scanning for any signs of worry, deception, or weakness. Enchantra had been teaching her some pretty impressive skills, but Steph was still struggling to yield any results. Mind reading had proven particularly difficult for my little sister, but even Enchantra had never been able to penetrate any deeper than I had permitted her to go.

“Maybe mom or dad will help you with the homework. Should I take you back to their house now?”

“No!” she yelped. “Please! Let me stay with you. In fact, can I stay the night? I really want to hang out with you tonight.”

“And what, I’ll take you to school in the morning? I don’t think so,” I said. “You’re going home tonight. I said you could come over after school and do your homework here, but that’s it.”

She sighed and made a show of rolling her eyes again. “Fine.” Her shoulders slumped and she huffed a few times while staring blankly at the homework.

There was a knock at the door. I dropped my chin and glared at Steph who had perked up. She grinned and looked at the door. “You gonna answer it or should I?”

I groaned and started for the door. “This is a new low for you,” I said sternly but through suppressed laughter.

She smiled innocently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Once the door was opened I found myself staring down the barrel of some new weapon, doubtless Enchantra’s latest invention. With the barrel in my face I couldn’t make out much of the actual weapon or device. I marked the moment in my mind. Perhaps once I knew what the device was for I could do something about it.

“Welcome,” I said calmly. “Come on in. We were just working on Steph’s homework. Maybe you can help.”

Enchantra held the weapon firmly in her grip and side-stepped around me into the living room. Her shiny black hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail that pointed nearly straight up from the top of her head. Her black pupils peeked out from behind the device at me and I could clearly read a pleased smile in the corners of her eyes. As she moved I got a better view of the weapon. It wasn’t a strange device, it was a standard twelve gauge shotgun.

A chill ran down my spine and I glanced sideways at Steph who looked on with a cool, indifferent demeanor. I held my breath.

“You want something to drink, Enchantra?” I offered.

Enchantra laughed and lowered the shotgun. “Please,” she said playfully. “Call me Ms. Nelson.” She sauntered over to the table and put her arm around Steph.

My heart was pounding, and I knew that Enchantra could detect that a mile away.

The villain grinned and her eyebrows lifted knowingly. “Ah,” she said, putting her body between Steph and the shotgun. She pointed the weapon toward my sister and cocked her head. “So this really is your greatest weakness?” She put her finger on the trigger.

Nope.

I closed my eyes and focused on the moment I opened the door to her. I visualized the way the barrel was leveled on my eyes. I pictured her dark form at the edges of my peripheral view. I inhaled, recalling the way her subtle perfume had wafted into my nostrils. I had to envision it all, even what I hadn’t been able to see. I recreated the entire scene in my mind, down to the way her curves filled out the blouse and tight jeans she was wearing and the precise way each of her hairs flowed up through the brass wrap that held her ponytail aloft. I held the vision steady in my mind just as I had done with so many of the other moments I had marked in my past, and when I opened my eyes I was there again, staring into the black barrel of her twelve gauge shotgun.

Only this time, she wasn’t moving. Nothing was moving. Time was stopped, and I had the power to change anything I wanted. I worked quickly to manipulate the scene in subtle but important ways. I removed the shells from the shotgun first. Then I went to the table and scribbled out a quick message on Steph’s homework. I folded it up and put it into Enchantra’s back pocket. Then I returned to my spot and released the timeline back to its normal flow.

“Welcome,” I said calmly. “Come on in. We were just working on Steph’s homework. Maybe you can help.”

Enchantra held the weapon firmly in her grip and side-stepped around me into the living room. Nothing had changed. I still admired the way her shiny black hair was pulled up into that magnificent ponytail. Her beautiful black pupils still peeked out from behind the shotgun at me and I wondered what more could be hiding behind that enchanting smile of hers.

Again I glanced sideways at Steph who looked on with a cool, indifferent demeanor.

I smiled, cool and in control. “You want something to drink, Enchantra?” I offered.

Enchantra laughed and lowered the shotgun. “Please,” she said playfully. “Call me Ms. Nelson.” She sauntered over to the table and put her arm around Steph.

I shrugged and closed the door. “Suit yourself. It’s pretty hot out. A cool glass of water might be refreshing.”

Enchantra lowered her brow impatiently and pointed the weapon at Steph. “Surrender,” she said, trying to sound confident. “I know you will do anything for your sister, that much is clear. So surrender and she won’t get hurt.”

I looked at Steph, who appeared to be unphased. “You’re OK with this sis?” I asked. “Are you in on this plan?”

Steph’s eyes went wide and she put a hand to her chest, playing innocent. “Who, me? Of course not!”

“So you don’t think she’ll do it,” I offered, ignoring Enchantra’s building tantrum.

“I’ll do it!” the woman shrieked, putting her finger on the trigger.

I shrugged. “I don’t think you will.”

She racked the shotgun.

I stared at her face and grinned.

She looked down at the weapon in disbelief. She knew what it should have sounded like, and that wasn’t it.

I watched as she fumbled with the shotgun and found it empty. She looked up at me with terror in her eyes. “What? How? I…” She choked and sputtered words and the many sounds of unsuccessful attempts at comprehension for a moment, looking around the floor, patting herself down.

I turned away to hide my growing grin and walked to the fridge. “Sure you don’t want some water?”

“How?” She cried the word with intense desperation and frustration, then pulled out a chair next to Steph and flopped down, dropping the useless weapon on the floor and burying her face in her hands. “I just don’t understand how this always happens. I come up with a foolproof plan, and you…” She looked up at me and clenched her jaw. “I don’t know! I don’t know what you’re doing or how you’re doing it, but I’m sure it’s you!”

Steph put a reassuring hand on her teacher’s shoulder. “It’s OK,” she said. “You tried.”

Enchantra briefly glared at my sister, then smiled and shook her head. “We need to keep working on your telesensing and telepathy.”

Steph nodded.

I brought over a glass of ice water and set it in front of Enchantra. “That’s fine for later, but tonight I think what she really needs is help with her math homework.”

Steph glanced down at the table. “Hey, where’d my homework go?” she asked, frantically lifting her text book and digging through her backpack.

I shrugged. “See if your teacher has an extra copy.” I suggested.

Enchantra scowled at me. “Why would I bring a copy of the homework over to try to capture you?”

I took a sip of orange juice and sniffled, shrugging again. “I mean, math can be pretty scary. Plus, when I was checking out your incredible butt I thought I saw some papers in one of your back pockets.”

“Mark!” Steph barked at me. “What is wrong with you?” She laughed uncomfortably.

Enchantra glared at me and reached back to check her pockets. She pulled the folded homework packet out and looked at it quizzically. Eventually she found what I had written and she gasped.

I smiled.

Steph leaned over. “What’s it say?” she asked.

Enchantra quickly folded the papers and shoved them back into her pocket as she got to her feet. She was blushing, her mouth half open but unable to speak.

“So?” I asked.

And she stormed back out through the front door.

[Reddit Post][Part 2]