by Vendikarr DeWuff
Molly Maynne Scott drove the car down the driveway of the sprawling mansion the Scotts owned outside of Gotham City. Alan had decided that privacy was necessary, especially since his children had found him. In that, he had something in common with Dick Grayson. They both had homes outside the city, except on almost-opposite ends of it.
She was concerned about Alan. On the drive home, his signal had gone off, and he had to rush to the JSA Brownstone. Since Marcie Cooper was in the car, there was no time to even dwell on the usual, “Be careful.” It was understood.
As the car pulled up to the house, two young people stepped out — Alan’s children, Jennie-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice. Molly still marveled at Alan having children. She had hoped for most of her life that it would be her who would mother his kids. She certainly hadn’t expected Rose Canton to have been in that position.
The car stopped, and Molly and Marcie exited the car. Jennie ran up to Molly and gave her a big hug. Todd followed more slowly and waved. Todd was always so protective. She hoped that one day he would be able to release his emotions instead of keeping them bottled up inside.
“Where’s Dad?” asked Jennie.
“He was paged to a special meeting. He got out of the car and grabbed a cab earlier,” replied Molly.
“Anything serious?” called Todd from the steps. “We could head into the city and check on things.”
“Let’s wait and see. If we don’t hear from him in a while, maybe that would be a good idea.”
Molly then turned to Marcie and at the same time waved Todd closer. “Todd, you remember Marcie Cooper, don’t you?”
“Sure,” said Todd. “How’s your sister Sharon doing these days?”
“She’s OK,” said Marcie.
“Please remember to thank Norda for me, Todd,” said Molly. “Marcie has turned out to be a terrific executive assistant.”
Marcie blushed at the fancy title. She knew deep in her heart that she was just a secretary. Turning to Jennie, she said, “How are you, Jennie? It’s been a while since we talked. Are you still going to UCLA?”
“I’m doing really well, though I decided to take a sabbatical from UCLA. But you’re looking well, girl. I like what you’re doing with your makeup. Don’t you agree she’s got such a beautiful face, Todd?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. You’re very attractive, Marcie,” said Todd, distractedly.
“Well, let’s head into the house,” said Molly as she and Jennie walked toward the house. Marcie was a step or two behind her when Molly said, “Marcie, I forgot my purse in the car. Can you grab it?”
“Sure, Mrs. Scott,” replied Marcie, seeing her chance provided to her again. She leaned into the car and grabbed the purse. She opened it, and they were there — the Harlequin glasses. She quickly pulled them out of the purse and put them on.
They felt strange, almost like a narcotic. She had the feeling she could do anything. And she did. She imagined herself invisible, and she was. Mrs. Scott turned to call to her and found that Marcie was missing.
Marcie then walked down the driveway to the street, unseen by everyone. She came to a phone booth at a nearby service station and dialed a prearranged number. And she waited.
“She’s gone!” shouted Todd, looking toward the car.
“Marcie?” Molly cried out as she and Jennie-Lynn moved back toward the car. “Jennie, look around the house quickly. See if you can find her.”
“OK, Molly,” replied Jennie as she turned into the green heroine called Jade and began to fly around the house, looking for signs of Marcie.
Molly got to the car and saw the contents of her purse emptied onto the front seat of the car. Then she noticed something was missing.
“Todd, come here,” she called in a very serious voice, and Todd ran over to the car. “Marcie stole the Harlequin glasses. I can’t believe it. After the trust we put into her. And I didn’t even know she knew who we were.”
“Well, she was Dad’s secretary. It’s probably not that hard to figure out.”
“Umm, well, that’s true enough,” replied Molly.
Jade finished her lap around the building, then landed next to her brother and stepmother. “No sign of her anywhere.”
“No wonder. She has the Harlequin glasses. She can make us see, or not see, whatever she wants.”
“Why were you carrying the glasses to begin with, Molly?” asked Todd.
“Well, your father needed them. We sort of became young again, and he needed it to maintain his identity.”
“You became younger? You don’t look it,” replied Jennie before she realized what she’d said. “Oh, I’m sorry, Molly!”
“That’s because I’ve internalized the power of the glasses. If I let the illusion slip–” And she did. “–you can see how I really look now.”
The two young people saw a woman forty years younger than her actual age. “How?” they both said.
“Not important now, kids. We have to get in touch with Alan.”
The three of them went into the house and phoned the JSA Headquarters, hoping that Alan was still around.
“Shiera? You’re back. That’s great. How is Carter? Wonderful. I need to talk to Alan. Is he there?” There was a long pause. “Oh, no. Yes, of course we’ll be right there. See you soon.”
Jennie asked, “What’s wrong, Molly? Is Dad all right?”
“The JSA went on a case. Shiera is afraid it’s a one-way trip. We need to get into costume and get to the brownstone.”
The three quickly changed, and then Jade formed a green platform and headed off toward the JSA Brownstone.
***
Forty-five minutes after Marcie Cooper arrived at the phone booth, a black sedan pulled up, driven by black-suited government types, and she was told to get in. Immediately after the car started driving away, the car phone rang.
“Yes?”
“About time you got them. The plane to Louisiana is waiting for you. No mistakes, or you know what can happen.”
“I understand,” was all Marcie could say as the phone disconnected. Marcie just sat there and broke into a sweat, scared of what she had gotten herself into.
Continued in DC Universe: Crawling from the Wreckage, Book 4: Twilight of the Gods