:
THE MAID OF STEEL # 2

LAST ISSUE : Supergirl lost her angelic powers when Wally (the little boy who might be God) asked to 'borrow them.' Later, she learned that Cutter Sharp had arranged for Supergirl to appear on a scandalous television talk show -- she also found time to team up with Comet to combat a robotic agent of something called the Transwarp Authority.

"I'm just not sure it's the kind of image I want to project, Cutter." Supergirl stood outside the Leesburg Library, her red cape and long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. The citizens of Leesburgh, well-accustomed to her presence by now, smiled at her in passing.

Cutter Sharp crossed his arms and frowned. "Look, if I'm going to be your PR man, you've gotta trust me. The Jackson Springs show is # 1 in the ratings for syndicated talk shows...and the first two shows taped here this week were standing room only. It's perfect! You can talk about whatever you want -- millions will see and hear you."

Supergirl ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She noticed Cutter staring at her -- she'd done it again. More and more lately she'd been adopting Linda's mannerisms while in her Supergirl form. Most people wouldn't notice but Cutter was spending a lot of time with both...Still, why would he ever suspect? "That's part of the problem, Cutter. I'm not sure what it is that I want to say. I wanted people in Leesburgh to know that I'm here to help them -- but I'm not sure I want to become some sort of media celebrity."

"You already are a media celebrity, S-girl. You're just confronting that fact head on. You want to talk about child slavery in the Far East? Bingo -- you've got the forum. You want to talk about Free Speech? Bingo again! Face it, I came through big this time." Cutter grinned expansively, obviously pleased with himself.

Supergirl couldn't resist smiling herself. Cutter had a definite charm about him, though she couldn't begin to explain what it was -- thin, with a shaved head and a goatee, he certainly wasn't a matinee idol...but he had a contagious enthusiasm. She could understand how Mattie had fallen for him, even if Mattie herself couldn't. "Okay, Cutter, you win. I'll do this -- but I don't want any surprises, okay?"

Cutter startled her by embracing her. "Whoo-hoo! Yes! You're gonna love it, S-girl. Trust me!"

Supergirl disentangled herself, laughing. "Famous last words, I think." She forced herself to be more serious. "One more thing -- who else is going to be on the show with me?"

"Little Boy Blue, I think. Some kid who leads a group called the Blue Boys. You know -- small-town superheroes like you." Cutter blinked. "Er...well, not like you, exactly. You know what I mean -- you're a star."

Supergirl lifted herself slowly into the air, looking graceful and angelic. "See you tomorrow, Cutter. Taping starts at ten?"

"Yep. Bye S-girl." Cutter watched her fly away in silence, his smile fading. There had been something about Supergirl lately that he couldn't put his finger on...something about how she acted and talked. She reminded him of someone...but he certainly didn't know any tall blonde supermodels who fit her shape and size. Still, his old journalistic impulses had kicked in...

Fred Danvers stood outside the burger joint and watched as Linda walked towards him. He wore a suit and tie, having at long last gotten his promotion to plain-clothes detective. Fred favored Linda with one of his best 'dad' smiles. "I thought you were going to stand me up again. What happened? A dam break? Despero come back for a rematch?"

Linda shook her head. She was much shorter than Supergirl and had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss her father on the cheek. "No -- just Cutter and another of his crazy schemes."

The two held hands as they stepped inside. "Is he and Mattie still seeing each other?"

"Yeah. But it's kind of on-again, off-again. Cutter gets on Mattie's nerves sometimes, I think. He certainly gets on mine from time to time."

Fred nodded, glancing over at his daughter. When he'd first learned about the merger between Linda and Supergirl, it had been a strange and frightening thing. But now... He squeezed her hand. "And what about you? You found a boyfriend yet?"

Linda felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Images of both Dick Malvern and Comet rushed into her mind. But neither of them were exactly what she wanted -- Dick was nice, but almost TOO nice...and Comet...Comet was really Cutter's ex-wife. Linda had no problems with that per se, except for the fact that she wasn't sure she felt comfortable with another woman in that way -- at least not at this stage in her life. But when Comet was in his male form, he was very hard to resist.

"No, not really. I've been so busy with other stuff...you know."

Fred nodded. "Well, I know that the last time your mom tried to set you up with someone it didn't work out but...well, I guess it's my turn now."

Linda froze, a look of fear in her eyes. "Oh no...Look, dad, I appreciate it but..."

Fred frowned. "No buts, young lady. You've been meaning to come over and have dinner with us anyway. You can meet Ted this Friday."

"Ted?" Linda felt a growing certainty that this wasn't a battle she was going to win...

"Ted Matthews. He's a young guy, just started working down at the station. Moved here from Chicago."

"Oh. Swell."

Fred glanced at her. "Trust me, Linda."

Linda stared at her feet. Why was it that all the men in her life kept saying those same words...?

"I wish we could have picked our own costumes...These are horrible!" The tall blonde stared at herself in the mirror, examining her red costume from all angles. It was form-fitting and hid none of her curves, but the thing that really stood out was the giant "G" on her chest. "What's the big 'g' for anyway?"

The short, squat man in the matching green costume grunted. "It stands for 'gang', as in 'Hi, we're the Gang.'" He, too, was examining the blonde's form -- though with a good deal more appreciation for how she filled out the uniform.

She turned to face him, her pretty features twisted in a frown. "That's a stupid name! Why can't we be the Secret Society of Sin or something?"

The short man shrugged. "Because that's not who we're being paid to be...I'm Bulldozer. You're Mesmer. Joe's named Indigo. That's the names they gave us so that's who we are."

Mesmer sighed. She'd been thrilled when Intergang had contracted her to join their organization -- before they came along she'd been a small-time criminal, using her telekinetic abilities to knock over gas stations. But Intergang -- they were an international cartel! That meant big bucks, fast cars, and everything a beautiful girl could want... So what does Intergang do with her? Outfit her in an ugly costume and sent her to some dinky little town named Leesburg... She pouted, "Well, I wish they would tell us what it is we're supposed to be doing here! I'm tired of waiting!"

"Then wait no more." The deep, lush voice startled both Mesmer and Bulldozer. Indigo melted through the walls, his purple form seemingly composed of an inky blackness. His eyes were empty and cold, as if he wasn't truly present at all. "I have received our orders from Intergang. Our target is going to be on the Jackson Springs show tomorrow..."

Bulldozer broke into a grin. Years of being an enforcer for Intergang had bred into him an extreme love of violence. "Great...I can't wait to bust some heads..."

Jackson Springs was a thin man, bespectacle and intelligent. He looked more like an accountant than a talk show host, but he had become a cultural icon nonetheless. He smiled into the camera. "Welcome to the show, ladies and gentleman. Today we're going to be talking to some of the greatest heroes in the world -- ones who have chosen, for whatever reason, to operate within the confines of small towns in the United States. We're going to look into the effects their presence and actions have on the citizens of such towns as Blue Valley and Leesburg...Today's topic is 'Small-Town Superheroes!'"

The applause was enormous, only adding to Supergirl's nervousness. She was backstage with Cutter, her red cape drawn tight around her shoulders. Supergirl glanced over at him with a sigh. "Cutter...I swear to you, if someone pops out from backstage and I find out this is one of those "I have a secret crush" shows...I'm going to kill you."

Cutter held up his hands in innocence. "It's not going to happen! Cross my heart!"

Supergirl felt someone brush past her and turned to see Little Boy Blue. He was young -- about 15 from the looks of him -- and dressed in a somewhat baggy blue costume that looked like it might have been sewn by hand. A loose mask with eyeholes and a mouthhole cut out covered his features.

"Sorry about that," he seemed even more nervous than Supergirl. "It's the first time I've ever been on television before..."

Supergirl smiled. "It'll be okay. Just try and relax."

Little Boy Blue swallowed hard. How could he relax with a blonde goddess like Supergirl in front of him? He wracked his brain for a way to impress her. "Er...I beat up Dr. Light once*!"

(*He really did, too -- it happened in one of those 'DC Bonus Book Specials' that they ran as a free bonus book inside select DC titles. Anybody else remember those things?)

Supergirl blinked in surprise. "...Really? That's pretty impressive."

Blue grinned. "Yeah, well since then it's been kinda slow..."

A show aide stepped forward. "Hey, Blue -- you're on!"

Little Boy took a deep breath and nodded. Now or never...Maybe after this he could get that tryout for the JLA that he'd always wanted... He glanced at Supergirl and received a reassuring smile. Closing his eyes, he stepped out onto the stage.

The Transwarp Authority existed outside linear space and time. Their spherical headquarters existed on a slightly different vibrational plane from that of the Linear Men, a group of rival timetravellers. Inside the sphere, Agent Bix chewed his nails thoughtfully. He was a green-skinned humanoid, dressed in the standard gray jumpsuit of the Authority. Instead of hair, he had small tentacles that waved back and forth as he moved. "We've got a problem, Chuck. That robot we sent back to Leesburgh, late 20th Century*? It hasn't come back."

(*See last issue for what happened to it.)

Chuck flew closer. Chuck was a tiny being who animated other objects for a brief amount of time -- but those objects always disintegrated eventually. Only Chuck's specially-designed ship could hold his form for long*. "Oopsie! That could be a big-o problem! We should activate its chronal retrieveal array and bring it back, dontcha think?"

(*Anybody else remember Quislet, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes before the 'reboot'? Same race.)

Bix nodded. "Will do. I wonder what happened to it...We really needed it to straighten out that whole Blank anomaly..."

Chuck's high-pitched voice tittered in laughter. "Hah! In late 20th Century? Anything could have happened! It's all a-full of superheroes and evil thingies, too!"

"Yeah, I guess so. Okay, I'll retrieve the unit and start making plans to send another hunter back. Should we use an organic one this time?"

Chuck buzzed away quickly. "Think so. Send a big one."

"So why did you and Superman break up?"

Supergirl blinked. The man asking the question was young and somewhat rattily dressed. "Um...well, actually, I never dated Superman. We're just friends."

Jackson Springs nodded. "From what I understand, you're his cousin, right?"

"Um...no, that's not true either. We're not related really. Just friends."

Jackson moved towards a rather large African-American woman. She grabbed the microphone and pointed at Supergirl. "You need to get some respect for yourself, honey! Don't be wearin' his colors if he ain't going to be taking care of you! Ditch the S-man and find yourself a real man, honey!"

Wild applause erupted, leaving Supergirl somewhat speechless. She looked over at Blue and noticed that he was staring at his feet. The poor kid had been pretty much ignored by the audience so far. "I'm afraid you've got it all wrong...Superman is a wonderful person but REALLY...we're just friends. I promise."

Jackson Springs stepped forward, smiling. "So if you're not dating Superman -- who are you dating? Is there a special someone in your life?"

"Not really, Mr. Springs. My activities as Supergirl keep me pretty busy. I'd really like to discuss some of them, though -- I'm active with a charity called Make-A--"

Supergirl was interrupted as Jackson held up a hand. "Actually, Supergirl, we have someone here that we think you'll be very surprised to see. Someone who says that they have stronger feelings for you than you could ever realize..."

Supergirl's smile faltered. She glared off-stage at Cutter, who shrugged in confusion. "Oh, really...?"

To thunderous applause, a young woman walked on-stage. It would have been difficult to tell who would have been more confused at this point -- Supergirl or Cutter Sharp. Both recognized her and both had the same reaction... "Oh, no."

Andy Jones -- the slender, brunette ex-wife of Cutter Sharp -- walked up to Supergirl and handed her a bouquet of flowers. Andy and Supergirl had more in common than Andy even knew -- just as Linda and Supergirl had been merged, Andy had merged with the male Zed-One...together Andy and Zed formed Comet, the distinctly male superhero. Supergirl had tried to let Andy down easy when she'd discovered Comet's true identity, but now she knew that her flirtations with Comet the other day had given the wrong impression once again... And now Andy, who had left Cutter when she'd realized that she preferred women, had decided to confront Supergirl in front of a national audience...

Supergirl ran a hand through her hair as Andy sat down beside her. "Andy? How could you...?"

Andy smiled. "Well, it's true -- you know that. I've been attracted to you from the beginning. And I know for a fact that you've been attracted to me, too..."

A chorus of cheers (and some boos) greeted that exchange. Supergirl wanted to say "No, I'm attracted to Comet, not you..." but she held her tongue. She was definitely, definitely going to kill Cutter...

A part of Supergirl would feel extremely guilty over what she experienced next -- a part of herself actually felt relief when she saw the back wall of the studio cave in and a short man in a green costume piledrive his way through. At least this was something she was used to...

She turned and looked at Little Boy Blue. "Blue -- try and get people outside as safe as you can, okay?"

Blue nodded eagerly. This was great! Fighting crime with Supergirl would look great on his JLA resume... "Will do."

Supergirl turned towards Andy. "If you can help...it would be appreciated."

Andy smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Supergirl herself flew into the air, confronting the three costumed strangers who were moving towards the stage. She focused her attention on the wraith-like figure at the forefront. "If you guys wanted to crash the show, you didn't have to do it so literally!"

Indigo smiled. "Actually we're here for one of the guests, Supergirl...He has something that we'd like to have back..."

Supergirl blinked. 'He?' They couldn't mean... "Little Boy Blue?! You're after him?"

Mesmer smiled. "We sure are -- but we'll go through you to get him!" She closed her eyes tightly and flung a chair towards Supergirl, using her telekinesis.

Supergirl flung out an arm and struck the chair, shattering it. There were too many people in the studio -- Blue was doing a good job moving them out but it was still too dangerous here. To top it off, there was no guarantee that Andy would find a place to safely change into Comet...

Supergirl noticed that the spectral one was oozing through the crowd, passing through people like a ghost. She knew he was moving towards Little Boy Blue but she also saw that the short one in green was bringing down another wall -- she had to hope that Blue was as good as he said he was for the moment. She zoomed towards Bulldozer, using her psionic blast to fry his synapses before she got to him. He fell forward with a startled groan and she used her enhanced strength to prop up the faltering wall. With a grunt she pressed a loose beam back into place.

Little Boy Blue had just ushered Jackson Springs out the door when he saw Indigo approach. The wraith smiled disconcertingly and purred, "Ah, Little Boy Blue...such a charming monicker. Tell me, did you do it because you needed the money?"

Blue narrowed his eyes. "Um...what?!"

Indigo chuckled. "Sorry...it's the punchline to an old Andrew 'Dice' Clay routine...Before your time, I suppose.

Blue frowned. "What is it you want anyway?" He clenched his fists and tried to look brave, reminding himself that he'd faced the legendary Dr. Light before.

"Years ago you faced a petty villain named Light -- as a souvenir, you kept one of his gloves. That glove contains microcircuitry that we would find very, very useful..."

"Oh...yeah, I remember that." He shrugged. "I don't have it anymore though. I needed some cash for the school dance and so I sold it to one of those Planet Krypton restaurants..."

Indigo's eyes shot up in alarm.

Meanwhile, Supergirl was facing down Mesmer. The two blondes concentrated their mental energies on each other, the very air around them crackling with energy. Finally, Mesmer blinked, her head snapping back.

Supergirl turned back to see that Indigo was gone -- for a moment she thought he'd made off with Blue, but she saw the youthful hero moving towards her. "What happened to the other one?" she asked.

Blue shrugged. "I told him I didn't have what he wanted and he left -- I think he saw it was going pretty badly for his pals."

Supergirl smiled as she noticed a camera approaching. "Hey, Blue -- it looks like you're a hero again..." She stepped back and lifted into the air as the reporters crowded in. Comet hadn't shown -- Andy probably had gotten mobbed somewhere. Supergirl had to find her and Cutter as well -- make sure they were safe and sound. She felt a twinge of anger over Andy's betrayal today, though -- one that wouldn't go away anytime soon...

NEXT ISSUE : Kell Carpenter steps into the scripting role as Supergirl and Cutter confront a terrifying tragedy at a local high school.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Welcome to issue two of our new Supergirl series! As you can see, we're keeping things fairly light around here, setting up relationships and subplots -- as well as introducing some new threats, like the Transwarp Authority and the Gang. Expect things to come to a head soon. You might have noticed (if you have a long memory) that I've taken certain liberties with the Gang -- renaming the members, for instance. I tried to keep what I thought was cool about the originals but update them to a post-Crisis existence as well.

The next two issues will be scripted by my partner-in-crime, Kell Carpenter, and they promise to bring a bit more of a serious edge to the proceedings. Hope you'll enjoy them. I expect to return to scripting duties with issue 5 so I hope to see you there.

Barry Reese is at mailto:aric_dacia@yahoo.com

and

Kell Carpenter is at mailto:tkc2@hotmail.com