Busted Flush Read Free Page B

after
American Hero
and being on the Committee that your life would be, you know, perfect.”
    “I don’t think life’s ever perfect.”
    “It was pretty perfect when Tiffani got knocked off
AH.
” She gave me a sly smile.
    I smiled back. “Yeah, that was kinda perfect.”
    “Have you seen any of the promos for the new season of
AH
?” Niobe asked. She sounded excited.
    “Yeah,” I said. “They wanted me to do some teasers, but I was out of the country when they were shooting.”
    “What do you think of the new aces?”
    “I think they have no idea what they’re getting themselves into.”
     

     
    Being an ace, sometimes you forget that other people who get the virus aren’t so fortunate. Everyone knows that the virus kills, but people forget that it also maims.
    Niobe led me through a pair of swinging doors into the children’s ward. There were bright mobiles, stuffed animals, and posters on the walls. Some of the girls had wrapped their IV stands in beads and Mylar stickers. At least I think they were girls. This was the place where they put the sickest kids—the ones the wild card virus had not transformed, but had crippled.
    “We have a special guest today,” Niobe said. “She was a contestant on
American Hero
and she’s now a member of the Committee: the Amazing Bubbles!”
    There wasn’t thunderous applause, but I hadn’t expected any. I’d done my share of hospital appearances in the last year. From Walter Reed to Beth Israel they were mostly the same—sick people who just wanted anything normal in their lives again. Even seeing an ace in person seemed normal. After all, I’d been on the TV in their living rooms.
    Niobe led me to bed after bed. In one, a boy lay wrapped in a plaid robe. He was indigo. He looked like Violet Beauregarde after that unfortunate gum incident. We passed another bed where a child floated above the covers like a balloon. Balloon Girl gave a little wave as we went by. It was obvious that Niobe liked all these children and they liked her. But at one bed, she stopped and began laughing before she could introduce me.
    Sitting in the middle of the bed was a tiny boy. He was perfectly proportioned with a shock of black hair. As I watched, his features began to change. It was like watching a live-action version of computer morphing.
    His hair grew longer until it came to his waist. His features changed, became more feminine. Then I realized: he looked like Cher.
    “Okay,” I said. “That’s just wrong.”
    Niobe giggled. “Watch this.”
    The boy’s body began to bulge, arms and legs expanding as if there were balloons in them.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. “The Michelin Man?”
    Niobe and the boy started laughing together and I realized that this was one of Niobe’s children. I knew she was psychically linked to them, but that was about all I knew about her power. She’d been pretty closemouthed about it. When she stopped giggling and could speak again, she said, “This is Xerxes.”
    I reached out so we could shake, and he slipped his tiny hand into mine. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said. He sounded like Marvin the Martian.
    “You should take that act on the road,” I said.
    Niobe stopped laughing. I was baffled. I mean, I’m not the greatest joke teller in the world, but I didn’t think my comment had sucked all
that
bad: besides, as deuce powers went, Xerxes’s wasn’t a bad one.
    “Uhm, I guess we should move along,” I said. “It was nice to meet you, too, Xerxes.”
    Niobe led me to another bed. I wasn’t certain of this patient’s gender, so I decided to follow Niobe’s lead.
    “This is Jenny,” she said. “Jenny’s card turned about a month ago. She isn’t sick, but she keeps expelling her internal organs when she gets too excited.”
    “Hey, Jenny,” I said. “You’re not going to spew on me, are you?”
    Niobe gave a little gasp, but Jenny laughed. Or kinda gurgled. “Usually people are too freaked out