Phantom Kid in the World of American Comics

Chapter 26: Take the Initiative, Barbara!

”No, you haven’t made it clear to Mathison by now?”

After class, Daisy took Barbara aside and whispered.

Mathison was curious, but Daisy glared at him and wouldn’t let him follow her, so he had to go ahead and leave school first. His classes were calm and relaxing. And, so, while he had plenty of time, he’d always practise red magic

”Daisy, has anyone ever told you that you would get beaten for throwing random guesses at me.”, Barbara raised her small fist, threateningly.

”Besides, I have nothing to tell him.”

”Hey! Whatever you say, it won’t be me who regrets it eventually.”, Daisy bristled.

”What do you mean by that?”, Barbara wondered.

”Geez, are you really stupid or just acting like one? I thought my emotional intelligence was low enough, but I didn’t realise you were worse than me.”, Daisy facepalmed herself.

”Don’t you forget how popular that guy is, he’s the one who gets the most letters every year on Valentine’s Day, and you’re not even a little worried?”

”Worried about what?”

Barbara still didn’t understand what Daisy was trying to say.

”Okay, well, let me be frank with you then, aren’t you afraid that one day Mathison will have a girlfriend?”

”A girlfriend? Who!”, Barbara asked without any second thought.

”Seeing how you’re reacting now, maybe you’re a slow thinker, after all.”

Daisy gazed at Barbara and said, “I don’t know which girl is going to take Mathison’s heart, I only know that it definitely won’t be you, with the way you’re acting right now.”

”Why… would I want to be his girlfriend?”

Barbara asked aloud, spontaneously red-faced.

”If you raise your voice any louder, the whole school is going to hear you.”

Daisy hastily gestured for Barbara to keep her voice down.

”Don’t you dare say you don’t like Mathison?”

”I … I don’t.”

”Well wow, if you keep acting tough, then I’m going to tell you the harsh truth.”

Daisy’s expression was suddenly serious.

”Fang is a very good man and it’s hard for any girl to resist his charm, but do you know why no girl has dared to pursue him until now?”

Here, Daisy even referred to Mathison by his family name.

”The answer is: you!”

Daisy pointed at Barbara, “Because you were always with him whenever and wherever you were, and everyone thought you were a couple, that’s why no one tried to seduce Mathison.”

”But it’s clear to anyone who knows you that you’re not together yet and sooner or later that will be known to everyone and, when that happens, how many girls do you think will come looking for him?”

”Believe me, no man in the world could stand the temptation unless he was gay!”

”If it weren’t for the fact that you’re my bestie, I might have gone down on him already.”

”I can tell he treats you differently than he treats others, but it doesn’t seem to be the kind of affection that … lovers have for each other, so you’ll have to take the initiative or you’ll lose him sooner or later.”

After hearing Daisy’s words, Barbara’s mind was blown, she really hadn’t thought that so many people would like Mathison, let alone that even Daisy had actually had her eyes set on him.

Did she really have to take the initiative?

No, what she needed to find out before making her move was: what kind of feelings did she have for Mathison?

More importantly, she now also suspects that Mathison might be Phantom Kid.

How could the daughter of a police chief be in a relationship with a thief …

Ugh!

Barbara shook her head, what the hell was she thinking, she wasn’t even certain if Mathison was Phantom Kid or not.

”Did you really ever like Mathison?”

Suddenly, Barbara glanced at Daisy with a confused look in her eyes.

”Yeah, I have no reason to lie to you, but I am not thinking about it anymore.”

”Because of me?”

”Of course not! Why do you think that?”

Daisy looked at Barbara in wonder, «I can’t see that this little girl is possessive, still… no one else can like Mathison when you are always around him?»

”Uh …”

Barbara was speechless, and she understood at this point that she seemed to have misrepresented herself.

”Actually, it’s because I’m obsessed with another guy … No, to be precise, he’s my idol!”

”He’s really handsome, I’ve never seen anyone that attractive.”

At this point, Daisy’s eyes were full of sparkles, clearly, in a helpless obsession with the idol she was talking about.

Barbara’s mouth twitched as she watched. 

   “Is there really such a person in Gotham as you say?”

Barbara suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

”Hey, Daisy, when you say idol, you don’t mean…”

”That’s right, my idol is that super thief who recently made his debut, Phantom Kid!”

At the moment, Mathison was oblivious to the fact that the two women were talking about him; he was now preoccupied with his magical meditation.

Although Red Magic is enhanced by magical meditation, the effect was not very strong.

Because the magic of the Red Witch is almost always passed on to the next generation through the bloodline, the enhancement of magic power from meditation is almost trivial.

Akako Koizumi, for instance, basically never cultivates her magic power, but instead exercises her magic control skills directly.

This is why it is said that the Witch loses all her magic power when she sheds tears.

But, after all, Mathison does not have the bloodline of a Witch. He is even born without any magical powers. As a result, only through meditation can he improve little by little his magical powers.

Fortunately, many low-level red magic spells do not require much magical power, only a tiny chunk and various ingredients, such as the two magic charms that Mathison made before.

Of course, It’s not as if he is a master of magic; he can do anything he seeks by merely reading a magic book.

Time passed, nearly two weeks, since the incident of the Cat’s Eye Emerald. Daisy was picked up by Jane Foster a few days ago, and Mathison knew that, in a few months, they would encounter the God of Thunder, yet he said nothing.

He was not afraid of Batman in his prime, but to get involved in the Asgardians’ matters and conflicts? He doesn’t have that confidence.

But what does that have to do with him, even if a butterfly effect causes Thor to be killed by Loki?

Maybe, one day, he would be so strong that he might visit Asgard’s treasure trove, but not now.

Only, as Daisy came to say goodbye, Mathison noticed her, inexplicably, waving to Barbara, and wondered what it was for.

It probably had something to do with the frequent whispering between the two women, which Mathison didn’t pay much attention to.

At this point, Phantom Kid had also been out of the scene of crimes for over a month. Committing two major crimes in a row, Adam’s Star and Golden Green Cat’s Eye, had taken Gotham by storm.

The GCPD has never given up its search for Phantom Kid, but, unfortunately, nothing has been found so far. All they can hope for is a third teaser letter to be sent.

Unexpectedly, one day, the police would have to rely on a criminal to volunteer the location he was heading to, in order to catch him. Because, in Phantom KId’s case, it was really hard to figure out his plans.

As it turns out, Gordon and Bruce’s fears were not unreasonable: the last week has seen a number of copycat crimes committed by both, clueless teenagers and known criminals.

Although all were eventually arrested and jailed, it was foreseeable that more copycats would emerge in the future.

Inside the GCPD Commissioner’s office, Gordon is busy with all the work at hand, with a perturbed mind about the future.

However, a call from the mayor of Gotham City made Gordon’s work even busier…