Asunder: a Tale of Superheroic Love Lost
an excerpt

“I want a divorce!”

This stopped Jack short. The tenor of the argument had completely changed, and he never saw that one coming. “Diane, you can’t be serious…”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life, Jack. I can’t trust you. I’m leaving – don’t try to follow me.”

And with that, she turned and walked out the door. Jack just stood there, dumbfounded. He didn’t have strength enough in his legs to chase her. His mouth ran dry, and he finally stumbled to the couch.

As he sat there with the television droning in the background, he tried to remember, to piece together what exactly happened, where it all fell apart…

It was a day like any other. Jack was making his way home after a particularly lengthy assignment from work. His body ached from the fatigue of the day, and he longed to get home, get out of his work clothes, take a long, hot shower, and see if Diane wanted to run with him to a fine restaurant or stay in and make one of those simple skillet meals.

As he walked in the door, he immediately knew something was wrong. Diane was standing there, arms folded, eyes glaring. Her posture told him he had done something to piss her off, but he couldn’t think what. He figured the best approach was to get right to it so he could make his apologies or explanations.

“Honey, what’s wrong? You look angry!”

“You’re damn right, I’m angry,” she stated, then pointedly said, “Who is she?”

Jack was stopped. “Who is who?”

“The girl. The redhead girl. The girl I saw you coming onto today.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Diane. And if this is a joke, it’s not funny.”

That’s when she exploded – literally. Fire shot from every pore of her body, scorching the entertainment center, burning the cushions and boiling the water in the vase. Fortunately, Jack fared much better than his surroundings – being invulnerable to physical attacks had that advantage.

“I’M NOT JOKING! I saw you making a move on some girl, and I want an explanation NOW!”

Jack grabbed an afghan out of the bedroom to smother the flames on the recliner. “Damnit, Diane! Would you control yourself? We just moved to the neighborhood, and someone may call the cops when they see the smoke rolling out of here! And I have no idea about what you’re talking about. I didn’t meet any redheaded women – or ANY women – today.”

“Bullshit! I saw you, Jack! I saw you on the Belvedere, down by the waterfront. I saw you grab her into your arms and kiss her. It wasn’t a friendly kiss you’d give an aunt either, so don’t even try that cop out.”

“I wouldn’t, because IT NEVER HAPPENED! I wasn’t anywhere near the Ohio River today, Diane. The Ford plant had an emergency with one of their power stations, and I had to step in and help get it under control since anyone else would have been killed.”

“Another lie,” Diane stated flatly. “I called Daryl to see what you were doing, and he said you didn’t have any assignments this afternoon.”

That’s because it wasn’t a work assignment. I heard about it on the police band and flew out there, and called it in on my way home just a few minutes ago.”

“Well isn’t that just too convenient for you. Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Of course not, baby. You just have me mistaken for someone else.”

That renewed her anger once again. “I have you mistaken with someone else? Some one that looks just like you – same enhanced musculature, same chiseled jaw line, same dirty blond hair, and SAME DARK BLUE MIGHTY MAN TIGHTS?”

Jack just looked at her, confused. She obviously believed her own eyes and wasn’t going to trust anything he had to say to defend himself.

“I…have no idea. I wasn’t there. Ask anyone at Ford. I was needed…”

And then she said it, completely out of left field…

“I want a divorce!”

Jack’s lips were cracked and dry. Why was this happening like this? Why was this so out of control?

“Diane, you can’t be serious…”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life, Jack. I can’t trust you. I’m leaving – don’t try to follow me.” And then she was gone.

Jack continued to replay those five minutes over and over in his mind, to see what he missed. Who did she see that looked like him? Who was this redheaded woman? Why was his life suddenly so alien to him? And why, oh why, with his all his super strength could he not go after her?

As invulnerable as he was, all he could do was hurt.