Page 159 of Manhattan State of Mind

I wish I could remember his words during the speech. I was just too frozen in the moment to think straight.

When I get to my desk, I find a delivery waiting for me. I open it up to reveal a glossy graphic novel, and my pulse quickens. What the hell?

“You all right, Luce?” Matty asks.

I must look alarmed, clutching the comic with my mouth hanging open. “Yeah, fine. Just grabbing a coffee,” I mumble.

I hurry down the aisle, trying not to draw attention.

Quinn & Wolfe have little “relaxation nooks” on each floor filled with beanbags, plants, and a coffee machine—although I’ve never seen anyone actually sit in a beanbag chair.

I enter the coffee area, finding it deserted.

I stare down at the graphic novel in my hands, my pulse thundering in my ears. The glossy pages shine under the flickering fluorescent lights of the office’s relaxation nook. This is a custom story—Miss Nova and Daredevil don’t exist together in comics.

I sink into a plush beanbag chair, hardly aware of the world around me as I turn to the first page.

The pages leap out, bold blues and reds and the occasional flash of flesh.

Nora Allcott, bug-eyed in jeans and a checkered shirt, gazes at the stars through a telescope. She looks just like me, but with superpowers and way better boobs.

A cosmic storm strikes, transforming her into Miss Nova, defender of the galaxy.

I keep reading. A two-page spread fills my vision with bursting stars—supernovas blast from Nova’s hands as she manipulates gravity.

I turn the page with trembling fingers to see the brooding, tortured figure of the “Golden Age Daredevil”, in his blue and red suit, lurking in the shadows of a dark city. Ripped, obviously.

JP’s eyes—God, his eyes—pin me with that intense stare. Eyes that seem to follow me as I turn the page.

He tries to be a hero, but a demonic rage threatens to consume him, leaving only violence and instability in its wake.

And Miss Nova comes to rescue him from himself. Daredevil slowly falls in love with Miss Nova, who brings light into his dark world. He buys a telescope to share her passion for stars.

As I continue reading, a gasp escapes my lips. There before me is an image of myself and JP, recreated in stunning comic book art. JP stands behind me, his hand on my shoulder as I peer into a telescope under a sparkling night sky. It looks so real. Is this from a photo?

The pages slip through my fingers faster now, showing Daredevil falling for the cosmic heroine Miss Nova. Fantasy combined with our love story. Scenes of our passion play out on the pages—kissing in the office, strolling in the park, at his apartment. At my apartment… Did that happen? The details are true to life but with quirky cosmo editions. The casino in Vegas has stars in the ceiling. We are on a floating ship flying across Bear Mountain, looking down at it.

Christ alive, he’s even penned an explicit scene. Nova and Devil going at it. Rutting on a spaceship above the city.

A speech bubble appears on the next page between them: “My dearest Nova, you are the center of my universe. Without your light, I am lost in darkness.”

But his rage returns.

The smooth pages slip through my fingers faster now. Sensing Daredevil’s demons, Miss Nova pulls away, the pain evident in her blue eyes. In desperation, he commits a vague crime that pushes her further away. There’s blood all over the Q&W building.

Tortured by losing her, Daredevil tries to make amends. I read the speech bubble. “My Miss Nova, you are my superpower—you brought the galaxy into my life. Without you, I have no strength.”

I turn the page. As they kiss in the final panel, the speech bubble reads, “With you by my side, I can conquer any demon.”

The End.

I close the graphic novel, pulse still pounding.

FORTY-SEVEN

JP

Stepping into the elevator, the mirror-finished steel doors closing feels like the end of a chapter.