By now Kellie was getting frustrated.  She could tell she was having trouble thinking straight, probably from the concussion.  The Planner kept adding more ice to her bonds every few minutes, keeping her from being able to move and adding to the pain of the cold ice.  The pain was starting to diminish, but she was afraid that might be due to hypothermia.  She was trapped and getting desperate for a way to stop this guy.

The Planner glanced at the cafeteria clock.  “Your time is running out, Elevator Girl,” he said.  “Soon you’ll be dead.”

Suddenly volley of arrows struck the robot, a few flying near the Planner.  Several also impacted the ice holding Elevator Girl, chipping it but not freeing her.

Kellie turned her head as far as she could.  Jenna, Hayley and several other students, including some from the school’s archery team, had fired the arrows.

“Scatter!”  Hayley yelled.  “She’s looked out for us!  Stay safe, but get that son of a --”

“You again!”  the Planner shouted.  He aimed his freeze gun straight at Hayley, who tried to bolt out of the way.  “Well, I’ll deal with you once and for --”

Before the Planner could finish his thought or fire his weapon, the wall behind him collapsed with a loud crash.  He pivoted.

As the Planner pivoted, the monitors he had set up for his media output came alive with a new image.  “Oh, my God!  It’s Granite Man!” a woman on-the-spot reporter was shouting.  “It’s really Granite Man!  Granite Man is back, fighting to save the students at Jackson High and his old partner’s protege!”

The wall had tumbled due to Granite Man bursting in.  He glared with a stony gaze up at the Planner.  “Surrender now,” he said simply and coldly.

The Planner looked appalled.  “You?” he said.  “It can’t be you!  No one’s seen you in more than 40 years!”

Kellie couldn’t resist.  “He wasn’t in your plan, huh?” she said.

As the Planner turned, Hayley, Jenna and the others were firing off more arrows.  They were careful to aim away from Kellie’s head, but not so much about the Planner.  He was threatening their lives, their friends and their heroine.  They were fighting for their lives, and they knew it.

Suddenly, Granite Man was hammering away at the robot’s feet with his granite fists.  The vibrations made it hard for the Planner to take any action as the chaos reigned around him.

In the midst of it all, Kellie realized that the ice holding her had melted just enough for her to move her wrists. She used the ice to press the button on her bracelet, which sent her up even bigger. Suddenly the ice exploded, sending chunks in all directions. Students ducked out of the way, but the Planner, on the unstable platform of his vibrating robot, couldn’t. He took a shot to the midsection and doubled over.

Kellie was angry and in pain herself.  She flicked her finger to knock the Planner off his platform, sending him down to Granite Man.  The stony superhero caught the Planner, slugged him in the jaw once, then dropped his unconscious form to the floor.

Meanwhile, Kellie was pummeling the robot, smashing it to the point of being inoperable in an effort to keep any booby traps built into it from going off.

As she finished, around her, the other students were cheering and shouting.  Kellie looked at the archers, crying.  “Thank you,” she said.  “I won’t forget this.  But don’t put yourself in harm’s way again, OK?”

“Sometimes you have to,” shouted Hayley.  Jenna nodded as others shouted, “Yeah!”  One guy yelled, “You rock, Elevator Girl!”

As police came flowing in through the opening Granite Man had made, he looked up at Kellie.  “I take it you’re Elevator Girl?” he said.

Kellie nodded.  “And you must be Granite Man,” she said.

“Come with me, please,” Granite Man said.  “I need to leave, and someone is waiting for you.  I’ll take you to the rendezvous point.”

Kellie manipulated the bracelet, shrinking to bug size and floating lightly onto Granite Man’s shoulder.  “Let’s go,” she said.

Granite Man chugged rapidly to where Gemma waited.  Kellie, making sure no one else was in sight or earshot, shot up to normal size.  “Mom!” she shouted, hugging Gemma.

Gemma was sobbing.  “Oh, God, I thought I’d lost you!” she said.

After a couple of minutes, Granite Man said, “Ladies, I hate to break this up, but my curse means I have to return to the park.  Gemma, Elevator Girl, can I give you a lift?”

During the return trip to the park, Granite Man repeated his story for Kellie, and Gemma learned about her daughter’s concussion.

“When we get to the car, I’ll take you to the hospital,” Gemma said to Kellie.  “That’ll help explain where you went, too.”

Kellie nodded.  She looked at Granite Man.  “Do you have any sense of … time while you’re asleep?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said.  “I’m dimly aware of events around me.  I know when someone is visiting, for instance.  Your grandfather used to bring a woman with him.  I’m guessing it was your grandmother;  you resemble her a bit.  He was a good friend, even if he never was able to awaken me again.”

Soon they were at the park.  Granite Man moved slowly to his pedestal.

“I wish we had more time,” said Kellie.

“So do I,” said Granite Man and Gemma at the same time, looking at each other.  They both chuckled.

“I’m so glad you were here when I woke up this time,” Granite Man said.  “I wish …”

“I’ll come as often as I can, for as long as I can,” Gemma said.  “And, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s your name -- your real name?”

“Stamitos,” Granite Man said.

Gemma took Stamitos’ hands.  “And I’ll tell you all I can.  I don’t know how much will register, but anything’s better than nothing.”

Granite Man’s breath sounded nearly like a sob.  “I’ll look forward to your visits,” he said.  “But now, I’ve got to go.”

Gemma stretched up and kissed his cheek.  “Thank you, Stamitos,” she said, caressing his stone cheek.

Granite Man stepped onto his pedestal.  “Thank you, lovely Gemma,” he said.  Looking to Kellie, he added, “Take care of her, Elevator Girl.”

“I will,” Kellie said.

“You’re a worthy successor to … your grandfather,” Granite Man said as the yellow light enveloped him again.  As he was again becoming a statue, he whispered, “Gemma,” then  froze.

Kellie looked at her mother. Gemma was staring at the statue that had saved her daughter.

Kellie put her arm around her mom’s shoulder.  “You OK?” she asked.

Gemma nodded.  “Let’s get you some street clothes and get you to the hospital,” she said.

Once they were in the car, Kellie said, “You really fell for Stamitos, didn’t you?”

Gemma glanced at Kellie out of the corner of her eye.  “Is it that obvious?”

“Pretty much,” Kellie said.  “Just like you, though, to fall for an unattainable guy with a heart of stone.”

Gemma smiled as she pulled away.  “He may be unattainable,” she said, smiling wistfully, “but his heart is the one part of him I’m sure isn’t made of stone.”