Masks
Everyone wears one. But sometimes it's in the literal sense. Well that's what happens when you're a hero. USfem!UK.
If Rose had learned anything for the past month from that stupid hero- what was his name again? Oh yes, Captain Freedom. The man just pranced into her life just a month ago, and somehow got close to her. She had no idea how he had done it, but he did. Sometimes she had questioned why how he had done it, even more when she recalled the first thing he had said to her. It wasn't even a pick up line, well, it kinda was after he was trying to clean his mess up, but still. And even though as much as she would hate to admit it, he knew he was right, as he would keep on pestering her about it. If she had listened, maybe she wouldn't be in the situation she was in now. Trapped in the basement of the villain.
Speaking of the devil... "So, Lady Britannia," Rose flinched. God, just the way the guy said it got under her skin. She tried to inch a little bit farther when the guy pointed a gun at her. She just wanted to punch Marianne in face right now. If it wasn't for her insistance on keeping the cape, maybe she wouldn't be in this situation right now! Rose took in a sharp breath as Red Leaf moved the gun closer to her. "Where is Captain Freedom?"
Rose only glared at Red Leaf, or at least, at his helmet. "Not gonna say it, Period Leaf." Another thing to add to her regret list, right under not listening to Captain Freedom's No Cape Policy.
Week One, Part One
One Month Ago;
Rose sat at the top of a building, hugging her legs as the wind softly moved her hair and made her cape dance. It was almost time for her to go on her night-time job. During the day, she was referred to as Rose Kirkland, a part time waitress. When it was nighttime, she was called Lady Britannia, even though no one really knew it was her. She remembered when she was little when he grandfather had told her stories of extraordinary people who would dress up and help people. She had asked why, and he said it was that they could live regular lives and their loved ones wouldn't get hurt. Rose's fasination on heroes grew over time. Unfortunately, her grandfather died, and his last words were for Rose to grow up and be like the people he told her about in his stories. But Rose took his advice in the literal sense and worked her way up to be the city's hero.
When the sun officially set and it was now evening, she stood up, dusted herself off and adjusted her mask. Rose turned on her heels, but when she did, she was now face to face with another masked person. Now, he didn't look like much of a threat, emphasis on look. The man was wearing a mask, like hers, a white and red striped shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. Over his shirt was what looked to be a cape, only the end was cut off, so it was just the collar. He wore gloves on his hands, a watch strapped on his right and... shiny reflective padding on his shoulders and elbows. He had a strap worn over his chest and a belt, both carrying tubes of some sort, all filled with different colors of liquid. He wore combat boots and tights, but was both amusing and absolutely horrifying were his pair of underwear with a white star pattern over a blue foreground, worn over the grey tights. If Marianne would have seen him, she would have beaten the guy up before giving him proper pants, and if she were having an off day or was drunk, she would probably beat him up again.
"Why are you wearing a cape?" Was the first thing he had asked. Rose was still shocked to find him, and by the tone of his voice, was also appalled by his attitude.
"W-well, why aren't you?" She asked, tripping over her words a bit. Rose might be a really good fast thinker, but that was only through actions, not words, at least, out loud. "And why the bloody hell do you have your underwear out? Didn't your mother teach you how to wear clothes?"
The man chuckled. "Yeah, well at least my costume isn't like a rip-off from Robin's!"
"And what are you supposed to be, hm? A crappier version of Captain America?" Rose retorted.
"Uh-" He laughed a bit more and scratched his head before he strook a pose. "I'm Captain Freedom."
"God," Rose crossed her arms and laughed at him. "You really didn't think this through, did you?"
"I could say the same thing to you-" He paused. Rose rolled her eyes. She grabbed a side of the cape, a hand each, and curtsied. "Aw, why must you be so shy?"
Rose snorted and was about to say something before she was tackled to the ground by Alfred. "What the hell, Freedom?"
"I prefer Captain," Captain Freedom corrected. "And you're welcome, by the way. Look up."
She blinked before she tilted her head up to see a man with long black hair, wearing a ribbon with holes cut eyes for the eyes, a red hat, and casual clothing. That, and he was holding a wok with him. "For fucks sake!"
"Right?" Captain Freedom agreed as he helped Rose up. "Those flip flops are not good for crime fighting, buddy."
Rose punched his arm. "Don't you think he isn't on our side?"
"So we're a team now?" He asked with a grin on his face. "Hey what's up Wok Man! Are you gonna join us?"
"He's not you dolt! Just- fight or flight!"
Captain Freedom blinked before finally, he got the memo, and started running for his life when the guy in the crappily made costume started charging after him with his wok. But the man turned on his heels, lifted his leg up and tossed his flip flop at Captain Freedom's head. Captain Freedom had expected the hit to be something like a cold gust of wind, not entirely hurtful, but still would kind of hurt. But he did not know that this horrible dresser had some foot, so the flip flop was more like a slap to the face. Wok Man, as Captain Freedom dubbed him, began charging for him again.
It had seem that his prime objective was Captain Freedom and not Lady Britannia. Rose could just ditch the guy, but he was obviously new to the hero business, so she decided to offer him some help. Because of Wok Man being so focused into beating the hell out of Captain Freedom, who had surprisingly had dodged his every move, Rose took this as an opportunity to take out a disk from her pouch and threw it. The disk slid on the floor and stopped when it was just underneath Wok Man. When it was, Wok Man froze and fell to the floor. Rose smiled and ran to Wok Man to retrieve her disk.
Captain Freedom got up and walked over to Wok Man. He looked at Rose and coughed. "I could have handled it myself, you know."
"That explains why you were on the ground," Rose laughed as she placed the disk back in her pouch.
He merely rolled his eyes before he averted his attention to the attacker. Captain Freedom squinted his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things. "No way... it's my landlord."
"What?" Rose scoffed. "You didn't pay your rent?"
Captain Freedom was about to say something before he was hit on his side by the Wok. Wok Man got up, dusted himself off and took off the mask. "Yes, he didn't! And the only way I could get this idiot's attention was to dress up as a villain and make him pay rent. Now-"
"Dude, don't say my real name, that just won't be cool!" Captain Freedom groaned.
Wok Man rolled his eyes and he put his foot over Captain Freedom's chest to keep him down. "Just pay your rent, and I will leave you alone for the rest of the night."
"Alright! Alright!" He said defensively. "I'll give it to you by noon!"
Wok Man nodded and helped his tennant up. "Ok, good night, and good luck on what ever for the both of you. And Captain Freedom?"
"Thank you for teaching me your awesome kung-fu moves," He grumbled.
"That reminds me, you have to pay for your lessons too," Wok Man patted his back before he headed towards the door and went down stairs.
Captain Freedom looked at Rose, who was trying to hold back her laughter. He readjusted his mask and dusted himself off. "For the record, this is my first fight as Captain Freedom. Plus it was only my landlord and kung-fu teacher trying to get my attention, so it doesn't count. That and I was only here to test something. I don't officially start until tomorrow."
"So why did you really come up here?" Rose asked him.
But instead of an answer, Captain Freedom smiled as he walked closer to the ledge. "Before I go," He said as he stepped over the railings. "I just wanna say that you should really lose the cape. For one thing, it'll save your life. And for another," He looked on his strap and silently identified each tube before picking the third on the top. "It's a crime for it to hide a nice ass like yours." He winked at her before continuing. "I hope you lose the cape the next time we meet because I don't wanna turn you in for that."
And with that, he jumped.
Rose quickly ran over to try and get him, but when she looked down, the man was free falling, before he disappeared in a layer of smoke, that faded away in a couple of seconds. She hated to admit it, but she didn't mind seeing his ass again either.
The Following Day;
Rose's Lady Britannia shift was over for the day when it became six in the morning. By that time, she had concluded that people would be more aware of their surroundings if there was a villain on the loose at that time. She had slept for around six hours before she realized she had to wake up for her afternoon shift as a waitress. Thankfully, the restaurant was just across the street, so it would only take her around five to ten minutes to get there.
As Rose walked in front of the restaurant, she was fixing her braid while trying to open the door with her elbow. As she was attempting to do so, someone pulled the door open for her. She smiled and nodded as she walked in, and even though she didn't notice it, the man smiled back and took his seat after he walked in. When she finished braiding her hair, she had walked inside the kitchen, and grabbed her apron and began tying it around her waist as she greeted the cooks and other waitresses. She grabbed a notepad and a pen and headed out through the door.
Elizaveta tapped her shoulder and pointed at a table in the corner. "New customer at table nine."
Rose clicked her pen and walked over. "Afternoon, sir, what would you like to have today?"
"A cup of coffee," He yawned. "And some waffles."
"Breakfast ended five minutes ago," She informed him.
"Okay then," He grabbed the menu from the table and flipped over to the lunch menu and scratched his head a bit. "I'll have a sandwhich."
"Which one?" Rose asked.
"Surprise me." After that line, Rose was tempted to spit in the man's food or 'accidentally' spill hot coffee all over him. But then again, it just might've been her grouchiness taking over due to lack of sleep. After she had given the man his order, he stopped writing and called out to her. "Hey, I'm sorry about that. It's just I was up late all night and I couldn't get enough sleep."
"Apology accepted."
As Rose was about to turn on her heels and walked away, the man spoke up. "I'm Alfred F. Jones," And tilted his hat and gave her a smile. "And you are?"
"Heading back to work."
"Hold on, before you do," Alfred took his wallet out from his back pocket and took out two dollar bills and handed it to Rose.
She smiled and took the money from him. "Thank you, Alfred," As she was walking away, Rose was about to pocket her tip. But as she was, she felt something other than bills, she she unfolded the money and found a paper tucked in between.
'I just met you, and this is crazy. But here's my number,' He had written his number down under that line. 'So call me maybe?'
She stared at it, rather baffled at him and she turned around to see him look up from his notebook. He smiled, tipped his hat, and waved his finger around in a circular direction. Rose rolled her eyes and walked back in the kitchen. When she got in, she looked at the paper and turned it around.
'You've got a nice ass, by the way. I hope I can see it again.'
Notes This fanfic is a birthday gift for Pie uwu. Oh and to see the costumes for Rose and Alfred in the story, just go to my profile, and there should be a link there.