It was a rainy, hazy day that Mocktopus decided to attack the pier. Again. The rain wasn't pelting down, but it was drizzling. The end of the pier, out to sea, was covered with a fog and barely visible. But the fog didn't quite hide Mocktopus' rampage. Tentacles flailed up out of the haze, and the shrieks of civilians carried, even through the dreary weather.
"Are you sure this isn't going to ruin my hair?" Guy asked. He pressed up against the Shehicle's window. The roof was closed, so the rain couldn't get in. But he couldn't fight Mocktopus from inside the Shehicle. It'd look stupid.
Kelly glared at him from her spot in the passenger seat. "No, it won't. It's barely spitting."
"But it's cold…"
"Seriously? You're SheZow. Do you even get cold?"
"This skirt doesn't exactly keep everything cozy."
"TMI, dude," Maz sighed.
"If you vacillate much longer, Dad's going to get here. Do you want to deal with that?"
"If he whats? Kelly… ew!" Maz screwed up his face.
"What on earth do you think that means!?"
Guy sighed. If Kelly and Maz kept fighting, they really would be here until the cops came. He pushed open the door and flew up the pier.
"Hey, wait up!" Kelly called after him.
Mocktopus was pulling fish out of a docked boat, helping himself quite causally to the catch, whilst ignoring the screaming people around him.
Guy landed, stumbling as he did. Okay, so SheZow's hair didn't really like the damp air. But he didn't need to fly to defeat Mocktopus, right? "Everyone out of here!" he shouted.
The half-dozen people still on the pier stopped running around in circles and stared at him.
"That way!" Guy pointed up the pier. He rolled his eyes and groaned. "Away from the sea monster!"
The people rushed past him, whipping up his cape as they passed. "Thanks, SheZow!"
"Yeah, cause you really need my help figuring out which way to run…" Guy grumbled. "Hey, Mocktopus! What are you doing? Can't you catch your own fish instead of stealing someone else's? I mean, you can actually swim…"
"But the waters so cold." Mocktopus hugged himself with two of his tentacles. "You can't expect me to swim in that."
"Yeah right, I bet you just forgot your floaties."
"I can swim! I just don't want to. So there."
"Well I'm not going to let you take those fish."
Mocktopus growled. He pulled himself up out of the boat and back up onto the pier. "Don't tell me what to do!" Tentacles slammed down on the boardwalk.
Guy rolled out of the way. "Laser lipstick!" He pulled out his weapon and slashed it at Mocktopus' tentacles. Mocktopus dodged, and then whipped a tentacle around. Guy collected it full in the chest, rolled over and slammed into one of the pylons. "Ow!" He only barely rolled out of the way again as another tentacle slammed down. SheZow was supposed to be way faster than this!
"Kelly!" he shouted. "Why am I all sluggish?"
Kelly and Maz skidded to a halt just behind him. "Maybe you're hair's damp?" said Kelly.
"Yeah, but you said…"
"I know. Maybe I was wrong? Maybe it's all the salt in the air…"
"Ugh!"
"Oh look! You all want to play, huh?" Mocktopus grinned at them, all razor edged teeth, and lashed his tentacles out in all directions.
Guy ducked again, and when he looked up, Kelly and Maz had dodged the attack and were back on their feet too.
"Come on, SheZow, you're not all out of power, right? We'll help you." Maz grinned like a maniac, picked up a nearby life buoy, and flung it at Mocktopus' head.
"Ow, stop it!" Mocktopus slammed down a tentacle, but Maz rolled out of the way, just in time.
Guy grinned. Now this was more like it! Mocktopus was a pushover, who cared if SheZow's hair was a bit damp? Not when he had help. "Hey, fish face, over here!"
Mocktopus whirled around and slapped at SheZow again. Maz and Kelly pounced, each grabbing at a tentacle.
"Stop it!"
Guy found a bit of net, and snagged it over half of Mocktopus' tentacles. Mocktopus screeched and tore it loose. More tentacles flailed out everywhere.
And that was when the wail of sirens filled the air.
"Oh, no," Guy groaned. Mocktopus should've been quick to defeat, had SheZow's powers not been going all glitchy cause of the damp, or salt, or whatever. It was taking too long. The last thing they needed were the cops. Or worse, his father.
The haze parted and a cop car slewed across the wet pier. Officer Wackerman and Boxter jumped out. They were both rugged up in water-resistant jackets, and Boxter slammed the car door with a huff. "I'm telling you, when it gets like this it messes with the gel."
"Quit whinging. Why do you need to make it do that flippy thing at the front anyway?"
"You're just mad cause all your hair does is curl. And thanks to SheZow, now we've got to get out here and fix her mess. Again!" Boxter said that last word a little too obviously loudly, and turned a glare and his ever-ready SheZow-hate towards Guy.
Guy gulped. Goddess, he was so glad his father hadn't worked out who SheZow was yet.
"Oh no…" said Maz. He ducked down behind a nearby crate. He wouldn't want his friend's cop father seeing him and dobbing him into his parents. Just in time too; Boxter didn't spot him. Kelly, however, was far too engrossed with slamming a loose oar down on one of Mocktopus' tentacles.
Boxter faltered. "Kelly?!"
Kelly stopped pounding Mocktopus' tentacle and froze, eyes wide and fixed on her father. "Dad?" she squeaked.
"What the hell is she doing here?!"
"Well, you see…" Guy began.
"Stop poking me! All of you!" Mocktopus flung a tentacle wide. It slapped across Kelly's chest and flung her right off the pier.
"Kelly!" Guy zipped to the edge and froze. The water was churning up around the pylons, the waves high. SheZow's hair would be a mess if he dove in. He searched for his sister, hoping to spot her so he could scoop her out without actually going into the water. Where was she?! The haze was thick down over the water, and he couldn't see her anywhere.
Something slammed into Guy's chest, a bundle of blue material, hard enough to make him stumble to the side. A police jacket, bunched up in Boxter's fist and flung with enough force Guy wondered if it had been meant to hurt.
Boxter dove in, and disappeared beneath the waves.
"Da- Officer Hamdon, wait…" Goddess. Where was Kelly? Did Dad even know where she was?
"Shit," said Wackerman. "Where'd they go?"
"I… I don't know. Can… can he swim in that?" His Dad could swim, but the ocean was churning. Could Kelly swim in that? Mocktopus had hit her pretty hard, she could be unconscious.
Wackerman glared at him. "Why are you even fighting sea monsters with kids? It's dangerous. Now he's… Aren't you supposed to be able to fly?"
"Not in this!" Guy bunched up his fists. But he could still run. "It's okay; we'll find them." He ran back, off the pier and down onto the beach. "Kelly! Officer Hamdon!" He ran up the length of beach at blistering speed, though not quite as fast as when his powers were fully functioning, and then back again. By then, Wackerman was making his way off the pier, breathing heavily.
Guy spun on his heel and readied himself to rush along the length of beach again. Maybe he could risk flying out over the water. Then he saw the hunched form though the haze, right on the waterline. Guy jogged up. His father knelt in the damp sand. Kelly was beside him, doubled over and retching up seawater.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Just breath. You're safe." Boxter held an arm around her, holding her up.
Kelly was soaked through to the skin, and she choked and coughed. But at least that meant she was breathing. Guy swallowed the lump in his throat and crouched down in front of her. "Hey, Kelly… you okay?"
"Get away from her." Boxter jerked up and pushed Guy back. His voice was hoarse, though he wasn't spluttering as badly as Kelly. He was shivering and bedraggled, and he could hardly take a swing at SheZow with Kelly clinging to him like that, but Guy still startled and took a step back.
"Dad, I'm okay…" Kelly said weakly. "Don't be mad at her."
Boxter stood up, letting Kelly lean heavily on him as she pulled herself to her feet. "What were you doing anyway?"
Kelly swiped at her cheeks, pushing back tears. "Helping…"
"Here," Wackerman finally caught up with them, panting. He took off his jacket and handed it to Boxter, who in turn wrapped it around Kelly's shoulders, then pulled her back to his side.
Then he glared at Guy. "You stay away from my daughter, understand?"
"But… I didn't… I didn't know she'd get hurt."
"Dad," said Kelly, "it's okay…"
"No, it's not okay. I don't know how I even managed to find you in all that water, I…" Boxter drew in a sharp breath and wiped at his red, bloodshot eyes. "Stupid saltwater… SheZow, you leave her out of all of this stuff, alright? You put her in danger and I'll… I'll… just stay away from her. Stay away from my entire family."
"But I didn't mean to…"
"I don't care! Breaking property and leaving a mess is one thing. But you could've…" He drew his arm tighter around Kelly. "You could've killed her."
"I'm okay," Kelly said again.
"No, you're not," Boxter knelt down in front of her. He pushed a wet strand of hair out of her face. "Are you?"
Kelly swallowed hard, tugged the jacket around her, and tried to fight away the shaking. "I… I can't stay away from her; I'm president of her fan club."
"Well maybe that's not such a good idea."
"But, Dad…" Kelly began. She gave up and let out a little moan, then sunk against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Aw, sweetheart, I'm sorry, I just… forget I said that. We'll talk about it later. Come on, I'll take you home and you can get some dry clothes, okay?" He hoisted her up into his arms, hugging her to his chest.
Kelly didn't even complain, just clung to him.
"Officer Hamdon, I'm sorry." Guy stepped aside at the last second as Boxter stomped past.
His father completely ignored him, just headed back up to the pier with Wackerman. Kelly looked at Guy briefly, eyelids heavy, then sunk against Boxter's shoulder. They both disappeared into the mist.
Guy swallowed hard and wrung his hands, trying to stop them shaking. Kelly was okay, Dad would take care of her. He'd just… he hadn't expected the fight to get so dangerous so fast. I mean, it was Mocktopus! But Kelly didn't have superpowers. And Mocktopus still had eight limbs of flailing muscle.
"Hey, is she okay?" Maz slunk up beside him.
"I… I think so. I couldn't… Dad wouldn't let me check."
Maz put his hand on his shoulder. "Well what about you?"
"I don't know." Guy sniffed and shrugged off his friend's touch. "Come on, I'll drop you off home."
"Aw, I'm sure she's fine we can still…"
"I said no, Maz!" Guy snapped. Maz didn't have superpowers either. "I just… sorry… I've just had enough superheroing for one day."