Been a while, I know. Kinda hard for me to make jokes at the moment. But, regardless, inspiration struck me in a weird way this time.
Who doesn't like a good superhero story? Ever wonder if the unique characters and scenarios of Victorious would produce an environment that would support such a story? What if I told you that not only I believe that it could, but they've already established the ideal hero for the job. Well, this is his story(from a focused perspective from Cat).
Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider and his bakery, neither of which I have any influence over/own.
As expected by Hollywood standards, the mid spring day was an extremely pleasant one. The sun beamed brightly down upon the city, while a gentle breeze kept the populous comfortable as they walked the streets. Such weather was truly enjoyed by the students of Hollywood Arts, who were sitting at the tables of their outdoor café, enjoying their meals and sharing conversation. One group, in particular, was in the middle of a rather farfetched tale.
"...and then, after they got him off of the rolling bed, we hid a sleeping pill in a cupcake and he ate it," a bubbly redhead said in between her giggles. Her audience consisted of two teen girls, one dressed entirely in black who paid more attention to her phone than the story and a brown haired latina who was having difficulty processing the information she had been given. The redhead was oblivious, however, to her friends' respective responses and continued her story.
"He ran around for, like, twenty minutes after that," she laughed, "Then he fell down onto another rolling bed, and crashed into a..." Before she could finish, her brown haired friend had waved her hands and shook her head, signaling for a chance to catch up with the story.
"Wait, Cat," she began. "What was your brother doing in a hospital if he wasn't sick in the first place?" Cat looked back at her friend with an almost bewildered stare, as if she couldn't understand what was so confusing about her story.
"He heard the sound of a bedpan hitting the floor, Tori," she explained, a serious tone in her voice. "Loud crashes always make my brother do a Three Stooges hospital routine. Right, Jade?" Cat and Tori looked towards the silent teen, who only looked up when she heard her name. Her demeanor clearly told her audience that she had no opinion on the matter, mostly due to the fact that she hadn't been paying attention to whatever was going on.
"I don't care," was all she stated before turning back to her phone. While Tori seemed put off by Jade's demeanor, Cat regained her upbeat persona and let out a laugh. Before she could continue her story, however, three young men sat down at the table. The one leading the trio was wearing a flannel shirt and unconsciously garnered the attention of every female in the area with little effort on his own part. To his left was a nerdy looking young man, who managed to balance a tray in his right hand and a ventriloquist's dummy in his left with little effort. The third, in lieu of a food tray, cradled a keyboard in his arms while balancing a notebook and pen on top of his instrument. They took their seats at the young ladies' table, who for the most part met them with accepting smiles.
"What are you three up to?" The flannel shirted boy asked as he set his tray on the table next to the girl in black, who responded by a hand on his cheek turning him into a chaste kiss.
"Cat was telling us about her brother's latest adventure," Tori explained. "This time he ran through a hospital because of a dropped bedpan."
"He was making people laugh!" Cat shouted in defense of her sibling. "You believe me, right, Beck?" The flannel wearing teen smiled warmly and gave a nod, reassuring the redhead. She then turned to her friend with the keyboard.
"Andre?" She inquired. He looked towards her and gave a quick thumbs up.
"I'm sure he wasn't hurting anyone, Lil' Red," he said. Cat felt her smile grow wider and let out a small giggle to further signify her happiness. She then turned to the boy and his puppet, who had looked towards each other for a brief moment. The nerdy teen opened his mouth to voice an opinion, but the puppet had beat him to the punch.
"C'mon, man," he declared. "That spaz must've got a few of them spun up." While a majority of the group grimaced at the blunt comment, Cat felt her eyes open wide in shock and her mouth go agape. The ventriloquist matched her response, and added a cupped hand against his dummy's mouth in an attempt to silence him.
"Robbie..." The redhead managed to choke out, her voice on the verge of tears. Her nerdy friend quickly shifted his expression from shock, to sympathy for his friend, to anger towards his wooden companion.
"Rex!" He began to chastise. "You know he was trying to help them. Don't be rude!" Rex's muffled voice offered an unintelligible remark before Robbie had set him down on the ground.
"Sorry, Cat," he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "He didn't get enough sleep last night. That's why he's acting like he is." Tori, Beck, Jade, and Andre subtly rolled their eyes at their friend's excuse for Rex, but the petite redhead was more than willing to accept the explanation and return a smile.
"Kay-kay!" She perkily exclaimed. While Robbie breathed a sigh of relief, Beck saw this as an opportunity to change the subject.
"Hey, have you guys been following the news lately?" He asked the group. The majority shook their heads at the question.
"Grandma says the local news anchor is trying to steal her electricity," Andre explained. His statement was met by brief bewilderment by his peers. The musician, however, felt no need to explain the situation any further.
"Well, it looks like there's a spike in crime in Hollywood," Beck said, piquing the interest of his friends. "A lot of people have reported muggings in the area." This prompted Andre to don a concerned face, Jade to raise a curious eyebrow, and Tori, Cat, and Robbie to become terrified.
"Muggings?!" Tori exclaimed. "What are they after?" Before Beck could answer, Robbie had pulled out his PearPad and began to type at the screen furiously.
"According to Fox News," he began. "They take just about everything that they want. From jewelry to cheap key chains." The group were surprised at the thought of thugs taking random items without purpose.
"So that means that they take random stuff from everyone?" Andre asked. Beck nodded solemnly, giving a quick shrug.
"Whatever they decide they want," he surmised. "It's getting to the point where police are issuing a curfew." While everyone had begun to question the safety of Hollywood Arts, Jade merely pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket and twirled them around on her finger.
"Let them try to take something from me," she smirked. "I've been waiting to test these out for too long..." Her devious smile was ended by Beck reaching his hand towards hers and putting it, along with the spinning scissors down towards the table.
"Easy, babe," he casually told her. "We'll probably have to go home immediately after school when they set the curfew anyway."
"So this means no plays?" Andre asked. "No concerts? No fun?" The group quickly vocalized their disapproval of their newfound future.
"This is some serious chiz," the muffled voice of Rex muttered from below the table. His two cents were accepted by the rest of the group. Before they could discuss the matter further, the five-toned bell chimed the alarm that signaled the end of the lunch period. This prompted the group, and all others in the area to pick up their belongings and proceed to the next classes they had.
"Bye, guys!" Cat exclaimed as she picked her tray up. "I going to the celebrity chef classroom to bake some more cupcakes! I'll see you tomorrow!" This piqued the curiosity of her friends, who proceeded to catch up to their redheaded friend.
"What do you mean?" Tori asked. "We have Sikowitz's after lunch."
"Well, after feeding my brother the sleeping cupcake, I give him a batch of regular cupcakes," Cat explained after throwing the remains of her lunch into the garbage. "This way, he doesn't end up hating them. Besides, Sikowitz knows about it and said it was ok."
"But why won't you see us until tomorrow?" Jade inquired.
"I take cupcake baking very seriously..." Cat explained, much to the disbelief of her friends. "You don't know my life." While the group was taken aback by the sudden sass from their perky friend, they quickly took on a concerned demeanor for the petite redhead.
"How long do you plan on making cupcakes, Cat?" Tori asked. Cat merely responded with an indifferent shrug and a laugh.
"I need to make sure the last batch is perfect, so until then," she told the group. "It shouldn't be that long, though."
"But you usually walk home from school," Robbie said. "With the muggings going on, I don't think you should stay at school too late." This prompted the rest of the gang to vocalize their concerns with the redhead's plan.
"The Curly Sue's right," Jade said, covering the nerdy teen's mouth with her hand to stop his protests to his nickname. "You should let one of us give you a ride home tonight." Beck, Andre, and Tori nodded in agreement. To their surprise, Cat responded with a reassuring smile.
"It's ok, guys," she said. "My mom is going to pick me up when I'm done baking. She drives past the school after work anyway, so I'll be fine." While her tone was confident and reassuring, her friends couldn't help but feel like they should stay with her until then. Sensing an argument based on how she couldn't protect herself coming up, the petite teen began to feel tears well up in her eyes.
"You don't believe me?" She whispered, her brown eyes staring wide at the group. Stuck in between not wanting to hurt her feelings and refusing to let her get into a dangerous position by herself, each of her friends began searching for a solution to her problem. Ultimately, Andre came to a quick conclusion.
"We trust you, Lil' Red," he said reassuringly. "Just give us a text in case you need one of us to get you home." Cat blinked back her tears and looked amongst the rest of her friends. Each one silently nodded in agreement to Andre's proposition, allowing the redhead to return a soft smile.
"Kay-kay," she said. "Thanks." The group shared a quick smile before the majority left for Sikowitz's class, leaving Cat to head towards the culinary classroom.
The aroma of red velvet cake mix and cream cheese icing hung in the air around Cat Valentine, prompting her perky attitude to grow exponentially. In the redhead's mind, she had created the best cupcakes in that moment compared to every other batch made in existence. Such creations required equal efforts in decoration to match their taste, and in that light she had taken extreme caution in making sure each cake had the right amount of icing. After garnishing with red crystal sprinkles, she let out a content sigh.
"Chef Cat is a Cupcake Champion!" She declared dramatically, jumping in place while pumping both fists into the air. She laughed at her alliteration while delicately placing each cupcake within a tupperware, taking each precaution to ensure they retain their quality image. After placing the lid onto the container and securing it, she pulled her PearPhone out of her purse and checked the time. What she saw caused her eyes to shoot open wide in surprise.
8:30 P.M.?!
She couldn't believe how fast the time had flown. While it wasn't too late to call one of her friends to pick her up, she refused to let them realize that they were right to worry about her. She even made up the story about her mom going to pick her up from school to keep them from being too overprotective.
It was only a little white lie, anyway, she silently rationalized as she made her way out of the school, waving towards the janitor to let him know that he could lock up for the night. Besides, there's nothing to worry about. Who's going to attack a cute girl with cupcakes? The thought of that happening caused Cat to laugh in disbelief as she made her way down the street towards her home. The dimly lit street that led to her bus stop, however, robbed her of her cheery demeanor as it seemed to stretch on and on.
"Give it up, you can't win, 'cause I know where you've been," the petite teen began to sing to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Such a shame you don't put up a fight." Her voice started to shake as she passed by an alley, and dropped completely as she saw four figures step out from the shadows.
"Heya, girlie..." One chuckled deeply as they approached Cat. As they stepped into the light, Cat noticed that they were men in their late twenties, wearing scruffy clothing and evil smiles. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice had yet to return.
"H...h...hi..." She managed to stammer as they surrounded her. At this point, tears began to cloud the girl's vision.
"Whatcha got there?" A voice roughly inquired, as Cat felt a force poke at her cupcake tupperware.
"Looks like the little lady's got some dessert in there," another one answered. "Enough for each of us, at that."
"What a little sweetheart," the third man chuckled, brushing a lock of her red hair to the side of her face, prompting Cat to shudder at the touch.
"What do you say, Red?" The fourth man said, his tone less mocking and more intimidating than his cohorts. "You gonna share your treats or what?" Cat felt their evil eyes staring her down, and could only gasp in response.
Oh, no, she thought. Think, Cat. What would Jade do? … I don't have scissors, but this should do. After completing her thought process, she turned towards the direction that led towards a nearby police station and delivered to the thug who blocked her path a swift kick to the shins. As he hopped out of the way, clutching his leg in pain, Cat took the opportunity to sprint down the street.
"GET HER!" She heard one of them shout, followed by the thunderous footsteps chasing after her. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, all the while maintaining control over the desserts she promised herself she'd deliver. Unfortunately, she felt her pursuers gaining ground and closing in on her. Acting on instinct, she turned down an alleyway in hopes to gain some ground.
Oh, no...
She quickly came to a stop when she realized that she had run into a dead end. Desperate for an exit, she searched frantically for any way out, but the approaching footsteps prompted her to end her search and attempt to get away peacefully. She turned to see the four men walking towards her, set the cupcakes down on the ground and let out a nervous laugh.
"H..here..." She stammered. "P...p...please let me g...go." Her pleas were met with diabolical laughter.
"After that chase, you think you're getting away that easy?" The leader of the group spat as he and his gang stood in the only way out. "No...we'll also be taking a few other things of interest off of you."
"Yeah..." Another thug piped up. "Do you got any iCarly merch on ya? I'm two keychains short of the full set." The rest of the men nodded in agreement, while Cat was petrified due to her lack of key chains. Rather than vocalize the fact, her response was to curl up against the wall and shut her eyes tight.
"Guess she don't got any key chains..." The voice muttered
"Just take her purse and see..." Before the leader could finish his command, the sound of feet landing at the entry of the alley echoed out, catching Cat's attention but not enough to overcome her fear and open her eyes.
"What the..." A voice questioned. "What's this guy's deal?"
"What's he wearing?"
"And why does he have...OOOFFF!" The final question was cut off midway, only to be replaced by what the redhead figured was the sound of something connecting with his stomach.
"GET THE FREAK!"
After the leader shouted, she heard the scuffle of feet and the sound of fists being thrown in all directions. Even though she knew there was someone else in the alley and, for as far as she knew, was fighting against her attackers, she felt safer with her eyes shut. After a few minutes, she the sound of the three other men hitting the ground and groaning in pain. Afterwards, footsteps began to approach her only to stop a few feet from where she sat.
"Pardon me, miss," a deep, yet calm voice began to say. "I think you might've dropped these."
Cat opened her eyes and focused on her cupcakes, which were being held by a red gloved hand. She followed the white sleeve of the arm attached to the hand to find a masked man crouching down to meet her eye level.
He was dressed in a white bodysuit that had a red diamond on its chest and a red belt around his waist. He wore red boots on his feet, and even a red mask that was designed to look like a bandana that covered the top half of his face with the tie strands hanging down his back. The eyeholes had a white material that hid his eyes, but his kind smile remained visible and allowed her to feel more at ease.
"They smell delicious," the masked man continued. "Are they red velvet?" Without much thought about her response, Cat slowly nodded and took the container back into her custody. The man's smile grew bigger as he rose to a standing position.
"I'm jealous," he admitted as he walked towards his fallen foes. "Whoever gets to eat those is truly lucky." The redhead teen silently watched as her savior grouped the thugs together and began to tie them up with some rope, attaching them to a nearby dumpster. As he finished his work, he dusted his gloves off and chuckled.
"These blockheads shouldn't bother you anymore, miss," he said as he turned towards Cat. "I hope you don't mind, but I've also contacted the local authorities. They should be here to escort you to your home and those criminals to their new home." He gestured to his fallen foes as he finished his statement. All the while, Cat couldn't believe what she was seeing. A man in a superhero costume had just saved her from four thugs, and was making small talk with her as he ensured they couldn't flee the scene or attack her again. While she remained silent, the costumed hero gave her a reassuring smile as the sound of sirens began to ring through the night.
"Here comes the cavalry now," he said, turning towards the exit of the alley. "I best be off now. Be sure not to walk alone at night anymore, ok?" He began to stroll towards a nearby set of trash cans and reached down.
"Ok..." Cat began to say, before a sudden realization hit her. Out of all the questions that ran through her mind, only one seemed to matter.
"Wait!" She shouted, prompting the masked man to look towards her. "Who are you?" Her question was met with a triumphant smile and a slow rise. It was at that moment that she realized that the vigilante had been reaching for something behind the trash cans. His hands were slowly placed on his hips, and Cat's eyes widened at the fact that each gloved fist was now a large red cube.
"I am Cube Fist Man!" The masked man declared, much to the redhead's disbelief. "Like the corners of my fists, I fight for what is right!" As he finished his statement, he gave what would be interpreted as a salute and ran off out of Cat's sight. The petite teen couldn't help but stand in shock, even as the flashing red and blue lights surrounded the entrance of the alley. An officer in street clothes with his badge on his belt sprinted towards her while two in uniform surrounded the thugs.
"Cat? Is that you?" The officer asked the young woman, who recognized the voice as Tori's father. "What happened here?" He took his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders, and turned towards the captured criminals. As he walked her towards his car, she broke her disbelief for a moment to utter one thought.
"How...I thought I made him up..."
Such is the beginning of the adventures of Cube Fist Man. Sorry if it seems a little dark during the chase scene, but that's always the problem with nameless thugs. They only seem to convey sheer stupidity or a primal evil. Anyway, tell me what you think about the story. Do you think Cube Fist Man would provide enough entertainment and excitement for a superhero audience? My opinion is...it could be fun. Oh, well.
Peace.