Flying when I was in Ivan was fun and exhilarating but it wasn't scary. I knew that I was in control of my wings and that even if something went wrong and I fell to the ground, Ivan's very nature ensured that I would be fine regardless of how hard I landed. Just gather up the pieces and reform.

Falling through the air as myself was terrifying, especially since I couldn't summon up a demon to catch me. I was relying on Glory Girl to fly down and get me rather than chase after Pazuzu, which wasn't 100% guaranteed. Sure, she was a hero and all but I'd never met her. I was relying on what I knew about Glory Girl from press releases and posts on the PHO website. For all I knew she could secretly be a nut job like Shadow Stalker. If that turns out to be the case…

Luckily, my fear turned out to be pointless as my fall was slowed and then stopped by Glory Girl's grip on both my arms.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking down at me.

"You're holding my arm right where the dog bit me so that hurts a lot," I said. "But you just saved my life so it feels wrong to complain."

"Crap, sorry! I forgot about that, lemme get you to the ground."

We began floating downward. I could see Pazuzu had followed my directions and was flying even higher after dropping me. He was heading towards a nearby set of clouds, my plan was once he got inside of one and was obscured from view I would send him back to the Abyss. That plan was drastically altered when he randomly vanished from the sky.

Pazuzu, what happened!? Where are you?

Pazuzu's voice spoke in my head. "I'm back on Pazunia. I assumed you sent me back early when no one was watching."

No, I didn't send you back. I was waiting for you to make it to the cloud like I told you.

"Well Mistress, that is certainly a puzzle to be looked into."

I sent back the mental equivalent of a grunt of agreement.

As we reached the ground Glory Girl turned to scan the sky. When she didn't see Pazuzu she turned back to me. "I don't suppose you can tell me anything about that guy?"

"I was attacked by some dogs after I got lost in the Docks. He picked me up and was flying me home when you showed up."

I wasn't going to be winning any awards for acting so I decided to keep things as simple and avoid lying if at all possible.

Glory Girl frowned. "That's not much to go on."

"Sorry, he spoke more to you than he did to me. When we were flying he never even told me his name." Which was true, because I already knew his name.

"Hmmm, well you said you were attacked by dogs?" I nodded. "Alright, I was on my way to the hospital to pick up my sister when I saw you guys. I can take you there and have her check you for rabies."

I actually hadn't considered that. Bitch's dogs seemed to do what she told them but I didn't know how her power worked, for all I knew they could have had rabies.

"Yes please, it would also be nice to get away from all the gawkers."

"Gawkers?" Glory Girl looked around in confusion, apparently not realizing where we were. We had landed right next to the forcefield bridge that took tourists and PRT employees to the Protectorate HQ out in the bay. Several people had their cell phones out and were filming us. Glory Girl struck a bit of a pose before turning back to me. "Don't let my fans worry you, now let's get you to the hospital."

I couldn't help but notice that Glory Girl had said that in a slightly more 'official' and 'authoritative' sounding voice.

Rather than pick me up bridal style like Pazuzu or by my wrists like she had before, Glory Girl came up behind me and hooked her arms underneath mine and across my chest.

"Comfy?" She asked.

"I'm good."

The words had barely left my mouth before we took off. It was faster than when I was flying with Ivan but not so much that I felt like I was on a motorcycle without a helmet. It was the perfect speed for flying for fun. I couldn't help it, I laughed with simple, unadulterated joy.

"Yea, a lot of people have that reaction the first time I take them flying." Glory Girl said in an amused tone. "Heck, Amy still does it."

"That's your sister, Panacea, right?"

"Yep, best healer and second best sister around!" Glory Girl happily proclaimed.

"Second best?"

"Well obviously I'm the best sister around."

"Ah, of course." I wasn't entirely sure if Glory Girl was being silly or whether she honestly thought she was that awesome.

"So how do you want to handle the PRT?" Glory Girl asked after a few moments.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were rescued by what seems to be a new villain in the area. I don't know how long he's going to be here but I need to let my family know to keep an eye out for him, they will then tell the Protectorate, who will then tell the PRT." Glory Girl paused. "Or I'll tell one of the Wards who will tell the Protectorate who will tell the PRT. The point is, give it a day and a half and all the good guys will know there's a new villain in town. They will want to know as much about him as possible so they'll interview me about him. They will also want to interview you."

I cringed. "Um, do they have to?"

I could practically hear the smile in Glory Girl's voice as she spoke. "Based on how you acted when all those people were watching us I figured you wouldn't want to talk anybody, guess you don't like being the center of attention. So how about after Amy fixes you up I give you money for the bus and you take that home because flying scared you after everything that happened. I don't know your name so when I'm asked I can say I have no idea who you are or where you live. Plus," Glory Girl's voice suddenly became sheepish. "It's sorta my fault he dropped you since I was threatening him and all that. Seems like I could make up for that by keeping you out of the spotlight."

That was perfect. I didn't want the attention of the PRT or Protectorate and Glory Girl was worried about getting into trouble for provoking Pazuzu so she doesn't want me talking to them either.

"I am totally okay with this plan."

"Great! And perfect timing too, there's Amy."

We landed at the edge of the main parking lot for Brockton Bay Central Hospital next to a girl I recognized as Panacea from the white monk-like robes she wore.

"Heya Ames, this girl got attacked by some dogs. Can you check and make sure she doesn't have rabies or anything?"

Panacea turned to look at me, a slight frown on her face. At first I thought she was angry at me but then I noticed how exhausted she looked. She had probably been healing people all day and just when she thought she was done and ready to go home I got dropped on her. I was reminded of my Dad, always bringing work home with him, never able to let it go, just one more person to help.

"Do I have your permission to heal you?"

"Yea, of course, so long as it isn't too much trouble. I don't want to be a bother."

"Pu-leaze, healing some bite marks is no trouble at all for my sister."

When Panacea first touched me her eyes got a bit unfocused, like she wasn't really looking at me anymore, but then she suddenly startled and looked at me a bit more intently for a just a second.

"Well I don't see rabies or anything else like that. Just some bite and scratch marks, though some of those were pretty bad. You were lucky Glory Girl found you when she did," Panacea said as she withdrew her hand from my wrist.

"Here's a ten for the bus ride," Glory Girl said as she handed me the money. I briefly wondered where she had kept it, I hadn't noticed any pockets in her costume.

"Thank you for the money. And thank you Panacea for healing me, glad to hear I don't have rabies."

"Ames, you won't believe how she and I met," Glory said and she got behind Panacea and hooked her arms around her the same way she had carried me. "So I'm leaving the house to come get you when I spot this guy with big ole wings coming out of his back flying along..."

Glory Girl's voice faded away as she flew off with her sister.

All in all, I'd say that today went well. As pissed as I was at her, I couldn't deny that I had learned a lot about the cape scene from Lisa. Maybe I'd call her in a couple days after I had cooled off but I wasn't going to be meeting her or her group in person anymore, even if I had made sure they knew not mess with me…well maybe Brian, he seemed nice. Nice body too.

I even got to meet two superheroes today. Panacea was a little out of it but Glory Girl lived up to her reputation. Actually, I flexed my arms experimentally, they both live up to their reputations, nothing hurts at all.

Come to think of it, I had also learned something new about my power. It seemed like if the Demon Lords got too far away from me they automatically got sent back to the Abyss. Something to look into at another time.


"This 'stock market' is an amazing concept but I'm baffled that it still works. Someone attempting to manipulate it for their own ends could cause the whole thing to come crashing down."

I looked up from where I had my homework laid out on the kitchen table. Though I sometimes wondered why I bothered doing it, a lot of it was just going to get stolen or defaced before I'd be able to turn it in. Malcanthet was in the living room, reading an encyclopedia.

"You're not exactly wrong," I answered. "But there's several factors preventing that."

"Like what?"

"For starters, the PRT employs numerous thinkers to prevent that exact thing. Then there's the additional fact that ever since the Simurgh, practically everything is decentralized now. Nothing is supposed to have a single point of failure. So there is no permanent stock exchange now."

"But a large group of people working together could manage to do something, right?"

"I know the Elite have tried. I'm sure other groups have made attempts. Why are you so focused on this?"

"There's a story all succubi know. It's changed over the years but it always involved a succubi and some kind of very big, very strong, very stupid demon. The succubi and the other demon start a bet about who can steal more of something from mortals. The specifics of the story change but the point is, at the end, the succubi has subtly used her influence to win the bet over the other demon's straightforward methods. The story always ends with the quote, 'I can steal more with a kiss than you can ever hope to steal with a sword.' It's a lesson all succubi know very well. Why hasn't someone used a kiss to dismantle this operation to enrich themselves? It's just so obvious to me, how I would use it."

"So it's pride of your profession, like a fisherman looking at an improperly cast net?"

Malcanthet paused to think about my comparison before nodding. "Yes, as the Queen of the Succubi I just can't leave it alone. It's just begging to be taken advantage of."

I chuckled. "You are probably the most well behaved Demon Lord I have met and yet you're talking about rigging the entire stock market for personal gain…" I trailed off as I realized how little it bothered me that Malcanthet was casually talking about causing financial ruin to millions of people.

"Is something the matter Mistress?"

"It's…you're talking about causing potentially enormous economic damage and I'm unperturbed. I want to be a hero and yet I find it difficult to feel concerned. That's basically the opposite of how a hero should feel."

"Oh I wouldn't say that's necessarily the case Mistress," Malcanthet said as she bookmarked her page and set the encyclopedia down. The demoness got her from where she lay on the couch and walked over to my table. "Heroes and villains are defined by how their actions are perceived, rather than the reasons behind those actions."

"What do you mean?"

"When you traversed the city with Ivan, you would often summon me for company, remember?"

"Of course, Ivan's a nice guy but he's not a great conversationalist."

"During these excursions I would passively read all the people we came near-I didn't influence them in anyway!" Malcanthet quickly explained as I was about to interrupt her. When I didn't speak up she continued talking. "I was just doing it to learn. Anyway, those that knew of her all thought of the parahuman Purity as a villain."

My brow furrowed. "The Nazi? Why wouldn't they think that?"

"On one of our trips we passed by the very tall building that housed numerous affluent families…"

"The Towers," I supplied.

"Yes, when we passed by the Towers I read the people I could see through the windows. One of them was Purity."

"What? How did I not notice her? She glows like the sun!"

"She wasn't displaying her powers, I only found out she was Purity after I read her mind."

"Malcanthet," I groaned. "I went over this with you after the whole thing with Lisa remember, the unwritten rules?"

The Demon Lord raised her hands placatingly. "I know, I know. I'm not telling you this so I can 'out' her. There is an actual point, trust me."

"Alright, continue."

"All the people that knew of her thought Purity was a villain with the Empire 88. When I read Purity I discovered that she had left the group and was trying to be a hero and had been fighting the ABB."

"Really?" I leaned back in my chair. "Huh, I hadn't heard anything about that on PHO or the news."

"Exactly, she is still perceived as a villain. Even if she is seen fighting the ABB, it's viewed as two gangs fighting, rather than a hero fighting criminals. Contrast that with Shadow Stalker, who is viewed as a hero. She nearly killed Grue, despite it being against the rules, both unwritten and the ones the PRT put in place for her."

"Okay so there are good villains and bad heroes. I'm still not seeing your point."

"My point, Mistress, is that you need figure out what it is you want to accomplish. If you want to maintain an arbitrary title as bestowed upon you by the public and the PRT there is nothing wrong with that. If you want to do whatever you view is necessary to remove crime in your city there is nothing wrong with that. But you do need to realize that those two goals will not always be in agreement and you will have to pick one over the other at various points in your career." Malcanthet then wore a far too innocent looking smile that I didn't believe for a second. "Imagine what you could accomplish with all the money I could access in the stock market, just as a random example."

I rolled my eyes. "I swear, sometimes I feel like you're trying to corrupt me. I'll admit you have a point in that I can't be a slave to PR, with my power that was never really an option anyway, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you run around committing crimes. There's a difference between ignoring rules that are a hindrance and deliberately breaking the law."

"If you say so Mistress."


It had taken a fair amount of research into the aerodynamics behind it, but I could now stretch myself out like a kite or a parachute and glide along the air currents above the city. The gliding wasn't the hard part, steering without losing too much altitude was what was difficult. That being said, I could always just drift overtop of the road whenever I needed to gain height. The black pavement was warmed by the sun and that created heat columns of air that would pick me up and carry me along.

I was slowly making my way south, down past the Boardwalk into what I thought of as the well-to-do part of the city. City Hall, the PRT headquarters, the financial district, Medhall, Arcadia, were all down in this area. I had another joint patrol with the Wards, this time it was Clockblocker and Vista. We were going to start at the PRT building and head down to the south eastern part of the city (which was best described as 'suburbia') and then loop back to where we began. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to meet the Wards. I wasn't about to just land on the PRT building without permission, they'd probably think I was some villain attacking them and I'd end up foamed.

Although, I wonder if containment foam would even work on me. Can Ivan eat it?

My musings were put on hold as I noticed Vista and Clockblocker waiting atop a building next to the PRT headquarters, I think it was offices for a credit company though I wasn't sure. I let myself gently float onto to the roof and reformed into my humanoid shape as soon as I touched down. I took a bit longer than I would have liked, I had to stretch myself pretty thin to glide and it felt weird to have that much surface area and then shrink down to normal sized.

"You just went from looking like the exploded remains of a hot air balloon that was somehow still afloat to a candlewax monster, consider me suitably impressed."

"What Clockblocker is trying to say," Vista said as she elbowed him in the ribs. "Is that you're really getting the hang of your powers for someone so new."

"Thanks. So I know Vista, it's nice to meet you Clockblocker. I've heard a lot of stories about you." I formed a hand on my arm and walked forward. "I'm Abnormal until I come up with a better name. And yes, I know I need to pick soon before I'm stuck with one I don't like. I've got a couple ideas bouncing around in my head but I can't decide which one I like."

"I'll have you know the story about the poodle and the bucket of chicken was totally Gallant's fault, I just took the blame for it so he wouldn't get in trouble. All the other stories are true though," Clockblocker said as we shook.

I couldn't see because of his mask but I was sure Clockblocker was grinning. I didn't know what poodle or bucket of chicken he was talking about but I had the feeling I would regret asking so I kept my mouth shut.

When it became obvious I wasn't rising to his bait, Clockblocker looked me up and down and then asked, "So need a good name, huh? Why not Gootrude?"

Vista and I both audibly groaned.

"Pick a snake form and you could go with Megoosa."

"Clockblocker," Vista said tiredly.

"If you were a guy I'd suggest Slimon Belmont."

"Clockblocker!"

"Oooo, how about Goobriela?"

"CLOCKBLOCKER!"

"Alright, alright. Geez, just trying to help."

I could only shake my head at Clockblocker's puns. "I see what you meant about most of his jokes not being that funny."

"Oiy!"


"What are you girls' thoughts on the new villain in town?" Clockblocker asked as we returned to the 'city' part of Brockton Bay after having completed our tour of the suburbs. Normally this sort of walk would take forever but with Vista shortening the distance we kept an excellent pace.

"Seraph is the name they picked out for him, right?"

"What new villain are you two talking about?" I asked.

"Three days ago Glory Girl ran into a Case 53 flying over the city that was maybe kidnapping maybe rescuing some girl. He admitted to being a criminal and then dropped the girl he was carrying. When Glory Girl dove to catch her, the unknown dude winged it out of there and hasn't been heard from since. Miss Piggy named him Seraph for the time being," Clockblocker explained.

"Case 53….why does that sound familiar?"

"Most people think it refers to cape that don't look like normal humans anymore, but there are actually a couple other qualifiers that I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you about, sorry Abnormal. I can say that you're not a Case 53 though." I was impressed that Clockblocker managed to come off as contrite despite wearing a costume that completely covered his body.

"From what Glory Girl said, Seraph looks mostly human but he's got these big Simrugh-like wings coming out of his back and his head is half bird," Vista grinned and then nudged me (apparently having forgotten that I was a slime girl) and started to sink into me before quickly pulling back with an eep. She brushed her costume and then resumed what she was going to say. "Glory Girl also said that he was built like Aegis, that's your type right?"

"Wait, you mean Gooretchen has a type and it's not time-stopping teenage superheroes?" Clockblocker mimed kicking a pebble on the street. "Damn, thought I had a chance there."

Clockblocker's sense of humor had grated at first, but it was starting to grow on me. I think part of it was that despite a lot of his jokes having me as a target, none of them were mean spirited. It wasn't like when the Trio and their cronies would laugh at me, Clockblocker was doing it in good fun.

"Sorry Clock, if I wanted to date a time-stopping teenage superhero I promise you, you'd be number one on the list," I paused. "Well, in the top five at any rate."

Clockblocker mock clutched his heart while Vista laughed.

"Besides, Pazuzu may have a good body he's way too much of an ass for me."

Vista stopped laughing and looked at me oddly. "Pazuzu?"

Oops.

I stuttered, unable to get any words out. "I…er…um…"

"That's what Seraph goes by? You've met him before?" Vista asked in a soft voice.

"Well…yea."

"Abnormal…" Vista began but paused, seemingly searching for the right words. "Just because they're friendly doesn't mean you have to hang out with a group of supervillains. You know the Wards are here for you."

I was speechless. They think I'm hanging out with a group of supervillains? What?

Before I could formulate a response a familiar voice called out. "Hey losers, who's the half-melted Grimace?"

Vista groaned and muttered under her breath while Clockblocker and I turned toward the voice. There was a darkly dressed cape atop the convenience store we were walking behind. Said cape jumped off the roof and her body went weird, it got all dark and sorta see through. She landed silently and her body changed back to normal as she stood in front of me.

"This is a new hero," Clockblocker said, introducing me. "For now, she's calling herself Abnormal. Abnormal, meet Shadow Stalker."