Console

by Soleneus

A new piece has been set in the grand game of Superheroes, with one hand set to flip the board and break out the video games. But first, he has to deal with bullying Wards and his new powers. Not quite a Gamer fic.

14. Friday Night Sights

"No."

'Oh come on!' Is what I wanted to say, but whining wouldn't impress anyone in the room. "Oh come on!" I whined, "They're calling me out! There's gotta be some rule for challenges, right?"

Neither the Director or Armsmaster looked impressed, one with his arms folded over his chest and the other with her hands on her desk. "No, there aren't," Piggot replied sternly, frowning. "The rules do not cover unreasonably wounded pride. Now, unless you have an actual reason for why anyone should waste their time answering a challenge from a pair of two-bit themed thieves, then I'll ask you to leave so we can all go home."

I resisted the urge to throw my hands up and shout 'No! I don't wanna!' but I realized it wouldn't help me. Instead, I put my fingers to my temples and thought. What use would meeting Leet's challenge have, besides my desire to kick their collective asses? If they stayed true to form and streamed it, then it at least could be entertaining, and the possible draw of live-action video game heroes and villains duking it out could've been very profitable, like a game show or something. Perhaps, with some legitimacy, even sponsors or shit. And, if Uber and Leet were looking for a more legal method of getting money, involving a hero would be a good way to score some PR points…

I snapped my fingers as a thought occurred. "PR. Some kind of showcase of both ability and fun would generate positive interest in several things, mainly The Wards and The Protectorate, as well as Uber and Leet. For us it could build a reputation of being not so grim and generally joyless, no offence," I added at Armsmaster, who frowned as if he didn't understand what was wrong with those as well as whether he should be offended or not. "For those two, it could be a way to move away from petty thievery and into a more legitimate field of profit. Already, most of what they make comes from streaming, not stealing. I'd expect a Tinker would make a lot of money from selling their inventions, but…"

"Yes, Leet has a reputation," The Director acknowledged with a nod, saying the name 'Leet' like it had personally offended her sensibilities. "That being said, with his reputation for his inventions with, shall we say, less-than satisfactory staying power, why should you be allowed to engage with them?"

I looked between her and Armsmaster. I'd seen it from the beginning, how had they not? "Well, obviously, he's confident enough in whatever he's created that he was willing to publicly call me out. And that leads me to believe that not rising to his challenge would be a mistake, given that with his new-found confidence they could easily turn their attention to more serious crimes and become actual threats."

"If so, why shouldn't we just arrest them instead?" Armsmaster put forth bluntly. "If they are as dangerous as you believe, why not take them out of the equation entirely?"

"Well for one, you can't arrest people for what they might do. And more importantly it could be a chance to create some kind of tie between them and us," I explained, before adding, "Not that I think they'd join the Protectorate or whatever, I doubt they'd want to give up their independence like that. But having a Tinker and a Brute as allies would be better than having more enemies. Plus, if they do intend to stream and it does become successful, that's another avenue of potential profit for them and us. Even sponsors or something like that in the future."

Director Piggot hummed noncommittally. "Perhaps. Perhaps you are too optimistic. It's possible we can come to some sort of agreement, but that's for another day. Before you clock out, there's another thing. As you have a license and easy access to vehicles, it has been decided that you will pick up Vista from school and deliver her here as your schedules line up. You'll need to show this to whoever's overseeing the children." She slid a black leather wallet across her desk to me.

Flipping it open revealed a dull silver PRT badge with my picture and name with an identification number underneath. "Okay, I guess. So are we going to respond to their challenge?"

"We'll see," she replied ominously. "You're dismissed."

I bit back a sigh and nodded to them before heading out of the door and to the locker room, where I stored my gear and grabbed my hidden webshooters. I stepped into an elevator and hit the button for the garage, leaning back against the wall and sighing. Just as the doors were about to close, a gauntlet-covered hand interceded. The man who slid inside was tall, with golden lion-themed shoulder pads and a helmet of the same. The skin-tight body suit clung to his tall, muscled form and emphasised that he was built like a brick house. He looked powerful even before I recognized him as Triumph, a hero who could manipulate sound to the point that he could punch holes in concrete.

I'd kinda wondered where he'd been. "Hey," I greeted him, sticking a hand out. "Triumph, right?"

"Rory," he replied, giving me a strong shake with a firm grip. "You're Game Master. How're you doing?"

"Alright, just about to go home. Heading out on patrol?" I asked a tad obviously. What else was gonna do in his suit, take it home for sex games or something?

…Why did I think that? I didn't want to think that but there it was, putting images I didn't want in my brain, in my brain.

"First time since I got back," he nodded amiably, stretching his arms out, the suit creaking audibly. "I've heard some mixed opinions about you."

"Inventive, fun-loving, reckless, honest new guy with too much optimism?" I offered.

He paused for a second. "…Just about, yeah," he agreed charitably. The elevator came to a stop at the bottom and we both walked out. "Anyway, I look forward to working with you in the future. Have a good night."

"You too," I waved as he headed off, passing Sarah and giving her a short nod. "Hey Sarah." She didn't reply, in favor of watching Triumph go with an arched eyebrow. I snapped my fingers next to her ear and she jumped, spinning to face me with a hint of red in her cheeks. "Stare after dudes on your own time, will you? I wanna go home."

"Hey, you can drive yourself, can't you?" She said, again arching an eyebrow and sounding amused for some reason as she crossed her arms.

"You want homemade chocolate on Valentine's or not?" I asked instead.

Her arms dropped and she tilted her head, then shrugged and hopped in the van. "Alright, get in."

The drive home was nice and quiet, and I spent that time texting Cortana about my latest project. Well, the second one I was working on at the time. It had taken scanning every Spider Suit and three dedicated Subs to work out a method; while it would never be Vibranium, since such a thing didn't actually exist, and what it actually did was up for debate, the vibration cancelling device, still needed an official name for it, was done. The first prototype.

"Night, Sarah," I yawned, leaning over to give her a half-hug. "See you Saturday."

"Sleep tight," she replied, pressing her cheek against mine. "Have fun at school tomorrow."

I gave her a wave as I walked up to the door and watched her tail lights disappear around the corner before unlocking it and stepping inside, pausing as I found Cecilly and Zoey sitting on the couch, watching TV. Both were bundled up under blankets and clutching bowls of ice cream. Lucky bitches. "Oh hey." I gave them a wave, then paused as I glanced into Zoey's bowl. The half melted sweet goop was a creamy off-white color sprinkled with black dots, exactly like- "Hey! Is that my ice cream?!"

Cecilly snorted, licking the dribble of her last, too-big bite from the corner of her lips. "Yeah," she replied, "For some reason, she didn't like the thought of my special ice cream." She gracelessly shoved another scoop of her concoction in her mouth.

Her 'special ice cream' consisted of Rocky Road with fresh cut strawberries, drizzled with caramel and white chocolate sauce, topped with whipped cream. "That's because your special ice cream is a diabetic's nightmare and I can almost literally hear your teeth screaming in agonizing pain from here!" I threw my hands up melodramatically. "You know my schedule, you could've called as we were driving and we could've stopped to get some ice cream she likes-!"

Zoey huddled pitifully around her bowl. "But vanilla is my favorite," she murmured mournfully, staring down at the melty mess like she really wanted to put it back but also really wanted to finish it off.

But once I heard what she said, I cut off my dramatic rant. "I like her," I said simply. "She can stay."

The teenage girl staying at my house looked up at me in surprise and a little embarrassment. "Hoping she'll end up in your bed again, Saul?" My aunt teased lightly, smirking at the jump Zoey made.

"Well if you had less grip strength than a desperately lonely sarlacc you might be able to hold onto a bed partner for longer than a night," I replied, heading for the kitchen and pulling together a cup of green tea. "I'm gonna do some homework then go to bed. Night, Cecilly," I gave my aunt a kiss on the cheek and jokingly blew another towards Zoey before I headed to my room.

The lock clicked as I touched the knob and I pushed it open to find the workbench fully unfolded with a large piece of metal on it. "Welcome home," Cortana greeted me with a smile as her avatar coalesced by it. "What do you think of the first prototype?"

"It's…not very impressive," I hedged, poking the piece of equipment. It somewhat resembled a kevlar vest, but lacking any sort of ornamentation and seemed kinda lumpy. Picking it up revealed that it had a bit of heft to it and clanked subtly.

"Well of course it's not impressive," Cortana rolled her eyes, gesturing for me to put it on. As I flipped it around to find the hole for my head, she continued to explain. "This is a proof-of-concept, a rough draft. I had to make do with whatever we could scavenge. I wouldn't call it 'combat ready,' not with the level of combatants out there, but it's the first step to some serious protection."

I shoved my head through the hole and strapped the vest down securely, the weight reassuring in the way that only armor really has. "Let's practice showing this off for Armsmaster. Walk me through how it works."

"It begins with a layer of kevlar weave," She began, summoning up a projection of the vest. It separated into different layers with a flick of her hand. "It's standard stuff, no different from any other kevlar vest. Of course, given some better materials and a more efficient recycler, that could change. Second layer." The projection focused on a thin layer of gel. "This is a gel mixture with two main functions. One, it disperses a significant amount of impact, especially focused bursts from bullets. Secondly, as a sensor field for the main components."

I experimentally poked the vest and felt it give slightly under my finger. "And what are the main components?" I asked, playing my part.

"The main components are these: the first is a layer of titanium alloy, sectioned into plates for flexibility. Second is a layer of miniature piston-like devices above a micro-computer. Once the system senses an impact, the pistons fire forward to counter and nullify it almost entirely." A quick simulation played, showing a bullet hitting the vest, the system sensing the impact, and then the pistons firing. The simulation then showed the bullet bouncing off, the tip deformed. "And the negative impact of the pistons is absorbed by a final layer of gel and kevlar."

I hummed appreciatively, patting the vest. "What kind of caliber could it stand up to? And PSI?"

Cortana hummed thoughtfully. "I would say anything below nine millimeter wouldn't register, anything above up to .50 AE would feel like this." The vest vibrated against my skin, almost tickling me, followed by a strong tap. "As for rifle rounds, 5.56mm wouldn't penetrate, but under fully automatic fire the computer would eventually fail. .308 rounds would definitely be troublesome, possibly bruises and internal bleeding, and something like a .50 BMG would punch right through it. Of course, with better materials and a working version of the NVF, that could change…" She trails off coyly, smirking.

"And in melee combat?" I prodded, rapping my knuckles against my chest.

"A punch or kick from the average person would barely register," Cortana mimes punching me in the chest. "With the full system, even getting hit with a baton or a baseball bat or the like would feel like being tapped. However, above human strength is where a few problems lie. A typical flying brick, for instance, will be able to smack someone wearing it around no problem; their survivability would definitely be increased, with the system locking down to prioritize user safety."

"Seems like a pretty easy sell," I said, shucking it off onto the workbench and stretching. While it was weighty, it was a comforting weight and I imagined the full set with the weight evenly distributed would be even better. "This locking system…does it cancel the vibrations traveling through the body?"

"It does," she nodded, frowning. "There's only one real problem right now, besides material. The sensor system requires some kind of intelligence, fast enough to detect bullets, chart their path and prepare to deflect. However, with the technology of today, such a system would require hardware the size of a pair of cinder blocks and a power pack akin to an engine block." I opened my mouth to ask the obvious question and she cut across. "Yes, even with Armsmaster's help. The technology simply isn't advanced enough for it to be viable. And the only real way to use it would be with myself or Dragon using a Sub to run the system. And to be frank, besides yourself, there are very few people who would be comfortable with an AI running their armor."

"Fuckin' weirdos are what they're called," I muttered, fingering the hem of them vest. An armor computer system that had to be fast and compact…for some reason that niggled something, and I wasn't sure why. "Hm…with an example, could you guys extrapolate for a smaller system?"

"Possibly, but the materials are the biggest issue from that point of view."

I shuffled over to my shelf and flicked through the games there. Not Halo, not Dead or Alive, not Mortal Kombat, not Burnout, not Fallout, not Batman, not Mass Effect…

I turned back to Mass Effect and pulled it out. "Cortana, can you do an internet search on Mass Effect? Specifically the armor."

The streams of code flowing through her body rush by in a flicker of color. "...Yes, I think I see what you're getting at," she hummed to herself. "Alright, show me."

I traded Halo for Mass Effect and summoned my character. Or, well, I tried, but I hadn't actually played it on…myself.

That would never not be a weird thought.

"Hold on." I went through character creation and got a little stuck on the class. My first thought was Soldier, but looking at Engineer made me think that would be the best one for scanning. So I picked it, and the backstory. My body shifted and I was suddenly taller and wearing futuristic armor with several weapons in magnetic holsters all about my body. Even though I could only use two of them for some stupid reason. I pulled them off and set them aside before lying down on the table. "Alright, scan me."

The arm unfolded from the table and began the slow journey from top to bottom. "Huh," Cortana said aloud. "The armor is an interconnected system, functioning as a hard suit, armor and powered exoskeleton. Light elements, but very similar to the SPI Armor, if more advanced. Hm." The arm continued to move. "I'm guessing the unknown element is Element Zero, then. Huh, there's enough present to shape these tech attacks, but the rest is entirely mechanical."

"On a very small scale, right?' I said holding up the wrist that my omni-tool rested on, though I wasn't sure if it was an implant or like a wristband or whatever, but it was basically the ultimate smartphone.

Her eyes narrow on my wrist. "Can you open that?" She pointed at it.

I did so, the glowing orange gauntlet and the circular thing around my hand forming on without a sound. Her avatar vanished with a hiss of static, my omni-tool strobing purple before returning to orange. "…Cortana?" I asked after a minute, shaking my wrist.

The light bled purple and a miniature avatar formed above my hand. "This is quite fascinating," she mused aloud, her code flickering through every color of the rainbow. "There are obviously alien programs loaded into it, but all of them are adapted to human systems and both are meshed together. Not perfectly, but just about. And the best thing…" The gauntlet portion flashed and a small, colorless cube formed above my hand. "The micro-fabricator works, too."

A notification appeared in the bottom left of my vision. -1 Omni-gel. "Like pretty much every other RPG, this character starts out with the most basic equipment, so there are definitely more powerful versions I could find." Her eyes went large and a pleading look came over her face, so exaggerated that it bypassed any cuteness and straight to ridiculous.

"Saul…can you please, please play the game and get the best omni-tool there is?" She faux-begged, even clasping her hands together under her chin.

I gave her a gentle, reassuring smile. "Hell no, woman. I got training tomorrow and I do not want to pull another all-nighter." I chuckled at the sour look on her face. "Besides, you know you're going to have to practice building simpler ones before you get too advanced."

"Yeah, I know," she grumbled, jumping out of the omni-tool. "I'm gonna contract Dragon and see what another pair of eyes can do for this project. I'm definitely going to need to borrow the micro-fabricator, though."

"I don't doubt it," I nodded, hopping off the bed and dismissing the equipment. "Now excuse me while I act like a responsible person and go to bed on time."

"You do that," she muttered, mind already miles away, the workbench folding down into its inactive box state. "Night, Saul."

"Good night, Cortana."

…

My hand darted out to shut off the alarm as soon as the first trill was just petering out. It was still dark outside even though it was morning, given that it was five-thirty and also still winter. I was a bit tired, but actually getting a full night of sleep meant that I shook it off in a second, stretching my arms out with a pleased groan before rolling onto my back.

Or I tried, at least.

My motion was arrested by a body that I didn't expect to be there, being there. Shuffling around, I found Zoey asleep in my bed, on top of the blankets. She'd been snuggling up against my back before I'd accidentally tried to steamroll her. She was blinking super slowly, eyes unfocused as she yawned thickly. "…Saul?" She muttered, eyelids fluttering.

I shushed her. "Go back to sleep," I whispered, slipping out of bed and flipping the covers over her. "Sleep and dream of large, fuzzy…rabbits." Girls like rabbits, right?

"'Kay," she murmured, asleep before I'd even grabbed my clothes, phone and backpack.

I took a quick shower and whipped up some pancakes, taking three for myself with fresh sliced fruit drizzled with honey for myself, and leaving the rest in the oven for my aunt and Zoey, whenever they woke up. I scribbled a note and stuck it to the coffee machine, making sure to line it with the requisite twelve hearts drawn around the edge.

Still chewing on the last one, I stepped into the garage and summoned a car from Burnout, a light green muscle car with black stripes. It purred under my feet and growled as I pulled out into the street with the music pumping. It didn't take me long to pull up on the other side of the street from Taylor's house. I killed the engine and let it idle as her dad came out of the front door, climbed into his truck and trundled off. And yes, I am aware that it was a little creepy without context.

I could sense Taylor across the link, felt it prickle as she woke up and enjoyed the feather-light touch as she noticed my presence and sent me a message. Ten minutes.

The time passed quickly with some music and a text from my aunt thanking me for the pancakes, to the point that Taylor made me jump a little as she opened the door. "Hey, Saul!"

"Hey yourself," I returned with a grin, setting off towards Armsmaster's private gym. I noticed that her hair was only slightly damp and pulled into a ponytail, her faux-glasses nowhere to be seen. "I got something else in mind for today's training, so we're only going to do some light exercise."

"Are you sure?" She asked cautiously, even though I could see the excited gleam in her eyes. "I've only been training for like, a week."

"It's simple foundation stuff," I shrugged, hitting the turn signal and turning at the light. "We'll mix it in with all the rest and see what we can build out of it. Speaking of the rest of your stuff, how's it going with your bug powers?"

Taylors mouth became a thin line. "I'm still…not entirely comfortable using them, but I'm getting a little better." Her lips twisted into a grimace. "I never knew just how many bugs there are in a house…on the bright side, my house is probably the cleanest in the neighborhood, now." She snapped her fingers and dug into her pocket, straining against the seatbelt. "Oh, right!"

With a grand flourish, she withdrew a small wooden figure with a 'Ta-da!' It was uncolored but familiar enough, especially with the halberd it carried. It was a miniature figure of Armsmaster, carved from wood and wearing a silky white shirt. "…First his underwear, now a doll," I said aloud, giving her a dry look. "Taylor, do you like older men?"

Her face went red and she slapped at my shoulder. "Shut up!" She shrieked, and I simply laughed. "I used termites and a spider and I worked really hard on this! Can you not cast aspersions on my character, please?"

"Hey, you like what you like," I shrugged, still smiling. "Good job, Taylor. Keep at it."

"I will," she huffed, tucking it back in her pocket with a frown, though I could feel she was pleased. "A-hole."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, fog covering the street as the sun began to heave itself over the horizon, the very first tendrils of light lightening the sky…barely.

When we reached the gym, I typed in the code and pulled in.

The light exercise I had in mind consisted of a one mile run, some weight lifting to work the arms and legs then stretching. With that done, we could get to the meat of it.

"Part of my philosophy, when it comes to being a hero," I started, tossing Taylor her bottle, "Is to have more than one way to be effective. Some people rely on their powers for everything and sometimes, they have a power that can do that. A typical flying brick, for instance, would just fly around and punch stuff. In our case, we're strong, fast and durable above human norms. Technically speaking we shouldn't need anything extra, but only using the very basics of what we're actually capable of sits wrong with me. Hence the web shooters, the armor and all that stuff."

I slapped the wall next to me and it shifted, a rack of different sized sticks sliding out. I grabbed two bo staves and handed one to Taylor. She held it gingerly, like she expected it to turn into a snake and bite her. "You're saying we should do all we can?"

"Yes. And that we should always look for more ways to help," I continued, giving my staff a spin. With my enhanced reflexes, it was easy to judge where it would go and how to adjust until it was a brown wooden blur. "Sometimes that help is giving someone directions, other times it's increasing efficiency. Gadgets and weapons, obvious or subtle give us an advantage. By using tools that make it easier to neutralize criminals, we save our actual strength for more serious fights, and our effectiveness goes up. Plus, intimidation is the first strike in the mental battle before fists begin to fly." I shook my head and laid my phone on the floor. "Anyways, enough monologuing, let's get to it. We'll start out with staves, since almost all of their motions translate to other weapons, and then we can pick something else if we want to. Cortana?"

A projection, not her avatar but a featureless mannequin with a staff. It took up the basic stance, staff at the ready. Looking over it carefully, I stepped over to the side and tried to match it, with Taylor mirroring me. "Saul, take your left hand and grip it on the other side, other hand for you, Taylor." I did so. "Feet apart a bit more, elbows up…good. This is the starting stance, we'll call it 'Base.' Now, slowly, follow the movement."

The mannequin moved, swinging the other side of the staff around to hit an invisible enemy's knee. I followed it as best as I could, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her do the same.

"This is 'one.' Back to the starting stance, base." We did so. "One." Slowly, we moved the other end of the staff forward. "Base." Back to the start. "Little faster now, one." I did so. "Base. One. Base…Saul, you're choking up your grip, move it back down. One. Base. Faster. Base…one. Taylor, right-hand grip, move it back under. Base…one."

…It was going to take a while.

…

After that was over, I took a quick shower, changed into my other clothes while Taylor took hers, then dropped her off at her place and went to class.

Crystal was waiting for me inside the doors, chatting with a couple friends but skipped over to meet me with a winning smile. "Morning Saul!" She greeted me cheerfully, and I couldn't help but smile back. Her energy was infectious. "Ready for another wonderful day at this school which we are currently at?"

…That seemed a very roundabout way of saying 'hi'. "Yep," I replied, heading up the stairs towards my locker and homeroom. Her friends seemed to follow behind us, but they included Lindsay and Diane so they probably had homeroom in the same area. "What are the classes today?"

"History, Math, English, and then today's a PE day, so that and then lunch. Then Social…Studies…" For some reason, she sounded disappointed.

I hung up my jacket and gave her a commiserating look. Music was way more fun and Social Studies was easy, so I could relate. "Not a fan?"

Crystal blinked and pointed at me. "Feeling cold?" Her words came out accusatory for some reason.

I looked down at my chest and the comfortable sweater I was wearing. "Yeah? Kinda, it's still winter, you know." Sure all the activities of superheroing kept a body warm, but I was just going to school.

Plus it was comfy.

"Mm," she hummed, tapping her fingers on her notebooks. "Anyways, then Music. And speaking of Music Class, I wanted to ask-" Whatever she wanted to ask was drowned out by the sound of the bell. It had to wait for homeroom, as the sound of students rushing about wasn't exactly conducive to conversation. Once we were seated and after I gave Carlos a greeting, she tried again. "As I was saying-"

"Wait a minute," I realized slowly, "You said today was a PE day?"

Crystal looked understandably annoyed. "Yeah?"

"I don't have any PE clothes." I'd worn what I'd set out for PE for the morning workout with Taylor instead.

"Really?" Her eyebrows went up. "Well, I'm sure there's something you can use in the Lost and Found, at least for today." Then she whipped out her phone and started typing.

Whatever she wanted to ask couldn't have been that important, then.

Minutes later, the homeroom/History sub walked in with another DVD and her clipboard, but before doing roll call, she made an announcement. "Next week, your permanent replacement will be taking over." And that was it. The class whispered, she took roll, we watched a boring documentary.

…

The other classes went by quick and before I really knew it, PE had reared its head and we were off. I followed Crystal down to the locker rooms, splitting off into the men and women's side, respectively. There were more dudes than were in my class alone, which was because they took two classes and mashed them up so there were more people for team games and shit. To me it just meant more people I wasn't familiar with and most of them were either half-naked or entirely.

What a quick way to make me feel awkward. Swing from buildings at break-neck speeds? Cool. Punch people with loaded guns in the face? Fine. Go to a new school? Hell naw. Go in a room full of people I don't know who are mostly naked? Aw hell naw.

But I got over it. I recognized one of them, a ginger dude who sat at the same table during lunch, but the others were just guys I'd seen walking around. I bypassed them and the showers and the stalls, heading for a door at the far wall. Behind that door was the teacher's office and immediately across the door from the boy's locker room was the door to the girl's. In between was a large room with a desk, a computer, a phone and a chair with a lady sitting in it.

She was fairly average looking, with brown hair and brown eyes, pretty in an athletic way with a few lines around her eyes. The desk and walls around her had various trophies and certificates, with a nameplate tucked into a corner that read 'Dr. Delilah Juniper.' "Yes? Do you need something?"

"Yes, uh, Doctor," I gave her an awkward wave, "I'm Saul Dewitt, the new guy. I forgot my PE clothes at home. I heard there was a Lost and Found that might have some stuff I could use?"

"It's right behind you," she nodded at a box on a shelf behind me. "And none of that 'Doctor' stuff. Call me DJ or 'Ms. DJ' if you wanna be polite."

"Okay," I agreed, turning to rifle through the contents of the box, but there was no need. Because the box was practically empty, except for a tank top and a pair of shorts only slightly longer than my underwear. "…Is this it?"

"Yeah, a lot of people were forgetful today," she checked her watch. "You've got about ten minutes to get ready."

I couldn't just wear my sweater and jeans to PE, they'd get all sweaty and then I'd have to wear them all day. I couldn't even slyly use a cantrip, either because someone might notice my clothes aren't sweaty.

Fuck.

"Alright," I sigh, giving her a nod. "See you in class." She looked amused for some reason, though I guess being a teacher would mean getting whatever schadenfreude you could, especially from the teens she taught. I could understand that, even if I didn't like it.

The locker room was mostly empty except for a few chatting stragglers, so I locked myself in a bathroom stall and changed. It was uncomfortable. The shorts were too short and made me feel indecent with how much of my legs were visible, like if I slipped up they might just disappear up my ass.

…But hiding in the bathroom until class was over would just make the inevitable fallout worse. The best thing to do was put on an emotionless facade and pretend none of it mattered. Then when the jeers and jokes started, they only had about a week to live. Picking on people when they didn't react wasn't fun. I learned that lesson at Olympic Hills.

So I drew myself up, ignored the breeze around my thighs and stepped out of the stall, out of the door and down the hallway like I didn't give a fuck. And why should I? I was a superhero, dammit. I did scarier things than showing off my ass just to get around. And if anyone judged me? Fuck them. I did cooler shit than most of them would ever do everyday.

All my hype-mongering had my spine straight, chest out and chin high as I walked into the gym.

And it all just about vanished when I saw that the other class we had PE with included fucking Victoria, i.e. my biggest crush. Who was standing next to Crystal, i.e. my second biggest crush. No, wait, second biggest crush who was also in my age bracket. "Morning," I greeted them casually, hoping that by resting my hands on my hips like it was No Big Deal would hide the fact that they were shaking.

Vicky grinned in a sharp-toothed way that made me fear for my safety, and the look she swept down my legs and arms didn't do anything to downplay the atmosphere of a hungry shark eyeing a fish. "Good morning indeed," she replied, lightly bouncing in place which drew my attention to the fact that she was wearing a somewhat loose shirt with the logo of a sports team I didn't recognize and a pair of tight black shorts that went to mid-thigh.

"I see you found something that fits!" Crystal interjected cheerily, running through some light stretches and she too was wearing clothes less glamorous than her usual outfits; a white shirt with Lady Photon's logo on the chest, one that was tight enough to hint at what was beneath without actually showing anything and grey shorts that looked almost painted on. "Ready to work your body?" She began to jog in place, the logo on her chest bouncing.

"…Yes." I replied in what I hoped was still a casual tone. Both of their 'heroine' outfits were tighter all around and generally more revealing; but somehow, seeing them in simpler clothes made them even more…stunning.

Holy shit they were way out of my league.

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the shrilling of a whistle as DJ entered the gym. The whistle dropped from her lips to rest against her chest, clad in a very simple black tracksuit with stripes of white up the side. "Alright! I'm sure you all know we've got a new student today, so it's time for an introduction! What's your name and favorite physical activity?"

Everyone turned to look at me and wow, I thought simply having the two girls' attention was bad. I gave them all a short wave and a tight nod. "Saul Dewitt, as you know," I began, inwardly wincing as Diane and Lindsay giggled. If there was anything that enjoyed more than swinging around the city, it was probably flying, though I didn't know how to phrase it in a way that didn't give my identity away. "And favorite physical activity…" Well, there was a lot running along buildings in-between swinging. "…Free running?"

"Interesting," The teacher said with a nod. "Now, four laps around the gym! Three at a jog and finish with a sprint! Fall in!" She commanded, taking off at a light jog around the perimeter. Given that I'd been in front of her, I was now directly behind, so I followed her. Even with the training I'd gone through with Taylor that morning, it was easy as shit to keep up. Crystal was on my right while Victoria was at my left, blonde hair and…other parts bouncing with every step.

It was hard for me to respect that Victoria was dating a dude I very much liked, but I managed to focus whatever wandering attention I had on the teacher, which also wasn't helpful because it turned out she had a very nice rear as well. That made following it easy, not so much respecting her station as a teacher, though. Then Crystal pulled ahead and even doing that basic exercise she managed to inject a sense of buoyancy into it, adding a cheerful little skip every so often. Which, again, made me very aware that she, too, was in possession of a very wonderfully athletic but still soft feminine body while wearing tight shorts.

I only stared a little bit. Two laps, tops.

"Sprint!" DJ called, taking off like a bullet. I piled on the speed and caught up right behind her, easily maintaining my pace while lengthening my strides, and the final lap was done in no time. The teacher looked over at me with an eyebrow arched, a few lines of sweat dotting her face while I was barely sweaty. Looking back at the other kids, most of them weren't done and were already huffing and puffing, excluding the New Wave girls, Carlos and that ginger kid. "Free-running, huh? Figured 'running' was a big part of it."

I shrugged with no real response in mind. Maybe being barely affected by the running was a bad attempt at subtlety, but I ran faster across the sides of buildings for hours at a time. And I was usually pleasantly sore by the time I was done.

"Phew!" Crystal sighed, slowing to a stop by me and bending over with her hands on her thighs, breathing heavily. "I'm always reminded to never take being able to fly for granted after this class. My hamstring's feeling a little tight…" She rested an arm on mine and leaned on me, reaching back to stretch one of her legs. "You're barely even sweaty." For some reason, she seemed disappointed by that. It was the second time that day she was vaguely unhappy about me being some state. The hell was that about?

If anything, her proximity was making me sweaty. Then Victoria stopped on the other side of me with a light sheen of sweat on her face. "You're only dripping buckets 'cause you don't know how to pace yourself." She grinned and flexed in arm. "Maybe if you set that guitar down and did a few laps you'd be less tubby, cuz."

"You shut up, Vicky," Crystal shot back, a bit of color in her cheeks, "I'm not taking that from someone who flies everywhere, lazy. And playing an instrument is a good way to build hand-eye coordination!"

"Hand-eye coordinating candy into your mouth?"

"Hand-eye coordinating my foot in your teeth!"

"That's 'foot-eye coordination, idiot." Vicky smirked, leaning on my opposite shoulder, as if being stuck between two sniping girls wasn't tortuous enough.

…Sandwiched between two sweaty blondes. What a glorious dream.

The whistle cut through their argument. "Form up, lines of four! Remember to breathe and don't sit down!" The teacher ordered, watching with a searching eye as we did as she said. "Basic exercises!"

That was twenty jumping jacks, followed by twenty push-ups, then twenty sit-ups and then stretching. As I was doing a butterfly stretch to my left, Crystal turned her head back to look at me with a bit of pink in her cheeks. "I'm not fat, right?" She whispered self-consciously.

I gave her an incredulous look, then shook my head quickly. "Hell no," I muttered back, and she gave me a bright grin. It was adorable and luckily, we stretched the opposite way so she didn't have to see my face nor my red cheeks.

"Alright, five minute break for water!" DJ called, standing up and moving towards the other end of the gym.

Everyone gathered around a series of taps and cup dispensers, drinking and chatting. "So, Saul," Victoria started after downing a cup, "What kinda girl do you like? I hear a lotta boys find redheads pretty."

"Uh, sure, I guess?" I shrugged, not really wanting to touch that conversation with a ten foot pole. Besides, I just liked women. Features beyond personality were kinda tertiary for me, though appreciated.

"Personally I think blondes have more fun," Crystal interjected, pointing at herself. "Example number one."

"Yeah, but tons of fun can be a bad thing," Vicky shot back with a sharp smirk, "Sometimes you need someone who knows when to be serious."

The blonde with the headband scowled, eye twitching. "Well I find that a relationship where one person's a complete dour non-entity isn't very loving, is it?"

The blonde with the ponytail scowled, crossing her arms. "Better than being a lazy tub."

Crystal smirked and cocked her head. "A tub can lose weight, but a boring person is boring forever."

…I got the feeling that, despite asking me about what kind of women I liked, that conversation was no longer about me. On the one hand that was nice, their attention was flustering and I didn't like it. On the other hand, I wanted their attention. I opened my mouth to interject but was thankfully interrupted by the whistle. "Alright everyone, line up!" We did so as DJ set a bag of balls in the center of the court. "Group activity today is a classic-dodgeball!" There was whispering up and down the line. "I'm gonna go down the line and give you a number, 1, 2, 3 or 4! That number will be your team number! Each team will play twice, and the team that loses takes another lap around the gym!"

With Crystal to my left and Victoria to my right, none of us were on the same team. Team 1 and 2 would face off first, so the dreamy blonde gave me a wave and jogged over to the other side of the gym while the glorious blonde lightly punched my shoulder and said "Have fun!" Before jogging over to the benches.

That left me with a bunch of other people, including Carlos, who I greeted with a handshake. "Free-running's not a bad cover since it's stamina-intensive," he muttered, "But you might want ease off the speed, or at least make it look like you're actually trying."

"…What?" I asked blankly.

He sighed shortly. "Dr. Juniper used to be an award-winning track and field athlete and you were keeping up with her. Despite that, you barely looked winded. I'm in the same boat, so I understand how hard it can be to hold back. At least you've got your 'physical activity' as an excuse."

"What was your physical activity?"

Carlos smiled. "Hugging."

I chuckled as DJ lined up the dodgeballs and whistled for everyone to touch the opposite wall. There were a few whispers still carrying, but I ignored it in favor of focusing on the activity. I'd have to carefully modulate how hard I threw the balls and dodging return fire and whatnot. With my hand on the wall, I crouched slightly as the teacher raised her hand and brought her whistle to her lips.

…

The shrill noise cut through the air, followed by a flurry of limbs as the teams raced towards the balls…except that, as most of team 2 reached the line, they stepped over it and disqualified themselves. A few rolled balls back on their side before stepping off the court, leaving Carlos and Saul to look after them in confusion. In that moment, the ginger kid nailed the broad-shouldered Latino in the side.

Carlos looked at the entire team on the other side of the court, then at the rest of his team on the bench, watching with anticipation, and frowned at the ginger kid before directing a commiserating look at his fellow Ward.

Saul blinked, watching him go as he held a ball, then looked at the other team, most of whom were smirking with the exception of Crystal, who looked just as confused as he felt. Then she seemed to realize something. "Really?!" She exclaimed, spinning on her team.

"Don't get bunched up, it's just a little fun," the ginger waved her look off. "How long can you last, new kid?" He called to Saul, bouncing a ball in his hand.

Saul blinked again, looking between them and the team that was supposed to be on his side. "Are…are you picking on me?" he asked incredulously. "What kind of juvenile BS is that?!"

"Just fun man, just fun!" The ginger replied.

"WOO! Kick their asses, new kid!" Victoria cheered from her seat, a large smile on her face.

"Screw you guys," Crystal muttered, turning to the boy on the opposite side of the line. "Hey Saul!" She gave her ball an easy lob that he caught, and she headed for the bench with a dark look at her team, ignoring her cousin booing loudly.

Carlos hopped off the bench and jogged up next to Saul, scooping up another ball. "I'm with you," he muttered, and then the battle began.

The two of them focused on dodging, keeping a hold of their balls to use as shields when multiple missiles came flying at them. Carlos ducked under a ball and hurled his back, nailing a girl in the stomach. Bereft of his shield, the other team took aim but he was quick and caught another. Except that their teammate hopped onto the field, grabbed a ball then tossed it back, letting it be caught and taking themselves back out while bringing an enemy back in.

It was only a matter of time before Carlos' broad frame was used against him, and he was eventually hit, leaving Saul alone. With a determined frown, the spider-teen dipped, ducked, occasionally dove and otherwise dodged until the rain of balls stopped, because they were on his side. Looking back, he realised this. Then he gave the other team a flat look and sat down, crossing his arms.

The ginger threw his hands up. "Oh come on! Dude, just throw a ball or something!"

"No." Saul replied bluntly. "You wanna single me out? Fine. But I'm not playing by your rules, a-hole."

Ginger teen turned to the teacher. "This isn't allowed, right? He's gotta play?"

"It's until one team's eliminated," DJ shrugged, "He's on the field, therefore his team's still active."

"Ugh," the ginger rolled his eyes, realizing he'd get no help there, turning to speak to Saul again, only for a ball to nail him in the chest. "Oof!"

The ball rolled back across the floor to the sitting teen, who scooped it up and set it on his lap. "Revenge," he muttered, before standing up, bouncing the ball off the floor before jumping and throwing it up. It sailed over the other team's heads, bounced off the rim of the basketball hoop mounted on the wall, and went in. "There, I win."

"WOO! Three points!" Victoria cheered, giving a nudge to her cousin's shoulder. "You see that, Crystal? He's fun and serious. Him and Ames would be perfect together!"

Crystal frowned up at her. "Vicky, I don't think Amy gives a shit about relationships right now."

"'Cause she hasn't met the right guy!" Vicky chirped, whooping as Saul dodged the thrown ball, then shot it into the hoop again. "See, look at that! He's a loose cannon who doesn't play by the rules but gets results! Perfect for a killjoy like Ames!"

"Or someone who's also fun," Laserdream shot back, crossing her arms. "I know Aunty's interested in trying to get him into New Wave, but knock it off with the matchmaking, that'll just irritate him."

"Oh shut up, Crissy," Glory Girl sneered. Saul took another shot, this ball landing between the backboard and the rim and getting stuck. "Like you know him that much. Though, I guess you know very well what his shoulders look like…" She trailed off with a grin as her cousin blushed hotly.

"Shut up, Vicky!" Crystal huffed, glaring at her. "And it's not like I'm the only one checking him out! You were staring at his ass every lap! I should tell Dean."

"Pfft, yeah I was. That's why I hung back the whole time. Boys' got some strong legs. Bet he does a lot of squats." Vicky chuckled in a very 'dirty old man' fashion. "Ames is gonna owe me big time!"

"…I can't help but notice you didn't react to the whole 'telling Dean' thing," the human laser-pointer pointed out dryly.

"Meh," the flying brick replied eloquently. "Dean doesn't care, I'm just looking. Or 'admiring his dedication to his training as expressed through his physicality.'"

"Lotta big words there, Vick. Do you even know what half of them mean?" Crystal sniped, turning her gaze to the floor, where she observed the target of their conversation bouncing on his heels before shooting another ball at the hoop. "He does have some nice legs, though…that was a good call on my part."

"You mean text." Victoria corrected, lightly slapping her shoulder. "Stop staring at my sister's future boyfriend, ya creep."

"Stop acting like it's a foregone conclusion!" Crystal slapped her back.

"It is." She grinned mischievously before booing as Saul went to shoot another hoop, but the ball bounced off the rim and someone dove for it.

DJ blew the whistle, smacking her lips with a sigh as the 'game' ended. "Congratulations, this was a massive waste of time. Both teams are taking a lap." As the various teenagers grumbled and moved off the bench, she stopped Carlos, Crystal and Saul. "Not you, take a seat. Teams 3 and 4, on to the court, and don't even think of pulling that crap again or I'm going to start handing out demerits."

As an actual dodgeball game went down, Crystal sat down on Saul's right just in time to hear him grumble, "I thought I was done with this shit after I left Olympic Hills…"

"It's not that bad," She assured him quickly, recalling what he'd gone through at his old school after having finally read his file. He blinked, turning to face her with a question in his wide blue eyes. Unbidden, she felt heat rush to her cheeks and hurried to answer. "They do it all the time with new kids, singling them out once in a while. It's not bullying, or, well, it won't be, not on my watch." The heat under her skin thrummed as he gave her a small, shy smile. It should be illegal for a boy to be this cute, she thought, playing with her fingers. Not only does he have that superhero body, but he's got a sweet smile and those eyes…they've got a crys-

Her thoughts on the boy next to her were interrupted by said boy suddenly reaching out and grabbing a ball that had bounced off the ground, headed directly for her face. "Sorry!" Vicky called from the court, and it was only from a lifetime of knowing her that Crystal could hear the insincerity.

Saul frowned and threw the ball back, eyeing the other blonde. "Needs to be a bit more careful," he muttered, scratching his cheek. He turned to Crystal, eyes narrowed in thought. "Before homeroom, there was something you were going to say."

She blinked at him, casting her mind back. "Oh, right!" It had been a few hours, after all. "Do you remember Music class? Well, there's a semester project that involves everyone forming bands. You really wrecked Freebird and my band could really use a lead guitar…and also a lead singer…and some songs."

"Is that all?" He asked sarcastically, before tapping his chin in thought. He turned a searching look on her, and she resisted the urge to squirm. "…You can't sing?"

She flushed. "I can't really pull off the high notes that well. I'm better at lower, background vocals."

"Huh," he thought aloud, "I always figured you'd have a nice singing voice…"

"Hey, I'm not bad, just not very high ranged," she interjected, "And what do yoi mean 'always'?"

Saul gave her a startled look. "I said that out loud, didn't I," he sighed, blushing. Crystal giggled inwardly. "I mean…well, you've got a nice voice, you know? Not singing, but just in general. It's…you know, nice." Then she giggled outwardly and he huffed. "I can't think of a better way to phrase it, okay? Sorry."

"It's alright, I think it's cute when you struggle for words," she said thoughtlessly, before pausing upon realizing what she just said. "L-like a puppy trying to figure out how a screen door works after it runs into one." Oh wow. Nice, Crystal, insult the dude when you're trying to get him to join your band, real smooth.

Saul blinked. Then he chuckled. "I'll take it." He scratched his chin. "I'm not sure about writing songs, but…"

"Yes?" She asked hopefully.

The whistle blew. "Team 3, losers lap! Team 4, five minutes until you face off with team 2."

And that was the end of that conversation as Saul went on the court.

A decent amount of fun was had by all.

…

After a quick rinse, Saul threw on his clothes and headed for the lunchroom, brushing past the ginger and ignoring his muttering of 'killjoys.' The menu that day was tacos, so he grabbed a tray and two extra, along with an apple, a salad and a cup of water. After his workout that morning, followed by PE with no snack in-between, he was a hungry boy.

He saw the curly red hair of one Amy Dallon and sat down next to her with a greeting, noticing that she was looking at an article on her phone about a traffic accident that had occurred an hour ago. He made a note of the hospital and started in on his food. The crunch of taco shell between his teeth made her jump and spin around, brown eyes wide.

Saul paused mid-bite, blinking at her. Then he closed his mouth and chewed. "You didn't hear me say hi, did you?"

She blushed in embarrassment, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, sorry. I was just reading and got caught up."

In the lunch line, Victoria noticed the two of them talking and could pick out a fading flush in her sister's cheeks. With a gleeful smile, she elbowed Dean in the side, making him drop a taco on the counter, and pointed them out.

"Some kind of accident?" He asked, spearing a few leaves of lettuce and a tomato.

"Yeah. Three cars piled up, though no one died. Some serious injuries, though." Her nose wrinkled and her eyes darted towards the door.

"Thinking of skipping out to go see them?" Saul arched an eyebrow at her, and she flushed again at being so obvious. "I don't blame you, I was thinking the same thing."

Amy frowned. "You were?" As far as she knew, his powers were esoteric but didn't involve healing.

"Well yeah," he shrugged, "Might not be able to do a lot, but I'd like to help how I could. But we got school, so…"

"Yeah," she snorted, stabbing her salad like it owed her something besides nutrition.

"Hey you two!" Victoria greeted them with a chipper smile, sitting down on the other side of the table. From there, they looked like a couple eating together! "Whatcha talking about?"

"Traffic accidents," Amy replied dryly, biting into her taco.

"Fun!" Her sister noted with what seemed like zero sarcasm.

Saul swallowed his bite. "I have questions about Saturday and that movie, thanks for covering me there, by the way."

"No prob!" Vicky accepted cheerfully, starting in on her lunch. "What questions?"

"First of all, hey Dean, who all is going to see it?" The gentleman in the glasses sat opposite of him and immediately poured a draught of tea for the both of them. "Thank you muchly."

"Well," she talked around a mouthful of food, "It's me, Dean, Amy and you. Speaking of, can you be Ames' 'escort'? Dean's mine."

Saul glanced at Amy, who exhaled through her nose but nodded. "…Sure. Whatever that means. What kind of movie is it?"

Victoria clapped happily. "It's this new romance that just came out, and it's funny, too!" She resisted the urge to coo as Saul frowned at her, his expression unknowingly mirrored by Amy. They're so cute!

"A rom-com?" He asked, just as Amy said, "Seriously?" In the same tone. They glanced at each other in surprise. At Vicky's side and hidden behind his sandwich, Dean grimaced. "Does it at least have Ryan Reynolds in it?"

Victoria shook her head. "No, but it does have Hugh Jackman."

"What about Hugh Jackman?" Crystal asked as she sat down on Saul's left.

"There's a rom-com starring him that we're going to this weekend," the Ward explained flatly, giving her a searching look. "You wanna come?"

"She can't!" Vicky interrupted quickly. "I bought the last tickets!" Dean frowned at her, and she subtly jerked her head at Saul and Amy. He huffed under his breath but let it go.

"Oh," Saul muttered, tapping his chin. "You wanna go instead of me?"

"Do you want to go instead of me?" Amy asked at the same time.

Crystal blinked, glancing at the two of them. "Uh…does it have Ryan Reynolds?"

They both shook their heads. "No," they answered in sync, then looked at each other in surprise.

"…Do you guys practice that when I'm not around?" The dreamy blonde asked, crossing her arms but definitely not pouting. "Oh wait, a rom-com? Hell no."

"Then it's settled!" Victoria nodded emphatically. "Dean's gonna be my escort, Saul will be Ames', and we're gonna watch a movie!" Then she stabbed a finger at Saul playfully. "No funny business with my sister, got it?"

The Ward have her a flat look, then nodded. "Got it," he turned to the redhead sitting next to him. "Sorry Amy, I'll have to leave my clown car at home."

"What a shame," she replied just as deadpan, though a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Crystal dug into her lunch to hide the discontented face she wore. Uh oh. Did I just make a mistake?

…

The last class of the day, Music, came upon them with the teacher drawing Saul to the front of the class. "Alright, so remember how I said that if you nailed the Freebird solo, you'd get in A? I forgot to mention that was only for classwork, which is only forty percent of the total grade. The other sixty is the semester-long project of getting a band together and making a couple of songs. They don't have to be long songs, or even particularly good, but if a band is actually good, they'll get to go up against another band from another class in a little battle-of-the-bands type deal," he explained excitedly. "It's a little fundraiser for the school, little bit of a party and all fun. And who knows, you might stick together and actually make more music! Now, since you're new and joining us part way through the year, you'll have to join an established band."

A wall of noise washed over Saul as the entire class got on their feet and started calling to him. Overwhelmed, his eyes swept across the room and fell on a pair just as blue. Crystal bit her lip and gave him a pleading look.

"So," Mr. Bradley spoke up as the room eventually quieted down. "Any questions before you pick one?"

"Yeah," the Ward nodded, pointing at Crystal. "What genre is your band and what's the philosophy towards music?"

She stood up quickly and announced, "Rock! And music is for rocking and having fun!"

Saul nodded, humming thoughtfully. "Alright, I'm in Crystal's band."

As a chorus of groans rose from the class of teens, the blonde graced him with a blinding smile, her eyes shining.

And to Saul, that made the following chaos worth it.

…

It was later in the day, and Arcadia had let out for the weekend. After confirming the time and place for their meet up the following day, Saul drove off towards the nearby Junior High, where he awaited a cute girl and the following fun that was to ensue.

He put the green and black striped muscle car in park on the other side of the street from the school, across from the line of buses. He checked the time. Twenty minutes until it let out. Sitting back in his seat, he cranked the music and relaxed.

Twenty minutes later…

Missy would never admit it aloud, but she'd actually been looking forward to having a movie night with Saul and his Aunt. Pizza and movies sounded like a wonderful distraction from her home life, and her extreme lack of a love life. Saul, at least, acknowledged her as a hero, though he did treat her like a kid at times. But he was a big kid himself, so it worked out.

With her backpack on her shoulders and a few friends chatting around her, she exited the front doors with a smile. There was no one there. Her face fell. "Where is he?" She asked herself.

"Hey," one of her friends, Jenny, pointed across the street with a giggle, "Is that him?"

That was when Missy heard the music. "This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world," she heard Saul's voice all the way from the other side of the street as he enthusiastically drummed the wheel and bobbed in place. "And though she looks so said in photographs, I absolutely love her…when she smiles!"

Missy felt her face go red from embarrassment even as her friends began to giggle. Through the haze, she noticed that while a bit off-key, his voice wasn't bad. "No, I don't think so," she said distantly.

As if on cue, Saul looked around and met her eyes. A wide grin crossed his face and he stuck a hand out of the window. "Missy!" He called happily, "Hey Missy! Over here!"

Her cheek twitched as the giggles around her grew and the heat in her cheeks worsened. "Definitely not," she stated shakily, turning on her heel and marching down the sidewalk.

"Missy!" The voice followed her. "Where you going? I'm over here! Missy! Hey!"

She resolutely ignored it and continued walking.

Saul frowned as Missy kept walking away from him and turned the car on to follow. "Excuse me!" A nasally voice called in his ear, a thin man reaching in through the window to get his attention. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, sir. You're bothering the students."

"I'm here to pick Missy up, okay?" Saul replied, pointing at the blondes back. "You should've gotten a call yesterday."

"Mmhm," the teacher or whatever hummed sarcastically. "And let me guess, you have permission from her parents as well?"

"How would I know?" He shook his head, frowning, "I would guess so, but I'm not the one who set this up."

The teacher scowled, shoving most of his head and upper body through the window. "Listen here you little punk, you're not gonna find a girlfriend or whatever here, so get the hell out of here before I call the cops on your ass!"

Saul gave him a flat look, then reached up and unhooked his badge fold from the shade. "Listen, I appreciate that you're looking out for the kids and shit," he flipped it open and shoved it in the teacher's face, "But get your head out of my car before I hit the gas, Hector."

The teacher paled and hurriedly removed himself from the car, stammering. "O-oh, uh, my apologies, s-sir." Impeding the actions of a PRT agent was a finable, jailable offense, after all.

"Keep an eye on the kids but pay attention, dipshit," Saul told him, tapping the sticker with the PRT badge on his windshield. He shook his head as he slowly pulled away, following after Missy. "Could I have shown him my badge first thing?" He muttered to himself, "Yes, yes I could. Would it have been as funny? Hell no."

Missy continued to ignore him as his car pulled up alongside her, the gravel of the road crunching under the slow moving tires.

"Missy…" Saul drawled, "Why are you walking away from me? Why are you ignoring me? Come on, hop in. Cecilly's got Mulan loaded up and the pizza's already ordered. Come ooooon…"

Missy snorted like a bull and spun on him. "Leave me alone, jerk!" She shouted.

He frowned at her and did not, in fact, leave her alone. "Why are you pissy, Missy?"

"You embarrassed me in front of my friends!" She explained at the top of her lungs. "I'll never hear the end of it!"

He blinked at her. "Missy, all of your friends are like, twelve. They aren't going to care about shit over the weekend, and they'll forget all about it on Monday. Get in the car, please?"

She crossed her arms and turned away, pouting. "I'm still mad," she grumbled.

"Missy, I'm sorry I made you feel embarrassed," Saul started, "But I'm not going to apologize for being excited to see you out of work and about to meet my Aunt. If it makes you feel any better, I'll just honk next time." He pushed on the center of the wheel and the car honked, making her jump. "Okay?"

She sighed. "Okay."

"Okay," Saul nodded, reaching over to open the door, "Now hop in before I turn this thing into a motorcycle and you have to hug me the whole way back."

Missy gave him a theatrically horrified look and slid in, setting her backpack between her knees and buckling herself securely. He smiled warmly and drove onward, turning the music up. "Thanks for picking me up," she said, playing with the seatbelt.

"Thanks for coming over," he replied, and they sat in comfortable silence as the song continued to play. The atmosphere was so relaxing that it seemed like only minutes before they were pulling into Saul's garage. "Alright, Missy, there's something you need to know. My Aunt…well, if you think I'm a hugger, you haven't seen anything yet. Just remember that you are allowed to say 'no,' okay? Don't let her pout at you or bring out the puppy eyes. If you don't want to, you don't have to. And if she keeps on it, just punch her in the tit or something."

Missy blinked rapidly, unconsciously getting out of the car. Am I in danger? She thought distantly.

Saul removed the sticker from the windshield and dismissed the car, opening the door into the house proper and was immediately ambushed by his aunt with a flying tackle hug. Instead of a happy squeal, though, she let out a whine.

"Dammit Saul!" she cursed, poking his shoulder, "You're supposed to be polite when a girl visits your house for the first time! You open the door for her and let her go first! How did you become such a ruffian?!"

"Because I knew you'd do that, Cecilly," Saul replied dryly, stepping aside to reveal Missy standing behind him, clutching her backpack to her chest like a shield. If she thought looking like a scared little faun would make her any less adorable, she was sorely mistaken.

Cecilly gasped so loudly one would she think she'd just found a dead body. "So…cute!" She squealed at such a high pitch that it pierced reality, nearly diving forward. "CUDDLE!"

Snuggle'thulu had been summoned.

Saul held an arm up and caught his aunt by the chest. "Cecilly…" he sighed, ignoring her struggles. Fortunately, Snuggle'thulu's strength lay only in snuggling and stopping any escaping thereof, and was thus powerless as any human woman against someone with super strength would be.

But only before she got her arms around her victim. Then?

Then they were fucked. Until Snuggle'thulu had to pee.

"We talked about this," Saul continued, easily pushing her back. "Don't jump on people you don't know for cuddles, especially if you just met them. Ask, aunty. Use your words. Wooooords."

"Words no work, cuteness overload!" Cecilly burbled, still thrashing before going still. "Alright, I'm done." Saul let her go and she bent over to be eye-level with Missy, a warm smile adorning her face. "Hi there, Missy. I'm Cecilly. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Vista eyed the offered hand like it might be a snake. "Hi, uh, Cecilly. It's nice…to meet you?" She greeted the older woman with a polite, if cautious smile. "Saul talks about you alot. He says you're his number one hero of all time. Though I'm a close second."

His aunt turned a questioning eyebrow on Saul, a grin splitting her lips. "Oh really?" She purred, eyes glittering and he looked away with heat in his cheeks, slowly backing up as she crept forward. "Don't you run away. You know it's inevitable."

The only boy there slumped in defeat. "Yeah, I guess it is." He didn't resist as his aunt threw her arms around him and began to loudly kiss his face. Zoey and Missy giggled and he grimaced as he felt his manliness dying a painful, screaming death. That didn't stop him from hugging Cecilly back, though.

Thankfully he was spared any further embarrassment when the doorbell rang. "That'll be the pizza," his aunt said, pressing one more very long, very noisy kiss to his cheek before skipping towards the door. "Everything else is set up except for the drinks! Can you grab them from the fridge, Saul?"

Saul set his backpack next to the couch and motioned for Missy to do the same. "Get settled in while I grab those, alright? By the way, this is Zoey," he waved to the redhead, who gave the younger girl a small smile. The blonde waved back, her eyes darting to the massive yellowing bruise covering most of the right side of the other girls' face. She shot a subtle look at Saul, who shook his head in response before heading into the kitchen. "Cecilly! What kind of pizza did you get?!"

"I got three kinds!"

"Cookie pizza still counts as a pizza!"

"…Four kinds! One Four Cheese, one Pepperoni, and a Bonanza Supreme!" She came back to the living room with a pile of boxes in her arm that she set on the coffee table and spread out. Saul entered from the kitchen, bearing a gallon of iced tea and glasses. Cecilly cracked the boxes open to reveal the still-steaming pies and gestured grandly. "Dig in, ladies and gentleman!" Then she picked up the remote and hit play, and Mulan started.

Missy grabbed herself a slice of the cheese and the Bonanza Supreme, which turned out to have pineapple, Canadian bacon, sausage and olives. While a tad iffy on the toppings, she noticed both Saul and Cecilly happily devouring it and decided to chance a bite. Flavors exploded in her mouth. The sweet tanginess of the pineapple, the chewy salt of the bacon, the spice of the sausage and the rich saltiness of the olive blended together into a flavor extravaganza. It was a bit on the salty side, but a tall glass of slightly-sweet tea washed it all down perfectly.

Saul and Cecilly took the arms of the couch, leaving Zoey and Missy to sit in the middle. With stomachs full of tasty food and the promise of a dessert once it had all been digested a bit, the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. The young Ward found herself shoulder-to-shoulder with the older, intently watching the screen. She could relate to Mulan, the desire to prove herself and protect her family; perhaps not the latter, but protection nonetheless. How often had Missy desired to escape her home life, don her mask and zip about the city freely? Why was it that, when she hid her face and used her powers openly, she felt more real?

The movie seemed to fly by and before she knew it, the credits were scrolling by. "What next?" She asked.

"Hercules!" Saul replied, shooting up from the couch to change the discs out. "I know it's not mythologically accurate, but it's just so fun."

Cecilly heaved herself off of the couch, stretching with an exaggerated groan. "Don't be afraid to open that cookie pizza, as long as you save me some," she said cheerfully. "I'll be back 'cause I have got to pee."

"Thanks for telling everyone that," her nephew muttered, closing the disk tray. "How about I get everyone some milk, does that sound good?" At their nods, he took up the dishes, the glasses and the much emptier jug of tea, leaving the two girls by themselves.

"So…" Missy started, eyeing the redhead and the bruise on her face. "Zoey, right? You live with Saul and his aunt?"

Zoey looked away from the commercials and met her eyes. "What? Oh, no, I'm just staying with them for now." The older girl's gaze darted to the kitchen, then she ducked her head and blushed.

"Huh," the blonde muttered. "So what happened with this?" She waved at her face, indicating the bruise, and Zoey's face went blank.

"…I can't talk about it," she finally replied, tentatively touching her injured cheek.

"Okay," Missy nodded, leaning forward to open the box with the cookie pizza inside. It was chocolate chip with a thin layer of frosting on top, and she decided that she was only going to have one piece because while she knew her training would let her keep a svelte figure as she grew, there was no need to make it harder for herself. "Cookie?"

Zoey gave her a small smile as she served them a slice each, gracing Saul with a larger one as he returned with glasses of milk. Cecilly came back from her trip, grabbed herself a slice and they sat back to watch another movie.

Full of good food and surrounded by good company, Missy found herself slumping back into the cushions of the couch. A nearby source of heat was like a magnet, slowly drawing towards it until her cheek met Saul's shoulder. Blinking, she sat up and glanced at him to see if he had noticed her, but he was still focused on the movie. With great care, she slowly lowered her head until her temple just barely rested against his shoulder…

And then Saul raised his arm and set it on the back of the couch, letting her cheek be cushioned by his chest. Missy stilled, unblinking for a long moment…then she relaxed against him, curling into his side.

Cecilly shifted her arm so that Zoey could more comfortably snuggle against her, spotting Saul doing the same out of the corner of her eye. She drew his gaze and gave him a wink, which he returned with a thumbs-up.

Missy rubbed her cheek against his side and made herself comfortable. "…I saw that," she whispered, watching Hercules punch a centaur into the sky. Saul said nothing, but she got the feeling he was smiling.

…

I wasn't sure when I'd fallen asleep, only that it was dark outside and there was no movie playing. My head was hanging off the side of the couch and I'd kinda shifted until most of my legs were on the cushions. The warmth of Missy's body was still curled into my side, her head nestled under my arm like a little blonde bird. I blinked and tried to remember why I'd woken up when a finger poked my cheek.

I blinked and Cecilly waved a hand in front of my face. "Saul, it's late," she said, somewhat unnecessarily considering the lack of light. "Weren't you supposed to take Missy home at some point?"

I blinked hard. Oh shit. "Um…they have my number, I think. Have they called?" I really didn't want to disturb Missy because she looked so comfortable and cute and peaceful with her little snores, but I also didn't want to freak out her parents.

Cecilly picked up my phone and tapped the screen. No missed calls or texts. "No, I guess not. What are we going to do, though? I don't want to wake her up, but she does need to go home…"

"I wanna stay," Missy grumbled, blinking hard as she woke up, rubbing her eyes before opening them. She looked down at my chest, which she'd been using as a mattress and went red. Instead of scrambling away or jumping and shrieking or even warping to the other side of the room; she just buried her red face into my side again. Like a puppy!

It was adorable.

"Awwwww," my aunt cooed, and I felt Missy vibrate in embarrassment against my side. "She's so precious…"

"I know, right?" I murmured, rubbing her arm. "But seriously, is it alright with your parents, Missy?"

She stopped hiding and met my eyes. "Yeah," she said bluntly. "They won't care."

Her tone, the way she stated it so matter-of-factly… "Alright," I nodded, gently sitting us up. "So, how are we doing this? I guess you can borrow some of Cecilly's clothes for pajamas. She and Zoey have been sharing her room, so you can sleep there…"

"Can I have my bag?" She asked, and my aunt obliged by sliding it over. She unzipped the second pocket to reveal not only pajamas and a toothbrush, but a change of clothes as well.

"You planned for this?" I couldn't help but ask.

"No," Missy sighed, "but I figured it might. Is there enough room in the bed for me? Three people sounds like a lot…"

"Yeah, there's room. She has a California King and none of you are huge, so you should fit." I gave her back a rub and pointed out the bathroom. "Go ahead and get ready. Where's Zoey?"

On cue, the bathroom door opened and said redhead stepped out, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?" She asked tiredly.

"You get to have double the snuggles tonight," I announced seriously as Missy passed her by and closed the door. I cleaned up the pizza boxes and the dishes and by the time I was done, Missy had left the bathroom in a sleeping gown with little flowers decorating the fabric. She was waiting for me by the bathroom door, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her pajamas. "Do you need something?"

She nodded wordlessly, but didn't say anything. Then she slowly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. It wasn't the first time we'd hugged, but it was the first time where she had initiated it. "Thanks for inviting me over to watch movies," she mumbled into my shirt as I returned the embrace, resting my cheek on her hair. "And…thanks for letting me stay."

"Anything you need, Missy," I murmured, rubbing her back. She hugged me for a few seconds more, then pulled back. "Good night, Missy."

"Good night."

I gave my aunt a hug and kiss, blew one to Zoey then went in my room. But not for sleep. Not just yet.

…

Glory Girl touched down outside of the hospital, setting Panacea on the sidewalk before the healer set off. "Don't you think we should be getting some sleep? We've got dates tomorrow," Victoria pointed out while still following Amy.

"You've got a date, Vicky," Amy had a lot of experience keeping the bitterness from slipping into her tone, "I've got an escort. He's only coming along because you made him. I doubt he'd care otherwise."

"Alright, now I don't know the guy super personally, but that seems a little unfair to me," The blonde commented, flicking her ponytail. "You guys were getting along just fine before I showed up."

Panacea sniffed and bobbed her head. "Yeah, I guess so. But don't think I can't see what you're trying to do, Vicky. It won't work out, for several reasons." One of which was walking beside her.

"Well what's wrong with giving it a shot, Ames? You'll never get someone if you don't put yourself out there, you know."

Whatever Amy's retort would've been was swallowed as a doctor saw them walking down the hall and hurried up to them. "Panacea! Glory Girl!" He greeted them almost nervously, eyes darting about. "W-what are you doing here?"

Amy resisted the urge to snark. "I heard that the patients from a recent automobile accident were taken here. I'd like to offer my help to them, as well as in general."

Now, most doctors and nurses would jump at the chance to let her help because it saved resources and she was, to put it bluntly, fucking super-powered and thus more effective; and most importantly, they wanted to help the people who came in. It was why they'd spent years earning degrees and certificates, after all.

The doctor glanced over his shoulder nervously. "Oh, really? W-well, you see…the patients are, uh…they don't need help…a-anymore." Behind them, a flare of gold light shone under the door.

"What?" Amy drew back, eyes wide. Had she been too late? I knew I should've skipped school! "They died? But I thought there were no fatal injuries…"

"What?" The doctor blinked, nonplussed, before he realized that she'd misconstrued his meaning. "Oh! No, no-one died. The opposite, actually…so, uh, you can go home. Everything's fine!" He glanced at Glory Girl and started sweating again.

"It doesn't seem like everything's fine…" The blonde flying brick muttered, narrowing her eyes on the man, who gulped audibly. "What's-?"

Behind them, the door opened and The Good Man came stumbling out, a squealing woman wrapped around his neck as she rained kisses on his masked face. He, gently but firmly, pulled her off of him and set her down, pushing her back towards the room he'd just left. She blew him another kiss and yelled, "I love you!" As he waved and headed off, pausing as he saw Glory Girl and Panacea. But then he continued on towards the elevators, stepping in as a pair of nurses stepped off and hit the button for the twentieth floor.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Vicky called, stepping around the doctor. The Good Man hit the door close button. She zipped down the hall just as the elevator doors closed and grumbled to herself, watching as the floor counter went up. She turned to call for her sister, only to realize that the other girl was right next to her, calling the other elevator. "Let's see what this guy has to say for himself, huh?"

"Maybe it would be better if you didn't?" The doctor asked, but they both ignored him in favor of taking the elevator upwards.

"I don't want to hurt him, Vicky, I just want to get his reasons and watch him work," Amy quickly explained to her sister, noting the way the blonde was bouncing on her heels.

"I know, I know, I just want to talk to him." Vicky replied, sniffing. "He's an independent dude, so he's much more vulnerable than you and me. We gotta make him see how dangerous it can be with him running around on his own like this."

Halfway through their ride, a loud, gentle noise suddenly rang in their ears as a wave of what seemed to be golden light washed through the building. "…What was that?" Panacea asked, clenching her hands into fists and noticing that all of her soreness from writing and just generally being active for the day had been erased, leaving her feeling light and airy.

"I don't know, but it felt good," Glory Girl purred, stretching her arms above her head and sighing as the muscles in her legs and back felt warm and relaxed, like she'd just had a hot oil massage and a long soak in a jacuzzi.

The door opened and they stepped out to find several people milling about, staring at their bodies in awe as they tentatively poked themselves. A few nurses were clustered around the bent-over form of The Good Man as he silently heaved for breath; whatever that healing wave was, it had taken a lot out of him, especially since they were in the long-term damage ward and his wave of light had seemed to affect a few floors up and down.

"Hey!" Amy called, and The Good Man stiffened, mask turning towards them. He took a cup of water from a nurse and downed it through his mask somehow, handed it back and patted the woman thankfully on the shoulder…and then bolted. "Wait!"

He did not. He disappeared around the corner and the two girls followed after him, Glory Girl lifting off of the ground for more speed. He burst through the door leading to the stairwell and without hesitation, he jumped over the railing. A surprised Vicky peered over the railing, expecting to see the man plummeting to his doom…but instead watched as he bounced from floor to floor, pushing off of one side of the stairwell to land on the other and then again until he landed at the very bottom. "Ames!"

Amy jumped on Vicky's back and the blonde dove over the railing, falling straight down the middle. As they neared the ground, she flipped them over and slowed their fall, though her feet still cracked the ground. The healer jumped off and they resumed their pursuit, rounding the corner to find the double doors leading to the outside swinging shut with a clang. They burst through it right behind The Good Man, took two steps and stopped.

Because two people, a man and a woman with short hair and tattoos, were pointing a pistol each at The Man as he stood before them, his hands in the air. Behind them was an unmarked van with the doors open, and surprise was plain on their faces.

The two holding The Good Man up looked at the two, eyes widening as they recognized the two heroines, guns instinctively switching to point at them…and that was when The Man made his move.

His hand darted forward, snatching the pistol out of the tattooed man's hand and precisely hurling it at the woman's wrist, taking both guns out of the picture before he grabbed them by the arm, twisting them around locking them together while ducking under and pushing them in front of him, down on their knees. Before they could even grunt in pain, he lashed out with a spin kick, his foot cracking against the back of their skulls.

Several things had happened in quick succession, it left the two heroines flat-footed, not helped by the van's tires squealing as it took off. "Vicky!" Amy called, pointing.

Vicky flew forward, in front of the van and punched it in the grill, making the engine squeal horribly and die. The driver behind the wheel put his hands up, shaking and sweating at her glare.

Amy nodded to herself and turned back to The Good Man…except he was gone. In the second she'd looked away, he'd vanished like smoke in the wind, leaving two unconscious people on the ground. "…Dammit."

"Hey, where'd he go?"

In the bushes about ten feet away, The Good Man slunk away silently, keeping an ear out for any further pursuit before he made it to the road. Certain he was clear, he rose from his crouch and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he hauled ass outta there.

…

…

…

…

A/N: Well now, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've been writing for other stories, Not A Hero, Not For Hire most of all, but I couldn't leave this one alone forever. It's still way too easy to write for, which should be obvious from the fact that once again, a single several thousand word chapter covers only a single goddamn day.

What can I say, other than that the character interactions always get away from me.

Next chapter should be, should be, the last of these 'establishing' chapters with the trip to the movies and a bit more; then we can get through a timeskip and start heading for the real meat of this arc.

Should be. (no promises)

Also, as a note, if you follow The Life With Monster Girls and didn't get to read it because FF fucked up, they unfucked it a bit ago, so it's actually readable now. I'm not salty, it's just the only Halloween special I've ever done and I posted it on Halloween but the site fucked up and most people didn't actually get to see it on HALLOWEEN.

Austin: Yeah. Totally not salty.

Anyways, thanks to the usual suspects for some editing, spelling and whatnot. Check out NorthSouthGorem and his writings 'cause he's actually pretty good. Not Austin, though. He's not a writer anymore. He's too busy streaming on Twitch! At (www .dot. twitch .dot. tv /slash/ AustinYeeeed)

Austin: Doesn't fanfiction hate links?

Yes they do.

Thanks for reading, reviewing and all that fun stuff. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you look forward to more. Until then…

Stay Awesome.

~Soleneus

P.S.: No, really, I've been avoiding this story because it's too easy to write for, it just sucks up all my time and motivation for other stories and, well, other people like those other stories. As do I. But you'll see more of this before the year is out. As well as other stories.

A few chapters about life or maybe sniping or even science fiction or dragons…yeah, a lot of writing. Strange times are afoot, eh.

Stay Awesome Some More.

~still Soleneus