p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Vortex was at it again. He had to be tight on cash to try and rob a bank slap in the middle of Indianapolis, the home of Heroes Guild, Inc., and where super heroes were trained to patrol for crime, before they were sent on assignments to other cities./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Smasher, real name Kelly Winger, blew her bangs out of her face and started bounding in the direction of the financial district, her long, blond ponytail swinging behind her, as super strength allowed her to make gigantic leaps in the direction of the swirling tornado./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Smasher arrived at the base of a windy nightmare that was causing all sorts of damage and bystander injures. This guy was a piece of work. Vortex would be a big time super villain if he wasn't dumber than a bag of rocks. In his tight luchador spandex suit of lime and pink, it was comical that he thought no one would notice him enter a bank, much less get away with actually robbing it./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Barricade, one of the trainers on duty, had blocked him in with energy walls, but the moron was still trying to create a tornado in an area without enough wind slippage to create any momentum. Basically, Vortex was at the top of a mini-tornado with bags of cash and nowhere to go. Trainees were doing their best to keep bystanders from being hurt, but the wind whipping around shrapnel in the intersection was getting worse. This guy needed go down fast./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Without a second thought Smasher accounted for the wind speed and used a sprint jump to Vortex. The surprise on his face was worth it, when Smasher popped up like bunny on expresso. Grabbing him, she head-butted Vortex into unconsciousness, and landed with the villain neutralized in her arms./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Good job Smasher!" Barricade strode up to her./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Thanks Barricade." She handed the villain over to the police. Barricade put a restraint collar on Vortex to hinder his powers, before they put him in their cruiser to book him downtown./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Your trainees are looking good." Smasher, complimented Barricade, better known as Kent Benson./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Yeah. They're shaping up. About time too. Graduation is in two weeks." He said./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Well they have a good teacher." Kelly graduated with Kent and she knew he was the best guy for the job./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Let me guess. You aren't going to the Graduation Mixer? Again?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""I'm not a trainer Kent. I know local heroes are supposed to help by being a network contact, but I'm not good at that stuff. Also finding a date is a gigantic pain in the butt."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Well I'm free. Why don't we go together?" then he quickly added, "As friends."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""I don't know," Kelly began to waffle, "I'd have to shop for a dress..."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""My sister can help! You remember Becca? She would love to dress you up. You know she shops for all the supers." There was a hint of desperation in Kent's voice./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kelly rolled her eyes. Something didn't smell right. She enunciated slowly, "Okay. What. Is. up?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kent looked close to begging, then breathed a tortured sigh, "One of my students is a little...pushy...romantically."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Oh boy."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Yeah. I put her off with the whole 'you're my student' deal, but I think she is going to try and make a play after graduation."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""And you want to head her off at the pass by having a super strong date at the mixer." Kelly finished for him./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Well now I sound like a shit for asking." Kent grimaced./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""You are a shit. It's a good thing you have a really nice friend." she smiled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kent surprised her with a hug, "You are the best!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Of course I am. However, you will be paying for the dress." Kelly said./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""You got it. Anything you want." He agreed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Don't tempt me."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Barricade laughed as he walked away towards his students. One of the students with a sexy blue body suit, that had cut outs in all the right places, shot Kelly a look of pure venom. Didn't take a genius to figure out who the 'pushy girl' was./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Who could really blame the girl? It was all Smasher could do, not stare at Kent's masculine beauty. There were a lot of Supers out there who were physically pleasing to look at, because having powers usually gave them a high metabolism and healthy physique. Unfortunately, in Kelly's experience, this also included them having massive egos to go with it. Barricade was gifted with dark, good looks and green eyes; he could have anyone he wanted. Instead of capitalizing on his looks, he spent his time training heroes, working with at-risk youth, and doing charity projects. In fact, they worked a lot of those programs together, which is why they had stayed friends after graduation./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Walking at a regular pace, Smasher high-fived a few bystanders, and took selfies with fans along the way. Her mind was on auto-pilot making her way toward the Hero Guild's Headquarters. Her patrol shift was actually ending when Vortex decided he needed to make a withdrawal. She was looking forward to writing her report, taking a shower, and heading home to a good book./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"When she finally did settle on her couch, the romance paperback lay slack in her fingers. "As friends", Kelly thought. Of course, that was no surprise. Kelly had been crushing on Kent since they were in training together. She kept that to herself for the last five years because she knew that he would never see her as a viable partner. It seemed like a better idea to stay friends than make it awkward. Kelly didn't know if she could survive the look of rejection in his eyes. She was brave in all other things, but when it came to Kent, Smasher was an absolute chicken shit./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"While other super females looked like something out of a Japanese Anime, having super strength caused Kelly to look like a bikini body builder. Kelly knew she wasn't unattractive; her white blonde hair and blue eyes, gave her a pretty, wholesome appeal. But the muscular build, added to her height of five foot ten, she could seem a bit intimidating. The truth was no guy wanted to seriously date a woman who might emasculate them. She had only been in two serious relationships, and the last one ended with John, the accountant, giving her that little pearl of wisdom./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"What had he expected? Sure, when you got into relationships, you made small changes to accommodate each other. If someone is expecting you to change the core of your identity, there is no future with them. Kelly was a hero with super strength, it was the bedrock on which she had built her life and career. Even if she had never been a powered person, she still would have been hero in another form./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kelly might be "Smasher", but she was also a "girly girl". She liked pumpkin spice lattes in the fall, cute cat videos, and her favorite color was pink. Not hot pink either; she liked soft, Easter egg, Spring-time-on-crack, pastel pink. Just because she had muscles didn't mean she wasn't feminine. Yet, she got stereotyped again and again by men, other girls, and even by fans. Smasher dominated at her job, but Kelly wasn't attracted to the kind of guys who liked "strong and dominant" women. That was just her job, not who she was as a person. Unfortunately, the men that she was attracted to, didn't seem to be attracted to her. She looked at her size 11 feet encased in pink bunny slippers and sighed. She hated dress shopping./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""So Vortex is singing like a canary." Chief Stormfall laughed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""About what?" Kent scoffed, his eye on the door. Where was Smasher? The mixer started twenty minutes ago, and Kent had to dodge Herald twice already. To say he had been mingling with gusto, was an understatement. His now former student was weaving through the crowd with just as much determination./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kent respected ambition, but this was not one of those times. His personal code of ethics had never allowed for the idea of dating a student to enter his mind, much less a relationship. He really only had one person who was his ideal for that. Did Kelly forget the time? She was everything he needed right now. A beautiful, successful hero, which was everything Herald had yet to achieve. He hoped that message was conveyed loud and clear to the young woman, and she would drop her pursuit./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""He claims he knows who Maxilare is."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"This brought Kent's attention back. "They all say that to try and get a deal." Kent said./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Don't I know it. As if Maxilare, the number one super villain on the Hero Guild's list, would bother revealing his identity to a small-timer like Vortex." Suddenly, Chief's attention was focused on the door. "Well I don't believe it. She never shows up to these gatherings."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""What?" Kent's eyes whipped back to the door. Standing in the entrance was Smasher, talking to one of the research and development team./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"The Nordic beauty was wearing a sparkling, silver/blue dress that showed off her legs and made her eyes shine. Kelly was always so damn beautiful it made Kent's insides hurt. His sister had obviously done a great job, but it wasn't hard to make Kelly look good. Her body was further shown off by the way she was balancing on her toes to meet the level of her wheelchair bound friend. She was so kind, and fully understood that she could be intimidating, so it was just like Kelly to make someone feel seen and respected. Unfortunately, she was unaware that it also gave every man in the room a decent view of her cleavage and legs. Kent clenched his fists and wanted to blind all the jerks taking advantage of the view. As if being pulled like a magnet, he gravitated toward the object of his desire. How was he supposed to maintain their "friend" status and keep his hands to himself? He took it back, his sister had done a crappy job./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kelly spotted him and rose back to her regular height. He gave himself a mental shake as he approached her. She never showed any interest in him that way, and he couldn't risk losing her has a friend. Every time he saw her, Kent felt like his heart was going to burst through his chest. He was crazy about her, and wondered how she never saw through him. He practically begged her to come tonight. Thank God she said yes./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Hi!" She smiled and gave him a light hug./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Hey. You look great." He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping he wasn't flushing at the sight of her./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Thanks. You too." Were her cheeks a little pink?/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Ahem?" came a voice below us./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Oh." Kelly's cheeks got even pinker, clearly embarrassed she might have been rude. "This is Dr. Emily Skys. She's in RD and invented that new nano-polymer for all the smart suits that supers are using now. "/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Impressive." Kent, clearly distracted, bent down and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you Dr. Skys."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Emily please." The good doctor gave a look from Kent to Kelly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kent paused for a moment, "Skys? Is that..."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Sky Hawk, Sky Dove, Sky Raven. Yes. They're my parents and older sister." She replied./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""I guess you're the super genius in the family." He smiled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Just the regular kind." She smiled./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Don't sell yourself short." Kelly interjected. "Your discovery is going to save a lot of lives." She turned to Kent,/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""That's how we met. Pyre Corp had me come in to do strength testing on Emily's inventions." Kent noticed Kelly's expression of pride for her friend. Was there anyone more sweet and pure than this woman? Never mind that Pyre Corp, an elite manufacturer, had chosen Smasher to test their best research work, Kelly just wanted to make sure Dr. Skys got her due./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Emily's face changed to enlightenment and began to turn, "Well, I better track down my boss, before she's had too many cocktails." She rolled her eyes, "She thinks turning liquids into solids is funny when people are trying to drink. Froze Chief's martini to his mustache last year."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Laughing, Emily moved away, and Kelly felt a sense of panic come over her as she faced Kent. How was she supposed to get through the night without tripping up around him? Just as that thought entered her head, Kent suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and turned her to face the quickly advancing brunet. It was the same one that had given her dirty looks at the Vortex arrest. The girl couldn't be more than twenty, and was spilling out of her royal blue mini-dress. This one was definitely going to be a big hit with the mouth-breather set at hero conventions./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Smasher, I'd like you to meet my student, Herald." Kent introduced, "Herald. You know my date, Smasher."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Herald offered an amused smile for Kent, "Former student remember?" She sniffed, looking Kelly up and down with obvious disdain "Smoosher right? Oh yeah. You head-butted that windy villain and knocked him out. I guess that's called "strategy" for you muscle types."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Herald..." Kent warned, but Kelly leaned in and placed a proprietary hand, affectionately on his chest./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Actually, it is. It's much better to incapacitate the target quickly, than blow out their ear drums, and injure bystanders in the process. Any experienced hero would know that."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Herald gasped in surprise at Smasher knowing about her training accident six months before. Her eyes darted between Barricade and Smasher, accurately assuming that her mentor had shared her mishap, but jumping to the conclusion that they must be "intimate friends" for her to have this information./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Experience or not, there's no accounting for taste." Shooting Kent a look of disgust and betrayal, Herald huffed away./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Another foe vanquished." Kelly said proudly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"As she began to move away, Kent surprised her, pulling her back to him. "You better stay close the rest of the night...just in case." Almost as if he was looking for an excuse for her to stick around. That couldn't be right./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""I'm going to cramp your game. What if a better looking prospect comes around?" she asked./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Puzzled, he turned to look directly at her. "I don't think that is even possible. You are the most beautiful woman here."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Okay Mister Flirt, you don't need to lay it on so thick. I'll protect you from the evil hot chicks tonight." Kelly rolled her eyes./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""I mean it Kelly." She knew Kent was a smooth talker, but the look in his eyes and the flush on his skin, made Kelly want to believe it was true. Kelly was ready to break free and tell Kent everything she had been holding back for so long. Feeling a little vulnerable to his gaze, she looked away trying to restrain herself./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Noticing the band start up, she grabbed his hand and said, "Well if we are hanging out together, you better have your moves ready because the Dancing Queen is here to shake it!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Making her way home from the party, Kelly pretended to stumble as if she had one too many drinks. With Kent insisting that he walk her home, she was about to do the most underhanded thing that she had ever contemplated in her life. She was going to kiss Kent, and blame it on the booze. Positively criminal for a goody-goody like Kelly./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"It had been a stellar night. Normally, Kelly was a shy with her peers and wasn't much of a conversationalist. However, with Kent at her side, she felt smart, funny, and confident, which translated into everyone who spoke with her thinking it too. They worked so well together in the field, it was not a surprise that the played well off each other in a social setting as well. No one was perfect, but Kelly knew Kent was perfect for her. And if her dream couldn't come true, by damn, she was at least getting a kiss./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Stopping in front of her apartment complex entrance. She smiled brightly, "Well we're heeere!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Yes, yes we are." He laughed./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"She turned to face him, "I got something to tell you."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""What's that?" He said, his eyes twinkling like emeralds./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""You can really dance." She slurred./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Thanks! I..." Kent's words were cut off by Kelly pressing her lips to his. She was about to pull away, when she heard him groan and pull her closer, deepening the kiss. His hands were moving down her body and pulling her hips into his. She gasped at his growing hardness and he used it as an advantage to slip his tongue into her mouth. The kiss seemed to go on forever, and as they finally pulled apart slowly, Kelly tried to recover./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Sorry, I guess we both had too much to drink." She excused./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Nope. Sober as a bird, as so are you." He said pragmatically./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""What?!" Kelly broke from her act, seemingly dumbfounded./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""You think I don't pay attention? We've gotten drunk before sugar. It takes twice that for either of us to even feel it." At Kelly's raging blush, he grabbed her hand and softened his voice, "It's okay. I want you too. I always have."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""But...you like girly women." She declared./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""You're kidding right, you are the most feminine woman I know." Kent asserted./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""I am not!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Pink bunny slippers." He stated./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""You never made a move!" Kelly argued./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Looking in her eyes he said, "I was dumbstruck the first time I saw you across the training grounds, but you never seemed to see me as more than a friend."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Are you kidding?" she shouted. "I have been stupid for you since you helped me up the first day of hero class. We always hung out as friends. I didn't think you were interested in me." Kelly said, feeling confused./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""How did you not see that I was always trying to hang out with you because I couldn't stay away?" He argued, "I've driven myself crazy with fantasies of you for years, but I was afraid to lose you by making a move you wouldn't want!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Well... I wanted it!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""So did I!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Suddenly deflated, Kelly began to laugh helplessly, "We are a couple of idiots aren't we?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kent pulled Kelly into his arms for a long slow kiss. "Yes we are. Why don't we be a couple of idiots together? I bet we'd be really super at it."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Kelly chuckled, "Absolutely."/p