Anyone got ideas for a better name for the fic?
Chapter Three
Detective Raine Whispers was a very patient person.
They had worked in a precinct that had some extremely corrupt, ableist, and transphobic officers (who they had to work with on a daily basis, might I add) since they were twenty-two and had fought hard against the criminals and the corrupt as both a police detective and Vigilante.
You might guess this gave them a lot of patience. You'd be right.
However, a School Principal abusing giant dogs to the point of constant aggression, setting them on the innocent children she was entrusted with and calling it 'good fun' was a bit much, even for them. Not to mention the fact that some of the kids were missing, either lost, dead, or something else...
I think you can understand how they felt.
Snapdragon had confessed to everything with utter glee, as if she didn't care that she was facing prison. As if she didn't care about the people she hurt.
All this made them very, very angry. Fortunately, they were very good at managing their anger.
"Where did you get the serum?" they demanded, impatiently tapping their fingers on the stainless-steel table of the bleak, cold interrogation room.
"Oh, detective." Snapdragon grinned like the maniac she was "Of course I'll tell you."
"Who?"
Snapdragon smirked, leaning in as much as she could with her hands cuffed to the table, speaking in an almost silent whisper.
"The Goblin Queen."
"The Goblin Queen?" Raine couldn't hear any lies coming from Snapdragon, so at least they had a lead.
"Sorry. Can't say any more than that."
Raine sighed, taking their water bottle out of their ludicrously baggy black trenchcoat, only to find it was empty. Come to think of it, coffee would probably be the better choice, considering that this was going to be an achingly long interrogation.
Or so it seemed.
As they got up, they heard noises.
A high whistling sound... tiny jet engines?
Through that, the sound of a high chopping sound, like helicopter blades...
A rush of air, scrambling over itself to get past something...
A rapid beeping...
KABOOMM!
Raine was thrown off their feet, slamming against the door. Groaning in pain, they turned.
Standing in a hole in the wall, standing on a strange floating device, was a figure in cadmium green armour. Raine could sense that their Their gauntlets, metal boots and the bit of armour over the feet were all a a royal purple. And a purple hood with a long, identically purple silk scarf like those of WW1 pilots, both flapping in the wind as they sat comfortably around a monstrous mask.
The mask... it was like some horrid creature. Some hideous, yellow-eyed monster. Like some evil-
Goblin, Raine realised, their stomach curling up in fright as they realised something else.
The Goblin had tank-like muscles, coiled with unbelievable power and control.
Pure, unadultered strength, and she knew it.
This was a person who was both physically and nonphysically powerful. Someone who didn't care who got hurt as long as she achieved her goals.
With complete and utter calmness, the Goblin Queen stepped off her glider and slowly yet gracefully walked towards Terra, who was struggling to her feet from the force of the explosion. Raine could hear their footsteps - the suit was made of some sort of metal.
The Goblin took hold of the bar she was cuffed to and shattered it effortlessly, as if she was a lion killing a trapped mouse.
Without hesitation, Raine rushed forward, ready to fight. They had fought metahumans before, but it was debatable if they could beat someone with that kind of armour. If they could just hold her off, maybe some SWAT teams could be brought in and take her down.
Blocking Raine's first strike, The Goblin Queen sent one of her own punches, sending Raine flying into the wall.
"My word." she spoke, her voice a cross of both a snobby aristocrat and a viscous demon "I almost felt that."
Ignoring the pain, Raine threw their coat off and raced forward, leaping over the Goblin and landing on her back, pulling the coat over her mask and leaning back in an attempt make her footing.
This almost worked.
She stumbled back, but grabbed the coat and tore it off her face, making Raine fly off. As they landed, they couldn't believe their senses.
They drew their taser and fired, hoping the metal was conductive.
It wasn't.
The Goblin tilted her head, stepping forth "You're brave, Detective. Maybe you can be be of use..."
With that, she press something on her gauntlet. There was a hissing and a terrible smell and...
and...
and Raine knew no more.
...
The next day...
"Someone got their a** beat." remarked Eda, as they sat in her penthouse lounge with Luz and King, having just told the story to them.
"Who said I could have avoided the gas?" Raine replied, coyly.
"Oh. Sorry, Rainestorm." Eda snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm "I thought you were one of New York's best acrobats. My bad."
Raine chuckled "Gas is hard to dodge, in case you haven't noticed. Remember New York?"
Luz's mentor blushed with embarrassment.
"Wanna hear what happened at New York, Luz?"
Luz did not reply, simply hugging her knees and burying her face in them.
Eda sighed "You okay, kid?"
No reply.
"Talk to me, kid."
Luz looked up, her face streaked with tears "What if he's dead? What if I never see him again? And it'll be my-"
"Don't you ****ing finish that sentence." said Eda, firmly "There was nothing you could have done. You were trying to make sure those dogs didn't hurt anyone else!"
"But I should have checked on-"
"Wasn't Amity about to be dog food when you arrived?"
Luz couldn't think of an answer.
Raine knelt in front of Luz, taking off their ruby-red sunglasses "Look, the police are sweeping the area to see if they can find anything. You'll hear about the results tomorrow and with any luck we'll find them."
Luz sniffed, cracking a smile. Maybe there was hope.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She took it out.
"I just got a text from Amity." she said, blushing slightly "Should I cancel our meeting at the pizza place so I can look for Gus?"
"Where would you start?" answered Eda "We don't have any leads! No photos, no nothing!"
Luz sighed "Good point. What time do you think me and Amity can go?"
"Let's say... six p.m. tomorrow." replied Eda, trying to distract Luz from the fact one of her best friends was missing "Why don't you tell Raine about your date?"
Luz went bright red "I- It's not a date!" she spluttered "We're just friends!"
"You know Amity has a crush on you right?" asked King.
"Saywhatnow?"
"Literally every time you bring her over she stares at you like an idiot and blushes whenever you talk."
Luz opened her mouth to give King a witty retort.
None came.
Because she had noticed that, and thought nothing of it.
"Soy una idiota."
I think you can guess what she's saying, even if you don't speak Spanish.
Raine got up "I have to go. Be careful, all of you." they turned to Luz "I promise you'll see your friends again."
Luz's face fell "I hope so."
...
Willow park stood in an elevator of the Daily Bugle Building, sweating and she fidgeted with the bag slung over her shoulder.
She was about to do something she hoped would do some good.
As the doors opened, she walked into a hive of the clicking and clacking of keys, also known as the Daily Bugle Office.
She made her way to a young woman at a secretary's desk. She was in her early twenties, with a brown bob and a flannel shirt. A name plate o her desk read 'BETTY BRANT'.
"Excuse me?"
The woman looked up "Yeah?"
"Um... my name's Willow Park. I was a victim of that Growing Dog attack Yesterday and I was wondering if I could tell my story?"
Brant raised an eyebrow, pressing on an intercom button "Mister Jameson? There's a kid here to see you about the dog incident yesterday. Says she wants to tell her story."
There was a pause "Send her in!"
"Oh, and your wife wants you to know she's buying that painting."
"What am I? Made of solid gold?" came the grumpy reply "Send the kid in."
Taking a deep breath, Willow went inside the Editor's Office.
J. Jonah Jameson stood behind the desk, shooting a look at Willow "Well?" he asked, in a gruff yet not unkindly tone "I guess you want to give an interview?"
Willow took a deep breath "Yes, I do."
"Right then. I'll give you it." Jameson nodded, gesturing to the chair nearest Willow "Take a seat, kid." As Willow did so, Jameson took out a pen and notebook.
"Right." he said, his voice gentle "Let's start over from the beginning, kid."
...
You have to be patient to take over the entire city underground. The Kingpin had demonstrated this in his entire Criminal career.
You also have to look out for any potential threats and eliminate them if they have no use. Some might call this paranoia. The Kingpin would say so be it.
As he looked at the computer screen, he knew that he didn't have a potential threat on his hands. He had a serious threat on his hands.
What was on the computer screen, you ask? The footage of the Giant Dog Attack yesterday and of Terra Snapdragon getting busted out of the interrogation room, all recorded on a body cam.
The video ended with a message that was spread all around the screen:
"My name is the Goblin Queen., but you may call me the future of the underworld.
"You have seen a mere piece of my power. Soon you shall be shown it all. The Kingpin's time is nearly over. And then...
"Long live the Queen."
The Kingpin gritted his teeth.
He turned around to face his henchman "Find her."
...
Luz's realisation that Amity's request was a date had also led her to another conclusion.
That she liked Amity. And I mean like liked. Romantically. You get the idea.
That explains why she often had these... feelings about Amity. Like when she cut her hair.
And last month when she made it to Amity's game and spent most of it staring at her instead of focusing on the game (Willow had to snap her out of it).
In short, Luz was on the horns of a dilemma as to what-
Wait, what? A dilemma isn't a kind of animal. It's a phrase. Like when you're- Oh, never mind.
Anyway, she couldn't decide on what to wear. A dress? A suit? Both? Or just her normal clothes? Would Amity have wanted her to dress up?
Eventually, she just decided on putting on a neat polo shirt and a pair of jeans.
Was this a good decision? I have no idea.
As Eda dropped her off, Luz began to have thoughts. What if this wasn't a date? What if Amity just wanted to be friends and everyone had mistaken her feelings? What if-
"Hey! Luz!"
The web-slinger turned to see-
Holy hamburgers!
in front of her stood Amity, wearing blue dungarees and a yellow T-shirt, putting a book titled 'The true, bloody, and relatively unknown story of thanksgiving' in her bag.
"Uhhhh... you okay?" she asked, nervously "Nice clothes."
"Thanks." Luz replied, blushing.
For a brief moment, they both stood, blushing at one another and doing absolutely nothing at all.
Eventually, Amity pulled herself together and suggested they go inside. Luz was inclined to agree.
...
"Thanks for the interview, kid." Jameson told Willow in a gruffly yet truthful manner as he shook her hand "You've just helped to find your classmates."
Willow smiled "No, thank you for giving me this opportunity."
At that moment, a bespectacled man entered the office "Mister Jameson-"
"Ever hear of knocking? Get out!" snapped Jameson.
As the guy left, Jameson turned back to Willow "Anyway, we'll contact you if you get any leads."
"Thanks, Mister Jameson." smiled Willow, leaving the office.
As she headed for the elevator, she noticed something out of a floor-to-ceiling window.
The streets from above.
She reached into her bag, taking an old-fashioned camera out and taking a picture.
However, the photograph slipped out of her hands.
She bent down to pick it up, only for someone else to do it for them.
A tall, smiling black man with silver-grey hair, who helpfully handed Willow the photo "Here ya go, kid."
"Thanks, sir."
As Willow left, the guy thought for a moment.
That photo was amateur, but pretty decent.
He went to Betty "Hey, know who the kid was?"
"Willow Park, Mr Robertson. She came for an interview about the giant dog incident."
"Hmmmm..."
...
Luz and Amity ordered Pineapple on pizza, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Or at least, Amity did.
"You okay?" asked Amity, looking up from her slice of Pizza.
Luz sighed "Sorry, I just can't stop thinking of Gus and Willow. Eda and Raine told me to focus on the date, but..."
Amity nodded "I... actually have a plan to help find them."
"You do?" asked Luz, suddenly brightening "What is it? Can I help?"
Amity looked around and started whispering "I got some info. I'm gonna give it to Spider-girl after our date."
Luz's heart leapt like an excited rabbit. This information could help find Gus and Willow!
"Uhhh... wanna know what the info is?" Amity whispered, tapping the table.
"Don't." replied Luz "What if I... got kidnapped and interrogated?"
Amity went even paler than usual "I didn't think of that."
"Hey, did you know this is illegal in Italy?" asked Luz, changing the subject.
"Seriously?" asked Amity, covering her giggle.
"Seriously."
Amity went a bit red "Wow. You are so smart!"
Luz went even redder "Thanks..."
Without thinking, she blurted out a question "Is this... like, a date?"
There was a short silence.
"I mean, I didn't really make that clear in retrospect, but, well- yes." replied Amity, blushing harder than ever "If you want it to be."
The next words out of Luz's mouth required no thinking "Yes!"
...
After they paid for their meal, Luz called Eda and asked if they could get ice cream. Eda replied: "Go get it, girl!"
As they ate their Mr. Swirly Ice cream, the Datees (is that a word?) walked through the crowd, holding hands.
"Hold it right there." came a voice.
The pair turned to see a tall, blonde man wearing a police uniform and a hard look on his face "Can I see some I.D.?"
"Are we supposed to have I.D.'s?" Luz whispered to Amity, getting a little nervous.
"No, we aren't Luz." Amity told her, taking a step towards the cop "We're fourteen, officer. It's not common practice for kids our age to carry I.D.'s."
"I think you'll find it is."
He pointed at Luz "You. Empty your pockets."
Her face like thunder, Amity stood in front of Luz "Do you know who I am, Officer?" she asked, her voice as cold as ice, a light breeze ruffling her short purple hair "Amity Blight. Wanna have a word with my mother?"
The Officer went pale, immediately stepping back "Uhhhhh sorry about that! Honest mistake!"
Within seconds, he was gone. Good riddance, I say.
"You okay, Luz?" asked Amity turning around.
Luz was blushing harder than ever "Yeah. Definitely."
...
Elswehre, in a warehouse...
"I swear! I don't know where Goblin is!" sobbed a middle-aged man with grey hair and a beard.
"Really?" asked a tall, albino man with short curly hair "You sure?"
"Yes! Please!" sobbed the bearded man.
"I believe you, man." smiled Tombstone.
The grey-haired man sighed in relief.
"But we need to give people a warning..."
BLAM!
...
After she and Amity parted ways, Luz got on a bus and stared out of the window, smiling like an idiot.
Amity had asked her if she wanted to do this again.
She asked if she wanted to do this again!
She had said yes, of course. Did this mean they were officially dating?
Maybe she should ask her...
Her train of thought was interrupted by something in the Night sky...
A white light leaning against the clouds with Spider-girl's symbol on it.
Oh yeah...
Amity's plan...
...
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! A lot of ideas went into this!
As of this Chapter's uploading, the 'So, your awesome girlfriend's a superhero' story is no longer canon to this AU. You can all still read it though!
As usual, ideas, tips and constructive criticism are welcome. Favourite and review if you haven't already!