Chapter Eight.
Confrontations.
The Mayor of Diamond City, one Steven McHall, sat at his rotund desk in his spacious office. He was a heavyset man, early fifties. His hair was a sleek grey mop on his head, yet this only added to the grandfatherly air he worked so hard to give off. He was a very kind, patient, and generous man.
He would regularly donate to charities, sometimes substantial amounts, always of his own money. Many of these were for toys or school supplies for less fortunate children, depending on the season. He wore a blue suit jacket over a white dress shirt, but also regular jeans and sneakers. At least, he did this when he was expecting to spend the day working in his office.
When he knew he would be addressing the public, he wore the full suit as expected. His motto was "Professional when I need to be, Casual when I can be." He was known for having casual Fridays at City Hall, which his advisors had been in massive opposition of, but he'd been right that it put people at ease when visiting. He was reading over a report on certain events when the familiar buzzing sound played out.
"Mr. Mayor," said his receptionist, her voice a squeaky but cheery one, "Sheriff Foster is here to see you."
"Wonderful!" Said the mayor, his own voice booming and loud, yet you could hear the kindness and love for life in it. He almost sounded like Santa, he just needed the white beard. "Send him in, Linda!"
"Will do, sir!" Said Linda, then the click came to inform the mayor that she'd turned off her intercom. He heard her voice mumbling through the wall, before he heard the click of the door unlocking, and in limped Sheriff Foster. As always, he wore his police uniform. Never once had Mayor McHall seen the sheriff in anything else.
"Welcome in, Sheriff," greeted the Mayor, "have a seat and get comfortable." The Sheriff sat down, grunting as his leg hit the chair a little harder than anticipated. "How's the leg?"
"It's fine," Foster blew him off, "nothing an aspirin won't fix. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Ah yes," said the Mayor, being pulled back to the topic at hand. "I am going to place the city in a state of emergency. This...shall we say Palooka, is a threat to innocent lives."
"Him and that kid!" Snapped Foster. "That kid has gotta be in cahoots with that-"
"Yes, yes." Said the Mayor, cutting the Sheriff off at the knees, "I know you have not so flattering opinions about the Superhero. But the fact is, he saved many lives. Including yours. I read the report, the kid saved you from bleeding out. But let me ask you this." He typed a few keys before spinning his monitor around. The footage showed the superhero crashing into a room full of people, followed by the "Palooka."
The audio was off, so Foster couldn't make out what was being said. The people in the room were trying to open the door, as a ball of powerful red energy appeared in the palooka's hand. The hero sprang up, just in time to take the blast. The screen went white for a moment. When the visuals returned, the last person was running out the open door as the hero was standing, clothes badly damaged and injuries abound.
"If they were in cahoots." Continued the Mayor, "Would the hero have taken the blast? Say what you will, Sheriff, I cannot form your opinions for you, but I, as well as the good people of Diamond City, think he is our only hope against this monster. Hence, the state of emergency until this monster is defeated."
…
"Aww Mom!" Whined 9-Volt, "Do we hafta do this?!"
"Yes, 9-Volt." Said 5-Volt, "I'm afraid we do. The mayor has put the city in a state of emergency, until Mr. Superhero can defeat this monster." 9-Volt responded with an annoyed groan.
"I fail to see how a bus is gonna stop that freak if he decides to attack."
"It's armored," explained 5-Volt, "and has defenses that scientists believe will repel him if he comes forth. It should be hard for him to damage you guys."
"Still," said 9-Volt, "I could just out run him on my skateboard."
"That's enough, 9-Volt." Said 5-Volt, her voice stern, "You'll have to ride the bus, and that's final." 9-Volt fell silent, knowing his attempts at getting out of this had failed.
5-Volt led 9-Volt to a bus stop. Here, other parents stood with their children, all of them looking as displeased as 9-Volt. The parents were doing their best to calm their children and convince them this was the best route, but were having as much success as 5-Volt had had. Soon, the bus rolled up. It was shaped like a normal school bus, but was painted white.
The metal was thick, the tires also not the standard ones of busses, but were military grade wheels that were much more durable and harder to break. The windows were also quite thick, about as thick as phonebooks. There were two large horns on each side of the bus, and what looked like grey panels of some sort with black circles on them.
The door hissed open, and the driver, a burly man in his early thirties with black hair stepped out.
"This," he said to the gathered crowd, "has been named the Cruel Bus! Guaranteed to protect the kiddos from any super powered bullies. Windows and tires are bulletproof, and the metal is so strong, even a superhero would struggle to dent it. There are also four loud sirens, two on each side. At their loudest, these babies can shatter all the glass in a twenty-yard radius, sure to make a bad guy's ears bleed.
"Lastly, them there panels are capable of discharging a two thousand volt shock, frying any perpetrators to a super powered crisp. This'll get the kiddos to school in safety, AND in style. Come on in, kids!" The children reluctantly climbed in and sat. Many of them whined that the seats were not comfortable at all.
"With these fancy keys!" Continued the driver, taking out a key fob about as large as a cell phone, "I can remotely activate any of the defense features. Let's give them panels a test." He pressed a button. Rather than the panels igniting a powerful electric shock, the doors slammed shut. "Whoops." Said the driver, chuckling nervously, "wrong button. Well, anyway, let's-" before he could press another button, the crunching of asphalt being smashed went off from the other side of the bus.
"Fancy bus ya got here!" Said a sinister sounding voice, laden with a Hispanic accent. "But is it fall proof?" Before anyone could answer, the bus lurched up on its side, the children screaming inside, banging on the windows, begging to be saved. Then, the bus was hoisted up, carried by a man in a red dress shirt, black slacks, and black loafers. He grinned wickedly. "Here we go!" He lifted up, carrying the bus with him. The parents went into a panicked frenzy, some begging for the monster to spare the kids, others falling to the ground in a heap, and one of them even drawing a gun. He pointed it up, only for a woman, assumingly his wife, to push it down.
"Are you insane?!" She screamed, "you might hit a kid!" All eyes were glued to the beast, terrified of what he would do. Then he tilted the bus on its side. 9-Volt was thrown against a window, and a glass panel busted free, falling to the ground below. He was barely able to grab the window frame, gripping it for dear life. 5-Volt belted out a pure maternal scream of terror. Then she saw a small yellow object drop from 9-Volt's suspended backpack and begin to fall: Fronk! He flailed his arms and legs, trying to slow his fall, but to no avail. The mother dove forward, hands cupped in front of her, catching Fronk just moments before disaster.
"Alright kids!" Roared the man, "have a nice drop!" and he tossed the bus into the air above him before flying off, the bus beginning its freefall. The parents all began to scream in terror, until one of them saw something.
"LOOK!" His voice sliced through the noise, "IT'S THE SUPERHERO!" And indeed, it was. Danny O'Connor came flying like a bullet, just in time to catch the bus. He spread his body and limbs under it, having as much surface area on the bus as possible, before beginning to slowly lower it down. At this point, 9-Volt lost his grip on the window frame and began to fall. A look of terror overcame his face, but his fall was stopped by Danny's outstretched hand.
The parents on the ground clapped for Danny, cheering and shouting praise to him. Danny set 9-Volt on the ground, who ran to his mother to inform her he was okay, and then gently lowered the bus onto the street.
"Oh my goodness!" Cried 5-Volt, kneeling down to hug her son. "You're okay!" 9-Volt expected his mother to embrace him then and there. Only, she didn't, at least not initially. He felt her hands on the sides of his helmet.
"Mom!" He cried in protest, trying to stop her, but too late. She had lifted his obnoxiously large helmet off his head, revealing his messy brown hair, and set it on the ground next to her. "Mom! It's embarrassing!" 9-Volt hissed.
"I haven't held you since you were a baby." Said 5-Volt, and easily lifted her son off the ground, holding him close. 9-Volt's eyes shut as he felt his mother's embrace, her cheek warm against his. His cheeks flushed, certain that the other kids were preparing their mockery to him for being a "Mama's boy", even if it was forced.
"After what happened to your father…" 5-Volt whispered in his ear before trailing off. It was then that 9-Volt lost his ability or even desire to struggle and resist, and surrendered to his mother's kind embrace. Despite what 9-Volt was thinking would happen, the other kids did not tease him. In fact? Having survived a near death experience as well, they longed for the embrace of their own parents.
The bus driver carefully looked over the keys, before finding the one he'd pressed earlier. The doors hissed open, a little slower than when they had shut, and with a bit of an unnatural sounding creaking noise, and the children ran out to meet their parents as Danny crawled out from under the bus. He received many handshakes and thank you's from the parents, before they elected to walk with the children to school, one by one, until only 5-Volt and 9-Volt remained.
"I think you were right, 9-Volt," said 5-Volt as her son replaced his helmet, "that bus wasn't any more help than a regular one. I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place." She placed her thumb and index finger in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Within seconds, a yellow taxi slid up next to them, driven by Dribble.
"Where to, 5-Volt?" asked Dribble. 5-Volt opened the rear driver's side door and placed 9-Volt on the seat.
"Take this one to Diamond City Elementary School." She instructed.
"Sure thing!" Said Dribble, who drove off once 5-Volt was clear. She turned around to face Danny. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get any words out, 5-Volt threw her arms around him in a grateful embrace. Danny was caught off guard. Not by the hug itself, but the fact that he could feel it. 5-Volt was a lot stronger than she looked.
"Thank you so much!" Cried 5-Volt, lifting Danny off the ground, furthering his surprise. After a moment, she set him down and released him. "I don't want to think about what would have happened if you weren't there."
"You are truly a hero!" Praised Fronk, who was sitting on 5-Volt's shoulder. Danny nodded.
"Happy to help." He said. 5-Volt turned and started to walk away, but stopped suddenly.
"Oh!" She said, snapping her fingers like she'd just remembered something. "I meant to tell you this earlier, but I'm hosting a barbecue tomorrow night, you're welcome to attend, being a Warioware employee, as well as saving my son's life."
"I'll be there." Said Danny, "need me to bring anything?"
"Anything you think people would enjoy eating. We'll meet at Peridot Campground." Then for real, 5-Volt walked away. Danny turned, figuring he should go back to school, only for that annoying but ever helpful ringing sound in his ears once again.
"Sheesh," he complained, "may as well call this thing Superhero's Lament." He shut his eyes. He saw that freak who'd attacked Kat and Ana standing on a rooftop, holding an innocent man over the edge by the neck. Danny took to the sky. As he flew, he ran his hand over the sleeve of his shirt. He'd taken his few remaining outfits to Dr. Crygor's lab, and the good doctor had placed them in some kind of machine, and pressed a button. A strip of light, about as long as two stop signs side by side and thinner than a strand of hair had run over them a time or two. Two mechanical arms then grabbed the clothes and held them up.
It was then that a large gun, which Danny figured would certainly sting if it shot him, opened fire on the clothes. The clothes didn't even flinch, now virtually indestructible, and yet they were otherwise no different, they still fit just fine. Danny refocused and flew on to save the innocent victim.
…
John from Accounting, who up until just a few minutes ago thought this would be a normal day...well, as normal as possible in a city with a power struggle between two superpowered beings seeming to happen, was now being held by the neck, over two hundred feet off the ground, from the roof of his apartment building.
"Please!" John begged, "Don't do this! I got a wife and two little girls!"
"Then," said the monster in the red shirt and black slacks, "they can weep at your grave. So, do you have any last words?"
"Please!" John repeated, tears in his eyes, "My family needs me! They'll end up in the poor house otherwise!"
"Well," Said the man, "I suppose a man's last thoughts should be of his family. Have a nice afterlife." With that, he let go. John began to fall, screaming and praying to any deity who would listen for help. But just as abruptly as his fall had started, it stopped.
"I gotcha!" Said a younger voice. John realized that the other superpowered being, the good one, had saved his life. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Kid!" He shouted, "I don't know how to thank you." In front of where they floated, a window opened. A few of John's coworkers, who lived in this apartment as well, were leaning out of the window, gesturing for the hero to put him into the room with them. Danny floated over and set the man into the room. John dropped to the floor and kissed it, thankful to be alive and still able to provide for his beloved family. The others thanked Danny before shutting the window.
Danny refocused, and flew up, hoping the man wouldn't fly off to endanger others. Thankfully he wasn't, at least for now. The teen pointed a finger at the palooka on the roof.
"What's your fetish with trying to slaughter innocent people?!" He interrogated.
"Trying?" The Man snorted. "Kid, you've only been able to thwart a fraction of the murders I've done. But while I gotcha here, let's talk."
"Talk about what?!" Danny snapped.
"How there's no reason to fight." The man was calm, which annoyed Danny further.
"There wouldn't be if you'd stop bullying people weaker than you!" The teen retorted. The man spat to the side.
"Those same people," replied the monstrous man, "wouldn't lift a finger to help you, were you, say, at my mercy."
"Well, since they can't bend steel with their bare hands, I can't say I blame them."
"Kid, look at us. We're gods!"
"Oh!" Exclaimed Danny, "We're gods?! Why didn't anyone tell me?! Say, when do you suppose we'll be having tea with Sister Palutena?"
…
The green-haired Goddess looked down, thinking she'd heard her name. She saw two humans, superpowered ones, but still humans, comparing themselves to Gods. She scoffed.
"Mortals." she commented, then resumed her task with no more words on the subject.
…
The palooka gave the kid a confused glance.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.
"The point is," said Danny, "If we're Gods, we should be benevolent Gods. Protecting the people who need us, not destroying them for stupid reasons. You can turn yourself around, it's never too late." The red shirted man went from leaning on the shed on top of this building to standing up straight, fists clenched.
"You want me to help these weaklings?! Kid, I dunno who you think you are, but you are in no position to suggest something so insane!"
"Chill," said Danny, "It's better than having to fight anyway." At this point, The monstrous man belted out a sinister laugh.
"Kid," he said, "back in my cell I crushed cockroaches bigger than you. If you think you have a chance in hell to beat me, you're even dumber than I thought." He cracked his neck and knuckles. "But sure, I'll smack you around a bit. I was getting bored anyway." Danny put up his fists, preparing for the coming fight.