Once the Christmas season was over Hilda almost sighed in relief. Almost looked on the remaining winter months with a sense of peace and anticipation at the social off-season. But this was Achievement City, and here, crime never had an off-season. Meaning heroes never had an off-season, so the social elite always had an excuse to throw another soiree or brunch in honor of said heroes. And Hilda, as the CEO of Monarch Labs, a known member of X-Ray and Vav's crime-fighting band of misfits, and the less well-known Metal Lady, was obligated to attend every single one thrice over. Especially the ones she 'hosted'.
When all of the invitations started coming in the only consolation she really had was that this year she would be able to drag Mogar along as her date. All gussied up with his not-quite-hipster glasses and too-form-fitting-to-be-legal tuxedos and dinner suits. The thought made her smile and blush a little. Now, she knew that he found it difficult being dragged around like that. Dealing with the politics of the city's elite and not completely understanding or not being able to respond with his fists and sword to the thinly veiled insults. So she tried not letting him anywhere out of her sight. Tried keeping him away from the ones who looked at him and saw a challenge to their… something… she didn't get why so many of these people had it out for Mogar honestly. Ray and Gavin she could get, they were idiots who didn't understand high society, but even Mogar was more well behaved than they were.
She soon discovered keeping Mogar on her arm at all times was actually much harder in practice than it had seemed in her head. There was always some bag of hot air trying to drag her off for a dance or to talk business. Business she finally understood and found she was damn good at. Or one of the debutante trophy wives trying to get her to gossip or intimidate her into a more submissive role in the workings of the company… and to probably try and marry her off to one of the high-profile bachelors hanging about the edges of the event. Her nerves were not at all helped by the thought of the rest of her mismatched family running wild and unarmed amongst some of the most vicious, conniving, cutthroat foes they would ever face. Her panicked thoughts are cut off by a small cold hand resting on her hip.
"Well hey there doll." He has green eyes and golden blond hair that's perfectly styled and a suit that must have cost her tuition. "What's a lovely piece like you doing walking around without an escort?"
Great, he thought he was charming.
"Uh, who do you think you are?" She tries to keep her voice neutral as she slips out of his arm. She shudders as his hand slides off her hip, a hand so soft it doesn't even catch on the silk despite the fingers trying to grasp at her waist. It leaves a sour taste in her mouth.
He laughs and moves closer. "The name's Eric, Eric Laughley." by the quirk of his eyebrow and the way his chest puffed up a little she could tell he expected this to cause a certain reaction. And it did, in a sense.
"Oh, so you're John's son?"
"You know my father?" The eyebrow dropped, his stance turned a little defensive.
"Don't worry, I'm not a reporter or one of his mistresses or anything." She chuckles as she snatches a glass of something bubbly and pink from a passing waiter. Not facing him she brings the drink up just below her lips. "I'm just his boss." bringing the glass to her mouth covers her smile at the dying fish sounds he's starting to make.
"Well, in that case." The smirk and easy stance were back in place. Damn the kid recovered fast. "Perhaps we should have a dance, get to know each other better."
"Nah."
"Nah?"
"My dance card is full, dude."
He snorts, "By whom?"
She smiles sweetly at him as she glides past. "Mogar." He watches, his mouth hanging open as she practically melts into the embrace of the curly haired bespectacled warrior who had hurried to her side, leaving a trail of disgruntled party-goers in his wake.
Mogar looks past her at the blonde with a glare. "Are you alright?" He fiddles with her necklace, the same one he had given her for Christmas. "He did not hurt you?" She laughs.
"Him? Hurt me? Really?" She looks at him over her glasses, eyes sparkling with mischief.
He smiles, his cheeks flushing a little. "I just worry. Mogar is a protector, and though you are a warrior," he touches his forehead to hers and rubs their noses together, "you are also his beloved." the pink that spread across her cheeks made his chest warm.
And then the moment was gone. The sounds of screams and smashing glass ripped through the air followed by Gavin's squawks and Ray's curses.
"Ugh," she thumped her head on his chest. "They can't give us a week without causing shit?"
His chuckle rumbled through his chest and made her tighten her grip. "Come, we are needed." She sighed again as he pulled away from her, shedding his suit jacket and taking his sword from ORF.
"Do you wish to initiate the battle suit?" The ever-cheery bot asked. She really needed to remember to pay more attention to the little AI.
Hilda shook her head as she pulled at the easy-tear seam she had made sure was added to the design of her dress. "Experimental exo-suit program 157, impromptu setting."
"Okay!" Hilda pulled her dagger from where she had strapped it to her thigh as ORF ejected four cuffs that clamped onto a limb each, the two smallest going for her arms, and a small orb that stuck to Hilda's chest.
"Ow!" Hilda hissed as the new technology embedded itself into her skin, lining up and connecting with the chips that lay beneath. She broke the heels off of her shoes as her bangle bracelets tightened up, spreading over her hands and linking with the cuffs to cover her forearms, becoming light, fingerless, metal gauntlets. And she tried not to fall on her face as the ones on her ankles grew to cover her calves, connecting to her now flat shoes. "Alright," She rolled her shoulders back as Ash and some of the braver reporters took pictures and Vav was thrown against a wall. "Let's do this." as she ran to the chaos that had been unleashed into the ballroom she felt the orb in her chest grown hot as the chest plate spread across her torso. That was a bit unexpected.
All other thoughts were beaten out of her as a spiked creature came towards her, striking at her face. "Aaagh!" The yell drew attention to her as she brought up one gauntleted hand to protect herself. And she smirked at the camera flashes that followed her other hand coming across with her dagger and slashing the thing in the chest. She could practically see the next day's front page.
"Wot the bloody hell?!"
"Dude, liking the new duds!" She spared a smirk their way then focused back to the strange black creatures they were trying to beat back.
"Mogar is impressed with your new armor." His words shocked her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. "It is almost as if you took Curious female's advice to match." Oh if they weren't currently keeping the other alive she would sock that smirk off of his face.
"Just shut up and fight." He laughed out loud at her and ducked beneath her blade as she stabbed at something to his left, using the momentum to roll across his back and kick at the next creature coming at them. "We'll talk about this later." She tries not to get too distracted by the swell of muscles pulling at his dress shirt and the way his pants hug his hips.
"Does that mean that Mogar needs to plan another dinner?" She blushed and screamed as she punched an already falling creature in the face. And look at that, he just lost half of his shirt to a lucky swipe from a monster currently getting stabbed in the face. Eyes on the baddies Hilda, not your hot warrior boyfriend's hot tribal tattoos climbing up his arm and chest… dammit.
"Hilda, Mogar, are you two dating?"
"Is that why Mogar has been coming to the parties and celebrations of X-Ray and Vav?"
"Are there wedding bells in your future?"
"X-Ray, Vav, What is it like living with the two lovebirds?"
"Do bears have wedding bells?"
"Can the questions wait for after we stop the weird ass spike monsters?" Ray's panicked yell stops most of the reporters' questions. They just wait until after the fight, when Hilda is making sure no one broke anything, that the cut on Mogar's cheek wasn't going to get infected, and that her dagger is cleaned and safely tucked away in its sheath. That's when they corner her pack. Bombarding them with questions of how and why and when. Ash, bless her, stands between the group and the horde. She helps Hilda patch up the boys -taking extra care with Vav- and fends off questions with quick dismissive answers as Hilda ushers the group to an employees-only elevator where Rusty stands with the doors open and a 2x4 in hand.
"Well, that was an experience." Mogar sighs when the six of them are sitting in Hilda's office, Monarch Lab's medical team checking them over. Hilda looks over at them from where she's working with her hand-picked weapons and robotics team and some of the more specialized medics on getting the core for her new armor out of the spot just below the hollow of her throat, where it kinda dug and burned itself in.
"Yeah, but hey, we survived." She signs some forms and packets that get passed around the team taking care of them. "Who knows what would have happened if those reporters had gotten ahold of us." She sighs, a smile on her lips, as the rest of the room laughed. Yeah, they had to put up with the bad guys and reporters, and nosy fangirls, but they had each other.
They'd be okay.
