#DareDay
In unexpected moments, for Johnny Young, the feeling of dealing with one situation after another was a reason to be proud of being a hero. Training in countless ways, he told himself how much he needed to be ready at times like this. Inside the gym, Johnny started running on the treadmill, with a certain calm around his body, realizing that no villains had appeared to threaten the world these last few days, the same feeling that there was something very strange around could be well difficult. But having his friends by his side, Johnny could say that pride was enormous.
On the school, the boy started reading one of his mystery books, this time, Death on the Nile, before the next class started. With each page, Johnny could feel a certain emotion, until bumping into Zee, distracting his mind for a while. Being close to the girl he loved was an otherworldly feeling, but at the same time, each of them thought in an unusual way.
"Are you reading any more of these books, Johnny?" Zee asked, which made the boy smile back at his girlfriend.
"Yes. This one is a direct continuation of the Orient Express, the whole mystery takes place inside a boat on the Nile River and it is a very good book. I suggest you read a little." The magician laughed at the scene, which made Johnny repeat the same gesture as the girl who stood by his side.
"I admit that the book you lent me was quite interesting. Not to mention the twists and plot that was well crafted. Since you weren't able to sleep because of your situations with Diana, I decided to do the analysis now and I admit it is a good book." Suddenly, the boy laughed a little, which made Zee surprised. – "What's so funny now?"
"Anything. It's just the fact that you got to read a book totally different from the ones you're used to. But to be honest with you, if I loaned you that Poirot book, Zee, would you be able to read it like you did the Orient Express one?"
"Why are you asking me this? If I liked the book you gave me, I guess my opinion should be enough, right?"
"I know, but sometimes you can't get out of your comfort zone." Leaving the magician irritated with that statement, the girls approached the duo, which let the surprise come with everything.
"What's going on, siblings? What important discussion would they be having right now?" Diana said, trying to understand the scene, until Zee laughed again, making everyone nervous.
"Anything. It's just that my humble friend, Johnny, told me that I can't get out of my comfort zone to do certain things. Do you think I can't do this?" A few girls exchanged glances, nervous about what was going to happen. – "Serious?"
"It's no big deal, Zee. You reading one of my books was a good idea, but you think about things you are more used to."
"You keep saying that about me, but what about you, who can't get out of your comfort zone? You spend a good part of your time training, going to the gym and training more, and some others that I can't even mention here for personal reasons." Being subtle in stating that she was talking about their relationship, Zee made sure to make it clear how much it seemed like they couldn't get out of their comfort zones. – "But that's all I say."
"Wait a second. I always train, because I want to be ready for any situation. I also spend my time helping Babs at the Burrito Bucket, still waiting to hear the results of tryouts for the football team, just the usual."
"All is well then. How about we do something together? Just to get out of our routines? How about a little game?" The boy smiled, confident that he would get something. – "Have you heard of the dare game?"
"Yes. The game in which two people launch dares to each other and they need to do these challenges without giving up, otherwise defeat is certain."
"That's right. Let's do a bunch of dares and challenge one another in situations and moments that we can't even imagine. If you win, I'll give you a three-month supply of Belgian chocolate that's kept in my house for special occasions."
"All is well then. But if you win, Zee, I will give to you my favorite book collection in my house. Each one of them, even from other categories, will be yours." Surprise flashed across the girls' faces, but Zee managed a smile that showed the surprise around her face.
"Looks like you really managed to get out of your comfort zone. Let's stipulate the rules: We can do the dares at any time, with some specific exceptions. And it's worth any kind of dare you can imagine right now." The magician said, which made the boy shake hands with his girlfriend, confident of victory. So Diana, Karen and Babs walked over, looking at Johnny.
"Johnny, you realize you've gotten yourself into a totally absurd situation just now, don't you?" Karen asked, looking at her friend at that time.
"Let's put logic aside for a while, Karen. After all, if I win the supply of Belgian chocolate, and I will, you can be sure I'll share it all with you." However, Jessica and Kara sided with Zee, letting the surprise come in an unexpected way. - "What are you doing?"
"We are only going to provide moral support. Just to see where this whole story goes." Kara was sure of one thing, even with the moral support, she was cashing all of her bets into Zee Zatara, which made it clear that they were in an unusual situation now.
At his home, Johnny sat on the couch, keeping calm next to Karen, Babs and Diana, where the quartet made it clear how much they could be living in a situation beyond their control now, at the current moment, but above all, thinking on what would happen. At this, Kate Young, Johnny's mother, approached the group, somewhat surprised.
"You guys are kind of weird today. What happened?"
"Dare game. Zee and I bet that we could get out of our comfort zone by doing several unusual challenges, to try to prove that we can break out of our routines." Kate started to get irritated, facepalming herself now.
"That is very dangerous. Do you know what can happen when it starts to get out of hand?"
"There's a three-month Belgian chocolate supply deal if I win the game." However, a light came on in Kate's head, as if something had surged inside her body, surprised at hearing those words.
"Did you say Belgian chocolate? And for three months? We need some ideas to give. I think it's time for us to do something out of the ordinary now." Suddenly, the boy received a call from his cellphone, which made Johnny answer the call, seeing Zee on the other end of the line, in a video call.
"Hi, Johnny. Ready for the first challenge? I promise that I'm not going to be too harsh on you now."
After about five minutes, Johnny was with his hands on the floor and body turned upside down, part of a resistance challenge created by Zee Zatara at that time. Laughing a little at the scene in the middle of the video call, the magician looked at the scene, with a certain surprise around her body, realizing how much Johnny was still holding the challenge.
"How long do I have to stay like this anyway?" Johnny asked, almost certain there wasn't a set time limit.
"About 10 minutes. You've already done half the time, and I think you're doing pretty well. Remember that if you fall, I win."
The determination to gain the supply of Belgian chocolate made Johnny force his hands into the ground, keeping the coolness around his body. After a few minutes, Zee looked on, surprised to see how her boyfriend was resisting.
"Is it past 10 minutes?" He asked, until Zee chuckled.
"Yes. About two minutes ago." Zee said, which made the boy get out of position and with that, using the towel and passing it around his face.
"I think I won the first part." Kate moved closer, trying to keep calm around her body.
"What challenge do you have in mind right now?" Johnny's mom asked, trying to understand what surprises might be on her son's mind right now.
"Don't worry. It's quite an interesting thing."
Zee started to look around, letting the surprise around her body, trying to understand what her boyfriend had in mind now, however, the thought that came through her body only made it clear how much there could be something different at the moment.
Inside the gym, Zee Zatara looked around at the equipment, nervous with the challenge that had just been made. Diana, on the other hand, was a little confused as to what was going on at the moment. Slowly, the girl thought a little about the scene, while the Amazon tried to understand the idea.
"Do you get the idea of my challenge? In my case, it's another endurance test. Since I'm training here, nothing better than you doing the same and seeing things from my point of view, Zee. It's going to be like walking in each other's shoes in this story." Johnny was confident that Zee was going to give up, which made her head into a room, grabbing a pair of 3kg dumbbells, trying to be a little harder now. "Looks like she's going to take the challenge literally.
"Please, power training sessions is kind of easy. It'll be the same thing, only without the magic and stuff. Are you sure this will be something that will make me give up?" The magician said, with a feeling of determination around her body, but at the same time, Zee was sure that she could handle the challenge.
"I think it's taking things a little too far. Even with all this history of challenges and what you can imagine, I don't know if she will withstand this task." Diana said, even showing support, showing some doubts in what would happen now.
"Ezeerf emit!" Johnny said, managing to freeze time around him, with the exception of Zee, leaving the magician astonished at what she had just seen. – "To be quite honest, I borrowed one of the spells in your spellbook. I was able to use it thanks to my powers."
"Are you borrowing other things now? Interesting. You know, Johnny, I know we came up with this idea, but do you really think I won't be able to last a while at this gym? I can be pretty tough when you least expect it."
"The real truth is, Zee, we both know we're going to be picking challenges to try to make each other quit early and I made this suggestion to see things through my eyes and see how I train, giving it my all. even now." The girl in front of Johnny continued to hold the dumbbells in her hands, keeping a calm around her body. – "But I realize that it can be quite difficult when you least expect it."
In an unexpected way, Johnny approached near Zee's back and with that, put his right hand near her skirt, leaving the magician surprised with this unexpected attitude and with that, he took one of his hands from the inside of her skirt, getting near her folds and with that, he started moving his right hand in a circular pattern, which made Zee clench her teeth between her mouth nervously.
"I can't believe you're having the nerve to do this in here, Johnny." She continued to stare at the boy, maintaining a calm around her body for the moment.
"No one will be able to see what we are doing anyway. Freezing time has its advantages." Still moving his hand inside the skirt of his girlfriend, Johnny seemed to be feeling a bit nervous about everything he was doing now, considering this was a pretty out of character situation for him. The girl, on the other hand, could feel something unexpected around her body, almost reaching close to her "point". – "Are you almost...?"
"Yes."
Stopping the move, Johnny surprised Zee with this unexpected change of rhythm, which made the magician smile, but at the same time, nervous about what had just happened. Slowly, the girl looked back at Johnny, almost with a feeling of confidence around her body.
"So this is how it's going to be now?" The magician asked, with an uncertain feeling.
"It's that old phrase. It's all worth it in love and war. Also, for a three month supply of Belgian chocolate, anything goes. Ezeerfnu emit!"
Making time return to normal, Zee and Johnny looked at each other again, noticing that the dispute was intense. And with the magician realizing that the boy chose this dare to make her give up the game, Zee started to enjoy the training, putting her body on the line to be able to perform every single workout in the gym, leaving Johnny surprised. After 40 minutes, Johnny and Diana looked at the magician in surprise.
"Looks like I won that next part, Johnny." Kissing his cheek, Zee smiled back, almost in a devious way, sure that she would win this challenge. – "What will happen?"
"Surprise me."
It was a very out of the ordinary situation, but for Diana, at that very moment, it could make her more worried than usual. Determined to see each dare through to the end, the stakes in their views were clear. The feeling was clear, but for Johnny, it was his books on the line, plus the opportunity for a three-month supply of Belgian chocolate. He wasn't going to give up, just as Zee Zatara wasn't going to either, in her attempt to get proof that she can step out of her comfort zone.
At Johnny's house, his father, Tom, entered the room, noticing Kate looking at her cell phone, which made Tom try to understand what was happening to his wife now, while she gave a smile, confident with her son.
"What is happening?"
"You got home early from work, Tom. Something wrong?"She asked, trying to understand, until the man chuckled.
"No. Turns out the city was too quiet, so they decided to release some of the staff earlier to get some rest."
"Come see something." Tom approached the cell phone, noticing a video call where Johnny and Zee were in the penthouse the magician lived, leaving Tom surprised.– "They decided on a series of dares, betting on the most beloved items to try to get out of their comfort zone. And let's just say the next challenge has been something quite unexpected."
In the penthouse, Johnny was taking the opportunity to drink several glasses of milk at once, leaving the magician totally surprised, as well as her friends, who were watching everything, worried. Kara and Jessica could see how much Zee was willing to make Johnny give up, but the boy wasn't going to do what the magician wanted now. Slowly, both parties seemed to be feeling something out of the ordinary in their bodies because of the risks that were happening now. A bell was rung, with Johnny raising one of his hands up confidently.
"50 glasses of milk in two minutes! I won this time, Zee." Johnny's confidence seemed to be way over the top at that moment, which left Diana and a good part of the group worried.
"I'm starting to get a little fearful of these challenges our siblings are putting to each other right now." The Amazon said, while Jessica and Kara started looking around nervously.
"It may sound like a lie, but for once, I think I will agree with you, Diana." Kara talked, while at the same time, Jessica only nodded with her head, being sure of what would happen now.
"They are too competitive, trying to prove something important, in their view." Karen was the one who was the most nervous, considering how her friends were doing something totally out of character at the moment.
"Well, in timeout. I still can't believe you didn't give up, Johnny." Zee kept herself more surprised than she could admit with every dare they performed in the middle of the day, but most of all, trying to bring something unexpected back into their lives.– "If you must know, there is something very strange about all this."
"How about we change the next challenge I'm going to do a little bit? I was thinking of something simpler, but considering what you wanted to do with me, I had a pretty interesting idea." Johnny said, leaving Zee more worried than usual.
Outside the penthouse, near the pool, Zee was walking through a path, on which there was ice around the place, almost in circles, and with an enormous concern about what might happen next. In the videocall, Kate and Tom began to realize that things might be going too far.
"Is that really necessary, Johnny?" Without her boots, it was clear that this was another resistance duel, in which Zee struggled to not feel her teeth shaking during this time. Slowly, Johnny began to make it clear how worried he was growing putting the magician through these challenges.
"It's a simple dare. All you have to do is walk around the pool, with all that ice around."
"Await me, that everything that goes around comes around."
The game between the two seemed to be coming to a completely out of the ordinary point, as Zee and Johnny tried to make plans to make each one give up the dispute, but neither of them seemed to be willing to stop the game, as each watched what would be the next step. After a few minutes, the magician held an ice bucket in her hands, making it clear how much she had thought about it, after the fights where the ice landed on top of her body, almost like a running gag.
"This has happened to me so many times, so it's only fair that it happens to someone else, right?" Johnny was sitting on a bench, looking at the city, which made his parents worried to see what level Zee was willing to reach at the moment, but at the same time, watching the scene, as if the challenge was only increasing now, a good part of it, rooting for Johnny's victory now. - "Unless you want to give up, I won't throw the bucket on you and you can give me your books."
"Do you really think I'm going to give up? I train hard every day, so do what you have to do."
Zee then threw the bucket over the boy's head, making his body freeze in a matter of seconds, however, Johnny just kept a smile, almost with his teeth trembling because of what had happened.
"Looks like I won. Now you give up, Zee?"
"Never." The two started exchanging glances again, thinking about what plans they were going to make next. Ending the video call, Kate and Tom tried to understand what was going to happen.
"This is all going too far, you know?" Tom began to speak, catching his wife's attention. – "Why don't we convince him to give up and get this story over with?" Kate suddenly grabbed her husband by the blouse nervously.
"Some few words: Three months of Belgian chocolate at stake! Do you really think he's going to stop?"
Those words only made clear how much there was a certain determination around, but Kate was obstinate to have the chocolate in her house at all costs, even knowing that everything was getting out of control. After a few minutes, Zee had been the next to face a dare and with that, the girl started putting on several clothes at once over the one she was wearing, demonstrating how much everything she had at hand.
"I put on all the clothes that fit! Satisfied?" Several blouses, sweaters and coats had been put on by the magician now, while Johnny just laughed, making his friends' surprise clear. - "What's the fun?"
"You managed to put all that in, but how are you going to get it out to continue the dare game? Lucky for you that I didn't ask you to put on anything other than clothes, because otherwise, you would have already lost!"
Anger rose in Zee's body now, as she thought of another challenge at the moment. Holding a hose, Zee started to run through the streets, going after Johnny, while the girls looked on nervously, with the exception of Kara and Barbara, which left the rest of the group surprised.
"Looks like Zee has taken the endurance challenge story to a new level!" Babs watched the scene, while each of them managed to understand what was going to happen now.
"I admit that she is now overcoming these challenges. But even they can't keep doing this forever, right?" Kara said, making the team's doubts clear.
But it could be described in a very unexpected way. With each challenge, the duo began to put everything they had into it. On Johnny's side, his face became involved in smoke when the next dare he had to realize was recreate an experiment from the chemistry class that ended blowing. For Zee, the dare that Johnny had put into practice had been completely difficult at a certain point, due to the fact that the magician had to do a balancing act, holding everything she could in her hands, making clear the determination of the two now to do what should be done at the moment.
After a few hours, at Johnny's house, everyone was gathered, analyzing the current result between Johnny and Zee, while each of them was getting more and more tired with the dares being applied now. Diana, Karen, Barbara, Kara, Jessica, Kate and Tom looked at the pair, each lying on the floor, as they tried to collect themselves.
"Do you… give up?" Johnny asked, which made Zee chuckle at the scene.
"Only in your dreams." The girl answered back, which made Kate worried. – "We're not going to stop, are we?"
"Last time I checked, I was winning!"
"Let's stop, declare a draw and be done with this whole story!" Tom said, trying to clear up the confusion, until Zee started to laugh, making clear an idea she had in mind.
"I already know. How about one last dare? Whoever gives up now, loses." The boy just nodded, confident of victory.
In this way, Zee went to the kitchen, where the girl began to take some bottles of pepper, chopping each one of them and creating two pepper milkshakes through the kitchen blender, letting the duo's emotions appear now and with the conviction that the last dare of the day would guarantee victory.
"How about a drink? Whoever screams for water or gives up... already knows." The two started looking at the milkshakes as they each realized they had gone too far, but they weren't going to give up now.
"Turn it all!"
The two put the glasses in their mouths, with the milkshakes and in one gulp, the duo swallowed all the pepper in the glass, but the concern was only growing. Johnny just laughed, even though he felt his body starting to burn, but Zee, on the other hand, put her hands over her mouth, feeling the effects of the pepper on her body because of everything she had done just now. The concern was clear and in the same way, each of them began to sense that something complicated was ahead.
"Zee… do you want to give up, by any chance?" The boy began to mock, ironically.- "And then?"
"Never." The group began to analyze the scene, while Johnny put his hands on his head, with his concern growing. Realizing that Zee was resisting in an unusual way, but the boy did the same thing.
"Wants to know? This was all madness!" Johnny started laughing, making everyone nervous .– "We were able to prove that we can step out of the comfort zone, so why did we go ahead with this idea?"
"You provoked this, Johnny! My mouth is burning here and I don't want to speak the words!" The pair had gone too far with the dares they'd applied to each other, but just the same, Johnny started tapping one of his hands on the table nervously.
5 minutes later, the two began to feel fear around their bodies, but in that, Johnny continued to slam his hands on the kitchen table, totally worried, which made Zee get irritated for what had happened, seeing that the boy did not give up. But this way, she knew one of them would have to say the words before something worse, however, Johnny tapped his left hand again nervously.
"Wanna know? You won, Zee! You can have my books, you can have all this chocolate you bet and keep it in your house, but I give up!"
Taking a whole bottle of water, Johnny drank all the water in one gulp, removing the pepper from his body and with it, falling to the ground, while Zee just gave a scream, from which fire began to come out of his mouth and in that way, the girl got a pitcher of milk, drinking it all and that way, the two sat next to each other, nervous. The entire group watched the scene, as did Kate and Tom, worried about what had happened, having seen how everything had come to an unbelievable point.
"How about... we disregard the bet we made now?" Johnny asked, while Zee only nodded with her head, completely worried.
"Ditto. I think after all of this, it wasn't worth to use all of these dares. But at least, we've proved that we can do different stuff."
The two started to laugh, on which everyone facepalmed themselves, seeing how things went now. The dare game ended, and the bets were all off, but at least, something happened to them that showed how things could go when taken too far.
The next day, at school, Johnny just started looking at his locker, taking some of his materials for the next class, until out of nowhere, Zee appeared at his side, leaving the boy surprised about the magician's presence, until out of nowhere, nothing, she held up a box with a white bow.
"Consider it a peace offering. Since we took it too far, it was only fair that I hand it over. It's a packet of Belgian chocolate and I'm delivering a few boxes to your house while we talk to make up for it a little bit." With a smile on his face, Johnny held up the Death on the Nile book, handing the object to the magician.
"This is also a peace offering from me. Considering I was forbidden from playing any kind of dare game again after everything that happened, it's only fair that I hand you something to make up for it."The two started walking, while each of them gave a smile, however, suddenly, the coach from the foootball team appeared in front of the duo, making the surprise clear. – "Coach? What's wrong?"
"Well, I already got the final results of the tryouts for the team. Unfortunately, you failed your physical, Johnny."
"I know, Jason passed the tryouts with flying colors." Making the scene ironic, the coach laughed, surprising the boy.
"On the contrary. He would have passed, if not for some of his grades falling in certain subjects. Jason needed to be in average to join the team and as he is getting bad in two classes, I had to fail him automatically. Certain things may not go the way we want, but... you guys tried."
Alone, Zee just looked at the boy, but that way, Johnny smiled back at the magician, showing how happy he was with himself. Despite not having passed the tryouts, he was a little emotional and, seeing his friends approaching him, hugging him, having heard everything, the ties that were around made it clear that they would be together in the middle of everything.
"I may not have passed, but at least I tried. The irony is that I never imagined that Jason would not pass the exam."
"Certain things didn't happen the way we wanted, but we can still have a good laugh about everything that happened." Babs said, determined with what was going to happen now. – "At least you and Zee managed to prove that you can get out of your comfort zone."
"True. But let's agree to never do something like that again."Johnny just nodded his head, keeping calm. Upon entering the room, they saw Artemis Crock, near the table, with a smile on her face. – "Mrs. Crock? I thought you would have left town after everything that happened.
"The position of professor of literature on this school will be extended. Indefinitely. Your teacher is taking a short medical leave due to stress, so I will continue to take over classes indefinitely. But from what I hear, some of you played a pretty tricky game." The group just looked surprised, which made Artemis chuckle. –"I can identify some signs."
"We agree. Zee, you're the girl of my dreams and I say this over and over again, but let's be clear that none of us are ever going to realize a dare game again, okay?" Johnny talked, which made the magician shake the boy's hand, with a calm around the body.
"Done."
The group sat in their seats, determined to do what was necessary in those hours, but it was clear that they had managed to prove that they could get out of their comfort zone. Even with their heroic lives, the Super Hero Girls also faced some problems in their personal lives and that made them more human with everything that happened, demonstrating how much they were willing to face each dilemma together, and even if they disagreed with certain matters, the group was sure that the next challenges would come with everything, ready to deal with the unexpected.
To be continued...
Author's Note: So, that's a wrap for today, folks! The next chapters will be far more surprising and at the same time, we're starting to get closer from the next story arc, and I promise that some of the chapters here will leave most of you, dear readers, far more surprised than the usual, and you can be sure of this. You can expect chapters, but one in specific will focus on two heroes from the DC lore that will leave you surprised in all means possible. Get ready for the unexpected, because very soon, you're gonna be in for a trip, boys and girls!
See you all next time, folks!