No Excuses

The little girl wore a wistful little smile on her face as she struggled to climb on top of the unsteady trash can. She yelped when it nearly tumbled over, quickly grabbing the side of the dumpster to keep her balance. Breathing a sigh of relief, she started to lift her leg up. Before she could make it into the dumpster, a hand caught her by the back of her raggedy dress and tugged her back to the ground, gentle as a mama cat lifting a kitten. She swallowed nervously and turned around, hands flying to her face when she saw the newcomer.

"You!" she squealed, a bright grin on her face and stars dazzling in her eyes. She couldn't resist giggling when the hero knelt down beside her and tugged some old string out of her hair. He smiled gently and took her hand.

"It is dangerous to climb into these trash receptacles. Not only is it a breeding ground for disease, you're likely to hurt yourself on broken glass or other unmentionables," the hero, Akio, explained, taking his cape in his hand and using it to wipe away some of the dirt from her face.

The little girl sighed and nodded, "Oh I know, Mr. Akio, sir. It wouldn't be the first time I'd gotten sick. But, I have to find some things to sell so Papa and I can eat tonight." She blushed and looked away, "It's been a few days since our last meal."

"What is the meaning of this? You must be mistaken...you and your father have not eaten in days?" Akio gasped, taking her hand in both of his, "This shall not stand. Please, allow me to assist you. Let us find your father and I will make this wrong right again,"

The little girl blushed, "Okay, Mister. Akio, sir," she murmured.

XxXxX

The street vendor hadn't been terribly excited by the sight of the mangy father and daughter, but he couldn't afford to turn Akio away. Just the other day, the hero had saved his only remaining cart from being destroyed by the Powerpunk Girls. So, with a begrudging sigh, he handed over the jumbo fat dogs and prayed the two wouldn't scare away other potential customers.

The little girl munched at her hotdog, still staring at the hero in amazement, while her father fought back tears, still voicing his appreciation.

"Please, Mister Less, it is no trouble at all. I could not sleep knowing you and your daughter are not fed. Once you've eaten, I will see to getting you proper accommodations at least for the night," Akio sighed, taking a sip of the strawberry juice box he'd chosen in place of a hot dog, "It may only be short lived, at this time, but I will find a way to a more permanent solution."

"Akio, sir, you don't understand what this means to me, and to my daughter," Mr. Less explained, voice still thick with tears, "Since that...that horrible Plutonium stole away my company and stole away the money I'd managed to save after years of working myself to the bone…" He wiped his eyes and smiled gratefully when Akio gave his hand a squeeze, "I thought all the good in the world was gone."

"The Descendant of Jaaku's cruelty knows no limit," Akio murmured. He blinked and peered down when the little girl touched his arm. A shining smile found its way to his face, "Ah! My apologies, Miss Penny, I never meant to darken the mood. Forgive my frustrations,"

The little girl, Penny Less, giggled and shook her head, sipping her own juice box, "It's okay, Mister Akio. Um...I was wondering...um...you fight the Powerpunk Girls, right?"

Her nervous tone was to be expected. What caught Akio off guard was the excitement in her voice whenever she mentioned the city's resident villains. The hero nodded, smiling, "Yes, I've, unfortunately, been forced to do battle with them several times. It is unfortunate to see how the Descendent of Jaaku has led his own daughters down the path of evil,"

Mr. Less nearly choked on his food, thumping his chest and coughing, "Unfortunate? The unfortunate thing is that those girls were born. Plutonium is a monster, but he had much less power before creating those demons." Still coughing, Mr. Less excused himself and picked himself up from the sidewalk, staggering toward the public fountain to clear his throat.

Penny sighed, "Papa doesn't like the Powerpunk Girls," she explained.

Akio raised an eyebrow, "What do you think of them?"

Penny blushed and quickly stuffed her mouth with the rest of her hot dog. She peeked up at Akio and, seeing he was still expecting an answer, giggled nervously, "I um...I think they're super cool!" she squealed.

Akio blinked, "Super...cool? The Powerpunk Girls who reign destruction on this city?"

Penny nodded, "I know it's silly, they ARE bad guys. But they're just...so strong, and cool, and awesome. They don't let anyone push them around! If they want something, they just take it! If...if I was strong like that, then I could help Papa."

She jumped when the hero patted her shoulder, then tilted her chin to look up at him, "You are strong, Penny. And what strength the Powerpunk Girls show...it comes at a great cost. They're enslaved to the whims of the Descendent of Jaaku. What power they have is corrupted by his darkness. No, if the Powerpunk Girls could be more like you, this world would be a better place."

Penny stared down at her juice box, "You think...they aren't really so bad?"

Akio nodded, "I am sure that, beneath the evil they've been born into, good hearts beat within them. Why! I've already seen Miss Berserk take my advice and improve upon her dental hygiene! If she can make such a small change, surely it could lead to even greater things, don't you think?"

Penny smiled and resumed sipping her juice. It was the first time someone hadn't told her she was crazy for thinking that, just maybe, they could be friends.

XxXxX

Penny's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't expected the opportunity to come so soon. But, in the aftermath of a recent fight with Akio, the Powerpunk Girls had squabbled and separated. Now, Berserk was just feet in front of her. Penny tried to keep her footsteps soft and her breathing quiet as she followed the supervillain.

Berserk was notorious for her temper tantrums. Today was no exception. After a few angry stomps, the Powerpunk girl suddenly screamed and grabbed the nearest mailbox. Tearing it from the ground, she smashed it into a nearby window, then hurled it into the street, knocking over a passing car. With another scream, she snorted a puff of flames from her nose and ruffled her tangled, messy hair.

Penny froze, watching her with a dreamy grin, "So cool!" she squealed. Unfortunately, it was a bit too loud. Berserk whipped around, snarling at her. Penny squeaked and managed a single step back before the Powerpunk girl was in front of her, grabbing her ragged shirt and pulling a fist back to sock her.

"Why are you following me?! What do you want, you dirty little piece of shit?" Berserk shrieked, a bit louder than she probably meant to.

The little girl laughed nervously and kicked her feet. She couldn't reach the ground, "I'm sorry! I was watching your fight with Mister Akio, and then you got in a fight with your sisters and ran off this way and I was going this way and I just thought, oh I'll just walk behind her, and then you blew up that mailbox and it was the coolest thing ever," Penny gasped, hands rushing to her mouth, "You're so cool, I wanna be your friend, you're cool,"

Berserk blinked, dropping Penny so suddenly she tripped and fell to the ground, "You're weird, aren't you afraid of me? I could kill you if I wanted to." Berserk's eye twitched and she growled again, clenching her fist, "Wait, you were following me? Are you some kind of creepy stalker? Don't follow me!" She swung her fist out, smashing the parking meter beside her.

Penny stared at the glass and metal that fell around her, her grin growing, "That is so cool! You're so cool, Berserk! And um, I wasn't really following you. We were just going the same way! Um...okay so I was following you, I'm sorry, you're just really cool!"

"Stop saying that! It's really weird...I'm not cool, I'm scary! I'm evil and mean!" Berserk insisted.

"Mr. Akio says you're not that bad. You even brushed your teeth because he suggested it!" Penny pointed out. She squealed when Berserk's hands flew to her mouth, covering her teeth. The cutest shade of pink rushed to the villain's cheeks and Berserk quickly looked away.

"Sh-shut up! I didn't do that for him! I just wanted to, okay? Quit talking to Akio! He's a big stupid shit-eating stupid hero n-nerd!" she shouted.

Penny shook her head, "Nuh uh! Mister Akio is great, and he thinks you're not really a bad girl. So, I'm sure you're really not so bad. He said if…" Penny blushed and giggled. She couldn't bring herself to say that Berserk should be more like her, "W-we should be friends, Berserk!" she blurted out.

"No way! I don't have friends, I'm evil!" Berserk spat, shoving Penny roughly to the ground. Growling, she threw a punch at the nearest building, knocking the wall down. Her eye twitching, Berserk tore the parking meter out of the ground and hurled it into the street, hitting someone who had stopped to check on the car accident she'd caused earlier. With a roar, she spewed flames across the sidewalk.

Panting, she glared at Penny, "See? Evil! Mean! Would a nice person do that?" Berserk didn't wait for an answer, she just ruffled her hair and growled, "You're stupid! Akio is stupid! You're all st-stupid idiot n-nerds! Stay away from me!" Berserk shot off into the air, her take off blowing a crater in the ground beneath her.

Penny looked around at the destruction, then down at where she had been standing. Part of the building Berserk had hit fell right where she was moments before. And the flames Berserk had blown drew a rather neat circle around her. Other than a sore bottom, she was fine.

The little girl smirked and nodded, "I think you're right, Mister Akio. I'll do my best to help!"