DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mighty Med or any of it's characters. I only own my original characters of Mara Short/Noctura and my original villain character, and their backstories.
Enjoy the story!
~Mara's POV~
After talking to Horace, I went ahead and started designing my costume. Though nothing was coming to me that sounded good, and I was also thinking of my superhero name as I did this. So I think it was safe to say that my mind was preoccupied.
"Let's see," I said as I was sitting on the stairs in the school the following day, sketchbook in lap and pencil in hand. I was tapping the eraser to my chin, thinking. "What would make sense for a superhero with flight, a sonar scream, and shadow abilities?" I looked at the page, seeing a few names I had written down the other night. Oliver gave me one of them, which was Bat Girl, though I think that one was taken. I looked over the one Kaz gave me, which was Match Head. If anything that sounded like it belonged to someone with the powers of fire! Definitely a no.
But then I saw the third one, the one I thought of.
"Noctura," I said out loud, but mostly quiet so only I heard it. It had a nice ring to it. And I could already see the costume! I quickly circled the name, just to remind myself that I chose that one, and then I started the design for the costume. I decided on a one-piece black leotard, with a sweetheart neckline, sleeveless, and a red halter top neckline above it. There were red gloves that stopped just in the center of my biceps, and thigh-high high-heeled red boots.
I smiled, loving the look as I continued with a red mask for just the eyes. It had a black stripe at the top of it and two white fangs coming from the bottom.
"This is perfect!" I exclaimed, hearing a chuckled come from the lockers. I looked up and saw Kaz leaning against his locker while Oliver went through his.
"Finally figured out this new character?" He asked.
"You bet!" I yelled, giggling with excitement. I didn't tell them about my new superhero persona just yet, though I just asked for name ideas. They immediately thought it was for a new character I wanted to create for a new story. I loved to write and so it was a perfect excuse to have help with this, without them knowing.
"That's good!" Kaz returned before turning back to Oliver.
"Yesterday was so cool!" Oliver said, seeming to have ignored us. "I can't believe we get to save the people who save people!" Kaz's face lit up at that phrase.
"You should trademark that. I would totally buy that t-shirt!" He said, making me giggle as I stood up from the stairs and walked over. Kaz had just opened his locker door when Jordan walked over.
"So," She began, "did you guys find anything cool?"
"Like what?" Kaz started, looking at her. "A-a hospital for superheroes?" I looked at him with shock, while Oliver just looked to have wanted to hit him. "No!" He saved...I hope.
"I meant for our found object robot," Jordan retorted, making me sigh with relief. I was sometimes glad that she could be clueless. "Now, this is an all-day project. So please keep Gus under control all day."
"Don't worry, we won't let him anywhere near you," Kaz said, closing his locker as I saw Gus walk on over.
"New shampoo?" He asked after sniffing Jordan's hair. Yeah...he's so weird.
"Nope. It's bug repellent," Jordan stated. "And obviously it's not working."
"Anyway, you asked for found objects and I found this is my room," He soon pulled out a stack of money wrapped in a rubber-band. "500 dollars in small bills." I looked at him in shock. "My parents give me money instead of attention."
I saw Kaz's eyes dart to me, knowing full well what I would be doing right now if Gus's parents were in the building. If they knew that one of Gus's friends were adopted and had only ever WISHED to know her birth family, then maybe they would be giving Gus more attention. I could just hear Kaz telling me to calm down, which in turn (just to ease his mind) made me fake a smile and look at him. I'm sure he knew I was faking it, but I didn't care.
I looked down to the pocket of my jean shorts to the sound of something vibrating after a moment, before getting pushed to the stairs again.
"Excuse us for a minute," Oliver had said as we walked away from Jordan and Gus. I watched as Oliver checked the MM-200 with squinted eyes (why not our phones?) and then looked back at us. "Horace is calling us to the hospital. What do we do?"
"We have to go! This is an opportunity of a lifetime!" Kaz exclaimed, just as freaked and worried as Oliver was.
"You're right," Oliver said with a nod.
"What are we going to tell Jordan?" I asked, looking at the girl who had just given the money back to Gus.
"Follow my lead," Oliver retorted before heading over to Jordan, while also putting the MM-200 back into his pants pocket. "Uh, hey. We have to take off for a bit."
"What? You can't go! You guys promised to help me with this project!" Jordan said, looking ticked off. Oh, boy.
"We'll be back soon, okay?" Oliver continued. "Uh, we just have to, uh-"
"Stop by our grandmother's house!" I interjected, helping Oliver out. He grinned at me as a thank you.
"Which is on fire!" Kaz said, making me look at him weirdly while Oliver just looked concerned.
"-Creek Drive! Fire Creek Drive! Where she lives!" Oliver said. "She needs us because of-"
"The fire," Kaz interjected again, making me ball my fists a bit.
"-Alarms! The fire alarms! She needs us to make sure they're working because of-"
"The fire!" Kaz said again, this time I actually slapped his shoulder, though he just smirked. You know that smirk! Where he was saying that just to get attention. I swear, he and Oliver were like Fire and Ice.
"Yes. Sure. My grandmother's house is on fire," Oliver finally caved before looking over at Kaz like he was ready to hit him. Good thing I already did that.
"Okay. Gotta go. See ya!" Kaz then pushed Oliver away as he dragged me along the way.
"Please, hurry back! I need you guys! Do not flake on me, Kaz!" I heard Jordan yell after us, making me sigh as we made it to the sidewalk, leaving school.
"What's with you and fire?" I asked Kaz, making him shrug as we continued walking.
~Kaz's POV~
Just seeing the look on Mara's face was priceless. I think I was going to get a bruise on my shoulder from her hitting me there, but it was worth it. I just wish I had the courage to tell her how I feel. It was hard not to since she was always with me, and apparently I was the one she clung to when scared. And I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy that.
"Boys...and Mara!" Horace yelled as the three of us walked through the secret entrance to the hospital. "So great to see you!"
"Yes, so great," Alan repeated sarcastically. He obviously didn't like us at all and didn't want us there. Mara gave him a look and I could have sworn I saw a blush form on his cheeks before looking away. The famous 'Mara Look'. It worked every time (mainly on me).
"So what's going on?" Oliver asked.
"Megahertz has run amuck in the city. We'll need your help," Horace answered as a nurse wheeled in a gurney with a superhero on it. He had an orange costume on, with a red meteor insignia on his chest, and short blond hair. I knew instantly who that superhero was.
"Make a path, people! I have a beloved superhero! Puncture wound to the chest! The object appears to be," He stopped and looked with surprise. "A stop sign?!"
"Kaz, that's Tecton!" Oliver exclaimed as I stared in awe.
"Dude! You are my all-time favorite superhero!" I said, a big dopey grin on my face. I felt like my 5-year-old self again! Though I also felt like someone had taken a picture of this moment, making me look over to see Mara with her phone out. She was smirking as she showed me the photo she just took. Smart thinking there, M! Soon, my smile faded as I looked back at Tecton.
"Are you okay? What happened to you?"
"Megahertz was robbing the Federal Reserve Bank," Tecton answered. "When he tried to make an unauthorized withdraw, I stopped him." So cool. "Unfortunately, he made an unauthorized deposit of this stop sign in my chest." He flicked the sign with boredom. That part was not so cool.
"Wow! You're skewered and are still making quips," Mara spoke up. "I guess if you deal with this sort of thing everyday, you're bound to get detached from it."
"Hey, I'm sure people ask you this all the time, but," I began, "can you punch me in the stomach as hard as you can?"
"I'm sorry," Tecton said. "But if I punch you in the stomach, I have to punch everyone in the stomach." Dang it!
"Also, you'd die instantly!" Mara yelled at me. Yeah...maybe I should have thought of that before I asked. "Do you seriously have a death wish?!"
"No! I just don't think before I speak!" I exclaimed, making her roll her eyes at me. Those beautiful silver eyes. AH! Stop it, Kaz! It'll never work out.
"Freddy," Horace began, breaking me out of my thoughts, "wheel Tecton to the O.R."
"Yes, sir," The nurse, Freddy (never actually got his name until now), said before wheeling Tecton away. "Oh, who's your trainer? Because I'm this close to firing Guillermo!" I heard Mara stifle a giggle at the nurse's outburst, making me look at her with a grin now.
"Boys...and Mara...how would you like to observe Tecton's surgery?" Horace asked, making us smile in surprise.
"Are you kidding? We'd love to!" Oliver yelled with excitement, until something must have donned on him. "Oh, but...we kind of have a prior commitment."
"Huh. I thought your commitment was to this hospital," Horace said. "Guess I misjudged you."
"No, no, no! We definitely want to work here," Oliver said as Mara just walked over to the counter and leaned against it, pretty much just watching this play out. "It would be a dream come true. It's just...we promised our friend we would-"
"This is Tecton! We can make new friends—superhero friends," I exclaimed, hearing a giggle come from Mara yet again.
"Okay. Count us in," Oliver finally said.
"Splendid!" Horace yelled. "You'll be saving the people who save people."
"Oh, I told you you should've trademarked that," I said bummed.
"Too late!" Horace soon opened his button-down to show off a blue t-shirt with that same exact phrase he just said.
"Well, text me when the surgery happens," Mara said. "Horace, do you mind if I use the rec room for a little bit?"
"Sure, go for it! Just be careful with the weights," He said, sounding concerned for her well-being. It was nice to see that someone was showing Mara some compassion for once.
"Oh, I'm not using the weights," She smirked before waving to us and heading to the rec room, making me wonder what she was up to in the first place. I know she was hiding something from me and Oliver, and I really wanted to know what it was. Even if I had to spy on the girl I liked.
"I'll be right back," I said to Oliver as I followed Mara down the hall and to the rec room, watching as she tossed her purse on the couch before heading up to what I'm calling the stage. She walked up the two steps and stood in the center of the stage, her back to me. I kept myself hidden behind the door as I watched her take a deep breath.
Then, she was off.
I watched as she did a swing kick to face the front, a couple of punches, and some more kicks as well doing a knee kick that would be good for kicking someone in the stomach. What was she doing? Working on her fighting skills? Though, to be fair, I didn't know she could fight. So, this was news to me.
But then, I watched her jump off the wall, do a front flip, and land on her feet. She soon did a one-handed cartwheel before a handless back-flip and got in a fighting stance. I saw her do another backflip after that, with her knees tucked to her chest, before she landed it with an excellent landing.
"Whoa," I whispered with surprise. I have to say, this was making me like her even more.
"Kaz, come on!" I heard Oliver before I was pulled away from the door and was forced to head to the O.R now.
~Mara's POV~
I know Kaz was watching me work on my fighting skills (he sucks at whispering). This is why I didn't use any of my powers while working on them. They can't know I have them just yet. I was waiting for the right moment and having Kaz spy on me as the way of him finding out is not how I pictured it.
But now that I know he wasn't watching anymore (mainly because I heard Oliver drag him away), I started using them. I did a handless front flip and fell through a hole of darkness, only to re-emerge from the wall behind the stage, I guess I'll call it. I did another front tuck and landed on the floor, by the couch and tumbled to a table. I went to get up, only to bang my head on the table.
"OW!" I yelled grabbing my head.
"You okay?" I looked over to see Skylar Storm standing there with wonder and a hand held out to me.
"Yeah! I'm fine," I said, taking her hand and being helped up. "Thanks."
"You have powers?" She asked me, making me look at her again and sigh. "Why are you not a superhero if you do?"
"I'm going to become one," I said. "Horace thinks it might help me break me out of my shell."
"I think it would, too,"
"But, I'm starting to wonder if this is the right path," Skylar cocked her head at me, most likely confused. "I mean, I have the design for my suit ready, and I have the skills. But...I don't know."
"Mara, listen," Skylar said, taking my hand in hers and giving me a sweet smile. "Being a hero takes responsibility and courage. And when you're afraid to go out there and save the world, you still go out there and do it."
"You do it afraid," I added.
"Exactly! It just may be that you're afraid to take on this new chapter. But after seeing you flip and twirl, and disappear, like that...I think you have what it takes."
I smiled at Skylar, taking what she told me to heart. She was right. I was scared of this new chapter. I was afraid of going out there as a superhero, and I was afraid of what the boys were going to do when I told them about my powers. But, I think Skylar just gave me a new phrase to live by. 'Do it Afraid'.
I think I'm ready to tell Kaz and Oliver about my powers.
"Thank you, Skylar," I said, pulling her in and hugged her. "I needed to hear that." We pulled away after a moment. "I also need an aspirin now. I'm getting a headache from hitting my head on that table."
"Here," Skylar walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aspirin, handing me two tablets before putting it back.
"Thanks, again," I said with a giggle.
"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do after finding out my powers are never to be restored. At least, not now anyway," Skylar said, sitting down at a table with a saddened expression.
"What?" I asked with shock as I sat down in front of her. "Skylar, that's terrible!"
"Yeah, it is," Skylar retorted. "I've had those powers my whole life, and now they're just gone! I don't know what to do anymore."
"Well, you helped me with this world...let me help you with the Normo world," I said. "And I'm sure, once everything has settled, your powers will come back. I can feel it." Skylar grinned at me with a small nod.
"Thanks, Mara," She said.
"No big," I giggled. "Say, I'd like your opinion on my hero name."
"Alright, what is it?" She asked.
"How does Noctura sound?" I held my breath, partially thinking I was going to get turned down by the name I chose. But instead of laughter, I got a smile from Skylar with pride in her eyes.
"I like that! It sounds good! And from the look of your ear rings, I'd say it's because bats are nocturnal here on earth?" She asked.
"Yes, they are," I said. I actually forgot I was wearing these ear rings. Kaz got them for me for my 10th birthday. They were just silver bats with a red ruby in the center of them. Nothing special. Though, they felt special to me.
"I actually forgot you're from Caldera. Not earth," I mentioned, making Skylar giggle.
I think I was going to like this place after all.
"Uh," I looked over to see Kaz in the room now, looking scared for some reason. I hope he didn't see me use my powers...or worse, heard me talking about them with Skylar. "You wanna help me with something, Mara?" He asked, making me look with wonder as he fidgeted with his fingers.
"What did you do?" I asked, crossing my arms while also making sure I don't drop the aspirin Skylar gave me.
"I'll explain on the way! Please?!" He begged, making me sigh as I gave Skylar a smile, telling her I'll be back later and raced over to my bag before walking out of the hospital with Kaz.
~Kaz's POV~
"I can't believe you're that stupid!" Mara yelled as she was reading through some Tecton comic books on the couch in The Domain. "I leave you boys for like two minutes, and you manage to ruin everything!"
"In my defense, I thought he would have healed right after I took the stop sign out! I was not expecting this!" I yelled back. Yeah, I kind of took it upon myself to take the sign out of Tecton's chest, and for some reason the hole decided not to close up. Tecton has immunity to pain and the meteorite in his chest helps him heal quickly. So, I don't know why he wasn't healing.
"Then, Tecton battles the Impaler, gets impaled,"
"Obviously," Mara said.
"And instantly heals. I don't get it."
"What's not to get?" I looked up, seeing Wallace and Clyde walking over to me. Wallace was holding a a big white box with a Tecton cover on it. "Tecton always heals."
"See?" Clyde moved a poster to show me one that says 'Tecton Always Heals – coming soon'.
"It's why he never loses."
"See?" Clyde moved that poster to show me another one that said 'Tecton Never Loses – coming soon'. I just paid no mind to them as I continued reading through the Tecton comic book I had.
Mara had walked over to me, giving me a look. I know she was still mad at me for doing what I did, but I soon saw that glint in her eyes saying that she understood where I was coming from. If anyone out of my friends understood me better than anything, I'd have to say it was Mara. Oliver knew me more since we had known each other for five years longer than Mara, but the black-haired girl beside me seemed to know when I was about to put myself in danger and took it herself. She was one of a kind.
"I love the fresh smell of new comics," I perked up with Mara at the sound of Clyde's voice. New comics?
"This new batch smells like lavender," Wallace said.
"That's actually my cologne," Clyde returned.
"It really smells nice."
"Thank you!"
"It suits you."
"The new Tecton issue!" I exclaimed as I raced over and tried to grab one, but the twin shop owners moved out of the way before I could. Mara even tried, but failed miserably.
"WHOA!" They yelled in unison.
"Are you mad?!" Wallace yelled.
"The release date on that comic is tomorrow," Clyde added in.
"So?" I retorted, hearing Mara sigh next to me.
"So?!" They yelled in unison again.
"Wow!"
"Oh, okay. Are there no more rules?" Clyde asked.
"Are we living in a post-apocalyptic lawless society?" Wallace added in.
"Cause if we are, I'd like to ride a motorcycle," Clyde said.
"And I'd like to wear an eye-patch," Wallace added before the two walked over to the counter, setting the box down on it.
"I need to see those comic books," I said as we raced after them. "Oliver is depending on me. Maybe there's something in there, that will explain why Tecton's not healing."
"You make it sound like he's a real person," Clyde said with a chuckle. I heard Mara slap her forehead.
"Uh...that's because he is," I began, and I could feel Mara's gaze on me, "in Mara's fanfiction." I looked at her and she sighed. She had to have known what to do now.
"Yeah!" She said. "Tecton, he, uh, he pops a zit and it won't heal. And he just keeps picking at it." I swear, our brains are connected somehow. Or it could be that she knows me so well.
"Well, that's nowhere as near as good as our fanfiction," Wallace announced.
"Yes. Two stunningly handsome twin brothers,"
"slash shop-keepers,"
"are captured by two gorgeous swimsuit models,"
"slash vampire hunters,"
"who cook the brothers grilled cheese sandwiches whenever they want," The twin brothers fist-bumped each other at the end of that description. It did NOT sound good...but this could be a good opportunity.
"Wow! That sounds really good! Can we read that?!" I exclaimed, faking the enthusiasm. I could feel Mara's gaze on me, and instantly I knew she could read my mind. She knew what I was doing. She always does.
"Kaz," She spoke quietly, making me put up my hand to keep her from blowing this.
"Oh! Okay, our first fan!" Clyde exclaimed with excitement.
"We'll get you a copy," Wallace said as they both left to go find their story, leaving me and Mara with the box. I quickly raced up to it, opened it, and took out one of the new Tecton comic books before racing away with Mara not far behind me.
"I'll pay for this later!" I exclaimed before being stopped at the door to see Jordan walk in. Oh, boy. "Hey, Jordan. What are you doing here?"
"Coming to work on the project as far from Gus as possible," She returned. "What are you two doing here?"
"I'm not here," I stated with a false glitching sound to my voice. I could hear Mara sigh once more at this stupid attempt of a lie. "I'm Kaz's avatar in a new video game with holograms."
"Oh, good grief," Mara said, slapping her forehead.
"I can't believe you guys! You ditch me so you can go get a comic book?!" Jordan yelled. I knew she wouldn't buy my act. It was too stupid of an excuse, and I'm surprised that Mara wasn't really trying to win back Jordan's friendship. Out of me, her, and Oliver, she'd be the one who took this kind of a loss personally.
"Now you just sit down and help me build the stupid robot."
"I can't. I have to go," I said, getting ready to leave.
"If you walk out of here, I will never speak to you again," She said, which I'm sure Mara was freaking out about now. "Seriously, my sister ate my cupcake. I haven't talked her since January."
"You really hold a grudge, don't you?" Mara said with surprise, making Jordan nod slowly and dangerously. I looked at Mara, seeing the worry in her own eyes. But I saw them more for my well-being, as well as Oliver's. I could tell she needed us to be safe and to not get put into a Normo cage, or whatever they'd do to us if Horace found out what I did to Tecton. Plus...I didn't want to leave this world without telling this black-haired girl before me how I felt.
I should have stayed and called Oliver about what I found while I helped Jordan with the robot, or I could have just sent Mara to fill in for me while all this was transpiring. But Oliver needed me. I wasn't going to let him down like I did already.
"I'm really sorry," I finally said to Jordan as I raced to the door, hearing Mara's heeled ankle boots behind me. She was the first to leave the store as I looked back at Jordan. "Oh, and this is probably not the best time to tell you this, but, I ate your cupcake and blamed it on your sister." I saw her face go from angry to furious, which made me quickly run out of the store, and after Mara.
"You told her you ate her cupcake?" She asked me, unamused as we ran down the sidewalk.
"Yeah," I returned.
~Oliver's POV~
I was standing in front of the Operating Room doors, alone, waiting for Kaz to return. Doctors and nurses, as well as other people, were heading straight for it, but I stopped them quickly.
"Wait, you can't go in there!" I yelled. "You're looking for Operating Room 31. But, um, this is," I looked at the sign beside me and flipped it to make it vertical. "Room W Underline." I was surprised when the medical professionals believed me and went on their way. They should have known I was lying.
Soon enough though, Kaz arrived, with Mara right behind him. Why did he grab my adopted-sister from the Rec Room to help him with this?! Now she'll get in trouble, too!
"We're back," Kaz said, getting a snort from Mara as she crossed her arms at his out of breath nature.
"Where have you been?! Do you know what I've been through here?! Why did you grab Mara to help?! And what took you two so long?! Did you find out a way to fix Tecton?"
"The Domain...no...thought two eyes would help...out of shape...maybe," Kaz retorted, answering all the questions I spewed out at him (which was very impressive) and making me give him a look. I soon pulled him into the O.R. with Mara right behind us.
"So, what did you find out? Why isn't Tecton healing?" I asked, still a worrying mess.
"I don't know," Kaz answered. Not what I wanted to hear. "I got the new Tecton comic book, but it doesn't say anything. Oh, I do have good news though."
"Good news?!" Mara yelled out of shock. "We're on that long list of things that Jordan hates now! I don't think that's considered good news, bucko!"
"Why did I vouch for you?!" I yelled. "So much for working here!" I paused, fear creeping onto my face. "And now that we know about Mighty Med, they'll have to erase our memories, or shoot us into a black hole! Or worse!"
"What's worse than being shot into a black hole?" Kaz asked.
"Getting vaporized. A lot of people get vaporized in this business!" Mara yelled, freaking out as she saw Tecton's state.
"And now Mara's upset. Good job, Kaz!" I yelled with annoyance.
"Out of my way!"
"Someone's coming," Kaz said before he tossed the comic book off to the side and picked up the stop sign with me. Mara went to go block the door, but Alan just pushed it open, hitting her in the face.
"OW! Frick!" She yelled, grabbing her nose.
"You good?" Kaz asked, trying not to laugh (I could hear him snorting a little bit) as we stood in front of Tecton, holding the sign to make it look like it was still in the hero's chest.
"I'll be fine," She said annoyed, releasing her nose and scrunching up to ease the pain. "Still works."
"Where is everybody?" Alan asked, seeming to not care about hurting my adopted-sister.
"In the world? Mostly China," Kaz said.
"Although, India's gaining fast," I returned, adding in a little fact.
"Oh, good grief," I heard Mara say from the door.
"Why are you standing like that?" Alan asked.
"Standing like what?" I returned.
"Yeah, this is how all Normos stand," Kaz added in.
"Yeah, get with it," Mara said again, making me and Kaz snort. She sure had a way to make things less awkward...though now was not one of those times.
"Oh, well, okay," Alan said. "I guess everything's fine here. I should be going." I was relieved to hear he bought it. But with one glance from Mara, I could see her counting with her fingers.
3...2...1...
"Oh, one more thing-" Alan trailed off as he used his telekinesis to make Kaz and I move out of the way of Tecton, with the sign clanging to the floor. "Busted! There's a giant hold in his chest!"
"Do you have to be so annoying about being right?" Mara said, pushing herself off the wall and walking over to us, helping Kaz up since I was already standing again. I saw Alan look at her and I don't know why, but I think he was blushing.
"D-did you know about this?" He stuttered.
"I just found out. I wasn't in the room when it happened," She said.
"Oh," Was all he said before looking back to me.
"Alan, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but you got to help us," I said, pleading and hopeful that he had a heart somewhere in his egotistical personality.
"Oh, well, okay," He said, turning to Kaz and Mara again. "Grab me the Hold Closing Glue."
"Okay, where's that?" Kaz asked as he raced to a small table with different tools.
"It's right in the 'Normos are incredibly stupid' cabinet!" Alan yelled, making Mara glare at him. He saw it and gulped as his smile left. I got that way too sometimes with her wraith. "There's no such thing as Hole Closing Glue! But seriously, grab me the stomach sealant."
"Alright, where's that?"
"It's right on the 'got you again' shelf! HA!"
"Alan!" Mara yelled, walking dangerously too close to him. He looked at her and gulped again, his smiling fading once more. But it seemed like her glare wasn't enough to scare him into helping us.
"O-oh, you Normos are going down and I'm going to make sure everybody knows about this. EVERYBODY!" He yelled after a while before fixing his sweater vest and leaving. I sighed as I walked forward to Kaz and Mara.
"Thanks, Kaz. Thanks for ruining the one thing that made me feel like I really mattered," I said as I went to leave.
"Oh, so I guess giving you my last piece of gum this morning meant nothing to you!" Kaz yelled as he followed me out the door. I heard Mara's heels right behind us.
"Guys, stop!" She begged.
"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have found this hospital!" Kaz yelled again. "And you never would have done anything fun like riding a skateboard, on top of a skateboard, or playing ice football on that frozen lake."
"I fell in!" I yelled back. "I had to be evacuated to the hospital!"
"You got to ride in a helicopter! How fun was that!"
"You know what," I started, seeing the worried look on Mara's face. I'm sorry, sis. "I'm done with you. All you do is get us into ridonkulous situations!"
"Oh, no, I don't!"
"Whoa!" We looked over to see Horace had opened the door to the O.R, seeing Tecton and what Kaz had done. "This is a ridonkulous situation." I just looked at Kaz with a tired expression. That just proved my point.
~Kaz's POV~
"I told you they pulled out the sign!" Alan yelled as we all walked back into the O.R. Mara was beside me, fear clearly present in her eyes.
"Boys...and Mara..." Horace began as I put a hand out in front of Mara, "I'm afraid you'll have to pay the consequences." I stood there, scared to hear what would happen as I felt Mara take my hand. I looked at her and grinned. She was scared, too. "Hypothetically, if you were to be compacted into a small cube, where would you want that shipped?"
I heard Mara squeak and I could feel her trembling. I looked at her again, seeing she shrunk into herself. I didn't like seeing her like this. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel like Mara. And I couldn't believe Horace would do this to us when he knows she's quiet and scared a lot of the time. I looked back at Horace, a glare aimed at him.
However, my thoughts of blowing up on him were halted as something started to beep. Horace raced over to Tecton and checked on something on the bed he was in.
"Tecton's vitals are dropping!" He yelled with worry right as the ground started to shake and the lights started to flicker.
"What was that?!" Alan yelled.
"Tectonic tremors! Tecton's powers are connected to the earth!" I yelled as other Mighty Med doctors and nurses came rushing in.
"When his body's in distress, he sends out uncontrollable seismic waves!" Oliver yelled in adding to my explanation. Another tremor hit, making me stumble a bit while Mara legit fell to the floor. I bent down and helped her up quickly.
"You good?" I asked, making her look at me and nod quickly, not having the energy to speak. Don't blame her. Fear can do that to some people.
"Wait, he's stabilizing! His pulse is normal!" Freddy said before dropping Tecton's arm. "No. That's my pulse. The good news, I'm fine!" We looked at him like he was stupid. "But like, he's almost dead," Freddy said, gesturing to Tecton.
Another tremor. This time, Mara just fell right into my arms, making me hold her up so she wouldn't fall again. And I would have let her go, but she was clutching to my shirt again. Okay, I guess I'm the brave one here for some reason!
Though I'm not complaining.
"We have to save him!" Horace yelled as he raced over to the side of the bed and put on his stethoscope. "If he dies, no one will be able to stop Megahertz! And he'll continue his reign of terror!"
"I can't let Tecton die! We have to do something!" I yelled with worry as yet another tremor hit.
"There has to be reason why he's not healing!" Mara said, finally finding her voice when something seemed to hit her brain. She looked at me instantly, releasing her hold on my shirt. "Quick! Think of everything you know starting with Tecton's first comic book!"
"Okay. The Adventures of Tecton, Issue 1, copyright 1975-"
"Oh, my gosh! Flip ahead!" Oliver yelled. Another tremor hit.
"He gets his powers from the Delta Radiation which emanates from the meteorite in his chest-"
"And his only weakness is gargulon gas!" Oliver chimmed in.
"But it doesn't exist on earth in it's natural form!" Mara piped up.
"Well, gargulon gas is formed when-"
"-Delta Radiation reacts with gold!" All three of us said this at the same time.
"Okay! Then there must be gold inside of him!" I yelled with hope. If this worked, Tecton would be back to normal. I sighed. "I'm going in." I raced on over and reached my hand into the hole in Tecton's chest. It felt all slimy and gross, not one of my finer moments. And to have the girl I kind of developed a crush on standing there...again, not one of my finer moments.
Eventually, I pulled out a gold coin covered in blue goo. "Got it!" I chuckled with excitement as the tremors finally stopped altogether.
"Yes!" Mara yelled as she hopped up and down in excitement. I smiled at her with a small snort. She was certainly someone who got excited over anything.
~Mara's POV~
"Gold coin!" Oliver exclaimed as he took the coin from Kaz. "Covered in guts!"
"It must've gotten in there when he stopped Megahertz from robbing that bank!" I yelled, checking out the coin as well.
"He's starting to heal," Horace said before looking at us. "Well done, gentlemen...and Mara! You were right! You do make a great team!" He shook my hand, Kaz's hand, and Oliver's hand as everyone applauded.
"WHAT?!" Alan screamed. "But they broke the rules!"
"And then they saved the day!" Horace said. "So I'm gonna totally ignore the first part. To celebrate the real heroes of this hospital, Nurse! Get the limbo stick!" The nurse hopped with joy as she raced out, while Skylar raced in.
"There you are!" She said. "You need to see this!"
"Again with the video of you doing back-flips?!" Freddy complained. "We get it! You're flexible!"
"Hey, that video has 56 likes!"
"And one dislike," Freddy was casually pointing to himself.
"That's not what I need to show you!" She exclaimed before turning on the TV behind her.
"Superhero News Network has just learned that three Normos are now working at Mighty Med Hospital," If only they knew. "The Normos performed unauthorized surgery on Tecton, who is now very, very weak. This...according to our source, a young man who was clearly disguising his voice by speaking into a coffee mug."
Alan quickly raced over to the TV and turned it off. I knew it was him immediately. But if only he knew I wasn't a real Normo.
"Well, that's enough of that," He said nervously.
"Alan, you realize what you've done?" Horace said, reprimanding his nephew. "Now Megahertz knows that Tecton is here and weak! You are in big trouble! Big trouble!"
"Oh, come on! What are the odds Megahertz was watching at that exact moment?!" Alan complained as lighting rang and thunder crashed.
"Where is he?! Where is Tecton?!"
"I'd say 100 percent," Kaz said as more thunder crashed. We all raced out of the O.R quickly and saw Megahertz bursting through the double doors. Everyone was running away at a fast pace, trying to get away from the danger that was now before them.
"WHERE IS TECTON?!" Megahertz yelled again, using his powers on a couple of guards that came out to take him down.
"Oh, he's good. I'll grant him that," Horace said, making me look at him weirdly. Megahertz then used his powers again, separating the three individual counters and knocking the others to the floor. Alan screamed as he raced away in fear, while I just stood there, shell shocked at what I was to do.
"Megahertz is gonna find Tecton!" Oliver yelled. "We've GOT to do something!"
"What?! We don't have any powers!" Kaz yelled in return.
"Neither do I," Skylar said, walking up beside me. "But I can still do this." She went into her all too familiar fighting stance. "He, Megahertz!" The villain looked over at Skylar. "There's a storm coming...Skylar Storm!"
"That's my boo," Oliver said with a dopey grin. I looked at him, bored an annoyed. But I was still wondering what I was supposed to do. Do I use my powers and protect my friends? Or do I wuss out and stay hidden and safe?
I watched as Skylar fought Megahertz alone, doing flips and tricks to dodge his attacks. But with one punch not phasing him, I think it proved that she couldn't fight him alone.
"Do it afraid," Went through my head, over and over again, telling me to go for it. "Do it afraid," Went through my heart, for once agreeing with my brain, and telling me to fight.
It was time.
I stood my ground, taking a few steps forward, and getting into a fighting stance. "Hey, Mega-breath!" I yelled, getting Megahertz's attention as well as Skylar's, even Kaz and Oliver looked at me (I could feel their gaze on me). "Let's wing it!"
"Mara, what are you doing?!" Kaz yelled to me. "You'll get hurt!"
"I'll be fine," I smirked, giving him a look. "I'm not your typical Normo." In an instant, I screamed at Megahertz, having rings of sonar escape my mouth as the villain fell back to the floor while Skylar had gotten out of the way of the attack just in time. I soon did a one-handed cartwheel and a handless back-flip before picking him up by the shirt.
"What the heck?!" I heard Oliver yell from where he was. "When did this happen?!"
"I'll explain later!" I yelled back as I dodged a punch by ducking out of the way.
"You think you're so tough?!" Megahertz yelled in my face before kicking me in my stomach and making me stumble back, releasing my hold on his shirt. "Who do you even think you are?!"
"That's simple," I smirked. "The name's Noctura!" I swept my hand forward, sending a dark shadowy light towards the villain, who dodged out of the way quickly. He used his electricity to try and attack me, but I just leaped into the air, floating there in the process. I crossed my arms, smirking and making him stare in disbelief. I then landed on the ground and tumbled forward, popping my leg out and sweeping it underneath Megahertz, tripping him as I stood back up in one felt swoop.
"Whoa," I heard Kaz, making me blush a little. Maybe showing off my powers was what I always needed to do to get him to notice me.
~Kaz's POV~
I don't know when or how Mara got powers, but I'm just going to roll with it. She's doing great, fighting Megahertz with Skylar. I think that little bit of practice helped some. But it was soon evident that Mara and Skylar couldn't hold him off forever.
"Kaz, Skylar and Mara can't hold him off for long! We've got to create a diversion!" Oliver said. "It's time for you to do what you do best."
"Get on people's nerves?"
"Exactly."
"All right!" I quickly got out from around the counter, making sure to watch what was going on until Skylar's back was to Megahertz and was shot down. I stared as she went unconscious, worried for her well-being, of course. But I soon heard Mara scream. I turned around quickly, seeing that Megahertz had hit her with electric energy and making her get knocked out, too.
"No!" I screamed before grabbing a metal tray from the cart beside me and went in front of Skylar. "Hey, Leslie-" I yelled, getting Megahertz's attention. "Yeah, that's right, I know your real name. Check out the ugliest half-human, half-titanium cyborg in the room."
"Oh, come on!" Megahertz yelled. "No one looks good in a metal tray!" True. "And no one calls me ugly." He started creating a ball of red electric energy in his hands, making me back up some. Oliver had just ran over to the another table, grabbing something from it.
"Oliver, now!" I yelled to my friend, seeing him throw a bedpan at Megahertz, hitting him in the head with it...but it did absolutely nothing. Though he did drop his attack on me as he gave Oliver this annoyed look...but he eventually came back to me.
"You know, I meant "ugly" i-in a good way," I started up. "Like, you know, uh, "yo, playa. You so ugly"."
"That's not a thing," Megahertz said, making me sigh in defeat. "Now, say goodbye to your precious Tecton!" He growled one more time before heading off to the O.R where Tecton still was.
"What do we do?" Oliver asked me as he raced on over.
"I-it's over," I said. "He's gonna destroy Tecton. It's all my fault." I looked over and saw Mara was still out cold. "Mara!" I raced over while Oliver stayed put, falling to my knees beside her as I dropped the metal tray and took her hand. "Mara, can you hear me?"
Her eyes fluttered opened as she looked up at me. I sighed with relief, glad to know that my screw up didn't cost me a friend as well. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," She said as I helped her up from the ground, right as Megahertz came flying through the logo above us. Mara screamed as I shielded her from the glass before looking up to see Tecton fly through the broken window.
"And that's how you throw a villain through a logo," He said as he dusted off his hands, and making me smile with excitement. Mara looked up and smiled as well as Tecton landed on the ground. And the fight commenced between the hero and the villain. Megahertz shot some electricity at Tecton, but the hero dodged it with a cool flip to the side. He went to go do another attack on Tecton, when I felt Mara race out of my arms.
"Mara, wait!" She tumbled forward and popped her leg out, sliding it under Megahertz. It tripped him in the process as he fell back to the floor. Tecton raced in as well, grabbing hold of Megahertz and lifting him off the ground. However, Megahertz was using his electricity on Tecton, making it so the hero couldn't let go.
"Kaz, we've got to stop Megahertz somehow!" Oliver yelled to me, making me look around before my eyes landed on the stop sign from Tecton's surgery.
"Stop! That's it!" I raced up to it, grabbing it from the trash bin, and then tossing it to Tecton. He caught and wrapped it around Megahertz with his super-speed, binding the villain up. Megahertz growled and yelled as he used his powers to break free, but the metal pole tired him out and he was finished. Well, finished to the point where a nice nap would recharge him.
I slowly walked over, seeing Mara breathing heavily from the battle she fought.
"Ha! Not so tough now, are you, Leslie?" I said before some electricity bounced off Megahertz's face and onto the pole, making me yelp and back away in fear. "Still alive! Still alive!" I heard Mara giggle, making me look at her and smirk. "Sup, girl," I said, this time getting a giggle and an eye roll from her.
"You saved my life," Tecton said, looking over at me as he held onto Megahertz. "You should stick around. This place needs you."
"Act cool, act cool, act cool," I mumbled to myself. "Thank you," I squeaked, stomping after I did so. "Dang it!" Mara giggled once more.
"And thank you, little lady," He motioned to Mara. "You have the skills to being a superhero someday."
"Thanks," She said with a smile. Why couldn't I have been that confident in my gratitude?!
"Well, my work here is done," Tecton spoke.
"Actually, there's one more thing," Horace said as he walked in further and then gestured to a lightbulb above us. "That lightbulb has been out for weeks. Do you mind?" He handed him a lightbulb, which Tecton took with an annoyed expression. He tossed Megahertz to the ground and flew up to the light fixture to change the bulb while guards took Megahertz away.
"Mara," I began, getting the black-haired girl's attention. I looked into her eyes, and I could see she knew what I was about to ask. "When were you going to tell us you had powers?"
"I was actually going to tell you guys today," She answered. "But then the whole fiasco with Tecton happened and I didn't have time to do that. So I figured, showing them off rather than telling you guys was the better option."
"I see," I said, sighing in return. "So the new hero character you created. Is that-?"
"That was for my hero form. I'm becoming a superhero myself now," She answered, smiling at me. "That's why I needed names. I didn't know what to call myself and-"
"Relax, M," I stopped her, making her look at me with big, worried eyes. "I'm not mad. If anything, I think it makes you a lot cooler that you have powers!"
"Really?"
"Really!" I took her hand in mine, rubbing my thumb on the top of it. "And if this is what you are wanting to do with your life right now, then so be it." She smiled at me. "If you're happy, I'm happy."
"Thank you," She said, pulling me in for a hug. I felt electricity run down my spine and explode in my head like fireworks. Why was I feeling this now? We've hugged plenty of times, but right now...I don't know. It felt different.
After a while, she pulled away from me, smiling at me as she pushed some of her black hair behind her ear.
"So, Noctura, huh?" I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Why that name?"
"Because the powers I have are shadow abilities, Sonar Scream, and flight. I think all three of those are like a bat, and they are nocturnal," She answered, making me nod in understanding. "But enough about me and my powers," She pointed to Oliver as Skylar flipped away from him. "I think there's another friend you need to talk to."
"Right," I agreed with her before I turned around and Oliver was already near me. "Hey, listen, about before—I'm sorry I almost got us fired and/or cubed. I messed up and you bailed me out like you always do. Thanks." I patted his shoulder and kept my hands in my pockets the rest of the time. I was still reeling from that hug with Mara.
"I'm sorry, too," Oliver said. "And you were right, I wouldn't be here without you. And I wouldn't want to be."
"Commemorative "Bros Again" Fake Photo?" I asked, before hearing Mara giggling beside me. I looked at her with Oliver and she had her phone out.
"I have a better idea," She said, smiling as she held out the phone in front of her. Oliver and I just followed along as we posed for the selfie. Mara snapped the photo quickly, all of us smiling together. This was wonderful. Perfect, even! I get to share this whole adventure with my best friends. How could life get any better than this?
"Splendid work today. Splendid!" Horace said as he walked up to the three of us, while Mara was putting her phone away. "I'll see you three tomorrow after school."
3...2...1...
"WHAT?!" Alan screamed from behind Horace. "What about the newscast?! Everyone knows we have Normos here."
"I don't care!" Horace said. "Let the whole world know they work here!" He then looked at us with a serious eye. "Remember, you can't tell anyone you work here."
"This is not fair! This is not-!" Horace immediately froze Alan in place as he was throwing a tantrum. Mara laughed at the sight.
"Serves him right!" She yelled, making me snort in response.
"Now, let's go down to accounting and get you paid," Horace said.
"Paid? Are you kidding? I would totally work here for nothing,"
"He meant-" I stopped him with a hand to his face, getting a giggle from Mara again. "Nothing less than a million dollars a week." Horace just stared at me, not budging it seems. "A thousand dollars a week!" Again, nothing. "A hundred dollars a week!"
"I was gonna give you 200, but 100 it is," Horace said, making me give up with a defeated scoff. "So, how do you like your new scrubs?" I looked at him weirdly.
"We're not in scrubs," I said.
"You were!" Horace held up a picture of a bridge.
"That's a picture of a bridge, Horace," Mara said, giggling in amusement.
"Huh...I LOVE BRIDGES!" Horace yelled as he put the photo away. "Say "we're not in scrubs" again."
I just smiled and appeased our new boss. "We're not in scrubs."
"You were!" He then held up a photo of the three of us. Oliver and I were in matching scrubs, only mine were purple and/or blue while his was red. But Mara, she wasn't wearing scrubs. Instead, she was wearing...
"Wait, is that-" She trailed off in shock as she stared at the photo, seeing herself in a latex costume with a mask over her eyes.
"It is," Horace held out a bag to Mara, making her take it and look in it with a smile. "We got your sketch earlier today. The superhero costume department put a fast track on that one."
"No way!" She seemed so happy as I saw her pull out the mask. It was red with a black line on the top and two white fangs on the bottom. "This is exactly what I pictured! Thank you so much, Horace!"
"Sure thing, kiddo," He said, patting her on the back as he gave me the photo of us together in scrubs and a super suit, and then left.
"Okay," Oliver said. "You are going to explain to me as soon as you can on how you got your powers."
"Born with them," She said. "Not much to explain."
"But you're becoming a superhero?" He asked, and she nodded.
"I'm done living afraid," She said. "It's time I did something in this world. It's time I stopped being quiet and started speaking up. So, if being a hero helps me with that, then let the journey begin."
~Horace's POV~
I know I left Alan there, frozen to hear those kids talk. But it was a necessary sacrifice for me to get some work done. I walked into my office, sighing in defeat as I sat down at my desk. I grabbed a few stacks of paperwork to fill out before my gaze stopped on a framed photo by my computer.
There sat a gorgeous woman in a beautiful sundress, holding a small bundle in her arms. The photo was black and white (mainly because the only camera we owned had black and white film at the time), but I could just imagine how it looked in color. The woman's hair a nice shade of blond. Her eyes, a calm silvery blue. And her skin, a pale white. A beautiful woman who I felt deserved a better man. And yet she had chosen me out of everyone in the world.
I grinned at the photo, taking it into my hands as I saw the woman smiling at the camera. A smile so bright, I don't think I'll ever forget it. A light in her eyes shined as I know it was at me, since I took the photo.
"Oh, Rose. I wish you were here still," I sighed as there was a knock on the door. I put the photo down and looked up, composing myself so it didn't look like I was about to start crying. "Come in!" I called out, seeing Mara open the door. "Ah, Mara, what can I help you with?"
"I just came back to say thanks for the suit," She said, smiling. Wait...that smile...
"No problem, dear. Every superhero needs to have a signature suit,"
"I agree completely," She giggled. Wait...that laugh... "The boys and I are heading out. Is there anything you need from us before we go?"
"Uh, no. Not that I can think of," I said, smiling back at her. "Have a wonderful night, Mara."
"You, too, Horace," She said before leaving, closing the door behind her. I stared in shock after she left, looking back at the photo and seeing the same smile and bright eyes. I could hear that same laugh in my brain at this very moment.
"No," I looked back at the door, shock appearing in my eyes. "It can't be." I quickly typed up something on the computer, finding the Superhero News Network, talking about a young superhero baby going missing after just being born, as well as the death of a hero's wife thanks to a supervillain's attack.
That article was from 15 years ago.
BOOM! There you have it! Leaving it on a different ending rather than the one where we find out that Wallace and Clyde are supervillains. I thought this would spice it up a bit lol.
Anyway, thanks for reading, God bless, stay safe, and I'll see you guys in the next video.
Au Revoir!