"I have to admit, last night was really fun." Karen smiled. For once, they didn't have to fight people or get involved in something crazy dangerous. It was just a casual hang out with friends that just required them to stay quiet and relax, and occasionally make a snarky comment at the screen in front of them. Something that Karen only thought she'd get to enjoy alone.
But nope, now she had friends to enjoy it with. So many crazy fun, wildly different, and energetic friends that didn't judge her... you know, too much. The shipping war threatened to soon turn into actual war given super powers were involved. "I find these rituals of movie watching strange but pleasant." Diana nodded with a small smile. "Although personally I find Aiden, shall you say, a bit two-dimensional as a leading character."
"That depends, did you mean boring and undeveloped as a person?" Barbara asked.
"Yes."
"Congratulations, you're getting the hang of modern slang!" The red head cheered. "But yeah, he should have been a side character with his relationship as Sarah being more of a background thing. Personally Matel was a better lead."
"Seriously? He was good in the first movie, but he hasn't done much in the last two." Zatanna pointed out. "If anything, the franchise had a huge missed opportunity by not having him be killed in the first werewolf fight. Sure, it would've been sad, but it would've justified the darker turn in the fourth movie."
"But then he would have never discovered Cassandra as the love of his life." Jessica defended. "Two werewolves, one with nature and their own humanity simultaneously…" Everyone was having a fun time.
"Ugh, this conversation is making my brain melt." Everyone except Kara, who fell asleep throughout the whole movie. "I should've joined Bluey in the snack bar."
"Actually, he watched the movie too." Karen smiled. "He was a fan of Jack, who tried to fight for peace between humans, werewolves, vampires, and fairies."
"There's never anything wrong with choosing the pacifistic path." Jessica smiled.
"That's literally worked only one time and you weren't there for it." Barbara pointed out.
"If it worked once, it can work again." Jessica nodded firmly as they walked inside the bank. "I promise you, the next time we fight or encounter a villain, it shall be done without any of us throwing a punch." She walked up to the teller. "Hello, I'd like to make a withdrawal. I'm using the money to donate–"
"Um... we're a little busy at the moment." The lady at the front desk said nervously.
"... But the line's empty." Barbara pointed out.
"Yes... because of them." She pointed to... five guys with guns and masks.
"... Did we just walk into an armed robbery without being aware of it?" Zee asked, blinking owlishly.
"Trust me, it's a lot more common than you think." Barbara nodded. "In Gotham, the average citizen runs into five armed robberies on their walk to work. In fact, me and Iruma ran into ten in thirty minutes walking over to Burrito Bucket one time... such good memories." Barbara looked around. "Shame he left earlier for his job at the Metropolis metal refinery factory."
"Okay, ladies." One of the guys in a dog mask aimed a gun at them. "No one move, or it's a bullet to the head."
"Wow..." Kara snickered. "There is so much wrong with that sentence that you wouldn't believe. Like, it's like you walked into failure."
"Oh yeah, and why's that?" He asked aggressively.
"Careful Kara..." Karen muttered quietly. "You don't want too much attention on you." The fact a bullet wouldn't hurt her was kind of the problem.
"Cause... we... know people?" The kryptonian nervously chuckled.
"... Hey, keep an eye on these six!" He shouted to a chicken mask guy. "They've given me a bad vibe."
"And don't let them go to the bathroom!" A guy in a panda mask shouted in horror. "Cause once they go then it's back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and–" He was slapped in the back of the head by a man in a cat mask.
"Dude, it's alright. Batgirl's just unprofessional. Not every hero is going to be so bad as to leave you in constant existential dread all the time."
"I know, I... I just don't want to feel so used again..."
"... What the heck is that about?" Zee asked with a mumble.
"Let's just say my time at Burrito Bucket has had a bit of a learning curve." Barbara chuckled nervously. "So... what now?"
"We can't just let criminals commit crime." Diana argued. "We must act appropriately and swiftly."
"Yeah, but we can't just expose ourselves in broad daylight out of costume either." Jessica muttered. "We just need a distraction and enough time to change..."
The front door slammed open... as a familiar blue and white figure rushed into the bank, firing off three arrows as they knocked guns out of the chicken, panda, and cat masked criminals. "Everyone, run now while they're disarmed."
"Wait what?" Jessica asked with wide eyes.
"Oh come on!" The man in the dog mask shouted, using his gun to fire multiple bullets at the guy... which seemed to just stop on impact, falling to the ground. "Wha-" Was all he got out, before being smacked in the face.
"I said, run."
Everyone else seemed to be too stunned to move, so Karen decided to take initiative. "You heard the bulletproof man, run like the wind!" Karen shouted, making the hostages run outside, her and the girls following suit. "Okay, I did not expect that."
"I know, the blue bang of bullet proof!" Barbara shouted.
"Well we can't just leave him–Blue Bang, really?" Zatanna raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly a flashy and attractive name."
"He gave me permission, he's blue, and he can smack everyone with ruthless efficiency." Barbara shrugged as she finished changing. "Now, everyone in costume?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm done, let's get a move on." Kara grinned as she pounced first, flying inside. "Alright Bozos, get ready for a taste of-"
"You're going to fly them to jail?" The voice asked as all the robbers were tied up.
"What-what-?!" Kara shouted, gaping.
"Thanks." He waved off, picking up some arrows. "Oh, make sure they get a lighter sentence though. They didn't actually hurt anyone. There were no wounds and everyone was capable of running." The stranger began walking to the door. "And they only actually opened fire on a masked hero, and we're asking for it, right?"
"Wow, you took care of that quickly." Jessica blinked. "... kind of bluntly and forcibly, but quickly."
"I attack in self defense. Never throw the first punch." They answered.
"Honestly I'm just grateful he paid attention." The panda said. "Not like Batgir-AAAAHHH! My nightmare is back!" He shrieked.
"Oh stop being overdramatic." Barbara rolled her eyes. "Well well well, guess you handled things quite nicely Blue Bang."
"It wasn't that hard, just needed to disorientate– Blue Bang? Really?" The Kamen Rider looking hero tilted their head.
"What? You said I was free since you didn't come up with one of your own." Barbara shot back.
"I know, it's just... never mind." The guy shook his head, before firing off another grappling arrow and allowing himself to be dragged.
"Hey wait–and he's gone." Barbara groaned. "Seriously, just one conversation is all I ask. I didn't even get to ask what's the deal with his suit. Like what did he do to make it bullet proof, and what's with the bell ringing and scarf?"
"Um... I don't think he's bulletproof." Karen spoke up, getting their attention.
"For once I agree with the runt." Kara said. "When I'm shot at, the bullets either bounce off my skin or dent." She grabbed one of the bullets from the ground and held it up in perfect condition. "When they hit that guy, they seemed to just... stop on impact."
"Wait, huh?" Jessica blinked, looking closely. "That would mean all inertia just... disappeared on impact. Even my ring can't do that with the shields I make."
"Maybe it's a meta ability?" Zee asked.
"Are you sure it isn't magic?" Kara asked.
"Magic can do mostly anything, but breaking the fundamentals of the universe is usually more effort than its worth." The magic girl groaned. "If it was magic, then he would be draining himself physically from having to absorb and dilute the implant of each bullet every microsecond a bullet hits him. That's a level of concentration that usually tears apart someone's mind on the first try." That's a horrifying thought that made Karen shudder.
"Either way, no matter how his abilities work, that is twice that he's assisted us." Diana nodded with a smile. "A noble warrior indeed."
"Completely unnecessary though." Kara rolled her eyes. "I could've played off the bullet thing easily, not like we're dealing with geniuses here."
"... So …" They turned to the criminals that were close to the conversation this entire time. "... Can we split the money if you let us go?"
"Emit etunim tsal eht tegrof dna tuo kconk!" Zee called out and blasted the crooks. "Just for the record, don't make that a habit. I can only erase two minutes of memory at most."
"Could have sworn it would be longer." Barbara muttered. "Like Men In Black."
"The more time I erase, the less it goes from minutes to years." Zee explained. "... So, who's on police duty this time?"
"I got it yesterday." Kara said.
"Gotta get home before dad starts suspecting I sneak out at night." Barbara raised her hand.
"Then I believe I shall have my first experience with the officers of the law." Diana smiled. "Surely they are pleasant and well meaning."
"... I think I'll help you with a little something we call 'crowd control." Zee chuckled hesitantly.
"That's not going to end well." Karen muttered. She was just getting used to the everyday friendship hangouts. Being a superhero was really... really stressful. Half the time she wished she did what Iruma did and noped out before anything cemented.
Zatanna waved to yet another adoring crowd. Between her shows and superheroing, she had more than her fair share of praise nowadays. The only shame was that no one knew it was Zee Zatara saving their lives with magic.
Instead, all the fame would go to Zatanna Zatara, one of the best magicians in training the world had ever seen. "Thank you, thank you, you're all too kind." Zee bowed as she had performed her latest trick with her cute assistant, limb refiguration.
"I don't know if I should be worried or not that my head is where my feet are." Iruma noted as his body did its best to pick it up with his legs now being where his arms were. "I mean if my organs aren't flipped too, there's going to be some problems …"
"Not to worry, for simply another trip to the box is necessary!" She exclaimed, gently pushing him back inside as she rearranged the contraption. "And... tada!" Now he was back to normal.
"Um... one of the boxes was backwards." He spoke, his eyes facing his back.
"Ooh. Sorry, still ironing out the kinks in this one." She winced as she made an adjustment. "Daddy spent a year with his right and left hands on the wrong side once. Had to start wearing gloves in public so people wouldn't notice." It made homemade meals all the most hilarious if not difficult.
"Ah, I get that." He nodded. "Lots of bad body experiences in London. Like growing eyes on the back of my head... really hard to land without poking one of them out."
Zee chuckled. "Is there anything you haven't experienced?"
Iruma looked thoughtful on that. "A full stomach and how to dance."
"Oh really …" She looked away with a blush. "I could teach you sometime, if you want."
"... Nah." He shook his head. "According to Mr. Fries, it's better to feel hunger than it is to never feel hunger again, otherwise you end up cold and miserable."
Well that was a depressing philosophy. "... I meant the dancing thing ..."
"Oh, then sure." The cutie smiled. "Back in Gotham, I didn't think I'd ever need or want to do anything that didn't contribute to survival... the past seven years really drilled in the difference between surviving and living."
She was about to answer... "Um." The two of them turned to the children. "Is this part of the act?" Right, they were still performing.
"Sorry, for my next trick..." Sort out sort of complicated feelings later, right now keep your head in the game. Don't let anything distract you ...
Honk honk
The sound of a train whistle roared in the air as one sped by right past them.. one that happened to be on fire. "I'll make the both of us disappear!" She exclaimed. "And until we reappear, may these dancing fireworks keep you company!" Zatanna waved her hands in the air, letting the magical flames dance. "Keep these kids occupied, and if you start a fire, no coal for a month." She hissed.
The flames pouted as Zee zapped them away. "You have pet flames too?" Iruma asked.
"Less pets and more like part time magical maids." She said, switching to her hero costume. "Now stay backstage and make sure nothing goes wrong. I'll go stop the train."
"You sure you don't want to call the others?"
"It's one train, how bad can it be?" She shrugged. Not like she was fighting Darkseid or anything. She warped next to the train. "Have no fear, Zatanna is here!" She announced to the passengers. "First, how about a little rain to stop the flames? Elcihev siht revo doolf retaw tel!" A wave downpoured over the vehicle, dosing them out.
"Yay, we're not going to burn like mom's meatloaf!" One of the kids facing out of the window shouted.
"You're welcome, child." She flipped her hair with a grin. "Now to stop the train." Zee aimed her wand down. Try as she might, the hero didn't have the energy to just stop the train. So, let's use the next best thing. "Sekarb eht etavitca!" Force the mechanisms. She wasn't well-versed in technology, which made things difficult especially when dealing with more advanced stuff. Luckily, a train was simple, nothing complex, she used brakes on the limo all the time, so it wasn't anything too difficult, nothing that she could handle– "Why isn't it stopping?"
"The brakes are what blew up!" The conductor shouted.
"Ahh... say, you wouldn't be capable of, I don't know, fixing a broken brake system while a train is running out of control?"
"If I did, we wouldn't be running out of control now, would we!?"
"Right, right... okay, what if I placed glue along the tracks? That would slow it down, right?" She asked herself. Slow it down and keep it from moving further. "Skcart eht no eulg-"
PING
"Hold on!" An arrow shot forward on top of the train track, and in grappled the strange and mysterious hero that showed up twice out of nowhere, now making it the third time. "Glue's flammable, if you placed it on the tracks at this speed, you'd just reignite the flames!"
Poof
… They both turned to the slime covering the tracks. "...I got out 'Glue on the tracks' …" She said in a deadpan tone. "I appreciate the help, but next time, stop the spell sooner or later."
"Luckily for the both of us, I've worked with worse." The helmeted figure noted as he took out that bow and arrow and began shooting arrows into the tracks. "If we can't stop the train before it touches the glue, we'll slow it down before it ignites.
Zee nodded, moving to the top. "Rewols emoceb!" She announced, as the train started to slow down a bit more. "I can only affect the technology so much."
"Create a parachute behind it, that'll slow it down just enough for me to put it to a stop." The figure told her as he messed with a few dials on his gloves as he grabbed himself... About a good five hundred feet in front of the train.
"What are you–!?" He wasn't being serious… right?
"Just do it, don't ask questions!"
"Do you at least have super strength-?!"
"I said don't ask questions!"
"Fine!" She shouted. If he had a plan, so be it. "Etuhcarap a etaerc!" She exclaimed, aiming her wand to the caboose. "You better know what you're doing!" The parachute was formed at the back, slowing down the train more as sparks began to fly off.
"Yeah, I do." He responded, placing the bow on his back... and bracing his hands forward to the train. "Keep an eye on the passengers!"
"At least let me–"
"Don't do anything, I have this handled!" The boy shouted as he pressed forward, the train getting closer… four hundred feet… two hundred feet… fifty feet., five feet, one foot and he was still not moving or showing signs of more of a plan.
"Look out–!"
KRRREEEEEEE
He was perfectly safe... standing there without any scratch, as his scarf bellowed in the wind, almost glowing as it rang out what sounded like tiny chiming bells. "So glad I emptied the canister getting here." The hero sighed. "Alright, let's check on the passengers; the sudden stop probably sent them rocketing forward."
"...You… how… you–"
"My suit absorbs impact, but there's a limit. I was banking on you slowing it down long enough to soften the blow of the inertia that was left." He answered. "So you know, thanks for that."
"..Oh… you're welcome…" Did he REALLY plan that far ahead? Even still, blocking a whole freaking train with nothing but blue spandex seemed like a pretty big gamble. "You... you alright?"
"I've had worse. We really should be asking the passengers that though." The stranger nodded as he opened the door of the train. "Okay everyone, let's exit out nice and slowly. Anyone that needs first aid should raise your hand now." A few people did so. "Alright, anyone who can move call the police, I'm going to splinter up and patch up wounds the best I can."
"Huh... took you for more of a 'job's done I'm gone' kinda guy." She said.
"Well everyone usually IS okay once the job is done. Like you guys said when you were after Livewire." The guy shrugged as he took out a couple of bandages. "As long as people still need help, the job's not done. These people ARE the reason we become heroes in the first place."
Zee wondered how much of that was lip service and how much was genuine altruism. "Alright... I'll make something to help lower them down to the streets." It was the least she could do given she almost set everyone on fire... hopefully none of the girls would ever find that tidbit out. "Nwod elpoep eseht ot edils elbatalfni repus nuf repus a ekam!"
"Yay! New slide." The kids on the train cheered. "We should get into train crashes more often!'
"... Juuuust gonna leave that for the parents. I was just as bad when I was a kid." The hero muttered. "At least you're making it fun."
"That's just what I do." Zee smirked, letting sparkles of her magic rain down on the kids. "Just making sure to give the audience a show they'll never forget no matter where I am." The kids waved and smiled at her. "And it's nice to get a little appreciation every once in a while." From people especially that didn't appreciate her shows as much as they should. Those were usually the same people that thanked her for saving the day with said magic she used.
"You're already amazing. You don't need applause for everyone to know that."
"Aaahh …" He was... amazed by her?
"Yeah. Magic's pretty cool when you do it." They said as they worked on wrapped a stilt along a woman's arm. "Full of sparkles and kindness … you have the power to change the world as we know it and you use it to bring joy to everyone…I can't think of anything more heroic than that."
"... Anyone ever tell you you're a flatterer, Blue Bang?" She asked, trying to hide the hints of a flush forming. This almost felt like one of Iruma's accidental compliments.
"Several times and I don't know why." He shrugged. "And also I don't agree with the name Blue Bang."
"You DID tell Batgirl she was free to name you." She pointed out. "And 'masked stranger' doesn't roll off the tongue."
"I'll figure something out later." The boy shrugged as he helped the passengers down. "I can take it from here. You might want to cover any other prior obligations you had."
"I'm not sure if I have any–"
FAWOOOOMMMMMFF
They turned around, to see the pillar of fire in the background…where the birthday party she hosting was… where Iruma was–
"Oh no, Iruma's in trouble!" Zee shouted in panic. She was trying REALLY hard to not hurt him while performing her shows, and she was doing a barely half decent job at that.
"All I'm saying is, if you're gonna throw a punch at a girl who's taken cars to the face, expect your wrist to get broken." Kara rolled her eyes as she flew next to Diana. "It's not like I'm trying to break their bones, they do it on their own stupidity." One thing she found annoying about fighting crime in this city was everyone going back and forth on whether or not she needed to hold back or go all out. When she held back, she got yelled at by some jerk for saying she could've done more, and when she didn't hold back, she got yelled at by ANOTHER jerk saying she needed to be more gentle. All things that her freaking BABY COUSIN never had to deal with in the fifteen years he's been around. Was this a double standards thing? She thought women got rid of those back in the two thousands or something.
"Still doesn't mean you shouldn't practice some form of restraint." Diana told her as they ran. "It took me quite a while to learn how to wield a sword properly without shattering the blade upon impact." They ducked under a thrown street lamp.
"Why do you even need a sword?" Kara asked honestly, avoiding a car. "Your shield is indestructible, your lasso handles range, and anything else you can rip apart with your bare hands." She pointed out. "What's the point of a weapon if you can do everything it can without it." She ripped apart a truck with her bare hands. "Heck, you could do better without it!"
"It's as I say. My muscles are compact. That means my muscles are controlled, precise, directed and guided." Diana demonstrated as she sliced an incoming hydras in half. "My sword is the extension of the control over my own body's strength."
"So basically training wheels… yeah you're not really selling me on it." Kara rolled her eyes as she avoided a blast. "Especially when we're fighting a fool like this."
"Hey, for the record, I resemble more of a jester!" The nerd on top of the robot currently smashing through the city shouted.
"Dude, pick a gimmick!" She shouted. "You're fighting us with a robo hydra with a guard of British soldiers with world war two planes flying in the air while dressed as a jester! You might as well be throwing your toys at us!"
"That's exactly what I, Toyman, am doing!" He cackled. "I'm proving myself superior to all others as the greatest master of games and collections!"
"... Is this a normal thing?" Diana asked quietly. "It's my first time encountering a male supervillain."
"Yea, they're all equally as lame, insane, and egocentric." Kara summed up. "Dude, I'm going to only say this once. Take your dumb toys out of here and go home before I pound them all into dust."
"And I'll give you the same answer I gave your idol, cosplayer!" The dude threw a giant, oversized can at her. "You need to learn how to play dough with toys properly!"
"… You know ... I would've been pissed already by you calling me a cosplayer of my own cousin... but then you had to say he's my Idol..." Kara shook her fist, as well as the rest of the ground. "So now… you're dead!" She flew up and smacked the can, as green goop covered her arm. Kara prepared her laser vision. "Any last words, PUNK!?" She screamed, aiming death right at him.
"Yeah … you should have read the warning label." He smirked, as Kara felt the goop on her arm wiggle. "Doppey doe is a lethal bio weapon organism. Contact with the skin can prove fatal by growing over the host and asphyxiation. Not meant for ages three and under."
"Pfft, like I'm scared of a little goop. I'm a kryptonian, I can breathe in space for hours, if not days." Not that she was willing to bet money on it or anything.
"Oh I know, which is why I wanted you to meet a new friend of mine ... Solar Sammy! A space knight powered with a red sun generator!" He shouted, as a cheesy eighties looking knight covered with smiling suns charged right at her.
"Aaah great, it's Metallo without the fun banter." She grumbled, getting smacked in the face as the goo grew on her body. "Wonder Woman, a little help!?"
"On it! I shall free you from this gelatinous creature... with my sword!" Diana held up said weapon up high. She sliced at the goo … as it multiplied to cover both her arm AND the sword. "I did not think this through!"
"Hahahah, you can't simply slice away a living virus, Blunder Woman. Once it spreads, it won't stop till it's covered you completely from head to toe!" The moron dressed like a clown cackled madly. "And once you stop breathing, I'll have two life size limited edition super action figures to add to my collection!"
"You're going to turn our bodies into toys... dude, you are sick!" Kara called out as she tried to burn through the muck, only for the knight guy to fire a red laser that drained her of her strength. "Frick, feels just like Kryptonite!"
"Red sun energy. Won't kill you, but it makes your body nice and human-like, just enough to soften you up and break you in!" Toy Man cackled. "I nearly beat Superman himself, what makes you think his baby sister could do anything–"
Pump
An arrow was shot into the head of the robot that Toyman was standing on. "She's his cousin."
Booom
"Waaaaaah!" The little prick was sent hurdling towards the ground.
"Wonder Woman." The mysterious blue guy from the past few days said. "Don't focus on the goo, focus on the robot sun knight draining Supergirl of her powers. She'll be fine if she's free from that."
"Understood, Bang of Blue." Diana nodded as she shot herself forward.
"Still never agreed to that name." The man grumbled as he shot more arrows into the battalion army. "Supergirl. Do you still have the strength to fly?"
"Getting there, just need a breather." The irony of that statement considering how close it was getting to her face.
"Then fly straight to the sun and back." He stated. "I doubt an earth born virus can stand the vacuum of space, let alone the heart of the sun."
"Right, and then when I'm recharged, I can shoot l right back down and crater that little creep!"
"Wouldn't it make more sense to take out your anger on the robot army you don't have to worry about holding back on than the guy whose bones look like they'd break from glaring at him too hard?" They asked, walking up to the creep in question.
"… I mean when you put it like that..."
"Hurry before the red sun radiation gives you a permanent sunburn."
"Right." With a push of her legs, Kara leapt into the sky, flying higher and higher until she reached the edge of the atmosphere, moving closer and closer to the sun as she could feel her strength coming back in full, even as this slime ball continued to grow on her. "Alright you big pile of silly string, get ready to feel the burn!"
Luckily by this point, flying from Earth to the sun was like walking down the street for a morning stroll. She could probably fly all the way to Mars if she wanted to in about ten minutes. Out here in space.. she didn't have to worry about collateral damage or the like.. she just got to be herself, flying freely whenever she wanted to. On days like this ... she wondered if it'd be alright if she just ... stayed here.
And the goo covering her face told her to worry about that later, and focus on the psycho toys now. She flew closer to the sun, letting the substance burn off with tiny screeches of pain as it shrunk into nothing. Satisfied, she began flying back down, idly wondering where the expression 'no one can hear you scream in space' came from when they were clearly wrong. "Alright ,Toy Man, time to..." She reentered the atmosphere and aimed for the massive ark of bots. "Put away your toys!"
CRASH
Gah, that explosion was sooo satisfying. "Yeah, Supergirl 1! Dumb toy bots zilch!" She cheered. "In your face Toddler Man!"
"It's Toy Man-!" The nerd tried to shout…
Smack
Only for the elusive hero to bash his head in with their bow. "Yes it is, now sleep till the cops come would you?" The masked guy seemingly rolled his eyes. "I'd get kids being criminals for money, but he's a criminal just for the sake of playing dangerous toys. I just can't understand their brains sometimes."
"Ego and delusions." Kara rolled her eyes.
"Much to understand." Diana said dramatically, putting away her sword. "Thank you for your assistance, Blue Bang."
"Again, I did not agree to that name."
"And I didn't agree to being called Supergirl. Something you're just stuck with."
The guy stared at her. "... But you're wearing a giant red S."
"Okay bud, ONE, it's a family crest." She glared. "And two, do you know how hard it is being a kryptonian NOT associated with either Superman or one of the dozens trying to destroy Earth all the time?" For a nearly extinct race there seemed to be a lot of the criminals still around. "And three, it's not like I asked for help—"
"But he prevented you from both suffocating and turning the villain into paste while the robots ran rampant without regard." Diana pointed out.
"Whatever, I would've figured it out eventually." She crossed her arms. "I don't need pity."
If she could see his eyes behind the lead mask, she was sure they would be rolling. "Help doesn't mean pity. I respect you enough to want to help." The guy said as he walked off. "I put on this mask to help everyone. Civilian or hero." He messed with his belt, kicking the ground.
Bong
The sound of a large bell went off, launching the guy into the air. "Seriously, what's up with that guy?" Kara scoffed. "I can't tell if he likes us or not."
"One could make the same assumptions about you and your brazen attitude." Diana pointed out with a smirk.
"You know I've still got enough solar juice in me to punch you across the city." She pointed out. "I JUST got back from the sun."
"Ah, then a spar after we hand off this criminal to the police?" The amazon grinned. "I could use the workout. An excellent idea, Supergirl."
There were pros and cons to being friends with someone that equaled your strength. "Oh you're on." In this case, a pro to vent her frustrations.
Barbara glanced at the baffled look Diana wore. "I… am confused." She said. "Were prisons not meant to keep their criminals at bay, trapped and away from hurting others?"
"Yeah, that's the point." Barbara nodded.
"And did we not send these two fiends to jail previously?" Diana pointed to Livewire and Giganta, who were in the midst of what was commonly known as the supervillain team up, smashing and frying up as much of the city as they could in their path.
"We did." Karen nodded.
"So how did such fiends escape so easily?" She asked. "I would understand that after a hundred years guards would be lax and iron rust … but a mere WEEK after such mayhem and atrocity?"
"That's the criminal justice system for you." Jessica shook her head. "Low quality cells and even lower quality guards. Break outs are pretty common to the point it's basically like the weather, recurring and often."
"But doesn't the law enforcement of this city care to prevent such a crisis from occurring over and over again?"
"It costs more money keeping those guys locked up than it does actually stopping them." Kara said. "You know, cause we do it for free."
"Then wouldn't they save up more money without assistance, thus preventing more breaking outs?"
"A lot of the money actually goes into repair work." Zee explained. "Like how most of the buildings get blown up when we fight." …Everyone turned to Kara.
"Hey, it's not ALL me!"
"Um…" Karen spoke up. "Should we continue this talk after we take out the two super villains?"
"Right, girls, let us make quick work of these foes once more!" Diana called out. "Bumblebee, Supergirl, you will help me fight Giganta with your ability to avoid her blows and immense strength! Zatanna, Green Lantern, Batgirl, you will use your creativity to deal with Livewire and get her wet!"
"Haha, yeah, round two baby. This time we're ready for you both!" Barbara grinned as she placed some oversized rubber gloves on her hands. "This time you're going down twice as fast!"
"Oh really, Brat girl?" Livewire snickered. "Hey Giganta, they actually think they have a chance, isn't that hilarious?"
"Ha." The giant chuckled, cracking her knuckles. "Listen, squirts, Giganta and Livewire are a duo you don't want to-" And Kara slammed into her chest.
"Yeah, not letting the person who doesn't know pronouns make the evil speech." Supergirl snickered as she repeatedly punched the gal. "And since you're strong enough to send me to orbit, you're strong enough to take a couple of hits."
Jessica meanwhile, went over to a fire hydrant, making a firefighter hose as she connected the end, spraying out pressurized water straight at Livewire. "All that villainy must work up a thirst!"
"Must suck having one of your biggest weaknesses being what covers 70 percent of the planet." Barbara grinned as she punched the electric girl up close with her rubber gloves. "Must suck that your other biggest weakness is so common that you can find it in a toy store."
"It must suck being the girl without super resistance!" Livewire grabbed Barbara's head, shocking it–ooooh brain no feel good.
"Batgirl!" Green Lantern called out, getting her distracted enough for Giganta to punch her in the face.
"Hey, your fight is with me–!" Kara called out, only for Livewire to blast her in the face
"Yeah, nice idea for once!" The villain grinned, jumping into Karen's suit. "Switch to the easier victim!"
"Giganta only fights what Giganta can punch!" The big buff girl cackled as she made a giant leap towards Zatanna, fists flying right towards her.
"Llaw etercnoc a pu gnirb!" The pavement below the magician was raised up like a shield as Giganta smashed right through it, grabbing the girl by the torso. "Ow." She winced.
"Fiend!" Diana shouted as Karen shot at her. "Release my sister from your clutches and fight with honor!"
"Sure. Just chop off her head and I'll come right out." Livewire spoke from within the suit.
"I would never-!" Karen's body was forced ahead, smacking Diana in the face.
"Ahh!" Karen's voice shouted. "Sorry, Wonder Woman! Believe me when I say that hurt me more than it hurts you!" Looks like those upgraded firewalls meant nothing to a villain that was living energy … gonna take a hot minute on the bench to figure out how to solve that little issue.
"Green Lantern, Supergirl, get Zatanna out!" Barbara shouted as she threw a smoke bomb in the giant's face. Maybe magic was the answer.
"Alright, cave girl, now you're really going to get-!" Giganta snickered as she simply held Zantanna up like a human shield, placing her right in Kara's path, making her stop mid-flight to prevent her from punching through the magic girl. "Get-!" Kara tried moving around, only to be blocked again. "Get-!" And again. "Oh come on! Human shields are the lamest and cheapest form of counter attacks!"
"You're right …" The giant conceded … before smacking Kara with Zee. "Human club is MUCH better!"
"Gahh!" Zee shouted in pain. "Not! Helping! Kara!"
"Don't worry, I got you-!" Jessica sent out her ring hand as Livewire, jumping out of Karen, shot herself right into her-
Kaboom
And a green explosion sent the both of them back, Livewire into the ground, and Jessica through a wall. "Okay...so those fancy rings can't be hacked, good to know for the future…" Livewire grumbled.
"Great, she's out!" Barbara readied a grappling hook. "Now how about we-" A familiar figure landed next to them. "Oh, hey Blue Bang."
"Okay, I'm sick of hearing that name over and over again. It ends now."
"Unless you give me something better, that's what we're going to tell the press when they come by later." she retorted.
The masked figure looked introspective at that, looking at his gloves, before looking at her again. "Call me … Bluebell."
"...Really?" Barbara raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're trying to promote ice cream."
"It's honestly just one word off of Blue Bang." Zee noted.
"I don't know, I kind of like it." Karen raised her hand.
"Not the worst name." Kara rolled her eyes.
"Oh not you again!" Livewire vanished into the power lines.
"...Did she run off?" Giganta asked. "Could have thought she had more grit than—"
Only for said supervillain to appear behind Bluebell, ripping off his holster and leaping away. "Ha! Can't reach me without your little arrows, can you!?" The hero responded by removing their bow … and tossing it at the villain. "Really?" Livewire cackled as she tilted her head out of the way. "Throwing your weapon, you think that will work?" Said weapon began spinning in the air, turning back and arriving back behind the supervillain as she began charging up a blast. "How did I lose to such an idiot—"
Smack
And said rant was cut off by the bow slamming into Livewire's head. "Never underestimate a good boomerang." The boy grinned.
"Boomerang arrow, nice." Barbara shot a thumbs up.
"Boomerang bow." He responded, getting up close and socking Livewire in the face as she slowly got back up from the ground. "Someone check on Lantern, we need her to contain them once they go down."
"Oh, you're not getting the chance! I've hacked the bumbledweeb's tech, I can hack yours!" Livewire turned herself into electricity and zipped right into the boy's gauntlets... Only to pop right back up, looking shocked. "What the-there's no circuitry in there!?"
"Analog. Simple, non-hackable, and useful against people like you." He went for another swing, only for the girl to vanish into a car.
"Hey Giganta, stomp the brat flat would ya!?"
"With pleasure." The behemoth grinned as she held up Zee.
"Please, if you're going to fight back … try to avoid the hair..." Zee pleaded.
"No promises." The guy avoided Zee, sliding out of the way. "Surprised though, you're trying to hit me with a girl? What, you need to compensate for your lack of strength?"
"Giganta strongest there is! Giganta doesn't need to prove so to a little blue shrimp like you!"
"Then tell you what, ditch the girl, and I'll stand still for one attack. Promise." He spoke, raising up his hands on a placating gesture.
"Oh really? You think Giganta is gonna trust you!?"
"Of course… unless you're chicken. Big tough girl is actually just a scared little softie on the inside. What's wrong? Your parents didn't give you enough hugs growing up so you act like a wild monkey to make them pay attention?" … Impressive burns. And accurate ones from Barbara's analysis, and judging by Giganta's face turning really red in anger.
"You little… fine then!" She threw Zee over to Kara, beginning to charge like a rhino.
"Dude, do you know what you're doing!?" Barbara shouted.
"He does. He stopped a train just by sticking out his hands." Zee pointed out.
"... He stopped a what now?" Diana asked as the giant slammed her fist into the guy's chest … which did nothing but send his scarf flying, blue energy seeming to radiate from it along with a soft ringing.
"Heheh, tickles … now … my turn." He leapt up, and kicked the giant in the face with a glowing and humming boot …
Bong
… And a melodious ringing cried out, like a church bell, as Giganta was sent crashing into the ground. "Did that tickle too?"
"You… suck…" Giganta tried to pick herself up, struggling, as the boy simply pushed the girl back with a finger.
"I know, I've never been the best at parties."
"... HOW!?" Barbara shouted.
"My suit absorbs kinetic energy and redirects it." He said simply, walking over to his arrows and picking them up. "She basically punched herself unconscious directly to her own head."
"How... How did you make that?" Karen asked, surprised.
"Scraps." The masked hero looked around. "Now is anyone hurt?"
"Just… just a little dizzy… but… I'm… mostly okay..." Jessica walked up as she rubbed her own head.
"Same." Zee groaned.
"Cool." He fired off a grappling arrow. "Then I'm off."
"Wait, hold on!" Barbara called out. "Can't you stick around just a little longer?"
"There's no reason to. No one's in need of help, and Livewire drove off while we were busy fighting Giganta."
"Wait, she what!?" Giganta shouted as Green Lantern wrapped her chain constructs around her. "Why that dirty back stabbing mother-!"
"Guess there's no honor among thieves." Karen noted.
"There is. Just not with bullies." And the hero, Bluebell, chose THAT as his parting words as he zipped off.
"I can NOT get that guy's deal at all." Kara shook her head.
"Kara, don't you have x-ray vision?" She asked. "Can't you see anything under there?"
"He lined his helmet with lead." Kara squinted her eyes. "I can't see past anything."
"So he can apparently stop a train, beat two bad guys without breaking a sweat, has tech that can't be hacked, can use a bow and arrow like a boss…" Karen began listed off. "...That feels like a scary amount of skills for someone to have."
"Batman has WAY more skills." Barbara asked.
"I know, that's why I'm calling it scary."
"Scary or not, they use it to fight for good." Diana smiled. "They are a warrior that we can surely trust in times of need."
"I don't know, he seems kind of… rough..." Jessica winced. "Even against people like Giganta and Livewire.
s a human club!" Zee shouted in incense. "If you ask me, she didn't get ENOUGH hits to the head. And it's no picnic getting hit against KARA'S thick skull either!"
"Hey, not my fault you have dainty baby skin."
"Wait… Kara Danvers?" Giganta, who was still there and tied up, asked.
"... So what was that about being careful the other day?" Kara shot back with a knowing smirk.
"Oh don't even start with that." Zee rolled her eyes. "Setunim owt tsal eht tegrof!" And with a flash of pink light, the giant was knocked out.
"I feel like we're going to be using that alot." Barbara smirked. "You should probably have it saved up just in case."
"Oh trust me … I will." … Ominous!
Iruma hummed as he put away the last of his gear. "Luckily nothing was too damaged." He wouldn't have to build replicas … wouldn't have to wait to scratch the itch again. "Still got to be careful. The train was pushing it." Too much kinetic energy stored at the same time would only be bad news for him in the long run. "The girls are still working out the kinks of being a team.. Gonna have to watch them close just in case." He trusted them, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Now you may be wondering, 'hey, didn't you say MULTIPLE TIMES you didn't want to be a hero? Didn't you make it a point to your best friend that it wasn't something you wanted?' And … he didn't … and he did. Iruma wanted to live his own life … and he wanted to be a hero. But Iruma COULDN'T be a hero ... Not how he was … so … he made someone who could be.
Sure, having a construct in his head might be unhealthy for some, but it really helped deal with his problems. Iruma could focus on living his life without people needing to call him out of important things, while Bluebell could fight bullies and threats to life. The less both lives crossed with each other, the better… which was admittedly difficult considering how closely tied Iruma was to the heroic side.. But in his defense, he didn't count on running into so many super heroes on his first day of school.
Speaking of which… "Hey guys, done super heroing for the day?" He greeted his friends as they met up at their usual spot at Sweet Justice.
"You know it." Babs smiled as she ate some ice cream. "And I'm even growing to that mysterious stranger's name. Bluebell. He's blue and when he punches the bells sound out. Maybe one day we can have you be Bluebat and meet him."
"Barbara, I can barely throw a punch, let alone be a superhero." That was technically true. Bluebell was more of a kicker.
"Never say never-"
"It's more like ever every time you bring it up." Iruma snickered.
"I'm just curious how someone with something so powerful can have no advanced circuitry on him." Karen muttered as she took a sip of her shake. "I mean, a whole suit that can absorb and redirect impact.. Just… how does someone come up with that to begin with."
That was actually pretty easy to answer. The Rouges always taught him that a gimmick gives them power … so, Iruma weaponized his own movement. Turning all the built up energy he got from running and moving into shockwaves for the situation at hand. Of course, given 'Iruma' didn't go out and fight crime, 'Iruma' didn't know the answer to that. "Must be like how Toymaster fought you guys with nothing but double A batteries and wind up toys."
"Toy Man, actually." Diana corrected his 'slip up'. Best way to stay away from the hero business was act like he wasn't aware of the bigger picture. "Though I admit, it's a shame you do not join us in battle."
"Believe me, I'm already getting my work cut out for me avoiding death in Zee's magic shows."
"Once again, sorry about that." Said girl winced. "I didn't know the kids would've fed them the fireworks as a snack … I guess I forgot to refuel the fire extinguisher if you had to run off."
Right, because Bluebell needed to keep helping the civilians while Zatanna flew off. "It's alright. I can sometimes stretch myself a little thin with all the jobs I have."
"Iruma, you have twenty, that's more than 'a little thin'." Jessica pointed out with a face full of concern.
"Eh, I work, I balance it out by not having to fight giant monsters. It balances out." He shrugged as he ate some ice cream. "So Barbara, isn't the Convention of Gotham enthusiast coming up this week?"
Bab's eyes blinked in wonder. "OMG, you're right! It totally is! I almost forgot about it!" Barbara shouted. "It'll be your first convention since coming back… it'll be the first time you've come back to Gotham in general! Ooooh, I need to get Harley on board! We're gonna get you two back together! And we can all have a fun day in Gotham!"
"It'll be just like the old times! We can do all the stuff that made us happy!" Iruma exclaimed eargerly.
"Aww, happy memories." Karen smiled.
"Like playing hopscotch with crime scenes!"
"And skipping in acid rain puddles!"
"And making voices for armed robberies!"
"And make metal mache out of bloody knives!"
"...How is Gotham still standing as a city?" Jessica looked pale.
"Tax write offs." Iruma shrugged as he ate more food.
"And Batman punching any criminals that would kill everyone as a whole." Barbara nodded as she pulled out her phone. "I'll call Harley now."
"Good, get everything planned ahead." He … Iruma needed to do this. His time learning about the world was over … his time learning about how the world worked was over. "Seven years away from Gotham… That's going to be a whiplash… I wonder if Crime Alley's still the same?"
"Crime alley?" Kara raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that where Bruce Wayne's parents died?"
"Yeah… it's also where I grew up for about half my life." He said, nodding slowly. "I learned how to fend for myself, how to make blankets out of newspaper, how to eat anything resembling edible. I met Barbara there after I tried ripping a boy's head off because he wasted half a burger for a dumb reason of mayo. I met Pamela there after she tried stabbing us with a knife because a flower bloomed there …" It was where he killed Daggett … "...It might not seem like much to most... But it's the closest to a home I've ever had. I even met Zee there because a flier was on the alley wall."
"And it was a memorable show." Zee giggled. "You know, I almost forgot that even back then, you tended to get in the middle of most situations."
"It's just how my life is. It's dangerous, but it's the life I love living." He took in another scoop. "It's the life where I can order as many seconds as I want. Speaking of-"
"Here you go Iruma." Barry dumped another plateful of dessert on the table.
"Costumer service at its finest." Definitely was earning his tips.
He would love his life and help his friends as Iruma. He would save people as Bluebell. And … he would rescue the people of the slums … as Human.