#49 Well, This is Awkward
Okay, you can do this! It's no big deal, I'm sure! All you did was attack them multiple times and helped aide in Obake's master plan to destroy the city. Nothing that can't be easily forgiven, Globby tried to convince himself, holding onto the belief for all of three seconds before his expression fell and he mentally forehead slapped himself. Oh, don't be stupid Globby! Even if you did save the kid and that tall girl sounded happy for you switching sides, there are still the others to worry about and you know you deserve their hate. Ugh, why did you have to wait until now to see working for Obake was a bad decision? the gelatinous mutant scolded himself as he felt a pang of guilt.
Currently, the shapeshifter was flying as fast as he could as a pterodactyl to meet the four other members of BH6, who he was told were on top of the broadcast tower in the heart of the city. They all were in a race against time to try and stop his former boss's plan, but the fact he was just on standby with them only added to his anxiety and regrets. I just hope the kid, Hiro or whatever, can stop him before this gets to the point of no return. I mean, I'll probably be fine if I get caught in the blast, not that I'm particularly psyched to test that out, but Felony Carl and everyone else won't be so lucky, Globby fretted as he flew through the city. He then shook his head before he rounded the corner of an apartment building, no doubt surprising those that were looking out of their window at the time, and chastised himself with, No, stop that! Being all negative ain't gonna help anyone and nobody likes a Gloomy Gus…or I guess in this case a Gloomy Globby. Just focus on what you can do or at the very least on whatever the heck they tell you to do with the 110% you usually give.
Without another thought, Globby beat his wings a little bit harder to help give him some extra lift over a fancy office building covered in glass and narrowly missed their exhaust system. Okay, c'mon! C'mon! Got to get there ASAP, the shapeshifter ordered internally, pushing himself to rise another 50ft into the air until low and behold, his target appeared amongst the plethora of buildings he had been weaving through.
Huh? Rather ironic that we're all meeting back here given that this is sorta my origin spot, Globby couldn't help but remark as he continued to flap his transparent wings to focus on gaining speed now.
After he passed by a few dozen businesses and apartments to reach the base of the tower, he then angled himself to begin spiraling up and around the tall structure, using his momentum he built and the warm rising air to swiftly ascend. Looking at the multiple windows he passed as he flew, Globby's mind couldn't help but drift to, I wonder if seeing a giant flying dinosuar counts as a good sign or a bad one to someone's day? I know there's plenty of bad ones that involve birds and I was a villain, but personally, I think it'd be an awesome to say you saw one, and- The shapeshifter shook his head and internally scolded himself once more with, No! Stop that! It's save the city time, so you need to focus! His expression then became anxious as he saw he was about to reach the top of the tower and remembered, But first…it's apology time. Oh, I hope this works.
When he was 20ft from the platform, he tilted his wings to propel his body straight up and gave them one final, strong beat, letting him crest over the edge of the broadcasting tower to see the whole city and bay before him. While the view was beautiful, his attention was quickly drawn to the four colorful outliers standing on the building below, all of whom were gazing at him with surprise and wariness; although for the yellow and blue ones, they appeared to Globby as if they were getting into attack stances.
Well, no time like the present as they say, especially when there's a ticking clock on everyone, the gelatinous being anxiously thought as he slowly landed on the other side of the structure, which still caused enough of a gust of wind to tussle their hair. Once on solid ground, he simply stared at them as they did the same, both parties unsure of what to do. After about 10seconds, Globby was about to initiate the conversation when he realized he still looked like a pterodactyl, making him give a weak, nervous laugh instead as he returned to his normal humanoid form.
"Heh-heh, I guess while cool, a dinosaur doesn't do a good job of diffusing tension," he tried to casually tell them with a crooked smile as he scratched the back of his neck.
There came no response from the other four, although the one in pink he had heard was called "Honey Lemon" at least managed to show some joy at his arrival.
Globby's expression then fell as he began twiddling his mitts, castings his gaze away before he let out a long sigh. He proceeded to grab his right arm with his left and using all his sheer willpower, slowly told them, "Look, I know I've screwed up in the past and did a lot of terrible things to you all with no real excuse or justification…" The shapeshifter exhaled again before he took in a deep breath, looked at the heroes and heartfeltly added, "Anyway…I'm sorry I was a real monster to everyone and above all, I'm sorry I helped Obake make his stupid star thing or whatever. I didn't set out to try and get everyone killed, but I've had my hand in it and now I want to do everything in my power to stop it. What can I do to help you guys?"
The group was silent with GoGo and Wasabi blinking before sharing an uncertain expression and shrugging, Fred holding an ever-growing smile and Honey Lemon having her hands clasped together as her eyes became misty. The chemist then began stepping towards Globby, making the gelatinous man quirk an eyebrow in confusion as he looked side to side for a moment as if hoping the explanation would come. When she finally was standing in front of the other, her smile widened as she threw her arms around him in a strong embrace, causing two of her companions to involuntarily flinch and make Globby just plain shocked with his mouth even agape in surprise.
Uh, what?! Why-why is she doing this? Is this just a thing heroes do on a daily basis? Give hugs to people? Even those that don't deserve it like me? he wondered in disbelief. It took a few seconds to come out of his state, but he incrementally moved his pink and purple arms to return the gesture, which seemed to make both of them feel more relaxed and comforted despite the dire situation happening.
"It's okay Globby and thank you for saving Hiro. We were so worried about him and we're so glad he's okay," Honey Lemon told him with complete sincerity at long last, pulling apart so she could look at his still puzzled face. "Everyone slips up at times, but the fact you feel bad about it and are here now to help shows you've got more good in you than you thought and now is your chance to prove it. I said that you were special, didn't I?" she imparted onto Globby with a wink.
The shapeshifter opened his mouth and closed it again, furrowing his brow as he tried to figure out the right words and not send himself back to square one. A moment later, his expression turned gentle as he replied, "Thank you so much for being so kind to me, even when I've been a villain. I know I mentioned it earlier, but thank you again for believing in me. It's nice to have someone that's trying to build me up instead of tearing me down." He widened his smile, and to which Honey Lemon returned it, followed by placing his arms back to his side as the two gazed over at the remaining heroes.
Wasabi scratched the back of his neck while avoiding eye contact as GoGo still had her arms crossed, scrutinizing Globby but with a less harsh demeanor now, which was in contrast to Fred, who looked actually quite happy as he gave his suited arms a giddy little shake.
Eventually, the physicist decided to weigh in with his verdict and admitted, "It uh, may take some time to be 100% cool with everything since I know I spent many a night cleaning your globs off my armor, not to mention all the fighting, but I'm so glad that you managed to get Hiro away from Obake; Honey Lemon's right too about it meaning a lot that you came here, so, I guess we're just…okay for now?"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Thanks for at least being honest," the pink and purple mutant told him, briefly scratching his neck again as he glanced away.
They then all turned to the engineer, who looked at each of them and said with a hint of annoyance, "What? I didn't attack him when he first got here, right? Should be enough to tell you where I stand so long as he doesn't do anything shady, then all bets are off."
Globby blinked at the mild threat he heard in those words, but facing Honey Lemon and seeing her smile was enough to know he at least wasn't branded the enemy. "That's fair and I appreciate not being hit with one of your discs; believe it or not, they do still hurt if I'm not ready for them and they don't go right through me," he informed them as he gave a weak laugh. Looking at Fred a moment later, he was honestly surprised at being greeted with such an enthusiastic expression, so he slowly inquired, "And uh…how do you feel about all this?"
Fred let out a delighted scoff at the question and emphatically replied, "Are you kidding? This is totally awesome! I'm an absolute sucker for a villain redemption story, and getting to hear your speech instead of just the "I'm a good guy now," line adds to this turning point and makes it feel that much realer!"
Globby was silent for a few seconds as he processed the other's response, but eventually his thoughts came together as he replied with an unsure grin, "Oh…well, I'm glad that I didn't disappoint you I guess." He then gave a clearing cough before pointing to chemist of the group and hesitantly saying, "Okay, just so I get it right and make things a little less awkward, you're Honey Lemon, yes?"
"Uh-huh," she chirped with an affirming nod.
"Alright," Globby uttered, smiling a little bit with confidence now at being right. He proceeded to gaze over at Wasabi next and guessed, "Now, I know it's not really "Chop-Chop" like in that fan fiction I saw…soooo, was it Ginger, Soba or-no wait. It started with a "W.""
"Wasabi," the aforementioned hero offered.
Globby still had his thinking face on as he muttered," Wasabi, Wasabi, Wa-yep! That was it!"
"I'd certainly hope so after all the times my friends called me that," Wasabi slyly remarked as he crossed his arms now.
The attention was once again on GoGo as she gave Globby an unamused look, so he winced as he pondered out loud, "Well, although "Speed Queen" is an apt name for you, it was actually something similar to that, I think. Ummm…" He tried for a few seconds to recollect the other's name, but after he came up empty, rather than guess he cautiously asked her, "Could you just…maybe please tell me what it is? I'll try to do a better job in the future at remembering it."
Globby's simple request and act of humility managed to impress the engineer a bit given the other's usual flare to deny/cover-up whenever he made a mistake, so she obliged with a shrug and told him, "It's GoGo."
""GoGo," okay. Thanks," the shapeshifter said as a grin returned to his face. Lastly, he turned to the blue lizard individual again, who looked like he could barely contain his excitement as the mutant furrowed his brow in thought. "I know you're the one who called me "Globby" first, and…I want to say your name is fairly common, but I-"
"It's Fred," the comic book fan blurted out, practically bouncing in place and not unphased by the fact he interrupted Globby.
The former purse thief blinked but quickly recovered from the outburst as he flashed a smile and told him, "Alright Fred. Thanks for letting me know."
"No problem, and let me just say, your dinosaur forms are so flipping cool! You fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine the other day, so even though we were on opposite sides, it was awesome," Fred gushed to the gelatinous shapeshifter, a wide smile still plastered on his face despite the current circumstances.
Globby felt warm in his cheeks at the mostly flattering comment, unsure as to how it was possible he could blush, but he was still appreciative nonetheless. "Really? Well, I'm glad you liked them, even though I'm sorry it went down that way."
With official introductions all done, Globby's mind then drifted back to his purpose for being here, making him shift his focus out over the bay where Obake's magnum opus resided. "So, uh, since I don't have any of your fancy superhero helmets, has there been any word from Hiro on if he's made it to the lighthouse yet?" he hesitantly asked as he held his own hands as part of his nervous habit.
The four young adults exchanged uncertain, worried expressions with each other before Wasabi informed him, "We haven't heard anything, but last we checked he was on his way there. Skymax is pretty fast though, so he should be at the device soon enough; how long it'll take to disarm it is another matter, but for all we know he's made it and that's what he's working on now."
Well, that's not 100% reassuring, but that kid's pretty tough and like insanely smart, so I guess I've just got to hope that he's got this, Globby internally remarked with a sigh, but still gave a nod in understanding. As they waited in relative silence for another few moments, it occurred to him that they had yet to ask him any questions and well, since they were currently on standby…
"Hey uh, while we're all here with a little time on our hands, is there anything you want to know about me? Seems only fair and I'm not too good at standing around doing nothing, ya know?"
While GoGo and Wasabi looked at each other in their own silent conversation, Honey Lemon jumped at the chance with an eager squeal and inquired, "Ooh! I've always wanted to know who you were before we met you?" She then appeared to regret the question as she went from wide-eyed to wincing over the course of a second and rapidly added, "I mean, it's not super important and obviously it's who you are now that matters. Of course, you also don't have to answer if it's uncomfortable or traumatic for you to do so. I just was curious, that's all, and totally get it if we're not at that level of trust yet."
The gelatinous mutant stood there silently as he was hit with the barrage of words, but a genuine smile spread across his face before he let out a soft chuckle. "You're all good Honey Lemon, and you know, beside Felony Carl, I don't think I've ever met someone so empathetic to others, so thank you for giving me those outs. Anyway, to answer your question, you already know some of it as I was formally the worse purse snatcher San Fransokyo has probably like ever seen." He gave an awkward laugh at the self-deprecating comment, but it was true and he could own up to it now even if he didn't like it. Globby soon added, "But as for my name…it was Dibs before I got all mutated and junk, and yes, I've already been told how funny it is to be a thief called "Dibs," but I'm honestly surprised I haven't heard someone point out how I have "Sticky fingers" now."
A forehead slap was then heard as everyone turned to Fred, seeing him with a clawed hand to his head and bearing an incredulous expression. "Ah man! That would have been a great quip for when we were fighting! I could have been like, 'Your sticky fingers won't be stealing anything today!' or 'Stop right there, sticky fingers!' Ugh. So many missed opportunities!"
His words got GoGo to roll her eyes, Wasabi to lightheartedly shake his head, Globby to quietly laugh, and prompting Honey Lemon to approach her grumbling friend and pat him on the back.
"Don't worry Freddie. You'll come up with some new quips that are sure to get the bad guys' attention," she said with sincerity.
The lizard-themed superhero turned to her, his mood already appearing slightly elevated and replied, "Really?"
"Defnitely," Honey Lemon told him without hesitation and a warm smile, which was enough to make Fred grin again.
Globby watched the scene unfold, amazed at the chemist's ability to cheer people up and be genuine about it. Wow. No wonder she's a hero. Quite frankly though, the lack of hurtful or snide remarks is actually pretty refreshing. Huh? Probably should have figured the good guys would be good to each other, he internally reflected.
He was about to chime in and agree with the pink-clad heroine when the sound of rocket engines instantly killed any words he thought of saying. Everyone turned west back out over the bay to faintly see something purple and black with a plume of blue and white fire behind it. They all watched and waited with baited breath as the robotic vessel Skymax flew by the edge of the tower, releasing the teen prodigy from its hold onto the platform.
"Guys! I did it," Hiro exclaimed in delight as he waved the energy amplifier he built in the air. All five of them quickly made their way over to him with Fred getting there first to tackle the other.
"Oh yay! Up high Hiro," the comic book fan shouted, raising his clawed hand up and getting an immediate reciprocation. "Wow!" he added as he examined the powerful device his friend brought back.
"Great job Hiro," Honey Lemon congratulated next as she gave him a proud hug, the joy palpable at this victory.
GoGo attempted tussling Hiro's hair but only managed to achieve rubbing his helmet, but the action was still well-received. "Now, we get Obake," she then told him with firm determination.
This is incredible! The kid actually did it! He saved the city from being wiped out and…Globby's mind trailed off amidst the celebration as far off in the distance past Torii Gate Bridge, the Kiriena Point Lighthouse was glowing an ominous purple and white. He dropped his smile as a cold, sinking feeling came over him and he couldn't help but asked, "Umm, what's that?"
NOTES
Well, you know what happened right after this. O_O I'm sorry this wound up being shorter than my last Globby one, but hopefully you still enjoyed it. I've already got an idea for my next story with him, which will involve another awkward encounter. ;) I'm so glad Globby became a good guy, but I doubt Wasabi and GoGo were full-on welcoming compared to Honey Lemon and possibly Fred.
Also, I'm sorry, but it looks like it'll be another 6-week break before the next story. It didn't help that I got sick for a bit and barely could do anything as well as the holidays came up, so I was busy with that and I was fueled by angst in my other fandom, where I turn out a story in under a week, so hopefully I can get more written soon. /
The next "Cutscenes" will be Ian running into a familiar face while in prison. ;)