With Danny duly hypnotized sleeping, Master and I set off on our first adventure as superheroes.
Yes, ours. I would be taking part myself this time. Mainly as a means of transport, actually. At night, it's not much of a problem, but going out patrolling around in just a costume is a bit embarrassing without a super cool means of transport to accompany you. Unless you're famous, but that's not our case.
So Master and I got on Maana and headed off to Downtown. Master had planned to patrol the Docks again, however, considering that the ABB and Bakuda were still preparing for their part in this show, I convinced her that we would get better publicity in a more populated place like Downtown. The place being high Nazi-populated was also a big plus point.
The trip from Master's house to Downtown normally takes an hour or so, but since we went directly there by air, it only took about 15 minutes to get there.
Once we arrived, I slowed Maana down to a walking speed and we officially began our patrol.
We didn't fly over buildings or anything, but a meter or two above people. So, to no one's surprise, we drew a lot of attention atop our Unidentified Flying Object and in our costumes. People seemed wary of two new capes wandering around the place; I can't blame them, either. Master looked a little creepy in all that black, not to mention…
"Relax, Master ~. Your costume making you look unapproachable is one thing, looking like a statue only makes it worse." I said, trying to calm her down a bit.
Oh, look! That boy over there seems enchanted by my beauty. I waved a little and gave him a small smile. He blushed and waved back before running off.
Rude.
Master seemed annoyed by the little exchange that had been repeated more than once in our 15 minutes of patrol.
"Easy for you to say…"
Hmm. Maybe showing up with her so early wasn't a good idea. However, a little invisible help during the night is one thing, and helping her out in the eyes of all the cameras and witnesses in broad daylight is another. I still plan on being more of a support than anything else, but Master and I agreed that since our relationship would be known sooner rather than later, it would be best to rip the band-aid off sooner rather than later.
However, it seems to be backfiring a bit on us. Master isn't particularly flashy right now, and I'm... me. Needless to say, I'm soaking up all the attention here.
Master sitting in Maana like a statue doesn't help.
Hmm… Aha!
"Master, Master! Bring butterflies up here!" I said.
"Hmm? Why?" Master asked as she tilted her head.
She sounded confused. Note to self: PR classes, she probably needs them more than anyone else anyway.
"You're supposed to be the center of attention here! If you can't do it with your costume, use your powers!"
Master thought about it for a bit before nodding.
That was easier than I expected, I honestly thought she would have more trouble with that.
A while later, butterflies from all over the place started to gather in our direction. The dozens of butterflies that slowly turned into hundreds caught the attention of the entire place. The children pointed at them with shining eyes, while the parents looked even more worried than when we were just two layers in a blue flying thing.
Master looked around before nodding to herself and began controlling the butterflies to make shapes in the air. The spectacle somehow calmed most people's anxieties, causing the more cautious and busy ones to continue on their way, relieved. The rest watched the spectacle in amazement.
As the butterflies formed into one larger butterfly and then began to move in tandem to simulate flight, everyone start to applaud at the beauty of the whole thing.
Master also seemed happier with the whole thing, and after a few more shows, it all ended with the butterflies flying together down the street and out of sight of the applauding crowd.
Master leaned in a little awkwardly, clearly a little embarrassed by the whole thing, but happy with the attention nonetheless. That was cut short by my best imitation of a flying hug missile.
"That was amazing, Master!"
I, of course, was clapping and cheering for Master louder than anyone else. It was truly a beautiful sight.
"That was amazing, miss!" a little girl's voice said.
"The butterflies were WOW!" a boy said this time.
"Are they a new group of heroes?!" This time, a teenager wearing a T-shirt of who I believe is Clockblocker asked.
My words seemed to break the ice between us and the crowd, as some young people, tourists, children and parents immediately surrounded us ready to ask us a ton of questions.
Master seemed a little overwhelmed by the sudden attention. Without thinking much, I nudged her lightly with my elbow, causing her to look in my direction. I looked her straight in the eyes and nodded.
You can do it.
It wasn't even something I told her over our telepathic link, but Master understood it immediately.
Master took a deep breath before addressing the crowd, still eager for answers.
"I hope everyone enjoyed the show and that it made you feel better about our presence here."
Master looked into the eyes of the suddenly silent crowd.
"My name is… Elythra (What?) and this is my partner Inana ("Hello!" "Master, what's that name?" "We'll talk about that later." ) Our little group has no name, but we intend to be new heroes here in Brokton Bay. Thank you."
Stiff, formal and professional. What you would expect from her, but still her steady timbre and loud voice that forces you to pay attention kept the entire crowd engaged in her message.
"That's right folks! We're here to kick Nazis!" I spoke, breaking the crowd's atmosphere of amazement.
A few laughs here and there and the crowd returned to its usual questioning enthusiasm. Master and I decided to answer a few questions here and there to the excitement of the small crowd.
"Your costume looks amazing! Are you really new to this? Are you rich?" The same apparently Clockblocker fan asked.
"Thank you. We're really new to this. This is our second time out, actually. I can't answer the last question, sorry." The now newly named Elythra replied.
"Hmph! In heaven and earth, I don't think there's anyone richer than me! However, this goddess appreciates the praise." Of course, I wouldn't let that go.
Elythra looked at me in alarm for a second, but the crowd only seemed amused by my answer.
What are you laughing at?! I turned my gaze towards Elythra who seemed to relax at the response of the people around us.
"Don't laugh, this is serious!" I shouted.
That only seemed to be funnier because it only added more laughter.
"Grrr… Hmph!"
"Uhm… Miss Inana? Why did you call Elythra, Master, before?" A teenage girl with big glasses and who looked like a shy little mouse asked.
"Master is Master! She has no other name for me!" I replied proudly.
Master responded to my incredible response with a karate chop to the center of my head.
"Ouch! Abuse! Abuse! Master is abusing her cute Servant!"
I looked at Elythra with teary eyes as I held the spot where she had hit my head.
"Shut up, Inana, you're causing misunderstandings."
"There is no misund - Ouch!"
Elythra didn't even turn to look at me after the second hit.
"It was a nickname she gave me because of my power to manipulate bugs. She likes the nickname too much and refuses to call me anything else. She even wanted it to be my cape name."
"You als - Ey stop!"
"Ohh is it like a cute nickname?" she asked, completely ignoring me.
"Exactly."
"Foolish Master! I will completely ignore you!" I shouted.
My Master is definitely a sadist. Do you think you can beat this Goddess however you want? No, sir. We'll see how she comes crying to my lap, begging for my forgiveness. I won't give it to her! This Ishtar is no game!
"You are very beautiful, Inana," said my wayward Master.
Of course, I will completely ignore her…
"Of course you would see the light at some point, my dear Master!"
Easy? Me? Who said that?!
More laughter came from the crowd.
We stayed for about ten more minutes answering questions of all kind. Our favorite food ("Lasagna" "Chinese food!"), favorite heroes ("Alexandria" "Master!- Ouch!"), our three measurements ("Ranked" "79, 56- I-I'm showwy! Mashter!"), favorite animal ("Dogs" "Puukyuu!").
It was a fun time. However…
"Maaaster! We have to go! We're supposed to be catching criminals for our debut!" I said with a pout completely legitimate complaint.
Surprisingly, I was the one who had to end this situation. Elythra was completely engrossed in communicating with the crowd. I guess she was enjoying the friendly socializing, but, I didn't want to stay here answering questions all day. As much as I'd like the attention, we had to make a good mark on our debut.
Elythra turned to me and after thinking about it for a while nodded. The crowd seemed a bit disappointed. I don't think it's common to have new capes speaking so familiarly to the public.
"Thank you all very much for your support. Inana and I will continue patrolling. Please be careful."
"Keep supporting our little group! We will do great things soon! I promise!"
With that and a lot of goodbyes we headed back to our patrol. Elythra remained silent as we flew. I left her to her own thoughts for a while before interrupting her.
"It wasn't so bad, was it, Master?"
"…No, it wasn't. It was; nice even." Elythra replied.
I couldn't see her, but I was sure she was smiling beneath that expressionless mask of her.
"So… Elythra?" I asked, tilting my head.
"It was a last minute idea. It sounded good, but I regret not checking with you sooner." Elythra sounded genuinely regretful.
I shook my head.
"It's not like that, Master. I'm here for you. I can give you advice, teach you, and guide you, but in the end you hold the reins. I want to be your strength, but you are the driving force behind all of this. You don't need my approval for anything."
Elythra looked at me for a second, before also shaking her head.
"No, Ishtar, I… I don't want to be just your Master, we're friends. I should have told you, at least. I'm sorry."
It made me feel a little guilty considering all the things I do behind her back, but I didn't let it show on my face.
Instead, I simply grabbed her by the waist and pulled her as close to me as possible, our thighs, torso, and shoulders touching in a side hug. As she was used to, Elythra stiffened for a second before relaxing completely against me, completely ignoring the people watching us.
Of course, I didn't miss the flashes of cell phones taking photos of us "on the sly", but I didn't care at all. The rumors that come out of this can only end in my favor.
We sat in silence for a while, continuing our patrol. Elythra didn't seem to be in the Nazi-kicking mood anymore, but I decided to bring her back into the fold. As much as I'd like to enjoy this second flying date on Maana we still had work to do.
I lifted my head from her shoulder and slowly moved my mouth closer to her ear. Elythra seemed lost enough in her thoughts not to notice until…
"Yum!" I bit into it.
…
I don't know why I was expecting a shock or a cute "Kyaa" when I did this, but the absolute blank stare I received definitely seems to fit more with the personality of the girl I'm trying to seduce.
I felt myself writhing under the pressure of her gaze. Until Elythra simply sighed and separated us from our clingy state from before.
Shame… Although it is my fault.
"Well? What do you want to tell me, Inana?" Elythra asked.
I shook off my disappointment with a quick shake. I coughed into my hands before adopting my teaching pose, which immediately made Elythra attentive as to what I was going to say. Good girl.
"Master. While patrolling the streets and gaining visibility has been fruitful for our debut, it's time for us to seriously start looking for trouble."
Elythra tilted her head.
"Aren't we already doing that?"
"Not at all," I replied.
"Do you mean flying higher and looking down from the sky?"
While it's a nice idea and with reinforcement I'll be able to see enough to find criminals easily, letting me do it is not the point. It may be a bit early for Elythra to achieve this, but even if it's a bit off, it's worth a try.
"While it is a good idea, Master, I am referring to something that only you can do."
"I see… you want me to find the crime with my bugs."
"Exactly."
"You know I can't share my senses with them, right, Inana?"
"That's not entirely accurate."
I picked up a fly that's been on my shoulder this whole time.
"You can feel me touching this fly, can't you? You can feel its position relative to you, you can feel it moving around in my hand. All of that may be empty information for a single fly, but your strong point has never been quality, but quantity."
"…I understand. You want me to find people and feel what they do to determine if they are criminals, right? Do you think I can do it well?" Elythra sounded a little unsure when she realized what I wanted from her.
I looked her straight in the eyes with a smile, before answering.
"I don't believe it, I know it," I said, putting as much faith as I could into my voice.
Elythra seemed surprised by the certainty in my voice. We had a staring match that didn't last long before Elythra pulled away only to sigh.
"I can't refuse when you look at me like that, Inana."
"I was counting on it, my dear Master."
Elythra turned to me one last time before nodding with a determination in her movements that was not there before.
"Well… I think you should start with big things, and then you can slowly reduce it."
A moment after hearing my words, she became eerily still.
I couldn't know for sure, but I knew that she had closed her eyes in concentration, in the full certainty that I would keep her safe. Her mind right now should be a whirlwind of stars that she slowly wants to shape into identifiable shapes and figures to follow.
I slowed Maana down to a minimum so as not to disturb her range too much while she was still so focused on the difficult task.
A few seconds later, Elythra broke the silence.
"I can… make it out. An alley, two blocks down. A tree with broken branches on the sidewalk. Three cars moving down the road to the left… A bicycle on the corner."
"That's right, honey, you're doing a good job."
I continued to listen as Elythra described our surroundings. About five minutes later, I decided it was time for the next step.
"What about the animals?" That stopped Elythra.
"Why animals?" she asked.
"They are living things and will help you develop an awareness of how the different parts move and interact. Plus, they won't freak out if you need to put a lot more bugs on them than usual to be safe."
"I see…"
With that, Elythra once again stood still in concentration.
Just like that, an hour of our patrol consisted of human radar exercises for Elythra. I kept asking for more and more details as she got used to things.
Buildings with open doors, streets with broken sidewalks, houses with shutters, dogs, cats, pigeons. Slowly, Elythra was gaining practice in quickly identifying and searching for specific things quickly. She still had trouble concentrating, as she needed to pay a certain amount of attention to the task at hand, but that was an improvement in progress.
"Well done, Master! Now it's time to move on to the most important part. People."
Elythra said nothing and simply stood still in concentration.
I looked through eye reinforcements at a person in a distant corner. I watched as flies, mosquitoes, and bedbugs collided with various parts of the person's body. There were a lot of them at first, enough that it was a wonder the guy didn't notice, but as Elythra grew accustomed to the anatomy in question, she was able to narrow down the number of bugs needed to get a good mental map. Our training seemed to be helpful in that regard, as it focused on the muscles and connections needed for movement.
"I-I… I can sense the people around here. I'm not sure if it's all of them, but I have no problem keeping up with them, though I have to concentrate on doing so."
"That will be fixed with time! Now you just have to remember to do it all the time, at least a little bit. You also have to improve the way you search for people."
"Understood."
We continue with the patrol.
Elythra was quieter than usual, focused on finding trouble. Meanwhile, I was busy using my HUD to fantasize about my and Elythra's next upgrades.
"Inana, I have something."
The midday sun had long since faded into the softer afternoon sun, when Elythra finally seemed to have found something.
"Huh?" I replied, genuinely surprised.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much, considering it's daytime, and we're not exactly in the worst areas of Brokton Bay. This isn't Gotham.
"What are we waiting for?! Where?!" Still, I didn't hesitate.
"In that direction." Elythra pointed east from where we had been heading previously.
At one point I changed Maana's course and, to the surprise of the few passersby below us, we shot off at high speed. Considering Elythra's range, we got there fairly quickly. Flying above an alley, I could see a man in his twenties holding what appeared to be a thin high school student by the neck.
The poor boy seemed terrified by the knife that were threatening him with for a few dollars; luckily for him, we were here.
The bugs slowly began to gather at our location and were surrounding the alley, ready to pounce on the thug.
Before the robbery, I pulled out an instant camera from the future from my inventory. Elythra and I had been thinking of ways to get evidence on crimes we stop. Videos are nice, but we can't always be ready to give out videos of what we do, and this was our solution. Cameras that instantly print out the photos, ready for us to give to the victims of the crime.
Elythra motioned me to the ground and I nodded.
With a thought I directed Maana to the ground, where I left Elythra who with a movement released her staff.
"I'm going to distract him. Take care of the weapon," Elythra said.
She didn't wait for me to respond and caused a few dozen bugs to make some creepy noises behind the assailant, causing him to let go of the boy as he turned around in fear, of course spinning around with the knife in his hand.
I pointed my finger at the knife, releasing a beam of light that hit the assailant's hand, making him drop the weapon.
"Argh!"
Exaggerated.
Of course, after losing his knife, the poor man didn't expect thousands of flies and bees to come swarming in his direction. His scream went from a mere reflex of pain to pure panic.
That didn't last as Elythra appeared behind the small swarm to strike him with the staff. The staff immediately released a stream of electrical energy equivalent to a perfectly balanced taser, and with a scream the man fell exhausted to the ground.
Without taking her eyes off the man, Elythra pulled some zip ties from her tool belt and placed them on the man's hands and feet.
With the man secured, she drove the thousands of bugs away from the place and hid them back wherever she always hides them in the first place. With the alley cleared and the assailant secured, Elythra made her way to the boy for the first time.
"Are you okay?" She asked while tilting her head.
"Y-yeah, He couldn't h-hurt me a-at all. A-are you a new hero?" the boy asked.
I don't blame him for asking. Elythra doesn't seem particularly offended either, because she simply nodded.
"G-great. Thank you so much for saving me!" he replied.
Elythra seemed completely stunned by his thanks, before nodding again, this time much more softly.
"That's what I do, I guess."
"Yes it is, Master!" I shouted.
The boy was startled by my voice coming from above his heads. When he turned his gaze towards me, he was surprised to see me descending on what he thought was probably a blue flying thing.
"W-who-"
"Greetings! I am Elythra's partner here! Inana, Goddess of Beauty!" I proudly introduced myself.
The poor guy just seemed stunned by my beauty. He couldn't even respond.
Master shook her head.
"Ignore her. I'm going to call the police now, you can stay and testify if you want to get justice for what just happened. If not, they'll just let him go in a few hours. Your choice."
The boy turned white at that last thing.
"I will stay!"
Elythra just nodded before calling emergencies. After a brief introduction and giving the address of the place, she hung up the call.
The boy was still a little confused, but Elythra ignored him and simply climbed onto Maana with me.
"Okay. It's done, the police are on their way. Give them this if they need proof."
Elythra gave him the photo I took earlier, where the thug was clearly seen holding the boy at knife point. My signature was also on the back of the photo, but that will be discovered by the boy or the police later.
"Take better care of yourself next time."
"Good luck!" I shouted as we left the place.
I was waving at the boy for quite a while until we were out of sight. Elythra who had been quiet until now, sighed heavily. I could almost see her body melting as the stress left her body.
With a small smile I brought her back into my embrace and Elythra nearly collapsed. I patted her head a few times.
"You did fantastic, Master."
"You always say that. Was I too rough? Maybe I hit the guy too hard? Did you see how he freaked out when he saw me? I should have used butterflies. Why didn't I use butterflies?!"
With another giggle, this time I gently kissed the top of her head. Making her stop her tirade.
"I mean it, Master, you were great and very professional. They may have been a little scared, but eventually, when you are famous and everyone knows you, there won't be any problems."
"…Really?" She asked in a soft voice.
I kissed her again.
"I promise."
We stayed like that for a while longer until Elythra had properly recomposed herself. She slowly walked away from me, although with obvious reluctance.
"Let's get on with this patrol, Inana." Her professional tone had returned.
"Of course, Master!"
I thought the patrol would end there honestly. However, not even ten minutes later Elythra suddenly became alarmed.
"Inana, get ready. I think there's a cape chase ahead."
It didn't take long for me to see what Elythra was talking about. It was, in fact, a chase. Two guys: one tall and muscular, and the other short and thin. Both had white mesh costumes, which covered their entire bodies, including most of their faces, except for their eyes. Their torsos were blue and had a strange belt that didn't secure anything. Their gloves and boots were a matching shade of pink that they shared with the strange antenna on their heads.
Oh! … I guess I should have seen that coming. They were Uber and Leet dressed as Bomberman driving what I assume was the old convertible car they used in their GTA video.
Behind them was:
"I'll fucking get you, you fucking pieces of shit!"
Skidmark? I guess that was him. Dark skin, falling apart costume, looked like a drug addict and screamed like a sailor. His motorcycle also looked like it was made out of trash, probably the work of Squealer.
At this point, Squealer should be new enough to he little band of misfits that she probably can't do much, so I doubt there's much Tinker about the bike other than that it magically works, even though it's built out of spit.
What is he doing here? Sounds like something important that should be mentioned in canon. Maybe a change on my part?
It doesn't matter.
We started flying after them. The three of us were going too fast for Elythra's bugs to do much, so I guess it'll be up to me to stop these three morons.
As the Uber drove, Leet decided to throw stuff out the back. A green shell, a banana, a Master Sword, you name it. It was kind of ridiculous, honestly. Somehow, whether it was through skill, luck, or a function of the bike, Skidmark was avoiding everything pretty well, actually.
This pattern continued for a while until Leet pulled out a red shell and threw it. He had a triumphant grin on his face as he did so. Then it was especially gratifying to see, like something out of Mario Kart, the red shell decided to turn towards them. Leet panicked and tried to warn Uber, but it was too late. The shell hit one of the car's wheels hard, sending it skidding across the road and into a tree.
Shit! That must have hurt.
Uber seemed okay, but Leet… Is that a branch sticking through his shoulder? That looks pretty ugly…
Click.
I photograph it, of course. We have to protect our backs legally and all that.
I had thought about stopping them myself, but it seems Darwinism has won once again, so I decide to simply call emergency services instead.
Skidmark climbed off his motorcycle laughing out loud.
"HAHAHA! That's what happens when you steal from the fucking Merchants!"
A robbery? What exactly? The only $50 they have in their pantry?
Skidmark began to approach in their direction, however, a beam of light struck the ground in front of him, interrupting him.
"That's enough," Elythra says.
Elythra steps off of Maana to confront Skidmark directly while I head towards Uber and Leet. Aware of the stares and cameras pointed in my direction, I tap the gem on my necklace before pulling out some topaz from my inventory.
Topaz represents power, pure energy, explosion and destruction. In this case, I take advantage of the element of destruction to cause a disintegrating effect. I aim the topaz at the parts of the car that prevent me from being able to properly move Leet from his position in the car. Being careful not to destroy anything that could cause a sudden fall.
Thanks to Yaomomo's rescue training I have no trouble moving him properly, taking care not to aggravate any wounds. And I begin to provide the necessary first aid to keep him stable, while also using some jade gems carefully taken from my inventory to give him some magical healing.
"Do you need help?" Elythra's voice catches my attention when I turn to look at her.
She was there, standing right next to me, watching my treatment to Leet. Huh? I thought she was fighting Skidmark?
When I asked, she simply pointed to a blindfolded, electrocuted Skidmark with zip ties on his limbs, ready to be picked up by the heroes.
That was fast. I don't know if I should be surprised, though. The guy has no real defense against Elythra without some kind of serious preparation. She seems to be relatively unharmed as well, just a bit of dust from what appears to be a fall.
Elythra was still waiting for my answer.
"Not exactly, but I guess you can use them as practice dummies."
Elythra stared at me for a few seconds before nodding slowly.
I continued to treat Leet, only this time I explained out loud to Elythra what I had been doing, why, and what to do in a similar situation. Elythra seemed a little apprehensive, but after a while she seemed quite attentive to the lessons.
People around us were simply shocked by our utter indifference to the situation.
"Okay, Elythra, now I want you to take care of most of Uber's injuries," I said.
"Understa -"
"I'd rather you didn't, actually." Elythra was about to agree, but was interrupted.
We both turned towards the voice and saw that it wasn't one person, it was two.
The owner of the voice that interrupted us was a tall woman with the build of an Olympic gymnast. She looked strong and muscular, but at the same time flexible and agile. She wore a sleeveless shirt, thick pants, and combat boots. If the pair of kamas in her hands didn't give away her identity, her cage-shaped mask definitely did.
She was accompanied by a guy wearing full armor and carrying a spear. I couldn't for the life of me tell who he was just from his appearance, but the semi-transparent clones of him gave him away.
Cricket and Crusader had joined the party.
As a fun fact, to decide the enemies for this chapter I used a D6 for the number of enemies and a roulette wheel to choose the enemies. My idea was to have a unique combination of enemies. That three of the most common initial enemies in this fandom would come out had to have been fate (ha).
Also, this chapter was supposed to be a fight between our little group and Uber, Leet, Skidmark, Cricket and Crusader. However, I ended up taking out the first three right away and I haven't even written anything about the other two. A disaster. T.T
Also, what do you think of the name I chose for Taylor? Minecraft kinda messed it up, but I still think it's a cool name.