1.8 Dances Part 2

A completely different person has suddenly replaced the convulsing girl.

No, she has just manifested. That is still the same person.

Is that what happens? I thought there would be more to it.

There is, but that is for the only the person gaining power to see. We, the outsiders, don’t see the process, only the results.

Oh.

We should check on her.

Guardian bends down over the girl. She never really got a good look at the girl.

At least my armour will contain records of what she looked like before.

Guardian checks out the appearance of the girl. She is clearly an Aphrodite like Alexandria, Glowbug and Iris.

Is it just me or does it seem like there are more female parahumans than males one?

Statistically speaking, there are generally two females for every male when it comes to parahumans.

How do you know that?

Using data that I have collected over time.

Anything else I should be aware of?

Adolescents are more likely to become parabeings. In the case of humans, that means teenagers.

That I have noticed already.

You might find it interest to know that over half of parahumans will be bisexual with a third of the rest being homosexual, another third being asexual and only the remaining third will be straight.

That could be useful to know. Maybe.

You might also want to know that parahumans are also more likely to be attracted to power regardless of their orientation.

Now that I’m sure will be useful someday.

The girl has long shiny black hair and glistering blue eyes in addition to her sleek and slender body. Her top seems strained due to her new chest while her jeans are now too short and tight.

“A little help please Guardian,” says Defender as she continues to fight the parahuman drug dealer.

Guardian pulls out a flashbang from her utility belt and throws it at the duo. It goes off, blinding the dealer while Defender’s armour filters it out.

With a furious swing, Defender’s armoured fist connects with the jaw of the dealer, knocking the man off his feet. Defender grabs the man’s leg and swing him over her shoulder and into the ground.

“Did the girl manifest or something?” asks Defender as she looks at the curled up girl, “Because I’m sure she didn’t look like that before.”

“She did,” answers Guardian, “I’m going to call Alexandria so she can arrest the parahuman dealer and help out this girl. She’ll be able to do it better than we can.”

“Is this normal to you?” asks Defender as she indicates the scene around them, “We go to take down some drug dealers and end up dealing with a pair of parahumans. And you just act so calmly about it.”

“I suppose this sort of thing is normal for me,” replies Guardian as she calls Alexandria’s number, “I haven’t experienced another type of life so this is all I know. Now please excuse me as Alexandria is answering. Hello Alexandria, this is Guardian.”

“Hello Guardian,” replies Alexandria, “What do I owe the pleasure of this call to?”

“Defender and I have taken down a parahuman drug dealer,” explains Guardian, “We also have a newly manifested parahuman girl on our hands and I feel that you would be better suited to dealing with her.”

“Okay,” replies Alexandria, “Flamefly and I were just about to go on patrol anyway. We’ll just swing by to your coordinates.”

“I’ll send you them now,” Guardian tells her as she does that.

“Thanks,” says Alexandria, “See you in a bit.”

Guardian ends the call.

“Alexandria and Flamefly are on their way,” says Guardian to her teammate, “Have you fought villains other than this one?”

“Not really,” replies Defender, “Protector and I did help Mr and Mrs Fowler fight off Vampiric and Invicta. But we arrived late to the fight and it wasn’t before long Darkness called them off. What about you? The first supervillain that you fought was Metal Man right?”

“That is correct,” confirms Guardian as she uses a bio-scanner on the girl, “Despite what people may believe, I feel that Metal Man defeated me that day.”

The girl is physically fine. There is nothing we can do help her.

I am aware.

“But didn’t you take him down and left him to get arrest?” asks Defender.

“No,” replies Guardian as she sends off the scan, “Contrary to popular belief, I walked into a trap and was lucky to get out alive. When I took down Metal Man and his gang, it was an act of desperation to give me the opportunity to get away with my life. I was expecting to end up taking his gang down over the course of the next couple of weeks.”

“Huh,” mutters Defender as she crosses her arms, “I’m- I’m not actually sure how to feel about that.”

“It isn’t a big deal,” replies Guardian.

“I wouldn’t spread that around if I were you,” says Defender, “Your attitude and reputation are doing you wonders.”

“What do you mean?” inquire Guardian.

“Well, you’re pretty cold and intimidating as the Guardian,” explains Defender, “Having been with you out of costume I know that isn’t the case, but that would be how the rest of the world sees you. Just a pragmatic and dangerous vigilante going around beating up people with minimal speaking.”

“I see your point,” replies Guardian, “I personally feel indifferent to how others perceive me.”

“Yeah,” agrees Defender, “I never really cared about how other folk have seen me. Especially since my accident. What matters was what I thought about myself.”

“That is a good outlook to have,” replies Guardian.

“Kind of the opposite of what we’re been told,” says Alexandria as she floats down with Flamefly trailing behind her as the weaker parahuman struggles to keep up with Alexandria, “PR is one of the things our bosses worry about the most and also want us to worry about.”

“We just focus on helping people and trying to do the right thing,” replies Guardian.

“We also try to do that, but we just have to look good while doing so,” replies Alexandria as she lands and bends over the girl, “So-”

***

Reboot Successful.

1.8 Dances Part 1

“Woo hoo!” yells Defender as she flies through the skies of Chicago with Guardian trailing behind.

Why is she going faster than us? We’re using the same technology.

The maximum speed of our armour is different to what our safest maximum speed is. The limits of what our body can withstand is different to limits of what our technology can do. As a result, Defender is able to take more stress and withstand more damage than we can and that in turn increases the safety maximum speed that she can go at.

So she will be better at using the armour than us?

No, our technopathy gives us an edge when using technology that very few can replicate.

Is it wrong that I’m glad that Defender isn’t better than us?

No, there is nothing wrong with not wanting to be outdone in your area of expertise.

Good.

“Enjoying it?” asks Guardian.

“Yeah!” yells back Defender, “Flying is awesome! Makes me wish that I could fly as part of my powers!”

“So what do you want to do?” asks Guardian, “I’m thinking we should take out this group of drug dealers. They’re a bit out of my usual territory, but they’re getting too bold and powerful for my liking.”

“So they need to be taken down a notch?” replies Defender as she looks over her shoulder Guardian, “I like the sound of that.”

“They are also being uncharacteristically aggressive in getting customers,” says Guardian, “I should also probably mention that I believe they are selling a power-created drug. Follow me. You will need to slow down so I can take the lead.”

“Can’t you just speed up?” asks Defender with sigh, but she slows down anyway.

“No,” answers Guardian, “Going this fast is already straining my body. Please remember that my body isn’t as good as yours.”

“I know that, but why does-no wait, never mind,” says Defender, “I did do science in school.”

“That is good to hear,” replies Guardian, “It would be annoying to have an unintelligent teammate.”

“Lucky for you I’m smart,” says Defender, “I’m at the top of my class actually. The third best as a matter of fact.”

“I assume Gears is the top of your class,” replies Guardian.

“That he is,” answers Defender, “Are we close?”

“Yes, we are,” replies Guardian as she comes to a halt mid-air, “Down there on the corner. You see the group of men?”

There are five in the group, all wearing in their twenties or thirties. There is a group of about eight watching them and one of the gang members is holding a-

“Is that a girl they got there?” asks Defender distastefully.

“Looks like it,” replies Guardian, “And by the way she is struggling, she doesn’t seem to be there willing.”

“I’m surprise nobody has spotted us yet,” says Defender, “All they have to do is look up.”

“We are pretty high up and not many people spend their time looking for people in the sky,” replies Guardian, “Given out unlikely it is to be someone flying, people would generally dismiss us as birds or some other more mundane flying object.”

“That makes sense,” replies Defender, “Shall we go and introduce ourselves now?”

“Let’s,” agrees Guardian as she flies downwards.

Guardian hits the ground with both stun batons drawn. Her landing takes down two members of the crowd and a couple of strikes from her batons fell two more.

She doesn’t know if any members of the crowd are criminals, but if they are just willing to watch whatever the dealers are planning to do with the girl then Guardian will just treat as co-conspirators.

Guardian looks over at the dealers as Defender lands within their midst. Her fellow Guardsmen punches one in the face while slamming her fist into another’s gut.

She is pulling her punches. Good.

Not that this filth would be missed if she wasn’t.

Guardian swings her leg out as she briefly activates her KEPs. Her spinning kick catches three of the four remaining members of the crowd, sending them flying.

As the last flees, Guardian decides to make sure the girl they saw earlier is okay.

That’s not good.

It turns out that one of the dealers is a parahuman judging by how he is taking on Defender.

The man looks devilishly handsome with smooth brown hair and a light stubble as he darts around much faster than Guardian can.

But Guardian can still track him using her tech with ease and the guy must certainly isn’t faster than Defender.

Yet with his ability to control metal, the superpowered drug dealer is still holding his own against Defender.

Should we help her?

She doesn’t seem to need it and the remaining two drug dealers are attempting to flee.

It could be argued that we are helping her by taking out the last two foes.

Guardian activates her KEPs to slam into the closer of the two cowardly men, smashing him to the ground. She swings with both stun batons at the other before he can get out of range.

The first of her strikes miss, but the second catches the dealer in the face. Guardian is certain the man’s nose is broken as he goes tumbling backwards.

Now to see how the girl is.

There and she doesn’t look good.

Following the directions of Ceta, Guardian spots the girl curled up on the floor, spasming and convulsing.

What happened?

Judging by the needle next to her, I would say that the dealers were going to use her as an example of what their product does?

Hmm, that is unusual behaviour for them. We ought to collect these drugs from we can test them rather than just destroying them as we usually do.

After we tend to the girl of course.

That goes without saying.

But as Guardian approaches the girl, something very unexpected happens.

Interlude - Joan

“Surprise!” says Alexis as Joan wearily opens her eyes.

What was I doing? Oh that’s right, getting a nap while I waited for Leo to come. He was going to tell me what he is-Gears is working on to help me. I can’t wait for that! I am sure Leo will be able to invent something to help me with that genius mind of his. Especially since it will be Gears not Leonard Geary providing it! He won’t have to hide his true abilities.

But I suppose I should focus on my sister.

“Hi Alex,” replies Joan as she notes her sister is wearing her Iris costume, “What are you doing here?”

“I just thought I’d see how you were doing since I just finished my patrols,” answers Alex, “I figured we could hang out since we didn’t exactly get to do that yesterday. I also have some good news.”

“What is that?” inquires Joan.

“Darkness approached the DSA and Heroes Union today,” says Alex, “And, you won’t believe this, offered to agree to what he called the Cape and Cowl Code of Conduct. To keep things civilised between parahumans so there isn’t tons of grand destructions. And guess what-”

“It includes agreeing not to go after family,” says Joan, leaving her sister speechless.

“How did you know?” demands Alex, hands on her hips.

“I watch the news you know,” points out Joan, “So why are you still floating?”

“Oh, sorry,” says Alex as she lands on the ground, “I sort of do it without thinking now. It’s cool just being able to consider gravity optional. Not as an on-off switch, but more as a slider.”

“That does sound pretty awesome,” Joan agrees with a smile, “I can only imagine what it would be like to just fly through the sky. That said, I would settle for just being able to walk more than a few metres.”

“Look on the bright side,” says Abigail as the copy she left behind reappears next to them, “At least you’re getting better.”

It’s strange having her around. I know that she is always here, but since she spends most of it being invisible, it is hard not to forget about her presence.

“And don’t forget that both Guardian and Gears have offered to help you,” points out Alex once she recovers from the momentary shock of spotting their older sister right next to her, “Those two are geniuses. I’m sure they will come up with something brilliant.”

Oh, I’m sure Leo will. He has never let me down and I don’t expect him to start anytime soon.

“So how are you and Leo?” inquires Alex, “I know the two of you are dating, but...”

She wants to know about Leo? I wonder why. Still I should tell Alex about how great Leo is.

“Leo is the best,” Joan tells her sister, “He is smart, good looking, fit and healthy. Leo has always been there for me and has yet to let me down. He helps with school work and other things that I need help with due to my condition.”

“You like him a lot then?” says Alex.

“As I said, he’s the best,” replies Joan.

Part of me does wonder if our relationship is unhealthy. I don’t think I obsess over him, but then I wouldn’t exactly be able to tell if I were.

You’re not.

 Hello Abby.

Hello Joan.

Hello Divine Magicka.

So how do you know that Leo and I have a healthy relationship?

Because you both have lives outside of each other. You are close, but neither of you base all of their actions around the other. He might be one of the only people that you interact with, but that is due to you not having access to many people. Plus he trusts you. He did tell you about his powers and choice with what to do with them.

Yeah, I guess you’re right.

Neither of you are dependent on the other. Neither of expects the other to ditch their friends for you. Neither of you get jealous when they hang out with other members of your own gender. Neither of you try to control the other. Neither of you play mind games with the other. Doing those things are signs of a bad relationship and you don’t do any of them.

Thank you for the reassurance.

No problem sis.

“You ought to know that with the rest of us renewing our interests in you, so have Mum and Dad,” says Alex, “And Mum seems to be taking on that worrying you being too young to have a boyfriend.”

What on Earth does she mean? Is Mum going to suddenly just barge into my life and start telling me to kick the only person who has been there for me out of it? It doesn’t matter that she is my mother, she does not have that right!

I understand how you are feeling, but I wouldn’t recommend telling Mum in that way. That would just make you seem like a spoiled brat in her eyes who doesn’t know what she is talking about. And that would only make things worse. Let me talk to her first.

Okay, I suppose that would be best. Wait, doesn’t Mum’s powers give her a way to mess with my head? Like yours do?

I would say that I mess with your head, but yes.

Shall I put more barriers in your mind?

Yes please Divine Magicka, but won’t Mum be angry with them?

She shouldn’t be and if she does complain, I’ll just tell her that I was giving my sister protection against mental attacks and ask her why she wouldn’t want that.

Thanks, but you do have to admit it is weird for you to just be able to read my thoughts and mess with my head. You know I trust you right?

Yeah, I know you trust me. And I see how you might be unnerved by the fact I mess with your mind by doing things such as changing your memories, personality and other aspects of your mind.

Really?

Yes, but don’t go spreading that around. I don’t want people to get freaked out by me if they found out. At the moment, the only other person I told is Leo and I assume he told the rest of his team.

Yeah. You’re certain he is okay with the fact I blew his secret identity to you?

Definitely. Leo understands that you didn’t willing do it and had no way to stop it from happening.

I suppose...

You do realise how much he cares about you right? The moment he found out about the Darkness attacking you, he came as quickly as he could and was packing the heaviest piece of firepower he had.

I know, but-

No buts! Leo was carrying a nuclear-powered ray gun and beat the Darkness within an inch of his life.

Okay, okay. Let’s talk about something else.

Like what?

Like, I don’t know, your big boobies!

“I-uh-what,” stutters Abby in real life.

“Huh?” says Alex as she looks at her.

“Joan and I were having a telepathic conversation,” explains Abby, “And it went from discussing Leo and Mum to her asking about my breasts.”

“Well, they are pretty big,” says Alex as she leans mid-air, “Especially compared to Joan’s non-existent ones. What size are you anyway Abby?”

“F Cup now,” answers Abby with a shrug, “Fortunately Aphrodite girls don’t need to wear bras. We seem to have our own anti-gravity fields around them like the superheroines in the comic books. You?”

“Only an E Cup,” replies Alex with a smile as Joan giggles, “Though I really shouldn’t be complaining about having them that big.”

“Man, it’s a shame I’ll never grow up to be like you guys,” says Joan as she lies back in her back, looking up at the ceiling to deliberately avoid seeing the reactions of her two Aphrodite sisters, “It’s nice to be able to joke around like this. Leo never really enjoyed this sort of humour.”

“He didn’t?” inquire Abby.

“Nah,” says Joan, “His sense of humour is odd and much more refined. Not that he complained or anything, but he didn’t really care when I made jokes about silly stuff, just nodding and smiling for my sake.”

They have this awkward silence for a moment as none of them are sure what to say.

“So, urr, Joan, did Leo get that laptop for you?” asks Alex to break the silence.

“Sort of,” answers Joan, “He brought a cheap one and then upgraded it. Leo is extremely smart.”

“Really,” says Alex thoughtfully.

“Yes,” says Abby, “Leo is what I would call a genius.”

“I told you that Leo is the best,” declares Joan proudly.

“As you say,” replies Alex.

Joan blinks as Alex flies over her, looking down at the face.

“So sis,” says Alex with a smile, “Want to take those photos of me as I pose? We never got around to that.”

“You bet,” replies Joan as she grins back.

Interlude - Glowbug

Nic flicks her hair over her shoulder as she lands on the rooftop. The day is getting late and night will be coming soon. Nic has just come off of patrol and as a result, the young superheroine is still in her costume.

Not that I mind. I like the feel of spandex hugging my body. I got the curves to make the look work and the fact I’m wearing a real superhero costume just makes me feel powerful.

As Nic plops herself down on the roof, she decides to wait for her younger sister Emily to come by. She usually comes by this way with her friends on her way home and today, Nic feels like intercepting her sister for a friendly chat.

The sort of friendly chat I can’t have at home because of Mum. She just can’t accept the new me unlike Emily.

Nic really likes her new body and powers. In fact, she couldn’t imagine life without them anymore.

How could I not? Before my manifestation, I was cubby, unfit and while I wasn’t exactly ugly, I wasn’t pretty either. Now look at me. I got curves, I got boobs and I’m eternally fit. Plus I don’t have to worry about minor things such as sweating or washing anymore. I don’t know how that works, but I’ll take it regardless.

And my powers are so awesome. Sure I only got my energy projection, but it is a very versatile B Class Ability. I can just think about what I want it to do and it just happens. And it is pretty easy to control once I got the hang of it.

Nic is snapped out of her thoughts as she hears her sister’s voice. She gets to her feet and glances down at the street below, spotting Emily with a couple of her friends, both on her school’s female soccer team.

Whilst Nicola and Emily Hatheway used to look similar, one wouldn’t no longer recognise the two of them as sisters from appearance alone.

And that is one of the few things I don’t like about my powers.

Emily has short brown hair and a slim, athletic body in contrast to Nic’s long blonde hair and curvaceous, buxom body. The only thing they share now are their blue eyes, inherited from their asshole of a father.

And I’m fitter, faster and stronger than she is. Except Emily actually earned her prowess while I had it handed to me out of now. Plus she has to work to maintain it while I don’t have to do diddly squat. The fact that my powers make me lazy compared to my sister is one of the other few things I don’t like about it.

Deciding to go with the element of surprise, Nic flies down at her sister before she or her friends can notice and pounces on Emily from behind, throwing her arms around her.

Emily yelps and she plus both of her friends jump in shock whilst Nic just grins at her sister.

“Sup Em,” says Nic.

“Oh hey Nic,” replies Emily as she recovers from the surprise entry, “Do you have to sneak up like that?”

“No,” replies Nic shameless.

“Well, okay,” says Emily as she tries to break free of Nicola’s grip, only for Nic to tighten her hold, “Um, Nic?  You can let me go now?”

“I was hoping to chat with you,” replies Nic, refusing to let her sister go and using her superior strength to firmly hold her sister.

“Can’t we do that at home?” asks Emily in exasperation.

With Mum around? She would stick her busy little nose in our business like the old hag that she is.

“No,” replies Nic, “And you know why.”

“Fine,” grumbles Emily with a sigh, “Julia, Tracy, I’ll catch up with the two of you later or tomorrow.”

Both of Emily’s friends mutter their goodbyes and Nic takes that as her que to go. Making sure that she has a firm grip on Emily, Nic activates her powers and flies straight up with Emily.

Nic doesn’t bother supressing the grin that comes to her face as Emily squeals in terror as they zoom up into the sky.

“Oh my gosh,” gasps Emily as they come to a halt in the middle of the sky, far beyond the view of anybody on the ground, “Don’t do that. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“You’ll be fine,” replies Nic nonchalantly as she forms a floor of yellow energy below them and puts Emily down on it, “I wouldn’t let you get hurt.”

“Is your power the only thing keeping me up here?” asks Emily nervously as she looks down at the yellow energy construct that she is standing on, “Because I don’t want to fall to my death.”

“Relax Em,” laughs Nic, “I just wanted to tell you about my crush.”

“Your crush?” repeats Emily as she looks up at Nic, “Who is it? Shift? Atlas? Gears? Techno? Is it even a superhero?”

“Oh, it’s a superhero alright,” replies Nic, “But it isn’t a boy. As a matter of fact, it’s Guardian that I’m crushing on Em.”

“Oh,” mutters Emily, “I, I can see why you didn’t want to have this discussion with Mum about.”

“Definitely,” agrees Nic, “Mum is a bigoted bitch.”

“I wouldn’t go that far to call, oh never mind,” says a flustered Emily before stopping as Nic gives her a look, “So are you gay now?”

Oh, she is a defending our mother again. I might as well mess with her a bit again then. She deserves it. Nothing serious of course, just a bit of sisterly teasing.

“No, just bi,” replies Nic as she covertly activates her personal energy field around her chest, “I just want to tell someone I can trust to keep it secret. And I know I can count you.”

“Um, thanks,” replies Emily as she blushes in embarrassment, “May I ask you something?”

“Sure,” says Nic as she begins to paces.

I really shouldn’t tell her about how bad my crush on Guardian has gotten. I really wasn’t serious at first, but I just can’t keep her out of my thoughts.

“I don’t want to sound silly or anything,” says Emily in a very self-conscious manner as Nic notes her eyes are slowly straying to her chest.

It’s working!

“But I was hoping you could get Alexandria’s autograph for me,” Emily asks sheepishly before looking away.

Oh, I can get that for Emily for sure. Me and Charlotte are pals. And I need her to be looking at me for my prank to work.

“I’ll call her now then,” replies Nic in a sly tone as she pulls her phone out, causing Emily to snap her head back around to look at her.

“You wouldn’t!” exclaims Emily, looking as if she isn’t sure to be pleased or worried while Nic increases the intensity of the energy around her chest.

“Sure I will,” replies Nic as she dails Charlotte’s personal number from her contacts, “Hey Char.”

“Oh, hi Nic,” replies Charlotte over the phone as she answers

“I wanted to ask you a favour,” says Nic as she grins at her sister’s mortified expression, “I would like to introduce you to my sister.”

“Sure, any particular reason why?” answers Charlotte.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” replies Nic, “Emily just asked me if I could get your autograph for her, so I decided just to get you to meet her instead.”

“And she is standing right in front of you listening to every word you’re saying,” says Charlotte dryly, “Do you like to torment your sister?”

“I’m not tormenting her,” protests Nic in mock indignation, “I’m doing her a favour as a matter of fact.”

“And embarrassing her at the same time,” mutters Charlotte, “Still, I would like to meet your sister. Call back when you have a good time for us to meet.”

“Will do Char,” says Nic, “See ya later.”

“Take care Nic,” replies Charlotte before Nic ends the call.

“Alexandria has agreed to meet you,” Nic informs her sister and feels pleased as she internal notes that Emily can’t tear her eyes away from her chest.

It’s working!

“Nic?” says Emily in a slightly mesmerised voice as Nic giggles.

“Yeah Em?” replies Nic as she gets her giggles in check.

“Why can’t I stop staring at your breasts?” asks Emily in a tone that is both nervous and accusing.

“Oh, I don’t know,” replies Nic with a big smirk all over her face, “Why are you staring at my boobies?”

“Knock it off!” demands Emily in an angry voice, “I may not know how you are doing it, but we both know it’s you and your powers.”

“Alright,” says Nic as she raises her hands into the air, “You caught me pranking you. But wouldn’t you like to grope them first?”

“No!” yells Emily.

“Are you sure?” inquires Nic in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“Yes!” shouts Emily, “Darn it Nic, I told you this before! I. Don’t. Want. To. Grope. Your. Boobs.”

“Fine,” replies Nic dramatically as she gets rid of the energy field around her chest.

“Thank you,” replies Emily as she looks away from Nic.

I’ll get you to do it someday. Just wait and see Em.

There is a moment of silence as neither sister is sure of what to say.

“I enjoy spending time together as sisters,” says Nic as she breaks the silence first.

“Yeah, me too,” agrees Emily as she looks back at Nic with a slight smile on her face.