1.19 Ascendance Part 1

“Come on Leo,” says Joan with a rush of joy in her voice as she pulls him down the corridor.

Leo doesn’t resist as his girlfriend pulls him along, just going along with whatever she wants from him.

It’s the least I can do. I don’t think I’ve been a good boyfriend to Joan lately.

We have been rather busy these last few days as Gears.

And as a result, we have been neglecting Joan.

At least we spent time with her last night.

But even then I can’t shake the feeling we left her feeling disappointed.

Probably because of how we ignore her new appearance and body shape when she has wanted them for almost as long as we have known her.

We can’t help that. We just really don’t care about those sort of things.

I know and so does Joan. And that just makes things worse.

Yeah.            

“So what are we going to do dear?” asks Leo as Joan heads towards her room.

“Well,” says Joan excitedly, “With Dad, Bree, Iris and Marcy out at work, our Mums starting their new business together and Allison, Legacy and Bel hanging out together, I think this is the perfect time for us to have some time together as a couple. We can watch a romantic movie or something up in my room whilst we snuggle together. One of Abby’s dups will the only other person in the house.”

“Sounds good,” replies Leo.

“Really?” asks Joan as they enter her room, “You’re not just saying that are you?”

“No,” answers Leo firmly, “If I’m honest with myself, I haven’t been spending as much time with you as I should be. Recently, I’ve been too active as Gears to give you the proper time that you deserve.”

“Oh Leo,” replies Joan as she pulls him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his waist, “You don’t need to worry about that. I completely understand that you had more important things to deal with. I mean, I don’t expect you to abandon your teammates or let countless innocents die at the hands of monsters just so you can be with me. Frankly, after everything you have done for me over these last two years and a half, I’m not exactly going to complain that you spent a few days saving the world.”

“I knew you would be understanding,” says Leo as he smiles down at Joan.

“You bet I am,” replies Joan as she grins back at him, “Honestly Leo, I’m certain you don’t even begin to understand how many brownie points you have built up with me.”

“Apparently not,” replies Leo before letting out a laugh, “Come on dear, let’s go and pick out that movie.

***

Joan sighs internally as she follows Leo into her bedroom.

Despite possibly being the smartest person on the planet, Leo can so dense at time. He may be a total genius and all, but he can really suck when it comes to relationships at times.

Joan glances down at her new assets on her chest and gives them a slight squeezes with her arms as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“Are you okay?” asks Leo, glancing back over his shoulder at her.

“Yeah,” replies Joan, “Just getting annoyed at the major difference between my super high libido and your superpowered total lack of it.”

I bet most girls would have to worry about getting boys to look them in eyes rather than in chest and yet here I am struggling to get my boyfriend to even glance at my breasts. This is so frustrating and worst part of it is that I am the one that has changed, not Leo.

“Sorry,” apologies Leo, “Romance is one of my weakest points.”

“The only thing that you are worst at is being a jerk,” jokes Joan as she closes the door behind her.

“I can be one if I want to,” protests Leo and Joan just can’t tell if he is being serious or just joking about like she is, “I just don’t see the point. What is the benefit of being mean to people anyway?”

“Satisfaction?” guesses Joan.

“What sort of person gets satisfaction from treating others badly?” counters Leo, “I just don’t get why somebody would be mean. For starters, it is impractical and counterproductive in the long run.”

“I totally agree with you on that one,” agrees Joan, “So what movie do you want watch?”

“I thought you were picking dear,” replies Leo.

“While I suggested a romantic movie-what is wrong Leo?” asks Joan as she notices Leo suddenly go alert.

“Something isn’t right,” answers Leo sharply as he pulls out his smartphone, “Damn. A sphere of an unknown material has encased the building and the surrounding land and I have lost all outside contact. Including Jaylyn.”

“That is bad, very bad,” whispers Joan as Leo furiously taps away at his phone.

“I still got the local net-” starts Leo before going silent as they both hear Abby scream in pain, “Five parahuman intruders. Just took down the Abigail duplicate lethally. Led by our friend Jane Smith. Activating all local defences.”

Time to put my superhuman physique and Guardian’s combat training to use. I might not be as a good as a professional vigilante like Leo, but I can hold my own.

Just as Joan turns around to open the bedroom door, the wall next to it comes crashing inwards as large man comes barrelling through.