Bear in Sheep's Clothing | Book #1

Prologue: get your hands off

"Mmmtghfoomfh," Léon said.

"Well, it doesn't change the fact that things can't be unseen, Warp. But you're a villain after all, right? That's what villains do, I suppose. Traumatize people. And let me tell you, you're doing a wonderful job." He dropped his comic book on his lap and threw a pointed look at Léon. "Trauma is real."

Léon rolled his eyes. "Mmontmmhtisop!"

"Of course, Warp. Tell you what, let me explain to you our twelve-step de-villainization program—"

An explosion broke his phrase in half and did the same with the wall on the opposite side of the room. Smoke and debris spilled inside as tongues of fire licked nearby columns. The sound of steps over loose rubble reached his ears as a group approached.

Cotton Candy furrowed his brow, readying his Cotton Cannon. "What the f—"

A roar echoed inside the warehouse. Eyes wide, Cotton staggered as a massive shadow clipped the light that pierced through the smoke. "Santa Madrecita," he whispered.

"Well, look who we meet again," a woman said, walking through the dense smoke. As she stepped out of it, Bureau Assassin unrolled her two whips and cracked them on the floor. Her high-heeled, shocking-blue boots crushed the debris as she approached. "Without the League here, we're gonna squash you, Cotton."

Cotton charged his weapon and chuckled. "I'd like to see you try!"

"Can I try too? Oh, hello!" another voice said, its owner trailing behind Bureau. The second woman was pale, lanky, and short, with big, blue, and unblinking eyes. Her bald head seemed to shimmer with the glitter in her fascinator.

"Of course you can help, Parfait." Bureau whisked her whips, and they both snapped and curled around Cotton's neck. "But let me make the first move." She tugged at them, bringing Cotton Candy down with a dull thud. As Bureau paraded around the fallen man with a certain arrogance, her rust-colored curls bobbed. Dogs barked outside, almost as if translating the violence in her brown eyes.

"Not so fast." Cotton gripped the rough leather of Bureau's whip while his other hand clasped her ankle. He furrowed his eyebrows. From the palms of his hands gurgled a dense, pink foam that spread over the leather of both the whip and the woman's high-heeled boots.

Bureau gasped as bubblegum-pink foam covered her foot and her entire leg. "Dude, these boots are real leather. Parfait, help!" Bureau's whips were disintegrating under Cotton Candy's fingers. Around her paralyzed leg, the burning effervescence was eating up the blue fabric, showing the black skin under her uniform.

Cotton glared at Parfait. "You better help this imbecile, baldie. Otherwise, she won't be needing another pair of boots." He got up and threw aside the remainings of Bureau's whips.

Parfait ran to Bureau, fishing a golden scissor from her golden backpack.

"Please stand down and surrender." Cotton Candy nursed the sore skin of his neck. "The rest of the Heroic League already knows you're here." He looked around, and his eyes set on the fallen plastipaper box of sashimi. "Aw, man," he mumbled. "Y'all know how expensive this shit is? I'm glad you'll all be taken care of when The Mayor gets here."

Another voice joined in, "You forgot someone, mate."

Grizzly Bear growled from the top of his six-and-a-half-feet. He flexed his muscles while, one by one, the tribal tattoos on his arms glowed a bright green. Against the light, the black leather of his uniform showed the silhouette of the muscles underneath. He used those same old drawstring pants and the tight tank top ripped by claw marks, the spiked bracelets missing a few spikes, and the dusty and bloodied sleeveless overcoat. Still, there was pure strength and sovereignty in him.