𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐁𝐘.
vic stood in front of the table. "i'm sure you're all wondering why i've gathered you here."
"nah. we just assumed you wanted to show off another one of your half-baked creations, so we're just gonna smile and nod a lot to speed things up." amy toyed with a machine.
"glad you know your place in this household." vic said sarcastically. "colby, i know your last flashform helmet didn't work out."
"you looked better with the helmet on." i joked.
"no i don't! you think i'm cute." colby said. "my good looks would go to waste."
"definitely."
colby turned back to his father.
"but seriously? didn't work out? i have a permanent ring around my neck from where it cut off the oxygen to my brain!" colby said dramatically.
"babe, the only thing close to a brain that you have is all that hair." i pointed at his head.
he snapped back. "okay, wow, you're rude! helpful or hurtful still applies to you!"
i stifled a laugh.
"how much oxygen was really getting up there, huh?" vic joked.
colby rolled his eyes.
"anyway, i made you a new one!" vic said, pulling out a new helmet.
"why do i even need a helmet?" colby asked.
"because you're a newbie, and you need the added protection!" vic reminded. "which is why this helmet has x-ray vision, force field activation, and this right here-"
the helmet beeped.
"is that a fucking microwave?" i questioned.
jake laughed.
"i hope so." colby said.
"no, it's your back up cam!" vic said.
"got one of those for moms car?" jake asked.
"you back into 3 hotdog stands, and suddenly you're a bad driver." eva rolled her eyes.
"i just need to transfer the teleportation module from the old helmet to this new one. so if you're ever in trouble, just push this button, and it'll teleport you back to the lair." vic explained.
"that helmet is cooler than the other one." i said, taking a bite out of my pop tart.
"so anyone wearing that helmet can just push a button and teleport into the lair?" amy asked, nervously.
"yep! and why are you asking questions? shouldn't you be smiling and nodding?" vic asked. "colby, go grab the old helmet, i'll get the tools ready for the transfer."
vic left the room.
oh my god.
the old helmet is-
"what are we gonna? we gave the old helmet to that kid milo so he wouldn't tell anyone about the lair!" amy remembered.
"wait, so you gave the flash-form helmet to the quirky kid at school, and at any moment, he could teleport into our lair? oh, that's delightful!" jake laughed.
"we had too, so your dad wouldn't know he's been in the lair!" eva reminded.
"well, dads coming back!" colby warned.
"i will stall your father. you 3, go find milo." eva waved us off.
"let's go rob his bitch ass!" i suggested.
colby grinned, and ran up the stairs. "you know, i like the new you better."
new you?
i brushed off the comment.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
we walked through the hallway.
"we gotta get my helmet back. how do we find that milo kid?" colby questioned.
"just follow the worlds most annoying voice." amy said.
"gather 'round, my peeps!" a voice called.
"there he is." i nodded.
"behold, the newest addition to milo's magnificent superhero memorabilia collection!" milo said, holding up a pair of shorts. "blue boulders underpants!"
"no way he has his underwear. i know he sniffs them at night." i cringed.
"why would you put that idea in my head?" colby gagged.
the crowd that has been around milo quickly walked away.
"come on, they're special 'cause they're used!" milo said.
"by him, or blue boulder?" i asked.
"probably both." colby said.
milo frowned.
"hey, milo!" amy approached him, now that he was alone. "is this a bad time? if it is, i don't care, we're talking anyway!"
"you! the cause of all my suffering." milo stared.
"yeah. it's kinda my thing." amy grinned.
"we need flash-forms helmet back." colby interrupted.
"that cursed helmet is what i'm talking about! you said flash-form was gonna be a huge supervillain, and i showed it to everyone, but he never emerged! and now they all think i'm a joke." milo complained.
i'm gonna emerge into colby's dms.
"aw, milo, don't be so hard on yourself. i'm pretty sure they were thinking that before!" amy joked.
colby rolled his eyes.
"no one will hook me up with the good stuff anymore, and i'm back to being a social outcast. all because flash-form is too lame to show himself." milo shoved the underwear into his backpack. "well, if he even exists."
"oh, he definitely exists! and he's the most dangerous supervillain around." colby said, offended.
"no, milo, it's true! flash-form is lame. you know, i heard he quit being a supervillain because he got an ouchie from a mall cop." amy lied.
"yeah. fuck flash-form." i said sarcastically. "now give me the helmet."
colby rolled his eyes.
"it's yours." milo said.
"sweet!" colby smiled.
"for $1,800!" milo offered.
"oh hell no." i blinked.
i had the money.
but did i really wanna spend that much?
"not sweet." colby said.
"you just said flash-forms a dud! no one would even want it." any complained.
"true. but you want it. and i am a businessman." milo said.
"you're a fucking scammer." i shook my head.
"let me know when you're ready to talk turkey." milo ignored the comment.
"oh, we're ready. unless turkey means money. we don't have any of that." colby said.
"well then, i think we're done here. and don't even try to steal the helmet. my new doberman, shotzee, doesn't play around. except when i rub her belly. then, she's real silly." milo laughed. "but not with intruders!"
milo walked off.
"well i can imagine why people don't wanna spend time with him!" amy said.
"can we just rob him?" i questioned.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
i stared at colby's outfit.
"do i look amazing?" he questioned.
he did a few random poses.
"no." i said sarcastically.
"you think i look good." he grinned.
milo's voice was heard.
i looked up. a crowd was behind him.
"in here, i know exactly what it's like to be flash-form." milo said.
he was wearing the helmet.
"what the fuck?" i questioned.
"milo, why are you wearing that helmet?" amy asked.
"that's cute. acting like you don't know flash-form revealed himself for the first time last night." milo said, taking the helmet off.
"what are you talking about?" i asked.
amy and i both turned to face colby.
"flash-form put out a video, and it instantly went viral! check it out!" milo held out his phone.
amy snatched it from him, holding it so we could all see it.
"i am flash-form! watch as i go from nothing.. to something!" flash-form said.
he disappeared, and reappeared.
"flash-form can rock any form! from flex.. to t-rex!" he transformed into a strong man, to a dinosaur, back to flash-form.
"a bubbling barrel of flesh-eating slime? that's nothing for flashform." he said, and dipped his arm into it.
his arm disappeared. "oh no!"
it regenerated a moment later. "oh yeah!"
"colby, what the fuck is this?" i whispered to him.
"which power was your favorite? mine was all of them." colby asked.
"you're right! flash-form is amazing." milo agreed. "and because you gave me this helmet, i got all my cred back! i'm never giving this thing up!"
he walked away.
we slowly turned to face colby.
colby's so stupid!
but he looks so good.
and he's stupid!
"colby, you're so dumb." i groaned.
amy said nothing.
"i know you're mad.. but did you see the part where i was the dinosaur?" colby questioned.
"a bunch of people saw it." i reminded him.
"what were you thinking making that video?" amy asked.
"look, you don't get it. you're all established villains and i'm not. so when milo said i was lame, i had to do something, or i'd look like a loser." colby confessed.
"you're not a loser, colby. especially not when it's milo saying it." i reassured him.
"okay, i understand, but now that everyone thinks flash-form is amazing, milo is never gonna give us that helmet back." amy frowned.
the bell ring.
"see you here after next period when you can all marvel again at flashforms amazing- and you're gone." milo said, as the crowd disappeared.
"i like your pants!" i said, complimenting a girl wearing pink jeans, as she walked past me.
"thank you." she smiled.
"oh wow, milo, this whole flash-form things really working out for ya." amy said.
"now i know why you want the helmet so bad. so people would follow you like they're following me. well too late, they love me! and i love them loving me." milo began to walk away.
"uh, actually, it wasn't us who wanted the helmet back. it was flash-form himself." amy called out to milo.
"yeah, like you know a supervillain."
"how else do you think we got the helmet? it didn't just fall from the sky. flash-form doesn't fly."
"at least, not yet!" colby grinned, placing an arm around my shoulder.
i stared at his arm, and tried to focus.
"he's gonna fly into that wall if he doesn't stop talking." amy cut him off.
"yeah, shut up." i agreed.
he made a face at me.
"you're immature." i glared.
"you're immature-er!" he defended.
"watch how fast i knock you out." i threatened.
"you can't. i'll run away. i'm younger than you. you can't hit me. cougar!" colby said.
"cougar? do you even know what that is?" i asked.
"well, you clearly have inside connections." milo began. "tell you what. i'll give flash-form the helmet back. if he comes here to pick it up himself!"
"what?" amy asked.
"why? you want him?" i questioned milo. "you can't have him."
"he's not just gonna come to our school like a toy on show and tell." amy said.
"yeah! flash-forms a beast. at least, he looked like one in that video. can we watch it again?" colby leaned against the locker.
"yeah, flash-form is the love of my life." i agreed, sarcastically.
colby's cheeks turned their usual shade of rose.
"i'm sure we could get him to meet you somewhere more private." amy offered.
"what does that do for me? only thing better than having flash-forms helmet is having him beg me for it, in front of everyone." milo dreamed. "then, there'll be no doubt that i'm the coolest guy at school!"
"yeah, i don't know if that's the best-" colby began.
"deal." amy said.
"what?" colby asked.
"shut up!" i stopped him.
he huffed, and stopped speaking.
"flash-form will be here after school." amy told him.
"then so shall i be!" milo grinned, and walked off.
"let's just jump him and take the helmet, please!" i suggested, for the 8th time.
colby glared at his sister.
"you wanted to be the villain. don't get shy on me now." amy glared back.
"you'll do fine." i reassured.
colby was nervous for the rest of the day.
he spent every second staring at the clock.
when it was finally time, he changed in the bathroom, and his spare clothes were shoved at the bottom of his backpack.
"i don't know about this, guys." colby said, nervously. "usually, i'm all for wearing my villain suit, you know, since i never got to be a villain."
"oh, i'm sorry, i don't think i rsvp'd to this pity party. what's your point?" amy asked.
"harsh." i blinked. "what's wrong?"
"i just don't think it's a good idea to be flash-form at school." colby said.
"whu? no one knows it's you. plus, schools over. i bet there's not that many people." amy shrugged.
i placed my hands on his shoulders. "you're gonna do fine!" i reassured.
a crowd of people entered the building.
"holy shit." i said.
"well, well, well. you finally showed up." milo stepped forward.
"yes. i travelled a great distance to be here." flash-form lied. "like, way more than a couple of miles, that's for sure."
he's so stupid.
i love him.
"so now, you can just give me the helmet." flash-form held out his hand.
"not so fast. you got game, flash-form, but like my tee ball coach used to tell me, you play for the wrong team, kid!" milo said.
"team? what are you talking about?" flash-form questioned.
"you're team supervillain, and i've always been on team superhero, which makes you my enemy!"
"wait, what?"
"shut the fuck up, milo!" i called out.
"enemy? then what was that whole thing about you wanting him to come to school so you could be popular?" amy questioned.
"exactly! you're his biggest fan." i glared.
"oh, i'm gonna be popular." milo said, and pulled out a weapon from his backpack. "when i destroy flash-form for superheroes everywhere!"
the crowd of people cheered.
"this is not how i pictured my villain debut." flash-form whispered to us.
"oh, yeah, i should've warned you. people kind of hate us." amy reminded.
milo continued to brag about how he'd defeat flash-form.
"maybe you should, like, leave?" i suggested.
"yeah, use that invisibility power of yours." amy
agreed.
"no. the whole reason i made that video was to prove that flash-form isn't weak. if i just turn invisible and run away, that's exactly what they're gonna think!" flash-form worried.
"who cares what they think?" i asked.
"i care! you don't understand, because you're so sweet, and everybody likes you!" he said.
"is that supposed to be an insult?" i questioned.
"no!"
"wow. ego over safety. you really are dads son." amy said.
"he can't hurt me. i can regenerate." flash-form reassured me.
"good thing i brought my anti-regeneration laser." milo showed his weapon.
"now what?" i questioned, nervously.
"if i have invisibility, i might as well use it." flash-form decided, and disappeared.
"cool, he's using invisibility! i mean- whatever, it's okay.. come on, i'll show you how to take him down!" milo ran off.
the crowd ran after him.
damn. they're tracking down my soulmate.
flash-form appeared next to us when the crowd was gone.
"come on, let's get out of here." he urged.
"no way! we've come way too far." amy refused. "we're getting that helmet back. i've got a plan."
flash-form disappeared.
milo and his crowd returned after failing to find flash-form.
"we scared flash-form away, so victory is mine!" milo cheered.
the crowd cheered.
"and now, i invite you all to a celebratory cup of vegan fro-yo! okay, i know what you're thinking, but trust me. if you pinch your nose, the eggplant tastes just like chocolate." milo reassured.
"i got news for you, milo. just because you can't see flash-form, doesn't mean he ran away." amy crossed her arms. "he just strike when you least expect it."
"oh, you mean like this?" milo asked.
he pointed his weird weapon, and colby materialized out of nowhere.
"oh, come on! you just have a weapon for everything, don't you?" any asked.
"i hate you." i glared at milo.
"this is how blue boulder beat the invisible giant. i recommend watching my deep dive analysis video when you have 5 hours to spare. you can break it up, but it's better to just binge it." milo suggested.
flash-form pulled us away. "what do i do?"
"every part of my plan involved you being invisible! the time you wanna bring something to the table, be my guest." amy suggested.
"if you don't just fucking out-run him and leave. we can rob him later!" i groaned.
milo shot at flash-form with a weapon.
"it's a stun ray! i can't move!" flash-form panicked.
"the time has come! before i destroy this supervillain, i'm gong to do the obvious." milo began.
"what? tinkle in your undies?" amy questioned.
"unmask him! that's right! not only am i not giving him his old helmet back, i'm taking his new one, too! prepare to be unmasked, villain!" milo cheered.
"if you get close to him, i'm actually beat the shit out of you, milo." i threatened, panicking.
"you leave me no choice. give me the helmet!" flash-form glowed blue.
the school rumbled.
"no!" milo said.
flash-form extended his hand out, and forced milo over to him.
"you have kinetic manipulation!" milo asked.
"another new power?" amy asked.
"he has like, 15 already." i agreed.
"helmet, now." flash-form waited.
milo threw the helmet in his hands, and ran away.
"thank you, guys." flash-form turned to face us.
"of course." i smiled.
"i'm happy you didn't die." amy said.
flash-form moved his hands, and the doors flew open.
the crowd that had at first gathered for milo, cheered for flash-form.
"thank you, thank you, follow my socials!" he called out.
"i'm your number one follower, stinkabutt!" i called out to him.
"you're number one in my heart!" he called back, as the crowd followed him.
"i would make fun of you, but i kinda feel bad. how dare you rob me of that joy?" amy asked.
"i only did it to look cool. i figured if i took down a supervillain, everyone would like me." milo toyed with the weapon.
"milo, people should like you because of who you are, not because of what you have, or that you took down a supervillain." amy took a seat next to him.
the school was empty.
"if that's the only reason they wanna hang out with you, they're not good friends." amy said.
"yeah, milo. you don't have to make people to like you. they should like you regardless." i smiled at him.
"you just threatened to beat me up." he reminded.
"i've changed." i said, smiling at him.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
i walked through the back door.
colby carried the helmet.
"wow, colby. impressive. not only did you get the old helmet back, but you showed everyone that flash form is not someone to be messed with." amy complimented.
"yeah. it was so cool to actually be a villain, even if it was just for a day." colby smiled.
"i'm happy for you." i said, reaching into the fruit basket.
he's so happy being a villain.
i could never take that away from him.
"plus, now i know i can do this!" colby said, snatching up the apple from my hand.
"i was literally about to eat that." i complained.
"sharing is caring." he shrugged, and took a bite.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
flora played with the hem of her skirt.
the cold breeze froze her legs.
"sorry!" angel apologized, running and taking a seat next to her.
he set the box of french fries down.
each night, angel would show up with a snack, and flora would show up with a bunch of topics to talk about.
and that'd all they'd do.
they'd just sit and talk for hours.
they couldn't talk about superhero things in their normal lives, so having each other was really cool.
"do you think i'm mean?" flora asked, after a moment of silence.
"no." he answered, instantly. "i don't think you have the ability."
"like.. i don't know. do you think i've changed in the last few months?"
"no, cupid. i've told you this several times before. you're the nicest girl i know. you are not a horrible monster because you make a few jokes."
"i know. but sometimes i just feel like it does."
"it doesn't. you're really sweet."
he made her feel so kind.
she'd been worried that she was mean.
that being around colby had somehow changed her, and the comments he made weren't any better.
but, angel made her feel like the sweetest person on the planet.
"if you didn't like me, why did you kiss me back?" angel asked, out of nowhere. "and i'm not trying to pressure you into anything! you don't have to answer if you don't want too."
"i don't know." flora replied.
angel just nodded.