Saturday came fairly quickly. At noon, I zoomed into the power lines and met Victor a few blocks down from the mall's main entrance. We were both dressed in civilian clothes to avoid any unwanted attention. Unfortunately, I had my suit stashed away in my bag for when I needed to change into it. Anything larger than a mugging requires my full attire. I can't risk anyone recognizing me on the news.
"So what's the plan?" Victor asked in a shy, timid voice. His alter ego was so astonishing different from his true self.
"First of all, add a little confidence," I chastised.
He sighed dramatically, stood up a little straighter, and looked me in the eye. I assessed him with a finger perched thoughtfully on my chin.
He wore a light blue, almost grey, button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Beneath that, he sported a pair of khakis and some sandals. I reached up and plucked the glasses from his face, knowing that he could see perfectly fine without them, and ruffled up his no longer drastically windswept hair. His golden locks now came down to tickle the tips of his ears and I could just make out a faint stubble on his chin. At this point, he was almost unrecognizable to me. It's always weird seeing someone out of costume.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked, his voice timid again.
"Hey," I said, "Be confident."
He bit his lip.
"Repeat after me," I instructed, "I'm Victor Greyson and I have confidence."
He hesitated but complied, "I'm Victor Greyson and I have confidence."
"I'm Victor Greyson and I'm too bad for my own good."
"Johanna, this is ridiculous," he argued.
"Say it."
He sighed, "I'm Victor Greyson and I'm too bad for my own good."
"I'm Victor Greyson and I'm going to get the girl."
He bit his lip, his eyes flitting away momentarily before looking back at me with a newfound confidence, "I'm Victor Greyson and I'm going to get the girl."
"Excellent," I smiled. I shoved him lightly towards the the entrance, "Now get in there and text me when you find someone."
He let out a shaky breath before stalking off into the building.
I didn't have to wait long until my phone buzzed.
Victor
Macy's. She's a redhead and I just heard her talking about a big breakup with her friend. -V
K. I'll be there in 5. -J
I grabbed onto the nearest line I could find and zapped into a bathroom. Thankfully, it was empty, and I changed quickly into my cursed spandex.
I left my backpack hanging on the door hook and crawled out of the locked stall, taping an 'Out of order' sign to the front. That ought to keep people out of my stuff.
Satisfied, I grabbed onto a light above the sink and zoomed out to the Macy's entrance.
I don't know why, but I always seemed to favor my pistol over my electricity. I guess it sends the 'I mean business' vibe pretty well. It's more of an attention grabber.
I lifted said pistol towards the ceiling and fired. A few people screamed and everyone snapped their heads in my direction. I smiled maliciously as my eyes wandered over the customers. I caught sight of Victor standing near some red headed chick and assumed that was who he was going for.
"I'm assuming you all know the drill at this point," I said seductively as I sent sparks flying in every direction. Everyone dropped to the floor and I saw Victor grab the girl's wrist and drag her behind one of the counters. Go Vick!
I killed my electricity and sauntered over to the boy manning the cash register. "Stand up, sweetheart," I whispered to the cowering cashier. He gulped but obeyed. My gloved hand reached out to touch his face but he flinched away. I laughed and sent him a feral grin. Glancing down at his name tag, I continued, "Ryan, is it?" He gulped and nodded. He couldn't be much older than me, "Would you be a dear and open up that register for me?" I taunted him by playing with the weapon in my hands.
He blinked a few times before turning to punch a few buttons. The drawer slid open and I reached past him to collect the contents.
***
Victor
As soon as Johanna came in and started shooting up the place, I edged closer to the red head. We all stood in a daze until Johanna started sparking. In a nervous rush, I seized the girl's wrist and pulled her behind one of the counters.
"Ow," she said in a hushed voice as her butt made contact with the floor.
"Sorry," I whispered in an equally as hushed voice as I peered over the edge of the counter to 'assess the situation'.
I ducked back down as Johanna sauntered over to the register. Be confident Victor. You can do this.
"What's your name?" I whispered, self conscious that she was staring at me.
"Olivia Halston," she whispered, fear edging in her voice. I would normally feed off of that fear, but now, I just wanted it to disappear.
"Victor Greyson," I whispered back, sticking out my hand. She took it with cold, shaking fingers.
"That name sounds familiar," she whispered, trying to peer above the counter herself, "Do I know you from somewhere?"
I shrugged, "I'm just your average college kid."
"Oh," her eyes widened as she had a small revelation, "I think you're in my Statistics class."
"Oh, yeah," I chuckled softly, "I attend that class on occasion. It's ridiculously easy though."
She smiled back at me.
"Well, maybe we can acknowledge each other's presence sometime if we make it out of here alive," I suggested as I leaned up to peek over the counter again.
I slid back down again and she smiled, "Yeah."
A loud boom and a deep voice interrupted our conversation and I looked up to see a large super dressed in gold and white.
Not good.
***
Johanna
"Hey!" A deep voice sounded behind me. I turned with an annoyed look on my face to find an idiot dressed in gold and white spandex. A gold cape fluttered behind him as he walked forward. This wasn't any super I recognized.
"Who the hell are you," I asked, disgust dripping in my voice as I sized him up.
"I'm the Golden Bullet," he said confidently, "And I'm here to stop you."
I rolled my eyes and turned a disinterested eye away from the boy, bent on continuing to torment the cashier.
"Hey!" he said again, grabbing my shoulder and roughly twisting me around. He gripped my spandex and lifted me off the floor.
I laughed seductively, though internally I was panicking profusely, "You must be new around here, Goldie Locks."
My voice remained in control, though my feet dangled a good foot off the floor. Goldie Locks and I stared into each other's eyes for a few moments. I smirked all the while. The electricity inside me flared to life and traveled up the guy's arm. He held on a surprisingly long time before dropping me and shaking out his no doubt stinging arm.
I quickly cocked my gun and pointed it at the new guy. He only smirked, "Take a guess at why they call me Golden Bullet."
I cocked an eyebrow, "You're not serious, are you?"
He grinned, "Go ahead. Shoot me."
I didn't wait for him to tell me twice. The shot rang out and instead of making a thud as it embedded into his flesh, a sharp ting echoed through the air as the bullet ricocheted off his chest. I cursed loudly as the metal came back to graze my side.
I tossed my gun to the side in frustration and growled at the hero.
He lunged at me, and I was unable to get out of the way fast enough. He tackled me down to the floor and the floor splintered beneath us, drawing blood as it scraped at my elbows. Damn this boy was strong.
"Swift!" I growled, "You better get your ass down here in a hurry!"
I tried to twist out from under the boy but he was already straddling me, pinning my arms down with his own. There was a sharp pain in my chest, probably a broken rib from that impact.
He maneuvered one of my arms so that it was pinned under his knee and then brought his free hand up. I prepared for the impact, but wasn't ready for the sickeningly strong punch that nearly drug me into unconsciousness. A metallic taste filled my mouth and I used it to spit in his face. He recoiled, and I was able to get both my hands free. With one hand, I grabbed onto a power outlet, and the other, I placed over his heart. I forced an immense amount of voltage into the super's chest, enough electricity to kill a normal person. He convulsed and his body started to shake violently as my sparks danced around him.
I felt his body go limp as he fell into unconsciousness. I tried to push him off of me, but grunted in pain as I tried to do so.
My vision was starting to fade. I was losing too much blood. If I passed out here, the authorities would find me and reveal my identity to the public. That was not an option.
"Swift," my voice was weak, and so was my cough as a small gurgle of blood found its way out to roll down the side of my cheek.
"I'm here," I heard him, but his voice sounded far away. I barely noticed as the weight of the unconscious hero was lifted off of me. I slipped into a pit of darkness as Swift's arms swept under me.
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Hey everyone! How are you feeling about a new hero in town? One that doesn't follow the rules of the contracts? I think Johanna has met her match. Click the little star if you enjoyed this chapter!