I rap my knuckles on the door to the apartment, standing there a little awkwardly in the middle of the hallway, all dolled up in a bright red dress for the club. Allacia lives in the Bowl’s apartment levels, which are provided to heroes for secure lodgings. However, due to how cheap they are compared to prices in the city, many new and even veteran heroes prefer them over standard housing. Regardless, no matter how many times I come here, I can never get over how weird it feels to see the Bowl’s metal polished look transition to the more furnished, hotel-esque feel of the apartment levels.
Allacia opens the door a second later, also dressed to party in a long, flowing blue dress and her favorite piece of jewelry - some glass earrings designed to look like a cascade of bubbles that Elias had custom made for her a few years back. Just behind her is Felicity, a lithe, blonde woman our age wearing a lime green dress that matches her equally green eyes.
“There you are!” Allacia greets me cheerfully, “I guess that means we’re ready!” I try to smile and show my excitement, but it comes out more like a grimace. When I agreed to hang out with the two of them tonight, I’d been in a bit of a better mood than I am now. My mind is still whirling from the revelations dropped on me a few hours ago.
“Hey, Allacia,” I return the greeting, “Hey, Felicity, long time no see.” The woman in question nods her greeting at me, and I notice she’s also wearing earrings shaped like musical notes. What is it with these two and jewelry symbolizing their abilities? Wish I could do the same, but super strength doesn’t exactly provide much thematic direction. Designing my hero costume was already difficult enough, even with the BCCSI designers helping me.
“Alrighty then, let’s get moving!” Allacia excitedly grabs both of us by the wrist and drags us along. To be honest, her enthusiasm is a little infectious, and I can’t help but feel a bit better. I’m already starting to be glad I decided to come despite everything.
We exit the Bowl and start off towards our destination. The club we’re headed to tonight is ‘The Forum’, a popular establishment that heavily caters to the city’s superhuman population, and boasts the widest selection of synth drinks around. Of course, it’s not exclusive to SAUs - largely due to financial constraints - but it’s popular for a reason.
The establishment itself is ostentatiously decorated, large marble pillars standing tall in a mock-up of ancient roman styles. Us SAUs sure do like associating ourselves with ancient deities - it’s an ego thing - so the architecture is very much intentional. There’s a line outside, but by flashing our hero registries at the bouncer, we skip it easily. This place may not be exclusive to SAUs, but being one does grant certain privileges. We easily find an empty table and settle down.
“I’ll get us some drinks, you two chat!” Allacia says before hurrying off, leaving Felicity and I alone at the table. We’re pretty awkward for a moment, both of us really here for Allacia, but eventually I have enough and decide to speak.
“So, it’s been a while, hasn't it? What have you been up to lately?” I ask Felicity.
“Oh, you know, same old, same old,” She replies casually, “I’ve been getting really into training, found all kinds of new uses for my ability. What about you? Still dating ol’ Ice Queen?” I shake my head vigorously in response.
“No, we broke up about a year ago,” I explain, feeling even more awkward. I really haven’t spoken to Felicity in that long? I guess I’ve been pretty busy.
“Really? Sorry to bring it up,” Felicity apologizes. I shake my head again.
“It’s fine. It’s been a while, and I've got other stuff going on now anyways. I recently earned myself a nemesis, believe it or not. I’ve just been so busy with work and all since,” I tell her, not entirely lying. I have, after all, been busy with hero work since meeting Rowan. Any assumptions of causation are not my fault.
“I feel that,” Felicity agrees, believing me, “It’s been a long time since I was in the same league as my sister, but back in the day we used to fight nonstop. Though, to be honest, I kinda miss it. I hated her for so long, but now I catch myself feeling jealous everytime I see some other hero take her out on the news.” I nod in sympathy, wishing I had a drink. Felicity’s twin sister is the villain Decibelle, and they have a pretty strained relationship from what I’ve heard. They were nemeses for a while, which is probably why she brought it up. Not something I particularly want to get into right now, though.
Luckily, I’m saved by Allacia finally returning with drinks, plopping several glasses in front of us as she sits down. She looks hurriedly at the both of us, frowning.
“Why so somber? We’re here to have fun!” Allacia says. I decide to down an entire synth martini instead of responding. Gonna need it for tonight.
Our night continues for another hour after that, the three of us drinking, talking and dancing. Several men and even a few women come up to flirt with us, a welcome distraction for everyone but Allacia, who starts getting a little annoyed after three drinks and eleven separate men to whom she has to explain she has a boyfriend. The three of us just laugh it off though, because, for all it’s worth, this place is actually really safe. Not many people are willing to start something in a room that usually has more than its fair share of heroes present, so even the most pushy guys back down rather swiftly.
Which is exactly why it’s more than surprising when, all of the sudden, a large group of burly men forces their way through the front door, bodying aside the bouncers. People notice immediately, many stopping what they were doing and staring at the spectacle. Including the three of us, as Allacia, Felicity, and I sober up immediately and survey the possible threat. A man holding a synth beer bottle stands up from his seat, confronting the mob.
“Hey! You aren’t supposed to do that…” He points at the man leading the pack, words slurring a little. A moment later, two of the men grab him, while the third, an obvious leader, rams his fist into the poor guy's gut, causing him to double over.
“Hello, everyone,” The leader says, “My name is Marcus, but you can call me ‘Alpha’. Don’t panic now, I may be a villain, but if you cooperate, then nobody has to get hurt.” Scattered muttering can be heard from the room, which is otherwise silent. Normally, this man probably would’ve been kicked out by a hero by now, but he just beat up what looks to have been one, so people are more hesitant. Alpha smiles as if he knows this already.
“My demands are simple!” He exclaims, “All I want is a lovely lady for me and each of my men here, to keep us company.” His smile turns feral and perverted. “We just want to have fun, like all of you. It’s only fair.” Cries of outrage immediately rise up from the room, but he just raises his hand and they all quiet. While everyone focuses on him, I sneak over to Felicity and whisper in her ear.
“This guy’s cruising for a bruising,” I tell her, “Between the three of us, we can handle him. I assume we’re doing it?” She nods back, and goes over to relay the message to Allacia. I step forward, cracking my knuckles as I go and summoning my hero's confidence. Good thing I’d been practicing with Rowan.
“Well looky here, seems we have a volunteer!” Alpha leers, “You’re not my type, but don’t worry, I’ll find someone who will–”
I break his nose.
The villain goes reeling back, blood streaming from his nose and tears from his eyes as I hold my fist in the air where it struck him, displaying to the room that I mean business. His men close up around him, looming over me ominously. I stare them down. No grunt is going to intimidate me.
“You bitch!” Alpha says in a nasally, no-nose voice, “Kill her!” With his order, the men start streaming forwards, but I meet them head on. I weave in and out of their disparate ranks, landing blows on chins, arms, legs, each one immediately taking a grunt out of the fight. Deep in, they begin to surround me, but none approach. I can already see the fear evident in their movements. A fear earned, for I am not alone.
A half-second later, each and every one of them clutches their ears in agony. They stumble around, disoriented, as a discordant sound plays a concert only they hear. Felicity - no, Frequency - lending her support.
Then a deluge of translucent orbs sweeps over the left flank of the horde, some as large as basketballs and all continuously growing. They bowl over men left and right, opening a clear path through which I see Allacia defending herself by slamming another orb into the face of an approaching grunt. Hard. I’d almost feel bad for the guy if he wasn’t definitely evil.
A grunt swings a fist at me from behind, but I’m already moving. No warning comes from Superhuman - I don’t need it. Instead, I merely feel the wind from his punch and move out of the way so fast that I’m beside him by the time it reaches where I was. My own blow to the man’s gut sends him toppling to the floor.
I send three more men to the floor with three more punches, noticing that, while they are definitely each stronger than your average human, none of them move like they’re used to their strength. It’s like fighting a bunch of new SAUs, unfamiliar with their own abilities. An easy fight, but a worrying revelation.
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However, a moment later the fight is already over, with more than two dozen men left groaning on the floor. Allacia finishes off the last grunt with a rapidly expanding bubble that throws him back several feet, and the only one left is the villain, Alpha. He stands at the center of a pile of his own defeated men, shaking like a leaf in the wind. He looks around wildly, searching desperately for a way out, until he settles his gaze on Felicity. With a hoarse, nasally battle cry he charges towards her.
Neither Allacia nor I move. Alpha probably thinks Felicity is the easiest target, given how she stayed back during the fight, but he’s wrong. His mistake is made evident a second later when Felicity snaps her fingers and all of a sudden, the villain crumples to the floor, screaming and clutching his ears. I wince, knowing how painful it is to experience a sonic attack powerful enough to cripple even a weak SAU. Felicity isn’t playing around.
After a few seconds of what must be agony, Felicity releases him, and the man whimpers and curls in on himself, adopting a fetal position. I let out a sigh, relaxing. Everything’s been handled, and while it isn’t necessarily the best way to end the night, at least it wasn’t a difficult fight. It takes me a second to notice how everyone in the room is watching us, not one of them saying a word or even moving. The sudden realization begins to make me self-conscious.
“Yeah!” All of a sudden a drunk girl from the back of the room celebrates with a suddenness that startles me, “They did it! Take that, villains! Heroes always win!” She points down at the defeated men strewn about the floor.
And just like that, I almost feel the tension bleed out of the room. Relief floods in, as everyone realizes that the problem has been dealt with. I even hear a few scattered cheers, and some especially brave folks start to close in on us, offering their gratitude. All it took was some random woman’s outburst, as crazy as it seems, to shock them back into their senses. I guess the display of us soundly beating all those men was a little intimidating.
Allacia makes her way over to me as Felicity tries to fend off several curious bystanders. She playfully elbows me, smiling.
“Not bad, Char. The three of us make a pretty badass team. Shame the night had to end like this, though. Who knew a villain would be ballsy enough to show up here?” She says, smugly excited by the easy win. It does feel good, for once. It’s been at least a week since I beat up a villain I knew was evil, and so soundly too. I guess three mid-level heroes is a tall order for your average villain to handle.
“Yeah, it’s strange. But I’m glad it’s over,” I tell her, then turn my head away, “Hey, Felicity! We should probably head back after the cops arrive, I think we’re done for the night.”
“Agreed,” She says, extracting herself from the crowd of admirers, “Not like we can continue here anyways, after all that.” She waves at the pile of bodies for emphasis.
As if on cue, sirens begin to sound from outside, and police officers come through the front door in waves, taking control of the situation instantly with practiced ease. I flag one down, a young officer who seems vaguely familiar.
“Can I help you, miss?” He asks.
“I just wanted to inform you that my friend and I were the ones to handle this,” I say, “We’re all heroes: Frontrunner, Aphros, and Frequency respectively.”
“Oh, okay,” The officer responds, “I’ll tell my superiors. Anything else?”
“Just that I think the leader, that villain over there,” I point at Alpha, “might have a power to do with boosting other people. It’s either that or he found twenty-something late bloomers and convinced them all to go along with his plan, which seems unlikely.” That was my conclusion after seeing the way they fought, noting that the men all felt strong, yet poorly adapted to their own strength.
“I’ll make sure we keep him separated from the others,” The officer responds, saluting and striding away to go chat with some of the others. I turn back to Felicity and Allacia, the two whispering casually to each other.
“Time to leave,” I assert, and they both nod in agreement as we set off towards the Bowl. It's a little hectic outside, the night life merging with the immediate police presence to create quite a bit of traffic, but we’re all professionals, so we manage to find a path through.
“What a night,” Felicity expresses after a long bout of silence, “Not a fan of the trouble we ran into, but at least it was easily managed.”
“Eh, it was a weak villain anyways,” Allacia expresses, maybe a little drunk still, now that the adrenaline has worn off.
“Yeah, we got lucky,” Felicity says, smiling sadly at Allacia, “Could’ve been a lot worse if a creep like that could actually hold his own.”
“I’m not so sure,” I say, half to myself, “That we got lucky, I mean.” I elaborate after a moment of confused looks from the both of them.
“How so?” Felicity asks. Allacia looks at me expectantly.
For a moment, I hesitate to say any more. I’m about to cross a line, one that I’ve been expressly warned not to. I don’t know if I’m being watched right now, or if somehow, what I say will make it back to Jonathan or Nightingale. It’s a huge risk. But at the same time, when else? I might be able to pretend I’m drunk, or just a little shaken by the villain. This could be my chance.
“It’s just…” I begin, cautiously, “Have you ever noticed how villains like that, the really evil ones, are actually quite rare? And most of them are pretty weak too. I feel like I’ve noticed that trend too often to call it a coincidence. I mean, how many times have either of you run into a villain that actually managed to pull off something like that guy’s plan back there?”
The two look at each other, then back at me. I can tell they’re not convinced.
“Well, yeah,” Allacia states, “But that’s just because us heroes always stop them. It’s a testament to the success of our system, more than anything.”
“Is it really?” I press, “There are strong villains too, ones that might actually be able to get away with stuff like that, at least until someone powerful enough to stop them comes along. But they never try. It’s like every villain who makes it to that point isn’t actually all that evil. At least not to the levels of the lower-tier villains. How does that happen? It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Does it happen?” Felicity counters, “Villains have gotten away with bad stuff in the past. Hell, just look around you. Every single building you see has been destroyed at least a dozen times, just like the rest of the city. That's why we call it Newest York. It takes top-tier villains to do stuff like that, yet they do anyway.”
“Buldings are replaceable,” I argue, “And they always seem to be evacuated well before they’re destroyed. Just today a villain threw me into a department store that turned out to be empty despite me never even noticing people leave it. Even counting the two times where the entire city was leveled all at once, both happened before the founding of the USC. Since then, it’s been one structure at a time, and rarely if ever with casualties.” I’ve been thinking about this a ton since I learned the truth about reapers, and I did a little research. The patterns are there, for anyone who bothers to look. It’s just that nobody has.
“You… kinda sound crazy,” Allacia tells me, a little more honest than she usually is. The worry in her voice hurts my heart a little, but I try my best to soldier through.
“Allacia’s right, this sounds like a conspiracy theory,” Felicity says, “What’s up with you? I didn’t think you were the type to believe that stuff.” To be fair, without having seen for myself what happens in the shadows, I probably wouldn’t have believed it either. Still, that definitely could’ve gone better. I should drop it.
“I’ve just been thinking about it lately,” I say, brushing them off, "Anyway, we’re here.”
We are, in fact, here, the conversation having continued long enough that we’re back at the Bowl. Not at all intentional, yet still a convenient way to change the subject. Felicity makes a noise of annoyance, but keeps quiet. The three of us continue our way to the door in silence.
Which is when I notice a man, silhouetted against the light coming from inside the Bowl, leaning against the sides of the megastructure. What starts as simple curiosity as I study the man turns instantly into fear as I get closer and recognize the face of Operative Gale Force staring right back at me.
My immediate instinct is to worry he somehow heard what I was saying just a second ago, but I shake my head and remind myself not to jump to conclusions. If nothing else, I’m safe so long as Allacia and Felicity are here; they won’t kill me in front of anyone who doesn’t know.
As the three of us approach the door, I see him look up at me and catch my gaze. Peeling off from the wall, he strides confidently towards us, stopping right in our path.
Felicity starts to speak, “Excuse me-”
“I need to speak with you,” He says, completely ignoring her to look at me, “Now.”
“Charlie, do you know him?” Allacia asks me.
“Unfortunately,” I respond to her, then turn to him, “I don’t know what you want, but can it wait? I’ve had a long night, and I’d like to go home now.”
“It cannot wait,” Operative Gale Force asserts, looking visibly annoyed.
“Fine,” I say, grumpily, “You two mind going on without me? I’m not headed to the Bowl anyway, so we can split off here.”
“Okay,” Felicity agrees, taking Allacia by the arm against her protests. She stops by me just long enough to whisper in my ear, “Need me to call for backup?”
“I can manage,” I tell her, “But thanks.” She nods and walks off with Allacia, leaving me to handle the reaper all alone. To be honest, I would love some support right now, but unless I can find a way to subtly call Rowan, that’s not happening. I’m not sure I even know anyone strong enough to handle a reaper when they get serious, including her.
“Well?” I prompt, crossing my arms and trying to look tough. I think I come off more grumpy than anything, but that also works.
“I need your help,” Gale Force states, speaking in a tsundere-esque manner.
“Hell of a way to ask for it,” I admonish him, “Besides, you didn't exactly seem eager for my help before, what changed?”
“I fucked up,” He growls in response, “I failed my mission.”
“What?” I say in confusion.
“I couldn't beat Hecatoncheires, not on my own,” Glace Force admits, “He fled, and I’m not sure I can handle him without backup.” I stare slack-jawed at him for a moment, unable to comprehend the enormity of what he just implied.
“A damned is on the loose, hero,” He says, “And I can’t stop him without your help.”
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