A/N: The final chapter of Act 2 of Asking For It! Major props to the commissioner who's been paying me to write new chapters every other month for this, without whom I doubt we would have gotten here!
Mama Night's appearance is ripped directly from DC's Death of the Endless, by the by!
-x-X-x-
He's not entirely sure what to expect, given Madame Night's cryptic note. But he knows better than to just rush in, even if the powers he took from Roadrunner make him perfect for it. With his psychic abilities being what they are, Adam can reach across the whole of the damn planet with his mind, if he wants to. He can't do anything specific, can't just mind control the entire human race, nor can he even read minds over far distances… but he CAN locate specific individuals that he's already familiar with.
Finding Madame Night is easy enough. She's in her Tower. But she's not alone. There's another presence there, blanketing it and… disrupting his senses, for lack of a better word. It's an intense feeling, and it sends a further shiver down Adam's back. Still, he's not going to not go… he's no coward.
That said, it only makes sense to take some precautions. And so, he approaches Madame Night's Tower not as himself, but as the futuristic-looking villain in a set of high-tech armor that he'd appeared as for some of his games with Roadrunner, and indeed how he'd appeared when he'd first stopped Night from nearly ending the world and given her what she truly desired… a hardcore shadow tentacle gangbang.
Entering the Sorceress' Tower, he's able to use his psychic powers a lot more directly. However, even with proximity to enhance the strength of his psychic abilities, Adam is still picking up rather odd sensations all around him, and that other presence he could sense from further away… it's blanketing the entire tower, making it all but impossible to pinpoint it close up.
Madame Night though, is still easy enough to locate, even though he can't directly read her mind for some reason. Zeroing in on her presence, Adam is expecting the trap. After all, all of this is… so incredibly obviously a trap it's not even funny. He's anticipating some sort of treachery, a betrayal even. He's ready for anything… but even with that said, he's a little surprised by what he finds.
Madame Night, with her voluptuous grey-skinned body, is dangling from the ceiling in what can only be described as a sex swing. Tied up, bound and gagged with a bright pink ball gag of all things, the powerful and altogether mighty sorceress looks humiliatingly helpless as she mumbles through her gag at him.
Dashing over in under half a second, Adam wastes no time in ripping away the ball gag. Of course, Madame Night isn't moving nearly as fast as he is, so it still takes her several seconds to catch up with what's happened. The sorceress works her jaw for a moment, before shaking her head.
"Y-You shouldn't have come… you-mmph!"
And there's the ambush. Adam had been expecting it, of course. Anticipating it, even. He didn't know how true the note she'd originally sent him was, if she'd even been the one to send it or if it'd been a trick all along, or if its contents were real… but he'd known he was walking into a trap from the very beginning. He just didn't care.
That said, even as a new bright pink ball gag conjures itself into Madame Night's mouth, cutting off the eldritch sorceress all over again, Adam is expecting to be attacked in some way. Instead, the ambush takes the form of some sarcastic clapping, leaving him able to whip around and take in the visage of his opponent.
His first thought is that she doesn't LOOK like what he'd have expected Madame Night's mother to look like. She's quite young in appearance and face, after all. His second thought is that her age is actually quite questionable… as is her humanity.
Pale, excessively so, with stark-white skin. On top of that, her ashen lips look less painted on by lipstick, and more natural than anything he's ever seen before. Her pitch-black hair seems to almost suck in the light around her, blacker than the blackest night… and her clothing is the same, equally void-like, a complete absence of… everything.
Of course, that doesn't stop her clothing from being rather… gothic, in nature. A black tank top that shows off her boney white shoulders and her upper chest, and a pair of black jeans that hug her legs. The two articles of clothing are separated by a black leather belt with iron-like studs, and a pair of gloves cover her hands as she rests a closed umbrella against the floor in one and leaves the other planted on her hip.
Having ceased her sarcastic clapping once he turned his eyes to her, the inhuman woman quirks a pitch-black lip upwards in a sardonic smirk. Her eyes roam up and down his armored form, and she cocks her head to the side in bemusement.
"Well now, aren't you… something."
Somehow, he gets the impression that she's not actually at all impressed with him or his armor. That's just fine… he prefers to be underestimated.
Correctly identifying the entity in front of him as the massive presence blanketing Madame Night's Tower and interfering with his psychic abilities, Adam doesn't hesitate. Now that she's revealed herself to him, he immediately goes on the attack. After all, if not this, then what was it all for? The woman in front of him pings on his radar as a truly serious threat… and so Adam doesn't hold anything back.
His instincts scream at him to neutralize the foe before him as fast as he possibly can, and so that's what he does. Or at least, that's what he tries to do. Do or do not, there is no try… for Adam, those words have been his reality since he began collecting powers. Everything he set his mind to, he had accomplished. Every opponent he'd faced down, had ultimately been felled.
Until now. He moves with blinding speed, he attacks with overwhelming force, and he even brings the full might of his psychic powers to bear, making sure to make his assault two-pronged and strike both mentally and physically at the same time. He even attempts to start the fight off right with a Nullification Band that he'd brought with him, just in case.
He first knows something is wrong when her eyes amusedly follow his hand as it closes the band around her bared stark-white bicep. Meanwhile, her gloved hand comes up and catches his fist before it can hit her in the face. She doesn't even move, doesn't have to set her stance or drop her center of balance or anything like that to stop him dead in his tracks.
And it's not just physically that he's stymied. Mentally… it's like running into a smooth pane of some unbreakable glass. His psychic powers hit that translucent wall and find no purchase on the eldritch mind in front of him. And… eldritch is truly right, because there's a reason the barrier is transparent. Through it, Adam sees uncountable horrors. He lays eyes upon things men and women were never meant to witness.
In an instant, he is forced to pull his mind back and go on the defensive mentally. If not, he fears he might be driven insane, for he'd found himself staring into an Abyss that was all too gleefully looking back.
At the same time, his armor is ripped to shreds as shadowy eldritch tentacles rise up from the ground all around the pale-white woman. She tears through his armor, pulling it from his body. As high-tech as it was, as strong as the materials he'd made it with were, it was not nearly as tough as Adam himself.
Which was probably a good thing, because even as the shadowy tentacles, rip his armor off his body… they find no actual purchase in his own flesh. Oh, they certainly try. They remind him keenly of what he'd copied from Madame Night, while being so much more powerful than anything the part-human sorceress could bring to bear. And yet, as strong as they are, they cannot mar his person. They cannot harm him.
Stalemate. That's where they end up, when all is said and done. Stalemate, because even as Adam pulls back and the inhuman entity who just matched him speed for speed and strength for strength stays right where she is… the Nullification Band disintegrates into shadow on her bicep, reduced to atoms.
Not only that… not only does his technology completely fail against this entity, but Adam can also tell… his power copying isn't working either. He's getting nothing from her, despite having copied ALL of her daughter's powers. Yes, at this point Adam was certain… this was Madame Night's mother. But that was the smallest component of the equation. The bigger question at hand was what Madame Night's mother actually WAS.
"Well now, aren't you a tough one."
There's a note of interest in those pitch-black lips now, as eyes as dark as the void slide up and down his now-naked body once more. Not a scrap of armor, nor an ounce of clothing, had survived her attack. But his body was entirely unblemished… and his mind was protected. In this moment, Adam doesn't doubt that he's gotten very, very lucky. His powers, all working in concert, may not have been enough to defeat her in that first exchange… but at the same time, they had protected him.
Without even a single one of them, he might have been defeated in turn by this… being.
Taking a step closer, tapping her umbrella against the floor as she does so, Madame Night's mother peers at him, leaning in.
"You… you're something new. What ARE you, young man?"
Now, Adam isn't an idiot. But more than that, he's had All Seeing Eye's power for quite a while now. Running in the background, informing some of his decisions. Now though, he brings it to the forefront, trying to focus on what it's telling him. A lot of it is utter gibberish… but that alone is enough to tell him what he needs to know.
This entity in front of him is not of this world… not of any world in this universe, in fact. Madame Night's mother is beyond this plane of existence, or at least adjacent to it. She's extradimensional, he's pretty sure. What he'd seen through that glass pane when he'd tried to get into her mind… it was a whole other universe, one where the rules and laws might be different, or might be the same… but nothing was what constituted as 'normal' for this universe.
In the face of all of that, a lesser man might have turned and ran. Adam had been riding high on the feeling of supremacy and power for a while now, after all. He was the top dog in what had felt like a large pond, and powerful enough to make anyone who came after him sit down and take notice. Or so he'd thought.
Most probably wouldn't even blame him, if he tried to run. But… he would. He would blame himself, and truth be told, Adam Anderson was not the kind of man to back down. Not anymore, perhaps not ever. Even when he was powerless… he longed for more, didn't he?
Wary, but unwilling to retreat or even try to flee, Adam clenches his hands into fists, gritting his teeth as he glares down the eldritch being in front of him.
"I am this world's protector. And you are trespassing."
Those void-like eyes widen a bit, and the inhuman being grins a toothy grin before letting out a peel of perverse giggling.
"Ohohoho! How quaint!"
Then, her gaze flickers over to Madame Night, still bound and gagged and dangling from the ceiling in the sex swing.
"Mm… and what does that make my daughter to someone like you, hm? Is she a threat? Is she a danger to this world, same as me?"
A probing question, but one Adam can immediately tell will decide everything that happens next. And yet, he doesn't even hesitate. He doesn't have to think about the 'best answer', or the one that will 'defuse the situation'. Ultimately, he is who he is… and he won't change, not even for an eldritch monstrosity from outside their universe.
"Madame Night is mine. She's under my protection, the same as the rest of this planet. I won't let you harm her, or anyone else."
It's like a switch has been thrown. The manic, wide-eyed, baring of teeth that Madame Night's mother had been doing before suddenly turns into a radiant, happy smile as she hooks her umbrella on a pale white wrist and brings her gloved hands together in a happy clasp in front of her.
"Wonderful! That possessive attitude, that arrogant certainty… it's everything a mother wants for her daughter's man! Oh, it's been so very hard to fight my beloved child a boy all these years… and to think, she'd gone so far as to lock me away in a pocket dimension over my completely harmless attempts to set her up with the right lover!"
Adam blinks at the sudden one-eighty. The eldritch entity has gone from threatening apocalyptic doom on the world to doting mother in about half a second flat. As she glances over at Madame Night, she even gives a fond, if wry smile as she shakes her head and waves a gloved finger at the tied up woman.
"Not that that will work again, I'm afraid. You've used up that avenue darling. If you want to hoodwink me in the future, you're going to have to come up with something new and exciting to trick me with!"
Madame Night just groans through her ball gag, her face red as a tomato. She squirms in her bondage and looks dramatically put-upon by her mother's tone change. Meanwhile, her mother taps a stark white finger against pitch-black lips.
"Hm. Going by Madame Night now, are we? Then I suppose… you can call me Mama Night!"
She turns back to him at that last bit, giving him a cheery grin. The act bares her pearly white teeth again, but there's no threat or menace attached this time. The entire situation has been flipped on its head. No more is he facing down an eldritch monstrosity who looks bent on taking over the world or driving it to madness or something, but instead he's… facing down the mother of one of his many conquests, while said conquest dangles from the ceiling a few feet away.
Mama Night pauses and takes a second to look him up and down, to REALLY consider him for a moment before she taps her finger against her lips again in thought.
"Hmm… but are you really worthy of my daughter, young man?"
Adam tries not to bristle too hard at that, considering it's a perfectly fair question for a parent to posit about their child. Still, before he can formulate a response, before he can even consider how best to defend himself and his qualifications, Mama Night perks up and positively beams at him.
"We'll just have to find out, won't we?!"
Wait, what?
-x-X-x-
"Go on, show me what you've got! Take my daughter! I want grandbabies!"
As surreal as it was to have an eldritch monstrosity doing her best to foist her daughter (who he'd already fucked) off on him so eagerly, Adam nevertheless ignores Mama Night in favor of reaching forward and once more tearing the bright pink ball gag from Madame Night's mouth. With her legs bowed and bound at the knees and her arms tied behind her back, she's distinctly vulnerable, hanging there.
Working her jaw again for a few moments, Madame Night blushes under his intense gaze and ducks her head, averting her eyes. Her entire body is on full display… almost as if Mama Night always intended to off her daughter up to the first man to arrive that impressed her. And… maybe she did. But just because Mama Night wanted to sell her daughter like a broodmare, didn't mean Adam was buying. Not without the mare in question's consent.
"You okay with this, Night?"
Scoffing from the side, Mama Night rolls her eyes.
"Of course, she is! Look at how wet she is for you!"
Aware that the eldritch dommy mommy has quite a lot of power, but equally aware that they're evenly matched, Adam just continues to stare at Madame Night expectantly, wanting to hear it from her own lips more than anything. Finally, the part-human sorceress lets out a shuddering breath and nods.
"Y-Yes… there's no… stopping her anyways. Not truly. She's right that I locked her away for trying to 'set me up'. Mostly because she tried to set me up with Tentacle Gods and Eldritch Monstrosities who would have used my body as a gateway into this world to run roughshod over it."
Well, that was certainly some additional context. Adam does shoot a glance at Mama Night at that, but she just pouts and crosses her arms over her chest defensively.
"What? What wouldn't you sacrifice, to ensure your daughter's happiness?"
And then, she leans forward, her void-like eyes darkening even further.
"Now… get to it. Or I might just have to find another proper mate for my precious baby girl after all."
… Right. Well, with Madame Night's permission given, he supposed he had to acquiesce to that threat. Lining up properly with the bound and dangling sorceress, Adam thrusts forward, drilling his throbbing cock into Madame Night's waiting, frankly gushing cunt, without another moment of hesitation.
Madame Night squeals, even as her mother bounces on the balls of her feet and claps with glee and joy. Grinning wickedly, the stark-white eldritch horror looks on fondly as he slams home into her daughter again and again, fucking the bound and helpless Madame Night in the sex swing quite… powerfully. He picks up the pace after a time, and really starts giving it to her, railing the woman like there's no tomorrow. After all, if he doesn't impress Mama Night, who's to say there will be?
… But no, he refuses to do this for her. If Adam is doing this for anyone, it's going to be for him and Madame Night and them alone. This is about his and her pleasure, about giving the woman everything he knows she desires. To that end… well, he's not going at this with his all, now, is he? No, no he is not.
While the bondage Madame Night is currently in somewhat simulates that of tentacles and appendages holding her aloft and binding her tight so that she cannot get away… it only simulates it. And they both know that Madame Night is a total freak for tentacle rape. She needs it like a normal person needs water or air. She needs it so badly she almost ended the world for it, even when her mother was still locked away and could do no harm.
Knowing what Madame Night truly wanted from him, Adam doesn't hesitate. Shadowy tendrils and tentacles of varying lengths and thicknesses rise up from his naked body, even as his actual hands cling to her hips and his actual cock continues to slam into her clenching quim again and again. As he's fucking her the conventional way, he lashes forward with his tentacles, tearing at her bondage but immediately replacing it with his own.
Soon, she's no longer dangling from the ceiling, bound and gagged… but instead hanging suspended in midair by his appendages, which still restrain her arms behind her back, still bend her knees and spread her legs… but now do so with HIS strength, a constantly flexing and living bondage that clearly enhances the pleasure for Madame Night a hundredfold.
She moans wantonly, cumming hard around his cock, but even there Adam cuts her off after a moment. One of his tentacles slides up her body, moving between her breasts as two more press her tits together to create a proper valley for an actual titjob to take place. The tentacle of shadow then slides up from the top of her cleavage and slips right into her open, moaning mouth, cutting her off and gagging her as it begins to face fuck her right then and there.
"Gagkh! Gagkh! Gagkh!"
Meanwhile, another thick shadowy appendage slips down and around to her back door and slides up into Madame Night's ass without so much as a 'by your leave'. But then, Adam isn't too worried about upsetting her. He knows better than most exactly what she likes, and he gives it to her, fucking her hard and fast not just with his actual cock, but in every orifice, with all of his tentacles.
As Madame Night's eyes roll back in her head, her nostrils flaring for air and her squeals and moans muffled by the tentacle stretching her jaw wide open, Adam grins… for all of a moment, before a happy squee sound comes from his side.
"Oh! Oh, that's FASCINATING! Not only immune to magic… but able to use our familial power! You ARE perfect!"
Before Adam can say or do anything, Mama Night is suddenly there, pressing herself into his side. The jean-wearing, tank top clad eldritch dommy mommy slides a leg up his body as she drapes herself against him, wrapping her stark-white arms around his neck and turning his head to steal a kiss. For a moment, he's a little put off… but as it turns out, Madame Night's mother is a phenomenal kisser, and it's not long before Adam finds himself along for the ride.
As he and Mama Night makeout heatedly while he fucks her daughter's every orifice, the eldritch entity is not idle either. More shadowy tentacles rise up from the ground and begin to play with Madame Night's body as well. In some cases, they even join his already existing appendages in ravishing her holes, making Madame Night's mouth and ass airtight as they DP her alongside his power. She leaves the sorceress' cunt to him though, and to her credit, none of those tentacles of hers ever get anywhere near HIS body. No doubt, she can tell that he would be decidedly uninterested in that sort of thing.
Regardless, the entire experience is one of intense sexual pleasure, and Adam loses himself in the fucking, pounding the bound and gagging Madame Night in every hole while her mother kisses him and hugs him tightly and eggs him on. Until finally, he can hold it back no longer, and he spills his seed inside of Madame Night's womb, filling up the woman to the brim and then some.
Of course, by then Madame Night has climaxed dozens of times upon his cock and tentacles. Her eyes have rolled up in her head and stayed there, and there they look likely to remain for who knew how long. As he finishes up inside of her, as he pulls back, Madame Night's body is limp, and it's obvious the part-human sorceress most definitely reached her limits.
He, on the other hand, was just fine and as always, ready and raring to go. For the first time, however, so was someone else in one of these encounters.
"My turn!"
It's hard to see Mama Night as the incredibly dangerous eldritch goddess she'd first looked to be, now that he's seen her act like… well, something of a spoiled brat. Still, she at least pulls back in the tentacles, before tackling him to the ground. As Adam finds himself on his back not of his own will for the first time since he started copying powers, he grunts, his hands immediately going to her hips.
Right before his eyes, right beneath the touch of his hands, he watches as Mama Night dispels those pitch-black, void-like clothes she was wearing. The tank top and jeans and even the belt all go, leaving her in nothing but her gloves as she grins down at him, straddling him completely naked. Her stark-white flesh does nothing to detract from her beauty… in fact, Adam would argue it only enhances it in its own exotic way.
With a grunt, he tightens his hold on her hips as Mama Night lifts herself up, fits him in her entrance, and happily slides down his pole with a giggly moan.
"O-oooh~ Hehe, it's been a while since I was… receiving, if you catch my drift. Please, be gentle~"
It's incredibly obvious from her tone and the teasing glint in her eyes, as well as the quirk of her void-black lips… that she does not want him to be gentle. And so, he isn't. Gritting his teeth, Adam gives as good as he gets, slamming up into her from below. Mama Night tosses her head back and cries out, her hands first going to her own tits and giving them a good, solid grope as she rides him like a bucking bronco.
But far from being overcome or overtaken by his fast-pace and brutal actions… the eldritch dommy mommy is more than ready for it. She matches him move for move, and with her position on top, does not let him control everything from the bottom. In a way, it's a battle between the two of them after all, a fight to show just how evenly matched they really are.
… Unless she's just playing with him. Toying with him, even. The thought doesn't please Adam, but he's not stupid. As much as the powers he's copied so far have been incredibly powerful on their own, and only become more powerful when they synergized with each other… it would seem a little coincidental, that the exact combination of powers he'd managed to gain by this point would be just the right amount of strength for him to be capable of matching an Eldritch Extradimensional Goddess from outside of their universe.
Even as he fucks up into her from below, Adam is forced to acknowledge that she just might be beyond him. But, luckily for his ego, he doesn't have to find out. This right here is as close to a fight as it seems they're going to get, and even then, Mama Night shows no interest in conquering him or even trying to control the encounter. She's perfectly happy bouncing up and down on his cock and merely matching him in everything he tries to do to her.
Adam wishes he could say he loses track of time and doesn't know how long they go at it… but he knows exactly how long, thanks to his powers. They fuck for about three days. And not just them, because Madame Night does eventually recover and get roped back into things again. They fuck and fuck and fuck, and in the end, they only really stop because… well, Adam is aware he has responsibilities.
Neither of them are truly tired, but Mama Night can clearly sense he's just about done all the same. As they reach one last mutual orgasm together, his seed disappears up into her black hole of a womb to go who the fuck knew where. She cries out and climaxes all over his cock… and then slumps forward, laying her head on his chest for a moment before popping up and giving him a wicked, raunchy grin.
"I'm so happy that my daughter has finally found a proper man. And I do so love what you're doing around here. It's nice to see you shaking things up… the status quo gets so boring, don't you think?"
Adam blinks, wondering just how far Mama Night's senses extend. While they were fucking… was she taking stock of the modern age or something and what he'd been doing with his powers? It's entirely possible. In the end, it doesn't really matter. For whatever reason, he can't copy her abilities. Possibly because she's actively blocking him, but possibly because she's so eldritch and Other that his gene therapy doesn't recognize her powers as 'powers'.
It's fine though. All's well that ends well, right?
"Mm, if there's anything I can do for you, just say the word~ I'd be happy to help out my darling son-in-law."
Well, as horrifying as that designation was… the offer DOES bring to mind one idea. It was something that had been percolating in Adam's head for quite some time, in fact. Something he had just been waiting for the right… catalyst. Staring up at Mama Night, the stark-white eldritch woman still impaled upon his cock, Adam realizes right then and there… that she's perfect for his purposes.
"Actually… there is something you could do for me, after all."
She gives him a curious look, only for her eyes to widen in delight and her lips to curl back into a truly wicked smile as he elaborates.
-x-X-x-
"COME, DEARIES! LET MAMA NIGHT PUT YOU TO SLEEP!"
The situation is as dire as it possibly can be. And not just in the City either, but all across the world. The Planet Earth is blanketed in darkness, huge clouds of shadow covering every inch of the planet's surface. There is no escape… not that anyone is truly trying to run.
Indeed, all of the civilians who might have tried to run, who might have evacuated… had been kidnapped in the opening salvo of Mama Night's attack. Spirited away to her Dimension of Darkness, the population of Earth had been stolen by the Eldritch Entity. All that was left behind were the super-powered women of the world, hundreds of thousands of them across the entire globe. Apparently, their powers made it impossible for her to steal them away like she had the rest of the population.
Instead, she had to force their submission the normal way, through Force and Violence. Something Mama Night had so far proven more than willing to do.
It wasn't just her, after all. Eldritch Monsters had streamed out of pitch-black portals all across the planet. A few intrepid superheroines had tried to fly through these portals, with the thinking that the population of Earth might be helpless and in need of protection somewhere on the other side. However, none of them had returned, and the portals were closed now.
All across the surface of the planet, superheroines and villainesses fought for their lives… or so it felt. In actuality, even those who had already been defeated by the shadowy eldritch monsters were not killed. Nor was anything else done to them… no matter how much some of them might have wanted it. Instead, they were simply taken out of the battle, knocked unconscious, and not even dragged off just yet but instead held in place.
After all, Mama Night's armies were waiting to see how she would end things with her daughter's precious little Team. That was where the fighting was the worst. The City, the most high-tech, modernized, and heavily populated place on the Earth, had been hit directly by Mama Night. The place was already half-destroyed, and luckily there were no people there to be hurt by the constantly crumbling buildings and falling debris.
Still, that was where the fighting was concentrated the most. Hundreds of superheroines and villainesses called the City their home, and none more powerful than The Team. As superpowered women of both sides of the aisle fought against eldritch invaders of all shapes and sizes, it was the Team who took the fight right to Mama Night herself. The Eldritch Mother, towering over the City's remaining Skyscrapers, wreathed in shadow and darkness, clad in it like a wedding dress. She laughs almost merrily, as her daughter and The Team give their all to the fight.
Star Child swoops around her, firing laser blasts from her eyes. Amazonia scales her giant body, ripping out chunks of shadows with her hands. Roadrunner zips around the bottom of her feet, helping some of the other heroines and villainesses with the smaller eldritch monsters that blanket the City. Queen Oceania brings the ocean itself to bear on the Eldritch Mother, seeing as the City is coastal. And Madame Night attempts to fight fire with fire to little effect, her own shadow magic seemingly doing no damage to her mother.
But then, to be fair, none of the others are doing much either. Their attacks, the most powerful abilities they can bring to bear, all of it is meaningless in the face of Mama Night's overwhelming power. She's toying with them, and they all know it, even without having All Seeing Eye in their ears, telling them as much.
And then quite suddenly, Mama Night stops playing games.
"Enough is enough, my darlings."
In an instant, Star Child is blasted away. Madame Night is captured in steel-like shadowy tendrils. Amazonia is swallowed up into Mama Night's massive bosom without so much as a 'by your' leave. The ocean itself, filled with darkness and shadows, turns against Queen Oceania in a heartbeat, silencing her. Similarly, shadowy tentacles fly up out of the ground beneath Roadrunner's feet and cut her off, making the speedster trip and leaving her disabled and captured near-instantly as well.
The sudden and abrupt defeat of the Team is something every superheroine and villainess in the City witnesses, many with their own eyes, and some only over the comm system that All Seeing Eye has patched them all into. It's over that comms that Star Child's weakened voice suddenly rings out.
"Eye… it's time. We need… him."
Hundreds of superpowered women across the City nearly trip at those words, bafflement and confusion filling their minds. Dozens of superpowered women across the world, the leaders of the massive coordinated effort to try and save their planet, also have a moment of bluescreen. Then, All Seeing Eye's no nonsense tone answers Star Child.
"Roger that. Dispatching him now."
For most, their confusion will last several hours more, until the Worldwide Press Conference that's held later that day. But for those in the City at that time, for those on the ground and able to look and see Mama Night in all of her shadowy glory… they get answers to their questions quite quickly indeed.
Shattering the sound barrier, and blasting through clouds of darkness, ripping them away as he goes, is a man flying under his own power, wearing a suit that hugs his masculine frame with gold and white and blue. He flies into view in an instant, just slowed down enough for them all to witness him, as he slams into Mama Night without warning.
"WHAT-?! WHO DARES-! A MAN?!"
If there was any doubt before about the new super's gender, Mama Night's startled cry settles it. As the Eldritch Mother's voice rings out across the city, the male super doesn't let up, not even for a moment. Heroines and Villainesses alike stare up in wonder as he tears away Mama Night's 'dress' of shadows. In actuality, this only reveals her true form, buried deep inside of her giant shadowy body. The stark-white woman pulled out of the shadows doesn't just let it end there though.
No, the fighting only grows fiercer, once the unknown male has cut Mama Night down to size. What feels like hours of fighting is in fact only the span of a few minutes as they do battle across the remains of the City, destroying even more buildings in their conflict. Until finally…
"YOU FILTHY PRIMATE! HOW DARE YOU REJECT MOTHER'S EMBRACE! KNOW THIS, GUARDIANS OF EARTH! ONLY YOUR PROTECTOR SAVED YOU THIS DAY! I SHALL RETURN, I SHALL CONQUER YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE MUDBALL! YOU HAVE MY WORD!"
As she throws a titanic-sized temper tantrum, a single voice rings out, deep and masculine as it rings out over the City and All Seeing Eye's comm system.
"The Earth is protected. Return its people, and I will not be forced to chase you back to where you came."
Scowling mightily, Mama Night waves a hand in indignation. New portals open up all over the planet, and the Earth's population is returned even as her armies retreat in full. No one is harmed, no one is left behind. Everyone is returned to their homes… albeit some of them are much destroyed. The world is shaken… but unbent and unbroken. After all, city-destroying calamities are a monthly occurrence on Earth. Things will be fixed up in no time, and the complete lack of a loss of life is a godsend. Or so they will say.
No one sees the final bit of interaction, between the new male super and Mama Night's true form, as she steps back into a personal portal of her own. No one sees her blow him a kiss and give him a wink, as she vanishes from the Earth like she was never there. No one save for Adam himself. Floating there in his new costume, having revealed his powers to the world at large, Adam gazes down at the ruins of the City, and the hundreds of superpowered women even now staring up at him.
As far as debuts go… it was about as best as could be expected, he figured. But still, with the rest of the world's population safely returned, news of his existence would spread like wildfire. It would soon be time to face the music.
-x-X-x-
They hold a press conference a few hours later, in the early evening of the day. Adam stands with the Team, but also in the back at first, an imposing but righteous-looking figure in his gold, blue, and white suit. His helmet was not all encompassing, but it covered enough to hide his true identity as Adam Anderson, while at the same time allowing his chiseled jaw to be on display. Of course, anyone who tried to hunt down his actual identity would be up against not just All Seeing Eye, but Adam's own abilities… and things would not go well for them.
In the moment, Star Child is speaking, standing at a podium and explaining The Team's side of things.
"Our newest member came to us a few months ago, I won't deny it. We kept his existence a secret from the world, for fear of how it might upset things, how people might react. However, today showed that to be a mistake. His powers are immense. And for the good of humankind, we cannot lock them away any longer. He will help us protect the people of Earth from now on."
There are questions, of course. Dozens of them. Star Child fields most of them with ease, before eventually ceding the floor to him. As Adam steps forward, he stands tall, easily reading the minds before him, able to see how everyone is feeling. With his powers, manipulating even a crowdy of thirsty, hungry reporters like these is child's play.
In the end, he picks a reporter with a question that isn't a direct attack on him but is something he wants to answer.
"Yes, you."
"Sir! The world is still reeling from the revelation that Madame Night's mother is in fact an Eldritch Horror from another dimension! Some are even calling for Madame Night's banishment as well, saying that it was her presence that drew this… Mama Night here in the first place! As the one who ultimately fought the Eldritch Mother off, how do you feel about this?"
Smiling and giving the reporter an appreciative nod, Adam leans forward, speaking directly into the mic.
"Madame Night is a valued member of the Team. Her contributions have helped save countless lives time and time again, and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so, well into the future. But that's the PR-friendly answer, isn't it? You all want my true feelings, don't you?"
His carefree grin and the rustling of his girls behind him sells the image he's trying to sell, even as all the reporters talk over each other at once until he holds up a hand and silences them.
"Well, here it is. Madame Night has bled for this world. She's fought for this world. She's given of herself to this world. Her mother might be Pure Evil, but Madame Night, in all that I have seen her do, is Pure Good. More than that… shadow and darkness lurks in the heart of all human beings. Giving into our darker impulses is precisely what an entity like Mama Night wants from us. So no, I don't think Madame Night deserves to be 'banished'. And frankly, anyone who thinks that's a reasonable course of an action is a fucking idiot."
By the time he's done talking, he's got the crowd of reporters on his side. There's even some chuckles at how candid he's being. Some aren't so happy with it, and even in this group there are a few women who are downright hateful in their thoughts, and both mortified and horrified by the thought of a male super. He represents a shaking up of the Status Quo, after all, and the misandry that has existed on Earth for centuries is experiencing a true test now with his mere existence.
The assassination attempts will start within the fortnight, and the attempts to try and find his secret identity have already begun. But Adam isn't worried. In fact, he's excited for it. Let them come…
Still, one more question, one more answer. Adam looks out at the crowd and easily picks out the reporter who's mind is primed to ask the question he most wants to answer. Pointing at her, he gives a smile and nod as she blushes and perks up.
"U-Uh, sir! That is… we've heard so much about you and your origins, and we've all seen how you defeated the Eldritch Mother! But even now, all these hours later… we haven't been given a name for you. There are plenty floating around, but you and the Team haven't… that is to say, surely you know what you want to call yourself!"
Adam chuckles good-naturedly and nods his head.
"Yes, that's a good question. I've seen some of the ideas floating around. A few were quite funny, too. Sir Prize is definitely a favorite of mine that's being tossed around by news organizations such as all of yours. But you're right. I do have an official name, one that I've put a lot of thought into. It feels appropriate, all things considered. More than that, it feels right."
He pauses for a moment to let the dramatic tension build, watching as every reporter in the room leans in at once, intent on not missing it. Smiling graciously, Adam leans in and speaks clearly and concisely into the mic.
"My name… is Hero."
Needless to say, the conference room erupts, but at a slight mental nudging from him, Star Child comes forward and says there will be no further questions, and together he and The Team make their way out. It's done though. There's no putting the rabbit back in the hat, no putting this back in the box. He's out there in the world now, perhaps not as Adam Anderson… but as Hero, the first male super.
Adam isn't worried though. In fact, he's all too eager for what the future holds…
-x-X-x-
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