"Not too late, am I?"
Stefani grinned down at the girl while also on alert. She knew her opponent wasn't going to recover soon, but it never hurt to be careful. She squatted down and held out her hand to the young girl.
"C'mon. Let's getcha' somewhere away from all this mess." The girl quickly lept into her arms as she stood and hovered on the ground for a moment. "Oh! Hold on tight. Should probably close your eyes too!" Stefani flew her to the nearby officers who were busy securing the area. Stefani spotted the nearest and gently placed the young girl into her arms.
"Watch her real quick. Thanks!"
Appearing back where she first met her foe, Stefani quickly deduced that the monster had disappeared from the crater she left him in.
"How rude." She thought as her eyes began to scan everywhere, quickly locating his giant footprints leading away from the scene.
"Running? This'll be easy then."
As she flew she followed quickly after the monster's trail. She began to grow agitated after a moment.
"It's huge! So where the hell-" Suddenly a very large, very sharp object entered her peripheral and she just barely dodged. Whatever the object was, it was sharp enough to leave a large gash on her left cheek in its wake.
"WHAT THE-" She didn't have the time to get a sentence out before a barrage of them were sent her way. Irritated, she did her best to keep pace and continuously dodge each weapon.
"Of course I'm not given any backup, this is ridiculous!"
She crossed her arms and released them, sending out a large red shockwave. This caused the weapons to momentarily cease as she flew to their point of origin.
"YOU!" she yelled, locking in on the monster from before. She noticed that he had been shooting his horns at her as a makeshift projectile.
He attempted to shoot another and she simply slapped it away, grabbing a hold of the horn left on his head she flipped him over and pinned him to the ground. The monster roared, and Stefani noticed a second jaw, smaller and more human underneath the monster's sharp teeth, almost as if the monster itself were a suit.
Encasing her arm in a large glove of red energy, she grabbed hold of the monster's arm and pinned it behind its back. Not sure what else to do, she began to question it.
"So, you're new. Y'know I've only been in this job for three years but I've never seen anything like you before. Mind telling me just what the hell you are?"
"RAGGGGHHHH NARWHAL!!"
"I see."
"rrr….Narwhal.."
"Alright buddy."
After allowing the monster to stop struggling, she decided her best move was to just fly the monster to the nearest N.C.H holding center.
"Hmm...Gotta do something about that horn though-"
The monster flipped over and kicked, the force sending Stefani flying into the nearby building and nearly breaking her leg in the process. As she lay in the rubble spitting up a bit of blood she stared at the ceiling.
"Ah crap baskets…"
The ceiling came crashing down.
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Narwhalman stood up quickly and looked over towards the building that just broke down on the hero. He grinned.
"Narwhal…"
He began to shuffle away as a bright, bright red light began to emit from behind him. He slowly turned and stared, hundreds of beads of sweat rolling down his face, dry saliva sliding down his throat.
Every crack from the rubble began to shine through with red light.
"Narwhal?! N-Narwhal?!"
He began to shake, slowly backing away..
The red hero broke through, hair levitating along with the rubble. She looked royally pissed off as she pointed at him slowly.
"Narhwal!"
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Stefani crossed her arms as she watched after the clean up crew. In her rampage, the Narwhal man had managed to escape. She didn't know where to and neither did the handful of field agents sent to scout the area.
"You really didn't see where he went? How??" A woman, Agent Smith, questioned. She raised an eyebrow at the hero who sighed. Lynn Smith, who was known simply as "Smith" was one of the few agents Stefani knew well. Smith was one of the first people to support Stefani's endeavors as a superhero, even standing in as her reference when was being assigned a Class. Had it not been for Smith, Stefani wouldn't be as well received by the Coalition as she was.
"I know..I know. It's my fault, I got...Carried away." Stefani said sheepishly.
"Yeah, that's one term you could use.." The agent looked over to the several craters the hero left in her wake.
"Anyway Smith, I have a favor to ask." The agent turned to her, eyebrow raised behind her dark glasses.
"You're the last person to be in any sort of position for favors right now. If anything, YOU owe ME." She emphasized her point by gesturing to the entire scene. "Do you understand the shit I have to do to clear your name?! The paperwork?!"
"Smith, please, just hear me out!"
"Urgh. Fine."
"I want to form a hero team!"
"..."
Smith stared at her for several moments before bursting out into a fit of laughter. Her laughter was so loud and rambunctious that it caught the attention of the nearby crew who were busy with repairs. She immediately straightened up and glared at them.
"BACK TO WORK!!"
"Yes!!"
Smith turned back to Stefani and adjusted her glasses.
"A team? You? I don't think you understand what you're saying…"
Stefani fixed her with a hard glare.
"I do know. The whole reason I'm a hero.." She glanced away and then back to Smith, as if she had just cut herself off. "Hazel Tesfaye is already working under me, I can take a few more."
"I see...Do you have any in mind?"
"Heh...I do."
"This should be interesting, let's get to my office then."
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"You can protect them.."
A week had passed since Alex gained his powers and yet, Stefani's words kept replaying in his head. Ever since he had met Hazel and Stefani left with those words, he had been avoiding his powers like the plague. Or at least, he tried to.
He knew by then that his energy shields only manifested in high stress situations, as that morning when he sat huddled in the corner was the only instance of them appearing. His stretching ability though, that was something he still didn't entirely understand. Not that he wanted too exactly, it was mainly his curiosity.
Stretchy limbs did help around the house as well.
Time and time again, Alex found himself using his powers. Each time, he cursed himself for it.
"Guy's got a personal vendetta against superheroes and the job."
"It's not like that.." Alex gnawed on his pencil as he continued his project. Despite his entire world being flipped on its head, college still demanded his attention..
His eyes subconsciously looked over to the photo of him and his family, taken so long ago..
'I can protect them..'
He focused on the smiling faces of his mother then, his sister.
'If I have Stefani by my side...Maybe even Hazel...It can't be that bad, right?'
Right?
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Stefani soared through the skies of Hollow City, enjoying the view of the buildings and busy streets below. The feeling of the wind through her hair and the occasional run in with a plane made her day as she waved them by.
In fact, flying was one of her favorite hobbies. She would often go for a fly after a long day, partly to keep an eye out and mainly because it was relaxing. Flying for her was as easy as going for a walk.
She felt her phone vibrate from her pocket.
"Can't ever catch a break can I?" She grumbled, perching on a nearby billboard. She pulled her phone out and to her surprise, it was Smith. She quickly put in her earphones and answered.
"Hey. I got word back from him." She heard Smith say. "Well, his advisor, but you know how it is with someone like him."
"So..?"
"So," Smith continued. "We're good. The exception being that they sponsor you and your team and that you will be held responsible for any mishaps, failures or worse, a death. I'm sure you anticipated such a deal though."
She had. "Yeah..But anyway, you're saying..?"
"Yes. I'm saying you've got yourself Jason Brennon. I don't know how, but we did it.. You, Hazel and Jason will make an..interesting team. You're welcome by the way." Stefani could hear Smith smile from her end. It took everything in her not to bounce around like an excited child. Still, her team was not yet complete.
"By the way, Smith, I still have one more member I need to add…I'll call you back once I get him." She didn't wait to hear a response as she hung up.
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"Alex.."
"Hrmph..." Alex had been thrust into a world where everything around him was white. He was floating in an endless void, and had it not been for the voice of a young girl he never would have gained consciousness.
"Alex." The voice repeated, a sense of sternness now evident. "You need to wake up. It isn't safe for you here." The voice now began to sound closer and jambled, as if it were being overlapped by another outside voice. The young girl's face wasn't recognizable to him and he squinted to get a better look. She was far, but her voice was close.
"Alex.."
Closer, more overlapped.
"Alex….."
Closer, the second voice began to sound suspiciously familiar.
"ALEX!"
He was shaken from his nap by Stefani, who had an annoyed look on her face.
"It's nearly 5pm, what're you doing asleep??"
"Uh.." He grinned as if to say, "oh well!"
"fell asleep during my study session, apparently.."
"Ugh.." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, pack up. We're going to my place."
"Whuh?! Why?!"
She stared at him, and very casually said, "to begin your training." Alex was bug eyed. "Also to discuss team matters, but that's the boring bit."
"No!! I told you I have no interest in-"
She held up her hand. He shut up.
"Fine… I'll pack a bag.."
"Good." She stepped away and into his kitchen, going through his fridge.
Alex packed in silence. He paused and spun around to face her.
"wait...HOW DID YOU GET INSIDE MY APARTMENT?!"