Saving Supervillains 1 Chapter 2 (Patreon)

The train finally pulled into my station, and I checked the time. We were eight minutes behind schedule. Not ideal, but it could have been worse. When you were running late, every moment felt like an hour.

I still had ten minutes before I needed to be at work for my team’s presentation.

It was frustrating that supers always seemed to rush around, disturbing the city, even if it was in the name of saving it. Couldn’t they be more efficient?

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and look down the main street at the herd of people moving through it. Everybody was trying to get to their offices before eight.

With the mess of people moving down the street, there was no way I was going to make it to work in time if I went that direction.

I turned, looking down the alley at a street that I knew would be a shortcut, but in the days of superpowers and monsters, it was often risky to be walking down dark alleys alone.

Luckily, I didn’t consider myself at much risk. I wasn’t sure what grade of super I would be if I ever actually let myself be tested legitimately. But from the few encounters that I’d had with supers, I had a feeling I’d be high enough in the hierarchy not to be worried about much in the world.

Decision made, I stepped off the main street and headed down the alley.

Today was the viewing of my team's big project, and we were showing it to Candice, who was my boss and the head executive of the marketing office.

The government and the Bureau of Super Heroes had both pitched in for this ad, so it was a project with a massive budget, and we’d even gotten the opportunity to shoot with Katherine Hensway, aka Miss Point City.

She wasn’t the most powerful hero, but she was the most popular, and she held a lot of influence.

I wasn’t sure what made her the most popular, but something told me it had to do with her stunning good looks. I’d hoped she would have been more fun to be around at the shoot, but she seemed to enjoy the limelight a bit too much and was clearly used to being treated like a princess.

Looking down, I dodged a puddle of unknown muck as I continued down the alley.

Shaking my head at the thought of supers and their constant need for attention, I moved on to re-running the presentation in my head.

The project was over and set to ship. All we needed to do was manage the budgets and roll it out. That would be simple; I could coast awhile at work while the team kicked off a few smaller projects we’d do for the Bureau of Super Heroes.

BSH always needed some PR or general advertisement running for their heroes. Nothing smooths over wrecking a building and hundreds of apartments like doing a photo op picking up trash by the river. I sighed.

Call me a cynic, but in my mind, I saw the world for how it was, not how others wanted me to see it. Heroes were a burden on society as far as I was concerned. It was beyond me why the world idolized them.

“Hey, buddy. Looks like you are lost.” An oversized form came out of the shadows and stepped into the dim light of the center of the alley.

“Yeah, looks lost.” A second peppy voice picked up.

“Mister, you should turn back.” A third voice, this one scared and young, spoke behind them. I couldn’t see the kid, but I wondered if he was in trouble.

The monster before me was some sort of mutated shark-human. He was seven feet tall, and his tough looking gray skin bulged with muscle. His head curved to a point like a shark’s, with his mouth sporting rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Attached to his shoulder was a sort of squid-like super. It looked like they had some sort of symbiotic relationship.

Both of them had gotten the short end of the mutation that sometimes went along with the gene for super powers.

“Look. I don’t have time for this. Please step aside.” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder and checked my phone. I confirmed I most definitely did not have time for this. I was barely going to make the presentation as it was.

“Are you even listening to us?” The sharkman seemed mad at my lack of concern.

“Huh? You haven’t moved out of the way yet?” I tilted my head in confusion. “Well, if you won’t move, then let me do it for you.”

I grabbed them without touching them. While many supers liked to get into brutish fights to show their strength, I didn’t feel the same need. It was just too messy.

Instead, I grabbed them with my power over kinetic energy. Lifting both of them up, I let their feet dangle.

“Boss!” The squid yelled.

“Hand over your wallet and you can walk out of here in one piece.” The sharkman, currently dangling in the air threatened me.

“Well, that’s just poor manners.” I shrugged. “Let’s fix that.” There was no point in giving them time to redeem themselves. I was in a hurry.

Snapping my fingers, everything went red for a moment. With a wet crack, I put enough kinetic energy into their bodies to liquify them. Both the sharkman and the squid disappeared. Where they had been was replaced with a mist of blood that slowly settled, coating the alley like a fresh coat of paint.

I made sure to keep a shell of energy around me, protecting me from the blast. I didn’t want to show up to the office covered in their atomized guts.

Wrapping my shoes in the same force, I splashed through the puddle of blood that used to be two thugs. I wasn’t sure they quite earned the ‘villain’ title yet.

Small fries had no business blocking my path.

Clearing the bloody puddle, I made sure to wipe my shoes off on the clean ground and check to make sure I was still clean.

I paused, the kid. Casting my eyes about, he wasn’t immediately apparent in the dark alley.

“Mister?” A kid popped out from behind a dumpster with wide eyes. He had blood dripping from his hair.

He saved me the time of searching for him.

“Are you a superhero?” He asked, his eyes still wide.

I felt myself stiffen at the question. “I’m no hero. And superheroes don’t deserve your idolizing. They don’t care for anybody but themselves. You’ll do better in life looking out for yourself. Now, get out of the dark alley and go home.”

The kid’s jaw dropped, like I’d just told him Santa didn’t exist.

I finished checking myself over, giving another glance back at the kid.

He’d scrambled off in the meantime. I wished him the best and hoped he’d be okay, sadly I didn’t have time to look after every kid in the world.

Shaking my head, I exited the alley and headed towards the office.

It was a hard lesson to learn, but I was glad that he didn't have to be let down by his heroes directly. I’d done him a mercy.

“Hey there, good looking.” The amazonian security guard leered at me as I approached.

I forgot her name, again. And I didn’t think I could get away with asking for it again, but it was worth a shot.

“What was your name again?” Sometimes I enjoyed playing with fire.

She scowled at me as she towered over me.

She wasn’t ugly; very few women who had powers were. They tended to stay healthy and fit, which helped them to be more attractive.

But the guard for my office building had a slight uptilt to her nose. It was the type of uptilt that would typically make a woman look cute, but she was also Amazonian in stature, at nearly seven feet tall.

As a result, as you looked up at her, you were smacked in the face with nostrils. And she looked… kind of like a pig.

Not everybody could win the genetic lottery, and unfortunately, men got to be choosy in this age.

“Burtha. I’m Burtha. How can you not remember the name of someone who protects you night and day? Men should be more grateful. If it wasn’t for--” I nodded, trying to give her my most appreciative smile while continuing to move forward so I wouldn’t be late.

“Uh huh.” I stepped past her, not having time for another one of her tirades. She continued on, berating me while I moved through the lobby.

I let her fade into the distance.

As I approached, the elevator bank was filled with people waiting their turn.

One of the elevators dinged, and people spilled out. I stepped into the open elevator before those waiting had a chance. Most were too focused on their phones to move quickly enough. But others quickly piled in the second they looked up.

“Boss.” Rachel pushed her way in, panting. “Good to see you. Ready for the presentation?”

“As ready as I’m going to be.” I checked my watch. The meeting with Candice was only three minutes away. “But I think everything is perfectly in order. You guys have done a fantastic job. Make sure you argue at least once with Candice. Otherwise, she tends to forget you are capable of free thought.”

Rachel went wide-eyed at my candid evaluation of my boss, but she nodded all the same. I could tell she was taking the advice to heart.

The elevator dinged at our floor, and I stepped out with two minutes to spare.

I went to exit, feeling my ass being squeezed as I walked out.

I froze, thinking about turning the entire elevator into bloody paste, but that would be hard to explain away. And I’d likely be late for my meeting.

It would have to wait for another day. The creep would probably give me a second chance at some point.

That thought perked me up as I walked into the office, snagging my laptop from my desk.

I didn’t enjoy taking it home. Setting firm boundaries was important. I might answer some emails on my phone, but anything that required my laptop would have to wait for the next business day. I liked to set a good example for my team.

My team assembled around me, and we all walked into the large meeting room, Kate had already set up her laptop and had the presentation ready. The other ladies fanned out and took their spots, leaving the seat directly opposite of the projector empty for Candice.

The clock hit eight and… Candice was late, as usual.

“Ladies, Candice will be exactly five minutes late. Do your best. Remember to engage her in discussion. Candice thrives on conflict. That’s how you’ll make a good impression. You do not need to do all she asks. In fact, I’d discourage it.”

“Has anyone told you that you are the best boss, Miles?” Mary was always a bit of a suck up, but I’d gotten used to it. And I didn’t say anything to her about it. I liked my direct reports enough to curb my tongue against them.

“I think you said it the other day, but I always enjoy hearing it. Look, your success is mine. I’m just doing what I’m paid to do.”

“Uh huh.” None of them were convinced. “You should have Candice’s job.”

“No, thank you. I like sleeping too much.” I joked. In reality, I wanted nothing to do with the direct interactions with the BHS or the government. Candice functioned as a nice buffer for me.

I also had gotten used to all the women flattering me. I was only one of five men in the office, and as a result, I often was a place of focus for their attention.

Candice strolled in, her blond hair cut sharply with the angle of her chin. It was just an inch shorter than where her chin ended, giving her an edgy haircut that was a decade or two too young for the woman, whose skin wrinkled around her eyes. The frown lines on her face added to her intensity.

She sat down sharply and flipped open her leather folio, flipping the legal pad to a new page. Then she clicked her pen as if it was the button to start the projector, looking up and staring at the screen.

Right on cue, Kate hit play, and the commercial we’d worked on the last several months started.

***

On the screen, Katherine Hensway twists, putting both her chest and butt on full display. She slowly bit her lip and gave us all a smoldering look that would set any man on fire. And she did it all while wearing an oversexualized Uncle Sam costume. “Do your part for the country. Have a harem, have kids.”

The ad winked out, and we looked at each other in the conference room, waiting to hear Candice’s questions. Mary jumped to get the lights.

“Why Miss Point City?” Candice asked.

I thought it was the stupidest question in the world, but I let the girls pick up the softball.

“Why not?” Rachel threw back. “She’s the superstar of Point City’s heroes. On all the metrics, from receptiveness to keeping attention, she scored the highest. And she does especially well with the male demographic.”

I nodded, proud of them for taking my advice. I glanced at Candice, catching the subtlest approval while she kept her scowl.

“Who cares about the male demographic? We want the women on board. They are the ones that need to grab a man by the balls and bring him to bed.” Candice declared.

It was everything I could do to not facepalm and groan into my hands. HR would roast anyone for saying something like that. But unfortunately, Candice was in a position to be immune to that. The girls around the table were looking at me, clearly not sure if I wanted to pick a fight with my very sexist manager.

The answer was no. I’d seen others fight that several times already, and it hadn’t done any good. Candice just fired any HR employees that had a problem with her language and replaced her with someone less concerned.

Women made up over 80% of the world population now, and the gender ratios continued to skew heavily towards women. The gene for powers and mutations occurred on the X chromosome, and it was basic biology that it had affected birthrates.

The sperm with the X chromosome out-competed those with the Y chromosome nine to one, which meant for every man born there were nine women born.

I was a third generation super and now, with the fourth generation coming up behind me, it had only gotten worse, far worse.

So here we were, creating a commercial for the government, trying to change how people viewed relationships. The goal was to normalize harems in hopes of continuing to have future generations.

Harems weren’t completely new. With the gender ratios as skewed as they were, harems had already naturally developed, but they were made more legitimate the previous year when the tax system was updated to accommodate them. Of course, politicians were decades behind on acting, but at least something finally came.

And now the government was fully backing the concept, working with Bureau of Superheroes to push it as well.

I’d learned that sexually frustrated women apparently made up for a large amount of the petty crime and daylight assaults.

I had to hide my snicker as I thought about it, realizing Candice had been talking the entire time and I’d missed whatever she was saying.

“— think that a big hunky man would be best.” She finished.

“But the metrics say that most resistance to harems is from women. We wanted to say ‘if Miss Point City is okay with sharing a man, what is your complaint?’ We’ve even arranged for her husband to take a second wife here during the campaign.”

“Oh. I’d like to sign up for Prad Bitt’s bed.” Candice purred. “See, wouldn’t that make a much better argument?” She wiped her hand in the air as if she was viewing a scene. “Prad Bitt naked under the covers, with a clearly erect boner under the sheets. Have a harem with me. See?”

My team looked nervously about, clearly not liking the idea. We had tried the sex appeal angle with a man. But it actually revolted the male audience to the point that it seemed counterproductive. The role of a man in society had changed drastically in the last generation as the sexual imbalance had accelerated.

Women may have the numbers over the men, but we still needed men to be onboard. And the best way to do that was with Miss Point City.

I decided to step in and help my team. “Candice. Look, we tried that angle and it didn’t measure up. The analytics just weren’t there for trying that angle.”

“Sometimes you need to see past the data.” She replied.

“No.” I leaned over the conference table. “We follow the data. That’s what we are paid to do. Women and men responded well to this approach. It’s more subtle, and it tackles the primary concern of women.”

Candice and I had a momentary standoff. I could nearly feel the static between our gazes for a moment before she broke the staring contest. “Fine. I trust your judgment, Miles. Now, what about the ads for other cities?”

My team and I shared a look of surprise, and I knew I had to take this one head on for them. Otherwise, Candice would bulldoze right over my team.

“The project was only for Point City. That’s why we chose the hero we did.” I rubbed my temples. “Candice, if you accept that sort of scope creep, you need to file a new project charter. We can take this video and cut in another city’s most popular hero, but we’d need to do the research and testing groups to figure out which ones we need to sign. It shouldn’t be too hard to get an hour shoot completed to fill in a few pieces of the ad. With the BSH involved, the heros should be receptive.” I made it seem a little more than it really was, but I needed to push back hard on Candice.

“But I need all of them today. The BSH is coming by to see it.” She said.

My temper was rising, but I wasn’t surprised. I hated when Candice pulled this shit.

“No. We don’t have it, and there’s no way to get it pulled together on time. My team worked tirelessly to get this one done. You’ll have to work that silver tongue of yours and show this to them as a sample for Point City, and we can work on the rest later.”

I took one glance at my team, seeing their tired faces full of dread. They knew this would likely mean Candice expecting a weekend full of work to make it happen. And I didn’t want that for them. “We’ll talk more about it on Monday. The team worked last Sunday, and I told them they’d get today off as compensation after we presented this.” I lied.

Kate, sitting next to Candice, beamed at me. I didn’t have to look at the rest of them to know just how happy I’d just made them.

Someone had to stand up to Candice. She was a great screen between me and the BSH, but that didn’t mean she got to overwork my team.

“Fine. But you’ll come to meet the BSH rep today. You dodged them the last two times, and it helps the client to see just who is doing the work for them.”

I hid my twitch by shifting and sitting back in my seat. “Sure.” That was about the last thing I wanted to do.

“Don’t be so glum. She’s really quite lovely.”

I had no issues with whoever it was individually, but I avoided heroes like the plague. One of the last groups I wanted to be crammed into a conference room with was the Bureau of Super Heroes. “Put the meeting on my calendar.” I hoped she’d forget, and it might give me an out.

But she took out her phone and keyed it in right then and there.

I cursed internally as the little bubble popped up in the corner of my screen.

Five o’clock on a Friday? Of course, Candice. No wonder people become villains when the real world pushes them around like this.

At least my team had the rest of the day off; she hadn’t fought me on that.

“Great. Girls, enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you on Monday and don’t forget to direct people to me in your out of office message.” I shooed them out of the meeting room ahead of me before Candice could try to tie them back down.

‘Meeting with the BSH.’ I looked down at the meeting notice again.

I cringed, not wanting them to have any extra time to observe me. They had me registered as enhanced with some basic strength, speed and a bit of enhanced regeneration.

None of those were my actual power. My power was something far more dangerous. Something that was best kept hidden from the world, unless I wanted to lose my freedom. The things the government or villains would do to get a hold of my power would insure I never slept peacefully again if it got out.