Saving Supervillains 1 Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Stella bounced back quickly as I fed her power. Her suckers retracted into her body. I kept my focus on her as I felt another super land beside me.

“Overwatch, on site.” A woman wearing a strange set of goggles spoke. I assumed reporting into some communication piece I couldn’t see. She tapped the side of her head, and another two lenses swiveled into place in front of her right eye.

Those goggles were part of her super look. She had a lanky frame and blonde hair pulled up in a tight braid. Her super suit was light blue and black, almost looking like a robot in its patterning.

“We have termination of…” Her head scanned up and down the street. “All bactiment in a two-block radius. Evidence suggests they converged on Demon.”

“Uh, we are right here.” I muttered, but she continued reporting.

“Both Demon and her manager are in good health, though Demon appears to be worn out.” More lenses rose and fell from her right eye as she gave her report.

Letting my super power examine her, I determined she was only a B class super. And her power seemed to be focused in her right eye, where all the lenses were moving up and down.

“Sorry about that.” She tapped on the side of her goggles, dropping the super stern act. “I try to be succinct about reports.”

“Can you stand, Demoness?” I tried to use her hero name. Everyone seemed to stick to them while in the field.

Stella peaked out of one eye. “Maybe a kiss from my prince charming to make me better.”

I stopped supporting her. She fell a little, landing in a crouch.

“Hey,” she muttered.

“You’re fine.” I shrugged it off. “Overwatch. What do you see outside the two-block radius?”

She tapped on her goggles, letting all the lenses fall away. “Minor activity. If you can take on what I saw here before, you don’t need to bother with the small stuff.”

“So, what are the goggles for?” Stella poked at Overwatch’s goggle strap.

“My power is oversight, along with flight. I can see through things.”

“Am I naked right now?” Stella laughed.

“No, but if I were using my ability right now, I’d see right through you and the next few buildings.”

I let out a soft whistle. “That’s more than just X-ray vision.”

“Yeah, the lenses help block some of my ability. It helps me hone in how much I see through.” She tapped the side of her goggles and cycled through the set of six lenses.

“That’s pretty cool.” Stella got really close to Overwatch and stared at the lenses from the side.

“I’m not a frontliner like you, but I am one of the best scouts. I can make sure you’re not walking into something different from we expect.” Overwatch seemed content with her role in the whole system.

I looked at her, wondering if there was more to BSH than I gave it credit for being.

My tablet chirped.

Miles, you two are needed at 17th and Windall. Another mass has been detected. We’ll be sending you and Demon to these sites, as we can find them.

I typed back a brief message.

Demoness and I are on it.

I knew Stella wasn’t going to like ‘Demon’. So I gave them the new name, hoping they’d adopt it.

“Demoness, we have another spot to check out. Seventeenth and Windall.”

She gave me a dopey smile and held out her arms to carry me.

“It’s not far. We’ll walk.” I turned north and took three steps before Stella scooped me up.

“It’ll be shorter this way.” She said into my ear. “Besides, I enjoy carrying you when I can. Also, thank you for trying to change my name.”

“You picked up on that?”

“Overwatch did too. She’ll call me Demoness in the future.”

“I figure you’d want to separate yourself from the villain Demon if you could.”

She nodded rapidly into my back. “Yes, please.”

“I’ll do what I can to rebrand you, but there are still a lot of crimes connected to you.” I warned.

Stella sighed. “Yeah, but Kim offered to scrub my record if I could play a big part in clearing the bactimen.”

My feet dangled above the city street in a slightly disconcerting way. It was one thing to fly on my own, another to be carried.

But I wasn’t about to complain to Stella. I was sure she hadn’t felt in control of her life when her power was going haywire.

It made me understand her a little more. “I’ll do what I can to help you.” I agreed with a sigh, feeling myself tied closer to Stella yet again.

“You are the best.” She squeezed me like a favorite teddy bear.

Seeing 18th street below, I popped her bubble. “You missed your turn. Go back and take a left.”

“No problem.” Stella swerved midair and took the missed turn.

“Three blocks, right there.” I pointed to the intersection.

Stella swooped down, depositing me before landing with a thud herself. “Alright, let’s get these bad boys.”

As Stella reached to grab the manhole cover, I stopped her. “First, we need to work on your ability. Right now, you have to be weak to have your power reach out and do more damage. We need to have you be able to do that when you aren’t weak.”

She gave me a slow nod. “If that’s what you think is best.”

“Practice on me.” I stepped about five feet away. “Try to drain me like you normally would.”

Stella pressed her brows down in concentration and lifted her hand as if to grab me, but there was a distance between us.

Wanting to help her speed it along, I watched her power, hoping I could give some tips.

The little suckers writhed just below her skin. Even as she concentrated, they only just barely poked out of her skin, little flits of blue threads, like bubbles in a boiling pot.

“It isn’t working.” I told her. “Try thinking as if a phantom arm reached out of your hand to grab me.”

Some powers were all visualization.

She tried it, and the little suckers actually rose about six inches out of her skin, waving in the air sort of like a hand.

“That’s working. You just need to push it further.” I encouraged her.

Stella’s jaw set and her eyes squeezed shut. The suckers continued to push out another foot, but they stopped there.

She took a deep breath, and they shot back into her skin. “How was that?”

“We need to work on your breathing, but they went further.”

“Still not enough.” Stella grumbled, focusing on me yet again, only this time she puckered her lips.

The multitude of suckers around her lips shot out and latched onto my own lips as Stella breathed and started to drain me.

“And what did you do there?” I glowered at her, letting her have a taste before disconnecting the suckers by force.

“Imagined what our first kiss would be like.” She smiled dopily.

“Great, now go imagine kissing the bactimen. Sounds like you got this figured out.” I kept my expression and voice neutral.

Stella snorted, stomping away. “Got it Master. Off to smash some bactimen.” She tossed aside the manhole cover and crossed her arms as she jumped down, splashing into the sewer.

The ground shook as she started to take out some of her anger on the bactimen.

This time, I watched down below, trying to sense her power. I could feel it stretch out, destroying the bactimen at range.

She’d learned her lesson the first time and was taking them out before they could escape or form something larger.

But bactimen still spilled out onto the street, running from her as she jumped out of another manhole.

Her little suckers latched onto the bactimen running in a dozen directions and drained them of power.

“Good job, Demoness. How’s it look down there?”

“All clear, but I desperately want a bath.” She shook her boots before ripping them off and letting muck drip into the street. “Last time I was able to stay on the walkway. This time they pushed me into the actual sewage.”

“No one ever said hero work was all glory. Let’s keep at it. We have another site.”

“Off we go!” She went to carry me once more.

“No can do. You hurry up to the next one. I’ll be there in a few minutes on foot.” I was not being carried by her as she dripped sewage onto me.

***

Night was just starting to settle across the sky as we wrapped our last assignment. Clouds were turning purple and orange with the sunset.

“Good work today, everyone. We have another shift coming in tonight to keep looking for hot spots and monitor the situation. Working heroes to the bone does us no good. Get some sleep and be back here bright and early tomorrow.” Kim stood in the middle of the path. The other BSH managers and myself were spread to one side, and the heroes stood on the other.

I was thankful for the separation. Stella stank from repeat sewer entries, and some supers smelt like burnt sewage. It was a whole new level of disgusting.

With Kim’s dismissal, the heroes departed, many of them flying off.

Stella hung around, awkwardly waiting for me as Kim turned to address the rest of us.

“I expect all of you here an hour earlier than your heroes. You should get yourself up to speed on the situation before they arrive.” Kim shooed everyone away as soon as she finished, but she met my eyes and jerked her head back for me to follow her.

Looking across the field, I motioned Stella to join as well.

Stella literally flew across the field to get back to my side. “What is it?”

“I have no clue.” I told her, ducking into the tent that only had a skeleton crew for the night.

Kim was already seated, turning as we entered.

It seemed like a casual situation, so I sat down too. Stella stood awkwardly, her super suit still wet and gross.

“You two did well today. I just wanted to tell you that you have earned your pardon.” Kim focused on Stella.

“I—”

“Don’t thank me. Just keep doing what you are doing. I’d love to fast track you to the hero qualifications next week, if you are interested.” Kim told Stella.

“Qualifications?” she asked.

Kim leaned back in her seat, kicking her feet up on the table. “We run prospective heroes through a battery of tests to see if they make the cut. It’s a public spectacle too, good for your start as a hero to put on a good show.”

She continued, “It isn’t normal for us to pull several dozen people off the street for just their power and call them heroes. We had twenty-six emergency heroes out there today, people like yourself.”

Stella nodded slowly. “Okay. I…” She glanced at me. “I think I’d like that. I’d like to turn my life around.”

Kim grinned. “I looked at your file and the psych eval a little closer. I believe that you didn’t mean to be a villain. And I think with Miles’ help, we can save you from that life.”

I paused, realizing we were saving a supervillain. I hadn’t thought that was possible.

“It won’t be easy, though.” I reminded Stella. “There’s going to be someone who remembers what you look like and cause a fuss.”

Her head dipped, but she nodded along with me. “I know.”

“You’ll probably have to get a real manager, though. I’ll go back to my job in marketing.” I added.

Stella’s head snapped up, her eyes wide as she looked at Kim for help.

“He’s right. I’m afraid I only have him on loan for the weekend. I’d love to poach Miles, but that’s his choice.” Kim held her hands up in surrender.

Stella’s gaze fixed back on me with a determination that made me nervous.

Helping the city through a crisis had felt good, but I knew much of the actual super hero job was fluff and bullshit.

“Well, I’m heading home.” I wanted to escape the current conversation. “I’ll meet you back here tomorrow, Demoness.”

She started to get up, but I saw Kim plant a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

The two of them turned, talking to each other again as I left.

I appreciated Kim helping give me space. I hoped she was working with Stella to soften her reliance on me after the psych evaluation.

Tired, I headed out, excited for a peaceful night alone in my apartment.

I walked along the tents in the park, enjoying a bit of night air and moving away from the crowds.

When nobody was in sight, I let light pass right through me, becoming invisible. Relaxing, I launched myself up above the rooftops with my next step.

It felt so fantastic to fly on my own, and it was a beautiful night.

I floated above the rooftops, not in a hurry, watching the sunset as I slowly made my way back to my apartment.

Life was good. My secret had remained under wraps, and I’d helped another super control her powers.

The life I wanted hadn’t been derailed yet. This was just a detour, one I was planning to end soon.

Stella’s face popped up in my head as I thought of the end of our arrangement. I knew Stella would fight it, but it was best if she didn’t rely on me, anyway. I’d just have to power through her big puppy dog eyes, wanting me to be her manager for longer.

I couldn’t be the only super that would be able to help her control her power. Even someone like Kim with her immortality could probably become a battery for Stella now that I gave it some thought.

And as a hero, she’d be able to encounter monsters or villains that she could safely drain to keep herself afloat.

I smiled, feeling like I’d figured everything out. With a little more control, which she was already learning, she’d hopefully become a decent hero.

I patted myself on the back for making a better hero than most of the ones I’d had to work around.

She would do good.

I hoped she’d hold her own and not become the one craving fame, no matter the collateral costs in the battle. But I couldn’t control her future.

That would be her actual manager’s job. I was just a temp.

My apartment loomed up ahead. I headed towards one specific window.

I’d set up a trick window in my bedroom. It looked like a solid pane, but I had installed a little sliding door mechanism to it. Waving my hand, I detached the lock.

The window wasn’t counterweighted, so it took quite a bit of force to pry open the window and float into my bedroom, closing it behind me and latching it.

Inside my apartment, it was quiet. After the busy day I had today and being surrounded by all sorts of new people, it almost seemed too quiet.

I shook it off.

Reminding myself, I liked the quiet. It was peaceful, empty of people that I had to worry about. It kept my secret safe. I repeated all the reasons why the peace and quiet was good as I floated around my apartment, undressing and making my way into the shower.

Turning the handle, a cold spray emerged. I stood there for all of two seconds before I got impatient. I used my abilities to heat the shower head and make the water pouring out of it steamy warm.

I sighed as my shoulders sank under the water. There was something about being under the hot spray that made my mind wander and drift aimlessly.

I was glad that I could help Stella. But I couldn’t help but then wonder what would have happened if someone had been there for me like I was for Stella.

Could I have turned it around? Would I have not become a monster?

No, our situations were different.

When my abilities had shown themselves, it had been different. The world placed the death of over a hundred heroes on my shoulders, and sometimes, I couldn’t help but do the same.

Maybe they were right, maybe I really was a monster. The idea chilled such that no amount of hot water was going to cut through it.

I turned off the shower without washing my hair. I didn’t want to think anymore. My wandering mind had betrayed me.

The warmth of it was no longer reaching as deep as I wanted.

Instead, I wrapped myself in thermal energy, drying myself off. For that moment, I felt like I was in the middle of a nice dry sauna, warmth sinking into my bones.

Throwing on a towel, I half expected Stella to be sitting in the middle of my apartment.

She wasn’t, and I realized I might be disappointed.

I laughed to myself, shaking that off. Her bubbly energy definitely was fun, but it wasn’t worth all the hassle and risk she brought into my life.

Wanting a distraction, I picked up my phone and opened a dating app.

It was still on Melody’s cute face, and I smiled at the photo of her. I’d hoped we’d be able to get together a few more times before it got serious. Our night together had been fantastic.

I hesitated, considering still giving her a booty call.

“What are you doing, Miles?” I spoke aloud to myself.

I put my phone down, deciding I just needed some sleep and to start a fresh day.

Today couldn’t happen again and again. We’d wrap up the weekend, and then I needed to move on.

I couldn’t get any closer to the BSH. Even if they didn’t know what I looked like so many years after the fact, continuing to involve myself with them was a risk I couldn’t take.

Getting into bed, I decided I’d start working to decouple myself and hand her off to Kim during our missions the next day.

But I was surprised it wasn’t as obvious to me as it should be. As much as I hated Kim and her hero persona Wrath, I had to admit; she ran the BSH well and could handle Stella.

I hadn’t expected to be proud of working with BSH, but if I was honest with myself, it had been a tiring but great day.

Not wanting to evaluate those emotions deeper, I turned over to go to bed. I pressed my head into the pillow, willing myself to sleep.

AN - I do need to go back again and refine the Demon -> Demoness name conversion or just remove it. But I think from here on out we stick with Demoness.