Saving Supervillains 1 Chapter 11 (Patreon)

I woke up the next day to dozens of texts from my direct reports. Candice insisted it was safe to come back in after the lockdown, but they were all anxious and wanted my opinion.

Luckily, I had a lot of information on the lockdown. I sat in my quiet apartment, settling back into my normal routine as I texted back, calming the team down as I got ready to head to the office.

I wandered into the kitchen. Breakfast was so much sweeter without the looming threat of the BSH hanging over my every thought.

Finishing my last bite of eggs, I headed out the door, following my usual route to work.

As I walked, I got the nagging sense that someone was watching me. The back of my neck prickled slightly with that sixth sense.

I turned quickly, scanning the area behind me.

But no one was there.

Narrowing my eyes, I continued to scan. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stella had been waiting outside my apartment to follow me.

Sensing for power, I tried to find her. Stella’s level of ki would have been like a bright flare.

I was so sure I’d feel her signature, but she wasn’t there. I frowned, finding myself a bit disappointed.

Taking a breath, I continued towards work. I needed to focus on the additional commercials we needed to put together for the harem project.

I hoped we’d have some polling results around the heroes that resonated best with audiences in each city from past projects at the firm.

Tapping my chin, I thought about what shortcuts we could take to speed up shooting. I’d given Kim six weeks. It was a tight timeline, but it was doable. I just needed to be extra strategic in our shots.

Lost in thought, I didn’t see my favorite pig-nosed security guard until she blocked my entrance to the building.

“Miles.” She stared down at me. “Thanks for what you did for the city.”

“Huh?”

“It’s all over the office.” She clarified. “You worked with the BSH this weekend to deal with the bactimen.”

“Oh, yeah. Not a problem at all. I was just in the right place, right time and able to help with the hero. She did all the work.” I tried to downplay it, wanting to sink back into the background.

The guard grunted as she stepped aside. “Not what was on the news this morning. That new hero said you were vital. Anyway. Thanks.”

Frowning, I pulled out my phone and searched for the news.

The City’s New Favorite Hero: Demoness

I couldn’t help but smile, proud of her for changing her narrative.

I opened up the article. Someone had gotten a few good photos of her fighting the massive bactiman and even saving the other heroes from being digested.

I hadn’t realized that she’d spoken a few words at a press conference the night before, aimed at calming panic. No doubt those had been coached.

The end of the article talked about how excited people were about her hero testing today. I hoped she’d do well and find a place for herself in the city.

A part of me missed the action of the previous days.

I scrolled through the extra images, smiling at how Demoness truly did look like a hero, and not one of the phony ones.

But then one of the images came up with that damned statue of Fortress, and it was everything I could do to hold my power in and now fry every electronic in the building. I quickly exited out of the article and stuffed my phone back on my pocket

“Miles!” Rachel was waiting at the elevator bank and cried out when she saw me. Everyone else waiting for the elevator looked up, and more than a few did a double take.

I grumbled to myself, not loving the new fame.

“It’s Stella.” She held out her phone with a different article, but it had mostly the same information. “Your date from the other night is Demoness? That’s so awesome! I can’t believe we met her! She really kicked butt; I watched like twenty videos.”

“Videos?” I asked.

“Yeah, they are all over the internet. Some are pretty choppy, but they are all from the high rises next to the fight.” Rachel’s little fox ears flopped back and forth as she raved about it.

I nodded, uncomfortable that everybody in the elevator was still staring.

“Come on.” I ushered her into the elevator as it dinged. “We need to get a meeting together with the team to hash out the additional commercials.”

But Rachel wasn’t paying attention; she was texting someone.

The elevator paused twice before we finally reached our floor.

When it opened, the office was all waiting with a big ‘HERO’ set of balloons behind them. So much for getting back to normal.

“Surprise!” Ben yelled above everyone else with the biggest smile on his face.

Even Candice was out of her office, taking part.

“Thank you.” I patted the air for people to calm down. “Thanks, but it wasn’t a big deal. I helped the BSH with some hero management this weekend. That’s all.”

“He’s dating Demoness.” Ben told the office excitedly.

“We went on ONE date.” I clarified. “With her new popularity, who knows what will happen next.” Even as I said it, I had to shove aside the idea of her dating somebody to not roast something nearby.

I frowned, pushing forward through the crowd.

Ben sidled up next to me, elbowing me in the ribs. “So, how was being with a superhero?” He whispered in my ear far too loudly; everyone in the office could hear it. He also pivoted me around, keeping me in the area with all the others.

I’d thought escape might not be so easy.

“Wouldn’t know. It was just a first date.” I replied to his question, rolling my eyes.

Mary came out front, carrying a cake, and set it on the table. ‘Our Hero,’ was written in frosting.

I was trying to be nice, but being recognized as a hero was driving me crazy

Heroes were a problem. Being associated with them was not something I enjoyed. Although I had to admit that BSH wasn’t quite as bad as I was expecting.

Candice spoke up, for once making me grateful for her awful management practices. “Alright everyone. Grab a piece of cake and go back to work.” I was thankful for the distraction, as well as for dousing the hero talk.

Her statement sobered down the excitement like dumping a bucket of water on a single wick candle.

People quieted down and got in line for cake, but not even Candice could dampen Ben’s mood as he served cake with a goofy, lopsided grin plastered to his face.

I politely took my cake and gestured to my team to meet me in my office.

They filed out of the impromptu celebration and ducked into my office shortly after me.

I sat down, opening my laptop. “Thanks for the cake, ladies.”

In the end, I decided to focus on what this meant from them. They were proud and happy for me, and I didn’t want to ruin it.

“Miles, is everything okay?” Ben joined the meeting uninvited. “You looked a little green when we talked about your girl.”

“She’s not my girl.” I reminded Ben.

He looked at Mary, and the two of them had a silent conversation. “She dumped you, didn’t she?”

“That bitch!” Rachel was quick to pull out her phone and start texting.

“Wait. Rachel, are you texting her?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah. We all traded numbers on Friday.”

Several of the other girls had their phones out too, ready to give Stella a piece of their minds. I facepalmed.

“Please stop. Just let it go. No texts.” I was ready to send out a little pulse of electromagnetic energy and shut their phones down if necessary, but they stopped.

Ben grumbled. “This sucks. I got us tickets to go see the hero tryouts today.” He waved a stack of tickets that he pulled out of his pocket.

The rest of the girls turned to me with pleading eyes.

Damn it Ben. We had so much we needed to get done for the commercials.

But then I realized it could prove to be great motivation.

“If we can figure this project out and map out a timeline before lunch, we can ‘take lunch’.” I air quoted the words. “And go see the tryouts.”

“Done! What do we need to do?” Kate had her laptop open on her lap, fingers ready to type.

I’d already thought about my plan. “Sift through what data we have already. See if we can get enough intel that we can skip doing our own polling. We have six weeks to get the other commercials done, and I’d rather not spend it purely on strategy. We need time for execution.”

“Candice really sold the other cities? Shit. Six weeks is barely enough time.” Rachel was opening her own laptop while Mary was already busy at work.

Ben shook his head. “This is a tough task, but I’ll chip in and help.”

Mary came back in a moment later with her laptop and Ben’s.

“Thanks, hun.” He gave her a side hug before plopping down against the wall with her. The two of them looked like a cute couple as they got to work.

I almost reminded him about the workplace dating policy, but I didn’t want to mess up their happiness. I just hoped it worked out and Candice didn’t find out.

***

“I can’t believe we pulled it off.” Rachel walked out into the stadium carrying a massive tray of chips and dip. Apparently, she could eat.

“Ben finding that repository from Agnes before he left was clutch. He really is a wiz with the systems.” Mary smirked at her man.

The man in question was rubbing the back of his head like a goof with a big smile, clearly enjoying the compliments.

I swore he was so similar to a puppy.

Our group sat down on the bleachers a little over halfway up the stadium.

The setup below reminded me of a track and field event. There was a main track covered in obstacles wrapped around the central area.

Several supers were currently blurring through a physical test on the main track. It looked like there were piles of rubble placed on the track for them to weave around along with a few spring loaded traps.

In another area of the stadium, there was a section with a fighting ring.

And finally, there was an area with a bunch of broken walls; it must be some sort of physical strength test.

“Oh, she’s pretty.” Mary pointed to a woman stretching on the side, about ready to perform her physical aptitude test.

I squinted, recognizing her. M… something. Once again, I was stuck on her name, even after a great night together.

M…Mel… Melody!

I nearly punched the air as the name finally stuck.

I was glad she was at hero tryouts. She must have taken my advice and given the hero business a shot at launching her modeling career.

“That’s Melody.” I replied.

Ben looked around Mary at me. “Next, you are going to tell me you’ve been secretly dating prospective heroes behind my back.”

I started to tell him that me living my life outside work wasn’t ‘behind his back’ but then decided against trying to argue with him.

“We went on a date. I didn’t know she was going to try out, though.” I turned my attention back to her as she became the focus on the big screen.

Melody grabbed a stone wall that had heavy chains running into the floor to some mechanism below it. She did a heroic lift, pulling against the chain, and a digital board along the wall started dialing up, counting the weight she was lifting.

“Ooh, ten thousand pounds!” Mel exclaimed with her mouth full of chips. “That’s B Grade material for sure.”

I remembered that much about her. “She’s the bottom of A Grade.”

“Great looking too.” Ben tossed out, the girls all turning to look at him pointedly. “What? Most supers are good looking. Makes for easy PR.”

That didn’t earn him any additional points.

Melody finally dropped the bar. Some mechanism below the floor thudded, and her score of just over eleven thousand pounds went up on the board before it flashed and showed an overall ranking.

As I looked at the rating board, the top name read ‘Demoness’, and her score had blown all the others out of the water.

“Holy shit.” Rachel blurted out. “Stella has got to be fucking S Grade.”

Even Ben let out a little appreciative whistle. “Maybe it’s best you didn’t bring her back to your place, Miles. I’m not sure it would have survived.”

Mary hit him over the head. “Is sex all you think about?”

I responded automatically. “Yes, and cute girls, but that’s just adjacent to sex.”

Ben’s jaw hung open at me before he grabbed his stomach and started laughing.

As we chatted, Melody moved onto a new station where a big plate recorded her punching strength.

Kate was opening a pamphlet. I had no idea where she’d gotten it. “It says here that around now they should transition to practical combat. They’ll be paired off against someone of the same power grade based on their results.”

“I wonder who your girl will go up against.” Ben wondered aloud.

I would have corrected him, but my attention got snagged by someone else.

Omnigirl was leaning against the wall in her pink and blue outfit, staring across the testing area at Demoness.

The veteran super looked like she had an ax to grind. I wondered if she was upset that I had left her hanging after agreeing to the date. She certainly didn’t have my number.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the part we’ve all been waiting for. Practical combat.” The announcer’s voice echoed across the stadium as a little music cue went off.

“Each and every one of these fights is electrifying and exciting. First up, Demoness versus Omnigirl!” He dragged out Omnigirl’s name and put a truckload of excitement behind it.

Knowing her cue, Omnigirl kicked off the wall and floated up into the air with her arms outstretched. The stadium roared with applause, eating it up.

The cocky super smiled, soaking up the praise.

But Stella didn’t let herself fall to the wayside. She flew up into the air, diving around on her bat wings as the crowd took up their cheers for her.

Those around us started stomping their feet and screaming Demoness at the top of their lunges.

Stella did an awkward wave to the four corners of the stadium before she shielded her eyes and squinted up into the stands.

She was clearly scanning for someone, but it was impossible for her to pick someone out of the current crowd.

Omnigirl did a slow twirl in the air, still grandstanding for the crowd as she gently set herself down on the stage and gave Stella a tilted head as she spoke something to Stella that us up in the stands couldn’t hear.

“This is going to be a good one.” The announcer must have heard it. “These two aren’t going to hold anything back. Get ready for the fight of the year.”

Stella put her fists up, preparing. But Omnigirl wasn’t waiting. She flashed across the stage and caught Stella in the ribs with a fist that would have sent buildings crumbling.

Omnigirl followed up her first hit with another three punches.

Stella just barely managed to get an arm in front of them, but she was clearly favoring the side that had taken the first hit.

“Come on, Demoness!” Rachel cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting down at the stage.

I frowned. Come on Stella, I pleaded mentally; you are stronger than this.

But even as I thought it, Omnigirl kept at the assault. Stella had no chance to do anything but defend herself during the fight as Omnigirl plowed into her hit after hit.

Tapping into my power, I looked down at the fight in a new light. And I grimaced at what I saw. Stella was running on fumes.

I froze, realizing that she probably hadn’t fed since she’d drained the Bactimen. And then she’d gone all out during the testing phase. She hadn’t been able to restore her ki.

I immediately chastised myself. I should have been there!

Even as I thought about it, I stopped and reiterated to myself the reason I’d walked away. I’d wanted normal, and I couldn’t have that around her.

But I also was finding it fucking difficult to sit there and watch her get pummeled.

I wondered if I should leave? If I stayed, there was no way I wouldn’t interfere.

Seeing Stella get hit again made my heart clench as she rolled to the floor from a devastating hit to the face.

I didn’t think, didn’t worry. I just acted on instinct.

Reaching down into my ability, I pushed ki towards her, filling her.

The change was instant.

Omnigirl tried to kick Stella off stage, but Stella grabbed Omnigirl’s shin with one hand, stopping her cold.

Stella flipped up to her feet, still holding Omnigirl and thrashing her against the floor before tossing her off into the air.

Omnigirl spun several times before she stabilized her flight.

I smiled, glad that Stella had recovered.

But then Stella flew straight up into the air and started to slowly spin, looking into the crowd. I realized she was looking for me.

Omnigirl grabbed her by the waist in her moment of distraction and spun Stella around, plummeting to the ground as she slammed her face first into the stage.

“Ooooh.” The announcer made a pained voice. “Is this it for our newbie? Omnigirl is going pretty hard on her, but she still needs to put up a good show in order to make Grade 1 for the BSH. So far, I’m not seeing it.”

Come on Stella. Finish this.

I poured more power into her, spiking her ability and sending it into overdrive.

As Stella pushed off the ground, I could see her bright blue eyes glowing, even from my distance.

Omnigirl floated and dodged the leg sweep, but Stella snapped to her feet and threw a wild haymaker punch that caught Omnigirl right in the gut.

There was almost a pause in the world before Omnigirl shot away, a sonic boom announced her breaking the sound barrier. A second loud gong sounded as she crashed into the big plate that Melody had used earlier to record her punches.

“Holy moly! What a punch.” The announcer held his headset close to his ear as he nodded several times. “I’m told Omnigirl just crashed into that plate hard enough to set a new record for punching strength. Demoness was holding back on us!”

A few uniformed people rushed onto the field to help Omnigirl out of the wreckage.

“Now that’s what we want to see from a top grade hero.”

Once again, Stella wasn’t interested in what was happening around her. She was using her wings to fly up into the middle of the stadium as the crowd cheered, taking her actions for grandstanding.

I knew differently as she scanned the crowd slowly.

Time was running out. She was going to pass over me in a few seconds.

I didn’t hide. I just sat there, staring right back at her as she finally locked eyes with me. Crossing my arms, I held up my hand to stop her even as she started to lean towards me.

Then I pointed down below at the changing rooms as I flashed five fingers.

The grin on her face made my heart beat a little faster, even if I was reluctant to admit it.

“That doesn’t look like she broke up with you.” Ben whispered loudly, leaning over Mary and staring at me, along with the rest of our group.

“Maybe I broke up with her.” I admitted. “Maybe we need to talk, too.”

“Shoo.” All three girls said at once with angry glares.

Getting up out of my seat, I started making my way down as Stella’s eyes followed me.