Supervillains 2 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Stella’s arms were wrapped tightly around my torso as she flew us to the first target. Large bat wings sprouting from her back to fly.

Her mutations really gave her the full succubus package. Her hero name, Demoness, fit her like a glove.

I hung in her arms, tapping away at the tablet. While I could fly with my powers, I had to stay under the radar as just an enhanced human. I’d come to terms with her flying me, and she loved it.

At first, I had been resistant to relying on her for transportation, but I was starting to enjoy being pressed up against her.

I zeroed in on our target on my tablet. "We are coming up on the first group here in two blocks." The transmitter just behind my jaw broadcast my message to all three of my heroes.

With the bump to deputy director, my comms were even more secure than before.

Beatrix had assured me that what was said over the channel was completely private when I’d asked. I found my new clearance got me many more answers than before. I was glad that I’d been careful before.

"It's the factory? Is it abandoned?" Venus flew nearby. She used a light sail that was invisible to most, but not to me. It was very effective; I'd even added it to my own flight experiments for a wonderful boost.

"Condemned. Due for demolition in a few weeks. Looks like there isn't any reason to hold back when we battle. There aren’t any civilians until the next building over." I scanned the area below us. There was a good amount of open yard between the factories.

It was rare to have abandoned buildings in the city. Given the dangers in the wilds around the city, real estate further in was more precious. It was the reason cities had blossomed. They had enough super heroes to keep the residents safe from any mutations or villains.

Though the city did steadily grow outwards.

"I'll scout." Venus shot forward, swooping low over the building.

Meanwhile, I pretended to use my tablet while extending my powers over the building to look for threats.

"What do you see?" Stella whispered.

"Seven bodies." I had been sensing for biological mass and the energy it would put off. "Hold on." The report had mentioned six, so I needed to figure out who or what the seventh was. Switching what type of energy I was looking for, I could see each of them glowing bright with ki.

Based on the ki I was seeing, each of them was a super, and they were all B grade or stronger. This was a powerful group.

"I see seven." Venus reported after landing outside the factory and using her ability to manipulate light to see around the corners. "That's one more than the report."

I noted that Venus actually read the reports in their entirety. If only I could get Stella to do that.

"Can you tell what they are doing?" I asked Venus as Stella put me down on a nearby building. I turned my full attention to the factory.

Five of the seven were in the same room; two were posted up at the entrances.

I could safely assume that the two sentries were part of the group, so the newcomer would have to be one of the five. Maybe a recruit or someone doing business with them.

"No, I can't get a clear view through that many twists." Venus replied.

"One second. I’m pulling up satellite images." I tapped on my tablet, this time using the technology instead of my powers. A heat map of the building blossomed on my screen with an overlay of the building schematics.

Quickly, my analyst team got to work. They began assigning designations to each of the heat signatures based on the profiles until one remained with a question mark. But the unknown super appeared to be standing and discussing with the others. It didn’t look like a hostage situation.

"We appear to have a seventh target. There’s one target at each of the exits and five deeper inside. Venus, can you quietly take down the sentry on the south door? Lethal force allowed."

There were too many opponents. I knew that trying to take them into custody was going to be too difficult. It would put my team at risk.

Venus didn't wait. A beam lanced through the window, melting a hole instantly through the building and piercing right through the sentry.

"Brutal." Stella giggled. "Maybe she isn't too much of a stickler for us."

"Hush, your comms are open. And get ready. We are working." I chided Stella, who was being too relaxed. "Pulsar, go with Venus and take out the second sentry. Then we'll have Demoness enter loudly, drawing attention while you both work your way through the building."

We were working. Time to use their hero code names.

Demoness stuck her tongue out before taking flight and hovering over the factory.

Demoness always enjoyed a grand entrance. And without civilians around and a building set for demolition, her being more destructive didn’t hurt anything.

Only a moment later, Pulsar's voice came over the comms. "In position, waiting for the go signal."

Demoness looked over her shoulder to me, and I nodded.

Shooting me a smile, she folded her wings with glee and shot down at the building. Demoness punched through the building as if it were a piece of paper and not several feet thick concrete.

Pulsar and Venus easily got the signal as concrete crashed down around them. They used the distraction to charge through the door and snag the remaining villains.

But as they attacked, one other in the room disappeared.

"I think one just teleported." Pulsar shouted into her comms.

But I didn't need her words, because before me stood a lizard man. Or at least, that's what I considered the seven foot tall man covered in brown scales. He had a ridge of spines that ran from head down to the tip of his very dangerous-looking tail.

For a moment, he froze.

But I responded immediately. Reaching out with my kinetic force, I wrapped him up.

But just as it closed down, he disappeared again in a blur, reappearing several buildings over and repeating the process several times in a row.

He moved quickly, and I hadn't moved to stop his ki fast enough.

"The teleporter is gone. I just saw him appear and disappear on the roofs." I relayed to my team. "Focus on who's there."

His power had made a very bright flash of ki; his short range teleportation was extremely intensive. I didn't think he'd be able to keep it up for long.

His mutation seemed brutal. There was no way he’d be able to stay unrecognized. With a few keystrokes from Beatrix, I had a feeling that we'd be able to track him down.

Knowing our unknown seventh, I focused back on the battle below.

"Miles, we have a problem!" Pulsar shouted, and I could see the problem on the tablet. Several of the supers were growing.

"Get out." I ordered. "Demoness, the unknown is gone. Bring the house down."

Beams punched a hole through the building and Pulsar, followed by Venus, shot into the air.

The factory rumbled, and the ceiling caved in before Demoness burst out of the side, grabbing onto the corner of the building's frame. She held what looked like a solid cement pillar and pulled.

Stella, who was Demoness when we were working, was an S grade super. She was incredibly strong, and she showed it as she ripped a ten ton chunk of concrete off the building and hurled it back.

The whole building groaned as steel beams bent and it twisted on itself as it came down.

"Good work. Get ready for them." I watched the satellite images, but they were hard to read. The pressure on the steel I-beams as the building came down created a lot of instantaneous heat.

While murky, I could make out enough to tell that the two supers inside were still growing.

"Did they do anything before this happened?" I asked my heroes.

"They had something in their hands." Venus said. "I saw them swallow it."

The building shifted out slightly, and then concrete went flying in every direction as a large, grotesque giant cried out an anguished cry. The thing was vaguely human, but enormous growths were distorting its form.

"What the fuck is that?" Melody whispered into her comms.

I was wondering the same thing. Lifting my tablet, I started taking pictures and sending them to the analyst team.

A second, smaller blob came up next to the first.

They looked horrible, like an experiment gone wrong. And the horror only increased as they started screeching in pain to the world's worst soundtrack.

If I wasn't hiding, I would have splattered both of them just for the offense they made my ears suffer.

There were unnatural, huge pulsating sacks growing off their body like cancer on overdrive.

"I advise caution. Pulsar, Venus, long ranged attacks only. Demoness, you are playing catch if they start throwing things." I put together a plan quickly.

Demoness pouted that she didn’t get to smash things as she crossed her arms and flew up half way between Venus and Pulsar.

Unfortunately, both of these giants were putting out far too much ki. They had tripled in their ki with their size increase and they were brushing the upper limit of A grade, but it was unstable. Everything was out of balance, like they couldn’t control their power.

Behind them, two more ki signatures were undergoing their own changes, but far subtler and more stable.

I swiped my comms straight to the analyst team. "We have a strange occurrence here. We are requesting back up or at least lower grade heroes to help with collateral management." These things were going to make a mess.

"On it boss." Ben said before his comms went quiet.

It was only a moment before Rachel spoke. "Two teams on their way. They have one A grade and six B grades between them."

"It'll have to do, thank you."

I found two new entries pop up on my tablet and swiped to speak to the managers. "This is Deputy Director Miles Mathers. Two villains on site have swallowed something that has led to rapid gigantification. We also have two additional villains hiding in the rubble. Requesting your assistance with long range attacks at my location and collateral management.”

"Deputy!" A woman gasped. "My speedster will be there in a moment, and we will be another minute behind."

Bright flashes of light made it hard for me to see who was on the teams as Pulsar and Venus started firing off rapid blasts.

Their attacks chewed into the two warped giants, but the villains were still growing. The cancerous masses taking over more of the body by the moment.

One sack exploded, spewing thorns everywhere. My heroes distanced themselves, wary of letting any of the attack land on them. There was too much unknown.

I calmly walked along the roof of the building I was on with a kinetic shield wrapped around me.

A yellow flash zipped up to me and a woman came to what I’m sure was meant to be a stop. She stood there in front of me, jumping from foot to foot, nearly vibrating. "How can I help?"

"Help me clear the area of anyone who could get hurt; this might be a bigger fight than we bargained for." I replied.

There wasn’t much in the immediate vicinity, but with the growth rate of the villains, I didn’t want to take any chances.

She saluted and zipped away again.

I took the moment to check out the incoming supers on my tablet. What I saw made me frown.

The A Grade super coming was Miss Point City. I had to assume she would be more of a liability than a help.

Looking back up at the fight, I worked to strategize.

"Venus, I want you to hold back and build up a larger charge. Get them in the next blast.” I continued barking out orders.

"Pulsar, circle them and keep firing. Give it your all." I hinted to her.

I had enhanced Pulsar's power. She was no longer the B grade hero she once was, but she had been holding back. Unfortunately, the moment called for her full power.

This mission had gone from removing a handful of B grades and two weak A grades to four powerful A grades.

If we weren't careful, the fight would spill out and harm more people.

I stared at the two in the rubble. None of the supers had reached them yet, and I really didn’t need them adding complications.

Reaching out with my powers, I wrapped the two still in the rubble in kinetic energy and squeezed to keep them still. Then I pushed on the ki in their bodies, removing their access to their powers. As I did, their bodies were no longer fortified, and the pressure of the surrounding mass crushed them.

I cringed a little. It was a tough way to go, but at least it would look natural. They’d died from the collapse, and that was the story I was sticking to.

Demoness flew past, snagging a chunk of concrete out of the air that had been heading for me. She winked before throwing it back like a missile and clipping the smaller of the two blobs.

Following her hit, a lance of light tore through the air from Venus, burning straight through one of the growing giants.

Venus’ attack wasn't nearly as powerful as her anti-titan attack, but it was incredibly impressive.

The remaining blob seemed to get spooked by that hit and turned to run. It waded out of the rubble, tossing chunks into the air to slow down any pursuers.

It was semi effective. Demoness and Pulsar were kept busy trying to stop the chunks of concrete from damaging the surrounding buildings.

Pulsar was making pockets of low gravity, catching the chunks, while Demoness smashed through them, reducing them to dust.

I smiled. They’d gotten far more coordinated while working together. They were truly a team.

Venus was still more on the outskirts, but I hoped with time, they’d all learn how to fight better together.

Scanning for her, I found Venus powering up a second shot for the other giant.

The first was now crumpled on the ruined building. A quick glance told me it was truly dead; the ki bled out of it and it sagged.

Miss Point City appeared on site, flying high above the situation. I noticed she was carrying a tree and frowned. Who brought a tree to a fight?

Venus unleashed her blast, but at the same moment, Miss Point City soared down, smacking the giant backwards.

Venus' blast missed, narrowly avoiding Miss Point City.

"Watch where you point that thing!" Miss Point City screamed. I could tell Venus was about to give her a piece of her own mind, so I quickly joined the comms with Miss Point City’s manager.

"Get her out of the sky. Venus can finish this with the next shot."

"We haven’t gotten our shot for the front page tomorrow yet," the manager replied. I was surprised by the male voice.

I stood there in the middle of the chaos, blinking like an idiot. "What's your name?"

"Victor. Everybody knows me." The man sounded like a puffed up peacock.

"I don’t, and don’t care to. Victor, get her out of the sky. If you put my heroes in danger, you will regret it. I can assure you of that.” I was fully willing to back up that threat.

The resulting HR mess would be a problem for another day.

Miss Point City argued with someone as she floated in the air before the giant recovered and snatched her, throttling her down into the neighboring building.

"Okay, she deserved that one." I said to no one, switching my comms back to my team. "Venus, let it rip before we have a bigger problem on our hands."

Already ready, her beam of light lanced down and blew a hole through the last grotesque giant.

"Any other problems?" Venus asked while flipping her hair.

"No, the others were crushed by the collapse of the building."

"Aww, no more fun for me? I want to smash!" Demoness pouted, but flew over to me, snatching me from the roof.

I patted her arm. "Why don't you drop down for a photo op? The three of you together would be great. Looks like we have a crowd now."

Gathering a safe distance away from the collapsed building was a small crowd. I could see the flashes of phones and professional cameras.

It would be good exposure for Pulsar, who was still working on modeling on the side. And Demoness and Venus could use the good press.

But before we could get down there, Miss Point City burst out of the neighboring building with a man draped over her shoulder and flew down right in front of the ruined building. She landed in front of the crushed villains.

I had to give it to her. It was the perfect photo.

Demoness squeezed me. "I should go punch that smile off her face. We did all the work."

I grumbled. I didn’t disagree with her desire, but it wasn’t the right move. "Yeah, but then that punch becomes the front page, and she gets painted as the victim and you the aggressor. We need to keep softening your image. Mutas are hard for people to accept, and the demon thing doesn't help." I told her the blunt truth, knowing that’s what she deserved, but it still broke my heart a little when she sagged against me, disappointed.

"You still like me, though, right?" Her voice whispered in my ear.

"Of course. I love my Stella terribly. She does the most delicious things to me when we are alone." I reached behind me and cupped the horns that grew out of her head.

Venus cleared her throat over the comms. But I wasn't about to be embarrassed.

"If I have to hear about your fated man repeatedly, you can hear about our love life." I grumbled. "Now, let's head off to the next one. Hopefully, they aren't all this bad."

Down below, the two other teams of supers had moved in and were getting to work. They were fortifying adjacent buildings that had taken damage and checking the rubble of the destroyed factory.

I took one more look with my ability, confirming there were no more villains.

Finally able to shut off the battle, my mind swirled with the implications of the changes that had overtaken the villains. Nothing in the reports indicated any abilities that would explain what we’d seen. And that meant it was likely tied to whatever the others had seen them eat.

Sighing, I left it to the analysts and mad scientists to figure out. But I had a feeling it would become a bigger problem for me eventually.

Swiping on my tablet, I narrowed in on the next cell of villains, barking out directions to Stella.