Christmas Duet

Part 1

By

Domoviye

Phoenix, Arizona
Sunday, December 4th, 2016
Mid-Morning

Alarms were ringing, a wall had collapsed threatening to bring roof down, the smell of smoke was thick in the air, people were huddled together on the floor and behind any cover they could find, some were crying, others praying, and several were recording the action.

“For once, I didn't cause any of this,” Forte whispered to herself. “Never thought I'd be on the civilian end of a robbery though.

She double checked to make sure her new skin glove covered her prosthetic right hand. With police and heroes on the way, she didn't want to let anyone know who she was. Not only was she currently one of the more notorious supervillains in Phoenix, the heroes were probably still really angry with her for nearly killing one of their own in November. And getting caught while out shopping, during a crime she didn't even commit, would be pretty embarrassing.

The skin was still perfect. Whatever it was made out of was really durable, and looked realistic. She could almost forget it wasn't real. Forte made a note to get more of them from Just Me Prosthetics. The glove wasn't the only part of her disguise. With her civilian identity exposed, she had dyed her brown hair a bluish black and gotten a dark tan. It wouldn't stop someone who knew her from recognizing her, or if they examined her closely. But for shopping and disappearing into a crowd, it was good enough.

The two powered criminals who had caused the chaos were currently standing in the middle of the baked goods section of the grocery store, looking confused and angry, with rapidly growing concern. They weren't dressed like typical supervillains, no flashy costumes, no high tech armour, just jeans and old leather jackets, with bandanas tied around their faces.

Peeking out from behind a stack of muffins, Forte shook her head in disgust. She appreciated the attempt at not being flashy, mixing in with the crowd was something she took very seriously. But a bandana wasn't going to cut it if they got into a fight, it was too easy to rip off, made them stick out if they tried to run, and didn't provide any protection. Wigs, sunglasses and makeup would be better overall. Adding in a modified hat with some shock gel inside would help protect their skulls a little, and could be tossed or hidden as soon as they were in the clear.

She zipped up her puffy winter jacket, trying not to be seen by anyone. It was warm in the store, almost too warm, and it was already making her uncomfortable. Losing three limbs made her heat up more quickly than most people, thanks to having less skin area to sweat and lose heat from, but the jacket held her repaired sonic metal armour. It was carefully packed between the layers, adding a good ten pounds to the coat. With a single command it would burst out and cover her fleshy body parts in thin, bulletproof armour and give her some weapons. There wasn't a real need to zip it up, she just needed to be wearing it. However it felt a little safer having it tight to her body.

“Shit, why did you tear down the entire wall? Everyone is going to see it!” The taller criminal shouted.

“Shut the fuck up and let me think!” his partner in crime said.

The first guy kicked over a rack of tortilla wraps. Then his hands started to stretch, becoming metallic and turning into long sword-like blades. “NO ONE MOVE!” he shouted. “You're our hostages.”

Shaking her head, Forte tried to hide her disgust. “Oh yeah, this is going to go great.”

“Come out of there and surrender,” someone shouted from outside. “You're only making things worse for yourself.”

“No way!” the short criminal shouted. He scrunched up his face and the air shook from a blast wave. More debris fell from ceiling.

“They're going to bring the whole place down,” Forte muttered. “Well might as well get something out of this.” She started transferring her unpaid for groceries into her cloth bags. Robbing a grocery store wasn't something a supervillain usually did, but she was deeply in debt and any money she could save was important.

While she was tossing some muffins on top of her other purchases, the criminals started looking for people to use as shields. Reaching into her pocket, she unzipped a hidden second pocket and wrapped her fingers around a boomer. There was no way she was going to allow herself to be taken hostage like that.

She breathed a sigh of relief when sword hands chose an old woman and a teenager that looked like the grandson. “Good, I'm not in an overused cliche story,” she said to herself.

“We want a car! Or these two are dead!” Blaster shouted, motioning at the cowering pair.

Suddenly the fallen cement formed a shield around the hostages. Sword hands tried to stab them, only to have his blades bounce off. A woman in white armour appeared behind blaster and hit him with something that looked like a taser on steroids, putting him on the ground. Then Lolomi, leader of the Phoenix Warriors, leapt into the store and hit sword hands in the chest with his open palm, sending him flying several feet to land in a heap on the floor. For an encore Desert Rat came running in and waved his hands around, covering both criminals in rubble, taking time to cover blasters eyes while doing so.

People all around the store began clapping and cheering for their rescue. Forte joined in so she wouldn't stick out. Police and the MCO streamed into the building to take control of everything, which was her cue to make an exit.

Taking her bags, she joined the crowd of people leaving the store through the actual entrance. At least half of the witnesses were staying put, taking pictures and asking for autographs. Police got busy taking control of the scene and the two would be criminal masterminds. Forte avoided them as best she could by sticking to the middle of the crowd who were being directed to a cleared spot away from the building, likely to be questioned about what they saw.

That was the last thing Forte wanted to do. She'd been lucky to survive fighting Jackalope and Sun Hawk, who were rather low powered superheroes. Fighting Roadrunner, a speedster and teleporter, Desert Rat, a geokinetic with a decade of experience, and Lolomi, a virtually impervious to damage strong man and one of the oldest heroes in Phoenix, would be over embarrassingly quickly. And since she'd put Sun Hawk in the hospital with a broken neck, the three heroes wouldn't be likely to hold back while taking her down.

Moving to the edge of the crowd, she quickly stepped between two police cars, and ignored the nearby officers who were keeping the crowd back. As soon as she was in the crowd, she quickened her pace to get out of the area.

“Hey, stop right there, lady,” a man shouted behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw a cop coming towards her. It looked like her disguise worked at least, he wasn't calling for the heroes.

“I'm sorry, I really need to get back home. My little brother is going to be home soon, and I need to watch him,” she said, slowing down a little but not stopping.

The guy caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to stop. “You were in the grocery store, we need a statement.” From the way he looked at her bags, a statement wasn't the only thing he'd want.

Switching her bags to her flesh and blood left hand, Forte grimaced. “My mom is going to kill me, if I'm not back in time. Can I just give you my name and number. I swear I'll drop by the station as soon as she gets home.”

“I'll make sure you're at the front of the line for giving your statement,” he said.

Reaching up to push her bangs out of her eyes, Forte sighed, letting her shoulders slump in defeat. “Fine. Let's get this over with.”

The officer stepped to the side, motioning for her to lead the way. She started to lower her hand, then lashed out and tapped the officer gently on the head. He fell to the ground, asleep and dead to the world.

“Oh my god! What happened?!” she shouted, looking just as shocked as the onlookers. “I'm going to get help, you watch him until I get back,” she said to no one in particular.

Rushing away, she got around the nearest corner and breathed a sigh of relief at getting out of there. Putting on a wool hat and tinted glasses, she headed for the bus stop, there'd been quite enough excitement for one day, now she just wanted to get home and work on her devises.

Unfortunately, she had a business meeting that night.

Mesa, Greater Phoenix Area
Claremont Street

Fai adjusted the scarf covering much of her hair self-consciously as she walked along the bustling Claremont Street. She shouldn't be worried, the neighbourhood was mutant friendly, in fact it was widely recognized as the mutant neighbourhood for the Greater Phoenix Area. Since she was a mutant, she should fit right in.

Still, it was kind of scary walking down the street and seeing a massive florist fixing some flowers, when he stood over seven feet tall with moss for hair and skin made of red bark. The green-skinned teen girl with tentacles sticking out of her back, vines for hair, and plants growing from her shoulders who seemed to be sulking just inside the store, added to the oddness. Down the street at a fancy looking restaurant called The Odd One, stood a big man in a nice black suit who had metal patches on his visible skin. He looked like a bouncer for a bar from the way he kept looking around. A woman surrounded in a rainbow came walking out of a building with a little girl in tow.

This was the first time she'd been to the neighbourhood. It was far enough away from her own home in Chandler, that there was no reason to visit except to gawk, which her parents would frown on. Still it wasn't too hard to get to by bus. And it really wasn't gawking since she was a mutant to, when she grew up, she might move here herself.

“Come on Fai, there's no reason to be nervous,” she whispered to herself. “You fought a supervillain and won.” Maybe she should have gone as Fanak, then at least she'd feel less like a tourist.

Passing by the nondescript headquarters for The Elementals, a private security hero group and one reason crime was low in the area, she saw Evolution Rocks up ahead. The building was large for the neighbourhood and wasn't shy about promoting itself, with pictures of famous Arizona mutants in the windows and their name on a big sign above the door. With nothing better to do, Fai walked in to see what it was like.

“Hi, welcome to Evolution Rocks,” a young woman with goat horns sticking out of her hair said. She was wearing casual clothes and had put her telephone off to the side, smiling happily, focusing all her attention on Fai. A little box with the word, 'DONATIONS' sat on the edge of the desk for visitors to see and have easy access to.

“Um hi,” Fai replied.

“Are you here for a particular reason, or do you just want to look at our displays?”

She shrugged, reached into her bag and dropped some pocket money into the donations box. “Just looking around really.

“Well we have plenty to look at, if you need anything just come over and ask, that's what I'm here for.”

Thanking her, Fai started wandering, the entire bottom floor of the building seemed to be devoted to displays of mutant heroes in the Greater Phoenix Area, along with some of the more famous ones from around the US. She walked around looking at the displays, pausing at one for the teleporter Port, who she had talked to over a midnight snack a few days ago. The Elementals had their own section, since they were all openly mutants. Looking at a picture of Blossom, a plant-like GSD mutant, with green skin and vines for hair, Fai recalled the green girl she had walked past just a few minutes ago. Could she have just seen the hero's daughter? How many similar plant-like mutants could there be in the city?

“Huh. Maybe I'll get to meet her one day and find out if I'm right.”

Sun Hawk had a special display. A large card with a pen was open for people to sign get well wishes to the fallen hero, who had almost died fighting the supervillain Forte last month. On a whim, Fai wrote a short message hoping she'd get well soon, and signed it as Fanak. The name probably wouldn't mean a thing to the hero, but it made her smile.

Looking at the rest of the heroes, Fai pictured her own display being set up one day. She was going to catch Forte, and that would make a real name for herself. Rescuing Azar alongside the superhero Thulia had been fantastic, but it wasn't something that was known by many people, even the Phoenix Warriors hadn't known about it until she told Port. She needed to do something big and bold to really get known as a hero.

Moving on, was a whole wall showing the good that mutants did, along with some of the more important ones. Gadgeteer and devisor inventors, everything they'd done to help people from medical treatments, to Kevra, to holographic displays, to the growing space industry. Healers and mutants focused on humanitarian aid, had a special place. One woman named Insight caught her eye. The woman was blind, but had healing powers, so she had gotten a PhD in Medicine and regularly used her power to help heal people at hospitals all over North America. There were also mutant business owners, not just small businesses but big ones that employed thousands of people, and were on the stock exchange, like Gabriella Guzman.

All in all, it was a pretty good showcase for the positive side of mutants. She would have liked to stay longer, but she had to head for home, stopping at the door she picked up a few pamphlets about manifesting as a mutant, Evolution Rocks, and living as a mutant. Waving goodbye to the volunteer, she headed for the bus stop.

Music filled the air by the bus stop. A well tanned, red-headed woman, with an odd mark on her cheek, was playing a fiddle, her eyes were closed and she was smiling as some passerby's stopped to listen to a fast jig. Fai couldn't help but smile as well, the music washed over her, pushing away any worries and concerns, filling her with happiness. She began swaying in time with the music.

The song changed, becoming a little wild, making her blood seem to fizz in her veins forcing her to begin dancing, which Fai did willingly. Her hips moved and she raised her hands, mixing her belly dancing to the compelling music. Vaguely she realized others were dancing as well, some in pairs others by themselves, laughter erupted and people were gathering turning into a crowd. The bus didn't matter, getting home wasn't important, there was just the music and joy filling the area. Yipping with delight Fai danced, it was the only thing she could do.

Suddenly the music stopped.

The happiness and need to dance slowly faded. Sniffing the air and looking around in confusion, she could tell the other people were mostly just as confused as she was. Over the sound of people hurrying away, she heard a familiar voice.

“Bard,” the hero Port said, “you know you can't let the music get away from you like that.”

A soft, emotionless voice replied, “Sorry. It felt so good to be happy, the music wanted to continue.”

With the crowd dispersing, it was possible to get closer. Fai saw the blue and white hero talking to the musician who had a distant look on her face. The woman didn't look sad or upset, she just looked... lost. Her smell was odd, like a dusty, ancient wind tinged with something foul.

“You know the rules, go take a break for a few hours before you start playing again somewhere else. You can come back here tomorrow,” Port said, patting the woman on the shoulder.

“OK. Do I need to give the money back?” Bard asked. There was a fiddle case on the ground with quite a lot of money in it.

“No, you can keep it. You just made people dance this time, and I came before you played for too long. So get yourself a good meal, and remember to pay Agatha part of your rent tonight,” the hero told her.

Bard nodded, kneeling down to put the money haphazardly in her coat pocket, and very carefully, almost reverently placed her fiddle and bow in the case. Closing it up, she held the case tight to her chest and hurried off, not bothering to say goodbye to the hero, seemingly lost in her own little world.

Fai was about to head back to the bus stop when Port smiled at her, saying, “Hello Fanak, this is a surprise.”

“What?!” Fai exclaimed. Then she looked down and realized her clothes were too big for her, her tail was stuck uncomfortably down her currently baggy pants, and her scarf was high above her head, held up by her ears. With a yelp she shifted back to her baseline form. And then she realized she was in her civilian form in front of a hero. She almost shifted back but embarrassment and shock kept her human.

Port burst out laughing at the sight of her. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”

“I- uh- I didn't mean to shift like that,” she said, her Moroccan and British accent was particularly thick from embarrassment. It was even more embarrassing as she had to shift a little to make her underwear sit properly again.

“Bard's music can do that to people who aren't used to shielding their minds. I'm guessing you don't come to Claremont Street very often.”

“It's my first time. I never really had a reason to come here, and my parents say that coming here just to look would be rude.”

“Well feel free to drop by sometime. There are some really good restaurants, cafes and an ice cream parlour here.”

Smiling shyly, she nodded. “I'll think about it.”

“Do you have your MID yet? The MCO is getting curious about you,” he asked.

“Not yet,” she said shaking her head. “I'm kind of worried that they'll ask about some of the things I've done, and I'm not sure how to do it without getting into trouble.”

“Hm, that could be a problem. Do you have a few hours free now?”

“Uh, I think so. I'll need to text my parents and let them know I'm going to be late for supper, but I can say I'm with a friend.” That wasn't strictly a lie, she had met Port before and had a meal with him. “Why?”

“The Phoenix Warriors can do power testing in a pinch, and I know a place where you can get your MID without too much trouble.”

A gasp escaped her lips. “I can meet the Phoenix Warriors?!”

“Some of them. Part of the team is still busy dealing with paperwork from a robbery gone wrong earlier today, but there should be one or two of their public members hanging around. Do you have something to get their autographs?”

“No,” she replied, blushing brightly.

“Don't worry about it, I'm sure they have some pictures they can share. Now if you won't tell your parents you're getting an MID, at least let them know you're going be out for a while, so you're legally covered.”

Nodding she pulled her phone from her book bag and tapped out a quick message about spending time with some friends to prepare for an upcoming test and presentation. Her mother responded a few moments later, telling her to be back by eight, and to keep her updated. “OK, I guess I can go,” Fai said.

Port put his own phone away and waved his hand, making a shimmering circle appeared, stepping through it, she found herself in what looked like a comfy waiting room.

“So... what exactly happens now?” she asked.

“I let them know we were coming, so our welcoming committee should be here in a minute. After introductions, you'll get to put on a fancy suit and we'll see what you can do.”

“I can just turn into a werefox.”

“It's still good to know exactly what's going on when you change. And if you're just a shifter, it makes things easier. The testing facilities here are fairly bare bones. If you had complicated powers, we'd need to take you the MCO for testing, they're a lot more advanced.

The door opened and a short, stout woman, who looked like a fantasy dwarf, and Old Scratch walked in. Fanak had heard all the rumours about the old magician, that he was a demon, he was hundreds of years old using human souls to stay young, that he was Shaitan himself, and dozens of others. He looked like an angry old man who exuded a sense of power, she stepped away from him before she realized and could stop herself.

“Fanak, I'm Janet. Don't worry about Old Scratch, he just acts grumpy, he won't hurt you,” the woman said, smiling pleasantly.

“I'm pleased to meet you,” she said, forcing herself to focus on Janet.

“Hold still, girl. I might as well get this over with,” Old Scratch said. He stepped towards her, his dark suit looked like it was made out of a pitch black night. She found herself unable to move, she wasn't sure if it was from fear or magic, but her limbs were paralyzed. He sniffed her quite loudly.

“She's got no worthwhile magic,” he said dismissively.

Janet sighed. “Scratch, we would prefer something a little more rigorous. You know there are proper ways to do the testing.”

He turned away from both of them waving his hand like they were annoying flies. “Your gems and forms won't change anything. The closest she has come to magic is that young dragon friend of hers, she still reeks of that magic. Wake me up if something interesting happens.”

They watched him leave, and Janet turned back to her. “Sorry about that, he is an expert on magic, but he is not a people person.”

“No problem,” Fai said adjusting her head scarf, just happy to not be around him. “I didn't think I had any magic anyways.”

Port cleared his throat. “I'll get back to my patrol now. Send me a message when she's all done Janet, I'll make sure she gets her MID.”

“Will do, Port,” Janet said.

With a wave the hero opened a portal and disappeared.

“Shall we get started, Fanak?” Janet asked.

Feeling nervous, but also eager to see what she could officially do, Fai nodded and readjusted her scarf again. “OK. What do I have to do?”

“First things first, what powers do you know you have?”

She shrugged feeling self-conscious about her power all of a sudden, it really didn't seem like much now that she was talking to someone who worked with the Phoenix Warriors. “I can turn into a werefox. When I do my hearing is really good, and so is my sense of smell. I get smaller but also stronger and more agile, and I'm a bit harder to hurt.”

The woman nodded. “Not bad. And that will make testing you a bit easier. We'll still go over everything,” she glanced at the door, “except the magic. But this will help us focus on the important stuff. About your headscarf, I noticed it's not a hijab, will you want to wear it while your being tested?”

“No, I can take it off.” She gave a bit of a shy smile and blushed a little, “I'm not a very good Muslim.”

“Well OK than,” Janet said. “Follow me and we'll get you suited up.”

They walked down a really boring hallway that looked it could have come out of any generic office building, and went up one floor to a room with three doors one marked for men and the other for women, and an unmarked one in the middle. Janet went to a large closet. “When you shift, do you clothes shift with you?”

“No. I need to change my clothes each time,” she replied.

“Right.” The woman looked through the closet and pulled out a small black suit. “Go into the change room and shift into your werefox form, strip completely and put this on. You can rip a hole in the suit for your tail, we'll throw it away after you use it. If you rip a bit too much, I have tape that will keep you from showing anything embarrassing.”

“I thought you'd want to see me shifting for the test?”

“You will, but with your tail it's easier for you and the suit if you go from a werefox to a human, rather than vice versa. We'll do the physical tests in your were form first, then you can shift, the suit is stretchy enough to handle the size change, barely. Then we'll test your human form, and we can do the psychic and mechanical tests.” Janet smiled at something. “A few years ago, a shifter went from human to their animal form, and they broke their tail when it got stuck in the suit. You seem like a lovely girl, so we want to avoid that.”

Fai grimaced at the thought of breaking her tail. “Yeah. That would be bad.”

Taking the suit, she went to get changed. Shifting, her claws let her rip the seam with no problems. Putting the suit on actually proved to be more of a problem thanks to her fur being squashed and pushed the wrong way, but she could handle the discomfort of her fur being pressed down the wrong way for a little while.

Going through the second door in the change room, she came out into a large gym that smelled heavily of sweat and cleaner, where Janet was waiting for her. She saw the Mogollon Monster on some kind of machine straining to bench press a large metal bar. In another open area, an albino woman with feathers in place of hair on her head back and arms, who had to be Roadrunner, was sparring with translucent holograms, dodging laser beams, knives and clubs, while punching and kicking too fast to be seen and teleporting behind, above and to the sides of her opponents.

Fanak breathed in deeply, smelling the oil, metal, and soap that clung to the dwarf, almost overpowering her natural scent. The Mogollon Monster stood out clearly in her mind, he smelled musky, his sweat almost made her fur rise as the animal side of her sensed power and anger coming off of him in waves. Roadrunner had a scent of flowers from her shampoo and soap, alongside a sweet smelling body odour of sweat and satisfaction.

“How much can you smell?” Janet asked, looking up at her curiously.

“A lot of things,” she said, speaking slowly and carefully. “I can tell if a person is happy, sad, angry, tired, even hungry sometimes.”

“Impressive, we'll have to test that later. Let's get started.”

The next hour was a series of exercises, running, jumping, climbing, lifting weights, slicing stuff with her claws, and other things. She only thought her jumping was impressive, but Janet seemed happy with everything and complimented her for being able to bench press 108 pounds.

“That doesn't seem like much,” she said, taking a break to awkwardly drink water with her muzzle.

“Have you ever bench pressed or even lifted weights before, Fanak?” Janet asked.

“No,” she admitted. Then, not wanting to sound lazy, she added, “But I dance, and was told by my dance teacher I could go pro.”

“That explains why you're nice and fit. But lifting weights uses different muscles, and those muscles need training. Most girls your age, bench pressing for the first time, start at about twenty or thirty pounds, and move up to fifty pounds after they've gotten experienced. Untrained adult men safely start at eighty-five pounds. Believe me when I say you're doing well, with practice and age you'll be impressive for a non-brick.”

Before she could stop herself, Fanak's muzzle opened and her tongue hung out in her version of a smile. She quickly closed her mouth and hid her tongue, glad that her fur hid her blush.

To test her agility, she had to dodge a series of holographic attackers who tried to hit her with clubs, then lasers. Not being able to use her hearing or sense of smell was confusing, but she managed to avoid most of the attacks.

Then Janet had her smell a towel that had been sprayed with a faint woody scent, and while she waited in another room the towel had been hidden in the gym. Fanak found it in less than a minute, hidden at the bottom of a hamper for dirty towels.

Doing the test again in the dark this time, and using a new towel that Janet had briefly used on herself, she found it in ten minutes, hidden in the drop ceiling.

“OK,” Janet said, tapping the details into her tablet, “if we ever need someone to track a scent, we call you.”

“REALLY?!” Fanak exclaimed, finding it hard to believe the Phoenix Warriors would want her.

“Yes. We wouldn't have you fight anyone, that's against the sidekick laws, but if someone goes missing or we really need to track someone down, I'm putting your name on our contact list. It would be stupid not to use your tracking ability. I just need you to sign this form saying you're willing to be called in to help and a phone number to contact you.”

Her tail began wagging and she found herself grinning again in her silly way as she signed her superhero name and used a new number for her pay-as-you-go phone. Even with her goofy way of smiling, she didn't stop herself this time.

Fanak drained her bottle of water, happy to be done with her powers testing. Freshly showered, back in human form and her regular clothes, sitting on a couch in one of the waiting rooms of the Phoenix Warriors headquarters was not how she'd expected to spend her day, but she wasn't going to complain. The results had been mostly what she'd expected, she was just a shifter, no psychic powers, no gadgeteering abilities, and no magic.

They'd found that she didn't lose any mass when she turned into a werefox. Instead her body shifted becoming denser, so her bones were a lot more durable and her muscles became more compact, capable of explosive movement and endurance, as well as being harder to bruise. As far as powers went, she was happy with them. She couldn't be too greedy, and her enhanced senses would be really useful as a hero.

The door opened and a woman in a dark red hooded coat stepped inside, sprawling into the nearest chair. The hood went down revealing a face that she could only call elegant. It was marred by a nasty burn scar on her neck that looked like someone had tried to slit her throat with fire. The woman examined her for a moment.

“You look a little young to be joining the Warriors,” the nameless woman said with a little smirk.

“I'm not joining them,” Fanak said, adjusting her head scarf a little. “I'm just getting my powers tested today. But I've fought a supervillain and won.”

That made the woman raise an eyebrow in curiousity. “I'm Red Riding Hood. You got a name little hero?”

“Fanak. I haven't heard of you in Phoenix.”

“I'm not from here. I travel where the job takes me. I'm a bounty hunter and occasional bodyguard. Got a job here, and I find it saves trouble if I introduce myself to the local bigwigs so they don't come after me by accident.”

“Why do you call yourself Red Riding Hood? It doesn't sound very... tough.”

Suddenly Red became a lot more intriguing. Fai couldn't say why, but she wanted to learn more about the woman, she almost changed to her werefox form to smell her properly. And then the feeling just stopped and while she was still curious it wasn't as intense. “What was that?”

“One of my powers. I make people interested in me. It's useful when I want to get close to someone or take their attention off of someone else. When I'm in a crowded bar, or during a robbery, it's not as noticeable, they'll just focus on me instead of someone else. Good way to get a target coming towards me without tipping them off.”

“That's really cool.”

Red smiled, “Thank you. You're going the hero route?”

Fanak nodded. “Yeah. I've stopped a few crimes, and I helped rescue a kidnapped girl from a supervillain. It was a rush and I really enjoyed seeing the girl get back home.”

“That's a good attitude. Just be careful, and maybe wait a few more years, you're a little young and it's a violent game.” A hand went to the burn scar.

“Do you mind...” she stopped not sure how to ask the question.

“The scar?”

She nodded.

“Early in my career, after making a bit of a name for myself in certain circles, I was hired to take out a very deadly assassin. He always attacked through ambushes and surprise. Innocent and foolish young me, decided to ambush him instead when he was going after a known target. I did. But I got cocky, and even with my forcefield I nearly lost my head.” She grimaced and rubbed her neck again, as if remembering the pain. “I had most of the damage healed, but left the scar. It reminds me to never assume I've won until the target is confirmed dead or handed over to the cops.”

“Oh. I... I understand.” Hugging herself, she said, “I nearly died fighting my supervillain. He could shoot around corners and was a really good fighter. I got lucky and bit his hand, cutting it up really badly. Another hero who I was helping healed me, so I didn't have to go to the hospital.”

Red nodded in approval. “Sounds like a good fight. You survived, hurt the bad guy and rescued the girl. You did well for a kid. Learn from it and train, so when you're eighteen you can do it legally with a partner or team.”

Looking up, Fanak managed a small smile. “Thanks.”

The door opened and Lolomi in his costumed human form stepped in, giving them both a nod of greeting. “Red Riding Hood, come with me please.”

The bounty hunter got to her feet, smiling at Fanak. “Keep practising, and try to keep your nose clean until you're actually old enough to get into fights. Maybe when you're eighteen we'll meet up again.”

“I hope so, and thanks. Good luck on your job, Red Riding Hood,” she said. The door closed leaving her alone again, but she didn't mind. A bounty hunter who was clearly competent and had been doing it for years had talked to her, not like she was a child, but like she was new to the job and had potential. Grinning, she wondered if she'd be able to see her again for a minute and get her autograph.

A few minutes later Port stepped through one of his portals, followed by a purple haired cat woman with a tail and cat ears, who was wearing an Indian costume. “Hey Fanak, this is Toho from Santa Fe, a fellow hero.”

“Hey kid, nice to meet ya,” Toho said.

Jumping to her feet Fanak smiled at both of them. “Hi!”

“I heard you need to get a MID and you should do it somewhere else because you decided to jump the gun a little with heroing, is that right?” Toho asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked her up and down.

Adjusting her headscarf she looked at her feet. “Um yeah,” she said shyly. Then she lifted her chin and said a little more loudly, “But I really needed to help those people, especially a little girl who was kidnapped."

The cat woman giggled. “You're right Port, she's adorable and has a good heart. I'm glad you called me.”

“I thought you'd like her,” Port said. Turning back to Fanak, he asked, “You ready to get your MID now?”

Fanak nodded. “Yeah. You sure there won't be a problem?”

“That's why I'm here, kid. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong for you. But first, since you're a shifter you should go as a fox.” Toho said.

“I don't have any clothes that fit. I don't want my pants falling off,” she said, blushing at the thought.

Port held out a track suit. “Here, I got them from the gift shop downstairs. They should fit and the pants are baggy enough for your tail or you can tear a hole in them. You can leave your things here until you get back.”

“For me? Thanks!” Taking the clothes she headed for the bathroom, stripping down and shifting. Cutting a small hole in the back of the pants, she pushed her tail through. Folding her clothes neatly, she put them into her bag and carried her shoes in her hand back to the heroes.

Toho grinned when she came back. “Wow, you got tiny,” the woman's eyes went to her ears. “Except for those ears, they're huge.”

Unable to blush, Fanak lowered her ears. Sure they were big but they were really useful.

“Hey, don't be embarrassed. They're part of you, so just go with it,” Toho said, patting her on the back.

Raising her head, Fanak nodded. “Right. So where are we going exactly?”

"Dallas. The MCO there is pretty good. And they won't have any reason to question you about your little hobby here. Come on, they'll be closing up soon for regular day to day stuff." She held out her hand while Port waved goodbye.

Taking hold of the hero's hand, the world suddenly twisted and it felt like she was being stretched and squished at the same time. There was no up or down, no smells, just colours and the unnatural movement of her body. Fanak stumbled as appeared on a sidewalk somewhere that wasn't Phoenix. Holding her stomach, she said, "I -urp- think I like Port's portals for travelling."

"Sorry about that," the cat-like superhero said. "Some people don't handle teleporting very well. You feeling OK enough to get your MID?"

Giving her head a shake, she nodded, lifting her tail so she wouldn't look so sick. "Yeah. As long as I don't have do anything quickly."

“Don't worry, we'll take it slow.”

Slowly following Toho into the MCO building, she got in line behind a woman who looked to be maybe twenty years old. The woman didn't seem to be very happy from her smell or how hard she was breathing.

"I filled out all the forms and the name isn't taken. What's the problem with calling myself Elizabeth Carson?" the woman demanded.

The MCO agent sounded less than happy. "As we have told you before Ink Blot, while you can technically use the names of other people as a codename, picking Elizabeth Carson, Liz Carson, Amelia Hartford, Tolman, Thee Imp, or anyone else from your high school is NOT happening. Now unless you have a reasonable request for a codename, please leave.

The woman turned and stormed away muttering about stupid bureaucratic rules, the MCO, and teachers. Thanks to her hearing, Fanak had to listen to the tirade until the door slammed shut. Toho used her tail to tap her leg letting her know it was their turn.

Still nervous about possibly being called out for doing illegal hero work, Fanak kept quiet just nodding when appropriate, letting the hero do all the talking. The MCO woman smelled like she was tired, and from the way she looked over the papers and only asked a few questions, it seemed that she wanted to get this over with.

“Stand on the X for your photo,” the MCO worker said.

“Do I need a mask,” Fanak asked, finally speaking.

“Only if you want one.”

Looking at Toho for a moment, she finally shrugged. “This is fine, a mask won't really hide me.” Making sure her muzzle was shut, she stared at the camera until she heard the click. A minute later she was handed her MID. It listed her as Shifter 3 with a bunch of letters beside it as her only power, but under techniques it had her claws, enhanced sense of smell and hearing, and agility. She squealed when she saw 'Affiliations, Phoenix Warriors (search and rescue volunteer)'

Toho laughed at her reaction and led her outside. “Here let me carry that for you until we get you back to your regular clothes, I have pockets.”

Holding out the MID, she cocked her head to the side. “We aren't going back right away?”

“Well we could,” Toho said, “or you could have supper with me. It's pretty late in the day and Port told me you gave a little white lie to your parents to miss supper, so you'll need food.”

Somehow her tail wagged even faster. Sure she didn't know Toho, but she was still a superhero. “That would be awesome!”

“All right I know a good place close by. You eat meat, right?”

“Yeah, as long as it's not pork.”

Toho wrapped an arm around her shoulder and started walking down the street. “Well you're in luck then, there's a great steakhouse nearby. So Port said you've done a bit of... helping the community. You do know you shouldn't do that right?”

Her tail stopped wagging. “Yeah. But I've helped a few people. I got help for a boy who was being abused, and I stopped a rape, and I fought a supervillain to rescue a girl. No one else was around to help any of them.”

The feline superhero looked around, before saying softly, “If you just happen to be nearby minding your own business and hear something bad happening, stopping it, by calling the cops first, isn't too bad. For this supervillain business, though, I'm going to need to know more about it. So dish, what happened?”

Over the smell of fur and cat, Fanak could detect what she was pretty sure was happiness, a glance at Toho revealed a small smile. Trying to keep her voice down a little, she started telling about her rescue of Azar and her fight against the supervillain who could shoot around corners.”

Fanak nearly threw up her steak dinner when she and Toho appeared once more in the Phoenix Warriors waiting room. Fortunately she was able to keep it all down, and after changing back to her human form, she was feeling a lot better.

Toho, Port and much to her surprise Lolomi, who was wearing his costume, were talking when she got back. She immediately began fixing her headscarf and shirt at seeing the leader of the A list team, too nervous to know what to say. The feline superhero came to the rescue.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Fanak. If you ever come to Santa Fe come say hi at the Nuevo Rangers headquarters. And once your old enough-" she stressed, "-if you still want to be a hero, drop my team a line, we might have a spot for you. It's a good place to learn the ropes.”

“REALLY?!” she squealed her British-Moroccan accent particularly thick.

“Yeah. I won't promise anything, but you've got the right attitude. Just keep your nose clean until you're eighteen.”

“OK,” she squeaked.

With a wave Toho vanished, and she was left alone with Port and Lolomi. She looked up at the intimidating hero who had gone toe-to-toe with villains like The Cannibal, The Hungry Ghost and La Llorona several times. “Um... hello sir.”

He smiled down at her. “Hello Fanak. You can relax, I just wanted to meet the girl who I've heard so much about.”

“You've heard of me?”

“Your rescue of Azar was a little hard not to notice,” he replied. “Why don't we sit down and you can tell me all about it?”

“OK,” she said, feeling a mix of butterflies and hero worship.

For the next hour, Fanak sat and told Lolomi everything she remembered about her adventure, while answering a lot of questions. By the time she was done, she was exhausted, and holding the ends of her headscarf tightly in her fist.

Lolomi finally leaned back in his chair, seemingly satisfied. “Fanak,” he said with a small smile, “I won't say you shouldn't have rescued that girl, especially after the police didn't believe you. But you are not a superhero yet.”

The way he emphasized 'yet', made her sit up a little straighter.

He handed her a plain business card that just had a number on it. “If you see something like that again, call me and my team will do the dangerous part.”

She felt her heart go into her throat, she had Lolomi's number. He would actually take her call and listen to her when she saw a crime. “Thank you. I'll only call you if it's really important.”

“I know you will. Now there's one last thing for you and then you should go home.” He pulled a thin book with the Phoenix Warriors logo on it. “Here you go, I had everyone on the team who was available sign it. When you come around next time, we can get the last few signatures, I'm sure Sun Hawk would love to meet you and sign it for you personally.” His voice softened when he mentioned the name of the injured hero, and Fanak looked away biting her lip.

Taking the book Fanak held it tight to her chest. “Thanks. I, um... I should tell you. I think I know where Forte's hideout is,” she finally said.

Lolomi and Port both leaned forward. “How do you know that?”

“I saw a girl and some men moving boxes into a building next to my- a school last month around midnight. She smelled different. When I investigated the next night I could smell her just inside the door but nowhere else. I didn't think it was to important. Then I-I saw the fight between her and Sun Hawk, and I recognized the smell. I knew lots of people were phoning in with tips, and you wouldn't have any reason to believe me, so I went there again, and I started pressing on the wall looking for a hidden switch or door. Something knocked me out and when I woke up the police were coming. I've gone back there a few more times, but her scent has gone stale and nothing has knocked me out again. I'm sorry.”

The two heroes looked at each other. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Fanak. Give me the address and we'll investigate.”

She told them, giving as much detail as possible. She'd wanted to take Forte in herself, but telling the heroes and being believed lifted a weight off of her shoulders.

Lolomi put a hand on her shoulder. “Fanak, I don't want you fighting supervillains or criminals again. Having you getting a criminal record for vigilantism would hurt your future. And I believe you have a lot of potential. Port told me that you plan on going to Whateley, is that right?”

Nodding, she fully planned on going to Whateley when she was old enough. It had to be a really awesome college since Thulia was going there and all the heroes were talking about it.

“Glad to hear it, it's a fantastic school. So practice, learn as much as you can, and after you graduate I'm sure quite a few teams like The Neuvo Rangers, will be happy to hire you and show you the ropes.”

“Thanks. I really hope so.” She suddenly remembered something she'd planned on asking earlier. “Um sir, why does my MID say I'm associated with your team as a volunteer?”

“That is to help keep you out of some trouble. Having The Phoenix Warriors on your MID, even just as a volunteer, will make most police and MCO treat you with a little more caution than they would normally. It's not a get-out-of-jail card, and it doesn't make you a legal hero, so as Toho said, keep your nose clean.”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

Lolomi patted her shoulder once more. “Smart girl. Now get home, and if your parents don't know you're a mutant yet, tell them.”

Port opened one of his portals, and with a final good-bye Fanak stepped through it coming out two blocks from her home. It was late enough that most people were inside, but she did get a few stares. Keeping her head down and her Phoenix Warriors autograph book tight to her chest, she hurried away, trying not to shout with glee. She was going to be a hero!

Outlaw's Tavern
Late Evening

Nursing a ginger beer, Forte sat across from her newest client, Flush who was straight from Las Vegas. The blonde woman looked more like a Vegas show girl than a supervillain, wearing a white mask lined in red, with red clubs along the edges. Her white and red suit looked like a casino uniform, and her short hair was stiff with hairspray keeping the oversized bangs in place. Still she had money, and without knowing her powers, the woman could potentially be very dangerous, so it was best to smile politely and see if they could make a deal.

“My employer needs some non-lethal weapons for his daughter, we're interested in what you can offer,” Flush said.

“How old is she?” Forte asked. Her potential client raised an eyebrow. “Something for an eighteen-year-old may not be good for a ten year old,” she explained.

“She's entering high school. It's a special private school, where non-lethal weapons are acceptable. We'd prefer to keep most of them low key.”

A school where they allowed weapons, Forte could hardly believe that. It was probably in Karadonia or someplace similar. “I have some prototypes that should do, and one weapon which may be pushing your limits but I think would work very well for her.”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a weapon. It was two feet and made of flexible, hard rubber, with a comfortable handle. A hair thin silver wire made of sonic metal ran from the handle to the top. “My sleeper whip, easy to use and getting hit by it really stings. Even if you swing it as hard as you can it shouldn't break any bones or do more than give a light concussion. Hit the switch on the handle and tap a person on the head and it releases a sonic jolt that will put someone to sleep for ten minutes, they'll be almost impossible to wake up for one minute. A helmet or thick padding will stop it, but if you hit anywhere above the shoulders the sonic jolt will travel through the bones and knock them out.”

Flush nodded in what seemed to be appreciation. “I think that will do nicely for the obvious non-lethal weapon. Provided your other devises are a little more subtle.”

“If the young lady wears jewellery, I have a bracelet which can send out an infrasonic beam which will cause disorientation. It's two bracelets attached by short silver chains, one is the power supply, the other is the actual weapon. It has a range of up to ten feet, but the closer the better.” That was still purely in the design stage, but Forte was certain she could get it working in a week.

“That's much better. It's rechargeable with a regular plug in?”

“Yes it is. I try to use as few devises as possible to ensure they don't break down after only a few uses. The final item that no one will suspect is a weapon, is called a Scream Choker. It's a choker that when worn can be activated by tightening her neck and screaming as loud as she can. It amplifies the voice, so everyone will hear her quite clearly even several hundred yards away, and will deafen an attacker. It's best to use it only a few times in one go, as it does get a little hot.”

“What if she tightens her neck and talks normally?”

“Nothing will happen. It has to be an explosive rush of air through the voice box to work properly. I started building it as a last ditch weapon capable of creating a sonic boom. Even though the final version is much weaker than the prototype, it's not something you want to accidentally activate.” She rubbed her throat, remembering the painful experiment a few days before where she'd almost torn out her throat while screaming.

Flush smiled quite pleasantly. “I think my employer will approve of these. Provided the price is right. But before we get to that, there is a second order he'd like to place.”

She leaned forward, smiling in return. “Oh?”

“My employer needs some weapons for dealing with problems, non-lethal and lethal types. Your grenades may fit some of his needs.”

“I'm certain they will. For the other types of weapons, what exactly is he looking for, and do they need to be concealed?” she asked. Forte had to force herself to not grin like an idiot, the night was looking like it would be very profitable.

Forte's Hideout
Midnight

Forte sighed as she hit a button to open a fake manhole cover in the basement of an office building that she had a skeleton key for courtesy of the secret lair rental company. Climbing down the old ladder, she walked the half block to her hideout, cursing the stupid, tiny, werewolf girl for somehow finding the main entrance which was so much easier to use. Fortunately the base had three different exits and entrances, and she'd used the security system to close off the main one adding in a few of her own devises to ensure it would stay closed and hopefully undetected. If she had to resort to the third entrance, she was going to need to find a new base, there was no way she was going to be crawling through a real sewer unless she had absolutely no other choice.

After double checking the little control panel to make sure her base was still secure, she opened the final concealed door, which just so happened to come out of the linen closet. Going to the normal entrance way she took off her coat and shoes, went back to the lab to feed tinfoil to her sonic metal feeders, turned on some music, and sank down onto the couch with a groan. Her stumps were killing her after the long day. Taking off her legs, she made sure her skirt covered what was left of her thighs, put a throw blanket over her lap and began rubbing them to ease the pain.

Several minutes later she finally felt up to checking her email and other things. Pulling out her phone, she saw that there had been a minor alert earlier in the evening from the base's security system. Opening the app, she nearly pissed herself when she saw a dwarf, Lolomi, Old Scratch, Road Runner, and Magma Man investigating the closed off door.

If she'd had her legs on, she would have been bolting for the exit without a second thought. She actually did jerk up and almost fell off the couch before remembering she couldn't run. That shook her enough to start thinking. The video she was watching was from eight o'clock, it was past midnight now. If they'd found the door they would have either broken it down right away, or gotten a warrant and broken it down an hour or two later. Since she hadn't walked into their open arms, it meant the lock down system had worked.

Leaning back, she watched the video from beginning to end, seeing the dwarf used several tools and machines to study the wall. The building video cameras her base tied into wasn't nearly detailed enough to make out much of what they were doing, and it didn't pick up any sound, but after almost an hour it seemed the woman was satisfied, shaking her head, while Lolomi hit the wall in frustration. Fortunately the superhero was in his human form, so he didn't leave a crater in the plaster that may have revealed the unique composite material under the surface.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Forte wiped the sweat from her brow. “That stupid werewolf must have told them about me. I need to get a new place.”

Even as she said it, she knew that wasn't possible. She had a six month lease on the lair, and with her medical bill still at 650,000 dollars, there was no way she could leave and get a new place. The lair was the cheapest one she was going to find in the Phoenix area, partly from the small size and being from the 80's, but mostly from being under a school. Unless she hit it big, she was stuck.

“I'm going to have to be a lot more careful coming and going for at least a few weeks,” she told herself. They had to suspect she was nearby, even if they didn't know exactly how to get into her place. They'd probably have drones and watchers around the area trying to spot her coming and going. “Fuck my life!”

Frustrated by everything Forte put her legs back on, she had a lot of work to do tomorrow with the new devises, and sleep would keep her from screwing up. Her supply of sonic metal was still critically low, she couldn't risk mistakes reducing her supply even more. Humming to herself, she headed for the bathroom and then bed.

Chandler City Middle School
Monday, December 5, 2016
Before School

“What's wrong with you, Mandy?” Fai asked her best friend. They were sitting on a bench outside their school waiting for their usual partner in crime to show up, and it looked like Mandy was ready to scream.

“Stupid Randy,” Mandy said, hitting the bench with open hand. “His power has gotten a little stronger, so he can actually burn things with his hands now. He grabbed some of my hair last night and totally ruined it by drying it out so much. Mom had to cut out that bit and spent twenty minutes trying to hide it.”

“It's not bad, I didn't even notice it until you mentioned it.” Now that she was really looking she could see a bit of a thin patch in her friend's blonde hair. It didn't show any skin since it was around her shoulder, but it wasn't quite as thick as the rest.

“I wish I'd manifest, just so Randy would shut up about how special he is.” Mandy hit the bench again making the wood vibrate.

“I'm sure you will soon. I read online that twins almost always manifest within a year of each other, usually sooner.”

“It can't come soon enough,” her friend said, hunching down to rest her chin in her hands.

Wrapping an arm around Mandy, Fai let her have a few moments to sulk. “Are you up for coffee after school? I've got something exciting to tell you and Alexa.”

That got Mandy to perk up. “Oh what is it? Did Manuel ask you to the Christmas dance?”

“NO!” Fai said, blushing. “It's nothing about boys.”

“Then what is it?” her friend demanded.

“I can't tell you at school. I'll tell you and Alexa all about it this afternoon when we're somewhere private.”

“Aw come on! I'm going to be wondering about it all day now!”

“I know!” Fai grinned and waved at Alexa who was just getting out of her dad's car and running over.

“You're evil!”

Phoenix Warriors Headquarters
Mid-Morning

The Mogollon Monster, Dae-Jong to his friends, knocked on Lolomi's door before entering the office. His usual smile had vanished since his girlfriend, Sun Hawk, had been injured the month before, replaced by a near constant frown, at the moment the frown was replaced by a snarl.

“Morning Dae-Jong, how is June doing?” Lolomi asked, already knowing the answer but hoping to cut off whatever had the newest member of the team so angry.

“She's doing OK,” the big foot-like young man said. “She can fly properly, and is using a cane to walk. She was able to ask for breakfast this morning.”

“I'm glad. I was planning on dropping in to see her this evening, it will be nice hearing her speak.”

“What about Forte?” Dae-Jong demanded. “I saw the report that you, Janet, and half the team were investigating her hideout last night. I should have been there!”

“We were following up on a tip, it wasn't confirmed. And we didn't come up with anything actionable. There were signs she had been in the building but a thorough scan, magic and technological, didn't reveal any hidden doors, and she hadn't been there in at least a week. We know she's active again, if that had been her hideout or she was still there, we would have seen more recent signs. The area is being watched by drones and the building has magical wards to alert us if she enters it.”

The young hero made a fist that was as big as most peoples head. “I should have been there.”

“If she had been there, would you have taken her in or killed her?” Lolomi asked.

“I-” Dae-Jong looked away, actually growling in frustration.

Lolomi allowed himself a small sense of relief. He understood why Dae-Jong was angry and couldn't blame him, but he needed the man to think, not just react. Seeing him stop and refuse to lie to himself was a good sign. Getting out from behind his desk, he put a hand on the much taller man's shoulder. “Your patrol doesn't start for another hour, lets do some sparring. I'll set up the forcefield so you don't take the building down and you can go all out with me.”

“All right, thanks. But how do you know Forte is active?”

“The two punks from yesterday who almost brought down the grocery store, a woman matching Forte's description was at the scene and put an officer to sleep so she could run away with some groceries.”

“Groceries. A supervillain was stealing groceries?” Dae-Jong asked, looking confused.

“Our best guess is she just happened to be there at the wrong time and decided to save a bit of money. She's probably broke and in debt after getting fixed up from the fight. Now forget about her for now, and let's go work off some steam.”

Leading him out of the office towards the gym, he decided to bring up something that was sure to put the young man in a good mood. “Yesterday why didn't you talk to Fanak like I asked you to?”

The young man shrugged. “Didn't know what to say.”

“You've been run through that situation before. Just say some encouraging words and make sure she hears that she needs to wait until she's an adult to start fighting supervillains or stopping crime.”

“Seems like she did well enough on her own.”

Resisting a sigh or any big sign of disapproval, Lolomi reminded himself that his teammate was still new at this and was dealing with his own problems. “She's a fourteen year old kid who nearly got herself killed when she didn't have to. If she hadn't run into her slightly more competent and much stronger partner, she would have died or been captured and wished that she was dead.”

From Dae-Jong's expression, the young man knew he was right but wasn't quite ready to admit it. Lolomi put a hand on his shoulder as they waited for the elevator. “I've seen kids like her over the years. The smart ones took the advice to wait, learned and went on to become great heroes. Others got scared and a few scars, a few took the lesson and went back to practising, the rest decided to be civilians. Too many ended up dead, disabled, or disappeared. Being a hero doesn't just mean getting the bad guy, it also means helping people avoid getting hurt in the first place.”

Making a fist as big as Lolomi's head, Dae-Jong finally nodded. “Sorry. I'll remember that next time I see her or some dumb kid like her.”

Smiling he said, “Glad to hear it. You're seen as one of the cooler members of the team among boys and teens, so they'll listen to you a lot more than they will me or some of the older, boring guys. And with Christmas coming, we need to do some PR. You know what that means, right?”

Somehow Dae-Jong managed to look even more unhappy. “I get to go to schools and on TV talking to kids.”

“Yes. Roadrunner and Magma Man will go with you. She's good with kids, and almost every teen I know loves fire. Amanda wants to see you this week to work on your public image and speech, and unfortunately I can't hold this off. Christmas is our best time of year for merchandising and PR,” Lolomi said, hoping to ease the sting.

“Old Scratch doesn't do anything like that.”

“The last time Old Scratch talked to a class everyone started crying, including the teacher. The lawyers and PR department don't want to have to deal with anything like that again, some of the kids were still having nightmares six months later.”

The young man stopped dead in his tracks. “That actually happened?”

“It did. Amanda might show it to you as a lesson on what not to do,” Lolomi said.

Rental House
Glendale Great Phoenix Area

Ptolemy looked up from his books at the sound of his twin sister cursing. “Problems, Cassandra?”

Cassandra strode into his workroom, careful to avoid the star charts covered in his calculations that lay spread out on the floor. “Tech Geek was arrested. That little heist of his in Memphis went wrong and the River City Wardens arrested him and all his associates. How are we going to find a replacement for him on this short of notice?”

“I told him the stars weren't aligned properly,” he replied with a sigh. “Mercury was completely out of alignment for a successful job, especially for a Cancer.”

“We can't scrap this job. We've put too much time and money into it. Our backers will be furious if we cancel it now.”

Going to a bookshelf dangerously full of books and astrological tools, Ptolemy took a binder that was neatly labelled 'Tech Men' and returned to his desk, moving a pack of oracle cards out of the way so he'd have more room. Flipping to the Arizona section, he quickly skimmed past the gadgeteers and devisors that he'd previously investigated and found wanting or unavailable. The list of usable supervillains was shorter, and he frowned over each of them. The star signs, planets, astrological alignments and more were close to what they needed, but none of them were good enough. None of them had more than an 81% chance of success.

Turning to the newest entry in the section, he looked over Forte, aka Natalie Foster. Normally he wouldn't consider bringing in someone so new, who he hadn't had at least a month to research through his astrological methods. But this girl had been outed by the news, so he had her exact birth date down to the minute, several major life events, and even a good idea of her favourite colours, foods and toys. That would make discovering if she was capable of filling the role as tech girl in the heist quick and easy.

“I may have someone. Give me a day and a night to look over her stars, and I'll know if she's good enough,” Ptolemy told his sister.

She nodded. “I'll prepare some spells to twist fate so they're a perfect fit once you give me the details.”

Nodding, he didn't look up from his desk, his mind already pulling up the devised calculations and logic that let him see people and the future in the stars.

Two Sugars Coffee House
Chandler, Phoenix Metropolitan Area,
After School

“OK, spill,” Mandy demanded the moment Fai came back with their drinks. “You've kept us waiting all day, what's your big secret?”

Alexa joined in. “Yeah, you've been walking around like you won the lottery, or Manuel asked you out. I'm dying here.”

“OK, you guys have to keep this quiet. Like really quiet.” Reaching into her book bag, she opened a secret pouch she'd stitched into the bottom and pulled out her MID. “The Chandler Monster that's been on the news? Her name is Fanak, and yes, she's a mutant.”

“How do you know that?” Mandy demanded.

“Because... I'm her,” she said quietly, placing her MID on the table.

Her friends looked at the card, looked at her, then back at the card. Alexa spoke first. “This is real?”

Nodding, Fai grinned so wide her cheeks hurt, she couldn't stop it.

“You're really a volunteer for the Phoenix Warriors?” Mandy said, struggling to keep her voice low.

Nodding again, Fai replied, “Uh-huh, Lolomi told me himself. If they need to track down a person or do search and rescue they'll call me. They won't let me fight crime, and everyone I met told me to stop going after criminals, but they still want my help. And Toho, a superhero from Santa Fe, she took me to Dallas to get my MID, and she said that once I turn eighteen I could try out for her team the Neuvo Rangers.”

“So did you really help that woman last month?” Alexa asked.

“Yes! I was practising my smelling and I could smell two people making out in their car. Then it smelled like the girl was scared, and she screamed, so I ran over broke the window, dragged the kalb out by his pants, scared him so badly he peed himself, and sent him running half naked down the street.” She had trouble keeping quiet, remembering how exciting that had been.

“Wow! Have you fought any supervillains?”

Her smile faltered a little, then returned. “Yeah. I rescued a girl just a little younger than us, and a weird looking teenager from some group that had them locked up under an office building. And I worked with a really cool woman who's a dragon and works with the government. She fought El Scorpio, which set everything on fire. And I fought a guy who could shoot around corners and was a really good fighter.”

Alexa leaned in her eyes wide. “You have to tell me everything.”

Fai started to tell her story, leaving out the parts about the blood, some of the bad guys getting shot and dying from their own side, and nearly dying. She'd told the heroes about that because they were used to it, but her friends wouldn't understand, and she hoped they never would.

Neither she nor Alexa noticed Mandy silently twisting and bending her spoon into a near perfect metal ball.

Forte Hideout,
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Noon

The ringing of her phone woke Forte up. Bleary eyed, struggling to wake up after her all nighter making several devises for various customers and working on the prototype weapons for her newest client, she wasn't really thinking when she reached for her phone with her right hand. It took her a minute to remember it didn't exist anymore.

Groaning she rolled over and awkwardly used her left hand to answer it. “Forte here.”

“Forte this is Outlaw's Tavern. A customer would like to meet you tonight about an employment opportunity,” a woman, who Forte vaguely remembered, told her.

Yawning she took a minute to think about her work. She could probably take a few hours off if she got up now to finish up her sonic gun. “Yeah OK. I can see them. What time?”

“Nine o'clock. And I can assure you that this person is a member of good standing in the community.”

She smiled at that. Delaney, the owner of the bar, and a local middleman, told her that as a favour to new villains, he liked to pass on bits of info to make things a bit easier for them, as long as she remembered to tip well. She wasn't sure how long that would continue, but for now she'd take all the extra help she could.

“Tell them I'll be there. Thanks for letting me know.”

Hanging up, she stretched and got a whiff of herself. Scowling she decided it would be a good idea to have a shower. Maybe two of them. She really had to remember to wash up more often when working.

Outlaw's Tavern
Late evening

Getting a ginger beer and directions to the right table, Forte strode through the bar, which wasn't very full on a weeknight, to her potential short-term employer. The thought of going on a heist or something similar so soon after her successful, but  very costly and extremely painful robbery last month made her stomach flip-flop. But if the money was good and the plan sensible, it would help her out a lot. Not only would it ensure she kept ahead of her payments to Doc Morris, but she might be able to get enough chemicals and things so she wasn't struggling to stretch them as far as possible.

At one of the more private tables near the back she saw a young twenty-something, big Latino guy with short black hair, muscles on muscle, and a blocky face that looked like he'd gotten hit a lot when he was younger. His costume seemed to consist of a thick leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet. A teen girl with oddly patchy brown skin, hair that looked like flowing ink, pitch black eyes, and odd inky marks moving across her face and hands, was sipping a cup of steaming tea, while one hand rested on a thick ancient looking book.

The two other occupants, were a middle-aged man and woman. The man was tall and skinny, wearing a black suit and a black mask that covered his hair, eyes, and nose. The woman was wearing a matching black suit that hugged her few curves, her brown hair was done up in a rather severe bun, and her silver face mask covered her face leaving just her eyes, mouth, and jaw exposed.

The masked man smiled and stood to greet her. “Thank you for coming Forte. I'm Ptolemy, this is my sister Cassandra, your potential employers. The young man is Big Guy, and the last of our current group is Book, please have a seat.”

Taking a seat between Book and Big Guy, she smiled at them all. “It's a pleasure to be here. So I was told you needed a devisor, I might be your girl.”

“You should be, my equations say you're a good fit for this job. We have an 88% complete success rate with you. Not quite as good as Tech Geek who brought us up to 92%, but he is currently in MCO custody through no fault of ours.” Ptolemy said.

“What do you mean, your equations?”

“Well after looking at your star sign, as well as the position of the stars, planets and sun at the time of your birth, accident, and some other publicly known events in your life, and comparing them with the movement of various celestial bodies-” he began only to be cut off by Cassandra.

“What my brother is very slowly saying, is he is a devisor who is able to get an accurate view of future events, people and other things through astrology. As a devisor yourself, I'm sure you understand how it can work for him. So, when he says you're the best person for the job, he is telling the truth” the supervillain said, smiling pleasantly. “I'm a wizard myself, and I nudge things a little to make sure events come out in a way that works best for us. It's why we have such a high success rate.”

Ptolemy gave a small smile and nodded.

“OK, I've heard you guys are good,” Forte said, trying to sound more knowledgeable than she really was. “I'm interested in the job, but I'll need to hear more about it.”

“Have you heard of Da Chief?” Ptolemy asked.

“Vaguely. He was becoming a popular rapper about two years ago, right? Rap isn't really my thing.”

“He got big, and signed a multi-million dollar contract in October. We have it on good authority he wants to show off his money at a Christmas party in his new mansion.”

“You mean the idiot is actually going to have his millions of dollars at a party just to show it off to his friends.” Forte had to facepalm at the stupidity of some people.

“Exactly. The neuvo-rich love to show off, especially if they were poor before,” Ptolomy's expression let her know exactly what he thought of that. “He'll have at least a million dollars by his pool, with undercover security wandering around the crowd. We have Big Guy to deal with anyone who might have superpowers and to carry the money out of there. Book and yourself will cut off the mansion from the outside, and act as crowd control. Tech Geek was going to hit everyone with a knock-out gas, your sonic weapons should work well enough to take down most of the people.”

“And you and Cassandra will do what?”

“We're the brains of the operation. We come up with the plan, get you everything you need, tweak things to make sure you succeed, and launder the money so you won't have to worry about the serial numbers leading the police straight to you or any of us. For your part, if we're successful you'll earn 150,000 plus expenses for creating your devises.”

“Within reason,” Cassandra added to that.

Ptolemy nodded. “And if there's more money than the one million, we'll split the extra evenly between the five of us.”

Sitting back in her chair, she sipped her ginger beer. For a million dollars she would have preferred having it split equally five ways right from the start. But the other two criminals weren't saying anything, was it because they were as new as she was and didn't know any better, or was it a good deal. Ptolomy and Cassandra seemed to be very confident and the bar had said they were good. Robbing a party had to be easier than robbing and trashing a tech startup. And the pay plus expenses was nothing to sneeze at.

“I'm in,” she said.

“Excellent,” Ptolemy said. “I'll get us all the next round and chicken wings.”

While he waved for a waitress, Forte looked at the two quiet criminals. “I don't think I've heard of either of you.”

“I'm new to this,” Book said. The odd looking girl spoke firmly but she kept her head down and her eyes seemed to be focused on her empty tea cup. “I know the spells we'll need, so don't worry about that.”

“Cool.”

Big Guy raised his glass. “I've stuck to small jobs and being muscle. I'm a size shifter who gets bigger, but I don't go in for a fancy costume or monologuing. Keeping your eye on the prize is the best way to stay out of prison, so the news usually doesn't get to see me. I've only fought a few superheroes and that was to buy time for my employer to get away, so I could disappear while still getting paid.”

“I wish I could have done that on my last job,” Forte said ruefully.

“Yeah I saw that swan dive of yours. You've got a lot more guts than I do, that was crazy.”

“It beat getting arrested and losing my limbs,” she said with a grin, trying to hide her discomfort at the thought of being left helpless in prison.

He nodded at that. “Can you drive? Book can't, and I don't like being the only guy who knows how.”

“I almost completed drivers ed,” she admitted.

Big Guy sighed, but the waitress appearing with a big platter of wings and drinks for everyone seemed to cheer him up. Grabbing a wing, Forte looked at Book curiously.

“What's with the big book?” she asked.

The girl scowled and finished eating her second wing, from the way she was chowing down it looked like she hadn't had a good meal in a while. “It's my... I guess you could call it my familiar. It taught me all the magic I know.”

Looking at Books greasy fingers and the probably priceless book she was carelessly eating over, Forte tried to hide her surprise. “Is it safe to keep it out in the open?”

Taking a pocket knife from her hoodie, Book stabbed the book right in the center, then dragged the point along the cover. “It'll be fine. Stupid thing won't even burn,” she said.

“OK,” Forte said, unsure what else to say.

“All right now that we have everyone we need,” Ptolomy said, “we can go over the basic details of the plan and what everyone will be doing.”

“We expect they'll have a regular security company on hand, ten or fifteen people, concealed weapons only, mostly there to keep people from getting sticky fingers,” Cassandra said. “We'll have more details closer to the event.”

“Will we be sneaking in as guests, using magic, or just breaking down the doors?” Forte asked.

“Currently, plan A is for Book to use her 'don't notice me' spell to get everyone inside. Then while still under the spell, you and she can work on cutting off communications, and preparing things for crowd control. Big Guy will scout things out, we have four potential escape routes so far, which could be as easy as him stepping over the wall and running to the van while still a giant. It's his judgment call on which exit is best.” Cassandra said.

Big Guy nodded, but didn't say anything or show much of a reaction. Forte guessed that he had probably already heard the basics.

“Of course we want to avoid any serious injuries, especially among the civilians. The less reason they have to come after us, guns blazing, the easier it will be,” Ptolemy said.

Nodding in agreement, Forte quietly started going over the devises that would work best for the coming job, keeping most of her attention on the nitty gritty details, like the estimated hundred or so guests, likely number of bodyguards and where they would be while the party is going on, and so on. For just going over the basics, Ptolemy and Cassandra had a lot of info, which only helped to put Forte more at ease. She'd liked working with Bubbly of Triple Threat, but that team was really lacking in forethought or planning.

As the discussion went on, she began studying her two fellow villains for hire. Out of the three of them, Big Guy was clearly the most experienced. He sipped his beer, ate some wings and listened, occasionally nodding along and asking one or two questions to clarify some detail. He looked calm, collected, and interested, which she liked. If he'd been bored, she wouldn't trust him to remember all of the plan.

Book on the other hand was still eating a wing a minute, and asking almost as many questions when it came to her role in things. From having dealt with new kids in bands and orchestras back when she was capable of making music, Forte recognized a nervous noob. Still the girl was asking smart questions, like how many people she'd have to deal with, what type of spells Ptolemy and Cassandra wanted her to use, and other things. So everyone was cutting her some slack as she dominated the discussion.

By the time the wings and drinks were done, the ring leaders took their leave, apparently nighttime was the best time for an astrologer devisor to do his work. With a promise to keep in touch until the next meet up they headed for the door, leaving the three young villains to their own devices.

“So,” Big Guy took a sip of his beer, “neither of you can drive, and I'm guessing neither of you can fight.”

“Sorry, been a bit too busy building stuff to learn,” Forte said, doing her best to act unconcerned with a touch of sarcasm. She had really wanted to learn how to drive, but loosing her limbs had thrown all of that to hell. Now it wasn't like she could walk into a driving school and get lessons. She wasn't even sure if she could do it properly. The feed back from her limbs was good, but not perfect. Driving might be like music, off by just enough to fuck it all up.

Book looked off to the side. “Things have been a bit hectic for me too.”

He cursed quietly. “OK, having only one getaway driver is a really bad idea. You guys free for driving lessons? I've got a car and I know a place where we can practice without anyone bothering us.”

“I'm pretty busy making devises for clients, but I can spare a few hours,” she said.

Book nodded. “I'm not doing much other than studying magic. It'll be nice doing something else.”

Nodding, Big Guy gave them a small smile. “All right. It's nice working with people who aren't full of themselves and are willing to learn for a change.”

“You have a lot of problem with that?” Forte asked.

“Yeah, one of the perks of the job. You get people who like to dress up in flashy costumes, they start thinking they're the best and no one can know more than them. It's why I like being the muscle. I just nod when they talk about themselves, do my job and get paid. If things go really bad and there's no chance of finishing the job, the guy in the bright costume gets the attention and I can slink away.” He smiled at both of them. “But as long as you don't do something completely idiotic, like deciding to jump off a high building or something to see if you can fly, I'll do my best to make sure we get away, with or without the money.”

Blushing at the joke made at her expense, Forte raised her bottle of ginger beer. “Glad to hear it. I promise to follow the plan and not take anymore spontaneous flying lessons.”

“Uh... can I ask you guys what it's like being in a superhero fight?” Book asked, playing with the cuff of her hoodie. “I've done some things, like escaping a cell and running from guards, I won't freeze up. But intentionally going into a situation where I might need to fight is new to me.”

“Oh boy, this job is going to be fun,” Big Guy said, making the odd girl hunch down a little. “When we go in just stay in the shadows, and keep an eye on things. If we get into a bad situation, let them focus on me first, then Forte. I know how to fight, and her armour looks like it can handle a beating. Use whatever spells you have to mess around with people, tangle them up, knock em down, blind them, make them see things, put them to sleep, things like that. Can you do that?”

“Uh-huh, that's -” Book was cut off by her book opening up on it's own, revealing that the girl's skin was the same blotchy brown as the pages. She looked at the page, her eyes bulging in surprise and slammed the book. “UGH! I won't do that!”

Forte and Big Guy looked at each other than back at the girl. “You won't do what?” Forte asked.

“It showed me a spell to make eyeballs explode and spray acid around. Stupid, bloodthirsty, demon book!” She hit the offending thing with her fist.

“Does your book do that often?” Big Guy asked, his voice a little tight.

“Too often,” the girl said in exasperated tone. “It has nice spells in here, and it will show them to me, after I yell at it. But it really likes sacrificing virgins, blood drinking, and creepy crap like that.”

“Where did you get that thing?” Forte asked.

“I think it was my uncles. I didn't know it was a demon book when I started reading it, and it tricked me into bonding with it.”

“Shit. So that's why you look like that?” Big Guy asked.

“Yeah. I woke up in the desert close to here, no memory except of making the deal, the clothes on my back and this stupid book that won't leave me alone. The first spell I learned was the 'don't notice me', so I could sneak around and get food and shit.” The girl rubbed her eyes. “Sorry. I don't usually bitch like this, but this is the third time I've had a chance to really talk to people, and the first time was a fellow kidnapee when I had iron bolts sticking out of my hands. So neither of us were really up for talking.”

Looking at the unblemished hands of the girl, well unblemished except for the odd colouring and the constantly moving inky patterns on her skin, Forte decided she really didn't want to know about the bolts or what type of monster would do that to a person. “Do you have a place to stay?”

She immediately regretted asking that. Her hideout was hers, bringing some random girl with a bloodthirsty, demon book to it, was the last thing she should be doing.

“Yeah. I put a spell on a little apartment so people forget it's there. I just need money so I can live a little better.”

“Well this will be a really nice Christmas bonus for all of us,” Big Guy said. “If it's good with you, we can meet up here for supper at six, and we can go do our driving practice after.”

Forte nodded. “Yeah, I need to drop off an item for client tomorrow anyways. It works for me.”

“Sure, and thanks for offering, Big Guy,” Book said, giving a shy smile.

Getting to his feet, Big Guy smiled and put on his helmet, “All right, I'll see you girls tomorrow. Stay safe.”

Left with Book, Forte tried to think about what to talk about. Between her self-imposed seclusion after getting hurt, and the last few months being a supervillain, her normal conversation skills were pretty rusty. “So... what's it like making magic?” she finally asked.

“Pretty cool. With a few words, gestures and usually blood, I can twist reality. I don't think I ever thought I'd do that,” Book said, cheering up a little. “What about you? What's it like being able to create impossible machines?”

“It's pretty interesting,” she admitted. “Not what I thought I'd be doing, but I get to make my own power armour, how many girls can say that?”

“Probably not many. Do you want to stick around a little while and talk? I'll buy you a beer.”

“OK, I'd like that, but no beer for me,” Forte said.

Book cocked her head to the side clearly curious about that.

Grimacing, she decided to open up a little, the girl seemed lonelier than she was. “I'm missing most of my legs and my right arm. Alcohol hits me a lot harder than it used to, and being a drunk supervillain is probably a bad thing.”

“Oh. That... that has to suck.”

“Story of my life. Is this bit of crime a one time thing? Or are you planning on making it a career?”

Book shrugged. “Don't know. I don't think there are many other options for a baby demon or whatever the hell I am now. I guess I'll do this and see what happens next.”

Raising her bottle in a toast, Forte said, “To shitty choices that are better than the alternatives.”

The girl giggled a little and raised her glass, “To shitty choices.”

Chandler, Greater Phoenix Area
Midnight

Fanak raced along the dark sidewalk, just relaxing and enjoying the night air, trying to hear and smell everything she could. She wasn't out to fight crime tonight, the repeated warnings by the heroes made her realize that she probably should wait until she was older. But if she just happened to see someone causing trouble, getting them to stop would be OK.

The cold air made her breath form large clouds of smoke, which made her smile. Back home in Morocco she'd only seen frost a few times when her family took her from Casablanca into the desert. She'd seen snow the few times she'd gone skiing in the Atlas Mountains. She almost wished her babba had gotten a job further north, so she could play in the snow in winter without having to leave Phoenix.

Her fur helped her stay nice and warm as she ran even though she was wearing just a swimsuit and a belt with a few small pockets in it. Since meeting Port she kept a bit of money, paper, pencil and a cheap pay-as-you-go phone in it. She hadn't needed any of it yet, but it was nice to have it ready just in case.

As she ran, she thought about her parents, she really needed to tell them about being a mutant. Just... it was hard. She knew that they would be really worried about her wanting to be a superhero and try to change her mind. And when she told them, she'd have to tell them all about how she'd fought the supervillain and almost died. Imagining her mama's face at hearing that news, she instinctively lowered her ears and put her tail between her legs.

Maybe waiting a bit longer would make things easier.

Yawning, she decided to call it a night, and put her decision off a little longer. She'd had a good run, and may have scared off a trouble maker or thief who was a bit too curious about a car. Now it was time to get some sleep so she'd be able to function tomorrow.

Jogging back to her home she made sure no one was watching her for the last block, and jumped to her second story window with practised ease. Stripping out of her basic costume, she put on her pajamas and went to the bathroom to clean up.

Iron Rain watched the little fox climb through the bedroom window, grinning at having finally found out where the bitch lived. Shifting his view, he marked down the house number and it's location on his map.

Flexing his hand he tried to get rid of the numbness. Even with Doc Morris healing it, the nerves had been badly shredded and were taking time to heal. It would be at least another two weeks before it would be back to normal, then he'd need to exercise his hand to get it back to what it used to be. He could have had it healed faster, but that would have tripled the already expensive bill. It was easier to get the healing started and just wait a little while.

And the wait had hardly been wasted. Now that he knew where the girl lived, he could find out all about her life. Once he was ready, he would start destroying her friends and family. By the time he was done, she'd be begging him to put her out of her misery.

Climbing down from his perch on a dark house well away from the target, he headed for his car a few blocks away. He had work to do.

To Be Continued