Cape fights are not things that drag out. Everyone seems to imagine that these fights are almost like a boxing match: some kind of spectacle. In reality, fights typically don’t take more than a few seconds. There are certainly those times when two evenly matched capes really do go at it, but they are generally the exception to the rule. There are even some of the big team-up battles that do happen. Obviously, you’ve seen or heard about those in the news. It’s just that people have somehow come to believe that those big fights are the norm since they seem to be the only fights that get recorded or make it to the news.
Unfortunately, for most villains, the fact that a fight has started at all generally means that they have already lost.
With the clear exception of some of the big names such as myself, most villains simply don’t have the power to stand up to heroes without tricks or traps. Even the few of us that can stand toe to toe with heroes will always have something up our sleeves just in case. Heroes just tend to have the more physically oriented or overpowering abilities. In all honesty, it seems to be a necessary criterion for making it through the HCP. Everything I have discovered about that secret training regimen suggests that the tiny fraction of applicants that actually graduate from that program need to have special forces level control and force. With all of that said, it stands to reason that to be a successful villain one must orchestrate their battlefields.
So, when I found myself fighting Justice, and possibly Radiant, without any kind of plan or battlefield set up I knew I was in for trouble. That is, until Maelstrom pulled me out of the way of a rampaging asshat.
In my rush to get away from the giant flying idiot, I didn’t notice the manhole cover floating a few inches off the ground in front of me. Not until I tripped over it at least. It was fortunately that exact moment that Justice would have taken my damned head off.
Before I had any chance to cry out, a slender hand covered my mouth and yanked me over to the side. A second later, the manhole cover that I had tripped on slammed noisily down into place. I was shoved over into a pile of trash and refuse, a strange pressure forcing my jaw shut. The stench of the pile made me want to gag, especially with my armor burning the nearest little bits. I quickly shut off my ability. At the time, I didn’t know who had pulled me out of the line of fire but, I knew that I had certainly been pulled out of what would otherwise end in my death or imprisonment. After a few very tense moments, I heard a loud curse and the clang of dense metal hitting pavement. It was only then that the force holding my mouth shut released.
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I pulled myself free from the reek and refuse only to see one of the most beautiful women to ever don a costume. Maelstrom was a name I knew a little bit about; she was one of Radiant’s rogues after all. If I remember correctly, she was supposed to be some kind of telekinetic. She was a petite woman, with a hard look about her as she glared down the alley. A black and grey coat clung to her lithe form making her lean figure stand out in both a predatory and elegant manner. Her long, shock white hair and pale skin stood in stark contrast to her dark attire. If Radiant is the picture of a goddess made flesh, Maelstrom is the embodiment of seduction given form.
Like many people witnessing her for the first time, I completely froze as my eyes found themselves locked on her tight and endearing form. In fact, I’m fairly certain that my jaw had gone entirely slack. For a bit, time had no meaning. I sincerely have no idea how long I stared at her until she turned towards me with a prim smirk on her painted black lips.
“I’m flattered. Really. But don’t you think you should be getting away instead of staring?” Her words practically came out in a giggle. It was clear that she knew what kind of effect she had on men, and even more clear that she enjoyed it. Immensely so. “Though I guess you don’t stand out as much without the sparking mask… Cuter though!” Her smirk turned sultry as she strode over towards me.
“So… wh… Why did you involve yourself in this?” I asked, “Why did you help me?” Confusion must have been spelled across my face as I stammered through my words.
Maelstrom pointed down at my feet, to where a large bag of cash was sitting. I hadn’t even realized that I was still carrying the thing that started this whole mess. “Ah… The money, of course.” I said with some disappointment. I mean, what was I expecting? Some beautiful woman to step in just because she wanted to flirt a bit? Not a chance in hell.
She seemed to pout a bit as I watched. I could easily lose myself just watching her expressions. “Well… That, and I always love to mess around with Radiant a bit.” Her smile grew wider as she mentioned the glowing heroine. “She’s going to have her rankings drop with your escape. Not to mention the fact that she was caught on camera freezing during your fight with Mr. tall blonde and scummy.” If I hadn’t known someone who actually could glow, I would have said she began to glow with those words.
“You seemed to put up a decent fight against Justice,” she said, “maybe you would like to work together?” It was a tempting offer. She was, and still is, a tempting woman. I just wasn’t ready to take the plunge into being a villain. Not yet at least. So, I walked away not knowing the shitstorm that was about land at my doorstep.