The boy watched as the two went at it. The sword-shaped volcanic glass clinked against the metal padding on Iron Garden's forearms. Slash, stab, swipe. It was ridiculous to think a twelve-year-old girl could be this good at swordplay, she moved as if she had years of experience. But Eruption was not a regular twelve-year-old. She was a Felice hybrid. It was still unknown why, but for some reason, when you became a hybrid, you usually acquired skills you didn't have before. And although most of these skills weren't all that significant, Felice hybrids almost always came with some kind of combat proficiency. In Eruption's case, it was the sword.
The clinging stopped. The two disproportionately tall combatants stood there, staring each other down -- or up, in Eruption's case -- and then, as if on command, they both relaxed and smiled. The spectator could clearly sense joy and pride emanating from both of them.
"That was really good, Petra," the large man said as he smiled and ruffled her hair. The little girl purred in response as satisfaction oozed out of her.
The man then turned to the boy watching them from the couch and approached him.
"So, Jason, is Melanie back yet?" he asked.
The boy nodded. "Yes. She went to her room to research something. Probably just overusing her power again to find us the next target." He shrugged.
"Not again." The man sighed. "Why won't she ever listen when I tell her to dial it down?" Exasperation.
"She's too dedicated." Another shrug.
At that point, Petra had successfully invaded Jason's lap with her head and curled herself into a ball. Jason was very often baffled by the contrast of Petra's two personas and how quickly her moods and feelings shifted. But in a way, he understood. That's what being a hybrid was about, after all.
His hand reached on top of her head and rubbed it.
"Guys!" Someone suddenly barged through the door.
It was a blond girl with green eyes. Her hair was a mess and her hoodie and skirt must have been put on in a hurry. Jason felt a mixture of excitement and slight panic off of her. She was followed inside the room by a young woman in a white dress with striking black and white scales covering her bare skin and lizard tail, her hair similarly colored black and white. Jason recognized the anticipation she felt.
"Melanie! You are overworking yourself again!" the oldest man in the room yelled at her, anger and concern apparent in his shadow.
"What? No! Nonono! I'm fine!" She waved her hand. Jason could sense the suppressed guilt and a bit of anxiety.
"You don't look fine! We just finished a raid today! You don't need to frantically search for the next target already!"
"Okay, okay, I got it, Hank." She raised her palms. "But I wasn't actually searching for our next hit. This is about something else, and we need to discuss it."
Hank narrowed his eyes. "Alright." He walked over and sat down on a couch opposite Jason, a table separating them.
Melanie went ahead and sat down next to Jason, while the black and white woman sat next to Hank. It took her a second for her to figure out a comfortable position for her tail, but once she did, Melanie began.
"It's about the hybrid you met today, Jason. Ink." She nodded at Jason.
"What about her?" The boy tilted his head.
"Well, according to my power--" She glanced at Hank for a second. "--It would be a really bad idea to let her be. I'm assuming Dragon Maw will get to her if we don't do anything."
Hank frowned. Confusion and curiosity, Jason noted.
"And on the flip side, it would be a really good idea to meet and talk to her. Tomorrow is bad, the day after tomorrow is better, but Monday is the best. From then on, it gets worse."
"Meet her? To talk? Is she gonna be joining us?" Hank asked.
"You know how my power works, Hank." The blond girl sighed. "I can't tell if she's gonna be joining us, but according to my power, befriending her, or at least getting close to her, is a really good idea."
"Hmm. Is it now?" Hank rubbed his brown beard. "So we're gonna meet her on Monday?"
"No, just one of us. Any more than one, and it gets worse."
"Alright, so who's gonna be meeting her?"
"Jason is not a good option, and neither are you." She looked at the woman sitting next to Hank. "Lisa isn't good either, probably since she can't talk to her." And then her gaze finally landed on the little cat girl still resting on Jason's lap. "But for some reason, Petra is exponentially worse than anyone else. It would be better to not meet her at all than to send Petra to meet her."
That made the girl get up from Jason's lap with a frown. She growled under her breath, prompting her to continue. Jason felt the irritation and inquisitiveness.
"So that leaves me. I'm the best option for meeting her. And maybe I'll find out why it's such a bad idea to let Petra meet her."
Hank sighed. "I just told you not to overwork yourself. And now you're gonna go out to meet an unknown hybrid all on your own?"
"It's the best option," she shot back.
"Melanie," Hank began, "I get that making good decisions is literally your power, but you seriously need to learn how to take a break."
Jason glanced between the two. Something about the dynamic always felt funny to Jason. They were almost like father and daughter. Anyone who saw that interaction would be shocked to find out that Melanie was actually the group’s leader.
"Okay okay, Hank! Until Monday, I'm gonna be resting. But on Monday, I'll go out and meet her. Fair?" She smiled.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
"Alright." He sighed again, his regret already apparent to Jason's senses.
Lisa next to him put a hand on his back and smiled. Hank couldn't help but force a smile as well. Jason turned away from the two. The one thing he couldn't stand was the drowning amount of affection they exuded when together.
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It was hopeless, Jason didn't know what to do. His superpowers were of no help. Despite being a powerful individual feared by a great many people, he still couldn't overcome the dreaded writer's block. Staring at the screen hadn't done anything. He needed to take a walk. Going outside was always risky, so he’d gotten into the habit of wandering through the base instead.
He left his room and entered the living room, only to spot Melanie fiddling with her laptop.
It was early in the morning and Jason knew she wasn't an early bird like him. Which meant that she still hadn’t gone to sleep yet. That explained the frustration he felt coming off of her. People were rarely happy and satisfied when tired.
"Melanie?"
"Mhm, yeah?" She yawned.
Jason knew for sure that if Hank found out about this, he would have his words with her.
"What are you working on?"
"Trying to find these new villains. They escaped." She rubbed her eyes.
"Can't you just leave it to the heroes?" Jason asked as he moved closer to look at the screen.
"No, leaving them be is a bad idea. After Tuesday, it gets worse and worse if we don't do anything."
"I see..." Jason nodded.
One of the quirks of Melanie's powers was that she was a precog who couldn't see the future. She had no idea why she was doing what she was doing, so both she and the rest of her team had to believe that whatever her power suggested as a good idea really was a good idea. For Jason, that kind of uncertainty was scary at first. It was as if they were blindly following the instructions of some unknown mastermind. But he got used to it over time. Mainly because it always worked out for them, no matter how ridiculous or seemingly random the decisions were.
"They were already captured once though, right?"
"Yeah. Ink was there, actually. Along with another new hybrid and two Junior Wardens."
An interesting coincidence. Although with Melanie, things were rarely a coincidence. Jason knew this was all connected in some way.
"You're still meeting her?"
"Of course I am. It's still a good idea."
"And is it a good idea to be meeting her when you are dead tired?"
Melanie shot Jason a frown, then seemed to fall into thought, before finally sighing. "No, it's not." She deflated on the couch.
"Dammit, there's just so much that needs to be done lately." She put a hand on her forehead.
Jason thought for a second about using his powers to either cheer her up, or to put her to sleep, but decided against it.
"Don't worry, O glorious leader. Your minions will always be here to lighten your load." Jason smiled at her.
Melanie stared at him, unimpressed. She then sighed and focused on her laptop again. "Ten minutes. I'm going to search for ten more minutes. That's the ideal amount of time."
Jason nodded. "Alright. But then you better hit the bed, or Dad's gonna be mad at you."
Melanie rolled her eyes at the comment but continued her search. She didn't react to Hank being called her dad anymore.
Jason got comfortable and watched her work while idly thinking about his novel. Nine and a half minutes later, Melanie's tired eyes finally lit up.
"Here it is! The school! I got it! Finally!"
Jason peered closer and saw the building in question. An elementary school in the northern slums. Abandoned, along with the rest of the buildings in the slums after the incident two years ago.
"They are there?"
"Not sure, but it would be a great idea to raid that place." Melanie grinned. "And you know what that means." The two shared a glance, before Melanie let out a long yawn.
"Indeed." Jason nodded. "It means that it's time for the bed."
"Yes, yes. Sleep is important, got it." Melanie stood up and stretched before wobbling her way into her room.
Jason watched her go and then looked back at the laptop's screen. A thought flashed through his mind. "A villain hiding in plain sight... as a teacher in elementary school... hmm..."
With the flash of inspiration, he returned to his room as well and continued writing.
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"Ready to rock and roll." Lightshow grinned.
Sunglasses, glowing hair tied into a ponytail, and a confident posture. It was as if she was a different person from the usual tired and disheveled Melanie. People usually wore costumes and masks to hide their true identities, but Lightshow took it to a whole new level. She masked her entire being from her hairstyle and clothing to gestures and mannerisms. She even had colored contact lenses under the sunglasses to change her eye color.
"Be careful," Hank told her. As always, concern colored his shadow.
"It's fine! I doubt they are a danger since my power told me to meet them." She did her best not to let her doubts and worries show, but she had no chance of hiding it from Jason.
"Still... don't get careless."
"Alright, alright, big guy." She grinned. "I'm going, you guys finish the preparations for tomorrow." With a wave of her hand, she turned around and left through the main door.
It had already happened twice when Melanie's power told her to meet a certain person. First, it was for Jason, and second was Petra. Two out of two ended up joining the group, so Jason was already mentally prepared for a new member. From what he saw of Ink, the Internet already called her an eldritch horror or something, so joining the so-called 'gathering of monsters' would be fitting in a way.
But Ink had a partner. Would Phoenix be joining as well? Melanie said that meeting her was pretty irrelevant, so how did she fit into all of this?
Jason decided to stop thinking about it and wait for Melanie to come back to give him the answer. In the meantime, he got himself comfortable in the living room and continued working on his novel. The others scattered into their rooms.
After about an hour, Lightshow returned. Her grin was gone; the anxiety and frustration in her shadow were reaching all-time high.
"Hello... you're back?" Jason carefully asked.
"What the heck?!" she exclaimed as she tossed herself on the couch opposite of Jason.
Jason stared at the sprawled out form of his team leader. That kind of posture was fitting for Melanie, the overworked teen, not for Lightshow, the cunning supervillain.
The ruckus caused the others to come out of their rooms.
"What's wrong? Oh, you're back." Hank noticed Lightshow's expression. "Wait, what happened?" He frowned as he seated himself next to Jason.
Lisa huddled next to Hank while Petra curled herself into a ball on top of Jason.
"She figured out what my power was, and even baited me into confirming it for her." Lightshow hung her head.
"What?!" Hank shouted.
"Well, almost. She got the general gist of it, but not the details."
"That is still dangerous." Hank's frown deepened. "And I can't help but notice you didn't say anything about her joining us."
An outsider knew about Lightshow's powers. That was dangerous. Her powers were the main reason why Dragon Maw hadn't caught and assimilated their group yet. Figuring out what her power did was the first step in beating it.
"Yeah, but for some reason, my power led me to that point. As if it was okay for them to know, even if they didn’t join us."
Jason and Hank shared a glance. Once again, what her power had told her to do didn't fully make sense, seemed really dangerous even. At this point, though, they both knew that even if it seemed risky, it would work out in the end.
"And I figured out why it was such a bad idea for Petra to meet her." She sighed, while Petra perked up, eager to hear the explanation. "Ink's mom was a victim at the Jetto Corp incident."
Petra deflated. She always felt down when she was reminded of it. Everyone in the team agreed it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but feel guilty.
"I ended up telling them the truth about it, and even about the entire Dragon Maw situation." Melanie shrugged. "Apparently, that was the right move."
"That's... maybe a bit concerning. But I also think it might be a good sign." Hank crossed his arms. "If your power said it was a good idea to tell them, that must mean they believed at least a portion of it, unlike pretty much everyone else." He raised a finger. "And they are a neutral party, not under the influence of Dragon Maw."
"True, but here's the kicker." Melanie took a deep breath. "I invited them to join us tomorrow on the raid, told them the time, the location and everything. Even gave them my number."
"What?!" Hank stood up.
The room fell into silence. Once again, Lightshow's power had made her do something insane. Everyone in their group was a known villain, and except for Lightshow and Jason, their real identities were public as well. On the other hand, Team Blackbird were heroes. They were enemies. If they knew the details about tomorrow's raid, they could have told the Neo Wardens, and if they knew, the Dragon Maw would know as well. They could have been walking straight into a trap.
"It was the best choice," Lightshow said her favorite phrase.
Hank dropped back down on the couch, hand on his forehead. "What the hell, Melanie?" He sighed." I know your power hasn't wronged us yet, but I feel like that's only a matter of time." He crossed his arms again. "Especially since one of the Liberators can nullify powers. You said yourself that if you try to use your power on him in any way, you just get bluescreened."
"You're right... dammit, I guess I got too used to always listening to my power."
"We should cancel tomorrow's raid."
"No way. If we don't hit them tomorrow, it will only get worse and worse. And I doubt the power nullifier somehow makes it better."
"Alright, fine. But we'll need to be extra careful this time. And use your power to figure out where those two will come from if they are coming."
Hank rarely outright told Melanie to use her power. More often than not, it was the opposite; he would tell her to use her power less and take a break.
"Right. I'll do that." Lightshow nodded.
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The door opened and Lightshow entered along with Eruption. The three other members were already waiting for them, sitting on the couch.
"How did it go?" Hank asked.
Jason was curious as well. Both Lightshow and Eruption were giving off satisfaction and some sorrow. But for some reason, there was also fear and uncertainty in Lightshow's shadow.
"Pretty well, all things considered." She plopped down on a couch. "I think I get it now. She won't be joining us, but she will be our secret ally."
"Hmm, is that so?" Hank fell into thought.
"That’s what I think. Anyway, I warned her not to go outside for a bit, told her the good and the bad days."
"Your power doesn't work that well for others, though."
"It doesn't, but I think she is important enough for it to be fairly accurate."
"Hmm, alright."
"The next few days were really bad for them to go out as heroes, but for some reason, Monday was good again. In fact, it would have been bad if they didn't go out as heroes."
Hank frowned. "Monday? What's happening on Monday?"
She shrugged. "No idea." She took off her sunglasses and frowned. "But for some reason, it would be a really bad idea if we didn't go out as heroes on Monday."
Silence filled the room. She didn't say go out and raid some place, she said go out as heroes. That could have only meant one thing. Something big was going to happen on Monday. So big, villains and heroes would have to work together.
Jason didn't like the sound of that.