Calvin arrived in front of the familiar nondescript cuboid of a building. It was the place he and his friends used both as a hideout to hang out in and a training area to get beat up in by Ina. Today was unfortunately beat-up day, and the thought just made Calvin shudder— especially with how late he was.
He let out a defeated sigh, walking towards the clearly marked entrance to the beast’s lair. Quinn and he had both insisted to Ina about the installation of the giant red arrow pointing towards the door, given that the both of them had faceplanted on solid cement due to the door with a gimmick she found ‘cool’
“The things we do for friends…”, he muttered, readying himself before walking into the wall.
The cement façade wobbled like jelly as he passed through. Waves started to undulate from his entrance spreading towards the edges of the doorway, calming down as his entire body finally got swallowed wholly. A subtle raise of his lips appeared despite the inconvenience of locating the entrance, it had him feeling like a British nerd with a forehead scar heading towards a school of magic and snakes.
As he pierced through to the other side, the air changed and bore a heavy pressure that made the back of his skull tingle. On instinct, he immediately summoned a net of [Impervious Pebble]s around a meter in front of him.
The drain on his spirit wasn’t insignificant, but the result was worth it as a heavy impact immediately followed a few seconds later. Ina’s foot was stamped on the other side of the pebble grid, unscathed by the force yet very much blocked. With another quick set of movements from the ridiculously combat-loving girl, she bounced away from his grid and readied a lowered stance as she faced towards him— like a tigress readying a second pounce.
“Calvin! Help!” Quinn’s shaky voice came from somewhere in the middle of the room.
“Looks like she used the bunker.” He muttered after not seeing the distinctive pink-haired girl anywhere.
He gave out a lengthy groan, turning his attention back to Ina. With another drain in his spirit, he used [Colour Control] and coloured the entire room white along with himself, making her pause her readied pounce and start darting her head around in confusion.
With a thought, he changed his attire using his pocket’s [Automatic Wardrobe], keeping the [Plain White Shirt] and the [Comfortable Red Sneakers] while putting on the red and white [Training Tracksuit] on top.
Super Help
Training Tracksuit A tracksuit made from synthetic threads, designed to absorb low-level impact from external sources. Automatically conforms to the Super's preferred dimensions.
‘Good thing her memory sucks when she’s like that.’ Calvin thought after changing, bringing up his holowatch to ask Quinn an important question.
> Me: Which one?
>
> Quinn: SILVER
>
> Me: kk
>
> Me: Ah shit, do you have any?
>
> Quinn: YOU DONT?
>
> Me: That’s why I’m asking.
>
> Quinn: I HATE YUO
>
> Quinn: ILL GO OUT THE BUNKER
>
> Quinn: MAKE ME INVISBLE
>
> Me: Invisible isn’t a colour
>
> Quinn: CALVIN
>
> Me: Roger that.
Taking out a can of unopened Destructo soda from his pocket, Calvin pulled back his arm and aimed towards the other end of the room. With a hefty swing, he flung the soda can towards the wall hard enough for it to fizzle and eventually explode the bland soda, potentially distracting Ina.
‘It worked.’ He thought, watching Ina pounce towards where the soda exploded. Narrowing his eyes, he started scanning the room for Quinn. ‘Now where is— there you are.’
As soon as he saw her pink hair, he immediately pulled on his [Colour Control] and turned her entirety white. With another thought, he activated [Jumper], soundlessly flying in the air using the power to land beside the now-white-haired white-skinned girl.
“Quinn?” Calvin whispered, looking around as he was un-immune to his own power.
A silver chain appeared out of nowhere and was tossed towards him “Here. I’m going back down.”
“Don’t want to help me?”
“I’ve been here for half an hour.”
“We need more friends.”
Calvin heard her chuckle as the floor whirred and presumably swallowed her back into the underground bunker Ina made in cases like this.
Clenching his hand around the silver chain, he stood back up and turned around. Immediately, he was greeted by a foot.
“Fuck—” Calvin cursed as he let go of the chain and flew backward, Ina’s stomp was strong enough to knock the wind out of his enhanced Super Body.
He groaned in pain as he hit the floor, his evolved instincts from six months of getting beaten up quickly kicked in as he rolled away from the crash site. With a heavy thud, Ina’s other foot came down on where his head was before being lifted again as it followed Calvin’s rolling.
Using [Jumper] once again, from his back this time, he silently bounded upright before making another net of pebbles towards the general direction of Ina. He turned, brows furrowing as his feral friend had vanished.
‘Where did—’ “Holy!” Calvin screamed as legs appeared in his peripherals.
Ina had mounted his head and was now bashing it with her hand and pulling on his hair while letting out bouts of maniacal laughter.
“Fuck— ow!” He cursed, feeling his already paltry amount of brain cells diminish even further with each smash by Ina. “Stop!”
Thinking quickly, he summoned an [Impervious Pebble] in front of him before violently performing an extreme dogeza and slamming Ina towards it, which proved effective after feeling her thighs’ iron grip on his neck disappear.
He made distance with [Jumper], performing it a few times towards different directions to make sure she had no idea where he ended up, before collapsing to his knees from the brain damage. Turning his blurry eyes towards where Ina should be, he saw the woman was similarly in a dazed state on the ground.
‘Must’ve hit her in the head. Lucky.’ He thought, quickly making use of the opportunity and summoning a pebble on top of her chest.
Ina broke out of her daze and tried getting up, only to be stopped by the pebble he summoned. She clawed, grabbed, and tried to force herself out from under the rock to no avail. That didn’t stop her, however, as she ruthlessly kept trying while snarling towards the pebble on her chest.
With her now immobilized, he walked calmly towards her while counting down seconds in his head to re-summon the pebble before it disappeared.
“Goddamn…”, he cursed, trying to ignore the bruising and the headache. “Wait— where’s that goddamned chain?”
With the room being coloured pure white, a silver chain on the ground stuck out like a sore thrum. He quickly found the chain and jogged towards it, not forgetting to keep Ina restrained with a constant re-summoning of the pebble. He jogged back towards her, letting out a long and tired breath as approached and created a few more pebbles above her joints to restrain her, and more importantly, her hands.
“You got new ink, Ina?” He quipped, fully knowing she wasn’t in a state to answer anyway.
Ina’s face had tattoo-like markings of crimson and black that seemed to spread from her forehead. The patterns of unrecognizable symbols jiggled as they slowly faded in and out of existence, multiplying every so often towards the base of her neck. He had no idea what the markings meant, for all he knew it was the demon’s tax returns.
If that wasn’t enough of a clue, there was also the fact that her pupils were fully red, as if Calvin had used his [Colour Control] to completely blind her vision in crimson. Although if you were close enough to actually notice that, then you probably have more problems to care about— specifically her ripping off your face like a baboon.
Her snarl towards him broke him out of his thoughts, and he quickly moved to wrap the chains in his hands around her neck. “There we— ah! No biting!”
An immediate change occurred as the markings receded, seemingly swimming back into her forehead and into nothingness. Her snarling face quickly relaxed, the red in her eyes fading like ink being dissolved into a pool of clear water.
“Ugh… I— why is everything white?” She groaned, her eyes still recovering from the haze of crimson that surrounded them earlier.
“Ah, sorry.” Calvin activated his power, turning everything back to its previous colour.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Calvin? Oh… damn it, again?” Ina cursed, frowning as she looked down
“It was the silver one,” Calvin said, pointing to her chains.
“Tix! That Imp!” She growled, punching the floor. “Ah! Queenie! Where is she? Is she okay?”
“In the bunker.” He pointed towards the general direction of Quinn.
“Help me up.” She gestured for his hand.
He grabbed her hand, feeling a subtle tingle as their skins touched, an unknown warmth suddenly spreading into his chest. His cheeks felt just as warm all of a sudden, but he shrugged off the feeling with a fake cough to the side before pulling Ina’s tired body upright.
“You okay? I didn’t hit you too hard or anything?” Ina asked, sending a worried look towards him.
“I think I have a concussion.” Calvin groaned, quickly checking his Super Information panel. “Oh, just mild bruising. That’s surprising.”
“Are you okay?!” Ina exclaimed, quickly brushing his hair to check his head.
Calvin felt his heart beat a tempo faster, pushing her off after a moment. “I was just kidding. I’m fine. It’s not like you can get to me with the pebbles.”
“I can still probably get around them if I go fast enough mmph—”
Calvin immediately covered her mouth. “Hey hey! No theory crafting, remember? We don’t want Demon Ina to get any ideas. Please.”
Non-demon Ina let out a chuckle, taking his hand off her mouth and punching him lightly on the shoulder. She started jogging towards Quinn while summoning the building’s console in her holowatch, muttering whispers of apologies as she came near the bunker that was rising from the ground. He followed behind her, trying to cool his warm chest before joining the two of them.
“Huh— oh! Ina!” Quinn jumped up and hugged Ina tightly.
Ina hugged her back. “Are you okay Queenie? I didn’t hurt you right?”
“I’m fine, I was just in the bunker the whole time.”
Calvin walked closer, his eyes narrowing as he saw a bowl of popcorn and a holographic screen showing some sort of fashion show of superheroes showing off their costumes. He turned to glare at Quinn, who noticed his gaze and sent him a smirk before briefly sticking her tongue out.
“I hate you, you know that, right?” Calvin said, sitting down beside them and grabbing the bowl of popcorn.
“You took too long to get here,” Quinn explained, shrugging as if she was helpless.
“There was traffic,” He said, not wanting to admit he deliberately slowed his walking.
Ina scoffed, letting go of Quinn to look at him, “You walk everywhere, what traffic?”
“Foot traffic.”
“I’ll melt your foot.”
“Then I won’t be able to help next time.”
“I’m really sorry…” Ina muttered meekly, grabbing Quinn’s arm.
Quinn glared at him before turning to Ina with loving eyes, “Don’t be sorry, I knew what I was getting into.”
“How come I don’t get a sorry?”
“I’ll treat you to dinner.”
“Apology accepted.” Calvin nodded.
“She always treats you to dinner,” Quinn added, shooting him an odd look.
“Never hurts to be sure.” He reasoned before turning to Quinn with a question. “How long did she last this time?”
She lifted her wrist, still holding onto Ina, and opened the holowatch, “Fifteen minutes. Give or take a minute.”
“Fifteen before getting possessed? You’re getting scarier, Ina.” Calvin spoke his honest thoughts. “Lightspeed would melt like peanut butter if you fight again.”
“Lightspread.” Quinn joked, grinning towards Calvin.
He chuckled. “Nice.”
Quinn continued. “She’ll fold him like a sandwich.”
“Make him crumble like a cookie.”
“Flatten him like a pancake!”
“Stop you guys!” Ina wriggled free from Quinn’s hold, her face reddening. “It’s just fifteen minutes, okay. It’s not a big deal.”
“Six months ago you couldn’t even last a second before you wanted to rip my face off.”
He remembered six months ago, after the kidnapping and Ina’s almost hatching. She woke up in her hospital room, and the first thing on her mind was naturally to immediately activate and experiment with the newly gained superpower.
Calvin had no idea what happened in that room, only the aftermath that followed her first-ever demon possession.
He smirked, “You were duct-taped on the floor like a flopping fish.”
“Stop mentioning it,” Ina growled at him, her face turning a shade darker.
“The doctors had to shoot you with a tranq gun.”
“Calvin…” Quinn warned him quietly while she started backing away.
“You know I think I still have that picture of you like a wilted sponge with a syringe on your butt cheek.” He looked down at his holowatch, trying to find said picture.
“Looks like you really wanted to spar today, huh?” Ina muttered, cracking her neck.
He looked towards her, flinching as he noticed the dangerous aura surrounding her, “Hey hey! I was just kiddin—”
Calvin swallowed his words as he felt himself flying backwards from Ina’s kick. He flipped in the air, summoning a couple of [Impervious Pebble]s beneath his feet then using [Jumper] to negate the force Ina threw him with.
“I’m sorry oka—”, he pleaded after landing on his feet, turning towards his other friend with a look of desperation. “Quinn! Help!”
“I’ll make sure to remember you and your stupidity,” Quinn said solemnly as she waved back at him before sinking back into the bunker.
----------------------------------------
A few minutes later
“You immediately berserked, you know that?” Calvin panted as he kept throwing salt towards the restrained Ina.
The pallid wrinkly skin that replaced Ina’s youthful and smooth face quickly dissipated as the salt purified whatever demon possessed her this time. Within moments, Ina’s tense body relaxed, a smirk forming on her face despite her unbearable fatigue making her feel like a sponge drying under a sunlamp.
“That was your fau— ptui!” Ina’s words were interrupted by salt. “Stop with that! I’m back!”
“Had to be sure.” Calvin put the bucket of salt down and sat next to her. “I told you to stop theory-crafting, now demon Ina’s constantly sidestepping my pebbles.”
“That’s not how it works, okay? It’s still me, just a bit more possessed.”
“I don’t know, it’s hard to tell you were even possessed. You looked just as usual.”
“…you want another round?” She glared at Calvin.
Calvin quickly threw salt at her face, “Down, girl.”
“Stop it!”
“I got snacks!” Quinn thankfully interrupted, jogging from where the bunker rose up from the ground while carrying a picnic basket.
Calvin unsummoned the pebbles holding down Ina before dodging her predicted lunge. She was rather violent, more so since they were wearing the [Training Tracksuit]s.
“No cupcakes.” Calvin reminded Quinn.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Duh.”
Quinn grabbed a blanket from the basket and laid it on the ground while Ina summoned a console with a wave of her hand and used it to transform the gym’s interior. The fake walls and equipment around them melted into the ground, replaced with a field of grey grass and a singular tree right beside them. The walls remained unchanged, but the ceiling wobbled and transmuted into a glass-like material, letting in warm sunlight from above.
A grassy knoll, with a singular tree for shade, a pleasant scenery if not for the lack of colour. Fortunately, it was easily remedied by Calvin’s [Colour Control]. Despite his current inability to make intricate and meaningful patterns, the scene was more or less a child’s colouring book.
‘Green grass and leaves. Brown tree trunk. And sky-blue walls to finish the view.’ He thought, flexing the metaphorical muscle of the power.
A subtle whirr started reverberating from unseen fans controlled by Ina’s console, letting out a refreshing breeze that completed the faux park they conjured up.
Calvin lay on the grass beside the picnic blanket, breathing a heavy helping of the filtered air. “This is nice.”
“I know, right?” Quinn agreed with a satisfied smile, sitting on the blanket while taking out plates upon plates of food from the seemingly bottomless basket.
“I really don’t get why we can’t just go out and walk to the park. It’s just a few minutes from here, you know?” Ina said, looking strangely at the relaxed duo.
“I love you, Ina. But my legs are jelly right now.”
“I had to fight you berzerked, twice.”
“You two need more exercise.”
“You need to calm down you maniac,” Calvin said while sitting up and shooting a glare at her. He picked up one of the sandwiches Quinn took out and bit down, munching as he laid back on the grass. “You said one contract was hard enough, now you’re juggling three demonic beings that keep trying to possess you.”
“Three?” Quinn looked to Ina.
“She turned wrinkly with claws.”
Quinn threw a towel at his face. “That’s the new one you told me, right? The scary claws lady with the wrinkly skin.”
“That’s what I just said.”
“Her name is Rayth, and she’s actually really nice. Much nicer than Tix.”
“She tried clawing my face off,” Calvin said with a flat stare towards her.
“She hates men.” She explained with a wry smile. “Tix hates everyone.”
“And hates salt, apparently.”
“How did you figure that out?” Ina asked him.
“I threw everything at you,” Calvin said and smiled, his chancing upon the idea of using salt was more due to popular culture back on Earth. “Salt worked.”
“Why do you have salt in your pocket anyway?”
“You don’t?”
“What about the other one? The rock demon?” Quinn asked.
“Glob is literally a rock. He’s just there… doesn’t really do anything other than being a rock.”
“I like him the best. You don’t do anything but freeze like a statue when he possesses you.” Quinn said, munching as she reminisced about easier times.
Ina chuckled. “He’s really quiet.”
“Yes, tell us more about your imaginary friends, Miss Marina—” Calvin paused. Ina moved quickly, grabbing his wrist and taking a gigantic bite out of his sandwich, “—hey!”
“Fmph you!”
Calvin fought off Ina, losing a few bites of the sandwich in the process. Quinn chuckled as she watched the two from the side, taking out more plates of food as they continually destroyed the sandwiches and snacks she had taken out earlier.
“By the way, you still haven’t used that power from the kidnapper?” Quinn asked Calvin.
Calvin shook his head. “I have used it, just not during sparring. Not anymore.”
“Why? I’m pretty sure I can’t touch you if you use it.” Ina asked, similarly curious.
“It feels like a waste.” He said as an excuse, looking to the Super Help he just pulled up.
Super Help
Vigilant Aegis Creates an invisible aura that blocks any and all damage the Super is aware of. The durability of the shield is stockpiled while it is not in use.
“When did you use it?”
“Before I got faster with making the pebbles,” He said then raised a brow at Quinn. “How did you think I was manhandling demon Ina at the start?”
“I figured you had another Physic power or something,” Quinn said with a shrug. “When else did you use it?”
“Nowhere? I can’t use it outside of this place, you know? ‘Oracle’ might see and have me dissected or something.” He said with a frown, getting more uncomfortable with the apparent lack of privacy in the city.
Ina scratched her chin, “maybe you can say it’s a weird Gimmick. Wouldn’t be the first of its kind with multiple unrelated powers.”
“A weird Gimmick I just failed to mention months ago? Revealing it just as the news of superpower-giving flasks suddenly appeared in underground markets?” Calvin spat out, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he sighed. “Even if they took that at face value... if ever I absorb another power, it’ll be too suspicious. I don’t want to get kidnapped again.”
“Maybe you can make a supervillain alter-ego instead,” Quinn suggested, shooting him a soft but clearly evil smile.
Calvin shook his head. “I don’t want my insides melted.”
“I’ll go easy on you,” Ina said.
“I don’t want my face torn off either.”
“You could be your own archnemesis.” Quinn threw the idea towards him.
“The Pebbler versus Invincible,” Ina said with a snap of her fingers.
“I think someone already has ‘Invincible’,” Calvin said, feeling like should be hearing a triumphant brass orchestra after mentioning that. “Also, if anything, I’d use my colour powers first, so I’ll be like Colourman or something.”
“Your naming sense sucks,” Quinn muttered.
“My naming sense sucks— you suggested Hugh Hue, Quinn. My name isn’t even Hugh.”
“That’s why it works.”
Ina let out a giggle. “It is a funny name. Hugh Hue— pft!”
“You thought about a super name yet?” He asked Ina. “Demon Lady?”
“Haunted Hottie!” Quinn suggested before Ina could answer.
Calvin sent a look to Ina as if saying ‘My naming sense is better.’
Ina chuckled before turning serious. “Honestly, I don’t want to think about it right now. I’d rather get it the practical way, you know.”
“In the arena?” Quinn asked to which Ina responded with a nod.
Calvin also nodded alongside her, the appeal of having his name decided like a privilege instead of a PR move was appealing to him. Although he was wary of the name given to him being bad, like ‘Hugh Hue’, Ina had warmed him up to the genuineness of the entire thing. He was planning to go alongside her, not just due to her insistence and temptatious whispers, but also due to the Super Quest he received from way back when.
Super Quest
A True Hero's Name Earn a Super Name A genuine hero does not bestow their own name but rather inherits it from the grateful hearts of those who have borne witness to their heroic deeds. Earn a hero's name naturally through actions that show your heroic valor. Quest Rewards +3 Super Point(s)
Super Name(Hero)
Super Shop
‘I wonder what I can buy in a Super Store. Superpowers must be a given at least. Super equipment? Super upgrades? Or Super extra lives?’ He thought while looking at the panel in front of him. ‘I’ve been reading the word ‘super’ too much. Is it even a real word anymore? Super… I’m about to go to Super Academy as well.’
“What’s with the look?” Ina’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.
“It’s— well, we’re going to the Academy in a week and I have no idea what we’ll even do there,” Calvin spoke, swiping away the panel.
“Super stuff,” Quin answered.
“Yes, thank you very much for your helpful input.”
“Anytime.”
Ina chuckled but answered seriously. “She’s right, you know? Everything about being a super, from history and power usage to how to design and launder your super costume.”
“And math. There’s always math.” Quinn added with a shiver.
“But there’s not a lot known about the curriculum, just that it’ll be teaching us how to become the average superhero. Or whatever curriculum you chose.”
“Advanced trigonometry.”
“So, like a normal school,” Calvin asked, his eyes glistening.
Ina gave a small nod. “Pretty much, just with the word ‘super’ plastered in front of everything. Super morals. Super gym.”
“Super math…” Quinn muttered.
“You’ll be fine, Queenie,” Ina reassured and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.
Calvin laid his head back on the fake grass, stretching his hand to the side to idly pick on the odd material generated by the room. His thoughts wandered as the Academy lingered in his mind, a subtle smile forming on his lips as his heart beat excitedly in unhidden excitement.
Back on earth, he had to stop going to school in the middle of fourth grade. His immune system would shit itself with the slightest contaminant even glancing towards him, and kids below twelve years old are basically walking plague carriers. His body had no chance, and it only got worse as months went by.
Now, he was going to school. It was a super school, but it didn’t matter, he was excited just as well. Maybe even more.
“By the way, do we need to wear uniforms or something?” Calvin asked, turning to the side to look at them.
“Of course we do,” Ina answered.
Quinn looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Wait… did you even read the school rulebook I sent you?”
“…I skimmed it?”
“Oh, Calvin.” Ina shook her head.
“So… you haven’t had your measurements taken yet? Or any of the other stuff required before going to the Academy?”
“There’s stuff required?”
Quinn initially frowned at him before a thought came to her. She quickly turned to her best friend with a glowing smile. “Ina!”
She started massaging her temples as Quinn’s gleeful face blinded her. “Just say it.”
“Shopping time!”