Jun, Wednesday 12, 2007 - 6:00 AM
Waking up, Paradox instantly felt something different about their body. They dashed to the closest mirror to examine their appearance.
"I see that Author-kun did as I said," they grinned, admiring their reflection.
Paradox's [Human] form featured spiky white hair, crimson red eyes, a plain red shirt, a red and black jacket, black pants, and all-white shoes.
Heading downstairs, Paradox saw Scarlet sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of coffee. What shocked them, however, was the sight of Norika, who looked almost depressed.
"Is something wrong, Norika?" Paradox asked, walking over to her.
"Something wrong?" She looked up, revealing tear-streaked cheeks. "I've lost my powers. I've become weaker."
"Is that a bad thing?" Paradox asked, genuinely confused.
Scarlet chimed in, "Have you forgotten that Norika hates weakness? Losing her powers has been hard on her."
"Ah, yes, I forgot about that." Paradox pondered for a moment before an idea struck. "You know, this isn't such a bad thing, Norika."
"Not a bad thing? How so?" she asked, clearly skeptical.
"Well, think of it this way: with your powers reverted, you'll have more of a challenge in fights, won't you?"
Norika's eyes brightened. "You're right. Now I can enjoy my battles more, but I'll need to get used to this since I can't use my powers for long now." Her tears stopped, and she seemed pumped and ready.
"That was pretty easy. She wouldn't listen to anything I said," Scarlet quipped with a ghost of a smile.
"Yeah, you just don't know how to deal with her," Paradox replied, sitting next to Scarlet. "So, how come you're not shocked by the loss of your powers?"
"Huh, why would I be? It's not that bad. As you said, the fights will be more intriguing."
"I see. Anyway, I checked on Eve and Zeyla. It seems their regenerative abilities will help them recover faster than normal. I'd say either today or tomorrow."
"That quick? That's quite shocking," Scarlet said, surprised at the rapid recovery. "By the way, Paradox, do you have any idea why we lost our powers?"
"Um, no, I don't know," Paradox replied, turning his head and sweating bullets.
"If you say so. Just try not to do it again," Scarlet said, seemingly aware that Paradox was the cause.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the house. They turned to see Norika gone, along with a hole in the side of the house.
"Seems she went off to practice and get used to her powers," Paradox chuckled.
"Yeah, she's never been a patient person," Scarlet agreed.
"Don't you think you should go and train? Otherwise, your powers will stagnate."
"Hm, not really. I'll be fine. I'll train when I get around to it."
"Sigh You are far too lazy. Don't come to me if you get in over your head," Scarlet warned before disappearing.
"Seems like I'm alone now. What should I do?" Paradox paced back and forth, thinking before coming up with an idea that was not training.
Paradox flew deep into the nearby forest called Astrid Forest and began constructing a building.
"Why am I building, and what is it for, you might wonder? It's simple—this is going to be the base of operations for all superheroes."
Paradox worked in secret for the rest of the day, nearly finishing before heading back home. Upon arrival, he saw a tired and exhausted Norika and a relaxed Scarlet on the couch.
Walking in, Paradox quickly raised his hand to catch a fist thrown at him, but to his surprise, it pushed him back with great force.
'To think she has gotten used to most of her power in just a day. Quite amazing,' he thought. "Now, now, Norika, no fighting in the house." Grabbing her fist, he gently threw her onto the floor.
"How did you block that? I trained all day," Norika pouted from the floor.
"Stop pouting, Norika. You better get used to it. It's his habit. Even I have never landed a surprise attack on him," Scarlet interjected.
"Wait, really? That can't be true, can it?"
"It is very much true. I may not seem like it, but I always have my omnipotent sense activated. However, right now, it's harder to control and far weaker than before," Paradox explained.
"Tell me about it. I can't wait to master it. It keeps buzzing in my head when it activates randomly," Scarlet grumbled.
Jun, Thursday 13, 2007 - 8:00 AM
Scarlet gathers everyone and suggests they all have a meal, choosing hamburgers, fries, and greens as the dish.
The sun rose high into the sky, sending a beam of light into Paradox’s room, ultimately waking him up.
"What time is it?" Looking at their phone and seeing 8 am, they went back to sleep.
Around 11 am, a knock came at the door before it burst open, and Norika walked in, shooting a fireball at him to wake him up.
"Wake up, Father!" The fireball hit its target, but there was no scream as Paradox had already gotten up and moved away from the bed.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Paradox shouted, hating fire and always will.
"Oh, be quiet. It wouldn't have killed you—maybe a little burn at best," she grinned mischievously.
"You know I don't like hot things, yet you did it. I hate you," Paradox grumbled, walking away.
"Don't be a big baby about it. Besides, it woke you up, didn't it?" Norika teased.
Paradox ignored her as he walked downstairs to make himself a bowl of cereal, trying not to fall back asleep.
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"Are you tired?" A pair of hands rested on his shoulders, giving him a massage.
"Yeah, I am. But some little demon came in shooting fireballs at me."
"Don't believe him, Mother. He's making up that story on his own. I walked in and nicely asked him to wake up," Norika lied.
"Liar! You shot a fireball at me, and my bed is destroyed!"
"Hush, you two. This is not the time for fighting. Finish eating," Scarlet commanded.
"Yes, ma’am," they both responded, not wanting to argue with her but continuing to glare at one another.
"What will I do with the two of you?" Scarlet shook her head, walking off.
Both of them sat there until Scarlet left. Suddenly, the TV turned on, broadcasting the news about Soundwave breaking out of prison, his whereabouts unknown.
"Well, look at this. Seems things are getting interesting," Paradox remarked.
"Troublesome. Let's go deal with this. Though we should be careful since our powers have been reset back to the base, and we are far weaker than before," Norika warned.
Paradox nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Let's go."
"Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, Father. Our powers may have been weakened, but don't forget—we're fighting together, so it won't be that difficult to take him down," Norika said confidently.
"I guess you're right," Paradox sighed. "Fine, let's go find him and stop him."
With that, both Paradox and Norika left the house, utilizing their Omnipotent Sense, which was now noticeably weaker. They could only sense up to 100 meters away and could only use it for brief moments.
"Where is he? Why is he so hard to find?" Norika shouted, visibly annoyed.
"Why don't we go to where he would be?" Paradox suggested.
Turning towards him, Norika asked, "What do you mean? Did you know where he was this whole time?"
"Nope, but if he's a villain, then there's one place he will be."
"And where is that?"
"That, Norika, is an abandoned warehouse. For some reason, all villains go there in all the comics."
Jun, Thursday 13, 2007 - Noon 12:00 PM
With that, they began searching the city for all the warehouses in search of Soundwave.
"Having your powers weakened like this is really annoying," Norika grumbled.
"Hmm, how so? I, for one, find it fun. It changes things up and makes the battles fresh," Paradox replied.
"Of course, you would say that, Father. You were always holding back your powers. But for me, it’s just a sense of emptiness."
"You'll get used to it, and I'm sure the more you run into strong opponents, the stronger you'll become," Paradox reassured her. "By the way, have you noticed, Norika, that your Omni-Watch is gone?" he asked, jumping from building to building.
"Yes, I was wondering about that, but I dismissed the thought when I still had my powers."
"Well, to put it simply, the Omni-Watch is now inside you. You don't have to activate it anymore to do things."
"Wait, you mean I can just use my powers normally?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes," he replied, turning his attention to the last warehouse in the city.
Using his Omnipotent Sense, Paradox sensed Soundwave inside the building, but what surprised him was that there was someone else with him.
"Well, seems like this won't be as easy as I thought," he muttered.
"What do you mean, Father?"
"Well, Norika, it's not just Soundwave in there. There's someone else, and I don't know who they are."
"Of course you don't. Maybe you should pay more attention to your universe," Norika teased.
"I'm good. That would be too troublesome. Now, let's bust in."
Paradox punched the wall of the warehouse, creating a loud Bang as the wall crumbled into rubble.
Walking in, both Paradox and Norika saw Soundwave sitting on a throne-like chair, with a woman right next to him. It seemed as if they were talking before they broke in.
"Who are you? State your names," Soundwave commanded.
Paradox and Norika both bowed with grins on their faces, scanning the two to see who they wanted to fight.
"You may call me Paradox."
"And you can call me Norika."
"Why are the two of you here, and what do you want?" the woman stepped forward.
"Hmm, let's say we're here to take Soundwave back to prison," Paradox spoke.
"Ha, take me back? That's hilarious. You are two pipsqueaks who are in over your heads," Soundwave laughed.
"Calm down, Norika. Don't let him get to you," Paradox placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her anger.
"I am so going to enjoy torturing him. I call Soundwave; you can fight the other one," Norika declared.
"Fine by me. Just don’t get in over your head," Paradox replied.
Not responding, Norika rushed at Soundwave with her sword out, only to be sent flying by a powerful wave of sound.
"What did I just say?" Paradox sighed before blocking a sword made of water.
"Try not to forget about little old me," the woman said in a sweet voice.
"Well, you’re just easy to forget," Paradox quipped, grabbing the sword and spinning around to throw her outside the warehouse, leaving Norika alone with Soundwave.
Standing up, the woman dusted herself off, giving Paradox a clear view of her.
She stood around 5 feet 8 inches tall, with an elegant and curvy figure. Her skin had a flawless olive complexion, and she had long, flowing raven-black hair that reached down past her waist. Her eyes were a captivating shade of emerald green, framed by thick lashes. She had an alluring presence.
Her outfit mimicked the appearance of sea creatures, specifically mermaids. The top portion consisted of a tight-fitting, scaled bodice made from shimmering metallic fabric, reminiscent of fish scales. It left her midriff exposed and came equipped with a small clasp near her navel, which was always open, revealing her toned stomach. The bottom part of her costume was similar in design, consisting of scaled shorts that hugged her hips and thighs, ending just above her knees, revealing her toned legs.
"Wow, that's one heck of an outfit," Paradox said, looking her up and down.
"Why, thank you, love. But I'll have to kill you," she replied, creating multiple droplets of water around her and launching them at high speeds toward Paradox.
Paradox dodged them but was surprised when she gestured with her hand, causing the droplets to come back even faster. He jumped into the air, spinning as he pulled out his scythe, and cut all of the droplets before landing in the same spot as if nothing had happened.
"You are quite good. I see you have control of water. I wonder what else you can do with it," Paradox mused.
"Let's just say I can do plenty more," she said, opening her mouth and releasing a torrent of water, flooding the area around the warehouse.
Paradox swung his scythe around him, cutting the water and erasing all of it that was near him.
"What! I see that scythe is quite dangerous. It's best to stay away," she noted.
"Not like that would help," Paradox retorted, running towards her on the water.
The woman created multiple blades of water and sent them towards him, which he cut through easily. But in doing so, he was blinded by the water that splashed into his eyes.
"Ha, can't see, can you? You won't be able to open your eyes for the rest of this battle," she taunted.
"That is troublesome. I guess I'll have to get used to fighting blind, won't I?" Paradox barely dodged a water blade aimed for his head but was stabbed from behind by another, causing him to bleed
–With Norika–
Jun, Thursday 13, 2007 - Noon 12:10 PM
Norika rushed at Soundwave again, this time jumping from side to side to throw him off. Once she got close and was about to thrust her sword forward, she was sent back by a force field of sound.
"Okay, you are so annoying to fight," she grumbled. Having had enough, she coated her sword in her erasing flames, launching a crescent beam of fire at him.
Soundwave put his hands together, releasing a powerful beam of sound. On impact with the fire, a giant explosion occurred.
Not deterred, Norika swiftly appeared behind him, poised to strike, only to be blocked again by a barrier of sound.
"Don't think that taking away my sight will help. My powers rely solely on sound," Soundwave laughed loftily, thinking nothing she could do would harm him.
'How am I going to defeat him? With my old power, this would have been a cakewalk,' Norika thought, frustrated.
–Somewhere else–
Somewhere in the distance, a pair of deep blue eyes and a pair of emerald green eyes opened.