“Welcome to the third annual Pretty Face concert! Let’s all make some noise, Oleander!”
Music practically exploded from every corner, mixing with the loud cheering of the crowd. The sounds of feet stomping on stone echoed out in all directions, but it had nothing on the mix of drums and guitar. Fog poured out of the stage, blocking out the hundreds of flashing lights as people recorded the scene.
Up on stage was where he stood. Pretty Face. King of magazines and posters. First place winner of the top five hottest male heroes three years in a row now and leader of the Sub Enforcers for Daisy City, former member of The-Future-Is-Now! Ran by Boy Genius.
Unlike most heroes, Pretty Face wasn’t known for engaging in combat much. In fact, the only villain he ever fought was the Beast, when he was one of the heroes shipped off to fight the Calamity two years ago. Pretty Face preferred to do the much easier and less stressful things of hero work. Namely, public appearances. Every year, he took it upon himself to go to all ten major cities and perform a live concert.
Today, he was in Oleander.
Oleander was known for being very competitive when it came to football. Near the rich part of the city, a massive stadium had been turned into a makeshift concert hall. A large stage had been constructed in the center, and the grass was filled with hundreds of people. Those who didn’t get the premium tickets were up in the stands, which had been opened up, allowing for more room. Colored lights ignited the night sky, and up on stage, Pretty Face performed like there was no tomorrow.
He didn’t look like a hero. He was by no means normal-looking, but whereas most heroes wore costumes or gadgets, their weapons displayed on them proudly, Pretty Face was dressed in normal-looking clothes. Expensive for sure, but normal. A white buttoned-up shirt with a leather jacket over it. Tight black pants with dozens of chains forming the belt and shoes that would cost more than most houses in Oleander. His shades were tipped down, showing off a pair of stunningly blue eyes, and he had slick-backed, dyed silver hair. Like the Victorian, he didn’t wear a mask. It was just Pretty Face, now. No silly thing like a secret identity. He was lean and tall and seemed to always keep a smirk on his lips.
Despite looking almost soft, he raged out on an electric guitar. Behind him, a ghostly blue-looking Pretty Face went ham on a pair of drums, and in front of them, a glowing red Pretty Face was roaring into a microphone. The stage was filled with nearly eight different versions of himself, all glowing different colors and rocking out wildly—a one-man band.
“It’s hard to gather my thoughts,” Jane muttered.
Hope snorted and leaned over the railing she was on, staring down at the hero who had rocked out for the crowd. “I heard last year's concert was way more intense than this, Mom.”
"Well, now I’m glad I didn’t let you go.” Her mother huffed. “You’d have gone deaf before the night was over. Still might. Those tickets were so expensive, and it was just for these crummy seats.”
“You didn’t have to pay for this. Myth paid for our tickets.” She was really regretting bringing her mother along to this thing. Children needed an adult to get in. The plan had been for Lois to pretend to be her older sister, and while in past events that might have worked, the guys at the front desk required a parent over the age of twenty-one, so she ended up inviting her mom, who happened to be free. She thought it would be a good bonding experience.
“So, you told your mom what this was going to be before you dragged her along, right?” Lois snorted.
“I might have left out some of the details.”
“Hope.”
“It’s fine.” She waved her teammate off and slumped down. “She just likes complaining.”
“I’ll have you know that I went to way more hardcore stuff than this!” Her mother argued. “Your father and I were always getting h-”
“Yeah, I don’t want you to finish that sentence, Mom.”
Her jacket buzzed for a moment, followed by a stream of static. “Mic check, one, two, three.” The voice of Thaddeus buzzed through.
“Hear ya loud and clear, big guy,” Lois responded, speaking into her own microphone.
She and Lois had gotten the short end of the stick. Team Pantheon was scattered across the city in different teams. She was with Lois, and they were at the cramped, raging concert. Thaddeus, meanwhile, would be at a local amusement park. She could hear the sounds of joyful screaming and various rides going off from his radio. She was a bit jealous. Finally, that left Mr. Larison and Armin, who were on the other side of the city, where a famous museum was getting a new display.
None of them were dressed in their hero outfits. They came looking like normal people and were attempting to stay under the radar. She wore an oversized T-shirt that had an old hero band on the front of it. The shirt belonged to her dad, and she felt it was appropriate. She wore a jacket with a built-in mic on it so she could radio with the others. All of them had the same gear for the most part. Thanks to how loud the concert was, no one seemed to notice them communicating in such a way.
“Are you sure that they’re going to show at one of these three places?” The voice of Armin buzzed out through her jacket. She overheard the sound of a boring lecture as someone at the museum he and Mr. Larison were at drabbled on about famous rocks.
“I’m sure,” Thaddeus replied back.
Her jacket filled with static as a new voice came out. “Well, when, or if, they do show, we’re ready for them.” Backup announced. “Watch Dogs is ready to get back in the swing of things. Though I hope they do show up soon. Bad Wolf is getting a little rowdy.”
“I’ll go keep her company.” The voice of Duplicity replied.
She hadn’t gotten to see any of the other Watch Dog members, but she knew they were around somewhere in the city. Miles above, the boat that Watch Dog used flew around ready to go to any of the three other locations once danger struck.
All three of the places they were at were points of interest. It had been five days since they visited and fought Cybercroc, and their time was starting to run out. Boy Genius had only given them a week, and that had been six days ago. They all knew that sooner or later the villains would have to attack. The bad guys had some sort of goal, though what it was none of them truly knew. Fairy Queen likely wouldn’t sit by for long though, which is why they split their group.
Pretty Face was holding a concert, the amusement park had opened a brand new ride, and the museum was getting priceless artifacts. All three of these places were just asking to be attacked. They had tried to explain to the mayor that all events should be shut down, but the man had refused, claiming it was bad for business. Not even Myth had been able to talk the man out of it.
Because of the man’s stubbornness, they were forced to split their group up and go to all three of these places, ready for when an attack would happen. They decided to use this as their chance to snatch Green Wolf or another Zoo member, hoping it would lead them back to Fairy Queen, which was why they weren’t dressed in their hero outfits and were hiding out at the places of interest. It was Green Wolf’s nature to pull some big stunt at a famous location now that he was back on the move, so all they had to do was wait for the villain to fall into one of their three traps.
She turned away from the concert and zipped her jacket up. “I’m going to go do a quick walk around this stadium and make sure everything is still clear. You mind staying with my mom in case anything happens?”
Lois shrugged. “Sure.”
“Are you going to be fine by yourself? I can come with you if you need me to.” Her mother asked.
“I’d rather you stay here.” She said, shaking her head. They were stationed near two different emergency exits, so if an attack did happen, her mother would have a better chance of escaping where they were. She didn’t figure an attack would happen. Green Wolf was more likely to go after the amusement park or the museum, which was why she had been fine with bringing her mother here. “You’d be safer with Lois. Her power will let her know a few moments in advance if there is trouble near her. She’ll be able to get you to safety easier.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of cool.” Lois winked. “Out of everyone on your daughter's team, I’ve never been harmed in combat.”
“You must be really strong, then.”
“Totally. I’m the strongest, in fact!” Lois bragged.
“So we’re just straight up lying to my mom now?” She asked flatly before she shook her head. “You’ll be safe in Lois’s hands, Mom.” She gave her mother a thumbs up and was about to turn away and leave but was stopped when the woman placed a hand on her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Stay safe as well, okay.” Her mother roughly pinched her cheek, shaking it. “I only agreed to let you do this because it isn’t a school night, and you told me you could handle all the grunts. If you have to face an actual villain like Demonica or Green Wolf, I want you to run away, got that?”
“It’ll be fine. Myth, or Battery, will handle one of those two.” She shrugged off her mother's concern. “Besides, with how strong I got, I bet I could handle Demonica at least.” Green Wolf might have still been out of her league, thanks to just how busted his absorption and slashes were. Not to mention the bs teleportation.
“I don’t care if you can handle it or not.” Her mother said, shaking her head. “Just make sure you stay safe, okay?”
She smiled and nodded. “I will.”
“Aw.” The voice of Armin replied over the radio. “That was nice.”
“Oh my God, my radio was on the entire time!”
“It was sweet!” The voice of Duplicity replied. “I wish my mother was like that.”
“Well. That’s one embarrassing memory you’ll carry for the rest of your life.” Lois patted her on the back.
She struggled to get the red to leave her face as she made sure her radio was clicked off. Finally, she left, leaving her mother in Lois's hands. She pushed her way through the crowd and slowly flame throwered the embarrassing moment within her mind. She would be on her own for a bit due to how big the stadium was. She also would have to be ready to rush over to one of the others. Thaddeus was fairly close by, the amusement park was only about two miles away from the stadium, and she could easily get there with a fire blast, but Jack and Armin were all the way on the other side of the city, and that’d take more time. Thankfully, Mr. Larison was strong, so she was confident he could handle anything that came his way.
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Every ten minutes, one of them was tasked with patrolling their protected area. Her and Lois had taken turns, and it was her turn now. As she walked, she looked around. People were dancing to the music, and she couldn’t help but grin slightly. It was a little cramped up in the stands but still lively. She had to hand it to Pretty Face.
The hero really was good at what he did. Despite how loud and blaring his songs were, there was an almost gentle nature to them. He was a Super blessed with more than one power, and his lyrics literally seemed to flow from his voice or his instruments and swirl around people. It felt really nice just listening to him.
Whenever Pretty Face performed one of his concerts in a city, the people that visited him would seemingly be more productive and happy for nearly a month straight. His powers seemed to constantly help boost morale and crush things like doubt.
It was for this big boost, as well as the rush of profit, that the mayor had likely refused to let the concert be canceled this year even if Fairy Queen had a one-in-three chance of showing up. The man had simply boosted security at the three locations and ordered they keep them safe.
A job easier said than done...
She was so focused on her thoughts she didn’t even notice as she crashed into someone. She didn’t fall back, though. Her strength instead caused the person she ran into to stumble back. “Watch where you’re going!” A loud voice growled, and she felt an arm on her shoulder try and shove her back.
“Now, now, I’m fine, Mr. Brenner.” A second voice responded. “I’m sure it was an accident.”
“Brenner!” Her eyes went wide, and she suddenly noticed who she had crashed into.
A popular public event like this, ‘he’ was bound to be here. Mayor Grove looked the same way he had the last time she saw him. He was dressed in a simple suit and still had his pencil-thin mustache and neatly combed black hair. A few officers working as guards were with him and helped him stand up. In front of him was the chief of police, Mr. Brenner—Kyle’s dad.
The man had grabbed her by the jacket and had attempted to lift her up and shove her back. Her strength had easily overpowered him. She forced herself to step back, making it look like his shove had worked, and she dropped back, falling down.
“You said my name? How do you know who I am?” Mr. Brenner demanded. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at her. This was her first time actually properly talking to him. She had gone out of her way to avoid confronting him. From what little she had seen of him on TV, he was the total opposite of Kyle in every way.
“I- I go to the same school as your son." She winced and really tried to play up the act of a scared teenage girl. “I’m friends with him.”
“Are you the reason he keeps breaking curfew?!” She felt like she had just made him madder. There really was no winning with this guy. “Are you trying to seduce my baby boy!” The caramel-skinned cop asked through clenched teeth.
“No?” She said awkwardly.
“Oh what? My son not good enough for you!”
“That’s enough, Brenner. You’ll scare the poor child.” Mayor Grove finally stood up and held a hand out to her. She took it slowly and got back up. Kyle’s father was still glaring at her, but the mayor had a calm look on his face. “Are you okay?” The mayor questioned.
She awkwardly shrugged and let out a sheepish laugh. “Yeah. I was lost in thought, was all. Sorry for running into you.” She did her best ‘not Cinder’ voice. What were the odds that she’d run into the freaking mayor of all people? She didn’t know if she should have been excited or freaked out. She really didn’t know anything about him and had only talked to him once when she was dressed as Cinder.
“Are you enjoying the concert?” The mayor questioned.
“I guess?”
“That’s good. I considered canceling it this year, but many of you kids seem to enjoy it despite the danger.”
“It’s because of the danger that they like it.” Mr. Brenner spat out. “Idiots. All of them. Even with heroes and the best security in the world, you’re still going up against an insane madman. People just think that they’re special and will be one of the ones that make it out.”
“I trust the heroes to handle it.” The mayor said in an effort to calm his bodyguard. “It is their job to keep us safe. That means civilians like you won’t have to worry about anything.” It took her a moment to realize he was addressing her.
“R- Right. Well, of course, I’m worried about a villain attack, but...” She slowly looked around at the vast crowds. Seats were filled, people were dancing, and down below, a massive party was going on. Even outside of the stadium, there was a giant crowd. “People seem happy. I guess even knowing that they might be putting their lives on the line, they are willing to risk it.”
In a way, it reminded her of being a hero. She risked death or injury each time she went out, but it was thrilling and fun. Something that kept dragging her back in. The way her heart would beat when she was engaged in combat or meeting other heroes. The way her strength and powers expanded constantly. She understood why people would do something stupid and put themselves in danger for a high like that.
Unlike her, though, they had people that would protect them. She would make sure they were all kept safe.
“Precisely, my young friend. I’m lucky that these are the people I serve.” Grove cheered at her words. The mayor leaned over the railing and looked down at the stage below. “It’s nice to see the people happy. We live in a world where it can be hard to keep going on. Our planet suffers, our people suffer, all caused by the threat that is the root of all evil. Yet still, kids are born, people go to school, lives flow forward, and humans laugh, smile, cry, and die of old age. I’m truly blessed to be in an era like this where humanity still exists even among the disastrous Supers.”
She stood next to the man and stared down at the concert, feeling a dryness in her throat. She knew how hard it could be to live in this world. For fifteen years of her life, she grew up as a normal human. She almost died that day during the bank attack. She had barely been saved. How did everyone else feel going about their lives like this knowing there was some terror out there? Every city seemed like it was always one bad day away from being wiped out.
That was what the heroes were for, though, right? They existed to let humans keep being humans. Pretty Face was on his third song now and had created four more images of himself that were serving as backup dancers.
The mayor kept talking. “There is just something about Supers that seems to draw the eyes of normal humans. Some view them as blessings; others are jealous of the powers that they have. In the end, though, I think everyone views them with respect.” The man cleared his throat. “Oh. Pardon my ramblings. I lost my thoughts. I shouldn’t keep you held up here. Be on your way and stay safe, young lady.”
“Right!” She managed to squeak past the mayor’s group and jumped over a railing leading downstairs to a lower section. “Well, that was weird-”
“Whisper to Cinder.”
She instantly cleared her mind and gained a serious look. Lois wasn’t just chatting. That was her hero name. “Go for Cinder.”
“Get ready. It’s about to start directly where you are. Whisper to Myth, Whisper to Battery, Whisper to Snowdawn—the attack is happening at the stadium. Get here now.”
“Copy that. Can you get my mom out of there and then get ready to evacuate everyone on your level?” It might have been a bit selfish saving her mom first before the other civilians, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
“Doing so, now,” Whisper replied.
Backup’s voice came crackling next. “I’ll pick Myth up in my ship and fly him over, I’m right in the area.”
“I’ve got Snowdawn and am heading that way now.” Battery’s voice came over the radio distorted as the man ran at his full speed, blasting through the city and rapidly heading toward them. It’d take him only a few seconds to arrive, thanks to his top speed.
“It’s starting.” Whisper said from over the radio. “Three, Two. One-”
She stood on a set of stairs that led down to a lower level. No one else was at the bottom of the stairway nor at the top, so she ducked down and made sure she was out of sight. She slid the sleeve of her jacket up, revealing a silver watch she wore on her right wrist. She had to admit that she felt pretty badass, like a real superhero about to go on a secret mission. With a press of a button, a faint flash hit her, and then, in an instant, her clothes were replaced with her costume. On her left arm, she clicked another button, and the shield Battery had created for her unfolded. Finally, she pressed the button on her helmet, causing it to fold down and cover her mouth, keeping her entire head hidden.
She didn’t want the mayor or someone else seeing her and figuring out who she was based off of her lower face.
For that reason, she didn’t immediately jump and head out. Instead, she stayed put and began to focus her powers. She had never really considered why she had been blessed with enhanced senses. Perhaps it was from the title Lord of Cosmos that came with being the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos, or maybe it was something else. Either way, she loved that she had them, as it always seemed to come in handy at the best time.
This was not one of those times.
The roar of the crowd nearly blew her eardrums out, and she had to shake and grab her head. If it was loud before, then it was an actual war zone now. She fought through the intense pain and forced her body to focus.
Ears had been a member of the Bad Timers. He had teleportation, was able to move people to other locations, and enhanced hearing. Whereas most people could only teleport to places they could see, his powers allowed him to send people to places he could hear. His hearing was so advanced it covered the entire city. In order to not drive himself mad, he had focused his power on certain phrases or words and would block out all other noise.
At least, that was how Battery explained it to her a while back.
She wasn’t sure if she could do something like that exactly, but she did her best. She tried to ignore all the background noise. The music, the singing, the yelling, the dancing—all of it was what she needed to drown out. She had no clue how Ears managed to do something like this on the level of a city.
Her head ached, and the noise kept expanding, shaking her skull. Her vision even began to grow blurry, but she didn’t let up and began to push her senses even further. Just as she would increase the power of her flames with sheer will, she began to try and force the height of her hearing to change. It was quiet. So quiet she doubted anyone other than her could have heard it. A familiar ‘popping’ noise.
Green Wolf’s annoying teleportation.
“They’re here.” She said over the radio. Then she blasted out a wave of fire from her palm high into the air, instantly getting the security's attention.
It didn’t even take a second for the others to jump into action. The music cut out, and all the colorful lights turned off, replaced with normal spotlights that lit the stadium up. A siren rang out, and she could see confusion on a few people's faces before it began to sink in what was going on.
It might have been a little bad using Pretty Face as bait. Myth hadn’t liked the idea when the mayor suggested it. There was a good chance someone innocent could get hurt or even worse. She knew that this was a choice that was beating Myth up inside. It was for that reason she decided she wouldn’t fall behind or make a mistake. She would ensure that nobody got hurt and that this plan worked flawlessly.
A foolish goal, but one she decided had to happen to justify endangering everyone. After all, they wouldn’t be in any real danger if she just made sure no one got hurt.
She jumped up, and a wave of fire sent her spinning over the stairway. They were all separated. Not just the heroes but the villains as well. They would have known that this place was going to have several heroes in hiding, and so the villains had decided to split up their forces and go in from all sides.
The pop she had heard came near the spot where the mayor had been. She came to a sliding stop when she saw who was up ahead. “Don’t shoot!” Mr. Brenner called out. “He’s got the mayor!”
All the officers had their guns out and were trained on two figures. “Oh wow! What are the chances? I must be the luckiest villain in the world to have run into you! How are you doing, rival?” He wore a red ape-like mask with a metal helmet placed over it. He was toying with the knob, causing an energy bubble to form on and off around him. His lab coat was as messy as ever, and in his other hand, he held a second helmet just in case she broke his first one.
“Red Ape? Seriously?” She cringed a little when she heard her voice. It came out distorted and twisted thanks to the helmet’s mouthpiece she had turned on. It was actually perfect, as it ensured the officers wouldn’t be able to tell who she was. By now, people were quickly evacuating several of the Hero Branch members who had been on standby, getting them out of the stadium, so no one would suspect that she came back dressed as a hero.
“New costume?” Red Ape questioned, looking her up and down. “You should have told me! I would have totally gotten a new one, too! You can’t just leave me out of things like this. Do you even consider me your rival-”
“No.”
“Rejected so easily!”
She didn’t bother to look at Red Ape. Her eyes were focused on the other villain. He hadn’t come alone. The mayor was held in place by a man in a blood-red suit. Like Red Ape, the man wore a cartoon monkey mask, one that had a large cigar poking out of its lips. He had an arm around the mayor's neck, holding the lanky man in a chokehold, and in his other hand, he held a handgun, which he placed under the chin of the mayor. Unlike Red Ape, the man held himself high and didn’t flinch as she glared at him.
Red Monkey was an actual threat. His gun wasn’t special; it wasn’t Super tech or anything like that. It was just a standard-issue police pistol. Despite that, she doubted she could react in time before he fired it into the mayor’s skull.
“A- Are you a hero?” Mr. Brenner looked her up and down as he and the rest of the officers stood in a standoff with Red Ape and Red Monkey.
“I am.” She stepped forward, and fire began to dance down her arms and coat over her fingers like claws. Red Monkey stared her down as Red Ape twitched nervously. “Leave it to me. I’m going to make sure no one gets hurt!”
Tonight, Pantheon planned on wiping Zoo out.