The Vespidian
Arc 8 Superficial
Chapter 6
Sup my bitch? Did you miss me?
‘Sub?’ I looked around my empty room, clearly, that voice had come from inside my head.
The one and only. You seem to be doing good in my absence.
‘If I do say so myself. It was very quiet and lonely without you.’
Lonely? You are so sweet, but shouldn’t you have been rather occupied with our lovely Astrea?
I cupped my head, ‘Oh fuck me, you don’t know?’
Know what? What are you talking about?
‘Astrea is dead.’
There was a long pause and then Sub yelled, What do you mean she is dead?!
‘She… she died shielding us from Nuclear Knight.’
You don’t sound very sad about this!
‘Of course, I am sad. I cried for days and where were you? It has already been more than a week since it happened. Where the fuck have you been? Where were you when I needed a shoulder to cry on? I needed you and you weren’t here for me. If it was not for Neon Nurse I probably would have killed myself.’
Oh, I am sorry, I was more or less in a fucking coma after mitigating the pain of melting alive! You could have looked for me. It is not your choice to make, to kill us. There are two of us in here and I wanna live. Don’t you ever do something stupid like getting us killed, do you hear me?!
‘I did and I could not find you. I figured you were just off in some corner recovering and I was right.’
Why are we fighting?
‘You started it.’
Sorry.
‘Yeah, me too. Look, just sift through the memories to see what you missed, I need to get ready.’
Ready for what?
‘Mark and I have an appointment to finalize all of the sponsorship stuff.’
Sponsorship? Alright sounds like I got a lot to catch up on.
With that taken care of, I rolled out of bed and opened the bathroom. I took a moment staring at the mirror and the smooth white bone that formed my face, the top left eye was still sealed shut and all around it the carapace warped from the burn. I don’t think that is ever going to heal. I sighed, nothing really to be done about it. My tooth brush was thicker than most and buzzed to life as I set to work scrubbing down my mandibles and tongue. Absently, I pulled out a chunk of bone… now, how did that not get chewed up? After that whole Glitter Kitten thing and realizing that my breath smelled of rotting meat that was a bit eye opening. Ever since then I had been more keen on keeping up on the hygiene.
I gurgled some mouth wash and spat it out before turning on the shower. Once it was nice and scalding hot I got in and scrubbed down the carapace. The warmth radiated through my body though this sort of heat was not enough to hurt, it just felt nice. Lately, I had taken to using this coconut body wash since I liked how it smelled. I guess on the plus side I did not have to worry about shampoo or conditioner on the account of not having hair. Though I did have the feeler hairs that helped me sense things, they felt weird if I used products other than the body wash on them.
Now came my favorite part washing the head tendrils. They felt so good to stroke and by the time I was done, they were so soft and sensitive I had to restrain myself or else I would be in here for a while. Although, cleaning the abdomen was pretty fun too. Opening the plates and ruffling around the sponge on my soft skin to clean out all the sweat and grime, sometimes blood depending on how rough the day had been. As one can imagine rubbing myself clean can get out of hand very quickly. Normally, I would indulge for a while, but I had gotten a late start on this today. Sufficiently satisfied, I turned off the shower and shook the water off by vibrating and flapping all of the carapace plates. I finished off the rest with a towel.
This was how just about every morning had gone since I got out of the sewers. Well except this isn’t the morning just about night time actually. I had slept in a little too much due to not having anything to do. It also had to do with Neon Nurse bugging me about appearances. I don’t really get it, I mean nobody is going to see me out of the suit… but it is nice to feel clean. The other reason I did it was to maintain a routine, I feel that I would get too lazy if I did not. With nothing left to do, I shimmied into the suit and not a moment too soon as I heard a knock at the door.
“Nee-san?”
I opened the door to find Sunshine. Her magical girl outfit was glowing brightly as usual. I pat her head and she pouted a little, so damned adorable. I wanted to pinch her cheeks and talk to her like a child, but that would just be mean. I mean even she has some self-respect.
“Ready to go Sunshine?”
She nodded, grinning as we set off towards the lobby. I wonder where Sunshine has been running off to lately? Up until a while ago, she would still be sleeping when I finished up my routine and I would have to wake her up. She is getting a Sponsorship too, so most likely she is getting into the habit of waking up early.
My thoughts were interrupted when I realized we had reached the others. Mr. Dirkstein, Medavac, and Fire Chief were here. Chief was chatting with Medavac, while Dirkstein was off to the side a little talking on his phone. All of them turned when we arrived.
“Good you are just in time. I was about to go up and get you,” said Chief.
“I am here, so now what?” I asked.
“We better get going then,” replied Medavac already walking out the automated doors.
I followed along, down the thick concrete steps to the street below. Medavac’s drop ship was waiting for us. It had been parked to the side out of the street to not interfere with traffic. The sleek hull glistened white in the dying sunlight and the deep red medical cross sat emblazoned upon the side. The turbines started up to our approach and the loading bay gaped open, allowing entry. We climbed in and the ramp lifted up behind us. This thing had not changed since the last time I was in here. The back section had seats in the walls to strap down additional people and dead center in the main compartment was the medical table for on site procedures.
Sunshine sat beside Chief and Medavac had gone into the cockpit to man the helm. I followed him in, finding several of his paramedics strapped down in the midsection. Their suits’ visors were down keeping their faces hidden. The innards of the cockpit were lit up with blinking lights and the glare of the sun outside. That old beat up poster of Miss Universe still sat looking over the rest of the compartment and the hula girl bobbed from the vibrations of the engines.
“Medavac,” I smiled, looming over him, “What have you been up to?”
“Not much, Sugar Bug. Just glad you are better.”
“Sugar Bug?”
He turned a little in that bulky armor, “What you don’t like it?”
“No, just never heard that one before. Is that my nickname?”
“Sure is, hey you still owe me a date.”
I nodded absently, “Well, I have been a little busy… wait a minute, you owe me a date. Remember, you said you were paying. When are you free?”
He chuckled, “I am always free, unless there is a call. So just hit me up when you are ready.”
“Ok, though I am not sure what my schedule is going to be like with the Sponsorship stuff.”
“Ah yes, I heard you got a pretty good deal. A word from the wise, don’t get too caught up in the drama and remember you are a hero, no matter what anybody says.”
“Drama?”
“People get jealous of other’s success so don’t be surprised if your coworkers are resentful.”
“Is it that bad?”
“It can be, but I am sure you will be fine. Oh, but remember no matter what happens, keep your cool and don’t hurt anybody.”
“So they can just attack me and I can’t do anything back?”
“What are you worried about? It is not like they can harm you. I am talking about pranks it is going to be the best they can do. Civi’s tend to not like Supers encroaching in on their turf.”
“Oh ok, I can deal with that. So basically just ignore them.”
“Yeah pretty much, you are there to do a job, so just do it and don’t mind the gnats buzzing about.”
“Thanks, Medavac.”
“No problem. Speaking of which, we have arrived.”
I looked out passed him to see the roof top of a large building. There was a heliport near the center and the craft hovered for a moment losing speed and altitude before finally setting down. I stared out the windows at the courtyard and several others buildings sprawling out in a circle, around the tower in the center. Hmm, I feel like I have seen this place before, but where? I didn’t have long to think on it when the rumble of the back opening rattled the ship.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Have fun,” said Medavac, wiggling his fingers at me.
“I’ll try.”
“You coming?” asked Chief from the doorway.
“I am coming calm down.”
Sunshine was already outside happily running around. Seriously though, sometimes I feel like she is a dog or something. She would be a fun pet to have, so energetic and spirited. I wonder what kind of collar would fit her? It would have to something cute. I held my head, why am I thinking these things? She is a human being for fuck sake, not some animal.
Some people pay lots of money for that sort of thing you know.
‘Shush Sub, she is my friend.’
Maybe we just need to get a pet or something? You know some cute little critter you can love on.
‘I will think about it. But pets are a big responsibility and from my recent experiences they all want to kill me.’
Like being a superhero isn’t?
‘Fair enough.’
I shook my head gathering my thoughts and pushing aside all of the unrelated nonsense. Focus Vesper, focus this will be the beginning of my bright future. After pumping myself up I quickly followed them into the waiting elevator. The doors closed and I saw a logo that I knew even through all of my jagged childhood memories, some things will stick with you until the day you die and this, this was one such thing. It was a star with a rainbow under it and the words “Star Agency”.
I never thought that I would have set foot in this place again. It was different than I remember, but that likely had to do with arriving from the roof and it had been years so there were new buildings. So this was that foreboding feeling that I had a while back.
“Star Agency?” I asked Mr. Dirkstein.
“Yes, it was in the contract. You were lucky to get a partnership with them.”
“I don’t remember this in there.”
“You never bothered to read all of the contract, so that is understandable.”
I glowered. Oh great. He probably thought he was doing me a favor by getting this too… well, it can’t be that bad. As long as I keep my head down I doubt that I will come across Her. I mean, I am only supposed to do some photo shoots and she takes care of idols.
The elevator came to a stop and we stepped out into a luxurious corridor. Somebody has too much time and money with all this gaudy crap or they are compensating for something. The carpet was red and plush, all the walls were marbled and towards the end there sat a thick wooden desk and a very uptight looking secretary. She gave us one look and hit a button opening the sturdy doors to the room beyond.
We walked in and the doors came to a close behind us. Why do I feel like I am being trapped? Just being paranoid. There were a lot of books in this place all neatly put on shelves that covered the walls. The bay windows on the far wall faced the city as the sun dipped out of sight and the lights of the cityscape came to life. This guy has a great view. There were an assortment of white chairs that kinda looked like eggs. They formed a half circle facing the gleaming desk… is that mahogany? I had only heard rumors of such high-class wood, truly this guy must be a big shot.
Enough putting off the inevitable, my eyes focused in on the two people who were present in the room. One was Dreamer with her stupid opera mask and magician outfit. I really wish she was not here, but since she is the PR Director and more or less my boss now that was impossible. Next to her was a man wearing a white suit with a black under shirt and a pink poke-dotted tie. His shimmering gold hair was slicked back. He smelled of coconut, oddly enough. I see somebody else enjoys the nutty goodness.
“This is Elliott,” said Dreamer, “he is in charge of where talents are placed.”
“Oh, so he is a big shot,” I commented off handedly.
“Mecha Fairy!” excitedly said the overly flamboyant man quickly closing the distance between us with his arms wide ready for a hug. “I have heard so much about you.”
It was so unexpected that I had to hold back from smacking the guy down. My killing instincts are still embedded after the sewer nonsense. I just stood there like a statue frozen and afraid that I would tear this man to pieces. He gave me a hug and I just looked around the room for help, but there was none. Sunshine was even looking jealous over me getting the hug or maybe that I was letting the guy hug me? After a moment he let go and pat me on the back, hurting his hand in the process.
He winced, “That suit is harder than I thought.”
Finally managing to get my head around this I replied, “Well I can stop a speeding truck and walk away. What have you been hearing about me?”
“Johnson over at BAI has been sending glowing recommendations. I hear that you have dealt with quite the few mutants.”
I scratched the back of my head, “Yeah, I guess you could say that. I am not the best though.”
“No one ever said you were and that is perfectly fine. What matters is you are doing your part. Speaking of which Dreamer has recommended you and Sunshine for work on the Image Campaign that the Hero League has been proposing.”
“Yes?” I questioned looking over at her.
“It will be community projects. Not to worry just listen to what your manager has to say,” she replied leaning against the wall.
“My manager?”
“Yes, you will be getting one of our best to help you keep track of everything and ensure that your appointments proceed as planned. She is Super Duper, I am sure that the two of you will get along famously,” said Elliott.
I awkwardly replied, “I am sure.”
Elliott smiled, “She is a little strict, but she is a very kind person once you get passed her tough exterior.”
“Where is this manager?”
He sat and shrugged, “She is running late. I imagine it has to do with her current talent.”
“Doesn’t seem very reliable if she is late for our first meeting.”
“This is more of a formality. Starting tomorrow she will be devoted to your schedule and making sure that you maintain it.”
“Speaking of which, is that already sorted out? Can I see a copy of it?”
“Why certainly.”
He handed me a piece of paper. There was a timetable that reminded me of a class schedule from high school. It mentioned a photo shoot taking place at eight in the morning and then there was a large block of something called Talent Assessment. A break for lunch and more Talent Assessment.
“What is Talent Assessment?”
Elliott got excited over that, “Ah, that is where we find the thing that makes you the most special person in the world and helps draw it out for all to see!”
“So I see.” I nodded.
Well, this was reasonable. So I just gotta do these stupid classes and the photo shoot and I get paid. I nodded to myself. Hmm, I wonder what I am good at? So they are going to give me like professional coaches and stuff? That could be interesting and fun. Maybe I will find out about a talent I never knew about. Now I am actually getting excited. Maybe this giant brain of mine will finally be useful for something like learning how to play some sort of instrument.
“We have dorms if you would like to live closer.”
I thought it over for a moment and the cons greatly outweighed the pluses. “I can fly so I am not concerned with travel time.”
Elliott circled around me looking at my wings, “Oh so these actually work?”
I spread them, “Why yes, they do. Well, sort of, there is jump jet in the middle there that actually give me lift. Though I can flap the wings.”
“Oh, how exciting. I bet it must be wonderful to see the world from such a view.”
“I suppose.”
“If I had Superpowers then I would love to fly. I would just travel the world and see all that there was.”
I nodded that sounded nice, “You remind me a lot of Astro Glide, he loves to just float around.”
“Ah yes, from the Juniors. It was a real shame we were not able to get him added onto this deal. Maybe next time,” said Elliott looking over to Dreamer who gave a slow nod in return.
“Is there anything else I need to worry about?”
“Not really your contract is rather straightforward, though you will be on a tight schedule for the first week or so.”
“Why is that?”
‘We have to figure out what you are good at and then tailor your classes to that skill.”
“Sounds efficient.”
“It has been developed over the years.”
I nodded. I don’t particularly have anything against all of this. Most of it so far sounds reasonable. But like most good things, they come to an end. If it sounds too good to be true, then it is
The door behind us opened and the late arrival stopped for a moment observing us. She had a long black ponytail and deep blue eyes. This woman wore a secretary type outfit with pantyhose and a short cut business woman suit. She stared at me with those cold eyes.
“Caroline so glad that you made it,” said Elliott.
She diverted her attention from me and pointed at him, “Next time I have to hand somebody off, the handler had better be there and waiting. It took four hours for Lewis to show up. Is Isabella actually going to be fine with that guy?”
Elliott seemed dismissive, waving his hand, “She will be fine. Mecha Fairy, this is Caroline or Mrs. Vasska depending on how she prefers you to refer to her. She is going to be your manager.”
This was the last person I expected and by that token wanted to see. It was Mom. Oh for fuck sake, why is she here?! My first impulse was to run away screaming, but there were two problems with that. First, she was blocking the door and second I had promised Dad that I would be civil if she was civil and so far there were not an assortment of objects being thrown at me. It was not easy to suppress. Anger was a good way to reroute my fear, but throwing the chair directly in front of me at her, which would likely squish her and would in fact likely get me up shit creek without a paddle.
My fingers twitched and I had to put them behind my back or else I would look like a weirdo and probably ruin this. The money damn it, think of the money! I just imagined all the food and figurines I would buy. It helped a bit. I was still not comfortable in this by any stretch of the imagination.
“Mecha Fairy is there a problem?” asked Dreamer, looking between me and Mom, knowingly.
You evil bitch. She fucking knows, how could she not? I know that she knows, she was there when Mom visited while I was quarantined. Why would she do this? I was starting to think that maybe she was not so bad and then she pulls this shit. Is it like her life’s mission to make my life hell? To fuck me with a sandpaper dildo at every opportune moment?!
I grabbed Chief by the hand shaking him,“Chief, I want out.”
He was a bit startled over my frantic actions, “Calm down. What is wrong?”
“I changed my mind. I don’t think I can do this.”
“Mecha Fairy just sit down and listen. This is an amazing opportunity for you,” said Chief.
“Chief…”
“Nothing is going to happen,” he said patting me on the shoulder. Oddly enough, it was calming.
Reluctantly, I did as I was told and sat down. Wait a minute, why am I scared of Mom? I could literally crush her like a grape. Besides now that I was looking she seemed concerned over my actions. This was not the fear filled with rage that I knew from her, this was something else. She seemed hesitant, though her demeanor tried to hide it.
“You are not violent are you?” Asked Mom.
“Not unless someone tries to hurt me or my friends.”
She let out a sigh of relief and extended her hand, “Mrs. Vasska, it is a pleasure to meet you, Mecha Fairy. I will be your manager until your contract is fulfilled.”
I crossed my arms and looked away from her to Elliott, “I want a different manager.”
The look of confusion and shock that filled her face was mouth watering. Somehow this seemed wrong… it was almost as though she didn’t know it was me. I know my Mom, she is not that good of an actor and she is straightforward about things. Then Dreamer never told her it was me? So then she just thinks I am some Super called Mecha Fairy. I don’t know how I feel about this. On one hand, I want to see her suffer and on the other, I could use this to my advantage. It is a lot like how Captain Metal acted totally different around me when he didn’t know it was me. I think this is the longest we have been in the same room without throwing things at each other.
The flowery man was equally distressed and said, “What is wrong with Caroline? I assure you she is one of the best and will look out for your best interests.”
“I have heard things.”
She remained quiet, oddly relieved. I am getting the feeling she does not actually want to be my manager. But if she does not know I am Vesper, then why would that be? There must be something else.
Elliott chuckled a little, “Your reputation precedes you, Caroline. But I assure you Mecha Fairy that the rumors are grossly embellished.”
Mom asked, “What exactly did you hear?”
I was going to mention the knife throwing incident or maybe even the dildo beating, however, both of those were things only I, Mom and Dad knew about. I stood there for a second, thinking of things she had told me about work… Ah, right there was that, “Didn’t you beat somebody with a sock full of oranges so that there would not be bruises?”
“I did and that bitch deserved it,” she replied, not even phased or regretful.
Dreamer stood wagging her finger, “Mecha Fairy, oranges? Really? You are wearing a near bullet proof suit that can withstand the impact of a rank 4 Strength Super. You will not wiggle your way out of this. I requested her by name because I thought the two of you would work well together. And no you cannot back out of this or get a different manager. Star Agency was gracious enough to allow you this opportunity, and like it or not you are legally bound to do this job.”
I sighed relenting. Dreamer had me cornered here. I could just run away, break out the window and flee. But that isn’t going to fix anything and is just me trying to get out of responsibility. I will also likely just get dragged back in here. It feels like she wants me to fail, well fuck her. I will make this work. I stared Caroline in the eyes, though she only saw the helmet emoji. Dad, I am doing this for you. Grudgingly, I extended my hand, she paused for a moment and shook it.
Elliott smiled, “I am sure you two will get along fantastically.”
I doubt it. Something tells me I am going to be wanted for murder by the end of the week.