Benny was feeling quite pleased with herself today. The fact that her boss was in a good mood made all the difference. Praying to herself silently, she wished that the Electric Goddess would save him from idiots, especially today of all days.

She had been told to watch over him and make sure that he didn’t get into too much trouble. It was the fact that the sacred goddess had talked to her directly that her attitude and behaviour had become so serious. She was so intent on her thoughts that she failed to hear the group of young people colourfully dressed enter the shop. One of them, a young woman called straight out to her upon seeing her standing behind the counter.

‘Excuse me! Hiiii!’

She ignored the high voice that echoed in her ears.

Flies were always drawn to mess.

The bigger the pile, the more flies came. Laughing to herself about the short memories of people she remembered one question that was asked very seldomly, but the answer was always expected.

Where exactly does my electricity come from?

‘Mate, look at her. She ain’t interested. We need to speak to the real boss. Ask her where he is.’ said a male voice trying to be rough.

There were several more brightly dressed costumed filtering into the store talking excitedly to each other. Thankfully it was widely known that after a street-level event there were plenty of tourists who came out to see the damage being repaired.

Given that the shop sold specific technology that enabled basic scans, footage, and minor dampening devices per government guidelines, it wasn’t unusual for visitors to come after the event.

Benny had never asked exactly how Frank had spread the word that he had specialist goods for sale that would be considered less than popular amongst the powered community and he had never deemed it necessary to tell her. They trusted each other as good friends did. If this crowd proved difficult though, she’d have to ask him for a favour.

Seeing as how he wasn’t wearing the personalised pink hoodie that she had purposefully bought for him today; she might have to order a backpack in a similar style instead, this time with more sparkles and rainbow-pooping unicorns. Goddess knew she deserved something for her time and efforts with the man.

The visitors to the shop looked around out of curiosity browsing slightly but when they saw that they had failed to respond to the young woman earlier, they assumed that it simply wasn’t time yet. Mostly they ignored her busily chatting with each other.

Seeing as how she wasn’t dressed as a priestess but rather in fully pink civilian clothing out of her personal preference, it wasn’t as though she would be taken seriously. Her brethren within the sacred temple on Klarblurg island had their views but from her perspective, they were too serious.

If she had been dressed in full priestess clothing with symbols of her faith, they would have taken her far more seriously and with a healthy dose of respect. Sadly, those above her while accepting that her current mission from the goddess was a necessity, had put a hard no to her wearing a pink robe.

Benny decided to let her thoughts wander for a bit before she took direct action, it was far better to let the current clients build up a sweat and allow some tension to build up in the air.

Then when she felt they had had enough she would give them access before any goods would be personally delivered by Frank. Besides, he still needed time to get changed for his little sales show, she had no choice but to wait for him to turn up regardless of how much the pretend costumed crowd needed their fix.

Her mind wandered back a few years to when she had first found a religion that suited her. Everyone had a different path to finding a god, in her case, she felt passionate about living vibrantly. Standing around begging a goddess to answer her prayers wasn’t her style, but she had received instructions regardless. It had been quite a surprise that day as it had been the second that she had entered the outskirts of the temple as a non-believer.

The other priests, priestesses and followers in the temple were unable to counter her direct instructions but neither did they agree with it. To be blessed with superpowers was to know the goddess.

She was not quite the same as she only borrowed an insignificant amount as and when she needed it. It had been the flow of electricity that spread from the crystal statue through the grounds and directly onto her body and clothing at the time.

The various priests and priestesses had rushed outside to see a new miracle in the form of a woman literally shaking with an electrical current but completely unharmed. Her feet were slightly above the ground with streaks of bluish light emanating from her eyes.

The fact that her hair remained normal was ignored. Those who had been directly provided with both minor and major powers by the goddess had carried her body gently before the frozen statue of the goddess and knelt in obedience.

Once the event had passed as it had only taken place over twenty minutes or so, she had been told that the goddess had chosen to directly ordain her and a higher-level priestess had been tasked to ask her if she had been blessed with any specific instructions or a mission to be undertaken.

After explaining that she was to look for and support a particular individual in the city she had been inducted into the religion as a sort of wandering acolyte. Her position was to be considered beyond a follower but unless she was to be based within the religious headquarters and follow certain rituals then her position was a slightly odd one.

‘Hey.’ said the male rough voice. 'We're talking to you Lady. Is she stupid or deaf? Lady? Hello?'

Benny ignored the voice of a buzzing gnat as she let her thoughts flow onward remembering the recent past. Her accepted level meant that she didn’t wield any real influence within the religious organisation and her actions were monitored.

Any interference in her holy mission was unlikely due to the favour of the goddess that she needed to demonstrate to several of the high priestesses who had called her a fraud at the main temple. They would not deter her from her set task, but neither would they offer any additional support or resources.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

She would need to find her way through her efforts and couldn’t expect any backup in case superhumans, government bodies or rival energy corporations wanted to harness the powers of the goddess for themselves and wouldn’t mind having access to a biological repository for research and development.

‘S’cuse me. We’re here to pick up the goods. Yeah, the stuff. We need goods.' came a different voice this time. Still young though.

A noise was heard in the shop, but it was promptly ignored. She had done this dance too many times now with Frank to respond immediately. Hunger made for desperation which led to greater amounts of cash exchanging hands. Recalling her mission before the interruption from a flashy buzzing fly she reminded herself of the assigned task that she was duty-bound to follow.

She was to go to the main city of Vogate and find a man who had lost his memory but needed support, she would recognise him by his choices. He would be a man who wanted to help others and would make it clear through his words and actions. There was no need for a reward from the goddess and she didn’t expect to gain powers or status through her actions but the chance to live through her thoughts and expression of her will.

There must have been other shops that catered to the same type of clientele in the city but Benny had no clue about their existence. She assumed that Frank had some knowledge of them but to keep their operations steady, he refused to involve her more than necessary.

The situation could turn out more dangerous than she realised but fortunately despite not being a supe, she had borrowed power that would give her more than enough protection in tricky circumstances.

Thank you blessed one.

The goddess had provided her with a single directly useful benefit. The ability to control the electrical flow around her was derived from the temple source once a day in varying amounts. If she wished to, she could knock out a district of electrical power or channel amounts of energy into a wayward superhuman. Not enough to kill but to cause shock and awe certainly, she’d never tried it thoroughly yet.

There were many types of Gifted and her powers were mainly for show. Only the humans chosen by the goddess were truly sacred in her eyes. Her brothers and sisters in the church for one and a single man for another.

When a rogue superhuman came for Frank, she’d try her best to protect him but running organic electricity through her body wouldn’t be fun. It took a degree of time for her body to recover which was why it was limited usage only. Of course, if it was the goddess taking direct action herself then she wouldn’t suffer quite so much biofeedback but she didn’t wish to ask for more from the divine than was necessary.

Noisy room.

Despite the constant buzzing sounds around her she had never felt tempted to use the power that had been blessed on her by the goddess. For one thing Frank would immediately assume that she was a superhuman and their working relationship would be broken apart.

Another was that she always felt the sheer pureness of the energy and will that existed within it. Why would she want to contaminate the well of a goddess with the flesh and bones of mortals?

‘Hoi! I’m talking to you, lady!’

Failing to get any form of response a few of the young people jostled each other. Knowing exchanges flashed across faces and several garish capes flowed. She knew that her strategy of letting tension and a sheer desire for a product build-up was gradually getting to the waiting clientele

Letting her fingers drum, she just gazed out of the window nodding her head to show that she had heard but let her face show an expression of sheer boredom.

‘Mate, she ain’t listening to you. All that pink must have gotten into her brain.’

Benny found that the little flies kept buzzing around with pretty colours and annoying her. She wondered if it was worth using a tiny blessing from the goddess to teach them all a small lesson, perhaps flickering lights or a streetlamp outside exploding due to apparent previous damage during the earlier low-level street fight between the superhuman fools.

Direct attention to her presence would be diverted and a little bit of fear was always a good appetiser for those hungry to buy the products that Frank had on offer. She was trying her best to ignore their presence as he had instructed her.

Too eager and they’ll try and rip them off he had told her. Too distant and they’ll become too wary and walk away looking for other opportunities.

‘Forget about her, look at her pink outfit. You can tell she’s an airhead. Who even wears pure pink? She’s super old as well. No way she can carry that look off. Old hags should stick to pure black clothing.’

‘Stacy. Seriously, calm down. You shouldn’t be calling her a hag. We’re just here to do business. It’s a simple transaction, we’re just ahead of the curve a little here’.’

‘Stevie. Shut up. Stop trying to be clever. She’s not a supe, it’s just a fashion choice to wear pink. Besides, she’s too old for you. Way. Too. Old. Bad taste in clothes as well. Ugh.’

‘Stacy, I’m telling you right now. Shut up, ok? We’re so close to buying new gear. Nobody needs this right now. Just keep your mouth shut. Am I right?’

The widespread chatting and excitement in the store dissipated a little as the focus was drawn to the drama between the young man dressed in orange overalls with a flame mask on and the young woman dressed in a makeshift Halloween black witches costume.

The little show that they were putting on was promptly ignored by Benny, little moths trying for the light but failing to spot the difference between the moon and a single lightbulb.

She muttered under her breath about electric fly traps. Putting on her brightest smile she picked up her heavy pink tool case and let it slam onto the hard matt grey shop counter letting the sound echo in the crowded room. She needed to draw back their attention to what they wanted, the sales show had yet to come.

‘Boys and girls. Remember to play nicely or you won’t be getting what you want. The owner is on his way. He can discuss full payment terms and availability then. I have been here waiting most patiently for him to turn up before we can make any transactions work. Please forgive my lack of impatience as a folly of the age.’

One young man barely out of his teens was dressed in what he considered to be a suitable out. The entire ensemble was a mixture of bright reds and oranges designed to show off muscles and hard edges.

The head was enclosed in a fireball structure. His pasty pale face showed underneath, and he licked his lips once he had heard her talking about the availability of products.

She looked at him, he looked nervous as they all did. This was one of their chances to get something that couldn’t be bought but only imitated. The rest of the young people were in a wide variety of costumes, one young woman was dressed similarly to a witch from a Halloween costume party if it was combined with a glittering ball gown. Sparkly but with a vain attempt to be taken seriously.

Even though they looked faintly ridiculous in her eyes Benny didn’t want to let her guard down in front of them.

The ones who were interested in recorded footage were less of a threat than those who wanted clear genetic samples from those individuals who possessed tainted powers. They were the ones who were more akin to drug addicts, and the unpredictability of their actions was more than likely when they wanted their next fix.

Even if they were unable to directly copy specific superpowers, they would occasionally attempt to use gene-editing technology to change themselves. Being able to shoot fireballs from your hands was slightly different from being able to breathe fire but both were still dangerous.

Copies didn’t last for long though, there were some serious side effects in trying to alter your genes short term. A massively reduced life expectancy for one, to become like a mayfly that wanted to be a firebug. Stupid choices always ended in bad results.

Now all Benny had to do was wait a little more. They'd wait for her. They always did. Besides, she had to take her entertainment where she could find it.

Pack of losers.