For those who lacked the courage, resource, or connections an alternative was to augment themselves with technology. It lacked the same power but was still a risk. It was pretty unlikely that any of the young people who had come to the shop had any dangerous items on them, an interest in collecting and dressing up but nothing that would be able to threaten her.
No, they would be interested in purely collecting the materials and playing dress-up. It would then be purchased from them for even more significant amounts from private dealers who dealt with the black markets and the criminal spectrum.
These young people would love to dress the part and the funds from the sales meant that they could maintain their lifestyles of dress-up and expressiveness. A few might even end up becoming copy-cat superhumans or die trying, the stupid died pretty fast and young.
This was the main reason that she hadn’t asked the electric goddess for the usage of her blessings yet. Firstly, she wasn’t going to go out of her way to hurt innocent people, the second was that her boss Frank had a seriously strong opinion about those with powers. If she used it and he was in the immediate vicinity, then it would be likely that he’d ask her to leave. Politely at first. After that, he would use force if necessary. Then her mission for the goddess would remain unfulfilled and her faith tainted.
Her boss Frank would be busy grabbing onto his supply bag left lying around right now. He liked to give a strong impression when wannabe superhumans came around so he would be getting himself prepared.
Given that he had a talent for technology and a good-looking body which seemed to stay ridiculously strong regardless of exercise and diet, he would make for an impressive figure when he was ready. It wasn’t as though he was capable of standing up for himself in a real fight from her perspective; he might scare away some low-level thugs, but no normal human would fight with one with powers.
When a fight between superhumans took place, the effects would ripple as blood in the water would attract sharks from miles around.
Best to put on a show for the buzzing flies Benny thought inwardly. She would have called them moths drawn to a flame, but she didn’t think them worth the time and effort.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming to attend our boutique, I was enamoured with your finery and the sheer resourcefulness of your costumes. As you can see, I only dare to dream in pink.’
She gestured towards her clothing and style. If you were entirely dressed in pink including the colour of your hair and makeup, then people would make assumptions. The group of young people dressed in costumes, some flamboyant, others as dark as the night sky. But all dressed to give an impression of enhancing themselves they laughed a little at her little self-deprecating joke. One of the young men called out in a vain attempt at humour.
‘You could be Princess Pink.’
While a few of the young men chuckled over it most of the young ladies there were not amused. They gave a few looks to the young man who gradually withered under their combined stares.
For all, they knew Benny might have been a latent or active superhuman who liked to dress up in her own branded style of pure pinkness. As the group was largely self-centred and cared little about consequences, they’d keep trying to push her until she responded or gave them exactly what they were looking for.
A brush with the divine, might shake them up a little bit and give her a bit more respect. The issue is that word would immediately spread if she acted, she didn’t know how Frank would respond to that.
Friends needed to consider the feelings of friends. A small electrical surge in his shop which came from her fingers could be tolerated but she wasn’t going to take the risk unless it became dangerous enough to do so. Both the orders of a goddess and her current boss wouldn’t take priority over her safety. The hard part, she thought to herself as if you were given instructions from a living goddess not to get them confused with your actual orders from your mortal frail human boss. It was a tricky balancing act.
She was not popular in her order for her so-called lack of faith; all that meant though is that she didn’t like to emulate others. Her devotion to her religion reached as high as the stars in the sky, it was how she expressed it that her business. Her old mentor Ambra had always understood that about her and respected her for it.
Right now she had to deal with overgrown kids who were trying her best attempts at patience. Just a little bit more and they’d be moving on out of her life once again until it the time came again. The look of impatience on the faces of the young people gathered in the shop was only settled for a short period before it was replaced by another strong emotion. Greed.
‘The owner will be here soon; he’ll be collecting your product. No bids are applicable during this time, non-negotiable payment is immediately required. Thank you for your patience.’
A young man who had shouted out earlier slammed his hand on the electronic shop counter. His thick gloved hand caused a rebounding sound that echoed through the shop.
‘No. We’ve had enough now. Enough waiting. Give us the product now or we’ll take it without payment. We’re owed, lady. Your boss owes us.’
She nodded his head lightly with a slight smile creasing one side of her mouth. She drummed her pink fingernails on the counter, the light sound barely noticeable above the aggressive breathing sounds coming from the man dressed in thick heavy dark brown dungarees.
He would have looked ridiculous if not for his sheer size and muscles. His face was covered in shade from a wide-brimmed hat and he had the appearance of a farmer, or someone deeply connected with physical work and labour.
His superhero archetype was one based on strength and effort from appearance. The degree of change that had affected his body was unknown to Benny. Drugs maybe. Still, even for minimally enhanced humans, an electric shock direct from the source was effective. This situation shouldn’t get to that state though, this was a bunch of rich kids playing dress-up and pretend. They had not been blessed with powers so chose to cook up cheaper alternatives.
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‘…Ok. I’m going to call him right now. Please know that all injuries and complaints will be considered nonapplicable given that all of you signed a legal waiver before entering this premises.’
‘How long?’ breathed out the muscular young man in overalls.
She sighed. It was always the same after an event. Normal people would be more concerned with their daily lives and the latest news events but this lot who chose to become mildly more than human in a vain attempt to become superhumans were greedy for more.
‘I need to make a quick call to check. Give me a moment.
The footage, DNA samples, screens, and scans of the two who were fighting each other in the vicinity was comparable to feeling the excitement of a storm hitting a location if it had an ego the size of a small moon.
She picked up the phone on the counter and ran her fingers along the numbers making the call as she walked. Frank answered immediately. Excusing herself with a gesture, she moved into the back small office space and left the door slightly ajar.
If she closed it fully, the young idiot outside with a short temper might lose it and cause an even greater disturbance. The door leading to the room said private employees only so she doubted that they’d burst in to interrupt her as long as she was quickly returning.
Looking at the trackers that they had for the materials and locations of drop sites where Frank had stashed the materials, she turned her head towards a computer on a nearby wall with locations of hidden street cameras while keeping one eye closely on the small office door. She wasn’t going to let the situation run out of control when she had her mission.
Bio-Electrical Goddess be praised.
The small crowd outside were getting impatient and it was in all their interests to shift product as fast as possible. Benny might be covered due to religious exemption and her faith but her boss certainly wasn’t.
‘Boss. We got an issue here. Can you get back to the shop? I mean right now. Electrical Goddess be blessed. A few copy-cats here are trying to take without payment. I’d prefer they pay the old-fashioned way if you catch my meaning. A small magic box of tricks and party favours is located in security box 4 on Teeve Street fifty metres from your present location. No one is in the vicinity at present according to street cams. I’ve set it to your access only boss, wipe down after use.’
‘Got it, party tricks and favours. Thanks and good luck keeping the bunnies occupied.’
She heard Frank breathing heavier on the other end and imagined his growing anger at her situation. Regardless of her attitude towards superhumans, he remained a good and tolerant friend of Benny. Well, given that she was his only friend it was reasonable to think that he would come and help her, she’d do the same for him in a heartbeat.
‘I could handle them myself boss, but I thought you’d like to build up your rep with this crowd. I gotta go, one of the rich ones thinks she’s clever by showing off. We’ll see you soon.’
Hanging up the phone before she heard his angry response, she swiftly walked closed the small office door behind her making sure it had automatically locked and saw the muscular young man in overalls was now sitting on the front counter accompanied by two others dressed up in their faux superhuman costumes.
One was the witch with the Halloween-style party dress, and another was completely covered from head to toe with only the eyes showing in what she could only discern in a bulky radiation suit complete with a yellow gas mask. Their gender was impossible to tell. The outfit covered any curves or musculature that could be seen.
Smiling to the waiting group, she spoke ever so lightly. She was trying for a softer touch now and made her voice sound gentler while shifting her body so she came across as a more approachable person. The fact that she was clothed in pink might has helped her slightly.
‘The man that you’ve all been waiting for is on his way right now. Would you care to form a queue or is this going to be a free for all?
The young man in the heavy dark brown overalls pulled the brim of his hat up showing bright blue eyes and a grinning smile. He took a deep breath and stretched himself out showing off his muscled body.
He looked at the witch and the one dressed in the radiation suit before he moved forward and sat on the edge of the counter straight in front of Benny, to see if he could get a reaction. When he next spoke, the atmosphere in the shop had changed with murmured agreements accompanying his words. He cracked his knuckles aloud before putting both of his large palms on the counter.
‘Nah. We’re gonna sit right here pretty pink lady until we get what we want. Right. Here.’
She sighed. The things she had to do for goddesses. She had wanted to wait for Frank to arrive first before moving the sales show forward but at this point, she felt that she had no other choice.
These idiots may have no real superpowers but there were enough of them to cause a serious disturbance if needed. The government cleaners had moved on and ought to be occupied soon with their pastries and hot drinks but less attention was always better.
The boss did not want trouble invited due to her carelessness. On reflection, it would be better to get this lot out of plain site and downstairs where she would be better able to hide any use of her borrowed electrical powers as needed.
Standing up straight and resting one hand on top of the heavy-looking pink toolbox, she drummed her fingers to draw their attention while her other hand slowly reached below the counter and pressed her finger down on a hidden button front.
A small needle took a single drop of her blood before her DNA was scanned and accepted. Before she could raise her finger off the button a hidden door which would normally be invisible to the naked eye fitted with modified power dampeners which doubled to shut down any monitoring devices activated and opened up. A series of stairs lit up in a series of red and white lights similar to the effect of a passenger aeroplane that had turned off its lights to dim when everyone was asleep. It was all part of the show she knew.
The small crowd raised a cheer and the young man in the overalls just raised his arms as though he had won a championship trophy before he put his arms around the costumed witch and the unknown gender in the mock baggy radiation suit. He grinned at Benny.
‘Princess Pink is doing a great job today.’
Trying her best not to roll her eyes at his comments or the rough wink that the young man offered her, she chose to ignore his crude attempts at flattery. She then put her hands out in a gesture inviting the unwanted flies to enter the room and the stairs that led down to the converted basement area that was located further at the end of a long corridor.
As they began to file through, she let her thoughts run amok. Talking to annoying kids wasn’t her idea of a good time. Rather than actually using her voice, she let her actions do the talking.
Boss. You need to get a move on. I’m getting annoyed now.
The pressure is slowly building up and the partygoers can’t survive on snacks and drinks alone.
Neon lights activated in the basement and music with a steady beat began to play as the underground sales area began to prepare itself for this month’s batch of visitors. The little display downstairs would keep them occupied for a while
There was also a pre-prepared selection of free snacks and drinks to whet their physical but not emotional and mental appetites. They could also gaze around at a few items that had been sealed away but were still viewable on display to better help their interest. If this went as well as the last one a few months back then the revenue generated would be more than enough for the local community support system.
Tick-tock boss. Tick-tock boom.