Heroic
Page 21
She walked me through the steps, explaining that it would set up a link between the monitor program and her laptop. If anything happened that the monitor module, deemed valuable it would send it to the computer for backup or easy viewing.
"Here they are," Kani said. She pulled up a few files, as the transfer from the monitor module completed.
The computer was connected to the television, and so she brought them up in a playlist to start playing and gave Ms. Valencia a remote that could start and pause the videos.
The very first video was me looking myself over in the mirror. I was in full hero regalia. Duster, shirt, pants, gloves, and balaclava. Ms. Valencia's facade broke immediately as both Val and Kani broke into laughter. I stared into the middle distance trying not to take it too hard.
It wasn’t my fault they had no taste. It took a while before the girls calmed down enough to talk over what was wrong with my outfit, except for the balaclava and winter gloves.
"First of all," Val said, now firmly back in her teacher routine, "The coat has got to go." I was about to object, but she simply raised an eyebrow at me. "You wanted my advice. You wanted me to help you. If you want my help, then you better damn well listen to my advice."
I swallowed my pride and joy over my costume and nodded. “Next the hood and gloves aren’t exactly jelling with the rest of your suit. I like the shirt and pants. The shirt is tight enough that it would be difficult to get a grip, and you were wise in choosing something with lots of pockets.”
I just nodded and acted like that was what I had been thinking about too. “As for your mask, I believe that Ms. Masterson has a solution.” Ms. Valencia continued.
I looked over at Kani, who nodded vehemently. She grabbed a backpack that was sitting next to her on the couch. She started rummaging through it until she came up with a blank metal mask. It formed nicely to my face when I held it to it, but it smoothed out any distinguishing features.
"It locks on magnetically." She said, gesturing for me to put it on. When I had it firmly applied, I could feel it settle a little firmer onto my face. Then she reached up and tried to pull it off. "It holds on really tightly too, and it's hard to get a grip on."
Then how do I get it off? I realized with a start. I frantically searched for something in the mask, both with my hand and my ability. Then I felt Kani press something on the side of mask, I could feel it even through the metal surface. She held it for a count of ten, before removing the mask.
“There’s a switch on the side, that will momentarily halt the magnetism and allow you to pull it off, though it isn't easily activated.” She explained, and I nodded.
Val proceeded to go over the rest of my short journey into hero work. I was surprised by her take on what was and wasn’t good. Mostly I had done a lot of things right in her book. The thing with the boys and the bike was a little over dramatic, but then again wasn't that part of why you put on a mask? She certainly thought so.
Then we came to the momentous of momentous moments. The robbery. She was pleased with my approach, right up until I charged. She immediately paused the video.
“What did you do wrong?” She asked.
“I could’ve taken her down without being noticed?” I asked.
"You could have, though it would've been unlikely from the ground, then you would've needed to attack from the air." She replied. "You surprised the enemy without coming between her and the victim." She pointed at the robber's gun. "If she had been just a little more twitchy, then the gun could've gone off accidentally, and she could've seriously hurt if not killed the victim. This time you got lucky, make sure you don't have to again."
“What could I have done differently?” I asked. “Should I have snuck up on her?”
Ms. Valencia shook her head. "No, the victim would've likely given you away. What you could've done was disable the weapon, or her. Or you could've scaled one of the buildings and landed between her and the victim. Both of those work really well."
“Wait,” I said, raising a hand. “How could I have disabled the gun?”
“You said to me, on one of your first days that you felt like you might be able to manage some small feats of telekinetics. One of the most common telekinetic tricks in a hostage situation is to lock back the hammer of the gun. If the robber can’t shoot, then the victim is in far less danger.”
I wasn't sure that I would've been strong enough to manage that, but that only meant that I needed more training and I knew that was what Ms. Valencia was going to say. Instead, I just nodded.
She proceeded to pick apart my fight with the woman. How I had hesitated when she started talking like she was in trouble. "Look, I know that it is easy to get lured in. There's probably this beast part of your brain, that feels the need to help her, but there have been more hero deaths to an innocent face than any other villain out there. That was lesson number 1. If you still remember."
Then we arrived at the nut shot, and the woman's escape, she once more stopped the video. "I didn't think I had to tell you this, but you're tougher than the average human. She shot you, and I doubt that you've had it fixed yet. You're probably still walking around with a bullet wound, not even noticing it anymore." I reached around to touch where she'd shot me. It had stopped hurting pretty quickly after the fight, so I just hadn't done anything about it.
Val nodded. "If you're tougher than them, and you're faster than them, and you're stronger than them, then all you need to do is wait for them to exhaust themselves. Detain them and call the police. Then they can take care of your criminal, and you get to walk home free. Now there is one last important thing." Ms. Valencia said. And let the video run itself out, with the woman running away and me on the ground cradling my nuts.
"It's in the bag." I nodded towards the bag I had brought with me. It contained my suit, and the gun she'd had used.
Valencia nodded at me. "I think that's all we'll go over for today. We'll have to meet up again in a few days, I have something for both of you to look at. I will text you the address." Then she rolled her shoulders a few times, and her posture relaxed and stepped out of her shoes. Suddenly Valeria was standing in place of Ms. Valencia.
“I’m going to go splash some water on my face,” She said, “Teaching has always made me tired.” Then she turned on a heel and walked towards the bathroom. I noted that while there was some sway in her hips, it wasn't as pronounced as it had been at other times.
She could really be confusing.
Chapter Fifty
“Ms. Masterson,” Valeria said, as she stepped fully into the room. “Would you please assist Mr. Mireaux, in setting up a connection with your laptop.”
Her words send a thrill down my spine. I had always thought the idea of a sexy teacher was hot, but right now it was making me positively randy…
Randy, really? What’s wrong with me?
“Yes, Ms. Valencia,” Kani called. She stepped around me, trailing a few fingers over my back and shoulder as she passed. She was stopped by Ms. Valencia, as she passed her to reach the laptop.
“You know the toll.” She said, in a quiet dominating voice., Even from where I was sitting I could see Kani shiver. She raised herself up on her tippy toes and kissed Val. I froze, they had certainly made up. I had thought that there might be some stepping around the issue and awkward conversations, but it seemed they had resolved their issues all on their own.
A moment later, Ms. Valencia pushed a breathless Kani away form her and waved her towards the computer. She quirked an eyebrow at me. I swallowed. God I wanted to do bad things to her.
“It’s ready for you to come and link up,” Kani said, looking over at me. I did notice her eyes briefly catching on ‘Miss’ Valencia’s supreme ass.
I took in a deep breath and got to my feet. I crossed the distance between me and Ms. Valencia in two quick strides.
“Mr. Mireaux,” She whispered seductively, “Do I need to explain the toll to you? Or can you figure it out on your own?”
I licked my lips. She was slightly taller than me, even with her heels on. “I think I can manage,” I said, my eyes flickering from her eyes to her lips. “Ms. Valencia.” I slid a shaking arm around her hip and forcefully drew her in as an attempt to hide it. At the same time I lowered my mouth to hers.
If my heart could still beat, it would have broken through my own chest and probably bruised a few of her ribs, before finally exploding in a gory finale to my life. I had kissed people before, I wasn't that much of virgin. It wasn't like I had a whole lot of experience to draw on either.
What would only have been a few moments, stretched into infinity as I kissed Val for the first time. It wasn't like the kiss she had shared with Kani. Theirs had obviously not been a first kiss. Ours was still forceful, but it was also a lot more tentative. Then she forced her tongue into my mouth and my world exploded. My mind basically stopped working and old data took control.
It felt almost like instinct as I fought off the intrusion. There went another few moments with our tongues battling for control, before I managed to get control of myself. Reluctantly I pulled away. It wasn't until after I detached from her mouth, that I noticed the raised leg I was holding, or how she was grinding against my leg.
We both stared at each other for a few moments, trying to gather our wits.
“If you’re finished, then you may help Ms. Masterson with the computer.” Of course, it would be Val who managed to get control over herself first. I saw her settle back into her Ms. Valencia persona.
I nodded and stepped away from her, walking over to where Kani was watching. I stepped over to her and tried to act like she wasn't blushing and staring at me.
“What do I need to do?” I asked her, looking over the computer. I had some experience handling computers, most of it was in regards to work. Though I did have some little coding experience, though not enough to make a career out of it.
She walked me through the steps, explaining that it would set up a link between the monitor program and her laptop. If anything happened that the monitor module, deemed important it would send it to the laptop for backup or easy viewing. With my powers I should be able to connect to my phone and call anyone without occupying my hands.
“Here they are.” Kani said. She pulled up a few files, as the transfer from the monitor module completed.
The computer was connected to the television and so she brought them up in a play list to start playing, and gave Ms. Valencia a remote that could start and pause the videos.
The very first video was me looking myself over in the mirror. I was in full hero regalia. Duster, shirt, pants, gloves and balaclava. The Ms. Valencia facade broke immediately as both Val and Kani broke into laughter. I stared into the middle distance trying not to take it too hard.
It wasn’t my fault they had no taste. It took a while before the girls calmed down enough to talk over what was wrong with my outfit, except for the balaclava and winter gloves.
“First of all,” Val said, now firmly back in her teacher routine, “The coat’s gotta go.” I was about to object, but she simply raised an eyebrow at me. “You wanted my advice. You wanted me to help you. I you want my help then you better damn well listen to my advice.”
I swallowed my pride and joy over my costume and nodded. “Next the hood and gloves aren’t exactly jelling with the rest of your suit. I like the shirt and pants. The shirt is tight enough that it would be difficult to get a grip, and you were wise in choosing something with lots of pockets.”
I just nodded and acted like that was what I had been thinking about too. “As for your mask, I believe that Ms. Masterson has a solution.” Ms. Valencia continued.
I looked over at Kani, who nodded vehemently. She grabbed a backpack that was sitting next to her on the couch. She started rummaging through it until she came up with a blank metal mask. It formed nicely to my face when I held it to it, but it smoothed out any distinguishing features.
“It locks on magnetically.” She said, gesturing for me to put it on. When I had it firmly applied, I could feel it settle a little firmer onto my face. Then she reached up and tried to pull it off. “It holds on really tightly too, and its hard to get a grip on.”
Then how do I get it off. I realized with a start. I frantically searched for something in the mask, but found nothing with my powers. Then I felt Kani press something on the side of mask, I could feel it even through the metal like surface. She held it for a count of ten, before removing the mask.
“There’s a switch on the side, that will momentarily halt the magnetism and allow you to pull it off, though it isn't easily activated.” She explained, and I nodded.
Val proceeded to go over the rest of my short journey into hero work. I was surprised by her take on what was and wasn’t good. Mostly I had done a lot of things right in her book. The thing with the boys and the bike was a little over dramatic, but then again wasn't that part of why you put on a mask? She certainly thought so.
Then we came to the momentous of momentous moments. The robbery. She was pleased with my approach, right up until I charged. She immediately paused the video.
“What did you do wrong?” She asked.
“I could’ve taken her down without being noticed?” I asked.
“You could have, though it would've been unlikely from the ground, then you would’ve needed to attack from the air.” She replied. “You surprised the enemy without coming between her and the victim.” She pointed at the robber’s gun. “If she had been just a little more twitchy, then the gun could’ve gone off accidentally and she could’ve seriously hurt if not killed the victim. This time you got lucky, make sure you don't have to again.”
“What could I have done differently?” I asked. “Should I have snuck up on her?”
Ms. Valencia shook her head. “No, the victim would’ve likely given you away. What you could’ve done was disable the weapon, or her. Or you could’ve scaled on of the buildings and landed between her and the victim. Both of those work really well.”
“Wait,” I said, raising a hand. “How could I have disabled the gun?”
“You said to me, on one of your first days that you felt like you might be able to manage some small feats of telekinetics. One of the most common telekinetic tricks in a hostage situation is to lock back the hammer of the gun. If the robber can’t shoot, then the victim is in far less danger.”
I wasn't sure that I would’ve been strong enough to manage that, but that only meant that I needed more training and I knew that was what Ms. Valencia was going to say. Instead I just nodded.
She proceeded to pick apart my fight with the woman. How I had hesitated when she started talking like she was in trouble. “Look, I know that it is easy to get lured in. There’s probably this beast part of your brain, that feels the need to help her, but there’s been more hero deaths to an innocent face than any other villain out there. That was lesson number 1. If you still remember.”
Then we arrived at the nut shot and the womans escape, she once more stopped the video. “I didn't think I had to tell you this, but you’re tougher than the average human. She shot you and I doubt that you’ve had it fixed yet. You’re probably still walking around with a bullet wound, not even noticing it anymore.” I reached around to touch where she’d shot me. It had stopped hurting pretty quickly after the fight, so I simply hadn't done anything about it.
Val nodded. “If you’re tougher than them, and you’re faster than them and you’re stronger than them, then all you need to do is wait for them to exhaust themselves. Detain them and call the police. Then they can take care of your criminal and you get to walk home free. Now there is one last important thing.” Ms. Valencia said. And let the video run itself out, with the woman running away and the me on the ground cradling my nuts.
“Its in the bag.” I nodded towards the bag I had brought with me. It contained my suit, and the gun she’d had used.
Valencia nodded at me. “I think that’s all we’ll go over for today. We’l
l have to meet up again in a few days time, I have something for both of you to look at. I will text you the address.” Then she shrugged her shoulders a few times. Her posture relaxed and she stepped out of her shoes. Suddenly Valeria was standing in place of Ms. Valencia.
“I’m going to go splash some water on my face,” She said, “Teaching has always made me tired.” Then she turned on a heel and walked towards the bathroom. I noted that while there was some sway in her hips, it wasn't as pronounced as it had been at other times.
She could really be confusing.
Chapter Fifty-One
I drop my head into my hands as I lean forwards on the couch. I really didn't do well in the encounter that counted the most. He could've gotten seriously hurt because I didn't think my moves through properly.
I felt the couch shift, as Kani moved in behind me. "Don't beat yourself up over it too much." She said, leaning into me. "It's only natural that there are going to be some stumbling blocks before you really catch your stride."