“I don’t know how sound that logic is,” Michelle muttered.
But either way, they had to step out of the car at some point.
Her hand still resting on the handle, Michelle opened the door. On a normal day in Buxworth, this spot she stood in, the centre of a junction, it would have been busy. Cars would have honked at her until they realised she was a Super.
But today there were only two cars.
Lucas came around to join her.
He leaned against the car, his hand at his waist, he held a gun.
Michelle frowned. She’d noted he was wearing his long black coat too, the fancy bullet proof one with all the gadgets stored inside it. And by gadgets, she meant guns, ammo and a bunch of grenades.
Was his sword in their too?
“Why are you wearing that?” she asked. “You don’t need bullet proof armour. You’re a Super now.”
“Am I?”
She supposed it was a good point.
His powers were weird.
But it wasn’t something to dwell on now.
The doors on the black car opposite them opened. Two men and three women stepped out. They wore skinny jeans and leather jackets. All of them carried guns.
They stood much like Lucas did, backs resting against the car, guns in hand.
The blond girl stepped forward, walked towards them. Michelle glanced at Lucas and he nodded at her.
Right, she thought. Taking charge, being the leader, all that stuff.
As she walked towards the blond girl, she decided it was overrated. She wasn’t keen on being the Mayor to be in charge, she was doing it to make the town better.
The two girls stopped walking as they reached a few feet of each other. The blond took in Michelle, dressed as she was, wearing a short flowery dress. No weapons on her hand, and no chance of hiding any in her clothing.
“You don’t carry any weapons,” the blond said.
“Don’t need to,” Michelle replied.
“And why’s that?”
“I’m a Super.”
The blond’s lips twitched. “You know how often I hear Normies claiming to be Supers?”
Michelle glanced past the girl at her four buddies, all carrying guns, all looking cool and tough.
But they weren’t tough.
Not when compared to a Super.
It was doubtful any of them were nearly as talented as Lucas. She could crush them with ease. Why had she been nervous?
“What are you doing here?” Michelle asked.
“I ask the questions,” the blond replied.
“No you don’t.”
She stepped towards the girl; her lips pursed. These assholes were as bad as the Supers.
The blond raised the gun in her hand and pointed it at Michelle, the barrel aimed at her forehead. “Another step and I shoot.”
“Do it,” Michelle growled, her hands curled into fists that started to glow blue.
“Fuck,” the blond’s eyes widened. “You really are a Super…”.
Her hand trembled, the gun shaking, it went off.
A bullet left the barrel.
It struck her on the forehead.
It wasn’t the first time Michelle had been shot. It probably wouldn’t be the last time either. But it still hurt. Michelle staggered back. Her hand reached up. The bullet hadn’t breached her skull. It stuck to her skin.
Skin that was healing.
As the bullet popped and hit the ground, Michelle glared at the blondie. She closed the distance between them swiftly and grabbed the gun off the shell-shocked girl. Tossing it aside, she slammed a fist into the girl’s stomach. Despite being angry, she held back some power. The girl dropped to her knees, coughing.
Michelle grabbed her by the collar of her leather jacket and pulled her up. “You shot me!”
“It was an accident, I swear,” the girl pleaded.
“You could have killed me!”
“No, no, no,” the girl said quickly. “You’re a Super. You wouldn’t have died anyway. But it was an accident, I swear.”
“What are you doing in this town?”
“I’m just following orders, ma’am,” the girl replied. “It’s not my fault.” There were tears running down the girl’s eyes now.
“Stop crying,” Michelle muttered.
It didn’t help.
Obviously.
It was like telling someone to stop being stupid, wasn’t it? They couldn’t just turn their stupidity on and off, could they?
“Hush now,” Michelle said, her voice soft, she let go of the girl’s collar and stroked her hair gently.
The girl stopped crying but stared at her confused and still afraid. “Am I your pet now?”
“What?” Michelle frowned. “No, you’re not my pet.” She stopped stroking the girl’s hair immediately and took a step back. “What are you doing in this town?” she asked once more.
“I-I l-live here,” she stuttered.
“What are you doing driving around with guns? Why were you following us?”
“We thought you might be from the Flying Eagles gang trying to move into our territory…” she said, her voice hushed.
Fix the gang problem.
Michelle added it to her list of things to do after becoming Mayor.
“Leave your guns and get the fuck out of here. You and your buddies,” she nodded at the others standing behind the blondie, no longer relaxed and leaning against their cars, they wore expressions of worry, guns held firmly, readying themselves to fight a Super.
Fucking novices, the lot of them, Michelle thought. They should have fled by now. Fucking novices. No wonder the blondie shot her in panic.
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“Do you want me to?”
The blond shook her head.
“Get lost then,” Michelle muttered.
“Yes… yes, thank you. Thanks,” she turned and ran towards her gang members.
Michell watched her go, watched her bark orders at her buddies. They dropped their guns and practically flung themselves into the car before driving off. Michelle turned and walked back towards Lucas.
He was still leaning against the Mercedes GLE, looking all cool and casual, though he no longer held a gun in his hand.
“What the hell happened?” he asked.
“She shot me! The bitch,” Michelle muttered. She felt the dried blood on her forehead. Ugh. She’d have to find a place to clean up.
“I saw that,” Lucas said. “I also saw you stroking her hair. That was… odd.”
“She was crying. I was trying to calm her down.”
“So… you stroked her hair?”
“It’s not that weird,” Michelle muttered. But her cheeks began to redden. Was it a weird thing to do? And then she noticed the smirk on Lucas’s face. He was playing with her. “Get in the car, driver,” she said, punching him playfully on the arm.
“Sure, Miss Mayor,” Lucas laughed.
Chapter 11
It was an ordinary house. Terraced. Judging by the width, two bedrooms. Concrete slabs formed a low wall around the front lawn. A cast iron gate hung open, tilted to one side, loose at the hinges. Grass and weed grew on the front lawn in equal measure. The red composite door was chipped around the edges.
“This is it?” Michelle asked.
Lucas stared at the house, and then down the road, towards the metal sign attached to the first house, the writing still legible.
“Its what Jocelyn said,” he muttered.
“Doesn’t look like a Super house…”
Lucas thought the same.
Supers had all the nicer houses in town. They were well kept, both internally and externally. It worked as a sign for gangs too, to keep the fuck away from well kept houses.
“Maybe Jocelyn was lying?” he asked.
Michelle shrugged her shoulders. Creases around her eyes, she looked tired. “She’s a bitch to do that…”
Yup, Lucas thought.
Joce
lyn was a bitch.
But he’d been certain she wasn’t lying. Not after he broke her nose for the third time. A curse of being a Super, they could be indefinitely tortured.
Sighing, Lucas reached for his gun and holding it in both hands, he pushed the cast iron gate aside and walked up the front lawn, his eyes scanning the windows for movement. There was none. As the door came up, he turned to Michelle.
“Wanna do the honours of knocking?”
“Yeah, sure?” she stared at him enquiringly.
“I just don’t want to get shot,” Lucas said, then wondered why he’d said that out loud.
Michelle frowned. “But it’s okay for me to get shot?”
“Its not like that,” Lucas said. “You’ve already been shot so-”
“Keep digging that hole,” she interrupted.
Lucas frowned. She knew what he meant. She was a Super. Their strength increased as they battled. Being shot once already, she would be less susceptible to another bullet. Much less than him anyway.
Michelle knocked on the door.
Lucas heard the sound of heels hitting hard flooring coming from within. He expected a woman, so when the door opened, and a naked man wearing six inch black heels appeared on the other side, Lucas stared, stunned for the first time in many years.
“What do you want?” the man asked.
“You’re uh… you’re naked!” Michelle announced.
“Thank you for noticing,” came the curt reply. “This is the house of the Super, Illuminate,” the man continued, his eyes taking in the gun Lucas held still gripped firmly in his hands. “Gangs aren’t welcome. You should leave while you still can.”
“We’re not gang members,” Michelle said, smiling brightly. “Put that away,” she hissed at him, slapping his hand.
Lucas did put the gun away, but he wasn’t happy about it. Wasn’t happy about how giddy Michelle seemed too. She was even standing straight to look taller.
“We’re actually Supers,” she said.
The man didn’t seem convinced. He continued to stare at Lucas, taking in his appearance, the long black coat he wore, the roughened skin, the stubble growing on his face, the tussled hair.
“You don’t look like a Super,” he said. “Prove it.”
“Fuck off,” Lucas muttered back.
The guy frowned. “You got a problem with naked guys?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard,” the guy replied.
“He doesn’t have a problem with naked guys,” Michelle chipped in. “He walks around naked all the time.”
“I don’t,” Lucas mumbled.
He didn’t walk around naked all the time.
He did it less now thanks to the house being full of horny women. Horny and jealous….
The man took a step closer, his cock flopping about as he moved.
Lucas had been shot at from gang members, random Normies, had spikes, balls of blue fire and more thrown at him by Supers, had confronted Mayor Carcass, and yet, he had never been more afraid of having something touch him.
“You’re not a Super. I’ve met many of Illuminate’s Super friends. Sometimes they bring along guys like you. You’re a Normie.”
Beside him, Michelle held her fist up. The guy stared at them, frowning. And then, her hands lit up, surrounded by a blaze of blue. “I’m a Super,” she said. “Can we meet with Illuminate?”
“Sure,” the guy said.
Apparently suddenly completely satisfied, he turned and walked down the corridor, leaving the door open.
“I guess we follow him,” Michelle said, smiling eagerly, still enjoying this very much.
“After you,” Lucas muttered.
“Sure,” Michelle didn’t even hesitate to follow the naked man, her eyes on his butt.
Lucas followed somewhat reluctantly. Sure, the guy was well built and decently well endowed, but he found it a little strange at how excited Michelle seemed by another naked man. He doubted he would have been this excited had the door been opened by a naked girl.
The naked man led them down the corridor and into the living room.
Again, it wasn’t the fanciest of living rooms.
The laminate flooring was tired, scratched. There was a three seater leather sofa against one wall, and two fabric armchairs. A mismatch of sorts. It was more like something a Normie would have in their living room. Not a Super.
Michelle sat on the leather sofa, and Lucas joined her.
“No,” the naked man said, waggling his finger at Lucas.
“No what?”
“Normies don’t sit with Supers. You stand.”
“Fuck off?” Lucas said, a little bored of the guy now.
“I will not fuck off, nor will I fetch Illuminate until you stand beside your Super like a disciplined Normie,” the man said, strangely calm.
“Not doing it,” Lucas insisted.
Beside him, Michelle leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Either show him you’re a Super, or stand up like a Normie.”
“How the hell am I supposed to show I’m a Super?” Lucas hissed back. “My only power at the moment is the ability to heal from being shot, after the wound has been treated!”
“Ah,” Michelle kissed her lips. “Can you just stand up? I really need to meet with the Super.”
Begrudgingly, Lucas climbed to his feet. “She better be fucking worth it!”
“She’s divine,” the naked man said.
“Wasn’t asking you,” Lucas snapped.
The naked man turned and disappeared. Lucas heard him walk up, the stairs creaking under his weight. He heard a door open, followed by muffled conversation. A moment later, the stairs creaked once more as both the naked man and the Super walked down the stairs and appeared by the door.
The Super was dressed casually in her nighties, as if she’d just stepped out of bed. Which she probably had. She walked into the room and collapsed on the armchair. She stared at Michelle, completely ignoring Lucas.
He found that a little odd. He was a tall guy, built well, ruggedly handsome. Girls usually noticed him.
“You’re a Super?” Illuminate asked. “I know all the Supers in town. How come I’ve never crossed paths with you before?”
“I’m new. Only been here a month or two.”
“What do you want?”
“I wanted to run for Mayor and-”
“You want me to join you,” Illuminate finished. “What are your terms?”
“Terms?” Michelle repeated.
“Yes. As Mayor, what do you expect from the Supers that follow you?”
“That they be good?”
It was Illuminate’s turn to repeat. “That they be good?”
“Yeah,” Michelle nodded. “You know, don’t hurt the Normies, keep law and order, that sort of stuff.”
“What about the terms of our relationship? The last Super that wanted me to join his group wanted me as his bitch. That’s not happening.”
Michelle lifted her hands up. “I certainly don’t want you to be my bitch. We’d have a sort of equal relationship, more like manager and employee?”
“Manager and employee?” Illuminate’s eyes sparkled. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard that term before.”
“It means-”
“I know what it means,” Illuminate interrupted. “Sounds fine to me.”
“Really?” Michelle asked, the excitement obvious in her voice.
“Sure, just one thing. Why should I join you?”
Michelle’s eyes faltered and she glanced at Lucas, confused. It hadn’t been the greatest of phrased questions. But he knew what she was getting at.
“She wants you to prove you’re strong enough to be Mayor.”
* * *
They were back in the car and driving to their next destination. So far, the day had gone pretty well. Perfect in fact, aside from the naked man. Illuminate was suitably impressed by Michelle’s powers. There weren’t many Supers that could do more than one thing. Michelle
had two impressive powers. The ability to throw balls of destructive blue and the ability to form a protective shield around herself.
“That was easy, wasn’t it?” Michelle said, giddy excitement in her voice. “Where are we going to next?”
“Katrina’s,” Lucas said. She was another Super, one that hadn’t taken on a Super name.
“I’ve got a good feeling about her,” Michelle rubbed her hands together. “It feels like one of those days, doesn’t it? Where everything goes right.”
Lucas didn’t reply. He hadn’t had many of those days, where everything went right. He’d had plenty of the opposite.
Days where everything went wrong.
He’d also had many days that started out right, then went horribly wrong.
He had a feeling this day was going to end like that.
Horribly.
He didn’t mention that to Michelle. There was no reason to ruin her happy mood.
The streets were quiet once more as they drove towards Katrina’s house. The few people they passed on the streets moved quickly, keeping their heads low.
They arrived at their next destination. Lucas parked the car by the side of the road. The house was easy to find. It resembled more what a traditional Super’s house would do. It was twice as big as every other house on the street. It was detached but not by design. Both terraced houses on either side had collapsed. Debris had been removed, though the walls hung jagged. The front lawn was neat, tidy. The grass was trimmed and flowerbeds grew along the fence.
Michelle and Lucas climbed up the steps that cut through the front garden. Having had a good experience earlier in the day, having not been shot at, Lucas raised his hand to knock on the door. It was then did he realise that the door was already open.
Lucas poked his head through the gap. He heard voices coming from insides. A conversation. A man speaking. A familiar voice…
Lucas walked into the house and down the corridor, following the voice. It came from the living room, where the door was ajar. Lucas poked his head in.
“Vengeance.”
Vengeance, the Super that previously owned Jenny, stood in the centre of the living room.
He wasn’t alone.
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