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It is practically a rule that the best of superhero teams will, upon meeting each other for the first time, break out into the most terrific strife ever seen this side of Skaia City. In the case of the vigilante known as The Summoner, and the state sponsored hero Red Justice, the fight lasted all of two minutes, at which point the Summoner was hung upside down from a lampost for the police to pick up. He subesquently demonstrated why he went by the moniker of "Summoner" by summoning a dragon with his grossly illicit magics.
"That is the most wicked cool thing I have EVER seen," Red Justice declared, amid explosions, and things went rather bumpily from there.
The partnership took off when they began, following separate leads, to work together to take down the rogue villain Mind Spyder, a lady of super villainous aspersions, a lair with minions, more vavavoom than the Summoner knew how to deal with on his own, and a set of illegal dice that had often rolled against Red Justice's favor. The less said about her mutant power, the better.
With a bunp that will go down through the ages, Red Justice and The Summoner cemented their epic team up with: "You sure you aren't going to want state sponsorship after this, Racktastical?"
"You sure you're not going to want to turn rogue like me, what with all that red and purple tape her Kismesis put in your way?"
Although Mind Spyder escaped, the explosions were truly of epic proportions, and afterward, it was decided that Milkshakes with saccarine slime were deserved all round.
Despite Red Justice's most legal of inclinations, never let it be said that she didn't know when justice should be blind. That was how she explained to herself both why it was okay to know the Summoner's favorite locations, civilian street identity, and enforce state authority, even when it was rather clear state authority was not always taking the interests of justice to heart. It got her into rather a lot of arguments with The Acolyte, another, supposedly retired vigilante in her circle.
"Yes, because conducting Holy Feast Day Blood Sacrifices in locations that are centered on sites of power is a purrrrrrrrfect accident."
"Not the coming apocalypse stuff again. You've been visiting your psiioniic friend in the Derse Detention Center again, haven't you?"
"Whyever would I admit to such an illegal action in furnt of Skaia City's rising lady cop and bounty buster?"
"Ah, lay off. The blood sacrifices have been happening for sweeps and sweeps, and you still haven't shown me anything bad other than a bit of stickiness underfoot. Anyway, I've got a friend who'd like to meet you."
"No you don't! The closest thing you have to a friend is your boss, and last time I met that doggoat face to grinning visage the outcome was verrrrry punpleasant. Anyway, you know I have a colorpoint about the sacrifices of the Mirthful. It's very weird to only use those twelve locations, all of them centered around the great tent. Twelve doesn't even play a role in ANY of the major teachings."
"Seriously, lay off, I'm trying to make a really awesome introduction here: Mr. Illicit Magics, meet Miss Misery Mage."
"You!"
"I, uh, kinda expected--"
"I'VE FELT YOU PLAYING WITH THE FUROCE LIONS. Ignorant little wriggler! You think the void monsters WANT to be pulled here and there through any dimension at YOUR beck and call?"
"Hey, I will have you know, in a non-aggressive, but extremely forthright way, those monsters are my friends. They, uh, have to be, because if they weren't I'd know it in my, um, head."
"I happen to know that you've been helping out Mind Spyder recently, and it shows in your logic."
It was not one of the better meetings in Paradox space, and since it did not devolve into open battle, they probably were not destined to do great things together.
Given the new information that The Summoner was working with Mind Spyder, Red Justice decided to apprehend the suspect who had brought them together on her own. It was better than letting the villainess tear them apart.
Surprisingly, when she went to the facade of the new lair in her civilian clothes, she was able to get in without any fuss from the robot minions. They it seemed had been programmed to dismantle everything, and there were several damning pieces of evidence ready to be sent out to the local constabulary, including a long description about the only flesh and blood minion who seemed to have retained his free will. Mind Spyder yelled some very nasty invectives at her minion as the robots helpfully subdued the arriving policemen who had not put on their telepathic shielding, and said minion surrendered quietly, looking down at the shackles on his wrist as though they were odd devices he had never considered in relation to his person.
Red Justice took that opportunity to erase the misdeeds of the Summoner from the files about to be sent to police headquarters. She turned to see the supposedly mad scientist, certainly promoted from minion status after this fiasco, staring at her badge.
He smiled before Mind Spyder managed to get her shackled hands free enough to club him about the head, and then retreat to the corner of the detention van, muttering about inglorious ways to go, and thick skulled brutes with no concept of gratitude.
Even through smokey lenses, he never took his eyes from her badge. "You have no idea how much I envy you your service."
"I hope prison finally makes you happy, you miserable lunk! I could have had it aaaaaaaall!"
Red Justice wanted to laugh at that, as for the last eight Prospit Cycles, Mind Spyder hadn't been able to get much, aside from the Summoner's regard. Red Justice had more than ample evidence of that, thanks to the ever so helpful files and robots. She decided not to ask why some of the recording devices had so many hours of footage of the Summoner drinking milk. She was fairly certain most of the footage had been looped.
Summs took the news worse than Red Justice had thought.
"What the--She was reforming!!! Actually, in the sense of sincerely, absolutely, uh, extremely, good from, well, I'm not going to call it evil, but you know, really reforming! How can you come in and wave that bloody badge around--"
"Yo, Summs-y listen to yourself! Mind Spyder. Uses. Her. Mind. To. Enslave. People. It's not illegal, it's just wrong! The stuff she makes them do, is totes illegal of course, but--"
"You let lowbloods be culled in religious rites every prospit cycle! You're telling me that's right? You selfish injust servant of a blood stained throne, get outta my hivebase!"
It was probably the worst slap in the face Red Justice had ever been dealt, and Mind Spyder had slapped her pretty hard once or twice with the Summoner's hand. She put her hands in her jacket, knowing she needed to repair what she had broken, but too proud to do so.
"Whatever, Mothy One. I'll see ya on the flip side when you're calmed down enough to see my reasons."
She let herself out, and promptly ran into a robbery a block from the hive base. She'd seen the distinctive smoothly curved horns before, at her acceptance ceremony to the Captial Police Force. Also, not many thieves were under the impression that bright magenta striping was the best camouflage. "Your Imperial Mayorship?!"
"Oi. Shut your clamtrap, flatflipper. This is a life of masked crime I'm embarking on. Wheel, I've been on it now for a coupla sweeps, halibut what can ya do?"
"You are the Imperial Mayorship of Skaia City, though."
"Reelly? We're still not respectin' the whole secret identity thing?"
"YOU DON'T NEED A BUNCH OF 500 BOONBUCK WATCHES!"
"Shore I do. It all belongs to me anyway, so why not take it in an interesting way. Now--you gonna try to arrest me, or are ya just gonna be a wet blanket on my fun parade?"
It was then that the thief (and she would never come up with a cool super villain name, sadly) decided to make her life more interesting by throwing her weapon at the cop. Red Justice had just enough reflexes to jump aside, but she backed into a narrow alley as the seadweller advanced--until the street blew apart.
Through the dust and smoke The Summoner flew down to toss Red Justice onto the back of his dragon, and they left the scene of the crime, just as the police sirens began to wail.
"I, just so that we are clear in this, as in every instance, have not, and I do not believe I will, ever forgive you for going behind my back. But, uh, I don't want to see you tridented? Forked? Uh, killed by seadwellers."
"That's just great, Dragon Friend," Red Justice said sincerely. "I don't want to have that happen either. Now, can we just find a bar or something. I want to commiserate with you about seadweller injustices and how I'm never, ever, ever going to be able to lock that one up."
"Thinking of turning rogue for me?"
"Nah. For myself though? Maybe."
There is almost a universal rule that when the threat is big enough, enemies become allies, and teams are formed to rally around at least until the threat is defeated, or maybe a little after.
"You will kneel."
The command brought the Condesce crashing to the asphalt, as the telekintetic pressure all around the rag tag crew slammed into them. Hard to imagine that a few minutes ago, before the stroke of midnight, the Demoness had been a statue in the grand tent. Red Justice had always thought that the cloth texture carved into the the pious body suit had been a little too realistic.
At her side, the Summoner's teeth chattered, and he fought to push himself upright against the psychic pressure. A little way away, at the center of one of her sources of power--Red Justice hoped she was on a power center, anyway--The Acolyte floated, chanting some vast incomprehensible word that encompassed all the rage, pain, and fury of every troll through out Skaia. Laughing, just a tad madly, Mind Spyder jiggled her fiendish loaded dice in her damaged arm, ready to let them roll in her favor, hopefully before her anti-grav belt lost the battle with the force of the Demoness' mind and crashed into the ground as well.
And then there was Red Justice, burdened with the greatest secret known to Skaia, with no more power in her than some good reflexes, and the fact that she had made the decision to stand and fight right here.
"We're really all going to die," The Summoner managed to grin from his place on one knee.
Red Justice felt her right leg buckle, and the Demonness' full attention had to be on the Condesce, who had just leveled up her tiers all the way to Imperial Incandescent, rage pouring forth.
"Or get horribly maimed," the Summoner added as an after thought. "I don't think I'd like to be maimed."
He was shaking with fear. And fighting telekinesis, but mostly fear. "Calm down, Nitram," Red Justice said, reaching out. She was still calm after all. That was her advantage. She was still calm. "Let's see how good she is with some void monsters."
"Totally flipping right," The Summoner grinned, dragging his hand to his head, and closing his eyes for focus.
Afterward, everyone decided it was time for milkshakes all around. The Summoner elbowed Red Justice in the ribs. "So, at what point are we going to tell people that no only did we unleash a bunch of horrorterrors on Skaia, but you gave your boss until midnight to turn himself in, thus letting all the sacrifices be completed, and all evidence against him erased?"
Red Justice glared at him. "Mind Spyder's still destined for the pokey."
"Whaaaaaaaat's that I hear four eyes?"
"Yo, flying cullbait, you say something about someone's boss?"
"I've been telling efuryone for how many sweeps now, those sacrifices were a bad way to deal with prisoners."
The End ???