Chapter Text
Lizzie was in a very good mood today. How could she not be? Today she was permitted to patrol on her own for the first time. All beginner heroes had to go on patrol with one of their more experienced peers for at least a month, but it took Lizzie double that to convince Cub, their manager, to go on her own. All because a new villain showed up not too long ago.
His name was Smallish, but don’t let the name fool you, he was anything but small. Even on TV it was clear he towered over the heroes and he certainly wasn’t a lightweight either. After all, he managed to fill the power vacuum that was left after the defeat of ZombieCleo all by himself. And even so, the Superhero Coalition knows nothing about him. No one knows who he is or what he wants, the only piece of information they have is that he only appears at night.
And that’s why Lizzie wasn’t worried, she was the only one in her team with the day shift so there was no chance of her encountering Smallish. So, she leapt across rooftops, helped anyone who needed it and occasionally took photos with some children. ShadowLady may have only been a superhero for two months but the children already adored her.
The city was quiet today. Well as quiet as a big city can be. Lizzie was grateful for that, since if she faced a problem she couldn’t solve and had to call for back up, Cub may not allow her to go on patrol alone again. The last thing Lizzie needed was Cub acting like an overbearing parent. Luckly she was already done patrolling, and nothing could spoil her happiness over a job well done.
Except maybe meeting Life City’s most dangerous villain face to face.
And there he was. On the next rooftop sat none other than Smallish. What was he doing here? Lizzie guessed he was muttering something, but the only sound Lizzie could hear was her own heartbeat. He was scary even on TV, but seeing him in person? One thought envelopes your mind;
Whatever he is, he is not human
“Run”, her mind screamed, “run” . But filled with terror, Lizzie couldn’t move. Her heart beat faster and faster. If his inhuman physique was enough to immobilize her then how is she supposed to fight back when he actually does something?
Then Smallish turned to look at her. His black metallic mask covered all of his face and had white mesh covering the eye holes, but even so Lizzie knew what his expression was. For a second, she wondered what’s behind that mask but just as quickly realized she doesn’t want to know.
She finally snaped out of it when Smallish tried to say something. She didn’t even hear what he said, she just bolted away. A couple blocks away she turned around to make sure she wasn’t followed. She wasn’t, so she headed towards the Superhero Coalition’s HQ, determined to not tell anyone about today’s surprise encounter.
The HQ was nearly empty, which wasn’t odd since most heroes don’t come here until sundown. The only people that were there were former vigilante HotGuy and his sidekick CuteGuy. HotGuy greeted Lizzie with a friendly conversation, but CuteGuy just asked: “Is something wrong, ShadowLady?” Oh, so Lizzie haven’t been masking her concern as well as she thought. “I’m just a little tired,” she said, way less confidently than she tried too. He clearly wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t press any further.
After a bit more chatting it was time for HotGuy and CuteGuy to go on patrol and for Lizzie too clock out. So, she wrote her report to Cub, changed back into her civilian clothes and left through a hidden exit.
When she got home, she was greeted by her roommate Gem. Gem was also a superhero , but due to the nature of her powers she could work from home. Lizzie could only wonder how she got that privilege, since Gem clearly worked in the field for quite a while before.
Regardless, it was time to head to bed.
“I just think that the villains have way better names than we do”
“What’s wrong with our names?”
“Scar, your superhero name is HotGuy”
“What’s wrong with HotGuy ? Or are you implying that I’m not a hot guy?”
“It’s just that it doesn’t actually say anything about you. You’re a sniper, so shouldn’t your name be Bullseye or something?”
“…Fair enough. Then enlighten me on why you chose CuteGuy?”
“I’m your sidekick, we have to match. But I didn’t just mean the two of us, I meant all the heroes. HotGuy, CuteGuy, Solidarity, MoonMoth, and I think the worst offender is- well, was Mr. Beans. The only superhero with an actually good name is ShadowLady”
“What about Astral?”
“Ok, then the only superheroes with good names are ShadowLady and Astral. Compare that to the villains; ZombieCleo , The Red King...”
“Listener”
“Exactly!”
“No,” said HotGuy and pointed up to the nearest roof. “Listener.” And sure enough, there he was . His blond hair stood out against the night sky like a firefly in a field. CuteGuy looked directly at him and said “Spying on us, are you? I suggest you run back to your master before I kick your butt” . He didn’t say it loudly but he knew Listener heard him. Listener could hear everything in his field of view, even if he stood on top of a building and his target stood below it.
Unsurprisingly, the blonde didn’t move. Ok then. CuteGuy spread his wings and prepared for takeoff, but then he felt HotGuy’s touch on his shoulder. “We should report this to HQ.” CuteGuy knew that’s what the rules say they should do, but he was never too into rules. “You’re the boss,” he sighed. Every day he regreted becoming an official superhero with Scar, but they have been through so much together that they couldn’t just split.
After a couple minutes of walking in silence HotGuy asked : “What about Smallish?”
“What?”
“Do you think his supervillain name is also good?”
“No, it’s horrible”