Good Intentions / Bad Redemptions — by SylkWeaver — Everyday Sweets #15 (Part 1)
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Santa's Secret Transfic Anthology Vol. 2 / Everyday Sweets #15 (Part 1)

Good Intentions Bad Redemptions cover

Good Intentions / Bad Redemptions

by SylkWeaver

Content Warning

Light violence, superheroes

[collapse]

Sebastian Tinker is the child of a famous super hero family. A family full of famous inventor supers. But unfortunately for him, his power is underwhelming when compared to the rest of his family.

When he unexpectedly develops a second power that's more suited for hero work, he does the most logical thing. He becomes a villain. And also a girl, to protect his identity of course.

Okay, maybe not the MOST logical thing, but he definitely has a good reason! He'll become a hero eventually, there are just some things to take care of before then.

SylkWeaver


1. Sebastian Tinker

An empty cola can skids across the street, clinking with every bounce against the pavement. I follow it down the street, kicking it again as I draw closer. The can goes skidding across the pavement again, stopping at the foot of someone stepping into the end of the alley. I look up at that, looking around at my surroundings more critically.

I sigh, straightening up at seeing my surroundings. I accidentally walked into one of the seedier parts of downtown. Not as disturbing as if I was a normal person, but I should still keep my wits about myself. The person the cola can stopped in front of smirks at me, sauntering forwards slowly. I turn around, wanting to avoid the encounter entirely.

When I turn around though, I notice a second person behind me that I hadn’t noticed following me. “Hey, buddy. Where are you headed?” The guy behind me sneers, holding a knife. I roll my eyes at the obvious threat.

“Home? Do we have to do this?” I complain. The thug looks at me derisively, pointing his knife towards me.

“No funny business, kid. Just give us your wallet and we won’t poke you full of holes.” The thug behind me says.

I think through the various devices at my disposal, trying to decide which one I should use. After a couple of seconds, I sigh again, reaching into my left back pocket slowly. I pull out a wallet, tossing it towards the person in front of me. He catches the wallet midair, running off with it. The person behind me kicks me in the back, causing me to stumble forwards. He runs off too, following his friend.

I straighten up, stretching as I do so. They should be caught by the police in no time. That wallet is a decoy, and with the press of a button I can activate the tracking capabilities on it. It's what they get for trying to rob someone from the Tinker family. Not that I’m a hero like the rest of my family. A superhero family known for our inventions, but my power is incredibly underwhelming. My only ability is to make slightly abnormal inventions randomly. Coming from a family of inventors so well known to the super community because of their mind boggling super powered inventions, I’m the unimpressive black sheep of the family name.

Despite that, my family has been unusually intense about me becoming a licensed hero for the local super team lately. An argument about this very topic being the reason for my late evening stroll.

I continue onwards, towards the local park, my aimless wandering having brought me here by habit. I sink onto a swing with a sigh, hanging my head as I swing back and forth slowly.

If only my power were more useful. I could actually DO something about everything that's been going on lately. The local super team sucks and crime has shot up lately because of it. The only downside to the idea of becoming a hero being all the parts of the job that are public. Being a superhero is like being a celebrity, and the less reason for the media to talk about me, the better. I've had my fill of headlines mentioning 'Sebastian Tinker, the unfortunately average child of a famous family of inventors'.

I look upwards at the night sky, idly watching the twinkle of the stars as time passes by. That's when I see it.

A streak of light flying across the sky, slowly getting bigger. No, two streaks, weaving around each other. The streaks split, still both falling towards the ground. I smile thinly. Two lucky souls are gonna get powers tonight. Hopefully their bestowed power is greater than my inherited one.

One of the streaks breaks off course, judging by the trajectory I'd say it's heading for downtown somewhere. The other streak adjusts, shifting in my direction. I widen my eyes at that, looking at the houses around me. Someone nearby is going to become a super.

I watch with bated breath as the star draws closer, it's trajectory not changing. I chuckle nervously as I notice that it's getting awful close. Like, really close. I… There's no one nearby, right?

I turn my head this way and that, looking for some hiding people. There's not a single person around.

That's weird, it still looks like it's coming right for… Me.

My eyes go wide as it continues to rocket towards me. But… I'm already a super? I stand up from the swing abruptly at that thought. 

My next thought is interrupted by a deafening impact overwhelming all of my senses and everything going white and then pitch black.

The world comes into focus around me and I'm struck by the sense of laying on something incredibly soft. I groan, pushing myself up on the plush like material. My head is still spinning as I try to get my bearings about me. I can feel a strange flicking sensation on top of my head as the sounds around me fade back into clarity.

I look around me in confusion. I'm in the local park. After a few seconds, the confusion clears and everything comes back to me at once. The star. I was hit.

I spring to my feet, stumbling a bit on the soft ground and grumbling in annoyance at it. Then, suddenly, the ground isn't soft anymore. It returns to being hard and level, and I'm hyper aware of that fact.

Before I can think too closely on that, I'm distracted by the feeling of my tail flicking around behind me. Shocks of electric surprise shoot up my spine at the feeling and I reach around and grab my tail. It hurts as I pull on it.

Ow, yeah, that's attached to me. I twist my body, looking down at it. Aside from the tail I'm… Slender. I suppress some joy at this, that despite the changes I didn't become all muscled up or anything. I feel around for more changes and notice several. The larger ones being that I have two fluffy ears on top (that explains the flicking sensation) and my eyesight is really good now despite it being night time. My skin is also really soft and sensitive, especially around my chest. That's where a lot of my vitals are, so I must have been given some weaknesses. Pretty tame as far as weaknesses go, so I'm not complaining. My clothes shift around me, feeling very loose for some reason.

I run my finger through my tail, feeling the thrill of excitement over having a nonhuman feature. Half the population has at least one non-human feature, but my family is one of very few super families left with almost no non-human features.

I focus on the world around me and I get confused. I realize with a start that I can feel the ground around me. Suddenly, I feel something moving behind me and I turn around quickly. A fly is buzzing around about two feet away.

I have a second power? I stumble away from the fly and towards the metal pole of the swingset nearby, reaching out to grab a hold of it. I grip the soft almost cushion like metal, squeezing it gently. My eyes go wide at this action, letting go of the soft pole. My hand grip stays embedded in the metal and I can instantly tell that it has stopped being soft. I run my hand over the now warped metal in awe.

I have a second power.

I soften the ground below me and it becomes plush-like once more. The effect only extends two feet around me. I bounce on it gently, but the moment I make it hard again, it springs back to its former shape for the most part, completely different from the metal.

I have a second power! I can make things within a short radius soft, and I have some extra sense around me for the area of the effect. I shake my hands excitedly, jumping up and down on the ground, making it soft for my landings and then hardening it again to push me up. The effect leads to me bouncing up high, the action becoming almost reflexive.

As I'm falling, I can even make the air around me softer as I'm falling back to the ground. The air cushions my fall, causing me to float back down to the ground softer than I would have normally.

I pause, thinking about my family. If they find out that I've gotten a second power that isn't inventing, what will they say? My smile droops to a frown at the thought. They probably won’t take it well… I look at my tail and ears, seeing if I can make them go away.

I feel myself growing taller, the ears and tail retracting, my body returning to it's clunky and… old form. I hadn't even realized that I'm so much shorter in my other form. That explains why I was practically swimming in my hoodie earlier. I try to soften the ground like this, but the sense has gone away. I'm my normal, boring self. I let out a breath, part relief that I can keep my new power secret, but also part wishing I was back in my new form.

I hurry away from the park, in case anyone comes looking for the new supers in the area. I don't know how long I was out, but that should be enough time for Dad to have gone to bed. Mom won't be back until tomorrow, so I shouldn't run into her either. I don't want to have another conversation about hero work this soon after a change. I need to think about what I'm going to do.


2. Present Perfect

I tap my foot, looking at the suit on my bed. My tail flicks idly behind me as I debate whether or not I’m actually going to do this. I made my own super suit. My power, my inherited power, seemed to know what I needed to make. I started on my next project and when I was halfway through I understood what I was making. My own super suit.

The nice thing about having a family of inventors is constantly having access to all the parts and pieces I could ever need. Not that I could ever explain how to rebuild something I’ve built. I find that when I’m working on a project, I can feel something greater guiding me through every step of the process, the actual materials used lost in the process. It’s like that for a lot of inventor supers, especially ones from my family.

I turn away from the suit, looking at my mirror. I have to still the strange beating in my heart as I see myself. When I first looked into my mirror looking like this, I thought a girl had snuck into my room. I can’t deny that when I look like this, I really look like a girl. Even though I’m not. I’ve already wrestled with all the strange feelings looking feminine brings me and settled into a solemn resolve.

Rather than trying to change how I look though, after seeing the suit I’ve created, it might be the best idea to lean into that interpretation. If people think that I’m a girl, then they will never connect the dots about my real identity. Plus, I know I’m not a girl, and that’s what matters.

Then there’s my new features. I wiggle my ears happily in the mirror. My family is full of supers, but we all inherited our powers. I’m now one of the only people in my family currently to have any non-human features, aside from the few that have married into the family in recent years. It honestly feels great. I find myself running my fingers through my tail occasionally while I’m working in my lab, just enjoying the feeling. Not to mention the increased balance and senses that come from the form. It just feels good to be in this form. Even if I’m much smaller than before, I don’t really mind it.

I shake my head, pulling the suit up and holding it over my body. I mean, I’ve already admitted that my body is feminine, but… why is the suit I made so… cute. Whatever higher force guides my projects must have both a sense of humor and some sort of grudge against me. The suit has very short shorts and an asymmetrical combat skirt, long on the left side and short on the other. The top has a similar asymmetrical sleeve, shorter on the right side and longer on the other. The whole outfit has a Black and Toxic Green color set, which I have to admit looks pretty cool.

There’s even a pair of matching knee high boots, black to match my feline features and the rest of the suit. To round out the outfit is a simple style mask and a hood.

Aside from looking nice, the suit is also practical. I made it after all. Even if I’ve gotten a new power, I was happy to know that my inherited power is still functioning. The suit is blast resistant, tear resistant, hydrophobic, nonconductive, self repairing, and on voice command it can turn into a bracelet for me to wear so I always have it at the ready.

It sounds impressive, but most of that is achieved by good material. I only added the self repairing and the bracelet transformation. Another underwhelming invention as usual. I’m just glad my power was cooperative enough to make a suit at all.

I begin stripping out of my much too big lounge clothes. It’s been two days since I got my second set of powers and I still haven’t gone out to buy some clothes for my new form. With my tinier stature and much smoother skin, I’ve given up trying to wear my old pants. As long as I’m the only one around, I might as well just wear my hoodie like a dress.

With my hoodie and tee shirt tossed aside, I get dressed into the suit I made. Thankfully, rather than fiddling with everything manually, I remember that it can turn into a bracelet. “Adira, power down.” I command. I smile at the sound of my voice. Another welcome change from the transformation. The suit, I named her Adira, immediately retracts into the size of a small bracelet. I clip it around my wrist securely.

“Adira,” I say hesitantly, “Power up.” Instantly I can feel the suit slip itself on, carefully stowing away the clothes I was wearing into a small pocket section of the suit. They should remain safe there until I power the suit down again, then they’re automatically put back on me.

I look myself over in the mirror, looking for any problems in the suit. There shouldn’t be, I made the damn thing. While my inventions are underwhelming, I haven’t made any mistakes yet. Thankfully, I don’t find any.

I twist around, watching my tail flick around just under a bit of skirt. Thankfully the shorts I’m wearing just under the skirt keep my modesty even if my tail manages to flip a part of my skirt up. Looking at myself in this outfit, it works. I look really good, and I honestly feel amazing. I feel like I’m missing something though…

I turn towards the lab section of my room, rummaging through some of my older inventions. I find what I’m looking for after a few minutes of digging. A pair of Tonfa with retractable blades. Another underwhelming invention on it’s own. However, If I’m correct, these should allow me to respond non-lethally and, when combined with my power, allow me to cut through metal and other substances like butter. I slip them into some holsters that I strap to the side of my boots.

With my outfit on and a weapon acquired, I look at the window. Am I really going to do this?

Before I can let myself second guess anything, I run towards the open window and jump out it.

The wind rushes past me quickly for several seconds and as the roof of a nearby building approaches quickly, I turn the air around me soft. My descent slows, eventually ending in me floating down to the roof much slower than before. I turn it soft as I land, sinking slightly into it before letting it re-harden. The brick stays indented slightly and I wince at that. I’d have to be careful about the marks I leave in materials like brick and metal.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. I look up at my open window. I really did it. I’m doing this.

I’m going to become a super villain.

I run along the rooftops, running through the plan in my head. I need to be a super villain for a while for this plan to work. The local super team is atrocious, and while I have no doubt I’d be a shoe-in despite how notoriously underwhelming my inherited power is. Part of that is my family name, and part of it is that I could reveal that I have two powers now.

But I have a better idea than that.

I’ll be a supervillain for a while. Have some fun, maybe rob a bank or something. Keep civilians safe in my free time. Practice with some of my combat training from growing up against the local losers at Warden HQ, knock them around a bit. Then, after some time, I switch sides. Make a spectacle of it and plead for mandatory hero work under the villain reform act. I’d be under house arrest for a bit while they make sure that I’m actually turning to the good side.

Also hope that they don’t realize I’m a Tinker in the interim. Villain reform tends to have a bit of a cascade effect. If popular villains choose to reform and become heroes, crime goes down a bit in those cities. Members from the team often moving or reforming themselves. More heroes, less crime. And with the poor job this city's super team is doing, they could really use more people on their side. If they find out that I’m from the Tinker family though, I’d lose all my villain street cred immediately.

As of yet, there’s only one formidable villain in this town, but there are a couple up and comers trying to make a name. I just need to outshine all of them. Unlike those other villains, I don’t need to worry about my identity or my gear as much. I figure that I can make a reasonable name for myself for a month or two before being ‘caught’ and reforming my ways.

Besides, if I’m a villain, maybe I’ll get contacted by some other villains and learn something incriminating about them. It’s a risk, but it’s a foolproof plan. Good job Seb. Hmm, maybe I should think of a fake name? I have my villain name, but I don’t have a fake normal name. Don’t want to get caught because I accidentally tell someone my name is Sebastian.

“Heya, kitty cat!” A voice startles me out of my thoughts and I immediately tense. I stop my running along the rooftops, looking around quickly. My eyes narrow as I spot someone leaning against a wall nearby. She has a mask on as well and I run through lists of heroes in my head, ruling each one out in time. “Where are you rushin’ to?”

I look over her carefully before standing up straighter, folding my arms derisively. “What’s it to you?” Looking at her, she has a pair of fox ears herself as well as a matching red fox tail. Fox features are one of the more common features even among the unpowered population.

She shrugs, pushing off from the wall and walking closer. “You’ve got a fancy suit. You a new super? Don’t particularly look like a hero, though. What’s your deal.” She stops just outside my radius, pausing abruptly as if deciding whether to take another step. My eyes widen as I look at her. She’s not a hero, she’s one of those up and coming villains I mentioned.

“You’re right. I’m not a hero.” I say, watching her carefully.

She smiles wide at that, eyeing me up and down while walking in a circle around me. “My, how bold! And what if I were a hero, huh?”

“You’re not.” I tell her evenly.

“How astute. I take it that you’ve heard of me?”

“Present Perfect. You made a fool of the local hero team with your debut. Walked circles around them. People were saying you must be some kind of precog.” I leave out the fact that her fight with the heroes is a large part of the reason I chose the plan I did.

“Wow, a glowing review! You make it sound like you don’t think I’m a precog though,” she smiles at me cheekily.

“I don’t know what your power is, it seems like they might have been right, though.” I say slowly, looking her up and down. “You won’t get within two feet of me.”

“Ooh, you’re fun. Smart girl.” She says. She steps closer and I prepare for a fight, but she just raises her hand up for me to shake. “My name’s Sarah, do you wanna fight heroes with me?”

I halter at that, looking her up and down. Is that her real name? Why would she give me her real name just like that. Surely that’s some sort of code name. What’s she getting at? As I look at her, she rolls her eyes, pointing to her outstretched hand. “You’re supposed to shake it.”

“Why should I? How do I know it’s not a trick?” I ask, slowly.

She shrugs at that, frowning gently as she looks up. “I don’t really know. All of the paths I can take here end up with us joining forces though, so I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I could use a partner out here, kinda boring fighting heroes alone.”

“Paths?” I ask.

“My power,” she taps her temple with her other hand, “it lets me see multiple outcomes and multiple paths. I have to try and make sense of them myself, though.”

I look her in the eye, but she seems completely genuine.

“How far ahead can you see?” I ask carefully.

“Hmmm… I’m not sure. It’s really hard to rely on paths if it’s too far out. Only the outcomes matter at that point.”

“What outcomes do you see for us teaming up?” I ask.

She frowns, dropping her hand and thinking for a moment. “I can only see three paths and three outcomes at a time, there are still outcomes and paths that I don’t know the answer to.” She explains.

“Well, which three can you see?”

“There are two outcomes where we end up working for the heroes… and there’s one where you aren’t around and I’m still a villain.” she folds her arms, looking me up and down again. “Why would us teaming up lead to working for the heroes?”

I fold my arms, looking at her. “Villain reform cascade.” I say simply.

She sticks her tongue out at that. “That dumb statistic?” shrugging her shoulders at that, she holds her hand up again for me to shake. “These futures seem interesting. If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for me.” She gives me a wide grin and I shake my head disbelievingly. Still, if what she’s saying is true… maybe we’ll get along.

I look at her hand, thinking it over briefly. Having a precog of any kind on my side will definitely help. Besides, if what she’s saying about the future is true, two popular villains switching sides to good is even better than one. I make my decision, reaching out and shaking her hand. “Okay then, Sarah. If you’re sure, then I’ll trust you for now.”

Sarah shakes my hand excitedly, smiling widely. “So… I imagine you weren’t just hopping rooftops for the fun of it? Do you want to go make a scene?”

I smile back at her, nodding once. “You know it.”


3. Burnout

“So, kitty cat, what’s your deal?” Present Perfect, the villain running the rooftops alongside me, says.

“Stop calling me that. My name is Soft Paw.” I say simply.

“Awww, cute,” She coos. I glare at her, daring her to continue teasing me. She seems to take the hint, continuing more seriously, “What’s your power then?”

“I make things soft. Two foot range, about.”

To show her, I jump to the next rooftop, softening the air, but keeping my landing solid. Don’t want to leave a trail of dents in the rooftops that leads right back to my house. I float to the next rooftop as she makes a normal jump, rolling as she lands to take the oomph out of her landing.

She whistles as she watches me land softly. “Nice,” She looks thoughtful for a moment, “Can you use it on people?” She asks that question a little hesitantly.

I offer my hand out and she looks at it hesitantly. She must be using her power to make sure I’m not about to disfigure her or something. After a second, she seems satisfied with what she sees and takes my hand. I soften her hand, bending it backwards like rubber. The moment I lift the effect, her arm snaps back to its normal shape with force.

She looks at her own arm in horrified fascination. I start explaining as I keep moving to the next rooftop, “Organic matter has a memory of its shape and it always returns to it. Trees, people, food. Good for softening punches or disarming people, not good for actually hurting people. Which is fine, I don’t want to send anyone to the hospital.” I shift at that last thought uncomfortably. Super fights have gotten cleaner over the years, but sometimes supers who don’t know their own strength have occasionally gone a little overboard. Thank goodness for medical inventor supers.

“Huh… neat. That must be very useful then!” She says. I smile nervously. Truth is, I have almost no clue yet. It should be more than enough for the local super team as is, though. “So, where are we headed?”

I point to the distance. “The Bank on main street. It’s the perfect place to make a scene.”

She frowns, looking over at me. “Isn’t a bank a bit high profile for our first team up?”

“It was my plan before you tagged along. You can handle your own, right?” She nods. “That bank is in the perfect spot, farther from the police station than the Warden HQ. The supers will arrive first, we rough them up a bit, and then when it looks dicey there’s a maze of alleys around for us to lose the heroes in.”

She looks at me, puzzling something out. “In one outcome we both get caught.” I consider this, jumping to the next rooftop.

“You said you can see paths?” I ask, considering her words.

“I can. The three paths that I can see are dependent on which of us leaves the bank first. One has me leaving first, leaving you to fend for yourself. One has you leaving first, leaving me to fend. The last has both of us leaving at once.” She raises her hand up, “But for outcomes that are farther away, The vision is more broad than it is clear. The paths ahead branch out more and more the further ahead you look. I can only see three branches at a time. When I’m in a fight, that’s enough choices, but when you’re looking that far ahead you can’t trust the outcomes to be all that happens. We could both escape, but both be seriously injured. Or we could escape, but one of us is secretly tracked home. I work best in the moment.” She smiles at me jokingly. “That’s why I called myself Present Perfect, not Future Perfect.” I smile at her joke, chuckling lightly.

I shake my head, trying to parse all of that. “So… if I’m getting this right… your visions get less clear the farther out?” I ask, looking at her for approval.

She nods, smiling thinly, “The future isn’t set in stone until it happens. It’s kinda confusing to think about if you don’t have the power to help you understand it.”

I think about this as we approach the bank. “The future gets clearer as it approaches the present…” I look over at my new companion. I’m placing a lot of trust in this person I’ve just met. Looking down at the bank though, I’m feeling confident. Three paths, two of them leading to our success, one to my failure. Unknown paths lay behind me. I could just walk away and not risk it. The future isn’t set in stone until it happens.

I look over at my new partner, seeing that she’s already watching me carefully. I shoot her a cocky smile. It feels appropriate. “Let’s go rob a bank.”

She smiles back, holding up a hand to stop me. “Before you jump right in, do you mind giving me a hand on the way down? I can’t exactly jump off roofs like you can.”

I roll my eyes, reaching over and picking her up into a princess carry. She gasps at that, looking at me wide eyed. “Oh, uh, wow. You’re stronger than you look, short stuff.”

I raise an eyebrow at her, “If you call me short stuff, I’ll have a hard time regretting dropping you.”

“Tall stuff. Really really tall stuff. Please don’t drop me, thank you.” She amends. I smirk at that, taking a step towards the side of the roof and hopping off. I slow our descent, cushioning the air below as we fall. The landing is a little rough and I drop her onto her feet so I can save the rest of my strength for fighting heroes. “Wow. That was so cool! What a neat power.” Present Perfect, Sarah she had called herself, is saying to herself.

“Says the precog,” I chuckle. “Okay, best bank robbing face. We’ve got an impression to make.”

I pull my Tonfas out of their holsters on the sides of my boots and Present Perfect gawks at them. She holds back from asking any questions about them, instead focusing her attention on the bank. I wonder how much active thinking her using her power takes up. It seems like the kind of thing she can’t keep up all the time.

The two of us walk the steps into the bank and I push the doors open wide. Several guards notice us immediately, training their guns on us. I can see some bank tellers at the other end of the bank looking our way in confusion, and then a bit of nervousness. I step a couple steps in front of Present Perfect and raise a tonfa, shouting into the air. “This is a bank robbery! Get on the floor and preferably out of the way!” I use my sweetest voice and thankfully some people listen.

The guards don’t listen, opening fire on me. I keep my field active on the air around me, the cushion of air slowing down the bullets, and then eventually softening the bullets themselves. They splash against my suit harmlessly, flattening out and falling towards the ground softly.

If they were moving faster, they might have stung more, maybe left bruises. If they were old fashioned bullets they would hurt, maybe. I’ve never been so grateful to my Grandfather Aaron Tinker for inventing mass production Tinker Brand Pain Pellets. They’ve long since replaced almost all common forms of ammunition. A few of the squishy bullets manage to hit some bare skin on my right arm, but the pain it shoots through that arm is dulled thanks to the low speed.

I smirk at the guards, walking closer while they shoot my own family's tech right towards me. As I near the first guard, I can see that they’re all nervous about the bullets' lack of effect on me. I grab the first guard's gun, crushing it like playdoh. They all look at me in shock. “Sorry, I forgot the magic word. Please get on the floor.” I grin at them widely.

“Y-yes ma’am.” The guard in front of me drops to the floor quickly, the rest of them dropping their guns and doing the same. I try to shake off my blush at his words. Right, I forgot that they think I’m a girl.

“Thank you.” I drop the crushed gun, sauntering my way through the nearly quiet bank. Present Perfect is waiting by the door, keeping a lookout. I glance at her and she nods to me. So far so good.

I approach the counter, looking over it. “Hello, I’d like some service.” I tap my tonfa against the glass roughly. I can see some horns barely peeking over the desk. 

Slowly, a head peeks over the counter slowly. It’s a younger woman, she has horns coming out of her head that look menacing despite how scared out of her mind she looks. I frown at that, but shake my head gently. I’m a villain, people are going to be scared of me. “Um… Y-yes ma’am?”

“Have you contacted the heroes yet?” I ask directly. Her eyes go wide and she shakes her head abruptly. I frown at that, “Then do it. Hit the silent alarm or whatever. And then let me into the safe.” Her look of fear turns to confusion at the command, but she reaches under the desk to press what I presume to be the silent alarm.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the safe, but I have to keep up the facade that this is a normal bank robbery. Maybe make it out with a few thousand dollars or so. It’s not like the banks can’t afford it, people's accounts are insured.

The woman guides me around the side of the counter and towards a large door. She starts entering a code and the door swings open. Inside are a bunch of lockboxes. I walk near a couple of them and I realize that I can feel which boxes have stuff inside of them with my power. I reach over to a couple of boxes, softening the locks and pulling them open. The locks are soft, so the box pulls open without issue.

I reach in and pull out a wad of bills. I pull out several more wads and realize with a start that I didn’t bring anything to put the money in. I reach down, softening the money and squishing it together tight. I shove a couple wads into my boots. Money is made of paper or at least something like paper. Paper is organic, so it’ll expand back into the right shape later without problem.

“COMPANY!” Present Perfect yells from out in the lobby. I hum to myself happily, turning back from the lockboxes.

Guess it’s show time.

I leave the woman behind and step out into the lobby and I have to pause abruptly at what I see.

One, two, three, four, five heroes.

The local wardens only have four heroes. Reflex, Ballast, Sensate, and Tempo. All of whom are accounted for, but there’s one extra.

“We are the Wardens of Vogate and you two are under arrest! Come willingly and we can talk about this.” That’s reflex talking, defacto leader of the group.

“Mmmm, no, I don’t think so.” Present Perfect says, looking over their group. “And who’s this? A new recruit?” The group watches her warily, no doubt recalling their last encounter with her.

“My name is Burnout.” The new recruit says, his voice gruff. It sounds oddly familiar for some reason. “And you must be Present Perfect?”

“Ooh, so you’ve heard of me?” She leans against a wall, feigning casualty. “Is that why you look so… tense?” I blink at that. Was that a… grammar pun? She looks over the group. “Aww, come on. Not even one laugh? You lot are no fun.” She pouts. I watch her carefully and despite looking completely relaxed, I can see her eyes are watching the Wardens carefully.

“Who’s your new friend, Present?” Ballast asks, stepping forward and pointing over at me. Shoot, I forgot that I’m not a spectator for this.

I step forward, bowing with a flourish. “The name’s Soft Paw, Wardens. New to the area, thought I’d say hi.” I keep my eyes on them throughout my bow, especially watching out for Burnout. I know what the others do, but Burnout is an unknown variable.

“Dodge right!” I hear Present Perfects shout a second before Burnout lurches forward. I shift to the right, rolling out of the way. I watch as Burnout rushes forward quickly, a multicolored fog rising up behind him. Burnout is looking around, fist where I just was. My eyes go wide at that. Burnout is a speedster?

“Sensate!” That’s Reflex again, but I can’t see him through the fog left in Burnout’s wake. I try to cover my ears, but I’m too slow.

I hear a shriek from somewhere above, sending my ears ringing. Then I’m not able to hear anything. Sensate, he can turn off one sense from anyone that hears his shriek. It lasts five minutes, but that’s five minutes that none of my other senses can be affected. He has his own cooldown. Burnout turns away from me, heading for Present Perfect. I turn my attention to the two that I can see on this side of the fog wall.

Ballast and Tempo. Both of them keep their distance from the fog wall, advancing on me carefully. Formidable opponents in their own right, Tempo is the one I have to keep an eye on most. Thankfully, neither of them have wings like Sensate, this will be a grounded battle.

I have the advantage of surprise here, neither of them knowing what my power does. I hold my tonfas up, ready to fight. I need to figure out how to deal with Tempo without letting her lay a finger on me.

Tempo runs for me first, reaching out to touch me. I dodge back and then dip left, keeping my distance from her attacks. I soften the air between us and her clawing swipes slow down like she’s trying to hit me through molasses. I kick her legs out from under her, letting her fall and hit the ground. I mutter a sorry under my breath. Don't exactly feel great hitting a girl, but really she attacked first.

Ballast comes at me from the side, sending a blast of force my way. I try to dodge out of the way, but it hits me square in the side. The force knocks me over, but I soften the ground as I hit it, rolling into it and leaping back to my feet. I can see Ballast’s mouth moving and I figure she must be talking to Tempo. Of course they have some way not to be affected by Sensate’s power.

Ballast only has a set amount of energy for her force blasts that she can use in a day, so she tends to use them sparingly. I just need to watch out and make sure I don’t get hit by any blasts that she might make more powerful.

I get a crazy idea, looking between the two of them. I have to wait for them to be in the right position, but it should work. Ballast shoots another blast of force my way, but I manage to dodge this one, twisting my body out of the way. I make some false strikes with my tonfas, mostly forcing her to keep her distance.

Tempo gets up, looking at me more cautiously. Ballast starts making her way physically towards me, attempting to close the gap. I grip my tonfas tight, running right at Ballast. Her eyes go wide and she stops advancing. She shoots a larger blast of energy towards me. I make the air in front of me soft, trying to curve the shot away and throwing it slightly off course so I can dodge it. It misses me just barely, the force from it pushing the air around it and causing my hood to ripple slightly. I jump at her, kicking at her midsection.

She braces for the kick, holding her arms up in front of her. I smile at this, using my power to soften her as my kick lands. Her body contorts strangely, like rubber. My foot sinks into her as she stands her ground. Then I stop the effect, her body springing back to its normal shape.

The snapping force of her body returning to that shape launches me at high speeds, using her like a springboard and shooting me to the side and directly towards Tempo. She holds her hands out in front of herself, but I don't soften the impact.

I ram right into her arm, but her hand manages to touch my right arm before I’m able to fully barrel her over and the world around me speeds up significantly.

In the few seconds before I hit the ground, I can barely see the blur that I was bowling into moving out of the way, a rope quickly affixing around me after only seconds.

Tempos ability. She can slow people down a random amount for one minute, and with objects she can control how slow she makes them. She managed to touch me, so everything around me isn’t moving fast, I'm moving slowly.

The world snaps back to normal motion after only a second and I'm careening towards the ground still, but now restrained by a rope. I soften the impact, but it still hurts to land on your face. I'm forced into a sitting position by Ballast, her gripping the collar of my shirt and yanking me up.

The fog separating our groups is clearing up now, new puffs of fog scattered around on the other side of the room. Present Perfect is surrounded by Reflex and Burnout, but uninjured. I turn to Sensate, who is flying around the fight with his big white wings. As I watch he reacts to some device on his wrist. The heroes around me and Present Perfect all reach up to touch a button near their ears. He sucks in a breath, letting out a shriek.

I don't hear it, though. The world around me is still mute. My eyes go a little wider at that, glancing over to Tempo. She slowed time for me, so my five minutes isn't up yet. I can see Present Perfect looking around frantically, just barely dodging a left hook from Reflex.

She can’t see. He got rid of our hearing so Present Perfect couldn't tell me what to do, but now that I'm out of the fight, he's taking away her sight. In a two on one with Reflex and Burnout, she loses that fight.

But she should be able to hear me now.

"Run!" I shout as loud as I can. I can't hear myself, only feel the vibrations, but she hears me. She turns her head slightly my way. She looks hesitant, but she does just that. She runs. Despite being blinded, she still manages to leap over the counter and slip out the back door with her power.

Ballast gives me a kick in the back. I feel it coming and soften the blow. I don’t turn around to see if she’s annoyed by that, I can’t let on that I’m still able to see.

"-her, Burnout. We'll take care of the one we caught." My hearing comes back in the middle of Reflex speaking. Burnout speeds towards the counter, stopping to vault it and run out the back door.

Interesting.

I focus my attention on the supers around me, not turning my head and already softening the ropes. My ears flick towards them automatically, happy to finally be able to hear things again. I don't look directly at any of them, keeping my gaze low to keep up the ruse that I can’t see.

"So then, Soft Paw," Reflex steps towards me, "are you going to come quietly, or are you going to go kicking and thrashing?"

I roll my eyes at nothing, not turning to look at him. "I'm gonna escape and go about my day." Reflexes eyes go wide at that and he holds his breath. I watch him out of the corner of my eye.

Reflex's ability is enhanced reflexes and some short prescience, but only when he's holding his breath.

Ballast snorts out a laugh behind me, "you're already tied up, sweetheart." Her voice is condescending. I don’t respond, focusing on Reflex.

Reflex has to take a breath sometime. Eventually, as predicted, he runs out of air, taking in another gulp. I spring to action at that moment, slipping out of the soft ropes easily and rolling out of the way before Tempo can touch me. Reflex is on me in a second, responding only slightly slower than he would have if he had his power up. He sends a variety of punches and jabs my way, but I soften every hit and they bend ineffectually as they hit me.

Tempo gets within my radius, reaching for me. I soften the air around her feet, which trips her up.

That was a mistake. She lurches towards me, falling. I try to dodge out of the way, but I'm too late. Her hand brushes against my suit… And then she falls to the ground.

My eyes dart around at the other heroes. I'm not slow. I don't look a gift horse in the mouth, immediately turning to make my escape. Tempo is looking baffled, staring at her hand. Something strange happened there and I’m not gonna stay long enough for them to puzzle out what it was. Sensate tries to shriek, but I'm already clamping my ears down as I run for the exit.

I slam the door shut behind me, making it soft and twisting it in a way that would prevent the door from opening. Thank god the doors are metal and not wood. Something on the other side slams into the door just as I make it hard again. I continue running, not waiting to see if they make it through.

With adrenaline still pumping through my veins, I make my way through the twisting alleys, thoroughly losing the heroes.

I did it. I robbed a bank.

"Nice job back there." I startle, turning with my hackles raised. I deflate upon seeing Present Perfect behind me, lurking in the shadows.

"Scared me half to death." I mutter, leaning against a nearby wall to catch my breath.

She walks over, flicking her fluffy tail up into my face to get my attention. I spit the thing out, glaring at her. "Come on, let's go to my place while we wait out the heat." She gestures with her arm casually.

I quirk an eyebrow at that, following along beside her. "You trust me enough to take me back to your place?"

"No, I just do that with all the cute girls I meet." I sputter at that, my ears laying themselves flat while my tail flicks agitatedly. "No, we robbed a bank together. You seem nice enough." She giggles, skipping ahead some. “Besides, you’ve got some loot for us to split, don’t you?”

I sigh, nodding once. I try to compose myself and follow behind her closely. My tail flicks anxiously behind me, betraying my nerves.

 

Santa's Secret Transfic Anthology Vol. 2 / Everyday Sweets #15 (Part 1)
Follow to catch Good Intentions / Bad Redemptions (Part 2) on June 20th
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