Villains Club's Learn Demonics (9)

by Toylolita

Summary:

Part 9 of my Little Golden Age, Having been introduced to Raven and her Siblings, the eponymous Seven Deadly Sins, Penelope tries to get a grasp on the magical devices she's been using to commit crime. A nagging part of her mind is washed with fear, that she may be less in control of them than she thinks. In doing so she learns about the demonic beings that play with both Her and Raven's families and loses her first real battle against an enemy she cannot defeat. The Original Sin. This chapter theoretically acts as a prequel to Mainstream Raven, starting the path where my Raven becomes as Jaded and guarded as Comic version.

Chapter 1: Bits and Pieces

Penelope Akk

What defines a Hero? Obvious, right? A hero is someone who Helps when there is a life on the line. The person who stands up and says “I’ll Help!”. Now ask yourself, what is the opposite of a Hero.

Not a villain, Villains are still proactive. Villains still choose to do something, they just put their own interests first.

No, the opposite of a hero would be somebody who doesn’t step up. Someone who sits back, does nothing and allows everyone else to make choices for them.

The house was, for lack of a better term, nobodies. An old back of the lot property, clearly long abandoned. Plants over-grew the yard, but not completely. mown sections made a series of small clearings between it and the house, each of them shielded and the building itself was hidden from the road by the pieces of desperate gardens.From where we were, it looked almost like a vacant lot.

“Are you kids sure this is the spot?” The taxi driver was giving us weird side-eyes but the crinkled notes I was dropping into his hands made him less suspicious.

“It’s okay, these are my school friends! They live nearby!” It was the complete truth, but I looked back at the other two in the yard.

Both of them were dressed in black, if you could call the faded black tracksuit pants, t shirts and sneakers actually black. They were worn, old, and in the case of Jarred slightly torn. Jarred was a monster, he breathed slowly, eyes closed trying to control his emotions but almost always looked like a seven foot tall rubberized beast. His skin was red, almost devil like, and while the body wasn’t that big, his arms, legs and neck were stretched. For somebody so thin, so practically starved, he still looked huge.

His brother Crow sat beside him, I’d been in the passenger seat. Crow, or Jesse looked more normal. Except for shocking green eyes and hair he could have been any goth kid. Only when I say he sat next to his brother, I mean he floated there several inches above the seat.

“You kids are weird. Am I gonna have to forget I saw you or something?” The driver asked, giving me a look.

He could, maybe be made to forget. My brain tingled, wondering how if at all I could make a person forget several minutes to an hour. Some kind of radiation, nanotechnology? There was a possibility but no. “No, you should be fine!” I told the man. He was Muslim or otherwise middle eastern, certainly he had the beard to pull it off. and looked superstitious enough not to cause trouble.

Behind the cab, Jarred and Jesse had started unloading the groceries, but standing a bit from the road Jarred decided to shock the driver and myself by making a loud howling “ARROOOOO” like a wolf. I banged my head hard at the howl, an apologetic facepalm, and gave the driver a sympathetic look. The call had meant something though, appearing out of thin air in a flash of black cape, a middle schooler appeared out of nowhere. Then Raven. Raven was a former team mate and a maybe friend. If she was even capable of making friends. Sometimes I thought she was too cool for friends.

“AAAH! FOOOOD!” the youngest declared, hefting two bags, then flying back. This was backed by another kid, this one my Classmate, Barbara. Barbara was better dressed, as usually she and her sisters supported the household.

“It won’t take long!” I told the driver, getting out and taking two bags myself. Joining the crew as a good grand worth of tinned food, noodles, preserved goods, batteries, bread, multiple jars of gnutella and goodness knows else started training back to the house, I used my blink bracelets to close the gap through the garden before dumping my load into the living room.

Two more kids floated around, emptying the bags and in a moment Raven was there, dumping her bags, before vanishing again.

I followed suit, going back and forth from the Cab as all the bags were unloaded, then called to Jarred ‘The Goose’ for help. “Just the box left now!” 

The Box was a supply of less normal shopping that had been loaded into the boot of the Cab. Heavy as it was, Jarred’s long form was able to move it easily. With another roar to punctuate the mood.

Within moments the now shaken taxi driver was gone, Raven and I exchanging high fives. “That will leave a lasting impression!” I laughed.

“I’ll say. Come on in, welcome to our home!"

This time we walked in more slowly. Raven has a family, I know right? Raven, the dark and mysterious Sorceress is in fact one of seven kids, most of them from different mothers.

The house looked tired, just like the kids. Old and beaten, the roof well patched with random materials, spell circles painted on the walls in cheap paint, and the inside white washed but not carpeted or painted outside of graffiti and posters from magazines. 

Seven kids, aged eleven to 18, across three families. Three mothers, and to hear Jesse tell it "None of them lived. But some of us got adopted. It was Raven that brought us back together!"

The look of the house matched the look of the kids. I tried not to stare at either. 

"Thanks for helping me with the shop." Raven stated it with no emotion, like she'd just said "thanks for opening the door". I shrugged. 

"If you're going to help me with my magical problems, I should at least pay you!" I shrugged off the chaos. The kids had a working kitchen, no piped gas but a camp stove and plates and cutlery were ready. Crow was already jumping onto the dinner train with Akmeil, prepping what would later be dinner and a quick glance around showed solar panels used to recharge the tablets, phones and stuff the kids were using. 

No chairs, just bean bags. I found one to sit in, going over my phone. "With Crow working for my crew, and you now working with the Titans, I hope things will be easier for you. For a bit!".

Until then only the eldest kids, Abigail and Barbera had been bringing in money. Them and Jacob had been adopted and had been using that to help the rest. 

Raven shrugged as the smell of food drifted through the house. 

"Now before things become too problematic, I want to isolate those magic coins of yours!" Straight to business, Raven had grabbed chalk and was writing symbols on the wood floors. "If only to keep the peace during dinner. Do you mind bringing them over and dumping them in the circle?"

I nodded, reaching into the fistfull of pennies in my pocket. I hadn't brought many, just three that I pulled out and dropped into the completed circle. 

"Thank you!" The boards under the pennies charred slightly as though they were coals. 

"Oh. That's bad? This is what you were asking us about?" Somehow Jarred was already eating something. 

"She's been using them in a lot of different ways. They're almost like minor wishes!" This time my friend Barbara was talking. A small goth girl in a dress and with deep set orange eyes. 

"Yeah. They're an important part in a much bigger project I'm working on. I need to find out what they are, and who they're tied to."

"OH! She wants to learn demon summoning. That tracks."

If anyone could help me, it would be these guys. Leaning back in the beanbag I fiddled with a coin in my jeans pocket while We talked. These coins were powerful, if subtle in what they did and some part of me feared.

Feared that they might have some agenda. 

Feared that I couldn't control them.

Feared that I wouldn't complete my marvelous plan without them. 

So I'd asked Raven and the Sins for help.

Chapter 2: Pennies

Penelope Akk

"There are four types of magic. People who have magic will argue, everyone will claim their way is better or more pure, or makes them special. At the end of the day though, you get the magic from nature. You get it from objects, usually crystals, from a higher being, or from a lower one." Barbera went over Course 101 for me. Barbera, (sometimes called the Stitcher) and Abegail (She who wots) were two of the most accomplished villain kids I'd met. 

Abigail was dissociated again, her human body sitting in the corner and quietly rocking back and forth while her core body moved about the room. This demon body took over the lesson from Barbera, "You told Barbera these coins are made from a statue, one tied to a demon?" I nodded, giving her the moment as she went through the material, "Then the statue itself could either be a focus, or a key. If we can trace the demon the power comes from we can decide whether to control it, or destroy it!"

Raven and her sisters gathered around as they focused on the coins in the middle of the circle, the boys shrugging us off. 

"You three love poking the bear don't you!" Jarred's voice was a deep sullen growl while he watched over us. "I ain't wantin to be more of a monster. 

"Yeah, do ya have to do this round the house?" Looking back to the kitchen door, the brothers were gathering, Jacob and James were making everyone dinner, but Jarred was heading for the door. 

Raven sighed quietly "If you're going out try to be back for dinner!"

Looking back and forth between them like some Demonic ping pong match, I tried not to cringe. Raven's Aura was spreading out through the room and the only one not nervous about that was Jarred. 

"Hold Up, hold up!" We both watched Jesse run out, dragging with him a cartoonist's large trench-coat.

"I'll keep an eye on him!" Raven's youngest bro gave her an apologetic smile before chasing the bigger boy out. 

“So,what does this entail? Do I need to do anything, or say anything?” I watched the three girls exchange looks, “How long will it take?”

“Actually, kinda like a blood test, this isn’t really interactive. The main thing is that you do not handle the coins for a while, and that the spell be allowed to work. Later, we can come back here and trace the route of-” I started tuning out the monologue at this point. Not handle the coins? Part of me itched, not just my hand but a part of my mind.

“Wait, this is sounding less like some magic spell, and more like some intervention!” I growled. “Are you here to help me control this, or stop me from using it?” I glared Raven down, getting a completely chill and uncaring look back.

“Penny, what you're doing at the moment is the equivalent of using a prescription drug you found on the street with no packaging and no label. You have no idea what this is, and it can hurt you!” She replied, I opened my mouth to snap back angrily, but was spoken over;

“Never mind that! Grub’s up!!!” The boys brought out food, on cheap mismatched plates and bowls. It was stew.

It was beef stew, with a lot of potatoes and corn and other great things, and the remaining kids practically gorged themselves on it eating way too much way too quickly.

I took a small serving myself, wondering how they could eat like this. It was Barbera who grounded this moment, quietly explaining “the boys often go for days without eating. Abegail and I were lucky, a mid tier villain adopted us but even then, when you don’t know when you’ll eat next, you pack it away while you can!”

“So much of the villain community is like this.” I muttered it without thinking. “You hear about the big name villains like Penguin, Lex or Bane and they’re all rich. But the more time I spend as a villain, the more I’m seeing stuff like this!” I ate slowly, focusing on the bowl in front of me. My parentals while not wealthy, had never had an empty pantry. Dad made money by reverse engineering super science, and mum got a government paycheck for her role in the Justice League.

Yeah, I’d had my fair share of mac’n’cheese dinners and dodgy meatloaf. “This is part of why I became a supervillain.” I muttered, “I want to look out for kids like you and Ray. I know I can’t fix everything, but I wanna try.”

Feeling like I’d just had an important moment, I looked up to see an irritated scowl on Barbera’s face. A second later she flicked my nose with her finger. 

“OW!” I reflexively fell on my back, into the beanbag behind me.

“Idiot. Nobody can solve this. It is what it is, and the people with the power like the world like this!” was all the gothic lolita said.

Thinking it over, I continued to eat, watching as Raven’s spell began tracing the outlines of a complex pattern around my cursed pennies.

It looked at least like the spell wouldn’t take long.

My hand itched.

Raven’s siblings slowly drifted out of the room after dinner was over, none of them were happy with the spell circle slowly building itself on the living room floor. Barbera excused herself, “I have commissions I need to complete for costumes!” She explained, but Abegail, still preferring to use her demon body over her human one, joined me and Raven at the circle as the elements traced out.

“The process here is simple!” Abigail was adding a set of three circles to the design around the cursed pennies, then a circe connecting those to each other. “This is a visualization spell. When it kicks off, we’re going to astral project. see a bunch of crazy imagery. Then hopefully see who your magi coins are tied to and where they are in the whole heaven and hell hierarchy!!”

I nodded my reply.

Chapter 3: Wrath

Kara

“So then Lena tells me I can’t just Solve things by Hitting them! I’m like DAH! Sometimes you need to Blow Them Up!” Sometimes it’s good to just fight. When I’m at a loss, when the world becomes too much the brain needs to turn off! Smashing through bad guys isn’t always a simple act but sometimes when you’re really lucky there is a giant Kaiju attacking some city and all it needs to to be hit really hard. It’s a kind of therapy, ya know.

“Well DUH! But That Takes THINKING!” I was fighting alongside Wrath. Also known as Sin Goose, having picked the boy up from his house on the way. Goose was also a flying brick, although not a very fast one, so he and I took turns smacking the giant Gorilla upside the head.

“AAAAH!” I banked to one side as Titano, as the community dubbed him, attempted to laser vision my face off. 

“I Got IT!” and barely missing me, the beam of radiation from his eyes hit the splash zone! Crow flew along the path of the concussive blast, his magical force bubble flickering a crazy green strobe light as the radiation bounced off into the sky. Somewhere in space something was about to be vaporized.

“And usually it’s your Girlfriend Blowing stuff up! Heck Half your friends are down with RAGING!” Having been smacked to one side by a giant monkey paw, Goose picked up the nearest totaled car and drove it into the gorilla’s crotch. It crumpled like a tin can! The car that is, the gorilla seemed to shrug it off!

“Are we Sure Titano is a HE!” I demanded, so far every hit we’d slammed the thing with was only making it angrier, serious PMS energy! “I can’t keep fighting like this! The stupid shit has kryptonite in it’s BLOOD!” I yelled.

“We Just need to Hit! IT HARDER!” With each failure Goose’s curse was getting worse. He grew as he raged, not unlike some other villains I’d seen on the active list. Rage embodied strength and Goose was all about rage. Rage at his sisters, rage over the cult that abused him as a kid. Justified rage, the kind that you just had to respect!

“How About I Hit Him with YOU!” I laughed, picking the gradually heavier boy up, I banked away from the smashed bridge, we’d been lucky Crow had got the people off the bridge! A thousand people were saved from the angry gorilla, although maybe not for long! “If it crosses this bridge it’ll be in the heart of the City! Climbing skyscrapers and smashing down buildings!” He was tall enough to do it as well.

“If I fastball you at this thing's head will you survive it?” I asked, I’d flown away into said city and we exchanged looks.

“Girl! I’m unbreakable! And not gonna be affected by the monkey magic!” he responded, giving me an okay.

“Jess, keep an eye on the splash zone! Hopefully we don’t smash the bridge!” I called back, with the balled up red demon clenched between two hands I barrelled as the saying goes - faster than a speeding bullet to ditch my guided missile demon straight at the monkey's head.

BAM! 

“YEAAAAA!” Crow’s laughing cheer came across over the massive noise, I’d essentially turned my friend into a railgun! Goose bounced hard against the monkey skull, flying back and flailing unconscious as the boy started shrinking. 

“No No no!” I swooped in to try and catch him as the monkey reeled, arms flailing as he fell through a bunch of suspension cables and half slid off the bridge!

“I Gotcha!” I said as I caught him, slowly dropping to the ground. In his demon form, Goose looked like a japanese Oni, a kind of horned ogre like being with red skin and muscle. For a moment though, out cold he’d returned to a more compact form. That of a still red skinned boy, kinda small and pretty in an ‘I could be the anime protagonist’ kind of way.

“JARRED!!” In a moment his brother was there with us as the unwashed masses, covered in debris and sweat and rubble started to emerge from hiding.

“Great, but what do we do with it now!” I looked over the massive simian and sighed, Jarred was stirring awake and I helped the boy to his feet. “Can’t transport him, well we could but the radiation from his body would mean I can’t!” 

“Did we get a strike?” Was Jarred’s woozy comment.

“Oh Hell yeah! You hit that thing really hard! Surprised it actually knocked you out!” Crow smacked his brother on the back while I pulled out my cell phone.

“You really are unbreakable!” I told him. Although I still itched for the fight. “I feel sorry for this thing, it’s the scientists fault he exists.” I confided, scrolling for a number.

“If you want to hit a scientist, I'm all down. There are better ways to do things though!”

The new voice talking drew all our attention. Except, not new, the face that greeted us looked like a teenage girl in a cheerleader outfit! She wore a half face mask and had an A shape in bold red across the front of the yellow and white skirt and top. I repressed a groan.

“Miss A! What the heck are you doing here!” I growled, walking off the top of the truck we’d all been standing on and air-walked to the ground. “People have been looking everywhere for you! Ever since Mr Winter’s trial and you appearing and everything! People have been worried! Child services has been looking everywhere!”

The look I was getting from the teenage monster slayer was supposed to be withering. I think.

“You’re demon’s aren’t you? Shouldn’t you have some teleporting magic or something?” Miss A literally walked around me instead of meeting me, heading for the ape. “We use teleport magic, and even capture spells all the time to move … Well you get my meaning!” She looked back, and I followed her gaze to the two boys still on the roof of the car.

I could almost hear Jarred’s eyebrows clicking together at the look they were being given.

Was that pity on her face?

“Okay!” I stood for a moment, copying my cousin’s favourite pose as I thought. “But you can’t just ignore my question. You wanna help us move this monkey, I’ll agree. On the condition you come visit my team and let people know what’s happened with you!”

Something about this was ticking me off, especially the way she shrugged, and looked at the boys. A lot of stuff has been ticking me off lately! Kal-El liked to say humans were “Generally good people, especially when given the chance to be.” As though given the choice people would not choose the selfish action.

Something about Miss A, Marcia made me think, everything she did was selfish.

Without confirming anything, the young demon hunter proceeded to help myself, and two demons use a magic spell to move a giant monkey.

Chapter 4: Rumbled

Kara

The process was surprisingly simple. An outline of chalk, a token in the form of a pink coloured crystal and a chant invoking the “connection of space through the doors of the mind!”

Complete nonsense, but then that’s how magic works, Raven constantly performed spells by chanting and never explained how any of it worked.

With The Audit, the containment specialist and Wonder Woman on speed dial in my phone I was able to reach the League in moments. “Yeah, this Ape is Huge, and out cold for now but I hope you have somewhere to put big villains ready?”

An unusual request, not that the Audit looked surprised or showed any emotion at this reveal, simply replying “We have a containment device being set up, it uses a combination of magic and some Kryptonian tech.” She clicked her tongue as she talked, a nervous tick perhaps? I realised she was texting other people in her chain of command and waited until she gave a “Okay. We have an area we can move him to. You said you have a teleporter on hand? Starfire?”

I shook my head at that, waving it away. “A magic user, we’re setting up the spell right now and just need a location!”

“Hi Miss Akk!” Miss A slipped in beside me, letting herself be visible. “It’s me. Give me your location and I’ll drop us in!” She sounded so casual and again, if the Audit was surprised at all to see Miss A, nothing showed on her face, just a terse response was issued as a txt with co-ords arrived on my phone.

“Supergirl, I want you and this Team you're with here for a Full report! Understand?” I nodded, then snapped out a quick clean “Yes ma’am!” before showing Miss A the location.

“If it’s okay with you lot, I’m going to sit this out.” Jarred grimaced, I could understand his reasoning.

“No can do, you don’t cross The Audit, and you definitely don’t disobey her.” I gave the red skinned Oni a hard pat on the back, “You did a good thing. You might get your criminal record locked after this!” I encouraged.

“Well, too late now!” Miss A spoke over us, apparently that was all she needed. The world flashed lavender, the same colour as the crystal she used, then everything in a radius around us went Boop.

Including part of the bridge we were standing on.

The space we were dropped into was a large cave area surrounded by thick cement walls and came with Wonder Woman and The Audit waiting in the wings to one side. As we arrived a handful of, what I could only think of as Mooks arrived and began tying Titano down with metallic straps.

“So, Supergirl. Were you just out patrolling and discovered this? It’s only been minutes since Titano’s appearance started being broadcasted on the news. You responded fast!” I smiled at Wonder Woman, unlike the Audit she had a laughing look around her eyes. 

She was still annoyed and confused by our capturing the giant but also somehow understanding when I replied, “I was bored and we weren’t far away. Grabbed the biggest tank I had and mucked in!” I tried to make it sound like myself and Goose hadn’t been out smashing up a demolition site as a way to blow off steam.

“Wonder Woman, This is Sin Goose, a sibling to Raven. Goose isn’t a hero or villain name, he works for a construction company part time. That’s what he was dubbed by his coworkers!” I gestured, introducing my side-kicks. Starting to introduce Miss A as well, she stepped forwards and introduced herself.

“Wonder Woman, I’m Miss A. I know my teacher, The Original, is currently under investigation and trial but I’m still hoping to work with the Community.” She nodded to myself and Goose. “Which is why I would like you to please arrest Goose. I am here because I was tracking my rapist in an attempt to get revenge. Conveniently I have caught him as well as helped with the monkey over there!” 

Second ticked like a demented bomb unsure whether it was about to go off before anyone was able to react. The first thing to happen was Jarred replying with a confused “What?”

Followed by Miss A in an angry, if still polite voice saying “Arrest him, Arrest Him!” and pouncing on the boy as though to pin him.

In seconds the prison guard mooks, all wearing masks to make them look the same, pounced as well. Goose got in a thudding punch or two before myself or the adults caught up, flying the guards across the room.

Each of the guards had to have powers cause they took the punches like champs and got back up again.

“No, he couldn’t have!” I interjected, trying to pull people off Jarred. “He’s not a monster, he just looks like one!”

Wonder Woman intervened at that moment, effortlessly reaching through the crowd, grasping Jarred by the hands and pulling them behind his back. The tug of her strength was unforgiving as she pulled him to the ground in a sitting position and called “Restraints. Bring Restraints!”

“He Didn’t!” I told them.

“I never even Seen this Girl!” Jarred growled, still struggling.

“Sin Goose, charges have been laid before you. You will submit to custody, you have not been charged at this time but failure to submit may be seen as resisting arrest!” Wonder Woman’s voice was clean and crisp but not heartless. “It’s a shame I don’t have the Lasso on me right now. I can very easily determine the truth here, and once we do you will either be freed, or charged!” she told him.

On the side lines The Audit drew Miss A aside, if this was an act it was a good one. Miss A looked angry, persistent.

“I Didn’t Do Nothing!” Goose insisted, attempting to put on mass as the mooks brought out the same metallic looking ties they had used on the monkey and started trying to wrap the boy up.

“Miss A, are you seriously saying …” I looked at the adults lost and confused. Then Goose chose to head-butt Wonder Woman. Hard. Hard enough to knock himself out.

“Ow.” She said mildly. “Well that answers that. Supergirl, Miss A, To our Offices Now. Guards, escort this boy to a cell!” 

“Miss, A. Please. Whatever is going on here, isn’t there another way? I know this kid, he’s a good kid. He…” I was hissing quietly at her while we walked but she wasn’t taking any of it, moving through the halls as though she knew the way. She didn’t, there was a Mook escorting us but she behaved like she did.

“Are you trying to excuse him for what he did!” Miss A didn’t try to hide her voice, making sure everyone heard her say, “That man is a demon, a pervert and a monster! I intend to have all of his siblings brought forward! Most of them are villains, and Goose in particular! I can deal with HIM easily, but I will see them all rot!”

Oh. That’s what this was. I filed into the Audit’s room behind Miss A, thinking. It was true, She Who Wots and Stitcher were known villains. Raven and her brother Crow had worked with the Inscrutable Machine to perform crimes. “But they’re good kids!” I insisted, I’d seen their home. Raven had taken me there once, a little hovel! Squatting in an abandoned building that really should have been leveled and making the best of their family.

The Audit arrived behind us, “Your ignorance speaks for your innocence, Supergirl!” She moved like a machine, not a character of one with stiff movements. With a precision and grace that said nothing extra was added. Walking was purely mathematics, as was every other problem. She spoke quietly, with sympathy. “Every villain has a backstory my dear. A broken home, a bad upbringing. Bad influences that taught them bad behavior. If we made the excuse for every villain of ‘It’s not their fault. They had a bad childhood,’ then every villain in history would be pardoned. At some point they have to Take Responsibility for their own actions. They could have stopped, some do. Like Raven. Some, don’t!”

She sat opposite us, giving us cautious looks. “Miss A. You wish to lay charges against the boy dubbed Sin Goose!”

“Not just that. The Teen Titans have been harboring known villains. They know the names, identities and locations of the Inscrutable Machine and a number of the criminals working with them! They haven’t done anything! They know what these kids did, what they did to me! Yet… They work with these kids instead of arresting them!”

Miss A was practically screaming. “This boy assaulted me! Reviled assisted in an attempt to kill my guardian Mr Winters, and the Teen Titans won’t do Anything!”

The Audit looked at me for a response. Did I know who they were? I had at one point, but it had been in breach of the truce. I’d agreed to hand over the information about E-Claire's new company and the whole thing with Bolt but that had been erased.

“I don’t think we do!” I answered honestly.

“You Hang out with them all the Time at that damned school!” Miss A insisted.

Wait. School? Penelope and Claire, and Ray… Oh No.

Chapter 5: Golden

Penelope

I was surrounded by three great trees, their branches reaching up above me to infinity, and their roots sinking through a deep floor of clear glass that I sat upon, where the roots then tangled with the branches above in a twist of matted infinity. Each of these trees was a bird. Understand this is dream logic here, the bird wasn’t in the tree. The tree was a bird, one in a vivid shade of Orange, another tending indigo and the final in a shade of violet. Raven, and her sisters.

“In this space you should see a mess of imagery. Attachments from your physical life, images that represent you, there will also be a representation of the Demon. The force that is affecting your coins!”

Raven was guiding me through the meditation, and her voice echoed through the place like a whisper, carried on a wind.

“Wot wot. Wot.” another voice grumbled, a child’s voice grasping at air from the shape of a black emptiness to my right. I suspected it was Abigail's human body, here it was present only as a sound of a worrying child, fretting, chewing her nails and not the tiny figure that sat in reality, curled up and barely moving.

I tried to look around, not moving too much. This wasn’t a See with your eyes thing. Instead I got impressions, towering skyscrapers in the distance that had a feel of being my parents. My current day bed where, when I had been a toddler, Claire’s mum had slept. Sharing our house until she was old enough to be independent. The cot where Claire and I as Toddler had slept, with her teenage mum watching on.

Half memories of when I first met Ray. That crazy museum camp thing for middle schoolers, a night at the museum with two guides and the exhibit where I had first talked to him. An old sarcophagus. 

Feeling my legs itch, I stood up then realized I’d done it only within this strange landscape. I idly felt myself still sitting in the real world before noticing the path of burning golden light running out behind me, away from where I stood. It was splattered, like paint on the ground. No, I was being ignorant. I’d seen blood before, a trail of golden blood leading away from me.

Perhaps worse, leeding to where I stood?

Was I bleeding? I checked myself, not finding anything.

“Would a trail of golden blood be a bad thing?” I asked out loud.

The Orange tree sighed, “This is your landscape right now. There should be nothing bad here. The trick is to follow it back to where the bad thing is!” I nodded at Barbera’s input.

I turned, took a step back along the trail and the world wheeled around. Now I walked through the school where I had first encountered the guardian of the statue. A shape-shifting monster, currently hanging still in the air above me, shadows of rocks and debri. Shattered buildings, a snapshot! A Moment in time, frozen. Like a photograph, only minus the people. I stood crouched, atop my marvelous inscrutable machine and thumbed my old air cannon in an older version of my current super villain suit.

The monster just hung there. Looking for the trail of gold I saw it, running from a pool beneath my younger self, to a large pool of gold beneath the fake dragon.

“So cool. So cool. So much power.” a voice, not my own hissed. I looked around confused.

“So tired..” Another voice sighed. “What are we even doing.”

Shrugging with confusion I called out. “Is everything okay out there?”

“You took ages…” It was Abigail's human voice that cut through, followed by the more calm voice her demon form used, ‘You were silent just now for nearly an hour. Don’t mind my other self, she’s just lazy.”

“Look at that thing, it has so much power!” I flinched, in an instant Barbera’s bird form was beside me. “So much. Want it. It could be FUN!” her laugh was almost infectious.

“Are you three Sure everything is okay out there?” I asked again, confused. To me I couldn’t have been here more than minutes! Not to mention, Barbera appearing just now had made this memory go funny and glitchy around the edges.

Raven’s patient sigh cut through the chatter, “Girls. Your sins are showing. We need to centre ourselves again. You too Penny, you’re halfway there. Everyone seated, do you remember the chant!”

“Oh you and your stupid chant! You got to live in that stupid fairy realm!” Barbera was sounding more alive than ever as she walked under my memory of the monster, looking it over.

“It’s not actually a Dragon, remember. Later it looked like this!” I tried to remember the image, and reality shifted again. This time, I wasn’t in it, Mech, the Hero of the Hour was there with his power suit. A modular flight suit that had an assortment of shrinking and growing weapons, propellas and missile launchers fighting an eldritch abomination with way too many tentacles and even more eyes.

“Even Better!” Barbera replied.

Looking at the big cheerful smile on the Goth Girl who, in all the time I’d seen her at school, had never smiled before. I parked myself on the ground and spoke to Raven, “Matrion Berilon Zinthos!” I said, trying to mimic her.

All three girls stifled audible laughter, heck even Abigail's human form laughed. For a moment I felt her stir in the world outside me, and her tiny human voice darkly said; “Azarath metrion zinthos”

For a moment the three of us chanted together, Raven Oddly quiet. When we were done she quietly said, “I wish I could get the boys to do this. You three do it, even if you don’t take it seriously. The boys, Jarred and Jesse, are So close to losing themselves in their sins.”

Silence spread, stretched. Waiting on them, I stood and walked over to the massive pool of gold under the eldritch monster, then saw within it a dark pool. Black, amongst the bright light of this scene. Black and cold, I stepped on it.

For a moment, flickering the world shifted around me to show a dark, empty void surrounded by floating rocks. Sharp and irregular, some with spikey bits that reminded me of dead trees. Frozen shining patches of ice. All floating in a barren void, not black but the deepest possible shade of red.

“Got it, Mine Mine Mine!” Barbera’s voice cut in. Behind me, turning back I saw her clawing, scrabbling up the side of the frozen tentacled beast and trying to pry out one of its eyes.

“She’s lost it!” Abegail commented dryly.

“Oh, you’re one to Talk, Wot Wot Wot, all you Do is Wot! I TAKE!!” This was quickly devolving into a childish cat fight. “Think what we could do with this power, it could hold back out Father! Every little bit counts!”

“Okay, I think I’ve seen enough for now!” I snapped, and opened my real eyes. Around me the images of the dream scape shattered, falling apart with the exception of one fleeting image. For a while as I blinked away tears, trying to see again I saw golden blood on my hands. 

In front of me the coins contained in the spell circle the girls had drawn, flickered then poofed out of existence with a comical puff of smoke.

“Well, shit!” Raven observed dryly.

Chapter 6: Calm before the Storm

Penelope

I didn’t hang around long after that. The boys were all antsy about the big spell being performed in their literal living room, and as such had all left. With Only us girls there and not much to do, I carefully asked “Do you wanna come over my place?”

I felt like a confused traitor for oh so many reasons. Raven had visited once before, while my parents were away, but normally the only people to ever visit my house were Claire and Ray. I had however botched their spell! Yes, Barbara had been acting weird and it was probably the right thing to do but All the coins had caught fire when the spell broke.

Including the one still in my pocket.

There had been a mad rush to stop my jeans catching fire, and then I had to apologise “Yes. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I didn’t put all the coins in there. You’re right, it.” I fumbled for words. “I have no excuse. It just felt like. I dunno.” I fumbled for words, Barbara was giving me knowing looks, Raven was annoyed. I shuffled.

“Look, I learned something. I saw a place, I can at least use that to start researching. Until then.” Who was I kidding, I had an ulterior motive here.

“Look, my mother is pissy that I’ve been spending so much time away from home. She isn’t saying it, but she is thinking it. She doesn’t know why my dad and I have been hardly talking!” I shrugged. I missed them so much, wanted so much to go home right now. “Plus I think Ray and Garfield have some stuff they wanna do in their man-cave tonight. They invited a bunch of boys over. So, do you three wanna spend the night?”

The moment stretched, it was a weird group. Barbara - normally distant if nice when I talked to her at school, her sister who had once tried to kill me, and a hero. I had the strangest of friend groups.

“I’d LOVE to! Oh my Satan YES!” I wheeled around, staring at the smiling face of Abigail. Checking the room, the dark shadowy figure that was her demon body had vanished, and in front of me, although still wearing goth, was a cheerful if tired looking High Schooler. In spite of the bags that were growing on the bags of her eyes, she looked hopeful. “I’ve never been to a party that didn’t involve raising the dead! Oh lets go!”

“It’s not..” I looked at Abigail's sisters, they were as shocked as I was. “Okay. Then tonight we have a ‘maybe’ party at my house!”

Getting there involved a phone call, which rang out. I left voicemail and the three of us, confused, started walking home. None of us had known Starfire’s book had voicemail features. Several blocks away however we were met on-route.

Bamph. Starfire and Claire appeared a foot above the lawn of some nearby house and they looked around - padding up to us with big grins on their faces.

“You’re wet!” Raven observed. “Get lost in the ocean or something?” They were wet, hair and clothes damp as though they’d had time to party dry.

“No. Claire and I went to a nice beach in Australia. It’s summer there, and amazing weather for swimming!” She shivered. 

Reflexively I took off my jumper, handing it to her. “Neither of you are wearing bathers!” Claire was in a long black and white top and denim jeans. Starfire wore a long floral sundress that contrasted her the darker skin of her human form. Her illusion belt had to be on her somewhere.

“Oh, a bunch of those beaches are clothing optional!” Claire replied as a fact. I froze as my brain started to break. No, I was not going to imagine my best friend, practically sister, swimming naked. No no no.

Putting my hands to my face I groaned “Please don’t tell me the details until I’ve had a lot of coffee!” 

And suddenly the mood was broken. After the botched spell everyone, even Raven had been looking at me with concerned irritation. Only Abigail had been unfazed. With my second hand embarrassment though, looking at how Claire held Raven’s hand as she bounced on her heels, that had fallen away. I knew she would want to talk about whatever had happened, later, but right now her laugh at my expression, sparkling like bells as she glowed with the perfect image of pure innocence, set Abigail to laughing. Then Barbara. They were all laughing at me, but I really didn’t mind.

“Hey Kiddo. Penny has invited all of us to her house for the night! You two coming?” I didn’t even let Barbara get an answer, walking to the other side of my bestie and linking arms.

“No Question. Star, can you drop us a little way away. My dad will know it’s you but we’re expecting my mother home this arvo when she’s done with work.” My phone pinged as I spoke, but I ignored it. 

“Not a problem!” We bunched up around Star as she closed her eyes and listened. She would know, sense where my Dad was, pretty sure he was home at the moment, along with the hearts of everyone around us. With a blink and a puff of noise we were suddenly a block away from my house. As opposed to a city away.

I had to wonder what it looked like as we filed into my house.

The house was strange to look at, even from the street. The main front looked like a standard western, single story with an upstairs converted attic. My bedroom was in the back, with the room upstairs doubling as a guest room and storage. Mounted to the back and side of it however was a large free-form building, one I had always assumed was built by dad rather than a contractor. This made the building roughly L shaped.

It wasn’t until very recently that I learned the mish mash was the remains of Dad’s old space ship. My father was an Alien. He had married my mum after formerly retiring and I was half alien.

I wouldn’t have known. In the mirror I looked like a boring old human but apparently every member of my race, my father’s race, had a connection to a database called “The Big Brain” which was the source of most of my tech.

Opening the door with my key, I called out as we entered, “I’m home dad. Not alone!” hearing a deep sigh come from Dad’s work room. He sounded so tired.

Ever since he found out I was a villain, he’d always sounded tired. “What kind of people? Do I need to remind you princess, no villainy in my house.”

“Not all my friends are villains!” I asserted, going into the room and finding him hunched over his desk.

Dad no longer hid his alien form. Thin, but fit, pale green skin under unkempt brown hair with a sallow colour of old age showing in patches around his neck. He dressed normally enough, although he wore a pair of sci-fi looking glasses right now that had self-moving lenses and appeared to study some new and unusual tech.

“This yours?” He asked. Putting one arm around him and resting my head on his shoulder I looked. Then I looked using my power, “I’m seeing a strange power source, if those cables are connected right. That little pink crystal there. Possibly an amplifier. Huh, I made something similar once when I made a sensor for a satellite but that was bigger and clumsier than this. Any idea what it does yet?”

He relaxed a moment, “We ran into some old acquaintances of yours. Those three robot kids! They were trying to rob a lab and were using a machine that messed with peoples heads. This is what’s left of it!”

Relaxing, now he knew I hadn’t been involved, he stretched and took off the glasses before turning around.

“AAAH!” I yelled and almost fell backwards onto the desk.

“Hi Mr Akk!” Starfire beamed and laughed, she had been floating in the air right behind us. From the stifled laughter just by the door, somebody had put her up to this. I poked my tongue out at Claire and she poked her’s back.

“Good Afternoon Kori. What do I owe the visit!” For Tesla sake, was he completely unfazed? Had he known she was there the whole time?

“Oh, Abigail and Barbara don’t get out much. So Penny invited us to eat pizza and play video games.” was her calm reply.

“And do homework.” Barbara cut in. She’d calmed down since her little outbreak of greed during the spell, and told my father “I’ve been so buried in sewing and costumes that I am way behind on my school projects.”

“Yeah, me too!” Koriand’r sighed, stepping down to the floor. “The teachers want me to learn all this History stuff, and science. I hate science!”

“I might ask Lena and Supergirl if they wanna join later!” I told him. “Even out the hero and villain quota. Plus they don’t know about me. Thought it might put your mind to rest!”

He nodded, then out of habit took a dollar out and put it in the ‘Princess’ swear jar on his desk. I was starting to feel guilty about that. “Your mother is out at a league site, but should be home in a few hours. I’ll order enough food for everyone.”

Grabbing the jar of money, I asked Raven, “Can you go grab the swear jars off the kitchen table?” and passed him the jar in my hand. “I’ll be honest. Now that you know I have money, I feel guilty about this. Use this money for the food!”

Dad gave me a deep, confused, long look. Then reached out and tugged my shirt straight. Messed up my hair by putting a hand on the side of my face.

“I still don’t know what to think about all this Princess. I saw that thing you did on the news?”

I cringed. Which thing?

“For a good couple of decades that island of trash had just been building up on the sea. You’re robots dealt with it!” 

Oh! I blinked at that, honestly shocked and confused. I’d done that just before losing the Hopper. I’d needed a bunch of plastic, and raw materials so I’d just waltzed down to the island, set the Machine to work and scraped the place clean. The excess plastic Claire had sold online as raw materials to some factory.

“I, yeah. I do stuff all the time.” I said, taking a step back. The plastic I had used became armor, weapons and the superstructure for the building I made around the old magical gateway I’d discovered. I did a good thing to do a bad thing.

Just like sometimes I did bad things, to do good things. I looked at Starfire, then back to dad. “Anyhow. Your rule should apply with them too, dad. Let’s not talk shop for the evening?”

Getting up he simply said “Agreed. So let’s see, I think we have some board games and card games. Have any of you heard of Muffin Time?”

Chapter 7: Interview

Miss A

“Can you excuse us please. Supergirl!” Miss Akk’s expression was cold but not heartless, and I felt like she was Sherlocking me, reading my clothes and posture and attitude. I was wearing my Mrs A costume, but in fairness it was unwashed. I’d watched in public showers and my hair was stripped, from a lack of conditioner. No makeup.

I had not been living on the streets, instead I had killed a bunch of sado gang members who had been running a drug ring. I shut down their operation, then took over their hq! Not a lot of money, and the building was shit but I had a place to sleep. So no bags under my eyes, I was alert and healthy.

Supergirl left quietly, giving me dagger looks. The moment I’d called her out on being friends with the Inscrutable Machine, Supergirl had clammed up and refused to answer Mrs Akk, simply saying “I refuse to break the Terms of the Truce.”

Now, with Supergirl gone, the waiting contest began. She was try to break me, try to;

“Marcia. I heard the testimony about your Guardian. You’ve been raped several times in the past I understand?”

I straightened, putting on my best haughty, “A heroine can’t rely on others to save them. I Killed every crook or vamp who creeped on me!” I tried to match her confidence. “I would kill Sin Goose. I’m trying to be less, kill, kill, kill nowadays.”

Halfway through my taunt a flash of memory, Ray and Garfield desperately trying to protect myself and Mr Winters from the band of assassins.

Garfield killing, what to me looked like his first time. I huffed a snort, looking away from her, “I have friends now who think killing is bad. I think it still has its place, there are demons and monsters in this world who have been given every chance to do right. Only a good murder will keep there being more victims!”

“Victims. Huh.” The clock ticked in Mrs Akk’s office, as I expected her to wait me out. “How do you feel about your Guardian? You know Mr Winters is essentially a criminal right now?” She had got out a pen, and was making notes in some god awful scrawl of characters. I tensed, “Wait, why are you asking about him so much!”

“I’m just checking up on you, you’ve been on the streets for a few weeks now. I hear from my daughter that your friends miss you. You have a school! Did you know they put Briar on the top of the pyramid during the last football match?”

She was still scrawling, and not even looking at the paper. Instead she looked around the room, breaking my thought mid sentence, “Who’s Briar? Wait, that Enby kid Claire brought in? They’re-” I clicked partway through the distraction, “You’re attempting to psycho watsit me!” I growled, leaning against the table. “I’m not here to be coddled, I have a job to do!” 

Mrs Akk bit her lip, but didn’t react to my being strong or a little shouty. Instead she told me, “You walked in here knowing what you wanted to happen. Expecting me to cave to demands. Sin Goose has been put in custody, now there is a process!” This was followed by a casual shrug. “At the moment there is a court case going on against your Guardian. One which it was decided, you should not testify at. With that case however you would be a key witness? Are you even fit to take a stand let alone testify? Look at yourself?”

With that she took a mirror from the drawer, literally holding it up to me.

“I look fine!” I lied.

“Your hair looks like you cut it yourself, you clearly haven’t been sleeping or eating properly, and if I weren’t a government official right now I would take you out for a good meal and suggest sleeping tablets!” Mrs Akk sounded matter of fact.

“I take it you know my family, you’re at least aware of my Daughter and her friends. I know Claire’s mother would take you in for a few days, look after you!”

I swallowed a mix of confusion, disgust and longing as I slid the chair back, unsure how to look or respond to this. Not the kind of interrogation I’d been expecting. Not the kind of look I’d been expecting to see on her face.

My first thought, instinct was to storm out. Instead I forced myself to sit still. This time the silence did stretch, while Mrs Akk waited for me to find words. The look she was giving me was kind, not pity but some kind of understanding look that I just couldn’t.

Then I remembered. She didn’t know her daughter was leading a team of supervillains. “Your daughter is Bad Penny!” I said, and I heard the spite in my voice.

Mrs Akk flinched. Just the tiniest bit. Just a little, and now I had the upper hand. “She has a secret hideout in the school.”

“I know; where she hosts her club. Down an elevator shaft around the back of the building. Misty didn’t tell me about it, but was very clear that she wasn’t. I went there months ago, when my daughter went missing for a week. There was no sign of anything linking her to Bad Penny!” She dropped these words with an almost robot-like precision, not so much smiling but perhaps reading off some list in the back of her head.

“Then why haven’t you done anything!” I demanded. Raising my voice did nothing to change anything.

“Bad Penny, despite having some mechanical themed tech, exhibits the kind of High Science toys and abilities that put her on a whole different level than the purely Mechanical inventions my daughter has made. Additionally Reviled is clearly powered, when I have full history and backgrounds on him showing nobody in his family have superpowers. And E-Claire might have a mental power, but decidedly looks nothing like Claire! I could not believe my daughter would do anything without including her friends!”

Mrs Akk put down her pencil. “As for whether my daughter is Working with Bad Penny. Due to their recruitment drive a while ago, they now have access to a Large number of powered children. I have been meaning to ask her if she was Selling her tech. Your input has set my mind on confronting her!”

Now Mrs Akk stood, towering over me and putting her hands on the table. “You think this is a game, a competition of some kind, Miss Bradley, but I assure you it’s not. You fail to understand that you, along with your Guardian, are vigilante. That I have a responsibility of care to you, via the system. You are as much a guest of this penitentiary as Sin Goose is and believe it or not, I do care what happened to you. I also care about your health!”

Not once did she raise her voice. Mrs Akk, despite practically T-Posing for dominance, was calm and kind the whole time. Such magnificent control. A perfect liar.

“I see.” I responded. “I’ll save the story then for Wonder Woman’s lasso.” I stood, opening the door behind me and glared at the guards who flanked the door. “Take me wherever you’re going to take me!” I told them.

Chapter 8: Never

Miss A

The Justice League was not, the way history had recorded it. The reason for that was simple. According to Mr Winters, The Original, after the Conquorers had attacked Earth the Heroes and Villains had agreed to a simple truce. A Truce that allowed Villains to parade themseves around and, as long as they were never truely unforgivable, get away with Crime. Criminals could only be hunted in uniform. Those villains who did good deeds would get clemancy. Be forgiven their crimes, or at least no longer hunted.

The guards who were with me now would, in another world, just be faceless mooks from some villain recruiting agency. The Pardoned supposedly ex-villains like Luthor and The Penguin who were running the modern league recruited the same kind of people as government guards, troops and to staff the prisons. Corruption at the highest levels grants corruption at all levels. This even seemed to have reached the League. Mrs Akk was clearly ignoring her daughter running riot, and Wonder Woman was happy to play along, allowing known villains and monsters their freedom.

Because of all this, there was nothing wrong when, part way to my new cell I slipped free of my cuffs, cracked one of the guards on the chin so hard I almost snapped his neck, kicked another in the nutts, then casually dropped an item The Original had given me. One of three very precious ‘Potions of suggestiveness!!” It shattered on the ground behind me creating a cloud of magical effect.

“Well that was a fun game we had, thank you for sparring with me, I’ll see myself out!” I teased the full grown men I’d just laid out flat. 

“Fun. Yeah, glad …”

“You had fun?” they were fuzzy headed but this was the point of the potion, the pinkish smoke filling the air would let my words be their memory.

“Now, I can’t wait for that thousand year old fossil to come around. Never mind the Alien’s wife!” I gumbled, keeping quiet I walked through the rest of the building like I owned the place, keeping out of people’s way. It wasn’t long before I found where Goose was being held.

He was Awake, but subdued - sitting in a corner of a large room and flanked by guards.

“Did the prisoner promise to behave?” I asked, again walking in like I owned the place. They gave me quizzical looks.

“You, YOU!” Now I got the Goose’s attention, he honked and squawked “What the Hell are you Doing! I never did nothing to you, I don’t even know you!”

I shrugged, looking through the bars in the middle of the room that separated Goose from me. There was no actual effort being made to contain Goose here, I didn’t know where the room was, whether we were underground or not but with the strength I’d seen him use against the Gorilla, walls, floors bars and guards were just for show. Instead a poster of wonder woman saying “Remember, the Truth will Always out!” was probably on his mind.

He was right, if Wonder Woman used her lasso then the truth would come out!

“You’re not supposed to be in here, miss!” One of the guards interrupted, unaware of the unconscious guard outside.

“She has a right to face her accuser!” I blinked at that, a second guard had just pushed the first, letting me walk through between them to face down Goose.

“You may not know who I am, Son of Trigon. But I know You!” I glowered, with an evil grin at the horrified look running across the Troll-like face. I’m sure he hadn’t been expecting to hear that name, “The Original told me all about you and your brothers! I’m going to make sure Wonder Woman finds you guilty!”

Slipping the last two splash potions of Suggestiveness from my pockets, I cracked them on the ground. Pink, and purple smoke started filling the space.

“Guards, you are all to wait outside, while I get a confession. Everything is fine, Wonder Woman authorized this!” The adults coughed as they breathed the smoke, attempting to get to the door. One of the four guards actually had the frame of mind to wrap an arm around my neck, trying to drag me from the room. I slipped free, watching the men straighten as the potions took effect. 

“Thank you gentlemen. You can leave me with Sin Goose!” I repeated, slipping my hand along the body of the one who’d grabbed me. Feeling for it, I found the key card that would open Goose’s cell. Took it as the man left.

“You are Insane!” The Goose growled. Okay so he could sound menacing. “What could you Possibly get by all this!” Turned out I didn’t need the card, Goose happily tore the metal gate open, growing in size. I allowed him to reach out and grab my neck.

He didn’t squeeze. “It’s the Original’s Plan. We’re going to get all of you. Using you now will let us Lure out Raven and disgrace her. Then when the world no longer sees her as a hero, we’ll deal with all seven of you at once!” I confessed.

“Because my dear Jarred, You, Your Sisters and your Brothers are Sin Driven Monsters. You lust and desire and burn the world around you!” I let my words like honey drift through his mind, as we breathed in the smoke. “You will tell Wonder Woman you had your way with me! We’re both going to believe it!”

“No.. NOOO!” he pulled me towards him, roared in my face, then I found myself flung through the wall towards the nearest wall. Desperately I tried to roll in the air, hit the bricks in a way that wouldn’t shatter my skull, or anything else. The Thud still hurt, and I felt Ribs crack. 

No scream even got out from me, the air smacked from my lung, my eyes tearing up. Crawling back to my knees I saw, choked a scream, then laughed bitterly. The big strong demon boy was curled up in a corner, repeatedly telling himself, “No no no. Zinthos, Metrion Zinthos. I Won't. I won't. Metrion Zinthos, Metrion Zinthos.”

I laughed more. “You’re a demon! Stop, Fighting it!” and tried to pull the boy to his feet. “You know you want to do this!”

With me still holding his hand, he tried to shove me away, “I’m Gay you Bitch! Your plan would have never worked with me! Everyone who knows me will see through this!”

I blinked at the revelation, used his shove to add weight to a Judo toss and Rolled the demon out on his back. From there I straddled him, wondering whether The Original had laced that last potion with something to make him weaker.

“Maybe I should have tried Raven herself then for this. Oh well, I’m guessing you’ve just never met a girl who could keep up with you!” I laughed, still hurting from being thrown against the wall. I struggled against him, and fumbled with his shorts. “I’ll just have to take this into my hands. At least I’ll be able to truthfully say we’ve fucked!”, literally taking him into my hands in the process.

In my Miss A costume, it wasn’t that difficult to push clothing aside. His pants were harder to get through than my costume, for certain.

Except, something was wrong. Now I thought about it, he wasn’t fighting at all. Just breathing heavily with a deep cat-like growl coming from his throat. His eyes glowed, not just showing up but visibly emitting a red light. 

Having just obtained my goal, a sinking burning feeling swam up inside me. Not the pain of my cracked rib, but something cold in my stomach making me double over. Looking at the cold calm face of uncaring rage on Jarred's face, I stopped cold when he growled a single word: “Never.”

And then the Wall was gone, Wonder Woman smashing through it in a cold rage of violence, as if thrown in. The distraction held me back long enough for Sin Goose to Shove me off.

”NEVER!” I ducked his punch, followed by a punch from Wonder Woman, trying to swing around underneath. It barely missed, and she was not holding back. Her Eyes glowed red. My skirt ripped as a red eyed guard I hadn't noticed, emerged from nowhere to clutch at me, pulling me way and driving me further from the demon boy. I slipped through the hole in the wall to find people fighting everywhere and, hearing a scream, turned back to see Wonder Woman pick up a guard and throw him. Thrown with enough force to go splat against the wall.

Behind that, the avatar of Wrath glowered at me, turned away and smashed his way out of the cell, heading in the opposite direction.

“Aaaaah… oh. Kay…” I gasped, trying to slip past what was now an all out red eyed brawl in the holding compound. I saw guards against guards, inmates against inmates.

It looked like a lot of people were going to die today. “I think, I fucked up.” I hissed, and began running.

Chapter 9: Tilt

Penelope

"So, so Wait! Your power is Hair!" The game of Muffin Time had derailed not long after it began, turns out when you have magic powers it’s really really easy to cheat. The first blow had been when Raven called Barbera out on “Looking at cards!”

“She just, full on, fast-walked around and peeked!” Raven claimed, “It’s against the spirit of things!”

Which of course was wrong but was immediately followed up by Abegail calling “Head in a Head!” And pulling a card from her skull. “You didn’t notice the card on my forehead!”

This got everyone laughing and I had to ask “Does inside your head count?” But we’d accepted it. Then the dreaded “Do something nobody else can do!” Card got pulled. 

Asking Claire to move, she was partly laying on her friend in the bean-bag chair, Starfire air walked a few feet in the air.

“No problem!” Raven, Barbera and Abegail pushed off, leaving poor me and Claire sitting on the ground.

Claire pouted, turning up her cuteness charm and tried to call for clemency, “HEY! What no, not fair! Are you Targeting me! I was so close to Muffit Time”

There was no way I could argue this, human beings sucked when playing a game that encouraged cheating. “You three should be targeting each other! You all have the same powers after all, those should be off the board!” 

Over in the Kitchen, where my Dad was pretending not to notice, he called out “That sounds like every person who is losing a children’s card game!” He laughed.

I wasn’t really upset. Not really. This was more fun in days than I’d had in weeks.

It’s great having friends, and let's be honest. Without Claire, none of this would have been possible. Dropping in where Starfire had been I put an arm around my bestie. Taking the childish route of poking out my tongue I said “Don’t care, not fair!” before breaking out into laughter.

“Actually, you’re wrong. We do have things each other can't do!” I gave Barbera a curious look as she returned to a standing position. Her sisters kept floating. Which is when Barbera turned it around with “My Sibs can't do this?” We watched as Barbera performed a display of Finesse with her hair, making it move on its own, float around and then - Grow. In minutes it went from shoulder length to halfway down her back, then past her bum.

“Oh… Wait, is that a morphing thing, telekinesis? How does that even work?” I was curious now. The three goth siblings seemed to have a mostly similar power set, all black magical girls who could float, pass through walls and manifest some kind of shadowy other self.

“Not really, but I can do it to other people!” Suddenly, and very much without warning my pigtails were nearly twice in length, the top half unbraided and messy.

In the beanbag beside me Claire laughed, “Don’t! I’ll be buried beneath hair!”

“This is how I make powered clothes!” Barneba told us, “I magic the hair and spin it into thread!” She reached for a handbag Abegail had brought with her, asking “Mind if I get my Spindel?” Getting a nod she pulled out something that looked like a large spinning Top, about a foot tall.

“Wait, wait wait wait!” My dad from the kitchen was suddenly very present and ecstatic. “Are you going to spin something now? Can I set up some recording equipment? Nobody knows how you do this!”

The girls looked at each other with worry.

Letting out a deep sigh I interrupted, “Daaaad, that would be highly inappropriate!” But I eyed Barbera with caution. “I am curious what the differences are though? And how did you realize you could do this?

I got shrugs in response while Barbera set up her top. Taking a small amount of her hair, it grew to length and twisted together around a piece of starting thread, then her eyes began to glow. “This is actually how I practice controlling my sin. I can move any object, but hair and clothes are easiest!” As the top began spinning, the hair from her head passed through it, turning to thread, then on the other side started weaving itself together. “What would you like me to make, keep it small though!”

“Ooh, ooh!” Claire piped up, then leaned over to Barbera was working. Whispering something, she got a nod from the little witch. “Not something I usually would make, but doable. In Star’s size I assume? Or yours?”

“Oh, Starfire Definitely! But you don’t have to finish it today. Can it be a surprise for her birthday?” That got exchanged looks, but it was Abegail who interrupted, “She’s trying to get a free Product! Don’t do it! Don’t do it!” 

Either way, the teenage witch stopped, with about two square feet of her own hair spun into a square of cloth.

“And to answer your question Penny. All seven of us can do dimensional stuff, like going through walls, open portals. I have a pocket space I can put things in. Jesse can mimic other people's abilities, although not great. Barbera Levitates stuff, Abegail can make her spirit form solid and use it to move or break stuff!” Raven listed off, then thought better of it. “Each of us has at least one thing the others can’t do!”

“Ooh, foreshadowing!” Claire mused, “At some point in the future, one hundred percent, all seven of you will have to combine your powers for something epic!”

I nodded, it certainly sounded like something a group of heroes would have to do.

Dad, this whole time, had been watching Barbera’s stunt with curiosity. “This looks so familiar. The method reminds me of Penny’s Ragdolls, the way the matter is being replicated. I thought it could have been ‘fake’ matter, like an after image but you say this is how you make the super suits?”

As they talked, my phone rang. A trumpety brass sound I had assigned for the group of friends I’d labeled “Heroes” and I leaned aside. Supergirl? I stared at the phone for a second, then answered it. “Oh, Hey Kara. Did you want something Mad Sciency, or is this social? You were out with the Boys for Charlie, right?”

The response, a little staticy with a lot of wind behind it sent shivers down my spine, “Penny! Penny, this is important! Miss A is on the Warpath. She’s talking to your mum right now and has it out for the Villain Club!”

“What!” Standing up absentmindedly, ignoring the conversation I marched into Dad’s work room for some privacy. “Wait, seriously? Where are you right now?” 

“On my way back to LA. Did a short mission, Ran into Miss A. She knows you’re Bad Penny!” The wind really was horrible, cutting over Supergirl’s response but I made the gist of it.

“I, we knew that! Ray messed that up over a month ago. I thought everything was fine though?” I popped her on speaker phone, trying to hear clearly as Claire walked into the room with me. 

“Penny, is something wrong?” I waved her to be quiet.

“Maybe it was, but she just got Jarred arrested, and she’s in there telling your mum Everything right now!” The shocked expression on Claire’s face was more apt than my stunned silence. A small crowd was gathering out by the door, with grim looks on Raven and Abigail's faces.

Dad was the one who spoke first, “Perhaps, by the time BeeBee get’s home, the rest of everyone here should be gone. Make this a family matter, instead of a community issue.” He said quietly. He was right of course.

“Kara, Can you meet back up with Ray and Garfield? They will need you more if shit hits the fan! Besides, I’m sure Charlie would want you there!” The wind wracked sound on the phone slowed down, before she answered, “I. I was gonna get Lena and come to you!”

“Nah, no.” I did a quick poll of everyone’s faces before continuing. “If it’s just me and Dad here when Mum arrives, I’ll fare better. What we don’t know is whether my Mum will put out warrants for the other Villain Club members. It depends how much Marcia tells them.”

I thought it over. “Go look after my boy for me, please? And feel free to take Lena with you!”

“Okay!”

Looked like the Party was over. We hadn’t even had the Pizza arrive yet! “Claire, Can you take these three back to your place?” I asked her.

I got a really tight and aggressive hug as a response, “You’re going to be okay!” was all she said. “You’re going to be okay!”

Chapter 10: Honesty

Penelope

It wasn't until a few hours later that Mum showed up. I watched the streets for her, aware she would be driving the old car for the look of things, and fetched Bootstrap from my room. The little crystal orb with his six brass plates that made up his wings, and emotionless gray eye regarded me as I instructed him "Watch from the roof. Return to me when you see her coming!"

He did, although unlike Vera who would have chimed a bell sound or rubbed against me to get my attention, he just hovered. It took me a moment to notice he’d arrived, “Okay, Thanks! I wish I could put a bell on you, just sleep already!” I half jumped, half ran across the room and tapped the little crystal orb twice. He curled up and dropped out the air into my hands.

“How are you thinking of handling this!” Dad was trying to find space in the fridge for the excess pizza. We’d be eating pizza for the next couple of nights.

“I.” I froze, looking for my school bag and putting Bootstrap into it. “I have no idea what was about to happen. This is mum. I can’t lie, she knows all my tells, twitches and body language. She’ll know I’m freaked out, she’ll assume Kara called me since she knows Claire and I hang out with her group.” I clenched my hands together, trying not to let them shake.

Removing my hairbands I began finger combing it out, Barbera’s power had added a good foot. This would be hard to pigtail like I had so far. I might have to switch to a braid, or get a haircut.

“I think I have an opening line at least.” I sat on the couch, quietly.

Mum’s car pulled into the garage, and I listened to the ticking of the machinery lifting and lowering the door. The engine purring, as she sat waiting in the car. Every single action The Audit did was always measured, perfect, precise. I was her daughter, and as her heroic ability to instinctively measure everything and remember every statistic would know, I would guilt myself into a confession just as easily by being allowed to stew and wait.

The Coffee pot started to boil. When did dad put that on? I flinched, noticing him for the first time. The kitchen table was set, not for dinner, and especially not pizza. There were two cups, mugs with plates underneath them and as the car engine turned off, dad ushered me off the couch. Put me in one chair, with an empty cup in front of me.

Mum unlocked the door, and carefully dad poured and made a cup for mother.

I noticed! It wasn’t made the way mum liked it. Mother liked cold brew coffee, made, then heated to 60°C, she never used Fahrenheit, with three sugars and a teaspoon of cream. This coffee was made wrong, although still cold brewed but with a lot of sugar and no cream.

I squinted at dad as he lay back in a lounge chair with a physics book and mouthed, “What are you doing?” just as The Audit walked into the room.

She was injured.

The thought crossed my mind in an instant, she walked as cleanly as she could and had changed into a fresh, pressed business uniform but there was just the tiniest bit of a limp. Under the makeup was the indication of a bruise across the side of her head, something heavy had clearly hit her! Something she hadn’t seen coming! 

“MUM!” I was out of my seat before I knew it, “Sit down, sit down, what happened! You look! Are you okay!?” Casual acts of commercial supervillain had made me physically fitter than I had been even several months ago, but my attempting to support her as she walked in was useless. I was head and shoulders shorter than my mother and I struggled to support her weight. 

“What happened! This, who… Who hurt you!” Something in my heart and head turned that into a growl when I spoke it. “How’d this happen? Who could do this!” All thoughts and plans dropped out the window, ran down the street and carried any sense of reason I had with it. 

Somebody had managed to land a blow on My Mother! I growled, “Did something happen at work? One of the convicts? What happened, tell me everything!” I demanded. Then I caught a very serious and actually shocked look from mum, my mother’s more loving if now scared reaction behind the mask of emotionlessness that the Audit wore.

“There was a break out at the intake part of the supermax!” She explained, looking at me with a curious side-eye. At this point, looking up she took in the house, the table with the coffee cups set out. The cleanliness of the house, and then noticed dad.

Dad wasn’t using one of his illusion belts right now, and looked less human than he had for most of my life. The differences were small, green skin, blondish brown hair. Nose and cheekbones are just that little different from his human disguise.

“A recently captured super, kid super really, managed to incite a breakout. I think I’ll have to redesign the security from the ground up. This is the second time my prison has been attacked by a child, and both times there were successful escapees.” She stated those facts without hesitation, before concluding, “Brainy. You decided to finally tell Penny about her Coluan heritage?” 

Dad shrugged, “A few weeks ago when I was repairing my league belt, she was able to identify parts and functions of it. Today, she assisted me with identifying another form of alien technology.” Dad put down the book that he hadn’t been reading, getting to his feet. He was just as shocked and concerned as I was, but hiding it much better. “I’m starting to think Penny has a hybrid power. She has started accessing the psychic network my species uses, small bursts at a time. This is also how she controls the Machine of hers. But the clockwork thing is separate from that!” 

I watched dad march back into the kitchen, before retrieving the biggest first aid kit I’d ever seen from a cupboard. This thing could have been from an Ambulance, having all the usual stuff as well as defibrillators, splints and binding kits, a blood pressure machine and more kinds of bandages and band aids than I knew existed.

His calmness was catching as he gently pushed me aside, “I know you had a medic check you out but I want to see for myself!“ he told her. 

My mouth betrayed me at this point.

I wish it hadn’t. Things were going so, well, okay so not really well! Mother was injured, something had happened! Still, as dad checked mum over, I said, “Kara didn’t say anything about this!”

The air went still, and I looked at my hands on reflex. Then I forced myself to look up as mum analyzed, scrutinized and evaluated every element of my body, summing it up in her head. I forced myself to look up, “Raven, Barbera and even Jared and Jesse are all friends of mine. Kara told me Jarred had been arrested.” a horrible thought crossed my mind, looking down for a brief scary moment, I thought saw golden hands instead of my own. I rocked backwards almost falling on my ass before steadying myself.

“Jarred didn’t do anything, did he? He’s got a hot head, but he’s a good guy! I can’t believe he would have!” I trailed off on the train of thoughts, seeing a twitch on my mum’s face underneath her audit persona.

“There was an incident. Jarred was involved in a fight and has escaped. My injuries weren’t caused by him though. A wall fell on me after a giant orangutan smashed through it!” The smile was wry, almost bitter. 

I nodded, bit my lip. “That’s not so scary at least, I mean how smart can one ape be!” I mused.

“What confused and irritated me however is that, after the break out, we attempted to check the computers. Find footage and evidence for the cause. Only to discover the computers, and backups had been wiped. The offsite backup was intact, but missing the crucial moments.” As mum sized me up I returned the look with a genuinely confused expression. My actually being genuinely confused, with no lies behind it got mum to raise her eyebrows in shock.

“A completely open and honest reaction. Huh.” She mused. “Is that my coffee?” She asked.

“Aaah, it can be!” I asserted, going to fetch the jar of cream from the fridge. I added a teaspoon, brought it over and mum swished the spoon around.

“Somebody hacked our computers, or already had access on a level I never expected. I’m not even sure if this is a targeted attack, or a known supervillain who’s been lying dormant. Spider probably has her hands in this, but still. I had hoped you knew something from your friends in the Inscrutable Machine!”

I almost dropped mum’s coffee during my panic and hesitation. Taking a deep breath that I couldn’t hide, I passed her the coffee.

I tried to bury my freak out moment, cold but expected, under a wave of truth. “I have lots of villain friends.” I admitted. “Most of them go to school with me, although not all. There are some adults I’ve met. Bull, often. The Penguin once.” I was working on the theory I’d already worked out. If I told only the truth, and avoided the stuff I couldn’t lie about, things would be okay.

“I can’t and won’t tell you about them though. That would be in breach of the Truce.” I tried my best to meet mum’s eyes. Look defiant, look proud! Like I was doing the right thing.

I was. Mostly. Just at times, the right thing included criminal acts.

“And…” thoughts crawled across my brain. A hack of a main government sponsored facility? One designed by the combined minds of my mum, my dad and several top scientists being hacked. I tried to do the math, who did I know that could even DO such a thing. “I ah, um. Wait, was there any sign how they got in? Like, was it hacked locally or?” I blinked away the mess of logic as my brain filled with images, ways to track electronic signals, technologies for decoding damaged computer systems, repair - gah gah gah!

I clutched my head in pain. “Ouch, brain attack, Coluan brain bursts hurt!” I admitted honestly, “I have no clue how, but maybe I could make something that… aaaa!” This brain burst almost made me pass out. Black waves like in a video game threatened to take over my eyes so I sat down hard on the coffee table.

“I see.” Mum said thoughtfully. “We have ways and scientists who can deal with this honey. Try not to think about it too much.” 

“The air loosened around us, tension letting out as mum stopped her Audit voice and face, smiling. “I won’t ask you to hand your friends in. I do want you to let me know if you hear anything. Dangerous criminals are loose now.”

“I’ll mention it to the heroes too.” I responded, dad was slowly looking mum over. Her whole right side was one massive bruise. “Will she be okay dad?”

Chapter 11: Mr Winters

Marcia

I was a long way from home after the incident, out in the middle of the desert. If I hadn’t learned that teleport spell I’d have taken days to hitch-hike back to Jump City. Why Jump City, cause that’s where Mr Winters was hiding out. Getting away from the back door bunker that led into the underside of the SuperMax, I found a patch of loose sand and drew out the transit circle. There was a park not far from the Library that would suit my purposes, and I knew the coordinates already. Pulling out the crystal I used for power, I began the spell in my head, then had an attack of nausea.

Clambering out of the circle, I threw up not only lunch, but probably last week's lunch as well. It felt like my stomach was physically wriggling around and trying to climb out through my belly button. Redrawing the part of the circle I had scuffed, covered in puke and sand, I activated the spell.

The contents of the circle as prescribed swapped places, leaving myself and a large patch of sand in a section of park as branches and leaves thudded down on the circle around me. I stared at them.

“Oh, I must have teleported onto a tree. Guess there’s going to be a lone tree out in the desert now.”

Stumbling up from my seated position, I made for the drink fountain nearby and tried to wash myself off, taking off the dust and puke stained shirts and skirt and washing them crudely. I had to look like some homeless girl to the people passing by, or perhaps a drunk college student who’d spent the night in the park.Looking less freaky, but still wet, I made for the back door to the main public library.

I sweet talked the lock with a hand wave and a few words of “Do you mind opening up, just for a bit!” The magic crystal hummed as the lock complied and I entered the sorting and storage office of the Jump City public Library.

Mr Winters looked, resplendent. He wore a version of dinner outfit, dress shoes with long pressed pants and a white button up top and paced back and forth amongst the tables and shelving here with a sense of purpose, comparing notes from his personal book with the large tomes and handfuls of relics around him. He hadn’t even noticed my coming in, at first, and wriggled his nose in a cute yet dignified way. 

Yeah, I probably smelled like a wet dog.

“You’re back Miss A. How did your encounter with the demon spawn go?” He didn’t even look up, knowing me in an instant, but instead picked up a book and walked around the table to put it in front of me.

I swallowed a moment of fear, he would tell me off for my mistakes but he’d be right to do so. “I fucked it up. Literally and metaphorically.” I admitted, walking up to the book. It was the one I thought it would be.

Opened to a page nearer the middle, a painting of seven demons filled one side, with a literal hoard of shambling monsters behind them. Across the bottom the caption “The Seven Princes of Hell” in a decorative font lent credence to the text on the other page, written in what could be ancient sumarian.

“I confronted Jared, Prince of Wrath and almost had him arrested. Trumped up charges as we planned. Something happened though, I think I powered him up?” I confessed.

“Powered him up.” My trainer, teacher and guardian looked me in the face with a pursed confused grin. “Miss A, We are in a war against the literal forces of Hell. A Demon Prince is already a powerful threat, and Wrath isn’t even the most powerful of his kin. Please define, powered up?”

Pulling a chair around to sit, I still felt weak and woozie, I told him quickly what had happened. “It turns out that Wrath is gay. Our plan to have him arrested, and lure Raven into breaking him out of prison, would never have worked. If he’d held out and told the truth he’d have been set free. I think even if the Mind Override potion had worked, all his family would have chipped in and we’d have been found out!” I told him. “I did try to force him into sex with me, tried to convince myself it was rape. I think that whole plan was a failure though.”

Mr Winters walked around me as I spoke, then placed a hand hard on my head, palming my skull. “And as for this, making him stronger part?”

I tried to remain still. “While I was screwing him, he started getting angrier and angrier. Then everything hit the fan. He can project his rage, make other people angry to the point of blind indescrimina—-” Mr Winters had his hands around my neck.

It wasn’t a full on throttle, he had moved in front of me, fingers clenched loosely around my neck with his thumbs pressing into my wind pipe. I tensed, smart enough not to fight back while he began his lecture.

“Projecting emotions is a known power of the Sins. For lo, in the days after, the stars will fall from the sky. The deceiver will stand in a position of power, and from his hand will arise seven Princes of hell. And in those times man shall turn against man, mother against child and husband against wife and the rivers run red. As the seas number seven, the people will divide themselves into seven armies, led by seven princes. You have awoke one of those princes.”

His hands released, and I slumped, nearly falling out of the chair and instead tilting towards him to be grabbed by the shoulders. “Strangely, you have done well. We are ahead of schedule. If the prince of Pride is the key to preventing Trigon from destroying the world, per chance we can turn them against each other?”

Breathing, I nodded. “Yes Sir.” my voice croaked, but I sat back up straight. “I was thinking, I should go after Raven…”

“Don’t. Your job isn’t to think. You’ve done too much of that lately, chasing after child villains. You, trying to fast track your hero credentials caused me to lose My credentials!” He closed the book in front of us, then leaned back on the desk. Everything he was was the definition of grace.

I nodded, waited for instructions.

“Never forget, you are America’s Ace. Miss A, the one chosen to confront the forces of darkness, in a never ending war against the forces of evil!” He repeated dryly, “Attend to me, follow my direction and we shall purge this darkness from the world.”

He thought for a moment longer, “You shall take some Mind Override potion. Seek out those children you know consort with the Demons and Find the prince of Pride. Bring it to me.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chapter 12: Three

Kara

“HA HA HAAAAA HA!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEE!”

“No Looops!” I laughed at the insanity of our situation. I did go get my girlfriend, as was suggested. Lena had been in her lab, looking over what appeared to be building schematics while the shit, elsewhere, hit several kinds of fans and created what Penny would discover to be a God Awful mess. 

I’d busted in wearing my civvies, a pair of jeans, dressy black runners and a parka over a corny superman t-shirt. It was a knock off one, the logo but not the right colour scheme.

I looked stupid, guaranteed, and Lena had looked up just in time to see a large hessian sack go over her head!

The protections in her little lair all went off at once, probably activated by some button on her watch. She hadn’t been in costume so any weapons she would have were worthless against me. While barriers, guns and some kind of sci-fi tractor beam all tried to stop me but I just waved at the camera and said “Taking my girlfriend out for a bit!” to turn the defenses off.

“STOOOOOP! KARA You BIA- gaaah! I’m Dizzy!” The complaining from the sack kept going as I banked out from the Tower towards where I had last seen the Boys. Stopping for a moment, I opened the sack. I was a Kilometer up, dangling my girlfriend over a drop that would normally kill most people, and grinning at her.

She looked up at me through her mad-scienctist goggles, trying to straighten her shirt. Nope, holding the gun out the way as a charged fragmentation grenade was lobbed into the air, I banked away from it, laughing. “I’m Not Evil, sweetie! Just not in a mood for excuses!” 

“You are So Too! You Kidnapped Me!” Was her reply, sour over my laughter.

“You’ve been cooped up in the Tower for weeks! I need you out here, and I can’t take no for an answer. Stuff is going on with the Villain kids, and you and I need to guard the Boys!” I hefted the back upright a little, wrapping an arm around her struggling waist and held her close.

Carefully, I peaked in the back. “If you stand on my feet, I’ll lower the sack and we can talk.” I told her.

She didn’t comply at first, saying “If I don’t? How do I know you’re not brainwashed! We’ve seen a lot of that in the last month or two!”

I hesitated, fumbling for the little pendant at my neck. A small crystal of the purest type, used amongst other things to freeze objects completely solid. I kissed it and held it down, “God help me my love, if you doubt me then freeze me solid right now!”

“Then We’ll BOTH Fall to our deaths, you Idiot!” Lena slapped me, hard across the face, not that I felt it. “Help me find your feet, what’s going on?”

I helped, as instructed, alternating between holding her hands, her waist and well, anywhere that would keep her from falling as she stepped out of the sack and let it fall past our feet.

We floated now, in a weird dancing pose that kept us upright and her body close to mine. 

I brought my face in close, to be heard over the wind as we drifted across the city.

“So. Short version, there is a good chance soon that Bad Penny and her crew are all about to be arrested.” I told her.

“Oh. Good? I guess?” I shook my head in reply.

“It’s Penny, Ray and Claire. Worse than that, Miss A has made up fake charges against them. Stupid really, they’re wanted criminals right now. But Penny asked if you and I could go to Ray and the Boys. Make sure whatever happens doesn’t result in people getting hurt.”

Lena pulled back, looking me in the face. “Then shouldn’t we be in costume?” She asked.

“Nope! Cause you weren’t paying attention earlier. I told you, they’re out helping Charlie to clothes shop.” I got a confused look instead of realization.

“Charlie started seeing a Specialist. He’s trying to transition without relying on shape shifting. You know, so he won’t suddenly be ‘Girl Mode’ if he gets knocked out cold. That means Charlie, Garfield and Ray are all at the Mall out of Costume! We’re going to meet them, keep an eye out and play interference if a bunch of Heroes show up waving guns!” I explained, allowing us to drift out and downwards, I’d seen the mall in question.

“Oh.” Was the only response I got.

“Plus I want to go on a date with my girlfriend!” I touched my nose to Lena’s cheek, muttering, “And maybe kiss you away from dark dingy laboratories!” That got a nice response.

And if anyone saw two fifteen year old girls, floating through the air and kissing, I’d have to hope it didn’t end up in the news.

Entering the mall through a large open skylight we found the boys in the food court. Garfield waved as we floated into the building, but it took a moment to find a safe flight path. Lena successfully deposited, still holding my hand as we marched casually over, I lied! Blatantly and very obviously, a lie so easy to believe nobody could mistake it.

“Hey, you three. We were in the Area! Thought I’d see how you were going, catch up with you all. Super Chill like, just kids in a mall and not doing anything heroic or villainous for once!” I tried to play it off as cool.

Lena followed up with something she saw in an anime, a slap in the chest, followed by a polite bow and “Excuse my girlfriend, she has no clue how to lie. I’ll make sure to correct her later!”

Ray and I both laughed, getting the reference. Ray had been suggesting us Anime for months, ever since we first became friends and… This was going to be hard. If things happened soon, I might have to arrest my friends.

Ray Viles.

Garfield Logan.

Claire Lutre

Penelope Akk.

Not to mention who knows what was happening with the Raven’s siblings. The Tinsleys were the oldest, and would probably go to actual prison if they fought to save Jarred. The Lopez kids though, they had nobody, and would have nobody to look out for them. Then Raven, the youngest but most responsible.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, focusing on my teammate. “Charlie, my main man. You’re looking smaller, did you lose weight!?” I joked, holding a fist up for a fist bump.

He bumped it with a human amount of strength. A decent amount, all things considered, but within human norms.

“Ha, ha.” There wasn’t any mirth in his laugh, “I Wish. If anything I feel like I gained some.” he squared his shoulders.

“You look good.” Lena said.

I backed it up, “For real. Getting used to human you may take a bit, but since you started exercising in this form, youre starting to get legit buff!” He was. Charlie was not even a little transformed right now. Although arguably more trans than before. The boys had found a smaller version of his usual jeans and shoes, and his height was closer to mine than his previous ‘just shy of six foot’. He had short cut hair, still black and slightly frizzy, but his grayish shark like skin that I’d always seen him wearing, was now a healthier olive tone. Once upon a time I would have been confused about his race, but now I knew what I was looking for, he was very much an Islander.

The great grandson of the Shark King, and related to the literal Little Mermaid from the old fairy tales. 

Taking a seat near the boys, Lena took the opportunity to make this more date-like, putting a hand on my shoulder and saying, “I’ll get us food. I know what you like, and turns out I am hungry. Make sure you tell them the thing.” 

“I will, not now!” I waved her away, the crew settling in near a table. Ray ducked away, food hunting and for a moment I was with just Garfield and Charlie.

“What thing? Are you and Lena moving in together?” Garfield joked.

“Huh, oh we have been for months.” I said, crossing my fingers. We shared a flat, but had separate beds. Most of the time. When we weren’t sharing for the fun of it.

“Then what’s the new, new news?” Charlie interjected.

I lowered my voice, “Miss A turned up again, while I was doing hero work with Jarred. She’s on the warpath, so Penny asked me to keep an eye on you guys!” I confided.

Garfield’s confused reaction looked hurt as I told him that. “You just said you didn’t want to tell us. Then told as soon as Ray was gone. You know I’m like, on His side in all this right?”

I did a double take, rethinking over my thoughts. “Penny, Ray and Claire got outed. I think this only affects them though, and Raven’s family.”

“I Live with Ray. We’er each other’s family. Claire is like a big sister to all of us. A perverted big sister, but still.” Garfield looked awkward.

“Is something going on?” I asked.

“Garf has a crush on Ray, and isn’t getting over it!” Charlie blabbed, before being waved down with panicked gestures.

“He’s in a relationship already! I would never.” Garfield went silent, watching Ray and Lena return with balanced trays of food from the nearby food court.

Again, good boy Charlie dobbed in his mate, “Earlier on, when I was looking for a binder, Garfield was complaining. All, Ray tends to walk around the lair in just boxers. Hasn’t realized Garf is crushing! Hangs off the boy in, oh here we go!” We watched and smiled at the two coming back, Lena putting one tray in front of me and slipped into the booth literally hip to hip. I smiled, tried not to be visibly handsy with her.

Ray placed one tray in front of Charlie, straight up a plated up Burger King meal, then placed another tray down. Garfield was sitting on a chair, and the tray went down on one side of him, followed by Ray putting a hand on his shoulder and saying, “Got you vegetarian lasagna and fries”. Then pulling another chair in to scooch beside the blushing green skinned boy. They were sharing a plate, “If you don’t mind, I’m just gonna pinch your chips!”

Ray’s casual, inexplicably English accent took what was probably an innocent sentence and transformed it in my head to perverted imagery! Lena and I both covered blushes as Garfield began ferociously devouring the lasagne.

“How does that old song go?” I asked Lena casually, “about whether it’s European?” Lena, who was trying to casually drink her coke, snorted it out her nose ungraciously and barely managed to target the spray away from the food.

“Can’t be European!” Charlie said, shrugging it off. “Ray’s family are southerners. Heavy accents and all!”

“Not my father. And no, I don’t know why I sound like this either. 

I thought this over, “Hey. How much does your girlfriend, or your friends at school know about your home life?”

He eyed me.

“Honestly, I don’t spend a lot of time with my mum anymore. Although I still have a number for her.” he shrugged. “I haven’t told Penny anything, she has enough on her plate. Claire knows though.”

I nodded. Playing date. Flirted with my girlfriend while I had the chance.

And listened. 

Over the voices of the city, the hounding of the people. Listened for the police and hero dispatch channels. Listened for signs of the coming attack.

Turns out, I was with the wrong group.

Chapter 13: Out?

Penelope

I didn’t find out about the rampaging Villains from the news, or from some remote source. A bit at a time, as Dad carefully stripped off Mum’s excess clothing to bathe her wounds, Mum told us about the sudden appearance and eventual break out of Goose, Raven’s big brother.

It honestly didn’t surprise me that Jarred had been able to smash his way though, of the few people I knew only two of them were stronger than him. Starfire was easily on Par, Kara way strong and in my opinion Claudia from school was the strongest. Heck, Claudia might actually give superman a run for his money, which meant Jarred was easily in the top five strongest people.

At least that I’d ever heard of.

Grabbing my phone without thinking I dialled Kara, biting my lower lip. It rang only once before I got an answer; “Hey! What’s up, what happened!” She was rightfully on edge.

“Penny, are you alright!” Ray’s charming voice came over the line all concerned.

It made my heart feel good, “I’m okay here, just sending out a fore-warning! Probably got to tell Raven too, but she’s at Claire’s with Star!”

I barely registered my mother, the Audit blink at the casual namedrops of the Teen Titan’s. Had mum known that Star and Claire were ‘maybe dating’? Too late to worry now.

“Why, more importantly who! The team is ready to roll wherever you point us!” Kara asked, and I put her on speaker.

“Mum, the guy you captured, Goose. He’s the brother of Two of my friends. They deserve to hear what’s happening!” I explained.

She hesitated, “Goose is apparently in some magical Rage state. I’ve been dubbing it a Rage Plague, it caused a mass breakout in the Super Max that destroyed most of the back end of the prison. He’s currently leeding the rampage towards the nearest big city, but kids. The League itself is handling it. Like, seriously heavy hitters and people in magical and psychic combat are all heading to deal with this. You don’t need to get involved!”

“Uh, huh. Penny, I can guess what you’re thinking. You called us cause you want Raven and Barbera kept out of it, right? So they don’t have to fight their brother?” I nodded, stupidly before responding.

“Uh, huh. But I’m sure there’s a need for flyers! They might need you and Lena helping!” I looked at mum to get her opinion. It wasn’t an impossible scenario, of the active Teen Titan’s Supergirl and Ultra Girl were the most mobile and the heaviest hitter.

Lena had been silent so far, but when her voice came over the line it sounded considered and thoughtful, “I’m actually better off coordinating. I have ways to let both Hero and Villain forces know about the threat to civilians and can try to mobilize them!” 

Tha Audit was giving me a cautious but thoughtful look as well, “Penny, how long have you had active Teen Titan’s members on Speed Dial. Not to mention being on a first name basis with a Vigilante and his family!”

I blanched, considered a lie and went for honest; “Since I started Middle school, mum. I’ve known Barbera for ages, Claire is in love with Starfire and I’ve had them, Raven and even Supergirl around for lunch! I just never told you cause, well. I know them outside of work. It would be ‘Getting Personal’” I specifically avoided the subject of having met, and fought with or against them several times in the line of business.

“Outside of work..” The Audit Parroted, picking up on my wording choice. I tensed on reflex, trying not to bite my lip, curse or look too, too guilty. For Tesla sake, I may as well tell them I’m a villain! Maybe I’d luck out and she’d think I was training to join the Titans.

“Penelope Darling. Have you been supplying the Inscrutable Machine with Tools and Weapons?”

I dropped the phone.

For a moment I heard metaphorical cowboy whistling in the air as everyone stared, waiting to see what my response was going to be. I didn’t pick up the phone, I didn’t look at her and I didn’t ball my fists. I didn’t cry, I didn’t wail, and I didn’t say how Unfair this was.

I did take a deep breath.

“Under the Terms of the truce in regards to Personal Freedom and the right by all villains and heroes to have a Home Life, and safety within that environment. I cannot tell you what I know about the Inscrutable Machine. I’m sorry mum.”

The cold long look mum gave me had a long, drawn out thread of sadness running through it.

But it also had a strong, strong hint of Pride.

Dad beamed with Pride, I’d basically done the super hero equivalent of quoting the Fifth Amendment. 

“Supergirl, I want to mobilize at once. I don’t want to involve Raven in this if I don’t have to, but Jarred needs to see a friendly face. Can you swing by my Lab and get the bike I was working on?” I looked my mum in the eye as I said this.

That’s right mum, a known superhero knows where my base is, and has the keys! Take that and suck on it!

“I’ll be at your place in minutes!” Kara responded.

She was as good as her word.

The ‘Bike’ I’d been working on went with my ‘Almost a Hero’ kit. Using rotors for flight, attached flanking the wheels and set up to work with my Blink Bracelets it was the nearest I’d been able to get to a replacement for the Hopper. Although the Hopper had been able to seat more people.

I kitted this together with cheap Hero Armor I’d set up. The inside layer of the costume I wore was my villain jumpsuit, made by Barbera that made me reasonably bulletproof, minus the fittings and add-ons that made up the recognisable Robot Look or Bad Penny. Literally just skin-tight cloth, it worked well under other gear without being recognisable.. Coming downstairs to jump on the new bike, the rest of the outfit consisted of Clockwork only gadgets that would help in a fight and wasa made to fit a monica used by a friend of mine. Clockwork Queen. It even had a modified bike helmet that incuded a tiara made of cogs.

They wouldn’t need to know I had villain gear kitted out as well. The helmet contained a modified freeze ray, similar to the one I’d given Ray, and I had a variation of the Air Conditioner Cannon built into the wrist mounts.

If I had to use them, the effects would be instantly recognizable, but they were good back ups for the more mechanical tools I had. 

I made sure to give my parents a confident wave as I stormed out of the house, “We’ll be back soon I promise!” and hoped I was giving enough mixed messages to throw mum off the scent.

The scene from the Air as we approached was, not good.

According to the feed from Lena, the escapees were heading to Los Vegas.

I know right, like if there was the most meme worthy place for a bunch of escaped supervillains to go, Los Vegas would be it.

Chapter 14: Note

A note from the writer

Hi, Rinni here. I am aware this book has gone unfinished for an extended period of time.

I'm also aware that this isn't finishing it. Truth is personal experiences I went through made the content of this so far, very hard to write.

Something still emotionally stingy for me.

 

What needed to happen next in the story, without adding a new perspective could only be done from Marcia's perspective.

At least in this book. I've decided that the Next part shall instead be relegated to Book 10

 

That's right! I'm jumping Ship. The Book Teen Titans: Family Sins will be starting soon. I hope.

 

But this book is not finished. Once I get a chapter there in to get the mental block out the way (preferably with the aid of a different pov) I'll come back and add a few more chapters here.

It's important that the back end of this book should overlap the front end of the next book in a meaningful way, and I can't implement it in the current format.

 

Keep you posted soonish.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 9 of A Little Golden Age