RAID Fiction: "Holding out for a Hero"

by Madam Marvelous
ID #23160

After the announcement came that the Sagan Academy would be letting students out early because of the attack on Washington D.C., I stuffed my books in my locker and headed out to the road outside of school grounds and waited for Eggie to pick me up. As a probationary BADGE field agent, I had to follow protocol while I could have flown the D.C. faster as a falcon. 

As other parents pulled up to collect their children and busses pulled away carrying others home, I found a bench and watched live-streamed video of the battle on SentinelLive.net. I couldn't believe the carnage I saw on the screen of my smartphone screen. I'd have been able to get much more information if my parents let me take my communication device to school with me, but they insisted I not use my powers or think about being a hero during my classes.

Sometimes, parents just don't understand.

Eventually, my Electric Grandmother, or E.G. as she was named, pulled up in her blue Volkswagen Beetle. "Hello, poppet. The school grounds look beautiful. I hope you've been enjoying your classes."

"They've been good, but can we hurry," I said as I raced to the passenger side door and hopped in. Tossing my bookbag in the back seat, I hurried to snap my seatbelt into place. "It looks bad. We've got to get there. There are three unknown superpowered being attacking the capitol."

"Oh, my. That sounds dreadful," Eggie shifted the car, readying the car to pull out into traffic. "I've made a thermos of tea for you for the drive, and there are fresh scones in the glove compartment."

It wasn't until she sat and waited for several minutes to pull into traffic, letting every other car and bus move along that I realized once again, somehow Mom was getting her way with me not rushing into combat. Eggie wasn't going to move the car until every other vehicle on the road was out of her way. I opened the glove compartment and pulled out a clear Tupperware box. I opened the container and found several white chocolate and raspberry scones neatly placed on a pretty lace doily. 

If I was going to wait, I might as well take advantage of the offered amenities. 

Fifteen minutes, one cup of tea, and three scones later, we were on the road to the battle in D.C. I kept watching the Sentinel's news feed until we reached the hidden shuttle. "Things look pretty bad, Eggie. People think BADGE is behind the attack."

"Pish-posh, poppet. Pish-posh," Eggie said. She wore her traditional Mrs. Doubtfire garb and as she spoke to me, she straightened the amethyst pin at her collar in the rear-view mirror. "People rarely know what they are talking about. Never listen to people. People are idiots."

The shuttle lifted off. "What? I'm a kid, I have to listen to people all the time."

"Listen to individuals you trust and respect. That is always the way a lady should behave," Eggie said. "But truth has never been defined by the masses. Crowds often follow the loudest voice, not the smartest."

It didn't take long to reach D.C., compared to the travel time to New Utopia or the sight of the Tug of War event not too long ago. As the shuttle landed, I summoned the shape of Madam Marvelous and headed off to join the other heroes.

"Now, dearie. Remember, your orders are to fight with the group of newer heroes fighting the single Augment. The goal is to capture him, not kill." Eggie followed me out of the shuttle's hanger door. "This target is fighting aerially. How do you plan on engaging him?"

I paused. I hadn't thought that far. Usually I made that decision when I arrived, not ahead of time. "I don't know. I'll see when I get there."

"No, no, no, dearie. Going off halfcocked will not be be tolerated." She handed me my BADGE comm device which had been stored in her oversized purse. "Read your mission parameters."

Darn it. I was so eager to get going, then when she distracted me with pastries, I forgot to collect my equipment. "Sorry. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it, dearie, but don't let it happen again," she scolded me. "A hero must have their head in the game at all times, just as you would while playing football. European football, not that rubbish game American's play. The Augment you are fighting has been identified as being more vulnerable to magic or elemental based attacks."

"I change shape. I don't do magic or use energy," I said. As we kept moving forward, I could finally see the solo Augment battling over a hundred other heroes, both in the air and from the ground. "Did you happen to bring the blaster Angelus gave me?"

Eggie reached into her bag and pulled out a Tech glove provided by scientists at BADGE. "You have this."

I took the cobbled piece of circuitry and metal plates from her, then pulled it onto my hand. A sting of static shock shot into my fingers as I tried to use it. "Ouch!"

"What's the matter?" Eggie asked.

"I don't think this is working right." I pointed the gauntlet skyward and activated it again. My hand tingled again and went slightly numb. Ripping it off, I threw the gauntlet to the ground. "It's broke."

"I don't think it is wise for you to get into this fight, Madam Marvelous," Eggie said. "I'm afraid this may be more severe than you are ready to handle, dearie."

"No!" I shouted. "I'm a hero. I'm not going to let anything stop me from helping."

With that, I morphed into the form of Gar and launched into the air with mighty stone wings. His form was the most powerful one I'd encountered so far, so becoming him was an easy choice. I flew straight at the Augment, pulling my fist back and ready to strike it with a terrific punch.

With a wave of his hand, the Augment created a forceful pressure wave that threw me and several other flying heroes into tailspins to the ground. I recognized some of the others as I fell. Chained Angel. Infinite Tempest. Aisy. SORROW. Rennie Sommers. Nacho Sancho. Aphrael. Chaoren. Heroes dropped out of the sky like rainfall from a cloud. We all crashed down, tearing up the lawn of the White House and we laid stunned after the powerful area attack.

"Kitt'n," Astra said after she teleported near to me. "Are you OK?"

Knowing she most likely recognized my mind with her telepathic powers, I held out my clawed hand to her for help up. My body felt like I had been hit by a rogue comet. "Yeah. Boy, he hits hard."

"Yes he does," Astra said as she telekinetically lifted me to my feet. "And somehow BADGE tech has been corrupted and isn't working right. It's not looking good."

"That's right, you scumbag heroes," a woman shouted as she crouched behind a charred bush. "Why are you doing this to the city. Can't you fight somewhere else?"

Her uniform identified her as a member of the White House staff, a tour guide for visitors to the building. I stared at her and growled with a voice much deeper than my own. "We didn't start the fight here, lady. We're trying to stop it. That's what heroes do."

"Well, you suck at your job," she said. "All you're doing is scaring the world half to death."

Astra spoke to me in my mind. She's not kidding about being scared. She was guiding a class of students on a tour and got separated from them after the fight started. She's terrified that something bad has happened to them.

"Do you know where they are?" I asked.

Astra shook her head. "I've got to get back to the fight. Can you help her?"

I nodded. I morphed back into the form of Madam Marvelous and walked closer to the hiding woman. "I can help you find your group. Where did you last see them?"

"You'd do that?" She said, mascara leaving long black tracks down her cheeks from her tears.

"We're heroes. We're here to help," I said. "Do you have anything that belonged to them?"

I sense a bunch of children off that way. Astra thought to me as she lifted into the air. Good luck.

"I have a scarf one of them dropped." The woman stood and handed me a colorful handful of cloth. "How can you find them with that?"

I dropped the scarf on the ground. "Just follow me."

Morphing into a German Shepard, I put my muzzle into the scarf and sniffed deeply. I caught a good scent of something fragrant and then lifted my nose to the air, searching for it in all the other ambient scents. Several seconds later, I detected the odor and bounded off after it.

"Wait. Wait for me," the woman shouted from behind. "I'm in heels. I can't run that fast."

I slowed down a bit, but kept ahead of her. Explosions ripped through the air all around. Cracks of electricity. Sonic booms that shook the ground, nearly knocking me to my feet if it weren't for my canine agility. I pushed away all the distractions and focused on my target. The scent seemed stronger towards the carport area where vehicles were parked. The kids might have taken cover there, not knowing where else to go.

Increasing my pace, I hurried to where a large yellow bus was parked. The door was open, so I ran up into it. The scent was strong, but I didn't see anyone inside. I lowered my head and looked underneath the bench seats and found nearly two dozen elementary-school aged kids hiding beneath the read pleather seats. Turning toward the door, I howled, hoping the tour guide would be able to hear my over the noise outside.

Several of the children were openly crying, clutching hold of their knees as they laid on the cold metal floor. I walked to the closest kid, a young boy with thick glasses and nuzzled him in the belly. After a few pushes and whines, he place his hand on my head and firmly grabbed hold of my coat. It hurt a little, but he wasn't trying to pull my hair out, just trying to hold on.

"Are you in here?" the woman asked. "Kids? Are you in here?"

One by one, they started to crawl out from their hiding spots and rushed to their guide, and to kneel near my, hugging my thick coat.

The woman looked at me once again and smiled at me. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. You aren't bad at your job. Thank you for helping us."

I sat and gave her my best dog smile. I hoped that one by one, we could remove the fear people had been driven to and help them believe in heroes again.

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