Furious Squirrel #12351
The parade was in full swing as people cheered loudly and heroes joined marching bands and acrobat troupes filing down the streets. Some citizens had taken to dressing in costume as their favorite heroes from BADGE. One girl was sporting a remarkable costume that looked like Krystal Fae, and there was a guy who had put on big wings and spray painted his body gray to look like Gar. A number of people had formed a group calling themselves FBADGE, or Fake BADGE, where they dressed just like BADGE agents and went around doing civic things like cheering up kids at the hospitals and photo shoots at comic cons. The tide had clearly turned back in favor of BADGE since the days when people were scared of them.
Furious Squirrel walked along, waving at the crowds as he marched with members of his league. He reached into a bag and handed out large candy bars to the kids. The bag was magically enchanted by EB to reach into a huge stock of these candy bars he made so they wouldn't run out.
"Here you go. And, here's one for you, and for you..." He kept handing these out to all the kids.
A group of teens stood, each dressed as a member of the Avengers League, though most of their costumes were very home spun. One kid was so bold as to dress in a massive outfit that looked like Midgard, who wasn't always recognized as a hero among the common citizen.
Furious reached over with a handful of those candy bars for this Avengers cosplay team. "Here you guys go. Great costumes."
The guy in the Midgard Cosplay sneered at Furious and said, "Who are you supposed to be? Somek inda top hat man?"
"I'm Furious Squirrel!" Furious proudly announced.
The Midgard cosplayer was either really into character, or was just a jerk normally, but his scoff was loud as he said, "Never heard of you."
Furious, a little defeated by this attitude, walked along, handing out more candy bars. As he did, his jovial nature subsided and he was not as interested in this now.
"Something wrong?" Justin walked along with him.
"Nothing."
"Come on, its our Birthday celebration. BADGE is being celebrated, which is something we couldn't say a year ago."
"I know. But, I guess I thought people would know what I did. Look at all these fans of the other heroes. Even Chase has fans, and she hardly shows herself to the common public. I have been working to save lives, and no one even recognizes me."
Justin smiled and waved as a man with a camera took their picture. Then he said, "Furious, it isn't about accolades. They are nice, but the point of being a hero is doing the right thing. You do that all the time."
The parade went on for a while longer and ended at Neo Utopia's city hall. Justin was met by the mayor with all the heroes standing on the steps around him. The public, with many news reporters from all over the world, listened as he gave a rousing speech about BADGE and their work to save the world.
Furious didn't join his fellow heroes on the steps, sure no one would notice him not being there. His spirit was dampened today and it was hard to muster it back up.
A woman rushed up to him, "Oh, are you the hero?" She asked.
"Sure." His answer was not enthusiastic.
She held out a small letter in a pink envelope. "It would mean the world if you came to my little girls party. She is holding a small birthday party with her class for BADGE. She is such a huge fan. It's just down the block and she is starting it in an hour."
Furious smiled and took the envelope. "I don't know."
"Please. She gets picked on for her fandom of heroes, but she still loves you so much."
Furious knew it wasn't standard procedure to attend parties without approval. But, he didn't feel this was dangerous. "Okay."
Leaving the speeches and key-to-the-city ceremony behind, Furious strolled toward the address on the envelope. He hadn't opened it yet. Once he arrived, which took almost a full hour to walk, he found a small park with a lot of elementary aged kids running around, some wearing T-shirts with their favorite hero on them. With a bolstering of his courage, he let himself in and walked through the screaming kids.
A woman walked up, "Oh, hello. I'm Mrs. Yarina, can I help you?"
He looked at the envelope. "Tabitha asked me to come. I'm with BADGE."
"Oh, your the hero! This is great, come...come!" She pulled him along.
He walked through and the kids all slowed down as they saw him. Finally, a girl, probably in the third grade, screamed, "IT'S HIM!" She came running toward him, wearing a top hat with goggles on her face, and clunky boots. She looked like she was dressing like him.
"Hello, I'm..."
"FURIOUS SQUIRREL! YOU CAME! I'M SO EXCITED!"
"You know of me?" He asked.
"Uh, huh...didnja read my letter?"
He opened the envelope and pulled out a the folded paper. It was a scribbled letter directly to him from her. It read, "Deer Mr. Furious Squirrel. You are my favorite hero. You saved daddy from that mean krampus thing. I want to be just like you. please come to my party. Its for you. Tabitha Stevens."
He lowered the letter and saw that twinkle in her eye. "Thank you. This is the best party I've ever been to."
She was about to burst with glee. "You're sooo awesome!"
He laughed and said, "You wanna see something even more cool?"
"YEAH!"
Clicking his special controls on his wrist, he looked up. A churning sound roared and the sun was blocked as his dirigible came flying over and stopped directly over the party.
Knowing the screaming glee that would ensue from all the kids, he said, "Who wants to take a ride?"
While Justin and the other heroes of BADGE were entertaining the media and world leaders, Furious Squirrel gave a bunch of elementary kids the time of their lives. It was the perfect celebration for this hero of BADGE.
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