Elly Watterson, A-class Superhero

Chapter 2

“You're mine, superhero!” Contractor cackled as he fired yellow burst of energy at Elly. She dodged them with ease.

“No thanks, I'm not interested in men.” She replied airily. Elly was in a really good mood. She had spoken to Amaya without stuttering (two whole sentences!) and only had Contractor to deal with.

He was a minor villain so she'll wrap this up soon. She might even be able to get a full night's sleep.

Contractor rolled his eyes. “And I'm not interested in midgets.” Well, that's just rude.

Elly took a metal bar and curved it before throwing it at Contractor at full speed. He couldn't dodge before he was pinned to the wall. He tried to squirm free as she approached, but he couldn't get away.

“Wait! Let's make a deal.” He pleaded but she shook her head. “No thanks.” She punched him in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious.

Contractor wasn't really dangerous but he made deals with people who want things above their reach like love, money, or peace and quiet.

It always fell apart though, because he always had a hidden clause. Those who wished for love were cursed to never stay in a relationship, those who wanted money were cursed to lose it all, those who wanted peace were cursed to be forever isolated.

Not to mention their souls were enslaved to Contractor. No thanks.

She handed him over to the cop waiting outside the building. “Thank you, er….” She trailed off and Elly just smiled. “No need to thank me.”

She headed home, taking multiple turns and sharp corners. Eventually, she flew into a dark alley and stopped. “You should come out now.”

Silence. Elly used her night vision to check around but didn't see anyone hiding. Had she been wrong? Someone had been following her. They had followed her into this alley, she was sure of it. But if they weren't here, then–

She heard a whoosh and dived out of the way as something sliced where she had just been. Elly righted herself and looked down at the figure who just tried to kill her.

They c****d their head, looking up at her. Their face was covered with a mask. “Good reflexes. A second slower, and I would have chopped your head off.”

“Well good, I'm rather attached to it.” Elly said, still floating above them. “Are you a good or bad guy?”

They stopped. “I just tried to kill you. Why would you think I'm a good guy?” “Maybe you're trying to test me? See if I'm good enough for a superhero team, Nick Fury style! But that does seem like a setup for a sequel….”

Her assailant seemed to be at a loss of words. “...No, I'm not here for that.”

They jumped at her and Elly leaned back, thinking that this isn't an even playing field, with her being able to fly and all. But they shot up by using a dumpster as a launchpad, and then their shoes lighted up and–

They had hovershoes? Elly was so envious, she wants hovershoes!

Elly had to focus and actively dodged attacks because they, this person was good, really good. Maybe they're trained?

“Who are you? Who sent you?” Elly demanded and though she couldn't see their expression, the person had an air of rolling-eyes-at-i***t. “I'm not dumb enough to answer that.”

“But you are dumb enough to leave your blind side open.” Elly grabbed them by the shoulder but they just tilted their head. “Am I?”

Elly felt something thrust into her abdomen, then a force sent her flying into a wall.

Pain racked her body, and she slid down to the floor, hissing as they approached her. They scoffed, tucking their blaster gun into their belt. “Don't look at me like that, I didn't even hit you that hard.”

Elly begged to differ. She could feel blood pooling out of her and staining her suit. This was bad: how was she going to get it cleaned?

A blade was on the tip of her throat and Elly had to face she had bigger problems. “How many weapons do you have?” She asked and they shrugged. “A couple. Enough to get the job done.”

This was bad but Elly could still fight, she just needed time to recover. The blade hadn't left her throat. So she did what she did best: talk. “So, gonna finish the job?”

They scoffed and finally removed the blade. “Hardly. You're not worth it.” Rude, thought Elly but at least she could breathe again.

She got up slowly, keeping her eyes on them. They didn’t stop her, but it's clearly because they thought they could handle her with no problems, and not because Elly could trust them.

She stepped away from the wall and folded her arms. “So what? You cornered me to beat me up?” “This was a lesson, and a warning. Something is coming and you can't stop it. Step aside, so you may live.”

So they were definitely a villain, no doubt about it. Vague talk like that was their trademark.

Elly straightened up to her full height, which wasn't exactly towering. “You could have said so earlier. Then I could have told you I won't, ever, and we could have gone our merry ways.”

They shrugged. “Then you'll die. I'd rather not have a child's blood on my hands.” Elly fumed. “Who are you calling a child?! Just you wait, I'll stop you.” What was this careless arrogance? It was pissing her off!

Again, with the eye-rolling vibes. “I'm done with this, think it through. This is your only warning.” They turned to leave but Elly called after them. “Wait, what's your name?”

They didn't turn to look at her. “If you refuse to do as I say, you can call me your end.” Without another word, they threw something on the ground and vanished in smoke. Elly is silent, coughing before–

“Boo! What a cringy ass line. Who says that? And you were calling me a child! Pretentious bastard!” She shouted out into the sky but they didn't reappear.

She looked down at her wound. She wanted to go after them, but she was injured and she couldn't even tell what direction they went in.

This fight, if she could even call it that, worried her. An actually competent villain, just what she needed.

Elly picked herself up with a heavy sign and headed home.