Heroes and Villains

11 - Intervention

Michelle

I have just gotten home and am about to land in bed like I usually do when I notice the lights of my tiny room are on.

Cautiously walking in, I prepare myself to ram whoever dared come inside my home without permission. I really need to get a lock for the door.

The person I find there is no one I would expect.

He smiles at me and my heart melts like it always does whenever I see his beautiful face and his ocean like eyes.

“Hey” He says, standing up from my bed. “I have been waiting for you, but you’re late as usual”

“What… what are you doing here?” I ask, trying to keep my body controlled. Somehow, the fact that I have him here in my room and we are all alone makes me feel extremely nervous.

He approaches me, standing too close, and my heart beats against my ribcage, making me feel dizzy.

“I wanted to tell you something…” He says, placing his mouth next to my ear. “Something I have been wanting to tell you for a long time…”

I take a sharp breath at his closeness. My heart stops when I feel his tender lips caress the base of my neck.

“You’re beautiful” He says in a husky voice. “I have wanted you for so long, Mia…”

I look at him, barely believing what he is telling me.

“I love you” He says looking into my eyes and within seconds our mouths are ravishing each other, tangled in a much-wanted kiss.

Still feeling my heart beating like a drum, I try to lose myself in his touch, his hands feeling like fire on my skin.

Chill out, Mia! This is not the first time you’ve been with a man!

Finally letting go of my nervousness, I embrace him and start removing his shirt while our passionate kiss prolongs.

Breaking our kiss, he kisses my temple and goes down my neck, finding a tender spot never discovered before.

Moving up again, our lips meet one more time in a gentler kiss as we undress each other slowly, savoring the moment.

“Get your filthy lips away from me”

“What?” I ask, suddenly confused at the familiar voice.

“Let me go right now or you will suffer the consequences!”

I wake up in a start as I feel a sharp pain on my shoulder. Suddenly realizing it was all a dream, I understand it was Luki I have been holding and kissing while I was sleeping.

That explains why my mouth is filled with fur.

He escapes my grasp and looks at me with an offended look before he starts combing back his fur that has become frizzly with my grabbing and kissing.

“Did you just scratch me?” I ask him, still dazed from the dream and honestly, slightly frustrated.

“You were grabbing me!” He shouts in outrage. “You’re lucky I didn’t bite you”

“I was sleeping” I defend myself. “And was having a really nice dream. That you interrupted, by the way”

“I’m not sorry” He says, still licking his own fur into place.

“Bad kitty” I say, looking at the clock on my bed side table. Well, at least for once I won’t get late to the bar. Won’t they be surprised.

I smirk as I look at Luki and use my hands to mess up his fur even more. He looks at me with an angry look.

“Outrage!” He shouts and jumps away from me, heading to the little door I installed for him and walking out.

I laugh, always finding it amusing when he makes his angry face. Standing up, I stretch and start getting ready to get to work. With some luck, Jack will be there today too. That is always the high point of the day.

I barely had time to talk to him yesterday. It’s been so long since we have been able to hang out like we used to. I miss being with him.

My cheeks flush when I remember my recent dream and I shake my head to keep those thoughts away. It will do no good to be distracted now.

A knock at my door surprises me and I quickly go check who it is, completely forgetting I am still in my underwear.

Jaden greets me with a smile as he looks me up and down.

“Do you receive every man in your home like that?” He asks, amused.

Looking down at myself, I understand what he’s talking about.

“Nah, this is just for you, darling” I say, mocking him. “You know I am only yours”

Jaden chuckles and gets in, closing the door behind him.

“You’re up early” He says. “I was expecting to have to wake you up”

“What brings you here?” I ask him. “Did Cain send you to make sure I don’t get late again?”

“No” He quickly answers. “I asked him to give you the day off”

“A day off?” I wonder as I never had one before.

“Yes” He says. “You have been working yourself too hard lately. You need a break”

“And Cain let me have a day off?” I ask, astonished. “What did you do to convince him?”

Jaden smiles, placing a finger in front of his nose. “That will be my secret”

I laugh as a put on a t-shirt. “You two have a thing going on, don’t you?”

He doesn’t respond as he looks around at my room.

“Mia, you really need to clean up this place…” He says, obviously changing the subject. I know better than to peek at his privacy.

“I can do that later” I say. “I’m on a break now”

He sighs, knowing I am never going to clean this room without his help. “I actually came here to ask you if you want to take a stroll down at the beach with me”

“The beach?” I wonder.

It’s been such a long time since I’ve been down at the beach, I can’t even remember when was the last time.

“Sure” I say with a bright smile. “It’s been so long”

“Yeah, and you could use the sun” Jaden comments.

“Look who’s talking, mister ginger man” I say, punching his shoulder gently.

“Maybe you should put some shorts on before you go” He says, smiling.

“Why?” I ask, swinging my booty. “I think I look fine the way I do. I am a stripper, after all”

“Who is on a day off” Jaden points out.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right” I say, smiling and pulling out some shorts from the pile of clothes I have at a corner.

“I don’t know how you can live like this” Jaden says as we walk out the door after I quickly put my shorts and some shoes on.

“I barely live here anymore” I respond. “This is the place where I sleep in, not much more than that”

“Yeah…” Jaden says as we leave my apartment and start walking down the streets of downtown. “How is your other business going?”

He is referring to Kitty Girl, of course. Jaden is the only one who has known I am Kitty Girl from the moment I created her.

“It’s going alright…” I say. “If not for Monkey Paw getting on my nerves all the time”

“He flirted with you again?” Jaden asks as we head towards the beach, ignoring the busy streets around us.

“You know it” I answer. “And he almost got me this time too. If it wasn’t for the Foreseer, I don’t know how if I would have managed to get away”

“The Foreseer?” Jaden asks, halting his steps.

I stop too and look at him. “Yeah, she’s kinda the new superhero in town. Real fancy, all in white, but she did save me, so she’s cool”

“Where did she come from?” Jaden asks and I wonder why he’s so curious about her.

“I don’t know” I lie.

It’s true I know the Foreseer’s real identity but I am not about to break my promise. I will not tell on her. I expect her to do the same for me.

Jaden looks at me, knowing me too well to not realize I am lying. I shrug in response.

“She has her secret identity and I have mine” I tell him. “I’m not about to put our personal lives in the way of what we have to do. Besides, she had this weird vision when I took her to the lair”

“Vision?” Jaden asks, his face turning pale. “Wait, you took her to the lair?”

“I wanted her to see who she really needs to protect in this city” I say, intrigued as to why he seems so nervous all of a sudden. “And she did have a vision that the place is going to get destroyed soon”

“Did she tell you how she has these visions?” Jaden asks me in a somewhat alarmed tone.

“No, of course not” I answer. “It’s her superpower. I’m not sure she understands it completely either”

Jaden looks worried but I push ahead and continue walking towards the beach. He remains quiet the rest of the way there.

Once at the beach, I stretch my arms and take in the sweet smell of the ocean. I don’t like diving in too much as I don’t really know how to swim, but I do enjoy the soft breeze and the touch of the soft sand under my toes.

Yeah, my shoes are gone. I left them as soon as we reached the sand. Honestly, I don’t really care if someone takes them. They’re super old and worn out like all my other things.

This is where Jaden found me 15 years ago. From what he said, I was a scrawny kid, probably five years old, when he found me passed out on the beach.

I have no idea how I got here and I really don’t know what happened in my life before that. I do have bits of memories that don’t really make sense, so I don’t pay much attention to them.

What I do know is that I had a bunch of radiation emanating from my body and Jaden had to bring me to a doctor to save me.

Oh, and did I mention Luki was there with me too?

Not too long after that, I started casually turning into Kitty Girl and Luki started talking to never shut up. It surprised Jaden quite a lot but we adjusted.

He taught me how to control my transformations and told Luki he should always remain quiet when around other people.

Jaden was basically my big brother as we grew up together in the streets of downtown. He is older than me, maybe 4 or 5 years, but we get along great.

He also didn’t have any family when he found me so we created our own little family. We lived with the mutants in the sewers for a few years when my transformations became incontrollable and that was when I decided to become Kitty Girl. Use my abilities to help them survive, after everything they did to help me.

I was still living with them when I got caught during one of my heists uptown when I was barely 15. Guess who I was trying to rob? That’s right: Jack.

He was taking a stroll with Cain just outside the Hamato facilities when I tried to take his wallet, but I was caught. Thank God, I managed to turn back to human just before that. Cain nearly beat me to death but Jack stopped him and begged them to let me go.

I think that was when I first realized how good he was. Until that moment, I had never thought someone from uptown could be good or caring. But Jack is all that and more.

He convinced Cain to give me a job at his new bar and I managed to bring Jaden along with me. That was when our story began, 5 years ago. Of course, I am still Kitty Girl, but now I have a normal life too. It may be hard sometimes, but I found I love to dance and sing.

Jaden walks closer to me, looking into the deep blue sea.

“A lot of memories here” He says, his voice a little emotional.

“Yeah…” I agree. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could bring the kids out here during the night? I bet they would love the fresh air”

“You know it is too dangerous, Mia” Jaden says and sits down on the sand.

I look at him, not liking his suddenly glum tone and sit down next to him. I am about to ask him what’s wrong as he continues to look into the sea when he starts talking again.

“Have you ever wondered about other living creatures?” Jaden asks me, surprising me with such a weird question.

“You mean like aliens?” I ask.

“Something like that” Jaden confirms.

“I never really thought about it much” I tell him. “I suppose we can’t be alone in such a vast universe, but really, I hope they stay away from us because we are messed up”

It’s his turn to look confused at me. “Why would you say that?”

“Look at us. Look at the city” I say. “There are so many discrepancies and injustices in just one human city. All because there are mutants among us. Well, not just because of that, but you know…”

He smiles gently at me, trying to keep his amusement at bay. “So, you’re saying you want the aliens to stay away so they stay protected”

I think about what he just said for a moment. “I suppose so, yeah. Like I said, we are messed up”

“What if they are the ones who bring the trouble?” Jaden says a little too seriously. “What would you think about them if that were true”

“I guess then they would fit right in” I say, honestly. Jaden looks surprised at me, his eyebrows arching.

“You asked the question” I defend, shrugging. “If they are as messed up as we are, we’ll all get along just fine”

Jaden chuckles. “I appreciate your positivity, Mia” He says. “I wish it was like that”

“What’s this about, Jaden?” I ask him. “Are you feeling alright?”

He doesn’t get the chance to answer me when we are suddenly interrupted by a running mutant hare. It’s Cleo, one of the girls who usually goes grocery shopping for the lair.

She is quite flushed and obviously being careless as she doesn’t have her usual hat to hide her bunny ears.

“Cleo?” I ask, standing up. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, thank goodness I found you” She says. “Luki told me you’d be here”

From her tone, I know something serious has happened.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

“It’s the kids” She tells me. “They have caught measles and we don’t have medication for that. If we don’t do anything, they’ll…”

She is about to cry. Medication is one of the worse things to get downtown, especially these kinds of medication. To get them, one needs to go uptown and that is impossible for any of them.

“I’ll get the medicine, don’t worry” I say, trying to calm her. “Now, go back before anyone sees you”

She nods and hurriedly leaves. I look back at Jaden apologetically, but he nods in an understanding way.

“Go” He says. “They need you right now”

I nod and take off running without another word, wishing I could have enjoyed the warm sun a little longer.

Jaden

I watch as Mia runs off with a worried look. Even in her day off, she just can’t get a break. I admire her resilience, but she can’t keep this up forever. She is a tough girl but even she needs to rest every once in a while.

Feeling a familiar presence, I sigh and stand up to greet the creature coming out of the ocean.

She has purplish skin that glistens like polished pearls, her hair reaches her ankles and it waves around her as she comes out of the water, showing the beautiful rainbow colors.

Her pale green dress doesn’t appear wet even if she has just come out of the water. I walk closer to her, knowing she can’t leave the water just yet.

Wetting my feet in the soft waves, I greet her, slowly bowing my head.

“Mother” I say, respectfully.

“Jaden…” She says, her voice melodic. “I am afraid I do not bring good news”

I frown, afraid of what she is going to say next.

“Lady Yuna is here” She announces.

“If Lady Yuna is here…” I mumble.

“Yes, her granddaughter is too” Mother confirms. “The situation with the girl is still… Fragile…”

I nod, understanding what she means.

“However, it seems the Mercurians have come to a conclusion recently” She continues and I look at her. “There is no viable cure to the mutations”

“No…” I gasp, knowing what will come out of this conclusion.

“I am afraid they will want to eliminate their existence”