By Penny deRosset
Blaire let out her best evil laugh as she grew a small plant up out of a crack in the floor. Within seconds it was as tall as she. Her plant manipulation powers were growing stronger by the day! Today, she and her partner would finally execute their evil plan. They would no longer be ignored or humiliated! She shuddered as she thought of the last time they had tried an evil plan. Typhoon, the hotshot villain from the old days, had completely upstaged them! No more. Their powers were stronger now, and they would be smarter.
She glanced at Leroy, her partner, across their evil villainous lair. Leroy had amassed a large amount of insects around him. Blaire stopped to admire the effect. He looked as though he were surrounded by a roiling black pool of water. He noticed her looking at him and as they had practiced, they began to laugh, quietly at first, then crescendoing into a full-blown maniacal cackle. Blaire smiled. They were definitely ready.
---
This, Leroy was sure, would be the day. The day they were recognized as the greatest villains the city had ever seen. Their evil plan was in place. Captain Amazing was giving a speech at the sports stadium. They would defeat him in a great battle! Captain Amazing and the civilians of the city would cower before them! Leroy started to cackle again. Insect Man and Plant Lady would rule the city!
---
Typhoon lurked in the shadows of the stadium as he waited for the event to start. Now, Typhoon was a real villain. Classic costume, blood-curdling laugh, vendetta against the hero, slaughtering millions. Today would be just like the old days, when he fought Captain Amazing every day. Yes, today would be just like the old days except for one thing: this time he would win. If he was right, Captain Amazing would be powerless to stop him. He would flood the whole place, injuring or killing thousands in the crowd and costing the city millions in property damage.
Captain Amazing stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. Typhoon tensed his lean muscles, swirling his hands a bit to conjure a small wind. Any minute now…
---
Captain Amazing smiled broadly at the crowd. He adjusted his pose a bit so his cape would flow behind him. He grinned his most charming smile. He flexed his considerable muscles slightly. Lovestruck teenagers in the front rows fainted. A kid of around six in a blue baseball cap shouted, “I wanna be just like you, Captain Amazing!”
The Captain took a deep breath and reassured himself that they would never find out his super strength and invulnerability were gone. They would do anything he said. They worshipped him as their hero. He smiled even more brilliantly. He was born to be in the limelight.
“Ladies, gentlemen, noble people of other genders-” he began but was cut off by a low rustling sound. Just the wind, he reassured himself. The days when Typhoon would attack without warning were gone. He continued: “We are gathered here to celebrate your hero, me!”
The rustling grew louder. The crowd began to murmur. Captain Amazing pasted his most brilliant smile yet onto his chiseled face and raised his voice above the rustling.
“I am- OH MY GOD-”
---
The stadium broke into chaos. Typhoon rose from the shadows and the entire crowd screamed. A mini hurricane raged around him. He laughed, a bone-chilling sound that came with the promise of pain. He sent tendrils of water out toward the Captain.
The crowd gasped, as they knew they were supposed to. They would play the part of the terrified civilians, but they knew they would never be in danger. Captain Amazing could defeat this chump. He had done it hundreds of times before. The self-assuredness turned to shock when Captain Amazing cowered away from the strands. Where was his legendary fearlessness? His great strength? Why wasn’t he fighting back?
---
Typhoon chuckled. It was as he suspected. The supposed hero was weak, softened by years of living a cushy life, celebrated by all. He captured the man with his wind and water tendrils. Captain Amazing struggled weakly but was no match for the supervillain. Typhoon cackled wildly and with a gesture of his hand the building began to fill with water.
It started slowly, then a massive wave rose, poised to crash over the crowd. Babies cried; grandmothers shielded their grandchildren; religious people prayed, sure that they were about to meet their day of judgment.
Just then, from the tunnel where the sports players usually emerged, stepped two figures. The crowd paused in its screaming to look toward them. Most had to admit, these two cast a dashing silhouette, emerging from the shadows. Would these mysterious new people help them? Would they hurt them?
“Captain Amazing!” called out Leroy as he stepped from the shade in his villain suit. He continued in his most commanding voice. “We have come to take over!” To the crowd, he directed a devilish smirk. “We are Insect Man and Plant Lady!”
“Yeah!” added Blaire from beside him, not quite knowing what to say next. She decided just to move on to the next step of the plan. Her plants erupted from the ground and coiled toward the sky. They cast massive shadows on the crowd, almost blocking out the sun. The people gasped, for real this time.
---
Typhoon was so surprised and annoyed that he dropped the Captain.
“What are you two doing here? I’m trying to execute my evil plan!”
Insect Man glared at him.
“Just back down,Typhoon. This is our time now.”
Typhoon glared back.
“Never! You don’t get to steal my thunder!”
---
The crowd was thoroughly confused. Who were these people? Were they in league with Typhoon? With Captain Amazing?
---
Amid the confusion, Captain Amazing, his grin gone, got to his feet and scurried for the exit. The crowd saw this and booed. He tried to smile.
“It’s all right people; this lovely lady and gentleman have got this.”
At least, he hoped they had it. He didn’t know these people, but they didn’t seem to like Typhoon, so he hoped supporting them would look good to the crowd. Maybe he could say they were upcoming heroes. His interns - that was it!
---
“Interns! They’re my interns!” Captain Amazing was yelling, still trying to make a break for it. Plant Lady caught him at the door. Her plants curled around his torso. What was he saying about interns? She hoped that she and Insect Man wouldn’t need to fight any super interns. But now she had Captain Amazing in her grasp! She glanced at Insect Man. They hadn’t expected to get this far. They also hadn’t expected Typhoon. What was the plan? She didn’t have time to discuss it with her partner because Typhoon spoke first. He seemed to have recovered from his initial annoyance at their arrival, and a terrifying nonchalance had settled over his face.
“I guess I’ll just get on with the destruction then,” he shrugged. The crowd resumed its screaming. But in the instant before Typhoon began to speak, Plant Lady had had an idea. Her plants grew thicker and reached for the audience, lifting them all from their seats and up! Now she had both Captain Amazing and the crowd in her grasp!
---
Typhoon watched as Plant Lady lifted the entire crowd out of the way of the wave, which broke harmlessly over the rows of seats. He screamed in frustration. He had defeated these two last time! The little wannabes had no idea of how to be evil.
---
The crowd cheered! This unfamiliar woman, Plant Lady they supposed, had saved them from doom at the hands of Typhoon’s wave! Blaire smiled uncertainly at Leroy, her plants weaving through the stadium. Why was the crowd cheering? She had them suspended fifty above the ground; they should be quaking in terror. He nodded reassuringly at her and she breathed a sigh of relief. He must have a plan.
---
Leroy had a plan. Now that Blaire had ahold of the crowd, he would send giant beetles and intimidate them! His bugs were very scary. He sent a whole wall of them with their wings spread wide. He thought they looked absolutely spine-chilling. They stopped in front of the crowd in an insurmountable wall of insects, a huge barrier of iridescent wings and clicking mandibles. The crowd sat, wide-eyed, staring at the beetles. The beetles stared back, their huge compound eyes bulging out of their heads. The stare-off lasted only a second, yet the tension was palpable. Then, several bugs plummeted to the churning water below.
The beetles had been knocked to the ground by a wave of water from Typhoon!
---
The crowd was silent. Typhoon had again come close to killing them all. Then, a kid in a blue baseball cap cheered! The beetles had saved his life, and besides, he had always liked bugs. A baby giggled a bit; the big funny creatures with their colorful bodies were amusing. It was like a spell was broken. The tension ended and the crowd erupted into cheers. They were saved!
---
Insect Man and Plant Lady just looked around confusedly. The crowd was not supposed to cheer! They were supposed to be terrified. What had happened?
---
Typhoon growled. He had attempted to send another wave at the crowd, this one big enough to reach the tops of the plants, but the wall of bugs had prevented it from reaching them. No matter, he would try again. He summoned all of the water he possibly could from the air around him. He could feel the storm growing around him. He let loose a terrifying and deranged shriek of laughter as he felt the crowd tremble. Finally, they were scared! They were at his mercy! He raised his arms, feeling the force of the tsunami behind him. He brought his arms down. The wave rushed forward, spelling certain doom for anyone in its path. Typhoon smiled smugly, closing his eyes in an expression of satisfaction, waiting for the screams.
No screams came. Instead he heard cheering. Cheering. What had happened? He opened his eyes only to see that Plant Lady had grown her plants and the crowd out of his reach. He shrieked again and threw himself to the ground, in a tantrum more befitting a toddler. Those annoying brats had ruined his evil plan!
“Forget it!” he grumbled and stalked out. He would get them one day.
---
Plant Lady was running out of ideas fast. The bugs hadn’t worked, giving the crowd vertigo hadn’t worked - what would work? Tiredly, she raised the crowd another ten feet. They only cheered more! A wave of water hit her ankles and she raised herself up a bit to avoid the rest. She only half heard Typhoon leave behind her. She shook the crowd around a bit and sighed when it didn’t do anything.
---
The crowd cheered. Hurrah! Hurrah for Plant Lady and Insect Man! The defeaters of Typhoon! The saviors of the people! Captain Amazing forgotten, the people cheered for their new heroes. That kid in the blue baseball cap decided in that moment that he wanted to be just like Insect Man.
--
The heroes in question were thoroughly mystified and more than a little put out at the crowd’s reaction to their villainy. Weren’t civilians supposed to tremble before supervillains? This could only mean one thing. They had failed.
Blaire looked again to Leroy and he shook his head at her. Forget it. They would try again another day. She slowly lowered the relieved people to the muddy ground and with her head hung, retreated. Insect Man fell in step beside her. Plant Lady was grateful when he slipped his hand into hers. She felt like crying. They had been so sure of their villainous plan.
---
Captain Amazing brushed off his muddy costume and forced himself to grin again. Those two jackanapes had embarrassed him! Still, he had to look good for the crowd and if that meant congratulating them, he would stoop and grovel to retain the citizens’ favor. He went to the podium and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, Insect Man and Plant Lady, I cannot thank you enough. You have saved-” he stopped, startled. The two were walking away! “Wait! Where are you going? I haven't finished looking good for the crowd yet!”
---
Insect man scowled as he retreated toward the door. They had failed; the infernal superhero didn’t need to mock them. He mustered a final bit of rage.
“We’ll get you next time!” Then he and Blaire trudged back to their lair.
---
Captain Amazing was puzzled, but he quickly smoothed his hair and continued with his speech.
“The two people here today were true heroes and I am indebted to them. If what the man said was any indication I’m sure we’ll see more of them soon!” He smiled winningly. The crowd didn’t seem as impressed this time. In fact, they seemed downright skeptical of his Amazingness! This would not do. Plant Lady and Insect Man were a threat.
Yes, he would need to keep an eye out for those two.
Blaire let out her best evil laugh as she grew a small plant up out of a crack in the floor. Within seconds it was as tall as she. Her plant manipulation powers were growing stronger by the day! Today, she and her partner would finally execute their evil plan. They would no longer be ignored or humiliated! She shuddered as she thought of the last time they had tried an evil plan. Typhoon, the hotshot villain from the old days, had completely upstaged them! No more. Their powers were stronger now, and they would be smarter.
She glanced at Leroy, her partner, across their evil villainous lair. Leroy had amassed a large amount of insects around him. Blaire stopped to admire the effect. He looked as though he were surrounded by a roiling black pool of water. He noticed her looking at him and as they had practiced, they began to laugh, quietly at first, then crescendoing into a full-blown maniacal cackle. Blaire smiled. They were definitely ready.
---
This, Leroy was sure, would be the day. The day they were recognized as the greatest villains the city had ever seen. Their evil plan was in place. Captain Amazing was giving a speech at the sports stadium. They would defeat him in a great battle! Captain Amazing and the civilians of the city would cower before them! Leroy started to cackle again. Insect Man and Plant Lady would rule the city!
---
Typhoon lurked in the shadows of the stadium as he waited for the event to start. Now, Typhoon was a real villain. Classic costume, blood-curdling laugh, vendetta against the hero, slaughtering millions. Today would be just like the old days, when he fought Captain Amazing every day. Yes, today would be just like the old days except for one thing: this time he would win. If he was right, Captain Amazing would be powerless to stop him. He would flood the whole place, injuring or killing thousands in the crowd and costing the city millions in property damage.
Captain Amazing stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. Typhoon tensed his lean muscles, swirling his hands a bit to conjure a small wind. Any minute now…
---
Captain Amazing smiled broadly at the crowd. He adjusted his pose a bit so his cape would flow behind him. He grinned his most charming smile. He flexed his considerable muscles slightly. Lovestruck teenagers in the front rows fainted. A kid of around six in a blue baseball cap shouted, “I wanna be just like you, Captain Amazing!”
The Captain took a deep breath and reassured himself that they would never find out his super strength and invulnerability were gone. They would do anything he said. They worshipped him as their hero. He smiled even more brilliantly. He was born to be in the limelight.
“Ladies, gentlemen, noble people of other genders-” he began but was cut off by a low rustling sound. Just the wind, he reassured himself. The days when Typhoon would attack without warning were gone. He continued: “We are gathered here to celebrate your hero, me!”
The rustling grew louder. The crowd began to murmur. Captain Amazing pasted his most brilliant smile yet onto his chiseled face and raised his voice above the rustling.
“I am- OH MY GOD-”
---
The stadium broke into chaos. Typhoon rose from the shadows and the entire crowd screamed. A mini hurricane raged around him. He laughed, a bone-chilling sound that came with the promise of pain. He sent tendrils of water out toward the Captain.
The crowd gasped, as they knew they were supposed to. They would play the part of the terrified civilians, but they knew they would never be in danger. Captain Amazing could defeat this chump. He had done it hundreds of times before. The self-assuredness turned to shock when Captain Amazing cowered away from the strands. Where was his legendary fearlessness? His great strength? Why wasn’t he fighting back?
---
Typhoon chuckled. It was as he suspected. The supposed hero was weak, softened by years of living a cushy life, celebrated by all. He captured the man with his wind and water tendrils. Captain Amazing struggled weakly but was no match for the supervillain. Typhoon cackled wildly and with a gesture of his hand the building began to fill with water.
It started slowly, then a massive wave rose, poised to crash over the crowd. Babies cried; grandmothers shielded their grandchildren; religious people prayed, sure that they were about to meet their day of judgment.
Just then, from the tunnel where the sports players usually emerged, stepped two figures. The crowd paused in its screaming to look toward them. Most had to admit, these two cast a dashing silhouette, emerging from the shadows. Would these mysterious new people help them? Would they hurt them?
“Captain Amazing!” called out Leroy as he stepped from the shade in his villain suit. He continued in his most commanding voice. “We have come to take over!” To the crowd, he directed a devilish smirk. “We are Insect Man and Plant Lady!”
“Yeah!” added Blaire from beside him, not quite knowing what to say next. She decided just to move on to the next step of the plan. Her plants erupted from the ground and coiled toward the sky. They cast massive shadows on the crowd, almost blocking out the sun. The people gasped, for real this time.
---
Typhoon was so surprised and annoyed that he dropped the Captain.
“What are you two doing here? I’m trying to execute my evil plan!”
Insect Man glared at him.
“Just back down,Typhoon. This is our time now.”
Typhoon glared back.
“Never! You don’t get to steal my thunder!”
---
The crowd was thoroughly confused. Who were these people? Were they in league with Typhoon? With Captain Amazing?
---
Amid the confusion, Captain Amazing, his grin gone, got to his feet and scurried for the exit. The crowd saw this and booed. He tried to smile.
“It’s all right people; this lovely lady and gentleman have got this.”
At least, he hoped they had it. He didn’t know these people, but they didn’t seem to like Typhoon, so he hoped supporting them would look good to the crowd. Maybe he could say they were upcoming heroes. His interns - that was it!
---
“Interns! They’re my interns!” Captain Amazing was yelling, still trying to make a break for it. Plant Lady caught him at the door. Her plants curled around his torso. What was he saying about interns? She hoped that she and Insect Man wouldn’t need to fight any super interns. But now she had Captain Amazing in her grasp! She glanced at Insect Man. They hadn’t expected to get this far. They also hadn’t expected Typhoon. What was the plan? She didn’t have time to discuss it with her partner because Typhoon spoke first. He seemed to have recovered from his initial annoyance at their arrival, and a terrifying nonchalance had settled over his face.
“I guess I’ll just get on with the destruction then,” he shrugged. The crowd resumed its screaming. But in the instant before Typhoon began to speak, Plant Lady had had an idea. Her plants grew thicker and reached for the audience, lifting them all from their seats and up! Now she had both Captain Amazing and the crowd in her grasp!
---
Typhoon watched as Plant Lady lifted the entire crowd out of the way of the wave, which broke harmlessly over the rows of seats. He screamed in frustration. He had defeated these two last time! The little wannabes had no idea of how to be evil.
---
The crowd cheered! This unfamiliar woman, Plant Lady they supposed, had saved them from doom at the hands of Typhoon’s wave! Blaire smiled uncertainly at Leroy, her plants weaving through the stadium. Why was the crowd cheering? She had them suspended fifty above the ground; they should be quaking in terror. He nodded reassuringly at her and she breathed a sigh of relief. He must have a plan.
---
Leroy had a plan. Now that Blaire had ahold of the crowd, he would send giant beetles and intimidate them! His bugs were very scary. He sent a whole wall of them with their wings spread wide. He thought they looked absolutely spine-chilling. They stopped in front of the crowd in an insurmountable wall of insects, a huge barrier of iridescent wings and clicking mandibles. The crowd sat, wide-eyed, staring at the beetles. The beetles stared back, their huge compound eyes bulging out of their heads. The stare-off lasted only a second, yet the tension was palpable. Then, several bugs plummeted to the churning water below.
The beetles had been knocked to the ground by a wave of water from Typhoon!
---
The crowd was silent. Typhoon had again come close to killing them all. Then, a kid in a blue baseball cap cheered! The beetles had saved his life, and besides, he had always liked bugs. A baby giggled a bit; the big funny creatures with their colorful bodies were amusing. It was like a spell was broken. The tension ended and the crowd erupted into cheers. They were saved!
---
Insect Man and Plant Lady just looked around confusedly. The crowd was not supposed to cheer! They were supposed to be terrified. What had happened?
---
Typhoon growled. He had attempted to send another wave at the crowd, this one big enough to reach the tops of the plants, but the wall of bugs had prevented it from reaching them. No matter, he would try again. He summoned all of the water he possibly could from the air around him. He could feel the storm growing around him. He let loose a terrifying and deranged shriek of laughter as he felt the crowd tremble. Finally, they were scared! They were at his mercy! He raised his arms, feeling the force of the tsunami behind him. He brought his arms down. The wave rushed forward, spelling certain doom for anyone in its path. Typhoon smiled smugly, closing his eyes in an expression of satisfaction, waiting for the screams.
No screams came. Instead he heard cheering. Cheering. What had happened? He opened his eyes only to see that Plant Lady had grown her plants and the crowd out of his reach. He shrieked again and threw himself to the ground, in a tantrum more befitting a toddler. Those annoying brats had ruined his evil plan!
“Forget it!” he grumbled and stalked out. He would get them one day.
---
Plant Lady was running out of ideas fast. The bugs hadn’t worked, giving the crowd vertigo hadn’t worked - what would work? Tiredly, she raised the crowd another ten feet. They only cheered more! A wave of water hit her ankles and she raised herself up a bit to avoid the rest. She only half heard Typhoon leave behind her. She shook the crowd around a bit and sighed when it didn’t do anything.
---
The crowd cheered. Hurrah! Hurrah for Plant Lady and Insect Man! The defeaters of Typhoon! The saviors of the people! Captain Amazing forgotten, the people cheered for their new heroes. That kid in the blue baseball cap decided in that moment that he wanted to be just like Insect Man.
--
The heroes in question were thoroughly mystified and more than a little put out at the crowd’s reaction to their villainy. Weren’t civilians supposed to tremble before supervillains? This could only mean one thing. They had failed.
Blaire looked again to Leroy and he shook his head at her. Forget it. They would try again another day. She slowly lowered the relieved people to the muddy ground and with her head hung, retreated. Insect Man fell in step beside her. Plant Lady was grateful when he slipped his hand into hers. She felt like crying. They had been so sure of their villainous plan.
---
Captain Amazing brushed off his muddy costume and forced himself to grin again. Those two jackanapes had embarrassed him! Still, he had to look good for the crowd and if that meant congratulating them, he would stoop and grovel to retain the citizens’ favor. He went to the podium and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, Insect Man and Plant Lady, I cannot thank you enough. You have saved-” he stopped, startled. The two were walking away! “Wait! Where are you going? I haven't finished looking good for the crowd yet!”
---
Insect man scowled as he retreated toward the door. They had failed; the infernal superhero didn’t need to mock them. He mustered a final bit of rage.
“We’ll get you next time!” Then he and Blaire trudged back to their lair.
---
Captain Amazing was puzzled, but he quickly smoothed his hair and continued with his speech.
“The two people here today were true heroes and I am indebted to them. If what the man said was any indication I’m sure we’ll see more of them soon!” He smiled winningly. The crowd didn’t seem as impressed this time. In fact, they seemed downright skeptical of his Amazingness! This would not do. Plant Lady and Insect Man were a threat.
Yes, he would need to keep an eye out for those two.
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