Princess Fox

Many kids always imagined themselves one day gaining superpowers and then getting into epic fights with other supers. Naturally, I was one of those kids. Getting superpowers… becoming a hero… beating up villains… yeah, all of those were my fantasies at some point.

Unfortunately, even though I once again found myself in the middle of a brewing superfight, there were some issues here. Namely, I didn’t have any superpowers! Or… at the very least, not any that would help me fight. And also, more importantly, I was on the side of the villains and was facing the heroes! This was all wrong!

“We got you this time, Pack. Don’t even try to run,” Nova spat out before looking at me. “That goes for you too, minion.”

Wait, what? She thought I was a minion?! Well… I was… but not Iron Pack’s! Even though that would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it? Hmm…

“Relentless, aren’t you?” Iron Pack glanced at me. “And what made you think she is my minion? She’s just a bystander.”

Ahhh! Iron Pack was covering for me! She really was an amazing person!

“Ha! You think we are stupid? How else would you know there was someone in the building? Moreover, you--” Nova frowned at me through her purple mask. “--You were there last time as well. You pretended to be taken hostage just to help your boss escape.” Nova frowned. ”It won’t work again,” she sneered.

Oh, great, she thought we were partners in crime… which we are not… but I wouldn’t really mind if we actually were. What the heck was wrong with this situation? A super version of someone mistaking you and your friend for a couple?

Oh my god… a couple… if only…

“Ah, yes, the typical Nova, going on with her own conspiracy theories, never listening to others,” Iron Pack snarked.

Whoa, I’d never known of this side of her. Why was she riling her up anyway? That didn’t seem like a good idea.

“So what are you gonna do? Fight me? I hope you know that she doesn’t have any powers, so even getting grazed by us might kill her.” Iron Pack gestured at me.

Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me that I’d found myself in an exceedingly dangerous situation. Or… actually, now that I thought about it, she had said that on purpose. By saying that, she’d made me into a hostage without even having to put a snake jaw next to my neck.

I had no idea whether to be impressed or scared.

Nova’s frown deepened as she glared at me. “You!”

“M-me?”

“Get out of here and we won’t pursue you!”

What? Was she trying to get me out of harm’s way? Or was she trying to trick me in some way? Either way, there was no way I would abandon the injured Iron Pack to the heroes. After all, she’d just saved me. Now, it was my turn!

“No!”

“No?!” Nova seemed like she was about to explode in rage.

“She saved me! I-I’m not letting you do nasty things to her!”

What the hell was I even saying? Was this my way of coping with the overwhelming fear of facing off against two superpowered heroes without any powers of my own?

“Wha--” Nova’s face grew red. “Nasty things?! We were just gonna arrest her! What the heck are you even talking about?!”

Ah… I had the feeling she’d also come across some of those Nova x Iron Pack fanfics. Maybe… maybe I could use this somehow.

“I-I don’t believe you! I’ve seen what you can do on the Internet!”

God, my own face was growing hot. Was I really going to repel two powerful heroes by being a dumbass?

“Nova!” the other hero shouted at her. She looked at him, took a deep breath, and returned to staring at me, this time, pointing her palm at me as well.

“Us heroes have to do their best to avoid civilian casualties.” Her expression grew cold. “Unpowered people who actively help villains do not count as civilians.”

Oh… shit.

“Don’t worry, you shouldn’t die from just this.”

A purple beam fired from her palm.

Everything happened too fast from then on. An iron bear rose from the ground, attempting to shield me. The disturbance made me stumble and fall to the side. As I fell, the sunglasses I still had on me fell from my hoodie pocket right into the trajectory of Nova’s beam.

“Nova!” I heard her partner hero scream as I got up myself.

Nova lay on the ground, holding her arm in pain. Over in our corner, the sunglasses were lying on the ground, smoke drifting from them.

…

What?

“I must reiterate…” Iron Pack whispered to me. “Your power is ridiculous.”

I could only blankly stare at her.

What?

“So simple glass is your weakness, Nova? Quite the Achilles’ heel, I must say,” the villainess taunted.

I continued to stare at the scene unfolding in front of me. Had I just accidentally defeated one of the most prominent heroes in the city?

What?

The two heroes regrouped themselves and then stared at me, but this time with caution instead of irritation.

“So it’s two on two… both sides have one injured. And they have a wild card, unknown abilities. We should retreat or call for backup, Nova,” Fissure advised his colleague.

Nova grit her teeth while staring daggers at us. She clearly didn’t want to retreat.

We were at a stand-off. It was too dangerous for Iron Pack to run, she could get shot in the back. And Nova refused to budge, she wanted to get us, despite being injured.

Luckily, the awkward stand-off was broken by another player entering the scene.

The armored figure flew in from the sky and landed in the middle.

“Now then--” he started.

“Fractal?! Nova, we have to run!” The heroes immediately scuttled away.

“Shit!” I heard Iron Pack say as she sped away on her wolf.

Fractal was about to chase after the heroes, then he looked back and was about to go after Iron Pack instead, then he looked back to the heroes, then… yeah.

At that point, both parties were too far away to go after either one of them. Fractal’s arms slumped.

Huh… I’d thought Fractal was a bit more… decisive. This was even more awkward than the stand-off.

“Uh… hey, boss.” I waved at him.

The awkwardness continued.