36
“...and that's lunchtime.” Rachel said and clocked out. She reached under the desk and pat my head, so I flicked my fingers inside her on her main spot and she gasped as she came. I used more tissues to keep her clean, as well as my tongue, then put her panties back in place. She moved back and pulled her skirt back down as if I hadn't just been going to town on her.
“Hi, Rachel.” Amanda said and walked over to the desk as I crawled out from under it. “Oh, hellooo.”
Rachel laughed softly. “He's been a very diligent gofer.”
“I can tell.” Amanda said and nodded at my chin.
“That last one was a good one.” I said and wiped my chin off with the last of the tissues.
“It was.” Rachel said with a smile and stood. She was a bit shaky, so I offered my arm to her for balance. “Such a gentleman.”
“You're going to lunch with us.” Amanda said and walked towards the open door of the office. “Let's see what everyone says about it.”
I walked with them to the door. “Are you sure? My reputation's pretty trashed around here now.”
“Oh, we are quite sure.” Amanda said with a grin and closed the door behind us. “We rarely invite anyone to eat with us.”
I didn't miss the double meaning. “You mean food as well, right?”
That made both women laugh as we entered the elevator. We rode it down to the floor with the cafeteria and everyone inside stopped talking when we walked in. Rachel refused to let my arm go and smiled proudly around at everyone as we went to the line. The entire place stayed completely silent as we collected our meals and walked over to one of the empty tables.
“You two don't normally eat here, do you?” I asked in a whisper as I held a seat out for Rachel to sit.
“Practically never.” Amanda said with a huge grin on her face.
I smiled back and held her chair out for her as well.
“Thank you, Connor.” Amanda said and sat.
“You are more than welcome, Amanda.” I said and sat down across from them.
“Is there any chance you managed to get him out of hero work this afternoon so he can assist me in the office?” Amanda asked.
Rachel shook her head. “I won't countermand Endeavor's orders, you know that.”
“Well, damn. I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning.” Amanda said and started eating.
“Does that mean you always clock out before supper?” I asked and both women nodded.
“We're on salary, just like the heroes we employ. We also get bonuses for exemplary work and if we contribute beyond the normal call of our duties.” Rachel said and started eating as well. “If you had been an employee, saving that family and also saving that apartment building tens of thousands of dollars in damages, would have earned you a nice bonus at the end of this pay period.”
I thought about that. “So, that means The Flaming Sidekicks are getting a nice bonus this week.”
“Not as big as it would be for you; but, yes. They contributed and they are part of a team.”
“I caught the robbers solo without damaging the stolen car. How does that affect the team's pay scale?” I asked, curious.
Rachel smiled at me, is if she knew what I was asking. “It wasn't a major event and no real consequences if you had damaged the car. It was covered under insurance.”
“I also recovered the stolen money.” I said.
“Also insured.” Amanda said. “Don't worry about the details when you're doing hero work. That's our job. We do the assessments, read over the reports, record incidents, and scale the payouts appropriately.”
“Is that what you were doing all morning?” I asked Rachel.
“It was and I've never done so many in so short a time.” Rachel said. “It was so nice to have someone to run errands for me without questioning why.”
“Having your quirk charged up all the time must have been nice as well.” Amanda said with a smile.
“Unbelievably.” Rachel said and smiled back. She held out a hand and the knife she hadn't used yet shot to her hand instantly.
Amanda let out a low whistle. “You're still fully charged?”
Rachel nodded and cut into the sausage patty on her plate. “I always use it so conservatively, because it's so difficult to charge up.”
“I assume the static machine the support company sent you didn't work?” Amanda asked.
Rachel shook her head. “It's just channelled electricity and I can't use it.”
I slowed time down in my perception and thought about that. Her quirk needed a specific generation of energy and I was sure I could work out the details. I took half an hour to do so and then smiled. I let time resume at my normal perception and took out my cell phone.
“Hi, Mei. It's Connor.” I said.
“Connor! It's so nice to hear from you!” Mei said, excitedly.
“Izuku already called you, did he?”
“We just hung up!”
I chuckled. “I'm glad I caught you in a good mood. Can I bother you for a few minutes?”
“Sure! I'm just at home tinkering anyway.”
“I had an idea for a new baby for you to make.”
“IEEEE!” Mei squealed through the phone and Rachel and Amanda exchanged looks.
“This is what I was thinking...” I started to tell her about what I had worked out about building a static charge machine. I also said it couldn't just convert electricity and had to actually create and generate static charge. Some electricity could be used to start the machine and possibly move the static charge around, as long as it didn't corrupt the charge itself.
“Oooo, you've got my creative juices flowing!” Mei exclaimed loudly. “I'll get started right away!”
“Thanks, Mei. Call me when it's done and I'll come over and pick it up.” I said. “Oh, before I forget, the machine is for Endeavor's primary secretary and I'm sure that if your baby works as well as I suspect it will, she's going to tell a lot of people about you and your skills.”
“IEEEE!” Mei squealed again and hung up.
“I think she dropped her phone. Or blew it up. It's hard to tell sometimes.” I said and put my cell phone away.
“Connor...” Rachel whispered.
“It might take her an hour or a few days, depending on if she gets a brainstorm to make it even better.” I said and finished eating. “She built a weighted backpack for me with dense materials that became heavier with a higher electric charge applied. Using some of that knowledge gave me the idea to help you with a similar device.”
Rachel and Amanda exchanged looks again and both nodded. Amanda took out a piece of paper and wrote something down on it, then she slid the paper across the table to me. Neither of them said anything as I picked it up and read it.
Eight P.M. Room Two, Tenth floor. I read in my head. I saw their slightly worried looks and smiled, nodded, then I cupped my hand as I used a quick blast of heat vision to burn the paper to ash. They didn't even flinch.
“That wasn't in your quirk assessment.” Rachel whispered.
“There are a couple of things that I'm keeping secret.” I said and stood. “If you will excuse me, I need to get changed for my shift.”
“Maybe you can show me that costume later?” Amanda asked.
“Why not right now?” I said and disappeared, zoomed up to my room, changed, and ran back down to stand in front of their table three seconds later in my full costume.
Both women had wide eyes and Amanda looked me over with a nod.
I walked over to where Burnin and the guys sat. “I'm ready when you are.”
Burnin was giving me a squinted look. “Most teams eat together.”
“She's the boss' secretary and I've been working for her all morning doing paperwork and sorting files.” I said and sat down. “When she invited me to eat lunch with her and her friend, I was never, ever, ever going to say no.” I said pretty loudly, making sure most of the cafeteria heard me. “I'm working for her friend first thing in the morning tomorrow, too.”
The guys congratulated me on making a higher connection in the agency and Burnin's eyes never lost their squinted look. They finished eating and we left to start our patrol. We signed out at the receptionist's desk and left the building. We went in a different direction this time and met different people, talked and showed off a little, and kept going.
We didn't find any crimes happening and the shift soon ended with a whole lot of walking and nothing to show for it, except for the really short reports that nothing had happened.
“A lot of the days are like this, which is why we change the routes up. We have three, which is why we'll be back at that park in two more days.” Omina told me as we dropped off the reports on Endeavor's secretary's desk and then we went back down to the cafeteria to eat.
“I guess that means you're making a difference if the crime rate is this low around here.” I said as we got our meals and sat down.
“There are a lot of us doing different routes.” Kido said.
“Why do they not crisscross?” I asked and started eating.
“They do, just at different times.” Jar-Jar said. “It maintains a constant presence in the area and reassures the citizens that there is always a hero nearby if they need them.”
I thought about that. “When are you shifting to the evening shift, or do you stagger and go right for the midnight shift?”
“Right after you leave, we're on evening shift. Supper to midnight.” Omina said. “It's not too bad, because we have the day for ourselves. The next shift two weeks after that, though...”
“Everyone hates the overnight shift from midnight to six.” Burning said. “We are creatures of light and prefer the daytime.”
I stopped eating and looked at her. “Why do you think that?”
“Huh?”
“Your fire doesn't light things up in the daytime. If anything, I thought anyone with a fire-based quirk would kind of get off on lighting up the night as much as they could.” I said and started eating again at the surprised look on her face. “Light has been holding off the darkness since the dawn of man.”
Eveyone around us fell silent at my words.
“That was deep, Connor.” Kido said. “Really deep.”
“That's what my ex-girlfriend said.” I joked and the guys laughed. Burnin didn't say anything and just stared at me.
“Connor!” Lois' slightly panicked voice said into my ear.
I shot to my feet. “Lois Lane.” I said and disappeared from their sight.
I zoomed out of the building and flew up into the sky, triangulated where her voice came from, and broke the sound barrier getting there. I slammed through the side of a brick building, through three walls, and through six men before I stopped in the room Lois was in. I looked at a costumed man with a gun pointed at Lois and snarled.
“You just made a fatal mistake.” I said and burned through his face and brain with heat vision.
“CONNOR!” Lois gasped.
“NOOOO!” A short redheaded woman ran into the room. “NOOOO!”
I smacked her on the back of the head and killed her instantly, then I stepped over to the man and burned his body completely down to ash before doing the same to the redhead.
“Are you all right?” I asked Lois.
“Connor... you... why...”
“Some people are irredeemable.” I said and went to the other men I had killed. I burned them to ash as well and swept them up to dispose of later. “I assume this was one of your interviews you had today?”
“No, I never made it to the last one. They grabbed me before I... oh, damn.” Lois said.
“Yes, we need to report the last one or find out who knew you were talking to him.” I said.
“I'm going to do both.” Lois said. “Councilman Powers and his entire staff are about to have an extensive investigation into their background. A very public investigation. If they are associating with people like the Gentleman Criminal and his associates...”
I nodded and used x-ray vision to look around. “This is only a temporary hideout. There are no other electronics besides the camera the tiny woman had. There are also no supplies or places to sleep.”
Lois sighed. “Connor, you just killed a man in cold blood.”
“Blood is warm, actually. It doesn't cool off until long after it leaves the body... oh. I get that saying now.” I said.
“Connor!”
“I killed seven men, actually.” I said.
Lois rubbed her face in frustration. “How am I supposed to handle this?”
“Handle what?” I asked and waved at the place. “No one is here and I've already destroyed the evidence.”
“The van...”
“Just a second.” I said and disappeared from her sight, crushed the van into a little ball the size of a marble, and went back inside. “Done.”
Lois stared at the black marble in my hands. “Did you just crush a two ton van down into that?”
“I was going to throw it away, then decided that was too dangerous and might hit something. I'll drop it off in a volcano or something later.” I said and tucked it into one of the compartments on my belt.
“You're just going to carry a two ton marble around?” Lois asked, her voice full of disbelief.
“Sure.” I said and stepped close to her. “I better get you back to your car.”
Lois looked into my eyes. “Their deaths don't bother you at all, do they?”
“Not really.” I said. “I mean, I should have torn the guy apart for threatening you; but, I was too angry at him to let him live long enough to feel it.”
Lois sighed. “Connor, I... I don't know what to say.”
I picked her up and flew us out of there. “Say that you won't hesitate the next time someone kidnaps you.” I said and she blushed a little. “Yes, I know you intentionally went along with it to find out who it was that wanted you.”
“Connor...”
“You are a brilliant investigative reporter and I love you even more because of that.” I said and her blush didn't fade. “You've helped so many people over the years and you should have been paid like the hero you are, even if you only have a minor quirk that enhances your mind.”
Lois gasped and stared at me.
“Yes, I figured it out.” I said. “Where did they stop your car?”
Lois didn't say anything for a moment. “Over in Hanso District. Third street from the highway.”
I flew us over there and her car was still there and untouched.
“Connor, I... I wanted to tell you...”
“Why? It's not like it changes who you are.” I said and landed softly. “I mean, I know I got my powerful mind from Clark and it lets me remember everything. It doesn't give me the wisdom to use it, though. I had to get the analytical part from you.”
Lois held on to my neck and looked up into my eyes. “You're too good to be true.”
“I wouldn't say that.” I said with a smile. “Can you guess what Endeavor's secretary told me to help me adjust to the situation with Burnin?”
Lois looked pensive for a moment, then she caught her breath. “You don't actually work there!”
I laughed and nodded. “The other secretary that handles the more experienced sidekicks also told me there would be no expectations for 'later', as well. I don't have to worry about any potential fallout from my mistake.”
Lois sighed in relief and smiled. “I'm glad they are looking after you and making sure you don't keep messing up.”
“I worked with Endeavor's secretary Rachel all morning and sorted three years of reports and files.” I said and Lois nodded at me listening to her advice. “The other secretary named Amanda was so grateful for saving them so much work that she invited me to eat lunch with her and Rachel... in the hero cafeteria.”
Lois gasped and stared at me. “She didn't!”
“The entire place was silent the whole time we ate.” I said and Lois laughed. “I know! I can't thank them enough for that.”
“I assume they knew...”
“Yes, it's all over the agency. That's why them doing that for me meant so much.” I said and she nodded. “Do you want me to fly you home?”
“No, I think I'll be going to that interview with Councilman Powers, just to see his face when he sees me.” Lois said and smiled wickedly.
“I can follow along...”
Lois let my neck go and ran her hands down my chest. “No, I think you've done enough for today.”
I caught her hands and held them to my chest. “Please don't worry about what happened.”
“Connor, you casually...”
“It wasn't casual. I did it on purpose to show you that I'm not kidding around. If someone comes after you, they never will again.” I said with steel in my voice.
Lois shivered a little and then she took a deep breath. “You're not going to become a mass murderer and kill people for fun, are you?”
“No. It's not fun to take a life. To snuff out all of that potential.” I said and let her hands go to hug her. “It's a weight I'll carry with me forever and I don't take that responsibility lightly.”
Lois nodded and reached up to pull me down into a quick kiss. “You better get back to the agency.”
“I have a few minutes to waste.” I said with a smile and gave her a searing kiss to make her moan. I broke it barely ten seconds later to see her eyes were closed and she licked her lips, then her eyes snapped open to glare at me.
“Dammit! I let you do it again!” Lois spat at me.
“I love you, too.” I said and let her go before I flew up into the air.
“That really would look better with a cape on!” Lois shouted up at me.
“Did you order it already?” I asked.
“It comes in tomorrow!” Lois said with a smile on her face.
“Call me and I'll pick it up.” I said and took off flying with the crack of a sonic boom.