WilliamDArand
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Super Sales on Super Heroes 5 -Chapter 30-
🕑 Added 2022-07-20 01:57:56 +0000 UTCThere was a buzzing and rumbling coming from Felix’s phone as he got back into his car. He’d spent the evening hanging out with his mother’s side of the family and had surprisingly enjoyed it greatly.
To the point that he’d forgotten about everything else that was going on.
Somewhat regretfully, he fished his phone out of his pocket and flicked the lock screen on. He was presented with the fact that Tribune was calling him.
“Uh… what?” he mumbled, tapped the accept button, and held the phone to his ear. “Tribune?”
“Good evening, Legate,” Tribune said on the other end of the line. “This communication is part of the notification chain that you approved during my creation.
“You received an email that you didn’t respond to from me for longer than six hours that was marked as ‘needs attention’.”
Felix could vaguely remember putting such a policy into place. It was to make sure he didn’t lose track of something.
“Proceed,” he said.
There was a pop next to him and he turned his head.
Standing there outside of his car was Evie. She had what looked like a massive cheeseburger in one hand and a large fountain drink in the other. Moving around to the passenger side door, she opened the door, juggled her items around, and got into the car.
“We’ve received a notification from the Supreme Court. They’re having the Association Investigative Act moved to the front of their docket,” Tribune continued as Evie settled herself in the seat. The stunningly gorgeous woman gave him a crooked grin and took a long drink from her straw, watching him. “They’ll be hearing arguments on it in two days. You’ve been called as a witness to discuss your part in it.”
“I see. Considering we don’t care one way or the other about the act, it’s… mostly irrelevant what I say then when there,” Felix suggested, eying Evie.
Or more specifically her burger.
While he’d enjoyed dinner, he hadn’t wanted to look like a pig and had only eaten as much as everyone else had. Limiting himself to a portion that was within limits of their own.
He was still hungry.
In fact, he was starting to wonder if he ever wasn’t hungry anymore. It was as if he couldn’t eat enough more often than not.
“That’s accurate, Sir. Realistically speaking, regardless of the outcome, it doesn’t impact us. Even the lawsuit that was made against the Association will end up falling upon the government,” Tribune agreed. “As per the contract we signed with them, the Association isn’t beholden to the laws of the federal government, state government, or local government. That includes all agencies or actors working on behalf of the Association. We’re in the clear.”
Nodding his head, Felix watched Evie take another large bite of her burger. Though she was chewing it slowly now, watching him.
“Anything I need to do?” he asked.
Tilting her head to one side, she then held out the food to him with a grin as she chewed. Half of it was gone by this point and she clearly wanted to finish it, yet she still offered it to him.
Gratefully, he took it with his free hand and started in on it immediately. Taking a bite and knowing he’d feel better in just a few minutes.
“No, Legate. I’ll prepare everything for you in a bullet point format,” Tribune stated. “There is only one other thing that I must make you aware of.”
Felix could only manage a grunt as he continued to eat the burger Evie had graciously provided for him. She was watching him as he ate, a wide smile on her face.
Then she held her drink out to him, as if asking if he wanted a sip.
Not declining, he swallowed his mouthful down, tried to clear his mouth a bit, then took a drink from it.
“Goldie wanted me to warn you to be careful with your Dragon House-wives. They’re likely going to be going into Heat,” Tribune said. Felix’s eyes jumped to Evie’s as he continued to drink from her proffered cup. Her eyes had a low intensity glow to them, but it was unmistakable. “It’s the first one they’ll go through in their new position and there’s no telling what they might do.
“That’s how Goldie wished me to phrase the message, Sir. She doesn’t think they’ll do anything untoward, but it’s best you be on your guard.”
Letting go of the straw, Felix smiled at Evie who was practically sideways in the seat now. Her entire body as good as facing him.
There was an odd look to the exquisite beauty at the moment.
“Good to know, thanks Tribune. Relay my thanks to Goldie, and then Faith as well,” Felix asked. Lifting the burger up, he hesitated, then held it out to Evie.
Lifting a hand, she curled a long lock of red hair back behind an ear, leaned in, and took a bite from the burger. Only to lean back into her seat and watch him while chewing.
“Of course. Have a good evening, Legate,” Tribune said and disconnected the line.
Sitting there in the car, he wasn’t sure what to say.
There were several thumps he could hear behind him. Followed by two in front of him.
Carol and Lucille had just arrived near the passenger side of the door. Each one of them had some type of food in their hands and were happily eating and talking. Though their eyes were all fastened on him.
Glowing faintly.
Hm.
It’s like… being in a horror movie. Surrounded by predators.
As long as I keep it slow and easy, I’m sure this’ll be fine.
Evie took his wrist in hand and moved the burger back to his own mouth.
Predators.
The passenger door on his side opened and he heard someone getting in. Then Lucille and Carol did the same from the other side.
“Where’re we going?” asked Carol, who then took a bite from her sub-sandwich after closing the door.
“Let’s go look at nests. We don’t have anywhere to nest when the time comes,” Lucille suggested.
“Can we go look at jewelry?” asked what sounded like Cathy behind him. “I want to buy Goldie some hair clips and something for a few others.”
Lucille and Carol straightened up in the back seat and looked to each other, then Felix.
“A cooking store. I want to see if there’s any cutesy tools or anything better than what I’m using,” Carol suggested.
“Yes, cooking store,” Lucille agreed. “I need… I need to beat Evie. I can’t keep being just the combat winner. I want to win.”
“I respect your admiration,” Evie murmured, looking to the backseat with a grin. “All of your admiration and determination. Defeat me and earn your place. I’m the second Dragon House-wife for a reason. I’ll even help you pick out a cookbook or two.
“Girls, please save a little bit of your meals for husband, he’s hungry.”
Evie then looked back to Felix.
“Husband, a cooking store, please?” she asked, easing the burger closer to his mouth again. She didn’t want him to answer, but to accept her request as it was.
It was likely also why she suggested saving some food for him.
Taking another still hungry bite of the burger, he nodded his head.
***
Exiting, Felix felt rather good about how he’d conducted himself.
Everything he’d said while speaking had been accurate, to the point, and without anything that felt negative or off. Conveying exactly what he wanted for the Association.
Though it’d certainly left a bit of an awkward feeling for the government.
Doubly so when it’d been revealed that the Association itself had only acted a handful of times under the Act itself, but the government had done so an estimated fifty times already. As if they were using it more than the Association itself was.
“That went well,” Faith mused, her voice transmitting over the helmets, but not externally. She was on Felix’s right as they left the building and began moving to the side. Their vehicles were parked not far off. “Somewhat surprising that no one bothered to actually come after us.
“I was half expecting them to try and hold us up as the boogieman in the closet. The monster under the bed. There to snatch up all their freedoms and rights.”
“They didn’t feel it was worth it. The Association has been so politically neutral that it’s made no enemies though also no friends. There’s no reason to attack it or defend it. That’s what I gathered at least,” answered Goldie from his right. She was dressed modestly and more conservatively than he’d expected. It did of course have a certain sexual appeal to it though.
Goldie always managed to look amazing regardless of what she was wearing. The gold chains through her horns and their rings tinkling quietly with every step only served to accentuate her graceful movements.
“Yeah-yeah! Nn! There’s no reason to shoot at us cause we’re just sitting there playing with a sandcastle we built while they’re all arguing over who gets to play on the swings!” Andrea added helpfully.
“Pretty sure that’s not quite it, Andie,” murmured Romina. “It was pretty boring though. I’m going to have to beg Mike to edit the fuck out of that cringe-ass-boomer-clown-fiesta. There was so much grand-standing and hoop-jumping.”
There really was a lot of media push for this one.
Normally the Supreme court doesn’t allow much in the way of recordings of any sort from what Faith explained. This is all very abnormal.
“It’s the incoming president,” Faith interjected. “With the one who made the deal with us on the way out, and the new one on the way in, they want to show how they’re different.”
“Oh yeah, that’ll last for about a year. Pushing some of what they offered in exchange for votes. Just enough to barely fill in part of the check box,” Felix said with a laugh. Dragon Maidens were appearing from all over and moving his way. He could already see Lucille, Carol, and Evie moving in a direct line for him. They’d all remained out here in street clothes, rather than going inside. “After that, then who knows what they’ll start working on. Whatever it is though, it’ll be to appease their backers and their key-supporters. I’m glad we’re not in politics this time around. Politics are ugly and evil.”
Almost as bad as HR.
“Uh, this time?” Romina asked, curiously. “And don’t try to push me off. This isn’t the first time you’ve said something like that. There’s more going on here and you’re keeping it locked away from me.”
“Wouldn’t worry about it Romie,” Andrea said, ramming one armored shoulder into Juno’s. “After you start bedding him, you’ll figure it all out without any help I’m sure.”
“I-that-I don’t think that’s really something-”
“Legate?” asked a man who’d stopped dead in front of Felix. He’d been crossing their path and looking straight ahead. As far as Felix had been concerned, the man wasn’t paying him a bit of attention until that moment.
“Indeed,” Felix said, coming to a stop. Then he lowered his voice. “Tribune, is there anything wrong with this area? Anything that’d stand out right now? Police alerts? Warnings? News crews? Anything?”
“A-Net, Convoy en route! Five minutes to arrival!” called an Andrea over the communication line. There was also a horn sounding for some reason.
“My name’s agent Brian DeRisso. I’m with the Central Intelligence Agency. We’d like it if you came with us to answer a few questions,” said the man with a congenial smile. His hard brown eyes and short cropped brown hair didn’t mesh very well with it though.
Almost like a dog that looked like it could tear you a part at any moment just watching you. Holding perfectly still and staring at you.
“Legate, all the cameras that are looking at the area you’re in have been switched off in one way or another. Cellular communication in the area is also having difficulties getting through. All Wi-Fi signals are also experiencing outages,” reported Tribune as Felix stared at the self-identified agent. “This is most likely to be the staging ground of an operation that is underway.”
“Turn them all back on,” requested Faith. “Get everything recording and see if you can’t get all those signals back up too. Rip out all the data from the electronics on everyone around us, too. I’m starting to think a great many of those here are… in on it.”
Glancing around, Felix saw that there was indeed a large number of people all starting to move their way. At the same time, Dragons began landing and forming out.
Brian didn’t fail to notice either group, but he was clearly growing more nervous with each and every Dragon that touched down.
“I’m not beholden to the laws of this land,” Felix stated with absolute conviction. “The only way I’d go anywhere with you is if you were paying for a pizza party.
“Are you… paying for a pizza party? If not, then I’ll be on my way. As a contractually legally protected individual. Along with everyone here, as the Association isn’t beholden to your laws we are more on a diplomatic echelon of status.”
Looking at Brian, Felix tried to pick over anything out of the ordinary. The man was far too confident for someone picking a fight with a band of Dragons.
He was certainly above average height, looking to be six foot two or a bit more than that. Heavyset with broad shoulders, the man looked like he’d been fit in his earlier life but it was starting to slip.
Bald with a dark brown beard, he looked out of place.
Otherwise there didn’t seem to be anything about him that Felix could identify as the source of the confidence. His past was likely security, military, or both, but nothing extraordinary.
There was the hint of a handle sticking out from his coat as the only weapon he was carrying. If it was just a handgun, that wouldn’t do much good against anyone here.
Felix wanted to know what it was. If he deconstructed it, how many points would he get for it.
Right… and if I wanted to know who to contact to purchase the X-02b’s copyright, who would it be?
Travis Cox.
“Tribune, start looking into a Travis Cox. Cross check with the CIA and start digging through their files,” Felix requested while pressing his hand against the outside of his wrist plate. There’d been a minor change in the last week that’d silence their external mic if their hand was placed there.
“I ain’t paying for shit. You’re still coming with me though,” said the man with a nod of his head.
Felix pulled up the information on the man in front of him. He wanted to know the character stats he had to back up that kind of talk.
“Listen, Jimmy. I’m going to be leaving when my ride gets here,” Felix said, making sure he saw the microphone go active after removing his hand. “You haven’t shown me proof of who you are, I’m under no obligation to believe who you are, and realistically… I don’t owe you any more of my time than what you’ve taken.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. As I said. That’s the end of the conversation as far as I’m concerned.”
James had stopped breathing once Felix had used his name. As if he’d only now realized that stepping up like he had wasn’t from a position of power.
But making himself a target.
The nail that sticks up, gets hammered down.
A number of individuals had exited vehicles and began making their way over toward the obvious showdown.
The Dragon Maidens who were closest to that area moved away and only shifted to encircle everyone. They all had their wings out and more than half already had smoke starting to billow up from nostrils and mouths.
A Dragon given a little time could work themselves into a semi-controlled frenzy, and they were all heading that direction.
“If you don’t hit the brakes,” warned Felix. “This isn’t going to go well.”
“That a threat?” asked James.
“No. An observation. You haven’t proven who you are, I’m not legally obligated to go with you, you’ve got a large number of people with you that are looking to you to give them a direction,” Felix summarized, holding up a finger with each point. “If you try to force me to go anywhere, it’s going to go badly. It’s just that simple.”
James’ face had clouded up as Felix continued. Looking a lot like someone who just really didn’t quite understand what was happening. Apparently, he really hadn’t considered that Felix would react this way.
“A-P, Report,” asked an Andrea who was with him, which was likely Prime.
“A-Two! Two minutes out!” came a shouted call from a different one.
“A-Net, Baggage Train three on the way!” said another Andrea.
“Samantha! In air! Circling!” shouted a voice over the sound of what seemed to be the wind. “Two enemy things!”
Oh. A couple Dragons are wearing really big headsets, I guess. They’d be the ones to provide some air cover.
As to the enemy… things… drones?
“Well shit,” James said. Snatching the weapon out of the holster, he held it up, pointed it at Goldie, and pulled the trigger.
Except the thing jerked to the side as it fired.
A massive blast the size of a bowling ball was ejected out of the weapon. Slamming low into Lucille, it slapped her legs out from under her.
As well as tore out a sizable chunk of her. Spraying blood, muscle, and gore across the ground beneath her.
Roaring, Carol leapt forward with a massive slash of her wings to propel her.
Felix reached down and laid a hand to Lucille. He needed to understand just how badly she was injured.
Amongst his people, Lucille was second only to Goldie. Gaia couldn’t really be considered as she didn’t enjoy fighting and went out of her way to avoid it.
Felix chuckled at the idea of that cost being prohibitive. That was little more than what he got after a little time at his own landfill now that so many trucks were arriving.
“We need to move, Felix,” Faith hissed, her hand landing on his shoulder even as he shifted around to get a better grip on the Dragon.
He activated his power to heal her and then pulled up on Lucille, dragging her to her feet.
All around him, Dragons were tearing through people. They were also making sure to dodge a round from anyone with one of those guns James had used.
“Up and at’em Lucille,” Felix said and steadied the beautiful and dangerous woman. “Care to be my bodyguard with Faith? Goldie is busy and everyone else went a bit rabid.”
I wonder if she ended up with my last name after being resurrected as my property. Did that increase my marital bonus?
I should check soon.
Keep putting that off because I don’t want to see how bad it is.
Not far away, Goldie was busily tearing the guts out of James with clawed hands. Coiled entrails were being flung one way and then the other as she dug into the man.
“I… that… yes. Of course. Anything for you, husband,” murmured the Black Dragon in a hushed whisper, turning to look at him fully after looking back down to her bare stomach. “You saved me. You put everything back. You really are everything Goldie said.”
Felix clicked his tongue and looked back to what was going on. He wasn’t a target in this, but that didn’t mean he wanted to risk himself needlessly.
There was no way any of these people were going to try to kill him. At least outright, assuming they saw him.
In fact, he wasn’t even sure the first weapon drawn was meant to do what it did. It had said it was faulty, after all.
He wasn’t going to take chances with any of that though.
When Faith began pulling him backward to a different position, he didn’t fight her.
As he turned around, he saw there was another group of agents waiting for him from behind.
Retreat wasn’t an option.
Only fighting was.
Felix pulled out his pistol and sighed.
I’m just not cut out for this shit.
Lifting it up, he sighted it on the closest enemy and began firing while moving to a nearby stone statue’s base.
Comments
Kevin McKinney
It is always something …
Nick Cartwright
When Brian/james was first described he had short cropped hair. Later he was said to be bald. Also Ahe introduced himself as Brian then was Identified as James (I’m assuming Brian was an alias though).
