With Great Power: Crushing Boredom
Victoria Dallon was not meant to be stationary.
The teenager was currently hovering exactly three and a half feet above her sister's mattress, her blonde hair waterfalling down her shoulders to spill against the duvet as she aimlessly drifted back and forth. To anyone else, it probably would have been neat but to her, it was the only thing she could do to pass the time.
She tapped her thumb against the screen of her phone, staring at the text bubble she had been drafting for the better part of ten minutes.
“Hey! Hope patrol went okay. Give me a call?”
No. Too needy. She deleted it.
“We need to talk about Tuesday. Are we still doing this?”
Too aggressive. She deleted that, too.
With a frustrated huff, she finally settled on a simple, “Thinking of you. Stay safe,” and hit send. She didn’t wait for the delivered notification to pop up. She knew his phone was probably in a locker at the PRT building, and she wasn’t in the mood to stare at a silent screen. Instead, she swiped the messager closed and immediately switched to a PHO tab she’d been refreshing for the last hour.
The boards had been on fire all week. Someone had posted a grainy, zoomed-in shot of the Widow swinging through the Docks in her new newly-made suit. Even with the horrible quality of the picture, Vicky could tell that it was well-designed. She wished she could see it in person so she could see what look Widow settled on. The girl was painfully indie before but Parian could probably make Mush look good if she had enough time to work with him.
A loud thud from the adjacent room broke her focus. Victoria tilted her head down, her hair sweeping across the pillows as she angled it towards the white door.
“Amy!” she yelled, her voice echoing off the walls of the bedroom. “Are you almost done in there? We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago!”
“I’m coming!” Amy’s voice muffled through the bathroom door, sounding exhausted as usual. Vicky worried for her. “The world isn't going to stop spinning if I take a shower, Vicky!”
Vicky rolled her eyes, her body rotating in mid-air until she was staring at the ceiling. “It might! My boredom is reaching critical levels. I think I’m starting to hallucinate.”
“You’re just dramatic,” Amy called back.
Vicky went back to her phone, scrolling through a thread debating whether Widow was doing more harm and good, just like they did every time a new vigilante showed up on the streets. Vicky tapped out a quick defense of her kinda-friend under her verified account, then tossed the phone onto the bed where it bounced twice and settled.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door creaked open. Amy walked out, already dressed in her healer’s robes. She was holding a hairdryer, the cord trailing behind her into the bathroom as she worked on drying her hair. She caught the look Vicky was giving her and gave her a flat stare in return.
“I don’t know why you’re in such a rush,” Amy said in a tired voice. “It’s Friday. It’s not like you have anything else to do.”
“I know, and I'm boooored,” Vicky said, her hair fluttering as she landed on the bed and bounced upright. “I need something to do.”
Amy clicked off the hairdryer, giving her sister a dry look. “And taking me to the hospital is what you settled on?”
“Mom said I can't patrol until after I brought you,” Vicky countered, going back to staring at the ceiling. “She acts like you don't already sneak out and go there on your own.”
“Hm. Good to know I'm holding you back, I guess.”
Vicky sat up, startled, only to relax as she saw Amy smirking at her. Her sister's dry tone made it hard to tell when she was being serious sometimes, but the look on Amy's face told her the comment had done no harm.
Even so, despite Vicky’s pleading, Amy moved with the agonizing deliberation of a sloth. She took her sweet time putting the hairdryer away, finding her shoes, and popping a piece of gum into her mouth as they headed downstairs. She even stopped by the kitchen on her way to the front door, carefully peeling the wrapper off the gum and dropping it into the trash can in a move that was clearly designed just to mess with Vicky. It worked.
Vicky was practically vibrating by the time Amy reached the front door, a moment away from tapping her foot like some kind of cartoon character as her sister sidled up to her.
“Finally,” she breathed, wrenching open the door and walking out
Amy looked at her, locking it behind them. “Wow, you really are in a rush–”
Vicky didn’t let her finish. In a blur of movement fueled by restless energy, she scooped her sister up bridal style, pulling her to her chest Amy let out a sharp, indignant squeak, her hands flying up to clutch Vicky’s shoulders as she was hoisted into the air unceremoniously.
“H-hey! Vicky!”
VIcky gave her startled sister a wink and launched herself into the sky as fast as she could, and she could move fast. She was up in the clouds in less than three seconds, and ten blocks away in less than five.
It was like flexing a muscle that had gone unused for a long time, like stretching your legs after sitting in a chair for six hours. It felt great.
Of course, to Amy, who couldn't fly on her own, it wasn't nearly as exhilarating.
“Slow down!” Amy screamed over the roar of the wind, her eyes squeezed shut as she buried her face in Vicky’s shoulder. “Vicky, I’m going to puke! Slow down!”
Vicky felt a tiny pang of guilt, but it was overshadowed by the relief. Still, she didn't want Amy to actually throw up on her, so she leveled off after a few seconds, slowing down to a more reasonable pace as they glided over the suburbs toward the downtown skyline.
Amy opened one eye, then the other, before glaring up at her sister with a look of pure, unadulterated venom. “What the hell is wrong with you today?”
Vicky just shrugged, her expression deceptively casual. “We were late. I was making up for lost time.”
Amy didn't buy it. She eyed Vicky suspiciously, her gaze lingering on the way Vicky’s jaw was set. “Something’s going on. Is it Dean?”
Vicky carefully withheld a flinch. Of course Amy would figure it out; she always could, somehow.
“No.”
“You’re a bad liar,” Amy didn't buy it for a second. “Are you guys still on a break?”
Vicky sighed, the sound lost to the wind. “It’s starting to feel like more than a break, honestly.”
Amy tried to pry, her eyebrows knitting together. “What happened?”
Vicky’s expression shuddered. “Nothing.”
A lot, and not enough at the same time. Her on-again off-again relationship with Dean Stansfield could be described as tumultuous or idyllic, with not a lot of in between. This latest rough patch wasn't even the roughest they'd had, but it felt… different somehow.
She stared out at the horizon, her mind drifting back to their last conversation. Dean’s power was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, Vicky felt like she couldn't even have a private thought around him. If she was annoyed, he felt it. If she was angry, he knew it. And being the kind of guy he was, he wanted to fix that, even if she didn't want it to be fixed.
And Vicky loved him, she really did, but lately, she had begun to wonder if a relationship where half of said relationship could never truly hide your real feelings was really all that healthy.
Amy deemed to realize that she wasn't going to answer and huffed, turning her gaze back towards the sky behind Vicky's back. She never liked looking at the ground this high up even though she knew Vicky would never drop her.
The silence between the sisters stretched for a long minute, punctuated only by the distant hum of the city below before Vicky decided to break it.
“Hey, so have you noticed how crazy things have been lately?” She asked lightly, “I’ve been dealing with a lot more idiots this week, especially over by the Docks.”
Amy seemed grateful for the shift, shaking her head slowly. “I’ve been a little bit busier this week. What's going on?”
“No clue, but it's a mess,” Vicky said. “I think the ABB is making moves or something because it mostly been them.”
Which wouldn't be the case for long if this kept up. When one gang started stirring the waters, the other was bound to start seeing if they could stir it in the other direction. Vicky was sure the E88 wouldn't be far behind them, and then things would really get out of hand.
Vicky paused as a thought occurred to her. “Did you hear about that guy Widow took down the other day? I heard he caused a lot of problems.”
Amy looked up at her, eyes bright with genuine confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Vicky blinked back. “Seriously? You didn't hear about the fight? It was all over PHO. There was some Tinker making a ton of noise over there – sound-based tech from what I heard. He flipped a couple of cars and blasted a hole in a warehouse.”
Amy shook her head, a strand of hair whipping across her face. “I’ve been in the ER for fourteen hours a day, Vicky. I haven’t exactly had time to check the forums for the 'Cape of the Week.' But…” She trailed off, a look of realization crossing her face. “Now that you mention it, I did have to heal an insane amount of ruptured eardrums and internal hemorrhaging on Wednesday. I thought a transformer had blown or something but a sound Tinker makes about as much sense. You said that Widow took care of it?”
Vicky nodded, a grin spreading across her face. “Yeah. She took him down right in the middle of the Docks. One of the workers caught some of the fight up close, but the rest is CCTV footage. She took him down pretty hard.”
“Good for her,” Amy said with a sigh. “Hopefully he doesn't get out in a week like everyone else.”
“I’ll send you the video when I have time,” Vicky said. “The way she fights is crazy, and she tanked one of his blast like it didn't even phase her”
“Cool,” Amy muttered, though she didn't sound particularly interested.
They were approaching the hospital now and Vicky began her descent, spiraling down toward the back where she usually dropped Amy off. A couple nurses were lingering by the door and waved as she touched down on the concrete, setting Amy on her feet. The girl held onto her for a moment longer, getting her feet underneath her, before slowly peeling away.
“Try not to let them work you to death today,” Vicky said, cape fluttering as her boots hit the ground.
Amy smoothed out her robes, her expression already shifting into the weary look she wore for the hospital. “Too late for that. See you tonight.”
Vicky watched her sister walk toward the automatic doors, her shoulders slumping as she entered the building. With a sharp exhale, Vicky kicked off the ground and surged back into the sky, ready to finally start her patrol.
~~~
As she flew away from the hospital, Vicky soared high into the air above Brockton Bay, languishing in the rays hitting her skin and driving away the chill.
She did a slow, luxurious barrel roll, her fingers trailing through the wisps of a stray cloud. For a few minutes, she just flew, no destinations or desires to do anything but just relax. But soon enough, the boredom she'd complained about to Amy began to seep back in, and it was time to fix it
”Alright,” she muttered to herself, banking sharply and diving toward the city below. “Let’s see who’s being stupid today.”
She leveled out over the downtown district, her keen eyes scanning the streets below.
It didn't take long to spot her first target. Two blocks from the bank, a sleek red car was weaving erratically through traffic, piloted by two men in ski masks
"Carjacking. An oldy but a goodie," Vicky grinned.
She didn't bother with a subtle approach, dropping down like a meteor from above and coming to a sharp top right in front of the car. The men inside stared at her, horrified, and she returned their looks with a ferocious grin as she reached out and put her hands on the front bumper.
The screech of tearing metal and screaming tires filled the air as the car’s wheels suddenly found themselves struggling to gain purchase against the pavement. Her muscles didn't even strain against the vehicle as she slowed it down gradually, forcing it to a stop in the middle of the street as traffic slowed around them.
The men inside gawked at her for a long moment, before the one in the passenger seat reached down to grab something. Vicky fixed him with a glare, bringing the full force of her aura to bear on him and causing him to freeze in terror.
“Don't even think about it,” she warned.
They decided to behave after that. Vicky had them step out of the car and get on the ground, before moving the car out of the way of incoming traffic. The police arrived in less than ten minutes, and Vicky was gone in five after that, ready to continue her patrol .
She spent the next hour flying across the city, a golden blue against the morning sky as she looked for something to do or someone to save. She interrupted a mugging in an alleyway, landing with enough force to crack the pavement between a trembling woman and a couple of druggies with knives. She didn't even have to throw a punch; she just stood there, hands on her hips, and watched them scramble over each other to get away.
It was satisfying, but she still wanted more – something to get her hands dirty and take her mind off of the fact that Dean hadn't texted her back yet.
Two drug deals and another mugging later, Vicky was hovering downtown, wondering whether or not she should take a break and head over to the Boardwalk for a smoothie, when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.
A big van, the kind used by plumbers or would-be kidnappers, was barreling down a road that was clearly under construction, ignoring stop signs and weaving around barricades like its life depended on it. That would be enough for Vicky to intervene, but it was also being chased by a dark blur that was swinging between the streetlamps with breathtaking speed.
Vicky’s eyebrows shot up. “No way.”
She accelerated, closing the distance in seconds with a grin that widened as she saw that her suspicions were correct.
Widow was hot on the trail of the van, swinging through the streets like her life depended on it as she chased it down. She was so utterly focused on her task that she didn't even seem to notice Vicky flying above her, and the heroine used the time to take in her new costume.
The piece was nice, a deep, charcoal black lined with burnished gold that formed stripes and web-patterns all along her limbs and torso. She even had a logo in the form of a spider whose legs wrapped around her body and connected with an identical one in the back.
”Damn,” Vicky breathed, hovering just above the chase. “Parian outdid herself.”
Widow was struggling, though. She was trying to attach web-lines to the back of the van to slow it down, but the driver was swerving violently, trying to throw her off or smash her against the concrete barriers. The fact that she probably wasn't used to this kind of high-speed chase probably didn't help things.
”Need a hand, Spidey?” Vicky yelled, soaring past her.
She didn't wait for an answer. Vicky looped around and landed in the middle of the road, fifty yards ahead of the van.
Unlike before, she didn’t fly behind the car and bring it to a gradual stop. Instead, she planted her feet, braced her shoulders, and waited. These guys could deal with the whiplash.
The driver saw her but he didn't slow down. Instead, the engine roared as he put his foot to the floor, aiming the massive chrome grill of he van directly at her.
Idiot. Vicky thought as he approached.
CRUNCH.
The impact was violent. Metal crumpled and Vicky's forcefield buckled and shattered under the speed and weight of the van, but she didn't move, watching with satisfaction as the front end folded like a tinfoil accordion around her silhouette. The rear of the van kicked up into the air, its contents shifting with a thunderous roar as the men inside of it shouted in panic, before it slammed back onto the asphalt, its momentum completely neutralized.
Vicky stepped back, pulling herself out of the indent her body had created as her barrier surged back to life a moment later and her strength returned with it
Widow landed on a nearby crate, her chest heaving slightly as she looked at the wreckage. She looked Vicky up and down, then looked at the crushed van. “I see why they call you guys flying bricks. I think running into a wall would've done less damage.”
“I'm just that good.” Vicky flexed, drifting through the air as the men crawled out of the van to crumple on the ground in groaning heaps. “Nice suit, by the way, you look great.”
Widow jumped down, checking up on the men to make sure they weren't in danger of dying suddenly, before webbing them up where they laid. “Thanks. It's definitely an improvement over the hoodie, though I'm still a bit bummed about the cape. I think it would have looked cool.”
Vicky opened her mouth to respond but Widow suddenly flinched, tilting her head like someone had spoken a bit too loud in her ear. As she did so, Vicky got a peek under her hood and spied a pair of blinking buds in her ears before Widow brought a hand up and lightly pressed on them.
“Sorry,” the heroine apologized, “A bit too loud. Anyway, thanks for helping out. I’ve been trailing these guys for six blocks but they weren't stopping for the traffic lights. I’d say they should get their licences suspended, but somehow I doubt they have any.”
Vicky gestured to the back of the van, where two more groaning men were trying to crawl out from under a pile of boxes. “What’s the deal?”
“Electronics.” Widow responded, jumping down and webbing a man as he tried to rise She pulled open a box, revealing glittering circuits and shattered screens. “These guys hit a computer-repair store and I've been following them since.”
Vicky quirked a brow, “More electronics?”
“That's what I said.” Widow turned to her, “I think there's something going on, and hopefully these guys can tell me.”
Stepping away from the boxes, she reached down and grabbed the last thug by the collar, hoisting him up with one hand. “Hey friend, mind telling me were you taking this before you head off to lala land?”
The man just blubbered, pointing weakly at the cab of the van. Widow put him back on the ground and reached into the driver's side door. She glanced around the cabin, before reaching underneath the driver's seat and grabbing a smartphone.
”Got it,” Widow said after a moment, showing the screen to Vicky. It was a gps app leading towards a far-off section of the Docks. Vicky recognized it as an area that had been taken over by the gangs. “This is where the stuff from the store was supposed to end up. I bet there's a ton more there too, and hopefully something that'll tell me whose shopping list includes enough electronics to start your own wiring company.”
Vicky’s eyes lit up. This was exactly what she needed. No more thinking about Dean, no more listening to her mom's assessments of her impulsiveness Just a good, old-fashioned raid.
”Sounds fun,” Vicky said, cracking her knuckles. “I don't suppose you want company?”
Widow looked at the phone, then back at Vicky. She tilted her head, listening to something or more likely someone, before shrugging.
“Sure, I could use some company,” she finally said, "You know, assuming you can keep up.”
Vicky grinned, her heart thumping with a sudden, infectious excitement. “I think I can manage. Lead the way.”
Widow nodded, already firing a line toward the nearest crane and launching herself into the air.
Vicky surged into the sky alongside the other heroine, the grey haze that had been bugging her all day finally disappearing. Her boredom was gone and now she was exactly where she wanted to be. Flying fast, hitting hard, and patrolling with a friend.