8: Catfight

The title should be enough indication.

The next day Ace went to the festival at the city’s largest park.  Although there weren’t any big balloons or buffet tables due to the event being short notice, hundreds of people were there anyway.  The star of the show, Alex, was with the mayor the entire time, only given a few moments to sign autographs and have her picture taken. 

The mayor and Alex finally made it to the platform near the front of the park.  People began to gather around, so Ace followed.  The mayor hushed the crowd before speaking:

“My friends!  For fifteen years I have done everything in my power to make sure you, the citizens, are kept safe and happy.  I’ll admit some decisions made have been…sketchy.” The crowd murmured and eyed one another reliving the “exotic lizard” incident, “but they have always been in your best interest.  But alas, even I cannot do everything to ensure this city is kept out of harm’s way.  On a regular basis we have been hit with natural disasters that geographically are unexplainable.  They have cost us thousands, even millions, of your hard-earned tax dollars to fix. Until Alex arrived.”

Ace rolled her eyes as the mayor continued, directing attention to Alex: “From humble beginnings this magnificent human has gone out of her way to ensure we are kept safe and sound.  For two years she has used her powers only to protect us, to reduce crime, even to help make the very park you stand in.  Without Alex, our city would be in constant turmoil.  Without her amazing gift to control the earth we would be at Nature’s mercy.  Quite ironic when you think about it.” The crowd chuckled a little, but Ace groaned heavily. “So on this day, we commemorate all that Alex has done by dedicating the day to her name.   And, to show our gratitude, we give her the Key to the City!” The crowd began to applaud as one of the mayor’s men handed a giant antique key to the mayor to hand to Alex.  She politely shook his hand and bowed to the crowed upon receiving it, who cheered louder.

“And, as my personal thanks for saving my child from the dreaded ‘Day of The Third Grade Science Fair’ that would have taken millions of lives if you had not stepped in, I want to unveil the newest addition to our park.” The mayor directed his attention to another part of the park, near the center, where a brown tarp was being removed to reveal a giant bronze statue of Alex in a classic Superman pose- hands on her hips looking off into the distance.  The crowd applauded, but even over the thunderous roar an exclamation could be heard.

“Are you f*****g kidding me?!” Shrieked Ace. “A statue?!  A f*****g statue?!  I dropped crime in Ohio by like 50%, fought the army and their pointless robot, pummeled a fifty foot demon hydra with squid arms, and she gets a statue?!  This is the biggest pile of horseshit I’ve ever seen!”  The crowd fell silent and turned to Ace, who was wading towards the platform. 

“This is unfair!  I’m just as strong as that fat prick is, yet I have to deal with the government trying to use me as a weapon and disappointing my father whenever I do something good.  What makes you so special that people worship you like a god while I get nothing for doing the same thing?!” Ace yelled pointing directly at Alex.

“What is the meaning of this?  How dare you verbally abuse our protector!” The mayor exclaimed.  Alex remained silent, shocked by the issue.  Her boyfriend off to the side hung his head in his hands. “God, not this idiot.”

Alex overheard him and turned to the man. “You know him, Otto?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen him on the news.” Alex’s boyfriend replied, “He calls himself Ace.  He’s this crazy guy with God inside him who beats up people and demons like you.”

“I’m a girl, d****t! And I fight crime just like you, I’m just as powerful as you, and it’s because I’m a deitan just like you!” She roared dramatically.  Ace expected a massive gasp to escape the crowd but instead she was met with silence.  Even the crickets couldn’t bring themselves to make a sound.

“Ok, and?” Alex questioned.  Apparently the notion that there are others just like Ace out there was not as shocking to this city.  Ace regretted not paying more attention to world and national news at this point, otherwise she would have known that on a regular basis reports were made on deitans saving people.

The mayor had had enough of this and called in security.  Immediately groups of men in suits grabbed Ace, who shook them off without any trouble and knocked them aside.

“Hey, don’t hurt them!” Alex said. “They’re just doing their job!”

“No, I’m just doing my job.  For ten years I’ve been fighting crime and doing good deeds because I can, yet not once I’ve been offered anything in return.”

“But you shouldn’t need anything in return!” Alex argued, “Helping others is its own reward.”

“Easy for you to say.  They give you a house, they pay you, they even funded your college I bet!  I have to work a job and maintain a college schedule all while keeping my own city safe from rapists and arsons.”

“So you fight crime and have a life?  Then you’re stronger than I ever could be.” Alex said sincerely, shrugging.  Ace, blinded by her misguided frustration, interpreted it as sarcasm and an arrogant nonchalant attitude, which made her snap.  She fired a blast of energy from her hands which knocked Alex off the podium, but not nearly as far as Ace was expecting.  The crowd dispersed along with the mayor.  Ace pulled her goggles over her eyes and called out “I’m going to Ace you so badly!”  Otto nearly passed out laughing at the statement.

“Oh my god, did you really just say that?” He said, trying to keep from laughing long enough to even speak. “Really?  That is without a doubt the stupidest thing anyone has ever said, not to mention just how wrong it sounds.  I mean, you really want your name to be a catchphrase?  Do you say that before every fight?  Do you eat your breakfast after telling it you’re going to ‘ace’ it?  I bet you’ve never had a chance to say that after getting a perfect score on a test.”

“Shut up!  This is between me and her!” Ace snapped back, blushing.  Alex was silent as Ace approached her.  Ace sent out a second energy blast but it was deflected with no trouble by Alex.  She tried again, but the same result, all the while Alex never moved from her spot.

“I won’t fight you.” She said calmly.

“Why, because I’m not good enough?” Ace replied.

“I never said that.  I don’t know who you are or why you ruined my day, but we’re on the same side from what I can tell.  I won’t fight someone who fights for good.”

“That was pretty corny too, babe.  Why not say you’ll beat her with the power of love and song while you’re at it?” Otto called out.  Alex stuck her tongue out at him jokingly.  This only made Ace more impatient.  She began firing off blast after blast, having gotten a feel for it over the last two fights.  It was almost second nature now.  Unfortunately, so was Alex’s barrier of solid rock, which she pulled from the ground with a flick of her wrist faster than Ace could fire shots.  The wall took dozens of blasts directly and began to crumble, but Alex simply threw up a second wall behind it to fortify the barrier.  Ace concentrated and sent a full beam at the wall, slicing and destroying the entire structure.  When the dust cloud vanished Alex was gone.  In her place was a hole in the ground.  Ace looked around but couldn’t find her.

Suddenly the area began to shake as Alex popped from the ground a good distance from where she vanished.  She brushed the dirt off her clothes as Ace began charging another shot.

“Please, Ace, I really don’t see the point of all this.  Can’t we just talk?” Alex said.

“No.  I need to beat you to show I’m just as deserving of everything you’ve gotten.  I even make sure not to hurt the innocent.  I know you can take it, so you don’t count.” Ace responded, still charging the shot between her hands.

“That’s pretty crazy sounding, pipsqueak.  You know, if you don’t want to look like an even bigger jackass than you do now, it’s probably best if you just stop now and apologize to everyone.” Otto called out from the sidelines.

“I have had just about enough out of you, you short cheerleading b*****d!”

“Hey, who’re you calling short?!  You’re a good five inches smaller!”

“At least I have an excuse.  You’re a guy, you should be, like, huge.”

“Whatever.  You’re just jealous I look this good and have a girlfriend that hot.” Otto boasted, pushing his spiked hair back with swagger.  Ace dispersed the energy ball and turned her attention to Otto.  Alex just watched.

“Hot?  Look at this fat pig!  What part of her screams ‘sexy’?”

“All of her.  Those huge b***s, that ghetto booty, that get-back stare, that awesome hair, hell even her cooking is epic.  What can I say?  I like my women big and beautiful.” Otto said smugly, shrugging.

“No, I think it’s because you’re not good enough to get a real girl, so you have to settle for rejects like her!  That’s why you put on that façade of arrogance- you’re weak, short, dumb, ugly, and desperate!” Ace yelled out, not thinking of how cruel she had become.  There was a pulse of energy that shook Ace from behind.  She turned around and recoiled in horror.

There are only so many faces a human can make to express anger or rage.  The face Alex currently had was so far beyond any of this that it could be considered inhuman and unholy at the amount of fury emanating from her.  Even her hair was floating, giving her an almost demonic appearance.  She was, as best a word could describe such an emotion, beyond pissed.

“YOU!  DO!  NOT!  IN! SULT!  MY! BOY! FRIEND!”  Alex roared.  Each syllable sent out its own shockwave of sound that knocked Ace back a little more.  It had just dawned on Ace just how much s**t of the serious variety she had gotten herself into.

With reflexes that the normal eye couldn’t follow, Alex dashed forward and gut punched Ace so hard it sent her flying.  Before Ace had time to figure out what had happened, a massive spire of stone rose from the ground and broke her flight, creaming her in the process.  Ace tried to get back up but before she could even blink Alex grabbed her leg and slammed her into the dirt, twice, before throwing her yet again.  Ace tried to stop her movement by bracing the ground but was met with a hail of bullet-sized sharpened stones that Alex had sent out with waves of her hands.  The stones sliced Ace’s skin and knocked her on her back.  Before Ace could land on the ground a pillar of rock rose from the ground and launched her into the sky.  Ace had just enough thought left to send short bursts of energy down at Alex, who deflected them with the littlest of interest in Ace’s counterattack.   With more movements Alex pulled up a large ball of dirt and stone and hurled it at Ace in the air.  Ace dodged it and returned a ball of energy, which Alex blocked with yet another wall of stone.  Using a pillar to launch her, Alex leaped into the air and attempted to hammer Ace into the ground with her fists.  Ace blocked it, grabbed Alex, and threw her into the ground below before getting enough sense to continue hovering.  Alex landed with an impact that left a crater but no sooner had she hit the ground than she was back up, sending dozens of spires into the air.  The ground looked like a porcupine’s back with all the spires rising from the ground.  Ace dodged most but was caught off guard by one and was knocked down.  Immediately Alex retracted the spires and bum rushed Ace.  With a swift kick Alex knocked Ace onto her feet, albeit unbalanced, and delivered several punches- one to her neck, two to each shoulder, and when Ace was about to fall two to her back to push her back up,  three to her legs to knock them out and flip Ace over, then one severe blow with her elbow to Ace’s back that sent her flying before crashing to the ground twenty feet away, backwards and upside down.

“Have you…had enough…yet?” Ace stuttered in a daze brought on by a concussion.  Alex didn’t care.  Her rage was unhindered and she continued her assault.  Speed-walking to Ace, who was trying to get up, Alex motioned to the ground and a massive sledgehammer made from solid lead began to form.  The earth shook around them as she attempted to pull that much lead from the ground before forming the hammer.  It was just as big as Alex and naturally thousands of more pounds, yet she carried it like it was a plastic toy.  She jabbed Ace in the stomach with the hilt enough to send Ace upright before backswinging her straight up into the sky.  The lead hammer hit the ground with a massive thunk that cracked the surface, dissolved, and transformed into a gauntlet over Alex’s hand as she readied for the punch of her life.  Energy could be seen swirling around the fist as it became denser and denser, almost as if it had its own gravity field.  Just as Ace was about to hit the ground, Alex delivered a punch so fast, so powerful, that Ace felt like she had literally been hit with a planet at the speed of light.  Considering the Newtonic force of the punch, she might as well have been.  Alex had hit Ace with a legendary attack that she reserved only for the worst offenders- the Megaton Punch.

The distance Ace travelled wasn’t as impressive as one would think when being hit with billions of tons of force at blinding speeds that would cripple the attacker’s arm, but the pain she felt was unheard of.  She didn’t move from the massive dent in the building she landed.  She didn’t feel the thirty seven buildings just as thick she was sent reeling through, or the 74-inch solid steel wall with a 4’8” hole in it that was once protecting the two industrial zones she flew over.  All she felt was unheard of blistering pain and regret for being such a big enough a*****e to wreck such a momentous day and to make Alex, as she would later put it, “slightly miffed”.  You would think the millions of dollars of destruction and the amount of damage she sustained, which her body could barely handle enduring even with the aura of the man, would be enough for her to concentrate on.  But because Ace was deep down somewhat selfish, she only cared about apologizing to the entire town for the trouble she caused.

Ace slowly pulled herself out of the dent she left and rolled down to the street.  She could barely walk, let alone fly.  She looked up and noticed a shadow blocking the sun that grew in size rapidly, until Ace could make it out to be Alex.  She had leapt across the mile-long warpath left by the punch and slammed down in front of Ace, who gave up trying to stand and just laid on the ground.  On Alex’s back was Otto, who got off and swaggered around Ace.

“I gotta admit, that was the coolest thing I’ve seen my babe do in a long time.  Thanks for being there to get fucked over!” Otto said mockingly, giving Ace a thumbs up.  Alex playfully pushed the thumb away but remained serious.  She knelt down and looked at Ace.

“Can you explain to me why you did all that?  I need a reason for doing this, and somehow I don’t think ‘because you were a jerk to Otto’ will work with the Mayor.” She said, having used up all of her rage and returning to her calm self.  Ace groaned and rolled on her back so she could look at Alex.

“I’m jealous, ok?” She said, admitting defeat, “You get all this cool stuff.  You get a house, income, everything’s paid for, even a boyfriend.”

“Especially the boyfriend.” Otto chimed in.  He was ignored.  Ace continued.

“But me?  Back home I have to hide my powers.  I can’t save people’s lives until it’s dark out, or it’s raining, or the guy’s blind.  The government’s down on me for what I can do, my father thinks I’m a freak, and I have no friends because no one wants to be around someone as dangerous as me.  I don’t get why you get to be praised and I’m shunned.  Hell, the government’s been sending an army after me ever since I started my journey to Italy.  They told me I was a weapon and would rather I never fall into anyone else’s hands; that means I can’t leave the country.”

Ace lowered head and closed her eyes, trying to bring sleep.  Alex sat down with a thud that tremored the area.

“You know how long it was before people accepted me as a hero, or anything else for that matter?” Alex said.

“A couple years?”

“More than that.  I wasn’t born in Maine.  I was born in New Mexico.  At least I think I was.  Orphan and all.  Anyway, from birth I had these weird powers I couldn’t explain.  Plus, I was really small for a kid.  Like, half your size at 16, really, really short.  Super skinny too, and weak as all hell.” Ace scoffed.  Alex smiled a little but became serious again. “So basically I was some short, skinny Indian with weird powers trying to live in a world of children we all know and hate.  I was picked on, nonstop.  They’d egg the orphanage once they found out where I lived.  When I learned what these powers were I decided to get stronger.  I ate everything I could, I worked out every day, and I practiced my earth powers.  Eventually I grew tall and…well, big.  I learned my weight helped with my powers, along with the muscles I built up.  I was earth incarnate.  Weight, height, spirit.”

“And everyone loved you, yeah?” Ace interrupted.  Alex shook her head.

“They hated me for other reasons.  Called me fat, made fun of me for being Indian, and of course picked on me for having my powers.  It took all my strength just to keep from crushing their skulls.  Eighteen years passed of that and I had enough.  After I graduated college, where I’ll admit things got better, I said ‘f**k this’ and moved to another time zone.  I came here.  And you know what?”

Ace shook her head. “They still ratted on me for being weird!” Alex yelled out, frustrated.  She almost fell over but Otto, who sat next to her, pushed her back up. “I move all my stuff up to another world almost and I still get picked on.  I went out of my way to only do good things, to only help others.  And finally, after twenty years of persecution for being different, I get accepted.  Twenty years.”  Alex then fell silent for a few moments before continuing.

“Let me ask you something- you said you had a dad right?”

“He…he’s my adoptive father.  I’m an orphan too.”

“Awesome.  I never got a family.  Grew up in that orphanage until I was 18, then I moved out.  Some of the kids were cool, but most didn’t think too highly of me.  The staff didn’t miss me when I left.  So….at least you have that.”

Ace thought about it for a while and Alex was right- even though she didn’t have the riches or the life of luxury, and she really, really wanted those, she did have a good life.  She smiled a little as Alex helped her to her feet.

“Now, I’ll admit, the government thing’s new.  I never had to deal with that.” Alex said, chuckling.  The three went back to the park to find everyone missing and the park in ruins.  The sun was close to setting, everyone who wasn’t scared off by the fight had gone home.  Alex spent about twenty minutes putting everything back to the way it was before she, Otto, and Ace went to track down the mayor in his office.  The mayor was both surprised and furious to see Ace, who just looked ashamed.

“Good, you brought the troublemaker.  I’ll call the authorities.” He said while heading for his phone.

“Uh, actually, maybe we can let this slide.” Alex interjected politely.  The mayor stopped in his tracks and turned on a dime.

“Let it slide?  Let it slide?  This, this…delinquent attacked you during a celebration and cleaved a hole through almost forty buildings a mile down the road!  Do you have any idea the damage she caused?  And it’s damage you can’t really fix!  I’m thankful for you, and I understand you’re technically the one who caused the damage, but frankly you can’t just let her off the hook!”

“With all due respect, sir, she attacked me under false pretenses.  She did ruin the celebration, but we didn’t lose any lives, which is a good thing.  I’ve already fixed the park up, and you can take the money needed from my funding.  I won’t need it.”

“And why is that?”

“I plan to accompany Ace to Italy.”

“What?!” Ace, Otto, and the mayor all exclaimed.  Only Otto followed up:

“You’re going to Italy?!  What the hell gave you that idea?”

“Well, I figure I could get to know Ace a little better, and she could probably use my help.  She didn’t exactly…do her best against me if you remember correctly.” Alex said as carefully as she could.  Ace rolled her eyes.  Otto shook his head in disbelief.

“The woman attacked you, called you out, insulted both you and me, and was indirectly responsible for millions of dollars worth of damage, and you want to get to know her a little better?  Alex, I think you’ve gone off your nut this time!”

“Oh come on, we’ve never been to Italy before!  I bet it’ll be exciting.  Plus, I like Ace.  She’s interesting, if a bit crude.” Alex said whimsically.

“A bit?!” Otto exclaimed.  Alex turned back to the mayor.

“Sir, if it’s alright with you, I would like to spend time with my friend.”

“Alex, I love you like a friend, and you’ve earned your place as our greatest hero, so when I say you are out of your mind and should be under house arrest for wanting to go anywhere with such a psychotic gremlin like Ace, you can understand how earnest I’m being.” The mayor said, trying to be as calm about the situation as he could. “Think of the city.  If you’re gone, we’re going to have to make due against all sorts of disasters.”

“Um, actually, sir?” Ace chimed in, “I think I can help with that.  Apparently there’s a government agency dedicated to deitans like Alex and me.  Maybe they could help out while we’re gone?”

The mayor thought it over and reluctantly sighed. “Well, even if we try to stop you, I doubt we could do much.  Just know your home is always here and we’ll wait for your return.”  Alex and Ace squealed with joy and hugged each other.  Otto smacked his forehead in frustration.

The next day Ace had given information of the agency to the mayor, and even called the number given by “Abigail”.  The agency said that they could send someone to help out and repair the damages, but as for sending in a “rental hero” as Ace put it they were offended, and instead offered to have a deitan associate of theirs vacation in the town until Ace and Alex returned.  Otto decided to come along too, much to Alex’s approval and Ace’s dismay.  “Great, a week with this red-headed runt.” Ace thought.  Oddly enough, so did Otto.  The three headed off to the private jet “Abigail” mentioned, and then it was a ten hour flight to the Vatican.

Author's Note

Even though I'll probably get gup for making Ace into a Mary Sue, the truth is I'd rather make Alex into one. She has a much longer history, both instory and throughout my writing history, she's more powerful, and in my mind far more attractive. And don't worry, she does have her set of weaknesses, including one BIG one found in the next chapter. Of course, because the story's only partly about her, she's only partly a Sue. This isn't the last time she lets loose like this and fights at full power, but it won't happen in this story arc.

And the pronouns Otto uses when Ace first shows up are right. Even though Ace is a 24 year old woman, people think she's a 12 year old boy because of her height and body structure. We'll find out why she looks that way later on. Blame it partly on running gags, though.

Reviews

[Tai Ryens]

Ace seems a little different, more easily agitated that back in the first couple chapters. The fight was perfectly detailed, and the characters are detailed nicely. Except for Alex, somehow, I cannot really picture her too well. I do hope that you make it a sub mission to Ace to find the other misfits, that would be very interesting. A whole clan heading to the Vatican, how awesome. Keep up the great work!