Chapter 21: Babysitter
District 3 was busy. It was full of banks, jewelry stores, and tech shops selling the latest Genesis smart devices.
Genevieve walked down the sidewalk like she was on a fashion runway. She waved at cameras, stopped to take selfies with tourists, and pointed to the Apex Energy logo on her chest every chance she got.
I just trailed behind her, trying to stay out of the pictures.
"Captain May," Genevieve said, tapping her earpiece. "We've been walking for an hour. There's nothing happening here. Can you find us a bounty? I need some action for my social media feed."
"Patience, Frostbite," May’s voice crackled in our ears. "We need good footage today. Aegis is currently down three points in the public approval polls."
I frowned. "Approval polls? Since when do Heroes care about polls?"
Genevieve scoffed, not looking back at me. "Since always. Hero work is a business. If our agency isn't number one, we lose money. How do you not know this? Your parents are Pro Heroes."
"Aegis is currently in a very aggressive PR war with Gadol," May explained through the earpiece.
"Gadol?" I asked.
"Yes," May said. "They are our main rival in the mid-tier market. Gadol operates on an 'honor code.' They send their Heroes into burning buildings, refuse corporate sponsorships on their suits, and take massive risks to save civilians."
"Idiots," Genevieve muttered.
"The public respects them for it," May continued. "But it makes them highly unprofitable. Their Heroes get injured constantly. However, a recent poll showed that citizens trust Gadol more than Aegis. Mr. Graves wants to change that. He wants to steal Gadol's remaining sponsors."
"So, how do we do that?" I asked.
"By being better than them on camera," Genevieve said. "We show the public that Aegis Heroes are faster, stronger, and more efficient. We make Gadol look like a bunch of bleeding-heart amateurs."
I shook my head. The whole thing was ridiculous. Two massive corporations were fighting over who looked cooler on TV, while the actual Villains were probably robbing people blind.
"Wait," May said over the earpiece. "I have a hit. HRC police scanners just reported a silent alarm at the Genesis Tech Store on 4th Avenue. It's three blocks from your location."
"Finally," Genevieve smiled. "What's the target?"
"Police drones identified a Level 12 Villain," May said. "His name is George. Blessing: Dash. He has super speed in short bursts. He is currently robbing the store's vault. Get there before the police do. I am sending the Aegis media drones to your location now."
"Copy that, Captain," Genevieve said.
She turned to me.
"Listen to me, Shay," Genevieve ordered. "This guy is Level 12 and fast. He will run circles around you. Do not engage. Stay outside the store, secure the perimeter, and let me handle the fight. I need this arrest for my sponsor reel."
"Fine by me," I said, putting my hands in my pockets. "I'll just watch."
"Good," Genevieve said.
She shot a slide of ice onto the sidewalk and skated across it, speeding down the street toward the tech store.
I just walked at a normal pace.
By the time I reached the Genesis Tech Store, Genevieve was already inside.
The front doors were smashed and the alarms were blaring loudly.
I stood on the sidewalk and looked inside. The store was a mess. Display cases were shattered, and expensive tablets were scattered across the floor.
In the center of the room, Genevieve was fighting George.
George was wearing a dark gray running suit. He was incredibly fast. He would blur out of sight, appearing behind Genevieve, and throw a punch before blurring away again.
Genevieve was shooting flashy beams of ice from her hands, trying to freeze him, but George was too quick. The ice beams missed, hitting the walls and shattering more display cases.
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"Stand still, you rat!" Genevieve yelled.
She shot another massive ice blast. George used his Dash to dodge it easily. He dashed forward, closing the distance, and kicked Genevieve hard in the stomach.
Genevieve gasped and stumbled backward, falling onto the floor.
I stood outside on the sidewalk, watching the whole thing.
Genevieve was Level 15. She had a strong Blessing. But she was fighting stupidly. She was wasting all her BP on flashy attacks because she knew the media drones were hovering outside, recording the fight. She cared more about looking cool than actually hitting the target.
George stood over Genevieve, laughing. "Is this the best Aegis has? A corporate model who can't aim?"
He pulled tech from his bag. "Thanks for the distraction, ice queen. I'm leaving."
He prepared to dash out the doors.
I sighed. If George escaped, May would be angry and I wouldn't get paid.
I stepped into the doorway, blocking his exit.
"Move, kid!" George yelled. "Or I'll run right through you!"
I looked at my BP. 145/145.
Time to end this.
George crouched down, getting ready to use his Dash.
"I warned you, kid!" he yelled.
He blurred out of sight and was moving so fast he looked like a gray streak zooming straight toward me.
Genevieve struggled to sit up from the floor. "Shay, move! He's too fast!"
I knew I couldn't dodge him. My Agility stat was only 6. He was Level 12. If I tried to sidestep, he would just adjust his path and hit me anyway.
But George had a weakness. His Blessing was Dash, which meant he moved in explosive bursts of speed. To do that, his muscles needed massive amounts of oxygen and had to breathe heavily to fuel his speed.
I rapidly increased the atmospheric pressure, creating a invisible wall of compressed air directly between us.
Cost: 5 BP.
George slammed into the invisible wall at full speed.
George bounced off the compressed air and fell backward onto the floor, clutching his nose.
He groaned and rolled over, his nose bleeding.
"What the hell?" George muttered, looking confused.
He scrambled to his feet, angry. He took a deep breath, preparing to dash again.
I didn't let him.
While he was standing still, I focused on the air directly around his chest and face and I rapidly dropped the air pressure around him, making the air incredibly thin, like he was suddenly standing on top of Mount Everest.
Cost: 8 BP.
Then, I slightly raised the temperature around him, just enough to make the thin air feel hot and stifling.
Cost: 2 BP.
George tried to dash. He blurred forward, but he only made it two steps before he stumbled.
His muscles were screaming for oxygen to fuel his speed, but the air around him was too thin to provide it. The sudden heat made him sweat as well.
He fell to his knees, gasping for breath. His chest heaved up and down, but he wasn't getting enough air.
"Can't... breathe..." George choked, clutching his chest.
He was completely exhausted because I had drained his stamina to zero.
I canceled the air pressure and the heat. The normal air rushed back around him, but the damage was done. George was too tired to stand up. He just knelt on the floor, panting heavily, completely defeated.
I walked slowly into the store.
I looked down at George. "You're done."
I reached into my pocket to pull out a pair of HRC-issued zip-ties to secure his wrists.
Suddenly, a massive blast of freezing cold air shot past my shoulder.
The ice blast hit George dead center. It froze him inside a solid block of ice. Only his head was left unfrozen so he could breathe.
I jumped back, surprised.
I turned around to see Genevieve standing behind me. She had one hand extended, smoke rising from her fingers.
She was looking out the front window.
Two silver Aegis media drones were hovering outside the store, their red recording lights blinking. They were filming the entire scene.
Genevieve quickly brushed the dust off her suit, stood up straight, put her hands on her hips, and flashed a heroic smile at the cameras.
"Target secured!" Genevieve announced loudly, making sure the drones recorded her voice. "Thanks to the superior training and power of Aegis Defense, this Villain won't be hurting anyone else today!"
I stared at her.
She just froze a guy who was already defeated on his knees.
Genevieve tapped her earpiece. "Captain May, this is Frostbite. The Level 12 Villain has been apprehended. I am filing the official HRC arrest report under my name now."
"Excellent work, Frostbite," May’s voice replied. "The footage looks great. The sponsors will love this."
Genevieve lowered her hand and turned to me, glaring.
"What were you doing?" she hissed quietly. "I told you to stay outside! You almost ruined the shot!"
"He was about to escape," I said. "I stopped him. He was already beaten before you froze him."
"It doesn't matter," Genevieve snapped. "The cameras didn't see whatever invisible trick you did. They saw me freeze him so I got the shot and the credit."
I quickly opened my Status Screen in my mind and checked my XP bar.
XP: 0/600
I hadn't received a single Experience Point.
I checked my phone. There was no notification from my bank meaning I didn't get the bounty money either.
Because Genevieve filed the official HRC report under her name, the System registered her as the one who defeated the target. She stole my kill, XP and money.
I looked at Genevieve posing for the drones again.
A brilliant idea popped into my head.