When Last we Left our Heroes

Part 3

Captain Justice Girl versus Doctor Unawesome.

Awesome Superhero versus Evil Super villain.

Although, if you wanted to be completely accurate, then it was more like: Captain Justice Girl and sidekick British Angel Dude versus Doctor Unawesome and her evil minions, Rose Thorn and the Tomato Bandit.

So, two against three...

Except it was really three against three, because she and Arthur had a super special teammate on their side. And that teammate's name was justice!

Ally would have fist pumped at that heroic thought if it weren't for the fact that her wrists were still tied together. She was free from the chair that she'd been confined to, though. And was now following the Tomato Bandit out of their little cell and into Doctor Unawesome's secret lair. Where she could put her super heroic escape plan into action!

...Once she'd thought of a super heroic escape plan, at least.

It was a lot brighter in this room than it had been in their little cell; bright enough that she was forced to pause in the doorway and blink a few times to adjust her eyes to the sudden change.

Which the Tomato Bandit didn't seem to notice, as he just continued walking forward even as she stopped. It would have been the perfect opportunity to put her plan into action (she was thinking that her super heroic escape plan would involve a giant robot) if only Rose Thorn hadn't suddenly set his hand on her lower back and pushed her into the room.

"Welcome to our home sweet home, Unawesome Not-so-Heroic Girl!" Doctor Unawesome shouted as she leapt in front of Ally, grinning at her with those blood-coloured eyes and too-sharp teeth. "Also known as the Awesome Lair of Awesomeness!"

Okay, so Ally hated giving props to evil villains, but this was definitely a way cool lair... Way cooler than her lair (aka: her bedroom). Of course, if her parents had just let her have free reign over the attic like she'd asked a billion times.

Anyway, so the lair was a lot smaller than she'd expected, but dude, they had a big screen TV covering one of the walls and there were like five game systems spread out across the polka-dotted carpet, their wires all knotted like an obstacle course. There was also a huge bookcase filled with DVDs, video games, and some books and like twenty brightly-coloured bean bag chairs all over the place, one of them shaped like a tomato.

The other half of the room held a sort of kitchen/dining room area, looked like. There was a bright red old-fashioned looking fridge and a black stove with white counters in between. And a black and white checked table had been set up nearby that was currently covered by the remnants of what looked like an intense game of Monopoly. And...and...

Oh, dude, there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling.

Yeah, she was totally getting a disco ball for her future secret lair.

Oh, and because there was no possible way you could ignore this little fact. There were also like five billion chicks—and by chicks, she didn't mean girls; she meant actual baby chickens—spread out all over the place. On the carpet, bean bag chairs, sitting on the video game consoles.

And all of the little chicks were staring at the TV screen, which was right in the middle of the dodge ball scene from Chicken Little.

And...

...And...

...Dude, that fish was sweet...

Anyway... Ally hurriedly shook her head to clear her thoughts and then glanced back toward where Arthur was standing beside Rose Thorn. Looking extremely ticked off.

Which made sense, since not only had his hands been tied together behind his back, but Rose Thorn had also tied his wings against his back into a position that looked extremely uncomfortable, if not painful. One rope tied around his chest and the other across his waist.

She'd figure it out. She'd come up with a super heroic, awesome escape plan.

Most of the chicks had turned from the television when the group entered the room, and now at least a dozen of them were clambering onto Doctor Unawesome's feet. Peeping at them in a way that was simultaneously cute and menacing.

"Hey, guys!" And Doctor Unawesome immediately bent down and picked up a couple of the chicks, bringing them to her face and nuzzling her cheek against their feathers. "You keeping an eye on the security cameras?"

A cheep cheep came from one of the chicks still seated on one of the beanbag chairs.

Which Doctor Unawesome answered, "Okay, keep up the good work then. And don't you guys dare spoil the ending for me! I still haven't seen this one all the way through."

To explain...

Okay, so it had actually taken Ally quite a while to figure this one out, since most of the superheroes and super villains that she'd met (not that she'd really met that many, but that was beside the point) had normal powers like flight, super strength, ice powers, fire powers... Stuff like that.

And she'd realised after a while that Doctor Unawesome didn't have any of those, so she'd gotten confused. Just for a few months, though. Just until she figured it out—that Doctor Unawesome's powers were exactly like Doctor Dolittle's powers. Meaning she had the ability to talk to animals. All animals apparently, although she seemed to like chicks the best.

Ally had also realised after a little while that this was actually a very useful power to have. Because how in the world were you supposed to fight against an army of chicks? You couldn't, because it'd be way too easy to hurt them and you couldn't be a superhero if you were willing to hurt little tiny baby chickens. Even if they were evil.

Doctor Unawesome set her chicks down after a few more seconds of cooing at them, making sure to pat each of the others crowding her feet on the head before she stood up and walked over to the table in their kitchen area. The Tomato Bandit hurried ahead, throwing the Monopoly pieces haphazardly into the game's box before shoving it on top of a leaning tower of other board games.

And the evil albino girl immediately plopped into one of the vacant seats, motioning for Ally to sit in the one opposite her. "Now, Unawesome Not-so-Heroic Girl, you have the Shallot Diamond. You give it to us and we'll let you and your boyfriend go. Easy peasie."

Okay, why wouldn't they let up about this diamond thing? She had no clue what they were talking about.

And "Dude, Artie's not my boyfriend. He's my sidekick-in-training!"

She heard Rose Thorn suddenly chuckle for some reason—had she just said something funny?—and then he walked up to the table. Tugging Arthur along by the rope knotted around his waist. Ignoring the wince of pain and then enraged glare that the British angel sent him. "I don't think that our little heroine knows what we're talking about, Gilly. Arthur is the one who last had the Shallot Diamond..."

"Really?" And the girl immediately jumped up and walked over to Arthur, leaving Ally just sitting there. "Okay, then Unawesome Angel Arthur Guy. You have the Shallot Diamond. You give it to us and we'll let you and your girlfriend go. Easy peesie."

Arthur just lifted one of his enormous caterpillar eyebrows in response. "Who says that I still have it? Do you really think I'd be so stupid as to keep a treasure like that on my person?"

"Then where is it, amigo~?" And suddenly the Tomato Bandit left her as well, joining his partners... Which meant that all three of them were now facing away from her, completely focused on her dude-in-distress/sidekick-in-training.

Which meant that she now had the perfect opportunity to put her super heroic escape plan into action.

But she still needed to come up with a super heroic escape plan. Damn it, if she could just get her hands untied... Where was a convenient nail sticking out of the wall when you needed one?

"Do you honestly think I'd tell you idiots where I'm keeping it?" If Arthur's hands had been free, he definitely would have been crossing them over his chest right about now. "If you guys really wanted it, then you should've gotten to it before I did."

Doctor Unawesome grinned at that and leaned in way too close to him. Stupid creepy albino villain trying to intimidate Ally's sidekick-in-training. "Or we can just steal it from you. That's a ton easier, after all."

"Apparently not, since you don't know where I hid it."

And now Rose Thorn leaned toward Arthur as well—dude, these villains needed to lay off her sidekick—and then slowly wrapped an arm around his waist. Somehow ignoring Arthur's rather impressive cursing and flailing response...

Which suddenly ceased without any warning.

"These wings are rather delicate, oui?" And Ally could hear Arthur give a short hiss of what she knew was pain. "Such soft feathers... I'm sure that you'll cooperate with us. You don't need that jewel anyway. What would you do with it?"

Okay, and that was it... Ally was not just going to sit here and let these villains hurt her dude-in-distress. So she immediately jumped to her feet, managing to knock over her chair in the process. Which, of course, immediately captured the attention of everyone else in the room, including all of the chicks.

And...that was about as far as she'd gotten in her planning stages, actually...

She knew that she could wing it, though. That was one thing that she was definitely good at.

"Yo, dudes!" This whole not having hands available thing was getting really annoying. Usually she'd be pointing at this point. "No hurting my sidekick-in-training! I'm the hero, so if you want to fight, then you gotta fight me! And, dudes, there's no way this Scallop Diamond is that important..."

Arthur was sending her a slightly scary glare, and then he hissed out an annoyed "I can handle this, git."

Dude, she was the hero. The hero was the one who handled the villains. Everyone knew that.

"You've really never heard of the Shallot Diamond, chérie?" And Rose Thorn now finally released Arthur, the Tomato Bandit immediately moving to take his place. "That surprises me. I would have thought that all unnaturals would know about the Shallot Diamond."

Ally immediately wrinkled her nose in distaste... "I'm not an 'unnatural'. I'm a superhero!"

There was a difference! 'Unnatural' made having powers sound bad. Calling her an 'unnatural' made it sound like there was something wrong with her, when she knew that there was nothing wrong with her. She was a hero. She used her powers to make the world safer for all people! Which meant that she was the good guy.

And for a moment the room just stood still in an awkward silence that was only punctuated by the voices of the cartoon characters on the big-screen TV. And the occasional excited cheep from one of the chicks.

Until Rose Thorn suddenly laughed, shaking his head a few times as if she'd just said something hilarious. "Is that what we're calling it now? My mistake."

Of course... 'Unnatural' was what some people—mostly those without superpowers—called those who had been born with powers. It was a cruel word, but one that she knew only existed because people didn't understand that plenty of the people who had powers wanted to use their special abilities for good. Once everyone understood that, then things would be better and...

"The Shallot Diamond is a relic that holds absolutely unimaginable magical powers." He smirked as he took a few steps closer to her, expression almost like he was about to tell her a particularly nasty secret. "It is even believed by many that the Shallot Diamond is the same jewel that was long ago entrusted to mortals and was then used to give some humans powers that would rival those of the gods."

And Ally had almost managed to completely forget that she'd asked about the jewel, so Rose Thorn's words came as a bit of a shock.

"Now, however," he continued, "it can only be used for transference."

Transference? She sent the evil French villain a slightly confused look, which managed to earn her an annoyed glare, courtesy of a still-very-pissed-off Arthur... Dude, it wasn't her fault she didn't know about this stuff!

"Which means that the Shallot Diamond can now only be used to either transfer powers from an unnatural to a natural or to transfer powers from one unnatural to another." He tapped his finger against his lips and then grinned again. "Or 'superhero' to use your terminology."

...Wait a sec.

"Dude, is that what you did to me?" And she definitely hadn't expected to hit that note. It'd sounded like some creepy bird screech or something like that. "Is that why my powers—?"

No. Dude, no no no no no! They couldn't have taken her powers! She wouldn't be able to be a real superhero without her powers; she'd just be plain, old, normal, boring Allison Jones... If she didn't have powers, then how could she be a hero?

"Non. Non." Rose Thorn's voice hurriedly cut off those thoughts. "That is just a little device that we installed, just to make sure that things move smoothly. It suppresses all powers that are physically-based..."

And Doctor Unawesome cut in before he could finish, yawning exaggeratedly. "Dude, this is boring. It doesn't matter what the thingy does, we just gotta make sure we get to it before anyone else does. So if Artie here doesn't have the diamond, then we need to go out and find it..."

"After we search him to make sure that he's telling the truth, sí?" The Tomato Bandit chimed in from where he was still standing, keeping a scowling Arthur subdued. "It would be silly to let him go if he happened to be lying about not having it! Then we'd have to go looking for him all over again!"

...And holy crap, Arthur had seriously like mastered the 'if looks could kill' glare. Ally half expected him to suddenly shoot laser beams out of his eyes, frying everyone in the room. Except for herself, because she was a hero and the chicks, because that would just be mean. "I told you gits that I don't have it. I'm not stupid enough to carry something like that on my person."

"But when would you have had time to hide it, cher?" Rose Thorn was ignoring her again, stalking over toward Arthur with a rather creepy smile. "It would make much more sense if it were still on you..."

"If you touch me, frog, I swear I'll—"

Fortunately, for the innocence of all of the baby chicks that were still surrounding them, Arthur's threat was cut off by a sudden and incredibly painful high-pitched screech. And then the television went black, sending the chicks into a frenzy of upset cheeps.

For just a moment, though. As an image soon returned—a very different image.

"Black Ninja!" Doctor Unawesome sounded rather shocked for a moment; then she pouted and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at the screen. "Not awesome! We were in the middle of a movie!"

Black Ninja, one of Captain Justice Girl's many nemeses.

The screen currently showed him—yes, he had the appearance of a normal, teenage Japanese boy, but don't let that fool you!—sitting in a very large, almost enveloping black chair. With tons of computery gizmos revealed in the background.

Okay, this was starting to get ridiculous. How come everyone else had a cool secret lair? She was the superhero! It was like...like... Well, where would Batman be without his Bat-cave?

Anyway, so he was dressed completely in black, obviously. His name was Black Ninja after all. What other color would he be wearing?

And now he cleared his throat and spoke in a soft, deceptively-polite tone. "I am very sorry about that interruption, Awesome-san. I was just listening in to your conversation and wanted to let you know that searching Arthur-san is unnecessary. You see..." He suddenly bent down and disappeared for a moment, then reappeared.

A light blue gemstone—about the size of a nectarine—cradled in his palm.

"As you can see," he continued, still incredibly calmly, "I currently have the Shallot Diamond in my possession. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

Whoa, Ally hadn't been aware that Arthur could turn that shade of red. Or that his eyes could widen that much...

"I noticed you drop it off on top of the Werring Building, Arthur-san, and decided to have one of my creations retrieve it."

Oh, just so you know, Black Ninja had totally built a bunch of these little spider robot things that could like spy on people and climb buildings and make coffee and shoot lasers... They were pretty sweet.

Seriously, he was like the coolest nemesis ever.

"Well..." And he looked slightly unsure how to deal with the ensuing silence. "I should go now. I am quite busy with other experiments, after all."

And, just like that, he was gone.

The movie returning after a few seconds. Which seemed to make the chicks happy at least; all of the human occupants of the room were just standing there in varying degrees of shock. Except for Ally, but she'd never really understood exactly what was going on.

And Doctor Unawesome bounced back pretty quickly too. "Well, that's totally not awesome. So we kidnapped Artie and the Unawesome Unsuper Idiot for no reason?"

"He—he—" Arthur was still in la-la-land, apparently. He also looked like he needed to sit down before he collapsed on them.

"I guess so," the Tomato Bandit responded with a frown, his grip on Arthur loosening slightly.

They didn't get any farther, though, as Ally suddenly heard a loud thumping, crashing sound from above their heads. And then a creak...

Huh, she hadn't noticed that there were stairs there.

"Gillian!" And somebody sounded mega-super pissed off.

Doctor Unawesome had paled at that voice—or paled as much as she could pale considering the fact that she was already pretty pale. "Aw, so not awesome... Hurry, untie them quick!"

Too late. Ally watched as a pair of what looked like combat boots began to stomp their way down the stairs, making the entire thing shake and quiver in a way that looked extremely unsafe. And she watched as the combat boots turned into a pair of camouflage cargo pants and then into a tight, white muscle shirt... Dude, this guy had abs.

And, in a few short moments, a very pissed off, big, muscley guy with slicked-back blond hair was standing at the bottom of the stairway, arms crossed over his chest in a supremely irritated posture.

"What do you think you're doing, Gillian?"

Haha. Ally felt rather pleased right now, as she was totally watching her archnemesis get scolded. And the girl actually looked slightly cowed. "Nothing, Luddy. Nothing at all. Uh, we're just watching a movie. An awesome movie. Do you want to join...?"

"Let them go." He hadn't even looked over at her or Arthur yet. He was just glaring at Doctor Unawesome with a glare that could melt stone. "What have I told you about using my basement for this kind of stuff?"

"Only when you're not home?"

Okay, now this guy had the 'if looks could kill' glare down... "Now."

Doctor Unawesome sighed and walked over to Ally, beginning to untie the knots none-too-gently as Rose Thorn and the Tomato Bandit did the same to Arthur. "Unawesome little brothers ruining my awesome fun." And she was muttering under her breath, too quietly for the muscle dude to hear.

"I'm very sorry about this." And muscle dude immediately apologised once the ropes had fallen away, finally giving her control of her arms again. Not that she could domuch with them, since she was pretty sure that punching Doctor Unawesome would be a bad idea... At least in front of this guy and all these impressionable chicks. "I'll give you a ride home."

"Okay!" That would solve one problem. Then, once she got home, she could make herself some dinner (hamburgers!) and then tomorrow could be spent looking for this Scallop Diamond and convincing Arthur to turn to the side of good once and for all.

"Now, mon cher...Ow~!"

Which was probably easier said than done, as she was pretty sure that he'd just slugged Rose Thorn. Completely ignoring the fact that there were dozens of impressionable baby chickens surrounding them.

Oh well, she was a hero! And if anyone could save Arthur from his evil ways, it was her. Captain Justice Girl to the rescue!

A/N: Da. Da. Daaaaaaaaa... And there ya go! :D Black Ninja & Ludwig: 1, Everyone else: Epic Fail.

Let's see... So I may be writing more stories in this little 'verse if you guys would be interested in reading them. Since there's really a ton that I could still do with it. Although if I do, the genres are going to tend to be different in those. Since this world is actually a lot more complex than Ally's thoughts and tendency to see everything in black and white would lead us to believe. There were little hints at that in this chapter...

I kind of want their secret lair, btw. And the baby chicks. Because chicks are adorable.