“..60, 80, 200. Your new balance is $2,341.78,” the teller said with a smile as she handed over a small stack of bills. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“Thanks, I’m good.” Erika quickly shoved the small stack of bills into her pocket next to her freshly printed ID.
“Great! Have a wonderful day!” With a smile, the teller turned to the next person in line.
Erika joined Mary at the bank doors, spotting a frown on her friend’s face. She had a feeling she knew what it was all about.“That bad huh?”
Mary shook her head. “I don’t wanna talk about it right now. Let’s get some lunch.”
The walk over to the food court was fast, and despite the horde of tourists and locals on their lunch breaks, the two managed to find a table where they could inhale some cheap fast food. Well, relatively cheap. $15 for a burger, fries, and a drink seemed expensive unless you grew up in Hawaii, then it was just about the cheapest meal you could buy. The tiny burger and “value” fries were gone far too quickly, Erika’s body demanding more calories and whispering that she still had a lot of cash in her pocket, but she resisted the urge to get something else. Across the table from her, she could see Mary trying to hide the same thoughts. “You’re as fucked as I am aren’t you?” she finally said, breaking the tension.
Mary grimaced again. “If by fucked you mean homeless in a week, yeah. Not enough for rent.”
“Same,” Erika said with a groan. “Not unless John pays me out for the last couple weeks.”
“Hah,” Mary laughed hollowly. “His cafe’s literally a pile of rubble now. No way he pays us until it reopens… if it reopens.”
“At least you might have a job when it does, bastard fired me. Jackass.”
“Doubt it. Besides, I don’t wanna go back to working for him. Not after…” Mary squeezed her eyes shut and wiped them on the sleeve of her hoodie.
“Brandon was a nice guy.” Erika grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed it. “Fucking sucks…”
“Yeah,” Mary sniffed before pulling away and putting on a brave face. If Erika didn’t know how good of an actor her friend could be, she’d think she was already over what happened in the portal. “Anyway, I’m thinking of doing some gig work, maybe I’ll get lucky.”
“Gig work, really? It never pays well. We might as well just pool our money and move in together instead.”
“Eri, I love you, but I need some privacy too. And I was skeptical but my cousin Marty did a bunch of gig work and made bank before he found a steady job! He sent me an invite and you should see it!”
Erika watched as Mary whipped out her new phone and tapped the screen a few times, then felt her own new cheap phone vibrate in her pocket. Checking the screen, she saw a message from Mary with a link from a domain name she’d never seen before.
“Just sent you an invite! It's a super exclusive site you can only access with an invite. Trust me, you should take a look. Some of the jobs are inky, but the pay is pretty insane. Oh fuck, is it that late already?! I gotta go, I’m late for a gig!” Before Erika could say anything else, Mary got up and rushed out of the food court, leaving her bag of trash behind in a rush.
Sighing, Erika shook her head and cleared the table before heading to the bus stop to head home. Despite a new portal tearing up part of downtown with dozens still listed as missing, the city continued to move almost as if nothing happened. It wasn’t long before Erika flopped onto her bed, plugging in her new old smartphone to charge while she scrolled her social media feed and thought about what to do next.
Rent would be due in just a week, and she was a few hundred dollars short. She could try and sell the stuff she’d pulled out of the portal, but the only place she could think of to sell it quick would be a pawn shop that’d definitely scam her. Selling online would probably make her more money, but that’d be slow. Looking up some of the auction sites, what she saw just discouraged her even more. Portal-created coins were uncommon, sure, but they weren’t that valuable, barely worth more than their weight in whatever metals they were made of, and gold and silver were still in free fall after the latest trillionaire asteroid mining venture. The jewelry wasn’t much better, mundane pieces barely worth the effort of salvaging. No, only mana imbued items had any value, and the only thing she pulled that she was certain was mana imbued was the dagger.
No, selling her loot wouldn’t solve her impending rent crisis.
“If only I could get a superhero’s stipend…” It was pretty well known that superheroes didn’t have to work normal jobs. The government would pay them a stipend just for existing, and even more if they took on missions and stopped criminals. Since she registered, she should get a stipend, but that wouldn’t happen until they tested her, and who knew how long that’d be. The government wasn’t exactly known for doing things fast.
Tapping on her unread messages, her eyes locked onto Mary’s at the top. “Gig work…” Even if it paid shit, it still meant money in her pocket fast, maybe enough to not be homeless in a week if she got a good one. Shrugging, she tapped on the link Mary sent her and waited for the site to load over her shitty wifi.
“Welcome to Goon Squad, for all your Gooning services!” A sensual female voice practically moaned as the site finally loaded, the voice echoing throughout her nearly empty apartment and bringing a blush to her face. As the voice started to say something else, Erika quickly locked her phone, silencing it. Her heart pounded in her ears, but that wasn’t the only pounding she heard.
Several rapid thumps came from her ceiling, making her apartment sound like the inside of a drum. “Goddamn pervert, stop watching porn in the middle of the afternoon!”
Erika’s face grew even hotter as she shrunk into her bed, pulling her pillow over her face even though she knew no one could see her.
“What the fuck Mary?!” Erika screamed into her pillow as her imagination ran wild with whatever “gigs” such a site could possibly offer. She knew they were both desperate, but she didn't think things were that bad! Eventually, her embarrassment faded and she sat back up and grabbed her phone as common sense took root again. Mary didn’t seem like the type to do that kind of work, nor did Erika think that Mary would suggest it either. Maybe it was just a prank?
Part of her wanted to just close the site and figure something else out, but curiosity got the better of her. Making sure to turn the volume down first, she reopened her phone and looked at the site. Thankfully, the obscene message didn’t play again, but the first few posts she saw made her seriously consider just closing it again.
Hot Girls Wanted for 1 on 1! Hourly pay in cash!
Looking for companions - $500 for 3 hours, must not be shy!
22y/o Latina Down for Fun! Pics inside!
But after a few similar posts, she found one that seemed out of place.
Crew looking for Heavies.
The title wasn’t flashy at all, but after a dozen or so lurid posts, it stuck out to her. Tapping on it, her eyes widened as she realized what she was reading.
“Established crew looking for muscle to run security for an op. Weapons and gear provided. $5k for 12 hours. 20% up front, 80% after op is completed. No names.”
Though the details were light, her common sense screamed that it was inky. The only job she could think of that matched it was some kind of criminal shit, and not like the other posts she saw. “Mary, what the fuck is this?” Erika whispered.
As if she were summoned, a text from Mary popped up on the top of her screen. “Need help!!!” Below the text was embedded a location pin showing a secluded spot up one of the ridges.
Erika’s heart started pounding as she read the message, and she immediately tried to call Mary, only for it to go straight to voicemail. “Damn it Mary,” she muttered, staring at her phone. The site, the weird text, and the location screamed something inky black. Part of her wanted to just call the cops, but she hesitated. Mary said she had a gig, probably from the site she’d just been browsing. Some of those jobs… images of Mary doing all kinds of things floated through her head. Some that made her blush, others that turned her stomach and pissed her off. All of them very illegal. Erika squeezed her phone tight, the screen cracking as she forgot her new strength. “Fuck,” she cursed, looking at the spiderweb pattern marring her new phone. Cops would be a bad idea.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Coming,” she texted back, unplugging her phone and slipping it into her pocket as she got back up. Running to the door, she paused for a moment as she saw the strange dagger she got in the portal sitting on her kitchen counter. Without a second thought Erika grabbed it and slide the sheathe into her jacket pocket before she rushed out the door.
***
15 minutes and $30 later, the taxi she called dropped her off as close to the pin location as the driver could get, leaving her at the end of a dead end street in a residential neighborhood at the top of a ridge overlooking the city. The sky was turning pink and purple as the sun set, and already she could see the lights of the city’s skyline winking at her. It was a beautiful view, but she couldn’t stop to take the sight in. Pulling out her phone, she checked her messages, but Mary still hadn’t responded. Still, the pinned location was close. Double checking her pockets, she fingered the hilt of the dagger under her jacket nervously as she started to walk, following the pin down a walking path that led into the woods. It wasn’t long before she completely lost sight of the quiet houses of the neighborhood. After looking around to make sure no one could see her, she slipped the dagger out of her jacket and pulled it from its sheathe before she continued on using the light of her phone to see in the growing darkness.
The hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up as she moved deeper into the jungle. She couldn’t help but see monsters in every strange shadow, but nothing leapt out at her. “It’s all in your imagination,” she whispered to herself. A few tense minutes moving through the ever darkening forest later, Erika finally reached the pinned location when she heard the scream.
“No! Let me go!” The scream pierced through the night air from nearby, though the trees of the forested ridge distorted it. But even with the distortion, she recognized that voice. Mary!
Erika rushed ahead on the trail as it twisted and turned, until it split. Erika hesitated, unsure which way to go, when she heard another sound that was now all too familiar to her. The sound of fighting. Following the sounds, Erika chose her path, a surprisingly short and straight path that led to a small clearing with a metal cabinet and wooden utility pole. But there was no one there, and the sound of fighting suddenly cut out. Cursing under her breath, Erika moved to turn around when she heard another sound. Voices.
“Damnit Charlie, why didn’t you help me with her?”
“She’s just a temp goon, who knew she’d know how to fight?”
“You idiot, we chose her because she has a black belt in tae kwon do. Boss thought she had potential as new talent.”
“Who cares if she knows how to punch? We have weapons! A fist ain’t standing up to this!”
“And where the fuck were you and your weapons when she kicked me in the fucking balls man?!”
“We were told to capture her, not turn her into meat paste.”
“Fuck you man.”
“Maybe if she wakes up and punches you in the face again. I think she made you prettier with that hit.”
“...you’re carrying her.”
Erika searched the small clearing as the two voices went back and forth and found another hidden trail beyond the pole that could only be seen if you stood at just the right angle. Turning off her phone light, she quietly slipped down the path, hoping she didn’t trip in the dark. Whether it was luck or her newly increased stats or something else, she managed to quietly make her way down the trail just in time to see two men in black and grey uniforms and body armor standing over a third form in the dark of a clearing lit only by a couple of lights on their chests, like a pair of soldiers out of a movie. As one of the men stooped down over the still form of the third, his light played over her face and Erika’s eyes widened.
Mary lay on the ground wearing a similar black and grey uniform as the two men, a dart sticking out of her neck. “No,” Erika whispered, taking a step forward as she squeezed the handle of her dagger, only to freeze as she saw the man flip her over and handcuff her. They wouldn’t handcuff a dead body. Erika stepped back into the shadows of the trail as she assessed the two men, wondering if she could beat them in a fight. But every new detail her eyes picked out ate at her confidence. As the first man threw Mary over his shoulder like she weighed nothing, she saw the weaponry strapped to his legs and chest, while his partner had more of the same gear and cradled a dangerous looking rifle in his arms. Even with her new stats and powers, she doubted she could take on two armed soldiers with just a knife, even with surprise. But she couldn’t just leave her friend.
She considered causing some kind of distraction to try and grab her friend and run, but none of the ideas that came to mind seemed realistic. And then the window closed as the two men started to walk further down the trail, carrying Mary’s unconscious body with them.
Unsure what else to do, Erika followed as quietly as she could, her heart pounding in her ears so loudly she was sure they would hear it any moment, but she remained unnoticed. Instead as she followed, desperate to keep up.
The two men hiked for what felt like a mile along the ridgeline with Erika following quietly behind them. This is fucking stupid, she thought to herself. You’re going to get caught, then Mary’s not going to be the only one in trouble. You should’ve just called the cops. Or hell, even Pinpoint. She gave you that card after all. She considered stopping to call or text the hero, but if she did she’d lose track of the two men who’d captured her friend. No, for now, she was on her own.
Erika’s heart pounded in her chest, the whoosh of her blood flowing filling her ears as she struggled to stealthily follow. Sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped into her eyes, stinging them, but she didn’t dare even wipe it away. She couldn’t afford to lose sight of the men, not with the way their dark clothing blended into the shadows far too well. Every one of her footsteps seemed louder than they should be, every shifting rock or brush against the vegetation on either side threatening to alert them to her presence, but lucky for her, the two men were chatterboxes.
“Fuck she’s heavy,” the man carrying Mary grunted after a few minutes.
“You’re just weak. You should work out more instead of just obsessing over guns and gear.”
“Oh shut up Sean. On and on with working out. Like hitting the gym’s going to help me against someone like Lua or Macho.”
“We’re goons, we don’t tangle with the high class supers, we deal with the baselines and lowbies dumbass.”
“Tell that to Bobby!”
“Bobby’s dead dumbass, got his head ripped off a month ago.”
“Cause that bastard Lua killed him!”
“Cause Bobby thought he could take a B Class super in hand to hand with just a knife! Doesn’t matter if Lua was trapped in the Prof’s dampening field and half dead, he’s still a meta, and a physical focused one. Only way a baseline like us stands a chance is with heavy weaponry and gear like A squad’s got.”
“Exactly! Which is why worrying about working out as much as you do is fucking stupid. Weapons are more important.”
“And this is why you haven’t been tapped for promotion yet and are still guarding the base with the rest of D squad while everyone else is out on a job.”
“Too busy carrying all of your sorry asses.”
“No, too stupid. How do you expect to swing around a plasma cannon in power armor if you’re struggling to carry a temp half your size?”
“Says the guy who got his ass handed to him by her.”
“She got in a few lucky shots, but I still won, no thanks to you.”
“Whatever. So, why’re we lugging this chick back to base anyways? She’s a temp, might as well just kill her and be done with it.”
“You know the boss. He doesn’t like traitors and he’s always short on test subjects. Since she bolted, we might as well save her for him. Better her than one of us.”
“Oof, yeah… poor E squad shmucks.”
“Lauren was pretty cute. Shame she failed boss’s test.”
Erika did not like the sound of that. She needed to get Mary out of there before something bad happened. Gritting her teeth, she vowed to take the first shot she had at freeing Mary. It didn’t take long.
“Hey, grab the door for me Mr. Fitness,” the man carrying Mary said as they reached a large rock next to a dirt road.
“Yeah, yeah, one sec.” A series of quiet mechanical clunks filled the night air before the small clearing around the dirt road lit up from fluorescent lights.
Seeing the bright lights, Erika ducked back into the bushes from the small side trail the two men carried Mary down. Of course they have a fucking hidden base, she thought to herself.
“You take her to the jail, I’m going to grab a smoke.”
“How’s that good for your health Mr. Fitness?”
“Shut up.”
As the first man carried Mary into the hidden base, she watched Mr. Fitness start to head back towards the trail she was hiding down. Heart in her throat, she hurried backed away until she was around the last turn and pulled out her phone. It was time to do something smart. Quickly searching her contacts, she found the latest entry. Beth O’Shea (Pinpoint). She was glad she thought to put the woman’s number in her new phone.Hesitating for only a second, she sent a quick message before sharing her location. “My friend Mary’s been captured by guys with guns, hidden base, need help!” As soon as she sent the message, she saw a trio of dots pop up and quickly put her phone on silent, blushing with the realization she hadn’t thought to do that earlier.
She was just in time as Pinpoint’s reply came in. “On the way. Don’t do anything stupid. 20 min.”
Fuck. That was way too long. “Too long. Doing something stupid.” Sending the message, she slipped her phone back in her pocket and started to creep back down the trail, pausing when she smelt cigarette smoke. Carefully poking her head around the bush, she wasn’t sure if her luck was good or bad. Mr. Fitness was standing at the end of the trail, silhouetted by the fluorescent light of the hidden base, his back to her. A thin cloud of smoke slowly faded in the air above him. Squeezing her dagger tight, she slowly snuck up on him, resisting the urge to just charge him blade first. She’d played enough stealth games to know that rushing to close in often backfired. 20 feet. 10. 5. As she got closer, she realized how much taller the man was than her, and the animal part of her brain screamed that she didn’t stand a chance at pulling off what she was about to do, but she ignored it. After all the stats she bought, she felt stronger than ever. It didn’t matter that he was taller than her, she would bring him down to her level.
Mustering her resolve, Erika carefully got up on her toes and reached around Mr. Fitness’s neck, only for her chest to bump against the man’s back. “Wha—” Before the man could do more than start to whirl around, Erika shoved her wrist into his throat, the hilt of her dagger digging deep into the soft flesh. Putting all of her upgrade strength into the movements, she reared back as she tried to choke the man out, only to stumble as she heard something crack and the man went limp.
*Ding!* You have defeated Human Thug (Class F) x1! You have gained 500 EXP! Congratulations!
