"...and over there is the bathroom, but none of us use it because we're not regular people. You can have it all to yourself!" Tipsy said, beaming up at Gemia "I'm so happy to have a new friend, Dahlia is gone all the time, and Inky says I talk too much, so I hope we get along!"
"Am sures we wilt ged along verdy well." Gemia said, giving Tipsy a sad smile as Sera and I hauled the last pieces of the mech into the building "I is needing to hava place to built my babie again, so is to stay heres for de long time. I wilt be jur frien, lil doll person."
"That's wonderful!" Tipsy said "Ravel can come visit too, and we can play games or something!"
Gemia glanced at Ravel, who nodded at her "Uh, ja, I am in de debt to her, for she is to have broke me out der jail, she is mah frien too."
"And- and maybe Comfit can come too! She's super cool!" Tipsy said "I bet she'd be really good at cards!"
"No! No, Comfit is too busy." Ravel said quickly "I'll come over soon, but she's got stuff to do. Hey, did you introduce Gemia to NK?"
"Not yet, she's sleeping, and she doesn't like me dipping my hands in her to wake her up..." Tipsy said
Their voice trailed off as Sera led me out of the building, waving goodbye at the small group. Ravel would show back up at my apartment eventually, she always did. Hopefully I'd be asleep by then and I wouldn't have to deal with her until the patrol in the morning. Oh, fuck, the patrol... the fucking patrol with Alele... I groaned and slumped as we walked back to Seraphim's house, I just wanted to forget about Alele and the shitty time we'd had earlier, not spend eight hours with her wandering around boring old section 247. If I hadn't just been made fun of for doing that exact thing, I might ask someone to cover for me...
"Comfit, you seem down." Sera said "I know you were upset when you came to see me, but you're still upset and we just vanquished a foe you've been fighting for a week, how do I help you?"
"It's nothing serious, just stupid drama." I muttered
"Drama is quite stupid, yes, but it controls our moods, our relationships, and indeed, our lives." Sera said in a way that made it clear she thought she was being very wise "Please, tell me?"
"Fine, whatever." I relented "It's Alele, she made me skip work to go on a fancy date, then I get there and she makes fun of what I ordered, insults my clothes, calls me names, complains that I can't have sex with her, complains about my dietary constraints, implies I changed as a person to the point she doesn't like me anymore, and then to top it off, she had the utter gall to tell me she's worried about me!"
"Worried about you how?" Sera asked, slowly unwrapping her face
"She thinks I work too much, that I need breaks or that I'm going to hurt someone, I don't know, she acted like I was a monster or something." I snapped
"It sounds like she's not being a good partner to you... Not the one you deserve, at least."
"Exactly! I deserve better! I deserve someone who cares about me, and doesn't judge me, and isn't trying to change me or stop me from doing what's important." I agreed
"Is that why you ended up on my doorstep?" Sera asked, tucking her bandages away "You knew I'd be those things for you?"
I slowed down "I don't know, maybe? I just knew you had what I needed; you could get me a fight somehow."
"I didn't get you the fight though." she pointed out "The doll pointed us to it, and it was your fight all along. Something else drew you to me, something more than bloodlust."
"Yeah, I know." I admitted "I know it, I trust you, in a weird kind of 'you're a psycho who wants to fight me to the death' kind of way. I know you'll never hurt me like she did though, you just accept me."
"Mm, I'd hurt you, I'd hurt you a lot." Sera said "But I think it would be fun while it lasted, until one of us died."
"Are you talking about fighting me or dating me?" I asked "Or like, sex?"
"Let's find out, shall we?" she said and reached her hand out, slipping her finger under my helmet, her skin touching mine for the first time
I gasped and pulled back as her flavor hit me. It was crisp and light, sparkling in a way I'd never seen before. My head swam with her taste, her flowing, pulsing essence. There was nothing to grasp, it was like licking a sunbeam, but the sunbeam was full of holes and every one led to another world of sparkles... There were no sparks like everyone else had, no sea of individual souls like with the mystery lady, Sera was the spark. I felt the energy pump into me, filling my brain like I'd just eaten a whole handful of gummy worms, or the entire slice of pie from my fridge, this was beautiful.
"Interesting." Sera said from far away "You absorbed that quite well, I'm impressed!"
"Absorbed- what?" I asked, my head spinning. I could lift a train right now, why was I so dizzy? Why was I full of buzzing? I needed to focus...
"You touch people to fold them, right?" Sera said "Well, I'm not really a 'person' per-say, I'm overlapped with my god, as you know. I've had my suspicions about what would happen if I touched you, and they paid off! You can't fold a god, Candy, but it looks like you can siphon his power."
"Holy fuck, you could have died!" I said "You didn't know that would work, are you stupid?!"
"If I died, Elmaem would send another." she said "Stupid or not, I had to know if you could harm me by touch. It seems you cannot, but it also seems you touching me drains some of my power, so our theoretical fight remains balanced."
"You risked being turned into food so you could powerscale me?!" I asked, still shaking off the effects
"Maybe? I'm not familiar with that term." she shrugged "All I know is that now I don't have to worry about skin contact with you, and you know what that means..."
My throat tightened, I could- we- I hadn't had a real hug in so long... cheek to cheek, feeling the other person, and she was so tall, she could hug me to her shoulders like my mom used to, I'd be lost in her fizzy sparkles, but I'd feel it, I'd have have human contact again, skin, flesh, living breathing people...
"I d-do..." I said, stepping closer to her
"I cannot let you into my home, and I presume I'm not allowed in yours, but I have made a nest on a tall building close by." she said, her fingers meeting mine, her thumbs brushing my exposed knuckles
"I, uh, yeah, no, let's do it..." I said, my mind awash with the power and energy
"Mm, please, if you feel the need to tear me apart, don't hold back." she grinned toothily "Just remember where my holy wine is so you can bring me back after..."
Tear her to-? Ohhh. this wasn't hugs, this was so much more... I wanted it, I needed this, to feel her, and not through pajamas and bodysuits. I could touch her, in the real way. I'd be high off her energy, yes, but I could use that! She wanted me to tear her to bits? I wanted to claw her to pieces. I didn't know if I should transform or not, with the energy boost I was getting I'd almost certainly have to bring her back to life later if I did, but it was so tempting...
I matched her predatory grin and pulled off my helmet. I was doing this. I'd stay base form for now, but if the pull got too strong, I could always ramp up. I leaned up to kiss her, to claim her as mine, and I felt her breath on my face. I'd get to kiss someone, my first real kiss ever, not a pity prom date, not a kiss through a scarf like with Alele, not a stolen peck like I got from Driz, a real, actual kiss.
A familiar droning whine sounded up, one I'd heard a hundred times on a hundred different videos and I froze. Sera snapped into action and lunged, driving me into the ground as the white-hot blast seared overhead. I clutched her body to mine, the sparkles clouding my mind, and I looked up to see Spacegirl at the end of the alley, her shining chrome spacesuit catching every inch of light around us, her phaser already charging her next shot.
~~~
I ran along the rooftop, my wings tucked behind me, cursing myself for not having the forethought to pass Sera my gummies before I transformed. Spacegirl was considered to be an S rank, and as far as I knew Sera scratching her was the only time I'd heard of anyone coming close to hurting her, and that'd ended with Sera almost dying.
I saw a flash of chrome below me and I launched myself up and over, pushing myself with my wings to slam into Spacegirl, swinging my fist at her space helmet with all my strength. She held up a hand to catch mine and I stopped dead as if I'd hit a titanium wall, my bones snapping and my arm twisting painfully as my arc kept me going. I used the turn to carry the momentum and hit her with my other fist instead, my hand bouncing off her head with no effect.
She gripped my fist in her fingers and swung her arm to the side with a force I couldn't even try and push back against. I rocketed across the street, punching through a wall into one of the empty buildings. I felt my bones splinter and smash through my back and ribcage and I struggled to breathe, fuck. She'd shattered my whole body while I was transformed with a wave of her hand, she didn't even use her weapons, how was I supposed to fight that?
A white-gold streak impacted Spacegirl from behind, and she stumbled as she deflected the attack, reaching for her baton. Sera could at least do something, she might be the only one who could. Or... could I? Actually, if I was able to get Sera's strength for myself I might stand a chance, I just had to touch her. With her power boost stacked on my transformation, I might actually be strong enough to hurt Spacegirl, or at least not die here, killed by someone I never thought I'd be fighting in the first place. I used my mana to pull myself into the air, screaming as my broken bones protested the movement and I felt liquid pooling in my lungs. I just had to get to Sera, if I could get to her, I'd be fine...
I slowly floated out of the shattered hole in the wall and hung in the air, looking around the street. Spacegirl was swinging at Sera with her baton, the crackling tip sparking black energy as Sera struggled to dodge. I coughed and Seraphim's head twitched. She flew backwards towards me, her arm trailing blood from a nasty energy-burn. As she got close, her hand slapped out and grabbed my face, and the fizzy bubbles came back, her energy, her power pouring into me. I was vaguely aware of Spacegirl dashing towards us, her speed matching an eagle mid-dive, and I kicked out, knocking her away.
I'd just hit Spacegirl, and I was still alive? I fought through the mental frizz as my bones popped back into place and I shook with energy. I could do this, I could fight her, I think! I broke away from Sera's hand and the cacophony of power died to a dull pulse, but I was still as full as I could get. I felt Seraphim collapse to the ground behind me, and I met the returning Spacegirl, my fists driving into hers.
I swung as hard as I could, trying to drive her back. Her body swayed and dipped as I lashed out, blocking or dodging everything I threw at her. I could stop her, I knew I could, I just needed to land a hit. I screamed in frustration and grabbed her hands in my own, pulling them apart for a split second, and throwing my head into her reflective helmet with as much speed and force as I could push into the attack. My sight exploded and everything went yellow, then a rainbow of colors, and I stumbled, her hands pulling out of my grip.
I tried to focus my sight and saw a crack in the helmet, a hint of damage to her unbreakable suit. She had a crack, I could target that, keep breaking it more, shatter her dome like I'd shattered Gemia's and she'd lose! I let out a noise that was supposed to be words, but my mouth wasn't working, and I found myself on my knees in front of her. I'd hit my head harder than I'd thought, this wasn't right, if I didn't move I was dead, but my body ignored my commands.
I felt the hope go out of me as her helmet repaired the split, the material healing up in seconds, leaving no trace I'd damaged it. I fell backwards and let out a string of sounds that were supposed to be insults aimed at her, but sounded more like sobbing than anything. She looked down at me for a moment, and drew her phaser, pointing it at my head. She was just going to plaster me across the road like that? No care, just execution?
I waited for the shot, my eyes fluttering as I fought to keep them open, and she tilted her head, watching me struggle. Why wasn't she shooting? Her phaser was fully charged, she could end it right now, it's not like I could fight back. She shrugged and holstered her gun, walking past me. I heard a scraping noise from behind me, and I felt a flash of anger, she was messing with Sera now? I really wished I could move, I needed to help her, she'd passed out from giving me her power, she couldn't fight back, this wasn't fair! It was against GGDS regulations to hurt an unconscious foe, If I lived through this I'd report her shiny metal ass...
Spacegirl's head came back into my field of vision and she waved. I didn't wave back, not that I could even if I'd wanted to. She lifted something up and dropped it on my face and I flinched, what had-
Sera's power flowed through me once more as her limp hand touched my skin and I took a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. My eyes widened as the cracks in my skull put themselves back together and my brain flushed out all the extra blood. I hadn't even realized how bad it was until I was healed, why had she bothered to help me like that? She gave me a thumbs up and turned, her sleek, flat jetpack kicking on.
As she blasted away through the sky and Sera's touch healed the new burns Spacegirl's jets had left on my shoulder, I tried to make sense of what had just happened. She had shown up out of nowhere, started a fight, beaten me and Sera with minimal effort, and then healed me before leaving us on the pavement? She didn't even call the authorities, or anyone, and the fight didn't even mean anything if she was just going to let us heal up after. I didn't understand her at all, but I guessed if I did I'd be the only one...
I pushed Sera's arm off me and sat up. I felt amazing, Seraphim's touch was really powerful, my broken bones and punctured lung were fully healed. If I could just team up with her, I wouldn't even need to eat people. Unfortunately it seemed like her touch only lasted a few seconds max, and it took a lot out of her to give me anything useful. Still, this changed a lot, depending on her recovery time! I might have to re-evaluate how I operated from now on, re-brand myself a little to make team-ups with her smoother.
Sera moaned and twitched, and I sighed. I could worry about that later. For now, I needed to get her off the streets.
~~~
I curled up in bed and frowned as my hand hit something under the covers. Had I unpacked my plushies? I'd thought I was keeping them away to look more mature to the other team members... I felt around and my mind shocked with a familiar jolt and I sat upright, gasping for air as my brain and body snapped into full wakefulness in a split second. I needed to bottle that feeling, that was way more potent than my usual triple shot choco-caramel heavy cream latte. Maybe I should start swinging by Sera's in the morning instead of the coffee shop?
Sera...
I looked down at the figure laying next to me in bed, her robes cast to the floor next to us, too dirty to sleep in. She was peaceful, the usual sharp, scary look on her face gone as she drooled onto my other pillow. I absently wondered if her stomach mouth drooled too, but I wasn't about to take the covers off to check.
I looked at my phone, it was a little before nine, so I had... about forty five minutes before I needed to be on the streets with Alele and Lucy. I still wasn't looking forward to that, maybe she'd call out sick or something. I thought back to last night, our argument on the date. She'd been such an asshole, why did she have to ruin it like that? I was trying to make her happy by being there, but that wasn't good enough for her, nothing seemed to be sometimes.
I wished Sera had been awake last night so I could have acted on my new-found sexual freedoms, but she'd stayed passed out the whole time, muttering and whimpering a few times, but not even stirring when I took her robes off and tucked her into bed. Hopefully she'd be feeling better shortly, she'd pushed a lot of energy into me last night, more than I could hold at once, so there was no telling if she'd be up for touching me again anytime soon.
I slipped out of bed and changed from my sweatpants and tank-top to my 'uniform' of a sweater and jeans. I needed a shower ideally, my makeup was most likely a mess by now, but that's what transformations were for, right? I walked to my kitchenette and brewed myself a cup of hot chocolate, sipping on it slowly, enjoying the feeling of being refreshed and well-rested for the first time in weeks. I felt like a new person, and all it took was fighting people for real and siphoning god-power from someone. If I'd been eating bad guys this whole time, could I have felt like this constantly? It wouldn't be fair of me to just follow Sera around, so I'd need to eat people eventually to keep this feeling up. That idea was sounding less and less like a crime against humanity and more like something I just needed to do so I could do my job.
I heard rustling in the other room and I called out to Seraphim "Coffee, tea, cider or hot chocolate?"
I heard a moan, and the bed creaked "Coffee, please, nothing in it. Why am I in your bed?"
I thought about it, why was she in my bed? I couldn't enter her house, so here was the obvious option, but... she could have slept on the couch, why'd my instinct been to share the bed with her? I put her coffee in the pod and pressed the button. It was just more convenient if she was in the bed, right?
"I don't know, really." I said, walking to the bedroom door "I just thought... you'd want to be comfortable, I guess?"
I admired her scars and extra body parts as she dressed herself in disheveled robed. The years of combat, of dying over and over, had left their toll. The eyes and mouths were weird, sure, but why she had them, the fact she survived wounds that would have killed a lesser woman and still threw herself back into the fight impressed me. It was hot, in its own way. Not that the giant stomach mouth was hot, I didn't think so at least, but the idea of it, the meaning behind it, that made it hot.
"I feel exhausted." Sera said, and rubbed her face "I remember fighting Spacegirl and losing, so I gave you the rest of my power. After that... nothing."
"That's pretty much it." I said "I lost too, even with your powers. I cracked her helmet, but it healed, and I ended up a bloody mess on the ground right after."
No sense admitting that I smashed my own skull in trying to hurt her, that would go with me to the grave.
"You seem to be in one piece," Sera said, flexing her burned arm and wincing "Did the green one heal you?"
"No, you did." I told her, waving her towards the coffee maker "Spacegirl put your hand on me so I'd heal up, then she ran away."
"I hate her so much..." Sera grumbled, coming into the kitchenette "She's so... confusing, if you win, kill us, don't heal us up. It's like she's taunting us."
"Right?!" I said "Gods, I have no idea what's going through her head."
"Hopefully my sword, if we can find out her weakness." Sera said, watching the coffee trickle into her mug "I must ask though, you brought me into your home, is that alright?"
"Yeah, it's whatever." I shrugged "I trust you."
"But does your team?" she asked, picking up her drink "I'd hate to make them uncomfortable. I can leave from the window, if you please."
I smiled, imagining Alele's face when she saw Sera come downstairs with me, hair a mess, clothes rumpled, still sleepy. I shook my head "Nope, you're my guest. Want some breakfast? Galorna was off last night, so she's probably in the kitchen making food for Alele and Lucy to eat before patrol."
Sera's eyes lit up "Oh, I would love to! I haven't had anything to eat but-" she stopped and winced "well, I haven't eaten cooked food in quite a while. Let us go partake in the morning feast!"
I checked my face in the reflective metal of the fridge. Lipstick smudged, eyeliner smeared, slight trickles of mascara under my eyes, perfect. Let them think what they will, hopefully at least Alele jumped to conclusions when she saw me.
"I'll lead the way!" I said, snagging a pastry from a box on the counter "She cooks lots of protein, you're going to love it!"
~~~
The elevator doors slid open and I walked into the common room with confidence, Sera following behind me. Galorna, Drizti and Alele were all around the kitchen, Galorna at the stove and the others at the bar. Drizti caught my eye with a smile, then her eyes went wide and she gasped as she took in the scene. Alele's face was frozen, unmoving as she watched Sera and me sit down on the other side of the moon-shaped counter. Galorna glanced over her shoulder and grinned at us, waving with a spatula.
"Hey Candy! I didn't know we'd have a guest, I'm making eggs and sausage with rice and some fried peppers, if you want them!" She turned all the way around to greet Sera properly and her face flinched as she took in our appearance, her eyes shooting over to Alele for a moment.
"Sooo... What's all this then, have a sleepover?" she asked, forcing casualness.
I picked up Sera's hand with my own hand, showing the group that I was ungloved "Turns out, I can touch Sera without folding her! I finally found someone I can be safe around!" I bragged, trying to keep my head clear as the spinning sensation hit me again
Alele stood abruptly and walked over to the elevator, swiping her card. After a second of the doors not opening, she huffed and walked quickly over to the stairwell instead, already vanishing up the stairs as the elevator door dinged open. I dropped Sera's hand and leaned on the counter, unwrapping my pastry. Drizti looked worried, and Galorna's face was torn between anger and shock. Let them be upset, I'd explain it to Driz later at least, and I didn't care what Galorna thought.
"I was told you cook delicious food, and it smells wonderful!" Sera said, flashing her sharp teeth "Might I trouble you for a plate?"
Galorna looked at the two of us hard and long, before nodding "Yeah... I have plenty, do you like peppers?"
"Yes please!" Sera said easily "I'm starving after that workout Candy and I had last night."
I held in a snort and cleared my throat "So, uh, Lucy's still asleep?"
"She's most likely just getting ready..." Driz said, frowning at me "Um, last night, did you and-"
Her phone dinged and she glanced at the notification "...Oh, drat. I have to cover for Alele's shift... I wanted to go to the arcade..."
"I can go to the arcade with you later." I told her "I wanted to talk to you about some stuff anyway, so you being on patrol with me works out!"
She looked at Sera nervously "Oh, ok... Yeah, I guess."
Galorna fixed plates for herself and the other two, while I kept eating my pastry. It was a quiet breakfast, the sound of cutlery the only thing audible. I finished mine, and watched Sera eat. I hadn't thought of the logistics of eating with a mouth full of sharpened spikes, but she made it look easy. She'd tear a chunk off, and move her jaw more side to side than up and down shredding the bite between her teeth instead of mashing it with molars. There were so many people with weird mouths, did they all have to chew different ways? Ryllis had multiple jaws, or something like them. I'd hate to imagine seeing her eat. I hadn't paid much attention at the dinner party, maybe I should have, just to sate my curiosity now.
"That was a fine breakfast!" Sera said "Galorna, you are a wonderful cook. I'm glad I put my opinions of your kind aside, if I hadn't, this delicious meal would have never graced my lips!"
"Th-thank you?" Galorna said, confused "What opinions? 'My kind'?"
"Ah, my home... county has some beliefs about beings like yourself." Sera said dismissively "I no longer hold to them myself, Candy instructed me to forget that part of my past, so I cast those teachings aside. I was merely saying how glad I was that I did!"
"Huh." Galorna said, looking at me with a pointed look "Yyyeah, it's good Candy told you not to be a bigot. But you know, people around here don't usually need to be told that kind of thing."
"I think that's not true." Sera said "Otherwise, why would Candy be working so hard to fight for people's rights?"
She patted my head "She is good at her job, and an honorable warrior. You are blessed to have her on your team."
With that, she pulled my ID card out of my pocket and walked to the stairs, dinging them open and tossing my card back to me with a wink.
"I need my rest now, but I look forward to seeing you again soon Candy Comfit Clenson!" she said, and walked away with a flourish of her robes.
"What the fuck is going on, Candy?" Galorna asked me "I'm so confused, and pretty ticked off too, how could you do that to Alele?"
"She's really upset..." Drizti said "She's already in the group chat posting pictures of poems about being sad, it's bad."
"I didn't do anything to Alele." I shrugged "We're on a break, and besides, we have an open relationship, it's not a big deal."
Let them think Sera and I had done it, I didn't care. We'd fought bad guys and almost died together, that was way more important. Alele would get over it, and if I ended up wanting to keep dating her, I'd just see if she was ok with me doing stuff with Sera, no big deal. But I'd told her we were on a break, so really, for now? I was within my rights. The elevator opened up and Lucy walked out, her nose in her phone. As she noticed me at the bar, her eyebrows shot up and she winced.
"Hey Candy, uh, have you been on CirNet yet today?" she asked
"No, not since yesterday, why?" I asked
"You posted a video of yourself beating the crap out of one of the city's favorite rogues, and you didn't check to see how it turned out?" she asked, incredulous "You went viral, there's so much backlash."
"I was kinda busy..." I said, offended "What's the backlash?"
"Oh no, Candy, Comfit's trending!" Drizti gasped, looking at her phone "Oh- oh, everyone hates you!"
"What? I'm out of the loop, what's going on?" Galorna asked digging in her pocket for her own
"Candy went out with the heathen hunter and absolutely bodied that little prankster girl last night." Lucy shook her head "Hit her while she was sleeping, broke her stuff, made her cry, it's bad."
"What the fuck?!" Galorna asked, standing up "Candy, what the fuck?"
"She's been messing with me for days!" I said "I needed to show that I can beat her!"
"You were doing great before last night..." Drizti said "You had over twenty kay views on the one where she set you on fire, now everyone's just commenting about how you're a monster, this is so bad, we might need to go get Debbie..."
"Debbie can't help because Comfit isn't affiliated with LA, Driz." Galorna snapped "Candy, I just... fuck, how could you be so stupid?"
"I fought a bad guy!" I protested "I followed GGDS guidelines and everything!"
"You waited until twelve oh one to attack her to avoid getting in trouble for fighting twice in one day." Lucy said "You stomped on her while she was sleeping. No one thinks you were in the right here."
"You had one hell of a night, huh?" Galorna growled "This is your mess, I'm done, I'll help LA, I'll do whatever the team needs me to do, but if you bring that Comfit shit into your Angel Rouge persona? I'll vote you off before I let you ruin our whole team."
I felt an icy chill and I gasped "No! You can't do that, I was chosen! I- I have to do the stuff as Comfit, otherwise my family could be hurt!"
"Chosen or not, if you start this kind of negative press for us? We'll lose everything." Galorna said coldly
"Welllllll um, maybe not?" Drizti piped up "How many followers did Comfit have last night?"
"Uh, the joint account with Trigger Warning had about five hundred, and just Comfit's had around three fifty." I said "Let me guess, I'm back to single digits?"
"No, actually." Drizti said, rubbing her chin "I don't understand it, everyone hates you, but... you're up to over fifty thousand followers now..."
Galorna took Drizti's phone and looked at it, the muscles in her jaw working, and she let out a slow breath before putting the phone back down on the counter "I don't get that, I- why would they want to follow her now?"
"To see her beat up more people?" Lucy guessed "It was an impressive fight, very brutal, but without too much blood, so it can go on the news. Plus, people hate follow to keep an eye on drama, and some people might just... agree with it?"
"They agree with me beating up Gemia?" I asked "Are they saying that?"
"No, they're not saying anything positive, or if they are, it's buried." Lucy said "But fuck, fifty kay? That's a lot."
"I can use this..." I muttered to myself
"No, you can't." snapped Galorna "You need to lay low and let this blow over, don't try to spin it. Comfit is already pretty much burned, just let her go and call it a day."
"I need to make an announcement." I ignored her "I could spin it to be about- hm, maybe she's more dangerous than people thought? Or... maybe it's because she was doing property damage? Hm..."
"I don't know if spinning this into a good thing is possible." Drizti said "People are really mad at you, Gemia's fanbase practically exploded from what I'm seeing."
"I still can't believe that runt has a fanbase..." I said, shaking my head "I'll figure it out, or I'll figure something out at least."
"You and Alele, you and Sera, you and Gemia..." Galorna sighed "Is there anything else from last night we need to know about?"
I winced "Well... It wasn't on camera as far as I know, but..."
"But what?" Lucy asked "Did you take a seat from a pregnant person or something?"
"No, no, nothing like that." I said "But, and it's not a big deal, we lived, but like. Uh."
"Spit it out." Galorna said, her eyes narrowing
"Sera and I kinda sorta fought Spacegirl last night too..." I admitted "It was brutal, I shattered most of the bones in my body."
"Oh no!" Drizti said, her mouth dropping open "Are you ok? Do you need me to heal you?"
"I'm fine, Sera's touch can give me boosted regeneration." I said "But yeah, the two of us fought her with everything we had."
"Aw, I like being your healer..." Drizti said, her shoulders falling
"You... took her regen?" Lucy asked "That's interesting, could you do that with other powers?"
Ah, right, they all still thought Seraphim's main power was quick healing, not eldritch god-fusion...
"Um, no? I don't think so, I've never felt other powers from touching people, I think she just supercharged my own regen." I said
"I... cannot believe how utterly stupid you are." Galorna said "Look, I know I'm not a great leader, I know I need to work on stuff, but for fuck's sake Candy..."
She looked exhausted "I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just angry, and I just- you need to think before you act. I need to go lie down, try not to do any more damage on patrol, ok?"
"I'm not going to, I know how to patrol." I snapped "Just go take your nap or whatever, none of this even affects you anyway."
Galorna closed her eyes and pursed her lips "...Lucy, I made you breakfast, help yourself. The peppers you like are under the bowl on the counter. I'll see you later for anime night, ok?"
As Galorna left, I sat in the kitchen with the other two people going on patrol with me today. At least they weren't mad at me, or at least not that mad at me. I slid off my barstool and stepped over to the pantry, grabbing an individually wrapped cupcake and leaned against the fridge as Lucy fixed her food.
"Hey, you two help me think about how to spin the Gemia thing, ok?" I asked them "I want to make a statement or something by tonight. Do you think it would help if I got her to film a video with me?"
The other two looked at each other and Lucy shook her head. Drizti sighed and shrugged "I don't know, Candy, it's a mess, it really is. I'll try to think about it though."
"Thank you!" I said, smiling "I know it's a problem and everything but wow do I feel great! I can touch someone besides Ravel, I captured the last target on my list, I got fifty thousand followers, I'm trending, and I fought Spacegirl and lived!"
I sighed in contentment "All I have to do is to put a positive spin on the video and everything will turn out just fine!"
"If you say so." Lucy said "Now, uh, what was that Galorna was saying about you and Alele?"