Gray Heroics #4

Days and days went by. Time Naeth and Galivinth spent trading simple cultural knowledge, honing magic accessibility, and enjoying the simple things in life together. Though, their forming bond wasn't quite at a level where either of the two could call the other a 'friend' yet.

"You know..." Naeth begins, currently waltzing over to take a seat beside his relative on the grassy space of the park. Before uttering another word, he hands a chilled bottle of water to Galivinth - who doesn't hesitate to accept and proceed to take a big swig from it.

"You're more terrible at this than I thought you'd be." Came his raw honesty.

"Hnnn... I had a feeling you'd say that." Is Galivinth's response after swallowing down his drink. He was sweating underneath the sun from training, his heart rate only beginning to ease down upon deciding to take a break.

"Don't get me wrong. You've definitely made visible progress. You've graduated to that of a casual dabbler, at least." Naeth admits, taking a moment to open his own water bottle and help himself to a fresh drink. Then, he continues.

"You're able to tap into the source of magic without trouble now, but that's when you're not in the heat of a moment. You can barely cast while running, let alone remember half of the incantations you wanted to learn."

"Yeah, I know.. It's tough. I am trying my best, though." Galivinth responds.

"I don't doubt it. However, I think you just need to be sculpted within the fire. Learn under a different pace."

"Alright, but how do you figure I do that? I know I can shoot lightning and water out of my hands now, but I'm no Captain Righteous or Alexecute."

"Who?' Naeth asks with an arching brow.

"They're superheroes. You don't know who Captain Righteous is? Alexecute I could understand... She's still relatively new."

"Oh. Now that I think about it, I think I've heard of that 'Captain' individual before. Not much at all, but still. Anyway, that's irrelevant. Comparing yourself to others doesn't deflect the responsibility of improving yourself. I can help and be there with you during the process, but you're the one who has to put himself in motion to achieve the next level. Are you prepared to keep pushing?" Naeth lectures, ending with a question of resolve.

"Yeah.. Yeah, I'm definitely prepared to keep pushing. I want to get better at this." Galivinth answers.

"Good. Then I'm going to have you participate in Conquest Bout with me."

"Conquest Bout?" Galivinth repeats.

"The sport I was playing when you came to visit Cryo Kingdom City. It's a very competitive sport, especially back on our home planet."

"Oh, yeah. My father told me a bit about when we were watching. Sounded pretty simple enough."

"I'm glad you think so, because there's little time to think once you're engaging the opposite team. It's strategy and almost constant action." Naeth informs him.

"I see... Should we do some kind of practice match or something first?"

"Indeed! I'm going to be bringing along four associates of mine who are well versed in the sport here with me next time. I'll give you a day or so to rest up, and for them to clear up their schedules." And after speaking those words, Neath rises to stand.

"In fact, I should head back now and get that sorted out as soon as possible. Besides, we're done here for today."

"Oh, alright. Yeah, I think we did plenty of training for today. I definitely worked up a sweat." Galivinth agrees, also now rising to stand. Stretching his arms skyward after doing so.

"I'm heading back, then." He adds before treading off toward his apartment. With little hesitation, Naeth follows behind him. Eventually coming to walk beside Galivinth.

It's also Galivinth who speaks up again;

"So, how are you liking human society thus far, by the way?"

"It's always fascinating, I must admit. It's so different from what I'm accustomed to. It seems to possess far more variety than what is typical back at the Cryonean Kingdom. Still, I don't think I particularly envy it. More progress could certainly be made." Naeth answers.

"I see. Doesn't sound like you dislike it exactly, so that's an upside." Galivinth comments.

"Heh. No, I couldn't honestly say that I dislike it at all." Naeth admits. For the rest of the walk, silence blankets the atmosphere around. Just until they finally reach the foot of Galivinth's apartment building.

"I'll see you soon, Naeth."

"Without a doubt. Be well, kin." And with their farewells bid, the two go their separate ways.

After heading up and retiring to his bedroom, Galivinth passes the rest of the afternoon enthusiastically thinking about the potential of what he was learning. He particularly pondered on the possibility of becoming adequate enough to be an actual Superhero. Much like America's most beloved hero, Captain Righteous. The God who lives among mortals. Well, perhaps that was setting the bar awfully too high. He at very least wanted to be seen as worthy enough to join Silver League. The side-kick league of Superheroes. Age wasn't particularly a limiter, but the majority of them were adolescents. Maybe he'd even get to meet Righteous Lad. 

On the side, he also spent 1/ 3rd of that time reading through one of the books his father gave him. Just until 7:02pm strikes on his alarm clock, and a sudden craving for something sweet and cold comes about.

With that in mind, he closes the book shut and carefully places atop of the others that sit at the left corner of his study desk, and stands to head out and for the front door.

"Hey, Bibi, I'm heading out for a bit to get something from the store!" He calls out while twisting the locks.

"Okay, don't stay out too long and be safe!" She responds within the same volume.

"I will." He assures and makes his way out after locking the door behind him via his own key. Out in the summer night, he treads along the sidewalk and stops at the corner. He surveys the road left and right for incoming cars, and happens to spot shady figures at the latter side. A drug deal taking place right in front of the old abandoned church. Though he couldn't see himself entertaining such lifestyles, he's mindful to keep from staring. Nothing that was really any of his concern. It wasn't as if he was some sort of superhero, after all.

After a few cars pass by from both directions, he crosses the street when it's absolutely safe. He heads left once on the other side. His destination was somewhere around 30 meters away- that being the entree point of the supermarket's large parking lot.

His visit is a pretty short one. He heads through the lot and into the stores. Picks up a bag of spicy chips and a bottle of chilled apple juice from the mini fridge near the front of the grocery store. Goes to the checkout to purchase the items and proceeds to walk out with a plastic bag in hand. He comes to lean against a pillar outside the store, and pulls out his phone to check through a few of his social media feeds, articles included. However, this wasn't some typical night. He, as well as the other pedestrians about, were in for a spectacle. And it begins with a roaring--

DHOOOM!!

Eyes all around snap toward the sight of a car caved-in and destroyed beyond recognition, and someone laying atop of it.

"Ah-H'OWW... THAT definitely hurt." A young female teen muses, rising to sit up as she rubs at the back of her head with one hand, and her spine with the opposite limb to soothe whatever mild pain she was feeling. There was a brief visual of tiny crackles of electricity flickering around her body before she finally proceeds to rise to stand. Before she finishes, another crashing landing hits the scene. This one much louder, and intense enough to send a tremble throughout the ground. The next thing Galivinth knew, the two were in a stand-off. 

A young girl who looks to be around 15 or 16 years old, skin a mocha shade, hair nothing short of a black shaggy mullet, and eyes holding an illuminating glow of white. Her attire consists of a sleeveless latex top, a pair of motocross gloves, baggy pleather cargo pants, and a pair of high-top boots made of leather and rubber. Every piece shares a color scheme of majority royal blue with white V-shaped patterns stylishly placed throughout.

Her adversary, the towering 15 foot tall green mech suit was bulky and especially round at its center. Its limbs were thin, yet made of resilient metal of some sort. Toeless flat feet, and steel claws for hands. At the very top, at its head, is a glass-like dome, and inside, the head of the pilot. A middle-aged ginger man. Fiery orange hair styled into a military cut, and his fair skin was covered in freckles.

"I don't particularly get a kick out of beating up on kids, but you're a problem, kid. And Machineson doesn't leave his problems unattended!" The pilot barks and aligns his claws to take aim at the teen-heroine. Barely a delay before those pinchers fire off like shot guns aimed at her ankles. However, the young girl was quick to react preemptively. She jumps back and lands at the other side of the car she utterly destroyed upon her rough landing earlier. The claws striking the ground where she once stood.

"I totally get that. Wish I could be a lil' more like that. But honestly?" She trails off-- Trsssszzz! Is the sound of her willing electricity, focusing buildup at her hands.

"I'm a total procrastinator!" The heroine concludes, bearing pearly whites behind an enthusiastic grin as she thrusts her hands forward and discharges a burst of electricity from her open palms. Hitting her mark and emitting a bright display of electrifying the mech suit for a moment. But, it reveals no desirable effect.

"Hey, is that Alexecute?" Galivinth murmurs to himself upon seeing purple electricity spark from the girl's hands. Squinting as he does.

"Haha! Oh, sorry, little lightning-bite. I can absorb all of that. Goes right to the battery, and I think you just supercharged me for the next two days." Machineson taunts.

"D'aww fudge..." Alexecute murmurs under her breath. That giddy expression of hers simmering to a look of childish annoyance. 

She isn't given much time to ponder in the moment. Machineson retracts his claws via the sturdy rope-like material extending from the hollow space they dispersed from, and immediately fires his left at the heroine. This time imbuing it with currents of electricity.

Yet again, Alexecute evades. A simple swaying hop to her right before she retaliates on impulse. Almost simultaneously, Machineson fires his right claw at her. 

The extending metal simply phases through the blast of electricity, absorbing the energy as it comes not only latching around the heroine's midsection, but forcefully pushing her with immense momentum. She's swept off her feet and sent thrashing through two cars before meeting an echoing impact at the rear end of a truck, caving it in beyond recognition.

"G'uuahk!

 Jeeze Louize! Okay, that's i-IIIIIIIT!?" She cries out as that very same claw begins pulling. Jerking her along and high up before plummeting hard, smashing her right through yet another vehicle and into the ground yards away.

Every observer, Galivinth, winces on impact. That fall looked awfully painful, after all. Even Machineson felt it was fairly excessive.

The mentioned villain relieves the heroine of his grip and begins reeling in both claws again. However, something unexpected catches him off guard.

"What the--" Is all he can get before Alexecute, who was holding onto the retracting line of the right claw, comes soaring like a cannonball with a determined look in her gleaming eyes. With all the momentum she could need, she releases the line and topples the villain over with an explosive magnetic burst from her extended palms.

"Ooof!"

"Missed me?" Alexecute smugly muses after sloppily rolling a short distance away. 

"Why you little--!" A snarling Machineson operates his mech suit into pushing itself up to stand again. And just as it rises to its full height again, Alexecute turns, takes a small skip-hop, and then leaps on top of the dome of the robotic body with an even greater jump. 

"Sorry, but here's where I cut this little song n' dance short." She chimes in. While laying upon the glass, she begins visibly leeching power from the mech. 

"Knock it off! Damn, brat. You think you can bleed my power dry?" Machineson begins flailing while stomping about, trying to get a grip to pry the heroine off the protective helmet of his suit.

"So long as you rely on electricity, I definitely do." She retorts. And along with that remark, her absorption intensifies. Pulling three times the rate than just a second ago. 

"Give it up, kid! I've got more juice than you could possibly know what to do with!" Machineson barks. He begins charging forward toward the street, aiming to smash himself and Alexecute into the building on the other side. 

Realizing she'd have to use a more restraining method, the heroine carefully lets herself slide down the back side of the mech suit. Just as they run into the middle of traffic, she creates magnetic latches at the shoulders of the machine made of pure electricity. She leans far back while adjusting to plant her feet flat against Machineson's spine, manipulating her power to stretch her attachment to him like a stretchy substance. Just enough to where she could put pressure on the torso.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Alexecute grits her teeth and pulls continuously with all her might. Unfortunately, super strength wasn't in her arsenal. Thus, Machineson carries on without issue. And with a sinister grin, he maneuvers his mech suit to simultaneously leap and turn 180 degrees, slamming and imprinting the heroine into the side of a gas station building. Civilians panic and scatter to get away from the bout.

"Guuahk!!"

"Give. It. Up! You can't win this fight, brat." The mech pilot taunts. Emphasizing his point by taking a step forward, then thrusting his entire suit backwards to give her another dose, nearly smashing through the wall as he does. 

When he eases off to check to see if the heroine had gone limp, a violent buzz of electricity erupts with a bright display. Before he even has time to form another sentence, Alexecute begins draining his suit's powercore again. Though this time, it was at an alarming rate. His systems were going haywire and critical.

"Gimme.... hah... give me ALL OF IT!!" She bellows, and her draining goes up another notch. The young lass was practically depleting the very soul out of that machine. And just under 10 seconds, she bleeds the mech dry. As a result, the deprived husk of metal falls forward and lands with a harsh impact.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!" Machineson curses in anger, pushing and pulling at anything he could to get his mech responding again. Nothing comes of his efforts. 

Meanwhile, Alexecute begins trembling involuntarily. Through it, she pushes herself to tread forward and pass the villain.

"T-too... Too.." She stutters, a look of horror upon her soft features as even the muscles on her face twitch.

"Eh!? Kid, what's up with you?" Machineson raises a brow, confused by the fact that the heroine just passed him by and was walking as if she was having a malfunction of some kind. Though, realization dawns upon him as he sees the thick sparks of electricity crackling around her body. His eyes go wide.

"H'ah crap, you soaked up everything my suit had! And that was the equivalent of nearly two nukes... Can you even properly store all that energy?" He asks with fright burning at the forefront of his scowling.

"I... Ah.. A-ah..." She was on the verge of being overwhelmed by all that energy she absorbed. So difficult to keep down, that just talking was becoming a chore. The sparks were getting a tad out of hand, also. Luckily, only the ground was targeted by those sudden and brief outburst, and not one of the gas pumps. She keeps walking on and heads out onto the street. Incoming cars honk in annoyance and swerve at her presence. However, the apparent danger she poses becomes clear as day when those whips of electricity lash out and shatter their headlights. Only after does the traffic cease and vehicles give her space. An opportune moment for her to ease her arms skyward. Visibly struggling with her quaking, but she does manage to get her arms straightened out and palms facing up.

Cautious eyes all around watch her carefully. Waiting...

Then--

Kra-KROOOOM!!

She dispels a roaring eruption of lightning from her hands. The emission is absurdly wide in girth, giving the appearance of an enormous white-purple-ish pillar puncturing through the fresh night sky. The brightness is too much for anyone around her, and even those miles away. Galivinth is no exception. He too has to grimace, look away, and shield his eyes.

Along with it, is an ongoing flow of energy that drowns out every other sound. Echoing fiercely as she tries to deplete her excessive intake. 

This goes on for nearly two minutes before the size of that neon pillar dwindles in size. Gradually and steadily slimming down until Alexecute comes to a complete stop.

The heroine collapses onto her knees, taking deep breaths as she tilts her head far back. Unaware of the looks she was getting, nor the sweep of silence in the air. 

"Hey, are you okay?" A young masculine draws her attention.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fi--" Alexecute pauses mid thought when she shifts her focus onto the owner of the voice. She blinks as she meets a pair of eyes similar to hers. Though, the boy's own were like moons. No pupils at all.

"Fine. You... Uhh..." She takes a moment to rise to her feet, revealing to stand at 5'3.

"You from the Lab, too?" She finishes the question.

"The Lab?" Galivinth responds.

"Eh, never mind. Forget I said anything about it. Just don't see many people with eyes like yours around. You a hero, too?"

"No. I kinda' want to be, but I don't think I'm really ready for a leap like that. I can't even climb a ladder without freaking out about the height. Maybe one day, though." Galivinth answers honestly. One of his hands moving to rub at the side of his neck.

"Oh, I get cha'. Needed a couple of years of training before I got into the real deal. It can definitely be t--"

"Alexecute!" A voice calls out from above, cutting into their chat. The pair on ground level shift their gaze to see none other than Righteous Lad descending down toward them. He lands nearby with slightly bent knees. Almost seamlessly, he jogs up to the two. 



A male with ivory pale skin, jade green eyes, short jet black hair styled with immense care, and a height of 5'11 & 1/2. His attire, his costume, consists of what looks to be thin and fitted charcoal black leather-like armour with a cyan utility belt around his waist, which gives it the impression of being a one-piece suit. It outlines his above average muscular and lean frame, while the center of his chest bears a transparent emblem of the American flag outlined with gleaming cyan blue. The sleeves of his top reach nearly to the back sides of his hands, bearing edges with that same green-ish blue. The neck of the top has the same design. In addition, he's wearing a thin black hoodie over it. One also bearing a decal of the American flag in vibrant cyan.

On his feet are charcoal black boots that reach just beneath his knees. A couple of cyan colored straps on both that keep them secure. The soles are also cyan.

"That was a pretty radical show you put on there. Saw it from all the way back in the inner city." Righteous Lad informs. Pausing for a moment to study the area.

"I see you managed pretty well, though! Mr. Ambers seems to be subdued with little environmental damage done. Top notch as usual." Righteous Lad praises.

"Thanks, Boss. Was kinda' cutting it close there, but I managed. Just wish I could've taken him down before those people's cars got wrecked in our scrap." A sympathetic tone laces Alexecute's words as she rubs at the back of her neck, briefly looking across the street where she first landed in the area.

"It's not always easy, and I feel bad about damages, too. But! That's why we try to do the best we can. It's already admirable of you to help out as you do already, so don't be too hard on yourself. Who's your friend, by the way?" Righteous Lad asks, gesturing toward the other male with a nod.

"Oh, this is... Uhh.." And just in a second, she realized she had no idea at all.

"Hey, I'm Gali-- Galvin. I'm Galvin Carrenmale! I, Uhh... I'm a fan, if that's not too lame to admit?" Galivinth answers for her.

"Oh. Well, it's very much a delight to meet you, Carrenmale! Never lame to meet a fan of mine. I'd even go so far as to say that you have pretty good taste, my good civilian!" The heroic male responds with a warm smile, extending his hand out for a handshake. One that Galivinth almost immediately accepts enthusiastically.

"Cool, cool. Can I get a picture with you two? If it's not too much of a bother?" The half cryonean asks.

"You betcha!"

"Yeah, it's cool." The heroes answer. Galivinth pulls out his cellphone and snaps an overhead picture of them smiling for the camera. Afterwards, they go their separate ways and Galivinth heads home. The night goes on until it passes and sunlight reclaims the sky the next day. 

As it begins and ticks away, it's pretty uneventful for the most part. The only thing abnormal to happen just as the next evening begins settling is Galivinth receiving a phone call from someone he wasn't expecting.

Right beside him on his bed, as he flips through the pages of his comic book while sitting, his cell phone begins to vibrate intensely. His attention is easily stolen by the device and he reaches to pick it up, holding it up so that he could view the caller I.D. 

"What...?" His brows furrow in confusion at what he sees. Across his screen is the repetitive number 999-999-9999. Below it is the word 'Unknown'. His curiosity leads him to accept the call and lift the phone up to his ear to speak.

"Hello?"

"Evening, son. I wanted to call and see how you were holding up." The voice on the other end informs.

"...Dad?"

"That is my relation to you." The deadpan response the teen receives clears up most of his doubt. Definitely seemed like something his peculiar father would say.

"Right... How'd you get my number?" Galivinth asks.