Its A Secret 1

Under the soft glow of string lights and the Sistine Chapelesque art that crisscrossed the ceiling, the mixer buzzed with the chatter of newcomers and the clinking of glasses. Amidst the multitude of eager faces and forced introductions, he noticed her — a solitary figure seated at a table that looked like an island in the middle of the sea, her attention captured more by the ceiling art than the social spectacle around her.

This event wasn't his first, but he had already settled that it would be the last. What a perfect way to end it all by seeking out the attention of this masterpiece. To him, she glistened a dish unto herself under the bright lights of the five-star restaurant. She scanned the room, looking at potential suitors, but none dared take the leap of faith at such a prize.

But he was determined; he checked his breath and clenched his fist. Then, he questioned why the hell did I clenched my fist; The man shook it off and marched forward, thinking aloud in the roaring mixer about what he would say to her and how he would say it. She locks eyes with the approaching man, her brown-eyed gaze almost stops him in his tracks. It was intense; The man felt like he was about to turn into stone, but continued until he reached her table. It was now or never.

"I'm Ken Ken," he says, smiling at her; slowly, the realization of what he spoke crept into his mind. She smiles as it sets in, almost spitting out the wine she took a sip of.

"Ken Ken, huh." The woman says her long jet-black hair temporally covering her face as she laughs.

"It's not actually Ken Ken."

"I don't think I can date a guy named Ken Ken."

"It's a nickname."

"That's even worse dude, like what?"

"Because my name is."

"Ken Ken?"

"No, it's Ken Kendrick."

"Ahh, I get it now; how clever." The woman says smirking, the lights from the ceiling hitting her golden skin.

"Okay." Ken says smirking right back at her meeting her sass with sass of his own.

"No, you will let me have this moment." Olivia says as Ken takes the seat in front of her.

"I get it now," Ken says grabbing the vase and powering him some water into the glass cup on the table. "I can see why you were sitting here alone now."

"Oh wow, you're an asshole." The woman says as Ken drinks his water.

"Well, you just said you can't date a guy named Ken Kendrick, sooo."

"Ah, that gives you free rein to be your natural, Ken Ken self."

"My friends say I should never go full Ken Ken."

"You don't have friends, so there is no need to lie about that."

"I have friends!" Ken says taken aback by her remark. "Plenty of friends."

"Sure," She says, holding her hands up." Lefty and righty, right." She finishes with toothy grin showing her perfect teeth.

"The same logic can apply to you, too."

"True, you're not wrong; it would be Lefty for me, though."

"Oh, well, there ya go, now I'm out too."

"Now you're out?"

"Yup, I was hoping to salvage this random-ass mixer occurrence, but dating a lefty is completely out of the question."

"What do you have against the cult of the left-hand path."

"First girlfriend was a lefty, never again."

"Yikes, someone has baggage."

"I have a whole claims department for my baggage. I will have you know."

"Interesting; I hope you pay them well."

"Five-star rating on Google. Have you ever seen one of those ratings where there like? If I could give this place six stars, I would."

"Nope, can't say that I have, only the opposite."

"Must be looking at the lefties version Google reviews."

"Fuck...you." The woman laughs.

"Is that an invitation?" Ken says raising his eyebrow.

"You wish." The women replies shaking her head.

"So, who are you again? I don't think I caught your name?"

"I don't remember throwing it."

"So, it's a secret?"

"Maybe, aren't secrets cool?"

"Depends on the damage it does once it comes out."

"I don't think my name would do much damage if it comes out."

"Your perception is not reality." Ken says pondering "Sometimes."

"So, I'm guessing you're a psych major."

"Accountant."

"Bor..ring."

"Ouch, what the hell do you do? Don't tell me you're a model?"

"And what if I am?"

"Or maybe you're a bodybuilder; wait a minute. Now, that I think about it, you look familiar."

"What? No, I don't." The woman says a slight panic etch on her face. "Wait, you're not a stalker, are you?"

"If I were, I wouldn't tell you. It's a secret."

"You suck. Fortunately, I'm just a normal plain Jane who works retail."

"I would venture to say there is nothing normal about you." Ken says looking at her vibiliy toned body through her dark red party dress.

"Was that a thin veil compliment?"

"I thought it was thick." Ken contuing to look at her before moving to back to her face. "Thicker than a snicker."

"I hate snickers."

"What about a Reese's big cup."

"Mmhmmm, now we're talking about business."

"So, is this your first mixer?"

"Does it matter if it is? Do I get experience points for each dating mixer I attend?"

"No, but you get a free coupon for a dinner for two if it's your third one."

"Damn, you really be at bat striking out, huh."

"I think I just hit a home run."

"I'm what pundits like to call a slider."

"Damn, I hate sliders."

"There tricky."

"To answer your question, yes, this is my first mixer. I saw the flyer while walking around the neighborhood and decided why not."

"Well, aren't I lucky?"

"Lucky?"

"Yeah, that you decided to show up here."

"Hmmm, if you say so."

"I do."

"Oh, so am I your last bastion of hope?"

"Potentially, it's a lot of pressure."

"Well, Good Luck. I wish you well in your future endeavors."

"Online dating sucks, though help me out."

"You got to make it worth my while, kid."

"I haven't even shown my hand yet."

"Oh god, please don't."

"Rights hands scare you, huh."

"Just yours."

"Harsh."

"So, uh, any past relationships?" The woman says sipping her wine.

"Yeah, I just got out of," Ken pauses and shakes her head. "Got out" sounds like I did a prison bid." He laughs. "I recently...it's not recently."

"Geesh, wrap it up, B."

"Alright, alright. I was married, but we had a neutral split. So, I took a couple of months to get my life together or adjust, and now I'm here trying."

"To rebound." The woman says. "Dammit." She says, annoyed.

"I am not trying to rebound, me and my. We were done long before we split."

"Sure, I don't know why I'm giving you a hard time; my recent split was kind of abrasive, so I had to end it."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Hah! He can try."

"Sounds like you can handle yourself."

"You got to; in the world we live in."

"True; I guess normality is out of the picture."

"Well, mystery lady. Would you happen to want to exchange numbers with me?"

"Sure. Whenever you want to go out, message me, or maybe I will message you."

"Okay."

"Well, I'm pretty sure there's a timer to this thing, right."

"Not this one, but uh, I get it."

"My name is Olivia, by the way."

"Olivia, what a beautiful name."

"Thank you, Ken Ken."

"Hah." Ken gets up and walks away from her table with a small laugh, turning to meet her gaze again before leaving for another table. Although by the end of the night, he didn't connect with anyone the way he just felt did with Olivia. He returns to his apartment and thinking about her and their potential date.

Ken messages her the next day during his lunch break, inquiring about a date, a get together, some coffee, maybe a movie, a walk in the park. But alas there was no response on her end.

Ken was entangled in a web of confusion and unanswered questions in the weeks following the mixer. Olivia, who had ignited a spark of connection that night under the string lights, had vanished into the ether, leaving no trace but the memory of her laughter and the promise of what could have been. Texts went unanswered, calls unreturned, and the digital footprint that often betrayed the movements of the city's inhabitants offered no clues to her whereabouts or well-being.

Inside a brightly lit office room filled with screens of varying sizes, each displaying data, maps, and profiles. These profiles show a glimpse into this world, a world filled with human beings with extraordinary powers. A room filled with people at their respective desks, a roar as information is passed along to one another.

Ken Kendrick sits at one of these desks, reviewing data from a previous metahuman encounter that occurred days ago. Ken and everyone in this room are tasked with analyzing metahumans for the United States Government.

"Anal yzer of the year coming through." A short black male with a button-up polo comes walking into the office, draping his arm over the shoulders of Ken Kendrick.

"I hate that joke and hate that you used it." Ken says getting up from his chair to greet his coworker.

"Don't be a spoilsport. You are the reigning and defending MCA of the year."

"Why is that a thing." Ken says looking at the small trinket on his desk, displaying his victor at analysis over his peers.

"For bonuses and pay increases." His slightly taller friend says.

"There is that, and I do like that."

"I bet you do, you fucker. Don't worry about those who said you had an unfair advantage."

"Trust me, that lives rent-free in my head," Ken says, rolling his eyes and looking at the holographic globe in the middle of the room. "So, T-Rex was in our Zone last night."

"Yeah, Him and his sidekick, I think, they live around here somewhere; what's his name again."

"Nerd, not an original name."

"Pretty sure T-Rex gave him that name. He isn't the brightest bulb."

"But he sure is dangerous," Ken says, turning to look at the screen on the wall. The display shows a ranking of ten, with the name T-Rex at 4

th

. "T-Rex may be dumb, but the destruction he causes wherever he may roam is no laughing matter."

"Alright, Mr. Analyzer." His coworker says while sitting down at his desk.

"Again, Cody."

"Who we got at number one?" Cody says while booting up his computer.

"Flynn Farr is number one in the rankings but also number one in polls for potential presidential candidates."

"Well, that wouldn't surprise me with all his fan girls and boys out there."

"Yeah, there also is this, weird poisoning case is going around lately."

"Poisoning?"

"Yeah, man, it."

"Ken, what are you doing, that's not our department, man; leave that to the investigation unit; we just classify and analyze these. Gods." Cody says looking back at the screen next to the one they were previously looking at, with another ranking of the top ten heroes.

"Pssh, Gods. You and I both know that's not the truth." Ken says before sitting back at his desk.

"So, who is the Zone today?" Cody ponders, clicking on to his computer and turning on an application showing a map.

"Ewe Longevity man." Ken says looking at the map that pops up between there desk.

"Come on, how long are we going to hold "that" over his head?"

"Forever!" Ken says, laughing.

"Big Justice is here too."

"Great, he is just as bad as T-Rex," Ken says, making a thumbs-down motion.

"Don't let the higher-ups hear you; they're real high on the rookie of the year," Cody says, leaning back in his chair.

"Just like that, yutz Blitz."

"Yutz!? Damn, bro, I have never heard anyone say that in real life."

"It came out of nowhere honestly, like when it slipped out of my mouth, I was like, what the fuck."

"Fucked me up, but I get it; Blitz, after all, is."

"Alright, alright," Ken says, cutting him off. "Let's get to work. I heard about some incident in the other zones I wanted to review."

"Poison cases again?"

"No, but I will look into it later for curiosity, of course," Ken says, pulling his chair up to his desk.

"How was your Tinder date last night."

"Never again, man."

"What happened? Did you go full Ken Ken?"

"No"

"She looked." Cody pauses and smirks "Good," Cody says, looking over his screen at Ken's desk before him. Ken sighs.

"She was late, rude to the waiter staff, and stayed on her phone the whole fucking time."

"Damn, dating is scary now, not gonna lie, and she paid for that Tinder account too."

"She just wanted a free meal, I guess."

"How was the sex?"

"Not bad...but that's not what I'm looking for, man."

"I hear ya, man, but maybe that's what you need; you were married for a decade."

"Not today, man, you already brought up Blitz."

"My bad, bro, you right let's get to work." Cody says, grimacing at Ken as his coworker tries to focus on his work. Ken looks once more at the ranking screens and frowns.

Hours passed, and before Ken knew it, the clock struck 1700L; Ken powered down his computer and said goodbye to Cody and his coworkers. The elevator pings the ground floor as he exited through the main lobby.

Stepping out into the streets, Ken was greeted by the view of the city at dusk. The air was chill but not much as it was still summertime. The sounds of cars honking, a low, dull buzz of people walking in droves to the neighboring train station, and the crosswalk signal telling pedestrians it's their time to cross. Ken puts his headphones in his ears and begins his trek to the parking garage for his company. He was almost filing in with the rest of the crowd on their way to their separate destinations.

The brief solitude of regular humans walking in unison is shattered as the reality of their current world is hurling toward them. Everyone, except Ken, notices the danger as the crowd surrounding him scatters in opposite directions, once waiting for the light to turn. Ken, whose eyes are down, sees their feet move erratically away from his location. A voice pierces through his noise-canceling headphones, something that the marketing campaign for the brand he was wearing said was impossible.

"Get the Fuck out of the way!" The voice yells as Ken looks up at the Sedan, that is mere moments away from ending his existence.

"Fuck" Is all he can say as he closes his eyes, knowing it's far too late to get away from his impending death. He ponders should he close his eyes or keep them open to see the moment his life ends abruptly.

But alas, he lives. The smell of Vanilla, black coffee, and flowers invade his nose. His hand rested on leather, but something soft was under it. Ken opens his eyes, to see what his head was resting on, a black and red-letter D. The cutting air, making his realize he is being carried in the arms of an unknown person, a woman. The woman lands and tosses him to the floor.

"Ow!" Ken yells, rubbing his tailbone and looking up at his hero.

"Are you an idiot?" The woman questions as she towers over him, pointing at him on the ground. Ken tightens up after realizing who the person who saved his life was.

"You're

Dangerous

," Ken says, getting up from the ground.

"I have a fan, awesome." The woman says, looking up to the sky.

Ken knew all about her, Dangerous, the criminal known worldwide. She wasn't top-ten material, but she has the potential to be with her power set. She has gone toe to toe with Rank number one American Stampede and lived to tell the tale. Dangerous isn't the take-over-the-world type, no more like a hit woman or rob a.

Ken looks down at the ground and sees a couple of bags of money from the local bank by her feet. Despite all this, she saved his life. Unless she was the one who threw the car, he thought, looking over at her with a smile.

"Don't smile at me like that." Dangerous sighs. "So, are you alright?"

"I am now," Ken says, dusting himself off. Dangerous looks back at him and does a double-take.

"Ken Ken?" Dangerous says with a bemused smile on her face.

"I'm..wait. Do you know me?" Ken says, pointing at himself.

"DANGEROUS!! Leave the civilian alone." A commanding voice from the sky booms down. Both Dangerous and Ken look up to see a man in a Blue Costume with words BJ dead in the center of chest with short blonde hair ascending.

"Big Justice!?" Ken says the car flying that almost killed him makes much more sense. Big Justice is an attractive all-American hero with a power set similar to Dangerous super strength, speed, and flight. But he is also reckless; many innocent people have gotten injured by his superherorics. Almost all of it has been swept under the rug by the government.

"I just saved his life," Dangerous yelled as the hero landed before them.

"I was aiming for you." Big Justice points his finger dramatically at her.

"Did you really think I would sit there and let a fucking Prius hit me?" Dangerous says grabbing the bags of money off the ground.

"Well, I mean." Big Justice says, scratching his head.

"You're reckless. I could be a better hero than you." Dangerous says, waving the bags of money at him. Ken shook his head in agreement. She was right. In whatever exploits she gets down to, she rarely, if ever, causes any property damage or injuries to civilians. The only occurrence was a fight with Second Rank Hero Eternity almost two years ago.

"Is berating a power of yours? Because for a second there, it was working. You stole from Capital One Bank; return the money, and I promise your sentence will be light."

"You can do that?" Ken ponders

"What do you want from me? That bank was voted the best bank in the city by the Atlanta Tribune. They were practically screaming for me to rob them." She screams at him while dropping the money bags back on the ground.

"Well, today is the last day you will rob a bank."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, yes, it is."

"Heh, don't make me laugh, kid. I've fought real superheroes before; you will be no problem." Dangerous says, cracking her knuckles and turning to look over at Ken. She gives him a wink through her mask as if trying to impress him with her bravado, then lunges at Big Justice, who uppercuts her into the sky and then chases after her as she recovers in the air and punches him back into the ground. He slams his fists into the ground in frustration and speeds back into the sky to face her. She smiles at him, "Come on BJ" Dangerous screams.

"Real immature." Big Justice says while his frustration grew as raced to sloppily attack her.

"Don't be mad at me, you did this."

Ken looks up at the sky as they fight, not wanting to move an inch from this epic encounter, secretly rooting for the woman who saved his life, not the Hero who almost killed him. They fought throughout the city just as Dangerous was getting the upper hand. Longevity Man, another superhero in the area, wraps her up with his arms, giving Big Justice free rein to bash her.

"Get that bitch, Rook!" Longevity man screams to Big Justice as he continues his attack.

Ken watched on in horror; although she robbed a bank, she did save his life. Yeah, the situation was technically started by her; even so, it seemed unfair to him. He thought as she came crashing to the ground in front of him.

"Well fuck me, looks like I'm going to jail. It was bound to happen sometime." Dangerous says, picking herself out of the crater in front of Ken. She looks up and sees him running over to her. "The fuck are you still doing here?" Ken stops at the edge of crater; she tilts her head in confusion. "

"Hey, I can help you," Ken says catching his breath.

"How, by what dying?"

"No, hear me out." Ken says trying to calm himself down. "Longevity man is a known pervert; he can't concentrate and uh stretch properly if he is aroused."

"Ewe, why do you know that?"

"Stop." Ken says, putting his right hand up at Dangerous, who grabs it."

"Ow. Jesus." Ken says, looking at her, squeezing his hand.

"Don't put your hand up at me like that, KEN KEN."

"Again, do we know each other?"

"It doesn't matter; they're coming; get out of here. Thanks for the useless information."