"Hurry up and plant the drop," the man whispered.
"What, you think the rumor about the super is real? Don't be a fucking pussy," the second man hissed back.
Both men were standing in front of a dumpster down a cramped alley, barely illuminated by a soft orange glow from a nearby streetlamp.
The men looked comical; they were easily each taller than six feet tall with broad builds and the alley was just barely wide enough to accommodate them.
"Whatcha guys doing?" a voice said from the head of the alley.
The two men looked up, startled by the intrusion only to find a young woman staring at them.
She had creamy skin and was wearing a pair of black boots, a pair of black high-waisted denim shorts hugged her hips and showed off her slender legs, dark grey gloves, and a dark blue tight tank top through which a faint outline of her nipples was visible; the top stopped just short enough of her waist to tease a bit of her toned midriff. Her mouth and nose were covered with a dark grey cloth mask above which were her two crystal blue eyes that seemed to glow, and a tousled bun of auburn hair adorned her head.
The second man whistled. "Damn bitch you got some nice tits! We're actually gonna do you how about that?"
She rolled her eyes. "Hmm sounds tempting, but how about you tell me about the drop you're doing for the Three Kings?"
The criminals' eyes widened.
"H-how do you know about this? Are you that f-fucking super?" the first man whimpered.
"Yeah I'm the 'fucking super' so how about you just give up now and you'll go to prison with minimal brain damage."
The second man scoffed; he and his companion could easily overpower her by themselves. "Yeah right. How about you keep quiet and we'll show you a good time?"
He started to walk towards her with his hands outstretched. Suddenly, the super raised her palm and shot a pale blue ethereal beam at him. He hesitated for a moment and when nothing immediately happened, he advanced.
"Haha you fucking bitch, you can't even do anything! You could try to make this fun for me." He tried to swipe at her and without warning, he felt as though his mind and body were moving through molasses. He looked down and saw his body covered in pale blue wisps and the same blue mistiness covered the super's hand while her eyes glowed.
Before he could connect the dots, she made a fist and knocked him out.
His partner started pleading with her. "Please I didn't want no trouble! Just let me go and you'll never see me again!"
She rolled her eyes again and wordlessly knocked him out too.
The super quickly searched the two men and the dumpster, which was thankfully devoid of trash, and found a thick wad of cash and a bag of crystal meth that had a small red crown sticker. She sighed mentally. Another drug drop? This was the third one this week. The Three Kings were starting to decrease their drop sizes to minimize losses, possibly as a response to her. She would need to consult her team.
She took a beacon chip from her pocket, activated it, and put it on the ground for the police to find the alley. These new gadgets are actually kind of useful, she thought begrudgingly. As soon as the beacon was placed, she left.
--
Grace stood on the roof of a building adjacent to the alley, taking a moment to enjoy her victory. The super took a deep breath to gather her nerves and leapt across the street to the next rooftop. She still was getting used to using her flight, if it could even be called that. It was more like enhanced jumping. As Grace lept from roof to roof towards her base, she reflected on the past several months.
Grace had gained her powers suddenly about eight months ago along with countless others. Most supers initially appeared in the Midwestern United States but more and more were popping up all around the country. Since she already lived in River City, Grace decided to fight crime in her hometown once she got the hang of her powers, for the most part. She had the ability to control psychic energy, which includes construct creation and some telekinesis that can be used to lift objects and mild flight; she knew that her grasp on her powers was still weak but it was enough to beat up thugs.
A short three months after Grace started crime fighting, she was contacted by CAPE. CAPE, or the Coalition for Altruism and Protection of Earth, was a mysterious organization that formed quickly after supers started sprouting. It was a self-professed league of justice with deep pockets that worked closely with local and federal governments to help supers and respond to crises.
CAPE had offered to pay her team a stipend and give her a real high-tech headquarters, which Grace hesitantly accepted. She was increasingly worn down from working to pay bills and fight crime at night. The only catch from CAPE's offer was that a liaison was dispatched to become a permanent member of her team and occasionally give her assignments.
Grace landed on the roof of her high-rise penthouse base and quickly used the eye- and fingerprint-scanner to enter; she was eager to share the news of her latest drug bust with her team.
She walked into the operations room and was greeted by the two other members of her team.
Cassie was Grace's friend from before crime fighting began and has been with Grace throughout her super career, a software-savvy computer geek who also communicated with the police for information on behalf of the team. Her face was framed by shoulder length blonde hair with bangs, and she had light brown eyes. She wore large wire-framed glasses, thigh-high socks, a skirt that highlighted her curvy hips, and a sweater that covered her large bust; she was shorter than Grace and her height only made her chest seem larger. Grace had respectable C cups but had always been a little envious of Cassie's larger boobs, and admittedly found herself admiring Cassie's body frequently.
Anthony was the CAPE liaison. He keeps CAPE updated on Grace's activity and also gets fancy gadgets like the police beacon from CAPE HQ. He was a few years older than Grace and Cassie, and a little over six feet tall; his usual attire was a button down and slacks. Anthony was fit but not bulky with close cut brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a little stubble. Grace thought he was kind of cute in a shy, dorky way but not really her type. That never stopped her from teasing him a little though. Grace enjoyed the thought of him frustratingly jacking off at night because of being around her and Cassie all day.
"Totally busted another drug drop!" Grace whooped excitedly.
When neither person returned her triumphant yell, Grace looked around at their less than enthused faces; Cassie gave her a polite smile.
"Oh no," Grace sighed, "don't tell me it happened again."
"It happened again. This time with the same calling card and M.O.," Anthony replied. "The drugs were left for the cops, only the cash was taken, and a card was left in its place." He pulled up a picture of the card on his computer. It was a business card with only an intricately designed masquerade mask imprinted on the front, with a kiss mark left in the top right corner from orange-red lipstick.
"That's the third time you've stopped a drug drop and the cash has been missing when the police show up. They're calling this person 'Masquerade.'" Anthony continued, "Because both you and Masquerade are hitting their operations, the Three Kings have substantially reduced how much they're shipping in each drop, as I'm sure you've noticed."
"Which means we need to change our approach if we want to take down the Three Kings," Cassie chimed in. "But I have good news! The red sticker you found means the drugs were from the Red King, and one of the criminals revealed the location of one of his hideouts."
"Did the police tell you all of this already?" Grace asked.
Cassie grinned. "No I just hacked into their communications and listened in!"
