Fluff

Chapter Sixty-One - Properly Shook

Emily stood aside, along with all of her sisters, while the entire street was lit up.

There were three HRF vans, two normal police patrol cars, and an ambulance. All that was missing was a fire truck and it would be an EMT party. Right now, the likelihood that firefighters would show up was increasing dramatically as a couple of HRF troopers and some cops were standing by a building, flashlights illuminating the side.

There was a hole there. It was toast-shaped, though Emily suspected that most people would just assume that it was roughly square, especially with the crack radiating out from around it.

That was... not ideal. She hadn't considered what would happen with that toast once it flew past Rattles. But obviously, it had to go somewhere and that happened to be across the street and into the side of an insurance broker.

Emily supposed they were covered for mask-related incidents, at least.

She wasn't going to make a fuss about it, in any case. Let the police and HRF suspect whatever they wanted. As far as she was concerned, it was all Rattles' fault.

It wasn't like his power didn't lead to enough property damage already.

"Oh, more lights!" Maple said. She'd been a little awed by all of the flashing lights already. The white-red of the ambulance, red-blue of police, and green-white of the HRF were joined by a yellow-white set of lights as a towing backed up a little ways down the road.

It was here to tow that little scooter, which was illegally parked. Emily felt a little bad for the owner. Not only had Trinity kicked it, but now it was being carried off.

That was kind of her fault, wasn't it? She hoped that whomever had left their bike there wasn't too upset once morning came around.

"Right," Alea Iacta said. He was standing a little apart from the rest of the group, notably putting Emily and her sisters between himself and the HRF. "I think this is my cue to scamper away," he said.

"Leaving already?" Glamazon asked.

He shrugged. "The cops and I have a... testy relationship. Mostly a recent thing, I assure you."

"Uh-huh," Glamazon said. She didn't sound impressed, but that didn't seem to discourage Alea Iacta.

"Hey, if you want the whole story, I wouldn't mind sharing. Maybe with just the two of us. Over coffee? I remember how you like it. The coffee, I mean."

Emily almost wanted to give him kudos for being semi-charismatic, at least until that fumble at the end. Still, better than she could manage.

"He's trying to rizz her," Teddy said.

Emily turned to Teddy. "What does that even mean? And where did you learn that?"

"On the internet?" Teddy tried.

Emily resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. She had to stop letting the TV and internet raise her sisters for her.

She turned towards Glamazon, who was eyeing Alea Iacta. "I think I wouldn't mind that."

"Holy sh-- crap," Teddy said. "It worked!"

Athena started to golf clap, then Trinity joined in with more enthusiasm, which of course, had Alea Iacta blushing up to his ears. "Right, uh, okay. I'll call ya. Bye?" He backed up a few steps, then slipped into a nearby alley. Emily figured that she'd be seeing him again. Especially with the amount of luck he stole from Rattles earlier.

"Are you... really?" Emily asked.

Glamazon shrugged. "He's not all bad. Kinda cute? Sorta? Like, a six, at least."

"I guess luck and looks aren't the same thing," Emily muttered.

"Speaking of being bad, can we talk?" Glamazon asked. She nodded to the side before she started walking off. Emily hesitated. Her sisters were mostly behaving though, and it wasn't far, just enough that they wouldn't all overhear.

She walked after Glamazon, who'd stopped under a streetlight. "Alea's an odd one," she commented.

Emily nodded. Was that what Glamazon wanted to talk about? "Most of us are, I guess," she replied. "But he's on our side, which is what matters."

"Speaking of sides," Glamazon said while turning to Emily. "Are we going to talk about what Rattles said? About you being a villain?"

"He's wrong," Emily said quickly.

"Emily, you know you can trust me, right?" Glamazon began, her expression serious. "But if you're hiding something, something that could put you or the girls in danger...."

Emily tried to meet her gaze, then failed. "I'm not hiding anything that will put us in danger," she lied.

Glamazon's eyes narrowed slightly, and for a moment, Emily thought she might press further. But then, Glamazon exhaled slowly and nodded. "I want to believe you, Boss. I do. You've done a lot of good for this city."

The reassurance was comforting, but Emily still felt the weight of her secrets pressing down on her. "Thank you," she said before forcing a smile. "I, uh, do what I can."

Glamazon reached out, squeezing Emily's shoulder gently. Then her gaze went back to the group. "Are you a villain, Emily?" she asked. Her voice was pitched low, keeping it between the two of them.

The question came so suddenly that Emily felt like the air had been knocked out of her. "N-no, I'm not a villain," Emily said.

Glamazon turned and met Emily's eyes. Emily couldn't even begin to guess at the emotions she was seeing there. "I'm... I'm not going to turn you in," Glamazon said. She sounded doubtful of her own words. "You'd get the girls caught in the middle of this."

"What? No, I mean. I don't want any of them to be hurt."

Glamazon nodded slowly.

They both fell quiet, and it wasn't comfortable, but neither spoke. The sounds of the police and HRF filled the air, and a breeze passed over them, causing Emily to shiver.

After a minute, Glamazon spoke. "You really do love them, don't you?"

Emily nodded. "I do. They're my sisters. I'd never want to hurt them. And... Glamazon, if I was a villain, I wouldn't be doing these kinds of things, would I? Taking out Rattles, and doing things to help?"

"Maybe," Glamazon said. She turned away from Emily, and her arms wrapped around herself.
Was she... scared?

"I'm not a villain," Emily said.

Glamazon nodded.

Emily swallowed. She hated this.

Glamazon took a deep breath, then turned back to Emily. "I'm sorry, Emily. But, I think that I need a little time away. To sort things out."

"O-oh. I... okay."

Glamazon nodded again. "Yeah. We'll... figure it out, maybe?"

"Yeah," Emily said.

Glamazon stepped forward and hugged her, then broke away quickly.

Emily watched her leave, her stomach twisting itself into knots. What did she do now? The answer came a moment later. A hand slipped into her own and she glanced down to see Athena beside her. "Are you okay?

Glamazon was walking over to the HRF troopers, and was quickly intercepted by a detective.

"I think Glamazon has pieced together that we're not, ah, heroes," Emily said.

Athena shrugged. "So? We're not. It was going to get out eventually."

"I was kind of hoping it wouldn't," Emily replied.

"Come on, Big Sis, ruling from the shadows is cool and all, but most of us aren't made for that. Did you see how unsubtle Teddy and Trinity are? They're not fit for sneaky mastermind games. We were always going to have to step up eventually."

The two of them stood there, watching the police work for a while, with Athena holding Emily's hand. It was a little comforting, and the warmth helped Emily calm down a little. Of course, the others came over, and shattered any calm, but Emily was used to their brand of chaos already.

"Hey, so, how are we getting home?" Teddy asked.

"I have no idea," Emily said. Then she spotted Melaton, standing next to an HRF van with her arms crossed, chatting with an officer, the same van that housed a no doubt sleeping Rattles. "But I think I know who we can bully into giving us a ride," she added.

Emily grabbed two little hands, then led her gaggle of sisters across the street and towards the light show that the emergency responders were making. She had the impression that there were only so many people out because they wanted to make a big deal out of this, and it was working. The sidewalks were lined with rubber-necked bystanders, some still in PJs, most with phones out.

"Hello, Melaton," Emily said. It was barging into a conversation, but she didn't really care all that much at the moment.

Melaton nodded to her. "Hey, Boss. Kids. Good job out there tonight. I think everyone will be happy to see this jerk off the streets."

Emily smiled. "Yes. Actually, about no longer being on the streets... do you own a car?"

Melaton was immediately wary. "... Yes?"

"Good, good," Emily said. "Because I think I need to call in a small favour."

***