Sidekick 2: The Trap
Some people trap themselves
Cubby Kitties
Zoro is a little too big to fit in these cubbies now, but Sanji still fits. They don’t really lay in there anymore, though. I use to throw my shirts in there for them to lay on, I wonder if they would again if I started tossing my used shirts in there again.
They’re so big now it’s crazy. I’ll post a current pic of them this month. For now, it’s story time, and we’re diving back into a world of sidekicks…
…Time for this week’s story…
Sidekick 2: The Trap
On his first job as a sidekick, Theo accidentally got his hero killed. For his inadvertent assistance, the villains offered to share the spoils of their victory. Theo was such an amateur, he used his personal phone for business. Slicer, a surprisingly friendly and helpful villain, gave Theo a spare prepaid phone. When Theo returned home, there was a text waiting for him.
Hey, you weren't using your real info on all your hero apps were you?
In his quest to pay rent, Theo had blasted his contact information to every possible hero and agency. He grabbed what he could and ran. Within an hour, two heroes, their sidekicks, and a small army of police swarmed his complex. Theo’s masked face and alias, Morpho, were plastered across every screen in the state.
The worst had happened: Theo was declared a villain. With nowhere to go, Slicer offered to let Theo stay at his spacious warehouse apartment for a while. They watched as the hunt for Theo intensified and the media painted him as a traitorous, cold-blooded killer.
Wanting desperately to clear his name while having nothing to do, Theo practiced his ability and put a lot of thought into how to fix everything. After two months, he had a plan and brought it to Slicer. Two weeks later, Theo was face to face with a rare hero-turned-villain named LeFiels. While his power was benign, he was popular with villains for his ability to discern someone's true intentions. LeFiels arrived at Slicer’s with the two villains Theo had proposed for his plan.
The first one was Bullet, a heavy damage bruiser from Hawaii with super speed and a muscular build. The other was Hydraxia, a fierce, athletic blonde woman covered in tattoos who could turn into a massive hydra. They had high bounties and were vocal about their distrust of Theo and each other.
LeFiels was a short Frenchman with a scruffy face and stylish hair. Smoking a cigarette, he listened to Theo speak without saying a word. Theo’s plan was to hand over a group of villains to the heroes as a sign of goodwill so he could explain what happened. If they heard him out and gave him a chance, they would walk away with a basket of villains for no effort. Theo calculated that he could even get them out once he had the access and ability.
However, if they didn't give him a chance, Theo had contingencies so he and the villains could fight back and escape. He presented one of these contingencies as a trap to take down some local heroes. When Theo finished, everyone watched LeFiels for his response. LeFiels lit a new cigarette and took a long drag off it. Nodding, he pointed at Theo and spoke with a heavy accent.
“What can I say? I like you, I like your heart, I like your plan. I will take that gamble.”
Theo had received an incredible seal of approval. The other villains followed his directions without question. Once ready, Theo messaged the heroes with his intentions as well as a time and meeting place. To avoid hurting innocent bystanders if things went wrong, he picked a hiking trail that was temporarily closed due to hazards. He waited, holding a chain that weaved through the shackles of his villain accomplices.
The team of heroes who arrived on the day were almost who Theo had expected. From the sky, Eagle Eye Bill scouted the area and confirmed that the shackles were real. In case of a battle, the heroes sent King Canon, Laserfist, Golemite, and Avery Alloy. The unexpected guest was Equa Libero, a popular Latin hero from Arizona.
“Shape Canon!” King Canon boomed upon arrival, projecting a wave of energy. “Wouldn't want you turning those power dampening shackles into weapons.”
The heroes began by pontificating, as expected by everyone except Theo. After they accused him of being a murderer, he explained he was inexperienced with his ability and it was an accident. He offered the villains shackled next to him as a gesture of goodwill, but the heroes were adversarial. They were dismissive and talked down to him like he was scum. After Theo failed to get through to them multiple times, Equa Libero grew impatient.
World spinning around them, the villains dropped to the floor. The heroes laughed and thanked Equa for hurrying things along. Theo refused to be painted as a murderer by self-absorbed narcissists pretending to be heroes. They didn’t care about what was right, they cared about looking good. Theo locked eyes with Equa’s condescending glare and imagined his inner ear fluid turning to iron.
A scream caused the approaching heroes to spin around. Equa was rolling on the floor grabbing his head. While they were distracted, Theo pulled on the chain, turning it and the cuffs into water. They retained their shape because of King Canon, but fell off their wrists.
“Everything is spinning!” Equa cried. Meat chunks and feathers flew through the air. Eagle Eye Bill’s body and wings tumbled to the floor in pieces.
“Bastard!” Avery Alloy turned into aluminum. She and Lazerfist charged at Slicer. Bullet tackled Lazerfist, then pounded punishing fists into Lazerfist’s face. Hydraxia tried transforming to intercept Golemite, but King Canon interfered.
“Shape Canon!” King Canon followed up with a big right fist. “Canon-breaker!” Before his fist could crush Hydraxia’s bones, a wave of energy sliced off his arm. He screamed and fell to his knees while Hydraxia transformed into a five-story-tall Hydra. She bit the torsos off King Canon and Lazerfist. Avery Alloy was soon sliced and bitten to pieces. Golemite, the toughest hero there, was the last to go down.
When the dust settled, all the heroes were dead and the villains were mostly unharmed. Eyes sharing their shocked disbelief, they leapt in celebration with hugs and high-fives. Blood dribbling from her mouth in human form, Hydraxia gave Theo a hug then grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Morpho, you’re a friggin’ mastermind!”
Next Time
Sidekick V-Sides 1: Le Crappy Day