CHAPTER 018: Mistress Stunlock, pt.1

As Logan watched the two veteran heroes awkwardly huddle in a corner, a strange girl approached him. She had inquisitive green eyes, blonde Shirley Temple curls, and a dominatrix outfit.

"Are you also from the mental hospital," he asked her.

She froze like a broken computer, before responding in a monotone voice.

"No, rode with Dmitri."

"Who's Dmitri?"

She pointed at the John.

"Oh, sounds nice. How'd you get that gig?"

"... Be the orphaned daughter of his favorite murdered prostitute."

It was now Logan's turn to freeze.

"I heard his information network was formidable, but I didn't know he used it this way, too... Did you need something?"

"A spar..."

The proctor's booming voice interrupted their conversation.

"Attention, new heroes. You should all be finished with your hero names, so I will be the first to welcome you all to our ranks. Now normally, I would give you all a pamphlet and say goodbye here. Today, however, you are in luck; an S-Class hero has issued a special ranked mission to you all. I will let him give you the details as we make out way to training room 14. Go ahead, sir."

Feeling a room full of gazes upon him, the S-Class hero felt his hands go clammy.

"Ahem, Ahem... So, my sidekick is in need of new sparing partners. Uhh, If you win against her... I'll promote you from provisional status, I guess. I think I can do that, right?"

Logan stuck to this weird girl like glue after hearing such a declaration. What surprised him, however, was how few people joined them.

"Ew, look at that geezer; trying to hit on Mistress Stunlock!"

"I know right, he begs for death."

"Does he live under a rock? She's seeded in the freshman 15, for Pete's sake! They might as well ask us to jump to the moon!"

"I don't know... I kind of want to experience her electric massage."

The other gossipers distanced themselves from the last fellow. Seeing the weird girl pay them no mind, Logan returned to their previous conversation.

"If you are as fierce as these newbies say, what could you gain in fighting us?"

"Easy, adaptability. Dmitri's techniques stress preparation, but that can't be done in the case of a dark horse."

The inside of training room 14 showed this building wasn't all fancy facades; everything in here was astronomically expensive, even the floor mats! The John immediately took a seat on a set of floating bleachers, burying his head into a notebook.

Drill-bit, after a few moments of silence, finally spoke up.

"Okay, I suppose in deference to our senior, I'll announce the spars. Is that okay, sir and ma'am?"

The John remained silent, only occasionally looking up to stare at one of the new heroes.

"Don't mind Dmitri, sir; he has tunnel vision when it comes to training."

"I'm a sergeant, not a sir... Never mind, do you have any requests as to the order?"

"Mmm, save the man with ears for last."

She pointed to logan while saying that.

"Sure thing, just stop me if you or your mentor have comments. The spar shall follow American Supers Fighting (ASF) rules; I'll explain them for anyone unfamiliar. Fights consist of three 1 minute rounds, in which the free use of powers, gadgets, and martial arts is permitted to force either a submission or knock out. If neither of those two things happens, the decision goes to the judges. Since the John issued this special mission, he will naturally be the judge; I will referee. Do you require rest in between opponents, ma'am?"

The John finally spoke up to answer this question, specifically.

"Nonsense! Have them go back to back, it'll be good practice on endurance and power management."

Midnight diver, as he was now called, went first. A baby dino armed with an adorable little toy bugle signaled the start of their match.

TOOT! TOOT!

The new hero was wary of this sidekick, choosing to jump into a shadow far from her position. Unfortunately, she did not underestimate him, immediately retrieving a whip from behind her back.

She lashed out with it, the whip wrapping around his ankle right as the man was diving into a shadow. Surprisingly, its pool-like quality remained as she was dragged along with him. The place went silent for half a minute before they finally re-emerged.

Midnight Diver was out of breath, and covered in cuts. Additionally, there was a deep fear in his eyes. Mistress Stunlock, meanwhile, was unharmed, although her whip appeared to be broken.

"You're crazy! Keep your distance! I surrender, just get me away from her!"

The midnight diver ran out of the building in a stumbling fashion, not even stopping for medical treatment.

"For the sake of ensuring a fair competition, please state what happened inside the shadow while holding this stick," the drill sergeant said before passing a golden rod to the lady.

She held it at arm's length and began her story.

"It was amazing! There was a black ocean, and the nipple guy turned into a blue dolphin! Then, a big fish came up from the deep. We attacked, but the dolphin suddenly freaked out and jumped out of the water."

The rod became slightly heavier at the mention of the word 'we,' but otherwise there was no reaction. The John suddenly laughed.

"Oh boy, to think he can travel the shadow world; I'm sure dimensional studies will pay him a visit after this... What are you all staring at? Somebody go out and punch her already, we don't got all day!"