Chapter 2

Well, this chapter turned out pretty short. I couldn't really fit it into the last chapter, though, and the next chapter will be longer and progress the plot more. Hope you have fun reading!

"How the hell can you fly? Your power is so unfair," Kassandra said poutily as she glared at Ivy, who was flying beside her.

Ivy chuckled. "It's not really flying, more like… falling sideways. It's a lot of logical twists. But yeah, my power is awesome!" Ivy smiled smugly. She didn't like revealing details of her power to Kassandra, but her once-nemesis just admitted that her power was better! The future Ignatia never admitted it. Vindication, at long last! 

"Oh hey, someone's robbing a bank!" Ignatia pointed, shooting out a plume of fire to mark the location of the bank for Ivy. 

Ivy made a note to give Ignatia some tips later. In the past timeline, Ignatia had been able to manipulate waveforms so finely that she could skip the combustion entirely and reduce matter into photonic energy directly. The more powerful she was, the more quickly Ivy's plans could come to fruition. 

"Alright, I'll go in from the front and distract them, you extract the hostages," Ignatia said, maintaining a hover. 

"Got it." This was quite new for Ivy, since she's only ever been the one committing crimes, not stopping them. So she'd follow Ignatia's lead… for now. "Make sure to identify yourself to the pi- I mean cops, too. They might not recognize you with the new costume."

Ignatia nodded. "Right. Good point." She flew down to the front of the bank, conversing a bit with a police captain, who put his gun down after a few words. From what Ivy remembered, those two had a good working relationship.

After a quick conversation, the police backed away from the front of the bank, and Ignatia burst in loudly, flames bursting into existence on her body.

Meanwhile, Ivy teleported herself into the bank. Normal logic would say that if she's inside the bank, she must have snuck into the bank. Inversed, that meant if she's sneaking into the bank, then she must be in the bank. 

Ivy popped up behind a desk in the back of the bank. One of the robbers was standing over the hostages, while the rest must have gone for Ignatia. The man was knocked unconscious, therefore, Ivy flicked a pebble that hit his head. Even for her, her power was confusing to see in action sometimes.

"Ok, everyone, don't panic. I'm a hero, I'm with Ignatia, who's outside. Come with me quietly to the back entrance," she whispered to the group of hostages. A funny thing to note was that the hostages didn't even seem scared. In a city with a superhero, a bank robbery must be the tamest thing to happen all week. Ivy snorted at the thought. It wasn't untrue. Kassandra was the trouble magnet. 

As Ivy led the group out of the bank, she could hear faint sounds of shouting and guns firing, along with rushing flames and screams. Ivy smirked. 'That girl has a natural talent at brutalizing perps. So perfect. … For my plan. Definitely for my plan.' 

They made it out without much trouble, and the victims were handed off to the police. Ignatia soon flew back, five masked robbers in her grasp. She dropped them on the ground and landed. 

"Good job… " Ignatia paused awkwardly. "Uhm… We forgot to think of a name for you, didn't we?"

Ivy froze. "Uh…" She never had to use anything besides her real name before. She glanced around furtively and noticed something else that made her heart sink. "Oh god, the police captain is coming over to thank us."

Indeed, the blue-dressed, portly man walked over and shook Ignatia's hand. "Thank you, Ignatia, for your good work. And thank you too, miss?"

Ivy panicked. She didn't want to be stuck with a name that the internet gives her! They give the shittiest names! "Um, I'm… Fortuna! Yes, I'm Fortuna, nice to meet you!" she blurted out.

The police captain shot her a weird look, but quickly returned to smiling politely. "Well, thank you for saving those people, Fortuna. The NYPD welcomes this city's newest hero, and we look forward to your accomplishments in the future." 

Fortuna grinned widely. "Oh, it'll be a lot to look forward to, that I can promise you."

***

"So, Fortuna, huh?" Kassandra asked as they peeled off their masks. "How'd you come up with that?"

Ivy snapped her costume off while Kassandra manually took hers off. "Well, my power, it kinda looks like having absurdly good luck, doesn't it? I was thinking it would be a bit of a misdirection, just in case. And I like the mystery of it."

Kassandra shrugged, picking up a beer from the fridge. "Fair enough. It does sound cool." 

Ivy plopped herself down on the sofa. "So, what do you usually do after a successful night out?" Ivy was genuinely curious. Being a hero felt strangely nice, and she wanted to learn more about Kassandra's process. It wasn't as nice as world domination, of course, but nice, in a "I'm petting a puppy and it's making me happy" kind of way. 

Kassandra sat down next to her, taking a swig of her beer. "Drink, watch a movie, play video games, maybe order some food. That's what I usually do, at least. Although it does get a little lonely…" The superhero trailed off. 

Ivy thought about that. It was weird seeing the hero be… despondent. Ivy didn't know how to deal with it. It was kind of hard to mock her nemesis when she seemed so down and… pathetic. Like picking a fight with a dog. 

Ivy patted Kassandra on the back. "Well, look on the bright side. I'm here now, and I, for one, could do with a good celebration! You pick the movie or game, I'll go cook something nice." There. That should cheer her up. Ivy did not need to look at Kassandra's sad expression for the whole night; that would just be miserable. 

Kassandra's eyes lit up. "You can cook!? Yes! Haha, finally, I don't have to order take-out all the time!" Kassandra cheered. 

Ivy looked at her amusedly. "I thought most people liked ordering take-out," she said as she stood up. 

Kassandra shook her head. "It tastes good most of the time, but I'm literally living paycheque to paycheque because of how damn much it costs! It's insane! A bowl of pasta costs like 25 dollars these days!" she complained, huffing. 

Ivy giggled. "Wow. The great superhero Ignatia. Protector of NYC. Bane of crime. Can't afford take-out?" She teased as she pulled ingredients out of the fridge. 

Kassandra stuck her tongue out at Ivy. "What do you do then, oh rich one?" 

Ivy smirked. "I publish scientific papers. With my power, experimentation only needs a single try, so… easy money." Ivy turned on the stove and moved the pan a bit before snapping. A wobble later, and the pan was filled with some very tasty-looking chicken parm and pasta.

Kassandra eyed the food. "So unfair," she complained. "Your power lets you make perfect food. Mine just burns it." She pouted on the sofa, hugging her knees. 

Ivy laughed. "Well, every power has its drawbacks." She smiled enigmatically. "Well, to a successful night of heroing!" She picked out a can of Sprite from Kassandra's fridge and chinked it to the hero's beer bottle. "Eat up." 

Kassandra had no complaints. While they ate, they watched the news. Already, many stations were reporting on the new hero in New York, Fortuna, as well as the pretty well-known superhero Ignatia's newest outfit. Even a few channels from Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington were reporting on them. But to really kick things off, Ivy would need something bigger. Something that demanded attention. For now, though, she just enjoyed some good food, cinema, and a sort of companionship she's never had before, but finds herself enjoying nonetheless. As the night progressed, Ivy found… she didn't have to force herself to smile as often as she thought.

Not the most plot-pushing chapter ever, but I hope you enjoyed the read! As always, feel free to comment with your opinions! Enjoy your day, everyone!