Nyte's Point of View
"Achoo!" she sneezed. You'd think an organization with the resources of Stinger could afford to clean its secret lair. Late afternoon light bled through dirty windows that hadn't been cleaned since Jackie Kennedy was assassinated, illuminating the dust particles dancing in the air of an abandoned warehouse. What the hell did they want on a Thursday? Didn't they know she had spring football practice after school?
Taking out a small mirror, the Spider Queen checked her makeup.
Intact, good. Some girls might not like wearing makeup, thinking it too boyish, but Nyte actually liked it. She was a fierce warrior! Some might call it makeup, but to her it was war paint! Don't think she didn't notice Future Hero checking out her plump purple lips the last time they fought! She wondered what his lips looked like under that helmet.
God, I'm such a bitch, she castigated herself. Honestly, thinking about Future Hero when there was only one boy for her, totally unacceptable womanwhore behavior. Nyte never wanted to hurt anyone the way Mom hurt Dad. She forcefully stopped that train of thought. Nyte was loyal! I'm loyal!
The others were already standing in formation when she arrived; their expressions spoke of silent judgment. So what if she was late? Was she supposed to tell Coach Winchester she had Stinger business? The hard ass old bitch was really gonna punish her tomorrow for ducking out of practice early. Such was the price of power.
Mist pooled at her feet. It wouldn't be long now. Unconcerned with what the others thought, Nyte bent over and brushed away the dust around where she was standing. She really didn't want to have to clean this dress just for a meeting.
"Kneel!" commanded Hamburger Satan, their lady's majordomo.
Jesus Christ, where do they come up with these names? Still, Nyte took a knee like all the rest, trying not to get her dress dirty.
A dull hum echoed off the walls. The windows became murky and opaque, a writhing mass of living matter spreading across them like a cancerous growth. Nyte's nose wrinkled as sickly sweet fumes hit her nostrils. They reminded her of the sea, but not in a clean way, like salt and a fresh breeze. No, the air around their lady smelt of rotting seaweed, dead fish, and the end of all life.
The dull hum became a high, keening wail, and Jellyfish Hitler stepped out from the shadows.
What an unfortunate name, Nyte thought, not for the first time. Didn't they know she was Jewish? Did they care? Probably not. Jellyfish Hitler was an alien, or some kind of mutant at least. Human politics meant nothing to her.
"Fufufu," their lady and master laughed in that gross, gurgling way of hers. If she weren't strong, she'd be ridiculous. "Lift your heads, my soldiers! Arise, Stinger! Stinger Sieg!"
"Stinger Sieg!" the group cheered as one.
Hamburger Satan inclined her head. "My lady, all the chiefs of Stinger, North Texas Division, have assembled at thy timely order," she said obsequiously.
"Fufufu, I thank you, faithful Hamburger Satan. Your obedience is noticed." Jellyfish Hitler turned to address the crowd. Jellyfish Hitler was, well, a jellyfish.
A girl jellyfish, at least. It would be weird to be led by a man. The woman they called Jellyfish Hitler wore a pseudo-military khaki uniform, with high boots, a peak cap, and a red armband with the Stinger logo on it.
"I call you here today, my soldiers, to discuss a matter of import. Our enterprises in North Texas have been consistently thwarted of late by a certain man. This man, if indeed it is a man, has powers unlooked for, powers that even my plans have not accounted for. Spider Queen Nyte!" she called officiously.
Nyte flinched at being singled out. "Yes, ma'am?"
"You, one of my Four Demonic Queens, you have engaged this Future Hero, have you not? What insights have you?"
Nyte smiled without realizing. "Oh, well..." Her face was hot, an involuntary response! Honest! "Future Hero is strong, I can tell you that. A squad of our ordinary soldiers is no match, and even a spider mutant such as myself couldn't overcome him. Ah, and he mainly operates in Plano, as far as I'm aware."
"Plano," Jellyfish Hitler said darkly, "the very heart of our operations! We must accelerate our timetable, ladies! The Apathy Engine is not even ten percent charged!" she ranted.
Always with the "Apathy Engine", nobody had ever explained to Nyte what that even was.
Shrewd eyes peeked out from the hood of the jellyfish's body. "And Nyte?"
"Yes?"
"You must engage this Future Hero yet again. Take this." Jellyfish Hitler handed an object to Hamburger Satan, who handed it to her. It was a smooth cylinder that looked a bit like a cattle prod. "Strike with the Pillar of Analysis! We must obtain data on this foe. Once you succeed, bring it back to me, and I shall devise something to reckon with this upstart. Fail me not. Remember your mother's promise."
Nyte gritted her teeth. Mom again. One day she'd be her own woman, just not today.
***
By Friday, Rich felt like he was settling into a good rhythm. He remembered more about these old subjects than he thought he would. Homework wasn't too bad, and tips at Chili's were fat. The manager, anxious to please him, arranged it so he was only sharing tips with his sister, who was bussing tables. They'd have their car soon enough.
"Hey, you two!" Julie greeted them in the hall. Today, she was wearing a leather jacket and combat boots that made her look even taller than usual. "How about going off campus for lunch?"
The girl looked so hopeful that Rich wanted to say yes, but he'd already packed lunches for both himself and his sister, and they were still saving up for that car. Blowing money on takeout wasn't something they could do right now. "Sorry, Julie," he said regretfully. "We're still saving money."
"I could treat you!" she offered instantly. The tall girl looked at Becca. "Both of you! My family is rich, and my Mom bought me a car. I could drive you anywhere you wanted."
This whole conversation was surreal. It was almost like...Julie was simping for him. Richard didn't really know how to handle this situation. "Another time," he said, trying to let her down gently.
For a second, Julie's face contorted in anger before her features evened out. "Okay. We can still sit together at lunch, right?"
Rich sighed. "Sure, Julie, see you then."
Once they were out of earshot, his sister spoke up. "Are you actually going to date her?" she asked out of the blue.
His head snapped to her. "What? No. I'm not going to date anyone for a while. My focus is family and the..." he looked around to make sure nobody was listening in, "...the other thing."
Becca chuckled at his discomfort. "Nobody would blame you if you did. You're a hot, popular boy, and she's the rich, popular captain of the football team. I wouldn't be mad, Rich, seriously."
"No dating till I turn eighteen," he stated definitively.
"We don't turn eighteen until February! That's nearly a year away!" his sister said incredulously.
"So be it." He paused, thinking how he might redirect this conversation to a less embarrassing direction. "You told me Julie was your nemesis. You seriously wouldn't be mad?"
Becca dodged a group of guys as they walked to their next class. "That was before. Now that Julie has a crush on you, she's been on her best behavior, hasn't said one rude word to me. I could live with you dating her. You could do worse, really."
"And you don't feel weird about sitting with her at lunch? Who did you sit with before? Am I keeping you from your other friends?"
His sister sighed tiredly. "Rich...I don't have any other friends. Just by leeching off of you, I'm more popular than I could ever dream of being."
Woah. That was sad. He didn't know his sister's life was like that. "And you'll be even more popular once you're on the football team, too. In fact, sitting with Julie and co will be good practice. Before long, they'll be your real friends!" Rich assured her.
***
"Damn, Rich, you aren't like the other boys!" Julie's friend, a big redhead named Jessica who was wider than she was tall, was laughing uproariously at something he said.
"I told you, Whataburger is mid!" Rich insisted. "Not everything from Texas is better. We gas up Whataburger for no reason."
"Wait, wait, what the hell is 'mid'? 'Gas up'? I've never heard any of that shit before." Gwen, a black girl with a six-pack who made a point to always wear something that showed off her midriff, was holding up her hands.
Oh, was I using 2020s slang without realizing? Well, no point in worrying about cultural contamination now! "'Mid' is like 'middling' or 'mediocre'. That's Whataburger. It's decent, but not really that good. There are plenty of other burgers that are better. We just gas it up because Texas." He caught himself. "Right, 'gas up' is like saying something or somebody is better than they are, giving them a big head for no reason."
Gwen was nodding along. "Okay, okay, I can rock with that. If you think Burger King is mid, then what do you like? Not McDonald's?"
"McDonald's is mid, but in a good way. You know, consistent. Wendy's is probably the best fast food type burger, highest quality beef for sure."
"What about Burger King?" Julie asked hopefully.
"Mid," Jessica interjected. The word came out low and powerful, like a royal proclamation.
"Burger King is NOT MID!" Julie cried. She slammed her fists on the table. Jesus, there were real tears in her eyes. Actually, she was wearing purple eyeshadow that made her look a bit like Nyte. Purple streaks ran down her face with the tears. Probably nothing, Rich decided.
"Jesus, Julie, do you care that much?" Becca asked worriedly.
"Yes! Burger King is the king of burgers! How can you not understand that?" Her voice was thick with emotion. Rich had never seen her this passionate about anything. It was impressive how she was standing on business over something so trivial.
"Yeah," Rich agreed, feeling like it was somehow his duty to back her up. "Burger King is not mid at all."
Julie's smile was so bright it hurt to look at.
***
"Another day, another dollar," Richard said as they were walking home from another shift at Chili's. The Friday evening crowd had been good to them.
"Going to school and working is exhausting," Rebecca complained as they trudged along.
"You can quit when you make the football team, but not before," Rich said sternly. They lapsed into silence after that until they walked by a Burger King. Rich froze.
"Look over there," he said quietly to Becca, trying to sound casual.
"What? It's...oh."
Yep. Spider Queen Nyte and a squad of Stinger soldiers were just chilling, out in the open, eating their food in peace in one of Burger King's booths.
"I'm going," Rich told his sister. "Head home, and you can start reheating dinner. I'll be right there after I take out the trash."
Becca looked at him like he was crazy, but didn't try to stop him. Rich's ring was already glowing with Pureheart Power when he slipped behind a 7-11 to transform:
"From a future dark
To a post not set,
Stinger hasn't won just yet,
With Pureheart Power, a noble mission,
Come forth! Future Hero! Henshin!"
"Future Hero rides again!" He made his way into the Burger King. "I hope you paid for your food, Nyte."
The girl didn't immediately look up, absorbed as she was in her Whopper. "Oh, it's you. Can this wait until I'm done?"
Acting casually like this, Nyte looked a lot like Julie. It was probably nothing. "...fine," he agreed testily. "I'll wait for you in the parking lot."
"Works for me," Nyte replied, and washed a bite of burger down with a sip of soda.
Future Hero spent the next five minutes waiting awkwardly for his rival to finish eating. Random people passed by, some walking into the Burger King, others down the street, all being careful not to make eye contact with him.
Am I the weird one here? Sometimes this world made no sense.
"Ah, Burger King is definitely not mid," Nyte said in satisfaction as she walked out of the restaurant.
Who in the hell told her about "mid"?
"Okay, Future Hero," she began tiredly. "There's a boy I like, and you're making me feel like a cheater, so I'm going to kick your ass and get it all out of my system. Prepare yourself!"
She brandished some kind of nightstick and rushed him.
Sensing danger, Future Hero danced out of range and made sure to dodge her strikes with it. It was difficult to get close enough to hit back, what with how wildly she was swinging her baton.
Whoosh! Nyte's weapon was moving fast enough to audibly cut the air. She was driving him backward, trying to box him in. Thinking quickly, Future Hero picked up a track can and threw it at her.
Clang! Sparks erupted as her baton, more like a cattle prod, caused a small explosion when it made contact with the trash can. Seeing his chance, Rich abruptly changed direction and kicked Nyte in the gut.
"Ugh!" She grimaced in pain, but started smiling. "God damn it, you did it again! Stop turning me on!"
The spider woman suddenly remembered she was a spider woman and started shooting webs at him. Little by little, the parking lot became a sticky trap where he had to step lightly. "Stay still!"
"Not on your life, Nyte!" Rich jumped up on a car and prepared to deliver a jump kick. As soon as he was in the air and couldn't change direction, her offhand snapped up and shot out a web, pulling him to the ground.
"AAARGH!" Nyte stabbed him with the cattle prod. Pain lanced through him as sparks flew from the place where her weapon made contact with the Endram Armor.
All at once, the pain stopped. Future Hero just lay there, his armor smoking, feeling the energy bleed out of him. The armor would dispel on its own soon if he wasn't careful.
Nyte stood over him. He braced for the coup de gras. It never came.
"Thanks for playing, Future Hero!" she called brightly, her form retreating in his peripheral vision. The last thing he heard was "I'm loyal" as she disappeared in the distance.