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It was a normal Tuesday morning on the campus of Rondville University. Erin O'Neill made her way through the halls of the MacDonald building On her way to her next class. Morning classes had gotten a bit harder ever since she had started her new ‘evening job.’ Dr Chloe Ward, her mentor and the previous woman to hold the mantle of Damselfly, told her this was one of the pitfalls of being a hero while a student or working a day job.

Being a hero has gotta be so much easier when you’re independently wealthy. Ok, life in general is easier when you are independently wealthy, but still. At least I don’t completely stand out from the other students who were up too late.

Erin glanced around the halls and saw plenty of tired eyes and yawning students with cups of coffee or cans of energy drinks in their hands. Then she saw someone she recognized from her class. Vern Wright. In the last few weeks he started carrying a huge insulated mug. It was full of tea she knew because he went on a bit of a rant about how disgusting coffee was last week before class had started. It wasn’t the tea that got her attention, however, it was the limp in his right leg as he made his way to the classroom. As she got closer to him she could see the telltale signs he had been keeping late hours like bloodshot eyes and an overall slouched posture.

She wanted to say something, but they didn’t have the time. By the time they entered the classroom the professor was ready to begin the class. Even as Erin typed notes from the lecture into her laptop she kept looking over to Vern. He had his bad leg stretched out as he tried his best to focus on the lecture without passing out in his chair. Eventually the class ended and the students started to pack their things to leave. Still feeling a little concerned she went over to where Vern was slowly getting up being careful of his leg.

“Hey, Vern, you ok?” She asked after a moment of walking up beside him.

“Huh? Oh, hey Erin.” He covered his mouth and yawned. “Just a little tired, that’s all.”

The yawn was contagious and Erin couldn’t help yawning as well. “Yeah, tell me about it, but I was more worried about your leg.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” He took a sip from his mug. “I just banged it really hard against the end table this morning. Damn thing still hurts.” He shrugged before slinging his bag back over his shoulder

Erin hadn’t been a hero for long, but something about his explanation felt off to her. Then again, it could just be regular embarrassment over how he actually hurt himself. Either way, she didn’t see much point in pressing the issue.

“Just don’t be a stupid male and put off seeing a doctor if it continues to hurt, ok?”

Vern let out a short laugh, “I’ll be fine, but don’t worry, I’m not that kind of idiot.” He gave his now empty mug a little shake. “I need to swing by the cafe to refill my tea before my next class, catch you later.”

Erin watched as Vern left the classroom. He didn’t seem to be limping quite as bad as before class at least.

I hope it’s just him being a stupid man and nothing else. But anyway, I need some more food before my next class. I’m glad I have a good meal plan with the way this armor is making me chow down. Erin tucked her laptop into her shoulder bag and left the classroom.

***

Damselfly flew in the skies over Rondville. Flying was one of the best perks of being Damselfly. She flew toward the edge of the city before dropping down at the old utility building that hid the entrance to the lair. She saw Chloe’s car parked near the door, but that was to be expected. After retracting her wings, Erin entered the building. With her enhanced vision in the suit, she had no need to flick on the lights and simply made her way to the hidden elevator.

Once she was in the lair, she saw Chloe sitting at the monitor station scanning through the ‘wire feeds.’ The term was old, predating the internet as it is known today. Wire feeds are special news and information made available to heroes but not the general public. What had started as a special telecom service now ran as an encrypted part of the web. You could even access it on a smartphone with the right app.

Erin retracted her helmet as she joined Chloe by the terminal. “What’s going on?”

“Looks like we have a new metahuman in Rondville.” She brought up a blurry picture.

“Got to love bad security photos, looks like this was snapped on 1990’s equipment.” Erin leaned in closer. “Is that armor or just a costume?”

“Hard to judge from the stills, it could also be their actual body, I’ve seen stranger.”

“From what I can see, it looks like they are stealing our aesthetic.”

Chloe laughed. “You have no idea how many heroes and supervillains have arthropod themed identities in Canada. Hell, Toronto has six different bug-themed heroes alone. But that’s not the point. Going back to the image, although the equipment isn’t state of the art, it’s hardly archaic either. Look at the background, notice how everything else looks normal? There are abilities, spells, and tech out there that can mess with recording devices.”

“Wow, ok, I didn’t know about that. So, what did this guy do?”

“Sometimes he’s doing the normal hero stuff, stopping muggings, breaking up gang fights, that sort of thing. However, he’s also been breaking in and stealing jewelry. Although this just hit the wire, it seems like he’s hit three places this week, the other two just didn’t report it.”

Erin raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t they report it?”

“They were pawn shops, and sketchy ones too. Looking a bit deeper they may actually be fronts for illegal activity. They tend to solve their own problems rather than get the cops involved, if you get my drift.”

“Hmmm, and the last place?”

“Harrington’s, a small jewelry shop off of main street. There’s no solid proof, but there's been rumors for years the owner has some connection with funding the UDA in the past.”

Erin shook her head. “So, are they just targeting scum then?”

“Look, these may not be good people, but it doesn’t give this guy any right to break in and steal. Two wrongs and all that. More so, if this is the start of some underworld shenanigans, things could easily get out of hand and spill out into the streets putting civilians in danger.”

“That’s a real good point, sorry. Do you have any idea where he will hit next, assuming he’s still in town?”

“A contact I have in the RPD gave me a short list of questionable places that could be targets, assuming he’s going to continue his pattern. I’ll upload them into your map and you can patroll between them while I monitor here for anything.”

“Ok, sounds like a plan. Let’s catch this guy so I can get back to working on my history paper.”

Chloe smiled. “And I can get back to grading that batch of essays.”

***

Damselfly was back in the skies above Rondville. She was flying higher than she normally would to keep as much of the small city in view as she could. Suddenly, she spotted something flying low, just above the rooftops below. With barely a thought Damselfly‘s sensors locked onto the object. She could see it was person sized and red in color. Damselfly started to dive down to investigate. As she did so, she watched as the red clad entity picked up speed and blew through the door of the Rick’s Pawn Shop like a missile.

“Chloe! I found him!” She called over the com as she slowed from a powered dive and landed perfectly on her feet.

“Be careful, we have no idea what powers he has.” Her mentor replied.

“I’m always careful.” Damselfly replied as she cracked all four hands' worth of knuckles.

She could hear the noise coming from inside the pawn shop before she stepped through the door. Damselfly carefully entered with her right hands out, ready to fire a stinger dart. She had no trouble making out the criminal digging through a shattered jewelry case. He was dressed in some kind of suit, though very different in actual design from her armor, it was obviously modeled after an insect. He looked up as he shoved a handful of engagement bands into a bag.

“Sorry to end your little shopping spree, whoever you are, but you’ll be coming with me.”

“You can call me Riot Wasp, and you’ll have to catch me first.”

He deployed his wings and charged right at Damselfly. She fired off two stingers, but he deflected them with his gauntlets. Riot Wasp slammed into her and they both flew back out the ruined door. Thinking fast, Damselfly grabbed him with all four arms and deployed her own wings. She flipped him over and sent him crashing down onto the pavement. She let go and landed on her feet as he skidded to a stop on his back.

“Ow,” he groaned.

“Stand down, or it’s going to hurt a lot more.” She extended all four of her arms ready to launch stingers.

“Why are you protecting a place like this anyway?” He slowly pushed himself up. “You know they are tied to organized crime, right? Not to mention even the legitimate side of their business takes advantage of people.”

“Just because they are scummy doesn’t make it ok to rob them.”

“I disagree.” he opened his palm and a greenish gem sparkled before a beam of energy fired out towards Damselfly.

It hit her square in the chest and knocked her back. She quickly recovered and fired off a stinger. This time it hit her target. His suit absorbed most of the impact, but from his groan she knew he still felt it. Damselfly was done with warnings and she charged towards him. Riot Wasp managed to deflect the next two darts, but not the kick that slammed into his side. He retaliated with a fist that slammed into her shoulder.

It was hand to hand combat now. Damselfly made the most of her second set of arms to throw punches while blocking simultaneously. Riot Wasp for his part showed significant strength in the punches and kicks that did land. It was unclear where the fight was going to go when they both heard an ear shattering roar coming from above them. They looked up just in time to see a massive form coming down on them from above. They both dove away as whatever it was landed on the street hard enough to crack and dent the asphalt.

The being slowly straightened up. At first he looked like a heavily muscled man, but his concrete gray skin and red eyes belied he was far more than just a man.

“You think we’d just let you rob us?” He cracked his neck as he looked between Damselfly and Riot Wasp. “Wait, there’s two of you damn bugs?” Fine, I’ll squish you both!” He charged at Riot Wasp first, who barely managed to leap out of the way, landing ironically next to Damselfly

“Who the hell is that?”

“I don’t know, but he’s definitely taken Buffmax serum.”

“What?”

“Seriously? Are you an alien who just got to Earth?”

“No…”

The bruiser ripped out a post box and hurled it towards them. Riot Wasp ducked as it flew over his head.

“It’s what happens when you cut soviet era supersoldier serum with other illegal performance enhancers. It was all the rage among musclebound punks back in the 90s.”

“I wasn’t even born yet! And how did he get juiced up on it?

“I don’t know, maybe he found a cache hidden in a gym. This isn’t the time to talk about this!” Damselfly leapt out of the way as he charged at her. “And this is also your fault for stealing from the wrong people!”

“Fuck, ok, let’s just take this juicer out before he hurts someone, then we can talk, deal?”

“Deal!”

Damselfly leapt up into the air and fired four stingers into the brute’s back. They all hit but he didn’t seem to notice. He did notice the concussion beam Riot Wasp fired from both his hands, knocking him back several meters. The brute roared but it seemed more out of rage than pain.

“That barely even slowed him down!” Damselfly shouted as she fired more stingers at the brute.

“If he is on Buffmax it will dull his pain receptors.” Chloe came in over the coms, “But just because he’s not feeling it doesn’t mean it’s not hurting him. Use your mobility and flight and keep landing blows. Eventually his body will give up and collapse.”

“How did that not knock him down?” Riot Wasp dodged a trash bin that was hurled his way “What is with this guy?”

“With the right medicine and herbs a man can become immune to pain.” Teribi, the spirit-AI of the arcanontech suit replied. “However shielded his mind is, however, doesn’t mean his body can not be broken. Also, I doubt I can completely absorb the impact if he lands a hit, so I suggest keeping him at range.”

“We got to just wear him down!” Damselfly shouted as practically dive bombed the brute.

“So, hit him until he stops moving?” Riot Wasp asked as he fired off another beam before taking to the skies as well.

“Pretty much!”

“Get down here!” the brute bellowed, he grabbed anything he could find and started to throw them up into the air, but they were able to easily dodge the clumsy throws.

Between the repeated hits and the exertion of throwing heavy objects into the air the predictions of Chloe and Teribi came true. His breathing grew labored and soon his body just gave out, collapsing to the ground. Damselfly and Riot Wasp landed a safe distance from his body.

“Is he…” Riot Wasp asked softly.

“No, he’s still breathing. Paramedics are on the way along with the police.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to just leave him here on the street, not to mention there’s the whole robbery thing to deal with.”

Riot Wasp could hear the sirens quickly approaching. “Look, just let me talk, alright, I can explain to you why I’ve been doing this but I can’t deal with the cops.” He deployed his wings.

“You’re not going to just run away from me?”

“I’m not, just follow me somewhere safe and we can talk.”

Damselfly didn’t trust him fully, but he had stayed to fight the brute rather than just running away. That was worth hearing him out at least.

“Alright, but you try anything funny and you’re going to end up with a bouquet of stingers in your rear.”

They took off into the night just as the police and paramedics arrived on the scene. Damselfly followed closely behind Riot Wasp, maintaining a target lock on him just in case this was a trick. He led her to an old apartment building with a small corrugated metal shack on the roof.

“What is this?” Damselfly asked after they landed.

“Just a little place with some privacy. No cameras, out of view, and nowhere near where I live.” He ran a hand over a padlock and it opened.

She followed him inside. A single bulb lit up the shack which didn’t seem to have much of anything inside it besides some empty shelves. She closed the door behind her and turned to Riot Wasp.

“Alright, why don’t you explain why I shouldn’t beat the snot out of you and hand you over to the police along with the big guy?”

“Because I’m not a, um, bad guy.”

“I literally caught you shoving jewelry into a sack after you broke down the door to a pawn shop.” She crossed both sets of her arms.

“I don’t have a choice, I need the gems.”

“This isn’t like stealing a loaf of bread to survive, you don’t need diamonds to live.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what it is. I didn’t mean for all this to happen, but I’m trying to make the best of it, alright? I’m just a normal guy under here, a broke ass university student.” He touched the center of his mask and it retracted back into his suit.

Damselfly gasped. She couldn’t believe it. “Vern? It’s you?”

“Wait, you know me? How?”

“Erin! Don’t you dare let him know who you are, do you hear me?” Chloe warned over the coms.

“Disable external communications.” Damselfly subvocalized. “It’s easier just to show you.” she said softly before retracting her helmet.

Vern's eyes went wide. “Erin? How can you be Damselfly? She’s been around for decades!”

“The original one retired years ago. I found the suit and took on the mantle. Speaking of suits, where the heck did you get yours?”

“Last summer when I was visiting my mother’s family overseas. I got separated on a hike and I fell down a sinkhole. Inside I found a chamber where the suit was preserved from ancient times. I couldn’t help touching it, and, well…”

“You don’t have to continue, the same thing happened to me. Next thing I know the latest version of the Damselfly armor is bonded to me.”

“Yeah, just like that. I used it to escape the chamber and find my family before compressing it down to a medallion around my neck.”

“So, that’s how you became Riot Wasp, but why all the stealing?”

“It has to do with the arcanontech nature of the suit. It’s mostly technological, but it kind of runs on magic. It needs aspected gems for power and for the systems to function. Especially to feed what I call the spirit-AI. Even when it’s just sitting there in medallion form it needs to be powered.”

“So you rob stores looking for these special gems to power your suit?”

“They are mixed in with normal gemstones, it’s easier to just sort them out at home. And I don’t just knock over anyone, I go after people who deserve a little misfortune.”

“It’s still stealing!”

“I’m stealing from thieves and criminals. I can’t afford to power the suit as a university student, so I make the scum of Rondville cover the costs and pay it forward by busting up other criminals and protecting people.”

‘You’re not a hero, you’re a vigilante!”

“So what? It’s not like you’re a cop, it doesn’t stop you from helping people. What matters is protecting the city, not silly honor codes or semantics.”

“It does matter!” Erin said as she got up into his face and pushed a finger into his chest. “Two wrongs don’t make a right, that’s just basic ethics. We aren’t cops, but that doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want as long as bad guys get punched in the face.”

“That kind of attitude is how gangs and organized crime can still exist in our world.” he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. “They do more damage to the people at large than any maniac that shoots lasers out of his eyes.”

Erin felt the emotions just bubbling up through her body as she debated Vern. it was more than just anger she was feeling, her entire body felt flushed and hot as she stared him down. For his part Vern couldn’t look away from Erin if he wanted to. Her eyes were burning with passion and it was catching him on fire.

“You can’t just keep this up forever. If it’s not me then it will be the next goon they hire to take you out, or you’ll get the attention of heroes from another city or…” Erin trailed off.

She didn’t notice how close their faces had gotten during the argument, or how deep and passionate Vern’s green eyes were. She could feel his breath on her lips and the heat she was feeling seemed to explode. It felt like forever and an instant at the same time, but the next thing they knew their lips were smashed together in a hot and desperate kiss.

Their bodies pressed together tightly as they held each other. It felt like the suits weren't even there as they pressed and slid against one another. It was like they were people possessed by lust and passion. Both the Damselfly and Riot Wasp suits responded to the needs of their owners. Erin didn’t even notice as armor sunk back down into her skin leaving her completely nude. Vern never consciously instructed his suit to collapse down, but it did so. It became nothing more than a large medallion on a heavy chain around his neck, leaving his body fully exposed as well.

Although they were now both stripped down, it did nothing to lessen the heat they were feeling. Erin jumped up, wrapping her arms and legs around his body. Vern stumbled and almost fell before he caught himself. He then pressed her back up against the wall of the shed. The cool metal felt good against her burning body. There was more than a little bumping and grinding until they managed to get into the right position.

Neither wanted to waste any time. As soon as Vern managed to slip in, Erin locked her legs around his body. She gripped his shoulders tightly while Vern pushed her hard up against the wall of the shed. They were both moaning and grunting, lost in the moment of pure lust. Erin felt it building inside her like a pressure pushing her to the limit. Then in the middle of the white hot passion it finally hit. She gripped onto Vern like a drowning woman. Crying out loudly as she pressed her body with nearly crushing force against his.

Vern slumped forward with her, leaning against the wall. He felt weak in his knees, but he couldn’t just drop Erin to the floor. She panted and moaned as her pulse still raced. But as her heart started to slow down, a clarity of thought started to come over Erin.

“Oh my god…”

Vern blinked, knocked out of his stupor. “Ah…yeah…”

“Let me down, please.” Erin sounded more than just a little embarrassed.

Honestly, Vern felt that way too. Without saying anything, he helped Erin down and back onto her feet.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” She said in a harsh whisper as she wrapped her arms around her body.

“I hadn’t planned on it either.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow.

“If I was looking for a romantic encounter I would have picked a place with furniture.” Vern gestured to the shed. “It just kind of happened.”

Erin looked away. He was right, there had been no coercion or forcing, they just happened to end up having a quickie.

“Yeah, it just happened. We’re adults, right? We can be mature about this.”

“Totally, yeah.”

Erin leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. Now she was starting to feel the chill in the air.

“Maybe we should get dressed, it’s not exactly summertime.”

Erin pushed off from the wall and took a deep breath before summoning the Damselfly suit. Vern watched as it seemed to flow out from her skin and coat her body like some kind of liquid before solidifying into the familiar armored plates. Erin’s head remained uncovered. She opened her eyes to see Vern just staring at her.

“Here I thought staring at my boobs would be more interesting.”

“No, I mean yes, I mean…That was just really cool. I didn’t see what really happened when we were, you know.”

“How about you get your pants on and we can continue the conversation.”

Vern nodded. He took the large medallion into his hands and mumbled something under his breath. Suddenly what looked like red ribbons spun out from the medallion, wrapping up Vern like some kind of glowing mummy. Then with a shimmer they took form into the familiar Riot Wasp suit. Vern had to lower the helmet to meet her eye to eye.

“Is that better?”

“Yes,” Erin let out a sigh, “I’m not going to lie, I enjoyed what happened, but I’m not about to make it a regular thing.”

He scratched the back of his head. “That’s fair. So, are you going to take me in or…”

“I’m not going to hand you over or tell anyone who you are under the mask. Let’s call it professional courtesy.”

“Right.” Vern’s tone said he didn’t fully believe her.

“I’m serious. I’m also not happy about your vigilante stance. However, you did stop to deal with that brute instead of just running away.”

“I mean, it was my fault he showed up, you were right about that. By the way, is his name actually Brute?”

“I don’t know. If not it’s probably something in that wheelhouse. Someone who will take sketchy super soldier serum leftover from the grunge rock era isn’t going to be all that creative with a codename.”

Vern chuckled. “No, probably not. Look, I know we don’t see eye to eye on things, but if you need some help, you can give me a call.”

Erin nodded. “I better get going. I know I’m going to get yelled at big time over this.”

“Sorry,” he said softly but genuinely.

“Just try to keep things quiet, ok? Even if I don’t come to track you down, someone else will.” with a thought her helmet deployed around her head. “Stay safe out there.”

Damselfly opened the door to the shed and took three steps before taking off into the night sky. Vern watched her fly off before he put up his mask and did the same.

***

Damselfly rode the elevator down to the lair. She had decided to just wait until she was in person for Chloe to chew her out. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Unbelievable! I can’t believe you turned off the coms. And I know you let that vigilante go, so don’t try to tell me otherwise!”

Erin sighed as she retracted her helmet. “Chloe, please, I-I knew who he was.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you should compromise your identity! The wrong conversation overheard between you two in the unmasked world can lead to the worst situations even if he was an actual hero. And that’s assuming he doesn’t go full villain in the future and come after you and your loved ones.”

“Ok, ok! I get it! It was stupid!” Erin shouted back. “But it wasn’t the dumbest part of tonight.” She turned away embarrassed.

Chloe’s face softened and she let out a sigh.

“Let me guess,” her voice was softer now, “the little talk you two were having got out of hand and next thing you know you were in each other’s arms, right?”

Erin snapped around, a shocked look on her face. “H-how?”

Chloe removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened because of the suit.”

Erin blinked, but couldn’t find the words. Chloe motioned to the chairs by the monitor station and they both sat down.

“There’s a, for lack of a better word, a personality to the suit.”

“Like the part that wants to adapt and be upgraded?”

Chloe nodded. “It’s not like an AI system that communicates with words, but there is something there. When there is a certain combination of emotions it can trigger a sympathetic response in the suit.”

“What kind of emotions?”

“In this case? Anger, mixed with attraction.”

“What? That can’t be-”

“Really, you tell me, is he cute?” Erin’s cheeks blushed deep red. “That's enough of an answer. You got into a heated argument with a cute boy you liked on some level. The suit then cranked your libido up to eleven, and you know the rest.

“Oh god…but wait, why did Ver, I mean, Riot Wasp reciprocate?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you just pushed his buttons, maybe his suit has similar tastes.” Chloe shrugged. “You’ll have to discuss it with him.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.” Erin said, looking away.

Chloe placed her glasses back on. “I’ve got one more uncomfortable question to ask you before you hit the shower.”

“If it’s about protection, I’m on the pill.”

She shook her head. “No, but that’s good to hear. You said you already knew him. How likely are you to see him in public moving forward?”

“It’s inevitable unless one of us drops out of the university.”

“Ah. Damn, that will make things difficult moving forward.

“No shit.”

***

Vern made his way to one of the forests just outside of Rondville. He would have preferred to be alone for the trip, but Teribi had other plans.

“That was not how I expected your talk with Damselfly to go.” Vern could hear the smirk in his voice. “She was quite spirited, not that you held back either. I never would have guessed you were the type of man who would like spicy women.”

“Must you talk about it? It was supposed to be a private moment.”

“You’re the one who smashed me into her breasts.”

“I can’t take off the medallion, remember?”

“No, but my previous partners would flip me around to their backs.”

“I’ll remember that going forward. But still, why are you going on about it?”

“I don’t know how long it has been since your previous time with a lady, but it was far, far more since mine.”

“Wait a minute. When things started getting intense did you do something to me?”

“First of all I was well aware of your interest in her, you can’t hide that reaction from me.”

“God…”

“And secondly, she was obviously feeling a little influence from that lovely suit of hers. I just evened the playing field, as you say.”

“How are you picking up on sayings and idioms so quickly?”

“I get bored in your classes and access the academy’s wi-fi network. It’s important that I understand the modern world.”

Vern sighed as he descended down slowly into the trees. Under the canopy stood an abandoned hunting cabin. It wasn’t much, but it gave Vern a place away from his parents to store his stash of gems and practice with the suit. He had done some repairs, at least enough to keep out the snow and rain, and stashed some supplies there. He once again ran the glove of his suit over the padlock on the door and it unlocked.

“I am going to need some additional aspect gems after tonight’s activities.” Teribi said after Vern switched on a small LED lantern.

“I’m feeling a little hungry myself. Let me get a fire going and then I’ll get you something.”

Vern wasn’t sure what was going to happen moving forward, but he suspected things had truly changed.

_________________________________________

Characters are property of Gryphus1

Written by Syntaxerror37

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