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22 - Silly (Taiko)

Nor watched the black cat, waiting for the thumbs up. The mule was squatting low, his hands braced against the thick sheet of concrete just above him. The weight was manageable, even though he could feel the multiple footfalls pressing down upon him. He wouldn't even struggle if this weight was tripled. The kids were chatting excitedly to their parents and each other, excited for the superhero's demonstration.

As soon as the assistant gave him the thumbs-up, the mule braced himself and with an easy grunt, he lifted up the concrete slab. The kids shrieked with shock, then with glee as they felt the slight wobble of being lifted off the ground and being at the mercy of the super-powered strongman. It wasn't the heaviest weight Nor dealt with that day, but he made a bit of a show of pretending to strain as he stood up and outstretched his arms.

They throbbed a little, the symbiotic nanobots inside his body swelling out to give him a slightly more cartoonish appearance.

The audience gathered in front of him applauded with delight, and he flashed them all a winning smile, as bright as the red and blue zebra stripes of his body. He let his right arm rest by his side, supporting the whole platform and all the citizens on it with his left. More applause, more whoops and cheers, and then it was time to gently settle the volunteers back down before vertigo set in.

It was a simple display of his strength, one he didn't mind displayed. Particularly for a charity event like this one. Other heroes weren't quite as fond of doing these little junkets, feeling like it got rid of some of their mystique. But Nor enjoyed it! It was much lower-key and more manageable than his usual city-saving endeavours, and it kept him active.

After the demonstration, he sat at a table for autographs(slightly overpriced ones, but it was all going to a good cause anyway) and allowed his mind to wander a little as he signed the photos of himself and made polite small talk with the kids and parents who queued for him. There was a rhythm to it; greet the kid, ask them their name, ask them what their favourite superpower was, let them take a selfie, give them a handshake that he pretended was too powerful for him to handle, then let them go. It ran the risk of becoming like an assembly line. The next half hour positively melted away.

"This is such an honour, Nor." A raspy voice snapped him out of his autopilot.

The voice was a vaguely familiar one, but Nor couldn't place it. He looked up at the over-coated figure, and looked into the eyes of the portly boar.

"Hello, thanks for coming!" Nor noticed the boar was alone. Not common, but not uncommon either. He did have some adult fans after all.

"Do you mind if I pay with coins?" When he heard that tone - the word 'coins' in particular - a memory twigged in the back of his head, and a realisation of what wass about to happen next

"Wait, you're-"

Nor hadn't been on guard, and it was too late for him to react. A swirling little coin slipped from the sleeve of one coat, attached to a chain. It swung once, twice, three times, then back in the sleeve. It was barely a fraction of a second, a blink-and-you'd-miss-it gesture, but for the mesmerised mule that fraction of a second stretched out into minutes. The spinning, glittering curvature of the coin, the familiar monochrome whorls on the faces... it brought him back, right back into a familiar headspace, stored somewhere deep in the back-ups of his memory. The coin disappeared, but his trance remained.

"Ah, sorry, I don't have enough change. Have a good day." The boar walked off into the crowd. He continued to go through the motions for the rest of the signing. His mind was elsewhere, even more so now. As soon as he finished the signing, he excused himself, and began to wander towards a place that his body knew the way to, even though his mind didn't.

*snap snap snap*

"Wha... huh?" Nor shook his head. He had a heavy, groggy feeling like he'd been face first in a pillow for the last three days. He was sitting in a stool, his arms resting on springy ropes, as taut and elastic as the floor beneath him. Bright lights shone upon him, and as he got his bearings he saw he was surrounded by a cheering audience. Were they cheering, or jeering? He couldn't quite tell.

"Wh.... Where am I...?"

"You remember."

There was the voice again. And there was the coin again, dangling to and fro in front of his eyes. Nor smiled and gazed at it like it was an old friend.

"I... remember...?" He asked. The fuzzy paw of the boar's hand cradled his snout and kept it from falling over.

"You just got knocked silly. Good thing I'm here to remind you of where you are, and what you're doin'."

"Uh-huh..."

Past the coin, Nor could see a shape, dressed in a red leotard. Or brown. Or blue. Hard to tell with his swimming head and the swinging coin. They looked a little scrawny, too.

"You're gonna go another round with the little guy. Let him pound you. Make it look good, okay? Gotta see the underdog triumph over Nor the 'Roided, don't we? Your manager's got a lotta money riding on this one."

"Pound... yeah..." Nor nodded dopily. That's right. He was Nor the 'Roided. A well known heel and a terrifying powerhouse of a wrestler in an underground ring.

His eyes kept following the swinging coin from side to side as his manager continued to growl in his ear.

"First, though, you gotta get bigger. Gotta make yourself look scarier. The bigger they are, the harder they fall right?"

"Uhhuh..." Nor nodded. His body did as it was told. He grew from just under 6 feet to nearly 8 feet, his body broadening to match. His muscles bulged and rippled as he stood from his stool. His bulging package throbbed for good measure. He snorted as he stared down at his opponent with angry, swirling eyes.

The meek little marten looked terrified, eyes wide as dinner plates, his whole body shrinking in on himself. It might be a bit difficult to make this one look good...

The announcer's voice boomed overhead, and Nor crossed his massive arms, grinning wickedly.

"Looks like Teeny Terry's not out of the woods just yet! Let's see just how he fares in another round against NOR THE 'ROIDED!"

Nor flexed for the spectators, revelling in their boos, before turning his attention to the little brown noodle. He was barely even half his size... poor thing was gonna get snapped like a twig.

He rushed forward with a roar. Teeny Terry did the same, though he sounded like a pathetic little pipsqueak. There was no way he was going to-

*snap snap snap*

The whole crowd whooped with joy as the marten held Nor over his head, with just one hand. The mule was grinning from ear to ear, eyes swirling, tongue lolling free from his mouth, looking every bit like a defeated villain in a child's cartoon. He looked ridiculous, but some small part of him was loving it. After all, there was still the next part of the charade...

He was dropped down onto the mat, making it shake as he slumped on the ground, ass in the air, ripe for the victor's taking.

Terry was one of the reasons (aside from the hypnotism, of course) that kept Nor coming back, that kept that bit of conditioning inside of him. The wimpy guy was pretty well endowed, not to mention an excellent top. Getting plowed was a nice capstone to this mesmerised moonlight as a humbled heel.