Hero For Lust

"From now on, you will follow your new senior Carbonated Alliance member's orders, 'Speed-o'-Sound Sonic.'"

"I won—"

Before Sonic could finish, Caspian sent him away through a gate.

He turned to the enthusiastic former Heavenly Ninja Party and asked, "If you could travel somewhere, where would you like to go?"

Confused murmurs echoed through the group.

"Forget it. I know you well enough." For show, Caspian bumped his fists together. A gate spawned, wide enough to swallow the entire group, and sent them to a better place.

At last. He could address the singular, most important matter. "You've been quiet. I'm guessing you were waiting for me to speak up…"

Tatsumaki's emerald eyes locked onto his. "Do you think I'm happy you dragged me here today? That I'm happy I could finally reunite with Blast?"

"I mean, you're still smiling,"

"Irrelevant." She took a step closer, the green aura around her flickering with agitation. "You knew. You knew seeing him again would—"

He patted the top of her head and said, "I'm not capable of reading minds. What is this actually about?"

"What's it about?" she batted his hand away. "It's about you! You went to see others first. Why would you make me wait? Especially when…"

Caspian saw his opening. He reached out and took her hands. They were trembling. He held them, his own steady, trying to offer a silent anchor in her emotional storm. "Especially when...?"

He watched as the simple question seemed to unravel her.

Then came the whisper, "I'm pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course you dumbass!" she retorted with the familiar spark of her fiery temper.

The insult didn't even register; all he heard was the confirmation. A laugh, pure and full of unrestrained joy, escaped him. He released her hands, then gently cupped her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks as he searched her glistening emerald eyes. What he found there was everything: not just her fierce pride, but a raw, beautiful hope that mirrored the feeling blooming in his own chest.

"Tats..."

Closing the small distance between them, he pulled her into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the universe. She remained stiff in his embrace — a dash of surprise — before she melted against him, her own arms winding around his back. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her apple scent, trying to ground himself in the reality of this one perfect moment.

Caspian pulled back just enough to look at her again, his smile so wide it felt like it might crack his face. Without another word, he lowered his head and captured her lips in a kiss.

"Let's go celebrate."

She didn't release her hold on him as she asked, "Where to?"

"There's an end-of-summer festival happening today."

"I-I might enjoy that…"

¤ ¤ ¤

Pacing?

Caspian couldn't pace himself. 'God' and several other issues needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Things would move faster. They had to! He couldn't possibly let his children enter a world with issues like 'God,' still lingering about.

¤ ¤ ¤

A day later…

In one of the world's generic wastelands, two individuals stood over several others who were bound and seated on the cracked earth.

Wavygyaza still struggled to believe it. The Neo Heroes had crumbled before they ever reached the world stage. But she was exaggerating. The organization would continue, reborn as a branch of the Carbonated Alliance, led by Blue, Blast's son. Truly led, with full autonomy. The ones who tried to turn her into a puppet lay here now, bound in ropes of pure gravity, unable to move.

It was insane what absolute strength and a will to get things done could accomplish in such a short time. And who was she to thank? The ridiculous head-pat ma—

"Here." Caspian's voice cut through her thoughts before he handed her a family-sized bag of cough drops. "You know what must be done."

"Why are you doing this?" a prisoner pleaded. It was Fuzzy, the true founder of the Neo Heroes and Shibabawa's grandson, his voice thin and stripped of all its former authority.

Wavygyaza's gaze hardened. She would not forgive this man, nor would she forgive Destro, or Elimin, or any of the others gathered here. Their potential betrayal ran too deep. She glanced at Caspian, who offered an encouraging smile and opened a small gate. Dozens more bags of cough drops tumbled out, forming a preposterous mountain at his feet.

"I'll be with you every step of the way," he promised.

Wavygyaza returned his smile, a grim sense of purpose settling over her as she tore open the first bag.

And so it began.

The initial screams for mercy quickly dissolved into desperate, wracking coughs as she forced tens, then hundreds of drops down their throats. The product worked with startling efficacy; their throats soothed so thoroughly that gurgled pleas became crystal clear, right until the very end. When the coughing sputtered. Then ceased.

Only silence remained, and the faint, sweet scent of menthol on the wasteland wind.

She stood and dusted her hands with a satisfied air. The heavy, methodical focus she'd held just moments before vanished, replaced by a dazzlingly bright mood.

"All finished!" she announced. "And wow, those things are great for clearing up a cough!"

Caspian's stoic expression melted into a matching grin of approval. "I'm glad you recommended doing this." He raised his hand.

And she met his palm with a resounding SMACK!

"What do you want to do now?"

Wavygyaza pondered. "We should go celebrate, don't you think?"

"Yes," he agreed. "We can leave the trash to rot." He moved to her side, and a gate swirled into existence before them. "Where to?"

A flash of boldness sparked in her eyes. She leaned in and whispered her destination in his ear.

In response, a slow smile spread across Caspian's face. He gave her several gentle head pats, a gesture she secretly loved, and his voice was warm with approval.

"There's no better way to celebrate."