you got it dude. kinda a little incredibles inspired??? idk
itās a dumb joke, at first. of course it is - vigilantes and superheroes have been outlawed for years, not to mention thatā¦ theyāre a bunch of kids. they wouldnāt even know where to start. sure, some of their parents were superheroes or villains or vigilantes before they were forced into retirement, but itās all a joke anyway, really. they each pick out their superhero names, laughing at how silly they feel, each one of their names dumber than the next.
mal decides sheād be the enchantress, playing on her motherās villainous alter ego and use of magic. evie would be blue queen, referring to her motherās penchant for stealing coveted jewels. jay laughed and tossed in his own name, genie, for his fatherās powers. carlos says fuzz, for his motherās love of furs, and everyone laughs. doug claims the brain, hoping to break away from his fatherās reputation for being the goofy comic relief. and ben finally settles upon taking up his fatherās old moniker - the beast. (mal suggests that he be the pup, since technically heās his fatherās son, but ben rolls his eyes and throws a pillow at her.)
itās all a joke. untilā¦. until one of their own gets taken. evie bursts into their hangout, crying.Ā ādizzy is gone,ā she says. everyone sits up, confused and concerned, mal rushing to her side.Ā āwhat do you mean dizzy is gone?ā carlos asks, from his spot on jayās lap.Ā āsheās gone,ā evie sobs, nearly collapsing in malās arms.Ā āthey took her.ā
everyone freezes. they know who sheās talking about - a source of evil so powerful that no one dares speak their name. theyāre the source of evil that the superheroes and vigilantes fought against for years, until the government decided that they could handle them and the independent villainsĀ themselves and made it illegal to take crime upon oneself, even if you had superpowers. they take children. they deal in slave trade for villains seeking henchmen. mal swallows, remembering when her own mother tried to make a deal with them.
mal swears fervently, and ben stands.Ā āweāll find her,ā he says determinedly, and everyone, even evie, turns to look at him incredulously. jay scoffs.Ā āhow?ā he asks.Ā āitās not like we can do anything.ā ben swallows.Ā āremember when we talked about being vigilantes?ā they call a group meeting.
they sit at the round table in the center of their hangout, called that because it is not only a literally round table, but because king ben and his band of knights gather here much like former superhero, king arthur, once did.Ā āthat wasnāt a serious suggestion,ā carlos says eventually, breaking the silence. everyone looks to him and he swallows.Ā āiām as upset as the next person that dizzy was taken, butā¦ the government thinks they can handle it. plus half of us arenāt even superheroes. weād just beā¦āĀ āvigilantes,ā doug finishes. he looks nervously around the table.Ā ācarlos is right. he, evie, and i wouldnāt really be able to doā¦ anything to help.āĀ āevie knows combat,ā mal defends. evie, still sniffling puts her head in her hands and begins to cry anew. ben shakes his head.Ā āyou canāt think that?ā he asks, and both doug and carlos say nothing. ādoug, youāre the brains of the operation, and carlos, youāre the heart. we need you.ā
jay pipes up, finally.Ā āitās not safe,ā he says.Ā āthe government would catch us instantly.āĀ ānot if we donāt tell anyone,ā ben says surely. jay raises an eyebrow.Ā āyou sure you can handle dropping everyone you know like that, princey? your mom and dad? because i had my parents ripped away from me.ā ben swallows.Ā āi know, jay,ā he says.Ā āi know. i love my parents. but we canāt justā¦ sit here while evieās sister is gone. we just canāt.ā
doug takes in a deep breath, and grabs benās hand above the table.Ā āiām in,ā he says.Ā āmy parentsā¦ my parents would barely notice. my fatherās barely even lucid half the time. iāll help.āĀ āyou know iām in,ā mal cuts in.Ā āi go where evie goes, and i want to help her find her sister.ā carlos and jay look at each other. carlos has fear in his eyes, but slowly, he nods.Ā āokay,ā jay says. he looks back to ben.Ā āokay. weāre in.ā
they run. they run fast, far, and they hide. evie sews them suits out of scraps from inside her motherās old dress store. mal constructs armor based off of designs she found in dizzyās sketchbook, of all places. doug tries his best to erase all traces of their identities. jay steals what weapons and supplies he can find. carlos takes to the streets, attempting to get any information on them and their warehouses. and ben trains everyone, teaching mal and jay to better control their magic, and teaching doug and carlos hand-to-hand combat and weaponry.
theyāre small, but powerful, and within weeks, everyone across the country has heard of their team. women gossip about it in beauty salons, children tell each other stories on the playground, convenience store employees discuss it on their smoke breaks. they talk about how the enchantress is angry and vengeful, using her magic to get information out of each opponent. blue queen is sad but strong, using her daggers to pin her enemies to walls and holding blades to their throats. genie uses his own magic to push his own wills onto others, controlling their minds as easily as anything else. fuzz uses his bow and arrow, shooting at any member of them he can find. the brain is constantly setting traps and hacking them into different locations. and the beast, seemingly returned after years and years of retirement, leads them into battle. like any good king. their goal? find one girl. their mission? take them down.
