A Date With A Nemesis

"And if you refuse…wait…what did you say?" Manderand asked from the ledge of the building in order to stand taller than her. His black trenchcoat stopped flapping in the wind, as if it too was shocked by his nemesis's words.

"I said I would love to go on a date with you," Captain Hearts said in a cheery, high pitched voice. Her signature heart shaped red cape waved in the wind.

Manderand blinked several times. He thought it would be a punishment for her, but she seemed enthusiastic. There must be an angle she was playing. 

"You're screwing with me, right?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

Manderand framed his face with his hands, bringing attention to his marred face from several battles with the deep fryer. Co-workers can be cruel like that. "Have you not seen my face?" They don't call me, The Burn Victim, for nothing."

"I like a man with scars. It tells a story I haven't heard yet. And you have a lot," she said and licked her lips.

He had no idea what to say to that. She was the first woman to not find his face hideous. Hell, even his own mother thought he was gross. Yet standing below him was a petite young woman, who looked ready to devour him instead of fight him. 

"Don't you even want to hear what I am planning?"

"I do! Where are you taking me? I love seafood, but I am up for anything!"

Manderand stepped down from the ledge, partially in defeat. "I meant about my diabolical plan for the city…"

"You can tell me all about it at dinner. So, where and when?"

"Um… tonight?"

"Then I better get dressed. Pick me up at seven. 505 Squirrel Avenue North." Captain Hearts blew him a kiss and skipped away to the rooftop door.

"Captain Hearts," Manderand called to her before she left. 

"Call me April," she said, sending back a flirty smile. "I'll see you later."

She left him on the top of the building with his thoughts, which were all upside down. He expected this to be a tooth pulling experience, yet she was more than willing. A part of him wanted to believe she was genuinely interested, but the realistic part of his brain screamed it was a trap. She is leading me into a trap at her place, if it even is her place. What kind of superhero would give their address to their nemesis?

"Oh, I'm not letting you get out of this date that easily."

***

Manderand arrived at the place. 505 Squirrel Avenue North. It was five thirty and he was sure he beat her there, since he took his quadcopter. No better way to travel around the city, including the suburbs. He parked it out of sight, so his position wouldn't be given away and went up to the simple, one floor brown house. The roof and siding was brand new and lawn gnomes littered her freshly cut lawn. He walked up the cobblestone path to her front door, the whole time feeling he was being watched. Little did he know, the gnomes indeed turned in place, facing him at all times. 

He tried the handle and the door opened. It creaked as he watched the door slowly open to reveal an empty hall with a hardwood floor.

"I bet there is a trip wire somewhere," he said to himself, but after his search came up empty, he went inside. 

To his right, there was a small living room with a love cushion in the shape of a heart. The cushion faced a small TV on a wooden TV stand. All the Muppet DVDs were on display below the TV and a few romantic comedies. He had to admit, puppets were pretty awesome, even if he was more of an Elmo fan. Continuing on, the kitchen was to the left with chinese takeout boxes filling the sink. Otherwise, it was all clean and average looking. 

"How does a tiny thing like her put away all that food?" Manderand said and noticed something skit across the hall into the open door ahead. "I saw you. Come on out."

There was no response. His heart thumped in his chest, moving closer to the partially opened door. He fumbled for his lighter, which was his main weapon of choice. Flame always listened to him as long as it got started first. He clicked his lighter on and the flame followed the motion of his other hand. He pointed his hand like a blade and the flame followed suit, bending in the same direction.

Manderand got to the door and took a deep breath. I'm going to get you.

He jumped into the room and an orange tabby cat sprung off the pink and white bed. Its meows showed frustration with his interruption. Those same meows also startled him, causing him to shoot fire at her lamp. It came in like a dart, turning the lamp shade ablaze immediately.

"Oh, shit!" Manderand rushed over to put out the fire. He blew on and swatted at it, but it still kept spreading. He ripped it from the outlet and lifted it away from the rest of her bedroom. His eyes scanned her room, trying to find a way to put out the fire. His house never had this problem. Almost nothing was easily flammable and he made sure to have plenty of water around. Here though, it was a fire paradise. Everything was flammable. Then he spotted the bathroom. "Perfect!"

He hucked the lamp into the toilet and it shattered into pieces, mostly all collecting in the bowl. The crash echoed out of the room, but he was relieved the fire was out. Nothing screamed "I was in your house" more than a house burned to the ground. Manderand made short work of the extra pieces and flushed down the evidence of his presence. He washed his hands, when he heard the outside door close. 

"Muffin, I'm home," Captain Hearts announced to her cat. 

Manderand shut off the sink. She was home sooner than he thought and he hadn't found her trap yet. He needed to hide. His head turned to the shower. No, she will get cleaned up here. He tip toed out of the bathroom room and heard her footsteps in the hall. There was no time to waste, so he sprinted as quietly as he could to the open closet and closed it. The light shined through the narrow slats in the closet door. It made him feel exposed, but he was confident his hiding spot would hold up. He turned one of the slats up so he could time his escape. 

On the bed, he saw Captain Hearts hugging her cat, oblivious to his presence.

"Oh, Muffin. I am having the best day today! You won't believe what happened!" Captain Hearts said. 

"Meow," Muffin said.

"He asked me out. Can you believe it? Me! It took all my strength not to kiss him," she said and laid back on the bed. "I promise I played it cool. You should've seen me."

"Meow."

"You're right. I need to get dressed. But what should I wear?" she asked her cat and sat up. "I can't wear this. I don't want him thinking of work. What do you think he finds desirable?"

"Meow."

"Something different. Okay… maybe purple! Yeah, purple will work." She sprung up from the bed and skipped to the closet. 

Manderand didn't know what to do. There was nowhere to go and he couldn't fight his way out. All this time, there was a woman out there interested in him, but he was about to torpedo it by being found in her closet. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see her reaction. 

The left closet door opened and she snatched a purple evening gown from her wardrobe, completely unaware that a few inches away was her date for the evening. If Manderand could let out a sigh of relief, he would have. Too bad she was still within ear shot as she slipped out of her hero outfit. Manderand didn't dare look. He already violated her privacy once today.

Captain Hearts's little feet slapped against the floor of her bathroom and the sound of running water leaked into the bedroom. It was his cue to get out while he still could. Manderand did a quick once over of the room and scrambled to leave before he was spotted.

"Meow!" Muffin screeched as Manderand accidentally stepped on its tail. 

"Muffin, what's wrong?"

Manderand's eyes got big and he sprinted out of the room. His desperation made him clumsy, causing him fall. He crawled back to his feet and got to the door when her voice sailed through the air once again.

"Manderand?" Captain Hearts said, standing in the hallway with only a long white towel around her chest. Water dropped from her wet hair onto the floor. "You're early."

Manderand turned to face her, thinking she must not have noticed him running to the door, given his response. "I… hope that is okay. I noticed your door was open and–"

"Of course. I was just getting ready. Make yourself comfortable."

Manderand pretended to close the door and sat down on the loveseat. The little beads made a waterfall sound of comfort he had never heard before. His eyebrows raised at the pleasant surprise, but he fell out of his seat when he heard her voice next to him. 

"I'm ready!" Captain Hearts said, smiling ear to ear. 

He gazed upon her and time stopped in her presence. The dazzling purple gown commanded his attention, pairing nicely with her white flats. Her jet black hair shined from still being wet. 

"Woah, you look… great," he said, wondering how she got dressed so quickly.

"Thanks!"

"I feel a bit underdressed…"

"I didn't realize you wore anything other than trenchcoats," she said more as a matter of fact. 

Well, shit. I guess I don't. How have I never noticed that? "Still, you look so nice and I–"

She put her finger over his lips. Her smile and eyes were gentle as she looked into his eyes. "You look great. I wouldn't have you any other way."

It was the first time he had been touched in years, let alone by hands as soft as hers. People always gave him a wide berth, but she was face to face with him. His grotesque face didn't cause her to vomit or rush to the bathroom to rub off whatever she touched. Instead, she almost seemed to struggle to take her finger away, lingering for a few seconds. 

Manderand's heart fluttered, fully believing she was interested in him. He had to make this date one they would never forget. Lucky for him, he actually planned a good one. 

"Do you like to fly?"

***

"Woohoo!" Captain Hearts screamed with her fists in the air. She sat behind Manderand with her bare legs tangled around his waist as a makeshift seatbelt. They were flying well above the tallest building in the city. "Can you do a barrel roll in this thing?"

Manderand smirked. "Can I? You better hold on tight."

She put her arms around his chest and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her breath smelt like cherry candies and she whispered into his ear. "I'm ready when you are."

He turned the joysticks and the entire vehicle flipped over. Her hair fell straight down for a second or two as she looked in awe of the city lights below. It was a sight she had never seen before. Then gravity started to take hold. They descended fast as the props began to fail one by one.

"Uh oh," Manderand said, moving the sticks and tapping on several buttons on the front console.

Captain Hearts didn't respond, clinging tighter as they began accelerating toward the lights. Manderand ignored the constriction of his muscles, frantically trying to get his flying machine going the proper direction. The props spun again, but it only accelerated their descent. Manderand had exhausted his flying options and with the buildings getting closer, he had only one option left. He slapped the big red button off to the right and a parachute came shooting out the back. Captain Hearts screamed from the sudden loud ejection, but their worries were about to end.

The parachute caught the air and jerked them up, turning their dramatic fall into a glide reminiscent of floating from a cloud. Captain Hearts was still tightly clung to Manderand, burrowing her face into his neck, shaking uncontrollably.

"April, it's okay. The parachute deployed."

"Parachute?" she asked, opening one of her eyes. Once she realized they weren't going to suffer a grizzly death, her body relaxed and lifted her head up. "Heh… would you look at that?"

Manderand didn't know what to say or do next. His little stunt stranded them in the air for the next few minutes. It was easier when he was flying. He didn't have to talk if he didn't want to. And at the restaurant, there would be food in his mouth to buy him time to think. Here, there was nothing but gusts of wind. Thankfully, Captain Hearts made it easier for him.

"It is beautiful up here."

"Yeah… it is…"

Captain Hearts let out a relaxing sigh. "Thanks for taking me up here. I always wanted to see the city from the clouds."

"Really?"

"Yep. If I could, I would always be up here," she said and rested her head against him.

"You know, you didn't have to be a superhero. You could've been a pilot."

"And crash land inside one of these lovely buildings. I don't think so." Captain Hearts laughed along with Manderand, both imagining her flying through the Hero's Inc building. "Besides, who would stop you from destroying the city?"

"I think you have already done that."

Captain Hearts turned to face him, grazing his skin with her nose. Manderand thought for sure she would recoil away from him, but she didn't.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

"Why did you become a villain?"

He looked down at the ground. "I guess ever since… this." He gestured to his face, ashamed of his appearance.

"What happened?"

"I was working at Delano's Hamburgers."

"The one on fifth and grand?"

"Yeah. There were some coworkers who thought it would be funny to dunk me in the deep fryer."

Captain Hearts squeezed him. "No. Are you serious?"

"I wish I wasn't." Manderand could feel her concern. His mother was like that initially… until the bandages came off. "After that, I tried to get justice through the system, but none of them served a second in jail. The worst thing that happened to them was they got fired, but so did I. Delano couldn't afford to have his burger reputation ruined by a freak like me. I guess my mom had the same idea. Left me soon after as well."

She moved her left hand to turn his face toward her, ensuring they made eye contact. "You didn't deserve that."

"And you don't deserve this."

"What do you mean?"

"I forced you on a date. Threatened to burn the whole city to the ground if you didn't. You deserve someone more kind and attractive..."

"First off, you didn't force anything. I never even knew about your plan until just now. I wanted to go out with you. And second, you are attractive. Maybe not to everyone, but to me you are."

"You're just saying–"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before she laid a passionate kiss on his mangled lips. Manderand didn't know what to do as he felt her tongue creep into his mouth. It was enchanting to him. A simple touch was already more than enough, but a kiss turned his mind to mush. He wanted to stay in that moment forever, but gravity had other ideas. Their bodies jostled as their vehicle landed on top of one of the taller buildings. Their tender kiss was over, but not how they felt about each other.

She smiled at him and caressed his cheek. "I hope I wasn't too forward. I've been waiting to do that for a long time."

"No… it was nice."

"Just nice?" she teased.

"No! Better than nice. It was–it was–"

He was interrupted once again by her laughter. "You know, you're cute when you're flustered."

Manderand did a quick glance around the top of the building. "Well, what do you say we get out of here and I take you out for dessert?"

"Or maybe we make out up here for a few more minutes and then go pay those burger flipping bastards a visit?" she asked and spun around his waist to face him.

"Woah, I thought you were a hero?" Manderand asked, smiling at the idea of spending more time on her lips.

"I think it would be a pretty heroic act to get justice for my boyfriend."

"I'm your boyfriend now? Wow, you certainly move fast."

"Moving slow is overrated," Captain Hearts said and began sucking on his neck.

"Can't argue with that."

And thus began their passionate make out session. She ended up rolling them out of the vehicle and on to the rock laden floor. Neither cared about what lied beneath them or who was watching them from an adjacent building. A woman in a yellow jumpsuit had her binoculars trained on the new couple and tapped the earpiece in her ear.

"Boss, I have a recording you're gonna want to see."

***