makermakeswriting - Tumblr blog

makermakeswriting · 5 months

Text

TPU Chapter One: The Warehouse (D1)

Zephyr remembers when she was first picked up by an agency.

She was one of the 5% of the human population to have the Powered gene, giving her powers. She also was one of the even fewer Powered to be picked up by one of the Superhero Agencies. They helped her train how to be a more precise flier and helped her learn basic martial arts.

Of course, with her rise in prominence, there came someone else. Electrode. She has been told that in terms of power, Electrode was nowhere near the most dangerous, and yet she never seemed to be able to catch them. Hell, they didn’t even have a power. They just built things, and yet she has never been able to even touch them.

So Zephyr has been doing her own research on the few hours she got off, and eventually followed the sparse crumb trail to one of the warehouses. And today, on her first day off in a year, she was going to investigate.

Donning simple black clothes, she sneaks onto the premises and goes to one of the many side doors. Checking the handle, it surprisingly opens with ease. She goes inside and closes the door behind her.

The warehouse is unerringly clean and organized. On every wall are clear and large instructions on what to do in case of a fire, chemical spill, or technical failure, and the meanings of each symbol. She also finds a map and sees exactly where the office is, which is only accessible from a place listed as Work Room.

She quickly looks at the map, memorizing the way to the Work Room, and turns to see a henchman. He’s tall, wearing a simple blue shirt and large black pants. Around his neck is a lanyard with Electrode’s symbol on is: a circle with lightning bolts surrounding the outside. On the lanyard are a few pins, one with the trans flag, one that says “stay sexy and dont die”, and one with the Milky Way.

“Uh…” He looks her up and down before a spark of recognition appears, and Zephyr steps back, preparing for a fight. “Oh! You’re Leto Marcella!” He smiles at her before realizing something. “Wait, why are you here?”

Zephyr is … very confused. Aren’t henchmen supposed to work for the villain? Why aren’t they trying to attack her? “Why does that matter to you?” She responds, not wanting to give away why she’s here.

“Uh, because it’s your day off?” He asks like she hadn’t realized.

But … “How do you know that?” She asks defensively, getting ready to attack if she needs to.

“Oh! Because Elecrode doesn’t want to fight you on your days off! Or hours, I guess. At least, that’s what they told me during initiation.” He shrugs before looking at the clock above the map. “Oh shit! Sorry, I have to go. Feel free to explore so long as you don’t commit arson or assault!” He runs off behind Zephyr, and she stands there in a fog.

She walks to the Work Room, vaguely aware of what was happening. She accidentally bumps into someone when she opens the door, their coffee mug falling to the floor.

“Ah shit not again.” They mutter, looking for a broom.

“I’m sorry!” Zephyr apologizes, running towards the one nearby and coming back as quick as she could. “I wasn’t paying attention!” She starts to sweep it up before looking up and seeing the person staring at them.

“What the fuck are you doing working on your day off?!” They cry out, pushing Zephyr out of the way, and her hands drop the broom and dust pan immediately. They grab the cleaning supplies and quickly sweep up the mess. They start to mumble under their breath as they go to throw it away, turning sharply to Zephyr once they’re done.

“Explain yourself!” They demand.

Zephyr crosses her arms. “I wanted to check out the warehouse, make sure my months of hard work weren’t for nothing.” She huffs. “Why are you guys so nice? You’re supposed to be-”

“Evil? Yeah, that’s part of the job description.” The person goes to a coffee machine next to the trash can. “But the pay’s not bad. And there’s a clause that’s like, about ethical sourcing of all materials and food. I heard that Jeremy got a specific one about only stealing from people who get over a certain amount every year. Electrode is surprisingly good at writing contracts.” They take a now full cup of coffee and sips it with a hum.

Zephyr relaxes slightly and steps forwards. “Pay?”

They turn to her with a smile. “Oh yeah, minimum here is like, $20 an hour. We also get consistent hours. Most people work eight hours a day, five days a work. A few of our more experienced employees, like me, work almost 24/7, except we get one day off a week, which we choose once we get that contract.” They take another sip of coffee. “But then again, we’re usually the ones who have less to lose.”

Zephyr almost chokes at the minimum wage. She doesn’t even get paid. She has a separate job outside of being a hero, two in fact. It’s why she rarely gets any time to rest.

The person giggles at Zephyr, handing her a coffee mug. “Cappuccino, right?”

Zephyr takes the mug in shock. “How did you know?” She asks.

They grin. “Do you know this person named Virtue?” They say cryptically, and Zephyr gasps.

“Iced caramel latte?!” She squeaks, and Virtue laughs.

“Bitch I thought you knew my face!” They take another drink of their coffee. “I was your regular for five months, and we worked together for two!”

“Is this why you left?”

“It was the pockets- wait let me show you.” Virtue takes out three alarm clocks out of one pocket, and then goes back in to pull out a box of honeycomb.

Zephyr just watches in surprise. “This is the uniform?” Virtue nods. “Uniform at the Agency is spandex.” Virtue gags.

That’s when someone clears their throat. Zephyr turns to see Electrode’s mask staring at them. She almost screamed, but for some reason she couldn’t.

“Zephyr.” Their distorted voice filters through. “How’s the coffee?”

Zephyr splutters. “We’re arch rivals and you want me to give you a coffee review?” She demands. Electrode tilts their head.

“Yes? Look I know you don’t know but we don’t fight in the warehouses. Conflict kept to a minimum.” They explain. “Especially after we built the underground library.”

Virtue shudders, so Zephyr can guess that whatever happened was pretty bad. “Okay.” She starts carefully. “I just, I don’t understand. You’re in a band shirt! I’m not allowed to listen to music anymore!” She cries out, and Virtue and Electrode gasp in horror.

“Babe, you need to quit now.” Virtue says, placing a hand on Zephyr’s shoulder. “Let us enlighten you to the wonders of music.” Electrode nods.

“I can’t, it’s a lifetime contract.” Zephyr laments, and Electrode gasps again. “I was ten, you can’t blame me.”

Electrode starts to spark, literally. “Those fucking assholes!” they yell. “Ugh, fighting you was so cathartic! What the fuck government?!”

Virtue takes out an eraser and throws it at Electrode, who calms down at that. “Sorry, uh, enjoy the coffee. I have a conference with those guys from Europe. If I don’t come out in thirty, you know what to do.” They turn and leave.

Zephyr is escorted home soon after by Virtue, who happens to live next door.

“Sorry about stalking you, by the way.” They apologize. “Electrode is very adamant that you two fight on your terms without you actually … saying anything verbally.”

“So you memorized my work schedule.”

“Exactly!” Virtue smiles. “Well, gotta get back. See you whenever. And you can always talk to me if you want to know more about initiation!”

Leto blinks, goes into her apartment, and goes right to sleep.

#original writing #original character #superpowers #superhero #superheroes #zephyr #virtue #electrode #draft one #the powered universe #tpu #creative writing #writing #heroes vs villains

0 notes