Trials of Astania

👑 May 2023 Winner: The Villain is My #1 Fan?!

Thanks to everyone that participated in this month's challenge, Essence of Emerald! We loved reading all of the entries!

Introducing this month's Champion of Astania: RowanLaneStories, with their story The Villain is My #1 Fan?!

Check out a chapter of their entry below, or visit the external link of this chapter for the rest of the story.

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CHAPTER ONE - Not Everyone Can Be a Hero

Sorry, but it's true.

To be a hero you need a few specific things, as outlined by Texan Hero Network;

1.) A heart of gold (subjective, Jay thinks.)

2.) Loyalty to your teammates (unless you are Alpha Man. Alpha Man is Class S so he doesn't really do 'teamwork.')

3.) A unique power that can be used to protect the city (though unique is subjective, considering the city has a bunch of heroes with run-of-the-mill superstrength.)

Regarding that relatively low bar of entry, you'd think that Jay would have been accepted into the Network years earlier. But the council had rejected him so many times—nobody wanted to believe that common sense was a superpower.

But after years of vigilante work, he'd proven himself once and for all. He was finally, finally, a superhero.

"Hey, where's Pixiepuff's latte???"

Okay so he's a super sidekick, one that fetches lattes occasionally. No shame in that...sidekicks still play a vital role in protecting the good citizens of Neo Houston...

Jay looks up from his phone. Magical Girl Pixamena is scowling at him, holding her winged Pomeranian securely in her arms. She's astoundingly cute, with her long pink twintails draping down a petite frame, but her frills and glitter have no effect on the sidekick. He has come to understand that they forgot to add "everything nice" when concocting this overpowered pixie...

Jay coughs awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "Um, I didn't think it was a good idea to give Pixiepuff coffee, considering caffeine is bad for dogs. I know he's a magical dog from space, but the vet said he should be on a typical canine diet."

Pixamena flushes, squishing the purple dog to her chest. "I don't care what the vet said. If I told you to do something, you're supposed to do it. I will be the one who decides what's a good or bad idea."

Jay sighs. "I'm just doing my job, Pixamena. My power is the ability to recognize the wisest course of action—It's common sense that you shouldn't give dogs coffee."

"Common sense sucks," Pixiepuff growls, "I want my chocolate Frappuccino with double whip and two pumps of sugar-free vanilla!"

The blond glares, green eyes narrowing at the pomeranian. "You get a pup cup and you'll like it."

The purple dog returns the intense look as his little tongue dips into the whipped cream.

The sidekick suppresses his anger. He and his partner haven't been getting along very well recently...they haven't been on many missions yet, but when they did work together, they seemed to continuously clash.

It just seemed that Pixamena resisted anything he suggested!

Thankfully, before Jay can embarrass himself further by throwing hands with a fluffy purse dog, his phone vibrates. In unison, both Pixamena and Jay tap their phones, causing a hologram to project in front of them.