THE MOMENT
"You're Majesty!" Lightning Strike smiled with the private joke as he saw the beautiful woman in the first-aid aisle. He was an old, retired Supervillain trying to get back into it. Seeing her there brought back the nostalgia of his younger days. She seemed to regularly need supplies after one of his attempts was foiled, and he had to admit he was mildly jealous of the situation.
"Hello, Ellis," She smiled as soon as she heard his voice, but she was slow to look over at him due to being locked in a choice between salves. "Good timing... were there any electrical burns this time?" She asked.
"Oh... uhh...," Ellis shook his head and looked at the rainbow of products on the shelves. "I tried something new... you're gonna need the magical version," he said as he grabbed a blue bottle that read: 'Chroma Magical Balm' and gave it to Majesty.
"Something new?" she giggled. "You?" She smiled broadly but didn't linger on his out-of-character behavior. Instead, she glanced around the empty convenience store and realized she and he were the only two customers, along with a bored-looking middle-aged clerk who was staring at the Villain intently as soon as he walked in. She seemed to be embarrassed, though, and glanced away when Majesty caught her staring. "And magic of all things? What brought this on?" she asked with sincere interest. She also started idly walking out of the aisle as if she were still browsing, forcing him to keep up to tell his story.
"My mechanical genius is already unparalleled," he nodded. "I thought I'd give magic a try. "
"Completely randomly, I'm sure," Majesty smiled politely at the clerk as they arrived at the counter. "You learning magic has nothing to do with Electra's interest in becoming a Magical Girl."
"You're learning magic!?" The clerk asked suddenly with her attention on Lightning Strike. He was stunned by the question and remained silent as the wispy clerk recovered.
"Sorry," she cleared her throat with a cough. "It's just.. The greatest Supervillain of all, Lightning Strike, deciding to learn magic is kind of a big deal," she said.
"You've heard of me?" Lightning Strike was genuinely surprised. He had fewer fans ever since he retired, and somehow, taking up the mantle again lost him even more fans. But, the lovely clerk with long brown and grey hair was closer to his age than the newest generation of heroes. It was likely she'd been a fan since before he retired.
"Oh my gosh, yes!" she nodded. "I was thrilled you came out of retirement, and then you started shopping here after your Super scuffles. I've been wanting to ask for your autograph...," the clerk realized Majesty was still standing there with a basket of items. "... oh, and you're always here too...," she said. "Are you two...,"
"Just friends," Majesty quickly nodded. "Ellis is actually my husband's nemesis."
"You're Mr. Majesty's wife! That makes you Mrs. Majesty!?" The clerk wasn't sure her night could get better. She'd been ignoring the rather intimidating, 8-foot-tall woman during her weekly visits, but now that she was indirectly connected to Lightning Strike, she'd have to treat her better. "Oh, right, your stuff!" she quickly started scanning and bagging the items."
"My name's just Majesty," she smiled. "My husband is Mr. Majesty. Actually, I think I've accidentally hijacked some of Ellis' time. Would you do me a favor and help him round up the supplies he needs? He's usually pretty sore after John roughs him up."
"I'm not that weak...," Lightning Strike tried to defend himself. He didn't know quite what Majesty was up to, but she was scheming something, and he had an idea that he wouldn't mind. "I think the magical girl punched harder than John," he laughed.
"You got punched by a magical girl?" the Clerk asked. "Are you okay?!" She was done scanning, and Majesty didn't wait for her to state the total; it was perfectly legible, and she paid with a tap of her node.
"What's your name?" Majesty asked her.
"Olivia," the clerk replied. Majesty smiled.
"Olivia, this is Ellis," she formally introduced Lightning Strike.
"Yeah," Olivia nodded. "Lightning Strike is kind of a mouth full. I call him 'L.S.' all the time in my mind," she said. A deep blush flared up on her cheeks as she realized what she had revealed, but there was no graceful way to correct it, so she remained quiet.
"Yeah," Majesty laughed. "John fell into that trap early on too," she said. "There was a hilarious, brief period of time where he didn't even know his best friend's name." She grabbed one of the lotto sheets and wrote his name on it, along with his phone number. Then, she handed it to Olivia so she could see the difference. "Not the letters 'L' and 'S', the name, Ellis," she nodded.
"You were going to give her your phone number anyway, weren't you?" Majesty asked Ellis with a smile.
"At the first opportunity," Ellis nodded. It was technically a lie, but he wasn't going to turn down the opening Majesty created for him. Now that his daughter was growing up and wanting to be a magical girl, he found himself less anxious about her. She was growing up just fine, and maybe now he could consider dating. It'd be the first time, but maybe he was ready. And objectively, he couldn't deny that he found Olivia attractive.
"I better go tend to John," Majesty smiled. "But, I noticed Olivia studying magic behind the counter when I walked in, maybe you two can trade ideas."
"Thanks, Majesty." Ellis waved, and Olivia smiled as well as she walked out from behind the counter to escort Ellis to the first-aid aisle.
"I developed an interest in magic because my daughter wants to be a magical girl," he said.
"Oh... you... have a daughter?" Olivia asked. "Is there a Mrs. Strike?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Ellis shook his head. "So, you're a fan, huh? You know the types of things I was capable of?"
"You're probably still the smartest Villain in the Enclave," Olivia nodded.
"Well then, I'm hoping you won't be too surprised when I explain Electra wasn't born in a traditional sense...," he said. "I created her."
"Whooooaaaaa...," Olivia's eyes widened. "But so, you ARE single, right!?"