Arch Frenemies

Part 74: Foiled Once Again

"Dad?!?"
The teenage hero shrieked, and both she and Toxic were up on their feet in an instant. Landing behind him were 3 other members of the Peace League, it was Technovore, Dauntless and Kaharina.

Captain Galaxy started angrily hovering towards them.
"Dad?" She asked once more, nervously. Toxic braced himself, hiding his face behind his arms, waiting for the pummeling of a lifetime.
"Dad wait I can explain..."
Galaxy Girl whimpered as he closed the last few feet, but to the surprise of everyone he pulled her into a big embrace, lifting her off the ground into a hover.

"You’re... Alive..." he whispers into her hair,
"My baby girl is alive..."
His face awash with the expression only a suffering father could display. Galaxy Girl relaxed and wraps her arms around her father, returning the hug. It had been such a long time since her father had really hugged her.

The reporters and spectators swarmed the building, enjoying the field day they were having. Toxic quickly pulled on his gloves, as the cameras flashed like lighting in a tropical Florida storm. Microphones shoved towards them in droves, a thousand questions being yelled all at once by the media, making each individual one almost unintelligible.
Mostly, everyone just wanted to know what on earth just happened? The other Peace League members pushed their way through the crowd towards their leader. 

"Get them out of here." Captain Galaxy called back to his teammates, nodding towards the statuesque evil duo. Dauntless eyes deliberately avoided those of Toxic and Galaxy’s, and his eyes stayed fixed to the ground in shame as he effortlessly picked Quickstep and flew away.
Kaharina wrapped her arms around Cha-cha and in a cloud of turquoise mist, she carried her away. 

Technovore started to walk towards the still unconscious Mastermind.
"Leave him to me."
Captain Galaxy stopped him. "Technovore, I believe that is our missing ray." He calmly points to the oversized 90's ray gun on the stage. "Take that to the prison as well and use it to keep the speedsters in that stasis."

Toxic and Galaxy Girl simultaneously gulp as the mountainous blonde hero turns on his heel to face them.
"Now... my dear." He started, overly calmly, the hero painfully aware that the entire world was now watching this confrontation, and despite the calm display he was giving, both of them immediately noticed his clenched, white gloved fists. Captain Galaxy was nothing if not a master of public relations.
"Could you please explain to me..."
he next nodded his eyes at the cameras. “To the world, where have you been for the last 2 weeks young lady, and what on earth are you doing here..."
He sent Toxic a death glare that could match even the most maniacal Supervillains.
"With him..?"

"Mr. Galaxy sir, I can explain...”
Toxic started but was cut off rather unexpectedly by Galaxy Girl.
"HE WAS CONTROLLING ME!"
She shrieks, shoving him hard away from her. She reached under her suit and yanked off the big piece of costume jewelry, a bedazzled necklace that she had worn for the last dance but had forgotten to take off when she changed. She tossed it on the ground and crushed it under her boot, obliterating it into a fine metallic powder. 

"This terrible fiend jumped me after I fought those two speedsters off back in Stark City, I very weak after they left me fir dead, so he forced me under his metaphorical thumb, and faked my death." The hero explained.
"He's so maniacal, so twisted that he was using me to make the ultimate statement. That he was so powerful he could turn his greatest enemy into his greatest weapon."
She said, placing her fists onto her hips with full super hero flair.

"Those two who attacked me had infringed on what this monster considers his turf. He's so criminally deranged that he actually thinks Stark City, MY hometown..." She pressed her thumb against her chest, eyes never leaving the camera.
"And all the good people in it, somehow belong to him."

Toxic tried not to let his jaw gape too much while he listened to hear speak, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Galaxy Girl... His lifelong rival, was not only breaking her strict moral code and covering for them... rather brilliantly he might add, she was actually doing her best to restore his legacy as a brilliant, respected supervillain. 

"So this was a turf war?"
The FOX network correspondent asked, her microphone outstretched, gleefully eating up the ecstatic hero's every word.
"Yes!" Galaxy girl bobs her head enthusiastically.
"They hit his territory; so he used me to strike back at theirs. Something about poetic irony, or some other monotonous villain bubkiss he was going on about... You start to tune it out after a while."

"How was Mastermind involved?" Asked CNN.
"Yes what was he doing here?!" followed BBC news shoving the microphone closer to her face, he could see the claustrophobia building in her eyes. 

By now Toxic was ready to step up to the challenge.
"Blast, I was foiled again once more by Galaxy Girl!" He announced rather over- dramatically, stepping forward toward the cameras and beside Galaxy Girl. The mass let out a simultaneous gasp, all the reporters taking a step back, but immediately turning the cameras towards him.
"Oh please, you insects are not worth my time." He rolls his eyes.
"It seems I’ve made my father’s mistake and underestimated the capabilities of my rival." He said, sending her a seething glare.

"She broke free just as they took over the hotel! I should have known that a hero as strong and as annoyingly vigilant as her could never fully be controlled by any device. You always manage to be the hero just in time!" He accused, but without giving her a second to answer, with the exaggerated flair that only the son of Mastermind himself could pull off. 

"When those two sorry excuses for villianility realized it was I interfering with their plans, they quickly sped and kidnapped my father from his prison, and a sort of Mexican standoff ensued."
Then his brows furrowed and he sighed. 

"Now I do not mean that in anyway offensive, and not in any way to offend anyone from Mexico, because I see how easily offended everyone gets nowadays. To clarify, I meant Mexican Standoff in the way that involves guns. Google it."

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A/N: Happy Sunday Guys,
If anyone wants to win a signed copy of this book, check out the official 'Catalina Grayson' Facebook page to enter to win.
Have a great rest of your day. :)
-QueenOfGeeks