Crystal Ch. 02

*****I'll be placing the list of heroes/heroines and villains/villainesses featured in the chapters from here on out so you won't get confused. Now, back to the story! -DM23*****

Featured:

Commander Shinobay - Force fields, Eye vision

Osprey - Bird-like abilities

Ghost - Invisibility, Intangibility

Zipper - Enhanced Speed

Shell - Bulletproof, Enhanced strength

Jasper - Pyrokinetic, Flight

Crystal -- Hydrokinetic, Cryokinetic

Hyper - Flight, Hyperbeams

Cherry - Teleporter, Martial artist

Dot - Cat-like abilities

Chapter 2

The car parked outside the National Heroes Tower (NHT, for short), and Max stepped out, trying to blink the shock out of his eyes. He was just in one of the heroes towers, the headquarters of all heroes towers to boot. If that wasn't enough, he also had sex with one of the heroines in there. He turned a deep shade of red that threatened to become permanent if he didn't concentrate on something. He wiped his sweaty hands and took out the note written for him.

It read:

Max, I sent some guys to come pick you up. We left your things behind because it was decided you wouldn't need them and could get replacements and/or new stuff. I can't wait to show you your new room. I'm sure you'll love it. I'll see you when you get here.

With lustful love,

Crystal

The sex they had flashed through his mind and Max grew a boner instantly. With all that hot, steamy sex running rampant without a leash, Max was close to requesting to take a seat in the car and let one loose. Unfortunately, one look at the security agents told him it wasn't a good idea, so he kept the request to himself. And then, they walked into the NHT. For regulars, it might not have meant a thing, but for Max, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment he would never forget.

Right in the middle of the lobby, which itself was humongous, going as high as the length of the building, there was a gigantic statue portraying Solarium, the first public hero, who was able to absorb sunlight from the Sun, holding up Dictator Jones, the first villain overall, who had the ability to take control of the mind of others. Max knew of these guys. They had the greatest rivalry ever, with Solarium stopping Dictator Jones evil plots, who responded by making innocent civilians, including Solarium's family, jump off high buildings from different locations.

"Max!" he heard.

Focusing ahead of him, he saw her. She had an obvious glow about her as she walked with two other heroines towards him. Crystal was, of course, in another one of her uniforms, but in Max's mind, she was naked, sweaty, and . . .

He mentally slapped himself. He wasn't a horndog hoping he'd get more sex. But then again, he did lose his virginity to a hot, sexy heroine last night. A heroine that jumped in his arms, causing him to stagger a bit. She smelled like strawberries, her hands locking around his neck, her lips attacking his relentlessly, and her breasts pushing in his chest. Max hands roamed just about everywhere they could reach as Crystal slowing started climbing on him.

"This isn't a porn studio, you know," one of the heroines huffed.

Crystal immediately jumped down and blushed as Max attempted to fix his clothes. Literally everyone was staring at them, the receptionists, the agents doing various tasks, and the agents standing right next to Max.

"Um, yeah, girls this is . . ." Crystal began.

"Max Potenti," the same heroine interrupted. "Age: 23. Date of Birth: April 1, 1993. Zodiac sign: Aries. Likes: soccer, physical work, and rest. Dislikes: baseball, procrastination, and laziness."

"He's not a book report, Cherry," Crystal rolled her eyes.

"Commander Shinobay said he wants a report on him," Cherry retorted. Max could clearly tell she was all about business.

"Yeah, not sneak in his room and ride him like one of your toys," the second heroine spoke up.

Max didn't know what made him blush: the fact that they knew he and Crystal had sex, or the fact that Crystal had 'toys'.

However, Crystal knew what made her blush. "I didn't ride him like one of my toys, Hyper," Crystal snapped, disregarding the fact that they were even seen. "Besides, you don't know how good he is. It may have been his first time, but he was incredible!"

"Hm, then maybe I'll spend a night with him," Hyper smirked, taking a step towards Max.

"Back off, Hyper. He's mine," Crystal glared, grabbing Max's hand.

"Can you two stop acting like horny sluts?" Cherry sighed. "We have a very important duty to take care of and it won't get done if you two keep trying to get into Max's pants. Now let's go, Commander Shinobay wants to meet Max."

They led Max to an elevator, leaving the agents behind. Inside they pushed the button they wanted and the elevator went up. When they arrived at the floor, they walked to a door, revealing a room large enough to hold two meetings, one on each side of the room.

On one side of the room, there was a older man sitting behind a desk, sleeping with a scowl behind his greying beard. It was clearly one of the weirdest things Max had ever seen. Cherry cleared her throat and the man's eyes opened. He didn't even move, but it looked like was awake the whole time he was sitting there.

"Commander Shinobay, we brought Max," Cherry reported.

"Come in," he replied. To Max's surprise, his voice wasn't deep. It was hoarse.

"Do you want some water, Commander?" Crystal asked, noticing the same thing.

"I got some," he declined. "Just got finished yelling at Jasper to stop causing reckless damage around the downtown area."

"Again?" Cherry shook her head.

"Yes. He was fighting the veteran villain 'Acrobat' and was being led around like a sheep to a slaughter," Commander Shinobay coughed. He took a sip of water and sat back. "Please come in, take a seat. I want to speak with Mr. . . . Max Potenti."

As they all took a seat, more heroes arrived and everybody started greeting each other. Max jaw was hanging wide open as he experienced another once-in-a-lifetime moment. Seriously, how many people gets a chance to meet not one, or two, but the whole squad of hereos?! All at once?! Every hero was there: Osprey the leader, Ghost the detective, Zipper the super fast hero, Shell the exoskeleton hero, the hot tempered Jasper, and the nocturnal feline Dot. Everyone sat in their respective seats, females on side and males on the other (with the exception of Max) as Commander Shinobay stood up.

"Alright, let the meeting begin," he coughed. "First, I would like to announce that we have completed the construction of the Hero's Tower in Hawaii. It will be displayed this Saturday, so if you're going, please sign up after the meeting. Let me remind you, the portals connecting these towers are not to be used for leisure time. The Government has also requested that you do not use your abilities to travel. You must travel by conventional means wherever you want to go."

There was a bunch of grumbling around the table, most notably from Zipper.

"Next, Jasper," Commader Shinobay glared. Everyone, with exception of Max, turned and faced him without a hint of grace. "I have demanded of you multiple times to keep your fights away from heavily populated areas. You're battles are too destructive. You almost leveled an apartment complex."

"Wait, first of all, that guy was running . . . I mean flying away," Jasper argued. "I can't fly away and hope he follows me."

"Then what's this?" Commander Shinobay asked. He typed something on the computer and suddenly a video of the action scene between him and Acrobat arose from the table. It clearly showed Jasper desprately flying around buildings as Acrobat pursued him. A few seconds later, the video disappeared and everyone went back to glaring at Jasper again. "Explain that."

"I was . . . lost. I couldn't find my way around the buildings," Jasper shrugged.

"That's real comical, coming from a flyer," Commander Shinobay replied. "If this ever comes up again, I'm suspending your hero's license."

"No, don't do that," Jasper shook his head. Commander Shinobay looked at him in disbelief. "I mean, if you do, who'll stop Pollen and her veggie monsters?"

"Maybe Max," Commander Shinobay answered, nodding in Max's direction.

With the spotlight on him, Max wanted to crawl under the table. Truthfully, he really wanted to see how a hero's meeting went, but he never wanted to apart of one. He felt like he was being scrutinized by everybody, with the exception of Crystal and maybe Hyper.

"Who're you?" Jasper rudely asked, noting the close distance between Max and Crystal. It didn't take a science report to let Max know they weren't going to get along.

"His name is Max Potenti," the commander fiercely answered. "Crystal, would you please step up and explain what happened yesterday?"

She nodded. "Yesterday morning," she began, "we received an urgent request to track down stolen documents, taken from a highly classified area. Upon arrival I ran into Ruthless, who had the papers in her hand. I took pursuit, but I lost her a few times. When I cornered her near a restaurant, I saw that she didn't have the papers. It turned violent real quick and she took the upper hand in the fight. At one point, I was down and decided to freeze her, but then Max," she looked lovingly in his direction, "jumped in the midst of the fight and distracted her long enough for me to recover my strength. He did suffer a kick from Ruthless, but she also forgot the battle we were having. I took advantage of this and gained the upper hand, freezing her to the ground immediately when she tried to escape."

"Thank you," Commander Shinobay said. "Cherry, what have you gathered on Max?"

"Max Potenti," Cherry said, speaking the same thing from earlier. "Age: 23. Date of Birth: April 1, 1993. Zodiac sign: Aries. Likes: soccer, physical work, and rest. Dislikes: baseball, procrastination, and laziness. From Dr. Walton's reports, Max told her he had experienced a 'full plate' and developed a 'willing suicidal' mentality."

"Alright Max, the floor is yours," Commander Shinobay spoke. "Would you care to tell us what you had experienced?"

Max slowly rose, his embarrassment trying to talk him out of it. "I, uh, worked as a representative for one of the government's food programs," Max began. "Um, apparently I caught my boss's eye because she took a liking to me since day one. Our relationship went from business to romance real soon and we hid it from our supervisors for over half a year. But, of course, we were caught and was given a warning, plus a demotion. But my boss decided to save her position and lied that I was using her for benefits and I was fired. My family, or actually my mother, was informed of this and gave my former boss the finances in my banking accounts as compensation for my alleged actions. Without money, I was kicked out the place I was staying in and forced to live on the streets."

"So, I do believe we are all in favor of Max staying here, right?" Commander Shinobay asked after a bit of silence. Everyone nodded their heads and Commander Shinobay turned to Max. "We'll find something for you to do soon. Until then, try and get to know the area."

"I can show him around," Crystal offered immediately.

"No, I'll leave that to Osprey," the commander replied. "Besides, I want to speak with you after everyone is gone, Crystal. This meeting is adjourned."

Crystal didn't like the way he said her name. At that moment, she realized the consequences of her decisions and slumped in her chair. The rest of the heroes exited the meeting room and went about their business.

"Crystal, would you care to tell me why you initiated intercourse with Max?" Commander Shinobay inquired.

"Because . . . I fell in love with him," Crystal whispered. It felt weird talking about love and sex in front of her commander.

"Why couldn't you have waited until after we introduced him?" the commander continued.

"I couldn't wait," she answered.

"Don't give me that," he said, sensing the evasion. "I want a real answer."

"I wanted to comfort him," Crystal replied, truthfully this time. "You heard Cherry talking about Dr. Walton's report. He wanted to die. I couldn't just leave him in that state of mind."

"Would you have done that if it was someone other than Max?" Commander Shinobay inquired.

"That's like asking people, males in general, to sustain various wounds given by a villain or villainess for sex." Crystal replied, sarcastically.

"You're veering the subject off course," Commander Shinobay glared. "Answer the question. Would you have done that if it was someone other than Max?"

"No," Crysal said, hotly. "There's no one else like him. He's unique."

"Everyone's unique," Commander Shinobay interrupted.

"But there will never be another 'Max'!" Crystal continued. "Whether they're in the same situation as Max was, or better or worse, there will only be one Max. And that's why I slept with him. That's why I love him."

"And that's why I love you, Crystal," they heard as Max walked inside the room. Their faces turned from shock to surprise as they watched him stand next to Crystal. "Because there is only one of you. And I wouldn't have done what I did for anybody else."

Crystal beamed at him, knowing support has just arrived. "Look, I don't care," Commander Shinobay said, knowing the tables had been turned against him. "I just don't want you doing this in public."

"Wait, so you approve? Then why did you jump on my case about it?" Crystal asked, confused.

"Because, others could have seen you," Commander Shinobay explained. "I was born during the baby boom in '49 so I understand. I support your relationship. But whatever intimate actions you do, keep it private. Some people have yet to experience this, or have lost someone. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

They nodded vigorously and were dismissed. Outside the meeting stood Osprey and Cherry, both wearing annoyed looks on their faces as the approved couple walked out together.

"Well, since you're going to be staying, I'll have to find out where you'll best fit in. Come with me," Osprey said, gesturing Max to follow him.

"I can do that," Crystal volunteered.

"No," Cherry denied. "We have to find whoever has those important papers."

"Crap, that's right," Crystal realized. She kissed the tip of Max's nose before she and Cherry walked away. "See you later."

*****

Two hours later, Max had finished the tour of the tower and was now standing in front of Suite 415, holding the two bags given to him by the receptionist at front desk. He fished the key to the door out his pocket and carried everything past the door and dropped the weight immediately. The suite was more like an apartment, just bigger. The whole room was pure white including the furniture. The only thing that wasn't white was the TV and the desk.

The living room was a good size, not too big or small. The kitchen was adequate as well. It had modern kitchen appliances, with a little gift basket by the fridge. After feeling satisfied about his kitchen, Max headed towards the bedroom and checked it out. Not surprisingly, the bedroom had a single spaced bed against one wall. Next to it was a bookshelf which, he guessed, would be full if he ever decided to pick a book up. When he went to the closet, he saw it was basically empty besides two suits and a pair of shoes, exactly like what the agents wore. The bathroom was located on the opposite of the closet, looking almost like a regular bathroom in a regular apartment.

After going through his inspection, Max went and opened the bags, revealing a couple more suits and some leisure clothes in one bag, and bathroom essentials and a binder full of forms and other papers in the other. When everything was put away, he took the advice the receptionist gave and got to work on the forms and papers. Half an hour later, Max finished went to the elevators to return the papers to the receptionist.

When they opened, the hero called Jasper was inside, wearing a scowl on his face. The moment their eyes met, it changed to a smile that made Max uneasy.

"I'll take the stairs," Max said immediately.

"Although I'm going up, this is the fourth floor," Jasper smirked, taking a smoke from the cigarette in his hand. "But if you want to go the long way, be my guest."

"Fine," Max relented, stepping inside.

"So, you and Crystal are a thing now, huh?" Jasper asked immediately, glancing at him.

" Yeah," was Max's only response.

"She's good isn't she?" Jasper asked again.

"Why do you care?" Max inquired, suspicious.

"Hey, I'm one of her partners," Jasper said, mocking a defensive gesture. "It falls to the partners to assist the hero's lover any way we can."

"But that doesn't mean you poke at private matters," Max said. He really should've taken the stairs.

"My bad, I just wanted to make sure you weren't still depressed," Jasper told him as the elevator door opened. He stepped out, walked to one of the rooms in the hallway, and went inside.

As soon as he had left, Max waved the air, hoping to get the smoke out, but it didn't do much. When he reached the bottom, he rushed out, breathing the fresh air around him. Remembering his instructions, he took the papers to the receptionist and was told he would be given a position within the tower in about a week. With nothing left to do, he returned to his room to wait for Crystal to arrive.

*****

Night had fallen when a knock on Max's door woke him up and alerted him that someone was outside his room. He rushed towards the door and opened it, revealing Crystal wearing a loving smile.

"Sleeping?" she guessed.

"A bit," Max admitted. "Come in, make yourself at home."

She sauntered in, swaying her hips and hypnotizing Max as his eyes followed her. She coughed to get his attention and he remembered to close the door, then joined her in the living room. The living room, and the entire room itself, was still white. Almost nothing had been moved, still looking an empty, unused room.

"Sorry about the bland taste of decoration," Max said. "I was thinking about what color I should paint my walls, but fell asleep."

"You don't have to paint the walls," Crystal informed him. She noticed his confused face and smiled. "You have a control panel right next to your door. It has updated alarms, a speaker so that you can order anything from the 24-hour cafeteria, a temperature setting, and a customized wall holographer."

Surprised, he watched her move through the settings, select the wall holographer option, and go through some of the options listed. Gauging from his looks of distaste, she kept going until she saw a look of wonder on his face.

"This is incredible," he breathed.

"Really?" Crystal asked. "It's just space."

"No, this isn't space," Max disagreed. "Space is asteroids, stars, and comets. Nothing impressive. This is the universe, full of galaxies of all shapes and sizes. You might not understand, but this tells me I can do anything."

"You don't have to explain," Crystal said. "If it's special to you, then it's special to me. That's all that matters."

"But not right now," Max replied as he picked Crystal up, carried her to the bedroom, and set her on the bed. "What matters right now is that a certain, sexy heroine is pleasured beyond her wildest dreams."

He had no idea what got her excited but he hoped he'd stumble upon it soon. For now, he placed kisses along her arm, going purely on instinct. When he came up to her face, he went and nibbled on her ears, drawing a gasp from her. In truth, Max wanted her to know it wasn't just about her figure that he loved, although it was a major part of it, so he was doing his best to keep his hands and mouth from the obvious naughty places and searched the secret places she might have. He moved to her neck and kissed the whole area, making an effort to keep from touching her.