Mist of Shadows
patreon
Boosted Villainy Part 4
🕑 Added 2022-06-11 07:02:42 +0000 UTCMyst collected the bag and the receipt then left the new age shop. He frowned when he noticed an overweight guy in a security outfit ranting at the attractive dark haired security guard from earlier.
"You can't just tase people and call the police!" the man ranted at the girl, his face red and his breathing labored as he tried to physically intimidate the girl, despite the fact that she had a good four inches on him.
"Are you saying that we're not supposed to protect people?" the female guard asked loudly, causing a number of people to look their way.
"I'm saying you're not supposed to tase people!" the man all but shouted, ignoring the crowd of people watching the 'show'.
"She assaulted someone! I have it on video," the girl snapped, happy that she finally got to shout at her soon to be ex-manager but annoyed that she was going to have to find another job if she didn't want her mother to win the bet.
"Her father is going to sue, hand the camera over!" the man snapped as he held his hand out.
"Technically, the company was too cheap to buy the cameras, which means I'm not giving you my personal property," the girl replied with a grin, the same smug grin she knew her soon to be ex-manager hated.
"Do you want to get fired?!" he demanded.
The girl replied as she unclipped her security badge and dropped it at her manager's feet. "Go fuck yourself!"
"That's a horrible mental image," Myst said as he walked over, fairly sure he owed the girl an apology over the entire mess.
"Give me the camera!" the manager demanded as he reached out to grab her body camera, seeing red and more worried about getting sued by a lawyer over the mess with his daughter than thinking about the optics of trying to steal a camera that was around a girl's neck. He had a second stare in horror as Rose shifted and his hand grabbed her breast instead of her body camera before she screamed, "Don't touch me!" and his world exploded in agony and he hit the ground.
'Did she just take a step to the side and back so he'd grab her breast or was it an unlucky break?' he asked himself as he watched the man wimper on the ground. "If you need a witness, I'll testify."
"Thanks," Rose replied as she reached up and turned her body camera off. "Do you want to grab a drink, it's been a hell of a day?"
"Are you even twenty one?" Myst asked when took a good look at the girl and realized she didn't look old enough to drink.
"Does it matter?" Rose asked as she started walking towards the exit of the mall.
"Normally," Myst replied as he walked next to her, figuring he owed her at least a drink for getting her fired or at least contributing to the situation as she was responsible for her own actions and her manager looked like an asshole. "But I figure a drink or dinner is the least I owe you for sticking up for me."
"I know a place," Rose replied, thinking of the Italian place that they could walk to, mostly because it didn't require driving anywhere with a stranger and because she liked it.
"How much trouble are you going to get in?" Myst asked.
"Legally, I'm covered but my mother is going to be smug about me getting fired," Rose admitted as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called her father's cell. "Give me a second."
"Sure," Myst replied.
"What's up?" a deep voice asked, knowing Rose didn't normally call him while she was working.
"Hey Dad, I ran into a bit of a snag at work," Rose admitted.
"Are you okay? What happened?" her father asked in concern.
"I'm fine, I tased the girl Amanda was having trouble with and I kicked my ex-manager in the nuts after he demanded my body camera and grabbed one of my breasts," Rose explained.
"Are you still at the mall?" her father asked.
"I felt unsafe," Rose lied, knowing her father wouldn't buy it but there were people around and it was the sort of thing she was supposed to say. "I'm grabbing dinner at the Italian place next to the mall so I can chill before I have to deal with Mom. My body camera recorded both incidents, the girl's father is a lawyer."
"Amanda didn't mention that. Name?" her father asked.
"Alan Barnes," Rose replied.
"Alan? He's a fucking divorce attorney, I'll make some calls and I'll deal with the police," he assured her.
"Sorry," Rose offered.
"Don't be, you put up with the idiots longer than I would have," he assured her. "Don't say anything to the police until I get there if you can help it."
"I won't," Rose assured him.
"Stay safe," he told her, then ended the call so he could make some calls to some people in the police department to figure out what was going on.
"Okay, now I just have to worry about Mom," Rose grumbled as they left the mall.
"How bad?" Myst asked.
"Not like that, she'll just be annoyingly smug," Rose admitted as they left the mall. "We have a bet, if I can keep a 'respectable' job for three months, she'll buy me a car."
"I'm sensing a story there," Myst said as they headed towards the Italian place.
"Being a waitress is hell, no one tipped in the coffee shop and working in a comic book shop was fine until the manager fired me and hired his nephew a week before I would have won the bet." Rose sighed. "I'm fairly sure Mom paid him because the kid sure as hell can't do the job."
"That's…"
"Impressively cold? Yeah, Mom takes her bets seriously," Rose replied with a grin.
"I'm Myst," Myst offered, realizing he hadn't asked her name.
"Rose," Rose replied. "So, what's your story?"
Myst shrugged. "Not much to tell, I'm a writer and I'm currently doing a bit of research."
"Cape fiction?" she asked.
"Now and then," Myst admitted. "What's it like living in a town with a bunch of capes?"
"You get used to it," Rose assured him. "If you see a rampaging dragon you run. If you hear explosions, you run. If a bunch of crazy people try to grab you, you break their arms and legs then run. Favorite video game?"
"I like RPGs and puzzle games, you?" Myst asked as they reached the sidewalk.
Rose laughed. "RPGs and first person shooters, they're fun."
"Pen and paper?" he asked.
"When I can find a decent group," she agreed.
"Favorite hero?" Myst asked as they approached the door.
"Local or national?" Rose asked.
"Both," Myst said as he opened the door and held it open for her.
"Dragon, she's an awesome tinker," Rose replied as she walked inside. "Thank you. Locally, I'm going to have to go with Clockblocker, he's hilarious on the forums."
"Makes sense," Myst agreed as he glanced around at the people sitting down.
"Table for two?" a woman in black slacks and a white shirt asked as she grabbed two menus off the desk.
"Thanks," Rose replied with a smile.
Myst followed Rose and the waitress, nearly freezing when he spotted an annoyed looking girl with freckles and mousey hair sitting across from an attractive blonde and a handsome teenager, with a red haired guy next to her. 'Damn penny is almost as weird as Scrooge's dime,' he thought as the waitress put them at the closest table to the young heroes.
"I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu," the waitress said then left.
Myst sat down across from Rose, setting his shopping bag next to his chair.
"Vicky," Rose said cheerfully.
"Rose," Vicky replied as she glanced between Rose and Myst. "What's up?"
"I tased the redheaded bitch that has been harassing Amanda and my ex-manager freaked out and assaulted me, I kicked him in the nuts," Rose replied with a shrug.
"As a hero, I feel like I have to say violence is never the answer," Vicky said solemnly, ignoring the looks of disbelief that her sister and Dean were giving her, "however, anyone that would harass your sister deserves to get tased."
"Where do you know each other from?" Dennis asked, fairly sure he'd never seen the girl at school.
"Company holiday events, my father worked with Carol on a couple of cases," Rose explained.
"And the old guy?" Dennis asked as he looked at Myst.
Myst looked up from the menu and focused on the redhead he was reasonably sure was Dennis. "I'd argue the old part but fair point, Rose was nice enough to save me from a couple of crazy teenagers that didn't like being called on their crap."
"Things went a bit sideways from there, Myst offered dinner," Rose explained.
"And you accepted?" Dean asked.
"Shoot me, I like Italian and Mom is going to use this as an excuse to avoid buying me a car, thus, I'm taking advantage of the good samaritan and getting Italian," Rose replied with a grin.
"Least I can do," Myst replied as he turned his attention back to the menu, trying to figure out what he wanted to eat. 'Is this an upside with the penny or a downside? Maybe it's just cursed to make me live in interesting times.'
"That sucks about the car," Vicky offered.
Rose shrugged. "Worst case, I'll break down and buy my own, I just wanted to win the bet."
"Bets are important," Dennis agreed. "Can we see the recording?"
"Dennis," Dean complained.
"What? It's a valid question," he replied.
"I'm curious," Vicky admitted.
"Sure," Rose replied as she moved her chair closer so she could show the group.
Myst turned his attention to the wand and crystals in his shopping bag and boosted the wand tip, consuming three of the amethyst chunks and improving the quality of the stone to the point where it wouldn't have looked out of place in a high end gallery or on a movie set. He focused on a chunk of amethyst while she was showing them the camera video, mostly because he wanted to focus on something else so Dean wouldn’t be able to read his reaction to the video of Sophia knocking herself out and Emma pissing herself.
He boosted the chunk of amethyst, consuming three chunks of amethyst then did the same for two more stones, boosting the quality and increasing the value of the stones. He used the three gems to boost the wand tip, transforming the stone into something that would fetch a decent price in a shop. He focused on the wand and used his Iterative Improvement ability to turn it into a healing wand, giving it the ability to remove fatigue and heal minor injuries.
"Sophia," Dean grumbled when he saw his teammate take a swing at the guy and end up knocking herself out in a rather spectacular and comical fashion.
Dennis laughed. "You just made my month."
"Dennis," Dean complained, falling silent when the waitress walked over.
"Do you know what you want?" the waitress asked.
"Fiorentina Steak," Rose ordered without hesitation.
"The spaghetti platter and a chocolate milkshake," Myst ordered as he held his menu out.
"Chocolate milkshake sounds good," Rose agreed as she handed the menu to the waitress.
The waitress took the menus. "It will be a few minutes."
"No worries," Myst replied, not particularly worried about the wait.
"What's with the wand?" Amy asked, having looked in the shopping bag while he was distracted ordering.
"It's a magic healing wand," Myst replied as he pulled the wand out and held it out so she could see it.
"You realize there's no such thing as magic, right?" Amy asked, wondering if he was making fun of her.
"I'm pretty sure a pixie dies every time you say that," Myst told her, trying and failing to keep a straight face.
"Tragically," Dennis agreed with a grin.
Amy scowled at Myst. "Healing isn't a joke."
"I never said it was, it's supposed to be able to heal tiredness," Myst replied, figuring they'd blow things off as new age nonsense.
"How does it work?" Vicky asked, playing along.
"You just wave it at your target…" Myst trailed off as Vicky grabbed the wand and waved it at Amy, causing green sparkles to erupt from the end of it and fall over Amy like glitter. 'I should have known there would be visual effects, it's a wand.'
"Vicky…" Amy trailed off as she went from being tired and grumpy to wide awake, relaxed and grumpy. "It actually works?!"
Vicky stared at the end of the wand. "Neat trick."
"What do you mean it works?" Dennis asked Amy.
"I mean I don't feel tired anymore," Amy admitted then turned to look at Myst. "Where did you get the wand?"
"At the mall," Myst replied with a shrug. "I wasn't expecting sparkles."
"Tinkertech?" Dean asked thoughtfully.
"I don't see any wires," Dennis pointed out.
Vicky waved it at Myst, causing more sparkles to erupt from the end of it. "How do you feel?"
"Wide awake," Myst admitted, feeling the most rested he'd felt in a while. "Now that we know it works, I'm going to need it back."
"It might be dangerous," Vicky argued.
Rose reached over and grabbed the wand then waved it over her head, causing her tiredness and the discomfort from being on her feet all day to vanish. "That's handy," she said as she handed Myst his wand.
"Thanks," Myst replied as he slipped the wand into his left sleeve. "So, favorite local cape?"
"You have a magic wand, and you want to talk about capes?" Amy asked.
"I'm trying to distract your sister so she doesn't walk off with my new wand, is it working?" Myst asked with a hopeful expression.
"No," Vicky replied. "Untested tinkertech can be dangerous."
"If I let the PRT test it, they'd just steal it," Myst pointed out.
Rose held her hand out towards Amy. "Can you check for side effects?"
Amy poked Rose's hand wrist with her finger and checked. "You're fine."
"Thanks," Rose replied as she pulled her hand back. "There, it's tested, which means you don't need to report it."
"Seems legit," Myst agreed, making a mental note to do something nice for Rose.
"We should probably check the shop," Vicky mused.
"My favorite major hero is probably Legend," Dennis offered.
"What about local heroes?" Rose asked.
"Vista or Kid Win, she's terrifying and flying hoverboards are awesome," Dennis said cheerfully.
"Not Armsmaster?" Myst asked.
Dennis shook his head. "Nah, I saw him at a press event a couple of years ago, no sense of humor."
Myst listened with amusement as the group of local capes got into a discussion about their favorite heroes as they waited for their food.
0o0o0
"How much for the wand?" Amy asked Myst as he finished eating, curious if he'd sell it for a reasonable amount.
Myst considered the question for a few seconds. 'Not the worst idea, especially if I upgrade it a bit more,' he mused, trying to figure out how much you'd need to charge for a wand that could cure fatigue before realizing you'd need something equally 'priceless'. "Ten years and a tune up?" he asked, figuring it was something she could do and it was a fair trade.
"Let me see your hand," Amy said in a whisper, not wanting people to get in the habit of asking for healing or tune ups but figuring it was a fair trade for something that could remove fatigue and make her feel better.
Myst held his hand out.
Amy touched his hand and frowned when she realized that he had an artificial knee. "If you want your knee fixed, we'll have to go somewhere with a bit more privacy."
"I have an RV in the parking lot." Myst glanced at Rose. "Do you mind being a chaperone?"
"That depends, do you have candy?" Rose joked.
Myst shook his head. "You're not stealing my chocolate."
Rose pouted. "But stolen chocolate is the best type of chocolate."
Vicky glanced over at Dean and relaxed when he gave her a nod, indicating that the guy was on the level. "Have fun, take your date so I have some alone time with Dean."
Amy opened her mouth to complain then decided to hell with it, she didn't need to watch her sister flirt with Dean anymore. "Let's go."
"Sounds good," Myst agreed as he grabbed the bill and his bag then followed the other three, leaving Vicky and Dean to finish their food and chat.
"Joking aside, I ordered steak, do you want me to cover part of it?" Rose asked as they made their way over to the register.
"Don't worry about it. I promised dinner, I'll cover it," Myst replied as he pulled his wallet out and took out a pair of twenties. He slipped his wallet back in his pocket then handed the cashier the bill and the cash. "Give the cook half the change."
"Sure," the cashier replied after a quick check to make sure the forty dollars covered it.
"Five dollar tip?" Dennis asked as they walked out of the restaurant.
"Close enough," Myst replied. "I used to work as a cook, I lost track of the number of people that would complement the food then tip the waitress."
"Probably because they assumed the waitress would pay the cook," Rose said as she glanced around, not seeing an RV anywhere. "Where are we going?"
Myst pointed out the mini RV in the next parking lot. "Over there."
Rose blinked when she turned and saw the van sized RV, not sure how she'd missed it the first time. "Cool."
"Do you want your hair fixed?" Amy asked as they headed towards the RV, fairly sure Carol would bitch when she found out she'd traded healing for something she wanted but finding herself strangely unconcerned about it. 'If this is what being well rested feels like, I need to get more sleep.'
"Does anyone ever refuse?" Myst focused on the wand and used the last of the energy in his pool to give the wand the ability to heal mental trauma and disease. 'This would be easier if I just told them about having powers, of course they'd probably be suspicious.'
"I don't normally ask as it's cosmetic," Amy admitted.
"Okay." He pulled his keychain out of his pocket and walked over to the back door and unlocked it, relieved that things didn't look broken into. He climbed in and walked over to his bag that he'd left on the table and focused on the box of party wands that he'd bought while Rose poked her head in and looked around.
Rose frowned. "Looks a bit dirty."
"I just bought it, I haven't had time to steam clean it," Myst replied as he quickly boosted the wand three times, consuming most of the wands in the box.
"Makes sense," Rose admitted as she stepped out of the way.
Myst set his bag on the floor under the table and out of the way then turned to look at Amy as she stepped inside. "Where do you want to set up?"
Amy glanced around the tight space. "On the bed would be easier but getting all of the metal and plastic out will make a mess. You're also going to need to take your pants off."
"Free show," Rose teased. "Do you want me to stay out here?"
"Doesn't matter," Myst replied as he quickly took his boots off.
"I'll make sure no one bothers us," Dennis offered, not seeing a point in taking up space in the already cramped RV.
Rose climbed inside and partially shut the door, resisting the urge to make a joke as Amy wouldn't appreciate it.
Myst took his pants off, revealing his boxers, then grabbed a plastic bag from his backpack and spread it on the couch and stuck his leg on it. "Whenever you're ready," he told her.
Amy reached out and touched Myst's arm, numbed his leg then got to work removing the metal and plastic, rebuilding his bones and knee as she went.
'Yeah, that's disconcerting,' Myst thought as the metal and plastic was pushed out of his leg without any pain or sensation and his stomach slowly deflated as she used the fat to rebuild his knee or at least that was his best guess.
"Interesting," Rose mused. "No offense but I think I'd rather have a magic wand I could wave around."
"I have a lot more control," Amy replied as the knee replacement fell onto the plastic bag and she finished healing his knee. "But yeah, it would make it easier in the case of injuries, just wave the wand and you're done."
"Almost enough to make up for having to heal stupid people?" Myst asked.
"You get used to it," Amy lied as she went to work fixing the minor damage people tended to accrue over the years, 'resetting' things so he was a healthy twenty five then fixed his hair and tweaked things so he'd keep it. "That should do it, took off years of wear and tear and fixed your hair, it should grow back in a couple of weeks. You'll want to eat a lot over the next couple of days to make up for the biomass I used up, but you're now in excellent health."
Myst lifted his leg and moved it, a touch surprised that everything still worked. "Huh, I was expecting to need a cane for a bit," he admitted.
"I won't take that personally," Amy said with a grin, rather amused by the reaction. 'I definitely need more sleep, if I’m this giddy just from being well rested.'
Myst grabbed the wand out of the shopping back and handed it to Amy. "In that case, feel free to bop people on the head, I mean use it well."
Amy grinned as she tapped Rose over the head to make sure it was the same wand, causing a shower of sparks. "Huh, the sparks are a lot more noticeable when you're in worse lighting."
"Apparently," Myst agreed as he put his pants back on.
Rose blinked as all of the little aches and pains she hadn't realized she had vanished and she felt wide awake. "I could get used to that."
Amy tapped herself on her head and blinked as she went from well rested to feeling like she'd just gotten out of a spa and feeling more cheerful about everything. 'Yeah, this was a fantastic trade.'
“I’m surprised you traded it,” Rose said, “it feels fantastic.”
“It may relieve tiredness and sore feet, but it wouldn’t restore my knee or a half dozen other injuries I’ve gotten over the years, trust me it’s the best nineteen ninety five I’ve ever spent," Myst said cheerfully, figuring having to eat a bit extra for a couple of days was a small price to pay for being able to run without worrying about his knee.
"I'll have to check to see if they have anything else," Amy mused.
"Best of luck, I'm guessing it was there by mistake," Myst said.
"Mystical Crystals, right?" Rose asked, familiar with the store from walking around the mall.
"Probably," Myst agreed. "I was a bit distracted at the time."
"Makes sense," Rose agreed as her cell phone started ringing. "And that's my father, just a second," she said as she exited the RV and answered the call.
"Thanks for the help," Myst told Amy.
"Don't mention it, especially to my mother, I don't need people trying to bribe me to heal them," Amy complained.
"Nothing wrong with accepting money for cosmetic work but my lips are sealed," Myst assured her.
"That…" Amy trailed off as she considered his idea, her normal objections feeling hollow and shit Carol would say to keep her from having spending money or having enough to move out. "Huh, you might have a point."
"It's your life," Myst replied, happy that the wand's magic had helped. "Just because you've decided to heal people with genuine medical problems for free, doesn't mean you can't charge for the rest. Either way, thanks for the help and take care of yourself."
"That's the plan," Amy replied as she stepped out of the RV, surprised that she actually meant it and that she didn't feel the weight of the world on her shoulders anymore.
'Just the smile is worth waiting another day for a replacement wand,' Myst thought as he stood up and took a couple of steps to test his legs and noticed that his pants were a bit loose. 'Yeah, I'm going to have to fix that.'
Myst grinned as he brought his leg up to his chest and tested his flexibility, delighted to have his old flexibility back. 'I'm going to need a ring of regeneration or something to stay in perfect health, this is fantastic.'
Myst pulled a leather belt out of his bag and put it on, figuring it would keep his pants up until he could enchant them to automatically adjust. 'At least I helped Amy and Dennis will probably raise some questions about Sophia, assuming Rose doesn't make sure they don't bury the video.'
Myst walked out and saw Rose showing the video from the body camera to a man wearing black slacks and a long sleeved white shirt. 'A bit of gray at the temples, late forties?' he mused as he studied the man that shared Rose's dark hair and blue eyes.
"We should be able to get assault charges to stick," Morgan said thoughtfully. "Which means you had every right to hit her with a taser. Of course, they have every right to fire you."
"That's annoying," Rose grumbled.
"In light of defending your sister, I've convinced your mother to let the time you spent working for the security company count for your bet," Morgan said then continued when she sighed in relief, "provided you get a job within two days."
"Two days?" Rose asked in annoyance, fairly sure she wouldn't find a replacement in two days.
"It's your mother and a bet is a bet," Morgan replied with a grin. "If it makes you feel better, I'll buy you a used car."
"And give her a chance to be smug, not happening," Rose replied then turned to look at Myst. "Do you need a tour guide?"
"I don't know the area," Myst admitted, fairly sure having a navigator would help with getting around as he'd been using a map a lot and there were plenty of things that maps and boards didn't actually help with. "How much do you charge?"
"Minimum wage?" Rose offered, knowing she only needed another month to win the bet.
"I can do that," Myst replied.
Morgan glanced between the stranger and his daughter. "Tour guide?"
"He's in town because he's writing a book. Having a local available to show him around would make things easier," Rose explained.
"Or be on call for questions," Amy suggested.
"Where would I find the largest burger in town?" Myst asked Rose.
"Fugly Bob's, the Challenger," Rose replied without hesitation.
"Can I see your ID?" Morgan asked Myst.
Myst pulled out his wallet and showed Morgan his ID, happy that he'd enhanced it as it seemed to pass muster with the man. "That work?"
"That works." Morgan frowned when he saw a couple of police officers walking toward the mall. "I should go deal with the police. I'll expect you home by ten or a call," he told his daughter.
"Yep," Rose replied as she handed her father the camera. "I want a copy of the video."
"Of course," Morgan replied as he hustled to catch up with the officers.
Dennis glanced at his watch. "We should probably collect Vicky, the movie starts soon."
"Have fun," Amy suggested as she headed for the restaurant.
"So, where are we going first?" Rose asked cheerfully.
"Fugly Bob's," Myst replied as he pulled his keychain out of his pocket. "Do you want to drive?"
"Hell yeah," Rose replied with a grin as she took the keys.
'I probably should have asked if she had a license,' he mused as he followed her into the RV and closed the door, happy to have someone else to drive and talk to even if some of his planned destinations were on the strange side.
Comments
Bable Zmith
A gratuity which a tip is, is an addendum that the customer adds for good service. It is reprehensible that a tip is expected, even with bad service. And as the author stated, you cannot not pay the waitresses. That has been law since the 1970's. Wait staff are taxed ''on" ten percent of the total of the check as earned income, they are not taxed ten percent of the check, which is a common misconception.
William Jackson
Maybe. But the public doesn't know that. The waiter gets tips because people think the waiter doesn't get paid and needs the tips. There is no similar thing for the cook. Honestly, if I knew that the waiters at a particular restaurant got paid the same as the cook, I wouldn't tip anyone. The restaurant should just pay its employees, rather than that falling on the customer to do.
Mist of Shadows
Depends where you are, when I worked in food service, the waitresses got paid about the same as the cooks (both hovering just over min at the time) and the waitresses got tips on top of that. You couldn't legally pay them less. (I mean there were nights that the waitresses made half of my monthly total in tips.)
William Jackson
There's no expectation that the cook gets a tip. For that reason, they get payed the full wage, while waiters get less than minimum wage, expecting tips to make up the difference.
