[D-R] Superhero AU Pt. 1

Even on life-threatening missions, Larkin couldn’t tell if Jasper was actually hacking into security systems or if he was just playing video games. He claimed to have been able to wire a handheld gaming console so that it could connect wirelessly to networks, giving him an opening to work his magic. But every once in a while, Jasper’s face would turn red, and Larkin would start questioning it again.

Luckily, this one wasn’t quite as urgent. They were simply playing security guard at the museum downtown after receiving a calling card from a self-proclaimed phantom thief known as Mirage, and not knowing just how competent this new threat was, they sent the amateurs down to deal with it directly. It wasn’t even a real mission. They replaced the original with a fake after getting the calling card so nothing valuable would be lost. Nice to know that the team was so highly valued.

“So guys,” said Jasper, “I’m monitoring the security systems of the museum since according to the staff no one would be dumb enough to break in without messing with the security. If the system goes down, I can start it right back up, and also we’ll know when the thief has arrived.”

“You’re not playing video games on a mission this time?” asked Larkin, arching an eyebrow and flashing him a cheeky grin. “I’m proud of you, Jasper.”

“Hey! We’re supposed to be using our superhero names on duty, remember?” Felix clasped his hands together and pointed at the other two with a finger gun. “We didn’t come up with those cool names to ignore them.”

“I don’t need one, remember, Linus?” said Jasper, sticking out his tongue. “I’m the guy who works in the shadows. People don’t know who I am.”

“Unless you tell some girl that you’re a superhero so you can score a date with her,” said Larkin, glancing around a corner. They were supposed to keep an eye out for anything unusual, but Larkin knew he wasn’t the most observant of them all. He might have been the muscle of the team (and also the handsome face of it, too), but that was the extent of his skills.

“Oh, you guys are still doing that?” asked Felix. He clutched his violin case to his chest as he pressed himself against the opposite wall. “I thought it didn’t work.”

“Because you kept on cutting in while Larkin was trying to be my wingman," said Jasper. "It's been going a lot better since you stopped comparing me and Larkin in front of them."

"Also, we started telling people what you actually do as a superhero instead of telling them about the power that you never use," said Larkin. "Girls will choose a computer genius over a guy with X-ray vision any day."

"When you put it that way, I sound like a nerd." Jasper clicked his tongue. "Besides, what's the point of X-ray vision if I can't use it for my own entertainment?”

"Perhaps you could through the walls of the museum so we don't have to hide around corners," said Felix. "There's an idea."

Larkin nodded as he motioned for the rest of the squad to move forward. “Linus is right. Besides, if we do well, we can say that you managed to stop a criminal. There’s your ticket to impressing a girl for once.”

"Yeah, yeah." Jasper waved his hand at the two of them and looked down at his video game--no, the security system monitor. Larkin could never understand how it worked, but he was okay with letting Jasper handle that part.

Too bad none of them on the team were great strategists. Not even Sugar Rush or Dragon, their back up, were particularly good at plans. (Especially not Dragon. No offense to him, but he suggested sleeping through the night and waking up to play Love Live Idol School Festival later would be a good enough plan to stop the thief. It actually took a bit of convincing not to get Jasper to follow along with it.) Larkin only had his strength and his aquatic respiration to contribute, Felix only had his violin, and even Jasper, whose hacking prowess was rarely challenged, didn't have the kind of foresight required to come up with solid plans.

"And, we got a hit." Jasper pumped his fist in the air.

"A perfect combo on your rhythm game?" asked Larkin.

"Nope. The thief is..." He pointed through a wall. "Over there. Looks like a cute girl, too."

"Think that's the Mirage person?" asked Felix, squinting at the wall, as if he could see through it as well. "I guess we found her, so now what do we do?"

Both of them glanced at Larkin, as if he had any idea what he was doing. Of course, he always pretended like he did, but Felix and Jasper knew him well enough to be able to call his bluff. Larkin shrugged.

"Think I can just walk up to her and punch her?" asked Larkin.

"But what if she's cute?" asked Jasper. "What if this is the date that I finally get to score?"

"With someone committing a felony?" Felix shook his head. "Are you really that desperate, Peacock?"

"Yes."

"Maybe I'll woo her and get her number for you," said Larkin, rolling his eyes. "Camilla doesn't need to find that part out, and besides, it's for your sake, buddy."

"She doesn't know about any of this, silly duck," said Felix. "Don't worry. Our lips are sealed." He made a zipping motion across his lips. "Although, maybe we should keep quiet so they don't hear us coming."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" said Jasper. "I never thought I'd see the day that Felix would be telling us to be quiet though." He started tapping on buttons on his console and said, "I should probably turn the security system back on, huh..."

"I'm going in," said Larkin, jerking his head toward the other room. Perhaps he should have consulted the rest of the squad before making a move though, because as soon as he crossed the threshold of the next room his vision blacked out.