Soup For The Soul

What does it mean to be a hero? Is it when you defeat the villain, when you save the day, or perhaps it is when you appear on the local news network as they praise you? Being a true hero, at least in Wanting's eyes, is to be none of those. A hero doesn't pride themselves on beating up someone, nor do they save people to be famous. To be a hero is to simply end suffering. Defeating the bad guy, saving people, all of it boils down to helping people who are suffering. This is why it's such a shame that most of these "heroes" spent most of their time signing autographs and getting brand deals. If there were more genuine heroes then perhaps he never would have resorted to what he is now.

He stopped himself from drifting off into the what-ifs as he watched the news. The nicely dressed reporter was going on about another local hero in New York. Usually, he didn't care about the hero worship but who they were worshipping was very interesting. He'd been planning to pay Dove a visit sometime in the future but he just couldn't find the right opportunity. Seeing that she was not only donating to one of the local homeless shelters but is going to be working in a soup kitchen for the next week seemed like the perfect chance to have a chat.

Slipping on his plain white mask depicting an expression of profound sadness he ventured down the halls of one of his many underground labs, preparing the various bodies that made up the collective for a very important meeting. The plan was simple, while she worked and toiled in the kitchen, he would slowly filter in his many bodies. Once there were enough to stop her from easily escaping he would reveal himself to her.

”And you have yourself a wonderful day!”

Cameras flashed as the homeless man, scruffy and dirty, grunted and accepted the food offered to him. It was a good meal, being one of the more upscale soup kitchens in the area, and was funded directly by the Konnick Family as part of Senator Takeshi Konnick’s plan to alleviate the troubles of the less-fortunate. Ai would know; that was her father. Oh, no one knew. Unlike some of the modern day superheroes, she kept her identity a firm secret; not out of fear of being discovered or anything, that didn’t worry her. Only her father would absolutely kill if he found out she was out doing hero work again! He was a nosy one, and tried to have people follow her!

She felt bad trapping them in crystal, but it was for the good of the people!

Smoke, vapor, and the bright lights of a public facility nearly dimmed her vision, but the fancy little sunglasses she wore prevented such a thing! They were adorable, too, she saw a pair just like it worn by some cute actress in her favorite magazine, and she bought it the very same day! Shipped in from Japan! The lenses and frames were differing shades of pink, while the former were shaped in hearts traced with real gold. They were expensive, sure, but absolutely gorgeous! Now, some people might say wearing them while volunteering at a soup kitchen was tacky, but she just couldn’t resist! It matched her outfit!

Speaking of, her uniform, as she liked to think of it, was a tad bit more modest today. Leggings covered her long legs, the typically short-cut bustier had a much more sincere bust than her usual uniform (though it still showed off her flat stomach). It all was, of course, pink, and came with her tell-tale frills and pretty pink skirt. And across her bust was the image of a dove with its wings outstretched. It was all very … bright and monochromatic, but it worked for her, with her bubblegum hair pulled back into a ponytail and heels clicking on the floor. Somehow.

”And you too, sir!”

She served another plate, this time to a grumpy teenager, but she gasped as the next in line was a mother with two kids, one barely old enough to walk. With a gasp, she waved at them, but they only stared back with the tired eyes of the downtrodden. With a smile that could brighten the deepest darkness, she waved her hand and winked, an action unobscured by the mask over her eyes she wore, and a dog - a living, bounding dog made of pink energy, with a tongue lolling out of its mouth - which bounced around the children. The smiles that bloomed across their faces made one bloom across her own, and the aura that surrounded her brightened.

It was difficult, sometimes, when you come from so much, to understand the struggles of the poor and disenfranchised. It’s why she did this, why she had to. In her normal life, she would never encounter people like this; so many stories, so many different personalities and down-on-their-luck people. And odd individuals, too! Oh, sure, it was scary at times - like the crazy people who pull weapons out!!!! - but she could handle it. She was a hero, after all, who took out empowered folk on the daily! A little homeless guy wasn’t gonna scare her.

But what did were some of the people in this room.

It … it took her a while to notice, but some of them … they didn’t have personalities. At least, that’s the best way she could sum it up. See, every living thing emitted this … aura. And she could feel all the good things they give off, like love and happiness. But a few of the people, they didn’t give off this aura. She had never encountered it before, and it was freaking her out.

But the only thing to do was wait until he made a move ...

For the past few hours, Wanting had been working behind the scenes. He was like a conductor of a play and all the people inside the homeless shelter were his actors and musicians. He coordinated and filtered in his crowd of nobodies as he'd like to call them until they numbered just over a dozen. Each one of them looked no different than the other hapless and downtrodden homeless who actually existed. The only real difference was that each member of the crowd was carrying 10 pounds of IEDs that would surely level the city block and everyone in it.

While he wasn't opposed to the idea of turning this shithole into a crater, it would hinder his talk with Dove. So for now, the crowd simply meandered through the soup line, sat at the various booths and tables, and just looked as empty as they really were.

Wanting finally took the stage in the body of an aging caucasian male with a drooping face and a heavy frame. He shuffled along the serving line before he was served by the pink-haired teen. She tried to offer a bright smile to him but he didn't bother to show his thanks. Instead, he stood there for a few long moments and stared at her with inquisitive eyes that seemed to bore right into her soul. If she had tried to ask what was the matter he didn't respond and just stared for a few moments longer. Finally, he reached into his torn coat and handed her a small yellow card before leaving to a secluded booth in the back of the dining hall.

If Ai Kon were to read the note it would say... "Good afternoon Ms. Konnick. I have watched you for the last 5 months with great interest. You claim to be a hero and have shown a great talent for making others feel happy. I seek your unique abilities in this regard. It would be very unfortunate for you to disregard my request as I am not a reasonable man at the moment. You have 10 minutes to meet me in the far western section of the dining hall or everyone within 2 square miles will die."

Her suspicion had been building for the last however long it had been - time always seemed to pass differently when was enjoying herself - but as more and more people arrived with no sense of feeling, no love or desire pouring from them like every other person she had ever encountered, suspicion began to develop into panic. She didn’t know what to do! Were they … robots? Aliens? Did you power *work* aliens?! Ai absolutely didn’t know; thankfully, her face remained passively smiling while she was serving, though the servos in her head weren’t as lucky. They were chug, chug, chugging away, trying to come to any conclusion that wasn’t absolutely outlandish. And the only thing she could think of was that, somehow, her powers were malfunctioning.

Now, this could have several reason, all of which she thought about and discarded; despite her bubbly persona, Ai was in no way unintelligent. On the contrary, she tested in the upper echelon of IQ’s in the world of unenhanced individuals. She just devoted her intelligence to entirely humanitarian means. So it didnt’ take her long to discount poison, sabotage, and just natural overuse. She didn’t know much about the origin of her powers, but wherever they drew their energy from seemed to have an endless supply; unless she wants, she had found out, she didn’t need to sleep, or even eat or drink water! Of course, it was entirely uncomfortable for her not to do so, going against every instinct she’s ever developed. But she did thoroughly test her abilities out.

That left the only logical conclusion being some sort of outside interference.

At first, Aisha discounted the idea. There was no way anyone would have a vendetta against her! As Dove, she made sure to avoid major conflict, only acting as healer and defending the defenseless! In fact, she has made it clear in numerous interviews that she abhors violence and wants to put a stop to it all! No one should have an issue with that! But then … a memory flashed of her father returning from a meeting with the other senators, ranting and raving about the methods his supposed equals would go just to save a penny. There was darkness in humanity she had to encounter, on the edge of the war on criminals as she was.

Food was served, things put away (a task made infinitely easier by her ability to just will them away, her energy doing the rest) and just as she was about to sit - a situation she had plenty to occupy her, as the sheerness of the Dove outfit meant she had to put serious thought into exactly how she wanted to sit) her attention was grabbed by a man she had never seen before. Not exactly a surprising concept, considering the amount of new homeless and downtrodden individuals there are everyday. And every dawn is a new person willing to put aside their pride to seek help. No, what caught her attention was that she could not feel him. Now that she focused, spreading her awareness around her, she realized …

She couldn’t feel anyone.

Tamping the panic down with her self-assurance that surely there was a logical reason, she numbly took the offered note, but watched the man return to his spot. Only once firmly seated did she open the note, and she felt the blood drain from her face. The writer of this note … he was going to blow it up? And everything else? But … there were families! Innocent people! Why wait for her here? What kind of depraved-

For a second, there was a vibration as she, quite literally, saw red, rattling the windows and doorframes. But it passed so quickly, many could pass it off as simply a truck passing by. It was time to let cooler heads take over … but failing to find any, Aisha did the next best thing and got ready to meet this individual with so much power to block her own. First things first, there was a shift in the air and then suddenly an outburst of pink, leaving a coating on everyone it touched, for hundreds of feet. Everybody around would feel a burst of happiness and healing of any minor wounds, before it faded, leaving them feeling refreshed as if they had slept a full eight hours of sleep. What was left was Ai, in a form she had never revealed before. An equally pink outfit, but this time with a color so pale to almost be white highlighting her. Wings made of sparkling dust spread from the small of her back, and her small fingers clutched a long wand with a glistening pink crystal at the top, flanked by a pair of wings.

”Okay …” She was nervous; there was power flowing through her veins now, but more importantly this form always made her feel so giddy. But she couldn’t afford to lose herself in her emotions; this was important. Lives were at stake! She shook herself, the long twin ponytails her hair had been transformed into shaking like a bobblehead. ”I’m here.” Her voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper. For the first time in her life, she felt genuine fear.

Sitting there, in that booth, Wanting had a perfect view of the pink hero transforming and becoming even pinker. He couldn't say he was surprised by seeing her transformed state as he did watch her over the last few months with something amounting to an obsession. Still, he did have to wonder why exactly no one seemed to care by the very obvious and very sudden transformation. Maybe it had to do with that pink flash of light that she set off. If her flash did some sort of memory wipe or similar mental effect then she had just committed several dozens of counts of 347 PC, wonder if she is aware of her blatant crimes...

Regardless of the moral ambiguity of her transformation Wanting couldn't physically care less about what she did to other people. After all, that is why he was here in the first place.

"Okay...I'm here."

Wanting easily picked up on the tremble of her voice. For someone who is all about happiness and joy, she certainly doesn't seem too happy to be here...Good.

He motioned for her to take a seat without looking up at her and instead slowly stirred his cheap mug of equally cheap coffee.

Wanting let her sit there while he continued to slowly stir for several long moments. Clinking the spoon on the rim of the mug he finally looked at her with his cold eyes.

"So you are. Do you need anything before we begin? Tea, coffee? If I didn't know better I would say you look quite ŝ̸̖͓̉c̴̤̍̇a̵͜͠r̷͙͛̑e̶̖̮̓d̷͈̟͝. "

His comforting words lacked any sort of warm and he stressed and mangled the last word to the point that it was almost unrecognizable. It was as if saying it caused him physical pain.

"There really is no need to be either...Well, as long as I decide to not go through with what I said."

He pulled out a smartphone and showed it to the young heroine. On its screen was a video playing on a loop of a man wearing what looked to be a vest lined with explosives. The man showed no fear as the timer on the vest counted down to 0 and detonated leaving behind a crater of asphalt and blood.

"As you can see, I am quite capable of killing everyone and everything here so do not misunderstand what the consequences will be if you decide to be a hero."

He left the phone next to her with the video on replay.

"I do mean it though, do you need anything before we start? I would be d̷͎͖̿i̴̭̣͝s̴͓͙̏̃s̵̡̖͌ȧ̵̙̎p̵̥̭̈o̸͍̚i̷̥̙̿͋n̵͉̭͆t̴̳͋é̴͙̈́ḋ̷̦̤͗ if you couldn't live up to my expectations because you were hungry."

”No, I’m fine, thank you very much.”

Even in these most dire of circumstances, Aisha didn’t forget her manners; she was, after all, raised well, and any highborn lady has manners even in the most dire of circumstances. Yes, even against a mass terrorist with no emotions threatening to blow up everyone on the block. Even those. Despite the lull in the conversation, the area around them was quite active, due to her aura; cracks in the cement, wooden plates, even any earthy areas outside, they were blooming with flowers of all kinds! Primarily roses, a feat itself, but also yellow lilacs and poppies sprung up amongst them, a veritable bouquet; they were sweeter, their colors brighter, than any flower grown from traditional means.

”What an odd thing to say.”

Her plush lips twisted into a thoughtful expression and a finger laid across them, the long nail emblazoned with the pink dove that had become ubiquitous for the young hero. It was a thoughtful expression, but almost mocking as well; as if she was only pretending to think. Really, she was gathering her thoughts. Being a hero was tougher than she thought! There wasn’t exactly a class on how to handle murderous psychopaths or terrorists demanding parlay. Kinda had to feel yourself through it.

”Am I scared?” The question was posed as a museful thought, but fell on the ears as if she was questioning his assumption. ”I’m worried about the poor people you’re endangering. I’m scared about what might happen to me if you hurt them. And I’m scared for you.” Her pink eyes swam with emotion, overflowing and dripping on the cloth of her dress. They were genuine, full of worry and genuine caring as she reached out to place a hand on his arm. ”I can’t feel you. Even when I’m touching you, you’re just not there. What happened to you?”

The last four words came out as a harsh whisper. Ai couldn’t imagine any fate worse than being ripped away from who you are like that. It must have been so traumatic, she couldn’t possibly imagine. The tears, already threatening to overflow, began to spill as her imagination worked overdrive. A lost love, an experiment gone wrong, a million and one tropes played out in her mind; and as they did, they formed from love energy, dancing on the table like a slideshow of tributes to history's greatest cliches. Each one was only a fleeting moment, but it finally ended on a heart in the midst of being shattered like glass.

”Yes, I am scared.” Her voice was a whisper as fragile as glass, but the look in her eyes was brimming with love and understanding and a deeper sort of caring. ”I’m scared for you. Do you feel anything? Oh, Ahava, you poor soul. Can you tell me your story?”

She ignored his request for anything - she wasn’t hungry or thirsty, anyway - and instead stared at him with such an intensity, he might think he was about to catch on fire.

Under the intense gaze of Ai, Wanting stared back with a new expression. Before her genuine concern and compassion, he had looked at her much like how a predator watched wounded prey. He had everything planned out, whether she fully complied, to when she decided to play the hero. There was little she could do to beat him here and he was fully confident in that fact....But he did not expect this.

"My story? You are the first person to ever ask."

He looked around the room before briefly body-hopping to his snipers perched outside on top of neighboring buildings.

"If this is some attempt to stall for anyone to come and save you. Well, you would be wasting your time and would be getting everyone killed."


He gave her a more curious look as if he was appraising an art piece.

"But...If knowing "my story" will allow you to work then you shall have it."

Without any notice, words, or communication, a random lady walked to the table and placed a sheet of paper and pencil before promptly leaving. Wanting didn't bat an eye as he grabbed the paper and began to sketch an incredibly detailed of what looked to be a large futuristic machine with the word "Reality Matrix" printed across it. Such a detailed sketch would have taken hours to complete but Wanting finished it in all of 2 minutes. Setting his pencil aside he slid the drawing over to Ai.

"Do you recognize this?" He asked.

”Most people don’t really care about other people. And that’s okay! There’s tons of hatred in the world, so sometimes apathy is the best we can hope for! But I care. And some people call it stupid, but somebody’s gotta, right?”

Though perhaps a little more subdued than normal, Ai’s eternal optimance had yet to be quenched by the force that is The Wanting, though he didn’t introduce himself as such. Even as more of those oddly-emotionless husks came by, and a shiver of fear went down her spine sending yellow like drops of water through her hair, she didn’t let her joy be taken. This villain was just another in a long list of abusers, lording his power over others just because he can. But, still, Ai couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. What kind of life he must have led …

”No, I would never do that. I, like, totally hate lying and stuff anyway, you can trust me.”

She smiled at him, her lips stained pink from make-up parting to reveal even, white teeth. She placed a hand on her heart, as if to swear; she was in the girl scouts, after all, and no girl scout ever lied! The thought almost made her giggle before she realized the seriousness of the situation and fought to control it; so many of her fellow girl scouts were liars! But not Ai. She was as honest as a teenage girl could be. Her assurances seemed to fall on deaf ears, as he immediately moved on to the next thing, producing a picture of … something.

”... no, I don’t. Should I?”

Ai had seriously examined the picture for a moment, but had come up blank, now staring at the individual across from her with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

'Maybe I have been too relaxed in approaching this endeavor?'

He had all but decided to detonate the explosives when he saw her trying to force down a giggle as she looked at his schematic. It didn't help that she for some reason had this smug look about her as he was sketching either.

Clearly, she didn't appreciate the seriousness of this conversation and was either too busy already patting herself on the back for de-escalating things, or she was as fake inside as her looks were on the outside, simply not actually caring if people died.

Regardless, Wanting did not care nor was he won over by her attempts to be nice with fake smiles and hands over hearts. As long as she did as he demanded, she could bat her eyelashes as much as she wanted to.

”... no, I don’t. Should I?” She said.

"This..." He tapped on the schematic for emphasis. "For lack of better words, was my dream." He let the silence reign for a few seconds before continuing.

"A dream isn't what most people talk of when they say they have one. Dreams of a bigger house, a better job, the approval of their peers. Nothing more than greedy desires that hold no value once gained. No, a dream, an actual dream, is an ideal."

Wanting pointed to a young couple sitting and laughing together at a nearby table. The black man was in the midst of telling a story while the white woman hid her smile behind her hand.

"King had a dream where that was possible. He dedicated everything to that dream including his own life." Wanting shook his head. "I doubt many people are willing to die to get a bigger car."

He pointed back to his schematic.

"My dream was to solve the energy crisis. Had my machine worked it would have brought unlimited clean power to everyone for free."

He ripped the schematic down the middle and tossed the crumbled remains on the floor before looking Ai in the eyes.

"Dreams like people, die. If you believe you are making a difference by dressing up and punching a few bank robbers then you are naive in how the world really works. The world doesn't want to be saved and will kill any who try...You and all the other "heroes" are still alive because you are utterly pointless."

"We are all going to die someday and I cannot save us. All I want is to feel something before that happens."

He leaned back into his seat as he steepled his hands.

"Now that you've gotten what you wanted, it is time for you to give me what I want."