Ch.2 Beast from the deep

"Ms. Skepter is that report finished!" Lucy's boss William Drooks barks at her.

"Almost finished sir. Finishing up a few parts," she says back.

"Well have done by lunch okay," her boss says, before heading off.

Lucy spends the entire morning finishing a report she should have finished last week. How did she know that uncovering a clients false claim about the company's policy would take this long. It was written in the agreement the client signed, but their family—and more importantly their lawyers—say that the life insurance policy of Goodlivings Insurance Inc. offered, makes them entitled to be paid a great amount of money. That would be true if not for the fine print that says if a death is the result customer bringing it upon themselves it can denied, or be given at half price. This clients family is saying that one of their members insured by Goodlivings—who died trying rob a convenience store—is entitled to the full policy and maybe more. Even though the member died because of his reckless act of robbery, the family claims that he didn't know he would be shot, and that they should receive the policy money he signed for.

Lucy had been pulling at her hair during this entire report. It was clear from the police reports that the client was responsible for his death, but lawyers and the stubbornness of the family made what should have been an easy dismissal, be dragged out. As Lucy works on the report making sure that there is no legal doubt that the client brought his death upon himself, and that Goodlivings Insurance Inc. does not have to pay, she wonders if she should send this report to William incomplete. She should tell him that these people are being unreasonable and that he needs to explain to them why Goodlivings is denying their policy. However as she works, she remembers she isn't being pain a lot of money to dump work on to her boss. Lucy decides to gut it out, and finish the report.

She finishes the report right at noon, then walks to William's office. She arrives and slams it down on his desk.

"All done, but sir I think they will still try to dispute it, even if my report says they can't," she says grumbling.

"Don't worry about that Skepter, let me handle that. I know how to deal with unreasonable clients, I have been for almost two decades. I just want a report that has enough information to make it easier for me to yell at them and their lawyers—along with my lawyers joining in on my yelling—to tell them why they are wrong," he says with chuckle, stroking his stubble.

Lucy gives a sigh of relief, and leaves the office. Good thing the company has a good cafeteria or else she would be in a pissy mood all day. Who cares if she detained bank thieves last night, this job quickly sucks away all joy crime fighting brings to her. As she walks to the hallways she hears the familiar "Hey their Lucy" of John Wrickles.

John is an average looking guy; the only non-average part of him, is that he is two inches taller than Lucy. Other than that, his brown square haircut, clean shaved face, dark grey suit, red tie, and black shoes make him look like any other male employee of the office. He rests on the wall as Lucy approaches him, a big grin on his face.

"I heard you finished the Harrison's complaint. I got to say I didn't think you were going to keep a calm head through all of it. I could feel the tension from cubicle as I heard you argue with them," he says cheerfully.

"I don't think I ever kept my cool," Lucy sighs. "The fact that I gutted it out surprises me a little."

"Well don't worry too much about it. You have been working here for around half a year, I am sure this won't be the last difficult complaint Brooks drops on your desk," he says.

"Thanks," Lucy groans.

During the whole conversation Lucy can see the John is checking her out. The gray suit jacket and gray skirt she wears cling to her body—most clothes do due to her tall, muscular, voluptuous body—along with her pantyhose, making it hard for John's eyes to keep control and look at hers. She doesn't mind, but it annoys her that if he is going to check her out, he might as well at least attempt to court her.

Eventually their conversation about the Harrison complaint ends, and Lucy heads off to the cafeteria. John tells her that he will catch up soon, but that he has some work to finish. Lucy enters the cafeteria and orders the meal of the day. Some well cooked lasagna, with apple slices, and orange juice. She sits down and gobbles the food down. By the time John arrives, Lucy has already had three helpings of the food.

"Is it really that good?" John asks as he sits down, opening up his lunchbox.

"I am really hungry," Lucy says, then quickly scarfing down the food. The stress of her job, her body type, and the strain of commanding her superpowers, make her constantly hungry. Lucy never participated in any athletics, but this what it must feel like for an elite athlete feels; tired and hungry as they strain their bodies for great goals. In her case, combating crime.

"Yeah but don't you think that you might put on a lot of weight eating all of that food," John says.

"John I am in my twenties and am six feet tall. This food will be digested easily," Lucy responds.

"Okay, but I am only a few years older than you and am taller than you, yet I watch what I eat," he says perplexed.

"And you still look skinny, now stop complaining about my eating habits," Lucy says in a peeved tone.

John doesn't argue, and digs into his lunch. While he is right, that one day she might have to worry about her eating habits, he forgets one thing that she will never tell him. She is a superheroine in her prime; her body burns through calories, fat, and muscle faster that fire burns a forest. It is even amazing she keeps her muscular body with all the stress her powers bring on her. Then again a lot of the Skepter family members have frail bodies due to their powers straining their body. The only exception is her young cousin Charlotte, who has breasts and a butt as big if not bigger than Lucy's (the only difference is that Charlotte is five feet seven), along with Charlotte having a bigger waste than Lucy's.

As Lucy goes for another meal—this will be the last one—she thinks about how her family is doing. The Skepter family is one where only the females display supernatural powers, however her younger cousin Curtis has become the first male Skepter to have superpowers. Throughout history the Skepter's have use their power to aid humanity, even if humanity didn't want it. The young generation of the family are still young except for Lucy, so they stay at the Skepter mansion/ranch in Montana; a place where they can train their powers to full extent without disturbance. They soon will be leaving to use their powers to help humanity like Lucy, but she wonders if she is portraying a good example for them. She is working at soul crushing insurance company, meanwhile her crime fighting deeds are being scolded by local authorities. Lucy wonders if she should leave back for home and tell the young members that humanity is not worth saving right now.

"Nonsense," Lucy lightly hisses to herself, as she carries back her food. It is worth it, all that praise she receives from citizens makes it worth it. Who care if the government calls her a vigilante, it is the people—the ones who are first to suffer from crime in Lucy's eyes—who opinions matter.

She sits down and finishes her lunch, John stares at her bewildered, struggling to finish his own. Lucy then leaves back to her cubicle. She works for the rest of the day on simple reports; mainly filling old and new clients' policies. Once work is over, she leaves. Good thing that Goodlivings Insurance is near her apartment; it means she gets to walk home, instead of taking the T or worse driving around the streets of Boston.

Lucy walks home, but stops at a few clothing shops. One is a sports store that has cute leggings in the window. Lucy wants to buy it; she would love to wear it casually or when she works out a home, but doesn't buy it due to its price. Plus she already has enough pants, leggings, and tights, and tells herself she doesn't need another one.

The other clothing shop is selling suits. William is always telling her that she needs either more colorful suit, or colorful tie, to be more welcoming to customers. She always complains to him, that the male employees are constantly wearing dark colored suits and not being critiqued him. Her boss's response is that men have appear cold and professional, where women have to be homely and pleasant (yes even if they wear a suit).

Lucy doesn't buy from this store either, as she isn't going to spend money for the approval of her boss. She should complain to HR, but it is well known fact the Goodliving Insurance has a lot of nepotism, is good at covering it up, and the HR leader of the company is related to William Drooks.

"What is so wrong with my suit and tie," Lucy says quietly to herself, gazing down at her gray suit jacket, burgundy tie, and white long sleeve dress shirt.

She leaves the store, heads back to her apartment, gets into more casual clothes—a white t-shirt and blue split shorts—before cooking up dinner. She ponders if she wants to fight crime today, as the police will be on high alert for her; daring her to intervene. She decides to watch the news and see if there are any good crimes reported that she can solve. Lucy finishes making dinner, turns on the TV and begins to eat.

The news report pretty boring stuff: new attractions at the aquarium, some random bill the mayor is signing that doesn't affect her, and traffic reports. She finishes her dinner, but then the news reports something interesting.

"The search for four men whose boat got lost at sea continues. Coast guard search relentlessly, but come up empty handed each day. The last time the men's boat was spotted was in Cape Cod near Provincetown, however after the boat traveled east, it has yet to return to port. Anyone sailing out there has be authorized by the Coast Guard to report if they spot the missing boat…"

"A missing boat," Lucy says eagerly. "It isn't crime fighting, but a rescue mission is nice."

She puts away the dirty dishes—the dishwasher now full—starts it, then transforms in Elemental Woman. Once she is in costume, she goes to her window to see if the coast is clear. The sun is setting, but there is still light. Elemental Woman sees that no body is outside near the apartment; she opens it the window, closes it, then flies off.

Within minutes she goes from land to ocean. The dark blue water greet her, as it gets more and more dark as she travels. Eventually she is far out at sea; in her mind she thinks must be over a hundred miles out, as it feels like two hours have passed in her search. She doesn't spot the boat from high up, or when she flies right above the water. Only the cold dark waves greet her.

"It is suppose to be out east, but how did it remain undetected?" Elemental Woman asks herself, continuing her search.

She tells herself that this might be a long-term project, as the ocean is big, but then Elemental Woman gets an idea. She touches the water, and lets her ability to control water, forcing the waves to give its secrets. She can feel everything the water touches: rocks, plants, fish, dolphins, seals, crabs, sea stars, and yes boats. Elemental Woman remembers that the news showed the boats picture to be gray with a black bottom. The water allow her sense its location. The lost boat is about four hundred miles more to the northeast. Elemental Woman groans, as she is going to be coming home around dawn once this rescue mission is over; however she is a superheroine and it is her job to help regular folks.

Elemental Woman flies off to the boat's location, controlling the air to make her go as fast as possible; her superheroine body allows her to withstand speed that most humans would get crushed by. Still the ocean is big, and she can only cover so much ground by flying. She reaches the area where the boat should be located, but doesn't see it. She summons a huge flame so that she can see well in the night sky. No boat appears before her, but large wave does.

Elemental Woman flies up, to avoid it, but when it crashes down, something shoots out of the crashed area. She summons a large flame to see what it is. It is the missing boat. She quickly flies to it, landing on the drenched boat. Seaweed covers most areas, with water soaking everything. Elemental Woman lights a small flame from her hand, and walks around the boat; her boots squeak on the wet floor as she walks. She finds no one until she open a door to what is the captain corridors. Inside she sees two men huddle together. Both hold harpoons in their hands, and when they see Elemental Woman enter, they violently shake them at her.

"Go away servant of the beast!" One with blonde hair and beard shouts.

"What I don't know what you are talking about," she says confused. "My name is Elemental Woman, I am here to rescue you."

"Who?" he spits back.

"You know, the superheroine who controls the elements and stops crime in Boston," the man with black hair next to him says. "The news was talking about her before we left."

"Oh thank god," the blond hair man says. "Then please help us, it has already has killed two of our comrades."

"What has?" Elemental Woman inquires.

"A dreaded beast of the deep," the black-haired man says. "It dragged our ship down, but spared us from being crushed by the depth of the ocean. It keeps us prisoner, only letting us come up on a giant wave, teasing us with glimpses of freedom, only to drag us back down."

"So that is why the Coast Guard can't find you," Elemental woman mummers.

"If that wasn't already bad enough, the beast has now taken a liking to our flesh," the blonde hair man growls. "Two of us have already been eaten."

"That is bad, but don't worry I will rescue the both of you," Elemental Woman states proudly.

"Thank you," the blonde hair man says. "But you best hurry, the beast will be done playing with us soon."

"What kind of beast is i—," Elemental Woman asks, before a large growl followed by a rocking of the boat interrupts her.

The two men huddle together frightened. Elemental Woman leaves them, heading outside to see what is messing with the boat. She flies up to the crows nest, lighting a large flame to illuminate the area. Nothing appears before her. She feels tense, knowing something is hiding from her waiting to strike. Suddenly she feels a large tentacle wrap around her; she struggles but its grip is too tight. More tentacles appear in front of her, then the one holding her jolts back into the ocean, pulling her with it. Elemental Woman quickly uses her powers to at least allow her to adjust to the water and its depth. She doesn't drown or is crushed by the depths pressure, but she is still bound by the large tentacle.

She moves her head around trying to find what is grabbing her. Eventually she does, the body of a large squid appears before her. Its eyes—which are large than the boat—glare at her. Its tentacles surround her, as the one that holds her tightens its already tight grip on her.

"You are not my intended meal. However if I can't eat those men then you will do," the squid says maliciously.

"What or who are you," Elemental Woman gasps gurgling.

"I am EOpA the great beast of the deep. All men who sail in water shall fear me!" it states proudly.

"Then why have I, no any history book mentioned you," Elemental Woman gurgles.

"Because you humans have forgotten about me, or have said my attacks were the result of bad weather. However, you little blonde shall understand why man feared me," the squid says, opening it jaw.

EOpA drags Elemental Woman to its mouth, but she fights back. With all her might she controls the water to break her free, then uses it to shoot the both of them up to the ocean's surface.

"What the!" the squid yells as it comes up; the water shooting Elemental Woman high into the air.

"Foolish human, your resistance is futile!" it then yells at her, lunging its tentacles to attack her.

Elemental Woman responds by commanding the water to create tentacles of its own to bind the attacking squid. EOpA struggle as the ocean's water hold's it tightly.

"Not so funny now is it!" she yells at the squid.

"Release me now!" the squid screams. "Or are you a descendent of Poseidon. Is that why water listens to you with ease."

"No I am the superheroine Elemental Woman!" she states to squid proudly.

"Never heard of you," EOpA growls.

"Too bad, now face justice for the men you ate!" Elemental Woman yells, shooting large amounts of electricity form her hand.

The electric bolts strike the entangled squid, frying it with one hit. It screams in pain as it dies. Then its fried corpse falls to the bottom, now food for the creatures of the deep.

"That is one large calamari," Elemental Woman chuckles as she flies down to the boat.

She tells the men that the beast is dead, they tell her they saw her kill, and give her big hug for saving them. Elemental Woman tells them that she will get them home. She flicks her wrist and commands the ocean water to push the boat to Boston. The water moves the boat as fast as possible, but it almost dawn when they arrive at the harbor. She tells the men that she must leave and that they will have to sail in themselves. They thank her, sailing to boat to dock; meanwhile Elemental Woman flies off back to her apartment.

She enters, transforms back to normal, goes to sleep, getting what sleep she can get. She only got a few hours, before groggily waking up, then groggily getting changed for work, the groggily walking to work. Lucy struggles to remain awake at work, but perseveres; despite her boss's complaints about her dozing off.

In the coming days reports about the rescued men hit the newspapers and television screens. Many dispute whether a giant squid captured the men, but all agree on one thing, that Elemental Woman is responsible for rescuing the lost men. As Lucy walks through the streets of Boston, she hear mutters of people praising Elemental Woman. She even reads in the back of a tabloid that one of the rescued men's wife is grateful that Elemental Woman rescued him. This brings a smile to Lucy's face as she continues on with her day.