Introducing the Wards

Much controversy has surrounded the creation of the junior superhero offshoot of the Protectorate, known as the Wards. Often wielding as much or more power than their adult counterparts, the Wards are bound by the same constraints; that is, in order to get maximum use from their abilities, they must be partially or fully naked.

"Even with the nudism craze sweeping the world, laws have remained in place to protect children; those under a certain age must remain clothed at all times while in public. Note that, however, the age of consent itself, having taken three hundred years of legislation to get up to sixteen, has now dropped; in some places, it is once again as low as thirteen. However, whatever one does behind closed doors with one's sexual partner of choice, those under the age of eighteen may not engage in public sex of any kind, and children under the age of fifteen may not appear naked in public.

"Many child protection agencies have protested vigorously over the years at the lowering of these ages, but one fact is clear; no matter what the laws say, these things are going to happen. As has happened with many things of this nature, so long as we pretend not to break the law, they will pretend not to notice.

"And what of the case of the Wards, where children as young as twelve and thirteen are required to strip to the buff in order to use their powers to the fullest? Quite often, those same children are the most powerful of them all. To force them to remain clothed, to curtail their power, may well quite literally endanger their very lives, the next time they face a powerful threat. Whichever way this decision went, it was bound to be unpopular; the lawmakers eventually came down on the side of saving lives.

"When not in combat, of course, they wear their designated costumes, but when danger calls, our child heroes will strip down, just as much as the adults do. Is it indecent? Perhaps. Does it save lives? Almost certainly. The controversy goes on, but one thing is clear. The Protectorate is a very powerful organisation, and it has a very strong voice in the disposition of its child heroes. And it will not allow them to be rendered powerless by the stroke of a legislative pen."_

\- Professor Thomas Landon, on the Wards controversy

Vista pouted. "It's just not fair!" She flounced across to a chair and sat down, spreading the skirts of her costume carefully. "Why do you have to be so ... manly?"

Dean made a helpless shrugging motion. "I'm sorry. I can't help it. It's the way I am." He went across and patted her on the shoulder; she slapped his hand away.

Aegis entered the room at this point; he was wearing just his mask and boxers, and wrist wallet. Dennis was sitting at the comms console, wearing his helmet and white boots, along with the wrist wallet; he was apparently paying close attention to the screens.

"What's going on?" asked Aegis.

Vista pointed at Dean. "Ask him!" she declared. "It's his fault!"

Dean, whose helmet was sitting on the table, and whose only other items of clothing were a wrist wallet and boots, spread his hands helplessly. "Missy, it's no-one's _fault_. It's just that ..."

"Once more, from the top," Aegis overrode him. "What's going on here?"

Dean drew a frustrated breath. "Missy wanted to have sex with me."

Aegis shrugged. "And the problem with that is?"

Dean pulled out his Age Card and tapped it significantly. "We're physically incompatible. I'm too big for her at the moment."

"Horsecrap!" snapped Missy. "It's not fair! Glory Girl gets to fuck Dean all she likes! Why can't I?"

Aegis sighed. "Vista, can I see your Age Card?" He produced his from a wrist wallet.

With an aggrieved sniff, the teal-and-green clad Ward pulled her Age Card from her wrist wallet. She mated it, back to back, with Aegis'.

Red lights sprang up in most of the 'compatibility' sections. The readout on each card read COMPATIBILITY: 16%.

Aegis put his Card away, as did Vista. "See?" Aegis told her. "It's not just you and Dean. It's you and me, too. And I bet if Armsmaster matched Cards with you, you'd get about a _five_ percent compatibility score." He reached into his boxers and pulled out his currently-flaccid member. "Once erect, this just will not fit inside you, kid. You're _thirteen_. Dean and me, we've had four years of growing. We're just not in your size range."

"Still not fair," grumped Vista. "I finally turn thirteen, I'm allowed to have sex, and I'm still too small for Dean."

Aegis hid a smile as he tucked his penis back into his boxers. "It's the way it goes. You'll get there. We aren't likely to get any bigger, so you will catch up." He paused. "What I _am_ curious about is why exactly you're wearing your dress costume?"

Vista rolled her eyes. "We're going on some sort of school visit, so I have to costume up. Not like you; you're over fifteen."

Dean frowned. "But what if you have to get it off in a hurry? Like in combat?"

Vista grinned. "Thought of that. Got micro-explosive charges off of Armsmaster. I tap this panel in the middle of my chest three times, and boom; the costume falls apart around me. Leaves the visor behind, of course."

"Have you tested it?" asked Aegis practically.

"Not yet," Vista admitted. "But even if that fails, I'll just make the costume really big and climb out of it."

Aegis nodded. "That sounds like it should work." He dusted his hands off. "Okay, so you've heard about the school visit. Show up, give the spiel about how great life in the Wards is, show off a little, field a few questions, and get out, hopefully before Kid Win shoots someone."

"I never shot _anyone,"_ protested Chris, appearing at the door to his workshop, wearing only a pair of protective goggles. "I just drew my pistol. They were heckling us!"

Aegis rubbed his forehead. " ... right. Okay. We'll be wearing light field costumes. Kid Win, of course, you've got your full armour; that'll look impressive. So long as you don't have to actually do any Tinkering while you're there, we should be fine. And guys, seriously, if you feel the need to get it on with anyone while you're there, don't do it in front of the cameras. Not in public means not on live TV. We're supposed to be superheroes, not sex idols."

"Can't we be both?" asked Clockblocker, standing up and stretching.

"What was that?" asked Aegis, one hand to his ear. "'Can I volunteer to stay and man the base while you guys go and kick back with a bunch of extremely sexy and mostly naked teenage girls?' Was that what I just heard?"

Clockblocker cleared his throat; the noise echoed hollowly inside his helmet. "Uh, no. No that's not what you just heard. What you heard was, uh, message received and understood, chief."

Aegis grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "Good man. And by the way, I've been thinking about your idea to swap costumes to confuse the bad guys. Not a bad idea, but you'd better work on your all-over tan first. And maybe dye your pubes."

Clockblocker removed his helmet and nodded glumly. "Oh well, it was a good idea while it lasted."

"Yeah. Now go get your light field costume on. Remember, we're trying to make a good impression here." He headed out of the room, toward his quarters.

"My light field costume looks weird," complained Clockblocker.

_"You_ look weird," Missy retorted.

"Says the girl wearing full dress costume," Dennis grinned. "Seriously, I just can't recognise you in that. I'm used to seeing your sexy little butt running around, not all that paraphernalia you've got loaded on you."

Vista coloured slightly. "You really think my butt's sexy?"

Dennis nodded. "Hell yes. I mean, yes, you're skinny, but that's a girl's butt for sure." He tilted his head. "Didn't you say you were allowed to actually have sex now?"

Vista grinned. "Yeah. I've already had it with Chris. It was good."

Dennis pulled out his AgeCard. "Wanna match?"

Vista shrugged. "Sure." She pulled out her Card, and they slotted them together. Moments later, their faces fell.

"Darn it," muttered Vista. "Three lousy percentage points."

"What do you mean?" asked Dennis. "We match up perfectly. I'm a little big for you, but not overly."

"No," explained Missy. "I was hoping for some anal. Chris did my ass real good. I think I like it."

"Ah, no." Dennis shook his head. "I don't do anal."

"Darn," sighed Vista.

"Look on the bright side," offered Dennis. "We can still do vaginal."

Vista smiled. "Sure. Want some now?"

Regretfully, Dennis shook his head. "If I don't go costume up, Carlos'll ground me for sure. And I like my naked high school girls."

Vista grinned. "And I like my naked high school boys."

Dennis echoed the grin. "Think you'll get any?"

Vista indicated the panel in the centre of her chest. "After I blow this - hell yes." She indicated the direction of the Wards' quarters. "Go get your costume on, before Carlos rips you a new one. Again."

"Yes, boss." Dennis grinned as Vista stuck her tongue out at him, and went to put on the constricting light field costume.

Not a moment too soon; just as he disappeared, Aegis emerged, wearing a lightweight costume, patterned in the same rust-red, held together with velcro tabs.

"So what school are we going to?" asked Vista cheerfully.

Aegis straightened a tab. "Winslow, if you can believe it."