5: For The Doves

"Just this one more," I say.

I understand where he is coming from… sorta. It's already been a busy day. He never really liked this sort of thing and has always been a bit squeamish, and, well… I realize this isn't exactly the most normal thing to do.

But still, setting an example is important, lest everyone else tries to do the same.

Really, I guess I am somewhat to blame. People have been going around, killing mourning doves and other pigeon type birds. The reason? When Struan insists on going back back to mourn at the scenes we, or mainly I, created, I thought it would be funny to fly him there on my back while transformed into a giant, fluffy, and very rotund mourning dove.

Some people have taken this to mean that mourning doves are a sign of ill fortune, or a sign that I would appear soon, especially if spotted before dawn, so they kill off any similar bird types. It's quite reprehensible, really.

Ah, and the whole dawn thing is because as a high school student, I like to get my mornings started off with a bang before classes. While I technically could do it in the afternoon or evening… or really any other time that I'm not in school… Eh… I need some reason to get out of bed in the mornings.

We slip into our white business suits, paired with a white tie and dress shoes, and don our featureless, white masks with only holes cut for the eyes. My body morphs into a male form, filling out the shoulders of the suit. It just seems appropriate for the aesthetic.

The fancy suits we stole are fitted for the male frame and don't fill out quite right as a female. But as a male, I can make my body fit it just right and look quite snazzy in the process. It also has the benefit of making me harder to identify, as I wouldn't put it past some ardent fan to recognize my gait on the street.

Struan sets up the rest of the equipment as I do a few more final checks. He gives me a thumbs up and I start the camera.

"Gooooood mourning! How's everyone today?

"So, I heard that people have been targeting doves in hopes of killing me! How awful!" I rest my cheek against my palm in mock disappointment.

"I know I fly around as a giant mourning dove, but… You do realize that if it's a dove you can hit, it's probably not gonna be me, right? So you're out there, killing innocent birds! It's insulting that you think I'm so weak!

"I really don't approve of that… sooo…. I'm gonna show you what happens to those we catch killing them!"

I make a dramatic rolling gesture with my hand and move the camera to show what Struan has set up.

A gagged man is shackled to a board, tilted up sixty degrees to show both the man and me. Struan tosses me a chef's knife, which I expertly catch and twirl.

"A live execution!" I proudly cry out. With the last syllable I slice open his abdomen in two swift perpendicular strokes and twirl over to the right at the end of my last stroke, using the swing of my arm for momentum.

Humming, I slice into his wrist, bringing the knife down towards his armpit, removing a strip of skin just like peeling a fruit. Meanwhile, Struan silently pins up the upper flaps on the man's abdomen to expose the organs, then moves out of the camera's view.

With a flourish, I similarly reveal strips of muscle on his other three limbs while his muffled screams penetrate the room.

"Ah, it's so nice hearing screams uninterrupted by cursing, don't you agree?" I ask the camera, moving my face up close. "Granted, I would prefer for him to be ungagged; but unfortunately, the location wouldn't allow us to finish the demonstration if others could hear."

With a shrug then giggle, I move away from the camera; and on my tiptoes, I run back to the board.

Reaching over to the counter next to our display, I pick up a vial of dark green fluid by the tippy top and wiggle it at the camera.

"MMMGFF! NGF! MNNFFGFF!!" The man cranes his neck to see what I'm doing and just barely catches a glimpse; his eyes widen even more, showing more white than I once thought possible from someone still alive.

"Right, so neeext… I have this special toxin! It was quite difficult to obtain, so I hope you greatly enjoy the show!" I insert a syringe into the vial and extract the goodness inside.

Luckily for him, I'm not too into skinning people alive, even if it would aid in my demonstration.

I toss the empty vial at Struan then jab the syringe into the man's neck.

"Lucky you! You're my first! I haven't even seen what it looks like yet, myself." I say.

I bite my bottom lip as I watch with fascination as the toxin takes effect. It starts out very gently, very slowly; but unmistakably, his muscles begin to ripple and twitch more and more, including his internal organs. With the increased intensity, it looks more and more like some sort of horror dance.

"Woah? The sellers were right! It does look like his guts are dancing!" I exclaim excitedly and place my white, gloved hand on the jerking intestines.

From off camera, Struan hits a key on the laptop. Alongside our test subject's body, the music slowly begins to play but soon bursts into jubilation. Getting into the groove of the energetic, merry pirate music, I begin a jolly pirate jig. With the crescendo of the music, the man's dancing muscles and internals reach their peak, and I drag Struan into dancing with me.

[No. No! Nonono!!... Ugh, you crazy bit—] Struan telepathically protests until he abruptly submits to his fate. It just wasn't worth it. By now, he has long since learned that trying to resist me is a hopeless endeavor. I drag his reluctant, stumbling body around the room, waving his limp arms in mine, causing him to 'dance' too.

The music fades and the contractions of the muscles become less and less; kind of like when making popcorn, towards the end, the pops become more and more infrequent.

Hmm… I'm hungry again, but I probably shouldn't tell that to Struan. I frown momentarily under my mask and let the thought drift out of my mind. Imma get fat if I keep eating like this, and if I'm fat then I can't fight as well.

Well, that's enough of that. I stab my knife through the dude's right eye and he falls still and silent. With a quick tap on the power button of the camera, I remove it from its stand. Before taking off my mask, I check one more time that its power is off and the stream has ended.

"Hey, you timed that just perfectly!" I give Struan a high-five, but as usual, he looks a bit queasy. Honestly! I'm shocked he's still not used to this yet, but I guess he just needs a bit more time. Not everyone has my tastes, after all.

I simply shrug at the thought and offer to check to see if the pantry or whatever in this house has any stomach medicine, but he declines with a gesture of his hand. Alright, whatever suits him, I guess.

I shimmy out of the suit, impressed that I didn't get any blood on it this time apart from the one glove. Struan, of course, had no difficulties in keeping himself clean with the exception of his gloves. My school clothes seem just as tidy, but I figure we should run the laundry one more time before we leave this house.

After getting dressed and shifting forms, I come back to see Struan sitting at the dinner table, typing away at the laptop.

"Hmmm?" I lean on his shoulder and catch the glimpse of the Hero Association's logo before the screen changes.

"I was going to apply to a super academy, like you suggested," Straun says.

"Sure, which one are we applying to?" I ask.

"Eh… prolly the closest one? I dunno what it is," Struan says and scrolls down the page. "The Eagle Super Academy? It's the only one in the country." He looks up at me and I nod.

"That works. It's just as good as any other… Wanna see if Eir wants to join us?" I ask.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Don't you suspect her of being the top tier hero, Lightbringer?" he asks. "Won't she be our biggest threat?"

"Ehh, it'll be fine. Besides, the more consistently you see her abilities, the stronger you will get as you make them yours," I say. "Don't worry about me!"

Ding!

Congratulations! Your application to enroll in the Eagle Super Academy has been approved!

"That was fast," we look at each other and say, simultaneously.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

[AHHH!!! TOO FAST!] I screech to Struan through our telepathic connection he established.

No, no! We are not in any shape to take guests right now! There's so much to clean up!