Jewel Heist

Jeniyus looked around the large jewelry store. She noted that there would be plenty of room to fight without destroying anything once Metrinos arrived. The store, of course, belonged to a family of the top one percent; the only people that Metrinos ever stole from. Anything in the store that was damaged or stolen would come out of their wallets.

There was a soft, plush, red rug on the floor, and Jeniyus enjoyed the comfort it provided as she waited for Metrinos. The store was well lit; there were no security cameras, so the employees wouldn’t have to see her and Metrinos fighting in their store. Thus, it was safe to have the lights on.

Jeniyus waited, her arms crossed, beginning to become impatient. “Where is he?” she whispered to herself.

Then, as if in response to her question, she began to hear a quiet jiggling noise. She’d heard this sound before, and realized that Metrinos was, most likely, trying to break in by using a magic hand to undo the locks on the front door. She looked at the front door, and, sure enough, could see one of Metrinos’s magic hands jiggling the locks on the front door. She looked closely, and could see Metrinos on the other side of the glass. Finally, the hand unlocked all the locks on the front door. Then, he opened the door, entered, and smiled at Jeniyus. “I could see you from outside. I see you’re all ready to go,” he said. He began to walk towards Jeniyus.

Jeniyus backed up a little, and said, “Okay, let’s fight in the middle here, where I am. That way, we shouldn’t destroy anything with our battle.”

Metrinos shook his head. “Always so eager to skip right to the fighting. Whatever happened to asking each other about their day?”

“We’ve never done that, and you know it,” Jeniyus responded with a slight scowl on her face.

“We at least do some banter,” Metrinos countered.

Jeniyus sighed. “Don’t feel like it tonight.”

Metrinos chuckled a bit, and said, “Well, aren’t we grumpy this evening?”

Jeniyus summoned her sword to her hand, and rested the blade on her shoulder.

He stopped in front of her, smirking, folding his hands behind his back, underneath his cape. “And on a different note, why do you care so much about not breaking anything? The top one percent has more than enough money, as I’m sure you know.”

Jeniyus’s expression reflected mild sadness. “Yes, but….they get so….upset…when their money is drained. I just can’t stand to see anyone suffer like that. Even if they are all rotten to the core…”

Metrinos’s smile widened. “Ever the empathy-zealot, you are…”

Jeniyus turned her head somewhat to the left, turning her eyes to the floor with a slightly hurt expression on her face.

Metrinos’s eyes widened. “Hey, now! I meant that as a compliment!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus returned her gaze to him. “Oh, you…did?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Of course! You should be proud of that empathy you carry, Jeniyus! It’s a hindrance to me, obviously, but I rather like that trait of yours. Compassion is a wonderful thing. And I admire you for how much you have.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus gave a grateful smile, and said, “Really?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos nodded. “Absolutely.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus’s smile broadened, and rubbed the back of her head with her hand, feeling modest.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos’s expression changed to one of impishness. “However…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus’s smile faded, and she gripped her sword tighter.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos continued, “While I may admire your empathy….I don’t share it.” And with that, he held out his hand and shot Jeniyus with a pink ray of energy.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus yelled in surprise, and fell to one knee, the ray having made her feel fatigued. She put her hand to her head. “Ugh….that was…really powerful…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes, I’ve been training a bit with my powers. But unlike you, I have to keep training to make them strong, or they’ll go back to being as weak as they originally were…so, they probably won’t stay this powerful for very long.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus looked up at him, glaring.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Although, I think they’ll last long enough for me to knock you out and rob this entire store,” Metrinos declared, smirking down at Jeniyus.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus’s eyes widened. “The whole store?!” she exclaimed.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos chuckled, and answered, "Yes, of cousre." Then, a pink light surrounded his hand again.

<p class="MsoNormal">Quickly, Jeniyus raised a blue, psychic barrier around herself.

<p class="MsoNormal">The light faded from around Metrinos’s hand, and he smirked. “You can’t hide in there forever,” he teased.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus pressed her hands against the wall of the barrier she was facing, and shot a wave of psychic energy at Metrinos, using the barrier as a magnifier.

<p class="MsoNormal">Then, however, when the wave was over, she saw that Metrinos had pulled up a dark purple shield around himself. He smirked at her from inside his own barrier, and said, “Sorry, but I do learn.”

<p class="MsoNormal">They both cancelled the shields around themselves, and Jeniyus swung her sword, unleashing a psychic wave at Metrinos. He, quickly, raised a small shield in front of him that blocked the attack. Then, he lowered the shield, raised his hand, and fired another pink ray at her, which she barely dodged.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus backed up a little, holding her sword out in front of her, trying to think of what to do.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos walked a little closer, folding his hands behind his back, underneath his cape, and his smirk grew wider. Then, Metrinos quickly moved his hand out from underneath his cape, raised it up to Jeniyus and shot a stream of small pink spheres at Jeniyus. They hit Jeniyus, who didn’t have enough time to raise a barrier, as these pink spheres moved faster than any ray Metrinos shot. The small orbs continued to bombard Jeniyus, who raised her arms up in front of her to try to block them. However, so long as they were hitting any part of her, they were taking effect and making her slightly drowsier with every one that hit. Jeniyus tried to raise a psychic barrier in front of her, but the sphere assault was making it too difficult for her to do it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos smirked at her, chuckling a bit.

<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, Jeniyus exerted a large wave of psychic energy from her body that successfully tore through the pink spheres and blasted into Metrinos, knocking him back a few feet. Then, Jeniyus shook her head a bit to recuperate from the drowsiness that the spheres had caused, called her sword back to her hand, and unleashed a psychic wave of energy at the fallen Metrinos.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos, who had fallen onto his back, could not get out of the way in time, and was struck by the wave.

<p class="MsoNormal">After the energy blast dissipated, Jeniyus could see Metrinos lying on the floor, his hand on his stomach. He groaned in pain.

<p class="MsoNormal">Slowly, Jeniyus began walking towards him to try to see if he was down for the count. Metrinos sat up with a pained expression on his face, raised his hand, and fired another pink ray at Jeniyus. Jeniyus stopped dead in her tracks and raised a thin blue barrier in front of her that blocked the ray. Then, she lowered the barrier, and swung her sword, unleashing another psychic ray at Metrinos.

<p class="MsoNormal">Quickly, Metrinos raised his hand, and a dark purple sphere of energy appeared in front of him, and absorbed the ray.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus’s eyes widened. “What…?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos laughed a little and got to his feet. He grinned devilishly at Jeniyus, and said, “Remember these? The magic spheres of sleepiness. Only this time, I’ve added a little modification to them.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The sphere began to float towards Jeniyus, who took a step back and fired a psychic ray at it from her hand, trying to destroy it. However, the sphere only absorbed the energy just as it had done previously.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You can’t destroy it with your psychic rays, Jeniyus. In fact, it becomes stronger by absorbing them. Those two rays you shot at it should make it more than enough to knock you out on the spot.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus stood staring at the sphere, eyes wide with slight fear. Then, the sphere stopped advancing towards her and hovered in place, as if Metrinos was taunting her a little with it.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Now, don’t you worry, there’s a plush, silk bed with your name on it back at my castle, and you’re free to go whenever you want when you wake up,” Metrinos stated, smiling at Jeniyus. Then, the sphere began to float towards Jeniyus again. “Be sure to have sweet dreams, now,” Metrinos said, winking.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus created a dome barrier around herself, attempting to buy some time. The sphere bumped into the dome, and bounced off a little, like a fly attempting to get through a closed window.

<p class="MsoNormal">“That old trick again? The sphere will break through eventually,” Metrinos declared.

<p class="MsoNormal">The sphere rammed into the dome repeatedly, attempting to get to Jeniyus.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus leaned her back against the side of the dome her back was facing and tried to think of a plan. “I can’t destroy it…what the hell can I do?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos casually strolled over to the dome, stopping at the side to Jeniyus’s left, and knocked lightly on the dome with the knuckle of his index finger.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus had seen him walk over, but turned to look right at him when he knocked.

<p class="MsoNormal">Smiling, Metrinos said, “Come now, Jeniyus, you’ll sleep quite soundly. It’ll be pleasant! And a restful night’s sleep is always good for one’s health.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Bite me,” Jeniyus responded through grit teeth.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Relax,” Metrinos said blandly. “Not that much of the money I steal is going to the production of my monster minions. Only five percent of the overall sum of money from my thefts goes to them, remember?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus’s glare deepened. “That’s still too much.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, of course, it will add up over time, but…there’s no shame in giving up when the match is simply impossible.” A sympathetic smile appeared on Metrinos’s face. “You just can’t win ‘em all, Jeniyus.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus stood up, pressed her hands on the side of the dome Metrinos was near, and shot a powerful blast of energy at him through the barrier. “Shut up!” she shouted.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos was struck and flew backwards a fair distance. He landed on his back, and rolled for a few feet, until he finally settled on his side, his cape twisted around him. Slowly, he pushed himself up and looked up at Jeniyus. “Still have a little fight left in you, I see,” he said. A light purple dome appeared around him, and he smirked. “Just to be on the safe side, then.” Slowly, he got to his feet, breathing heavily, and rested his hand on the side of the dome facing Jeniyus, trying to hold himself up.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus could see that he was very run down. If she could knock him out, the purple sphere assailing her dome barrier would fade, and she would be the victor. But now that he had a dome of his own protecting him, there was no way. Knocking him out without having to deal with the sphere was no longer an option. She looked back at the sphere, which was now starting to make a crack in her dome. “Have to think…” she thought. “There has to be a way to destroy the sphere…” She knew that shooting it with psychic rays would only make it stronger. “Rays of energy…make it stronger…” She thought about her sword. “It’s made of highly condensed psychic energy, but…it’s not a ray. Maybe the spheres can only absorb scattered energy. It’s a long shot, but…I don’t have any other ideas. I have to try something.”

<p class="MsoNormal">She summoned her sword once again, and gripped the handle with both hands. Then, she lowered the dome barrier protecting her from the sphere. Almost as quickly as the dome vanished, Jeniyus swung her sword at the sphere…and sliced it in half. “Ha!” Jeniyus shouted triumphantly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Drat,” Metrinos moaned. “You figured it out…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus turned to Metrinos menacingly. Another purple sphere materialized and flew towards Jeniyus, but she simply sliced this one in half as she had done to the other.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos's eyes widened as he realized he defeat may be soon at hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">Before he could think, Jeniyus ran forward, and plunged her sword straight through Metrinos's barrier, forcing Metrinos to back up to avoid the blade. He stared at the sword with wide eyes of fear, then looked up at Jeniyus, who wore a tired, yet determined expression.

<p class="MsoNormal">Then, cracks began to appear in the barrier, and soon enough, the entire thing shattered to pieces.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Slowly, he raised his head and looked up at Jeniyus, an exhausted countenance on his face.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus lowered her sword, glaring down at Metrinos. Not knowing for sure if he was truly defeated, she decided to ready another attack. She raised her left hand at Metrinos, and it became enveloped in a blue light.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos cringed, raising his right arm in front of his face, and trembling slightly.

<p class="MsoNormal">A pang of sorrow quivered through Jeniyus. Her eyes widened, and she lowered her hand, the blue light disappearing.

<p class="MsoNormal">Slowly, Metrinos lowered his arm, and continued looking up at Jeniyus, waiting with trepidation for what she was going to do with him.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus's expression changed to one of pity, and the sword disappeared from her hand. "Can you stand?" she asked.

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos attempted to stand at her request, only to fall back down to his knees, letting out a small yelp of pain. "N-no..." he replied.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Okay." Jeniyus knelt down next to him, and started to search through the areas she could teleport to on her special watch. Eventually, she found the Supervillain Minimum Security Prison. She put her arm around Metrinos's shoulders, and pressed the button on the watch, teleporting them both to the front room of the prison.

<p class="MsoNormal">The guard at the front desk jumped a little in surprise. "Jeniyus! You....you caught Metrinos!" Quickly, he got up from his seat and walked over to them.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus looked up at the guard weakly. "I don't think I can carry him to his cell this time...." she said sadly.

<p class="MsoNormal">The guard shook his head, smiling reassuringly. "Don't you worry about it, Jeniyus, I've got it." He carefully took hold of Metrinos's arm, pulled him to his feet, and guided him into his cell.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus got to her feet and walked over to Metrinos's cell where Metrinos sat on the bed, his back up against the wall, looking at Jeniyus.

<p class="MsoNormal">The guard looked back and forth between Jeniyus and Metrinos. "Either of you two need a doctor?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus rubbed the back of her head with her hand and said, "Well, I'm fine. But, what about you, Metrinos?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Metrinos smiled and said, "I'll be alright. That was just quite an exhausting battle."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus laughed a little without smiling, and said, "You can say that again..."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Curses. Foiled again," Metrinos declared, smiling warmly at Jeniyus.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus nodded slowly, a solemn expression on her face.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeniyus spoke with the guard for a short time, and then, returned home with the use of her special watch. She collapsed onto her bed. "Who needs sleeping pills?" she thought with a smile. "I've got being a superhero." Soon enough, she was fast asleep.

<p class="MsoNormal">THE END