It had been a good week for Hot Rod. Well, aside from that scuffle Lightning had caused on Tuesday. Honestly, who did she think she was, making demands like she owned the place? Achilles was the one in charge, and the military snitch was on her way out. She may not know it yet, but she wouldn't be around for much longer.
The rest of the week had been spent scorching bad guys and helping innocents. So what if a few petty thieves ended up in the hospital? They had to be tough on crime or people would just keep doing it.
He'd also been trying to spend more time with Barrier Maiden. Honestly, the fact that such a cutie was single was basically a crime. And Hot Rod stood against all crimes, no matter how big or small. Thus, he was going to ask her out today while they were on patrol.
As soon as Light Master and Knight Errant returned from their shift, Hot Rod grinned and set out with Barrier Maiden for their turn. A couple blocks from HQ, she turned right and he followed. He needed to talk to her, after all.
"Can I help you?" Maiden asked, looking at him somewhat suspiciously. She didn't know, did she? That was fine.
"Yes, in fact. I'd like to talk to you while we're on patrol. Together." Hot Rod smiled brightly at her, and Maiden shrank back a bit. She was so cute when she was shy!
"Shouldn't we head in separate directions? Just to...make sure we cover more ground?"
"But what if something happened to you? I couldn't bear to see you get hurt. Pretty woman like you."
"I...can take care of myself." With that, Maiden turned on her heel and started speedwalking away. She was really playing hard to get, wasn't she? Hot Rod jogged to catch up to her.
"Look, I'd really like to discuss this with you when it's just the two of us, and HQ is always so crowded. I mean, we could talk in my room, but that seems a bit forward of me. What do you think?"
"I think I'm not interested," she replied, refusing to look him in the eye.
"You don't get what I'm putting down, do you?" Hot Rod said, grabbing her wrist to stop her. She huffed a sigh and turned around to face him.
"I think I do get it actually. And I said no."
"No, no, no. I mean, you're not exactly the brightest one in the Legion. I'd like to discuss our relationship going forward."
"I'm not going to date you." Maiden stared at him coldly, her face twisted into a grimace. Was it really that bad a prospect?
"So you did pick it up," he muttered. "But, y'know, you being single is something I can't overlook. You're so pretty, it would be a crime for you to not have a strong significant other by your side. Especially with all this dangerous Legion business."
"I said I can take care of myself," she replied through gritted teeth.
"But what if Paris shows up? You need someone who can run to your rescue."
"Or I can put up a barrier and keep his poison out."
"But can you maintain that for very long? Really, you poor dear. You don't belong in a place like this. I don't know why the Miracle Granter chose you. You'd do so much better elsewhere."
"Like on your arm?" Maiden ripped her wrist from his grip and crossed her arms, glaring at him. "No means no, Hot Rod. Besides, I'm not single. I started dating someone this week."
"What?" Hot Rod stared after her in a stupor as she walked away. When did that happen? And, whoa, wait, she couldn't leave him behind like this!
He ran up to her, surprised at how fast she could move in her heels. Low heels, sure, but seriously!
"Who is it? Wait, is it a he or a she? Start there! What's their name? How long have you two known each other? You aren't getting back with an old ex are you? You know that's a bad idea!"
She continued to ignore him as she wandered the streets. More people were starting to crowd around. This wasn't good. This was supposed to be a private conversation. He managed to catch up to her and grab her shoulder, panting. And she hadn't even broken a sweat!
"How are you so fast?" he asked, gasping for air.
"I train on the treadmill every day. I used to have a physical job, so I guess I had some stamina to start with too. Now can you let go and go patrol somewhere else?"
Who was this girl looking at him with a look that could kill? Not his sweet Barrier Maiden, that was for sure.
"What happened to upset you?" he asked. "You're not acting like yourself."
"What, the stupid, pretty little lady?" Maiden glared at him even more coldly.
"Not stupid. More...quiet. Sweet. You know."
"Let's see what could have possibly happened between Legion HQ and here," she said with a sigh before looking back at him. "Maybe you?"
No way.
"What did I do?" he asked.
"Reflect on it."
Before the conversation could progress (with people filming them on top of everything), the sound of a scuffle reached them. Two levels lower. Without a word, they both set out for the closest staircase, barreling down the steps. Hot Rod shoved a few people out of the way while Barrier Maiden wove through the crowd like a dancer.
They got to the area, which had been mostly cleared of people. Only four people remained. A pretty one-sided fight from the looks of it. One man sat on the ground with his arms over his head, covered in small cuts and several places that looked like they'd grow into bruises. A woman held a wallet, looking through the contents with a sneer. The other two, both men, stood over the man on the ground, looking like they'd hit him the moment he moved.
"Stop right there!" Hot Rod said, stepping in front.
"What's going on?" Maiden asked the question at the exact moment he spoke, making their words get a bit jumbles. Couldn't she see he was the one in charge here?
"Oh. Legion." The woman sighed and snapped her fingers. A few small darts flew towards them, but Maiden blocked them with her barrier.
"Nice one," Hot Rod said with a smile. Maiden ignored him.
"Great. The annoying one. Take her out." The woman waved her hand and the two standing men advanced, probably to give her the same treatment as the man on the ground.
As if he'd let that happen! Hot Rod stuck his hand out with a flourish and a massive jet of fire flew forward. Soon those baddies would be well-done.
"Stop it!" Maiden snapped. He looked at her in confusion.
"They're bad guys. We toast bad guys."
"And you'll toast the wallet, as well as its owner! This calls for a more subtle approach." She glared forward as the flames faded to reveal one of her barriers, containing all three criminals.
"Okay, that is directly hindering me," Hot Rod said, annoyance leaking into his voice. "You could have just shielded the guy behind them."
"I don't want to have to keep smelling the results of your mindless barbecues," Maiden responded coldly. "Now call the military and let's get these freaks locked up."
"Soon as you do, I'll just hit them all with my poison darts," the woman replied, apparently unphased by the situation.
"Guess I gotta burn her," Hot Rod said with a shrug. "Drop the barrier. It'll only take a moment."
"No."
"Why can't you just do what I tell you to?"
"I don't want to."
"I don't get it. Why not?"
"Because I don't like you?"
"What reason could you possibly have to not like me? I asked you out and everything."
"And my reply is. A. Firm. No! Now would someone get the military down here already?"
"On it," a man called from a little ways down the street, a cell phone to his ear.
"Thank you. You can go now, Hot Rod."
"But I just - "
"Now." Maiden shot him the harshest glare yet and Hot Rod gave up in defeat. It was humiliating, but he'd back down for now. She'd fall for him eventually.
The next day, he found a video of that entire humiliating debacle on the web. It was titled something along the lines of "Barrier Maiden Roasts Hot Rod" and had gone viral in less than an hour. Snippets of the earlier conversation surfaced as well, giving way to rampant speculation about who Barrier Maiden could be dating. The consensus was Achilles, which was even more annoying. A fellow Legion member and they hadn't told anyone?
He was willing to forgive a lot, but this was way too far. Barrier Maiden was now dead to him.
