Super Nuts Chapter 20: Growth (part 1)

"BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!"

Maya groaned as her eyes fluttered open, the natural sunlight flooding into her eyes through her bedside window.

"BEEP! BEE-"

Her hand slammed down on the alarm's off button.

*Why did I choose such an annoying alarm?* She groggily complained to herself as she slowly sat up and stretched with a yawn.

The answer to that question was simple. Maya was a night owl. If she had it her way, she'd wake up at noon every day and be out until 4 am. Unfortunately, she had to abide by the schedule Friction set for her and was thus forced to wake up every day at 7:00 am.

Maya was going through the motions of lazily rolling out of bed when, among the haze of sleepy thoughts bouncing around in her brain, she suddenly remembered the importance of that specific morning. Her amethyst eyes shot open fully and she immediately stood up straight, her blood pumping with energy.

"Today's the day I finally get Ethan to notice me!" She spoke aloud to herself, projecting as much determination as she could to amp herself up.

*Not just as his sidekick, but as a woman!* The clarification was added mentally, but was equally important. Every time Friction, her mentor and the man she trusted more than anyone else, complimented her skills she felt like she was floating on cloud nine. Yet, there was one kind of compliment he never gave. His eyes never looked at her with anything beyond the affectionate, yet critical gaze of a teacher. Today was the day Maya would draw his eyes in an entirely new way.

Now fully awake and motivated, her eyes locked onto her walk-in closet. Friction always drilled into her the importance of choosing the appropriate tools for the battle ahead. It was time for her to do just that!

Maya wasted no time rummaging through her closet, shoving past old costumes and civilian outfits until she reached the back. There, hidden away, was her secret project. With a triumphant grin, she pulled out a sleek, form-fitting superhero outfit. Unlike her usual slightly armored costume, this one clung to her curves, accentuating her feminine figure. The deep purple material shimmered under the light, darker shades of black swirling like smoke across the fabric.

"Perfect," Maya murmured, holding the costume up to her body. She had been working on this for weeks, hoping to impress Ethan and catch his eye as more than just a sidekick. Today was the day she would show him she was a grown woman and a force to be reckoned with.

Eagerly, Maya stripped off her pajamas and slid into the new costume. The stretchy material hugged her skin like a second layer, smooth and cool to the touch. She admired herself in the full length mirror, turning to check every angle. Her amethyst eyes sparkled with excitement as she took in her reflection. The outfit highlighted her perky breasts, narrow waist, and shapely legs. Paired with her long black hair tumbling over her shoulders, Maya looked every bit the sexy superheroine. She struck a pose, hands on her hips, and had to admit she looked good. Confident. Powerful. She just hoped it would be enough to make Ethan finally see her as a woman, not just his protege.

"Ethan won't know what hit him," she promised with a grin, bouncing on her heels. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when she strutted into headquarters looking like this. For once, maybe he'd be the one at a loss for words! With a giddy laugh, Maya spun around and headed for the door, her hips swaying enticingly in the tight outfit. She was determined to show Ethan she was all grown up now - and that she could be so much more than just his sidekick. Today was a new beginning for the young shadow-wielder.

The Hero Association had several large training rooms that heroes could reserve, each a technological wonder designed by Jason Lux, the genius inventor who supplied the Hero Association with much of its tech. With a simple input to a control panel, the training room could replicate the environment of a frozen tundra, a scorching desert, a blistering volcano, a turbulent ocean, a raging hurricane, or any other kind of environment found on planet Earth. Furthermore, the latest in medical technology was on standby in case of any injuries sustained during sparring or from the numerous hazards available.

Friction sat crossed legged in a meditative state in the center of one of these training rooms, the environment set to a peaceful meadow with a gentle river flowing across the side of the room. A soothing breeze swept across the grass and flowers, sweeping a bit of his dark coffee brown hair to the side.
*Did she oversleep again?* The stray thought interrupted his meditation as his internal clock notified him that it was 15 minutes past their usual start time. Maintaining a near-perfect sense of time was a crucial skill for any hero. A crucial skill he was still trying to get through the thick skull of Eclipse.

Time dictated everything in a battle. How long a villain needed to charge an attack, when friendly or enemy backup would arrive, the remaining time a hero must keep a villain occupied so that civilians could evacuate. Somehow that girl was pretty good at keeping time when it mattered, but when it came to being on time for training…

"Airlock opened." His internal venting was interrupted by the feminine, neutral tone of the system. An airlock entry was necessary to protect the heroes inside and outside the room. It would be quite troublesome if a hero was training to withstand a tornado, only for his sidekick to suddenly open the door and release that tornado upon the rest of HQ. Considering his reservation only allowed entry to a very select group of people, he could guess who that was. His head turned towards the interior airlock door as it opened with a hiss.

The particular sound of footsteps that followed confirmed his assumption that his sidekick had finally arrived. A person's weight, stride, and posture combined to form a unique sound to their footsteps. Heroes needed to hone all their senses in case any became unusable either during combat or as a result of injury. A black blindfold rested over his eyes for this very purpose, blocking his sight to hone his hearing, smell, and touch.

"Nice of you to finally join me," he called out with only a hint of annoyance in his deep voice, "I was just starting to think you were learning punctuality."

Maya strutted into the training room with her usual confident gait, her hips swaying enticingly in her sleek new costume. She was eager to see Ethan's reaction, but froze when she spotted him sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, a black blindfold covering his eyes.

*What? Why is he wearing that?* Maya thought, her brow furrowing. She had been counting on Ethan's gaze roaming appreciatively over her curves in the skintight outfit. How could she impress him if he couldn't even see her?

"I…Uhh…" Maya fumbled over her words, momentarily thrown off balance. Her grand entrance had been thwarted by a simple strip of black fabric. Ethan remained still as a statue, his posture perfect, not a hint of movement except for the steady rise and fall of his broad chest. The black blindfold covering his eyes gave him an almost ominous aura, despite the peaceful surroundings of the training room. Even without seeing those piercing blue eyes, she could feel the weight of his presence, the aura of power and control he exuded. It sent a shiver down her spine, though she tried to play it off.

*Stay cool, Maya. You can still salvage this,* she coached herself mentally. She had planned out this whole scenario in her head - strut in confidently, strike a pose, maybe do a little spin to show off the new costume. Ethan would be rendered speechless by her beauty and poise. She hadn't accounted for him not being able to see any of it. She cleared her throat and spoke again, putting more force into her voice.

"Sorry I'm late. I had something important to take care of." Inside, Maya was scrambling to adjust her plan. She couldn't very well ask him to remove the blindfold. He'd see right through her ulterior motives. But she refused to give up. If Ethan couldn't see her, then she'd just have to find other ways to make herself noticed.

Ethan raised an eyebrow under his blindfold at her response. Her excuse was as lackluster as usual, but something about her tone garnered his suspicion. Maya was up to something. Usually, that spelled trouble for him.

"Stretch and meet me by the river," he instructed neutrally while rising to his feet, keeping his suspicion to himself. In his experience, trying to stop whatever it was she had planned usually just made things worse. Might as well let it play out. With that, he strode over towards the narrow river and began training his powers by raising and lowering the friction at various points along the river to control the flow of water. Raising the friction of a stick lodged in the water resulted in the water touching it to still, with the rest of the water flowing around this still water.

Ethan heightened his focus and raised the friction of a group of water molecules in the middle of the river, causing that water to halt in place and act as an obstacle for the rest of the water to flow around, just like the stick. A section of rapid flow interrupted the gentle calm of the river as he lowered the friction of the water in that area. Controlling flowing surfaces was the most difficult and required the most focus. Controlling an individual molecule was far beyond his capabilities, but it became possible when he targeted a large group. The blindfold actually made this exercise a little easier than usual. Rather than seeing how his powers interacted with the river, he had to focus entirely on hearing the changes in the flow of the water and feeling the changes through his connection with the surfaces he manipulated.

Maya pouted as she watched Ethan walk away, still completely oblivious to her new look. She had been counting on him being flustered by the sight of her in the clingy costume. This wasn't going as planned at all. As Ethan started manipulating the river, Maya's competitive spirit flared. If she couldn't impress him with her looks, then she'd just have to show him up with her skills!

Maya took a deep breath and reached out to the shadow cast by a nearby tree. With a flick of her wrist, she shaped the shadow into a spear and sent it aiming for the river. As the shadow made contact with the water, it began to take on a semi-solid form, darkening and thickening, before slamming into the river bank with a splash. After a moment, the spear seemingly melted into the river, the dark shadows floating away before dissipating entirely. She grinned, pleased with herself. Usually her shadows dissipated when they hit water, but she had been practicing hard. Now, she could even shape and control them in liquid environments, albeit briefly.

*Let's see what else I can do,* Maya thought, eyes sparkling with excitement. She sent another shadow skittering across the river's surface, this time willing it to take the shape of a hand. The shadow hand scooped up some water, holding it like a cup, before Maya dissipated the shadow, sending the water splashing back into the river.

"Pretty neat, huh?" She called out to Ethan, hoping he'd be impressed by her display of control. "I've been working on manipulating shadows in different environments." Maya knew her powers paled in comparison to Ethan's friction manipulation, but she was proud of her progress. She hoped he would acknowledge how hard she had been training. "I bet I could beat you in a race across the river," Maya challenged, her voice taking on a playful, competitive edge. "Loser has to cook dinner for a week!" She bounced on her heels, ready to show off her speed and agility. Maybe if she could impress him with her skills, he'd finally see her as an equal, not just a sidekick. And if he did remove that blindfold to race, then he'd get to see her new costume in action. It was a win-win.

Ethan just shook his head in response, letting out a sight. "I'm sure if I could see it would've been a great display of power, but the splash was solid." He replied in the most unamused tone he could muster. "You know it's important to stretch before training, yet you skip that to try to show off." Even without his sight, the veteran hero always knew exactly where Maya was. Kept track of her position in his mental map based on her every movement. Although, the rather potent perfume she decided to wear to training, which unnerved Ethan into silence about it, made it far too easy to track her through scent alone. He turned to face her directly, hoping his aura might help make her feel properly scolded even without eye contact. Despite himself, he couldn't help but enjoy her antics. It took true skill to keep a small smile off his lips.

Maya huffed, cheeks puffing out in an exaggerated pout at Ethan's dismissal of her display. She had been counting on him being impressed, but he seemed more focused on lecturing her. Again.

"I stretched plenty!" She protested, though the slight whine in her voice betrayed her. In truth, she had been too excited to show off her new costume to bother with a proper warm-up. Ethan's ability to see right through her never ceased to amaze (and annoy) her. "And I wasn't trying to show off," Maya added, crossing her arms. "I was demonstrating my progress. I've been working really hard, you know."

She tried to keep the hurt out of her voice. She knew Ethan was just looking out for her, but sometimes she wished he would acknowledge how much she had grown as a hero. She wasn't a kid anymore. The potent perfume she had dabbed on earlier suddenly seemed like a silly idea. What had she been thinking? That Ethan would get a whiff and suddenly be overwhelmed by her feminine charm? It was laughable now. He probably thought she was being childish, as usual. Maya glanced down at her skintight costume, the shimmering material hugging her curves. She had put so much effort into designing it, hoping Ethan would finally see her as a woman. But with that blindfold on, he was completely oblivious to her attempt at seduction.

*Maybe it's for the best,* she thought dejectedly. *He clearly still sees me as just his sidekick. A kid he has to watch over.* Despite the beautiful meadow surroundings, Maya suddenly felt very small and insignificant. Her attempts at impressing Ethan had fallen flat, and now she was just embarrassed.

Ethan's immense focus on his hearing allowed him to read the emotions behind the words spoken by the girl he had taught to be a hero. She was totally dispirited. Like the seemingly unending supply of bubbly energy pouring out of her had suddenly run out. His irritated expression quickly morphed into one of genuine concern.

"You alright Maya?" he asked gently while slowly closing the gap between them. "I know you've been working hard, and I appreciate having you as my sidekick every day," he continued, his usual poker face slipping to let her see the sincerity of his gratitude. "I'm just trying to help guide you to be the best hero you can be."

He came to a stop in front of her, before gently resting his hand on her shoulder. Although blinded, he knew the stature of his teammate. "And that includes stretching before training." Ethan was always committed to being the teacher Maya needed him to be. Most of the time, that was a stern voice to keep her serious. But even now and then, she needed this side of him. Ethan was truly an expert at balancing these two aspects of the teacher.

Maya was surprised to feel Ethan's hand come to rest gently on her shoulder. The rare, tender gesture made her breath hitch. She looked up at him, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't see her through the blindfold.

"I…I know," she said softly, her voice wavering slightly. "I just wanted you to see how much I've improved. How I've grown." *Grown up,* she added mentally, biting her lip. She had wanted him to see her as a woman, not just his sidekick. But voicing that desire aloud terrified her. Maya took a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. Ethan's praise, as simple as it was, filled her with warmth. He appreciated her. He cared. Even if it wasn't in the way she hoped.

"I'll stretch next time," she promised, placing her own hand over his on her shoulder. "And I'll try to be on time." She offered a small smile, hoping he could hear it in her voice. Ethan's support meant everything to her, even if he still saw her as just his student. Maya glanced down at their hands, his large and calloused, hers small and soft. For a moment, she let herself imagine those hands touching her in other ways. Caressing her skin, cupping her face, pulling her close… *No!* Maya shook her head, dispelling the inappropriate thoughts. She couldn't think like that. Not about Ethan. He was her mentor, her friend. He would never see her the way she saw him. With a sigh, Maya stepped back, gently dislodging Ethan's hand from her shoulder. As much as she craved his touch, prolonging the contact would only make her feelings stronger. And that was dangerous. "So, about that race…" She said, forcing some playful energy into her voice to change the subject. "You still on for the bet? I bet I can beat you across the river!"