GiftCon, one week ago

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, we're gonna be late for the panel, dude!"

John rolled his eyes as Alan grabbed his arm and yanked him down the carpet-lined hallways of the Central City Convention Center, past throngs of cosplayers, vendors, and influencers toward the auditorium doors, which stood open.

"Alan, bro, this is, like, the least hyped-up panel at the con. It's not like there's gonna be a line," John protested as he was pulled along by his best friend's hurried steps through the crowd. He couldn't help but smile, though. After all these years of begging him to come to the biggest superhero convention in the tri-state area, Alan had finally succeeded in convincing John to tag along to GiftCon this year. And to make matters worse, his friend's weird obsession with Boltgun was now ensuring he had a date with a half-empty auditorium full of people obsessed with Central City's local C-rank superhero.

"Shut up, man! I reserved us seats right in the front! I'm telling you, once you see an Omega girl up close, you'll understand!" Came his friend's reply, and John just shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah, your favorite jerk-off material is gonna be sooo close, huh?" John asked with a smirk, noticing with some satisfaction that Alan's face flushed beet-red at the jab.

Eventually, the two guys found their seats, and Alan hadn't been lying. They were literally in the front row, a couple of feet from the foot of the stage. The stage lights were a little too harsh, there wasn't a table for anyone to sit at, and the only objects visible up there were a cheap microphone stand and a folding chair a couple of feet behind it. Yup, definitely a fitting setup for a C-ranker, John thought, but didn't say it out loud. He'd given his buddy enough of a hard time already, and maybe seeing a real superhero in the flesh would be kind of cool.

A few more attendees shuffled into the seating area as Alan pulled off his gray hoodie, exposing the embarrassing T-shirt he'd worn. "I ❤ BG" was emblazoned on the front, and John sank a little lower into his own seat. At least everyone else is behind us, he assured himself. Then the lights over the audience dimmed and Boltgun herself emerged from backstage.

Cheers came from the small crowd assembled to see her, with several cries of "BeeGee!", "Bolty!", and "We love you!" shouted toward the stage.

The superhero strutted toward the microphone with her arm raised in a big, cheerful wave to her fans. John had to admit to himself, seeing her in person was surreal. Sure, he may not have been the world's biggest superhero fan, but as a Central City local, he'd read a few of her comics and she was all over commercials and billboards for the businesses in the city.

And here she was, clad in her unmistakable skin-tight gray spandex. The cuffed yellow forearm gloves she wore matched her thigh-high boots, with her only other adornments being her metallic golden belt, her cowl, and the yellow cape around her shoulders that fell to just below her ass. Her hair was long, dark, and fell in lustrous waves, framing her obscured face like a silky halo and making her bright blue eyes pop.

Boltgun smiled, showing her perfect white teeth behind glossy lips. "Hey, everyone! It's good to see you! Thanks for coming!" She recited, waving a little more enthusiastically to everyone as she stopped to speak into the mic. "Another GiftCon, huh? Isn't this cool?"

More cheers came then, with more than a few coming from John's best friend right beside him.

She was nothing like John imagined she'd be. On TV and in interviews, Boltgun had always seemed very stoic and heroic, but her attitude was so casual and bubbly as he looked up at her on stage. He turned to see how Alan was reacting, noticing that tell-tale blush again. When Alan noticed he was looking, he smirked at his friend and whispered, "Told ya so."

And damn, she was hot. Like, really hot. Superheroes had to be in phenomenal shape, and Boltgun was no exception. He watched her pull the mic from its stand so she could look into the audience, shading her eyes, bending over, and squinting a little. This really emphasized her butt and the arch of her back, even from this angle, and the hero's spandex pulled tight across her chest. Her tits weren't huge, but they were plenty perky and very round. Combined with what little John could see of her mouth below her cowl, and he was starting to form a little crush of his own.

"I see a few familiar faces - thanks for coming out to support us, everyone!" Boltgun continued, her eyes scanning the rows of seats. Her smile widened when she saw Alan just in front of her. "Alan, right? Nice shirt," she teased, winking at him. Predictably, John's buddy nearly melted into a puddle on the auditorium floor, unable to even stammer a response.

Then something happened. Boltgun flicked her shaded eyes over to John and her entire demeanor shifted.

John, too, felt something tug in his gut as he looked into the heroine's pretty blue eyes. For a moment, they just stared at each other.