Searching for something sweet and finding something sour

Making her way out onto the streets where the sun had gone down and day was slipping into evening, Susan stepped out of the lobby and bundled her coat close to keep warm. Her plan was simple; head to the nearest shop from the Baxter building, get herself enough chocolate to tie herself over and head back to enjoy some dinner with her family. Passing a few city blocks, she was starting to get anxious and impatient.

“Come one, come ON, there’s got to be a general store or a gas station around… Ah, HERE we go!”

Finding a suitable general store nearby, Susan stepped through the front door to the sound of a bell chime as she swiftly went to the snack aisle and started plucking chocolate bars off the shelf like she was at a grocery store. Milk Chocolate, dark chocolate, semi-sweet, caramel filled. It even took her to create a basket of solid invisible light just so she could carry all of it without using both hands to do so. When she got what she needed, she practically had 3 pounds of chocolate with her when she went to the cashier who looked back at her with confusion when she slumped the candy on the table and smiled back at the man.

Looking to the chocolate and back to the cashier who slowly moved to scan her purchases, Susan shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve been peckish.”

Giving the woman a strange look as he shook his head and rung her through the cashier and bagged her chocolate, the blonde woman smiled and turned swiftly on her heel to exit the shop, a smile on her ruby lips as the door opened with another bell chime and she stepped back outside. By now it had really gotten dark, and the streetlights had gone up to illuminate the sidewalks. Not that Susan cared, the only thing running through her mind was the anticipation of opening the first chocolate bar in her possession and biting into the sweet mocha flavour. Halfway home, she could no longer wait and stopped in her tracks to pull out the first chocolate bar she could reach in the plastic bag and unwrap it.

Admiring the dark brown colour and smooth, almost polished texture of the milk chocolate bar in her hand, Susan brought it to her pert lip and bit down on the first bite. The moment the smooth milky flavour hit her tongue, her eyes fluttered, and she exhaled deeply from her nose. The flavour melting on her tongue and sparking her taste buds. It was like taking a bite out of heaven itself. Swallowing it down with a smile, Susan reached to take another when she felt a large hand grab her by the arm and pull her into the alley to her side, another wrapping around her mouth to keep her from screaming as she was dragged back into the dark of the narrow alleyway.

Dropping her back of chocolate on the ground, Susan found herself slammed back first into a wall with a hand still around her mouth, her eyes opening wide and muffling out a protest when she heard a switch blade flick and extend out a polished knife between her eyes to focus on.

“Alright bitch, purse, money, jewels, NOW!”

Narrowing her eyes and glaring back at the knife being turned back and forth in front of her, she then turned her gaze up to the burly looking man sneering back at her. He stank of ****, his hair greasy and overgrown with a scraggly beard and missing teeth in his mouth. Behind him past her peripheral, she could spot two other men, the two of them looking just as haggard as the one holding her, with their hands in their jacket pockets waiting impatiently for her to divvy up her belongings or get involved to coax her. Narrowing her eyes in anger, her fists clenched.

“Come ON Mack, hurry this up, we ain’t got all night.”

“Yeah, get us some booze money already.”

“Did you FUCKING hear me bitch? I said give up the goods!”

Grabbing the arm holding the knife, the man eyed her defiance and squeezed at her mouth even tighter, his face a mask of impatience… That is until the four of them heard a crunch of bone and his face quickly turned to utter shock, then agony when he found his wrist pointing in a 90-degree angle from the rest of his arm. Letting go of her face to clutch at his broken arm, the would-be mugger looked up at the blond woman as she stared back up at him.

“You BITCH!”

Taking a swing with his good arm, Susan was surprised a second time when she found she was fast enough to catch his meaty fist in her delicate hand and crush every bone in his hand. The two behind him stepped back after he screamed, falling to his knees as he was dumbstruck by his broken wrist and hand. Looking up, he found Susan frowning down at the man with her hands at her sides.

“You made me drop my chocolate!”

Raising one of her hands, she slapped him across the face. The act making him lose whatever front teeth he still had along with breaking his jaw and sending him to the ground. Terrified of what they saw, one of the two men rummaged into his pockets and revealed a small snub-nosed revolver he pointed back at Susan with trembling hands.

“Really?”

Raising and extending her hand, a ripple in the air formed, one that made the gunman panic and open fire, only for the bullets to bounce off a wall of invisible light and fall harmlessly to the ground at her feet When the pistol clicked repeatedly to an empty chamber, the two men traded looks and tried to make a run for it.

Scoffing at them, Susan raised her other arm. “Oh no you don’t!”

She had at first willed a wall of invisible light to block their exit… What happened instead were a pair of white, fleshy tentacles sprung out from the sleave of her coat and snapped out towards the two like bullwhips, lashing around their legs and tripping them over to fall on their faces. Blinking back at the two growths from her wrists, she gave her arm a slight tug and the two men were dragged back towards her. The two panicking and struggling impotently as they turned onto their backs and tried to pry the tentacles off their legs, only for their bindings to sprout sharp barbs like a cactus. Only releasing them when they were both at her feet and she retracted the two tentacles back into her arm.

“PLEASE lady, we didn’t mean anything by it.” The one begged with his hands up.

“Yeah, we’z just low on dough is all.” The other slurred, his hands up in surrender. “You won’t see us again!”

Picking up the gun that was dropped earlier, Susan brandished it in front of the two men and looked down at their ringleader with his two broken hands and jaw.

“I don’t want to see the three of you here anymore, if I catch you again, its NOT going to be as pleasant as tonight was!”

With that and with her newfound inhuman strength, Susan crushed the pistol in her hand with the same ease as squishing a handful of soft dough, shocking the two as she dropped the lump of steal and lead onto the gravel at her feet. Looking back up at her, Susan nudged her head towards their leader and the two scrambled to pick him up and run as best they could back out the alley from the opposite way, they pulled her in from. Watching them flee for their lives, Susan wiped her hands clean, harrumphing at the trio for ruining her trip back home for dinner. Then she looked down at her bare hands, wondering what happened there.

Just HOW did she get so strong? And what were those… Tentacles?!

Shaking her head and closing her eyes, Susan dismissed the entire experience and looked down to try and find her bag of sweets, relieved both in finding it AND the bar she had opened to take a bite out of was laying on top and had not been dirtied in the fall. Taking another blissful bite of her chocolate bar, Susan Storm hurried back home, this time bending the light around her to become invisible.

Not wanting another altercation if she could help it before getting back to the Baxter building.