Izo wipes sweat from her face as she slows down to a walk. Her lungs are on fire as she takes gasping breaths. So, she was more out of shape than expected. To think that running 10 km at dawn and again at dusk could tire her out. For heaven’s sake, she once outran a dragon! But in her current state, she probably would be eaten alive in the first couple seconds.

Though Izo’s lungs and muscles scream at her, she resumes a slow and steady jog. The street sounds sound loudly in her ears as she takes a detour towards a park. The sounds become more muffled as she passes a couple of bushes.

Suddenly, a gasping teenage girl darts out and grabs onto Izo’s clothes. “Please help me!” The girl breathlessly said as she clings to Izo.

Before Izo can reply, a nearby male jogger sprints towards them. “How can I be of assistance?” The muscular attractive jogger professional said.

The girl instantly releases Izo and throws herself at the man. The girl through frightened composes herself and says, “Please help me! There’s a man trying to hurt me!” While the girl pleads her case, Izo nonchalantly calls, 911 and explains the situation. The operator informs her that a dispatch has been sent. The operator asks, that she remain on the line, but that just seems like too much trouble. With a swipe of her finger, the call ends as Izo returns the cell to her pocket.

Seeing that the girl was in good hands and a dispatch was on its way, Izo moves away to resume her jog. Suddenly, from the bushes, a beefy man wearing a Viking helmet tramples through the bushes. “Oi, that’s my girl,” the beefy man roars as spit flies from his mouth.

The jogger takes a step forward as the girl hides behind him. “Sir, keep away from the young lady. The young lady does not accept thine affections.”

The beefy man throws his head back in laughter. He grins as he viscously cracks his knuckles and says, “Oh, I’m going to enjoy beating the hell out of you.”

The jogger heroically says, “Ladies please take a step back for your own safety.”

Izo hadn’t needed to be told as she was already several feet away. The girl hurriedly rushes over and hides behind Izo. Izo snickers as the girl eagerly peeked around her fingers to watch the upcoming fight. The jogger heroically brings his fists up in boxer style and says, “I’ll have you know that I am a registered hero, sir. Please stand down for your own safety.”

Izo gapes in disbelief at the idiot’s words. With a sigh, she shakes her head as the beefy man ignores the comment and easily sends the little fool flying with a single swing of his arms. The beefy man spits on the ground disappointedly and stomps over to them. The girl trembled and squeals out, “Take her! She’ll make a better hostage than me!”

Izo turns and glares at the wretched brat hiding behind her. The beefy man eyes Izo, but shakes his head. “Women like her are to much trouble. You’ll do just fine," the beefy man lustfully said as he eyes the timid girl.

The girl lets out a despairing wail as she falls onto the ground. The beefy man extends his hand to grab the girl when Izo reaches over and easily grabs him by the hand. The beefy man tries to pull his arm away, but unexpectedly he finds he can’t. It’s though his arm is encased in cement. “Now, I completely agree that this girl probably deserves such a fate, but she’s still a minor. So how about you go down to some nice strip club or titty bar and have yourself a good time. I’m sure the girls there are all above legal age for solicitation and won’t be opposed to the attention of a fine man such as yourself,” Izo persuasively said.

The beefy man growls, “Do you know who I am? I’m Viking Hand! I’ll crush you!”

Izo blinks in confusion as the beefy man roars again, “I’m Viking Hand!” His expression falters as Izo continues to gaze confusedly at him. A bit more defeated he says, “Viking Hand, the C-class infamous criminal.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Izo honestly said.

“You know, the criminal who stole 10 celebrity panties,” Viking Hand triumphantly said, but still seeing no reaction he lists his crimes. “I peed in a public fountain! I starred in a porn film in a public facility. I groped over 10,000 juicy women! I fornicated in public!” At that, Izo and the girl both make repugnant expressions.

“It sounds like you’re more of a pervert than a villain. A general nuisance to society, really,” Izo flatly said.

Viking Hand roars indignantly and says, “I’ll show you right here and right now my prowess!”

Viking Hand eagerly reaches for his zipper as Izo eyes widen with horror and the girl peeks through her fingers with curiosity. Before he can, a foot slams into his lower extremities. Viking hand lets out a high-pitched wail as he collapses whimpering onto the floor.

“You broke it!” Viking Hand said in a high-pitched voice.

Izo shrugs as she turns towards the teenage girl. The girl lets out a shriek of despair as she angrily stomps her foot against the ground as the wail of sirens grows louder. “I was supposed to be rescued by the hero, not by a girl!” Izo’s face twitches at the ungrateful little minx. With some relish, she walks over to the yammering woman and flicks her on the forehead. The girl goes down like a sinking ship as a large purple lump grows on her forehead.

Grumpily, Izo resumes her run through the city. As expected by the end of her 10km run, even her teeth ache as she reaches the condo. The front guard winces as he sees her jog inside. Rather than taking the elevator, she takes the stairs up. Tired and aching, she enters the condo and slumps onto the couch.

Dolores had been watching the news, but she wordlessly gets up and hands Izo a cool bottle of water. Izo chugs half of the bottle down, before closing it shut and placing it on her forehead and neck. The coolness of the bottle feels great against her skin as she sighs with pleasure.

Dolores sits back down at the other end of the couch and eagerly listens to the news. A rather exciting news story comes on, but Izo is too tired to pay attention as she drowsily leans her head on the edge of the couch armrest.

Dolores comments out loud, “Can you believe that? An ordinary girl was attacked by B-class villains. But luckily, a nearby hero saved her. I’m so glad for the Hero Formal Association on days like this. Without them, society would already be overrun by criminals!”

Izo could care less about that news. She just grunts in response as she tiredly dozes off into a restful sleep. Dolores continues chattering without realizing that Izo had long fallen sound asleep on the couch. It wasn’t until the news was over did she realized that had been the case. Embarrassed, Dolores grabs a sharpie and darkly approaches Izo. Minutes later, vastly satisfied, Dolores trots off to bed. Too bad for Izo, she wouldn’t realize that she had a mustache, a monocle, and freckles drawn on her face until she went running the next day.

*

At the Formal Hero Association, the handsome jogger on the news proudly puffs out his chest in front of the association. “We’re expecting great things from you, Night Falcon” a handsome older man, once known as Sky Hawk, confidently said.

The jogger known as Night Falcon puffs out his chest and says, “Sir’s, I won’t let you down!”

“Nonsense, you did superbly for a new member. In fact, as a reward, your rank will be moved one further rank. We also have an additional proposition, one of our members was rather impressed by your actions. Would you be willing to work with Faux?” An older heavy-set woman firmly said, formally known as the hero, Thunder Mountain.

The jogger gasps and hastily says, “Sirs, it would be my honor to be mentored by Faux himself! He’s a legend in the field!”

“We thought you would be pleased,” another former hero commented. The meeting at that point dissolves as the heroes gather around the newbie and take him out for a celebratory drink. Though the association was more formal than the guild, when it came to time to take pride in their members, they more than out-matched the guild. And were even known to be even more wild during holiday parties.