Scarlet Macaw and The Crimson Avenger

This story was originally part of an early draft of my Superhero series. Since the finished product bears very little resemblance to the early versions, I'm publishing it here as a short story. Perhaps I'll collect all the short stories into a side book one day...

To anyone watching from below, there would be very little that seemed unusual about the two Scarlet Macaws that drifted silently through the rainforest canopy.

For the poachers that ran rampant through the area, trading in 'exotic' animals, and the loggers who thought permits to destroy the Amazon (and the habitats and native cultures who called it home) were for losers, the duo of Scarlet Macaw and the Crimson Avenger were the Scourge of their Profit Margin, and Public Enemy #1. Those same poachers and logging companies had been trying to get Scarlet Macaw, a shapeshifter with minor invulnerability, listed as a Supervillain for years. Activist backlash, and the fact that they couldn't bring a suit when they only had solid evidence of half of the duo, had stalled them so far, but Scarlet Macaw knew that he was running out of time.

He was high up on a lot of Hit Lists, many of which had started adding phrases like 'Dead or Alive'. Animal smugglers didn't fool around; the penalties if they were caught were harsh, particularly for those who dealt in endangered animals. As a result, they tended to have policies about leaving witnesses alive to bear tales.

Scarlet Macaw was almost solely responsible for busted deals, disrupted supply lines and ruined poaching expeditions. If anyone wanted him alive, it was only so that they could kill him personally.

The fact that his shapeshifter form was one of the most highly-poached birds in the world didn't help, either.

Landing on a high branch with a good view of the smuggler compound, Scarlet Macaw transformed back into a human, darkly-tanned skin and black hair blending with the tree bark. The Crimson Avenger alighted on a smaller branch above his head, grumbling quietly to herself.

The Crimson Avenger was an actual Scarlet Macaw, albeit one who had been affected by radiation, growing half-again as large as most of her kind, and with a far more extensive memory bank of words. By some miracle, only about a sixth of those words were swears in a variety of languages. "Attack at dawn!"

To anyone else, the phrase would sound like a parrot-type bird repeating a learned phrase. Between the Super Duo, it was a code, detailing that Scarlet Macaw would do a final round of reconnaissance in his shapeshifted form, before returning within half an hour to plan their attack.

Scarlet Macaw shifted, and glided down toward the compound. Minutes passed, before a loud commotion interrupted. The Crimson Avenger drifted closer, in time to see her transformed partner caught in a net and being forced into a cage. Grumbling some very choice words, she took flight again, heading as far and as fast as she could.

The Crimson Avenger would not abandon her partner, but she could not save him alone.

Riona was certain that there was some kind of unwritten rule to being a Superhero: the second you made plans to enjoy what should be a day off, was the moment something happened that demanded your attention in costume.

The Superheroine widely known as Shadow Queen had been enjoying a day tending to the backyard vegetable garden, while her wife, Winter Queen sketched preliminary designs for a fashion line in the shade, and their husband, Phoenix, argued with the Superhero Council over... whatever the conservative morons took issue with this time. Probably another complaint that the Defenders were still dominating the popularity polls, and refused to share their secrets.

Well, better Jason than her; Riona had a tendency to list exactly what the other Hero teams were doing wrong to earn a slump in the magazine polls, a tactic which failed to win many friends.

Pulling out a knife to start harvesting, Riona jumped when an eagle-sized bird crash-landed beside her, overbalancing and landing hard.

Picking herself up off the ground, Riona did her best not to glare at the very oversized parrot, which had its head tilted to stare at her expectantly, recognizing the abnormalities as potential signs of an animal sidekick. "How may we help you?"

Phoenix and Winter Queen - they all tended to slip into their Superhero personas when business beckoned - dropped what they were doing and approached cautiously. Their suspicions were confirmed when the bird - a Macaw of some kind, if Shadow Queen remembered correctly - hopped for a moment and started to speak. "My partner, Scarlet Macaw, has been kidnapped, and I can't rescue him alone. You were mentioned as being associated with some of the lawyers we've been working with."

Riona tried to remember... oh! "Scarlet Macaw is the one who's been busting the smuggling rings in Central and South, right?"

Her spouses looked confused, and she elaborated. "Mum has been stonewalling all the vested interests that keep trying to get him named a Villain, and keeping a few other ecological-supporting Villains out of his hair."

Riona's mother was an internationally-feared lawyer, to the point that her background as a minor Supervillain was almost incidental. The fact that her idea of Supervillainy was causing all kinds of legal trouble for the rich, unscrupulous and powerful probably helped with that. Phoenix and Winter Queen relaxed; their mother-in-law was also one of the very few capable of persuading Villains who turned to minor terrorism to save the planet of staying in their lane.

Winter Queen cast a longing look at her sketchbook, "Let us lock up and pack for a few days, and we'll be on our way. Jason, can you call in a replacement team? Riona, summon Nocturne and see if our guest needs food or water."

The shadow under the large tree lightened slightly, as a draconic head formed and lifted into the air on a serpentine neck. A shadow construct crossed with a Mad Science Experiment gone wrong, Nocturne made for much faster transport than attempting to book a plane. Besides, that meant they wouldn't have to waste time refueling or transferring.

As predicted, Nocturne cut down the travel time significantly, and the Crimson Avenger was able to rest, aside from squawking out directions.

The smuggler's compound was easier to find from the air, too, though none of the Superhero trio were fans of charging in unprepared. The general plan was to rain down destruction from a safe distance, but they needed to get the captured animals (and superhero) out first.

The Crimson Avenger took care of that, summoning what had to be every parrot-type bird in the Amazon and swarming the compound. The Heroes followed the sound of screaming from outside, until the Crimson Avenger let out an ear-splitting squawk and a cry of "Gotcha!"

Then it was a simple matter of breaking a window and using the advanced evolution of opposable thumbs to unlock the assortment of cages."

The other birds dispersed, and Scarlet Macaw shifted back into a human, stretching uncomfortably. Indignant yells came from the smugglers, who clearly hadn't known just who they had in custody. "Oh, come on! We could have killed you while we had they chance, and we missed it?"

That didn't win them any friends among the crowd, who all pretended not to notice as one of Winter Queen's ice-foxes gave the speaker a painful frostbite in a sensitive area. Hastily edging away from his fallen compatriot, another smuggler glanced at Phoenix, who bore a strong physical resemblence to his Major Supervillain father. "Hey, hot stuff, aren't you a Villain kid? Why are you helping them?"

Jason sent the speaker a very unimpressed glare, a fireball dancing across his fingertips. The loudmouth gulped and tried a different tactic, settling on Melissa. "You're something like a fourth-generation Hero, are you really going to let them do this to us?"

Melissa flicked her fingers, and the ice-fox found another victim. "I'm not as rule-abiding as I used to be, so yes."

Scarlet Macaw was looking everywhere but at the technical case of Hero Brutality. "I can take it from here, if you need to return home."

Riona stretched, calling Nocturn back and ignoring the mad scrambling from the smugglers. "We don't need to, but we still probably should. Don't hesitate to call us again, if you run into trouble."

Scarlet Macaw carefully stroked the Crimson Avenger's feathers. "I hope it won't be necessary. I intend to be here until there are no more smugglers foolish enough to encroach."

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