A Nightmare in Devils Tower [Mammon, Aisha. open to 1]

The soft roar of the jet engine filled the air, spurring the young girl to sit up for the first time in what felt like hours. Finally! It had been so boring, waiting all this time! She bounced in her seat, her pink hair tied into a long ponytail swaying back and forth with her body. Hand gripped at the spacious window of the private jet, seat comfy on leather and silk, face pressed flat against the glass to watch the plane taxi away. No matter how many times she flies, it’ll will never get old. Feeling this sensation, of the ground lifting away supported only by air power, inertia, and the trust that there was no fault in the engine or the wing … it was exhilarating! And scary. She shivered just a little at the thought of crashing. Not for her own sake, though! She was like, ninety percent sure she could survive it? But the other people probably couldn’t. Well … most of the other people.

She spun in her seat, pink eyes focused intently on the person. Her fingers stapled over her nose, her arms resting on her knees as she leaned forward. The attempt was for intimidating, but it just ended up mildly constipated. She had to admit, he was super interesting! His clothes were kinda sucky, just a Hawaiian shirt that didn’t even fit him right, jeans, and a hat! It was a good hat, really cute! A bright smile spread across her cheeks after a moment of staring at him, a giggle bursting through her teeth. Oh, he was cute! In like, a fluffy, cute way! He was tall, sure, and almost her age, but the claws kinda don’t do it for her. Hmmm. Really pretty eyes though, and nice lips! Her head swung from side to side, very obviously ogling the hired bodyguard.

”So!” Her voice like the chirping of a songbird broke the silence, loud despite her diminutive size. The syllable was punctuated by a clap of her pink, manicured hands. ”They call you Pangolin, huh? Ooh! Pangolin’s are the cutest, most adorable little mini tanks ever! Seriously cute!” She had looked them up when she had first heard the codename of her bodyguard for this trip. Daddy thought it was necessary to bring in a superhero, even though Aisha had told him that was unnecessary. He thought Ireland was way too dangerous for a “little girl” to go alone. That did not go over well, even though she still didn’t win the bodyguard thing.

”What’s it like being a superhero? Super dangerous right? Like- bam!” She swung her fist through the air, miming punching someone, then giggled into her hands. ”Oh, that’s so cool! ‘Course I can’t do that! If I punch a bad guy, it’ll just like, heal the dude!” She leaned back in the chair, suddenly thoughtful. ”Why do you think people do bad things? I don’t get it. People get these powers and stuff, and they use it to hurt people and make people scared when they could be out helping people! What’s the deal with that? Oh, look that cloud looks like a popsicle!” She was at the window again, nose pressed flat against the glass, looking out towards the white fluffy clouds. ”It looks like cotton candy! Oh, if clouds were cotton candy, what flavor would be they be, do you think? I think they’d be, like, vanilla? Have you ever had vanilla cotton candy. I haven’t! I don’t know if it’s a thing! I’ve had pistachio before, it was surprisingly good! At first I was like, ew, nuts and healthy stuff? No thank you sir! But I tried it, and now it’s like, my favorite!”

The girl’s voice was a constant companion on their flight, accompanied by the hum of the jet engine and the upbeat music playing in the background. As she spoke, her hands kept playing with bits of her clothing; her nails toying with the strap of the spaghetti tee, one bare foot crossed over her leg, skirt covering her thighs while the rest of her skin left bare. Needless to say, the heater was going full blast in that little cabin of theirs. It was approximately six hours later that the pilot announced their descent, which elicited a little jump for joy from the rosy teenager.

”Oh, finally! I was startin’ to get bored!”

The ground rapidly approached, the wheels of the plane touching down on the Irish strip. It rumbled to a stop, the small private jet alone on the runway save for a stray dog. A bit out of the way, yes, but that was Senator Fallon’s orders. A little bit of inconvenience to ensure his daughters safety. Before the door opened to let them out, the pilot walked out. He was a large man, with a carefully trimmed beard and balk head. There was the distinctive bulge of a concealed firearm at his waist. As soon as Aisha saw him, she gave a squeal like she’d just found gold and tackled the man, forcing a grunt from between his teeth.

”Joe! I didn’t know you were coming along! Wait, you can fly planes? That’s so cool!” She squeezed the bodyguard hard enough to elicit a look of discomfort from the bodyguard. ”Dammit, Aisha. Don’t get your hopes up, I’m just here to fly this bucket of bolts.” For a second, Aisha looked disappointed. She wouldn’t have her favorite guard with her! That kinda sucks … but it was okay! A quick dance on the balls of her feet and suddenly she grabbed onto the arm of the hired superhero. ”Well, that’s okay! Pangolin here will do a great job! Open the door!” Joe rolled his eyes at her commanding tone, but did as she asked.

”Oh, burr! It’s chilly here! One second!”

A bright flash of pink and the clothes she was wearing suddenly extended, pink energy crawling down her legs to form a heavy dress, cupping her feet for boots, a long sweater and scarf covering her body and neck, and a balaclava covering her face. The pink light faded with a scattering of pink stars that swirled around her like a whirlpool, settling in the snow like stars in the night sky. They would fade, eventually. Aisha didn’t seem to notice, instead beaming brightly at Pangolin in her new comfy clothes.

”Let’s go, we’re gonna be late!”

Her hand grabbed his somewhat more dangerous one and pulled him along to the waiting car. A modified, pink McLaren 720S with reinforced seating and enough armor plating to take a direct rocket attack. Aisha came up to it giggling like a schoolgirl, throwing her arms around drivers side door.

”Isn’t it cute? Daddy bought it for me for my birthday last year! I had it shipped up here so I can drive it around! You can drive, right?” She tossed her keys at him before slipping into the passenger seat. The drive was, actually, quiet; she was too awed by the many sights she saw around her to talk too much, though she did occasionally make a very loud exclamation about a cow or a deer or the mountains. A city girl born and raised, she wasn’t used to seeing so much of nature in one place. Even within city limits, the mountains and hillocks loomed over them like watchful guardians. These fascinated her. What kind of wonders were hidden there? Ancient civiliations? Animals no one has discovered yet? Things like-

”Gasp! A mall!”

The door flew open and the young girl was gone. The only problem with that, however, was that the car wasn’t parked. And they were waiting at a red light. That just turned green. But she didn’t care. She daintily leaped over a car that almost hit her and ran inside the double doors, her bright pink attire at least easy to follow.