A Shoe In? A New Mystery....

Leftover stood outside the playground at night, for once thankful that his body was stuck in a dark silhouette form (how this happened can be read here: https://theprose.com/post/403057/the-prince-s-year-end-goals-destiny-beyond-the-throne ). He could easily hide in the evening shadows, and observe the show that was about to begin. He had been on this playground for the past few nights, and during that time he witnessed two sneakers that were not only alive, but were also beating up late night trespassers. Leftover had sent an anonymous tip to Hugh's network, and he was waiting for one of Hugh's heroes to arrive. Should the fighting sneakers battle and defeat their challenger, Leftover planned to invite the shoes to join his growing group that sought to destroy Hugh's, and hopefully also find out how the shoes came to life as well.

Soon enough, a figure wearing a dark helmet and body armor arrived at the currently quiet playground.

"Alright fighting sneakers, time for you to show up and give this wannabe hero a stomping." Leftover said quietly. "Stomping, heh heh, not a bad pun."

The hero on the scene went by the name Jirk. He wondered if the tip was a prank, but even so he understood that Hugh took any requests asking for help seriously. He had worked for Hugh since the early days of his hero network, and had seen his share of strange things. He didn't have long to reflect, as he heard running footsteps behind him.

Jirk turned around and saw two purple sneakers that were not connected to a body. The shoes were running on their own, coming in fast. One sneaker leaped in the air, seemingly aiming for Jirk's head. Jirk moved his head to the right, and the sneaker whizzed right by him. Even though it was a great dodge, he failed to notice the other shoe jumping up and kicking him under his chin.

The blow knocked Jirk onto his back. As he groaned from the pain, he thought he heard laughter.

"This is perfect!" Leftover jeered. "These two are a shoe in for sure!"

Jirk rose to his feet, scanning the dark playground for his attackers. He heard two voices yelling from opposite directions.

"Let's take this creep down Fred!" A female voice cried out.

"We will Shania, we will!" A male voice answered.

Jirk heard footsteps running again from the two sides that the voices came from. He saw the sneaker known as Fred coming straight at him, but before Fred got too close he felt a kick on the back of his left knee. Jirk's couldn't believe how much these hits hurt, even with his armor on. As he began staggering from the strike, Fred leaped into the air, kicking Jirk in the chest, causing him to fall onto his back again.

"I love these two!" Leftover laughed gleefully. "I thought a hypnotizing orc and a dude that customizes people's looks were great, but sneakers that beat up armored idiots are gold!"

Jirk rose to his feet once more, realizing that he was going to need to summon one of the weapons stored within his helmet's abilities. A laser sword or laser gun would be no good due to Fred and Shania's speed and size. He then remembered the new weapon Hugh had developed, and decided on that.

Jirk summoned a water balloon into his hand. He slammed it onto the ground, and the balloon burst into pieces.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Leftover cackled. "A water balloon that is already destroyed? Looks like Hugh's organization will be easier to eliminate than I thought!"

Jirk overheard some of Leftover's taunts, and wondered who the mysterious heckler was. He would have to investigate after ending Shania and Fred's attacks. Thanks to Hugh's new water balloon weapon the fight would be over soon, he just needed the sneakers to rush him once more....

Jirk heard the running footsteps from opposite directions, but this time he was prepared. As Fred and Shania flew through the air ready to both jump kick Jirk, both found themselves frozen in the air before they could reach their target.

"What did you do to us?" Fred cried out, unable to move.

"What I used was not an ordinary water balloon." Jirk responded. "When I smashed the balloon on the ground, it generated a force field around me. The force field lasts for 15 minutes, and anyone that tries to hit me in that time is then unable to move for 15 minutes."

"Gotta admit, that's kinda cool." Leftover muttered. "It's nice that he explained how it works, so we can watch out for that in the future."

Jirk finally got a good look at the sneakers, and he noticed eyes, a nose, ears, and a mouth on both.

"So what now?" Fred asked. "Are you going to string us up on power lines, throw us around, or grab us and stomp us on the pavement like everyone else?"

"I certainly won't do any of those things." Jirk replied. He took both shoes out of the air and held them gently. "To be completely honest, I used to be a bully, but I abandoned that life a long time ago (Jirk's past can be read about here: https://theprose.com/post/380974/never-too-late-for-popsicles ). I came here because I heard people were getting hurt, and I wanted to stop that. It sounds like your actions were based on people hurting you in the past, and for that I am truly sorry."

Besides not being able to move due to contact with Jirk's force field, Fred and Shania were now stunned in a new way. No one had ever apologized to them before, especially someone they attacked first.

"I would like to ask who you both are, and what your story is." Jirk said in a relaxed tone. "I have never met living sneakers before, and I am interested in learning more about you two."

"We really don't know." Shania answered in a melancholy tone. "We just woke up one day strung up on a power line, with no memories at all."

"We don't know if we were once human, if we have always been shoes, or if it is something else altogether." Fred chimed in sadly.

"I have an idea." Jirk said kindly. "Why don't you both come with me? My boss Hugh would gladly take you in, and we can keep you safe. My colleagues and I can try to work out who may have done this to you, and get the answers to who you truly are. And no matter what the answers are, you could even join us in our fight to end all evil if you want to. You are both very strong, and you would be great additions to our team. Even if you don't want to fight, we would still love to help you both!"

Shania and Fred glanced at each other and smiled. "That would be great! Thank you for being so nice to us, especially after all we did." Fred said appreciatively. "Is everyone that works for Hugh this forgiving?"

"We specialize in redemption." Jirk said proudly, leaving the playground with Fred and Shania. "I started working for Hugh after being forgiven for things I did wrong. I'll tell you my story on the way back to my home base."

Leftover watched them leave, disappointed that he was unable to add the sneakers to his ranks this evening. It wasn't a complete loss though, as he was intrigued by what he heard in the conversation between Hugh's flunky and the shoes.

"If someone brought those shoes to life, or turned humans into sneakers, I have to meet them!" Leftover exclaimed. "Someone like that would be an asset to my plans! You may have new footwear now Hugh, but the source will be mine!"