Little Mermaid II

[RocketLord]

20Q

Reputation Table
Denmark & Danish Super Humans Guidebook

Theme Music

Vignettes

• Origin Vignette: Once upon a time...
• Magical Fairytale Soldier Little Mermaid
• Nazi Punchin' Mermaid
• Something's Rotten

Edited October 5, 2021 by RocketLord

[RocketLord]

Once upon a time…

 

Mette had watched the water splashing against the Little Mermaid statue at Langelinie too many times to count, but she was pretty sure that this was the first time she was here on Christmas Eve. There was just something calming about it, something that just felt right. The waves crashed against the rock, the wind catching her hair, and the statue out there, sitting among the splashing water.

 

It was a quiet evening. Only a few tourists around, which was a rarity, but it probably made sense on this day of the year. The nearby restaurant with the view of the statue had closed down for the evening. Snow was falling, and it was all very idyllic, quiet and serene. Mette had to admit that she was starting to feel a bit cold, even with her thick dark green jacket. She kind of wondered why she was here. She was seventeen years old. She had better things to do on Christmas Eve than hanging out near a fairy tale statue, right? Her family was probably wondering when she was getting home from her walk.

 

But, Mette wasn’t just an ordinary girl, was she? She smiled to herself at the memories. No, she was pretty much the Little Mermaid’s sidekick. She had been running around with her hero for five years, helping out however she could. Solving crimes, staying out of the way when fists started flying. She had even seen the Snow Queen once or twice, when she had teamed up with the Little Mermaid. It was cool. She was cool. It wasn’t something she could really share with her friends or family or anything, but she didn’t mind. It was her secret, and it was a great one. Her friends were worried about boys, about what they were going to study, where they wanted to go in life. Mette? She was busy figuring out a super villain’s weakness, helping the Little Mermaid with mapping a number of fissures that kept spewing out Trolls and hanging out with a super hero. To tell the truth, she felt pretty awesome. Even all alone on Christmas Eve, standing here at Langelinie, looking out at the Little Mermaid statue on the rock in the bay, she felt awesome. Things were only getting better from here, right?

 

“You spend way too much time looking at statues, you know that, right?” Mette perked up. She knew that voice. She almost knew it better than her own mother’s voice at this point. To be fair, she did spend way more time together with this older woman than she should, but hey, this was the Little Mermaid! She was Mette’s hero!

 

Mette turned to face her, a greeting already on her lips, and then she froze. This was the Little Mermaid, this was her hero, she was sure of it, but she wasn’t in her costume. This was the first time that Mette had seen her like this. She was a woman somewhere in her late 40’es, maybe early 50’es, with long dark red hair that tied into a long ponytail, with a few grey hairs here and there. She wore a plain dark grey jacket, nothing like her usual red, white and green costume. The Little Mermaid smiled, but she looked tired. “Where’s your costume?” Mette finally asked, hesitating. Was this it? Was the Little Mermaid going to reveal her secret identity to her? Mette was just about ready to let out a squeal at the thought. She immediately felt stupid for asking a question like that.

 

The Mermaid smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Mette.” She walked closer and stopped next to Mette, looking out at the statue. “Just felt like coming here tonight, or something on your mind?”

 

Something on her mind? Not really? “Guess I just wanted to get a look at the statue at Christmas time?” she offered, not really sure what her hero was trying to ask. “Its kind pretty with the snow and everything, isn’t it?”

 

“Sure.” The Mermaid hugged herself, shivering slightly in the cold. “You know, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” Mette turned away from the statue to look at her again. The Little Mermaid was smiling. It was kind of weird to look at her like this, without her mask. “You’re seventeen today, right?”

 

Mette nodded. “Yup.” Kind of a weird question. It wasn’t like there was anything special about turning seventeen, right?

 

Mette’s hero grimaced, before returning to the smile. “I would have preferred to wait another yet, I guess, but it can’t be helped. C’mon, I gotta show you something first.” She raised her right hand. The water in the bay split apart, leaving a dry path to the statue. The Mermaid climbed down, followed by Mette. She quickly led her sidekick towards the statue. “We’ve spent a lot of time together, right?”

 

The Little Mermaid reached out and touched the water as a fish swam by, her fingers touching its side.  Mette watched, utterly fascinated by the sight. Things were usually much more hectic when they met. It was rare that they had a quiet moment like this, where they could just walk, talk and hang out. “Yeah, lots of action I guess. I’ve learned a ton of stuff helping you out.”

 

The Little Mermaid climbed up the rocks, until she stood right next to the statue. It was kind of weird watching her this close to the statue. They were named for the same fairytale, and yet, they looked almost nothing alike. Still, there was some resemblance. There was something about those eyes. “So, do you think you’re ready?” the Little Mermaid finally asked.

 

 

That was a loaded question, wasn’t it? Mette grimaced as she climbed up the rocks, until she stood next to the statue. She reached out and touched it. She had always kind of wanted to try that. It was slick. “Ready for what?”

 

The older woman reached out and touched the statue. Its eyes started to glow with a soft golden light, followed soon after by its hair, tail and then the rest of it. Mette felt strange, like something was streaming into her, like something was changing. She looked up at the Little Mermaid as she said the words that Mette had never realized that she had wanted to hear this badly.

 

“To become a hero, of course.”

 

[RocketLord]

20Q

 

Even super heroes have to go to the dentist... and as usual, Mette had to wait. It took forever. She looked at the magazine on the table and groaned. She remembered this issue... a quick 20 questions interview she'd given right after she had gotten her powers. It had a cover date for March 2018. It seemed like forever ago, but there was nothing else, so she picked it up and flipped to the page.

 

20 questions for the new Little Mermaid from our readers!

 

Alright, first question here. Danny wants to know: Where are you from?

 

"I'm from Copenhagen, but I'd like to consider myself part of Denmark on a whole."

 

Mia asks: How did you become the new Little Mermaid?

 

"I've always loved the Little Mermaid, she was my great hero. She asked me to take over from her while she retired, and how could I say no to that, right?"

 

That's awesome! Got some hero worship going there, huh? Leads nicely into the next question from Lasse: How did you meet the first Little Mermaid?

 

"Man, that's not really a great question to answer. Don't need anybody trying to find out who I really am, y'know. Anyway, short answer: She saved me at one time, we hit it off, she taught me some things, and that's that."

 

Mysterious! Peter wants to know: Why do you do it? Like, why do you go out and put yourself on the line for people you don't even know?

 

The Little Mermaid looked a bit pensive at this question, taking a moment to compose herself before she responded: "I was given this power for a reason, right? The first Little Mermaid choose me to do this. I can't just stand around and do nothing when people are in danger and I could help them."

 

Right on! Molly asks: Are you going to team up with the Snow Queen, Danish Dynamite or Jens Vejmand? It would be cool if you would all join up and make a team!

 

"That would be cool, but I don't really see it happening. We're all kind of split up as it is, and there's a lot of ground to cover. I'd love to team up with the Snow Queen some day, at least, or to join a super team!"

 

And we got a question from Mette: Is there anything that you're afraid of?

 

"Sure, I know I got all these powers, but I'm really just a regular person, y'know. The thing I'm most afraid of is probably failing to save someone. I don't know what I'd do if that happened."

 

That does sound kind of scary! Kasper asks: I miss the old Little Mermaid, she was way better at this than you. Any chance we could get her back?

 

"Ow." The Little Mermaid laughed a bit at this question. "That's harsh, Kasper. I'm doing my best here. She's my big hero, you know, and all of this is a pretty big responsibility. Its been a while since I last saw her, but she was pretty adamant about not being able to come back, even if she wanted to. She was a hero for almost 20 years, you know. She just can't keep going anymore."

 

Elizabeth wants to know is there's anything that you really like or hate. Just a quick answer now!

 

"Sure. I absolutely love swimming and the sea, but that's kind of expected, I guess. I'm a big fan of rock music, I love Kim Larsen. I guess I hate people that try to hurt others, but I'm not sure that's the right word?"

 

Thomas thinks you're cool, but wanted to ask about your family. Do they know that you're a hero? What do you think about it?

 

"Alright, getting just a bit too personal with the questions here. Not gonna reveal if they know or not, but I got a perfectly good relationships with my family. They're very supportive of everything I do."

 

Hey, I'm just reading the questions here, but I'll try and see what I can do! Here's a good one: Signe asks how you're feeling? Is it hard work to become a hero? It has to be mentally draining to be out there fighting all day.

 

"It can be pretty taxing, I'll give you that, but I'm balancing things pretty well so far. Helping people is its own reward, y'know. Better to help someone than to let them get hurt."

 

See, we're getting better here! Pelle thinks you're great, but he thinks you could do better! You could probably take down all the bad guys if you really put in the work for it! Get the litterbugs, the smokers and everyone too!

 

"That's kind of extreme, don't you think?" The Little Mermaid looked at the reporter with a raised eyebrow at this question. "I don't really have any ambitions like that. I'm just one person, I can't stop all crime in Denmark on my own. I'm not against fighting crime in general, you've seen me catching robbers and all that, but I just want to keep people safe. That's my number one priority, right now."

 

I have to agree with you there. Keep it down, people. Now, let's see... Ronja asks if you're Christian or worries about religion at all? Huh, kind of a weird question!

 

"I don't really see how that matters. It shouldn't matter what religion you practice or where you're from, right? I'm just going to say that I believe in magic, alright?"

 

Works for me! Sebastian says that Denmark really doesn't have a lot of super people, which is true! He would like to know how you feel about your unique position as one of Denmark's few super heroes?

 

The Little Mermaid breathed out heavily, before grinning at the reporter. "Well, its, a lot you know? I am in a pretty unique position, the others have been doing this for a while and I'm the first of us to take up the name and powers of someone else, right? Sometimes, it feels like I gotta work extra hard to make everyone take me seriously. Don't get me wrong, I love being a hero, but I gotta put in the work too, and it can be tough. I gotta make my mark, right?"

 

You already do! Kasper got a question related to that: How do you feel about Denmark not having a lot of super humans? America got a ton of super people, there's a lot more in the rest of Europe, but Denmark's a bit behind. How does that feel?

 

"Its just how it is, I guess? It just means we gotta work harder to make sure everyone is safe. Still, it is a bit weird."

 

So weird! Thor wants some details! You're strong, you swim fast, you control water! What's your greatest power? 

 

"Thinking quickly." The Little Mermaid grinned. "See, I come up against all sorts here. Its important that I do the right thing in the right situation, so I gotta move quick and think fast."

 

Alright, I'm a bit uncomfortable about this next question, but Pia wants to know how you feel about immigrants and Muslims coming into our country.

 

"Really? You really want to go there?" The Little Mermaid did not seem amused by this question, readers! And who could blame her? "I don't care? What do you want, Pia? For me to only save people with white skin? That's ridiculous. Everyone's people, everyone deserves a chance, and I'm gonna keep everyone safe."

 

Thank you, and I'm sorry about that. So, how about something a bit lighter: Jesper asks if there's some hero somewhere that you'd really like to team up with.

 

"I would love to be able to team up with the Freedom League at some point. Maybe join? I dunno, its kind of out of my reach."

 

Much better! Stine asks about your eating habits! What do you like? What do you hate?

 

"Aw, I absolutely love strawberry ice cream. I know its not healthy, but sometimes you just gotta down from a long day of fighting bad guys, right? And I hate eating fish! I used to love sushi, but once you've actually talked to fish it feels really weird to eat them."

 

Yeah, I get that! Makes sense! Oh, hey, Mikkel has a big question for you here: Remember, I'm just the messenger! Brian asks: Little Mermaid, are you seeing someone? How do they feel about you being a hero?

 

"Nope, I'm single. Spending so much time in costume doesn't really leave a lot of time for dating, y'know."

 

And as a final question, Brian got a follow up! I'm just gonna read it here: I'll date you! Please be my girlfriend! I'd totally support you and get ice cream ready for when you get home!

 

The Little Mermaid laughed, a happy little laugh, wiping tears from her eyes before she replied. "Sorry Mikkel, I'm not exactly high maintenance, but I'm gonna need a real connection with anyone I decide to date, and I'm really not gonna pick anyone that loves me just for being the Little Mermaid."

 

...

 

Mette put down the magazine as she was called in. So much time had passed since she gave that interview, it was kind of surreal.