The Stormcrow, A Superhero's Tale Options

[SubRosa]

Renee: It is not an NPR podcast. One of the hosts simply has a day job at NPR is all. Just like Patricia is also a writer for a magazine. And Ravi does other tech and nerd-based podcasts.

Ravi sounds like the actor he is based on - Rahul Kohli. He is a regular on iZombie, and guest starred in a Supergirl episode. Here is an example.

I love the idea of January being a fictional character who is a writer of other fictional characters. It is sort of my example of literary Inception.

January's experience with Patricia is simply an example of ordinary life for someone like Jan. You never know exactly when or where it will happen, but it always does. That is why I include these episodes of January facing bigotry in these stories. I do not want to hide the ugliness that she faces. What I do want to show is her carrying on in spite of it all, and living her life.

I am honestly not sure what you think I am up to. I hope you won't be too disappointed when it turns out I am not. Unless you have an intuition about the chapter title. There is nothing accidental about that.



Acadian: January hopes the association does not draw too many parallels between herself and the courageous crow of Michigan either.

It is always very difficult to write scenes of Jan bearing the brunt of bigotry. Not just because they are uncomfortable. But also because I do not want to misrepresent people, even if they are bigots. I did research, and everything Patricia said is a direct, or nearly direct, quote of real people, such as JK Rowling. It was the same with the Nazis in Crystal Death. Some of their dialogue was word for word copies of RL statements.

Ravi and Amy were indeed totally blindsided by their cohort's behavior. That is something I took from my own life. More than once I tried to make friends with a group of people, only for someone like Patricia to rear their heads and make everyone choose between me and them. Afterwards more than one person has told me that they had no idea their friends were like that.

Quite right about the nit, thanks for helping me fix that.








Cthulhu Skater Dress


Women in Refrigerators Trope


Damsel in Distress Trope


Lack of female representation in fiction

Infographics of lack of female representation in fiction


Book 7.2 - Hammer Down
June 17

"Who puts the tales in my crows... podcast?" Ravi belted out once more in his English accent. "Ok the intro still needs some work. But as all true radio professionals know an intro is not something you can write beforehand. And you can't edit audio, so there is no going back and changing it."

"Of course there is no going back," Amy picked up. "But we can go forward, with this special edition of the Crow Tales Podcast. I am Amy Nixon."

"And I am Ravi Prasad."

"And together we are bringing you the best in Stormcrow approved fiction," Amy went on. "As we all know Detroit's newest heroine Stormcrow creates the Crow Tales blog, where she recommends novels and short stories every week. Her reviews are spoiler free. So we have taken it as our duty to go ahead and spoil it all, just for you, our dear listeners."

"So if you want to go into these stories cold, turn off this podcast, and come back when you have finished reading," Ravi said. "Done reading? Good, because we are going to break down each tale, and give you the straight dope on what happens, why it happens, and who it happens to."

"As you all have probably noticed, you can see us! That is because today we are having a special video episode, along with a special guest," Amy said. "So without further ado, welcome to January Ward, the author of the story we are covering today: This Spell for Hire."

"Hi," January said. She was not as bubbly or spontaneous as the first time. But she forced herself to be cheerful. She was going to make this work, no matter how much her stomach churned, or her heart raced. The first time she had done this it had been simple stage jitters that had made her nervous. This time around, her unease came from a much different source. The sour memories conjured up from her original appearance the previous day.

Never give up, she told herself. That was one of her Viking Virtues after all. She was not going to let negativity bring her down. Ravi and Amy at least seemed like decent people. She would not take her ire out on them. Nor would she allow it to fester within herself. Then the people like Patricia would truly win. She would not give them the satisfaction.

So she plunged on with the interview. This time Amy asked what she was wearing, and she had the opportunity to display her own nerd chops by standing and giving all a good look at her Cthulhu skater dress. Her mother had given it to her last Christmas, and she had to admit, it was one of her favorite presents ever. It was green and black, and filled with the looming head and maze of tentacles of its eponymous Great Old One. Plus it was tight in all the right places, showing off her waist, tummy, and even what little chest she possessed.

January had to admit, she loved it.

As before, they talked about her two main characters: Aela and Loria, and the numerous supporting cast whom they encountered through their adventure. They spent some time on how she had built the world, and of course the plot. January felt more than a little self-conscious about the latter. There was nothing special about it after all. Her two main characters had been hired to foil an assassin. There were a few simple twists and turns, a bit of mystery and detective work, a bit of action, and a wrap up. Nothing about it was truly original.

"But that is not a problem," Amy declared. "Humans have been telling stories since we could talk. All the stories have been told already. They were a long time ago. What matters is not how unique your plot is, but how well you can execute it. How engaging your characters are. How strong their motivations run."

"I give this story high marks," Amy declared. "Yes, the plot is derivative. But as I said, so what? The protagonist truly engaged me, especially since she is trans. That is something you rarely see in fiction these days, and never would have seen in the past. I really enjoyed the blending of distinct cultures you presented, and how each character's culture informed their outlooks and goals."

"Plus, it was just plain fun," Ravi declared. "You have action, you have exposition, you have world-building, you even have flashbacks that hint at deeper motivations behind your character's actions, and you juggle it all without getting too bogged down in any one part of it."

January tried not to smile too broadly at the praise. A nagging voice in the back of her head wondered if they were being so nice because they felt guilty about how Patricia had treated her the day before? January hated that voice. She hated always being distrustful of other people's motivations. But there was no silencing it entirely. It was a survival trait after all.

They moved on, and toward the end of the hour they had blocked out Ravi asked her one of the most common questions writers ever received.

"Where do you get your inspiration from?" he asked.

"I suppose the same as anyone else," January thought aloud. "I live my life, and see things going on around me. I watch movies, read books, and I think how could I do this without killing the only gay character? Or could this be done without putting a woman in a refrigerator, or making her a damsel in distress? I see a lot of good stories, that are brought down by writers using these bad tropes. So I imagine what they would be like without the homophobia, or without the misogyny, or without the racism."

"Take the lack of female characters in fiction. In most stories there seems to be one woman per every three men. Sometimes it is a lot less than that. Yes, looking at you 'The Hobbit', not one female character in the entire book. If the real world were like that, it would be a really different place. Imagine a world where most men would never have a girlfriend in their life, because women literally did not exist, except for those chosen few protagonists who needed them as trophies to win at the end, and of course to prove their heterosexuality."

January stopped talking, and started thinking about that. What would that world look like? What would it be like to be a woman living in that world?

"That sounds like it might be an intriguing idea to explore in a novel," Amy mused aloud.

"Um, yes, it would," January agreed. Her head was spinning with ideas already. Could she write this? Could she make a real story out of this? She probably could. Maybe it was time to put her next Spell for Hire novel on hold, and develop this instead?

"So our hour is up, and that about wraps up our episode," Ravi filled in the empty silence that had started to drag out. "Before we go however, it's time to pay our tithe to the sweet goddess of Capitalism. January, do you have anything you would like to plug?"

"Oh plugs," January murmured. Her head was still swirling with ideas for A Woman's World. She had already fixed upon a title. She was definitely going to write this.

"Well This Spell for Hire can of course be found in all online book outlets. There are no hard copies yet. But that might be changing in the future. I also have a comic book I am developing right now with a friend of mine that is called Artemis Argent and the Secret of Mystery Hill. The crowd-funding is still open to help us produce it. Check out Artemis Argent at Jumpstarter.com for all the deets, and see sample pages that we have already finished."

"Artemis Argent and the Temple of Doom?" Ravi laughed. "That sounds proper awesome!"

"That might be the sequel, if things go well," January mused.

"Maybe we can have you on again once it is finished," Amy noted.

"Or just as a bonus episode," Ravi offered. "No one says we cannot further explore the works of authors that Stormcrow has cited."

"That's true," the red-haired woman noted. "We could do an episode on some of Mary Shelley's lesser-known works as well."

"And with that, see you later aggregators," Ravi boldly declared, then he began to mumble more quietly. "Now how do I turn this thing-"

With that January's ZAAM screen with blank. She took a moment to turn off the video conferencing software, and leaned back in her computer chair. She closed her eyes and sighed with relief. She had completed her second podcast appearance. That had gone well. Much better than she could have hoped for after yesterday's attempt. She wondered when they would post it? From what Ravi had said, it usually took him a few days to get their episodes online.

Thankfully the first attempt would not be going online. That would be the last thing January needed. Still, she was tempted to ask Ravi for a copy of it. Somehow she had a feeling that Patricia Fine was not going to disappear quietly. She might try to invent accusations about her. January would like the evidence if she did.

She pulled out her phone, and waited for its texting app to come up. After what seemed a thousand years later it finally did, and she tapped out a message to the British podcaster asking for a copy of yesterday's show, and explained why. After several minutes he replied with an affirmative, and January put down her phone.

[Renee]

Sorry, yeah, I got that confused about the podcast versus radio show.

I'm not saying what my intuition is yet, and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm right. We'll see.

I like that part "As you probably noticed, you can see us!" ... it just sounds exactly like something a host would say on NPR, and in that hushed-ecstatic, yet welcoming tone of voice. I can't imagine Rush Limbaugh saying this, for instance, in that sort of way. You definitely got the feel of public radio with the way they say things.

Yes, I imagine Jan's 'perky phone voice' is gone this episode, especially after what happened last time. Maybe over time, over many years of living her life, that phone voice will show up less and less, though it won't go away entirely. She'll still have that side of her, although maybe it'll be reserved for safer appearances, like in front of children, perhaps. Or somebody who Jan is interested in.

I really like that Cthulhu dress.

and I think how could I do this without killing the only gay character? Or could this be done without putting a woman in a refrigerator, or making her a damsel in distress? I see a lot of good stories, that are brought down by writers using these bad tropes.

Yes. Agreed.

Can January provide a sample of her work, by the way? I'm curious what her style of writing looks like.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 27 2021, 05:51 PM

[Acadian]

Ahah, the wheels are starting to turn now since you mentioned that the chapter's title is not by accident. Methinks we will soon see our sometimes friend Lighthammer again. . . .

I quite like that dress as well, though I admit more for the cut and style rather than the color and design on the fabric.

"But that is not a problem," Amy declared. "Humans have been telling stories since we could talk. All the stories have been told already. They were a long time ago. What matters is not how unique your plot is, but how well you can execute it. How engaging your characters are. How strong their motivations run."
- - Well put, Amy!

As Jan was trying to do an objective assessment of her writing without squirming too much, I could almost see SubRosa squirming (or chuckling) since I know who really created Aela & Loria, and I know your writing so well as to completely agree.

Nicely done, and I’m so glad the second time was the charm for a pleasant and insightful interview.

[SubRosa]

Renee: Podcasts are technically internet radio, so there is a fine line.

One nice thing about podcasting is that you don't have to be as formal as radio hosts tend to be. A lot, if not most, people who do create them are not broadcasting professionals, but rather people with some other day job. The podcast is usually a labor of love, something they do about a subject they are passionate about, and hopefully have some knowledge in. The Dirt is one podcast I listen to, and it is created by two archaeologists, talking about archaeology. In reSearch Of is another one about the old TV show In Search Of. One of the hosts is an IT guy, the other an archaeology professor. Both are interested in the paranormal: cryptids, ghosts, UFOs, etc... They wanted to do a show about the origins of Paranormal TV, and settled on In Search Of because it seems to have been the very first of that genre.

Jan's perky phone voice is indeed a good marker for her happiness and hope. Her losing it would indeed be a sign of her slipping into cynicism.

You have read samples of January's work. Go to the Aela fic and there you have it.


Acadian: Lighthammer might indeed light up the skies soon.

Even for a geek like me, the tentacles are a bit much. But it is perfect to establish January's nerdcore cred.

Jan at least had one good interview so far.





Ryo (RL Alex Mallari)

Three Okami Tee



Book 7.3 - Hammer Down
June 17

"Are you done then?"

January nearly leaped out of her skin at the sound of the male voice behind her. As it was she did jump from her chair and spin around. Standing in front of her closed door was Ryo. As ever, his hair was cropped short against his skull, and a sparse mustache and goatee sprouted from his lip and chin. The young Japanese man was dressed in his Three Okami tee shirt, depicting a trio of white wolves emblazoned with red markings. All three had their heads turned up to howl at a blazing sun.

Now January wished she had waited for today to wear her Three Wil Wheaton tee shirt, which likewise showed three images of the eponymous actor beneath a twenty-sided die instead of the moon. Still, she did adore her skater dress just the same.

"Ryo!" January gasped. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. How long have you been there?"

"Since when you were talking about your inspirations for creating the setting of This Spell for Hire," he said plainly.

"That was a half hour ago!" January stared in shock. "How come you didn't say anything? And how did you get in? Aren't the doors locked?"

"I did not want to bother you," Ryo said. "So I just let myself in and waited for you to finish."

"How very thoughtful of you," January murmured. She looked at the door to her room. Still shut. She should have heard it open when he came in. And how did he get into the house? It was summer, so the windows were open. Had he simply popped out a screen and climbed in a window? He must have, because she and her mother always kept the doors locked.

"I need your advice." Ryo said bluntly, as was his wont. He never made small talk. He was always straight and to the point.

He walked past her and spun around her computer chair. He leaped up and crossed his legs in mid air, and fell onto the seat as lightly as a feather. He did it all with a grace and ease that an Olympic athlete would envy. January knew, she had once hoped to compete in the Games herself after all. She sat opposite him on her bed, and curled up her legs underneath her.

"My advice?" January could not help but cock an eyebrow with Spockian incredulity. She could not imagine anything Ryo would ever need her advice on.

"I met a girl at Jacob's last show," he said. "Her name is Kaci. I really like her."

"And..." January let her sentence trail off, hoping Ryo would fill in the blanks. Jacob was of course Blackjack. The Knights of Nerddom loved their nicknames after all. But only Ryo ever called him by his real name. That was his style, as direct and to the point as a sword.

"And I do not know what to do," Ryo said. "How do I get her attention? And if I do, what do I say to her? I do not know how this dating thing works."

"Oh my," January tried not to roll her eyes. She really, really tried. She took a deep breath, and stared down at the floor.

"I am not the person to come to for dating advice," she admitted. "You need to talk to Rus, or Blackjack. They know way more about dealing with women than I do."

"But you are a woman," Ryo stated. "Besides, I already know what their responses will be. Rus will say to be confident, and act like you are the coolest man in the world, and that nothing fazes you. Jacob will say to make them laugh, to be a good talker, and show them you are not an idiot or a bro."

"Women do like confidence, so much so that many of them can't seem to tell the difference between it and arrogance." January mused. "And they do like a guy who can make them laugh. But you have to be careful not to get friend-zoned doing that."

"Like you friend-zoned Jacob," Ryo nodded.

"I didn't friend-zone Blackjack," January stared back at him blankly. "I'm a lesbian. You guys all know that."

"I was not supposed to say that." Ryo shook his head. "Pretend I did not."

"Wait, what about Blackjack?" January felt a weird sensation pooling in her stomach. "Are you saying that Jacob, I mean Blackjack, has... I mean that he..."

"He has been thirsty for you since you transitioned," Ryo declared. "He just never said so, because, you know, the whole lesbian thing. He said it would make things weird."

"Well he was right," January frowned. "Thank you so much for sharing that Ryo."

"I said the wrong thing again," Ryo laid a palm over his forehead. "I always do that. Usually Jacob stops me."

January felt power stir within the young Japanese-American. Not metaphorical strength, but real power, the kind that flowed through her and Blood Raven. As she stared at him, the shadows literally folded themselves around him, shrouding him in darkness. January glanced out the window. It was just a little past noon, and sunlight bathed in the room in illumination. But Ryo had almost literally faded into the woodwork.

January blinked. There Ryo was, sitting on her computer chair, sunlight streaming around him like a halo. She clearly was imagining things. The stress from the podcast, and now this news of Blackjack's feelings, it must have been too much to process at once.

"Just... don't tell Blackjack you said anything about it to me," January implored, "it will not make things better."

What on earth was she going to do about it? Ignore it, and pretend it didn't exist? Would she ever be able to look at Blackjack the same? Somehow she doubted that. Should she talk to him about it? That would be slightly less awkward than say, talking to her grandmother about sex. January wished there was a giant spider around to punch. At least that was simple.

"This really will not help, but he has a new crush," Ryo said.

January was afraid of what the young man's next revelation might bring, so she braced herself. She was thankful that she had.

"Stormcrow," Ryo said plainly. "He has been hot for her for weeks. He even wrote a song about her. We are making a video for it right now. All we have left is to finish editing the shots together."

Now it was January's turn to make a facepalm.

"I should not have said that either," Ryo lamented. "I hate all these secrets, all these games. We are all supposed to be friends. Why cannot we just be honest with each other?"

"Because sometimes honesty is just not the best policy," January lamented. "Sometimes we lie to the people we love to protect them. Because the truth would hurt them even more, and we want to spare them that."

"This is why I need advice. I never know what to say, or do," Ryo went on, as if he had not completely turned one of her oldest relationships upside down. "I do not know how to pretend to be cool and confident, and I cannot make anyone laugh."

"Don't kid yourself Ryo," January said without thinking. "You would make a great straight man."

Still, at least concentrating on Ryo's love life gave her an excuse not to think about Blackjack's.

"You just have to be Ryo," she said. "Don't try to be cool, don't try to be funny. I met this girl on Ok Eros. We talked for weeks, I thought we were really making a connection. We were finally going to meet up, and I told her I was trans. She immediately ghosted me, literally stopped talking that instant, and never replied to me again."

"You need to be straight up about who you are, and what you are," January insisted. "Don't put weeks or months into someone only to find out that they don't want any part of you because of something that is an integral part of your being. Like you being on the spectrum, or being a nerd. Or is it a geek? I forget which one of those is good now and which is still bad."

"Yes, that usually does not impress women," Ryo lamented.

"You're preaching to the choir friend," January agreed. "But it is reality. You can't pretend to be someone you're not. Trust me, I went down that road."

"So how do I be me, and still make this work?" Ryo said. "I really like this girl."

"Well, show her your best self," January said. "I mean, don't quote C++ to her. But let her see how smart you are. How you notice things other people don't. Let it drop that you do kenjutsu, and longswording, and judo. Adin has open mat on Sundays at his dojo. Invite her out and we can spar together. If seeing you in action doesn't make her wet, nothing will."

"Make her wet," Ryo mused quite seriously, "yes, we could go swimming, at the beach."

"Umm, yeah, that's exactly what I meant," January went on as if that were true. "Let her see your abs. If that does not do it, nothing will."

"Girls like abs?" Ryo looked down to his stomach.

"A lot of them seem to," January nodded. "You are one swol dude, go with it. You will probably be the only buff guy she ever meets who isn't a total bro."

"And that will make her wet?" Ryo still seemed uncertain.

"Maybe?" January shrugged. Remembering how literally he tended to take things, she added, "just don't say 'wet' to her!"

Once again Ryo seemed to fade from existence. The shadows grew around him, and this time January could swear that his body literally began to go transparent. She felt it once more, the power singing within him. This time there was no doubt about it.

"Ryo, how long have you been using magic?" January asked. If Ryo preferred honesty, well she would oblige him.

"What?" His form snapped back into full view, and the shadows dropped away from his body like a discarded cloak. Genuine surprise crossed his features. "What do you mean?"

"I mean magic," January insisted. "Right now, you were using magic to hide in the shadows. Come to think of it, you have always done that haven't you? Whenever you get uncomfortable, you disappear. Have you been using magic to do it all along?"

"I do not know what you mean," Ryo protested. "I just... do what I do."

Once more, he faded away, like a ghost. January was tempted to try to see if her hand could pass through his body. But it was growing hard to see just where he was. The room was filled with sunlight. But he was a shadow, blending into the background.

January shifted her senses into the astral. Ryo's form practically leaped out before her eyes in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. His aura glowed with power, in a way no ordinary person's ever did. By now January had some practice with viewing others in astral space. Most people's auras were faded, like old black and white TV shows. But a magician's, like Blood Raven's or her own, were illustrated in bright 4K color by comparison.

More than that, she could feel his power in the astral, humming like electricity through a high voltage line. She could smell it, warm and wholesome, like freshly baked bread. She could hear it, singing like a choir.

If she had known more about using magic, she would have surely noticed this much earlier. But the fact was, it had still been just a few short months since she had become a superhero. She had spent even less time with the knowledge that her powers were something that she had created within herself with magic. Sensing that magic elsewhere was still something she was growing accustomed to. She knew that she still had much to learn. It was a humbling thought.

"You are a magician Ryo," she stated plainly. "You have been using it, probably for years I imagine. You may not have been doing so consciously, directly. But you have been channeling your power into an ideal. Because magic is not just about conscious designs, it is also about unconscious desires. It is about your Will, and how you use it to shape your reality. You have literally been enchanting yourself."

Ryo snapped back into bright solidity once more. He casually stroked his fingers through the sparse hairs on his chin.

"I have been exploring more of the Zen side of my kenjutsu training," he admitted. "I have been meditating more, using that in judo, and Western longswording. But I never really noticed anything different."

"You wouldn't have," January insisted. "You never had to push yourself beyond the limits of what we think is normal. You were never in that kind of danger."

[Acadian]

’January could not help but cock an eyebrow with Spockian incredulity.’
- - This is a magnificent line that fits the story, situation and Jan to a tee!

"This really will not help, but he has a new crush," Ryo said.’
- - Whew, that should let Jan off the hook of awkwardness. . . .
"Stormcrow," Ryo said plainly. "He has been hot for her for weeks.’
- - Yikes! Out of the frying pan into the fire! At least Blackjack has consistent taste. Exquisitely woven and totally unexpected twist there.

"Make her wet," Ryo mused quite seriously, "yes, we could go swimming, at the beach."
- - I sputtered my coffee over this! Goodness, Jan really has her work cut out with Ryo! Excellent advice she was giving him though.

"You are a magician Ryo," she stated plainly. "You have been using it, probably for years I imagine.’
- - Yet another unexpected twist, but with more serious implications – particularly for protecting the ‘wall’ between Jan and Stormcrow.

[Renee]

Oooh, The Dirt podcast sounds neat. I remember In Search Of as well (betraying our age, here). I loved that show while it was on. I also didn't know all that about podcasts, especially being on a more amateur level, so thanks for that info. Last podcast I listed to had something to do with some sort of bitcoin scam.

Sorry, I guess I forgot about Jan's work. My memory .... I'll have to go back and read it.

Good to see Ryo is back. He's the one who's sort of sneaky, I think he disappears from the company of his friends occasionally.

Jacob's advice is "don't act like a bro." Wow, so Blackjack wants some January.

January felt power stir within the young Japanese-American. Not metaphorical strength, but real power, the kind that flowed through her nd Blood Raven. As she stared at him, the shadows literally folded themselves around him, shrouding him in darkness

Whoa, this is interesting. I had a feeling about Ryo. The way he sort of appears and disappears. And also when he did that funny way of sitting down without just sitting down.

A-ha. Blackjack does not know Jan = Stormcrow. Again, sorry. My memory... this has probably already been mentioned. I forget stuff though.

I mean, don't quote C++ to her

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I have been watching In Search Of, so the Spock reference was instantly transported into my brain.

Blackjack is indeed consistent. He knows exactly what he likes.

About that "wall" you were talking about between January and Stormcrow...



Renee: There are some podcasts coming out in the last few years that are pure corporate-made things driven by ad revenue. And some of the amateur ones also have ads to help pay the bills. Or they have a Patreon to ask for donations. But the best ones IMHO, are all done by people who are nerds in some sphere or another, yakking about the thing they love. Be it history, bigfoot, or the worst people ever.

Ryo is definitely the sneaky one. We have not seen him directly since Chapter 2, when Jan and the whole gang went to the Techno Fest downtown. We will be seeing a lot more of him in the future.







Tardis


Book 7.4 - Hammer Down
June 17

"Like when you fought Lighthammer at ConFabulation," Ryo mused. "Now I understand. That is how you do it. The leaping, the strength, the wings... it is magic."

"Me?" January was flabbergasted. "I wasn't talking about me."

"I know you are Stormcrow," Ryo said plainly. "I knew it the moment I saw the video from the convention."

"That's not..." January held up her hands in mock defense. "You've got it all wrong."

"Do not try to deny it," Ryo sighed. "We have sparred together for years. I know how you move. Just like I know every line of code I write. You are Stormcrow."

She could hear the distress edging into his voice. Again, he started to fade. January knew it well. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he had Asperger's Syndrome, especially now that he was grown up. But other times his issues came to the fore. Like that time in third grade when someone had touched him, and he began screaming. The teacher had to take him to the nurse's office then. It was a long way from elementary school. But just like January herself, Ryo still had his own unique concerns in life.

"Why cannot we all just be honest with each other?" Ryo lamented.

"You are right Ryo," January sighed. "I am Stormcrow. But you can't tell anyone. Only Avery knows. No one else can. It puts everyone in too much danger if it ever gets out."

"Like Hailstorm," Ryo nodded.

"Yes, like Hailstorm," January agreed. He was the specter that hovered in the background of every discussion of superhero's identities. The death of not only his family, but of his friends, and coworkers, was a shroud that still hung over the entire caped community. Even Congress had passed laws banning revealing secret identities. But that was too late for Hailstorm. He had died in an asylum, long after the reporter who had outed him had shot himself in the head.

"That is what I mean about how sometimes we have to conceal things to protect the ones we love," she continued.

A long silence filled the room. Before it could drag into something unbearably uncomfortable, January spoke again.

"If you want to, I can try to teach you how to use magic. How to consciously direct it, and strengthen it, make it do what you want," she offered.

Ryo stood for long moments, and stared at his feet. He tended to do that. He did not like looking in people's faces, and especially not into their eyes.

"Yes, I think I would like that," Ryo finally said. "How can I not? If this is part of who I am, I have to embrace it. I cannot pretend it does not exist."

"Preaching to the choir my friend," January smiled in spite of herself. In some ways, they were so alike that it was eerie. But in other ways, she could not ignore the vast differences between them.

She quashed her grin a moment later because of that. Smiles were stressful for Ryo.

"It is hard when people laugh or smile," January remembered a text that Ryo had sent her years ago by way of explanation. "It is difficult for me to understand why people are doing that. Body language makes no sense to me. So eventually I wonder if they are laughing at me. Eventually I have to get away to decompress. Interacting with people is so much easier through computers and phones."

January had no trouble empathizing. She had similar problems with people, even if for very different reasons.

"Ok, to start with magic is a part of everyone, not just us. We can all use it. Most people just do not believe they can, or that it even exists in the first place." January thought back to everything Blood Raven had taught her, and all the things she had read in her books as Branwen Renner. "Magic is... You know what, I am still learning myself. But there is someone I know who can help."

She needed Sága so that she could speak over an encrypted line. But her digital assistant was built into her armor, which was locked away in her motorcycle down in the garage. January closed her eyes, and called up her mana. She ran her elemental mantra through her head, and used it to shape her energy into an instrument of her will.

Fire give me passion and energy. Transform me in the night sky.

Just like that, she was wearing her Stormcrow armor. She knew from experience that her clothes had taken its place in the fake gas tank bump in her Victory. She slid aside the metal plate that protected Sága's screen, and spoke clearly.

"Sága, call Blood Raven."

A window popped up on her forearm-mounted computer's screen, displaying the new phone call being made. An icon denoting that the transmission was encrypted appeared in one corner of the window. But January still chose her words carefully when Blood Raven answered. You never knew who might be listening, or what sort of meta-tech descrambling gear they might possess.

"Yes?" Blood Raven said simply.

"I have someone here I would like you to meet," January said. "He knows who I am. He is a friend of mine, and he is a magic user. He could use someone to help him, like you've helped me."

"You are at your abode?" Blood Raven responded.

"Yes," January replied. "But we can come down to the Raven's Nest any time."

"Convey him upstairs to the sanctum," the older heroine replied.

"We don't have to do this right no-," January let her words trail off. She glanced up. Her mentor had probably already used the gateway that she had long ago forged between her downtown lair and the Witch House's inner sanctum.

"Okay," January turned back to Ryo, and made an effort to not look him in the eyes, "time to meet Blood Raven. Don't worry, she's not as fearsome as she might first seem. She's really a very nice person."

"You mean the Blood Raven?" Ryo looked startled. "I did not mean for you to... I mean she is..."

January was not used to seeing Ryo flustered, certainly not at something as mundane as meeting an icon. People looking at him or touching him, absolutely - meeting a famous person, no. In fact, he was usually as unflappable as the Zen warrior he appeared to be, which of course, he was. It was oddly reassuring to see that he was still human after all.

"The Blood Raven," January said. "She is the one who taught me. Who's still teaching me. She knows even more about magic than you do about writing code, which is saying something. So come on."

Before Ryo could reply, she opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hallway outside. She only paused a moment to glance back to make sure he was indeed following. Then she led him to the front corner of the house, on the side that bordered the driveway. She waved a hand across a blank wall, and golden light spilled from her fingers. As it faded, a narrow stairway was revealed behind it. She took the steps up to the entirely ordinary-looking door at its top.

January extended her hand to the door knob. Mana dripped from her fingertips as she took hold of it. Once again she concentrated upon the spell that Blood Raven had taught her to unlock the sanctum. Golden light spilled from her hand, and sank into the metal of the knob. A moment later came the click of a lock turning, and the door swung open on its own.

She led Ryo within. It had been weeks since she had first experienced the sanctum sanctorum that Keziah Talmadge has crafted so many centuries ago. But it still took her breath away.

The ceiling rose high overhead, and the walls spread out far around them. The room was clearly larger than the entire house. As ever, January could not be sure what the shape of the chamber even was. It shifted to and fro, as she followed the designs that curled their ways through the pebble mosaic that decorated the floor, or the metal strips laid into the walls, or the beads that hung from the ceiling. It was a labyrinth of colors and materials, ever reshaping itself to conform to her will.

"Is this a Tardis?" Ryo actually stared, with his mouth agape in wonder. January did not blame him. She had the same reaction the first time she had seen it herself. It was still the most amazing thing she had ever witnessed.

"Another science fiction fan I see."

January turned at the voice, and saw Blood Raven striding across the room to meet them. She was clad in her red and black armor. Even though there was no breeze within the room, her crimson hair flowed out behind her in a halo. Her eyes glowed a similar shade of red, and January felt, rather than saw, the raw power that crackled and flowed about her being.

That power reined itself in after a just a moment, like water draining down a spout. Her hair fell down to her shoulders, and her eyes dimmed to a shade of rust. Still, her gaze was only slightly less imposing as it cast across Ryo's frame. Her eyes met his for just a moment. Then she looked away, even as he did himself.

"You must be Ryo then," she murmured.

January looked at the other woman sharply. She had not used any names over the comm link.

"Yes, I know who you are," Blood Raven explained. "I have made it a point to learn something of January's friends, should an emergency ever arise."

"Blood Raven," Ryo finally said. "You are the real Blood Raven. I did not expect to meet you today."

"We are all filled with surprises," Blood Raven murmured. Her eyes moved to January, then back Ryo. She did not look into his eyes, which was unusual for her. That made January wonder if she knew that he was on the spectrum, and doing so made him uncomfortable.

"I can feel the power in your aura," Blood Raven went on. "January was wise to bring you to me. I can sense that like her, you have been using magic to enhance yourself physically. I should imagine for years. These slow, but steady enchantments are the most powerful, much like granite raised up over millennia."

"Tell me, where were you during Ferndale Pride?" she asked bluntly.

January balled her fingers into fists. She knew exactly where that question was leading. Goddess, the nerve that Blood Raven had, to imply that Ryo could be the Summoner!

"I was at work," Ryo replied just as plainly. "It was crunch time for a software firm in San Jose, and they needed help troubleshooting their new code. I work as a consultant. I went through 1,763 lines of their code that night, to discover the errors they had committed."

"How many were there?" Blood Raven actually cocked an eyebrow. January could see that she was taken aback by the response, just as direct and specific as her own question.

"Three," Ryo said. "I signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I cannot be more specific."

"I like this one," Blood Raven breathed. She laid a conciliatory hand on January's shoulder as she walked by behind her. "I suspect Cray shall as well."

"Cray, the old school hacker?" Ryo wondered. He looked from Blood Raven to January. His eyes settled on January's forearm, and the computer hidden within the armor plate there. "He works with you, just like Avery works with January. Now I understand. That was Sága I was writing the code for weeks ago."

"You wrote Sága's code?" January stared down at her wrist with shock.

"77.38% of it," Ryo said. "Avery did not tell me what it was for. He wrote most of the original code himself, and asked me to verify it. I took it back to the baseline and wrote most of it over from scratch. I did not leave my room for three days. I do not know why that worried my parents."

"Surprises indeed," Blood Raven murmured. "You know a great deal about January and Avery. I pray you understand just how dangerous that knowledge is to you."

"I know what happened to Hailstorm, and all of his friends and family," Ryo said. "We all learned about it in school."

"Then you know the danger of even a single slip of the tongue," Blood Raven said. "I say this not as a threat, but as a warning. You are not placing January in danger. She is placing you in danger. That is the price we all pay, when we don these capes."

January looked down at her feet. More than once, she had thought about the danger that she placed her mother in, and the Knights of Nerddom. She had weighed the good she could do wearing a cape, versus the harm that she might cause them. It was still not an easy calculation to make.

"I understand," Ryo insisted. "That is why I have not said anything before."

"Then the next question is, do you wish to learn magic?" Blood Raven asked. "You need not do so. You can live a full and virtuous life just as you are. There is no requirement for you to do more."

"You mean do I wish to be a superhero?" Ryo said. "That is the real question you are asking, is it not?"

"One step at a time," Blood Raven cast a sideways glance at January. "Even Rome was not sacked in a day."

"It took the Visigoths three days," Ryo noted dryly.

January fought a smile. She had said exactly the same thing when Blood Raven had made that quip to her.

"Yes, I want to learn magic," Ryo said. "I know that I would always regret it if I did not. When it comes to being a superhero... I will have to think about that."

"Good," Blood Raven. "I advise you to weigh your decision carefully. As I said, you may still be a virtuous person without doing so. You can still make a positive impression on the world."

"Are you this dissuasive with January?" Ryo looked between the two women.

"Yes, she is," January admitted, "and for good reason. I went into all this too fast. I didn't think about what I was doing. I just did it. I almost got a lot of people killed in the process, myself included. Don't be as stupid as me."

"If people were not stupid, then there would be no heroes," Ryo said plainly.

That brought a laugh from both January and Blood Raven.

"I do like this one," the older superheroine breathed. Then she took on a more serious disposition. "Very well then. As I have told January, it has never been my intention to train a generation of magical warriors. It still is not. But I can help you find your magic. All I can do is show you the way. What you accomplish is entirely up to you. As I have also told January, the most difficult part of teaching someone magic, is the fact that no one can teach you magic. You must find your own power."

[Acadian]

It makes perfect sense that Ryo would have pieced everything together, given how well he knows Jan as a friend and that well he knows her what her fighting style looks like in action well enough to see through her armor and mask.

Giant step, introducing him to Blood Raven but I agree with the older superheroine that Jan was wise to do so. Honestly, I don’t think there was any other choice than to bring him into the Corvine Coven.

"If people were not stupid, then there would be no heroes," Ryo said plainly.’
- - As we have both written in our stories from time to time, ‘Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.’

[Renee]

Ryo knows Jan is Stormcrow. That's so wicked awesome. I like how she tries to play it off too, but she also knows she's busted. And she also knows Ryo will never tell (I assume).

Ryo also knows the way she moves. There was a recent arsonist here in Maryland who got caught. He had been setting fires for years, and getting away with it. Well, he got caught because of a security cam. One of the detectives who saw the arsonist on this cam knew the way the guy walked. Turns out, this arsonist was a former cop (I think he may have been Chief somewhere) and the detective who caught him noticed the way he moved & walked as he went by a home security camera.

Ryo is very astute, is what I'm meaning to say.

Ha, that would be fun, to change clothes (or armor) just by willing it. Sounds sort of like Sims 3, actually.

"You are not at your abode?"... Goddamn I love the way Raven speaks.

Ha! He already knows her special room is a Tardis!

"77.38% of it" he says. Goh, this episode is full of little surprises.

"One step at a time," Blood Raven cast a sideways glance at January. "Even Rome was not sacked in a day."

"It took the Visigoths three days," Ryo noted dryly.

snap!

Have a good weekend, Florens.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Being on the Autism spectrum, one of Ryo's gifts (and curses) is that he sees everything, and notices every tiny little thing that is out of place. That is what makes him such a good coder. It is also why he knows that both Stormcrow and January fight, and simply move, in exactly the same way.

I was originally going to have some scenes of January trying to teach Ryo, and failing spectacularly. But then I realized that Jan is smart enough to know that she would fail spectacularly if she tried. Hence she turned to Blood Raven. That is the kind of moment that mentors are for after all.

Jan definitely has some good experience by now. It took a while though.


Renee: Ryo is a very smart guy, and as I noted above, he takes everything in. That was a great example you made of the detective realizing who that arsonist was by how he walked. It is like when you live with someone for years, you can tell it is them just by the sound their footsteps make when they are walking.

In the old Champions RPG there was a power called Quick Change (or something like that). It was cheap in cost, and allowed you to instantly change from your regular clothing and into your costume, or vice versa. The book suggests you take it, and I agree. Every hero should invest a point in it at character creation.

Ryo can be a fun character to write. Though like Blood Raven, he is a challenge to, since I have to change how I think in many ways to get in his head. In other ways though, his nerdiness fits like a comfy pair of tights.






Mōnandæg

As always, you can follow January's flight on the Stormcrow Map



Book 7.5 - Hammer Down
June 17

Blood Raven's introductory magic lesson took several hours. January had been through it all before of course. So she quietly made an exit and left them to it. She changed back into her skater dress, and went to work on her burgeoning idea for A Woman's World. The hours rolled by, and soon she was obliged to start dinner.

She took a moment to warn her guests that her mother would be home soon. She invited both to stay. Not surprisingly, Ryo elected to leave. But Blood Raven did transform into her current alter-ego as Aunt Branwen. She remained to participate in January's taco and Spanish rice feast.

"I thought tacos were for Tuesdays?" January's mother noted.

"That is what everyone else does," January replied. "I have Taco Mondays, because Mōnandæg likes tacos."

That brought incredulous looks from the other women.

"What?" January said. "Monday is named after Mōnandæg, or the 'Moon's day'. Máni is the Old Norse moon god. I read in the Edda that he loves eating tacos and posting on Instantgram. I think Abe Lincoln gave him the recipe."

"Was that the Elder or Younger Edda?" her mother asked.

"I suspect it was the Zoomer Edda," Branwen observed.

"That was definitely it," January said. "I saw it on the internet, so it must be true."

Dinner went well. Everyone seemed to like the meal. Or at least concealed their distaste well enough that January did not notice. Conversation bounded from January's Cthulhu dress to her podcast appearance. That led Branwen to suggest that January's mother Barbara start a literary podcast of her own.

"You could call it Taken From the Stacks, January interjected, "or Stack Exchange."

"I don't see myself as an internet radio personality," her mother actually blushed.

"There is nothing you cannot do Barbara," Branwen insisted. A look seemed to pass between the two women. It felt like part of a conversation that January was not privy to. She wondered what that might be. Was there something her mother thought she could not do? Then inspiration struck from the blue.

"You have not read comics in a long time," January thought aloud. "Maybe we could do Barbara Reads Comics, where we review comic books together, with you coming in cold and me already knowing them. Other people have done it with Star Trek already."

"I don't know..." January's mother pushed her Spanish rice around her plate.

"It sounds like it might be fun," Branwen said. "I have been reminded lately that I should have more fun in my life. You should do it. The worst that could happen is no one will listen."

"I can reach out to Ravi, from PodGeek and the Crow Tales Podcast, and find out how he does the technical side. If we can't figure it out then we can get Blackjack to be our engineer. He's the producer for all of his band's music."

January almost regretted saying Blackjack's name. He was both a musician and comic, and certainly knew his way around recording equipment. But after Ryo's revelation that Blackjack had feelings for her... well that was still unsettling. They had been friends since they were little kids after all! How in the world was she supposed to reconcile that?

Sometimes being an adult really sucked.

Branwen left after dinner, and January got back to her writing. The hours flew past as she brainstormed ideas and put them all down in her notes. The next thing she knew it had grown dark, and her mother was wishing her a good night.

January's phone warbled. It was not her normal ringtone, or the chirp from a text message. It was the tone that denoted a call forwarded from her Stormcrow number. January was across the room in an instant, and swiped the screen to take the call.

"It's Lighthammer," a male voice gasped. She heard the staccato racket of gunfire in the background. "I'm hurt bad, I need back-"

The line went dead after that. January stared down at her phone in horror. Lighthammer's vigilante life had finally caught up with him. There was no question of what she was going to do. She was clad in her armor in an instant, and out her bedroom window the next. Then she was cutting her way across the night sky and headed south. He had mentioned Cleveland once before. She imagined that might be a good place to start.

She was about to have Sága call Gadget, when the meta-inventor's voice came over her comlink.

"I take it you got that?" he asked.

"Affirmative," January answered. "I'm in the sky right now. Can you give me his GPS?"

"Tracking it from his phone right now," Gadget said. The sound of plastic keys clacking rose up beneath his voice. "My best guess right now is somewhere in Ohio, so head that way until I can nail it down."

"Already on it," January murmured. She focused her will upon her flight. Her trip across Michigan with Gola had given her a great deal of practical experience. She had even improved her time on the way back. Now she would have to push her speed even more. There was not a second to waste. Lighthammer could be dying even as she winged her way south under the stars.

January focused on speed, more and more speed, and nothing else. She poured her mana into the razor edge of that idea. Her wings moved from independent limbs sprouting from her back, to fuse with her arms. As ever, that gave her more power in the air, and she pierced the sky like an arrow shot from a bow.

Before she knew it she was passing over the Downtown skyscrapers, and the narrow band of the Detroit River beyond. She did not turn to follow the course of the water. Instead she continued on over Windsor. Detroit was one of the few places in America where you went south to get to Canada, rather than north. She hoped that she would not get in trouble with the Canadian border patrol, since she did not exactly have a passport.

She cut her way across lower Ontario. Once past the city of Windsor, the lights beneath her thinned out dramatically. She imagined that she must be over farms or forests, like most of Up North had been. Without the sun to judge her direction, the best she could do was dead-reckon her way south and east.

January resisted the urge to turn on her night vision. It would light up the night realm and made every home and tree stand out clearly in its blue-white phosphorescence. But she remembered what she had told Lighthammer at the Flint airport. Using things like diamonds to amplify his powers was a crutch, and would ultimately hold him back from reaching his full potential.

She should be taking her own advice. She should be reaching her full potential, rather than relying upon Gadget's gadgets. So instead she went low-tech, and relied upon her instincts and meat eyeballs. She briefly considered reaching out in the astral, or trying to create her own magical night vision, perhaps using the power of Air.

But she did not want to distract herself from her present task: reaching Lighthammer as quickly as possible. This was not the time for experimenting. This was the time for speed. That remained her focus. Her focus became her reality. The miles melted away under her wings.

Things lit up once more as she passed over what must have been a large town or small city. Then things went completely black underneath her. The sound of gently lapping waves came to her ears, and she could smell the dampness of fresh water. January imagined that was Lake Erie beneath her. She was getting closer.

She could barely make out the horizon between the inky black waters of the lake below, and the starry sky above. If not for those stars, she would have been completely lost, and probably would have wound up in the drink. As it was she had to concentrate on keeping her flight level, always fixing upon the lowest stars ahead of her and using them to steer her course.

"Ok, I got his position," Gadget said. "He's a long ways west of Cleveland. Damn, he's in Sandusky, no Cedar Point!"

"He decided to go on a rollercoaster ride?" January wondered.

"Maybe he's checking out the Valravn?" Gadget murmured.

"That would have been a good name..." January mused.

"Feeling a little Stormcrow regret?" Gadget asked.

"No," January answered honestly. "Gilda gave me the right name. She's good at that, crazy good in fact. Maybe that's her superpower."

She saw lights ahead, and banked in that direction. Soon she found herself flying over a large island, lit by a few scattered buildings below.

"I have no idea where I am," January said. "You are going to have to guide me."

"That's Pelee Island beneath you," Gadget said. "Bear a little to your right, and Kelleys Island will be right ahead."

January adjusted her flight as he instructed. Soon the second island he mentioned slid by under her belly. It was much smaller, but seemed to have more civilization, given the greater amount of lights glowing from the darkness below.

"Maybe you could add a quest marker to my helmet" she murmured.

"Already working on it," Gadget replied. "Just give me a few more days."

"No, don't," January reflexively shook her head. "I need to learn to do these things on my own. Besides, I think you've got more important things to do."

"Hey, I thought we were a team?" Gadget argued. "You can rely on me too you know."

"I know," January agreed, "and we are, and I do. I don't know what I'd do without you. But I also need to find my own power. And you have other things on your plate."

"You know, if there are as many little abandoned islands in Lake Erie as there are in Lake Michigan, one might make for a good training ground." January turned the conversation onto a different subject.

"Since the Packard Plant is now practically a movie theater, with all the spectators watching for you in the sky overhead?" Gadget noted. "Yeah, you should come back in the daytime and look around."

[Acadian]

A delightful Taco Morndas ‘cuz Mani loves tacos! I enjoyed the fun banter among the three ladies; it really highlighted the distinctive nature of each.

Uh-oh! Hammer down indeed! And the need for speed as Stormcrow races through the night sky, finally getting some GCI (ground controlled intercept) assist from the reliable Gadget.

[Renee]

Ryo can be a fun character to write. Though like Blood Raven, he is a challenge to, since I have to change how I think in many ways to get in his head.

Yes, we do this all the time, for sure, change the way we think as we write! ... That's one of the best parts of writing. At first sometimes it might seem like 'how am I going to crank out some material with Slick Rick' or Ryo or whomever. Next thing, there's half-a-page of delivered lines & words and in my case, I actually have to trim them back sometimes.

Aunt Branwen is back. Love Spanish rice, myself. Dang, now I'm hungry.

I think over time, Jan will get used to the idea of Blackjack wanting to be her beau. It can be odd though, right? On the one hand, Jan might feel flattered, on the other, she feels downright awkward. Wishes she won't have to ever confront the situation, and so on. Welcome to being a full-fledged lady, hon.

Oh crap, Lighthammer's down? ... Whoa, Lighthammer has a phone which can be tracked? Well duh, he just called her. ... Still. I shouldn't be surprised, yet I kinda am! I wonder how Lighthammer would go about getting a phone? Would he walk up to a T-Mobile kiosk and get connected? Would he buy a cheap throwaway from Walmart? I can't picture him doing either. Maybe he orders a prepaid online.

She hoped that she would not get in trouble with the Canadian border patrol, since she did not exactly have a passport.

The description of her flying through the dark trying to figure her way is riveting. Hope she makes it there okay.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: It was originally going to be Taco Thursdays, because Thor loves tacos. But I had to move some dates back to line up events in the next chapter.

Speaking of which, I think I should not be calling them chapters. Each is a standalone story. So I am tempted to go with Books. Even though they are a little short for an actual book.

Jan is definitely getting a lot of air-ground support on this quest mission. It was another good example I could give of how she and Gadget are a team.


Renee: It is going to be weird for Blackjack having the hots for Jan, either as herself or at Stormcrow. It is always weird when it is not reciprocated. Like you said, welcome to being a lady Jan.

I have not really gone into any details on how super communicators (phones, radios, whatever) work. In reality, things are so easy to trace these days because of GPS systems built into everything, IPs that can be tracked, etc... People can circumvent that with burner phones, or by simply never engaging through technology. But I do want my 21st century capes to be living 21st century lives. That means tweeting and being on the 'Gram. So instead I am saying it all works on that most dearest of writing substances - Handwavium.

I am not even sure how supers across borders works. It is not like anyone is going to ask for their passport. Though I am sure January is too small to show up on radar.

The flying through the dark was something I did want to highlight as being a challenge. It is Jan's second time doing that over a lake now, so it is beginning to be normal. But it is not there yet. She really could end up in the drink if she is not careful.





Cedar Point

Valravn



Book 7.6 - Hammer Down
June 17

More lights grew ahead of January. She knew she had to be getting close now. At Gadget's direction, she let the signs of civilization slide by her right shoulder, and plunged on over the onyx waters of Lake Erie. Soon new lights blossomed ahead of her, and she could make out the towering spires of roller coasters cutting into the night sky. They were lit up like titanic glow sticks, filling the darkness with brilliant illumination.

"Cedar Point is dead ahead," Gadget said.

"I can't imagine what their electric bill must be," January murmured. She winged over the northern tip of the peninsula upon which the amusement park was situated. A campground lined with bungalows rimmed the shores of the lake at this point, and she could see people rushing to and fro beneath her. Something had clearly stirred them up, and most appeared to be headed farther inland, toward the park itself.

A moment later January was over the park grounds proper, and a massive roller coaster slid by under her. Its steel structure was lit up, but no cars raced along its rails. It was clearly shut down. Indeed, all of the park below her appeared to be deserted.

"They close at 8pm, so you should have the place to yourself," Gadget said, as if had been listening to her thoughts. "But watch out, there might still be civvies around, if there's anything for them to see."

January heard the crack of gunfire, and bright flashes of light ahead of her.

"There's definitely something to see," she murmured.

As ever, her chest tightened up at the sound of the guns, and her mouth felt suddenly dry. She wondered if Blood Raven felt this way when going into a fight. Or was she so above it, that she felt nothing at all? Superheroes were supposed to be paragons of courage. But she had never been anything but afraid in every battle she had ever been in.

The stars vanished as clouds filled the sky overhead. Rain began to patter down upon her back. A moment later lightning cracked a brilliant fork across the sky, and thunder rumbled in a low warning all around her.

She swooped lower, and directed her wings to split away from her arms. Now separate entities, they sprouted from her shoulder blades. That would leave her hands free, for whatever might come next. The amusement park was a literal forest of steel, and there was no telling where danger might leap from.

She passed over the Millennium Force coaster and Adventure Island. Ahead she saw a marina nestled against the southern coastline of the peninsula. It was mostly deserted now that the park was closed. January was thankful for that. The fewer people around, the less likely anyone was to get caught in the crossfire.

The blue and orange rails of another roller coaster rose up just inland from the docks. It looked like a twisted mess of steel spaghetti thrown into the air. January knew this one. It was brand new, the tallest dive coaster in the world in fact. It was the Valravn, naturally.

Atop its highest peak she could see figures. Two dark forms held a third between them. That one was clad in a shining silver, blue, and gray armor. A fourth person in black took his time and wound up. Then he delivered a massive power punch. January could swear she felt it break the sound barrier when it connected with the chest of the man in silver. He went tumbling backward across the rails, thrown from the grips of the other two men.

"I see him," January had just a moment to consider her options before she would be in the thick of things. A lightning bolt could incapacitate all three of the villains. But on a steel coaster, she would fry Lighthammer as well. She could go into hand to hand. But there were three of them, and only one of her. Lighthammer did not look like he would be much help in a fight at the moment.

Lighthammer, he was her top priority. That made things clear to her. She reached down into her utility belt to pull out a grenade. She glanced down to make sure it was the one she wanted. After all, it would be really embarrassing to merely douse them with fire suppressing foam.

The trio of villains advanced across the coaster's rails. In the lead was the man who had punched Lighthammer with such dramatic force. He was clad entirely in black, including a mask that covered his face. His bared arms were a shade of obsidian that glistened under the lights of the coaster, and his fingers were splashed with blood.

The second man had long, dark hair, and had a rifle of some kind slung across his back. He appeared to be wearing some manner of ersatz power suit. It was not a sleek, form-fitting affair like the ones she always saw in video games. Rather it was a very rough and uneven conglomeration of parts. It was as if someone had crammed together hundreds of bits and bobs of mechanical devices in no particular order.

The last of the trio did not walk, so much as ooze along the surface of the roller coaster. His legs seemed to flow along the tracks, without lifting his feet. He did not appear to be wearing armor or clothing. Rather his skin looked like a tawny beige plastic or viscous goop. He did not seem to have any defining features. In fact, he looked less like an actual human, and more like an approximation of one. He reminded January of a child's action figure grown to human size, but partly melted over the stove.

Lighthammer climbed to his feet as the trio of villains approached him. He looked around, and his eyes locked on January's. She saw him flash a smile. He turned to say something to his enemies. She was still too far to hear exactly what. Then he leaped off the side of the rollercoaster.

As soon as his feet left the steel bars, January threw her grenade. It clanged onto the metal an instant later, but it did not bounce off. Instead it stuck there, and flared to life. A faint blue haze spread from the device, and suffused the steel of the roller coaster with its light. The feet of the three villains were caught in this glow, and instantly ceased their motion, glued to the spot.

January paid them no more attention however. Lighthammer was all she could think about. Normally he would spout his signature hard light from his body in order to fly. But nothing came forth now. Instead he simply plummeted, barely moving at all. As she came closer and closer, she could see that his armor was dented and broken, while bright bruises and blood stained his exposed flesh.

January willed more speed into her frame, and nosed over into a perpendicular dive. The ground swelled up before her with terrifying speed. But with every second that it grew nearer, so too did Lighthammer's battered form. She poured more and more of her mana into her flight, and faster and faster she rocketed downward.

Finally she was able to wrap her arms around the wounded vigilante. As it turned out, she was not a moment too soon. For an instant later what felt like a tentacle snapped around her waist, and jerked her violently upward. She nearly lost her grip on Lighthammer. It took all of her concentration to keep hold of him.

The next thing she knew, she was back up above the top of the coaster. Now she could see that the tentacle which had ensnared her was actually one of the arms of the Glob, elongated all out of proportion. Thunder born not of nature, boomed out, and a bright flash of light sprouted from the long-haired man's rifle, which was now pointed at January.

January's head rocked back, and stars filled her vision. Not even the Nazi Werebear had hit like that. It felt like she had been struck by a freight train. But she could not cover up with her hands, or otherwise defend herself. It was all that she could do to keep from dropping Lighthammer.

She was vaguely aware of being pulled closer in, so that she was directly in front of the man wearing all black. He was the one who had pummeled Lighthammer just a moment before and sent him sprawling. Now he took his time and wound up another blow. A moment later it hit home on January's chin.

Again, her head snapped back. It was even harder than the rifle shot had been, if that was even possible. She tasted blood in her mouth, and felt her teeth loosen. But if there was anything she knew how to do, it was to take a hit. She had been beaten up by the best her junior high school had to offer. This was no different, except that now she was older, and so were the bullies.

It took a few moments for the world to come back into focus. When it did, she saw that the long-haired man had twisted his body around backwards. He thrust out his rifle behind him with one hand. Its muzzle flashed brightly, and thunder roared from the barrel. January's adhesive grenade shattered into pieces under the shot, and the blue haze binding the villain's feet to the rollercoaster vanished.

The Man in Black wound up again. This time January was able to pull her wings close around her and Lighthammer. When the punch landed, it struck the hagfish feathers. January and Lighthammer swung like a punching bag. But it did not feel nearly as bad as his initial blow. Her wings, it seemed, could take a hit even better than her body.

Now that she had her wits back, it was her turn to strike back. The sky above was a solid sheet of clouds, from which rain already pelted. She tore open the firmament, and brought down her own hammer of light. A silver-white lance of electricity blasted down all around them, and sent every one of them airborne.

January was now wreathed in lightning. The Glob still held on to her however. She swept out with a wing, and neatly sliced his arm in two. The villain's disembodied hand seemed to turn fully liquid, and dripped from her body. In the meantime the electricity wrapped up in January's form discharged into him. That sent him collapsing onto the surface of the rollercoaster in a literal puddle.

She and Lighthammer were falling fast. With every second, the concrete below loomed nearer She snapped out her wings and pulled back with all her might. At the same time she pitched up and out of her sheer vertical drop, and turned that downward momentum into lateral speed. Gravity jealously pulled at her, making her limbs feel like they were made of lead. But she resisted its tug, and willed herself away from the earth.

Their fall had taken them down to the lowest track of the roller coaster, where the cars returned to their embarkation point. The blue steel of a safety walkway that girded the track filled January's vision. She pulled away from it, but not quick enough to avoid it scraping along the back of Lighthammer's already damaged armor. January cringed inwardly, but forced herself onward.

Now the concrete of a road that trailed along the edge of the peninsula rose up in her face. January continued to pitch back and up, to pull herself out of her dive. She was just about to finally successfully do so, when a gun barked in the night air. The force of a hurricane struck her in the back, sending both her and Lighthammer sprawling down to the concrete below. January reacted by reflex, and wrapped her wings around them in a protective shell.

They hit the street an instant later. Chunks of pavement sprayed up around them, like the wake of a ship cutting through the sea. Only it was January's hagfish-enhanced wings that were doing the cutting, even as they absorbed most of the shock of the collision with the earth. Still, they careened down the road between the roller coaster and the marina.

They did not come to a halt until they were beside the first, big hill of the Blue Streak. The wooden roller coaster rose high into the sky, but was still dwarfed by the soaring height of the Valravn behind them.

January turned back to see that the trio of villains atop the rollercoaster. The Man in Black hung from the edge by his hands, and was slowly pulling himself back up. The Glob was still a puddle. Though January did see his severed limb flowed back into the rest of his body. But aside from that, he did not look to be getting up anytime soon. Finally the Rifleman had gone down to one knee, and was taking careful aim at her though his gun sight.

Before he could fire again, January raised a free hand of her own, and gestured to the rain clouds overhead. She tore the sky open once more, and ripped silver-white fire from it. A bolt of lightning lanced down, and blasted directly into the form of the gunman. The night lit up white for an instant, as the electricity hammered down.

Afterimages danced in front of January's eyes, and she tried to blink them away. Lighthammer shifted underneath her free hand, reminding her of what her primary mission was. She turned away from the roller coaster and the villains perched atop it. It was time to leave.

She gathered up the vigilante with both hands once more, and leapt back into the sky. She swerved between two smaller hills of the Blue Streak, and winged out over the long roof of a white building further inland. Then she was over the main midway of the park, and soared past the front gates. She tried to keep as low to the ground as she could, so that she did not silhouette herself against the horizon. She did not turn back to see what the villains were doing. But the entire time she was certain that another blast from that gunner would come lancing out to knock her from the sky once more.

A wide open parking lot now slipped past beneath her belly. That only exacerbated January's feeling of being exposed. She winged to the left, where she saw a chain of trees sprouting near the shoreline. She dove behind their concealing branches as fast as she could, and winged her way along the beach that rimmed the lake.

"I can get you to the Raven's Nest," January said to the vigilante wrapped up in her arms. "Blood Raven might be able to absorb your wounds."

"No, just take me home," Lighthammer croaked in reply. "I know someone who can help."

"Ok, where to?"

"Cleveland," the vigilante rumbled. "Just follow the lake."

January did as he asked, and darted through the skies along the shoreline.

[Acadian]

’Superheroes were supposed to be paragons of courage. But she had never been anything but afraid in every battle she had ever been in.’
- - That Jan is apprehensive, even fearful, before a battle is a good thing and much more favorable to her survival than overconfidence.

What a motley – and dangerous - crew whooping up on Lighthammer!

A masterfully written battle that had me on the edge of my seat.

’Before he could fire again, January raised a free hand of her own, and gestured to the rain clouds overhead. She tore the sky open once more, and ripped silver-white fire from it. A bolt of lightning lanced down, and blasted directly into the form of the gunman. The night lit up white for an instant, as the electricity hammered down.’
- - You’ve done a great job of gradually turning our martial arts superhero into one who has truly earned her name. Able to coax lightning from the sky! The Sky Goddess must truly favor this one!

Wow, Jan really took a beating before she got herself sorted out – hampered doubtless by the requirement to protect Lighthammer. I chuckled as I was reminded of a typical Rocky Balboa fight where Rocky uses his face to wear down his foe before really getting down to business.

Lighthammer is luckier than he realizes to have the Stormcrow as an ally.

[Renee]

Uch, roller coasters & rides. They freak me out, but my daughter loves them. I'm too afraid of heights. I gotta admit that one ride (the really tall one) is pretty impressive. I can't help but imagine the entire thing falling into that beautiful water though, in my fears! Are you good with those sort of rides, Rosa?

She's flying over Lake Erie, shesus. Rumor is there are catfish as large as cars in there, at least that's we heard in Maryland when we were kids.

Uh oh. So that's Lighthammer getting his ass kicked. What the heck.

Those villains are odd. Oh, I see. So one of them is some sort of monster. It throws a tentacle out, like some sort of Transformer or something. Yuck.

Cool, glad she defeated those idiots. I mean, what were they thinking? Not with their right minds, that's for srue. I mean sure.

I am not even sure how supers across borders works. It is not like anyone is going to ask for their passport. Though I am sure January is too small to show up on radar.

It is un-chartered territory, so far as whatever laws go, right? I imagine if congress or the aviation administration or whomever was going to write laws for this sort of stuff they'd have to treat flying heroes similar to planes crossing borders.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I want to make sure that January comes across as human. She feels fear and doubt as much as anyone else. Sometimes I forget to convey that, so I look for opportunities to reinforce it.

The original battle was a lot shorter, and very tightly focused on January rescuing Lighthammer and escaping. But after looking back on it, it felt unsatisfying. So I padded it out, and gave the trio of assassins more time to hammer away at both January, and show what each of them could do. This is not the last time we will see them!

I never really imagined January as being such a Sky-aligned character. But it really has worked out that way as she embraces her wings more and more. I am glad about that, she is evolving into a direction that is natural for her. Plus there are not too many Bird/Winged type supers. That alone really makes me want to lean into her bird-nature to make her more distinctive.

She used her nose to break his fist, in true Rocky Balboa style! Thanks to a truly pathetic boxing match that my neighbors roped me into seeing, I went back and YouTubed Ali vs Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle. Now that was a fight! It is stunning just how fast Ali was. I could not even see some of his punches in normal speed.

The Hammer does realize how lucky he is. As we will learn later this Chapter/Book. She is just as lucky to have him as a friend as well. This Book is her paying him back for his help against the Nazis during Crystal Death. He will be there for her again in the future, more than once.



Renee: I do not like heights either, so I am not a big fan of rollercoasters. I have ridden them, and they are ok. But I have not done so in a long time. When I was younger I used to go to Cedar Point every few years with various friends. It is close enough to the D for folks from here to make the trip on the regular. The Valravn coaster is new. They built it just a few years ago. Its the tallest dive coaster in the world. For the moment at least.

I don't think the catfish are that big in Lake Erie! I did do a lot of reading up on the islands in Lake Erie for this chapter though. Some have some neat history. One is called Vomit Island. I almost used it in the story. But went with another one.

Those three supervillains definitely had Lighthammer in a bad place. The rest of the Book will revolve around them, and why they are after him.

The weird thing about supers crossing borders is the whole secret identity thing. In the Crowverse, there are laws protecting supers' secret IDs. So they would not have to produce a passport. But at the same time, they might be crossing a border, which could be illegal. So it is tricky. The thing I always remember is that a world with superheros would have to adapt to their existence, not the other way around. It would be like the old days, the really old days of myth rather than history, when demigods walked the land. People like January and Blood Raven are equivalent to modern day Hercules and Perseus.





Cleveland 01 - Cuyahoga River

Cleveland 01 (January's Route)

Cleveland 02 - Close up on the mouth of the Cuyahoga

Cleveland 03 - The Irishtown Bend of the Cuyahoga

The Detroit Superior Bridge




Book 7.7 - Hammer Down
June 17

The miles stretched by underneath as January followed the shoreline. She stayed out over the water however. Almost all of the earth below seemed to be filled with homes or businesses, especially in those places where a river emptied its contents into Lake Erie. She would rather not be seen just now. Not with enemies somewhere behind her, and an injured compatriot nestled in her arms.

Is that what Lighthammer was now, a compatriot? January still was not sure. She did know what he was not, and that was the enemy. That was enough.

He groaned under her, and she thought she saw him cough up something dark. She could feel numerous dents in his armor. She did not know what kind of metal it was made of, but clearly, it had not been up to the task of defending against his three opponents. After having just a small taste of what they could do herself, January was not surprised.

She glanced back over her shoulder, but saw no sign of pursuit. She hoped they were not tracking her, or him, somehow. Otherwise they could follow at their leisure, and pounce once she finally let her guard down.

"Almost there Lightguy," January murmured. "I see a lot of lights up ahead. I think that is the Land of Cleve."

"Look for a big blue bridge over the river," Lighthammer rasped. "It'll be just in from the lake, behind the port."

Some of the lights ahead resolved themselves into skyscrapers, reaching up for the stars that glimmered high above. A sprawl of subdivisions radiated out from them, like a bed of shining diamonds that spread out ever southward into the night.

A marina passed by on January's right shoulder. Then a breakwater slid by under her stomach, creating a small harbor along the relatively straight coastline. A ship was docked next to the shore. It was a thousand feet long, and bore the characteristic high port and stern castles of a lake freighter, while its long midsection sat low to the water. As January soared past, a giant conveyor built into the ship slowly poured out black pellets. She imagined that was iron ore, and it piled up in a huge mound on the dock.

After the iron boat they passed a marina filled with pleasure boats. She saw another set of breakers jutting into the harbor here, bracketing the point where a wide river emptied out into the lake. An old style drawbridge rose up just inland to span the watercourse.

Farther back ashore, January saw the blue bridge that Lighthammer had mentioned. It rose up high into the air above the Cuyahoga, and extended a good distance over the ground in either direction as well. Its understructure was all graceful curves painted bright azure, and glowed against the skyline under a sea of florescent lights. The top was completely flat, without any of the superstructure January was used to seeing on big bridges.

January banked hard over the river, and dipped down to pass beneath the drawbridge. The waters of the river skipped by just underneath them, and January could feel the dampness against the exposed skin of her chin. To their left rose the forest of skyscrapers of downtown Cleveland. The land to the right was low and flat, with large empty parking lots, and a handful of buildings. Behind them were more docks that lined a canal that jutted out to the side of the main river. She even saw another freighter tied up behind a massive iron crane.

January flew under that big blue bridge next. The sound of cars that drove across it was a low roar above her. Once beyond it, she flew past what looked like an old factory, but the signs in front of it said it was an aquarium. Right next to it was a giant pavilion of white tents. January had to bank hard to the right once she passed it, as the river looped into a sharp bend.

Suddenly a pair of bridges loomed up in front of her. One crossed the river low down to the water at a right angle. Its steel frame was either rusted, or painted red. January could not tell in the gloom. Towering above it was a much grander structure that crossed the water at a slant. This bridge was supported by massive concrete supports underneath, complemented by gently curving arches between each pylon. The center of the structure was steel, with an arch that rose up from below the roadway, and gently curved overhead.

"It's right past here," Lighthammer said. "Watch the bridges."

January put all of her attention into flying. It always looked so easy when people did it in movies. But the real thing was something else. While she might wish to do one thing, the forces of gravity and velocity had minds of their own. She imposed her will upon her flight, knowing that if she failed, she would splatter the both of them against a mountain of steel and concrete.

But Lighthammer's lessons had born fruit, and January was able to dart through the gap between the two metal structures. Suddenly the land to her right was densely populated with trees. It was a veritable wall of green. To her left the land was all concrete and industrial buildings, bisected by another great raised roadway that ran from north to south.

"Set us down in those woods," Lighthammer insisted. "The entrance to the Light Cave is hidden in there."

January banked hard once more, and feathered out her wings to bleed off speed. She passed over a small road that ran alongside the river. Then she was in the trees beyond, and it took every ounce of her concentration to avoid spearing them on the numerous branches and boughs that jutted out all around them. She consciously poured her mana into her wings, and ducked, dove, and rolled her way to the ground. In spite of her efforts leaves slapped her face, and small branches skittered across both her armor and Lighthammer's already damaged gear.

Then they were on solid ground once more. For a moment it felt strange to feel the earth under her feet. It had been a long flight from Detroit. She was tempted to make a joke about her wings being tired. But in fact, they were not. After all, it had been nothing compared to her flight with Gola to Lake Michigan and back.

January set Lighthammer down. He seemed fine for a moment. But then his left leg buckled under him, and she was forced to reach out to steady him with a hand. He winced, but otherwise said nothing. He reached into a pocket and withdrew what looked like a key fob for a car. He waved it this way and that, and finally seemed satisfied a moment later.

"That way," he nodded. Then he limped into the trees.

They looked no different from the other trees that towered all around them. But January did not question the vigilante. Instead she matched her stride to his, and slowly they made their way into the deeper underbrush. January felt her wings catch on the branches more than once, and did her best to flatten them against her back and shoulders. Real birds never seemed to have that problem. They could fly into and out of trees and bushes with ease. She was going to have to work on that.

Soon they came to a rotted out tree stump. It was covered in moss, and surrounded by smaller, leafy bushes. Lighthammer took a moment to look around, and January did the same. But she saw no observers.

We should be ok," January breathed. "My video camouflage has been on this whole time, so no one can record us."

"You got that too," Lighthammer grunted. "I just bought a jammer a few days ago. Knocks out all video signals though, so it's kind of obvious something is going on."

"Fred Sanford, at it again," January smiled.

Lighthammer pushed a button on his remote, and a definite click sounded beneath the tree stump. Lighthammer stepped forward and reached a hand down into the rotted wood. His flesh literally vanished into the remains of the tree, making January wonder if it was an illusion of some kind. She had some recent experience with that, thanks to Gola. A moment later Lighthammer lifted the entire stump up, revealing it to be the camouflaged cover of a massive steel hatch.

"You know the Junkman?" Lighthammer turned back a moment, still holding the hatch up with one hand.

"I am the one who suggested that he sell his inventions online," January replied.

"What a small world after all," Lighthammer murmured. He led the way down through the hatch. January found there was a stone stairway beneath it, leading into the darkness. Once it was dogged shut behind them, Lighthammer touched another button on his remote, and a string of light bulbs glowed to life overhead. They stretched down a narrow tunnel that was lined with bricks, and gently curved into an arch overhead. It smelled musty and damp, and the brick and stonework was clearly chipped and crumbling in places.

"This is an old Underground Railroad station," Lighthammer explained as he led the way. He walked on his own now, but clearly favored one leg, and kept a hand braced against the wall at all times. "That is why I bought it."

"You bought the tunnel?" January wondered.

"No," Lighthammer chuckled, "the place it goes to. You'll see."

January did see. After traveling several hundred feet underneath Cleveland, they came to a small chamber, with another stone stairway rising into the ceiling. Another steel trapdoor sat above, which Lighthammer again unlocked with his remote.

"You're lucky that thing didn't get destroyed in the fight," January noted. "Otherwise you'd be locked out."

"No, there's a manual override." Lighthammer pushed the door upward, and it made a resounding clang as it swung back down and hit the concrete floor beside the opening. January rose up after him, and saw that they were in a basement lined with cinderblock walls. It had been turned into a workshop, with numerous power tools, workbenches, and like scattered around. In spite of the massive exhaust fans set into the ceiling, it smelled of oil and metallic fumes. A welding torch and face shield revealed the source of the latter. This was evidently the place where Lighthammer worked on his armor.

"Looks like you have your Armorer skill up to 100..." January mused.

"Something like that," Lighthammer laughed. "I was always good in shop class. There's an art to molding metal, creating new shapes from it. It helps me relax."

"Gymnastics is like that for me," January nodded, "and writing."

"You write?" Lighthammer said. His voice took on a distinctive Western twang. "Letters and such?"

January laughed at that.

"I reckon so pardner," she replied. "I've even been known to use the telegraph a time 'er two."

Then he was falling, and January snapped out her arms to catch him. He coughed hard, and blood splattered across the two of them. January eased him down onto a bench, and gently laid him back across its wooden surface. Now that she could see him in the light, it was clear that he was injured much worse than she had originally guessed. His torso armor was a ruin. It looked like he had been eaten by a dragon and spat out. His legs were no better. In fact, one of them looked completely crushed.

"That's it," she declared, "I'm calling Blood Raven."

She was reaching for Sága when he raised an arm to stop her.

"No," he coughed. "Just let me call a friend of mine. He can patch me up."

His other hand fumbled for his utility belt. January reached down to guide his fingers, and brought forth a smashed ruin of plastic and glass.

"Snap, you'll have to dial." He let the ruined phone clatter in pieces to the concrete floor below. January brought up Sága's phone interface, and dialed in the numbers he specified. It was ringing a moment later, and she held her arm-mounted digital assistant up to Lighthammer's mouth so that he could speak.

"Rev, it's me," he said. "I have a real need to get right with the Lord, and I mean right now."

"I don't know this number," a gravelly voice emanated from Sága's screen.

Lighthammer did not respond. January looked from her mini-computer screen to the wounded man. His head lay back on the bench, and his eyes were closed. Her heart stopped for a moment. Then she realized he was still breathing.

"Hi, um, this is a finely, feathered friend of your friend," January finally said in reply. She was keenly aware that anyone could be listening to their conversation. Wireless phone calls could be intercepted by anyone with the right equipment after all. So she did not want to use any names that might give any of them away. "I'm using my own link, that's why the number is different. Our mutual friend is here, and he needs your help, bad. He said you could do that."

"Lord save us," the other voice sighed. "What's that damned fool... Never mind, just tell me where you are."

"At his place," January said, "in the basement."

"Ok," the man said. "Take him upstairs if you can. I'll meet you there. I've got a key."

[Renee]

When they fly it must be so peaceful, assuming they're not on a mission or dealing with enemies. Like flying a glider. There's no noise, right? I'm just imagining how quiet it must be, except for some wind noise perhaps.

I think Lighthammer could be a compatriot. Simply because superheroes are so rare. Jan and Hammer also do get along okay. I can see them becoming friends / working together more. Sort of like if some punk rock girl goes off to college, and suddenly finds she's the only punk rock girl with pink & green hair on the entire campus. And then one day a second student shows up, and he's into Christian Death and old Dead Kennedys and so on. Just the fact they share those facets is enough to make them at least notice one another. Only question is, do they get along enough to be friends? And I think with Hammer and Jan, they kinda do.

Although Hammer going around saying "Ooo-rah" might be weird.

January put all of her attention into flying. It always looked so easy when people did it in movies. But the real thing was something else. While she might wish to do one thing, the forces of gravity and velocity had minds of their own. She imposed her will upon her flight, knowing that if she failed, she would splatter the both of them against a mountain of steel and concrete.

Oops. Scratch that text above about flying being peaceful.

January felt her wings catch on the branches more than once, and did her best to flatten them against her back and shoulders. Real birds never seemed to have that problem. They could fly into and out of trees and bushes with ease

Yeah, you know? Birds also have their eyes on the sides of their head. How is it they aren't constantly flying into stuff which is straight in front of them?

Oh my gosh, he's got a secret lair beneath a tree stump????

Let me finish this later....

[Acadian]

’The thing I always remember is that a world with superheros would have to adapt to their existence, not the other way around.’
- - I really think this is the best answer. The only way to control or police a superhero is with another superhero. Perhaps an ‘International Federation of Whitehats’ might arise and deign to be of assistance.


"Almost there Lightguy," January murmured. "I see a lot of lights up ahead. I think that is the Land of Cleve."
- - Wonderful touch of humor in a tense situation.

Jan is right to admire birds in some ways. But I’m sure the little winged critters probably admire Jan for her ability not to accidently fly into glass windows.

So the Lightcave seems more like a Darkcave so far. Gosh, I hope Gravel Voice lives up to Lightguy’s expectations when it comes to healing!

I remember in the aftermath of that burning building long ago when Blood Raven held back Jan’s hair for her when she vomited. I knew then that Blood Raven was a friend. So it is now with Lighthammer spewing blood upon both of them and Jan steadfastly tending to his needs. Again, I hope Lighthammer remains worthy of Jan’s friendship.

[SubRosa]

Renee: I think that most times flying is very peaceful. Except those occasions when you have to do something really tricky. Then it is exciting! It is definitely one of the things Jan loves best about being a superhero.

Put a pin in what you are saying about Jan and Lighthammer kind of being two peas in a pod because of their circumstances. That will be addressed directly next week.

Lighthammer will be saying Ooorah!

As Acadian noted, birds do fly into glass windows. I think that is because they are not wired up to understand glass however.


Acadian: There are superteams out there, like the Sentinels in Chicago. Plus there would be meta-humans working for the military and govt. agencies. That goes back to the Red Baron in WWI. So there are supers around with varying levels of governmental authority/limitations.

More of the Lightcave this episode, along with Gravel-Voice.

Jan is definitely a good friend to have.












Lighthammer (Lance Gross)


Inspiration for the work out room

Inspiration for the church house, looking toward the front door (the Light Cave is not this opulent however)

The Light Cave, looking toward the back of the house


The picture of the plane




Chapter 7.8 - Hammer Down
June 17

January leaned down to pick Lighthammer up once more. Her eyes slid over his battered - and in some places bloody - armor. Then she glanced over to the metal-working tools, and noticed a person-shaped rack next to them. Clearly, that was where he stored his armor when it was not in use.

If his friend was some kind of doctor or nurse, then he would have to take off that armor to see to his wounds. This was obviously the place to do it, so January decided that she might as well get that done ahead of time.

She fumbled with the metal plate on one arm, then the other. She continued on with his shoulder and chest pieces, and found that he wore an under suit of some kind of fabric armor beneath. It felt squishy to her touch, which made her wonder if some form of gelatin was encased within the woven material.

"Those metal plates look like Armex Steel," Gadget noted in her ear, "and I'd bet Septims to sausages that the base layer is ballistic goo suspended in Kevlar."

"All that sounds impressive," January said as she moved to the plates over his legs.

"It's pretty good," the high-tech genius observed. "The under suit alone is enough to stop a bullet. The juiced up steel will at least slow down anything more powerful."

"Apparently it didn't slow down enough," January noted.

"Those three can really hit," Gadget said. "I'm working on getting an ID on them, but nothing so far. I am guessing they are not from around here."

"Well, I think you can call it a day," January breathed. "This will probably take a while. I might stay here for the night, just to be sure. If my mom asks, tell her I am spending the night at your place."

"Roger that," Gadget said. "One gaming all-nighter coming up. Thank goodness we are nerds. Otherwise making excuses would be a lot harder."

"Yeah, we'd have to pretend that we were straight," January mused as she finished with one leg.

"Oh behave!" Gadget laughed.

January heard the soft click of him severing his end of the communications. That left her alone with Lighthammer. She pondered the metal armor over his final leg. This was the one that looked completely crushed. She looked this way and that, to see if there was a way she might take it off without further injuring him. The last thing she wanted to do was pull out the only thing that was preventing him from bleeding to death.

She noticed something odd about the area just below his knee. This part was not damaged. But there was something wrong nonetheless. There appeared to be a locking mechanism, that somehow snapped the lower half of the armor to the upper. She fiddled with it, and after a moment his entire lower leg popped off with a sucking noise of released pressure.

January stared in horror. What had she done! Her eyes went from his lower leg, which she now held aloft in one hand, to his upper leg, which still lay there with the rest of him on the bench. She wondered if she could put it back before it was too late. Maybe the doctor could restore it? Sew it back on?

Then she saw that there was no blood seeping from the end of his severed leg. Nor was there any from the end of his still-attached limb. Instead, she saw that there was a piece of padded cloth there. But that made no sense to her. How could someone have put that there, inside his leg?

"I see you found Peggy Mark II then..."

January almost jumped through the ceiling at the sound of Lighthammer's voice. She looked up to his helmeted face, then stared guiltily at the severed limb in her hand. She wanted to drop it. But that would be rude. It was his leg after all. Instead she set it down gently on the concrete floor.

"Peggy... what?" she sputtered.

"Peggy," he said, "Mark II. I only wear it in the armor. My regular leg is in there."

January followed his nod to a locker behind the bench. She leaned over him, and it opened with a squawk of angry hinges. An ordinary set of clothing hung within. At the bottom lay a single shoe, along with a prosthetic leg. It even had the mate of that one shoe already slung over the foot.

She leaned back with a sigh of relief. She had not maimed him. Apparently that had happened some time ago. Her relief vanished under a wave of guilt. Just because she was not responsible, that hardly made it better.

"I had no idea," she breathed. "You get around so well without it. I mean with it. I mean..."

"Yeah, I know. I'm pretty light on my feet." Lighthammer forced a wink. "It took a long time, and a lot of hard work. I was lucky though. It was below the knee. It would have been a lot worse if it had been higher."

"Right, so your doc is on the way," January tried to shift back to business. "I'm thinking I'd better get you out of the rest of your armor before he gets here."

"Yeah, it's got to come off sooner or later," the vigilante said. He lifted a shaky hand to his head, and tugged at his helmet. "You're gonna have to help me with this."

"Are you sure," January looked on in shock. Revealing your face was secret identity territory. "You don't have to do that."

"You know where I live already," he said. "And if I can't trust you by now, when am I ever going to?"

"I guess so." January reached out, and gently slid the helmet from his features. The latter turned out to be a sight Avery would have definitely appreciated. His eyes were the same deep brown shade as his skin. An upturn at the outer edges of his brows made him look perpetually incredulous. His heart-shaped face ended in a strong chin, which was decorated with a short, neatly-trimmed beard.

He coughed blood, which kind of ruined the moment, as did the massive bruise over one eye, and another that marred his cheek.

January glanced at Sága's display on her wrist to make sure that her video camo was still on. Then she reached up and pulled back cubic boron plates and hagfish under armor that encased her skull. She pulled her ponytail out of the hole in the back, and let it swing free down her neck. She looked back at him, only to find that he had passed out once more.

She resisted the urge to laugh. Instead she pulled her winged helmet back up over her features, and set to work sliding him out of the inner suit of armor. It was softer, and more flexible, but that only made it more difficult to shimmy him out of than the metal plates, which simply snapped on over it.

When she was finally done he was clad in just his underwear. She lifted him back up into her arms, and turned to the stairway up. Then she glanced back, and leaned down with one hand to pick up his ordinary, unarmored prosthetic leg. She laid that over his supine form, and carried him upstairs.

She found that the basement let out into a short hallway. Right beside her in the corridor was a laundry room. Across from it was the open door to a work-out room. It was filled with exercise gear, such as a weight machine, stationary bicycle, free weights, and the like. A giant flatscreen television took up one corner of the room, and the walls were decorated with posters of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Wu-Tang Clan.

The hall came to an end just a few feet away, at a pair of thick, black double doors. January imagined that they led to the street outside the building. She turned in the opposite direction, and followed the hall out into a wide open space. The vaulted ceiling was rich brown cedar, and the walls were creamy white. The hard wood floor beneath her was a reddish hue.

To her right were some small couches and a TV set. Set into the corner of the wall were a pair of bookcases, jammed with novels, hardcovers, and a stack of magazines. Farther back in the room stood a marble fireplace, with several more chairs and a thick fur carpet spread out before it.

Set incongruously above the mantel was a picture of an airplane. January did not know what kind it was, except that it had two jet engines mounted onto its hull, just behind its weapon-laden wings. A wide mouth packed with sharp teeth was painted upon its nose, below a pair of angry eyes. Jutting from beneath the nose cone, as if emerging from the shark-like jaws painted there, was a big rotary cannon.

The walls to her left and right were cut with tall, vertical windows topped with gentle arcs. They were filled with engraved glass, and were dotted with numerous tiny lights from the cityscape outside. The high ceiling came down to an alcove farther back, with a pointed arch overhead. Within that space was a dining area, and then finally a kitchen. January glanced up to her left, and saw a stairway that wound up to a second story, set above the narrow hall she had just stepped out of.

The entire place was one of arches, and lofty space. After a moment January realized that was a church, which had been converted to a home.

With that in mind, she went to the stair and followed it up. She came to a set of bedrooms and a bathroom. She briefly considered putting him in the tub to wash him off. Then she thought better of it. Now was a time for gentleness, not hard, cold surfaces and blasting water. So she led him into a room whose door was already open, and laid him on the bed.

The sheets on his king-sized bed were deep blue, and the furniture scattered around the room was of chipped and faded wood. A framed degree in Aeronautical Engineering hung from one wall. Beside it was a picture of him wearing a flight suit and standing next to the nose of a jet. January saw the name "Yard Sale" written under the cockpit in flowing script.

Another picture on the dresser showed Lighthammer (in civilian attire) with an older man and woman, plus a man younger than him. Another framed picture on the night stand showed a younger version of him in an air force uniform. His arm was wrapped around the neck of a teenage boy in a basketball jersey. Both were beaming from ear to ear.

That had to be his mother, father, and brother, January imagined. She lay him down on top of the sheets. Then she stood there with Peggy Mark I in her hand. She was not sure what to do with it. It was not like she had much experience with men's legs, real or artificial. In the end she set it gently down on the floor beside the night stand, where it would be in easy reach from the bed.

Lighthammer looked like twenty miles of bad road. His nearly naked frame was covered in massive bruises, especially on his forearms and torso. The first were clearly defensive wounds. The latter were evidence that the trio of villains had preferred to work over his body. Not that his legs were free of harm either, nor his face. But in comparison to the red and purple landscape of his chest and stomach, they looked good.

January winced at the sight. She could identify all too well. But even the bullies in school had never tortured her this badly. This trio had clearly been intent upon beating him to death. Given the armor he had been wearing, they obviously had some serious power as well. It looked like he had been stomped on by a dinosaur.

January heard the rattle of metal against metal from somewhere down below, and then the creaking of hinges. Her hands rose to her head, to make sure her winged helmet and its face-covering cowl were still in place. Then she glanced at herself in the mirror across from the bed, to be sure she had herself in order.

Then she strode from the room and down the short hallway. She stopped at the small balcony that overlooked the main chamber, and waited for the visitor to show himself. She hoped it was the person that Lighthammer had called. If it was a family member, or ordinary friend, then she was going to have to do some quick explaining.

She rehearsed in her head what she would say if that was the case. That he was just an ordinary person she had found injured and taken home. There would definitely be no mention of Lighthammering. The more vague her story, the better it would be. One thing she had learned as a writer was that sometimes it was best to let the reader fill in the blanks themselves.

"Lucas?" a voice rang out below. A moment later its author stepped into view. January could see that his head was shaved down to a shine. But the short curly beard that clung to his features was completely gray. He wore a suit that looked more expensive than January's annual income. Granted, that was not saying much.

"Hi!" January said in her perky phone voice. The one she was trying so hard not to make while suited up. At least she resisted the urge to wave. "He's up here, in the bedroom."

He spun about and caught January's gaze. For a moment he looked surprised. January tried not to frown. She wanted to be as non-threatening as possible. But given that she was a superhero dramatically appearing in someone else's house, well, she understood.

"I'm Stormcrow," January said as the man made his way up the stairs. She noted that he was not carrying any medical supplies, or anything else really. "I hope you are the Rev."

"Oh, I know who you are." The way the older man said it did not sound at all inviting. "Everyone does."

January resisted the urge to frown once more. She had gotten the cold shoulder enough times in her life to know how to gauge the temperature in the room. So she said nothing, and simply waited for him to reach the top of the steps. Then she led the way into the bedroom. Once within she stood aside, and gave him space to do, well, whatever he was there to do.

He looked down at the younger man's tortured frame and shook his head. He reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket, and withdrew a small, dog-eared bible. He laid the worn book down upon Lighthammer's chest, and creaked down to his knees. The Reverend put his hands together in prayer and lowered his head. His lips moved, but January did not hear any words issue from his mouth.

Long minutes dragged by, and January wondered if he was some sort of faith healer. He was clearly not an ordinary doctor. She closed her eyes, and reached out into the astral. The walls and furniture of the room faded to near obscurity. But the forms of Lighthammer and the Reverend sprang to bright life. Neither bore the vivid colors of a magic user. Yet they were not the faded coals of a mundane person either. Instead they were somewhere between, with enough light and warmth to set them aside from regular people, but still dim candles compared to the brilliant torch of a magician.

She saw that light intensify within the Reverend. Slowly, a little at a time, he shone with brighter and brighter power. Then he reached out to lay his hand over the bible on Ligthhammer's chest. January felt that power flow into the injured man. She saw it wash through his broken form, and knit bones and flesh back together.

In some ways it reminded her of the healing trance that Blood Raven had recently taught her to enter. Like it, this power seemed to supercharge the natural healing process. But it clearly had its limits, as it did not restore Lighthammer's missing leg. Still, watching the more recent injuries he possessed wash away was nothing short of amazing.

January wondered if given enough practice, someday she could induce her healing trance within another. It was certainly something to think about. Given how much there was for her to learn however, she imagined it might take quite some time to get to.

When he was finally done, the Reverend leaned back with a weary sigh. He drew his hand back, and tucked the bible back into his pocket. Leaning heavily upon the bed, he struggled to his feet. January was at his side in an instant, and reached out to steady him. But the Reverend shook her off violently.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed.

January was taken aback. This was in spite of her guard already being up, given his earlier frostiness. She said nothing. There was no point arguing with a bigot. He either hated her because she was a lesbian, or because she was trans. Or maybe it was from a host of other possible reasons. None of them were really any different from the others when it came down to it.

It was nothing new to January.

He leaned over Lighthammer's form, and laid a comforting hand on his forehead. He did not even look at January as he turned to walk out. Nor did he say a word to her. January looked from him to Lighthammer. He was clearly much better now. His bruises were gone, and so far as she could tell, everything under the skin was back in all the original pieces as well. His eyes remained closed however, but at least he did not look like he was unconscious. Instead he appeared to simply be sleeping normally.

January took a few moments to lift him up from the bed, and pulled back the covers with one hand. She set him down once more, and pulled the sheets up to his neck. She briefly considered washing him off now with a cloth, but decided against it. That might be a bit too personal. She would not want a practical stranger doing that to her. She did not even want Blood Raven doing that to her.

She walked from the room, and found that the Reverend had made it down the stairs already. He passed from view beneath the second floor balcony as he headed down the short hall to the front door. January vaulted over the rail with ease, and put on a half-twist before dropping lightly on her feet.

"Maybe I should drive you home," January offered at his back. "It looks like that took a lot of effort."

"You've done enough already." The Reverend did not even bother to turn around to look at her as he grumbled. He just continued on to the door on shaky feet. January tried not to hope he didn't get into a car accident on the way home. Well, she tried at least.

She locked the front door behind him after he left, being cautious to avoid being seen from the street. Then she headed back up the stairs, and looked back in on Lighthammer. He seemed to be sleeping gently now. She sank into the only chair in the room, and brought up Sága's writing interface. At least she could do something productive as she whiled away the hours.

[Acadian]

"Those metal plates look like Armex Steel," Gadget noted in her ear, "and I'd bet Septims to sausages that the base layer is ballistic goo suspended in Kevlar."
- - Wonderful use of gamer lingo and a fascinating description. It sounds effective but very different from what Jan is using.

You did a great job of describing Jan’s understandable confusion and incredulity as she removed Lighthammer’s leg! A serious surprise.

I like how you remind us of Jan’s endearing shortcomings that make her real and human. Like not recognizing the aircraft type in that picture of the A-10 (why would she?) and still struggling with her ‘perky voice’.

That ‘reverend’ packs some serious laying on of hands. I question his credentials otherwise though due to his dismissive attitude regarding Jan. His reasoning might be interesting to learn but, as Jan says to herself (more or less) he has displayed enough of his character for her to probably discount him/write him off.