The Stormcrow, A Superhero's Tale Options

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Huh, so THAT'S what that sickle sword is called. A khopesh. I'd seen it before but never really thought about what it was actually called. Looks so cool. And that armor in the picture you linked is dope too. The Egyptians had some really rad-looking outfits and weapons (including Egyptian-looking stuff that isn't or probably isn't historically accurate).

Summoning and "de-conjuring" weapons and shields and such is one of the coolest superpowers to have. (I wish I could do that....) Unfortunate that a villain is the one that can do it. Could January do that with lightning, though? That would be seriously badass to create swords, shields, etc. out of pure electricity.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 4 2021, 03:15 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Lighthammer and Stormcrow did their homework, and had this fight worked out in advance. At least until Nitokris crashed the party. Just one example of how things don't go quite the way you expect.

Nitokris was originally going to be a powered armor character, wearing a suit of ancient themed armor. I was originally looking at ancient Greek Hoplite armor turned power armor. Then I found some Egyptian themed suit of futuristic armor. Then I came across that pic of the Egyptian armor I linked to. Once I saw that, I knew that had to be it. But that was not going to work as a suit of power armor. So I pivoted to magic.

Then I thought of Nitokris, who was a real queen of Egypt, who reputedly invited all of her enemies to a feast in a special banquet hall. The room was below the Nile, and once they were all there, she opened up the floodgates and drowned them. Whether any of this is true or not, I liked the cut of her jib. She makes a great villain. The HPLHS folks used her in a few of their Dark Adventure Radio dramas. So I thought I might as well jump on the bandwagon as well.

Rather than have it be the original Nitokris still alive, I took another step, and decided it was just her suit of armor which was magical. It has been passed on from one wearer to another. There is a lot more to it than that. It is a curse. I can see the armor and its next bearer becoming a major arch-enemy for January in Season Two. Maybe then, or later, we will dig deeper into its history and the reality of its power.

As you noted, Blood Raven's arrival changes everything. Just as team LightCrow was not prepared for Nitokris, Nitokris was not prepared for Blood Raven. I wanted to show both sides receiving unexpected reinforcements to change the odds in unexpected ways.


Renee: Jan is getting better and better at her astral sensing. I cannot say I have any experience at that sort of thing IRL. But I have played plenty of RPGs that give me a lot of material to draw upon. Astral Space is very prominent in games like Shadowrun and Earthdawn, as it is where magic originates from in both. Using magic means using astral space, and vice-versa. They are inseparable.

There is a picture of the Lady Pharoah's armor in the last post. It is what inspired me to create Nitokris. It has a lot of style. Once I saw that, I knew I had to build a character around that outfit.

Blood Raven and Nitokris have a lot of history together. Well, Blood Raven and the Nitokris armor do at least.


RaderOfTheLostArk: I forgot to put up a picture of khopesh the last time. I fixed that this go around. Those are some of the coolest swords I have ever seen.

I originally got the idea of summoning items after working on January's quick change ability. In the old RPG Champions it was a power you could take. Basically you can instantly change into your costume, no matter the circumstances. I wanted to do something like that with January. I worked it in as a form of magical transference. She swaps her suit with whatever clothes she was wearing last. Blood Raven has taken that to a higher level, in that she can also call certain items to her at any moment. Mainly things like her magic swords.

If you ever watched the old Highlander TV show, a lot of fans sort of half-joking speculated that one of the Immortals' powers was the ability to store their swords within a sort of inter dimensional pocket. They could draw their sword from it at any time. So they could be at the beach, and still pull a katana out of their bathing suit. It is also sort of inspired by that idea.

Creating a sword out of lightning? Now that is a neat idea! I had never considered that. But I might go there. In Seven 2.0 I made conjured weapons like aetherial swords look like they were made of lightning. January might learn to call lighting and create a sword with it. Or she might actually enchant lightning into a permanent sword. For Season Three or maybe Four I see her going on a big adventure across time, space, and the multiverse. I pictured her going into the past during that and learning longswording from Scáthach, who also taught Blood Raven and Cú Chulainn. She might learn to make such a sword after that.




Since I forgot to post this the last time, a Khopesh

Active Denial System - Heat Ray

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (on the left)




Book 7.21 - Hammer Down
June 25


Blood Raven glanced back. Before January could ask, she answered the question that was in the younger heroine's eyes.

"I apprehended that since you had become involved, these miscreants might call in reinforcements," the scarlet-haired woman explained. "Hence I felt it prudent to lurk nearby, just in case."

"Finish the original three," she continued. "I shall deal with Nitokris."

January moved her eyes to Obsidian, who was now free of the ruined truck and back on his feet.

The black hat came charging in, and January was forced to duck out of the way of his fists. She did not want to block his attacks. That would just give him more kinetic energy to absorb. So she became Water, and used every ounce of her gymnastics and fighting skills to slip, dodge, duck, and roll out of the way of every one of his assaults.

In the meantime Blood Raven leaped upon Nitokris, and began to trade sword blows with the Egyptian villain. Celtic iron clashed against Egyptian bronze. Magic crashed against magic. It was a battle of titans.

"Your skills have improved Nitokris," January overheard Blood Raven say to her opponent. "Shall I find another mountain to pull down upon you?"

"I don't know who you are woman," the Egyptian said in a strong accent. "But you sealed your fate when you crossed me."

"Have you forgotten me so soon?" Blood Raven jibed. "Let me refresh your memory."

Bright golden light flashed as Blood Raven sent an arcane bolt from her fingertips. Nitokris dodged aside, directly into Blood Raven's sword. The scarlet-maned heroine had reversed her grip, and now held the sword by the blade rather than the grip. Its wolf-carved crossbar hammered down into Nitokris' gleaming bronze helmet, and drove her to her knees.

January was too busy to see what happened next. She somersaulted away from Obsidian, and moved them both away from Blood Raven and Nitokris. She snapped out her wings and took to the sky. She saw that Lighthammer was still having problems with Crosshair, and an idea bloomed in her head.

"Lighthammer, Throw!" she called out.

The silver, white, and gray armored vigilante came zooming toward her a moment later. She poured on the speed, and shot right at him as well. They both swerved slightly out of each other's way to avoid colliding. Their arms reached out and their hands clasped together. Lighthammer then poured on the speed and whipped them both around in a circle. He let go after a single revolution, and sent her rocketing away faster than she could ever manage on her own.

The rear superstructure of the museum ship rose up in front of January's eyes. She saw Crosshair there, doing something with his rifle. He stripped away parts and exchanged them for other components. The latter sprouted from the knobby pieces of metal and tech that sheathed his frame. In a moment he had transformed the weapon from a long-barreled sniper's weapon to a shorter assault rifle.

He raised his new rifle to bear upon January and opened fire. She rolled forward, and brought her wings up around her body in a cocoon. She felt a stream of automatic fire stitch across her frame. But her wings warded them all off. While faster, this new weapon did not pack the same punch as the sniper version he had used on her in their previous encounter at Cedar Point.

Then January was upon him. She would have put her feet through his face if he had not ducked out of the way. Instead she hit the superstructure of the ship just above him, and allowed her body to collapse into the steel like an accordion. Still in mid-air, she pushed out with her feet and somersaulted to the deck.

Again, Crosshair rolled out of being crushed underneath her. She snapped out with her wings, and he raised his rifle to block. Her first slash hacked the weapon in two. He backed up, and dropped both halves of the now useless gun. She followed, and cut at him again and again. He raised his arms defensively, and January sliced metal parts from them with every blow.

He produced a pistol from seemingly nowhere, and January ducked as hot energy sizzled past her head. She came up and grabbed the new weapon with both hands. She shoved it back into Crosshair's face, and the weapon shattered with the force of the blow. She followed with a power punch that left him swaying. Since he was clearly dazed she allowed herself to show off, and finished him with a roundhouse kick.

She lifted his unconscious body in her hands and leaped off the ship. She winged back across the dock, and dropped his body to the concrete below. Ahead of her she saw Lighthammer hovering in the air above Obsidian. Light streamed from the vigilante's palms, and bathed the villain in their glow. This was not the vigilante's signature solid light however. Instead the air rippled with heat haze, and the clothing on the African's body smoldered. It looked like he was being baked or microwaved. After long moments, the villain dropped unconscious from the heat ray, smoke wafting from his frame.

"Hooah!" Lighthammer crowed at the success of his newest tactic: an active denial heat-ray.

January cast her eyes around to find Sludge. She saw him ooze over the side of the dock and into the lake. Clearly, he was done as well. That only left Nitokris.

The Pharaonic villain actually gave as much back to Blood Raven as she took. She punched forward with her rectangular shield and pushed the elder heroine's raven sword back against her body. With the weapon so trapped, Nitokris cut at her exposed side. But a force field of golden light sprang up from Blood Raven's free hand, and the khopesh was turned aside.

The vampire then pushed in even closer and delivered a head butt to the Egyptian's face. She followed with a push kick that drove Nitokris back. But once the space had opened up between them, the Pharonic villain's sword and shield vanished, to be replaced with that bow she had shot January with earlier. A moment later it drove an arrow of golden energy into Blood Raven's force field. But Blood Raven turned it aside without even flinching.

Then the elder heroine closed the gap once more, and hammered away at Nitokris with Samhain. Nitokris' bow vanished, and her sword and shield once more appeared in her hands to turn aside the assault.

January could not help but to stare. She had literally never seen anyone able to stand toe-to-toe with her mentor. But the two hammered back and forth, blade against blade, magic against magic. Neither seemed able to gain a clear advantage in the exchange. It was like watching two mountains battering away at one another.

Now that she had a moment to concentrate, January could clearly feel the power within their newest enemy. As Blood Raven did, Nitokris glowed like a sun in the astral. The armor she wore whispered tales of time, and sand, and blood. Her wings were those of the sky gods. Her sword tore the flesh like a sandstorm. Her shield was harder than the stones of the pyramids. This was an ancient and terrible power, far older than Blood Raven, or even that elder heroine's own nightmare of a father. Perhaps it was even older than history itself?

She remembered what Blood Raven had told her, after she had revealed her true nature.

"Before there were meta-humans, there was magic. There has always been magic. There always will be."

"I thought Blood Raven didn't want to get involved in my sordid affairs?" Lighthammer's voice snapped January from her contemplations. She looked around to find him standing beside her. Then she stared back in amazement at the two arcane champions who dueled just a dozen feet away.

Blood Raven gestured with her open hand, and a snake of golden energy lashed out. It fixed itself around Nitokris' ankle. But before Blood Raven could yank it back and pull the villain from her feet, the Egyptian slashed down with her khopesh, and sliced the energy whip in two. That caused it to fizzle from existence.

"You'll find she's full of surprises," January murmured. She nodded to the older heroine. "I guess we should get involved in that."

"I kind of think we would just be getting in the way," Lighthammer shrugged. "But what about you, that looks nasty."

She followed his gaze down to her chest. The hole that Nitokris' arcane arrow had burned through her armor was coated in dried blood. Her chest hurt, even more than that time the djieien had impaled her on its fangs. But it was not enough to stop her. She knew how to take a hit after all.

"I'll live," she said simply. Then she looked back to the fight still going on. "We really should get in there."

"Ladies first," Lighthammer graciously gestured toward the combatants.

With that the two superheroes advanced in a pincer move. Each flew around one of Nitokris' flanks, while Blood Raven stood right in her face and traded sword strokes. The Egyptian must have seen that she was now outnumbered and outmaneuvered, for she darted skyward with those shining golden wings of hers. Momentarily free of Blood Raven, she drew a burner phone from her pocket, flipped it open, and pressed a button on it. Then she threw it down to the concrete below.

"You have two minutes until the bomb goes off," she crowed as Blood Raven shot up into the sky after her. "Pursue me, or disarm it, your choice."

With that she darted higher in the sky. Blood Raven spared only a moment to stare after her. Then she turned east, and soared over the small inlet of water between the museum ship and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The building itself was a bizarre collection of geometric forms and cantilevered spaces. It was anchored by a high, square tower with a curved roof. A glass ramp, shaped like one face of a pyramid, stretched down from this to the main entrance. It reminded January of the Louvre. A second, round tower seemed to float in mid-air beside it, held up by only a narrow round column. It was connected to the main tower by a thin tunnel, and an odd bump protruded from the main structure opposite it.

Lighthammer followed in a blur of blue and white light. He actually landed on the roof before Blood Raven did, even though he had started after her.

"This was the first place I saw her," Lighthammer insisted. "It's probably close."

In the meantime January darted back down to earth, and scooped up the phone. It lay in pieces, shattered against the concrete.

"Get the sim card," Gadget said in her ear. "You can plug it into Sága."

January fiddled with the broken bits of plastic in her hand, and produced the tiny little electronic chip. She found that it would indeed snap into one of the ports built into her wrist computer.

"Ok, I've got this." Cray's voice now came over the line. "I have the number that the phone just called, give me a second to find the GPS... got it!"

"It's in the Rock Hall of Fame alright," Cray's deep, but mellow voice January's ears. She was already in the sky, and came down on the roof just a few seconds later. Blood Raven and Lighthammer had disappeared. The door torn off its hinges hinted at where they had gone. January folded up her wings on her back and raced inside.

She found herself in a stairwell that led down to a mechanical room, filled with pipes, dials, and valves. Cray's voice guided her out into the exhibit area beyond. Glass cases showed off outfits such as purple suits and leather jackets, alongside guitars, drums, flags, and all manner of memorabilia. People of all shapes and sizes milled in front of the displays. They wore cut offs or slacks, sweatpants or tights. They were young, they were old, they took pictures with their phones, listened to music piped through headphones attached to the exhibits, and just generally had a good time, until now.

The fire alarm blared to life around her, and people began to move quickly for the exits. January noticed Lighthammer standing next to a broken alarm handle, and nodded to him. There had to be thousands of people within the building. His quick thinking might save a lot of their lives if things went badly.

Time ticked away, and January raced down deeper and deeper into the building. Cray had pinpointed the location of the bomb down to two meters. But that did not take elevation into account. Unfortunately there were seven floors within the building, and the bomb could be on any one of them.

Thankfully there were three of them. That allowed them to split up and take one floor each. January leaped, and even flew over people to move as quickly as possible. All the while Avery's voice guided her this way and that. Finally she made her way into a small theater. It was blessedly empty. A documentary on the Who played on the screen. A very young Roger Daltrey was singing about his generation. The music was old. But she had to admit, it was still good. January was struck by how similar Daltrey looked to Rus, with his glorious mane of curly blond hair.

January turned on her night vision. That filled the darkened theater with bright blue-white illumination. Following Avery's minute instructions, she finally came to her prize. It was a shoebox stuffed under one of the seats. January pushed aside a half-eaten bag of popcorn, and gently slid the box out into the open. She held her breath the entire time, praying that it did not blow up in her face.

"Got it!" she exclaimed.

"Ok, check for tape holding it shut," Cray coached her while Blood Raven and Lighthammer came up to look over her shoulder. January found none. "Now gently lift the cover, and watch for any wires inside. There could be a second trigger glued to the bottom of the lid."

January did as he asked, and peered intently under the top of the box. Again, she saw nothing, and breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to safely remove to top and toss it aside.

Her feeling of relief vanished quickly when she saw what was inside. She saw two blocks of material wrapped in what looked like green plastic. The writing on the side proclaimed it as "Charge Demolition M112 with Taggant", plus more numbers and letters. Numerous wires snaked their way into and out of the blocks, connected to a cellphone.

Lighthammer swore loudly. "That's C-4. They used it all the time in IEDs over there."

"What do we do?" January asked the men on the comm unit. "Can I just pull the wires out of the explosives?"

"No don't!" Gadget cried out. "I see a failsafe, do that and it will go sky high."

"Thirty seconds," Cray intoned emotionlessly.

"I will deal with it," Blood Raven scooped it up in one hand, and turned to the doorway. But Lighthammer interceded.

"No, give it to me, I can fly faster," he insisted.

The flame-haired heroine did not argue with him. She simply handed him the box. With that the vigilante literally jetted from the room in a silver-white blur. January and Blood Raven followed - but as he had noted - with less speed. They reached the giant entrance to the Hall of Fame just in time to see him crash through the slanted glass ceiling and rocket into the sky.

January felt a wave of pressure pass through her as Lighthammer broke the sound barrier, and a deep boom rang in her ears. The building shivered around her. For a moment it almost felt like an earthquake. All around her people cried out in shock, and January took her eyes from her partner as he rapidly disappeared into the firmament. She had to insure that no one was injured.

Blood Raven was doing the same. She gestured with one hand, and a golden force field appeared in the air above the crowd. Broken shards of glass bounced and scattered harmlessly across it a moment later. January leaped closer, and began to move people out of the way.

Both she and Blood Raven turned to gaze upward once more, along with everyone else. Then the bomb burst into brilliant life high overhead and out over the lake. It was so far up that she barely even felt it, or heard the sound of the explosion. Lighthammer had been correct. He was a lot faster than either of them. Still, out of reflex January flexed out her wings to create a protective umbrella above the people around her.

Soon all that remained was a cloud of dark smoke that rapidly disintegrated in the winds high up above them. January held her breath. A glowing streak of light circled down, and resolved itself into Lighthammer's armored form. She breathed again, and relaxed as the crowd erupted in cheers.

Blood Raven disposed of the glass by carefully realigning her force field. Then she snuffed the energy screen from existence. She made her way out using the same exit Lighthammer had created. January went through the front door, bringing a crowd of people in tow. She imagined that was for the best. Besides, the fire alarm was still blaring inside the building, and it was really annoying.

She met up with her two partners back on the dock across the inlet from the museum. The FBI had already taken the two unconscious villains in tow, and were loading them up into an armored vehicle. Now the assistant attorney general walked their way, along with several of the federal agents.

Lighthammer turned to Blood Raven before the authorities could come near enough to overhear them.

"Thanks for the help," he said, "I appreciate it."

Blood Raven simply nodded in approval. "I may have misjudged you," was all she would say. Coming from her however, that was a lot.

"So you know that Egyptian?" January asked.

"We have fought many times," Blood Raven turned her gaze to the sky, as if searching for her opposite number. "I first encountered her in Egypt, before the Great War, then later in London, and still later in Greece. The last time was in the Sinai in 1956. I left her buried under a mountain. It appears she escaped."

"So is she... like you then?" January said tactfully.

"Nay," Blood Raven shook her head. "The first time I faced her, she was blonde and spoke with an English accent. I believe she was an antiquarian robbing Egyptian tombs. Later she was dark-haired, and spoke only Greek. This time, she was clearly another as well."

"That was an Arabic accent she spoke with too," Lighthammer added. "Not Pashto or Dari, and definitely not Farsi."

"So it's different people, wearing the same armor?" January imagined. "That was the panoply of Queen Nitokris you mentioned a few days ago?"

"Indeed," Blood Raven nodded, "it is an ancient curse, one far older than even that of our blood."

* * *

This is Gilda Gadfly, and do I have the dish for you dear subscribers. Less than an hour ago the Cleveland docks lit up as the Blackbirds from Detroit joined Ohio's own Lighthammer. The meta trio spearheaded a joint taskforce of the Ohio State Police and federal agents from enough agencies to fill a bowl of alphabet soup.

What was this unlikely combo's target? Well it was a shipment of just over two thousand pounds of heroin laced with fentanyl. That's right, a literal ton of drugs, estimated to be worth $150 million at street level.

Those drugs weren't going to just go quietly into that good night of course. An international quartet of baddies were there to throw down against our heroes. Three of them previously ambushed Lighthammer at Cedar Point last week. The fourth was new to the party. But she brought her own favors, in the form of a bomb that she left within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! But thanks to the fast as light work of Lighthammer, the explosives were spirited away, and detonated harmlessly above Lake Erie.

Our favorite crow and her raven partner were conspicuously absent in the aftermath of the victory over the drug-smuggling fiends. But Lighthammer joined Ohio Attorney General Dale Ost in a post victory press conference. In it the AG announced that this had been the Hammer's operation all along, and that all pending investigations into him have been dropped. When asked if this was just the beginning of an official relationship between the Hammer of Light and the police, both sides were equally cagey. We will have to just wait and see folks.

So there you have it. Lighthammer is now officially a white hat! Does this mean he has joined the Blackbirds as well? Just a few days ago Ôkami joined this Great Lakes Alliance. This would make the Allies a foursome. This smells like a real super team folks, not just a temporary join up, and we are watching it form right now.

[Acadian]

Another heart-pounding episode with lots going on! Well and clearly described, it was.

Plenty of superhero growth going on here. The scarlet-haired soloist is getting more comfortable working with others. The crow of storms is really developing those wings as both conveyance and weapons. But the real growth here is the hammer of light - he has learned to incorporate the care of innocents around him into his actions.

’A glowing streak of light circled down, and resolved itself into Lighthammer's armored form.’
- - A wonderful piece of prose!

”So there you have it. Lighthammer is now officially a white hat!”
- - I couldn’t have said it better, Gilda!


Nits:
’He stripped away parts and exchanged them {for?} other components.’
’Each flew around one {of?} Nitokris' flanks,’

[Renee]

Again I think it is awesome that Raven and the Egyptian Lady Pharaoh already know each other, and even taunt each other casually. I predict after all this is over, Pharaoh will somehow survive & escape, but let's read further...

The Lighthammer just did something cool, there. Wicked! He whipped her around like an ion particle!

Man, Crosshair is an oily one. She breaks his gun, at least. Oh cool, Crosshair is done after she pushes his own pistol right into his face! Unconscious, at least.

Lol the hammer microwaves Obsidian. And that's clever, since he has the Earth equivalent of Reflect Damage. This chapter has a lot of stuff going on, it's overly stimulating (as Acadian says) and I'm a little hungover today. My brain feels like it's ping-ponging with all this activity.

Sludge slips over into the lake!

I like that January and Hammer let the two remaining fighters duke it out alone for awhile. It's sort of like that is THEIR fight, which Raven must face alone.

Ha WOW that is clver!!! I mean clever! The Egyptian has a burner phone which she claims will trigger a bomb. Holy [censored]!

"What do we do?" January asked the men on the comm unit. "Can I just pull the wires out of the explosives?"

NOOOO!!!!

They're arguing briefly over who should take the bomb away. The way you describe Lighhammer breaking the sound barrier is really wicked.

And I was right. The Egyptian with the golden armor escapes. Goodbye, until next time.

Summoning and "de-conjuring" weapons and shields and such is one of the coolest superpowers to have. (I wish I could do that....)

I wish I could have Ryo's superpower. Disappear at will, or fade away at least. Especially when I was younger, and got into trouble quite a lot! I'm afraid of heights big time, so flying is out. And I'd have no use for a lot of the things Raven and Jan do. I'd probably burn down some whole, entire neighborhood if I could gather lightning! Oops.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

Is Sludge inspired by Clayface, SubRosa? Sounds similar based on how goopy he is and how weapons can cut through him the way they do here.

The ancient Egyptians sure loved their curses.

Lighthammer and January sound like they could be a killer figure skating or dance team with how he can whip her around like that and she can take it easily.

Move over, Chuck Yeager. Lighthammer doesn't need a plane to break the sound barrier.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: We have seen January and Blood Raven working together as a real partnership in the past. This whole book was all about a larger team coalescing around them. One that will be vital to the endgame of Season One of the Crow show. Okami and Lighthammer are now front and center with them. Gola, Isaac, and Archie are out there as well. Wait until you see who else gets introduced in the new book I start today.

Thanks for those nits. It is invaluable having another set of eyes to look at things to see what slipped through the cracks of my own awareness.


Renee: Well, Blood Raven knows the Egyptian, after a fashion. She and that armor have a history. Even if the current wearer is not aware of it.

These last two episodes were a challenge to write, as there are so many characters involved, and each has their own unique abilities. But it was good practice for things to come. I have a truly gigantic battle coming up in the new book that makes this one or the big fight with the Nazis during Crystal Death look tiny.

Burner phones and IEDs really go together these days, which is why I went for that combo. It is another variation on the supervillain standard escape plan: put innocents in danger and force the heroes to choose between saving them or catching the bad guy.

That is exactly what Ryo has that power to fade away and disappear. As an autistic person he has issues with being in public, and people looking at him and paying attention to him. It stresses him out to the point where eventually he has to escape. So that is the natural route his magical ability took. While January is a fighter. She stands up to bullies. So her magical abilities developed into invulnerability, strength, speed, etc...


RaderOfTheLostArk: Sludge is definitely inspired by charaters like Clayface or Sandman (the Marvel Comics version, not the Gaiman one). I wanted someone that would be immune to the kinetic damage of Lighthammer's solid light. For the same reason Obsidian is inspired the X-Men's Black King, who absorbed kinetic energy.

Things like figure skating did inspire me, as did the old fastball special by Colossus and Wolverine. I wanted a nice piece of teamwork to show that unlike the villains, January and Lighthammer were in fact, a team, not just a collection of powered individuals.

One of the ways that Lighthammer stands out from Blood Raven and January (who also fly) is that he is much, much faster than either of them. Not to mention just plain more skilled at it. I don't know his top speed. But its well over Mach 2 at this point. I can see him eventually learning to turn his body into solid light. At that point he will be able to travel at the speed of light. With all of its inherit time dilation.










Ryo (RL Alex Mallari jr)

Samurai Armor

Chujitsu inspiration

Witch Bottles

Saturn Sky

Hoverbike example





Book 8.1 - Blood

June 25 - July 5, 2019

The inner sanctum of the Witch House could be confusing at times. The way the designs laid into the pebble mosaic in the floor shifted under the eye. Or the how the metal strips set into the walls morphed from one form to another. Or how the beads that hung from the ceiling flowed and undulated to transform it from a high vault, to an irregular landscape of inverted hills and valleys.

January always had to be mindful of her thoughts in this place. The sanctum responded to them. It recreated itself in reply. Blood Raven had once told her that all things were possible here, as well as all places and all times. Her own power always felt so much stronger here. As if the room echoed it, amplified it, and brought it bubbling right up to the surface of her being.

Right now the room did not distract her with the phantasmagoria of shapes and colors it was wont to form itself into. She was far too concerned with using her left forearm to sweep aside the palm strike that Ryo had directed to her face. She followed through with that same motion, and twisted her hips like a fulcrum to bring her right fist forward in a power punch. He slapped the blow aside with ease, and countered with a kick to her knee. She raised her leg and took it on the shin, and followed up with a snap kick at his groin.

Again, he blocked, and delivered a side kick at her head. January ducked under it, and went low to his gut with a flurry of punches. He could not block them all. Instead he faded even as January's fists drove home. He slipped from the world of the physical, and became a shadow cast upon the warp and weft of reality.

But that did not save him from the assault. January's fists slammed home, and he was sent sliding back across the floor of the sanctum sanctorum. He tapped out, and rubbed his stomach absentmindedly with one hand. He turned to Blood Raven, and awkwardly spat his mouth guard into his gloved hands.

"How is she able to strike me?" he asked.

Blood Raven's cape fluttered slightly, even though there was clearly no breeze in the windowless chamber. January still wondered exactly how she did that. Clearly it was magic, part of how she radiated a sense of power from deep within her being. The world just reshaped itself around her, to make her look and feel more impressive and imposing.

"Just as you have enchanted yourself, she has done the same," Blood Raven explained. "January does not simply strike your body, she strikes your aura. Her attacks are inherently magical in nature, as is the rest of her being. It is the same with an arcane bolt spell, or my own claws. The physical harm they cause is incidental. The true damage is in the aether."

"So I can do that as well..." Ryo mused. It was not a question, rather a consideration voiced out loud. "So how can I counter that?"

"You must steel your aura, just as you do your body." Blood Raven explained. "Forge your magical self into an adamantine entity. Or perhaps, into one that it is no more present than your body. Fade your essence from reality, just as you fade your body from it."

"So more practice then?" Ryo said.

"More practice," Blood Raven intoned. "There is no substitute for action in the real world."

January ran one hand over the hole that Nitokris had shot through the chest plate of her armor that same afternoon. She was still sore, even though it had taken place hours earlier. Now she understood why that arrow of magical energy had burned through her armor like it was tissue paper. It was an inherently magical attack. It had probably not even been an arrow at all, but rather an arcane bolt that merely took the appearance of an arrow. It had struck her aura, and perhaps even the aura of her armor. Nothing physical could have stopped it.

In the meantime Ryo put his mouth guard back over his teeth. Then he moved back to spar with January. He wore padded headgear to protect his face, chest, and forearms. She however, was clad in her Stormcrow armor. Now that she had discarded her cape, she kept her wings folded up neatly upon her back. They molded themselves to her body, as a bird's wings did. Only the trailing feathers at their extremes hung free, as an ordinary cloak might.

Fists and feet went flying once more. January forgot everything else. Now that Ryo was out as a physical mage such as herself, she could really let go with him. She could never do that with a mundane opponent. She sensed that likewise, he felt the same. That made them ideal sparring partners. For neither had to hold back against the other. They could truly push one another to their limits.

Ryo was fast, so very fast, more so than January was herself. That was a new feeling for her. She had to think ahead, and search for every little telltale clue that might telegraph his moves. Every minute shift of his weight, every tiny glance of his eyes, all were oracles hinting at the future. Often times she read these signs and portents well. Other times, not so much.

The latter was clearly underscored when he went for a leg sweep that sent her airborne to escape. She came down and struck hard with a power punch. But he was ready, and slipped aside and caught her arm. He used her forward momentum even as he twisted aside. The next thing January knew, she went sailing over his hip. She slammed down hard on the floor a moment later.

She rolled to one side, and his foot stamped down at the spot she had inhabited a moment before. January sprang back and up into the air. Her wings snapped out, and she beat them down in a great sweep. A tremendous blast of air howled through the sanctum at Ryo. But he stood firm through it all, as if he was not even there.

He was not there of course. Ryo had faded again. The hurricane of force simply washed through the shadow of his being, and broke harmlessly upon the distant walls.

Blood Raven clapped her hands loudly, and stepped between them to signal a halt. January dropped back to the floor and looked around. She had been so focused on Ryo, that she had not noticed that Cray had entered the room. As ever, the bespectacled man was dressed like Mr. Rogers, with a green cardigan over his button down shirt. January's eye traveled to the black garment bag slung over his shoulder, and she could not refrain from cocking her head slightly to one side in curiosity.

The gray-haired man's mustache rose in a smile. He swung the black leather bag off his back, and presented it to Ryo.

"Clothes make the man," the elder hacker declared.

"That is because naked people have little or no influence on society," Blood Raven finished the quote from Mark Twain. January idly wondered if she had heard Mr. Clemens say that in real life?

"This just came from Mr. Blackwood," Cray explained. "So you can have some influence in society."

Ryo said nothing, but January could sense that the attention was making him uncomfortable. He had never liked people staring at him. Who did? But Ryo had a few more issues with that than most. January studiously looked away. At least until she heard the metal on metal of the zipper opening. Then she could not help but turn her head.

Hanging neatly within the garment bag was a suit of black, gray, and white armor. January imagined the base layer was dragon silk, the same as Blood Raven used in her own armor. Along with it came boots, gauntlets, a chest piece, and even a helmet. All of which she suspected was made of the same nanotwinned cubic boron nitride as the solid plates in her own armor.

January wondered how they all fit within the bag, which was no more than a few inches thick. But given some of the things she had been witness to since becoming a superhero, and some of the things she had done herself, it was not really that remarkable. Mr. Blackwood clearly was a master at his art.

Ryo did not say a word. Instead he doffed his protective gear. A moment later he peeled off his shirt, which revealed a body of wiry muscle that could have been sculpted by Michelangelo. January turned away to grant him some privacy, as did Blood Raven.

January took advantage of this quiet moment to sit and meditate. She closed her eyes and ran her elemental mantra through her head, first in English, then in Old Norse. She wove her mana through the words, and blended them together like the fibers in a dress. She allowed her power to wash about her, and it left her feeling cleansed and calm. She spent some time there, just breathing deeply in and out, and bathed in her magic.

"There," Cray's voice rang out. "How does it fit?"

"Perfectly," Ryo's voice came back in reply.

January opened her eyes and let her mana ebb down quietly into her frame. She turned with Blood Raven and they both looked Ryo over.

He was every inch a high tech samurai, starting with a body suit of woven fibers. Over that he wore boots, gauntlets, and arm guards made of metal strips there were painted black and white. A cuirass of the same material protected his torso, made from overlapping horizontal bands of the meta-steel. More strips of the metal girded his shoulders. Finally his head was encased with what looked like a samurai helmet, with its characteristic visor, long neck guard of overlapping plates, and a crest of a wolf's head. A face mask - also clearly Japanese influenced - covered his features. That left only the strip of flesh around his eyes uncovered.

"Yatta!" Ryo breathed.

"Who-ta?" Cray wondered.

"It's a good thing," January explained.

"There is one thing missing," Blood Raven noted with a critical eye. She held out her hand, and January felt magic blossom from her fingers and call across space. A moment later she held a sword there. Appropriately enough, it was a katana. Its curved blade was blackened, except for the cutting edge, which was polished silver-gray, and showed the characteristic wavy pattern created by the hardening process. Its hexagonal crossguard was decorated with carvings of wolves, as was the very tip of the pommel. The grip appeared to be encased in some form of bumpy white leather, and was wrapped in crisscrossed black and white cloth.

January felt power howl within the blade, like a wolf baying at the moon. Clearly the enchantment made the weapon harder, sharper, and more flexible than an ordinary blade. But she also sensed something more. She suspected that it might be something to do with that howl, something aural. But she could not be sure. What she could be certain of was the sword's name. It announced itself proudly within the astral.

"Chujitsu," Ryo intoned as he took the sword in his hand. He stared at it as if in awe.

"Faithful," Blood Raven murmured.

They all stepped back as he took a few practice swings with it. Then he laid the blade upon one fingertip, just above the crossguard. It balanced perfectly there.

"I only finished it this morning," Blood Raven continued. "It is a blade of star-fallen steel, forged in the old ways. It will serve you honorably."

"I do not know how to thank you," Ryo lowered the sword to his side. "You have all done so much for me."

"You can thank us by using these tools with wisdom. Be the beacon of hope our city needs. Remain faithful to the ideals that brought you here." Blood Raven ended her words by opening her hand once more. This time a scabbard of black lacquered wood formed there, decorated with fittings of horn.

Ryo nodded solemnly, and stared down at the sword in his hand. January wondered if the enormity of his decision might be weighing down upon him. She had entered this life without really thinking about it. It had not been a conscious choice, so much as a string of events that she had allowed herself to be swept along into. Only afterward had she truly understood the covenant she had made, and the responsibilities she had assumed.

Ryo - no he was Ôkami now - took the scabbard and sheathed the sword within it. Then he attached it to the belt on his armor. He truly did look like some sort of science fiction samurai, with one foot in his ancestry, and the other in the future.

Sága chimed. January looked down upon her digital assistant's screen that was mounted in her forearm. She smiled at the text message she saw there.

"There is one more thing," she said to all, "and it just pulled up in the backyard. We will have to go down to see it though. It's too big to bring inside."

"We should change then," Ryo noted. Blood Raven stopped him from unbuckling his sword belt however. She raised her hands, and her eyes glowed bright red. January felt mana pour off of her, and connect with the Witch House. January sensed it flow through the house like water through pipes. It paused at one point after another, and each time it appeared to awaken some formerly dormant power. A spider web of energy quickly blossomed to life, and surrounded the building and all around it.

"We are now free from prying eyes, both mortal, and mechanical." Blood Raven lowered her arms, and her eyes went back to normal.

"I can feel it," January said. "It extends beyond just the building, and across both the front and back yards. I can feel... nexuses - like wireless access points - throughout the house and property. They seem to be broadcasting the signal."

"Good," Blood Raven nodded. "Your power grows. They are witch bottles that Keziah placed within the walls and floors long ago, and buried on the property. I have... upgraded them. They form a barrier against all harmful magic, as well as unwanted surveillance. Since you are now strong enough to sense them, it is time you learned to control them. Once we are finished."

The older heroine glanced at Ôkami for a moment, and then allowed January to lead the way out of the sanctum. They trundled down the stairs to the second floor, and finally the ground level of the house. Then they were out the back door. The driveway that hugged the right side of the building ran all the way to the back of the yard. There it ended at a detached garage. Ôkami's blue Saturn Sky sat running in front of the closed garage door.

Avery turned the engine off and climbed out of the driver's seat. Isaac clambered out of the other side a moment later. Both wore dirty work clothes, and their hands were stained with grease and grit. But the two meta-inventors looked quite pleased with themselves.

"Ôkami, welcome to your new car," Avery preened.

"It looks like the old one," Ôkami noted bluntly.

"Well, it is the old one," Isaac murmured, "but we made a few adjustments, as promised. Come on have a seat, and we'll show you what we have done."

Ôkami obliged them by stepping up to the car. He paused for a moment to unhook his sword from his belt. But again, he was stopped before he could do so, this time by Avery.

"You won't need to take that off to sit inside." the meta-inventor insisted.

Ôkami raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Instead he stepped through the open doorway, and slid down into the driver's seat. As promised, his sword did not catch on the car's frame or upholstery. Instead the fender and seat seemed to morph out of the way to accommodate the weapon. Ôkami took a moment to look over the interior. Other than the malleability, it appeared exactly the same to January.

"You'll notice we added..." Isaac's words trailed off as Ryo pushed a button under the dash that January imagined was new. At least she had never noticed him use it in the times she had ridden in the car in the past.

She heard a click from the back of the car, and saw that the trunk had popped open. She stepped around to get a better look. The trunk was small, really small, a situation made even worse by the fact that the bump of the gas tank protruded up into the center of the space, and blocked off more than half the area.

She saw that this large bump had detached itself from the body of the car. Now it rose up into the air, and floated out over the empty space behind the vehicle. She stared in amazement as stretched out and unfolded, again and again, in a series of transformations. In just a matter of seconds it had changed into the familiar shape of a motorcycle. But this bike had no wheels. Instead it floated above the ground. Otherwise it had a sleek, modern look to it, much like her own Victory.

"I took out the car's gas tank after I replaced the engine with a cold fusion power plant," Isaac explained.

"Then I put in the hoverbike," Avery preened. "The altitude is limited. But it will get you over most traffic if you adjust it higher. It should be able to work over water as well. I haven't really tested that though. So you might want to pack a snorkel and flippers the first time you try that."

"Impressive, most impressive," Ôkami breathed as he sat down upon the seat. The bike dipped for a moment with his added weight, then rose back its normal height a moment later. He tried the throttle. In a flash of speed, he darted backward down the driveway. He was halfway to the street before he was able to stop it. January fought to suppress a smile. She still remembered her first time on her own motorcycle. She had come just inches from planting it into the side of Avery's Geo.

"Does it come with a manual?" Ôkami shouted from down the driveway.

Avery's fingers danced over the screen of his phone. "I just sent it to you."

Ôkami dug into his belt, and drew forth his own mobile phone. Again, January had to suppress a smile. The figure he cut was just so antipodal. He was a science fiction samurai sitting on a hovering motorcycle, reading from his smartphone. Granted, she was an armored crow with a computer on her wrist.

"You made a manual for it?" Cray said in a low tone, too soft to carry down the driveway to where Ôkami sat.

"He's the only one I know who actually reads them," January said in an equally quiet voice.

"Yeah," Avery chimed in. "He reads them front to back for everything, and I do mean everything, even a can opener. He has every one of them saved in a box, just in case."

"So, are you guys going to stay for dinner?" January raised her voice so all could hear. "I was going to get pizza."

"Does a minotaur excrete in a maze?" Gadget grinned from ear to ear. "Your pizza place is the best in the city. I can't believe we have gone without it for most of our lives."

"Pizza?" Isaac wondered. "Well you can count me in for that."

"I think it a capital idea," even Blood Raven nodded. "Afterward I shall instruct you in the art of manipulating the Witch House's magical defenses."

"You know, this place is starting to feel like a second base, after the Raven's Nest," Cray said.

"You should all move in," January joked. Well, maybe she was not really joking. "There is plenty of room."

"Now that is a thought," Ôkami noted.

[Acadian]

Though we’ve been exposed to Ryo’s magicks before, this episode really felt like the birth of a superhero, as he capably holds his own sparring with the SuperCrow and gets fitted out with very appropriate gear.

Neat advice from Blood Raven, given Okami’s skills – he needs to learn to turn his aura to either steel or air when needed to protect it from magical attacks. Even more important, however is this bit of Blood Raven advice: "You can thank us by using these tools with wisdom. Be the beacon of hope our city needs. Remain faithful to the ideals that brought you here."

[Renee]

That Witch House sounds really neat. I love the way it responds to our thoughts, although this can get one in trouble too, if he or she can't control their thinking. In a way, the Witch House sounds like it's based from our dream realities. I can just imagine the crazy amount of CGIs which would need to get resourced if Stormcrow were a movie, or TV series, just for this house.

Ryo uses his super power even when they're sparring! Well, both of them are using their powers. I suppose it makes sense to practice in this way, because you never know when magic might be needed.

Ryo gets his own suit. And sword. Very nice.

Ôkami drives a Saturn! Guess he'll look good driving around with Gadget's Geo in tow. Oh wow. So Ôkami's Saturn now sounds like a cross between a Transformer, and something James Bond would drive.

Time for pizza. Capital!

These last two episodes were a challenge to write

Yes. I am glad to see you say this. Some of these chapters are more challenging than others, for sure. How long (on average) do you spend on each chapter?

[SubRosa]

Acadian: It took a while, but I finally got Ryo into the mix. The previous book was basically his introduction. From here on out he is a regular member of the ever-growing team.

I deliberately chose the name "Faithful" for his sword to serve as a reminder of what is expected of every superhero. Also because I wanted something that was not ridiculously hyperbolic. Most Japanese swords tended to have pretty humble names. One of the most famous ones was "The Grass Cutting Sword". So I wanted something in a similar vein.


Renee: I actually have a floor plan for the entire Witch House now. I will be posting it in later episodes, when January takes someone on a tour of the place. The sanctum is very much what you described. It is a place that is not entirely real, not entirely part of our universe. That is what makes it such a great place to train. It is a place where it is easier to shape reality however you want.

Ryo needed not only a super suit, but a travel power. The latter is something that I have been forced to pay a lot of attention to since I started writing. In most super team comics they have some sort of vehicle that the team all uses to get to wherever the story is. The X-Men have the Blackbird, the Avengers have their Quinjets, and so on.

The Allies have a challenge in that unlike those other teams, they don't all live together in one central base. So they each need their own way to get to where the action is taking place. Most of them can fly. So that is their travel power. I couldn't have Ryo taking the bus to the get to the super battles. And a regular car would just get stuck in traffic and the battles would be over before he could get there. So now he has a hoverbike, which he can fade with to drive through things if he needs to.

I think I mostly answered the question on length in our PM. I really do not know how long I spend on each individual post, since I don't write them separately. I write the entire book in one block, then split it up once it is finished. It is a lot of hours though.





The Rauðskinna

The Lakeside Mall can be found on the Stormcrow Google Map

Lakeside Mall - Aerial View

Lakeside Mall - Closer Aerial View

Lakeside Mall - Food Court Entrance

Lakeside Mall - Food Court (empty as I took this during lockdown)

Lakeside Mall - Food Court Carousel

Lakeside Mall - Kids Playscape

Lakeside Mall - Upper Balcony





Book 8.2 - Blood

June 26, 2019


January stared from her tablet to the print outs that littered her bed. She knew she should do this on the kitchen island, or the old desk in the study, or even on the living room floor. She had the entire Witch House to herself after all. But she was used to doing all of her research in her bedroom, and old habits die hard after all.

A digital copy of the Rauðskinna was splashed across the screen of her Fire 7 tablet. Thankfully Cray had scanned the real book and saved it as a .pdf long ago. The one time she had been in the presence of a physical copy, it had utterly revolted her. It had felt like a spider walking across her spine. She could not understand how anyone who found it - like her great-grandfather Jack Parsons - would ever want to use it. Just being near it was repellant.

At least her strong reaction appeared to assuage Blood Raven's paranoia. The older heroine had suspected her of being of the Summoner before. January was still not sure if she accepted that she was innocent. January knew that asking for a copy of Nátthrafn's red-skinned grimoire did not engender trust. But the fact was she had to know what she faced if she was ever going to help stop her eight times great-grandfather.

Her eyes moved from the Rauðskinna's pages to photos of the Summoner's crime scenes. Blood Raven had documented all of them. At least those she knew of. January compared the summoning circles from each source. She could see that the Summoner's first two were identical to those illustrated in the Rauðskinna. But after that they began to diverge, in greater and greater ways.

Gadget had said that the one he used to summon the djieien in Ferndale had been a circuit. It had two power sources and a load. So she had her desktop computer turned on, and simple circuit diagrams splashed across its screen. She was no electrician like Kell. But she could understand what the meta-inventor meant. There was nothing random about anything in the rituals. It all served a purpose. She could see where energy was raised and where it was funneled to. She could also understand how the symbols inscribed around the circles and paths between them controlled it all. Enough so that she imagined that just changing a few key runes might alter the entire summoning.

The Summoner had adapted his tools in his third and fourth conjurings. He had expanded beyond the purely Norse runes and Latin text of the Rauðskinna. But he had not truly diverged from the basic ideas. He had simply gotten more diverse with his means of accomplishing them. Blood Raven had been correct. He was expanding his repertoire, flexing his muscles, and gaining power.

This was what she had to face, and defeat, before it was too late.

Her phone chimed. It was not the usual tone. This was the cawing of a crow.

January nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden intrusion into her thoughts. She knew that tone. It was a call from her Stormcrow line, being forwarded to her normal phone. She took a moment to call up her mana. An instant later she was clad in her armor, and tapped a button on Sága's screen to answer the call.

"This is Stormcrow," she said simply. For once she had not used her perky phone voice. She tried not to smile, or otherwise preen over the little victory.

"This is Captain Nowakowski of the Sterling Heights PD," a decidedly masculine voice rang out through her digital assistant's screen. January double-checked the number, and it was the same that the police chief had given her while working the Crystal Death case.

"Chief Now." January found herself standing up a little straighter. "What can this finely feathered crow do for you?"

"You can head over to the Lakeside Mall." The top cop of the suburb in which she nested got straight to the point. "There's some sort of meta disturbance taking place there. Reports are sketchy right now. But it looks like someone is disappearing and reappearing out of thin air, and someone else is walking through cars and walls."

"I am on my way." January insisted.

She took a moment to center herself. Her elemental mantra ran through her head, and sprang to life around her in a glowing circle of Eldar Futhark runes. Her mana flowed through the words, and washed her clean.

Earth give me strength, keep me grounded, protect me from harm.

Air give me quickness in body and wit. Let the weights of the world fall from me.

Water make me flexible in thought and form. Let me flow, let me crash.

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

Spirit weave all together in balance. Bring me peace.

Physical eyes still shut, she opened her astral gaze upon her surroundings. She felt the awesome power of the sanctum above her, threatening to overwhelm everything else. January shut that out, doing the equivalent of holding up a thumb over the sun, in order to better see the sky around it.

She felt the witch bottles scattered through the walls of the house, and across the grounds outside. Each was a nexus within a magical web that both protected, and permeated, every inch of the abode. As Blood Raven had taught her, January tapped those bottles, and woke their apotropaic powers. A screen of energy hummed to life in the astral, and cloaked the house and grounds from watchers.

She let her awareness drop back to the physical world. There was no sign that she had activated the wards. The breeze that wafted through her open window was just as soft, the birds still sang outside, and hardwood floor still creaked slightly beneath her feet. But part of her could still feel the power glowing outside the bounds of ordinary reality.

January glanced at the window. That had been her method of entry and egress when her mother had been living with her. She decided to give the screen a rest from being bent into and out of the frame. Instead she bolted down the stairs and out the back door. Then she hurtled skyward with black wings unfolded. She soared above the trees that crowded both sides of the Clinton River, and made her way toward the mall.

"I got the call Stormcrow." Avery's voice was now in her ear. "I'm looking at parking lot cameras right now. I don't see anything yet."

"Chief Now, could you ask your people to hold back?" January shot across M-59 as she flew north and east. A nice, green, suburban subdivision stretched out below her now. But the little homes and streets ended in no time at all at a long, narrow swath of grassland that stretched for miles to the north and south. Massive electrical transmission towers ran the length of the cleared space. They reminded January of the steel bones of giants, roped from one to the next with heavy black cables.

January gained altitude to avoid the power lines. She was not worried about being electrocuted. She and lightning were clearly on good terms. But she did not want to cause a blackout either. It was bad enough that she robbed people of sunshine every time she was in a bad mood.

With her added height she could easily see the sprawling complex of the Lakeside Mall ahead. It was just a few miles from the Witch House, as the crow flied. Well, as she flew. It only took her moments to traverse the final stretch of suburban homes beyond the power lines, and cross over the divided lanes of Schoenherr Road. Then she was over the mall itself.

The temple of commerce was surrounded by a massive parking lot. That in turn was ringed with numerous smaller stores and restaurants. Two small lakes actually did gird the southern and eastern edges of the lot, with more suburban homes and apartments clustered about their far shores.

In the center of it all was the mall itself of course. As with the Oakland Mall, from the air she could see that it was not so much a single massive structure, but rather half a dozen buildings seemingly welded together. It reminded her of a starfish, with each major department store forming a leg. The image was underscored by a second tier of the roof that rose up over the main level of the ceiling. This did spread out in five legs along the central spine of the massive structure, and this higher space was dotted with numerous skylights.

January did not see anything overly dramatic taking place. There were no laser beams tearing through the sky, or giant beasts rampaging through the lot, nor even ill-tempered Canadians brandishing unobtanium claws. She did notice a large knot of people standing near the food court entrance in the south face of the edifice however.

Here a rounded entrance protruded from the rest of the commercial palace. It was fronted with glass from ground to ceiling, creating an open, airy feel. Orange awnings jutted out to provide shade from the sun, and signs lined the edge of the roof prompting onlookers to shop, eat, and the like. A valet station stood right next to it, built into a slanted rectangle that seemed to jut from the rest of the structure.

January nosed down to the earth. That caused her speed to increase dramatically. She was obliged to feather back her wings to slow her descent to a manageable speed. Voices raised, and all eyes turned to her as she brought herself to a stall above the ground. She pulled her wings in close above the heads of the onlookers, and dropped the last few feet to the concrete below. She did not have to even bend her knees to take the impact. Dropping seven feet was no more remarkable than taking an ordinary footstep after all.

People shouted all at once, and several pointed to the glass doors leading into the mall. January briefly considered trying to get them to slow down and speak one at a time to learn what had happened. But she realized that she would find out soon enough if she just followed their gesticulations and went inside.

So she did. The automatic doors slid open to allow her within. Directly in front of her was a massive carousel. It was two stories tall, and loaded with artistically inspired horses, zebras, giraffes, tigers, and other animals. Naturally it was filled with laughing and shouting children, while their adults lurked around it.

This created somewhat of a traffic jam for January to pick her way through. By the time she got around the last of it, her nose was assaulted by the smell of fried, baked, grilled, and otherwise overly-processed foods. It was a phantasmagoria of dozens of scents all mixed into together. Every manner of mini-restaurant ringed the boundaries of the area, with glowing signs overhead advertising their wares. Overworked and underpaid people of all sizes and shapes had paused from their labors underneath. They were all staring deeper into the mall. At least until someone shouted Stormcrow's name. Then all eyes turned to her.

All except one pair of eyes. These belonged to a person who was in such a hurry to move through the asteroid field of tables, chairs, and mall-goers that clogged the interior of the food court that he literally did not step aside to avoid them. Instead he moved right through them. He was clad in black tactical gear, but nothing that looked like actual armor. His head was covered in a black balaclava - or was it baklava? January could never remember which was a ski mask, and which was a tasty treat.

"Ok, this guy can either phase or become intangible. Or maybe he can change his quantum state from particles to a wave, so he has the probability of existing on either side of a barrier." Avery noted in her ear. "But at least he doesn't disappear like Ryo does. Maybe we should call him in for this?"

"Let's hold on," January mused absentmindedly. "We don't really know what's going on here."

Her brain was busy gauging the amount of space between the ceiling and the heads of the people below. She could fit in there, but the down strokes of her wings would definitely knock more than a few people out. She would have to do this the old-fashioned way.

A single leap took her up into the air, high enough to feel the ceiling scrape against her back. It also took her forward, over the heads of the worst of the throngs. She landed just shy of woman pushing a stroller bearing a blue-bedecked toddler. To avoid crashing into them she instantly sprang back into the air. One somersault later and she was back on the ground, and through the worst of the food court.

She became water, and flowed this way and that around the people who still went to and fro, but usually in her way. In moments she darted out of the court entirely, and into a wide hallway. The center of this was small playscape of plastic toy-like cars and trucks for children to sit in. She planted one hand on the roof of a miniature truck, and used it to give her the boost she needed to bound over a knot of shoppers.

The corridor opened up into a large indoor atrium, and January realized that she was on the upper level of the mall, not the lower one. Hooray for building on a hillside. She stood on a balcony that ringed the wide, open space. To her left a set of escalators endlessly trundled up and down between the two levels, in front of both stories of what used to be Sears. The sign for the bankrupted department store had long since been removed, and its entrances were shuttered off. Directly beneath her on the lower level was a small lounge area sunk into the floor. Across the balcony from her on the upper floor was a massive shoe store, and flanking her were a sports hat store and a combination clothing and shoe store clearly aimed at teen and twenty-something males.

"Get away from me!"

A distinctly feminine voice rang out to her right. January followed the sound to the other side of the atrium, where she saw the black tacti-gear man accost a slender woman. She wore black leather pants and a strappy, open-backed top that left little of her willowy frame to the imagination. One side of her head was shaved, and her jet black hair flopped over it in a very stylish punk side bob. Her features were obscured under a dark scarf, but her sloe eyes flashed with emotion from across the space.

January's instincts kicked in, and she acted without a second thought. She leaped over the balcony and into empty space. Her wings instantly snapped out from her back, and she soared through the open air to the walkway that ringed the far side of the atrium. She came down right beside the pair a second later. She casually brushed the man's hand from the woman's shoulder, and quickly inserted herself into the space between them.

"Slow your roll chummer," she fell into Shadowrun slang without thinking about it. "This chica's not slotting what you're running."

The man cursed in something that sounded Chinese.

"What does that even mean? Get out of my way you lunatic!" he finally insisted in perfect English. He punctuated his words by trying to shove January away. She responded with a forearm block that swept his hand aside, and had to restrain herself from instantly replying with a palm strike to his face.

"I'm trying to play nice here," January gritted out. "Now why don't you take a deep breath and leave this nice woman alone."

"This is none of your business," he growled. "If you will not get out of my way, I will go through you."

"Valhalla awaits..." January snarled in return.

[Renee]

Yeah that is true, you couldn't have Ryo taking the bus or a cab or even an Uber, if he has to be somewhere right away! And yes, they do not live together, so it'll be a challenge sometimes to meet all as one from now on. Maybe Ryo can live with Jan in her gigantic Witch House.

That's crazy how that ancient tome has actual negative power Jan can pick up on. I wonder if Cray feels anything as he was scanning it to make those images...

One of my Skyrim characters (Mycharonna) has an actual, negative power to her too. Go ahead and laugh whoever reads this. I mean, she's a toon, right? She's nothing but a collection of images onscreen. But I'm not kidding about this. She's a terror. She's one of my only characters who can communicate indirectly with me. She can do so through dreams and nightmares. Well, a couple years back I was doing some mod-testing, and needed someone else to confirm something, so I sent one of my Mycharonna game saves to Lopov. He opened up my save, looked slowly at Mych, closed the game, and never reopened it. Because HE felt her negative power, too.

I'm just saying that I believe there's stuff out there which we can't know about 100% as humans. But we can pick up on stuff.

There is some mistrust, just a smidge of it, between Raven and January, still. Phew.

Oh wow. I'm reading the part when she's figuring out that electrical diagram. That is crazy, that all of that seems to correlate to how this ancient Summoner works.

"This is Stormcrow," she said simply. For once she had not used her perky phone voice. She tried not to smile, or otherwise preen over the little victory.

Didn't I say this a few episodes ago? Her perky voice will never really go away, especially for moments when she is more relaxed and "herself". But as life experiences began to set due to her dual identity, that voice won't get used as often. Poor girl. Seems her stomach must constantly be in knots.

Uh oh, this "someone" the chief speaks about sounds like Ryo actually.

.. . It was just a few miles from the Witch House, as the crow flied...

Nope, it's not Ryo. I like how she has to be so careful now that she's in this enclosed space. Everyone must be standing around gawking instead of getting out of her way!

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 21 2021, 02:35 PM

[Acadian]

’...and old habits die hard after all.’
- - I'm sure you smiled with a chuckle when you quilled this.

"This is Stormcrow," she said simply. For once she had not used her perky phone voice. She tried not to smile, or otherwise preen over the little victory.'
- - Well, done, January!

Off to the shoppping mall! At the first mention of someone disappearing and moving through things, I thought (like Renee did) of Ryo but what she encounters certainly is not he. Hmm, maybe we’ll get a chance to see how her mutual training with Ryo pays off in terms of stopping an opponent who can fade. Very curious about what this fading man in black is up to.

And I learned something new by looking up ‘sloe eyes’.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

The inclusion of Norse mythology is pretty dope. Including multiple mythologies in one world is a cool concept. Hmmmm. Someone should make a fighting game featuring figures from multiple mythologies. I'm not a fighting game kind of person, but I would totally play that.

Just to be clear--don't take this as making fun of your words, because that isn't what I'm doing, but I couldn't help but think about these brilliant song lyrics (NSFW) when I read the elemental mantra.

'Apotropaic.' Cool word to expand my vocabulary with.

"...nor even ill-tempered Canadians brandishing unobtanium claws." I guess I missed the reference from earlier in the story or from some other media, but just reading this line is amusing.

"...in front of both stories of what used to be Sears." Oof, the feels. I have some nostalgia for what Sears used to be, at least what it was when I was a kid.

Sovngarde--oh, wrong series--Valhalla awaits.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Aug 22 2021, 05:41 AM

[SubRosa]

Renee: I do think that eventually Ryo and Avery will be rooming with January in the Witch House. But that will not be until at least Season Two.

Blood Raven has learned to trust no one where her father is concerned. The stakes are just too high if she miscalculates.

January is indeed slowly but surely losing her awkward inexperience as she grows more confident and self-assured in her role of being a superhero.

Naturally everyone is standing around gawking, instead of getting out of the way. That seems to be the way people act.


Acadian: I was smiling when I wrote the ode to Haute's classic tale.

Ryo vs Hungry Ghost would be an interesting matchup, because while they are similar, their powers work in very different ways. The Ghost can control his density (as we are about to learn). He can become super dense and thusly heavy and invulnerable. Or he can go the opposite way and become intangible, so he can walk through things. While Ryo's Fading power is a little vague purpose. It is something I invented. I was originally think he might either be able phase through things like the X-men's Shadowcat. Or that he might have Shadow powers, allowing himself to become a living shadow, immerse himself in shadows, teleport through them, etc... In the end I combined the two ideas, and created Fading. He fades from reality, so he is literally not entirely there anymore. He's not entirely physically part of the world.

Describing East Asian characters can be fraught with difficulty especially concerning eyes. Using the term 'sloe eyes' is one of the better ways of doing so without it coming across the wrong way.


RaderOfTheLostArk: The Norse mythology is kind of baked into January, as she is a descendant of an actual Viking. Unfortunately he is the big bad guy of the piece. The positive things she takes out of her heritage are balanced by that atavistic horror that always underlies her blood. Plus, she is a magical character, so that always pushes me toward mythology and the supernatural whenever I am conceiving her. And of course, she is a nerd. For example, she uses the classical elements as a way of visualizing and organizing magic. When I was thinking about her ability to call lightning, I was torn between whether that should fall under Fire, or Air. Fire for the obvious reasons of how electricity starts fires. But when you look at it from a mythological standpoint, fire deities do not call down lighting. That is Sky Gods like Zeus.

It is funny you linked to that, because I have been thinking of doing a book that takes place during the Gathering of the Juggalos. It is just a vague idea for some sort of shenanigans going down there, and January and company must go undercover to get to the bottom of it and save the day so ICP can go on and do their show.

The ill tempered Canadian is simply a thinly-veiled reference to a certain guy who is the best there is at what he does, and what he does is not pretty.

I remember Sears too. I used to shop there all the time back in the day.

I spent a long, long time working before I finally came up with "Valhalla Awaits" as her signature tag line. It is way better than "Come at me bro".






Upper Floor of Mall with Gumball Machines

Hot Topic

For My Entertainment Store

Second Atrium with Fountain and Elevator

Another view of the Second Atrium



Book 8.3 - Blood

She did not have to wait long for his reply. He was fast. He lifted one leg, but not to kick. Instead it was to raise his shin to the same level as his hand. He plucked a shiny metal baton from a holster sewn into his lower pant leg. It immediately telescoped into a full length staff. One of its ends sprang out directly into January's stomach.

But she was stone. She was the mountain. She was adamant. The high-tech metal bounced harmlessly off her stomach and skittered off to the side. Her opponent followed through with the motion however, and swung the other end of the staff around in an overhead blow. She swept it aside with a forearm. This time she moved in close, inside the range of the weapon, and raked her other elbow across his face.

But he ducked his head and shoulders back under the blow, like a master of limbo. He slid forward, and passed right through January's body. It was a strange feeling, one that sent a shiver through her spine. It felt like someone stepping on her grave. Clearly, he meant it when he said he would go through her.

"Got it!" Gadget exclaimed in her ear. "This guy is Hungry Ghost. He's been active on the West Coast and Pacific Rim for the past twenty years or so. He was definitely in the Triads back in the day. But he seems to have gone solo about a decade ago, at least mostly. He's a thief, spy, saboteur, and sometimes bodyguard for shady types. You can kind of see where his strengths lie."

"What's it say about kidnapping?" January spun around to see the Ghost come back upright on the other side of her. He reached out for the willowy woman. But then something happened to reality around his prey. The very fabric of spacetime seemed to fold in around her, and warp before January's eyes. It distorted the appearance of everything around her, as if reality had been twisted about in a swirling vortex of color and texture.

Reality collapsed into her more and more, until there was nothing left of her at all. Then an instant later everything sprang back to normal, with only a gentle waft of air to mark her passing. Of the woman herself, there was no sign.

"Ok, that was unexpected." Gadget murmured in her ear.

Another vortex of light caught January's eye below her. There, down on the ground floor, the reverse of what she had just witnessed took place. Spacetime did not pull itself inward, but rather erupted outward. January even thought she might have glimpsed a reflection of herself in one of the dozens of shards of reality that flowed and stretched out through the air.

Then everything was normal again. But the mystery woman was now standing in the spot where the second disturbance had taken place. The scarf that covered her face slipped, and she was obliged to raise a hand to cover her features. It was too fast for January to really glimpse anything more than perfect cheekbones and a heart-shaped face.

"Now that was F'ing lit!" Gadget marveled in her ear. "I wonder if she's creating an Einstein-Rosen Bridge? Or is she sending quantum information from one place to another? Or dematerializing herself in one place, beaming her constituent atoms to another, and then reassembling them?"

"Slow down science guy," January muttered. "I have to catch up with her first."

So far Hungry Ghost remained ahead of her on that score. He simply slid down through the terrazzo tiled floor, and dropped to the lower level. January had to do things the hard way. She leaped over a kiosk of gumball machines, and then darted around an advertisement for a furniture store. That put her at the waist-high glass safety barrier that ringed the balcony. She put one hand on the wooden rail to vault over, and dropped down to the stone tiles of the lower floor.

She got there just in time to see the Mystery Woman warp herself out of the interior of a Hot Topic store, and back into the main hall where January had landed. She now wore a really well-made Nightgirl mask. Not a cheap Halloween costume, but a collector's item that must have cost a pretty penny.

"Hi," January found herself fumbling for words as she stared the other woman in the face. She knew that her mind should be on other things. But the Mystery Teleporter had the softest brown eyes. The kind you could fall into forever...

"It... it's you!" the other woman gushed. A look of relief washed over what little of her features that January could see. She reached out and grabbed January by the arms as if for safety. "It's really you! I..., I...-"

Then January saw the Hungry Ghost coming through the store's plate glass window. He literally passed right through it of course, without damaging it in the slightest. January gently, but firmly, pushed Not-Nightgirl behind her, and reflexively fell into a fighting stance.

"Get your hands off my..." the Ghost's words trailed away as he brought that metallic staff around for another blow. Now January noted that it was not a featureless rod. Instead it bore several knobby protrusions around the center, like the controls for something. Once more he swung it down in an overhand blow. January knew she could not dodge. He might hit Not-Nightgirl or someone else if she did.

Earth give me strength, keep me grounded, protect me from harm.

January's elemental mantra passed through her head as she focused her will upon defense. She became adamant. She raised her forearms to block the attack, and it came down upon her like a mountain. It literally felt like Mount Everest was hitting her, crushing her underneath it. She gritted her teeth and poured her mana into her Earth mantra. The words sprang up around her in glowing Eldar Futhark runes, and slowly revolved around her.

The mountain continued to press down upon her bones. She heard the terrazzo stone of the floor crumble around her. An entire swath of the composite stone at her feet literally broke off from the rest and sank down farther into the ground. Evidently just like her body, the stone around her feet was made adamant by her power. But eventually the range of that power gave way, and sheared it off from the rest of the unprotected earth around her.

Now January knew how Atlas felt, holding the weight of the world upon his shoulders.

"Stop!" Not-Nightgirl screamed. January was aware of the shifting lightshow of her teleportation behind her. Then straight ahead she saw the reverse, as the woman popped back into reality ahead of her and to the left. That now put her in front of a For My Entertainment store. She stood in the doorway, flanked by life-sized models of Superious and Nightman there were done up in high detail.

Hungry Ghost pulled back his staff, and the astounding weight suddenly fell away. Before she could act, he leaped up into a dropkick. This did nothing to harm January of course. But the feet he planted into her chest allowed him to use her as a springboard, and he leaped horizontally away. He soared through the air as if he weighed less than a feather. Which January imagined he might. Naturally his path led him straight to Not-Nightgirl.

"I think he can control his density," January murmured to Gadget. "He hits like a real mountain."

"That makes sense," her virtual partner replied. "It explains how he can move through solid matter, or become more dense than a diamond."

"Or a dwarf star maybe," January mused. She darted forward, once again chasing Hungry Ghost. Just as he was about to reach Not-Nightgirl the air between the two of them changed. It became opaque, like the frosted glass of a shower door. The Ghost hit it hard, and January was surprised to see him bounce off.

"Curiouser and couriser," Gadget mused. "I think she is manipulating spacetime. Maybe controlling physical dimensions, and warping them to connect distant points to one another, and riding across the gap. Or in this case, maybe she is disconnecting the points on either side of this force field."

Then January was on top of Hungry Ghost. Or she would have been, if he had not been intangible. Instead she passed right through his matter-less body, and skidded into the force field herself. It vanished a moment later, as did Not-Nightgirl.

January was climbing to her feet when Hungry Ghost was upon her. She barely saw him raise his right foot and pivot on the toes of his left. The side kick he unleashed an instant later crashed into her chest. She went sprawling back into the Superious dummy. Thankfully it was built sturdily, and did not disintegrate beneath her. In fact, it was almost as if the fictional golden age superhero had caught her, and he prevented her from flying back into the store proper.

Hungry Ghost did not stick around to continue the brawl. Instead he sped off in the direction of Not-Nightgirl. January saw her standing across the indoor atrium from the two of them. She raced away down a wide hallway toward the next atrium beyond.

January allowed a shopper to lend her a hand to rise to her feet. Naturally he asked for a selfie with her. Other people were already taking pictures and videos.

"Sorry no time," January murmured as she kept her eyes on the action across the mall. Then she paused a turn to the man, and the crowd of onlookers. "But, arigato chummer."

There was enough open space in the atrium for her to leap into the air and deploy her wings. She flew up to the second level and over a wide bridge that connected either side of the upper floor. She was careful not to make even a single beat of her wings to avoid accidentally hitting the shoppers that went to and fro below her. This was pure gliding. Thankfully, she had a lot of experience at doing just that.

She passed over the bridge and came out in another wide atrium. She imagined that put her at roughly the center of the entire mall. A pool of black, reflective stone sat at one side of the space. Three small fountains rose up within, and their waters flowed away on all sides across short waterfalls. The irregular outline of the pool was indented in several places, each lined with comfy, overstuffed leather couches.

Rising up directly behind the fountain was a glass elevator that connected the ground and upper levels. Its smoked black glass was lined with light bulbs that glowed bright orange. Milling around both the elevator and fountain were numerous mall-goers, many of whom lingered around a row of little kiosks off to one side that were lined with movie and band tee shirts. January had to admit, she liked the look of the Iron Maiden one with their monster mascot rising from a grave while bathed in lightning.

Hungry Ghost caught up with Not-Nightgirl in front of the fountain. January could not hear what he said to her. But he once again grabbed for her arm. She pushed her other hand out against him, and an opaque wave rippled through the air. It looked just like the force field she had created a moment before. This time it was far smaller however, just the size of a fist, and propelled itself into the Ghost's body.

The bolt of kinetic energy sent Hungry Ghost flying into an escalator that lay across the atrium from the fountain. People cleared out around him, but he ignored them. Instead he simply shook off the blow and leaped into the air. His jump took him impossibly far, as if he was completely weightless. Naturally, it sent him directly at Not-Nightgirl.

She once again folded reality around her and disappeared. She reappeared an instant later within the elevator. Even with its darkened windows, January could see the crazy light of reality altering when she reformed inside.

The car slowly rose from the ground floor to the upper level. That put it out of line with Hungry Ghost's leap. He must have allowed gravity to once again find purchase upon his body, for he suddenly dropped to the stone tiled floor at the edge of the fountain. But only for an instant, as once he hit the ground he sprang back skyward once more.

January banked steeply with her wings. That angled her flight hard to the left. She spilled altitude, but gained speed. That put her on a collision course with Hungry Ghost, who was even then rising into the air toward the elevator. Now she had him. As she had learned through practicing with Ôkami, her aura strikes still worked against an opponent who was out of phase. She hoped the same applied to someone who was intangible. After all, their aura was still there for her to strike in astral space.

A moment later they all converged at the glass wall of the car. Once more Hungry Ghost passed effortlessly through it, and landed inside the elevator. January was just an instant behind him, too slow for her to reach his aura.

She hit the glass face of the elevator hard. Thankfully it was not hard enough to crack it. But she still felt like a cartoon character running face-first into a tunnel painted on the side of a mountain. She could only imagine how silly she must have looked to everyone inside the elevator.

She did not waste time on self-deprecation however. Gravity, as was its wont, dragged her down with leaden fingers. She did a back flip off the side of the elevator to spite it. Now that she was in the wide open atrium she no longer needed to fear hitting people with her wings. A single beat of their feathers pushed her back up, and sent ripples flowing across the surface of the fountain directly below her.

January nosed up, and with another powerful beat of her wings she arrowed to the upper level balcony. She pulled in her wings and folded them up on her back once her feet hit the wooden top of the safety rail. She somersaulted forward onto the composite stone tiled floor, and put in a half twist at the end. She landed on her feet with her back to a Detroit Vs Everybody clothing store, and faced the elevator doors.

She stepped forward and waved her arms to clear away the people who had gathered to enter the elevator. There were far too many civilians around for this to continue much longer. Innocent people were going to get hurt, or killed, unless she ended things.

So when the elevator doors opened, she was ready. She darted in with a feral grin. But Not-Nightgirl was no longer inside. Out of the corner of her eye, January saw her warp back into reality far off to her left, toward the Macys. But Hungry Ghost was still in front of her. Right now, that was all she was truly focused upon anyhow.

The people in the elevator hugged the walls, which January was thankful for. That gave her a direct line to the former Triad operative. She took a small leap up to send her airborne, and dropped down at him with her elbow. It was time to finish the Ghost once and for all.

Hungry Ghost did not dodge or block. Instead he pulled a grenade from his belt and bounced it off one of the glass walls of the elevator car. January knew that he could become intangible, and be completely immune to the effects of the explosive. But the passengers within the enclosed space would be slaughtered.

She became water, and flowed away from her original trajectory. Her wings sprang from her back, and she caught the grenade as it ricocheted through the air. She pulled it close to her belly, and wrapped her wings around her in a protective cocoon. She knelt on the floor and waited for the blast. But it never came. Instead the grenade lit up with bright light. It was so brilliant that it shone through her wings, even revealing her bones as darker lines through the wider mass of black feathers.

"Malaka!" January could not contain the expletive she had picked up from Gadget's recent foray into one of the Assassin's Creed games. "It's a flash grenade."

She crushed the metal and plastic device under her fingers, and sprinkled the remains upon the elevator's black-tiled floor. She looked up to see the frightened faces of the shoppers around her, and forced a smile.

"Everything is ok," January insisted, as if the force of her will could calm their frazzled nerves. "It was just a strobe light."

[Acadian]

Wow, a busy day at the mall!

’January had to admit, she liked the look of the Iron Maiden one with their monster mascot rising from a grave while bathed in lightning.’
- - A girl always has time for window shopping though.

This was a fast and intense fight, but it was neat weaving in a funny moment when the Stormcrow bounced off the elevator door. No bird has ever bounced off a window before.

Urg, Hungry Ghost knows his White Hats. Endanger non-combatants in the elevator to distract the hero and make his escape.

[Renee]

I also miss Sears. Great place to get lawn tools & home accessories.

Here is a song you (or Jan) might like. Hero, by Weezer. Maybe you've already heard it on the radio. Its lyrics have a lot of superhero stuff.

Wow, Gadget is able to discern who the enemy she's fighting is. Hungry Ghost. Ha! They're in Hot Topic. Hot Topic is great, as well as Spencer's.

It definitely seems each new batch of enemies being faced becomes more and more difficult to affect, you know?

All of that is going on, all this activity, and somebody still can't help by try to get a selfie at THAT moment.

Phew.

This post has been edited by Renee: Sep 3 2021, 02:02 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: January is having more fun at the mall than I ever did!

January knows what she likes. That definitely includes shirts with lightning and the undead rising from the grave.

And January will always fall for that trick. It is who and what she is.


Renee: I miss Sears too. Amazon and internet shopping has destroyed so many brick and mortar businesses...

That song is definitely very superheroic. But pretty depressing. Thankfully January is not that disillusioned by being an outcast. Instead it just makes her dig in her heels even harder to fight for those who cannot.

I am gradually turning up the danger of January's enemies. She is leveling up, and the Leveled Lists mean that her enemies do so with her. She has definitely gone far beyond fighting wolves and imps. Soon she will be in 1,000 hit point goblin territory. Seriously though, I wanted her to start relatively small and gradually work her way up through the ranks of villains. That way she is always facing a threat that cannot be ignored. Even if it is a threat to others and not herself.

Everyone wants a selfie with a star. The whole point to social media is to pretend that your life is much cooler and more exciting than it really is.






Macy's Atrium

Macy's Atrium again

"Cinnaton" Store

Anime Store



Book 8.4 - Blood

Hungry Ghost was long gone by then of course. It was the classic supervillain gambit: endanger civilians to distract the white hat. This was the third time January had encountered it, and it had worked against her every time. The reason was plain. People like her would always place the lives and safety of others first. It was why their hats were white in the first place.

January raced from the elevator and took a right turn. She leaped up on the wooden rail of the glass safety barrier that girded the edge of the balcony, and ran down its length. That gave her a straight line of travel clear of shoppers. The rail turned at a bridge that bordered the central atrium of the mall, and she leaped into the air. That sent her across the bridge, and brought her feet down on the opposite rail. She bounced from it and back into the air.

Her wings snapped out as she bounded up toward the ceiling. Her back scraped along its featureless white surface as she glided down the length of this spur of the mall. She saw Hungry Ghost race directly across the final bridge in front of her, moving from left to right. She nosed down and banked to cut him off.

This time she landed in front of a Cinnaton shop, which sent involuntary twinges of hunger through her tummy. The scent of freshly-baked bread was paradise on its own. But add in the delicious aroma of cinnamon, and it might as well have been Freyja's hall Sessrúmnir. What more could a girl ask from life?

The pastry shop was one of several businesses that ringed this new indoor atrium. The Macy's which anchored the space stood at her right. While to her left was the line of bridges she had crossed over to get here from the center of the mall. Down below on the floor in the center of the atrium was another large lounge area filled with overstuffed leather couches built into the surrounding stonework. Several palm trees rose up from one side of the lounge. They soared up into the open space in the middle of the atrium and filled the upper level with their long, green leaves.

Opposite from the trees a stainless steel monstrosity of modern art rose up as well. Its single, main beam angled skyward, and supported what looked like a circle with a quarter of its body chopped out of it. That remaining curved piece sprouted from the beam higher above. What it was supposed to be, or represent, was a complete mystery to January.

Not-Nightgirl was there in front of the Cinnaton shop of course. Hungry Ghost seemed to be purely focused on her. Why was anyone's guess. But it sure seemed skeevy. January put herself between the two of them once more and raised her fists.

"Stormcrow!" Not-Nightgirl cried from behind her. January felt the other woman's hand clamp on her shoulder. "You've got to help me! I don't know what's happening. I have to stop it!"

"Don't worry," January cocked her head slightly to once side, but did not take her eyes from the oncoming form of Hungry Ghost. "I'm here to help you."

"Get your hands off my daughter!" the Ghost cried as he ate up the final inches between the two. His staff came around for a horizontal blow. January readied to block it. She could see it play out in her mind, and knew that she afterward she would have one instant in which to push in closer, and drop the elbow. That would end it.

"Stop!" Not-Nightgirl cried out from behind her in a shrill voice.

What felt like a tidal wave struck January from behind. Totally unprepared for an attack from that quarter, the air was knocked from her lungs. The next thing she knew, both she and Hungry Ghost went hurtling through the air. The kinetic wave sent them clear across the indoor atrium. January crashed through the palm leaves, only to see the shining silver of the art piece looming before her.

Once again she splatted against it like a cartoon character. This was really growing tiresome. She saw Hungry Ghost pass right through it of course, and continue on through the window of an anime store on the far side of the atrium. Now that was appropriate at least, this entire affair felt more animated than she was accustomed to.

January gasped for breath, and clung to the stainless steel edifice with her fingers. Once her lungs were under her control, she effortlessly leaped up over top of the art work and somersaulted in mid air. She snapped out her wings, and arrowed back toward Not-Nightgirl.

The other woman stood there in front of the cinnamon treat store. Her hands covered her face in horror, as if she could not bear to witness what she had done. She cautiously pulled two of her fingers away, and peeked out with one eye between them. She looked right at January, and backed up into a rack of boxed pastries.

January came down upon the terrazzo floor tiles and pulled in her wings. She reached out with one hand, and tried to speak as soothingly as possible. Clearly, the woman was at the end of her rope. January was fully aware of how menacing she could sometimes appear with her black armor and wings. Once again, she wished that crows were a little more colorful. That way she could have a more cheerful - or at least less-threatening - look.

"It's ok," January said calmly. "I'm on your side. Let me-"

Reality folded in around the other woman, warping space and twisting it into a tiny knot. Not-Nightgirl vanished within the folds, and then everything snapped back once more. That left January standing there talking to no one.

Her eyes darted around, but she did not see her reform anywhere on the upper or lower levels. She did see Hungry Ghost come out of the anime store across the atrium from her. As ever, he intangibly walked through both the merchandise and the glass walls. He looked up, and January followed his gaze to the bare ceiling overhead. There, through one of the recessed skylights, she saw one of Not-Nightgirl's legs. It was just for an instant however, for she raced out of view a second later.

Hungry Ghost leaped after her. Becoming mass-less really gave him a lot of distance on his leaps. Not to mention the whole part of him being able to move through walls and ceilings. January stared up after the two and considered her options. The skylights were small, but still wide enough for her to fit through, if not for the lights that hung down through them. They also were clearly not the kind you could open or close. She could burst through them - or the ceiling itself - the old-fashioned way. But destroying buildings and endangering people with the flying wreckage was not her thing. She was here to prevent things like that happening after all.

She was going to have to take the long way out and play catch-up. She just hoped that Not-Nightgirl and her pursuer did not do something tragic in the time between.

"Umm, cinnamon roll?"

January looked back to see a young man with a beard and doughy frame standing behind the pastry counter. He held out a cinnamon roll sheathed in a square of wax paper. It was covered in melted frosting, sprinkled with dark brown cinnamon, and looked absolutely irresistible. January knew she should be doing the important hero thing right now. Treats were trivial after all.

So she reached into one of the pockets of her utility and pulled out some crumpled bills. She had no idea how much it was. It could have been a few dollars, or a hundred. Granted, she never had the latter, so it could not be that much. She dropped the money on the counter and snatched up the sweet roll. Then she raced off.

"Hey, you don't have to pay!" the clerk's voice faded away in the distance behind her. "It's on me..."

January would never dream of the latter though. Other supers did take gifts from civilians. It happened all the time in fact. But they were not trans. They did not live in her world. She knew that a horde of bigoted pundits would twist it into her stealing from the shop, or extorting them. Even just for a cinnamon roll. Nothing was beneath them. Not even wearing a tan suit. She had to be absolutely perfect at all times.

There was no direct exit to the exterior of the mall in sight. So January plunged into the Macy's, and threaded her way through the department store. Shoppers were everywhere of course, and by now many had phones out to take pictures and record the ruckus. As ever, January did the best she could to be friendly, and still make good time through the store. She munched on her cinnamon roll as she did. At least it was wonderful. The combination of fresh bread, cinnamon, and cream cheese frosting made for an absolute delight on her tongue. So far it was the only positive takeaway she had from the day.

"Did Hungry Ghost say to get your hands off his daughter?" Gadget mused over their audio link.

"I was paying more attention to that big stick he was swinging at me." January mumbled through a mouth full of sweet roll. The sweetness was getting to her now. As was often the result of her indulging in sugary treats like chocolate or candy, it was too much, too sweet, too strong. She began to feel a headache coming on.

"Ok, I'm doing some more digging into this hombre." Gadget said. "It looks like he got his start in San Francisco, around the year 2000. At least I can't find anything before that. He spent a lot of time in and around California, but eventually branched out around the Pacific Rim. He seems to have stopped working in San Fran and Cali around 2008 or so. After that I only see reports of him in places like Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, Korea, Latin America, and Oceania."

January finally escaped from the confines of the department store, and pushed her way through its glass doors to the world outside. She set her half-eaten pastry down on top of a garbage can. At least one of the gulls might enjoy it. Then she turned her face skyward, leapt into its expanse with sheer delight. Her wings popped out, caught the wind, and turned it into the sea upon which she sailed.

"Like I said before, this guy seems mostly be a thief, spy, and saboteur. There are some cases of straight up fights between him and other black hats though. Maybe gang on gang stuff. I don't know." Gadget continued. "He's got some anti-video tech when he wants to use it, but nothing that can make him invisible to the naked eye. And as you noted, he's really good at walking through walls. He seems to be a pretty good fighter with that staff too. What I see here says he is a master of Kung Fu, Shaolin style. Not the movie stuff, the real thing."

"Are you sure you don't want Ôkami in on this?" Gadget asked once more.

"I don't know if he's ready," January squirmed. "I don't want to throw him in the deep end with a real supervillain just yet. This guy doesn't seem to want to harm civilians. But he's got no qualms about what he does to us, and he hits like a literal mountain."

"You do not have to baby me," Ryo's voice came over the comlink. "I am not a child."

January closed her eyes and sighed. Not the best thing to do when flying. But at least there was nothing up here for her to run into.

"Just... please, trust me, ok?" January begged. "If this guy really is our mystery teleporter's father, then maybe this is being blown all out of proportion. Maybe we can settle this without more hostilities, and putting innocent people in danger. The fewer people, the easier it will be to do that. Ok?"

"If he does not want to talk?" Ryo said.

"Then I introduce him to the Stormcrow Downward Jumping Elbow," January said. She was going to have to work on that. A finishing move deserved a better name. Like the Talon Strike. Well, maybe something less melodramatic. She would have to workshop it.

By now she had finished her sweet roll, and she stuffed the wax paper she had held it with into one of the pouches in her utility belt. Thank goodness she could separate her wings from her arms for just such pressing needs.

[Acadian]

The ironic thing about Sears’ demise is that they literally invented and perfected shop from home via a paper catalogue, yet could not adjust to shop from home via an electronic catalogue. Oh well.

Jan’s passionate description of Cinnabons was so spot on! Those things are way up there in the chocolatesphere of yummy.

Not-Nightgirl is Hungry Ghost’s daughter?!? Wow, that answers some questions while begging a bunch more. Maybe he’s a grayish black hat – looking back, that elevator grenade was not a lethal one. . . . Perhaps a domestic disturbance between capes? We shall see.

Well, any fight that ends in a sweet roll is a good one.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

"Then I introduce him to the Stormcrow Downward Jumping Elbow," January said. She was going to have to work on that. A finishing move deserved a better name. Like the Talon Strike. Well, maybe something less melodramatic. She would have to workshop it.

By now she had finished her sweet roll, and she stuffed the wax paper she had held it with into one of the pouches in her utility belt. Thank goodness she could separate her wings from her arms for just such pressing needs.

Maybe January should call it "The People's Elbow." Oh, wait, that's already taken IRL. Ah well, who says you can't take it for your story?

"Let me guess, someone didn't steal her sweet roll?"

[Renee]

All of that's going on, yet Cinnabun still calls. That's somewhat of a relief.

Opposite from the trees a stainless steel monstrosity of modern art rose up as well. Its single, main beam angled skyward, and supported what looked like a circle with a quarter of its body chopped out of it. That remaining curved piece sprouted from the beam higher above. What it was supposed to be, or represent, was a complete mystery to January.

Bolded part made me chuckle.

Ah, 'tis difficult having conversations with a ghost and a phantom.

Omg she takes a cinnamon roll! Hey, I imagine it takes energy to keep doing what she does. Interesting that there's some reasoning why she makes sure to pay (her gender).

Damn. I was hoping she'd get to trash Macy's. Always wanted to do that, myself!

I agree that Ôkami is not ready for this. In fact, it was good his first hero experience was helping at that car wreck, rather than going after some actual, high-powered enemies. In fact, I wonder how Ryo will handle his new career in the long run. I imagine he'll have some problems worse than Jan. Just speculating, though.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I had not thought about it that way with Sears. But you are right. They are among those many companies unable to make the transition into the digital age. But I remember the Sears catalog when I was a children, and looking through it to see what I wanted for Christmas.

I do not think I have ever had a Cinnabon (maybe it was long ago, and I forgot). I keep meaning to go find one that is still open to try one. But I also keep forgetting to).

There are definitely lots of questions about what the heck is going on with Not-Nightgirl and Hungry Ghost, and just what the heck is actually going on here. We will get some answers today.


RaderOfTheLostArk: I did look at the People's Elbow when I briefly workshopped names for her elbow drop. I never did come up with anything. So it will still be the Stormcrow downward jumping elbow.

I feel sorry for anyone (looking at you Butch) who tries to steal Jan's sweet roll!


Renee: All the Cinnabon stuff was just my way of keeping things a little light-hearted. For all the fighting and chasing, so far this has not been a particularly high-stakes or dangerous encounter. Not like fighting Nazis or abyssals at least.

I remember when Macy's was Hudsons. Well, at least the ones here in Michigan. They all got bought up a while back by Macy's.

Ryo will definitely have his issues, just as Jan does of her own. But not with the fighting part. That is easy for him. It is the social aspect that will trouble him the most, as it does in his civilian life. Of course Jan has her own desire to protect her friends affecting her judgment as well. Something else she will have to deal with in the future.







As always Selfridge and Metro Beach can be found on the Stormcrow Google Map

Selfridge Air National Guard Base 01

Selfridge Golf Course and Metro Beach

Metro Beach

The Gazebo is real

Not-Nightgirl is played by Hannah Quinlivan



Book 8.5 - Blood

She gained altitude in order to increase her field of view, and cast her eyes this way and that. There was no telling how far Not-Nightgirl may have gone. But her apparent father could not have traveled too far. He seemed to have a way of knowing where she was. So perhaps it was better to follow him, rather than try to find her?

There, she picked out his form to the east, soaring over the Center Campus of Macomb Community College. Unless there was someone else who could leap hundreds of feet into the air, and hundreds more lengthwise. She arrowed down toward him, and traded altitude for speed. She held back from engaging with him however. For the moment she was above and behind him. If he was unaware of her presence, there was no point changing that. Instead she would see where he led her.

"This guy seems to know where he is going," Gadget said in her ear.

"I was thinking that too," January replied. "He might have some way of sensing her, or even have a tracker on her."

"Like her phone?" Ôkami's voice came over the link. "If he has her number, and she has her phone turned on, then he has her GPS."

Basic operational security was to use disposable phones that you threw away after each use. Or you disabled your GPS, or redirected it to display a false location. Anyone trying to trace the Stormcrow number would be directed to the South Pole. Her personal phone would just show nothing. Yet January never ceased to be amazed at the multitudes of people who did not realize that their phone was a literal tracking device on them every moment of the day.

"If he really is her dad, he's probably got her number," Gadget noted.

January settled in to shadowing the former Triad supervillain. It reminded her of her second encounter with Archimedes. She had followed the robot back to Isaac's lair. Hungry Ghost might do the same for her. Like that time, she was obliged to go to ground at times to keep from being seen. But for the most part Hungry Ghost appeared to have a one-track mind. He only seemed to pause occasionally to consult the electronics built into his staff, and sometimes reorient his leaps afterward.

"You guys are nearing Lake St. Clair," Gadget observed. "If she keeps going east much longer, she's going to be swimming."

January beat her wings skyward once more. The clouds overhead were a mix of white and gray. That gave her cause for pride. Often her moods were reflected in the local sky, for good or ill. So far she had a fight, and a chase, and several cartoonish splats, all without a major thunderstorm. She was doing well.

Her eyes scanned the horizon, looking for that telltale warping of reality that revealed Not-Nightgirl's teleportation. She briefly considered closing her eyes and reaching out in astral space. But she was not sure how far she might need to push her senses, or even what the teleporter's powers might feel like in the magical realm. So instead she chose to rely upon her meat eyes, as any other crow would.

There! Past the interchange between the I-94 freeway and the divided road of M-59 she noted the telltale warping in effect. It was in a wide open field just south of M-59. It was less than a mile from the lake beyond. It was also just inside the Selfridge Air National Guard base.

January laid on the speed, and fused her wings with her arms to give her added power. She darted past Hungry Ghost, and left him far behind. She saw Not-Nightgirl standing just inside the fence that bordered the air base, turning this way and that. Then she pulled reality around her into a colorful ball, and disappeared from view once more.

January's eyes scanned this way and that. So far her teleports appeared to have all been line of sight. Following that assumption, she concentrated her attention on the places that would be visible to Not-Nightgirl from the ground. She could go farther down the road, to a traffic circle and one of the entrances of the base. Or there was an empty field about half a mile long to the north. While to the south lay the wide open expanse of the air base, whose long main runway stretched on for two miles.

January put her nuyen on that horse, and banked sharply to her right. She was vindicated a moment later when in the far distance she made out Not-Nightgirl's reversion into reality. The willowy woman stood at the far end of the long airstrip, once again taking her bearings.

January ate the miles between them. She dove for the earth, giving up altitude but increasing her speed in the bargain. She did not level out her flight until she was so low that her wings were just inches from touching the ground on each downward sweep. Hopefully that would keep her off the National Guard's radar, both figurative and literal. If not, well, she could beg forgiveness for trespassing later.

Of the air base itself, there was little for January to actually see. Here near the runway it was just wide open space. Thankfully no planes were trying to take off or land at that moment. Just in case January made sure to fly parallel to the airstrip, rather than directly over it. Buildings clustered in the distance to either side. But there were no people or vehicles anywhere near her route. She did notice a row of A-10s parked under a series of unwalled hangars off to one side. She recognized them because they were the same planes that Lighthammer had flown, and had pictures of in his house.

Not-Nightgirl blinked from existence once more. But again, January spotted her reforming. She had moved even farther to the east. That put her near the lake, at the edge of a golf course. Who put a golf course on an air base anyway? Probably the old men who ran the place, she imagined.

January beat her wings for altitude once more when she reached the golf course. The manicured greens were wide open of course. But the rows of trees that dotted the landscape between them cut down on her vision. Thankfully they would do the same to the Not-Nightgirl, and presumably reduce her to shorter jumps.

January picked up the trail again south of the Clinton River, which bordered the southern edge of the airstrip. Beyond a narrow subdivision and marina there stretched out another wide, empty field. Not-Nightgirl crossed it in a blink, eliminating much of the ground January had gained in a heartbeat.

"She's going toward Metro Beach," January noted. "She's almost out of land."

"It is St. Clair Metropark now," Ôkami pointed out. He always was a stickler for specificity.

January soared across Clinton River and the wide patch of marshland beyond. Then she was sailing over the wide parking lots that lurked in the center of the Metropark. To her left a canal separated the park from a peninsula that was overstuffed with a subdivision of homes. Beyond lay the blue waters of Lake St. Clair. To the right was the beach part of Metro Beach, and more wide open waters. January darted along the narrow spit of land between and hunted for any signs of her prey.

The ground quickly vanished under her wings. January began to worry that the teleporter had given her the slip, and perhaps vanished off to the west behind her. But at the literal edge of the lake she spotted her once more.

She stood within a gazebo. It was a small affair, with a sharply peaked roof of what looked like aluminum painted a dark shade of teal. It was ringed with trees from the landward side, but completely open facing the water. A narrow road skirted the edge of the peninsula just beyond the structure. After that the waters of the lake slapped gently against a rocky shoreline.

No one else was around, which January was thankful for. She nosed down to the ground, and did not slow until it filled her vision. She did not want to lose Not-Nightgirl again. Worse, there was no telling when Hungry Ghost would appear. She did not have a second to spare. So she did not feather back her wings to slow her descent as she normally would. Instead she simply pulled them in and dropped the last few feet, and took all of the impact with her knees.

It turned out the concrete sidewalk that ringed the gazebo was weaker than her flesh, for it gave way first. It literally crumpled under her feet as she planted herself into the earth. January felt bad about that. She did not like destroying things, even if there was no avoiding it. That was what black hats did after all.

"Don't run away!" January spat out when the teleporter spun about to face her. Apparently she did not realize how close January had been, if she had even been aware she had been followed at all. January put her hands out plaintively, palms open in a gesture of peace. "I'm here to help you. Just talk to me."

"Oh thank god!" Not-Nightgirl once again surprised January. Not by fleeing, but instead by running forward and literally throwing herself into her arms. She clung to January like a drowning person would to a life raft. January could feel her body shake under her, and wondered what could frighten her so.

"Hey, it's ok," January said in a soft voice. "Whatever is wrong, we can work it out. Just tell me."

The other woman pulled back enough for them to look into each other's eyes. But not far enough for her to relinquish her hold on January's armored frame. Once more, January noticed how easy it was to drown in the other woman's brown eyes, or the soft, red contours of her lips. There was little more she could see of her face, given the Nightgirl mask. But her body certainly felt good under her hands. Goddess, she even smelled wonderful, a mixture of lavender and hyssop that sent January's nostrils to Freyja's hall.

January had to stop herself from leaning forward to kiss the other woman. She blinked. She was letting her estrogen get way, way out of control. Was this a superpower? Or was Not-Nightgirl another goddess? January certainly seemed to have a knack for running into them lately. First it was that woman on the bus to Poletown, then the sniper Nyah, and now this mystery woman. Where did they all come from?

"I need your help," she breathed. "My powers, they just sort of turned on a few days ago. I mean some of them... I mean... I could teleport for years. I even got good at it. But two days ago I lost my temper, and the window in my bedroom shattered. Then the next day I was trying to explain it to my mother. She was so pissed that I broke the window. Well I freaked out. I sort of blew out the wall."

"I didn't want to!" she insisted. "It just happened. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't stay. Not after that. What if I did that to my mother? Or someone else? I didn't know what to do. Then I thought of you. You've been all over the socials since you came out. I knew that if anyone could help me, it would be you."

"And I will, absolutely." January insisted. Of course she had no idea how to teach a baby super to safely use their powers. But when she looked into the other woman's soft eyes, admitting that was the last thing on her mind.

"Ok, now first things first," January continued. "What do I call you? I've been thinking of you as Not-Nightgirl. But that's not going to work in the long term."

She took a step back, and cast her eyes from side to side. January did the same. It was still just the two of them. Not-Nightgirl reached for her mask, and January immediately told Sága to engage her video camo. The teleporter pulled the mask from her head with a toss of her hair, causing the side bob to flop from one side or her head to the other, before finally settling back into its original place.

"I'm Hannah," the young woman breathed.

"Wow," January realized that she was staring, just when she also realized that she had said "Wow". She tried to recover with something witty, or at least something not creepy. But words failed her completely.

Hannah was beautiful. High cheekbones, soft lips, sloe eyes, and a mane of ebony hair coiffed into a punk masterpiece, she was everything January wished she had been born as. Her skintight leather pants showed off her slender frame, as did the strappy, backless top that clung to her soft skin.

"I'm... uh... I'm..." January stammered. Her heart raced, and her mouth felt dry. She was keenly aware that Hannah still held her gently by the arms. She stared down at the other woman's hands, and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she finally spat out. "I'm normally a lot more professional than this. It must be all the adrenaline from the fight at the mall, and the chase. I am Stormcrow. It is very nice to meet you Hannah."

She tried to disengage herself enough to shake Hannah's hand. But the other woman slid her fingers around her arm instead. Time seemed to slow down. It crawled by with glacial slowness, allowing January to take in every little motion of Hannah's face as she leaned in. As her lips parted slightly, and moved closer. As her head tilted sideways so their noses did not bump.

January leaned forward herself, and took the invitation so clearly offered. She closed her eyes, and felt the silken caress of the other woman's lips against her own. Her arms moved of their own accord, and pulled Hannah tightly against her armored frame. The lavender and hyssop scent of her body filled her. The softness of her bare back made her want to pull off her gloves, to feel Hannah's skin against her own.

All the time, they maintained the kiss. January did not want it to ever end. She had always wondered what kissing a girl felt like. She had read about it of course. But her life had given her few opportunities to actually do so, which was to say, no opportunities. She had thought her first time might be awkward. She had feared it might be unpleasant. But this, this was a blessing from Freyja. Now she understood just why so many people worshipped that particular goddess.

There was no rain, but lightning cracked through the sky above, again and again. January could not see it, but she heard it roaring in her ears, and felt the electricity buzzing around her. It was like the sky itself was celebrating in a riotous display of joy and fervor along with her.

She opened her eyes once more when Hannah finally did break off the kiss. Her brown eyes were fixed upon her own. They were a dream January never wanted to wake up from. She felt the other woman's fingers slide down her winged helmet, to play with the long shock of hair that spilled out the back of the headgear. Every touch of her body was electric, and January would know. She played in the lightning after all.

"I'm January," she heard herself say. Before she could stop herself, she pulled her helmet back, and allowed it to hang down against the nape of her neck. She felt the damp air on her cheeks, and a moment later Hannah's fingertips, as they slowly traced their way across her bared face.