The Stormcrow, A Superhero's Tale Options

[Acadian]

Fabulous episode! I loved how well Blood Raven played her role as mentor.

"Are you like, quoting Yoda or something?" Hannah wondered.’
- - I was thinking Mr Miagi right when Hannah was thinking Yoda!

Indeed, Blood Raven was every bit as sage as those two, as well as any mentor Buffy ever had (Daenlin, Kud-Ei, Boderi Farano). Hannah is a handful and Blood Raven was spot on (I think) to both encourage her as well as offer the cautions that she did.

Changing from her Blood Raven uniform to her Branwen street attire with merely a thought shows the depth and sophistication of her magic – doubtless from her prodigious experience.

Finally, as she rattles off her current ‘to do’ list, she reveals a deeply caring heart that stands in delicious contrast to her outwardly projected image.


Nit: ’Finally she looked back and {at instead of and?} Blood Raven.’

[SubRosa]

Renee: Blood Raven is definitely a forceful taskmaster. She pushes her students to be their best. Being just mediocre is not good enough when their lives are in danger. Or other people's.

It is really easy to fall really hard for someone really fast. Blood Raven has her own experience of course, and has seen it happen to others even more often. It was high time for her to try to temper Hannah's desires with a little reality. The truth is that she and January did literally just meet. They do not know one another at all.

Blood Raven absolutely proffers...


Acadian: I get the feeling Blood Raven has had this conversation many times with other young people throughout the centuries. So it comes easily.

Like Mr. Miagi, I am sure Blood Raven has owned several belts from JC Penny.

Blood Raven is a very deeply caring individual. Even if she does not often reveal it to others. Living for centuries has taught her to be cautious about how much of herself she shows to others. Plus life as a super has likewise taught her to cultivate a specific image of power and awe when she is in her super form, to literally use her charisma as a weapon against her opponents. Back in the old Champions table top rpg, they even had a presence attack, which was a deliberate attempt to overawe your enemies. The downside of that is that it tends to make casual acquaintances think she is a cold, harsh, and ruthless. That is why so many people - like Blackhawk - have such a hard time working with her. She does not show them her empathy. Just her persona as Blood Raven.

That was indeed supposed to be "look back at Blood Raven." thanks for finding that nit.




Theme Music for this episode



Book 8.31 - Blood

The weekend passed in a daze for January. At her grandmother Sarah's suggestion, they all packed up from the apartment and went to stay with her in Livonia. Her house there was small, but there was still more room than at her mother Barbara's single bedroom apartment. It also got them away from the reporters. Well, some of them at least. Soon enough, some did appear on the lawn once more, and again, the phone began ringing off the hook.

January's own social media accounts were inundated. She took the time to express her sympathy for the families of the Ferndale and Gull Island victims. She had to rein in her kneejerk desire to vent her spleen at Julian. A newly dead supervillain's sister dragging him on the internet would certainly make the news. She had to think about how her mother would feel if she saw it. The last thing she wanted was to make things worse for her.

Her mother Barbara was not only grappling with her son's death of course, but the revelation that he was a supervillain. Even if he had not murdered two people - the sacrifices at Ferndale and Gull Island - he was certainly an accomplice to the deeds. And if not for Blood Raven and Stormcrow, those figures would be far higher.

Again, it took every ounce of January's willpower to keep from spitting out the things she knew that her mother did not. How Julian had been hoping to summon Nátthrafn. How that would have inevitably resulted in his death, even if not for the intervention of his accomplice the Hierophant. Nor did she go into the details of what the summonings had entailed, or how the sacrifices were done to anchor the Abyssals, so they could not be banished by Blood Raven.

Blood Raven came by several times as well to express her support and sympathy, in her secret identity as aunt Branwen of course. She briefly mentioned visiting January's father. January did not press her for details, nor did anyone else. What she really wanted to know was what the investigation had uncovered. January knew that something was going on without her. Part of her wanted to just leave and get involved. But then she would look at her mother, and remember where her place was in this moment.

There were no opportunities to disclose confidential information of course. Not with her grandmother and mother around, or with a pack of reporters outside. January knew her operational security well enough to be careful of any talk. A laser microphone could pick up anything said on the other side of the window it was trained upon. She knew that was extreme. But January also knew that was just the tip of a vast iceberg of techniques that a truly industrious investigator might use to gather information. If she had just been the sister of a murderer there would have been no need for such paranoia. But the fact was, she was a superhero, and her brother had been a supervillain. That changed everything.

Things had settled down by the next Wednesday. It was the day before the Fourth of July, and five days since Jobbie Nooner had taken place. By then the reporters had thinned out considerably, as fresher stories presented themselves for consumption. For once January was thankful for a twenty four hour new cycle...

The medical examiner's office finally released Julian's body, and Branwen had arranged for a funeral to take place. It was far outside the city, near the General Motors Proving Grounds in Milford. January, her mother, and grandmother all drove out together in Avery's Geo, with Avery driving. Nothing else was large enough for all of them.

January did not have any funeral clothing, not that would fit at least. Aside from Sarah, all of her grandparents had passed away in her childhood. She had not been to a funeral since. But Branwen had come through once more, and produced a suitably somber black dress and heels for the occasion.

It was a small affair, with just the four of them, plus Branwen and January's father. Avery was the only non-family member attending, aside from the priest that Branwen had arranged. Grandma Sarah had always been quite Catholic. It seemed to come with being Irish. But neither January's mother or father had ever been particularly religious, nor she herself. Granted, she had been picking up Heathenry and Neo-Paganism in general for some time now. She did have her own home-made list of Viking Virtues after all. But as she stared at her brother's coffin being lowered into the grave she was still not sure if she would call it a religion, or a philosophy, or just a culture that she believed in.

No one spoke during the funeral of course, except for the priest. The entire time however, January's father glowered at her. She glowered back. She had heard his true opinion of her the night after her first battle with Archie. He had vented quite a torrent of transphobia then, enough for January to never want anything to do with him again. The sky was a sheet of black clouds overhead. But January reined herself in enough that no rain fell, nor thunder rolled, at least until the end of the service.

"This was all your fault," her father spat at her after Julian's body was lowered into the grave, and the priest made his farewells. "I just know it. You led him to this."

"How dare you blame this on her!" January's mother bridled. It was quickly turning into a repeat of the argument she had heard that night, the argument that had led to her parent's divorce, among other things.

"On him," her father fumed, "him. This is all just some sick attempt to get attention. Like when August pretended to commit suicide. He did all this just to get at Julian. This perver-"

"That is enough Romulus," Branwen spoke softly. But her words carried an eerie weight. They reverberated in the air around them. They thrummed through January's heart, matching its beat. She smelled magic in them, strong, but subtle. January had witnessed this before. Blood Raven had used this hypnotic voice in his classroom recently, and when interviewing witnesses after the Flying Dutchman fire.

"It is time to leave."

Then, as now, it had a strong influence on those with irresolute wills. January's father did not say another word. He simply turned around and walked to his black Chevy Equinox. Blood Raven watched him go for long moments, then turned back to the others.

"I am sorry for his behavior. He cannot cope with the loss, and he knows no way to deal with his pain, except to lash out with it and place it within someone else."

"Don't apologize for him," January's grandmother snapped. "That one's no good, pure and simple."

"I do not apologize for him," Branwen replied. "I apologize because I am truly sorry for the pain you feel. Romulus is a very difficult man to be related to."

Branwen left after that, and climbed into the Chevy with January's father. They drove off just before January and company all shuffled back to Avery's Geo Storm, and did the same. It was a long drive home.

* * *

[Acadian]

No fun being at her mom’s place, but Jan is right that it is where she belongs now – for her mom. Lots of practice biting her tongue in the days leading up to the funeral.

It was thoughtful and mature of Jan to not let it rain on the funeral. Then her stupid father proceeds to pee on it! It was fabulous how Branwen’s magically suggestive voice shut him right up though.

"Don't apologize for him," January's grandmother snapped. "That one's no good, pure and simple."
- - You go, Grandma!

Romulus is very lucky that Branwen is riding home with him. Otherwise, who knows if perhaps an errant stroke of lightning might just take out that black Chevy Equinox. . . .


Nit? "Of him," her father fumed,'
It seems Romulus is trying to correct Barbara’s admonishment not to blame this on her. So I’m thinking you may have wanted ‘On him,’ instead of ‘Of him’.

[Renee]

Yeah I am still blown away the brother was such a bad player in this story. It makes me wonder if there are any hints in some early chapters. I mean, I think I remember he was pretty mean to his sister at times. I wonder if that's the extent of it though.

Branwen provides the funeral clothes for Jan. She must have a killer wardrobe (no pun there), you know, you live for several centuries, you're going to have all kinds of outfits from way back. Outfits to die for, as the saying goes.

And now I'm wondering if the dad is also some sort of villian. Romulus, what a name. That line Raven says ... "Romulus is a very difficult man to be related to..." There's something there, I think. :idea: Because as far as I know, there hasn't been any significant interaction between those two. Why would she come to this conclusion then? Is it only because Jan's parents did not get along and agree on some heavy topics? Or is there more there?

Only one way to figure that one out. Wait for it!

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 24 2022, 12:45 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: The funeral was more fallout from Julian's death. I wanted to show more of how it has affected those around him, and not in good ways. Not that he ever had a positive effect on anyone in life either.

Don't tempt January with those lightning bolts. A lot of people in the world could end up "accidentally" being struck dead from the heavens.

That nit was indeed supposed to be "On him", so thanks for catching that.


Renee: There are examples of Julian's character every time he appears. He did not show up often, but I always made sure to note his narcissism and bigotry. Of course that just means he is a POS, not a supervillain. That sort of thing no one really expects.

Blood Raven probably has thrown out/given away far more clothing throughout the years than most people will ever own in a lifetime. And she is not a clothes horse! Just trying to keep up with the times is a slog when you are centuries old.

The subject of Romulus being the Hierophant will be addressed very soon. Not today's post, but next week.



Green Island is a real place

As always, Green Island can be found on the Stormcrow Google Map

Green Island today, seen from the south

Green Island seen from the west

Ruins of the old lighthouse





Book 8.32 - Blood

* * *

This is Gilda Gadfly, reporting live from none other than Gull Island. Nearly a week ago today the Great Lakes Alliance went toe to toe with the Summoner and his magical minions, and absolutely stuffed them. I am standing right here in the very same spot that the foul fiend was assassinated by none other than his own partner, the mysterious Hierophant.

As I have pointed out before, these new Allies are more than just a temporary team up. And every week they add more to their ranks. First it was Stormcrow and Blood Raven. Then the Crow dropped the bomb that she has a virtual partner named Gadget. Lighthammer joined the crew soon after, followed by the samurai-sensation Ôkami. But wait, there is still more dish dear listeners, much more.

Last week the loveable Crowgirl rescued a teleporting damsel in distress from a grabby Ghost at a local mall. That Ghost is none other than a West Coast and Pacific Rim supervillain named Hungry Ghost. Then just a few days later both showed up at Gull Island to join the Allies in their fight.

But it wasn't just those two. No, that's not enough for the Great Lakes Alliance. First Nations heroine Blackhawk also joined in to help the Allies out. She's normally active in the Toronto area, but has been known to range all over eastern Canada. So this is not too far from her normal stomping grounds.

I think more than anything else this is Stormcrow's superpower. It is not the wings, or the lightning, or that incredible downward jumping elbow. It is her ability to bring people together. No one has ever seen Blood Raven play nice with a team. No one thought Lighthammer would turn his hat white. Has she also rehabilitated the Hungry Ghost? Only time will tell.

Oh, and remember that teleporting damsel? Well she's not so distressed after all. Her name is Vortex. Remember that, because I bet she will be popping into your lives a lot more in the future. Stormcrow introduced her when they both teleported into the middle of a wedding party at a local park. And boy, did she ever introduce her.

Everyone in the world saw the two kiss on the Coast Guard cutter after an evil beast known as an oniare was defeated by the loveable Crow. But this reporter has gained exclusive photos taken by the wedding photographer of the pair locking lips even as they appeared out of thin air! Take a long look people, this is passion! If you thought the internet melted when Stormcrow came out, just wait until it sees this. We're all going to need plenty of cold showers after this one...

January turned off Gilda Gadfly as she neared Green Island. It felt strange, hearing the world's preeminent superhero gossip reporter gushing about her love life on the air. Especially since just a month ago she was crowing about the state police sniper Nyah rejecting her on video.

Green Island was a tiny speck in western Lake Erie. It barely even registered on Googol Maps. Yet it floated just a mile west of the much larger, and much better known, South Bass Island and its popular resort town of Put In Bay. There was not much to Green Island. No one lived there, nor had for a long, long time. The old lighthouse that had once been tended to by its last human inhabitants had long since burned down. It had been replaced by a tall steel tower with an automatic light. Since then the island had been home to nothing but birds and water snakes, until now.

"I scoped this place out last week," Lighthammer stepped out of the ruins of the old lighthouse when January came to ground nearby. It was a two story, rectangular structure. A tower jutted even higher from one end of the main building, like the steeple of a church. Perched atop it was an octagonal cupola of fire-blackened steel.

The roof was long gone, as was the second floor of the main building. Parts of its brick walls had tumbled in as well. But the lighthouse tower still rose tall and proud. Ivy grew along the walls that remained, and small plants and trees sprung up from the dirt in the center of the building. Birds chirped from all around, and a snake slithered through the brush underfoot.

January knew that the desolation should make her sad. But she felt the opposite. Seeing nature reclaim the skeletal ruins of humankind and thrive gave her hope. It was the planet surviving in spite of what humans did to it. There seemed to be fewer and fewer examples of that these days.

"There's a cave, and even a little cenote on the other side of the island." Lighthammer went on. "I went diving in it, and it goes out to the sea through a tunnel. Well, to the lake. This is a cool place. Oh, but watch the ivy. A lot of it is poison oak."

"Seems like a great secret base for a movie villain," Gadget observed over the comm link. "That cenote could be turned into a secret submarine dock, with an underground lair linking it to that cave."

"Don't give me ideas!" Lighthammer laughed. "If I had a few million dollars, I might make all that a reality!"

"This is a grand place to train," Blood Raven stepped in from the trees that stood between the lighthouse and the shore. "We are far enough from the rest of civilization to not draw attention, or at least very little of it. Yet we must concern ourselves with not harming this environment. The water snake here is endangered. It was once completely extinct in this place. Let us see to it that does not happen again."

"And try not to wreck the tower this time," a female voice came from above. "I don't want to have to rebuild another one."

January looked up with the others to see Blackhawk hovering above them in the sky. As before, the Canadian heroine was clad in armor of banded metal plates, with a medicine wheel painted across the chest. She simply stood there in mid-air, as if upon an invisible platform. Then she lowered herself down and set her feet to the earth.

"Blackhawk, I'm glad you found it." January forced a smile to her lips. It was hard to find reasons to be cheerful these days.

"Oh, that was easy," the other heroine shrugged. "I learned to navigate by the Earth's magnetic field a long time ago."

That prompted January to set a finger to her chin. "I read that sea turtles do that too, and sharks, and whales."

"Crows too," Blackhawk noted. "They can see the Earth's magnetic field, just like I do."

"Wow, what does that look like?" Lighthammer asked.

"It's based on the blue wavelength of light. It's like..." Blackhawk began, then stumbled upon her words. "You know how you can apply a filter to a picture? I can do something like that, except I can filter over the field lines. I don't know that I can describe it. I just know if I am facing north, or east, or whatever, depending on how the world looks."

"We all see the world through different eyes." Ôkami's voice was a soft murmur through the air.

Blackhawk nearly jumped out of her skin as the Japanese-American superhero seemed to step from a patch of shadow along one of the ruined walls. Like the others he was geared up for action in his gray, black, and white samurai armor.

"By all that's..." the poor woman laid a hand over her heart, "where did you come from?"

"The uterus of my mother," Ôkami replied in a completely deadpan voice.

That did bring a genuine smile to January's lips. Even Blood Raven laughed, as did Lighthammer. January could hear both Gadget and Cray snickering over the comms.

"The Samurai Man has a sense of humor after all!" Lighthammer proclaimed. "Put it there Sending Wolf!"

He held out a closed fist toward Ôkami. But the other man just shook his head, rather than return the fist-bump. In fact, he sort of faded back into the shadows along the lighthouse wall instead.

"Ôkami doesn't do the whole touching thing much," January laid a hand on Lighthammer's outstretched arm. "It's not his bag baby."

"Aight, I'm cool with that," Lighthammer nodded. "We all have our bags."

[Acadian]

Very astute of Gilda to note the Stormcrow’s greater power of bringing supers together to common purpose. I recall Blood Raven noted the same a few episodes ago.

"I scoped this place out last week," Lighthammer stepped out of the ruins of the old lighthouse when January came to ground nearby.’
- - I love your phrasing ‘came to ground’ to describe Jan’s arrival.

I learned a new word from you: cenote!

Whether Spockesquely unintentional or not, Ôkami certainly did bring down the house with his comment to Blackhawk.

"Crows too," Blackhawk noted. "They can see the Earth's magnetic field, just like I do."
- - Now there’s a challenge I don’t expect the Stormcrow to pass up. . . .

Looks like the group may have found a base of operations, complete with training area and Crow Cave!



This post has been edited by Acadian: Mar 26 2022, 11:07 PM

[Renee]

Renee: There are examples of Julian's character every time he appears.

Okay, sorry. My memory's not always the best. But if you say he's definitely not anything more than he has been portrayed, there we have it. I just tend to look for clues, figure out plots before they unravel, and whatnot.

Jan just listened to Gilda. Neat. She's listening as she's flying, wow.

Goolgol. Green Island really is a little green island. Yeah, she'll need Googol to get there.

The gang's all here waiting too. Okami cracks me up.



This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 27 2022, 09:46 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: It has always been one of my intents with January to show that she is not an island, or a loner. She is always best when she works with others toward a common purpose.

I learned cenote just a few years ago, when I learned about some Latin American archaeology. The Yucatan peninsula where the Maya live does not have rivers, at least not above ground. Instead they have cenotes that lead down to the underground water rivers and lakes.

Okami probably had no idea that what he said was funny of course. But then again, the most humorous moments are often unintentional.

Jan is definitely going to learn to navigate via the Earth's magnetic field. As soon as I read that corvids can do that, I put that on her "To Do" list of powers.

I am not sure how much Green Island will be used in the future fiction. It might just be a training base, since it is in the middle of nowhere. But also since it is in the middle of nowhere, that means it is not really the easiest place to regularly meet. That might still be the Raven's Nest downtown, or the Witch House. At least for the core team of January, Ryo, Avery, Cray, and Blood Raven, who all live in Detroit.


Renee: A Googol (and Googolplex) are mathemaitcal terms. Basically giant numbers. I believe they are what inspired the name Google for the popular search engine. In the Crowverse, I decided to go with the original mathematical name. I learned about them from Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

The gang is about to be all here.









Modern interpretation of a black hole

Choronzon is a "real" entity which I made use of

The Rape of Nanjing

There continues to be a great deal of hatred between China and Japan



Book 8.33 - Blood

Spacetime twisted and warped itself into a tiny black hole at the other side of the ruined building. An instant later it was gone, and Vortex stood in its place. No longer was she clad in the old backup Stormcrow suit. Instead she was arrayed in what was clearly Mr. Blackwood's latest act of brilliance.

Her new suit was made of the super-tailor's blue and white meta-fibers. A mask covered her face, but left her mouth and chin bare. It also left a mane of long dark hair spilling down one side of her head. A mane which January knew Hannah did not possess, given that she had a shaved side bob. So like Blood Raven's own wig, it was a nice piece of misdirection.

But the real thing that drew the eye was her chest. No, not in that way. A black hole was depicted there in ultra-modern fashion. The otherwise unseeable cosmic phenomenon was outlined with a brilliant rainbow of fire that actually flowed as January looked at it. It literally moved, and never repeated itself. This colorful matter not only swirled around the equator of the event horizon, but also twisted up over it in a thick band of light, and wrapped down under it in a thinner stream. January knew from their recent studies that it was how a black hole would really look. One would see the light behind it lensed around in front of the event horizon, due to the tremendous warp that its gravity created in spacetime.

January's heart instantly doubled its beat. Vortex looked amazing, and not because of the animated image upon her torso. An image that she could swear had three dimensions. She walked over to the other woman with a smile, and held out her hands. "It is so good to see you again."

"Yeah, good to see you too," Vortex nodded. She pointedly did not clasp her hands with January's. Instead she looked to the others beyond.

"Are we all here then?"

"We are all assembled," Blood Raven declared. January turned her head as Vortex walked past her to join the others. That made for a small group that consisted of her, Lighthammer, Blackhawk, Blood Raven, and Ôkami. The latter of whom was only barely visible in the shadows. "I see you found Mr. Blackwood's estate?"

"It was hard to miss."

"Very well then, I pray you all enjoyed the holidays, for I do not bring glad tidings." Blood Raven reached to her wrist-mounted computer, and withdrew its holographic emitter. She placed it on the ground between them, and a virtual desktop sprang up in the air above it.

"The Abyss is what some might call a parallel universe, one of the infinite realities that exist within the multiverse." An artistic rendition of a tenebrous landscape haunted by nightmares sprang to life in the holo display as Blood Raven began. "It is a realm of darkness, chaos, and magic. The nightmares that dwell within the chaos are not ordinary, biological beings. They have no true life. Rather they are a physical manifestation of the malignant will that pervades the realm. They shriek 'I am I' in the darkness, and are answered by screams of horror that mirror their own. Some of these creatures fall into enough familiar shapes that we might term them as races, such as the djieien or buggane. Others are entirely unique in their blasphemy. These are the monsters which we face. Do not mistake them for the living, or the spawn of nature. They are darkness incarnate."

"That's a bit, melodramatic, don't you think?" Blackhawk looked nonplussed. "So they are beings from another reality. That just makes them aliens is all, not monsters."

"There is more to it than that," January spoke up. "They aren't simply a different form of life. They aren't really life at all. They don't procreate, or even divide as cells do. They don't eat. They don't age. They don't even die like we do."

"So, they are just energy beings that create a physical manifestation within matter," Blackhawk insisted. "I've seen enough Star Trek to know that doesn't make them evil."

"I think we are all picking up what you're laying down sister," Gadget interjected over the comm. "But this isn't the Federation of Planets. We're in Lovecraft country now."

"You didn't stick around to see that summoning circle," Lighthammer added. "That was evil, plain and simple."

"You aren't a mage Blackhawk. You cannot feel them the way we can." January said. "Their very presence warps reality with the stain of their corruption. There is a malevolence to them that transcends our world. A malign will that drives their every action to destroy us."

"She speaks of Choronzon," Blood Raven said, "The Dweller in the Abyss. It rules that realm. It is that realm. The Scripta Mortis only speaks of it with great hesitancy, as did Dr John Dee. It may not even be an individual being, but rather the aggregate will of the Abyss itself. That power is not content to simply kill, or to conquer, or enslave. It devours all, and voids the excrement into more of its twisted hellscape. It is the end of all things, and each of its servants is but a manifestation of that terrible will."

"This is what we face."

Blood Raven went on to give the entire group a full briefing on Nátthrafn, and the Summoner and Hierophant's ongoing campaign to bring him back into the world, and with him, the Abyss. January had of course heard all of this before, as had Gadget and Cray. But for the others it was a revelation. Blood Raven spared no details, including the blood ties she and January shared with Nátthrafn and the Summoner. The latter was of course an integral part of the tale. The only thing she did leave out was her vampirism. But even the fact that she was two and a half centuries old was not excluded from the tale.

January understood that this was her secret identity as well. She had discussed it with Blood Raven beforehand. The only person who did not know it was Blackhawk at this point. She had researched the First Nations superheroine, and she seemed legit enough. In the end, if the other woman was willing to fight and die for this, she had the right to know.

The Canadian heroine was clearly shaken by the story. She stared back and forth between January and Blood Raven. "Now I see why you were both so upset back there on Gull Island. I'm sorry. I have no idea what it must be like to fight your brother, or your great-grandkids."

"Yeah, it was hard enough when my brother died," Lighthammer related. He laid a comforting arm on January's shoulder. "I can't imagine if it had been like this. I would've come to the funeral. But I thought it was better to stay away, given this whole cape thing."

"It was imperative that you all remained distant," Blood Raven interjected. "There is too much scrutiny upon January and her family right now. As it was a member of the paparazzi skulked onto the cemetery grounds and took pictures with a long lens. You might have seen them in the Daily Sun."

"Parasites..." Lighthammer shook his head.

"I knew it would happen," January admitted. "But I told the AG who he was anyway. So I guess it's all my fault."

"It was inevitable, given Julian's choices." Blood Raven disagreed. "He placed himself in that grave the moment he took up his quest to return my father to the living."

"This is like something out of a comic book," Blackhawk shook her head. "Your brother was your arch-nemesis. Now I wonder if your father will turn out to be this Hierophant."

"Nay," Blood Raven said emphatically. "Several weeks ago I installed hidden cameras throughout his abode, conveyance, and classroom. We also have the GPS of his phone. We recorded his every movement during the Battle of Gull Island. He is on video giving a lecture at the same time. I also interviewed his students, they confirm he was there."

"Damn, you go all in," Lighthammer noted.

"We must," Blood Raven said. "Julian's unveiling has given us this one advantage. We know who he was. We can trace his movements and his relationships. Somewhere in that web lies the Hierophant. I will find him. I have been interviewing every one of his friends, his classmates, and so on. It is only a matter of time before I run him to ground."

January almost felt sorry for the Hierophant, almost. She only hoped she would be there at the end to kill the bastard herself.

"Unless the Hierophant strikes before then," Ôkami noted.

"That is why we have the early warning system," Cray noted in their ears. "It has worked so far, for the most part. If the Hierophant does summon another Abyssal, you will be there in minutes."

"With the Powder of Mahd al-Aadiyya, he will not escape our next encounter. It will be his Götterdämmerung." Blood Raven produced several grenades. Each was canister-shaped and painted red. She handed one out to everyone.

"This shall prevent his escape," she explained. "Take care with this Vortex, it shall interdict your own ability to teleport as well."

"So that's it, we just kill him?" Blackhawk set her hands to her hips.

"We kill him," January replied bluntly. "If that is too much, I understand. I thank you for coming here, and for the aid you have rendered us up until now. Perhaps our next collaboration will bear greater fruit."

"She is definitely related to you," Blackhawk looked to Blood Raven. "Are all of your descendants like this?"

"Nay," Blood Raven responded before January could speak. There was no mistaking the pride in her voice. "She is made of adamant. The others are naught but pale shadows in comparison."

"I don't like it," Blackhawk sighed. "I don't kill people. I save people. That's my creed. It's simple, it's why people trust me, and it's why I can sleep at night."

"Yeah, I feel that," Lighthammer interceded. "But this isn't your normal supervillain. Remember those summoning circles. This is going to get a lot worse."

"Yeah, I know," Blackhawk licked her lips and sighed. "When it goes down, I'll be there. I won't stand by while people are in danger."

"Thank you," January said. "Thank you all for being a part of this. This is how we will win. Together."

"Ok, Stormcrow and I have had success by training together and finding ways we can use our abilities to complement one another." Lighthammer waved to the island about them. "One of the reasons we picked out this place was so that we could practice and work out new tactics."

"As you all might have noticed, I've got a thing for lightning," January began. "Blackhawk, I was reading that you control not just magnetic forces, but also electromagnetic ones. Is that right?"

"Yeah," the First Nations heroine nodded. "I'm not quite as good with the rest of it as I am with metals, but I can manipulate the entire electromagnetic spectrum."

"So one of my issues with bringing down lightning is that it's kind of an area effect thing," January said. "Could you focus it so that it strikes only one target? Or keep it from conducting through say water or iron?"

"Yes, yes I can do that," Blackhawk eyes brightened. "Come on, give it a go."

They stepped out from under the trees to the shoreline. There January reached up to the sky, and ripped down a tremendous bolt of lightning. Blackhawk reached out with her hands as if she was catching it. The great, jagged bolt of electricity stopped before it struck the ground. Then as the Canadian turned her hands this way and that, it formed into a crackling ball of energy in the air above her. She bounced it back and forth through the sky, and eventually allowed it to harmlessly ground down into the earth below.

"So what happens if I hit that with a bolt of hard light?" Lighthammer asked.

They tried again, and this time after January called down the lightning, and Blackhawk formed it into a ball, Lighthammer unleashed his namesake kinetic light. It struck the hissing ball of energy, and sent electricity exploding out in all directions, across a much larger area than the original bolt of lightning would have affected. Blackhawk was there with a force field that prevented the lightning bomb from setting the trees inland aflame.

So they continued on experimenting and practicing. For a few moments, January forgot about all of her troubles lately, and just fell into the groove that a good workout always put her into. It was the same with kick-boxing, or gymnastics. In the end, it was just plain fun. She had missed this - working out with others - especially since she had quit her job at the dojo.

"So Vortex, we know you can teleport with others," January suddenly had an idea. "And Ôkami can fade with another person, and take them through walls and other obstructions. I wonder if you can teleport with him while he fades the two of you?"

"I don't see any reason for that." Vortex crossed her arms with a frown. That surprised January. But then, the other woman had seemed to be in a bad mood all day.

"Usually force fields can block teleporting, phasing, and intangibility," Blood Raven considered. "Together, you might be able to accomplish what either of you alone should fail to achieve."

Ôkami strode forward. He seemed to fade into a vague shadow under the midday sun. His barely distinct hand reached out for Vortex. But she violently flinched away, and an opaque force field instantly sprang into the air between them.

"Don't touch me!" Vortex spat, along with a string of Chinese words that sounded as florid as they were spiteful. January did not have to be a linguist to read the intent in her eyes.

"Behavior such as this is unacceptable." Blood Raven's voice was low, but her tone was iron. She put herself between Vortex and Ôkami, and the latter faded even more into the background. January was stunned, literally stunned. She felt like a fish out of water, mouth agape in shock as she tried to breathe.

"What was that?" Lighthammer asked.

"We shall not repeat such language here," Blood Raven rumbled. Her eyes burned at Vortex. "A person of character would use this opportunity to sincerely apologize and explain oneself."

"I have nothing to apologize for!" the young woman cried. This time she followed with slurs in English, directed at both Ôkami's ethnicity and neurodiversity.

"What the Hel," January finally shook herself out of her stunned silence. She too stepped forward, and interposed herself between Vortex and the target of her ire. Poor Ôkami faded into near nothingness. January knew that if Vortex had physically struck out at him, he would not have flinched. But social situations had always been his Achilles Heel. Especially ones like this. Usually Blackjack was around to dish it back when bullies picked on him. He was not here, but January was.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me?" she cried. "Why are you taking his side in this? What am I to you? Am I some kind of groupie? One you want to kiss, but not have sex with? You want me to live with you, but you're too ashamed of me to take me to meet your parents? What am I?"

"Oh boy, girlfriend drama," Lighthammer murmured quietly. He laid a hand on Blackhawk's shoulder and led her away. "I've been down this road..."

"That has nothing to do with what you just said about Ôkami." January felt her cheeks flush hot as lava. "You want to yell at me, yell at me. Don't you dare take it out on my friends. Don't you dare talk to him like that!"

"Some choad just like him tried to murder me when I was just a kid!" Vortex insisted. "He put a gun against my mother's head. Against my head! You know what happened to my great-grandparents? They were murdered in the Rape of Nanjing, by his great-grandparents!"

"His great-grandparents were living in Los Angeles, at least until they got sent to an internment camp." January shot back. "And whatever someone else did is not what he did. I'm sorry for what happened to you. But that gives you no right to treat anyone this way."

"They're all the same," Vortex spat. "All of them. The world would be better off if they were all dead."

Of course, she did not say just "they". She added in several colorful slurs to spice up her declaration.

"That is enough!" Blood Raven now raised her voice. "Vortex, it is clear that you have long-standing issues. We can feel sympathy for your experiences. However, none of that excuses your actions today. This behavior is absolutely unacceptable in any realm. Take yourself away from here, ere I lose my congenial demeanor."

"You were ready to kill her brother yourself, and now you're acting all high and mighty?" Vortex cried. "You're all just virtue-signaling. All your high-minded ethics and morality are just a fake!"

Thunder rolled, and lightning scattered across darkened clouds overhead. The earth groaned beneath their feet, and the waves of the lake boomed against the shore. Even the wind whipped about them, snapping hair and capes about to dramatic effect.

"Vortex... get... out... now." January barely forced the words through her gritted teeth.

"I guess you want this back now too then?" Vortex reached up to her throat, and pulled at the woven fibers of her new super suit. Tears spilled from her cheeks, even as her eyes flashed in the lightning.

"No, that is yours." Blood Raven took a step forward, and laid a hand over Vortex's to stop the motion. "Earn it. Learn. Grow as a person. Return when you have."

Spacetime folded in around Vortex. An instant later she vanished from January's life.

[Acadian]

Vortex’s new superoutfit is quite spiffy! After your misdirection about the fake hairpiece moved to her breast, my mind started to go exactly where Jan said don’t go: distract the enemy via ghastlyesque boobular misdirection.

Uh-oh, passing up Jan’s welcoming hands. . . seems we have some coolness from Hannah. Understandable, I suppose, after Jan felt obliged to spend time focused on Barbara’s grief.

"She is definitely related to you," Blackhawk looked to Blood Raven. "Are all of your descendants like this?"
"Nay," Blood Raven responded before January could speak. There was no mistaking the pride in her voice. "She is made of adamant. The others are naught but pale shadows in comparison."
- - When the power and implications of this declaration from Blood Raven fully struck, I wanted to cheer!

You open up some neat possibilities as the supergroup tinkers around with some complementary training.

Wow, I guess I was right about Hannah’s coolness as she rather literally comes off the rails – directed initially at Ôkami. Jan was right to take the ‘just because their father was an axe murderer, don’t condemn the child’ approach with her reprimand. Certainly a lot to digest. I hope Hannah takes Blood Raven’s advice to heart – go away for a time and think about things; then hopefully come back with her head screwed on better.

[Renee]

Ah, that googol. Funny thing is, I recently read about googol on Wikipedia, you know, because I've been going back to all those rumors and phrases we heard in our childhood. Killer bees, the Bermuda Triangle, and those sort of things. One day I remembered googolplex. We all talked about googolplex for awhile when we were kids, What the hell was that? Turns out, it was invented by a mathematician's kid or something. It was a number so large. Wikipedia said something like it's larger than all the material in our universe. Something like that.

Vortex has a cool way of showing up, this is true. NICE. I agree with the Paladin, her armor sounds awesome.

And right, i was gonna say: coulda swore she doesn't have dark hair. But it's just a misdirection.

But the real thing that drew the eye was her chest. No, not in that way.

Seriously though, her outfit sounds like a CGI specialist's dream.

Alright, Branwen is talking now. I'll shut up.

Oh wow. So they aren't beings at all, they are more like energies with sentient abilities of some sort.

I love the way they all talk, Each one of the group is so individually different.

Whoa, Jan did some research on Blackhawk. Because they just want to know.... all they can about her. She's not really part of 'the group' yet.

"It was inevitable, given Julian's choices." Blood Raven disagreed. "He placed himself in that grave the moment he took up his quest to return my father to the living."

I agree with Raven. There's a risk at choosing that path. Jan has seen the choice there perhaps, but chose not to go there. Her brother unfortunately did. One thing leads to another. Look what happened to him.

WHOA... This is heavy. What is up with Vortex?? This is intense. Did not see any of that coming. Wow, racial slurs. What a sh*tty first girlfriend Jan has (had?)

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 6 2022, 02:12 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Looking back at January's ancestors, her most notable antecedent (besides Blood Raven and Nátthrafn of course) was Jack Parsons. He was a rocket scientist and wizard. But he did not have January's discipline and grit. Which is one reason that he killed himself trying to summon Natthrafn. So when Blood Raven said that her other descendants were naught but pale shadows compared to January, she was being completely honest. January is one of a kind.

I am not exactly sure what is going to shake out in regards to Hannah. She might indeed get her head on straight. She might never do so. Bigotry is a hard thing to shed. Some people grow beyond it. Many people never want to. In any event, Jan's relationship with her was simply an example of what happens when you only know someone for three days: You don't really know them at all.


Renee: I think I first heard of the Googol and Googolplex in Cosmos. Carl Sagan talks about them in one episode, about atoms and big, big numbers, like for the number of atoms in the universe.

Hannah does have dark hair. She is Chinese after all. But she does not have hair that length. So it is a piece of misdirection.

Everyone who tries to summon Nátthrafn dies. There is a trap built into the summoning. The Dark Lord does not share power after all. So when Julian started down this path, his own death was certain.

As I mentioned above, Hannah is one of those times where you meet someone and you think they are really cool. Until you finally start to get to know them. Then you see all the things you did not want to before. It is why you shouldn't rush into relationships with people you have only known a few days. And lets face it, January has more than her fair share of baggage was well.






Book 9.1 - Ashes



Ooh Burn Reaction Gif


Miggy is Miguel Cabrera


One of the lions at the Detroit Zoo was rescued from a trap house


As always, the site of the Tiger in the Trap House can be found on the Stormcrow Google Map



July 6th, late morning

"You know Gilda is in town right?" Avery's voice rose over the clacking of plastic keys. Clearly, he was busy working on his computer. January could easily imagine what on. The hunt for the Hierophant was going strong. At least everyone else's hunt was. As of yet she had done nothing, except stand at her mother's side for Julian's funeral.

"I know, she mentioned it in her broadcast yesterday." January murmured back into her phone. It felt strange, talking to him the old fashioned way. These days he was usually a voice in the ear of her helmet. But except for the team meeting the previous day at Green Island, she had not worn the Stormcrow suit in a week. Life without it was beginning to feel strange.

"So I don't think she's here to talk to me," Avery ventured. January knew his tone. It was his pointing out the obvious voice.

"I don't need to do another interview," January insisted. "One was enough, and that was with a real reporter."

"Ooh burn!" Avery laughed. "C'mon, cut Gilda some slack. You know back in the day she was a real investigative reporter. She found Whitey Bulger's secret vaults, and his sweet, sweet, list of bribes that took down the mayor and police chief of Boston. Besides, she did give you your super name after all. And she sure hasn't hurt your career any."

"I know, I know," January shook her head. "But let's face it, Gilda hasn't done any real journalism in decades."

"So what?" January could easily imagine her best friend shrugging in his basement. "A girl's got to eat after all, and being the Queen of Super Gossip puts the avocado toast on the table."

"I don't need to be talking, I need to be acting," January groused. "You know I got so bored at my grandma's that I taught myself to breathe underwater? I need to do more than stick my head in the bathtub."

"You got to talk to Blood Raven about that," Avery said. "She's-"

January leaped off her bed when the raucous croak of a corvid suddenly issued from the speaker of her phone. Her screen lit up, showing a call that had been forwarded from her official Stormcrow number. The caller ID said it was the Detroit PD.

January was in her Stormcrow armor a moment later. She tapped a button on Sága's interface, and picked up the call.

"Hi!" she blurted out in her perky phone voice. She slapped her free hand against her now armored forehead in frustration. She had thought she was over that. But it seemed that some things were easier to change than others, like becoming single again.

January glanced at the clock on the wall. She had gone an entire ten minutes without thinking about Hannah. It was a new record, something to be proud of.

"This is Stormcrow, how can I help?" she continued in a more somber tone. It was funny how thinking of Hannah storming off made that easy. She still was not sure if she had broken up with her, or if it had been the other way around.

"Thank God this number really worked..." she heard a deep voice mutter on the other end of the line. Then the man's speech rose in volume and took on a firm, confident demeanor. "This is Captain Robert Arnold of the Detroit Police. We have a situation, and could really use your help..."

"You have it."

January closed her eyes and reached out to the wards that defended the Witch House. They tasted her blood - well, actually her seven-times great-grandmother's - and answered her call. She turned to the bedroom window, and beckoned to it with one hand. The wire mesh and glass frame both swung open, as if from their own accord. She sprinted toward the window with eyes still shut, and leaped through the opening. Once free and in the sky outside she snapped out her wings and took flight. Behind her the screen and window clamped shut once more, and she let go of her connection with the wards. Finally, she opened her eyes once more and skimmed across the treetops that lined the Clinton River.

"Good," the captain said. "We raided a trap house today. But we ran into a big surprise."

"They had a meta?" January could already see where this was going. She turned south, toward the city of Detroit proper, and turned up the speed.

"No, there weren't any drug dealers in it at all. It seems they abandoned it," the captain explained.

"What is it, a ghost?" January's imagination began working. It could not be an Abyssal. The poppets that she and Blood Raven had placed throughout the metro area would have detected a summoning, especially one in Detroit. The city was at the center of their web after all.

"No, it's a tiger," Captain Arnold said. "And no, not like Miggy, this is a real one, with claws and fangs."

"A tiger in a drug house?" January had to admit, that had not been even one of her wildest guesses. As Blood Raven was wont to say, the world was indeed a stranger place than anyone imagined.

"That's the problem, it is not in the house anymore." the police captain said. "It's in the street. SWAT is on the way, but I really don't want to have to shoot this thing."

"You won't have to," January insisted. "Keep everyone away from it. I'll be there in no time at all."

The captain texted her the street address. It popped up on Sága's screen a moment later as a pin that glowed within a map of the city. Now she turned on even more speed. She willed herself forward, and poured her mana into her flight. She even fused her wings into her arms to gain every last ounce of power.

It only took a few minutes. But January begrudged every second that the streets and subdivisions crawled by underneath. She passed over Van Dyke and then Mound Road as she banked slightly to the west. The major mile roads counted down beneath her. 14 Mile Road put her at the border between Sterling Heights and Warren. 8 Mile put her past Warren and into Detroit proper. In no time at all she was across Outer Drive and then 7 Mile.

She realized that she had just passed by Global Titanium, maybe just a half mile to her left. That brought back memories of her second battle with Archie there. Once again, it felt strange to now have landmarks of her past super battles. But that was her life now.

Finally she was over a subdivision laid out in a rectangular grid. It was an old neighborhood, with small houses, small yards, and narrow driveways. Most of the homes were of red brick, but some were faced with siding. Only a handful of cars sat parked in the street or against the houses. It was not even noon yet, so January imagined most people were still at work.

She did not need to double check Sága for directions to the exact spot. The red and blue lights of police vehicles made her destination obvious. One entire street was blocked off at both ends by police cars and SUVs. Officers with pistols and shotguns manned them like barricades, weapons pointed down the street between them. January saw a massive armored vehicle pull up to one of these road blocks. A moment later a squad of heavily armed and armored troops boiled out of its rear. So apparently the SWAT team was now here as well.

A lone police car waited in a driveway at roughly the mid-point of street. The steel-barred front door of the house it sat in front of had been pried open, and now hung crookedly upon its hinges. January aimed for this spot, and feathered back her wings to slow down. But that was still not enough, so she pulled back up for a moment, and traded velocity for altitude. That was the last little bit she needed to bring herself into a stall. From there it was child's play to reorient her wings to lower herself gently to the earth.

She swiveled her head this way and that to take in the scene from the ground. The street was empty from end to end, like a ghost town. Nothing moved upon it. Not even a squirrel. She took a moment to wave to the police manning the road block at one end of the street.

The sound of a dog barking brought her head around. It was followed by a high-pitched screech. January instantly saw that the latter had been created by a woman who had stepped out of a cream and brown one story home nearby. Her dark brown skin was wrinkled with age, and a pair of sharply pointed glasses rested upon her nose. She had a pair of neatly folded up shirts draped over each of her shoulders, and led a little poodle on a bright pink leash. The woman spun around and groped for the handle of the door behind her. All the while her tiny dog continued to yap and snarl in a thin, high tone.

"Dammit, where did she come from!" the captain's voice rang out. "Take the shot!"

January did not think he was speaking to her. She leaped upward and deployed her wings once more. She was Air. She was sky. She was the wind. She rocketed down the street and dropped to the concrete steps below the tee-shirt carrying woman, who was still fighting to open the door behind her.

January was just in time for everyone. A blur of orange and black filled her vision. Fangs gleamed in the morning sun. Then the nearly ten foot long tiger was atop her. Its forepaws clamped down upon her shoulders, and its thick fangs snapped at her neck. The massive weight of the predator fell upon her, trying to crush her down to the ground.

January made no move to block the tiger's attacks. Instead she took the full bore of its assault. Its claws raked at her cubic boron nitride chest piece. Its fangs bore into the hagfish fibers that sheathed her neck. But the armor was superfluous. For January was Earth now. She was stone, she was the mountain, she was adamant.

Instead of fighting back, she wrapped her arms around the tiger's great frame and lifted its three hundred plus pound body up into the air. Then she spread her wings out and clamped them about its squirming frame as well, cocooning it in a blanket of ebon feathers.

The bark of a rifle reverberated through the air as all this took place, and a bullet whip-cracked past January's ear. It was a sharp sound that she had become all too accustomed to. The sniper's round crashed home against one of her wings, right where the tiger's head would have been had she not covered it. Thankfully her wings were just as invulnerable as the rest of her, and the high-powered round merely shattered against the black feathers.

"No shooting!" January cried. "I've got this."

She stepped down to the sidewalk, away from the woman on the porch. She continued toward the street with her charge, and took each step with caution so as not to lose her balance. The big cat was not pleased with any of this. It hissed and snarled at her between bites at her face and throat. It squirmed and strained against her. But January was inviolable. She knew how to take a hit after all.

January was careful not to squeeze too hard with her arms, lest she harm the tiger. Likewise, she insured that her wings created only a barrier to its movements, rather than cutting and slicing its limbs to pieces. She did not want to hurt it after all. It was just a wild animal, and it had as much right to live as anyone else.

"Ok," I need to put Tigris here somewhere," January breathed.

"I spoke to the Detroit Zoo on another line." Captain Arnold's voice was in her ear. "They have people on the way to tranq it. We just need to hang on to it until then."

"I am not sure how long I can do that," January noted. The tiger continued to fight against her grip. As anyone who had ever tried to hold a house cat against its will knew, it was a task easier said than done. This was a lot larger than a little tabby. January knew full well that if she had been an ordinary person, she would have long since been dead.

"How about that house with the front door that's down?" Gadget offered.

"That was the trap house," the Detroit police captain explained. "It's empty now. So that should be no problem, if you can keep it inside."

"I can keep it inside," January declared.

So she walked down the street to the house with the police car in its driveway. She spared a glance at the car, and the two cops within stared back in amazement. She was glad that they had stayed in the car. They could have just shot the tiger and been done with it. Hiding may not have been the macho thing to do. But by deescalating the situation, they had saved the big cat's life.

January climbed the concrete steps to the little porch in front of the red brick home. It had a security door of steel bars whose locking mechanism had been pried off. But the door itself still hung from its hinges, albeit crookedly. Behind that was the normal wooden front door, which now lay in several large pieces on ground.

She stepped through and over each, and was in the living room of the small, one story house a moment later. She could see a kitchen to one side, separated from the living space by a counter and hanging cabinets. An open door past the refrigerator revealed a set of stairs going down to a basement. At the far end of the living room there was a narrow hall that led farther back into the building, to where January imagined the bedrooms might be.

The interior was a prime example of modern squalor. The couch was ripped and stained. The carpet was a soiled and burned mess. Literal garbage was strewn everywhere. Old Burger Baron wrappers, empty bottles, glass pipes, bent spoons, discarded lighters, plastic bags, filthy toilet paper. You name it, it was there growing mold. Then there was the smell. It was a mixture of... well the truth was January could not describe it, other than to say that it was utterly revolting.

January hated the idea of putting the tiger back in this place. It was no wonder it was so angry! She would be frakked too if someone had held her in this house. Beyond the simple filth and decay, she could only imagine what the drug dealers had done to the animal. They were not the kind of people known for having warm and cuddly demeanors after all.

January tossed the big cat onto the remains of a couch. Again, she was careful not to throw the tiger hard enough to injure her. The time the massive feline spent twisting in the air in order to land on her feet was just enough for January to somersault back to the door. Once outside she immediately slammed the security door shut behind her.

With its lock broken off, there was no way she could latch it shut. So instead she leaned back against the steel door. She was just in time, as a moment later the full weight of the tiger came crashing against the vertical bars. But January was Earth once more. Mount Everest would move before she did.

She stood there for long moments as the tiger slammed at her, trying to get out. January's heart went out to the poor animal, and she hoped she was not injuring herself in the process. She had been able to feel the animal's ribs through her skin when she had grappled with her. Clearly, she was malnourished. But the fact was she could not let a tiger roam the streets either. At this point all January could do was wait things out.

Soon enough the big cat ceased its attempts to batter her way through the steel barrier. Instead it reached through the metal bars and clawed at January. But as before, its talons scratched her armor and flesh to no avail. In time it gave up, and slinked off back into the living room.

January slid down and sat on the porch, her back still firmly pressed against the security door. She closed her eyes, and tried to ignore the smell that wafted from the trap house. Instead she called up her magic and let it flow through her. She allowed it to slow her racing heart, ease her muscles, and loosen that tightness that gripped her stomach whenever she went into action.

She stretched out with her astral senses and felt back into the trap house. It was an effluvium of despair in the magical realm, a soiled imprint of addiction, greed, brutality, and hopelessness. January pushed beyond the astral pollution, and easily found the aura of the tiger. It bore the dull gray tones of a mundane. But these were more faded and thin than most. Whether that was from malnourishment, sickness, or abuse January was not expert enough to tell. Though she imagined someone like Blood Raven would know instantly.

At the same time she confirmed that the house was indeed empty. The only life that her astral senses detected were insects and a few mice. She breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been very embarrassing if a neighborhood kid had sneaked into the house while everyone had been busy outside.

Now all she had to do was wait.

[Acadian]

What better way to get glum Jan’s Stormcrow blood pumping again than a rescue call on the Crowphone! And a noble, worthwhile rescue it is. Glad that Captain Arnold took the extra steps to try to save the tiger, even though he had to give priority to protecting the neighborhood. Turns out, Stormcrow was the perfect resource for this task.

Nice job writing the fight. A tiger is no fire dragon from the depths of Oblivion, but it is still a stunningly capable and fearsome foe among ‘mortals’.

I hope things wind down smoothly once the zoo folks arrive and Tigris can be salvaged into a reasonable future.

I bet Gilda’s really gonna wanna talk to her now!

[Renee]

Everyone who tries to summon Nátthrafn dies. There is a trap built into the summoning. The Dark Lord does not share power after all. So when Julian started down this path, his own death was certain.

Wicked!

As I mentioned above, Hannah is one of those times where you meet someone and you think they are really cool. Until you finally start to get to know them. Then you see all the things you did not want to before. It is why you shouldn't rush into relationships with people you have only known a few days. And lets face it, January has more than her fair share of baggage was well.

The thing is, this is January's first attempt at a relationship, right? Well, the first one which she has seen a bit of success. So all she can do really is to go for it. Rush right in. I don't blame her for that. It's what we all want, after all (those of us who are interested, anyway).


Yeah I agree with January. No more interviews. Not now. Too much has happened. Just Breathe, girl.

Nice, her perky phone voice is back. Whoa...the police is calling for her. Not 'cause she's in toruble, because they NEED her assistance. Oh cool, she's rescuing a carnivorous animal. Yikes. That is so true about trying to pick up housecats, my mom can't do it for instance. Every time she's ever tried, she winds up getting clawed or bitten!

Anyway, good job, Stormcrow. Good job rescuing that animal. Heh, maybe she can train it somehow, and have it for a pet at the Witch House.

Only thing missing from this episode are the throngs of smartphone users, with their cameras running video footage.

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 11 2022, 01:07 AM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I have had the idea for January fighting a lion or tiger in my head for a long time. As one of the previous links showed, two of the Detroit Zoo's lions were rescues from similar situations. Obviously it is not something I can make the centerpiece of an entire chapter/mini-book. So I put it down in my list of possible side-quests that I can slide in somewhere. It is a nice way I can add some action and show January doing something useful for the community, but without it being a world-ending event.

January is about to discover that what Gilda wants, Gilda gets, no matter the best laid plans of crows and women.


Renee: Hannah was indeed January's first real girlfriend. The first that lasted beyond a first date at least.

I suspect that January's perky phone voice will be with her for a long, long time.

January won't be trying to keep the tiger. She could never afford to feed it! Let alone really care for it. But maybe someday she will adopt a nice basilisk or hippogriff...

Hold on to your butt, those smartphone users are about to arrive.





Gilda is inspired by Ricki Lake from the 90s


Dr Ann Duncan is inspired by RL Dr Amanda Duncan of the Detroit Zoo



Book 9.2 - Ashes

She felt the auras of the two police officers get out of the car in the driveway and approach, cautiously. Several more cops came up the street from either direction as well. The captain's voice issued from one of them.

"Let's get some people around the back, to make sure it doesn't come out that way, or through one of the windows."

"No need," January raised one hand to ward off the command. "I can sense her presence. If she tries to get out, I will stop her. Please keep your people back in the meantime. I think Tigris is hungry, and they may as well be walking Big Baron Burgers, if you get my drift. Let's not give her more reasons to want out."

"Ok, I see your meaning," Captain Arnold said. January felt their auras move back. Except for the top cop, who continued to speak. "Do you need a medic? That thing looked like it really laid into you."

"I'm fine," January said quite honestly. "I'm more worried about the tiger. I hope I didn't hurt her."

"You really are the Queen of Nice, like they say," the Captain replied.

"I try," January said, "and I fail. I'm not special."

She heard the captain snort, and felt a wave pass through his aura. Again, if she had been more skilled at reading the astral, she imagined that she would have been able to tell exactly what emotion that had been: humor, sarcasm, or disbelief. As it was she had no idea.

The beating of helicopter blades came to January's ears, and from more than one direction. But their authors were too far away for her to sense them in the astral. She felt the captain move back to rejoin his men, leaving January alone on the porch. Well, except for Tigris of course. She could still sense the big cat prowling through the back rooms of the house.

"The local news is there," Gadget said in her ear. "They've got you on TV right now."

January resisted the urge to wave. Instead she remained still and waited. As ever she meditated. She moved her power through her body. She practiced feeling in the astral. She became quiet in the presence of the divine. At least as much as anyone could be, given the smell of the trap house...

She sensed a commotion from down the street. There were raised voices, but too far away for her to make out the words. Then someone came running down the sidewalk. Their aura was plain and ordinary, but brightened from what January imagined might be excitement, or just simple exertion. This aura came right up to the steps at the bottom of the porch, and finally halted there.

"Oh, you are not going to believe who that is," Gadget practically laughed in her ear.

"Stormcrow!" a female voice cried out. "I'm so glad we could finally meet. If I had not known better, I would think you were avoiding me."

"I'm not avoiding you Gilda," January sighed. "I have just had... things to do. But you got here quick enough."

"She probably bribed the cops to tell her about any Stormcrow sightings..." Gadget murmured in her ear.

"Nothing can stop the news, and you are news honey," the super gossip reporter remarked. "In fact, I hear today was another rescue in the nick of time."

January finally opened her eyes. Before her stood Gilda Gadfly. The reporter was a large woman, with tanned skin and jet black hair. A pair of cat eye glasses sat upon her long, knife-straight nose, and her chin narrowed to an elfin point. Floating through the air behind her was a small, spherical device. A single camera lens pointed from its face, and a red light blinked beneath it. Another, identical remote leaped from her hand and circled around the two women, followed by a third.

January raised an eyebrow in Spockian incredulity.

"Oh don't mind them," Gilda waved a dismissive hand. "Those are my camera bots. I don't leave home without them. Now I heard there was a tiger..."

"Tigris?" January said nonchalantly. "She's looking at you through the living room window."

January did not turn her head. But she could indeed sense the big cat there, staring. Gilda took a step back out of reflex, then steadied herself once more.

"Tigris, now that is a good name," Gilda said. "You know there was once a cape in Iraq with that name. She had these big...

"But I digress," Gilda stopped herself. "I am here because of you, and Vortex. Is she here by chance? She has not been seen since the Battle of Gull Island. Nor have you. That's led some people to speculate that the two of you... Well that you might be getting to know one another better."

January felt an icicle tear through her stomach at the other woman's name. She had managed to forget about her for nearly twenty minutes this time. Now she was right back there on the shore of Green Island, hearing her level a torrent of racist slurs at Ôkami. It wasn't every day that your girlfriend did that to one of your oldest friends. As much as January wanted to put it from her mind, it had its own way of worming back into her awareness.

"No," January said simply. "We've been doing... other things."

"Like seeking out the Hierophant no doubt," Gilda followed. "Are you hunting him together perhaps? We all saw you two on the coast guard cutter. I mean, you had just thrown up, but she still kissed you. Wow, did she kiss you. And before that was that wedding you two crashed at the gazebo. You two are fire, as you kids call it today. The world wants to know about it."

Of course, she did not want to talk about the innocent man who had been murdered that day. Nor even about her brother, the supervillain who helped, even if he had not done the deed personally. No, Gilda wanted to talk about her lesbian kiss on national TV. That made perfect sense.

January tried not to betray the antipathy that bubbled up inside her. She reminded herself to be nice. This was not the time to not be, especially given all the cameras upon them. Instead she drew her inspiration from Earth. She was stone: impassive, immovable, uncaring. She let that calmness guide her when she spoke again.

"I am afraid things have been blown out of proportion," January explained. "Vortex and I... we shared a moment, that's all."

"That was some moment," Gilda declared. "Will there be more moments perhaps? You two kids practically broke the internet. We'd all love to see this go further. You two are a real inspiration for people. You are the first cape to ever come out as being trans. Now you two are the first ever lesbian super couple. You are trailblazers."

"It's not like that," January said again. She could not believe that this was the conversation she was having. Well, she could believe it. This was the age of Instantgram and MeTube, when everyone tried to throw every aspect of their lives in front of the eyes of everyone else. After it had been carefully sanitized and manicured and dressed up to make them look perfect of course. Well, here was some imperfection.

"We aren't a couple," she said plainly. "She is doing her own thing. I am doing mine. That is all."

Part of her also wanted to point out that Hannah was bisexual, not a lesbian. She was keenly aware that bi-erasure was just as real as every other form of queer erasure. But she held her tongue under the circumstances. For one it wasn't her place to speak for Hannah about her sexuality. For another, she was afraid that once she got going, she might say more than she intended.

Gilda gasped audibly, perhaps overly so. The sound matched the overly-exaggerated look of shock on her face. She might as well have been a 90s tabloid talk show host exoticizing a gay or trans person on afternoon TV, or telling a woman that their former boyfriend was not in fact the father of their child. That was of course, pretty much the kind of reporter that Gilda was after all.

"You broke up!" Gilda cried. "Oh no! What happened?"

"That's not something I can go into," January replied stonily.

As if to underscore her words, the sky rumbled a threat overhead. The sun had vanished, and the once blue firmament was now dark with clouds.

"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that dear, so sorry." Gilda said. She reached out as if to pat January on the shoulder. But she backed up a moment later. January felt hot breath wash upon her neck, and was suddenly aware that Tigris had moved. The tiger now lurked directly behind her, just inches behind the steel bars of the security door. A low, trilling growl rumbled from the predator's throat, as it to give voice to January's own feelings at the moment.

"Well at least you have Tigris here," Gilda recovered with grace that an Olympic gymnast would envy. "Are you going to adopt her? Will the Crow and the Tiger be Detroit's newest caped duo?"

"Oh no," January almost laughed. "I can't take care of a big cat! Maybe a nice wolf someday, we corvids get along well with them. The zoo is coming for Tigris. They can give her what she needs."

Gilda went on, and finally asked her about Gull Island and the campaign against the Hierophant. January was relieved. Anything was better than talking about Hannah. When the people from the zoo did arrive in a truck, she wanted to leap with joy. At that point she would have been glad to see a djieien, anything to save her from the gossip reporter. Being perfect and smiling for the public was so much harder than fighting an angry tiger.

Four people spilled from a straight truck. They were dressed in a variety of business casual button downs and polo shirts in neutral shades, along with various khakis and shorts. A middle-aged woman with fair skin and long brown hair quickly took the lead. She wore a long-sleeved purple top and khaki pants, and an ID badge hung from her neck. Trailing close behind her was man of roughly the same age, with pasty white skin that glistened with droplets of sweat. He had the bushiest mustache January had ever seen, and a bald scalp that glistened under the summer sun. He carried a dart gun in his hands, the barrel pointed safely down toward the ground.

Two more people trailed behind. One was a young woman with freckles and a brilliant red shock of wild curly hair. She could have easily been mistaken for a Scottish Disney princess, if only she had carried a bow and arrows. The other was an equally young black man, wearing glasses and carrying a clipboard.

January pushed her way to her feet, careful to keep her back against the door at all times. She could feel Tigris growing agitated behind her. She did not want to give the tiger any opportunities to turn things tragic, for anyone. But rather than attempt to get out at the newcomers, January sensed the big cat drift deeper into the house.

"Good Morning, I'm Dr. Amanda Duncan," the first woman declared as the group came up to the steps. She turned to indicate Mr. Mustache, and the others behind him. "These are my coworkers, Barry Robateau, Tara Fitzgerald, and Jason Watkins."

Gilda made way for them. But she did remain near enough to film the entire thing. The police came up now too, and formed a cordon around the front of the house.

"I hear you have a tiger for us?" Barry said.

"Tigris," January said. "She's inside. I think all the people might have scared her. She doesn't look very healthy. I think she needs food and water."

"I promise we'll take good care of her," Dr. Duncan insisted. "I'm the chief veterinarian at the zoo. The other keepers and I have plenty of experience with big cats."

"Just get me a clear line of sight," Barry insisted. He patted his dart gun for emphasis.

"We're going to have to go inside." January said. She turned to face the security door. She pushed its bent frame open, and stepped within. She could feel the auras of everyone behind her, as well as that of Tigris, who was now at the far end of the home. January walked slowly inside, and moved to the hallway that led to the bedrooms in the back of the house. That would not give the tiger the opportunity to get past her and at the zookeepers.

Barry came in behind her, along with the others. She heard them curse, and cough, at the sights and smells within the crack house. It wasn't pretty after all. January could not imagine how a creature with an advanced sense of smell like a cat could have stood living in such a place.

January came to a bedroom with an open door and stopped. She noted one of Gilda's drones floating in the air above the zookeepers, recording everything. She wondered if she was being live streamed by the gossip reporter, and had to resist the urge to shake her head.

"She's right inside," January declared. "This is going to be tricky. She might charge, and to give you a good shot, I'll have to step out of the doorway."

"I don't like this."Barry shook his head. "Let's go back. I might be able to get a clean shot from one of the windows."

January nodded, thinking that might be for the best, until she realized the obvious.

"Why don't you hand me one of those darts?" She extended one hand back over her shoulder. "I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" Dr. Duncan asked.

"Are you kidding?" January almost laughed. "After that Abyssal last week, this is like playing with a kitten."

"A three hundred pound murder kitten..." one of the young zookeepers murmured.

January did laugh at that. She waited, and a moment later Barry handed her one of his tranquilizer darts.

January took a moment to breathe, and center herself magically. She lowered her astral awareness so that she would not be distracted by too much information. Then she stepped into the room. Like the rest of the house, it was a disaster. A stained mattress lay on the floor, surrounded by pipes, ashtrays, and pure garbage.

Tigris growled at her, clearly agitated by her nearness. January moved in, careful to keep herself directly between the big cat and the doorway at all times. The tiger swatted at her head. January became Water, and flowed out of the way of a blow that would have torn a normal human's face off. That left the tiger wide open, and she instantly followed by jabbing the dart into her hip.

After that January moved in close, and wrapped up the big cat in her arms once more. Again she clutched her in a firm grip, but not so strong as to harm the massive carnivore. Soon enough Tigris went still, and January lifted her completely from her feet. She turned back to the door, and found the zookeepers staring in amazement. As if they did not see people wrestle big cats every day. Gilda's drone was already in the room with her of course, recording everything with its impassive lens.

The zookeepers led the way back outside. January was relieved to get back out under the clear blue sky and into the fresh air once more. Once on the lawn, she discovered that a crowd of people from the neighborhood had gathered behind a cordon of police. January even noted the woman whom she had saved earlier, there with her poodle. She smiled at the woman, who still carried her tee shirts on her shoulders. A cheer rose up, and cameras flashed.

Dr. Duncan removed the tranq dart from the tiger's hide. Then January followed her and the others to the back of the straight truck. Strapped down in the cargo bay inside was a large moving container. It reminded January of an oversized pet carrier. It had a steel barred door, its hull was lined with air holes, and the interior even sported built in bowls for food and water.

January leaped up into the truck, and gently slid the tiger inside the big cat carrier. Then she stood back while the others clambered in behind her and secured the carrier's steel door.

"We use this for long transports." Dr. Duncan explained. "We'll take her from here."

"I'd like to go with you," January interjected. "I feel like I owe it to Tigris, to be with her the entire way."

"Wow, well, of course!" the veterinarian beamed. "We'd be glad to have you. We don't get superheroes at the zoo that often."

"Maybe oftener than you think," January murmured under her breath.

She turned and waved for the cameras outside. Then Barry hopped out of the truck, and pulled down its roll-up door with a clatter of metal on metal. The doctor and other two zookeepers remained inside with January, and they all slid down to the floor when the truck lurched into motion a minute later.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the door finally clanked shut, and eased back against one bare wall of the truck's interior box compartment.

"Glad to escape the press?" the veterinarian wondered aloud.

"No, Gilda's a nice person," January shook her head. "She's been good to me. It's just hard... being in front of the cameras all the time. I'm always afraid that something I say will come out wrong, or be misconstrued, or deliberately misquoted. I want to help people, not make it worse for them by tripping over my tongue."

January turned to the young man Dr. Duncan had introduced as Jason. He had his phone held up and was clearly recording everything she said.

"Feel free to post that online too," she said. "I'm as human as anyone else. I'm not perfect."

[Acadian]

A very nice followup after the Stormcrow’s murder kitty wrestling in the previous episode.

Gilda found her! And of course the queen of gossip wants to talk about Vortex. Jan did a great job of being honest without revealing much. It was very January for her to take steps to preserve Hannah/Vortex’s privacy and not try to speak for her. I loved how she finally shut Gilda down with her stony response, punctuated by the appropriate storm clouds.

Brilliant for Stormcrow to offer to tranquilize Tigris herself – and clearly the safest way to go.

[Renee]

Yes! I can see Gilda Gladfly being inspired by Ricki Lake. Earlier on, I was thinking of that Youtuber chick. I forget her name now. That really hyper, annoying one. Ricki Lake though, that's Gilda. Ricki's boastful, scandal-ridden voice fits, totally.

Oh nice, Gilda is on the scene. Finally catches up to the Stormcrow. Yes, I imagine at all the other crime scenes so far, it'd be impossible for Gilda to get near, even if she had the opportunity. Because who wants to get too close to a giant demon-spider? Or a group of nasty kraquen?

Gilda calls her "Honey". Camera bots??

Hmm, it seems Gilda does not know about Jan's brother being involved. Otherwise she'd bring that up, instead of Hannah not being present. Wow... Ricki Gadfly will not let this go.

Instantgram... MeTube ...

Wow, Doctor Duncan is videoing her at the end as she's having a moment. What the heck. Is there no shame, in the social media world? Sheesh.

[WellTemperedClavier]

I've been reading the first book over the past few days, and it's good! I'm actually not the biggest superhero person, but you address a lot of the things that tend to bother me about the genre. Things like how, yes, property damage can still be pretty devastating to people so it's probably best for heroes to make an effort to avoid that.

Plus, January's adventures feel more grounded. She's dealing with a lot of RL stuff, in the best Marvel tradition. All the local detail helps out a lot. I'm not at all familiar with the Detroit metro area (all I've really seen is the airport), but the close focus on names and the feel of the place add a lot.

Though part of me does wish I could tell January that even published writers usually have to keep day jobs. Sure you get the occasional Stephen King or John Grisham, but they're the exception, not the rule.

[WellTemperedClavier]

I have finished the second book.

Stormcrow Recycled is an apt title, both for how it deals with her own constant reinvention and the nature of the antagonist.

Speaking of which, I really liked how Isaac was handled. You see the big fights so often that sometimes it's preferable to just have the characters talk it out. January's speech skill is probably higher than she thinks. Regardless, she was able to draw on a common well of empathy to connect with Isaac.

Isaac and Avery would likely be pretty formidable when/if they pool their resources.

Speaking of Avery, him acting as support during missions is actually a really good idea. Something that might be good standard practice for metas, provided they can find someone. It's easy to get mixed up when so much is going on (like January did with the diesel/gas confusion), so it's always good to have another person who has the advantage of perspective.

Perspective of course, being a real problem with January's dad. I think most of us have, at some point, overheard a parental conversation about us that we weren't supposed to--but the nature of this one made it hit especially hard. It emphasizes how important it is for people to have support, and how devastating it can be when someone who should provide it instead withdraws it.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: It was nice to finally get Gilda "on screen" as it were, given how often we have had little clips of her. Of course all she wants are the juicy gossip bits.

I spent a while working out the logistics of darting Tigris. Eventually I facepalmed, and realized that January could just do it herself by hand. It was by far the safest option for everyone.


Renee: I never watched the Ricki Lake show. But I do remember her from China Beach. I loved her in that. That is why I decided to use her as the inspiration for Gilda.

Gilda is not normally in Detroit at all. She's a big star at Worldwide Network News. So I would figure she lives in New York City, or wherever WNN has its headquarters. I never really thought of where it would be.

Everyone knows that the Summoner was Julian Ward. That was national news. It is why there were reporters all over January and her mom afterward. Gilda just doesn't care about that. That's not what drives clicks. Teen lesbian romance does.

That was not Dr. Duncan recording January at the end, it was one of the young zookeepers.


WellTemperedClavier: I walk a bit of a line with the property damage. On one hand I don't want to equate property as being worth the same or more than people's lives. But as someone who is not rich, I had to work hard for what I have, and losing it all in an instant is crushing. I had a Year of Four Cars. Yes, I went through four of them, and it sent me deep into debt. It took years to dig myself out of that. Like a lot of people, back then I could not afford collision or theft insurance, just the basic liability. So when one got stolen, and another got crunched in the middle of a three car accident, I got nothing from the insurance. I lost two others because of mechanical failures (engine seized, etc...), and had to junk them.

I always think of that when I am writing. Because January is not rich, she thinks of it too. She does not want to take away someone's livelihood just to show off by throwing a car at a supervillain. In Detroit, you need a car to have a job, and you need a job to have a car. There is no real public transportation aside from buses, which are just horrible. So it would be very easy for her to carelessly ruin someone's life.

I chose Detroit as the setting because I live here, and I know the place like the back of my hand. I could try to set it somewhere else, but the trouble is, I just don't know the character or nature of those places. I don't know the neighborhoods, or the attitudes. Plus, you rarely ever see the D as a setting. I do go to the trouble of being specific about place names and streets and describing the skyline. I want the city itself to be a character. So it feels real to people from out of town, and not just generic Superville.

Recycled was inspired very loosely by the early issues of the Ms. Marvel comic with Kamala Khan. In it she took on a supervillain whose lair was in a junkyard, and who used junkbots and a junkmech. So I started from there, and took a detour into Fred Sanford zone. I wanted the junk menace. But I wanted a villain who was not really that villainous. I also wanted an ending that did not involve a big punch, but rather empathy. I wanted to show that January is the kind of person who would rather help people than hit them, or put them in jail.

Isaac will appear several more times in the future (and yes, he will get his Mecha!). So too will Lighthammer. Most of the people January encounters will become part of her orbit, and will come together for the big finale to Season One in Book 10 (which I am currently working on). A lot of them will come together before then too. With Avery with her from the start, January is not a lone wolf. She cannot do it all on her own, and she embraces that. Bringing people together for common purpose is perhaps her greatest superpower.

Jan's dad (and brother), being so toxic were writing choices I made because all too often this is the case in people's lives. Not just Queer people's lives. Everybody's lives. I wanted to show that she has to deal with issues in her life, the same as anyone else. Hence the reason she attempted suicide when she was a child.






Book 9.3 - Ashes

July 6th, late morning

Blood Raven was in disguise. Well, she was not in her armor at least. Instead she wore a simple top and skirt. A pair of glasses balanced above her nose, and her auburn hair was tied back in a bun. She appeared entirely ordinary, and entirely professional. Just like any of the other myriad of reporters who had descended upon Detroit in the wake of the Summoner's death.

"Rebecca, tell me what happened on the night of May 25th."

Blood Raven entwined her words with aion. They were not a question, but a demand. They wove their way through the aura of the young woman who sat across from her, and lodged within her brain. There her power did not wake sleeping memories, but rather bridged the gap in time between the present and the creation of said remembrances. Now and then were now bound together with her words and magic. At the same time her subject's conscious awareness ebbed away like a ship receding into the night. She became an automata reciting everything she saw and heard in the past.

"Julian took me to a party on campus," the red-haired student said in a dull monotone. The college student's eyes were as empty and devoid of intensity as her speech. "I was excited. I wore my new red miniskirt. I wanted that night to be special. I wanted it to be the first time we had sex. It was, but not in the way I hoped."

"How is that?" Blood Raven probed.

"I barely drank from my cup of beer, but I got really, really trashed," Rebecca explained. "It was hard to walk, especially in my heels. Then I got really sleepy. He took me to a bedroom. I woke up hours later, and he was there, looking all smug."

"Do you remember what happened in between?" Blood Raven asked.

"I don't know," Rebecca answered. "It is all... blank. But I can guess. He roofied me, and he raped me. That is why I never talked to him since."

It took every ounce of Blood Raven's self-composure to contain the scowl that wanted to form upon her features. But centuries of working as both a teacher and as a nurse had taught her to insure that her inner feelings did not disturb her external appearance. She pressed Rebecca for details about the time when they arrived at the party, and when she later woke.

"That confirms it," Cray's mellow tones sounded in her ear. "It was plenty of time for him to teleport downtown and summon the buggane, then teleport back to the party."

Blood Raven called up her aion once more, and wrapped it about herself in a cloak. When she pulled it away, she was once more clad in her armor. Her hair returned to a mane of scarlet, and waved gently in a breeze that was not present in the tiny dorm room.

Finally, she allowed her spell to drop from the mind of the young woman before her. Rebecca's eyes swam back into focus, and she looked around her quizzically for a moment. Clearly, she was trying, and failing, to remember what had just occurred. Finally she turned her gaze back to Blood Raven.

"You're, you're Blood Raven!" she stammered with barely contained shock. Her voice rose several pitches, and practically bubbled with excitement. "When did you get here? Did you come to talk to me? Whatever I can do to help, I will! I can tell you all about Julian Ward. I dated him for a while! Are you really friends with Stormcrow? Are you going to catch this Hierophant? Can I get a selfie with you?"

"Yes, let us take a... selfie," Blood Raven forced the words from her lips. It was what January would do, one way that she would make herself part of the community. She waited patiently while the young woman fumbled for the phone in her purse, only to drop it from shaking hands.

Before it could strike the dorm room floor, Blood Raven caught it up with a golden tendril of energy. She tapped its screen, and waited a moment for Cray to remotely bypass its lock. Then she held it out to take several pictures of the two of them together. She even forced herself to smile. It turned out that it did not in fact, crack her face in two. Would wonders never cease?

"What is it that you study?" Blood Raven's eyes scanned the small room. A laptop sat open upon a small desk. A video of Stormcrow carrying an unconscious tiger played silently across its screen. A microwave and hot plate squeezed into the last tiny piece of real estate upon the desk beside it. A bed sat right next to it, with its fluffy teal quilt rumpled and disordered. A "Go Blue" pennant was tacked to one wall, along with a row of Christmas lights. The opposite side of the room was practically identical, with another bed and tiny desk crammed into the small space.

"Education," Rebecca said. "I'm going to be a teacher."

"A noble profession, one whose burdens I have shouldered many times myself." Blood Raven intoned quite seriously. She handed the phone back to the college student, and placed one hand on her shoulder. She stared deeply into the student's green eyes.

"Julian Ward did not rape you that night." She said plainly. "He drugged you, and once you were unconscious he traveled to Detroit, where he summoned a Creature of the Abyss. He returned before you awoke, so you never knew he left. In this manner you became his alibi, the same as all the others who saw him at the party."

Her aetherial eyes gazed deeply into the young woman's aura. It bore the simple gray tones of a mundane. But the threads of her power showed none of the tell tale frays of an assault. Rather it was healthy and strong. Even with minute inspection of the winding and vibrant strands of energy, Blood Raven saw nothing there to raise an alarm.

"How did you-?" Rebecca blurted, eyes wide with shock. "I mean, I never told..."

"I know." Blood Raven allowed some of her aion to flow about her, and surround her in a warm glow. It lent gravitas to her voice, and presence to her eyes. It made her larger than life. Usually she did this to overawe her enemies. But sometimes the authority it lent her could also bring a sense of reassurance and security to others. She hoped this was one such occurrence.

"Be at peace Rebecca," she intoned. "You have your entire life to look forward to. Follow your dreams."

With that Blood Raven turned and strode to the door. She gestured with one hand, and it opened without her touching it.

"But wait, I thought you wanted to talk to me... about him..." Rebecca stammered from behind her.

"Nay," Blood Raven paused to look back over her shoulder at the other woman. "I came here for you, not for him."

Granted, she had not known that until this very moment. But it was true nonetheless.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Cray's voice brought her back to the mundane necessities of their investigation. "She is going to post that all over social media. The Hierophant is sure to notice, and know we are closing in."

"She had to know," Blood Raven strode down the corridor to the nearest staircase. All around her students stopped in their tracks to gape. Some fumbled for phones, but most were too slow to record her passage. "It would have carried no weight coming from an ordinary reporter. She will believe it from Blood Raven."

"In any case, unless the Hierophant is a complete fool, he knows we are closing in. Let him hear the hounds bay upon his heels."

* * *

[Acadian]

I’m continually impressed by the depth and sophistication of Blood Raven’s magic and the creative ways she is able to use it.

Blood Raven . . . of the Faint Smile? And getting selfied no less.

Her compassion comes through here pretty clearly with Rebecca. I don’t think I’d want to be the Hierophant pondering the possibility of facing Blood Raven though.