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Not a Rescue

5/6/2021

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He had arrived. It had taken weeks, but he was here. In the lair of the dragon. Ready to rescue his princess from- a resounding clang echoed through the caverns followed by a thud as the knight dropped revealing a woman nearing thirty in an ebony dress accented with rubies, holding a mace covered with long dried blood.

“Princess?” The dragon called from the depths of the cavern. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, dear!” She shouted back. “Just dropped an urn!” She looked down at the dented helm of the knight. “One of the big metal ones!”

“Do you need help?”

She smiled at his concern. “I’m fine!”

“Alright! Dinner will be done in ten minutes!”

“Thank you!” She turned to the knight with a grimace. She leaned the mace against the wall and pulled the heavily armored knight up by his armpits. She panted as she dragged him back out of the cavern to a nearby cliff. “Another one for the pile.” She muttered, tipping the body over the edge. A few clangs followed as the corpse hit stone outcroppings. She pushed her hair out of her face and paused, patting her head. “Oh no.” She sighed. She’d lost her crown. It was probably near the entrance of the cavern. She turned, her eyes sharp looking for her crown as she walked back to the caverns, back to her home.

At the bottom of the cliff, a broken body lay among the bones and rusted armor of every other knight who had tried to take the princess from her dragon. Killed not by tooth or claw, but by mace and blade. 



​A StepSister side story. 
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Got Ghosts?

3/1/2020

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A Weirdsville story.

I forgot to turn in my history assignment. I hurried down the hallway, praying that Mr. Bishop hadn’t left for the day. I was relieved when I spotted a dim light through the shades on the window in the door. 

“Mr. Bishop!” I burst into the room holding up my worksheet. “I forgot to give this to you in class!” Mr. Bishop froze. He was kneeling beside a large pentagram in the middle of the room. All of the desks were pushed against the walls and there were candles at each point of the star. Only three had been lit. I crossed the room and held out my homework. “It’s not too late to turn it in, right?” I demanded anxiously. Mr. Bishop blinked. 

“Uh, no. I’ll still take it.” He reached out and accepted the paper. I sighed in relief. 


“Thanks, Mr. Bishop. Sorry about the trouble.” I adjusted my backpack. “See you tomorrow.” I turned around and started to leave. 


“Wait! Melody,” I was confused to hear a note of desperation in his voice. I looked back at him, and he looked scared. 


“Yeah?” I said. He gestured weakly. 


“About this…” I looked around and back at him blankly. 


“What about it?” I asked. His jaw dropped. 


“You don’t think this is weird?” He asked incredulously. 


“Of course, it’s weird.” I laughed. “But the whole town is weird. This is nothing too crazy. Probably a séance, right? You talk about George Washington like he’s still alive.” I checked the clock on the wall and winced. “Sorry, Mr. Bishop. I have to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I hurried out of the room with a wave. Weird that Mr. Bishop thought he had to explain himself. It’s not like it’s the strangest thing in town, not by a long shot. 
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Hunted

11/13/2019

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Teddy ran. Crashing through the underbrush. He didn’t care about stealth anymore. It didn’t matter. She already knew where he was. She always knew. He panted heavily. God, this had been a mistake. Such a mistake. But how was he supposed to know that? How could he have realized that his coworker, his friend was absolutely mental?! He fell, the weapon clattered out of his hands. Laughter echoed behind him. He left it, laying feet away, as he scrambled to his feet and kept up his sprint. Another mistake.
“Oh, what a nice present.” The gloating voice trailed after him. “You are such a sweetie. But that’s not going to save you, mon frère. Nothing will save you now.” He could hear the smile in her voice. Where were the others? Had she really saved him for last? Had she? He grunted in pain as the back of his knee was struck. It buckled and he went sprawling.
He tried to stand but suddenly there was a foot in his back and a gun to the back of his head. He hadn’t even heard her coming. “Please.” He begged. “Don’t do this.”
“It’s too late for that, mon frère.” She said. “You made your choice.” She pulled the trigger.
“OW!” Teddy yelped, jerking. “Felicity! Seriously, that really hurt!” Felicity chuckled and stepped back.
“You’re the one who decided to break up the team.” She reminded him smugly. He scowled as he sat up and reached back. He rubbed the back of his head.
“And for that I warrant an execution style death scene?” He pulled back his fingers and noticed the green paint. “And with my own gun?!”
“Pro tip, mon frère,” She leaned forward, Cheshire grin widening. “Never leave your weapon behind. Not unless you have a backup.” Teddy glared at her.
“I regret everything.” He said flatly. She laughed and held out her hand to help him up.
“This was fun!” She said enthusiastically, leading the way back to base. “We should do this again.”
“Never again.” Teddy groaned. When they reached base, he saw the telltale purple splotches from Felicity’s paintball gun graced every member of the Cinema Critics.
“You even took out your own team?” He asked in disbelief, when he noticed the Podcaster Pals who they had been competing against were all sporting purple also.
“Friendly fire.” Felicity grinned. It wasn’t a friendly grin. In fact, it was downright terrifying.

Out of the Shadows - Fun asides... 

It's NaNoWriMo! I'm working through a novella, but I decided that this was a good warm up. The Podcaster Pals were down a teammate and Teddy suggested loaning out Felicity. It was a decision he regret. 

A little bit of the Femme Fatale​ slipped out. 

​
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Trust Exercise

10/16/2019

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The tenth installment of Out of the Shadows.

It had been a long time since Felicity had to dress up. What’s more, she had never had to do so when she wasn’t expecting trouble. She’d always had a reason to dress up and so she wasn’t sure what was appropriate when she didn’t.

She forced herself to go unarmed, partially out of respect for Howle, and partially because there was no reason to. She was a plus one for an intern. Her only job was to make Sally look good. Not gather intel on her behalf. Not take out her competition. Just make her look good.

Her barista job didn’t exactly pay for high end outfits, but she had options. Buy and return was out. She couldn’t trust that Howle or his people wouldn’t remove the tag when if she got frisked. She could go to a thrift store and cross her fingers that there was something high end that wasn’t too thrashed. She could steal something, but she really shouldn’t.

…or she could go to see Sally unprepared. She’d said to come early if she didn’t have anything nice. She’d implied she had something Felicity could wear. Felicity could trust her. It was a novel concept to willingly go in blind. She would never have considered it… before… It meant relying on Sally just because.
Felicity made her decision.



She arrived at Sally’s house in jeans and a t-shirt a few hours before the event. Sally beamed at her when she opened the door.

“Come in, I’ve got just the dress.” She seized her wrist and dragged her inside.

Sally presented her with a long, sleek, satin pink dress that she would never have picked for herself but suited her perfectly. It clung in all the right placed and flattered her figure. Sally added a clip with a pink cloth rose to pull back the hair at her temple that almost matched but was just a shade off.

She looked pretty. Not the calculated beauty that she had in the past. It wasn’t an outfit designed to be seductive, subtle, or overt. It was just her.

She’d been right to trust Sally.​
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Turned

3/15/2018

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A Weirdsville Story

​
There was this boy who used to be in my class. One day he stopped coming to school. His best friend, Nick, told everyone that he was being homeschooled. He seemed shifty about it though. I honestly didn't think about it too much. I knew Jeremy from class but we didn't talk much. Then, a month or so after he'd left school I saw him leaving Dr. Estrada's small clinic late one night, looking pale and miserable. 



There might have been a lot of reasons to leave a hospital looking miserable but there weren't that many to leave with a cooler. It was enough to spark a few suspicions. Those didn't bother me too much. What was bugging me more was how depressed he looked. I wasn't close with Jeremy, but I knew he was a pretty social guy. He attended every dance and most school activities. He sat at crowded tables, and I couldn't for the life of me remember ever seeing him without two or three of his friends. Since he'd left school I hadn't seen him around anyone. He seemed to have lost touch with all of his friends. 


"Is Jeremy going to the game?" I asked Nick one day between classes. He seemed startled and confused. 


"I don't think so." He answered nervously. 


"Why not? It's at night." I pointed out. I still wasn't 100% sure that was important, but it seemed reasonable. A lot of things don't like the sun. "He should go." 


"Oh, that's rich." Jessica scoffed. "We don't go to the games. Why should he?" I stepped on her foot and she yelped rather comically. 


"He should go." I insisted. Nick stared at me thoughtfully before he nodded. 


"I'll tell him. Melody, right?"  I nodded and dragged a grumbly Jessica away. 






Jessica's revenge for stomping her foot definitely outweighed the crime. She dragged me to the game. I didn't even have a good defense! Every time I tried to protest she just brought up the conversation I had with Nick and taunted me with it. 


"You can't seriously tell me you want to do this?" I groaned as she pulled me to the field with an unruly grin. 


"Don't be silly, Melody. We have to go." I had to anyway, because Jessica had my wrist locked in an iron grip. 


"Wouldn't you rather have a Bourne Identity marathon?" I cajoled. "We can even watch the new ones." 


"Don't say that like it's a bribe. I know you secretly like them too." Jessica accused as she hauled me into the middle of the bleachers knowing that with a crowd on either side of us I couldn't escape. In the end, she also trapped herself.


Here's the thing about Jessica and sports. She would always rather play than watch. She was twitchy within minutes and just as bored as I was. I could tell she was getting more and more aggravated as the game went on. She actually snarled when someone from the other team fumbled the ball. She didn't care who won or lost, she just wanted to get on the field and play herself.


"We can still get out of here." I urged, leaning over her shoulder both to speak into her ear and to shift away from the loud enthusiastic boy to my left. "There's a jungle gym on the way to my house. It's late enough that there won't be any parents around to yell at you for climbing too high and giving their kids bad ideas..." She was wavering. I pressed on. "I bet the drugstore's still open. We can stop for candy and jerky." The crowd collectively started to cheer, the noise almost taking on a physical manifestation. Jessica tensed, one hand going to her ear. 


"Okay!" She relented, shouting over the crowd. We stood and struggled over to the edge of the bleachers. I breathed a sigh of relief as I almost tripped past the last person onto the semi-clear steps, Jessica right on my heels. As we made our way down the steps I spotted Nick for the first time that night. He ducked from the edge of the crowd on the other side of the bleachers and out of sight.


"Oh, thank god." I sighed as we left the brightly lit field and into the cool night. A breeze rose to meet us. It seemed impossible that there could be such an intense difference between being on the other side of the bleachers but even the cheering crowd seemed blissfully muted. 


"Yeah. Wanna race to the park?" Jessica was taking quick steps, practically vibrating with barely contained energy she was desperate to burn. 


I snorted. "No thanks. I don't start things I know I can't win."


"Melody!" Someone yelled my name behind us over the fading shouts of the crowd. I turned and saw Nick dragging a reluctant Jeremy behind him. 


"Hey guys, I didn't see you inside." I smiled at them. 


"Jay here didn't go in." Nick elbowed his friend. Jeremy looked annoyed.


"It's loud." He muttered, he seemed to be avoiding our gaze.


"Tell me about it." I grimaced. Jessica nodded sympathetically. He used to attend the games with his friends but it sounded as if his senses got overwhelmed more easily now. I'd have to keep that in mind. 


"Hey! We're headed over to the park then Melody's house for a spy marathon." Jessica told them excitedly. "Want to come?" 


"Yes." Nick cut off whatever Jeremy was about to say. "Absolutely."


"Great! Let's go!" Jessica took off towards the park. 


"Now you've done it." I laughed. "She's going to drag all of us into some kind of game, just watch." We followed her. She'd stopped about half a block away where she was bouncing up and down impatiently waiting for us to catch up. I noticed that Jeremy lagged a step behind us. He was walking between me and a strangely determined Nick. He was also looking anywhere except for at me. It stung a little bit. It was too bad that he couldn't hang out with his real friends but I hoped that just us would help a bit. 


I was right. Jessica almost immediately conscripted us into a climbing contest. Surprisingly, Jeremy won on speed, vaulting over a bar and beating Jessica to the top by a good three seconds. Unsurprisingly, Jessica won on height, clambering on to what was supposed to be the roof of the structure where she balanced precariously, arms outstretched and, at the top of her lungs, declared "I AM VICTORIOUS!" Then laughed like the lovable maniac that she was. 






We stopped at Crowe's General Store & Pharmacy. Mary Ann Crowe was about to lock up but she stopped when she saw us. "Hello girls! I thought you weren't coming tonight." She cheerfully flicked back on the lights she'd turned out. 


"Movie night wouldn't be the same without snacks." I laughed as Jessica charged towards the salty and sugary treats. 


"Who are the boys, Mel?" Mary Ann asked, a teasing twinkle in her eyes. 


"Mary Ann..." I rolled my eyes. 


"Come on, I might be on the wrong side of forty but I know how it is. Which one do you have your eye on?" Mary Ann smirked. She didn't really seem forty, though the white strands that peppered her dark hair would seem to support that. I noticed that Jeremy's cheeks were flaming red with a blush against his pale skin. He was standing ten feet away, examining a magazine rack too closely, Mary Ann probably didn't realize that he could hear us. He looked up and met my eyes. His face was suddenly so red he looked like he had a sunburn. He turned on his heel and darted for the candy aisle with a surprised Nick following him. 


Ouch.


I shook myself. I wanted to get Mary Ann off that track and I needed something from her anyway. "Actually I was hoping I could pick up Dad's headache medicine while we're here." 


"Sorry Mel, it hasn't come in yet." She replied apologetically, easily stepping out of her teasing mindset and into a more professional demeanor. She moved behind the counter where her white pharmacist coat was hanging on a hook, but she bypassed the shiny modern area on the right side and went to the more rustic section on the left. "This tea should tide him over." She offered me a glass jar of homemade tea bags. "Wards off headaches like nothing else." I shook my head. 


"He's not going to drink it. Strictly coffee. Got any other brews that would help?" She paused at the word 'brew' processing it like she didn't know it was obvious what she was. 


"Not for a coffee brew, exactly." She said, as if choosing her words very carefully. "But," She turned around and pulled a tin of cocoa off the shelf. Even with her back to me I could still hear her mutter something lyrically over the tin before she turned towards me. "If you add a spoon full of this to his morning coffee it might give him a bit more pep." Dad was a nut for chocolate so that might actually work. And if Mary Ann implied it would help with his headaches it definitely would. 


"Thanks." I accepted the tin and frowned. "I better get a second one so that Jessica doesn't drink it all tonight." Mary Ann got a sticker to mark which was for us and which was for my dad (a difference that was lost on everyone but her). Jessica came carving back with an armful of jerky for her and a mix of our favorite sugar. Nick carried a variety of chocolate bars. Jeremy trailed behind them, empty handed. 


Mary Ann rang us up and shooed us out of the store so that she could close. I found myself between Jessica and Jeremy. Nick seemed to be purposefully boxing Jeremy in next to me. He'd been pretty quiet, but I might as well keep making an effort. I bumped his shoulder with mine. "So, we were planning on spy thrillers. Maybe a few Bourne movies. Do you guys had any preferences?" 


"Uh, nope. That sounds good." Jeremy answered, reddening again. Nick snorted. 


"Don't let him fool you." He pushed Jeremy's head down so he could look at me. "There's nothing this guy likes more than a romcom." Jessica choked beside me.


"Nick!" Jeremy jerked up and threw his hand off him. He tossed me an anxious glance before scowling at Nick. On my other side I could feel Jessica eyeing me with a glare, daring me to change our plans. Romcoms were the bane of her existence. She literally walked out a theater the last time I tried to take her to one. I bit the corner of my lip.


"How about RED?" I suggested as a compromise. That had a pretty romcom plot despite the explosions. 


"That's great." Jeremy answered automatically, elbowing Nick hard enough for him to double let with an audible grunt. 


"Yeah, alright." Jessica agreed. I grinned. 


"This is us." I nodded at a shadowed house. I led the way up the steps on to the porch of the modest two story house and let myself in. Jessica practically pushed past me in her eagerness to start the popcorn. I jingled the keys. My house key always seemed to get stuck. I heard a whispered conversation and looked behind me. 


Nick and Jeremy seemed to be arguing in hushed tones. I picked out Jeremy's harsh "-go in there!" And it clicked. Wow, that should have occurred to me. 


"Come on in, Jeremy." I called, returning my attention to the stuck key. The arguing stopped. "I'll be there in just a second I just have to-" A cold hand was suddenly over mine. I glanced up in confusion, even as I felt the key slide gently from the lock. Jeremy was close. So close I should have been able to feel his breath. 


"You were pulling too hard." He smiled at me. And his teeth were sharp and white. 


"Thanks." I grinned back. Nick was practically beaming at us. "Well, what are you waiting for? I've already given you an invitation. Come on." I ushered them inside where Jessica was shouting about me being out of the 'good' ice cream. Because clearly that girl needed more sugar.

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(Were)Wolf Rescue

3/8/2018

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A Weirdsville Story

I raced down the hall as if my life depended on it. The fluorescent lights above me flickered. I could register the muffled voices from the rooms on either side of the hall, but I couldn't make out what they were saying over my own ragged panting and the thud of my feet on the linoleum floor. I saw the door coming up on my right closing slowly. NO! I threw myself at it and literally slammed into the door.

The entire class stared at me as the door burst back open behind Mr. Bishop. He whipped around and I winced as the door hit the back wall with a bang and swung back into place. I straightened and tried to pretend that I hadn't just hit the door hard enough to bruise my shoulder.

"I guess that makes you on time." Mr. Bishop had recovered and was trying to look disapproving but mostly looked amused. "But consider this a warning about running in the halls."

"Yes sir." I felt my face heating up.

"Go ahead and take a seat, Miss. Roads." I nodded. He only called his students by their last name when he was trying not to laugh. He's one of my younger teachers, somewhere in that nebulous age of over twenty and under forty. I think it's his way of trying to say professional. I hurried over to my seat and dropped my backpack under the table.

"You okay?" Jessica leaned over and whispered. "You hit that door pretty hard."

"Yeah, I'm good." I rubbed my shoulder with a grimace and glanced at my friend. The lighting made her look even tanner than usual, and her curly brown hair gave her a slightly feral appearance. I sighed. "You have twigs in your hair again."

"I do?" She reached up and immediately found one. She pulled it out, wincing slightly as it caught her hair. "Ouch." I rolled my eyes. I couldn't figure out why Jessica didn't swing by my house when this happened. I was closer to school so she wouldn't be late. "Did I get them?" I returned my gaze to Jessica. She was staring at me with wide light brown (almost yellow) eyes as she patted down her hair.

"The obvious ones." I answered. "If you need to come by my house tomorrow morning to get ready for school, feel free."

"Uh, I'm good." Jessica assured me. I frowned.

"Well, offer stands." I shrugged. Tonight was the last night of the full moon, so she'd probably show up covered in mud and twigs again.
​
"If we're quite done." Mr. Bishop's irritated voice cut through our conversation. "Maybe I could start my lecture on the Revolutionary War?" We turned back to the front of the room. Mr. Bishop gae us a look and started talking. "It might surprise you to hear that our founding fathers weren't on the same page with a lot of things. In fact, if you get them all in one room, you're liable to find yourself in the middle of a shouting match." He shuddered slight, giving me a good idea of what he'd been doing last night. 

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Wadesville (Weirdsville)

1/8/2018

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I’ve always known our town was weird. I just assumed that everyone else did too. Wolves howl on the outskirts but only on full moons. My history teacher refers to long dead figures as if he’d talked to them the night before. The woman who I always wave at on my way home has a giant red stain spread over the center of her nice white blouse. Every. Single. Day. So yes, this town isn’t exactly subtle about being strange. Is it wrong to assume that it was an open secret everyone is in on?
 


I pushed in the library doors displaying the hours (8 am to 4 am daily) and walked up to nice, old Ms. Bobbin, the night librarian. There was a photo on her desk of a New Years party from 1952, clearly showing Ms. Bobbin looking exactly the same, from her snowy white hair to her soft smile revealing sharp teeth.

“Hello Melody,” She patted her mouth daintily with a napkin and putting aside the thermos she’d been drinking from. “What can I do for you?” She smiled at me like a sweet, carnivorous grandmother with a smear of red that was either from her lipstick or her beverage marring the white of her teeth.

“I got an email that said my book on thermodynamics came in.” I loosened my scarf in the warmth of the library but did not take it off.

“Oh, let’s see.” She got up and walked over to the holds shelf behind the desk. “Here it is. Oh my, it looks awfully advanced.” She pulled out a thick book with lava flow on the cover.

“It’s extra credit for my AP Science class.” I explained. I accepted the book and handed her my library card for check out.

“That’s nice, dear.” She smiled, fumbling slightly with the computer.

A man burst through the doors behind me. “I need a copy of the Necronomicon!” He panted.

“Second aisle on your left, dearie.” Ms. Bobbin called, frowning over the screen. He tore off in that direction, his boots thudding on the rug.

“Hope he didn’t summon anything too bad.” I commented, only half joking, as I tucked the book into my backpack.

“Yes…” She agreed absently, staring after him in a way that made me think she hadn’t heard me. “Excuse me, dear. I have to make a call.” She handed me back my library card and picked up the phone on her desk.

“Alright, have a nice night, Ms. Bobbin.” I walked out the door with a single glance back at the aisle the man vanished down.


​ 
When my dad turned on the news the next morning I saw that, late last night, there had been a car fire with one fatality downtown. I glanced at the screen over my cereal. I can’t say I was entirely surprised that the photo they were showing was of the man who had run into the library. Poor guy, I thought as I finished my cereal. I grabbed my backpack and left for school. 


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This year on NaNoWriMo...

11/6/2017

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Hello everyone!

So last year I participated in NaNoWriMo. This year I am doing so again. However, I won't be working on a cohesive novel. Instead I will be working to pad out my Super-Verse. My brain is so far ahead on their stories that going back to actually write them always feels very time consuming, but it just has to get done! 

The good news is that since it's not a cohesive novel you are all much more likely to get updates! I must admit. Since I'm so far ahead mentally, the timeline might be a bit confusing, but I'll do my best and maybe even post a timeline so that it's easier to follow. I hope that everyone enjoys Red Queen, Stevis, Mister Machine, Sgt. Solar, Mecha Man, Blink, Miss. Melody, Shade, Marilyn Gold, Cyanide (who might be one of the most complicated people I've ever created), Blackbird, and so many others. This universe started as my "superhero clue" which was an idea I had to write in second person years ago to see if the reader could figure out which of their friends was a superhero. I received mixed opinions for the second person narrative but my heroes continued to flourish in the back of my mind, always feed by the influx of new Superhero media that has been coming out lately. 

So... Here is a very small taste of what is to come. 



BATTLE BROS (yes, I still like alliteration)

Sgt. Solar grit his teeth. A swarm. Fantastic. He was too old for this. He briefly wondered if this was a result of science run amok or magic. Either way, the massive cloud of buzzing, six-foot long insects were more than he could handle on his won.

He became aware of a whine growing in intensity over the buzzing. A familiar sound. Sgt. Solar relaxed slightly. The whine cut out abruptly and a man made entirely of metal landed beside him with a muffled clang. Small thrusters folded back into the side of the legs seamlessly. The silver face turned towards him, shining in the midday sun.

“Looks like you could use an exterminator.” The voice, though human, sounded as if it were coming through a high quality speaker.

“Are you volunteering, Mister Machine?” Sgt. Solar grinned. The cyborg was completely encased in metal, not an inch of skin showing.

“I don’t mind squashing a few pests.” Machine’s voice sounded amused despite the expressionless metal face. “I might have added a bug bomb or two in here.” Sgt. Solar felt the ground shifting. He moved away from it slightly as it parted, revealing a slightly bedraggled Stevis.

“This look like they could be from another planet, right?” The interplanetary defender squinted at the swarm.
“I don’t know, in New York roaches can get to be the size of a dog.” Mister Machine teased the alien. Stevis beamed.

“Oh good, these are much bigger than a dog. The council would believe I thought they were from another planet.” Sgt. Solar wasn’t positive that Mister Machine snorted, but it was the only sound that made sense in response to their slightly ignorant friend.

“Yeah, alien, let’s go with that.” Red Queen dropped from literally nowhere to land beside Mister Machine. A pair of Persian scimitars was in her hands, a billowing red cloth attached to the bottom of each. She spun one of them effortlessly. “Bet I get more than you.”

“You’re on!” Machine’s voice rose with the challenge.

“What do you say we work together and show those two what teamwork can accomplish, Stevis.” Sgt. Solar suggested.

“Whatever you say!” Stevis grinned, and raised the earth around him to form intimidating jagged weapons. Sgt. Solar rose into the air, his hands glowed with the light from the sun itself.
​
He didn’t have to face this alone. They weren’t an official team. But his friends would always have his back. They moved as one to meet the swarm. Mister Machine flying, Red Queen running faster than any human had a right to, and Stevis impossibly riding a wave of earth. Sgt. Solar smiled. And enthusiastically joined in the fray. 

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Future Friends

5/2/2017

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Out of all of the things that I expected on my first day interning at the MCIU (Mystic Crime Investigation Unit), being tackled in a hug by a girl with a high pitched squeal was not one of them. I immediately stiffened, even as I was propelled backwards, almost toppling the desk behind me. I am not a hugger, especially not with complete strangers who launch themselves at me from across the room. I turned my head, baffled, but I couldn't see her face. It was buried in my shoulder and hidden by thick black hair. Her arms tightened slightly as I tried to pull away.

"I missed you." She mumbled into my shoulder. It was hard to make out because it was so muffled, and only made me tense more. Who was this girl?

At that point I heard someone cough slightly and realized everyone in the room was staring at me. No! This is not how I wanted to make my first impression!

"Miss." I said as politely as I could under the circumstances. "I think you may have mistaken me for someone else."

"Don't be silly, Lucy." She lifted her chin so I could hear her more clearly. My skin prickled. I shifted uncomfortably. She drew back so that she could look me in the eye. I started at the pure white pupils set in a pair of dark brown irises. A seer. "I could never mistake someone else for you." The words might have been disconcerting if they hadn't been delivered so cheerfully with the white pupiled eyes of the seer positively beaming at me in a way that I had never associated with their solemn stereotype.

I relaxed slightly now that I had some personal space, though the girl's arms were still looped around my waist in a loose hug. I might have been imagining the many small grins around the room. It seemed as if my new colleagues were hiding them. Most of my attention was on the seer. I was surprised to note that she was younger than me, barely out of high school by my guess. She wasn't much shorter than I was and had the physique of one who was not yet finished growing. Her hair was long and full. Her skin was either very tan or very pale, it was impossible to tell since I could not discern her ethnicity and I wasn't exactly inclined to ask. She seemed to radiate a simple joy at my presence. But what stuck me most strongly was the fact that I had never met her before in my life.

A woman behind her cleared her throat. "Miranda, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to go follow up on the money trail for the hex racket." She smiled apologetically, though I really couldn't tell if it was at me or the seer, Miranda. Miranda's arms tightened around me slightly.

"But Kate," She began to protest. The woman shook her head.

"Now, Miranda." She said, firmly. Kate walked up and guided the reluctant seer away from me, to my relief. Miranda cast a worried, white pupiled glance back at me.

"I'll see you later. Right, Lucy?" She asked anxiously. Kate answered for me.

"Of course, you will." She assured Miranda, with a wide smile that seemed to turn into a devious smirk when she glanced back at me. "You'll be seeing a lot of Lucy. She's working here now." Miranda positively beamed. Kate pulled Miranda away, with one last glance at me, down a hall out of sight.

Leaving me completely bewildered. Conversations resumed but it didn't escape my notice that they were whispered, everyone was casting glances my way. I tried not to scowl (first impressions!). Great, as if it was my fault some girl  don't even know decided to make a scene. I straightened my shoulders and my shirt, then walked over to Sgt. William Dark. "Hello, sir." I greeted him with a smile. He was one of the people who had conducted my interview. It might have been my imagination, but I thought that he was looking at me differently. Somehow his expression was both amused and... knowing.

"Right this way, Miss. Mason." He led me over to a small desk with a computer. "This is where you'll be working." He went on to explain what I'd be doing. It was simple paperwork really, scanning case files, typing reports. Boring stuff, but an internship at the MCIU was an internship at the MCIU. It was crazy competitive just trying to transfer in. When five internships for college students were opened literally hundreds of people applied. Honestly, I'm astonished I made the cut, but I was not going to mess this up. So I started working with a cheery smile, and pointedly ignored the stares. It took me a while to put the strange encounter with Miranda out of my mind, but soon enough I was fully absorbed in my work.

I was so invested that the hours passed quickly. I was jolted from typing a summary of a potions smuggling ring when a tray of food was placed on top of the pages. My eyes raised to find Miranda smiling down at me, holding her own food. "Forgetting to eat again, Lucy?" She asked fondly. I raised an eyebrow. This girl clearly knew more about me than just my name. I thought that my father was the only one who realized that I didn't eat when I was absorbed in what I was doing. How did this stranger know? I lifted the tray and removed the file, unwilling to risk it becoming dirty. I put the papers away as Miranda pulled a chair over to my desk. She put her tray down. I eyed her, then my food. I was hungry, but I wasn't sure what to make of Miranda. I would have gone for my own food, but that seemed rather rude. Clearly this girl was important, since she'd been allowed in the MCIU at such a young age, so I didn't want to insult her. The fact remained, this familiarity was making me uncomfortable. Miranda blinked at me, apparently uncomprehending of my lack of a response.

"What's wrong?" She inquired. "It's your favorite." I looked down and was startled to see that the plate held a tuna sandwich with salt and vinegar chips. The truly surprising part was that there were cranberries mixed into the tuna. I pulled back and glanced up at her. This was getting weird. It was my favorite, but I didn't get to eat it often. Miranda was staring at me. The white pupils searching my face with concern. I had to say something.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced." I said, finally. "You're Miranda, right? I'm Lucy Mason." Miranda's jaw dropped.

"O- oh," She turned slightly red. "Oh! I'm so sorry." She held her hand over the table. "I'm Miranda Dai." I shook her head. Miranda pulled back, and beamed. "It's really great to meet you." Then something dawned on her. "Wait, did I hug you this morning?" She gasped.

"You did." I nodded warily. She was starting to flush.

"And this is the first time we've met?" She asked.

"It is." I confirmed with a nod. Miranda turned bright red.

"Oh," She looked down at her food. "I just... I'll be right back." Miranda excused herself rapidly and hurried away. I stared after her, as perplexed now as I had been this morning. I looked back down at the food she'd brought me, only to return my gaze across from me as Kate, the older woman, took the chair Miranda had just left with a sigh. She glanced up at me. I waited, clearly she had something to say to me. I ran my eyes over her again. Her hair was light brown, pulled back in a low ponytail. She was probably in her late thirties, married, as evidenced by the ring on her finger. My eyes settled on a rune on the ring, married to a mage, I amended. Though not a magic user herself, given her choice of gun (9 mil, favored by non-magic users) and protective charm. Overall, I got the impression that she was a no nonsense detective, who was valued in the MCIU for her practicality.

"You're confused." She stated.

"Very." I confessed. "I'm hoping that you are about to clear somethings up." Kate smiled grimly.

"I am, after a fashion." She contemplated my face. "We are very excited to have you here, Lucy." I could feel my irritation flare.

"So it would seem." I replied, trying not to let my annoyance show. Either I failed miserably or she was just a very good detective. She laughed slightly.

"Perhaps it would be easier to say, it's nice to finally meet you." She amended. "You see, we've heard a lot about you."

"From who?!" I asked, becoming outright frustrated. Who talked about me this much?

"From Miranda." Kate answered. I blinked. "Obviously you've noticed Miranda is a seer." Kate continued, ignoring my surprise. "Honestly, Miranda is one of the most powerful seers that we have ever encountered. Because of this, she sometimes has difficulty differentiating the future and the past." Kate held my eyes with her own. "She confuses her visions with her memories." Things were beginning to make sense, though they didn't make me feel any more comfortable.

"And she's had visions of me." I inferred flatly.

"Lots of them." Kate nodded. "You might have only met Miranda this morning, but she feels as if she has known you for years."

"To me she's a stranger." I argued. I felt like I was being asked for something I couldn't give. I didn't know what yet, but it seemed as if Kate (and the rest of the MCIU, if their reactions to the hug this morning was any indication) wanted something from me.

"To her, you are her best friend." Kate smiled at me, I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. "Don't worry, you'll do fine."


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Friend and Foe

12/29/2016

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An installment of In The Shadows... 

18 years ago…

 
The eight-year-old girl with brown hair and eyes peered around the corner. She had done her part. It had been surprisingly easy to pick the man’s pocket before he met with her mother. He was supposed to be a member of Pantheon and her mother had stressed how dangerous Pantheon was. The girl tried to contain her proud smile, watching her mother greet the man. Maybe this meant she was ready for more important jobs. Maybe-

Pain spiked from the top of her skull. She stumbled forward and it was a testament to her lifestyle that she didn’t cry out. The girl whirled around, but instead of an adult she found herself staring at a little girl, about a year or two younger than her, with blonde hair and grey eyes. The blond girl stared back, as if surprised that she had not successfully knocked her out wit the butt of the gun she was holding. The top of the brown haired girl’s head was still throbbing. She narrowed her eyes at the other child.

“That hurt!” She snarled and launched herself at the blonde in a tackle, knocking the gun out of her hand. The two girls tumbled to the ground. When her mother and the man from Pantheon came to stand over their wayward operatives they were still fighting; the gun lying forgotten a few feet away.



Seven months later…

The young blonde Pantheon member pushed her to the ground and landed on top of her. Down the street the bomb detonated prematurely, rubble showered down around them and the screaming began. The brown haired girl rolled them under a vendor’s cloth covered table before they could be trampled by panicked civilians. The blondie pulled back and looked around at the canvas walls created by the tablecloth. “Not bad, freelancer.” She reluctantly admitted.

“Not bad yourself, lapdog.” The other girl replied, a smirk pulling at her mouth.



One year later…

“Get him a little more to the left.” The blonde girl’s whisper came through her headpiece. The brown haired girl smiled at the target, then turned and ran to the left.

“Hey!” He shouted, starting after her. The girl heard the shot, followed by the short cry of pain and the thud of a falling body. She glanced back before she scurried away.

“Nice shot.” She muttered. On the other side of the headpiece, a small blonde child smiled as she dissembled the gun.



Two years later….

The Filli blinked in surprise then smiled at Hecate, the Pantheon assassin who was working with the Femme Fatale. “So they gave you a codename, lapdog.” Hecate rolled her grey eyes but she couldn’t quite hide her pride. Ten years old was astonishingly young to receive a codename from the Pantheon.

“You’re doing pretty well too, freelancer.” Hecate eyed her mentor, silently impressed that the girl she’d known so long would one day become the next Femme Fatale. If she survived that long. “I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again.”

“Me neither.” The Filli admitted with a shrug. “But Femme says Pantheon hires us a lot.”

“That’s because the Femme Fatale does good work.” Hecate’s mouth twitched as she almost smiled. “I’m sure you will too.”

“Filli,” Femme called, she nodded at Hecate and jogged back to her mentor.
 


Three hours later…

The Filli glanced up as the Femme spoke to her, speaking in French as usual when they were alone. “You know that we will not always be working for the Pantheon.” She reminded her student. “Often we are working against them.”

“Of course.” The girl looked at her in surprise. “Why do you mention it?”

“Hecate.” The Femme answered. Understanding flashed across the Fillia’s face and her eyes hardened.

“I do not need to trust her to like her.” She replied. “I know if ordered, she would kill me. And she knows that is she’s in my way I’ll kill her.” The Femme smiled and patted her shoulder.

“I am glad you understand how friendship works.” She said.

“Obviously.” The girl’s smile would have frightened a grown man. “We are children, not fools.”



One year later…

Hecate rolled away from her sniper rifle and to her feet, narrowly avoiding the bullet that embedded itself in the concrete shed been lying on. She glanced up at the twelve year old advancing on her with a gun. “Bodyguard work? Really?” She scoffed.

“He wanted the best.” The Filli smirked.

“The best won’t save him from the Pantheon.” Hecate responded. The Filli’s jaw set and she fired. Hecate dove behind a pillar and pulled a small gun from her ankle holster. And so the gunfight began in earnest.



Two months later…

“How’s the leg?” The Filli asked as she unwrapped a lollipop, eyeing the boy her age. The Pantheon had hired her and the Femme Fatale to kidnap him.

“Alright, Persephone fixed me up pretty well. How’s the shoulder?”

“Still a little stiff.” The Filli suppressed a wince when she shrugged.

“Well, I hope you shoot as well with your other hand.” Hecate remarked as she moved to intercepted one of the boy’s bodyguards, an eleven-year-old girl looked innocent enough to slip right under his notice.

The Filli laughed. “You know I do.” 

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    Lyndsey Werner

    An author who enjoys speculative fiction. 

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