Printer-friendly version
Of Heroes And Villains
In which a superhero meets his match, masks are uncovered and a mad scientist just tries to get some mad science-ing done without getting distracted by the antics of her magical minion.
Fanart by the talented Ian Samson, creator of City of Reality and artist of The Wotch
The first time Elaine sees a superhero, she is 8 years old.
She later learns that there is a giant squid rising from the west coast, and that’s why Captain Patriot is flying cross-country as fast as his superspeed will allow.
He breaks the sound barrier over her small town.
The sonic boom is deafening and exhilarating.
A little pig-tailed girl stares at the sky with wide eyes, thinking it’s the coolest thing she has ever seen.
***
Elaine grows up to be average.
She is neither particularly short nor particularly tall.
She is neither particularly smart nor particularly dumb. She makes good grades through effort, not talent.
She is neither beautiful nor ugly; most guys just call her cute. The only thing about her appearance that deviates from the norm is her lack of endowment; a crisis of epic proportion to her teenaged mind.
There is not a single thing she truly excels in. She has tried her hand at art, and poetry, and music. She has tried to be athletic. She has tried to get herself to care about science. But nothing calls to her and says Yes, this, this is what you are meant to do.
Maybe she just needs to keep looking until she finds a talent.
But she is starting to fear that she is going to grow up to be dreadfully boring.
***
Elaine stares at the college brochures.
She still does not know what she wants to do with her life.
She has a vague desire to leave the world a better place than she found it, but not a clue how to go about achieving that. Elaine doesn’t really feel like she has to offer anything that someone else couldn’t do better.
She eyes the social justice degrees, but common sense – in the voice of her parents – tells her that’s the fast track to being stuck in the fast food industry. She looks at the science degrees and a voice in her head whispers that she is not smart enough for that. She looks at the law degrees and decides that maybe she could do that.
Elaine may not be all that talented or smart, but she has worked hard on her grades.
And then she finds something that makes her heart nearly explode with happiness.
There are scholarships to Paragon University, and she qualifies. It has lower standards than the rest of the country; apparently most people who do not grow up within the city soon find themselves in the midst of a nervous breakdown when exposed to its dangers.
Elaine does not care about the danger.
Paragon City is special.
And maybe if she lives there, she can experience what that’s like. Just for a little while.
***
Paragon City is wonderful.
Elaine has been here one week and she is already deeply in love with the place.
She is standing in line for a cup of coffee and there is a superhero right there. He just strolls up to the barista, blue cape billowing behind him, and asks for his usual. Elaine smiles at him shyly and he smiles back. Then he casually strolls out with a small wave, sipping his coffee.
***
Elaine returns to that coffee shop. A lot.
So does the hero, and she somehow scrapes up the courage to mumble a greeting.
He is gentle and polite, smiling at her with indulgence. And somewhere along the way they actually start talking to each other.
His name is Freeze Flash.
***
She is not quite sure how exactly she ends up making out with a superhero in an alley, but it is glorious. Elaine laughs as his ice breath tickles her skin, sending shivers down her spine and curling her toes.
She draws him in for another kiss and then there is a spark.
He stumbles away from her, disoriented, while electricity runs through her veins and she drops to her knees, hugging herself. She moans in what is both pain and pleasure, skin sizzling.
Her eyes glow like stars.
***
Elaine is special after all.
She just needs to be around other special people to access it.
And as she stands atop a rooftop, white cape flapping in the wind, she smiles down at the most special city in the world.
Finally, Amethyst Star has found a talent of her own.
She can make the world a better place.
Of Heroes And Villains
In which a superhero meets his match, masks are uncovered and a mad scientist just tries to get some mad science-ing done without getting distracted by the antics of her magical minion.
Fanart by the talented Ian Samson, creator of City of Reality and artist of The Wotch
The first time Elaine sees a superhero, she is 8 years old.
She later learns that there is a giant squid rising from the west coast, and that’s why Captain Patriot is flying cross-country as fast as his superspeed will allow.
He breaks the sound barrier over her small town.
The sonic boom is deafening and exhilarating.
A little pig-tailed girl stares at the sky with wide eyes, thinking it’s the coolest thing she has ever seen.
Elaine grows up to be average.
She is neither particularly short nor particularly tall.
She is neither particularly smart nor particularly dumb. She makes good grades through effort, not talent.
She is neither beautiful nor ugly; most guys just call her cute. The only thing about her appearance that deviates from the norm is her lack of endowment; a crisis of epic proportion to her teenaged mind.
There is not a single thing she truly excels in. She has tried her hand at art, and poetry, and music. She has tried to be athletic. She has tried to get herself to care about science. But nothing calls to her and says Yes, this, this is what you are meant to do.
Maybe she just needs to keep looking until she finds a talent.
But she is starting to fear that she is going to grow up to be dreadfully boring.
Elaine stares at the college brochures.
She still does not know what she wants to do with her life.
She has a vague desire to leave the world a better place than she found it, but not a clue how to go about achieving that. Elaine doesn’t really feel like she has to offer anything that someone else couldn’t do better.
She eyes the social justice degrees, but common sense – in the voice of her parents – tells her that’s the fast track to being stuck in the fast food industry. She looks at the science degrees and a voice in her head whispers that she is not smart enough for that. She looks at the law degrees and decides that maybe she could do that.
Elaine may not be all that talented or smart, but she has worked hard on her grades.
And then she finds something that makes her heart nearly explode with happiness.
There are scholarships to Paragon University, and she qualifies. It has lower standards than the rest of the country; apparently most people who do not grow up within the city soon find themselves in the midst of a nervous breakdown when exposed to its dangers.
Elaine does not care about the danger.
Paragon City is special.
And maybe if she lives there, she can experience what that’s like. Just for a little while.
Paragon City is wonderful.
Elaine has been here one week and she is already deeply in love with the place.
She is standing in line for a cup of coffee and there is a superhero right there. He just strolls up to the barista, blue cape billowing behind him, and asks for his usual. Elaine smiles at him shyly and he smiles back. Then he casually strolls out with a small wave, sipping his coffee.
Elaine returns to that coffee shop. A lot.
So does the hero, and she somehow scrapes up the courage to mumble a greeting.
He is gentle and polite, smiling at her with indulgence. And somewhere along the way they actually start talking to each other.
His name is Freeze Flash.
She is not quite sure how exactly she ends up making out with a superhero in an alley, but it is glorious. Elaine laughs as his ice breath tickles her skin, sending shivers down her spine and curling her toes.
She draws him in for another kiss and then there is a spark.
He stumbles away from her, disoriented, while electricity runs through her veins and she drops to her knees, hugging herself. She moans in what is both pain and pleasure, skin sizzling.
Her eyes glow like stars.
Elaine is special after all.
She just needs to be around other special people to access it.
And as she stands atop a rooftop, white cape flapping in the wind, she smiles down at the most special city in the world.
Finally, Amethyst Star has found a talent of her own.
She can make the world a better place.
Comments
Driven
So we see how AS got to be the desperately hero-typed girl we saw earlier. Would she have been happier in the mundane pool of humanity? I think so. Restless perhaps.
"Reach for the sun."
Finding your destiny
can sometimes make you neither happy nor content as Amethyst has learned the hard way. This is another of those so touching snaphots. I do wonder what happened to Flash Freeze. Was that zap just temporary? Did her powers just need a 'jump' start? :)
Hugs
Grover
"Elaine is special after all. "
boy, you can see the cracks in her psyche already, cant you?
So her only original power is she can copy/drain/syphon off
the powers of others.
Thus her becoming Event Horizon when she snapped and let her power run unchecked.
Hum does she also unknowingly syphon off others emotions and thoughts?
That could explain her slow decent into delusion.
Can Captain Dude Bro save her from herself?
And can she ever make amends to the heroes/heroines/villains she killed and maimed when she went rogue?
John in Wauwatosa
P.S. I know it was in a different chapter but what ever happened to Shade's older sister? I assume as their powers are similar they were orphaned together. IR brother and sister by blood.
John in Wauwatosa
A shattered dream
A girl gets that which she has wanted most: a place in life and the opportunity to make things better.
If only it hadn't been destroyed by the court of public opinion.
-Tas
Nicely phrased
What do you want to do with your life? I wish my parents had asked me. I've learned from hard experience that life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. Was nice to learn about Amethyst's beginnings.
>>> Kay