by Angelica Fyfe
Name of
female superhero: Firestick
Name of human alter ego, if different: Jaseline
Oranth
Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body
type, etc.): Jaseline's ethnic origins are not entirely known – she has
tanned skin, and gentle freckles peppering her cheekbones and nose. She has an unusual pale birthmark just
below her hairline, in the middle of her forehead, which glows bright white
when she is powered-up. Long, thick black curls, sapphire-blue eyes,
heart-shaped face, petite frame, about 5ft 3in. She has tiny wrists, and cute
little feet, but never likes to stay on them for long! When powered-up fully,
she is coated in flames, deep red flames surrounding her coal-black hair,
making them appear as fuel for the flames. Under abnormal circumstances she has
blue flames, the kind that could almost burn you just by looking at them, which
accentuate her eyes and make for a most foreboding persona. These are usually
reserved for dire situations when her fire takes over and her conscious mind
takes more of a backseat.
Human alter ego appearance (if she has
an alter ego): Small and meek, Jaseline is an unassuming girl with
bright eyes. Same physical features as above, but she covers her birthmark with
make-up. She doesn't dress very outrageously, and usually lets her hair fall in
front of her face when not tackling villains. She works as a waitress in a cute
little café
not far from her secret sanctum, and is often seen in her uniform - name-badge,
apron, and all.
Costume: Firestick likes her
colour-code for apparel to be white, like magnesium heated up to a blinding
whiteness. She also sees it as a kind of symbol of the purifying powers of
fire, and as a symbol of her good, pure flames. She has a couple of outfits,
but her usual villain-foiling attire is a leather armour-style outfit, with
fitted pants and corset top. Skirts are just far too impractical for her taste.
For other superheroine matters (such as ceremonies or award-giving) she also
has a long, flowy white dress, made of soft, silky material that moves like flames
of a fire. She coats all her clothing – daytime work clothes or crime-fighting
costume – with a special resin extracted and modified from a rare plant located
where she was born, which prevents them from burning up in her flames.
Personality: Quick-witted,
bubbly, and spry, she believes in always doing the right thing. She likes to
think that even the dark of heart can be warmed up by a good soul, and if not,
she will defend the innocent from those who would wish them harm. Her tendency
to believe in everyone being inherently good, and only choosing to become bad,
often leads her to make some poor judgement calls under pressure, and when
others use her weakness against her and make her regret her mistakes, she comes
back with a vengeance as fierce as the flames she bears. There's only enough
oxygen for the world to stay warm, so any truly cold hearts she cannot abide
by.
Brief description of how the
superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad
scientist experiments on her, etc.): Jaseline was a lab rat. She didn't
know it when she was younger, but the truth came out eventually. Born during an
intense tribal ritual somewhere in the dense forests of South America, and
taken to an isolated military base along the coast of California, Jaseline
never knew her birth parents. She didn't know why they took her to the military
camp, or what they did there, but something about her made them come for her in
the first place, and somehow she'd managed to escape at a very young age, being
picked up by social services at a later date. She accepts the fact that she was
born already different, and she accepts that she has her powers for a reason.
So, it was this mysterious ritual birth and military intervention that lead to
her unusual and unlikely abilities.
Powers: Firestick can fly - being
a superhero, this is a pretty nifty skill to have. She can work the winds into
shifting about to lift her where she needs to go, and this air-affinity also
aids in her main power, for which she is so well known - her flames. She can produce various amounts
of flames from her body, through her hands, her breath, or her skin. She does
not burn in it, but can manipulate it and direct it as she likes – again, using
the wind to guide it.
Anything else important: She was
marked at birth with a symbol on her forehead, high up near her hairline,
consisting of three commas (or “flames”) swirling together, the outside of
which forms a perfect circle. She has no notion of what it means, or why it is
there, but the mark is easy enough for her to conceal with a little bit of
make-up and a loose-laying hairstyle.
Her main adversary out of all her confrontations
with evil is the lady Eris, a militant woman with a coarse, deep voice. Eris
has unusual beliefs, and revels in causing chaos and disruption to the world.
She works with a number of other overlords at the Facility, the military camp
which Jaseline was brought to as an infant. There they imprison and experiment
on various “unique beings”, like her. They use these powerful prisoners to do
their bidding from time to time, whether they are willing or not. Jaseline has
met a few of the others they keep there, and she pities them though she has to
defend against them. Eris is their keeper whenever they are brought out of the
Facility to be utilised by the government order in whatever way they choose.
She is the only one of them to be put out in the field, which is likely due to
her immense skill in wreaking havoc.
Firestick
Firestick landed gracefully on the tarmac not far
from one of the libraries of her city, where an entire portion of the street
was ablaze with crisp, scorching flames. People were fleeing from the wreckage,
some trapped behind walls of flames. With a twirl, she whipped the winds around
her, forcing them to whisk away a portion of the unruly fires around her.
“Oh, good.” A low, raspy voice called over the
sounds of the chaos. “I was wondering when my Little Flame would arrive.” A
women in olive drab uniform emerged from between two overturned vehicles, hands
behind her back. A dark liquid ran out from under them, and Firestick tried not
to think about what it was. “Fortunately, I had fun in the meantime. Do you
like my work, child?” She held her hands out, indicating the carnage
surrounding them.
Keeping her eyes on the woman ahead of her,
Jaseline did not move - The woman liked traps a little too much for that.
“Eris, you always were a discordant being. Why do you create such destruction?”
Eris laughed, a harsh, low sound that traced a
shiver down your spine. “Well, you know what they say – fight fire with fire,
no? I thought you'd appreciate my efforts to be more like you... what a shame
you aren’t impressed. Now, I must be on my way – got places to be, people to
terrorize - the usual. I brought you an old acquaintance of yours, though,” she
turned her back on the girl, heading for the Library entrance. “He ought to lift
your spirits a bit.”
As Firestick made to pursue her, claws pierced
into her arms, dragging her upwards. The sound of wings flapped around her as
she was dragged into the sky.
Struggling against her captor's grip was painful,
so the flaming heroine lit up her arms. The creature holding her howled and
released her, skin sizzling. Firestick dropped from the sky fast and hit the
ground hard. She peeled herself from the floor, feeling sore. She really needed
to work on slowing down mid-fall. Carefully she stood, brushing herself off.
“Hello, Zachariel.” she said glumly, not at all
pleased to see him again.
A winged boy landed several feet away from her,
shaking his burnt hands feverishly in the air, pulling hot metal claws off as
he did so. “Hey, Fire Chick. You know, I really hate it when you do that.”
Grinning sarcastically, he applied a green tincture from his belt onto his
palms, sighing with relief. “Ah, that's better. Now,” he said, taking a step
towards her, “I believe you are supposed to accompany me back to a happy life of
imprisonment and manipulation of the mind.” He held a green palm out to her.
“It's not so bad, really – I mean, look how I've turned out! Have you ever seen
such a magnificent specimen?”
Firestick watched him puff out his chest, preening
like a bird. This was pretty amusing, given the wings. “No – you're the only
freak of nature I've come across, Zach.”
His hands dropped to his sides. For a moment, she
heard nothing but the crackling fires and the steady 'beep, beep' of her adversary's
collar. She stared at it then, and felt guilt for her words. It soon passed.
“Look who's talking.” He retorted much too late,
and shook his wings out, the feathers fluttering in the breeze. “Come with me
now, or I'll scratch your pretty face up so badly you'll come willingly so that
nobody has to see the scars.” His claws were reattached and he traced her face
in the air.
Bristling, she held her ground as he advanced. His
presence was not something she had counted on, and those talons frightened her.
When he was close enough, Zach reached out for
her, but Firestick dropped to the floor, sweeping her leg out at his feet. He
leapt in the air before she made contact, and stayed in the air, firing a beam
of pure white light at her. She rolled away from it, leaving it to crack the
ground instead.
Leaping up, she ran for the library where Eris had
gone, ducking under another light shot from her flying adversary. Eris was her
main problem - Zach was just a toy Eris favoured using.
Firestick burst through the library doors and into
a cavernous hall lined with books, skidding to a stop in the centre. Eris stood
on the base of a phoenix statue, hands on her hips. “Took you long enough.” she
called.
A moment later, Firestick spun at the sound of
running feet, watching as five charcoal-grey hooded figures swiftly surrounded
her. They were the Ash Warriors, and they never seemed to voice any opinions.
She was starting to think they had ash for brains, too. Three trained guns on her,
and a pair unsheathed swords.
“Come with me, Firestick.” Eris cooed, “You're too
unique to live out here, in this monotonous mess of a world. You belong with
the others. They're like you, my beautiful flame. They're special.”
The superheroine shook her head and Eris's lips
curled upwards as she glared. “Have it your way, but you will come with
us!” Gesturing to her men, the swordsmen began to advance on the small girl in
the centre of the room.
She held her ground, pulling a staff out from a
strap on her back and preparing to fight. Zach grabbed her from behind, wings
rustling, and she flared – literally. Flames coiled around her, licking across
her staff and over her armour. She brought her staff around and down, cracking
atop his head. He howled, backing off quickly. Parrying a sword swing, she
focused on Eris, retreating from the conflict. Propelling herself forwards,
she whipped fire from her hands, directing it at her.
A gunshot reverberated off the walls, followed by
a disturbing silence. The superheroine's world dimmed as pain blossomed in her ribs.
Putting a hand to her side, warm blood trickled across her skin. Her staff fell
to the ground, and her flames died out. She staggered, but looked up at the
glass dome above her. She shot upwards like the bullet in her side, and burst
through the massive skylight, heading in any direction that would take her away.
Blood dripped from her wound, held tightly in her
hands. She flew recklessly and far, her mind dulling with her energy. She
faltered in the air, the world going black as she lost consciousness. Firestick
fell from the sky.
Vision blurred by pain, an angel knelt over her,
wings silhouetted against the bright sun. They spoke something with urgency and
a warm light came from their hands as they were placed over her side. The pain
intensified, making her cry out before all went dark again.
Zachariel removed his hands and dropped the bullet
to the ground beside her. He scooped her unconscious self into his arms, and
set off into the air.
Looking down at her, Zachariel flew back to his
keeper. “It'll be alright, Fire Chick. The Facility isn't as bad as it seems.”
But the steady beep-beep of his collar said otherwise.
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