Monday, July 1, 2013

"Firestick" by Angelica Fyfe - Creating a Female Superhero Challenge #CAFSC

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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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Lady of Shadows - Creating a Female Superhero Challenge #CAFSC

This is another female superhero story by me for the Creating a Female Superhero Challenge and anthology. (Did I mention you can write more than one?) Obviously, I am not eligible for the prizes, but I am having so much fiun reading the stories that I was inspired to share another one. This one is actually a snippet from a much longer novel I started writing about two years ago. I've altered it for the purposes of this challenge for two reasons. One: The attack on her is more violent than what is in this version, and I didn't want it to be too graphic for the purposes of this anthology. (Normally, I hate for my women to be victims at all, but in this case, she overcomes her attackers before they succeed in truly victimizing her.) Two: I needed to make it shorter. This particular scene was several hundred words over 1,000, originally. (Hopefully, I didn't make errors while cutting away at it.)


Name of female superhero: Lady of Shadows

Name of human alter ego, if different: Caryn (surname to be added later)

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.): Her hair and eyes look black, everything else looks mostly the same

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego): in her 20s, petite, her body is only slightly on the soft side, her hair is light brown and her eyes are dark brown, she's pretty in an average sort of way, rarely wears make-up. When not working, prefers to wear jeans and t-shirts.

Costume: She cloaks her hair and eyes in shadow to make them appear black, and she wears a mask over her eyes that is made of shadows. She wears all black.

Personality: feisty, intelligent, hard-working, soft-hearted, witty

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.):  Her mother was born with magical abilities and she is one of many children who are all starting to show evidence of specific magical abilities. she doesn't even know she has any abilities until she comes under attack for the first time and then her abilities rapidly begin to manifest.

Powers: She has the power to control shadows and make them solidify. She can even create a shadow person, but that comes back to haunt her later. She can also hide herself by cloaking herself in shadows.

Anything else important: The more she uses her powers of shadow-wielding, the more the power calls to her and she has to fight darker urges that begin to manifest. she is basically a good person, but her ability starts to change her until she learns how to control it better.

picture found on Pinterest here




Lady of Shadows


          The parking lot was mostly empty when Caryn walked to her car. The store had closed over an hour ago, but she had been catching up on some paperwork and it had taken her longer than she had planned. She reached her car and put her key in the lock.

          “Well, hello there, Gorgeous,” a deep voice called from behind her.

          Caryn whirled around and found three men standing a few feet away.  “What’s a sexy thing like you doing out here all alone?” asked the man in the middle. He was dressed in black jeans and a black leather jacket. He had dark hair and he was well muscled. She judged him to be around 6 feet tall, maybe a couple of inches taller than that. The two guys behind him were of a similar build.

          Caryn straightened her shoulders and stood taller. She wasn’t going to let these jerks see that she was afraid. “I’m not doing anything out here other than heading home.”

          “Aw, that’s too bad. I was hoping for some company tonight,” the middle guy took a step closer to her. “Are you sure you can’t stay?”

          When she noticed him taking another step closer to her, a step that brought her within reach of his arms, she tried to think of what to do. Her back was against her car. She spun around and twisted the key in the lock, hoping to open the door and jump in before he reached her.   She felt arms grab her from behind and spin her around. She was pushed up against her car, her back hitting it so forcefully that she knew it would be bruised tomorrow.

          “Now that wasn’t very friendly,” the middle guy said. “I just want us to be friends,” His tone of voice made it clear that he had no intentions of just being “friends.”  “You know you want to be nice to Jake, don’t you?” the middle man threatened, “You want to be real nice, because otherwise, you might get hurt, and you don’t want that, do you?”

          “Oh, I can be really nice, if you ask me the right way,” she purred at him, hoping to convince him of her sudden interest.

          “Now that’s more like it,” Jake smiled and loosened his hold on her a little. It was all she needed. Caryn shoved at him with both hands, throwing all of her weight behind the shove. Her push only got a few inches between them, but it was enough for her to slam her knee up into his groin. She thought she heard a popping sound, but she didn’t care. Jake fell to the ground in pain, and, realizing she didn’t have time to open her car door and jump in, she turned to run but instead found another pair of vice-like arms pinning her own arms to her side. She was pulled up against the broad chest of one of the two others. He frowned down at her and said, “That really wasn’t very nice.”

           “It’s okay, Vince,” the other thug said. “It just means we will get our go at her first while Jake recovers.”

          Vince grinned maliciously at her and let go of her long enough to swing his fist, slamming it against the side of her face. Her head was flung back and pain exploded behind her eyes. “That’s for hurting Jake,” he spat at her.

          Cal locked his arms around her to keep her from running away.

           Caryn was starting to really panic now. Up until this moment, she had still had some small hope that she could find a way out of this, but she was well and truly trapped now. The image of what was about to happen to her threw her into a panic induced rage and she found herself reaching outward with what small movement her hands were allowed.

           If she weren’t so mindlessly angry and panicked she might have been surprised when a tendril from a nearby shadow enveloped her hand and solidified. Instead, all of her thoughts turned to using this to her advantage. She willed the shadow to thrust out from her and wrap itself around Vince’s eyes, blinding him. His hands immediately reached up and felt at his own eyes.

          “What is this?  Get it off me? I can’t see!”

           Cal looked over in surprise as Vince backed away from Caryn. Caryn willed another tendril of shadow to come to her and thought it into the shape of a knife. Cal loosened his grip on her, about to get up to help his brother and she immediately plunged the shadow- knife into his stomach and twisted. A surprised look came over his face, and he dropped to the ground, moaning in pain.

          Caryn jumped up and ran for her car, which was only a few steps away. Just as she reached it, she felt another hand on her shoulder and heard Jake’s voice, “You are going to pay for hurting me, witch!”

           Caryn was still feeling that mindless, scared rage. The fear fed her rage and the rage seemed to help her do this impossible stuff with the shadows. She called another shadow to her and let it become solid and heavy, wrapping around her fist. She spun around and swung her fist at Jake’s face at the same time. Her punch took him by surprise and hit the side of his face with a crunching sound. Had she broken his jaw? Caryn didn’t care. He fell to the ground unconscious, and she opened her car door, slipped behind the wheel and drove straight to the police station.

This wasn’t going to be easy to explain to the police.



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Divine Light - Creating a Female Superhero Challenge #CAFSC

This is my husband's submission to the anthology. It is not eligible for the prizes due to his being part of my family, but he wanted to take part anyway. His entry for the Creating a Female Superhero Challenge is called "Divine Light." This is part of a longer story he has been writing for a while now. Find out more about the challenge here. Last chance to enter is at midnight tonight (PST).

Author name: Robert Fyfe
Word count: 928 words
Anthology: YES
Charity: Because I Am a Girl

Name of female superhero: Divine Light

Name of human alter ego, if different: Angelica (surname to be added later)

Superhero Appearance (hair, eyes, body type, etc.): petite, straight dark hair, wears white, has wings

Human alter ego appearance (if she has an alter ego): normal human young woman attire

Costume: white outfit and sword, sword is hand-jewelry that transforms into a blade

Personality: sarcastic, witty, strong in character and purpose, fearless, self-reliant

Brief description of how the superheroine gets her powers (i.e. born with them, radioactive accident, mad scientist experiments on her, etc.): She was an angel born into a human world, but she was mostly unaware of her powers until, as a teenager, the angel Gabriel fully unleashed her powers.

Powers: She is the vengeance of God, wields the Sword of God, super strength, ability to smite, fly, agility, power of an angel, glows, invisibility to humans and more

Anything else important: She has a rough life before finding out her purpose, but came through it without letting her spirit be darkened. She doesn't choose her targets. She is sent after only the ones who are past redemption.


art found on Pinterest here

Divine Light
by Robert Fyfe

He watched as she pulled back her arm and then plunged her hand into his chest. He could feel it slice open his ribcage and reach his heart. He felt her pull the heart free, and he stood looking into the eyes of the petite woman in front of him as she presented his still pumping heart to him as if awarding him a trophy. He wouldn't be killing any more innocent women now.

His grip now gone, his hands fell away as he collapsed to his knees and slumped onto his back. His head hit the ground with a clunk. She followed him down resting on her left knee, her arms spread as if to conduct an orchestra.

She watched the life drain from his eyes, then closed hers. From her lips, she spoke the language of the ancients, quoting the words that opened the gates of Hades and ushered the keeper to account.

The air around them cooled and the sun set, the sky darkened and tinged with red - not just as if the sun bounced off the clouds, but colored a hue that changed the very pallets that daylight would paint the world. Sounds muffled as if snow fell but a rumble from the furnaces of hell grew till the dirt around danced to its sound.

Divine looked into the light as the gates opened; her stare never wavered, her resolve complete. From a light that would ignite a human and turn them to dust, a shape appeared. A tiny dot that grew slowly as the creature approached, running as if on four paws, each head appearing to want to lead the charge to the human realm.

“Come on Cerberus, I don’t have all day!” Divine shouted into the abyss at the approaching creature.

The three headed dog almost appeared to have ignored her but the eyes of each narrowed as if annoyed by the contempt in her voice.

Cerberus burst into the world and landed adeptly by her side; one head growled at her while the other two sniffed the air about, either seeking confirmation that they were alone or looking for an opportunity to cause mischief before returning to his home.

The hound then changed shape and metamorphosed into the shape of a man. Taller by a clear two feet than Divine who, at the moment, was crouched over the body. He turned to Divine and with a voice that matched that of his beast self he sneered at her while he spoke.

“How are you, assassin? You been keeping busy, I see?” he growled.

A slight smile crossed the lips of Divine, but still her gaze showed no emotion and she stood up to her full height, flicking her hands out so that all the blood slipped from her fingers and clothes as if they were water repellent.

“I still have enough time to muzzle you, if you like?” she replied, which wiped the sneer from his lips and replaced it with a snarl.

“One day girl, you will be mine. One day, you will slip up and anger your lord, and you will face me as a sinner.” It was almost barked at her, the spit flying from his mouth.

“It would almost be worth it, just to show you how far you can shove your head up your arse, but then with three heads you probably already know that,” she stated.

He stood there, his fists clenching and unclenching and she knew he was weighing up the odds to which he already knew the truth. They were never to battle. They were never to touch; to do so would see the beginning of the end of everything. Yet she loved to goad him. He apparently loved her goading, or he was just really bad at witty conversation.

She pointed at the body at his feet as if to remind him why he was there and after a moment he refocused his attention to the task at hand.

Cerberus closed his eyes and then transformed back into the hell hound he was. All three heads turned to the body and lunged at it, grabbing not the flesh but the soul from within. It tugged and pulled, ripping it from the body that had held it for too few years, ignoring the screams and pleading that emanated from it. Then without looking back, it leapt back into its own realm that closed leaving the alley dark and quiet now the Sun had set.

Divine moved to the body and waved her hand over it as if dismissing it from her mind. Instantly the mortal wound closed, the skin showing no marks to witness the method of execution that had befallen this creature. All signs of her involvement vanished; the blood she had wiped from her arms dissolved into the surface it had soaked into, and the heart folded back into the cage it had belonged.

Divine moved to the unconscious woman who she had rescued by enacting God’s divine justice on the man who had been attacking her.  She placed the tip of her index finger from her left hand onto the woman’s forehead. She lowered her head in prayer and then stepped back and waited. Divine then left to watch the alley from a distance.

Within moments, the woman appeared from the alley, waving frantically at two men who were walking on the other side of the road. They ran to her assistance, and then both ran into the alley behind her, one taking his phone from his pocket.

Divine smiled and went home.


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