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Shooting Stars 28: Chapter 5

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Now

          “Evin, she’s gone.  They got Shae.”

          Evin had never heard Luke sound so distraught.  It was the hollow, empty sound of his voice more than his words that chilled Evin when Luke finally reached him.

          “Who has Shae?” Evin asked.  He was surprised how calm he sounded.  “What happened?”

          It didn’t take long- there really wasn’t that much to tell- and Evin was up to date.  “Luke, promise me- don’t do anything stupid, okay?  I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

          “Evin, I have to-”

          “What?” Evin demanded, “do you think you know where they took her?  Do you think you can take Magnum Opus on your own?”

          “I can’t just wait-”

          “Yes, you can,” Evin shot back, “and you’d better.  I’ll be there in ten minutes.  Call Ellie.”

*****

Anne Friedland, code name: Network
Then


          I met Alessia through the VA hospital after I was discharged.

          Apparently, most doctors found me to be difficult to work with- I hated being an invalid, and I pushed myself through my convalescence even when my doctors all told me I needed to take it easy.

          Alessia had a very different view.  “Workout until you puke,” she told me one day, “but if you damage your heart again, I’m cutting it out of you and saving it in formaldehyde.”

          I laughed.

          As I started to get better, Alessia came around frequently to monitor my progress.  Unlike the other doctors, she wasn’t determined to coddle me- I think she understood that I would never accept that.  Instead, she pushed me.  She pushed me right up to my limit, to the point when I felt certain something would fail.

          She took to working out with me.  I was amazed at her stamina- granted, I was recovering from a heart attack, but I was still a marine and this woman was a civilian.

          She kicked my ass.  First in endurance exercises, then with strength training, and finally, when she judged me fit enough to try it, in sparring.  I swear to God, my DI was less intense than she was, and she never let up or let me feel sorry for myself.

          I remember I developed a bit of a crush, for a while.  I’m not sure what triggered it; I don’t normally swing that way at all, but if Alessia’d ever even hinted, I think I would’ve given it a shot.  I don’t remember exactly when I realized nothing would ever happen, either, but I do remember sitting with her over coffee, one morning, and suddenly understanding that she would never ridicule me for my secret desires.

          “What would you say,” I asked her, “if I told you I wanted to be a superhero?”

          She took a long sip of her coffee, then leaned back in her chair, appearing to actually think about it.

          “Are you saying that?” she countered.

          “Sure,” I said, “why not?”

          Alessia nodded.  “Why not, indeed?  I’m going to assume you already know all the reasons not to- you’re one of the smartest, most sensible women I know.”

          She paused again and I flushed a little at her compliment.

          “So, if you know the reasons that it would be a bad idea, I’m going to assume that this desire is more than just idle fancy.  I would say… only you know what you can and will sacrifice.  Go for it.”

          “You’re the first person to ever say that to me,” I remarked.

          “I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t,” she noted, crooking an eyebrow, “after all- I’m one.”

          I must have looked skeptical, because she chuckled.  “Oh, I’m not one of those big-named heroes- I’m no Walkyrie or Soviet Superwoman.  I go by Tyche when I’m in my duds.”

*****

Anne Friedland, code name: Network
Now


          I was drifting in and out of consciousness, and I wasn’t enjoying it.  When I was awake, I was in pain and everything seemed blunted by a cocktail of drugs the doctors had put me on.  I heard people nearby, but I couldn’t seem to make my mouth form words.

          My chest hurt horribly, and I thought for a second that Alessia really had carried out her threat.  If I somehow managed to raise my head, I’d find my heart on a lab table, stuffed in a jar of foul-smelling liquid.

          “Mnn,” I moaned, but the people talking didn’t seem to notice.

          “You’re alright, Anne,” Minerva informed me, “I’ve been monitoring your vitals, and I believe you will make a full recovery- provided you can avoid further violent attacks for a time.”

          “Nn,” I paused and sucked in breath, “nn deh?”  I was rather proud of that- I actually managed to form a question.

          “No, you are not dead,” Minnie told me and I lapsed back into unconsciousness.

*****

Now

          Evin’s jaw was clenched as Apollo finished his explanation.

          “Damn it.  I shouldn’t have had my bug out, but I was practicing- interference from the microphone and amps gets pretty hairy, if I’m not careful.”

          Apollo brushed it aside.  “It’s not like you could have done anything,” he said miserably.

          “I suppose it makes sense,” Evin sighed, “Shae having powers, I mean.”

          “Not to me, it doesn’t,” Luke snorted.

          Evin gave him a pitying look.  “You always were the slow one,” he noted.

          Luke waited, his posture betraying his exasperation.

          “Seriously?”

          “What?”

          “I’m Pyrite, doofus!”

          Luke drew in a breath, then slowly released it.  “I’m the slow one?  You obviously knew about both of us- why didn’t you know Shae was playing spandex dress-up?”

          “Fair point,” Evin conceded, “I really should have twigged to that.”

          The brothers looked at each other.

          “Okay,” Evin said, looking away, “What do we do now?”

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

For a scene with basically no action, a whole hell of a lot happened here!  I felt bad foisting this off on :iconlady-quantum:, because I was pretty uncertain about what I wanted to see for the picture for this scene- and then, when she gave me the initial picture, I demanded tweaks (based on my experience in martial arts) until I was satisfied that the throw looked believable.  She handled the entire affair with her usual aplomb, modified her initial concept into a real judo throw, and this was the result, which I am extremely happy with.

This picture- and all the artwork for Shooting stars- is brought to you by the amazingly talented and lovely :iconlady-quantum:.

Shooting Stars is an epic tale (okay, maybe that's pushing it, but I've always wanted to call something I wrote an epic) taking place in :iconangel-fallsda: and will feature characters by :iconwhisakedjak::iconmoxiee:, and an appearance of Esau by :iconsebastianssire:.

Apollo, Pyrite, Will-O-Wisp, Network, Minerva, and Tyche all belong to :iconwhisakedjak:.

Soviet Superwoman (mentioned) belongs to :iconsoviet-superwoman:.

Walkiria (mentioned) belongs to :iconteri-minx:.

You can find the previous section here: 

Shooting Stars 27: Chapter 5 by WhisakedJak.
The next section is here: 

Mature Content

Shooting Stars 29: Chapter 5 by WhisakedJak
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Toni123456's avatar

Real a great picture!