Hailey Storm
Now

Once Anne cleared the hospital, we rode back to her house.  We didn’t stay long; Anne had us grab her laptop, a toolbox, her purse- and her pistol and pills, and a headset, complete with microphone and a wrap-around eyepiece that looked like it came straight out of some cheesy science-fiction video game.  With those items in hand, we high-tailed it back to my apartment.  I gave Anne the living room and she set herself up, propping her injured foot on a chair.

Network pulled up a satellite image of the warehouse complex that contained Icon.  Apollo, who had actually seen the site from the air, pointed out the building and Anne zoomed in.  She called up feeds from external cameras in the area as well; within minutes, we had a glut of visual data that served to give me everything I needed to get a teleport fix.

“I can’t get anything on the inside of the building,” Network warned us, “but activity outside the building is almost non-existent.  There’s a pretty good power-draw on the grid, though, which suggests that somebody’s home…”

“Pyrite and I will go in first,” Apollo volunteered.  “We’ll provide a distraction and keep Moe busy.”

Pyrite snorted; I was inclined to agree with him.  Moe didn’t look to be kept busy by anything short of a full-scale metahuman war, and we didn’t have one of those in our pockets.

“Hailey, you and Sophie get in and get Shae out, agreed?”  I nodded.  I wasn’t really fond of this plan, but it was the only thing we had.  “Once you’ve got her clear, get gone.  Sadie’s pet is backup in case we can’t hold Moe- she doesn’t engage at all if we can help it, agreed?”

“Absolutely.”  I fervently hoped that we’d be able to get Shae out of there before the bad guys even had a chance to react, but I doubted it would go that smoothly.

Apollo looked like he was about to call a hands-in victory cheer or something, so I cut him off by casting the teleportation spell.  “Go!” I yelled as he and Pyrite vanished.

*****

Now

Will-O-Wisp didn’t know how Magnum Opus had hit her- she hadn’t even had a physical body, after all- but the disruption of her form had been catastrophically traumatic.  She guessed that the hurt of Magnum Opus’s blow had, essentially, shattered her concentration in much the same way that a boxer’s jab could disorder an opponent’s plan, blotting out his next movements because of the blossom of pain overriding all other sensations.

Once that had happened, of course, her body had become material, subject to all the frailties of a normal, human body- including tear gas, disorientation, and blows-to-the-head by metahuman tanks.  She didn’t really remember all the details, honestly, but the crushing pressure on the back of her skull suggested that she’d been struck there at least once since she’d left her energy body.

She swallowed hard against a rising tide of nausea.  “What…” she croaked.

And older man’s face hove into view.  He might have looked like a kindly uncle or an eccentric grandfather, but there was a touch of madness gleaming behind his eyes, and Will-O-Wisp suddenly felt, for the first time, very much afraid.

“Oh good,” the older man smiled, “you’re awake.  I am Professor Rupert Stearns; I believe you’ve already met my Magnum Opus.”

His words were cordial, kindly, even, but they didn’t make Will-O-Wisp feel any safer.  She struggled to adjust her position and realized her hands and feet had been roped to a chair.  Her mask hid her expression of disdain.

“This won’t hold me, you know,” she said.

“Indeed?  And how will you escape, pray tell?” the professor asked.  He seemed genuinely curious, and Will-O-Wisp smiled behind her mask.

“I thought I’d just stand up,” she suggested.  She gathered her will, preparing to shift back into her energy body, when a lance of sheer agony blanked out all other sensations for a fraction of a second.  She gasped, her eyes going wide.

“I think that an attempt to use your metahuman abilities might be unwise,” Stearns commented, watching how Will-O-Wisp collapsed back against the chair.  “My inhibitor detects unusual brain activity, such as that associated with the deliberate activation of metahuman abilities, and responds by sending a counter signal through the prisoner’s cortex, effectively blocking any attempt at using them.

“That design philosophy, incidentally, is similar to the neuralgic inhibitors used at Tarterus prison.

“The module you are wearing, however, is special.  I modified it so that, in addition to interfering with your use of powers, it also stimulates the pain centers of your brain.  I figured that a nullifier could only work for so long, but with sufficient negative reinforcement, perhaps metas could be taught not to use their powers, thus rendering them more useful and controllable members of society.”

“You’re insane!” Will-O-Wisp gasped.

The professor looked thoughtful.  “In truth, I suppose I may be,” he said after a pause, “but only history will truly be able to judge.  I suspect that, after the violence of the coming days, I may, indeed, be seen as a madman; more rational minds, however, will see me as the man who ushered in an age of prosperity such as mankind could never dream of.”

Professor Stearns glanced at his desk and the several screens attached to his workstation.  “Ah.  It appears our lingering is coming to an end,” he said, then turned to Magnum Opus.  “Moe, would you be so kind as to double check our security arrangements?  Our guests are about to arrive, and I should like to offer them proper hospitality.”

Moe looked blank for a moment, then smiled.  “Oh- you mean check on the traps!  Sure thing, Prof!”

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It occurred to me, as I proposed the image for this section to , that I have yet to show all of the protagonists together.  Not even all of the metahuman protagonists...  Honestly, it might not happen; this might be as close as we come, and Shae is still out of the picture.  For some reason, this feels a bit like doing it backwards to me- after all, most superhero team-ups will show all the heroes gathered together somewhere near the beginning of the story, unless it's the team origin story...

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

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  and will feature characters by , , and an appearance of Esau by .

Network, Pyrite, Apollo, Sadie, Gary the Demon, Will-O-Wisp, Magnum Opus, and Professor Stearns all belong to .

Hailey Storm and Sophia Storm belong to .

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Mature Content

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Mature Content

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