(Please note all City of Heroes/Villains concepts are property of the respective owners, not me. The characters featured here are of my own creation.)
Burning-Star peered into the seemingly endless depths of the cave ahead of her and sighed. She pulled her waist length black cape over her shoulders to try fight off the chill wind that started to blow through the blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. At least she had a decent pair of black gloves on. It was times like this that she regretted wearing such a skimpy costume, with her black long-sleeve belly shirt, miniskirt and knee-high boots. Not that she'd ever admit it. How many of these stupid caves were in Sharkhead anyway? It seemed like every other task she was sent on by some low level Arachnos goon involved her going into yet another cave for some reason or another. As much as the thought of wandering through another earthen maze annoyed her, that wasn't her major concern.
It started a few days ago. She still had difficulty putting it into words for herself, let alone telling her teammates what she thought was happening. She just had this ominous feeling of dread. Like some… thing… was following her almost. But that was just it, there were so many metahumans running around the Rogue Isles, never-mind the ones who excelled at stalking anyway, she couldn't bring herself to tell just anyone she thought she was being followed.
And it was pretty much useless to talk to her teammates in the anarchist group, those who were coherent enough to even carry a conversation anyway. Most of the time, they mocked her for being crazy! Well, there was the fool girl she was bonded with due to that accident in space some time ago, but that was no reason to doubt her sanity! One of these days she'd kidnap some scientist and force them to free her from the horrid ordeal with the naïve hero Bright Star. It angered Burning-Star to no end that sometimes when she was knocked unconscious, Bright Star would gain control of her body, until the fool hero was knocked out in turn and Burning-Star could regain control. Her anger over that aside, it was another problem for another day.
Her concern now was the ever present feeling of dread that she just couldn't shake, no matter what she did. She spent a few days straight in the club, Pocket D, hoping that the security features there would calm her nerves. To her dismay, the owners encouraged her to leave before she ever felt any better. 'Star then decided to try some of the good old ultra-violence to get her mind off things. But of course, with her current luck, her next mission was to hunt down the Circle of Thorns in another one of the countless caves in Sharkhead Isle.
'Star repeatedly told herself she had formidable powers of her own, that she should be able to handle anything in the area. Sure, she could weaken her foes with radiation, and then fire off an energy blast to deliver the killing blow. As much as she absolutely detested even the thought of admitting it though, her powers were more effective in a supporting role. Using her abilities to accelerate metabolism or briefly mutate a being were much more beneficial when she had allies with her. Regardless, she was on her own for this particular mission. After all, she'd made it to Threat Level 28. She should be able to handle one more cave mission on her own, right?
The mission started like pretty much every other one she'd done. Open the ramshackle wooden door, and then travel down the maze-like paths until you found something that needed to be killed or recovered. Simple enough, but it was after she defeated the first set of Circle Guards she encountered that things started to get odd. She could hear the feint mumblings of the other wizards and monsters ahead of her, but she also swore she heard something behind her, which was impossible, as the tunnel hadn't forked yet, and she didn't invite anyone else to join her in the cave, either.
Burning-Star tried to put it out of her mind, and continued on her task. She took to the air to float down the tunnel until she finally came to one of the forks she'd hoped she might not find. After looking behind to make sure she wasn't being followed, she flew off down the right path.
She easily defeated the next ghostly sentinels she encountered deep into the second path, and then she heard it. Burning-Star had killed her fair share of beings during her short career, and heard plenty of death screams due to her own actions or the actions of others with her. The sound she heard from farther back up the darkened tunnel though, that sent chills down her spine. What could have possibly caused such a horrible scream?! Did the Circle summon some horrid monstrosity they'd lost control of? 'Star's mind raced at the possibilities of whatelse could be there in her potential tomb. She then realized that it may be difficult to go back the way she came. Whatever was causing such problems for the Circle sounded like it was in that direction. With a slight sigh, she flew deeper into the tunnel.
The mission went as normal for the next few minutes, until 'Star encountered and defeated the first Spectral Daemon Lord she found in the cave tunnels. She took a few moments to catch her breath after the heated fight; then one of the Circle Defenders just ran right past her deeper into the cave.
That never happened before. She was in plain sight, and the Defender acted as if he never even saw her! It was then that she heard another one of those horrible death-screams from farther back in the cave. To her dismay, however, 'Star discovered she had become all but lost in the maze of tunnels.
Cursing her luck, 'Star quickly activated a small electronic device that was built into the wrist of her right glove. Checking the GPS system first, 'Star's heart sank as the device couldn't pull up a map of the cave she has been wandering though. Switching to her communicator, she tried to reach anyone on the coalition channel. On cue, when she tried to activate the communicator, it crackled with so much static a small gasp escaped her lips before she realized it. She tried several channels, calling for anyone whose name she could think of. Had she ever even asked anyone in the group for help before? That vampire, Raven something, he'd be awfully handy right now. She shuddered at the thought of looking so weak, even in a situation like this, especially if the whole thing proved to be just a figment of her imagination. Then she'd never be able to live it down.
She hoped anyone could hear her though all the static on the communicator. 'Star stayed put in the particular portion of the tunnel, as she warily looks down both ends. Her powers caused her eyes to glow with feint green energy, and she had never been more thankful for even the limited low-light vision it granted her. A few minutes passed, and all 'Star could hear from her communicator was more static.
Perfect. Juuust perfect. No map. No help either. And who knows what else was in the cave with her.
More unnerved by the continued silence than anything, 'Star simply walked further into the cave. Several moments passed with no sign of the Circle or the mystery guest, and then as she was about to walk into a small room-like structure in the cave, her communicator kicked in, sending her resulting shriek echoing throughout the tunnels.
She tried to respond as quickly as she could through the static. Hopefully, help was on the way. Before she could even form a smile however, she finally heard the voice of the mystery guess.
"I've been tracking you for some time, Bright Star." It was a man's voice, ridiculously calm, coming from behind her, but it wasn't one she recognized. 'Star whipped around to face the mystery man, but all she could see were the shadows.
"I'm NOT Bright Star! You must have me --"
"-- Whatever you call yourself, however you dress, I know who I encountered up in space." In space?! What was he talking about?
"I've never even met you!" 'Star screamed back at the shadows, hoping to draw him forth and having no luck. Where was the blasted man?
"You… something is different about you. Regardless, I know I have the right person. It wasn't easy finding you here, far too many super-powered beings I don't have the time to deal with."
"What… what do you want?" She tried to sound strong, but whatever this man was talking about, she felt as if her very nightmares were now in the cave with her.
"You've seen too much. Whether you remember it or not, I can't have that kind of liability just flying around." If the man was angry, 'Star couldn't tell. Suddenly, two small white flashes, as if a set of eyes suddenly flared to life, appeared in the darkness ahead of her. But before Burning-Star could react to the man's telekinetic blast, the blackness of unconsciousness overcame her.
"It would be a waste to kill you." The man said to no one in particular as he telekinetically lifted Burning-Star's unconscious form into the air. He paused as her black costume shifted to the more heroic uniform he remembered with a long white cape, blue tights, and matching white gloves and thigh-high boots. "Let's see if we can do something about that memory of yours."