*** This story takes place in several places in Jade's past, long before she met Harley and Quiverwing. In fact, it takes place in a whole different dimension, and in the 'original' timeline before she traversed time to become Parallax and spare Hal Jordan the agony. In this timeline, Hal Jordan has died, as he was meant to, as Parallax saving the Earth from its less-than-sunny-fate. Jade's boss, Doctor Strangefate, took his spirit and brought it to the 'amalgam' universe, wiping his memories, giving him new powers, and the name Harold Murdock, the Devil's Lantern. And yes, there was a brief, albeit unstable relationship between Jade and Trunks. Yes. The Saiyajin. Get over it.
Confused? You should be. Visit http://www.geocities.com/ruadotcom/RP/jade/bio.html if you're really that interested in who Jade is, and how she got to be there.***
The First Flame
Frankie stood, gazing out the gargantuan window in the Doctor's sanctum, her blue eyes tracing angrily over the nighttime outline of New Gothopolis. She'd been waiting, perhaps ten minutes now, each minute raising her temper several degrees. Her eyes flickered from the city to her own reflection in the glass, face badly scarred from the fight with the Enforcer. She ran her fingers lightly over those scars, her other hand clenching the mask she now wore to cover them. She wasn't vain. And she knew there were ways of having them removed if she had been. But something about the burned and disfigured flesh both frightened her and intrigued her.
"I didn't summon you, Miss Rayner."
The cold, helmet-muffled voice broke the silence of the chamber, and Frankie looked over her shoulder towards the Egyptian throne, furrowing her brow at the man who had appeared out of nowhere. Despite the shadows that clung to that corner of the room, a bit of light still glinted off the helmet of fate, and the deep red of the cloak of levitation. And the slightly glowing white slats that hid his eyes, the overall effect making him appear a demon
"Well. Then I won't complain about being kept waiting," she snapped, looking back out to the city, her hand dropping from her face.
Four years ago, Strangefate might have sent her through that window, misunderstanding her attitude for disrespect. Now, only a tired sigh left the man's lips, and he slowly slipped off his helmet. "I could simply probe your mind, Miss Rayner… but it is long past time you learned to speak your thoughts without prompting." His voice was just as cold as it had been before the helmet had been removed. But four years had grown many understandings between the two of them.
Frankie inhaled deeply, the mask finding its way into being clenched by both hands. She shoved it in her pocket. So many questions, most of which she knew Strangefate would only skate around, deeming none of her business. But she needed answers of some kind. Any kind, to keep her sanity. Slowly, she turned, gazing upwards where the throne hovered, her eyes tracing over the glyphs and carvings, wondering what kind of mystic nature they held. "Why me, Doc? Why'd Mephisatanus go after me? And why'd you deem me worth saving from him? Seems to me I'd be better suited to be his agent."
Strangefate was silent, his lips pressed together in a thin, angry line, though that look was habitual. Slowly, he stood, drifting down from the throne to hover just above the floor near her, helmet tucked under his arm. Mephisatanus was never a topic of conversation that brought out the best in him – he had his own reasons for that, existing past the quarrel between Order and Chaos. His blue eyes were fixed intently, narrowed, on her, and she struggled to keep hers on his without backing down. "This question was inevitable," he said slowly and carefully. "But I have no answer to give you."
Frankie scowled, turning her back to him, gazing out the window again. "Have no answer? I doubt that. You… You fecking know everything. More like you won't answer." She jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder. She turned, slowly to look at him, her eyes widening a little as he placed his gloved hand over her cheek.
"I could remove this scar, if you like."
"No…" She pulled away from his touch, backing a step towards the window, her hand moving to her face again. "I never cared about my appearance before. Why start now?"
"Yet… it bothers you, doesn't it?"
Scowling, she gruffly admitted the truth. "Yes."
"What bothers you, Miss Rayner?"
She bowed her head, her fingers running over the ruined flesh. The whole right side of her face, temple to chin. Destroyed. Because… "I was careless. That I was taken by surprise…That I allowed myself to be touched… That if it hadn't been for Murdock, I'd be dead."
"Dead?" The corner of his lips flickered upwards a fraction, a small, wry smile. Barely.
"I exist outside of time now, thanks to all my fecking with it. The Enforcer's weapons would have shattered that… beyond dead, really. I'd… no longer exist…"
"And this is what bothers you? That the indestructible Jade Nova nearly met the end of her existence?"
She scowled at the mockery. Why did she even bother? She wasn't here to talk about her face. She was here to find out why her entire life had been hell, ending with servitude to a sorcerer. "No." Her word was simple, and clear, but surprised even her. "I… I don't know what's bothering me…"
Strangefate eyed her a moment more, then turned away from her, sliding his helmet back on. Conversation over. Frankie wanted to cry. This was cold, even for Strangefate… but then, he probably had far more important things to take care of. She turned, starting towards the door of the chamber, freezing halfway when she heard the spoken words of a spell. Looking back, she saw a container emerge, releasing a glowing crystal orb. Mesmerized, she watched, having no idea what was going on, until a gateway of white energy appeared between herself and the crystal.
"You have much to learn, Miss Rayner, about time, and about yourself." Strangefate extended his gloved hand towards the portal, index finger pointing. "Go," he said, unnecessarily, as Frankie had already begun taking a step towards the portal.
When she passed through the blinding white, it took her nearly two minutes for her eyes to adjust enough to recognize that she was in a dark alley in New Gothopolis. The rain, however, she recognized immediately, muttering and shoving her ponytail inside the collar of her jacket, being reminded why she had always preferred short hair. Well. She'd get it cut now. She turned her face upwards, towards the sky, as a bolt of lightning almost as bright as the portal split it. A wind picked up, kicking trash along the dirty alley, and she started towards the street, then froze again, smelling something familiar. Smoke?
Her stomach lurched, an eerie feeling of déjà vu setting in. Something about that smell on a gray, rainy day… Without putting any thought into what she was doing, she turned, running the opposite way, away from the street. Into the wind, towards the smoke, towards the inevitable fire. It didn't take long for the burning house to come into sight, down the street a short way. She froze, watching the flames licking the roof. No, there would be no fire truck. This was New Gothopolis. The neighbors would watch the house burn, and whoever was in it would die…
Her eyes went wide, and she broke out of her trance, pelting down the street towards the burning house. This was like a bad dream, looking at the world from inside out. Reaching the front door – she could feel the heat behind it – she delivered a kick, which carried her through the door and inside, into the flames. Or close to. The fire was in the kitchen, and upstairs. Not here. She moved towards the living room, knowing, without knowing, what she would find. A man, drunk, sitting in the recliner, watching the TV while the world came down around him.
"Get out of my house, you lousy bitch…" he snapped, his eyes moving to her when she stepped in front of the TV.
"Your house is burning down, mister… don't you fecking care?" Her blue eyes slanted a little with surprise, as she gazed into the vaguely familiar intoxicated face.
The man lunged forward to strike her. For a moment, caught in the memory of that face, and knowing the feeling of the backhand before it hit, she froze. But… she was not a kid anymore. Her arm snapped up to block his hand, her other hand swinging at his face. The blood that flowed freely from the orifice only called out an invitation for her to take a revenge that had been building for many years. She delivered a kick to his face, several kicks, dazing the man then taking his hair in her hand and slamming the head into the ground. There was the sound of bone breaking – not the skull, but the neck. Roughly, she turned the body over, looking down at the face mangled face covered in blood. The face she now recognized from her nightmares, as more than just a haunting figment. The face of Thomas Rayner.
Despite the fact she had been killing people for a long time, Frankie nearly vomited. Choking on the rising gorge, and the smoke, she looked around the room, frozen. Until the sound of creaking alerted her that the ceiling was about to come down on her head. She dove into the front hall again, her hand reaching for the front door. She'd just killed her father… Yet she knew her father had died fourteen years ago in the house fire…
Frankie's hand refused to turn the knob, and slowly, she turned towards the hall that would lead to the kitchen. The kitchen that would lead to the basement. The basement that would lead to…
"KELLY!?!?!!" her voice hoarser than normal, left her lips in a shriek as instinct once again took over, driving her through the flaming hall and kitchen to the basement door. Which was locked. Pulling her shirt collar up over her mouth, she ignored the rest of the room, using a burst of green energy from the ring to melt the lock and handle. She pushed the door inwards, almost wincing at the relatively cool air that rushed upwards from the dark basement. Her hand found the switch, and flicked it. No… there were no lights in the basement. Thomas had removed them all long ago. Hearing another creaking, she started blindly down the stairs, until her wits returned and she used her powers to create, of all things, a glowing green lantern. Maybe as a silent prayer to a dead god. "Kelly? Can you hear me?"
The green light cast odd shadows over the basement. And there was something in the air. A familiar scent she couldn't place. She ignored it, her eyes scanning the room as she reached the bottom step. "Kelly… I know you're here… answer me, now!" she snapped.
"I… I didn't do it… please… I don't wanna be in trouble anymore…" The voice was a soft, pathetic one.
Frankie winced, moving towards it. Finding the girl in the corner, behind the water pump, wrapped in a dirty, damp, moldy blanket. The only place in the basement where a light had been missed – the small, yellow light that indicated the pump was working. "You're not in trouble, Kelly. It's time to leave. The house is on fire." She extended her hand towards the girl, jerking back as the girl pulled away, cowering further in the corner.
Blue eyes fixed on blue eyes, both of them scared out of their wits. And like an old, dusty record, the words played back, the scene repeated itself. At least for one of them.
"Daddy… he's upstairs… I'm not allowed to leave… he'll hit me again…"
"He's dead, Kelly."
Kelly's lips parted, then her tearstained face darkened into a scowl that would become habitual. "I wanted to kill him… but I didn't do this. I swear, I didn't do this… "
"I know, kid. Come on. This whole fecking place is about to explode."
"Who are you?"
"Just a nobody. Now –" She was cut off by an explosion, as the light in the room took a brighter blue hue. Yes. The furnace had been leaking. Frankie's body erupted with green fire, and she dove forwards to grab Kelly. The child screamed, kicking away, but Frankie held tight, forming a green shield aura around her, her eyes flickering to the locket around the child's neck. Leaping upwards, despite Kelly's struggling, Frankie blasted their way through the levels of what was left of the house, upwards, into the rainy sky.
Kelly stopped screaming, to scared to do anything by cry. Frankie tried her best to be soothing. How had she forgotten this? She remembered the fire, but how could she have lost this part of her wretched existence?
They landed in an alley, and Frankie released the green aura that surrounded them both, leaving them in near darkness. Kelly whimpered.
"It's ok, Kelly. You're safe now…"
"Who are you? What are you?"
"Told ya, kid. I'm a nobody."
"How do you know my name?" Kelly pushed away, moving towards the wall, her eyes frantically scanning for something.
"I'm a smart nobody."
Kelly clutched the blanket against her with one hand, her other hand clutching the locket. Frankie's own hand strayed to clutch the rabbit's foot and lantern charm that hung around her neck. Something in that shared gesture reassured them both.
"What do I do now, lady? My house burned down… I ain't got any more family…"
Frankie moved over to lean against the wall next to Kelly, being careful not to touch the girl. "You live out here now. On the street."
"I… I can't… when it gets dark… what am I supposed to do when it gets dark?"
Dropping to a knee, putting them at eye level, Frankie extended her hand. The soft tone in her voice was painfully forced. "Hey… can I see your necklace? I'll let you see mine while I do… fair trade and all…"
Reluctantly, the girl slipped the chain off her neck. Just as reluctantly, Frankie did the same. They traded the necklaces, though Kelly spent more time watching Frankie than studying her necklace.
Slowly, Frankie opened the locket. One side was empty. The other side had a picture of some woman. Kelly, watching her, said, "That's my mother… I think… I… I found it in daddy's room, under the bed when I was hiding there. Stuck in a crack in the floor."
"She's… pretty. Like you, Kelly."
"I ain't pretty. Not like her… Not like her at all. I… I like your rabbit's foot. It's soft…"
Frankie nodded, trying not to think about that right now as she gazed into the locket. She understood now, everything that had transpired in her life had been her fault. And she wasn't as far out of the time stream as she thought. It was she, herself, that planted the seed of green light in the locket all those years ago. It was she, herself, that doomed this child Kelly to a life of misery and torment. She raised her blue eyes, gazing at Kelly, who was stroking the rabbit's foot. I could change everything… rewrite my own history… She flinched, thinking of Parallax's attempt to do so. And of her own words explaining to Trunks why it was wrong to tamper with time. But wrong or right, right now… I could do what the Enforcer wanted to do… erase myself from the time stream…
"How d'you make so much light, lady? Is that what burned your face? The green fire?"
Frankie pressed her eyes closed, mechanically continuing the conversation the way she remembered. "No. I got this in a fight." She gestured at her cheek.
"Can you… can you teach me how to make light like that? Then I'd never have to be in the dark…"
"I can't do that. It's something you have to teach yourself… but I can do this…" she opened her eyes, looking down at the locket, holding it in her left hand, pointing her ring at it. Slowly, a ball of green light emerged in the empty side of the locket. Frankie dangled it form the chain to test it. The light stayed with the locket when the locket moved. Closing the locket, she handed it back to the girl, who returned Frankie's own necklace.
"Wha…what is it?"
"Light. So you'll never be in the dark again, Kelly."
"It's so small… but it's beautiful… thank you… I think… what do I have to do for you now? You saved my life and gave me this…"
Frankie held up a hand to silence the girl. "This is the last freebee you'll ever get, kiddo. All you have to do is promise me… you'll never stop looking for the light."
Kelly narrowed her eyes a little, then slipped the chain on. "I do that anyway… I promise…"
Standing, Frankie nodded. "Good." But she felt rather the opposite. I never had a choice, anywhere, did I? Not for a single moment was the choice ever mine to make… She turned, walking out of the alley.
"Hey… where ya goin? You…You can't leave me here…"
"Yeah, kid, I can. Like I said. That was the last freebee you get. So get used to it." Frankie turned the corner, then found herself swallowed by a white light, and then standing in the center of Strangefate's sanctum. She fixed a glower that could kill on the man, feeling a deep and bitter loathing for him that she hadn't felt in years.
He sensed it. "The choice was yours to make, Miss Rayner. You could have removed yourself from the reaches of my power, and … his. I am curious as to why you chose not to."
"Pluck it from my mind, Doc," she said coldly. "And then tell me when you figure it out." Turning on her heel, and pulling the mask from her pocket, she slipped it on, leaving the chamber, and the tower. Retreating across dimensions to the Coast City lighthouse… where she would be alone.