Chapter 2
"Boss, we have something!"
Moore walked over to the technician's station. A couple of days earlier, Moore discovered that the ashen witch was freed from her ancient prison. Now, they had to struggle to identify the woman who disappeared from the cavern. The only thing they had were some low-quality surveillance pictures of the area.
They had a primitive general description. Roughly 5'8", long light brown hair, slim build, pale skin. A description that matched millions of people across the world. They didn't even have a read on her nationality… maybe she was English, American, Australian, hell, maybe even South African.
They ran her face through every database they had, but they had nothing. This woman was never on S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA's watchlists. That means it would take a few more days until they could discern the woman's identity.
"What is it? Tell me it's good news," Moore said angrily, casually knocking over another person's computer screen uncaringly.
"We don't have anything on the subject, but I did some searching into any satellite phones in the area at the time, and I found something." A display popped up on the screen as the technician continued his explanation. "Look. A satellite phone was pinging in this area at around 1800 hours, right around the time the woman was here. But a few minutes later, that satellite phone appeared in New York City."
"What address?" he said, finally happy to hear good news after two days of nothing but dead ends. "If we get her now, while she's weak, we can save ourselves a fucking shitload of trouble."
"Getting it riiiight… now."
June stared intently at the candle on the dining room table. She concentrated all of her energy onto the unlit candle, getting a feel for the abilities Enchantress claimed that she had. She didn't know what powers she had, so she used a candle as a guinea pig. In her heart, she still had to ask herself if she truly had the capability to fight back. One of her biggest virtues in life was never to harm another soul, harming anyone went against everything she believed in.
"Do I even have abilities?"
"Personality powers are the rule with my magic. Any host I take adapts my magic to fit their own personality. Take care, though, personality does not determine all of one's powers," Enchantress explained within June.
"Well that's nice to know."
"Think of the times in your life where you were at your most emotional. Do not just think of the event, feel it. Magic is not practical, it's emotional."
The first thing that came to June's mind was her mother. Sorrow was the most prominent emotion in that moment, flowing into her like the Biblical flood. But she was also angry. Angry that the doctors couldn't save her… that she couldn't save her… that she died. Following the witch's advice, June let the sorrow and the rage flood her at once. She even let the love for her mother that kept her going every day in.
She closed her eyes and let everything in.
"June. Open your eyes."
Milky light emerged from her hands. It left an aura, a soft, beautiful haze, comforting. It created translucent beautiful white clouds between her hands. As June's power activated, her irises were pulsing white, too. Gathering her hands together, the light coalesced into a spherical shape, glowing brighter. The light had a distinctive, comforting hum.
"You're a guardian," said Enchantress. "That power is designed to heal, strengthen, and protect."
"What do you mean?" June asked. In the same instant, the milky light vanished.
"That power, you can use it to make people stronger, to heal them of sickness and injury, and to protect them. As of yet, our powers are still primitive. You are learning quickly to access your abilities, but you have much to learn. With time, your powers will grow beyond anything you could ever imagine."
"What other abilities may I develop?" June inquired, growing excited about the prospect of powers.
"No telling. The default powers include healing and augmentation, but many of my homes have had various other abilities. Some developed parasitic powers, some could resurrect those who had been dead for millennia, some could transfer energy from one creature to another."
"So, I just have to wait?"
"Correct. If your next question refers to the length of time for these abilities to manifest, there is no set time. Most develop their unique powers by default. Some develop new powers as the years pass, others don't. Most don't develop new abilities, so much as developing new applications for their standard abilities."
"If I'm a healer, that also probably means I have no real fighting powers, right?" June said with solemn realization.
"Unfortunately, yes. But that is no problem. Leave any combat to me. Many of my homes have had no combat abilities, and it was no impedance."
June's phone went off, ringing with her friend's ringtone.
"Oh man, I am so late for my lunch date with my friend," June said. She quickly gathered her things. Too quickly. So quickly that everything was slow around her. She didn't realize it until she stopped and felt the draft in the room from her excessive speed.
"Whoa. What just happened?"
"Yet another ability that many defenders have. Enhanced speed is perfect for defensive purposes."
"I get it, the faster I move the faster I can protect others. Push them out of the way, right?"
"Yes, and for other reasons, too."
June left the apartment building, and made her way to her Jeep, in normal speed. She quickly realized that normal speed felt very slow, like she was walking slowly, even though she was fully aware that she was moving at a relatively normal pace.
"Wow. I suddenly hate moving at a normal speed now."
"Everyone like you said that."
She met up with her best friend that she lost contact with for a few years, Akiko Yamashiro, or just Kiko. They met when June was in her first semester in college and Kiko was in her semifinal semester. The two women grew close quickly, but lost contact for a few years after Kiko's husband died in a housefire. They reunited by chance in New York City a few years afterwards.
"You're late, again," Kiko said. While her name was fully Japanese, and had the looks and height to match, Yama spoke in an American accent in English. Yama told June that she had a Kyoto accent… or dialect… or something of the sort when she spoke Japanese.
"Sorry, lost track of time."
"I would ask if you were jet lagged, but that doesn't happen when you travel north and south," Yama said with a smile. "How was your trip?"
"Ummmm… Fun…" June said flatly.
"That's it? You go on your first trip to South America and it's just fun?"
"Well, let's just say… I found something," June said.
"Ooooh, what?"
June told Kiko a very abridged and inaccurate version of the events that led her to the Enchantress. She told her that she found a cave out in the jungle near Cusco, one that was hard to find. She left out the part where she fell into the cave, hurting herself badly, and obviously left out the part where she bonded with an ashen sorceress.
"Wow… I really wish that I'd been there," Kiko said.
"So do I," June said.
While the conversation was light-hearted and jovial, there was still an aura of sorrow between the two women. It was tangible enough that June felt the sorrowful aura, but suppressed it to keep her friend in a good state of mind. The last thing she wanted was to resurrect the pain of Kiko's horrifying loss.
After two hours, the women returned to June's apartment. When they arrived, Kiko went into the building first, having a key of her own to the apartment. June stayed outside, packing up some of the leftovers in the trunk to bring inside.
"I like her," the witch told June, much to her quiet internal joy.
June shot awake from a nightmare at 3 in the morning.
"You poor thing," Enchantress said playfully. "Shall I help you sleep?"
"That's the last thing I need," June muttered. She got up and went straight for the kitchen. She thought about using a small flashlight, but the full moon provided enough light. Whenever she had nightmares, there was one thing she would consume to ease her mind: hot chocolate. It could have been the hottest day of the year, and it wouldn't make a difference, she would still have her hot chocolate to ease her mind from a nightmare.
"Of all things for you to drink after a nightmare," the witch said, noticeably holding back laughter.
As June sat in her chair, she relaxed looking at the beautiful moon. She took the time to realize how connected she was with it. Her mother claimed, and June confirmed that she was born on a full moon, her last name was Moone, and now a physical goddess inhabited her body whose overall theme was the moon.
She observed the moon and enjoyed her drink when she felt a strange sensation in her chest. She looked down to find an ethereal gray arm protruding from her chest. For a moment, she believed it was a distant remnant of a dream.
"I'd be very careful if I were you," said a distorted electronic voice. "If I here one word come out of your mouth…well, I don't need to spell it out do I? To either of you? Nod if you understand."
A paralyzed June lightly nodded her head.
"And what about you?" he said. June looked around and saw Enchantress standing nearby, ready to fight whoever was behind June. However, she restrained herself, not believing that she could get the assassin's phased arm out of June's body before he solidified it. Neither woman knew nor wanted to know the result of said action.
"I understand."
"Get back inside her," ordered the assassin. After Enchantress acquiesced at June's silent insistence, the assassin said, "Now we are going to go for a walk."
June stood up. Her heart was racing, sweat pouring down the side of her face, her hands and body trembling. She cried tears of horror, her breathing pulsing and quaking.
"All you have to do is listen to me and nothing bad will happen to you," the assassin said. "I don't want to kill you. Please don't do anything to make me have to kill you."
"June, when I say 'go', drop yourself to the left."
She walked forward slow.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Now she was right outside the door to her apartment.
"Go."
At exactly the same second that she heard the voice in her head, June used her right arm and leg to shove herself down and from the floor away from the assassin's arm before he could solidify it. One moment later, Kiko came from nowhere, strobing the gray-clad assassin with the flashlight June kept in the kitchen.
The attack stunned the assassin enough for Kiko to grab June and run down the stairs and out the front door. Unfortunately, the assassin had recovered his eyesight and phased through the wall and dropped to the front to meet them. He waited for them right out in front of the building, where the entire area had lost power, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the area.
June ordered Kiko to run. And then uttered, "Enchantress…"
The sight of June's transformation did nothing to deter the grey-clad ghost-like assassin, who June and Enchantress both determined from the shape and appearance was a woman. The gray-clad woman was standing firmly, but the ethereal images flashing around her showed barely visible phantoms of her in different positions, almost like a ghost. Realizing that the woman's intangibility also meant she would be able to avoid Enchantress's magic, the witch smiled and readied herself for a melee battle. The witch was excited for a good fight, though was no fool to underestimate her opponent.
The witch and the ghost charged at one another, neither backing down. The ghost made the first move, grazing the witch's face with her strong fist. The witch realized too late that this was a feint move, and the ghost punched her in the gut with impressive strength, enough to stun the witch briefly.
The witch recovered far more quickly than the ghost anticipated, opening up the chance for the witch to attack. A powerful jab from her fist swept under the ghost's feet, leaving her airborne and helpless. The witch followed up with blast of electrokinetic magic. Her powers had been weakened, but she still possessed them.
However, the ghost phased through her hand and her magic, though that didn't stop the impact with the ground from stunning her enough for the witch to quickly kick her away. The ghost disappeared in midair.
"Have you ever seen this before?" June said from within the witch, terrified of what was happening.
"I haven't."
The witch was a veteran of many battles over her long existence, battles dating back to prehistoric times, to before even the peninsula that was called Europe rose to power. She existed as far back as before the ancient pyramids of Giza were constructed, back when Egypt was only consisting of the River Nile. Invisibility and intangibility were among the many powers she had come into conflict with, but this was different. The witch sensed no magical force at play, yet this woman had incredible abilities.
The ghost reappeared in front of the witch, throwing a punch aimed at her face. Enchantress managed to avoid it just in time and counterattack with a forceful kick. This time, the ghost phased through Enchantress's body, avoiding the kick, and emerging behind her.
The witch aimed another incredibly strong punch charged with electrical power at her helmet. The ghost caught the witch's entire arm in her left hand, and then used her right hand to phase into Enchantress's chest. The witch screamed in horror, realizing that the ghost had known her weakness. It was then that she realized that this was a member of the group dedicated to keeping her prisoner.
The assassin ripped the witch's heart from her body. She readied herself for her death, but expressed great sorrow to June, realizing that this meant that she would also die. The witch hated herself for not seeing this ahead of time, that the ghost would probably do that.
"Bring back June, or I will crush this," the ghost ordered.
"Just do it! Please!" June begged.
Knowing she had no other choice if she wanted herself and/or June to live, she muttered, "Enchantress…"
"Are we going to have any more problems?" the ghostly assassin asked, with ominous serenity.
"No," June uttered.
The ghost recoiled, holding her arm in pain, and then was knocked to the ground.
It was Kiko, she was back, wielding a crowbar. She knocked the witch's heart from the assassin's hand and knocked her down with multiple strikes of the crowbar to the ghost's head. She grabbed Enchantress's heart and June and brought them both to June's car.
"I thought I told you to run away," June said, returning the Enchantress's heart.
"I did. I ran away back into the apartment to get back the car key. Then I saw that you were on the ropes and found a crowbar. You didn't think I'd actually leave you, did you?"
"Thank you," June quietly said, nearly crying.