Author's Note: Well, what do you know. I actually got two reviews for this. So, Velvet Shadow, Stallion3, thanks a lot, guys! I appreciate the commentary.
It was after dark and Terry, or rather, Batman, was crouching on a rooftop, watching the streets. After the burglary he had stopped, there were no crimes in progress, so he was just making a routine sweep of the streets before heading home. The first thing he was going to do was call Dana. Unfortunately, those plans were killed when the police scanner in his radio crackled to life. Apparently, there was someone holed up in an apartment building with a few hostages. The police normally could have handled it, but said person seemed to have the ability to throw acid-like goo at whoever came near them.
When he got there, several police cars were outside and the police were attempting to communicate with the goo-criminal, who didn't seem to be particularly chatty. Batman sighed and turned his suit to stealth mode, then quietly snuck into the building. He made it to floor four, where a woman with melting green hands was pacing back and forth in the hall. In the far corner of the hall, two teenage girls and a girl who looked about seven were huddled together.
He started towards her, but she must have sensed him, because she turned and fired some of the goo at him. He leapt aside and the goo settled into the carpet, where it began to hiss. The element of surprise now gone, he switched his suit back to normal.
"Batman!" The woman hissed. "Not sending, we says. No one."
Okay. He thought. She was a bit insane. "Calm down, miss. If you just tell me…"
She was ignoring him, though, and she turned back to the three kids. She looked at them for a moment, then fired her goo. The girls screamed and Batman lunged for them, but already knew he was going to be too late.
From behind him came a shower of purple dust, and a voice called, "Retion!"
A shimmering purple shield leapt up over the girls and the slime hit it, then slid down to the ground where it began dissolving. Both the woman and Batman promptly whirled around to see who had done that.
A young woman stood before them, tall and fierce. Her black hair was blown back from her face by an invisible wind, making it look wild and tangled. A black mask covered her forehead to the tip of her nose. Her skin was darkly tanned, and her eyes from behind the mask were a solid black. Black lipstick outlined her lips. She wore a fishnet long-sleeved shirt over a red bra, tight black pants, and black combat boots. Her fingernails were painted blood red, and she wore fingerless black biker gloves. She looked…well, really Goth. At her side stood a large black wolf with incredibly intelligent amber eyes.
"Guess I'm not late after all." She commented. Her voice was bold, commanding and strong.
The goo-woman immediately threw acid at the newcomer. The Goth tossed a handful of purple dust into the air and repeated, "Retion." A purple shield now appeared around her and the goo slid harmlessly off.
Frustrated, the goo-woman began launching more slime at her. Batman took this opportunity to move in close and knock her out with a simple kick to the temple.
"Nice." The Goth woman commented.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"Ferinus." She replied. "Got bored. Figured you could use a hand, luv." She tilted her head, considering. "Prolly was wrong, though." She shrugged. "Oh, well. See you around, Bats." Purple mist surrounded her, and when it disappeared there were two black wolves instead of one. The two wolves promptly turned and padded down the stairs.
Batman stared after them, but then the little girl began to cry and he turned his attention on the ex-hostages.
A while away from the building, Ferinus stopped and shifted back into human. The process was much slower than it had appeared as her wolf parts painstakingly traded themselves for human. When she was done, she stood for a moment, panting.
"Okay, that was stupid. I probably shouldn't have tried to show off." She informed the wolf at her side. "Couldn't help it, though…it was fun." She paused to breathe for a bit. "All right, no more of that. I'm lucky I had the shield spell ready so I didn't have to do the whole thing."
You're lucky you didn't collapse on the way out. The wolf commented mentally. Go home and sleep, Sam. I mean it.
Ferinus frowned and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were green once more. She was shorter, had lost the lipstick, and her hair was back to being straight and inconspicuous. "Fine, Ara. You win. Bed for me. And I'm walking there…No need to waste energy on a transportation spell."
Good. Arabus agreed. Now get going.
Samantha rolled her eyes and headed back to the apartment where she and her father lived. It was a nice apartment, almost the size of a regular house, so it was easy for her to climb up a tree, jump across to her windowsill, and slip in to her room. Once inside, she quickly slipped off her Goth clothes and pulled on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. She picked up the dark clothes and opened up a section of her wall, placed them inside, then closed it.
"Maintaining that spell took way too much energy." Samantha muttered to herself. "I've gotta think of a better way of doing it."
She glanced around her room and spotted a book lying on her desk. She smiled, remembering there was something in there about working spells into jewelry and picked it up. She opened up the wall again and pulled out a black choker lined with silver spikes and set with a ruby in the center. After closing the wall, Samantha sat cross-legged on her bed and began flipping through the book.
"Here we go." Samantha commented, finding the section she was looking for.
She worked for the better part of two hours, her fingers tracing complex designs into the choker as she murmured words in Latin. Finally, she held it at arm's distance, looking at it proudly.
What exactly did you do? Arabus asked, ready to check her work.
"Worked in a transformation spell. It'll change my clothes into the Goth stuff. Then I put in a creation spell for the mask, and a modified glamour spell for my hair, eyes, and height. I put it on, and…" She slipped the choker around her neck. "Hello, Ferinus."
What happens if it gets ripped off? Arabus pointed out.
"Hmm." Samantha commented. "Good point. Okay, I'll put in an attachment spell so only I can take it off."
She went back to work, this time playing with the clasps of the choker. When she was finished, it was just past two in the morning. Samantha yawned, placing the choker into her hidden compartment.
"And now it's bedtime." She said, crawling under the covers. "Night, Ara."
"Ferinus." Bruce repeated.
Terry had told him all about the new girl, emphasizing the magic and her little shape-shifting ability.
"It mean something to you?" Terry asked.
"It's Latin." Bruce replied. "Two meanings: of or relating to a beast and possessing wild magic."
"Well, that certainly fits her." Terry said wearily. "So what do we do about it?"
"Research." Bruce replied. "Talk to the Pagan community to find out if there's anyone who might have a hero complex. Check listings of rogue sorceresses."
"Right." Terry agreed, sounding even more tired. "I'll get Max to help. But right now, I am going home."
Samantha's alarm clock went off at six o'clock the next morning. School didn't start until eight, and she normally didn't wake up until seven, but she needed that extra hour to regain the energy she had lost last night. It was rather a stupid thing to do, especially since she was really out of practice in the Art. Samantha had once worked on her abilities every day with her mother. But when Kathleen had died….Samantha first used magic as a way to escape. But then, every spell she did reminded her of her mother and she had stopped.
Of course, she couldn't really stop being Wiccan. The power was still there, finding other ways out now that she wasn't training it. After a particularly nasty incident involving lots of fire and a school gym that no longer existed, Samantha began to train again. Slowly. She was no where near as powerful as she would have needed to be to pull off all the spell work she had done last night without lasting effects.
She hadn't been able to resist it, though. Here in the city, people were used to vigilantes…No one would complain about her. And it was what she wanted to do. She knew she was powerful…Or rather, had once been. And someday, could be again. She wanted to help people.
It's called a hero complex, Sam. Arabus commented.
Samantha sighed and slid out of bed. Arabus was totally separate from the Art, but somehow he seemed to know more than her. Samantha had inherited her magic from her mother, who was an Irish Pagan. Samantha's father was Native American, a member of a tribe that worshipped animals. The chosen ones had the same relationship with animals that all ancient tribe members had had, an interchangeability that involved being part of the animals. They were also gifted with a special animal guide, referred to as a lir. Samantha's father had been overjoyed the day a black wolf pup showed up on his doorstep, looking for his daughter. Of course, he hadn't had much time to revel in that enjoyment.
Samantha shook her head out of her thoughts and padded to the bathroom, filling the tub with warm water and sprinkling in an energy potion. She soaked for about a half an hour, than returned to her room and dressed in ritual clothes. She cast her circle, called upon the Goddess and God, then sat cross-legged on the floor, sending an open-ended plea for strength.
When she sensed it was done, she stood, bade farewell to the deities, and opened the circle. She changed into school clothes of bellbottoms and a tye-dye tee shirt and waltzed out into the living room.
Bill had already left for work, so she fixed herself a bowl of cereal and munched on it while she read the comics. When she finished her breakfast, she pulled on high-heeled moccasin boots, grabbed her backpack, and headed out the door.
As she locked it behind her, she heard someone call her name and she turned.
Terry was coming her way, his own backpack tossed over his shoulder. "Hey, Sam." He greeted. "Small world, huh?"
She nodded. "You live here?"
He gestured behind him. "Yup. Apartment 304."
She smiled. "At least I know someone in the building now."
He grinned back at her. "Making friends already. Offer you a ride to school?"
"Thanks." She told him, looking relieved. "I'd've had to walk otherwise."
"No prob. Come on, I'm parked in the garage." Terry commented, starting towards the elevator.
He yawned as he told the elevator to take them to ground floor and Samantha peered at him.
"You look slagged." She told him.
"Well, at least I look how I feel." He said with a smirk. "I had killer homework after I got off work."
"Ouch." Samantha commented. "At least I didn't have much homework."
"Well, lucky you." Terry retorted.
Samantha laughed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Hey, you got a partner for our Lit assignment yet?"
Terry blinked at her. "We had an assignment?"
"I'll take that as a no." She said. "We have to pick an old play and perform a few scenes in front of the class?"
"Oh." Terry nodded, like he remembered. "Right."
Samantha laughed again, making him smile for some reason. "Right. You wanna work together?"
"Sure." Terry agreed. "Sounds good to me. Wanna get together after school to pick the play?"
Samantha considered, then nodded. "Yup. Don't need to work today. My apartment or yours?"
"My little brother'll be in mine." Terry told her. "He'll be bugging us the whole time."
"Mine it is, then." Samantha said cheerfully.
