She heard a roar and the ground once more began to shake as it took off
after her. She didn't need to look back. She somehow knew exactly how far
back it was. She could feel a strange energy radiating from it. The
feeling started in her skin, sank into her bones, crept up her spine, and
took root in her brain. She tried to shut it out, but the force was too
strong. It was the same energy she had sensed before, only then it was
much more faint and distant.
Momentarily, she sensed that the monster was not the only source of this new energy. It also came from the sphere she was holding in such amounts that it numbed her hand, and she was beginning to have trouble gripping it.
Meanwhile, the beast was gaining on her, and by the time she was a block away, she could feel its hot breath on the back of her neck. The negative energy from the beast and the ball became too strong, and she stumbled and lost her grip on the sphere. She heard it clatter to the ground behind her, but didn't dare stop to retrieve it. Then a moment after, she sensed that the monster had stopped chasing her.
"Miranda! Miranda Kolovski," came a voice from a nearby alleyway, "Quick, in here!" She picked up the largest rock she could find and proceeded into the alley.
Who's there?" she asked nervously, "Whoever it is, I'm warning you now that I have an eighth-degree black-belt, so don't try anything." Of course, that was a lie. She only had an eighth-degree white belt.
Looking around, she saw no one, and took the opportunity to remove all of her padding from the football game and catch her breath.
"Miranda! I'm down here! Get this thing off me!"
"Huh?" She glanced down at her feet, where the sound seemed to be coming from, and saw something moving beneath her shoulder pads. Warily, she lifted it, and beneath it was a small, yellow cat with an unmistakable orange star shape on his forehead. She had seen this cat before in the last few weeks.all over the place. It seemed to her as though he had been following her.watching her. He was always outside her house staring at her through the window. At school, every time she looked outside, he was right below the window, and he was always outside the school searching for her in the afternoon when they raced outside to catch the buses home. At first, she thought he was a stray, and was following her because of the one time she stopped to feed him, but now he was talking!
"Y.you can talk?"
"Yeah. It's a long story. My name's Apollo. There's no time to explain now. Just take this and say 'Antares Celestial Power.'" He dropped a small 5-inch wand at her feet with an odd crystal at the top, half-red, half yellow. At first, all she could do was pick it up and stare at it. There was another powerful energy in this wand, but it was completely different from that which she had felt before. This one did not clash with her own energy and cause a negative reaction, but rather she felt its energy flow into her, and hers into it. They merged. Its energy and hers became one, and it became a part of her.
Then the tremors in the ground reminded her that the monster was still loose in the city and getting closer. Deciding that even though she was probably crazy or dreaming, she had nothing to lose and did as Apollo said. She held the wand high above her head, closed her eyes, and shouted out the three words that changed her life forever.
"Antares Celestial Power!"
She felt her feet leave the ground, and a swirling wind surrounded her. She felt a new power swelling inside of her and taking root inside her chest. The sensation was the most wornderful, unbelievable feeling she had ever felt. She couldn't have described it with words if she tried.
When her feet once more touched the ground, she opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in a dark, spider-webbed window. She had changed a great deal. Her tee-shirt, dirty and sweaty from the game, had been replaced by a beautiful white leotard with a red collar and two yellow bows, one in front and one in back. A pair of gloves had appeared on her hands with red hems just above her elbows. Her grubby shorts had become a scarlet-red short-skirt, and her old, worn sneakers had become well-polished, crimson knee-high boots, each with a yellow strip across the top. On her forehead was a golden tiara with a yellow gem in the center. Red and yellow ribbons ran through her hair, accenting her curly, orange locks, which were still styled the same way (a small bun on the top running into a long ponytail), but it was a few inches longer and a shade or two darker. Her freckles were gone as well.
The tiny wand in her hand was now a silver staff about a foot longer than she was tall. It still had the crystal on top, only now it was bigger. "Wow," she whispered to herself, "I look good!"
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely beautiful, dear," chimed in Apollo, "But in case you've forgotten, there's still a rhino/horse/scorpion thing terrorizing your city. You may want to do something about that."
"What? I'm supposed to fight that thing? How?"
"Good question. You could start by finding it."
"Right." Andi turned to leave the alleyway, but someone whom she immediately recognized was standing in the way.
"Wha.H.How long have you been there?"
"A.Andi? Y.You're a."
"Too long, apparently. Look, Kirk, I.ahhh!"
Before she could finish what she was saying, the monster appeared behind Kirk. It struck Andi with the meat of its tail, not the stinger, and knocked her back against a wall. Still holding the half-filled ball of silver dust, it laid a hand on Kirk's shoulder and the sphere rapidly began to fill up. Kirk's screaming stopped as well after a few moments.
"KIRK!" she cried and struggled to her feet. She felt the new power surging inside of her and she somehow knew what to do.
"Antares Firestone Rage!" As she said the words, dozens of flaming rocks materialized in the air and rained down on the monster. It roared in agony, letting go of both Kirk and the sphere. Miranda continued to concentrate on the assault until the creature fell to the ground, causing the earth to shake so furiously that she had to break her concentration and grab onto something.
Then she pointed her staff at the monstrosity lying on the pavement and allowed the words to come to her. "Staff of Antares, banish this creature to the abyss from which it came, never to return!" A beam of light shot forth from the staff, and the monster vanished into thin air.
Andi walked over to Kirk, awed by what had just occurred. He wasn't moving, but he was definitely alive. A few feet away from him was the monster's sphere, now almost filled with the silvery dust. It still radiated the same dark energy. She picked it up to examine it, ignoring the unpleasant numbing sensation it gave her hand, but found nothing that she was able to explain.
She saw Apollo run out of the alley, and she hesitated for one last look at herself as she heard the sirens coming her way. She muttered to herself in utter amazement, "I'm a superhero."
Momentarily, she sensed that the monster was not the only source of this new energy. It also came from the sphere she was holding in such amounts that it numbed her hand, and she was beginning to have trouble gripping it.
Meanwhile, the beast was gaining on her, and by the time she was a block away, she could feel its hot breath on the back of her neck. The negative energy from the beast and the ball became too strong, and she stumbled and lost her grip on the sphere. She heard it clatter to the ground behind her, but didn't dare stop to retrieve it. Then a moment after, she sensed that the monster had stopped chasing her.
"Miranda! Miranda Kolovski," came a voice from a nearby alleyway, "Quick, in here!" She picked up the largest rock she could find and proceeded into the alley.
Who's there?" she asked nervously, "Whoever it is, I'm warning you now that I have an eighth-degree black-belt, so don't try anything." Of course, that was a lie. She only had an eighth-degree white belt.
Looking around, she saw no one, and took the opportunity to remove all of her padding from the football game and catch her breath.
"Miranda! I'm down here! Get this thing off me!"
"Huh?" She glanced down at her feet, where the sound seemed to be coming from, and saw something moving beneath her shoulder pads. Warily, she lifted it, and beneath it was a small, yellow cat with an unmistakable orange star shape on his forehead. She had seen this cat before in the last few weeks.all over the place. It seemed to her as though he had been following her.watching her. He was always outside her house staring at her through the window. At school, every time she looked outside, he was right below the window, and he was always outside the school searching for her in the afternoon when they raced outside to catch the buses home. At first, she thought he was a stray, and was following her because of the one time she stopped to feed him, but now he was talking!
"Y.you can talk?"
"Yeah. It's a long story. My name's Apollo. There's no time to explain now. Just take this and say 'Antares Celestial Power.'" He dropped a small 5-inch wand at her feet with an odd crystal at the top, half-red, half yellow. At first, all she could do was pick it up and stare at it. There was another powerful energy in this wand, but it was completely different from that which she had felt before. This one did not clash with her own energy and cause a negative reaction, but rather she felt its energy flow into her, and hers into it. They merged. Its energy and hers became one, and it became a part of her.
Then the tremors in the ground reminded her that the monster was still loose in the city and getting closer. Deciding that even though she was probably crazy or dreaming, she had nothing to lose and did as Apollo said. She held the wand high above her head, closed her eyes, and shouted out the three words that changed her life forever.
"Antares Celestial Power!"
She felt her feet leave the ground, and a swirling wind surrounded her. She felt a new power swelling inside of her and taking root inside her chest. The sensation was the most wornderful, unbelievable feeling she had ever felt. She couldn't have described it with words if she tried.
When her feet once more touched the ground, she opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in a dark, spider-webbed window. She had changed a great deal. Her tee-shirt, dirty and sweaty from the game, had been replaced by a beautiful white leotard with a red collar and two yellow bows, one in front and one in back. A pair of gloves had appeared on her hands with red hems just above her elbows. Her grubby shorts had become a scarlet-red short-skirt, and her old, worn sneakers had become well-polished, crimson knee-high boots, each with a yellow strip across the top. On her forehead was a golden tiara with a yellow gem in the center. Red and yellow ribbons ran through her hair, accenting her curly, orange locks, which were still styled the same way (a small bun on the top running into a long ponytail), but it was a few inches longer and a shade or two darker. Her freckles were gone as well.
The tiny wand in her hand was now a silver staff about a foot longer than she was tall. It still had the crystal on top, only now it was bigger. "Wow," she whispered to herself, "I look good!"
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely beautiful, dear," chimed in Apollo, "But in case you've forgotten, there's still a rhino/horse/scorpion thing terrorizing your city. You may want to do something about that."
"What? I'm supposed to fight that thing? How?"
"Good question. You could start by finding it."
"Right." Andi turned to leave the alleyway, but someone whom she immediately recognized was standing in the way.
"Wha.H.How long have you been there?"
"A.Andi? Y.You're a."
"Too long, apparently. Look, Kirk, I.ahhh!"
Before she could finish what she was saying, the monster appeared behind Kirk. It struck Andi with the meat of its tail, not the stinger, and knocked her back against a wall. Still holding the half-filled ball of silver dust, it laid a hand on Kirk's shoulder and the sphere rapidly began to fill up. Kirk's screaming stopped as well after a few moments.
"KIRK!" she cried and struggled to her feet. She felt the new power surging inside of her and she somehow knew what to do.
"Antares Firestone Rage!" As she said the words, dozens of flaming rocks materialized in the air and rained down on the monster. It roared in agony, letting go of both Kirk and the sphere. Miranda continued to concentrate on the assault until the creature fell to the ground, causing the earth to shake so furiously that she had to break her concentration and grab onto something.
Then she pointed her staff at the monstrosity lying on the pavement and allowed the words to come to her. "Staff of Antares, banish this creature to the abyss from which it came, never to return!" A beam of light shot forth from the staff, and the monster vanished into thin air.
Andi walked over to Kirk, awed by what had just occurred. He wasn't moving, but he was definitely alive. A few feet away from him was the monster's sphere, now almost filled with the silvery dust. It still radiated the same dark energy. She picked it up to examine it, ignoring the unpleasant numbing sensation it gave her hand, but found nothing that she was able to explain.
She saw Apollo run out of the alley, and she hesitated for one last look at herself as she heard the sirens coming her way. She muttered to herself in utter amazement, "I'm a superhero."