Jade knew before Ash could say a word. She took one look at Ash's face and said, "It's about time."
"What?"
She smirked. "You decided to be a superhero, right?"
Ash gaped at her. "You mean you were expecting this?"
Jade scoffed. "Please. I know you. There was no way you were going to do anything else." She paused for a moment, then sighed tiredly. "Great, now I have to teach you how to throw a punch."
"I was debating going back to the Police Academy, actually." She said defensively.
Jade shrugged. "Why not do both?"
Ash shook her head vehemently. "No way. I'd be working in a room of cops and detectives, they'd figure it out in a heartbeat. Any injuries I'd get would be obvious and detract from my work, and they're both so physically demanding that I'd stretch myself thin in no time. No, it's best I stick to computers. Plus, this way I have some anonymity, without having to account for my time."
When she entered the Academy, she was aiming to become a computers forensic specialist. Contrary to popular belief, computer specialists weren't confined to the precinct- they actually spent a significant amount of time out in the field. It was perfect for her, allowing her to go out and make a difference and pursue her passion at the same time.
When her seizures made it impossible to continue on at the Academy, she decided to make a living as an independently contracted programmer and cyber security specialist. While it wasn't her dream job, it was actually ideal in this situation in that she can make her own hours so long as she gets everything done by the deadline.
"Soooo…" Ash began, "If I'm going to be a superhero, then where am I going to get a costume?"
"You are not wearing spandex." Jade put out immediately, her tone clearly saying that any argument on the matter would be soundly crushed.
"I'm not saying spandex," like hell was she going to wear spandex, latex, leather or any derivative thereof, "but I am going to need some body armor."
"True." She looked thoughtful. "I do know a guy, but…"
"You know a guy?"
"I know him through my father." Jade continued ominously.
It took a moment for what she said to register, and then- "You know a guy who sells body armor?"
"Please don't ask." She pleaded, half desperate, half beseeching. "It's dangerous for you to know."
Ash knew Jade's father wasn't the regular type of criminal by how well trained Jade was in martial arts, but she'd always figured that it was because he was forcing her into dangerous underground mixed martial art tournaments or something. Knowing how to procure body armor at a moment's notice, however, was a different thing entirely and pointed to something a lot more sinister.
Jade was begging, though. She never asked for anything more than the necessities, and even then she never really had to ask. Ash just gave them to her. If apologizing was an anathema for her, then asking for help was unthinkable. Begging…
She was silent for a moment, then moved on. "If you go to them, then your father will find out?"
Jade sagged in relief, then thought about it. "Not necessarily. Dad did something to get on his bad side a while ago and I've heard he's given a discount to any of his customers that plan to go against Dad ever since. Trouble is, he might just sell the information to a third party…."
"Then it's not worth the risk. I'd rather wear spandex than risk your safety."
Jade's expression softened into something almost… fond, and then morphed momentarily into something unreadable, before settling on neutral.
"We'll… I don't know, we'll figure something out. The suit will probably have to be homemade… I do have that money set aside for… something that will never happen, so…"
"What should it look like?"
"Uh…" That was a good question. "Any ideas?"
"Navy blue." Jade answered immediately. "It's best for urban camouflage."
"Really?" Ash asked, curious. "I thought black was best for stealth."
She shrugged. "Common misconception. Navy blue works far better."
"Okay, then navy blue will be the primary color, but what else? Superhero outfits usually have two colors, and I still need some kind of symbol."
Jade sighed, but nodded. "I recognize the necessity of iconography. Create a symbol to fear, something to remind criminals of your presence even when you're not around, something to draw their attention so that they target you instead of civilians. Going by that, the second color will need to be bright." She grimaced, as if the idea of deliberately drawing attention pained her.
Ash hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I always did like teal… a symbol, huh?" That's going to be a tough one. "I think I need a name before I decide on a symbol."
They both drew a blank on that one. Anything they came up with just sounded ridiculous- even for a superhero. The best one they came up with was 'Wonder Woman', and that was so ridiculous the both of them burst out laughing. It quickly turned into a game of who could think of the funniest name, and while it was a lot of fun, none of it was very helpful.
The next day Ash, having been proclaimed completely healed a week prior, started in on a strict training regime that Jade had devised during her free time. The first two weeks they spent discovering the limitations of her powers, even more so than they already had that first day.
They learned that when Ash went super hard, she also became a lot heavier and shrank quite a bit. At maximum output, she was about the same height as Jade, who was 4'9''. Conversely, when she went the other way she got lighter and taller, until she was approximately 6'7'' and lighter than air, exactly a foot taller than her normal height.
They also figured out that like heavyweight mode made it harder for her to move, lightweight mode made her faster and more agile, but also weaker and more susceptible to damage. Ash accidentally fractured her arm blocking a hit from Jade while they were experimenting with it in actual combat, which set training back a week while they waited for it to heal up. Thankfully, they also found out that she heals slightly faster than normal, which was good to know.
Flying, it seemed, was currently beyond her. Going lighter than air allowed her to float, but there was no way to propel her, something that severely disappointed Ash. If she jumped from something or fell, she could stop herself midair and just sort of float there, but that was it.
One of the things Ash has been focusing on with her powers is switching between phases more quickly. She was actually grateful for the injuries she received from the car explosion, because they served to highlight a problem she might not have discovered for a long time otherwise: when she tried to go between heavyweight and lightweight, there was a split second in which her body was in its normal, unenhanced, vulnerable state.
After some experimentation, they discovered that this was unavoidable. She couldn't just immediately switch between the two, so she started working on switching faster so that she could reduce that risk. In addition to that, Jade thought it was a good idea to work out a system of levels for her powers in respect to hardness. After all, not every job was going to need her full strength. It was good to know exactly how hard she could hit someone without risking lethal force.
That part was hard. She managed to get her switching time down pretty fast- she hardly needed any emotional trigger anymore- but controlling exactly how much strength she was putting out at any given time required a lot of control. It was fairly intuitive and required a lot of repetition before it would become as instinctive as Jade's system demanded.
Once those first two weeks were up and Jade started her on physical conditioning though, that wasn't just hard, it was hell. Jade is one hell of a drill sergeant. She knows just how to break a body and just how long to wait for it to heal before she breaks it again. Every drill she assigned had to be done exactly right and the moment she slipped she had to start all over again. Ash takes yoga classes. She's pretty damn flexible, yet Jade managed to bend and twist her body in ways she didn't know were possible.
Ash had been aspiring to become a police officer- she was physically fit. She was very proficient at boxing. Yet when she started in on learning karate and muay thai- Jade says they'd work well with her strength- she found that she had a lot more trouble than she expected. Difficult enough to wonder whether or not she'd have even made it as a police officer. Jade said not to worry about it, that she was normal for someone just starting out, but it was hard to be optimistic when her stances made Jade cringe.
Despite her doubt, Ash did gradually improve enough that Jade was okay with letting her take to the streets. Two months after she started training, Ash was finally ready to take to make her debut as Central City's new hero!
... She just needed a costume first. And a name.
This superhero stuff is so much easier in comic books.
