Disclaimer: Don't own.
Yea, violence. Not a lot of it in this story so far, but…
:}
"WHO THERE, BABE!" Ultrabro called out. Standing a less then impressive six foot three, with a thin, muscular build, the man was known for his physical strength and fighting skills. His costume, what appeared to be board shorts over a blue wet-suit, was distinctive in projecting a surfer image, even as his long, blond hair flowed behind him. His mask must have had a perception filter, because it was basically a domino mask, yet no one knew who he was underneath that heroic wet-suit. "Girly's serious. Okay, one thing I've learned from LA Justice is sometimes, even the most polite of us has to hit a girl. So…." With that, he made a great leap, and covered the hundred plus yards to the beach, and his part of the fight.
The shift in dynamics was instantaneous. Bro wasn't the most serious of heroes, but he was professional, understanding the need to keep the fight away from the populated areas as much as possible. The beach suited him, both his personality, and his motif. He knew the beach, and where the dangerous things might be found. Further, with the help of Goomer and Dice (Sam was being treated by paramedics now), as well as the police, the crowds were well back, letting the two powerhouses slug it out. It just wasn't as one sided as they'd have liked.
Ultrabro was strong, fast, skilled, a true "brick", a powerhouse who's physical strength and resistance often made him the cornerstone of his teams battle plans. However, while Cat lacked his skills, his experience, and his training, she had more of other, valuable things, like speed, strength, resilience and endurance.
Bro started exchanging punches, using his skills to block or avoid while he smashed the petite girl across the beach. However, something about Cat didn't get hurled as far from the force of his blows, and she easily adapted to his fighting style. Even berserk, she shifted, using her speed to return a couple of his punched, sending him flying across the sands.
Bro adjusted, leaping to his feet and covering the distance to prevent her from closing on the people he'd been protecting. The exchange had proven they couldn't just trade punches, each hitting so hard as to send more foes flying. Bro shifted to grappling, grabbing and holding, using leverage learned through hard lessons to make up for the power difference. His grace in going behind Cat, shifting from snagging a limb to holding her by the waist to slipping her into a hold was impressive, managing to counter the raw force she used trying to escape, often barely holding on until he had her in the hold, leverage now acting as a force multiplier.
It wasn't enough.
With a single move, Cat broke free, her raw power overwhelming Ultrabro's strength and leverage. The ultimate bro found himself launched backwards, away from the girl he'd been holding, and towards the crowd.
A wall of wind softened the landing, helping protect the crowd. Dahlia was able to better use her powers to affect the fight, and again, pushed the raging Cat away as she used her own strength to power towards them. It required timing, as running itself involves a series of small leaps, so Jade just hit her while she was midair, and hurled her away, towards the surf, and anything that would slow the girl down.
The fight stalled from there, somehow near a parking lot. Jade's interference, the winds, the illusions, managed to keep the two powerhouses as even as possible as the fight started to drag out. Jade noted the parking lot, complete with the open space the camper launched at her earlier had once occupied, was still too full of objects that could be tossed, damage that could be done. Her magic, such that it was, was being used to keep the two from drifting down the beach, towards other possible damage they could do, as well as away from the vehicles, the crowds, and anything else that might make a target for the raging girl. Even the boats in the water, uncomfortably close to the shore, were now something the blue eyed witch had to keep track of. Her magics, her power, was now being used to keep the fight right there, in the eyes of the press, and away from the far too many potential tragedies surrounding them. It consumed her focus, making her rely upon Koval to watch out for any other threats.
"Dahlia, report." Blue Steel said, drawing her attention to where he was hovering next to her.
Softly, she replied. "It's Cat. Don't know much, the police are supposed to have gotten a report, but she's generating some kind of psionic field around her body, giving her strength, resilience, endurance, and protecting her mind as well as her body. I… I had to finesse her, and still, if Bro hadn't arrived when he did, who knows how much damage she could have done."
"Resistance to energy?" The icon asked.
"Don't know." The blue eyed girl replied. "Energy attacks take a lot out of me, Never realized just how much I'd been depending on raw power before. Take that away, and what good am I? I couldn't…"
"STOP!" David ordered. "Not the time, not the place. Besides, you did your job, and did it well. An emergency happened, and you responded. Now, I need a hole in that field so my taser pulses can get through. Think you can help?"
"I... I don't know." Dahlia confessed.
"Do your best." The hero ordered. "Constable is on the scene, but we're not gonna be of too much use against that monster. Not without some kind of edge."
"Lets see what we can do." Jade promised. "Getting dark soon."
"Yea, lets wrap this up so you can get home for dinner." Blue Steel urged.
Jade thought, evaluating her options, her spells, coming up with some kind of plan. Ultrabro was also an endurance fighter, but he'd only last so long, and Cat, she seemed inexhaustible. Jade explained her idea to her mentor, and had him act as a distraction while she spoke with Constable. "I'm weaving a spell around one of your darts." She explained. "Cat won't be armored, so please, nowhere dangerous. Just, this should, with my familiar's help, it should get past that field. I hope."
Blue Steel was a far more capable fighter then even Ultrabro, relying on his speed more in a fight. The police hero easily dodged and maneuvered the raging teen, moving her towards an opening he hoped his one time partner, Constable, could exploit. He dodged backwards and to the side, over and over, positioning the girl while feeding her rage, just enough. Cat soon was in position, while Steel hoped he'd given his protegee enough time to weave her complicated spell.
Constable knew he wouldn't get a second shot, so quickly lunged forward, taking away the short girls ability to dodge. Point blank, he held on just long enough, that one spit second it took to shoot, before Cat shrugged him halfway across the beach. Constable easily rolled with the landing, letting the sand and his own training absorb the force of his ejection. He was on his feet, ready to fight, measuring the effectiveness of the tactic.
The spell worked, but only because Jade had put all her energy into making the dart slip out of reality the moment it hit the force field around Cat, only to slip back in right after, letting only the electric charge hit the enraged girl. Jade had expected the dart to impact, and wasn't expecting the field to stop the physical injury. Still, she had to be happy with how that one stunning shock brought the fight to a pause, and let Ultrabro and Blue steel close in and lay in some heavy body blows. Cat finally faltered, too damaged to move, before dropping, exhausted, defeated, at their feet. The professional hero's immediately checked on her, making sure that the girl wasn't another tragedy in the making.
"She's burning up!" Blue Steel called. "We need paramedics, NOW!"
Jade was pulling on her magics, potently on her very life, to weave the healing spells to save her friend. 'This is my fault. Have to find a way to save her….' Her thoughts, her worry blinded her to anything but somehow saving the one person who'd been her friend through the dark times, regardless of circumstances. Sure, Cat was everyone's friend, or as Jade often referred to the girl, a pet, but Jade had valued that quality in her most lonely times, before her power changed everything.
The blue eyed witch tried, really tried, to pull upon the magics to do something, anything. Only, she'd already used too much of her reserve, distracting the raging girl during the delaying portion of the battle. The pulling of the dart out of our reality, to bypass a psionic shield, had been a major shift in reality, probably more then most of her elemental attacks. She was low on energy now, and despondent to save her dear friend. Desperation pushed her to pull upon her own life force to catch that spark in her lifelong friend, hold her until something could be done.
"Jade, calm down." Sikowitz screamed in her mind. "Keep this up, and you'll both die. I.. I'm on rout, and I should be there soon. Just, until I get there, stay clam, and let the paramedics do their job."
"I have to do something!" Jade called back.
"Then lend us just a touch of your strength." A new voice spoke in her mind.
Koval was instantly on alert, seeking this new foe. "My lady, be wary. There is another riding our psionic communications."
"We are a psionic species." The stranger explained. "We are… Complicated. We travel the stars as a virus of sorts, and when your friend cut her hand on the vessel that carried us, two different variants of our kind entered her body. We've multiplied, and have been fighting from that moment. We've both tried to move to a second, more adult form inside her, while preventing the other side from that victory."
"Okay, this just got weird." Jade sent, trying to gain some form of balance, anything, so help save her friend.
"If the vessel dies, it serves us no good." The sentient virus explained. "We wish to coexist, while the others, they wish to conquer, starting with dominating this one. However, both of us understand, we cannot stay as a virus too long, or the body will find a way to eliminate us, or die trying. No, we need another form, another evolution, and because of how much of our own strength we've used in the fight, We need your help in making that shift. A symbiotic life form, grown from her own tissues, where we can transfer the group mind, and live out our collective days. The others, they wish the same, only with the ability to replicate even more of their own, infect the world. We've stopped them, just, but it's only a mater of time…"
"What do I do?" Jade asked the air. No one around understood, so she was left talking only to those in her mind.
"Just stay back." A lifeguard told her, even as he tried to administer first aid. Cat was burning up, to the point where he was worried about long term damage to her brain.
"I know what to do." Koval said. "Only, you're too weak, right now, after the burn. We need…."
"I'm on it." Karl said, letting Jade know her would be step father was now involved in the communication. "Faxguard reached out to me, and I'm ready, with my circle, with a ritual, to help. Even at this distance, we should be able to accommodate there needs. Just, we have to act quickly, cause Cat is running out of time. But at the same time, we need to make sure we're not helping a new threat to our world come into existence…."
"Jade, just relax, and let the magics flow, just as if you were casting a spell." Koval explained. "Abra and Karl will do the actual casting, Karl and his circle will weave the enchantment, providing the power, while Abra covers the distance. You just channel, and try not to burn any more. I'll be busy making sure our end works, while finding out what I can about our would be friends…."
Jade didn't know what to do, felt so out of her element, forced to be passive for the first time since she gained her powers. Not sure her roll any more, other then the focus point of who knows how potent the magics would get, she just played along, and for the next half hour, she sat there, watching as the lifeguard, and then the paramedics, started their work.
The only time she moved was to go with Cat, managing to mumble something about needing to be there. The others just assumed the meta was guarding a potentially dangerous prisoner, and didn't say a word. She loaded into the ambulance, and rode towards a near by medical facility, watching helplessly as they tried in vain to lower her temperature, save her life. It was an amazingly dramatic five plus minute ride to the hospital, and an emergency team that continued what the life guard started. Doctors and nurses looked grim, even as they begged Jade to just stay back and let them work.
Finally, feeling even more exhausted, the goth felt the ritual end. The small amount of life-force needed, donated from a half dozen different people, had done it's job, and a new set of small organisms, no longer foreign to Cat's body, now lived within her, enhancing her own, very limited psionic abilities. Cat was unconscious the entire time, but would heal, live, and recover.
"She will recover, and we aided the right symbiotic life form. The virus turned symbiot will act as her ally, and a power for her, and she… She will develop that limited for of telekinesis that doubled as strength and endurance. Who knows what other powers she will develop as time goes on, and she learns what she can do." The great spirit lion explained to Jade. "But for now, she'll need a friend. Her life, it seems, will never be the same…."
"Yo, Dahlia, right?" Ultrabro asked, "Sorry, I didn't mean to stalk you, but after that fight, I just wanted to let you know, kinda impressed." She had no idea he'd come to the hospital.
"Under eighteen." Jade told him.
"I know, and I'm not hitting on you." The surfer turned hero explained. "Look, lady dude, I have my fans, my girl, everything. But in just a couple of days, maybe less, I don't remember, but in a couple of days you 're gonna be meeting at our place, and I was planning on showing, just to, you know, show. So, just wanted to let you know at least one friendly face will be around, cause I know how hard it is being the new kid, especially when your different."
"Thanks." Jade sighed. "I need to…" She pointed to where Cat had been taken.
"No, you're done." Blue Steel told her. She had no doubt he was able to get there the same way as Ultrabro, his own movement ability. In his case, his ability to fly. She did doubt he he'd keep using it. His own reserves were limited. "We'll keep you up to date, kay? Just go home, get some rest. What you did today, it's gonna make it even longer before you fully heal, and we need you at full strength, cause the next time, it may not be someone who doesn't wanna hurt anyone."
"Wait, super police dude, you saying Dahlia wasn't at full Strength?" Bro asked.
"I'm just hoping you never have the need to know how powerful she really is." Blue steel explained, then offered his sidekick a ride home. Somehow, while she'd been helping Cat, his car had been brought to the hospital, and was waiting for them in the parking lot, behind two police officers who seemed a little too jazzed to be protecting his far to famous car. They took a moment to get a selfy with Steel, and Dahlia, before the two heroes got into the car and headed off.
Sikowitz contacted Jade, by phone, letting her know he'd napped in his van after the spell was complete. "Manage to avoid the burn, but that kind of work is exhausting. Still, we had us a link, and a limited circle, though I believe we had half a dozen civilians involved, to juice the whole thing up. Anywho, by the time I was strong enough to drive again, I had me a driver to take me home. Helen felt the spell, and lived not far from where I stopped, so…"
"Cat's gonna be okay now." Jade filled the teacher in. "Not sure what this means, but she's gonna be okay…"
"No, she's going to be one of us." The quirky teacher amended. "I've let Helen know, so we can sort things out school wise. Lots to work out before we're done. I think I'll call Lane next. He so hates it when he's out o the loop…" The phone went dead.
"And good bye to you, too." Jade grumbled, but she'd made it home, and was getting ready for a much needed sleep. They'd stopped, briefly, at the station so Jade could change back, and David could change cars, before they made the last stretch. Now it was time to sleep, except, despite the loss of energy, she felt more wired then she had in a long time. Just, she also felt too tired to use that vibrating energy, just under her skin. 'Fuck, what did I do this time?' She'd find out, later.
Cat woke up in the hospital just over eighteen hours later. The mutations complete, she was deemed ready to face her new life. They hadn't even detected any brain damage, a worry given how hot she'd been. "Um, what happened?" She asked the nurse. "Last thing I remember, there was this way cool multi-colored bally thingy, and I grabbed it, cause of how shiny and colorful it was, and it must have had this concealed sharp edge thingy, and cut me, cause I.. I bled, but I bled in reverse cause something went in me, and I don't know what happened after that, cause…" memories, only half understood, through a haze of rage and pain and confusion, flashed through her mind, replaying a good deal of what she'd done in this confused jumble of images and sounds. "I…" She held herself as brown eyes begged, pleading that she was wrong. "Did I hurt some people?"
"I can't really answer that." The woman smiled an apologetic smile. "I'll let the police know you're okay. You missed a day of school…."
Cat sat up, amazed her body worked so well. The clock on the wall told her it was just after one in the afternoon. "I what?" she asked. "I was gonna tease that new boy, see if he wanted a cute redhead to date. Plus, Robbie, he has to be worried sick."
"I'm sure he'll be relieved to know you're up and mobile." The nurse placated her.
Cat would wait a bit longer for her next visitor, and the answer to why she was in the locked, prison part of the hospital. Not handcuffed for some reason, like her brother had been when she'd visited him here, just locked up and watched. She managed to use television to distract herself, seeing one of here favorite shows once again. 'Life's a Drag is in syndication? Did they even make enough episodes?'
Tori held Jade during lunch. "I'm sure she'll be okay."
Robbie looked to the couple. "Any idea what happened?" He asked.
"V will fill you in today, AFTER school." Tori told the boy. "Let Beck know, and leave things he doesn't need to know out of it."
"Whatever you say, Wildcard." Rob gave a half salute. "What, given who Trina was, I had a guess, and I'm probably right."
"Tell Meredith too." Tori added. "The briefing part, not... Just keep our secrets, okay." She then looked to her girl. "Jade, baby, she'll be okay."
"But she hurt people." The blue eyed girl worried. "They may not understand what was happening, that there was a war going on in her mind, or that she wasn't, isn't like that."
"Mom says she's too dangerous to just let go, but not really a criminal." Tori cooed. "Said she'd take care of everything."
"She recruited her, didn't she." Jade asked.
"I don't…" Her phone chirped. "Time for class."
"Did she?" Jade demanded.
"Cat's not awake yet." The Latina teased, and gently led the way to class. Later, during passing, she'd let her girlfriend know Cat was awake.
Cat finished her meal, amazed at how much she put away before her body stopped demanding food. "I'm just amazed they gave me this much…" She told her stuffy. Sam had sent her mister Purple.
"We understood how hungry you'd be, given what your body just went through." Holly Vega told her, letting the petite girl know she'd arrived. "So, the colony living inside you, they contact you yet?"
"What now?" Cat asked.
"Guessing not." Holly smiled. "They will, just as soon as they figure out how to make this new, symbiotic relationship work." She sat down on a convenient chair and looked at Cat. "Do you know what symbiotic means?"
"Not dumb." Cat protested. "It meant two species or lifeforms that become interdependent on one another, or at least both get a benefit from working with the other." She flashed her smile. "I have one?"
"Yes." Holly settled in. "That thing you picked up was the means for an alien virus, a sentient alien virus, to travel through space and find a new host. The virus's goal was to create a symbiotic relationship with a new host, but being sentient, um, you do understand…"
"Thinking, aware, like people." Cat snapped. "Seen my share of science fiction. Bestest friends with Jade, who loves her horror, and plenty of scifi in horror."
"Point is, the two colonies warred inside you, even as they gave you some interesting powers. Powers, I might add, you still have. I'm afraid the police won't just let you leave, cause you're dangerous."
"I hurt people, didn't I?" Cat asked.
"We believe you didn't want to, which is why the death toll was nonexistent. People did get hurt, however, including your roommate." Holly put a calming hand on the girl. "She'll be fine, just, needs some time to recover. You, however, are now my problem. Did Jade tell you I'm involved in her probation?"
"No…" Cat looked around, confused.
"Good, she wasn't supposed to." Holly pushed her best sales smile. "I go by the code name V, and I'm gonna offer you a chance to work off the damages you did, while learning to control those powers of yours. Catarina Valentine, welcome to Project Redemption." She hesitated. "Assuming you wanna join. Otherwise, it'll just be some community service, and having the police watching you for the rest of your life, cause we don't know yet if and when you're powers might manifest. Best to get you trained."
"And Jadey's in this?" Cat asked, getting suspicious. "Whats her powers?"
"Not supposed to tell you, except I think, in this case, it'll make it easier for you. Basically, Jade's the Black Dahlia, and you'll learn what she can do soon enough." Holly promised. "Now, lets see about getting you released into my custody. My people assure me you're not contagious, and you should be as recovered as you're gonna get. This way, you can go to school tomorrow, and maybe even do something fun Saturday. Just, due to miss Puckett's injuries, you're babysitting gig has been handed off to another, someone who can handle it." Her hand was warm. "I'll explain later."
Later that day Jade walked into the project, convinced she had to talk to V, find out what had happened with Cat. 'Her text said she'd taken care of things, but that doesn't clarify what she did, just she's involved. Not sure what that means, other then Cat's awake, and she's gonna be in school tomorrow….'
"Attention everyone! Meeting in the main hall!" Blared over the intercom.
'Okay, maybe we'll go over things sooner?' Jade wondered.
She soon was in costume, and walking towards the main hall, looking to find out what was going on. She could see Beck in his Steel Copper armor, and Robbie in his Achilles form. Unfortunately, none of the Blue Generation Initiative where there, but given their relationship with V, she expected most of them already knew whatever it was she was about to learn. And if they did, then Meredith, the Velvet Phantom, would know too.
"Dahlia, so glad you could join us." One of the guards said, and she wondered if maybe she was late. A quick glance confirmed she was just being ribbed, something she was slowly learning was a normal part of many groups. She'd been accepted, and was a part of this place now.
"People, can I have your attention." Holly, standing on a makeshift stage, called to the gathered staff. It was, admittedly, the first time Jade had seen the whole of the project in one place. She'd expected there to be more people. "I want to start with a quick acknowledgment of our own Black Dahlia. Her actions at Venice Beach was both heroic, and thanks to the presence of the press, our coming out party. Sure, the general public doesn't know much about the project, other then it kinda, sorta exists, but they do know that Dahlia stood between the public and a raging monster that could have hurt a lot of people. Heck, she helped take down the thereat, and was seen aiding such well known and beloved heroes as Blue Steel and Ultrabro. So, Dahlia, take a bow, cause you impressed the powers that be, and won us a little leeway. So…"
Jade watched the people around her as they gave her a quick round of applause. "Okay, that's enough of that. Dahlia, we'll talk later, after our debrief, to go over where you failed, what you did right, and what you could have done. I know, for the most part, you rocked, but we always strive to be better, just because, sooner or later, we find ourselves facing someone who is."
'Wouldn't want me getting a big head, right?' Jade thought back.
"Exactly." Koval echoed in her mind.
Jade rolled her eyes. 'Okay, lets see whats next on the program.' Jade focused on the presentation.
V held her hands out, calming the gathering down. "Okay, okay, we have more to get through before we're done here. We need to go over Saturday. Day after tomorrow, those who are going will be representing us when you meet with all the members of the Blue Generation Initiative, and we find out if the two projects can work together. And yes, The Metahuman Internship Administration is technically grandfathered under the Project Redemption umbrella, mostly for funding, but also because we felt it was a good idea, long term, to have potential heroes working with those we hoped to redeem. I admit, in time, I fully expect to have the two projects severed, or at least we put MIA under the Blue Generation Initiative. So, I'm asking all out meta's to make an effort to be there tomorrow, to support Dahlia and represent the team. This is OUR big showing of who we are and what we can do. Maybe it's only to LA Justice, but they have a lot of stroke in this world, and we want to impress. So…."
V shuffled her notes, going over what she wanted to say, and decided to just go with the big surprise. "Thanks to Dahlia, Abra, and the Blue Coven Project, we've managed to heal up yesterdays menace, and found ourselves a sweet, innocent girl who was the victim of alien parasites, as well as something else. Bottom line is, we have us a new member down here, who has community service to perform, but not nearly as much as out Dahlia. She does, under court order, need to learn how to use her abilities, and as such, really needs to be down here. Ladies and gentlemen, Skirmish!"
Cat walked out, looking like herself, with a small frown on her face. "I wanna be the purple unicorn." She moaned to V.
"We assigned you a code name, cause…" Holly started. "Okay, we'll research you a new code name, but nothing so, um, cutesy. You're our powerhouse, and we're gonna need you to represent. But I do agree, Skirmish doesn't scream help in a crises. Maybe we can find you a different code name, like Bastion, and go from there. Just, Cat, and I hate using that name, cause down here, we're all using code names, but Cat, your community service is tied in with your powers. Your strength, resilience, and endurance, those will be put to the best use, helping the world. Just, give it a try. You'll find Dahlia a good example of what the project can do."
At the sight of Jade in her black dress and veil, Cat squealed and rushed the girl. Moments later, Jade's armored costume resisted the crushing hug, though only squeezing at only human strength. 'The community is helping maintain her abilities, and making sure she only uses her powers when necessary.' Came from the gathering inside Cat.
'Good to know they're still telepathic.' Jade thought.
'Only to those who also are.' The community told her. 'And you shouldn't project your thoughts like that. Who knows who might be listening in.'
"I admit, I may have let her in on who you are." V told Jade. "Just, we needed to explain a few things, things she kinda, sorta remembered, and you didn't do as good a job of protecting your ID as we'd have liked. No worry, given it was for a good cause. I just used what you'd started to help her make the right decision…"
"Yea, need to be better at keeping secrets." Jade said, but didn't look to upset, In fact, she'd allowed her friend an extra long hug. "So, anything else?" Even as Cat finally let go of her friend.
Eyes shifted back to the stage. "Finally, we're officially welcoming back The Counselor. Many of you don't remember him, but once upon a time, they'd hired him to help the kids, back when help wasn't in the mission statement, and as a result he got himself hurt thanks to Bullrush. Given what we're doing now, he's been involved, and invaluable, in keeping track of our girl, and will be helping with all of our underage assets going forward."
Lane Alexander walked forward, showing himself for just that moment, waving to the crowd.
Jade couldn't help herself. "If Festus shows up, I'm gonna scream."
"Huh?" Cat asked.
"Former powered henchman, redeeming himself through serving school lunches." Jade explained. "And that's not all. Turns out that Miss Dubois was once Cadabra's sidekick, Hocus. It's like, everyone around me was a part of this world, one way or another, and I got involved, and now, it's closing in on me."
"What is Robbie?" Cat asked.
"Okay, I kinda, you know what, the kids, not involved, at least when I got here. But some, some of them, definitely involved now, and Saturday, we'll discuss how much each person is willing to tell the team." The goth smiled at Cat. "Okay, Bastion, looks like this meeting is wrapping up. Gonna go welcome Lane, and we can get busy figuring out just what you can do. I was doing some thinking, and I'm betting, given the nature of your powers, you can fly…"
:}
I added a touch of detail to the fight, just so I didn't gloss over the whole thing. Made the chapter a touch longer. Thoughts?