Diapered Dandy And The Circle Of Thorns (Complete)
Part II: Storm Clouds
Chapter IV: Maelstrom
Severe called up psychic bubbles to help protect her comrades, but watched with despair as the onslaught against them quickly rendered them useless. She quickly conjured a large force of energy to press back a wave of attackers that were encroaching on Sue.
“Thanks.” Sue thought to her as she continued to blast back her attackers.
Dementia’s Knight used his power over negative and shadow energy to conceal himself long enough to get the jump on a group of four cloaked Thorns. The four fell quickly, crushed under the might of his Shadow Punch and Smite attacks, the demon that got the drop on Knight soon after was more resilient however, and Knight’s neck snapped quickly after he slammed into the wall behind him.
“Knight’s down, everyone try and get back together!” Severe broadcasted her orders to the rest of the team’s minds.
“Little busy here, but I’ll be there shortly.” Arson thought back to her as she summoned a large flaming tornado to engulf a dozen or so of the winged skeletal apparitions. Arson flew upward and back to where Severe was, she was struck from behind by a blast of dark energy from one of the left over demons and faltered enough for one of the cloaked Thorns to fire several shards of ice at her, taking one in the chest and another in the stomach. She felt the air leave her as she descended to the ground rapidly, and then darkness took it’s hold.
“Arson!” Jesseca shouted as she saw the young hero fall to the ground, blood soaked ice crystals protruding sickeningly from her body. With an angry growl Jesseca leapt at the ice casting Thorn and sliced him clean in half. Turning around Jesseca obliterated a group of demons with a monstrous blast of energy from her gauntlets. Jesseca was in a fury, she was hacking and blasting foes to her left and right, and still they kept coming. “This is starting to get old.” she shouted as she sliced her way into another mob.
“I agree child.” Ataris said as he wrenched his axe from another demon.
Ataris and Jesseca stood back to back in the center of a horde of enemies, the odds decidedly against them. Severe and Sue hovered overhead and fought back as many of the demons as they could, but Sue had suffered a life threatening blow from one of the larger demons that had managed to get a hold of her as she flew past him. She winced as she looked down again at the mortal wound in her gut that his large claw had created.
“Severe, can you broadcast my thoughts to Jesseca?” Sue asked as she flew up higher to get away from the battle.
“You can start whenever your ready Sue.” Severe said as she forced back another group of attackers to allow herself to maintain focus.
“Jesseca, I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you win this fight. I want you to know that you’re the best thing that’s happened in my life, and I’m grateful for every moment that we’ve spent together. I will always be with you.” Sue thought to Jesseca as she fought to stay conscious long enough to say her goodbye.
“Sue, don’t talk like that. You’re gonna be fine, we can do this.” Jesseca thought back to her, but got only silence as a response. Amongst the sea of evil attackers, she couldn’t see the body of Sue Radiance laying lifeless under their footfalls. With tears streaming down her face, Jesseca mounted her attack toward Hannah by leaping onto the back of a winged demon as it flew overhead.
“Severe, can you toss me toward Hannah?” she asked the albino telepath.
“Yeah. Ready?” Severe asked.
Jesseca leapt off the demon and was propelled by an unseen force toward Hannah. Landing in front of the emerald haired villainess she felt her hatred well up inside of her. She screamed and thrust her sword at Hannah, missing her as she took to the air.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet, babies first sword.” Hannah said as she looked down at Jesseca. “How about I give you babies first funeral, would you like that?” she asked as she blasted at Jesseca with her radiation, sending Jesseca flying backward into the mob she’d just escaped.
Ataris saw Jesseca fly backward from Hannah and rushed to continue where she’d left off. The tall African American turned to mist and phased through the mob unharmed. Returning to solid form in front of Hannah he held up his axe with a smile. “Remember me?” he asked.
“I remember that you were annoying.” Hannah said and fired a blast of radiation at him, missing him as he turned his chest to mist again to dodge the attack.
“Slow learner?” he asked with a chuckle. He started to phase back but suddenly felt cold. Looking down he saw that his torso was now a solid block of ice.
“Apparently not.” Hannah said with a sinister grin as she punched a hole into Ataris’ chest with a radioactive fist, shattering the man’s chest and killing him instantly.
“Jesseca, we need to get out of here, we’re the only one’s left.” Severe thought to her teammate as she hovered above the crowd, scanning the area for a sign of Jesseca.
“Leaving so soon?” Hannah asked as she hovered behind Severe.
Severe tried to attack Hannah with a blast of telekinesis, but found Hannah’s mind to be a minefield of insanity inducing thoughts. Screaming in pain and holding her throbbing head, Severe lost her memory of having superpowers and quickly plummeted to the Earth, dying instantly.
The mob parted as Hannah hovered down to meet Jesseca on the ground. “Just you and me now kitten.” she said with a smile.
“I’m gonna rip your heart out you homicidal bitch!” Jesseca shouted and leapt at Hannah, sword swinging furiously at her foe.
“Swatting flies?” Hannah asked with a chuckle as she dodged the blade every time Jesseca swung it at her.
“Keep joking, it might be hard to do later when your head’s on the other side of the room.” Jesseca said as she blasted at Hannah knocking her backward.
“You got a whole lot more powerful since the last time I left you for dead.” Hannah said, blasting back at Jesseca and sending her flying backward.
Jesseca recovered quickly and sneered at Hannah before running full bore at her, sword overhead in preparation of a strike. Hannah leapt over Jesseca and let her run underneath before landing behind her. What Hannah hadn’t noticed was that Jesseca had spun on her heels and brought her sword back around, slicing Hannah in half at her waist.
“…and smarter.” Hannah managed to choke out before the two halves of her separated and fell to the floor with a sickening wet thud.
Jesseca breathed heavily as she looked around at the horde of enemies still surrounding her. “One down, a thousand to go.” she thought with a sigh as she lifted her sword once more, readying herself for a fresh onslaught, but none came. As Jesseca stood still, waiting, she heard someone clapping.
“Very good Ms. French, you passed with flying colors.” an unseen voice said from somewhere in the vast courtyard.
Jesseca watched as the army of Thorns disappeared before her eyes, and the courtyard faded into a stark steel room, void of everything except one man. “Who are you? What’s going on?” Jesseca asked, noticing that her attire had changed to a simple shirt and disposable diaper, her sword and other enchanted items gone along with her jumpsuit and her surroundings.
“I am Ernesto Hess, and you have passed your trial.” the man said with a smile.
End Part II
Part III: Trial Of The Century
Chapter I: Back To The Beginning
Jesseca watched as the army of Thorns disappeared before her eyes, and the courtyard faded into a stark steel room, void of everything except one man. “Who are you? What’s going on?” Jesseca asked, noticing that her attire had changed to a simple shirt and disposable diaper, her sword and other enchanted items gone along with her jumpsuit and her surroundings.
“I am Ernesto Hess, and you have passed your trial.” the man said with a smile.
“Trial? What are you talking about?” Jesseca asked, still disoriented by what was happening.
“At the beginning of their career’s all heroes are subjected to a trial to test their resolve and dedication to being a hero, as well as their ability to function as a cohesive unit with other heroes. You, Diapered Dandy have passed your trial and are now a full fledged hero of Paragon City.” Ernesto explained to Jesseca.
“So everything that I’ve been through was a lie? My friends, Hannah’s death, everything, you willingly put me through all of that for my supposed benefit?!” Jesseca shouted angrily.
“Calm down Ms. French, this is the way we’ve operated for decades.” Ernesto said.
“That doesn’t make it right! These are peoples lives you’re toying with. Forcing me to lose Hannah was one thing, but then making me kill her! How can that possibly be for my benefit!?” Jesseca shouted, tears forming in her eyes.
“Because if a situation like that were to ever come up in real life we have to know that you’ll be able to rise to the challenge. I’m sorry that we deceived you, but you must understand that it was quite necessary.” Ernesto said.
Jesseca wiped her tears away. “So was any of it real?” she asked with pleading eyes.
“Only the powers and abilities that you got while in the trial. The other heroes do exist, but you’ve never actually met them. I’m sorry, if it’s any consolation, you won’t remember any of this soon.” he said.
“What do you mean?” Jesseca asked.
“Sister Psyche if you please.” Ernesto said.
Suddenly Jesseca felt a tingle in her brain, as if someone were running their hands over her mind. Thoughts of Hannah and the others faded from her mind, she fought desperately to retain the memories but they slipped away from her like sand through an hourglass.
“Congratulations Diapered Dandy, you’re now a full fledged hero of Paragon City.” Ernesto said to Jesseca as soon as he saw a vacant look in her eyes.
“Thank you! Mr?” Jesseca said joyfully as she went to Ernesto and shook his hand happily.
“You’re very welcome, my name is Ernesto Hess, I’m in charge of new hero relations. Allow me to give you these to commemorate this event.” he said as he fished two tickets from his pocket.
“What are these?” Jesseca asked excitedly.
“One of these coupons will provide you with a free session at the Icon Tailor, they’ll outfit you with a costume that will help you establish your own identity in the city. The other will allow you to visit the R&D labs at Crey Technologies, using ground breaking technology they can modify your genes to provide you with a “travel power”.” Ernesto said.
“Travel power?” she asked.
“Flight, teleporting, super speed, or leaping are the travel powers that you can choose from. They’ll help you be on a more even keel with heroes that are already endowed with those particular abilities.” he explained.
“Thank you very much Mr. Hess, I won’t let you down.” Jesseca said cheerfully as she left the room.
“She seemed quite unstable when she found out about the trial.” A woman’s voice said from across the room.
Ernesto looked toward the tall red headed woman that entered the room. “That’s why we wipe their memories, to ensure that they don’t go rogue.” he said.
Sister Psyche looked intently at Ernesto Hess and let her telepathic powers creep into his mind.
“Careful Psyche,” Ernesto said as he held up a remote control and let his thumb hover above the button on it. “I wouldn’t want to have to blow that pretty head of yours up.” he said with a smile.
“Yes sir.” Sister Psyche said with a bow as she retracted he telepathic wanderings and left the room.
Jesseca departed her cab as it stopped outside of Crey Technologies in the heart of Galaxy City. As she entered the large building she felt very tiny in comparison to the cold steel behemoth. Jesseca made her way to the front counter and smiled at the woman behind the counter.
“May I help you?” the woman asked with a smile.
“I have this coupon.” Jesseca said as she held up the ticket that Ernesto had given her.
“Head to the elevator and go to the thirtieth floor.” the woman said as she pointed down the hallway behind her.
Jesseca’s bare feet slapped softly on the cold linoleum as she walked to the elevator. Standing in the metallic box as it climbed upward she blushed as she saw her reflection, clad in a disposable diaper and a t-shirt, she suddenly felt very silly looking in this highly professional environment. She hurriedly departed the elevator when it reached her floor and made her way to the front desk of the R&D department.
“Hello and welcome, how may I assist you today?” the young man behind the counter asked.
Jesseca again presented her ticket and was led back to a laboratory by the young man. “Dr. Ashford?” the young man addressed a tall gray haired scientist as they entered the lab.
“Yes? Ah, another new hero I presume.” Dr. Ashford said when he saw Jesseca.
“Yes sir, I was given this ticket by…” Jesseca started to explain but was cut short.
“Yes, I know all about it, now what can we set you up with?” the man asked rather curtly.
Jesseca felt nervous, she hadn’t thought about what she was going to get yet. “Umm, well I’ve always wanted to fly, I guess.” she said, tripping over her words clumsily.
“Right then, please step into this chamber here, and we’ll have you aloft in a jiffy.” Dr. Ashford said as he pointed out a large chamber on the other side of the room.
Jesseca padded over to the machine and stepped inside, as the door closed she felt nervous upon hearing the machine begin to hum loudly. Suddenly a blinding light filled the chamber and washed over her, she felt a tingle all through her body and somehow felt lighter.
As soon as the light and noise had started it was over, and the door to the chamber slid open and Jesseca stepped out slowly, her eyes struggling to focus after the barrage they’d just endured.
“All done, thank you for stopping by.” Dr. Ashford said as he ushered Jesseca back out of the lab.
“But how do I fly?” she asked the doctor.
“Part of the process is that your mind is hardwired to allow you to use your power by thinking about it, just think of flying and you’re off.” he said as the door shut behind Jesseca.
“What a jerk.” she thought as she left the building. “Just think about flying.” she scoffed and then noticed that she was now hovering a few feet off the ground.
“YAHOO!!!” was the excited shout that was heard by citizens on the street below as Diapered Dandy flew overhead in a blur.
“First time I take it.” came a woman’s voice from above her.
Jesseca stopped and looked up, she saw a beautiful green haired woman hovering above her. “That noticeable, huh?” she asked with a blush.
“I think the “YAHOO!!!” might have tipped me off.” the woman said with a smile.
“Sorry, I just got excited.” Jesseca explained with another hot blush.
“No need for apologies cutie.” the woman said giving Jesseca’s nose a playful tweak with her fingers. “My name’s Hannah, Half-Life Hannah to be exact.” the woman said with a smile.
“Jesseca, umm Diapered Dandy.” Jesseca replied with a smile and another blush.
“Nice to meet you Jess, you wanna grab a cup of coffee with me?” Hannah asked.
“Sure!” Jesseca said with a smile and the pair flew off together, all the while Jesseca feeling a profound sense of déjà vu ever since she’d come into contact with Half-Life Hannah.
To Be Continued…
Part III: Trial Of The Century
Chapter II: Team Player
Police helicopters circled the warehouse as several SWAT trucks and police vehicles sat outside. Dozens of police officials swarmed around the building making plans and carrying out orders. Inside the building a young woman watched over her captive.
“Why are you doing this?” the man asked his captor.
The woman stood near the window staring down at the circus of police that was surrounding the building. “Shut up.” she said without looking at the man.
The young woman watched intently as one of the officers below produced a bullhorn and began to address her.
“This is police chief Gordon Stacy. We want to resolve this without incident, please send out your hostage and surrender immediately.” the man said and waited for some kind of reply.
The woman inside turned from the window and picked her captive up off the floor by his neck. The man struggled and choked as she walked with him in tow back to the window. “Happy landings Mr. Hess.” she said before heaving the man out the window, sending him crashing into the police car the chief stood behind several stories below.
“My god, she just killed him without hesitating.” the chief thought to himself before speaking into his bullhorn again. “Diapered Dandy, you leave us no choice but to use lethal force on you.” he said and gave the sign to open fire on the warehouse.
“Bring it on.” Jesseca thought to herself as the bullets began to assault the warehouse.
Two Days Earlier
Jesseca and Hannah stood back to back in the center of the woods of Perez Park, they were currently surrounded by several of the gelatinous blob monsters of the Hydra that called Perez Park home.
“I’ll take the twenty on the left, you take the twenty on the right?” Hannah asked with a smile.
Jesseca returned her smile, “You know how I like it.” she said before diving into the center of the mob with an energy punch that burst a hole through one of the Hydra minions.
Hannah melted a few with a radiation blast and took to the air to dodge their slimy blob counter attacks.
Hannah and Jesseca had been working together for a little over a week and a half, and had become fast friends. In the short amount of time they’d been working alongside one another they’d grown to anticipate each others moves, and had become a cohesive fighting unit.
“You’re falling behind!” Hannah shouted as another of her enemies melted away and she saw that Jesseca was still working on a sizable group.
“We can’t all vaporize a group with one attack, some of us actually have to do work!” Jesseca shouted back with a smile as she plowed a stoney foot through another foe.
Jesseca and Hannah sat on a bench near the lake in the park after the fight as they often did, and talked about the highlights of the days bouts and other things.
“So I was thinking, would you maybe wanna team up on a more permanent basis?” Hannah blurted out suddenly.
“You mean like become partners?” Jesseca asked.
“Sort of, I have a team, and I want you to join us.” Hannah said with a smile.
Jesseca smiled back, “I’d be honored.” she said.
Hannah stood up slowly and then blasted into the sky. “You can only join if you can keep up with me!” she shouted behind her as she flew off.
“Cheater!” Jesseca yelled as she took to the air and raced after Hannah, the pair laughing happily as they glided over the city.
Hannah led Jesseca to a glowing cylinder of black and blue light under the overpass in Skyway City. “Here we are.” she said.
“What’s that thing?” Jesseca asked as she stared at the cylinder.
“It’s a base teleporter, all super group bases have teleport beacons in the different area of the city. Essentially they teleport us to the base, and depending on which one we enter in the base, it’ll take us anywhere in the city we want to go, it saves us having to fly all over the place all the time.” Hannah explained.
“Neat.” Jesseca said with a smile.
Hannah nodded and grabbed Jesseca’s hand tightly and put her other hand to the cylinder. The cylinder began to hum and an electronic voice asked Hannah the name of her super group. “Freedom Phalanx Reserve – Rise of The Phoenix.” Hannah answered. A bright light washed over the pair and the world disappeared around them.
When her eyes adjusted their focus after the blinding light of the trip in, Jesseca marveled at the building she was now in. Weapons cases adorned the wall behind her, holding weapons from various enemies that the team had battled in the past. The adjoining room had several platforms with monitors near them showing images of the various areas of the city, Jesseca assumed that they were the teleporters that Hannah had spoke of.
“Welcome to your new home.” Hannah said as she led Jesseca by the hand through the building.
Jesseca saw a large table in the next room that had a large holographic image of the team’s insignia, a shield with a flaming bird in the center of it, hovering above the center of it. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls with thousands of books on them.
“Guys? I’m back, and I brought a guest.” Hannah called out.
“Welcome back Hannah.” a man’s voice said from behind them.
The pair turned and saw a man clad in black armor, his helmet was adorned with menacing looking blood red tipped horns. The man’s face was completely obscured by his helmet, and he looked wholly menacing to Jesseca who was a good three or so feet shorter than the iron behemoth.
“Jesseca, this is Dementia’s Knight, he’s our team leader. Knight this is Diapered Dandy, she’s looking to join up with us.” Hannah said.
Jesseca gulped and smiled nervously, “Nice to meet you.” she said timidly.
“No need to be frightened, Knight’s a big teddy bear, he only looks tough.” Hannah explained with a giggle.
“Well, welcome to the team Dandy, glad to have you aboard.” Knight said, his helmet allowing no emotion to be seen. “The others are in the dining room.” Knight said and turned back to the lab where he’d come from.
“You’ll get used to him, he’s the strong silent type.” Hannah said as she took Jesseca by the hand again and led her to the dining room.
Jesseca began to feel the sense of déjà vu she’d felt when she met Hannah creep over her, but pushed it away again as they entered the dining room.
“Hey all, this is my friend and our new teammate Jesseca, AKA Diapered Dandy.” Hannah said as she addressed the group sitting at the table eating.
A young Korean girl waved at Jesseca as she slurped up a mouthful of spaghetti noodles. “Hi Jesseca, I’m Hanako, AKA Flower Child.” she said with her mouth still semi full. She wore her long black hair in a fancy braid on the back of her head, she had a bright red rose in her hair on the side of her head that made her pale complexion all the more beautiful. Her forest green silk kimono was very extravagant looking to Jesseca, and she wondered how the young girl managed to fight in it.
“Finish chewing at least before you talk Hanako, it’s very rude.” a large Jamaican man said from the other end of the table. “Sorry about her, she’s still in training.” he said to Jesseca.
Hanako stuck her tongue out at the man and continued devouring her meal.
“My name’s Damerae, AKA Ataris.” he said.
Jesseca saw a large battle axe sitting on the table in front of the burly Jamaican. His hair was done into long dreadlocks and he wore a black muscle shirt that showed off his muscular physique.
“Brianna AKA Arson.” a teenaged girl said from the kitchen without looking at Jesseca, she was engrossed in a cereal box and couldn’t be bothered to look away.
Arson was still in her sleeping attire, she wore a red tanktop with a pair of white cotton panties adorned with little flames all over them. Her olive skin and raven hair made her look all the more attractive standing there in just her underwear.
“Sue AKA Sue Radiance, welcome.” a middle aged blonde said from the adjoining living room.
Of all the members Jesseca had met so far, Sue Radiance seemed like the most hero like, she had a gold and white spandex uniform adorned with a cape that had the team insignia on the back of it, and a small gold mask over her eyes that added a small level of mystique to her.
“I am Severe.” a voice came from nowhere. It sounded to Jesseca like it was right inside her head.
An albino woman came floating into the room in a meditative position. She wore a tight silver and black outfit. Her eyes glowed with a pinky purple hue as she opened them to see Jesseca. “Welcome to the team.” she said to Jesseca without moving her lips.
“It’s very nice to meet you all, thank you for having me.” Jesseca said with a smile.
“We’re missing a few people, where are Electro-Cute, Winter Flare, and Premiere?” Hannah asked the group.
“In the training room.” Arson said from her cereal box novel.
Hannah again grabbed Jesseca’s hand and led her to the training room. Jesseca again pushed away the strong sense of déjà vu as she was led to the training room, it was getting stronger and harder to ignore now, and she wondered where it could be coming from.
Inside the massive training room, Jesseca watched several heroes engaged in a sparring match with one another, A pink haired young woman with bug eyed sunglasses hovered above two other heroes, her blue cape flowing as she moved over the two and blasted at them with large arcs of electricity.
“That’d be Samantha, AKA Electro-Cute.” Hannah said pointing at the pink haired woman.
Another young woman took flight and launched several ice missiles at Electro-Cute. This woman had long blue hair, and wore an outfit similar to Hannah’s, tanktop and plaid mini skirt, fishnet stockings and knee high boots, the only difference between the two was that this girl’s outfit was blue rather than green,
“That’s my baby sister Elysa AKA Winter Flare.” Hannah said with a smile as she watched her sister in action.
Jesseca watched the other combatant, a tall blonde man in a t-shirt and jeans encase his body in stone seconds before a bolt of electricity struck him. He then created a stone mallet from the rock armor he’d encased himself in and smashed a barrage of ice missiles before they could hit him.
“And that’s Darius AKA Premiere.” Hannah said. “Guys, we have a new teammate, Jesseca here is Diapered Dandy, when you’re done come and meet her.” Hannah said into an overhead speaker to the others. The group nodded and waved as they looked up to the observation room. “Oh, and Elysa, watch out.” Hannah said seconds before Premiere struck the girl with his stone mallet and sent her crashing into the wall behind her.
“Well, that’s the team, and you’ve seen the base, any questions?” Hannah asked.
Jesseca blushed and looked toward the ground. “Is there anywhere I can get changed?” she asked shyly.
Hannah chuckled and nodded, “Right this way hon.” she said and led Jesseca by the hand to the infirmary.
“Do you need any help?” Hannah asked as Jesseca climbed up onto an examination table.
“No thanks, I’ll be fine.” Jesseca said with another blush.
Hannah went to a console and pushed a few buttons and pulled a diaper and pack of wipes and powder from a tray after they materialized from the machine. She laid the items next to Jesseca and left the room, a smile on her face as she did so.
Jesseca began changing herself and smiled when she saw that the diaper Hannah had given her had the team logo on the seat of it. “Thanks Hannah.” she thought and began changing her diaper.
“Severe, right?” Jesseca asked the albino telepath as she came upon her in the library.
“That is correct Jesseca, if you’re looking for Hannah, she went out with the others to get more food for the base.” the albino said with her mind.
“Actually, I was looking for you.” she said. “See, I’ve been having these weird feelings of déjà vu ever since I met Hannah, and it’s only gotten worse since I came here, and I was wondering if you could use your mind mojo to tell me what it means.” she explained.
“I can try.” Severe said. She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on Jesseca’s mind. At first nothing happened, and then she came across a deeply guarded area of memory in Jesseca’s mind, she delved into it slowly, and then the memories burst from it like a dam that had ruptured.
Jesseca screamed in agony as the thoughts erupted into her conscious thoughts, and flashed through her mind like a movie projector. She remembered a trial, and betrayal, and pain. Everything focused and came together, and she remembered everything. “My God.” she exclaimed breathlessly as she struggled to grasp what had just happened to her.
“Jesseca, I don’t know what these memories mean, but they do not seem pleasant.” Severe said.
“They aren’t, and they mean that I have an appointment with an old teacher of mine.” Jesseca said and hurried out of the library.
“Severe to Freedom Phalanx Reserve members, return to base immediately, we may have a situation.” Severe said in a mental broadcast to her teammates.
Jesseca browsed the clothes at the Icon tailor, she needed a new look so that she wouldn’t be recognized by Ernesto Hess or her teammates.
“Hello my dear, how may I assist you today?” a tall male clerk asked her as she looked at a few items.
Jesseca handed him the free costume coupon with a smile, “I want a new look.” she said.
“Well, I think you look just precious, what look were you going for?” he asked as he took the coupon.
“Stealthy and dangerous.” she said.
After many different outfits had been tried on, Jesseca decided on a black leather motorcycle jacket with an armor padding underneath it. Black leather pants with pink trim, motorcycle boots a pair of pink lensed blast goggles that she opted to wear perched on her forehead rather than on her eyes, and a thin mask that covered the bottom of her face, effectively disguising herself. After a few minutes of hesitation, she even opted to die her beautiful blonde locks black and where them in a tight ponytail rather than her pigtails.
Jesseca left the tailor with a newfound strength, and she was ready to make Ernest Hess pay for his deceit.
Hovering outside the building where Hess worked Jesseca pondered how she was going to get in and get him without having to fight an army of guards. Her answer came in the form of Hess walking un-escorted to his car in the lot below. “Like fish in a barrel.” she thought as she swooped down and rammed into Ernesto, knocking him into a car and into unconsciousness.
Present
Jesseca moved from the window as a hail of bullets tore into the building. She ran to the stairs and stopped when she heard the door downstairs smashed open by the SWAT team. Hovering to the ceiling, she punched a hole in the roof and made her way outside. She began to fly away and was caught in the light of a police helicopter, without warning the chopper began to fire upon her.
Jesseca braced for an impact that never came, she looked up and saw an ice wall had been erected in the path of the bullets. She looked down and saw Elysa standing below her, the girl gave a small salute and flew away. Jesseca followed her lead and flew around the ice wall and under the chopper. Diving low, Jesseca flew between the warehouse buildings and made her way into the heart of the city.
“I just have to ask, why?” Hannah asked from behind Jesseca as she sat on top of the large globe on top of the Atlas statue’s shoulders.
“He lied to me, he made me lose everything, and then he brought it back only to have me destroy it again. He got what he deserved.” Jesseca said coldly.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about, but I believe you did what you had to do.” she said, taking a seat next to Jesseca.
Jesseca nodded. “So what now?” she asked.
Hannah shrugged. “We’re gonna investigate the whole thing, and make sure that the truth comes out.” she said.
“And what about me?” Jesseca asked.
“You need to lay low for a while, no powers, no crime fighting, a normal life for a bit.” she said.
Jesseca nodded again. “I’m sorry Hannah.” she said.
Hannah smiled and reached up slowly and removed Jesseca’s mask. She stroked the young girl’s cheek softly and leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” she said.
Jesseca’s head was swimming for a moment, she was filled with new feelings as she parted lips with Hannah. “I love you.” she blurted out suddenly.
Hannah smiled at her. “Ditto babe.” she said before putting Jesseca’s mask back on. “I’ll be in touch to let you know how everything’s going.” Hannah said before flying away.
Jesseca shed a tear as she sat alone on top of the world, she felt the most alone she’d ever felt before, and at the same time she felt the most loved and accepted she’d ever felt in her life. As she glided down to the ground and walked to the train station she couldn’t help but wonder what her life would be like now that she wasn’t a superhero anymore.