Chapter 54 - w

January, 2001

Manhattan Island

Good morning, Starshine! The Earth says hello…

"Hmmph…" I glared back at the mirror, lips curling in disdain at the image distorted by the shadowed bathroom. "Fuck off. I don't like 60s music and I never will!"

Flicking the light on, I actually went and put in the effort to fix up my hair, pulling everything back into my typical ponytail, and cursing under my breath as the straw-dry locks refused to cooperate.

"You okay Boss?" A loud, almost comically Russian Accented voice called out from outside the bathroom, and I schooled my features. My face scrunched a few times, and I grumbled some more. My makeup just wasn'tworking. Ugh.

"Yeah! Yeah I'm fine… Be ready in a sec!" My voice quavered a little, and I coughed, thumping my chest a few times, before wetting a paper towel and wiping off the awful, awful failure of a job I'd done with my makeup, and sighed heavily, looking at my image. A mousey, bespectacled young woman with dirty blonde hair done up in a fairly scraggly ponytail, the bridge of my nose covered by freckles that also were scattered across my cheeks. I couldn't exactly call myself pretty, especially not Comic Book Pretty. Well, at least everyone said my eyes were nice. Bright green, catching the light nicely.

Which… well… kind of sucked, since I was in Comic Book Land. I'd been here for almost exactly ten years. I don't really have an explanation for that. I went to sleep one day, and woke up in an entirely different body. The "me from another universe." That universe being the mainline Marvel universe, Earth-616, circa 1991. As a teenager. In New York. Honestly, it sucked a lot less than I'd feared at first. Whatever cosmic force had transposed me into this body had conveniently let me keep all of my past memories from both universes, so that helped a bunch.

I was Ashling Anderson, daughter of Lawrence Anderson(A retired lawyer), and Matilda Anderson(A retired college professor). I had a sister, Vicky, and also the coolest uncle ever.

Life had mostly been good. I got along well with my folks. I didn't really seem to have any power, I wasn't a Mutant, or an Inhuman, or anything like that.

My right eye twitched. Emphasis on had been. See, about five years ago, everything changed. I got caught up in a Supervillain scheme… got kidnapped, some stuff happened and… well, I didn't really like to think about it. Didn't like to think about that kind of stuff, despite the fact that I'd been around the Costumed Crowd for a while.

It all started with the Bar With No Name.

I had first wandered into the place after taking the wrong train by complete accident back in high school on my way back home. It was very awkward, and also really intimidating, but the thing about lower-list Marvel villains is that most of them were primarily in it for the money. And most of the patrons of the Bar were that kind of villain. Mostly C-Z Listers, as the term went.

Trivia Nights were the best.

But, five years ago, after… everything, I started to notice things a bit more. I noticed how… tired some of them looked, under the masks and the flashy costumes. There was real strain there, under the bluster and the bravado. A lot of these were people who needed the cash, and had gotten pigeonholed by society. Not able to work in most fields, not able to go straight. And almost every time that someone did, something bad happened.

Or… well, they'd just spiral.

No, thinking back on it, it started much earlier. I could remember some of the older regulars. The Big Guys. Generally, the folks who tangled with Spider-Man. Like Sergei Kravinoff. The big guy was there the first time I stumbled into the Bar. Always laughing the loudest, and drinking the most. Losing arm-wrestling matches with The Rhino or Grizzly, or telling outlandish stories. But… there's always been something about it that made it seem like all of that was some kind of mask. Even knowing everything I did about comic books, characters on the page, and all of that… actually meeting these people in reality made things… different.

And then, one day, he'd just… not been there.

Just a framed picture behind the bar, and a somber wake. Despite knowing what had happened… knowing where that story would end, it still came as a shock.

That was what this life did to people. It ate them alive, and they'd eventually burn out. Become a shell, or die.

Become a shell, or die? 

So, I had taken a gamble. Saved up enough cash for a small office in Harlem, over a barbershop, and got enough together for a business license and starting payroll.

Then there was the name. It was… a bit ironic, seeing as what happened to me. But… I supposed that Sentry Solutions had a nice ring to it.

I even got a cute little sign for the office.

[Sentry Solutions: Lifting People Up]

Whether they want to or not… 

All that was left were the employees.

Like most Thursdays during the winter, I found myself in the Bar With No Name. This time though, it wasn't for trivia. I was actually there to watch the annual poker tournament. It was honestly a hilarious scene, because most of the patrons were there in full costume...

Then there was me, just a mostly average, mildly mousy blonde woman in jeans and a leather jacket over a Captain America T-shirt. It normally wouldn't be kosher to wear superhero merch in the Bar, but Cap was the exception. Pretty much everyone who wasn't a psycho, total scumbag, or worse, a Nazi, at least respected Cap.

I wasn't actually there to play, since I'm awful at poker, and 90% of the players were wearing full-face masks. How more of these didn't devolve into violence I didn't know, because I was reasonably sure everyone was cheating in some regard. Well, okay, that's a lie. I was fully aware of the fact that everyone was cheating in some regard. It was kind of expected.

Anyways, the game went on mostly uneventfully, with the only real issue being when Speed Demon was tossed out for blatant cheating. It ended with Boomerang taking home the pot, and everyone getting up to leave.

However, I ended up calling out to one of the players. "Yo Herman, you got a minute?'

Herman Schultz, aka The Shocker. Generally considered kind of a joke by most superheroes, usually either a bank robber or a henchman. All kind of true, but also a genius engineer and technician, and someone who's only in the business of crime because it's the only way for him to make a payday. It should say something that his main aspiration is to buy a house in Hoboken with a yard. Not even a big one, man knew his limits.

"Huh? Whaddya want... Ash, right?" He turned to look at me, eyes narrowing behind his mask.

I grinned, and held out one of my business cards. "So, would you happen to want a well paying, legit job?"

He stared at me for a moment. "I'm listening…."

Anyways, that's how I ended up sitting in my big comfy chair (a completely reasonable business expense, presentation was everything) in my new office a few days later, passing paperwork across my desk to Herman Schultz and Aleksei Sytsevich.

I had to admit, I hadn't entirely expected Shocker to bring The Rhino in on this, but apparently Aleksei was rooming with Herman ever since he'd had his suit removed, and was actually interested in having some honest work. It was especially good that neither of them had warrants out on them at the moment, and even more so that I'd contacted Herman when I had, because he and Aleksei had been planning a bank heist the next day. Bullet dodged.

There was a lot of paperwork to deal with, from normal job application stuff all the way to more complex forms. Contracts, waivers, other stuff like that. Boring busywork, but I'd had it all checked over multiple times, and everything was in order. Unfortunately for me, I'd also had to organize it all myself, since I was currently in the process of trying to hire a proper secretary. The whole thing took several hours, especially since I took the time to explain everything in simple terms to Aleksei so that he wouldn't be confused by the complicated legalese. Eventually though, everything was signed and I had my first two employees of Sentry Solutions.

Of course, that wasn't the end of my preparations. After Herman and Aleksei left, I still had another appointment to prep for… and I only could spare myself about three hours of sleep. Godsdammit. Still, I'd done more important meetings on less. So, I locked up the office, and walked the five block's distance between said office and my apartment.

My walk was mostly uneventful, though at one point I looked up and saw a silver armored man with comically extended legs that made him visible even above the relatively tall buildings walking on the next street over. There's good ole Stilt Man, probably off to rob a bank. See, that right there was both the reason why I'd never need to worry about a lack of work... and why running this business was going to be a pain in my ass.

I considered things for a moment, looking up at Wilbur Day as he stomped across the rooftops, the skin under my knuckles starting to glow gold as I took in a deep breath.

A cold winter wind blew across the street, and I turned to glare at my reflection in the storefront, nothing more than a silhouette, staring blankly back at me. I growled, and looked away, before going back on my way home. This was Harlem, so if Stilt Man tried causing trouble, Luke Cage or Spider-Man would likely deal with him. I didn't have to make this my problem.

I was awoken by my StarkTech SleepBuster mobile alarm clock, which waddled to the other side of my nightstand on its four little legs, and hopped off the side, forcing me to actually get up and turn it off. I sometimes hated myself for paying a frankly absurd price for the little guy… but it was definitely effective. I hadn't slept in on a day I wasn't supposed to, or missed an alarm, in the past three years I'd owned the adorable little guy. Almost made those robo-pets they sold look like a good idea, but a four-digit price tag for something like that was still way too much... Plus my building didn't allow pets.

Then came my morning routine… and once I was cleaned up, dressed, and had microwaved some leftover Chinese for breakfast, I set out to go to my appointment.

I'd been seeing a therapist for five years, ever since the… incident. Nobody really noteworthy. A woman named Doctor Kate Sorenson. I couldn't say that she was the best therapist I'd ever visited, but… well… I couldn't say that it hadn't helped me just a bit.

If you say so. 

This time though, I was happy to go over everything that had happened. Starting my business, getting my first few employees. It was… a nice hour, spent going over things, and mostly just positively venting. Doctor Sorenson smiled and nodded, and offered a few questions and comments, but generally let me talk.

Then, when it was finally time for me to leave, we went over my prescriptions, made sure they were all in order, before she adjusted her glasses, and looked closely at me. "Miss Anderson… You're sure you know what you're doing?"

I cocked my head to the side, humming slightly with confusion. "What do you mean? Do… you think I shouldn'tdo this? Because… well… I've already started on it…"

"No, I don't mean it like that." She sighed, and shook her head, even as I focused on her, and not the window behind her. "It's just… people have tried things like this before. Though, most of those were teams of some kind. It almost never ends well. But maybe this will go better. You're coming in from a different direction. Just be careful. I think that a lot of people are going to be looking at you."

And what are they going to see? Another street-level hero, stopping evil one crime at a time? Or someone who can really change things around? Make this world better.

"Yeah… but maybe that'll help me make a difference!" I grinned broadly, crossing my arms. "If you don't try something, you'll never know if it works or not!"

We'll see…

"Well, just know that I'm rooting for you." Doctor Sorenson nodded, and… it felt like she meant it.

Our first job came fairly quickly, and wasn't the most glamorous… but it was work, and it was honestly fairly rewarding. Sentry Solutions had been contracted by the F.E.A.S.T. Charity to provide some security for the newly opened Queens shelter on what was looking like a particularly busy week.

Apparently, there had been some break-ins at nearby homeless shelters and soup kitchens over the past few weeks, with some of them even being during operating hours. The perpetrators were even wearing costumes and using unusually advanced tech, thus a greater need for security. And thanks to my finagling, our rates were pretty good.

Thus, that cold January morning found Herman, Aleksei, and myself all inside the brightly lit and welcoming facility. It had a nice, new building sort of smell, like fresh lemons and mint, though that was mostly overpowered by the absolutely delicious scent coming from the kitchens permeating the whole building. Plus, only a few of the workers got spooked when they saw The Shocker, The Rhino, and an unassuming young woman hop out of a rental van with matching security uniforms on.

...Well, Aleksei and I were wearing uniforms, anyway. The Sentry Solutions standard. A set of yellow coveralls, with the stylized blue S logo over the right lapel. Aleksei's had SECURITY RHINO in big block letters on the back, while I just had SECURITY on mine. Of course, I was also wearing a bulletproof vest under my coveralls, mostly for appearances.

Herman, on the other hand, was wearing basically a slightly cut down version of his normal costume, forgoing the mask and covering over the more recognizable gear with a blue winter coat and pants, with a security vest stuck overtop with SECURITY SHOCKER printed on it.

Only one of the shelter's employees had to be convinced we weren't there to rob anyone. I think the somewhat-matching uniforms helped, but honestly, I was expecting way worse. F.E.A.S.T. hired good people, it seemed.

"Is very strange, no? What kind of asshole breaks into homeless shelter during winter?" Aleksei rumbled.

"I got nothing big guy. From what I've heard they mostly just trashed the places, and didn't really steal much." Herman shrugged. "Even more of a dick move."

"I'll say. Just sounds like someone just being a jackass." I sighed heavily "Still, with all three of us here, there shouldn't be much trouble."

Aleksei barked out a laugh. "That is great understatement! Imagine, being thug who walks in here, and sees us. Like man who walks into bar, they will say 'Ouch!', and probably run!"

Rhino was too busy laughing at his own joke to notice that nobody else was.

Still chuckling at his joke, Aleksei wandered off to walk around the floor as people started to file in, since it was nearly time for lunch to be served.

Herman shook his head and sighed before chuckling slightly. "Well, it's always good to see that no matter what, I'll always have a better sense of humor than him."

I just shook my head. "At least he's having a good time. I was worried you guys might be bored with stuff like this."

Herman waved me off with a genuine laugh. "Boss, lemme tell you, this is goddamn paradise compared with some of the stuff I've dealt with. There's heat, it doesn't smell like a flaming garbage pile, and I'm not getting shot at or punched by a certain web-slinger. And, I'm gonna be able to collect a paycheck at the end of next week that isn't just more dirty cash."

"Well, when you put it like that..."

He shrugged. "Well, I'll definitely get shot at at some point, but that ain't anything new."

I tapped the symbol on my lapel. "Pretty much. But I guess that's kind of a normal issue when you put on a costume of any kind."

"Man, sucks to be a clown in a town like this!" Shocker smirked.

We both shared a laugh about that, until one of the shelter volunteers moved over to us. "Do you two need anything?"

I looked her over for a moment… and had to shove down my reaction of shock and surprise. She was an older woman, with entirely gray hair done up in a bun. That, by itself, wasn't really noteworthy. What was however, was the nametag on her shirt, which had her name in very clear lettering. 'May Parker'.

Holy fucking shit. I knew that the legendary Aunt May would be working for F.E.A.S.T. when it would be chronologically introduced in a few years… but I hadn't expected her to be here now. I suppose it makes sense though. This is a time when Peter's moved out… god, it was incredibly surreal to be thinking about the fact that these are real living, breathing people, not just characters on a page, even after all this time and interaction.

I've been reading their stories for so long… and it was kinda trippy that I felt so much familiarity towards people who I've never actually met in person. Still, I didn't want to let any of that show.

"Thank you for asking, Mrs. Parker. I'm fine at the moment though," I replied, adjusting my cap and straightening my glasses.

Herman shrugged. "If you guys have a pot of coffee brewed?"

May directed him over towards the kitchen, and told him to talk to Kayla. Then, she turned back to me. "I can't thank you enough for this, by the way. People have been so worried, what with all the things happening…"

I smiled, and nodded. "Don't worry about it, it's probably just some stupid goons who got their hands on some kind of supertech and think they're the next Masters of Evil. If they show up here, they'll be in for a bad time."

Then I turned back towards the entrance, fully expecting the door to fly off its poor hinges now that I'd said that. But, thankfully, there was nothing. "Okay, false alarm."

At May's confused expression, I explained. "Fifty-Fifty chance that saying that would suddenly make whoever's been attacking the shelters show up." We both shared a laugh at that.

"You know, my nephew says things like that all the time. And I've noticed it tends to be true." May replied. "Even if it's like you said, I still can't imagine why someone would do all of that, especially around this time of year…"

Before I could answer, the doors of the F.E.A.S.T. building were suddenly kicked off their hinges, and a group of five garishly clad individuals piled in. "NOBODY MOVE!"

I blinked, cocking my head to the side.

The intruders were a… colorful bunch. Colorful, as in most of them looked like they had raided a Thrift Store for their outfits.

In the lead, there was a man in a neon yellow fur-lined winter coat and a banana colored balaclava with welding goggles over his eyes. He'd very obviously spray-painted an image of a 'Caution, Lasers in Use' warning sign on his shirt, probably because he was carrying a large, boxy energy rifle of some sort, which had been kitted out with a bunch of really stupid tactical attachments. There were at least three rails welded messily onto the gun, with an assortment of laser sights, grips, and scopes. The gun itself also had some panels removed, and what looked like more cables and a very large energy cell also shoved in it.

The one next to him was a guy in a massive, bulky suit of Power Armor, taller than even Aleksei, with an extended head and visible eye-slit, along with large cables that connected from his shoulders, to his arms, one of which was a large cannon, and finally linking in with his legs. Oh my god… was that a Mandroid Mark 1? SHIELD stopped using those before I was even born! It also had 'Droid-Man' spray painted on the front.

Then, there was a giant of a man wearing heavy black tactical gear, which kind of looked like semi-used SWAT Gear mixed with an off-brand EOD Suit, with a black ballistic mask covering his face. He was holding a sledgehammer, and had one of those cheap 'My Name Is' name tags, which proudly read 'Jerry'.

The last two were a girl in biker leathers, with obnoxiously purple hair, a hannya mask, carrying a long Japanese sword that was currently shrouded in a blazing field of energy… and finally, a Robot. Like, a fairly generic looking gray humanoid robot, with heavily segmented limbs and torso, along with a head that looked kind of like an old bulky TV set. On its chest was stamped the serial number 'R-001LMTD'.

"And who are you guys supposed to be?" Herman asked nonchalantly, having come back out with his cup of coffee. He was very obviously not taking them very seriously. "The Bargain-Bin Baddies?"

The guy with the laser gun growled. "We are the Fearsome Five! Sound Off!" With that, he cocked his gun… which had that, for some reason. "Toastmaster, the Lord of Lasers!"

The guy in the Mandroid raised his gun arm. "The Deadly Droid-Man!"

The tacticool enforcer-looking guy thumped his chest. "Your worst nightmare… JERRY THE BREAKER!"

The girl with the sword took up a defensive stance that she had clearly learned from watching too many action movies. "The greatest swordswoman in Queens… Odachi!"

Finally, the robot made several beeping noises, and its face-screen lit up, displaying the words "I am Mister Roboto. I have come here to destroy you. "

Herman and I just stood there for a moment, turned to look at one another, and then back at the group of absolute goobers standing in front of us. We had to resist bursting out into open laughter. Then Aleksei wandered up, having found a Santa Hat of his own somewhere, along with a matching coat in his size somehow. "Oh ho! Has entertainment for the day made it's arrival? Excellent!"

He clapped his hands. "Aww, look at all these tiny babies. You see Herman, they are out on their first crime spree. Is precious, no?"

Herman shook his head. "It would be, if they hadn't decided to spend it knocking over shelters and soup kitchens. What are you guys even doing that for?" I noticed that as he addressed the 'Fearsome Five', he shifted his hands, causing the knuckleduster-like apertures of his Shock Gauntlets to slide out over his fists.

It was Toastmaster, the obvious frontman of the group, who responded, not noticing the growing sense of menace in the room directed at him. "We got some good intel that an old gangster hid a lot of loot in the walls of one of these old shelters, and we want to grab it!"

Before Herman, Aleksei, or I could respond, instead it was May who shouted at the would-be supervillains. "This facility was just finished last month! There's been no suspicious activity since construction started last year. Your imaginary treasure isn't here, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"

"Oh like we're gonna believe that you old bag!" Toastmaster yelled way too loudly, pointing his gun at May. "We're not leaving until we get our loot."

"Alright. That's enough." I stepped in front of May, and cracked my knuckles. If it was anyone else, it probably would have been stupid, but… "You've been asked to leave, and I'm going to advise you to please do so."

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it? A couple of Rent-a-Cops?" Toastmaster called back smugly.

I cocked my head to the side, absolutely flabbergasted by both his stupidity, and his arrogance. "Well, I guess I can say you've got balls." Then, I looked at May. "You guys have supervillain insurance, right?"

She nodded. "Mister Li picked up Damage Control's Plus Policy."

I nodded, rolling my shoulders and sighing, before turning back towards the Goober Group. "Herman, Aleksei, could you please take these clowns outside? Less collateral damage."

"Um… boss?" Aleksei looked down at me with a slight amount of concern. I blinked, then looked to the side at the mirrors that lined one of the walls. My eyes were glowing a subtle gold.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it. I… uh… I've got a few party tricks." I smiled subtly, before pointing my hand towards Toastmaster. Right… gotta keep this low… subtle… don't want to overdo it.

The lights of the shelter flickered slightly, and I gritted my teeth… before Toastmaster was sent sprawling by an invisible force.

Aleksei nodded, and then they both took that as an opportunity to get going. Herman pulled his mask down from under his hood, and raised his hands towards Droid-Man and Mister Roboto. I hadn't ever seen Shocker's gauntlets in action before, just a few shots of them on the news, so I wasn't expecting the sheer sudden burst of noise. Twin rippling tunnels of compressed air slammed into the pair of clowns, knocking them back out of the shelter. Aleksei followed up on that, charging forwards with footfalls that shook the building, impacting Jerry and carrying him through the hole in the front.

Odachi stared at me with shock, even as Toastmaster tried to scramble to his feet. "Okay girlie, I don't know what power you've got, but- HOLY SHIT!"

He dropped his gun in a panic as I glared at it, and it heated up, smoking and fizzling in his hands. However, Odachi was already moving, charging towards me and swinging her sword. But… she was just going so slow. And in that moment, I just… well, I sort of sidestepped, with a snap of displaced air, so that I was right next to her, one hand closed around her wrist. "Miss, could you please not swing that in here. It's a very long blade, and someone could get hurt…"

"Wh-wha?!" Odachi squeaked, trying to escape my grip, to turn her hand so she could get her sword free. I didn't budge. It was funny, she was a full head taller than me, and definitely more muscular, but she was absolutely trapped in the lock I had her in. I could see a glow underneath the skin of my hands… the power that I was actively suppressing, and I knew I should probably deal with this quickly.

So, I reached across, and grabbed the blade of her sword. The energy field felt… funny. Very warm against my skin. My fingers tightened, and the metal warped, bent, cracked… and then the field collapsed, and the blade just sort of… well, winked out of existence. Odachi stared at me in abject horror, right as I felt something strike the side of my head with what felt like the same amount of force as a light tap. Except… well… Toastmaster had tried to hit me full force. I hadn't moved an inch.

The lights flickered again, and I sighed. "I'm going to ask you again, please surrender."

Suffice to say, they did, allowing me to slap some cuffs on them, and then go out to see what was happening outside.

It… wasn't going well for the 'Fearsome Five'. Jerry the Breaker had been planted like a tree in the concrete, and was struggling to pull himself out, swearing up a storm of "FUCK YOU!"'s while Mister Roboto was missing his arms and was laying unmoving against a tree. Herman and Aleksei were now both moving towards Droid-Man, who was turning to try and run, his boot-jets activating…

That wouldn't do.

I glared at his boots, and much like with Toastmaster's gun, the jets heated up past the point they were supposed to, sparked, and sputtered, leaving Droid-Man grounded.

Now faced by two ex-supervillains right next to him, and no chance of escape, the armored man did the sensible thing, and gave up.

"So… did anyone call the police?" I asked cheerily.

As it turned out, someone had. It took about five minutes for New York's finest to show up, and things were awkward for a little bit. After all, Herman and Aleksei were here, thus they were automatically more than a little suspicious. But, May and I were able to smooth things over, so nothing escalated too far, and the 'Fearsome Five' were carted off to jail. Apparently, the four organic ones had recently raided a police lockup, and gotten their gear (and Robot) from there. Well, except Odachi, who had already had her sword. Which explained a lot about her gimmick and the cheapness of the weapon.

I had a feeling that this wasn't the last time I'd see this band of goobers though. Eh, wouldn't particularly be surprising.

Damage Control showed up about a half hour later, by which time the three of us had put up some temporary tarps to try and waylay the cold. That meeting was also awkward, since quite a few of the DC agents were not happy to see Aleksei there. I… couldn't entirely blame them, and neither could he.

"I am not most… discerning, yes, discerning when it comes to running through city. Makes cleanup crews unhappy…"

I just patted him on the arm, and reassured him that nothing too bad had happened this time. It didn't even take much time for them to fix the building, and then everything was back to business as usual. Nothing particularly eventful happened over the rest of the day, so things were nice and chill.

Aleksei found the rest of the oversized Santa Suit, which apparently belonged to Ben Grimm when he'd helped out near when the Shelter had opened, and spent the rest of the evening regaling the kids at the shelter with stories of his exploits against Spider-Man. With the actual threat dealt with, Herman and I also spent the rest of our time at F.E.A.S.T. helping serve food. Herman also retrofitted one of the tables that had been broken in the 'Fearsome Five's' attack, and turned it into a really good air-hockey table, which was a big success.

Eventually, everything wrapped up, and we left in the van, but not before May pressed several tins of homemade cookies into my hands. Hey, I wasn't going to say no to cookies from Aunt May. The payout for the job wasn't the highest, but it was still pay, and it was enough to let me pay all the necessary bills for the month, with more than enough to pay my employees.

So, all in all, everything had gone very well for our first job.

"So… boss, what was all of that, back there?" Aleksei asked, nodding to me. "Didn't know you had powers. There a story there?"

"Oh, yeah." I blinked, trying to steady the tremor running through my hand. It was hard to keep from tapping my fingers, and harder still to resist rubbing at my wrists, feeling a phantom chafe.

You could tell them, you know. They trust you. Better yet, you could show them… don't they deserve the truth?

"It… uh… it happened a few years ago." It was very difficult to keep up my smile. "I… uh…"

"You do not need to talk about it if you do not want to." Aleksei reached out with a hand that was bigger than my head, and patted me on the shoulder, his tone serious. "But what is it that you can do? It would definitely help with the planning of jobs and security."

That made me feel a bit better. "Well, uh… I'm a bit stronger than a normal person, and more durable as well… I can move really fast in short bursts and hover. Ummm… I've got a bit of telekinesis, about enough to throw someone around, and I can heat stuff up or cool stuff down as long as I'm looking at it."

"Damn… you've got a whole package. Kinda Spider-Man'y like that." Herman noted from the wheel. "Combo Deals are pretty good."

But it's not just a Combo Deal, is it? It's the whole enchilada. Come on… show them! 

My eyes flicked to the front mirror, and a frown flickered over my face. "Yeah, yeah I guess they are."

"So, what is next for us?" Aleksei asked with a chuckle, and I was very glad for the distraction.

"Well, next week we're supposed to be guarding a shipment of equipment for a new startup. I think they're called Horizon, or something like that." I shrugged. "They're opening their first real facility in the city, with some top-shelf stuff being brought in."

"Ahhhh, guarding the science instead of stealing it. That will be excellent!" Aleksei barked out a laugh. "It will be good time, I can tell. Though, there will probably be Supervillains trying to steal it. I wonder who it will be."

"I hope it isn't anyone too serious." I shuddered at the idea of going up against someone like Doc Ock.

"Maybe it'll be some more new guys?" Herman asked, and I couldn't help but smile. I wasn't in this for the Superhero Business, but it sure looked like we were starting to gather a Rogues Gallery. It was honestly pretty exciting… and despite my trepidation, I couldn't wait to see what was going to come next…

Neither can I, Starshine. Neither can I… 

As we passed through a tunnel, my image in the mirror became more indistinct. Just a silhouette. And I couldn't help but shudder.

A/N: Well, here we go. I said this would get it's own thread when I got to six chapters... and while Issue 6 isn't fully done yet... well, it's getting there. For those of you more familiar with Maverick, just know that this isn't a replacement for that story, but rather a side-project to help me feel less burned out. I hope you all enjoy!Last edited: May 17, 2025784AshlingWaltzesMay 17, 2025View discussionThreadmarksVol 1, Issue 2: The (Not So) Great Truck RobberyView contentAshlingWaltzesTiny Giant Robot Feral Science ChildSuper Awesome Happy Funtime Award RecipientShe/HerMay 17, 2025#18January, 2001

Manhattan, New York

I sat back in my overstuffed office chair with a happy sigh, feeling better than I had for a long while. The first job had gone well. Really well honestly. We were well on the way to breaking even… and I had two more jobs lined up already over the next few weeks. It was actually a little difficult to keep myself from lifting up off of the chair. Then I winced, waiting for the inevitable rebuke. The mockery. But, surprisingly, there wasn't one. The mirror currently resting in one corner of the office just showed me. 

Well, it was early in the day, and my meds hadn't started to burn off just yet. I hadn't taken the full dose on some of them, but even still, I probably had a few hours. Then it would be twice as bad to make up for it. 

I huffed, looking down at one of my hands, watching golden light playing under the skin, and then slumped back again. Dammit. I wished that Artie was back… maybe at some point later in the week I'd have to go to the Embassy and see if he was in comms range. It had been… Gods, months since we'd been able to talk. 

Long-distance relationships were awful, especially when your partner was not just the Military, but the Space Military, a few galaxies away. Uuuuuuuugh. I frowned, before holding out my hand and pointing towards one of the pens scattered across the surface of my desk, making it tremble slightly, before levitating up off of the desk. Telekinesis was… fairly easy. It felt much safer then… well, then a lot of things. 

It was also a really weird feeling. Almost like I was wrapping a film of saran wrap around whatever I wanted to move, keeping everything in place so that I could move it around safely. I… didn't really know my limits or anything like that, aside from my memories of what the Other Guywas capable of. 

I didn't like thinking about the man who had gotten these powers in the comics I'd read. It… well… it brought me back to that place. The pen shuddered in the air, and I took a deep breath as I focused. 

As much as it was hard, I had to practice more with my powers, rather than just… well, trying to pretend they didn't exist. They were a part of me, and had been for half a decade. Even if I never used ninety-nine percent of the power that I knew was bubbling under my skin, it… 

It wants to help you. It wants to make you better!

FUCK. 

I started, hands twitching as I found myself hovering a few inches up from my desk. I turned my head to glare at the mirror in my office… but it was still covered. So where-

My eyes flicked down, and the fuzzy, almost featureless reflection on the top of my desk almost seemed to grin back at me. The lights of my office flickered. I had to resist slamming my hand down on the silhouette, but that wouldn't have done me any good. Instead, I opened one of the drawers of the desk, and withdrew a clear orange pill bottle, pressing in and twisting the white cap. 

"Shut up." I growled, flipping my own reflection off. Said reflection didn't have the courtesy to do anything spooky, like not copying the gesture, or making a spooky face, or any horror movie bullshit like that. Fucking bitch. 

So mean! You know what they say about people that talk to themselves? It's a sign that they're craaaaaaazy! 

"Fuck off. I'm not going to listen to you."

It had been a mistake to only go with a half dose. It let the voice surprise me. 

You know something else? They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting something new to happen. What do you suppose that makes us? 

I tossed back one of the tiny pills, and swallowed. And slowly, the voice began to fade. 

Aw, hey! You didn't answer my question…Oh well… talk to you later, Starshine~

Well. That had thoroughly torn down my mood. I let out a hiss of frustration, and stood up, pacing in front of my desk. My arms were crossed, and I was drumming my fingers on my arm, resisting rubbing at my wrists. I really need a distraction of some kind. Something to- 

There was a knock on the door, and I heard Herman call out. "Hey Boss, you in here?" 

Thank the Allfather. 

"Yup! Ah… yeah! I am!" I raced to open the door, wincing at the pop of displaced air at the speed I'd moved. "What's up?" 

Herman shrugged. "Was working on putting something together." 

The office was tiny. Three rooms total. My office, a smaller office space for Aleksei and Herman, and a room that was supposed to be a storage room. Herman had taken that one over, bringing in a minimal setup to allow him to repair and assemble more of his tech. It wasn't much… mostly off-the-shelf hardware equipment, and some sewing supplies. 

It was those that were of interest here. 

"Huh… that's… not what I was expecting." I stared down at what Herman had made. 

"Well, y'know, both me and Aleksei have costumes, and I thought it might tie things together a bit. Plus, with what happened to that coverall you were using before after just one fight…" He gestured to the offending piece of gear, which… well, okay, it wasn't totally ruined, but it had been pretty cheap, and some of the seams had busted with the speed of my movements, and the boots that had come as part of a package deal with it being scuffed to hell and back, with the soles beaten down.

It was… well… okay, being genuinely honest, it reminded me a lot of a certain line of shows from Before.

It was a yellow motorcycle suit, mostly leather, and padded in places, obviously reinforced after purchase by Herman. The boots were blue, as were the cuffs of the sleeves. It was only missing a few things, and it would look… well, a lot like… I blinked. If the voice was able to be chatty right now, I would probably be hearing something about 'not being able to escape the story' or some nonsense like that. As it was, all I heard was a low buzz and some whispers.

But no, there was nothing. Everything was fine. I took a breath before smiling. "You know, I think it's missing something."

"Logo?" Herman asked, grinning wryly. 

"Logo." I nodded, before thinking back to other designs kind of like this. It was true that the material was broken up with texture and extra bits, rather than just being a flat bodysuit, but there was still a lot of yellow between the four points of blue. "And maybe… I don't know… something else?"

"I'll see what I can do." Herman nodded, looking over towards the sewing machine.

Queens-Midtown Tunnel

A Few Days Later

The rental van pulled up into the parking lot that we had been directed to, on the Queens side of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. From where I was sitting in the passenger seat, I could already see three big moving trucks with 'Horizon Labs' stenciled on the sides. Bingo. 

Herman guided us into a parking space, and I opened my door, boots hitting the ground with a firm thud. Okay, no, they didn't. I didn't actually make much noise at all, let alone anything dramatic. Dammit.

Pfft, you could do better, Starshine. You know you can…

I pointedly didn't look at the mirror, and instead brushed off the front of the suit. Herman had added a familiar looking belt with the stylized S that was the logo of Sentry Solutions, along with making the collar section of the suit blue. No cape though. Not yet. I would look ridiculous if I wasn't flying around and… well… it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do when you haven't practiced. And I had not practiced. Like I'd told Herman and Aleksei, I could hover, generally using my telekinesis, which actually made it easier to move faster in short bursts, and I could also jump pretty good. I wasn't wearing my glasses, and I knewthat my eyes would be softly glowing gold in order to compensate. It was annoying, but I could deal.

Brushing my hair back, I rolled my shoulders, feeling the flex and give of the suit. It was certainly interesting, and felt better than the coverall. 

The boots were definitely the best part, I had to admit. 

Aleksei stepped out of the van, all geared up in his Rhino Suit, with a 'SECURITY RHINO' vest on that brought a smile to my face. Then I realized that he, like Herman, had a matching belt to mine. That… awww…

I walked up to the convoy, approaching a big man with a short red beard and round glasses currently holding a clipboard. "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be Doctor Modell, would you?" 

"Ah? Oh, yes, I am. You all must be Sentry Solutions." He put the clipboard under his arm, and offered me a hand, which I shook. 

"Yup! That's us. I'm Ashling Anderson, head of the company." I gestured over to the trucks. "So, in the Email, you sent the route, and some of the specifications, but is there anything else we should be expecting?"

There was the unstated question of 'Is there anything here that a Supervillain would specifically be after?', but I was trying to be at least somewhat professional.

"Well, it's mostly just general lab equipment. Some of it's Wakandan imports, and those are pretty expensive, but they're also quite bulky and difficult to move." Doctor Modell pointed to one of the three trucks. "That one right there has a compact Quark Microscope. It's probably the most valuable thing in the whole convoy."

"Alright. I'll cover that one." I gestured to Herman and Aleksei. "Herman, you ride shotgun on the lead truck. Aleksei, you cover the rear. Keep to the sidewalks."

Aleksei rummaged around in the back of the van, pulling out an enormous brown trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat, along with a pair of sunglasses. I genuinely had no idea how it was such an effective disguise, but it worked pretty damn well. I found my attention sort of… slipping over him. Despite the fact that he should have stood out like a sore thumb, and was very clearly wearing a rhino costume under it… 

I-…

I couldn't help but smirk, feeling a small victory at the voice's apparent incomprehension, before brushing at my sleeves and pulling at the cuffs. "Let's get to it!"

It was relatively simple to get everyone set up. Doctor Modell was going on ahead to the actual lab building in his car, while I waited inside the middle truck, the one with the Quark Microscope. We all had earpieces, which hadn't exactly been cheap, but they were good quality, and fairly resistant to most standard methods of jamming. 

Everything was going well at first. I didn't particularly like sitting on a crate in the dark, just waiting for something to happen, but… well…

My teeth ground together as I looked slightly to the side, at the indistinct shape in the dark, which looked like it was grinning at me. The moment I put my full focus on it though, there wasn't anything there. Almost like those little flickers you see out of the corner of your eye. 

Immediately, I reached in to one of the pockets in the belt, and pulled out a baggie with my meds, fishing out the pair of pills from the comparatively large bag, and downing them. I hadn't taken them until now, to make sure that I wasn't distracted at a key moment, and it didn't matter if the voice was in my head. That was a fucking jinx if ever I'd heard one. 

And, almost on cue, the truck came to a halt. The earpiece crackled, and I heard Herman's voice. "Alright, we've got trouble. Road's blocked. Looks like someone wrecked a truck and put it in the way. Over."

I cursed under my breath, and tapped the earpiece. "It hasn't even been an hour, and we drove down this way. Godsdammit. Aleksei, can you get that out of the way?" 

After a moment, Aleksei replied. "I… think it may be difficult. Is very large truck. But I will try. Over"

"No sign of whoever did it though. I'm going to get out and try to keep an eye on the rooftops. Guessing they might try to come in from above. Over." Herman noted, and I heard the sound of his door opening through the earpiece. 

I stood up, tugging at my cuffs, feeling a rising, nervous energy. I could go out and survey… or I could stay in here, and try to surprise whoever made an effort to raid the truck. But… while the Quark Microscope was valuable, it might not be what whoever was trying to raid the convoy was after. I didn't know what we were dealing with, so maybe going out would be a better plan… but…

In that moment, I was paralyzed with indecision, scratching at my head… before I heard the tell-tale sounds of approaching booster jets outside, and then closed my eyes to focus. I did have super-senses… but they weren't on passively. I had to expend my energy to actually make use of them… but they were also one of the few things I'd actually practiced with. I felt the energy pooling around my ears, the incoming sound becoming much sharper. 

I could tell that whatever it was was currently five-hundred meters above me, and dropping fast directly towards the truck. Well, I supposed that that answered that question. Time to sit tight until- 

THUNK

The sound of something heavy and metal impacting the top of the truck echoed throughout the inside, and created a visible dent. I looked up, and then bounced from foot to foot, feeling a great deal of nervous energy. That little scrap with the Fearsome Five had been the first time I'd properly fought someone in years, if you could call it a fight. Okay, I had once used my telekinesis to stop a mugging, but that also didn't really count. The fact that I didn't know what was going on, or who was trying to get in made me feel a little bit like I'd become a cat in a box. So much raw uncertainty. 

And then part of the roof was torn open like a can opener, and I beheld my foe. A tall, bulky, humanoid suit of armor, with heavy shoulder pads, a harsh helmet with a single slit visor and three slits over the mouth. It was painted up in metallic green, and had a symbol that looked like a wind turbine set over a solar panel on it's chest. It looked… okay, it did legitimately look somewhat menacing. Though, from his body language, I could tell that he was startled to see me in here. "Ha-HAH! Yet another victory for THE GREEN GENERATOR! Now I just need to- Wait, who are you?!"

I blinked. What. Green Generator? What kind of a name was- Ohhhhh. Then I realized that he was wearing a suit of Crimson Dynamo armor. I wasn't sure what model it was, but it looked a lot tougher than Droid-Man's Mandroid. "Um… Hi. I'm Sentry. I'm guarding this convoy, and I'd really like it if you surrendered quietly. Please?"

His gauntlets crackled with electricity, and I sighed. But, I wasn't entirely surprised. "And what are you going to do to-"

Before he even had a chance to finish that very ill-thought out line, I raised my hand and focused. The Green Generator shuddered in place… and then was launched off of the truck on an arc, giving me time to hop up onto the roof. The first thing I saw was the aforementioned truck which… okay, that was an eighteen wheeler, which looked like it had been flipped over onto it's side, completely blocking the way forwards. I saw Aleksei starting to move towards me, and Herman following suit. Nodding, I turned back towards where I'd launched Green Generator(I definitely wouldn't be able to take that name seriously), and where he was supposed to be coming down- 

Oh wait. 

I had a moment to try to turn, and then was hit square in the chest by a rocket-powered green metal fist, before I'd had a chance to anchor myself. Thus, I was sent tumbling off of the truck. Dammit. It hadn't hurt or anything, but it still wasn't exactly pleasant to be sent spinning ass over teakettle. 

I spun in place, levitating back to my feet, and holding myself a few inches off the ground. Right. Straight shot. 

There was a crack of displaced air as I blurred up next to the Green Generator, fist swinging out and ramming directly into his side with about as much force as I thought was safe… 

And to my immense surprise, his armor stopped the blow. Like, didn't even dent. He was sent flying, much to my satisfaction, but that was just about the first time I'd hit something while actually trying and it hadn't broken. What the hel was that suit made of? 

"You think that will be enough to defeat THE GREEN GENERATOR! The champion of sustainable power will never be defeated- ARGH!" The power-armored man had gotten to his feet, and started to pontificate, only to be blasted by Herman, with Aleksei following up. 

The shockwave sent the Green Generator stumbling, and Aleksei's charge bowled him over completely, and let the giant of a man get in a few hits, before being launched away by several blasts of lightning from those gauntlets of his. My eyes narrowed, and I rose up again, before snapping up next to him. "None of that." 

Credit to the guy, he had actually pretty good reaction times, as he fired his boosters to avoid my kick, and then sprang up to his feet. "Enough of this!"

His gauntlets glowed blue, and he extended two whiplike bolts of electricity, which arced and crackled as he slashed them out towards me… and I held out my hands to catch them. 

Holding onto electricity was… strange. There shouldn't have been anything physical to grab, but I did it anyways. Wait, no… no, that wasn't right. There was some substance to the electro-whips. I couldn't exactly call it a force field, but the gauntlets were projecting some kind of field around the electricity to keep it in shape. It was really neat actually. Either way, the Green Generator seemed absolutely… heh… shocked at me grabbing his whips, and did something very funny. 

Rather than shutting off the projectors, or anything like that… he tried to pull back on them. But unfortunately for him, I was ready this time, and didn't budge. So he tried to pull again, harder this time. No dice. 

However, as I continued to stubbornly hold him in place, Herman and Aleksei weren't idle, and were slowly circling around the Green Generator. I flashed a grin at him, before focusing on the gauntlets, willing them to heat. And… wow, okay, that metal was strange. I could tell I'd need to put a lot more energy into it if I wanted to damage them that way and… I didn't know what it would do if I just tried to brute force this stuff to it's melting point. I genuinely didn't want to see what would happen. 

So, instead, I changed my tactic, and started to pull on the whips, dragging him closer to me, contesting his attempts to pull back. His suit seemed to be… surprisingly light. It definitely wasn't anywhere close to a ton. Maybe… like, a fourth of that? It was hard to tell, but either way, even him trying to fire back with all of his boosters wasn't stopping me. I… still wasn't sure why he hadn't shut off the whips yet. "ALEKSEI, GRAB HIM!" 

Immediately, Aleksei wrapped an arm around the armor's neck, holding him in place at the exact time that I let go of the whips. 

I winced as the Green Generator didn't have time to shut off his boosters, and then proceeded to slam against Aleksei's bulk, his head whipping back in a way that didn't look pleasant. 

Immediately, I snapped in close, and grasped at the Green Generator's faceplate. Even if I was having trouble with the metal being super tough, the helmet wasn't a blank plate of armor and- 

FWOOM!

"AAAAARGH!" I recoiled, clutching at my eyes, as what was probably a flashbang detonated right in my face, having seemingly been hidden somewhere on Green Generator's chestplate. Evidently, Aleksei did as well, because when my vision cleared, and my ears stopped ringing, I could see that the armored would-be-thief had gotten the hel out of dodge. 

"Ooof… that was not so fun…" Aleksei grumbled, while Herman seemed mostly fine, causing both of us to look over at him. 

"My suit's designed to work with really loud sounds all the time, and I've got polarized lenses." He shrugged. "He got away, but he didn't actually steal anything."

"You know what… I'll take that…" I groaned, looking back over to the truck. "Let's just… finish things here."

The rest of the trip(after we got the roadblock cleared) was remarkably uneventful, Manhattan Gridlock aside. We made sure that all of the trucks got to Horizon Labs without another attack, and I even managed to do a patch job on the roof that the Green Generator had torn off. 

And then, even though it hadn't technically been specified in our contract, we stuck around to guard things, just in case. When there's already been one supervillain attack, you can never be too careful. 

But, all in all, it was pretty successful. Minimal collateral damage, a wannabe supervillain thwarted, and a damn good payday! I could now genuinely say that we had broken even! Woooooo! There were still two more jobs in the pipeline, but we had a week before the first of them. 

I was glad about that. It would be good to be able to rest, relax… or rather practice with my powers. And deal with paperwork. Alas. Well, I was hoping that after those two jobs, I'd have enough to hire a dedicated secretary, which would bring my administrative workload down by a lot. 

Ahhh… the issues with owning a small business in New York that handles superhuman stuff. You love to see it. 

Back in my office, I nodded as I looked them over. One was pretty simple. A security gig for an Anti-Roxxon Demonstration set to happen in Central Park. Simple, with a coinflip as to whether or not we'd actually have to do anything. Though, if we did, it might get nasty. 

Then, after that, something a bit more spicy. More security work… this time for a music festival happening in M-Town. I wasn't sure why it was happening in January of all months, but there was basically bound to be trouble there.

We'd have to plan accordingly. 

But… that was for the future. For now… paperwork. Accursed paperwork. 

Not even the power of a million exploding suns could stop that.

You could just burn it all. 

I was sorely tempted. So very much so.627AshlingWaltzesMay 17, 2025View discussionThreadmarks Vol 1, Issue 3: Work Smart, Not HardView contentAshlingWaltzesTiny Giant Robot Feral Science ChildSuper Awesome Happy Funtime Award RecipientShe/HerMay 17, 2025#28January, 2001

Mike's Junkyard 

Manhattan, New York

It was, as a favorite childhood cartoon of mine had said, quite a blustery day, so I bundled up in my green coat, which was really fluffy on the inside, with the hood pulled up all over my costume. My glasses were slightly askew from the wind, which was awkward, and I grumbled a little at the chill. As long as I was actively suppressing the well of energy within me, I was still just as subject to shifts in temperature as everyone else. It felt… grounding, in a way. Made me feel more human, despite everything. 

I hadn't ever really practiced much with my powers, so the idea of actually doing that… was still absolutely terrifying. Even doing it outside of a combat situation, what would happen if I slipped? Normally, in a situation like this, you'd have a comedic moment where the person trying out their powers ends up going a bit too big. They wreck something, or toss a baseball all the way to the stratosphere, and it was kind of cute and amusing. To read at least. I shivered, internally cringing at the idea of something going wrong. Testing my upper limits was not the point of this anyways. 

I mean, you're gonna have to test 'em sometime, Starshine. Ignore me all you want, but you can't ignore the godlike power bubbling beneath your fingertips. And that's a Capital-G God, not those Norwegian guys who never made it out of the Elizabethan era. 

"Hhhh…" I drew in a sharp breath as I approached the Junkyard, ignoring the shadowy silhouette in the window of the restaurant I had just passed. And then I smiled knowingly. Because for all of that bravado, and the needling of the New Church of Asgard… I knew that the voice was afraid. Because, if she knew everything I knew and more, as she'd claimed… then she knew that, even with the power of a million exploding suns, Thor had still beaten the… the Other Guy down. 

And that brought me some degree of comfort. Regardless of how she tried to sell it, she wasn't an unstoppable killing machine. It was just another layer of protection. If the darkness came out, it would be stopped… the cost was the only question.

Mou! You never give me the benefit of the doubt, Starshine! Is that really what you think I am? A psychotic mass murderer? Or is that what you think you are?

Was it a little fucked up that part of my faith was spurred on by the knowledge that my god could put me down if I went out of control? Absolutely. Was it all of my reasoning for being a member of the New Church of Asgard? Absolutely not. 

The gate to the junkyard was unlocked, and I easily pulled the heavy metal thing open, closing it behind me. It looked… well, like most New York Junkyards. Fair amount of wrecked cars and scrap, all stacked up. And it seemed that Herman and Aleksei were already here. Aleksei was wearing a very classic-looking gray Adidas tracksuit, which had had a rhino patch attached to the front, and the words 'WORLD'S GREATEST RHINO' ironed on to the back, a number of gold chains around his neck, and a pair of round red sunglasses with black rims perched on his nose. Herman just had on a long sleeved yellow sweatshirt, jeans, and a red vest. 

"Hey boss! Right on time!" Aleksei chuckled, adjusting his sunglasses. "Are you ready to cut loose just a bit? I have worked things out with Mike, and so long as we do not wreck too much, we can go wild!"

I had to resist my urge to recoil. That's really not something I needed to hear after I've just wrestled the Other Guy into shutting up. But I really did need to practice, and I wasn't just going to flake out, so I took off my glasses and put them in my coat pocket, before pulling off my coat and setting it down next to my employees. I felt the biting cold intensify for a moment, before I opened the metaphorical tap just an infinitesimal amount, and felt warmth suffuse my body, the golden glow visible passing under my skin for a moment before fading.

"That… doesn't look like it feels great." Herman noted, looking pointedly at me. 

I shrugged, flashing him a wry grin. "It's not too bad. Just… kinda like warm water's going under my skin, and then everything feels great. Most of the time." 

"You seem little bit taller. Not too much, might be posture, but is interesting." Aleksei nodded, and I looked down at myself. Sure, I tended to slouch a lot normally, but I didn't think that would make a really big difference…

"Huh. Weird." Rubbing the back of my head, I turned to one of the stacks of cars and took a deep breath. "Alright, let's start small."

That was beginning to be something of a catchphrase, wasn't it? The name of the game was subtle and small. 

I took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling as I tried to center myself. I hated when the voice sounded reasonable. I hated when it found any way to sound right. Fuck. That never led to good things. But in this case… 

Well… I couldn't just hold back when I was trying to gauge what I could do. Just… just a little bit more… that would be fine. 

Another inhale, another exhale. I opened the tap just a bit more, and felt that warmth suffuse my whole body. The world seemed to get sharper… clearer. I couldn't help but think that Aleksei was right… I did seem a bit taller. Weird. I raised my hand, pointing towards the stack of cars… and then focused. 

And the rusted, junked masses of metal started to float, rising up several meters, orbiting around each other. 

"Whoa…" Herman looked between my hand and the hovering wrecks. "So… how exactly are you doing that? Most telekinetics just… well, they just lift things. Normally, they don't glow." 

"I've got…" I paused, thinking for a moment as I tried to come up with the best way to put it into words.

The power of a million exploding suns? Omnipotent might all bottled up in your mortal shell, waiting for you to use it?

"A reserve of energy inside me. It's… well, it replenishes when I use it, but it's a pretty big tank. I can use it to make myself… better." I instead replied, and then put my focus on the smaller details of the cars. They weren't uniform blocks of metal after all. Masses of parts and pieces held together with bolts and screws and welds. Just like Green Generator's armor. I hadn't been able to do much to the metal through brute force, at least at the point I'd been at. But, like almost everything, it wasn't all one piece. I just had to put the right amount of force…

Welds melted, joints split, screws undid themselves, as the three junked cars just… came apart. It was… remarkably orderly. Herman and Aleksei were both staring at the results. "What do you mean 'better'?" 

That brought a smile to my face as I let the pile of junk mix up, spinning in place like a replica of a forming planet. "I mean better. Stronger, faster, more durable. Even when I'm not actively drawing on it. I… well, think about it kinda like a sink tap. Like normally, I could take a bullet to the eye, and the bullet would lose."

"How'd you find that out?" Herman looked mildly worried at that little revelation. 

"Someone tried to mug me, panicked, and ended up shooting me. The round ended up rebounding, nearly hit him right back." I shrugged, before closing my fist and compacting the metal into a ball. Then I blinked as I realized that there was a hovering cloud of reddish mist hanging in the air at the place where the pieces had previously been floating. "Huh… the rust stayed in place. That's… hang on, I need to try something."

I let the ball and the rust fall, before moving over to another car, this one heavily rusting. Once again, I held out my hand, and concentrated. I just wanted to- 

A cloud of reddish brown mist rose up off of the car, as I pulled away the rust, and only the rust. "I… uh… my telekinesis is kind of weird as well. It's… not like how people normally describe it."

"So… it's not like grabbing something with an invisible hand, or a grip?" Herman asked with genuine interest. "Most of the scientific journals I've read have people describe it that way."

"N-no, it's not like that. More… I feel like I'm wrapping up whatever I want to move in saran wrap, and then it… well, it moves. But, past a certain point, it gets harder." I gestured to the cloud of rust, which coalesced into a perfect sphere. "Like these… without drawing on more power than I'm comfortable with, it'd be basically impossible for me to take something apart in a high-stress situation."

"More power than you are comfortable with? What do you mean?" Aleksei nodded to the remains of the cars, and I cringed a little. Dammit, this would be difficult…

"I… well… that reservoir I mentioned? And the tap? The… uh… the more I draw on it, the more powerful I get, but it's… it gets harder to think… no, no that's not right. My emotions, they also get stronger. Like, a lot stronger." I gulped, waiting for the response… it wasn't technically a lie. The more I drew, the louder the voice got. The harder she was to ignore. The only time I'd done it- 

[Light. Golden light, splashing out. Straps broke, and the frame of a worn hospital bed melted as I floated. The shadows lengthened as the lights flickered. All of the pain was gone. All the nicks and cuts and the chafing at my wrists. But the smell of corpses only got worse. Corpses, antiseptics, a spilled container of hand sanitizer, and old beer and food. Human waste and cloying sweat. And the sounds… There were too many, too much. Too much input from everything and everywhere, all at one. Overwhelming. Even as the people in the white coats gasped and chattered about how they'd done it. Everything they'd done… everything the people in the white coats had… no… no… they weren't people. Not after what they did.]

My breathing quickened, and I shuddered, hands trembling as I pulled at my cuffs, old aches flaring up. 

And so I painted the walls with their shadows until everything was quiet. I did it for you. And they deserved it. 

"Ah, so you are worried about… what is it that the kids are saying?" Aleksei rubbed at his chin before nodding. "Ah yes, you do not want to 'Hulk Out' and cause a great deal of damage." 

My tension broke slightly, and I gave Aleksei a wan smile. "Y-yeah, basically."

"Well, it is good to have someone like a Hulk being on ourside. Hey Herman, you remember when Juggernaut decided to take walk through Midtown?" Aleksei laughed out loud even as Herman groaned. "Now, important question.. You have been only going out with, what, one percent of all that power?"

"S-something like that." I fidgeted with my suit's zipper, not meeting Aleksei's eyes. It… was a bit lower than one percent. Right now I was at one percent. 

"So, if you say you can hover… does this mean if you use more of the juice, you can fly?" There was an almost childish joy in Aleksei's voice, which made me laugh. 

"I… yeah. Yeah I can." In demonstration, I… well… it was almost the opposite of when I used my telekinesis. I just let go a little bit, and then I was floating a foot in the air. The more power I drew on, the harder it was to keep myself on the ground. "Floating is… well… it's easy, but flying… that's…"

"I'm guessing there's a trick to it?" Herman asked, and I nodded.

"The… well, the easiest way to describe it is… it's more like falling in a direction than anything else. I just kind of pick the way and just go." In demonstration, I held out my hands, and just started to move the way I was pointing. That was the easy part. Just going in a direction. 

"Is that all? That does not seem to be much problem- WHOA!" Aleksei had just started to comment, before I tried going a different direction, and just kind of jerked to the side, smashing into a car and then going sprawling. "Okay, I see what you mean."

"You alright boss?" Herman had stood up, and was looking towards me.

"Gaaaah…." I pulled myself up, letting my natural impulse to hover to help. "Yeah… yeah I'm fine. See… the thing is, I kind of… just change direction too fast. It's instant, and really jarring, so unless I'm going in a straight line, I tend to go out of control. It… ugh… it sucks."

"Have you ever tried using your telekinesis to help with that?" I looked over towards Herman and shrugged. 

"It… ah… it takes a lot more energy for me to pull myself around like that. B-but, I think that it might just be a lack of practice." I drifted back down to the ground, rolling my shoulders and then stretching out a bit. 

"Well, you know what they say… practice makes perfect."

But, Starshine, you're already perfect. Why won't you accept that?

The next few hours were spent with me working on trying to change direction a bit less sharply, or at least trying to get used to the feeling when I messed up. It felt… weird. Like driving a vehicle in a game with overly responsive controls. But, I found that, if I was concentrating hard, I could slow myself down. 

It was something that would take a lot more than a few hours of practice to get right, and a place with a lot more open space. But a little progress was better than nothing, and I could still do a lot with just going in a direction, coming to a dead stop, and then shifting directions that way. It was clunky, but for the time being… well, it worked for me.

After that, I powered down, waved goodbye to Herman and Aleksei, and then got my coat and started my short trek towards my apartment. It was starting to get dark, and I was feeling a bit hungry, so I stopped by One-Eyed Nick's Pizza(Which I was absolutely certain was a SHIELD front), and got a few slices. The place made good pizza, but it didn't seem to be doing well. 

"Everything alright Jack?" I asked the guy at the counter, who sighed heavily. 

"Not really. 'Fraid this place might not be here for too much longer. Bills, not as many customers, that sorta thing." He ran a hand through his thinning hair and grumbled. 

"Dammit… that sucks." I groaned. I really liked the pizza here. I reached under my collar and rubbed at the silver Mjolnir pendant that was there. "Well, I'll pray for some luck your way."

Grabbing my slices, I headed back out, humming to myself. I was going to sleep in tomorrow, and then probably give Vicky a call, just to check in. I was expecting that my parents were going to drop by in a few days, so I'd have to prepare for that. Ahhhh… so much to do. But… it was kind of a nice feeling, being busy.568AshlingWaltzesMay 17, 2025View discussionThreadmarks Vol 1, Issue 4: Rest and RelaxationView contentAshlingWaltzesTiny Giant Robot Feral Science ChildSuper Awesome Happy Funtime Award RecipientShe/HerMay 17, 2025#35January, 2001

Ash's Apartment

Harlem, New York

I woke up to sunlight flowing into my window. Uuuugh, I'd forgotten to close my curtains fully. Dammit. With a groan, I turned slightly to my nightstand, checking the time on my SleepBuster. It was a little after ten. Uuuuugh. Dammit. With a huff, I glared at the curtains until they closed, and then pulled my blankets more tightly around myself. Godsdammit. I knew it was pointless though, since I always had trouble getting back to sleep when I woke up too early. 

It was basically a coinflip between actually managing to get a few more hours, generally a few hours more than I'd have liked, or I just couldn't get back to sleep. And it was looking like now was the latter case. Uuuuugh.

Finally, I accepted the inevitable, and got up, running a hand through my messy hair with another groan as I looked around my apartment. My home of four years was a tiny place. Only about twice the size of my office. No, not the three rooms and section of hallway that made up that floor, the office as in my personal office room. Half of the space was the 'bedroom', with my bed, some shelves, my nightstand, and a small closet, along with a tiny desk that had an equally tiny TV on it. Most of the furniture was used, but it was all pretty sturdy and had served me well.

The other half of the main room was the 'kitchen', with a refrigerator that had come with the place(Which made grumpy rattling noises when it got too hot), a small counter with a sink, and some cabinets. My cooking equipment basically just consisted of a two-in-one Toaster Oven/Toaster combo that had been a gift from my parents when I got the apartment, a George Foreman Grill and hot plate from my college days, an electric kettle, and a blender. Not exactly a five star setup, but it was fine for my needs. 

There was a door to the small bathroom, which was packed with an old-style shower/bath combo, toilet, sink, and the only mirror in the apartment, which was set over the sink and currently covered over with a cloth. 

All in all, it wasn't much, and if I'd let my parents pitch in, I could have gotten a bigger place… but I'd paid for it with my own money, and that brought a sense of accomplishment. Though this New York had a lot lower housing prices in the city proper than the one of the before. Probably because of the various super shenanigans. 

With a sigh, I got up, and then shuffled over to fill up the kettle from the filtered jug that had been sitting in the sink, and turned it on to heat before putting in two slices of toast from my mostly empty fridge, and getting the little hot plate started up for some eggs and a little bit of bacon to complete my breakfast. Then, while that was going, I shuffled back to my desk, and the two plastic pill holders that were set there to keep everything organized, opened up today's little pocket, and swallowed my meds. 

From there, everything moved a lot quicker, as the water finished boiling for a nice cup of warm honey-ginger tea, and I got started on the eggs and bacon. Not a very complicated breakfast, but I was never one to go for complicated stuff in the morning. Hel, normally I just had leftovers of some kind. 

Once my food was consumed, I went about the rest of my morning routine. Getting cleaned up, and then steeling myself to look in the mirror. But not before double checking that the lightswitch hadn't gotten stuck halfway again. Gods knew I'd had that happen more than once… but I never got around to fixing it. 

And when I pulled back the curtains, it was just me. Hair damp and falling down in front of my face like some kind of delinquent onryo, but looking a bit nicer than it had a few days ago, freckles still splotched over my face, eyes still slightly bloodshot behind my glasses. Nothing spooky. I took a deep breath, and then shuddered slightly at an unwelcome scent from the cabinet under the sink. With a growl, I knelt down, and opened it, recoiling at the antiseptic smell from one of the cleaning bottles, which had fallen over at one point. The light above me flickered, and I couldn't stop myself from grabbing at my wrists. 

Why are you afraid? Why should you be afraid?

I looked up at the edge of my reflection in the mirror… mostly out of sight and indistinct. The shadows around the room almost seemed to be growing as the light flickered… almost looking like creeping fingers. Deep breaths. Deeeep breaths. Calm… calm…

Starshine, you should be above this~. Above everything.

With a great amount of effort, I held out my hand, willing the spilled chemicals back into their bottle and leaving the floor spotless, and screwing the lid on tight, before standing up. Everything was back to normal. No motion in the corners of my eye, or anything weird in the mirror. My lip curled up into a scowl, and I went about brushing and combing my hair with ferocious intent, grumbling under my breath before going back out to get dressed. 

It was funny… when I'd… when everything had happened, at first I'd felt fairly normal most of the time. I'd been stronger, faster, and a little tougher without drawing on any extra energy… but as time passed, it started to increase. It being too cold or too hot out bothered me a lot less, but blankets were comfy. Definitely saved on heating bills, that was for sure. Of course, it also meant that I had to remember to wear clothes that fit with the season. Sure, I could walk around New York in the middle of winter in a T-shirt and shorts, but that wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous. 

So, I went with a yellow shirt, jeans, and my jacket, and my bag, because I had a few errands to run before I called Vicky. Humming to myself, I grabbed up my laundry and then locked the door behind me.

The errands didn't take long. Just taking my clothes to the laundromat, picking up a sandwich from Samuel's Bodega, and then heading back home. Just a normal day. Of course, as somewhat expected, something had to nearlyruin it. That being when someone bumped into me, and tried to slip the bag off of my shoulder. It was very nice, made of leather, and had served me well for years, ever since Artie had gotten it for me for Christmas right before his deployment. 

As such, someone trying to grab it was not something I was going to take laying down. So, as the would-be purse snatcher tried to run, I raised my hand, and he froze in place. I… I'd like to think that this wasn't a petty use of my powers, since they guy had just tried to rob me, but I still felt a bit bad as I floated less than inch above the ground before blurring next to him with a crack of displaced air, and plucked the bag out of his hands. Nobody really batted an eye, except for one kid who was staring at me. 

"Whoa… are you an Avenger?" He asked, and I couldn't help but smile, and put a finger up to my lips, before moving on back home without any other incidents. It was funny… most of the time, if you showed off any weird powers, nobody really cared. So long as you didn't do anything too outlandish. Unless you happened to look weird, then the default assumption was that you were a Mutant. Ugh.

When I got home though, I was greeted by a pleasant surprise. There was a letter taped to my door… an invitation to a Chinese New Year party that would be happening on the twenty-fifth, hosted by some of my neighbors at a local restaurant. I'd have to go to that for sure! 

I set down my sandwich on the counter, and put my clothes back on their shelves, and then pulled my cordless phone off of it's base next to the TV. Gods, it had been weird, not having to have a cellphone, and not being connected and online for so much of the day. I was about to punch in Vicky's number, before narrowing my eyes. Dammit, I couldn't remember if it was a five or a three or… ugggh. I wasn't good with remembering stuff like this. 

Luckily, I had my cheat sheet… a paper on the fridge with a whole bunch of important numbers and the like, since my phone didn't really store numbers. Well, at least it had an answering machine. 

I dialed, and waited. 

Ring

Ring

Click

"Ah? Ash, is that you?" Vicky asked from the other end of the line. "My Caller ID's been acting up…"

"Well, that's what you get when you cheap out on your cell phone." I smirked, flopping back on my bed. "Hi, Vicky. How're you doing?"

"Oh, you know, pretty good." I could hear the shrug in my sister's voice. "Lion's aren't doing well, but I'm not really surprised."

"Ohhhhhhh, where's that Penn State Spirit you had last year? Come on…" My tone was joking as I needled her a little. Vicky had been going on and on about sports last here, and it had gotten a little grating. 

"Last year the sports teams weren't literally cursed. They had to call in someone from the Sanctum Sanctorum and everything. It got bad. Like, really bad. Started out with bad luck, and then most of the teams got sick with some weird kind of flu, and after that, it started literally raining cats and dogs every time they tried to play… even indoors." Oh. Okay, yeah, that was pretty bad. I had to admit, I was a bit behind the times on the news, but… well… 

"That… sounds pretty fucked up. But they cleared it all, right?" I kicked my legs a little, untangling them from my blankets. 

"Yeah, but everything's messed up for the season…" Vicky grumbled, and we spent a bit of time going over how she was doing. My little sister was going to school for robotics and engineering, on the Howard Stark Scholarship. It seemed like she'd inherited some kind of genius from grandpa, and I was happy about that. I could proudly proclaim that I had not one, but two super geniuses in the family. After a while though, the topic changed over. "So… you got that business of yours up and running? Everything good with that?" 

"Ohhh, you bet. It's been great." I laughed, standing up and starting to pace as I excitedly told Vicky about everything that had been going on. My employees, the jobs we'd been on, the little office. All of it. 

"And… how are things going with… you know…" I could feel the empathetic worry in her voice, and the trepidation. "Mom said you'd gotten a new therapist…"

I stopped in place, and sighed, closing my eyes. "Yeah. Doctor Sorenson's a lot better than the last guy. She took one look at my prescriptions, and just threw up her hands in disgust. I think she might have called something in, because the next thing I hear, he's getting investigated for malpractice. Something about handing out bad meds, and skimming off the top. I don't have the full details on it."

"So… you haven't had any more episodes?" Vicky asked, sounding hopeful. It made me grin. 

"I… mostly. It's not as bad. Sleeping's been better. I.. ah, well, I haven't woken up faceplanted into the ceiling ever since I swapped over." I flexed my hand, pointing it up at the ceiling. "And… well, don't tell mom and dad, because I want to surprise them, but I hit a big milestone!"

"Oh? What kind of milestone?"

Twirling the end of my ponytail, I took a deep breath. "I.. um… well, I actually went into a hospital for a checkup. Lasted through the whole thing, like half an hour, no incidents." 

"Ohmygod Ash! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Vicky cheered, and I thought I could hear the sound of her pumping her fist. "It's been what…"

"Three years." I exhaled, realizing that I was hovering, and then forced myself back to the ground. "Almost exactly."

"It's amazing progress! But… um… how did they actually do the checkup, what with your… y'know…?"

"Well, they actually told me that pretty soon, I'll actually have to find a specialist… which I know is gonna suck." Most doctors that specialized in superhumans charged a lot for their services, because once you went past a certain point, normal medical equipment just didn't work. Checkups and minor stuff became a massive hassle, and specialists knew they could charge more, because they were the only one you could get that specific kind of care from. It was a huge mess. 

"That sucks…"

"Eh, I'll manage. I always do." I laughed disarmingly. 

"Oh shoot… I've got to go, I've got a class… but, um, good luck! Give Mom and Dad my love when they come by!" Vicky cursed under her breath. 

"I will, don't worry. Love you Vicky." 

"Love you too Ash! Byyyyeee!" With that, she hung up, and I returned over to my bed with a contented groan. It was nice to hear back from my sister, and just… talk. Even if it wasn't as easy as Before. Actually… that made it a bit more special. I smiled as I flicked my hand towards my TV's remote, turning it on, and then swapping to PBS. I was just planning on vegging out for a bit. Maybe tomorrow I'd try flying more. 

Yeah, that should be nice… 

I smiled as I watched Bob Ross painting his happy little trees, content with the world.