This is yet another story I started years ago but never continued.
It’s about a trio of young golden-age superheroes who begin to question their perfect (predictable) superhero reality as it begins to crack after powerful new strangers appear to them with a prophecy.
“One will be the greatest hero… One will sacrifice their life to save the universe… One will threaten the universe as its greatest villain.”
I’ll continue posting old ideas. They almost feel like they’re a part of an unfinished multiverse.
Lucy Lockheart
Routine supherhero stuff.
Purple bound Lavabeast in purple shadow, blinding it temporarily.
Fight the bad guy.
“Jude, like we practiced!” I commanded.
Jude’s damage mech landed before the blinded creature before firing a volley of crypto-nitrogen missiles, freezing it in place.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Clink.
I smiled for the drone cameras.
Just as we practiced. Our new trio, working well together as expected. I felt happy now that I knew we made the right choice to leave the collective and form our own thing. We’re best friends after all.
“My turn…” I soaked the roar of the crowd into my right hand. “Time to put this villain to bed.”
“Do your thing, big sister!” Purple screamed through my communicator.
“Don’t mess this up,” Jude added in my ear. “I’ve got things to do.”
“Promise not to hold you up, St. Jude,” I took the air, reared back, and struck the blinded, frozen creature, knocking it into the atmosphere.
“”Jude is fine,” Jude dully replied.
“Just Jude is a charming name,” I quipped.
“I mean, don’t include the saint part,” He added. “I only go by Jude.”
“Very well,” I said. “Mission complete, Jude.”
Defeat the bad guy.
The beast had disappeared into the sky.
My guess is it would land on the moon among the carcasses of its friends. I was certain the moon had become a graveyard for the lavaheads. Perhaps I could take a trip to the moon to do a cleanup.
“Returning to base,” Jude said.
“Just like that?” I said. “At least come back for a photo opp.”
“Is that an order?” He said.
“Yes… its an order if it would make you not leave,” I said.
The moon looked beautiful as always.
“Yay, nice shot Lockheart!” Purple cheered over the communicator.
Purple formed like a cloud above my head.
“Thanks,” I answered with a grin. “You feeling alright?”
“Don’t feel tired or anything,” Purple replied.
The wail of sirens grew louder. So did the applause, as citizens emerged from their homes, shelters, and some from the surrounding rubble.
Start over.
“Think you can keep together long enough to help first responders?” She commanded.
“Yeah, I can.” Purple replied.
The cloud shot towards the sirens on the far end of town with a tiny saucer following it close behind– hardest hit section of the neighborhood.
But its what I loved to do. I literally couldn’t see myself as anything else.
“Put on your skin if you’re feeling tired,” I commanded.
“Okay!” Purple replied loud enough to echo over the sirens.
Lucy the homemaker? Lucy the lawyer? Not a chance. I was meant to protect and save lives the way I do.
Purple soared over the Police Chief and Mayor’s caravan and news vans as they maneuvered their way through the destroyed neighborhood.
There was a reason I was sucked into that portal and given these abilities and I believe the very nature of how my abilities work wasn’t a mistake either.
“We did good,” Lucy declared. “Nobody died.”
“Nobody ever dies,” Jude answered from over her shoulder.
She was the one person Jude could never sneak up on.
“You should help with the clean up,” Lucy Lockheart.
“I’ll have some of my drones assist,” Jude answered.
“Would be better if you were here in person,” Lucy faced him.
“Maybe after the next attack,” Jude played with the holographic schematics of his repair drone hovering over his watch. “Have something to do at the lair.”
“That’s what you said the last time,” Lucy said.
“This won’t be the last lavabeast,” Jude said.
“It’s not about that,” She said.
“How many drones?”
“I really think you should work on your public relations skills.”
No answer.
I looked over my shoulder.
I wanted to look him in his pupil-less eyes, past his mask.
“If we’re going to be a te-” I shut up as soon as realized Jude was gone and there was a robot standing in his place.
He always does this.
I shook my head. “A team…”
“How can I help?” The Jude-bot questioned.
“Rude,” I muttered to myself.
:”Sorry, I don’t understand the command,” The Jude-bot replied.
“Just… go help Purple with the first responders,” I commanded with frown.
“As you wish, Lockheart.” The Jude-bot rocketed it off to the sky towards the sea of whirring lights.
Jude wasn’t a teleporter, or even a powered being, but somehow he always managed to sneak away in the middle of their conversations. Ninjas were annoying. He was annoying.
“Lucy!” The Police chief exited his vehicle with the Mayor and armed security at their side. “Wonderful job!”
“Thank you, Chief Pueblo.” II Bowed to both the Police Chief and Mayor. “Wonderful to see you Mayor Ciudad.”
The Mayor shook her hand just as a sea of reporters crowded them.
“Lockheart, there’s been a rise in Lavahead attacks,” The first reporter asked.
I put on my biggest smile. “And we’re doing our best to-”
“Do you have any idea who or what’s behind the rise in attacks?” The first reporter asked.
A second reporter shoved the first out of the way. “What steps do you plan to take to stop these attacks before they happen.”
“We’re looking into that,” Lucy said.
“Any theories from the second smartest boy in the world?” The First reporter wrestled the second reporter out of the way.
“Jude is doing extensive research into the matter,” She answered.
“No more questions,” The Police Chief put his arm around her and walked her away.
The armed security formed a Kevlar wall between them, her the Chief and the rabid reporters.
“They’re getting more aggressive,” The Chief said.
“Comes with the territory,” I replied.
It didn’t help that she left the world’s most popular team to form her own. It didn’t help that I was the daughter of a slimeball, or that other powered beings like me turned out to be self-serving and evil.
“The information Jude provided was helpful,” The Chief said. “Scientists at Section 5 appreciate the work from your teammate.”
“Yeah, Jude’s a real team player,” I quipped.
The Mayor nodded in agreement.
“Mayor thinks these latest attacks were calculated,” Chief said.
That thought of more calculated Lavaheads was insane! They were beasts, no smarter than a feral bear or an enormous rodent– if rodents could burn as hot as magma and melt a brick building with a whip of its tail.
“The Mayor shared Jude’s data with Team Supreme,” The Chief said.
“I’m always happy to work alongside the planet’s mightiest.” I maintained my smile by cringed on the inside. “Thank you all.”
I posed for the camera.
The paparazzi took several photos of me as I alternated between the looking to the stars pose to the hands on the hips, I am woman feminine pose.
I could feel my power growing with each paparazzi snap and each awe from the crowd.
Their adoration for me was strong and growing stronger with each like on social media, each purchase of my plush toy, each girl fighting over who gets to play me in the latest fighting game.
A cloud zipped over the paparazzi and landed near me.
The shutters fell silent.
“No need to be alarmed,” I said.
Purple retook his solid form. “I didn’t mean to scare them.”
“That will be all for today.” I waved at the paparazzi before pulling Purple away from the frightened paparazzi, wrathful looking police chief and stonefaced Mayor.
“They hate me,” Purple said.
“They just need to get used to you,” I assured.
“But they’re scared of me,” Purple replied. “I’m scared of balloons animals and I don’t get used to those.”
She squeezed Purple’s shoulders. “They just need to get to know you. Then they’ll love you.”
“Promise?” Purple extended his stitched up pinky finger.
She wrapped her pinky finger around Purple’s. “Of course. Promise.”
Whirrrrrr!
“An invasion alarm?” She turned back towards the city. “We just beat back the invasion.”
A buzz in her inner-ear.
She hated that intercom and wondered again why Jude was so vehemently against using the wrist watch communicators. Even a good old fashioned monocle with a user display would suffice.
“Are you reading this?” Jude said.
“I feel it.” She knelt and touched the ground. “Where are you?”
“Look up,” Jude answered.
Jude’s harrier decloaked revealing itself above the city.
“Something’s coming,” Jude said.
I faced the worried crowd.
“It’s alright,” She assured. “I ask that you evacuate the area. We have it handled.”
Purple ran to her side. “The ground’s moving.”
I sensed the ground was the least dangerous thing on the move.
The ground rumbled.
Lockheart faced Purple. “Get these people to safet-“
Drooooooone.
It happened too fast. Too fast for me to react.
The ground beneath the paparazzi turned neon orange before opening up and swallowing them whole.
“Purple!” I gasped in horror.
“I’m on it!” Purple’s smoke form exited his flesh form through his mouth and flew down the hole.
Lockheart rushed to the edge of the sinkhole. “Purple!”
We beat back the invasion. Invasions don’t happen more than once every few days.
She laid on her stomach and tried to pierce the dark in the sinkhole. “Purple can you hear me?”
Krrrrrr. Static…
“Jude, can you get a track on Purple!” Lockheart called.
“No signal,” Jude replied.
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