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re: <P> Lady Trident Issue 2: Brave New World
 by ladytrident on Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:12 pm
‘The first thing you notice about Superman is his eyes. Those blue, guileless, “boy scout” eyes. ‘
- Fourteen Days before the Brainiac Invasion
Superman floated in front of Cori as she stood millimeters from the edge of her back patio, forty stories above the streets of Metropolis’s midtown. “I realize that it may seem hopeless, Miss.” Cori’s head bowed, ashamed. She had been ready to give up – ready to be through with it all.
She had walked out past the pool to just drop off the side of the building, hoping her heart would fail before she hit the pavement. As she had contemplated the fall, Superman had dropped by.
“Please,” he said, actually appearing to feel it, “give yourself a few weeks. You can never tell how your life will change.”
Cori felt tears drop from her almond eyes.
“Is there someone you can call?” He asked, hopeful.
Cori nodded affirmative.
“Like I said miss, give it a few weeks. A lot can happen.”
- The Day After the Brainiac Invasion
It seemed like yesterday that she had had Oracle in her ear. “This is the mail room where the mailboxes are, of course.” Oh, that’s right, it had been.
Cori grimaced as she stood amidst, for lack of a better term, the tour group. She glanced around; all of them had earphones on, probably listening to the same recorded message. She looked at the recycled Metropolis Museum of Fine Arts tour recorder. It had been appropriated and retasked by the Justice League and Metropolis to help with the “New Heroes Orientation Fair”. It had been hurried; the invasion and exobyte explosion had just been yesterday. The Justice League and Metropolis’ Science Police apparently didn’t want to leave the new thousands of metahumans in Metropolis without some kind of direction.
She had been in this room just yesterday. Cori had fallen unconscious and been awakened by concerned paramedics who had been assisting others. She had been checked over, showered in the police locker room and helped with getting home. She had promised to come back and make a statement today, but found a cordoned off perimeter around the Chinatown Police Station. After passing a few checkpoints and filling out some forms, she had been placed in a queue for the fair. Holding her bag from Stacy’s, another repurposed item, and wearing a sticky name tag on her Kappa Psi sorority hoodie stating her was “Lady Trident”, she walked slowly with the twenty or so other superheroes as they were introduced to Sentinels of Magic, Amazons, Justice League droids, Green Lanterns, and other heroic types.
Basically, a lot of spandex was everywhere.
Some of the other people in her tour group had already tried putting their own costumes. Seems like a run on underarmour from the sporting goods stores over at the Cain Street Mall had happened this morning. Cori could blame them for their enthusiasm, but she was still a little overwhelmed with the idea that the room’s temperature dropped twenty degrees when she walked in. She knew it was because she was nervous, and just tried to focus on breathing, remaining clam. Otherwise, it was liable to start snowing inside.
Well, snowing inside again….
With all of the people trying to get where they needed to go, and trying to meet the vendors or meet their favorite heroes, it seemed like controlled chaos.
And Cori had been to USC during Rush Week.
A helmeted and body hugging spandex wearing woman came up to her and asked, “Do you know if you are a Meta, Magic, or Tech hero?” She asked as she held a clipboard with a WayneTech logo on its back.
“I, I, uhh, don’t know.” She asked honestly, so far as she knew she got her powers from the pearl that had lodged itself in her chest, but then if that was the case, how had she frozen the stairwell, the taxi, or everything else before she had taken the glowing bullet to her sternum.
The young woman smiled, “It’s all right, and don’t worry, we’ll help you find out. Just this way. The Martian Manhunt…, well- J’onn, will speak to you and help you figure out what’s next.” She allowed herself to be led to a plastic chair and folding table. Someone had thought it was funny to write “Sorting Chair” on the back of it. A Harry Potter fan in the midst, apparently.
The green skinned Martian walked over after an uncomfortable wait of thirty seconds. “Hello,” he reached to shake her hand. “I’m with the Justice League. I am called J’onn, but you might hear me called the Martian Manhunter.” He looked at her nametag, “Ah, Lady Trident. I heard about what you did yesterday, thank you very much for that.” He motioned to the empty chair opposite her at the table. She nodded once. “Superman was very grateful for the help you gave him yesterday, he cares very much for Metropolis.”
Cori was speechless. She had lived in Metropolis long enough to know Superman’s role there, to know that he was happy that she “had helped out” was almost too much for her to handle. The Manhunter seemed to pick up on this and exuded calm over her that only just held back the torrent of tears. She wasn’t normally so weepy, but her world hadn’t been just turned upside down – it had been turned into a Smoothie.
“We understand the depth of change you are going through and will guide you through this. I would never presume to say you have nothing to worry about, but I will say we are there if you need us.” He said as though he knew exactly what she was feeling and needed to hear. She had always joked that she wished men could read minds; maybe being a superhero wouldn’t be so bad.
They spoke about a variety of things, though none of it too personal, mostly just her abilities and what had seemed to cause them and happen to her. He finally politely excused himself as a glamorous woman wearing a tuxedo and fishnets walked over. On anyone else it would have seemed outlandish, she, however, pulled it off.
“Hello, Zatanna Zatara, Magician Extraordinaire, and you are?” Her perfect make up and coal black eyes were amazing to take in, she seemed to be magnetic for all eyes in the room.
“I’m, well, I’m Lady Trident. I saw your show in Las Vegas last summer. You put on quite a show.”
“Ah, always nice to meet a fan, “ she smiled dazzlingly, “You just made my day, thanks!”
Cori only shrugged and smiled in return, feeling at ease with some of the experienced heroes. Zatanna handed her a card with silvery writing flowing over a small business card. The lettering appeared to be made of smoke and sparkles. Cori looked it over and back up at her, with an eyebrow raised. Zatanna only smiled with her perfect teeth and said, “You can take the girl off the stage…”
*
Superman looked at the video feed to the Midtown PD Precinct. “I don’t know, Bruce, there are so many.”
“Thousands.” Batman didn’t look up from the data streaming in from the connection via all of the slaved WayneTech notebooks being used at the New Hero Orientation Fairs across the nation. He deeply encrypted the data to be sure only those he had vetted would be able to access it.
“How do we train them all?” Clark asked, more to himself, trying to wrap his head around how the world had changed so dramatically.
Diana walked over, “With heart, soul, and a conscience.” She put her hand on Clark’s shoulder, reassuring one warrior to another. Bruce “hmphed” and declined to comment.
*
Cori was walking out of the “safe house” still looking at the card. The lettering still floated over the card, like an ethereal promise. “Oblivion Bar, Historical District, 7pm.” She had chosen sneaks and sweat pants with her hoodie more out of practicality, though honestly with her new frame, nothing in her closet fit anymore. An extra three inches and forty lean pounds could kill a girl’s wardrobe choices. The wind blew her long golden brown hair into her face, frustrated she blew it out of her eyes and decided it was hair band time.
Tying it off, she pulled up the city’s map in her head, it was miles from from the Chinatown district. She could cab it or catch the Metro Whale.
Or, she could fly.
Was she allowed to do that? Was there a law against flying over the city? She thought more, Superman, Power Girl, Supergirl, lots of heroes did it. Why not?
She slipped her big Audrey Hepburn sunglasses on and checked her hair tie and slowly floated up from the sidewalk. Then pushed in the direction she wanted to go, she tried to imagine a throttle and a speedometer and started floating along at a fair pace. Not fast, but faster than running. It was a little disorienting at first; she tried to not look down. Mostly she looked at the horizon and tried to just push along and enjoy the views.
They were breathtaking. The city was beautiful. It was just late morning, so the sun was catching the entire Tomorrow District just right, the Science Spire shooting up into the heavens. She practiced turning to the right and left, learning to walk all over again. Eventually, she stopped trying so hard and just let her flight take her wherever.
One thing about flying, there are no street signs. She had overshot Midtown and ended up all the way out at the dam. The Historical District around her, LexCorp Tower at her back, she took in the white noise of the water and tried to reorient herself. Lighting down on a rooftop, she looked over the edge to see if she could see anything familiar. A small chuck of orange crystal lay on the ledge catching her eye. Picking it up, the crystal appeared to reflect the sun: bright, shiny, and beautiful. Maybe, something for the house, she could use a little beauty around there. She slipped it into her purse and set off again.
Finally, she found her building and lighted on to the patio, inches from her pool. It needed cleaning, she really had let this place go to pot. She opened her back door and went inside. The air smelled stale and rank, the trash needed taking out and, she saw with a glance, the dishes looked long overdue. She had released her staff a few months back when she had been particularly down. The little twig with a temper: that had been her.
She looked in the mirror. Whatever had happened to her had restored her former athleticism – hell, more so. Everything was firmed up and toned, but she could still feel the hole and aching in her heart. Super powers weren’t miracles; they didn’t do everything for you. Sometimes you were just who you were.
Maybe that was why there were super villains.
She saw the self-maintaining aquarium in her home office. Good thing her father had spent the untold thousands for this setup, Cori would have long killed these fish before now. She went to the wet bar’s sink and cleaned off the crystalline geode. Then placed in a nice spot with the light shining on it, looking beautiful amidst the other green and blues of the underwater environ. The glowing orange was a nice change. “There you go, guys, a change of scenery.” Maybe, that was what she needed.
She moved through the house, picking up random dirty clothes – sighing at how small they were now. She found her favorite fuzzy slippers and slid them on. Miraculously, and with a bit of adjustment, they sort of fit. Finding her father’s overstuffed easy chair, his throne, she settled heavily into it. The house was a metaphor for her life: A wreck.
Intellectually, she knew why her life had taken the turn it had. The men in her life, Daddy and Jim, had died. No, that wasn’t what she felt. It was more visceral than that.
Daddy and Jim had left her.
Daddy and Jim had abandoned her.
The hole in her heart wasn’t filled by the all night parties, the drinking, the drugs, or, especially, the men. God, had she tried to fill it with something, anything really.
She looked around the room. No mirrors or pictures. No joyous memories, no laughing photos of past accomplishments. None of the beauty she had on Delphos or the Aegean. Nothing from her time at USC. Not a scrap from her backpacking adventure across Europe with only her passport and the savings from working on the excavation for her father that summer.
None of the joy that her life had given her, only the wreckage from lashing out that the men in her life found her too worthless to stay alive for.
A tear dropped, running her mascara again. She was going to get all weepy again, just like the last six months had been. She had this wonderful new body, powers, and had saved the city from an alien death machine- and she was going to go back into that hole once again.
No.
She needed a new direction. She needed a change.
Without warning, her aquarium exploded. She squeaked and dodged the thick shards of glass, water, and plastic covered stones. Projectiles moving faster than her eyes could see put holes in walls, red heat beams appeared at random etched burn marks in her walls, all while she curled up in a protective ball on her father’s rug. Water droplets dropped on her face as the cannonball-like objects whizzed around the room. She opened her eyes and noticed, for once, her father’s rug. She hadn’t ever noticed, yet it must have taken root in her subconscious. The rug had an inlaid design into it, subtle, woven over. Now, the water from the giant tank had darkened the threads and the colors, bringing out the true design.
A trident.
She threw her hand up, eyes lit from the icy coldfire of her body, “Enough!” The room instantly dropped below freezing, and then Antarctic temperatures caused the flying objects to stop.
Her fish from the aquarium flopped on the floor, icy crystals freezing their bodies nearly solid – yet they still tried to swim.
“What the hell?”
*
“Orange Kryptonite, Miss.” The helmeted Science Police officer said, clicking the small lead box shut protecting the outside world from its otherworldly radioactive emissions. “Harmless to humans, gives animals the powers of a Kryptonian for a limited time, based on exposure.”
“So, if I hadn’t have picked up the rock, then some pigeon could be out there flying at Mach 4?” she said, contemplating the possibilities.
“And, maybe flying through a passenger liner bringing it down over the city, thanks very much for finding this. I can let my superiors know about the area you found it in, see what we can do to make sure any other rogue pieces.” He tipped his hand to his helmet, “It’s a Brave New World.”
She closed the door, looking around her home. It sure was, time to start living in it.
*
Cori spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. New clothes that fit, she was a size 6 now, dammit. But, some of the dresses looked devastating were size 4s so she took it as a victory. She had found time for a mini-makeover. Her haircut and restored to its midnight black and with the ends trimmed, now ended just above her shoulder. While in Stacy’s, she had been trying on earrings and noticed that not only had her coloring changed slightly, but that her eyes were a deep blue now, not her usual almond. No more gold for her, silver and platinum here she came. The lady at the makeup counter had been very helpful, since Cori hadn’t been this experimental with makeup since she had been a tiny teen with her nanny.
She made a mental note to call Andrea later; she knew she would be worried. It had been a few weeks since they had last talked, not since that night Superman had… dropped by.
Walking through the Cain Street Mall had given her a chance to explore the city in a whole new way, she had flown over it, trying to get her bearings and simply landed near the mall. After all, when the tough gets going, the tough go shopping. The mall was a collection of high end boutiques and simple family shops. The higher end boutiques were built on top the family stores. The way it was laid out: The higher the prices, the higher the level of the store. She had never put that together before now, she looked over at the Cain Street Mall Map to see what location she wanted to stop into next and saw “Cain Street Mall, a LexCorp Holding.” She “hmphed” as the thought occurred that his building was the highest in the city. Did he like looking down at the little people too?
She shopped a bit more and collected his numerous bags around her table at the food court. Like it or not, she was superpowered. Whether she became a superheroine was still undecided, but she had to be careful. She didn’t want to accidentally freeze someone when she got nervous, or worse.
What if she killed someone?
Shaking her head clear and willing those kind of thoughts away, she decided to look over the loot from the day. Nice dresses, jeans, blouses, a very nice jacket and skirt set, a whole new line of cosmetics – a midnight blue, early dawn blue, and silver shading kit for nighttime had looked gorgeous on her- and finally a new watch. Jim had worn a WayneTech Speedmaster Automatic, so she had been partial to the brand. She eyed her new WayneTech Seamaster with its laser carved stainless steel with platinum accent case and single faceted sapphire at its 12 o’clock point. Jim’s had been a larger man’s sized 44mm case, though hers was a smaller 38mm. No less tough, just in a slimmer case and looking elegant.
Just like her.
*
She unloaded her bags in her bedroom and regarded her very full closet of dresses, shoes, and blouses that couldn’t be worn. Clothes flew from the door to the large king sized bed and with a giggle, she jumped on the bed on top of them, scattering them all over the floor. The laugh felt good.
Finally, she stopped playing and checked her watch. It was getting close to time to go. She selected a silky silver blouse and tight blue jeans. For accessories she had chosen platinum jewelry: a chain belt through the loops, studs in her ears, and a simple empty charm bracelet. Finally, she slipped on some soft pigskin knee high three inch heel boots. She looked into the closet at the one survivor of the Darwinist fashion culling. Jim’s black doeskin bomber jacket, it still fit her and she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it. Deciding that the spring time air could be cold at night, she slipped it on and left for the Oblivion Bar.
*
She slipped out of the yellow hatchback cab at LexCorp Plaza. Holding the card in her hand, she felt it pull and guide her to a side alley with a nondescript wooden and brass laden door. A circle of gold appeared to waft around it like the glamour of a perfect Christmas tree. The elegant numbers of the address gleamed “777” on the stained glass. She checked her reflection and smoothed her imaginary wrinkles in her jeans. Finally, one deep breath later, she pushed the door open.
The stairs leading down to the bar were well maintained. Her boots echoed, the sharp sounds of the new soles on the ancient hand painted tiles. She stopped to look more closely at them, the archeologist in her head already processing the information. Each tile appeared to have a different glyph or ward on it. Without really looking closely, it was what it appeared to be, a floor. Only closer scrutiny revealed that it was hundreds of cultural references and magical symbols all in chromatic harmony. She narrowed her eyes, tried to imagine the shadowing and lighting angles, and moved up the stairs to get a better view. Finally, she floated up a bit to get an overhead angle view.
It was an ankh.
The bar was a slice of heaven. Background noise from people chatting, glasses clinked, someone was answering a phone. Like any bar; except for the demons, animal people, and random other heroes she had seen on the news gathered socially in small groups. It was a little unnerving.
She looked at the bar rules. “No weapons, no grudge matches, no kidding”. This is understood, it was a safe place for all people that were, well, different. She guessed even the bad guys needed a place to let their hair down. A woman with snakes writhing around her head and into her hair walked past her towards the exit.
Or whatever passed for your hair, she supposed.
Zatanna waved her over to join her at a booth. “What do you think?” as she waved to the room. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Cori smiled and shrugged as she seated herself opposite Zatanna on her bench seat. “It’s a bar.” Zatanna looked a little disappointed at her answer until Cori continued, “I went to USC and dated theatre majors.” She caught the joke began to laugh.
*
Cori had no idea what had happened. It was like a haze was suddenly lifted. It was like she was suddenly aware of her surroundings.
How had she gotten here?
And for that matter, where was here!?
She retraced her steps. The last clear memory was the Oblivion Bar and talking with Zatanna. She had really enjoyed the chance to relax and finally let the stress leave her shoulders. Now, she was in a dark room, with strange flames, and able to see even though there were apparently no light sources. So, back to stress, ice and snow again.
Figures.
She heard movement and turned to find the source as the radiant plasma ball hit her square in the chest knocking her into a bookshelf. Her weight and force snapped the bottom boards as her impact caused the other books to fall around her.
Ok, that was just rude.
She pulled the tome off her face that was blocking her vision to see a weasel like little bald man pointing what could only be a magic wand at her. He had a crazed look in his eyes. Her eyes lit up like the sunlight bouncing off the virgin snow on a slope. He didn’t look overly concerned until the snow and ice whirlwind began to swirl around her. She floated about a foot off the ground, the floor, walls, and ceiling freezing over. Gathering her hands and focusing on pushing her power through them she unleashed an icy torrent on him. He flash froze, his mouth locked in place by crystals and ice formed from the water in the air. He fell over, his eyes looking around wildly. He was clearly still alive. She walked past him the little man as if he were barely a speed bump.
It was coming back to her now, she knew that Zatanna had been taken prisoner and it was up to her to rescue her. Zatanna Zatara, magician and sorceress supreme, had been taken and it was up to a heroine with less than forty eight hours of flight time.
Great, so - no pressure.
She tried to get her bearings as the same little man jumped from the shadows and cast another white hot bolt at her, she tried to dodge but it caught her on the side. The force spun her around to the ground.
What was it with this guy?
Then she saw that the man she had frozen was still where she had left him, frozen stiff on his side. Then who was this guy? A twin? She rolled over and looked up at him as he readied another spell. Really looking at him, inspecting him, she noted that it was the same person. Not a cult member, not a twin, not a clone. The same person.
Enough was enough.
The little cult magent made to cast another bolt at her as she stood up. She reached out and took the wand from his hand, broke it in front of his face, and reached for his throat. His eyes widened as he was pulled towards her. Her eyes radiated cold silver light as she said very quietly, “The gloves come off.”
Frozen arctic winds whooshed through the hallways as the black minor mages cast plasma bolt after plasma bolt at her. Ice was crusting over their hands and faces. She glided over the icy floor with her hands outstretched. Usually she held it in, focused on a tight beam or cone of cold at a target. She would grasp the reins of an icy coldfire furnace in her chest, all she could hope to do was aim it. But, now, they had unleashed the hurricane. Fist sized hail struck the mages at hurricane force wind speed. Some were lifted off their feet and whipped around the room, taking hit after hit from snow and large chunks of ice, only to land on the floor unconscious, their spittle frozen to their lips.
Zatanna waited inside the crimson light cell, the spell cage blocking her access to her magic and ability to cast. The security door on the far wall fogged and froze over. She could hear the metal contract and try to handle the extreme cold. From the sounds, it was failing.
Her bare legs under the fishnets felt the cold all the way across the room, her skin goose bumped and she could see her breath.
The door fell over and shattered as Cori floated to the floor. Seeing Zatanna, She once again pulled the coldfire back into restraint. Running across the floor and up the dais to the cage, Cori tried to figure out how to free her, Zatanna pointed to the soul globes and told her to break them. Cori saw the mooks entering the room, intent on bodily harm. She reached out and created a slender ice staff, with only a brief look over her shoulder at Zatanna. “Be right back.” With that, she dove off the dais and into the fray.
The Spell Cage collapsed and Zatanna felt her magic flow back around her. Cori managed to make it back up the steps to join her. There were more cronies on their way in as Cori looked at her, “Can you get us out of here?”
Zatanna only pointed at the back door, “The only way out is over there.”
“So, the hard way?”
Zatanna’s mouth appeared to want to say something, but she stopped and just shrugged, nodding affirmatively.
“The hard way,” She looked at the block of identical men who collectively had ill will towards her and announced, “Ok, boys, it’s Ladies Night – Frozen Margaritas for everyone!” Zatanna mumbled a self-heating spell, “Peek em mraw.”As Lady Trident lowered the room temperature to the negative twenties, the men immediately wrapped their hands around their chests trying to keep warm.
*
The sudden light flash temporarily blinded her and saw the lit eyes of the Doctor Fate helmet. She squeaked, her eyes flashing alight. Zatanna immediately moved to calm her, “It’s ok, it’s ok, He’s called Doctor Fate, and he’s a good guy. Please don’t freeze the room.” Cori calmed herself and the silver light faded away.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Ms. Delphi.” His hollow, but strangely charming voice, “You fought like a warrior born. We are lucky to have you.”
Cori shook her head and tried to stand up to regain her dignity, “What was that?”
“We call it Hogan’s Alley. It’s a practice illusionary for safely training new heroes without injury or damage,” Zatanna explained.
“I never agreed to that.”
“Actually you did.” Zatanna smiled, ‘rebmemer gnieerga’.
Cori blinked, “Oh, I guess I did, sorry.”
*
The Sentinels conducted a meeting about the aftermath and rubble she had left behind from the exercise, “She laid waste,” observed Doctor Fate.
“You captured a person she liked, threatened them, and then made all the bad guys look alike. What were you expecting to happen?” retorted Zatanna.
“We understand your feelings, Ma’am.” Said Captain Marvel, using the wisdom of Solomon to keep this from becoming a debate. “But, given what we know now and where her powers come from and what she is…”
“But, that’s my point, Cap, she doesn’t know what she is. We know now, but how do you have that conversation? ‘We have some great news, Lady Trident, you’re a Demigoddess?”
Last edited by ladytrident on Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:32 am; edited 1 time in total
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