Not a Superhero

Image by Igor Morski

I didn’t start out some kind of superhero, bent on protecting New LA. My relationship with this city is love/hate. I’m definitely not her minder. But I do look after my friends. That’s what kick-fired this whole damn story. One night. A new job. And, looking after Cate.

The Blood in the Beginning - An Ava Sykes Novel

. . . by the time I was working on round two of the best mushroom pesto linguine in the universe, Cate, my newly single BFF,  had purged. She even moved from victim mode to outrage, (all directed at the ass hat Joey) and that was a step up on the emotional scale, in my book anyway. I took a third serving and smiled. With a lifestyle like mine, which included martial arts training on my nights off, I loaded up on carbs when I could. Yum!

After doing the dishes – Cate wasn’t one to leave a spoon out of place – I had a quick shower, leaving enough hot water for her. While she dressed in her ‘uniform,’ which consisted of very little other than glitter and coconut shells, I opened the gun safe and slipped my Ruger .9 mm into my calf holster and smoothed down my jeans. I was licensed to carry, and I always did at work, more for the trip there and back, than anything else. New LA wasn’t really a city of angels, not good ones anyway. Cate threw on a light coat and we headed for the bus. I looked up and down the street, frowning. Something prickled my skin. 

            ‘Joey won’t come here, if that’s what you’re thinking. He’s scared of you,’ Cate said.

            'Good. The dirtbag should be afraid.' I was going for reassurance. 

            She changed the subject. 'Any news on Daina?’ 

Speaking of scared. Daina was our mutual acquaintance, the most recent missing coeds in a wave of unexplained murders, at least that’s what the press called them. Not all the bodies had been found.

            Cate sighed. ‘Nothing.’ The bus pulled up as we arrived at the stop. ‘Do you think she’s still alive?’

            I shrugged. ‘Can’t see how, but we can hope.’

Yeah, that’s how the night began. Off to work at Club Poseidon.

Innocent enough . . . but by midnight, not so much. I was in the elevator, on my way up, I thought, ready to take over the door, but that’s not what happened.

… In the elevator, my fingers hovered over the console. There was a dark smudge on the button below UP that hadn’t been there before. Without thinking, I swiped it, bringing my finger to my nose. Blood? As I did, the elevator kicked in. It took me a second to realise it was heading down. What the hell? I hadn’t even pressed the damn thing. I hit the UP button several times, but nothing happened. I was definitely going down.

The lights went from white to deep-green as the elevator descended. A moment later, it stopped. The bell dinged and the doors slid open. Noise hit like a tidal wave. The visuals were a blur, my senses bombarded. I stood, stock-still, as the undeniable smell of blood, laced with fear and aggression rushed up my nose. A gasp forced its way out of my throat and I slammed my hand over the UP button, hard enough to crack the console.

The doors remained open. I flattened myself against the side of the wall, unable to blink, or tear my eyes away. It was a ghoul’s carnival, a page right out of Hieronymus Bosch. Run! The command coursed through my body, but there was nowhere to go. I jabbed the UP button again. Nothing.

The music bounced off the walls. Amid blue lights and flashing strobes, naked bodies danced, gyrating to the rhythmic beats, but that’s where any similarity with upstairs ended. People’s faces were streaked, dark liquid dripping down their chins, and throats. Around the walls, victims hung from chains. People? Mannequins? I saw some move, struggling against the restraint. The far wall was taken up entirely with the floor to ceiling aquarium. It must run right up to the club level, but ... this was different. The unearthly waters teemed with sharks, in a wild frenzy as they fed on chunks of flesh and bone. What were they feeding them? The bodies on the wall? Some of the chained victims looked dead, some not; all dripped blood. It flowed down their limbs into crystal goblets.

My heart pounded, a sledgehammer in

my chest. As the doors slowly closed enough to block most of my view, I thought I would escape unnoticed. Then a man’s head turned, eyes looking straight at mine …

Kim Falconer's latest release is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel. Find this novel in a store near you.

You can also learn more about Kim atAvaSykes.com, the 11th House Blog, and onFaceBook and Twitter.  She posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month and runs Save the Day Writer's Community on Facebook. All Welcome.

It's Superheroine Time on Supernatural Underground: Here Are 5 We Heart!

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Here on Supernatural Underground it goes without saying that we heart superheroines. Here are five of our favorites to liven up your weekend -- but we'd love to find out yours, and why you heart them, in the comments!
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Buffy Summers -- Slayer Extraordinaire of Sunnyvale

Always as ready with a quip as with a stake, Buffy spent seven wonderful seasons cutting a swathe through the supervillains of Sunnyvale (with the occasional away-visit to nearby Los Angeles.) Mostly fun but with serious elements, Buffy was distinguished by a great Scooby gang of sidekicks and suitably star, or gysy-cursed, crossed loves -- and proved her superheroine credentials by always saving herself when the going got tough.

Oh yeah, and she saved the world -- a lot.

The Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanova

She may be the only woman in the current The Avengers lineup,  but Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow, more than holds her own in the superhero stakes.  As smart as she is superlatively fit, Natasha like Buffy, is also quick with a sidecrack. We like her ability to give more than as good as she gets in the superhero rough and tumble, her easy camaraderie with and loyalty to Hawkeye, and her more complex relationsip with Dr Banner, aka The Hulk. Quite simply, the Black Widow is kickass.

Storm, aka Ororo Munroe

Among many cool characters in the X-Men movies, Storm is literally a force of nature and one of the most prominent and powerful of Marvel's "X-Men." Storm can fly as well as control the weather, and from her earliest inception in the Marvel universe she has always been a superheroine of African-American origin, including with the white hair. One of the strongest and most consistent of the X-team in the films, she is also one of the most stable characters, while in the Marvel story arc she is frequently a leader in both the X-team and the Avengers.

Elastagirl, aka Helen Parr

Elastigirl in The Incredibles is not only a superheroine but a supermom, and in that sense the most traditional of today's lineup. Her superpower is super and extended flexibility, but she is also quick thinking and resourceful, as well as being the Incredible with the strongest and most grounded sense of self. She puts her family first, both in trying to build a credible normal life for them in an anti-superhero world, and then in responding to the danger of the evile Syndrome. And when the chips are down, Elastigirl more than holds her own in the superhero showdowns of the film.

Rey

And then there's Rey, the latest superheroine from the Star Wars 'verse. As young as Buffy when the TV series started, she's brave, capable, independent, a "hot" space pilot -- and strong in the Force. Like Buffy, she doesn't wait around to be rescued either: when kidnapped and taken to a Death Star, Rey frees herself and breaks out to meet her would-be rescuers. Again like Buffy, she's a real person as well as a superheroine, so as viewers we see her confusion and doubt, and also understand her stubborn persistence, and longing, in remaining on Jakku in case her missing family return.

With the possibility of a TV series being made of Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel series, we'll also be very interested to see the characterization of Death -- but that is not only speculation for now, but going beyond the title five superheroines.

But if you have a superheroine or even another five to add, let us know in the comments! :)