In a remote corner of the galaxy lay a planet that one would call a Goldie-lock zone, a wonderful place that allowed life to flourish unabashedly for all the planets in its star system. This zone was once a place that housed another race, but that time had long since passed into the annals of history for this little star.
Instead, another race from a far flung world took to the planet, made it their home, and colonized it with its strange and wondrous people.
The metropolis that formed became known as New Terra, and it was a gloriously sprawling city filled with life and technology.
On this day in this beautiful city with its tall buildings, curved structures and booming city life, a most peculiar specimen was running down the road at a speed one might call ‘criminally dangerous’.
This man was a Villian, a designation given to the unique humans of New Terra who had special abilities since birth, or received it through other means, and decided that using them for selfish and personal reasons, even if it took from or destroyed the lives of others.
Thankfully they’re others with such abilities that act to assist against such blatant disregard for the public, the Heroes of New Terra.
This hero, known by the justice system as the dazzling bringer of justice, Glow, was already doing her due diligence, chasing and blasting the culprit with an array of light and hardlight constructs.
“Damn Hero, back off!”
“Not a chance Vesper!”
Glow placed a wall of shimmering light in front of the Villian just as the slithering serpentine turned the corner down the massive street near the downtown area.
The City of New Terra was hexagonal in its design, and the area downtown was also its center, where the Lawful Authority conducted their Hero and Law Enforcement.
To put it plainly, Glow wasn’t fighting the smartest of Vilians, but after the fall of Margret Bockman and the old Hero’s League, many Villians didn’t hold much of a candle to cause as much widespread destruction.
Sure, there were more Villains now due to the Omega Chimera incident, but none of them compared to the unified front of the Authority, as well as the vigilantes that took it on themselves to police certain areas of the Metropolis.
Trapping her catch with three more walls of light, Glow took a breath and smiled as her partner pulled up next to her.
“Huff* How… Do you keep up with these guys?”
Her partner was a rookie named Beetle, one of the newer Heroes that used to work in the League before its disbanding. She was one of the interns there, not even an enhanced like the rest of her group.
Beetle was much like her namesake, armored along her back with a place for folding wings, and a massive horn that curved upward from her head. Despite being only four feet eleven inches, Glow would bet most other enhanced persons couldn’t hold a candle to her strength one on one.
But speedy she was not.
“It's all stamina training, you should join us sometime. LA has a lot of new training facilities to help with that new body armor system they are implementing.”
Beetle perked up at that news, “you mean the ones that help the normies and enhance them?”
“Yup, it's based on that old Chemtech idea that was in the works. Nothing biological though, specifically mechanical and robotics.”
Beetle shivered at that, and Glow couldn’t blame her. The incident three years ago, when the entire city was almost destroyed by an old alien.
The day her friend died.
It didn’t bring up any good memories.
“That’s a relief if you ask me, no more messing with my insides. I got enough to deal with these strapped to my back.”
Beetle made a move and pointed at her wings, which unfolded and started to flap rapidly. A few seconds later she was airborne, though a bit unsteady as she grabbed the light bound cube holding a now shouting and sobbing villainess.
“I got this one Glow, I know you got that appointment right?” Beetle made a thumbs up as she flew off with their quarry.
“Thanks B! I’ll let you know what's up later.”
With her partner handling the latest catch, Glow turned her attention to the ‘appointment’ she was heading off to.
It was an anniversary of sorts, a farewell and a get together with many of her old friends who had lost or been affected by the Omega Incident.
Glow sighed as she made a small platform with her hardlight, floating above the ground as she headed to the outskirts of New Terra, to a small cabin near the coastal line and the forests outside the city.
“Wonder if they’ll show…”
Glow lifted her head as she took in the city.
Three years later and New Terra was beginning to look like it once did. Scars were still apparent, deep grooves that worked into the Undercity where the strange rat-mice people lived. Just another product of the Omega Incident, but they were rather kind neighbors.
Half of her busts for the LA were from informants from the Undercity who had very good ears.
They called themselves Rice, something that still made Glow chuckle at times. Only when she wasn’t around the rodent populace though, they took the name for their species rather seriously.
Something about their creator handing it down to them.
Glow shook her head to clear her thoughts as the cabin began to come into view, the wind slowing down around her as she landed near the gates front lawn.
The place was what it appeared, a cabin about the size of a normal house in the suburbs of the city. Made of the local woods and their red bark, it was homely and rustic.
Glow liked the feel it gave her, like a place that remembered its roots in nature.
Which fit, because apparently the owner was a Ranger, one of the few who ventured out into Asta’s forests to check on the wildlife. A dangerous position for many, but one very few took up the mantle to check, as the wildlife could be hostile.
She smiled as she remembered the man’s physic.
That mountain of a man could probably wrestle most of those animals though.
“Oy! Are you Rebecca? Welcome little one!”
Glow shook her head, “Mr. Schumann, I’m eighteen!”
The mountain man was walking towards her, and even at her six feet four inches of height Rebecca ‘Glow’ Liam had to look up at the man. Beard covered his face, and his eyes had a trickle of mischief in their brown pools.
“Come now, when you're as big as me, everyone’s little. No need to take my word for it though, all you have to do is look up!” he laughed at his own joke.
The cringe Glow felt couldn’t be exaggerated, but she did her best to hide from the man hosting the anniversary.
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“Well enough of that, we got a party to get going. Go on, they’re already waiting for you.”
Glow thanked him as she walked past towards the cabin.
The cobblestones making a pathway to the house felt warm as she took off her shoes at the foot of the stairs leading to the deck, and the breeze felt just right, a nice wind that both warmed and cooled her off.
Her thoughts took a dark turn as she remembered the warmth she felt that day, when her friend healed her mind.
Not here, come on Becca.
Looking up towards the door, she made her way, opening the red bark door and shutting it behind her.
“If it isn’t the glow bug, I thought you’d be too busy for today.”
Glow turned to the person talking, and almost did a double take before she recognized the person.
It was a person who once looked a lot like her old friend. In fact, she was a clone of that same person but years had changed her to the point were she was very different.
Red hair made way for black locks, and her red eyes were now blue. She still had the same pout and smile, but the freckles on her face distinguished herself from the clear face her friend had.
“Pym, nice to see you again too.”
The clone of her friend smiled, “still can’t get a rise out of you. Damn heroes and their goodie two shoes demeanor.”
Glow noticed another woman next to Pym, a young blond haired woman with a mechanical arm that seemed more decoration than functional. Which made sense, as Glow remembered her friend meeting someone and helping them fix their body.
“Lark right? I missed you last time we held the anniversary.”
The woman nodded, a warm smile on her face as she hugged Pym from behind, “sorry if she gives you trouble, I think I corrupted her a bit.”
“Enhanced more like, your gang had some cool ideas for looks, and I wanted to try something different.” Pym smirked as she landed a small kiss on Lark’s forehead.
Shaking her head, Lark pulled back, “not here, maybe later.”
Pym turned to Glow, wiggling her eyebrows, “it's a promise then!”
Rolling her eyes, Glow headed to a table where a selection of finger foods was, picking a few crackers with cheese along with some punch.
“Glow right? Or do you prefer Rebecca?” a younger gentleman sat by, a drink in his hand.
His eyes were red, but his hair only carried streaks of red in his black locks. His face was angular and the rest of his physique was broad, well toned and muscular. He wore a college shirt emblazoned with a school Glow didn't recognize, and shorts that reached his knees, giving way to well-toned legs.
This was Sarah's brother Aden, a part-timer that helped out at the LA sometimes.
“Yup to both, I'm easy. We met at your wedding.”
“Right! I totally forgot. Sorry.”
“It’s no problem Aden.”
The man smiled as he took a drink, not seeing a floating glob of punch over his head. Glow wanted to warn him about it, but rather than being splashed by it, he quickly shot out an arm and pulled a younger woman in his arms.
The punch landed on both of them.
“Ahh! Damnit, Aden!”
“Rebecca, meet my wife Aura. She still thinks she can prank me. Isn’t it cute?” Glow shared a smile with him as the black and white haired woman tried to struggle out of his hug.
“Oh we’ve met, but this is definitely new.”
“Oh come off it both of you, and let me go Aden! I gotta rinse this off!”
Not releasing her even a little bit, Aden rose with his wife in his arms and started to walk off.
“I’ll see you soon Becca.”
She only waved back as Aura tried to throw more punch on him as he carried her off, only to somehow hit herself again.
A slight bump was visible around her stomach as well, from what Glow could see.
“Lucky them.” She took a sip from her drink as another person came through the door.
Though calling them a person might be a stretch now, but to Glow, they were still human as human could be.
He was a spherical droid with treads along his sides, and a blue LED on his body that served as his eye. Inside that little droid housed an array of deadly tools but Becca knew him for his words more than his works.
“Hey PK-02, got off early?”
The bot beeped at her, a string of words using an automated voice speaking back.
“Yep, had to dump 3 with the paperwork, but he got in trouble, his loss.”
“No way," Glow said with a deadpan voice. This was rather common with PK-03, 2's partner, but it was still funny to hear that the loose cannon of the two was still making waves.
"What did he do this time?”
PK-02 hit the wall as he began to climb, reaching a point where he could see the whole room.
Glow knew 2 from her Hero work, as he worked for a vigilante group that sometimes collaborated with the LA.
They were called the Silent Watch. Completely unknown, they formed after the Chemtech break in and the Omega Incident, picking up the slack left in the wake of the disbanding of the Hero’s League. For some reason Glow couldn’t piece together, most of their members were robots. Though many villains made the mistake of thinking they would be like a robotic adversary, simple and straightforward to deal with.
No, the Silent Watch robots were made by an artificial intelligence, all of them as complex and motivated as any human.
Glow respected them, and whenever she got the chance to, she would collaborate with the Silent Watch, who in turn worked with her to help find the more underground villains.
PK-02 was one of their best operatives as well, though he always worked with his partner PK-03.
Glow saw him only once, but she never forgot it.
While 2 was mostly a recon specialist, 3 was a quadrupedal tank. Glow met him when they were raiding a drug operation that was dealing in old Chemtech supplies.
The whole building collapsed after 3 got sent in after the drug runners.
“Broke one of the legs of a corrupt official in the Law Authority.”
Glow tilted her head, “that doesn’t sound so bad.”
Glow turned his body to face her, still hanging from the wall, “he also livestreamed it, to everyone.”
“Oh… like-”
“Yes, everyone.”
Glow snorted as she tried to stop her giggles.
3 had a thing about glory, from what she remembered 2 telling her during one of their missions together, something about showing off his conquests of the ‘meatbags’.
2 sighed, which for a robot was something Rebecca would never have imagined, “I swear that idiot is going to get reprogrammed by Meghan one day.”
“Maybe it’ll be an improvement?”
“Or worse, her apprentice is still fuming over it. Hence why 3 is doing data entry for the next twelve hours.”
“Ouch.”
The robot nodded, “for him, it is a gruesome fate, but it will clear a lot of the backlog for our missions. For effeciency’s sake I am glad, but he will be sulking no doubt.”
Glow knew about the apprentice, some villain turned vigilante who was working for Meghan. PK-02 didn’t name names, saying it was to help him get another chance at rehabilitation and Glow didn’t pry.
“How’s your commander?”
PK-02 seemed to swell, a bit of pride clear in his voice, “PK-01 continues to be an admirable leader. I’m told through the data nets he has successfully rehabilitated several Villains, and has earned a medal for his work by the Lawful Authority despite his allegiance. I hope one day to be as efficient.”
Glow smiled warmly, “that’s good to hear PK-02, I’m happy for you.”
The robot turned to her, “thank you for your kind words Rebecca.”
“No problem.”
Glow and Pk-02 spent most of the time speaking as the rest of the party began to arrive, some who knew her friend, and some who were helped by her at one point.
Meghan had arrived with Sarah shortly after Glow arrived, and only after everyone was settled did they grab everyone for a toast.
“I want to thank all you meatbags for coming today,” the cyborg junktech said, her voice tinged with mirth as the audience booed her for her words.
“Seriously though, thanks for making the time. I know we’ve all gotten busier with the clean up and the new Villains, but it's good to be here with you all.”
Aden smirked, “still human under all that, color me surprised.”
Meghan gave him the finger as she pushed Sarah to the fore, “we all have an amazing announcement for you all today as well. Though I think our Sarah should be the one to deliver it.”
Glow perked up at that.
Meghan and Sarah had news for them? On the anniversary?
“What could it be?”
It was Aden that said that, and Glow couldn’t help but agree with the confusion.
Sarah was smiling though, and that said wonders.
The woman’s a bit hard to get any emotions out of, just what the hell was going on?
Sarah pulled out a ball, a distinctly red ball that looked a bit gelatinous in its shape.
“Its her, she’s alive.”
Sarah held up the ball, but the words were what stunned Glow the most, because there was only one person Sarah could be referring to.
“Chimera?!”
Just as she said that, the ball unraveled in front of them. A small girl stood there, and a voice Glow thought she would never hear again spoke.
“Hey mom, hey everyone. This might seem a bit strange after everything, but this message is for you if this even reaches you guys.”
A message?
Glow stared as the ball spoke, telling them of her friend’s adventure, of her meeting a race of space elves and the enemy they were facing, of Chimera’s part in the fight.
“With that, I guess this is everything. I’ll make my way back to you guys, I swear it. So… Don't forget me, okay?”
The ball shifted, returning to its small spherical form.
Glow stood up, “we have to go after her.”
Sarah turned to her, and so did everyone else, a look of determination on everyone's faces.
“Already on it, meatbags. Ships getting loaded with supplies and everything else we’re gonna need. All we have left to do is say our goodbyes to Asta.” Meghan smirked as she showed them a hologram of a rather impressive space ship.
Hundreds could likely fit inside the thing comfortably, and the sleek fixtures were definitely impressive, even if Glow wasn’t that tech savvy.
“If you wish to come, be prepared. I’m getting her back.” Sarah said with such finality that Glow imagined her storming the serpent race and taking them all on single handedly.
“You won’t be alone.” Pym and Lark nodded together, each holding each other’s hand.
The only one who didn’t seem to share the look was Aden.
“Sis, I-,”
“I know Aden, with Aura’s condition it wouldn’t be wise to have her come aboard.”
Glow understood as well, “hold the fort down, so she can meet your kid when she’s back, yeah?”
Aura smiled back, “thanks. I know I owe her a lot, so you guys make sure she gets back safely. Our kid needs an aunt to spoil her.”
They laughed at the news, each getting themselves ready for the trip, while Glow’s mind raced with the idea.Chimera, don’t worry. This time, I’m going to save you.
She smiled as PK-02 pulled out a communicator.
“Hey, 3, we got a new job.”
“Oh thank the Creator! Get me out of this booth, 2!”
…