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Stories # - L | M - Z | Authors
City of Heroes Fan Fiction by: DaShuk2381
Chapter 1: Origins and
Discoveries
I.
“Come on girl, you know this,” she said to herself
as she re-read the
question for the 4th time, “you just read 3 chapters on
it.” Titiana Mayes
was stressed. She had a psychology final in an hour and
as usual she had
waited until the last minute to review her notes and
practice exam. She had
thought the Paragon University Library would be a
haven for her to get some
work done, but so far she was having problems
concentrating. “Who
implemented the first study of psychoanalysis…..oh the
hell with this, I
give up,” she thought and abruptly closed her textbook, a
tad too loudly
apparently, as several other students glanced in her
direction with general
looks of distaste. “What the heck was I thinking,
choosing this major,” she
thought to herself as she removed her wide framed
wire rimmed glasses and
ran her hands through her long auburn hair. She
noticed that one of the
students who had glanced at her when she closed her
book was shooting her a
glance every once in awhile. “Oh lord, he’s checking
me out,” She thought,
“I hope I look ok in this get up.” She quickly glanced
down to ensure her
outfit looked proper and to make sure the young man
wasn’t staring at an ink
stain or something else on her shirt. She was a bit
overdressed compared to
most of the girls on campus, who enjoyed running
around in short skirts and
revealing tops. Titiana enjoyed dressing up, she
loved the feeling of exotic
fabrics and always tried to dress as nicely and
as neatly as she could.
Tonight she had decided to go a little casual and
was clad in her favorite
white button down shirt with a light blue v-neck
knit sweater and a pair of
blue jeans. The top two buttons of her shirt were
unbuttoned and she wore a
tan colored choker around her neck. A brown cloth
belt and a pair of white
tennis shoes completed her outfit. Her shirttails
hung out from under her
sweater as she had felt too laid back to tuck them
in. After ensuring she
looked ok she glanced back at the young man across
the room and caught him
checking her out again. He flashed a smile and she
smiled back, then blushed
and quickly looked away. “Oh I’m so darned
awkward,” she said to herself as
she re-opened her book to a random page and
attempted to fake that she was
studying.
II.
He had been
caught and he knew it. He gave her a sheepish smile and then
laughed to
himself as she blushed and went back to reading her textbook.
Derek Jackson
was bored. He had come to the library to try to read a few
chapters of his
history assignment and to meet with his calculus tutor. The
tutor had phoned
him and said he couldn’t make it tonight and his history
book was still
sitting on the first page of the new chapter. Instead of
studying he had
wandered around the library, checking out the newest
additions in the
periodicals section and seeing if there were any new books
in the sci-fi
area. He had grabbed the latest issue of Paragon Sports
Monthly and had
returned to his table to catch up on the latest sports news
when he noticed
an attractive young woman sitting a few tables away. She was
neatly dressed
in a pair of jeans and a button down shirt with a blue
pullover sweater, and
had the most beautiful auburn hair. Unlike most of the
guys on campus, Derek
wasn’t interested in the stereotypical blonde haired
girl, dressed in the
most revealing outfit. He was attracted to women who
could hold a
conversation past the word hello. The young lady looked
stressed out and
appeared to be cramming for a test. “What the heck, maybe
it’s something I
can help her with,” he thought to himself for a minute,
before sliding out
of his chair. “Hmm…now if I can just think of a good
opening line,” he
thought. Derek was horrible at this. He was shy when it
came to the opposite
sex and for good reason. He had been burned in the past
for being too nice.
“Ah excellent,” he thought as he spotted a conversation
starter. He gathered
himself and leisurely strolled towards the pretty
auburn haired young
woman.
III.
“Oh lord he’s coming over here,” she thought
nervously. “Oh well, at least
he’s cute and he’s not some knuckleheaded frat
boy, maybe this is the guy I
can’t scare away with intelligent conversation
for once.” She was still
nervous, she always was. She had only been out of
the orphanage for about 4
months and was still getting used to interacting
with people on an everyday
basis. She shuddered at the thought of the
orphanage and silently hoped that
the looming conversation wouldn’t head in
the direction of where she was
from. “Kind of hard to read with out these ya
know?” She looked up and
realized he was holding her glasses which she had
taken off before slamming
her book shut. “You are such a dork,” she thought
to herself, “pretending to
read without glasses…nice move girl.” She looked
up at him. He was about six
foot four inches tall and was wearing a heather
gray fleece sweatshirt and
gray sweatpants, which his athletic and muscular
frame filled out nicely. He
wore a silver chain under his sweatshirt. He had
short red hair and a full,
but neatly trimmed beard of the same color.
“Thanks,” she said and paused as
if searching for his name. “Derek,” he
finished her sentence for her and
handed her the glasses. “Derek Jackson,
but you can call me Derek or D or
whatever you like,” he said. “Thanks
Derek,” she said, “I’m Titiana, care to
join me in my wonderful world of
psychology?” He chuckled for a minute and
then responded, “well I normally
wouldn’t turn down an invitation from such
an intelligent and pretty young
lady, but you look like you have something
important to study for.” She was
disappointed that he had turned down her
offer, but was surprised as he
suddenly said, “however, after you finish up
whatever it is you are working
on, I was wondering if you might want to grab
a drink or two, or something
to eat.” She fidgeted nervously for a minute,
but found her voice and
replied, “well sure, my exam probably won’t be over
until nine thirty or so,
but it is Friday night and I don’t really have any
plans.” “Great,” he said
as he smiled, “meet you at the Hole n’ The Wall
around ten?” Her mood
improved instantly as he mentioned the Hole n’ The
Wall. It was one of her
favorite places to eat and relax. “That sounds
great!” she exclaimed.
“Looking forward to it, it was very nice meeting you
Titiana, and good luck
on your exam,” He said as he excused himself from the
table. Her eyes
followed him as he left the library and she blushed again as
he turned and
smiled at her before walking out. “This may prove to be an
interesting
night,” she thought to herself.
IV.
Titiana hummed to herself
as she walked home from the Hole n’ The Wall. Her
night has been interesting
to say the least. The psychology exam had gone
ok, she didn’t think she
bombed it, but wasn’t sure that she did all that
great either. She hadn’t
cared though, all she could think about during the
test was her late night
rendezvous with her new friend. Her date with Derek
had gone surprisingly
well, compared to what she was used to. Since she was
still getting used to
her new life, Titiana wasn’t used to the opposite sex
and was afraid of
their motives and methods of achieving them. Most of the
guys she had dated
so far had tried to move way to fast for her and when she
tried to explain
why she was uncomfortable they usually disappeared never to
be heard from
again. Derek had been a pleasant surprise. He was pretty laid
back and easy
to talk to. He made her feel comfortable and seemed to have
the perfect
sense of humor. He had charmed her all night with his silly
jokes and
assortment of compliments ranging from how pretty her smile was to
how
interesting her topics of discussion were. He had revealed quite a bit
about
himself rather than just give her the run of the mill background
information. He had told her how he was adopted before birth, that he didn’t
know his real parents and his adopted parents died in a car accident on the
way home from the hospital. Somehow he had miraculously survived the
accident unscathed, but he spent the majority of his life in an orphanage as
she had. After listening to his story she herself had opened up and told him
her tale, how her single mother had died during childbirth and since she had
no surviving relatives she was forced to live with foster parents. Her
foster mother was an alcoholic and her foster father had beaten and abused
her. When she was eight years old, a social worker removed her from her home
and placed her in an orphanage, where she had stayed until the age of
twenty. She had only now begun to live on her own and experience what life
was like outside of foster care. The orphanage had provided her with a
donation to get her life started and Paragon University had offered her a
scholarship with full room and board, which she had quickly accepted. Most
people had shied away from her after hearing about her past, but Derek was
interested and supportive and she didn’t mind discussing it with him since
he had dealt with almost the same thing. After a few drinks and shared
basket of nachos, she began to get a little tired and suggested they head
back to her apartment to watch television. Surprisingly Derek had turned
down her offer and instead asked her if she would join him for dinner the
next evening. She agreed and they went their separate ways after she turned
down his offer for a ride home. It was a nice evening and she wanted to
enjoy the moon lit night. She gave him her apartment phone number and told
him to let her know the plans for the next
evening
V.
“Well at least that went well,” Derek thought to
himself as he walked
towards his car in the parking lot of the Hole n’ The
Wall. “I hope she
doesn’t think I’m weird because I didn’t go to her
apartment,” he thought to
himself. Most guys would kill for the chance to go
home with a girl like
that on the first date, but he knew better. He
understood how she was
feeling and how lonely she had been her first few
months out of the
orphanage. He didn’t want to seem like he was trying to
take advantage of
her situation or make her feel uncomfortable. It was
interesting how similar
their life stories were and he was glad he had found
someone he could talk
with about his experiences and not feel judged. He
strolled towards his car,
a 2005 Dodge Neon SXT. He unlocked the driver side
door and got in. He was
about to start the car when a strange feeling came
over him. “That’s weird
he thought….I haven’t felt like this since…oh boy.”
Something bad was about
to happen, he was sure of it. Every so often he had
these feelings of
unrest, which were always followed by a disaster or
accident or an event
that wasn’t very good for anyone involved with it. “Ah
maybe it’s nothing,”
he thought as he fired up the ignition. A good drive
was all he needed to
relieve his anxiety. Driving his car always calmed him
down, the sound of
the engine and the wind whipping through the windows just
made him feel
better. That and thoughts of his new friend, Titiana. Derek
couldn’t wait to
take her out to dinner the next night. He happily turned up
the radio and
rolled down his windows. As he started to pull out of the
parking lot he
thought he heard something, a woman’s scream perhaps. He
turned down the
radio and listened intently. Again he heard a woman’s
scream. It sounded
like it was coming from the sidewalk down the street. “I
hate being right
all the time,” He thought to himself as he re-parked his
car. He got out of
the Dodge and stood still for a minute, almost as if he
was concentrating on
something. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash and he
leapt into the night
sky.
VII.
“AUUUUUGH,” Titiana
screamed out, as an intense burning sensation exploded
in her left shoulder.
Her peaceful moon lit walk home had been abruptly
ruined. “Oh my God,” she
said weakly as she noticed the butt end of a metal
arrow protruding from her
left shoulder. A large, visible bloodstain was
already appearing on her
sweater, emanating from where the arrow had buried
itself into her flesh.
She began to feel light headed and her knees buckled.
She collapsed on the
cold, hard sidewalk and lay there motionless. As she
frantically looked
around for someone to help her she noticed something
horrifying. Three
humanoid figures emerged from the shadows, two of them
holding loaded
crossbows and the third reloading what appeared to the one
she had been shot
with. They wore long dark brown robes and had no visible
facial features,
save for their evil greenish eyes. “Whh…Who are you,” She
stammered, as the
figures approached her. One of them began to laugh
devilishly as he lowered
his crossbow towards her. “Nuh…No, pl…please don…”
was all she could manage
before he sadistically pulled the trigger.
“AHHHHHHGH,” she screamed in pain
and recoiled as the second arrow buried
itself into her flesh, just to the
left of her belly button. The pain was
incredible and unlike anything she
had ever felt. Her body went limp and
sank back to the sidewalk. Her mind
began to glaze over with thoughts of
death and pain. The robed figures stood
over her and glared down on her
motionless form with their piercing green
eyes. “Should we finish it, or let
her suffer in the final moments,” one of
them gurgled to the others, in a
voice amazingly human like. “Let her
suffer,” one of the others gurgled
back. “We’ve spent far too much time and
effort trying to locate the chosen
one, watching her life force expire and
stealing her soul is our reward.”
“Indeed,” the third figure said, “if not
for her powers finally beginning to
manifest on her twentieth birthday, we
may never have found her.” Titiana
barely heard any of their strange
conversation, she was too focused on the
pain that was wracking her body.
She began to cough up blood and she could
feel her senses leaving her. “She
is nearly ready for soul extraction,” one
of the robed men said. Suddenly
one of the robed figures glanced into the
sky. “Wait, I sense…” He never
finished his sentence as a flaming sword bore
into his face with blinding
speed and amazing accuracy. A strange demon like
wail came from the figure
as his body slowly melted away. The sword vanished
and the other two figures
frantically scanned the skies in disbelief.
“GRRAAAGH,” one of the men
howled as the sword reappeared, this time
protruding through his stomach.
His body caught fire and vanished into ashes
in mere seconds. The third
figure decided it was not worth waiting around to
find out what was going on
and fled. The bizarre turn of events had barely
registered with Titiana as
she was quickly fading away. She sensed another
person looming over her but
her vision was too blurry to make him out. “This
is going to hurt just a
bit, but hang in there for a few more minutes and
the medicopter will be
here,” he said. The incredible pain Titiana had felt
before flared up again
as the strange man reached down and carefully removed
the metal arrows from
her tortured flesh. “Oooohh,” a soft moan was all she
could manage, she was
too weak to scream. After removing the arrows the man
placed his hands on
her wounds and it felt as if she was on fire for a brief
moment. “Sorry
about that, but I had to cauterize those wounds of yours
before you lost too
much blood,” he exclaimed. Tears streamed down her face
as her battered body
was gathered up and cradled into a pair of strong arms.
“Hang in there
kiddo,” he said before speaking into some type of radio
device, “Azuria,
I’ve found her and she’s in bad shape, but I think she’ll
make it, get the
chopper over here now!” Titiana had no idea what was
happening, all she
could think about or feel was pain, everywhere. Slowly
she began to lose
consciousness and the merciful slumber of death began to
pull her into its
grasp. Titiana’s world went black.
VIII.
“Well it looks like
she is going to pull through alright after all,” the
young woman in a purple
robe remarked. “Thank you for your timely
intervention Flame Scythe, I will
see to it that she is well taken care of
and will explain everything to her
when she has recovered sufficiently.” “No
problem Azuria,” he replied, “I
just wonder why the Circle of Thorns wanted
her dead so badly that they were
willing to tread this deep into Atlas
Park?” “All in due time my dear, but
for now we will let her rest.” Derek
was confused to say the least. After
hearing the woman’s screams he had
quickly morphed into his other identity,
Flame Scythe, an invulnerable hero
who had the abilities to manipulate fire
into formidable weapons. He had
come upon a trio of Circle of Thorns archers
as they attacked a young woman.
He was shocked and enraged when he saw that
the woman was Titiana. Acting as
quickly as he could he took out two of the
archers with almost no effort,
but was unable to do so before they were able
to inflict great bodily harm
to Titiana. Her injuries were enough to kill
most normal people, but somehow
she had survived, although it had been hit
or miss on the ride to the
hospital aboard the medicopter. He had
accompanied her to the hospital and
stayed in the waiting room with Azuria
until her condition stabilized.
Azuria was being awfully hush hush about
everything and he didn’t bother to
inquire as to why. He knew how most mages
and magically gifted people were,
they kept the details to themselves
because normally what they would have
say was too complicated or horrifying
for one to even fathom. As he left the
hospital he waited until he was out
of sight and switched back to his
everyday alter ego. “I guess this means
our date is off for tomorrow night,”
he thought. He was worried about
Titiana. He knew she would pull through ok
at the hospital, but he sensed
that her life was about to take another
unwanted turn. “I just hope I have
the chance to be there for her and help
her deal with this,” he thought. As
he neared the parking lot of the Hole n’
The Wall, he thought about how this
night had suddenly taken a turn for the
worse. “I have a feeling we’re just
getting started,” he said aloud before
getting into his car. He backed out
of the parking lot and hammered the gas
pedal, speeding off into the
darkness of the night.
IX.
Light. Intensely bright light. As
she slowly opened her eyes she was
bombarded with the bright lights of the
hospital room. Titiana slowly came
to and her senses began to register her
new surroundings. “Ah excellent,
you’re awake,” came a friendly feminine
voice. A woman dressed in a purple
tank top and gray sweatpants strode into
the room, a multicolored necklace
dangling around her neck. “My name is
Azuria, and I am one of the many mages
who oversees the protection of
Paragon City,” she said. Titiana was in no
mood for small talk and quickly
asked, “What is going on here, what’s
happening to me?” “Well my dear, this
may take a while to explain, and you
may not like what you are about to
hear, but please listen to my words,”
Azuria remarked. “This woman is crazy,
I’m crazy, what the hell is going
on?? I hope I didn’t miss my date with
Derek, ugh I’m a mess,” were the
thoughts steamrolling through Titiana’s
mind. “Alright, I suppose I don’t
really have anything better to do, spill
it,” She exclaimed.
“No…it’s not true, it can’t be, No!!!” Titiana cried
as she tried to make
sense of the story Azuria had just told her. “This is
impossible, you can’t
possibly expect me to believe this, or pretend to
believe it!!” “I’m sorry
my dear, but the fates have chosen you and you
cannot refuse their call, I’m
afraid it is true and there is no alternative,
you will begin your training
tomorrow afternoon,” Azuria remarked. Titiana
buried her face in her hands
and began to sob as painful reality sank in.
“I’m sorry Titiana, I know you
are confused and feel alone, but I assure you
that you will see this is for
the better, all in due time.” “For now I must
leave you, but I will see you
again tomorrow to begin your teachings,
farewell.” Azuria’s words barely
registered in Titiana’s mind, she was too
busy recalling the details of the
story she had just been told. The story of
how she was somehow related to an
ancient all female guild of mages known as
the Necromancer’s, a guild that
had long against the Circle of Thorns, a
group of evil mages hell bent on
summoning ultimate destruction to the
planet Earth and Paragon City. These
were the men that had attacked her.
Azuria explained to her that the
Necromancer’s had long protected the planet
against the Circle and told her
of their sudden and horrific end at the
hands of the Circle and their
spectral demon lords. She listened in shock as
it was explained to her that
her mother, the last surviving Necromancer, had
died while they performed an
operation to prematurely remove her from the
womb, that her mother had been
hunted by the Circle and had barely survived
their latest attack. Azuria
told her she had been placed at the orphanage as
a form of protective
custody, hidden away so the Circle could not find her
and kill her before
she was old enough to be a threat to them. On her
twentieth birthday her
powers began to manifest as was customary for mages
in the guild. The
Circle’s mages had sensed her powers and sent out a team
to kill her before
she could be told who she was. Now she was expected to
take up the mantle as
the last surviving Necromancer. She was so confused
and lost. “Powers?? What
powers??” she thought to herself. “I’m not a hero
or a witch or mage or
whatever the heck she thinks I am!” “Ugh, everything
in my life is always
out of my control, and just when it seemed like things
were settling down.”
The way she looked at it she really had no choice.
Azuria had told her that
she would be able to resume her normal life after
her training was complete,
but that she would have new responsibilities as a
hero of Paragon City.
Everything had been worked out with the university and
she had been given
passing grades for the semester. There was actually a
small hint of
excitement in her mind as she wondered what these powers were
that she
supposedly possessed. “Well, at least I get to pick out a new
outfit,” she
thought to herself, somewhat
amused.
X.
Titiana was tired, dog tired. Her training had been
rigorous and
frustrating. Azuria had become more of a drill instructor to
her than a
friend in the past ten days and Titiana was growing tired of
being
constantly ridiculed. “Oh well,” she thought, just one more thing to
do and
I’m done…hopefully.” She was in what appeared to be a small shooting
range,
in the back of Azuria’s office in Paragon City Hall. There were
lifelike
targets all around her, mostly Hellion and Skull gang members and a
few
Circle of Thorn mages. “GO!!!” Azuria suddenly barked over the intercom.
Titiana concentrated for a second and then extended her hand towards the
group of Hellions. There was a wooshing sound and the floor beneath took on
a black, mucky appearance. She extended her hand again and several blasts of
dark mystical energy exploded from her hands and enveloped the targets. She
quickly spun around and threw her arms out towards the group of Circle
mages. The floor opened below them and several dark, serpentine tentacles
exploded upwards and entangled the mages. She finished them off with her
dark blasts and stood ready for the next threat. “Excellent!” Azuria
exclaimed as she ran into the room. Relief flooded Titiana’s mind. She had
done it, she was finished with her training, at least for now. Under
Azuria’s watchful eye she had mastered the basic powers of Dark Miasma and
was now ready to learn on her own. She was expecting some type of ceremony
with bells and whistles and the whole nine yards, but Azuria simply told her
congratulations and that she was proud of her for sticking it out. Titiana
was disappointed because despite her mastery of her new powers, she didn’t
really feel anything at all. “Remember, don’t forget to call Serge and make
an appointment at Icon over in Steel Canyon tonight to pick out your
costume, then you’re all set.” “You can of course contact me anytime you
need help with your powers or need someone to call a friend,” Azuria said.
Titiana’s mood suddenly changed for the better and she smiled as she thanked
Azuria for her help. “I hope I don’t let you down and I will do my best to
carry on the mantle of the Necromancer’s,” she said. “Go now my child, and
may the spirit of Titiana Moon Shadow burn brightly amongst the darkness of
evil!” Azuria exclaimed as Titiana walked out of the room. It was the first
time anyone had used her hero name. Titiana smiled as she took out her new
cell phone and dialed the number for Icon.
“Welcome my lady,”
exclaimed the well dressed middle aged man from across
the counter. “My name
is Serge and Azuria has told me to help set you up
with a costume of your
liking!” He had pointed her in the direction of the
changing room, pressed a
few buttons on a wall panel and the next thing she
knew, the room was filled
with rack upon rack of clothing selections. There
was spandex galore, capes,
helmets, hair pieces, boots, pants, belts,
everything. Titiana was in
heaven. “I might need….just a few minutes,” She
happily said. “Take your
time my dear, and remember, each piece you select
will automatically be
custom fit to your body size and type, have fun and
let me know when you
have made your selection!” With that Serge left the
room and closed the door
behind him. It took her almost an hour, but Titiana
finally found an outfit
she liked. She had seen a lot of Paragon City’s
female heroes, and most of
them flew around in skin tight spandex with
revealing shorts or mini skirts.
While she wanted to make a fashion
statement, Titiana wanted something a
little more practical. After laying
out all the pieces of her costume,
Titiana peeled herself out of the catsuit
she had been wearing for her
training and took a quick look at herself in
the mirror. With nothing but
her sports bra and panties on, she could see
the changes her body had gone
through. She now had a well defined yet petite
six pack and the rest of her
body looked healthy and toned. “Too bad I’m
going to be covering this all
up,” She thought to herself, “well at least
most of it anyways.” She pulled
the white dress shirt from the costume rack
and slipped her slender arms
into it. She buttoned the sleeve cuffs and then
buttoned the shirt all the
way up to the collar. She was amazed, as the
fabric seemed to change to form
a perfect fit with her body. She pulled a
dark brown tie off of the rack
next and slipped it through her button
collar. She tied it off with a
perfect windsor knot and snuggled it up to
her collar button. Next she took
a light brown and gray plaid skirt from the
rack and slipped it up her well
toned legs. After tucking in her dress
shirt, she fastened her skirt and it
immediately formed to her slim waist
and hips. She slipped a metallic V belt
around her waste and buckled it with
a secret closure near her waist. Then
she pulled a custom-made brown and
gray leather vest from the rack. The vest
had built in armored shoulder pads
that were intimidating, but did nothing
to detract from her sophisticated
and classy look. Finally she pulled on a
pair of gray calf length leather
boots. She laced them up with black laces
and tied them off. The boots had a
barely visible flame pattern stitched
into them, in recognition of the hero
who had saved her life a few weeks
back. She had thought about fishnet
stockings with her boot and skirt combo,
but decided that she didn’t want to
look like a school girl or worse. She
took one final glance in the mirror to
check her costume. She adjusted her
tie so that it was more snug against her
neckline and then shrugged her
shoulders a few times to get the feel of the
armored shoulder pads on her
vest. Satisfied she opened the fitting room
door and slowly walked into the
main area of the Icon store. There was a
note from Serge on the desk she had
come to at first. It read, “sorry, but
Ms. Liberty stopped by for a
tailoring session, good luck on your hero
career and be sure to stop by Icon
again for your costume needs.” “Well I
guess this is it,” she thought to
herself, “I’m official.” Feeling much too
tired to patrol that night, she
decided she would head home and relax, after
all, she deserved it. Soon
though, Paragon City would learn the name of
Titiana Moon
Shadow.
Character info: http://www.geocities.com/eternalserenity23/titiana.html
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