ASH: Shadow Girls #6 - Outside The Cave

[Drew Nilium]

On 1/16/22 1:33 PM, Dave Van Domelen wrote:
>       [The cover shows paper cut-outs of the Morning Stars between a
>        flickering fire and the wall of a cave.  The cut-outs look like
>        their normal selves, while the shadows are distorted into the
>        superhuman "powered up" forms.  A shadowed hand withdraws to
>        off-screen, as if its owner has just placed the paper figures.]

oooooooh, good vibes

> 	  		    The Morning Stars
> 
>       Tetra-Red		 Xueli "Julie" Li - The Leader
>       Hexa-Blue		 Tamica "Tammy" Sullivan - The Brains
>       Octa-Green		 Dhriti "Tee" Singh - The Fighter
>       Dodeca-Yellow	 Jessica "Jess" Davies - The Scout
>       Icosa-Pink		 Olivia "Liv" Stuart - The Heart
>       Black Opal II    	 Madelyn "Maddie" Chin - The Mentor...under protest

Roles! :D

> Dig Site 32 Item Inventory - Page 12
> Date: 28 August, 2024

Oooo, it's been a bit.

>       Item 32-012 recovered from excavation of the collapsed utility tunnel at
> grid (23,19,-05), believed to have collapsed in early 1998 during an
> unreported superhuman conflict.  (See page 1, Item 32-000.)

! :o

>       Extensive damage makes positive identification difficult, but contextual
> clues (Items 32-012-a through 32-012-g) suggest the remains are of the
> superhuman vigilante known as Professor Shade, who normally operated out of
> Boston but was known to visit Manhattan on occasion.

Oh, shiiiiiiiii

>       Minimal data available suggests that Professor Shade was not registered
> with the Department of Super-Human Affairs, and while it was thought likely
> he had supernormal powers involving shadows and general physical enhancement,
> it was also plausible that all his observed feats were due to clever
> application of low-level supertech.  Item 32-012-d seems likely to have been
> the source of some or all of his abilities.

Oop, there it is.

>       Due to lack of information about the subject we cannot positively
> confirm that this was the real Professor Shade, and not one of his allies, as
> he was rumored to employ a team of unpowered assistants.  However, if he or
> any of those allies survive, they have not been active in any way that we are
> aware of.

Ohhhhhhhh shit.

>       Despite extensive damage to Item 32-012 and most other items found on
> that subject, Item 32-012-d showed no signs of damage, which in itself is
> strongly suggestive of Violation effects.

Indeed!

>       Item is a form of jewelry known as a pectoral, set with five gems in the
> shape of the five platonic solids: a red tetrahedron, a blue cube, a green
> octahedron, a yellow dodecahedron, and a pink icosahedron.

There it is

> It appears to be made of bronze, but the lack of damage suggests it
> may be "orichalcum," the general term for a wide variety of magically
> enhanced bronze or brass alloys.

I see, I see!

>       Initial study resulted in what one investigator termed, "weird vibes,"

X3

> and the item has been remanded to the study of Professor Upgrade.

That's a good name.

>       "...most of the latest batch is interesting to your historians, but
> that's about it," Kay Cameron aka Professor Upgrade

...that's a *suggestive* name. :o

> I've finished my analysis of the Professor
> Shade artifact your teams dug up last year."
>       "And?" the hulking product of Khadam's genetics labs arched an eyebrow.
>       "Short form, meh."
>       "Too short.  Please elaborate."
>       "Okay, you talked me into monologuing.

X3 <3

> "The pectoral was almost definitely the source of
> Professor Shade's powers, and I believe I've constructed a plausible timeline
> of its origins, starting in the muddy and god-bothered land of ancient
> Greece.  Probably their mythical age, circa figures like Hercules and Jason,
<snip>
> The archaelogy team thinks it was probably
> dedicated to the goddess Arete."

Hmmmmm, interesting

> Arete's generally the goddess of...hm, not perfection, but of being an
> exemplar.  The best you can be.

Innnnnnteresting.

>       Umbrae frowned slightly.  He did recall the parts of Upgrade's reports
> that mentioned what had happened to some of those test subjects.

Oh dear.

>       "Merely handling the pectoral did not have any effect, at least not in
> the short term.  It had to be worn next to the skin for at least a few hours
> before its effects began to manifest.  Unfortunately, it also bonded to the
> skin, and passing it to another test subject required removal of the skin
> itself.  Subsequent test subjects were taken largely from the ranks of the
> Cybernostra and their wannabes, since they'd be okay with some body
> replacement at the end of a trial."

Ohhhhh dear o3o;;;;

>       "Female test subjects exhibited a greater response to the pectoral than
> male, which would track with mythical sources saying Arete favored girls to
> men...not in that way, just a patronage sense.  Matronage?  Whatever.

Suuuuuuuuure

> However, even in the younger women where the effect was strongest, it was,
> um, unimpressive compared to what even basic subdermal cybernetics can
> accomplish.  Either Professor Shade was a special case, or made the most of
> very little actual power.

Hmhmhm.

> You
> see, the pectoral's para-quantum signature is actually adjoint to the
> signatures of the gems, countering their unreality dimensions."
>       Umbrae nodded.  "I think I see where you're going with this.  The
> pectoral was designed to *contain* the power of a goddess, to block it.  What
> one might do if they wished to destroy the gems, but didn't dare risk the
> wrath of a goddess."

Oh, shit. :o I see.

> "So I removed
> the gems."
>       Umbrae stiffened.  "That...sounds...unwise.  Might that not attract the
> attention of Arete?"
>       "Do you take me for a hack, like that suck-up Doctor Developer?

Interesting. X3

>       If Upgrade had not survived the end of the Godmarket, there were times
> Umbrae wasn't sure she was a baseline human.  This was one of those times.
> Paranormal or not, though, she was definitely a Mad Scientist.

:3 Heck yeah.

> While they match characteristics of crystallized ichor seen in other
> divine gems, they are no longer an active part of the goddess.  They could
> probably be made to reconnect, but it would take an act of *knowing* will.
> Needless to say, I did not tell any of the test subjects any of this, in case
> they prayed to Arete and brought her calling.

Naturally. o3o;

> If we decide to use these, and
> I can't really see a good use case, we need the user to believe they're from
> some entirely different god."

Oh dear. I see where this is going.

>       "I decided we needed someone really loyal to test a bare gem.  Your
> wife's Hangman friend Monica volunteered."
>       "Ah.  That would, I suppose, explain her new arm?"
>       "Precisely.

D:

>       "She became increasingly obsessed with justice.  Or, perhaps Rightness
> would be a better way of describing it.  She started to express a desire to
> get back out in the field and 'clean up the scum.'  Now, that's basically her
> day job, but I know you don't let fanatics into the Hangmen."

Oh dear. That doesn't bode super well for our girls.

> The gem was fine, and
> she's okay now, but she says she sometimes still feels it.  The gem, not her
> old arm.

jeez.

   Oh, I did risk one more male test subject, but the gem just refused
> to do anything for him, I guess that was a secondary purpose of the pectoral,
> to subjugate a female power to a man.

D: Yes, I see.

> Anyway, if you want to create a
> divinely powered superheroine team, each of whom could probably go toe to toe
> with you in a fair fight, go ahead and use 'em. 

Ohhhhh dear.

> I've put 'em back on the
> pectoral and sealed the whole thing in a Paraday Cage for now."
>       "You just made that last term up."
>       "I *invented* that last term," Professor Upgrade smirked.

X3

>       "Any luck on the Hero of New York project, love?" Maria slinked into
> Umbrae's working office.

Here we go~

> "I've just dumped the files to
> your internal server, but here's the precis: our archaeology teams found an
> artifact connected to the goddess Arete, which can give impressive powers to
> women, but bonds permanently *and* infuses them with a sense of justice.  It
> was a few years ago, so I didn't immediately think of it yesterday.  If we
> finesse it correctly, we can create an entire superhero team, and I think
> it'll give me the hook I need to get one of the Hellhound ladies back in the
> game to ride herd on the new heroes."

:D :D :D Hell yeah

> But I
> don't want them going after Bathory on their first day out, they'd get
> slaughtered.  Madelyn Chin would not let that happen, and would be much
> better positioned to pull them back from the edge if the gems have too strong
> of a mental effect.

Well, there it is.

> The Mesopotamian goddess
> Inanna was known in myth to have a pectoral that she lost in her descent into
> the underworld, we can pass this off as an artifact of hers.  Better yet,
> Inanna herself did not get involved in the Godmarket, suggesting that the
> syncretism with Ishtar represented Ishtar defeating Inanna and nearly wiping
> her out. 

Hmhm, I see, I see.

> So, if there really is an Inanna...other than the one my sources
> say embodies the spirit of Venus..."
>       "Wait.  Venus the planet or Venus the goddess?" Maria shook out of her
> reading trance.
>       "The planet.  Its spirit was awakened by certain actions of the Academy
> of Super-Heroes, and decided to name itself Inanna.  I am reasonably
> confident that very few people on this island are aware of that, however.

Well that's gonna be important.

>       "Girls, to be specific.  Teenagers would work best, based on both
> Professor Upgrade's data and my desire to activate Ms. Chin's protective
> instincts.

Heeheehee

>       "In that case, I have two suggestions," Maria stood up and walked over
> to the desk.  "One, Olivia Stuart.  She's a little young, but her parents do
> good work for the Cybernostra, and she's been begging them to get turned into
> a cyborg so she can be a superhero...she thinks Hangmen are basically
> superheroes.

Awwwwwww X>;

>       "Let Monica scout out the high schools for the rest of the girls.
> Upgrade's report," she tapped the implant on the side of her head, "says
> Monica still feels a pull towards the gems.  She might also be sensitive to
> who might also be a good gem-wearer.

Hm, makes sense...

>       Monica couldn't really say she'd had a normal high school experience,
> she was already running with the CyberNostra even back then, but she did know
> that this place felt too empty.  She knew it was because they'd built
> optimistically, hoping to fill the halls within a few years, but right now an
> entire wing was closed off, and the rooms in use were rarely more than half
> full.

I mean, nothing wrong with small class sizes, y'know?

>       A few hours and a few more changes of classes later, and Monica had a
> short list to pass on to Umbrae.  She hadn't felt any kind of magical tingle,
> but that was probably a good thing for her own long term health....

Yeah, fair. o3o;

>       "I might quibble with one of your picks," Maria mentally reviewed the
> files, "mostly because I agree with Monica's top four, and you went for the
> Davies kid who barely made the short list."  Pause.  "Isn't she kind of bad
> for group coherence?"
>       "I want them to get in Bathory's way, but I don't want them coming out
> of that conflict and deciding to clean up the rest of the city, my love.  I
> suppose it's possible Jessica Davies will overcome her...issues...over time,
> but a little internal strife should keep the girls easier to manipulate and
> distract when necessary."

And there's the last one.

>       "Shall I arrange for them to get a tuxedo-wearing stalker?" Maria
> grinned.
>       "Hm?"
>       "Oh, a cartoon I watched when I was a kid.  You do realize we're not
> just making superheroes, we're making magical girls?"
>       "Magical...it appears my pop cultural education has some holes in it
> that I should rectify before finalizing these plans...."

He ends up binging the whole series, I bet

>       "So, I'll just have you know it was quite difficult keeping Al Mirage
> alive long enough for this to play out," Anatole Mabuse noted.

X3

>       Umbrae nodded to his "personal assistant" and chief Hangman.  "He was
> bound to be an Example soon enough, I appreciate you keeping him around to be
> used to help introduce the city's latest heroes."

Very good.

>       "For now, hands off from the Hangmen, but the mundane police have been
> given no special instructions.  A little trouble with the law will keep them
> on their toes, and the media will make sure they're treated as a mixture of
> hero and Dangerous Influence.  How that mix plays out depends on whether Miss
> Davies sets the tone for their subsequent activities, or if she's reined in,
> of course...."

Hmmmmm, I see, I see...

> Of course, after just completing
> an epic story involving obscure Greek goddesses, I was a bit reluctant to
> drag in yet another, but ultimately I decided that I didn't know enough about
> other potential candidates and I wasn't comfortable with appropriation of
> mytholgies that might still be taken seriously by living cultures (and yes, I
> am in retrospect still a bit nervous about Poniente).

X>; You know, extremely valid, I've been thinking about that with some LNH 
mythos lately

> Umbrae's archaeologists are probably somewhere between outright
> graverobbers and actual professionals...they document things with
> professional level care, but mainly because this is the kind of archaeology
> where you can find really dangerous artifacts or superscience, so it's the
> care taken by a minesweeper.  Or, you know, SCP.

Yeah. X3

>       Professor Upgrade was mentioned once or twice in LL&DD as a sort of
> "More a rival in her mind than in his" rival to Doctor Developer.  I did ask
> Andrew Burton for a civilian ID for her, which is intentionally a reverse of
> DD's real name (although she could have changed her name as part of the
> rivalry, and he has no idea he lives rent-free in her head).

XD Okay, that is delightful.

>       In case anyone reading this is totally unfamiliar with magical girl
> stuff, the "tuxedo-wearing stalker" is a reference to Tuxedo Mask (Tuxedo
> Kamen), from Sailor Moon.  His costume was a tuxedo, top hat, opera cape, and
> mask, and he was functionally Sailor Earth (his civilian name is even a pun
> on the idea).  Will the Morning Stars get a Tuxedo Mask?  Time will tell.
> Well, I will say that I won't directly rip off Princess Holy Aura by having
> such a character be a plant by Bathory.

Hmhmhm! Lots of possibilities. n.n

>       I have now reached the end of the rough plot I worked out at the start.
> I still have unused ideas, but as far as actual stories I've used up the
> initial creative burst.  So there may be a longer gap before the next issue,
> while I cogitate.

Which there was, but it's boppin' now! :D

Drew "and I'm finally catching up" Nilium