NOVEL NEXT 2.03.2 – Heavenly body
2.1 - Edited by: Rellawing, AlliterativeArts - 1/13/2021
The two trudged back to the mall while laboring under the weight of Quinn’s fancy new deck.
The mall had obviously seen better days. The prices tended to be a little on the expensive side, and the fountains had long since been turned into planters for the sake of lower maintenance. But, it remained relatively popular and had proven itself a long-standing fixture, representing the remnants of a golden age that had passed many years ago, even though it was still humming along.
The sisters came to a stop at the first available food court table and Leona let out a long exhale, sweating. The moment they’d stepped indoors, she couldn’t wait to set the deck down.
“I’m sorry, Leona. I went a bit too far, I guess. But I mean, that driver was such a dickhead… I couldn’t let him win… but we had no choice in the end.” Quinn laughed and ran her fingers through her mop of sweaty pink hair while she took a moment to look around with a look of nostalgia on her face. “I remember hanging out here before I got into playing at raves. I’m sure glad I got to you before you turned into a mall rat.” Quinn smiled. “You’re going to be a real heart-breaker in a year or two, I’ll bet. You’re cute, strong and have a great heart.”
Leona blushed at the compliments and giggled. Considering what her sister said besides the flattery, Leona nodded. She’d probably break a lot of MALE hearts when they found out she only liked girls. “I didn’t miss the part where you kind of implied that you had a shameful history of mall ratting.”
“Oh yeah!” Quinn derisively laughed. “I was here all the time, way before I followed some older kids to a rave. You didn’t follow me all the time, or rather you couldn’t really. Anyhow, the moment I went to my first rave, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The music moved my soul. Anyhow, let’s just say I know this place so well that the shop owners are lucky I don’t have a larcenous mind. Hah... I could even show you where all the cameras are set up.” She winked impishly at Leona.
“Before you ask, I have gotten a few five-fingered discounts here, though not that~ often.” She comically waggled her eyebrows.
Leona rolled her eyes. “You shouldn’t be so naughty, big sis. I don’t want my big sis becoming the next big super vill.” Leona smiled teasingly.
Quinn laughed. “Yeah, that’d kind of screw up our family’s reputation entirely. A beatnik, a super villainess and a superhero nerd. The model family these days.” She grinned warmly. “Anyhow, would you accept a bribe in the form of an ice cream cone? I feel I owe you a sweet treat after that bus situation, y’know?” She hurried off without waiting for a response, knowing she’d agree.
Completely fine with the presumption, Leona just sat and relaxed with a smile, letting her mind drift as the sun beat down on her through the skylight. She had been feeling drained just a moment ago, but as she sat there she started to feel a sense of warmth grow and build within her body.
Leona reached up to run fingers through her own hair and found that her hair was actually very dry compared with Quinn’s. It was surely a hot day out. Was this a sign of something wrong with her?
After a bit, Quinn poked the shoulder of her little sister. “Gotcha a triple neopolitan cone.” She offered the cone to Leona who thankfully accepted. “You look a little… restless. You okay? Are you mad at me?”
Leona licked her cone gently and swooned. “Hmm, good… nah, you’re fine… it’s just classic Quinn up to her antics again. I’m used to it.” She giggled. She actually felt downright comfortable at the moment.
“I didn’t know you were so reliable.” Quinn smiled warmly. “Oh! Look! A cute girl!” She changed the subject by pointing discretely toward a girl who’d caught her eye.
Leona’s eyes found the mentioned girl and what she saw made her grin. The girl wore a flattering Cheongsam chinese dress, rocking it. It clung to her curves in a way that made Leona wonder how she’d look in one if she tried. She had a few more curves these days, but she still hadn’t worked up the nerve to wear something that flaunted her femininity like that. The dress girl’s bottom wiggled invitingly underneath the thin fabric.
“Dat butt!” Quinn winked at Leona who blushed but didn’t refute the comment even though she surely noticed it too.
The dress girl eventually disappeared from view and not long after Leona started to feel bubbly as she felt the sun gently wrap around her. It felt as though something could… overflow.
“Huh… weird.” She clasped a hand to her chest and continued to enjoy her cone to distract herself. It was like she could just reach out and touch whatever it was that was growing inside her. Trying just that, she reached within herself and felt her proverbial fingertips get close, but was jarringly interrupted when her phone rang.
Leona blinked and slipped her phone out from her pocket. It was Goonie!
“I’m here. You two at the food court?” she asked. “C’mon out when you’re ready, but remember I have to get back, tout suite.”
The two younger family members lugged the deck to the office which Quinn had converted into a live-in studio, one filled with her posters and equipment as well as a hideaway bed they got because Goonie insisted upon, clearly disagreeing with Quinn about whether a couch was fine.
At first Goonie tried to help haul the deck in but saw it was easier without a third wheel and that the two were fine. When they were settled, Goonie sighed and tossed a knowing smile at Leona. “I’ve gotta get back to the cafe now, but I don’t see you having trouble keeping your sister out of trouble.”
Leona bobbed her head in reply and laughed. “Yeah.”
There wasn’t much she could do under most circumstances, but fortunately Quinn would be geeking over her deck for a long time so there shouldn’t be a problem. Leona decided she’d sit on the house’s deck since it had suddenly felt so nice to just relax in the sunshine. Stepping outside, she settled down in a chair and closed her eyes with a dreamy little smile.
She thought about the dream the other night and in her daze, she unconsciously reached out for that thing within herself once again. The warmth had built up to the point where it could no longer be contained and with a flash of light, Leona’s clothes became extremely tight, particularly around her chest. Knocking over the chair she strained to stand up.
Looking down at herself, she gasped. Her moderately form fitting cami was now stuffed to the straining point and it felt like it might rip if she moved the wrong way. “Oh wow… it wasn’t a dream!” Leona had convinced herself it was just a silly dream, but this was proof that the events of the previous night had really happened.
She looked around carefully, thankful that no one was around to see. Running inside, Leona’s new wings flexed and her poor shirt split at the seams, leaving her upper body clothed only in her badly fitting bra which at least afforded her some questionable modesty. Leona blushed. The remnants of her shredded shirt clung to her arms on either side.
Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Leona felt really… happy. She could be a superhero! A real one! The angel she met last night had said she could become one. She was nothing but excited now!
Cautiously peeking inside the condo, she figured that Quinn was still busy jamming in her room so Leona was able to quietly dart upstairs. As she slipped into her room and closed the door firmly behind her, she considered if she should trust someone with her secret.
She cast off the remaining tatters and slipped out of the rest of her newly overly tight clothes. She was voluptuous and energetic. Touching herself like last night, she quickly reassured herself that she was certainly one hundred percent girl! Squirming and squeeing, she wrapped her arms around herself and danced like a fool.
Her wings knocked things from her shelves onto the floor causing Leona to wince, hoping Quinn didn’t hear the racket. It was wonderful to have fluffy wings, but they’d only been in the way so far!
Leona pouted and glared at the wings. Almost like they had a mind of their own, they shriveled as though their feelings were hurt. They became little cherub-like ones. “Oh... that’s nice!” Leona crowed.
Even miniaturized they glowed. They seemed to always glow softly. After a minute’s examination of her body, she decided that she had the body of an eighteen-year-old supermodel because she was definitely more curvy than even Quinn now; smooth clear skin with a slight hint of a tan, without a bit of hair anywhere to be found except the top of her head. Power surged inside her again as she stood in the sun rays streaming through her window and she felt a strong urge to release the bubbling sensation.
Reaching out, a beam blasted out from her hand where she pointed. The globe containing the ashes left behind by the Angel’s Down that had been her target shattered, leaving behind only a gouged trough of wood on the shelf to mark where it had sat. A number of her favorite comics were also disintegrated as collateral damage along with it. Leona gaped and hopped up and down in panic.
She shed a small tear for the loss, but her sadness was quickly supplanted by the epiphany that having wings had implications she’d only just considered. Maybe she could FLY!
She wanted to try flying so much but she didn’t have any clothes that would fit her. Leona ran her fingers through her now flowing shiny silver hair. If someone saw her like this, perhaps no one would ever know it was Leona inside this body but she wasn’t about to go streaking through the city, literally.
She needed… needed… CLOTHES! She internally screamed.
As she was thinking about clothes, energy suddenly coalesced around her form and garments manifested. They were a perfect copy of Mistral’s costume. She was in love with the hero so it was only natural that the first clothes she conjured from her mind would be hers!
Pondering on it briefly, she knew she’d only give Mistral a bad name if she masqueraded as her favorite heroine while stretching her wings for the first time, not that Mistral had glowing wings. She didn’t want to meet her hero under such unfavorable circumstances. Thinking hard about the problem, she painstakingly constructed a costume that would be hers, and only hers.
Something that would suit her form. She thought about the countless catalogs and superhero costumes she’d seen including outfits from anime and movies of Superheroes. Piece by piece her costume came together in her mind.
Her clothes shone again and reformed. When it was done she was in a golden mini dress, kind of like the cheongsam she’d seen before but more strappy. She’d taken some inspiration from Mistral’s costume a bit so feathers dangled from a shiny gold neckband. Soft loops curled around her shoulders and her hair was instantly done up in a clipped up ponytail and a tiara appeared on her brow. The fabric of the dress both looked and was soft and light, literally. The dress had blue detailing on the borders while her long lovely legs were bare down to blue and gold sandals. Her wrists were bound in blue and gold cuffs.
The whole ensemble was so light and breathable that she didn’t feel like she was wearing anything at all. The air caressed her body. Were these clothes some kind of an illusion? No…
She touched them repeatedly and pinched the fabric and nodded. They were really there, yet air freely passed through like it was an illusion.
Now fully dressed to impress, Leona couldn’t hold back any longer. She threw open her window and shot out like she’d been launched from a canon! She whooped and spun as she leapt into the air. She hovered and after a moment’s consideration, darted back to scoop up her cellphone. Without a map, it’d be a little hard to find places from her new perspective, maybe.
Phone now in hand, she realized it’d be awkward to hold in-flight so she thought hard and a pocket formed between the dress and her boobs. She slipped the cellphone in and secured it as she soared higher and higher.
The sun still shone brightly over San Isidro. The Victorian-style towers in the distance looked beautiful during the day, showing an artistic style that not even the grand glass skyscrapers of Seaside City could compete with.
She glided and flapped, letting the wind play over her body. “I’m FLYING!” Leona squealed and spun and did loop de loops. The sun felt so wonderful! She swooped through the thermals and danced through the clouds. She was clumsy and overeager at first, but in time she became better and better, as though driven by pure instinct.
Eventually, she wung down to the bay and flew sharply down and ran across the water, dancing on it like a fairy. “Kyaaaaaaa!” She giggled, overjoyed. Her eyes narrowed as she exploded into action and water went flying to either side. She reached down and touched the ocean as she flew.
She was so distracted she actually rammed into a ship on accident. She managed to put on the breaks at the last second so she didn’t do too much damage to the ship, but she did put a bit of a dent into it. Leona’s face was now imprinted on the side of the ship, on the bow right next to the ship’s name. People on deck began to gather and stare down at her. Leona blushed beet-red and kicked off the side of the boat to rocket up above, so embarrassed. The people watched her go in wonder.
Back in the clouds, she thought about how to recover her new and somehow already tarnished reputation… maybe she should patrol for the first time. She zoomed back to San Isidro and flew between the buildings, flitting and building up her reflexes to avoid issues. As she did, she found exactly what she was looking for.
Finding a blimp moored to a building, several men stood on the rooftop toting guns. They wore bandanas over their faces so that all you could see of their faces was their eyes. Leona dipped down and looked at the building’s title. Meyers Biochem.
The men hadn’t spotted Leona, but Leona was already grinning. This was her moment to shine, literally… She looked up towards them and started emitting intense light. It was reckless, foolish even… she didn’t know her powers well yet, but still… SHE HAD TO GO INTO ACTION!