Maiden Starlight 1: Maiden Voyage by Amethyst

Las Vegas, Nevada
Mutant Commission Office
Saturday, August 6, 2016
2:14 PM

Agent Darryl Caldwell, there is always at least one agent like this. Ah, a fellow introvert. Healing powers, this girl has a rare gift. Uh oh, what is so wrong her father isn't smiling? Penny, a cute name. And her mom is out of sorts as well, they better not try to charge her with anything for healing Jenna.

Pulse and Healer 4 as her only power, why are her parents so nervous? Dad has TK 1, I'm guessing not registered, or had a bad experience with the MCO in the past. Short dad and tall mom, but takes after her dad in height, aww. And now they are on the run, what is going on?

“There are… rumors about the Vegas branch of the MCO, that some of the agents are on the take,” Dad said, looking around the garage nervously. The four families have been ‘hiring’ a lot of mutants lately, trying to get an edge over one another and the rumor is that some of them are getting those new recruits not long after they get their MIDs. They’ve been hiring muscle or anyone with useful gifts. You have a very useful power, you manifested in a public place, and you healed Frankie Salvatore’s daughter of all people. Even if that agent wasn’t on the take, it’s only a matter of time before one of the families tries to get control of you.”

Oh crud, four families, this is very bad and now I see why her parents were so nervous.

His 'boss' did that to make a point, Frankie Salvatore is a monster. No, no, no, David can't stay behind like this, it is like a death sentence when dealing with this monster and his goons. Even Penny knows this. Penelope Anne Jones, oof, mom used her full name. No, her mom pays the price soon, this monster needs to be stopped.

Just outside Kingman, Arizona
Saturday, August 6, 2016
5:47 PM

The Phoenix Warriors, oh good, they have hope. Stopping off at a gas station, plus an SUV might be on their tail, no, not after David's sacrifice. A Black SUV on their tail that long, either it is Salvatore's goons or corrupt MCO agents. Good plan by the mom, but very risky without knowing how many are in that van.

Oh great, mutant goon and he has a partner ready to kill her mom if she doesn't cooperate. Mr. Del Rosa, arrgh, one of the other families knows about it. And her father was killed an hour ago, if only she could use her Healer somehow offensively. Penny is in shock and he is treating her roughly, Riptile, what a creep. And his boss has orders to kill her if they can't bring her back to work for them, sickening.

No witnesses, you monster! The cashier didn't know what was going on, you could have left without incident! This situation keeps going from bad to worse. Great, a fire wielder who can fly and works for Salvatore, out of the frying pan and into the frier has never been more literal. Nice move by mom, fire wielder is either dead or will be without medical aid. No! Her mom is badly injured as well, please let Penny's healing be enough to save her.

Oh crap, injuries are this bad and Penny has no real experience with her power, this could go bad in so many ways. No....brain damage and doesn't recognize Penny, please don't let this be the end for her mom. Leaving her mother behind, and changing her identity, Penny needs a lot of help and fast so does her mom. No phone, no credit cards, just cash and the stuff in her soccer bag. This is gut-wrenching to read, I can only hope Penny's mom can regain her memories and Penny survives to get the help she needs.

Los Angeles, California
Downtown
Monday, August 8, 2016
12:34 PM

Not eaten in two days after using her Healer ability on her mom, I'm surprised she didn't collapse before now. $2k in cash, at least it should hold out for a while. Oh crud, a ticket to LA and other things, how much of it is left? I hope karma finds that night manager. Penny is a physical and emotional wreck right now, please let help be coming to her soon.

No way to use her only I.D. and no way to get a job, this is bleak. Down to under $1400, at least she has a good disguise for now. 6 gang members against one person, a bunch of cowards.

It was like there was this warmth inside of him and as I healed him, I could feel it start flooding into me.

Weird, I wonder what that is all about. Wait a minute, slots in her brain, 3 remaining, don't tell me she is also a power duplicator and it wasn't detected in testing?

Surviving by eating garbage, this poor boy is a mutant who ran away or was driven away from his home, isn't he? Selves to his home, I wonder where he is staying. Called Feast and he is a mutant runaway living in a place with other mutant runaways. I knew things were bad, but this is worse than I thought.

The top floor of an abandoned 3-story apartment building is a good location to keep safe and see any trouble coming. Az, Pitch-black skin and hair, Asphalt, and he floated down to them, possibly gravity warper for a guess on his power. Ouch, PK shell he can't turn off and it is opaque. Tresse and Slider, this is an interesting group. Ah, Tresse is a girl, will Penny reveal she is one to the group.

*blinks* Feast's power is incredible, transmutation of organic matter to food from what I can tell. Turn trash into food, even more useful, better if the trash is organic, and still a pretty impressive power. She copied Feast's power and used it without realizing it! Test her power copying and its limits, good idea for when trouble eventually shows up.

Not able to copy Az's power, so physical contact is required without PK shell in the way. Az is 18, how long has he been living on the streets? Nice set-up for kids living on their own, with the resources available. Ah, so she can only keep the copied powers for hours, though those 2 slots that feel different might allow longer or permanent copies I'm guessing.

Tresse is a high-level regenerator with hair that needs cutting every 6 hours or she will start tripping on it, oof. Slider saw through Penny's disguise and knows she is a girl by the way she moves and talks, an actor before manifesting, no wonder he saw through it. A large pile of hair to sleep on instead of the hard floor, I would do it.

No wonder the MCO around there is twitchy, Bastion snapping like that would have anyone on edge, afraid any mutant could be the next, unfortunately.

It was an orbital ultra-max prison built inside of an asteroid, high-level gadgeteers and mages designed its security, and there were power-armored guards to keep the inmates in line. Then there was the last resort. In case of escape attempts or riots, they just would just vent the air in an entire cellblock to take care of the problem permanently.

The Rock is the most terrifying superprison I've ever read about.

Not able to sense the warmth inside of Feast anymore, not able to copy anyone else that night, her power copier abilities seem to have more limitations than first suspected. Those criminal scumbags have broken Penny, she needs to connect with others or things will get worse.

Ouch, Feast's power has a big limitation to only turn that much trash into food per day and be so draining. Crud, thinking Az helped with a bank robbery because of when and where he manifested, the MCO just loves an excuse to target a mutant. Slider was a child star and changed enough not to be recognized when he manifested, eep. Cast aside by his own parents and agent when he manifested, using him and throwing him away like that, it enrages me to hear parents treat their kids like this. Levitate a foot off the ground, sounds like fun.

Tresse was an Exemplar 1 and Regen 5 so she healed super fast and she warned me to stay away if she was bleeding since her blood was technically a biohazard.

And her parents were H1! members, poor kid.

Los Angeles, California
Skid Row
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
9:45 AM

Crud, she needs psychological help soon. Called Cat due to her Copycat nickname, cute. 3 weeks and she doesn't think she has gotten even a little attached to her new friends, oh boy. Ouch, acting like family and she doesn't want to lose another one. Doing all those things, bonding, and keeping your distance isn't an option anymore.

Only copy the powers of someone she is healing, hold onto them for about 4 hours and have no control over what 'slot' they occupy when first copied, interesting. Her birthday was yesterday and it brought back memories of everything, everyone, she had lost, she needs to talk to someone, she can't keep bottling this up inside. Let Tresse be your sister, let them in.

A quiet breakfast and everyone worried about 'Cat', oh boy. Good set-up for panhandling and begging. Heading back to the apartment slowly, why do I feel a sense of dread about this? Good with the opposite of what she is, Slider, that is often easier said than done. A surprise birthday party, how did they know?

“We… uhh… didn’t know when your real birthday is but you’re one of us now, so we figured this morning that you needed one and today was as good a day as any. We were hoping that it might cheer you up from whatever has you so depressed.”

Okay, that was a close one, I thought Penny would panic for a moment there.

Oh no, her way of thinking, she has come to care about them, but with that one last good memory with them thought she is thinking of running again. Nice simple present by Feast, a joke gift by Tresse, I wonder where Az could take Penny to fulfill his gift, Slider giving her those earrings, those don't suit him anymore, is Slider a changeling? Uh, Penny, mutants can change genders when they manifest in various ways. Feast lost his big family of brothers and sisters, all these kids need help. Tresse's reaction to her family, what did they do to her before she even manifested?

Los Angeles, California
Skid Row
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
12:32 AM

Trying to sneak out and Tresse overhears her, she tells the reason she is leaving.

“So, you’re gonna let them win by not letting yourself get close to anybody? We stick together because we’re the closest thing to family any of us can have, and I’m not gonna let my sister cut herself off from the people who care about her.”

Thank you, Tresse, someone needed to tell her this. And Tresse keeps telling 'Cat' more of what she desperately needs to hear.

Tresse's parents punished her for not being 'good enough', the more I hear about them the more I want them dead.

“Do you really think that your parents wanted you to spend the rest of your life alone, not letting yourself get close to anybody? It doesn’t sound like they were the kind of people who would wish that on their daughter. You can choose family, Cat. Me, Az, Slider, and Feast all chose each other, just like we chose you.”

Dang, tearing up again here. Dang, Tresse is stubborn and got 'Cat' to promise her to stick it out with her new family.

Anaheim, California
The Drunken Valkyrie
Wednesday, September 1, 2016
8:15 PM

Flown by Az to Anaheim and he mentions Crackpot showed him the landmarks to look for from the air, I wonder how many mutants she will meet. A supervillain bar! Pretend to be Az's 'minion', uh oh. Why oh why did Slider have to pick that last part of her persona's personality, bad idea when dealing with supervillains. Valkyrie is a good codename and reason for the bar's name. And thank you for the warning on Stockholm, that guy needs a new hole in his head.

Okay, after Valkyrie's description of Stockholm, his MO, and powers I think he needs to take a lava bath. NightHawk sounds like the kind of criminal I can respect a little. Whoa, guessing NightHawk is an Exemplar. Nice cover for her power copying working through her healing, Az. Dang, well now we know each slot only copies one power, not all of one individual's powers. Copied his ability to fly, that will be nice to have for a while.

Los Angeles, California
Skid Row
Wednesday, September 1, 2016
11:17 PM

2 hours to get back to the apartment, learning to fly is rough. Ominous orange glow, gunfire, no, please let them have not found her. Those red bandana gang creeps torched the place! What about Feast, Slider, and Tresse, did they make it out, or do we need to avenge them? They are outside on the ground and 'Cat' can't tell what shape they are in, if they are dead these gangbangers are toast!

Tresse is still alive, but what about Feast and Slider? No...she tries to heal them but Feast and Slider are dead, Az, no mercy on those scum. They are going to leave when the Hollywood All-Stars show up and tell them to give up, they think they did this, you assholes just assume! Psi-napse, Hydrax, and Proteus, so one of them can read Tresse's mind and see the truth. If they refuse to I'm going to be furious.

Az surrenders and is put in power-dampening cuffs, good grief. Az's PK shell off for the first time in years, please let him be found innocent. Oh good, a nice psychic who is gentle with kids and doesn't scare off Penny by saying the wrong thing. Why is Proteus staring at Penny, curious?

Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles General Hospital
Thursday, September 2, 2016
12:38 AM

Losing 2 good friends, and family, I hope Az will be treated fairly and not assumed guilty so they can get him back. Building set on fire and then shot as they tried to escape, this gang needs to be wiped out. And Penny is blaming herself for what happened again. *sigh*

Community service, work as a member of the All-Stars, and a chance of being a permanent member, oh good, Az isn't going to be railroaded. Staying with Proteus until something more permanent for Penny and Tresse, a new identity for Penny, okay, these are true superheroes. And her rules aren't strict, nice.

This isn’t your fault, neither is what happened to your parents. It’s on the assholes who pulled the triggers,” she told me sternly.

Keep telling her that until it gets drilled into her thick skull.

*eyes bug out* No wonder she volunteered, been where Penny is. In an IC facility, who does Proteus wish for Penny to try and heal? It is the girl whose parents were killed by Bastion, manifested but has significant brain damage since the attack. And Penny can't heal the brain damage, no. What power did she copy from the girl that her healing power is trying to fix and made her pass out?

Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles General Hospital
Thursday, September 2, 2016
11:47 AM

Her whole body feels off, she copied the power to slot three, don't tell me she copied her Exemplar trait. 11 hours, dang. Darcy Green is Proteus' real name, nice. Darcy is a looker, I wonder if she is dating anyone. Yup, I guessed it, copied Exemplar trait and the girl's BIT. Regeneration and healing power already jumpstarted the changes, at least it ensures they will never find Penny.

And more testing to come for Penny's power mimic ability, the Whateley power wonks will love to get their hands on her.

“Wait, Lily Pond? As in the daughter of Arthur Pond, the CEO of Pond Technologies in Silicon Valley?”

No wonder Tresse, Lily, kept her real name such a secret.

“They’ve been in bed with the Goodkind family for over a decade; Pond Technologies is one of the major contractors of processors and other computer components for Goodkind International. More importantly though, six months ago Arthur and Evelyn Pond had a funeral for their daughter, Lily. They claimed that she was killed during a botched kidnapping attempt by mutant terrorists. Claimed that she was cremated.”

Okay, I want to ruin their business empire, it will hurt far worse than death.

Cat and Lily, now they have a real chance to get their lives back. Cat, it is just the start of many changes and you have a new life and family. And boy is Cat going to stand out in many ways, glowing freckles and hair draw attention. It is okay to cry, it is going to hurt for a long time, just keep the memories of your good times together and they will never be truly gone. Maiden Starlight, is a good codename.

This story had a lot of emotion and pain in it, but also joy and family. It was hard to watch Penny lose her father, then her mother to criminals. Then to finally have a new family, to really connect with them only to have two of them ripped away by bigoted criminals. I loved the interaction between all the kids and the loss of Feast and Slider hit hard, I sometimes forget criminals like that exist in the world and kill innocents simply for existing.

Learning about Penny now Cat's power mimic ability, it is one of the more interesting forms of the power I've ever seen with its limitations and potential. I can't wait to see what she can do with it in the future. And I can't wait to see Cat and Lily's future adventures and life together with Proteus and beyond. Along with the changes Cat is going to experience.

Anaheim, California
The Greene Residence
Sunday, October 16th, 2016
6:20 AM

Oh god, nightmares of those she's lost, survivor's guilt, deep-seated paranoia over that, I wouldn't say it was paranoia after all the times it has happened to her in such a short amount of time. I'm glad that Dr. Dunn has experience helping mutants who have suffered trauma like Penny and Tresse have. Penny, Darcy is giving back, she doesn't see you owing her anything, you are family to her now and the other shoe isn't going to drop, not with Darcy.

I'm relieved the nightmares have been becoming less intense and less frequent for Penny but wish there was a way to end them completely. Ah, the changes to her new appearance due to the copied BIT have finished finally, 1 month and a half is a long time. Heh, her rapid changes sound like puberty in fast-forward.

Yeesh, don't put yourself don't because you were average at 15, Penny. Exotic looks now, 5'9, and Exemplar physique, she is going to be turning heads. Close to a D cup, good grief, she will get a lot of unwanted attention now. A new identity along with a MID, what will Penny's new name be? Copying Darcy's powers to tinker in the lab for hours, now sounds fun. Oof, not able to tell if she copied her Gadgeteer or Devisor abilities, that is a big issue. Ah, the old exploding devise issue, is one way to find out.

Maiden Starlight would be perky, outgoing, feminine, and a little naïve though, and that was exactly the type of person who would run around using her newfound powers to try to be some sort of real-life magical girl. Between that and my new appearance, nobody would ever connect me with Penny Jones.

*facepalms* Anyone with enough resources can track someone even with a huge physical change involved.

Ouch! I hope she gets used to her new dimensions soon as well, I had sympathy pain from that one. Darcy is awake and talking to someone, something about not sticking her neck out for an unfamiliar cape, now what is all this about? Ah, she is trying to get Proteus to help her get Penny a new identity. Ugh, an old friend of hers named Reggie who since she became a hero doesn't consider her a friend anymore, creep.

Darn, Darcy knows Penny is up, I wonder if her trick to make Darcy think she just came out of her room worked. Worked all night, only got home an hour ago, and still called up Reggie as she was thinking more about Penny than her own need for sleep. Darn, last of her old contacts from her villain days, is there anyone else who might be able to help work on the hero side?

Dang, Tresse already starting work to get her identity back thanks to Darcy's help. Ooo, Darcy got a good lawyer who has already thought of the kind of BS her parents and their lawyer might pull.

So now, Az was doing six months of community service as a probationary member of the Hollywood All-Stars and living at their headquarters for the duration of that time.

*sigh* He shouldn't have even gotten community service for what he did, it was self-defense and he didn't go too far, if he wasn't a mutant there probably wouldn't have even been a trial.

Ouch, Penny feels cooped up having to hide from anyone looking for Penny Jones. Crap, panic attack at the thought of not having a legal identity. Darcy goes to comfort her and suddenly has an idea, but one neither of them will like. *eyes bug out* Gwen, the girl Penny looks like now, have Penny take over her identity and Darcy finally pulls the plug since she is completely braindead, that is one of the most difficult choices to make.

So that is why Proteus became a hero, Bastion killed Gwen's parents and Darcy did everything to save Gwen, but there is no hope left. Her niece and God-daughter mean she lost a sibling and sister or brother-in-law as well.

“No. I chose to do this… knowing that your BIT was changing you, Cat. You and Lily needed me and my memories of Gwen aren’t of her laying in that bed, they’re of the times we shared before she manifested.”

This is heart-wrenching, I hope Bastion is in jail or dead.

The tale of Proteus and how she was a villain, in it for the thrills, returned stolen items the next day unless from criminals, seesh, there are much more dangerous criminals for heroes to go after than someone like she was. Ouch, the Hollywood All-Stars were like that back then, and Bastion fit right in, that isn't someone I would want as a superhero. All because of a bruised ego and being embarrassed on TV, Bastion turned it into a vendetta.

Great, saw her face and it was a guy she dated in college, and was a creep even back then. He murders her older sister, and brother-in-law and put her niece Gwen into critical condition over this. He is a psychopath, you never involve family! Gwen manifested in the attack, only kept alive due to the machines, please say Bastion got the death penalty. The 'heroes' who went solo were a bunch of cowards, caring more about their reputation than justice. Psi-napse and Superstar are true heroes, I hope Bastion is suffering in the Rock and never escapes.

Hydrax and now Asphalt, I really hope Az works out on the team. An exosuit worn beneath the armor in case anything like the Bastion incident ever happens again to protect her identity, I hate it took such a tragedy to inspire this. Whoa, remote link to pilot the armor to her through the HUD in the visor and it was Penny's idea, she is a genius. Ouch, Penny doesn't want to take over Gwen's identity, thinking it won't be healthy for Darcy if she does as she looks like Gwen and doesn't wish to put Darcy through that.

“She’s dead, Cat. I know that, and I need to bury her and be done with it. That will be my closure. Nevertheless, she has an identity that she won’t be using and you need one, and I know that she would want to help you as much as I do. She was a kind girl and she had big dreams. You can use her name but you’ll never take her place in my heart, you’re making your own there. You and Lily have grown on me, and I was thinking of taking you both in on a more permanent basis anyway. This would give me legal grounds to do it with you and give you a valid identity.”

Darcy is determined in this despite the pain she is in. Arrgggh! Penny, I know you have conflicting feelings about this, you probably fear if you do this someone will hurt or kill Darcy like your parents, like members of your new family. But don't give this up over any fears you might have.

Dang, fear of a fake I.D. being found out and traced her identity as Penny Jones wins over her other fears. A switcheroo and Darcy need to prepare some things but will be ready to go by tonight, she creates plans fast. Heh, nice suggestion Darcy, noticing Penny needs a distraction and copying one of her powers would work.

What the! Blacked out after healing Darcy and copying her power, only waking up in the lab with a gadget or devise sitting in front of her. Uh oh, sounds like she tried to copy something that Darcy took as a trophy from a fight with a thief called Haunt.

It looked like a metal staff of some sort, silver in color and maybe five and a half feet in length, with the blue sphere securely embedded at the center of that length. At one end was a star-shaped ornament that glowed in the same shade of ice blue as my hair. “Did I just make myself a Starlight Staff?” I wondered aloud as I just stared at it for a long moment.

Now I'm curious what a Starlight Staff can do.

Interesting staff, now is it a gadget or devise? Around an Exemplar 3 now, good rating to have. Hehe, the shtick she is working on for herself, has she thought of a catchphrase to say to villains yet? Ah, so based on what Darcy said it is most likely a devise. Ack! No breakfast and almost lunchtime already, definitely a devisor mindset to ignore that. Lily is up and Peny was so out of it in the lab she didn't hear anything Lily said, yikes.

Ouch, summing up everything about Gwen, what happened with Bastion, and Darcy's plan. Lily spells out what I'm sure Darcy wanted to say to Penny about the whole situation. 2 and a half years since the Bastion incident, Lily is right, Darcy has known Gwen isn't coming back for a long time now. Ugh, a charity she donated her hair to make wigs for cancer patients and finds out the source is a mutant and tells her to F off, a bunch of bigots. JustMe company, Lily found a good one to sell her hair to.

Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles General Hospital Intensive Care Facility
Sunday, October 16th, 2016
7:46 PM

Penny is in hiding, a devise to muffle any noise on her parts, as Darcy talks to someone about Gwen's condition and acts like she doesn't know the truth, and that she isn't Proteus. This conversation is painful, all that, and not even Penny's Healer power could help Gwen. Dang, Darcy keeping her life as Proteus separate that completely, is dedication.

Even with the suitcase being twice the size it looks thanks to the devise that is some cramped space for Penny to hide in. A devise like that, if only there was a gadget version that could be used on all comatose patients. Ouch, Darcy's response, you just wish a true miracle would happen right then. A Devisor cocktail to knock her out for 8 hours with effects upon waking up, is better than a regular IV drip to knock you out for surgery.

Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles General Hospital Intensive Care Facility
Thursday, October 20th, 2016
9:14 AM

6 hours to shake off the effects with an Exemplar 3 constitution, potent stuff. Losing the mental weight of leaving her mother behind, then the loss of Slider and Feast, for a time only for it to come back, is harsh. Okay, the temporary memory loss is a lot scarier than I previously thought it would be. The working theory, at least those doctors and nurses can sleep at night not knowing the truth.

Having to keep up the act of not knowing things, doing things for the "first time", I would go nuts after a while. Ow, that one hit my heart, wishing she was the real Gwen waking up because of the hurt she can see in Darcy's eyes talking about her her sister and Gwen. Kiley was nearly a decade older than Darcy, when she said older sister I didn't think it was by that much. Growing up in a home with a mother like that, I'm so glad Kiley got them out there when she got the chance.

Hehe, I like Andrew's name for the gaming shop. Gwen born when Darcy is almost 15 and treated was like a baby sister to her. She patented her gadgets and did everything for Kiley, Andrew, and Gwen, and Bastion killed them to make Darcy suffer, that sick F. All this to sell the new personality that the new Gwen is trying to sell. Uh oh, I have a feeling that if/when Maiden Starlight ends up at Whateley that anyone who messes with any friends she makes there will soon regret it.

Bwaaaaa, you have me tearing up here with Gwen, Darcy doesn't need any more tragedies in her life. The tender moment was ruined by a phone call from work, I hate it when that happens. They can't leave until the All-Stars get here, uh oh. A big crowd outside, Lilly piloting the Proteus armor remotely to make it look like the whole team is there, there is one problem solved. Okay, whoever in the hospital leaked the story about 'Gwen' surviving Bastion's attack 2 years ago and manifesting, the freaking Times involved, needs to be fired if not sued for breach of patient confidentiality.

Darn it! The whole story, plus a picture of Gwen in her hospital bed, whoever leaked all this to the Times has a lot to answer for. Name her six times but the source gets unnamed for privacy, it is hypocrisy to allow this. That's Superstar, I hope none of their deals include full-sized posters of her or a lot of teenage boys and girls will have them in their bedrooms. Piper Blake and her real-life identity were revealed before the Bastion incident, ouch.

Ah, off duty due to being pregnant and now on maternity leave to be with the baby. A two-month-old named Sarah, boy, Piper is different from other mothers I've heard about at that age to leave her with their husband. Of course, Piper and the rest of the team know about Cat now Gwen. The whole team is close despite what the press says about them, twisting the truth or outright lying for ratings is what reporters tend to do nowadays.

Piper! No teasing Darcy about there being something between her and Psi. Good costumes and nice to see a team with a theme. Nice to see Az again and hear that he is doing okay, Darcy made him a devise that helps to turn his PK shell off at will, nice. Psi-napse and the Proteus armor piloted by Lily show up, not much for Lily to do, please don't jinx this, Darcy. Ambush journalism should be banned imo, at least when it targets civilians at a minimum.

Heading out with the All-Stars surrounding them, anyone who tries to force their way through has no excuse if they get hurt. Sensitivity to sunlight, ow, I feel that one. Thank you, Superstar, for your concise and quick statement. Living at the team's HQ, is Lily going to be brought over as well I don't think she wants to live all alone in that big house. Who the **** is this reporter to suggest the team is responsible for what happened to Gwen and her parents, that was Bastion and Bastion alone who went rogue and turned psycho.

Whoa, I can feel the contained rage from Darcy in her statement, if words could cut she would have shredded that reporter. Even after what Superstar said, what Aunt Darcy said, what Gwen said, these idiots still keep asking questions, with no respect for the privacy of a citizen. Superstar's next response, she has experience with the press but I can tell she wished she could just chew them out with no consequences right now.

Darn, they have to get her a MID today thanks to the media. Detour to the cemetery first, the graves of Gwen's parents, she is here to lay Gwen to rest with her parents. Pouring Gwen's ashes over the graves of her parents, closure. Darn it, I knew some of the press weasels would end up here to harass them.

And the press kept harassing them all day long, following them around, freedom of the press was never meant to allow this kind of behavior. Camping outside their home, now they should be allowed to call the police for this kind of harassment. Healer 4, Exemplar 3, Power Mimic 3, dang, she is powerful.

Oof, now Gwen has to worry about the press coming after Lily if they see her with Darcy or Gwen. Lily's parents are trying to bury her case, okay, using the press to her advantage and screwing over her a**hole parents. Wanting to hurt your parents as much as they hurt you, Gwen is right, it makes you nothing more than human, especially after what they did when you manifested. Oh god, her parents were monsters, Lily needs counseling, but also to get back at them so she can have even a little closure. Lily, these people may have brought you into this world, but they were no parents, they are abusive monsters and only saw you as a prop to show off to try to impress others. I hope she wins her case and takes them for all she can get.

I'm so glad she got out of there and met Slider and the others. Ooo, please let Aunt Darcy figure out a way to get back at the Ponds for what they did to Lily and help ruin them. And if legally hurting them doesn't work out, I say they should find another way to ruin the Ponds. Only packing up those things, that is still a lot of stuff to leave behind. The birthday gifts and picture of Penny and her real parents hit hard.

The Starlight Staff is tricked out, that is going to be a very handy weapon. And the all-important compact mode for ease of storage and travel.

Anaheim, California
The Greene Residence
Thursday, October 20th, 2016
11:48 PM

Almost finished packing what they are taking that fast, I wish all moves were that easy and quick. The new team transport, the S.T.A.R. Machine, is being used to pick them up, now that is traveling in style. Dang, Darcy is right, press weasels will camp out overnight in hopes of getting the jump on a story. Aww, Lily doesn't want to confront the press for Gwen's sake. But Gwen decides to do it anyways, get used to it instead of trying to avoid the press.

Superstar and Asphalt outside and greet Darcy, putting on a show and acting for the press keeping with the cover story. It is the size of a small 747, no wonder Darcy has been working on it for years. A star-shaped flying bunker, that is just too perfect. Way to go, Lily, get the truth out to the press instead of the lies your parents have spread.

Their HQ is a massive mansion in Hollywood Hills, and now that is different from the normal superhero HQ. And they get to use all of the amenities, this is a huge upgrade. Now that is a security system, impressive. Bwahaha, the team is like a family, especially with how Superstar likes to tease Darcy.

Special Tactical Armored Response Machine

Good name for a flying fortress.

Masks off at home, I like seeing teams that are big extended families. Hehe, David passed Sarah to Superstar to breastfeed, when a baby is hungry, a baby is hungry. Psi-napse is James, Hydrax is Cameron, and Asphalt is Adam, huh.

He had actually come as part of the deal that had granted them the mansion and worked for the team as their butler and chef, and he and Piper had just clicked when they met.

That is one way to meet your future spouse, Piper, and David got lucky with the deal on the mansion. David is very impressive with all he does.

Los Angeles, California
All-Star Mansion
Monday, October 31st, 2016
9:43 PM

Always having to have one of the more visible All-Stars with them for protection when leaving the mansion, the paparazzi need to be stopped. Lily's parents made a lot of mistakes when announcing her death and no evidence on their side, good. Hollywood Tonight with Dan Szilla, I wonder how he stacks up to all the other late-night talk show hosts. Good, always be vague about the nature of your powers, it will help you in the future.

Maiden Starlight sounds like an anime character, and Gwen acts like she doesn't know what anime is only to have the audience start suggesting ones for her, priceless. Humanity First protestors, good grief, will they never just disappear. Starlight Staff is acting weird, a projection of a fox that looks like that, omg, she is actually a magical girl and this is her magical animal companion! Caoimhe and Gwen get the pronunciation right, dang.

“I’m your… uhh… virtual magical girl companion? You… programmed me when you built the staff,” the fox replied.

Okay, now that is very believable, except that hesitation right then is suspect.

“Oi, fine! I’m a fox spirit, and you’ve managed to bind my pearl to this bloody creation of yours so I figure that we should work together, aye?”

Okay, now that I can believe, figures Darcy would have a magical artifact in her possession and not know it. A type of Celtic fox spirit, yay, more Celtic entities in Whateley Academy Universe. Huh, I wonder how her pearl is absorbing even a slight increase of essence from what Gwen did to it when making it a part of the Starlight Staff.

Gwen, while spirits tend to be tricky, especially fox spirits of any sort, she is relatively young so I would take her up on the offer. Dang, Caoimhe has already thought of all those things needed to sell Maiden Starlight as a magical girl. With the press hounding Gwen if they saw a fox spirit accompanying her they would assume she has a Wiz trait or Avatar trait which could lead to trouble.

“First, it sounds exciting and interesting, and I’ll be able to see more of the world than whatever room you store my pearl in. Second, you’re in possession of my pearl, and it’s commonly known that a fox spirit must serve the one who possesses their pearl. I mean, I could always create a new one, but that would take a lot of essence, and I don’t really want to. Third, you are very striking, and from what I have seen while watching you over the past few weeks, you are a very interesting person. I think that if we get along you might make a good…”

With the way her face reddens I bet Caoimhe is attracted to girls. Companion, partners, sure, that is what you meant.

I mean, sure, that fox-girl projection was really cute, and if she were flesh and blood I would probably be interested, but she was essentially a ghost as far as I knew, so it wasn’t like anything could or would happen there.

Oh boy, this is going to be a complicated relationship.

Heh, no idea how Gwen created a devise that a spirit can interact with. Rats, the team knows as little about spirits as Gwen does, they need to bring in an expert.

somewhat spastic and socially awkward teen girl who wasn’t used to interacting with others much

Heh, for her type of fox spirit 100 years old is probably just a teenager. Training in using the Starlight Staff is going to be rough. Ouch, on her own to learn how to use the staff's weapon forms.

Los Angeles, California
All-Star Mansion
Friday, December 2nd, 2016
5:07 PM

Cute, giving Sarah a raspberry only for Sarah to grab her hair. Babysitting Sarah, I knew that would come up sooner or later. All that over the last month, more variety than I get in activities.

It had a sword mode now too, a more efficient power source, and I had created a bracelet that would let me send an emergency signal to the staff from anywhere in the city as well so that Caoimhe could find me if I needed her.

The Starlight Staff is quickly becoming a true multi-weapon.

Head out to field test a few things, where is Gwen going to do that? A goal to make the Vegas crime families pay for what they have done, get some allies to help you out, I'm sure there are more than a few. What power to make her last permanent copy slot, that is going to be bugging us until it actually happens. Crud, don't copy Adam's PK shell, it might have MATD connected to it. A long-range attack sounds like she needs to go to the Whateley Academy to find someone to copy.

A costume made of kevra, the best money can buy. Now that is a magical girl outfit brought to life, epic. Goggles for protection and different vision modes, I want a pair. This other outfit, is designed to hide her appearance and be a little creepy, right? She went to The Drunken Valkyrie, what is Gwen up to? Stitches and offering her services as a healer to find a power to make her last permanent copy slot from a villain, this is reckless and foolish, Gwen.

Los Angeles, California
Downtown
Friday, December 2nd, 2016
11:30 PM

Vera Webster watching a motel room from two blocks away, keeping an eye out for her contact and any threats. She gets the signal, Vincent Lansbury, a middleman for Humanity First, ugh, why is she dealing with this scum? What! He met with Arthur Pond who wishes to hire an 'exterminator', he is trying to have his daughter killed to end the case. No, not another psycho cyborg from Project Damocles, this is extremely bad.

*bile rising, fury increasing* Mr. Steele, you lying, manipulative monster! How could you do this to Penny's mother, to send her after her own daughter like this, you truly are the worst kind of scum, Mr. Steele. Taking on side contracts now, she is going to go after Lily because of Vincent and Arthur Pond, the Vegas mobs need to be taken down hard and fast for doing this to an innocent victim of their crimes. Great, a promise that Lily will be dead by the end of the month, this is a tragedy in so many ways.

This story had many moments that hurt to read, the pain of Penny recalling the loss of her parents, her friends, and her old life; Darcy revealing her past, what happened due to one 'superhero' who was more an ego-driving thug turned psychopath, the loss of her sister, brother-in-law, and the last hope for her niece Gwen. Having to use the last resort to give Penny a new identity, that of her niece, Gwen, and everything she went through because of that, I could feel the pain in her voice and expressions. And Lily, the tale of what her life givers did to her before she manifested and escaped. Even now they are still trying to kill her.

I'm glad that Penny has a new identity as Gwen even if it will take time for everyone to get used to. Having a new family including all the members of the All-Stars and their families, will help out a lot. Sarah is just so adorable from what we got to see of her, but babies are always adorable.

Caoimhe inside the Starlight Staff was a big surprise, I never saw her coming. Plus I learned about a new entity from Celtic mythology. It is going to be fun to see her interact with others and see the world, plus learn more about her and if she has any family.

That last part, my blood was boiling, Mr. Steele turning Penny's mother into one of those cyborg mutant hunters because she had no memories and was easy to manipulate, I want to see him suffer for doing this to a loving mother and twisting her into a monster.

I can't wait to read more of Gwen, Lily, Darcy, and the rest's future adventures. And I hope they can do something to help out Penny's mother and not further the tragedy, I think Gwen having to fight her own mother might break her, let alone having to kill her to survive such a fight.