#Lasers and lightspeed

[radrado]

[[OVERDRIVE]]

[ornii]

helloo

Could i request Cate Dunlap from the Gen V show x Male reader pls??

Finally finished Gen V so I can finally do this request and idk why but I think Cate could play a young Jean Grey really well if they decided to reboot the X-Men which in turn gave me an idea for this. (Also Jordan is my favorite character, please protect them.)

Stargazing

Cate Dunlap X Male Reader

It was the criminal investigation Class that set you on the path of Heroism, real heroism.

You were forced to wear a pair of high Destiny deep red glasses that thankfully halted your superpower; concussive beams can emit strongly though your eyes, thankfully you can somewhat control the intensity. From the strength of a slap in the face to a Freight train hitting your opponent at Lightspeed, you had more control than most, making you a potential shoe for the Seven, and into the Top 10.

Vought had their eyes on you and Luke, both of you were constant neck and neck in the eyes of The Uni and Vought. But it wasn’t much of a competition for you two, moreso of a friendly rivalry.. but you two did butt heads when it came to one person, Cate.

Cate had this personality that was abrasive at times but, so genuine and caring too. Made a tough combo for any guy luck or unlucky depending on how she was feeling. And man, she was gorgeous to boot, getting with the top kids you had to be around Luke, Andre, Cate and Jordan, the Big 5 as some would say.. but it’s just Big You.

It was dark, around 1 Am and on the rooftop of Godolkin. Cate, Andre and Luke were enjoying the company and cheap drugs. You, not so much. Keeping a clear head makes it easy for you to keep from taking your glasses off on accident. You sat in the edge of the building, Cate and Lucas on a large rectangular Box and Andre on an AC unit, Cate tilts her head at you.

“(Y/n), are you eyes red under those rose glasses?” She asked smugly, you looked over to her. “Fuck if I know.. dad has the same thing. Never got to see his.” You said, probably making it a bit awkward, and Andre turned to you, a hint of pain in his eyes.

“To Dads, right?” He said, offering a bag of mushrooms, you awkwardly laughed. “Nah I’m.. cool.” You replied. “Don’t think you can handle it?” Luke asked with a slight hint of teasing.

“Cmon, I mean I can make you… but we’re all about consent.” Cate walked over and sat next to you, the hint of vanilla on her perfume, Luke’s smirk slowly faded as cate leaned into your face. Her eyes getting scarily close to your glasses. “Man they’re like, Mars.” She whispered, “So you can only shoot lasers at people? I bet you can do so much more..” Cate leaned back to a normal sitting posture.

“Never considered doing more, just enough..” you replied, Andre nodded. “I get that, I can move metal around but.. can’t really think of much else.” Andre said, Luke nods.

“I can see myself on fire and fly, that’s about it.. I mean there’s a lot of fire and flying supes.” Luke explained, “But yours is.. super unique, we got heat and laser vision but. Concussive like super pressure.” He smiled, “You can go a long way.”

You smiled at that, you and Luke did have a lot of love and respect, even if you two were pitted against each other. You turned to Cate to thank her but saw she looked, drowsy.

“Cate? You okay?” She opened her mouth to speak but even you could see her Sclera was, red.. and her body flipped back, limp. You, Luke and Andre watched her body fly over the ledge, before any of you could mutter a word you leaped back as well.

“What—“

“Fuck!—“ you head Andre and Luke behind you as you plummet after her. They rushed over the ledge as you were able to grab Cate in your arm, you looked at the ground and thought, “Pressure.” You tore of your glasses and screamed, your red eyes flared a deep purple beam of energy, the concussive wave hits the ground with the force of a Racecar crashing into a wall at 100 miles, the sudden shift in force made your neck tense up, but you kept going, the beam slowed your decent with Cate until you could safely land, you hit the ground with both feet firm on the ground. You quickly closed your eyes as you held her.

“Cate? Cate?” You asked her, afraid of what’s going on, you heard the groggy grumbling and sighed with relief, she’s alive, Cate opened her eyes to yours closed. In a crater in the ground ironically. She looked around and back up to the roof, she pieced together what happened, an awkward smiled went along her face as she caressed your cheek.

“Knew you could do more..” she whispered, and you let her back on her feet. She looked up to Luke and Andre and gave a thumbs up, she’s fine. The sat back with relief and anxiety. You and Cate stood in the crater and looked up. “You had me worried there..” you admitted, Cate nodded. “Not my.. best moment… sorry about that. Stars are out tonight at least.” Cate looks around and finds your glasses thankfully you stopped your eye beams before you dropped them. You looked up to face the sky.

“It would be nice to see them, but they’d be rose tinted.” You said, and Cate stared at you and handed you back your glasses.

“Yeah.. but I’m looking at a real bright one right now..”

[tobiasdrake]

How do you think a meeting between Junko Enoshima and Haruhi Suzumiya would go

Extremely poorly for the world given that Junko is a master manipulator and Haruhi... love her but she's gullible as shit.

One of Haruhi's defining character traits is that she thinks time travelers and Santa Claus are real.

Another of Haruhi's defining character traits is that she can see Yuki move at lightspeed to block a laser with her hand and go, "Oh, Yuki, I didn't know you were over there," and then think nothing of it.

I hate saying this about one of my characters but Haruhi is dumb as a bag of rocks. She would be puddy in Junko's hands.

But. Also? Haruhi is God and she will ragequit the universe if she isn't having a good time, which does not mesh well with Junko's "plunge people into Despair" thing.

Either one of two things happen here:

1 - Junko never becomes aware that reality conforms to Haruhi's thoughts and feelings, and makes Haruhi so miserable that Haruhi deletes the universe and goes somewhere else. Junko ends up inadvertently unmaking her entire reality via world-cramping.

2 - Junko does become aware of that. This is the bad timeline.

[victoriadallonfan]

Victoria and the Chocolate Factory

“Signatures detected.”

“All of them?”

“All. Alive too, but the signal is getting weaker. We don’t know if it’s due to the technology he uses or because… well, you know.”

I grit my teeth and nodded. I knew all too well. I’d read all the files, and seen what had happened in the aftermath.

The broken homes. The broken kids.

In some ways, it was worse than Cradle, because this fucker seemed intent on humiliating the kids just as much as he wanted to make them hurt. “We found him,” Dragon said in my ear piece. “His duplicates have been detected and targeted in London and Bath. Your strike team is clear to go.”

The cold air of Oxford whipped over my forcefield as I descended, feeling the chime in my ear as Dragon disconnected and my eye lit up with gold.  A quick rush of information poured into my vision and brain from Kenzie’s camera, logs of teams communicating where they didn’t feel comfortable speaking, coordinating battle plans and sharing files on the targets.

I had to ignore it all for now, blinking rapidly to swipe through vision modes, until I had the highlighted figures in view. Gold for allies and deep red for targets, the camera giving me a very basic outline of the building’s interiors and possible sources of egress.

Coming down through the clouds, I decided to leave those areas to my team; I had a means of making my own entrance.  

The gun chimed above my head, lines of circuitry along the barrel and handles alighting in gold as the charge readied itself, aimed near the largest red target. A top-hat symbol with a crescent grin beneath.

Traced by whatever power source the new gun used as a battery, the gold laser tore through the sky as I flew down, illuminating wisps of moisture from the clouds on my forcefield.  

It was smaller, tighter, and more concise than the original gun. The new gun was more like what Win had made to fight the Simurgh, more compact in use.

Size mattered not though, my eye camera noting how the beam of light tore through several floors of the building in mere moments. 

I cut off the beam as I approached, a few hundred feet away.

I flew down at an angle, collapsing my forcefield to a near skintight level and held the gun so that it trailed behind me like a straightened scorpion’s tail, just so I could lose that extra bit of air resistance.  With the angle of my flight, and my narrowed profile, I slipped into the glowing hole I made at full speed, the rings of melted steel flickering past me like a descent into hell.  

I came to a stop where the laser had hit near my target, a deep smoking crater that smelled of burning licorice and cinnamon. I turned to where the red symbol stood, both of us obscured by smoke.

“I've always wanted my factory to have that rustic, industrial look. How very avant-garde of you.” The smoke began to fade, the blood red top-hat and crescent smile flickering out of focus as my target became visible to the naked eye. “At least the new ventilation will help with the smell, young dear.”

Wonka, I thought with absolute loathing. The smile on the man’s face didn’t reach his manic eyes, casually leaning on a cane, seemingly unbothered by a lightspeed spear hitting the ground not even fifty feet away from him. 

Cloaked in a purple velvet jacket and adorned with a vibrant orange vest, he didn’t look much like a cape. Dark Society, the Ambassadors, and the Suits went with the professional look - even Limerick added splashes of messy color - but this didn’t feel like reinforcing a costume with high quality attire. 

Which made a level of sense. He had never advertised himself as a cape.

Curly brown hair jutted out from under his hat, and a golden goose-handled cane that felt more than a touch on the nose as he loomed over me on a small circular pedestal. A perfect match for the description of William Wonka.

One of the Wonkas, at least. The others had situated themselves across the United Kingdom of Gimel, portraying themselves as kind, loving, benefactors to the community. 

That had been before the missing families hit the news. Before the children were found, sans parents or guardians, dumped in alleyways or in the woods.

None of them were dead. We couldn’t even call it a mercy, with what he had done to them.

Last I had heard, Tattletale was trying to pull in favors from Semiramis to try and revert them to normal. Riley was looking over them too, asking about getting help from Chris for his parole.

A dark fucking irony, considering what his original had done.

“You going to surrender?”  I asked, even though I already knew the answer. More of the factory was coming into view now; giant candy carrots with leaves that looked glossy, almost like they were made of rubber. More alien looking plants and oddly designed pillars were strewn across the floor, looking more like a greenhouse from a TV show than anything that a professional business would have. 

The grass beneath our feet looked normal, but the smell of the burnt ground made me doubt it.

"Surrender?” His voice was soft and calm. He brushed some burned dust off his shoulder. “My dear, I'm afraid you misunderstand the nature of my work," he replied, twirling his cane with an eerie grace. "How nonsensical of a question to ask. Well, I suppose a little nonsense is relished for a reason. I must say, your entrance was quite spectacular, if a bit lacking in finesse."

I ignored his taunts, my gaze unwavering as I aimed the gun at him. He tapped his cane and a glass tube flashed up to encase him, glittering in the factory lights. The way the light was refracting off the glass gave me pause and the madman tipped his hat, “Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous. To me, at least. For you? Well…” 

A flick of his wrist had a silver flute in his hand-

I fired a warning shot, the laser missing the tube on purpose, wanting to slow down whatever he was planning.

-and continued to play the instrument, a small melody, unbothered by the attack. He gave the instrument a twirl and it vanished beneath his coat.

Distorted echoes of laughter and screams seemed to linger in the air as the melody and blast of my laser died down, accompanied by music and the stomp of feet.

“Your fucked up game ends here," I declared, rising up and flying closer to the glass tube. “The heroes have you surrounded. Your duplicates are being hunted down.”

Wonka merely tilted his head. "Oh, my dear, you're not here to end anything. Can’t you hear it? The sound of dreamers and their fitful nightmares? Here they come, right… now."

As he spoke, the shadows within the factory stirred. Short men appeared, their skin orange and hair a sickening shade of green. Each one bore an expression devoid of any emotion, their eyes dead, even as they sized me up. 

Some of them were marching, while others somersaulted or vaulted from behind the candy colored jungle, adroit for their small size.

They sang, and music seemed to emanate from nowhere, reminding me of Nursery’s power.

Oompa Loompas, doopity doo,

Here's a lot of trouble, coming for you.

Oompa Loompas, doopity dee,

If you are wise, then now you must flee.

I turned and opened fire on the minions, only for them to cartwheel out of the way. Others were quick to put obstacles in the beam’s way, including the candy carrots that seemed slower to melt than solid steel. 

We’d captured a few of these Loompas in the past few days, canvassing the remnants of his artificial wilderness in the sewers of London. The ones we let our guards down were quick to duplicate as the song progressed and were surprisingly adroit. Cruel as well, considering what they did to their still-living victims. 

The Loompas that weren’t eradicated were quick to calcify, turning into what was best described as hyper-dense rock candy. Apparently, other locations would have different variations of the Loompas.

Another blast at a group of Loompas trying to aim a fire-hose sized vine my way, scorching chocolate spurting out before being vaporized.

Fast little fuckers.

And they were quickly surrounding me by the dozens.

What do you get when you mess with fate?

A clash of powers, a bitter debate.

What do you get when you challenge the stars?

A battle unfolding, bearing new scars.

You've entered our world of whimsical glee,

But beware, dear Victoria, of the chaos you'll see.

Heroes and villains, in a dance so divine,

Yet meddling too much might- “Gack!”

One of the Oompa Loompas fell to the ground, thrashing as barbed wire exploded out of his mouth. Pieces of a glass marble embedded his eyes.

“Wham! Bam! Shazam! Kablam!” Finale shouted, launching her own barrage of musical blasts, sending the small minions flying about as their empowered song was thrown off-key. 

The other Majors were arriving, Withdrawal blasting Loompas with goop that seemed alive, latching onto anything that moved. Caryatid was acting as a shield for Finale, unharmed as a trio of Loompas tried to bash her head in with a giant lollipop.

Sveta was in the rafters, tossing things at any unaware minion. Children were in her grasp.

The survivors.

“Oompa Loompa, doopity dee,” Limerick sang with the most bored teenage voice I had ever heard, putting away his slingshot. “Here's a new phrase, now listen to me. Oompa Loompa, doopity doo. You can’t do jack shit when we say fuck you.”

He tossed back a knife so casually that one almost would have thought it was reckless, had it not impaled a Loompa through the temple, causing him to fall atop a nearby squad and douse them all in a burning candy puddle from one of the laser blasts.

Loompas turned to him, and I got the distinct impression that his singing pissed them off more than the killing.

I turned to Wonka; chin raised.

“They say that looks can kill,” Wonka tutted. “But it seems being blindsided is what has done me in.” 

He smiled suddenly, “Come then. You and I have so little to do with so much time.”

I charged him, gun at the ready, Fragile One baring her teeth.

His child victims called the factory a ‘world of pure imagination’.

I would make sure to wake him up to reality.

[what-the-whump]

Do you know of any other whump for Wes from power rangers time force or carter from lightspeed. I'm trying to get as much power rangers whump as I can specifically those 2 and tommy

I sure do! SoooooOOOooo here it is;

Wes from Power Rangers Time Force

1x04 - Ransik Lives: Knocked around, manhandled, restrained/tied to a chair.

1x12 - Worlds Apart: Hit with blast, knocked down, helmet broken.

1x13 - The Quantum Quest: Hit with blast, unconscious, support, medical care.

1x19 - Trip Takes a Stand: Punched in the stomach

1x21 - Lovestruck Rangers: Under a love spell, fighting with other rangers, briefly collapses when spell is broken.

1x23 - Full Exposure: Demorphed during attack (along with all the other rangers)

1x33 - Time for Lightspeed: Demorphed, thrown around.

Carter from Power Rangers Lightspeed

1x11 - From Deep in the Shadow: Tries to use the titanium morpher, electrocuted, pain, falls to his knees. 

1x14 - Curse of the Cobra: Caught in an explosion, collapses into other rangers, supported.

1x24 - As Time Runs Out: Vines covering morphed, briefly passes out as they try to use a laser to remove the vines, in a decompressing ship.

1x25 - In the Freeze Zone: Fighting alone, knocked around, frozen.

1x29 - Trakeena's Revenge Part I: Attacked, thrown around, manhandled, caught in an explosion.

1x30 - Trakeena's Revenge Part II: Getting up after previous explosion, knocked around during fight, hit with blast, knocked out the side of a building, demorphed.

1x31 - The Last Ranger: Knocked around during fight, hit with screeching attack, head pain, demorphed, collapse, unconscious, loose memories of being a ranger, medical care, restrained, in memory machine to try and regain memories, machine overloads, disorientated, head pain. 

1x39 - The Fate of Lightspeed Part I: Knocked around during fight, weak, manhandled, hit with blast.

1x40 - The Fate of Lightspeed Part II: Hit with blast, knocked into pillar, helmet breaks and comes off, dragged into demon pit and dangling over the edge.

+ Some bonus Tommy

Mighty Morphin - 1x31 - Calamity Kimberly: Knocked into tree, knocked out, unconscious. Teleported to Command Centre unconscious, everyone worried about him. 

Mighty Morphin - 1x50 - Return of an Old Friend Part II: Temporarily infused with Zordon's energy to morph again. Running out of energy, knocked around during fight. Zapped by force shield. Collapse, weak, demorphes, unconscious. Unconscious on cot. 

Zeo - 1x40 - Where in the World is Zero Ranger 5?: Kidnapped, restrained and brainwashed. 

Turbo - 1x18 - Passing the Torch Part I: Caught in explosion, thrown to the ground, unconscious, dragged away, captured. 

Turbo - 1x18 - Passing the Torch Part II: Tied up, hanging from ceiling. 

[autisticsupervillain]

FTF Shorts: Not Even Close!

A vs show where the longer analysis and set up is skipped in order to briefly explain why a certain fight is nowhere near close.

This Week's Fighters...

Albert Wesker vs Alex Mercer!

The outcome of this matchup lies entirely within the stats. While Alex may seem to directly perform feats more impressive than anything Albert has done, Wesker has a lot of in universe power scaling that puts him above Mercer.

Let's start with Alex's most widely known feat, "tanking" a nuke. While the distance Alex was from the explosion means that Mercer didn't actual survive the blast's full yield, lets say he could just no sell the nuke for the sake of argument. Using in game projections of the blast, the explosion would've been big enough to completely glass Manhattan, requiring a yield of roughly 8.2 Megatons.

Keep in mind, this is much, much more powerful than how strong the nuke was actually stated to be in game and I'm operating under the assumption Alex tanked the nuke without a scratch, which is blatantly not true. I'm giving Alex every possible benefit you could give him here.

Albert still outclasses this feat with his scaling. Albert has tanked hit from the L.T.D., a handgun version of an orbital laser that hits with the "full force of the sun". In RE Revelations 2, one of these weapons is used to wipe out a city. Wesker can take multiple shots from one, coming out at about 42.8 Megatons.

Thanks to the way physics works, this would also apply to Albert's attack potency. He can evenly trade hits with those who can hurt him.

That's a strength gap of 5.2x in Albert's favor at best, but it gets worse. Remember how I said I was being generous with Mercer surving the nuke? Well, if you take away those assumptions and starting going off of how powerful those weapons actually are stated to be, and the gap gets much worse.

The news broadcast that plays over the Prototype 1 credits directly states that the bomb was 5x more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That's.... a measly 75 kilotons. Now Albert's 750x stronger than the bomb that liquefied Alex completely while he wasn't even in the epicenter.

If that crow hadn't been there for Mercer to absorb, he may not have been able to regenerate from that blast at all.... and Albert is punching 750x harder than it.

But that's just punching power. Mercer could still just assimilate Wesker, right?

Well, yes, he could. Hypothetically. If he could hit him.

Alex's best feat of speed is him processing the entire life story of the people he absorbs, putting his thought processes at 66% lightspeed.

Buuuuut, Wesker is even faster still. Enter Resident Evil: Dead Aim 2.

Morpheus, the game's final boss, is able to dodge shots from the Charged Particle Rifle, a gun that shoots... well.... charges molecular particles at you.

See that "based on particle accelerators" line? Accelerators can move particles at 99% light speed.

Since Wesker is empowered by a superior virus than Morpheus, he'd be even faster and stronger, putting him in the light speed ranges. As such, Wesker moves considerably faster than Mercer can think.

What this means is Alex likely will never get his hands on Wesker to absorb him in the first place. Wesker is such a show off that he takes the time to dramatically dodge bullets from handguns that pose no threat to him. He's not letting Mercer touch him. Once Wesker punches Mercer and sees him regenerate from the splattered salsa on the walls, he's gonna realize he's dealing with an unknown BOW. Given his experience against such foes, even as a normal human, he's unlikely to let it infect him without knowing how it'd react to his own virus and act accordingly. Smug as he is, Wesker is smart enough not to fuck around with unknown bioweapons.

All that is, of course, assuming Mercer could infect him anyways. Given Blacklight's ability to infect even inorganic buildings, it's likely its properties go deeper than just cells, possibly extending down to molecules. But, Wesker can likely deal with that too, as the Charged Particle Rifle can break down molecules (see scan above) and inferior BOWs to Wesker can survive shots from it. So he might not even be able to absorb Wesker in the first place for the same reason he couldn't absorb Cole MacGrath back when I did that matchup. So, even if Alex was faster, it likely wouldn't matter.

Wouldn't Alex have superior skill and experience?

Yes, he would. I'm not gonna take that from him. While the question of who is scientifically smarter is debatable, Mercer has absorbed the experiences of countless soldiers and marines, giving him an exponential advantage on Wesker. However....

1. The gap isn't insurmountable. The entire reason why STARS was able to survive the first few games was because they're simply the best of the best in commando ops, with their achievements immediately getting them promoted to high ranking international positions in all the sequels. Wesker was skilled enough to survive those events as an ordinary human as well as be a member of STARS. So the skill gap is there, but it's not insurmountable.

2. Wesker can move faster than Alex can think, making it a moot point regardless.

Are you suggesting normal human Chris Redfield can beat someone who survives nukes?

Yes. Leon Kennedy can suplex people so hard their heads explode. STARS is just built different.

This isn't even an unprecedented thing in PROTOTYPE either. Robert Cross was a regular human and he could fight Mercer head on too. Both of these verses have set a precedent of normal humans beating superhumans on equal footing. Fiction does that sometimes and it's best to just role with it.

Wasn't Wesker killed by two rocket launchers?

He was weakened by the anti serum at the time. In previous fights, similar rockets did little more than stun him. Also, those rockets can blow apart Tyrants, so it's not like dying to one is too unimpressive in any case.

You've used mainly PROTOTYPE 1 feats. Does PROTOTYPE 2 change anything?

No. The most noticeable feat from that game is when Heller spreads tendrils across the city, absorbing all the infected. That gets us 106 kilotons and Mach 7.87.

Still not touching Wesker.

I do enjoy the irony of the side games absolutely carrying the power scaling for Wesker here. Maybe if PROTOTYPE had 12 mid spin offs this would be a closer match. Ultimately, Wesker's familiarity with Mercer's precise type of threat and his stats advantage across the board means that he has every advantage he needs to keep Mercer down. Simply keep pummeling him into mulch until he stops getting back up, then takes his bits back for further study.

This Throwdown's Winner is....

Albert Wesker!

[racefortheironthrone]

Not really directly related to the X-Men, but did you ever read the original series for the Power Pack? What did you think?

I'm a big Power Pack fan, having started with their intersections with the Claremont run - as I've talked about in the past, Claremont, Simonson, et al. were masters of the crossover, so it was natural that they would want to give a push to Weezy's characters in the X-books - that are rightfully considered classics because of the way they deftly managed pretty dark themes through the perspective of children.

As for their own adventures, the Power Pack are an unappreciated gem in Marvel's storied eighties, because of the way they break from the Marvel formula while operating seamlessly within the larger universe.

See, from the beginning of the Silver Age, Marvel differentiated itself from the Distinguished Competition by focusing like a laser on the teenage market rather than children. That's why Johnny Storm was a hotheaded teenage hearthrob, that's why Peter Parker started out as a normal, socially-awkward teen (just like you!), that's why the 05 X-Men were the "strangest teens of all!"

What Louise Simonson and June Brigman did with the Power Pack was to reinvent the child-centric focus of Golden Age D.C (think Robin and Superboy) and Charlton Comics (think the original Captain Marvel). Unlike those earlier child sidekicks and superkids, Alex, Julie, Jack, and Katie Power were not one-dimensional plucky moppets or precocious tiny adults.

Showing an impressive insight into child psychology, Weezy made them emotionally complex but also unmistakably still-in-development children, who were innocent and curious and boisterous but who also had tempers and got into fights with their siblings, or got scared and cried sometimes, who struggled with the desire for maturity and autonomy and the need for comfort and support from their parents. At the same time, June Brigman managed to do something that most professional comics artists notoriously struggle with: draw kids who looked like real kids, who were allowed to look goofy or awkward or gangly or rolypoly, rather than the idealized forms set down by the Nine Old Men.

And somehow, this alchemy made this book unusually emotionally resonant - although I may be something of an easy mark, because the Power Pack kids happened to be the children of Columbia University professors growing up in NYC's Upper West Side in the early 80s, just like me irl. While wrapped in a candy coating of kid superheroes with cool physics-based powers (Alex can control gravity by touching people or objects, Julie can turn into both waves and particles of light and fly at lightspeed, Jack can alter his body's density to become a miniature juggernaut or a living cloud, and five-year old Katie can turn matter into energy, absorb it, and fire it at the bad guys - the living embodiment of E=MC^2) fighting the evil alien Snarks with the help of a sentient spaceship, the Powers kids had to wrestle with having to hide their superheroics from their parents and the anxiety and guilt that resulted from that, and in their adventures they dealt with heavy topics like child abuse, gun violence, school bullying, mental illness and kidnapping and homelessness, and on and on.

Indeed, in the pages of X-Men, the Power Pack would go into the sewers under Manhattan to fight Sabertooth and the Marauders during the genocidal Morlock Massace, witness Wolverine wrestling with his humanity and his berserker rage in the Canadian wilderness, and fight to save Midtown New York from demonic incursions during Inferno. That's heavy stuff for a bunch of kids ranging from 5 to 12 years old, but somehow the Power Pack managed to make it through the most harrowing of adventures without losing their heroic spirit.

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Mighty Solars Heroes and Villains (Last Post of Mine Before Someone Takes my Mental)

Korvo Solar-Opposites/Quasarblast: Invisibility and Super Shlorpian

Terry Solar-Opposites/Mighton: Super Strength and Mundane

Yumyulack Solar-Opposites/Vil-Gil-An-T: Laser Eyes, Weaponry and Super Shlorpian

Jesse Solar-Opposites/Fung-irl: Shlorpian Fungus and Flower powers and Mundane

Pupa Solar-Opposites/The Mighty Pupa: Telekinesis

Stacy G/Spikerella: Body armor and shooting spikes

Sonya Solar-Opposites/Nighthowler: Elasticity

Phoebe MacCarthy/Starburst: Wonder Woman-like powers and super lasso

Monica Miller/Lightspeed: Super Speed

Janiz Solar-Opposites/Ms. Quasar: Changing colors and super shlorpian transformation

JK-7/Mighty Robo: Super Robotic Powers

Kimber/Crushed Skull: Bone Bending and Mega Angel Shlorpian transformation

AISHA Solar-Opposites/Lady Camo: Shapeshifting and ultra cyber super shlorpian transformation

Lili Solar-Opposites/Mighty Baby: Super Cries

EVA/Syren Songstress: Superpowered Singing Voice

MAX/The Speedster: Super Speed

Evil Terry Solar-Opposites/Shifter: Just like the powers as Inque from Batman: Beyond and Venom combined into strength and Mundane

Parker/Venus Tip: Her powers are like Pidge from Voltron: Legendary Defender

Ms. Frankie/Night Saw: Wolverine claws

Principal Cooke/Trailblazer: Lightning dash

Cherie/Shining Light: Super stealth

Montez/Detroit: Electricity

Pezlie/Jessie-us: Super sonic cries

Nova/Heartstar: Super Empathy

Ms. Perez/Core Burn: Sun powers

Mia/Navigator: X-ray Vision

Kevin/Balanight: Tron powers

Sherbet/Fizziepop: Sweets Powers

Jamie Quilbard/Firewall: Fire Powers

Darcy Quilbard/Sonar Woman: Star Powers

Angela/Tsunami: Water powers

Mark Melner/Laserblast: Shooting lasers from hands

Sister Laffy/Zaffy Taffy: Sweet Bombs

Sister Hershey/Atomic Blossom: Glowing Powers

Bobby/Lightning Rod: Lightning Powers

Tracy/Firefly: Like Katie Power/Energizer from Power Pack comics

Abby/Ultraviolet: Rainbow powers

Owen/Bubbley Blue: Bubbles

Holly/Lil Butterfly: Ultraviolet and Butterfly powers *I found out Holly is Trevor’s daughter in the show, who also appears in the “Stock-a-Verse Ray” and “The Educational Sprinkler Device”, which makes her Shauna’s step-daughter and Stacy G’s step-sister*

Benedog Cumberwolf/Mighty Puppy: Like Underdog ‘07 *He’s Kevin’s new puppy from the pet Deenosuar Solar Opposites episode*

Randall/Blackhole: Voodoo magic

Travis/Bloom Surfer: Slime Powers

Avery/Diamenroto: Diamond Powers

Cheery Smithers/Bloody Sympathy: Blood Bending

Janice/Teleport Woman: Teleportation and flight

Jackie Quilbard/Thunderella: Thunderstorm powers

Pim/Soarin’: Flying powers

Jam/Razzle Dazzle: Star powers.

Keith/Behemoth: Strength and Rage Mode

Ringo/Orb Lord: Spirit Ball Powers

Theo/Techrat: Holo Powers *he is the Wallian who used to help Stephen from “Terry and Korvo Steal a Bear”

Shauna/Magma: Oozing molten green lava powers

Trevor/Slimar: Turned into walking blue goo that sprays baddies with goo.

Alice/Black Moon: Like Silk from Spider-Verse

Dr. Weathertsone/Blizzard: Ice powers

Naomi/Black Mamba: Shooting slithering webs

Glen “Dodge Charger”/Silver Knight: Heroic Silver Powers

Zylenol “Zy”/Lightning Wing: Neon Electricity Powers

Gragger/Sticky Squid: Goo Powers

Skunt/Zamboni: Spinning Ball Powers

Fivo the Ferret Halo/Ice Beast: Blizzard powers

Ruben the Rabbit Halo/Thunder Rabbit: Cyber Thunder Powers

Croaker the Toad Halo/Screaming Toad: Screaming powers

Rita the Rat Halo/Speed Rat: Technology Powers

Shelly the Turtle Halo/Shellshock: Speed Powers

Piper/Sunburn: Star Powers

Tomblr/Turbo Rider: Like the Silver Surfer but different

Sofia/Furiosa: Cosmic Fireball Powers and Speed

Gavin/Lone Defender: Strength and Cowboy-Based Powers

Hedgie/Blazing Hedgehog: Super Speed

AXL/Virus: Super virus powers *He is a new green AI OC Evil Terry created when he first appeared on Earth*

Oscar/La Vulture: Undead Reaper powers *He is Sofia’s Uncle, who was brought back to life thanks to Dodge Charger*

BO/Bonzai: An orange AI assistant Kimber made and EVA’s crush; machete powers

LOU/Bounceball: A yellow baby AI assistant Korvo built for Pupa, Lili and JK-7 as a playmate; bouncing ball powers

Mighty Solars Villains

Darkness/Kano: A legendary sorcerer from the dark side of the moon who can turn people into his own shadow slaves and has been after Shlorpians for a long time. He was return to life as Kano, a mysterious fire bending vigilante until he was finally killed off for reals thanks to Cheery’s other half and late love interest, Naomi. He even manipulated Qourra into turning against her fellow people as an exchange for revenge for her mother.

Lá Smaragdus: A jewel-themed super villainess who was once a Latino tv star, until her salary was cut and she was fired from her show. Her powers are turning people into diamond statues and making minions out of rare gems.

Screech: A muscular super villain with the power of brutal strength that can tear apart objects and innocent people.

Platinum Belt: A manipulating spiritual cyborg controlling a superhero named Blue Belt, and is known to manipulate innocent bystanders by taunting them over their issues and fears and their flaws.

Temptra: A robot disguised as a gorgeous platinum southern-accent woman created by Platinum Belt to tempt people into their own temptations, which ended up failing badly when she suffers the wraith of Qausarblast.

Sun-Yi: An evil young ninja after an ancient artifact known as the Blue Heroin and is revealed to be Blue Belt’s rival.

Piedro Blobsmith: An obese mafia boss in charge of a dangerous alien slime food company that causes aliens, including Shlorpians to become morbidly obese and the size of blimps. His main victims are Korvo and Terry aka Qausarblast and Mighton.

El Minotaur: An evil warlord and nemesis to the Resistance who is after Earth-4 by building for fortress for when he kidnaps innocent bystanders so he can brainwash them into his soldiers.

Mindreader: A villain that tortures people through their minds and send them on weird bizarre trip in the Forbidden Zone.

Simon/Tarantula Boy: A super villain teenager with the powers of a tarantula that can turn into mindless zombie army.

Zahmara Python: A famous well-known evil bounty hunter alien woman who hunts down and kills innocent aliens.

Morlak: An evil sorceress who believes in the power of darkness and sees love and family as nothing. Her powers is to make people give into their own fears and turn them into monsters.

Spirala: A teenage villainess with the power to turn teenage girls into Lust-themed zombies and also turns teenage boys into her own love-blinded slaves.

Zeus: A crook that wants to drain people’s energy for his own powered machine that can make the world entirely dark.

Candy Bitch: A cute but evil and bratty super villain based on candy sweets that has candy-themed powers, including shooting Starburst Fruit Candy slime from her hands.

Rock Fraud: A former rockstar who lost their career after it was revealed that they were lip singing this whole time. They now have the power to steal people’s voices, so they can use it for evil purposes.

Moral Blade: An evil shadow woman with the power of turning people into their worst dark selves and turning them rebellious.

Dreamweaver: A robot that turns people away from real life and put them into their own fantasy worlds from their own dreams, or worse… nightmares!

Merissa: A rogue witch who wants revenge on the human witches of Earth-4 for kicking her out because of her jealousy over newcomers and for turning her son against her.

GeenaDavisTron 4000: A robot built to help struggling students as school, but then rebels and malfunctions into a war machine after labeling humans and the Solar Opposites imperfect beings.

Empress Ophelia Darkstar: An evil empress from the planet Emeralddon that hunts down aliens for their own life sources for her corrupted planet.

Impulse: A super villain with a huge amount of blood pressure that causes her to attack citizens with passive-aggressive behavior and is very dangerous to be around with when it comes to very strong emotions.

La River Bestia: The swamp monster of Earth-4’s Swamp Forest who is revealed to be a young deranged scientist turn into a monster by his own troubles.

Magnesium: A villain who turns out to be a former head of the Bowenian Church that is revealed to be Sister Sisto’s apprentice and is after Pezlie.

Macromanser: Once a famous wrestler woman named Alya Sparks, she is a now a monstrous strong woman bent on crushing people with her own savage strength.

Pinball Brat: A teenage super villain based on a pinball machine that traps people in her house size pinball machine and makes them play the game.

Madame Luna: A witch villainess that was a former meteorologist that has powers based on the moon.

The Rose Triplets: Madame Luna’s manipulative minions who are colored in different shades of rose and are good acrobats.

Qourra- A former water bender who goes rogue and tries to blood bend people for revenge on the death of her mother. Only for her to caused an Unwitting Instigator of Doom which led to the arrival of the Silver Spades.

The Silver Spades- A villainous team of dangerous silver-shaded multi-colored villains that blew up Earth and are actually apprentices and allies of the Silver Cops that are after the Solar Opposites once they heard about their arrival on Earth and later Earth-4. The members are Maverick, the silver-green leader who is determined to take down the Mighty Solars, Loo-Loo, the silver-yellow member with the power of dangerous lightning, Bullet, the silver-purple member with strength powers that rivals Mighton’s, Zelda, the silver-red member with the power of lava and Aqua, the silver-blue member with the powers of controlling water.

Carl Rockwell: A dangerous most wanted criminal that is going after the Mighty Solars’ allies.

Dr. Van Gurbin: A scientist that tested on steroids but was kicked out of his college for testing it on innocent people. Now he is gonna use Mighton’s strength for revenge.

Sister Sisto/Black Mirror: A returned foe from the Wall, who has been revived as a super villain of dark magic and mind control.

RUTH: An evil AI assistant who is red and AISHA’s evil counterpart created by Sister Sisto. *Her voice actor is also Eden Espinosa*

Anthony/Sand Beast: A rogue Wallian who develops the power of sand and moon sand, and has the ability to turn into a monster.

Lava Master: He was originally a teenage boy who is Mark’s former crush has gone rogue and became a villain that turns into a lava monster.

The Nega-Alexes: The Solars’ snobby neighbors from “The Educational Sprinkler Device” who became super villains after forming an alliance with the Silver Cops.

The Thunder Silvers: Lonesun, Glorgax, Ventrez and Pobo, who are now super villains after being exposed for framing Glenn by Quasarblast, Silver Knight and Lightning Wing.

Stephen/Beast Man: A rogue Wallian who now has the power to command dangerous carnivorous humanoid beast minions that were once humans.

I hope you love this post and yes. Glenn is redeemed in this one.

@avaveevo, @almar4121, @themagicwolf6677, all of my watchers, I hope you love this last post of mine.

Oh and by the way, I found out Louise’s real name in the show is Shauna when Korvo give her the McNugget Buddy collection, Kevin’s Wife’s name is actually Angela and their kids are names Abby and Owen. In this version, Sofia used to have a crush on Mia but moved on because she knows how much Ms. Perez means to Mia and is happy for them and now Sofia has feelings for someone else: Nova and Phoebe *it’s a polyship in my version*. Bobby is the boy with the large glasses in some of the Solar Opposites episodes and the one Sonya has a crush, Kieth is the Solars’ neighbor from the Season 2 finale and now AISHA’s love interest and Piper is one of the Wallian girls:

This is Piper:

Also, Skunt secretly has a crush on her after she saved his life. Oh and Glenn/Dodger Charger and Zy are dating now. I hope you love my new and last Mighty Solars post guys.

And here are Sister Laffy:

And Sister Hershey:

Oh and here are Tracy, Jackie and Bobby!

Tracy (the one one Yumyulack accidentally send his mound pic too and is revealed to be Pim’s daughter; Pim is revealed to be a widower. His first wife died when Tracy was a baby)

And Bobby (he is also revealed to be Jam’s son, Jam’s first husband died when Bobby was two)

And Jackie Quilbard (Oh and she is now Jamie and Darcy’s adoptive daughter because her parents went into rehab and lost custody of her)

And this is Holly

[tiredspacedragon]

How much do you think a Turaga of Light could do?

Like we know that Av-Matoran have a wide range of special abilities that other kinds of Matoran don't, including but not limited to one bonus power that varies between individual Matoran that can only be accessed through contact with a Toa or Makuta, such as Solek's hard light projections or Tanma's living light-battery thing.

We also know that a Toa of Light, with enough training, could potentially use all of these abilities at will.

My guess would be that Turaga of Light, in addition to retaining the laser and colour-changing abilities of an Av-Matoran, albeit slightly stronger, may also retain one light-based bonus ability, probably the same one they had as a Matoran. The difference being that I imagine they could access the ability on their own without having to piggyback on the local Toa. That seems like a solid compromise. A significant enough depowering that still leaves some room for Turaga hijinks.

"Oh yeah, our Turaga? He runs things pretty well, and puts on light shows for us sometimes, but I'm afraid he doesn't get out very much. Yeah, he patrols the entire island at least once a day, but that only takes like a second with his lightspeed power, so it's hard to say it counts, y'know?"

[visforvictini13]

Name: Ryan Mitchell / Titanium Ranger

Trainer Card Number: 716

Gender: Male

Series of Origin: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

Type Specialty: Poison / Fire

Arbok & Seviper: The Cobra tattoo on Ryan put on him by Diabolico in order to poison him if it got to his neck

Heliolisk, Charizard & Iron Moth: A reference to Solar Zord, Heliolisk and Charizard have Solar Power as an ability and Iron Moth has protosynthesis which works in sun.

Haxorus: His Titanium Laser which also doubles as an axe

[radrado]

Metallic warrior amidst the stars...

[teentitansaudioclips]

"Yeah!

Hey!

Lay off them dadgum lasers!"

-- Billy Numerous, Lightspeed, Teen Titans (2003 cartoon)

[cattyanon]

Since I'm distracted by working on a fic, and I saw a somewhat similar AU in the Sonic au tag, I've decided to just go ahead and post about it...

Project Lightspeed (aka Wisp Sonic)

Note: I messed up on some of the color positions with the first drawing but there's another drawing that's more accurate!

(Above picture is his modern design)

The second artificially made lifeform on the ARK, Project Lightspeed Sonic uses a combination of the Cyan Laser and Ivory Lightning Wisps that were forcefully infused to him to run at the incredible speeds he's able to reach.

He isn't actually aware that he'd been infused with the power of the Wisps or his origins in general until Sonic Adventure 2 happens. To say he react well to everything is kinda an understatement...

As for how he ends up on Earth and all that? Well first we need to establish a bit of background.

Peoject Lightspeed, as he was referred to on the ARK, didn't get the same treatment as Shadow. In fact his treatment was much worse. While he was also created with the help of Gerald his double purpose was different from Shadow's. As for why I say double purpose? Well there's the main purpose they're presented as and then there's GUN's true purpose for them.

Project Shadow's main purpose was presented as finding a cure for Maria, while GUN's true purpose was for him to be The Ultimate Lifeform.

Project Lightpseed's main purpose was presented as being able to quickly help people get to safety or to a hospital, while GUN's true purpose for him was to be an improved version of The Ultimate Lifeform. And this time they'd ensure everything they could to keep him away from Gerald's much too caring hands in an attempt to mold him to their liking.

While technically Sonic is more powerful than Shadow, he's unaware of certain abilities he possesses which makes it so when they fight they're on more equal footing. He can not only do everything Shadow can but better, but he's also got his own unique chaos abilities... that I still need to figure out.

Btw the reason he only has one inhibitor ring is because, due to secretly being an improved version of The Ultimate Lifeform, his energy is much more stable than Shadow's.

So due to how kindhearted Sonic is, their attempts to mold him to their liking made them very unhappy with him. He'd constantly get punished for not obeying their orders. Punishments started out as more grueling testing and hurting him. When that didn't work after a while they decided to try some different methods, eventually finding that submerging him in water was the most effective in getting him to do what they want. At that point the only thing he'd still try to refuse to do is kill.

The reason it was so effective is cause he's not only made up of mostly energy, but it so happens that one his main components is lightning. So combine those two things with the fact that water and electricity don't mix well? Well needless to say that constantly submerging him in it causes his hydrophobia to become extreme.

And then eventually the ARK raid happens...

Knowing he's likely going to die anyways and since he was in the general area, Gerald takes pity on Sonic and helps him escape. Sonic easily trusts him since he's one of the only people to not hurt him. Gerald does his best to escort him to one of the multiple escape pod zones, informing him of what he'll need to do if Gerald is unable to make it with him. Which is good since he doesn't. The way it happens is that he ends up having to stall some guards, subsequently resulting in his arrest.

Sonic makes it to the pods and manages to escape, but not before obtaining even more trauma. So much so that he ends up repressing his memories of the ARK in general.

Unfortunately the pod ends up malfunctiong because of Sonic's powers going on the fritz due to the stress of the situation. Speaking of stress, he manages to essentially short circuit himself and enters a self induced coma as his body tries to fix itself. It doesn't help that he's subconsciously using a fraction of his energy to power the pod's essentials. Most notably life support and stasis.

The pod ends up crashing into Westside Island, causing the locals to investigate. Locked from the inside and short circuited, the islanders are unable to open it or see inside. Eventually they give up and, being too heavy for them to move, wind up just making a scrapyard around the pod.

Fast forward a little less than 50 years when a certain two tailed fox comes across it while looking for some scrap to use. Curious as to what could be inside when he's unable to open it, he makes something to tow the pod to his shack and it ends up becoming his own little pet project.

One day, while the fox is out, the blue and yellow hedgehog in the pod finally wakes up.

The amnesiac stumbles his way out of the pod and falls onto the ground. And of course it's that moment the fox finally returns home.

And while the fox had no idea what to expect from the stranger, something he defientely wasn't expecting was for them to be terrified upon seeing him.

(The red rings aren't inhibitors but rather cuffs that they used to help keep him in line aboard the ARK)

It takes a while for the currently nameless hedgehog to even think about trusting the fox. People meant bad things happen to him, even if he doesn't remember why. He ends up subconsciously curling into a ball and stays that way for a while, baffling the fox as to when he eats or drinks.

(They much later learn that he doesn't need to eat or drink as he's able to sustain himself with his own energy)

And while the hedgehog doesn't talk he eventually gives the fox a chance, who he'd nicknamed Tails in his head, and becomes overprotective over him. From there they slowly but surely come to view each other as brothers.

[jupitervega]

hey peace & love, i mean this as kindly as possible-- some of y'all rly gotta unclench abt takin up space in the world by existin

like if a jerk in line behind u at the store is huffin n puffin bc yr self check is givin u fits & makin the process longer, that's their problem to deal with like an adult. is there some kinda giant glitterbomb behind the counter that's gonna blow if u don't get yr bags packed & get gone before the jerk's internal timer reaches zero? is anyone gonna blast u with literal red eye laser death rays? naw? then let the pissbaby pitch their lil fit that u can't ring yr groceries at lightspeed

or like. doctor stuff for fucken real. it's not illegal to be a pain in the healthcare system's ass until u get the relief u need. i'm not sayin be ugly abt it or anything, but yr allowed to put yr foot down with yr doctor. they said u needed to lose weight for an unrelated issue, or wrote yr symptoms off as anxiety/stress when u know damn well somethin else is wrong? make another appointment. message the office again. go to a different doc who will take u seriously if yr able. ask for every test yr insurance will pay for (if u got it). if they refuse to test or treat u for an issue, insist that their refusal is noted in yr file. don't mask yr symptoms to try & save face at the clinic. if they don't believe u until yr at yr worst, show up at yr worst. yr the best advocate u have, & idk abt y'all but i'm not catholic & i refuse to suffer any way i ain't gotta

other ppl don't like how u dress (too weird, too goth, too bright, etc.)? well good thing they're not wearin yr clothes then huh!!! maybe they oughta get glad in the same pants they got mad in while u strut yr funky stuff the hell away from that bullshit

any unsolicited negative opinion on anything u do that hurts no one & makes u happy? just be like ok loser thanks for the garbage input, i will not be considerin any of that, i'm happy for u or sorry that happened, goodbye

anyway. all this kinda stuff mattered So Much to me in my teens-twenties that i stressed myself sick abt it all & now i'm 31 & simply cannot find many more fux to give. i'm alive on this gay earth same as anyone else, & so are u, & we have a right to be here & take up space by existin. this world was made for us to explore, how u gonna do that when u keep makin yrself so small? take my hand. we're gonna get thru all this together :)

[all-the-things-2020]

Finding His Way - Chapter Five

Summary: A brief space battle and a cameo appearance by a young Poe Dameron. Mariana makes a decision but Din changes her mind.

Rating: PG

The ship shuddered, tilting sharply to the left. Mariana had to grab hold of the closest object, which fortunately was a part of the bulkhead, to keep from falling over. A few days ago, the kid had slipped up to the cockpit when both she and Din had been distracted and tried to steer the ship. Mariana had grabbed at a seemingly stable shelving unit and ended up with several bruises, which were still quite tender.

It wasn’t the kid this time, though. He was in plain view, staging a fight between Froggy and Ball. Din flew up the ladder to the cockpit, muttering what she assumed were Mando’a swear words. Ever since the kid had started calling him “Da” when he had his helmet off, he’d been trying to teach him a few Mando’a words, and she noticed he’d slip out of Basic now and then.

Grabbing the kid, she scrambled up the ladder behind him. Several alarms were blaring by now and a galaxy of lights was flashing on the control panels. Din was already in the pilot’s seat, hands working the controls. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“Sit down and buckle up,” he said curtly. “We’re under attack.”

She slid into the copilot’s chair and fastened the restraints, then wrapped her arms tightly around the kid. A pair of smaller ships were spiraling around the Razor Crest. “Are those TIE fighters?”

“Yeah,” he said, slamming a lever back and steering the ship with one hand while readying the weapons with the other. Mariana grabbed onto the armrest and curled around the kid as they lurched again. This time, though, it wasn’t from impact. Din was taking evasive maneuvers and the motion was smoother, if still sharp.

The Razor Crest swooped and dove, the laser cannons blazing. Din’s hands danced over the controls, but the rest of him was almost unnaturally still. They took a hit from one of the TIE fighters, which sent them spinning sideways. Mariana clutched at the kid as they nearly fell out of their seat despite the restraints.

“Shit,” said Din. He started frantically pressing buttons and flipping switches. The kid whined and clutched at Mariana’s shirt.

The ship shuddered as another blast connected. Then Din pushed her into a nose dive, rotated 180 degrees and fired. One of the TIE fighters disintegrated as the Razor Crest’s cannons found their mark. The other TIE wheeled around, closing in for the kill, but Din shoved the Crest into reverse, dipped down and looped in a crazy spiral. The TIE’s lasers missed and before it could catch up and aim again, Din blasted one of its wings off. The fighter spun out of control, giving a Din time to line up another shot. This one hit the cockpit, which exploded. The Razor Crest drifted to a halt, shields rattling as bits of debris from the TIEs struck like a meteor shower.

“Hold on,” Din said. “I have no idea if there are more of them around here. I’m going to jump to lightspeed just to get some distance between us before I check the ship. Things might get rough depending on how much damage we took.”

He punched several buttons, flipped a switch and then slammed the lightspeed lever back. The Crest lurched forward, pressing them back into their seats with inertia. The ship bucked and shimmied a bit, but the lightspeed engines held up, and Din sat back.

The kid was cowering against Mariana’s chest, but now that streaks of starlight were filling the forward windows, he pricked up his ears and started cooing. Din took a moment to check that they were okay, then turned his attention back to the control panel.

“We’ll stay in lightspeed a bit longer, then drop out and see if we can find an out of the way planet to get some repairs,” he said. “Doesn’t look too bad, but the starboard engine needs some help and we may have some minor hull damage that needs to be repaired before it gets any worse.”

“Why would TIE fighters attack us?” Mariana asked. “I thought the Republic had destroyed most of the Imperial outposts.”

Din was quiet for longer than she liked. He hadn’t told her much about his past, just that he’d been a bounty hunter, and given her a brief rundown of how he’d come to acquire the Child, and been charged by the leader of his covert to take him as a Foundling. Clearly, there was more to the story.

He abruptly swiveled his chair toward her and began to talk. He told her about Moff Gideon and his Death Troopers, about the desperate fight to escape, his near brush with death, IG-11’s sacrifice, and his battle with Gideon’s TIE fighter. His words were clipped, emotionless, and matter of fact, but Mariana could sense the emotion he was holding back behind them.

“Karga messaged me a few weeks later,” he continued. “Some Jawas came in with TIE parts and a story about being interrupted in their scavenging by a man in black emerging from the wreckage. Apparently, Gideon survived. Cara tried to track him down, but the Jawas took their time coming into town and the trail was cold.”

“So, these TIE fighters could have been Troopers loyal to this Moff Gideon? He’s still looking for ad’ika?” She clutched the kid to her.

Din nodded. “Which is why I want to lay low. I’m sorry you got dragged into this, but …”

The Crest shuddered violently and dropped out of hyperspace with a jolt. Din spun back to the control panel. “Hyperdrive is out,” he sighed. “But we got some distance from the TIEs, at least.” He pulled up a star chart. “Hmmm … Yavin 4 is the closest place with a decent spaceport. I usually avoid Republic strongholds, but it used to be a Rebel base, so not much chance of Imperial sympathizers. Should be safe enough.” He locked in the coordinates and turned back to her. “About 12 hours without lightspeed, but I think the Crest will hold up.”

*******************

Din had been to Yavin 4 once or twice before, but as he’d told Mariana, it was tricky to conduct Guild business on planets with such a strong New Republic presence. It was a beautiful place, though; lush and tropical with ancient stone temples peeking through the vegetation.

They landed the Razor Crest at the largest spaceport, which had once been a Rebel base. Lots of pilots and mechanics, which meant it shouldn’t be hard to find someone to repair the ship quickly. His finances would take a sizable hit, but hopefully once the ship was back in shape, he could pick up a couple of small jobs. Nothing too dangerous, not with Mariana and the kid aboard, but he was sure he could find something.

After locating a mechanic and dickering over the price (why did they always want to charge extra to not use droids?), Din went back into the ship to fetch Mariana and the kid. It would take most of a day for the repairs, so they might as well enjoy the sights.

“Bring your blaster,” he told Mariana as she pulled on her jacket.

“Are you sure? I’m still a terrible shot. And I thought Yavin 4 was safe.”

“It is, but bring it anyway.” Din knew that even though the Republic had a strong presence on Yavin, there was always the possibility of Imperial spies.

They left the ship and crossed the landing field on their way toward the town. It was a busy place and several small ships landed as they walked. An A-wing touched down a few hundred feet away. The hatch had barely popped when a small, dark-haired blur tumbled down the ladder and darted right in front of them.

“Poe Dameron, get back here!” The boy skidded to a halt, almost colliding with Din.

“But, Mom! Look at that cool X-wing over there! I’m gonna fly one like that some day.”

A woman in a flight suit hurried up. “I see it, kiddo, but you almost ran into these people.” She grabbed him by the shoulders and ducked her head at Din and Mariana. “I apologize for my son. He’s obsessed with flight. I have no idea why …” She shook her head with a laugh and held out her hand. “Shara Bey. And you’ve met Poe.”

The boy looked up at Din, having managed to tear his eyes away from the X-wing, “Are you a Mandalorian? Your armor is so cool! What kind of rifle is that?”

Din was taken aback by the boy’s forwardness. He looked to be only about 7 or 8 years old, but he had no qualms about talking to a heavily armed stranger, something Din would never have done at that age.

Fortunately, Mariana came to his rescue. “Nice to meet you, Shara,” she said, shaking the woman’s hand. “I’m Mariana, and this is Din and Ad’ika.” She turned to the boy. “And yes, Poe, Din is a Mandalorian. Which means he’s not much on small talk.”

Shara laughed. “Sounds like my husband. And speaking of which, we’d better get home, Poe. You know how your dad worries when I take you up.”

“But, Mom! Home is boring. I want to look at all the ships.” His dark eyes kept dancing over the port, taking in the array of spacecraft.

“You can look at the ships another day,” Shara said. “The spaceport isn’t going anywhere.” The boy looked up at her with pleading eyes, and she sighed. “Okay, fifteen minutes. And don’t bother anyone!” Poe was already halfway to the X-wing by the time the last word was out of her mouth. She shook her head. “That boy’s going to be the death of me. I don’t know how I’m going to handle him when he gets old enough to fly on his own.”

Mariana chuckled. “He seems like a good kid, just full of energy. My cousin Timmin was like that around that age. Couldn’t sit still to save his life, but he calmed down when he got a little older.”

Din stood awkwardly as the two women chatted for a few more minutes. Shara admired the kid, and he showed her his Froggy. It was all very friendly and natural, as if they were two old friends catching up. Finally, Shara excused herself to go extricate her son from the landing gear of the X-wing, which he’d climbed up to get a closer look at what a droid mechanic was doing.

Mariana urged the kid to wave goodbye, then turned back to Din.

“How do you do that?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Just … talk to people. Chat. You’ve never met that woman before. How do you know what to say?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, you just … do it. Maybe I get it from my dad. He could talk to anyone; Mom always said he’d never met a stranger.”

Din started walking again, not sure what to say. He couldn’t really remember much about his own parents. The Mandalorians who raised him had been more concerned with teaching him how to fight than how to talk to people. Maybe Mariana could teach him about small talk; he certainly couldn’t be any worse at it than she was at shooting.

**************

It had been a lovely day, but Mariana still felt on edge. The blaster tucked away in its holster beneath her jacket reminded her that Din and the kid were targets, and so was she as long as she was with them. The encounter with the TIE fighters had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. It was one thing to be attacked by thieves in a marketplace, and quite another to be hunted by Imperial Troopers. Every time she caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of her eye, her hand drifted toward her blaster. She couldn’t shake the memory of Storm Troopers devastating her hometown. She’d been through a lot in the last dozen years, but the thing that always made her blood run cold was the thought of the Empire. Even though the Rebellion had defeated the Emperor, the shadow of the Empire still stretched across much of the galaxy.

Din was carrying the kid as they headed back toward the ship. The mechanic had commed to say the repairs were finished, and he was eager to get back aboard. Mariana trailed slightly behind, caught up in her thoughts. She’d been happy enough so far, but how long would it last? The kid was adorable, and she enjoyed taking care of him. Din was still a bit of an enigma to her. One moment he was every inch the dispassionate soldier, the next he was sitting on the floor playing ball with his ad’ika. She wasn’t sure if he thought of her as a friend or just a crewmate. Sometimes she almost thought he was flirting with her, but it was hard to tell with his face hidden by the helmet and the slight distortion of the vo-coder.

He’d told her she could leave any time she wanted, and maybe it was time, before she got even more attached to the kid. She was free now, and Yavin 4 seemed like a good place. She could probably find a job easily enough, and once she wasn’t associated with Din anymore, there would be no reason to fear the remnants of the Empire.

They reached the Razor Crest. Din set the kid down so he could toddle up the ramp. Her heart clenched as she watched Din slow down to match his son’s pace. Stars, she would miss them.

When they reached the top of the ramp, the kid disappeared inside, but Din turned to look at her where she still stood at the foot of the ramp. “What are you waiting for?” he asked.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I … I think I’m going to stay,” she managed to say.

Din was at the bottom of the ramp in a moment. “What do you mean?”

“I think it’s time. You said I could leave any time I wanted. And just think, without me around, you can have your helmet off anytime you want. You and the kid can be a family all the time, not just when I’m hiding in my bunk…”

Din grabbed her hand. “No. No, you can’t leave. I need you …” He stopped, squeezed her hand tightly, took a deep breath and started again. “We still need you. I can’t leave him alone, and I’ll never find his people without your help. Please … don’t go.”

Mariana was stunned. She’d never expected him to beg her to stay. There was a raw edge to his voice, and he clutched at her hand like a drowning man hoping to be saved. Was it possible he really had been flirting with her? Did he have feelings for her? And more importantly … did she have feelings for him?

“You’re right,” she said. “You hired me to do a job and it’s not finished. I … I just got scared.” She squeezed his hand back, feeling the leather of his glove creak against her skin.

“The Imps,” he said, releasing her hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you … or the kid. We’ll find some place to lay low for a bit. Gideon won’t find us.”

She nodded and followed him up the ramp. She wanted to believe him, but she wasn’t naive. Moff Gideon had walked away from a crashed ship. He was Imperial. He would not give up so easily. Still, Mariana would rather be on the run with Din and Ad’ika than safe and alone.

[pandora-dark-shorts]

Hehyxade

The Equinox: Part One

The Burns-Shawyer Drive let out its static discharge as we came out of lightspeed, and I gazed in awe at the Equinox Station. The massive ring, adorned with an expansive center line extending in both directions, made my jaw drop. The enormous hub at the center was our destination, its metallic structure gleaming in the soft glow of the planet below.

As I guided my Marauder class starship closer, I marveled at how large it actually was. It was the biggest The Coalition had built so far. The station's circular expanse symbolized unity, while the extending lines hinted at the connections reaching far into the cosmos. But I realized it was as deadly as it was beautiful when i noticed the rather large rail cannons and lasers tracking me as I went to dock on the closest arm. Wouldn't stand a chance against those things in our current configuration. It's a good thing that they are on our side.

I followed the runway inside and was greeted with a voice over comms telling me to take chamber 3 since it was one of the only airlocks designed to take a ship of this size. What do you know, my lucky number. I brought the behemoth of a ship to the airlock and eased it over to seal the door. The magnetic arms reached out from the station and locked the ship in place. The pressure hose disconnected from my suit, and I got up from the form fitting chair. I hastily got out of my suit and stepped out of the cockpit. My Executive Officer, Terri, met me at the door, and I could hear our crew stampeding down the corridor.

"Whats on the agenda today, Boss", she asked as she hit the pressure regulator on the hatch. "Any chance we will be here long enough I can get some sleep in a bed not made of stale ramen?" She smiled at me. The beds were pretty shit for such an expensive piece of equipment. But I needed firepower and longevity for what we did. And apparently the trade off was beds 'made of stale ramen'. I could look at having them replaced while we were here. I planned an extended downtime for the crew so Terri and I could research our next target.

"We have a week and a half here," I replied, "we have some planning to do if we are going to hit that shipyard for Johnnie." At that moment, the rest of the crew round the corner, and Parker had heard the news.

"No way, Cap," he said excitement in his voice. "More than 2 days rest before we head back out? I shart believe it. Or shat believe it? Shin't?"

"Shan't, dumbass," said Mel, our ships weapons officer. "I shan't believe it."

"Hey," he replied, feigning hurt, "Just cause i don't have one of those fancy smancy edumactions like you do doesn't mean i ain't gots smarts like you do." Everyone laughed at his poor attempt to sound like one of those old Earth holodecks, failing miserably.

I wiped a tear from my eye as the commotion tamed. "We have a lot to plan if we are going to take the Pendus Station back from those shithead Turians. The Coalition Admiral said if we can take it back, it's ours. They were decommissioning it next year anyway. He said we could use a base of operations of our own, and this station has more than enough bays for all of our ships, including two double bays more than large enough to hold Kronos. " Everyones eyes opened wide at that. "We have planning to do, but you guys have more than earned your share of rest. And I want to have the beds; and the couches and chairs in the lounge replace. It's like sleeping on stale ramen. "

Terri side-eyed me, "It would be nice to sleep in a bunk that's a little more soft. I, for one, like my ramen unstale and soft."

"I heard they have over 100 different flavors of ramen here, actually," I said. That caught Terri's attention. She lived on ramen noodles with various meats and vegetables mixed in.

"Like really 100," she turned into a child. "Like not 100 different variations of beef and chicken but the curry and chili, too"?

I couldn't help but laugh. "I hear its 100 different flavors. May or may not include things like turkey, pork, and shrimp. Lobster." Terri slammed her hand against the airlock door button and was moving out the door before it had opened halfway. She tore down the station corridor at a brisk walk.

"She has no idea where she's going, does she?" Mary asked. Mary is our ship's doctor. She recently replaced her grandmother, who just retired 5 months ago. She insisted her 'Grandbaby take over and make sure we keep the best there is looking over us'. She wasn't wrong. Mary was exceptional. Fit right in.

"She has no idea where she is going," i confirmed, "but that nose of hers will find it, or she will take hostages till they bring the store to her."

"I can still feel my arm dislocating from the socket after I ate her last cherry fruit cup," Parker said. "I was your first victim, Mary."

"You were not a victim," she replied, laughing, "you deserved that."

At that, everyone started walking out the airlock and into the bustling station corridor. A man in a blue uniform came over,he had a ship technician emblem on his shirt.

"Received a request for a look-over here," he said. "Says you need an arms tech as well, but I'm waiting on mine to get back from lunch in a few. I can do the look-over first, though."

I glanced at the crew as they made their way into the station. "Yeah, I'm going to need everything on the list in the datapad by the airlock door done over the next 10 days. The ammo list is there too. " I reached into my vest pocket and pulled out one of my chips, handing it to him.

"Damn," he exclaimed, "a Centauri Chip. I haven't seen one of these in real life before. What the hell do you do? Or who do you work for?" Centauri Chips were chips you could apply for if you or your business had an income of at least 10 million credits a cycle. And they are great for washing chips you find on people who dont need them anymore.

"I work for myself," I laughed. "I'm a contractor for The Coalition. We do the stuff they don't want to. Or can't. And it pays well.

"Well shit, if you are ever looking for a maintenance tech, you know where to find me. The pay is crap here. "

"I'll keep that in mind, Bud," I said and walked off to find my XO. Hopefully, she didn't have some poor guys arm wrenched behind his back, leading her to the Ramen shop.

#pandoradark #connecticut #writing #writinginspiration #writeig #shortstories #inspo