Starlight/Hellfire: Cliff Racer Edition

[CxSeth]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Name: Liah Bowers
Alias: Sunset Glory
Age: 27

Physical Description: Liah is a darkskinned woman who has more or less the quintissential 'bottomheavy MILF' build. She keeps her straight hair about neck-length and somewhat messy to intentionally keep a lazy vibe about her, and she enjoys dressing in pencil skirts and ribbed turtlenecks, normally sleeveless. She tends to accessorize and wear makeup that could get her described as a 'goth', but she doesn't lean in to it too heavily.

As Sunset Glory, she's decked out in an elaborately-layered flowerlike gown designed to get out of the way of her legs when she's running or not upright. The gown is designed with cleavage in mind, and has a keyhole on the bottom for clean access top to bottom. Aside from some tall high heels she gets lacy opera gloves on both arms and a gold ring with a purple amethyst flower for her left hand. Her face is covered by a calm-expressioned porcelain mask with removable mouthplate, painted with flowery purple patterns that almost serve as makeup for the fake face.

Powers: Energy Shield (personal or projected bubble), Controlled Levitation (herself and things she touches), Magic Hands (Can create large magical hands, either giving her melee weapons or projecting hands for various setups or grapples), Effect Gas (Currently only knows how to create poisons and soporific gases, she is unaffected by these two so far), Short-Range Rapid-Fire Magic Blasts, Regeneration (slow but visible, faster if applied to another.)

Drawback: Curiosity - Liah has a constant nag in the back of her mind that she could lose out on valuable knowledge, that much was almost always true of her, but it gets a lot worse following excessive or uncertain use of her magic. It could spur her to go for a compromising near-loss to test the behavior of her enemy, or purposefully try to capture it nonlethally. She might even purposefully waste time in the lair of the enemy with whatever caught her fancy if it scratched the itch.

Color: Purple

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Name: Hunter Sleiper
Alias: Shining Gale
Age: 20

Physical Description: Hunter is a very athletically-built chick with brilliant sky-blue eyes, she doesn't have a lot of boob going on, but her overall thin frame accentuates her wide hips and strong legs. With her half-shaved head and the casual and practical way she dresses, she looks like a punk tomboy through and through.

As the Gale, she's put in to an outfit that's much girlier than she's comfortable with and she's given the rest of her hair back. Pretty blue and white colors alongside a nearly cloudlike poofy skirt all add to an overall themeing of a peaceful sky. The transformation gives her more girly posture, and forces her to fight in high heels on top of it. Her eyes are covered with a blindfold she can see through, and a natural glow while transformed means the shape of her eyes are visible through it as well. All in all, Hunter would never be caught dead looking so girly, so it's quite the disguise.

Powers: Super Speed, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Durability, Slow Fall, Energy-Enhanced Melee, Gale Force (Wind-based power in her legs, can store it while kicking for speed and raw power or release for a windy wave projectile or a super jump)

Drawback: Pumping Adrenaline - While she's discharging or storing energy, Hunter starts getting more and more excited as her blood gets pumping. It keeps her going, sure, but it's an infectious effect for bystanders watching her. What's dangerous about it is her tendency to 'crash' from overexertion after long fights, often leaving her exhausted in the middle of an energetic crowd, who don't exactly have to worry about the same taxing activities she does.

Color: Blue

The evening was cooling down after sunset, and the city’s newest Champion, Shining Gale, was recovering from a training session. She’s only had one fight with a real Hellbeast so far, and... It had not gone well. Her new transformed state was powerful, but it also took a bit of getting used to... She had beat herself up almost as much as the monster. Thankfully, nobody had been around to see it... nobody except Abrex, anyway.

<Better,> The demon said from his backseat in Hunter’s head, <You managed to hit the ground feet-first instead of face-first at least 80% of the time.>

Living with a demon inside your head to constantly give you snark and bad advice was also difficult to get used to. But that was part of the price Hunter had to pay in order to gain then powers she needed to fight these monsters. That, and the Drawback, and the fact that she had no control over her appearance as a Champion... What was the point of having a skirt that puffed up and girly, anyway?

<If you’re done playing around and want to put those powers to their intended use, I have a Hellbeast that’s about to pop in ten minutes at the skatepark. It doesn’t seem especially strong, but that area can be a little crowded at this hour.>

Ten minutes? It would be nice if Abrex gave a little more notice when it was crisis time, but then, super speed meant she was rarely more than 5 minutes away from any part of the city...

[cliffracer]

Hunter pants softly, having just finished experimenting with some kick combos she could perform in heels. At least being a Champion meant her workout sessions were a lot cooler than normal. All of the cool things she was capable of now made the dressing up part mostly worth it. This skirt though... she swears she'll be flashing her butt if she does any good kicks, but that's something she's had to come to terms with.

"Well, if my face is gonna be more stable than these heels to land on, I don't really got a choice," she snarks right back. Abrex's presence wasn't strictly unwelcome to her, but someone living in your head has an easy time finding buttons to push. "Gah, at least I'm getting better, though."

She's just going for a drink as she's being told about her next Hellbeast- she chokes a bit when he says it'll be here in just ten minutes. She forgot for just a second how fast she could be now, she still wasn't totally used to the ability! "Ten minutes?! C'mon, you can give me better notice than THAT, right!?" Heaving a dramatic sigh as she gets in a good stretch, Hunter doesn't complain much more than that. She takes off for the skatepark, still eager to fulfill her duty, even if she's still a greenhorn.

[CxSeth]

<If I had advance notice, I’d give it to you. My powers just don’t work that way.> Even if Abrex could sense the arrival of monsters further ahead of time, he probably wouldn’t think to announce it until the last minute— Hunter’s resident demon was very much a creature of the moment.

The city blurred past as Hunter easily navigated it at high speed. Sticking to the ground made it easier to avoid accidents, and since nothing else in the city was moving close to her speed, she didn’t have to worry about anything popping up in her path.

She found the skatepark wasn’t too crowded, and with her sudden appearance, it emptied out a little more. People knew that when a Champion showed up, things were probably going to get dangerous. Still, a few civilians always stuck around, and today that was three college students at the top of a ramp.

The telltale crackle of red electricity began to gather, and yellow sparks popped in and out of existence above the concrete. <Small one, human-sized,> Abrex predicted, <And we’re still early enough for you to get the drop on it. Ready?>

[cliffracer]

Running that fast through the whole city always felt great to her, that was one of the biggest upsides to being a Champion so far. Something so... liberating about it all. Saying she could get across the city in seconds was a pretty cool brag too, when she was in costume. Now that she's at the skatepark she's glad that she doesn't have to tell people to get the hell out of the way. Those last bystanders sticking around wasn't a huge deal, since she was planning on seeing if she could end this fight fast. One kick, ideally.

"Hell yeah. I wanna see if I can pulp this thing in one shot." As much as she didn't like the heels, they made it way easier to control her balance for axe kicks. She raises her leg straight upwards so she can start spooling up power in it, preparing a nice Gale Force-powered kick to use as a hopefully-decisive ambush. Sure, she's basically inviting those college folks to look at her thong, but she doesn't care about that too much. That powerful feeling starting to course through her veins makes it totally worth it, she wants to go through with this idea, especially since she doesn't know how much prior warning Hellbeasts get when they're coming in. Even if it fails, it's good knowledge, and it's a hell of a power move.

[CxSeth]

Shining Gale could hear the amused voices of her three-person-peanut gallery as they gawked at her exposed thong while she prepared her haymaker, but they were thankfully far enough away that they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire, and their words were little more than mumbles.

The lightning, sparks, and demonic energy began to coalesce more clearly at ground zero, and the newbie champion only had to shift a few degrees and brace against the final wave of heat and flame before unleashing her hurricane-force axe kick.

The kick, it turned out, would collide with the hard, turtle-like shell of the monster, splitting it clean in half and exposing the pink, slimy creature beneath. The force of the impact and the shock of losing its shell stunned the monster briefly, and caused it to flatten down against the ground. It was thin and wide, like a living blanket with six pseudopods, too many eyes, and an underbelly lined with humanoid mouths.

All told, a pretty tame Hellbeast, if a thoroughly disgusting one. If Hunter had another supercharged kick to unleash, she could likely reduce it to pulp and ash in one more strike. Still, her initial assault did strip the beast from its shell, and gave her the chance to start the fight as the aggressor. The only question was, could she capitalize on that advantage now that she had it?

[cliffracer]

Just Hunter's luck, she gets the kind of Hellbeast that actually would survive a kick like that. Still, it's not all bad, she did totally get rid of its one defense, and she's got it helpless from the force of that. If she knew she had the time to charge up another full-power Gale Force kick she absolutely would, but doing it while still was a whole lot riskier than if she was soaring through the air with it. No, right now, it'd be better to strike while the iron is hot. It's a bit of a weird maneuver with how oddly flat this thing is without the shell, but the plan is simple; a series of energy-enhanced heel stomps wouldn't feel good at all, and hopefully she'd be able to get enough of them off before it recovered that she could finish it off just like that.

She still hasn't really gotten it through her head that enhancing her kicks with energy triggers her Adrenaline, but all the same, she's got too much flowing to really care.

[CxSeth]

(Roll: 8, partial success)

Shining Gale’s technique, however simple, proved quite effective, initially. The prone monster was unable to squirm out of the way of her initial stomps, and her deadly heels gouged out at least two of its dozen eyes, splattering her legs with so much warm, orange blood.

“Yeah girl, stomp that fucker!” The excited cry of encouragement from the female college student came at an unfortunate time, since the monster finally chose that moment to recover enough to fight back. As Hunter rose up her leg for another stomp, the monsters pseudopods gave a wiggle and the Hellbeast moved surprisingly quickly at the nearest target: Hunter’s other leg. It turned out that one high-heeled shoe doesn’t make for a very stable base, and even the relatively light bump was enough to knock Shining Gale flat on her ass.

Fortunately, the Hellbeast was damaged enough that it couldn’t instantly capitalize on this reversal, but it gave a dangerous wiggle and launched itself towards Shining Gale, mouths open and drooling. If Hunter didn’t want to be smothered by the most disgusting blanket of all time, she would have only a second to react...

[cliffracer]

Whoops, Hunter got a bit too distracted by a bit of hype feedback from the peanut gallery that she didn't realise she slowed down to enjoy it. Just a bit of a bump to knock her backwards is enough to make her drop to her ass, and she was suddenly face-to-face with the awful underside of this thing. She registers fast that she's looking at a LOT of mouths, and her instincts know that she's in for an awful experience if she lets those anywhere near her body. Perverted, hungry, angry, all things she'd like to avoid. She recovers with a lightning-quick backwards somersault and tries delivering an uppercut kick with that momentum after that roll, hoping she can catch this thing in the middle of its lunge with something unexpected.

[CxSeth]

(Roll: 18, success)

The capabilities of her Champion form continued to impress Hunter, and she easily reacted to the creature’s attack with a swift, powerful counter of her own. Her foot slices a clean line across the Hellbeast’s face(s?), sending it sailing, more blood and a few teeth taking a separate trajectory.

Hunter was on her feet before the creature hit the ground with a thud and a crack. It landed on its back, and gave a few weak shudders, but it was clear that the monster was defeated. Shining Gale only needed to choose her finishing move in order to reduce the monster to a pile of ashes, and then her job here would be done.

Something her spectators were very excited about. Once the monster was properly disposed of, they gathered up their skateboards and seemed intent to roll in to meet the city’s newest hero. She still had enough energy to make a swift escape if she wanted to, but between her training session and her fight, she would be due for a bit of a crash soon.

[cliffracer]

Hunter had the biggest grin on her face before she was all the way to her feet, she loved the feeling of a satisfying upper like that. She got to see the landing it made too! That's definately a treat. It's not DEAD, but it's definately on its last legs. Her finishing move was something she mulled over for a while after her first fight with a Hellbeast ended rather anticlimactically with a panicked flurry of kicks, but this time she was ready to do something cool. A short Gale Force charge gives her a fine bit of height, and after an acrobatic flip while she's soaring, she uses the fall to make an energy-enhanced double stomp to pulp this ugly monster.

Of course, beating a hasty escape probably would've been the smartest thing to do, but Hunter isn't exactly the smartest chick. She wants to be known! She puts her hands on her hips and shoots a beaming smile at the three coming in to meet her, obviously proud of a quick exterimnation like that. "Hah ha ha! Hope that didn't interrupt too much!"

[CxSeth]

Shining Gale’s efforts to put on a spectacular finish didn’t go unappreciated by her three-person crowd. There were two young men and one woman, all dressed in typical “skater” fashion, and all bouncing excitedly around their new favorite Champion.

“No problem, dude!” The taller man said, giving Hunter two thumbs up, “That was totally rad. You’re way different from the other hero chicks. What’s your name?”

“You were all like ‘Wham, pow!’ And then with the flip! So cool!” The second man, the shortest of the group, did his best to reenact the fight, as if Hunter hadn’t just lived through it, “What are your powers? Apart from being a total badass babe?”

“Babe is right,” The woman agreed, blatantly eyeing Hunter’s legs, “Can we expect to see you around more often now?”

It was nice to already have a little fan club, but the energetic barrage of questions was wearing her down. <Last call,> Abrex warned, letting her know that his support was nearing its limit. Whether or not she stuck around or released her transformation, she was about to be powerless and exhausted. And given that her house was halfway across town, she wouldn’t be able to make it back without help... If she was going to make it home at all.

[cliffracer]

Hunter probably would've done the smart thing and headed out after a bit of interaction with her new fans, but she was getting praised and asked questions at the same time. Abrex could probably feel the exact moment when Hunter took the bait, but at least she's preserving her identity by not releasing the transformation for this. As much as she'd like being around fellow punks, there's no compromises! Yet!

"Shining Gale! I am fast as hell, and I've got the wind backing me up for however I need it!" Admittedly, the rapid fire questions were a bit much after... unrestrained power use like she just took part in, but she didn't miss the way the woman was looking at her. "You can expect to see me wherever I wanna be."

...And then she actually pays attention to the fact that she's about to crash again. She's almost about to internally complain about how it snuck up on her, but even she knows this one was entirely her fault. Time to spin this so she doesn't collapse on to pavement. She looks straight at the woman. "Speaking of, catch me? I think I probably shoulda been on my couch about five seconds ago." Whether or not she's ready, it's time for Hunter to collapse!

[CxSeth]

“Catch you, is that— oh shit!” The woman barely stepped forward in time to catch Hunter as she fell, awkwardly supporting her in a tight hug, her arms wrapped around the top of Hunter’s chest, just below her arms.

Lesser, calmer minds might have faltered when faced with the challenge of a collapsed heroine in their arms, but Shining Gale’s excited, energetic fans were ready to step up in this time of need. “Hey blockhead,” Commanded the girl, evidently the leader, “Help me carry this chick to the car.”

“Sure,” Blockhead’s arms wrapped around Hunter’s lower body, and the two skaters managed to get her into an awkward carry as they hauled her off. “Is this, uh, normal for heroes?”

“Weird stuff always happens to Champions after they finish a fight,” The other guy said, opening the car door as the woman pulled Hunter into the backseat, “Like that one chick who disappears, or the one who kisses people.”

“I thought she just liked kissing people?” Blockhead mused.

“Hey, guys!” The woman’s harsh interjection grabbed their attention and halted the conversation, “Let’s go! Get the wheel, Doofus, we need to get this chick to, uh...”

She looked down at the exhausted champion, sprawled out in the backseat with her head in the skater girl’s lap, “Uh, hospital? Her place? My place? Hey, Shining Gale, where do you need to be, girl?”

[cliffracer]

Hunter was VERY thankful that her pick for the one to catch her had the reflexes to actually do it AND it earned her a free hug from someone cute. Always a plus. She didn't say anything as she was getting carted off, better to just conserve energy than run her mouth when even having the effort to move her jaw was a bit too much. And now she was being provided a very kind lap pillow, THAT'S the extra little push she needed to say something. She did take the moment to consider it, and it'd be a lot less effort if she didn't have to give directions. Plus, can't just be telling people where she lives, can she?

"...Your place. Couch. Bed. Doesn't matter." She pauses a beat for a breathy laugh. "Fuckin' exhausted, can't move nothin' but my jaw right now. My magic's rough, man. Just don't get any funny ideas, ey?" Another, slightly longer pause as she manages a grin. "Or do, not like I'll be stoppin' you either way." She sounds like she's practically encouraging the train of thought. She kind of is.

[CxSeth]

The skater girl brushed a hand through Hunter’s hair and nodded, “You heard the girl, Doofus, let’s head home!”

Doofus and Blockhead continued their conversation about Champions in the front seat, but but in the back, Hunter and her impromptu savior had space to themselves.

“Poor girl, you work so hard to keep us safe, but who’s taking care of you?” She continued to brush a hand through Shining Gale’s hair, but her second hand settled on the exhausted champion’s stomach, tracing light circles through her clothing. “Just let Susie take over, okay? I’ll get you home, get some food in you, maybe get you a nice bath and a nap? The boys can help, too, or we can send them away once we get there. For now, though, just relax...” Susie’s hand doesn’t really venture anywhere inappropriate, yet, but she keeps lightly stroking Hunter for the duration of the car ride, until, finally, they pull into a small house near the college.

“Alright, you two, help me get this chick inside to the couch!” Back in business mode, Susie and her two comrades easily, if awkwardly, cart Hunter inside and deposit her on a comfortable couch. Blockhead orders a pizza, and Doofus brings out a pack of beer, while Susie makes sure Hunter is comfortable on the couch.

<We should have hired some goons way earlier!> Abrex quips, his voice echoing in Hunter’s mind, <I can keep your transformation intact for as long as you need, but your powers are gonna be offline for another hour or two or three or maybe four... You know how it is.>

[cliffracer]

Affectionate attention was far from the list of things Hunter was mentally prepared for today, so an easy blush was starting to creep across her cheeks from getting... doted on like this. That second hand was starting to get her heart racing without needing things like 'the thrill of battle', meanwhile, so she was giving apt attention to Susie for the trip. As much as she'd like to relax she was being given the specific kind of attention she wasn't used to, which was plain on her face basically the entire time.

She gives quite the relieved sigh when she's deposited on what's got to be a better couch than what she has at home, even though the general poofiness of her skirt means there's basically no privacy for her underwear. At this point, she'd raaather just transform back. "Whew, thanks you guys. Seriously, last thing I wanted was to fall asleep at home without managing to shovel a snack in to my mouth."

This was one of those times where she also preferred to respond mentally to Abrex! <Hey, they ain't goons! I mean, maybe the other two are a little, but Susie's a prize! Anyways, get me outta this getup already, wouldja? Not in public anymore, and these folks are alright in my book.>

"Just, uh, make sure you keep what you're about to see to yourselves, aiight? Like, legit secret identity shit. It's kinda awesome."

[CxSeth]

“We can keep a secret,” Blockhead assured her, “After all, you totally saved our hides back there.”

Susie and Doofus nodded their agreement, and all three jaws hit the floor when Shining Gale was lifted to the air and surrounded by a tornado of sparkles and mist. When she flopped back down on the couch a moment later, her costume was gone, replaced with her typical casual attire, all clean and fresh. Half of her hair had vanished, too, and without the blindfold and glowy effects, her three new friends got their first real look at Hunter’s real face.

“Rad,” Blockhead said.

“Yeah,” Doofus agreed, “You’re still pretty hot, even without the magic costume.”

Susie clapped him on the back of the head, but her approving gaze suggested that she agreed with his assessment. Fortunately, any further critique was waylaid, because the doorbell sounded, and Blockhead went to retrieve the life-giving pizza that would begin to restore Hunter’s energy.

Susie joined Hunter on the couch, slipping the exhausted heroine’s head back onto her lap. “We’re, like, totally honored that you’re willing to share your secret identity thing with us,” She said, brushing her hand through what remained of Hunter’s hair, “And if you’re ever in the area and need a place to crash, my couch is always open. Tony lives near Chinatown,” She said, pointing at Doofus, “And Blockhead lives at the other end of campus. If you can’t make it here, those would be good places to crash, too.”

Blockhead handed a slice of pizza to Susie, who shifted Hunter into a half-sitting position before bringing the food to her mouth. If Hunter had the energy to feed herself, she might let her take over, but if not, Susie seemed perfectly content to take complete care of the exhausted hero. This was certainly her least stressful crash yet!

[cliffracer]

Hunter was getting complimented again, and it still felt pretty nice when she was in her 'usual'. Tanktop, spandex shorts under an athletic skirt, sneakers, and some thigh-high socks. Pretty obviously not wearing a bra, which'd probably be embarassing at certain angles with her tanktop. Still, Hunter seemed a bit more comfortable laying around now that she wasn't sitting on untold layers of poof.
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind! Might need to grab the addresses later, but I'll get familiar with the areas real easy. But, I mean..." She shoots a glance at Susie as she's being sat up, smirking. "Scenery's pretty nice here."

Hunter does actually try to lift an arm to feed herself; monumental effort and a pathetic grunt has her flopping her arm in to her own lap and giving up soon after. Being fed like this was, admittedly, a bit embarassing. But... at least it got to be cute since Susie was doing it. "Thanks again, man," she starts off in between bites. "Like, I get the debt of gratitude, but if there's anything I could do to thank you for the hospitality, lemme at it. Er, when my limbs start doing what I tell 'em to do, I mean."

[CxSeth]

Susie smiled down at Hunter with a wink as the exhausted girl did her best to flirt, brushing aside some of her long red hair in order to give Hunter a better look at her face, “If you ever want to stop by for non-hero related business, that’s fine too,” She grinned back, “Maybe we could admire the scenery together sometime.”

Being hand-fed was certainly a slower way to eat, but it was also a hell of a lot better than having sleep for dinner, which is all Hunter can usually manage after an exhausting bout of power usage. Even the trio of skaters were starting to look a little tired, and they hadn’t even been fighting!

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Tony and Blockhead (was that really his name?) cracked open a few beers and got into an argument about how much cheese should be on a pizza, and whether or not a local celebrity was a cool guy or totally lame. It was relatively funny entertainment, and gave the recovering Hunter plenty of time to enjoy Susie’s affectionate touches. The taller, softer woman seemed unable to stop running her fingers through Hunter’s hair, up and down her arms, or in little spirals against her stomach. It was a peaceful, friendly, altogether normal atmosphere that could almost make her forget the batshit crazy life she had stumbled into recently. “You don’t have to pay me back for the hospitality,” Susie told her, “And if there’s anything else you need, let me know. I can kick those two out if you need some peace and quiet.” Her smile morphed to a smirk as she continued, “But if you’re feeling particularly thankful once you’re back in action, I can think of a few things you can do, even without using your limbs.”

[cliffracer]

Hunter was leaning more in to Susie as her recharge period progressed on, the pizza was a great baseline but there was something decidedly healing about being up against someone cute and taller than her. Enjoying the conversations at hand was pretty fun too, but more like a cherry on top. Hunter at least had the energy to keep her arms lifted for a few seconds now, but there was definately no way she was walking unassisted at the moment. She did catch how the adrenaline high she'd imparted on them was starting to wear off though, at least they weren't being hit too hard by it.

"Hah, they're fine, but they might wanna start headin' home anyways unless they plan to crash here for the night." She turns towards her as that offer's being made, managing to rest a leg across Susie's lap. It's a pretty nice look at how her butt looks in spandex for the other two. "You've got my attention. Ain't much I'll say 'no' to."