Aramus #1

“Tell me if you heard this one. An alien secretly comes to earth to be a savior for all humankind. But, instead of having overwhelming powers like heat vision or super strength, his race could vibrate at unrecognizable speeds, giving them super speed. And this also allows them to detonate anything they touch. Now, imagine this alien had children with a human woman, twins even. One took after him completely, while the other was completely normal. Or so they thought. My name is Avery Satin. I’m a superhero named Xanis but don’t tell my family. They don’t know a thing. Truthfully, I don’t think they know I exist. Ever since my brother got his powers, Dad has done nothing but train my brother. And my mother doesn’t even try to get closer to me. And they wonder why I act the way I do. Anyways, I became a superhero because my father and brother are complete idiots and don’t care... no, never mind, I’ll just let this explain.” A teenage girl says as she swipes her arm.

“This is Amanda Waller, field reporter for channel 73 news, standing in front of a battle between beloved heroes, Dynamite and Dynamite Kid, and renowned villain, Spark shot.” A holographic screen says as it appears.

“See! They’re running around while throwing their disks at a man who is literally made of electricity. All they’re doing is blowing up the surroundings causing property damage and innocent civilian casualties when they can easily vibrate their hands and disrupt SparkShot’s electric field. But they don’t think of that and make me save them. Speaking of which, I got to go and save them.”

At the battlefield, Dynamite and Dynamite Kid run around while dodging SparkShot’s electric blast. Unable to stop or slow down for milliseconds, they try to run around SparkShot to create a vacuum, which will suck up his air supply temporarily. However, that didn’t work because of the electric wave SparkShot released, which sent them flying in different directions into buildings.

“Ow, that hertz,” Dynamite Kid said.

“Not as bad as that joke. Now, can you please focus? I want to have this one down before they show up,” Dynamite said over their communicator.

“Alright, but I don’t understand why you hate your friends so much. I mean, they’re kind of cool when you think about it. Valkyrie, for example. I saw her catch a bus full of kids with one hand while holding the bad guy with the other hand. And, not to mention...

"DK! FOCUS!” Dynamite yelled as he got thrown into a wall.

"Oops, sorry, dad,” he said before taking off toward SparkShot. Unfortunately, as he reached SparkShot, he was blasted into another building.

"Man, they're useless,” Avery said as she watched from above. She then put a black ski mask on before she quickly landed in front of SparkShot.

"Who are you?”

“There's no point in introducing myself. You won't be around much longer.” Avery said before launching herself at SparkShot with overwhelming force, pushing him into the same building that he blasted Dynamite into.

“So, this is new. The first time I felt pain in years.” SparkShot said to himself.

"Well, it's not going to be your last until you surrender, now,” Avery said arrogantly while floating above SparkShot.

"Alright, I surrender. But, can you grant me one request?” SparkShot said.

Avery looked at him, confused. She was considering rejecting his request, but she thought it couldn't hurt to listen to it. “Okay, let me hear your request. Depending on what it is, I'll grant it to the best of my abilities.”

“Oh, it is quite feasible and easy to fulfill. I just need you to DIE!” SparkShot said as he shot a huge blast of electricity, blowing a huge hole in Avery’s body.

Completely in shock, Avery falls to the ground. Then, SparkShot got up and towered over her.

“Aw, What happened to all that confidence a few minutes ago? I guess you thought you had me on the ropes. Rule one of how to be a superhero: don’t let your guard down.” He said while smiling maliciously.

“Actually, that’s rule number two. Rule one is don’t give up the fight.” A man said as he appeared behind SparkShot. As SparkShot turned around to see who it was, the man instantaneously knocked him unconscious. Then, the man knelt down beside Avery, who was losing a lot of blood. Then, he pulled out a strange device and placed it on her chest. The device slowly encased her like a cocoon. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to you later. Just rest now,” He said as the device finished encasing her. Then, it instantly teleported away just before three other superheroes showed.

“Can you tell us what happened here, Civilian?” A woman said. She wore an all-white outfit with golden armor covering her arms and legs. She was the Valkyrie.

“I don’t know. I just ran here after seeing what was happening on television. But I think those two need your help.” The man said as he pointed to Dynamite and Dynamite kid.

Then, one of the men ran to Dynamite and gave first aid. He wore a white outfit with an atom symbol on his chest and his bright red cape. This man moved extremely quickly to ensure that Dynamite and Dynamite Kid survived.

“They’re going to be okay. And I already called for an ambulance to pick them up. However, someone should notify his wife and daughter.”

“I already notified them, but the daughter didn’t answer her cellphone.” The last man said.

Everyone looked at him with concerned expressions. Immediately, he knew what they were thinking and reassured them that he was not up to his old ways.

“Alright, scan the area and find out who fought SparkShot,” Valkyrie said cautiously.

The man then released a vapor from his hand that covered the area. This vapor was made of nanoscopic machines that he controlled with his mind. These machines scanned the surrounding area and reconstructed the fight.

“Hmm, that’s strange,” the man said.

“What is it, Neuron?” the other man said.

“Dynamite and his sidekick didn’t defeat SparkShot,” he said.

“If it wasn’t them, who did?” Valkyrie asked.

Immediately, Neuron realized that the civilian they talked to was the one that defeated SparkShot. However, when he turned around to see if he was still there, the man was gone.

“Atomic master, quickly find that civilian. He may be the only person to be able to explain what happened here.”

“Right,” the man in white said before taking off into the air.

“What’s wrong, Neuron?” Valkyrie asked.

“That man defeated a powerful being like SparkShot. He is too dangerous to leave alone.” Neuron said coldly.

Valkyrie suddenly had an uneasy feeling about Neuron. However, she didn’t act on her instincts to deal with it immediately. She just left, hoping to get back her civilian lifestyle.

Meanwhile, Avery wakes up in a dark room. As she tries to get up, Avery feels a sharp pain in her stomach, where SparkShot blasts a hole in her. However, when she placed a hand over her injury, it was gone. It was like it had never happened.

"What happened? I could've sworn I died.”

"Well, technically, that was equivalent to death for a human. But that injury wouldn't kill you because of your heritage.” A voice said as the lights turned on in one spot, revealing a holographic woman typing on the holographic screen.

“Who are you? Where are we?”

“This is the Nexus that connects this universe to the many others in the omniverse. Originally, you were supposed to see this when you came of age. But your grandfather had to get you to safety before the superheroes showed up.” The woman said as the remaining lights turned on.

“Nexus? Wait, you said my grandfather?”

"Yes, your grandfather is one of the creators of this place. He and others like him used this place as a base of operations while in this universe.”

“What are you talking about? How did he create this place?”

Suddenly, an alarm sounds, and a large holographic appears behind Avery. On this screen, a small person flew past Jupiter and toward the earth at hypersonic speeds and looked like it didn’t have any intention of slowing down.

“Lady Aramus, I know you don’t have a handle on all your powers right now, can I ask you to take care of our little friend before he reaches earth.”

“What do you mean? That thing is in space. I won’t survive the coldness of space, let alone breathe.”

“Don’t worry. Your grandfather asked me to design your suit a few years ago. Luckily, I made it transform at will. It should be able to help you in any situation, including space survival. But you shouldn’t need it. Your body’s composition should be able to survive any condition, including space travel.” The woman said as she pressed a button on her screen. Then, a pod lowered down from the ceiling. The pod opened, revealing an orb made of living metal. Confused and curious, Avery touched the orb, and it formed around her body, creating a black-and-white outfit with a black cape.

“Wow, this is amazing. I feel so powerful in this suit.”

The holographic woman clears her throat. “Lady Aramus, if you please, he’s going be here at any moment,” she said.

“Right. I’m going right now.” Avery said before she took off out the door. Then, she came back into the room. “Uh, how do I get out of here?”

The woman points up, and a hole opens in the ceiling. Avery flew into the hole and came out of an abandoned tunnel on the south side of the city. Unfortunately, She was seen by Valkyrie and Atomic Master, and they decided to fly after her.

“Lady Aramus, you have some unneeded company coming up behind you. I suggest you lose them before they discover who you are.” The woman said.

“Okay,” Avery said as she gained speed. “Hey, good question. Why do you call me lady Aramus?”

”Aramus Amos was the Jan-gu name that your grandfather chose for you when you and your brother were born. Your brother’s name is Tasin Amos.”

“Jan-gu? Never mind,” Avery said as she thought of a face mask covering her nose and mouth. Then, she flew up higher into the upper atmosphere, so Valkyrie and Atomic Master couldn’t follow. However, they were able to fly after her.

“Neuron, we’re currently chasing an unknown flying being. We need you to fire the teleportation ray at it.” Atomic Master said on his communicator.

“Affirmative. Locking on to the target now.” Neuron replied.

“Valkyrie, give me your hand.”

Valkyrie grabbed Atomic Master’s hand and swung around. Then, he launched her into Avery. Then, the teleportation ray hit them both, sending them to the ground in front of an abandoned government facility.

Somewhere in the middle of Nevada was once an experimental government facility. There they studied new forms of technological developments and scientific theories. One of those technological developments was a machine that could teleport anything or anyone to any place on earth. Now that the government facility is forgotten, the superhero, Neuron, transformed the place into a headquarters for all the known superheroes in the world. This place is called Central.

“Let me go!” Avery yelled at Valkyrie.

“Calm down. We just want to talk.” Valkyrie said as she put on a pair of magnetic power-dampening cuffs on Avery.

“Yeah, talk,” Avery said sarcastically as she calmed down.

“Well, we wouldn’t need the cuffs if I knew what you were up to. Where were you headed in so much of a rush?”

“None of your business,” Avery replied.

“Antsy, but we know how to break that,” Valkyrie said as she tried to punch Avery. But her arm was stopped by Atomic Master.

“Sweetheart, don’t beat her senseless. We need her to answer some questions. We’ll let BSD interrogate her.” He said.

Valkyrie sighed. “You’re right.”

“Lady Aramus, our friend has just passed the moon and is headed towards your location.”

“What?” Avery yelled. Suddenly, something crashed beside them.

” Finally, a true challenge! I, Raous Treos, challenge you, Jan-gu, to a fight to the death.” A lizard-humanoid yelled.

“Jan-gu?” Atomic Master thought to himself.

“Look here! I don’t know what a Jan-gu is, but you chose the wrong planet to land on?” Valkyrie said as she charged at the lizard-humanoid.

“Human, you aren’t the one I want to fight. But maybe she will be motivated if I break you and every other human on this planet.” Raous yelled as he caught Valkyrie’s punch.

Immediately, he began tossing Valkyrie around like a rag doll until he completely shattered her skeleton. Angry, Atomic Master charged at him while turning his gloves from fabric to Livermorium(a strong, radioactive metal) and attacked Raous relentlessly. However, Raous was unaffected by his attacks and kicked him into orbit. Finished with those two, Raous glared at Avery like she was dinner. However, Avery wasn’t afraid. Thanks to her Jan-gu heritage, she was as calm and collected as normal. Raous then walked up to her and slashed the magnetic cuffs.

“Get up. I will not fight an opponent who has been restrained.” He said.

“Huh, you don’t seem like the honorable warrior type. But I am thankful for your help.”

“No need for any thanks. Our grand battle will be enough.” Raous said as he attacked Avery quickly. Fortunately, Avery blocked his attack and quickly countered. However, her attack was too weak to do any damage to Raous. One after another, they exchanged punches continuously until they were bleeding. After a few minutes, Neuron and other heroes appeared and saw Avery fighting Raous while Valkyrie and Atomic Master were slowly healing from their severe wounds. Immediately, Neuron concluded and ordered the heroes to attack both of them. However, Raous didn’t like that at all and retreated while leaving Avery his warning.

“Jan-gu woman, I will be back in five of your earth months. Hopefully, these pests won’t bother us next time. Until then, get stronger.”

“What an eventful day? I better get back before they get any ideas.” Avery thought to herself as she was surrounded.

“Stop, don’t move,” Neuron said as an army of mechanical robots, formed out of the mist, surrounded Avery.

Avery sighed. “Can’t you guys just leave me alone? I mean, I haven't done anything to you people,” she yelled.

"Don't lie to us! We’ve seen the damage you can do when you're not put in check.”

"Oh please, if you're talking about this, that man-lizard did all of this. It is not my fault.”

Unfortunately, Neuron and the other heroes didn't listen to Avery and attacked her. Not wanting to fight, Avery tried her best to leave, but Neuron placed a barrier around the battlegrounds that prevented anyone from leaving.

“Persistence is not a good quality for some heroes.” Avery thought to herself.

“It is when you’re after a criminal.” One of the lesser-known superheroes said as he attacked. He wore an outfit like Valkyrie’s, except his was all red, including the pieces of armor.

“Sorry, what was your name again?” Avery asked.

The man became furious and yelled, “I’m the 10th prince of Argo, Zeus the second. You will show me respect, human,” as he gathered lightning in his hands.

“Well, that was unexpected. But, maybe I could use this.” Avery thought to herself.

“Zeus, calm down! You're going to short circuit Neuron’s barrier.” Another hero yelled.

“Don’t worry, Psyche. My nano-machines are immune to lightning.” Neuron said.

Zeus then threw the lightning at Avery. And, instead of moving out of the way, She stood there and took the attack directly, which launched her through the barrier. Avery slowly got up and tried to take off into the sky quickly. However, She was still a little delirious from the lightning blast.

“Woah, that was a little stronger than the blast from SparkShot. I should get back home before Mom worries about me.” She thought to herself.

“Lady Aramus, I’m glad you’re alright. Do you think you can come back to the Nexus outpost tomorrow after school? There is someone here your grandfather wants you to meet.”

“Alright, I’ll try. But I don’t know how I got there in the first place.”

”Don’t worry. Just go through any door while thinking about the Nexus, and you should be transported to your room.”

“My room?” Avery thought to herself.

“You’ll see it tomorrow. Also, keep your suit close by at all costs. It’ll serve as a beacon in case you’re stuck somewhere, or you’ll need some help.”

“Like fighting a battle-hungry lizard man alien.” Avery thought to herself.

“Exactly,”

“Alright, see you tomorrow,” Avery said nervously. However, she didn’t notice the superheroes behind her breathing hard. While she was talking to the holographic woman through telepathy, they were attacking her continuously, but she didn’t feel anything. Luckily, before she flew off into the sky, Neuron had formed a microscopic tracking device on her cape. However, he didn’t know that her cape, like the rest of her suit, was made of a special organic metal that devoured the microscopic tracker he placed.

After twenty minutes of flying at her top speed, she finally reached her house. She climbed through her window to avoid being seen by her family. But she didn’t expect her best friend to be sitting in her room.

“Okay, I know how this looks, but please don’t yell,” Avery said as she rushed to cover his mouth.

He nodded slowly, and Avery moved her hand away from his mouth. And, like his promise, he didn’t yell. Instead, he asked questions repeatedly.

“Okay, I get that you have thousands of questions. But, can you please let me change out my suit?”

“Speaking of which, what is it made of? Who made it? Your dad?”

Avery looked at him with an annoyed expression. “Right, I’m going to the bathroom.” He said as he left out the room. Avery hurried to close her door after he left.

“Alright, how do I take these off?” Avery thought to herself as she pulled her sleeves. However, the suit hugged her body tighter than she expected. She felt like she was pulling her own skin. “What the heck? Why is it not coming off.” She thought to herself.

“Lady Aramus, I forgot to give you the activation code for your suit.” The holographic woman said as she appeared in front of her.

“How? Never mind, just tell me how to get this off before my family comes in.”

“Okay, give me your dominate wrist.”

Avery held out her right arm, and the holographic woman grabbed it. Then, she waved her hand over Avery’s wrist, and a small light shined from the suit's armband.

“Alright, you should be able to equip and collapse your suit into the wristband on your right arm. Just like when you formed a face mask when you were hiding your identity.”

Avery looked at her wrist and thought of her suit collapsing in the small band on her arm. Suddenly, her suit was absorbed into a small wristband, revealing the torn-up clothes she wore when fighting SparkShot.

“So, this small little band can fit my entire suit into it. Wow, Jan-gu technology is absolutely amazing.”

“Not only that, but it also has access to the Nexus’s network, allowing you to the infinite amount of knowledge in the omniverse.”

“Cool, it’s like having the Akashic Records on my arm.”

Someone suddenly knocks at the door. “Avery, are you done yet.” Her best friend asked at the door. “Your mother wanted me to tell you that everyone is waiting for you for dinner.”

Avery looked at her calendar on her wall and saw that today was her mother’s dinner with her coworkers and boss. And she wanted Avery to be there for support.

“Avery?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m almost finished. Let me just zip up my dress. And I’ll be right out.” Avery said as she rushed around her room.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, tomorrow. And thank you for everything. Especially, the suit.” Avery said to the holographic woman as she struggled to zip her black dress. The holographic woman smiles as she reminisces something from her past. She then walked up behind Avery and zips up her dress. “Call me wherever you need me, Avery.” She said as she disappeared.

Confused, Avery thought, “Why does it feel like she's more like my family than these people.” Suddenly, harder knocking echos Avery’s door.

“Avery Rola Satin, get downstairs now, young lady.” Her mother yells.

Avery sighs and opens the doors quickly. Standing in front of the door was her mother, wearing the same black dress Avery’s wearing. “Why did I think I could wear something unique from my mother and her weird dress complex?” Avery thought. Avery walked out of her room, past her mom, to the dining room.

Once there, she was greeted by all the adults and their kids. Some of them were the same age as her and were trying to flirt with her, which annoyed her. As time passed, Avery wished something exciting would happen so she could get out of the dinner party.

“Emergency news! The superheroes of Central have announced that there is a meteor heading to the local area. Please evacuate the area!”

“What the heck? I was joking.” Avery thought to herself. Suddenly, everyone panicked and ran out of the house. Escaping the chaos of the dinner party, Avery and Jason, her best friend, ran up to her room.

“Avery, what are you going to do? There’s no way you can stop that asteroid. It’s not like you can blow it up like Dynamite or Dynamite Kid. Just leave it up to the other heroes.” Jason said.

“First of all, Jason, my father, and brother couldn’t destroy that thing if they wanted to. And the other heroes that are capable of stopping that thing are currently unavailable. I am the only one who is available. I am going to stop that thing from destroying the city.” Avery said as her suit formed on her body.

“Avery, pack some of your clothes. We’re going to stay at your grandfather’s house while,” Avery’s mother said as she walked into Avery’s room. Shocked seeing her daughter in a skin-tight suit, Avery’s mom charged at Avery while yelling, “No, not you. You’re not going to be like them. You’re not going to put your life in danger.” Avery, not listening to her mother, rushed out the window and took off into the sky. However, she didn’t realize her mother was tightly gripping her cape. Luckily, she realized it before she got too high into the upper atmosphere. Moving her mother up from her cape, Avery tightly secured her to her back.

“Lady Aramus, why are you flying so high in the sky?”

“I’m trying to stop an asteroid from crashing into the city,” Avery replied.

“Asteroid? There are no asteroids in the atmosphere, according to my sensors.”

“What do you mean? The news said that the superheroes,” Avery slaps her forehead. “It’s a trap,” she mumbled 

“Wow, you’re quick to realize that? Must be that Jan-gu instinct of yours.” Valkyrie said as she floated behind Avery.

Avery turned around and attacked Valkyrie without hesitation.

“Wait a minute, kid. I’m not here to attack you. I just want to talk.” Valkyrie said as she blocked and dodged Avery’s attacks.

“Oh, so why are you trying your hardest to trap me? You think that I don’t notice the ten others surrounding me?”

“I promise I just want to talk,” Valkyrie said.

“Alright, let me handle some business first. Then, I’ll come back and talk to you alone.” Avery said.

“Alright, they won’t be here when you come back.”

Avery suddenly dropped out of the high altitude and flew her mother home. While she flies home, she was asking the holographic woman if she has anything for memory manipulation. The woman told her about her powers to manipulate the memories of that time frame. However, Avery wasn’t confident enough to manipulate her mother’s memories, so she slowly talked Avery through the process. As they arrived home, Avery successfully altered the last few memories of her being a superhero from her mother’s memories. She placed her in her bed and flew downstairs to clean up the mess left. However, she had an unexpected house guest waiting for her at her kitchen table. Valkyrie and her grandfather.

“Glad to see the suit fits you.” He said.

“Grandpa!” She screamed happily while rushing to hug him.

“Yep, you definitely have that Jan-gu blood running through you.” He said as he was being squeezed by Avery.

“So, you were Raga’s granddaughter. Well, that explains a lot, however, doesn’t explain enough.” Valkyrie said.

“Yeah, like, how or why did you follow me home? Or why are you so bent on capturing me? I’m assuming human experimentation.”

“God, no. I would never condone human experimentation. I actually wanted to ask you about yourself and try to persuade you to join Central before another Raous incident happens.”

“No, that is out of the question. Avery is not joining your pathetic superhero group. She’ll have much more things to worry about than your clubhouse’s meetings.”

“Exactly! Besides, I don’t think I can work with people who operate by a government’s agenda. Too much politics for a simple person like me.” Avery said as she nodded.

“Alright, but here’s a warning. You try to interfere with Central business, and I will not hesitate to bring you down, personally. Good seeing you again, Raga.” Valkyrie said as she stood up and left.

“Alright, now that’s over. You should get some sleep. You have school tomorrow. Not to mention training. Oh, and don’t worry about your friend. He won’t remember you in costume or your powers.” Raga said to Avery.

“Thank goodness,” Avery said as she fell unconscious in her grandfather’s arms.