Lost Haven - The Wraith

Jae’s mind wandered as she left the hospital. A little rain was falling over the city, drenching the streets in a dull, gray layer under the streetlights. Jae pulled the hood of her coat up over her head and hunched her shoulders as she trekked through the inclement weather. Jae tried not to let Dr Swanson’s mild, inquisitive words bother her too greatly, but they sat heavily on Jae’s senses. Karen had been an intern at the Embassy right after medical school. She had earned an internship with the Embassy’s medical center and a chance to study Tieran biology and medical advancements first hand. Jae had overheard a Tieran nurse mentioning once that medical students from all over the world had applied for the internship but the Council had personally chosen Karen Swanson. Karen had been a fresh and comforting human face among the sea of distant and reserved Tieran physicians. Jaelyn had taken an instant liking to the ambitious young doctor, but Karen still didn’t understand why Jaelyn had chosen to seek her aid over that of the Embassy’s surgeons.

Karen failed to see that Jaelyn wasn’t just Tieran, she was half human as well. A fact that the Tieran’s in the Embassy would never allow Jae to forget. Karen’s staff at the hospital might have made Jae’s visit seem like a rare and fascinating occasion to study Tieran biology, Jae knew it was a welcome change from the pitying and even hostile attitudes she would have faced in the Embassy.

Jae broke out of her musings as she skirted a homeless man holding an anti-Tieran cardboard sign. Jae glanced at the bedraggled old man, her eyes flitting over the badly scrawled message: E.T. Go Home!

Jae pulled the hood of her jacket up over her head, trying to avoid the homeless man’s accusing gaze. Her eyes shifted to the deli window he was camped in front of. Jae’s heart sunk as she studied the pristine white placard hanging from the front window. No shirt, No shoes, No Tierans, No service. Humans Only. Only 1 student allowed in the store at a time.

Jae shook her head, burying her clenched fists into the pockets of her jacket. Her right hand stung, sending laces of pain up and down her arm. Jae ignored the pain as she trudged on, mulling over her thoughts. She’d grown up understanding the tension between Tierans and humans. It wasn’t as though the Tieran Council had asked any human authorities if they could immigrate to Earth. They’d simply arrived and declared civil negotiations between Earth and the fallen Tieran Empire. Jae wasn’t surprised at all that the humans felt taken advantage of by the Tierans, especially in cities like Haven where the Tierans had built their own city within the city. Haven delicately called the Tieran homestead built around the Tieran’s central embassy and council the “Tieran Quarter”.

Jae was dragged from her thoughts as a scream rang out before her.

“Thieves! Thieves! Stop them!”

Jae spun, her body unconsciously dropping into a crouched, fighter’s stance. Three young men in their late teens were running in the opposite direction of Jae. One of the young men glanced back towards the deli. In his distraction he missed the old vagrant man moving out from behind a trash can. The two collided, sending the old man sprawling to the pavement. The teen kept on his mad dash.

Jae’s eyes flickered to the clerk standing in the entrance of the deli as he screamed in broken Vietnamese at the young men. Jae’s eyes fell to the old homeless man sprawled out on the sidewalk, blood trickling from a gash on his forehead. Anger and resentment bubbled up in her chest as several bystanders made a wide berth around the injured old man and the clerk. Jae’s body lunged forward before she could even think about what she was about to do.

"Call an ambulance!" Jae snapped in Vietnamese to the clerk. The clerk blinked at her, his face a mixture of surprise and fury. Jae pointed at the homeless man as he staggered to his feet, her mouth set in a thin line.

“Call an ambulance!” Jae repeated in English. The store clerk nodded dumbly as Jae sprinted away. She hoped that he’d actually listen to her.

It was surprisingly easy to track the three teen thieves as they darted down the street, weaving in and out of bystanders. None of them were slowing down but she doubted they thought they were still being pursued because none of them were looking over their shoulders any longer. They finally slowed down about five blocks from the deli and cut into a T-shaped alley.

Jae paused at the mouth of the alleyway. She was barely breathing heavy and her body was coursing with adrenalin, but she forced herself to move slowly. Jae craned her neck, peering around the corner and into the alleyway. The three boys were huddled in a semi circle, their heads bowed together as they peered into their bag of loot.

Jae edged her way into the mouth of the alley, her eyes locked on to the three young men. Jae’s hand went slowly up behind her back, slipping under the rim of her jacket and sliding open the hidden compartment in the lining of her jacket. Jae smirked to herself as the smooth, cool metal of the eskrima sticks slid into her hands. Jae slid the eskrima sticks out from under her coat, whirling them with a confident twirl of her wrist. Jae let a feral grin slid on to her mouth as her body re-familiarized itself with the perfectly balanced weapons.

Jae moved silently forwards until she was about fifteen feet from the oblivious thieves before she made a sharp whistle. The three young men spun around, their eyes wide with surprise, and much to Jae’s amusement, terror.

“What the fuck!” the nearest young man growled as he stumbled back from Jae. Jae couldn’t conceal her grin as the teens stared at her in disbelief. The largest of the three pushed forward, his stance cocky and clearly intimidating.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” the tallest grunted, his eyes rolling over Jae with disbelief, “You’ve got to be outta of your mind, kid.”

“Rest assured I’m quite sane. Now return the money and no one gets hurt,” Jae purred in what she hoped was a threatening voice. Judging by the barks of laughter emanating from the three thieves, it hardly came across as dangerous. Jae frowned and raised the eskrima sticks into a defensive posture. Their laughter died off quickly. The largest one’s face took on a stony blankness as his eyes traveled over Jae again, this time with assessment. Jae could guess what he saw. A youth, rain drenched and skinny, brandishing what must like a pair of foot-long pipes, telling them to return their stolen money. Jae hoped they were stupid enough to only see that.

“Tss,” hissed the first boy that had stumbled, “Look at this kid! Thinks she’s some super hero and bullshit. Yo, I’ll handle this Eddie!”

Jae’s heart surged as the older teen rushed her. Her smirk grew into a grin as she whirled to her right, avoiding his tackle, and brought the butt of one eskrima down on the back of his head as he blundered past her. He went down hard face first into a mud puddle, his unconscious body sprawled across the alley. Jae’s aqua eyes flickered back to the two remaining teens.

The big one, Eddie, was glowering. He was smart enough to see she was a real danger but part of him was still screaming at him to act, to prove he wasn’t afraid of this wisp of a girl. Jae’s eyes flickered to the second boy, her smirk inching up. He was bouncing on the balls of his sneakers, his eyes glistening in the near darkness of the dim, wet alley. Jae could practically taste his need to run at her, to strike blindly at her with uncontrolled violence.

Jae wanted him to. Her blood nearly screamed for it, taunting him to make a move towards her. She felt her body tensing with a near giddiness as he leapt forward. He moved with more care than his companion, his movements more controlled but angry. She danced backwards on nimble feet, dodging his sloppy swings. Jae’s smile was fierce as she tapped him in the ribs with her eskrima, not hard enough to take him down but hard enough to make him grunt and stumble backwards. Her aqua eyes glimmered in the near darkness of the alleyway.

“She’s toying with you Ricky,” a new voice echoed through the alley. Jae tensed, throwing herself into a defensive stance as a long shadow detached from the wet black walls at the base of the alleyway. The two thieves spun, their eyes flickering back and forth between the newcomer and Jae.

Jae choked back a startled laugh as the interloper stepped into the dim sliver of light that illuminated the alley. The shadow slowly melted into the form of a young teen male dressed in all black. The young man wore slim black trousers over black combat boots and a black hoodie emblazoned with a theatric ribcage design. On his face he wore a Halloween skeleton hooded mask. The only feature Jae could discern through the boy’s mask was his startlingly green eyes.

“What the fuck?” the big thief Eddie snarled, his shoulder’s shaking with disbelieving chuckles as he glanced between Jae and the kid in the skeleton costume, “Is the carnival in town or something?”

“Fucking freak show,” Ricky grunted, still rubbing his bruised ribs as he glared at Jae. She smirked at Ricky and twirled her eskrima tauntingly. The young man in the skeleton costume moved forward with a smooth, fluid grace. Jae’s eyes flickered over him, studying his movements carefully. He stopped about four feet away from the caged thieves, his hands curled into the pockets of his hoodie as he titled his head to the side in a questioning way. Eddie blanched as he took a small step back from the boy in the skeleton costume.

“You’re the guy that took out Becket two weeks ago!” Eddie hissed, his eyes flickering over the younger boy’s whippet like frame. Ricky’s face lost all color as he edged behind Eddie, his eyes locked on the skeleton clad teen.

Jae couldn’t hold back a snort. Three sets of eyes suddenly turned on to her as she put her hands on her hips.

“You’re kidding me right? This kid brought down Tony Becket the club owner?” Jae sneered, her eyes flickering derisively over the skeleton boy. The skeleton boy’s lower lip suddenly turned out in a little pout as he glared at Jaelyn.

“Listen lady, I’m not standing around mocking you over your little sticks so save the attitude while I deal with these creeps,” the skeleton boy snapped, turning his attention back to the thieves.

“They’re eskrima thank you very much and I can handle these guys all on my own!” Jae snarled. Jae grinned as she watched the skeleton costumed teen’s shoulders tense in agitation. He swung around again, fixing Jae with a searing glare.

“Run on home kid, I’ve got this covered,” he snarled and took a menacing step towards Jaelyn. She glared at him, feeling a surge of rage rip through her as the strange blue light spilled out of her hands again. Glowing tendrils of electric blue wrap around the eskrima sticks, making them spark and jump with electricity. The alleyway’s wet brick walls were cast in a sudden eerie blue sheen that surrounded Jaelyn.

“Cool,” the skeleton boy whispered with a crooked grin.

“I’m getting the fuck out of here!” Eddie howled, shoving Ricky forward into the shocked skeleton teen. The skeleton boy grunted and stumbled backwards as Ricky slammed into his chest. Ricky squealed in fright and shoved off of the younger teen’s thin chest, pushing the skeleton boy to the ground.

“Bad idea,” Jae snarled as she attacked Ricky. She landed a solid punch to Ricky’s chest. The sound of lightning crackling echoed through the alleyway as a burst of blue fire erupted from Jae’s fist and engulfed Ricky, throwing him backwards like a ragdoll. Ricky collided with a dumpster and slumped limply to the ground. Jaelyn grinned.

“Well don’t just stand there! Go after him!” the skeleton boy snapped. Jae spun around to glare at the teen as he scramble back to his feet and took off down the alleyway. Jae sneered and followed him. She easily caught up with the costumed teen as he spun around the left corner of the alleyway.

“How can you be sure he went this way?” Jae snarled as she raced after the skeleton boy. He threw a glance over his shoulder at her, his mouth cocked up into a crazed grin.

“I know these alleys like the back of my hand!” he chortled and spun around another corner as Jae followed. Jae groaned as they ran straight towards a chain link fence. The skeleton boy slid to a stop a foot from the fence and looked up grimly. Jae snorted as she stopped beside him, cocking an eyebrow.

“Just like the back of your hand, huh?” she teased. The boy shot her a mild glare and started backing up. Jaelyn finally caught on to what he was doing as he crouched and then made a run at the fence. He jumped at the last minute and almost landed at the top of the fence before clambering the last few inches over the top and dropped down to the other side. The skeleton boy turned around with a brilliant smile, his green eyes dancing.

“I’ll see you around I guess!” he sniggered at Jae. She smirked at the boy before she turned and ran at the brick wall beside the fence.

“What the hell are you…!” the boy screamed as he rushed forward, convinced she was about to run head first into a wall. Jae laughed as she jumped, thrusting her feet off the brick wall and arched backwards, lunging over the fence head first. Her body curled on instinct and she tumbled into a roll as she hit the ground. She was back on her feet in seconds and running. She threw a grin over her shoulder at the astonished skeleton boy.

“Wanna keep up kid?” she teased. She was only alone in her race for a second before he was beside her again, laughing.

“Are you a free runner or an adrenaline junkie or something?” he asked and grabbed her wrist, yanking her sideways on to a side street. Jae followed, bobbing and weaving around obstacles as she kept pace with the costumed teen.

“I could ask you the same,” Jae cheered as she vaulted over the hood of a taxi and raced into the mouth of yet another alley. The skeleton boy was grinning again as they jumped over a low brick wall simultaneously. Jae flicked a glance at him, smiling. “You got a name?”

“I go by Wraith,” he told her as he slid to a stop. Jae did the same, catching her breath even as her eyes moved over the bland, non-descript features of the alley way. They were standing a few feet from the mouth of the alley way that lead out onto a deserted and seedy side street. A dingy red neon sign hung crooked over the door to a bar across the street, blaring the name Jezebels. Jae studied the entrance, a frown pulling at her mouth. A thick armed bouncer stood in front of the door.

“What makes you think he went in there?” Jae asked, slipping unconsciously into the nearest shadow to conceal herself. Wraith watched her curiously for a moment before he slid into an adjoining shadow. Jae could barely make out his thin, lanky form against the wall as he drew into the darkness of the alley.

“I never said he did,” Wraith murmured.

“But you think he’s in there,” she continued, calling his bluff. Jaelyn barely heard Wraith chuckled.

“Yeah, Eddie’s in there all right. Eddie’s working as a small time crook for a low level street gang called the Jinxes. They’ve been calling Jez’s home for a little over a month now. If I know Eddie, he’ll be in there,” Wraith murmured. Jae frowned and looked back at Wraith, trying to piercing through the blackness he’d seemingly melted into.

“How do you know so much about these creeps?” she snapped, keeping her voice down.

“You know, you ask a lot of questions for a girl who just followed a stranger down an alley,” Wraith teased in a flat voice. Jae snorted and leaned back against the wall.

“I could take you,” she taunted. Wraith chuckled and moved closer to Jaelyn.

“So do you always glow blue or is it just when you’re angry?” Wraith asked curiously, his eyes crawling over Jae. Jaelyn shifted uncomfortably as she consciously felt the weight of his eyes move over her. Wraith hummed thoughtfully. “You’re not glowing now….”

“Can you drop it?” Jae snapped, glaring at him. Wraith raised his hands in a mock surrender and slipped back into his shadow. Jae tried not to pout as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the bar. Ten minutes passed in silence as the rain slackened off to a brisk mist. Wraith shifted away from his shadow slowly and slipped into Jaelyn’s hiding spot. She flinched at first as their shoulders touched and Wraith leaned over so his mouth hovered near her ear.

“If you go around to the back, I think we might be able to get a better view,” Wraith whispered into Jae’s ear. Jae glanced to the side, a long ebony brow raised questioningly.

“How exactly do you expect us to make it across the street and behind the bar without being noticed?” her eyes flickered over Wraith, “You’re not exactly dressed for subtlety,” Jae quipped. Wraith snorted and pointed a finger skywards.

“We’ll take the rooftop express.”

Lost Haven - Even Aliens Bleed

Jaelyn let a pained hiss snake through her clenched teeth as the nurse pried another shard of glass out of skin. The nurse shot Jae a sympathetic but nervous smile. Jae bit the inside of her cheek and looked aside. Jae’s eyes fell on to the observation window on the far side of the room and the faces crammed against the glass of the observation room adjoining the treatment room. Several dozen interns vied for spots closest to the window, notebooks and pens in hand as they’re quizzical eyes peered in at her.

“Ow!” Jae snapped, yanking her hand away from the nurse as the young woman pried and especially large piece of glass from Jae’s palm. A faint blue sheen erupted over Jae’s hand suddenly.

A string of screams and curses filled the observation room as one of the light bulbs exploded over the intern’s heads. The nurse glanced between Jae and the now dimly lit observation room, her face pinched with anxiousness. Jae swallowed and lowered her eyes guiltily. The blue sheen quickly faded.

“Alright, show’s over. Everyone move it. If I see even one of you straggling behind I’ll make sure you work weekend rounds for the next month!” Jae’s head shot up as the door to the treatment room burst open. Dr. Karen Swanson brushed into the room with the air of a seasoned professional, her eyes skimming over Jae with a clinical detachment before settling on the anxious young nurse.

“Who authorized this little show and tell stunt?” Dr. Swanson snapped, her hazel eyes glinting. The young nurse stuttered for a moment, trying to collect herself.

“Dr. Jacobi thought it would be educational for the interns to see a Tieran specimen up close…” the young woman stuttered. Dr. Swanson’s hazel eyes took on a dangerous, shark like gleam as the nurse spoke. Jae bit her lip, her eyes turning pityingly towards the cowed nurse.

“Dr. Jacobi is not this hospital’s resident Tieran expert. I am. I’d be glad if you’d keep that in mind, Nurse….” Dr Swanson deliberately raised a questioning brow to the young woman.

“Me-Megan Tosh,” the young woman stuttered, taking a step back from Dr. Swanson. Nurse Tosh fluttered a nervous hand towards her name badge in a useless gesture. Dr Swanson ignored her and moved towards the observation window.

“Well Nurse Tosh, as the leading resident here on Tieran biology, I will be conducting the remainder of this examination. You may leave…now,” Dr Swanson snapped as she pulled the curtain shut over the observation room’s window with a resounding slap. Nurse Tosh ducked her head in an apologetic gesture and rushed from the room. .

“A bit harsh on the girl, Doc. I think you might have made her cry,” Jae snipped in a deadpan voice after Nurse Tosh had departed. Dr Karen Swanson snorted as she began pulling on a pair of examination gloves.

“Shut up Hart,” Karen growled under her breath as she took a seat in front of Jae. She gently clasped Jae’s hand in her own, palm up. Karen let out a tiny hiss as she examined the battered limb. Jae let her hand relax in Karen’s capable and gentle grasp. Jae chewed at her lower lip while Karen probed some of the deeper cuts.

“Stupid woman,” Karen finally growled as she turned to the carefully laid out instruments on the sterile medical tray, “She might have well have been pulling glass out of an elephant’s backside! No skill at all. Some of these abrasions will have to be sutured shut.”

“I don’t blame her,” Jae murmured, eyeing the gruesome mess that had once been her right palm, “Most humans overestimate Tieran healing capabilities. She probably knew we heal quickly and have a high pain threshold but overestimated my own capabilities.”

“Don’t talk like that Jaelyn,” Dr Swanson sighed as she slid back into her seat. “Dr Jacobi should have paged me the minute you were admitted but instead he put a ditzy nurse and roomful of students in here and turned a simple procedure into a three ring circus. It’s uncalled for.”

“I take it you and Dr Jacobi had a falling out?” Jae asked politely, wincing as Karen removed a finger wide length of glass from her hand. Karen shook her head bitterly, strands of coffee colored hair curling around her olive toned face.

“Dr Jacobi’s vying for residency at Central Medical in their biotechnologies department and he just found out that yours truly is currently the front runner for the position,” Dr Swanson murmured begrudgingly. Jae nodded thoughtfully.

“Do you think you’ll take the offer from Central?”Jae tried not to calculate how many miles Central Medical was away from Haven. Karen’s laugh has harsh and dry. Her hazel eyes shot to Jae’s face as a twisted smile pulled at her mouth.

“Are you kidding me? The Tieran Embassy has a position in their medical center opening up in two years. With my experience interning at the Embassy and your mother’s recommendation as both my patient and the Tieran Ambassador to Earth, I’ve got that position locked in. And anyways,” Karen added as she pulled another glass fragment from Jae’s hand, “Who else would be around to deal with your injuries.” Jae tried to fight back the grateful smile that threatened to blossom on her face.

Jaelyn flexed her bandaged hand, testing the stitches beneath once Dr Swanson had finished. Karen watched the half Tieran girl with a mild, sympathetic smile as Jae slid off the examination table and gathered up her belongings. Dr. Swanson tilted her head to the side as she held the door to the examination room open for Jaelyn. Jae nodded her head in curt thanks as she ducked past Karen.

“Not to be ungrateful, Jae, but why come here and not just go to the Tieran embassy’s doctors? They’re much better at handling Tieran biology,” Dr. Swanson asked, brushing a shock of coffee brown hair from her hazel eyes, “It would have been much less painful. Half of those stitches are from removing the glass shards after your body started healing over them.”

Jae waved her non injured hand over her shoulder in a half dismissal and half thanks to Karen. Dr. Swanson snorted wryly but remained where she was until Jaelyn was out of sight.

Lost Haven - The Scars of the Past

Jaelyn sat up on the couch as she heard the front door to the penthouse buzz open. Blinking sleepily, she glanced at her wristwatch. The glowing watch face informed her that it was nine-thirty at night. Jae yawned and rubbed at her eyes, pondering when exactly she’d fallen asleep on the couch. Jae winced as the overly brilliant white lights flashed on underneath of her mother’s casual touch.

Blinking the spots out of her eyes, Jae turned her head towards her mother. Tig’nara Hart was beautiful by both human and Tieran standards. Jae tucked her chin into the fluffy pillows that crowded the tasteful sofa, her aqua eyes blinking sleepily. Tig’nara Hart stood six feet and two inches in height without her posh Jimmy Choo heels. At a glance it was easy to mistake Tig’nara for a human female. In truth, the Tierans had chosen to immigrate to Earth due to the similarities in their biology to humans. Tig’nara shared the same curves and valleys in her body as her human counterparts. She bore two legs, two arms, two eyes, a mouth and nose just like a human. In contrast, her ears, one on either side of her skull just like a human, were pointed much like a Christmas elf’s ears. Not that one would really notice Tig’nara’s pointed ears from beneath the voluminous waves of curls that swung down Tig’nara’s back and ended at the back of her knees. Tig’nara’s hair would be called ‘blonde’ by human standards, but Tieran hair seemed shaded with multi-facets, like a well cut gem. Tig’nara’s hair shone gold, white, silver, orange, and even burnt red depending on the way the woman was moving. Her eyes were feline in shape but unlike a human, Tig’nara had no pupil. Instead her eyes were a solid turquoise shade that glowed with an eerie otherworldliness.

Jae’s own eyes were human in nature, just like her absentee father’s she assumed. She had pupils much like a human and only the iris’s strange aqua blue shade hinted to her half extraterrestrial nature. Her body was petite in comparison to her mother’s, barely breaking past the five foot five mark.

Jae watched with silent reverence as her mother sorted through some loose papers in a file, her features pinched with concentration. Tierans were notorious for their disdain for showing emotions. To the common eye, Tig’nara’s face would have seemed as calm and blank, but Jae had learned to notice the slight crease in her mother’s lower lip and the fine wrinkles forming in the corners of her mother’s eyes from hours of frowning. Jae had overheard other Tierans tutting over her mother’s blatant facial expressions, complaining that Tig’nara had spent too many years among the humans and was picking up their bad habits. Jae disagreed. She found it comforting to be able to read the tension and frustration in her mother’s subtle facial expressions.

“Good evening Ambassador,” Jae yawned, uncurling her limbs like a cat as she moved off of the sofa. Tig’nara turned her head towards her daughter, a slight upwards tilt in the corner of one full lip telling Jae that Tig’nara was pleased to see her. Tig’nara nodded her head in a silent greeting and returned to shuffling through the folder in her hands. Jae leaned her hip against the back of the couch, her eyes moving over her mother in silent questioning. The moment drew out like a heavy sigh until the tension prickled at Jae.

“You’re home late,” she murmured, wrapping her long arms around her waist. Tig’nara bobbed her head in another silent acknowledgement. Jae worried her lower lip with her teeth, waiting for her mother to speak. The tense lines were forming on her mother’s face again as Jae watched her sort halfheartedly through the capacious file.

“I had to call an emergency meeting with the Tieran Council,” Tig’nara finally answered Jae’s unvoiced question. Tig’nara drew a long, fine boned hand to her brow and rubbed at the taut, honey colored skin. Jae hadn’t inherited her mother’s naturally golden colored skin, but instead had a pale, moon kissed complexion. Jae watched silently as her mother’s face twisted with turmoil.

“Did this emergency meeting have anything to do with Robert Garrick being released from jail tomorrow?” Jae murmured in a low voice, the accusation clear in her tone. Tig’nara’s fingers tightened perceptively around the folder in her hand. Tig’nara lifted her golden head to look at her daughter with forlorn eyes.

“Jaelyn, please listen-“

“No,” Jae snapped, her raven colored brows coming together in a tight scowl, “Don’t act like this doesn’t concern me, mother and don’t act like it doesn’t bother you that Maverick is going to walk free!” Jae felt a sudden flash of satisfaction as her mother visibly flinched. She plowed on with her accusations.

“You were there! You saw what he did to those children. Will you stand by now and do nothing?!”

Tig’nara’s head dipped, her shoulders sinking as her entire spirit seemed to crumble. A sudden shameful wash of regret flowed through Jaelyn as she watched her mother put aside her folder with trembling fingers. Tig’nara moved away from Jaelyn, retreating from her daughter’s accusations and into her private study. She paused before she entered the doorway but didn’t turn to face Jaelyn.

“The Council has made their decision, Jaelyn. Let Earth’s authorities deal with Earth criminals. As a Tieran diplomat, I must obey the Council. You’ll understand…when you’re older.” The door swung shut behind Tig’nara with a resounding thud, leaving Jaelyn feeling bereft.

Jaelyn tried desperately to push back the angry tears that threatened to overwhelm her. Her eyes roved over the empty white walls of the penthouse, begging for any distraction from the tears. Her eyes fell on the display case, the vibrant costume mockingly out of place in the sleek, modernesque apartment. Jae’s anger boiled over as she rushed the case and slammed her curled fist through the glass.

Physical pain burned up Jae’s arm, mixing with the crimson blood that was now rushing down her arm and mingling with splinters of glass embedded in her curled fist.

“Damn it,” Jae whispered, sniffing back the tears that had nothing to do with her battered hand.

Inside her study, Tig’nara flinched as she heard the glass of the display shatter, but made no move to rise and investigate. She didn’t need to see the carnage with her own eyes to know what had happened. Instead, she opened a sealed drawer of her desk. A few faded newspaper clippings and a Polaroid were carefully tucked inside the drawer, gathering dust. Tig’nara’s fingers ghosted over the Polaroid and settled on an article clipped from the front page of the Haven Daily Times. A black and white photo of a dozen shroud wrap tiny bodies lay splayed across the paper with a bold title, “27 Die in Caped Crusade”. Tig’nara looked away from the nightmarish photo, her eyes slipping to the Polaroid and the five familiar and happy young faces under a Youngbloods banner. A single, silent tear rolled down her cheek as she heard the penthouse’s front door slam shut.

"Nightwing" (fantasy movie cast)

I’ve been thinking over if I was to cast a group of actors for a “Nightwing” movie, who’d I’d cast. First off, I’d want the movie to be based upon the Nightwing comics #71-100, written by Devin Grayson. Yeah I’m a Devin Grayson fan, give me a break.

The Story

The story arch would follow Nightwing, the vigilante, and his ongoing battle to clean up the streets of Blüdhaven. At the same time, Nightwing’s secret identity Richard “Dick” Grayson, the former ward of Bruce Wayne and the first Robin, joins the Blüdhaven police force in an attempt to clean up the corrupted city as both Nightwing and Grayson.

He ends up meeting the deadly and beautiful “Tarantula”, a murderous vigilante. Sparks fly between the two. Nightwing is completely opposed to Tarantula’s murdering tactics, but he finds himself drawn to her. Likewise, Tarantula is completely taken by Nightwing. She even goes as far as to break up his relationship with Barbara Gordon a.k.a. The Oracle and formerly Batgirl.

In the end, Nightwing fails to prevent Tarantula from killing Blüdhaven’s kingpin Roland Desmond a.k.a. “Blockbuster” and has a nervous breakdown. Grayson and Flores run off together until Dick finally comes to his senses and turns them both in to the police. Grayson gets acquitted, thanks to his former partner and chief of police Amy Rohrbach, but Tarantula goes to jail.

A little unfair, yeah, but good story!

The Cast

Nightwing/ Dick Grayson – Matt Bomer (White Collar)

Tarantula/Catalina Flores –Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious)

Batman/Bruce Wayne - Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: SVU)

Blockbuster/Roland Desmond - Mickey Rourke (Iron Man II)

Oracle/Barbara Gordon – Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada)

And this is just some fan service....

Lost Haven - "We Once Believed in Heroes"

-A Week Ago-

Jaelyn Hart barely noticed the buzzing of the television as she hunched over her homework. She studied the paragraph she’d spent the last half hour writing. Her eyes lingered thoughtfully on the first sentence. We once believed in heroes. Jae blew out a heavy, angry sigh through her nose as she set her pen aside and glanced towards the rain dappled windows of her mother’s penthouse. The television’s buzzing grew annoyingly loud as the five o’clock news program began.

“Good evening Haven,” the sharp eyed report said, her tone brusque and as clean cut as her tailored red suit, “Tonight’s top story, the criminal Robert Garrick, better known as “Maverick”, is being released from jail this week.” Jae turned around quickly, her interest suddenly peeked. The sharp eyed reporter continued her curt commentary.

“Viewers may recall that Garrick was apprehended by the vigilante crime fighter known as the “Blackbird” twelve years ago after Garrick escaped from Gull Island Penitentiary. Mr. Garrick was imprisoned at Gull Island after he held Fraser High School hostage under his alias “Maverick”. During the sixteen hour long siege twenty seven civilians were killed and another thirty were injured during the ensuing battle between Maverick and the vigilante gang called “The Youngbloods”. The incident spurred Congressional action and helped create the Discowling Act, outlawing masked vigilantism. In further news…”

Jae shut the TV off with a resounding ‘click’. She moved quickly out of her seat and towards the floor to ceiling windows, her thoughts rambling. Jae crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest and let her aqua-blue eyes peer down to the boulevard below her mother’s apartment building. Her thoughts turned again to her report on the Discowling Act.

We once had heroes, Jae thought resentfully, but people have forgotten. They’ve grown complacent in their lives while violence, hate, terror, and crime grow unchecked. This city has forgotten that Lady Justice carries not only the scales of righteousness but a vengeful sword. In the hour of darkness, when evil overwhelms us, Justice’s flaming sword use to strike out at the criminal element in this city. We have forgotten that all it takes is one good man to wield that sword, to make all the difference in the scales of justice.

Jae paused in her thoughts to regard a solemn display case tucked into an alcove in the corner of her mother’s penthouse. A dim light from within the case shown down upon an elaborately designed red-gold costume bristling with stylized flames and a mask. Jae bit her lower lip, bitterness welling up in her chest again. We’ve all forgotten that, Jae reflected as she stared at the abandoned uniform.

Jae pushed a wayward lock of midnight shot hair from her eyes with a frustrated sweep of her hand. Growing up her mother had never made it a secret to Jaelyn that she had once been a super hero. Although Jaelyn’s mother rarely spoke of her days flying above the city and battling evil under the guise of “Cosmo Girl”, she never let Jae forget that she had once been a hero. Jae had spent most of her life gathering the subtle hints of her mother’s former life from gleaned conversations and those rare nights where a few too many drinks loosened her mother’s lips. The costume, a uniform Jae had only ever seen her mother wear in newspaper clips and old photographs, stood as a silent reminder to both of them of the mistakes of youth.

Jae felt a shudder of distain rush down her spine as she forced herself to look away from the dimly lit costume case. She tried not to categorize herself into that small bubble of Tig’nara Hart’s youthful mistakes, but Jaelyn knew deep down that her own existence was a matter of painful regret to Tig’nara. There were times when Jaelyn would feel her mother’s piteous gaze fall heavily on her, if only for a moment, and left Jae bereft with a sense of shame. When she was much younger, Jae would beg her mother endlessly to reveal the identity of her father to Jaelyn, but Tig’nara’s resolute answer was always the same, “When you are ready.” As she grew, Jae realized that Tig’nara wasn’t waiting for a time when Jaelyn was ready to accept the truth of her own origins, but for the time when the truth would no longer grieve Tig’nara.

Jae turned away from the rain drenched cityscape and moved back to the table. Jae ripped the paper from her binder and crumpled it between her hands with disgust. The words rolled through her head again, biting at her.

We use to believe in heroes, Jae thought cynically to herself again, now I wonder if we forgot about them, or did they give up on us? The metal lid of the trashcan flipped open with clean sufficiency as Jae dropped the crumpled paper into its polished depths. She let the lid drop with a resounding bang that echoed through the empty penthouse like a cry in a tomb.