Superpowers In A World Gone Mad
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Vermilion Widow, Issue #004

June 26, 2013 in Adventures Of Vermilion Widow Tags:

vermilion widow cover
Issue #004 – – – – – controlled by Bill Treadwell – – – – – Credits 14

Something changed in Cassandra as she put her costume on.  She felt it shift, like a part that hadn’t fit finally slotting into place.  This was right.  This was how things were supposed to be.  It seemed crazy, to disregard your entire life in favour of some momentary insanity and yet she had not felt so calm and at ease in a long, long time.

“You look good,” Hourglass told her.  “No cheap suit there.  You’ve had that professionally tailored by somebody who knows how to cut fabric and materials for our sort of lifestyle.”
“But it’s not mine,” Cassandra muttered.  It was though.  Of course it was.  It fit perfectly.  It felt wonderful.
“Well, it’s from the cabinet in your front room,” the other woman pointed out, artlessly.  “Come on, let’s head to Viktor’s.  I’m sure at least some of your questions will be answered there.”

Hourglass went out of the window into the night.  Cassandra stared in wonder.  She had simply vaulted out on the fourth floor.  Expecting to see a bloody mess on the ground below, Cassandra tentatively peered over the edge.  The woman was down on the street, but she was fine.  Just standing there waiting.  She beckoned – come on.  Instinct took over and, even though part of her brain was screaming what am I doing, Cassandra leapt out of the window too.

Twisting in mid air, Cassandra snagged her windowsill and pulled her body athletically against the wall.  Her movements were very quick.  When her hands and feet struck the stonework she stuck fast.  No need to actually climb, she seemed able to simply crawl down the wall.  In fact, it seemed perfectly natural as if she had done this a thousand times, though she didn’t remember ever having done anything like it before.

“Wallcrawler, huh?” Hourglass asked her as she dropped to the side walk below.  “Fast, too.  Trained, or powered?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Cassandra qualified.
“Come on,”  Hourglass grinned, “Keep up if you can.”
The woman took off at a run, staying close to the buildings, moving rapidly but always in the shadow.  She was athletic and quick, but Cassandra had no problem keeping up.  It was easy and she barely broke a sweat.  Glancing back and seeing Cassandra right behind her, Hourglass laughed and pushed harder, faster.

The evening became a wild, frenetic, exhilarating dash through the shadows of the city.  Cassandra was thrilled by it.  Her senses came alive, revelling in the exertion and the challenge and the freedom that her new found talents gave her.  Although the dash lasted nearly quarter of an hour, Cassandra never had to try very hard to keep up with the other woman and when the race was over she was barely breathing hard.  “Wow,” Hourglass said, her own chest heaving, “It’s been a while since anybody was able to stay with me.  You seemed like you could have overtaken and left me in your wake,” she grinned.  I could have, Cassandra thought.  “Anyway, we’re here.”  She indicated a run-down old bar.  The windows were grimy and unwashed.  the neon sign which read: “Viktor’s” was faulty, the letters lighting up in fits and starts, usually with one or more of the characters remaining dark.  “Looks tasteful,” Cassandra observed, wrly.
“It may not look like much, but it’s safe.  Broadly,” Hourglass told her.
“Broadly?”
“Yeah.  This is Helix City.  Nowhere is safe.  Not safe safe, anyway,” the costumed woman clarified.  By the way, what should I call you?”
The words came out of her mouth before Cassandra had a chance to think about the reply: “Vermilion Widow.”  Huh?  She had no idea why she had called herself that.  She wasn’t a superhero.  Why had she given herself a superhero name?  Why that name?  But, again, she felt instinctively that it fit.
“Okay,” Hourglass nodded.  “Follow me.”

The two woman entered the bar.  Cassandra kept a close eye on her companion.  She wasn’t ready to trust this stranger yet.  They weren’t friends.  “Shadows are my only friend,” she said.  Then checked herself.  That sounded like the sort of line a mysterious caped vigilante would come out with, didn’t it?  Was she going crazy?  Where were these thoughts coming from?  Cassandra mentally shrugged.  No point worrying about it.  Everything was out in Twilight Zone territory now and she could only hope that Hourglass was right and somebody in this place would have some answers for her.

Cassandra followed Hourglass to a booth.  There were not many other patrons here.  A weird-looking older guy and a young couple were chatting in the back booth.  Cassandra noticed the young man was very good-looking – a fact that she immediately put out of her mind.  She had other things to think about.  A pair of Hispanic women were sitting at the bar.  A young girl was feeding money into a very dirty old slot machine.  “Sit,” Hourglass said.  Their costumes didn’t seem to draw any undue attention.
“Okay,” Cassandra said.  “We’re here.  Now what?”
“Wait a second,” Hourglass told her.
A short and very fat man appeared from a side door and walked towards them.  He was red-faced and dressed in a dapper suit which sadly just made him look shorter and rounder.  He stopped at their table and smiled – a very warm and very genuine smile which Cassandra found herself returning.
“Ah Hourglass,” he said.  His voice was deeper and richer than Cassandra had been expecting.  “Brought us another stray?”
“This one’s interesting,” she said.  “She’s a cop.”
The little man frowned: “Oh dear.  Are you sure this is wise?”
“She’s also an Abnormal.  And I think she might be one of the misfits.”
“Really?” The little man peered at Cassandra.  “Memories a bit hazy?  Feelings of not fitting in?  Strange emotions that seem out of place?”
Cassandra nodded: “That’s it.  Am I going crazy?”~
“Far from it, my dear,” Said the man, kindly.  He shoved into the booth, causing Hourglass to scoot along to make room.  “Far, far from it.  It is everything else that is going crazy.  You are one of the fragments of sanity.”
“I’m sorry?” Cassandra puzzled.  “How do you mean?”
“All this,” The small man gestured around at the room.  “Everything.  Hourglass and I.  This bar.  This city.  The whole world.  It’s a lie.  A crazy, twisted, evil lie.  You and a handful of others are all that remains of the true world.  But reality is out there somewhere, trying to find a way back in.  Pushing at the edges.  Pulling at the cracks.  You, my dear, are part of that reality.  You are the start of something.  A revolution, perhaps?”


2 Responses to “Vermilion Widow, Issue #004”

  1. Fraser Machin Says:

    Looks like useful allies for Widow, all good news, be interesting to find out what these guys know about the world and how they know about the “misfits”, good stuff

  2. False Bill Says:

    Agree with you there Fraser.
    Let see what our friends know…

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