Arc II – Chapter II – Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

When she’d left the park and ducked between two buildings, she pressed a button on the side of her new watch to request a portal that would lead to the Felicitas’ spaceship. After a moment of confirmation, the watch beeped and a portal opened in the air. Aurora leapt through and the portal closed behind her as she came to a stop on the grassy hill that filled the central chamber, seemingly open to the air, located on another world just like Earth.

Butterflies danced in the air as a sweet breeze swept through the verdant blades and rustled the tree’s leaves. Perkons sat alone on the hilltop and greeted Aurora with a raised paw.

“Reporting,” Aurora was panting for her breath.

“Welcome, Lodestar Aurora. I’ll brief you on your next mission without delay.” With a wave of his paw, Perkons caused a transparent screen to appear above him. The screen activated and showed a mall from above. “Being as there is no one else to dispatch to deal with this antilight incursion, it falls on you to go and destroy this new Victim. As though there was a camera on site, the picture zoomed in on the monster, laid bare to their eyes, while the humans in its midst were ‘blessedly’ unaware of its presence.

It stood on all fours with five heads, belonging to somewhat familiar beasts, feline, ursine, canidae, raptor and lacertilia. The thing had many inky heads resembling a lion’s, tiger’s, bear’s, a bird’s and a lizard’s on a massive body with tentacles flailing around. As before, there were cocoons fastened on its back where captured humans were transformed into new Victims, right under everyone’s noses. People went into mall shops, laughing, yelling, pointing at products showcased in windows and they were ignorant of the threat looming. The lion’s head was busily consuming a human, headfirst as it swallowed the person whole. Moments later, a rupture formed on its back and the human was faintly visible through the slimy flesh of the sack containing them.

“This Victim just captured a human and is in search of other poor victims, mostly isolated persons, not in groups. No one notices when someone they work to ignore suddenly vanishes.” That same cocoon on its back kicked and jostled as the human feebly struggled to free themselves.

“Beware the lion’s maw above all. It swallows people whole in a blink. In moments a new cocoon like a blister forms on its back. It has been feeding for only fifteen minutes and already it has eight victims. I estimate that, considering the strength of this particular creature, the gestation time will be a mere hour.” Rising to his rear paws, Perkons leapt and perched onto Aurora’s shoulder as another portal ripped open on the hilltop, showing open sky. Wind whistled through it and chilled Aurora, making her skin pebble.

“Transform and jump through. Be ready to descend. I’ll direct you to its location, soldier. Given the nature of your powers, you will need to lure the Victim to an open place without anyone around. I will cloak us in light. Don’t open fire in the mall.”

Aurora nodded with a determined expression and raised her hand upwards as she spoke her true name, “Radiance of the Aurora!”

The hilltop filled with a brilliant light and her light shot in a beam across the sky above the mall as she transformed, lancing into infinity. A loud sound like a heavy drum filled the air, like it was being rhythmically beaten, playing a music of its own. For what felt like a small eternity, her clothes vanished and were slowly replaced by her lodestaran regalia.

Her graceful limbs extended to either side as her back arched. There was a soft noise, melodious, the wind whistling like a flute playing, gentle and tranquil. Her silver hair turned more bluish and shortened at hip level as the hair framing her face tickled it, waving in the wind her transformation generated. The tempo of the music shifted as her nude body was caressed by her bodysuit. Her face became serene. The light within her intensified, playing about her body as her energy flowed down to cling to her hips, teasing her thighs, snuggling.

Heat built up in her chest and with an explosion, her chest ruptured as though her heart burst and the resulting explosion of light spread outwards and took the form of a bow. Her arms glowed, and her gloves supported her wrists and forearms. From knees to feet, her legs became incandescent, and then they were covered in fabric.

Her back writhed and another explosion of light blew outwards and behind, taking the form of her fluffy, feathered wings. A wind whipped around, sending feathers flying in a torrent, her hair flying in a mad feverish dance. The rest of her regalia took form as the leftover light spilled down her back and around, fastening something not unlike a cape at her waist, gossamer and semitransparent.

As her transformation completed, the music built to a climax and the wind played imaginary violins, the music stirring and moving, filled with energy, all swearing to save the world.

As a rippling of force erupted from her body, Lodestar Aurora posed and saluted before leaping through the portal and dove down what felt like several miles as the wind filled her ears, whipping around, roaring. She grinned broadly, only jarred for a moment after jumping, caught up in the exhilaration of the moment. Her wings caught air and she felt Perkons’ energies mingle with hers and he subtly guided her movements as they sailed downwards at a breakneck pace.

Before swooping through an opening where the glass covering over and through the mall arcade, hurtling through the passage above the heads of the normal people below, her body shone and despite how bright she shone with a purple tinge, not a single person looked up to behold the passing of the angel among them. Nearing the center of the complex, Aurora reached out and called it. Energies flowed from her fingertips, extending, creating a long object of light that erupted as it took solid form. The form was nebulous at first, but light swirled in its cap, an orb with a galaxy that took form within. Pink, gold, blue filled with a multitude of other colors, they all spun furiously in its heart, forming finely spun glass or crystal. The gem burst and sent streams of light that formed ribbons, trailing behind.

As she neared the Victim, three times taller than the largest person in the crowd, Aurora drew her arms back and as all five of the creature’s heads zeroed in on her incoming rush, it roared from all its mouths, making appropriate, loud noises. The darkness wreathing its form flailed and surged as Aurora drew her arms back to swing her hands, striking the lion’s head between the eyes. Its maw opened impossibly largely as light flashed in the air, filling the mall with a burst of her energy as she rushed past. The monster stumbled and roared, momentarily blinded. Moments after, it took the bait and bounded through the milling crowd.

While humans couldn’t see the victim, nor the angel, they couldn’t miss the flash of light that filled the air, something that not even the Felicitas could hide. Many were hurled from the Victim’s path of rampage as it mowed through, chasing Aurora. Those caught up in this would be injured, but it was unavoidable. The monster had to be extracted for destruction for the sake of Stellaris’ security.

Perkons’ body blazed with purple energy and the people ahead of them were sent flying safely to the sides, creating a path for the Victim to dash along. It plowed through kiosks, sending fragments of glass, still harming people. Wood and metal flew in all directions. Aurora peeked over her shoulder and winced. A cacophony filled the air. Even though they couldn’t see her or the monster, people would still wonder about what happened.

The Felicitas might have a hard time covering this one up.