Chapter Text
For Calliope, life was simple; mostly unpleasant, but definitely simple. She’d make the long commute to school, slave over her art for a few hours, then drive back and tend to the antique shop while Caliborn did. . . whatever it was he was always sneaking off to do. She’d tried asking once, but that had been a big mistake.
There were a few lights in her dull life, though, and the brightest was superheroes. She’d been collecting comics and manga longer than she could remember, reading and re-reading stories about just and kind heroes, dedicated to protecting the good in the world. There was nothing she dreamed of like the adventure of being a superhero. But that was impossible, so Callie settled for the slightly lesser dream of writing her own comic books.
But that was before the ship came.
At first, everyone thought it was a meteor. The world was thrown into a panic, certain a deadly collision was imminent. But then it came closer, and closer still. It was hardly a day away when it was first recognized for what it was; a massive golden ship.
Calliope clutched her notebook to her chest, taking a few hesitant steps back as the massive ship floated overhead, casting a dark shadow across the entire town. Sunlight shone off around the edges, tinted a warm gold. There was something about it that was mesmerizing, otherworldly.
But the ship had not come to visit; it had only come because it was chased.
The monster broke through the atmosphere, flashing with an unnatural green light. Its teeth dripped as it let out an unearthly snarl, baring its canine fangs. It seemed barely human, or something like it, covered in ashy carapace and fur. It hardly arrived before it began to attack, moving with a fearless bloodlust.
Cars screeched to a halt. People locked their doors, ducking down, hoping this thing–whatever it was–would deign to let them live. Instead, it cut into each car like it was made of paper, prying them open one by one.
Calliope hesitantly stepped back, unsure whether to run or to stay still and hope the creature would stay too preoccupied to see her. The antique shop wasn’t far from here. If she ran, maybe it wouldn’t see her. Maybe she could find Caliborn and they could hide in the basement until it was gone.
The monster smashed the window of a small car down the street. It snarled at the woman inside, sobbing in fear, clutching desperately at her seatbelt. With the same murderous intent, it lifted its sword.
Thud.
Calliope swallowed as the monster turned to look at her, growling. The rock she’d thrown hadn’t so much as scratched it. Hesitantly, she picked up another, her hands shaking.
In a flash of green light, it was in front of her. Its breathing was ragged, unsteady. She could see into its eyes from this close. They were mirrored, like the eyes of a beetle, dark and unfeeling. Its hot, nasty breath floated over her as it watched, waiting for her to flinch, to try and run. She knew she should. She knew she should run, or fight back, or scream. But she couldn’t. All she could do was freeze.
“Oh shit!” She heard someone yell, but she couldn’t turn, couldn’t look, all she could see was death, standing right in front of her. The monster raised its blade and growled. The monster swung; there was a flash of darkness.
Thunk.
The blade cut deep into a thick orange pumpkin, defending Calliope by barely half an inch. The monster stopped in confusion, awkwardly trying to wiggle the large gourd of its weapon.
Before it could, Calliope was airborne. The street shrunk beneath her. People fled, yelling as they ran from the intersection, abandoning the street. Scattered about, eight colored figures flew through the sky. Moving with careful precision, they chased the monster, surrounded by flashes of light and color.
And then her feet were on pavement. She didn’t notice the arms around her waist until they were gone. Heart pounding in her chest, Calliope turned around.
Her savior looked mostly ordinary; she was a short blonde girl, with warm eyes and a crooked smile. She did seem mostly ordinary. That is, except for her strange clothing, and the fact that she was floating in mid-air. “Okay, hi, you alright?” the strange girl said, brushing a loose strand of hair from her eyes.
Calliope’s grip on her notebook tightened, and after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Yes. I think so. Who. . . who are you, exactly?” she asked, breathless.
The girl paused, her cheeks turning peek. “That is, uh, that is a very good question. I might need to get back to you on that, hahah.” Pausing, she floated to the edge of the roof, watching as the eight strangers and the monster took their battle skyward. “I’ve got to go,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “My friends need my help.”
Heart pounding in her chest, Calliope shook her head. “That creature is dangerous. Are you sure—”
She laughed, smiling. “We’ve been outrunning Jack Noir this wrong, I think it’s about time we properly get to know the guy. I can handle myself. Just. . . you stay safe, alright?”
That moment. It changed everything for Calliope. To be fair, it changed everything for everyone. At first, the nine beings who had arrived on the ship just defeated the monster, the creature she’d called Jack Noir. It took them days, but in the end, they won. A few lucky reporters scored an interview with two of the strangers. They told incredible stories of being from a far-off world, another dimension of creatures called godtiers, all bearing their own incredible powers.
They’d fled to this world to escape Jack Noir and others who had grown too powerful. And for a while, that was it.
But now and then, a monster would show up, or a dangerous criminal. And the godtiers started to get involved. They never left their golden ship without their masks, going by codenames, keeping their identities secret. In less than a month, a world without magic was suddenly under the care of a team of superheroes trying to make up for leading dangerous creatures here.
“Really? It’s only been a month?”
Calliope looked up from her comic page. A girl was leaning over her shoulder, reading the rough sketch Callie had been working on. Callie offered a cautious smile. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
The girl paused, her cheeks turning pink. “Shit, was I snooping on you? I do that sometimes. Damn it. My name’s Roxy, I picked up a job as a part-time janitor for the school. I can leave you alone if—”
“No, no, it’s really fine,” Callie said, smiling. She scooted over, patting the seat next to her. “I don’t blame you for being curious. I’m usually the last one in the cafeteria.”
Roxy set aside her mop and sat down next to Callie, picking up a neatly made pile of drafts that passed the cut. “Damn, you’re a really good artist. I still can’t believe it’s only been a month though.”
“Yeah,” Callie said. She picked up her pencil, laying down some rough construction lines. “Time flies. My teacher wanted everyone to do a comic about a current event that they’re passionate about. All the heroes fascinate me.” She paused, her heart skipping a beat. “Especially the one they’re calling RoLal.”
“Haha, yeah, I heard Ro-Lal is super sexy and rad,” Roxy said, flipping through the pages. She paused, holding one of them for a long time.
Callie glanced over. She quickly grabbed the paper away, trying to hide that she was blushing. “That one isn’t for the assignment,” she stammered. She glanced down at it, smoothing the creases. She’d spent hours on this piece. It was the moment on the roof when she’d first met RoLal. She’d laid out every detail painstakingly. The shadow cast by the golden ship. The other heroes fighting valiantly in the background. Each subtle faded freckle on RoLal’s face. But as hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t capture the feeling she’d had in the moment. Something was missing.
“On the rooftop. . .” Roxy said slowly, getting a far-off look in her eyes. She shook her head and smiled. “It’s a super good picture. I love how you make clouds all fluffy and swirly like cotton candy.”
“It’s not the usual art style for superhero comics, is it?” Calliope said, shuffling her papers.
Roxy folded her arms on the table, offering a bright crooked grin. “Are you shitting me? Of course it isn’t and it’s awesome. Your style is so friendly and cute and I love it.”
Calliope smiled, slipping the sketches carefully into her folder. “That’s very kind of you to be saying,” she said. She zipped the folder into her art bag and picking up her thermos of tea. “I don’t have any classes left for the today, and my brother is probably expecting me at home,” she said, trying not to sigh. “I better get going so I can watch the shop.”
Roxy paused, her smile slipping for a second. “Aw, shit beans. I was having a lot of fun hanging out with you. You’re a lot of fun. . .”
“Calliope,” she said, hanging her bag over her shoulder. “My name is Calliope. Most people call me Callie, though. I had fun too. You’re really nice.” She hesitated a moment. Besides Caliborn, she didn’t really have any friends. And her relationship with Caliborn was. . . complicated. Maybe she should try and reach out more. “Would you like to get together again?”
“Are you kidding me?” Roxy smiled, grabbing her mop with an air of reinvigoration. “Hell yeah! We should totally hang out again!”
Callie giggled, nodding. “Great! Maybe we can catch a movie this weekend or something? Or just have a conversation. Could you give me your number?”
Roxy froze. She bit her lip, glancing away. “Oh, shit, that might be kind of hard to do? Funny thing, I don’t actually have a phone. Or an email address. Or even, like, a P. O. box. I should probably get one of those. My family and I just moved, sooo. . .”
It was a bit strange the moving would mean she didn’t have an email address, but they’d only just decided to move past acquaintanceship, so Callie decided it would probably be rude to meddle. “Oh, well, don’t worry about it. I’m here pretty much every day except the weekend and Tuesdays, so we can just figure things out in person,” she said quickly. “There really is no need to worry.”
Roxy smiled, her face slightly flushed. “Thanks. That’s. . . actually super sweet of you. But I would love to meet up this weekend. See you then?”
Keys in one hand and thermos in the other, Callie waved goodbye and nodded. “I’ll see you then! We can meet up here and just chat. Goodbye!”
For Calliope, life used to be simple; mostly unpleasant, but definitely simple. It used to be. But that was before.
Simple, no. Terrifying? Strange? Wonderful? If she knew what waited ahead, would she still have gone on?
Definitely.