Lost in Another World: Origin Story Part 3: Suit Up 2

For a moment everyone stared in horror at the boy-turned-Heart Breaker.

“Everyone, scatter!” Andrew yelled. He reached to grab Penny’s hand and make a run for it, but she was already gone, helping a young mom and daughter get away. The monster was looking right at them. Andrew had to help them. Think, think! What can you do? He asked himself. Then he saw it - the candle display at the front of the art gallery! It was supposed to stand for something like eternal hope, but right now it was his only hope to save his friend. He ran over and broke the candle free. “Hey, Lover Boy!” This got his attention. “Leave the ladies alone!”

The monster charged at him. “I have no use for love!” Heart Breaker called out. He was ready to pounce when Andrew revealed the candle, wielding it like a sword. “No, keep that away from me! I can’t go near the flame! I’ll melt away!” Heart Breaker stayed back but soon started looking for a new target. Andrew wasn’t sure how to distract him again when suddenly a wave of water came crashing down and landed on the metal-covered monster. Trevor had no idea where it had come from, but he took the chance to run and hide in an alleyway, make a new plan, and hopefully find his friends.

As he tried to form a plan, an orange light wrapped around him, and a bracelet with a silver flame appeared on his wrist. “What in the world?” He tapped the bracelet, and…. his street clothes had been replaced with a costume? It felt like his dance nylons, fitting his body nicely without making him feel uncomfortable. The main colour was what Sophie would call charcoal grey, and it had orange stripes that spiralled around each of his legs, turned into straight lines at his waist, and then crossed over his shoulders. Across his shoulders sat a cylindrical shield that reminded him of something he’d seen firefighters use. He also had a helmet with a tinted visor. “What is all this?” he wondered aloud.

“Hello, new hero! You are the holder of the element fire. It seems the heroes of the elements are needed now, so we will train as we go. But one thing - one never uses their real name, so you need a hero name.” A voice came from his helmet.

“I guess I’ll be Flint - seems to fit.” He looked own amazed at the suite

“Wise choice. Your power comes from your hands. I apologize, but the fire element will not give you the ability to fly. However, using your heat will help you jump higher and farther, and you can levitate for a few minutes. Your suit is made from fireproof material, so your flames won’t burn you and it won’t burn others; you might char a few things around you but not people. But we should go meet your team; you will learn more as we go.”

Andrew felt a bit silly, but he jumped up and found himself rising. He grabbed the windowsill and leapt again; this was going to take some getting used to. “What do I call you? I would hate for you not to have a name.”

“Call me Flicker.” the voice said.

Andrew simply nodded and looked over, trying to spot Penny. He saw her helping that young mother and daughter, with the monster right behind them. Maybe whoever had poured the water down could help him save her. And how could he not tell her about this…

***

“Quick! In here!” Penny guided the mother and little girl into an alleyway. The monster was close behind them, now soaking wet. Looking around, Penny saw a small potted plant. She grabbed the pot and tossed the flower and dirt at him, blinding him with mud. “Here.” She boosted the mom up to a window, then handed up the daughter, and the two quickly disappeared from view. Penny immediately hid behind the building, “Now what? I can’t just hide here.” She wanted to get back out and be helpful, but what could she do? Suddenly, she found herself wrapped in pink light and felt a cold metal landing on her ear. She reached to grab it but as she did, something like vines wrapped around her.

Penny looked at herself in the window reflection; she was in a dark brown suit that reminded her of her dance leotard. It went from her shoulders to her feet, leaving her arms exposed. A green vine pattern wrapped around her body, red rose patterns sat at her ankles and wrapped around her waist, and a vine lasso was attached to one of the roses on her hip. Her hair was up in a bun with roses tucked at the base. Two vines came from her bun and were attached to a green mask that made her eyes and freckles pop. She noticed her ear cuff was also a rose and wrapped around the top of her ear. She kind of liked this; she felt good. But what did it all mean?

Before she could speak, a voice came from her ear cuff. “Greetings, new hero. You are the new holder of the element earth. The heroes are needed now so I will train you as we go. But first, you need a name; you can’t use your real name.”

Penny’s mind raced. She, a hero? Sure, she wanted to help, but to wear a costume and be a hero? Could she do this? Suddenly, someone screamed in the distance. Penny needed to help, so she was going to do this. “I’ll be Rose Thorn.”

“I like it. You can call me Shrub, and I’ll be your guide. To start, as the holder of the element earth you can move the ground and make plants out of nothing. Your vine lasso won’t break, but if you try to throw it too far you could fall. However, you can make flowers to land on. You will have to trust your instinct. It will guide you. We must meet the rest of your team.”

Rose Thorn took her lasso and tossed it to the top of a building as she glanced around, hoping to see the rest of the team. While she glided through the sky, she noticed Trevor fighting off the victim with a bucket of water. She smiled. He really is brave; I wonder if he will get to be a hero too…

***

Trevor tossed his third bucket of water at the monster. He had found a hose and bucket near the community garden, and while it wasn’t much, it gave the people being chased by the monster a chance to get away. But he couldn’t keep doing this. After one final toss, he jumped into the garden shed to catch his breath before going back out to help again. While taking a moment to breathe, he was wrapped in a blue light and felt something like cold metal land on his hand - a ring with a glacier engraved on it. He carefully touched it. He found himself being covered in a suit, dark blue on one side and white on the other. Down the centre, the two colours made jagged lines, matching the glacier design on his ring. His eyes were covered by what reminded him of ski goggles. Across his back, he had a sword made of ice, like the ones he wrote about in his stories. “Whoa! This is so cool!”

“Glad to hear you are so excited, new hero! You are the new holder of the element water. You control water and ice. We don’t have time to train right now, so I will explain as we go. But first, you need a name. So, new hero, what shall it be?”

Trevor liked this voice; it seemed to be funny and puny just like him. “Hmm, well… the villain calls herself the Metallic Owl, so I shall call myself Ice Raven.”

“Clever! I knew I liked you. As I already said, your powers use ice and water. You can use the vapour in the air to fly. I will teach you the rest as we go; you seem to catch on quickly.”

Trevor noticed that the window in the shed was open, so he jumped through and found himself flying!

“Best day ever!” He’d never felt so free! As he did loops in the air, he called out, “Hey random voice in my head, what should I call you?”

“Call me Talon.” Ice Raven nodded and smiled. Feeling the wind through his hair, he wondered, Is this what freedom tastes like? He saw Sophie leading the monst - he stopped himself - the victim, from chasing after some children. Her father would be proud. If only his mother would be just as proud, but his muddy clothes would only get him scrolled tonight.

***

Sophie was tired of running. Didn’t this monster have someone else to chase? She wanted to get back and find her friends so they could make a plan to stop this guy. She dug through her purse and found a container of craft glitter. Quickly opening the container, she threw the glitter over her shoulder, hoping the wind would carry it and monetarily blind the monster. She heard him grunt in anger, so she dove between two buildings. It was a space small enough that she could just fit through. She noticed there was light on the other side, so she slowly walked between the two walls, hoping for a place to breathe before going back and dealing with the monster again. She found herself on the other side of the community garden.

As soon as she stopped moving, Sohpie found herself being wrapped in purple light and felt something cool wrapped around her neck. It was a necklace with a charm forming a straight line with two curls at the end, going in opposite directions. She touched it. “What is this?” As she spoke, her clothes changed into a high-low dress that was purple and so flowy! She had black leggings under the skirt, and her bell sleeves were translucent and sparkly! She didn’t have a mask but rather fantastic eye makeup that hid her facial features well. She felt amazing in this outfit; as a designer, she knew that the right outfit can change everything. A fan sat on her hip, and she wondered how she could use that.

“Hello, new hero. You are the new holder of the element wind. We don’t have much time; the battle is already happening. I will explain as we go. But first, we must choose your hero name. Your real one cannot be used in the costume.”

Sophie paused and gave it some thought. “Mighty Mage.” Sure, the name didn’t completely match her powers, but her colours reminded her of her favourite superhero comic!

“Ohh, that’s different, I like it! You control the wind. You can make wind tunnels or even platforms from the wind. You can also fly, so have some fun with it while we go find your new team. Once there, the other elements will link up and we will talk as a team. Also, call me Gale.”

Mighty Mage smiled and lept into the air. Starting to fly, she couldn’t help but laugh at this freeing feeling. She headed toward the top of the museum, where she saw the three other costumed heroes standing, and landed with the group. What new adventures awaited them?

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