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The League of Super Heroines

Chapter 1: Gathering the Team

By Draconicon

Ring ring. Ring ring.

Rachel opened one eye as she watched her phone wiggle towards the end of her nightstand, and the cheetah debated letting it just fall to the floor. It was still in its case, and it probably wouldn't break. Probably. And more than likely, it was another summons to court if she picked it up, considering how her last job had gone.

Not my fault the building wasn't set up to handle that power level...

Still, it might be another job. Considering her luck with holding one down for longer than a couple of days, she needed anything she could get. Grumbling, she disentangled one arm from under her pillows and reached for it just before it slid out of range. Her fingers sparked slightly, the rubber coating around the phone stopping it from frying the insides, and she tapped the special button she'd installed outside to answer it.

"Hey. This is Rachel speaking. What's up?"

"Rachel, it's Thea."

Her other eye opened up, her mouth dropping open.

"...I'm hanging up now."

"Wait -"

Click. She pushed the phone away, shaking her head and rolling over. It wasn't one of the suit calls, but it was arguably worse. Thea -

Ring ring. Ring ring.

She covered her head with her pillow as her phone kept ringing. It went to voicemail, then started ringing again. And again. And again. Each time, it went to voicemail just long enough for the woman on the other end to leave a message, and then it started ringing again.

She's not going to stop, is she?

Probably not. The dragoness had always been a pushy one. Ever since they'd first met in high school, back when she was fifteen, Thea had always been the most driven of their little group. Always with the idea of pushing forward, always knowing exactly where to aim, and when to push, and when to wait for a while.

Never held back, though. That was one thing that the dragoness just didn't seem to know how to do.

On the seventeenth call, she finally rolled over and picked up the phone. This time, her fingers sparked more irritably, blue and white light dancing from them before the rubber caught it and shorted it out.

"Hello?"

"Are you going to listen to me this time?"

"Are you on an auto-call thing or something?"

"Or something, yes."

"Pretty sure that's illegal."

"They haven't added this particular device to the list of illegal ways of auto-calling people yet. I'm in the clear."

"Ass."

"Look. I have an opportunity for all of us. A job."

"Unless it involves throwing lightning bolts at people, I don't think I can help you."

"It does."

Rachel groaned. She should have guessed.

"And you're out of a job at the moment, aren't you?"

"You tell me, Ms. Nosy. You always did give Korina a run for her money for knowing more than you should."

She got out of bed, pulling the blanket around her chest as she walked to the window. Her apartment looked out on the inner city circle-streets, and she knew what she'd see as soon as she opened the curtain. She did it anyway, and smiled at the sight.

Delivery-flyers were darting through the air, hundreds of capes flickering in the wind. Others with jet-packs and rocket-boots and who knew how many more gadgets followed in their wake, either using the slipstream to boost their speed or just getting lost in the air traffic.

Glancing further down, shifters late for work were changing. The lucky ones turned into birds, taking their chances darting through the flyers for the heavens, while those that were stuck with land-forms leaped for either the Beast Lanes or the Wall-Streets, where clawed hands and feet could find greater purchase as they leaped and flung and threw themselves about in a desperate attempt to get to work on time.

Further up, she could see the weather controllers doing what they did to moderate the climate for what was best for the city of Quirkas. It looked like they were going for a late-spring motif today, modeling the weather off of something coastal and sunny.

Looks like the Time Weavers are still fighting that injunction, she thought. That union's never gonna win, not with the new Paradox Laws.

Shaking her head, she shut the curtain again, turning her attention back to the conversation that she'd tuned out of. Thea was still talking, probably on the way to some destination, and she sighed as she caught up again.

"- and I know that it's not your ideal job, but let's face it. Nothing else is working for you. Nothing else is working for any of the group."

"Oh, god. How many have you talked to?"

"All of them. You're the last one on the list."

"Thanks. I always wondered what it felt like to get picked last; now I know."

"Don't take it like that. When you need to do something difficult, you pick up all the other tools you can, first."

"Pretty sure that Xiadani wouldn't take kindly to being called that."

"She knows the score. Listen. This is a serious job offer. Can you make it to the Cup'o'Spar in ten minutes, down on Lincoln?"

"...I'll try. No promises."

"Then you'll be there. See you soon."

Click.

Rachel didn't like the sound of that. Knowing that the entire gang was going to be back together was one thing. Knowing that she was going to be meeting them while she was probably doing the worst out of the bunch...

But there was no getting out of it. She'd already agreed, and knowing Thea, that meant that the dragoness would drag everyone that showed up to her apartment if the cheetah happened to be late. She rubbed her forehead, taking a few deep breaths before tossing her phone onto the bed.

It didn't take long to get dressed and ready. One of the benefits of being an anthro meant that she only had her own fur to worry about, and that didn't get nearly as mussed as a human's hair did. She had seen a few anthros that had gone to the trouble of growing hair like a human, but it never seemed to work as well as they thought it did. That, and it took hours to tend to.

Fur, on the other hand, worked fine on its own. As long as she groomed it every so often, it was perfectly straight.

And as long as she didn't get too on edge and become too charged with static. As she pulled on a t-shirt - one that was just a bit too tight with her eat-at-home habits of late - she noticed a few sparks shooting from her stomach and chest, as well as from her hands. It was definitely getting a bit out of control.

Ground it. Ground it inside.

If there was more than ten minutes, she would have blasted it down the metal rod that was set up just outside her window. It went all the way down to the ground, and then into a collecting pool that gathered all sorts of energy from people in the building. Some let out static, some people let out wind blasts, some blew fire down their poles.

For her, it was lightning, and that meant that it was a bit on the crucial side.

No time. Gonna have to bleed it on the bike.

With a pair of jeans that were also getting a bit tighter than she liked and a pair of rubber-soled boots (nobody liked electrified floors), she made her way down from the small apartment to the parking garage at the base of the building. She passed a number of cars, hovercars, bikes, hoverbikes, gadget-based vehicles that she couldn't even understand how they worked, and then, finally, found her little baby.

She dragged the frame out, pure metal handlebars - copper, of course - ran down into a steel and rubber frame. It needed that to keep the lightning from shooting out into anyone that came too close, and she had taken great care with the engineer she commissioned for this to get it right.

Rachel admired it, shaking her head at the way that the frame sat on top of two seemingly empty wheels. The whole thing didn't exactly run on spinning wheels, but rather, super-charged impacts. The inside of the wheels were filled with shards of metal, metal that was attracted by the amount of power that she put out, and then jolted backwards, essentially throwing the bike forward again and again as she rode it through the city. It could have a bit of a jump problem at times, throwing her over the traffic, but by and large it worked just fine.

She carried it outside and hopped on, letting the lightning flow down her arms. A slow-building rumble echoed through the air around her until the first bolt shot from her palms into the handlebars, and the bike leaped through the air. It landed with a thump, skidding along the ground, throwing up sparks.

BOOM! Another shockwave of thunder, another lightning bolt that threw her into the air, carrying her down the street. Each impact made her fly forward by a good few hundred feet, and each one made her go faster than the one before it.

It wouldn't take long to get to the Cup'o'Spar. In fact, she might get there before Thea did.

#

She did, though she found most of the gang already there. They were leaning against the side of the building, watching the reason for the second part of the business's name.

A sparring match had already starting, an orca against a stallion. The latter was hopping from foot to foot, punching the air and making little poofs of flame. She imagined that it was less of a full fire-user, and more just someone that could hit the air hard enough to make a bit of fire. The cheetah shook her head, bringing her bike to a stop outside the building and rolling it over to the lock-up.

Almost instantly, she heard a voice in her head.

Oh, hey, you're here! I didn't think that you'd be here so fast. Long time-no think. What's going on? You going to be joining us?

"Korina. Slow thoughts, please?" Rachel muttered, pinching the bridge of her muzzle. "Been a long time."

Oh...right...sorry...I'll...keep...it...slow...for...you.

"Smart-ass."

Well, certainly dressed smartly. Can't keep them interested if you're not showing off the goods a little.

"Oh, lovely..."

Shaking her head, she walked around the building, knowing that the otter would already be telling her other old friends - well, old acquaintances, at this point, really - that she'd arrived. By the time that the cheetah rounded the corner, she was half-swarmed with four other women.

Korina was first, an otter that was wrapped in a tight little mini-skirt, a top that made a mockery of the concept of a shirt, and a headband that made her look like someone out of an exercise video. Nevertheless, the short woman jumped up, wrapping her arms around the cheetah's shoulders and giving her an unabashed hug.

"Way too long, girl," Korina said. "You need to talk more. Or at least let me upstairs a bit more often."

"I would imagine she needs a little privacy. As do we all."

That would be Xiadani. Rachel flicked her eyes up slightly, and wasn't too surprised to see the snow leopard hanging from the side of the rooftop. Literally hanging, in this case; she would have looked like she was completely suspended from it if the cheetah didn't know where to look.

Glancing away from the sharp blade that stuck out of the edge of the feline's tail, she made herself not acknowledge the blood-red latex that the other woman was wearing, nor the little marks on it. Instead, she made herself look the snow leopard in the eye, holding it for as long as she could before the other woman's silent stare made her look just over her head instead.

"Good to see you too."

"It is decent. Let us not get ahead of ourselves."

"You've been busy?"

"I have been occupied."

"...Glad to hear it."

Awkward as ever, though she supposed that was to be expected. Xiadani had never been that open in school, either, even before they'd all been carted off to Quirkas. Once they got here, it was the immigrant immigrating again, and it wasn't entirely comfortable. Then again, that sort of speech was the most that anyone tended to get out of her.

Then it was Patricia. The white-black mare walked over, smiling in her genteel way. She'd always been the one that was slightly better off than the rest of them, the one that ended up getting the better grades and graduating early. Everyone had expected her and Thea to be the ones to set headlines, but when they all split up after they left school, Rachel had been surprised to hear nothing.

"Been a long time, Patricia," she said, offering her hand.

The mare took it, giving it a firm squeeze. As ever, there was that moment of measuring, that moment of consideration that the other woman did. Rachel had always put it down to the mare's size, if she was honest. Not just taller than the average woman at nearly seven and a half feet tall, Patricia also had the bulk of her Shire horse ancestry. Some mares made that work, strutting their stuff and showing off all the curves that size gave them, but not her. It made her look a bit on the manly side, though never to the point where you questioned what she was.

Finally, the mare in a business-length skirt and a tight jacket and blouse nodded.

"A very long time. I have heard that you've been helping with the city power problem?"

"Ehhhh, yes and no? I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"But that's my business, talking about things."

"Yeah, and it's my business to blow things up, apparently, so let's not get into that right now," Rachel said, rubbing the back of her head.

Oh, but it's bothering you. Maybe you can talk to Patricia later? Korina 'said' in her head. She doesn't have that therapy license yet, but she knows all the right stuff. She's very, very good. Helped me calm down for a few minutes.

"Korina, could you stop?"

The otter mimed putting a key to her lips, and throwing it away. Rachel, in turn, mimed catching it and poking it into the telepath's ear, locking it too.

"Ha! Not gonna happen, girl."

"Can't blame me for trying."

"Hoooooly shit, what the hell have you been doing to yourself, Rachel?"

And that would be Sandy. Rachel braced herself for the suddenly tickling feeling of a speedster's hands going up and down her body, poking and prodding and pinching, and she was not disappointed. It was like combining the horrible tickling feeling of a feather with the rapid pokes and pinches of the deadliest cheek-pinching grandmother, and then spreading that all over the body. Every bit of flab that she had was examined from head to toe, and she was reminded why she avoided the gyms in the first place.

Finally, the vixen responsible for it all came to a stop in front of her, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed.

"That's just not right. What happened to that high-school figure?"

"Approximately eight weeks of ice cream, ramen, and no exercise. Why does it matter?"

"Why wouldn't it? You lose control of yourself, you lose control of the world. No wonder we haven't seen you. You look like -"

"I would duck, if I were you," Xiadani said from the rooftop.

Everyone took her at her word, and Rachel ended up somewhere near the middle of the pile as they all threw themselves to the ground. She took no small amount of satisfaction squishing Sandy under her, either.

The horse that had been fighting the orca went flying overhead, shooting across the street and into the building across the way. Some concrete crumbled down, half-burying the stallion in question, and the wee-woo of medical personnel leaving the Cup'o'Spar filled the air.

"That was quick," she muttered.

"That was a knock-out," Xiadani clarified.

As the women disentangled themselves from each other, and the snow leopard dropped from the rooftop, the orca left the ring. She was even thicker across the shoulders than Patricia was, but unlike the mare, the orca had a bit more curves on display. Rather than more normal clothing, she was wearing one of the establishment's leotards, showing off her physique from head to toe, though judging by the blush on her cheeks, not for any more exhibitionism than she had in school.

Brushing herself off, the cheetah shook her head.

"Still got those control problems, 'Mana?"

"Sorry! Really, really, I am. I thought the suppressors here would - oh god, do you think he's alright over there?" the orca asked.

"I would imagine that he knew what he was getting into," Xiadani said, shaking her head. "A good punch, however."

"I...I was just trying to tap him..."

"That...was a tap?" Rachel asked, looking across the street again. "A tap...while dealing with the power suppressors?"

'Mana, or Kaimana, nodded.

"...Yep. You're still the scary one."

"I'm not really scary, though...am I?"

"I believe that distinction would fall to me."

They all turned back to the snow leopard, who was in the process of growing a scalpel-sized blade out of the palm of her hand. She twisted it at the tip with seemingly nothing but a thought, and started using it to cut her claws slightly. The soft snap-click of the nails breaking against the blade sent a shiver down everyone's spines.

"Yep. She's the scary one."

"No contest."

"Couldn't beat that if I tried."

"At least I just hit people."

Awwwwwwesome, Korina finished.

They all looked at the otter, and she grinned defiantly.

"It is, and you're just a bunch of wimps about it."

"I guess it's cool," Rachel said, shaking her head. "Anyway, did Thea happen to tell any of you what kind of job we were here for?"

"She mentioned a job?" the otter asked.

"She said it would pay," Kaimana said.

"I was assured that there would be something of interest," Xiadani said with a shrug.

"She did mention that there would be some contracts that we needed to look over..." Patricia said, trailing off.

"Um...I was just here already, so I thought I'd stick around," Kaimana said.

"Great. So, we're stuck here until -"

Beep beep.

They turned again, their eyes going wide as a limousine pulled up beside the Cup'o'Spar. The long black car came to a full stop, and then the back door opened. Almost like something off of the television, a long, sparkling leg pushed out. A glassy boot covered the end of sparkling scaly toes, and the diamond glimmer continued up a red-scaled leg, pushing up to the edge of a leotard.

The leg was followed with the rest of the body, the black leotard marked with four-pointed symbols up and down the thing, with a large blue one right in the middle. The dragoness's wings flared out in a quick flap, then pulled in again, every inch of the leather things sharing the same sparkle as the rest of her body.

Rachel wasn't too surprised at the show, but had to admit that it was pretty well-done. She hadn't seen Thea in full diamond-mode since they had been in school, despite the occasional meetings that they had had since. Well, 'meetings' as in video calls. Same difference in this day and age.

The dragoness wore her wings like a cape as she walked up to them, each step a strut and stomp as if she was walking into a board room rather than up to her friends. The diamond layers on her body made her more segmented, more like a piece of art than actual biology, and it was a bit difficult to meet her eyes.

Yet, as she came to a stop, she still seemed to manage a smile.

"My friends. So good to see you all again. Shall we get a cup?"

Rachel looked back at everyone else. To a one, the women were hesitating, looking at each other, then at Thea, and then back again. The cheetah sighed.

"You know, considering everyone's circumstances, you might have chosen a better introduction," she said.

"Ah. The opulence?"

"Yeeeeah, what with the economy and everything..."

"Ah, yes. That would have been a better thought." Thea nodded, bowing her head. "Allow me to apologize. That was...thoughtless. I've been planning this for a while, and I should have taken the time to think of my introduction, as well. I did not mean to be insulting."

Patricia nodded slowly.

"Pay for our meal, and I believe that we'll be fine."

"I was planning on doing that anyway. I'll throw in desserts, too, though."

"Then let's eat!" Korina said, dragging everyone else along. "Food time!"

#

They all shared a few cups of coffee and tea before Thea finally got around to steering their meeting towards her proposal. The dragoness passed out a series of folders, one for each of them, and then went back to the head of the table.

"A moment before you open the folders. This proposal will mean all of us working together again. Some of you like that thought -"

I do! Korina said in all their heads.

"I imagined you would. However, I also know that some of you...I apologize for my bluntness, but one of you has managed to make a living that is not just survival. Xiadani." The dragoness turned to the snow leopard. "You told me that you were willing to consider the offer. What will it take for me to keep you here?"

The snow leopard looked up from her current project, a series of little shards of metal that ran from finger to finger, balancing them on the edge of a long, extended knife. Every time one fell, it seemed to disappear, almost as if it had never been. She tilted her hand, and the blade disappeared, absorbed back into her palm.

"I will need to be convinced to stay. Money is not an issue; whether it offers more satisfaction is."

"Then I think I can count on you. If you'll open the folders?"

Rachel joined everyone else in doing just that. Almost immediately, she was hit with a barrage of sponsorship deals, costume ideas, and more. She pushed those off to the side, digging down to the bottom. The main deal would be there, buried among all the incentives that were on the top.

She's back to it again. I swear, she's back to it - yep. Back to it again.

The contract at the very bottom of the folder was the same one that had been floated at the end of high school, though with better terms, stronger wording, and a full legal education behind this one. However, the core of it was still the same, and she groaned under her breath as she realized the whole point of the meeting.

Boiled down, the contract essentially bound the seven of them together as a team of superheroines. Specifically, as superheroines, emphasizing the whole fact that it was a team of women rather than a team of men. She groaned, rubbing the edge of her muzzle.

She wasn't the only one, either. Sandy held up the contract, pointing at it with her mouth hanging open, and there was a slow raised eyebrow of consideration from Patricia, the mare obviously not sold. The others, however...

She glanced at Kaimana. 'Mana had always been interested in doing something good for others, and her strength - something well beyond the bounds of the average super-strength heroes, and far less easily controlled - was not suited to the average job. The last she heard, the orca had been fired from one government job after another. The last one that she'd had was with a demolition company, but even there, she'd been less controlled than she needed to be. Getting an outlet that actually demanded her powers rather than suppressed them would be a huge thing.

And then there was Korina. That otter had always been a gossip queen, using her powers to mess with people and encourage them at the same time, telling them the bad things so that they could work on building up the good things. She'd been great at finding openings for people to find their way to self-improvement, but there wasn't really a market for that in the current day. Spying on people for law enforcement, on the other hand...

And Xiadina. Glancing at the snow leopard, she saw that the other woman was definitely interested. Perhaps the rumors of the snow leopard taking on some rather...risque jobs of late were not just rumors. The stains on her red suit definitely lent a bit of credence to that.

Rachel grumbled, looking up from the paper.

"Why now?" she asked. "You tried this before. Why now?"

"Several reasons. One, because I have the funds to make a more tempting offer; I have a start-up company that has been getting regular investments, as well as sponsors that are more than willing to pay good money if it means getting you on the team."

"I'm surviving."

"Not well." The dragoness shook her head. "Two, a selfish reason. My company will benefit from the support and sponsorship of a heroic group."

"Then get one that already exists."

"I could. But there are more companies willing to jump in on a deal that includes an all-female hero group."

"...Why?"

"Simple. There isn't one. Plenty of solo female heroes, and plenty of villains, and plenty of side-kicks, but no all-female teams. We'd be the first, and that means that there are plenty of marketing opportunities from those that have the money to spend on it. If we get successful enough, then they will pour money. Both into us, and into my company."

"..." Rachel shook her head. "Not good enough."

"Then the third reason might be." Thea looked around the room. "Quirkas doesn't let you stand still. And all of you - even you, Xiadani - have been. If you don't do something to move forward, to take control of some part of your life, someone else will. It's one thing to be a superhero in a city filled with normal people. It's another thing to have powers when everyone else does.

"But you can't move forward without the right tools. Or the right resources. Or the right people. Nobody can."

The dragoness tapped the folders in front of her.

"I grew up with everything. And unlike my siblings, I chased after everything that I wanted. What inheritance I had, I spent to make myself better. I left school with nothing, but I came back swinging. And now, I have the money to pay it forward. I have the resources to try again. And now...now I have the people that might just make it possible.

"I'm willing to put it on the line to make things better. Maybe not for Quirkas, but for myself, at least. And you, if you're willing to join me. How much are you willing to put on the line? How much are you willing to risk to make things better? To be better?"

...Damn it.

That was a reason that she could get behind, she supposed. All she had done since high school was coast along, doing what came her way. Maybe a few times, she'd pushed herself harder, tried to get more, but it had never worked out. It was just easier to rest on her powers, see what came up, and make sure that nobody bothered her.

She didn't know if she wanted to be a hero...but she wanted to be better than that. And if she didn't try, then it wasn't going to happen.

"I am...interested," Patricia said in her slow, considering way, "but there is a matter that I don't see covered in the contract."

"Oh?" Thea blinked. "I'm sure I covered everything."

"There is the matter of our alter-ego identities. Are we allowed to choose our own?"

"Will it make you sign the contract?"

"It will be a good incentive."

"Then yes."

"I call Mental Marvel!" Korina said, the otter almost bouncing out of her seat.

"You can pick a name as soon as you sign the contract," the dragoness said.

And just like that, there was a fury of scribbling going on. The 'League of Superheroines,' as the contract called them, was formed. Rachel sighed, leaning back from the table. At least the various resources they needed for costumes and everything else would be covered by Thea and the money that she was throwing at them.

They were just about ready to get up when the snow leopard raised her hand. Everyone turned to stare, and Thea blinked before nodding.

"Yes?"

"Now that we are done with that, I have a...rather awkward question."

"What's that?"

"What do we do if we have a supervillain girlfriend?"

"..."

Thea wasn't the only one struck dumb. Rachel was, as well, and so were the rest of the girls...

Except for Korina.

"I knew you were doing someone naughty!"

The End