-Eclipse-

@joygirl: Last @reply didn't seem to work (I'm on mobile right now) so just making sure you know I replied, haha

@_animus_: I imagine I'll end up writing a short story set here at some point, I've already got 4 characters I'd love to delve into. I mean, Rook is the main dude for now, but I'd love to do more with Denver.

@joygirl: Absolutely :D either fill out the form in the OP and post it here, or just jump straight in and create a character on the fly. No need to create a new account, unless you find that helpful.

@_animus_: Haha, I've seriously considered it, just don't think it's original enough to be worth writing a whole damn book about. Still, I'm really enjoying creating this world, so I might try and rework the story into something slightly more original at some point :)

I really like the mythos around the Panthera, very interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on this :)

@warsman: You kidding? That was awesome :D I think Guy is probably starting to realise that he can't win this fight, the best he can do is survive it.

And I have an idea on how to stop the ship from crashing, but I'mma save that til the last second ;)

I'm sorry to hear about that, but also very glad to hear that it resonated with you :) yeah, she's so much fun to write, most of my other characters are old and bitter, it's nice to write someone who is a little more optimistic.

@andy_steven_summers: Story of my life, can't tell you how many times I've gotten drop-kicked at 3AM xD

@andy_steven_summers: *gets kicked in the head and falls over* >_>

Sorry, I'd put up a better fight, but I'm real sleepy, lol

Man, that was fun to write... Didn't really proof-read so hopefully it makes sense, haha

@dwronin: Nice post :)

Ronins Rest, Home to the Champions of Peace...

Esther's heart was racing as her knuckles hovered over the door, still deciding whether or not to knock.

A mere few days ago she had encountered her first taste of superheroism, rescuing a hero named Eclipse from the clutches of a villainous mutant. Immediately following this, the young man had recommended that she should adopt a secret identity and join a team of like-minded heroes for training and direction with her powers. To this end, he had bestowed his own name upon her and granted her membership with the Champions of Peace. Rather reluctantly, she had travelled to Japan in order to meet these Champions, and now found herself being summoned to the office of one of their leaders in order to be properly evaluated.

Unfortunately, that leader was her father and the source of her powers, Guy Geller.

Over a decade ago her mother, Stacy Lane, had divorced Geller following years of domestic abuse, with his murder of Philip Stein; the subsequent explosion that killed over thirteen thousand people; and an instance where he lashed out at Esther herself proving to be the many straws that broke the camel's back. Guy had not seen his daughter or ex-wife since then, having spent most of that time in prison. Now it seemed that fate was finally reuniting them. Eclipse felt that she needed to have a word with fate about this sort of thing.

Finally making a decision, she flung the door open and stepped into the office, not thinking her nerves could handle the process of knocking and waiting for a reply. For a moment she stood there, racing heart skipping a beat as her father's eyes stared back into her own. His face was unchanged, exactly the same as the one she had tried for so long to forget, slowed ageing being a perk of his abilities. Time seemed to freeze as a million thoughts went through Eclipse's mind. A hand shot to her face as, for a split second, she thought she caught a glimpse of recognition in Geller's eyes. That, however, was impossible. Even if by some miracle Guy still remembered what his daughter looked like, the new hero had gone to the effort of using her light manipulation abilities to create an illusion over her face, morphing many of her features into an entirely new identity.

"Ah. Right, a meeting. I forgot... You're the new Eclipse, right?" Clearly FuzionGuy had not recognised her, barely looking up from his paperwork as she entered.

"Yes, I..." Esther paused as she considered whether Guy was likely to recognise her voice, before continuing as she decided that her voice had changed a fair amount since she was seven. "That's right. You wanted to see me? No, wait... Also, I wanted to see you. I mean, I wanted to ask you--"

"About Washington?" The leader of the Champions of Peace didn't look up from his desk this time, clearly tired of answering this question. "Officially, we are not mobilising the team to help in that conflict. Though obviously I can't stop any individual members who choose to help."

"Hold on... So you're not going to help?" Esther replied, the shocking nature of his statement enough to remove any awkwardness she had previously felt. "Brahma Bull is launching an offensive against the president of America and you're not going to help?"

"In case you haven't noticed, kid, this isn't the United States of America," Guy gestured at the windows, showing the dirty environment of Ronins Rest. "There is more to the world than the USA and I am tired of spending all of my time cleaning up their messes. Mere months ago I helped to stop an invasion of Washington by an alien force, and now it's under attack yet again? Sorry, but I came all the way out here to get away from home, I'm not about to go back just because some mutant wants to kill the president again. It's not my problem."

For a while there was silence between the two of them, Guy calmly going about his work as a quiet anger built up in the girl he could not know was his own flesh and blood.

"Some hero you are," Eclipse retorted angrily, before vanishing in a burst of orange light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Washington, Capitol of Chaos...

Reappearing in another flash of gold, Esther stepped out onto the streets of Washington with a determined scowl, ready to prove a point to her reluctant leader. Almost immediately her face fell into an expression of wide-eyed fear. Screams of terror pierced the air; horrific creatures ran rampant terrorising the city; and buildings were blazing with monstrous flames. It was far more than the young hero had been expecting, having had no experience at this sort of thing aside from what she had seen in her father's films as a child, which in retrospect really didn't reflect the reality at all. With a trembling hand she pressed her fingers up against the fabric of her costume, feeling the shape of the crucifix beneath as she made a silent prayer.

Before the fusion powered girl could decide on how to proceed, she suddenly found herself pinned to the ground by a mindless creature, one of the many droves of monsters under the command of Brahma Bull. The creature had broken out of formation and was tearing through the streets, until it found Eclipse and wrapped its mighty claws around her, its teeth forming what could only be assumed was a grin as it contemplated how best to kill her. Reacting instantly with a scream of terror, Esther released a bolt of light from one hand, a shard of pure energy that tore right through the monster's chest. It fell to the ground limp, with that sharp-toothed smile frozen to its face, as Lane pointed her palms towards the ground, soaring off into the sky in order to escape as soon as possible.

"Okay, Essie, what's the plan?" The new hero muttered to herself, attempting to shrug off the attack as she tried to find her purpose in this battle. There was no way she could contend with the Bull himself, or any of his lieutenants. She had almost no combat experience at all, the incident moments ago being only the second time she had used her powers offensively. It was always instinct and that wouldn't be good enough against someone like Brahma.

Watching a man clad in patriotic red, white and blue leave a train that was becoming increasingly full of injured people and those trying to escape the city, the girl suddenly realised something she could do.

Floating next to one of the buildings being ravaged by fire, Esther looked in through the window to see a family attempting to escape. Surrounded by the hellish flames on every side, there was no way they could get to the door. So, as his wife clutched their baby, the man rammed the fire extinguisher (apparently useless against the mystical blaze) against the wall repeatedly in an attempt to create an exit. There was little chance they would make it through in time.

"It's no use..." The woman sobbed, kissing her husband as tears streamed down her face, dripping onto the forehead of their streaming child. "Goodbye, George..."

"Hiya, George!" Eclipse smiled as she appeared alongside the family in a flash of light. "Hold on guys, I'm getting you outta here!" She placed one hand on each shoulder and channelled power through them, as man, woman and child began to radiate a golden glow. Then, before the flames could get them, they vanished, reappearing in one of the train cars already on its way out of the city.

Disappearing before she could be thanked, Esther returned to the train station and decided that something had to be done to prevent the monsters from attacking those who were trying to escape. So, using her powers of light manipulation, she created a distortion field around the trains so that light simply bent around them, providing the illusion that they weren't actually there at all. If any other heroes or innocent bystanders appeared, she would of course lift the illusion for them, but for now it would prove to be a useful tactic for masking the trains from those who would see a cart full of civilians as an opportunity for murder. Then, taking to the skies once again, the young superhero flew from building to building, rescuing those who had been trapped by the hellfire.

There was little she could do offensively, but there were other ways to be a hero.