This is my universe with superhumans, superpowers, and villains. I’m still putting things together, so bear with me. The ‘current’ year in the setting is in the 2030s, as I don’t intend to write any earlier in the timeline, but I’m not wedded to that. The following are stories set in the ‘verse. I should note that these may eventually be removed and put into an anthology.
A Date Gone Awry: This is a short story set in the city of Eureka, California. The main character is, most unusually for me, male, and it’s about him and his eventful blind date.
A Date in Sanctuary: Another story following Chris and Janice from A Date Gone Awry, this story involves them visiting one of the most reclusive communities on Earth.
A Christmas Date: This short story was written for Christmas in 2018, and follows the same characters as A Date Gone Awry.
Lilith’s Shadow Interlude 1: This short story is set between the events of Down with the Queen and Queen’s Move, addressing some of the fallout of the events of DwtQ that didn’t fit into either novel.
Lilith’s Shadow Series
The stories listed below are part of the Lilith’s Shadow series, which follows Lilith Carpenter’s quest for a place in the world. Below I’ll share basic descriptions of each of the main three characters of the series.
- Born a Queen
- Down with the Queen
- Queen’s Move
- Queen of Diamonds
- Queen’s Journey (Release TBA)
- Queen’s Gambit (Release TBA)
Lilith Carpenter
Description: Lilith is approximately six feet tall (~183 cm) and idealized in the form that the supervillainess Shadowmind viewed as perfect, with black hair to the middle of her back with crimson highlights, emerald eyes, and a voluptuous figure. She tends to dress simply, preferring jeans or slacks and simpler blouses or jewelry.
Powers: To all appearances and knowledge, Lilith possesses a single superpower known as a Captivation Field. This ability causes her to draw attention when she’s nearby, so long as there isn’t a significant intervening barrier between her and others. She cannot suppress this ability or otherwise turn it off, making it difficult to go anywhere without drawing significant attention. Her physical abilities are immensely enhanced from what a normal human’s are, but such is part of her physical body, not powers she was granted.
Background: Lilith’s background is bizarre, even in a world with superpowers. The villainess Shadowmind originally intended Lilith’s body as a replacement for her own, and collected genetic samples from hundreds of heroes and villains across the globe in order to create what she considered the perfect genome and resulting body. The manipulation of Lilith’s genome was so extensive that many would question whether she was truly human, for her strength, resilience, and reaction time are nearly ten times that of a normal human on average.
Lilith was fortunate in that Shadowmind became curious what sort of personality such a ‘human’ might develop, and chose to instead implant enough information in her mind to become her own person. Only gaining consciousness after Shadowmind was captured, Lilith found herself with little idea of who she was or should be, and was primarily tutored for several months by a near-sentient AI named Circe. In many ways, she is still trying to find where she fits into the world.
Gina Fairmont
Superhero Identity: Warden, member of Ocean Shield
Description: Gina is about five feet eight inches in height (~173 cm) and fairly curvaceous and solidly built. While not incredibly muscular, she maintains a fit figure, and has a pretty face, bright blue eyes, and golden-blonde hair down to just past her shoulders. She tends to wear slightly fancier clothing, preferring blues that match her eyes.
Powers: Gina is a spellcaster, and like most other super-magi, she has a particular set of talents that focus her powers into a relatively narrow field, generally shields and wards. While she can make attacks, she primarily can defend against attacks, and possesses possibly the strongest magical defenses of all spellcasters in the United States. She is also capable of flight and invisibility, as well as a variety of other effects to a limited degree. As a superhuman, her body is physically boosted to a minor degree, equaling most Olympic athletes.
Background: Gina was born and raised in the area around San Francisco, moving from one of the suburbs to another over the years. When she was six her mother left her father, and her father gained custody. She grew up near the home of Rachel Moore, and the two became friends after Rachel’s mother decided that she needed help. The two went to the same schools, and were fast friends over the years. Such was their bond that both of them awakened their magic at the same time on their 13th birthday.
Much of Gina’s life was relatively unassuming, though she apprenticed under the same mage as Rachel to learn to control her powers. When she took the tests to become a heroine, her overall strength put her at Class A, not the most powerful of heroes, but far above the vast majority of others. In her mundane life she chose to take up the career of a freelance artist, while she eventually joined the largest team in San Francisco, Ocean Shield, where she’s worked through most of her twenties.
Rachel Moore
Superhero Identity: Morgan Le Fay
Description: Rachel is a petite woman who stands about five foot nine inches in height (~175 cm), and has an olive skin tone and deep blue eyes. She looks relatively frail beside many heroes, and tends to wear slightly ornate jewelry and outfits, favoring crimson and black.
Powers: Rachel is a spellcaster with a somewhat broader range of spells than other casters, though this is in part due to preparation on her part. She wears a great deal of jewelry into which she’s formed the framework of various spells, allowing her to use them to cast a broad range of utility spells, along with combat and flight. Her powers in any particular area are weaker than most other magi, but she makes up for it with a breadth of abilities and a specialty in attack spells, though concentrating for long enough to use them is difficult. As a superhuman, her body is boosted like Gina’s, and while weaker than her friend, Rachel is about equal to skilled amateur athletes.
Background: Rachel was born and raised in Oakland, and as such is quite familiar with the region. Coming from a relatively normal, mundane home, her religious mother all but adopted Gina when the two became friends, and despite misgivings about the nature of Rachel’s powers, she remains close with her daughter.
Little of Rachel’s childhood is of particular note, but she and Gina were thick as thieves in college, and prone to playing pranks on their fellow students, pranks which grew more outlandish as their powers grew as well. One of the few modern graduates in the new field of Metaphysics, in her civilian life Rachel has become a teacher at UC Berkley, a position that is only solidified by her magical powers, which generally place her as a Class A superhuman. She, like Gina, is a member of the team Ocean Shield, and spends a good deal of time protecting the city.
Ancient Dreams 