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The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine

01 Apr 2015 21:34 - 01 Apr 2015 23:57 #41264 by AuGoose
I'm working on a longer story and thought I'd share a funny moment with my heroine gearing up before an op...

- - -
She pulled the specially molded clamshell Kevlar over her head, then began clicking together the four catches down each side, fitting it snuggly before reaching for her harness.

Her unwelcome ‘partner’ was pulling on his own gear with similar practiced efficiency. He caught her eye and glanced at her chest with a slightly different reason than most men. “Why do you even wear a vest? Bullets bounce of off the Lioness.” He sneered, “I know. I’ve shot you.”

“Well for one, Spider, people see the vest and think twice about pulling the trigger in the first place. And unlike you, most hostiles don’t end up actually hitting me. It’s a lot safer for everybody. And two, the Kevlar traps bullets. Cuts down on ricochets. Like you said, they bounce off of me and have hurt bystanders before.
- - -

More to come :).
Last edit: 01 Apr 2015 23:57 by AuGoose.
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01 Apr 2015 22:42 #41272 by castor
Replied by castor on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Clever. Look forward to it-always love super stories that play with a little logic.

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02 Apr 2015 05:17 #41279 by TwiceOnThursdays
Replied by TwiceOnThursdays on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
I love this. Very practical, and shows good tactical thinking.

One my "WTF" questions is why does Superman let himself get shot? He has superspeed, heat vision, x-ray vision, and telescoping/microscopic vision.

He could use x-ray vision, find all the guns (esp those people are holding), send a burst of heat vision to melt the firing pin, move on to next gun. In a few instants, all the bad guys guns are nullified, and there is zero chance of a ricochet causing damage.

Very handy in a hostage situation as well. (Doubly so since it seems most of the time that even though the artist draws his heat vision, it doesn't seem to be something visible to the human eye, at least at certain power levels).

Of course he rarely uses his super-speed in combat. Most fights with Superman should never start. (I have this problem with Flash, esp the TV show.)

Don't get me started on Superman Vs. Doomsday (possibly the absolutely stupidest written fight in the history of comics, unless Superman is an absolute utter moron). Honestly, the writers should be embarrassed.
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02 Apr 2015 05:21 - 02 Apr 2015 12:09 #41280 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Because being a superherione can be hard...

- - -
She looked over the last of the checklist and turned to Doctor Cartwright. “I seem to have forgotten my pen. Do you have one, perchance?”

“I always have a pen, dear” he answered with a slight smile, passing her his. It was a long standing ritual between them with as much force behind it as a thousand military superstitions shared by pilots and foot-sloggers alike. If he hadn’t, she might have scrubbed the mission right then and there, the omens speaking so firmly against it. But he’d never let her down. Not even the first time she’d asked him for a pen.

...4 months ago...

“Miss Taylor– Angeleah, you’ve already been the victim of a capricious god, I don’t want to take adv–

“I’m nobody’s victim, Doc. Liam was an oversexed jerk, but he died screaming. Its hard to beat that for instant kharma. I hate the rat-fucker that killed my parents a hundred times more than Liam.” She was panting with remembered outrage.

Doctor Cartwright looked at her pain and turned away in shame. ‘What are we doing?’ he thought to himself.

“Enough about me. What’s got you so spooked? You’re a good person, doc. I trust you. So trust me. Tell me what’s scaring you?”

The doctor took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, composed himself. Calmer, he faced her and looked her in the eye. “Miss Taylor, some of my colleges have devised a series of tests. Tests for your... for your durability. Tests I object to because they amount to little more than sophisticated, premeditated torture. Even with your consent, this runs deep in to morally grey waters.”

“Then I share your concerns.” she answered with a cool evenness that would have made the blood of anyone who didn’t know her like he did run cold. He had been her doctor since the day she had blasted into the FBI building. He had washed her parents’ blood off and kept her from going mad that day. Since then he had proven both considerate and unflinchingly principled. His was a sense of honor that she aspired towards. They weren’t friends precisely, but they were close in their own fashion. Kindred sprits.

“As you might imagine, we would have to subject you to increasingly hostile circumstances, first until they caused you pain, and then escalating until they began to cause you injury before stopping.”

She could tell how much this upset him – his voice had gone flat, robotic, clearly reciting something he had read on a page from memory because the words were too awful for him to form himself.

“But this would be gradual, yes? Controlled?” She asked. “You’d help me find out my limits before someone shows them to me the hard way, in the field? I could call it off right? There would be a safe word or something?”

“Yes, absolutely. And determining ‘you limits’ for your own knowledge would be one reason for the experiments, Miss Taylor. But there’s more. More that you have to know.”

She just cocked her head, listening and waiting.

“The experiments would form the basis of counter–”, he choked on the word for a moment before continuing. “Countermeasures tailored to your physiology should you go rogue.” There, he’d said it, and he was shaking with anger now. “There are people here who want to be sure they can kill you, Angela.”

She remained silent, thinking. He looked at her, pleading for her forgiveness with his eyes.

Finally she took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Do it.”

His head drooped, not with relief, but shame.

“I can tell them to continue then. But I need more than your spoken, or even written consent. I need you to write out for me, in your own words, your understanding of what will be done and why. I’ve brought the forms.”

“Did you bring a pen too, doc?” she said, softly, with quiet kindness that made him look up at her again.

“I always have a pen, dear. You know that.” he answered, and realized that was why she had asked.

She took the papers and confiscated his desk in companionable silence and thought for several minutes before beginning to write. When she was done she handed it to him, still silent.

He read it, and his eyes gleamed, on the verge of tears.

“I’ll... I’ll monitor every procedure.”

“I know you will, Doc. That’s probably the only reason I can do this. But make sure they get it right the first time. I don’t want to play guinea pig forever.”

“I will.” He folded the paper in precise thirds so the creases would obscure nothing that she had written. He tucked the paper into his labcoat pocket and withdrew.

She sat in his office alone the rest of the night.

Like all monsters, I am terrifying. But I am a monster only in the imagination of those who must fear the worst and act to prevent it. This is my truth– Today. Who can know Tomorrow?

I, Angeleah Clarice Taylor, consent to these experiments though their essential purpose is to do me harm. I do this to safeguard lives should I become a monster in fact, and not just in imagination. I trust in my friends, my lawful superiors, and my people. So that they may place their trust in me.

- - -

More to come.
Last edit: 02 Apr 2015 12:09 by AuGoose.

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02 Apr 2015 21:07 #41291 by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
These bits echoes some idea I wanted to work in my narrative, especially in the stories connecting "Closure Hour" and "Guns of the Highlands". More often than not issues like training and gear are handwaved by authors -- even professional ones -- as relatively not important. This serve a double purpose in my opinion, on one hand it creates a grey area that allows a bit of deus ex machina to exploit one way or another; on the other allows a bit of leeway to explain how and why a character didn' use the full extent of his own abilities.

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03 Apr 2015 02:38 #41293 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
I'm leaving myself some narrative wiggle room with her powers fluctuating a bit over time. And a set of experiments like she's been subjected to is really only as good as the imagination of the designer. She'll know her own limits against obvious stuff like guns or lasers or blunt force trauma, but identifying specialized weaknesses like allergies (or the iconic Kryptonite) comes down to someone having checked during the tests. I mean who really tests for white bratwurst poisoning on a person who can shed fire from tanks?

I'm expecting the Lioness's most recurrent 'weakness' will take the form that she doesn't weigh any more than a normal person her size and she has to concentrate to fly/anchor herself in space. The physics of momentum are an unrelenting bitch to the super-strong. Fortunately she's had a good teacher, who we'll be meeting later ;).
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03 Apr 2015 02:57 - 03 Apr 2015 03:05 #41294 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine

TwiceOnThursdays wrote: I love this. Very practical, and shows good tactical thinking.

One my "WTF" questions is why does Superman let himself get shot? He has superspeed, heat vision, x-ray vision, and telescoping/microscopic vision.


To be honest I find about 90% of Superman stories intensely boring. If it comes down to physical prowess... He Wins. Done. Finito.

Only the best writers can manage him and when the others fall back on fisticuffs to drive the story the show is over (for me). Superspeed is a HUGE contributor to the ludicrous proposition of having a Superman fight be dramatic. Its one of several things they need to officially carve out of his suite of powers entirely -- formalize what most writers do already: ignore it as unworkable. But until then we just have to cherish the stories that recognize the psychological and moral dimensions are where the character thrives. I applaud the writers who understand his most interesting superpower is virtue and that its not as unchallengable as his super-strength.
Last edit: 03 Apr 2015 03:05 by AuGoose.

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03 Apr 2015 04:10 - 15 May 2015 07:03 #41296 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
A rough cut following directly on the previous segment~

Warning: Spoiler!


More to come.
Last edit: 15 May 2015 07:03 by AuGoose.
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03 Apr 2015 04:36 #41297 by TwiceOnThursdays
Replied by TwiceOnThursdays on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
I really like the backstory here.

People doing things they do not want to do, but think need to be done, and paying the cost. And immense power but with some limitations.

That makes a very interesting world. And you've populated it with characters that we want to know more about.
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03 Apr 2015 09:13 #41301 by SHTL
Replied by SHTL on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
really liked, please more !
SHTL
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03 Apr 2015 12:46 - 03 Apr 2015 12:51 #41305 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
I'd hoped to put the whole chapter up today but the last piece is kinda sticking and it'll be worth the wait to give it a complete going over (plus I have some favors to do today ;) ). But I did want to share the start of the one and only fight scene in chapter 1. Taylor's shown off her vulnerable side a few times... It's good to see her not-really-vulnerable-at-all side B).

- - -
Then, something hit her.

Hard.

It's a Hollywood myth that people can be bodily flung around by the energy transfer than occurs in the space of an inch or two and along a contact point a couple inches wide when a punch connects. No matter how strong the person is throwing the punch. Human bodies are squishy. It takes special harnesses and a fantastically slow release of energy to generate that effect, often from a whole team of stuntmen pulling on ropes with their full bodyweight. In the real world people will burst like water balloons before gracefully sailing away when a true hammer blow falls.

Angeleah was not squishy. She’d found that out months ago when she’d graduated from firing range dummy flinching as a 30mm vulcan cannon opened up on her courtesy of Captain Birch and a parked A-10 (he'd had total faith in her), up to being a target for an M1-Abrams as part of her ongoing durability testing. They’d had to rig the tank for time delayed remote firing; no tank crew they could find would accept the order to shoot at an unarmed woman standing out on the test field 500 yards down range. The first try had missed. She was a tiny morsel compared to the armored predator’s usual diet of tracked vehicles and hardened buildings. The howl of the round’s passage almost made her call a stop to the proceedings. But the second time? Center of mass, baby. She’d bounced ass over tea kettle almost half a mile before having to dig herself out of the churned earth hillside that served as the range’s backstop. She came out laughing and covered in mud. "It kinda tickled!" They’d given up on ballistic testing after that. There was really no point. When it came to kinetic kill weapons she was no-bullshit invulnerable. No, all capitals, please. And get some boldfaced up in here. INVULNERABLE, bitches! Yeah. Like that.

So when a massive meathook came out of the darkness and slugged her with enough power to pull her whole body into the air behind the homerun hit on her skull and she flew across the room to embed herself in the concrete wall like spear thrown by a god... it didn't hurt, but she took notice.

“Ow! Fuck, my hand!” roared a meaty bass voice.
- - -

More (ass-kicking payback) to come. :)
Last edit: 03 Apr 2015 12:51 by AuGoose.

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04 Apr 2015 09:24 #41317 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Ok, I think I've posted part one :cheer:. The site tends to freeze up on me when slinging longer files :P.

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05 Apr 2015 00:02 - 15 May 2015 06:58 #41326 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Summer fades and autumn looms and everybody's favorite anniversary approaches (NOT!). It's time we met someone new...

Warning: Spoiler!
Last edit: 15 May 2015 06:58 by AuGoose.

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05 Apr 2015 17:12 - 15 May 2015 06:59 #41343 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Having a great week at the keyboard!

And now... repercussions.

Warning: Spoiler!
Last edit: 15 May 2015 06:59 by AuGoose.

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05 Apr 2015 18:26 - 15 May 2015 07:02 #41344 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
And finally... a wild nemesis appears.

Warning: Spoiler!


More to come.
Last edit: 15 May 2015 07:02 by AuGoose.

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15 Apr 2015 02:40 - 15 May 2015 07:00 #41482 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Chatting with The Highlander it became apparent Taylor hadn't had any well documented run ins with more crass male personalities. Easily rectified (both as a writer and by Angeleah). As usual this represents a rough cut rather than polished text..

Warning: Spoiler!


More to come.
Last edit: 15 May 2015 07:00 by AuGoose.

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21 May 2015 09:19 - 22 May 2015 01:20 #42221 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Been writing on this again after hitting a conundrum with Zoe. Thought I'd share a loose concept piece for Taylor's "Patrol Gear" when out and about as Lioness in NY. That's her own hair poking out under the helmet in back - a helmet that should break up some of the key angles used in facial recognition software. She's not super-obsessive about her secret identity, but she doesn't flaunt it either (mostly for the protection of her neighbors). She's got a good sized satchel on her back and a few knick-knacks on her belt.



And just for giggles I tossed the model into something more formal. City charity event maybe.

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Last edit: 22 May 2015 01:20 by AuGoose.
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21 May 2015 14:44 #42227 by castor
Replied by castor on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine

AuGoose wrote: Been writing on this again after hitting a conundrum with Zoe. Thought I'd share a loose concept piece for Taylor's "Patrol Gear" when out and about as Lioness in NY. That's her own hair poking out under the helmet in back - a helmet that should break up some of the key angles used in facial recognition software. She's not super-obsessive about her secret identity, but she doesn't flaunt it either (mostly for the protection of her neighbors). She's got a good sized satchel on her back and a few knick-knacks on her belt.
/quote]

Welst....this is good superhero logic.

Like most stuff with superheros it at best seems like something that could work....but it is well thought out like so much of lioness.

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16 Jun 2015 05:05 #42808 by AuGoose
Replied by AuGoose on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
The Lioness soared.

She would never be able to, indeed would never try to patrol the city 24/7. In fact she often allowed her days and nights to roll over so that her activities were less predictable. She had a pager for major emergencies, but she also had the freedom to tell ORCA and the NYPD when she was not going to be on call even for catastrophe. No sense them waiting for her if she was half a world away. The erratic hours sometimes left her a little woozy but she still found that flying over the city late at night was restful– when there weren’t any screams of course. It was lovely seeing the city in all its moods, well worth the odd headache or poor day’s sleep.

She still paid special attention to the roadways, particularly around the nightclub districts. Drunk driving was something you could occasionally stop before it started. Swooping down and confronting a staggering reveler as they approached their car. She had a line of credit with three of the city’s taxi companies and they were eager to come ‘round when she called and asked them to take a drunken fare home. When she took someone’s keys, they stayed taken until she slipped them to the cabbie to be returned on arrival.

A few complaints had been filed, but the police largely invited such individuals to shut the fuck up and count their blessings. In return she did everything to not abuse their trust in her word.

But after that deeply personal calling her favorite sort of action was fires. There was no negotiating with fire. No hurt feeling or confused motives. Just pure threat to lives and property. Her training at ORCA had focused on interacting with LEOs (law enforcement officers) but she knew every fire station in a 30 mile radius had a one-sheet posted about her. The first two section were distinctly un-fun. The most severe warnings imaginable that the brass would not tolerate “ungentlemanly” conduct towards her, and that no one was to stop for photos while working an active blaze. It wasn’t that unusual for her costume to get burned to nothing and to keep your damn tongue in your mouth when it happened. Playing grab ass of any sort with her was an instant firing offense. Considering what she was capable of if she took the matter into her own hands, it was the least they could do. One burly axeman had found himself riding a bus back from Seattle after making a go before the policy was formalized. A three day ride without pay and another two weeks suspension waiting for him when he arrived.

The second section was perhaps more chilling. It outlined her strict policy that she would rescue civilians first, last, and always over the firefighters. There would be no trying to attract her attention with false peril. They were trained professionals who knew the risks of the job. She would respect that and trust that they would want her to get the other people out first. There had been a few exceptions brought on by the practical demands of triage (she’d pulled out a team of five firefighters even as two teenagers burned and still had nightmares about it), but overall the warning worked. The men and women of the NYFD stayed on task, treating her as a useful offensive tool against fires and not a safety net.

She’d managed to deflect most of the impulse to stop and stare or worse try to take pictures by visiting the firehouses a few days after each blaze. She would pose with them, sometimes lifting a pump engine or flying in the pictures to give it the personal touch of a friendly paranatural. One of the Good Guys.

In what was fast being enshrined as private ritual held at the stationhouses behind closed garage doors where the newshounds couldn’t easily see, she would name four men from the squad that she’d worked with to come forward. She hovered over then and kissed each of them chastely on the forehead, thanking them personally. While the captain on the scene was almost always among the four, the others were such a curious mix that rumors spread how she was selecting them. Were they the bravest? No. Some men who had carried out citizens or their brothers at the utmost risk to themselves had been skipped over. Were they the most attractive to a young woman... seemingly not: she selected fresh-faced rookies and scared and aging veterans alike. It was months before the Chief Fire Marshal for the Five Boroughs finally dared asked her why she picked the men they did. He had no complaints — every one had been a fine fireman and they seemed even more determined to give their best after her kiss. She’d told him, in private, that they were the ones on the radio in her ear that sounded the most calm. She chose them because they were steady in the face of danger and she wanted to honor that without encouraging them to take more risks. Their quiet courage helped her focus, told her what she needed to know to do her very best with them. He had nodded and kept her secret but he also flagged a few of them for promotion. Close to a year on now, all the crews loved her called her ‘their warrior angel’ and knew that somehow "The Lion's Kiss" was a sign of being on the fast track.

The third section of the one-sheet? That was almost fun. It outlined her arm-signal sign language for needing a shower. She was immune to the heat but her body still absorbed it. Quite efficiently in fact. It took minutes, sometimes less in especially hot flames, for her to build up so much heat she could no longer touch people without burning them as badly as the fires around her. When she called to say she was coming they unpacked extra coats and pants for her - when she could she would go in wearing turn-out gear not that different than the firefighter’s own. Still, she had to strike quickly, precisely, launching small sorties before emerging to get the coldest water available poured over her in an eruption of steam. Even with her strength and mobility she had to work as part of the team to help the most people - a challenge that called to her with every dispatch. Mostly she was able to place herself where bucket crews could hit her and the blaze with a single chilling gout, but some fires sent her skittering to the back lines to cool down while reporting on what she had seen to the commander on site. Her earbead was temperature hardened but her microphones always fried in a serious blaze. She could listen but if things got hot she couldn’t call out.

That had lead to some bad situations... she’d even gotten turned around and buried herself once. It was a design problem ORCA’s R&D was still struggling with. It was terrifying sometimes being at the bottom of a pile of rubble, knowing she could dig her way out but that doing so might collapse the heap and kill others trapped in it with her. She’d studied practical building engineering with a passion after she’d panicked once and brought a building down from the inside. No one had been hurt, but it was a close thing...

But tonight, no fires. No screams. Not even many drunks. Just time to think.

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16 Jun 2015 15:50 #42813 by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Just my take on the costume using a different character editor, unfortuately it lacks the "tactical" feeling.

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16 Jun 2015 23:54 #42818 by Grayface
Replied by Grayface on topic The Lioness - a 'tactical' superheroine
Hey I didn't miss this post! by now you know what I like and I like this. I like stories that set up the world, that let you know not just what the super heroine is thinking but the people who have to deal and cope with her too.

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