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Meteor Woman, Issue #11 (Man to Hot Superheroine TG)
🕑 Added 2024-02-03 10:26:27 +0000 UTCBy FoxFaceStories
Burt may live in a world of superheroes and supervillains, but he’s just a regular burglar trying to support his sickly mother and teenage sister with ill-gotten gains. But when he is hired to help break into a superhero vault facility, Burt accidentally triggers an artefact that gives him the power to turn into Meteor Woman, the superstrong and incredibly busty heroine. Now juggling two lives, Burt tries to stay under the radar even as his super person becomes an increasingly huge sensation.
Issue 11: Crashing Down
Kara shuddered. She doubled over, falling to all fours. She could feel it; the power within her beginning to wither away, leaving her as nothing more than a mortal woman . . . or worse. The pain was shocking, like her very invulnerability was being ripped through her skin, but with her meagre super strength remaining she crumbled a section of the floor in each hand, grasping for a hold as the Meteor’s power retreated. It would have been the greatest agony she’d ever felt, were it not for her kid sister standing right before her.
“Alexis,” Meteor Woman managed, stammering through the pain.
“Wh-why?” Alexis repeated. Her eyes were wide, brimmed with tears. She looked as if her entire world had collapsed down upon her, as surely as a section of the wall had collapsed upon Flame Dancer. No, it was worse than that. It was as if her soul had been crushed out from her.
“I’m - you don’t understand. I had to-”
“You’re a villain!” she cried. “I trusted you! I looked up to you! And you’re nothing but a - but a thief! Why did you take me flying? Was it just to make yourself feel better? Oh God, I thought you were so cool. You were - you were my fucking hero!”
Kara tried to stumble forward, but again there was that contraction of energy within her. That wide band of pain that signalled a further reduction of her superpowers. Her limbs felt heavier. All of her did, including the two obvious bits, much to her chagrin.
“Please, Alexis! Just listen to me!”
“Why should I?” she cried, stepping back. Tears continued to run tracks down her cheeks. It made Kara’s heart rend open just to see it.
“Because - because - shit!”
Her powers were not so gone as to not notice what was coming. With her enhanced hearing, she could make out the wire chatter of approaching heroes and others calling for help. Tacticon had sent reserves from whoever they could spare from the fight with Hyperion - maybe they were winning? Worse, maybe they were in retreat. Meteor Woman acted fast and without thinking: she launched herself forward and grabbed Alexis carefully around the waist. The other woman squirmed in shock, but Kara gave her no chance to complain, because she took them both into the air as rapidly as she could. Alexis’ fists beat against Meteor Woman’s back uselessly as she carried them out of the Hero Dome. Alarms continued to blare and various workers ran from the chaos, but soon they emerged from it, soaring past several buildings with less control than either heroine-turned-villain or fan-turned-hater would have liked. They twirled about in the air, Kara struggling to maintain her trajectory. In the distance, several heroes were heading for the Dome, but she was quick enough to get out of the main city square. Alexis screamed in her ear, making the landing all the more difficult thanks to the distraction.
‘You were unworthy in the end, Burt,’ echoed the Meteor’s voice in her mind. ‘Perhaps another is more worthy in this time of desperation.’
“No!” she cried, faltering in the air, her powers shrinking ever faster than before. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean - I had to! My mother!”
“What!?” Alexis cried, but then she screamed again as they careened down to the street level.
‘The cape will be worn by another. You are not worthy. A shame: I truly believed you had the makings of a great hero. You had such potential, and now you have thrown it away.’
The words scorched Meteor Woman’s soul. Tears welled in her own eyes, making the landing even more perilous. She staggered, crashing to the ground harder than she should have, managing to keep Alexis safe but scraping her own back in the process. Her skin was meant to be diamond hard, but now it hurt like hell. She staggered to her feet, cape fluttering around her awkwardly. She had managed to land them in an alley well out of view, and it didn’t seem anyone was coming for them. At least not yet. She staggered to Alexis’ side: her young sister was getting to her own feet.
“Alexis? Alexis, are you okay? Alexis, I’m so sorry!”
“Get away from me!” the frizzy-haired girl cried. “Are you kidnapping me? You were stealing shit from the Hero Dome! I saw you fight Flame Dancer! You’re a monster!”
“I’m not a goddamn monster!” Kara shouted. “God! Oh sh-shit!”
She stumbled to the ground and screamed. The pain of the power leaving her was immense. It was like she was being emptied of energy, squeezed dry like a tube of toothpaste being rolled up. For a moment, Alexis’ face shifted to abject concern.
“What’s going on? I don’t understand what the fuck is going on!”
“Alexis, p-please, trust me. You don’t kn-know everything. I’m - I’m not who you think I am.”
“You’re goddamn right. You were my hero! I’m getting the police!”
“No, p-please! Just - just watch! Please, just watch. And please don’t hate me. I don’t want you to hate me, Alexis. All I ever wanted was for you to look up to me, kiddo.”
Alexis halted, eyebrows raised, expression caught between recognition and confusion. Kara focused on her body, on the disappointment of the power of the Meteor within her, of her failure to be a hero. She couldn’t help but think of the fun she’d had as well, the joy of the power, the people she had helped, the villains she had fought. The man she had made love to. Ralph’s face flickered in her mind, warm and comforting and witty.
And then she let it all go, releasing it back to the cape which had empowered her in the first place. The pain stopped, and instead there was just the gentle pouring away of power as it filtered from her form.
That form too changed, as did her clothing. Alexis gasped, but Kara could only close her eyes and try not to burn up with shame as her body became male again, became Burt again. In moments, she was on her knees wearing a pair of ordinary trousers and schlubby button shirt, male once more in mind and body. He was short and pudgy again, face a little too unshaven, his figure coarse and obstinate. In his hands was the silver-blue cape of Meteor Woman, no longer receptive to his touch.
Time to face the music, he thought. Even if I can’t look her in the eyes.
“Alexis,” he murmured.
“Holy shit - Burt!? I don’t - what!?”
Burt looked up, though he still couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Surprise, kiddo,” he said, grinning sheepishly. “I’m, uh, Meteor Woman.”
Alexis’ jaw dropped. She staggered back, only just managing to catch herself from falling. She was staring at the blue cape and then back to her brother in horror.
Yeah, there had to be a better way to explain that, he thought.
***
Alexis had a thousand questions, and each answer brought a thousand more. Burt couldn’t blame her. In the last couple of hours her city had come under attack from a supervillain, her favourite hero had also become a villain, and then after being briefly kidnapped by said former hero, she’d also found out that her hero-turned-villain-turned kidnapper was secretly her older brother.
It was a hell of a thing to take in, though Burt tried to clamp down upon the discussion as they made their way hurriedly to the apartment. There were sirens of warning everywhere, and numerous lower tier heroes - the C and D-listers - advising people to stay home and get to shelter. Evidently, things weren’t going well with the fight against Hyperion: a number of heroes including Signet Lance were being evacuated for medical treatment.
“I hear he’s got some kind of new weapon,” someone proclaimed excitedly as an electronic billboard played helicopter footage of a fight. “It can shut off superpowers. He’s broken half the villains free of their cells, and the rest are rioting.”
“He’s demanding Meteor Woman come face him,” a woman added. “Despicable.”
“Where is she?” another said.
“Yeah, she should be in the thick of it, protecting us!”
“Meteor Woman shouldn’t have to answer to terrorists.”
“But she could stop him.”
“Or give him what he wants! She helps us here. She’s the only one looking out for us Cornwallians and Metropole folk, even the Narrows know her better than the like of Blue Trident!”
“Still, it’s weird not seeing her around. I’m worried.”
The conversation continued as Burt continued to walk, Alexis by his side. He occasionally had to pull her forward as they headed to their apartment building, but he tried to be gentle: her world was collapsing from underneath her, and she couldn’t stop looking at the terrible news. Apparently a seven-story building over by the Eastman had been flattened in the chaos. This is big A-level supervillainy shit. God, I hope Ralph is safe.
“I don’t understand,” Alexis said.
“I’ll explain when we get to safety, kid.”
“How can you be Meteor Woman? It makes no sense!”
“You’re telling me. I didn’t deserve it.”
“You - but how?”
He sighed as they turned a corner. In the far distance, something was colliding from the heavens. Starcaller bringing down celestial motes of energy from the upper atmosphere, perhaps. God, he hated how much he knew this superhero shit now. But if Starcaller was involved this close to the city with her power, then stuff was getting serious. There was a massive series of detonations, then something akin to a gigantic, Godzilla-like roar. Something was stomping out there, but the rising black smoke and flames were making it hard to discern.
“Christ, it’s like a fucking warzone,” he said. “I can’t believe I took a job from him.”
“From who - from Hyperion? Burt, what the hell is going on? I’m scared!”
“Let’s get back to the apartment first and -”
“No!” she shouted, pulling away from him. “You’re carrying her damn cape. You’re her, or something! You hurt Flame Dancer! You have to explain this to me.” Her eyes pleaded with him, and it withered him. “Please, Burt.”
Burt sagged. He still lacked energy from everything that had gone on. I could take the big tits and the vagina again if it meant I never had to feel puffed again. But the time for truth had come. He looked around, but the crowds were thinning as people ran for safety, and the blare of ambulance and police and fire sirens overrode any chance of people hearing him.
“I - I’m a shitty person, Alexis. You know I’ve always had a run in with trouble. Ma’s so proud of me for pulling myself out of it, but the truth is . . . the truth is I never did. I work security, yeah, but I’ve also been breaking into security for a good few years now. Small-time jobs to make cash on the side.”
Alexis gasped. “You’re a robber?”
“A burglar. Robbing means putting people in harm’s way, and I don’t -”
An image of Flame Dancer unconscious flickered in his mind, a blade of guilt digging into his heart.
“-I didn’t do that. I just worked odd jobs and kept my head under. It wasn’t for me, little one, it was for you and Ma. With her medical bills-”
“It was wrong,” she said emphatically.
“Yeah, it was. It is. But I needed the money so we could have a mother, and you could go to school and have a future.”
“I would have preferred you not do any of that for us.”
“Yeah, well, it’s easy to say that, kid. Don’t think I didn’t feel guilty about it. But I got in deep, and ended up working with the wrong person. That Hyperion asshole. I didn’t know it at the time, but he got me and several others to help him break into a superhero vault facility. He wanted, well, he wanted the cape of the Meteor. Things went sideways and I sorta ended up with it. When it landed on me, some weird bird out in space told me I had the power of the Comet now, and that I had the chance to be a genuine superheroine: Meteor Woman.”
Alexis looked up at him, and he took that opportunity to keep moving. Things were tense on the streets, and that loud booming noise was only continuing. Whatever Hyperion had out there, he didn’t like it.
“You’re kidding!” Alexis said. “You got turned into Meteor Woman? Is she another identity? Is she a different person? Do you forget what you’re like when you’re her?”
“No, no! She’s me, alright? Same person. It’s why the bathtub broke: I didn’t realise my own superstrength and I was trying to turn back into my Burt-self. I mean, some things are different.”
Alexis realised before even he did what was being indicated there. “Oh my God, that reporter! Ralph Riley! The superhero forums all say you’ve got a thing for him! That you kissed when you rescued him!”
Burt flushed a deep red.
“We can talk about that later. Look, there’s some changes. I turned into a blonde chick in her twenties with big stonkin’ tits, okay? Anyone would act a little different!”
Alexis giggled for a moment, until she remembered her anger and regained her glare.
“And all this time you’ve been lying to Ma and me.”
“To protect you. That’s what your heroes all do, right? Secret identities and stuff? I was doing the same.”
“You were making a difference! People loved you! I loved you! You - you meant so much, and it was all so you could rob the Hero Dome and make some quick money?”
“For Mom’s treatment, Alexis. For Mom. I would have done anything for her, and for you. But I didn’t just do that. I would have robbed the Hero Dome weeks ago if that was the case. I - I liked being a hero. Even if I had to be a woman and deal with all the gross comments and that ridiculous body-hugging, cleavage-showing costume and all the internet memes and posters and all that . . . I liked it. I felt like I was doing good in my life, for once.”
She folded her arms and looked away. “You were.”
They were nearly to the apartment. He had no idea what to do from there, but at least it would be a sort of shelter for now. Other heroes in the city were already looking for Meteor Woman, but apparently her new vigilante status was being clamped down upon. Fuck, I hope Flame Dancer is okay. What the fuck was I thinking? The spirit of the Meteor was right, I didn’t deserve any of that power.
“C’mon,” he said. “Let’s get to Mom. She matters most here. We need to make sure she’s safe.”
“You care about people’s safety now?”
“I always did, Alex. I just . . . suck at it.”
She glared again, but the expression was more one of disbelief and hurt than anything else, instead of true anger. She followed Burt into the building.
***
Ma was safe, though she’d gotten out of bed against what the doctor’s had advised to her last time, and was sitting in the living room with a shell-shocked expression on her face.
“Oh thank God, you’re both safe!” she exclaimed as Burt and Alexis entered. “I was so worried - thank you for keeping her safe, my son.”
“Yeah, thanks for keeping us safe, Burt,” Alexis added.
“Mom, you shouldn’t be in bed.”
She waved him off, though she had to pause to give a wet-sounding cough. “I’ll be f-fine. I’ve got my liquids. Besides, nowhere is safe at the moment - look at the news!”
She gestured to the television, and Burt paused.
Holy shit, it’s worse than I could have imagined.
The footage was from a helicopter overseeing the carnage. The reporter wasn’t Ralph Riley - it wasn’t a Daily Star channel - but he knew that he’d be there somewhere. Trieker’s Prison was an open maw, bent and ruined, its walls collapsed on two sides. Numerous emergency services were responding to round up escaping inmates, but dozens of villains were on the loose and engaging with the Hero Society in the air. Some were even fleeing into their constituent villains gangs - the Apocalypse Order, the Deterrents, even the shadow Doom Society were forming ranks. The battle was reaching the city despite Blue Trident’s water constructs trying to keep a seal on it, and part of that was because of what Hyperion had brought to the fore.
“It’s a goddamn mecha,” Burt said. “It’s huge.”
It was still assembling too, still growing like a gigantic kaiju, the kind of which hadn’t been fought by the Hero Society since the Ancient One had been accidentally unearthed ten years ago. But unlike that fossil, this thing was alive and electric with modern technology, standing over five or six stories tall. It was like a giant version of Hyperion’s own suit, albeit with a long whip-like series of tails and more draconic looking legs that ripped up the road work. Its helmet had the alien green slits that spewed forth radioactive flame, and it too was shaped into a metallic skull. Large floating cannons orbited its shoulders, firing wildly through buildings and shredding apart surfaces. People were only being evacuated just in time. Hopefully.
“Why can’t they stop it?” Alexis said.
“Look,” their Mom replied.
They watched, and saw the rumours unfold. Lightning Lass - adorable, perky Lightning Lass - rode upon a fork of living lightning to discharge a beam of energy. It shattered one of the cannons, which exploded, damaging part of the hull. The mech’s skullplate shifted to one side and focused upon her. From the grill came a burst of that sickly green energy. She dodged it, arcing around and around, the helicopter barely managing to follow her with its camera.
And then the energy collided. The heroine screamed, though the sound couldn’t capture it. She fell, and only one of Trident’s water constructs caught her in time to stop her from splattering on the street. She raised her arm, and a beam of electricity surged forth, but it fell short, as if she had been drained.
Which she had: the mech suddenly grew a little taller, a little stouter. It fed off the energy of Lightning Lass, expanding its mass and repairing its cannon. Another rose in place.
“Holy fuck, it doesn’t shut down powers, but it does drain them,” Burt said.
“They can’t stop it,” their Mom murmured. “At least, they haven’t found a way too. The reporters are covering it on every channel but they’re having to be evacu-”
Burt was already grabbing the remote and checking the different channels. Ralph Riley appeared on the screen, looking haggard and covered in dust and debris as he moved closer to the chaos.
‘The list of casualties keep coming in. No heroes are dead, but some are in serious condition, others wounded and out of action. Lightning Lass was just drained as it being pulled back to rejoin the fight with us. Lightning Lass, can you tell us anything?”
The haggard-looking beauty sighed. ‘Hyperion hurt Signet, so I’m gonna hurt him back. J-just need a moment. Everyone needs to evacuate though. Follow the - agh! - the directions of your local authority. Sorry, hurts to breathe. If you’re in Cornwall or Metropole, get out of here - he’s headed that way. And for the love of God if any heroes are left, please come and help. Even just to stall him.”
“Is it true that he wants Meteor Woman?”
Lightning Lass nodded after a moment’s hesitation. “He says he’ll stop if she comes. Don’t believe him. He wants her power.”
“Do you think she’ll come?”
“I hope so. I really hope so. I trust her.”
Another explosion rocketed, and this one was not just one the screen but could be seen out the window upon the horizon. Ralph looked okay, but he had to cover himself. Burt’s heart skipped a beat. Unlike all the other times he’d changed back, his attraction to the man remained this time. That connection, ever since they’d slept together. Since he’d shared such a personal side with him. He turned off the screen.
“Shit,” he said.
“Yeah,” Ma said, for once not correcting his language.
“We need to get you two out of here.”
“We all need to get out of here,” Sally said. “But - I don’t know if I can, Burt. I’m . . . I’m pretty weak right now. You take Alexis, and make sure she gets to a shelter. Both of you. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not leaving you in danger, Sally,” he said.
“Me either,” Alexis added.
Burt cringed. How is she playing the hero right now?
“No, you don’t understand,” he said. He gazed out the window to where the carnage was occurring. “I need to get out there.”
“What?” Sally said. “Burt, that’s ridiculous! You’re just a security guard!”
“I’m not,” he said. “I can’t explain it, Ma, but there’s more going on than you know. I have to be out there, helping people. I . . . can do things. Maybe. Sort of. I’ve got a power, though I don’t know if I’m worthy of it right now.”
But I’ll have to try. Goddamn it, how could you stuff this shit up so much, Burt? You’ve got to get out there and try, or you’ll never forgive yourself for letting Alexis down, or your fellow heroes, or Ralph. Or the city, and all the people you’ve loved protecting when you thought you were running a quick con.
Sally’s jaw slowly fell. “You don’t mean . . . Burt, are you saying that . . .”
Alexis stepped forward, eyes brimming with tears again.
“He’s a hero, Mom. He is.”
She hugged him, and he returned the hug, a well of emotional bubbling up inside him as well. He held his kid sister for a long while, then embraced Sally.
“I promise I’ll explain everything when I’m back,” he said. “Everything. I don’t know if this will even work. It’s crazy, and I’ve already been rejected by the power. I did some stupid shit, Ma-”
“Language.”
“Sorry, but I did. I thought I could help you, but you wouldn’t have been proud. But I can try and make up for it. I can try this. Alexis, get Mom to safety. I’ll do what I can to stop that monster. It’s what I should have been doing this whole time.”
He pulled forth the blue cape of the Meteor from his backpack, and Sally gasped at the sight of it.
“I love you both,” he said. “And I’m sorry for lying, Alexis. I meant what I said when I was her, though: you’re a damn hero to me.”
And with that, he strode from the apartment, cape in hands.
I’m not worthy, huh? Then I’ll make myself worthy. Hyperion can’t have this power, and he won’t have this city. I’d rather be stuck as a woman for life than let that happen.
To Be Continued . . .
Comments
Day Dreamer
Language! -- what a way you have with it.
