Title: Blackscream Trilogy
Author: Mikel Midnight
Rating: PG
Genre: Angst/Tragedy/Spirital/Action/Adventure
Type: Multi-chapter
Status: Complete
Chapters: 3
Main Character(s): Blackscream
Secondary Character(s): Super Soldier, Archie Herschel
Pairing(s): None.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Blackscream, a super villain, starts to become drawn back to the religion of her youth following the 9/11 disaster.
A/N: Please click here if you would like to see a picture of Blackscream.
Blackscream #1: New York In Memormium
It was so absurd, she thought later, that she was only there to rob a bank.
It was simplicity's sake to use her sonic powers to immobilise the customers and tellers. It was even easier to use them to unlock the vault door. That was when she heard the explosion.
She had to see. She shattered the window to the outside and went out to the street, and flew straight into the crowd. She barely saw the second explosion. She cursed under her breath, and flew towards the disaster area.
It was a mistake. Smoke everywhere. She sucked it in and choked, falling to the ground. She coughed, gagging on the smoke as it billowed out down the street. Her flaming red hair and black gown were rendered anonymous by the coating of dust.
She felt anonymous. She felt...ordinary.
Someone helped her up. They half-carried/half-dragged her down the block.
Finally she reached one of the triage centers. She was glad nobody recognised her. They gave her oxygen, and soon she could breathe again.
She was surprised how natural it felt to her, to return to the wreckage. She grabbed a bag of filter masks, ignoring the startled looks, and flew into the center.
It was a mistake, at first. She saw the corpses and started to gag, sending her falling again. She walked the rest of the way in, watching the emergency vehicles pass her. Only when a policeman tried to turn her away did she try to fly again.
As she got closer she donned one of the filter masks. She landed among a rescue team. "Let me help."
She vaporised wreckage when she could, flew some wounded back to the triage units. I should feel virtuous, she thought. Instead, it just felt...appropriate.
She was hailed over by a rescue team. "What's the situation?"
The policeman smiled wanly, "I hope you can help us, Miss...uh..."
She sighed to herself. Did she want to tell him she went by Blackscream? It wasn't much of a secret identity anyway, hadn't been for years. "Mimi. Mimi Berkowitz."
He nodded. "Mimi, we had a cell phone communication from a family trapped in the basement, but we haven't heard anything for an hour. Can you help us clear the wreckage out?"
She was glad he didn't know who she was. "I'll do my best."
She worked in fits, using her sonic scream to dislodge or levitate rubble when she could, then donning the filter mask to recover as the rescue team went in. "I think I'm in," she said finally, at the sight of a clearing. She didn't see the rubble she had dislodged as it crumbled down atop her, until it was too late, and then all she saw was a flash of blue.
The tall blond man disposed of the rubble safely, and landed lightly next to her. She ignored him, and slid down the hole into the basement.
The man widened the space with his hands and flew in down beside her, to try to take her away. "Mimi...Mimi, they're gone."
"Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." She knelt down beside the corpses of the family huddled together.
"Mimi..."
Before he could finish, she ran to him and slammed him in the center of the chest, almost breaking her hand. She held it to her chest, crying to herself. "Where were you?" she demanded. "Where were the superheroes?"
Super Soldier looked down at her, his face filled with grief. "I couldn't stop the planes, Mimi." His voice was heavy with guilt and shame. "I don't think anyone could have stopped them."
Blackscream kneeled down again, closing the eyes of the corpses gently. She chanted softly, words she had not spoken since her father had died, so many years ago in Berlin.
Baruch ata adonai elohainu melech ha-olam dayan ha-emet.
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, Host of Hosts. Please keep the souls of those who have died close to you. Please help the wounded find the healing they need. Please help the lost find the peace they seek.
Amen.
