First Flight = Welcome back dear readers… We catch up with Anya and Emma in the Knight-Gallery hidden deep beneath the Lothrin Estate, the Palisades in the city of New Alexandria, Earth #8193, in the year 1982 A.D. [warm and inviting tone]...
Anya looks herself over closely in the mirror, examining how the new black and red Nano-Dermal Exo-Suit fits her. It is tight, yet flexible, strong yet graceful in its own way. Deciding that this first gen-model of the Exo-Suit is ready for field-testing, or perhaps trial by fire is a better way of putting it, she makes her way over to the nearby arsenal room and begins to gather the necessary gear for her first-ever nightly patrol. As she finishes getting ready, she wonders if she is doing the right thing, but then she remembers the other times she wondered if she was doing the right thing.
She thinks of her time at the Xipe Totec Medical Sanctuary under Dr. Magnus Alfonso, where she underwent her gender-affirmation process. Before she had decided to go to the program, she had hesitated. It felt like such a massive decision and it was more than a little scary. She knew how many felt about gender-affirmation process. While to many it it acceptable to identify as whatever gender best fits you, and even to dress as you feel most comfortable, and so forth but to others it is wrong or even evil. To many in the current culture the human form is still considered a sacred creation of the gods and to alter it was an affront to those gods. An abomination.
But her family had never been overly devout. Indeed, she personally denies the existence of the supernatural. She breathes deep, confident that despite the current fear, she is making the right decision.
Anya finishes her gear and weapon preparations before proceeding to the nearby hangar to ready her new Omni-Purpose Multi-Morphic Enforcement Nanophene Craft she has affectionately dubbed the Omen. She is nervous but also more than a little excited to take it out on its first real-world field-test. She feels lucky she is one of the wealthiest people alive, since becoming a superhero isn't cheap.
Anya Lothrin:
During this next line let's have an image of Anya opening the door to hanger, then an image of her starting to walk over to the Omen.
8,000,000,000 (8 Billion) Drachma to build the Omen [insert a nervous but amused laugh], not to mention the 25,000,000, Drachma to build this cutting-edge Nano-Dermal Exo-Suit, and 3,000,000,000 Drachma worth of custom-designed cutting-edge military grade gear and weaponry. All this shit better work as intended, given its cost… especially since I don't plan on dying tonight.
The Narrator:
She lets her mind linger on that word "dying" and what it means. She is, after all, the only person she knows who has died not once but twice and come back. First in 1974, on the day her parents were murdered and then again in 1980 when the plane that was carrying her back to New-Alexandria after her gender transition crashed.
Luckily, she was saved by a secret order of Antimeta-oriented freedom fighters that had been operating out of the Amazonian jungles of the South American Union. The group had originally planned to hold her for ransom, but when their leader saw her eyes and hair, it reminded him of his deceased daughter, and so they took pity on her.
When Anya told them about what happened to her parents and how the ones who murdered them and destroyed their legacy were never caught, the leader of the freedom fighters offered Anya a chance to set things right. Anya leapt at this chance, and thus her life took another unexpected turn.
Over the next two years, the freedom fighters trained her and empowered her with the wisdom and skills necessary to return to New Alexandria and take vengeance against those Metaxist forces that killed her parents and destroyed all they had worked to create.
Thus, Anya left their hidden base in the jungle to return to civilisation with a new purpose… a new destiny. On that day, she swore to herself and to the memory of her parents that she would spend the rest of her life fighting for equality, justice and the antimeta-way just as her parents had. She had even chosen a new name for this righteous crusade against the evils of Metaxism. A name that would honor the Poe bloodline of her father, Edwin Poe, and the knightly Lothrin bloodline of her mother, Katrina Lothrin…
From that day forward, she would be a fearless crusader for the poor, exploited and oppressed… she would be an unyielding blade in the darkness that strikes fear into the hearts of the corrupt and wicked… She would be the Knight-Raven.
Upon returning home 2 years later than expected, her beloved Emma was absolutely distraught, furious but also relieved to have her Anya back, as was her dear friend Anko. Artair and Oskar were naturally shocked to learn she was still alive, but welcomed her with open arms. Anya quickly assembled her closest friends into a secret meeting at her estate and told them of her plan to become the Knight-Raven and to fight her antimeta crusade. All of them were, surprisingly, supportive of Anya's plan, especially her soul-mate Emma. That night, Anko and Emma revealed to the group that Anko had also taken up the mantle of a hero in Anya's absence when she inherited the mantle of the immortal Zorro from her father.
Not wanting to be left out of the crime-fighting, evil-stomping action, Oskar and Artair both agreed to create their own hero personas as well. Anya and Emma both just laughed and smiled. After all, if you have to fight a war against evil and corruption, why not do it with friends? Oskar decided to use his company's vast wealth and his brilliant technocratic mind to turn himself into a one-man army of technological might. For his hero codename, he settled on Deus-Excess, A little on the nose but also rather fitting for him in Anya's opinion. Artair crafted a persona and arsenal that took advantage of her prodigy-level intellect in regards to Alchemy, Herbology and Mysticism. A persona she decided to dub, Ceridwen, after the ancient alchemist and enchantress of Celtic lore. Oskar even generously developed a cutting-edge Omni-Purpose A.I. Assistant for Anya named Tenjin.
Emma:
"So, my dearest Anyalein. You never told me why you chose the name Knight-Raven"
Anya Lothrin (Knight-Raven):
"Well, my love. Remember when you and I were little kids, my father once told me that one of our ancestors was a poet. He was particularly renowned for a poem about a raven, and in case you forgot, my mother is a Lothrin. Lothrins are descended from a line of ancient knights, and since I'm to be a knight in shining armour for those who cannot defend themselves. Knight-Raven seems to me a more than appropriate title."
Emma:
"I see. Well, no matter what you call yourself out there in the darkness, beating up criminals, I expect you to be careful. I won't have you dying out there and leaving me a widow.
Anya Lothrin (Knight-Raven):
"You said you supported this new path for me?
The Narrator:
Anya finishes her final inspection of the Omen before climbing in, prepping the engines and checking the on-board software settings.
Emma:
"I know that you're doing the right thing, mein Vogel, and I do support you. Truly, I do, but to lose you would wound my heart, making life too unbearable to imagine or endure. Every night you go out to hold back evil, I will worry about you, for that is the nature of love, but I will also be proud of you. So very proud. And I will support you every step of the way."
The Narrator:
Emma leans into the still-open cockpit of the Omen, pulling Anya into a passionate kiss of absolute devotion. Anya kisses back with her full heart until at last she pulls away from the kiss. She stares deep into Emma's eyes as she squeezes her hand tenderly.
Anya Lothrin (Knight-Raven):
"Hey… look at me, my love… I will always come home to you. There is no darkness in this world or any other that could keep me from you. I promise… I will cross any hell and burn any heaven if that is what it takes to always find my way back to you."
The Narrator:
Emma blushes like a bashful schoolgirl, shooting Anya a sideways smile as Anya gently strokes her cheek for a moment before turning her attention back to prepping the Omen's internal systems.
Emma:
"So what kind of trouble are you going to go looking for on your first ever night fighting crime?… a petty mugger or two or perhaps some foolish teenage vandals who need to be shown the error of their ways?" [playful, amused tone]
Anya Lothrin (Knight-Raven):
"No… no… nothing as hard as that. I thought I would start off light by trying to track down some bloodthirsty child-killer."
The Narrator:
Anya finishes the internal preparations for the Omen and straps herself in, getting ready to close the cockpit.
Emma:
"WHAT!... OH MY GODS!" [horrified and disgusted tone]
Anya Lothrin (Knight-Raven):
"Yeah… yeah, I know, running before walking, but I don't have much of a choice. Children have been disappearing and then turning up dead and defiled a few days later for the past several weeks, and the cops have found nothing but bodies. It is clear they're in over their heads… and yes, for all I know, I am to, but I have to try before more kids get snatched… Don't worry, I'll be careful. Besides, I already have an idea about how to start."
Emma:
"How?"
Anya Lothrin (Knight-Raven):
"A few days ago, I had Tenjin hack into the New Alexandria Centralized Law-Enforcement Database and figured out where each child's body had been found, and then I ordered Tenjin to take that data and calculate the most likely location for the kidnapper to be operating out of. Some place private, but still within a quick distance to all the dumping grounds where bodies have been found. He found one place that fits, so I'll start there. Tenjin estimates a 75% chance that I will find the answers there."
The Narrator:
Emma nods supportively, but Anya can see the deep concern in her eyes and knows that there is nothing she can really do right now to console her. So, with one last kiss to her beloved Emma, she closes the cockpit, opens the hangar door and flies off into the night in search of wicked monsters and stolen children.