Solara

[Mark Rand]

Fifteen-year old Tim Clark, a student at Taylor Allderdice High School, and his widowed mother, Ruth, the school nurse, walked across Shady Avenue under the watchful eyes of his Aunt Grace, Ruth's sister and the school guard.

 

She joined them just before the light turned yellow. After looking around andnoting that there were no students waiting to cross, Grace asked, "You two are coming over for dinner Saturday night, right?"

 

"We'll be there, sis," Ruth replied.

 

"Yeah, Aunt Grace. We'll be there at six," Tim added.

 

"Good," Grace said, giving both a caress of a white-gloved hand before getting ready to help more students across.

 

Once in their house, Tim and Ruth went upstairs. While Ruth kept her scrubs on, Tim changed to his exersize clothes and went into the basement. Ruth followed.

 

As Tim began his warmups, Ruth asked, "Have you ever heard of Solara?"

 

"Sure," Tim replied. A superheroine who was active from 1978 to 2000. Why?"

 

"I'll show you," Ruth replied, sliding back the left sleeve of her white warmup jacket and revealing a gold bracelet. She touched it in two specific places and a blue light surrounded her. When it died out, Ruth looked different.

 

"You were Solara?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Why did you quit?"

 

"I thought 22 years of it was enough, and, since your father died two days after my last mission, I had to care of you. Now, my friend Doctor Arcane tells me that Solara is needed again. I'm too old to continue. New blood is needed. Doctor Arcane told me that he thinks you're to be the next Solara."

 

"That is so gross, mother. I'm a guy. Solara's a woman."

 

"It might be possible," Solara said, changing back to Ruth. She slipped the bracelet off, placed it on Tim's left arm, and told him how to activate the bracelet.

 

"Are you serious?"

 

"Yes. Try it."

 

"Fine," Tim mumbled. "Does this have anything to the reports of that new hero, Batman, in town?"

 

"Not really. He takes care of regular criminals, Solara takes care of supernatural ones."

 

"Oh," Tim said. He followed his mother's instructions, and changed. "Eww, I'm a woman!" Tim yelped, looking at himself in the mirror that was on the wall. "How will I cope?"

 

"I'll teach you," Ruth replied.

 

(A few notes. I attended Taylor Allderdice High School, which is located at Forward and Shady. A warmup jacket is the knit-cuffed jacket that's worn over scrubs. Solara looks like Sailor Mars.)

[yamamura]

Re: Solara

 

Like this or do you mean like this:)

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

Like this or do you mean like this:)

Almost. After changing for the first time, Tim looked in the mirror and saw a costumed 22-year old woman standing where he was.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

Tim studied his new look in the mirror, looked himself over, and said, "This is very strange."

 

"It is to you," Ruth admitted. "However, it isn't to me."

 

"Why not?" Tim asked.

 

"When you were born, you had a small, sun-shaped birthmark on your lower back," Ruth replied. "I have the same birthmark. Grace doesn't. Since 1860, when it first appeared, every person in our family with that birthmark has been able to perform magic. You're the first male to be born with that birthmark and be the heir to that power."

 

"What kind of magic?" Tim asked, sitting on the bench of one of the two multipurpose machines in the gym.

 

"Various spells," Ruth replied. "They've either been related directly to the sun in some way, like light, heat, or plasma blasts, or had colorful lights as part of their effects. I've conjured a sword out of light and a bow and arrow out of fire a number of occasions and flown by riding the solar wind."

 

"What is the solar wind?"

 

"A stream of charged particals which is ejected from the sun. It is technically known as a plasma. As Solara, your body will absorb this energy and convert it to power."

 

"Will I be able to absorb it as Tim, too?"

 

"Yes, but you won't be able to use it. You'll just store it for later use."

 

"You mentioned light blasts."

 

"Yes, the Eleven Lights of Luathon. Don't worry. I'll train you the same way my mother taught me."

 

"Am I really a girl or a guy that looks like one?"

 

"We can find out," Ruth replied.

 

"Am I stuck in this form?"

 

"Try the bracelet and see." Tim did. He changed back.

 

(A note: the gym contains a treadmill, free weights, and two multipurpose machines.)

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

"I'm me, again," Tim said.

 

"That you are," Ruth said as Tim continued his warmup where he'd left off. After finishing and going to the rack of free weights, he said, "My transformation was all a dream, right?"

 

"It happened," Ruth replied.

 

"This is so weird," he said. "I think I'm freaking out."

 

"You'll get used to it eventually," Ruth said, heading for the door. "I'm starting supper."

 

After finishing his workout, shower, and supper, Tim went into his room to do his homework. Having trouble concentrating on it, he went to find his mother. She was in her room, writing checks.

 

"What's wrong?" she asked, noting his expression.

 

"You could change and try walking around a bit, then do your homework as Solara. It'll give you a chance to find out if you have the proper skills. That will tell you if it's just a physical change or a mental one, too."

 

"Fine," Tim said. Once back in his room, with Ruth watching, Tim changed to Solara.

 

"Don't think about it," Ruth suggested. "Let your body do it on its own."

 

Solara tried to walk in her two-inch heels and found it quite easy. After that, she sat at her desk and begai removing her gloves.

 

"Keep them on," Ruth said. "You have to get used to working with them on."

 

"Aren't these slippery cloth gloves?" she asked.

 

"Not all cloth gloves are slippery, and those are made from kidskin," Ruth replied.

 

"Leather?"

 

"Right."

[Tim]

Re: Solara

 

A 15 year old guy, turning into a woman, would be grossed out, but would also be waiting for his aunt to leave to check out the body.

[SKJAM!]

Re: Solara

 

You really have a glove fetish, don't you?

[Hawksmoor]

Re: Solara

 

And a superpowered chick fetish. If he had only allowed the boy to get the powers and stay a boy...

 

:Prescribes some meds for Mark:

 

There take four of these and call me when you think that males make good supers too.

 

Hawksmoor

[SKJAM!]

Re: Solara

 

And a superpowered chick fetish. If he had only allowed the boy to get the powers and stay a boy...

 

Hawksmoor

 

Well, the gender switch is kind of the whole idea behind this particular character. I haven't checked every thread MR has posted to, but I'm sure he's had some male supers in there somewhere.

 

That said, this is just a refinement of sections that have appeared already in the "different supermage" thread. As I've mentioned earlier, starting with an infodump chapter is perhaps not the best way to do a superhero or magical girl story. There's a reason most mahou shoujo series have the heroine not get the powers until a crisis situation is imminent or already in progress.

 

(A notable exception: Creamy Mami starts with Yuu, the protagonist, solving a crisis with her native intelligence/compassion, being gifted with the powers, then on her first full expedition with her powers, causing the conflict that will drive the rest of the series.)

[Hawksmoor]

Re: Solara

 

I respect Mark Rand's creativity, but gloved women always get the best gigs in his world. I told him before I like Femforce type books, but sometimes Mark gets extreme. This is one of them.

 

Hawksmoor

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

"Mom, do you know how I'm feeling right now?"

 

"Freaky and grossed out?" Ruth asked.

 

"Yeah, if I became a normal woman, but I'm Solara now. Mom, I saw her when I was seven, flying after a car with people shooting at her and a police car and firing some kind of energy blasts at them."

 

"Bank robbers," Ruth said. "I was trying to disarm them, not melt their weapons and ruin the chance the police had of recovering forensic evidence."

 

"Why didn't you just blast the car?"

 

"I knew there was a police roadblock ahead."

 

"How?"

 

"One of Solara's powers is the ability to monitor local emergency frequencies," Ruth replied.

 

"Oh. When I saw you for the first time, I asked dad who you were and he told me. He also told me about the times he and his father saw you."

 

"My mother and grandmother," Ruth said as Solara jerked her head. "What?"

 

"Silent alarm on Fifth near Shady."

 

"Go."

[yamamura]

Re: Solara

 

And a superpowered chick fetish. If he had only allowed the boy to get the powers and stay a boy...

 

:Prescribes some meds for Mark:

 

There take four of these and call me when you think that males make good supers too.

 

Hawksmoor

 

Note to self make more male characters and post them;) Actually I have no problem with male characters, I just enjoy making females one more. It is personal bias, but when I do run I make sure I have both as heroes and villains. As has been stated I do not know enough about Mark's world to know bad off males are.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

Note to self make more male characters and post them;) Actually I have no problem with male characters' date=' I just enjoy making females one more. It is personal bias, but when I do run I make sure I have both as heroes and villains. As has been stated I do not know enough about Mark's world to know bad off males are.[/quote']

Well, we do have strong male characters in this universe, like Batman and Doctor Arcane.

 

The later looks like a young Fred Astaire, dresses, when adventuring, in white tie and tails, and even wears his top hat like Fred did.

 

To tell the truth, Solara is a concept I'm experimenting with. I'm trying to get her to a point where she's both playable and interesting.

[Guest Black Lotus]

Re: Solara

 

Like this or do you mean like this:)

 

That's totally sweet!

[SKJAM!]

Re: Solara

 

Just for the heck of it, here's my take on a similar twist, Pastel Angel:

 

http://www.fictionmania.com/stories/readtextstory.html?command=search&db=/data/stories.db&max=1&eqstoryIDdatarq=300607740735268302

 

WARNING: While my story is PG-13, the site also contains a lot of hardcore NC-17 stuff.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

Just for the heck of it, here's my take on a similar twist, Pastel Angel:

 

http://www.fictionmania.com/stories/readtextstory.html?command=search&db=/data/stories.db&max=1&eqstoryIDdatarq=300607740735268302

 

WARNING: While my story is PG-13, the site also contains a lot of hardcore NC-17 stuff.

I loved the story. Thank you.

[yamamura]

Re: Solara

 

My variant on this theme can be found at..

Board link

 

or

 

At My Site

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

My variant on this theme can be found at..

Board link

 

or

 

At My Site

Very cool writeup.

[Shike019]

Re: Solara

 

Yeah, Yamamura, I liked it.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

It's time I did something I should've done a while ago, think Solara through before continuing.

 

Q.) Is she a magical girl or a mage? A.) A magical girl.

 

Q.) What is her civilian identity? A.) Tim Clark, a ninth grader at Allderdice High

 

Q.) Does she work alone or with a group? A.) Usually alone.

 

Q.) Who has she worked with? A.) She teams up with Batman and Batgirl in her first adventure.

 

Q.) What is the theme of her powers? A.) The Sun.

 

Q.) What powers does she possess? A.) Armor (her costume, OIHID), Shape Change (to and from Tim), Cosmetic Transformation (into costume [shape Change and Cosmetic Transformation are linked]), Increased Characteristics ( nothing increases beyond 20, OIHID), Flight Multipower (OIHID), Life Support (safe in all environments, OIHID), HRRP (emergency bands only, OIHID), 62 point spell VPP (OIHID, spells other than the Eleven Lights of Luathon must fit her theme, OIHID), all powers are 0 END (the solar wind keeps her END batteries fully chagrged all the time).

[SKJAM!]

Re: Solara

 

Some more questions worth considering:

 

Q) What problems does being Solara cause Tim?

 

Q) What problems does being Tim cause Solara?

 

Q) Does Tim have any close friends? Friends? People who'd notice if he's gone? What sort of people does he normally hang out with, and what attitudes do they have towards life?

 

Q) What sort of attitude does Tim have towards girls and women? Will this change because of being Solara, and in what ways?

 

Q) What sort of attitude does Solara have towards boys and men? Will this change because of being Tim, and in what ways?

 

Q) Tim obviously has a very close relationship with his mother. What happened to his father, and when? Are there any other living relatives?

 

Q) Other than Solara, how does Tim feel about other superheroes?

 

Q) Does Solara have any ancestral enemies or other nasty surprises tied into the power legacy?

 

Okay, that should be enough for a start....

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

Some more questions worth considering:

 

Q) What problems does being Solara cause Tim?

 

Q) What problems does being Tim cause Solara?

 

Q) Does Tim have any close friends? Friends? People who'd notice if he's gone? What sort of people does he normally hang out with, and what attitudes do they have towards life?

 

Q) What sort of attitude does Tim have towards girls and women? Will this change because of being Solara, and in what ways?

 

Q) What sort of attitude does Solara have towards boys and men? Will this change because of being Tim, and in what ways?

 

Q) Tim obviously has a very close relationship with his mother. What happened to his father, and when? Are there any other living relatives?

 

Q) Other than Solara, how does Tim feel about other superheroes?

 

Q) Does Solara have any ancestral enemies or other nasty surprises tied into the power legacy?

 

Okay, that should be enough for a start....

Here are a few answers.

 

Tim's father died five years before he became Solara of a heart attack.

 

Tim's Aunt Grace, his mother's older sister, is the school guard whose post is closest to his school. He and his mother join her and her husband for dinner once a week. The rest of his family live out of state. (Ruth, Grace, and Grace's husband, Dave, are from Chicago. Tim's father's family is from Virginia.)

 

Tim has no problems with other superheroes.

[steriaca]

Re: Solara

 

WARNING: While my story is PG-13, the site also contains a lot of hardcore NC-17 stuff.

 

Ahha! So that is why I can't go on to that site...my computer's porno-sence somehow activated.

 

Which makes me wonder...what kind of superhero has "Porno-sence" anyways? Wait...don't answer...I don't realy want to know.

[Tim]

Re: Solara

 

Ahha! So that is why I can't go on to that site...my computer's porno-sence somehow activated.

 

Which makes me wonder...what kind of superhero has "Porno-sence" anyways? Wait...don't answer...I don't realy want to know.

 

 

That answer is reserved for the future project "Porn Hero."

[Mark Rand]

Re: Solara

 

A quick note: Solara takes place in the same universe as two other threads "Batman's home city is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, not Gotham City, New Jersey" located at http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33841 and "A Secret Service Question, version 2.0" located at http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33099.

It's also a furthur refinement of "A different kind of super mage", located at either http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33484 or the link section at the bottom of this page.