The Further Adventures of Oceania

Life was really unfair. Mary sighed and tried to resume reading her book. After her parents had come home from the party, red-faced and embarrassed that their own daughter hadn't made it for her father's special night, she had been summarily grounded. She had tried to tell them…what? That their daughter was now some sort of magic superhero from trying on some dumb costume? And that the costume, or whatever it really was, changed into a new outfit every time? It had been a shock to realize her hair and body was as clean as if she had stepped out of a shower. She had taken a shower that very night, and found that when the outfit came off, it formed itself into a ring that seemed permanently stuck on her finger. Her best efforts had yet to dislodge it.

Mary had spent the first three days trying to get rid of the costume and ring, but it never could come off her finger. Her parents had no idea how to either. All their home remedies had failed, and they were baffled about how the piece seemed so stubborn to get off. But when her mother had suggested a trip to the hospital, Mary had vehemently shaken her head no. She would not reveal this to anyone else if she could help it.

Now over her initial denial phase she was finding she was enjoying the side-effects of the ring. While she was no-where near as strong as when she was "in costume", she could still handle and lift things easier than before, her vision was much sharper, and her hearing bordered on the fantastic. It was strange. She mused, idly turning a page in her book. Usually, she could lose herself in SHERLOCK HOLMES: ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES,</u> but not lately. An irritated sigh escaped her as she glanced at her wall clock. It was just after the school day, and more than three hours before she expected her parents to come home. It would be nice to try to get her sentence lightened. By three days into it, she was already sick of not having her laptop or cell phone. It just wasn't fair. How could she call her friends or surf the web. It wasn't fair.

If life was fair, it wouldn't be interesting, she quoted to herself. It had been a favorite of her grandma, and it was so often true. Still, it really didn't help with her boredom did it?

A piercing scream suddenly came to her ears. Mary whirled around with her heart in her throat, searching wildly for the source of the noise. Nothing, yet she could hear sobbing and begging, dim as it may be. She turned quickly, trying to locate the noise. Determining where the sound was loudest, she realized she was staring at the back wall of the house. The noise was coming from somewhere else, and judging from the cries, she was running out of time.

Without thought, she began running to the door. A bright flash of light filled her eyes and she stumbled. What the heck was that? She glanced wildly around before she caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection off the dark TV. She was now dressed as Oceania, complete with mask. Shaking her head in disbelief, and wondering how she had managed the transformation, she carefully opened the back door and rushed out into the yard. Glancing about to ensure no one was watching, she hopped onto the roof and then onto the neighbors. Moving as fast as she could, she raced in the direction she had heard the pleas for help. They had gone quiet, which was an ominous sign. She had to hurry if that person was going to be all right.

She bounced off roofs, ran along the road when the roofs seemed too far to easily jump, and darted between chimneys. She must have appeared to be a blur on the ground, yet cries of shock and surprise created an audible trail behind her. She pushed herself harder, nearing the far edge of town. What if the call had been further back? What if she had already passed it in her rush? Oceania skidded to a stop to think. Suddenly, she heard a muffled groan. Twirling around, she realized it was the house next to her. She had arrived.

Hopping over to the roof, she moved stealthily down the back, trying to get a better idea of what she was dealing with. Now at the edge, she laid flat on her belly and slid over the gutter, holding the gutter tightly to keep from sliding over. Her hair dropped down and she feared it would be seen, but she had no choice. Peering into the room, she was stunned by what she saw.

Three huge men held a husband and wife hostage in the center of what appeared to be the couple's living room. Their two sons and daughter were tied up with them, and the entire family had gags shoved in their mouths. Another two men appeared to be trying to wrestle the TV from the walls. An old-fashioned burglary then. Oceania nodded to herself. The family was the complicating faster. She would have to move fast if she didn't want to see them hurt, or wait for them to finish and leave, then attack them before they could get far. The last option seemed the better one. The family wasn't being roughed up, just watched, and the thieves apparently had no desire to escalate it further. Deciding she had seen enough, Oceania eased back up onto the roof, decision made. She would wait for the thieves to leave and then drub them.

It didn't take long for them to finish. Oceania was surprised to realize that barely five minutes had passed before she saw the lights of a van pull out of the garage and the burglars jump in. The van took off with a squeal of tires, roaring down the avenue. This was going to be close. Oceania held her breath as she ran along the roof. The timing had to be just right. Just…about…NOW!

Leaping across the gap, she landed on the roof of the van with a solid thump. Beneath her she could feel the van jump and sway slightly. Curses and demands to know what that were echoed in the van. Oceania couldn't stop the smile from creeping across her face at their evident confusion. Just wait boys, you'll find out.

Oceania focused, feeling the water in the air around her, the earth, and the van. Concentrating that water energy, she focused a blast onto the engine. "TSUNAMI BLAST" she roared. The engine literally came apart. Running hot and hit by that much water, it literally exploded, making her shield her eyes in surprise. The van screamed to a halt beneath her and she went flying off the roof. Her body corkscrewed through the air and landed on her feet, staring at the van. Outside she was composed as a calm pond. Inside, though, she was wondering how the heck she had managed to do that.

In a flash, it seemed, the thieves had jumped out of the van and had charged towards her, brandishing everything from rope to knives. They meant to take her down, she realized dimly as she coldly surveyed them, like a queen might look at charging ants in her way. They knew she had caused their van to stop, had made them stop, and would most likely mean abandoning their loot to the authorities if they had any hope of escaping. They didn't know that there would be no escaping this time.

"STREAMS OF POWER" she cried, the words helping focus the energy around her. Again, a thick hydrant of power slammed out from her hand. A foot from her palm however, the flow divided into much finer streams that raced towards the thieves. Hitting them each in the chest, it lifted the men off their feet and threw them back into the van. Two of them crumpled immediately, but the rest dazedly go to their feet. Oceania nodded. So, they thought they were tough, did they? Oceania ran towards the staggering men, causing them to blink in unease. Oceania could practically hear their thoughts, wondering what else she was going to pull. Grabbing the first tough by his arm as he attempted to clumsily stab at her with a knife, Oceania simply broke his arm and jabbed at his solar plexus. He went down with a groan of pain. Swinging to the next guy who was rushing at her with a bat, she ducked his first swing and kicked his kneecap, feeling the bone liquefy. Suddenly unstable, the man screamed and clutched his shattered knee as he fell to the ground. Two down, two to go. These guys were playing it smart. They split apart, circling her with long bladed knives in a guard position. They were going to attack her from both sides. It was a good tactic, but Oceania didn't plan to give them a chance.

Spinning to the man on her left, she raced forward, seemingly in front of him in a blink. His eyes were just widening in surprise behind his ski-mask when she sank a fist in his gut. She tried to moderate her pressure, to keep from rupturing anything internal, but the guy was down. That just left the other man. Spinning around she swung her leg up in a high kick, knocking the knife that was coming down on her away and incidentally breaking his funny bone.  Oceania gave him credit; he merely grunted and let his arm hang down uselessly at his side. Fumbling in his pocket, he tried to pull out what appeared to be a switchblade, but Oceania smacked him upside the head. His eyes rolled up behind the eyeholes of his mask, and he fell like a puppet with its strings cut.

The fight had taken less than five minutes, Oceania realized. There was plenty of time to return the goods and deliver the thieves to the cops before her parents made it home.

Back at the home, she peered in and saw the family slumped in the same positions they had occupied before. Alarmed, she burst through the front door, sending it flying off the hinges to land with a crash in the kitchen. She spun to the living room, and was relieved to see the wide eyes of the kids staring at her. Rushing over, she began untying them only to realize the parents' heads were lolling. Oceania felt rooted to the floor, her mind frozen with fear. Slowly, so slowly, she made herself move around to where the parents were tied, ignoring the kids muffled pleas. When she saw their faces black and bruised, she was afraid. She laid a trembling hand on their necks and was relieved to find a pulse, strong. They must simply have knocked the parents unconscious to increase their getaway time. She had to heal them, and fast though.

"HEALING WATERS" she mumbled. Water flowed from her arm around the entire group. Cries of fright and surprise came from the children. The water-wrapped forms glowed for a few minutes. The bright light was over in a moment, its job done. When the water rolled away, she was surprised and somewhat relieved to see that the water had evaporated the ropes as well. Every bruise and hurt had been erased from the faces looking at her. The parents were groggily coming too, muttering slowly. Their recovery was interrupted when the kids grabbed them in bone-crushing hugs. The parents gasped in surprise, then returned the hugs just as fiercely. Oceania smiled, touched by the scene.

"Thank you." Mumbled the father, staring at her from over his daughter's head.

"Yes, thank you." Sobbed the mother, holding tightly to her sons.

Oceania forced down a blush. "It was nothing." She finally managed. "Your stuff is in the van outside. Those punks aren't going to bother you again. I'll see to that."

"But, how did…?" The father trailed off and gulped, paling slightly. His wife simply smiled. It was clear she was simply happy her ordeal was over. After ensuring everyone was all right (Yes, thank you. Thank you!), Oceania rushed out the shattered door. She felt really bad about that, but there wasn't much she could do about that right now. Rushing over to where she had left the bound members of the gang, she gathered them up in a water bubble that held them suspended behind her, tethered to her by a slim leash anchored to her wrist. This was going to be an interesting day.

This was a miserable day. Officer Lou thought angrily as he shuffled papers. The chief had not been amused when pulled away from the party and had to come down to the station. After screaming for several minutes, they had gotten around to actually booking the unfortunate thug. The chief had actually thought about having him committed, what with the thugs' wild talk of a magic girl that hit harder than a ton of bricks. Crazy stuff. Still, there was the rope that had vanished before their eyes when they had untied the man, and then there was the witness. A woman had been found near the address described in the note. She had actually flagged him down and told him she had been attacked in the alley but rescued. She claimed she had been brutally assaulted, but couldn't produce a single bruise or mark to prove it. She had been able to describe the thug exactly, down to his tattoo, and then corroborated his story about a young woman who had beaten the crap out of the rapist and healed her wounds.

The chief was baffled and furious. They both claimed the exact same things, so the thug was duly booked. However, the chief seemed to blame Lou for this nightmare, and all of a sudden his exile in the front desk seemed to be becoming permanent. And then there were all the jokes and laughter of the other officers. He had come in to work the next day to find a super-hero action figure on his desktop. He put up with it―after all, what else could he do? Hopefully, they would get their laughs for another week, and then move on.

His hope was dashed when he heard a strung thump near the door. Drawing his service weapon, he carefully advanced on the door. Officer Al―never Albert, not him―noticed and drew his own. He came through the lobby and the two eased carefully around the door. To their surprise, six men dressed in black and with ski masks were groaning in pain next to the door. They were bound up in more of that strange rope that the first guy had been wrapped in, and there was another note:

I found these men robbing a family near 8th and Elm. They did damage and also beat the parents severely. I have healed the parents and returned the stolen goods.

―― Oceania

Lou shook his head and moaned. The chief was going to kill him. Why did he always have so much bad luck? Al shook his head in surprise. "You know, I never believed you when you found that punk. Now, I'm not so sure I don't believe you." He said quietly.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not." Lou said irritably. "Let's just get this done and over with."

Together, they set about bringing the men inside, calling other officers out to help. Soon a double ring of blue surrounded the men. Handcuffs came out and the six were escorted in, the strange blue rope dissolving just like before. It was the damndest stuff, Lou thought as he was trying to help a tall lanky man. Lou recognized him as Harry "The Shark" Tollson, a notorious robber. EMT's were summoned while the men were processed, and their various bones were reset. A couple had to go to the hospital under armed guard. Needless to say, the chief was very unhappy with this turn of events.

"They said WHAT!" he bellowed at them, glaring around and bristling at them. With his ruddy face and thick mane of hair, he looked wonderfully like a lion, and one trying to decide whether to gut Lou or string him along a bit more.

Lou wondered if it was too late to transfer to State Patrol. Surely it would be less abusive, but he held those thoughts very close to himself. "They tell us that they had been driving down the road heading for a costume party when they were viscously attacked by a costumed, uh, girl that was able to destroy their van, and take down all six of them."

"One girl." The chief sounded disbelieving. Lou didn't blame him. It seemed impossible, but then apparently it had happened.

"Well, they tell of a horde of people descending on them, but I had a patrol car in the area check it out. The family that was attacked swears one girl freed them and healed them up. Witnesses to the attack say that a single girl matching the description was able to destroy the engine of the van with a blast of…something…from her hands. They aren't too clear on that. Anyway, they claim that as the men came at her, she moved like a snake, able to strike with lightning speed and great strength. She was able to take them out in under five minutes. She then tossed them back in the van and towed it back up the street."

"Towed it." The chief said flatly.

Lou shrugged. "That's what they said. Anyway, she was able to leave the van at the scene. It was full of their fingerprints and a ton of stolen TV's, players and stuff. Witnesses say she then vanished by leaping onto the roofs, towing the dirtbags behind her."

"Really." The chief liberally dosed those words with so much sarcasm, Lou wondered if he had just used his entire month's supply of the stuff, but refrained from asking. Any questions now could land him out of a job. So he went for a neutral, "Yes sir."

The chief tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the side of his desk. "All right." He said finally. "I want to know more about this vigilante girl that is beating up the criminals in this town. Try to stop her if possible; this job is dangerous, especially for civilians. See if we can figure out who she is. Were there any pictures?"

"Quite a few actually, but most seemed blurred around her, or silhouetted for some reason."

"Really? Well, run them down to the tech boys. See if they can pull anything out of them. I'm bumping you off the beat and placing you in charge of this investigation. You'll work with Barnes and her team. Now, get out of my office and bring me back this Oceania character."

"Yes sir." Lou saluted sharply, and spun out of the office. Barnes was going to kill him, he thought glumly. She was a tough, no nonsense bird who hated anything that messed with her team and routine. This definitely counted as one of those. Idly he wished he had gone into roofing with his brother.

Mary sat back in her chair with a sigh. She had only just beaten her parents' home, changing back into her regular persona while her parents were walking in the front door actually. It had been too close, really, but she still felt a glow of satisfaction. Evil's butt had been thoroughly kicked and a family had been helped. It beat the hell out of selling Girl Scout cookies, and with more of a rewarding feeling.

She wandered to the fridge in the kitchen, intending to get a light snack from the kitchen when a snatch of a news report drifted in and she turned into the living room instead.

"…and police are still baffled by the appearance of the superhero Oceania. The mysterious rescuer appeared briefly today at a robbery in progress in the West Side. The robbers were beaten and apparently delivered to the police station. Talk about service." The overly handsome anchorman grinned knowingly at the camera. "Well, it seems that Police are seeking any information on the identity of Oceania and her whereabouts. Sounds like something out of a comic book, or an act worthy of Hollywood, wouldn't you say Cheryl?"

Mary pulled back as her dad grunted something about "irresponsible vigilantes facing punks on our streets". It appeared people were starting to notice her efforts. She would have to be more careful than ever to keeping her identity hidden. More attention indeed.

Suddenly not hungry, she returned to her room, sat on the edge of her bed, and tried to think. This was a disaster, no! It was expected. It simply added a dangerous element to her efforts. From now on, she would work harder at not being seen. It could be done.

Satisfied, Mary got up off the edge of the bed and headed for her dresser. It was time to get some sleep. School would come way too early in the morning.