Excerpt: Vibrance

"Kitty! I want you to pick up your brother after school and take him to the shelter if there's a raid today."

"Mooommm!" Kitty protested. "I'm going to the mall with Sissy and Jen after school today!" Kitty Doggett was a typical high school teenager, interested in clothes and boys, not necessarily in that order, ditching classes and homework and not getting killing on the violent streets of Paragon City, home of the largest concentration of superheroes on the planet.

Carolyn Doggett continued on calmly as though her daughter had not despairingly interrupted. "And if there isn't a Rikti raid today, just bring him home and keep an eye out on him. I have a meeting today." Carolyn normally worked only part time as an analyst for the Paragon City Defense Force but today there was an all day seminar that she had to be present for. "And make sure he stays out of your father's lab, please. Last time he was in there, your father had to completely rewire the place."

Kitty heaved a mammoth sigh at the overwhelming imposition of having to baby-sit her baby brother, James. It was soooo not fair. She grabbed her book bag and smart phone, automatically checking it for superhero activity-caused road closures and alerts. The walk to school in Founders Falls was often altered due to superheroes engaging in battle with the Council or Rikti on street corners or rooftops. The Paragon City Police Department routinely set up barricades especially when the fights were with solo controllers or defenders as those battles typically took a lot longer than battles with blasters, scrappers or tanks.

Kitty headed out the door, dressed in blue jeans, white running shoes, and a bright pink top. (Her favorite color). The teenager was about five foot, 2 inches tall. Petite with brownish red hair, caught back in a pony tail. She nearly bounced with youthful energy as she left the condo complex in the Gaspee. It was a beautiful day in Paragon City, Rhode Island and she looked up to see a trio of superheroes, one in a beautiful flowing cape flying across the sky on their way to a mission. Kitty took a long look at the cape and just shook her head. It was totally the wrong color to go with the rest of that hero's outfit. They really ought to have designers design their uniforms. Honestly! That's just so un hero-y. That's what Kitty wanted to be when she grew up, a clothing designer. Not so much just for super heroes, though that would probably be fun also, and they so needed help, but she wanted to have her own clothing line. And get out of Paragon City. New York City would be so much safer! And most designers had shops there. And that's where Fashion Week is! Which of course was one of her bigger ambitions.

She daydreamed as she walked over to school though school-training classes in self-defense and awareness made sure that at least part of her attention was on her surroundings. The Council had recruiters out, but they seldom attacked civilians for no reason. The Crey employees were pretty much the same. Kitty crossed over one of the pedestrian bridges that lead over the water way surrounding the residential area of the Gaspee heading over to the satellite high school campus near the University. Because of the dangers of the city, Paragon High school had long been broken up into smaller local campuses both to keep the young students safe and reduce travel time to school.

"Kitty!" a voice called out.

"Sissy!" Kitty greeted one of her best friends at school. "I'm sooo bummed. I can't go with you and Jen to the mall today." She rolled her eyes and she recounted the doom presented to her by her mother. "I have to watch James today."

"Oh…that's so bogus. And unfair!" Sissy responded. Sissy Underwood was blonde, several inches taller than Kitty and a sure bet to make it on the cheerleading squad this year.

"I know!! I wanted to go with you guys so bad. There's a new shipment of jeans at Vincetti's." They walked along chatting as only teenage girls can do about everything, topic changing with light speed acceleration from one moment to the next. "Did you study for that test? Did you see what she was wearing? OMG. Tyler is sooo cute. I heard she wasn't coming back to school. I think those drama kids are taking super-hero pills. Well that's what I heard. I so think I flunked that test. Well she could stand to lose a few pounds. He's soooo cute. Did you see the show last night? We have a test today?"

Kitty sat in class sketching prom dresses in her notebook as the teacher, Mr. Berenger droned on about World War II or maybe it was the War of the Roses, some war at any rate. Everyone knew that Mr. Berenger moonlighted as the superhero The Mighty Bee and the whole class hoped that he'd be called to a case and they could get a free period. Unfortunately the history class ran all the way to the final bell before they could leave.

Sadly, sad goodbye to Sissy and Jen who were excitedly heading off to the mall, while Kitty sighed and slowly made her way over to the middle school to get James. It was only a few blocks a way, but she had to wait while a hero wearing ninja pants and boots and no top (a total fashion faux pas to Kitty's mind) cleared Council operatives from the street. She hoped that James would wait at school for her cuz she'd be in so much trouble if he left without her.

Kitty came around the corner to the entrance to Founders Middle School. As with the high school, the school was staffed by full time guards on constant alert for any villains that approached. She nodded to the guards and went to the front desk to check in following the standard procedure for picking up children or siblings at school. At the high school, one had to either wait to be picked up, or check-out with the front desk. And of course all the students at all grades carried smart phones that included GPS locators. "Hi Mrs. Prescott. I'm here to get James."

"Of course, dear." Mrs. P had been a hero back during the War. Kitty wasn't exactly sure what her powers were, but some of the students whispered that she did some kind of magic stuff and if you crossed her, she'd turn you in to a toad. Kitty had never heard of that kind of power, so she figured it was just a joke. Still, Mrs. P had an eerie sounding voice as she added. "He's in the library."

That was just typical of James. Kitty found him in the middle school library surrounded by books. "Hey James, it's time to go." James, a quiet kid of 11, sometimes sullen in that quiet genius way of child prodigies. He held up one finger in a just a moment a gesture as he flipped pages back and forth looking at diagrams on a book on electrical engineering. Kitty rolled her eyes. "I don't have all day." James looked at his older sister over the top of the book. "Yes you do. You are supposed to watch me." "Yeah….but not here" Kitty retorted. "Mom said to take you home, so get yourself packed up and let's go." She tapped one of her running shoes on the floor waiting for James to collect himself. As he placed books in his book bag she frowned slightly. "Those don't look like school books. Did you take those from Dad's lab? He'll be like all kinds of mad you know."

James just shrugged his shoulders "He'll never know they were missing." With childish certainty of never getting caught at wrong doing and certainly disavowing any knowledge of wrong doing when he did get caught. James seemed rather unconcerned. "Dad won't be home until late anyway. He's always getting in late."

"What do you want those books for anyway?"

James eyed his sister. "You wouldn't understand. You've never read one before."

"You little creep. Of course I've read a book." Kitty gazed with exasperation at James. "Let's go!"

The siblings left the school, duly checking out with the creepy Mrs. Prescott, before walking the mile route over bridges back to the families condo. The sun was lowering behind the war walls that protected zones of the city from certain types of invasion, though enemies could (and sometimes did) invade from the skies far above the war walls. Still the walls could limit incursions from easily overrunning all parts of the city at once and most citizens were happy that they were there.

The pair spotted a few people running in panic down the street, but that was almost a daily occurrence and they gave it little mind as they reached the ground floor of the condominium. The Doggett unit was half of one floor including 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room and family room and also a study and lab space belonging to Professor Benjamin Doggett, the patriarch of the family. The professor a tall spare man, taught at Paragon University as well as pursuing studies in physics. Much of his work is currently being done for Freedom Corps, harnessing various energy sources to be developed into power armor. While he maintains a lab in the family quarters, his primary work is done at a facility in Skyway City.

A security guard in the lobby checked fingerprints and ID before letting the children up in the elevator, elementary security for most upper-class residents of the challenged city. Kitty headed straight to her bedroom, turning her sound system on rather loudly with her latest musical acquisition, Pretzel World. The music thumpa-thumped throughout the condo and James looked annoyed as he slammed the door of his own room, which before the door slammed shut was 1 part bedroom and 4 parts miniature mad scientist lab.

Kitty danced over to the kitchen to get an after school snack, actually making something for James as well. She knocked on his door to get his attention. "Hey! James…PB and apples….want…" The door opened a crack and a hand snaked out to grab the plate and the door slammed shut again. Kitty rolled her eyes before retreating to her own room. She bobbed her head in time to the music and then flung herself on the bed, picking up a fashion magazine and analyzing each page with the complete concentration that her parents fervently wished she would devote to her school work. Scrutinizing every single pages from ads to articles, she finally decided to do at least some of her homework. Switching to her mp3 player headset, she started reading the required chapters for her English Lit class, sections from various Shakespeare plays.

An hour or so later, she felt rather than heard something crash. Kitty looked puzzled and then wondered what James what up to now. She pulled off the headset and started for the bedroom door when she heard a shrill scream and something else she couldn't quite identity.

"Mom?" She dashed into the hallway, a scream rising in her on throat as she saw the Clockworks swarming into the living room. The odd clangs and whirrs of their mechanical parts filled the room. One of them had grabbed James and was dragging him towards the front door. He was struggling and trying to escape but the Clockwork were far stronger than an eleven year old boy. Carolyn Doggett grabbed up a floor lamp and yelled "You let me son go!" . She brought the lamp down sharply on the head of one of the living machines but to no apparent effect at all.

Kitty took it all in in one quick glance and even though her heart was racing in her chest and she was more scared than she'd ever been in her life she ran to get to the emergency alarm by the front door. Her mother catching sight of her, and now fearing for both her children tried to warn her away. "No…Kitty, stay back!" came the instructions but it was too late as Kitty's motion was noticed by the Clocks. Twin beams of energy flew from the eye sockets of two of the mechanical terrors, one directed towards the elder Doggett, the other to her daughter.

Kitty screamed, hand slamming against the emergency alarm button, just as she was blasted backwards into the wall and fell in a crumpled heap and everything went hazy red and then black.