Anomalous: Prologue

Prologue: An Unexpected Event

“Hello, Ma’am, how can I help you today?” The teller was Ava’s favorite, a young woman she’d met several times over. Ava admired her willingness to be herself, from her pig-tails to the teller’s constant smile. She especially loved how much Astra loved her. 

“Hannah, I think it’s time to set up a bank account for the little one in the family,” Ava lifted her little girl up to the counter and propped her up, “Don’t you think, my star?”

Astra was small, with long flowing hair that she hid behind, but the two women heard her give a quiet squeak as she nodded her head. As Ava spoke with Hannah, she could see Astra making faces at the teller, eventually ending in a great big grin.

“Okie dokie, Ms. Barclay, if you could just wait a moment -feel free to sit, I’ll let one of the account managers know and they’ll grab you,” Hannah waved lightly towards the sitting area that filled the front half of the bank before she bebopped towards the offices that filled the outer walls.

As Ava led her little girl to the seats, she smiled to herself and thought ‘Okie dokie, Hannah.’ Then she looked around. It had been a while since she’d actually visited a bank in person, Ava was always surprised by how fast technology changed. Ava had missed it. Granted, Oculus Financial had a different look than most other modern banks, with its tall vaulted ceilings and marble walls it was like something you’d see in an emperor’s mausoleum -not to mention that all the furnishings reminded Ava of her own slightly morbid furniture at home.

Astra was restless, she was only five years old but had her father’s wanderlust -even when it came to the inside of a bank! She wasn’t satisfied until she knew every nook and cranny. It only took Astra a minute to find a spot so well hidden from her mother that Ava had to begin circling the lobby.

That was when she noticed them.

They had walked by the door a few moments ago, Ava hadn’t even given it a second thought. But here they were. Standing in the doorway with machine guns hung around their necks. Two of the five had masks, they were all hulking shoulders and bulging muscles. They were the type of men who didn’t truly need weapons but thought it necessary anyway. 

Ava looked away, she had seen all that she needed to. They were holding assault weapons. Definitely loaded. The two men must have never fought in a true war -they swung the guns around like toys, without abandon, no concern for even their own safety. It was the other three, the unmasked ones, that threw her off. Costumed robbers weren’t concerning by themselves. For obvious reasons it wouldn’t exactly be prudent to rob a bank as yourself. But this was a different kind of costume.

Supervillains.

Ava glanced at the window opposite from her, searching the reflection. She saw one of the costumed robbers wearing a dress made of newspaper. It hung onto her well enough, but it sure as hell was ugly. If Ava were to guess, she’d say the girl had a power related to ink. Unable to make much else out, she looked to the remaining robbers. The other two were men, and appeared to be the opposite of each other. While one towered over the girl, the other barely met her chest. The tall one was lanky, the other muscular, both in black turtlenecks, wielding bulking white guns -probably some kind of ray. If I was a betting woman, I’d say it’s a freeze ray, Ava though, What a stereotype. While Ava was began running through plans in her man, apparently they had finished scanning the bank. The masked robbers were now holding their guns up, shouting into the air. 

For a moment, Ava felt afraid. Astra. Ava scanned the room, looking for her little girl. If anything happened to her girl. In the background she heard the men yell at the tellers to step away from the counters.

Astra popped her head out from under a desk, her mop of a head whipping as she began looking around. Ava knew what Astra was looking for. Ava snapped the hair tie on her wrist and took a deep breath, ‘Keep calm Ava – that’s the smartest thing. Keep calm and keep Astra safe.’ Ava slid her watch off her wrist and flung it at the ground, the sound was soft but clear, metal ringing off marble, her little star still looked back and forth, searching, ‘Astra, look at me.’ This time Ava snapped off her necklace, a pendant of solid steel in the shape of the North Star. She flung it as hard as she could in the opposite direction of her daughter. This time the sound wasn’t soft, it clanged against the stone and echoed as it slowed. Everyone looked. The masked men, the woman, yin and yang… and Astra. Ava caught her daughters eye, and gestured toward the ground, praying that her little star would understand -that Astra would see her moms face and know what to do. 

And as if by magic, she did understand. Quickly, Astra disappeared from sight and Ava sighed, relief flooding her body.

And then there was a gun in her face.

“On. The. Ground,” It was the one in the blue mask, “And hand over the purse, lady.” 

Ava took a sharp breath and snapped her wristband. Then she dropped her purse, “It’s all yours.”

The robber jolted his gun, “Down. Now.”

Ava did get down, kind of. She sat in a plush waiting chair that was to her side.

The man didn’t say anything directly to her this time. Instead, it was the others -the unmasked ones. They had been talking, liberally defined in this case, with who Ava assumed was the Bank Manager, but now they were staring at the exchange between Blue and Ava. Usually, in the case of a bank robbery, even entitled people would get down on the ground without hesitation. After all, what is money worth when you are too dead to use it. 

But here they were, with Ava sitting in a dark plush chair, her legs crossed and her hands laying gingerly on the edge of the armrests, and a look of distaste contorting her face.

“Now, now, ma’am, I believe we said on the ground.” It was the tall man, he was leading the pack to her.

As soon as he was within range, he knew the type of woman he was dealing with. An heiress, entitled even in a robbery. All he saw was a woman in her mid-twenties dressed for a day in the office -an army green pencil skirt and a black blouse, the sleeves bell shaped and flowing, with sharp kitten heels every so often flicking in annoyance. He would make sure she knew her place, and here, in his place, designer clothes and daddy’s money could not buy a life.

Ava clapped her hands, slowly, “You know, it’s been quite a nice show so far -why don’t you leave me be and continue performing.”

“Now, I don’t want to have to hurt such a -well, pleasant woman, like yourself, so please stop joking and take this seriously,” The man lifted his hand and formed a ball of fire, “before something happens to that pretty little face of yours.”

The hushed voices of the other hostages slowly made their way into Ava’s head.

What’s happening?

Who is she?

Is she in charge?

How scary.

Didn’t she come in with her daughter?

How do civilians do it? Ava never understood their idiocy -more specifically their proclivity for jumping to conclusions.

Ava snapped her fingers. Just once. Crisp and clear. The hushed whispers stopped, the fire lost its crackle, breathes lost their rasp. All the sound in Oculus FInancial had stopped. Ava had never asked, but she had a suspicion that even thoughts fell silent before her.

Uncrossing her legs, Ava stood. That wild expression appeared again, but this time it was more sinister, the kind of look one would see in the eyes of a deranged killer, not a debutante. 

“When I snap my fingers next, you will answer my questions. No other words are allowed in my presence, no pleasantries and no sly comments,” a crisp snap filled the air, but the silence that had fallen remained, “Who are you five?”

Ava could tell the men in masks were displeased, they were trying to force words that didn’t exist to permeate the air. But as Ava has already said, the only words permitted are the answers to her questions. The other three had simply dropped all expression save shock. They were villains, after all -and presuming they were older than ten they must have known about Ava.

“We are members of the Conclave.” It was the woman, the one in the newspaper dress. Her voice was a higher pitch than Ava had expected.

“No, no, that is not the answer I was looking for -though indeed an answer,” Ava gestured around the group, “What are your names -preferably not your private identity.”

Gods be good, I will never have to interact with another hero.

“I am Phoebe, the Written Wonder.” What an utterly pathetic moniker.

“We are the Brothers Grimm, Reaper and Soul.” Boring.

“I’m Roger, no weird name,” the man in the yellow mask yelled from across the bank.

“I’m noneyafukinbusiness, lady.” Ah, that’s my favorite so far.

Ava snapped her fingers one last time, letting the sound trickle back into the bank before speaking, “Do you know who I am?”

The men in masks didn’t move, but the three Villains nodded quickly and each said a different title from Ava’s past.

The Crow.

The Fallen Star.

The Silent Lady.

“Incorrect.” Ava grinned and clapped her hands twice, sparks flying off her skin, “Today, I am The Conqueror of the Conclave.”

The sparks grew and propelled themselves into the air -eventually creating their own sparks. The stars Ava created began falling from the sky, clustering around the robbers. The man in the yellow mask was caught in an iron cage created from a young girls wish thirty years back, the other masked man caught in a bubble that lifted him to the ceiling -Astra had made that wish when she turned 4. For the three named villains, whose names Ava had already all but forgotten, the stars had chosen her own wish: a cage of swords. It wasn’t the most efficient, but Ava loved the medieval aesthetic -and it was always nice to know that the stars listened when she talked to them. So when a thousand swords sparked into existence towards the ceiling of the bank, Ava felt a fondness creep over her. Surrounding the three villains, herding them closer together, the swords swarmed around them -maybe a nick here or there but surely nothing that drew too much blood. Before long, the flurry of swords began to slow, the clangs of swords hitting each other echoing off the walls. When all was said and done, the cage of swords was held together by the force of the interlocking metal.

Snapping her fingers she took their sounds once more. 

You’ll get these back when you’re being interrogated, Ava thought, not unkindly.

“Ah,” Ava looked around, cooing, “Astra? Sweetie, where are you?”

Astra popped her head out and barreled straight for Ava, “Mom!!”

Ava prodded Astra all round examining her for the slightest bump, “Are you okay? Does anything hurt? How about emotionally? Does mom need to call someone to help? Can I help? You aren’t hurt are you, my star?”

As soon as Ava stopped patting her down, Astra gave her mom a great big hug, “Mom, you were so cool!”

Smiling in pride Ava scooped her little girl up, “So were you, sweetie! So brave! You didn’t make a single sound, mom is so proud of you!”

Astra beamed and looked at each of the different robber’s containers, “Oh, but momma…”

Ava followed Astra’s gaze, worried that the sight of them had upset her baby, “Yes, what’s wrong, my darling? What can Mom do?”

Astra looked up at Ava, her brow furrowed in confusion, “Why are they still alive?”

Ava blinked.

“Sweetie…” Ava looked to the cage of swords and thought for a moment, then looked back at her baby girl, “Well, you know, mom could… but do you really want mom and dad to fight again?”

Astra immediately began tearing up, and slammed her head into Ava’s chest and wailing, “No! No! Don’t fight anymore!!”

“Shhh, shhh,” Ava bounced her little girl, “Mom and dad won’t fight, I promise. And he’ll be so proud of you! Mom is gonna tell him how brave you were… “

And not that his baby girl takes after her mother, with all the murder that entails.

“And he’s gonna be happy mom and you are safe -and he’s going to be over the moon that these third rate villains are going to be put away!”

“He will be?” Astra hiccupped right at the end of her question.

“Of course!” Ava paused and with a chuckle, she lifted her arm away from Astra and flexed, deepening her voice, “The fist of the Law is HERE, and today you pay with your life… behind bars!”

“Don’t you remember dad’s catchphrase? He’s even tried to use it against me!”

Astra giggled, “Mom can we go find dad?”

Ava nodded, and gingerly grabbing her purse from where she dropped it, she walked out, yelling behind her, “Mr. Manager please call Mr. Barclay’s office if you need a statement from the firm!” 

After a moment she paused, looking back to the manager, a light smile on her face, “And please mail my jewelry back to our estate.”

As they walked out, with Ava radiating tenderness and staring at Astra giggling and asking about her dad, a squad of patrol cars pulled up. Waving as they walked by, no one even noticed when Ava Barclay, the Greatest Evil the World Has Ever Known, met up with her husband, Evan Marchand, the Head of the League of Superheroes, and their two beautiful children for a light lunch.

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