When Lightning Strikes!-3 by Lynceus Ayumi decides to find someone who can help her new friend Haya; but how does one get in touch with the most powerful woman in the world?

In manga, it's considered 'cute' for a girl to chronically oversleep, ignoring a plethora of alarm clocks, and always being perpetually late for school. Guess which fun flaw Kyou decided to give me?

Thankfully, I didn't have any appointments, nor do I go to school, but it's still annoying to wake up and realize you've slept over nine hours! School...thinking about it, legal adult or not, my education is incomplete, and that's something I'd need to remedy sooner or later.

But how could I, the heroine of Japan, attend high school? I thought about it in the shower, and by the time I was ready to head downstairs, I had the answer. Don't go to school in Japan!

Sure, my popularity would eventually spread across the ocean, but there was a chance I could get away with it for some time, wearing Western clothing and maybe dyeing my hair. The question was, how did I get an identity I could use in America?

The TV was still on, but there was no sign of my house guest. “Haya?” I looked around, and then noticed a note laying on the counter.

Went to school-sorry to leave without telling you, but you must have been very tired; nothing I did woke you! Will be back later. If you end up meeting Jade, don't worry about being late. I'll wait here for you to return. P.S.; please change the channel to 53, there's a neat show I want to watch tonight!

Your friend, Haya.

Went to school? Oh, of course, she can turn invisible! Even if she can't interact with anyone, she could still learn! Smart girl! Still, it has to be lonely, being there with all your old friends, but not being able to talk to them.

She took a huge risk even talking to me, most people would be frightened of a ghost-girl! Even a really cute one like Haya. I had to find a way to help her! I dressed warmly; no skirts today! I was looking for a superhero, and that meant I'd likely have to do a lot of long-distance flying.

I didn't really have a way to contact Jade, but she's pretty active; all I had to do was look for trouble, and chances were I'd find her, or someone who knew her!

I flew out of my skylight, rocketing into the air so fast that only a high-speed camera would get a good shot. And since I was wearing long pants, it wouldn't be a 'money shot', either! I'm not a prude, I actually do enjoy showing off my legs. But I do get tired of all the photographers hanging around my place; maybe I should hire some security? Hm, not a bad idea, some big tough guys to chase off the riff-raff. I smiled thinking about it. The Lightning deserves her privacy!

I headed east, figuring that America was the best bet. I only knew a few cities that had their own heroes, but surely if something big happened in a major city, it wouldn't be long before someone responded!

Now, I realize I was about to fly into the airspace of another country without permission, but I had reason to believe I'd be ok. When he designed my character, Kyou had given some thought to how I was able to fly. Basically, I can generate gravitational waves, fluctuations in the curvature of space-time that transport gravitational radiation.

I can vary the amplitude of the waves to allow me to become lighter than my actual weight, counter Earth's natural gravity, or fly at pretty much any speed I choose. Theoretically, low amplitude gravitational waves can achieve the speed of light, although I've never tried to move at that kind of speed (and with good reason!). Because I'm actually surrounded by the wave effect, I can counter non-gravitational accelerations (called proper accelerations), and I'm unaffected by the g-force simply moving at high speed would produce.

Further, the gravity wave warps light around me to some extent; I'm not invisible, but at high speeds, I'm basically a fast-moving blur. Objects that strike me in flight veer off in another (usually random) direction, even things like radio waves, so I didn't have to worry about non-visual detection.

At least, that's how Kyou explained what I do. I'm left to assume it's accurate, even though his understanding of the principles involved is flawed. Worse, this is mostly theoretical physics to begin with; I'm not sure what would happen if, say, the existence of gravitons is disproved.

And there's a few other flaws. Like the fact that I can see just fine from within my personal gravitational distortion, which shouldn't be possible given that photons shouldn't be able to reach my eyes. Also, as long as there is breathable air at my altitude, I can breathe normally. Even though, quite honestly, the air should be too cold for me to breathe long before that's an issue.

Heck, while I do get cold flying, it's pretty obvious to me that the temperatures I feel aren't consistent with how could it should be. Also, while I can control my gravitational waves just fine to allow flight, my other uses of them are a bit cruder.

Like, I can project a wave forward, pushing back and even altering the relative gravity of things the wave strikes...but I don't have any real fine control over it. Also, the strength of my personal gravity 'bubble' (I think of it as one, although I'm pretty sure that's not what it looks like) is relative to the amplitude of the waves I'm generating.

Just hovering, it doesn't offer me much protection from anything with substantial mass, but at my higher speeds, I've impacted things as large as flying birds and not suffered any harm. Thankfully, the hapless birds don't seem to be more than momentarily confused as they are rebuffed by my field.

As science goes, it's pretty soft. Blame it on the fact my creator was an artist, not a scientist. Either way, my powers seem to work as advertised, so maybe you can understand why I wasn't too concerned about being noticed by the Air Force.

That doesn't mean there aren't things that can detect me. In retrospect, I probably could have gotten Jade's notice faster simply by flying around the Earth at high speeds; her starship comes equipped with a gravitational wave detector (among other things). Ah well.

As it was, I later found out that I was responsible for a series of UFO sightings over the Western United States. Oops.

-

I flew over Los Angeles first, but didn't see anything more dangerous than traffic; given how many movies are filmed in this area, I really expected the city to be a lot more active! I crossed the city a few times, then headed for the mountains. I'd heard about Green Lantern Zwei's battle against some kind of giant ghost in Las Vegas, and the town was already getting a reputation for weird events.

My GPS doesn't really work that well in flight, but as I've noted before, I need to stop in order to change direction, so it was at these times I'd check it. And change playlists; one can only listen to the same artist or genre so long before it gets on your nerves!

I've never really had a chance to figure out how fast I can fly, other than damn fast. Supersonic, to be sure, but to what degree? I don't seem to create sonic booms either; just that low rumbling noise. Like distant thunder. That's how Kyou described it, and that's pretty much what it sounds like. He never explained why, I guess he just felt it would be cooler that way.

As I flew, I considered a few things. I don't really consider myself to be Kyou, but rather, somehow, his creation come to life. Despite the fact that I have all of his memories. I guess I'm a little scared of finding out the truth; for example, I haven't tried to draw anything. The Lightning was never presented as an artist.

If I can draw like Kyou, however, that would present an uncomfortable fact. That, at my core, I really am a teenaged boy, surrounded in a delusion of being his own idealized dream girl. That Ayumi doesn't exist at all, and never has. I'm just some dream Kyou is having.

I have to look at my hand to make sure I'm not fading out of existence. I have no evidence to think that I will, but it's something I'm afraid of nonetheless. Irrational? I don't really know. Haya had simply accepted my origin story without question.

I smile, thinking about her. Despite her predicament, she continues to be optimistic about life. It's ironic, the ghost-girl is more alive than I am! She believes in me, that I am the hero she thinks I am. And that somehow makes me feel better. She's like a younger sister.

From now on, I think I'll call her imouto (younger sister). I think she'd like that. I really want to talk to her now, about my doubts. She's the only one I've told my full story to. The only one I've talked to about anything, really.

-

Flying over the mountains, the air is thin, and even I notice the chill. However, I'd brought my satchel with me, which contains various items I felt could be useful. Like, for example, a small bottle of air. I attempt to cross the mountains (I think they're called the Sierra Nevadas..or is that The Rockies?) as soon as I can.

The land is flat here, with large, barren-looking regions. As I get closer to my destination, I realize that this is a desert, the first one I've ever seen. I make sure to apply some sunblock; the last thing I want is to get burned! Also, I drink the contents of my Thermos. I'll have to buy something to drink in the city.

Las Vegas is likely more beautiful at night; all I saw was a cluster of tall buildings surrounded by a fairly mundane-looking urban sprawl. I land out of sight, and go looking for a restaurant; I'm starved!

To my amusement, I find a Cantonese take-out restaurant and order some Beef Broccoli. The portions are quite large compared to what I'm used to; the sauce is thick, and the rice seems starchier. But, it's not bad, and at least I won't get fat; using my powers burns up a lot of calories!

The root beer I ordered is really sweet, but I like the taste. I'll definitely have to bring some of this stuff back to Tokyo! As I walk towards the center of town, I hear some yelling. Moving quickly, I come across a group of boys tormenting a smaller boy. They look to be Hispanic, and they were speaking in a patois of English and Spanish.

One of the key pieces of evidence I have that I'm not Kyou is the fact that I speak perfectly fluent English, and you can ask Mr. Tanaka; Kyou was a horrible English student!

“Hey, leave him alone!”

The boys turned to look at me. I noticed a few of them had knives out, but they'd yet to use them. The younger boy's eyes were big and round as he looked at me.

“Hey..what's a pretty chica like you doin' out this way?” The tallest boy practically leered at me.

“Maybe you want to hang out with us? Party some?” Another boy grinned. As a group, they moved towards me.

“Boys, I hate to break this to you, but I'm way out of your league.” I smiled. This was going to be fun. I despise bullies.

“Oh, you think you're better than us, huh? Maybe I should teach you a lesson!” The leader got close enough that I could smell his sweat and bad breath. Ick!

I let static electricity build up around me. My eyes always glow when I use my electrical powers, and the effect is really frightening! “You're welcome to try, little man, but I think you're in for a shock!”

I know, that was bad, but I really can't help myself. The leader stopped short, even backpedaled a few steps. “Las Diabla!”

“Yeah, that's right, I'm a devil!” Hey, I recognize a little Spanish. Mostly because Kyou was a huge Bleach fan! I fly up a few feet, creating a wave of gravitational radiation all around me, sufficient to knock the boys on the ground. “And you better run!”

Boy did they ever run! All except the younger boy, who just stared at me in awe. “Pretty lady? Are you really a devil?”

I floated to the ground, letting my electricity disperse. “No, I'm not. I just didn't want them to hurt you any more.”

He smiled at me. “Thank you, pretty lady. What do they call you?”

“Mm. The Lightning. Uh, La Relampaga?”

He nodded. “Si! Thank you again, Senorita Relampaga!” He nodded his head, then ran off, waving.

Cute kid!

I made sure to leave the area quickly, in case I'd attracted the wrong kind of attention with that stunt. My powers are pretty flagrant, that's for sure!

-

The sheer amount of lights installed on 'The Strip', as I believe it's known, is impressive. If I ever had to fight here at night, I'd have incredible power to work with! I hung out for about an hour, but I didn't see anything particularly weird. I'm sure you might disagree, but I'm a Tokyo girl; a small battalion of Elvis impersonators doesn't even register on my weird-o-meter!

I did notice a few acts I wish I had the time to see. Penn & Teller, for example, as well as that incredible duo of magic and escapology, the Zatanna/Miss Miracle show! Ah well. I passed a pair of blonde girls, who looked remarkably similar to one another. Sisters, no doubt.

They waved to me, and I waved back. At least some of the people here are friendly!

-

“Did you feel that?” Illyana shivered, looking back at the girl they'd passed.

“A little bit. She's very powerful.” Hunter nodded.

“I wonder what she's looking for?”

“I just hope we don't have to fight her or anything!”

Illyana frowned. “Me too!”

-

Las Vegas seemed fruitless. It was getting late in the afternoon; I probably wouldn't be home tonight after all. And I couldn't even call home; it's not like Haya can pick up the phone! I sighed. Maybe I should give up for now?

No, Haya needs my help, I have to try! I decided to head for Chicago; there was at least one big hero in that city who was hard to miss!

I rose into the air and took off, intent on my goal.

-

Alyssa gasped, and I turned to see what the deal was. I just barely saw a girl fly up into the sky, and then rocket off to the west. “Holy shit!”

“Do you recognize her, Stef?”

“Not at all! Let me give Jade a call, see if she knows anything; I sure couldn't catch her...wow, she's fast!”

“Yeah...I'm so jealous of you guys, able to fly like that. I can only glide around or hover."

I leaned closer to Alyssa. “You can fly with me any time, beautiful.”

She kissed my hair, and I held my ring closer to my mouth. “Hey, if anyone's listening, I just saw a girl take off from Vegas, and she's really trucking! She's flying west right now, I think...hard to see her really.”

The ring glowed. “A girl who can fly? What color was her hair?” Alena's voice came out of the ring.

“Uh, I didn't get a good look. Alyssa?”

“Red, but not like Doris or Jean...kind of brownish. Auburn?”

“Auburn, huh? No costume or anything?” Alena sounded a bit puzzled.

“No, not really.” I shrugged, even though Alena couldnt' really see me.

“When she flies, what does it sound like?” Jade cut in.

“Uh, a rumbling noise. Kind of like thunder, but faint. Like it's far-off.”

“The Lightning, it has to be.” You could almost hear Jade frown, from her tone of voice.

“Woah! The Lightning?! In the States? Awesome!” Heh. That's Alena for you, always the fangirl.

Me, on the other hand...

“Uh, for those of us who don't know...who's The Lightning?”

“Japan's first..and only, so far as I know, superhero. I have no idea why she'd be in Las Vegas though. Alena, I'm kind of busy right now, think you can intercept her?”

“Uh...I can try? Hey Doris, you listening to this?”

“Yes, sorry, little busy myself, but I'll look out for her.” Doris sounded more than a little distracted, her voice breathy with exertion. The pleasant kind.

“Sorry Doris, you and Lena can get back to who you're doing.” I chuckled.

“Oh jeez, sorry Doris!” I smirked, thinking of Alena's blush.

Alyssa nudged me. “You've gotten wicked, haven't you?”

I considered that. “Yeah, I guess I have. Is that a problem?”

She gave me a kiss. “Not to me.”

“Uh..signing out now!” Poor Alena!

A new voice came in. "Cosmic Girl here, she just sort of stopped in mid-air, I'm going to go say hi."

"If you find out what she wants, let me know. And stall her, I'll head to you as soon as I can!"

"Sure thing, Jade. Ok everyone, talk to you later!"

I shook my head. Even though she'd helped us fight Klariann, Cosmic Girl and Night Girl were still a little mysterious; so far as I know, none of us knew who they really were!

"Ok, you're off the hook, Doris. Have fun girls, Jade out."

“Gee, do you think that was an order, Alyssa?” I smiled up at my girlfriend.

“I'm going to take it as one. Let's go home and...kill a few hours before it's time for my beauty sleep."

We linked arms, and headed back to our house had set up for us.

To be continued...

Special Guest Stars: Illyana and Hunter (Books of Magik), Stefani/Purgatori and Alyssa (The Succubus Files), Alena Scott/Green Lantern Zwei (Green With Envy), Jade/Green Lantern (Samplings of the Population), and Cosmic Girl (Momentum Shift!).