The Misadventures of Ultra Girl!-1 by Lynceus Ultra Girl, the Earth's newest heroine, isn't quite what she seems...

---

Disclaimer: I make no claims to any character or image owned or under copyright by another party, nor do I intend on profiting in any way from their use. The Comics Retcon Universe concept is the creative property of Lilith Langtree.

Portland, Oregon

“...if you're just joining us, this is Shelly Winters, reporting for Fox 12 news. It's been over three hours since a group of armed individuals seized control of a warehouse on the waterfront, taking workers hostage. The Roxxon corporation, which owns the warehouse, has declined to comment on it's contents so far. As of this moment, the Portland Police have been unable to breach the perimeter and...wait, what's that?”

The camera quickly pans over, as a bright orange streak descends from above. Zooming in, it looks like a glowing humanoid figure.

“It's a metahuman, although we can't be sure who it is.”

Gunfire can be heard in the distance, and then a loud explosion.

“Oh my God, what was that?!”

From off-camera, a male voice can be heard. “Holy shit, they have a rocket launcher?!”

“I don't...wait, can you see that?”

The camera zooms in again on a female figure, wearing an orange costume with green trim, striding purposefully through flames, as if they had no affect on her.

“I don't recognize her, is she new?” Again, the muffled voice, probably the cameraman.

“I think so...ladies and gentlemen, we may be witnessing the first appearance of a new metahuman!”

More gunfire can be heard, as the woman enters the warehouse, and right up to a man firing an assault rifle, casually ignoring the bullets. She's shorter than the man, and looks up at him, as if saying something. Then, with one hand, she grabs the man by his shirt and sends him flying towards the police barricade.

“Holy shit, did you see that?!”

“She's just a kid...I mean, it appears that, like so many of the new metahumans, she's a young adult or teenager. I don't think...”

The girl enters the warehouse, accompanied by more weapons fire, and flashes of light. It goes on for several minutes, and then...silence.

“Is it over? What's going on in there?”

The police cautiously move forward, just as the girl exits the warehouse. She holds up her hands when challenged by the police, looking almost bashful. She says something, and then an orange glow surrounds her body, and she flies upward into the air.

“I guess she didn't want to stick around and talk to the cops.”

Shelly turns to face the camera and whispers loudly. “Hey, be quiet, we're still live!” She coughs and raises her voice. “It appears that our new heroine has put a stop to the hostage situation. We'll give you more information as soon as the police are ready to make a statement. Back to you, Gary.”

Phoenix, Arizona

The fire at the metalworking plant had been both sudden and unexpected, no doubt the result of arson. The heat was still too intense for firefighters to get near, even though there were still people trapped in the building.

From above, an orange glowing figure descends right into the heart of the blaze. Several minutes go by, and an explosion rocks the building, causing the firefighters to shield their eyes.

Then, amazingly, figures begin to exit the blaze, led by a smaller figure wearing an orange costume with green trim. She ushers them quickly towards the waiting rescue workers, just as the ground trembles, almost as if due to a localized earthquake.

“It's all right! In just a minute there'll be a...” The girl is interrupted by a pair of twin geysers of earth and soil rising up from the fire. The flames die down as the dirt falls back down to the ground.

The girl turns to the Fire Chief, who is staring dumbfounded at the scene. “Sir, if you act now, you might have a chance of controlling the blaze. But you have to hurry!”

“Wha...right, I got it. Everyone, let's start in on the fire, quick!”

Firemen move forward with hoses, and begin spraying the blaze with flame-retardant chemicals. The Chief turns to the girl. She's wearing a green belt with a 'U'-shaped belt buckle, and looks to be 16 or 17 at most. “Thanks for your help, I'm sure those people appreciate you saving their lives...but who are you?”

The girl grins. “Me? I'm Ultra Girl.” A beeping noise can be heard from her pants pocket. She fishes out a cellular phone. “Oh heck, uh, no time to talk, I've got places to be. Good luck!”

Her body begins to glow, and she flies upwards into the night sky.

The Chief looks after her for a moment. “Thanks a lot, Ultra Girl.”

Elsewhere...

“Christ, another one? This is getting ridiculous.” A male voice.

“So many of them are teenaged girls, I wonder if there's any reason for that?” A female voice.

“Not that we've been able to determine. It appears to be some outside factor, unrelated to the 'metagene' itself.” The man shrugged. “Some powers seem to be rather common. Take this 'Ultra Girl', for example. Flight, invulnerability, super strength. Standard package.”

The woman frowned. “She's incredibly fast as well, to do all that in such a short amount of time.”

“Yeah. And she seems to know exactly what needs to be done...maybe one of the existing metas has been training her in secret?” The man hit a few keystrokes, changing the view on his monitor. “I don't think she's a high priority just yet. Not with this whole 'Star Sapphire' nonsense.”

“Just type up the report, and we'll let Mr. Luthor decide.”

“Yes Ma'am.”

Home Sweet Home

It takes some effort, but I manage to land behind my house without attracting attention. My powers aren't exactly subtle, and typically they manifest a sort of aura that looks like reddish-orange flame. I'm not sure why, exactly, but if I focus, I can make myself less obvious.

I open the back door and step inside, shedding several inches of height as I do. As well as some extra padding here and there- I may like to look at breasts, but I'm just fine with my normal size.

Ultra Girl is older than I am, though, so it's a necessary evil. The reddish hue leaves my hair and I let my costume turn into normal clothing. “Mom, I'm home!”

“I'm in the living room, honey. All anyone can talk about is Ultra Girl this, Ultra Girl that.”

I walk into the living room. Mom's curled up on the couch, watching CNN. I give her a hug and she kisses my cheek. “Did I do good?”

She beams at me. “Honey, you were wonderful. Come on, sit with me.”

I sit down and she puts her arms around me in a tight hug. “I'm so proud of you, baby.”

“I don't know Mom, sometimes I wonder if I should be doing this at all. I mean...I know it scares you.”

She rests her chin on my head. “I won't lie and say that's not true. But if this is what you want to do, you know I won't stop you. I didn't stop your sister, even though I worry about her all the time.”

“I wonder what she'll say when she finds out who Ultra Girl is?”

Mom laughs. “Probably complain about the costume. Personally, I like it. It's practical, not like all the costumes the other girls wear. I mean, I'm not a prude, but I wouldn't walk around in some of those outfits, even when I was young enough to look good in them!”

“Mom, you'd still look good, trust me.”

She hugs me tighter. “You say the nicest things. Mm, that reminds me, we're going to need to get your sister back. Your father wants to see you both.”

“...ugh. Why?”

She shrugs. “He is your father. I imagine if I refuse him, he'll use it as grounds to try and get custody.”

“Wait a minute, I thought he didn't want custody?”

“He's your father. Even if he is a jackass, he does care about you both.”

“Yeah right.” I yawn, despite myself.

“You should go lay down, honey. You have a lot of makeup homework waiting for you in the morning.”

I groan. Superheroes should have an exemption from homework!

I try to sleep, but I'm still restless, even though I'm exhausted. The hostage situation and the fire were the high points, but I'd done quite a bit more. I turn on my computer, and check my email.

I'd been trying to stay off the radar, but I still had a secure email account. There were a lot of messages I still didn't know quite how to answer. Including a new one.

Alena. We need to talk. Please.

I knew I couldn't avoid her forever. Eventually, she'd get tired of her world-conquering and show up at my house. Something had changed though, since I'd left with Larfleeze. The Green Lantern I'd once idolized was calling herself “Queen Jade” and she'd gathered a small army of followers.

They'd currently colonized Mars, and she'd declared independence from the Green Lantern Corps, and replaced the Rings she'd given the others with new ones. Violet Rings.

Lianna hadn't told me anything about a Violet Light. Where had it come from? And what was Jade up to?

I wondered if I really wanted to know. For now, it was easier to pretend being Ultra Girl, and hoping the Green Lanterns didn't catch on. They already thought I was dangerous. How would they feel about my alliance with Larfleeze?
I lay down on the bed, but I remembered something. “Rose? Thorn?”

My girls appeared, sitting on the bed. Rose smiled at me, while Thorn just shrugged.

“You both did a great job tonight. I'm proud of you.”

Rose gives me a hug. “Thanks Mom!”

Thorn just shrugs, but I think I saw the ghost of a smile. “Whatever.”

I grin. “Stay with me tonight, I think I could use the company.”

They may have been created by the Orange Light, but to me, they're my girls, and I feel better knowing that they're safe.