A Dark Flowering
1 Abducted by Darkness
Daniel Thorne glanced up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk to look at the clock on the wall of his office, 8:45pm, he had been hard at work for 12 hours solid, trying to make sense of the reports and documents he had amassed.
It had come to his attention that various members of Paragons civic authorities had been behaving oddly, in contrast to their normal behaviour.
At first, Thorne had disbelieved this, after 7 successful years as Paragons District Attorney, he had experienced the sneaky and devious ways of city politics, that is until one of his oldest friends, James Patterson, Paragons Chief of Police had disappeared for 3 whole days and returned oddly different.
Further, it appeared that Patterson was using his position to help the interests of a shadowy organisation, Thorne had at first suspected the Council or the Family, but after investigation and surveillance, this had proven incorrect, the name and intent of this organisation remained hidden.
That had been the start of Thornes investigation and the beginnings of the files that now covered his desk. After Patterson, Thorne had managed to uncover a virtual web of intrigue and corruption on a machiavellian scale in Paragons government.
It had taken Thorne and his team 3 years of hard work and an almost paranoid lifestyle, but in the end they had won through and cleaned the city as best they could.
Now the evidence and shadowy clues they had gathered pointed to some secret society, apparently a mystical cult of sorts.
Thorne couldnt wait to get to grips with his next task, and to find out just how this cult had subverted so many good people.
He yawned and stretched, his large office chair becoming uncomfortable, Thorne decided to call it a night and go home to his wife and son.
Placing the files in his safe, Thorne switched off the lights to his office and headed to the basement car park. Apart from the utility staff, Thorne was the only person in the building and so the car park was almost empty.
As he made his way to his car, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw shadows, the lights in one corner of the car park were extinguished, as he watched, the shadow expanded, slowly blacking out all the lights in the park.
Thorne could feel the icy cold and malevolence emanating from the shadow, but he couldnt move, could not escape as it slowly and inexorably bore down on him.
As the inky blackness of the shadow engulfed him, Thorne could hear screaming, it took him a while to realise that it was his own voice he could hear, then the blackness engulfed his mind and he knew no more.
2. The Circles Revenge
As his mind began to focus, Thorne could feel a cold hard surface beneath him,
He could feel metal around his wrists and ankles, and a touch of cold air sent chills over his naked flesh, and he smelled burning tar from somewhere.
As his eyes opened, Thorne could see that he was in a cavernous chamber; he could barely see the ceiling in the torchlight, all that he was able to make out were the huge columns that dotted the chamber.
Moving his head, he discovered that he was chained on what appeared to be an altar made of solid Jet, his arms and legs held by silver clamps set into the stone of the altar, and to his left, roughly 7 feet away was another altar, identical to the one he was chained to.
After what seemed like an eternity, Thornes ears picked up a strange chanting, and presently a large group of robed and hooded figures slowly approached the altars.
Thorne could feel the fear rise in him as he saw them, their eyes burned with an unholy light that emphasised the darkness within their cowls and hid their faces.
All but two of the figures wore plain brownish robes. One was a middle-aged man and the other a young girl, who couldnt have been more that 18, both were dressed in garish robes and the man wore a strange and obviously ceremonial headpiece.
As Thorne watched in fear, the figures positioned themselves around both altars and the young girl allowed two of the brown robed figures to remove her robes, exposing her naked body and let them chain her to the second altar, all the while, her frighteningly glowing eyes stared at Thorne with a mixture of hatred, contempt and hunger.
The man in the headpiece strode between the altars and glared at Thorne, his burning eyes piercing into Thornes very soul.
Welcome, District Attorney Thorne, to my sanctum. The man said in a voice that was filled with power and cruelty. I am Khalek of the Circle of Thorns
We of Circle of Thorns, have been most displeased with your actions. You have managed to thwart our attempts to gain control of the citys government, and so you have earned a unique punishment.
Fearfully, Thorne asked, What are you going to do to me?
We are going to replace you, Mr Thorne, replace you with one of our mages, one who has need of a position of authority and power. This very night he shall leave his present shell and strip you of your body, Khalek laughed and continued, Normally, we would merely end the life of the person whose body we usurp, but tonight, Mr Thorne, you shall be forced into the body our mage currently inhabits, and kept as his pet.
Laughing, Khalek stepped back and indicated the girl chained to the second altar, Meet Angela West, Mr Thorne, mark her face well, for the next time you see it, it shall be in a mirror!
3. A Life Stolen
Raising his arms, Khalek began a low chant in a strange, guttural language. As he continued, the circle of hooded figures took up the chant, and slowly, above the altars, a circle of stygian darkness formed.
As he struggled vainly to force the silver manacles which held him to the altar, a tendril of pitch-blackness descended from the blackness above and encircled him in its icy grasp.
Screaming, Thorne felt himself being torn from his very body, and he could see the same happen to the girl on the other altar. As he watched, helplessly he was pushed towards the unconscious girl whilst the glowing shape of an ancient looking man was being moved over his inert body.
Then out of nowhere there was an explosion of blue white light and several of the robed figures were hurled across the room. Thorne felt himself thrust into the body of the girl, and saw his own body convulse violently as if from a heavy electric shock, he barely registered that Khalek had stopped his chanting, but the smell of burning flesh hit his nostrils.
As he began to lose consciousness he could vaguely make out the shape of a costumed man leaping over the altars, then everything went black.
Slowly, Thorne began to regain consciousness, he could vaguely hear the sounds of fighting around him, and he could hear Khalek screaming about the ceremony being ruined. He felt his grip on consciousness waver and he slipped once more into oblivion, his mind surfacing for brief moments, the events in the chamber became a blur of lights, explosions and screams.
During his final bout of consciousness, he heard a voice saying, Well, this guys dead, looks like he had some kind of seizure, but the girl looks to be alive, better take her to Atlas and get the docs to examine her.
Another voice said, I know that guy, its DA Thorne, what the heck was going on here?
Then blackness claimed him. For what seemed an eternity Thorne floated in a strange void, his mind bombarded by voices and memories not his, but that of Angela West.
Although he could recall her memories, they were weak compared to his own, as if he was seeing them through a dirty window, and throughout it all, he was aware of a dark bitterly cold energy seeping into his very soul, and then true unconsciousness claimed him.
4. A New Start.
Slowly he began to awaken, he could feel softness surrounding him, the feel of sheets, a mattress, and he felt a pillow under his head. Sounds invaded his dulled mind, voices, and the sounds of people moving.
As his mind began to clear, he became aware of strange sensations, an unfamiliar weight on his chest, a strange empty feeing between his legs and the feeling that something was covering his head.
Memories flooded his waking mind. He recalled the dark shadow that had engulfed him, the chamber and the robed figures, then a strange icy pain and nothing.
Sitting up, Thorne felt movement from his chest, as he looked down, his view was obstructed by a dark material. Pushing it away, he discovered it to be hair, his hair, and it was long, longer than he ever wore it. How had it grown, why had his hair gone from brown to black?
Then his gaze fell upon his chest, beneath the blue gown he was clothed in, were two unmistakably female breasts, rising and falling with each shocked breath he took.
Shakily, he moved his hand to touch one, they were real, and he could feel his hand as it held the breast. He stared in shock and fear at his female chest, unable to move, until a voice from beside him shocked him out of his trance.
Looking around, Thorne saw a man standing beside his bed looking at a clipboard.
Dressed in a white lab coat and wearing a stethoscope, he was obviously a doctor.
Im sorry, I didnt mean to startle you, Miss West, how do you feel this morning? Asked the doctor.
It took Thorne a full minute to realise the doctor was talking to him, and as he tried to form an answer, the full memory of the ceremony came crashing into his mind. He was now trapped in the body of Angela West.
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he realised the enormity of his situation, he had gone from being the District Attorney of a large and prosperous city into a girl in her freshmen year of college.
He tried to reply to the doctor, but the sound of his female voice was too much and instead of speaking he burst, uncharacteristically, into tears.
Sitting by his bed, the doctor tried to comfort Thorne, telling him that he was safe, the ordeal was over and that he could put it behind him and get on with his life now. If only he knew. Thorne thought to himself, whilst sobbing uncontrollably.
When his tears had subsided, the doctor, who had introduced himself as Dr. Michaels, informed Thorne that he had been unconscious for three days, possibly due to shock, as there was no evidence of injury or drugs when he had been admitted.
As he stood to leave, Dr. Michaels said, We would like to keep you in overnight for observation, Miss West, I dont think you have anything to worry about. Oh, yes, some agents from MAGI would like to talk to you, if you feel up to it.
Managing a weak smile, Thorne said yes, still finding himself shocked at hearing a girls voice coming out of his mouth.
When Dr. Michaels had left, Thorne began to think about what this Circle of Thorns had done to him, what they had stolen from him, and the fate he had narrowly avoided. His anger slowly rising, Thorne didnt notice the shadows forming around his tightly clenched fists, until the icy chill of the darkness intruded upon his thoughts.
Staring at his hands, Thorne watched in apprehension, as the swirling clouds of darkness surrounding his hands slowly faded, and, as it vanished, he heard a knock at his door.
Hurriedly regaining his composure, Thorne shouted for whomever it was to come in. The door opened, and two very sober looking men entered his room.
Both were dressed in black suits and had a strange feel to them. The elder of the two showed Thorne his ID and introduced himself as Agent Zhukov and the younger man as Agent Roberts.
Zhukov told Thorne that he, Angela West had been missing for 3 weeks and asked Thorne where he had been, how he had come to be in the sanctum, and what had transpired.
Using the memories he had somehow inherited from Angela West, Thorne told Zhukov that he remembered being taken from Paragon University campus one night and then waking chained to the altar in the chamber where he had been found.
For roughly an hour, the two agents questioned Thorne, until, satisfied, they told Thorne that he had had a remarkable escape, most people who the Circle kidnap were never seen again, and of the ones that did resurface, most of them seemed to behave as if they were different people.
As they left, Zhukov gave Thorne a business card and told him to call into MAGIs office in Atlas Park if anything strange should happen.
Alone again, Thorne sat up in his bed, examining the card and thinking. He held his arm out, and concentrated, focusing on his anger, the humiliation he felt at what had happened, sure enough, his fist became enshrouded in the same icy shadows as before. But even though the shadows were terribly cold, his fist didnt feel any discomfort.
Maybe, he thought, just maybe I have a way to gain at least some measure of justice from this Circle of Thorns.
5. The Circle in The Flat
Thorne awoke, momentarily confused by the feel of his breasts and the still strange feeling of emptiness between his legs. Even though he had been forced to live in the body of Angela West for almost a month now, he still hadnt gotten used to the feel of his new physiology.
He had been released from the hospital with a clean bill of health, and, needing to come to terms with his condition, had opted to take up Angela Wests life from where it had been left.
He had decided to change her Major from 17th Century French Romantic Poetry to Law, giving him a clear advantage, and something to help him adjust better.
Still being fully male, albeit trapped in a 19 year old girls body, Thorne had immediately ended West's relationship with her long-standing boyfriend, claiming the trauma of his abduction as the reason.
It was dark, he glanced over to his bedside clock, and the glowing numbers showed him it was 4 am. Something had awoken him, but what?
Then, from his flat-mates bedroom, he heard a muffled groan, followed by the sound of a male voice
Thorne quietly got out of bed, clad only in his panties and an oversized football shirt, he crept out of his room and made his way through the living room to the door of his flat-mates bedroom.
Thorne knew his flat-mate, Rachel Summers, had a boyfriend, but he also knew she went to bed alone tonight, but still he could hear someone in the room, and now he was close enough, he could hear the sounds of struggling.
Steeling himself to burst open the door, Thorne felt a strange coldness seeping from his body and concentrating in his forearms. Then he saw a sickly greenish light emanating from underneath the door.
Hurriedly, Thorne threw the door open. In front of him were three brown robed figures; a fourth was on the far side of Rachel's bed. Rachel herself was floating above the bed, seemingly in a semi conscious state.
Recognising the figures as the Circle of Thorns, and realising the danger Rachel was in, Thorne leapt into the room, hardly thinking about what to do next.
Working purely on instinct, he struck out at the nearest figure, and as he did so, his fist was enveloped in an icy black shadow. His blow seemed to cause a great deal of damage, Thorne was sure he heard a couple of ribs break, and the figure screamed in agony.
Thorne struck out again, catching the robed figure squarely on the jaw. This time, the shadow did not manifest itself, but he seemed to hit harder than his female body should have been capable of, and the figure fell to the floor, unconscious.
The three remaining figures, forgot about Angela for the moment, and moved to deal with this shadowy girl who was interfering in their plans, circling Thorne, they drew daggers and prepared to strike.
Fearing for his own life now, Thorne ducked a vicious slash and struck out at the nearest figure, as he did so, the shadows engulfed his forearms and he let fly with a fusillade of incredibly fast and powerful blows, knocking his opponent out within a second.
Turning to the next one, Thorne was struck in the left arm by a dagger strike, the pain was compounded by a cold burning feeling coming from the knife itself.
Feeling a little nauseous and dizzy, Thorne was easily caught by a blow to the head; he staggered back into the darkened living room.
As the robed figures followed him, his head began to clear and he launched another volley of blows at the figure he assumed had slashed his arm, knocking the figure to the ground and being rewarded further by the sound of his assailants jaw breaking.
The remaining pair of figures slowly circled Thorne, making quick slashes with their daggers. Thorne, his heart racing, managed to keep himself clear of the flashing blades and struck one of the robed knifemen, his blow snapping the figures head back and sending him crashing to the floor in a heap.
The last figure threw his dagger at Thorne and made a break for the door. Thorne dived after him and the two combatants rolled onto the floor, struggling for the knife.
Somehow Thorne managed to wrest the knife from his stronger opponent, only to be thrown off the robed man. As he fell, Thorne hit his head on the small coffee table, which had been knocked over during the fight, the robed figure stood and walked purposefully over to him.
Pulling another knife from somewhere in his robes, the figure readied himself for a decisive and fatal blow, only to have Thorne swing the coffee table into his legs, knocking him over.
Leaping up, Thorne delivered a hard kick to the prone mans head rendering him unconscious. And, after checking that he wasnt merely stunned, Thorne went to check on Rachel.
She was lying on her bed, sound asleep, as if nothing had happened. Seeing that she was safe, Thorne dragged the unconscious assailants into the living room, and called the police.
Before the police arrived, Thorne removed the cowls from the men, curious as to whom they were. Out of the four of them he only recognised one, Tony Clarke, Angela Wests former boyfriend.
This explained how the Circle of Thorns, and the likelihood that tonights attack was aimed at him and not Rachel.
As he waited for the Police, he examined his slashed arm. Washing off the blood, Thorne was amazed to discover that the wound had completely healed, even as he watched, the scar it had left was fading away.
A knocking at the door shook him from his thoughts. The police had arrived.
Checking through the peephole in the door, Thorne saw two police officers, and, after making sure of their identity, he let them in.
Not wanting to attract too much attention to himself, Thorne told the police that Angela and himself had been saved from the assailants by a costumed woman who claimed to have been following the robed men.
After giving his statement, and the police had left, Thorne returned to his bedroom and took out the card given to him by Zhukov.
Well, he thought to himself, something strange has indeed happened, so I guess Id better go see what this MAGI has to offer.
6. The Dark Rose
The Following morning, Thorne phoned Paragon University and informed them that he (Angela Wast) would be unable to attend his classes and lectures, giving the shock of the Circle of Thorns breaking into his flat as an excuse.
He then told his flat mate, Angela that he was going to Atlas Park on a personal errand and that she should get some rest after last nights ordeal.
Catching a bus, Thorne headed to City Hall, enduring the attention of the men on the bus, something he knew he would never get used to. He spent an uncomfortable half hour journey, trying to avoid the stares, real and imagined, of various male passengers until he arrived at Atlas Park.
Making an appointment to see the MAGI representative, Thorne was informed that he was expected and asked to go directly to the MAGI offices.
Entering the offices, He was greeted by a young Asian woman who introduced herself as Asuria.
Asuria told Thorne that Agent Zhukov, who had interviewed him in the hospital was a mage with telepathic abilities and he had easily discovered the true story behind Thornes kidnapping.
MAGI had kept everything quiet, preferring Thorne to make his own decisions and lead his new life as he saw fit. Asuria also told Thorne that MAGI would be there to help Thorne as necessary, due to his new status as a victim of magical crime, as she put it.
Thorne told Asuria about the Circles attack on his flat mate and how he had fought them off. This impressed Asuria, who said, You are indeed fortunate, the Circles minions should have had little or no trouble in subduing you, giving your inexperience in these matters.
She then asked him what his plans were, Thorne replied, I dont know, thats why I came here. I want to strike back at these sick b******s for what they did to me.
And I want to know if theres any way to reverse what they did to me
Alas, there is no way to undo what the circle of Thorns has done to you, short of subjecting another to the same fate. But we can train you in the use of your powers and sponsor you as a hero, or heroine, in your case. Asuria said, with a slight laugh.
Well, I couldnt, in all fairness, steal someone elses life, and I do have these abilities, Thorne said, So I think Id rather fight back, rather than hide.
Asuria told Thorne to come back in the morning and they would begin his training, and select a pseudonym and costume for him to hide his civilian identity.
For the rest of the day, Thorne was deep in thought about his decision, how it was going to affect his life, how he was going to cope and the dangers involved.
Whilst he had the time to spare, he worked on designing a costume to wear when using his powers in public, and tried to think of a pseudonym to use, all his ideas kept returning to one thing, the circle of thorns.
Tired, Thorne went to bed, still thinking of his decision and wondering if he had made the right choice.
Thorne awoke, it was dark. He checked the bedside clock, 2 am. Moonlight streamed through his bedroom window, and then he saw a figure in the shadows.
As he stared, he realised it was the figure of a young woman, Thorne was shocked to see he could see the wardrobe behind her transparent form.
The figure moved, approaching the bed, and as it did so, Thorne could make out the face, it was the same one he now wore. The figure stopped by the bed, and sat down beside Thorne, he could feel the weight of the girls transparent form and a coldness emanating from her, he realised he was staring at a ghost!
Dont be frightened, the ghost said, Im the real Angela West, and I have come to give you my blessing.
Several months ago, the Circle of Thorns tore me from my body and instead of placing my soul in a crystal, they allowed me to die. But instead of going to the afterlife, whatever that is, I was tied to my former life because of the evil my body was being used for.
Thorne nodded, somewhat afraid, but interested, nonetheless.
When you were forced into my body, I could finally act. I used the diversion of the heroes who rescued you to disrupt the transference of the sorcerers soul into your body and thereby consigned it to hell.
Now, I am free to go to whatever awaits me, and I have you to thank for it. Use my body and the powers you have gained to help people and rid the world of the Circle. Be my secret legacy. Be a Dark Rose and a thorn in the Circles side. Good luck, Rachel.
And with those words, the apparition faded, leaving Thorne alone to ponder her words.
The following morning, Thorne made his way to the MAGI offices, taking with him the designs he had for his costume, and the idea for his pseudonym. Asuria greeted him warmly and suggested that the training begin as soon as possible.
Thorne was subjected to a series of examinations and tests designed to explore his potential and establish exactly what kind of powers he had gained. This took 5 gruelling hours to complete, and ascertained that he had something termed dark melee, plus his body was able to regenerate damage far more quickly and efficiently than any normal human.
Over the next few weeks, Thorne was trained in unarmed combat styles designed to best use his dark melee powers and in ways to improve his agility and co-ordination, until finally he was informed that he was ready to begin his costumed career.
Asuria met him as he was leaving the training facility, she had a package with her.
I have a gift for you, she said, I took the liberty of having your design made up, with a few minor adjustments
Thanking her, Thorne opened the package, inside was the costume he had designed, albeit, the pants had been replaced by a skirt.
Yes, I know your design had pants instead of a skirt, but both myself and the designer who I consulted with thought that a skirt would serve you better with this design.
Thanks Asuria, now I can begin to get some recompense for what has happened to me and to the original Angela West. Now Dark Rose can bring a little justice into the lives of those who need her aid.
The End, for now.
