To Sleep...Perchance to Rest
By
Fire_Guardian_EU,
Posted on: 2005-12-21 22:05 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
Splendid origin story, Weasel, though from your revered personage I'll have to assume that it's pretty old hat to you and yours now!
really left me wondering - not what would happen next (cause I can guess that much) but what came before!
Maybe one day 
Show off!
It's still very good .
...I can dig it.
(I thought I'd re-post this as I found it whilst clearing some space on my hard-drive; it's been up before but I thought people might not have seen it since the crash)
To Sleep, Perchance to rest
A thin beam of sunlight reflected from the early morning dew on the wing of the plane and struck me directly in my half-closed eye. This was almost immediately followed by the caterwauling of the little banshee in the seat behind me.
Id always thought that jet-lag wasnt supposed to happen until after you got off the flight, but I guess being tied to the Earth for your powers does that to you.
My first day in Paragon City wasnt off to an auspicious start, I thought, as my dry eyeballs flickered open. My back was still killing me from the sunburn, and the little horror behind me was slamming his knees into the seat repeatedly. I leant forward and scratched my back, feeling a fresh flurry of skin flakes fall onto the plastic seat wrapper. Sunburn, yeah A smile returned to my chapped lips as I remembered the conversation with the Customs Officer:
You seem to be in some pain, Mister Ryan.
Actually I was in agony, but he was in the general area.
Da I mean yeah, Ive got a bit of sunburn.
You could even hear his eyebrows raise beneath his hat at that point.
Sunburn? Here in Novogord?
Engleesh?, I offered as an explanation, pointing to myself.
The ubiquitous throaty laugh, which all Russian Bureaucrats saver, roared around the room.
Da! Da! You Engleesh are all crazy!, he chuckled.
Thank the stars for racial stereotypes, I thought. Trying to explain to him that I was actually the Silver Weasel, Hero of the People; and had been out-foxed by some rotten swine that had sussed that throwing cold-iron filings on me whilst I had my faerie-fire spell up would cause it to backfire. The one thing American Heroes dont have to worry about is the weather, but when youre stalking Lacedons through the artic wastes of Siberia, you make damn sure you have a self-heating spell up. Unfortunately, these dont include worst case scenarios, so thats why I was trying to heal the second degree burns from the resultant power-flare.
Slightly lost in reverie, I missed the next thing he said and when I looked back, he had that Kalashnikov stare, and the safety was off.
Sorry, I said, trying to look like I was paying attention, you were saying?
I asked you if you had anything to declare, Mister Ryan. People very rarely travel from Soviet soil to America without something they want to hide.
I pressed my ten-inch long fingers deeper into my pockets.
Nope, Nothing.
*SLAM* *SLAM* *SLAM*
I felt a fresh wave of nausea ripple over me, followed by a tsunami of pain. Gritting my teeth, I reached for my hand-luggage and the Crey Paracodeine tablets. My fingernails had already grown sharp again, despite having filed them down last night; and I worried what changes America would bring to me. Being tied to the Earth & Nature had its advantages, but as my powers developed I found that I was starting to physically transform into a faerie-human. This was the main reason I didnt go back to Ireland, as Id look really stupid in green with a pot of gold.
Unscrewing the top of a bottle of water, (Bottled water! You could tell I was heading for wealth!), I took a swig and gulped noisily to try and swallow the tablets. One stuck to the side of my cheek, and by the time it went down, the bitter aftertaste had filled my mouth. I settled back on the plastic and tried to rest.
I knew the next kick was coming, but I hadnt realised it would be a crescendo. My blood-shot eyes jerked open and I turned, thunderously towards my ill-tempered companion. He paid absolutely no attention to me and kept slamming his feet into his chair, whilst his Mother gave me that Im so sorry, hes never usually like this look.
At that point my psychometry power kicked in, (I can read people wishes and desires) and found out that the child was returning home after his Mother and Father had just split up, and he had toothache. Guilt played across my shoulders, adding to the discomfort, so I sat back down and reached into my shirt pocket.
Hidden inside was the other thing I slipped past the Customs, (apart from my fingers) was a small piece of Russian soil, and that should contain just about enough power to perform one last trick. Rubbing it between my fingers, I could feel the sparkling glow of magic return to my skin and small flakes of dust started to appear across the hairs of my hand.
Collecting the fine dust in the palm of one hand, I whispered a spell into it and flicked it back over my shoulder. It wasnt long before Mother and Son were both enjoying sweet dreams, for once. It was just a pity it didnt work on me.
Looking at my tray, I could see that theyd brought me an omelette whilst I was dozing. Muttering heavily about people who dont know what vegans are, I picked up the plastic fork and tentatively touched it. As it wobbled, my psychometry power let me listen to the little cheeps of the eggs before they were crushed.
I found out what the little bag next to the seat was for then.
Just as I was about to return to slumberland, the plane started to land. Finally I was in America, Land of the Fee or was that Free?
Knowing that I was about to come into contact with a whole new culture of people, and of magic, I made my way down the stairs nervously. Standing on the last step of the metal, I could feel the strange new earth calling to me to be one with it. I stepped down
Instantly I was dumbstruck and assailed by images of the past: My eyes swam with white dots as the Rikti Portals appeared in front of me, spewing death; the rushing in my ears was from the Warcrys of the American Indians as they were pushed from their land by the invaders; my breath was taken by the brothers fighting in the Civil War, and then returned, full of death as they were stolen by the Banished Pantheon.
Then the magic flowed into me Magic, as you may or may not know, has a taste depending on where its from. You get Magic tasters around, but its usually frowned on as frivolous. The piece of soil I had with me was from a Ukrainian farmland, so it tasted mostly of borscht and vodka. The tarmac I was standing on tasted of a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, Triple Thick Shake, Fries all eaten whilst smoking a fat cigar.
Luckily my stomach was already empty after earlier.
Finding my way out to the front row, I saw one of my first yellow cabs, and wandered over.
Excuse me, sir? Can you take me to Atlas Park please?
Yo man, sure!, the Jamaican driving the taxi said. Id never seen a Jamaican before that point, and his mannerisms caught me completely off-guard, so I curled up in the back of the taxi and tried to understand the rapid-fire changes of words and music coming from him.
Leroy, as he was called, dropped me off at Atlas Park just next to the Mighty-Mart for a reasonable fee, so I tipped him well and went to do some basic shopping.
After spending ages deciding what to get, (choice is so much easier when its Do you want to eat, Comrade?), I looked at my watch and then adjusted it to the time in America, not Russia
Sprinting over towards the huge statue, (My wings seemed to have disappeared in the power shifts) I saw a very attractive young lady dressed in red, blue and white. If memory served me correctly, this was Ms. Liberty.
Ms Liberty?
Yes?, she said warily, looking down at the guy in the blue dishevelled business suit carrying a Mighty-Mart carrier bag.
Uhm Im here to see Azuria? Im a superhero . The words felt lamer than they actually look, writing them here and now.
Really? You would be the Magic Blaster she was meant to see half an hour ago?
I shuffled my feet. Uhm, yes
Do you have any real powers, Mr Weasel?, she said, not unkindly.
Well, I did have but I sort of lost them.
She almost looked sorry for me at that point.
Pop in and see her, shes expecting you; and welcome to Paragon City.