At the Convention
Chapter 20 [https://www.rellawings.com/superluminal/chapternum/chaphead_20.jpg]
The Hermes International Conference and Convention Center in Seaside City was hosting the event again this year. The Center was an utterly massive hive of halls and sub-venues but even with so much capacity it was still barely able to contain all the fans, many of which were just as avid as Leona. At the very least, they were all people with a great interest in the ‘Cape and Cowl’ culture.
There were tons of cosplayers attending who dressed like their favorite heroes or, once in a while, a villain. While the fans each had varying levels of interest in various aspects of the culture, each year they came together to enjoy each other’s company for a small slice of their lives.
Sarah and Leona proudly walked into the main atrium. Sarah wore a cute cat hoodie over the very same white kittie-covered swimsuit she’d worn to the water park. To complete the look she was going for, she donned a domino mask that matched with the white-like-the-rest skirt she wore over the suit. She found some tiger-striped leg warmers to pull over the boots she had on.
On the other hand, Leona had put together a decent Mistral costume and was rocking it. Quinn had colored her hair a brighter blonde with spray and sent her with plenty of backup spray bottles for touch-ups. Gaining such a bright-colored hair-color meant some potential damage to your hair, particularly if one wanted such pure white hair that Mistral sported, but Leona wasn’t concerned.
She just wanted to show her love and appreciation for her favorite heroine very visibly, putting all her love into a homemade approximation.
Leona’s mostly color-matched spandex suit did its job to emulate her favorite Weather Witch of the North’s current look. She had gathered all the pieces to make it all by herself, except for accurate hair color, of course. All in all, she was proud of her costume. When Sarah saw Leona wearing it for the first time, she barely recognized her.
Upon their entry when they neared the kiosks that checked tickets to assign lanyards and cards, a passerby shouted enthusiastically when he caught sight of Leona, “Oh damn! You’ve got a great Mistral look! I LOVE it!” He rushed forward to clasp Leona’s hand in a shake.
Sarah looked uncertainly at Leona, but a proud Leona shook the man’s hand and stood back to pose and nodded affirmatively.
Leona’s tone was cool, like Mistral’s, very collected. She put on airs just like she thought Mistral would, saying, “Certainly, I will.”
Sarah giggled and impishly hopped next to Leona and took a pose of her own with her ‘paws’ up, declaring, “And I’m this Misstroll’s sidekick for the event, the Nyavenger!” Sarah cried.
It was hard for Leona to not fall over with how cute Sarah was. People who were around to witness the moment laughed and applauded, and the cameraman literally got a bloody nose.
After they had a series of shots taken of them together, changing posture a few times in between, they excused themselves and moved on. Whatever ice or anxiety the two felt standing between them and the event and the other fans had melted. Everyone was bubbly, and Leona decided that this convention experience was far more than she hoped for.
Leona was among the happiest of all until she spotted a costume that was far better than her own. She nearly fell to pieces, gawking at how authentic her costume was. Leona froze, thinking almost that she was looking at the genuine article. To make the situation worse, that outstanding cosplayer looked Leona’s way and walked right up to her. Her eyes were steely like the real Mistral’s, and her cloak fluttered as she closed the distance between them. The few people she had to walk around moved respectfully aside, perhaps thinking the same.
Dozens of self-deprecating thoughts flashed through Leona’s mind just before the woman seized her hand and said, “Your costume is great!”
The better-than-Leona Mistral stunned Leona by saying that when she had to know that her costume was superior.
After chatting a bit and parting ways amiably, Leona glowed and practically flew from panel to panel as they worked their way through the rest of the convention.
Sarah and Leona stuck together, much of the time holding hands and once in a while, they stopped to take pictures with other ‘superheroes,’ forming faux Society of Sentinels groups.
To the two’s delight, they got enough cred that event organizers approached them and asked if they’d like to be in the costume contest later that afternoon. Leona declined, knowing she’d certainly lose and Sarah agreed with Leona’s decision since she wasn’t as serious about this hero stuff.
From that point on, Leona occasionally ran ahead of Sarah to do a few things she wanted to do and Sarah did likewise, not resenting that their interests didn’t always coincide. When seminars came up in the schedule, they reconvened and attended them together, ones such as “Superhero morality in the modern world” and a crafting seminar discussing how to create realistic costume components out of everyday materials. That one was kind of like a sci-fi-like-materials-on-a-budget class, given how crazy advanced superhero costumes had become in recent years.
Though she didn’t play the game, Leona also visited a meet-and-greet for Banners of the Bold players for Sarah since there wasn’t a more appealing event running in the same slot. Shortly after their arrival on the scene, the nerd boys congregated around them in a little too high a concentration for comfort, the two quickly agreed using meaningful glances, ones that said that there were more fun places to hang out.
Following a brief detour through the shop stands, they split for a short time again before meeting up again at the Clocktower café set up on the lower level after browsing the dealer’s room merchandise, buying a few must-haves.
Carrying something around the size and shape of a softball wrapped in newspaper, Sarah grinned at Leona with a kitty smile. “I got Misstroll a gift!” She purred, holding it out just far enough that she could snatch it back if Leona reached for it.
Leona’s lips twisted. “It’s Mistral, you foolish feline. Not ‘Ms. Troll,’ BAKA!” Leona laughed aloud. She hadn’t really thought about how Sarah’d pronounced the name until this moment.
“Awww, you wound me, Leona—” Sarah smiled playfully. “I’ll give this gift to you after the convention—maybe—” she teased and took another cat-like pose, one hand on her hip and the other out with her gift, clenched up like a paw. “But for now, let’s go into the café nyow!” She winked.
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Using the “Gamma” clearance associated with their passes, they started seeing events and panels come up that were exclusive amazing perks for holders of those tickets.
The first was another meet-and-greet, but this time it showcased some civilians who had worked directly with heroes in the past. The couple happily shook these panelist’s hands and got their autographs and had pictures taken with them.
The event that Leona was looking forward to wasn’t coming until the second day of the event, so the pair couch surfed through the night at the convention center by attending some of the darker-edged fan films.
Sarah used some of that downtime to sleep, laying across a set of chairs pushed together, but Leona watched on into the early morning. The convention’s planners had programmed the makeshift theaters to play a few horror spin-offs and after those, Leona was exposed to things that she hadn’t expected. Things that———WHATTTT???
What Leona saw affected her deeply. The first of the late night features was a fanmade yuri animation that involved the heroines Trinity and Redline Racer. The following yaoi special featuring Vanguard and Midnight Avenger made her pretty squeamish when they broke out a cup and——Leona fled.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Leona hoped Sarah wouldn’t wake up while it was airing. Leona certainly wasn’t homophobic, but the film just wasn’t her thing. But what would Sarah think if she saw such overt scenes? Why was every other woman in the room getting SOOOO heated below the collar?!
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The next day at the convention went very well.
This time Leona and Sarah spent pretty much every second together. Their special passes allowed them to attend a variety of the fun activities that Leona most looked forward to after examining the schedule beforehand.
One of these anticipated activities was a brief flight around Seaside City in an older model of the Sentinel Wing that its pilot had landed in the fenced rooftop garden. The ship was a private aerospace transport vehicle that was previously used by The Sentinels, but after they’d upgraded to a newer model, they donated it to a museum and sometimes conventions or other events with the right connections could arrange for it to come and either show on display or give rides.
Another big one was a brief lunch with active superheroes after the hand-shaking event with Bombshell and Dragonmage. A highly rated restaurant would provide plates for everyone at a large table to make these attendees with Gamma clearance feel like they were members of the Society for a day.
As expected, Bombshell was boisterous and greeted everyone openly before staff asked the attendees to stand in lines for the handshake meeting part of the event, choosing whichever they wanted to meet.
Dragonmage was polite but stayed mostly quiet, although he mumbled some deep things about fate to people who met him and shook his hand, just as any fan would expect of him.
Every member of the Sentinels of Society had certain reputations that made them well-known celebrities.
Speaking to said reputations: The famous mage and superhero, Dragonmage, was eccentric, and Bombshell was, well, bombastic. Vanguard was the Society of Sentinels’ good-natured father-figure that worked hard to protect everyone inside and out, keeping peace, even saving villains when possible. The Midnight Avenger was a brusque, quiet, calculating man that all criminals feared.
No one had yet managed to outrun time itself.
Bulwark was a strong and bulky man in a fully metal body, a robot from birth who had fought a long battle for recognition as a human being with rights and Redline Racer was simply the fleetest woman on Earth whose tongue ran faster than her feet. The quasi-active Privateer had a hard time fitting in, usually cracking jokes that even the rest of the Sentinels thought were inappropriate.
When it was Leona’s turn to shake hands with the two who were in attendance, Leona looked soberly at Dragonmage, trying to tease him out of his customary reticence, but of course, he didn’t notice. When their hands clasped, the hero’s eyes slightly widened.
“An interesting aura dances around you, child. You should consider seeking proper mystic tutelage after completing your formal education.” He probably meant High School.
Leona was awe-stricken by this kind of a lengthy commentary from the normally mute man. She’d watched him meet other people since she hadn’t much to do besides waiting in line, but his lips barely moved and when she got close enough, his eyes were far away, as though he was only halfway present.
She glanced at Dragonmage again when he shook hands with Sarah, who was the next in line, but again he was halfway gone. Sarah, however, didn't seem to notice, grinning foolishly, although she barely knew the man.
Thinking about it as she moved over to the next line, Leona couldn’t help listening as Sarah joined her as Dragonmage greeted another V.I.P. pass holder.
The idea of running back to Dragonmage and trying to pry more comments from him was highly tempting, but her thoughts were interrupted by someone grabbing her hand to shake it firmly. She hadn’t noticed how quickly the line was moving and had been moving forward by reflex. Bombshell firmly shook her hand, laughing. “I can see your encounter with ‘Mr. SeesItAll’ was a little overwhelming.”
With a dropped jaw, Leona nodded her head automatically. Bombshell wasn’t known for her perceptiveness, but she’d practically read Leona’s mind!
Bombshell cupped a hand over her mouth and glanced Dragonmage’s way as she confidently whispered, “You know, I only take what he says seriously when we’re working together.” She shook her head with a wry grin and fixed Leona with her eyes. “Not so much when he’s muttering and laying things on thick for the fans. Just have some fun and forget whatever doom and gloom he mumbled at you.”
This fan had at least read enough online about the mage that no one should take Dragonmage’s pronouncements lightly. Leona was completely positive that he had said nothing like this to anyone else here. His expression never changed much.
When the handshaking portion of the panel had finished, they proceeded to another room where caterers rolled in carts and distributed plates of food for them while everyone conversed lightly among themselves. The outgoing Bombshell took the brunt of all the questions asked of the two, but halfway through, Dragonmage became more animated again as he looked away with an intent expression.
He mysteriously disappeared right at the table, treating everyone to a display of his magical abilities. As he vanished, he was muttering about ‘a black malevolence—’.
Such was his wont, so no one was too surprised, thinking it was just a planned part of the meet and greet event and many applauded his disappearance. Bombshell, for a reason only she knew, didn’t leave it at that and said warmly to everyone, “Sorry about that, everyone. He probably got psychically called to the ‘Vampires from Dimension X Panel’ or something.” She waggled her fingers, explaining it away, playing it off as a joke and it went over well with everyone. Her joke made Leona’s mouth crinkle however. This smells of some kind of a threat… but DM went off to take care of it so it should be fine.
That having been the final panel for the day, the closing ceremony that followed featured a special video that the Society of Sentinels had made for this event to greet everyone and thank everyone for their support. The ceremony also featured a demonstration of their favorite heroes’ abilities that got the fans hyped one last time before the Convention drew to an end.
Of all the people who filed out of the main hall, half were biting back tears that it was over while the rest were giddy over the experience. Leona and Sarah milled through the thinning crowds as some went to parked vehicles but most rushed to buses or called for taxis.
They waited for a bit, but Quinn soon pulled up in her flamingo-pink convertible with the top down as was obligatory. She practically stood in the driving seat and shouted, “Hey you two! How’d it go? Have fun?”
“HECK YES!” Leona grinned broadly as she hopped in and let herself think about the fact that they met some honest to goodness super-powered heroes. “WE MET REAL HEROES! UWAAAAA!” Leona was practically foaming at the mouth in her excitement. Quinn and Sarah both laughed.
When they were all in the car and safely buckled up, Sarah spoke, shaking her head affirmatively, “It was amazing, really… Way cooler than I thought it would be! Oh!” She blinked and looked at Leona with a mischievous look, rubbing her chin. “Your gift, before I forget it—it’s here in my bag. I’d have taken it home if I hadn’t repeated it a million times in my head before we left the convention, ‘Don’t forget to give Leona her gift—don’t... DON’T!’”
She laughed as she fished out the newspaper wrapped object from her bag and handed it to Leona with a warm smile and a hug that Leona paid Sarah back with the tightest of hugs.
Caught up in the moment, they cuddled as they enjoyed the ride home in comparative privacy, but all too soon Sarah was home and they had to break it up lest her parents catch them.
Sarah didn’t waste time and slid over the side of the convertible to head up to her home. She gave a quick little wave and a wink before disappearing inside.
Quinn backed out of the driveway and pulled off quickly, heading back to the highway, knowing Sarah’s parents might come looking for her if she didn’t book it.
With a grunt, Leona jumped to the top of the clutter bin between the front seats and dropped herself into the passenger seat.
Quinn smiled wryly, eyeing Leona as she commented, “You should have copped a feel, ya know. So much platonic hugging, it’s cute. My backseat wasn’t intended for such saints. I mean, I’m sitting here watching you two acting like a couple out of a Nisdey flick.”
Leona blushed and fidgeted as she opened up Sarah’s gift for her, or rather unwrapped it. Inside was a thick glass sphere that contained something really strange-looking…
It was gray and fuzzy, its form barely discernible.
However, it looked, it had some kind of note of authenticity with it—
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Leona blinked before sighing.
Sarah seemed to have fallen victim to a scammer on the dealer’s floor. Leona remembered there was some talk on the forums about scams involving angel down and some crook artists cashing in on good-natured people looking to have their fictional heroes drawn for them.
No doubt it was shysters from San Isidro flooding in whenever the convention was hosted in Seaside City, but then you could find crooks just about anywhere in the world, so Leona decided she shouldn’t assume the worst of her home city.
Wherever they were from, con artists would still happily go around claiming they found ‘authentic’ feathers and try to sell them on black markets. This feather apparently worked its way onto a dealer floor at this convention, probably smuggled in.
Something like this was pretty easy to fake since all you needed was some dirty pigeon feathers. Worse, it wasn’t just people like Sarah who fell for these kinds of scams. Any angelic-type hero's feathers would go for top dollar thanks to more ‘mainstream’ demand from religious types. The arrival of a new wave of these scams had the superhero forums buzzing. It had topped most subjects ever since Leona met Sarah.
Leona wondered how much Sarah had wasted on this kind of garbage.
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