Stella and the Minx #30:
Catch a Falling Star
Our
story so far: Stellar
Man and Night Fox were the greatest heroes of the 60s but in the 70s their
female counterparts Stella and Minx took over!
But now the Minx is missing and Stella has been
left alone to defend Megapolis. Can she
do it or will she finally crack under the pressure?
Marcus Lycus
July 2009
Issue 30 – Catch a falling star
“Claudius Crowe? Back for your
monthly beating? Stars and comets, this
time you don’t even have a giant robot; it’s going to be way too easy!”
“Will it now Stella? Well I’ll do
my best not to disappoint you!”
Claudius Crowe arrived flying over Megapolis with his jet boots and
casually landed in front of the main branch of Mega Bank. When she heard the police alarms Stella had
plenty of time to switch to her costume and fly out to meet him. She tried not to let it show by smiling too
much, but this was just what she needed.
After all that drama with Hakar last month, a good old-fashioned villain
beating was what she needed to boost her confidence.
“Your fancy new threads won’t help you this time Crowe!”
Stella figured she should finish this fast, Drake Warlock was having a
party tonight and she didn’t want to miss it!
She took a deep breath and let loose with her stellar breath. Gale force arctic winds lashed Crowe, sending
him back a few feet but then he dug in his heels and held his ground.
“Is that it girls of the stars? A
little wind?”
Stella could see he had some kind of force field that kept the cold from
reaching him. Well she’d never met a
force field that she couldn’t break!
She charged forward and pounded on Crowe. She couldn’t help smiling. She’d knock that smug look right off his
face!
But hitting the force field was like trying to beat up a sponge, it just
absorbed blows without pushing back. Stella
scowled and redoubled her efforts, but it was no good.
“Well now, I think it’s my turn.”
Crowe pulled back his fist, covered in a massive steel glove.
BOOM!
The blow shattered windows across the city it sent Stella flying into
the wall of an office building and through the concrete.
“ow” She muttered.
Then the building fell on her.
Crowe smiled and pointed at the rubble.
Blue energy surrounded the glove and the rubble floated upwards exposing
the stunned heroine. Hovering with his
jet boots Crowe walked over and lifted the girl by her hair.
“Do you like it Stella? I call it
the gravity gauntlet. It draws power
from the Earth’s own gravitations field.
Basically, I just hit you with a planet.”
“Uh…” Stella moaned.
“Perhaps you’d like to sample its power again?”
“N-“
BOOM!
The blow sent Stella flying again, this time through a column supporting
a highway. Stella managed sit up. Then the highway and a dozen cars fell on
her.
“How does it feel Girl of the Stars?
How does it feel to be the one who is weak, the one who is
powerless? No stellar radiation this
time, no hostages, no robots, just my own natural genius against your
powers. How does it feel to be the
weakling this time?”
“Uh…” Stella muttered.
“Come now, surely the Girl of the Stars was not so easily defeated? Surely there is some defiance left in you?”
“Uh…” Stella muttered again.
“Here, let me wake you up.” He
lifted her by the hair and smashed her face into concrete. Once.
Twice. Three times.
“AH!” Stella screamed.
“That’s better!” Crowe smiled and
drew back his fist.
“No! Oh stars and comets no! Please no!”
“No? You give up?”
“Stars and comets, just take the money, take the fucking money
okay… I don’t care.”
“Simpering fool. Stellar Man may
have been an overbearing buffoon but at least he had courage. Pride.
But you, you’re not fit to wear his symbol.”
“Fuck you!” Stella spat at Crowe.
“Ah still some pride I see.
Something to beat out of you!” He
lifted her again and punched.
BOOM!
Stella flew down the street; she bounced off the roof of a car into the
side of a bus. People fled in every
direction.
Crowe advanced again.
“Sweet liberty! I think this has
gone far enough!”
Crowe looked up. A brunette was
hovering above the street between him and Stella. Tiny wings on her sandals held her aloft and
an eagle staff was in her hands. She
narrowed her eyes and assumed a fighting stance.
PRINCESS PATRIOT!
Crowe simply hit a button on wrist.
There was sharp squeal, a few windows shattered, and Princess Patriot
clutched her head and tumbled from the sky and landed on the hood of a
car. She started to rise, but then
slumped unconscious.
Crowe walked up to Stella and smiled.
He raised his fist.
“No! Please no! Oh stars and comets no!”
“Had enough my dear Stella?”
She sank to her knees and clutched his boots. “Stars and comets I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for
everything, please don’t kill me!
Please!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Oh Stella, what would your cousin think if he saw you?”
“Please Crowe; I’ll do anything, please…”
“You’re not fit to wear his symbol are you?”
“Please Crowe I’m sorry I…”
“Take if off.”
“Huh?”
SMACK!
Even a back-handed blow from Crowe’s gravity gauntlet sent the slim
blonde flying across the street. This
time a cast-iron lamppost broke her fall.
“Uh…”
Crowe grabbed a handful of blonde hair and wrenched her to her
feet. He pulled back his fist again.
“AH! No! Please!”
Stella held up her hands and whimpered.
“What was that?”
“N.. no more, please, no more.
I’m sorry. Please…”
He let go of her hair, Stella crumpled into a crying heap.
“I think you know what to do.”
Stella looked up at him, pleading with her wide blue eyes. She opened her mouth to object but the smile
on Crowe’s face, the twinkle in his eyes silenced her. She nodded with a sob and undid her yellow
belt.
She arched back and pulled the loose blue top up over her belly, over
her breasts and then completely off. She
quickly covered her modest breasts with her crossed arms and looked up at him
again.
“Now go. Walk away. Walk.
You don’t deserve to fly.”
Stella nodded several times and climbed to her feet.
Crowe turned away laughing and headed for the bank. The last few civilians scattered at his
approach.
Stella walked shakily down the road, avoiding the broken glass, keeping
her hands crossed over her chest, her eyes down so no one would see her
crying. She could feel bruises forming
on her face. All she could hear was the
blood roaring in her ears, the whole city seemed to be completely silent. It was like everyone was holding their
breath.
“Stella! Over here!”
Women’s voices. She was afraid to
look, were they making fun of her? Where
they laughing? If they were laughing at
her…
“Stella! Hurry!”
She glanced their way. There were
three of them hiding in an alleyway, all dressed in Stellar Girl costumes, they
were waving her over.
Stella limped towards them.
They hugged her and pulled her deeper into the shadows. One threw her cape around the Girl of the
Star’s shoulders to cover her.
“Whoa, are you OK?”
“What did he do to you?”
“Stellar radiation?”
“H-hold on, hold on, who are you girls?
What’s with the costumes? You’re
not like some future daughters of mine or something?”
“Huh? You don’t recognize us?”
“Um, should I?”
“This is Annabelle and Terry and I’m Julie! We saw what was going on so we came out here
to help you fight Crowe!”
“But who are you, what’s with the outfits?”
“What do you mean, we’re…”
“The Stellar Girl Fan Club?”
Stella looked at them in disbelief.
“That’s right! We swore to assist
Stellar Girl in her mission against crime!”
Julie said.
Stella looked them over, Annabelle was dressed in a reasonable
approximation of her old Stellar Girl outfit, Terry’s was even further off but
then again she was black so it’s not like she could fool anyone and Julie had a
pretty close version of Stella’s outfit except she wore pantyhose. To tell the truth it was kind of creepy
seeing three girls dressed like her, but any port in a storm…
“Oh.”
“Whatever you need, we’re there for you!”
“Uh-huh, got it.” Stella glanced
behind her; Crowe had emerged from the bank carrying a sack of cash in each
hand. It wasn’t much money, just a few
grand, but he’d made his point. He
walked out. Looked around. And took off into the sky.
Stella just watched him go.
People started to emerge from their hiding places. She could hear them chattering, wondering
what happened to Stella, what happened to Princess Patriot. She had to get out of here!
“Annabelle do you have a car?”
“Sure, we came in my Gremlin, it’s parked over there.”
“OK, OK, I need a ride to
“Huh can’t you just fly-“
Stella shot the girl a nasty look and she shut up. They piled into the sub-compact and drove.
***
Warren Herbert was sitting in the airport lounge, waiting for his flight
when he heard a portable radio.
“News flash! After Claudius
Crowe’s daring daylight robbery Princess Patriot was rushed to
In the meantime he had business in
***
“Stella are you OK?” Julie asked,
she was wedged into the backseat of the Gremlin with Stella. The Girl of the Stars had kept her head low,
hoping no one would see her. Annabelle
was driving, Terry just watching the heroine silently.
“Fine.” She muttered.
“It looked like he hurt you pretty bad.”
“I’m fine.”
“What about your costume?
Shouldn’t we try and get it back?”
“It’s fine.”
“What about Princess Patriot?”
“She’s fine.”
“But-“
“Just drive. OK? Stars and comets just get me out of here.”
“Um, OK. I mean if you’re sure
it’s OK.”
“It’s fine.”
They sat in silence until the compact car pulled onto the campus of
“Stella what do you-“
“Look, I’m sorry, I know you’re fans and stuff but like I can’t tell you
where I’m going, it’s like a superhero secret.
OK?”
“Sure but-“
“Stars and comets! What more do
you want! Now go! OK?”
“Um, yeah. Sure. I guess.
See you around.”
The three fans waited a minute, as if Stella would change her mind, then
finally drove off.
Stella gave a sigh of relief and headed for the physics building.
She checked Dr. Corvidae’s lab with her stellar sight but all the lead
shielding blocked her. She walked up the
stairs holding her side. She wondered if
her ribs were broken.
She got to the lab and tried the door.
It was locked.
She knocked.
She pounded.
She yelled.
Nothing.
She sank to her knees. No… this
wasn’t right, she needed him, she needed him now! How could he leave her like this! How!
She started to cry.
The door to the stairs opened.
“Ack! Fräulein Stella! You haff come! Are you vell?”
“Doc! Oh stars and comets, you’re here!”
“Yes, I vas at
meeting but I hear you haff big fight!
So I come here in case you need help!”
“Oh thank you,
thank you, thank you… Stars and comets I
need your help I need it so bad!”
“Please come to
the inside. Ack! You are hurting!”
Stella raised a
hand to her face feeling the bruise.
“Yeah um, I dunno, I mean, it was Crowe, he… he’s never been this strong
before. I mean I’ve been fighting Crowe
since I was 17, he builds a stupid giant robot, I smash it. But this time… I was so weak. So weak, and he, he… he made me…” She broke down in sobs. Corvidae held her for a while.
“Ssh, ssh, be
silent Fräulein Stella, I haff prepared ze yellow stellar radiation. I vill make you strong vunce more.”
“No… no… I
don’t want it. P-pink, I need the pink
stuff. That solution you were
making. Please…”
“But Fräulein
Stella ze pink radiation it makes you-“
“It makes me
feel good! OK! Stars and comets, that’s what I need! I need to feel good now, just… y’know, for a
little while. Please doc, please… I need
it so bad.” She took his hand and put it
on her breast. “And you know, you can
have some fun too.”
The doctor
turned a livid shade of red but nodded.
“Ya, ya, I am
understandink.”
***
Terry, Annabelle
and Julie sat in the campus bar nursing beers.
They’d put on sweatshirts over their Stellar Girl costumes.
“I just can’t
believe it” Julie said. “She must have
been hurt pretty bad.”
“Yeah,
right.” Terry threw in. “The girl is just a stone cold bitch. Didn’t even say thanks.”
“And after
everything we went through last year, I can’t believe we tried to help her.”
“That wasn’t
her fault!” Julie said. “It was that gang, the Wolf Pack!”
“Yeah well she
sure didn’t bother trying to help us did she?
Or even say she was sorry.”
“Julie you
realize we’re like, the last 3 members of the club right? Even Liz hasn’t shown up in months and she’s
supposed to be the president.”
“We can
recruit, when the new school year starts we can-“
“What?! Tell the co-eds join our club so you can
worship an incompetent coward who runs away from supervillains?”
“I…”
“Oh and don’t
worry, street gangs hardly ever bust in and tie us up during our meetings?”
“But…”
Terry got
up. “Look I joined cause Stellar Girl
saved my town from a flood a couple of years back. And it was fun. But y’know, gotta more on.”
Annabelle got
up too, “Look Julie it’s been great but…
I’ll see you around OK?”
Julie was left
there in her homemade Stellar Girl costume nursing a beer.
***
Captain Mulligan
sat in his office reading another eyewitness report. Stella beaten? Bleeding?
Stripped? He would have never
believed it.
If he didn’t
have her top and cape on his desk.
He’d never
liked the girl of the stars much, it wasn’t just because she was a woman doing
a man’s job (though that was part of it) she was always whinny, annoying and
did a half-assed job. Even the Minx was
more competent, before she flipped out and became a killer. And if Stella was losing her edge…
…1972 could be
a bad year to be a Megapolis cop.
TAP-TAP-TAP
Mulligan spun
around to face the window. A blonde
smiled at him from the other side. She
was wearing a Mega U t-shirt but he recognized it was Stella by her hotpants
and ballet slippers.
That and the
fact she was hovering outside his 5th floor window.
He let her in.
“My
costume! Stars and comets! It took forever to find out what you guys did
with it.”
“There were a
dozen souvenir hounds fighting over it.
Apparently they thought that was your last battle. We had to use tear gas.”
“Stars and
comets!” Stella whined. “It’s not my fault! Crowe was too strong! It’s not like you guys were doing anything!”
“A police
helicopter tried following him. He shot
it down.”
“Oh. Sorry.
Were they-“
“They’ll live.”
“OK, fine then. I mean, um, I’ll get him next time OK?” She picked up her top. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Turn
around! Stars and comets! Were you raised in a barn?”
Mulligan sighed
and turned his back. Stella pulled off
the t-shirt (now stained with her sweat and the doc’s cum) and burned it with
her stellar sight. She pulled on her top
and tucked it into her hotpants. She
took a step towards the window.
“OK, like
thanks for saving my costume I’m gonna take off now.”
“Right Stella,
whatever. Oh by the way, Princess
Patriot is still unconscious. She’s at
St. Thomas Memorial.”
“Oh.”
“I thought
you’d want to know.”
“Um yeah. Thanks.”
Stella circled
the hospital for ten minutes, her stellar sight picked out Princess Patriot’s
room. Timmy O’Leary was sitting beside the
bed, holding her hand and whispering to her.
Finally Stella turned away and flew home. Stupid Princess Perfect, she was always so
full of herself, if she hadn’t butted in she’d be fine.
She landed
shakily at the penthouse. She flopped
down on the couch for a few minutes to catch her breath.
“Stars and
comets! I guess that fight with Crowe
took more out of me than I thought! I
need to relax… and I’ve got just the thing…”
She reached
into a pouch in her cape and took out the small test tube. Under the rubber stopper a pink fluid glowed
faintly.
Finally!
Stella could
hardly believe it!
After all that
time that stupid Doctor Corvidae did it!
If it worked it
would totally be worth all the times she had sex with the little runt!
He’d bombarded
the solution with stellar radiation until it absorbed enough energy to actually
emit it. By drinking it, it would have
the same effect as the doc’s rays.
In theory at
least.
And Stella knew
just the place to try it out.
***
Night fell over
the city and honest upstanding citizens headed to bed.
But the more
interesting sort of citizen was just getting up.
Drake Warlock
was the most popular artist of his generation, his classic reinterpretation of
the Quaker Oaks box and his multi-colored images of Bridgette Bardot were
already 70s icons. His combination
house/workshop/dance club was located in a bad neighborhood downtown and simply
called ‘The Warehouse’.
He was throwing
a party tonight but people wouldn’t even start showing up till after 11, and
the hip ones wouldn’t show their faces till 1 or 2 in the morning.
Stella showed
up at 10.
Drake ran out
to greet her.
“Stella?! My goodness!
Are you all right? I saw what
happened on the television!”
“Hi Drake” she
kissed his cheek. “Honestly I really
don’t want to talk about it, the point is I’m here and it’s a party!”
“Indeed! Indeed!
You’ve not been to one of my parties since that night I saw you with
that delicious blond hunk, whatever happened to him?”
“Huh? Oh Astroman!
Stars and comets, don’t even ask.
Turns out he has a jealous girlfriend.”
“Isn’t that
always the way? You finally meet a nice
man and he’s taken, oh I could tell you stories… Anyway please come in, come in! You’re the first guest to arrive!”
“Oh! I thought I was late…”
“No, no, not at
all, fashionably early we might say, who knows you might even start a new
movement.”
The pop artist
led the girl of the stars inside to the VIP room and poured her a drink. She accepted it with a smile.
“Oh and where
pray tell is your divine partner tonight?
She’s not been making the rounds either.”
“Huh? Oh the Minx, she’s um, she’s on a secret
mission, y’know clearing her name and all that.
She, uh, she might not be back for a while.”
“Oh yes, quite
unpleasant all of that but let’s speak truthfully, does anyone really miss the
people she killed? To tell the truth
after she killed that Saxon character I thought the city should give her a
medal.”
“Oh she didn’t
kill them.”
“Well
nonetheless, I hope she returns soon.”
“Um…”
He raised his
glass “To absent friends!”
Stella reached
into her cape and took out the precious vial of pink liquid. Would it work? Would it?
Just touching it made her fingers tingle. Or was that just her imagination? She unstoppered it and poured it into her
drink. She downed it. It made her feel… good. Really good.
Warlock was
staring.
“Oh um, it’s
just some um, vitamins. Y’know. For my powers.”
“Ah yes, I
see.”
Stella and
Warlock had a few more drinks. Stella
could feel the drug working on her. Her
powers, those terrible, terrible powers that always governed her life… they
were fading.
And she was
starting to feel good.
Very good.
Everything
started to feel hazy, indistinct. And
good.
People started
showing up. Warlock was introducing her
to some guy. He had a mustache. She didn’t catch his name. Then they were dancing. And kissing.
He said something about a drink, she nodded enthusiastically. They were on a couch, they were making out. His mustache tickled when he kissed her. She giggled.
He whispered
something in her ear, she couldn’t quite hear it but she nodded and
smiled. The slipped through a back door
and went upstairs. There was a big comfy
bed waiting for them there. Stella
smiled and undid her belt. This was
great! It was just like she always
wanted it to be!
No
villain!
No robot!
No body
switch!
And best of all
no powers!
Just a girl and
a boy and a bed!
She turned her
back and slowly pulled down her hotpants.
Mustache guy had his eyes glued to her ass.
She stepped out
of them and reached for her top, but mustache guy stopped her.
“Leave the top
on babe. I want to get it on with
Stella, not some blonde chick.”
Stella smiled,
oh this was so romantic! He wanted
her! Not just a fuck!
He pulled up
her top and sucked on her breasts for a while.
Stella writhed under him, gasping for air as his fingers probed between
her legs.
“Oh stars and
comets, fuck me! Please stop messing
around and j-just f-fuck me!”
Mustache guy
was happy to oblige.
He didn’t last
that long once he started but soon enough a guy with a long golden hair came
along.
Stella didn’t
complain.
Then he was
replaced by a short-haired guy.
And then she
lost count lying there in coital bliss, finally free, finally happy.
And knowing in
her heart that she’d finally gotten everything she wanted.
***
Miles away
Claudius Crowe watched his monitor. The
micro bugs he’d planted in Stella’s costume were working perfectly.
He smiled and
started to laugh.
Afterword
So after a rough, rough defeat Stella has turned to the
dubious pleasures of ‘pink stellar radiation’ and anonymous sex.
Finally!
It’s funny but after 30 issues and two years I’m finally
reaching the point I had planned for this series from the start.
A while back I saw someone’s idea for a Dazzler book set in
the 70s where Dazzler would be a coked out disco queen giving blowjobs in the
men’s room of Studio 54. And I thought
that would be a lot better for a Supergirl story, since honestly, Dazzler as a
coke-head is not that big a stretch.
Then I started tracking down 70s Supergirl stories and wow,
there was a girl who had issues. First
she graduated college and became a reporter in
Doesn’t that sound just like a drug addict’s career? Nothing but a series of running away and
fresh starts.
But then I felt I needed to spend some time establishing the
character first, and that she needed a partner and well, the supposed goal of
this series got pushed back and back. So
now we’re finally here.
Next
Issue: Stella’s good
times continue!
Or do they?
Find out in Issue #31 – Star Dust!
Marcus Lycus
July 2009
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