Welcome Back

Alysa walked down the street happily as she approached two young African American girls making a snowman in the yard. She didn’t know the girls, but when they saw her coming, they stopped and rushed to her shouting, “Alysa! Alysa!” She smiled and spread her arms out as they hugged her and it was the warmest greeting she had had in a long time. After joining the Commission and taking part in the recent adventure in Washington DC, she was unsure of the reception coming back to Winghaven. Her face was on TV after the Commission’s recent adventure and since the people of Winghaven already knew she fought in the Resurgence, they were much more likely to know about her actions than anyone outside the small town. As for her team, they had no small amount of controversy due to taking in the alien warrior Shujai as a member so having a fanbase, however small, was welcomed. Moreover, it was empowering to be an inspiration to young black girls. “I’m gonna learn magic and fight bad guys, too,” one of the little girls exclaimed. “I’m sure of it,” Alysa told her happily and moved on to Grace’s house.

Grace still lived with her mom, or at least Alysa thought she did. Since graduating, she hadn’t seen Grace as much as she liked and the problem was compounded by the Resurgence and joining the Commission. Alysa was hoping to rectify that with a surprise visit. When she knocked on the door, Helen Smith answered with a loud squeal, “Alysa, get in here! It’s been forever!,” she gave Alysa a tight squeeze while she croaked out a greeting.

“Look at you being a superhero!,” she said happily as she let Alysa inside, “We’re all so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Helen.”

“Hey, you weren’t one of the ones who sold Rex to the aliens, were ya?” Helen’s warm smile seemed to fade slightly when asking the blindsiding question.

“I, uh… No,” Alysa stammered, not entirely sure of how to answer.

“Good,” Helen rushed upstairs to get her daughter, “I think Grace is about to go to work but I’ll get her.”

Minutes later, Grace appeared, wearing a Wal-Mart vest and looking surprisingly tired. “Gracie!,” Alysa gave her a hug and she gave a weak one in return.

“Hey Alysa,” Grace said quietly, “Didn’t know you were in town.”

“Yeah, I stopped in to surprise ya. How ya been?”

“Working,” she tugged at the vest, “That’s about it.”

“Have you talked to anyone from school lately?”

“Since graduating? Nah. Most of them are off in college or something. The only person from school I see on a regular basis is Jessica Dance,” she rolled her eyes, “But it’s Jessica Dance. She works at her dad’s office down the road and she’s still a stuck-up bitch.”

“Damn. That sucks,” Alysa spread her arms out, “But I’m here.”

“For now,” Grace grumbled and looked down at the floor.

Alysa was taken aback, “What do you mean?”

“You were busy enough before we left school. Like, you were always off on some mystery with Farrell Creed or like fighting aliens or whatever. And now you’re on a team with the Cavalier and Brain Boy and whoever else.”

“Gracie, I’ve been around. I called you from Detroit, remember?”

“Yeah and you said you’d talk to me when you got to town but you didn’t.”

“I… had to go to Boston… short notice,” as Alysa spoke, she knew she wasn’t making a good argument for herself as evidenced by what came next.

“Because the Brain Boy wanted you on his superhero team,” Grace half-snapped, “Does he pay you by the way?”

“Why you acting like this?,” Alysa’s voice rose in offense.

“Because I’ve been stuck here working at fucking Wal-Mart while you’re… I dunno, going to space?”

“Y’know, I’ve almost died like fifty times in the past year! I was one of the last people to see the Upstarts alive and sometimes I think about how I could have saved them if I wasn’t held in a cell in the damn Pentagon! This shit is hard, Gracie!”

“Then how come you didn’t call and tell me how hard it was?,” Grace placed her hands on her hips, waiting for a response, “Because I thought we were friends and we talked about this shit. I mean, I know I’m going through some ish and it would’ve been good to talk to you. I’m sure I could’ve been there for your problems too.”

Alysa became angry, “Sometimes I’m busy, okay? I gotta save lives and shit. You know how many times I helped save the planet?”

“What, so now I’m supposed to say thank you?,”Grace stomped her foot in annoyance.

“Did I say that?,” Alysa shouted back.

“Whatever, I gotta go to work,” Grace shook her head and began to leave.

“I’m sorry,” Alysa apologized quickly, if only so that her friend wouldn’t stay angry, “We can talk about it later, Gracie.”

“Sure,” she gave her an incredulous look before shutting the door.

Across town, at Creed’s office, he sat at his desk with Cassandra next to him and Gus Davidson across from him; all sharing a six-pack of beer.

“I hope this settles things between us,” Gus told him, “And like I said long ago, we were gonna be friends and I was right.”

“No, I get it,” Creed said, “The Time Loop and everything had to be kept.”

“And you were always better off not having Nelson as your dad,” Cassandra added.

“That’s for damn sure,” Creed took a swig from his beer, “All that’s left is telling my mom. I have no idea how to break it to her. I don’t think she’ll be mad or upset but… it’s a lot.”

Alysa came into the office, her sunny disposition now gone. Despite this, Cassandra rushed to her when she entered, “There she is! Our resident Commissioner,” she stopped, “Is that what they call members of the Commission?”

“Yeah, that’s what we went with,” Alysa sighed.

“What’s wrong?,” Creed asked with a smile, “Finally got tired of Ryan Bennings?”

“Nah,” she sat down, “I went to my friend Gracie’s house and we had a fight. Things changed since we left high school. I knew it would be different when we got out of school but not like this.”

Cassandra gave her a sympathetic look, “Yeah, kids don’t usually know about that `til it happens.”

“I’m fine not talking to anyone I went to school with,” Creed shrugged, “You’ll be alright, Alysa.”

Gus finally rose to his feet and shook Alysa’s hand, “Hi, Gus Davidson. Heard a lot about ya.”

“I heard about you, too,” Alysa greeted him, “I went to the museum when I was little. That statue of Heinrich Mason freaked me out.”

“Let’s talk about you. It’s real good seeing a young black person sav’n the world alongside other superheroes… Especially if that young black person is from Winghaven.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“…But do ya’ll have to have that alien on your team?”

Alysa smiled politely, then changed the subject, “So what did you do while I was gone, Creed?”

“That’s a helluva story,” he leaned back, “I got roped in with this Heinrich Mason invention and traveled through time.”

“What?,” Alysa exclaimed.

“It was mostly my fault,” Gus explained.

“Creed, time is like a fundamental force of the universe. You can’t mess with that!”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” Creed said tiredly, “And there’s more.”

“What?”

“Know how someone killed my dad but no one ever said who it was?”

Her eyes widened as she reluctantly replied, “… Yeah?”

“Turns out it was me,” he shrugged, “Like I said… helluva story.”

“Okay, start at the beginning,” she demanded, prompting Creed and Gus to explain the entire situation.

She left some time later, shocked by the revelation that not only did her friend time travelled but that he was responsible for one of the biggest mysteries in that area. Of course, Creed was more concerned with unpacking the events as it had a very personal effect on both his past and present, to say nothing of him preparing to speak to his mother about the situation. It was a lot to take on and she wished she had been there during the mission to help Creed process it. Additionally, part of her hoped that Creed had a more mundane case while she was away as she began to feel as if she had been missing out on very important matters. She opted to visit her temple to say a few prayers for Creed.

Once at the temple, she began burning incense and meditating. It wasn’t long before Mama Johnson and Papa Abedie arrived.

“I thought you would show up soon,” Mama Johnson told her.

“Hello,” she politely greeted the priestess and priest but silently expected them to have a complaint.

As if purposefully validating her thoughts, Mama Johnson began by saying, “We haven’t seen you since you left to fight in the Resurgence. We feel there was much left unsaid.”

“I’m sorry but you heard Briathos,” Alysa began, “It was my fate to go to DC.”

“And you’ve been busy since that time,” Papa Abedie added.

“I was asked to join the Commission. That doesn’t violate anything, does it?”

“You were recognized locally and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world learns who you are.”

“Our superiors in Georgia are concerned,” Mama Johnson referred to the American Iseda Association.

“Yeah, I know the team’s controversial but we’ve already saved the world like twice.”

Papa Abedie cut her off, “What happens if one of the Commission’s enemies come here for revenge?”

“It’s dangerous enough that you and Mr. Creed have brought a lot of attention to our temple,”Mama Johnson added.

Alysa grew exasperated and any politeness was now gone, “No one’s attacked any of our brothers and sisters since the Iconoclasts took my mom away… And yeah, I know they’ll come back but they gonna come after us no matter what we do!”

“This still brings unwanted attention,” Abedie snapped.

“This is a concern we’ve had for a long time as you know, Alysa,” Mama Johnson’s tone was a bit more forgiving, “And we feel these warnings have been ignored.”

“My mom trusted me and Creed with protecting this town,” Alysa snapped back.

“We’ve been over this,” Mama Johnson closed her eyes in frustration and gathered herself before beginning again, “The Association has decided to place your priestess hood training under review and we have agreed.”

“What does that mean?,” Alysa asked, her voice conveying concern.

“For the next month, they will determine whether you are fit to be a priestess or not,” Abedie explained.

The statement floored her. Her mother raised her specifically to be a priestess. While she had secretly bestowed her mystic knowledge on to Alysa, she was eager to finish the rest of her training because it was always the plan.

“We know your mother wanted this for you,” Mama Johnson began.

“Did you know she underwent an Heir Ritual to conceive me?,” Alysa asked defiantly.

“We’re aware of that, yes,” Abedie told her.

“We recommend cutting ties with Farrell Creed and the Commission,” Mama Johnson advised her, “Spend more time in the temple and take part in the rebuilding of the Community Center. It will go a long way.”

Alysa thought for a moment and quietly answered, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The sun was setting when she finally made it home. On days like these, she missed her mother being inside to greet her. She unlocked the door, flipped on the light and went inside to fix some dinner before retiring to her bedroom where she put on some pajamas and crawled into bed. It was there that she saw the red markings on the ceiling that read:

WELCOME BACK, ALYSA SARAKI

I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN VERY SOON

Next: The Shadow Way