Angel’s Tears
Part 1 — Prologue
Rapture City was the kind of city people trusted, a place of certainty. The sun shone down on its streets, and even the dark, narrow alleys between buildings felt safe to its citizens. For they knew they were protected. They lived in a world of heroes, and Rapture City was home to some of the greatest of these.
Of course, Rapture still saw its fair share of catastrophes. Mirage, the city’s most ingenious and elusive hero, almost lost her life when the infamous villainess Phoenix threatened to reduce the entire city to cinders, and the mindless rampage of Mr Savage was only halted by the efforts of his brother, Terrance.
On the outskirts of this city, a privately owned mansion cast a shadow across its garden. Behind reinforced doors on the third floor hid a secret laboratory. To any observer outside these walls, all that could be heard was the steady flow of water from a fountain in the garden, betraying no hint of what was transpiring behind those doors.
At the back of this lab, isolated from the rest of the equipment, hung a luxurious black fox fur jacket. A slender hand reached out, gently running a finger along the soft pelt. “Magnificent. A true thing of beauty, don’t you think?” The voice was refined, belonging to a woman in her mid-twenties.
The response from behind her, however, was far more casual. “Nice try, Celine. I’m not falling for that one.” Lucy Voss was smiling from across the room, not even stopping to look up from her clipboard. The young woman stood in her well-kept white lab coat. Her short hair was dyed crimson with a single streak of bright scarlet at the front. Completing her look were a pair of simple glasses resting on her face.
Celine Blackwood, the mansion’s proprietor, turned to face the woman. Like the jacket, she seemed completely out of place in the lab. Her elegant posture carried her slightly taller frame with effortless grace. A long black evening dress traced the curves of her body, while high-society heels added the slightest lift. On a bench beside her, a pair of black velvet gloves waited. Her black hair, slightly longer than Lucy’s, was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. A thin layer of makeup only enhanced her natural beauty, further complemented by a pair of diamond earrings.
Through a smug grin, Celine’s voice floated across the room. “Oh, Lucy, whatever do you mean?”
Lucy sighed, setting down her pen. “You’re clearly trying to make me say ‘Yes it is,’ then hit me with some cheap shot about how you were talking about the coat, not my work.”
“Not this time, Lucy.” Celine turned back to the garment. “I wouldn’t dream of diminishing what you have created here today.”
As she leaned in close to the jacket, she could smell the pleasant scent of lavender. “With this, I can finally step out of the shadows. Finally, I will have my rightful place at the top. You have given me the most powerful weapon this world has ever known, and I will not soon forget it.”
Lucy sighed once more. “I have given you the most versatile weapon, not the most powerful. , just because you have one weapon doesn’t make you immune to another. Even a simple gun can take out any target its wielder can see in a heartbeat. That includes you, Cel, no matter how fashionable you look.”
“But a pen wielded by the sharpest of minds is worth more than a thousand weapons in the hands of fools.” Celine’s smile only widened. “And with your creation, with Angel’s Tears, I will no longer be wielding a mere pen.”
Lucy couldn’t help but chuckle at the name. Celine had always been grandiose in her vocabulary. “Angel’s Tears...” A curious name for her magnum opus, though one Celine had insisted upon. It did, she had to it, capture the more subtle graces of her creation.
Her gaze drifted to the jacket, lightly coated with Angel’s Tears. When taken into the body, it would quickly leave a person confused and disoriented. But the true beauty of her work lay elsewhere. After mere minutes of continuous exposure, a typical victim would become highly suggestible, following any instructions they were given even after becoming separated from the Tears.
Celine leaned toward the jacket once more; the sweet lavender aroma perfectly masked the scent of the Tears.
“It’s a shame you cannot smell this, Luce. This scent... the promises it makes for the future. It’s simply...”
“Well, MAYBE I could if someone would let me take the counteragent. You know, the one I invented,” Lucy snapped with a playful smirk.
“Now, now, Lucy. It’s not cheap getting everything you need to create this stuff. I’d hate to see any of your hard work go to waste.”
“You mean any of your investment.” Lucy rolled her eyes.
Celine ignored her, taking on the tone of a wounded child. “Also, I don’t know if I can trust you after that whole trying-to-kill-me phase you went through.”
“Oh, please.” Lucy stifled a laugh. “I was young and naïve. I’ve matured since then.”
“You were twenty-three.”
“Twenty-three and YOUNG,” Lucy shot back. “I was just starting out and somehow got it into my head that killing you meant I’d magically take your place as kingpin of Rapture City’s criminal underworld. Besides, things have changed since then.”
Her eyes glinted behind her glasses. “I’m part of your little empire now. Hell, after all these years, I’m one of your most trusted lieutenants. How many of your people even know your face, Celine? Don’t tell me you don’t trust me.” She leaned forward with a grin. “What’s a little poisonous gas between friends?”
Celine gave her a flat look. “Poisonous? Lucy, you blew up half my office.”
“I just... slightly messed up the chemicals, alright?”
“You vaporised most of a load-bearing wall.”
“It was not load-bearing.”
“It was afterwards.”
“SOMETIMES SCIENCE IS A LITTLE MORE ART THAN SCIENCE, OK!”
There was a pause between them. Eventually, Lucy burst into laughter. “Alright, alright. I concede. Happy?”
Celine grinned. “Gotcha.”
“Aaaand there’s that damn phrase of yours. You know you don’t always have to win everything, Cel.”
“No. But with these Tears... I always will.”
Lucy began idly twirling her scarlet streak. “I’ve been meaning to ask, why pick a fur jacket as the vector? And must you insist on using black fox fur? You don’t think that—”
“That what? That the heroes of this city will gaze upon my fine choice of attire and deduce that the Black Fox, mastermind of Rapture City’s criminal element, and Celine Blackwood are one and the same?”
Lucy frowned. “It’s unnecessary attention.”
“It’s branding. No longer will I hide in the shadows.” Celine turned back to the jacket, slowly running her fingers through the fine hairs, savouring the texture. “Soon the Black Fox will make her debut... And at her side... the city’s beloved heroes.”
Her lips curved into a sneer. “They’ve walked among us, praised for what they were given. Celebrated for accidents of their birth. Powers they never earned... never worked for...” Her fingers stilled. “I have seen how the world bends around them. The way doors open. The way people believe in them and think that makes them superior to us.”
She closed her eyes and glimpsed a pair of golden wings, stretching wide and radiant. “It doesn’t.” Her hand tightened slightly in the fur. “Each of them will be trapped by my creations. All of them will serve. They will smile when I tell them to smile. Speak when I allow it. Act when I command it. And they will thank me for it.”
She let the silence linger for a moment. “Those heroes understand nothing of what it means to wield power, to build it, to earn it.” Her eyes never left the jacket. “I do.”
A black pen flicked across the room, striking Celine squarely on the back of the head.
“Really, Luce?”
She turned to see Lucy pulling a fresh pen from her coat pocket, smiling as though nothing had happened. “That’s quite the high opinion you have of yourself. Last I checked, I was the one who made this all possible. Keep talking like that, and you’re going to wind up like every other nutjob who thought they could challenge Rapture.” She gave a wink as she finished, “And I’ll be running your network while you’re locked away.“
“Don’t worry, Luce. I know I’m not invincible.” Celine exhaled, steadying herself. “Fortunately for us, the superfools so often think they are... right up until it’s too late. Also, HELL NO! You had your chance. They lock me up, you come and get me.”
“I suppose a proper lady like yourself doesn’t think she belongs somewhere as dreary as a cell? Okay, Celine, I’ll think about it.”
Sometimes Celine could not believe the audacity of this woman. Outside her lab, she was like a walking cliché, nervous and unable to hold a conversation. But whenever she was here, in her element, she became someone completely different. Someone who wouldn’t hesitate to challenge even the Black Fox.
Her gaze drifted to Lucy’s scarlet hair. “You know, Luce, not that you don’t absolutely own your look. But... I’m surprised you would go to the effort. You’ve been squirrelled away in here for weeks, wrapped in your humble little lab coat, with only the occasional visit from myself. Why take such precious time out of your day to keep up appearances when there is nobody to appreciate it?”
Lucy blushed and looked back to her notepad, silently muttering under her breath, “How can you be so perceptive, yet still never put two and two together?”
“What was that, Lucy?” Celine asked. “You’ll have to speak up.”
“I said thank you, Lady Celine, for your most gracious compliment,” Lucy deflected, getting back into character. “Anyway, we’re getting off topic. Tonight’s gala will be the first proper field test for my baby. You’ll need to see how close you need to get to people before they start to go under.”
Her eyes returned to her clipboard. “See what you can get them to do without arousing their suspicions. Preferably, I’d like you to get someone back here so I can properly test their responses without any prying eyes.”
Celine walked up to Lucy. “Oh, I think they’ll find I can be very convincing even without the jacket, Lucy dear. But tell me... is that really the only reason you want me to bring a friend home with me?”
She had that look in her eye again. That wicked glint of an animal toying with its prey.
“You must have been soooo lonely, cooped up in here all by yourself. Were you perhaps hoping I would bring you a strapping young man? Someone you could have a little fun with while your boss wasn’t looking?”
She stepped closer, close enough that Lucy had to fight the urge to step back. “Someone who could make all the stress you have built up just... fade away?”
Lucy flushed. “Y-you know I don’t swing that way...”
Celine was right on top of Lucy now, seemingly towering over her despite the small difference in size between them. “Oh, silly me,” she purred, “Then perhaps one of the fairer sex? That brilliant mind of yours must just be aching for the chance for some real experimentation.”
Lucy drew in a small breath, composure snapping back into place. “That isn’t necessary. The objective is to observe the compound’s effects in a controlled environment, not to... indulge in variables that would complicate my data,” she briefly paused. “My interest is in the results, Lady Celine. Nothing more.”
“Of course, sweet Lucy. How could I have let myself believe your wonderful mind would allow itself to indulge in such... distractions.”
Lucy felt the tension ease and immediately wished she hadn’t let it. “Exactly.” She smiled with that impish charm she had practiced so hard to cultivate.
“But know this, Lucy. The Black Fox always rewards those who serve her faithfully.” Celine was starting to sound like an actor upon a stage. “Soon, nothing in this city will be beyond my reach, and I will not allow one who has shown such loyalty to simply be forgotten.”
Her eyes drifted shut, a slow smile growing on her lips as the future unfolded. Her future. The world she would create. A world where all heroes lay before her, fawning at her feet. Gazing up at her with the adulation she had earned, that she deserved. All of them. Hers to do with as she pleased. When she pleased.
But the vision shifted. She was there. Standing behind her fawning thralls was that bitch. Even now, she was standing tall, her gaze resting upon Celine.
The sun seemed to radiate out from behind her, catching in her long golden hair and matching wings. A soft breeze kept them gently swaying, and her eyes bore into her with that piercing blue.
As her eyes opened, the vision shattered, and something colder took its place. She looked to Lucy and continued, “Power belongs to those who earn it. And you, Lucy, have more than earned your place in the new world I will create. Your efforts SHALL be rewarded. This I promise you.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Celine.” Lucy grinned, looking her dead in the eye. Meeting that vicious gaze head-on and returning one of her own. This was the Celine she knew.
“I do so look forward to the delights this new world of yours offers to one who stands at your side.” Lucy’s heart practically leapt to her throat. How would Celine react to her little suggestion?
Before she could find out, there was a violent crash from outside the lab, and a loud roar rolled in like thunder:
“CELIIIINE!”
The two women froze.
“Lucy, bring up the security feed. Main foyer. NOW!” Celine barked, her heart hammering. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when she was so close.
“CELINE! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!”
Lucy fumbled frantically with the controls. “What’s going on? They’re calling out for Celine, not the Black Fox? Surely this is just—”
“JUST SHUT UP AND DO WHAT I SAY, OK?” Celine snapped, cutting her off.
Finally, the feed came up. The double doors had been thrown wide, and two figures now loomed in the foyer. Lucy’s hands trembled as she realised who they were.
Celine remained frozen. There they were. Those wings. Those damn wings. Those damn wretched wings which had haunted her every night since she was a child. Her hands slowly clenched into fists at her side.
“CELINE! WHERE ARE YOU!”
Slowly, her lips curled back into a smug, knowing smile. She began to straighten up, assuming proper posture. “It would seem I have guests, dear Lucy. Would you please excuse the lady of the house while she assumes her responsibilities as a proper host?”
“Celine, no. I know exactly what you’re thinking, and it’s not going to work. The Tears only allow you to influence people. Complete subjugation requires prolonged exposure, and this woman—”
Another roar cut her off. “CELINE!”
“She’s not going to give you the chance.” She finished, breathless.
Celine ignored her, already striding back to the black fox fur jacket. “No need to worry yourself, Luce. I have a history with this one. I’m sure she just wants to help me clear up some misunderstandings, like the dear old friend that she is.”
She calmly lifted the jacket, fingers brushing through the fur, savouring that gentle scent as the hairs parted beneath her touch.
Her voice took on a serious edge as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of the jacket with care, appreciating the silky caress of the fur on her skin. “Listen, Luce, I meant what I said before. If something happens and they put me away, I expect you to have me out within a fortnight. You can hide away in here and pretend I was keeping you against your will if they come looking.”
The jacket settled pleasantly over her evening dress, resting softly on her shoulders. “After all, we masterminds are so well known for our eccentricities.”
Lucy was growing increasingly concerned at her boss’s casual demeanour. “Cel, she may not technically have superstrength, but I’ve seen enough to know she might as well. I won’t be able to help you if she decides to throw you through the wall, not without a mop!”
“CELINE! IF YOU DON’T SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW, WE’RE GOING TO TEAR THIS PLACE APART, BEAM BY BEAM, UNTIL WE FIND YOU!”
After closing the jacket around herself, Celine put on her velvet gloves and made for the door. Her feet moved with quiet grace as the jacket rippled gently around her hips with every step.
“You wanted a field test, Lucy. Well, there’s just no time like the present, is there? I suppose the gala will have to wait.” A slight tremble in her voice gave the faintest hint of uncertainty.
Lucy winced. What had gone wrong? How had these heroes made the connection between Celine and the Black Fox? “Just be careful. You’ve never been in a position like this before and... I still want to get paid.” She forced a smile, but her stomach twisted.
Celine grinned, facing the door. “Gotcha.”