The Adventures of Silver

Silver Takes Center Stage

Part One

Veronica Silvers flipped channels idly. She was bored, and for a change, she had finished her homework, and her roommate was out on a date. Momentary jealousy filled Veronica; she wasn't allowed to date.
She and her father, billionaire owner of a power utility monopoly, had a deal. Ever since the Accident when Veronica was six, she hadn't been allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone, which had included schools. The sheltered girl was home-schooled her whole life, and when it was time for college she had begged her father to let her go somewhere away from home. He hadn't wanted to, but Veronica had him wrapped around her little finger. Reluctantly, James Silvers had agreed, but only with the strict condition that his daughter would ignore the social life as much as possible. Most importantly, it meant that Veronica wouldn't date. Ever.
Which leaves me another thrilling night of reruns, she thought bitterly. Nothing much was on, so Veronica left the TV on a news program while she dug out a comic book. Comics were one of Veronica's bad habits; she was obsessed with superheroes. Her favorites were the stories based on actual heroes, especially Batman and Robin. Superman, in her opinion, was all right, but slightly boring.
"ŠAnd in local news, the City Council has condemned fully half of the old buildings on South Street, among them the historic South Street Theater. Local legend speaks of an old superheroine, known as Silver, who got her start there, and her fans all around the country are objecting. However, the building has been deemed unsafe, so despite objectionsŠ"
Veronica set down her comic at the mention of a hero. She vaguely remembered a series of comics that ended when she was about ten, called The Adventures of Silver. She didn't remember much about them, but as she began thinking about the comics, she remembered that Silver had lived in Pallis, her alter ego an actress. One thing Veronica didn't remember was if Silver had been based on an actual hero, and she decided she¹d like to know.
Veronica's first step in research was the campus library, where she began looking at old newspaper clippings. On the way, Veronica could swear she saw a man in a trench coat following her, but he disappeared from sight before she could get a good look at him. Huh. Weird, she thought.
At the library, Veronica learned that Silver had been based on reality. Apparently, a famous actress had been performing in a production at the Silver Street Theater, and someone began sending her death-threats. The police couldn't figure out whom, and opening night, the actress was attacked. She might have been killed, except a silver-clad woman with strange powers had appeared and saved the day.
Later, the mystery was made into a play, which naturally opened at the South Street Theater. It had starred a local actress named Serena Barwandish, who became the comic book version of Silver's secret identity. Silver's real identity was never discovered, and she only appeared a handful of times.
She'd faded into obscurity, except for the comic book. Her powers in real life were vague and hard to figure out, and nothing was known about her origins. The only reason she'd had a brief run as a comic book hero was when Marvelous Comics had introduced Desdemona the Demonhuntress, and CD Comics felt they had to introduce a female lead to keep up. Unfortunately, The Adventures of Silver wasn't extremely successful, and relied upon cameo appearances from Batman and Robin to keep the story interesting. After three years, it ended.
Her curiosity satisfied, Veronica decided to head back to her dorm. Again, she was certain she saw a man wearing a trench coat, but when she wasn't sure, decided she was just being paranoid. Her door was locked, and she'd left her keys inside. Huh. I remember leaving the door unlocked because I wouldn't be gone all that long, Veronica thought, deciding she'd just wait for her room mate to get home. So, for lack of anything better to do, Veronica decided to treat herself to dinner.
There was an Italian restaurant not too far from the Pallis University campus, and Veronica had heard it was quite good. So she headed off, until a car parked in front of her opened a door onto the sidewalk. She wondered why no one stepped out, until a voice behind her said, "Miss Silvers. Get into the car."
She spun to see a tall man wearing a trench coat, holding a gun. It was pointed towards her, and she gulped. "Now, Miss Silvers."
"I'd... um... rather not," she confided.
"Now!" he snapped, approaching her and grabbing her arm. She started to scream, but he knocked her into the car and slammed the door shut. Someone in the front seat started driving, while the man with the gun tied her wrists firmly. She struggled, but he was larger than she was and didn't have too much trouble.
Next he shoved a gag in her mouth, and from a pocket in his coat, produced a zip-locked plastic bag. Inside was a damp washcloth, and he opened the bag and held the cloth over her nose and mouth.
Veronica suddenly found herself dizzy, and then the world went black.

She blinked a few times, finding herself awake and alone. Veronica surveyed her surroundings, to find that they offered her little hope. She was tightly tied to a wooden chair, which sat in the middle of what appeared to be a basement.
A dim light flickered on and off over head. In it, Veronica could see a staircase that led up to a closed door. She could see everything was covered in dust except for a path from her chair to the stairs, where there were a few sets of footprints. Craning her neck around, farther than a normal person would have been able to, Veronica could see a few ancient wooden crates. On one, she could see the words, Property of South Street Theater through the dust. At least I know where I am, she thought. Now what?
Escape, obviously, she answered in her mind. But how? Her hands were tied together behind the back of the chair, and it felt as though the only way she could untie herself would be if all of the fingers on her right hand bent backwards and untied the knots around her left hand. To any normal person, this would be impossible.
But Veronica was not normal, thanks to the Accident. She'd had a biological weapon experiment dropped on her, mixed with what should have been a more-than-lethal dose of nuclear radiation. The fact that she was still alive showed she was more than a normal human now; and when she'd hit puberty, more strange things began happening. Among them, she could bend any joint any way she chose. Also, she was nearly impossibly to hurt. She never got sick, and had just discovered that toxins wore of very quickly. If they didn't, she'd still be unconscious from the chloroform. Cuts also healed instantly, and so did broken bones.
As if that weren't enough, her blood had turned in to a silver liquid that could heal other people's wounds if it came into contact with their blood. She'd learned that by experimenting with her cat, who had luckily come out intact. And, less useful, Veronica developed the ability to change her appearance. Her hair and eyes changed color with a thought, and her skin tone also changed with a little effort. She'd spent hours playing with these abilities.
It was the first talent that came in handy now. She'd practiced in secret for years, and now her fingers were as skilled bending up as down. Skilled enough to undo knots, which is what they did now. She shook her wrists free once they were untied, and leaned down to untie her feet.
She stood shakily, then walked up the stairs and listened at the door. Since she didn't hear any noise, she figured no one was there and opened it. What kind of idiot villain leaves the door to the room holding his hostage unlocked? She wondered incredulously as she crept down the hall. Veronica found herself in a long hallway lined with doors. Each door had a gold star and name on it, although she only recognized a very few of the names. They were all actors, which meant she was right, this was The South Street Theater.
"I don't think she'll be awake yet," suddenly came out of nowhere. Veronica heard several people approaching and panicked. "We can write the ransom letter and take pictures of her unconscious now anyway." She ducked into a room, grateful that when the theater closed they hadn't locked all of the dressing rooms. The name on the door read "Serena Barwandish," and inside was a dressing table, a few chairs, and a large bureau. Sitting on the dressing table, covered with years worth of dust, was some silver jewelry and an ancient playbill.
Veronica picked it up and flipped through it. The show was Silver, and the inside had a few pictures of Serena Barwandish dressed as the heroine, along with her costars, and one picture someone had taken of the real Silver. She gasped: Veronica could almost have been looking in a mirror.
"I don't believe it," she whispered, running a hand through her blond hair. Although the photo was black and white, it was obvious that Silver's hair was lighter than hers, as were the portion of her eyes that showed through the mask.
She began to read the summary of the show, and as she turned a page, a note fell out from between the pages.

Veronica,

Get in the bureau and put on the costume. You have a Destiny now, and it¹s damned important you do this. You have about three minutes to change before they come to get you.

Yours Paradoxically,
Silver & Serena

PS: Don't forget to do your hair and eyes!

She read the note again, and then again, and decided there was no real reason not to follow the directions in it. She walked to the bureau and opened it. Only one costume still hung inside, Serena's Silver costume. All of the parts were there, leotard, boots, mask, chain, and knife. Veronica felt like she was in a dream, as she wondered how a note left in a theater that had closed decades ago had been adressed to her, and why the costume was still there, in perfect shape, and fit her so well. She stepped out of the bureau, and saw the note where she¹d left it on the table.
Oh, yeah. Hair and eyes, she thought, gently closing her eyes and concentrating. Her hair faded to silver and so did her eyes, and when she opened them she was identical to the photograph of Silver.
"How did she get away?!" someone screamed in the hallway. "Check every room, she can't have gone far!" There was the sound of people scattering, and Veronica was suddenly overcome by fear.
What the hell am I doing?! They'll kill me when the find me, why did I waste time to put on a stupid costume and- she stopped, mid-thought. She was wearing a costume and looked very convincing; no one would recognize her. This meant she could get out, assuming she could get them to think she was some sort of hero and scare them off.
She hadn't figured out quite what to do yet when the door to the dressing room swung open and a man barged in. "Who are you?" he demanded, drawing a gun.
She opened her mouth, but words froze in her throat. Finally, she managed to say, "Silver," in a scared voice.
"Yeah, well you made a mistake by coming here, girlie," he answered, walking towards her. He reached out to grab her arm, and instincts took over. Veronica backed up, kicked upwards with one foot and caught him in the chin. Her gymnastics training had taught her how to kick high, and the self-defense her father insisted she take had supplied the rest.
"That isŠ" she said, as he recovered from the kick and aimed his gun at her, "Every cloud has a silver lining. Clouds of crime have covered this fair city, but I am the lining of justice that will put everything rite. I'm Silver, avenger of evil!" Inwardly, she laughed at herself. No more comic books for you, Veronica, she thought.
The man decided she was a little too weird, and fired at her. She was hit in the shoulder and glared down at the wound. Silver liquid dripped from it, and several seconds later it closed up. "That hurt, you bastard!" she snapped. "And you ripped my new leotard!"
She spun around and kicked him again, this time kicking the gun from his hand. It fell, and he stared at her in shock for a few seconds before turning to flee. "You wont get away that easily!" she called, dashing after him down the hall.
She chased him on to a huge stage, which he ducked across. She followed him, but as she ran across the center of the stage, a trap door opened up beneath her. "Take that, Miss-Silver-Lining!" he yelled to her, as she landed hard eight feet below.
The door above her snapped shut.