Fear

There is too much fear in the world today.  Honestly, I think things like the internet, and instant communication have a lot to do with that.  Relax, I'm not suggesting that we do away with these things.  I'm just saying that with instant communication, news of things gets out there quickly, and then, people's first reactions are put on the internet as well.  Panic can spread so quickly, and that ability that humanity seems to have to just stop and think about things gets put on hold.  After all, first the event happens, and then peoples reactions start to happen, and so often, that reaction is fear, violence, or hysteria.  You never have a chance to catch your breath and THINK until much later.  Consider your peasant farmer from the 1800's, how they probably didn't get news of events happening for months after it happened sometimes, if ever.  Ignorance really was bliss, in some cases.  Now, panic can spread across the world in seconds.  And, that isn't the worst of it.  Everyone has an agenda, and they use fear to spread their agenda.  Fear of homosexuals, fear of metahumans, fear of drugs, fear of not having money, fear of not being able to take care of your children.  Fear of that which is not like us.  No wonder the Sinestro Corps wants to use this planet as their base of operations.  We use fear against each other so much they must get a real kick out of it.  Heck, even the heroes use fear!  Batman is all about fear.  And I don't know what we can do about it.  I'm not a great thinker.  I tend to charge up to things and hit them, hard.  But fear is hard to get a handle on.  I will admit that even I have been affected by fear recently.  I think the best thing we can do, is think first, before we act.  When you see that news story about something, think.  When someone pushes an agenda at you, think.  Don't let fear push you into acting in a way that, ultimately, won't be good for you.  Think about what your response should be, then act.  Decisively.  Follow your beliefs and act, just try not to let fear color those beliefs.

Aftermath

So, as I'm sure you've all heard by now, Green Lantern got booted from the Justice League for his actions.  I know, it was reported that he "left", but, no, he got booted.  He earned it.

Green Lantern is a dick!

So, it pains me to say that my 2nd superhero fight ever is likely to be against another superhero.  Green Lantern is in a pissing contest with the JLA (specifically Black Canary and Wonder Woman).  They didn't consult him before releasing my teammate, Octave, who has done nothing wrong on this planet, and told him to leave her alone.  He thinks Octave is a danger to everyone.  He told me, point blank, that he knows better than Black Canary and Wonder Woman.  Diana only has about thirty or so more years doing this than he does.  He sicced his army buddy, Captain Atom, and the alien threat reaction team on Octave.  She hasn't done anything!  So I grabbed Octave and ran.  I didn't want to fight other heroes, even jerky ones.  It seems that Octave has been mind controlled in the past, and used to do some terrible things.  But Green Lantern's own organization cleared her, and brought her back here.  Apparently, he knows better than them, too.  I'm so frustrated.  I just want to start punching things.  I know that is immature.  I know I act immature sometimes.  But this is wrong!  Heroes shouldn't have to fight other superheroes because one hero is trying to make a point.  But I will.  If they come for her, I will fight them.  At this point, I know nobody cares about my opinion, except maybe you readers, so here it is.  I trust Diana and Black Canary more than I trust Green Lantern and Captain Atom.  I think their actions in this speak well of my opinion.  GL even stormed out of a meeting we had at the JLA headquarters, saying that he was going to get his way, or he'd come after us all.  Bring it, dick!  I'll find a way to send you back to Oa with a note attached saying, "This guy put his ego over his duty.  Maybe try a woman next time?"

Later friends.

Combat

I'm wired.  I just got back from my first real combat.  While I'm an Amazon, and I've trained with many kinds of combat for most of my life, I've never faced the real thing until today.  I've also never seen a true act of violent malice before today, either.  This gang of pumped up men in Bane masks were rampaging through the college bars in downtown Metropolis today.  They were being violent, and careless, but I saw one of them purposefully land of top of a young woman while bounding up the street.  The woman was gravely injured.  She went down without a sound, and when she did, I felt something I've never felt before.  Rage.  I'm no stranger to anger, but I've never felt as if I wasn't in control of myself before.  I was like one of Ares berserkers.  I flew at him so fast he didn't see me coming, and hit him as hard as I'm able.  I knocked him several feet into the concrete wall of a parking structure, knocking him briefly unconscious.  Seeing him possibly hurt and unconscious brought me out of my rage.  We put the rest of the Bainites down, the leader escaped.  I'm still thinking about this, trying to sort this all out in my head.  I thought writing this down might help, but I think I need to talk to someone.  I'm going to go and speak with Diana.  More later.

Birds of Prey

I'm part of a team!  This is a real step in the direction of being a superhero.  A woman Diana knows, calling herself Oracle is putting together a new hero team.  Apparently, she prefers all female hero teams, which does seem the most prudent way to go.  She is calling her team the Birds of Prey, and she would like me to join.  She does have an agenda, of course.  I won't share it, but it doesn't seem objectionable.  And just because she has an agenda for us doesn't mean that is all we are going to do.  But, as I said, Diana trusts her, and I suppose I'll see for myself if she can be trusted.  So, my teammates!

Gekko - She will be the veteran of the group.  I'm told she's been active for a while, but I can't find a whole lot of information about her.  She is a sneaky, martial artist type, and she's pretty good.  She's a little older than I am, and she likes to go out on the town.

Haze - Honestly, I don't know if this post will take.  She seems to have some kind of ability to make people forget about her.  I'm sure that ability extends to cyberspace, but, hey, we'll see.  Haze will be handling transportation for the group, and seems like she is new to the hero game.  Her abilites, like her, are a mystery.

Octive - The last member of our group is, well, she's new to the area, let's say.  Apparently, she's been off planet for a while, and in the care of the Green Lantern Corp.  She isn't a lantern, and she seem's reluctant to talk about her time off planet.  I think she isn't exactly proud of some of the things she's done while she was away.  I was on monitor duty at the JLA headquarters the day she arrived on planet, and Black Canary asked me to look after the new arrival.  So, I have been.  She has some neat sonic powers.

So, as a tryout/test, we got to fight Wonder Woman!  And, she kicked our asses.  Diana is a great fighter, and has been doing this a long time.  I was happy I got in one good lick that she wasn't expecting.  She had me caught in that lasso, and was using it to whip me around like a tether ball.  It was only fair to return the favor. I grabbed the rope, and raced at a high rate of speed toward the wall.  I turned at the last minute, and slammed Diana at a high rate of speed into the wall.  It was great.  I didn't matter much, in the long term, though, as she took us all out.  We've all been training together, and getting to know each other.  We are making plans to go out at some point.  We'll see how that goes.  

More next time...

I am an Amazon

Yes, one of those Amazons.  There aren't many new Amazons, though.  There shouldn't be.  As I'm sure you know, there are no men allowed on what has been dubbed Paradise Island.  Amazons, besides being long-lived and a little tougher and stronger, have the same biology as humans.  No men, no new Amazons.  So, new Amazons come along rarely, and usually have a story attached.  I'll keep mine short, as this isn't what I really want to write about.  My mother is an outcast Amazon.  A rebel, who has been banished from the island.  I was rescued from her when I was 11.  Paradise Island is a little lacking for children growing up.  There are no other children.  And, their society is very different from the rest of the world.  So, by the age of 13, I was getting a bit wild.  It was decided that I would be sent to Metropolis, to the Embassy, to experience the outside world.  And then Princess Diana entered my life.  Better known as Wonder Woman.  She is another topic for another time, but she took me under her wing, gave me a place to live at the embassy.  I worked on her staff for several years, and spent my time learning about both worlds.  This one and the island.  I realize all this makes it easy to identify me.  I'm not really trying to hide.  I'll casually conceal my identity for the sake of my new teammates (more later), but again, I'm an Amazon.  We are fairly easy to pick out of a crowd, unless we are hanging out with a women's basketball team.  My mother will recognize me, and she isn't one of the good guys.  So, my secret is kinda out there already.

So, what are these powers the title of this blog implies?  And, where did I get them if most Amazons are similar to humans?  About a month ago, I won the lottery.  Apparently, something happened on a cosmic scale a while back, and caused something called an Alpha Wave.  This Alpha Wave has been going around, giving people powers.  And, boom, I got some.  I have grown up around people with powers, and I was always disappointed I didn't have any.  I wanted (still do) to be a super hero, like Diana.  I wanted to be a hero, and I was jealous of those that had powers.  And, growing up around Diana, I never understood supervillians.  How do these people get given this incredible gift, and use it only to benefit themselves?  Well, I've grown up a little since then, thank Goddess.  I put the star on my chest, as I told that when I was hit by the Alpha Wave, something very much like that manifested around my body.  I'm strong, not as strong as Wonder Woman (but I'm taller!  :-), and I fly at great speed.  I can fly around the world in about 30 minutes.  Who knows what else might manifest.  I've only had these powers a month or so now.  I've decided to try and do some good with these powers.  Because, I really believe in the saying that provided the title of this blog.  Corny, I know, but there it is.  And, since so many people are doing this whole blogging thing, I thought I'd give that a try, too.  I'll share with you my experiences, my thoughts, my fears, my problems, and my triumphs.  I'm taking the name Peregrine.  The peregrine falcon is the worlds fastest bird when it is in a hunting dive.  And the name works well for my new team.  More on that later.