Chapter 227 : Dawnbringer

By the time Arachnanny was done designing her costume, Sarah could barely recognize herself. The cape of oranges and pinks was one thing, a

By the time Arachnanny was done designing her costume, Sarah could barely recognize herself. The cape of oranges and pinks was one thing, a clear, minimalist pattern designed to represent dawn, but it was merely the signature piece of an entire ensemble. At least it ended at her knees and wasn't too wide, making sure it wouldn't get in the way. Unlike Scarecrow, she couldn't fly, after all, and a cape that was too long or too large would hinder her movements. On another equally positive note, the clasp that kept it attached to the rest of her costume was also easy to access, in case she needed to remove it in an emergency. It was times like these that reminded her why the drider in the room was an expert.

The core of the outfit was still the white bodysuit she was used to and had grown fond of, which she couldn't deny was a little funny, remembering her earlier feelings on what she deemed a ridiculous look. Really, in hindsight, she was glad these were unisex uniforms rather than some kind of leotard like she knew other female Heroes wore sometimes. She was very happy to keep her skin safe and concealed, thank you very much. Really, the fact that Maledicta had a similar train of thought was a surprise. She expected the drow to show off more, though her horror armor was also doing it, just in its own way.

That said, the suit did feature a rising sun over her chest. Well, half a yellow sphere with golden rays rising over a horizon simplified down to a single line with another half a circle behind it, this one orange to evoke the sky in those early moments of the morning. It felt a little incomplete, like it still needed something under to complete the circle, even if not literally, but Arachnanny insisted that those things could wait. She'd had time until the final suit itself was complete, and even then, modifications or even brand new costumes were always possible. Uncle Doug himself had something bulkier in the past, before he switched to a leaner design with a few larger pieces.

The gloves and boots followed this yellow and orange theme, too. The hand and feet themselves were the usual bright yellow, with the palms and soles even being gold, before fading and transitioning into the darker color as the clothing progressed up to her elbows and knees, respectively, teasing the joints but never truly reaching them. Something about flexibility. This meant her thighs and upper arms were left completely white, which Arachnanny declared was intentional, to preserve the simplicity.

And while the cape itself was only attached to her neck, with the white fabric rising to protect her skin even when the billowing garment wasn't on, that didn't mean her shoulders were left alone. Both had a small ridge, extruding lines of gold delimiting the distinction between joint and torso subtly, once more to evoke the idea of a rising sun, and to break the monotony of the upper half of her body, bar the logo and cape when it was attached.

She wore a yellow belt as well. It was a large thing, with plenty of small packs to carry items in. Sarah remembered hearing about that one Hero with a ton of gadgets and how he had each pouch memorized, to the point he held lollipops to help calm down children right next to paralyzing gas and never faced any incident. She didn't plan to reach this level of mastery or use as many different tricks, but places to put evidence in or carry antidotes or the like sounded like a great idea. And, well, she really liked the lollipop thing. Sometimes, being a Hero was as simple as helping a child smile and forget the situation they were in.

The last part of her suit was the face. Most Heroes wore a mask of some sort to hide their identity after all, whether it was a bulky helmet like Uncle Doug or a subtler domino mask like the ones they had been given and that Glicer chose to stick to. Frankly, this was one of the parts she had the most trouble with. On the one hand, a helmet protected her head the best, even if it'd be uncomfortable with her long hair. On the other hand, regular, smaller masks that only covered parts of the face, while less protective, were more popular with the population, humanizing their wearers. They were also easier to breathe in.

Arachnanny was kind enough to make multiple prototypes for her to test. The full helmet really did make her feel for Maledicta, who had gone for a metal one despite her long ebony locks. Either the drow would have to cut her hair shorter from now on, or she'd suffer for a long time. That, or she'd ask for modifications to her armor to make it more comfortable, even if it meant adding weak points.

And really, that was a recurring theme as she tested her options. The more covering masks also pressed against her scalp or ears, and she always found herself getting distracted, even before she did some shadowboxing and acrobatics to test how it felt in action. At the same time, the smaller equivalents left her feeling too exposed. She knew they would stick on, the Union made them specifically for that purpose, but she couldn't help but worry that a particularly violent gust of wind could expose her identity.

In the end, she chose to go for a larger and wider version of the classic domino mask, though this time instead of a gradient the colors were solid, with the yellow covering her eyes with a thick film impenatrable from the outside yet that she could easily see through, the orange for the mask itself, and the return of the pink from the cape on the edges. The look was nice enough for Arachnanny to consider adding this effect on the edges to the boots and gloves, too, but Sarah reassured her it was fine, they'd spent enough time on her already, she wasn't looking for anything too complex or fancy. Still, the look the drider gave her let the trainee realize her next iteration of her costume would be a little different from the one she got today.

When Sarah left the workshop to join back with the others, it was her turn to enjoy their reactions to the new outfit. Elaimant was hard to decode, as usual, but she had a feeling they were appreciative. Glicer promptly began gushing over the colors, especially the cape, while Kopper smiled sheepishly at his girlfriend's antics, but still gave Sarah a supportive nod. With their collective shared colors, she just had to hope people wouldn't mistakenly picture them as a throuple. She had nothing against polycules, even if they weren't her thing, but she'd rather not be shipped with her friends who were already an item.

Scarecrow tilted his head in surprise, likely because she had shared with him her plans to brainstorm, and he thus knew this wasn't exactly what she had been prepared to go for. Still, he joined in on the supportive nodding, and the faint smile at the corners of his beak told her there was a decent chance he preferred this over the idea she had told him about. Which... Well, she was disappointed her original plan was dismissed like this, but Arachnanny was a professional and an expert at this sort of thing. Not to mention, the spider had repeatedly reminded Sarah that her desires were more important than the elder's artistic vision.

Maledicta, for her part...

"So... What's this? Aren't you supposed to be Firefly? I expected an insect, not... Not the pyromaniac and the scrawny barbarian's third wheel."

While the content of the words was... Displeasing, to say the least, and Sarah deeply wished the other girl didn't say that, she could also hear there was malice or hostility in her voice. This was, sadly, tough love and genuine confusion. Drows weren't exactly known for being kind, and much as she resented believing stereotypes, Sarah had to admit sometimes, there was a kernel of truth in it.

"It was Arachnanny's idea. She said the firefly theme didn't really suit me. So, instead, she came up with something new. Said the dawn would be more in line with who I am and what I want to represent."

"Changing theme, are you? So, the dawn. Dawnlight? Hopedawn? Martyrdawn?"

Scareowl couldn't help but hum along on that last one.

"Martyrdawn is a very good name, I have to say. Though likely not what our friend had in mind, knowing her. It's a little too tragic or grandiose. She's more likely to pick something like Rising Dawn."

Glicer nodded along before saying her piece as well, followed by Kopper.

"Yeah! Or Heroic Dawn! Or Sparkling Dawn! Or Don Dawn! Oh! Glittering Dawn!"

"Those sound more like things you'd come up with, Glicer. But, something down to earth? Like, I dunno, Dawnheart? Sure. Wait, no, Dawnheart might be too poetic. Not that you're not poetic, Fire, but... Rescue Dawn, maybe? To the point, to tell people they're safe."

"Proposition: Dawnray, to fit in with the light powers and dawn thematic in a combined imagery."

Sarah blushed and looked away, trying to act casual as she thought about and reacted to her friends' many propositions.

"Well, Arachnanny and I talked about it a lot as she designed my suit, and... Well, we settled down on Dawnbringer. It suits the new theme and is all about, you know, going out there and helping people by bringing them hope, ending the dark of the night, and banishing the boogeymen in the dark. All in the metaphorical sense, of course. Plenty of people live nocturnal lifestyles and are perfectly a-okay."

Maledicta rolled her pink eyes, so bright they stood out incredibly from the black fabric surrounding them at the moment, so bright they were visible through the slits of her metal mask when she wore it.

"There's no reporter around, Light Girl. No need to worry about slipping up and accidentally saying something folks could take the wrong way. It ain't PR homework hour yet."

The drow's distaste for this particular activity was almost tangible, and none of the others could fault her. It was so easy for them to accidentally say something that could be taken the wrong way, either when it came to people or situations, sometimes even letting slip fake secrets during training interviews, and they were all rather kind and mellow people. For someone as thorny as her? Those were absolute agony.

"Sorry, sorry. I know some people with shadow powers, and I know sometimes people look at them weirdly. I want to be a beacon of hope for everyone, not only diurnal citizens."

The drow's gaze sharpened at that.

"A beacon of hope, uh?"

"Ah, uhm, yeah. I know, it sounds a little childish sometimes, the kind of line you'd expect out of Captain Cyan... But it's how I feel. I want people to look at me and feel safe. To know the bad times are over."

Maledicta scoffed as she shook her head.

"Big star, good girl, Heroin. Lucky you, none of us wants to be in the spotlight that way. Glitter will end up there because she's hard to ignore, but the rest of us are perfectly fine sticking to the background."

"Observation: We have never shared our respective objectives for choosing this career. Continuation: If we are to be a permanent team, it might be time to do so. Proposition: As our newly dubbed Dawnbringer went first, I can follow. Declaration: This one wishes to understand this world and its people, and make it a better place, for it has become my new home."

Glicer Glitter hopped into the conversation next, quite literally as she jumped into the air again and again, waving her arms wildly.

"Me! Me! I want to make people happy! Saving them and amazing them with all the sparkles of glitter and flames!"

Kopper blushed and scratched his cheek as he followed.

"Well, I wanna help folks. Just... Help someone carry their groceries, pick up their car so they can grab the runaway cat hiding under, and yeah, also protecting them from maniacs like that robot guy from the other day."

Scareowl seemed to agree, nodding along, before spreading his wings as he spoke next.

"I want to make this city a safe place. Remove its dangerous elements. People deserve to live safe from Villains and monsters."

And that left... Maledicta. She hesitated, taking quite a long moment to look up at the ceiling, searching her thoughts. Maybe she didn't know why? Or was she trying to find a way to present her mindset the right way, to avoid negative reactions? Sarah didn't know.

"I am a magical genius. A master of the arcane. I am the best at solo sacrificial rituals in this city, maybe even the continent. And I want to use this talent. And I'd rather be doing it by wrecking freaks than bullying old people and public schools. I want to grow stronger, to be my own weapon, not to rely on stealing from others. That's a weakling's thing."

Arachnanny chose that moment to remind them all she was in the room by chuckling gently, tremendously enjoying their spirited hopes and dreams.

"Ah, the wonders of youth. You darlings have plenty of time to grow into the people you wish to be, or as close as reality will allow. Until then, don't hesitate to rely on us old folks. It's the duty of every generation to prepare and aid those who come after. Whether that be by wearing colorful suits and fighting mighty foes in the streets, or weaving your own suits. Speaking of, Elaimant, dear, it's your turn."

"Declaration: Very well, thank you. Affirmation: I will return, friends, Scareowl, Glicer, Kopper, Maledicta, Dawnbringer."

Sarah smiled.

"Don't worry, we'll be waiting right here."