[b]Harbinger[/b]

[b][u]Prologue:[/b][/u]

At just about the time Titan City returned to the rhythm of life before Hurricane Atlas—the familiar balance point between fear and security, between hero and villain—Lyhhah Mao arrived. A moment before, the alley behind Aspen and 3rd ave’s Super Cash, South Titan’s omnipresent pawn shop chain, was calm, if not quiet. The winds that whipped between the skyscraper canyons of downtown were more like the errant winds of some Hollywood ghost town in this part of the city and trash rattled along sidewalks and walls like urban tumbleweeds. It was well past two AM and only the brave or most desperate of night creatures were out. The nearest street lamp’s bulb was shattered by a thrown brick a month before and never replaced.

Her arrival carried no excitement. No loud noise or flashing light. One moment the night was like any other in that neglected alleyway and the next moment she was on one knee on the Macadam, catching her breath. If one could have seen into the place between those moments, they might have seen the ten thin slices she made, like cuts in a movie screen, as she past from where she had been, to where she is now.
She caught her breath quickly; the air was rich with Nitrogen, Oxygen, even Argon. The usual waves of nausea that accompanied travel never broke and she caught herself smiling. Who would have thought travel could be fun? She would have to make note of it, for a later report. She looked around.

This was not a clean world, she surmised. Too much moisture made everything rot. The taste on her skin was fungal and acrid, but her nose filled with the sense of putrefaction. As her body worked to acclimate her senses, Lyhhah noticed several of the local beings come out of hiding. They were a small species, still walking on four legs unless otherwise necessary, but they had a glimmer of intelligence in their eyes. They were not so different from her own people’s distant ancestors, small furry creatures that roamed Alryeuur’s shifting deserts before time began. Still kneeling, Lyhhah smiled, and made a sound of greeting.

“Hello,” she said. The locals looked at her, astonished, from the tops of their trash heaps. Their ears twisted between confusion and interest.
“Hello?” a piebald child said in reply. It squirmed out from the thickly papered cube it was hiding under. “Food?” The word seemed to tip the scales of these simple creatures against fear, and soon the whole tribe joined the child in calls of “hello” and “food.” [i]By the Nine Winds! Is this a planet of starving vagrants?[/i] Lyhhah couldn’t imagine such destitution possible. No wonder the Nine Yhheyrah felt compelled to step in. This planet needed guidance.

Suddenly a long hiss, followed by a low ‘uur’, silenced the rabble. “Be afraid. Stranger!” the sounds were familiar to Lyhhah, recognizable perhaps in any language. An aged matron with only one eye, her ears flat against her skull and her hair on end, hugged the ground near Lyhhah. Another threatening hiss warned Lyhhah to leave. Shocked as she was, Lyhhah was unsure how to respond to such an open threat. It was her mission to assess the plant, to make peace with the natives and insure their solidarity. But what if they did not want Nyhhsarian help? [i] Keep to the mission,[/i] she assured herself, but before she could respond to the old woman, a sound like heavy foot falls crashed slowly towards them from beyond the alley. The pragmatic locals scattered into the shadows, or out of the alley all together, and Lyhhah turned to face this new threat. The thunderous foot falls came closer, and beneath that sound she heard the thud-thud of a heartbeat. She breathed deeply but could only sense the alleyway. The strides (for what else could they be?) quickened as they came close to the entrance and, moving with the speed of a legendary jungle princesses, Lyhhah pounced out of the alley to meet this new threat.

It was… a man? Yes, a Nyhhsarian man, or very near to one, stood in a shocked panic before her surprise attack. The man was clearly afraid of her; comical, considering he was at least two hands larger than her in every dimension. He stammered something she did not understand, fishing into pouches in his clothes for trinkets. Money, perhaps, or trophies of victory? Lyhhah wasn't sure and ran translation software immediately. As the program worked, she quietly thanked her old grandmother for insisting that Lyhhah wear the vanguard helmet at all times in the field. The helmet would pipe in a translated version of the man’s words, and allowed her to respond in his own language.

“ Oh Jesus! Please, don’t hurt me— take what ever you want! Please, I have a family!” he had said.
“I’m sorry I startled you, I have no interest in hurting you. I’m here to help. I am Leah Mao of-”
“Really?!” the man interrupted Lyhhah, his whole countenance changing, and threw his arms up in disgust. “Why don’t you go back to super school, lady? The last thing we need is another amateur getting themselves killed in our town.” Hunching his shoulders, the man stalked past her and for the first time Lyhhah acknowledged her surroundings.

Earth.
It [i]was[/i] ruled by sentient beings but they were not like Nyhhsarians. Some other creature became the dominant life form on this planet, built upon it in their own image. To the north there were tall, thin, buildings like giant tree trunks that pierced the sky. That is where the people of Earth lived. Lyhhah looked back at the alley where her distant cousin species, still animals, dug through the refuse. [i] There but by the will of the Nine Winds, stood I.[/i] The weird star of the planet, with its red-orange core, speckled yellow surface and vibrant green glow, was rising quickly illuminating this new world.
“The last thing this place needs is another damned Cat-girl.” The man said, quietly but well within earshot at the end of the street.
[i]Another?[/i]

Lyhhah looked to the sunrise, and got to work.