Wearing the Cape Series by Marion G. Harmon

"I was driving east on the Eisenhower Expressway when the Teatime Anarchist dropped the Ashland Avenue overpass on top of me, using enough C4 to bring the whole southbound span down at once."-------------------------------------------Who wants to be a superhero?Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic.And now she has some decisions to make... more"I was driving east on the Eisenhower Expressway when the Teatime Anarchist dropped the Ashland Avenue overpass on top of me, using enough C4 to bring the whole southbound span down at once."-------------------------------------------Who wants to be a superhero?Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic.And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago’s premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (super-strength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life-plan?In a world where superheroes join unions and have agents, and the strongest and most photogenic ones become literal supercelebrities, the temptation to become a cape is strong. But the price can be high — especially if you’re “outed” and lose the shield of your secret identity.Becoming a sidekick puts the decision off for awhile, but Hope’s life is further complicated when The Teatime Anarchist, the supervillain responsible for the Ashland Bombing, takes an interest in her. Apparently as Astra, Hope is supposed to save the world. Or at least a significant part of it.-------------------------------------------WEARING THE CAPE: THE BEGINNING CONTAINS THE FIRST 13 CHAPTERS OF WEARING THE CAPE, A SUPERHERO STORY FIRST PUBLISHED IN APRIL 2011. less

WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO? Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make... moreWHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO? Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (super-strength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life-plan? In a world where superheroes join unions and have agents, and the strongest and most photogenic ones become literal supercelebrities, the temptation to become a "cape" is strong. But the price can be high-especially if you're "outed" and lose the shield of your secret identity. Becoming a sidekick puts the decision off for awhile, but Hope's life is further complicated when The Teatime Anarchist, the supervillain responsible for the Ashland Bombing, takes an interest in her. Apparently as Astra, Hope is supposed to save the world. Or at least a significant part of it. ------------------------ Wearing the Cape is a 300-page superhero novel for anyone who ever loved comic-book heroes, and wonders how they might behave in the real world. less

It was supposed to be a working vacation…For Jacky Bouchard (aka, Artemis: vampire, night-stalking dark avenger, and reluctant superhero), a trip to the Big Easy was a chance to solidify her new Bouchard identity, meet the grandmother she didn’t know she had, and do a favor for the New Orleans Police Department by helping them keep an eye on their local vampires... moreIt was supposed to be a working vacation…For Jacky Bouchard (aka, Artemis: vampire, night-stalking dark avenger, and reluctant superhero), a trip to the Big Easy was a chance to solidify her new Bouchard identity, meet the grandmother she didn’t know she had, and do a favor for the New Orleans Police Department by helping them keep an eye on their local vampires.Watching a bunch of fashion-obsessed goths with fangs should have been easy, but now she’s dressing in black and sleeping in a coffin even though living the whole Fiend of The Night stereotype makes her want to vomit. And for someone working undercover, she is getting attacked a lot.When Jacky learns that a master vampire capable of siring progeny with his blood (an urban myth—vampires don’t reproduce that way) may be haunting New Orleans, she decides to go hunting. But the streets of the French Quarter are dangerous when you don’t know who is hunting you, and Jacky finds herself in trouble up to her neck and needing all the help she can get…---------------------Bite Me: Big Easy Nights is Marion G. Harmon's third novel. Chronologically, the book falls between Wearing the Cape and Villains Inc. less

Astra has finished her training and is now a full-fledged Sentinel, but things are not going well. She suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the public revelation of her relationship with Atlas has caused her popularity to nose-dive.To complicate things, the Teatime Anarchist's intervention has changed the course of events--leaving her with lots of knowledge about the way the future was before the Big One, a complete future-history that is now out of date... moreAstra has finished her training and is now a full-fledged Sentinel, but things are not going well. She suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the public revelation of her relationship with Atlas has caused her popularity to nose-dive.To complicate things, the Teatime Anarchist's intervention has changed the course of events--leaving her with lots of knowledge about the way the future was before the Big One, a complete future-history that is now out of date.And just when she thinks she's getting a handle on things, unfolding events (a bank-robbery and a horrific murder) show that one of the nastier pieces of the old future isn't so out of date after all; unless she solves a murder before it happens, Blackstone is going to die.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wearing the Cape: Villains Inc. collects Villains Inc. episodes One through Four in one complete volume. br>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AUTHOR'S NOTE: VIllains Inc. Episode 4 (Endgames) was published alongside the full novel on December 29th and left up until February 25th for the benefit of all readers who picked up episodes 1-3. less

Astra, Hope Corrigan, has survived to see nineteen and is trying to balance her superhero career with school and a whiff of a social life. But the world is bigger than Chicago, and with a handful of other capes, she finds herself on a mission to save America.Omega Night (Wearing the Cape) is a 5,000-word short story taking place between the events of Villains Inc. and Young Sentinels.

The reward for a job well done is another job.After the Sentinels' takedown of the second incarnation of Villains Inc., things are relatively quiet in the great metropolis of Chicago. Astra, aka Hope Corrigan, is able to breathe a little, to hang out with her friends, and even to attend classes (where her professors are starting to think she is a myth)... moreThe reward for a job well done is another job.After the Sentinels' takedown of the second incarnation of Villains Inc., things are relatively quiet in the great metropolis of Chicago. Astra, aka Hope Corrigan, is able to breathe a little, to hang out with her friends, and even to attend classes (where her professors are starting to think she is a myth). But Blackstone is loading more training and responsibilities on her, and converging events threaten the compromises she has made to balance her superhero career and student life and to protect her family and friends.Worse, a new supervillain has come to town, and it will take all of Chicago's capes to defeat the threat of the Green Man — if he can be defeated at all. When a new supervillain group begins targeting anti-superhuman groups, it becomes apparent that even the Sentinels are going to need help.Because one thing is certain: Chicago is going to have a very bad day. less

Astra has become one of the most popular Sentinals in Chicago, past scandals notwithstanding, and is now the team leader of the Young Sentinels. But on their first big solo outing, the new junior Sentinels fall into a new scandal - one which could cost them the team. And Astra has a dream visit from Kitsume, the odd shapeshifter-thief who precipitated the battle between the Sentinels and Villains, Inc. the year before... moreAstra has become one of the most popular Sentinals in Chicago, past scandals notwithstanding, and is now the team leader of the Young Sentinels. But on their first big solo outing, the new junior Sentinels fall into a new scandal - one which could cost them the team. And Astra has a dream visit from Kitsume, the odd shapeshifter-thief who precipitated the battle between the Sentinels and Villains, Inc. the year before. The dream warns of a fresh disaster, in a town Astra has never seen before and that may not actually exist.Astra's efforts to find the town from her dream leads to her "recruitment" by the shadowy Department of Superhuman Affairs, and she leaves the team behind in Chicago to learn more about the DSA's secrets than are good for her, face old enemies, and discover a little town called Littleton. Fortunately for Astra, "leaving the team" does not mean she's on her own. less

Astra has returned to Chicago and the everyday life of a cape: getting kittens out of trees, training, aiding the city’s emergency first-responders, training, doing public relations events, training, and the occasional superhero v. supervillain fight that threatens to level neighborhoods or at least set them on fire... moreAstra has returned to Chicago and the everyday life of a cape: getting kittens out of trees, training, aiding the city’s emergency first-responders, training, doing public relations events, training, and the occasional superhero v. supervillain fight that threatens to level neighborhoods or at least set them on fire. Then Astra takes a hard hit during a fight and very briefly finds herself somewhere else, somewhere she’s only been before in dreams and in the company of Kitsune, a shapeshifting trickster fox. Astra’s friends learn she is under the increasing influence of an otherworldy realm they know absolutely nothing about, and that she may even be drawn permanently into it. If they hope to stop it from happening, they must find Kitsune before it’s too late. But to find Kitsune they must go to Japan, and Japan since doesn’t allow unsanctioned entry to foreign capes everything depends on secrecy. With no allies, few assets, and surprises at every turn, winning requires rewriting the rules and playing their own game. A ronin game. less

Astra was done traveling, or so she thought. Benched for physical rehab and retraining, she's in LA dating movie stars (not as fun as you might think) when the Department of Superhuman Affairs asks for help catching a superhuman serial killer. When what should be a simple job develops.. moreAstra was done traveling, or so she thought. Benched for physical rehab and retraining, she's in LA dating movie stars (not as fun as you might think) when the Department of Superhuman Affairs asks for help catching a superhuman serial killer. When what should be a simple job develops...complications, she finds herself catapulted into another reality-one with its own history and superheroes! As her teammates scramble to find out where she's gone and what's become of her, Astra embarks on a cross-world journey in search of a way home. It's going to be a long trip.Team-Ups and Crossovers follows Astra and her teammates through multiple stories on multiple worlds, and includes a story co-written with David Barrack (writer/artist of Grrl Power), an original story by K.F. Lim, and the graciously permitted use of Velveteen and friends by Seanan McGuire. less

It's been just weeks since the state funeral for the Sentinels, Atlas, Ajax, and Nimbus, lost in the Whittier Base Attack. Astra, Hope, is recovered from her own injuries. At least physically. Mentally . . . not so much, but she feels ready to actively wear the cape again... moreIt's been just weeks since the state funeral for the Sentinels, Atlas, Ajax, and Nimbus, lost in the Whittier Base Attack. Astra, Hope, is recovered from her own injuries. At least physically. Mentally . . . not so much, but she feels ready to actively wear the cape again. Which is good since, between the revelation of her short-lived relationship with Atlas (nine years her senior) and her virally pungent public comments on the current political debate over breakthrough registration (the National Public Safety Act), she needs to raise her profile. But she's better now, steady, ready for anything. Or is she? First her quantum-ghost BF Shell reveals that something's off. Hope's CHANGED. Unaccountably and impossibly changed, she's not the Hope she was even just last week. Confronted with Shell's evidence, Hope recovers an impossible memory and follows it to the realization that she's really not the Hope of last week. She remembers three years of memories of a life she hasn't lived yet. She remembers the fight with Villains Inc., the addition of the Young Sentinels, her adventures in Littletone, Japan, and across a dozen extrarealities. The one thing she doesn't remember is how she got here. How did she get here? WHERE is here? Worse, things here are already starting to happen differently. Is her presence here messing things up? Or is she supposed to fix something already messed up? And what does Kitsune have to do with everything? less

The heroes are on vacation. Really. The wedding of Dane and Annabeth (Danabeth) is over, the team has caught their villain-of-the-month, and Hope thinks everyone deserves a break from the cycle of training and public-relations appearances. So except for Ozma and Grendel (who’ve decided to return to adventures in Oz) they’re all enjoying the sand and the sun in Littleton, the safest secret community in the world... moreThe heroes are on vacation. Really. The wedding of Dane and Annabeth (Danabeth) is over, the team has caught their villain-of-the-month, and Hope thinks everyone deserves a break from the cycle of training and public-relations appearances. So except for Ozma and Grendel (who’ve decided to return to adventures in Oz) they’re all enjoying the sand and the sun in Littleton, the safest secret community in the world.But then Shell vanishes—her quantum-neural link with Hope and Shelly severed—and Ozma and Grendel return with ominous warnings that something is happening back in Chicago. As the Young Sentinels race to return home, the city is attacked by old and new foes and the fight does not go well. Heroes fall, and the survivors are faced with threats unlike any they have faced before. The Post-Event World is entering a new period of conflict, and Astra and the Sentinels must answer to their motto, Nos Preaestolor; We Stand Ready.Fortunately, they don’t stand alone. less

It’s been an interesting year, and Astra and Joyeuse Guard are glad for the holidays. It’s time for snowball fights and Christmas lights, family and tradition. So when Astra is attacked by a villain she’s never seen before, and saved by Faith, her sister in another reality, she takes her home for Christmas... moreIt’s been an interesting year, and Astra and Joyeuse Guard are glad for the holidays. It’s time for snowball fights and Christmas lights, family and tradition. So when Astra is attacked by a villain she’s never seen before, and saved by Faith, her sister in another reality, she takes her home for Christmas. That alone would have made it the most amazing Corrigan Family Christmas ever—but when Christmas morning dawns and the world awakens to find that Santa Claus really, truly delivered on the wishes of millions of children around the world, Astra and Joyeuse Guard are called upon to find out what happened. Because they may just have to save Christmas. ----------------------------------------------------- Wearing the Cape: A Christmas Carol, takes place after Wearing the Cape Book 8. less

Repercussions ended with victory, at a cost. A Sentinel is dead, Megaton lies grievously injured, and Astra is no longer a member of the Sentinels, America’s premier cape-team. Beyond the personal consequences, both the US and Europe must recover from crippling attacks. Now Astra and her Joyeuse Guard must find their footing in the world after the Chicago and Brussels Attacks. Mal deals with an unexpected complication to his recovery. A journalist is invited to ride along with the new team... moreRepercussions ended with victory, at a cost. A Sentinel is dead, Megaton lies grievously injured, and Astra is no longer a member of the Sentinels, America’s premier cape-team. Beyond the personal consequences, both the US and Europe must recover from crippling attacks. Now Astra and her Joyeuse Guard must find their footing in the world after the Chicago and Brussels Attacks. Mal deals with an unexpected complication to his recovery. A journalist is invited to ride along with the new team. Ozma and the rest pursue their campaign to liberate Oz. Santa Claus comes to all the towns. Shell and Shelly engage in a little side-conspiracy to ensure a happier ending than history would allow. And Hope just wants to get married. Again. less