5th Column Comics: Heironymous in Indigo, Part 6 - Aster Kanoi

RANKED 3RD BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #130!

Heironymous and Leander parked on the third level of the five-story parking deck across from the club. Getting out of the rented Nissan Rogue, they walked over to the outside wall, and looked down at the street. There was a line of clubgoers dressed to party cued through a maze of stanchions in front of the door, and around the side of the building.

Lightly tinted glass revealed three floors of dancers, flashing lights, and you could just make out a glassed-in DJ booth that rode a converted elevator from floor-to-floor. There were another three floors above that which were still tinted glass, but all were shuttered; VIP rooms on the fourth floor, business offices on the fifth, and living quarters of the club's owner on the sixth. The rooftop was an open-air restaurant, and the smell of grilled steaks filled the air.

"How are we supposed to find a flower in all of that chaos?" asked Leander as he watched the silhouettes of dancers through the glass.

Watching the street, Heironymous chuckled. "Oh, you'll know her when you see her."

Leander's head snapped towards his father. "Her?"

Just then, the front door of the club busted open, and the line parted as best as it could as someone was thrown down the three steps to the sidewalk. It was a large, well-built man who got up angry, and started back towards the door. He got to the second step when there was a blue glow from just inside the door, and a bolt of lightning streaked out and sent the man flying into the stanchion lines.

Coming out to the top step, her right hand still arcing with electricity, the woman yelled to the twins at the door for the crowd's benefit, "Ricky! Ronnie! Send that drug pedaling jerk packing, and if he comes back, break something!" Her head was ringed by long, white petals, and her face seemed to be a bit wider than one would expect.

The two bouncers jerked the man to his feet, and escorted him roughly to the edge of the street over his vehement protests. Shoving him on his way, he cursed at the men, and stalked angrily towards the parking deck, yelling, "No one treats Ken Tucker this way! You fugs will all be sorry!"

The woman shot another bolt at the man's feet, and called across the street, "Keep moving, creep!" Electricity danced across the tips of her petals.

The crowd laughed.

Looking over the line, the woman yelled, "There's almost as many people out here as there are inside! I need you Carrol boys to change that! Get things moving!"

The crowd cheered, and the woman went back inside. As the doors closed behind her, the bouncers started waving people forward, checking names on a list, and sending them in.

Leander said, "That is some 'flower,' Heironymous."

Heironymous smiled- as much at Leander observing their protocol as at the observation. "Yes, isn't she?" he asked, arching an eyebrow towards his son. "Wait until you m--"

His words were cut off by the squealing of tires, and the loud revving of an accelerating engine.

"That's going to be trouble," said Heironymous. "I'll get the people back. You stop the car!"

With that, he vaulted the wall one-handed, dropped the three stories and landed in a semi-crouch turned into a side roll towards the line. Jumping to his feet quickly, he breathed a spout of flame over everyone's heads which got them moving quick. Then he shouted, "Clear the entrance! Move back!"

The tire squeals and engine acceleration got louder, and a pair of headlights bounced over the last speedbump before a Lincoln Continental busted through the parking deck's stop bar. The people closest to the entrance screamed, and as if in answer, Leander dropped feet first into the hood of the car, suddenly smashing it into the pavement. Tucker crashed through the windshield, and flew into the stanchions.

Having seen the spout of flame, the woman with the flower petals instead of hair came running back outside. "Move! Make way!" she screamed. When people didn't listen, she started using her power to tase people, the Carrol Brothers pushing them aside as they fell. Making their way to the driver, the bouncers checked him out, and nodded to the woman. She nodded back, and said, "Okay, start checking everyone else." Seeing club security streaming out of the doors, she shouted, "Call the cops, call this motherfugger an ambulance, and call a tow truck for that piece of crud car! Is anyone else here hurt?!"

When those still standing responded, she told her security team, "Check out everyone I tased, and make sure they're okay. If they're not on your list, send them home. Anyone wants to grouse, send them packing anyway, and let legal deal with any calls tomorrow. For those that are on the list, give them free drinks for the next two hours, and one pass each to the VIP rooms. If any of them want to grouse, send them home too. They were sent the terms and conditions when they got on the list- they should have read them."

"Yes, Miss Kanoi," said one of the men on the team, and then he started delegating tasks to the rest.

Looking around, Kanoi saw Leander stepping out of the crushed engine compartment of the Lincoln, and said, "Dang, handsome! You saved some lives here tonight! You want a job?"

"He's with me," came a voice from behind her.

Turning to see who it was, she beamed, the petals surrounding her head standing out straight in all directions. "Heironymous! You must have been the fire-breather! Good to see you, old man! Get over here!" she demanded, giving the agent a hug. Stepping back, holding him at arm's length, she looked again at Leander, and said, "And he's with you? Mm, pluck my petals. What's your name, handsome?"

Heironymous spoke up, "Aster Kanoi, this is Leander- special consultant to the Secret Service, helping me with a case. Leander, this is Aster Kanoi - head of security for High Steaks Indigo."

"Anything like the one in Macau?" Leander asked.

"Less gambling, but still world class steaks," Aster answered with a smile. Looking to Heironymous, she said, "But you're on a case. What brings you here?"

Pursing his lips for a moment, Heironymous nodded, and said, "Came to see you, actually. I need to find someone that might run in some of your circles."

Aster's head tilted slightly, and her petals leaned forward, hiding her face in a cone that only Heironymous and Leander could see into. "Who's that?" she asked.

"Shocking Pink Dragon."

Aster shook her head, her petals rustling back into place. "No can do. For that, you'd have to talk to Camille."

Heironymous sighed through his nose. "Is she in?"

"She's not going to want to see you. You know that."

"Can't be helped," Heironymous said patiently.

Aster's petals laid back against her head, almost like real hair. She looked at Heironymous like she was trying to guess his intent, but finally said, "H, she may not give you what you want."

Heironymous said nothing. He only gave a half-grimace that acknowledged what she said.

"Okay. Come on then." She led them past the reforming line of clubgoers being corralled by the security team, and told the Carrols, "They're with me."

Ricky and Ronnie held the doors open for them, and the three entered the building's foyer area- the next set of glass doors cutting the club's noise just enough to make it tolerable. The bass could still be felt pulsing through their bodies. Moving down the foyer to a private elevator, Aster swiped her security card, the elevator opened, and they stepped in. As the doors shut, the club noise muffled like someone across the room was listening to loud music on stereo headphones. The near-silence was a relief, but a stark contrast to the club.

"Miss Kanoi," said Leander, "if you don't mind me asking, your name... the Aster kanoi was only named in 2020. I take it you changed yours around that time?"

Aster's face broke into a wide smirk. "2021," she admitted. "You must be something of a botanist, Mister Leander."

The elevator chimed softly as they passed the second floor.

"Just Leander," he said, "and it's my sister really, although I admire her skill in keeping her greenhouse."

Heironymous raised an eyebrow.

Kanoi's surprise was evident. "She must keep up with the journals to know the Aster kanoi." She narrowed her eyes at Leander thoughtfully, adding, "I had a costume phase- went by Chane Lightning. When I ended that, I chose to have my name changed to avoid the press. That's hard with the flower-face going on, so I transplanted to Indigo just before the Great Impact."

Leander pursed his lips briefly, then said, "Chane Li-- as in Daisy Chane?"

The chime toned for the third floor.

"Leander, you're prying," said Heironymous.

"No, it's okay, H. Are costumes one of your sister's hobbies too?" she asked Leander.

He chuckled. "No, that's my interest. You were active for some time, but in Taiwan. Now I understand how you came across the new name."

"It reminds me of home which I miss, but it's easier here- most just assume I'm a Carrier. Anywhere else, people are always asking how I got my powers."

The fourth floor's chime sounded.

Leander's face changed to mild embarrassment, but his curiosity won out. "Since you brought it up?"

Kanoi chuckled. "A little too much DN8, I'm afraid. Did you know flowers have DNA? I didn't, so becoming the flower was a curiosity at first.

"The lightning was unexpected. Plants conduct a certain amount of electricity. When magnified in the human body, and combined with the human's natural bioelectric base, apparently, you get..." she held her thumb and forefinger apart, letting the electricity that jumped between them finish her sentence. Pinching the fingers together, the spark fizzled with the faintest wisp of smoke.

The chime sounded again.

Leander nodded with a smile, and said, "I see. That's truly fascinating."

"And somewhat annoying," she confessed, "but I got lucky, despite the petal-puss; stopped before I took root, and only have this hybrid form as a consequence. Well, that and my taste for sugar water. And thankfully, a useful trait that let me get into security for Camille."

Just then, the elevator chimed for the top floor.

"Ah, speaking of," she said, and stepped out of the car with the two of them in tow. Looking around the room, she called, "Camille?"

"In here, Aster," came the reply.

"Excuse me a moment," said Aster, leaving them standing in front of the elevator.

Heironymous cleared his throat a little, then said, "Your sister has a greenhouse?"

Leander raised an eyebrow toward him. "You should really visit more often, Heironymous."

Suddenly there was the sound of a glass smashing violently, and a shout of "What?!"

Heironymous winced.

Another minute passed, and Aster came back. "You're on your own from here, H. Camille will be with you shortly," she said, getting back on the elevator. "Good luck."

"Hm," was his only reply.

Putting her foot against the door to keep it from closing, she said, "And Leander?"

He stepped over, and put his hand against the elevator door as well. "Yes, Miss Kanoi?"

She handed him a card. "When your business is done, you should stop by." She paused with a fleeting smile, and finished, "To take in the flowers."

Leander smirked a trifle uncomfortably, but nodded his head. "I shall."

They both let the door go, but then Aster grabbed it again. "H."

Heironymous looked her way.

In a stage whisper, she said, "He doesn't have your looks, but you two are alike in so many ways it's funny." Then she let the door go again.

Both men looked shocked.

"Don't worry, old man. Your secret's safe with me," she said, winking and blowing him a kiss as the doors slid closed.

Leander and Heironymous exchanged looks, both as shocked by Aster's deduction as by their own surprise. "I'll be damned," Heironymous groused.

"I keep hoping," came a voice from across the room.

They both turned to see a lovely, stern-faced woman coming from a room towards the back.

Heironymous said nothing for a moment. Then simply greeted her, "Camille."

Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2023.

5th Column Comics: Heironymous in Indigo, Part 6 - Aster Kanoi

Thanks for stopping in! :^D

5th Column Comics: Heironymous in Indigo, Part 6 - Aster Kanoi

The Origins Behind the Origins (or how some of these characters got their names):

That's all for now! Thanks for reading. :^D

Added to the 5th Column Comics Library. :)