An Alter Wish

written by Shaun Garin

***

Ah! My Goddess is owned by Kosuke Fujishima

***

Rewrite, Omega Version

***

Chapter 2 : Adjustements

Parry, Parry, Thrust, Thrust, Ripose, Slash, Duck, Kick, Pain.

I hit the ground painfully once again. I guess after a few
millenia, fighting is a chore all over again. Not to mention that
they have a lot of practice since they were, well, alive, while
my soul just hung about. I stood up and decided, hey, lets try
that armor thing again.

�Armor Maximize!�

The codes worked again and my armor went up once again
when it left crawling from my left arm, all the way up and over
my head, forming a skintight yet insanely durable material. I 
guess that when He added the command codes to my powers, 
it would help until I regain my full powers. I got to admit that 
I like his choice of activation codes. For my armor, its �Armor 
Maximize,� my change to a godlike state from a normal person
(meaning, my wings retract and I loose five inches of hight) is 
�I Am Transformed.�

Ishtar is summoned by �Call,� and storing her away is �Away.�

Kind of simplistic, ain�t it?

Now, describing my armor is kind of complicated. For one, it�s
a dark silver grey color, futuristic in look, and hugs my torso and
legs like a second skin. My forearms are wrapped even more
with thick bands of some kind of metal that I haven�t figured
out yet, and is hard enough to parry a sword strike. Possibly
deflect attacks by bullets. Or worse.

My chest is reinforced with titanium bands that just HAPPEN
to be powerful enough to repel heavy spells, and I have a helmet
that seems like a second skin, making me look in all like the
ice guy in Killer Instinct. There are eyeholes that glow a golden
color and the suit is moulded to fit my head. My wings stick out 
of the back, and I spun Ishtar about my body, feeling long 
forgotten skills remerge. And it feels only two ounces light. The
whole freaking thing.

On my gauntlets, I have repulsor cannons that retract seamlessly
into the wrists and a small energy whip. Impressive as all hell and
good enough to scare criminals. I gotta try it out sometime.

Did I mention that all of it is actually nanotechnology? Sweet.
The whole kit and kaboodle is stored in a watch like device. Seems
like I was a technogod back then.

I spun Ishtar in my hands and pointed it at Tyr who braced himself.
�Lightning Blade!�

The end of the blade of Ishtar started to rotate insanely fast and
lightning started to crackle on the end. I rose it upwards and swung
it at Tyr. A curved blade lanced out, and Tyr caught it on his
sword. The energy crackled for a second before it winked out. Tyr
grinned and lunged, moving faster than I could notice.

Suddenly, a dull pain rocked my chest and I flew backwards, into
the walls. As pain rocked my world, I tried to utilize my wings and
pull upwards.

I felt the wall brush the hairs of my head as I pulled up at the last
second. I rose into the air once more and pointed Ishtar at Tyr.
(Got anything else besides that Lightning Blade?) I asked her.

[Well, here�s one. Point me at the ground and shout Earthquake
Crash.]

I pointed Ishtar at the ground and she started to glow once again.
�Earthquake CRASH!�

A thin beam of energy lanced out and pierced the ground. Tyr had
this astonished look on his face, two seconds before the ground
exploded under his feet.

Landing, Ishtar swept the dust from the place, revealing... HOLY
COW! He�s like Nappa! Vegita even! Not a freakin scratch. Tyr
looked a bit disgruntled before sheathing his huge sword. �That
damn weapon of yours is always giving you tips on magical
elemental attacks. This time, we start on the phsyical stuff.�

***

For most of the summer, I spent my days being run about the
heavens, and learning how to control most of my powers. At 
the end of the summer, I was a Class Three Limited. Not bad, 
conisdering the amount of practice I had recieved. When I
grumbled about it, Urd just put a comforting hand on my
shoulder, and said, �There�s a God that was run about the
heavens just like you. Don�t feel like you�re the only one who
went through the twenty-four hour training regiment.�

I just thought about it for a second before blinking and returning
to studies. Man those manuals on how to work on Yggdrasil
are freakin thick!

I found out the second day of work that my title was meaning
that I was a Protector of Life. And the addition of knowing the
background of people I come in physical contact with, my
official title meant that I was a primarily martial god, with some
special talents.

My title was Protector of Life and God of Fortune. This title,
I would come to regret later in life. Not that I don�t MIND the
friends I make, but it makes it hard to stay loyal to Urd, kno�
what I mean? I mean, with the amount of pretty women around
me, always falling for me.. (well, think about it. I changed to a
five foot nine man, with a leaness, slender muscleculture, unruly 
ebony hair and a power rivaling Goku on Super Sayijin Level
4, not to mention the impressive dark silver armor, faceless
helmet, shiny weapon, and six feathery wings on my back, I
think that both forms are rather impressive.)

I winced as the crack in my neck didn�t relieve the tention on
the spine, and I nearly bent over backwards before shrugging out
my shoulders.

Now, to my astonishement, the girls, especially Urd, decided to
alienate me for most of the first week, taking some time to
work on the adjustments my file needed. After all, twenty four
years as a mortal, and being out of power for nearly a millenia,
I guess that some adjustments ARE needed.

The first half of the week was checking the material that I 
needed to start teaching during the fall semester over at New
Parkview Academy. The other half, I took a crash course on
how to fix cars and make em run when you were done by
Keiichi and his sister, Megumi. Those two seems a bit
uncomfortable having a teacher around but I was just like
any other person. Oh well.

***

Keiichi sat there, on the otherside of the table, as I quickly
demolished the food set before me. Oops. Oh well, old habits
die hard. As I slowed, Keiichi asked, �So, you�ve been out
of... circulation for at least a millenium?�

�Seems like it.� I qwaffed my mug of iced tea and grimaced.
�Gross. I hate unsweetened varieties of iced tea. Tastes like
bad water.�

Keiichi shrugged before returning to his own can of some
sort of green tea that I personally found nausiating. I 
repressed a shudder before sipping gingerly at the tea. Needs
a LOT of sugar. �So, you�re going to be an engineer?�

�More like a race car driver,� Keiichi said.

The meal went with a cone of silence draped over our heads.

***

It was about early evening in mid-July when I actually found
out what Protector of Life actually meant. It was one of those
places in Nekomi. Run down, reconstruction everywhere,
and a small amount of homeless people everywhere. I swear
that I saw no less than seventeen prostitutes on the street
before coming across IT.

A young girl, about seventeen at the most, was being cornered
by several hostile looking thugs, armed to the teeth with items 
that ranged from blunt whacky pain thingies to sharp pointy
thingies, to weapons of severe pain. And I had to admit, the
girl was cute. Reddish brown hair with japanese features, huge
brown eyes and soft skin.

Now, this was a situation for the police. Or at the extreme
side, me.

Since I didn�t see anyone that was dressed in the Tokyo police
uniform, I ducked into the closest abandoned house and I
clenched my hands, summoning my powers. �I Am Transformed.�

I gained a few inches of height, and six white wings sprung from
my back. My body gained a huge amount of muscle as well,
making me look like a walking tank. Or at the least, Thor. I 
pressed my watch after the subtle transformation and activated 
the nanotechnology. �Armor, Maximize. Stealth mode.�

The nanobots crawled up my arm and soon, covered my body
with a dark silver-greyish armor. I winked out of sight for a
second, leaving golden eyes behind.

***

Amelia gasped as the man hit her across the face once again, and
started to wrench his pants loose. �Shut up and take it like a
woman, bitch!�

Suddenly, he was knocked to the side by an unseen force, and went
sprawling into the wall, and the garbage that was piled on its side.
The other men looked about wildly, before an amused chuckle
echoed from behind one of the men holding a large spiked baseball
bat.

The man spun about and screamed in horror, before he was struck
in the face, crumpling him to the floor. There, seemingly hovering
in the darkness of the shadowed alley were two glowing golden eyes.

�What the hell?! Fire, FIRE!� The leader pulled out his handgun
and started to fire. More rounds followed.

As the bullets fired, a shadowed form seemed to fade in, blocking
the projectiles with its wrists, the bullets seeming to bounce off...
no, become absorbed into the metal. As their clips ran out, the
dark angel that stood before them straightened and spoke in a
distorted voice that resonated menace. �Sonics on.�

Amelia ducked and clasped her hands to her ears as the earsplitting
sound curled her blood. The others ran away, before collapsing in
the street, unconcious.

The armored figure spoke again and the screaming sound halted.
As Amelia stood up, she looked him over, examining him. She,
unlike her sisters, had a photogenic memory, and hopefully, she
could find out who this guy was. Despite her youthful looks, she
was about twenty one, and one of the most respected people in
the Nekomi Daily Bugle newspaper, dispite she was still a college
student. He was about, six feet, golden eyes, dark silver armor, 
and six wings that sprouted from his back, from out of his armor, 
seemingly seamless. Impressive muscles as well. He looked at her 
and somehow, the silver metal from in front of his mouth moved 
away for a second, revealing lips and a strong chin. �Are you 
okay?� he asked. �I didn�t mean to scare you.�

Amelia studied his jawline. The voice was deep, bass actually.
A rumble that she would expect from someone his size. �Yeah,
thanks. Who are you?�

He suddenly grinned, an air of cockiness running over his aura.
�Ah ah, well, THAT is a secret,� he said, waging his finger from
side to side, just like that Xelloss charecter from Slayers NEXT.
�But for media purposes, call me... Angel.� With that, he took
to the sky, his powerful six wings flapping hard, as he dissapeared
in the horizion, leaving a powerful slipstream in his wake.

A small smile ran on her face as Amelia picked up her groceries.
She had a story to write.

***

For weeks, I read the paper, smiling at the reports of the
mysterious person called Angel. A type of indistructible 
superhero, he appeared when some sort of crime was occouring.
He was a huge man, with white wings, and could stop any weapon
with his hands, and as I read the paper, my grin widened.

Just then, Urd came into the room, and handed me a letter. �Here.
You got a request from Nekomi Tech for an English Teacher job.
Seems like father decided to send you here since you�re doing such
a good job as a Protector of Life.�

I smiled. �Excellent.�

***

September 01, 2005 AD

***

Amelia sat down in her english literature class, her textbook in
her hands. Opening her binder, she started to write a bit before
class started. Sitting in the front row of the medium sized room,
she looked up as the bell started to chime.

The room quickly filled up before the teacher came in the room,
carrying a briefcase. Amelia blushed a bit at the teacher, his
physique impressive but he was slender, about five foot five, had 
thick black hair, brown eyes and a heritage that was most
definately not Japanese, but still asian. He opened the briefcase
and took out a small dry erace pen and started to write. When
he was finished, he turned about and grinned. �Hello class. I�m
Professor Shaun Garin. I know that I�m listed as Derrin Garin
but Shaun was my old name. At this point in time, I would like
to say that I hate being formal, so call me Shaun. Or Derrin.
Whichever.�

A round of chuckling rose and he grinned even wider. And in
that grin, Amelia saw a flash of mild insanity that came from
the love of writing. �Now, I�m not like any other Professor.
First off, I grew up in the ninties so I use a lot of wierd
expressions. Secondly, this class will learn by writing their
own story, of a mininum of twelve chapters, including a
prologue and epilogue. I will grade you by the chapters written,
and the amount of work put into it. I will NOT accept any
chapters less than nine pages.�

A row of groaning rose from the back of the classroom. He
smirked and sat down in his chair with a flourish. �Now, lets
take attendance, just for the sake of my knowing who�s in
here, who you are, and the office when they come to nag me
about the attendance slips.�

***

The day was cool for September, and I was enjoying the cool
wind, eracing the heat from my suit clad body. As I stopped
on the road to check my watch, a sudden collison knocked
the wind out of me, sending me into the pavement.

The body that collided with me was female most definately,
and... hello, its Amelia Hayashima, the girl I saved a while 
ago. And she had to be a nosy reporter. For some reason, 
she appeared whenever I appeared about Tokyo transformed. 
Must be a reporter thing that includes costumed superheros
and female reporters. �Oh, hello. Sorry �bout this.�

Amelia gasped for a second, her hand on my chest. Why was
she blushing... oh. �I�m sorry teach,� she said, standing up,
extending a hand. I took it and stood up, brushing dust from
my dark green suit.

�No problem. Say, you any closer to finding out who�s that
Angel guy?�

She shook her head and I could tell through my contact with
her hand, her emotions were in flux from anger, to frustration,
and, wow, that�s some heavy lust there. �He never sticks
around to talk and I can�t trace his voice from anyone I know.
It�s like he has a totally different lifestyle when out of that
silver armor.�

�You�d like to get an interview with him?� I asked. Uh oh,
Superman situation.

Her huge brown eyes glistened with stardom. �It would mean
so much to me! I could become a world famous reporter like
Lois Lane! She and Superman are the hottest couple out
there, and I would LOVE to get some rep for the Tokyo
Daily Planet just like Miss Lane got for the Metropolis Branch!�

I chuckled. Why the hell not? �Maybe, if you wish for it to
come true, it just might.�

She laughed for a second. Just then, the bell rang and she gasped.
�I got class! See you Shaun!�

As she dashed off, I instantly knew that the girls would hate
me for this. Aw well, something close to the truth would be
best.

***

Amelia put her car phone down and sighed. Hikaru was being
stubborn. Just like his uncle, Perry, the owner of the Planet
in Metropolis. Suddenly, her car lurched and it started to rise
slowly. �Excuse me Miss, but I believe you should hold on.�

Amelia gripped her steering wheel as the car blazed off, the
white wings flapping underneath her car. She felt a rush of
exhileration. Her distant cousin Lois had the exact same
thing happen to her! Except now, that was ANGEL under
there instead of Superman.

***

When they landed, Amelia looked him over for a second. He
was larger in the sunlight, and the sunlight seemed to glint
off the armor. She looked him over for a second and said in
a jokingly voice, �you don�t suppose I can see the man under
the clothes?�

Angel seemed to chuckle inwardly before saying in that
distorted voice, �Armor, retract, leave helmet on.�

The armor melted away into a watch that he wore, leaving
his whole face covered from back to front, and the mouth
opened. He was dressed in some ornate clothing that seemed
out of place. But he was HUGE! One of his arms were as
big as her leg! �Wow, didn�t expect you to actually REMOVE
your armor.�

He smiled and nodded. �Well, think of me as Steel with
nanotechnology.�

�Nanotechnology?� She whiped out her notebook and started
to type. �Anything else?�

�Well, most of my powers are inherited, and have been
dormant for a long time.� Angel leaned on the railing of the
quiet road, his wings shining in the sunlight. �I�m, something
of a mutant. Born with powers that didn�t manifest itself
before the beginning of the summer.�

�Does that mean you�re NOT human?� she asked.

He looked at her and his face split into a silly grin. He burst
into laughter for a few minutes before calming. �No, I�m 
definately human. Powerful, but human. My abilities are
augmented by the suit.�

�Like what?�

He started to tick his fingers. �Lets see, strength, speed,
defence and special powers such as flight. My wings are still
getting stronger each day.�

�Are you from a planet such as Krypton?� If he was a
Superman from Krypton, then she could have some fun with
him by asking about his family.

�Naw, but I�m from someplace that remains unknown. I�m
just an ordanairy person.�

She chuckled. �An ordanairy person that can fly with six
wings?�

�Touche,� he quipped before stretching out, his bones cracking.
�Armor, Maximize.�

The armor slid back into place and he leapt into the air, his
wings beating powerfully. He turned about and blew her a kiss.
�Nekomi is only a couple of kicks away in the northern
direction. Take care miss...�

�Amelia Hayashima. For the Tokyo Daily Planet.�

He nodded and bowed classically in the swashbuckler style of
olde before flying off, his wings sending a powerful wake.

***

Urd slammed down the paper and glared at me. �You couldn�t
resist, COULD you?!� she demanded.

�What�re you complaining about?� I asked her, calmly sipping
the delicious tea blend that Bell had on hand. �At least to them, 
most of the mystery of who�s Angel. Besides, I didn�t tell 
Amelia anything about my Godhood.�

Right then and there, she could have sent a lightning bolt into
my face, but Belldandy interfeared. �Shaun,� she said, using
my preferred name. �you do realize that Superheros and
Reporters do not mix.�

�That�s right,� Skuld piped up from the other side of the table.
�Just look at that Kryptonian and that Lane reporter. They
both have problems of their own.�

�Tratior,� I grumbled while quaffing the last of my tea. �I�m
going to work. Class starts in half an hour.� I stole a glance at
the paper before leaving. The headline read, ANGEL : A MAN
OF DEPTH.

I grinned. My secret was safe. Everything changed when I
became Angel. There was no WAY that someone could find
out that I, the fun loving English Professor was a superhero
in silver metal.

***

Amelia stared hard at the voice recording she had running
through her recorder. The voice... she tried to place it but
the answer kept eluding her. A deep bass, but it carried an...
canadian infliction. Besides that, everything else was without
question. There were thousands of people in here that had
Canadian decent and hundreds of former Canadian residents.

She grumbled miserably before shutting off the recording.
Better get a good night�s sleep on it.

End Chapter 2