Feeling Drained, chapter one

Angel Falls, USA
Present Day

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Olga didn't have any idea who the strange woman was, but she knew she was going to be trouble from the get go. The woman standing on the other side of the street from her was large and bulky, wearing some kind of thick-plated body armor that was comprised of a shiny, metal that glinted purple in the sun. The woman's head was under some kind of protective clear dome, much like the kind of plastisteel the Iron Chancellor utilized to house his brain and nervous system. A neon green nuclear symbol was emblazoned in the center of her chest which almost perfectly matched the color of her hair, long and parted in the middle. Her nose had a single stud in the left side and she wore black lipstick on her leering smile. She clapped her hands together as the Soviet Superwoman touched ground a few yards away, sizing her up and down approvingly with her emerald eyes.

"Alright sister, I guess you'll have to do. Honestly I was hoping for someone a little less butch ya know?" the woman remarked in what sounded like a New York accent. "Maybe Cedric Grey or Raging Bull?"

"Who are you and what do you want?" Olga asked, keeping her eyes on the mysterious woman but also watching to make sure the civilians were more or less leaving the area or heading to a safe distance. The area of the city they were in was largely under construction and therefore devoid of onlookers and people who could be put in harm's way, but a few stragglers, mostly construction workers, could see this was not good and were making a speedy exit.


"You're that Soviet Superbroad, right?" the woman asked in her nasal tone, arching an eyebrow.


"Da, and who are you?"


The woman spread her arms wide and straightened up. "Me? You can call me Atomica and I'm here to have a little fun!"


The nuclear symbol on her chest suddenly split open to reveal an ample amount of cleavage from which a blast of green, glowing energy erupted forth in a straight line towards her. The Soviet Superwoman rushed to the side, cutting through the air out of the path of the beam. It struck the ground almost as a liquid would, churning and splashing in all directions. Olga ripped up a steel girder from the construction site as she flew past it, swinging it in an arc as she closed the distance with her new foe. The girder hit the woman full on the side, staggering her backwards with a grunt. Whoever she was she could take a punch, so the Russian super-soldier swung the steel bar back in the opposite direction. It connected with her on the left side making a sound like hitting a baseball with an aluminum bat and achieving about the same results. Atomica flew backwards and smashed down in a parked series of cars, their windows exploding outwards and covering her in glass.


Atomica groaned and rolled over onto her side before quickly getting back to her feet. Her face was no longer an expression of bemusement but irritation and then panic. The Soviet Superwoman was no longer in front of her. Quickly she looked in all directions, her green hair flipping around the back of her dome as she turned. The steel beam crashed down on her from above like a javelin, knocking her off balance again and sending her sprawling back to the pavement and the battered cars. That time the girder had dented the armor around her left shoulder inwards, making it difficult for her to raise her arm all the way. The green-haired woman snarled and grabbed the nearest car from the underside, throwing it upwards at Olga like it was a Matchbox. Taken slightly off-guard at the display of super-strength, the vehicle smashed into Olga, hitting her like a wrecking ball and knocking her backwards into the side of a brick building. What was left of the Pontiac tumbled down into the construction yard with a pile of broken brickwork to lay in a crumpled heap.


The Soviet Superwoman rubbed her head, shaking off the masonry dust and pulled herself out of the hole. A beam of bright green matter slammed into her, exploding on impact as that strange, almost-liquid energy. Whatever it was it burned her skin terribly, like nothing she had ever experienced and she almost cried out from the pain. Her lungs and eyes felt like they were on fire and every breath was an agony. Her vision watered up and she fell out of the building to land on top of the car. Atromica was walking towards her slowly, rubbing her injured shoulder and testing out the flexibility and range of motion she still had in that arm given the dent.


"I see my radiation disagrees with you too huh?" Atomica quipped as she walked forward, "You should have seen what it did to my boyfriend. Extra tasty crispy. That'll teach him to leave the seat up, huh?"


Olga tried her best to shake off the pain, gritting her teeth so bad she thought they might shatter from the pressure. She flew upwards, attempting to put some distance between herself and Atomica when the second blast collided with her, throwing her back further into the construction yard. This time Olga did scream as the green radioactive energy washed over her a second time. The pain was almost unbearable, like being dipped into molten steel or touching the surface of the sun. The amazonian woman caught herself on a steel beam several stories up and clung to it with all her strength. She could feel herself getting weaker by the moment, dizzy...she felt sick to her stomach, so much so that she might vomit right there. With a trembling hand she reached up for her sub-dermal communicator and tapped it. She needed to get help...the Guardians would have to make this woman their priority since she didn't know if she was capable of withstanding another blast.


"Help...I need help..." she gasped out, hoping someone was listening in.


"I don't fly sweetie, you're gonna have to come back down." Atomica yelled up from bellow, before kicking the steel structure with all her strength.


The concrete, re-bar and steel framework collapsed from the devastating blow, tumbling and crashing to the earth and sending Olga cascading down along with it. she landed heavily on her back and knew instantly that several of her ribs shattered from the impact. The raven-haired heroine writhed on the ground, covered in dust and blood as Atomica watched, the amused expression returning to her face.


"I gotta say, I've never seen this kind of reaction before. Most times it just fries people, vaporizes them down into a glowing skeleton or pile of goo...other super-meta types treat it just like a bolt of concentrated energy or plasma, but you...you really seem to be in pain don't you?"


"W....why?" Olga managed to gasp out through cracked lips.


"Why?" Atomica genuinely seemed shocked by the question and placed her hands on her hips, leaning downwards towards her foe.


"You got super-powers right honey? You got flight, super-strength, invulnerability...well against most things, but overall you got it all! Sure you look like you have more testosterone than most women but you still got grade A powers. You, like most of the pretty-little heroes here in Angel Falls got great powers and almost no side effects! What did I get? I got glowing, radioactive flesh that means I can never touch another human being again! I get to wear this containment suit so I don't melt through the earth and can ate a sandwich without boiling it in my hand! I got the shit end of the stick! YOU GOT EVERYTHING!"


Atomica opened up her suit again, powering up for what was in all likelihood going to be a third and fatal blast.


"Sorry honey, but the world owes me and I intent to collect." At that Atomica cracked herself up and shook her head, face-palming her clear plastisteel dome. "Cliche, I know - I know, but every time I kill one of you, I feel a little better about me. No hard feelings."


"None whatsoever." A voice from behind her growled angrily. Atomica's eyes went wide and she turned just in time to be smashed in the face with a gloved fist. The force of the blow cracked the plastisteel in spider-webs and caused the woman to have whiplash inside the dome, her head striking the back with tremendous force. Atomica sailed backwards like a hockey puck, crashing through what remained of the building framework, continuing on across the street before slamming into the side of a tractor trailer. Lady Quantum was standing there, her normally beautiful face sneering at the woman she had just punched several dozen yards away. She unclenched her fist and reached down for Olga, her expression softening. The Russian who normally looked so strong and confident was laying on her back, rigid and motionless save her labored breathing, wheezing and coughing up blood.


"I'm getting you out of here Olga, just hang on..." the blonde Guardian said to her right before consciousness left the Russian heroine and she blacked out.


To be continued...

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You voted for it so here it is: Soviet Superwoman depowered! Hopefully you enjoy the story my friends.

A massive thanks to for helping out with the artwork for this chapter.

Soviet Superwoman & Atomica are my creations and properties.

This story takes place in