Gaia #1 Birth of a Hero
Written by Tom Jobe

In the ancient temple of Athena in Greece an archaeological team dig for remnants of the past, led by Lauren Cooper, a well known archaeologist from Kansas City. With straight long blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in traditional clothes for an archaeologist. She was deep in conversation with one of her co-workers when a man with short brown hair and green eyes came up to her with a look of urgency on his face.

“Miss Cooper, we found something remarkable!” the man said, earning the attention of Cooper. Lauren followed him to the shrine of the temple and there she saw what the man was talking about. There laid a brown shield believed to belong to the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. But that wasn’t the only remarkable thing about the discovery. On top of the shield was a head made of stone with snakes for hair. Her eyes were shut, but Lauren recognized the head from Greek Mythology. It was the head of an Athena’s priest who was cursed a lifetime ago, Medusa.

Lauren picked up the shield and looked the head over herself. “This can’t be real,” she said aloud. And nobody else knew what to say. They have all heard the story of Medusa, as well as many other Greek Myths, but never once did any of them think it to be based on fact. Until now.

“We’ll have to get it back to town and get it appraised, but if this checks out it could be the discovery of a lifetime!” said the man. “Real evidence of Ancient Greece.”

“In the meantime keep it on the D. L.,” said Lauren. “We don’t want this to get out of hand.”


In Kansas City, Kansas at the bottom of a hill lied an old red duplex atop a hill of its own. Inside the duplex was a girl of sixteen in her second year of high school. Dressed in Little Mermaid’s pajamas and sleeping soundlessly in her bed. On the right-hand side of the room was a desk and a dresser. On top of the desk was a black HP computer and keyboard. On the left-hand side was a TV with a DVD player and a Xbox One video game console underneath the TV. Her sleep would be disturbed by the door creaking open and a beast of a man enter with a much smaller woman, both in their forties, coming in with pancakes on a plate singing happy birthday to their daughter, Tori Jacobs.

Tori had long red hair and emerald green eyes, and stood at a full height of five feet, seven inches, only weighing one-hundred and thirty-six pounds. She sat up in a daze until the smell of pancakes flared her nostrils and the birthday song reached her tired eardrums as a smile graced her young features and Father laid the plate in her lap for her to eat.

“Happy Birthday, Tori,” said Father.

“Happy Birthday,” said Mother.

Both Father and Mother had red hair, Father’s being short with blue eyes while Mother looked like an older version of Tori. With long red hair and emerald green eyes that ran in her mom’s side of the family. Father was nearly seven foot tall and dressed like a biker with tattoo sleeves all over his arms, but he was a teddy bear at heart.

“You shouldn’t have,” said Tori happily as she dug into her pancakes.

“We got something for you,” said Mom nudging Dad.

Father took out a small box wrapped in green and red gift wrapping, Tori’s favorite colors, and gave it to Tori. Tori took the box and tore open the wrapping to reveal a small white box. Tori opened the white box to find the last thing she expected inside, a set of car keys. Tori practically jumped out of her bed with the car keys in hand.

“Are these for real?” she asked excitedly.

Father and Mother only laughed. “Yes,” they replied.

“Where is it? Where is it!?” Tori wailed.

“Don’t you want to get dress first?” asked Mom.

“Oh. Right. Go! Go! I need privacy.”

Father and Mother laughed again and left the room while Tori gulped down the remainder of her pancakes and got dressed in a short sleeved green shirts and red pants and shoes. She enjoyed mixing her two favorite colors together, earning the nickname of Christmas because of it. Tori came out of the room through the hallway that connected her room, the bathroom, and her parents’ bedroom together. She came through the living room pass the sofa and TV to the front door where Mom and Dad were waiting in front of a green 2002 Ford Mustang.

“Oh my God it is true!” yelled Tori.

“Settle down, you’ll wake the neighbors,” said Father.

Tori ran around the mustang and looked it over from top to bottom. It had black leather seats inside and four doors. It was beautiful. The most beautiful car she had ever laid eyes on, and it was all hers. All hers.

“This is for me?” Tori asked.

“Yes,” replied Mother.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Tori gave both her parents a big hug and then unlocked the driver’s seat on the car door and went inside. She placed her hands on the steering wheel and turned it left and right pretending to drive. That was until she remembered she could actually drive this car, and put the keys into the ignition to start her up and hear her purr. Father came to the driver’s door and bent over into the window.

“Don’t forget to be back for your party,” he told her.

Tori gave him a salute. “Will do!” and then backed out of the driveway of her home and headed up the hill to the main streets of Kansas City. She could barely believe that she had her own car now. Only passing her driver’s test to get her license a couple of weeks ago. This was the best birthday present someone could have given her, and nobody else was going to top it.

As she drove down the streets a sudden irritation reached her head. She thought it was nothing at first, but the irritation got worse and worse until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Tori drove up into the Wyandotte Plaza and stopped in the parking lot at the various shops that were connected across the plaza. By the time she got out of the car the headache was so bad she fell to her knees and let out a mighty roar of pain.

Suddenly the streets began to tremble, and shake. The buildings were rocking back and forth and cracks formed throughout the streets. Tori was in too much pain to really know what was going on around her, but it was something that never happened in Kansas. An earthquake. The buildings began to collapse on themselves and Tori could hear more screaming. This time not her own, but the screams of the men, women, and children all inside the shopping centers that were collapsing. As if that wasn’t bad enough plants began to sprout from her arms and grow like she was part plant. What on earth was happening to her?

Tori tried to pull them off, but more took their place. She managed to climb back up to her feet and reentered her mustang. She had to get away. She had to get far away. Tori started up the car and drove out of the plaza and headed back home. Her parents would know what to do. They always knew what to do. It was hard to focus with the plants growing out of her arms, but she forced herself to keep her eyes on the road and kept going until she went down the hill to the dead end and back home. Tori got out of the car and went through the front door of the old red duplex where Father was sitting down on the sofa watching TV.

“Tori, what the heck happened to you?” he asked.

“I-I don’t know. These things won’t stop coming out!”

Father called for Mother and Mother came in with a look of worry on her face. “Tori, why are plants coming out of your arms?”

“I don’t know! I got a headache on the road and the next thing I know there was an earthquake.”

“Yeah, we felt it, but earthquakes don’t happen in Kansas,” said Father.

“I’ll get the scissors. Have a seat,” said Mother.

Tori went over and sat down on the sofa trying to calm down. That earthquake, that couldn’t have been her doing could it? All those people who got caught up in those buildings. Trapped inside. Did she…? Did she kill them? Mother came back in with some scissors and started to cut off the vines growing out of her arms, but more continued to grow out of her palms and arms.

“What in the world is going on?” asked Tori.

“Tori, just try to calm down. If these things are coming out of you then only you can control it. Try to get it to cease,” said Mother.

Tori took a couple of deep breaths and then closed her eyes. She used all of her strength to focus on the plants growing out of her, and then it happened. The plants fell out of her arms onto the floor and they stopped growing, but she could still feel the power there dying to come out. It was a strange sensation, but it felt almost nice.

“You did it,” said Mother.

“But how?” asked Tori.

“That’s not normal,” said Father.

“You think?” replied Mother.

“What’s happening to me?” asked Tori.

“I don’t know, but we should keep this between us for now. Don’t tell anybody else,” said Mother.

“We still have a party to get through,” said Father.

“The party?” repeated Tori. “I can’t have a party like this. I’m a wreck.”

“Then we’ll cancel it and say you’re not feeling well, which is basically telling the truth. I’ll make the calls now,” said Mother.

“Thank you,” said Tori.

“You just try to relax for now, okay, hun?” said Mother.

“Yes, Mom.”

Mother sat up from the sofa and went into the kitchen where the landline was and started calling all her friends telling them the party was canceled. Tori felt somewhat guilty for canceling it as her birthday party was the best part of her birthday, but it couldn’t be help. Something strange was happening to her, something nobody could explain. And they needed to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile at the Kansas City museum Lauren returned with the discovery they found back in Greece. Something they kept under wraps until meeting with the professor back home to get it appraised. It didn’t take long for the expression on the elderly man face to turn and twist at seeing the impossible. The head of Medusa herself.

“What do you think, Professor?” asked Lauren.

“It’s real, Lauren. It’s actually real.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“I can’t believe it. I’ve heard the stories all my life, but I never thought any of them could actually be real.”

“All we know is that Medusa and Athena are real, but who knows what they really were. But people will begin to speculate, and this will be all over the news, with your name plastered all over it. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” answered Lauren.

“Then let’s make the call and see history write itself.”

A few days later Tori returned to Wyandotte High School and walked down the hallway with lockers to the left and right of the hallway. Opening up her lockers to put her books in when her best friend Lily Mayweather came up to her, dressed in a lime green turtleneck with black pants. She possessed long brown curly hair and chocolate brown eyes. By the time Tori closed her locker Lily was standing right next to her and made her jump.

“God, Lily, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” asked Tori.

“Sorry, I just wanted to see if you were feeling better,” replied Lily.

“I am. Thanks. Sorry I had to cancel my birthday party.”

“It’s okay. If you’re not feeling well then you’re not feeling well. Hey, I saw your ride. It’s nice.”

“Thanks. It was the happiest day of my life until I got sick.”

“I imagine so.”

The rest of her friends that went to the same school started to gather around the two. The first was Shinta Greenaway, a boy with shoulder-length raven black hair and brown eyes. Always dressed in black like an Emo or a Goth, but he was neither. The second was Nex Aaron. A kid who decided to shave his head bald and always wore purple dress shirts and black slacks like he was dressed to go to church. The last was Mary Thompson, a girl with long brown hair and brown eyes like the rest of them. Tori was the only one with green eyes in their group, and the only ginger. Everyone else was brunette or bald. Common.

“How are you feeling?” asked Shinta.

“I’m feeling all right, thanks for asking.”

“We were worried when your mom called, but it’s nice to see you’re back up and moving,” said Mary.

“I can’t believe it, the author is making a second Gaia story. Publish the first one before you start on another, you stupid author!” said Nex.

“Nice to see you, too, Nex,” said Tori.

“Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest,” replied Nex.

“I’m sure.”

Then it happened again. An irritation in the brain. The same red flags back on her birthday. Not again, she thought. She couldn’t make an earthquake happen here. Not here with all these people. With her friends. “I-I have to go. See you later!” Before any of them could answer Tori ran off, making it look like she was going to the bathroom, but instead she ran out of the school and off the school grounds. Getting as far away from the school as she possibly could. Holding onto her head and falling on her knees as the ground shook. Her hands touched the ground and then pushed through it. Making a tunnel appear beneath her as she went through the ground and under it with no idea where she was going. She dug and dug, until she came up on the countryside of Kansas City where nobody could find her. Where nobody could get hurt. There she let out a scream of pain and another massive earthquake hit the land. This time with nobody to claim, but her.

Plants exit her body again and she was in a panic. Too scared to calm down enough to make it stop. Just when she thought she was alone she heard someone climbing out of the hole behind her. Tori turned and in her horror saw Lily climbing out of the hole with a look of shock on her face. Lily saw it now. The plants growing out of her body. There was no way to hide it. No way to turn back time. Lily knew.

And soon she was afraid the whole world would know what a freak she was.

To Be Continued.

Gaia #2 Family and Friends
Written by Tom Jobe

Tori remained planted on the ground with vines growing out of her as Lily looked her over with concern on her face. Tori tried to cover her face and hide, but there was no hiding the truth from her best friend. Now she knew her deepest, darkest secret. That she was a freak of nature for unexplained reasons.

“Tori, what happened to you?” asked Lily.

“I-I don’t know. You weren’t meant to see this.”

Lily approached Tori, who fell down to a knee, and she helped her friend back up.

“Tori, I’m your friend. Whatever is happening to you I only want to help.”

It wouldn’t end with just Lily. Tori saw that behind her Nex, Shinta, and Mary all came climbing out of the tunnel she had created to see the state she was in. Now all of her friends except for June would know the truth. In a way it was liberating not to have this secret from them anymore.

“Holy cow, Tori’s turning into a plant monster!” declared Nex.

“Nex, you’re not helping,” replied Lily.

“Sorry.”

“What’s going on?” asked Shinta.

So Tori told them. Everything. About driving to the Wyandotte Plaza and getting a headache that led to a massive earthquake. To the plants coming out of her body and the talk she had with her parents. Lily’s eyes seemed to have grew giant as the realization of what caused the earthquake reached her mind.

“That earthquake from before,” Lily began, “that was you?”

Tori began to weep. “I’m so ashamed!”

Lily wrapped her arms around Tori and hugged her tightly. “It’s okay, Tori. Everything is going to be okay. We’ll help you through this.”

“We should take her to June, she may know what to do,” said Shinta.

Lily agreed, and helped Tori back through the tunnel.


June was two years younger than the rest of the group, only fourteen while the rest of them were sixteen. She had long brown hair and brown eyes and dressed in a pink shirt with blue jeans. One look at her and you could see that she was Shinta’s baby sister. She brought a magnifying glass to the vines growing out of Tori as Tori sat on the bed. The group having to sneak in through the back to make sure that Shinta and June’s parents didn’t see Tori in her current state. The whole neighborhood didn’t need to know her business.

“This is incredible, you have actual plant vines growing out of you,” said June.

“I’m glad somebody thinks so,” replied Tori.

“Not that kind of incredible. Can you control them?”

“Only when I focus.”

“Try now.”

Tori closed her eyes, and after a moment she managed to stretch the vine out further across the room, and then pulled it back all the way inside of her hand along with the rest of the vines coming out of her.

“Fascinating,” said June.

“June thinks she’s Spock now,” joked Nex.

“How did this happen?” asked Lily.

“I don’t know. You said you just experienced a headache and then an earthquake happened?” said June.

“Yeah,” replied Tori. “It just came out of nowhere.”

“I think you might have power over the earth, and as evident by the vines growing out of you, plants.”

“So she’s what, a mutant?” asked Nex. “Or is the correct term meta-human?”

“I guess you can compare her to those if you want,” replied June somewhat irritably. “Until we know how she got these powers anyway.”

“They could be a gift,” suggested Mary. “A gift from above.”

“More like a curse,” replied Tori.

“How does she go about controlling them?” questioned Shinta.

“With the amount of focus she just gave to put those vines away,” answered June. “But we need to get her somewhere open so she can explore her earth based powers a bit more freely.”

“How about the fields we found her in?” asked Lily. “It seemed to be free of people.”

“Do you even know how to get back there?” asked June.

“I know the place,” said Lily. “I’ll just point Tori in the way to drive.”

Tori sat up from the bed and stood to her feet. “I need to head home first. If I’m going to be testing these powers out I don’t want anybody to know it’s me.”

“In other words you’re getting a costume,” concluded Nex. “I advice against capes and spandex.”

“Should we wear disguises then?” asked Mary.

“Do what you want. I’ll meet you outside my place.”

Tori left the house and went across the street pass the circular road at the center of the neighborhood and back to that familiar old red duplex she called home. Tori went inside her room and opened up her closet. She didn’t have a lot of ideas for a ‘costume’ so she just went with what she had. Grabbing a short sleeved green shirt and some blue jeans. A red backpack, gloves, and running shoes, and then went downstairs to the basement to find her red bicycle helmet and pair of black goggles that her dad used. She looked at herself in the mirror found in the basement and saw that she almost looked like a superhero, but she needed one a few finer touches. Tori grabbed her black elbow pads and put them on her elbows. That would do for now.

“I guess I need a name. How about Earth Girl? No. That doesn’t sound right. Dirt Woman? No, nobody would take me seriously. Wait a minute, who was that figure in Greek Mythology? The one who got together with Uranus? Oh! I know! Gaia!”

Yeah, that sounded like a cool superhero name. Gaia. She didn’t know it yet, but she had gotten one step closer to realizing her destiny. Gaia left through the walk-in basement door and climbed up the hill from the small backyard to the front lawn where Lily and the others were waiting around the mustang.

“Really?” Lily asked. “That’s your costume?”

“You try fighting crime on an allowance,” replied Gaia.

Lily laughed. “Who said anything about fighting crime?”

Gaia opened up the mustang and got behind the driver’s seat while Lily and June got in the front with Shinta, Mary, and June in the back. Gaia started up the engine and drove out of the driveway while Lily gave her the directions she needed to find the fields so she could train. She needed to get these powers under control, and then…

She needed to do something that would make up for the lives she took.

Gaia #3 Breaking Out
Written by Tom Jobe

They all gathered at the open fields where they found Tori just a few hours ago. All wearing disguises along with her. Most of them wearing eye masks with the exception of Nex who had on a black gas mask. Strange, but Nex was never known for being ordinary. They all stood at the center of the fields and she felt at ease being with her friends. She didn’t know what her family would think if she told them about her thoughts of becoming a crime fighter. Or what her friends would say, but her mind was made up. She was going to help the people of Kansas City. She had to.

“All right, looks like we’re all here,” said Lily. “Let’s begin.”

“Okay, but can you guys lose the disguises?” replied Gaia.

“Why? If people recognize us they could put two and two together. We’re doing this for you,” said Lily.

“But what about him?” asked Gaia nodding to Nex.

Lily looked over to Nex. “Why are you wearing a gas mask?”

“I’m Hunk from Resident Evil,” answered Nex.

“Un huh,” replied Lily uninterested.

“For a second I thought you were going to ask me if I were your mommy,” joked Gaia.

“Doctor Who hasn’t been good since the eighties,” replied Nex.

Gaia was just going to let that one go.

“Okay, try reaching out to the earth and see what you can do,” said Lily.

Gaia nodded and knelt down to the ground with her gloved hand now against the earth. In a few moments she could feel all the earthen materials in the ground, and even the metal in the earth. She felt like she could bend it to her will, that her only limit was her imagination, but when that was your only limit it could be hard to decide what to do next. So she decided to keep it simple. She pulled a blockade of earth out of the ground and lifted it up in the air with her earth manipulation. Gaia moved her hands over the material and shaped it to her will, making a flight of stairs out of the block she pulled out of the ground and setting it by where she and her friends were standing.

And this was only the beginning.


“All right, Tori, now you have to deal with me!” declared Nex as he took out a water pistol.

“Is that supposed to scare me?” Gaia asked.

“It would if you were allergic to water,” replied Nex.

“Who’s allergic to water? Your body is mostly made up of water!”

“It can happen! Now prepare yourself!”

Nex was about to squeeze the trigger when Gaia shot out a single plant vine and snatched the gun out of his hand. Now dangling it in front of him with a smirk as the others watching started to snicker.

“You think you’re so clever because you’re the main character, don’t you?” questioned Nex. “But I’m just getting warmed up. Have at you, Tori!”

Nex charged at Gaia, and Gaia answered back by pulling the ground out from underneath Nex’s feet just enough to trip him and watch him fall on his butt. The others began to laugh again as Gaia did her best not to laugh at her friend.

“That was perfect,” said Mary.

“Well done,” said June.

“Thank you,” replied Gaia.

Nex got back up to his feet and wiped the grass from his pants. “You guys can have the next one. I’m done for now.”

“Okay, I have an idea,” said Shinta. “Have you ever heard of geokinetic flight?”

“A little bit,” answered Gaia. “Why?”

“Try removing a piece of the ground as a platform and float on it,” suggested Shinta.

“What good is an earth bender in the air?” questioned Nex.

“Nex, shush,” said Lily.

Gaia shrugged her shoulders and did her best to remove a piece of the ground from the earth and turned it into a platform beneath her feet. The platform began to float under her power and she used her left hand to steer it. Actually flying through the air on the platform. This sure beat walking or using the mustang. Now she could move through the air like Supergirl or Superman. Just with help. Her friends cheered her on as she flew through the air and then landed back down on the ground and stepped off the platform.

“That will be useful,” said Gaia.

“What else should we try?” asked Lily.

The group thought for a moment before June came up to the front. “If you’re going to fight you’ll want to block things. Try making a wall.”

Gaia saluted June and then raised her hands up in the air causing a part of the ground to shoot up and form a wall in-between herself and her friends. She could hear her friends applauding her work as she launched the wall pass them and then broke it apart into shards and sent it zipping through the air before returning to the ground from which it came.

“Nice,” said Lily.

“There’s so much you can do with these powers it’s hard to think of different things to narrow it down to,” said June.

“Tell me about it,” replied Gaia.

Gaia didn’t notice how late it was getting until she saw the sun was starting to set.

“I think it’s time to wrap this up,” said Shinta.

“You guys take my car back to my place. I’m going to fly.”

Gaia lifted up another platform from the ground and flew through the air in the direction of home. Seeing her friends retreat into the mustang she left by the fields. Feeling the wind in her face was amazing and she couldn’t believe she was actually flying. Even if it was just on a platform, it felt incredible.

Gaia continued to fly until she saw the familiar old red duplex on the ground and landed in the backyard before opening up the basement door and entering the basement. She removed the helmet and goggles from her head and returned them to their places as she heard somebody coming down the stairs.

“Tori, is that you?” asked Mom.

“Yeah,” answered Tori.

“Where have you been?”

“Oh, you know, just hanging out with my friends.”

“At a costume party?”

Tori chuckled. “I was learning how to use my powers.”

Mother was quiet for a moment. “Oh. Have you decided what you’re going to do with them?”

Tori was hesitant to say anything, but knew this was something she’d have to get through eventually, so there was no point in delaying it.

“I want to help people.”

“Help people how?”

“Fighting crime. Bad guys. Saving people.”

“Tori, that’s dangerous.”

“I know it’s dangerous, but you should have seen me out there today. The things I can do. I think I can really help the people in this city with my powers.”

“Tori, have you given this enough thought?”

“Yes, I have. And I was hoping you and Dad would support me.”

“Honey, we do support you, but we’d both want you to fully understand the consequences in what you’re suggesting.”

“I can take care of myself. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

Tori began to walk away for the staircase up to the garage.

“Tori. Tori, don’t you walk away from me!”

But she did. Tori was angry, and by the sound of it so was Mother. Tough. Tori’s mind was made up. Whether or not her parents supported her decision, it was her decision. What did they expect her to do with these gifts? Nothing? Tori had hurt people in that earthquake at the plaza, and this was her one chance to do something right.

Her one chance to make a difference. And she was going to do it even if she had to do it alone.