Shara removed her fashionable glasses then sighed languidly. The time had come. Her delicate and clever fingers quickly undid the buttons of her modest plain white shirt. Soon, her simple skirt fell to the floor with little concern for the discarded bit of fabric. Slightly greater care was taken when she chose to remove her shoes in a neat and precise manner.

Most of her old costume cast aside, she made her way to her bathroom then looked into her bathroom mirror. Shara tilted her head to the left and then back to the right. She leaned back, raised her arms on both sides of her chest and bounced up and down once. She tapped her lower lip with her index finger then made a curiously thoughtful noise. “No, not this one...”

Her bra and panties were as simple as the rest of her previous garments, the perfect outfit for a mild mannered shop keeper. However, that was only to aid in the protection of her true super-secret identity. Shara made a gesture and a light blue window of light appeared before her. She looked through her inventory list briefly then smiled.

Light shimmered across her body. Her no-nonsense bra and panties were replaced by a set of bright red lacy undergarments that perfectly accentuated her visual psychological tactics. Task complete, she dismissed her inventory screen. Curious, she turned one way and then the other. Finally, in a tone of voice that sounded suspiciously like a female version of a children’s super hero television show narrator she said, “As the newborn dragon worked tirelessly to control his fate, little did he know that his true destiny was yet to be revealed...”

Shara leaned back and bounced once more. Pleased by what she saw, she grinned. “Oh yes. I think so.”

A beautiful laugh pealed through the room as she wiggled in place a little for emphasis then offered a saucy wink to the mirror. "This is quite the revealing destiny, indeed."

She sauntered over to the shower and turned it on. She bid her clothes depart then slipped under the hot and delightful manmade waterfall. While the water cascaded off her beautiful form she thought of what was yet to come. She wanted to do right by the people of this world. They had gotten a raw deal and they deserved better.

Shara could not do it alone, however. No, who was she? Shara Ardente was but a simple mild-mannered shopkeeper. What the world needed was someone more, someone to rally behind. The ones who had paved the road to destruction for this pristine wilderness of humanity in its natural state had been chastised, but the damage was done. Even now the poorly coded systems were starting to unravel. Time grew shorter by the day.

What could be done, however? She thought of the many ways that she could help even while hampered by the rules of her position. She had already done what she could do to help a certain someone, but what could she do to help the world at large?

The more she thought of it, the more outlandish her thoughts became. “The world needs heroes; there will be far too many villains...”

It was a thought which surfaced many times before. However, now that her certain someone had begun his own path it was time to focus on hers. Fully prepared, it was time to begin her night job. At first the mild-mannered shopkeeper costume was merely part of an effort to maintain her mortal identity, but the dichotomy between her two mortal identities held a certain appeal in its own right.

Shara turned off the water then reached for a towel. She toweled herself off then wrapped the towel around her waist to protect her feminine modesty. She was an innocent and mild-mannered lady after all.

Silently, she walked into her bed chambers then moved to the corner of the room and pressed several spots on the wall in rapid succession. The wall split open and slid to the side to reveal a staircase. Shara walked down the stairs and the wall closed behind her.

Down the stairs was her secret lair replete with all of the items she had custom made after her lifetime on Earth. She worked hard and did many things in order to save up the money. In the end, those efforts had paid off.

Shara walked past a turntable that held a bright red motorcycle, a slightly larger than normal custom fit Kawasaki Ninja with stylized designs that befit its purpose. The custom fittings included some elements that were impossible on Earth at the moment, but would be possible in the near future. The speedy vehicle had a windshield designed in such a way that it lightly flared out on the sides in order to provide both extra protection and heightened aesthetic appeal.

She walked to her main computer bank, the heart of her operation. It was there that she could properly monitor the criminal element of the world and do her super-secret detective stuff, as clearly that was the most sensible manner in which someone like her might help the world. She turned her head then smiled at a brightly lit display case. “It’s time.”

***

“Bitch, I said, give me my money!” snapped a shady looking character adorned primarily in jeans and a backwards hat.

“Look Theo I don’t have-” the aging woman started to tell the man.

He casually slapped her across the face with the back of his hand. “The next words out of your mouth better be here’s your money, or shit's gonna get real for you tonight Wanda.”

“How much does she owe?” asked a voice from nearby.

Theo snorted then turned toward the sound of the voice. He did not see anyone. He looked around quickly, but no one was there. He had definitely heard a woman call out to him, however. “Look, here. I don’t know where you went bitch, but this doesn’t concern you.”

“My. My. Such language,” said the voice once more. This time it sounded like it came from his right.

He turned to the right then growled. “Take your ass out of here before you get hurt!”

The next thing Theo heard was the sound of his own screams as a sharp object impacted his left shoulder. The small thin knife easily penetrated his thick leather jacket and made it impossible to move his arm.

“The fuck! You assholes get out here, dammit.” shrieked Theo. Three big guys came running from around the corner and quickly reached their boss.

“Oh goodness, four big strong men have come calling on little ole’ me?” asked the omnipresent voice.

“Where you at, you invisible bitch!” snapped Thug A.

A loud noise caught their attention and their turned toward it. “Think that’s her?” asked Thug B.

While the thugs and their boss looked toward the source of the noise for a brief moment, Wanda’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. Thug C, the one farthest away, started to flail his arms and went flying into the air in a straight line. His eyes were wide and terrified. A powerful invisible presence had claimed him.

“The fuck, man! Where’d Ed go?” asked Thug B.

“Shit’s getting weird man...” said Thug A.

Theo shouted, “Fuck it! Let’s go.”

“A two-bit thug with a brain? How revolutionary,” said the voice in a sarcastic and amused tone.

“Who you calling two-bit? Get your ass out here and stop hiding you damned slut,” snapped Theo.

“Language mister,” replied the voice. Her reprimand was emphasized by the sudden re-emergence of Thug C. The fat gang member fell out of the sky and landed heavily atop Thug A. Taken out of the fight, both of them were sprawled on the ground with Thug C atop Thug A in a vaguely obscene pose.

What ensued afterward could only be seen as a whirlwind of bones breaking amidst the screams of terrified men. Thug B, also known as Tony, was left in a battered and unconscious heap, while Theo trembled violently and leaned heavily against a brick wall.

“Who are you? What the fuck are you?” he called out in terror. He had never seen her coming. The moment she had punched Tony she faded into sight, but what a sight!

The invisible bitch, as Theo thought of her, wore bright red high-heeled boots yet moved with incredible grace and skill. She had on a one piece swimsuit looking thing that looked like a bodysuit but her legs, arms, and shoulders were bare. In his eyes it made her look like something out of a damned comic book with that domino mask of hers that only covered her eyes.

Before Theo could even try to fight back, the red-clad woman became a blur of motion. She slammed into him with a powerful punch to the gut then followed it up with a brutal knee strike to his chin that sent him flying back to land flat on his ass.

Theo somehow managed to crawl away and pressed his body against a brick wall. That was where he would remain until the police arrived. Sirens blared in the distance, while he watched the crimson clad woman take Wanda into her arms then jump six stories straight up into the air like it was nothing.

On the rooftop Wanda asked her savior, “Who are you...?”

The red-clad woman smiled gently then placed a hand atop Wanda’s shoulder. “I am a friend of justice.”

“Friend of justice?” The aging hooker had never heard such a bizarre thing said in such a sincere tone.

The red woman stood up. “Call me,” She lowered her voice one octave then struck a powerful heroic pose, “Crimson Sharde.”

Wanda was glad to be helped, but at that moment she was more inclined to call the odd woman a therapist. She obviously needed a little professional help. Still, she would not say that out loud. The crazy woman had knives, after all.

When the authorities asked her about the woman in red she told them, “I guess she helped me... least 'til Theo gets outta jail..."

"Did she mention anything? Like where she might be going, or who she is?" asked the questioning officer.

"Crazy bitch said she’s a friend of justice. Called herself Crimson Sharde,” admitted Wanda.

“Right... a friend of justice,” said the officer in a low, even, voice. The night shift had just started, but the crazies were already out in full force.

The long night of patrolling the small city eventually came to an end and the Crimson Sharde returned to her civilian identity as Shara Ardente. During her patrol she stopped two muggings and prevented an armed robbery at the local Stop ‘N Snack. There had been no sign of people with super human powers, but she knew that there were others in the area and that more were soon to come.

The native population would take a while to get to that point normally, but things were advancing faster than they should. Worse, when her people finally came to play in this world things would become quite hellish for the various peoples and life forms on Earth.

Shara walked up the stairs from her secret lair then considered a few things. Her uniform had been functional but had not struck fear into the hearts of the criminal element. Had the design been too simple? Did it matter at the moment? She was uncertain.

An avid cosplayer, she was practically born for this lifestyle. However, she knew that she had to be careful. Unlike the locals, from the moment the first dream occurred her ability to train in the real world worked properly. As an alpha-tester in the community project that was changing this world, among other duties, she had to test key systems. Such responsibilities inevitably led to mechanical concerns. If she revealed her abilities while among the normal populace it would cause a scene, and perhaps lead to panic.

In truth, that restriction was one of the many reasons she dawned the domino mask and high-heels of the Crimson Sharde. As a masked vigilante, people would assume that any wild rumors spoken of by captured criminals would be exaggerations stated after the fact.

She called up her status screen and eyed her information carefully.

STATUS [Pristine]

Professional Title: Cosplay Ninja

Name: Shara Ardente

Dream Form: Crimson Sharde

Level: 8

Ability Points: 0

Talent Points: 0

Skill Points: 0

Life Force: 79/79

Armor Class: 10

Strength: 12

[+2]

Agility: 16

[+7]

Vigor: 15

[+4]

Intellect: 15

[+4]

Charisma: 14

[+3]

Luck: 14

[+4]

“Hmm. I should work on my vigor a bit more,” she said lightly. She checked her skills to see if anything had increased when she was not looking, then looked over her talents.

PRIMARY SKILLS

Superior Athleticism

Rank: 43

- Sub-Skill: Superior Climbing

Rank: 14

- Sub-Skill: Superior Running

Rank: 19

- Sub-Skill: Superior Jumping

Rank: 27

- Technique: Reduce Fall Damage 10% [LVL 2]

***

Stealth

Rank: 15

- Sub-Skill: Hide

Rank: 12

- Technique: Erase Presence [LVL 1]

***

Blade Mastery

Rank: 24

- Sub-Skill: Katana Mastery

Rank: 14

- Technique: Severing Slash [LVL1]

***

- Sub-Skill: Dual Blade Mastery

Rank: 11

- Technique: Crimson Dance [LVL1]

***

Ninpo

Rank: 23

- Sub-Skill: Flame Burst

Rank: 8

SECONDARY SKILLS

Clothing Design

Rank: 10

- Sub-Skill: Eye for Detail

Rank: 4

Mana Sense

Rank: 12

- Sub-Skill: Life Sense

Rank: 8

Repair

Rank: 4

Driving

Rank: 12

- Sub-Skill: Advanced Motorcycle Riding

Rank: 6

Computer Programming

Rank: 4

Throwing

Rank: 11

[Alchemy]

Rank: 9

TERTIARY SKILLS

Negotiation

Rank: 4

Bartering

Rank: 2

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot]

TALENTS

Ninjitsu

Superior Cosplay

"Not bad, but it's still too slow. I spend too much time stalking my cute little Scott..." Shara nodded decisively to herself. "I need to train more."

It would be a few months before the native population of the world would be able to choose skills related to modern life. Alpha-Testers like her had to check out at least two of them to see if they were viable. Her choices of driving and computer programming fit well within her plans.

“So much to do and no time to do it.” Shara shook her head. The idiots who had purchased this world from its former owner had wrecked it as far as she was concerned. Why did they stupidly make such a basic error and update the world-setting directly? The people of this world did not deserve the horrors that would be visited upon them.

She thought of her primary self-appointed goal here. She checked the advent schedule to see what was coming next then cringed. “Two months till Status One.... Dammit, not enough time.”

Shara took a quick shower, ate a sensible meal, and then slipped into her bed. She could and would train on Earth, but the time difference between what the locals called The Dream World and Earth would allow her more leeway. She had managed to acquire and train all of her most necessary skills and sub-skills. It was time to raise her level. When Status One occurred, all manner of shit was going to hit the fan.