By Mark Rodriguez
One of the Rippaverse characters that people wanted to find out about was Yaira. She'd had a previous run in with Alpha Core. She grabbed Avery and dropped him onto a car as she was attacking a police station. She's also been seen working for Projexus in her civilian clothes, which is the same company that Avery's sister Altona works for. Who is Yaira and what is she up to? Let's find out.
The story opens with Yaira having dropped Avery Silman onto a car from a high distance in front of an amazed crowd (as seen in Isom # 1). She warns Avery not to follow her and she flies off.
Alpha Core is on the scene, and Bryan tells Braxwell to watch over Avery while he chases after Yaira with Ingrid. Bryan tells Ingrid that he will 'catch up to her', which confuses her. Bryan then tosses Ingrid towards Yaira (Ingrid can't fly) and she gets the hint. Ingrid lashes out her energy ropes, tying them around Yaira's neck.
Bryan flies in and grabs Yaira's leg, telling her that no one is above the law. Bryan flings Yaira towards the ground and he catches Ingrid. Suddenly both members of Alpha Core and caught up in a cyclone caused by Yaira, which tosses them into the stratosphere. Bryan tells Ingrid to hold her breath. Yaira says she told them not to follow her.
Yaira vanishes from Ingrid's sight and suddenly appears in front of her, kicking her in the stomach. As Ingrid falls, Yaira grabs Bryan and teases that if he keeps chasing her, she'll think he likes her. She kisses Bryan, sucking the air out of his lungs and knocking him out.
We cut to later on as we see the events shown on the news. The reporter says that Bryan fought Yaira to a standstill on his own before, so he was expecting him to fare better against her with help from the rest of the team. He says there is no easy fight with Yaira and she is currently the most wanted woman in Texas. The reporter informs the public that Yaira can fly, manipulate ice and has super strength. Bryan cuts in to say this isn't supposed to be promoting her and adds that he fended her off before and he can do it again. He warns Yaira that she is fighting a losing battle. The news reporter says it will be exciting to see Alpha Core put to the test against Yaira. Another reporter on another station says that while they do like Bryan Solari, he has yet to defeat Yaira.
We see that Yaira is watching this from her hideout among several screens. While one screen shows Bryan saying that will bring Yaira to justice, another screen covers the news of Projexus bringing in the acclaimed and controversial Dr. Sally Rodell aboard. Sally stands to a round of applause, where it's noticeable that she towers above everyone else. The crew includes Altona and Lincoln.
Dr. Rodell is welcomed to the Projexus family and asked for a few words. She says 'adapt or die' which is the truest law of the Earth and the very friction of creation. She thanks Mr Eusebio for the opportunity and says they can both learn from each other.
After the press conference, Lincoln Eusebio introduced Jerry to Dr. Rodell who feels an archeologist is an odd fit to pair with biologists. Eusebio says their dream consists of getting rid of all disease and help people live long healthy lives without worry of deterioration of the mind or vital organs. Dr. Rodell looks at her reflection and says life is created with a certain design. She asks if improving upon one aspect will ruin the balance. Eusebio says he knows about Icarus getting burned by flying too close to sun, and asks where men would be if they never dared to fly. Rodell agrees that struggling to survive against all odds is very human.
The crew show Sally Rodell their underground cryogenics chamber, capable of reaching absolute zero, and useful in further studies of quantum mechanics and physics. That concludes the tour, and Altona says she can help her out with anything during her first week, but after that she's on her own. As Altona escorts Sally back upstairs, Lincoln comments on the high hopes he has for her. Jerry says she sounds too good to be true, and in nature things that are that beautiful are usually poisonous. Lincoln tells Jerry that as long as he doesn't try to eat her, he should be fine.
Elsewhere, some guys are robbing a bank and several men have their guns aimed towards one of the security guards. One of the robbers comments that things don't feel right and asks if security guards usually work in pairs. Just as one of the men is about to ask the security guard, he suddenly gets shot in the head and drops. The other robbers panic.
The second security guard shows up and shoots one of the robbers in the chest. Another gunman shoots the guard and hits him in the bulletproof vest. As the cop falls, his gun still goes off and the gunman gets shot in the throat. One of the robbers was a woman and as she makes a break for it, the first security guard manages to shoot her in the side of her waist.
The woman drops to her knees as a cold mist starts coming out of her mouth. She suddenly surges a great power as everything around her freezes. She fires off ice energy into the sky. Mysterious beings watch this from the planet's atmosphere and comment that 'Yaira has poor form'. Likewise the Florespark police call for back up as they think Yaira is robbing the bank. One of the officers says it's not Yaira, but someone with a similar energy signature. Another cop asks who could be as powerful as Yaira.
The female robber is still on her knees as the bullet had fallen out of her body. She asks God for help. The woman's hand starts to glow and another ice energy blast explodes around her. The officers say it will be five more minutes before Alpha Core will arrive. Yaira is on the scene, her face covered up by her hoodie as she tells the cop she appreciates the heads up. The cops call for all reinforcements and the military when they realized that Yaira showed up.
Yaira lands a powerful blow across the face of this woman. She comments that she took the hit like a champ. The woman asks if she was trying to knock her out, and Yaira comments that it was meant to be a death blow. Yaira asks who she is and how she acquired those powers. The woman tries to contain herself and she doesn't know. The woman reels back and fires back with a punch strong enough to send Yaira through the air and crashing into a building. Yaira is now angry, but as she flies back to the fight, she is stopped by the mysterious beings from earlier.
The beings say it's the end of the line for Yaira and have come to punish her for her crimes. They point to the woman that has somehow gained similar powers and calls her an abomination that Yaira has been harboring. Yaira flies back down towards the robber, who asks why she brought her buddies to gang up on her. Yaira takes her arm and asks if she wishes to die tonight. The woman thinks back to her fellow robbers and the security guard that were shot earlier and says she will not die tonight. Yaira tells her to take cover and let the grown ups talk.
Yaira fires off another ice blast, declaring that they no longer have any authority over her, but it just feels like cool air to Yanessa and Yantoni. However their ice blast is strong enough to send Yaira flying into a truck. As Yaira lays up against the truck, she ponders that those two won't stop until they take her back.
The civilian tries to break into a car and drive the hell out of there. Magus, who is now in a monstrous form, starts attacking her with some sort of energy circling around her neck. Yaira swoops in and punches him away. Yaira tells the woman she is coming with her. Yanessa says the girl defies natural law and she should be destroyed while Yaira should taken back to pay for her crimes. Yaira says they will have to get through first.
Magus forms an energy field around himself that Yaira can't punch through. Yantoni kicks Yaira to the ground, saying she could have just come along peacefully. Yaira laughs as blood drips from her lips. The three are confused, and Yaira says they have come so far only to fail, and the child had already gotten away from them. The girl managed to get into a car and drive off. Yantoni realizes that Yaira distracted them on purpose. Magus says she won't get away since he never forgets a prey once he sees its face. Yaira flies off saying they might be stronger but she might be faster. The three give chase.
Alpha Core is monitoring the situation and see Yaira and the other three flying after her, all with unprecedented power. Bryan realizes that another with similar power got away. Valdez asks if they should engage. Bryan says if they get the escaped girl, then Yaira will come to them.
As Yaira flies ahead, she asks the three if they're enjoying the tour. She also asks Magus one last time to night die alongside Yessica and Yantoni. Magus says she'll be the one dying and it's a shame she won't get to see her home one last time. He drives his hands into a sandy terrain and a huge hand made of sand grabs Yaira. Yaira easily breaks free and calls this place her new home. The other comment on how disgusting it is to call this place home. Yaira smirks and says it's not just anywhere... it's Texas.
Yanessa calls Texas a stupid name. Yaira stops above an oil field and pulls out a lighter. She says they don't mess with Texas. She ignite the lighter and lets it drop. The oil field explodes in a huge blast of fire that catches the trio off guard and consumes them.
We see an old folks home as the new of the raging fire is on TV, as there no reports on where Yaira and her 'three companions' went. Bryan hasn't given any expectations of exactly when Yaira will be brought to justice, and some people theorize the delay might be due to Braxwell not fully accepting Valdez as their newest member.
One of the old ladies at the home goes over to buy some Q-Tips and is surprised to see that they're 20 dollars. Meanwhile, Sally Rodell checks in and pays the woman a visit. The woman recognizes her as Yaira. Sally says she is mistaken. The old woman says her name is Carmen Martinez, but she figures 'El Dios Femenino' would already know that. Um.. it's cool that they threw some Spanish in there, but just saying 'La Diosa' would suffice. You know, saying Goddess over Female God?
Anyway, Carmen said her great grandmother told her the story of the goddess that fell from Heaven and landed on Earth. Yaira asks if she knows what happened to that goddess. Carmen says the goddess felt the greatest pain she ever felt, and she vowed to never feel it again.
Yaira takes Carmen to, what I would assume to be, her home, which is adorned with several statues and warrior armor from different time periods. Carmen says she knows who she is and what she wants. Carmen asks Yaira to protect Stepanya. Yaira asks her when she started exhibiting her powers. Carmen is shocked to find out that Stephanya's powers were showing and asks Yaira with more insistence to protect her. Yaira says she will keep her safe.
Elsewhere, Stephanya reunited with other members of her gang who now feel they are unstoppable due to her new powers. One of them says that they killed Markus and Julio and now Stephanya can make them pay with their lives. Stephanya says with Yaira and her friends out there, they should probably lay low for a while. Just then energy ropes wrap themselves around two of the gang members. The ropes belong to Ingrid Valdez and Braxwell is standing with her. Stephanya makes a run for it but Bryan blocks her path. Alpha Core place Stephanya under arrest and say they will take care of Yaira.
Elsewhere, in some sort of ice cave, Yessenia, Yantoni and Magus are still alive and healing from severe burn wounds. Yantoni suggests they return home to heal. Yessenia refuses to retreat. Yantoni says she should see it as a strategy which will be part of her gaining recognition for bringing down Yaira. Yessenia agrees. Magus molts out of his burned skin like the giant bug that he is and regains his original cloaked appearance. He will continue the hunt as Yessenia and Yantoni recover. Yessenia tells him to kill as many people necessary. Magus flies off followed by his army of winged insects.
Outside of the Projexus building, Altona sees one of the alien bugs on her car. She catches is in a glass, but then sees a swarm of them coming at her. She dashes into the building and says she will need lab four to contain this bio hazard.
Meanwhile, Alpha Core is getting mug shots from Stephanya and her friends, while they're being monitored closely. Bryan wants an interview with Stephanya while Braxwell and Valdez watch. He feels that Stephanya can't control her powers because she would have used them by now if she could. He also says this girl has become Yaira's weakness.
Bryan interrogates Stephanya, but the woman doesn't know anything. She's never seen Yaira before and she's not even sure that the others were her friends since she saw Yaira fighting against them too. Bryan asks how Yaira gave Steph her powers. Steph pretends to not know what powers he's talking about. Bryan says those are the same powers she's using to escape. However it's not Stephanya using her powers... Braxwell and Valdez rush in to tell Bryan that Yaira has arrived. Yaira is freezing up the prison to the point that even the heating systems have failed. She tells Bryan that they have something of hers and warns that if he wants to wreck her life, she will wreck his.
Yaira lowers temperature to the point where the prison bars turn brittle, leading to all the criminals to escape and start a riot. Bryan tells Braxwell and Valdez to contain the prisoners since Yaira will only come for him. Bryan asks Steph if she knows if Yaira needs her alive or not. Steph isn't sure. Bryan says that he actually cares if she lives, which she can't say for sure about Yaira. He pretty much tells her 'come with me if you want to live'. Yaira fights her way through the prisoners. One of them tries to hit on her and Yaira busts his face. She says she's only there for the girl.
Steph acts Bryan if Yaira intends to kill her. Bryan says it's likely, as from what he's seen, Yaira rarely acts out self interest. He grabs Steph and flies off with her as he explains that Steph probably saw something she shouldn't or has something that belongs to Yaira, and she won't hesitate to kill her to get it back. Yaira flies after Bryan, agreeing that she is willing to kill him to get to Stephanya.
Yaira and Bryan fly into each other, choking each other and trying to overpower each other. Bryan says he got her where he wants her and asks if she realized how many people she endangered with her stunt with the oil field earlier. Yaira says she only hurt the three that mattered and he's next. She punches a wall of ice that formed when she froze up the area, and as it shatters, it separates her from Bryan.
Bryan punches his way out of an ice slab and tells Yaira (I think?) that he will have med bay patch her up before locking her up for good. Bryan notices that Steph is missing and only sees several angry inmates trying to surround him. Bryan flies off saying that Yaira now got him angry.
Yaira flies off with Steph and says she's taking her someplace safe. Steph asks when she will remove the handcuffs, and Yaira says she can do that herself. Steph realizes that she is strong enough to bust out of the handcuffs herself.
Later on, Yaira takes Steph to Sally Rodell's house, where she will be safe. Safety didn't last too long as suddenly Magus' bugs start flying in until it becomes a full on swarm. Yaira tries to fight them off and regrets bringing Steph there. She has pretty much led the enemy to her base. Stephanya tries to get the bugs off and starts flipping out, unleashing her powers uncontrollably. She realized that she killed all the insects.
Yaira sees that Magus is already in her base, and he's holding Carmen, already dead, in his arms. He says Yaira arrived too late and it's a shame since Carmen really thought she's come in time to save her. Yaira says that Magus will die screaming for this. Magus says she will be the one dying screaming, like Carmen did. He will lay her body next to hers, except her head which will be taken as a trophy. Stephanya steps in and sees her dead grandmother.
Stephanya blames Yaira for this and says Bryan was right about her trying to kill her. She asks why she had to kill her grandmother. Yaira says she isn't safe here as she's being attacked by Magus. Stephanya runs off and says she needs to stay alive for her grandmother as she is the last of her family. She says she hates Yaira and wishes death upon her.
Magus says he'll let Stephanya run for now since he will hunt her down soon enough. He says he will feast on both Yaira and Carmen. Yaira socks Magus and turns to see where Stephanya went. Magus says she was a fool for turning her back on him, and the insects swarm around her and knock her out the window. Yaira tries to get some distance from Magus pondering that he might be stronger than her and he won't stop until one kills the other. Magus says Yanessa and Yantoni will be disappointed to hear that she died as a coward. Yaira has eluded them for so long they were thinking she was similar to 'he who must not be named'. Yaira knows who he's referring to and wishes she could also vanish.
Yaira flies high enough to where the insects are unable to follow her, and she wonders if the same rings true for Magus. Yaira is covered in stingers and loses sight of Magus. He suddenly appears behind her and blasts right through her. Yaira falls and crashes through the roof of a building, now bleeding profusely from a gaping wound in her abdomen. Magus tells her to keep running as it only makes him hunger more for her. I am honestly sure how she ever got along with that guy.
A distance away, the police are watching over the are, discussing how relieved they are that one of their favorite ice cream shops survived the recent destruction. Stephanya runs over to them and tells them to tell Bryan Solari that she's turning herself in.
Yaira makes her way through the building, wondering how Magus was able to hit her that hard. She needs to tend to her injuries as her vision blurs. She figures she'll kill anyone that gets too curious for their own good. She sneaks past a janitor who turns to see that now he has a lot of blood that he will have clean up on the floor he just finished cleaning.
It seems the building that Yaira fell through just happened to be the Projexus building. Dressed back in her civilian clothes, she tries to sneak past Altona, but she is spotted. Altona notes her injuries and the fact she can barely stand. Yaira isn't sure she can trust her, but Altona says she is currently in no position to turn down her help. Yaira tells her she will need to get to the cryogenic lab so she can slow down her injuries before Altona can operate. She'll walk him through the process. They walk past the janitor from earlier and Altona explains that she's still showing Rodell around, taking advantage of her insomnia.
Sally explains she will need to suture her wounds and she'll take care of the internal bleeding. Altona asks how she will do so and Sally activates the machinery saying she will slow the process down. Sally places herself under cryogenic stasis. Later on, Altona is operating on Sally's injury (which I don't know how you can operate on a huge gaping hole you can put your hand through) as she comments on the current bug invasion and the three strangers from the other day. Altona assumes the explosion at the oil field took care of them. She adds that her husband Terald used to work in the oil fields so she knows how dangerous they can be.
Sally, now back on her feet, asks what happened to Terald. Altona explains he died and honorable death on the job. Sally mention show tough it is to lose a husband and asks Altona if she has children. Altona mentions her daughter Vassie and asks about Yaira. Yaira says they're not quite there yet (for her to divulge) and Altona says their 'team up' isn't over as there is still the matter of this insect infestation.
Altona explains the beetles showed up this morning and there are estimated to be millions by midday. Sally tells her a substance called pyrethrin extracted from the chrysanthenum flower, something that would naturally affect the insects' nervous system. They will have to build a machine that can spread this compound into the are to kill the swarm. Altona says she's on it and mentions that Sally doesn't appear to be used to team ups. Sally says she has another part of her mission to complete.
Elsewhere, Stephanya is with Alpha Core and Bryan blames himself for not taking Yaira down sooner. Steph says Yaira didn't kill her grandma, but rather the 'scary thing' did. Valdez says that she still took her to the place where the 'scary thing' killed her grandma, and says Yaira is probably working alongside it and the other two. Bryan asks her more questions and Steph says she already told them everything she knows. She doesn't know where she got these powers and if she could trade them to get her grandma back, she would.
Bryan asks Stephanya to trust them as they intend to use her to lure out Yaira. Steph refuses to do that and Bryan says they have the situation under control. Steph tells him to say that to her grandma. As they argue, Braxwell looks outside and notices that it's suddenly snowing.
Yaira is outside, her powers in full display as she brings in the ice and snow. At this point Yaira is done hiding and is calling out to Yanessa, Yantoni, Magus and Alpha Core. Yanessa and her crew arrive first and talk more trash, calling Yaira pathetic and how they plan to kill her. Yaira says she isn't the first to leave their laws and rules. Yanessa says not to speak 'his' name and this is why they need to bring rebels to justice, as it gives others wild ideas.
Yaira and her enemies trade ice blasts, with Yaira appearing to be more evenly matched this time. Just then a firey blast hits Yanessa and Yantoni. We see that Alpha Core has arrived, alongside Stephanya and Braxwell has a missile launcher. Yanessa says they will kill Yaira alongside her reinforcements. Bryan tells Yanessa and her crew to surrender, though Valdez lumps Yaira in with them.
Yanessa and crew start attacking both Yaira and the members of Alpha Core. Valdez asks for permission to use lethal force and Bryan says to take them down by any means necessary. Braxwell fires another blast towards Magus, but misses. Yantoni freezes the barrel of Braxwell's weapon and starts fighting him. Valdez throws her energy whips to wrap around Yantoni's legs.
Yaira talks to Stephanya in Spanish saying that she loved her grandmother too and she is also a loss to her. Steph asks if she expects to trust her just because she knows Spanish. Yaira asks for a chance to explain everything she needs to and at this point she has nothing to lose. Bryan also speaks Spanish and says Steph can still lose her life and still thinks the other three are her friends. Yanessa flies in and attacks forn Yaira and Stephanya. Bryan tackles Yanessa down, and tells Steph not to go with Yaira.
Over at the Projexus building, Altona is concerned about Sally flying off to fight so soon after the last battle with the three strangers left her badly injured. Altona also wonders about the strange organs she saw inside Sally. I'm assuming at this point Altona flat out knows Sally is Yaira, I mean there's just no way. Altona activates a devices that flashes a bright light that take care of the beetle invasion. As all the insects drop dead, Magus suffers the loss of his children. Bryan and Braxwell take Yantoni down and Valdez takes care of Yessenia.
Yaira brings Stephanya to Altona in Projexus and is impressed that the swarm has been dealt with. Yaira leaves Stephanya in Altona's care is set to head off. Steph asks about her grandma and why she has those powers. Yaira said she promised to tell her everything but not when. She'll tell her when she returns. Steph asks what will happen is Yaira doesn't make it back and she responds that she'll be dead if she doesn't. After Yaira leaves, Altona tells Steph that she won't die but Yaira is bad at talking with people. Altona takes Steph to a cell guarded by a red energy field to keep her safe from the three strangers and Alpha Core.
Yaira flies off into the night pondering that this is a beautiful night to die. She remembers arriving on Earth, which she didn't think exists, and landed in Iceland. There she met a man named Gorm. Through him, she learned his customs and she knew love. Yaira lived and fought alongside Gorm and the rest of the vikings and they accepted her as one of their own. Yaira learned to pay but grew tired of never getting answers or never finding who she was praying to.
Later one, Gorm hands Yaira a sword to be passed on to future generations of sons as she will be his wife. Yaira hands Gorm her sword, to use to protect his family. Gorm swears to give her everything her heart desires until his last breath. And so Gorm and Yaira got married but she would be punished for betraying her mission. They soon had a child named Njord, but his eyes didn't glow like hers. Eventually she would also have Baldur, Ragnar, Sigrid, twin girls Astrid and Freya, and her youngest, Tyr. None of them would be born with her powers.
Eventually Yaira soon learned that the lifespan of the people on Earth was a lot shorter than her own. She eventually ended up burying her husband, her kids, and her grandkids, all natural deaths. She left before she could be a part of her great grandkids' lives to spare herself further pain.
Yaira goes to visit Bryan, who already sensed she was in the room. Yaira asks if she's that predictable and says she feels like they're becoming and old married couple and would like to file for divorce. Bryan asks if Yaira had come to turn herself in. Yaira says she has to defeat those three, because if they kill her they will come for Stephanya next. Bryan asks who she is to her. Yaira makes him swear and he agrees. She says she has a friend that will arrange on how to retrieve Stephanya. Yaira explains that Steph is a child of the children of her children and she has no idea what she is. Yaira flies off and Bryan is surprised to know that she has children. He ponders that Yaira will have to pay for her crimes, but for now it's best to let things play out.
Yaira flies through the nightly sky and calls out to her enemies. Yessenia and her crew show up, dishing out the usual death threats. Yaira unleashes her powers.
We see a flashback of Yaira with her daughters Astrid and Freya, now adults, as she tells them the story of Caelus and how he was overthrown by his son Saturn and then Saturn himself was overthrown by his sone Neptune. When the girls ask why, Yaira tells them it's because some people keep their powers from others. They hunt a family of walruses when suddenly a volcano erupts before them. One of the girls ask their mother what that is, and she says it's the gateway to hell.
Currently, Yaira leads the trio to the same volcano. Yessenia starts berating Magus over not taking down Yaira by now. Yaira uses her powers on the currently inactive volcano. Magus created diamond golems and use them to attack Yaira. Yanessa says she doesn't want Yaira killed, but Magus disagrees. Yanessa blasts Magus saying he will also pay for his insubordination.
Yantoni flies in and grabs Yaira by the throat wanting to take the credit for taking her in. Yaira controls her body temperature and starts to lower it down. Yantoni asks why as Yanessa also swoops in. Just then the Hekla volcano erupts. Yanessa gets splashed by lava as Yaira dunks Yantoni directly into it. Yanessa floats in the lava, severely injured, saying that she will die a hero and others will come. Yaira kicks her directly into the volcano and tells her to let them come. She says her story ends here and nobody will question the comptency of Yanessa once they see that she never returned. Just then Magus blasts Yaira from behind.
As Magus continues to blast her, Yaira has flashbacks to when she first visited Earth and thinks that she will finally join Gorm. Yaira gathers her wits and runs towards where she has hidden her sword. She uses it to impale Magus from behind, saying she did promise he would die screaming. She explains this was the sword she gave to her beloved to protect his family, and she will use to kill anyone else who comes, since she knows more will come for Carmen. She slices Magus' head off. With her enemies finally dealt with, Yaira turns her attention to the volcano.
Yaira uses her powers to lower the temperature of the volcano before it blows again, hoping these actions will make her worthy of Valhalla so she can see Gorm again. The volcano gives off one final blast, knocking Yaira into the icey waters below. As Yaira plunges into the ocean's depths, she prepares to meet her end. Suddenly she sees a figure with a trident.
In Alpha Core custody, Stephanya is praying for a second chance after she killed a man earlier on. Bryan gets the paperwork where she will be transferred to J. Sulley Ward, where a lot of out of control Excepts are held. Valdez tells one of the officers there about how the Excepts are treated there. Bryan overhears Stephanya's prayers. Bryan tells Stephanya she can make up for what she did and prison doesn't need to be her only option. He offers her a second chance.
Yaira wakes up in some sort of underwater palace. She thinks she's in Valhalla and realizes she is wearing new armor, as if it were a gift from the gods. She realizes she is still alive but wonders who saved her and who healed her. She sees a statue of Neptune and says she found him once and will find him again. She wonders why he saved her and how he knows her.
The next day Altona notices that it stopped snowing and she wonders if Yaira will be coming back. Lincoln Eusebio is studying the beetles and finds out they have been eradicated by someone working in his company. He wonders about this secret project.
Elsewhere, we see that Stephanya is being trained as the latest recruit for Alpha Core. Bryan notices that her powers work best when she has her emotions under control. Stephanya says they next time she sees Yaira, she will kill her and avenge her grandmother. Bryan tells her she has to keep her emotions under control or she will have to go back to prison. Yaira, now in her new armor, is flying overhead and overhears this conversation. She flies off.
My thoughts-
So this was a hell of a story and it went places where I really wasn't expecting it to go. I apologize for taking so long with this one as now we have several Rippaverse books out as well as Yaira 2 and 3. Things have been busy and it takes a lot longer to cover a full on graphic novel than your regular 22 or so page floppy. And so much happened in this one. Every two pages were several paragraphs on their own.
The most fascinating part was Yaira herself, who isn't so much a hero (so far) but just a person living her life and trying to adapt to this new world. She pretty much lives by her own rules and only seems to get involved when things either come after her or are somehow tied to her directly. It didn't seem like she first showed up to face Stephanya was a heroic attempt to stop the robbery, but to see why she had similar ice powers.
The part that got me the most was when Yaira was trying to hide her injuries as she wandered around the Projexus building and made a comment about killing anyone that got too curious. I was like 'hold up, isn't she a good guy?'. She kinda isn't. While she might not purposely go out to commit evil acts, her rampages and 'I don't care about whatever collateral damage I cause' attitude is what gets Alpha Core to go after her. After all, she dropped Avery onto the car from several stories up without any disregard of his life and without knowing that he was an Except that could have survived that. If that one janitor caught Sally Rodell and asked her why she had a gaping hole in her chest, he might have been a goner too.
We find out a lot about Yaira, though some things remain a mystery. She is from another world and rebelled against its rulership and ended up on Earth during the Viking era. This explains her interest in history and archeology since she actually lived it. I assume she never raised her powers to an explosive degree because it was only until Stephanya's outburst happened that Yanessa and the others were able to locate her. It seems Yaira hated Yanessa and Yantoni from the getgo but not Magus at first. Clearly that changes after he killed Carmen, but she kept holding back and was willing to let him go if he abadoned the other two. On Magus' side though, he seems to show zero signs for mercy and has no qualms in torturing, killing and eating his former acquaintance. Also it seems someone else, the guy that must not be named, escaped Yaira's world before her.
The one thing that didn't make sense, which I was hoping to find out since Isom # 1 was why she was attacking the police station to begin with. While we did get to see Alpha Core go after her while Avery was still unconsious on that car, we never found out why she was on the rampage to begin with. Then we find out that Bryan had already faced her before and was hoping to have better luck with his teammates. So that's two times that Yaira was running amok.... for some reason. We never get to find out.
I was surprised to see so much Alpha Core in this book, especially since they had their own book. It does help tie the Rippaverse together, especially since we also see Yaira working at Projexus and we see her interact with Altona, but wow, this one almost felt like Alpha Core 3. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. I did enjoy seeing more of the characters we've already met before. Though in Altona's case, I'm wondering if these events happened before or after Fontaino started messing with her in Isom # 2. Since Yaira gets a brief mention in Alpha Core, this one clearly takes place after that, but I am curious how the chronology works when it comes to Altona.
The bad guys were pretty interesting though after a while their constant death threats and calling Yaira a traitor and such got repetitive, but I get it. They're some sort of royalty or authority in their world, and they don't let Yaira forget it. The most interesting one was clearly Magus Nuumite. He has several powers like creating golems and he served as a bigger threat as he also was responsible for a bug infestation that was terrorizing the city. I like the fact that Yaira had to use the home-field advantage, the oil field and the volcano to get one over on them.
Like I said before, the story took a turn I wasn't expecting as it became a story about Stephanya manifesting her powers and being pulled left and right between trusting or not trusting Yaira and Alpha Core. Add Yanessa, Yantoni and Magus into the mix where everyone seems to think they're working with Yaira while they're actually trying to kill her and you get a wild mix that can go in so many directions.
After the flashbacks and reveal of Yaira's history, I would think Yaira would get that Steph was her great great great how-many-times granddaughter... but then I realized that it seems that after countless generations, Steph was the first to actually inherit her powers, so that makes sense she wouldn't catch on. That would also mean that grandma Carmen was also part of Yaira's Earthbound family tree.
Not everything is perfect as there were a few panels that could have either been done from a different direction or a different order. When Alpha Core showed up to blast Yanessa, Yaira smirked and said 'took you long enough, handsome' as if she was talking to Bryan. But then the next panel shows Alpha Core arriving and Yaira turning to see them with a surprised expression? Maybe those panels should have been flipped?
Also I would have liked to have actually see Yaira and Stephanya geta way from the Alpha Core/Yannesa fight. It just looked rushed and too much left to the imagination in a medium that always works best to show than tell. Instead of a panel just showing Bryan yelling out 'Stephanya, don't go with Yaira! No!', we should have seen another angle. Like maybe the back of Bryan's head as we actually see Yaira and Stephanya making a break for it.
Speaking of the fight between Alpha Core and Yanessa's crew... what happened to that after Yaira and Stephanya left? We can assume they somehow got away since there was no mention of Alpha Core capturing them, but the fight scene ended with Alpha Core being on top... and then later on Yaira is calling them out? She already assumed Alpha Core would fail to stop them?
Similar to Avery getting his Isom outfit at the end of Isom # 1, Yaira gets her cool outfit at the end of this issue through mysterious circumstances. I am looking forward to see what awaits Yaira as she attempts to look for answers. She did try to stop the volcano to prevent it from harming anyone else, so she might be on a road to redemption to help others and not just herself and people directly tied to her. I also want to see what will happen whenever Stephanya sees Yaira again. I'm definitely curious to see if Stephanya will be a legit fourth member of Alpha Core whenever their second issue comes out.
Overall a fun read though I have to admit some panels were confusing (or out of order) and some questions were left up in the air. Throughout the issue Yaira mentioned being on some sort of mission, or betraying her mission, so maybe that has something to do with her two attacks and fights against Alpha Core. I'm just concerned that the next volume might go forward and dig deeper into whatever connection Yaira might have with Neptune and never circle back to explain why she was attacking the police station and dropping Avery onto cars.
Also celever cameo of Rippaverse Comics in that two-page splash of Yaira unleashing her powers. I wonder what comics they sell over at Florespark Texas.
Comments
Post a Comment
Leave your thoughts on this article!