Stormy, Weather Or Not 

by Robert Teague

rteague@bellsouth.net

Copyright 2000 by Robert Teague  This story is written solely for the entertainment of Rainbow

Brite fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided

no changes are made.

                Sitting high atop Skydancer, Stormy grinned from ear to ear as they approached Earth. It

 was finally winter again in the northern hemisphere, and she was anticipating some real fun this

 year. Last summer, Brian had complained about not getting much snow during the previous winter,

 so she had promised to correct that little oversight this year.

                A few more minutes of travel, and they were low enough to reach the level of the clouds. 

 They disappeared inside one, and Skydancer halted in a clear area, almost a cave made of cloud.

She closed her eyes, and stretched out her senses, getting a feel for the cloud and its companions

and weather patterns for a great distance around. For a good winter storm, she would have to

draw in more moisture, but there was potential here.

                She raised her hands, and moisture from the nearby air began to draw in around her, forming

more cloud. While that was going on, she started gathering in positively-charged ions. The ions

spread out along the bottom of the cloud, bringing the potential for lightning to the ready.

Responding to her nudge, Skydancer lept forward, diving through the cloud to its edge, where

he stopped.  She looked down, the pattern of charge along the ground as clear and obvious

to her as the sun is to anyone else.  A good place for a lightning discharge was a huge area

of negatively-charged ions on the ground below, a mile or so to the east of where she was.

She urged the cloud in that direction.

                As the cloud approached the area of potential, she noticed that she was getting over the

edge of a city. She couldn't have told the name of the city if her life had depended on it. Human

affairs were of little interest to her.  Below were streets of old brick apartment buildings.

Some were vacant, and some were occupied.

                The cloud drew in moisture, growing darker and bigger, the ion field intensifying until it was

almost ready to jump the gap. On the ground, the oppositely-charged field also grew in

strength, centering on one particular building that was a bit higher than the others nearby.

Stormy pointed, releasing the electric potential, and KRAK-BOOOOOMMMM!!! A bolt of

blindingly bright lightning lept from the cloud, a jagged arc reaching down to the ground.

                She laughed, enjoying her job. Skydancer neighed, rearing up on his hind legs. He turned, and

re-entered the cloud, kicking up lightning that danced behind them. Raising her arms and

pointing down, the rain started. Instantly soaking wet, it was cold and refreshing to her. She

laughed again.

                For half an hour, Stormy revelled in the cloud's power, building up the electric discharges, and

directing rain where to fall. Suddenly, a strange sound from below penetrated her consiousness,

a wailing, rising and falling, insistant noise clear even over the rumble of thunder.

                "What is that?" she wondered. She urged Skydancer over to the cloud's edge, and looked down

again.

                Smoke was pouring from the middle windows of one of the buildings. Large trucks and cars

with red flashing lights were stopping in front of the building.  People were scrambling around,

doing things she didn't understand.

                Suddenly intensely curious about what was happening, she left the cloud, wanting to get a better

look. Sensing the electric potential again, she realized the building was the one where the first

lightning had struck. Skydancer landed on the roof of the building directly across the street. People

had their heads out of windows, watching the people in the street with trucks and cars.

                Suddenly, a red tongue of flame shot out of one of the windows, and she understood. The lightning had started a fire!  Looking at the building, she felt a sense of relief when she realized it was vacant.

                She watched for a few minutes, as the fire hoses were dragged out and hooked to the nearby hydrants.

                While she didn't much care what the humans did, this was sufficiently new and exciting enough to

hold her attention. The water was turned on, but after an initial hard stream into the building, the

flow dropped rapidly until it was only reaching the second story. The men ran over to the hydrants,

working desparately with wrenches to get more water. Somebody took a long, T-shaped wrench to

a plug in the street, took out the cap, and lowered it into the hole. He turned it several times, but

there was no difference in the stream of water.

                Suddenly the stream dropped to a mere trickle. From the shouted words she gathered that if the

flame wasn't put out, the fire would spread to other buildings, and put the people who lived there

in danger!

                She turned and mounted Skydancer and looked up at the clouds she had left. Without

her control, the clouds had drifted away, the rain and lightning now falling some miles away.

Reaching with her power, she brought the cloud to a halt, then started its slow movement back.

She directed the rain to stop, so there would be more for the building.

                Glancing back, she saw that the flame was spreading, and was burning in several rooms of the

fifth floor. Looking up again, she saw the cloud was making its way back.  She estimated it would

take another five minutes for it to arrive. She hoped it would be soon enough.

                Dismounting, she went back to the edge of the roof to watch. Listening carefully to the loud radio

talk, she heard there were water-carrying trucks on the way, but they were stopped by heavy

traffic, and could not arrive in less than half an hour.

                The flame was spreading rapidly now, having engulfed the whole fifth floor, and was now on

both the fourth and sixth. Without looking away, she urged the cloud on, but her control

was limited. The Earth's weather was still a greater power than she, and if the mindless, chaotic

forces that governed it chose to oppose her, there would be little she could do.

                Sudden movement caught her attention. She glanced at it, and her heart caught in her throat.

Across the way, one floor above her vantage point, in the building's eighth and highest floor,

 a person was in there! They were trying to get the window to raise, but couldn't.

The smoke was black and thick, and the men below obviously were unaware of the person inside.

A reddish light suddenly appeared in the windows on the seventh floor, and Stormy knew the

flames had reached it.

                "SKYDANCER!" she shouted, "There's someone in that building!"

                The horse stepped over to her, and looked where she pointed. The figure was visible through

the dirty glass, frantically searching for something to break the glass with.

She looked up at her companion.  "What do we do? The storm cloud won't be here for a few more

minutes, and those men can't do anything!  They don't even know he's in there!"

                Skydancer neighed softly, and gestured at the person using his muzzle.

                "You think we should rescue them?" she asked.

                The horse nodded.

                In a flash, all the reasons for not intervening ran through her mind.  But on the other hand, she

was responsible for the fire in the first place. Although she had a wild and prickly personality,

Stormy was a good person at heart. Glancing at the approaching cloud, she quickly mounted

Skydancer, and the pair lept off the roof, running on the black smoke over to the window.

Looking in, she just caught a glimpse of the person as they went into a room on the other side

of the building.

                "He went to the other side, Skydancer, let's go!" she said, and the horse ran up and over the

building. Just as they arrived, the person succeeded in raising a window. The human was looking

down, trying to figure out where it would be safe to jump. It was a straight fall eight floors to

the pavement. There were no fire trucks on this side.

                A sudden noise caused the human to look back into the room. Smoke poured through a crack

in the middle of the floor, and suddenly it burst into flame! He gave a strangled cry, and

looked back out. Stormy was astride Skydancer, just outside the window.

                "Give me your hand!" said Stormy, holding out her own, "I'll get you to safety!"

                "GLEEEP!" said the human, and promptly stumbled back, away from her, and closer to

the flames gathering strength in the middle of the floor.

                Exasperated, Stormy thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to get him out of the

building. A strong, cold breeze suddenly sprang up, heralding the arrival of the storm cloud.

She could sense it overhead. She commanded the rain to start, and dispersed the ions that

would cause more lightning if not prevented.

                A few seconds later the rain arrived, and she heard the cheers of the men trying to battle the

flames. It was joined by the people in the other buildings.

                "Hurry up! I'm gonna leave you if you don't!" she shouted. Skydancer looked around at her,

reproach in his eyes. "Not really," she said, softly, "But if you have any ideas on how to

get him out, I need to know now!"

                Skydancer snorted, his breath freezing and shattering, and nodded his head. He kicked his

hind leg, and a spark of lightning was struck.

                Stormy grinned. "Of course! Thanks!" she said, and sensed the electric potential in the room.

"There might be just enough..." she thought, and gestured. A bright, loud KRAK!! sounded

behind the human, who promptly stumbled forward and back to the window. She held out

her hand again, and this time the human took it, and settled behind her on Skydancer. Gloved

hands circled her waist.

                "Are you ready?" she asked, and the human nodded.

                The horse promptly moved away from the building, running on the thick black smoke.

                "Boy, this reminds me of Murky's gloom cloud," she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder,

to see the human was looking down, mixed fear and wonder on the face mostly hidden by a

cap and scarf. A few seconds later, they landed safely on the other roof.

                Stormy promptly slid off, and ran to the edge of the roof. She raised her arms and gestured,

and the rain promptly concentrated over the building. She noticed the flames were now

throughout the eighth floor, where her unwelcome passenger had been. Speaking of which...

                She looked around, to find the human was still sitting on Skydancer, dazed wonder evident

in the eyes. Skydancer rolled his eyes, and promptly sat down, unceremoniously dumping

the human on the roof. Stormy giggled behind her hand as the visitor picked himself up.

                Skydancer stood up and ambled to the edge of the roof to get a better view of the action.

                The human timidly approached Stormy, then pulled down the scarf and pulled back the knit

cap, despite the rain falling on them (much lighter than what the building was getting). The

human was a girl, about Brian's age, Stormy realized.  She had thick black hair, dark brown eyes,

and brown skin. She reminded Stormy of someone, but she couldn't think who.

                The girl knelt on the wet roof before Stormy, which put them face to face. "A-are you an

angel?" she asked.

                Stormy, taken aback by the unexpected question, exchanged glances with Skydancer.

                "My name is Stormy," she replied, "And this is Skydancer." The horse snorted and

nodded, then turned back to the action.

                The girl took off a glove and reached toward her. Stormy wasn't afraid of the human; her

power would protect her if necessary, so she stood her ground, waiting to see what the

human had in mind. The hand that touched her cheek was trembling. It moved up and

touched her hair, and the lightning-shaped clip.

                "You're real...." said the girl softly, "You rescued me. I didn't dream it."

                "Well, you didn't do anything to make it easier," retorted Stormy, unsure how to act. Having

been a loner most of her life, these tender moments made her uneasy.

                "Well, you scared me!" the girl flared back, "When I opened that window, I didn't expect to

see a girl on a flying horse... say, how does a kid your age get a flying horse, anyway?"

                "Kid my age?" said Stormy, and thunder rumbled overhead, "How old do you think I am?"

                The girl shrugged. "Eight?"

                Stormy laughed. "No, I'm a lot older than that," she replied.

                "Well, you talk like you are, but that grey hair has to be premature."

                This time, lightning jumped between clouds, and the girl looked up to watch it.

                "You like lightning?" asked Stormy.

                "I love it," was the reply, "But I usually don't watch it standing in the open. Let's go inside."

                Genuinely puzzled by this remark, Stormy said, "Why?" She threw her head back, letting

the rain splash on her face.

                "Because being high up in the open during a thunderstorm is dangerous," was the reply.

                "Not to me," said Stormy, "And not to you as long as you're with me. What's your name,

anyway?"

                "Jade," said the girl, "And why not?"

                "Because I control thunderstorms," said Stormy.

                The girl looked skeptical. "Uh huh. Whatever." And stood up.

                Overhead, lightning flared, and Jade watched it for a few seconds. "Well, I'm going in.

I'm not interested in getting zapped."

                Annoyed, Stormy said, "You want me to prove it? Okay." She went back to the edge of

the building, and watched the activity below. The fire in the building had stopped, and only smoke

trailed out of the windows. The emergency seemed to be over.

                "Okay, let's go," she said, and hopped on Skydancer's back. She looked back at Jade, who

just stood there. "Well?" she asked, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

                That was too much for Jade. "I'm not afraid!" she retorted, and with Stormy's help got

back up on Skydancer.

                Stormy grinned to herself. She liked this human. Suddenly it dawned on her that her new

aquaintence reminded her of Indigo! She had never been very interested in humans, and it hadn't

occurred to her that they might have differences in skin color and hair, like the Color Kids did.

                "Let's go, Skydancer!" she said, and the horse took off from the roof, heading upward

to the storm cloud overhead. Stormy felt Jade tighten her grip just a bit.

                Over the next hour, Stormy proved to Jade the truth of her words. After the first

few minutes, Jade relaxed, and enjoyed herself. She asked many questions, and to her credit

Stormy answered them truthfully.

                Finally, the trip was over, and Skydancer returned to the roof. The storm cloud was now

several miles away, and the afternoon sun was out.

                Jade slid off Skydancer, and looked up at Stormy. "Thanks, Stormy! I'm sorry I didn't

believe you."

                "Aahh, don't worry about it. It was fun having company, for once. Not many people

enjoy thunderstorms the way I do."

                "Yeah, I understand. My friends think I'm crazy because I love watching them. Especially

at night, when the whole sky lights up."

                Yes, I really do like her, Stormy thought to herself.

                "Will you visit me again?" asked Jade.

                "Uh...my job keeps me busy..." said Stormy, suddenly uncomfortable.

                Jade's face fell.

                "Oh, all right. I'll visit when I get a chance. Promise." She reached up and took the lightning

bolt shaped clip from her hair, and handed it to Jade.

                "Here. As long as you have this with you, I can find you. And I'd better not find you in any

more burning buildings."

                Jade grinned at her new friend. "You won't, I promise!"

                "One thing. If you really want me to visit, you'd better keep me secret."

                "Why?"

                "Because I said so! It's important!" flared Stormy.

                "Okay, okay, I won't tell anyone," said Jade, looking at the clip.

                "Good. Now I gotta be going. Good bye!"

                Jade went to Skydancer, and stroked the horse's muzzle. "Bye, Skydancer. Thanks for

the ride. And the rescue."

                Skydancer snorted and nodded.

                With a leap, they ran up into the sky, heading back toward the now-distant thundercloud.

                Stormy glanced back at the roof, and waved at Jade, who waved back. She looked around,

sensing the potential between the clouds. With a gesture, a grand fork of lightning flashed between

two clouds, the KRAK!! loud in her ears.

                "Yaaayyyy!!" she heard Jade yell, faintly. She grinned to herself. It WAS nice to be

appreciated. She urged Skydancer on toward the clouds.

                Yes, she really did like that human.

The End