Reluctant Hero
Vanessa MacLellan
(The Seeded Saga, #1)
Publication date: July 16th 2024
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Superhero
Someone is taking the Seeded.
Can a psychic hacker crack the digital world and unearth the conspiracy before it's too late?
The Seed grants extraordinary powers to a select few—the Seeded.
For Nekoka—a genius catgirl blessed with multiple Seeded powers, cool tech, and loyal friends—every day is Mardi Gras. But her carefree days in the Big Easy come to an end when her best friends decide to bind their New Orleans Seeded group with rules and duties by going official. Nekoka, a free-range hedonist, rebels against any leash, and she storms off to Portland. She's nobody's hero.
But she's soon caught performing heroics when she saves lives in a freeway pileup involving abducted Seeded. As she hacks secure networks about the mysterious incident, she uncovers a sinister plot to gather low-powered Seeded, and she's faced with a choice: confront the sadistic horrors head-on and risk capture, or hightail it to safer pastures. But the situation is critical. If Nekoka leaves, friends and frenemies could die.
Journey through the shadows where friendship, sacrifice, and determination forge heroes in the face of impending darkness.
Goodreads / Amazon
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EXCERPT:
"What are those papers?" Nekoka demanded. The world had suddenly gotten hot, and with a ripple, her fur thinned out over her body. The blood was pounding in her ears as her gaze homed in on the papers.
They couldn't do this. They wouldn't do this.
They were her friends.
Her family.
"It's just a trial," Zack said, finally facing her, his silver eyes barely meeting hers. "Temporary. So, you can see how it won't be that big a deal."
Nekoka charged forward and snatched the papers off the tiled countertop.
Application for Hero Certification – New Orleans
"I told you," Minnie said, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "We can't do this without everyone's say so. Nekoka and I aren't certain this is the best path for us. It takes away our autonomy."
She'd told him. Told Zack she didn't want this. They'd talked about this.
"I know you think this is going to be some big Supervillain versus Superhero all-out war. That's ridiculous." Zack shook his head, then returned to staring at Nekoka, his silver eyes red around the edges, a sign of sleepless nights. A sign that this had been planned, and he had been worried.
"We have power," he continued, pleaded. "We've a duty to help people."
"No!" Then she took in a breath. The air felt stiff. "We do not." Her voice sounded hard, alien. Then words kept coming, flowing from her mouth. "We have a duty to ourselves. That's it. Bottom line. All else is simple choice." Everything went numb inside. "Listen, you go ahead."
Would her mouth stop talking? Would her friends not do this?
Her sour gut churned. Everything was hot. So hot.
"You go ahead," she said. "Go Certified. Do what you want."
She walked away.
Author Bio:
Vanessa MacLellan was born and raised in the farmlands of eastern Washington, works as an environmental engineer to fund her travel addiction, and is an avid birder, naturalist and hiker living in Portland, Oregon. She also loves watercoloring—you'll find many paintings on her Facebook She writes a rainbow of spec fic: fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
She searched for stories with good people and kept bumping into morally gray or villainous protagonists. Grim dark up to her knees. She doesn't enjoy constant darkness; it leaves her feeling worn down. When times are grim, she wants to face into the light and come out feeling hopeful rather than bitter. She decided to change the face of writing and bring in the light.
Vanessa loves heroic characters who understand the value of honor, sacrifice, and courage. Escape from the humdrum into magical lands where actions matter and heroes step forward to right wrongs, from small to large, to make a better world.
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