The Raptor's Shadow [superpowers] [litRPG] [Alt-1920s] [GL]

We fall so that we may fly London, the summer of 1922. In the aftermath of a global war, the world rebuilds with incredible magitech. Floating trains, limitless power, and devastating weapons co-exist with crushing poverty and a lost generation of young men. As sixteen-year-olds across the world manifest the first superpowers, and organisations move in the shadows to control this new transhuman resource, Stella Maris prepares for war. Or shopping. A girl should always be ready for both. Trained from infancy to lead warbands after an apocalypse that never arrived, Stella is stuck in a jazz-age society she doesn’t understand. With one mother pushing her to lead armies and her other mother wanting grandkids, Stella finds an outlet for her frustration in punching East End gangsters. But when she discovers powered European teenagers being trafficked through her city, she sets herself against an enemy even governments are afraid of. From magitech to megacorps to monsters in the shadows, Stella Maris will face them all to become the world’s first hero, founder of the eponymous superhero team, the Raptors of London. God may have a plan for her, but she has her own plans involving blasphemy, knives, and a lot of punching. Watch her rise. See her soar. Witness her fall. What to Expect Neurodivergent child soldier with silk tentacles and a punch first, punch second attitude Multiple wlw relationships both established and beginning Alt-history Jazz-age London with historic personages and detailed research A story-driven LitRPG-lite system that emerges naturally as powers grow A hard magitech system separate from the superpowers No harem. No OP mc. No numbered stats.  Not suitable for younger readers. Read the pre-chapter content warnings if concerned. Multi-pov storytelling. No AI generators were used in the creation of this text or associated artwork. Cover art by Sashlmlsan (link is to DeviantArt). This work is protected under copyright. No AI permissions are granted.  Other PoVs: Selene: death-cult survivor turned war mum. She’s spent sixteen years preparing Stella for the end of the world, and now she has almost 160 superpowered teenagers to love and, by love, she means turn into weapons. This is a community building side story. Hildy: she has no superpowers, no boyfriend, and no life, but she does have a career as a journalist, even if she can’t find believable ways to write about superpowered youths fighting “demons” in street battles when the world doesn’t yet believe in superpowers. Magpie: baby disaster lesbian, apprentice thief, and chaos-goat mum. Has a phobia of pirate hats. Stole a guy’s lunch one time. Maria: her brother is a tree but she can fix him.