CCJC Audio Podcast Series Episode 00032 Season 2
The Latest Battle Of New Orleans
Here at Cajun Chronicles Podcast Corporation we long ago made the decision that with our goals of telling the real stories of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, as historic preservationists in part, and advocates of those who are marginalized – that except for sharing past political history - we’d stay out of today’s current political minefield.
Right now, our heart bleeds for the current events that recently happened in not only New Orleans, but around the world. However, all we can do is hunker down and do what we can for those in our own communities and lives. Of course, we do have a few stories, a couple that our own Writer/Editor, Nanette Malbreaux made up for her three children, Guillaume, Julienne, and Auguste.
For her, there was no way to hide the endless news reports of terrorist attacks around the world., But good old-fashioned stories might help them understand that even though there are super villains in this world, there are also superheroes and their allies who can help us once again have the last Battle of New Orleans. Sometimes those superheroes team up together, they have in the past and will continue to do so.
Super Villains Vs. Superheroes
The formerly liquored up air hung heavy with the scent of swamp lily tourists and the threat of more potential terrorist impending bloody doom. New Orleans, a city steeped in the magic of the jazzy mystical and the mundane, found itself under siege yet again. This time, the threat wasn't from some hurricane, petty gangster, terrorists, pandemic, scammer, politician, or a rogue spectral entity. The Hunter of Souls was back again, along with her legion of monstrous Les Dames de la Mort (The Ladies of Death) zombie souls.
Calypso glided through the French Quarter like a spectral apparition. Her eyes, the color of a bruised plum, reflecting the flickering ghost gas lamps of the Big Easy’s past. Her skin was the shade of polished heartwood ebony, shimmered with an unnatural inky purple sheen, as if bathed in moonlight.
Draped in a flowing crimson velvet robe, she moved with a sinuous grace, each step leaving a trail of chilling mist in her wake. Her smile, a predatory curve of scarlet lips, revealed teeth sharpened to points, hinting at the cruel hunger that fueled her dark magic. The air around her crackled with an unnatural energy. There was a palpable sense of dread weighing over hanging the sultry New Orleans night.
Calypso, a sorceress with powers drawn from the darkest corners of the myths of voodoo Loa, sought to drain the life force from all of New Orleans. She even wanted to erase any hollow shell of its former glory. The French Quarter, renowned for its year round parties of jazz and laughter, was now a mind field of bloody screams and the shattering of glass.
Two of her superhero foes, Superman and Spider-Man, were drawn by the city's desperate cries for help. Superman arrived first, in a thunderous supersonic energy boom. He soared above the chaos below of government experts in such disasters, a beacon of hope against the encroaching darkness. But Calypso, anticipating only Superman’s arrival, had prepared. Her enslaved servants immediately gathered to swarm the Man of Steel, their planned attacks were vicious and relentless.
Almost at the same time, a crimson streak moved against the twilight sky. Spider-Man raced across the Bayou country, in full display of steel and silk. Each swing of his web-shooters propelled him further, a living embodiment of urban agility. He navigated the Adrien de Pauger labyrinthine streets of New Orleans, a city of vibrant life now shrouded in an eerie shocked pallor.
Lightning energy crackled with dark voodoo magic. The groans of the undead echoing through the twilight. Below, Superman, a solitary figure of strength against the encroaching darkness, was already battling against Calypso's ghostly hordes. Suddenly, a flash of red and blue erupted from the shadows. Spider-Man landed with a graceful flip, a whirlwind of motion, his eyes gleaming with determination as he joined the fray.
What Spider-Man had understood first, was that Superman's raw power could counter Calypso's brute force magic, but his own agility and web-slinging abilities could disrupt her rituals and protect innocent civilians.
Realizing he couldn't defeat them alone, Superman also sought additional help. He landed in the heart of the French Quarter, seeking out the city's own protectors. He found them in the unlikely duo of Jean-Paul "Grimoire" Lafitte, a Cajun warlock traiteur with a penchant for practical jokes and a love for hot sauce, and Celeste "Siren Ruisseau" Dubois, an Irish-Creole traiteuses sorceress whose beautiful voice could both shatter stone and mend broken hearts.
Grimoire, initially skeptical of the "big blue boy scout," grudgingly agreed to help, mostly to impress a particularly alluring young woman who happened to be observing the spectacle. Siren Ruisseau, however, was more pragmatic. She saw the threat to her city and readily joined the fight.
Together, they devised a plan. Grimoire, with his deep knowledge of local flora and fauna, would concoct a potion using the rarest of swamp orchids. Selecting elusive Ghost Orchid, with its ethereal blooms seemingly floating on air, devoid of leaves. Adding Calopogon, with its vibrant purple petals adorned with intricate veining, shimmering like a jewel amidst the emerald jade green moss. Lastly adding the Grass Pink Orchid. Its slender stems are crowned with a single, delicate pink flower. It's a fleeting hint of beauty from the shadowy depths of the swamp.
To all of that foundation, Grimoire added pungent herbs, and the tears of a weeping willow. Siren Ruisseau, with her mastery of elemental energy magic, would amplify the potion's power. Only she alone knew the secret of creating a mystical barrier that would banish Calypso and her zombie servants back to the abyss of their self-made hell from where they came.
Meanwhile Superman, providing the necessary muscle, would hold off Calypso and her slaves, with Spider-Man’s help, buying Grimoire and Siren Ruisseau the time they needed to complete their concoction. The battle raged for days. Creole cottages and double shotgun houses crumbled, the air electrified crackled, and Superman, despite his immense power, was pushed to his limits.
That’s when Spider-Man, a blur of red and blue, weaved through the chaos of Calypso's spell work. His spider-sense, an unfailing sixth sense, buzzed with heightened awareness, guiding him through the labyrinth of magical energy that twisted and writhed around him.
Like a skilled surgeon performing a delicate operation, he used his web-shooters with precision and purpose. He shot streams of sticky webbing at the nodes of Calypso's magic, those points where the sorceress's power flowed most strongly. The webs, like tendrils of a living creature, wrapped around the nodes, disrupting the flow of magical energy and causing the spell work to falter.
Not content to merely disrupt Calypso's rituals, Spider-Man also used his webbing to create temporary barriers, redirecting the raw magical energy that threatened to spill out and inflict further damage on the city. He constructed webs of varying stickiness, some to ensnare the spectral zombie entities that Calypso had summoned, others to act as shields against the sorceress's more direct attacks.
With each well-placed shot, each deftly woven barrier, Spider-Man became a force multiplier in the battle against Calypso. He was more than just a distraction; he was a crucial element in disrupting the sorceress's magic, buying Superman the precious time he needed to counter her attacks and finally bring the battle to a close.
Finally, Grimoire, his brow furrowed in concentration, declared the potion complete. Siren Ruisseau, channeling her power, unleashed a wave of energy, infusing the potion with mystical potency. Superman, seizing the opportunity, hurled the potion towards Calypso.
The potion exploded on contact, engulfing Calypso and her zombie servants in a blinding light. They shrieked in agony as they were ripped from the fabric of their reality, vanishing into the void. New Orleans, once on the brink of destruction, was saved again.
As the dust settled, Superman thanked his unlikely allies. Grimoire, ever the showman, bowed dramatically. Siren Ruisseau, with a mischievous glint in her green eyes, simply winked at Superman and high-fived Spider-Man. The Man of Steel and the Man Of Responsibility, both humbled by the strength and resilience of New Orleans’ own native protectors, soared back into the heavens, leaving New Orleans to once again bask in the glow of its unique history and in in the hands of the very capable delightful multicultural peoples that make it so unique..
Hundred of years later the incident became a legend whispered on the streets of the French Quarter, proof of the power of unlikely cultural alliances and the enduring spirit of a Louisiana city that, no matter what the threat is, no matter what life or climate throws at them, can and will always, as it always has – will find a way to rise above any troubles that dares to come to it.
Our tales are inspired by real New Orleans history, but some details may have been spiced up for a good story. While we've respected the truth, a bit of creative license could have been used. Please note that all characters may be based on real people, but their identities in some cases have been Avatar masked for privacy. Others are fictional characters with connections to Louisiana.
A Word of Wisdom:
As you read, remember history and real life is a complex mix of joy, sorrow, triumph, and tragedy. While we may have (or not) added a bit of fiction, the core message remains: the human spirit's power to endure, adapt, and overcome.
© Jerilee Wei 2024 All Rights Reserved.
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