#snippet imagining what might happen if Ava comes back a bit more biblically than anticipated

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

It started with the television report, breaking news playing across most stations both local and national, inescapable, impossible not to notice.  Newscasters speaking a thousand different languages relayed the same story: an angel landing, or perhaps falling, to Earth, crashing down in St. Peter's Square at the heart of Vatican City, just after High Mass no less, for extra dramatic effect.  The Catholic Church, and Christianity as a whole, had been struggling valiantly to regain its footing following the brief but harrowing threat of Adriel the Con Man, the False Angel, the Antichrist (depending on your persuasion),  and the new, hastily selected Pope himself could not have asked for a more spectacular sign of divine will.  

Those exiting the Basilica, as well as tourists and passersby, were treated to the sight of golden light hurtling down from the sky to hit the stones with a stunning explosion of color and sound.  All footage that could be salvaged was taken from some distance away, as exposure to the light of God disrupted and ruined all electronic devices within close proximity.  But even from a distance, the inhuman majesty was unmistakable.  The divine aura faded to reveal a humanoid being kneeling on the ground, 6 massive wings of pure light stretching from its back.  

Witness reports were varied in terms of finer physical details.  It was generally, though not universally, agreed that the angel was nude, and had a feminine form.  Different tellings declared it (or she?) to be as tall as a giant or as short as a teenager, with hair that was either made of fire or merely back-lit by the glow of her wings.  One Sister Cecilia, an elderly nun from Avignon, described her as the most beautiful being in all creation, the shining star of God's eternal sky.  Salvador Cadorna, a tour guide passing through the square, described her as a monster of vengeance sent to punish those who abandoned their faith for Adriel's treachery.  Joshua Dobson, a teenage tourist in Salvador's group, described her more succinctly as "really freaky".

All accounts agreed that the angel spoke with a voice that roared like thunder, echoing off the walls of the Basilica and shaking the statues of the saints above.  Her words were universally understood, as all who listened heard their own language spoken back to them.  Italian, English, Spanish, French, German, Cantonese, Russian, and more, corroborated by witnesses trickling in over time.  Shaky footage captured on a cell phone showed a nun kneeling in front of the angel, hands clasped in benediction.  "Angelo di Dio, qual è il tuo messaggio?" For a moment, the angel said nothing, standing in holy repose, or perhaps surprise at being asked a question.  Her eventual response was… puzzling but clearly intelligible.  "UM… ABORTION IS FINE, AND TRANS RIGHTS MATTER."  Then, as though remembering something urgent, she added, "UH OH, GOTTA BLAST!  BYE!" before disappearing in another burst of golden light.

To say that religious authorities, world leaders, and, most importantly, the Internet were now in an uproar was an impressive understatement.