The Guardians of Gaia

Teaser II

The Toronto Star

Janurary 17th 2014

An Interview with the Dynamic Duo: Marina and Shade
by David DeMann

The staff at the Toronto Star were lucky enough to land an interview with the daring defenders Marina and Shade. Read on for our insightful conversation with two of Toronto's most important protectors.

Marina is even more imposing then she looks on the TV screen. Her home-made costume which consists of a form-fitting denim suit complete with an M in the chest doesn't detract from her queenly presence. The sight of Shade is even more incredible then I had imagined; there's no special effects here!

TS: So how did you two meet?

Shade: (Laughs and glances at Marina) We went to the same middle school and I guess I was a bit sloppy with my powers-

Marina: More like careless-

Shade: Yeah, well, Marina realized I wasn't ordinary and neither was she. She caught up with me a year later and proposed that we fight crime together.

Marina: He didn't really want to right away but I convinced him.

TS: So why didn't you want to fight crime, Shade? And Marina, why did you want to?

Shade: I was lazy then, I'm still lazy now and I know I'm going to be lazy in the future. Being a superhero is difficult work. Caring is the exact opposite of being lazy. I just thought being a hero was too much work. Yeah, someone has to do it but it doesn't have to be me.

Marina: I wanted to fight crime because I feel like I've got powers for a reason. I'm supposed to help people out there who don't have powers. You know about the G-Force right?

TS: Who doesn't? The G-Force is biggest superhero alliance in all of Canada.

Marina: I don't care if they read this because it has to be said; The G-Force doesn't care about Canada. They don't do their jobs. Someone has to care about Canada, and it had to be me.

TS: So how old were you when you realized this? How old are you two right now anyway?

Shade: Marina was twelve when she hatched the plan to be Marina. I'm twenty-two and Marina is nineteen.

TS: So how did you two come up with your names?

Marina: I always liked the name Marina. I thought it was pretty. And it goes with the whole sea thing.

Shade: My older sister came up with it. The other option was Umbro.

Marina: (Laughs)

TS: Aren't you afraid of the wrath of the G-Force?

Marina: Absolutely not. If they were going to come after us they'd actually have to do something aside from sit on their asses all day in their fortress out in the North. That's too difficult for them. So I could do everything aside from slander their characters and I won't get in trouble.

TS: Do you find your superhero lives interfere a lot with your regular lives?

Shade: I've been doing this for so long it just feels like two sides to one coin. I work a regular job and it's difficult to explain all of my absences and having to leave all of a sudden.

Marina: Definitely. Being in school is impossible sometimes because I'm always out of class and it's not really my fault. I wish I could tell my professors why but that would just complicate things.

TS: Does it interfere with your love lives?

Shade: (Rolls his entirely purple eyes) I'm pretty ugly in real life-

Marina: Don't lie now!

Shade: (Laughs) Well no one likes me so dating isn't a problem.

Marina: I don't have time for any bullsh*t so I just don't date

Shade: (Whispering) Marina doesn't believe in love.

Marina: That's not true. I just don't believe in romantic love.

TS: Marina, is it true that you and Commander Canada have been romantically involved?

Marina: Is this a gossip rag or a newspaper? Me and that pompous ass-hole have never even been in the same room.

TS: Where do you think your powers have originated?

Shade: Radiation. Aliens maybe.

Marina: I don't know. I think elementals occur naturally and it just happened to me.

TS: Do you think you two will ever settle down and have a family? Or you be fighting crime forever?

Shade: I don't even know what I'm bringing for lunch tomorrow at work. I don't know! (Laughs)

Marina: I want to be like The Incredibles. I feel like that's how my family is going to look like in the future. I mean I'm always going to be abnormal and I've finally begun to accept it. It was difficult growing up knowing that I wasn't like anyone else, but eventually I realized that this is who I am and who I'm always going to be. No point in fighting it anymore. (Chuckles). I suppose I just have to go with the flow.