Electra
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Koshiro shrugged, relaxing back to indolence now that the dog was romping around on the computer screen instead of sniffing his feet. "Boring as hell," he told his roommate, even as he pulled off his sleep shirt and grabbed a clean gray t-shirt from the drawer. Like usual, the room was surprisingly neat for a teenage boy's, one good habit that he'd held onto from juvie. "I'm making a little money anyway, enough to send home. Flipping burgers in the caf, tutoring freshmen history and geometry. It's too damn hot here to go out at night anymore. I don't know how people stand living here their whole lives." He made a face, then let it go. "How was your trip home?"
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Backing up further would've meant actually climbing up into his bunk, which left Koshiro cornered for the moment. He'd met German Shepherds before, in situations that involved a lot more snarling and running, so he didn't entirely rule out scaling the bunk, but the loss of face from doing so would be nearly untenable. Instead, he glanced down at the dog, then back to Sharl. "Yeah, nice. Very, uh, realistic. A little big for the room, though. Maybe you can have her go run around in some computer field or something?" Moving slowly so as not to draw the dog's attention, he reached for his jeans and pulled them on, which at least made him feel slightly less vulnerable.
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The dorm was much quieter and emptier during the summer, with most of the students at home and the remaining few out doing their own thing during the morning. Koshiro's summer classes were all in the evening, perhaps in an attempt to curb his more antisocial tendencies, so he could reliably be found sleeping in and lazing his way through the mornings before heading to his afternoon job in the cafeteria. True to form, he answered Sharl's knock in boxers and a wrinkled t-shirt, his face shadowed with stubble. He blinked once in surprise. "Hey, you're back. I thought you were gonna be home most of the summer." He stepped back from the door to let Sharl in, then took a few more, quicker steps when he saw Lora. "Jeez, you brought a dog in here?" He gave the big, toothy animal a wary look.
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ic Celebrating Liberty Through Meat and Explosions [IC]
Electra replied to trollthumper's topic in North Bay
"Probably more comfortable for all of us on the porch," Erin decided, "it's only going to get hotter." She stood and tossed Trevor the squirt bottle of water on the table next to her, trusting that he would easily field the improvised fire extinguisher even when he was looking elsewhere. Keeping her cup in one hand, she lifted the entire picnic table and its contents of drinks, fruit and various deli salads with the other hand and began carrying it towards the house. "Try not to set the yard on fire," she called over her shoulder, but whether she was referring to the grillmaster or the jetpack duo was not immediately obvious. -
Erin raised her hands and stared at the mottled energy beating under her skin like a sluggish pulse. Somehow the light of the Tree made it look even more alien. Maybe it was the magical effect, or the events of the day already, or perhaps just the life she led, but overhearing her own death sentence on the mental link brought no panic, not even really that much surprise. --Not a great prognosis-- she mused over the link. --I suspect the Furions aren't going to be crazy about the idea of exposing any power source they might have to potential contamination by double-evilness energy. Do we have any other options?-- She took a deep breath, willing her suddenly-sluggish body to pick up the pace a little bit.
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"Citizen, step back!" Miss Americana snapped, giving the teenager a look even as she leapt to the nearest console. she promised, and it wasn't the good kind of promise. Not only had her sidekick interrupted the investigation and sent the computers going haywire, he'd tacitly admitted his attempts to pry into her secured data. Teenage hijinks were bad enough when the teenager in question wasn't a sophisticated machine intelligence with a superhuman potential for mischief. Ignoring protocols and army security, she began typing in commands, attempting to analyze the system without exposing any part of herself to an infectious virus. As for Danson, Wail obviously had her sewn up for the moment. If Miss A'd had a hand free, she'd have pressed her fingers to the place behind her ear where the basso profundo words still resonated.
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The native Koshiro led the way into the store, stepping carefully in case there was merchandise or even a shop cat on the floor somewhere. "Look for old radios and TVs, the older the better," he instructed. "Vacuum tubes haven't been used in any tech here for at least thirty years. We might be able to make our own with some equipment, but I don't know how to do it myself. It'd be a lot easier to find some." "Well if you don't use vacuum tubes, how do you work your technology?" Koshiro wondered, picking his way equally carefully in the other direction. "What have you got instead?" "Um, I think it was transistors first, back in the seventies or so," Koshiro replied, trying to think back to his engineering history. "Now it's like integrated circuits and semiconductors and stuff. But we're not going to upgrade your tech, I'm not even getting anywhere near the problems that'd cause."
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With the civilian situation quickly resolving itself, now that the danger was past and the police were moving in, Miss A flew back to the stage where the others were waiting. "It looks like things are well in hand here," she told them, "but it still remains to be seen exactly what their plan was, or where the D-Gray program came from." She gave a nod to the holographic rapper. "I'd like to take D-Gray and all the robot parts to my workspace at The Lab for analysis. Any of you who'd like to are welcome to come along, especially if you don't mind carrying some robot parts." She gave Voltage and Cannonade another winning smile.
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"Thank you, Captain," Fleur said, polite and placating. "We have no intention to do anything to harm you. I'm Fleur de Joie, I've been rehabilitating the land west of here to make it fit for humans again. These are my friends, Gaian Knight and Gabriel. They live here too, and are helping me today. You see, something bad is happening to the plants that I've been setting in, some airborne microorganism that is weakening and beginning to kill them. I've been told that something like that might have been released during the conflict that damaged this world in the first place, and we're looking for any clues we can find. We'd like to speak with you about it, if we may."
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ic Celebrating Liberty Through Meat and Explosions [IC]
Electra replied to trollthumper's topic in North Bay
Erin carried the coolers of meat over to the grill for Trevor, then poured herself a glass of punch and sat down on the edge of the picnic table. "Careful," she advised Joe, "there are some things that only work safely because Mark is driving them, not because they're safe." She watched Trevor grilling for a minute, feeling no desire to stand in front of the hot grill herself, but enjoying the show. Her skin was as pale as his, but her superhuman durability meant she didn't need to bother with sunscreen even in a heat waye. "Is Travis going to come out and eat with us?" she asked Trevor. "We could move it up to the porch with the shade and air conditioning for him." Months of exposure had tempered the initially awkward relationship there, and though Erin still held the first Midnight in a bit of awe, she had a great deal of affection for him as well. He was, after all, the only parental figure Erin and Trevor had between the both of them. -
ic Celebrating Liberty Through Meat and Explosions [IC]
Electra replied to trollthumper's topic in North Bay
"Oh yeah, we watched them from here last year, and they're awesome," Erin replied, swinging the cooler like a lunchbox. The driveway went on and on, but finally opened onto the Manor itself, an old and stately home, well maintained, with a substantial extra helping of garage on the side. From previous visits, Joe had the idea that there was even more garage underground, the better to hold all the various Night Vehicles. "You want something to drink?" she asked. "We've got all kinds of stuff, mostly different kinds of soda and water, but there's fruit punch with vanilla ice cream and frozen blueberries that turned out pretty good too." She led him around the side of the house to the back, which was another journey in and of itself. "It's a lot hotter than last year, but the porch is air conditioned if we want to go inside." -
Not far from Hard Mama and Max, Wander sat center seat between one of the Overriders and Midnight, trying to keep an eye on everything at once. It was strange not to be riding behind Trevor on a motorcycle after all their adventures together, but Erin quickly forgot that in the greater strangeness of the bleak universe they were traveling through. She was glad to have his arms around her waist and his chest against her back, even as she worried a little that he was more injured than he would admit to. At least the fight was over now, and they would all have a chance to heal up and be okay. Looking at the blasted worlds of the Terminus sent a chill deep inside her, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. These were the lucky ones, after a fashion, ones that hadn't been pulled into the Doom Coil and utterly obliterated like her own world. She pushed the thought away, but the coldness remained, like it was sinking into her bones,into her heart. It was just space travel, she told herself, and the sickly red destructive glow that covered everything. It was a horrible place, in a universe of horrible places. Her first sight of the Silver Tree swept all that from her mind for a moment. "Wow," she murmured aloud as the branches of the tree seemed to unfurl around them, casting away the red darkness with shining silver light. Except, she noticed abruptly, on her own skin, which still glowed with a dull mottled red and black, as though it was coming from inside her.
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Miss America stopped her work long enough to turn that spotlight of a smile on Voltage. Up close, the beauty and charm that made her the ideal CEO for a company in a PR nightmare, not to mention an especially memorable superhero herself, was close to overwhelming. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Voltage," she told him warmly. "That was some good work back there in the fight. If you can help my sidekick Citizen get those robot parts up to the stage, we won't have to worry about anyone looking for souvenirs. What's your specialty?"
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Koshiro took a few steps towards the unconscious and/or bound villains, already acquiring a hint of his usual relaxed gait. He blinked his eyes, another small accomplishment, and glanced over at the others. "We should probably call the Star Squad or something too, we don't want to end up babysitting these guys while we look for the Bauble and try to get ourselves sorted out. Plus, given how they screwed the whole thing up once, we don't want to risk them getting a hand on the stupid thing again." He absently reached for his pocket to create a barrier enclosing Fathom and his goon squad, only to realize he didn't even have pants, much less pockets, much less the paper he always carried. Nor would he have been able to use it if he had it. He thought for a second. "Hey Ghost Girl, I want to try something. Give me a piece of paper, would you?"
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ic Celebrating Liberty Through Meat and Explosions [IC]
Electra replied to trollthumper's topic in North Bay
The gate clicked open for him immediately, swinging back to allow him down the long, long driveway to the estate. In just a moment Erin jogged up, modulating her speed so she looked like a normal runner to anyone who might be passing on the street. In blue shorts and a yellow Claremont t-shirt, she looked ready for a picnic, and a lot more relaxed than he usually saw her. "Hey Joe," she called as she approached. "Glad you could make it. Trevor's around back with the grill, so you're right on time. Mark'll probably fall out of the sky any minute. Let me help you with that." She took the cooler of burgers from him, holding it as effortlessly as if it were empty. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?" -
With another quick burst of laser light, Miss Americana took out the last of the drones, one that had already been considerably softened up by earlier attacks. That taken care of, she took to the sky, still carrying the deactivated Chimera, and flew to center stage, where a microphone stood waiting. Dropping Chimera to the ground, so that the robot was nothing more than an inoffensive pile of metal parts, she tapped the mic, then spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen," she began, her dulcet tones spreading over the festival grounds. "The threat of the evil robots has been neutralized. You are in no danger. Please remain calm and return to your seats, or make your way to the exits in an orderly fashion. If anyone near you needs assistance, please help them, or signal for medical attention. Again, there is no longer any robot threat. You may return to your seats in safety. Thank you for your cooperation." she told Sharl, With that, Miss A flew towards where the crowd was still the thickest, touching down to help direct traffic and aid the injured in person.
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Miss Americana opened her mouth to speak,then blinked in surprise and took a moment to refocus. The nametag said Danson, but this woman was far too young to have been active forty years in the past. Not that immortal superheroes were unheard of, or even that uncommon, but Donna Danson had a daughter who could be this age now. Either way, finding her here guarding the repository of robot parts could not be a coincidence. "Sergeant Danson," she began politely, "My name is Miss Americana. We're investigating a possible break-in at this facility, and I'd like to ask you a couple of questions." She held up the robot, arranging it so the facial features were clearly visible. "Have you ever seen this gynoid before?"
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Erin pushed off fearlessly, shooting through the air like someone born to it as she crossed the wide, circular space. Years of acrobatics training served her well here, and with no monsters to fight, it was surprisingly easy to relax a little. She fetched up against the far wall, tucking to land feet first, and then tumbled gently back in the direction of the door. "This is so cool," she said with a laugh. "It's like when I used to long-jump, but better. You never start the falling part, just keep on going, like flying. Come on, it's fun!" She extended a hand to Trevor, the other hanging onto one of the suction cup wall handles so they didn't float away too precipitously.
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Once the transmission was cut, Erin allowed herself to sink to the ground for a moment, folding her legs under her as she waited for her autonomic nervous system to catch up with the rest of the world. By the time Trevor was finished gagging up his overdose of Midnight Mist, she was starting to feel more normal, shaking off whatever magic nasty Nightmare Doom had hurled at her. She headed over to Midnight, sheathing her bat as she went, then trying to adjust and smooth out the remnants of yet another ruined civilian outfit. "Is Redbird okay?" she asked. "I saw what Madrigal did to the Cycle. She deserved to be knocked out just for that." Frowning, Erin looked towards the battlefield for the remains of the vehicle, ready to help pick up the pieces.
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Miss A attacks the last drone! It's a terrible roll! Spending HP to reroll Much better! DC 29 toughness save
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"We're going to go get some vacuum tubes to put that stupid machine back together," Koshiro informed the obsequious program. It had always seemed a bit weird to him how much bowing and scraping was programmed into Tulink, but maybe the Nazis liked a little extra groveling with their tech support. "You're going to come along and tell us exactly what we need to pick up and how many. And you're not to inform the others of what we're doing," he added. The other Koshiro, the one who was roommates and tentative friends with Sharl, opened his mouth to protest the high-handed treatment of the artificial intelligence, but something stopped him. He hadn't seen much of the interaction between this Sharl and his team, but he didn't seem to be doing much to assert his individuality. If he was playing computer, maybe he had a reason. "We'd better get a move on," he said instead, leading the way to a door he'd scoped out earlier. That dog probably won't keep everyone distracted very long."
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Between the stilted and stuttering beat of her heart and the moving-through-water drag on her muscles, precious seconds elapsed before Wander could pull herself together for another shot at the monster. Luckily, Sage was right there in the monster's face, distracting it and leaving it open for a clear shot. She looked at the expanse of flayed skin that Indira had just made, and had her target. With a great effort, and looking oddly as though she were moving in slow-motion, Wander drew back her bat, spun it, and drove it as hard as she could against the monster's broken scales and already-buckled hide, even as lightning and fire rained down from above.
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Erin pulled her helmet off and went to work on the rest of her suit, her hair beginning to float gently with he lack of gravity. Once she was back in her own clothes, she turned a couple of experimental somersaults, chuckling at the odd sensation. "Come on, Midnight," she cajoled, "didn't you ever want to be an astronaut when you were little? Before we have to go, I at least want to try chasing down a ball of orange juice or something. Gotta be some benefit in defeating that thing quickly." Making her way over to the wall, she walked up the side and upside-down across the ceiling, looking just about as tickled by the situation as anyone had ever seen her.
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"Midnight, can you get access to the security system enough to let us know exactly where these guys are?" Wander asked, drawing her bat as she looked around the darkened building. "We don't want to risk the exhibits any more than we have to, so if we can find exactly where they are, Cannonade and I can rush them on the floor, while Midnight gets up into the catwalks to make sure no one tries flying out. Edge can pick off anyone who tries to escape. We've probably got two minutes before the police start responding, and we don't want to risk anyone getting hurt, so faster is better. Good? " She looked around to the others for assent or comment.
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"You just have to think it to land," Koshiro told Kimber, even as he smoothed his hands over his arms. With the fight over for a moment, he could concentrate more attention on sculpting himself back to something close to human. His fingers were recognizably separate digits now, and some color was creeping slowly over the bluish-silver metal that made up his body now. He took a few steps towards her, looking up. "Once you get down to floor level, think about it being a piece of paper again, and it'll unfold. You'll be able to step right off." Despite the strange circumstances, he sounded almost encouraging.