Electra
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Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
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"Why do you think Freedom City's got so many heroes?" Wander asked Momentum, a wry half-smile on her face. "We may patrol the streets at night for muggers and car thieves, but that's not what keeps us in business. Freedom City's always gotten more than its share of weirdness and nasty, scary stuff. It needs a lot of heroes to protect it. It's also the best place to learn. Sharp learning curve, though." Her grin was sympathetic, even as she leapt ahead to catch up with Gabriel. "Well there are programs and stuff set up, aren't there?" she asked the older hero, keeping pace with him from the rooftops. "They could get help without turning to crime, if they wanted to."
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"Oh, um, sure," Erin said without really thinking. She didn't know exactly why Mark would call her, but maybe he just figured she'd be awake at this hour. And they were teammates after all, even if she wouldn't pick herself as anyone's shoulder to cry on, or whatever he needed. Maybe he just needed somebody to be there, and she could do that much. "I'll be over in just a few minutes. You'll probably want to meet me at the front since we're outside visiting hours. I'm sure you can get me in."
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Erin snapped up the phone on the first ring, sneaking a glance over at the slumbering Alex, who didn't seem to have been disturbed by the noise. "Hey Mark," she said softly, "Not really, just trying to get a jump on my homework. As usual," she added wryly. "What do you need?" Mark, for all his perkiness, wasn't really an early morning person, and he wasn't the sort to just call on a whim. He was more likely to actually stop by on a whim. Was he off campus?
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After a moment of hesitation, Erin put her hands on his chest, smiling almost reluctantly even as pink crept into her cheeks. "Thanks," she told him. "I should say the same thing about you more often. I guess that's just one more thing that makes us a good team." Her stomach was doing backflips, but in a nice way, weird as that seemed. And he really was starting to fill out nicely, she couldn't help but notice again.
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Erin lingered on the first roof till she was sure that Momentum was going to be able to keep up and hadn't climbed up to this roof from the ground or something like that, then leapt after him and the others from rooftop to rooftop as they crossed the district. She listened carefully to what Gabriel was saying, not actually taking notes, but making mental notes for things to write down later. At this point, it would've been a little embarrassing to take out the maps she had stashed in her pocket. She'd remember the high points, she was sure. And with as many heroes as Southside appeared to have guarding it, she might not have to visit often anyway.
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"So far, so good," Erin said, her smile a little rueful. "I mean, it's not my area of expertise either. My parents had a good relationship, but I never really... I don't know, watched it or thought about it in an adult way while it was happening. I don't even know how they met," she admitted. "But if we're happy and getting along and doing stuff together, I guess we're doing something right, right? I mean, what more do we want in terms of doing okay?"
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"It sounds perfect," Wander told him with a nod. "I usually work from the rooftops, to get a better view. I've been spending too much of my time in Bayview or downtown when I'm in the city, so it's easy to get lazy and not bother to learn other things, you know?" She looked over the edge of the roof down at the captured robber. "As soon as the police get close enough that we can stop watching your guy there, we can take off. I've got pretty much the rest of the night open, so whatever you want to show me would be great."
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"I'm down here because I need to get more experience with this part of the city," Wander told the others. "If any of you know a lot about it, I'd appreciate whatever tour you'd like to give. I figure if I get at least some patrol experience everywhere, then if I get called somewhere on a mission, I don't have to worry about getting lost or being in a strange place, you know? Anyway, walk and talk works fine for me. Are you all new in the city, or have I just not run into any of you before?" she asked.
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"I learned some of the letters a long time ago," Erin told him, forming her hand into an "a", then a "b," a "c," and then leaping straight to "h." "But I never really learned how to do it fast. I could practice on you, and maybe it'll be handy in a fight or on a mission sometime." She leaned back against the wheel of the truck, looking at him. "And yeah, some arguments are a lot worse than others. I was kind of bothered, but I wouldn't, you know, toss you out. I say stupid things all the time, I can't hold it too much against other people when they're kind of tactless."
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Erin allowed herself a moment to enjoy the view of Trevor's very nice muscles before politely returning her gaze to his face and paying attention to what he was saying. "Seems like a good idea, and not just to talk with Eve," she allowed with a nod. "I saw you and Tricia using it, and it seemed to be working pretty well for whatever you were talking about." Which was something she was still curious about, but wasn't going to ask. Instead she asked, "Can you teach me how?"
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Erin took a moment to size up the two adult heroes, now that she had a chance to get a closer look. Neither of them were familiar, and once seemed to be little more than a shadow. The other one was pretty good looking, in a clean-cut sort of way. Neither of them appeared to pose any kind of threat. "I'm Wander," she told them both. "I'm with Young Freedom. I was just passing through here, when I saw your bad guy come along," she told Gabriel. "I was going to see if you needed help, but you had backup show up anyway. And then he dropped in on the roof here. Some nights are just like that," she said with a shrug. "You all typically work in Southside?" She decided now was not an appropriate time to critique Momentum on his poise, there was no need to embarrass him.
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"And let you rename it the Night Pickup?" she chuckled, scooting a little closer to him on the concrete floor. "Nuh-uh. I like it blue. It's pretty, and it's not like I use it when I need to be stealthy, anyhow. It's like the best of both worlds, I can have my blue truck, and if for some reason I need a black truck or a black bike or a black horse and carriage or a black rickshaw, I know the guy to talk to." She looked at his outstretched hand, touched it lightly with her fingers, then handed him a rag to wipe off the engine grease. "When did you learn fingerspelling, anyway?" she asked, apropos of nothing.
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Erin eased back a little as she sized up her "opponent", who looked a little bit like he was going to faint. She flicked the bat closed with an expert spin and tucked it away, cocking her head to one side as she watched him. "Momentum, huh?" she repeated. "You're new at this, aren't you." He could be hero or villain, but he was definitely inexperienced. "I'm Wander. Come on, I'm not really going to hit you," she added with a sigh." At that moment, she caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned to look. "Oh boy, it's a party," she muttered under her breath.
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Momentum suddenly felt a cool wind on his face, and before he could blink, he was suddenly face to face with his heretofore-unseen neighbor. She was obviously young, an older teenager in a blue and gold spandex uniform, but she held a five-foot-long baton with the ease of long practice, and her face was set. "Who are you?" she asked softly, "and what are you doing here?" One hero was coincidence, Erin figured, two was happenstance, but three... Well, three could still be coincidence in a city like this, but she was paranoid enough to be taking no chances. She wasn't in a threatening posture, exactly, but it was clear that she wouldn't take well to being messed with.
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Erin jumped when Trevor reappeared, but she was very glad to see him. She'd been more than a little sorry she'd asked Daisy for more details about her double. Even the very abbreviated details made her want to vomit. This wasn't the Erin White native to this universe, who was probably as nasty as everyone else. This Erin was her, but one who didn't make it to safety. One who'd jumped out of the frying pan and into an infinitely hotter fire... She jumped down from the loft and went to Trevor. "I trust her as far as I can throw her, which is far enough for now." She filled him in on what Daisy had revealed about their doubles. "What did you find out?"
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From above, Wander cocked her head and sized up the situation. She didn't recognize this hero off the top of her head, but he seemed to have the situation in hand. Still, it never hurt to have a little backup, especially with a squirrelly villain. She was about to drop in and offer a hand when suddenly a second, apparently unrelated hero dropped in! She'd seen this happen before, actually, it was bound to occur in a city like Freedom. Luckily, it almost always resulted in a team-up rather than a turf war. Fascinated, she perched on the edge of the building like a blue and gold gargoyle, waiting to see what the two heroes and their luckless quarry were going to do.
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Erin grinned, for all he couldn't see it. "Hmm, well I figure it should go at least faster than I can run," she mused, "so maybe two hundred miles per hour on the straightaway?" she offered. "I've only had my license for eight months, but I've been practicing by playing a lot of Mario Kart in the common room. I think that should count for something." She laid down on her stomach on the floor to look under the truck at him. "Maybe you could put a rocket on it." That last part was pure teasing, she knew how he'd felt about the rocket on the back of his precious motorcycle in Rick Lucas' strange parallel world.
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This used to be a nice neighborhood, Erin thought ruefully as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop in the Southside neighborhood, looking for the landmarks she'd marked on her map and getting the lay of the land. Some parts of it were still nice, but a lot of it was going to seed. Where she came from, most of it was a burnt-out ruin that had only been stopped by the freeway and the river, so at least it was better than that. It was good to keep low standards sometimes. In any case, she'd set herself the goal of getting familiar with the whole city before she applied to the Freedom League, and this was just one more step. From her perch above a shoe store, she suddenly caught sight of a man running down the sidewalk, looking as though his life depended upon his speed. Curious, Erin watched him, wondering exactly what was causing him to run like that. Victim, villain, or neither?
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Autumn brought cooler weather and shorter nights, but the darkness and the late hour wasn't too much of a bother. The garage at the Claremont Academy was well-lit, and the two people who occupied it didn't need a lot of sleep. Erin sat on the floor of the garage and passed tools to Trevor, who was hip-deep underneath the chassis of her blue truck, tinkering with the fuel injector manifold. Erin's mechanical skill was still that of a knowledgeable amateur, but it was nice to sit in the peace and quiet of the garage with him, and interesting to watch him work. They didn't get a lot of peaceful and quiet time together. "So, how fast is this gonna go when you're done with it?" she asked.
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Wander Whistling in the Dark Outing Midnight Run Mind Games Meet The Interceptors (5) A Doktor Who Makes House Calls? (14) A Trip Between Two Worlds (37) At the Mountains (1) Strength to Strength (4) Also, a vignette! Fleur de Joie Coffee Break Preventative Measures
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"What about me?" Erin demanded from her seat in the rafters. "Aren't I on the team? And why does everyone keep talking about me like I'm some kind of bogeyman, anyway? Why do they keep the other version of me locked up in that box?" She had a strong suspicion she wasn't going to like what she heard, but it was better than not knowing and just letting her mind fill in different scenarios, each worse than the last.
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"I do, a little bit," she told him, leading him over to the row of signs that stood on one edge of the field. "They're a little bit primitive, and some of the translations are probably off, but I figure it's a start. I'd like to get some kind of computer system eventually, but that's way out of my price range. Maybe eventually I'll collaborate with someone to get something set up. And I've got a couple of those big Red Cross first aid kits over in the medical supplies, but again, nothing more sophisticated, expense and all that. It's a work in progress," she admitted cheerfully. "And hopefully nobody will be here longer than a couple hours at most anyway." The first sign was in English, and looked to be the model for the other signs. It was a simple laminated board with large typed letters. Welcome to Sanctuary! If you are here, you have probably just been removed from some dangerous place. Your host, Fleur de Joie, will be returning you to where you came from as soon as it is safe. Please don't be afraid, nothing is going to hurt you and you'll be home soon. This whole area is free from danger, but please do not wander beyond the hedge so you don't risk getting lost. As soon as you arrive, if someone would do a headcount, that would help a lot. There is food in the shelters on the north side of the field, and medical supplies in the southeast shelter. If there is an emergency medical situation, please use the beacon to contact the Freedom League. Please be comfortable and enjoy your brief stay in Sanctuary. Everything is going to be all right.
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Erin watched Trevor go until he disappeared entirely, and a few moments after that. "Good luck," she murmured, then took a deep breath and turned around. "All right, we can try getting some information on our own while we're waiting. Mark, you've got a beacon in that costume, I bet. Can you make a radio that operates on the same frequency, then destroy the beacon? We don't want them to have any idea where we are, if they can track it. Let's see if we can hear what they're saying." She inspected his work, then leapt up to the overhead loft and peered out of the last open window. "This isn't a great place to defend, we'll hope Trevor finds us something better." She came back to the edge of the ledge. "You, Daisy," she said. "Tell us anything you know about Young Freedom... or whatever they are here."
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Erin stayed a few feet away, clasping her hands tightly behind her back as Trevor spoke. She looked weirdly military in her red and black uniform, stained as it was with whatever had been on it before she'd fallen into it. When he was done, she raked one hand through her hair, making strands of it stand on end. "I know you can," she tried to explain. "I can't... it's hard to let you go," she admitted quietly. "Not because I don't think you can do it. This place is so dangerous, and everyone is against us." She rubbed her face, a gesture that nearly mimicked his. "Don't get hurt, okay?" she asked. "And come back soon."
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"Hey!" Erin called after him in a low but sharply insistent voice. "Where are you going? We can't just split up now, how are we ever going to find each other again if we get separated?" For her part, she'd been creating a more defensible position in the warehouse, tossing heavy crates and barrels around into a sort of fortress wall that would conceal them and offer some protection against at least mundane attack. "We're supposed to be a team!"