Electra

Erin was dressed neatly in a blue blouse and khaki slacks, both of which looked clean but a little worn, and she carried a small storebought bouquet of colored daisies. She'd looked up some stuff on the internet about dinner at peoples' houses, and hostess gifts seemed pretty important. She figured it was better to be safe than rude. "Hi," she said, extending the flowers. "No, your directions were good. I ran into some traffic over the bridge, so I hope I'm not late."

It wasn't entirely easy for Erin to look Trevor in the face right then, a fact that discomfited and shamed her. His eyes were okay, just different, and that was one thing they all got pounded into them at school, that different wasn't bad. It just... it made him look so strange, alien really. But she looked anyway, and tried to concentrate on the shape of them, rather than the color, and the way his eyebrows arched, and the curve of his cheekbones beneath them. "It looks a little strange," she admitted, "but if they don't go back on their own, we'll all get used to them quickly enough, I guess. Do they hurt?" she asked, handing him back the sunglasses.

Erin nearly just turned and bounded away, but she could just hear Dr Marquez, much less the headmaster, if she told them she'd just left a school uniform laying around unattended, even one that no one in their right mind would ever get near. She was already probably going to get hell from Dr. Marquez about not understanding the zombie anyway. After this, it would probably be a whole nother round of stupid zombie movies. Erin kept an eye on the zombie until it had shambled a distance away, then retrieved the soiled uniform, trying to touch as little of it as possible. All she really wanted at this point was to get back to her room where it was safe and clean and everyone was alive. Even so, as she bounded away, Erin couldn't help replaying some of the conversation in her head. His name is Bert, and he wasn't that much older than me. It wasn't really something she wanted to think about.

"It's fine, I can eat anything," Erin assured her, then wondered if that sounded insulting by accident. "I mean, it sounds good, and I don't have allergies or anything like that. I'm looking forward to coming over." Maybe that was half a fib, but it was a polite one, and totally normal. "Anyway, I guess I'll see you on Friday then. Thank you for inviting me." After a couple last pleasantries, Erin hung up and tried to shake off the nerves. It was just dinner at somebody's house. How badly could she screw it up?

"Um, either is fine," Erin said, leaning on the washing machine as she spoke. "Erin, I guess, if it's going to be out of uniform and with your family. I don't really have a lot of secret identity. Seven is okay, just give me directions and I'm sure I can find it." She'd neglected to bring pencil and paper with her, but part of her recent training had been to learn the streets of Freedom City, so she was sure she'd be all right. "Is there, I mean, should I bring anything?"

Erin waited a whole day after receiving the message before returning the phone call. She wasn't very good with family gatherings or normal people. It was easy to think of a thousand slips she could make that would make the whole thing uncomfortable or worse. Surely it would be easier just to say that no thanks were necessary and she was too busy with school to get away right now. But if she went, it would be one more normal thing she tried to do, and surely Dr. Marquez would approve. She needed to earn some points back with that notable, after things with Dead Head had not gone the way the therapist had wanted them to. And she wanted to do what normal people did. She finally called on Tuesday evening, carefully dialing from the phone in the dorm basement. "Hello, Ms. Collier? This is Erin, um, Wander. From the beach? I got your message, and Thursday or Friday would be good nights for me, if that works for you."

Stesha settled back into her seat to listen to the lecture, when suddenly her phone vibrated to signal a text message! She surreptitiously pulled it from her pocket and checked the sender. The Freedom League, she recognized the number right away. They needed her somewhere! Sliding her notebook into her purse as quietly as she could, she rose and slipped out of the room, trying not to draw any attention. She felt bad that she would miss the professor's lecture, but someone, somewhere needed help! Outside in the hallway, she checked her messages and got the details. Several university students had set off across the river in an improvised boat, which had overturned! One had swum to shore, but three were still clinging to slippery rocks in the middle of the river! Hastily, Stesha called in to confirm that she'd be right there, then ran for the door. Of all the days to take the flowers from her hair before the end of the day!

Stesha gave him a smile that lit up her face, turning from an average looking woman with green hair into someone rather more attractive. "I'm Stesha Madison, Professor, I just started auditing the class. My degree is in botany, but I'm trying to expand my horizons. I think it's really interesting the way you weave quantum physics into the other sciences, but I think it'll take me the rest of the semester to really wrap my head around it. And I've been told by several people today that my hair is cool, so I guess I'll take their word for it." She looked around. "This is a bigger class than I thought it would be."

It felt odd to be back in school, Stesha decided as she settled back into her desk-chair and looked around the classroom, but she kind of liked it. She hadn't wanted to follow her dad into teaching, but she'd enjoyed school, and she liked learning things. This class on quantum physics sounded pretty deep, but she thought it would be interesting. If nothing else, she wanted to at least start getting a handle on what it was Derrick did all day. If they were going to be married in a matter of months, it made sense to explore some of the things he was interested in. And if nothing else, going back to college meant her hair was suddenly cool instead of bizarre. She'd already gotten several compliments on her green locks, with one person asking her how she'd gotten the color so even. That was always a hard one to answer, but luckily the professor got started and saved her from having to fib. The professor looked like a nice guy, Stesha decided, which was a big point in his favor. If she needed to ask for help on the more difficult concepts, it helped to have a nice teacher.

Trevor's unexpected joke about tinfoil hats was enough to get Erin to look at him, and even drew a quick half-smile from her as she took the metal sheet. "As long as it works, I wouldn't mind if it were tinfoil," she admitted, tugging the fabric band from her hair and sliding the little device in between the layers. As she replaced it, she looked over at Mark. "We should be able to crack through this wall," she told him, "with some effort. Let me try it." Counterbalancing herself with the bat, Erin got a few steps running start, then launched a flying kick at the door that separated them from their teammates.

Go for it! Otherwise, it'll just be Stesha telling the Beekeeper he just kissed a dude. :D

Something dangerous flashed into Erin's eyes for a moment, and she reached towards her belt for something that wasn't there. The small gesture reminded her of why she was here, and she forced herself calm. "You're a very small creature," she told him in a voice that was almost mechanically flat, "you just don't realize how small because you've never been really alone. You could spend eternity on my world and never finish your job, because nothing is ever going to give them peace. And if you ever talk to me about my world again, I will see to it that you don't talk anymore, whatever consequences that means for me. My world not for you or anyone to toss around." She kept her arm out and her eyes on him, watching without a blush this time.

Erin started to say she could keep up on her own, but she was trying to be good and cooperate, she reminded herself. Gingerly, she put her arms around the tall woman's waist, so she could ride piggyback rather than be held upside down, at least. "My cat's name is Oliver," she told Fulcrum, "like from the Disney movie. He's really smart. Sometimes I'm pretty sure he's smarter than me. My grades are average, but I don't think I'm really college material. I'm basically good at one thing, so I figure I should use it to help people. Anyway, I don't want to have to explain to every dean around why I haven't got any records beyond last year. Where did you go to school?"

Erin stiffened at the sudden contact, fighting both the urge to step away and the fainter, quicker urge to step closer and hug back. Nobody ever hugged her, and with good reason, as had just been amply demonstrated. She didn't even trust herself right now not to hold too hard or do something else unfortunate. So she stood there, her face twisting for a moment with the effort not to cry before she choked it back. "I'm sorry," she said again to everyone and no one, still looking down at the floor.

Erin half-turned and looked around as though expecting Medea to pop up at those words, but the supevillainess was nowhere in sight. She turned back to Mark. "I'm really sorry," she told him uncomfortably. "I... she made me think you were a Grue. I hope I didn't hurt you too badly." Since her bat was at her feet anyway, she picked it up and put it away, then snugged her arms back up against her chest without once actually looking anybody in the eye.

"The others could still be in danger," she admitted. James was stubborn enough to hang around indefinitely if she didn't go back, and that might be a distraction they couldn't afford. Erin closed the distance, just far enough that her fingers brushed his, but it was enough. With a quick pop, they were back where they'd started, with the mist dissipating and Trevor attending to Mark. She stood back against the opposite wall and watched, trying to analyze her mind and make sure she wasn't going to lose it again.

"Is she still there?" Erin asked, avoiding James' gaze by looking at anything except him. There wasn't a lot else to look at. "I can't go back if she can mess with my mind again. I didn't even feel her doing it, I didn't even try to fight. I could hurt someone really badly next time. It might be better if I stay here." The thought filled her with horror, but she tried her best not to let it show. It was better than killing a friend, whether or not she meant to.

Erin let out a breath and stood up slowly, though she took a couple of steps back from James when he tried to approach. There was still way too much adrenaline pumping through her system for her to let anyone too close right now. "I don't understand what happened," she admitted. "One second the door was closing and I was there with all of you, and then suddenly you all seemed like Grue, and then it got dark, and I couldn't hear anything..." She hugged her arms to her chest and looked around. "Where are we?"

Erin's gaze flicked up to James immediately, but she didn't respond right away. There was a strange feral quality to her in this moment, crouched in the middle of the featureless plane with tangled hair and desperate eyes, that contrasted oddly with James' polished urban smoothness. For a long moment, it wasn't clear whether she was about to leap to attack him, or if she would respond at all. Finally she asked "Did I kill Mark?"

Understanding immediately, Wander waited till he was ready, then quickly picked him up, holding him horizontally at shoulder level with one hand on his chest and one on his arm, like a big javelin. "Try to hang on once you get there," she reminded him. "I'll be right behind you, I can catch you if you fall. But it would be a lot easier if you didn't." She took a quick running start, then launched him straight at the leading bee, sure as a dart heading for the bullseye.

Erin's going to hang around till JoaB is ready as well, then she's gonna throw him, sword first, at the bees. That'll be a ranged all-out power attack, using him as a weapon. 1d20+11=26 That's a hit! I have no clue what the damage DC is. Her normal power attack damage is 34, but I don't know what he adds to it.

Even as Erin tried to regain her feet amidst the redoubled black smoke, the Grue was upon her again. This time it didn't even bother to hit her, instead it threw her into space! Off-balance, she fell and landed on gray dirt, on a featureless plain that extended perhaps a hundred yards in every direction, and then dropped off into nothing. All around her was nothing but blackness, punctuated occasionally by electrical discharges. There was no one else anywhere in the world. Even her bat was gone, she realized as she crouched on her heels and looked around. "Stop, stop, stop it, stop it stop stop stop stop," she muttered, knuckling her eyes and repeating the words until she realized she could hear herself again. The only sound besides her own voice was the slow hissing of air leaking away into the blackness. Suddenly, it was as though a switch flipped inside her mind, and everything she'd done became perfectly clear. They thought she was crazy, she realized. She was crazy. She'd gone insane and killed Mark, and been thrown in here before she hurt anyone else. What was she going to do now? For the moment, she had no answers, so she stayed crouched where she was, fisting her hands in her hair and bouncing lightly on her heels.

Erin goes on 28

Wander 1pp to skills: 2 ranks Performance: Dance 1 rank Sense Motive 1 rank Survival Drop two ranks in Attack Focus (Melee) Spend those pp plus two more on 2 ranks of Attack 1pp to buy 1 rank Protection I'd also like to replace her entire complications block with the following: Mistaken Identity: Erin has a double who lives in Seattle with her family. The double, Erin White Prime, has no powers and lives a normal life. Wander's designation is Erin White EZO1. Post Traumatic Stress: Past trauma has resulted in PTSD for Erin that tends to express itself mostly in combat situations. Therapy has allowed her to overcome the worst of her instinctive reactions, but when her life or the life of a friend is threatened, or when she is very afraid, she may lose the ability to modulate her attacks or correctly read situations. Loyalties: Wander is a member of Young Freedom. She has to be available when the team is called on and able to work with her teammates. She also must maintain a public image to comport with being a superhero, as much as anyone ever notices her. Her teammates are very important to her, and she would do just about anything for them. Trevor, though not technically a teammate, is also very important to her for different reasons. Can't Pay the Rent: Erin has a couple of part time jobs, but she doesn't make much, and what she makes, she tends to squirrel away. She doesn't have a lot of clothes or possessions, and can't pay her way to do a lot of things her classmates wouldn't think twice about. New Identity: Erin's new papers call her Keeley Erin White, and her history and records are sketchy at best. Until that gets fleshed out, she will have a hard time using it for anything without the powers that be at the school finessing it. Overprotective: After one miserable failure to protect someone she cared about, Erin isn't about to let it happen again. She will step in front of a teammate or a civilian whenever possible, even if it would be objectively unwise or unnecessary. She may also underestimate peoples' abilities to take care of themselves, something that can cause friction when working with her peers. Done by AA

Erin fails the save. She goes in the pocket! On the other hand, she stops being deaf!