Electra

Whether or not Warren admitted it to himself, he followed the cat down the path through the well-manicured grounds towards the main buildings. The cat occasionally glanced back to make sure he was keeping up. Just as they were nearing the biggest building, the orange creature made a sudden detour, leaving the path entirely. Turning to look, he saw a teenage girl laying on her stomach in the grass, a textbook spread open in front of her. The cat headbutted her in the ear, purring loudly. "Hey Oliver," Erin murmured absently, reaching up to scratch him behind the ears. "Almost done, just got another half a chapter." She looked up when the cat headbutted her again, and spotted the person watching her. "Hey," she said, sitting up. "You new here? Oliver always finds the new ones lately." Another cute one, she noticed, sizing him up, and with a guitar case. Looked like Eddie might have a new target for his band machinations.

When he bent down, Warren could see that the cat was wearing a blue nylon collar with a tag on it, so he was obviously shacked up with somebody. The tag proclaimed that he was Oliver, and his address was the same as the school. Apparently he was a local. Oliver butted his head against the patting hand, purring louder, then took a few steps down the path and looked back towards Warren expectantly.

As Warren considered his options, he became aware of movement out of the corner of his eye. A scrawny-looking orange cat was wending his way through the decorative posts atop the front gate, his tail waving jauntily in the air. As he reached the teenager, the cat leapt down and seemed to size him up, with eyes that looked surprisingly assessing and intelligent, even for a cat. Apparently the cat was happy with what he saw, because he approached and twined himself around Warren's legs, purring loudly.

Upstairs in the apartment, Taylor shed tears and cleaned up the ruin that had been made of the library, while Jack helped and tried to comfort her. Downstairs the night passed quietly, with Ace eventually falling asleep in a chair and Dark Star keeping his vigil, ever faceless and inscrutable. By the time dawn bled red trails through the sky, the plant in the basement had bumped into the ceiling with its top leaves and begun spreading outwards. It also began to form a blossom, or perhaps a small pod, right in the center of the plant. No others, just a single one. By noon, the plant, its main stem now as thick as a tree trunk, had stopped growing new leaves and was concentrating all its energies on the center pod, which began growing at a prodigious rate. It inflated like a very slow balloon, developing the color and softness at the top that suggested it would open into a flower when the time was right. Dark Star's occasional checks suggested that, despite all reason, the root ball beneath the plant was growing smaller as the plant grew, rather than larger, but it still seemed plenty healthy despite the artificial sunlight. By the time the sun outside was going down, the center bud had swelled to the diameter of a truck tire, and the shield leaves at the top were beginning to part. Throughout the day, Taylor had been making visits to check on the progress of whatever was happening in their mushroom garden. At sunset, Jack made the trip down with her and they both lingered, watching with the others as the plant perfected its life's work. As even the light from Ace's mystic liquid began to fade, the blossom slowly began to open, displaying lush pink petals and releasing a thick aroma of magnolia into the air. As it opened to its full width, the flower revealed its center, and its occupant. Stesha was curled up on her side in the middle of the flower, nude but for the hair that wrapped around her, and pale and perfect as a marble statue. When the light hit her skin, she yawned, color and life seeming to flood back into her all at once. She opened her eyes, staring into the side of the giant pink flower, and mumbled "Huh?"

((Audio Transcript Teen Hero interview with Young Freedom members Edge and Wander, 04212010, 1645)) ((Features Reporter Tina Treadman conducting interview)) TT: Welcome, Edge! It's so good of you to come and do this interview with us. I just can't tell you how excited we are that you agreed to participate in our charity issue. The readers just can't wait to find out more about you. (pause) Oh, and I see you brought a friend along, too. It's Wander, isn't it? Two Young Freedom members for the price of one, even better! Have a seat, and we'll get started. Edge: Yes, this is my friend Wander. She's pretty great. We're both really excited to be here, Tina! I'm a big fan of your magazine; I have been since I was just a little kid myself. And you especially! I loved that interview you did with Soul Power out in LA last year. I've got it up on my wall. Wander: (inaudible) TT: That's very flattering! I'm so glad you like my work. I really did think that interview was one of my best... but enough about me, we're here to talk about you! Ah, both of you! (paper rustling) First question: Edge, we all know you're a second generation hero, even if you've been very secretive about your origin. What made you decide to follow in your parent's footsteps? (pause) Or more generally, what made the two of you decide to become heroes? (1) (brief pause) Edge: Tina, I knew from the minute I was born that I was going to be a hero. I was lucky enough to have a parent on the Freedom League, a true hero who stood alongside the Centurion and the first Lady Liberty in the brightest, and darkest hours of Freedom City's history. The lessons I learned about duty, commitment, and honor have stuck with me since then....plus, it's really fun! Yeah, I've always wanted to be a hero. I'm just glad I've got the powers to go with it! Wander: (inaudible) TT: Could you speak up a little? I'm recording this. Wander: Sorry. I guess I sort of fell into it. I got these powers sort of by chance, and I decided I should try and do something good with them. I wanted to help people. Joining Young Freedom- TT: Yes, that brings me right to the next question! Young Freedom burst onto the scene last summer in that spectacular televised battle at the baseball stadium. When did you all decide to become a team and start working together? (2) Edge: Right then and there! We'd been friends for a while before that, but once we knew what a great team we were, we decided we'd be crazy not to go into action together! You should have been there, Tina, it was a really great fight! I made robots explode, and Wander ripped their heads off! It was totally wild. Wander: Well, it was on TV, she probably saw it. We'd sort of already been working together, like Edge said, but not in any real fights. It's not like we go out looking for trouble or- TT: Trouble finds you, of course! That's the amazing thing about being a superhero, isn't it? Edge, we know already how amazing your luck powers are, we've seen them turn the tide in fantastic ways in battles before. Do you feel it's this power that makes you the heart of Young Freedom, or is it your charisma and leadership? (3a) Wander: (coughs) Edge: With all due respect, Tina, I'm not the heart of Young Freedom. They've all got the heart of a true hero inside them, and that's what makes us such a great team. I'm just there to make things a little easier for all of them. That's what really makes a hero, you know, it's not just having powers. If you believe in yourself, if you really, truly believe you can do something, you can. That's what I believe, and that's what everyone else on our team believes too. TT: Beautifully said, Edge. But as a team member, Wander, what do you think it is that makes Edge such a compelling leader? (3b) Wander: Well... he's really lucky. And he's a nice guy, too. Maybe he doesn't come up with all the ideas, but I guess he knows the most of anyone about how to act like superheroes. And he likes to stand front and center, I guess that helps too. TT: (laughs) That's very funny! And it brings up another question. Young Freedom is a team with such diverse powers, you must have diverse personalities as well. How do you get along, working together day in and day out? (4) Edge: Like gangbusters! (laughs) We're all really good friends, on and off the team. Some of us are even more than friends, in fact, but I don't want to name names, heh-heh. TT: So does that mean you two are- (5a) Edge: No! No, I mean, Wander and I are just really good friends. She's saved my bacon many times. I'm actually going out with Seraph right now. (coughs) Seraph's great, though, really great. Next question? Wander: Most of us are just friends. We have so much to do already, between school and training and actually doing hero work, there's not a lot of time for anything else. Some people manage it better than others, I guess. TT: Tell me, uh, Wander, is it difficult for you being a teenage superheroine these days? I know being a role model for young women must be very difficult, especially with people like Edge and Phalanx on your team. (5b) Wander: What's that supposed to mean? Edge: I, uh, think she meant that it's tough because it's mostly guys who have the showy powers on our team, right Tina? So if you're trying to be a role model for women, you have to work twice as hard to get noticed. Wander: Oh. Well, with teammates like Psyche and Seraph, that's not much of a problem. They take care of all that. I just try to do my job and not worry about it. If people do pay attention, I figure I'll be enough of a role model if I'm doing what I'm supposed to do and doing it as best- TT: Of course! That's an admirable sentiment. Another thing we've noticed at Teen Hero is the great variety in costumes you all have. How did you come up with your costume designs? (6) Edge: I made mine myself! It was way back before I knew what kind of powers I was going to have. That's why it's got a lot of design elements, I didn't know what I'd have to cover. I should add, by the way, that I just did the design: it was my mom who sewed it together and found all the parts and design. She's an artist. Thanks, Mom! Wander: (inaudible) TT: I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Wander: I had my costume given to me. I didn't design it or anything, I just took what was available. It's okay. TT: Ah, I see. Edge, Wander, where do you see yourself in five years? (7) Edge: On the Freedom League, fighting bad guys. Or maybe teaching at our school, I just dunno. I want to pass things on to future generations, you know? I've been really lucky my whole life, and I want to try and pass down some of that luck to the people I care about the whole world. And my friends and family too. Wander: Probably on the Freedom League. I guess. Or doing hero work somewhere else. I like working with Young Freedom, so I guess that's probably what I'll end up doing- TT: That's great! I had no idea you had aspirations to be a teacher, Edge, that's so admirable. What's your favorite subject in school? (8) Edge: Um, I guess I like all of them pretty well. History, I guess! That's how you know where you came from, and where you're going. I really like history. Wander: English is my favorite. I like to read, and the reports and stuff don't bother me. I don't like diagramming sentences and that kind of thing, though. TT: Ah, I see. Well, it's good that you're both setting such a good example for our younger readers. Tell me, what would you say was the strangest adventure you've ever been on? (9) Edge: Me personally? Uh, the time my dad and some of his old buddies took me to the gender-reversed dimension. That place was a little weird...but on the team, the weirdest was probably that time we fought those giant Nazi robots. They were some pretty bad guys! (pause) TT: And how about you, Wander? Wander: Well, one time I helped chase a three-foot tall talking rabbit across a couple of dimensions to rescue a mall security guard. I think that was probably the strangest thing I've done so far. But the Nazi robots were weird, too. TT: Wow, the things we don't always get to hear are amazing! Tell me, what goes through your mind when you get the call to action? Are you nervous, excited? (10) Edge: I'm never nervous. Well. a little sometimes. But I'm always excited, and ready to go out and do my best to stop the bad guys and make a better world for everybody else. There's no better feeling than realizing that the world needs you! Wander: It's hard to say, because you never know what's going on when you first get the call. It could be something really terrible that's going to threaten the whole city, or it could be a training drill. I guess I try to reserve judgment until I know what's going on, but I always feel... anticipation, I guess. TT: What do you think has been your greatest triumph to date, the one you know you'll tell your grandkids about? (11) Edge: We saved a village of people in Africa from being destroyed by a volcanic eruption. I know, it wasn't anything showy or flashy, nothing world-saving or anything....but there were kids there, and they were really happy, and they hugged us afterwards. They all got to keep their homes and stay safe, and we even helped them make peace with their neighbors afterwards. It was a good day. Wander: It's hard to say. We can't always talk about all our missions, for a lot of reasons. But the trip to Erde, even though it was weird, was a really good one. I think we really managed to make a difference there, at least for the moment. They still have a long way to go, but now they have a better chance. TT: And what about regrets? You do so many difficult, near-impossible things. Are there any missions that didn't go the way you planned, or rescues that just couldn't be done? (12) Edge: No, I think we've always accomplished what we've set out to do. I mean not everything has gone right all the time, but I think we've always won our fights and beaten the bad guys at the end of the day. (pause) TT: And how about you, Wander? (pause) Edge: Tina, I think what Wander wants to say is that we've all come a long way to get where we are, and that hasn't always been easy. But the important thing is, now we're all working together to build a better world. Wander: Sometimes things don't work out the way you wish they would have. Sometimes there's nothing even superpowers will do about it. But you keep going on, because you still have a job to do. Next question, please. (pause) TT: Wander, do you find it difficult to balance your academic career with your heroing work? (13a) Wander: Sometimes. It helps that I only sleep every few days. When I first... I mean, last summer I had to spend a lot of time catching up on some things I was behind on, but now that's taken care of. But I've learned not to put off my homework, in case some emergency comes up when I was planning on doing it. TT: Good advice! And how about you, Edge? Are you enjoying school? (13b) Edge: I am! School's not that hard when you get right down to it. I mean, I have to study just like anyone else. Wander and I are in a lot of the same kinds of classes. But if you just go in, work hard, and make sure you're prepared, you can do great anywhere. Stay in school, kids, and you can reach for the stars! TT: That's great to hear, Edge! Kids today really need that kind of encouragement. Do you see yourself having kids some day? (14) Edge: Oh, uh, eventually, some day, but not for a while yet. I mean, I'm still in high school. My dad waited till he was older to settle down, and I think I'd like to do the same. There's a lot of the world to see out there. Wander: Um... I don't know. It's hard to say right now, who knows what's going to happen, right? I kind of think I'll probably be too busy doing hero work. That's not the sort of thing that's easy to do if you have a family. TT: Well, you have lots of time to decide, I'm sure! What's it like to try and maintain a heroic identity and still live a normal life? Do you feel like you can ever be normal teenagers? (15) Edge: Oh, sure, I mean, I'm a perfectly normal teenager. Maybe I grew up hearing stories other kids didn't, and got some training they didn't, but it's actually pretty easy to balance your normal life with your heroic life. Right, Wander? Wander: (pause) Yeah, sure it is, Edge. No problem. I guess if you don't really know what it's like to have a totally normal life, you don't even know what you're missing. It just seems normal to you. TT: What would you say to children who want to follow in your footsteps? (16) Edge: Well, uh, Tina, that depends on the kids and what they can do. Kids born with superpowers should definitely find a way to get powers-training, either at a special school or through the government. Kids without powers, well, that's a little tougher. Get in really good shape, stay in school, and find your niche! And for goodness sake, don't try and be a hero if you don't know how to be. Dozens of kids die every year trying to be imitators. Just don't do it. Wander: I'm not sure that's going to come up, but I'd tell them to appreciate what they've got. It's not so bad being a regular person with family and friends and school and sports. You might miss it more than you think if it went away. TT: Now Edge, I hate to embarrass you, but our female readers are desperate to know. What would you consider your ideal girl? (17a) Edge: Well, uh, I would describe my ideal girl as a, um, a friend. You know, someone who I can respect, and who respects me, and who has a lot of mutual interests with me. I guess that's my answer, then. (pause) TT: And you, Wander? Who would be your ideal boyfriend? (17b) Wander: I don't really know. I guess I'll know him when I see him. TT: I see. Edge, what are your thoughts on the Freedom League's current composition? If there is a shakeup in the next few years, who would you like to see move onto it? (18a) Edge: Well, uh, I want you to know that I have nothing but respect for Captain Thunder and everything he's done as team leader. But you know, I think Lady Liberty would make an equally good leader. I mean, she's the symbol of America and liberty, what better symbol do you have than that? I think if Captain Thunder retired or moved into a supporting role, that might make things easier. I mean, the current League, it's had some PR issues lately, you know? Some new blood could really help them out. TT: And what are your thoughts on that, Wander? (18b) Wander: Um. (pause) I like Lady Liberty too. I think she's great. The whole League is pretty amazing. TT: They certainly are, aren't they? We're lucky to have heroes like them, and like you kids, protecting us. Edge, or Wander, what would you say is the greatest single threat to the human race right now? (19) Edge: Global warming? I mean, all the bad guys out there, they're things we can punch and blow up and make go away. The heroes of Freedom City and the world can handle that. But the other problems, the ones people cause for themselves, like pollution and stuff, they've got to handle without us. And that's pretty important, because that's about the whole planet. Wander: Drug companies. They advertise in magazines like yours, acting like they're benevolent saviors, like they're superheroes themselves, when they're really just bloodthirsty robbers who don't care if they get rich off of murdering- TT: All right then! That's very, ah, a very interesting perspective, but we're almost out of time for this interview. For our last question, why don't you tell our readers what the very best thing about being a superhero is? (20) Edge: The best thing about being a superhero? Why that's easy! It's saving the day! Putting your life on the line for other people is the best feeling there is. I'll be doing it till I'm too old to go any further. Wander: Making a difference. It's hard work to always be training, and to go out day after day to face whatever's coming our way, but if you can see at the end of the day that you've made things better, that people are better off because of what you did, that's what counts. It's like Edge says, it's the best feeling there is. TT: That's all the questions I have for today, and I know you both have very busy schedules. Thanks so much for stopping by to talk with Teen Hero! Edge: It's always a pleasure, Tina! Watch for Young Freedom, because we're watching for YOU! Wander: (pause) Right. Thanks for having us. (end transcript)

Wander turned to stare at the man. "All right," she said, looking rather skeptical about his claim to being in charge, but willing to go along for the moment. "Can you tell us what's going on here? Are you the man whose shoes and flashlight we found back on Prime?" As she spoke, she looked around for the marshmallow creature, but it was hard to spot anything in the sea of weird animal things.

Hours passed, completely unnoticeable in the unchanging light and quiet of the basement room. Every so often, as things began going dim, Ace would refresh the sunlight back to the intensity of a bright afternoon. The only sound was the occasional drip of the mushroom irrigation system the only movement the little plant, gradually stretching towards the ceiling and extending new leaves. By evening, it was a foot tall and as thick as a finger in the main stem, and by midnight, it had doubled in height again and had the diameter of a woman's wrist. There was still no telling what was going on under the soil, or what the end result would be, but the plant, an indeterminate species with broad leaves and small creeeping tendrils, was apparently very healthy and growing fast.

Erin wiped the water out of her eyes and pushed her hair back from her face just in time to see everything start falling down around them. Bracing against the deck of the bridge, she leapt into the air, tucking her body into a ball as she headed for the giant piece of falling bridge support, She hit the side of the support with the bottoms of her feet and pushed off against it, ricocheting like a pinball and sending it flying off the bridge and far out into the water. With the momentum she'd gained, she barreled straight for the giant, bulleting into his midsection with her oustretched arms. The force of her strike pushed the giant away from the cables and off the bridge, sending him into the water away from the boat beneath. She very nearly went into the water after him, but at the last second, caught the outermost cable with one hand and swung herself back to the dubious safety of the bridge. "Phalanx, the boat!" she called.

Erin's going to leap after the falling support and push it off the bridge, away from the threatened boat. With her strength plus superstrength plus leaping, that's 1d20+19=39. Using Move-by action and spending an HP to surge, she completes her move to the giant and attempts to push him off the bridge without shearing the cables or pushing him into the boat beneath. DC 32 to achieve the appropriate precision, she rolls a 34.

Stesha hurried outside, looking over the fallen tree. It didn't seem to be in a position to cause anyone any more trouble; in fact it seemed to be in some distress. She patted it, healing up its wounds, though she left it laying prone for the moment. "I'll come back and get you," she promised, "when you're not feeling so combative." There wasn't much time to clean up anything else, but a few minutes put the scene mostly to rights again, at least enough that nobody else was going to get hurt. "If everybody gets close together, I can teleport us all to where the disturbance is coming from," Stesha told the other heroes. "I don't know how much I'm going to be good for once we get there, though. We'll have to see what happens when we get there. Everybody hold hands." When the whole group was together, she laid a hand somewhat gingerly on Dead Head's still-attached arm and touched the flowers in her hair, teleporting them all out into the woods with a quick rush of green and the smell of newly mown grass.

Stesha's eyes widened as she listened to Dark Star's threat. She knew he didn't mean it, surely. Dark Star would never throw anyone into the sun. He wouldn't even throw Avenger into the sun, and Avenger was demonstrably a monster. Even if everyone seemed determined to ignore that fact, despite all the evidence... Whatever. In any case, she was sure Dark Star was bluffing, but it couldn't hurt to give him a boost. She sent a few more vines snaking around Thunder's body. "I know you'll do what you have to do," she said, "but you know I don't want to see it. I don't like that messy stuff."

Nuh-uh, House ain't going anywhere. :D

Dead Head's gruesome appearance earned him a double-take from Stesha, but she did her best to give him a friendly smile anyway. He might look horrific, but apparently he was a hero all the same. Took all types, she supposed. Even so, she was careful not to get too close, or downwind. "I can take us to wherever they're gathering, if someone can help me pinpoint it," she told them. "I travel through plants, and the Green Man isn't going to be anywhere where there isn't plenty of them. Whatever he was doing here, though, I have to say he's probably done. I don't think the plants he animated are going to be active much longer without him powering them. We need to figure out where he's gone next." She thought for a moment. "There was another surge of energy, even stranger than this one, out towards Wharton Forest. I felt it when I woke up, but I came here first because it's populated. Maybe he's out there."

Fleur de Joie

Erin walked with a measured pace through the crowd, her skin itching with the sensation of being watched by so many eyes all at once. That was the good thing about being the plainest-looking person in a crowd of flashy heroes, no one really paid attention to you. Right now she sort of felt like a bug under a microscope. She stepped up to the base of the dais, her hand on her sheathed bat. "Who's in charge here?" she asked.

There wasn't very much to see down under the soil, mostly an extremely dense root bundle about five feet long, a massive root system, really, given the size of the tiny plant it was connected to. But the little plant was growing, slowly but perceptibly, creeping upwards and unfurling another fingernail-sized leaf as they stood there. In the maelstrom of cosmic energies in the little room, it was sort of hard for Jackie B. to sort things out finely, but he gradually became aware of a distinct type of energy coming from the soil, a light green, new plants in spring kind of energy that was so faint, it was hardly more than an echo.

"Oh, absolutely," Stesha agreed, laughing. She hadn't been quite confident enough to actually bring the materials for party games along with her, but that didn't mean she didn't have a bag of stuff waiting on her counter at home, just in case. "And you'll also be saving me from eating a whole bag of fun-size candy bars by myself, which is a service to humanity. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." She laid her fingers on one of the bouquets and vanished.

Stesha laughed, pushing back the cowl to reveal her braided and flower-bedecked hair. Maybe it was the costume, but even her skin looked just a little bit green these days, not sickly, but a little bit strange. "No, I wear it when I'm going out and working. I got tired of ruining leggings every time I ran into any trouble out there. Anyway, this summer people have been talking about camping out to try and see me when I'm running around. I'm doing my best to avoid them, but I don't want my identity getting out. Where's yours? I thought you were going to show it to me?"

The mushroom garden looked much the same as when they'd left, bright as a sunny afternoon from Ace's bottle of light, with half-grown mushrooms scattered hither and yon to clear a roughly Stesha-sized hole in the middle of the bed. There was one small change, though. Right in the center of the clear space was a seedling, no more than a couple of inches high, easy to miss unless you were looking for it. It was the only green thing down here, among all the white mushroom spores, so it was distinctive as it unfurled a few tiny leaves towards the magical sunlight.

From the boat under the bridge, Erin watched as Breakdown went sailing off the side of the bridge, wincing in a moment of sympathy as he hit the water, hard. That couldn't be good. She didn't know a lot about how his powers worked, but she knew they involved sound, and were intricately tied to his headphones. If he'd been knocked silly, or if his headphones were dead, he was in big trouble. She smashed the monster one more time with her bat, then holstered it and dove off the boat and into the water. It took her a moment to spot Breakdown as she streaked downwards as fast as she could; the water was still full of bubbles from his rapid entry. Catching sight of him, she hooked her arm around his chest, anchoring under his arms, and began racing for the surface. There'd be time to see if he was all right when they were back above water.

Erin's doing another full power attack against House, using her bat. She rolls poorly on the attack, so spend an HP, which is an automatic hit given House's defense. DC 33 toughness save. Spending another HP to surge, and diving in after Eddie. Going to try and do a move-by action to dive in and collect him and get back to the surface. She swims at 25 miles per hour, given her speed, so she should be fast enough. Swimming roll is a 20.

"You'll probably have to talk to Summers first," Erin told him, "and finish all your paperwork and stuff. Then somebody will give you your room assignment and your class assignment, help you get your textbooks and keys and all that. All the dorms are in this building, so it'll be one of these rooms. You might have a roommate or you might not, it depends on how crowded things are on the boys floors right now." She shrugged. "Other than that, there's not much to see around here." She looked over at Mike. "You seen any of the other guys around?"

"I'm fine," Fleur assured Hellion with a smile, "I just don't usually throw that much power around all at one time. It sort of took the wind out of me." She straightened up. "Whatever they were looking for, he's either found it or decided to give up on it, because he just called for his creatures to return to him. If they start heading out, I suggest we follow them and see where they go."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it. I love baby showers," Stesha assured her blithely. "The baby shopping thing, well, that didn't turn out exactly as I'd hoped, but this will be fun! Are you sure we can't play the candy bar in the diaper game? I think that one's hilarious." Chuckling, she went to answer the door so Taylor wouldn't have to get up. She opened the door and smiled at Ace. "Hey, we were just talking about you. Come on in, things are just getting started."

Inside the greenhouse, Stesha closed her eyes to listen to the strange message. "It's the Green Man," she said aloud, still hanging onto the edge of the table. The fight had taken a lot out of her. "Of course. I should've guessed before. But why here, why now? This doesn't seem like his style, just randomly attacking a neighborhood. What could he want?"