Electra
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Stesha laughed, amused and bewildered. "What? Wait, don't tell me, I think it would just give me a headache without a couple more physics courses under my belt," She stretched out on the couch, looking up at the ceiling as she talked to him. "You sound like you're in a good mood today, what have you been up to? And while a week's vacation would be amazing, I was thinking of a much more modest excursion, just something local."
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Erin studied him for a minute. James was usually very forthright, especially for someone apparently spawned by at least one of the uncles of lies, but tonight he was acting kind of weird. Like he was embarrassed about something. And he'd figured out something about where she came from, judging by that little verbal slip-up. Maybe he'd heard something about her world from somebody, or gone digging himself and didn't want to say anything about it. That was fine, she didn't want to say anything about it either. And his business was just that, his own. Feeling just a bit nettled anyway, she gestured with the controller towards the television. "You want to play tonight?"
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"Better make it six thirty," she told him, raising a hand and running her fingers along his cheek. "I don't get off till six, and even if I zip home, I'll still have to set the table and change my clothes. Luckily, we can stay up late." Smiling, she leaned in on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Thank you for a beautiful weekend, Derrick. I'll never forget it. Oh! That reminds me!" Laughing, she wriggled away and went over to her coffee table, where a yellow gift bag was waiting. It looked like she'd intended to bring it along on the trip and forgotten at the last minute. "Here, this is for you," she told him, presenting the bag. "It's not very much, but I thought you would like it." Inside the bag, under five layers of tissue paper, was an intricate little metal globe, etched and colored with continents and oceans and countries, spinning on a mahogany base. "I thought it might be something to remind you of Earth, when you're not out in space to see it."
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"Personal stuff, on Halloween?" Erin asked. She wasn't the smartest girl at school, but she could string together bits of information with reasonable acuity. Or at least enough to jump to conclusions. "You mean like family stuff? Like your dad's side of the family?" It was weird to put it that way, but it was the politest way she could think to put it. And if James' dad was going to get visitation at any time, it would seem like Halloween would be the night for it.
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"I'm gonna call him next," Stesha assured her. "It'll be fun, we can look at the hero swag, do some people watching, see if they've got any comic books about you guys. And I'll get to show off my new costume before it gets all dirty from being used. I'll give you another call when I've got the details nailed down, okay?" After exchanging goodbyes, she gave Derrick a call as well. "Hey handsome, you got any plans for the second week in October?" she purred playfully into the phone. She didn't really need to worry about speakerphones with him, as far as she could tell, he got the phone calls right in his brain.
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"She made it back here thanks to an accident," Erin told him. "And maybe you can change things for this timeline, but you're not going to save the ones that are already going to have died." She shrugged. "Maybe that's good enough. I'm pretty fond of this timeline, and tough cookies for the me who gets killed off. In any case, Mike didn't know until, I'm assuming just now when Alex is telling him downstairs. That'll be an exciting conversation, but I figured it would be awkward enough without you and me."
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"It doesn't work that way," Erin told him flatly. "If it's already happened, it's already happened somewhere, in some future. Either it's an alternate timeline that Zoe's already changed, or it's our timeline and it's going to happen no matter what we do. Maybe we can try to throw our own particular future onto alternate tracks, but there's still going to be versions of us where all that bad stuff happens. I don't think doing a lot of weird stuff to try and change our lives is going to do much good."
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"No, Zoe's not pregnant," Erin told him hastily. "At least, not that I know of. Probably not. But Zoe's not Alex's sister, and she's not from an alternate dimension. It was all a lie. She's from the future. Alex isn't pregnant, but she does have a kid, or will have a kid, and the kid is Zoe. The parents Zoe was talking about seeing die in fifteen years were Alex and Mike, and nobody could save them. Or maybe any of us."
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Erin shrugged. "I'm still in touch with my old doctor, but he works with adult Freedom League members, mostly. Marquez is the only one they've got at the school. Maybe he's a decent shrink, but I'm not gonna trust my deepest feelings to anybody who can get me tossed out of school. It's no big deal, we've been arguing for months now and nothing's gotten worse. And he's right that I shouldn't be out on Halloween. God knows I get set off by weird stuff sometimes. I'm not going to risk taking a pop at a trick or treater because he's wearing the wrong costume. What do you have to do?" Maybe it was intrusive, but James didn't have any problems not answering her questions when he didn't want to.
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Erin didn't say anything to that, just jumped neatly up to the roof, landing just before he came up over the edge. It was quieter up here, though from the roof they could still see people milling around on the quad. The rumor mill would be spinning today, but that was sort of how things went in high school. After thinking for a moment about the best way to start filling Mark in, she just jumped in with both feet. "That whole rumor thing, it's all a misunderstanding. Not that that's probably any comfort. Somebody overheard Alex and I talking and thought that we were talking about Alex being pregnant. It was all over the school this morning, but it's totally wrong. We were talking about Zoe."
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Meanwhile, Erin waited until they were out of the library before she said anything else, trying to collect her thoughts. Zoe's little game had unraveled about as spectacularly as she'd predicted it would, but at least no one had gotten punched. Mark kind of looked like he had, but he wasn't in the infirmary, so he was ahead of the game. She could ignore her own nagging little regret that, just for practice or not, whatever sort of thing she'd been doing with Mike was decidedly over. If anyone had needed more evidence than the psychic link and the kid from the future, just seeing them together today was enough to prove definitively that Alex and Mike were a unit, and it would be stupid to try and get in the way of that. As they stepped outside, she looked up towards the roof of the library. "Want a lift?" she asked Mark. "It's quieter up there, easier to talk."
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Stesha sighed just a little, though she was smiling as she looked up at him. "No place like it," she quipped, sliding her arms around his waist. "I feel bad leaving you to do all the cleanup, though. You sure you're okay collecting everything? I suppose I can make it up to you by making supper tomorrow. How do you feel about baked lasagna? I have a super recipe. You'll forget you don't actually have to eat," she promised.
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"It wasn't a date," Erin replied, propping her feet up on the table. "We went out and played baseball, then got a snack, and that was about it. We're just friends. He and Alex are totally together now anyway." She picked up a game controller and started fiddling with it, for all that the TV wasn't on. "Dr. Marquez and I came to a "mutual understanding" that I'd be better off staying on campus and in my room tomorrow," she told him, not bothering to hide her distaste for the psychologist. James had heard it before. "You're blowing off the school party for stuff in town, then?"
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She waved a hand noncommittally. "Archer wasn't there tonight, thank God, but it was one of his programmed runs. He didn't manage to kill me this time, so that's a plus." Erin brushed some of the soot off herself, then sat down on the couch as well. "And it was the taser. Again. Or the next best thing. How'd the date go?" They were friends enough for her to ask that question without it being awkward, and James did tend to have interesting stories to tell.
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'Yeah, I set it up early last month, when I was running out of parks," Stesha said enthusiastically. "I figure I don't know when somebody might have a plant emergency, and this way people can get in touch with me. It's not exactly very busy, but I've helped two school gardens, a cemetery, and a farm co-op so far. Twice it was a hoax, people who just wanted to meet a meta or something, but I looked ahead through the plants and didn't go. People are weird. So, do you want to go with me?" she asked, not even pausing for breath.
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The music caught Erin's attention as she came back from the gym. James didn't play too often when they hung out together, but she could tell it was him right away. Not too many musical geniuses hung out in the common room after midnight. She herself was just getting back from a workout in the Doom Room. With Next Gen back on campus, it was harder than usual to book time, and a lot of the prime hours always seemed spoken for. She'd worked up a sweat during the two hour program, and thanks to Archer's continuing fascination with electrical controllers, her uniform was singed in half a dozen places, but nothing that wouldn't wash out. It was late, and she could use a shower and a couple hours of sleep, but the lonely melancholy of the ballad tugged at her. She stopped at the open door of the common room, then leaned up against the doorway to listen to the music. When it was finished, she was quiet for a moment, then said, "I didn't think you'd be coming down here tonight. I stopped by earlier and you were out."
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September Edits for Wander: (She has 7pp total to spend because Diehard is now free) Erin 1pp to Alderwitch's purchase of the Young Freedom HQ 1pp to equipment: 2ep to communicator/teleporter beacon 2ep to masterwork handcuffs 0ep to binoculars 1ep to leather jacket 2pp to Skills 2 ranks Drive 2 ranks Craft: Mechanical 2 ranks Intimidate 2 ranks Notice 3pp to Super-Kitty minion You can haz updated!
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"I got invited to this thing that the Freedom City College chapter of the Hero Booster Club is doing," Stesha told her, leaning back on the couch with the phone to her ear. "Cause I set up my webpage, you know, so people can contact Fleur if they want to. "They want me to come to this thing they're doing at the Liberty Dome in two weeks. Do you know anything about them?"
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Stesha sipped her tea and read the email over again, grinning a little. That was sort of weird. She'd never really thought of herself as a hero for conventions, but then, it sounded like this was a very small convention. Maybe they were setting their sights low. It might be fun to go and show off her costume at least, though signing autographs and talking seemed like totally weird ideas. And it would be kind of a bummer if nobody was very interested. But maybe she could go and at least have some fun. Picking up her phone, she checked the time, decided it was not too late, and gave Taylor a call. "Hey Taylor, it's Stesha. You doing anything the second weekend in October?" she asked brightly.
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"Goodbye!" Stesha called down to them, laughing. "I'll miss you, you voracious little critters!" Tilting her head back and closing her eyes for a moment, she simply enjoyed the sensation of weightless flying. She couldn't feel Derrick, but she knew he wouldn't let her fall, so even though the sensation was odd, she felt perfectly safe. "Okay," she called to him. "I'm ready, let's go!"
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"Well, it would be impolite not to say goodbye," she decided. With the sandwiches done, Stesha packed her clothes and things back into her duffel and collected her hamper before they took one last walk onto the beach. Stesha sighed, looping her arms around his waist and looking out over the ocean. "We'll have to come back sometime," she decided. "When I remember to bring my camera. Are you ready?"
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Stesha sat up reluctantly and stretched, looking around at their little haven. "It's definitely going to be a comedown to have to go in to work tomorrow," she said with a slightly rueful chuckle. "Even worse because I can't tell anyone about this. But it was beautiful, and memorable. You made it perfect." She leaned down and kissed him again, then got out of bed and headed for the shower. Cleaned up and dressed, she rejoined him for one last meal, sitting on the beach with sandwiches and cupcakes to watch strange long-tailed birds wheeling overhead. "I would say goodbye the the fuzzballs," she commented, "but I'm afraid they'd chase me all the way home"
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"I'll catch up with you guys," Erin answered vaguely, already absorbed in the admiration of her new vehicle. She unlocked it and climbed inside, settling into the front seat and buckling up. Under the sparkle, it even smelled brand-new. She spent a few minutes fiddling with the controls and adjusting the mirrors just so, then started it up and carefully negotiated her way through the parking lot and onto the street. There'd be trouble if she got caught driving on just a learner's permit, but for once she didn't care at all, partially because she was immediately absorbed in navigating through the traffic. That was always the hardest part about driving these days, remembering that the other cars would also be moving. Now she was high up, though, and could see everything. It was great. She didn't yell with delight as she turned out onto the thruway, mostly because it seemed undignified, but it was hard to remember the last time she'd felt as good.
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"Because you told her a story that didn't make any sense, and she was worried about you," Erin pointed out brusquely from her spot near the door. "It wasn't to try and trap you, she thought you needed help, but you weren't telling her what she needed to know to help her." She stopped abruptly, looking over at Mike, then at Alex. "This isn't a conversation for me, though. I'm going to clear out and let you guys have it out. Mark, if you want to come with me, I'll fill you in."
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Erin quickly realized what had happened, but there was no way to back out now without making a scene and looking completely ungrateful and ungracious besides. And truthfully... she wanted the truck now, more than she'd wanted anything in a long time. Actually owning something, even something that she hadn't earned, was a kind of security, and owning transportation, no matter how fast she could run, was a sort of freedom. And it was gorgeous, and fun, and she really liked it. She fielded the keys, then looked at James for a long minute, but didn't really have any way to say thank you out loud. She'd have to think of something later. Instead, she rubbed the back of her neck and tried to pass the moment off with a joke, something she was rarely good at under the best of circumstances. "Don't worry, Alex, I'll keep a cushion in the backseat for you to sit on whenever you want to drive it. You ready to hit the road?"