Electra
-
Posts
11,284 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Freedom City Guidebook
Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Electra
-
Since they were staying together for the moment, it only made sense for Taylor and Stesha to travel together for this engagement, popping out of a secluded privet hedge one property down from Ace's front yard. Stesha confidently headed for the driveway before realizing that Taylor seemed to be having the same problem that she'd had the first time she'd come this way. "Don't worry," she said breezily, taking Taylor's hand to guide her. "It's this way, it's just hard to see at first. It's kind of cool, really."
-
Erin studied the atmospheric readings on the bike, peering into the smoky morning twilight. "She can't be anywhere around here now," she told the others, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. "She doesn't take after her folks that way, she wouldn't be able to breathe out here. The air would burn her skin." Even so, she jumped off the bike and pulled out a powerful handlight, sending the beam cutting through the smoke as she walked along the trail Zoe must have taken. "Could she have been picked up by someone else?" she asked hopefully. "There are so many still unaccounted for..."
-
Stesha tipped her head back and lifted her arms as he lifted her, enjoying the odd and buoyant sensation of flying. "This is great!" she chortled, stretching out her arms like the iconic pictures of the Centurion. "I think if I could fly, I wouldn't have a secret identity, because I would never walk anywhere!" The simple act of flight amused her all the way to the bluffs, where she spread out the blanket again and waited for him to solidify up again and join her. "It's amazing how much faster you've gotten at that lately," she told him as she sifted little crystals out of a handful of sand. It's very handy. Your powers are awesome, but it's much more fun to cuddle when I don't fall through you."
-
"Huh, that is a problem," Stesha allowed, resting her chin on her fist and thinking about that. "I never really thought about it before. I got my ears pierced ages ago, so maybe that's why they don't heal when I'm out in the sun. In that case, I suppose the only solution is to actually become a badass, so that when people underestimate you, you can give them a valuable lesson in not judging a book by its cover. And when you finally ditch that job, maybe you can give Drew a nice going-away present."
-
"I don't know exactly what he likes though. Maybe a book about astronomy," she decided, starting to browse the nearby shelves. "But nothing easy, though. He really knows a lot already, so something basic wouldn't be any good to him. But maybe a nice-looking shelf or coffee table book, telescope pictures..." She picked up a little brass-fitted globe off a shelf, turning it over in her fingers. "Or maybe something like this, something of Earth." She looked up at Damien with a sheepish grin. "Men are hard to shop for."
-
"It's no problem," Stesha said with a wave of her hand, "it's not like you're going to wake me up in the middle of the night or anything. I'm out a lot at night myself. I'll just toss some new sheets on the bed and you'll be all set. Jack will get your stuff, and take care of any messes, and you can work on finding a new place. And maybe nurse your poor plant back to health while we're at it," she joked.
-
Erin couldn't think of anything positive to say to this new stranger, who seemed to be cycling through attitudes until she found one that world work, but she also managed to not say anything sarcastic. That counted as a victory, in her book. She drank most of her glass of water and simmered down while Alex and Mike were cajoling Zoe into staying and eating the mountain of food she'd ordered. Finally, when there was a lull, she put in, "And even if you're not going to tell us where you actually come from, you'd better be ready to tell Summers. They don't fool around about that sort of thing, especially if you come from a place that just had some sort of disaster. They'll lock the file if you want."
-
The air got thicker and darker as they flew into the burning waste of what had once been home to all of them. Erin turned on the high beams and the searchlight, sweeping the midday dusk for any signs of life as Argent pointed the way. Even with her natural protection against the worst environmental conditions, the clogged air was poor enough that she was reduced to sucking in a breath every couple of minutes and hoping not to choke on it. With each passing moment, she expected Argent to tell them to stop, that it was the end of the trail. When navigating by sight became useless, Erin concentrated on radar and GPS to tell her where they were, her heart sinking with every yard closer to the city that they came. The buildings even this far out were rubble, and she was sure that if she were breathing, the unforgettable smell of hundreds of thousands of death would be in the air beneath the smell of burning. How could anyone have come this far and survived? Zoe was strong for her age, and fast, and so very reckless... "Anything yet?" she called back to Argent.
-
Erin followed along dutifully, wedging herself into the front passenger seat of the little car. "Just so long as you don't plan on taking Mike for any rides in this thing," she commented wryly, strapping into the seatbelt. "Now do you remember how to work everything? It's different from how it's written in the books, it might take a couple of times to get used to it."
-
Erin stood like a statue with one hand gripping the opposite wrist in front of her, staring at the blank screen and letting Mark's wife tend to him. It felt like her heart was bleeding inside her chest, but the time for tears and grieving would come later. Alex and Mike would understand that; they'd want it that way. The mission always had to come first, especially a mission with this kind of importance. Pulling a shuddering breath into her lungs, Erin turned to Argent. "You said you caught a trace of Zoe running away from the manor, but that you lost it. Can you take us as far as where the trace disappeared?" she asked crisply.
-
Erin raked a hand through her short hair, dislodging the mirrored sunglasses she'd absentmindedly shoved up on her head. They fell to the ground with a clatter, but the super-tough material didn't so much as scratch. Ignoring them, she focused on Argent. "She left a psychic message? How did she do that?" Shaking her head impatiently, she focused on the more important question. "What did she say?"
-
A long time ago, Erin might have reached for him and held on, more recently she still might have given him a hug or just a comradely pat on the arm. But now, even on a day like this, there was too much between them, and with his latest wife standing right there, even zoned out, it was too strange. Instead they stood inches apart, looking away from each other, each locked in their own pain. "Alex and Mike would've done the same thing," Erin said after a long moment. "They never would've let her come with them. She might have gone out afterwards, hoping to find something. I thought... I thought I would hear something, when it happened. Some sound in my head, or just emptiness, after thirty years. But there was nothing."
-
Erin nodded, pursing her lips tightly as she watched the smoke rising. It hadn't blotted out the sun this far yet, but that was coming too, without intervention. "Her whole team was diverted to Jakarta before the system failed out. They never made it to Freedom City. A stroke of luck." She might have laughed, but there wasn't anything in her to do that right now. "A teleporter got to them just a couple hours ago, she's helping with the recovery effort now. There's nothing there," she continued, her voice very quiet. "Not even remains, not for miles. I told her to come home."
-
As he crossed the front yard, he caught sight of a silver hover-cycle with government insignia parked near the front door. At the noise of the shouting, the door opened and a familiar figure emerged. Erin White, once Erin White-Lucas, had changed surprisingly little in the more than twenty years since their short-lived marriage, thanks to the superlative metabolism that granted the rest of her powers. She was looking worse for wear today though, with her black jumpsuit coated with gray dust, body streaked with soot, and her face entirely bleak. As much as Wander had wanted to join in that last desperate race for humanity, the oaths she'd taken had kept her in Washington DC, making sure that no one took advantage of worldwide chaos to stage an assassination. Even after it was all over, it had been more hours before the president was in a secure location and she could fulfill one last promise to the best friends she'd had in this world. And now it was looking like it might be too late for that. "Mark," she said as she crossed the front yard, her voice already going hoarse from shouting. "I can't find her anywhere. She's not answering her comm, there's no sign of her in the house." She took a deep breath, looking towards the plume of smoke that was Freedom City. "Mark, her uniform is gone."
-
"I like that idea," she agreed, twisting the rest of her flowers into a wreath. Standing on tiptoe, she set it on his head, then kissed him again. "It might catch on big time, you never know. The tough part will be trying to get big tough heroes to admit that they're human enough to need a little time off." She looked over towards the tall ridges off in the distance. "The suns will be coming up soon. Can you get us to that ridge to watch? I bet sunrise is spectacular over the ocean."
-
"You let him buy you underwear? And you don't like that he flirts with you?" Stesha teased. "Are you sure you aren't giving the poor man a few mixed signals?" She rummaged in her knapsack for a compact, checking to make sure she didn't have any ice cream still on her face. "You look really intimidating when you're dressed up, and it doesn't really make you any taller. Or not that much taller, anyway. It's all about attitude. Though I still think that a couple of piercings wouldn't hurt." She gave Taylor a broad grin.
-
Erin snorted. "Now you're just trying to cause trouble," she accused good-naturedly, even as she sped up a little. "If I crash this thing, James will never let me hear the end of it. And it'll be your fault." Even so, she steered toward the course of cones. She took a deep breath, her fingers tightening on the wheel, then navigated neatly through the cones, tires squeaking slightly on the sharpest turns. "No problem," she said when it was done, relaxing. "It steers pretty well." She drove the truck back in James' direction, stopping near the Chevette.
-
"Heroes need vacations as much as anybody," Stesha countered with a grin. "Maybe even more so. The universe isn't going to collapse because a couple of heroes take a long weekend and recharge their batteries. Sometimes they just need to be convinced of that. I know I feel better already, and we haven't been here twenty-four hours." Threading a few long-stemmed flowers together, she tied them into a necklace and draped them around his neck, then kissed him. "And the way you travel, it's not like you even have to go through customs. Pretty good deal."
-
Stesha put her head on his shoulder as they lay and watched the stars for awhile. His knowledge really was impressive, even if she was sure she wouldn't remember a single one later. That gradually turned into kissing and touching again, though not much more on the sandy beach. With the moons high in the sky, Stesha went and took a shower in the little improvised bathroom, while Derrick switched into his less-substantial, less-susceptible energy form to clear off the fatigue of a busy day. By the time she was finished, he was himself again, and they headed off on a moonlight walk across the beach. She picked up flowers instead of seashells on this trip, coaxing them into bloom and braiding them into her hair as they walked. "If you ever decide you do need extra money," she mused, "you could always open a travel agency."
-
"We've still got plenty of time," she pointed out, reclining back on her elbows. "And I'm more than happy with all we've done so far. I won't say I've done everything I wanted..." She tipped her head back and gave him a feline sort of grin, "but we've ticked off a number of important points on the agenda. Snorkling can wait for morning, and I'm too full for carrot cake right now. Maybe we can just look at the stars for awhile. I don't think I've ever seen so many, and all in different places." Stesha wasn't sure she was ready to talk about the rest of what he'd said, at least not just yet. Despite, well, everything, they hadn't known each other very long. Being so important to someone made her feel good... but a little weird, too. She'd think about it later, back home, when her emotions weren't quite so involved. For the moment, she was just going to enjoy it.
-
Erin leaned in and grabbed the guard by the arm, pulling him to his feet. "You say they're friendly? Great, you can introduce us. Unless there's something more about whatever's in there that we should know." She gave the guard a look that promised he would be very unhappy if there were hostile things waiting behind the door Mike was trying to open.
-
"Somebody who's got a phone should call the school for backup," Erin said, looking over in James' direction because she knew he had a cell phone. "We can't wait, but if we do get into trouble, at least someone will be coming. James and Mark can run around to the other entrance and come in that way, Chris, Alex and I will go in from this door, and Eddie and Mike come in from overhead. If Alex can keep us coordinated, we might be able to hit hard and fast enough from all directions that they won't be able to catch us in the field, or whatever it is. If anybody starts feeling weird, say something." She looked around for comments on the plan.
-
Erin thought about that for a second. "What were they doing with it?" she demanded. She didn't think their contacts had specified exactly what the equipment was being used for, just that it was in the plant with all the giant robots. But when she thought about it, anything that let the Nazis travel to other dimensions didn't sound like a good idea at all.
-
"Maybe they just like you," Stesha suggested with a grin. "Maybe you don't look like enough of a badass to scare them away when you're not in costume. You should go out with Ace and get yourself some spike-heeled boots, a leather jacket, and maybe a whip. Or a mohawk. Pierce your ears five times, and wear sunglasses even at night. That's the way to look badass, I've seen it in movies." She chortled. "But you would also probably want to learn CPR first, for when your mother sees you for the first time."
-
Stesha giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to hide it. "I can't believe someone would jump you with all those people around! It's too bad the guy got punched out, I'm sure you had something really exciting planned for him once you were out of sight. But he learned his lesson anyway. I guess that's exactly the sort of situation self-defense classes are good for." She paused a moment. "How did you know he was a werefox? Did he have ears and a tail and stuff?"