Electra

Erin only got 24, so Thunder goes first. Which is probably just as well, since Erin doesn't know how to start a fight. =)

"Well, maybe he came back from the dead." Stesha replied, looking up at the statue. "But I guess that wouldn't explain why he's female now...but stranger things have happened." She chuckled, looking over at him. "I mean, if you believe in superheroes and magic powers and supernatural beings, coming back from the dead really isn't that much of a stretch, is it? More things on heaven and earth..."

As always, Stesha felt like a little kid at the amusement park when she walked into the museum, but she restrained herself tonight for the sake of whatever image of maturity she'd managed to preserve. The little red flowers in her hair did brighten up a little, responding to her pleased excitement. "Let's see the traveling exhibit first," she suggested. "I've heard it's supposed to be great." The museum wasn't too busy at this hour on a weeknight, so the crowd didn't press as they walked along past the iconic images of the city's greatest heroes. "And I love the heroes of today room, too," she confided. "It's so neat to see heroes that you might one day watch in the air, or even pass on the street!" It was her great ambition to one day get a spot in that room for her name, but of course she didn't say that aloud.

She nodded enthusiastically at the sentiment. "I know exactly how you feel," she told him. "It seems like Freedom City is a place where you can come to be better than you are, because there are so many good examples all around. And sure it might be dangerous sometimes, with the supervillain attacks and things like that, but that's what the heroes are there for, right? And even with the fights, they make the world so much better." She waited till he pulled into the slot to unbuckle, but didn't think to wait for him to open the door. "If you feel like that, I know you'll love the museum," she told him confidently. "It's like a concentrated dose of everything that's best about the city."

"I grew up in Chicagoland," she confirmed, "just on the outskirts of Evanston, if that means anything to you. It all sort of blends together out there. I just moved to Freedom City a few months ago, when I got the job at Flowers By Design. I really like it though. It's always so exciting here. Do you ever get tired of it?" she asked earnestly. "I mean, after you live here for awhile, does it feel normal to see superheroes just flying by overhead?"

Oddly enough, that made Stesha feel just a teeny bit better about the whole business. She smiled at him as she climbed into the car. "Don't worry, I washed all the potting soil off before I changed my clothes," she assured him. "Just mind the corner up here, no one ever stops at the stop signs." She carefully buckled herself in, the soft perfume of flowers filtering through the car as Jack started it up. "How long have you lived in Freedom City?" she asked conversationally, remembering his words about not having visited the museum yet.

Stesha mentally slapped her forehead when she saw Jack. The entire package, from sleek black car to sleek black suit said high class, a significantly higher class than she had any business aspiring to. And here she was in a sundress and sandals, looking like she was ready to go march in the hippy parade. The dress really was her, it's just that that wasn't necessarily a good thing. But who wore a suit to the freaking Super Museum, a small, indignant part of herself maintained. It wasn't like they were doing dinner and dancing or something like that. She smiled through the mortification. "You look great, too," she told him. Some of her coworkers were bound to be watching from the back room, she knew, so at least they'd be impressed by the caliber of guy she was totally striking out with.

Wander nodded soberly, extending her hand and shaking the teacher's. She was glad not to have to talk more about where she'd come from, and more than eager to move on. "I work hard," she promised. "I won't waste your time." She looked around the gym, at all the incomprehensible equipment and odd targets. It didn't look much at all like the gym at school. "Where do we start?"

Stesha spent most of Sunday night puzzling over what to wear, and then most of Monday gossiping about her date-to-come with her coworkers. It was just smart strategy, every girl knew not to go out with a stranger without telling someone, but mostly she just wanted to dish with her friends. It had been a depressingly long time since she'd been on a date, and never with someone so good looking and, suave, she guessed. Maybe it was the confidence that came with being a real superhero. That was a nice perk! She rushed through her work at the end of the day, giving her enough time to duck into the bathroom and spend twenty minutes changing clothes and fooling with her hair and makeup. She'd finally decided on a simple sundress covered with poppies, and matching shoes and earrings. She'd worn them to a wedding last summer and everyone said it was very cute, plus it was easy and cool. She braided her hair in a ring around her head and dressed it with tiny red flowers, then slapped on a little makeup and declared it good. Stuffing her day clothes in her locker, she grabbed her purse and waited at the door, suppressing the tiny, high-schoolish worry that this was some elaborate joke and she'd be left standing there like a moron.

Erin ducked her head and broke eye contact at that, rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably. "Sort of," she said, "but not exactly. I'm from a different world," she blurted, deciding that she'd better spill something, if she wanted to be taught effectively. "There was a plague, and some other stuff, and almost everyone turned into zombies. And I fought them. But when you fight them, you have to destroy them, or they just... they just keep getting up. So I learned how to do that, with weapons or barehanded if I had to. But now, here, it's not like that. I don't want to kill living people, but I don't know how to fight not to."

"No, it's fine, really," Stesha said. "It's probably better that it's earlier in the week," she admitted with a chuckle. "Between your friend's shower and the two weddings we're doing this weekend, I'll be burning the midnight oil at the end of the week. Going out tomorrow will be really nice. June's really kind of a crazy month. So, tomorrow at seven, at the shop? The doors will be closed, but you can just knock on the glass."

Erin shook Thunderstanding's hand, looking from her to the gym all around them with a considering eye. Her grip was firm, but her hands were soft, no callouses at all. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too" she said politely. She unconsciously mirrored the trainer's pose as they spoke, looking up and meeting her eyes. "I need to learn how to use my strength responsibly," she said carefully. "I learned how to fight without any lessons, and without learning how to pull my punches. I'm too dangerous to be a hero, but that's what I want to be. Mr. Archer says that you can teach me control, and to only use as much force as is appropriate. That's what I want."

"Oh," she said, a little surprised. A date tomorrow wouldn't give her much time. She'd have to go with an outfit she already had... but surely she'd find something in her closet that would do. She'd just skip going out tonight and tear her wardrobe apart. "Yes, that sounds great. If you would come to the shop, that would be fine," she told him. "It's much closer to the museum, so it would be silly for me to go home first." She'd just bring her clothes and change at the shop, and do her very damndest not to get dirt in her hair for once.

"I love the Super Museum," Stesha said enthusiastically. "I've been there twice just since I moved here. But I'd love to go again," she added hastily. "They've got a new traveling exhibit up that I wanted to see. This week I'm working late most days, but I get off at seven and the museum doesn't close till nine. There are some nice restaurants in that area too," she suggested helpfully.

"Yes," she blurted, then tried to back up a little. There were rules about this sort of thing, she knew, and one of them was that you weren't supposed to be too eager for a date, or too disinterested, or too excited, or too aloof. Screw it, she was a superhero, she reminded herself with great boldness. "I mean, it'd be great to go out with you sometime. Did you have something in mind?" There, that sounded good, she decided. For god's sake, she wasn't in high school anymore.

Stesha had to dive over a pile of folded laundry to get the phone, which was merrily blasting out a They Might Be Giants tune to indicate a call from a stranger. Her hopes immediately rose, then the butterflies. She'd decided the guy from the shop wasn't going to call after the first couple of days, but maybe... or maybe it was a telemarketer. She picked up the phone and unfolded it. "Hello, this is Stesha," she said, then waited breathlessly.

Erin wasn't sure how much she liked the assistant coach, but she wasn't going to disregard a summons from a teacher. Besides, she liked Mike well enough, though she didn't know Mercy really at all. After lunch, she took her Algebra 1/2 book down to the gym and sat on the floor with it, puzzling through some equations while she waited for whatever this test would be. She was not good at math, but she needed to get this stuff down if she wanted to be doing actual algebra in the fall with everyone else.

Erin hadn't really expected her first trip into the city to be in the bright yellow and blue combat uniform of the Claremont Academy, but she had to admit that the outfit fit well and was very comfortable to move in. And she had to admit that she really could use the training that she was supposedly starting today. Mr. Archer, the gym teacher, was a nice guy and could train her in running and jumping, but he didn't have quite the strength or agility to really work her fighting style and teach her to use it. So when Thunderstanding, who was supposedly a big deal metapowered fighter type, started offering lessons, he'd been the one to press the school to make an arrangement. They couldn't pay top dollar for training, but working with the Claremont Academy would boost just about anyone's reputation. Claremont only employed the best. Mr. Archer was with her today, giving her a ride and coming in to watch the session and make sure it was the sort of combat training that was necessary and appropriate. Erin was nervous, but excited too. This was what she'd come to school for, after all, to learn to be a real hero, with control of her own strength. She followed Mr. Archer into the nondescript building, balancing on the balls of her feet and looking around as she went. She wasn't as nervous about simply moving around in the city as she'd once been, but all the noise and activity made sure she was very much on her toes.

Prompt Three: What is the hardest thing to adjust to on Freedom Earth? Erin spent many weeks in quarantine at the Goodman Building when she came to Freedom Earth. That was okay, she understood why they had to do it. She would never have forgiven herself if she’d made the people in this world sick as well. But she was okay and the plague was dead, and eventually they let her out of quarantine, except she didn’t have anyplace to go. The Goodman Building was a pretty quiet place, and even though people were there, they were always busy and concentrating hard. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t really do anything. Sometimes she ran the autoclave, but she couldn’t even figure out what they were studying most of the time. Missing so much school hadn’t mattered very much where she came from because she liked to read, but in the new world it made her stupid. After a few days, her shrink, Dr. Franklin, said that she should go outside with him and see Freedom City. Erin knew what Freedom City looked like. She’d gone all around it for months, getting parts for Dr. Atom’s machine, but that had been in a very different world. Still, she was curious, and there was no way she was going to stay in the Goodman Building forever. So she went out with Dr. Franklin to this hamburger place he knew about. Everything was okay till they got to the front door and stepped outside. It was so NOISY! Erin put her hands over her ears and ran back inside! There were people, and cars, buses, everyone yelling and honking all at once. In that one second, she saw more people than she had in years. Even zombies were quiet when they weren’t moaning and crying. After a few minutes she went outside again, and stayed out, but it was bad. She didn’t know where to look, or what to do. It seemed like there were dangerous things everywhere! Even though she knew there were no zombies here, she couldn’t relax. Every noise seemed weird, and every sight from the corner of her eye seemed like it might be dangerous. She didn’t enjoy her hamburger, and she was very happy to get back to the quiet building. Dr. Franklin made her go out with him every day after that, for little trips, then for longer ones. Eventually she started to get used to all the people and the noise, but it never felt good. She always had to be looking around all the time, and whenever someone touched her, it felt like she had to fight. He taught her some ways to relax, by counting and thinking calm thoughts, and it helped some. Still, even after she left Freedom City, she did not like being in places where there were lots of people, or places that weren’t familiar. She worried that when she went to Claremont, she would find a lot of both, and she was sort of correct.

Erin, who had been properly intimidated by the incomprehensible stylings of the megaintelligent builder, decided to chime in before she had to risk going last. Last was almost as bad as first. "I'm Erin," she said, speaking just loud enough that everyone could hear her. "I'm from Seattle, and I like taking walks. I'm having a hard time getting used to all the people who live in this world, and how noisy it always is." She subsided then, looking to the psychologist to make sure that was enough.

Prompt Two: How do you get along with your family here? One day Erin was helping out with the laundry at the house her family in this world lives in. She doesn’t know what to call it, because she knows it’s not her house, but it is, in a way. She didn’t go to school and she didn’t have a job, but she could fold clothes. She carried a basket of Megan’s clothes up to her room and put them on the bed. When she was there, she saw Megan’s music box, and Bezazzle. Bezazzle was Megan’s stuffed horse. Erin knew that she shouldn’t, but she picked up Bezazzle and petted him, and she thought about how it was when she buried him with Megan. She felt so sad that she didn’t know what to do, but she didn’t cry. She found the music box and wound it up and let it play. It had earrings and jewelry in it now, because Megan wasn’t seven and she had pierced ears. It was always empty when Erin had it. Erin was so distracted that she spent much longer in Megan’s room than she thought. Megan came in and asked “What are you doing here, Erin Keeley?†Erin jumped because she was surprised. “Sorry,†she said. “I was bringing up your clothes for you, and I saw your music box. It reminded me of something else.†Megan looked blank, so Erin tried to explain. “The Megan I knew, in my world, she had a music box like that, and she really liked it. I wanted to see if it was the same.†“Oh,†Megan said. “I don’t usually like anyone in my room. Sometimes Erin comes in and messes with my stuff.†“She really loves you, deep inside,†Erin couldn’t help saying. She knew it would sound stupid, and that Megan wouldn’t understand. She didn’t have any way to understand. “Deep down, where it matters, she loves you more than anything. You shouldn’t forget that,†Erin wasn’t even sure it was this Megan she was talking to, or if it was a different Megan, the one who was dead, that she would have liked to say that to but never did. In any case, Megan looked at her like she was crazy, and didn’t say anything at all. Erin closed the music box and left, and went back to her own room for the rest of the day. She felt stupid, and sad at the same time. The people here looked like her family, and acted like she remembered her family acting. It was her that was different, and extra, and didn’t fit anymore.

Erin was busy enough studying the new arrivals that she didn't pay too much attention to what the therapist was saying. She looked from Rex to Prometheus, trying to decode the similarities between the two of them. Maybe they were from the same universe, or maybe they were related. It probably didn't even matter, but it made her curious. She was rather more concerned about the gun the new girl was carrying, but decided to let that go, too. From what she knew of her own power, it would take an extremely powerful gun to hurt her, and the school probably wouldnt let anyone carry something like that. Besides, she knew what it was like to always worry about an attack. Maybe the gun made her feel safer. When Marquez asked for a volunteer, she looked around nervously, as did some of the others. No one wanted to be the first one to go and thereby draw attention to themselves.

This is a seven part solo thread for Wander.

Prompt One: Describe a happy memory between 2006 and 2008. It was springtime, the year after everything bad had happened. Erin was just starting to feel okay again, sometimes, and remember what it was like to be a person and want things. For a long time, she only wanted to kill the zombies and die herself, but eventually that feeling started to go away, and she decided she wanted more. She decided to go to Freedom City, to see if anyone there was working on a cure for the zombies. She went out of Texas and started traveling northeast. One day it started raining really hard. Some of the roads washed out, and it was cold. She decided to get off the interstate and find a place to get dry. When she took the exit, she found a shopping mall right there. Usually she avoided shopping malls, because there could be lots of zombies there. People hid there after the plague, because they saw old movies, and they usually died there. But malls sometimes had good stuff too, and this one looked like it might be okay. She went into the mall and found that it smelled okay, which was a good sign. If they didn’t smell bad, there weren’t many bodies. It was dry, too, and not very hot. Some of the skylight windows were broken and let air and rain in, but most were still good. There were birds in the rafters singing to each other. She could tell right away that people hadn’t gotten into this mall much for some reason. There were dead security guards and some clerks, but no zombies, so it was a good place to spend the night. She took her lantern and started looking around for supplies. In the Sears, there were many good things. She found a car battery that was still good! There were also many camping supplies. Erin took them all down to the atrium, where it was light out. She had read a book that said how to rig cords to power things with batteries, so she made a lamp and a camping refrigerator run off the battery. In the furniture store she found a couch and carried that out as well, as well as plenty of blankets and cushions. It was like building a fort, sort of. In the food court it was bad, with smells and flies and animals, but she poked around and found a crate of canned Chinese food and some soda in bottles. She spent time setting up her camp so it was really nice, with cushions and pillows and blankets everywhere, and a pile of books on survival from the bookstore. She cooked her food over a camp stove and read by the light of the lamp all through then night. The pop tasted really good when it was cold, because she hardly ever had it that way. When nighttime came, the lamp meant she could stay up and even relax a little bit on the couch. It made her feel like a human being again. When she left, it all had to stay behind, because she couldn’t carry all that stuff, but it reminded her what it was like to do more than survive and kill things.

The therapy session hadn’t really been going anywhere today. Erin came to Dr. Marquez’s office at the appointed hour, passed over her diary, and sat in silence while he looked over it. She didn’t trust him like she trusted Dr. Franklin, and that made it even harder to talk to him about anything. She had to live here, after all, and he had a lot of power over her that she hadn’t felt like her other doctor had. If she said the wrong thing to him, there could be big trouble. So she kept her answers short, polite, and opaque. After a half-hour of going round-and-round, Marquez rolled back a few feet from the table. “All right, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere,†he finally said. “But your diary entries are very good. Do you think it’s easier to write things down than to say them out loud?†Erin shrugged. “Maybe.†“Right,†Marquez replied. He rolled over to the bookshelf and pulled out a clean notebook, then began jotting lines on the first page. “For this week, I’m going to give you a set of writing prompts. I’d like you to answer them in the way that seems best to you, a story, a narrative, just a few lines if you want. We’ll talk about them next week, and for now I’ll cut you loose a little early.†He slid the notebook across the table. “All right,†Erin said, picking up the notebook. She didn’t mind written assignments, and she was glad to get out of the session early. She didn’t even look at what the therapist had written until later, back in the privacy and quiet of her room. There were a half-dozen prompts there. This was going to take a little while. She looked over the prompts, then started answering them like she were writing a story. It seemed easier that way, less personal.