Electra

We're pretty much done with our orientation thread now, so a power check thread would be awesome. =)

Since Erin has only been active for one in-game day, I'm focusing more on adding things that made sense for her to have originally, but that would not fit into the build. I would like to add the following feats and features for my 5 points: Accurate Hearing (normal only) 1 Luck 1 Tracking 1 Immunity (half)(suffocation) 1 Benefit: Temporal Inertia 1 Because Erin's not from this universe, changes that are made to its timeline shouldn't affect her the way they would someone who was native to this universe.

Erin shrugged. "I was thinking about taking a walk around the grounds, but not really anything special," she told them. "I know you guys both have some unpacking to do. Maybe we could meet up later and find the cafeteria? I don't know when they've got us scheduled to get tested or classified or whatever, but I bet they have some way to find us. The campus isn't that big."

[floatr][/floatr] Players Name: Electra Power Level: 7 [110/110PP] Trade-Offs: -3 Attack for +3 Damage, -3 Defense for +3 Toughness Unspent PP: 0 Click here for PL 15 version. Characters Name: Stesha Madison Alternate Identity: Fleur de Joie Height: 5'3 Weight: Curvy, just leaning toward heavy Hair: Green Eyes: Blue Description: Stesha is an engaging and friendly-looking young woman, small in stature with a curvy body and five pounds she keeps meaning to take off with extra exercise. She smiles most of the time, and always smells like flowers. Her most striking feature is probably her curly green hair, which she usually keeps pinned back and decorated with seasonal flowers. Overall, she's not much of a hero archetype, but she's pretty darn cute. History: From the time she was a little girl, Stesha Madison loved plants. At a very early age, she put away her tea set and equipped her dolls and bears with little rakes and shovels so they could help her in the garden. It helped that she grew up in a family that was very big on gardening. Dad taught botany at the university, and Mom was a complementary medicine practitioner and midwife who grew most of her own remedies. Mom always that they met on the opposite sides of a campus protest in the sixties. It was true that they argued a lot, but in the way of people who liked to argue. Stesha's older brothers and sisters liked to argue as well, and so did she, up to a point. But mostly she liked to garden. There was always something that needed to be done, and every day brought new growth and new beauty to look at. It was hardly a surprise, then, that Stesha followed her dad into the university, majoring in botany. She did well, devouring all the information that was presented to her, but it wasn't her cup of tea. Studying flowers and plants too hard took the magic out of it. Once you'd dissected a rose, it wasn't beautiful anymore, it was just broken and sad, no matter how much you learned. She was more interested in the joy that flowers could give. Her parents were very proud when she graduated with honors, even if her father was a little disappointed that, instead of joining her in the lab, she decided to go to work at a florist. It wasn't just any florist shop, mind you. Chicago had some very exclusive floral boutiques, and with the contacts both her parents had, she got a job in one of the best. Soon she was doing society weddings, making bouttonires that cost more than her entire prom dress had, and putting together elaborate birthday and anniversary bouquets that would gladden the heart of anyone who saw them. It was a great life, despite the occasional Bridezilla, and she loved it. She'd have been happy to go on that way indefinitely, if everything hadn't changed in a most unexpected way. It all started with a very unusual piece of window dressing. Even with her degree in botany, Stesha had never heard of the Fleur de Joie blossom until the day her boss brought it into the shop. A very rare, extremely exotic bloom, it flowered only once every hundred years, and this one was set to go soon. "I had to call in a hundred favors," Amy, her boss, enthused, "but this sort of opportunity comes once in a lifetime. Front row seats to history!" That was why Stesha liked Amy, they shared the same enthusiasm for plants. The Fleur de Joie was placed in the front window and monitored like an expectant mother. As its pistils swelled with the coming bloom, Amy began stationing employees to watch it at night, just to make sure they took plenty of pictures and didn't miss a thing. No one knew for sure if it was a day or evening bloomer, and they weren't about to miss out. After a few days and nights of anxious watching, Stesha's turn came up in the rotation. She staked herself out just a few feet from the plant to make sure she would catch so much as a twitch, then started reading a catalog. A sudden motion caught her attention, and she saw a leaf begin to curl back. Eagerly, she called Amy and told her something was happening, then got ready with the digital camera. As the petals began to uncurl themselves, revealing a beautiful mother-of-pearl color the likes of which Stesha had never seen, she leaned in with the camera and began to take pictures. Suddenly, when her nose was bare inches from the flower, it released a large puff of pollen into the air, right into her face, right into her open mouth. "Yie!" she yelled, reeling backwards in surprise, trying to wipe her face. The whole room seemed to take a long, lazy twirl, and then she passed out. She woke a few minutes later, sputtering at the glass of water Amy had upended over her head. The flower was still there, huge and immensely beautiful, and Stesha was still covered with pollen. "What happened?" Amy demanded. "Are you all right? Did you see it open?" "Yeah," Stesha replied, dragging a sleeve across her wet, powdery face. "It was beautiful! And I think I'm allergic," she added wryly. They took hundreds more photos from every angle, and so did the newspaper, and the local news channel. It was a cute local interest story that brought publicity to the shop, just as intended. After a few days, it closed again, and Amy returned it to its owner, and things seemed to settle into their normal routine. Only it wasn't exactly normal. Stesha started noticing that things were getting a little strange around her. Plants seemed to... respond to her in a way they hadn't before. Her African violets grew to twice their normal size in a week, and the rest of her houseplants quickly followed suit. After that, it was the potted plants in the shop. Soon, rosebuds were blooming at her touch. Something very strange had happened to her, and it all had something to do with that plant. She was afraid at first, but that passed quickly. All of her powers seemed good, seemed helpful, and they let her do what she loved better than she ever had before. She started small, learning to control the growth of plants around her, making sick ones healthier, growing seedlings into mature plants with a thought. It was cool. As Stesha's control grew, so did her boldness in experimenting. She began to try more things, more heroic things, and found she could do a lot more than she'd thought. When she concentrated hard enough, she could sort of become one with the plants, seeing through their flowers and leaves, even traveling along their vines and coming out somewhere entirely different. (The first time she did that, she nearly wet her pants, but the fear soon passed.) She could even make first dirt, then ceramic pots full of dirt, in which to place her plants. One memorable day, she even managed to snake out a vine and trip a purse-snatcher in Grant Park, sending him flying and letting the victim reclaim her belongings. She was like a superhero! She found that she needed to eat and sleep less, and that just laying in the sun made her feel totally refreshed in ways it never had before. It wasn't entirely without its drawbacks. One morning after an especially exciting evening of practice, Stesha woke up to find her hair had gone entirely green. Since that wasn't something she could hide, she decided to flaunt it, curling it up in a bun and sticking a wreath of flowers on it. Amy was a little skeptical, but the customers thought it was adorable, so she didn't give her any trouble. Stesha hadn't figured out a way to tell Amy about any of this. It just seemed so unbelievable. As she mastered her powers, though, the florist business began to seem very small. She still loved it, but she felt like she could do more. She wasn't up to the standards of, say, the Freedom League, but she could be a small superhero, she was certain. Moving out of Chicago was a real leap of faith. Amy was sorry to lose her, but she gave her a great recommendation that landed her a job in downtown Freedom City at another exclusive boutique shop. Stesha took some time to settle in and get the hang of her job and her neighborhood before she tried anything else. After a few months, though, she knew she was ready. Stesha thought about donning a domino mask, but in a city full of costumes, it seemed like it might be asking for trouble. She came up with a name for herself, Fleur de Joie, after the plant that had made her and the idea she had in mind, and set out to make the world a more beautiful place. Personality & Motivation: Happy and optimistic, Stesha firmly believes that beauty makes the world a better place, and there's no better way to express that than through green plants and flowers. She wants to spread happiness to people first and foremost, by brightening the world in which they live. And if occasionally she manages to foil a bad guy, well, that just makes her feel even more super! Powers & Tactics: Most nights, Stesha contents herself with scattering flowers in parks, healing peoples' sick windowboxes and gardens, and putting the occasional pot of flowers on someone's doorstep. If she gets in a fight, though, she can call the plants to her defense, using them to trip, snare, and incapacitate the bad guys, hopefully before they can hurt her. She has nascent earth control powers along with her plant control, but she hasn't explored them to anywhere near the extent she has with the plants. Right now, all she can do is create flowerpots, but that may change in the future Complications: Compassion: Stesha will safeguard all lives, even those of villains, whenever possible. Day Job: Stesha works 9-5 and weekends as a florist's assistant at an exclusive boutique. They do not know about her extracurriculars, and would not be happy if they did. She cant' afford to lose her job. Interfering Family: Stesha has a big extended family, mom, dad, four siblings, grandparents, and many, many aunts, uncles and cousins. They sometimes come visit this neck of the woods, and they do not know about Stesha's double life. Responsibility: Helping her new friends Divine, Dark Star and Phantom if they ask Phobia: Jack Faretti. Whenever he's anywhere she is, she wants to leave immediately. This raises problems in "ally of my ally" situations. Abilities (2+0+10+2+2+2=18pp) Str: 12 (+1) Dex: 10 (+0) Con: 20 (+5) Int: 12 (+1) Wis: 12 (+1) Cha: 12 (+1) Combat: (8+8=16 pp) Attack +4 Grapple +5 Defense +4 (+2 flat footed) Knockback -4 Initiative +0 Saves (1+3+3=7 pp) Toughness +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) Fortitude +6 (+5 Con, +1) Reflex +3 (+0 Dex, +3) Will +4 (+1 Wis, +3) Skills: 56r = 14pp Bluff 8 (+8/+12) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 8 (+9) Notice 12 (+13) Profession (florist) 8 (+10) Search 4 (+5) Sense Motive 8 (+9) Stealth 8 (+8) Feats: (3 pp) Attractive (cute) Luck Skill Mastery (Knowledge: Life Sciences, Notice, Profession: Florist, Stealth) Powers: 2+0+2+5+6+3+5+31 = 54 pp Feature 2 (Can instantly differentiate between types of seeds; Can shape earth into pots filled with fresh soil) [2pp] Feature 1 (Can breathe C02) [0pp] Immunity 3 (need for sleep, food, water, Suffocation in C02 Environment (usable by others)) [2pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Regeneration 10 (+4 recovery bonus, bruised/unconscious 1/round, injured/staggered 1/20 minutes, disabled 1/hour; Power Feats: Regrowth; Flaws: Source [sunlight]) [6 pp] Earth Control 1 (PF: Subtle) [3pp] Immortality (Immunity to poison, disease and aging; True Resurrection 1/day) [5pp] Snare 10 (entangling vines; PFs: Indirect 2, Alternate Power 9) [31pp] AP: Corrosion 6 (Extra: Duration/Sustained; Flaw: Limited/Plant Material; PF: Incurable, Precise) AP: Dimensional Pocket 2 (Extras: Duration 3/Continuous, Range/Ranged; PFs: Progression 9 [50,000lbs]) AP: ESP 4 (one mile, sight and hearing; Extras: Action/free action, No Conduit, Simultaneous; Flaw: Medium/Plants) AP: Growth 10 (Extra: Affects Others; Flaw: Limited/Plants) AP: Healing 10 (Extras: Area/Burst, Total; Flaw: Plants only (-2); PFs: Regrowth, Stabilize) AP: Healing 10 (Extras: Persistent, Action/Standard, Total; Flaws: Distracting, Unreliable/5 uses) AP: Move Object 8 (effective Str 40; PFs: Precise, Indirect 3, Accurate) AP: Stun 10 (pollen burst; Extras: Range/Ranged, Sleep; Flaw: Action/Full) AP: Teleport 8 (800 feet/2,000 miles; Extra: Accurate; Flaw: Medium/Plants; PFs: Progression 4 [2,500 lbs]) Drawbacks: 2pp Power Loss, uncommon, minor: (-1pp) Having her hair cut to a length of less than six average inches (shave head, chop off braid, stylish summer cut) will remove her ability to photosynthesize (immunity to starvation and thirst, immunity to sleep) and regenerate until it regrows. Regrowing to useful length takes 72 hours, including 24 total hours of sleep if hair is partially removed, or 168 hours with 56 hours of sleep if totally shaved. Without sufficient rest, growth will be delayed. Weakness, uncommon, minor: (-1pp) The last six inches of Stesha's hair are dead and inactive cells, like normal hair, and can be trimmed normally. The rest of her hair is much more alive than normal hair, and hurts if it is damaged. Cutting or burning her hair invokes toughness saves as though her body had been attacked. DC Block: Type -- DC -- Effect Unarmed --- DC 17/Toughness --- Bruised Corrosion -- DC 16/Fort, then 21/Toughness -- Toughness Drain, then Damage Snare --- DC 20/Ref --- Snared Stun --- DC 20/Fort --- Dazed/Stunned Costs: Abilities (18) + Combat (16) + Saves (7) + Skills (14) + Feats (3) + Powers (54) - Drawbacks (02) = Total Cost 110/110

"That's probably lucky," Erin replied to Alex as she stepped up for her own fitting, "if you don't ruin your own clothes, maybe you won't need to wear the uniform as often." She endured her own fitting stoically, then managed a nice smile for the camera. She jotted a few notes on her orientation packet as she went, noting down windows and exits in the buildings they explored, just to be on the safe side.

Erin looks halfway normal in her school pictures, probably a victory.

"Well, maybe with some training," Erin allowed. She looked over at Mike with some understanding. "I know I don't feel ready to play sports yet, but with the training they give here, maybe I will be pretty soon. I mean, if they make superheroes here, I'm sure they can train people to just control their own strength in the everyday world. It would be kind of cool to play games where we can, y'know, run and jump as fast and far as we can, without worrying."

From the chapel, she went to investigate the library, which was by far the best-smelling library she'd been to in a very long time. Not that it had a lot of competition for the title, given the condition of most of the libraries she'd been in, and the lack of corpses here. She spent a few minutes browsing the magazine racks, but since she didn't have a student ID or anything yet, she didn't try and check anything out. That would be nice for later, though. She would have to remember to get the special key that the tour guide had spoken of as well. The computers looked really new, and like they'd be fast. She wondered if she could get headphones and played games. She toured around a little, but couldn't go up to the third floor, because it was locked. That was good to know, in case of emergency.

Erin almost walked right past the chapel as she adjusted her clothes and smoothed down her hair from her basketball game, but curiosity drew her in. It seemed like a weird thing to have at a school like this. It was dark and cool in the chapel, and smelled faintly of incense, sort of the way she remembered her old church smelling. It didn't look like this place got used a lot, and she wondered if it was mostly for funerals and such. It had a very Catholic vibe to it, that was for sure. She wasn't sure what Catholocism and superhero school had to do with each other, and was a little afraid of trying to draw too many comparisons. Instead, she walked brazenly down the center aisle and stood in front of the altar, staring up at the mournful face of the crucified Christ. Time dragged on as she struggled with the urge to pray, or maybe to curse, or just to ask why. Finally, unable to muster any response at all, she turned and stalked out of the chapel, not even bothering to note any emergency exits. God would save them, right? she thought bitterly.

A little bit of walking brought her to the gym, a place she figured she might be spending quite a bit of time as she learned to control her powers. She was quickly disabused of that notion when she saw "No Powers!" as the first rule upon entering the gym. Where was she supposed to practice? she wondered. They had to have someplace around, but maybe they kept it off the map, so nobody got any ideas. She found a rack of basketballs sitting unattended on the court, and couldn't resist the urge to pick one up and dribble it around a little. That was fun, so she got into it a little more, doing some turns and fancy blocks. She'd been pretty good at basketball once, when she used to play with her friends at school, and her body was a lot better now. She played imaginary one-on-one for a few minutes, and scored some points that impressed even herself, before literally jumping a foot in the air as the outside doors to the gym opened up. Guilty, she dropped the ball back on the rack and scampered out the back door before anyone caught her where she might not be supposed to be. She really needed to figure out the rules for this place.

A quick consultation with her map brought her to the Diana Falk Cafeteria, a pretty big place just for eating and food. She decided to go inside and take a look, tucking away her notebook so she didn't look like a crazy person. A line of vending machines caught her attention, and she spent a little while perusing the offerings there. The idea of having unfettered access to chips and chocolate that weren't completely stale was appealing, but she knew she'd better save her money. Eventually someone was going to explain to her what work-study actually was, but she thought it likely she'd need to be concentrating on the study too much to get a lot of work in for awhile. The cafeteria was closed, but there were good smells coming from upstairs, so she headed up for a look. It looked like there was a restaurant up there, which was sort of confusing. She backed out before anyone told her she was somewhere she didn't belong, retreating downstairs and back out of the building. Eventually the cafeteria would need more study, because it was always important to know where the food was kept and how much, but that could wait.

In the shade of a big tree outside her dormitory, she stopped and sat down for a few minutes. Her brain was starting to go too fast, with too many plans and too many what-ifs. The last thing she needed was a big fat panic attack, right when she was trying to reassure her hindbrain that everything was okay. It was very pleasant there in the yard, quiet and peaceful, with birds even singing in the trees. She hadn't known Freedom City had songbirds. She'd always associated big cities with rats and fat pigeons, but not the sort of birds who brightened up the place. Birds were one of her favorite parts of any place, so she lay back for a few minutes and just listened. Beyond the walls she could hear the traffic of the city, but that, too, was reassuring. She rested and birds sang, but beyond the walls, life went on in all its noisy, crowded glory. After a little while, she started feeling better. She got up and resumed her tour, wondering where they went for supper.

The first building she came to was marked on her map as staff housing, so she didn't pay too much attention to it, except for a quick jog around the perimeter to see what the entrances and exits looked like, how many windows it had, where the most likely escape points were. It was stupid, she knew it in her head. She wasn't even going to live in this building. But if she was going to be a superhero, she couldn't think only of herself! In an emergency, it was vital to have every bit of available information already at hand. Going back to her own dormitory, she did the same outside tour, making notes on windows and doors, bushes people could fall into and survive, possible roof accesses. She had to laugh at herself. If a teacher found her now, he'd probably think she was casing the joint. He wouldn't be too far from wrong, really, but it was a breakout she was planning, not a break-in.

There were still kids playing out on the grassy field behind the buildings, though the game seemed to have changed to some sort of elaborate game of super-tag. She watched for a few minutes, fascinated by the elaborate and showy maneuvers, the reckless expenditures of power and energy, and the fun everyone was having. Screened by the trees, she thought for a minute about trying to join in, but couldn't quite bring herself to do it. It might not be safe. She really didn't do well with people running at her, even when she thought she was prepared for it. She would practice, she promised herself. Once she got used to being safe again, she'd be able to play too, and leave campus, and feel normal. Turning, she jogged back the way she'd came, towards the cluster of buildings.

As she walked, Erin smelled and tasted the various plants, judging which ones were edible and which ones might be poisonous. Poisonous plants didn't bother her, but it never hurt to have a good idea of what was around you. She'd done a lot of studying on plants, and while these were mostly decorative, as one might expect at a tony place like this, there were a few that were good for food, or even for medicine. Someone was taking very good care of them, too. The soil had fertilizers and moisture extenders added to it, she judged, but it was pretty good to start with. They could grow a lot of good vegetables here if they wanted to... but why would they? she reminded herself. There was no point to it, when plenty of fruits and vegetables were available just a truck ride away, or even just beyond the front gates. She pushed herself away from the foliage and started looking around some of the buildings.

Later on Tuesday May 26, Erin, Alex and Mike arrive at Claremont, are assigned rooms, and get a tour (Un)Familiar faces. After that, Erin takes a walk around campus. Going Walkabout.

This is the OOC thread for the "Going Walkabout" story.

Once the orientation tour was over, when the students had been cut loose for a little while, Erin decided to take a walk on her own. She liked her room and her new roommate well enough, but she knew she'd feel antsy until she had a really good idea of the layout of the place. With a notebook, pen and a map of campus in hand, she headed out and onto the broad green grounds of the academy to look around. It looked a lot different than it had the last time she'd been here, picking up a part for Dr. Atom. The lawn had been brown and dead then, and there'd been a pile of skeletons over by the front gate, people trying to get in to safety or beat their way in to get revenge on the heroes who hadn't saved them, who could say? Erin shook off the memory and kept walking. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful world, and she wasn't going to spoil it. All the same, she was on alert as she walked, keeping an eye out in all directions for anyone approaching, and noting down possible strategic locations in her notebook. It made her feel better.

"I guess if nothing else, we'll have weekends and stuff," Erin said, picking up a brochure and looking through it herself. "Doing theater might be kind of cool. When I was in school, only the upperclassmen got to do that kind of stuff, but it looked neat. I wonder if there are tryouts and stuff, or if it's just everyone gets a part because the school is so small." She grinned a little. "Just as long as they don't do musicals, I guess. Or I could always do tech stuff behind the scenes too."

Inventory Besides clothes, there were room for a few other things in Erin's bag. Her mementos went in first, of course. She'd thought about buying a new frame for the picture of her parents. The one she had was badly mangled after spending nearly two years in one piece of luggage or another, with the metal parts banged up and a long crack across the glass. But she'd gotten used to seeing it like that, and it wasn't as though she were finished with her traveling, anyway. It went into the bag, wrapped carefully in her shirts. Megan's music box went in next. It, too, had seen better days, though the sturdy cardboard had held up, with the help of a little scotch tape on the corners. The Disney princess motif was still clearly visible, and the princess inside, Sleeping Beauty, Erin was pretty sure, still twirled around to a lullaby whenever the lid was open. Tucked securely in among her socks and underwear, it would make the trip safely. Bear needed much less protection. He'd had a hard two years, serving as pillow often as not when she was sleeping outdoors, and his brown fur had seen better days. She put him in a plastic bag before packing him, more to protect her clothes from him than the other way around. Picture frame with photo Music Box, pink, plays "So This is Love" Stuffed Bear, brown, fair to poor condition Erin's mom and dad didn't want to send her off to school without at least the basic supplies, and Erin felt more comfortable having them too. She did her best to be frugal in this area as well, and was a little chagrined to realize that the lovely-smelling soap she'd liked to use for her infrequent hosing off back in her own world was actually quite expensive when you had to pay money for it. She stuck to store brands and inexpensive accessories wherever she could, amassing a tidy little pile of things to take with. Four spiral bound perforated notebooks Ten black ballpoint pens Ten blue ballpoint pens One box colored pencils One hardbound diary One protractor One box envelopes Twelve "forever" stamps One toothbrush One tube tartar-control toothpaste Two sticks deodorant, "powder fresh" One hairbrush One bottle shampoo for normal/oily hair One bottle conditioner One box feminine napkins Three bars aloe soap One nylon loofah sponge

Clothes When Erin packed her bag to go to school, it contained all of her worldly possessions. That was a little weird, since many things that she remembered as being hers were right next door in the second bedroom, but they didn't actually belong to her here. The other Erin was nice enough about sharing, but in the end, those things were still hers. In the weeks she'd spent in Freedom City, then in Seattle, Erin had managed to pick up some things of her own. She went shopping for school clothes for Claremont with Clarissa and the other kids. It felt strange to have to pick what to wear again, and to know it mattered somehow. And that money meant things, and she couldn't just take what she wanted. The idea of spending money seemed strange and extravagant, and it affected how much she was willing to buy. It wasn't as though she weren't already putting these people out! She was happy to find a clearance rack with slacks and blouses on it, and bought mainly from that, enough clothes that she would be wearing something different every day of the week. Other Erin thought they were unfashionable as sin, and even Clarissa tried to steer her towards a few things that were a bit more flattering, but Erin didn't see how it could possibly be that important. They covered everything that needed covered, and the fabrics were sturdy and durable. She got socks and underthings as well, and wound up spending an amount that she considered to be acceptable. Being a burden would only make her feel more uncomfortable. Two cream blouses One blue blouse One purple blouse One red sweater One blue pullover top One pair yellow cotton pajamas Two pairs blue jeans One pair khaki slacks One blue windbreaker Seven pairs socks Seven pairs underwear Two brassieres One pair tennis shoes

"All right, thanks." Erin took a breath and allowed herself to feel a little relief at the idea that things were going to be taken care of. There were a few papers to sign, there always were, but that was painless enough. She was still happy to escape the vice-principal's office and get back to her new classmates out in the lounge. "Classes start on Wednesday," she reported, "at least, that's when tutoring starts for me. I don't know if we're all going to have the same schedule or not. But I guess we get field trips and stuff eventually, out to the mall at least."

At this point, Erin was more concerned about being singled out than about pocket money and shopping centers, so she merely nodded along with everything the vice-principal said, fidgeting like any teenager who's been dragged into the principal's office. "Right, um, if you want me to work, that's okay, I'm sure I can do some things around here at the school. I can do yardwork and stuff, or vacuum, um, make beds? Whatever. But tutoring would be good. Ah, Alex said, Alex out there, my new roommate, she said that she would help me some too. Do I need to buy books or something before I can start?"

"I guess it's what they put in the admissions packet, that we should be thinking about what we wanted our hero identity names to be," Erin said, sounding a little uncertain. "I didn't know we'd be going by them all the time though. Mine's kind of stupid. Maybe we'll only have to use them every once in awhile, and some people just like theirs and use them more often." Erin shrugged and looked over to Mike and Mrs. Harcourt, then followed Alex's lead in emptying her bag. It only took about thirty seconds to dispose of her small cache of possessions. Her clothes took up one dresser drawer, her notebooks and pen one desk drawer, and the photo of her parents in its battered frame, the pink and blue Disney Princesses music box, and Bear all went on top of the dresser. She set aside the Ziploc full of toiletries on her desk, then put the duffel bag on one side of the top shelf of the closet and was finished. "What should we see next?" she asked Mrs. Harcourt.

Erin dropped her bag on the bottom bunk and began doing a survey of the room, looking out the window, into the closet, checking out where the outlets were, and things like that. She startled just a little at the sound of a new voice before turning to study the new girl. Satisfied that this, too, was a stranger, she mustered a polite smile and extended her hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Erin."