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
-
Gina whimpered aloud, then immediately wished she hadn't. Superheroes weren't supposed to whimper, and doing so just reminded her of how vulnerable and squishy she was when not in her superpowered robot body. But even without a robot body, she still had her brain, didn't she? Scrambling over the seat and into the front passenger space, she enabled Emerson's holographic mode, turning him into the very model of a boring, vaguely handsome middle-aged white male, very loosely based on one of Gina's brothers. She then went to work on the radio, pulling it free from its housing with a tool from her purse, then quickly pulling off bits of the housing and beginning to interface it with her phone. It was an excellent radio, satellite everything, and also carried some of the command pathways that let her drive from home when she wanted to, so there was bandwidth to spare, normally. Today though, she was only interested in one radio wavelength, the one that would let her get in touch with Steve. As she worked, she refused to look out the front windshield, for fear that her hands would start shaking and ruin the delicate work. A pocket-sized mini soldering iron was tricky enough to wield at the best of times. She opened the phone, used the radio to tune the frequency. "Steve?" she began. "It's Gina. I'm at Redding and Hewling in Riverside, and I think there's going to be trouble. Some cops or people dressed as cops are stopping traffic and dragging people out of their cars. I'm all by myself," she emphasized, after delivering all that information in a single breath. "Can you hear me?" she asked belatedly.
-
Erin blinked, her vengeful expression replaced for a moment with a vaguely horrified one before she shook it off. "You are wrong about so many things, it's not even funny." She rapped the Deep One's head smartly against the floor once for emphasis. "I've got no interest in killing you, I'm sure the smell would be terrible. You'll have a nice long, extremely dry stretch in Blackstone Prison where you can think about the error of your ways." Turning to Midnight, she nodded meaningfully towards the glow ball in the middle of the floor, then addressed her captive again. "Unless, possibly, you can give me some clues as to how to find my sister, plus an assurance that you'll leave her and Aquaria alone from now on. First off, what's the deal with the Star Orb?"
-
"Don't talk like that, FB," Cyberknife insisted sharply, waving away the emoji with an impatient hand. "It doesn't have to be that way. You know you don't want to be in their pocket for anything. If they give you money, they're going to expect to control you. You'll wind up in the ground a hell of a lot earlier than forty, and with nothing to show for it." She moved towards him, nothing so definite as steps, not where they were, but a drawing closer. "I'm sure you've read at least some of the articles about the work Miss Americana's been doing at Archetech. Uploading consciousness. Freeing minds from broken bodies, permanently. We've already done a human test, and she's been fine for three years now. It's not fantasy or pie in the sky, it's going to happen. And a terminally ill technopath is a candidate I could make a case for, but not if you're determined to go out in a blaze of glory."
-
"Be of good cheer," Stesha advised him with a grin, "and remind yourself that no matter what else you have to do, at least you're not dipping sheep in pesticides in the dark." She reached out and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, then touched the flowers in her hair and disappeared before she could start second-guessing herself too much. She'd have hours to do that in the privacy of her own world, after all! Ten o'clock seemed a long way away. But as Stesha popped back into the largest livestock barn on Sanctuary, one that was currently deafeningly loud with the calls of indignant sheep and smelled just absolutely indescribably foul, she didn't even notice the silly little smile she still had on her face.
-
Miss Americana managed to hover in the sky for a few moments after being abruptly sent into autopilot mode, blinking and grinning vacuously as she recorded the events happening around her. The damage she'd sustained in the fight, however, had not done her internal gyroscopes any favors. Without a conscious mind able to compensate for the imbalance, she began to teeter in the air. The effect was subtle at first, a gentle rocking motion, then more extreme, ratcheting back and forth at the knees like the arm of a freakish metronome. Four, five, six swings, and she didn't recover from the seventh forward swing, instead following her own momentum downward to faceplant into the rubble-strewn ground. Beneath her home in Hanover, Gina said several very bad words and swiped a hand beneath her still-bloody nose. The area was entirely blanketed with radio static, and there was no telling when she was going to be able to reconnect. She switched to satellite view, but those were muddy too, overwhitened from a rush of light, clouded with dust from the fight debris. For the moment, she was in the dark.
-
"Chris and Liz," Miss Americana repeated obediently, opening her eyes as Gina slumped over in her sumptuous office chair "And keep mum about the "why the hell do you get into a firefight at thirty-six weeks" business, got it. The car is waiting downstairs." She walked to the full length mirror and took a look at herself, dressed in a deceptively casual hip-length sweater in burnt sienna over a pair of tailored black slacks. Her golden hair was pulled back in a chignon, her makeup done subtly. She frowned into the mirror. "Are you sure you want me to come along to this?" she called into the other room. "You'd probably have more fun with your friends if I stay back, and I've got some really interesting lab work I could be doing while everybody else is eating," she suggested hopefully. Their dish to pass, a massive three-foot-tall tower of chocolate truffles, was already tucked in a box and ready to go, the product of hours of Gina's fretful second-guessing. She didn't understand what to bring to a potluck when not given direct instructions. That wasn't how things worked where she came from! Back in Blackwater, everybody understood what dishes each person was to bring to each holiday, how they were to be prepared, and what order they ought to be placed in on the buffet line. These assignments were sacred, passed on from mother to daughter, and taken very seriously. How could she bring a sweet potato pie or dish of scalloped corn, or god forbid a bowl of dressing, not knowing if she was going to be stepping on anybody's toes? What if everyone brought a sweet potato pie? What if nobody brought any vegetables? In the end, she'd gone with an ostentatious dessert, because why the hell not? It looked delicious, and nobody else would be bringing anything like it, unless some greater power was in a particularly fickle mood today. "It's about time to go."
-
Raina beamed at the compliment, looking pleased with both herself and her date. "No, he's fine," she assured Anibal as she selected a breadstick of her own. "He eats monkey chow most of the time, but as long as he doesn't eat anything stupid like ice cream or a pound of pork rinds, he can have people food. Capuchins are omnivores, just like humans." Merlin agreed heartily with that sentiment, adding that capuchins were considerably more attractive. Raina rolled her eyes. "I'm just going to get him some chicken fingers or whatever they've got on the kids menu. He's a cheap date." Merlin rolled his eyes right back, but his mouth was full of bread. Satisfied that she'd won the exchange, Raina took another look at the menu, immediately ruling out anything too garlicky or that might stain her clothes. "The fettucini alfredo sounds good," she mused aloud. "I wonder if they make their own noodles. Or do you want to split a pizza?" The air smelled tantalizingly of cheese and baking pizzas, so it seemed like a pretty good bet. "Have you ever been to Italy?"
-
Stesha chuckled in rueful appreciation of his point. "I have friends who would probably watch Ammy for a week straight if it meant I'd go out on a date," she admitted. "But you're right, it's all so much more complicated now. There's a lot to think about, and it can't all be impromptu romantic dinners or suddenly taking off for a weekend to some other planet on a whim. Nothing is simple anymore" She fiddled with the buttons on her cloak for a moment, then looked at him again, a slightly crooked smile on her expressive face. "But simple's not really what I'm looking for anymore, anyway. Ethiopian sounds great. Ten-thirty?"
-
"What?" Jessie asked, most of her attention focused on deciding whether or not any of these strange aliens were dangerous. The ones from the ship seemed dangerous, but they knew Wander and they'd agreed to take them home, so Jessie figured they'd have to take the risk. Surely they had to be less dangerous than being found by the Spectrum Knights, and less unpleasant than trying to spend the rest of her life here in the swamp. The workers in the bar seemed mostly less dangerous, though some seemed like they could be aggressive, especially if someone started croaking loudly at them. She looked over to her friend. "Um, I thnk it's probably better if they don't look at you, right? I mean, with the... everything?" She shrugged uncomfortably, then looked at the Voidrunners. "Is your person here? Should we get him?"
-
Merlin attempted to reason with Mia, pointing out that it would now be trivially easy for her to grab hold of her own foot, but when that didn't work, Raina went ahead and scooped up the baby into her arms, ending the part of the spell on her. "You're okay," Raina insisted, jogging Mia up and down a little. "See, just fine, gravity and everything. You want some food?" she asked hopefully. "We can go find that bottle in the fridge for you, then put on pajamas that make you look like a small fuzzy animal. Big fun, right?" She reached out and took Eden's hand, pulling her gently along through the air as she headed for the kitchen. "You come on too, you can have a cookie, just don't tell your folks."
-
A little extra rest and a breakfast she didn't have to prepare helped put Paige in a more festive frame of mind by the time she made her way downstairs to start preparations for the evening feast. Daphne had said she wanted the full Thanksgiving Day experience, and Paige was ready to take her at her word, especially with her usual sous-chef all the way across the country with some young woman that Paige was still extremely skeptical about. Every young person, no matter where they came from or what species they technically were, ought to learn the basics of making a Thanksgiving dinner. Even Holly knew how to make stuffing and mashed potatoes, though her curret stuffy nose would be keeping her out of the kitchen for most of the day. Paige tied back her hair and was just tying on her apron when she heard noises and sensed sentient minds out on the front porch. She hurried to open the door, giving one of her guests a warm smile. "Daphne, it's so nice to see you! Happy Thanksgiving!" She opened the door wider so Daphne could come in, then turned a noticeably cooler smile on the other guest. "Mother Cline. What a surprise. How have you been?"
-
"Dinner sounds good, if you can swing it with your babysitter," Stesha told him, tilting her head to one side as she considered the practicalities. "I don't mind late nights. If it's easier, I could come by your place, bring Ammy in her jammies and bed her down somewhere while you and I have dinner, or you could bring yours to my place. How do you feel about a bucket of chicken? It's sort of a staple in my household, when we're not eating in the dining hall," she admitted wth a shrug. "Believe it or not, I used to have all kinds of time to cook and bake, now I'm lucky to make my own dinner a couple times a week. But you probably know all about that kind of thing." Stesha laughed, and still didn't bother to reclaim her hand from him. He had good doctor hands, she noted, warm and not sweaty.
-
"That's good," Fleur told Ray with a nod. "Remember what I said about water and rest, even if you are an angelic being. Staying hydrated and rested doesn't hurt anybody! And don't be a stranger." She turned to Ellis. "Oh no, believe me, I was more than happy to help out," Fleur assured Ellis. "If I'd expected to wind up administrating a farm colony when I grew up, I'd have done more to overcome my fear of livestock! But as it is, any excuse to get away from those chores is good. Sooo... what are you doing later?" she asked, voice light enough that he could demur and she could pass it off as a joke, if desired.
-
"It's suspicious," Raina told Eden superciliously, "and it's not suspicious at all. And don't think I don't know what you're doing. I basically invented what you're doing. But hey, think of a wonderful thought. Any happy little thought." She flicked a handful of imaginary powder at Eden, which abruptly materialized in a shower of glitter as it showered down onto the little girl, sending her rising gently into the air. "And you," she added to Mia, blowing glitter onto the baby as well. "Stop trying to eat my monkey." Merlin was saved from baby attack as Mia bobbed into the air as well, freeing the beleagured familiar to escape to the couch. Very faintly, Raina could hear voices from downstairs, but didn't pay much attention. There was somebody working out down there, maybe they brought a friend along.
-
Raina allowed the hostess to escort her to the proper booth, waiting for a second to allow Anibal a chance to rise before sliding into the booth opposite him. She ordered an iced tea, not bothering to even attempt fake ID for a place like this. "This is nice," she commented as she opened her menu and gave it a quick scan. "It definitely smells good. And you're looking very nice." Raina had come to the conclusion, after deep consultation with the internet, that if she wanted more compliments from her nearly-boyfriend, the best way to go about it was priming the pump. It helped that he really was looking yummy this evening, with the sort of casual elegance she'd learned to appreciate at her mother's knee. Merlin, who was much less concerned about any of this social complexity, warbled a greeting to Anibal and hopped off Raina's shoulder onto the table, where he promptly stole a breadstick from the basket and demanded Raina pour him some red sauce on a plate. They'd compromised over the years, she would sometimes let him eat human food, but she would not tolerate him sharing a bowl with her. It was just a little too weird.
-
Miss A lay still in the rubble for a few moments, breathing, blinking, but otherwise not doing much of anything. Finally, though, she sat up, wiping the underside of her nose with the side of her hand, as though swiping at blood that wasn't there. "All right, that is more than enough," she muttered, taking to the air once more to face down Mastermind. "I don't even know what you're doing here or what you want, but you kidnapped my boyfriend and killed his teammate and dropped a goddamn building on my head, and I am just... so incredibly done with you!" She snapped her wrist at the enemy leader, releasing a laser spray even bigger and brighter than the ones before it. The blasts careened straight into Mastermind, lighting up the sky like, appropriately enough, the fourth of July. "Did anybody else get buried?" she asked, looking down towards the wreckage.
-
Erin went completely still in the middle of the living room, raising one hand to signal Trevor to the possible danger. She held her breath, listening past the hum of ventilation, noise from other apartments, the heartbeat in her own ears. Then she was moving, a blur of speed as she leapt straight into the air, her bat flashing silver as she extended it to its full five-foot length. With the bat for a prybar, she caught hold of the invisible figure on the ceiling, flipped over with it, and slammed it to the ground with her knees on its chest and her bat across its throat. The invisibility effect vanished, to reveal a Deep One similar in size to Aquaria, but much scalier and reptilian than the amphibious girl. The reveal didn't seem to faze Erin in the slightest. "What the hell did you do to my sister?" she demanded of her helpless captive, giving the bat a little wiggle across his throat for emphasis. "I swear to God, if anything's happened to her, you are going to regret ever being hatched."
-
Erin uses her Accurate Hearing to zero in on the intruder, and will attack to attempt a grapple. Her first roll is terrible! Spending an HP. Her second roll nets a 31. The Grapple Check is a 44
-
Fleur smiled as she took the card and tucked it away in her belt pouch. "I'll keep that in mind," she promised. "My body's not quite as human as it used to be, I'm not entirely sure I could get a tattoo if I wanted one. But it might be fun!" She concentrated on the flower she was still holding, watching as it grew to the size of a saucer, then stuck her hand in it to retrieve a card of her own. She passed it to Ray. "Here, in case you ever run into anything that the League could help out with," she offered, "or if you'd just like to meet some new people." She was fairly sure Ray didn't socialize with the superhero community, otherwise she'd at least know of him. The card had Fleur de Joie's name on it with the Freedom League Auxiliary symbol, the League's switchboard number, a number that was personal to Fleur, an email address, and a Facebook community. It smelled like fresh flowers. "How are those bruises feeling now?"
-
"It's hard to get used to not having powers, once you're accustomed to them," Fleur put in with a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure Heyzel would understand that, he's pretty easygoing, for a messenger of the Almighty." She chuckled. "And maybe getting those tattoos shows that you've already learned a couple of lessons about human nature. Do you have what you need to get by?" she asked. Ray's clothes didn't give much clue to his current financial state, except that he was definitely going to need a new shirt. "A place to stay, food, clothes? I know the transition from world to world can be tough."
-
"What, the Crime League?" Cyberknife scoffed. "Are you serious? Whatever happened to calling them 'jackbooted thugs waiting for the return of totalitarianism and dressing it up in tight costumes?' Every single one of them has a private little dream of being a dictator one day, and what do you think happens to the internet then, huh? Come on FB, you know this. You're better than this. What the hell are you even thinking, getting mixed up with nasty business like this?" She took a moment to check in on her body and winced. "Dammit, they're about to medevac both of us. You gonna come along quietly or not?"
-
Gina jolted at the sudden, unexpected outbreak of violence. "Emerson, secure the car," she ordered. All the locks clicked into place, and the tinting deepened beyond what would normally be allowed on passenger vehicles. Gina activated her communicator, the one with the voice synthesizer. She contacted the police dispatch. "FCPD, this is Miss Americana. I'm looking at a situation developing in Riverside at the intersection of Redding Street and Hewling Avenue, can you tell me what's going on? I see police on scene, but the situation doesn't seem to be controlled yet." Across the city, she set the robot into warm-up mode, where it would ready itself for deployment on auto-pilot and wait for her to take control.
-
Merlin hopped down from the couch and went to inspect Mia, who was a great novelty if only because most humans were not nearly so close to his own size. He informed her rather archly that human feet were not designed to go in mouths, and in fact could not even be used for gripping or manipulating objects, and so were not particularly interesting at all. He displayed his own foot with its prehensile toes, a much superior design. "A cowboy?" Raina asked Eden quizzically. "I'm not a cowboy. I'm a witch. Witches can do all kinds of cool stuff. We can fly and talk to animals and turn invisible." She didn't mention setting things on fire, she wasn't _totally_ irresponsible. "I can ride a horse though, that's something cowboys do. But being a witch is better."
-
"Moooooom, I can't find the Fruity Pebbles! I think Daddy ate them all again!" Paige raised her bleary head from her pillow at the whining from her doorway. She'd been up until three in the morning, brining turkey and marinating vegetables and laying out bread to get stale for stuffing. A glance at the clock told her it was almost seven now, and not nearly time to start roasting yet. Holly was looking at her expectantly, her arms crossed over her chest in a very aggrieved manner. At least she was still in her pajamas, so she probably did not expect a store trip. "He probably did," she told Holly, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. "What do you want me to do about it?" "Those were miiiiine," she complained. "They're my favorite!" "They're bad for you," Paige pointed out automatically. "Mooooooooooom!" "We'll get you some more," she promised, dropping her head back to her pillow. "And your dad will probably bring back breakfast anyway. Now if you're going to watch cartoons, go do it now, because I'm going to need your help in the kitchen today." As if on cue, the front door banged open on the other side of the house. "Now go bug your father."
-
"Wander is my sister," Jessie explained haltingly to Ruby, the only one who seemed to understand what they were saying. "She came to space and fought the Communion last year. She made friends with other heroes who were fighting, too. She's going to be very worried about me. She'll find me eventually, but I really want to get home before she has to come looking. If you need payment, we can find a way to pay you," she agreed. Jessie had to fight the urge to strike out when Ruby closed in and looked over her shoulder, but managed to keep her hands and improvised bat at her side. "We don't know anything about the ship," she admitted. "When it started to descend, we thought it was crashing, but then it just landed. I don't know what the laws of salvage are here, but we took it from a bunch of bad guys. You might be able to have it, if you want."