Electra
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"Confirming those readings," Miss A agreed tersely. "It's a perfect inversion of momentum, so whatever we throw at it gets thrown back at us with equal force and speed. I don't think it's going to be a matter of finding something to break through the barrier, but rather of isolating the energy that makes up the barrier and draining it away without closing the portal." She adjusted the scanner set up on a portable table for her, then pointed a slender metal wand in the direction of the portal. "I think I can dial in the energy readings with a little bit of time," she told Dragonfly. "Can you get me an energy sink that will hold what we bleed off? I don't want to risk releasing that much energy anywhere near a temporal portal. Even opening the barrier might be dangerous, if the portal immediately becomes patent again."
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"If your idea of modern is the 1998 Rejected by Ikea collection," Raina groused. "Back home, I had a bathroom this size, and much more attractively decorated. I bet the mattresses are like rocks." She heaved a sigh and stood up again, opened her suitcase and began to carefully tuck her clothing into the drawers. Her carefully gathered magic components and her last remaining journal all went into the top drawer of the desk for safekeeping. A beautifully framed professional portrait of Raina and her parents went in pride of place atop the desk, the three handsome people beaming out from it seemingly untouchable by tragedy. "I wonder if we're supposed to go eat in the cafeteria for dinner."
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"We're probably not the only folks who can portal into a world like this," Raina pointed out, looking down at the ground as well. She didn't see a thing, but Riley's nervousness was infectious, and she got out her lighter to create herself a small red fireball. Cupping it in her hand, she looked towards Phantom. "If there's somebody else here, what do we do? Are we supposed to try and avoid interacting with people from other timelines, or is it okay so long as they aren't evil? What if they're other versions of ourselves, from a universe that's so close that we're doing the same thing they are at the same moment?"
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"It's a lot different when you can see the lights of the city," Erin told him. "A lot fewer stars, but the buildings practically drip with lights. Take in the Pyramid Plaza at night sometime if you can, the change is incredible. But the upper pylons of the bridge are a good place to sit and talk, really get to know somebody. Do take a blanket along, though, cause there's a lot of birds." She relaxed the circle of her arms around her knees, watching the campus and seeming content with the peace of the afternoon. "Do they still have the Wii in the dorm common room?" she asked at length. "Hellion and I used to play that thing for hours." James was from North Bay too, but Erin did not ask.
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"Dammit Honey, reel it in!" Paige demanded, stepping back from the shapeshifting woman. "Emma is in trouble, she needs you, not some dark god's avatar! You can control it, and you have to, for her sake! You want forgiveness so badly, are you going to be able to forgive yourself if this thing you passed along to her kills her because you let the monster run away with you! Fight it and help us help her, before it's too late for both of you!"
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Raina attempts the notice check and fails! Wah-wah!
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Raina unfolded the napkin with the very tips of her fingers, raising an eyebrow at his little drawing. "I'm not your social experiment," she told him flatly. "You don't get to test me to see how I react. I have enough trust issues already without you pulling a Mini-Mr-Archer on me. If you want to know more about me, then act like yourself and not like some rich asshole I wouldn't give the time of day to. You were nice to me back in the simulator, I hope that's more you than whatever you've been doing, cause otherwise I'm wasting my time." She folded the napkin down very small and set it on her tray, but for the moment it remained unsinged.
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Raina watched the little display of power, interested in spite of herself, but reminded herself to stay on target. "It's not impossible," she allowed, "but fire can also suck all the air out of a room, or a strong enough wind can blow it out. Not exactly a perfect fit. And I think we were still on the topic of why you're being an asshole. Unless you're actually trying to get me to set you on fire, in the hopes we can spend some quality time together in detention, I guess. But I gotta tell you, it's not exactly a romantic destination." Her posture was still closed off, arms folded and body angled away, but she wasn't actually leaving, not yet. "Did they let you get away with that at your old school, just cause you're so pretty?"
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"I already told you guys," Raina told Cathy, "Merlin's got us some money, we're set! And if you wanna get into someplace cool, you don't step out looking like you just did a photo shoot for the Sears catalogue! So come on, you'll like it." She led the way boldly into the wilds of the mall, swiveling her head this way and that, looking for prey. "I dunno, if it smells real good, it's probably pumped in. If it smells like ass, it's probably real but you don't want to figure out where it came from. And you can wear pants," she added, "but only if they're really tight, preferably leather." Within a couple of minutes, she'd homed in on a very boutique-looking store, one with lots of tall skinny mannequins showin off their skinny mannequin legs with clothes that were very snug and very short. "Perfect," she declared. "Everybody find a couple outfits and meet back at the changing rooms, then we'll try everything on together."
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"That wouldn't be too hard," Raina told Erik, "the P.E. teacher is a sociopath who reads our private files and creates training scenarios to exploit our fears and traumas. Everybody hates him" She paused, cocked her head. "Honestly, if. Ms. Summers is all right with that, I'm guessing she wouldn't even care about me learning to steal. Anway." She shrugged. "I'll do my best to avoid setting anybody on fire unless it's really necessary. And your place, too." Turning aside, she waved a hand at Merlin. "Come on, you know the drill. Get in the bag." Merlin heaved an obvious sigh before putting down Erik's paperwork and jumping down from the table. He gave Erik and Talya a wave, then climbed back into the backpack and disappeared in its depths. Raina scooped it up, then scooped up her broom. "Um, nice to meet you," she offered, then turned and headed out the door.
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By now Raina was giving him a flat-out unimpressed look, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Have you ever noticed how when somebody says "No offense," it's always because they've just said something that makes them look like an asshole?" she mused aloud. "But what really impresses me is the bravery some people have in doing that exact same thing to someone they know could set them on fire with a happy little song in her heart. And you were doing so well for a few minutes there, too!"
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Jessie frowned at the phone, but obediently dialed 911 and waited for the operator to come on the line, mostly ignoring the convoluted explanation for why the monster was suddenly some kind of human again. "Hello, I need an ambulance to come out to the amusement park right away please. There was an attack by monster sharks and a monster shark who turned human again, and he mutilated a bunch of people and I think they might die if you don't help them. We're in the middle of the House of Mirrors, but I broke most of the mirrors so you should be able to get in fast. And the rest of the sharks are dead, except the biggest one who did most of the hurting people, but he's human again now so he won't hurt anybody. Probably. But we can restrain him if that's better for you. Okay?"
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Gina had her eyes open almost normally by now, which was a big improvement even if all she would look at was the sidewalk under her feet. "Nice to hear he's doing well," she muttered, "Kaiju Island sounds nice this time of year. Very few people. I'm thinking about relocating and telecommuting. Just need a nice big satellite transmitter and a Peapod guy willing to go the extra mile." She grimaced and laced her fingers together tightly in front of her. "I gotta gig next weekend at the Mayor's office, need an escort. I'll get your tux dry-cleaned before we go. You make sure your shoes are polished." This would hardly be Steve's first big social event, he'd perfected the tall and silent type act months ago.
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"I think I can just sort of slide over some parts of training when I report to the headmaster about what I'm doing," Raina said breezily. "She's got a lot of her plate without worrying about every piddly little detail of my training regimen. Too much detail would just be overkill, right?" Merlin chattered agreement. "And I could maybe teach you to use fireballs, if you've got magic potential inside you," she added to Talya, "but you kinda have to resign yourself to the fact that you're gonna burn off your hair and eyebrows at least once while you're learning how to do it. So it's maybe not worth it if you like your hairstyle a lot. Can I bring a friend next time I come train?"
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Miss A pointed to the pair of ArcheTech vans just pulling in on the far side of the parking lot. "My team's just arrived, they'll have the cables and monitors you need. Every test I've run suggests that something is blocking the portal, but I haven't literally tried to throw anything through it, so it's worth a try. A carefully calibrated, scientific try," she added. "With no human volunteers! I'm going to get this area roped off and set up some sensors that might give us a better idea of what the portal looked like when it was open, and where and when it might have led to. I could use some help setting up barricades and caution tape, if anyone would like to lend a hand." She walked over to the vans and began conferring with one driver, while three other technicians in ArcheTech jumpsuits began unloading equipment.
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As soon as Megalodon stopped struggling and changed back to human, Singularity seemed to lose interest in him entirely. Climbing off him, she instead went over to poke at the bloody, mangled bodies on the floor. Surprise washed some of the emotion back into her face. "The people are alive," she reported with some shock. "You, if you're a doctor, come fix them," she demanded imperiously of the soaked therapist. "They need help or they'll die."
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"Oh hell no, you aren't getting away that easily, you son of a bitch," MIss Americana muttered, her furious face and profane talk quite a departure from the photogenic paragon's usual mien. She slapped a hand down on the nearest computer panel and concentrated, her eyes all but shooting visible fire. Argonaut arrived on the scene just in time to see her knees buckle as she keeled over, senseless on the floor. Inside the local internet, Cyberknife stretched out her senses, opening "eyes" that would let her see the shifting patterns of data that marked travel here. Freebooter had obviously left the robot before it had blown up, but where had he gone? And what else had he sabotaged along his way?
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Erin busied herself with her phone, typing in the large order for delivery, then perched on the counter near the kitchen table. "That's probably a good idea," she told Mark, her face as deadpan as Trevor's. "Mike's going to need to know everthing about the team if he's going to join it. Which is one thing we wanted to talk to you about, Joe," she added. "How would you feel about Mike and Alex joining up with the League? They'd round out our lineup, and they're good people. You can give it some thought if you want."
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Jessie took the offered pen and paper, carefully noting down her apartment number and phone number. "I like both kinds," she told Kimber. "Maybe Indira can come and we'll all do puzzles together and cook." She smiled again at the ghost, tentative still, but like someone who had, in several other lives, had friends who were very important to her. A few more bites took care of the rest of the big pile of waffles, chased with the last bits of syrup. "I guess I should probably find Aquaria. We need to make our beds and unpack our suitcases before bedtime." Technically Aquaria needed to fill her bed with brackish water, but that was like making it.
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"Yeah, I know a few places," Erin told him. "Some that are in pretty easy walking distance from here, before you get wheels. There's an old-fashioned movie house down on the edge of Bayview, only two screens, but it's got all the fancy work and the swank lobby, it's cool. And not very expensive either. There are a lot of good parks, if you're okay with parks. A diner down by the river does really excellent fish sandwiches." She grinned. "On our first date, Trevor drove me up the cables on the Pramas Bridge to the top of the tower, but you've got a long way to go before that. But you can always just climb them. What does your girlfriend like?"
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"Yeah, a couple," Erin told him easily, a sparkle in her eye belying the blandness of her words. "Trevor's rich in this world, and he and his grandpa have been collecting vehicles for basically ever. Got some down in the garage that need some work, partial rebuilding, tuning up the engine, maybe machining some parts. If you're interested in trading labor, we can teach you how to fix one, then how to ride it. Not a bad way to pick up a trade at the same time, honestly. Trevor's the one who taught me basic mechanic skills, he's very good." She turned to look Riley full in the face. "It's tough to start with nothing in a world that's not yours. I remember how it was, and how I had a lot of people reach out a hand to help me. I'd like to do the same for you, but only if that's what you want to do. Otherwise we can just talk and maybe I can teach you some hand-to-hand skills, whatever works."
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Anibal's list of accomplishments seemed to be at least moderately impressive, judging by Raina's attentiveness, and the grin she gave him for the bit about boring speeches. The last comment, though, earned Anibal a deeply skeptical raised eyebrow from Raina, who wore the expression like one born to it. "And you've practiced this skill a great deal, I take it?" she drawled, folding her arms across her chest, half-amused, half ready to be annoyed.
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Erin was quiet for a minute, considering that. "Trevor's grandfather died just this year in this universe. That must've been hard for him, losing Travis so young." She seemed to shake herself out of the contemplative frame of mind. "It's always kind of weird to meet your own counterpart, maybe even weirder to meet counterparts of people you know. But for security and tactics, he's definitely your guy, so it's not too surprising that he'd be doing it in another world as well. I imagine he's really good at it." She paused. "Maybe when you get back to your world, you could look him up, make sure he's doing all right." "For now, though," she continued quickly, "you should focus on the skills to make you a better hero here, and a motorcycle wouldn't be a bad idea. You ever ridden a bike?"
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Erin's grin was quick and unguarded. "Oh, you've met him?" she asked. "I guess the description is kind of distinctive. Except he doesn't wear a beard," she added, her expression turning to puzzlement, then realization. "You didn't meet him here," she guessed. "Your home was in North Bay too, and it was a shelter for people in that area, right? Huh." Erin rubbed her forehead for a moment, looking like she was trying to process that possibility. "Is he a friend of yours there?"
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"Well, it's not too late to stop being a dick," Erin replied pragmatically. "If you've got a girlfriend already, you can't be doing too badly, and if there are people you've been treating bad, you can turn it around. Saying you're sorry sucks, but at least then the ball's not in your court anymore, and they can either accept it and move on, or not and you move on. Most of the other students starting here are probably scared too. They ought to understand." Erin leaned back and looked up into the canopy of the trees. "But even if there are no cars back home, that's something you ought to learn here, especially since you haven't got powers. My fiance, he went to Claremont with me, and most of the time we were here, his only superpower was that he could shoot black fog out his body. But he's smart, and he can build things." Erin nodded towards Riley's crossbow. "And he can ride a motorcycle like a professional stuntman. He never had any problem keeping up with any team."