Electra
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Freedom City PBP: A How-To Guide
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"I don't know," Paige admitted with a frown. "Scarab sensed some sort of evil around here and has been trying to track it down, it might be related to what you were called in on. I'm just here visiting the family of a prospective student. It probably couldn't hurt to get the perspective of people who live around here, they might have at least an inkling of something bad has started to happen in the neighborhood. Cause honestly, I haven't felt so much as a twinge since I got here, and it certainly doesn't look like an area with a big evil problem." She waved a hand at the blocks of perfectly ordinary houses surrounding them in all directions. "You're welcome to come along, the more the merrier, but I have to get over there or they're going to start wondering where I am."
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"You go light on that hot sauce, old man, we have a guest!" Paige called after him, faint laughter in her voice. Settling back comfortably against the counter, she nodded at Starlight's question. "I went on my first villainous adventure when I was around twelve, with my older siblings. I was much weaker than them back then, so I was just backing them up while we tried to steal some, god, I don't even remember. Some magical thingummy that the Atoms were protecting. Maybe there was a reason, maybe it was just for the hell of it, but it didn't matter to me, I did as I was told. Later on, I did it because I liked it. Richard was his mom's sidekick until he went to juvie, and then when he got out, he struck out on his own. I ran away from my family eventually, but it wasn't because I wanted to be good." She studied her drink a moment, fiddled with the lime twist. "I was eighteen when I ran away, but I'd lived in seclusion my entire life, never been to school or ridden a bus or cooked a meal or handled money. I was homeless for a little while, scared out of my mind. Richard and I had known each other as kids, and when we crossed paths again, I was happy to go with him. We fell in love, had some fun, did a lot of stupid things. It took us a long time to grow up."
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Erin spent a moment stariing at him, drinking in all the changes, wondering for a second if this was how he'd felt when he first saw her aboard the Night Saucer after her sojourn on the Curator's world. Love and relief and guilt and worry, all lodged in one big lump in her heart. How had he hurt himself? Where was his hat? He didn't look right in a suit and no hat, he looked unacceptably modern, especially with the horrible sling ruining all the lines. For the first second she nearly panicked, not knowing what to say or do, but then his arm was around her and it was okay. She could do this part. She wrapped her arms around him, firm on the healthy side, gentle over the injury, and held him to her like a lifeline. Turning her head slightly, she kissed his hair and breathed in the scent of him, much missed after so long away. "I'm so sorry," she murmured into his ear.
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Paige opened another bottle of ginger ale and passed it to Starlight, then took another sip of her own drink. "It very much depends on how you got your powers in the first place, and whether they've bonded genetically to you. Richard and I had the advantage of knowing ahead of time that our powers could be passed on genetically. He may have already mentioned to you that we both come from metahuman families. Villainous families, but still superpowered. He got his powers from his mother, I got mine from my father. We weren't at all surprised when Will started developing his powers at puberty. Holly was more of a surprise, but only because of how early she began manifesting, and how strongly. I could wish she'd waited longer, but at least we have a good school to send her to for training." She picked up a handful of Chex mix, began sorting out the rye crackers for special attention. "If you're concerned about having children one day, you could always ask one of the super-scientists to do a genetic scan on you. It would probably be able to tell whether your powers can be passed along, and if you have any dangerous mutations or recessives at the same time."
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"I... I'm not sure," Erin admitted, hating the words as she said them. "I haven't really had a lot of experience helping somebody else grieve. When Mark's dad died, Mark just wanted to be alone for awhile, and then when he came back he didn't want to talk about it." And when she'd grieved, she'd done so alone because there was nobody else, till doing it silently was second nature. "I think... I guess we need to just make it be about him. You and I hurt because Travis was part of our family, but he was Trevor's dad in all the ways that matter. So it's not about us, you know? So if he needs to talk, or to be alone, or to cry, or to fight, we should try and give that to him. It's like, it's like he's in a battle, and we can't get in there to fight it, but we can be his support and supply line." She shaded her eyes with the hand not holding the motorcycle, looking down the driveway. "He should be here soon."
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"It doesn't seem right, does it?" Erin asked rhetorically, her voice hollow. "But... but maybe it's what he would have wanted. If he died in a battle, we would have to think about how we hadn't protected him, how it shouldn't have happened that way. He was retired, you know? And I think he was happy to be retired, and not always looking for the fight anymore.He got to live a long time and see so much, and he got to see Trevor grow up and make sure he was taken care of. That..." She raked her fingers through her damp hair, leaving it standing on end in spots. "A lot of people don't get to have that, and it's terrible. Or they waste away over a long time, or they lose their memories and their abilities before they go. He just..." She swallowed, blinking hard to keep the tears safely behind her eyes. "They said he was sleeping, and it didn't hurt him. Maybe it wasn't glory, but there are a lot worse ways to go. I just wish he hadn't left us behind."
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"That is an acceptable exchange," Miss Americana agreed with a nod, stepping forward to have a closer look at the energy bleed. For most heroes, she'd have said no exchange was necessary, she'd help regardless, but she knew a little bit about Lor customs and suspected that it was important to the woman to have something to trade. "Would you like me to have a look at it today, or would it be easier for you to set up an appointment? I will need an hour or so to adjust my schedule, but Sharl here can help you get settled in a testing room if you'd like to start in on things right away." Most of the time Miss A tried to remember that Sharl wasn't technically her assistant anymore, but sometimes he really did come in handy. Plus it seemed like they'd been talking before she walked in.
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"Close enough to maintain the public trust in ArcheTech, the Freedom League, which he was a member of at the time, and superheroes in general from taking a sharp and unaffordable dip," Miss A said bluntly, giving Grim a level look. "There is no "Old Dok," not in the way that you think. His possession manifested as a complex schizophrenia, and began long before you ever knew him. He was aware of a second voice, an additional personality urging him to evil, but never discovered the nature of the voice. The man you knew was already possessed, already sliding toward madness. "In the year leading up to his final psychotic break, the possession became stronger, began taking over his body at times. We believe he may have been responsible for up to twenty unsolved murders that year, mostly of superheroes or metahumans that he'd had dealings with. After he was captured and subdued, the Scarab and other psychic heroes were able to scrub the traces of the possessing force from his mind and restore most of his sanity. He was released from custody less than five months after the incident." Her face gave little away, but it did not seem like this was a decision she entirely agreed with. "After his release, he went into near seclusion and eventually dropped off the map entirely. We believe he may be somewhere in Germany, but there are few ways to find him if he doesn't want to be found. So unless you have some other way to contact him, then no, it seems unlikely you'll be able to speak to him any time soon. He has no continuing relationship with ArcheTech except the respect owed to him as company founder, and the continuing rights we hold to his inventions." Miss Americana rose from her seat, as though spilling that much information made it impossible to stay still. "Don't worry about recompense," she told Lynn with a wave of her hand. "You had no ill will, it wasn't your fault you were given a booby-trapped access card. The trap was very specific, it was disruptive and highly noticeable, but it caused no actual damage. It also alerted me to the presence of a back door in the system I hadn't found before, which will make our system that much more secure. If you would like to see about a consultant position, we can always use expertise in less-studied forms of magic, but we pay for that sort of thing."
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"Redbird..." Erin swallowed hard, put one hand on the Night Cycle's handlebars. A stupid thing to do, maybe, but it was done before she could even think about it. "You know how old Travis was, right? For a human? How he... he lived a long life and f-fought many battles very bravely. And then he raised Trevor too, rai- raised him to be a brave warrior as well. He was sick when you and I left, but I... I didn't realize how sick. I didn't know, or we wouldn't have stayed away so long!" She pressed her knuckles against her forehead, took a breath that was more like a gasp. This being calm after letting out all the emotions wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. "Travis died while we were gone. Six days ago. Trevor's not here right now but he'll be home soon, and you and I have to be there for him."
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Erin's retort that clearly Janet had not been speaking to the right people was set aside when Ted answered her question. She nodded, at once relieved that Trevor was coming home and nervous that she didn't have a little more time to pull her thoughts together. She almost asked his parents what his state of mind was like, what he was going to need, but she highly doubted they would know. They seemed even more unsure than she herself was. "Thanks," she told Ted, and nodded acknowledgement of Janet's apology. "I think I'll go wait for him outside. It's a pretty day, and good to be back on Earth again." She walked out onto the front porch, blinking in the rush of sunlight, and went carefully down the steps she'd leapfrogged an extraordinarily long half-hour ago. "Redbird?" she called softly, trusting the communicator to still be functioning. "Are you around the garage still?"
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"But what about the-" Wander's eyes narrowed in annoyance once again as she looked after the fleeing Corona, but with no time to debate strategy, she mustered her troops. "Move, move, move!" she called to them as she headed forward at a ground-eating jog. "Stay together and don't stop, don't turn around! If I drop back, follow Eclipse!" She pointed to the other squad leader. "Also, don't shoot me!" With that, she plunged through the Antibody line, already weakened by the others' efforts, and mowed down anything dumb enough to still be standing up. By the time she'd finished, the first wave of antibodies was thoroughly broken, so that the troops moving through didn't need to take anything more than potshots at the odd twitching body. "You know that monster back there isn't going to go away just because we don't look at it!" she called to Corona.
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"Well, guess you've done some homework since back in the day when you didn't even know that Trevor drinks coffee," Erin commented caustically, walking into the room on silent feet. "Though the "Trevor's girlfriend is a psycho" gossip isn't exactly a news flash either." There were piles of books on the end tables, old scrapbooks and photo albums. She couldn't look at them right now, even from the corner of her eye, so she picked them up and began putting them away, neat, quick, efficient. She wished she'd done the same in their bedroom, made it nice for when Trevor came home, but maybe he didn't want it that way. Maybe he wanted everything to stay just the way it was. Some people did, she thought she remembered. Grief was a strange thing. She had little memory of the days after her mother and uncle had died, little memory for months after Megan's burial. Would she remember all this when it was over? "In any case, you don't have to worry about me," she continued, her voice still cool but lacking the bite. "Very stable now, haven't hit anybody who wasn't a bad guy in years. And grieving doesn't drive most people crazy." She tucked the last book away. "Where did Trevor go, anyway? Should I be worrying about him yet?"
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Wander's just going to wade into the crowd, full power attack, try and build on the efforts to open a way through the antibodies for the squads. She gets a 17, so that hits and is DC 32 toughness plus any autofire.
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~What?~ Paige looked around, startled, then relaxed when she saw Wail coming over. She waved. "Fancy meeting you here," she greeted the sound controller. "Did the school send you over too? I didn't realize you were affiliated with Nicholson." Paige supposed it made sense, he was a teacher and a metahuman, after all, and he'd probably do a great job working with the super-powered kids. Maybe just a teeny bit on the intimidating side for new prospective parents, but if their kid was some kind of five year old walking disaster area, maybe they would feel more comfortable knowing that there were some extremely strong people who'd be working with her.
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Paige studied Starlight's face, but did not respond to the unspoken words. She seemed momentarily surprised by the change in attitude, but it didn't take her long to figure it out. "Oh. Yes, I am a telepath, no, I do not read thoughts out of people's heads as a matter of course or against their will." Her voice was just slightly insulted, but it was obvious she'd faced this situation before. "One of the first and most important skills a telepath learns is how to create mental shields to protect themselves against the thoughts of everyone around them. Trying to listen to everything, all the time, that would quickly drive anybody crazy. Strong emotions tend to press on me, they're easy to feel whether I want to or not, and sometimes extremely loud thoughts can intrude, but that's rare. Holly is more sensitive because she's still learning control. We've had to install special baffles in her room to let her sleep at night without wandering through the dreams of strangers. I also have very minor telekinesis and extra-sensory perception, and a touch of clairvoyance that's hard to pin down."
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"No," Erin murmured, still so remote she could hardly hear her own words. She took a deep breath, held it, let it go slowly, just like she'd learned in therapy. "No, thank you, I don't want anything." She prised her hand from the bat, one finger at a time, and picked up her small duffel from where she'd dropped it. "I need to put my things away and take a shower. Could you please let me know when Trevor comes home?" There, she could hear her voice again and it was nice and even. That was good. Dumping her grief all over them wouldn't make anyone feel better. With a brief nod, she headed down the familiar hallways to the room she shared with Trevor, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it before turning on the light. The room wasn't in shambles, but it was obvious that Trevor'd had more on his mind than picking up after himself the past few days. Six days. Erin dropped the duffel and put her face in her hands. She could've been home six days ago. Once the Communion's back had been broken in that big coordinated effort, everything else had been mop-up, just trying to get the last pockets of them before they caused any more trouble. Other people could've done it, but she'd... she'd been having fun, she admitted to herself, enjoying the travel and the time without responsibilities, and the respect she'd started to get once she proved her worth in an environment with far fewer superheroes than Freedom City. So she'd screwed around, helping with one little clean-up after another, taking on that dinosaur thing that landed her in the space hospital for a couple of days, visiting with a couple of friends she'd made during the fighting. If she'd come home when she was supposed so, she would've been here, and Trevor wouldn't have been all alone. Dashing her hands impatiently over her eyes, Erin stripped to the skin and all but ran into the bathroom, dialing up a shower hot enough to scald normal skin. She let herself weep for ten minutes, tears of grief for the man she'd come to feel great respect and affection for mingling with the tears of self-reproach for not being there when it had mattered. There were tears for Trevor too, for the pain he'd be going through, all the tears she didn't want to shed in front of him. When the water heater ran out, she scrubbed her face in the cold spray, washed her hair, and stepped out to dry and dress again. She didn't know what to wear. She didn't actually own much black. Would wearing black be like rubbing everyones' faces in the loss, anyway? In the end she chose dark jeans and a purple pullover sweater, then put on the black armband she'd first worn over her uniform sleeve at Rick Lucas' funeral. Trevor would understand. Studying herself in the mirror, she gave one approving nod to her calm face, then went back out to see if he'd come home yet.
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The door opened at that moment to admit Miss Americana, looking impeccable as usual in a navy and cream skirted suit with maroon stiletto pumps. She gave Sharl a quick nod of thanks for handling the new arrival for her, then smiled at Corona. "I'm Miss Americana, I'm the CEO of ArcheTech and the head of Research and Development. We have quite a few geniuses working for the company, but I suspect that I'm the one you're wanting to talk to. You're from the Lor Republic?" She looked Corona over, took in the obviously Lor attributes. "My greatest condolences on your loss."
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There was a beat of complete silence, at once brittle and overwhelming, like the vacuum of space when Redbird's engines had gone quiet and Erin had held her breath. She felt like she were there now, like she couldn't catch a breath or catch hold of any sensible thought. "He... passed?" she finally asked, her voice a soft plea that she didn't even recognize. She wrapped her fingers around her collapsed bat, hoping it would make her feel stronger. "How- I mean, he can't. He was just a little sick when I left, and Trevor was going to keep an eye on him till he got better. And he was healthy before that, and people don't just..." She trailed off because that was patently untrue. People just sickened and died all the time, and there was never any reason, and only the coldest of comfort. "When did it happen?" she asked instead, listening to the echo of the thousand-thousand miles between her brain and her voice.
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"Okay," Holly decided after a moment's thought. "Come on, Mom's bathroom is downstairs." She hurried down the stairs as though still concerned Thaelia would change her mind, heading past the kitchen and down the short hall to the master bedroom and its attached bath. The bedroom was cluttered, the bed unmade, but Holly breezed past all that without even a glance. The bathroom held a trace of humidity from earlier showers, as well as the scent of hairspray and Paige's subtle citrus perfume. Several makeup cases were already scattered across the bathroom counter, pretty enameled cases with names that were hard to spell or pronounce, but that seemed expensive. Holly immediately picked up a tube of mascara and began opening it, studying her own eyelashes in the mirror. "Why were you fighting, anyway?" she asked innocently.
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Paige's eyes were full of compassion as she regarded Starlight, but her voice when she spoke was carefully neutral. "All right, but if you need anything, just say the word." She turned away to check on the potato casserole in the oven, giving her guest another minute to pull herself back together after the unexpected sucker punch that was Holly Cline. "Photokinesis, then?" she asked, pulling the pan of cheesy potato goodness out to bubble invitingly on the counter. "That's a rare one, I haven't seen too many folks with power like that since Beacon hung up the cape and tights. Do you find it's tricky to manage, or is it all instinct?"
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Paige had stepped forward uncertainly when Starlight began choking on her drink, looking uncertain as to whether she should pat the younger heroine on the back or offer to call 911. "Sorry about that," she offered when Starlight had regained breath and composure, "it's craft-bottled, it might be a little more gingery than what you're used to. Would you like something different? Or maybe a snack?" She gestured to the fruit bowl on the counter, and the bowl of Chex mix next to it. "And yes, Holly's our little girl, she's ten now. She's a telepath like me, though I think she has more of a knack for it than I did for a very long time. She's on the phone with her best friend across the street, the one who can't stop getting grounded." Paige's smile was slightly rueful. "That one's all fae illusions and emotion control, but we're hoping the attitude is just a phase. I guess kids will be kids."
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"The public story is that Dr. Archeville was possessed by a malign external agent, some kind of demon or extradimensional entity." Miss A watched Grim with some sympathy as she explained. "The possessing creature was able to subdue his consciousness but draw on enough of his memory and personality to imitate him for months while it waited to set its plan into action. Once it had summoned a new and monstrous form for itself, it deserted Archeville's body, and was destroyed when the creature was defeated. Dr. Archeville was left with very little memory of what had happened to him, but was so traumatized by the events that he retired and gave up control of his company. He's now living in seclusion at an undisclosed location in North America."
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Erin's eyes widened as soon as Janet rounded the corner. She took another backwards step, putting her back against the front door for all it didn't make her feel any more secure. Neither Ted nor Janet had ever visited the Manor in the three years she'd lived there, nor as far as she knew, had they spent any time with each other. That they were both here at the same time bespoke either alien doppelgangers or something worse. "I don't want to sit down," she said immediately, her fingers curling as though around an invisible bat. "I want to know what's going on. What the hell are you doing here, either of you? And where's Trevor? Did something happen?" she demanded, her voice harsh.
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"Ginger ale it is." Paige poured ginger ale for both of them, then expertly sliced two twists off a lime and dressed the glasses with twists and straws. "We used to entertain a lot in LA," she explained with a smile, passing one glass to Starlight. "I can slice an entire lemon into a spiral when pressed, and don't even get Richard started. He has way too much time on his hands." She took a sip of her drink and set it aside. "Freedom City's definitely a good place to get hero training," she commented, leaning easily against the counter. "That's why we moved here, for the kids to go to school. Have you been able to meet some people who can help you?"
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Stesha pursed her lips and regarded him for a moment. "I will ask if someone can speak to you," she told him, not unsympathetic, but very firm. "If it's all right with them, you can speak to someone. If not, you can pass your message along through me. Please don't make me have to restrain you." There wasn't even a drop of doubt in her voice that she could do so if necessary. She pulled her phone from the pocket of her jacket and dialed Ellie's number. "Hey Jill, it's Fleur de Joie. I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I've got a man out here on the sidewalk who really, really wants to talk to you. Tall, bald, Dakanan, says his name is Nassor, and that he's not looking for a fight, but trying to prevent one. He seems to be unarmed, but that's not exactly my department. Are you available? Oh, and he says there's a guy named Peek on the roof, but Geckoman is already up there."