Strength to Strength (IC)

[Electra]

"Um, dine in," Erin said, looking over at Mona. "I'll have the southwest chicken salad and a Coke," she decided, then stepped aside to let her companion order. Maybe she just needed to get out more, she thought, and then it wouldn't seem so weird to do simple things like going to restaurants and talking to people. "So you live around here?" she asked Mona while they were waiting for their food at the far end of the counter.

[Dariusprime]

"I'll also have the salad with a double espresso," she said before moving alongside Wander. Waving to an entering couple, she nodded, "Yup. Down by the aquarium actually. Nice little place. Close to the bookstores, restaurants and galleries around here. Everything I need is within walking or flying distance."

Leaning into a conspiratorial whisper, she added, "But isolated enough so collateral damage will be minimal." Judging from the serious but resigned tone, an attack on her home wasn't a future possibility but instead a well-defined inevitability. Another drawback of lacking a secret identity.

The crew worked feverishly constructing their quite large salads. Apparently they were still geared up from the lunch run or weren't about to slow down until everyone was served. The smells of fresh-baked bread and coffee only grew stronger the longer they waited.

[Electra]

Erin didn't know much more small talk, so she waited until their food arrived and they'd carried it to a secluded table back in the corner. A booth wouldn't have worked at all, given Fulcrum's size. She dug into her salad immediately, both because she was actually kind of hungry and to have something more to talk about. "You're right, it's good," she said, forking up another generous bite. "'S spicy." Burgers were good and all, but there was just something about a lot of really fresh vegetables, probably something that had to do with living out of cans and boxes and mixes for a couple years. Now would be a great time to think of something to get Mona talking for awhile so she could concentrate on her salad, but Erin couldn't really think of anything. "Um, so tell me more about your comic," she finally asked.

[Dariusprime]

Sitting, or more specifically, stretching out underneath the table, Fulcrum smiled and nibbled on her own meal, "They know their way around salad."

At the small talk suggestion, Fulcrum shrugged nonchalantly. She really wanted to get Wander to chat more. At the moment the situation felt like she was doing most of the talking. That didn't sit well. Still, lacking anything else at the moment, she answered, "Typhoon is about a globetrotter from the 1970s. Sort of a proto-Indiana Jones, but years before those movies. She went around saving the world, digging for treasure and fighting pirates. Did it without any powers. Which strangely the editors say is one reason the new series sells so well."

Chuckling, she whispered, "Superhero fatigue."

[Electra]

"There are a lot of superhero comics," Erin agreed, nudging the red onions to the side of her plate and eating around them. "How do you get ideas for the strip? It must be hard to think of a new story every week or every month, especially after you've done it awhile. Do you, like, use real life things that happen, or is it mostly your imagination?" That was a good question, she congratulated herself. She'd made it up to use on Mark's mom at Thanksgiving, but it was still a good one in this situation.

[Dariusprime]

"Both actually. The imagination comes in when thinking about over-arching themes. I try to keep the serial reel feel: light-hearted, fast-paced, full of danger and still fun. Which involves a lot of thought really. Plus a healthy dose of old movies too." She took a sip from the ridiculously small espresso cup. It looked like a child's play teacup in her fingers.

"I do use a lot of real-life stuff too, yes," she continued after a bite of salad, "For example, the latest arc is over modern pirates ransoming ships off the coast of Indonesia. That idea came to me after reading about those harrowing stories from the east coast of Africa earlier this year. Did you hear about them? The Somali pirates seizing ships and even taking a captain hostage? Struck me as a great idea, given the pirate theme built into the property."

[Electra]

"I heard about that, but I didn't pay very much attention," Erin admitted. "That was right when I was getting ready to move to the school, so it kept me pretty busy. How do you do stories like that without getting superheroes involved? Don't people think it's really unrealistic not to have any superheroes there when disasters happen or villains attack? Or are there no superheroes in your comic book world?" She was making excellent progress on her salad while listening to the older heroine talk.

[Dariusprime]

Considering her build, her own salad was disappearing just as fast, and she was still doing most of the talking. "You'd be surprised. People don't really miss the super heroes so much. Plus they get to see another type of hero, one much more fallible than how many super heroes are portrayed. That grounded feeling seems more plausible, in some ways, and helps them make an emotional connection to the characters. So in the end they really don't think about whether or not it's realistic to have super heroes absent."

Another sip of her espresso and she continued, "There are super heroes in that world. It's roughly modeled after our own, just not nearly as many. Plus...outside of certain countries and urban areas, there really aren't really that many super heroes in real life. Most of my locales are off the beaten path, and the issue gets sidestepped anyway."

Looking around the room thoughtfully, "In some ways I like to go to areas that really need heroes, super or not. I'm not quite fast enough to do it as a 'commute', but that shouldn't be a problem very long."

[Electra]

"So are you going to move out of Freedom City?" Erin asked curiously. "That's sort of the same thing I heard from Freedom Angel, that some places don't have enough superheroes, but here we all are in Freedom City where there's tons of them. I've been wondering if maybe I should move somewhere else when I graduate, just because there are places that need more hero types."

[Dariusprime]

"Honestly, I've considered moving. Freedom Angel has a good point. I feel as if my gifts would be better used in places with greater need," she replied solemnly, now just picking at her salad. "Sometimes I wonder who I really am and where I'm going as a person and hero."

"Heck, maybe if we get along, we can head off on some world-spanning adventure like Typhoon." A big bite of salad followed. "If nothing else, it would be a good excuse to have a little culture and adventure in our lives. Heroes, I've discovered, tend to get a touch cynical or burnt out over time. Even a demon invasion or something has little effect on them."

"Do you know where he moved?" she asked after a moment of silence, "I'd like to look him up again. Where did you meet him?"

[Electra]

"Far as I know, he's still at that church in Lantern Hill," Erin said with a shrug. "Saint Stephen's, the one he appeared at on Christmas. I went there to ask him some questions about, you know, heaven and stuff. He makes pretty bad muffins, but I guess if you've never cooked before, you've got to start from somewhere." She poked a cherry tomato with her fork. "And I think if it's bad enough, any hero's going to be affected by it. It's just that eventually you see enough that you stop being scared by anything less bad."

[Dariusprime]

"I suppose so," replied Mona to the downside of hero work. She didn't sound entirely convinced but didn't press the subject. "Well, at least he was trying to cook. Muffins are a pretty good start, I'd say. Many people who do have to eat can't even boil water. I have to give him a lot of credit." She drifted off in thought after finishing her espresso.

After a minute or so, she began, "Did he provide the answers you expected? " Considering what she knew of Wander's past, inquiring with a self-professed angel sounded like an entirely reasonable decision.

[Electra]

Erin shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. He said that God isn't paying attention anymore and even the angels can't find him, and that angels can't do much without His say-so. Since I already figured that if God exists, he either hates us or just doesn't care, so I guess I was pretty much right. It was a little depressing, maybe, but it made sense. I believed it a lot more than if he'd said that God was up there and listening to us, anyway." She stabbed a tomato vindictively and ate it with a shrug.

[Dariusprime]

Mona nodded solemnly. "Whether or not a god or gods exist, fundamentally we are on our own," she replied quietly, "Which isn't all bad. Means we have to deal with whatever problems arise, with blood, tears and treasure, but we are free to be who we are and could be without coercion or submission. Ultimately, we are responsible for ourselves. I believed that before my powers, and I believe it now."

With a couple of determined stabs, the last of the salad disappeared. "Ah, good as I remember it. Think you'll have room for dessert? That pecan pie over there is calling my name."