ic Head in the Game

[Electra]

Wander was still for a moment, her face unreadable, but then she nodded again. "That's a pretty good reason," she told him. "Somebody's gotta do it, might as well be us, right? There's a lot of bad stuff in the world." She picked up her bat and spun it, closing it and then opening it again in an oddly directionless gesture. "Do your folks know about the heroing gig? When I was in school, most of my friends' parents knew what they were doing, but it's different for people who start older, I know. Easier to keep the whole secret identity thing going when you don't have a curfew." 

[Mad Scientist]

The laugh that burst out from Wildcat was brief, but he couldn't help himself.

 

"Good lord, no," he replied, horrified amusement still rippling in his voice.  "My parents and I had enough friction when I was growing up," he explained.  "While knowing these things about me might explain some of the problems we had, it wouldn't do anything to set their minds at ease."

 

He shook his head ruefully.  "I can only imagine what my mom would say, if she found out what I'm doing.  Sure, there's no curfew, but the worry, nagging, and guilt trips?"  He shuddered theatrically.

 

"Thanks, but no," he told her fervently.

 

He hesitated, but then forged onward.

 

"Is it...worth it?" he asked.  "I mean, I guess it must be, if you're still doing it, but the rewards outweigh the problems?"

[Electra]

Wander shrugged. "Sometimes," she told him frankly. "It's probably the only reason I'm alive now, but it's also damn near killed me more times than I can count. It's painful, and scary, and boring, and frustrating. The day never stays saved. There's always some new threat bearing down on the horizon, just waiting to take over the world or kill everyone or just destroy the city or hurt all your friends. You can make a lot of friends, really good friends, but they're going into all this danger with you, so sometimes it's even harder that way. You'll save peoples' lives, but you'll be haunted by all the people you couldn't save, and the more powerful you get, the more that kind of guilt bears down." 

 

She shoved her bat into its holster and just looked at him, and her face was haunted, someone who'd seen much more than anybody of her age should've seen. "But if we don't save the world, it doesn't get done. And that is so, so much worse than you could possibly imagine." 

[Mad Scientist]

Wildcat shook his head ruefully.

 

"You give quite the pep talk," he told her, but not unkindly. "Well, I don't know if I'll ever be involved in 'saving the world', but I'm going to do my best to at least save a few people where I can."  And when it came down to it, the big, world-saving heroes usually weren't going to be poking around in alleyways in the middle of the night.

 

He would leave the world-saving to them, and concentrate on the little things that would otherwise fall through the cracks while they were focusing on the big picture.

 

"I'm sorry if I'm taking up your patrol time, or free time, or whatever," he told her abruptly.  "I didn't mean for that to happen," he apologized.  He tested the air again, absently, but surreptitiously -- a habit he had gotten into years ago.  Although odds were, if anything was going to warn him of unexpected incoming trouble, it would likely be his ears.

[Electra]

"I can give a pep talk when I have to," she told him with a rueful smile. "I learned from the best. But you deserve to know the truth before you're in too deep. The highs are high and the lows are very low. Ask any ten heroes what you asked me and you'll get different answers from all of them. But none of us would quit, because after a certain point you just can't. You've seen too much and know too much to be happy just living a safe life and leaving the work to others." 

 

She shook her head and waved off his apology. "It was my idea, remember? You remind me of me when I started out. You've got a lot of talent and strength, you'll do well once you learn to control it. You might think you'll never help save the world, but I do the same things you do, hit and jump and run, and I can't even count how many times I've been in on saving it in the past five years. You never know where you're going to end up. I just hope I've maybe helped a little." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not really much of a teacher." 

[Mad Scientist]

Wildcat snorted.

 

"That's okay; I'm not that great of a student," he admitted.  "So that works out just about right."  The fact that she was willing to try meant a lot to him, though.

 

His eyes flicked over her again, and he realized what he was doing.  Pulling his gaze away, he looked out over the dark bulk of the campus, lit here and there by security lights.

 

"So...you spent some time here did you?" he asked, not looking at her.  "I can only imagine what that must have been like."  Certainly a different experience than his high school days had been, hiding who he was and what he could do from everyone.

 

He...didn't know for sure that it would have been better, though. More open, sure, but he hadn't been worried that anyone at his school could have given him any significant hassle.  But if everybody was super....

 

Well.  Then no-one was, were they?

[Electra]

"Four years of high school crammed into two years and two summers," she confirmed, following his gaze around campus but not seeing anything to be concerned about. "It was pretty intense, but that was just me. In a lot of ways I guess it was probably like regular boarding high school, roommates, cafeteria food, field trips, classes. But you also got classes like fight tactics and hero ethics and seminars on temporal mechanics, and speakers who came in to discuss the benefits and risks of a public identity. And then there was powers training. So much powers training." She groaned a little just thinking about it. "Alone, in pairs, with your team, in the simulator, in the field. They really wanted us ready by the time we graduated. And if you didn't get your homework done because you'd been sucked into an alternate universe and had to deal with a flipped-gender version of yourself and no copy of the book you were supposed to read, it wasn't even an excuse." That memory brought a slight chuckle. "On the other hand, they did relax curfew for people who went patrolling, and that was handy." 

[Mad Scientist]

Wildcat laughed.

 

"I gotta agree, that sounds intense," he told her.  "I've never been to any sort of boarding school, so I'm not sure how the whole experience translates, but it sounds pretty crazy."  And fun, and a pain in the ass, among other things.  He couldn't argue that it would have been nice to just be himself rather than the way he'd grown up, but it was only fairly recently that he had been able to admit to himself that he had what could be called bona-fide 'powers' rather than just some weird and unusual abilities.  He didn't stick to walls, or spit acid, or anything -- what he had was much harder to point at and say 'there, at that point it's too much to be normal'.

 

One thing nagged at him, though.

 

"Did...that happen?  To you?" he asked her, curious.  "The whole, alternate dimension, gender-switched version of yourself, I mean."  That would be...so strange.

[Electra]

Wander laughed. "I have met so many alternate versions of myself, if we all got together, we could field a baseball team. Just the versions of me living on Earth Prime could play in a three-on-three basketball tournament. And no," she preempted the next obvious question, "that's not really a normal thing to happen to superheroes. I think it's part being friends with a world-class reality warper, and maybe part because I'm not from this dimension myself, weird dimensional things happen more often." She shrugged. "Gender-switched Wander was one of the first alternates of myself I met. He was really... well, I don't get really along with most other versions of myself, but he was probably the worst.

 

"Meeting dimensional doubles is weird," she explained, "because you look at them and in a lot of ways they're you. So all the bad things people say to themselves, all that insecurity and doubt? It's suddenly projecting outward onto some other person. So if you're the most self-satisfied, confident person in the world, you'll love most of your alternate doubles, occasionally literally, but otherwise you'll need to sort out your issues. Oh, and if you're ever running around Freedom City and see another me but with short, blonde hair, that's Singularity. Try not to sneak up on her." 

[Mad Scientist]

"You're--"  Wildcat cut himself off and let her continue, but he was definitely a little rattled  by the unexpected admission.  The off-handedly casual fact that she was from another world?  Oh sure, just drop that into the conversation.

 

"I'll keep that in mind," he assured her, not bothering to mention that he would have been able to tell that the other her wasn't her.  The tip about not startling her was a good one, though.

 

"I'm pretty sure...if the opportunity ever comes up that I meet another copy of myself, there might very well be a fight to the death," he admitted ruefully.  "Unless another version of me is drastically different than I am, for some reason.  I just...can't see that going well."  He was territorial at the best of times -- someone else who was him?  It was a setup for a line from an old '80s movie.

 

Well.  Enough of the Fringe conversation for now.

 

"So, uh, any tips on how to figure out if someone running around on rooftops in a costume is a good guy or a bad guy?" he asked hopefully.  He was glad she had made that determination with him, rather than coming in swinging.

[Electra]

"Well, one way is to do what I did, hop on the roof with them and see what happens, but I don't recommend that until you've been at the game for awhile. It can get a little dangerous." Wander considered the question for a moment. "I guess the best way to do it is to learn as much as you can about the who's who in Freedom City, what the heroes and villains look like. Most anybody who's hanging out on a rooftop and isn't just catching a breeze or a smoke is going to be wearing a costume, and the costume can give you an idea of what you're dealing with. The hero news on TV and the tabloid magazines are obnoxious and badly informed, but they usually manage to match costumes to codenames and tell you who's on what side. That and a pair of binoculars should help you out." 

 

Wander tensed for a moment as a figure appeared on top of the wall on the other side of the field, then relaxed when whoever it was hopped down and began jogging for the dorms. A late night teen hero, home to get sleep before tomorrow's classes. "You can also just keep an eye on them for awhile and see what they do. If they're going rooftop to rooftop and just looking around, it's probably patrol. Villains pretty much don't do patrol, that's a hero thing. Have you been sticking mostly to the West End?" 

[Mad Scientist]

Wildcat didn't see the need to tell her that he didn't need binoculars -- his vision was as good at hundreds of feet as most people's were at a handful of paces. It had proved to be quite useful on a few occasions.

"That sounds suspiciously like homework," he told her, narrowing his eyes -- she was really suggesting that he try and read up on all the heroes and villains in the tabloids?

He kept an eye on the figure entering the campus, but didn't let it overly concern him.

"Isn't there, I dunno, a wiki or something?" he asked ruefully. Shaking his head, he figured the work was probably worth it.

"West End, yeah. It's...sort of my territory," the young man agreed. Born there, raised there, it was his.

[Electra]

"Lots of heroes do have Wikipedia articles, and it's weird," Wander replied, "so you can start there, but a lot of the ones with Wikipedia articles don't go out patrolling that much, you know? The local hero fans are hungrier, they're a lot more interested in every hero or villain they can spot or get a picture of. There are some websites that have pretty extensive directories that aren't tabloids, people just run them because they want to. I don't know much about them because I try and stay away from that sort of thing," she admitted. "So much of the time it feels like I'm just running around the city for my health, it's weird to think that there are people watching. But it's a resource." 

 

She rubbed her thumb and forefinger over her lips for a few moments, thinking . "In the West End, you're most likely to meet up with the Interceptors, that's Jack of all Blades, Jill O'Cure, Geckoman, Willow, and maybe a couple others. They're good people, pretty laid back most of the time. If you want I can probably get you a contact number for them, you can meet some of them and see who you're rubbing shoulders with over there." 

[Mad Scientist]

He'd heard of a couple of the names Wander mentioned when it came to these 'Interceptors' -- not any huge movers and shakers in town, but then again, neither was he.  When they ran across one other, Wildcat reasoned, they'd settle out just who was doing what where.

 

"I'm sure we'll run into each other soon enough," he replied with a shrug.  "I appreciate the offer, but I don't really go for being...presented," he explained.  It would be far too much like being thrust before a new class, at the centre of attention.

 

"So, sounds like for a one-stop primer, these fan-run sites might be a good place to start," he mused.  It hadn't occurred to him, but doing at least a bit of preliminary...*shudder*...'research' was probably a good idea.  Not everyone wearing tights or a mask was going to be documented, but increasing the odds that he might recognize one of them in advance wasn't something to be dismissed lightly.  He had little urge to get his ass handed to him by someone who thought that he might be a threat.  The point of all of this was to be the hander, not the handee.

[Electra]

"However you want to do it," Erin replied with a shrug. She figured she could always mention a new hero in the neighborhood to Ellie next time she dropped in on Mara at work. "So what do you do when you catch a bad guy?" she queried. "You a beat 'em up and let 'em go type, or have you been taking them to the police?" At this point she was mostly satisfied that Wildcat probably wouldn't get himself in too much trouble out heroing, and he obviously preferred the lone-defender-of-the-night model of hero work. She could probably cut him loose in good conscience, all things considered. 

[Mad Scientist]

Wildcat shrugged.

 

"Actually, I usually just eat them," he told her, matter-of-factly.  And let the pause go for a beat or two before breaking into a grin.

 

Funny, right?

 

"I...don't really get the cops involved," he admitted.  "That'd be a hearsay sort of situation, and I know they'd want to spend a bunch of time talking with me about it."

 

He sighed.  "I know, it's not ideal, but hopefully an immediate punishment will work as a deterrent."  That, and those bastards generally had it coming, and delivery an earned beating was usually very satisfying.  As long as he didn't let it go too far, that was.

[Electra]

Her eyes widened enough to show that she was willing to consider that an actual possibility before she caught on that he was joking. She pursed her lips. "Very funny. It's better if you go to the cops, and usually they'll work with you if you don't want to risk compromising your secret identitty, but some heroes find it hard to trust them. If you do find somebody who you can't just beat up but don't want to let go, you can always try contacting the Freedom League. They've got a branch in town here, so the response is pretty fast, and they know more about superheroes and supervillains than just about anybody else. But for the street-level crime, a beatdown does tend to deter folks." 

[Mad Scientist]

Wildcat was...impressed.  Truth be told, he hadn't actually expected anything like agreement with the whole 'beat and release' program -- perhaps they were, in a way, kindred spirits.

 

That made him feel somehow...better.  Knowing that his outlook and methods weren't doomed to failure -- by all accounts, Wander seemed to be quite successful at what she did.

 

"I'll...keep that in mind," he told her seriously.  And he would -- as of yet, he hadn't encountered anyone who didn't fall into the 'strongly discourage' category, but then again -- it had only been a week.

 

"If I do have to end up dealing with the cops, would smooth things along if I mentioned you recommended I worked with them?  You...are on okay terms with the cops, right?" he asked hesitantly.  If not...well, then name-dropping likely would cause problems rather than minimize them.

[Electra]

Wander moved one shoulder in  a shrug. "I'm not on bad terms with them," she told him, "but they don't know me that well either. When Midnight and I go working together, we usually use zipties and leave the bad guys for the police to find, along with whatever evidence they've got on them. Which is another way to work it, but better if you're working with somebody, since otherwise it can be chancy trying to cuff somebody. I've worked with the police, but I'd be surprised if they had feelings about me one way or the other. But the police in Freedom City don't really give heroes a hard time these days. I haven't heard of anybody who's gotten in trouble with them who wasn't causing some kind of outrageous public nuisance." 

[Mad Scientist]

Zip ties -- now that was a good idea, and one he should have thought of. They even carried the high-tensile dual clamp ones where he worked, that were all but one-use pairs of handcuffs. He put that on a mental shopping list for his next staff purchase, and wondered if there was anything else in the catalogue that might be of use.

 

"No causing outrageous public nuisances, check," he told her solemnly.  Of course, he'd have to work pretty hard to cause one -- he couldn't exactly stack cars on top of one another, or tie a suspension bridge into a bow.  There's only so much of hitting things that can be considered going too far.

 

"So...you seem confident that you're a lot faster afoot than I am," he went on, changing subjects.  "How fast can you move, when you push yourself?" he asked curiously.  The whole 'discussion of powers' thing was both intriguing and nerve-wracking -- he'd never spoke openly with...anyone about his before, and giving up a habit of years of secrecy wasn't a nothing thing.

[Electra]

"Oh, I'm not the fastest in the city or anything, not by a long shot, but I get around," she told him, an easy confidence in her voice that suggested she was used to talking powers with other heroes. I got a boost from the Furions a couple years ago, long weird story there, and now when I really get going I can hit about a thousand miles an hour. That's an estimate, it's kinda hard to judge really precisely, but close enough. I can run up walls and over water so long as I don't stop and think about what I'm doing." Her smirk there said that there was probably another story behind  that, likely one that had ended in an unintended bath. "Have you had a chance to gauge what your foot speed is, your jumping power, stuff like that?" 

[Mad Scientist]

"Up walls...over water?" he repeated, a little startled. Admittedly, that was far from the most outrageous thing that powered individuals could accomplish, but Wander looked so...normal. "Wild."

Well, he hadn't tested that himself, but he was pretty damn sure he couldn't walk on water, or...run up the sides of buildings?

"I've never gone up against a radar gun, so I don't know for sure what my upper speed is," he admitted. "Once, though, I headed over to the interstate one night, and paced the traffic. I wouldn't be able to keep it up forever, but I could match their speed. Better it, even," he added.

"Generally, though, I seem to be able to keep up with traffic on the commuting highways," he went on. "So, probably about fifty." He chuckled. "Which is fast when you're not in a vehicle, as I'm sure I don't have to tell you." A thousand miles an hour? Sonic boom time!

"I haven't measured my long jump or anything either, but I guess that's easier to do, right?" He glanced about the night-darkened field, considering.

[Electra]

"It's not so bad," she agreed, "unless you drastically underestimate yourself and smack into the side of a building or something. You want to give it a try? The yards are marked over by the sidelines, so we won't even need a tape measure unless you really get your legs under you. Go back by the touchdown line over there and get a little running start. Careful of the uprights!" She herself backed away to the edge of the field, standing on the thirty yard line so she could get a good view of however far he leapt. "Whenever you're ready, just go ahead." 

[Mad Scientist]

A slow smile spread across Wildcat's face.

 

"It's like a giant ruler made for measuring meta long-jumps, isn't it?" he agreed.  And wondered just how many classes of students here had used it for just that.

 

"All right, I'm game," he agreed, and jogged over to the end zone, staying to one side of the uprights.  Not that they would have been that much of an obstacle -- he was going to leap at the goal line, and they were behind that point.

 

He was pretty sure he could avoid running into the base of the uprights on his approach, too, if he tried really hard.

 

Trying not to feel like he was showing off and knowing very well that he was, just a little, he took a couple of deep breaths as he eyed the distance to the goal line.  Let's see what he's got.

 

Breaking into a sprint, he bounded swiftly across the end zone and hurled himself into the air, soaring in an arc with legs slowly pinwheeling as he strained for extra distance.

 

And hammered into the ground a couple of yards short of where Wander had situated herself, rolling on one shoulder to absorb some momentum and coming up to his feet and slowing to a stop with a couple of additional steps.

 

Turning back, he located the yard marker and then judged the distance back to the end zone by eye.

 

"Not likely to overshoot the field, but not bad at all," he told her, an excited smile on his face.  "Guess you had me pegged pretty well, since you were waiting right here," he added ruefully, his eyes still sparking with his pleasure at the leap.

[Electra]

Wander bit her lip to avoid saying she'd been trying to stand at the midpoint of his leap, figuring it was better he think her especially intuitive than for her to belittle his leaping distance. "You can try measuring your standing jump as well," she suggested. "I know the crossbar on the goal post is 10 feet off the ground, and the tops of the post are thirty feet. Not as good a marker, but we can ballpark it anyway." She paused, cocked her head. "No pun intended. If your jumping is anything like mine, I jump about a quarter as high as I can jump long with a running start. You'll probably get somewhere in the middle of the goal posts, I guess?" She walked over towards the end zone again.