ic A Soft Green Pillow

[Electra]

"Well," Erin said cautiously, "I don't think it probably would've been Fleur de Joie, cause I don't think she's very old. She'd have been a kid or maybe a young teenager when you were a baby. But you're not wrong that it could've been some plant controller, or some magic user, or another metahuman who got everything started. And it makes sense to be pissed about it. I mean, I can look around on Prime and I can see some of the people who helped create the zombie vaccine on my world. They were stupid and sloppy on my world, and they got everybody killed. I hate those people on my world. But these people, they didn't do it here." 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Yeah, I know. Marquez tells me that all the freaking time. Doesn't make it any easier." He set the bow aside and folded his hands in his lap for a moment, thinking about ideas he had never been brave enough to put into words before. "Do you ever just get mad at all of them?" He made a little gesture, encompassing the whole place. "I know it's stupid," he went on, scratching the back of his head. "But...they talk a good game about saving the world, and maybe they always have here. Couldn't always do it, though. Not where I'm from, not where you were." 

[Electra]

"Sometimes," Erin agreed, not seeming at all shocked by his words. She looked out over the campus, where students were walking or flying or teleporting across the broad, placid lawn. "Don't get me wrong, the heroes here work very hard to protect the world, and they do amazing work. We do amazing work, and someday you'll be a part of it, if you stay that long and want to. But most of them can't possibly understand what kind of role blind luck and good fortune have played in their success. So many times, if one thing had gone another way, one last minute save hadn't worked, everything would've been destroyed. And they pat themselves on the back because everything turned out, and they deserve the pat on the back, but they don't really understand.

"And I don't want them to ever have to understand," she continued, wrapping her arms loosely around her knees. "I care for so many people here now. Friends I love, a fiance, people who are like family to me. The only way for them to know what we know is to make them live through what we've lived through. I don't want that for any of them, even if the price I'll pay is that there's always going to be that little gap between the way they see the world and how I see it. Even if it means that sometimes I end up looking weird, or callous, or cruel." 

[Avenger Assembled]

Riley fell silent, uncomfortably thinking about what must have happened to his friends in his world. Robin and her parents in a Fens sinking into the mire, Huang's North Bay mansion pierced by oaks, Raina's hometown vanished into the vast Forest west of the Appalachians, and all of them the kind of little children whose mass graves still dotted the edges of the fences of Raymond. "No. No, I never want them to have to see any of that. Maybe it made us better in some ways - but that's just because we were lucky too." He looked over at Erin and asked, "Is it true what you used to do on the gym set here? That's so badass!" he commented. "Most of the strong people here trip over their own feet if they try and turn a somersault." 

[Electra]

She grinned at him. "Some of the stories are probably exaggerated. But not by much! Mike, Phalanx, he and I were in school at the same time, on the same team together. Standing next to him, I didn't feel particularly strong or durable at all. So I went the other way, learned acrobatics, learned how to fight by surprising the bad guys instead of just walking up to them and punching them. It's served me pretty well. So are you on a team yet, or is it still too early in the year for people to be grouping up?" She didn't mention the other possibility, that Riley's actions might be preventing him from getting on a team. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Well, there's my girl..." Riley thought about raising _that_ subject, but decided he wasn't nearly ready to mention his love life to his mentor. "Her name's Robin, she works out of the Fens, does, uh, vigilante stuff." It had taken him a minute to remember the word. "There's a girl who's a witch, and a guy who's a dhampir or something..." He thought for a minute, then said, "I think we're mostly the team the 'cool kids' don't like, but I don't give a crap about that at all so it's cool. We train together, stuff like that. Hopin' to go on patrol fer real soon." 

[Electra]

"You'll get there," Erin promised him. "You've got plenty of time, and peoples' memories are short. Somebody else is going to do something exciting, and they'll start forgetting about whatever rumors are going around about you. I'm not saying it's ever gonna be comfortable," she admitted. "I had underclassmen believing I was going to flip out and kill them till the day I graduated, but a little fear from the kiddos can be a healthy thing." She gave him a sardonic grin. "But the people who get to know you will know you're an asset. And while you're stuck, you can do other stuff to get ready. I recommend studying maps, lots of them. Get to know the city as well as you can. And take Driver's Ed." 

[Avenger Assembled]

"No cars back home," commented Riley, "but yeah, I've been looking at a lotta maps, of all kinds of things. City's the same in a lot of ways when it comes to where the streets are, but different in a lot of ways too. No use breaking my neck because there's no tree there." He smiled thinly, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. "Guess I've been kind of a dick to people here lately," he admitted, looking unhappy with the thought. "Specially after the shootin'. Bein' somebody they were scareda or thought was a dick meant I didn't haveta worry about 'em or what they thoughta me. Sucks though." 

[Electra]

"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." 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Yeah, that would be faster than gettin' around by bolt," the wiry archer admitted. "Don't get me wrong, it looks badass to swing from building to building, but Doc says it hurts your back if you keep at it. too long." He hmmed. "Guess it's hard because it's always been the same people my whole life. I knew all the people my age because there weren't any other people my age. Never really had to get to know new...hey, what?" As Erin's words sunk in, Riley blinked, giving her an odd look. "Your fiance, is his name Hunter? Guy your age, has red and black eyes, wears a beard like this?" Trevor didn't wear a beard, but the beard Riley was describing sounded a lot like the the late Travis Hunter had worn. "...house in North Bay?" he hazarded, his face very curious. 

[Electra]

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?" 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Chief Hunter doesn't really have friends," said Riley, suddenly wincing when he realized how that would have to sound to the man's fiancee. "I mean, uh, he's very...quiet. He's in charge of internal security - not the Woodsmen, but finding out if somebody's stolen somethin', makin' sure nobody's gone Feral and goin' for the fences, running the defenses when the Ferals hit from outside. I don't know him that well," he admitted. "My mom says his grandpa really helped out in the first winter, but he died in the Flu of '03 when I was just a little kid. Lot of people died that year." He blinked, then admitted quietly, "I never, uh, never met somebody who had a counterpart here before. There's only 'bout fifteen thousand people in alla Raymond." Erin knew that the population of greater Freedom City was about three million. 

[Electra]

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?" 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Promise," Riley told her seriously. He had every intention of making it home, after all - and maybe it would do Chief Hunter good to know things were different for him somewhere else. "A bicycle? Yeah," said Riley. "They're the fastest way to get around the cleared areas in the plant, or places the trees aren't so big. And we use stationary bikes for extra power sometimes, but that's different. I've never seen someone on a motorcycle," he admitted. "Been a long time since anyone had gasoline - and we use 'lectric motors for other stuff. Why, you gotta spare motorcycle lyin' around?" he joked. 

[Electra]

"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." 

[Avenger Assembled]

"That'd be...pretty fun, actually," said Riley thoughtfully. "I do some building here, mostly for m' arrows, but I've worked on engines and stuff." He hmmed. "Weird to be back in North Bay. Peyton and Riley live over in the east side." Erin knew that area well enough from her knowledge of the region - the east side of North Bay was the less affluent part of the region, though given the land values that was all relative. "Thanks," he said, giving her a smile that, while nervous, had lost the sharp edge of his earlier, almost predatory grins. "Long as I'm here, guess I gotta adapt. And maybe I can take my girl for a ride. You know any good spots?"

[Electra]

"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?" 

[Avenger Assembled]

"She, uh..." Riley chewed his lip for a moment before he said with dawning confidence, "I bet she'll like the theater. Maybe we'll do the diner first so we can eat." He smiled faintly. "I eat more in a day here than I ate in three some weeks back home. If I didn't train all the time I'd turn into a porker," he commented, patting himself on the belly. "Robin and I met on the dorm roof," he admitted, pointing up above their heads. "She and I like to go up there and talk, uh, stuff." He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we'll do the bridge thing too, but not with the bike. She does like high places - and I've been up on my Pramas a couple of times, and it doesn't even have a deck anymore."

[Electra]

"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. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"A what?" 

When it was explained to him, Riley shook his head. "Nah, I've never played video games. Those all got recycled years ago. My mom has the skeleton of an old, uh, Playstation, I think it is, but she uses it as a gun case." He thought for a minute, trying to keep the conversation going without sounding like a savage. "The older people will do videogame plays - I like the one with the Mario Brothers." He shrugged, another thing about the old world he hadn't given much thought to. "I think people still play the Wii here, but I don't really look at that kinda stuff. I don't, uh, spend a lotta time in the common room, 'tween one thing and another," he added casually. 

[Electra]

"It's not a bad way to get to know people," Erin pointed out casually, "and gets you out of your room. Even if you're just doing homework there, you might meet some more people someplace besides in class or in the simulator. And maybe it'll let people who are nervous of you get over it. Just let them see that you're a person too, and you're mostly like them in the ways that count. Even if they don't forget what made them nervous, eventually it won't matter so much. Or if nothing else, maybe you'll learn to play video games," she added with a chuckle. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"That's not so bad. Maybe there's a driving game I can learn how to do flips from." It was hard to tell if he was kidding, but the high-strung teen looked much more relaxed after his conversation with Erin, anyway. "Hey, thanks for coming out and, uh, talkin' ta me. It's nice to finally meetcha," he admitted. "I always wondered who Erin was, and how she got strong as you had to be." He fell silent, then was serious to add. "Got friends here, like I said, but...nice to know I'm not 'lone. You know. 'Bout everything." He popped up to his feet and asked "So did you come here inna bike?"

Edited October 28, 2015 by Avenger Assembled

[Electra]

"It's easier when somebody understands, at least a little," Erin agreed. "And I'm glad to meet you too. This is a pretty good world, once you get used to living in it." She stood up, stretched her legs a bit. "I didn't come here on a bike, no. That's really more Trevor's gig, though it's way fun to ride one sometimes." She grinned. "If I need a vehicle, it's usually for hauling stuff around, so I have a pickup truck. But I was working this morning, so I just jumped and jogged down from Hanover. Lots of different ways to get around out here. If you stop by sometime this week after your classes, you can get a look at Trevor's bike."