Summer Vacation

[Thevshi]

Emissary’s silver form slammed into the first of the gunmen, completely bowling him over as the silver hero continued on to the next man, smashing into him as well. In just a few moments, all three of the men in the group were down and unconscious.

The Overthrow operatives reacted quickly to the appearance of the hero. Several of the terrorists leveled their assault rifles at the silver figure, firing a burst. Most missed the mark, but the few shots that managed to hit, glanced harmlessly off his silver skin.

Riley frowned at the appearance of the Freedom League member. The likelihood of a metahuman appearing was not unexpected, But Riley had hopped that there might be a bit of a delay before any did or that less powerful ones would appear. Reaching into his bag, the Irishman pulled out a hand grenade. Pulling the pin, he held the “spoon†tightly as he held out his hand and move next to a car that was stuck in the traffic jam the terrorists had created.

Holding his hand out so it was over part of the windshield, he looked over at Emissary, who had just righted himself after his human bowling ball attack. “Just ‘old it right there ‘ero.†The Irishman called out. “Attack me an’ this grenade will go off, an’ who knows who it might ‘urt.â€Â

Having dropped of her things, Megan sped towards Trafalgar Square where the source of all the chaos seemed to be. Approaching from Strand, the hi-tech goggles built by Deadalus started feeding the speedster with information from the scene. One of the first things Megan saw was Emissary, standing over several unconscious men. There were several other men with guns, some aiming at Emissary, others aimed at a black car. The teen then spotted the man holding the grenade over the window of a car.

Focusing on the man with the grenade, Megan shot forward in a blur of yellow. Reaching the man, she reached out towards the grenade, snatching it out of the man’s grasp before he even realized she was there. Try as she might, she was unable to keep the grenade’s spoon from flying free, which started the fuse inside the grenade.

Pushing past the man, she weaved between cars, and turned down Whitehall, zipping away from the square. In a fraction of a second, she was rushing across Westminster Bridge, weaving between more traffic as she moved along the side of the bridge, tossing the grenade into the Thames below, well clear of any boats.

Continuing across the bridge, the teen passed by Waterloo Station as she made her way to Waterloo Road, and crossed back over the Thames by the Waterloo Bridge. This brought her back to Strand and to the Northeast of the square once more.

[MarkK]

Scowling at the man's words, he made ready to... stop and smile gratefully at a familliar looking blur of colour, and a sudden lack of grenade.

"So... by your initiative and dialogue you have marked yourself out as the leader of this foolishness. How unwise of you."

He rocked back on his heels at that with a deceptive casualness, tensing down onto one of them and seeming off of it to pivot in a spiral that traced ever outwards in an arc of shining silver. With all momentum put into his outstretched fist it sent him hurtling forward along that arc, even as it left a deep groove in the pavement below his foot. In a single strike his silvered knuckles impacted into both the man's jaw, and those of his nearby comrades.

[Thevshi]

The leader of the Overthrow assault team barely had time to react to the sudden gust of wind and disappearance of his hand grenade when Emissary’s fist slammed into his jaw. The blow snapped his head back as his body was propelled backward, hitting into car behind him. The momentum of the blow caused him to flip over the hood of the car and continue on to land on the pavement beyond.

Emissary’s then clotheslined another of the terrorists that was near the leader. The man hit the pavement hard, clearly unconscious.

As the silver hero continued to cut into their ranks, the other Overthrow operatives seemed to lose hart a bit. A few continued to fire at the black car that was their target, trying to pierce the car’s armor. Others chose to break off and try to use their escape paths.

Megan sped back towards the square, noting that Emissary had dealt with some more of the terrorists. Seeing that several were still attacking a black car, the yellow clad speedster zipped towards them.

As she reached the first man, Megan’s fist shot out at faster than the speed of sound, causing a slight CRACK to echo as it broke the sound barrier. The impact sent the many tumbling backward into unconsciousness. But the speedster had already moved on before the man ever hit the pavement, two more miniature sonic booms sounding as she punched out two more of the gunmen.

As they all landed on the ground, the teenager had moved over to come to a halt near Emissary. "Hey, fancy meeting you here." She said with a small smile.

[MarkK]

He smiled brightly to Velocity in response, but any reply was cut off by his still ongoing analysis of the scene.

"I'll attend to the damage here, you chase down the ones fleeing? It plays to strengths, I think."

He moved at that first to the overturned cab to check if anyone was inside and hurt, looking around as he did to survey the extent of any other fire and damage.

[Thevshi]

Velocity looked over in the direction of some of the fleeing terrorists and gave a quick nod. “Okay, sounds like a plan.†With that, she was gone in a blur.

Moving over to the overturned cab, Emissary easily lifted it back upright. Looking inside, he saw that the driver was bleeding heavily from gashes on the side of his head and upper body. The passenger seemed better off, if a bit bruised and bumped around.

[MarkK]

Though far from an expert in many of them, the circumstances of the Emissary's creation, and his time training gave him access to a variety of fields of knowledge and skill.

He immediately began to examine the cab's occupants with care for the extent of their suffering, checking for shock, breaks, and internal injuries beyond the obvious, asking them if they could hear and understand him. He unclasped and tore up his own cape in use for bandages, slings and tourniquets alike. He hoped largely to make sure each person, particularly the more greivously injured cabbie, was stabilized to the point that they could be moved to an ambulance.

[Thevshi]

Working quickly, Emissary was able to stabilize the injured cabbie, as others now ventured out of the relative protection of their vehicles to help. One of the bystanders was a doctor, and came to help Emissary as they waited for the paramedics.

London police soon arrived, more filtering in as time passed, and started trying to divert traffic and took the unconscious terrorists into custody. It was not too long after the police arrived the Velocity returned. “I think I was able to get all of them.†She reported to Emissary as he finished treating the injured cabbie.

[MarkK]

He smiled in relief to hear her.

"Good. I'm glad of your having been here, who knows how things might have otherwise gone. I'm going to accompany the police for now so that I can get a full estimation of what just occured from them and their.. new guests."

He took a moment to move over to the car that had been the main target of the attack, trying to get a look through the police likely swarming over it at just who was inside. He paused while doing so to look back to Velocity.

"I would be curious what brings you to London though, if you'd like we might spend some time later catching up?" He then winced. "I am sorry, that horrible bit of wordplay was very unintentional. I normally dislike puns."

[Thevshi]

“Actually, I am, as they say here, on holiday.†Velocity replied. “But I’d be happy to chat a bit if you like.â€Â

The police had swarmed around the car that had been stopped, and after awhile the occupant emerged with a pair of bodyguards. Emissary recognized him as a member of the House of Lords, but he could not quite remember which one.

[MarkK]

A thoughtful look.

"We could meet up later at.. hm. Is there somewhere you would prefer?"

He had almost said his hotel room, out of a desire to spare her any public appearance or identity issues, but he was developing a growing awareness of how saying things like that sounded, and so managed to halt himself.

[Thevshi]

Velocity smiled. "I am sure I can get away from the friends I am with for a little bit. Or, if you were up for it, you could accidently run into us somewhere later."

As the two heroes were talking, Emissary noticed that some photographers seemed to be staritng to gather, but so far the police were keeping them away from the main part of the scene.

[Thevshi]

After talking with Emissary, Velocity sped back away, first heading to the West from the square, but then looping back around to the North after going several blocks and then making her way back to the roof she had left her bag on. In a few moments she was back in her normal clothes and the back down on the street level a few moments later.

Walking out from an alleyway, Megan joined into the crowd of people that were cautiously moving about, looking over towards the smoke from Trafalgar Square as police sirens could be heard heading in that direction. The blonde teen started looking around the crowd for a sign of her friends.

She did not have to go far before she managed to spot to the two other girls and headed towards them.

A look of worry was clear on both the other girls' faces. Lisa was the first of the two to spot Megan, and a look of relief instantly replaced the look of concern. "Oh thank god." She said as Megan came over.

"Where have you been? We have been so worried!" Janet added, giving Megan a hug before Lisa did the same.

"I got pushed back in the crowd." Megan replied. "Are you two okay?"

"Just jostled around as well really." Lisa replied.

"Do you know what happened?" Janet asked.

"No idea." Megan said, not liking having to lie to her friends, but she had grown accustom to having to do so in the years since she had gained her powers and taken on her identity as Velocity.

The blonde teen looked back at in the direction of the square and the light amount of smoke still rising from the area. "But we might need to make other plans for this afternoon."

"Yeah, probably." Janet said with a nod as Lisa took out her map once more.

After a moment she said, "well, we are near the Embankment, we could head down and catch a water taxi back to Tate Modern."

Janet and Megan both leaned in and looked at the map, and then Megan nodded in agreement. "Sure, that sounds good, give us a chance to see some of the sites from the river as well."

"Yeah," Janet agreed as well, "just as long as we find something to eat by the museum once we get there."

Megan and Lisa laughed as Lisa folded up her map and the three girls started back towards the bank of the Thames.

[Thevshi]

The three girls headed down to the Embankment and managed to get on a water taxi just before it left the Embankment Pier near Charing Cross Station. The trip down the river was not very long, but it did provide them with a chance to see some of the city from the water. Soon enough they got off at Bankside Pier, next to the Shakespear's Globe and just a few blocks from Tate Modern.

After finding a place to have lunch, the girls made their way into Tate Modern and spent the early hours of the afternoon looking at some of the artwork inside. They then took a taxi back to their hotel so they could rest a bit before they went to the theater that evening.

Megan found it a bit hard to rest, though it had been hours ago, the terrorist attack at Trafalgar Square she had helped Emissary deal with still had her a bit on edge. She did the best she could, but eventually determined she would have to rely on her remarkable endurance to ensure she was able to keep going through the night.

After the three had an early dinner, it was time to get ready for the show. Knowing they were planning to go out to a club or two afterwards, Megan had to carefully pick out her dress for the night. As they were going to the theater first, she did not want to wear what she might normally if only going to a club, but she also needed to wear something that would still be sexy enough for when they were at the club. She decided on a black Dolce & Gabbana satin dress with black stockings.

After she finished getting dressed and putting on some makeup, Megan grabbed the small Gucci purse she had to go with the dress and made her way out into the hallway to see if Lisa and Janet were ready.

[Thevshi]

Megan and her friends made their way out of their hotel to the waiting cab the front desk had called for them. As they climbed in, the driver looked back with a smile. "Where to this evenin' ladies?" He asked in a thick accent.

"The Seven Dials please." Lisa replied.

"I thought the show was at the Queen's Theater?" Janet asked, seeming a bit confused.

"It is." Lisa answered with a smile. "But the theater is very close to Seven Dials, I think you will find the dials interesting."

Janet just shrugged, and soon the taxi was off into the busy evening streets of London. As the taxi made its way through the streets, Megan was looking out the window at the passing sites, many of them ones they had walked by already.

The trip was not too long, as they passed along the Southern edge of Soho and soon arrived at an intersection of seven different streets in a traffic circle. "Here you go. Seven Dials" The taxi driver said as he stopped.

"Wow, talk about a busy intersection." Janet commented as the girls paid the driver and climbed out of the taxi.

"Well, probably not too busy." Megan commented. "These are rather small streets. But it is still pretty wild."

"Isn't it?" Lisa said with a smile.

The girls looked about the small traffic circle for a bit, then headed North as they left Seven Dials behind. They only had to walk a couple of blocks before they reached the Queen's Theater. Megan looked up at the brightly lit outside of the theater as crowds of people started to make their way inside.

"Ready for the show?" She asked her friends as she looked back over at them.

"Definitely." Janet replied. "But I'm also looking forward to the club afterwards."

"That's for sure." Lisa added, as they started towards the entrance to the theater.

[Thevshi]

When the show began time seemed to just pass quickly for Megan, something that was not very common for the teen, as her perspective of time was very different than most peoples. When it finally came to an end, she almost felt as if it had been too short.

"Wow, that was great." Lisa said as they stood up after the cast finally left the stage and people were beginning to rise to exit the theater.

"Yeah, that was better than other productions I have seen." Megan said in agreement as she and her friends started on their way out as well.

Once they were outside the theater, it was a short walk into the Northeastern corner of Soho to the club they had decided to try this first night out in London. Soon they were walking down a somewhat narrower street and spotted a small line outside the club.

"Man, if my mom knew I was going to a club called Sin, she would flip out." Janet commented with a small smile as they moved towards the back of the line.

"I don't think the name of the club would matter to my mom as much as me using fake ID to get in." Megan replied, once again feeling slightly guilty about the fact.

"Yeah." Lisa said with a nod. "But it’s the only way we can get into any of the really worthwhile clubs. If we're lucky, they won't even ask us for them. And anyway, it isn't like we haven't gotten into similar clubs back home before."

Megan did not reply, as Lisa brought up a very good point, though she had never had to use a fake ID at any of the clubs back in Freedom City.

The trio did not have too long to wait before they were up at the entrance to the club. The bouncer looked the trio up and down a moment, then just took their cover charge and let them in without any further comment.

Lisa smiled at the other two as they made their way into the club, the heavy base of dance music reverberating through the walls as they made their way inside.

Megan was somewhat surprised to find the lighting in the club a bit brighter than she was used to in a club. The first room they came to had red walls and looked very much like it was out of a Victorian era movie. Mirrors were spaced along the walls, with lights on either side of them and the ceiling covered with brown, velvet looking cloth. There were also golden chandlers hanging from the ceiling, the lights on the chandlers dimed, but still adding more light than most clubs. Booths were along the walls, the seats covered with brown cloth as well, and they all seemed filled with people. A bar ran through the center of the room, and quite a few people were gathered around the bar.

A few people near the entrance took note of the three girls' arrival, and Megan noted more than a few of the guys continued to watch them as they made their way into the room.

[Thevshi]

After getting drinks, Megan and her friends continued to explore the Sin.

Their next stop was a sumptuous ballroom that served as the main dance floor for the club. The base of the music reverberated through the room, as strobe lights flashed over the crowd of people dancing in the center. Sean Paul's “Temperature†was playing as the girls arrived in the ballroom. It was not long before the three girls made their way out into the dancing crowd. Thanks to years of dance and cheerleading, Megan easily and quickly matched her movements to the music's rhythm, her years of dance.

As was often the case, time just seemed to speed by while Megan was enjoying dancing, the presence of a number of cute, well dressed guys trying to dance with her and her friends making it all the more enjoyable. The blonde teen just let the music guide her movements, not paying much mind to the close proximity of one of the young men dancing near her.

After awhile, Lisa leaned in close to Megan, beads of sweat visible on her forehead. "I need to go get a drink of water!" She shouted, barely audible over the music. Though Megan wanted to continue dancing, she knew she should go with her friends so as not to raise any suspicions about her ability to go far beyond what most normal people could. Besides, she knew that there was still plenty more time for dancing during the night. Nodding, she started off with Lisa and Janet, flashing a small smile at the guy that had been dancing near her as she left.

After managing to force their way through the crowds, the girls reached one of the bars in the club to get some waters.

"There are some seriously cute guys here." Janet commented after a long sip of her water.

Lisa smiled as she replied. "Geeze Janet, please tell me your not feeling desperate."

"No! I was just saying there are some very cute guys here." Janet replied.

"She is right." Megan said in agreement.

Lisa rolled her eyes slightly. "Yeah, there are, but this is just our first night out on this trip, I am sure there will be plenty of cute guys at any of the other places we go."

"Alright, enough." Megan said finally. "Lets just get back on the dance floor and enjoy ourselves."

"Before we do that, we should look around the rest of the club." Lisa replied.

Though Megan wanted to get back on the dance floor, she nodded in agreement to Lisa's suggest. "Sure, that sounds good." Picking up her bottle of water, she started away from the bar with her friends to see the rest of the nightclub.

[Thevshi]

The three girls continued to explore the nightclub, finding another room with a smaller dance floor. Along the outside of this room were large, bed-like places to sit with small black end tables on either side for drinks. The center of the room was a dance floor. Currently both the seating areas and the dance floor were rather full, but that did not stop Megan and her friends from finding some room on the dance floor for themselves.

The club played a range of music, from the Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up", to Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold", but Megan enjoyed dancing to all of it. Once again time just seemed to not matter, as she just let herself get lost in the moment.

Lisa and Janet rotated on and off the dance floor some, taking some time to talk with some of the guys in the club, but Megan chose to just remain on the dance floor. While a number of different guys came over to dance with Megan, and while she danced with them, she left things at that.

[Thevshi]

The next morning, Megan was up a bit later than usual. They had stayed at the Sin until after midnight, before taking a cab back to their hotel. After getting dressed and otherwise getting ready, Megan made her way out to meet up with Lisa and Janet for breakfast at the hotel's restaurant.

"That was a great time last night." Janet said over breakfast, a wide smile emphasizing her point.

"Yeah it was." Lisa replied. She then grinned and added. "Course, the fact you were making out with a guy towards the end of the night didn't have anything to do with your view did it?"

"I think they call it 'snogging' here." Megan added with her own grin.

Janet was not even phased by her friends' playful teasing, not even a hint of a blush, as she shrugged. "It certainly added to the night. Besides, it is not like either of you are above doing the same. And he was a really cute guy."

Lisa laughed a bit and nodded. "And there will be plenty more before this trip is done I am sure. But as fun as last night was, I think tonight will be better."

"I am sure it will be fun, but I have to say I am a bit leery of the particular dress code for this club tonight." Megan said.

"Oh its not that bad." Lisa replied. "Not like we are having to dress in black leather or anything."

"I guess not." Megan replied. "So anyway, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, I thought we might start with the National Gallery today…." Lisa began as she pulled out her map and began going through ideas.

After breakfast, the three girls made their way over to the National Gallery and began making their way through the seemingly endless number of galleries filled with paintings. After spending the entire morning in the Gallery, the three grabbed lunch nearby, and then made their way to Hyde Park and Kensington Garden.

[Thevshi]

After sightseeing all day, the girls had done a small bit of shopping near their hotel before heading back to get a bit of rest for their night out. Grabbing a light dinner, they made their way back to their rooms to get ready.

Megan changed out of the clothes she had worn all day and took a quick shower. Then, she put on the clothes that were the required dress code of the club they were visiting tonight. She had a plaid, red and blue skirt, with a white, short sleeve dress shirt. With that she added a tie with the same colors of her skirt, which she left very loose around her neck, and long, black stockings that went up to her knees and black thick heeled shoes. Looking at herself in the mirror in the school uniform outfit, she was not at all surprised at how good she looked in the school girl uniform.

Satisfied, she made her way over to grab a small black purse before heading out to see if Lisa and Janet were ready.

A short while later, the three girls, all dressed in school girl outfits, exited the cab they had rode to the School Disco. There was a good sized line outside the club already, with both men and women all dressed in school uniforms.

"This place is pretty popular." Janet said with an approving nod.

"Yeah. Supposedly it is not uncommon for a celebrity or two to show up." Lisa said with smile.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Megan said with a grin before she started forward to get in line.

The wait was not too terribly long, though for Megan it certainly seemed to drag on for far longer. One of the disadvantages of having a somewhat different perspective of time than most.

A few guys had tried to talk with the girls while they were waiting in the line, but they turned out to be not that interesting, so Megan was thankful when they finally reached the front of the line and were able to make their way inside.

As they walked in, the music playing was from the 80's, Lisa having mentioned that the place was known for playing more "classic" rock and dance music, the theory being that it was the school dance music from when most patrons had been in school. Megan did not mind too much, as there were some good old songs, plus the atmosphere seemed very upbeat.

The three girls made their way into the main room, which was more like a traditional club, with a large open area that was only faintly lit, with strobe lights and spotlights, flashing around the add momentary additional lighting. The dance floor was packed with men and women, all dressed in the mandatory school uniforms.

"We should have just worn our cheerleading outfits." Janet yelled so she could just be heard over the music.

"That would actually have worked." Lisa shouted back. "Too bad we had to turn them in when we graduated."

"I think we are getting plenty of attention as is." Megan replied back, noting out of the corner of her eye more than a few of the males nearby watching the three intently. "Shall we get out on the dance floor?"

The other two girls nodded, and they headed out into the crowd, just as Real Wild Child, by Iggy Pop began to play.

[Thevshi]

Megan and her friends had quickly found a spot out on the crowded dance floor. As with the night before, Megan just let herself be guided by the music, not letting anything else cloud her thoughts as she just enjoyed the moment. Iggy Pop's song was immediately followed by the Bloodhound Gang's The Bad Touch.

As had happened the night before at the Sin, the girls were not out on the dance floor long before some guys had made their way over to try and dance with them. Megan did not mind the attempts to get her attention, just continuing to move to the music.

We Like To Party byt the Venga Boys, Starry Eyed Surprise by Paul Okenfield, and other great dance songs followed, timing seeming to almost fly by for Megan as she pretty much became lost in the music. She did have to admit to herself though that the guys that had moved over to dance with her and her friends were decent dancers, and not overly aggressive in trying to get their attention.

Megan was not sure how much time had passed when she noticed Janet fanning herself slightly, clearly having worked up a bit of a sweat dancing, as had Lisa. The movement was not missed by the guys dancing with them, as one of them leaned towards the girls, yelling so he could just be heard over the music.

"Would you ladies care to get a drink?"

Janet glanced over towards Megan and Lisa, the other two girls just giving a smile and nodding. The small group then started off the dance floor towards the bar.

Soon enough they had found a small space off the bar, and had their drinks, Megan and Janet having gone with water, while Lisa choose to have something stronger.

"So," began one of the guys, again having to practically yell to be heard, "is there a reason I haven't seen any of you here before?"

Janet gave a smile. "Actually this is our first time here. We're from Freedom City."

"Oh, Americans." Another of the guys said with a nod. "You enjoying your visit so far?"

"It has been great." Lisa replied with a nod. "There is just so much to do, hard to even try to see it all in one visit."

"Well, having a guide can always help with ensuring you see the best sights." The guy replied with a smile.

"Is that an offer?" Lisa asked back with a bit of a coy smile.

The guy glanced over at his friends, still smiling before he looked back at Lisa and the other two girls. "We would be happy to help show you around some, but it would likely have to be this weekend, work and all that."

Lisa gave a little frown. "Sadly, we are going to be off in Paris by the weekend."

"Well, perhaps tomorrow afternoon we could meet to see a few sights and then have dinner?" He then looked over at Megan and Janet as he then added. "I mean all of us that is."

Lisa looked over at Megan, who just gave a small shrug. She then focused back on the guy. "Yeah, we could do that."