"Don't worry, Horizon. Just be yourself; you were a hero today. Don't give a speech or anything, but I can add a temporary 21st century filter that should hold up to some questioning."
Psyche gave some of Kylie's best smile-and-waves, and answered some of the easier questions, "No, no we didn't anticipate the attack. Just some bad luck for The Crab and his scurvy crew. Mosaic and I are just good friends." However, most of her focus is with the mysterious woman in the mirrored glasses, and she can't help peeking...
A bottle-blond with a camera man behind her pushes her way to the front just as Holly swaths herself in her power. "Mosaic! Darcy McGovern with 360 News! I'm been running a series about the challenges of superpowered women today. Would you be willing to give a sit-down interview, now that you're heroing?"
The woman spares a moment to glare over her glasses at Psyche when she attempts a probe. She then turns back to her business of overseeing the arrest of the pirates.
With the battle finished Frostbite briefly plays to the crowd posing and juggling snowballs before punching and kicking them to send a light dusting of snowy powder at them. Once done he turns his attention to Scorch and Praetoria, and the others.
Sensing something was amiss with Scroch he headed over to check on her.
[B]"Good job sis, I know parts of that fight didn't go has we would hope but we carried the day and you were as much a part of it as anyone else. I am proud of you."
As the fight come to an end Scorch circles the area and comes in to land, letting the flames enveloping her body fade away to reveal her uniform as the reporters hurry towards her. Frowning, she ignores their questions and storms off to watch as Frostbite shows off for the audience before he finally finishes showboating and seeks her out. As he speaks, the young girl stands with her arms crossed, glowering at him.
"Easy for you to say" she says, her voice rising in pitch and volume as she continues, though she tries to keep it low enough that the reporters can't hear. "You don't need to treat me like a kid. You did fine,.. you and your bloody girlfriend. Maybe if you'd been supporting me like you're supposed to, then we could've taken it out sooner and I wouldn't have looked so bloody useless! She did fine though, didn't she! Maybe you should just team up with her instead of me! Maybe I'd do better without you too!"
As her tirade ends, its easy to see tears welling from her eyes.
Just be myself. Act like a hero...okay, I think? He thinks back, before trying his best to respond to questions as per Psyche's advice. He had to show his heroic side!
"WHAHAHA!" He shouted, posing with his hands on his hips, chest out, like the first Praetorian would do in the newsreels. Then he realized that acting like an ancient hero might not be the best plan of action, stepping back.
"Sorry, these bulbs flashing around me have me nervous. Uh..." Be yourself! "...We haven't decided on a field leader yet, this has only been the second time we've worked together. Uh, Mosaic as you see is fine, I was just supporting her. She protected everyone from the bombs. So, uh, wait, she's not my dish at all! We're absolutely just friends and comrades. We stopped these stick up men in their tracks, thanks to everyone's efforts."
Horizon feels a little more comfortable now, keeping along Psyche's advice. "The people are safe, the Pearl is safe, the Oceanics are safe, and we caught the bad guys, so this was a win for us and Halcyon City. Now, pardon me, but I got to check on the rest of my chums."
He sees that Holly has got her media face on, so he gives her a thumbs up before heading over where Psyche was currently caught between a sibling spat. He didn't want to get into that mess, so he sidled up to Psyche, close enough that she could read his surface thoughts like a whisper in her ear.
I'm sorry. I know I've been kind of avoiding you, pretty much because of your powers. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of anyone, especially a girl, peeking into my head, seeing my private thoughts, knowing how freaked out I've been since I got here. It wasn't fair to you, and I'm sorry. We couldn't have succeeded today without you. Thanks for having my back and the team's back. I don't think Dusk could have pulled off what we did today, do you?
Landing with the man who orchestrated the attack under control, Praetoria hands him over as Isaiah hands over the henchmen. She turns to him and says quietly, ”Thanks, I don’t know how much longer I could have held that thing in the air. I...I haven’t completed my training in aquatic combat and I don’t know if...if my father’s invulnerability to drowning passed on to me as well...who knows what could have happened...”
Thinking on what could have happened, and seeing Mosaic and Horizon and the others dealing with the press, Kayla turned to try and talk to Rory...but instead saw him and his sister talking, and Scorches tone was clear with the glares she was casting Kayla’s way. Kayla clenched her fists and muttered ”I...I need to go check for something...” before flying back into the crab ship. She quickly navigates back to the control room and lands, figuring this to be the best place to let her frustrations out. She begins tearing computers from the wall and apart, partly looking for clues, but mostly just because.
”You can’t be dating right now, Kayla. Especially not with just anyone! Being a Taylor comes with certain expectations...”
By the time she was done, the main computer controlling this machine was in a heap of busted components and twisted metal. But, Kayla felt a little better, though now the guilt set in on her, letting her personal anger get in the way of possibly collecting tangible evidence.
Get a hold of yourself, Kayla! What would mom and dad do?
She then flies back out and over to Mosaic, Psyche, and Horizon by the reporters.
I'd be happy to. she says, beaming smile. then Horizon starts talking I know he's not from around here, but did people ever talk like that? Not my dish, what does he mea- oh god, he was bridal carrying me out of a dangerous situation. the tabloids are gonna have a field day
She makes a point of not standing too close to Horizon, or interacting much with him in the post-heroics press conference. not coldly snubbing him, but keeping a teammate or two between them, and definately no touching. She'd explain later.
The media and onlookers appear to accept Horizon's statements without too much head scratching, so it appears he was successful.
Darcy hands Mosaic a card. "Excellent! Now, any statement on today's events? You were seen being carried out of the zone -- any injuries?"
Praetoria disappears into the vessel for a few minutes, then flies back out.
The media and crowds are starting to get pushed back by the Halcyon City Police who have set up a perimeter around the battleground.
Your senses are drawn to a group of the onlookers that have clasped their hands together and are swaying back and forth. They look familiar to you, and their eyes briefly glow the same color as your corona effect when you charge up your powers. ::You have touched us again. Thank you for your gift. We go now to share what you can do for others:: they think in unison to you.
Inquiry reported a very brief temporal anomaly, right around the time that the crab drones exploded.
I took a little bump, but otherwise no one was hurt, we stopped all the bad guys, kept the pearl, I think I can call today an unqualified success. She says
What about you guys She asks the teammates already near her do you guys want to say anything about today?
Isaiah/Inquiry mulled over some of the recent happenings. That woman had arrested the crab pilot by name; but he'd never declared his name during the fight. How did she know? And what had caused that brief temporal ripple near the explosion? Was it related to Shin?
And of course, where had these people gotten their massive crab? A machine this size wasn't something you put together in the back of a shed.
None of this showed on Isaiah's face, though. Instead he put on a cheerful grin as he responded to Praetoria.
"No problem Praetoria. You don't have to carry the whole world on your shoulders alone; that's what a team is for!"
Going up to the gauntlet of reporters, Isaiah quickly decided how much to tell.
"Yeah, Inquiry is mine." The side of the ship rippled as it poked and prodded at the crab wreck, revealing IFS Inquiry printed in large letters. "I can fly just fine wherever I am. Remote piloting can be an amazing thing! And before you ask, I'm not going to try to explain how it works. Very fiddly; would probably just go right over everyone's heads."
As Praetoria stormed into the crab's control room to start smashing it, she was suddenly confronted by a voice... Isaiah's voice. "Whoa, calm down a bit, will you? The fight is won, you don't need to beat it up any more." A tiny tendril of shiny metal protrudes from the ceiling, where Inquiry was poking in to try to acess the computer.
The woman in the sunglasses shouts, "HEY!" when Praetoria flies back into the structure. Then she notices Inquiry's tendrils snaking into the crab. "You too!" In several strides she is standing in front of Isaiah and Praetoria when she returns from her cathartic workout.
"You're both done here," she says with commanding authority. "You did your job, now let us do ours. If we find something that you need to know, we will tell you. You punch, we investigate. Got it?"
As the lady official begins to scold her, Praetoria reflexively begins to back down. But then, she begins to think exactly what just happened, and realizes that she did what she had to do. This woman was just venting, as she herself had done a moment prior. So, instead she just waits politely for her to finish her rant before saying ”Yes ma’am,” and joining up with Holly and the others.
"Hey, I'm not going to say that investigating things like this isn't your job, but I'm pretty good at it too. Have a few tricks you probably don't on top of that. I will leave it as it lies, though."
Inquiry retracted its tendrils, but pulled a tiny scrap of twisted metal out as it did so, for future sympathetic tracking. Then, just to prove the point, it unfolded its analysis suite and did a full deep scan on the Crab, writing the blueprints and material compositions to memory.
"Want me to e-mail you the schematics for that thing?"
Something about Isaiah’s words and tone resonated within Kayla. She was clearly left a little bothered by the recent events.
My power scared him. He’s not even a human and he thinks I’m a freak! What do the others think? What do Rory and Holly think...?
Once Gallowglass returns the Pearl to its proper place, Praetoria looks to the others and says ”Can we go back to HQ now? I think we need some time to talk...” she asks everyone quietly once they have gathered.
”Isaiah, can we use your ship?” she asks him directly.
Rory swallows hard at Mattie's words, "O...kay... I... don... I'm sorry I hurt you..." clearly crestfallen, "I will try to do better." Patting her on the shoulder a frozen globe fall from Rory's face and shatters on the ground. "I'll be in the Rhino and love you.
Frostbite activates his comnunicator, "Headin' to the Rhino and headin' to the base. Anyone that can't or doesn't want to fly can come with me. By the way, we totally forgot about the communicators so we don't have to use Psyche as megaphone."
"I can fit some people in the ship, but it isn't that comfy to be in there during a change. Still, if anyone wants an inconspicuous ride and isn't afraid of motion sickness, they can come along."
Isaiah also responds back to Frostbite through the communicator. "Yeah, we should remember these. Still, telepathy has some advantages. Can't listen in on it nearly so easily."
Praetoria starts to answer, but stops her hand just short of activating the communicator, remembering her families edict. She elects not to reply, just looks to Isaiah and nods as she flies over to the Inquiry and demurely walks inside to find a spot to sit.
On the way, she retrieved her iPhone, isolated in a custom designed case especially for supers to be resilient enough to withstand the toughest of circumstances. She flips over to her messages and sends one to her Uncle.
The ceremony was attacked. I’m sure it’s all over the news now. I managed to catch the mastermind with the help of the team. I don’t think anyone was injured. We are headed back to the team base now.
She then closes down the app and waits for the others.
Gallowglass has a smile a mile wide when she returns the Pearl. She gives a proud wink to Envoy Undine.
A reporter asking, "Did you know you look like that Disney character?" grabs her attention.
With a grin, she replies, "Like for so many of us, Merida was a big inspiration for me. By the way, the name is . You know, after the elite Scottish warriors of the same name? And I'm proud to be a member of our new band of superheroes, ready to protect Halcyon City, and the multiverse!"
She goes and stands beside Mosaic, giving her a high five. "Unqualified success, indeed! I'll admit, I was nervous when those crab-bots went into explodomode, but you were AWESOME. You didn't hesitate at all, and you managed to save the lives of a dozen bystanders."
I'm sorry. I know I've been kind of avoiding you, pretty much because of your powers. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of anyone, especially a girl, peeking into my head, seeing my private thoughts, knowing how freaked out I've been since I got here. It wasn't fair to you, and I'm sorry. We couldn't have succeeded today without you. Thanks for having my back and the team's back. I don't think Dusk could have pulled off what we did today, do you?
He seemed sincere. She could have dug deeper; a lot of times people put their best foot forward quite a bit farther than they could really balance, and it was still easy for her to remember the visceral discomfort she'd had to wade through around his mind.
But he meant to mean it at least. That counted for something
"Don't worry about it Shin. I've never really met anyone comfortable with the idea that I could hear their thoughts - especially because as soon as most people realize I can, they seem to always just think of pure filth, just the worst things they can imagine me hearing." The last bit is sent with a note of wry amusement; she's not pulling herself in enough directions to let more of her real feelings about that leak through.
"I think you're wrong about Dusk though. True he might not have saved those people, but he has enough power to carve his way in like Praetoria did, and he's ruthless enough to have ended it fast once he was in there. If it went fast enough, maybe the other robots wouldn't have had time to self-destruct. Not that we should embrace his methods, but we shouldn't fool ourselves as to his effectiveness. There's a reason you'll be at-large for so long."
***
As she picked up on the thoughts of her 'disciples' she suppressed a wince while the cameras were still around. No need to draw any more attention to the Church of Psyche, "I am glad my example inspires you, and I hope it will serve you as you help others." A slight smile crossed her face.
Meshugenehs. Still, some people need to believe in something to do good. Nothing wrong with being a good example.
***
Psyche's voice pops into Scorch's mind in fierce, sharp whisper. "Grow up! Teams need unity, Mattie, and squabbling in front of the cameras is exactly the kind of thing that WILL turn any bumps in the road into a much longer story. Blaming Kayla won't change anything about how today went, and frankly you're blowing that out of proportion as well. I know you're jealous of Rory and Kayla, but I say again - Grow. Up. You are not your brother's keeper."
The lady in the mirrored sunglasses doesn't seem surprised about the obstinacy of the heroes she just dressed down. She arches an eyebrow at Isaiah when he offers to send her the schematics that he just scanned. The giant crab's interior was fairly labyrinthine -- it might have been a confounding search inside if it hadn't been for Praetoria's ignoring of things like walls and interior bulkheads.
With a beefy Rhino and a shapeshifting alien vessel -- to say nothing about the fliers in the group -- it is relatively easy for the whole team to leave the battleground and get back to the underground base beneath the anachronistic MovieNite Video rental shop. Before long, everyone is in the common area. The fridge has been raided and sodas, chips and microwavable popcorn and pizzas are passed around.
Scorch's eyes bulge as Psyche's voice invades her mind, its tone thick with condescension. As the words end, the young girl turns to face her, her face red with anger and flames dancing dangerously in her eyes.
, she yells at the telepath before launching herself into the air and streaking off. When the others eventually return to the base, they find no sign of the girl, and her communicator is turned off.
Horizon stares a little at Psyche in shock and perhaps a little bit of fear in her reply. His fear isn't about her powers any longer, slipping from his mind. He's horrified that she would sympathize with his future self's methods. He flinches back from her, smiling awkwardly and turning to follow Frostbite to his car.
Well, car was putting it mildly, this thing looked like a tank on wheels. He gets into the shotgun seat, clearly agitated but trying to focus on something else. Rory's behavior stood out to him right now. Of course, things had been tense since he'd saved the superstar from being mind controlled by his future self.
"...putting it on the plate? Don't know how your comms work yet. Still trying to figure out this era's technology. At least typewriter keys are still the same. So, that's why I asked Psyche for the switchboard...party line." He clears his throat. "So...second team up. Not a bad result. Saved the day and all that. So, I mean, we did good, chum. So you should try and cheer up. Your sister won't stay mad forever," He awkwardly consoles Rory.
----------------
At the base, Horizon is worried. Mostly because Scorch isn't around after her explosive exit. Part of him wants to try and find her, but he can't fly and he has no way to search for her. "Isaiah, could you track Scorch down in your ship?" He asks the alien droid.
He takes a moment instead to address Praetoria, arms crossed over his chest. "We did good today. But I think that maybe we need to work on our teamwork. Things got chaotic out there. The siblings aren't working things out with each other, and things are awkward with Psyche and I. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, because everyone's been supportive of me, even though apparently I'm one of Halcyon's Most Wanted."
The ride in Inquiry, for those who take it, is mostly quite smooth. The ship folds out stairs of hullmetal to allow access to its interior, and the interior space shifts and widens to make room for passengers, even providing surprisingly comfortable custom-fitted seats. The only rough part is, as Isaiah suggested, the time when the ship shifts from its default shape into a disguise of being a humble delivery truck; the floor and walls ripple and warp almost organically, and the entire space heaves for a moment as the vessel compresses down, compacting tightly to mimic such a comparatively small vehicle, and leaving the passenger space just a bit cramped.
Once back, Isaiah decides he might as well be the first to broach the obvious topic.
"Looks like Mattie is still a bit worked up. Should one of us go out looking for her, or just let her have some time alone to blow off steam?"
Kayla went straight to the girls dorm/suite/bunk room and immediately changed out of her costume, something she had expected to be a ceremonial thing today, and into a loose fitting t-shirt, sports bra, and leggings. She let her hair out and made her way to the fridge, ultimately settling on a bottled water before flopping down into a beanbag chair with a flumph.
”She’ll cool off eventually. Lord knows I’m the last one she would want to talk to...” Kayla mumbles.
When Shin approaches her and speaks his mind, Hollie just leans back in the bean bag, looking up at him upside down while her hair dangled down to and splayed over the floor. ”We are all an awkward mess. None of us really trust each other, and in some cases downright don’t like one another! How are we supposed to build friendships and trust when we’ve basically just been tossed together like a bunch of kids in gym class picking teams blindly?” she asks exasperatedly. ”Even if we did some corny team building exercise, it’d be without Scorch since she’s out burning off some steam! So that would defeat the point.”
They typewriter comment draws a laugh from Rory, Haha, right? You'll get the hang of it. Yeah this team dynamic is new to everyone, we'll get the hang of it, just need more training and practice.
"Thought I'd find you here." The Silver Shield's voice snaps you out of your reverie. She had glided in silently, showing up at your favorite spot to think . Her large silver-colored shield that gives her her namesake draws its gliding wings up into a more compact, circular configuration. Then she hits a button and its surface shimmers and it shows a few stills from the news coverage. A couple headlines appear to be asking if there's already a team breakup in the works.
"You want to tell me what this is about?" She tilts her head to catch a glimpse of the next headline, then shakes her head. "You know what? Don't bother. I know what it is. You're on a team with some real powerhouses and feeling inadequate. And you know what? Yeah. Probably half the team has more power than you and Rory put together. But it doesn't matter. You know why? Because smarts and experience beat raw power any day of the week."
Silver Shield looks Mattie in the eyes. "What have I been teaching you these last couple years? Do you think anything's changed just because there's more people around you?"
Holly is also quick to change when they get home, and shower (she spends a good 30 minutes in there, likely to the irritation of the others). and puts on a yellow blouse and knee length skirt combination.
Before the conversation about the team begins, she gets Horizon alone in the kitchen. Can I... talk to you, Shin? she asks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time things are getting heavy, Holly is in an armchair, the English class's novel of choice open on the arm.
I think some of us have some... pretty well earned trust issues. But I really think we just need to spend a little more time with each other, I think all of you guys are really awesome
But, I think I know what scorch is feeling. The two of you she indicates Kayla and Rory are getting close, and she's worried that you won't want to hang out with her anymore. It happens a lot with younger siblings once their siblings start dating. I think you two should go to her, and make sure she knows you guys will still have time for her. Please god, don't recognize it as Gestalts speech to Titania and Jericho from 3;12
She'd almost just stopped Scorch from leaving.
Maybe it was because she was in Mattie's head, maybe it was because she was already pissed at the young hero, but her temper flared, and almost her powers with it.
Before she'd realized it, her mind was reaching out, brushing up against Scorch's outrage. But before she'd done anything, she'd remembered to check for three strikes.
”Could this get better on its own?” Yes.
“Will this save her life or anyone else's?” No.
“Are you angry at her right now?” Yes.
Yikes. Three strikes before she'd even made it halfway down her checklist; she let Scorch leave. Kylie reminded herself. She gets her choice unless there's really good reasons to take it away.
Kylie took a little longer to head back to base than Inquiry or the Rhino. If Scorch was gonna be there at least one of them needed to have cooled down.
"I probably could track her down... I'm asking if I should. But it doesn't really feel right to have a big celebration or anything without the whole gang here."
Horizon has swapped his headgear and visor for the antique pair of glasses he'd brought with him, one of the lenses cracked at the edge. He's combed down his hair at least, but otherwise is still wearing his hero costume when Holly approaches him.
"I'm all ears, Holly," He told her, before excitedly bringing up the can of soda pop he'd taken from the fridge. "Wait, but first, check this out." He lifted the tab, and with a hiss, the can opened up. "No more need for a pocketknife or a can opener to get your favorite beverage! Sometimes the future is pretty swell. Anyways, what's knocking about in that pretty head of yours?"
--------------------------
"We don't need a fancy training schedule to gab at each other, Kayla," Shin points out, eyes trying not to be distracted by the rather indiscreet leggings she was wearing. Women's fashion was weird in the future. "We can work out the hitches here, smooth things out. Just got to be willing to play ball."
He takes a seat on a couch, leaning forward as he stares back at Kayla. "Scorch will be back, and so will Psyche. We're having a quarrel, so best to just set their places at the table and wait for them to come home. Make sure everyone knows they got a place here, because I sure as heck don't have another."
”She’ll cool off eventually. Lord knows I’m the last one she would want to talk to...”
"Oh I think thats a tight race right now, with you, me, and Kylie" Rory replied sitting on the floor next to the beanbag chair. Just then on one of the five TV screens video of the dressing down he had received frim from is younger sibling popped up with the caption Is it over before it even begins? just below it. Really starting to dislike these guys...
Having gotten solid advice from his teammates he has flip-flopped between wait and see, and go check on her. And he was now squarely in the middle, so he chose to reach out for some sage advice frkm his mentor. Rory excuse himself to make a phone call.
Voicemail: Hey it's Rory by now I assume you have seen the news, the battle went fine but there was a blow up afterwards. Um... I was hoping you'd seen or heard from Mattie. If you do or have could you call me back and let me know... Thanks... bye *click*
On Inquiry, Ness is obviously impressed. "So Isaiah, you...you have a shapeshifting metalic spaceship, that you came here in, from another world?!? I guess I kinda knew that, but being on it...I guess that makes it sink in more. I mean, WOW!
"How long does it take to get to your world? Or any other world, really! I would FREAK OUT if I got to go to another planet some day!"
As an afterthought she adds, "Say...you don't really seem like you're paying any attention at all to flying this thing. I mean, should you be looking out the windshield or something? We're not going to run into anything while were chatting, are we?"
____________________
Back at the base, Ness relaxes with a microwaved Hot Pocket and a Coke. Just as she takes a big bite, her phone starts to 'ring' with the voice of the Praetorian, saying "Never Fear! The Praetorian Is Here!...Never Fear! The Praetorian Is Here!"
"Ohhh, hehehehehe," Ness glances nervously at Praetoria, wondering what she'll make of Ness using her father's voice as her ring tone. "Hold on, sorry, that's my Dad."
Standing up and walking toward the pantry, she says into her cellphone, "You saw?...Oh really, you think so! Gosh Dad, thanks!! I mean, I was OK I guess...You really think so? Wow. Thanks....OK Pops, I gotta go. Team meeting time."
After hanging up, she glances at Praetoria. "Well, my Dad thinks I'm a real hero...but I guess that's what Dad's do, right?" After a nervous pause she adds. "I've gotta be honest though, it means a lot that you guys let me join the team but...you know I could never take down something like that Crab-Hemoth, right? I mean, I was barely able to distract it long enough for Frostbite to freeze a claw back there. I just worry...is that all I've got?
"Bear and I want this more than anything else. Well, at least I'm pretty sure Bear does. I sure do. But you...you can fly, and probably bounce bullets off your forehead, and you lifted that massive thing out of the water! That was incredible. Do I...do you honestly think I belong here. I need to know."
**bing**
Psyche stepped off the secret elevator, eyes dimming and costume recoalescing into a tight high-necked sweater and a pair of cream slacks.
For a moment she pauses as if listening, then after a slight tickle to the limbic systems of the Team, she asks with a disappointed sigh, "Mattie hasn't come back yet?
With a barely suppressed groan she floated over to sink into one of the chairs, heeled-boots sliding off her legs to float into the dorm.
"Should I find her, Rory? I don't know how long it takes for her to cool off, but I think I need to apologize."
Horizon is the only one who doesn't feel the brush of her mind during all this.
Mattie looks up from her seat leaning against the gravestones that place where she and Rory had scattered her parents' ashes years before. At her mentor's words she wipes the tears from her eyes. At first she sighs and nods but, as he finishes, begins to shake her head. "But things have changed," she says. "Everything's changed. Its not just,... other people being around, its,.. it used to be just us. Him and me. I used to be all he had and now there's all these other people around, and they're always around! I know its silly and petty," she continues, ",.. but now he wants to spend all his time around Kayla. And she's in my room when she's not with him. And she's so powerful and beautiful and she never makes mistakes like me - its no wonder that he likes her better. Even Gallowglass did more than me in that fight, and she doesn't even have powers!" her shoulders slump. "But I know I'm being stupid. Its just.... Its just that its hard."
A few hours later the elevator doors open and Mattie steps out and looks around at the team sheepishly.
"I'm sorry." she says to the others, her voice low. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. Its just,.. I wasn't much use out there and so much has changed recently. I'll.... I'll do better next time. I promise."
Kayla listens to Shin talk, her heart beginning to race as Rory sat beside her on the floor.
Oh lord, both guys on the team here talking to ME. And my family already putting their foot down about dating within the team...
At Rory’s comment about the news, Kayla grumbles ”Welcome to my life. An open air prison of camera lenses and tabloids...” in reply.
Turning back to Shin, she says ”So you are thinking of a night out then? Maybe go to a club? Without Psyche’s help I don’t see how that would be possible. And as mad as-” she is cut off by the sound of her Father’s voice coming from the kitchen. It made her catch her breath a moment before she realized it was Gallowglass’s damned ringtone.
As the girl opened up to her, Kayla did her best to not let her frustration over the ringtone show. ”I didn’t get to see, being busy fighting that thing, but the news said you managed to keep the pearl safe through the whole thing. Nobody else did that. Just you. So yes, you have a place here,” Kayla says before flipping over to her stomach, facing away from the TV and towards Shin.
Then Psyche returns, shortly followed by Scorch. She looks to Rory to see what he plans to say to her, but then she apologizes for her outburst. ”It...it’s okay hun. Look, we’ve been talking, and we wanna go out as a team to celebrate. Incognito, if you think you can manage that, Psyche? Is everyone up for it?”
Silver Shield gives Mattie a wry grin. "Of course it's hard. Easy is not in the job description. So you--"
A small alert sounds in her helmet. "That's the Alliance summons. I need to go. We'll pick this up later," she says as her shield converts to a rocket pack and she affixes it to her back. She takes off and streaks toward Downtown Halcyon.
Rory doesn't reach Silver Shield, so he is unable to hear her words of wisdom.
Back at the press conference
And you! you just shot the crabs eye-things, no hesitation, nofear, just raw heroism! She says, throwing her arms around the taller (even with her heels) girl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before talking to Kayla
She moves slightly, arms clasping each other in front of her stomach. Pretty little head is a next week problem she decides, getting to what she wanted to say It's not that I don't appreciate you helping me back there, but I just wanna say, in the future, I would appreciate it it you would... look, the Media is going to have a field day with the image of me being carried out of a fight, and a few of them do have something against me, or just like muckraking, fallen idols make money after all. She pauses, recollecting her thoughts I guess I'm saying, in the future, unles sI look really hurt, maybe just leave me be for a minute or to, see if I come too on my own, rather than put me in front of cameras while I'm unconscious.
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Talking with Kayla
I... don't see why we should go incognito. Holly says Look, I know as well as the rest of you how exhausting the spotlight can be, but right now, We're Big Darn Heroes, so lets live it up a little, go to Le Chattlier's and order the best on the menu, sign some autographs. let the public love us now, because we've earned it. She says
Holly made a good point.
The family will be livid. They said not to showboat or do anything to draw attention to myself outside of the line of duty...
But then again, they’ve kept me pinned up for four years of my life! I want to live a little!
A glimmer of mischief and excitement washes over Kayla’s face. ”You’re right! We deserve this! Who else is up for a night out!?!?” she asks eagerly, flipping back around to see if the others seem interested.
"Well, getting back to where I came from would be easy. They've got a Nexus there, I could be back in an hour. Other worlds are harder, got to actually fly there... depends on the distance and local hyperdimensional topography. Usually looking at something in the weeks to months range, your time. And don't worry about my driving; Inquiry has its own eyes, and they're a fair sight better than the ones in my head."
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"Yeah, some time out might be a good idea.... probably. It's not like I've got much experience in that area, at least as you do it here. I can definitely do incognito, though!"
As a demonstration, Isaiah's clothes shifted into a completely different outfit. Combined with a couple minor changes in features and bearing, anyone who was looking for him based on his earlier appearance would have a real hard time of it.
And for the advance we will add up to four more resources from the mentor.
- Supercomputer, Med Lab, Chem Lab, and Simple Robots.
Rory returns from making his phone call, he seems a bit withdrawn but snaps out of it when Psyche walks as he tries to hide his disappointment from the telepath, "If you beat her here she must really be mad, and I wasn't able to get a hold of Silver Shield so hopefully they were having a heart to heart. I don't want to make her more mad by invading her space so..."
The conversation continues until a second ping is heard and a wave of relief rushes over Rory as Mattie walks in. He hugs her after he apology and says, "You will always be my little sister, but I will try to not treat you like a child."
"So did some say dancing?" Rory asks as he busts out the 'Bus Driver'
Horizon listens to what Holly had to say there about maintaining her image and leaving her alone and not rushing her off. "Holly, for all I knew that last blast I tried to shield you from caused you to knock your noggin around. I get that you're some kind of movie star, but making sure you're all right seems like the bigger priority to me than trying to dodge bad press. I'd be a shameful guy if I didn't at least try to get a medic to make sure you're fine."
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Shin noticed the absence of Psyche's mental touch - he's not sure if she's being considerate or if he angered her somehow. He never knew how to read her. Or women in general. Which was a problem in a team they were the majority.
He looked relieved that Scorch came back finally, apologizing to everyone. Things seemed to be smoothing over and moving towards the crew heading out to celebrate. There was one problem though that he had to bring up to everyone.
"Not that I don't want to go out with the rest of you, because it sounds like a gas, but my wardrobe is kind of limited to this," He gestures to his scuffed and scorched costume currently on. "And the clothes I was wearing when I ended up here. Which aren't twenty first chic, if you dig. So, I mean, if anyone wants to help me pick out something fashionable for the dance halls in this era..."
He just asked five girls if they would play dress up with him. Heaven help him.
"I'm sorry." she says to the others, her voice low. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. Its just,.. I wasn't much use out there and so much has changed recently. I'll.... I'll do better next time. I promise."
Kylie nods warmly at Scorch's apology, and offers a brief apology-adjacent reply of her own, "I could have been more diplomatic myself."
Privately she sends to Holly, "THANK YOU. A privacy veil over all eight of us is NOT the best way to relax after having a giant crab punch me repeatedly in the brain." Going as Psyche would also allow her to float, a far simpler way of getting around than trying to subtly reinforce her swollen knees.
"A night out sounds lovely. Holly's right, they've seen us triumph, now let's let them see us celebrate!"
She gives Horizon's costume a skeptical once-over. "We could just neaten this up, but it's not as though you have a secret identity to protect your loved ones, so we could easily go with something more... fashionable." She gives a measuring glance at Shin, at Isaiah's shape-shifting 'clothes', then at Rory's athletic physique. "Borrowing something may not be an option though..."
Growing more excited at the prospect of going out, Kayla climbed out of the bean bag and said energetically ”Awesome! Lemme go swap into my costume again to fly home and get some proper clothes for a night out, then I’ll come back and get ready!”
She quickly darts over to the lift then, once topside, flies off, low and discreet at first, then once well away, she gains altitude and speed and heads for Praetor Tower. She lands and quickly makes her way inside, waving to a few paparazzi and greeting the security guards by name.
Once to the penthouse, she cautiously begins creeping along, looking for signs of anyone being home. Nobody appeared to be stirring, either being out on their own business, or napping, or just out. Either way, it was good news for Kayla!
She quickly started to her room and grabbed some flirtatious clothes that she could still get away with in a nice restaurant. As she collected some nice shoes to match as well as a make-up case, she heard it. Her heart stopped as she heard her younger brother playing a video game in the room next door!
As mad as he is lately...he will rat me out for sure...
She decided not to chance it further, and floated silently for the door. Once at the elevator, she waited with baited breath as she put her collection in a bag. Then the elevator bell dinged loudly as the doors opened and she stepped in, frantically pushing the lobby button.
”Hello? Kayla?” she heard Shane’s voice call out. She could hear him coming down the hall as the elevator door closed just in time!
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She returned about 45 minutes later, a small bag in hand and a smile that lit the room up.
"Hey, if an ordinary outfit's all you need, I could handle it. Show me a picture and give me some cloth, and I can do the rest. Can't say I know anything about fashion, but fabrication is easy."
Isaiah leaned back a bit as his outfit and appearnace shifted back to what they had been before.
"I will say up front that I won't do anything too strange. Material in is the same as material out, but changing the shape and color is no problem."
Psyche couldn't help but smile as Kayla left, her uncomplicated excitement was like a nice warm day.
"Wonderful Isaiah! Now's not the time for a shopping trip, if we can avoid it. I don't have his measurements, I'll leave you boys to figure those out, but can you make him something like..." her brows knit and her eyes reignited as she put the visual and tactile impressions of the suit in Isaiah's easily accessible storage, "..this?"
"Now, I haven't had a chance to shower off any debris, but don't worry, we'll fix your hair before we leave."