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Alexandra was readying to dive to the side, and reload her crossbow, when someone came running in... shouting Oh, Christ on the crapper, "no one needs to get hurt? How can you be a superhero's kid, and be this naive. Guess it's easy when you're invulnerable.
Hey, Go's kid. Welcome to Halcyon. Quick rundown: That is small time crook and d-list Supervillain Kanga Ronnie, real name Ronald Abbott. She backs up a bit, leaving Ronnie and Herman in close quarters. Herman could probably take it, and ti would be a lesson if he got hit. words like "No one needs to get hurt" are standoff words, not Brawl words.
and I caught Kangaroo Jack here mid Robbery, so I'm taking him in she finishes, taking the momentary distraction to reload.
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"Ok ...ok ...but why are you stealing, man? Has anyone asked you--OOF!" Herman's stab at empathy backfires as the dirty Oz (he now no longer feels bad thinking that) rabbit kicks him across the street, crushing the side of a parked car!
"That's it for the general quarterly report. We'll move on to local matters now."
"Has the deserter been located yet?"
"No, our training seems to be backfiring on us. There have been no confirmed sightings for about six months now. We actually don't seem to understand the motivation for their desertion. It's also problematic attempting to capture them when they have their abilities."
"Understood. In that case, you should be happy to know that things are cooled down now. Enough that I've already taken the liberty of deploying the Triakosia."
"...In Halcyon, sir? I'm sorry, that just seems dangerous."
"They're the only ones who can recover them without significant losses. They have their orders. I assure you, this is not going to be a repeat of the Peruvian Missile Fiasco. They will track them down, do proper recon, and practice extraction before I will authorize the recovery mission. We're not letting them off the leash again. They will be a proper unit."
"...Which teams are you sending?"
"Caritas and Avaritia, Temperantia and Gula. Two teams should suffice here. They are to receive support and oversight from our city offices. They understand that if discovered, they will be disavowed and terminated from service."
"As you say, Xenophon."
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"All right, you gubba-ass z-list shitbag. This coulda been nice." Herman stands up again, cracking his neck.
Just to clarify, You're yelling at him cause the kick-based super villain kicked you? or becasue he, the guy who's been to more jails than you have schools, didn't care to listen to some wannabe social worker try to help him MID ROBBERY! She says
She takes another shot at him, to prevent him from closing with Herman again, and continues You have the power to punch hard, and take a punch. Both of those are only good in a fight. Do you have a sociology degree? or expirience in human services? NO, then do your job,a nd stop the rampaging supervillain, and let the people who do have those handle it afterward!
Shayera barely notices the end of the fight with Ronnie. Even the arrival of the son of Go doesn't really register with her. After a long, stunned silence, she whispers to her mentor, "Okay. I'll see you tonight."
She wanders away from the battle's aftermath, trying halfheartedly to look inconspicuous while barefoot and in the tattered, bloody remains of her qipao. She spots Reginald returning with several shopping bags full of clothes and she hurries to meet him.
Grabbing a tank top and some leggings for herself, she pulls them on awkwardly in the cramped confines of the sports car. Then she instructs Reginald to head back alone. She yanks the charm off and takes flight.
She's home and showered well before Whippoorwill arrives at her apartment. Shayera can barely look at her mentor in the eye, and starts their evening sparring match sullenly.
After an hour and a half of practice, Whippoorwill stops the training regimen, eyeing her protege. "You understand why I'm keeping you out of this, right?"
Shayera nods.
"So, you going to tell me where you heard of them?"
She meets her mentor's eyes. "Something Dad said when he thought I wasn't listening."
Whippoorwill folds her arms and looks at Shayera. "Okay. Is he working with them?"
She quickly shakes her head no.
The Defender sighs. "All right. I mean it. Don't investigate. Don't get involved."
Shayera throws up her arms. "I get it! I heard you the first dozen times. Geez! Can we just practice?"
They resume, taking flight and sparring while dancing through the artistic obstacles hanging from Shayera's ceiling. After a little while, Shayera asks, "Oh, by the way, I caught a homeless girl sneaking into the school to steal food and take showers. I'm going to let her stay here, see if I can get her back on her feet. You okay with that?"
Whippoorwill blinks in surprise as if that question even needed to be asked. "Sure."
===================
===================
Early the next morning, Shayera looks anxiously out the window of the Bel Air she insisted on taking instead of the much more cramped sports car. As it pulls into the park nearby the school, her heart jumps in relief that Alexis appears to be waiting for her. Then it sinks when she sees the wrapped bundle.
Dear God, please don't let that be a body.
She rushes out of the car -- much more mobile today, having insisted on denim jeans and a regular top -- and races toward Alexis, her sense of smell confirming whatever that package contained. "Hey! Breakfast sandwiches are in the car. Um, what've you got, Alexis?"
"...Hello." She looks happy to see Shayera. She also seems confused and awkward at the question, before grabbing the package and lifting it easily with one arm. "It's my past. I buried it. Your trainer will want to see it, yes?" She asked.
The package smells the strongest of freshly turned earth. The fainter scents are of blood and excrete, as she looks around carefully.
"I shouldn't open it here. Someone might see. But, there are no identifiers. Most of it is broken. But it might be useful. I thought it would." Her stomach gurgles, as she looks over at Shayera's car. "Are they pancake sandwiches? I like the ones from the Little Mickey's they throw out. Brandt brought me one that was hot once. I can still see him, right?"
"Oh, you bet your ass I'll do my job. Maybe turn this cracker's head into paste!"Herman picks up the totalled car like it was a puppy, one-handedly and threatens Kanga with it.
Extreme relief fills Shayera when she doesn't smell decayed flesh. So she nods. "She sure will. Better get that into the trunk, since it's... dirty."
She gestures frantically to Reginald to pop the trunk.
"There's ham and egg croissants and sausage biscuits. I wasn't sure which you'd like best," she explains while helping Alexis get the package in the trunk before there's a panic.
Alexis is easily able to put the heavy package into the trunk of the car. She looks at Shayera, before peeling off the top part of the plastic wrap. A matte black full faced helmet cracked like an eggshell is visible, unattached to any body. A further glimpse shows that there is a similarly styled set of full body combat armor inside of the packaging, looking like it had barely survived a hard impact. There wasn't any insignia or markings to show who made it or who it belonged to either. The last bit she pulls out on her own, something that is at least intact: a curved sword in a thick scabbard, hand wrappings on the hilt and on the sheathing.
She avoids talking about it, bringing it into the car proper with her as she rummages for the food. The car laboriously creaks under her weight as she gets in. "This smells good," She says before cramming a sandwich into her mouth, eating as fast as she can.
Shayera just stares at the body armor for a moment when Alexis reveals it. The sword causes her to take a step back and whistle. "That's your past, then, huh?" she says, feeling even more uncertain.
She joins Alexis in the much roomier back seat of the Bel Air and watches her wolf down the breakfast sandwiches. She decides to ask about something she said. "Who's Brandt?"
Kaoru watches as Silver Shadow's opening volley misses. She tenses as the buckaroo kid looks like he's about to unleash his own counter-attack on the girl when some other kid stepped between them. Wait, isn't that the teacher's kid? The one Alexandra said has powers? What's he doing here?
She flinches as he's knocked flying into a car. Wait, he's not- But no, the guy stood back up. It looks like all the kick had done was make him mad. And raise the poor car owner's insurance premiums. Jesus, he really did have powers. But he had seemed pretty normal at school. For all of the 5 or so minutes the two of them had actually been co-located anyway. And then he picked up the car.
The urge to run was strong. If not for the fact that she wasn't sure she could actually stand, let alone flee. Jesus mom, why the fk did you move us here? At this rate, you're going to get me killed! This better not be what every day is like... She was so woefully unprepared.
On the bright side, with Herman's powers and Silver Shadow's...whatever, they were sure to win, right? I mean, it was two versus one. And kangeroo man hadn't managed to actually hurt either of them yet.
"Brandt is...he works for a shelter. I stayed there a few nights. He was nice to me. He gave everyone cookies his boyfriend baked. I see him sometimes. He checks on me," Alexis explained as much as she could, wiping off the crumbs from her face as she glances at her sword.
"...Can I ask questions?" She redundantly asked, scratching her scalp. "Um. You are...like me. And not like me. I don't have wings. But you get better fast like me when I'm hurt. You have training too. So..." She struggled with finding the words of what she wanted to ask, clutching onto the sword next to her.
"Do you want me to be your soldier?"
Cassie pauses in thought, looking between the Scottish man and 'Bran'. "OK," she says, "But if you try anything I won't be as nice next time." she glances down at Bran and then makes a dismissive gesture towards Kilt. At her gesture, the webs start to turn more liquid and begin to drip on the ground, leaving a sticky residue coating his hands and knives that smells a little strange - like overcooked brussel sprouts. "That's the best I can do," she says with a sweet smile, "Sorry, I've just started learning how."
The smile was an unexpected touch. "Uh, that's uh, that's alri't. Better than nothin'." He was going to have to scrub everything down for HOURS to get that smell off, he was still mad about Bran and the Chinese girl's misadventures, but that smile was...it was rather welcome.
"Well, as disastr'us as this night has been, I'm gone. SEEYA' BUCKETHEAD!" He leaned over the roof to give Bran a mock salute, only to transition it into a middle finger. "I has NOT been nice gettin'ta' know ya'!" He turned back to Cassie. "I'll...see ya'... With that he began to jog to the opposite side of the roof, intending to climb down and catch the nearest bus home.
He was seven blocks away before he realized the earpiece was still in.
Shayera rocks back, eyes wide. She had once harbored some doubts that she had traded one set of masters for another -- that Whippoorwill had taken her, trained her, and used her for her own purposes. That notion had died pretty quickly; Wingblade loved to fight and wouldn't have it any other way than to be what she is. Plus, she knew Whippoorwill really did care for her.
The words came surprisingly easy. "No, I want to be friends. That's all. But I was made to fight, and I love it. So I fight for the good guys. I'm part of a team, and if you want to join, great. We'll fight together. But if you're done with being anybody's soldier, that works too. You can be Alexis, and go to school, and read Twelfth Night, and do other normal things. You can leave the fighting to me."
Kanga Ronnie's eyes widened, but nonetheless he shot back, "What? You think I'm gonna drop the bundle because some keed with a bit of strength thinks he's tough? Think fast!"
He leaps into the air to Come at Herman From a New Direction, slamming both feet into the side of the totaled car to knock it right back on top of the hero!
***
Bran wasn't thrilled with the outcome with Cassie, and less so with Kilt's 'salute.' Ass. But it was enough, for now.
Herman feels no physical pain as the car crunches around him. He notices it isn't some rich a+~&##* car, but an old family sedan. Maybe someone without insurance. Oh, goddammit. I've really f&~$ed this up. Now I might have to actually hurt this guy and just hope I pull my punches enough ...
Herman shrugs off the car and back-handslaps Ronnie, taking his loot bag with his other hand.
She didn't make it back to practice, but Bronwyn was far enough from home that she at least did get to finish off her run. Long day already.
She slipped into her house; she didn't really need to hide anything - it wasn't that weird that she'd come home in her track stuff, but leaving just about everything else still at school was a bit suspicious, so she made sure to make it all the way to her room before checking in with anyone.
It didn't end up really mattering, her papá was in his study, so aside from a quick 'Hey, I'm home' she didn't end up seeing or talking to him until it was time for dinner. They'd had a pork shoulder in the slow cooker for most of the day, so a bit of assembly was all that really needed to be finished. But it was really nice. Their conversations almost always started in the kitchen, and when it was just the two of them in the house, a lot of times the meal never made it off the kitchen counter before they scarfed it down. "So you had new students today?" "I mean, I showed them around, but it's not like they're my stu-" He waved his hand in dismissal and continued "Any of them interesting? I love that you do this Bronwyn, you can meet so many good friends by being the first to give them a Helping Hand, that's why-"
"Papá, yo se - I know about your book. I've read your book, you don't have to tell me about Helping Hands anymore!" Her tone was exasperated, but her eyes were smiling. "But yeah, it was a pretty big crop this time. I don't know if all of them are gonna become fast friends or anything, but - Oh! One of them is Go's son. The superhero? We didn't really get to talk but-" "The Go!? Bronwyn. Tienes que darle mi libro." "Papá... I don't want to give her your book..." "She'd love it! Come on." "Papá, I haven't even met her!" "Well-" "Papá. Quizás. Maaayyybe later."
He gave a good-natured shrug as he munched. "But aside from interesting parents?" "Well, there's this one boy I might invite over for dinner or something. I know that the others are new too, but he seems really... alone. He could use a friend." "A new boy? Should I be worried he's going to steal away mi niña linda?" "Papá it's not like that." "Okay, okay, but after this big mystery with Marco-" "Papá, it's not a big mystery. Lots of people break up. Most people break up." "Well. It would be nice if you find a nice boy to make you smile, that's all I'm saying. But not smile too much!" "Papá! Why would you say something like-" "Fine, fine. But bring this cute, lonely boy over. I'd like to meet him."
"...Okay Papá. Maybe. But I'm not pro-" Her phone began to buzz for a video call. "Oh! Can I do the dishes later?" His brows knit together, but the sternness he was trying to put on quickly melted in the face of her obvious excitement. "Fine, fine. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be. I'm not going to let you soak my cast irons!" "We didn't use your cast irons." "Well clean them anyways, I'm your papá and I know what's best. Now go to your room!" She rolled her eyes and ran upstairs, not even waiting until she got there to answer. In contrast to Bronwyn's jostling background, Shayera looked entirely put together. She was sitting at the command console of her supercomputer, her hair still a bit wet from a shower, wearing her fuzzy pj's with the back cut out.
"Hi! I was starting to wonder if you were going to call." She closed the door to her room and all the tension of he day dropped from her shoulders. "Everything go okay with... Alexis?"
After her second shower of the evening, clad in fuzzy pj's with the back cut out, Wingblade makes her way to Abacus' control center and has the supercomputer dial Bronwyn.
("...Okay Papa. Maybe. But I'm not pr-" began to play from her phone. [b]"Oh! Can I do the dishes later." The sternness he was trying to put on, quickly melted in the face of her obvious excitement. "Fine, fine. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be. I'm not going to let you soak my cast irons!"
"Hi! I was starting to wonder if you were going to call." She closed the door to her room and the tension dropped from her shoulders "Everything go okay with...Alexis?"
Shayera sinks back into her seat and keys on the video chat. She smiles in huge relief when she sees Bronwyn appear. That smile falters when she asks about Alexis, though. "Um, it's gotten... a lot more complicated."
"Oh. Is she okay?"
"As far as I know," she says neutrally. That facade cracks, however, and Shayera suddenly looks intensely troubled. She looks away from the vid camera and stares out into the Halcyon skyline.
Instinctively Bronwyn leans closer to her phone, even if all it does is make her face bigger. "Shayera, are you okay?"
She turns back to look at Bronwyn with her usual defiance. "Oh, I'm fine. All healed up. All good."
"Yeah, I didn't ask if you were healed."
Shayera's guards drop and she looks vulnerable, scared and uncertain. "I... I don't know what to do."
"Shayera, it'll be okay, just, just tell me what happened. I saw she was healing; is she like you and Scythe?"
"Sorta. Yeah, let's go with that. But not exactly. She seems... good-hearted, but really scared. I screwed up and provoked her into attacking me. I really thought I was getting through, but I set off her fight-or-flight. Then I didn't give 'flight' an option, so it became fight."
"Good thing you were the one who found her."
She hugs herself and looks away again. "Maybe. Probably. But there's way more to it. I don't know. I think I'm messing things up. But I'm going to help her regardless."
Bronwyn nodded, discretely biting the inside of her lip in worry"Do you want to come over? Or I could grab a Lyft. You look really alone."
A yearning expression crosses Shayera's features as she turns back to face the screen. "I... really want to. But I can't. And you should stay home. It's late. I might take a flight, help me clear my head."
"Okay. You know I basically don't need to sleep though, right? It's fine if you want some time alone, just... I want to be here for you - I don't care if it's late. You know I'd love to go flying though, if you need the air."
Shayera wars with herself. She squeezes her eyes shut, imagining flying with Bronwyn, but the gnawing in her gut for having lied to Whippoorwill overrides her desire. "I'd love to fly with you. I want to. But I'm... wait. I'm being selfish. What happened between you and... what's his name? The lumberjack? Oh, the Kilt! How'd that go? (And thanks for coming when I called.)"
"Of course I came. But he's fine. Umm, no powers that I noticed. Quite a temper. Weird thing though... We ran into Cassie, the new girl?And Bran talked."
Shayera scrunched her face. "Um, who? Oh! Plain Jane!"
" "Yeah, that's her"
"Sorry, Portia's a little judgmental. Wait. You mean, you talked, as Bran, right?"
"No. I was standing there and suddenly I hear myself speaking in Welsh. Sidenote: I apparently speak Welsh. And some Gaelic. But not Kilt's Gaelic" Despite her bravado, there was definitely fear in Bronwyn's face.
"Huh." Shayera stares at Bronwyn, her brow furrowed with concern. "What do you want to do?"
"About Bran? Or tonight?"
"I..." She shrugs. "I think Bran? You should know better than me. I know jack about magic. My new charm got damaged today, so now it only hides my wings. It won't swap my outfits anymore."
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For a 2 on 1 fight where the 2 side had the powered descendant of a superhero even she had heard of, the fight was not going well. It kinda looks like Herman didn't really know what he was doing (and judging from the expression on his face, he felt the same way). And she kinda thought he might be getting in the way of Silver Shadow. The only thing Kaoru had really see her do was shot a dart of some kind at the villain. So maybe Herman was blocking all her lines of sight?
This isn't going well. You should do something.
Do what? It's not like I have superpowers or ANY KIND OF EXPERIENCE with this.
You're a guy now though. Or at least, that's what everybody thinks. You think Alexandra's ever going to take you seriously if you just sit here cowering like a baby? You shouldn't be hiding behind *a girl*.
But...Herman's there?
Yeah, fighting. Like a man. Like you should be.
But he's got powers! If I go in there, I'll just get killed!
Never said you had to be *dumb* about it. Use your brain. This is just one more puzzle you need to solve.
She drummed her fingers lightly against her bag. What could she do? She (obviously) hadn't expected this, so she was pretty ill-prepared. All she really had with her was her school stuff. And phone. Maybe... She quickly pulled out a small set of tools from her bag. It wasn't much; really she only carried it in case she needed to enact emergency repairs on her headphone (a phenomenon that seemed to happen more and more as the years passed). Pulling her phone out of its protective case, she desperately tried to pull off the backing. After a terrifying moment, the back came off. Probably only because she had done it so many times before; it's not like she had the proper tools with her just now, and Apple wasn't exactly known for wanting their customers to disassemble their products. Not that that ever stopped her.
Ok, if I can just amp up the flash and speakers... It'll probably short-circuit them both but that's ok. She quickly put the back back on as well as the phone case, just to make sure they stayed together. She had an app from a party that she could probably use for this. Unfortunately, without her computer, she couldn't really modify it, so she'd have to make do with its built-in functionality. Which meant a lot of hardcoding and guess rather than any form of remote control, which she really would have preferred. She took a deep breath. Well, here goes.
When you mislead, distract, or trick someone, roll + Superior. On a hit, they are fooled, at least for a moment. On a 10+, choose three. On a 7- 9, choose two.
- You get an opportunity
- You expose a weakness or flaw
- You confuse them for some time
- You avoid further entanglement
On a miss, you're hopelessly embroiled in it and under pressure; mark a condition.
Channeling her best Wii-bowling skills she slides her phone until it lands a few feet behind Kanga. A moment later, an unnaturally loud of a police siren can be heard coming from it.
Surprise crosses Kanga's face as he spins around to confront the voice. "I will never-" He squints at the small device in confusion.
3...2...1
Right on cue, the flash goes off. Unnaturally bright and right in the face of the villain, temporarily blinding him.
"I don't really know what to do about Bran. MB and I are going to do a big research dive on it when she gets some time, but... well it's not like we've got a lot of other datapoints, you know? Although... Bran seemed to think Cassie was Ceridwen. Or at least a sign that she was awake somewhere. And she definitely had magic."
Wingblade tried gamely to keep up. "And Ceridwen is...?"
"Oh, Ceridwen's another myth-y type. Sorceress, beautiful but twisted, shapechangey, tried to kill at least one of her kids, kind of..." Her face twisted in frustration. "But who knows! Because Bran was a king, a giant, a god, and he died up to four different times. Not all the stories are true! I'm always working with the versions of the stories that were finally written down from the legends that people had been telling for centuries about things that happened centuries before that!"
Shayera chews her lip in thought. "So... Bran seems to think Cassie is related somehow to an ancient Welsh sorceress? Or maybe her reborn? Maybe Cassie touched an artifact and can do the swap thing with her like you can with him?"
"Maybe? Because Balor had just possessed that one woman from the Flushes. We never found any kind of talisman on her. Plus he just took control of her, and that's not how it works with Bran..." Until now. "There's not really a manual for this stuff."
Shayera tried to move the discussion to concrete steps. "Great. Looks like we've both got stuff to deal with. Well, let me know if you want me to talk with Cassie at some point. She's got poise; I'll bet she'd fit in with Portia's crowd with a few more outfits."
"Maybe..." She didn't seem like she really wanted to talk to the designer crowd... "I'll probably reach out to her as me, see if that opens anything up. But hey, if your talisman's scratched up, you should definitely come over. I bet I could fix that up tonight. Especially if its physical damage that's stopping the enchantment from working."
"Well, you never know. Portia dismissed her pretty quickly, but I'll bet she'd fit in pretty well." Shayera sticks out her tongue. "And maybe Renae will want to set her up with Devaun! Because I can't hold him off forever. You know he wants another date."
"Oh. Can't you just tell him no?"
Shayera scratches the back of her neck. "Well, he started texting me, and Abacus responded before I could take him off the auto texts." Her cheeks color. "Well, I actually forgot about it, so for about a week he and Abacus really hit it off, there." She squirms a little in her seat and pulls a bit of hair in front of her face to hide her furiously flushing face. "Anyway, I've been stringing him along since, because I really want to let him down by telling him I have a girlfriend."
"Oh. Umm... sorry." She let the awkwardness sit for a second, frantically trying to figure out how to fix it. "I'd say maybe tonight, but mom's out of town again and..." You've got to do something. "Do you want to meet my papa at least? We had dinner, but, just, like, bring over a textbook? Once we head to my room I can work on fixing your talisman too."
Shayera looks helpless. [b]"My tablet got cracked when I went through the ceiling with Alexis."
"Well we don't have to actually do the homework. Just bring any book that could be plausibly related to class and-" She cut off Read a signal Bron! "You don't have to come over. I know you've had a long day."
The broken charm reminded Shayera of Alexis, and in turn Triakosia, and in turn the missile. How is she going to react when she hears about this? I.. Don't think I'm ready to find out. "Okay. I really do want to come over, but... I feel... if I did I wouldn't want to come back."
Bronwyn blushed. "Well my dad sleeps with earplugs in, so my sliding scale of temptation says I should definitely kick you out instead of you staying over... But I get it. You do know that even if I tell them... It's not going to mean more alone time though, right?."
A morass of anxiety and guilt pools in the base of Shayera's stomach. She'd rather not go over there than to be there and be kicked out. In the big command chair at the Abacus console, she draws her knees up to her chest and hugs them tight. "Yeah... I guess. That makes sense."
Bronwyn mused, "I mean, I guess if you slept in one of my sisters' rooms... Sorry, I'm being pushy. I just... I haven't gotten to kiss you all week. I've barely seen you. I miss you."
"I miss you too. I'm just... there's this whole Alexis thing, and apparently Bran, and what's-her-name? It's a lot of stuff in a short time. I gave away your gift. It was some Chinese tea I thought you'd like. But I needed a way to track Alexis, since she was homeless and sneaking in to use the showers, and she's got these powers, and she's been used, and it just makes me think, that if I didn't have Dad, or Whip, or you, I'd be just like her." She buries her face in her hands and forces back a sob.
"Sweetie. I'm coming over. I'll kick myself out when it's time, but I don't want you rattling around in your place all alone, okay? Please let me be there for you?"
Alexis relaxes a great deal when Shayera relieves her worries, as she leans back in the car seat. "I still fight too. I've had to because there are still bad people who wanted to use me." She looks at the high school, hopeful for a new start.
"I want to go to the classes. But I get noticed if I smell and look dirty. That boy noticed yesterday. You noticed too." She looks down, peeking under the long coat at the still bloody, torn up attire she'd been in yesterday. "I don't want to steal anymore. Do you have clothes to fit me?" She asked, thinking she might be too big for the clothing that would fit Shayera.
She watched now as other cars started to file into the parking lot, and student athletes headed to their morning practices. "...I haven't done training yet today. I need to practice," She realized.
I know that car!
Bronwyn jogged straight over, unencumbered by any school bags or duffels Since everything's still in the locker room from when I ditched paractice...
She allowed herself a wry smile as she pulled up alongside the Chevy If she was in one of her cars with the tinted windows I could at least get a kiss good morning, but I'll still... oh.
She pulled up a bit short as she saw Alexis sitting in the car, clearly already very aware of Bronwyn's sudden approach. And with a sword. The sword's new, right? "Oh hi. You must be Alexis, Shayera told me about you. She's going to help you out, right?"
The girl from the tour yesterday. She was talking to Shayera before too. Alexis stared at her quietly from inside of the car.
Then her thumb pressed down on the door lock.
Click.
She turned away from looking at the athlete. She's closer to Shayera than me. Something about that didn't sit right with her at all. It made a strange sort of feeling in her heart.
Of course, the expression she was showing to Shayera more or less wore her heart on her sleeve, that she seemed irritated to have her time with her interrupted. "...She knows about me?" She asked, looking perhaps a bit betrayed.
Ronnie sputters as he goes flaying. Herman thinks maybe he got the sound of Broken ribs snapping under his hand.
But Ronnie isn't down long. No, that would make this something resembling easy. Instead, he's up, and heading for the house he just robbed. maybe for cover. or because he thinks he would have the advantage in close quarters
The silver shadows sees what he is doing. Ronnie knows he can;t win against Herman... He wants to take a hostage!
A metal canister goes flying over Ronnie's head. He slows slightly, not enough. it it had been a fragmentation Grenade, Ronnie would have been badly hurt. instead, it was a flashbang, and he was just dirorients and blind, for a little while.
Sniffling, Shayera looks up with red-rimmed eyes. She nods, then feels immediately guilty. "I'm sorry. I'm unloading. You don't have to. I'll be okay. I'll just go to bed."
Bronwyn leans forward again towards her camera. "Hey. The answer can be that you don't want to tell me, but... Do you not want to see me in person? Because you are so far from imposing on me, or being unreasonable or anything, but... I mean am I wrong?"
Shayera meets Bronwyn's eyes, but it isn't easy. I've lied to Whippoorwill. I'm going up against the people who killed me. I'm facing monsters like those who created me. She finally shakes her head. "No. No, you're not. I think... I need to figure out how I feel about all this. And... when you're around... all I want to do is protect you."
Bronwyn's eyes are opaque, but her jaw is firm as she says, "You're not facing them alone. I've fought my share of monsters too."
Shayera feels the hurt she's inflicting, and it piles on top of her already significant guilt. But she shakes her head. "I'm not saying I won't share. I will. I promise. But I also made a promise to Alexis and I've got to see her in the morning. You understand, right? She's like me. I've got to help her."
"I know you have to help her, Shayera. I'm so proud of you for doing it. We'll find time. But when you go to face them, you do it with me at your side."
Shayera wipes her eyes and smiles. "Yeah."
=======================
The click of the lock causes Shayera's heart to beat faster. The clear expression of betrayal on Alexis's face causes it to pick up the pace. She meets her eyes, keeping her own open and honest. "Well, yeah. She knows I'm letting you stay at my place. She knows I'm helping you. You know, with clothes and stuff. Speaking of," Shayera reaches into the front passenger seat and pulls a few large shopping bags into the back with them.
She pulls an assortment of sweat pants, baggy sweaters, and oversized hoodies. "Now, you don't need to go too flashy. Not until I figure out a way to get you enrolled. These'll keep you comfy and inconspicuous. Okay? Why don't you go through them and decide what you like best, while I talk to Bronwyn, okay? Then I'll introduce you."
She opens her door after giving Alexis a smile, gets out, then closes it softly. She moves around to where Bronwyn is waiting.
"Hey! Sorry about last night. I was a basket case. I really should have come over, since I'm going to have a house guest for the next foreseeable nights."
"...her name is Bronwyn." She'd remember that, and even as she attempted to go through the clothes, there was a small part of her that was perhaps a little disappointed to see that the clothes were simple and unflattering. Perhaps she'd dared to dream too much that Shayera might make her look like she did.
Still, clean clothing was clean clothing, and she wasn't going to complain, as she undid her coat and started to strip down in the girl's car. Strong shoulders and a tightened core were shown off as she peels off the undesired and ruined clothing, and slipped into a plain long sleeved shirt and sweatpants, throwing a hoodie over everything. The only thing missing were comfortable shoes.
She looked back out at Bronwyn and Shayera, staring intensely at them. Examining the body language they exhibited to each other. They acted slightly awkward with each other. She didn't know why. But she still felt something that made her irritated staring at the athlete. She didn't know why she didn't like her. She'd done nothing wrong to her after all. She was also Shayera's friend. And Alexis was now Shayera's friend too.
At least, that's what she assumed.
Stepping out of the car in her new clothes, she stuffs her hands into her pockets and looks down at the asphalt. Alexis waits until they're done talking with each other before speaking again. "...I'm Alexis." She introduced herself, shuffling behind Shayera and frowning at Bronwyn.
"...her clothes are better than mine." She mutters under her breath.
Cassie arrived at school in more than enough time for the first bell, and the first class - Biology. Not her favourite, but at least it wasn't as bad as gym or shop. Hastening through the school hallways, she felt almost invisible as teachers and students passed her without a second look. She wasn't used to the feeling. At her old school she'd grown used to being the centre of attention but here, thanks to the stupid charm Gabrielle had given her, she passed without much notice. Just another forgettable face in the crowd.
Without anyone to talk to, Cassie arrived at the classroom early enough that there were plenty of free spaces, so she was easily able to find a bench by herself at the back. As the other students trickled in, she scanned through her phone. Someone had posted something about some kind of fight in the area, but she didn't bother to look at the details - Kanga Ronnie wasn't the sort who would be likely to have anything to do with her mother.
Shayera's keen ears pick up the muttered words behind her. She spins and looks her in the eye. "Alexis. Reginald picked these out," she says, pointing to the septuagenarian in the driver's seat. "I'll help you pick out some clothes you'll love tonight, okay?" Dangit, I'm still making assumptions. I've got to consider how she'll react to everything.
She steps aside and gestures to Bronwyn. "Alexis, this is a good friend of mine, Bronwyn. Bron, this is my new friend Alexis. The girl who's going to stay with me for a while."
**click** Oh. Rude. Rude's not so bad considering what she's been through though.
She discretely turned aside as Alexis started to change.
"It's okay. Yesterday was kind of a lot. And you having a house guest just means I'll have to be the one who visits, no problem." No private time either, but... maybe that's for the best...
**k-chak**
"...her clothes are better than mine."
Bronwyn, dressed in a pair of tight black leggings and a tanktop long enough to keep the leggings modest, responded with a smile and without blinking, "Alexis, Shayera's clothes are better than everyone's. But she really will help you find whatever you like. She's very generous." Bronwyn's mouth unconsciously curved into a little half-smile as she spoke.
"It's great to meet you Alexis. I'm sorry if I was barging in earlier. If you're staying with Shayera, we should make sure to get really comfortable with each other. You actually know another friend of mine too. You remember Bran the Blessed, the big knight? I help him with his armor and things for when he helps Shayera fight. But umm... that's kind of a secret, so don't tell anyone else, okay?"
Shaun grumbled under his breath as he shuffled into the classroom. He'd been up late, later than he was used to, trying to do a load of things; scrub the smell off, fix his stitch, scrub the smell off, tend to his bruised back, scrub the smell off, get the kit back in one piece, scrub the smell off, and of course, scrub the smell off.
He'd only finished some of those things. The kit was back in his room, half-together, along with the claymore. He'd managed to smuggle in a messenger bag with the uniform and some spare knives, but he felt...naked without his primary weapon. And to top it off, that damn smell just would. Not. Come. Out. His boots still stank of the stuff, which he theorized was how one of the teachers had managed to catch him trying to sneak into the gym moments ago.
Now, he was in some class he'd just said was his, which was enough to get the teacher to go away (thank God), but he had a suspicion that now the gym would be more closely watched. So, he found a seat in the back corner and folded his arms into his chest, looking as grumpy as he felt.
Alexis looked confused, thinking for a moment. Who had Bran the Blessed been? The boy with the large sword? Or the giant in the armor? It didn't really matter that much to her, so she shrugged it off for now.
"No, your clothes are better," She stressed, pointing to Bronwyn. After all, she had leggings and a tank top that fit her enough to actually look all right. Her clothes fit her like a potato sack. "...It's okay if Shayera's clothes are better. Because she's better than me."
She certainly wouldn't mind it if Shayera helped her pick out some things that looked nice. Though she was already hedging her bets in her mind. She also wasn't certain how to address a potential future problem. Then again, she had no intention of dying again.
"...you can fix armor?" That admission was finally registering with her, as she suddenly grabs Bronwyn's hand, pulling her over to the trunk, and opening it up to reveal the armor inside. Of course, she'd forgotten the trunk was locked, as it broke off when she opened it.
"Can you fix this?" She asks. The armor inside the packaging is modern, cracked all over. It's the same type of materials one might find in the field used by military personnel. The difference being that it looked like it was made of a high density material that made it very heavy.
And Alexis lifted it out to show her like it was as light as her gym bag.
A note of hurt entered Bronwyn's eyes as Alexis casually said that Shayera was better than her. We'll help her. She'll learn that that isn't true.
Bronwyn very carefully didn't flinch as Alexis lunged for her. The sound of Shayera's voice where she didn't expect it, or if it was distorted by some passing interference could sometimes still set her heart racing with memories of Scythe. But Bronwyn never wanted Shayera to feel like she was afraid of her. She'd pretty much ruined horror movies for herself, but her jump scare response was pretty much gone. I might regret that if Scythe does come back, but... if I can show this girl that I trust her and that it's okay to trust people, maybe it's worth it anyways.
That didn't mean she didn't flinch when Alexis broke the lock though, or when she saw the damage across the whole suit. Most of all though, she leaned away when Alexis held out the bulging, obviously heavy bag. I don't know how heavy that thing is, but that would be a really, really stupid way to show that I have powers.
"I'm not sure. I've mainly worked with metal stuff, and I'd need more of whatever material this is if I wanted to make it as strong. I could definitely patch it though..." I don't want to make her feel bad, but I have to know what we're dealing with here. "Alexis, what happened to the person who was wearing this?"
Alexis blinked a couple of times, before pointing at herself. "I'm standing right here," She said, as if it was obvious. "It broke after the fall. Doesn't fit right anymore either. Thought you could help." She said before tossing it back, the back of the car bobbing up and down as the shocks were put through their paces. Her head went immediately to her next concern.
"You have access to the school gym?" She asked. "I didn't train before coming this morning. I need to train. But I don't want to stand out," She informed her of her dilemma. "...And I want to go to classes. But not stand out. And I...I want to go to the museum. I heard about it yesterday. But I don't want to be caught. And...um..."
She peeks around Bronwyn at Shayera. "...I want to look and smell nice. Like her." She pauses for a moment. "Have you been friends with her for long?" She asked, trying to puzzle her out. It was hard. She didn't really understand her motivations or what Bronwyn thought of her.
Shayera falls silent as the tension ratchets back and forth between Alexis and Bronwyn, though she winces visibly when Alexis says Shayera was better than her. There was the beginnings of a rapport when Bron mentioned crafting armor, though the mystery of the suit wasn't exactly answered.
Bronwyn was her reliable self, remaining friendly and doing what she could to set Alexis at ease. It still didn't seem to fully alleviate whatever jealousy that was growing within the homeless girl.
Finally, Shayera steps in after Alexis rattles off her wish list. "Those all sound great, Alexis. But we can't do them all at once. I think the museum field trip is in a day or two, so all you have to do is lay low, not stand out, and I'm sure you'll get to come along."
She gestures to the baggy clothes on Alexis. "And I told you; you don't want to stand out. At least until I can get you properly enrolled in school. Once that happens, I can help you be the prettiest girl in school if you'd like. But you really don't want teachers or busybodies wondering who you are and if you're allowed to be here. Okay? And I train in the evenings. How about you wait and we train together?"
"Umm, getting Alexis enrolled should be pretty easy. I haven't done it by myself before, but it's just one trip down to the district office, even without documents. If we want to go in and create like, a whole back story for her for other agencies that's obviously more complicated, but all homeless kids get to go to school, papers or not." She smiled at Alexis, "You'll need to pick a last name if you don't have one already, but you already belong here if you want; we just need to make it official."
"Oh and Shayera and I have been friends for... wow, it feels like it's been years, but I guess just since last August, at the start of the school year." She was trying not to, but she still found herself just staring and smiling. "Time flies."
"But training is always in the morning," Alexis says, as if she was saying that they'd be eating breakfast for dinner. Even on the run, she couldn't shake the years of routine. Wake, train, clean, eat, class, lunch, practical tactics, free hour, dinner, study, sleep. Some of those things were impractical now, but she still tried to adhere to the training regimen that she'd gotten used to doing. The idea of doing those things out of order was perplexing to her.
It was upsetting and out of order. But then again, she'd broken from that routine already. She steadied herself and took a deep breath to calm down. There was no need to feel overwhelmed by such a little thing. Even if it did feel like the earth had been shifted from underneath her.
"...Okay. I'll be good and quiet. And after school, we can train. Will...Bronwyn be there too?" She asked, looking at the taller girl. "I'd like to see what she can do."
The idea of enrolling being so easy that she didn't even need something as simple as a birth certificate to do so sounded strange to her. She was still worried that someone might see her try it - but then again, they might be checking different records. "Last name..." She gave it a thought. It wasn't too long before she had an idea.
"Alexis Orsino?" She said, before immediately regretting it. It didn't sound right. "Alexis...Viola. Alexis...Sebastian. Alexis...Olivia? Um. No. Oliv-er? Alexis Oliver? Does that sound all right?" She asked, the choice of names she'd gone through obvious to anyone who'd been in the poetry class.
There were other things that she didn't know about herself. Maybe they would just make them up. She wouldn't have minded that at all if she was going to pretend to be a normal person.
"...What about for today? Can I...sit in classes with you?" She asks Shayera.
Shayera's voice drops low. "Bronwyn, I don't think we should go through proper channels to get her enrolled. They'll run her face through missing children databases. Public databases. She's in hiding."
She gives Alexis a reassuring smile that she didn't feel herself. "I wish I could ask Matrix. I need someone who's good with computers, you know? Abacus is good and all, but I don't really know how to pull this off."
She grabs her bag with the busted tablet. "I need to go to the office, but you can go to my classes except for Arabic. There's only fourteen of us in there and Ms. Awan makes us pair up to practice. They'll notice an extra student. Could you go with Bronwyn during fourth period?"
Fook this the villain says, crouching and leaping half blind. two tranquilizer darts hit the wall where he would have been had he not leapt, and The Silver Shadow swears.
She deserves this, Shayera. She needs to know that; that even though we're helping her get this, it was an opportunity that didn't come from us. "I know we should fake up the trail somewhere along the way, but we can start here and 'find' her papers later. And before then, they can't contact police or immigration or anything. If people notice her hanging around without being a student here, they could. Plus... Alexis, would They think you would want to go to school? Is it something you told them? I don't think this is a place they'd be watching that carefully. They just trained you to go to ground, right? Would they know you could be a normal girl?"
The distraction was handy, but now some normal guy--wait, this guy was at school today! Herman knew he had to make sure the attention stayed on him. One of those kicks and a normal person ...
Herman practically growls in anger. "C'mon, big man! You wanted to fight! Let's fight! Stop hiding and running! I've got your shit!"
Unfortunately, the Aussie villain did not rise to the bait.