| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Herman makes his way to school that day, the events of yesterday still fresh in his mind, he's approached by a professional dressed pair. The young black woman has a friendly smile and a pleasantly curvy figure, while her Indian companion holds up a camcorder.
"American Dream? I'm Temperance Jones. This is Adhik, my cameraman. I'm starting a webcast series about local heroics. I was wondering if we could have a few minutes of your time to talk about what happened yesterday at the museum?"
"...You shouldn't kiss someone that doesn't want to be kissed," Alexis pointed out to Alexandra. She finished eating the meatloaf - the last bit of food on her tray - before standing up. "I'll ask him again when I can explain it better. Thank you for letting me sit here."
She went and deposited her tray, heading off and pondering what else to do during this period. She didn't notice Cassie outside, as did most people ignore her. However, she was approached by a punkish looking pair, a boy and a girl, both of them with undercuts on opposite sides.
"Excuse me. Don't know you, and this is a long shot, but have you seen this guy?" The girl asks as she holds her phone out, a picture of a blankly staring young man on it. "He owes us a lot. Hoping to catch him before he rabbits."
She'd caught a rabbit. Or rather, liberated one from the school science lab. She thought that it would make for a nice icebreaker between her and Kaoru, so she waited by the front doors for him to appear. Hopeful that there was some way to convince him to give her a chance.
Part of it was simply that she knew Kaoru knew tech stuff, and if she was going to play hero with Wingblade she wanted someone around who knew that sort of thing. But the majority was that he was the first boy that she'd tried to talk to and get to know, and he hadn't been disgusted by her or leered at her or tried to touch her inappropriately, so she wanted to get to know him.
It was nice, actually being able to be a normal teenaged girl.
The rabbit fidgeted a bit in her arms, but she was being as gentle as possible. She had better control of her strength than one would surmise, especially around living things. His trainers had hated that he always pulled his punches on living things. But she didn't want to kill anyone or anything.
...Except one.
She looked up, spotting Kaoru amongst the students filing out, and made a beeline for him. "Kaoru! Um...I stole a rabbit!" She said, holding it out to him. "...I thought you'd like it."
It took Shaun ages to walk back to the house. He didn’t have his phone, so he couldn’t call for a ride, he didn’t have enough cash for a taxi, and the buses in this city made no sense, so he just walked. Walked and contemplated.
I probably just got Bronwyn in a metric f!$~-ton of trouble. Not the coolest thing to do, but CHRIST I needed that. Man her dad’s a dick. Funny that her mom’s the whiskey drinker though, she might still be cool. Well, probably less-so now.
Then there’s the dog...no, actually no. I’m not going there. That happened and now it’s not. Moving on. I’ve moved on. It was probably just a side-effect of whatever the pimp was doing. Just an illusion, a phantom... It took him a minute to realize he was rubbing his neck again. Stop it! It’s not real! Heroes. Aren’t. Scared.
As he jumped the community gate and shuffled through the back yards of his “new neighbors,” Shaun found he couldn’t shake what the try-hard has said earlier. It’s important to have an image, but...the punk had a point. I can’t just change mid-fight. I need a quick-change somehow. Maybe I could just always wear the kilt? No, that’d set off every detector I even got close too. Maybe wear it like it was something else? Like a...shawl? Scarf? Corset? What the hell else can a kilt look like?
He shook his head in frustration as he clambered up the gutter. As he peeked his head over the 2nd story windowsill, he froze.
His old man was sitting on Shaun’s bed, holding Shaun’s phone and a rosary.
...damnit...
With careful steps he went back down the drain and started walking back the way he came. Son of a b#~~&. I wanted to sleep in my own bed tonight, but I guess that’s not f@#+ing happening... He has gotten about two houses away when he stopped. ...I should just let him worry. He deserves it. He stood there for another handful of seconds, then reached down and picked up a pebble.
Shaun sighed. ”You’re too soft lad!” With near-perfect precision he flicked the stone all the way into his window, making a clatter he could hear from here.
He’d turned back around and walked even further away by the time the old man had gotten the window open. ”SHAUN! SHAUN WAIT PLEASE, COME BACK! SHAUN!”
The cries woke the neighbors, but they fell from Shaun’s deaf ears.
/ / /
”’Ey kid! Move it!”
Shaun, bleary-eyed and back pounding with pain, looked up at the school janitor that had just proved him with the blunt end of a mop. ”Whozef~%&’er ye’...?”
The stocky older man huffed. ”Look, just get outta the way, an’ I won’t tell nobody you broke in, a’ight?”
Shaun sat up, exercise mats-turned blankets rolling off of him. He yawned wide enough to pop his jaw. ”Yea’, yea’, sure...”
He had broken in. Initially it was just to use the school’s exercise equipment after hours, but he’d just ended up deciding to sleep on some gymnast pads as opposed to going out and finding something in the wild world.
As Shaun stood up and stretched, the annoyed janitor re-rolled all of the mats. The teen turned to face him. ”Hey oldtimer, is ta’ sun out yet?”
The janitor rolled his eyes. ”Yes, ya bum. It’s a quarter-past-six.”
Shaun cracked his neck before heading for the doors. ”Coo’. Thanks.”
He had made a great discovery. As it turned out, the lunch hall and the physics lab had a weird construction hiccup; they formed a roughly 15-by-15 square space between their rear walls, and with a little squeezing it was pretty easy to get into. Judging from the trash and excessive amount of used cigarettes he was not the first to find this place, but he’d been using it for more than a few hours and no one else had come.
So he’d felt pretty confident that it was unused, but as he returned from infiltrating the lunch line to get some brunch, he was surprised to find someone sitting nearly exactly in front of the gap that led to the hidden lot.
Moreover, it was someone he (unfortunately) recognized.
It was the try-hard, but...something was up. He was balled up, hugging his knees and back pressed against the lunch hall wall. And as Shaun got closer, a strangled sob croaked out of him.
S*&#. What happened to him? For a second, Shaun stood there awkwardly, still holding his lunch tray. Yes, this guy had ticked him off both times they’d ever interacted, but something clearly wasn’t right. Besides, it wasn’t like he could get back into the lot without somehow talking with him. So, stinking of day-old sweat and bandages that really should be changed, he gingerly stepped over to the fetal figure.
”Uh, hey? Ye’ alright?”
"Lo siento," Shayera says to Bronwyn's father, taken aback at the fact that she wouldn't be able to see her tonight. Yet, he had offered her a drink of water, so she decided to accept rather than immediately leave.
"I'd like some water very much," she says, heart suddenly thudding hard. "I guess I made a mistake. Bronwyn did mention she was grounded, but I didn't realize that meant no visitors." She steps inside and follows Mr. Pascal into the kitchen. "I mean, I've been grounded too, but that just meant, you know, I guess more literally?" Her wings open slightly and close back up.
César was playing things cool, but to Shayera's senses, a good poker face was still an open book. He was surprised, but a bit happy at her Spanish; he'd had to suppress a flinch when she flexed her wings.
"I understand, no harm done. So, how did you and Bronwyn meet again? She must have mentioned you before, before all your unpleasantness, but I didn't realize you two had been spending so much time together."
Around the corner, over the sound of the refrigerator glugging out some chilled water, Shayera could hear someone else listening in. Not quite Bronwyn by her scent, probably her mother.
Shayera accepts the drink with a polite, "Gracias."
As nervous as she felt, she could sense it also coming off Mr. Pascal as well. She decides to be as forthright as possible. "I met her at school," she begins. "I was undercover, and not really used to being around, um, normal people? Bronwyn was my first friend. It didn't really feel right to lie to her, so I eventually told her who I was."
She pauses to take a drink and consider her next move. "I guess you heard about the attack at the museum? I was there, of course. I, uh, got stabbed? I heal fast, you might know, so I'm all better. I wanted to talk to her. To let her know that.
"¿Te pongo nervioso?" she asks bluntly.
Kaoru froze. The last thing she wanted was for someone to find her. And not only had that happened, but it was the worst person at all possible. God was a sadist who hated her. It was the only possible explanation for her terrible luck.
She had no doubt if she lifted her head he'd see that she had been crying. And then there would be questions. Questions she couldn't possibly answer. Not to anyone, but especially not to such an ass. As she desperately tried to think of some way out, she just let out a muffled response. "Go 'way"
-----
But the majority was that he was the first boy that she'd tried to talk to and get to know, and he hadn't been disgusted by her or leered at her or tried to touch her inappropriately, so she wanted to get to know him.
After somehow escaping Shaun, Kaoru had found a water fountain and used it to vigorously scrub her face. And then applied copious amounts of eye drops. It had returned her to a normal, if a bit paler than normal, appearance. But she felt utterly drained and very lethargic. Listening to music hadn't really made her feel any better. At best it had numbed her. She wanted to play something. Play until her fingers bled and then keep going. But the best she could hope for is that her mom would get called away early to some project and leave this weekend instead of next week. Meaning she still had to survive tomorrow (and, if patterns held, knowing her luck there would be yet ANOTHER supervillain attack). And tonight.
Gods, tonight. She had almost forgotten Alexandra had wanted her to meet at some building that night. Should she actually do that? She felt so empty. And she was 90% sure the other girl had been goading her into it, which really made her want to skip out just for spite. To show she wasn't a puppy dog blindly following whatever biscuit Alexandra waved in front of her nose, too dumb to realize she was being lured to the pound. But she was slightly curious about what the girl had in mind (though a much larger portion of her was anxious at the idea of committing to some unknown escapade). And she did enjoy spending time with her. Just...maybe not so much when she was being incompetent and failing at everything. Which seemed to be happening more and more lately.
She was so lost in thought that she completely didn't see Alexis waiting for her to the school entrance, thus making it far too late for her to find a sneaky way out of school. She froze a brief deer-in-headlights panic look in her eyes before she averted her gaze and covered it. Was that a rabbit?
"Kaoru! Um...I stole a rabbit!" She said, holding it out to him. "...I thought you'd like it."
Yup a rabbit. "I'm...more of a cat person." As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Why are you so terrible at this? In an attempt at a peace offering, she awkwardly reached out to pet the struggling rabbit's head. It was soft. Wait, had she said she'd stolen it? Why? From where?
Gaze still focused on the bunny, she asked "Where'd you get it from?"
However, she was approached by a punkish looking pair, a boy and a girl, both of them with undercuts on opposite sides."Excuse me. Don't know you, and this is a long shot, but have you seen this guy?" The girl asks as she holds her phone out, a picture of a blankly staring young man on it. "He owes us a lot. Hoping to catch him before he rabbits."
Absorbed in her practice, Cassie didn't notice the two figures until one of them tapped her on the shoulder. Pulling the earphones from over her head, she looked up, surprised that anyone had come over to talk to her. Taking the phone, she peered at the image. "Ummmmm, no. Don't think so," she replied. "but I'm new here so, you know, i don't know that many people. What's he owe you?"
yeah, yeah. But it was the heat of the moment. And, he's cute when he's flustered. She says smiling a little. Nice to meet you, Alexis.
Alexandra places her hand on the locker, leaning on it and shoving Bronwyn back lightly. Ooh, too slow. Looks like you're gonna have to go home in Lost and Found clothes... If only you were faster, or stronger. Alexandra smiled a vulpine grin
S&!&, it’s really bad. He was a little too familiar with this tactic, hiding your face to try and act like you weren’t falling apart. Of course, when he did it he’d made sure to be in places nobody else could find him. The wide-open side of the lunch hall didn’t seem like the best place for that.
”...ya’ sure?” He looked down at his tray. ”I’ve got a fruit cup, if ya’ want it.” ...why did I just say that? What are we in kindergarten?
He bit his lip in thought. ”I, uh...look, there’s an empty lot through that crack next ta’ya’. If ya’ want...if ye’ need a bit more privacy, ya’ can take over it for a bit.” He sat and crossed his legs, being careful to sit a few feet from him. You know how that feels. Just give him some space...
"¿Honestamente? Sí. Podrías lastimar a mi niña de muchas maneras. Ella te cuida mucho y vives una vida muy peligrosa. Ella ya ha tenido que llorarte; ella es demasiado joven para saber ese dolor, ¿y vienes aquí esta noche para decirle que te apuñalaron?
Dices que fue tu primera amiga. ¿Lo saben otras personas? No llevas máscara. ¿Hay gente que la lastimaría para hacerte sufrir?
Estoy segura de que ella cree que eres un ángel guardián, pero me temo que podrías ser el ángel de la muerte."
"And I don't like that she hides you away. Is this your first time to my house? Why hasn't she introduced us before. Most of her friends she brings to us as soon as she knows she likes them."
You say she was your first friend. Do other people know that? You don't wear a mask. Are there people who would hurt her to make you suffer?
I'm sure she thinks you're a guardian angel, but I'm afraid you could be the Angel of Death.
How did he- He didn't- He couldn't-
Kaoru lept up. "I'm not like that! You don't- You don't know me. What, you realized that surrounded by superheroes you'd never stand out, so you're trying to latch onto the one non-powered hero line who's managed to make a splash? Trying to be the next Silver Shadow with your little 'deductions'. Well I've got news for you: you'll never be at their level. You're too busy admiring how good you look in a g*ddamn skirt to ever pay enough attention to anyone else to tell jack sh*t about them. And even if you managed to stop making out with your mirror long enough to spare someone else a glance, you don't have the brains to figure out what to do with that information. You're never going to be like those heroes everyone looks up to. God, I bet you even dream of someday leading a team. But if you're never going to be as strong as them, as fast as them, or as smart as them, what the hell are you good for? Why would anyone ever follow you when they're only going to have to bail you out when you get in too far over your head?"
She ran off, desperately hoping that she had pissed him off too much for him to notice she had been crying. Or at least that she had convinced him he didn't know what the fk he was talking about.
Gods. Boy. Girl. It didn't seem to matter. She couldn't win. Why did everybody think she was gay?
Shayera stares at the glass of water. "Preferirías que ella no me conociera." She sets it down on the counter slowly, then steps back. "If she didn't welcome me on that first day, then we wouldn't have become friends. Then when I died, she wouldn't have had to be sad." She looks up at Mr. Pascal, meeting his eyes. "Is that what you'd have wanted?"
She turns her back to him so he has a full view of her wings. "Mira estas. ¿Soy la ángel de la muerte? Posiblemente. But I didn't choose to be this way."
Shayera lets that hang in the air a moment. She then takes a step and speaks, but this time it's clear she's directing it to Mrs. Pascal who is lurking just out of sight. "I suppose you've got the right to tell me to never see Bronwyn again. But if you do, can you do it with her here, so she can witness it? Otherwise, I don't know if she'll understand why I'm avoiding her."
"Well, he owes me a kiss," The girl said as she put her phone away.
"And I owe him an asskicking for making me search for him," The boy grumbled, wrapping an arm around the girl's waist. "Come on, let's keep looking. Though I think this is a waste of time," He said, eyes sliding past Cassie thanks to her charm. They talk like she isn't even there.
"Well, you're the one who said we'd be able to canvas the school better. Let's just keep looking and try not to stick out, okay Char?" She replied, removing his hand from her hip. "And keep it professional, all right? We can get handsy on our time."
The pair turn off to go and pester the next nearest student for information, leaving Cassie with questions.
He liked the rabbit! Alexis smiled brightly at Kaoru as he petted it. "I took it from Mr. Kirby's classroom. He's the biology teacher. I found the class boring. I've learned all that stuff before."
Biology and anatomy were important classes at the barracks. Knowing the best ways to hurt and immobilize others was part of that course.
"So...I'm sorry. Alexandra said that I made you feel bad, but I wasn't trying to do that. I just wanted to have fun with you. I think we could have fun together. So I wanted a date for us to get to know each other, like how...my friend, she goes on dates with people she likes to get to know them better. So...um, knowing that, I'd really like it if you wanted to go on a date. But, you don't have to say yes now, because I don't want to make you feel bad. I don't want to misunderstand - for you to misunderstand."
Her voice cracked a bit at the end. She wasn't used to long speeches like that. But she was trying to be more social, and hopefully Kaoru would find her to be appealing enough to agree.
Wait, biology class? Sh*t. I mean, at least it wasn't chemistry lab, but I'm was pretty sure the two rooms aren't that far from each other. Kaoru's petting slowed as she spoke slowly and carefully. "Were you seen? I mean...did you check for cameras?" She really hoped the answer was yes. Otherwise, Alexis was going to get caught and then she was going to get in trouble and it was all going to be her fault. All because she had fked up yet again and left someone else to clean up the mess.
She ran a hand agitatedly through her short hair. "You don't...go on dates to get to know someone. You go on dates because you want to be with them...romantically. If your friend is going on dates to get to know people, she's just leading them on and they'll get hurt. And the longer it goes on, the worse it'll be and the more pain she'll cause. So...she shouldn't do that."
Alexis looks confused, hugging the rabbit that is pressed to her chest softly, twitching its nose. "...How would I know if I wanted to kiss you before I've gone on a date with you?" She asks bluntly. "That's...um...something about horses...no, it's like trying new food. Maybe it's something you're not sure you like until you've tried it, right? So people are food," She affirms in a bizarre way.
"So, I want to try tasting you to see if I like you. That's what a date is for, to play with that person and learn more and see if you can be friends. I'm not Alexandra, I won't try and kiss you unless you want me to kiss you," She stated plainly. "And maybe I won't want to kiss you either. I haven't decided yet. But I like you enough to ask, and you're the first I've ever asked, so I hope you'll say yes...please?"
Her eyes are big and brown and her lip quivers ever so slightly as she waits for Kaoru's response.
He didn’t move. Not until the try-hard was out of sight.
After a minute, Shaun picked up the fruit cup and sent it hurtling across the yard. ”F*&+ you...” Great, now he was the one trying to not cry. That bastard thinks he can just shout that s@$+ and run off?!!!
But he’d let him run.
Yeah, well, whatever, I’ll get him back later.
That wouldn’t be a very hero thing to do.
Didn’t you hear? I’m not a superhero. I’m never gonna live up to them...to him.
And did he honestly believe that?
...no. He stood up and went back to the lot, leaving his lunch in the grass. That a&#~*!$ thinks I can’t make it? I’ll show him. He took aim at the target rings he’d spent the morning carving into the wall. You want a ‘deduction’ a+&&!~#? I deduct that you just told me exactly how to find you again. With one motion he drew a kunai from his pocket and drove it into the bullseye up to the hilt. ”The Silver Shadow...” He’s one of the heels. Not a popular guy. But smart. Apparently not smart enough to hire tight-lipped technical support. A predator’s smile played across his lips. I’ll show you exactly what I’m good for, Try-Hard.
- - -
”47...48...49...50...” Ow...ow...ow...ow...
Despite his persistence to do otherwise, Shaun had learned one thing at school today: doing bench presses with a stitched back hurt like fire. But that was nothing new.
”55...56...57...58... F$&$...f%++...f~&~...f@%#...
He’d been in the gym for a few different school periods now. It was amazing how much teacher’s didn’t give a s%#+ when you acted like you were supposed to be there. The latest period had brought in the combined forces of track and American football, some kind of shared training thing. He didn’t much care. So long as they left him alone and some hot water in the pipes after they showered, he didn’t much care.
”66...67...68...69...70...”
”Hey! Ginger on the bench!”
...EX-F*@$ING-SCUSE ME? Shaun paused and looked to where the voice had come from.
Three guys, all about his age, wearing workout uniforms proudly bearing the HH Hornets logo in eye-bleeding yellow. Judging from their builds, they were probably football players. The guy in the center of the trio looked both the cockiest and the most likely to have just called Shaun a ginger. He was light skinned, had short, dirt-colored hair, and the thickest set of mutton chops Shaun had ever seen on anybody (let alone a teenager).
Center-man motioned his thumb to the side. ”Off the bench ginger, coach’s orders.”
Left-man’s face screwed up around the nose. ”Uh, Jason? I don’t think he’s one of us.”
Shaun gave his most saccharine smile to the guy named Jason. ”Ya’ friends right. I’m under nobody’s orders. Now f$$~ off mutton chops.”
Alexis didn't understand. How could she make her understand? And she had such an uncomfortable way of putting things. Did she not realize how...sexual she had made that sound? Probably not if this were the first time she had asked anybody out. She rubbed her eyes wearily. "You find out if you like someone by just...hanging out. As friends. Look I-" She bit her lip, looking around to make sure no one she knew was around. She then continued more softly. "I...dated someone once that I didn't have feelings for. And it...ended badly. Really badly." Understatement of the year. "I caused some real damage. I hurt someone who didn't deserve that. I...don't want to do that to you. You're too...sweet. It wouldn't be fair. I...can't be that person. Not again." She met Alexis' eyes, begging. "Please don't ask me to be that person."
She breaks eye contact. "Look, I'm worried you might have gotten caught on camera taking the rabbit, and I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. I'm going to go check it out. You can come with me if you want, but I'll understand if you just never want to see me again." Turning, she started slowly trudging in the direction of Mr. Kirby's class. God I hope I'm doing the right thing. It was the best she could offer right now.
"There weren't any cameras," Alexis affirmed as she followed Kaoru back inside of the school, heading towards the science labs. She's mulling over everything that Kaoru has said. Kaoru was being honest and open with her - that meant that he liked her. But he didn't seem to like the idea of being 'someone who dated people', because he dated someone and it went badly. She didn't want to make him have a bad date.
As they enter Mr. Kirby's lab, the elderly science teacher looks back at them. He's cleaned up the rabbit cage. "Ah, you're back. Did Nibbles give you any trouble?" He asked Alexis.
"No. I'm giving it back now. Stealing it didn't work," Alexis said sadly, as she hands the rabbit over to him.
"Well I get wanting to seem cool with your friends, but it's not really stealing when you tell me that you're taking him," Mr. Kirby laughed.
"...I didn't ask. So it was stealing," Alexis affirmed her word choice.
"Ah, semantics. Creating more misunderstandings than any other invention of man," The older man smiled kindly at them.
Alexis shrugged, turning to look at Kaoru. "...So...if we just say we're hanging out, it's all right with you?" She asked, trying to figure this out. "Because I'd really like to be your friend."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Marian Pascal-Murphy came out from around the corner, clearly smoothing over a moment of unease. She was still in the day's pantsuit, but it was paired incongruously with a pair of very comfortable looking slippers.
"When César goes off in Spanish and doesn't slow things down for me, I'm usually just working with gist of things, but did he give you the impression that we're particularly stupid people? You have met Bronwyn, right? Now if there was something about her being friends with you that would hurt other people, or was somehow immoral, then maybe it would be worth forbidding you to see her. She might agree to that. But she's not doing anything wrong by being your friend, so it's not worth a fight I'd never really win."
Marian pulled up a seat across from Shayera. She was a few inches shorter than Bronwyn, but still had enough height to look down at Wingblade through her glasses. "We don't have to forbid anything if you decide to stop though. If you think my husband is right, and that you are putting Bronwyn in danger with all this superpowered nonsense, you could stop seeing her. Is he wrong?"
***
Bronwyn was almost grateful when Alexandra finally shoved her. Bronwyn was far from a master martial artist, but turning a bully's shove to your chest into a wristlock wasn't far past self defense 101. And since Alexandra was doing it from just a garbage position (leaning to the side, shoving slowly and contemptuously), she was practically giving her wrist away as a present.
So when Alexandra reached for her chest, Bronwyn simply grabbed her hand and twisted, not too far. It was miles from an inescapable hold, but hopefully Alexandra would get the message. Bronwyn was done being pushed around.
"So, tell me, were you more or less happy when you figured out I was talking about you being a cape, and not you being Gayer than Pirates of Penzance?" Alexandra asked.
Bronwyn flushed from her cheeks down to her collar bone as she replied, "What the heck do you even want! Just leave me alone, okay? And wait - that movie only has like two girls anyways!"
Cassie watched as the two punks left,... Professional? she thoughtm as she watched them walk off. What a weird thing to say!
”71...72...73...7-“
”Maybe I didn’t make myself clear.” Jason had now moved to the head of the bench, arms folded and flexed for maximum intimidation value. ”I get the bench now.”
Who the f+@$ does this guy think he is? ”Uh, no. I got 225 more reps. Ye’ can wait.”
The guy was leaning over him now, his face of growing anger inverted from Shaun’s point of view. ”Look a*!%#&%, I’m not losing my spot as quarterback just because some gym rat wants to finish his set. Now either you screw off, or we make you.” With surprising synchronization Left and Right came up alongside their boss.
Shaun chuckled. ”So, your plan f’gettin’ a workout involves me breakin’ your arms, ey? Bet a busted ulna would make that whole ‘quarterback’ gig a tad harder.” Judging by the looks on Left and Right’s faces, they weren’t used to being challenged. ”’Sides, what’s coach gonna think when ta’ star gets busted f’bullyin’?”
The wingmen seemed somewhat cowed, but Jason was having none of it. With mock causal motion, he leaned to see what Shaun was pressing. ”190. Not bad, not bad.” He stared directly down at Shaun. ”Let’s make it 670.”
It took Shaun just a moment too long to realize what he was talking about. Again with unexpected coordination, Left and Right each grabbed an end of the bar and pressed down. Hard. Shaun only just managed to stop the bar from crushing his windpipe, his arms shaking from the adrenaline-fuled exertion. ”What ta’ f@~%...?” was all he managed to wheeze out.
Jason just wore a far-too-casual smile. ”Is your set over now, Leprachaun?”
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Shayera blinks, her eyes wide as she stares back at Mrs. Pascal. For a moment, it looks like she's shaken by her words. Her wings close up compactly, to reduce their presence, and she glances down at her feet.
Then Shayera begins giggling.
It grows into a full laugh as she shakes her head and puts her hands on her hips. "Brilliant," she says, looking back up and meeting her eyes. Her face was still smiling. "Put it on me. Absolve yourself. It's not your decision if you manipulate me into making it for you.
"And let me tell you: waay too many so-called 'superheroes' follow that logic. Cut yourself off, don't have friends, spare them the dangers. Wall yourself off from humanity."
Her wings instinctively flare out, and Shayera jabs a finger at Marian. "If Bronwyn had powers, would you want that for her? To cut off all contact?" She starts ticking off her fingers. "Track, school, friends, church, it all needs to go, because of the danger she'd bring to it!"
Wingblade lets that hang in the air for a moment, then softens her tone. "I respect Bronwyn too much to make that decision without even consulting her. She knows the risks. Even after I died, and put her through all that, she still wants a relationship with me."
She fumes for a moment. "You said it; we're not hurting other people, it's not immoral. So all that's left is your fear."
"Thank you for the water." She turns to leave.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"...all that's left is your fear."
Her house was one of the only places she could get the drop on Shayera. The place smelled like her (not in a gross way, but, well, she lived there), so catching a single whiff wasn't going to give her away. That left hearing, where they were on a much closer level, and Bronwyn knew every good acoustic spot for eavesdropping in the whole house.
Her eyes were wet with tears, but her face was calm, almost beatific as Bronwyn crept back to her room.
She still really wanted to see her girlfriend tonight, but even if she didn't, everything was going to be okay.
She loves me.
Kaoru could tell she wasn't getting through to Alexis. Not really. God this was exhausting. She was so tired. Why was this so hard? Despite everything, she couldn't help but be amused at Alexis apparently 'theft'. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
Alexis shrugged, turning to look at Kaoru. "...So...if we just say we're hanging out, it's all right with you?" She asked, trying to figure this out. "Because I'd really like to be your friend."
"I...guess. But other people need to come to. To make sure it's not a date." Since Alexis wasn't getting the whole 'intention' part of date vs non-date, it was the only thing she could think of to make sure it truly wasn't a date. "And...not today. I have other plans." As much as she hated the thought of falling into Alexandra's manipulation, she could really use the distraction. Besides, maybe she could convince her to come along on this not-a-date. Which was actually probably a terrible idea, but she really only knew a total of three people in Halcyon.
Shayera really didn't feel like going to school, which was a first. The night before had really set her on edge. Then the egg fire incident didn't really indicate that Thursday would be much better.
Deciding that she would not be making a fashion statement today, Shayera went with some (still high-end) jeans and a T-shirt with a simple design of some sort of Korean or Japanese cartoon character on it. She didn't know what it was, nor did she care except that it was cute.
She did her level best, however, to make sure Alexis looked nice since she seemed to have found someone that she was interested in.
Shayera's intention was just to make it through school. Her mind was racing on other things, most notably how she had behaved in front of Bronwyn's parents. They had already been tense for whatever Shaun did that got her grounded, and then she walked in and started questioning their decisions regarding their daughter. She figured that Bronwyn probably had a rough evening, and will be in store for more to come.
Still, she had hoped to see Bronwyn during lunch period, but she'd been snagged by Renae and the other fashionistas who were willing to overlook her fairly drab look only if she gave a detailed account of her date with Devaun. By the time they released her from their clutches, the bell for the next period was ringing.
She had one other task outside of just surviving the day, and that was passing along the message that one of Whippoorwill's contacts had given her. She was supposed to find the new boy that was not Shaun and, basically, invite him into the supers life. Great. Another one whose parents can be furious with me.
After asking around a bit, she was a little surprised to hear that Alexis, Alexandra and the boy had eaten together at lunch, and he had stormed off. So Silver Shadow's already involved. She must have figured out something.
Deciding to wait until after school, she joins the throngs of students pouring from the exits, then picks a spot to look for Kaoru.
When she does finally pick him out, she sees Alexis again talking to him. Well, Alexis is already in the know, so I might as well go introduce myself.
Shayera pushes herself upstream of the students leaving, but by the time she reaches where they'd been standing, they'd disappeared. However, there was the lingering scent of animal fur. What the--?
She tries to discretely sniff around to get a better idea of what it was that she's smelling. Definitely not dog or cat. Maybe rabbit or raccoon.
Shayera starts to head inside, following the trace scents, but figuring more than likely if they went inside with an animal they'd be going to the biology wing.
====================
As the jocks add their weight to the bar, Jason leans in close and pulls out the earbud from Shaun's ear. "Well? Did you hear me?"
====================
Shayera stops as her own communicator catches the distress signal of one of Whetstone's earbuds. She quickly orients herself to the direction of the signal, a subtle change in pitch that tells her which way she needs to go.
If this is a false alarm by someone playing with these things, I'll be very cross Shayera thinks as she races towards the PE rooms.
She pauses a few times to reorient herself, but finally determines the signal is in the weight room adjacent to the football locker rooms. There's several players loitering about and several give her a look as she weaves through them and heads into the weight room.
She finds the area of free weights and takes in the scene of three muscular athletes keeping a set of weights down on someone on the bench. Oh, boy. Kilt. Making friends and influencing people.
"I don't think you're spotting him right. Why don't you let him up? Please?"
You... don't know much musical theatre, do you? Alexandra says, a little sad her taunt went wide. she takes her hand back,a nd doesn't move to push Bronwyn again.
And I was just curious about you. You're the second most subtle cape in this school, and I'm pretty sure you're more powerful than Maddeleine. Are you like her, just using your powers to be the best at track? or are you like Shayera, and Herman, and.... Puppy girl, what's her name, Alexis! Are you like them? School kid by day, Heroine by night? Alexandra Smiles again
Oooh, or is the whole reason you're so rabbit-y is because your a villain and I've just spent a few minutes taunting you and we're all alone and Shiza
"Okay. I could bring Shayera, or Bronwyn. If more is better then both. And tomorrow is better for that. We can..." She thinks for a moment, trying to consider what would work the best for a group. "Go shopping? Shayera did that with me before. But also, maybe watch a movie."
She did feel bad that Kaoru was trying to insist that this was not a date. She didn't really understand why other than it was upsetting for Kaoru. So she held out her arms to him. "Thank you for being nice. I'm sorry again for making you feel bad. Do you want a hug?" She asked with innocent intentions.
S$&#, not the comm! Shaun could feel some stitches in his back coming undone as he struggled to keep the bar from suffocating him.
Jason held the earbud in-between his fingers as he grinned mockingly at the Scotsman. "I can't hear you. Boys, I don't think our new friend here's had enough. How about we give him a bit-?"
"I don't think you're spotting him right. Why don't you let him up? Please?"
WINGBLADE! As best he could, Shaun looked up at the well-dressed girl and tried to give a weak smile.
The quarterback was less than pleased. "Oh? And who's this?' He stood up and started sauntering towards Shayera. "I didn't think you had any game Leprachaun, but you've got one hell of a girl."
Jason rather brazenly begins checking Shayera out. "Maybe I should offer her a night with yours truly, show her what a real man can do."
Shaun managed to squeak out a laugh.
"What's so funny Ginger? Finally giving up the bench?"
"...I'd like...to see...how that...night...goes...heh...!"
The athlete clenched his fists. Shayera could hear the sound of the comm cut out as it was crushed. "Hilarious. Bendis, hold him down. Ditko, get the hundred-pounders."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Shayera doesn't flinch as Jason moves up to her. Her stance shifts subtly, rising up on the balls of her feet and centering her balance. She didn't want to have to fight with these boys, but Shaun was in trouble and her presence alone wasn't changing their minds.
She was about to make a move when she heard the other two boys' names.
"Wait. Bendis? As in, Xavier Bendis? Renae's boyfriend? I'm dating her cousin! How do you think she'll feel when she hears about this!?!"
Wait...*shopping*? Kaoru was fairly certain the guy's role in a girl's shopping trip was to be bored and carry a metric ton of bags as the girls talked about boys and makeup. Ok, well, she had never really been on a shopping trip with a guy, but that was definitely what her "gal pals" had done when she got dragged around shopping. Typically there has also been a great deal of insistence on her trying on dresses and letting them do her make up. She had enjoyed the positive attention, but it had always made her feel rather unsettled. And once the novelty of dressing her up had worn off, she had just been bored and forced to pretend she enjoyed it. "A movie might be better. You can pick it. I don't really care." Please don't let her pick a chick-flick or rom-com.
She hesitated as Alexis offered her a hug. Then looked away. "Guys...don't really do that kind of touchy-feely stuff." The situation was loaded enough as is. And she had never seen a guy hug a girl he wasn't dating. Or hug another guy before. "But yeah, you can ask your friend Shayera. I'll text Bronwyn, and see what Alexandra has to say. I've got some things I need to take care of. But I guess I'll see you after school tomorrow." She gives an awkward wave before heading off.
-----
After sending Bronwyn a quick text asking if she wanted to hang out with her and some others after school tomorrow , Kaoru had googled the SCA building. Extensively. The SCA seemed to be some kind of anti-vigilante/teen-hero group, which seemed like an odd choice of meeting place for the Silver Shadow. Though it did give her a suspicion as to what the other girl's plans were.
She still didn't know what 'got up all fancy' meant. So she just decided to take it literally. I mean, despite going to public school, Alexandra always seems to dress kind of formally. So maybe she just likes that kind of thing. Her outfit was still favored black (they were going out at night after all): slacks, button-down, belt, necktie (tied with a four-in-hand knot to match the narrow width of her collar), vest, and shoes (sadly didn't quite match the style of the rest of the outfit, but given the situation, Kaoru had decided to sacrifice style for practicality in case they needed to make a run for it). She topped it all off with a trilby. Given Silver Shadow's getup, she had considered a fedora, but well, she didn't own one. Plus, her not actually being a guy and therefore not having a guy's broad shoulders meant the brim of most fedoras would be badly proportioned to her body. Which is also why she hadn't bothered to buy one when she had stopped by a shop to pick out the clothing she didn't already own. She had also brought gloves with conductive thread woven into the fingertips because leaving fingerprints was a bad idea. But since they also didn't go with the outfit, they were currently tucked away in a back pocket.
She had waited until it was dark and taken a route without cameras to get close to the SCA building. She was careful to check for tails as she moved to a nearby alley. It was probably overly paranoid, but, well, after that terrible performance at the museum, she needed to show that she was actually competent. And being spotted climbing on top of a building she probably wasn't supposed to be on would be the opposite of competent. Which is probably why she had spent a little too much time researching and planning this. She then sent her drone to scout out the area from the air. The building had cameras, of course, but to be honest, they weren't especially well positioned. And it didn't seem as if the SCA had taken steps to make sure the cameras were laser pointer proof (though if they had, she had come up with a few other ways around them ranging from simply knocking them out of alignment to shorting them out with a small electrical charge. ...yeah, she had maybe overthought this).
Her recon done, she set the drone to sweep above her, once again checking for tails or people overly interested in her. With the coast clear, she made her way to the fire department mandated fire escape and from there onto the roof of the SCA building. It was actually easier than she had been expecting, making her earlier than she had anticipated to the meeting. She sat down with her back against a vent and waited. The sensors she had carefully placed all along the edge of the roof would alert her to anyone approaching.
Bronwyn didn't fight to keep Alexandra's hand when she broke the hold, just gave her towel a quick tug back up. "So now I'm a villain too? Alexandra, if I wanted to take a swing at you, I've had every excuse I needed for a while now. Oh, and I'm fast and strong and good at track because I work hard at it, every day." She reached forward to pick up the smaller girl by her shoulders with a grunt before putting her on the bench next to the lockers. "Look, I do believe in what heroes do. I'm sure you know that I know a few of them with public identities. I've helped a couple of them out when there was something I could do," she opened her locker and began to finally shimmy into some clothes beneath her towel, "but that doesn't mean you're going to see me running around in a cape and domino mask."
Decent enough, she brought her towel up to start drying off her hair, "Happy now?"
***
Okay, why does *no one* think it's weird that she's walking around after slinging spells around yesterday?
Cassie, Or I guess, Cassiphone? was just sitting there, all alone, no questions, no furtive glances.
It's like everyone's just ignoring her.
Oh. That's why.
She's using some kind of spell, some kind of thing that... their eyes locked, that makes it really weird that I'm the only one staring right at her.
Alexandra flinches as Bronwyn reaches for ehr, but sighs in relief when it's just to move her aside
No, no. at this point, I'm not calling you a hero. or a villain. I think you haven't used your powers, except in track. I think here's too much going on here. She says, as Bronwyn starts dressing herself.
Kenneth pointed you out a few months back, before he moved. and said to Ask Bran about you. You know Bran, 8 feet tall, runs around with a spear in a hauberk. kinda cute... Has a sister named Branwyn? Yeah. Read the Mabinogion. and after the first museum incident, Bran's first appearance, there's been a whole host of Celtic hero and villains that have been making appearances. but Branwyn hasn't yet. she says And i know that Bran, the Bran we see, is a magical prjection, or similar. he has a human host he can revert to when he isn't in Hero mode, and his form and equipment gets stored in the ether until it is needed again.
And, in following up on this hint, a few track members pointed out the time around the museum incident... the first one. god I hope they have good insurance... as a time where your performance improved. not a great deal, you were already quite good, but improvement, and it coincided with where you started having a much spottier practice attendance record. Almost like, after a bunch of Celtic entities started appearing, you suddenly had augmented physical capabilities.
And there's a way you hold yourself. Shayera doesn't really notice it. Or Herman. Skuld actually leaned into it. I doubt you really do either. but like how you notice when someone is in pain by their gait, if you look, you can notice the opposite. power rather than weakness.
Also, I just listed off the identities of all Bran the Blessed's current allies, except the magic girl from the museum, but mages are hard to notice if they don't go for the whole "Bauhaus" look. And you didn't blink, you were so mad at me for all of this, you forgot to feign surprise.
So, I think I have a bunch of Evidence that says you are the host for the spirit or weird memory thing or whatever of Branwyn. She finishes, fishing a thermos out of her bag and pouring herself a cup, and decides that offering Bronwyn a cup would... be a bad plan.
Cassie watched the two punks wandering off and looked back down to her guitar. She was getting better pretty quickly, but certainly needed more practice. It was hard to find a good time outside school hours, what with Gabrielle's lessons and the occasional shifts helping out in the shop. At least it was a away of getting some cash saved up so she could afford a guitar of her own. Glancing at her phone, Cassie could see that classes were due to resume soon, so she began packing up her things. As she bent over the guitar case she felt,... a prickling on her neck, like she was being watched and she looked around to see that girl from the first day - Bronwyn staring at her... Cassie frowned. No-one else was giving her a second glance, so the charm was still working and that Bronwyn was immune, or at least resistant for some reason, which meant,... Cassie wasn't sure what it meant, but it sure wasn't good!
Narrowing her eyes, Cassie muttered under her breath, whilst drawing a complex circle in the dust at her feet. Let's see if there's anything interesting going on with her...
Despite not getting a hug, Alexis felt super happy that she'd gotten the !date, practically skipping as she left the biology lab after giving Nibbles another pet to thank him for helping her out. She had to tell Shayera. She didn't have a cell phone yet, but she did have that earbud that she'd gotten. She tapped it three times to get to talk to Shayera. "I get to hang out with Kaoru, which I think means going on a date as friends, but he wants other people to come with us, so I want to see if you'll come tomorrow so he feels comfortable."
She hardly noticed the laughter of a pair of girls nearby glancing at her, hanging off of the American Dream. Michelle and Tanya had been effectively following him all day ever since he'd announced himself as a hero, they were obviously interested in Herman for his status and physique.
"Hey, isn't that the girl who cried in class yesterday trying to read?" Tanya asked.
"Yeah, I think she's a sped. Poor girl. She's not right in the head. Was she asking out that new boy?" Michelle replied.
"Ouch. I hope he let her down gently. You wouldn't want to end up with someone like that. She probably kisses like a puppy, all slobber and tongue."
"Hey, Tanya, don't be mean to the retard, that's not nice. At least her mom cared enough to dress her up nice." Michelle looked up at Herman, puffing out her chest a bit. "What do you think, AyDee? You think she has a chance of dating that new boy?"
Alexis wasn't listening to them. She was listening instead to an alarm tone, the type that homed towards a specific direction in case of emergency. She headed in that direction, trying not to run, but feeling worried.
She peeked inside the room that smelled like unwashed boys and saw Shayera facing off with some large boy, while two others held the weights down on the boy from the roof and from the museum, the one with the big sword.
"...should I go get a teacher?" She asked. Shayera had said she should do that instead of intervening here at school, but Shayera wasn't doing that here. Maybe she should interfere then. She walked up towards Shaun and the two boys holding the barbell on him. "...Do you want help?"
Bends froze mid-position transition. ”Whoa whoa waitaminute! Please ya can’t-!”
Shaun grined. GOTCHA!
Jason whipped around. ”Bendis you idiot get back on-!”
”Too late!” Two moves. Two moves, and the goons were floored. Bendis got a (non-lethal) whack with the weighted end of the bar, Ditko found a combat boot planted squarely between his legs. Bendis was groaning, Ditko was screaming at a pitch that would impress even the most hardened music critic. Shaun meanwhile was now standing, blood dripping from his back and bar slung across his shoulders. ”Good news Mutton Chops, bench’s open. Bad news?” He hefted the bar in his hands like a sword. ”By ta’ time I’m through wi’ye’, ya’ won’t be able ta’ bench 5!”
Jason didn’t so much as twitch. Instead, his face assumed a peculiar expression of casual contemplation, as though he was choosing between something like movies, or ice cream flavors.
...well I wasn’t expecting that reaction. Still in a combat stance, Shaun looked at Shayera, trying to see what her next move was.
He looked just in time to see the homeless wrecking ball come walking up.
...WAS EXPECTING THAT LESS! His jaw dropped as looked back and forth between Shayera and the crazy girl. ”YE’ BROUGHT HER TA’ SCHOOL?!?!”
Shayera's heart sank. She pinches her brow, shaking her head as violence erupts around her. "I asked nicely, even."
When Alexis shows up, however, real fear seizes her. The last thing she needed was this superstrong loose cannon taking a swing at someone who couldn't take one. "Alexis, no! Leave, please! Just go, we'll talk later, I swear!"
Then she moves to interpose herself between Jason and Shaun. "Jason, you're new here. This is Halcyon. Don't pick fights. It might not go very well for you."
"I go to school here," Alexis said simply, not sure why Shayera looked afraid and Shaun looked upset at her. She takes a moment to consider the situation before turning to Jason, tilting her head towards him oddly.
"...Are you hurting people?" She asked Jason. Her hands look ready to ball up into fists. "I hate that. Please stop it." She told Jason bluntly.
The jock stares at the strange girl for a moment, and doesn't look at her with lust or anger. More like familiarity with how she acted. Jason grits his teeth. "Screw it. Let's just go guys," He snapped in annoyance to his buddies. "...why do you have to look at me like my big sister?" He grumbled.
"I don't know your big sister. Is she like me?" Alexis asked.
"...Similar. But worse," the defused jock says as he stomps out of the weight room.
Alexis blinks a couple times, before turning to Shayera. "Do you want to go on a group not-date with me and Kaoru tomorrow? He wants other people there." She asks, before looking at Shaun. "Do you want to come too? You're funny."
With the scene currently defused, Wingblade finally addresses the scent of fresh blood. She sees the small pool of it on the bench and immediately looks to Shaun. She deftly steps to get a look at his back and swears.
"Dammit, Shaun! Look at you! What the hell are you doing bench pressing with that kind of wound on your back!?!" She grabs his arm and starts pulling him out of the weight room.
She pauses as they're about to walk past Alexis. "Umm, yeah. That sounds great. I've been meaning to introduce myself to Kaoru anyway, so that's great."
She finds a bin where fresh towels are stored and uses them to put pressure on his back where the stitches popped open. "Come on. I guess you don't want to go to a hospital, huh? Well, I've got the next best thing. Come on."
She pulls out her phone and speaks Chinese into it.
Bronwyn was ready to keep to her cover story. Her progression in her track events had been very carefully within normal range, arguably a little slow on the whole, so she was quite sure that Alexandra was just fishing there. She'd already explained that she just actually knew Shayera, and Skuld, and everyone else, but she knew a lot of people who weren't superheroes too, and she'd met a lot of them as Bronwyn first!
If she was really Bronwyn.
Is she right? I mean, she's pretty wrong, but... I mean Bronwyn to Branwen isn't... it isn't that far off. But like, my parents named me that. All these powers are just 'cause I found the spear, right? And no one else got powers the other times they were moving it around because... because those cultists did some kind of crazy ritual?! Right?!
I'm not Branwen.
She scrambled to put on her clothes and brushed past Alexandra as quickly as she could. "You- you don't- I have to go."
She was going to have to turn her phone over again as soon as she got home, so before she'd gotten far she whipped out her phone and dialed fast.
Come on Shayera. I need to talk to you. Please.
As Bendis helped Ditko out, Shaun let the bar drop to the floor with a dull thud. ”Ye’ go...ta’ school...here?” He turned to look at Wingblade as she helped him out, her complaints about lifting falling on deaf ears. ”She goes ta’ school here? How. Ta’. F#@*. Is she. Goin’. Ta’ school. Here?” He thought for a moment, and then he paled. ”...Shayera, for ta’ love of Jesus n’ all ta’ saints, tell me ya’ didn’t enroll her. Please tell me ye’ didn’t enroll a g!! d%*n maniac in school.” He paused. ”...wait, what’d she say about a date?”
Shayera shakes her head as Shaun rants. "You don't get a say about her. I'm trying to get her socially acclimated, and it's getting really difficult! Now shut up for a handful of seconds while I get you in the car."
She leads Shaun outside and to the school pickup area where a classic Chevy Bel-Air is waiting with a dapper elderly gentleman in the driver's seat.
"Hello, Reginald. Picking up another stray," she tells him, then helps Shaun into the back seat. "Do NOT bleed on the seat," she says through her teeth, then sits next to him to keep the towel in place.
Her phone starts buzzing while she's in the back seat with Shaun. She glances at it, sees who's calling, then speaks to it again in Chinese. The phone links to her earbud. "Yeah, Bron! How's the grounding coming along?" she says in as cheerful voice as she can muster.
The entire way to the car, Shaun wears a shocked, glassy-eyed expression. ”...socially acclimated...Jesus f*@&in’ Christ...”
As the car purrs along, he found himself staring at the floor, trying and failing to process what he’d just witnessed. ”...I am in ta’ back of a fancy-ass car, goin’ who ta’ hell knows where, with a superhero I met two days ago, an’ my back is pissin’ blood.” Then, a bell rung in his head, providing a bit of clarity. ”Wait, somebody grabbed my duffle, right?”
Alexis peeks into the back from the front seat, holding onto a duffel bag. She's been looking through it while they were heading to the car, curious about what was inside. "Here you go," She tells Shaun with a blank expression. "...you say a lot of bad words. I dont think people like that a lot."
She flops back in her seat, looking at Reginald. "I'm hungry. Can we stop for pizza and ice cream?" She asked him. "Also a phone. And I want to know what movies we can see tomorrow..."
She blinked a couple of times again, before looking in the car mirrors for a moment. Her lips pursed together briefly before she leaned in to whisper to Reginald. "Is someone following us?"
Shayera rolls her eyes. She was starting to get inured to the constant stream of complaints, but it still took some effort.
She puts the phone against her chest for a moment as she is told where the duffel is. She then steps out of the car at a stoplight, still talking on the phone. Reginald continues to drive.
Several minutes later, the classic Chevy is much closer to the Towers District of Downtown Halcyon. Shayera is standing on a street corner with Shaun's heavy duffel bag slung over one shoulder. She dives into the car as Reginald slows it up. Then they continue on through the glass-and-steel canyons of the glittering skyscrapers.
"Food's at the apartment, Alexis. We can check the movie listings there too," she tells her houseguest.
Several more twists and turns through the maze of downtown Halcyon that would have thrown off any tail finally end when the driver turns into an underground parking garage. They end before a bank of elevators. Shayera leads Shaun to one of them and with a voice command, has them hurtling upward. The rapid acceleration would cause even the strongest stomach to flip, but Shayera seems unfazed.
The elevator finally slows, then stops, opening up into a brilliantly opulent apartment. "Abacus, activate med bay," Shayera announces, and the lower floor opens up to reveal a high tech medical suite.
"Gawk later. Let's get you patched up, for real this time," she says, pointing to a table next to numerous medical instruments.
> A very well-kept first aid kit made to look like a sporran (the fuzzy thing you see on the front of a kilt sometimes).
> A handful of spare knives, ranging from k-bars to tiny wood carving knives. All freshly sharpened.
> A kitchen knife-sharpener.
> A silvery flask, currently empty. Interior smells strongly of scotch. Engraved with the following: “To Mad Jack. May you never have to go sober again.”
> A compact tool kit that is missing more than a few tools and appears to have a bullet hole through it.
> Something that may have, at one point been a can of spray paint; has some kind of makeshift mechanism duct-taped to it, function unknown.
> A scrap of sheet music. Old, crumpled, and water-stained.
> Two generic t-shirts.
> A map of Halcyon that is sparesely covered with red dots, located mostly around downtown, the school, and a private suburb of some variety.
> Another map of Halcyon, but this one is covered with jumbled arrows, directional markings, and frustrated comments about buses in the margins.
> A red sharpie marker.
> A jar of blue facepaint, half empty. The label has been scratched off and a sticker labeled “WARPAINT” has been put on the lid.
He yanked the bag out of her hand. ”Yea’, well people tend not ta’ like me anyway, so why ta’ f%+* not?” Even a cursory glance inside was enough to tell him she’d been through it. ”Don’t touch my s%~# by ta’ way. Espec’lly my uniform, I don’t got a second of that.”
The elevator ride nearly had him puke all over, but in a strange stroke of luck him missing lunch saved him from the embarrassment. By the time they reached the top, he was starting to feel light headed. Weather that was from bloodloss or the lift was still up for debate.
”Abacus, activate med bay.”
Shaun shook his head a nd put his hands in a “t” position. ”Okay j-just stop f’a damn sec’! Are we-, is this-, where are we? An’ whaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...” He watched with rapt amazement as the room changed into a hospital before his eyes. ”...okay that was cool as s@#@.”
”Gawk later. Let's get you patched up, for real this time.”
As the heroine points to the table in the center of the med station, Shaun looks back-and-forth between her and the table. ”Uh...you’re not just gonna like...make me a cyborg or some s*%$ w’that, right?” Figuring it was his best option at the moment, he gingerly walked over to the table. ”...so, how’s this work? Do I just hop in? Do I...strip?” He was genuinely confused, but still amazed at what he was seeing.
Shayera has Shaun lay on the table, and in a couple quick moves has his arms lashed down. "To make sure you stay still," she tells him.
Then she steps around and moves his head so he can see the array of medical equipment at her disposal. She turns her back to him briefly, washes her hands thoroughly, then turns back around with a syringe. As she flicks it to make sure all the air is out, she smiles a humorless smile.
"While I'm patching you up, let's review a few things, shall we?" She steps out of his view and he suddenly feels a sharp jab near his wound. The pain immediately begins to lessen.
"You've been in Halcyon City... what? Four days now? A week? And in that time," she says as she steps back into view to retrieve a pair of scissors, "you've managed to get into a fight with me, Alexis, Bran the Blessed, Bone Daddy -- you get a pass for that one -- and three members of the Halcyon football team. Have I left anyone out?"
Shayera snags a wad of gauze and some disinfectant, then she disappears behind him. "You have also managed to get Bronwyn grounded for some reason." Fire blooms on his back as the pain of the disinfectant manages to cut through the local anesthetic.
She leans back into his field of view. "So sorry." She doesn't look sorry.
She gathers some suture thread and threads it through a needle in front of him, then moves again to his back. "So," she continues in a casual tone. "I'm now at a loss to decide what to do with you. Something tells me that without serious intervention, you are going to continue on this crash-course of yours and really get yourself hurt."
She reappears in front of him, eyes narrowed and boring into him. Her voice is low and deadly serious. "Or worse, you will hurt someone I care about."
She straightens and folds her arms in front of her, evidently complete with her stitching. "Now, before I let you up, I'd like to hear from you -- and with as little profanity as possible -- how do you think your first days at Halcyon have gone?"
He took off his shirt before laying down, correctly guessing he was about to revive a bit more stitching. The straps were new though.
”To make sure you stay still.”
”I’ve...gotten stitches before. I know ya’ stay still, wh-? Is this really...?” He got his answer when Shayera turned back around and smiled at him. ”...oh...I’m f%&~ed, aren’t I?”
His eyes never left Wingblade as she orbited around him. ”Ow. Y’know, I don’t need ta’ pain killers, I’m fine witho-“
”You've been in Halcyon City... what? Four days now? A week? And in that time, you've managed to get into a fight with me, Alexis, Bran the Blessed, Bone Daddy -- you get a pass for that one -- and three members of the Halcyon football team. Have I left anyone out?"
Oh God, here we go. ”Eight days, an’ye’ counts a fair-bit off on ta’ fights. I never fought ye’ or ta’ Great Tin Can, an’ I don’t even know who ‘Alexis’ is. Plus, ye’re not countin’ta’ others, but please by all means contin-“
”You have also managed to get Bronwyn grounded for some reason."
Christ why do they all sound the same when they rant!? ”Whoa, hey, hang on there lass! I didn’t DO anythin’! I didn’t even ask her ta’ hELP!” The sudden burst of pain surprised him. She was getting him off-balance...
”So sorry.”
”F!%+ off.”
She was finishing up now. ”So, I'm now at a loss to decide what to do with you. Something tells me that without serious intervention, you are going to continue on this crash-course of yours and really get yourself hurt."
I swear all of these people read the same f@!#ing script.
”Or worse, you will hurt someone I care about."
Her look into his face combined with line got his attention. That’s...a new twist.
”Now, before I let you up, I'd like to hear from you -- and with as little profanity as possible -- how do you think your first days at Halcyon have gone?"
He was quiet for a long minute.
”...look in my bag. There’s a map w’little red dots on it.”
He waited for her to retrieve it. ”Every, single, one of those dots is somebody I helped in ta’ past week. Some horrible thin’ I stopped. 4th and Cherry, I kept a little girl from watchin’ her mam get beaten ta’ death by ta’ man who wanted her purse. 17th Street, I stopped a bastard from runnin’ his car through an old folk’s home ‘cause he was drunk off his arse. Grand Avenue Alley, I went toe-to-toe w’some would-be serial killer who was gonna start his sick ‘career’ w’a guy in a g!& d&%n wheelchair.” He looked Shayera dead in the eyes. ”An’ y’know, maybe I should have let it happen, yea’? Maybe I should have just ‘stayed safe,’ an’ ‘kept out of ta’ way,’ an’ just LET those bad thin’s happen. LET them happen, when I CAN stop them!” He chuckled. ”I don’t have powers. Hell I barely even have trainin’! But I’ve got ta’ one thin’ it takes ta’ be a hero: ta’ will ta’ do what’s right instead of what’s easy. I’ve got a fire f’this life doll, an’ you’ll have ta’ kill me ta’ put it out.” He wasn’t certain, but he was pretty sure he was crying a bit.
”How’s my week been? Pretty. F*~*in’. Great.”