Still hanging from the door of the car, Cassie frantically snatches her charm from her neck, breaking the chain. As she's buffeted against the side of the car, she manages to choke out a few words and then, holding her breath, lets go of the car... Levitating next to it, her momentum maintaining their relative speeds. Turning in the air she thrust her hands forwards. A burst of flame makes her speed increase and she draws away from the car, then level with the truck and finally, its cabin. There, she grabs for the door and manages to pull herself inside.
Cera and Steg's escape was of no consequence; preventing further mayhem was all that mattered. There was no time to delay or dally while that truck was headed straight for the edge and from there onto who knew what.
Really a lot more used to jumping when I've got a running start. Okay, One
Two
Three!
With all the power of his mighty frame, Bran hurled himself towards the bulk-hauler, wedging his fists into its chassis and slamming his sabatons against the pavement as he strained to drag the runaway truck to a halt.
Kaoru heart sank as her phone failed to connect to Bronwyn. Oh gods, they had definitely been going really fast. And roads were very hard. And she was pretty sure traveling at just 40mph and getting thrown from a car was enough to kill and/or do significant damage. But that's partially because they get thrown through the windshield, right? Bronwyn didn't do that, so she should be better off, right? Why hadn't she been paying more attention and just grabbed the girl? She stood up to look anxiously back in the direction they had come from even though they had long passed where she had fallen.
As she stared backwards, a sudden thought struck her. The tires on the truck were shredded. It would make it harder to control. Alexandra had shredded them. If the truck crashed and hurt people, Alexandra might be held accountable. She could be tried for manslaughter. Or negligent homicide. Or who the fk knew, but it might end her heroing career (even if Kaoru didn't really understand why Alexandra even wanted to be doing that, it seemed to be something she enjoyed) or land her in juvie. They might not be able to spend time together anymore. This one, stupid day might cost her two-thirds of the friends she had actually had. She had to do something.
It was child's play to hack into two of the nearby automated trucks (it was also kind of shocking how much people didn't seem to realize that even non-automated vehicles relied so heavily on software nowadays). Ugg, but that stupid tin man was in the way again. She couldn't very well move the automated truck in front of it to slow it down. So instead she moved them to flank the vehicle. They moved in closer, close enough for the sides to connect in a horrendous screeching of metal as she started to put on the breaks. C'mon friction. Do your thing!
Cassiphone pulls herself into the truck's seat and frantically pumps the breaks, watching in terror as the truck nears the end of the road.
Kilt wasn’t usually nervous around heights. In this moment though...?
OH F!!$ OH F@&+ OH F!%~ OH-!!!
”UH, WINGBLADE!? A LITTLE HELP IF YA’ WOULD LASS!”The winged woman begins her dive.
S+&! S+@+ S*&* S!## S!@! S*~~-!!!
”WINGBLADE!?!”
Someone shouting her name from high above catches her attention through the battle haze. She looks up and sees an enemy... and someone she knows... plummeting towards the ground.
Instincts drilled into her by her mentor take over, and she launches herself into the air on an intercept course. A lifetime of flight gives Wingblade the advantage as she body-checks the Saurian and absorbs part of the impact, spinning around and taking hold of the Kilt. Coming out of the spiral, Wingblade skims along the ground while Dack is left by herself to try to pull out of her dive.
Alexis pulls herself up and jumps back over to the battered limousine, just as it drops back far enough to avoid both Bran grabbing it by the rear and putting his brakes, Cassie pumping the truck's brakes from the cab, and Kaoru's efforts with the self-driving trucks helping to bleed off the momentum.
As they work in concert, Wingblade easily snatches up Kilt from Dack's clutches. Done with the fight, she dives down to where Cera and Steg driving off the back ramp over Bran's head in their stolen sports cars. Velo hops on as they pass by, and the Saurians book it away from the group.
The screeching metal and brakes seem to take forever, as the truck gets closer and closer to the bend. Hundred of feet become dozens, and dozens into only a few as it almost reaches the edge, before it and the hacked trucks alongside it finally come to a complete stop.
There's a moment where Cassie can see out of her window just how they had managed to avert disaster, as she can see someone's birthday party happening down below in the park.
Reginald stops the limo as he steps out, straightening his tie. "I would suggest we vacate as soon as possible." He points out. "The authorities would not take kindly to you all jumping into vigilante work, I would assume."
"...Are we going to be late for the movie?" Alexis asks, glad that her dress is still intact here. She checks around then looks concerned. "Where's Bronwyn?"
The sound of sirens is now audible from a distance, the last entry ramp giving everyone a short minute to decide what to do next - what do you do?
As he slowly returns to terra-firma, Kilt is half cackling like a crazy person, half trying to not pass out. "Ahaha, *coughing*, ha-ha, ha, hooooo...!" He totters slightly as he pats Wingblade on the shoulder. "Ye' are truly an angel lass...I owe ya'..."
As he makes his way back to the limo (or rather, what's left of the limo), he spies Alexandra...decked out in a domino mask and carrying a hand-crossbow. "...heh, called it." As best he can in his de-adrenaline-ing state, he shots her a smug, but playful, smile.
"...Are we going to be late for the movie?"
Kilt looks at the girl incredulously, but at the moment can't find it in him to be mad at her. As he clambers into the once-fancy vehicle, he chuckles. "Y'know, I think we could still make it if we hurry a tad." He flops into a seat, and then discovers a few of his back stitches have snapped as he feels a wet impact around the base of his neck. "S%@$! Uh, maybe we'll miss ta' previews...sorry Wing." He leans forward, trying to keep the injury from staining the seat anymore than it has.
"Where's Bronwyn?"
As Shaun starts wiping the (still-wet) warpaint off, he freezes and pales. His head darts around both inside an outside the limo, trying to find any sign of the girl. "Bronwyn!? Oh s&%$...!" He jumps back out of the limo and looks back down the road, trying to spy her. "BRONWYN!" He stabs at the bud in his ear. "Bronwyn I dunno if ye' got one of these but if ye' do PICK TA' F!#@ UP! Where are ya'?! Are ye' hurt?!"
Wingblade stares after the sports car wild-eyed, like a predatory animal contemplating giving chase. Her wings twitch and quiver and her whole body is taut like a stretched bow string. Blood streaks her shoulders and neck, though no wound is apparent, making her look like she had embraced a fresh kill.
Shaun's words of thanks apparently go missed as she strains against an unseen force that's holding her back from pursuing after the Saurians.
She snaps out -- barely -- when Alexis and Shaun ask about Bronwyn. She blinks, looks around, and spots Bran pulling the truck back from the highway's shoulder.
"I'll... I'll go find her. Reginald, take them. Bran, you're with me. We'll find her and meet you at the theater."
Shaun gives a scornful glance at the armored titan. "Yea'f+*~in' right." He briefly ducks back into the limo and grabs his sporran from the kit. "I'm comin' too. She might be hurt n' I know my s&+* when it comes ta' first aid."
As soon as the truck has stopped, Kaoru is backing up one of her controlled vehicles, ready to jump in and go back and find Bronwyn. But then a rather bloody, and rather terrifying-looking, Wingblade is saying she'll go and get her. And yeah, a flying person was probably going to be faster (and safer) than driving the wrong way down the highway. So instead she flopped heavily back into her seat in the limo. Jeez, we're *still* going to the movies? What the hell is wrong with these people?
She takes a few deep breaths, trying to clear her mind. But there's just too much lurking in the back of it that had been trying to assert itself all day for it to work. Instead, she turns to focus on one of the people she could check up on. Her eyes flick quickly over Alexandra's form. Legs: still attached. Arms: also there. Fingers: Looks like all ten made it out. Head: on straight. Pretty green eyes: not gauged out. Nose and ears: intact. Lips- ok, *looks* like nothing major is missing. "So I'm ok. Are you ok?"
Fine. seh says to Kaoru, mentally cursing Shaun for being moderately perceptive. you shouldn't be allowed to be that insufferable, and moderately intelligent.
So, Kay. Welcome to the team I guess. We're probably recruiting Alexis as well. We'll need names for both of you. she says.
She gets out her thermos, and pours herself a cup. adding a white, milk-consistency liquid to if from a flask. she offers Kaoru and Alexis some.
So, what was that thing with you and Shayera, anyway?
Kaoru declines the drink. "Coffee makes me jittery." Shayera? Oh right, Wingblade's other, I guess civilian, name. She drummed her fingers on her leg. "It's...she wanted help with something, I guess." Now was certainly not the time to go into all the complicated details. Especially given who else was around that could overhear. So instead she turned to Alexis. "Are you ok, Alexis? Sorry about the..." she gestures vaguely to her face, where the other girl had taken a blow from a club tail on her behalf.
Bran nods then turns to the others. "Worry not, Bronwyn is well." Maybe not 'go see the movie' well, but we can sort that out.
He takes off his helm, revealing his strong, primitive features and a warm smile. "We have done well this day. For those to whom I have not yet been introduced, I am Bran the Blessed. It pains me to cut our meeting short, but the time to depart does draw nigh. I am certain, however, that we will meet again soon. Thank you all for the lives you have saved.
"Your offer is appreciated, Kilt, but I am glad to say she was largely unhurt. Besides, Wingblade and I will travel more swiftly if we do not have to carry you."
With a serious look in his eyes, Bran continues "I swear, if it is not so, I will call upon your services. I do not wish her to come to harm either."
Shaun regards the giant with a sour expression. "...fine." He glances between Bran and Wingblade. "Go get her. I'll...make sure everyone else gets ta' theater a'ight..." He hands the sporran to Wingblade and packs himself back into the limo.
As he enters the elongated vehicle, he grabs the kit and flops into a seat with the case in his lap. A brief check confirms that nothing important got knocked loose. He sighs, locks the kit and puts it back under his seat. Only then does he even seem to notice the others in the car. "Ye' a'ight?" he asks, motioning to everyone. "Nothin' broken 'er cut?"
Wingblade turns and waves them off. "Just go. I bought out the whole showing, so I'll bet they won't start until we get there."
She gives Bran a nod and take a flight, soaring over his head as he runs along the road beneath her.
Once they find a secluded spot in a graffiti-covered underpass, Wingblade lands hard. Gritting her teeth, she slashes her wings against the giant concrete supports. She screams in pent-up rage and frustration, her voice drowned out by the sound of sirens and response vehicles rumbling past overhead.
After several moments go by leaving numerous furrows gouged into the concrete, she finally turns and puts her back against it. She slides down until her knees are against her chest and she covers her face with her hands. "Damn it. Damn me. It came back. It came back so easily. And I didn't care if I'd killed that guy."
Wingblade peeks through her fingers. "You took a such a big fall. It-- You-- You're okay, right?"
Kaoru jumped as the giant tin man started to talk to them. Wait, *that's* Bran? And he seriously calls *himself* 'the Blessed'? Dude was freaking huge! She was pretty sure no one had the right to be that large. This must be what Hikaru felt like when she met Lantis. She froze. Wait, *this* is the guy Alexandra likes? But...how would they- Would he even- Nope. Not gonna think about that. Not even gonna start. She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. He had better be telling the truth about Bronwyn.
"I'm fine." She responded tightly to Shaun, shooting a dark look at Bran. Why hadn't they left yet? "Let's hurry up and leave, so they can go get Bronwyn already. Where's Cassie?" A little bit of tension left her when she finally saw Wingblade take off. Wait, she had bought out the entire showing? Damnit, the limo was already going to be expensive enough as is. Whatever, worry about it later.
"I'm okay." She promises as she shows off her completely healed nose, though some streaks of blood were on her face. She paused and tried to wipe it off more readily, feeling like Kaoru didn't want to see her like that.
"...Shayera will bring Bronwyn back. And we stopped the truck from going over," Alexis points out, smiling as she sits back in the limo. "We were heroes. I like being a hero."
Reginald is quick to start driving back off away from the scene as soon as everyone gets back in the limo. Alexis looks admirably at Cassie. She stares intensely at the girl in fact.
"...You're really pretty. You were great helping to stop the truck too," She says.
Kaoru pulled a handkerchief out of her bag along with a bottle of water. She uses it to wet the cloth. "Here, you've got...uhhh...let me?" Kaoru begins wiping off the remaining blood from Alexis' face before folding the cloth up and putting it in a random, isolated pocket to be washed later. She really wished she shared the other girl's simple optimism about Bronwyn.
Bronwyn didn't look that great.
Her hoodie was riddled with rips; the left sleeve was entirely missing. Her leggings too were speckled with blood and tattered til they looked like poorly made, oddly modest fishnets. Patterns of roadrash and bruises were splashed in assorted places along her limbs and torso where it showed through. She held one arm tucked in close to her body, and her face was tight with pain.
And of course she was still dripping wet from the water barrels.
But she was smiling.
"Shayera, I'm fine. I've had worse falls than this without even superheroing. Are you okay? I'm sorry I scared you."
Wingblade shakes her head. "I'm fine. You look-- Bron, why don't you switch back for a little while? See if you heal faster there like Bran does? I don't like how you're holding your arm."
"Yeah, it works like that. See how I'm not bleeding anymore? I'll swap out to heal up, but later. For now I mainly need to clean off and get some new clothes. Oh, Shaun probably has a wrist-brace in there, right? I think I can pretend it's a bad sprain for now..."
She looked searchingly in Shayera's eyes, and didn't seem to like everything she saw there.
"Shayera, you know I'm pretty tough, right? I mean, we were only going what 40-50 miles an hour? I can run almost that fast. Don't think I'm offering, but if I had to fight, or carry you out of here, I'd just go. I may not heal as fast as you or Alexis, but you don't have to worry about me like I'm actually a civilian, get it?"
"I mean hey - I just stopped a runaway semi! Not alone, but still. Now, I have a change of clothes back in the limo, but there are some polka dots peeking through my pants that other people aren't supposed to see." She blushed, "You're not really supposed to see them either, but..." She shook her head quickly and continued, "So, can you get my wrist braced and what's left of the sweater off me so I can... so you can tie it around my waist?
"Really Shayera, I'm fine. Let's go."
Wingblade stands reluctantly and digs through the medical kit that Shaun and handed her. She finds the items for a brace and steps close to test Bronwyn's arm. After several days with a broken hand that she kept messing up because it never aligned properly, Shayera had studied the basics of setting broken bones.
After making sure the break was set correctly, she puts her arm in the splint silently and avoiding looking into Bronwyn's eyes. Then she rearranged Bronwyn's sweater and putting it a round her waist. She finishes and steps back, focusing on replacing everything in Shaun's pack.
Not making eye contact, she asks, "I guess I should fly you to the theater, huh? You could still run, though. It's whatever you want."
Shaun watches as Kaoru tries to wipe off Alexis' face, a tender move that, from what he'd (over)heard and experienced about the guy, seemed out of place. The Scotsman sighs, rolls his window down, and rests his head on the sill.
His chest was throbbing with pain. He didn't even need to look to tell it was starting to turn purple. He could feel similar bruises on his right side, almost perfectly opposite to the still-healing cut on the left. His tank, his favorite tank, was stained with blood and torn in a couple of places, which wasn't as big a deal, but it just piled on top of his one, overwhelming thought: I just made a complete fool of myself.
I seriously don't think I could have been a bigger clown back there. I screwed up the foam bomb, got tossed around three separate times, nothing I tried worked, and now Bronwyn's probably hurt bad because I couldn't get my f+&*ing act together. What is it about this town that just wants to chew me up and spit me out!?
"We were heroes. I like being a hero."
Shaun tilts his head towards the still slightly blood-spattered girl, the only expression on his face being a raised eyebrow. Is...she serious? He was starting to get an idea of how she, somehow, was actually getting him to like her. She sounds like...like how I did. He clears his throat. "Yea'...y'weren't half-bad Lex..."
Bronwyn reached over with her good hand, tilting Shayera's chin up towards her and leaned in for a quick soft kiss. "Hey, you're being all weird. I missed some of the fight, is everyone okay?"
"I got hit a lot. It hurts. But other people could have been hurt. I can take hits better than most people." She looks at Cassie. "You can fly and make fire and stuff." She eyes Kaoru. "You have your drone and I bet you made the trucks help." She looked at Alexandra. "You and Shaun were brave to fight those dinosaurs with only your tricks and style. And Bronwyn and Shayera were brave too!"
She smiles, looking down at her hands. "If we keep working together like this, we can help a lot of people. I want to help lots of people. Do you all...want that?" She asks, eyes hopeful.
Cassie sat in the truck's cabin, breathing heavily, before she calmed down enough to haul herself gingerly out of it. Her legs felt a bit wobbly, and she felt bruised and battered from being thrown around inside the car, but was oddly elated from the adrenalin still coursing through her body.
Pausing for a moment she considered whether to replace the charm. Its probably safe for now, maybe i'll just leave it off for a little longer, it'd be nice to be myself for a bit.
She made her way back to the limo and collapsed into her seat with a sigh. When Bran and Wingblade left to get Bron, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but said nothing.
"...You're really pretty. You were great helping to stop the truck too."
Cassie grinned at the other girl. "Um. Thanks" she replied That whole thing was,.. intense!"
"You can fly and make fire and stuff." She eyes Kaoru. "You have your drone and I bet you made the trucks help." She looked at Alexandra. "You and Shaun were brave to fight those dinosaurs with only your tricks and style. And Bronwyn and Shayera were brave too! If we keep working together like this, we can help a lot of people. I want to help lots of people. Do you all...want that?".
Cassie shook her head. "No, I can't fly - that was just levitation. Flying's much harder and I'm just learning. Um, I don't know whether I want to keep doing things like that but,.. maybe? It was kind've exhilarating and we did stop those people being hurt." she pauses for a moment, looking at the others. "Umm, if anyone's stuff got ripped or torn or anything I might be able to fix them? Repair charms are pretty simple."
Alexandra grimaces as Alexis puts her in the same category as Shaun. You don't know who I am, do you Alexis? She says I'm the Silver shadow... the third to bear that title. And, my predecessors had something of a... reputation for causing teams to fracture. besides, you guys have a good team without me. Wingblade and Bran are seasoned heroes. You're... some kind of terrifying bioweapon, and You've got Sabrina over there. Maybe you have Kaoru too, maybe He'll stick with being my part time partner... though he better not expect every job to end like the last one. She says, smirking a little Well, maybe.
But, I don't mind teaming up sometime. kinda like what I had with Bran and Wingblade.
Instead of responding, Kaoru turned to look out the window. She wasn't sure she had the heart to tell the other girl that she didn't give two flying fks about helping people. And she certainly wasn't about to stick her neck out for the benefit of people she had never met and would never see again. She only has so many sh*ts to give; she wasn't about to waste them on people who weren't worth the time of day. If someone wanted her help, they better damn well show her they deserved it. Or just blackmail you a little voice quipped. She ignored it. She was not going to let herself be taken advantage of like that. She was not going to end up on some medical examiner's slab because she had been naive enough to think people were actually worth saving.
Even as she thought it, she was well aware that she might be the only person in the entire car who actually felt that way. She pushed away the uncomfortable feeling in her gut. She rubbed stinging eyes tiredly. What the hell was she even doing with these people? These people who didn't know the first thing about her. Who were deluded enough to think running around playing hero was actually a good idea. And worse, who somehow had gotten completely the wrong impression about the kind of person she was.
You know this means you'll never be good enough for any of them. And one day they'll see that. And you'll be alone again. You should bail before it's too late.
She absently raised her water bottle to her lips to take a drink. And then promptly started choking on it as Alexandra started talking. Oh my god, *why* would she bring that up now? She still hadn't had a chance to process that. Did Alexandra think she was a creep? Expecting physical favors in return for tech support? Wait...was actually considering kissing her again? God she hoped she could blame her red face on the water.
She should also probably tell her about the whole blackmail thing later. She didn't want Alexandra to think she was ditching her for this group. The real question was how much would she have to divulge about the situation to just give the basic idea.
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Shaun's eyes slide over to Cassie. She was...different somehow. She seemed happier, more present and noticeable, and yeah, she was pretty. A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
"I got hit a lot. It hurts. But other people could have been hurt. I can take hits better than most people. You can fly and make fire and stuff. You have your drone and I bet you made the trucks help. You and Shaun were brave to fight those dinosaurs with only your tricks and style. And Bronwyn and Shayera were brave too!"
She smiles, looking down at her hands. "If we keep working together like this, we can help a lot of people. I want to help lots of people. Do you all...want that?" She asks, eyes hopeful.
"'Style n' tricks' eh? Hah..." A smile slowly working its way properly onto his face, Shaun rights himself in his seat. "Yea', I want that. I wanna show people, even ta' people that get ta' most s+@! in this world, that they don't have ta' worry. That there's always people like me...people like us who'll be there f'em. Ready ta' keep 'em safe from whatever."
"Um, I don't know whether I want to keep doing things like that but,.. maybe? It was kind've exhilarating and we did stop those people being hurt."
He bites his lower lip slightly. "...I don't got an ounce of anythin' special in me, but that's never stopped me n' it never will." He meets Cassie's gaze for a moment. "With what ye' got, I dunno what could ever stop ya'. Ye're just too...amazin'." He pauses, then breaks eye contact as he starts to blush. Oh GOD that sounded terrible! What and why the f$+@ Me?! When did I get sappy?!
Trying to save a bit of face, Shaun coughs and doffs his tank, revealing his (heavily bruised) chest. "Uhrm, i-if ye're willin', I'd like this put right. It's, uh, i-it's my fave...'cause it's ta', ah, flag of Scotland, but ye' prob'bly knew that..." He hands the bloody tank towards the mage, desperately hoping he wasn't blushing too much.
He distracts himself by thinking about what Alexandra had just said, and what Kaoru was suspiciously not saying. He addresses Alexandra first. "Yea', I know 'bout your old man. Real piece of s@$!. Bet he was fun ta' live with." He rolls his eyes dramatically. "An' y'know, it'd be kinda funny if ye' could make ta' team thin' work when he couldn't. Show him up n' such." And conveniently keep you nearby in case you decide to start making "wild accusations" about me again...
Bronwyn reached over with her good hand, tilting Shayera's chin up towards her and leaned in for a quick soft kiss. "Hey, you're being all weird. I missed some of the fight, is everyone okay?"
Wingblade nods with a half shrug. Her kiss was pretty noncommittal. "I'm pretty sure."
A memory was tugging at her.
"You lost control." It wasn't a question.
Wingblade hung her head, letting her hair fall down in front of her face. It was hard facing her mentor now that she had broken the long silence during their flight back to Whippoorwill's penthouse.
"I-- yeah. I did." There wasn't any use in denying it.
"I thought I trained you better. You put nearly two feet of your blades into that boy. I want to know how. How could you lose yourself like that?"
Shayera shrunk beneath her gaze. There was so much disappointment in those eyes and voice. Tears began to well in her eyes despite her best efforts. "I don't know," she began, but she knew that was the wrong answer. She swallowed hard, Whippoorwill's unflinching gaze drawing the truth to the surface. "I-- I saw Vick get hurt. It made me mad. The Red came back, and I... I let it take me."
"'Vick?' You mean Ji-Wan?"
"He likes to go by Vick."
Whippoorwill shifts her stance as she regards her protege. After a long pause, she sighed slowly. "Let's sit. We need to talk."
Wingblade moved to the sitting area and sat, tucking her legs underneath her. Whippoorwill made a slight detour to her kitchen where she started a kettle of tea, then sat across from her.
"All right. Let's talk about Vick." Her eyes bored into the younger girl.
Wingblade folded her arms and looked away. After a moment of defiance, she shrugged. "I think he likes me."
"Do you like him?"
She shrunk away from the question, her shoulders hunching against the interrogation. Her wings twitched. "I guess. I mean, shouldn't I? He's funny. He's cute. He's got powers. We're on the same team. And I think he likes me."
The older winged woman put a hand to her face, rubbing her eyes. "Oh my God." Wingblade looked up at her, puzzled. "You're a teenaged girl."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused and wondering if she should be insulted.
"I mean you're--" She paused, collected her thoughts, and restarted. "You don't have to like someone just because they like you. Especially a boy. Lots of girls get excited when they learn a boy likes them. And they can... lose perspective. Do you understand?"
Wingblade looked at her blankly.
Whippoorwill rubbed her face again. "A couple days ago, he had you crying. And yeah, he apologized, and you two made up, but... but just remember that his careless words hurt you. He's not a bad kid, not deep down. But..."
"But... what?" Wingblade asked, leaning forward and staring at her mentor intently.
Whippoorwill's look hardened, and the sympathy that had shown on her face disappeared. "If liking Vick means that you can lose control around him, then the question is, should you like him?"
She finally meets Bronwyn's eyes. "I'm messing this up. I'm messing us up. And I don't think Whippoorwill's going to let us be together."
What?! Okay, we aren't in the middle of a big relationship moment or something else where she might feel like she's not ready. The only other thing that makes her feel this way is...
"Shayera, did you hurt someone?"
She looks down again and gives a small nod. "Yeah. I don't know how bad. I don't want to know. 'Cause he might be--" Shayera squeezes her eyes shut and turns away, not able to face her.
Bronwyn wrapped Shayera up in a fierce embrace, completely ignoring the pain shooting through her arm as she murmured into Shayera's ear "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I scared you. Shayera, I didn't think, I didn't realize that- Sweetie I'm so sorry."
Tears escape from the corners of her eyes. She shakes her head. "Don't. It's my fault. I couldn't -- wouldn't -- stop it."
Shayera takes hold of Bronwyn's good arm and gives it a squeeze. "I should go, turn myself in to the SCA. Take the heat off the others."
Bronwyn relaxed her grip, trying to make sure Shayera didn't feel trapped (or crushed), but she didn't let go either.
"Shayera, that is crazy. You are the world's biggest pessimist about yourself. So if you're saying that you're not sure if this guy is dead, then I'm positive that he's hurt, and hurt bad, but that no matter how out of control you felt, you kept at least a hand on the wheel. Look at how everyone else was reacting before we split off from the group. No one was afraid of you, no one was worried that you might be out of control. You just saved Shaun's life. You're a hero, Shayera, not a killer. You need to believe that. No matter what hurts you've suffered, you rise above them. Because Shayera, you could stop it; you did stop it. No one else did that for you. "
There's something not quite normal about you though. Cassie thought when Shaun claimed there was nothing special about him. The charm didn't work properly,.. I'll have to find out more about what's happening there. That makes two people who aren't affected right. This charm isn't as effective as Gabrielle said.
Amazing?
"I don't know about that." she says, her cheeks reddening to match Shaun's and a small smile turning the corners of her lips. "Like I said, I'm just getting started with all the 'hocus pocus' stuff. I'm not that good at it yet, but, I am getting better. I just need to study harder. Especially if this is going to become a 'thing'.
When Shaun takes off his shirt and hands it to her, she winces.
"Ouch, you really got messed up!.. I might be able to help with the bruises too?.. If you want?.. Umm, I've never tried healing anything more than a scratch, but I could try?" she says, holding the shirt in her hands."
Shayera turns her head around and leans back into her to give Bronwyn a kiss. When their lips part, she pulls away again. "I just... I want to be better. For you. Clear-headed and not like how I was made. And when I fail, I feel like I fail you."
"A-A thin'? Like a-? Oh! Y'mean a team thin'. Uh, yea', yea' I'd like this ta' be a thin'. All ta' best heroes are on teams."
Shaun blinks a bit, then looks down at his chest. "Uh, sure? I mean, I've had plenty worse than this. It's just bruisin'. Not like it drew blood or anythin'." He pauses, then slowly inches his way over to Cassie's seat. "But hell, anythin'ta' get those damn recovery times down." He twists to face his chest towards Cassie, and suddenly finds himself very aware of their proximity to each other.
As Wingblade and Bronwyn have their tender moment in the underpass, the revving of overpowered, over priced engines above them gets their attention. As does the loud - and now lisping - voice of Rex.
"THEY WILL RUE THE DAY THEY WENT AGAINTHT UTH! WHEN WE MEET AGAIN, THE THAURIANTH WILL THMATH THEM TO PIETHETH! PIETHETH I THAY!"
"Sweetie, she broke all your teeth! Stop shouting and let's keep moving before the cops show up!"
"...It wath a thucker punch," Shayera hears as they race off away towards their escape.
Alexis looks extremely interested in what Cassie is doing, coming close to her as she stares at the damaged tank top and watching her magic at work for a brief moment, before she notices the digital clock on top of the cineplex.
"...Oh no! We're missing the movie!" She shouts, as she grabs onto everyone, hauling them all across the parking lot to the cineplex in alarm. "We need to get snacks too! All the snacks!"
"I know. Shayera; I know this isn't easy. I'm not going to tell you it only matters that you try. But I trust you to succeed when it counts. You did today. C'mon," She nudged Shayera with the side of her head, "I've gotta get out of these clothes before I catch something from the highway-water. Let's fly."
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Wingblade shouts after Rex and the other Saurians. "YOU FOUGHT THE SILVER SHADOW! SHE TAGGED YOUR RIDES WITH HOMING BEACONS!!"
She smirks at Bronwyn. "Okay. Let's go. The theater'll be dark anyway."
Kaoru stubbornly refuses to go watch the movie until she receives some kind of confirmation that Bronwyn is ok.
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"Uhh, OK. Just a minute" Cassie says, reaching down to pull her bag out from beneath the seat and pulls out a notebook and pen. "So, Healing's a fair bit harder than fixing, but I'll do my best. So, I've gotta ask you a few questions. - They're going to seem a bit weird but they'll help, as long as you're honest anyway. It's all to do wiht 'humours' and 'elements' and, well, other stuff. You can whisper the answer if you want. So,...First; When's your birthday? I need the date and year, and where were you born? It'd help if you knew the time as well. Second; Do you like coriander? I told you they'd be weird. Third; Dog person or cat person? Fourth; What are your hight and weight? Fifth; quick as you can. What's the square root of 111? Sixth; Do you like baths or showers? Seventh;" she blushes, Ummm, what,.. physically,.. do you notice first about girls or guys, whichever you're in to,.. and what hair colour do you like or don't you care? Eighth; Have you had your appendix removed? Last one; Do you usually remember your dreams?"
At each answer, she scribbles in her notebook then looks at him closely. "OK, ummm eye colour, hair colour,.. You don't dye it do you?" "and he definitely works out so,.. Right. That's it so,.. she begins muttering under her breath and doing some calculations in the notebook. "OK then."
Hesitantly she reaches forward and, with two of her fingers begins tracing a complex shape on Shaun's chest and closes her eyes.
"Το αίμα και το δέρμα γίνονται ολόκληρα.
Δεμένη μαζί, αντλήστε ενέργεια από το φως.
Αίμα, μαύρη χολή, κίτρινη χολή, φλέγμα.
Αέρα, γη, φωτιά, νερό. Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Αίμα, μαύρη χολή, κίτρινη χολή, φλέγμα.
Αέρα, γη, φωτιά, νερό. Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Αίμα, μαύρη χολή, κίτρινη χολή, φλέγμα.
Αέρα, γη, φωτιά, νερό. Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Το αίμα και το δέρμα γίνονται ολόκληρα.
Δεμένη μαζί, αντλήστε ενέργεια από το φως. "
As she chants, nothing seems to happen at first and then the bruises begin to become noticeably less dark, fading over the course of several minutes.
Bronwyn's face showed a variety of emotions as she glared, smiled, and blushed her way through a rebuke. "Shayera. I am not going with you to another concert, movie, or assorted hootenanny without pants that I can trust to remain intact through the duration of the performance. I don't care how.. dark it is in the theater," she swallowed, and continued like she was totally joking, "You'll have to think of something much cleverer than 'The theater'll be dark anyways.' Plus, if you want to see someone really go into the Red, make me sit through the whole movie in wet clothes. C'mon, they'll be worried."
The comm crackles to life.
"Hey guys. We did it! Bran and Shayera filled me in, and we're heading over now. Could someone grab me some nachos with extra jalapeños, a diet coke, and umm... could one of the girls meet me at the restroom with the bag I left in the car? I'll totally pay you back, thanks."
Cassie's line of questioning (and if she's being completely honest, the magic thing too) peaked Kaoru's interest. She politely waits for the healing to finish before interjecting her own questions. "What if you don't know the answer to a question? Does that hurt things more or less than lying about it? Are some questions more important than others or are they all about equally balanced for the spell? What do you do with non-binary answers? Are they on a linear scale or something else? Are you using an Eastern or Western elemental system?" Yes, let's totally apply the scientific method to this. Because that will definitely, for sure work.
Cassie smiled at Kaoru, she hadn't been the centre of attention for so long that she'd almost forgotten how much she liked it.
"Uhh, yeah, its pretty complicated but yeah, lying is usually worse than not answering. The questions are different depending on lots of things; Time of day, season, whether or not its raining, stuff like that and, yeah, some are more important than others, and they all depend on each other. This time, the coriander question wasn't all that important - but it might be next time. Some of them are linear, others are, like quadratic, or circular or.. wiggly? And for some it matters just as much what my answers would be or how they apply to me... its kind've weird. Uhh, the elemental system is closer to the western one, but a bit different.... There's more than four for one thing and their all, kind've paired? Its really confusing! I'm kind've getting the hang of it. I still need to work things out on paper most of the time though, at least for complicated things like healing."
"...okay straight-up, I was imaginin' more..." He waggles his fingers at Cassie. "But, I mean, a'ight. Ye're ta' mage bòidheach."
1. "March 24th, 20XX...MacGregor, Iowa." He points a warning finger at Alexandra. "Time, uh...round the A.M. I think?" He shrugs half-heartedly.
2. "Cori-what? Well I got no clue what it is, so, no?"
3. "CAT. F@$% dogs."
4. He seriously debates lying for a moment, then sighs. "5'11.9", 126.3kg (give-or-take 2kg)." His mouth scrunches up into a knot. "But I should be six-foot by now...!"
5. "Ah, uh..." There's a pause as he starts trying to count it out on his fingers. "S~%~, uh...11?"
6. The f@@& kind of question is that!? "Showers..." He gives Cassie an odd look.
7. If he was blushing before, he was full-on flushed now. He could feel red-hot embarrassment all the way to his navel. "Uh-hum, uh...either I guess, and...just...general...shape?" I wonder if it's possible to blush yourself into unconciousness? His neck cringes into his shoulders. "Look I-I haven't given it much thought okay?! Just...not been a priority..."
8. "No." He was immensely grateful for the more normal question.
9. As soon as this question leaves Cassie's lips, Shaun's blush vanishes and he gets a distant, blank expression. "I did...don't anymore though..." And thank God for that.
The question about hair color snaps him back to reality. "Uh, yea', hair's pure Highland red." He roughly fluffs the mid-length locks to prove his claim.
Her hand is warm. He closes his eyes, and as she traces her fingers across his chest, Shaun feels stress ebbing out of his body. At the same time though, he giggles slightly. "Easy bòidheach, (heheh!) I'm ticklish...!"
After the healing is complete, Shaun appraises his newly refreshed person. "Badass! Thanks!" As he continues to talk, you all occasionally catch him pressing on the spots where the bruises were. "So, someone's teachin'ye' then, yea'? Ya' old man maybe? Some Merlin type?"
Kaoru's surprised to hear that Shaun's more of a cat person. He really struck her as a dog kind of guy. It was also rather enjoyable watching someone other than herself blushing furiously for a change.
She taps her fingers thoughtfully on her leg. "Well, the Western elements are kind of paired as well, aren't they? Split into active vs passive element. Hot vs cold. Wet vs dry. Would you say the calculations are pretty algorithmic? Like math? You apply a consistent set of rules and anybody doing it correctly should get the same result? Or is it more of a feeling or intuition or art form, similar to writing an essay?" I wonder if I could write a program to simplify things. Time of day and season would be trivial to look up. The weather might need to be inputted directly. Unless I could hook it up to additional sensors. Maybe something for humidity and a photosensor... She could feel her brain instinctually trying to latch on to an interesting problem and trying to solve it with technology. Though knowing her luck, such a problem might wind up being exceedingly boring and just require a lot of hardcoding with no elegant way to generalize it.
Cassie leant back with a smile, and nodded, folded her notebook and placed it back in her bag. "Umm, yeah, something like that." she replied to Shaun enigmatically as she reached down to pick up the shirt. "What's 'bo-dich' mean?" she asked as she critically examined it. As Shaun answered, she waved her hand over the torn cloth and stains, handing it back to him after having completed the spell.
In response to Kaoru's questions she thinks. Well, yeah, they are, although active and passive aren't quite the right words. There's algorithmic elements in there, but lots depends on who's doing the asking so, for instance, the fact that I like coriander means that Sean's answer has a different meaning than if I didn't. Same kind've thing with the others. So its a bit intuition as well as rules I guess? So yeah, a bit like art,.. It reminds me of music. A computer could play something really,... precisely, like perfectly, but it wouldn't be,... great? Does that make sense? the emotions matter. The mistakes matter."