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"Pretty sure I don't. Starting to feel pretty thankful about that as well. And yeah, I got a bunch." Kaoru passes over her beaten up headphones. "Just be careful with them. They're-" important "-kinda old." She taps a few times before bringing up a wide selection of classic rock songs for him to choose from.
Her heart twisted slightly. He's...like me. Stuck doing something he hates with no way out. Am I...going to turn into that? Just someone's play thing, too tired to fight back any more? She wasn't sure what kind of a person Wingblade was. She hoped she wasn't as bad as whomever Duncan worked for. But Delphi? Delphi seemed exactly like that kind of person. And ultimately, it was Delphi who had her dead to rights. Wingblade was just another puppet. Maybe when they see how worthless I am at this, they'll lose interest, and I'll be free.
"Poetry. Calculus. Chemistry. I don't get to go to gym though. I've been excused," Alexis says as she glosses over the chapter on the Civil War. It seemed scary to fight against people who were once fellow citizens of the same country. Like if she were to fight Shayera.
She looked up at Alexandra, thinking for a moment. "You can come shopping with us today. I need clothes that aren't borrowed from Shayera. Because her shirts and bras are too small," She points out, glancing down.
"Do you love Kaoru?" She asks Alexandra suddenly, the question probably putting her off guard. "I only like him. If you love him I don't think I should try and date him. Even though I still like him. And it hurts seeing you hold his hand."
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”Yeah, you should. She’s a real hag...” He takes the headphones gingerly and slips them on. ”The Eagles, Hotel California...please.”
As Duncan listens to the music, his eyes slowly close as he reclines against the tree. Kaoru can see his hands twist and pluck at invisible strings, as though he’s playing an unseen instrument. About two-thirds through the song, a tear rolls down his cheek. ”...my family used to do stuff like this. Just sit, just listen to music, just...be.” His eyes open, now a touch misty. ”I miss that. Not needing a mission, not needing an order, just shootin’ the s+$$ for a few hours and calling it a day.” He turns to face Kaoru. ”...thanks...for this. I needed it.” He pats Kaoru shoulder, his hand lingering just long enough to pass along some of its warmth.
Then someone clears their throat. ”Ah-hm! Sir?”
Duncan turns his head to regard a woman dressed in a suit similar to his own. Her brow is harsh and angry, and her gaze authoritative, like a well-dressed librarian.
”You are needed.”
A sigh that rumbles like thunder echos in Duncan’s chest. ”Yeah, yeah, let’em know I’ll be back in 10.”
The woman nods sharply and walks off with tight, quick steps, her heels clicking sharply against the sidewalk.
He starts to rise, but pauses, and returns to his position next to Kaoru. ”...you want new headphones?” He digs out his wallet and hands over three crisp 100 dollar bills. ”Get some nice ones, on me. Like those wireless ones, with the noise-canceling or whatever.”
Chem... that's fun. love it when they use Ether as a solvent She says
she looks over the girl's figure. She was more like Lily than Her or Gill, despite being pretty active. Yeah. Wing's stuff wouldn't fit too well. But, well, learn to wear the right stuff, you'll have no end of boys paying attention to you. Play it right, you could get a half decent guy without too much work. she says Though... not Kaoru... she doesn't seem... well, I'm note sure if she is even especially into girls.
No. Is her visceral, startled reaction to Alexis' question. as the girl goes on to qualify, Alexandra takes a moment to get her thoughts in order. No. I don't love him. not at this juncture. But I do like him. he's... funny, and useful, and goes along with my plans... and doesn't expect me to.... whatever. And, I'm sorry you're in that position... unrequited love sucks. Why do you like him? she says. the last question has no vitriol or scorn, but seems motivated by genuine curiosity
But... and I'm trying to find a delicate way to put this... I'm not sure, even if He and I weren't.... whatever the f~@& we are, Kaoru might not want to date you. I think he's a pretty passive guy, with some history Vis-à-vis dating. I think anyone who dated him would have to strike a pretty tricky balance. too passive, and you two drift apart. too intense, and they Scare Kay off. I mean, one miscalculation and I nearly surprised him into unconsciousness. Do you think you could handle that balance?
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Kaoru played the song for him. Her chest was uncomfortably tight. How often had she fingered the piano part to a song while taking solace in music? And he was doing the same thing. It...hurt. And she didn't know why. She didn't know this guy. Didn't owe him anything. So why did she feel like crying all of a sudden?
She was too surprised about the money to do anything other than accept it with a mumbled 'thanks'. As much as she hated handouts, she couldn't bring herself to throw it back in his face. It wasn't until he left that she realized exactly how much he had given her. Her throat constricted involuntarily. Why would he...? Had she done the right thing? He said he needed this, but did he really? Or had she just reminded him of things he could never have again? Had she just made things worse? She probably had. She angrily shoved the money in her pocket and hurriedly packed up. It was too much. It was all too much. She couldn't be here right now. She needed to leave.
She angrily stalked off in a random direction, headphones blaring Stairway to Heaven.
The elevator was as ever, ludicrously fast, but it still felt like she'd been riding up to see her girlf- to see her... Shayera? Whatever. It felt like it had been days.
Without even thinking about it she headed for the balcony. Nowhere else she loves as much. Plus if she freaked out and bailed again I'll probably still be able to see her from there. She gave a distracted smile and nod to Alexandra and Alexis, vaguely noticing that they were both conscious and had all their limbs, and that that was probably a good thing. She never even responded. She probably *is* gone already. I should ask. God, no! Can you imagine how pathetic you'd look?
Oh. She looks *awful*. Dangit Bronwyn, you can't just hug her and make everything better, you can't! You have to *talk* about this, what she did isn't okay and, and... I just want everything to be better already. Why is she making this even harder?
"Hey Cassie," she rasped, coughing to clear her throat, "Could you... could you give us a couple minutes?"
As Bronwyn enters the apartment, Alexis is staring intently at Alexandra. For a brief moment, it's like if a lion has just realized that a gazelle has walked straight up to its cave. She gets up to her feet and walks slowly around the table next to Alexandra. Her stance seems tense.
And then she's hugging Alexandra, her spine popping loudly as she was lifted up and twirled around.
"I knew it! You're my love rival!" She declares happily. "It's just like in Shakespeare, like how Olivia loves Cesario but Cesario loves Orsino but Orsino loves Olivia, and then Sebastian comes and he's mistaken to be Cesario and it's so much fun!" She puts Alexandra down, clapping her hands on the girl's shoulders with enough force to shake her legs.
"Maybe Kaoru isn't right for me. Maybe I won't fall in love with him. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give him up to you without a fight. It'll be a lot of fun!" She tells her cheerfully. "But, oh, I guess I shouldn't go for you for advice on him anymore in that case. I'll ask Cassie. Or Shayera. Or Bronwyn."
Satisfied with their talk, she leaves the bewildered Alexandra behind to go and see if Cassie and Shayera are ready for the shopping trip.
Bronwyn's voice caused a severe spike in Shayera's anxiety that had previously been growing into an agonizing dread. She couldn't bring herself to meet Bronwyn's eyes, instead she looked about the balcony like a caged animal. Her wings were glamoured away, but there was still a moment that looked like she was about to jump.
Instead, she turns back around and sinks down to the floor of the balcony, hand running through her still damp hair. She felt eyes on her, more than just Bronwyn's. She says hoarsely, "Abacus, privacy mode. Window tint fifty percent."
The windows looking out to the balcony immediately darken, blocking out the view for those inside.
Appearing thoroughly contrite, Shayera looks plaintively to Bronwyn.
"They put bars on her window? Cassie said, frowning. "Well that's totally messed up. Sounds to me like they want to control her, make her do what they want, and not what she wants but,... It can be hard to accept that your parents aren't looking out for you, even when they do things like,... well, bad things. Trust me, I know all about that! Yelling at her, if that's what you did, might not have been the best way to react, but she won't hate you. She's crazy about you!" Cassie put her hand on Shayera's arm, looking her in the eye. "She probably just needs a bit of time. But,... I don't think you'll have to wait until she's made up with them but,.. I think maybe you need to give her a bit of space just to work things out in her head. The best thing you can do is to try to be as supportive as possible of whatever she decides to do - Try not to make her feel like you're trying to control her too. You know? You need to talk to her about it,.. say sorry, just,.. be there for her and,.. if you ever want to talk about it, or vent about it, or cry about it or,.. whatever,... you can always come to me. OK? Totally confidential... That's what friends are for."
Hearing the balcony door slide open, she turned to see Bronwyn stepping out onto the balcony. "Oh, Hi Bron." she greeted the other girl. "Yeah, of course." Cassie gave Shayera's arm a quick squeeze and moved past Bronwyn back into the apartment, sliding the door closed behind her.
After leaving the balcony, Cassie headed back to Shayera's room to shower and dress.
Bronwyn flashed a quick, fake, grateful smile to Cassie as she gave them the balcony. Then, gathering her strength, she turned to Shayera, focusing carefully on a spot right above her eyes.
"So... I..." She let out a long breath.
"Jeez, I don't know how to start this. That was really terrible of you Shayera. You know -you know- how hard this whole thing has been for me, and I thought you understood better than anyone how hard it was going to be to tell my parents. I walked out the door with almost everything I'm living on for now in a duffel. I walked out of there knowing that I might have just cut ties with my family, who I love more than almost anything in the world, and that even if things get better they might never get back to normal. My whole- my whole G&@~~$ned world was crumbling around me, and you abandoned me. Can you imagine if Mary-Beth had done that too? Where would I be right now, Shayera?
It just... It was a really s~#!ty thing for you to do. I didn't deserve that."
She was trembling. Her eyes were glimmering with the tears she wouldn't let herself cry, still fixed on Shayera's face, but unwilling to look her in the eyes.
"But I know you're not a horrible person. I know that's not what you were trying to do. I've been trying to figure it out, and I've got nothing. Why did you do that?
"Please. Talk to me. You can't just run away from me, Shayera. You can't."
Shaun re-emerges from the gym, dressed and ready for his run. ”If anybody needs me (which they won’t), I’ll be in Monument Park. Got my comm, enjoy ignorin’ me r’whatever...” He calls the elevator car and mentally prepares himself for the drop.
- - -
I was a gorgeous day. If he hadn’t been in such a bad mood, Shaun might have actually enjoyed it. As it stood, his run was troubled by a million-and-one nagging thoughts. He worried about Bronwyn and Wingblade’s relationship, he fumed over Alexandra and Kaoru’s utter distain for anything heroic, he tried and failed to comprehend his turbulent emotions over Alexis and Cassie, and to top it off he had started mentally kicking himself when he realized he’d left the book in semi-plain view under the apartment sofa.
He tried to distract himself with his surroundings. The park was, empirically speaking, awesome. Every-other yard there was another statue of some great hero, some spectacular victory, or some icon of history. He definitely had to come back here later, maybe bring his autograph book with. After all, in just the first hour of the run he’d nearly stumbled into three separate super-fights. None of the heroes involved were his personal favorites, but he spied more than a few cape-watchers clamoring for pictures and signatures.
But then he’d remember how Cassie looked in those pajamas, or how Wingblade had just ignored him again, or what Alexandra had said about him not being capable. He sighed, and pushed harder. Ran faster. Worked himself more, and more, and more, until he had to stop.
Around two hours in, he half leans, half collapses onto the pedestal of a statue to, of all people, Whippoorwill. Stretching his legs and catching his breath, he stares up at the face of the marble figure from underneath his plaid hood. ...you wouldn’t have questions, would you? You wouldn’t wonder and worry. You’d just have the answers ready. How do you do it? How does anybody do it? How does anybody know what to do? I try to help, I’m ignored. I try to fight, I’m rebuffed. What am I supposed to do? What are WE supposed to do?
”Keep pushing laddie.”
He sighs and downs a gulp of water from a water fountain. Is that all I can do? Push? What then? And...what happens if I push too hard again?
Shayera remained on the floor, back against the railing, shivering against the high morning air. She flinched at Bronwyn's words, which cut deep and left ragged furrows in her heart.
She tries to meet her eyes, and the moment she does, tears stream. She squeezes her eyes shut. "It wasn't... You didn't... We were supposed to be together," she begins after several aborted starts. "You weren't supposed to go away. And then... I still don't understand. You say you want to be with me, and then you talk like it's the worst thing in the world. You say I'm a bad sign?"
Her eyes open, pleading. She looks desperately at Bronwyn though tear-blurred eyes. "I was going to fly with you. I was going to fly you to the top of the Brownstone Bridge, and we were going to look over the city and you were going to feel better. We were supposed to sit and talk all night with our feet hanging over the edge."
Shayera draws her knees up to her chest and she puts her head down. "If you fell asleep I'd fly us back here, where you would sleep in my bed and I'd make you breakfast in the morning. (I'd kick everyone out for a little while.)"
Squeezing her knees close, she rocks back and forth, lifting her head up. "I mean, maybe we wouldn't have done it last night, but maybe tonight? Or the next night? But you didn't want to stay with me. You wanted to go to Mary-Beths, for a long time, and every time I suggest you coming to live with me you say it's bad." She holds up her hands helplessly. "I'm sorry. It hurt, and I pushed back. It was awful of me. I know that. I know it. I kissed you, and it hurt you. I do this, and I make it worse."
She looks away so Bronwyn can't see the terror on her face. "I should tell you to go. That we can't be together since I'll only hurt you again. But I'm so scared of being without you."
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She wasn't entirely sure how she had gotten here, but somehow Kaoru found herself wandering about Halcyon North Memorial Gardens, a bouquet of white lilies dangling from her limp hand. She wasn't sure why she had bought them. He wasn't here. Nobody she knew was. With her brain firmly turned off, habit had taken over, and she had just found herself looking for the nearest flower shop as soon as she had seen the tombstones. It was probably better this way though. With flowers, people would assume she was here to visit someone and would leave her alone.
She slowly pulled her headphones off and stared at them, steps faltering to a stop. It was stupid really. At this point, she had replaced and repaired so many parts that nothing was left of the original headphones. They were nothing more than a ship of Theseus. They were old and ratty and she should have replaced them years ago. There was no logical reason to keep them around. And yet she couldn't bear the thought of parting with one of the last things her father had given to her before he died.
Her throat constricted. Why did it still hurt so much? It had been over six years. 6 years, 3 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days. Shouldn't she be over this by now? Mother certainly never talked about him. Did she even care that they had left him all alone? That no one would be there to sit with him or give him flowers anymore?
She angrily wiped away a stray tear that had managed to slip past her guard. It was dumb. She shouldn't care. It had been long enough. In a few years, she would have spent more time without him than with. If you excluded all her baby years that she didn't even remember, she was already there.
She sighed heavily. She should leave. There was nobody here for her to visit. But...maybe she could find some unvisited grave to leave the flowers at. She didn't want to take them home and have to explain why she bought them. She didn't even feel like carrying them home. She looked around her immediate vicinity for some flowerless grave to deposit them on.
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Alexandra moves as Alexis goes to embrace her. but it is only a hug. We aren't Twelfth night. We're probably Macbeth, or Othello. but if we're a comedy, we are Midsummer Nights dream, with You playing Helena to my Hermia, and Kay playing the two male roles. Which I'm pretty sure makes B and Wing Oberon and Titania, and Guest starring Shaun as Bottom. She smirks,
Well, this could have gone worse. She says, putting her taser back in her jacket. and takes her phone out, texting Kaoru.
>Fair warning, you might be in for Shakespearean love sonnets from our favorite Crime Against Humanity
Then she goes over to the door where Bron and Wing are talking, hoping to eavesdrop...
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Bronwyn nodded slowly. A little tension left her shoulders, but her jaw set in a gesture of determination.
"Okay. I get it."
She put her tongue to her top lip pensively, while she tried to figure out how on Earth to put any of it into words
"Okay, this is going to sound bad, so just wait until the end, okay?
"Shayera, last night wasn't about you. Really.
"When I'm feeling brave enough to introduce you to them as my girlfriend, that's an us thing, but I would have come out to them whether or not we were dating, because I care about being honest about who I am. It's why I didn't string Marco along, and it's why once I was able to admit to myself how I felt, I told you that same night.
"Last night was about telling my parents who I am, and that I won't live in their house if they don't accept that. But Shayera, part of who I am, is that I care about doing things the right way. Last night, while I'd been really sad, and wanting nothing more than to snuggle up to someone I loved, and just feel a connection... There's no way in the world that we wouldn't have at least kissed. And once we were kissing, and I was finally starting to feel better and loved and connected and like everything was going to be right: Can you honestly tell me that if we'd been all alone, and I'd looked up at you, with a smile in my eyes that you'd finally managed to bring out, and asked to go farther, that you'd have said no?"
Shayera wipes her face with her sleeve while still remaining curled up against the railing. She takes a deep breath, about to forge ahead into territory she didn't really understand so was afraid of stepping into a pit or snare. "Um. If you asked, then no? I'd, um, do what you wanted? Why does that feel like the wrong answer though? Is that the, um, marriage thing again? That you don't want to talk about because it's too soon?"
"Yeah."
Bronwyn swallowed.
"I care about you a lot, and I think that... maybe one day..."
The skin on the back of her neck had been swallowed up in heat prickles.
"Look, we're only fifteen! We shouldn't be doing that stuff or moving in together! This is when we should be learning to take some steps on our own, not actually choosing who we're going to spend the rest of our lives with!"
"And if I stayed here with you... Especially in your bed, we would definitely end up doing some things that should really be saved for later. I don't want to ever regret doing something with you."
She sat down next to Shayera, not ready to hold her, but needing to be closer.
"But look. About last night. You know I'm crazy about you. You need to be able to trust me about what I want. Remember what Dr. Brighthop said about... making love? That it's important, but it's not like, the finish, or the goal of a relationship? Last night, coming out to my parents was really important, but it wasn't the end of anything. And I know how much you love doing these big romantic gestures, but I was cold, and I was sad, and I'd been trying not to show that my unsplinted arm was still broken, so it really hurt. I'd love to do a version of what you had planned; it sounds amazing. But last night? I was really not in the mood.
"And you can't just fly away from me when things don't go the way you expect though. You just can't."
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With her back to the bathroom's large mirror, Cassie pulled off her borrowed pyjamas and placed them neatly on the bench top next to the sink. Moving over to the shower, she turned it on, adjusting the temperature until it was just right and then stepped into it, letting the warm water pour over her. As she washed herself she turned her mind to the 'team'.
She'd started off well enough with Alexis and was confident that the wild and amazingly strong and tough girl was firmly on her side. The night before had been enjoyable enough, and productive too, even if the other girl hadn't seemed as emotionally affected by their activities as might have been expected - That was probably a good thing. Too close an emotional connection was all too easily transformed into animosity, especially if she planned to repeat the night with any of the other team members.
She was making progress with Shayera too. With luck, the team's 'leader' would soon come to see her as someone to go to when she had to think things through - wether connected to her relationship to Bronwyn or to the team and how it operated. She had, briefly, considered lending poor relationship advice or stoking the rift between the two, but had swiftly rejected it. Not only would that have risked dissolving the strongest bond within the team which was already fractured enough but, there was no getting around it, she would've felt bad about doing it. She'd meant what she said, and hoped that her advice would help.
Bronwyn herself was difficult. It would be hard to present herself as a confidante to both Shayera and Bron at the same time, not just difficult, but risky. Best not to put herself in the middle of a situation that might blow up at any time. Better to be there to offer support to one of them should the need arise, and Shayera was not only the team leader (at least on paper), but she was by far the stronger ally. The best way to gain Bronwyn's trust would be to continue to help Shayera see things from her point of view.
And that led her to Bran 'The Blessed'. Now he was an enigma - she hadn't spent nearly long enough in his company to find out much about him. Perhaps a bit of research might shed some light on the giant and his motivations. She had to find an opportunity to 'read' him - healing probably wouldn't be necessary from what she'd heard, and he could already see through her charm so she'd have to try something else. For the moment though, helping protect Bron was probably the best way to keep him on-side. The link between the two was,.. troubling. Bron's explanation for her ability to see through the charm didn't seem like a strong enough connection - it'd have to be something more,.. visceral. Taking her head, her thoughts turned to the remaining members of the team. Shaun, Alexandra and Kaoru.
All three were mundanes, but all three might prove useful in some way but also presented a clear threat. Shaun was, somehow, not properly affected by the charm, and that was troubling. Whilst she was fairly confident she'd be able to manipulate him easily enough, either by playing the 'damsel in distress' or by stroking his ego, or more than his ego (he was good-looking enough in his own way after all). The real question with Shaun was whether he could be trusted. He was too much of a loose cannon for her to consider removing the effects of the charm from him any time soon, and he wasn't powerful enough to make the risk worthwhile in any case. Best to keep him on side with some gentle flirtation and see what the deal was with the charm.
Alexandra, 'The Silver Shadow' was tricky too. Cassie still didn't know anything like enough about her to know what buttons might be worth pushing, what strings might be worth pulling. Alexandra might be 'mundane', but she had skills, that couldn't be doubted, and she had an uncanny knack of finding things out. Who knew how long the charm would continue to work against her if they continued their association. Perhaps the sleuth needed a mystery to solve - perhaps she could be pointed towards one of the other team members. Bran seemed the best bet, although it was hard to say what The Shadow might already know about him. Perhaps she could try to use Alexandra to ferret out Shaun's secrets? Yes, that might work.
Kaoru was, similarly, a puzzle. She'd thought that, maybe, sexuality might be a way to reach the shy boy, but he'd not shown any evidence of attraction to her, and the strange dynamic that he was building with Alexandra, and Alexis' fixation on him had put an and to any thought that it would be a good idea to tie strings to him that way. He was mundane, but his ability with computers could certainly be useful - possibly even a weapon her mother might not fully expect or comprehend. She was 3000 years old after-all. In any case, it seemed likely that both the Alexis and Kaoru would leave the team once the month was up... Still, if the opportunity presented itself, she'd do her best to get a chance to 'read' them both. More than likely they'd be hurt soon enough and she'd get her chance.
A part of Cassie hated herself for the manipulative thoughts coursing through her mind, but another knew she had to stay safe - she needed allies and, though they were a pretty poor group to be starting with, they were all she had. She needed to make them a team, her life might depend on it.
Slowly, the bound-up knot that was her stomach begins relaxing. She nods, still contrite. "Okay."
Shayera looks toward the interior of the apartment, with its windows still tinted dark. "I still don't know why we can't... just lay in the same bed together? Last night Alexis and Cassie bunked together and I slept in the chair. Alexis has had my bed for the last few nights, and, I dunno," she shrugs. "And I know I screwed up last night. Big time. But I'm all twisted up and not sure what to do next.
"We can go shopping like Alexis wants, and you can come along. Then I'm going to see Devaun and tell him that I'm with you. And then..." She bangs the back of her head against the railing in frustration, causing a loud metal ring. She seems unfazed. "And then you go to Mary-Beth's and I sleep in my chair and everyone else sleeps in my bed and nothing changes." More tears escape the corners of her eyes.
"Hey!" Bronwyn's hand shot out when Shayera began to hurt herself, catching her head firmly, but gently. "Just because you heal doesn't mean you should get hurt, okay?"
"And come here," She finally took Shayera in her arms, leaning her girlfriend's head in against her chest. "Does that sound like a calm girl's heartbeat? I mean, okay, I have a resting heartbeat of like 40, but you know what I'm talking about. And it's not like I'd lose control and jump you or something! The problem is I'd basically be lying there doing nothing but thinking about jumping you, and the more time you think about doing something, the more you get used to spending all your time thinking about it. Plus, it's just a really frustrating way to spend the night.
"Look, Shayera, I was never going to move in with you right away. That's skipping so many steps. But that doesn't mean nothing has changed. You're not thinking about Monday, when we get to hold hands at school and be that gross couple that's always being all gooey-eyed over each other. And maybe duck under the bleachers or behind the supply shed..." She gave a small grin with a twinkle in her eyes. "No more buying out movie theatres or hoping no one sees us. Aren't you excited for that? Besides. I think Alexis might explode from suppressed excitement if we made her wait too long for new dresses, but if we were really tired afterwards, we could probably take a nap together in the afternoon." She gave Shayera a gentle squeeze. "I'm going to spend about as much time as I can with you. Just... not that one thing. Does that make sense?"
"...They're talking a lot." Alexis wanted to get going, but Shayera and Bronwyn were still at it. She didn't know what to do, since her homework was done and Cassie was showering and Alexandra was now her rival in love and Shaun had gone out on a run. So she decided to go and check out her armor and the potential redesign.
She liked the idea of it not being matte black, but something flashy and cool. Red and gold stood out for her. Maybe golden armor, with a red mantle? That sounded like something she'd enjoy. She sketched it out, humming to herself as she consider how it might look.
One the things that Kaoru noticed when he looked around was that there were plenty of grave markers in this cemetery with flowers on them, some seemingly overflowing, others with a single stem. The first grave marker that he sees without anything is 'Henry Lawson'. Underneath his name and the date he died (Over twenty years ago) is a short epitaph:
LOVED BY MANY IN THE MASK
LOVED MORE BY FEW OUT OF IT
RIP GEARSMITH
As Kaoru glances at other graves, it occurs to him that similar epitaphs are everywhere here in the graveyard. As he progresses further in, he spots a rather old man standing in front of a great mausoleum. He's dressed in a well fitted suit, his white hair combed back and hidden underneath a wool cap as he works to clean up the dirt around it. The name on the front of this place is familiar to him: Wendy Sparks. The First Hero of Halcyon.
What does Kaoru do?
Finishing her shower, Cassie picked up her borrowed night clothes and made her way back into Shayera's bedroom. Taking her clothes from the day before, a glass of water and a candle from beside the bed she sat cross-legged on the floor, the various clothes bundles in front of her. Closing her eyes she concentrated and muttered a few words in archaic Greek and felt a flow of energy from her surroundings infuse her body, linking her with the clothes, the candle and the water.
A few minutes later, Cassie emerged into the main living area wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing the day before. Despite her exertions fighting the Dino-people, they seemed freshly washed and ironed.
Shayera stirs more to life at the mention of holding hands at school and being a couple. It made her smile a bit.
She closes her eyes and keeps her head against Bronwyn's chest, listening to her heartbeat. "I guess so. Yeah, it does."
She gives her a squeeze back as she starts to sit up. "I'm sorry. I-- well, for what it's worth, we did take down a supervillain last night. Light-based bad guy called Sunray. I caught a face full of her laser which blinded me for a couple hours. That was neat, using all my other senses to fight."
She pulls herself up to her feet and wipes her eyes. "So, uh, you want to come to my room? I think we both could use some makeup if we're going out for some retail therapy."
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Kaoru didn't need to look too far to find a suitable grave and quickly tossed the flowers. She was about to walk away when something stopped her. Maybe she should stay for a little bit. She didn't know the person, but they were someone's daughter or son, sister or brother, mother or father. She looked at whose name was engraved on the headstone. The name seemed...familiar. And then it clicked. This was Wingblade's grave.
Her confusion quickly turned to anger. What mockery was this? She had come to give something to some poor forgotten soul, and not only did the grave belong to someone who was anything but, but it belonged to someone who wasn't even dead? She started to reach down to take back the flowers but stopped. People were around and that just...wouldn't be appropriate. Even if she didn't deserve those flowers. They were for someone who didn't have anyone. Why the hell did she even have a grave if she was still alive?
She died.
And then she fking came back. Why did she get to come back when he- when so many others didn't? What made her so damn special?
She was dead long enough that they buried her.
She wasn't dead long enough. Death was supposed to be permanent. Wasn't it enough that she was already nearly indestructible? Now even death wasn't enough to stop her? How many times had she walked away when others hadn't?
They thought she was dead.
That thought tripped her enough to make her mental rampage stutter. Did...Wingblade have a family? She must have, right? I mean, no one came from nowhere. And that money at least had to come from somewhere. Had they gone to her funeral? Did she have friends who had cried at a life too soon lost? Was there a devastated boyfriend left wondering about what could have been?
Even if Wingblade deserved to stay dead, did those who loved her deserve that as well? Did it make any more sense to ask why she deserved to come back than why he deserved to get sick? None of it was fair, and it would never make sense. No matter how much she tried to figure it out. No matter how much she screamed and pleaded. No matter how many tears she cried.
"Fk you, Shayera."
She slowly started her walk back home, and as she did, her anger started to return. There were so many monuments to these would be 'heroes'. Even a fking mausoleum to one a**!!&$. And just...nothing to the regular folk. What the fk kind of message was this fked up city trying to send? That your life was only worth remembering if you put on some dumb outfit and ran around playing pretend? There were other professions that saved lives! Hell, there were even other professions that risked their lives to save others. Where were the adoring fans of doctors and nurses? The memorials for the firefighters and fallen members of law enforcement? They were the real heroes because they didn't fking ask for all this fanfare and attention. Why were they the ones who deserved to be forgotten? How were their lives somehow less just because they didn't ask for glory? For a place of heroes, this city had a pretty fked up idea of the value of human life: it was only worth something if you used a cape to throw it away.
She angrily put her headphones back on and continued home. She still had to make sure she was prepared for tonight. ...which actually meant she might need a detour first.
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"...you ask him."
"Wha-? This was YOUR idea!"
"No it wasn't!"
"Yes it freaking was!"
Shaun blinks, his train of thought interrupted by a frantic volley of whispering.
"Oh my God no it wasn't!"
"Yes it was you dick!"
"Guys! Stop making so much-!"
"Hey, YOU were the one who noticed him!"
He turns around, quickly pinning the source down to a trio of cape-chasers on the opposite side of the statue. A very familiar trio.
"Sam noticed him!"
"No I didn't!"
"Oh my God...!"
"Guys, keep it down or he'll-!"
Shaun's eyes lock with a familiar portly underclassman. (What was his name? Egg-something?) As he did, the fellow student slaps his friends' shoulders and put on a stiff smile.
"Ah-h-ha, hey Shaun. How's-uh, how's it going?"
The other two snap around to face Shaun, both of them wearing similar artificial grins.
The Scotsman raises a befuddled eyebrow. "...fine. What'cha lads talkin' about?"
"Oh nothing!" the tallest one immediately chimes.
"Just some school stuff!" the third squeaks out.
"Nothing about you at all!"
"Yeah why would we ever think about bothering you!?"
Glasses rolls his eyes and pushes past them. "Real subtle guys..." He studies Shaun for a moment. "...why aren't you at school?"
...what? "It's...Saturday...?" It is still Saturday right? Did I lose a day? No, wait, they're here. So it's at least Sunday.
"But...isn't there football practice today?"
"Wha-? Why would I give a f$!# if there's football practice?"
A glimmer of hope shines in Glasses's eyes. "...because you're on the team?"
"...ppppfffffffffAH HA HA HA HA!" Shaun doubles over with laughter, his face breaking into a massive grin. "Ye' think I'm one of those jackasses?! Oh-hohohahaHA!" He straighten back out, trying his best to catch his breath. "Yea' not f~*#in' likely!"
As he wipes a tear from his eye, Shaun notices Engelbert (THAT's his name!) grinning broadly. "Well, sorry for thinking that. It's just..." He waves his hands up and down at Shaun's body as he rounds the Whippoorwill monument. "You kinda look like them."
Still grinning, Shaun claps an arm around Bert's shoulders. "That's 'cause I'm a-!" He falters. Wait, s&@@, I need to keep a secret identity now! "I-I'm a health nut. I...take a lotta pride in takin' care of myself!"
The rotund nerd flinches slightly when Shaun grabs him, but keeps his smile. "O-Oh, cool." He glances down at his gut. "Yeah, I'd do the same if I, uh, didn't have a glandular problem..."
The grin softens slightly. "Hey, that's fine. It took a lot of work on my part ta' get this ripped. Not just anybody can do that. Besides, I'll bet ye're way smarter than me. Lemme guess, 4.0?"
Bert rolls his eyes. "3.7 so far. Ms. Olivers hates me for putting paint brushes in her coffee on accident."
The comment elicits another guffaw from Shaun as Tall and Squeaky finally find the courage to approach. "Ain't that just how it goes. Last I cared ta' check I had something like a 2.5? Probably worse now."
"And that...doesn't bother you? Don't your parents get mad?"
"My old man's probably furious 'bout it, but it's hard ta' punish a kid who ain't at ta' house!" He taps his temple for comedic effect.
Bert's expression is a mixture of awe and concern. "Man, I'd never have the balls for that..."
"Well ya' gotta have balls if ye' wanna be a hero!" Oh G*% d#*nit!
All three of the cape-watchers stare at him in disbelief. "You wanna be a hero!?" Tall asks. "You have powers!?"
Shaun blushes. "Well, no, b-but that's why I'm trainin'." C'mon, THINK! I can't blow this secret identity thing in the first day! "Y'know how ta' school is holdin' tryouts f'ta' SIDEKICK program? Well I'm gonna enter n' show what some ol'fashioned hard work can do!" Yes! Nailed it!
He expected the usual chorus of "that's suicide." What he got was..."So, like DaDamerican?" "Or the Silver Shadow?"
...oh I love them all already, "Yea' exactly! 'Course I'm goin' f'more of a weaponmaster thin' like Sheath or Kommander."
Their eyes all grow huge as the shout in unison "YOU KNOW CAPES?!?"
Shaun grins from ear to ear. "Hell yea' I know capes! I led ta' local watch back home!"
The explosion of excited chatter was music to Shaun's ears. In the midst of it, a thought floated through his mind: Maybe today isn't so bad after all...
It was so big!
Three floors of different shops and department stores. A massive food court with twenty different places to eat that left her stomach rumbling eagerly. There were lots of people here as well, but it was kind of like how the school was between periods, so she was used to it.
Her only concern was finding clothes that would not just fit her but look nice on her. Jewelry was nice, but not as necessary as a bra that would fit her physique. She found herself actually being measured by a nice saleswoman when she mentioned that she wasn't sure what size she was. Apparently she was on the larger side, at least compared to her teammates.
Then came the whole trying on things. She wasn't quite sure, but she had an idea, turning to everyone who'd came. "Pick me out an outfit and I'll try it on! I want to know what you think would look good on me." She smiled, before entering the dressing room holding several bras to try.
It was only a minute before her voice spoke up. "...I can't get the back hook. Can someone help?"
Since underwear was necessary (and because Shayera needed a few new pair to replace the ones that are now too stretched out) their first stop was the lingerie store.
"I'm just gonna wait until we're in a clothing store before picking you out an outfit or three. Just go with whatever color you like for underwear. Or black. Black's always a good choice," she responds to Alexis.
When the cry for help is sounded, Shayera heads into the dressing rooms. "Either keep trying or just fasten it in the front and then spin it around," she says, deciding to give advice rather than just do it for her.
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At the first stop, Bronwyn stuck to her long-held habits at stores like these. She kept her eyes forward, and tried not to have any awkward conversations. The back of her ears heated up as she mentally added not looking too closely at what Shayera was picking to the list.
This has always been the most embarrassing store to be in... All the models and pictures and everything, it feels like they're somehow nakeder than if we were just in a locker room.
Shayera's advice was good, but Bronwyn wanted to make sure that Alexis knew she'd get help when she needed it too, so she hung around.
"If that doesn't work, I'll come in to help, Alexis. Just umm, cover what you can, okay?"
You know, if this kind of thing had kept happening to me *before* I started hanging out with superheroes with nontraditional upbringings, I probably would have realized I was gay a lot sooner...
Cassie tells the others (excluding Alexandra) that she'll meet them downstairs. In the elevator she fishes out her charm and puts it on, waiting on the street for the others. (i.e., Alexandra doesn't see her put on the charm and she's Boring Cassie to her (though not the others) for the trip.
Cassie gets in the elevator with the others, slipping the charm on on the way down.
As they passed through the mall, Cassie drew little more than a passing glance from any of the other patrons. To Alexis, Bronwyn and Shayera, the effect was weird - whilst the rest of them drew the occasional lingering look or backward glance from passing boys (and a few girls), Cassie seemed to attract none of their interest. Even in the lingerie store, the sales attendants payed her little attention, instead focussing on the others. Unable to avoid anything, and much happier staying near the girls who could see the 'real' her, Cassie did her best to help out with advice as Alexis selected the items she wanted.
"Colours are great, but you probably want at least one that's white, and another that matches your skin tone." she advised, So that if you wear white or sheer clothes its not visible through the fabric."
Whomever comes into the dressing room with Alexis gets a view of her struggling to look behind her in the mirror while attempting to squeeze into the new bra. She'd started off with a plain white one as per Cassie's suggestion, but had trouble with getting to the clasp behind her, or at least closing it all the way.
She doesn't seem to mind when Shayera and Bronwyn look in on her. So much that she doesn't care at all when she gives up on this one, throws it off and goes for one of the front hooked ones instead. Her form and physique are flawless and skin unmarked, thanks to her powers. She also doesn't seem to care so much about exposing herself to her friends.
"They told me that the front hooks aren't good if you are as big as me. Is that right?" She had to ask as she tried the yellow one next, fiddling with the clasp before getting it. She adjusted it and glanced in the mirror before looking at the others. "Okay, this fits better than yours, Shayera. I can breathe better,"[/b] She tells her with a smile.
"...We didn't have this at the barracks. If you needed it, you wrapped yourself up top here," She told them, indicating a cloth wrapping around her chest. "It was okay. Not as fancy as this," She said, posing in front of the mirror.
After trying on several others, she selected half a dozen (Including one that was red and gold and lacy and pretty) and showed them to Shayera for approval after leaving the dressing room. Letting her get the bill out of the way, she wandered off briefly to check out the hot pretzel stand outside, the aroma mouth watering.
"Hey there. You here alone?" The voice was male and she blinked as she looked at a pair of guys, one with cropped hair, the other with shaggy bleached hair, dressed in tight shirts and pants that showed off their athletic look. Her eyes wandered more to the bag of pretzel bites in one of their hand. Seeing this, he offers her some - and look a little weirded out when she takes the whole bag and starts popping the pieces into her mouth.
"No, my friends are here. They're just in line at the register," She says between bites. "Thank you for the food! I'm Alexis."
"Nice to meet you, Alexis. I'm Rick, and this is Marty," The blond introduced them to her. "We were looking for some cute girls to play with today. Think you'd be interested?"
Alexis blinks and thinks hard about it. "I'm shopping right now, but maybe later. What did you want to play?"
As the girls finish paying for things, they see Alexis talking to two young men, one of them casually touching her on the arm for a moment. What does everyone do?
Wingblade suddenly freezes in the middle of the store. She had ventured from the changing rooms to see if there were any front-fastening bras so Alexis would struggle less when she detects the subtle but distinct scent.
They had all taken the skyrail to the Apple Street Mall rather than loading up in one of Shayera's father's vehicles and force Reginald to drive on a Saturday. The high-speed public transit had them on the west side of Halcyon in a relatively short while, and before long they were shopping in the one fairly successful mall in the city that hasn't been gutted by online purchasing and the occasional superhuman battle.
With the unmistakable scent just outside the lingerie store, Wingblade slowly moves toward Bronwyn who is hovering outside the changing rooms with her own scent mixed thoroughly between anxiety and arousal. She hands a couple bras to her without looking at her. "Here, see if she'll prefer these. I've picked out those, and you can choose anything for yourself. Or me." She adds that last bit with a quick smirk, but it fades quickly. "I need to go check something out. Please don't follow. I'm sure it's nothing."
She steps out into the mall and follows the scent trail to the upper level. It's just the faintest mix of exotic spices and incense -- only the keenest sense of smell could detect it, much less follow it through the ever-moving throngs of shoppers.
Wingblade moves toward a narrow hallway marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY and slinks down it until she reaches the roof access.
"你好, 秀英," she hears, when she reaches the roof.
"你在這裡做什麼？" Wingblade snaps, spinning around to see three Chinese girls in exquisite qipao dresses.
"我們正在傳遞給我們姐姐的信息," the one in the middle smiles sweetly.
Wingblade shakes her head. "我不是你的妹妹。"
The one on the left titters in laughter, holding her hand over her mouth as she does so. "哦，不過你。 你通過了試驗，你就是我們中的一員。 我們的會議是今晚，" she chides. "而你是預料之中的。"
Wingblade glowers. "今晚對我來說不是一個真正的好時光。"
This time, the one on the left laughs much more forcefully. "美國化的雜種，你逗我們！" Then in an instant her mirth is gone and she curls her lip."老虎的女兒們不開玩笑。 就像一個人，秀英。"
==================
After about ten minutes, Shayera rejoins the group at the lingerie store, ready to pay for everyone's selections. She gives Bronwyn a smile. "So, what'd you pick out?"
==================
As Shayera leaves the store with the colorful pastel packages in one hand, Bronwyn's in the other, she spots Alexis and a pair of young men evidently hitting on her.
"Hey, Alexis! Got your stuff, you ready for the next store?" She gives the guys a look telling them to steer clear. "I've got to stay on schedule, so we can't loiter."
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Kaoru had calmed down enough to notice that she had missed a text from Alexandra. She groaned upon reading it. What was with people's obsession with Shakespeare? How did entertainment for the lower classes turn into something all educated people were expected to know about? She quickly typed up a response. Should she mention that the guy might be powered? It might have just been her imagination though. Maybe Alexandra could give her a crash course on people watching with an emphasis on spotting powered people one day.
Duncan's $300 was still burning a hole in her pocket. She hadn't touched it when buying a simple mp3 player and cheap headphones. She had already taken the opportunity to load it up with pretty much all the classic rock she could find, as well as some Piano Guys, just 'cause. In retrospect, it was actually kinda dumb because it would probably just sit in her bag, unused. But...maybe not. She would see.
While she was at it, she had also stocked up on a bunch more sensors. Luckily, so long as you stuck to base models and were willing to do without the bells and whistles needed to make them painfully easy to use, they weren't that expensive. But...things were starting to add up a bit more than she was comfortable with. She pushed that thought away. Now it was just a matter of heading home, changing out her gear, some last minute prep, maybe a quick bite to eat, and she was ready. She could already feel her stomach churning in nervous excitement.
"Oookay. If you're having that much trouble, it's probably just not the right size or maybe... Yep, strap needed adjusting. Better?"
She'd tried to keep a discrete eye on Cassie while they'd been waiting and helping Alexis out though. The balcony hadn't been the right place or time for it, but She 'bunked' with Alexis? Maybe that's not what that always means, or Shayera just called it that since Alexis usually says bunk, but... I just need to make sure she's okay. She glanced away from Cassie and immediately bounced her eyes off a poster of a really cute nightgown on a slender model with jet black hair. Cannot *think* of a worse place to have this conversation though.
***
"Oh, I didn't really need anything. Thanks." She leaned in to kiss Shayera on the cheek with a peck so brief it was almost an air kiss. The other women here aren't going to think I was ogling them or anything, right?
I hate it in here. I'm not a pervert though.
Deliberately she reached out to take Shayera's hand, her mouth moving from a small tight smile to one much softer. Oh yeah... This is perfect.
***
Bronwyn watched Alexis carefully. She definitely wasn't in any physical danger from a couple of guys, so Bronwyn didn't want to automatically assume that a couple guys hitting on her was a bad thing. Don't love the early physical contact, but that's not my call. Not letting her leave with them though. If she really wants them to come along, that's probably fine.
Cassie idly looked looked at the racks of underwear surrounding them as they waited for Alexis to finish trying things on. Shayera had wandered off,.. somewhere, leaving her alone with Bronwyn. Looking up from the nightgown she'd been checking out, just in time to see the tall girl's eyes slide off her and her face, for some reason, flush red, she gave her a smile and then moved over, casting a quick glance around for Shayera. "So,... you guys are OK then?" she asked. "She told me you came out to your parents last night. That must've been really tough. Really brave though, like, really brave. You doing OK?"
Cassie followed along with Sahyera and Bronwyn. She hadn't grabbed any pretzels, but was sipping from a bottle of water she'd bought at the stand. When Shayera called to Alexis, Cassie stepped forward to back her up. "Yeah, I've got some pretty good ideas for clothes I think'd suit you. But first, we need to figure out your style. Let's head."
Alexis was gnawing on the freely offered and taken pretzel bites as Rick and Marty found themselves surrounded by her friends, who seemed nervous. She wasn't sure why. They were pretty nice, wanting to play with her. They even fed her, which was great in her opinion.
The boys found themselves rather outnumbered two to one, though Rick gave Shayera an appraising smile. "Well, if you girls have any interest in hanging out after you're done shopping, you can meet us in the food court. It would be stellar to pick your brains a bit. Right Marty?"
"Totally, man! Oh, word of warning, you guys should steer clear of the Arcade today. Seems like the Genomes are using it as a hangout. They think 'cause they got low class powers they can band together and push normal people out of their hangout spots." Marty spoke up in concern. He pointed to the second floor of the mall, where a place lit up more brightly than the other stores was.
Alexis looked intrigued. In fact, it occurred to her that if they were preventing people from enjoying part of the mall, then that would make them bad guys. "Can you guys tell us more while we shop?" She asks. The boys looked surprised at her invitation, looking at Alexis' friends to make sure that it was okay.
"I mean, it's not the first time I've shopped with girls before. I can hold onto your bags for you guys if you like," Rick suggests, eyes glossing over Cassie and focusing more on Shayera and Bronwyn. Marty seemed more interested in Alexis, and his male gaze certainly showed why.
"As for the Genomes? Well, like, Halcyon's a crazy place. So sometimes people around here, they just get born with a little bit of power, from like all sorts of weird junk, like alien tech or some weird portal or anything else. The Genomes are basically a club of such people. They aren't exactly a violent gang, but I've heard rumors that they exhort protection fees from the stores in the mall," Marty points out.
"Alright, what about Silver Shadow versus Duplicity?"
Shaun scoffed. "Duplicity of course! I don't care how good of a detective ye' are, ye' can't beat a metamorph with a tranq."
The past hour had been fun, fun in a way he hadn't had in a long time. Bert and his buddies (who were introduced as Samson and Mordecai) were die-hard cape watchers. It turned out they had a ritual of coming out to the park every-other week to try an get new signatures for their books. And they had things down to a science. Mordecai had an old police scanner that they used to monitor fight reports ("It's technically not illegal...I think."), Sam had a long-range camera that could see up to a mile away supposedly, and Bert brought a cooler full of drinks and snacks.
At the moment, the trio plus Shaun were sprawled on the top of a grass-covered hill ("An optimal lookout position."), the radio occasionally chattering from atop the cooler as they drank soda and played a bit of a game.
Mordecai chuckles. "Yeah right! The Shadow's way too smart for that! He'd probably have a countermeasure ready."
Shaun proved himself up on an elbow, pointing a finger at the lanky underclassman. "Hang on now! Ye' never said they had prep time!"
He shrugged. "Does that make a difference?"
"Of course it makes a f+$!in' difference! Any hero with gadgets get proportionally better w'prep time! That's basic s!$+!"
"What about heroes like Superiority?" Sam chimed in with his high-pitched voice. "He's gadget based."
Bert rolled his eyes. "He's a robot from the future, I don't think that counts as "gadget based." I'm with Shaun on this one, with no prep time Duplicity wins."
Mordecai shakes his head. "Ah whatever! Alright Shaun, your turn."
The Scotsman lays back down, letting the grass cushion his head and mix into his hair. He missed this. Back home, after he'd gotten the kilt, most of his old buddies had called him nuts and run for the hills. They were long-distance watchers, they liked flashy stuff, big names and bigger fights that didn't involve little-old MacGregor, Iowa. But the Trio were all Halcyon natives. They'd grown up with this stuff. They weren't inclined to run when danger came around. They got out their cameras and starting having fun.
It's just like before...when we were all together...just shooting the s#*! and calling it a day...
He puckers his lips in thought, then gets an idea. "A'ight, let's see how much ye' lads know: Bran ta' Blessed versus Wingblade."
"Umm... Okay enough. Sometimes you can't stay mad long enough to finish a fight, you know? There's more we'll have to work through eventually, but... honestly I'm dealing with enough other stuff right now, and..." She gave a self conscious grin, "I mean, I'm just so glad to know we have an eventually." Her grin faded. "But I wasn't brave. I just couldn't not tell them anymore. If I was brave and thinking things through, I'd have made sure that my bug-out bag had more than $200 and enough clothes for 3 days. I mean it's fine, laundromats are cheap, I'm not a big spender, and I figured out a place to sleep. If it is going to be for much longer... I'll figure that out too."
***
Ugh. Didn't think she was actually going to invite them. The important part is letting her spend time out with people though... Bronwyn looked over at Shayera with an indulgent smile and a lift of her eyebrows. What do you think?
Cassie shook her head. "You're wrong you know. You don't have to think things through to be brave. What you did,... that was a lot braver than fighting weird animated dinosaurs or anything like that. Washing clothes,.. well I can help you out with that and, as far as somewhere to sleep. Well, I'd have to check, but I could ask the woman who's looking after me whether there's space for one more... If you need it."
*****
Cassie shrugs at the others. Willing to have the boys along if Alexis really wants them there.
Wingblade looks a bit distracted and has to rewind the conversation in her head a few seconds to figure out the reasons behind Bronwyn's questioning look. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I guess." She doesn't seem concerned about the Genomes.
She pulls out her pocket Abacus and checks the time. "We've still got a couple hours. I was thinking we start at Juliet's. Not the best selection of dresses there but they usually have some nice skirts and tops. Plus, you know, Shakespeare reference, so bonus points. Then Carmen Ridge for some higher-end stuff, and there's a couple shoe stores we'll have to check out. Sound good?"
Alexandra hangs back in the lingerie store, contemplating buys some, but deciding against it. she waits for Wingblade and Bron to be separated. Wingblade is the first to split off. Aexandra quietly approaches, and tries to get her alone.
Hey... I wante dto say sorry.... about that business with my... misbehavior the other day. I didn't mean for anyone competent to get caught up in it. Also, sorry I didn't turn down the... you know, a little. I don't think you had thought through the setting it was on. She says
A voice calls over to Shaun and his new friends.
Easy. Wingblade. She says, twirling one earbud between fingers. The girl has piercings in her nose, lip, and eyebrow.... presumably her ear as well, though her short hair covers them, so you couldn't say fro certain. she wears some eyeliner and black lipstick. her clothes are a top with a neck hole so large, it drapes over one shoulder, revealing the tanktop underneath, and shorts which are shorter than the weather makes advisable.
Bran's got the whole strength thing, but Wing has too many advantages. She's fast, and a regenerator, so even if he does land a hit, it won't slow her down long. and those wings are sharp, like shear through metal sharp. His armour won't help much. Unless Bran has a missile silo I was unaware of, I don't thunk he could get her down and keep her there. She laughs a little. Gods, I wish Xan was here, she'd be giving me such a glare, ragging on her little boyfriend.
As Shaun studied the new arrival, Bert blinked in surprise. ”Ah, yeah, that’s be my guess too.” He stood quickly, brushing lose grass off his pants and out of his hair. ”Hi. I’m, ah, I’m Engelbert Gayle. But y’can just call me Bert.” He stiffly extends a hand in greeting to her, a genuine but nervous smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Shaun slowly got to his feet, a look of inquiry pointed directly at her. I’ve seen her before. Where have I seen her before? She looks REALLY familiar...oh God I didn’t stop her from mugging someone did I? ”I’m Shaun. What brin’s ya’ up here, miss...?” He fishes for a name, hoping that that’ll jog something.
Sam and Mordecai, now proped on their elbows, gave each-other a significant glance. Just barely within Shaun’s range of hearing he could hear the two of them start to bicker.
”...dibs.” the beanpole whispers.
”Dude, I think Bert beat ya to it.”
“Yeah right! Gayle’s got no game.”
“That’s not true! Remember Samantha Jenkins?”
“...you do know that was a pity date, right?”
Wingblade pauses as she's ducking out of the lingerie store. Alexandra can tell something's dividing her attention but she listens to the apology.
She shrugs. "Yeah, thanks for apologizing. No worries." She's about to move on to whatever errand has her focus, but she stops herself. A look of curiosity crosses her face. "You never asked about the drive I pocketed. Does that mean you got the data you were looking for? Anything good? Can I see?"
She sniffs the air and suddenly her attention is someplace else. Not even waiting for a response to her earlier question, she says, "We'll talk later." She immediately moves into the mall and starts climbing the stairs to the upper levels.
The girl shakes Bert's hand, but looks... A little bored. nice to meet you. she says. Her eyes wander to Shaun as she looks him over, Forest green irises wide as they dart across him. her mouth moves, like she is speaking, but no words come out.
Gill. She says, pronouncing it like Jill Hmm, athlete's physic, but nursing almost a dozen small injuries. Accent.. Concealed weapon in your bag... You're that baseline trying to be a cape. The one of Wingblade's new team. she says. it's not a question.
And I'm not looking to date, you two in the back who aren't as quiet as you think you are. Not interested, and two years your junior.
Shaun's eyes go wide. Bert cocks an eyebrow and turns back to face the Scotsman. "Team?"
He swallows hard. "Ah-haha, I don't, uh, not sure what ye're talkin'bout lass!" WHAT THE ABSOLUTE F~!!?! How does she know?!
Behind him Mordecai jumps to his feet, hands splayed defensively as a jumble of sounds spill incoherently from his mouth. "Nowait, I wasn't, I-I-I mean, ahgh...!" Next to him Sam has rolled over onto his stomach, his hand clamped over his mouth as he struggles to not howl with laughter.
Who the f!~$ is this b#$!#?!...wait...the deductions...the attitude...'Xan'... "...oh. My. God. Alex ye' absolute c&+~..." You sent your little sister to stalk me?! Shaun's brow furrows into a look of frustration and exhausted realization as he approaches Gill and Bert. "Hey Bert, can ya' go mind ta' radio f'a sec? Me n' Gill here are gonna talk."
Bert looks back and forth between Shaun and the girl, a look of peaked curiosity plain to see. "...yeah. Sure. I'll...go grab us some root beer..." He very slowly walks back to the cooler, where Mordecai is currently in the process of telling Sam to stuff it as high-pitched squeaks escape from the high-schooler's chest.
As soon as Bert's a decent distance away, Shaun leans in close to Gill to whisper. "What. Ta'. F@&$. Are ye' tryin' ta' ruin this f'me!? Look, just tell your sister I'm out with friends. I'm not doin'anythin'interestin' enough ta' warrant gettin' stalked by her little minion."
Kaoru's stomach had been churning too much to really get that much food down. So instead she had just made a bunch of onigiri, wrapped them up, and put them in her bag along with her other gear to eat later. She checked and double checked her stuff. The vigilante card thing was safely tucked away in a small bag designed to block any signals from coming off of it (she hadn't found any bugs or tracking devices, but better safe than sorry). For good measure, she had turned off her cell phone, removed the battery, and tossed those in there for safe keeping. She still had her new android phone though. That should be safe since a) no one really knew she had it and b) it wasn't connected to her sim card or anything related to her regular phone anyway. Though she had written a program that would hook it into the cell tower system to send and receive calls and messages without a mobile plan. If for some reason she needed to do that.
She took a deep breath. She wasn't really sure why she was so nervous since she was pretty sure this would be a cake walk. She had vastly over prepared. Again. And unlike last time, it's not like she was breaking into the SCA. She steeled her nerves and set out. The path she took was unnecessarily complicated, and she couldn't help but hum the Mission Impossible theme under her breath as she went. It lightened her spirits and turned her nervous energy into excited energy.
Soon she had reached her destination. She ducked behind a tree where cameras couldn't spot her (she had found it earlier. Not that that had been difficult since it's not like the place had many cameras to begin with). She hastily buttoned her dark dress shirt up the rest of the way, pulling the tie she had tied earlier out of her backpack and slipping it on. After straightening it, she did up her vest and pulled out her theatre mask. It was pretty much the exact same outfit she had worn when breaking into the SCA building, and it was definitely overkill, but damn she felt like a badass wearing it. A super dapper, gentlemanly badass.
Behind her mask, she grinned. "Let's do this!"
I'm sure you don't. Gillian says, smirking And, on this side of the pond, that's a big old no-no word. she says, laughing a little.
As she corners her, he notices one of her hands curling up. She definitely has a knife or pepper spray... or one of those crossbows up there. I wasn't trying to do anything. I was out for a run, and met a bunch of cape geeks, and recognized one from my sister's team. and Cell me her minion again, and I'll make sure you you become intimately familiar with one of our Vocab words. Eunuch.
So, you're the one she loathes... Is the human puppy around? or the two lovebirds? she asks.
Alexis seemed satisfied that the group was fine with the two young men coming with them, strangers that they might be. Anyone who was nice enough to share their food with her wasn't all bad.
Juliet's was a nice place, though she wasn't sure why the store sign had a girl hanging out a balcony. She guess she needed to read or watch the play to find out. But she was excited to see it was full of nice clothes, looking around to pick out skirts and cute tops.
Rick and Marty for their part were at least gentlemanly about the way they acted around the group of girls, clearly trying to get into their good graces. Marty suggested a rather low cut and open backed sundress for Alexis to try on, while Rick was trying his luck impressing Shayera.
"You know, my mom's a lawyer. But she also knows some cool heroes. I've even gotten to meet Whippoorwill," Rick tells her. "She's amazing up close. Those wings of hers are the real deal. Though I kept wondering how she was able to move around the law office without knocking anything over."
Alexis appears to be waiting to see what outfit everyone will pick out for her to try on. What does everyone choose?
Shayera looks up from the rack of clothes she was perusing when Rick starts trying to impress her. "Oh?" she says politely, but rolls her shoulders in a helpless gesture. "I don't really follow cape news. But that's cool that you got to meet her, I guess."
She goes back to looking for an outfit for Alexis and eventually pairs a high-waist black skirt with a long-sleeved top. "Here you go, Alexis. This should work, but let me know if the top makes you feel too busty. We might be able to swap it out with something else if you like the skirt."
Letting Alexis head to the fitting rooms, Shayera finds Bronwyn and gives her a hug. "Uh, when we're done here I'm going to have to go to that music festival. Do you want to come? I don't know how awkward it'll be, but I'll just be letting Devaun know I can't see him anymore. Then we can do whatever for the afternoon."
Shaun rolls his eyes as he tries to move the conversation farther down the hill. ”Bite me. I talk how I wanna talk, an’ nobody’s gonna stop me.”
”And I swear ta’ God if ye’ tranq me too I’ll-!” He shakes his head, trying to cool off before he got too hot. All the same, he kept a wary eye on Gill’s hands. ”Sorry. Just a little paranoid after last night. Ta’ whole “secret identity” thin’s somethin’ I haven’t needed ta’ bother with till now. Tryin’ta’ not mess it up w’those three.” He points back over his shoulder at the Trio, who have all huddled together and begun whispering amongst themselves.
”So she “loathes” me huh? B#!%% makes a whole load’a trouble, then’s got ta’ balls ta’ hate me f’callin’ her out. A!%$&@%...” He cocks an eyebrow at the questions about fellow team-mates. ”Wha-? The human puppy...? I mean, I assume y’mean Wing n’-“ WAIT S$~$ I CAN’T JUST TELL HER ABOUT THEM! ”...an’ her, ah, significant other. But, uh, who’s ta’ puppy?” God I hate keeping secrets...