"I've never known myself to be anything else," Alexis says, confused as to what the woman is talking about. She's also wondering how she managed to get up here in the first place. Maybe the stairs were somewhere on the opposite side of the roof.
"You should be careful. It's a long way down," She said, gauging the woman. Something feels like she should be able to figure something out here, but it eludes her grasp. She's too different for her to understand.
She glances at the statues. "They're all heroes. Do you want to be one?" She asked.
Bronwyn waited out the set, feeling very alone, and wishing she could be there for Shayera. It shouldn't be as hard as it was for me and Marco... right? She never really told me why she was going on dates with this guy in the first place... Okay, that doesn't matter. Just focus on the music.
dun de dun dun 'through the air'
da da 'something something flare'
Can't even check my phone...
Oh! There she is!
Bronwyn slung the feathery wings over a shoulder with her bag and gingerly but determinedly pushed through the crowd to reach Shayera.
"Did it go okay? How'd he take it."
Shayera looks up from the ground that she was staring at. She had been frowning in thought, but she smiles when she sees Bronwyn. She steps close and gives her a hug around the waist.
"It was a little weird. He said that I'd eventually want... a man, since I didn't fess up that I was a lesbian. Then he kissed me."
She lets that hang in the air for a moment. Then she sighs. "Still nothing. I don't know to feel relieved that I'm not straight, or bummed out."
She looks up at Bronwyn. "Could you kiss me?"
The woman laughs at Alexis's concern. it has been decades since heights frightened me., she says.
interesting. Most powers tend to manifest near puberty. you never were mortal? Blessed indeed! The woman says, smiling.
Well, do you know the word's origin? Hero, I mean. it comes from the Greek ἥρως, meaning "Semi-divine". Heroes were individuals of beyond human ability, a halfway between the divine and mortality. in that respect, I would say we are both already heroines she says, taking a single step closer to Alexis.
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Kaoru sighed. For some reason 'how to tell if you like a girl as more than friends' somehow got converted into 'how to tell if a girl likes you as more than friends.' Which was dumb. She already knew Alexandra liked her (even if she really couldn't fathom why). Though she had managed to find a few articles about how to tell if you were more than friends. They were also pretty mixed. They definitely cited wanting to make out or sleep together as signs (but, weren't those obvious?). There were some mentions of the 'way they look at you' and 'body language' which she guessed could be translated into how she looked at Alexandra and her body language, but she had no idea how she was supposed to figure out or interpret that. If this were any other situation, she probably would have asked Alexandra to do that part for her. Both the articles she had found also said touching was a sign you were more than friends. As well as wanting to spend time alone with them and getting butterflies.
But, like, why wouldn't she want to spend time alone with Alexandra? Everybody she knew either she herself didn't get along with or didn't seem to get along with Alexandra, so putting her, Alexandra, and any third person pretty much spelled disaster. So wasn't the only logical solution that they should spend time alone together to maximize everyone's comfort? And why was touching a sign of romantic interest? Chloe had always been affectionate with everybody. And Kaoru would have been fine if Sarah or Crystal or any of the others had wanted to be cuddly with her, but they had never really seemed interested in that sort of thing. But then...was that why everybody had been so ready to believe she was gay? And if so, why was she the lezzo when Chloe wasn't? She had only gone along with what Chloe wanted. And sure, she had liked it, but obviously, Chloe did too, or she wouldn't have done it.
She groaned. Why was this so hard to figure out? Or rather, why was this so hard for her? Nobody else seemed to be having these kinds of problems! Everybody in Sioux Falls seemed to know what they wanted. Alexandra knew what she wanted. Hell, even Alexis seemed to know what she wanted even if she seemed unable to understand other important concepts. So why the fk couldn't she figure it out?
Maybe her problem was she was doing this in some weird, wishy-washy, touchy-feely BS way. Maybe she needed a different approach: Math. Math was hard and concrete and irrefutable. So she needed to try approaching this via proof by contradiction. She started typing the outline of a proof.
H0: I am straight.
Contradiction: The internet says touching is a sign of romantic interest. I want physical contact with a girl and have enjoyed it in the past with other girls, so I want a romantic relationship with women. This is supported by others' reaction to my relationship with women. I have never been particularly touchy-feely with men.
Conclusion: I am gay.
H1: I am gay.
Contradiction: I definitely notice attractive men, eg I always enjoyed looking at Jack topless. And Neil had always been fun to watch. He had also looked really good topless. And his fashion sense was beyond impeccable. In fact, I seem to notice how guys look more than girls.
Conclusion: Since H0 was refuted, I can't be straight. So I am bi.
H2: I am bi.
Contradiction: I definitely don't want to have sex with men. And I'm pretty sure I don't really want to have sex with women. And I've never really wanted to make out or kiss either.
Conclusion: ...I am asexual?
H3: I am asexual.
Contradiction: I don't...want to be alone. I want to fall in love and get married and...ok, maybe not have kids, but find someone to grow old with. I want a happily ever after. Plus then how do I explain all the observations above?
Conclusion: ...???
Where the fk did that leave her? She was out of sexual orientations. Did she circle back to one of her earlier hypotheses? But then what was she supposed to do with her contradictions? How the hell had math managed to fail her? Maybe I just need to be more rigorous... She deleted everything she had typed and started again.
"It was a little weird. He said that I'd eventually want... a man"
Bronwyn made a face Ugh, thanks for sparing me that, Marco.
"Then he kissed me."
She lets that hang in the air for a moment. Then she sighs. "Still nothing. I don't know to feel relieved that I'm not straight, or bummed out."
She looks up at Bronwyn. "Could you kiss me?"
Her stomach hurt. "Is that why you were dating him while we weren't public? In case you really were just attracted to guys?"
Bronwyn shook her head, but brought her eyes up enough to meet her girlfriend's. "Why do you want me to kiss you, Shayera? I'm not interested in being just a data point. And... We've been together for months! I know we don't really know how you might feel later, but I thought we knew how you felt now!"
Shayera's eyes go wide. "What?!?" A measure of hurt shows up on her face. "No! I want to kiss you because I want his scent off me! I've kissed you lots of times, Bronwyn! I needed to know if it's different with boys! I know how I feel with you, but not... anyone else."
She takes a step back and hugs herself tight. "You know I don't want to be straight. But I have to admit I haven't really had much experience with boys. And if I was, well, then I'd know what I have to fight against. Now I just feel like I'm nothing, and I'm still not sure how to deal with that."
Alexis couldn't be entirely sure. But she believed that this woman wasn't someone ordinary anymore. She had no way to tell if she was dangerous though, Still, she kept her distance, backing away from the odd woman as she tried approaching her.
Should she call Shayera? She didn't want to interrupt her date if she wasn't really in trouble. She needed more information.
"I'm...Mercy. What's your name?" She asked, still uneasy. Especially with the talk about the Greek heroes. She'd heard tales like that before. Never from good people.
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Bronwyn stepped forward and embraced her. "I'm sorry Ijust-, I didn't like that- I'm sorry. You're not nothing though. You've never been nothing."
She gave Shayera a quick peck on the nose. "Is that the kind of kiss you wanted? Or maybe more like this?" She trailed down towards the corner of Shayera's mouth, to a kiss that was almost just a kiss on the cheek. "Or..?"
As Alexis shrinks away, the woman steps back as well, smiling still.
Mercy. that's a pretty name. A good name. You can call me Delilah. she says
What do you want, Mercy? she asks, kindness in her voice, but intensity in her eyes.
What did Mercy want?
"I want to live and die like any other person in the world. I want to fall in love and to fight anyone who would take away the happiness of others. I want to understand people." She tells Delilah, even though she's cautiously concerned.
"I have to go. People might be in trouble. You seem like you're okay here. Don't jump off the roof. It hurts to hit the ground," She pointed out, moving to take her leave.
Her eyes half-close as she enjoys the softness of Bronwyn's lips lightly moving across her skin and the gentle touch of her breath. "Yes. All of the above," she whispers dreamily.
Shayera idly toys with trying to mimic Devaun's kiss back to Bronwyn, but lets that impulse fade as she lets Bronwyn kiss her where she wants. She makes out with her girlfriend in the middle of the crowd, not caring about the eyes on them.
"Um, you want to stick around for the rest of the festival?" she asks when their lips finally part.
Either that or rip your pants off and finish this kiss somewhere more private...
"Let's... sure let's stay here, and do anything but go back to your place for now."
God I need to go for a run.
"We could go hit up a food truck, or check out the costume contest, or... get tattoos?" What? "Or something better." Ugh. Free wouldn't be the worst thing in the world either...
Do you feel like your powers prevent you from having a fulfilling life? or do you feel alienated from the masses by your abilities. have to be gentle with them, because compared to you, they are made of tissue paper. she says.
Love... Isn't that what we all want. I'm sure you will have it. but never forget there are people who will love you for your abilities, not despite them. she says
And understanding people... again, you feel estranged from the masses. But I think that you just need to meet people who are more like you. she says
if you should ever wish to meet people like that... call us, and we can give you more information. she says, scrawling a number of a piece of paper, and leaving it on the roof as she steps off, flying away.
She wasn't different. She wasn't! But something about Delilah's words gnawed at her, creating doubt and self concern.
Maybe she did need to meet others like her. She met Shayera, and that was the best thing that could have happened to her. Others might be willing to help her understand the world around her. There was also the potential for love to bloom in that fashion as well.
She saved the number given to her on her new phone, before leaping off of the roof, wondering who Delilah was or why she spoke to her. Maybe she knew lots of other superheroes that she could meet and get to know.
For now, she could continue her patrol and perhaps come across some other fellow heroes. There were plenty of them in the city after all. She hoped that Wingblade would introduce her.
Shayera's comm would crackle on, Alexis speaking. "What's your phone number? I want to try texting. Also, I knocked out some guys trying to rob a store and left them for the police. Should I have waited for the police to arrive? Oh, and do you know if there are any other powered people that might be interested in dating?"
I'm not going "The Colour Noun"... and I don't mean Rook like the chess piece, I mean rook like the especially clever blackbird from Europe. she says Let's me wear a dark costume.
Well, you're baseline. she says She isn't. And she's been studying under Whip for years. probably thinks she's the most qualified. and a leader now, she can't afford to show weakness. Gill says And, no offence, but you wouldn't be who i went to for romantic stuff.
yeah. She really doesn't like a mystery she can't work out. Might get a little messy... or she'd engineer a situation where Bron had to reveal her abilities.
Not that I'm not quite curious. If she does, and Xan ins't off her rocker. Also, If you keep calling her Alex, She'll probably do some digging and publicize as much of your life as she can... it's what I'd do.
”...oh. Ta’ bird. Yea’, uh, of course...”. The expression on Shaun’s face makes it clear he’s mentally beating his head against a wall.
”If she didn’t want ta’ show weakness then she’s doin’ a s@+~ job’a it. Kinda tips us off when ye’ come ta’ breakfast lower than sea-level in spirits.” He shakes his head. ”An’ no, I wouldn’t be my first pick f’datin’ advice either. But...I dunno. See, I wanted ta’ lead a team myself, but I get that she’s probably ta’ better leader pick...probably. But...I want this team ta’ work! An’ta’ do that, she needs ta’ be at ta’ top of her game, an’ if I can help her do that, I wanna! I just...wish she would let me...” He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. ”I know I come on strong ta’ a lotta people, but I do want ta’ help...wanna show that I ‘preciate everythin’ she’s done f’me...”
The red-head’s eyes roll in exhasperation. ”Well can ye’ guess why? Sayin’ her full name in th- in my accent is murder. An’ just listen ta’ me tryin’ how ye’ say it: “Shan.” Sounds like I’m callin’ her my name!”
His mouth twists up on thought. ”...hey, would ya’ be okay if we swapped numbers? I dunno why but...ye’re easy ta’ talk too. I don’t meet a whole lotta people willin’ta’ do that f’me.” He clicks his phone open, but hesitates. ”I-I mean, I don’t wanna force ya’inta’anythin’! I just...I’d like ta’ talk w’ya’ again sometime.”
Gill easily notices two things at this point. The first is that the Trio have started covertly listening in on the conversation, having seemingly interpreted Shaun’s earnest request as something rather more...forward. The second thing is that Shaun’s phone’s text size is jacked WAY up. Like, blind old grandma levels of big text.
"I've always wondered if a tattoo would stick around for me," Shayera says. "They're deep under the skin where it's not supposed to heal, but I can heal stuff that baselines can't at all. So it'll probably eventually disappear."
She agrees to wander around the festival and watch the costume contest and eat food truck food while they listen to the bands play at the other stages. When she dons the feathered wings again, a few people pointed out that she would be a better Wingblade. "That's the joke!!!" she shouts back at them.
Eventually, the final act finishes its set and the festival winds down. The crowds begin to push towards the exits. Shayera squeezes Bronwyn's hand which has been in hers for almost the entire event. "I had a really good time. I, uh, should let you get back to Mary-Beth's. Right? You need to do that?"
"Well, I mean, don't test it with anything embarrassing! If you do ever get a tattoo I mean."
***
At the end of the night, Bronwyn replied with a visible effort, "......Yeah...
"You want to drop me off? There might be a goodnight kiss in it for you..."
Shayera pulls out her phone to check the time, then does a mental calculation. "Okay. I should still have enough time."
After going in a few directions where the crowd isn't headed, they eventually find a location where it's safe for Shayera to dispel her glamour and unveil her wings. Without the harness, it was a little more awkward, but considering how late it was there was no real time for fancy flying. She angled straight for the suburbs where Mary-Beth lived, and in short order (and far sooner than any rail service) had Bronwyn at the Browne's residence.
They touch down in the soft, freshly-mowed grass of the backyard. "Here you go," Shayera says, lightly out of breath. "Good night," she says with an expectant smile.
"Okay, I've got church tomorrow so I'm not free til the afternoon for team stuff... or... other stuff. Sleep well, okay? I love you."
She turned to walk over to where the spare key was kept before pausing and looking back over her shoulder with an expression of puzzlement. "Wait did I forget something?"
Whether greeted with a look of concern or eye-rolling, Bronwyn's response is the same, snatching her girlfriend up in her arms, followed by a quick searching kiss to open Shayera's lips, and a longer, deeper kiss, that nearly saw her drag Shayera down onto the soft lawn.
Okay, no.. no. Self control. Grass stains, think about grass stains. Pretend this is one of her nicer outfits and think about grass stains.
Finally she put Shayera down, a bit out of breath herself. "Good night"
***
Inside, Mary-Beth was still awake, an old tome spread out on the foldup cardtable in the kitchen. "So. You were out late. Though not quite as late as you came in."
Bronwyn gave an amused and slightly bashful look in response. "And how do you know that?"
"Added a little silent alarm to those wards we were working on."
"Really?! I didn't see anything different."
"Sure, but I'm guessing you were distracted?"
Bronwyn grinned like the cat who'd caught the canary. "Guilty." In a rush she embraced her friend. "Thank you so much for letting me stay here. I never would have been able to-" "Yeah, yeah I **urk** know. You know you should really just stay with Her though, right?"
"Gah! You too?! Come on Mary-Beth, you get why right? I mean, I know... You get why I'd have a really hard time just staying on her couch right?"
"Yes Bronwyn. I understand that she gives you 'butterflies in your stomach' and surrounding regions. I just think that's why you should get over there, and not ruin my lawn."
Bronwyn opened her mouth to respond, paused, and gave Mary-Beth the fisheye. "Why are you trying to pick a fight before bed?"
"Well you were gone all day; when else was I supposed to do it?"
Bronwyn rolled her eyes with a smile "So, any chance my good example will get you to church tomorrow?"
"Nah, you know, I like to keep it special. Going every week or month, or you know, season just robs it of the magic." "And you don't like waking up early." "And I like to sleep in," Mary-Beth nodded gamely with Bronwyn's assessment.
"Fine, I'll just go with your mom." Mary-Beth narrowed her eyes at the tone in Bronwyn's voice, "Bronwyn, so help me, if you talk her into dragging me along too-" "MB, you wound me. What possible reason would I have for doing such a thing?" "To make the ratio of people thinking that you're the biggest freak in the congregation go down?"
Both their faces instantly took on the same stricken look. "Oh Jesus, Bronwyn I'm sorry. I didn't mean that; you know I didn't mean that." "Yeah."
"It was a joke, a bad joke. You know everyone will be just as glad to see you." "No they won't." "No. They won't. But they'll be wrong, right?" "Yeah."
"Plus, hey, if worst comes to worst, and it really sucks, you get to sleep in on Sundays."
A little fierceness entered Bronwyn's smile. "Not a chance."
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Shayera can't keep the smile off her face after Bronwyn finally breaks the kiss. We keep getting better at that, she thinks. She wonders a little about how she might act if she had the same physical reactions that Bronwyn did, but shunts those thoughts aside as she knew she had to get moving quickly or else she'd be late. "I love you too. Good night."
She's in the air as soon as her girlfriend's inside Mary-Beth's house, and she pushes herself to her top speed. Instead of heading toward the Tower District, though, she angles her flight eastward, taking her over the industrial region of Rustside in order to reach Old Town.
She lands hard on a slanted roof. Not much time now. She rubs her pendant and says, "陰影," which causes her wings to fade from sight, but instead of the clothes she wore to shopping and the music festival, she's in an all-black skintight suit that goes up to her neck.
Here goes, she thinks as she starts to run down the slanted roof. She reaches the edge and leaps, barely catching the next roof. She recovers and runs across that one, jumping over vents and other obstructions in parkour style, then leaps to the next roof, then another, then another. She turns and sprints across another until she reaches the Cauffey Building, one of the tallest in Old Town. She jumps across the space and catches one of the ornate gargoyles before she plummets to the street below. She pulls herself up, climbing the stone edifice and wishing that she could use her wings for this. Flying beat climbing by an insane margin.
Finally, she reaches the top, where she sees three similarly dressed Chinese girls in stylized tiger masks waiting for her. <You're late, Xiu Ying,>* they say in eerie unison.
She almost glances in the direction of the clock tower to confirm since she was pretty sure she'd made it on time, but she knew the landmark wasn't there anymore. She decides to play along instead. <My apologies. Does my tardiness affect our mission?>
All three shake their head. <No, but we mustn't dawdle further. Here you go, Xiu Ying.> One of them hands her a simple box made of lacquered wood. Shayera takes it and opens it. Inside is a beautifully carved Chinese mask of a stylized tiger, identical to the ones the other girls were wearing. She gives them all a look when she takes it from its cradle inside the box, but their masked faces were impassive.
Shayera puts on the mask and her world changes.
The four race across the rooftops of Old Halcyon, swift as shadows in the moonlight and just as silent. One of them knows the district well, so they all do; their consciousnesses linked together by the magic of the masks. But they share more than just their knowledge and skills. As they reach the transition from Old Town to the Little China district, they each literally fade and disappear into the deepest shadow on the rooftop then step from a different shadow on the balcony of a building several hundred feet away.
Without a signal, the four spread out, heading in different directions, fading into shadows and reappearing farther away. While two slow up, the other pair keep moving, then turn back so they all approach their target from different directions. One of their number has enhanced senses, so they all do. They notice hidden guards, tripwires, cameras and defenses as they move closer and deftly avoid them through stealth or their shadow walk.
Once they are in position, one moves through the shadows into the sewers below the streets. Using the familiarity of the city that one possesses, she slips through the tunnels and reaches out with an ability she never had as an individual. Her new technopathy instantly finds the power lines running to their target building. She follows them to the junction box and with a pulse of the ability, cuts off all power to the structure.
With the building's interior shrouded in darkness, all four fade into the shadows and reappear within before the emergency power comes back on. The lights were off for less than a minute, but it was long enough.
The one who had cut the power moves in through the basement level and pauses when she sees a wide room full of people on an assembly line putting a substance into packets of white paper. Something stirs in her, an individual desire, to put a stop to the basement operation. <The mission comes first,> all four then whisper to themselves and they keep moving through the building.
They move quickly, using their enhanced senses to bypass guards or their skill at combat to quickly take down those too alert or positioned in places where they could not be avoided.
One finds the server room and starts to pull information into a data drive. Though she'd never had much knowledge about how computers work, her shared ability gave her superhuman insight into their workings. Simply by touching the screen she can sense the encryptions and blockades and firewalls and unravel them with a thought. She pushes through every protection and draws the information into the drive as if it were her lungs and she was taking a breath.
Just as it completed, the building's defenders arrive. Without hesitation they spray bullets everywhere. She moves the instant they appear, but is grazed by several shots and blood flies.
Elsewhere, the defenders mount a more organized defense as they attack the invaders with guns and swords, and even a few with low-level powers. One by one, the masked girls are shot, stabbed, or slammed to the ground.
Then just as the defenders start to relax, the four stand up, seemingly unaffected by their injuries -- even those that would be deadly. They immediately smash the lights and fade into the darkness.
Reappearing together in the darkened streets nearby, they again shadow walk through the narrow alleys and then on the rooftops, disappearing into the night.
==========================
The Man in the White Coat continues his work late into the night, parsing through massive amounts of data and formulating plans. His current office is dimly lit, and his thick glasses reflect the computer screen's blue-white glow.
Four girls in Chinese tiger masks step out of the shadows of his office. The Man looks up from his screen slowly, as if he was not surprised about their sudden appearance. One of the quartet steps forward and places a data drive on his desk. A look of satisfaction crosses his face.
<Our replacement is acceptable,> they say in unerring unison. <Your payment, as we agreed.>
The Man nods, supremely confident. <Thank you. If this proves profitable, I might have more work for you here in Halcyon.>
The girls in masks shake their heads in unison. <This city has too many risks of confrontation. We shall be returning to China,> they say together, even though one sounded slightly more strained than the others.
The Man in the White Coat smiles. <If you're talking about encountering 'superheroes,' I think you have a distinct advantage. Consider what you know now.>
There's a pause. Three of the masks turn to the fourth, then they all look back to the man and nod in perfect unison. <Very well. The Daughters of the Tiger will remain in Halcyon. For now.>
*Translated from Chinese
================================
Shayera stumbles in from the balcony, looking wiped out.
She collapses into a chair and is asleep right away.
Shayera wakes to the sound of Alexis exercising. Yawning, she pulls herself out of the curled-up position and stretches. "Oh, hey Alexis. I'm sorry I missed your comm last night. I had it turned off, due to a... stealth mission. So, what'd you want to talk about?"
Kaoru stared at the once again blank screen in front of her. She had tried going through a proof three more times. And each time she just wound up going in circles. Her head was starting to hurt, and she was beyond frustrated. Alexandra had said that nobody really knew what they were doing. That people were just doing what felt good and trying not to be stupid about it. Couldn't she just...do that? Holding Alexandra's hand and hugging her felt good, so could she just keep doing that without labeling it? But what if Alexandra wanted to kiss? It hadn't felt good exactly. But it hadn't felt bad either. But maybe it had only not felt good because she had been overwhelmed? Maybe if she were expecting it or felt like she knew what she was doing, it would get better? But...what if it didn't? If it didn't and she kept doing it, was that being stupid? Or was that an ok tradeoff to get what she did want?
If she didn't want kissing, but she wanted the other things, was she just trying to turn Alexandra into a replacement Chloe? The thought made her a little ill. As much as she hated, hated to admit it, she desperately missed her best friend. *Former* best friend. Chloe had always been good at explaining feelings or how the world worked to her, and if she was upset, she could just hide in the comforting warmth of her arms and listen to the steady beating of her heart until she calmed down. Why couldn't you have just *listened* to me when I said I wasn't like that? Why did you have to abandon me just when I needed you most?
A small part of her couldn't help but comment on the irony of her current situation, but before she could be drawn too far into the details of that, she distracted it with a debate about if 'irony' was really the correct term. There was no point thinking about it. No point thinking about her. She had burned that bridge with extreme prejudiced. Even if she had wanted to try reopening communication, she was pretty sure Chloe hated her now. Everyone else did, so why would the redhead be any different? If anything, she had even more of a reason to hate Kaoru than the others. She probably thought she was some pervert who had taken advantage of her or something. Even though she hadn't! It hadn't been like that! ...had it?
She pushed herself almost violently away from her desk. This had all been a colossal waste of time. She glanced at her phone. Alexandra still hasn't responded to her text. Though she guessed it didn't really require a response? There was a semi-implied, semi-explicit question checking in on her, but maybe Alexandra hadn't wanted to talk about it? She could send a follow up in the morning. Just to make sure the apologizing hadn't actually resulted in violence resulting in Alexandra getting hurt. Bronwyn probably wouldn't have attacked her, but Wingblade might have (but then, Alexandra probably would have anticipated that and taken preventative measures, right?). Or...at least Bronwyn probably wouldn't have attacked her? She had no idea about this 'Branwen' person though, so she might have? But Bronwyn didn't have a good reason to want to hurt Alexandra, right? ...unless she blamed Alexandra for that whole Alexis debacle the previous day? Sh*t, she probably needed to make sure she didn't, and that Bronwyn knew it was squarely her fault and not Alexandra's.
She pulled up Bronwyn's number and hesitated, biting her lip. Telling her now wouldn't help Alexandra. And then she'd have to spend all of Sunday worrying about it. So maybe...she should just leave that until Monday. With her other apology. God, how many times had she already had to apologize to Bronwyn? She was definitely starting to press her luck there. If she hadn't already broken it. Maybe if she could think of something nice to do for her it'd put her ledger less in the dangerously red zone. But she didn't really know her that well. And the only thing that she knew she wanted was apparently for her to make herself Bran's b*tch, which she sure as hell wasn't about to do. She was pretty sure having Bronwyn hate her was preferable to that. Even if it meant the rest of the school started wondering what the hell she had done that was so bad that someone as nice as Bronwyn hated her.
She sighed. These were Monday's problems. For now, it was time for a shower and bed.
Alexis feels much better wearing her own, better sized athletic gear to exercise. It meant less discomfort for her. She saw Shayera sleeping earlier that morning but didn't wake her. She guessed that the sounds she made still were enough to get her to notice.
"It's okay. I want your phone number so I can try texting. Also, I wanted to know if you knew any superheroes or powered people that might want to go on a date." She was currently shadow boxing, which meant that she was saying this while also flipping around on the mat and throwing kicks and punches.
"I met someone named Delilah last night. She flew off a roof and told me that I was special for having powers. She also gave me her number, but I don't think she wants to date me." She said, finishing up and sitting cross-legged facing her savior.
"Is Bronwyn going to fix my armor today? Can I have her number?" She asked, thinking about other questions too. "If she fixes it, can we patrol together tonight?"
"Sure," Shayera says. "Abacus, call Alexis's number," she announces, and within moments the phone is buzzing.
"That's me. You can take that number that just showed up and add me as a contact. Then you can call or text me whenever you want.
"I can give you Bronwyn's, but she told me yesterday that her phone was cut off by her parents. So you'll need to use the comm if you want to get in touch with her. And we can ask her after church if she's made much progress with your armor. I hope you'll understand if she hasn't; she's gone through a lot these last few days. But absolutely we can go patrol together. It'll be fun."
Getting around to Delilah and the dating questions, Wingblade activates another console and starts calling up various traffic cams and other surveillance videos. "If you can recall where you were last night when you met Delilah, put it in here and we'll see if we can find a picture of her. Flying's no joke, and I haven't heard of someone with that name."
She also takes the number Alexis was given and ran it through Abacus's forensic algorithms to get some additional information. "You're definitely special for having powers, Alexis," Shayera eventually gets around to explaining, "but that doesn't make you better than anyone else. Having powers lets you do great things. Great things for good, or great things for bad. This 'Delilah' didn't give you any vibes towards one direction or the other, did she?"
"On top of the library near Monument Park. I didn't understand anything except that she seemed to be interested in me for my powers," Alexis confirmed, though the mention of church piqued her interest. You went to a church 20th a priest to get married. That's what she learned from Twelfth Night after all. It sounded quite exciting, enough that she cut her routine today short and went to Shayera seriously.
"Let's go to church and meet Bronwyn then!" She said. After all, she was sure that Bronwyn would be happy with marrying Shayera there too. "Should I wear something nice? Should we invite others?"
Shayera's eyes go wide, entirely blindsided again by Alexis' tendency to jump on something and run away with the concept. Visions of the two of them plus others showing up in church and making things worse for Bronwyn -- likely by Alexis shoving hers and Bron's relationship into the faces of the entire congregation -- cross her mind's eye. She suppresses an involuntary shudder.
"Look, this morning is going to be very important for Bronwyn, and I can't really see a scenario where we'll be helping things by being there. Plus, she's Catholic and there's a lot of things you're supposed to know what to do. And church is... special. It's not like hearing that she's going to the movies and joining her there. It's religion. They worship God, and talk about... religious stuff. And they have Mass."
She goes back to Abacus and puts in the location of Alexis' meeting with Delilah, having the supercomputer process through all the nearby surveillance and security feeds to see if there's any chance that her likeness was caught during their meeting.
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Her bugout bag really didn't have church clothes...
Mary-Beth was only a few inches shorter than her, but they weren't really the same size anywhere else either. Even if she had been more of a dress-wearing gal, it would have been like wearing a short potato sack, and Mrs. Browne was closer to Shayera's height, if not remotely her build. No help there either.
There was no way she was going to go to St. Ambrose's in a pair of running shorts and a tank top, so she and Mrs. Browne had gone into Mr. Browne's old closet and dug out a suit that wasn't as musty as she'd been afraid of. It was nice too, nicer than anything the Brownes bought these days. They really should have sold this. Or I shouldn't be borrowing it.
This was his favorite suit.
I've gotta figure out a way to repay them both.
The car ride over to church was a little awkward. She could see Mrs. Browne keep glancing over when she caught Bronwyn's suit in the corner of her eye. At least I don't look like him...
”Hey... thank you so much for... everything. I'm really sor-”
”Not another word Bronwyn. I'm not going to let you apologize for letting me help you. You're like the daughter I- you're like a second daughter to me, Bronwyn. I'm just glad you came to me instead of doing something foolish, and I'm glad you're coming with me today. Today might be hard, but you've faced hard before, right?”
”Right.”
”So just push through it. Some people might judge you, but just push through it. You know the only judgment that matters, and he loves you.”
***
She thought that maybe they weren't coming. Is it really that horrible? Am I such a bad daughter that I'd force them to leave the-
Oh. There they are.
She didn't wave, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. They didn't see her at first, but the weight of her gaze eventually told, and her mother looked straight back at her. I love you.
Her eyes widened, giving a quick scan of Bronwyn's new outfit. Her mouth compressed into a thin line, but she gave the slightest tilt of her head, beckoning Bronwyn over, beckoning her home.
Then her papa saw her too and looked away.
She shut her eyes to keep her tears from spilling out, and bowed her head, breathing deeply, trying to find comfort as Father Rotoli's words washed over her, occasionally responding by rote as the service ground forward.
***
”Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
I'm sorry.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
I'm sorry that I've done such a bad job of this.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
I'm supposed to be a hero. Why couldn't I do this without hurting them?
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.” Please Lord, grant me wisdom; grant me strength
"Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you; look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever and ever." Father Rotoli turned to the congregation "The peace of the Lord be with you always. Please rise, and offer those near to you the sign of peace."
She first rose and embraced Mrs. Browne, ”Peace be with you.” “And with your spirit” then turned to whoever it was who had sat down next to h- Wait, Shaun?! No, beard. Beard and too old.
”Peace be with you?” If he sounds like Merida, then he's a MacGregor
The man seated next to Bronwyn is indeed very similar to Shaun. His eyes, nose, and ears all match the Scotsman's, but there is an almost equal amount of differences. For one, the man's jaw and mouth are partially obscured by a well-groomed beard and mustache. His hair is the same shade of red, but has started to turn silver around the temples. He doesn't seem older than 50, but already his face is traced with numerous folds and worry-lines. He is dressed very well, as to be expected for the current surroundings, in a heavily-used suit and dull red tie that drape off of his tall, lanky frame.
He smiles as he clasps Bronwyn's hand in his own. While friendly, the smile seems to be holding back a little bitter-sweetness. "An' with your spirit lass..." He does have an accent, but it is markedly lighter than Shaun's. However, him turning to face her has revealed two further details about his person. For one, it appears that he's accidentally left some kind of nametag attached to his breast pocket, which handily labels him as "Jack MacGregor, Accounting." For two, his collar is somewhat messily done, allowing the dark inks of some kind of tattoo to show themselves along the side of his neck.
Laying next to him on the pew is a box of tissues, which he seems to have already used about a third of. A second glance at his face does confirm that he has been recently crying, apparently rather softly, given that Bronwyn did not notice him doing so right next to her...
Ugh. Though who knows what could've happened next to me without me noticing...
There wasn't time to ask questions or get to know... Shaun's dad? right now. But I'm definitely going to introduce myself after the service.
"...Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb," Father Rotoli finished, as always.
Bronwyn and everyone around her recited, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." The deacon began shepherding the congregation forward to take communion, but Bronwyn stayed determinedly seated.
You know, this is what I really should have taken care of last night... 'Cause no way am I taking communion before I get a chance to confess. But it was my first day with Shayera...
Whatever, it's not like people haven't been staring since I got here anyways...
The line always seemed so slow on the rare occasions she didn't take communion, and this time was no exception, but there was an extra wrinkle she somehow hadn't seen coming: Her parents, working their way closer and closer. She kept her eyes forward, there was plenty of time to talk afterwards, but she couldn't help noticing the look of relief on their face that she was still sitting.
Well, at least they're happy with that...
***
After the service was finished, there was often a gathering for some donuts and lemonade or coffee or whatever. Normally it was a time for her parents to talk to their friends, or for Bronwyn to get the details of some upcoming charity drive or volunteering, or other good works.
She hadn't made it to confession yet, but there was still plenty of time. So today, she quickly made her way over to John? Joseph? Jack!
"Hi there, I'm Bronwyn Pascal. I think I go to school with your son, Shaun? Do I have the right MacGregor?"
Mercy didn't press the issue any further. It was obvious that the subject was making Shayera uncomfortable, though she wished that they would go and she'd get to see them make their vows in front of a priest. It sounded really romantic and she craved seeing the resolution of their love into a happy ending.
She also wanted her own happy ending. Which was why she was currently finding herself checking herself out in the mirror, trying on some of the different, new clothes that she had gotten. There was something missing. Something that she really, really needed.
She finally poked her head out, speaking to Shayera by Abacus. "Do you have an electric razor?" She asked. "I need to fix my hair."
As the rest of the congregation assembled for communion, it is easy to notice that Jack remains seated like Bronwyn. Though he does take the opportunity to dispose of his used tissues.
- - -
Bronwyn finds the lanky man seated on a bench pressed against the wall. As she approaches she can see him take a pill bottle out of his pocket and shake a couple tablets into his palm. Downing the medication with some lemonade, he stands when Bronwyn introduces herself, swallowing quickly. ”Oh, hello again lass. I’m Mr. MacGregor, but ye can call me Jack if ya like...”
He sharply inhales as his eyebrows shoot up, a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes. ”A-Ah, so ye’ve met Shaun. Ah, yes, he is my son. I hope he didn’t do anything too terrible to ye. My lad can be rather...” He searches for the right word, clearly not finding. ”Rather much sometimes...”
Alexandra goes into her office early. Kaoru mentioned a rough relationship in the past... she says, firing up her computer. No way Kaoru left an internet trail of her own... but others probably have her in their sphere. she thinks Probably should check other names... though Kaoru might be feminine... wait, His mum did call him Kaoru, so probably what he went by in his last life. check last name anyway, family might be fun to find.
She starts with a face recognition algorithm on social media, feeding it the footage from her car's camera the first day they met. then a wide search for his first and last name, or common nicknames in the area he said he was from.
When you call upon the resources of your sanctuary to solve a problem, say what you want to do.
The GM will give you one to four conditions you must fulfill to complete your solution:
❑ First, you must _______________________
❑ You’ll need help from ___________________
❑ You and your team will risk danger from ______
❑ The best you can do is a lesser version,
unreliable and limited
❑ You’ll need to mark one box on your doom track
❑ You’ll have to obtain ___________________
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There's not a whole lot from this, but the facial recognition software does pick up a couple of images. In both, Kaoru has long, dark hair and is dressed significantly more of a 'preppy' look than Alexandra has ever seen her in. She's also pretty clearly female in both of the images, wearing light makeup and a skirt, and she definitely has more of a chest than Alexandra has seen.
In the first image, there's a look of happy surprise on Kaoru's face. She's in the process of turning to look at a pretty redheaded girl with blue eyes and pale skin who seems to have come up from behind her and wrapped her arms around Kaoru's waist. The girl is grinning mischievously at the camera, clearly in cahoots with the person taking the picture to surprise Kaoru. The computer links this account to the facebook account of Chloe Gates, though its privacy settings are set to friends-only. Her profile image is a picture of the same redhead grinning as she's licked by a puppy.
In the second image, Kaoru is standing next to an attractive, well-built Asian boy in a varsity letterman's jacket. He's grinning a tad smugly at the camera, one arm wrapped possessively around Kaoru's shoulders. Kaoru has her hands folded demurely in front of her and a polite smile on her face. This account seems to be linked to one Jack Liu. His facebook profile is similarly friends-locked and his profile picture is him at the beach. He's wearing swim trunks and sunglasses and the image shows off the fact that he clearly works out.
Name search
The majority of results for Kaoru Miyamoto limited to the Sioux Falls area seem to be articles from the local middle and high school about various competitions she was in and typically won. Most of them seem to be either music or math and science related, though there is the odd spelling bee and one mock trial competition mentioned. There's also an article debating if she was most likely to become valedictorian of her year or some other girl named Lena Calvin (the article does a rather poor job being impartial and the author is clearly of the opinion that Lena will win). The most recent article seems to be from early October of last year.
Widening the search to just 'Miyamoto' in the Sioux Falls area doesn't bring up much more than using Kaoru's full name. The main thing of note is that there's an obituary from November 28th, 2012 for a 'Hideo Miyamoto' who apparently died of cancer.
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Rebecca seems to be a senior at Sioux Falls high. The school newspaper's announcement about the graduating class says she's planning to attend a well-respected college known for their medical research program to study biology.
Aubrey is SF High's music teacher and also heads the choir of a local church. Her facebook page seems to largely consist of attempts to organize a number of local charity events, many of which center around musical performances but also include things like bake sales and charity walks. It seems to be relatively active and the current project seems to be an all-night danceathon aimed at raising money for a support hotline for LGBTQIA+ youth. Participation seems to be rather lackluster thus far, though you notice Chloe has marked herself as attending it. She has a number of pictures from various charity events and performances, as well as several family photos, including what appears to be a large family reunion picture taken in Ireland around 5 years ago.
Jesse is a surgeon at a local hospital. His facebook page seems to be pretty inactive. It mostly consists of the occasional upsell of his wife's charity events, some posts aimed at raising awareness for various health issues, and the obligatory 'happy birthday' wishes.
A further look into Jack reveals that he's currently a junior on the football team at SF High. He's mentioned in nearly every article from this past season, though oddly the articles only cover games up until mid-November even though the season wouldn't have ended until December. The articles all pose him in a very flattering light, clearly painting him as the up-and-comer of the varsity team and a shoo-in for the quarterback position next year.
"No, he didn't do anything wrong worth mentioning..." Bronwyn paused for a moment, mouth nearly forming the next question before just asking. "Can he come home? It seems like he doesn't think he can go home."
"O-Of course he can come home! Why would he think-?" Mr. MacGregor stops and slowly pinches the bridge of his nose as his brow furrows. "Gu dearbh. The night after the museum..." He sinks back down onto the bench. "Ah, he-he got in a fight a few days ago. I saw it on the news, and I've been trying to give him space but...I waited for him in his room. I wanted to make sure he was okay." His eyes suddenly snap to Bronwyn. "He is okay, isn't he? Have you seen him recently?"
three googles finds the Halcyon University football coach, and his daughter. A little Photoshop turns the Girl-next-door type into something a little more glamorous, and Alexandra begins building a fake profile. If she ever met Catherine Rivers... well, she wouldn't apologize, but if she had the opportunity, she would give her a hand in some way.
Next was finding a member of the team who seemed Buddy with Jake... already paired was a plus, though Adultery was still possible, so no guarantees he would pass her along to Jake. Worth a shot.
she messages the best candidate Hey. Dad says we're staying a week in Siox Falls for some reason. in the interest of not knowing literally no one... Your profile says you go to the high school there? I'm Cat.
"Oh sure! He's fine." He's probably fine "I didn't mean to worry you. I know you're new to town, I'm kind of a new-kid greeter at Halcyon High, how're you liking St. Ambrose so far?"
He huffs out a humorless chuckle. "Ye aren't worrying me lass..." He folds his hands together. "Well, I'm glad Shaun at least had such a lovely young lass to welcome him...though, I'm guessing he was his usual self...I'm sorry f'that." He sides to the side on the bench and pats the seat next to him. "Please, sit. No need to be standing while we talk."
"The church? It's, ah, a lot bigger than I'm used to." He gives a lopsided smile in a manner eerily similar to Shaun. "The city's pretty well bigger than I'm used to too. I was almost late getting here, got lost a few times. MacGregor's a lot smaller. An' yes, our old home has the same names as us. Short version of the story is my clan settled there during the 1840's. It's actually a very interesting story, if ye'd like to hear it." As he speaks the tension in his face dissipates somewhat. It appears that getting his mind off of Shaun is easing a fair bit of his distress.
Mercy didn't press the issue any further. It was obvious that the subject was making Shayera uncomfortable, though she wished that they would go and she'd get to see them make their vows in front of a priest. It sounded really romantic and she craved seeing the resolution of their love into a happy ending.
She also wanted her own happy ending. Which was why she was currently finding herself checking herself out in the mirror, trying on some of the different, new clothes that she had gotten. There was something missing. Something that she really, really needed.
She finally poked her head out, speaking to Shayera by Abacus. "Do you have an electric razor?" She asked. "I need to fix my hair."
"Um, check the drawers. There's a lot of stuff in there," Shayera calls back. "Wait. Razor?"
She spins in her chair and leans over the armrest, trying to get a look at Alexis. "Why do you need a razor for your hair? You're not buzzing it, are you? I'd recommend a professional if you want to do something radical like that."
Her stomach chooses that moment to growl almost as loudly as Alexis' has been known to. She hops out of her chair, musing aloud, "I wonder where Shaun's gotten off to? I wasn't in the mood for his cooking yesterday, but now that I'm hungry he's not around." She pulls open the fridge to look for any leftovers from the previous morning.
As Shayera closes the fridge door, Shaun comes up the stairs, his hair thoroughly messed and a fresh bandage wrapped around his upper arm. "Blurgh...mornin' Wing. Mornin' Lex." He winces slightly as his eyes are hit by the morning sunlight. "Mornin' migraine..." He totters over to the kitchen, the scent of blood and whiskey still lingering about him. "Y'all have a good yesterday? Buy some s*%*? Eat some food?" He grabs an apple off the counter, his bandaged arm notably still and stiff as he loudly chews the fruit. "Me? Oh, I went f'a jog, made some new friends, went on patrol, nearly got my arm wrenched off by some a$!~~!~ in a denim jacket. Y'know, ta' usual. *chomp*"
Wingblade arches an eyebrow at Shaun as he walked past. He looked rough, but then, so would she if she didn't have her amazing healing ability. Heck, her bone-jarring way of landing would already have her joints messed up, to say nothing of the casual way she occasionally takes hits just for the psychological factor of healing before her opponents' eyes.
"Do you, uh, want me to look at your shoulder with the MRI?" she asks while munching on some cold bacon.
"Nah. I popped it back inta' place last night. Just lettin'ta' ice do its thin' now..."
Leaning against the kitchen counter, he gives Shayera an evaluating glance. "Well, I'm guessin'ye'n' Bron are all patched up. Ye're finally gettin' around ta' actually eatin' my cookin' as opposed ta'insultin' it." Despite the jest, his face and tone are serious. "Ya' finally feel like letting' me in on what ta' f!@~ happened, or am I still too unimportant?"
"I-- it's none of-- wait, what? Unimportant?" A series of expressions cross Shayera's face, ranging from shocked, to affronted, to guarded, to downright insulted, and then finally to uncertainty. Her defensive stance remains, however, as she tosses the remainder of the bacon on the counter.
She shakes her head and makes a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. "I messed up, Shaun. I hurt Bronwyn; I felt terrible about it; we made up, and then we went to a music festival together. Do you feel important now, or do you want to hear about the parts where we made out behind the stage?"
Shaun expression shifts slowly from neutral to a mixture of confusion and anger. "I...Wha...? Shayera I f!@@in' figured that one of ye' did somethin' wrong. An' I don't give a s@+$ about how ya' made up. I just wanna know that my teammate, my team leader, isn't in a bad spot! But I guess f!*# me f'givin' a damn, huh!?" He shrugs his good arm. "Look Wing I am tryin'ta' help, okay!? It doesn't take Alex's smarts ta' figure out that ye' don't feel ready f'this team. More than that, I owe ya' a lot f'these past few days, an' I know I can't fly or some s%$+, an' I know I'm not all-that smart, but I want to help you! Please! I don't give a f*%& what it is, just please let me help! I hate feeling' so...useless..." Maybe it was just the lingering headache, but Shaun couldn't find it in himself to go off. He adverted his gaze and bit his lip as the worms started up again. "...I'm sorry. I don't wanna sound like some whinny b#+#~ but...damnit Shayera, I'm tryin'ta' do right by ya'. Just...tell me how..."
Shayera sighs. Leaning back on the counter, she pinches her brow. "Okay. Sorry, I misjudged that." She looks up, meeting his eyes. "Thanks for caring about the team. And, you know, me."
She tucks her hands underneath her arms and chews her lip in thought for a moment. "Well, we should probably do something team-oriented today. I gotta admit, yesterday I had other things on my mind and didn't really even think about the team."
She studies Shaun for a moment. "The very first team I was on, they made me leader. After all, I was already in the game, I was trained by Whippoorwill, it made sense, right? So tried to be like her. You know. Always in control, always alert, always on. Total hard ass. To say it didn't work is a massive understatement.
"Now? I don't know. I'm afraid of coming down too hard, but I have to take some kind of control, right? And I've got so many other things going on that this just feels like it's too much, you know? And if I don't, you know, actually lead, then we're just a bunch of kids getting in each other's way."
She pushes herself up on the counter to sit, crossing her legs. She grabs the bacon and pops it in her mouth. Through her chews, she asks, "What would you want to do to practice being a team?"
Alexis was quick to break the awkward silence from the conversation. She did so as she took the electric razor that Shayera had helpfully gotten her to find and turned it on.
"I need help fixing my hair," She said, looking between the two. "I don't do it so well on my own. It's easier to buzz it down than to cut it with scissors. It grows really quickly too."
In fact, by Shayera's estimate, Alexis' hair has actually grown by a full inch since she met her last week. The bits that are shorter than others still stand out from her amateur attempts to fix it on her own.
She's not sure how to contribute to this conversation at all. She doesn't want to say anything stupid though. Alexis fidgets and waits to see if anyone will help her out.
In a second, Shaun's anger completely melts away. "'Course I care 'bout ya'. Just 'cause ye' can heal doesn't mean ye' can't get hurt in other ways."
His face turns grim for a moment as a bad memory rears its ugly head in his mind. "...well, I'll tell ya' that hard ass-ness has its place at times, but ye' shouldn't use it all ta' time." He shakes his head slightly. Go back to bed you a%~$@&~ worm... "But ye're right. It is too much. But takin' on too much n'leranin'ta' lift it anyway is how ya' get stronger. It's cliched as all hell, but there's truth ta' "no pain no gain." That bein' said, it's stupid ta' push too hard without a spotter." He squints as he thinks. "Maybe ye' could make one of us your lieutenant, or at least ta' designated "If I'm not present, they are in charge" person. I'd suggest Bron f'that, but she's not much of a front-liner as far as I know..."
"What would you want to do to practice being a team?"
Shaun smiles. "Well, I just happen ta' have a few ideas on that. My first thought was a mutual PT day. I think it'd help everybody get ta' know each-other's limits, maybe even have a little sparrin' session ta' really get a handle on how we each work. But..." He gives his iced shoulder a cross look. "Don't think I'm in any state f'that right now. Number two, we still haven't got a team name. Could spend some time choosin' that out. Ta' list I made night-before last is still on Ab'cus I think, that'd be a good startin' point at least." He munches on the apple a bit before continuing. "Three, we could have...I dunno what ta' call it...a...show n' tell, I guess? Like, we each get fully in uniform in front of everybody, sort-of talk 'bout what we're tryin'ta' do as a hero, how exactly we all usually operate, that sort of thin'? I dunno, that one's kinda half-baked. An'...honestly I kinda came up with it just so y'all could finally see me fully uniform'd up. I've been havin'ta' change so fast I can't put everythin' on right." As he talks he hurls the apple core over his shoulder, landing it in the trash with barely a glance towards his target. "Four...I'd be down f'that whiskey game ye' suggested. I've got some we could use. It's nothin' fancy, but it'll work just as well. We could even make it a bit more 'laborate, maybe move it out of ta' apartment n' go ta' that junkyard Bron mentioned. Or a park. This city's got a lotta parks..." Looks at Wingblade questioningly. "Should I keep goin' here or are ye'feelin'somethin'?"
He glances over to Alexis. "Whaddabout ye' Lex? Ya' got any thoughts on a "team activity?""