Bran, still crimson with mortification, managed not to mutter his reply, "I apologize if my legends have led you astray. I... simply do not think it prudent, if true feelings are not involved..."
She just wants to, what, makeout with me? Bran-me I mean? Unbidden images of scooping up Alexandra in his(?) arms, her coat and hat slipping from her in the rush squirmed through her thoughts like a clutch of eels.
Thankfully Alexandra started to leave.
"I... I'm sorry."
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Cassie waited nervously at the looming security gate that guarded the inner entrance to the ARES compound. She had already had to be cleared by no less than three outer checkpoints, each more heavily guarded than the last. Now she stood at the entrance to the underground vaults that gave the facility its common name: The Hole. As she waited, she wondered what she was doing there. She'd returned to Gabrielle's apartment the previous night to find the woman unusually serious.
"We need to talk." Gabrielle had said as soon as Cassie had entered the small apartment. "You might want to sit down."
Taking a seat on the moth-eaten sofa, Cassie had listened as Gabrielle had talked. Circe, her mother, had made a request - a demand really, that Cassie should visit her and, whilst she didn't have a legal right to demand it, not after.... what had happened, the request had been granted by AEGIS. It was very unusual and Gabrielle was nervous - apparently though, there was little that they could do - not agreeing to the meeting would have meant that Cassie would have to be taken in to custody too, although just why this was the case was unclear. Apparently Circe was 'helping with certain classified matters' - whatever that meant, and the meeting was a condition of her cooperation.
The final checks complete, the triple-reinforced and powerfully warded door swung smoothly open, its elegant movement belying its solid weight. Standing on the other side were six uniformed guards, with threatening looking batons hanging from their belts, waiting to 'accompany' her into the facilitiy itself. Cassie had been ordered inside and led to a small vehicle to transport her further within. She felt naked - defenceless without her charm or satchel. Not that they'd be any use - she could sense the absence of mana resulting from the powerful magic-dampening wards that lay heavily over the complex, reinforced by the tracing of cold-iron glyphs that laced through the structure's meters-thick reinforced steel walls, seeming out of place amongst the futuristic security and monitoring equipment surrounding them. Finally, she'd stood at the door to her mother's cell. A tall thin man who hadn't introduced himself had sternly gone through the rules not offering any explanation for why she was there... She wasn't to touch the plexiglass panels, or even go within three meters of them, she wasn't to talk about the security measures or searches that she's been forced to endure, and last of all - she wasn't to take anything with her - she'd already had to exchange all her clothes for an ill-fitting yellow jumpsuit and had been told to remove all jewellery and make-up - she'd even had to take a sterilising and very cold shower after the invasive strip-search performed by one of the female guards as three others had looked on impassively. Finally, instructions given, she'd been allowed to enter.
The space beyond the door was largely empty and undecorated. From behind her, high on the wall, flashing lights had indicated that security cameras were trained on the room and its occupant. On the other side of a glass panel that bisected the sterile space sat Circe - her mother. Even dressed in a prisoner's orange and black jumpsuit, seated on, and strapped into a cold metal chair Circe radiated,.. control, power, poise. Somehow she resembled a queen on her throne more than a prisoner. The woman had smiled and nodded at a chair.
"Ah, Cassiphone." she'd said, as if they'd been in her office in their old house and the door closed silently [b]"Have a seat."
Cassie had, almost without thought, stepped forward and sat in the chair. Once she'd sat, Circe had paused, looking her up and down.
"I trust you've been well? You've put on weight." she'd said, her lips thinning in displeasure. It was true, Cassie had let her diet go and Gabrielle was not a salad-eater. All the same, she'd only put on 6 pounds, and she'd hoped that her mother wouldn't notice. Without waiting for a response, Circe had continued.
"We need to talk about this 'team' of yours,...'
.................
Bronwyn didn't have a problem with wrestling. Even with superpowers it was basically a soap opera with... pretty much the same costume budget.
But just like a soap opera, dropping in partway through, you really didn't know anything of what was going on, and after mortifying herself at Sara's Kitchen, and chopping away at one of the three legs Shayera based her sense of self on, she really wasn't in the mood to just let herself get carried away.
This other 'Kilt' guy hadn't shown yet, so she was pretty much just wandering through the merch. Not that she was going to buy anything, but... She smiled. Well it can still be fun to look...
She picked out a top with a risque graphic of a pair of ring girls and a shade of lime green that made her teeth itch and held it up to Cassie's chest with a mischievous grin.
"Okay. So how good is your charm, really? I mean, I've never seen you in like, a drab outfit-" Or with even half your thighs covered if you could help it. "-but can it handle something this... extreme?"
Cassie curiously followed Bron though the crowds of people who, apparently, thought that watching muscular grown men and, almost as muscular but more scantily clad women dancing around in strange costumes and pretending to hurt each other was an enjoyable way to spend their time. She didn't really understand the attraction, especially when anyone could just step outside in Halcyon and see real-life heroes and villains doing the same thing for real, and for free...
Shrugging, she had wandered with Bron through the merchandise stalls, looking at the the almost universally grotesque and overpriced souvenirs on sale. When the other girl had selected the appalling top from the clothing rack and held it up to her, she'd winced.
"Wow. Now that thing is truely revolting." she replied, wincing at the thing's eye-wrenching colour. "But the charm'd work fine... Maybe even better than normal. People's attention would be drawn to it and not so much to me. Don't think I'm going to put it on though.. I've got standards you know."
Bronwyn flashed a quick grin at Cassie's rejoinder. "Well sure; you'd probably get kicked off the team for wearing something that hideous. That's good design on the charm though. Getting it to deflect attention away, or just redirect it takes some real craftsmanship. Did you make it? Also, I've just gotta know. Does it totally mess you up that now there's people who see you? I know you felt lonely and everything, but sometimes it's gotta be great not to stand out. Or even just try a new style without everyone asking questions or reading things into it. Or am I just nuts?"
"No, I didn't make it." Cassie replied, idly watching the crowds. "I helped out a bit, but its waaay too complicated for me, at least for now." she shifts her eyes back to Bron. "No. Its way better that some people can see me properly - I mean its a bit..,. scary, knowing that there are people around who aren't affected by it, even if it is you guys, but it was horrible being ignored, forgotten all the time. Like, yeah, I could try on new styles and stuff, even that top,, and not have everyone asking questions about it but,... what'd be the point? If no-one notices then its just,..." she shrugs, "You know? I mean, yeah, I get what you mean. Sometimes its OK to be just another face in the crowd but, trust me, it gets old pretty quickly.".
While the two girls talk quietly to each other and Bronwyn considers the lime green tee, a pair of women in wrestling gear come out, getting some cheers from fans who notice them. Their faces are hidden behind face masks that let out their silky black hair from the back, their tanned and toned figures showing off the hundreds of hours spend sculpting themselves into shape.
"It's the Hermanas Malvadas, Zoe and Elize," a fan says to his friend. "That's so cool! I hear that they can walk the rope on only their toes - that's like, their power or something."
"Their powers are being able to balance on anything? That seems lame. No wonder they're here and not out fighting crime," Another comments in the background. Whether the Hermanas Malvadas heard them or not isn't apparent, as they go to sign autographs and pose for pictures.
While Cassie's eyes scan around, she gets a glimpse of something peculiar - a familiar face, wearing a familiar immaculate suit, whispering quietly in the ear of someone by the locker rooms. He glides inside, the staff worker he'd whispered to standing straight and looking tough, to ward off intruders - neglecting it seemed, the one stranger that had just vanished inside.
What do they do?
After taking down all of the coordinates, the closest one that Kaoru is able to determine is actually right there in Halcyon. If she has it down correctly, the location is inside of the Hawkins Recreation Center - like a geocache! Whomever left her the message must want her to go and uncover it!
What does she do?
Xiu Ying slips inside through the window, where she sees the other three girls eating at the opulent dining area. They look up from their hand-pulled noodle soup in unison. They glance over to an empty seat with a steaming bowl in its place.
<Good evening, sister. We thought you'd like some comfort food,> Shu Zi says.
Xiu Ying gives them all a look but sits down without delay, the aroma making her mouth water and stomach growl. <How did you guess?>
Yin Ying nearly coughs. <Guess? We felt you all across town. Get your life straightened out; it's no fun feeling your worry.>
Sitting back, the newest Daughter looks at all three of them with a stunned expression. <I thought it was just when we wear the masks.>
Shu Zi rolls her eyes. <When we wear the masks, we're one. Without them, we're sisters.>
<Then how come I haven't felt any of you?>
<None of us have been fighting with our girlfriends,> Yu Hiu says, to the laughter of the other two.
Xiu Ying nods, understanding. <So, like, strong emotions? Probably stressful ones, to alert the others?>
Yin Ying smiles warmly. <Yes, exactly. Remember, your girlfriend might be sweet, and you might love her, but we're your sisters. You'll never be alone, even if it doesn't work out.>
<But we're going to work out! We just gotta... figure out what I'm going to do about my father.>
The three exchange glances. <And us?>
Xiu Ying nods in agreement. <Yeah. She's not going to understand us, so long as she doesn't trust my father, since he's the one that got me into the competition. And she's not going to trust him until she sees that he's not some sort of villain.>
The table grows quiet for a while. Shu Zi eventually speaks. <Well, what if we got the proof you need?>
Yu Hiu shakes her head. <No, he is our client. We should not betray him.>
Shu Zi holds out her arms. <We would not take anything from him. Just explore his files. Find out what he is doing with the information we are gathering for him.>
Xiu Ying thought while the others discussed the idea. If her father was no longer involved in villainous activities, this could be the proof they'd need. She'd have to somehow explain it to Bronwyn. Maybe via Kaoru? With Shu Zi's technopathy, they'd be able to leave a backdoor that she could give to Kaoru, let him explore her dad's business.
She winces. Except that might compromise her dad's legitimate work, and she wouldn't know if Shu Zi's power could do that until she was sharing it. Better to take a company like Reaver, and let them explore it to prove her father's no longer working with them like he said.
<My father told me he cut ties with Reaver Technologies. We should search them, to prove that he has done so,> she suggests while Shu Zi and Yu Hiu are still debating about performing a contract on their client.
The two share a nod. <That is acceptable,> Yu Hiu finally says. <What do you think, Yin?>
Yin Ying rolls her eyes. <I'm in as long as it shuts Xiu Ying up. And if we find out that your father's a villain, I don't want you sending your worry my way.>
I don't believe in coincidences, Whippoorwill thinks as she soars over Halcyon City. She'd heard rumors of mysterious masked figures slipping into and out of organizations of dubious legality and making off with data or equipment. Those sort of groups dislike going to the authorities and aren't forthcoming when questioned, but she'd managed to press a few witnesses and got a description: female, dressed in black, wearing Chinese-style masks. The accounts were inconsistent about how many there were, but at least two and probably three to five. They seemed to have some sort of power to blend into shadows, move quickly, and fight when cornered. They also could bypass some very capable security systems.
The Chinese masks were a very significant clue, so Whippoorwill had hoped to bring in her protege -- who is fluent in Mandarin -- to help as she canvassed Chinatown. However, Shayera had been hard to reach this weekend.
When Whippoorwill heard from Bronwyn that three Chinese girls had just arrived at Halcyon High, she couldn't dismiss it as coincidence. Learning that Shayera had met them while visiting China with her "father" sent ice running through her veins.
She doesn't believe in coincidences.
====================
Without Wingblade checking in with her all day, Whippoorwill decided to patrol with an eye toward similar targets that had been already hit by the masked girls. She focused her patrols over the tech district, where mostly legitimate corporations conducted their R&D in gleaming modern buildings. A few, such as Manticorp, Oesterhausen, Reaver, and Mnemodyne, conducted less-than-legal research as well.
It was a long shot, she had to admit, but her more solid plans involved waiting for school hours. Never one to simply sit back and wait, Whippoorwill took to the skies.
Because sometimes, long shots do pay off.
At first Whippoorwill wasn't sure she had seen it, but then she catches sight again, but on a different rooftop. A black-clad figure running swiftly, fading in and out of the shadows. She would fade into one patch of shadow on one rooftop, then reappear on another.
Some sort of shadow transposition, Whippoorwill thinks as she swoops in low to try to get ahead of her. It was difficult; the figure moved swiftly, and there was guesswork involved to predict which rooftop and which shadow she would reappear. She would lose sight of her every so often, but then catch some movement out of the corner of her eye and the chase would be on again.
After a few minute's pursuit, during which Whippoorwill was still relatively sure she hadn't been spotted, she figured out the pattern and direction well enough that she sped ahead to a rooftop that would more than likely be where she appeared next. Looks like she has to step into a shadow and then leave it, she observes.
She lands and positions herself in the best spot to intercept the runner. She guessed correctly as she sees the figure step out of the patch of shadow directly in front of her and freeze. It definitely has a female shape, black body suit and straight black hair, and wearing a stylized tiger mask. Whippoorwill holds up her hands. "Don't run! I just want to talk! My name's--"
She doesn't get to finish, because the girl immediately bolts, turning back to the patch of shadow and disappearing. "Dammit!" Whip yells as she takes to the air, catching sight of the figure emerging from a shadow one building away. She flies higher to increase her field of vision as she pursues the figure.
A blur of movement on an adjacent building catches her eye. Well, that's two of them, she thinks as she observes another figure looking similar to the other. They are heading roughly the same direction, so she starts to choose the second one, preferring the one that doesn't have the teleportation power.
That is, until the second figure dives into a patch of shadow and disappears.
Hmm. Similar power? Twins with the same? Or triplets? Whippoorwill considers as she chases them. She realizes she'll never pin them down at night with all these shadows around, so she hones in on the first one again, finding its pattern of movement.
Her target knew it was being hunted, so its movements were far more erratic and designed to lose her. It left the rooftops and went down to the street level, where the shadows were more plentiful. It wouldn't be long before she'd lose her, Whip knew, so she struck the moment she caught sight of another blur of movement coming out into a lit street. Before it can fade into another shadow, Whippoorwill flings three flare quills which burst into a brilliant white light that drowns out all the shadows around. A single flare quill would only make more hard shadows, so she decided to use all three that she carried in her standard complement, surrounding her in light.
The tiger masked girl shields her eyes against the flares. Whippoorwill drops down next to her, whip in hand. "I don't like it when people run from me when I'm trying to talk to them. It's rude." She holds up another pair of quills in her other hand. "Now, I just cut off your escape route and I can keep doing this, so hear me out. I want to talk. Who are you and your friends? What are you doing here in Halcyon? I want to know because you're messing with some very dangerous people."
The masked girl watches Whippoorwill, crouched, ready for an attack. The mask hides her eyes even in the brilliant light of the flares, and she doesn't say anything.
"Don't try it. Don't--!" The girl darts away from Whippoorwill, back into the alley hoping to outpace her to the shadows. Whippoorwill uses her whip, snaring her arm before she can get out of the pool of light. "Running is not an option, and not going to put me in a very good mood," she says.
The girl tugs on the cord and braces against Whip's pull. The Defender is the stronger, but the girl turns on the whip itself and starts loosening it. Before she can get it free, Whippoorwill sends an electrical shock through the fibers.
The girl convulses, then drops to the ground. "This could have been avoided if you'd have just talked to me," Whippoorwill chides as she steps closer. She reaches down and grabs the girl to pull her to her feet. "Now I'm going to have to get the SCA involved, and we're going to find out who you are. And who your friends are."
Suddenly, movement from all sides catches Whippoorwill's attention. She spins around as she sees black-clad girls in tiger masks snatch up the flare quills and dash off in different directions. The street is suddenly shrouded in darkness -- the street light apparently disabled while it was drowned out by the intense brightness of the flare quills.
Whippoorwill tries to secure the girl in her hands, but as the darkness descends she fades from her grasp. She takes to the sky, but the flare quills are dumped into storm sewer grates and they fade into the darkness.
Four of them...
Kaoru sat, contemplating the possible location. Could that really have been the message? Coordinates pointing to the city she was in seemed a little too coincidental to actually be, y'know, coincidence. But her typical IP bouncing technique would have masked the other hacker from knowing where she was physically located. It was a safety issue after all; she couldn't have just any old random person knowing where she lived and deciding to show up unannounced. But she had been looking through camera footage of Halcyon. Sure, she might have been doing it remotely. But odds were more likely that she lived in that area.
The next question was why would the hacker leave coordinates in Halcyon? Probability said that was unlikely. After all, it was a large planet and every day more and more people were going online. Except that whomever had set the traps had also been looking at footage from Halcyon. It was possible the footage had even been of the hacker themself. Certainly, it made more sense to direct her to a location if that were the case. Remotely, at best the hacker could hope to see her on cameras (assuming she was somehow dumb enough not to physically dismantle those. It didn't matter how good of a hacker the other person; they were still limited by hardware and the constraints of the physical world). If they were local too, they could actually be trying to organize a meet up.
Meatspace meetups could be dangerous. If she went, she'd literally be walking in blind. Admittedly, so would the other hacker, but since they were the one seemingly proposing it, they had to be confident in their own safety. Or incredibly naive, but assume confident. That will be the safer assumption for you. This meant either they were physically imposing, were bringing others to fulfill that role, or were confident that she would not take aggressive physical action against them.
Maybe they just wanted to be friends? Like Pinky had? Maybe all this heroing BS had just fried her brain, and she was looking for sinister motives where there were none. But, well, it was hard not to jump to dark thoughts when her life had been put in danger, what?, 4 times in the two weeks she had been here. Which was infinitely more times than in her life pre-city. Her mom had warned her plenty of times about the dangers of meeting up with people she had met online. And while this wasn't exactly an obvious place for your typical predator to find victims, that didn't mean she should just go in without taking appropriate precautions. Assuming she wanted to go in at all that was.
Perhaps she should talk to Alexandra about all of this. After all, she had only been looking for the poster people at her request. Maybe she should find out why exactly the young detective had found this missing kid worth her attention. That might at least give her an idea of what she might be walking into. It might even be a good idea to ask her to come with. Strength in numbers and all that. Of course, Alexandra was also very clearly a girl, and therefore a much more obvious target to an online predator than the male-presenting-Kaoru. Though if this hacker came to a similar conclusion, the joke would be on them as she was a lot better equipped to defend herself than Kaoru or even the average Real Boy would be.
Either way, it made sense to at least see what Alexandra knew before deciding to go in, right? She pulled out her phone and sent the other girl a text.
> Hey, what's up with that video search you wanted me to do?
> Looks like they may have some hacking support of their own on their end.
> Anything I should be worried about?
Cassie's scanned the crowd and did a double-take when she, at first, thought she saw Shaun before realising that this must be his older brother.... . For a moment, she couldn't help but stare and, involuntarily took a step backward to try to stay out of sight before she steeled herself - The charm was more effective when she was in plain sight than if she made any overt move to disguise or hide herself. She just hoped that Duncan didn't share his brother's unaccountable and unfortunate ability to see past the obfuscation.
Doing her best to retain the appearance of nonchalance whilst keeping an eye on the doorway Duncan had dissapeared through, she poked Bron. "Shaun's big brother's here." she said, leaning closer as if looking at a particularly garish tank top. "It can't be a coincidence with 'Kilt' on the bill..."
Alexandra wakes to texts, and unfortunately, retained her memories of the night before. Kay... I gotta tell her. she thinks.
>I think we kinda figured it out.
>It was probably the Triakosia. They've approached Wing and I.
>Sorry!
>But, they have a counter hacker?
She starts dressing herself, tossing aside her button ups in favour of a tank top, and shorts. she tosses her hair into a messy braid as she walks out the door.
>Hey, coming over to check it out.
It smelled of blood. Everything smelled of blood in this King-forsaken place.
An alley cat scurried away from her. She paid it no mind and leapt onward. She was close. There were many, many men in this place, but he stunk of young passions and inebriation, a rare combination (in this age anyway). Her travel caused barely a disturbing of leaves as she passed behind the garden wall. Then the large metal box. Then the wooden portal.
Step by step, leap by leap, she wandered the blood-scented canyons. Occasionally, there were men in the gaps. They reeked of waste and regret, which gave way to fear as they caught fleeting glimpses of her. In another age, she would have taken a dream to play with these wasted lives, toy with them for a spell. But this was not that age. This was an age of caution, of cold steel and fading lights. Of tragic isolation. She couldn’t risk a dream. Besides, she was not here for toys.
Finally, she found a true trail.
The Janus was a clever one. He had spread his scent all across the canyons, and muddied it with man-blood and cold steel. But he had made one mistake. She paused and unwound her tail, the brown lump of fabric dropping to the damp soil. The dust of the men’s false-stone still clung to it, but that did little to hide the scent.
More leaps. More shadows. Deeper canyons. On and on and on until she came to a false-glen. There was more wood here, but it was suffocated beneath hardened slime, stripped raw and smooth, or pierced by cold steel. She suppressed the urge to cast the men of the glen into nightmares of vengeance as she pressed on.
A cottage. A large cottage. Much more wood than the others of the glen. It smelled...familiar. Like her old hunting grounds, that humble island, but faded and sad. Sad indeed. She stepped from the top of the garden wall to the lip of the roof, and immediately caught the telltale sounds of weeping. Denying the grasp of the Earth for a moment, she crept down the side of the cottage and peered through a glass window.
It was him! Or...no, it wasn’t. His scent was wrong. Similar, but wrong. Too weak of passions to be the Janus, and too tall.
The man was crying, a colorful confection smelling mostly of sweet sugar sitting before him. This confused her. As far as she remembered, men tended to be joyous when having such food. Then again, he was not eating it. Perhaps his authority had forbade him from the pleasure? It was irrelevant.
Continuing to creep along the wall, she looked into the many other chambers of the cottage until finding a chamber with an open entryway. This place reeked of the Janus, but she was hesitant to enter. Cold steel littered the space, and glass chimes filled most of the reaming room. At her current size, quiet entry would be impossible.
So she collapsed her frame and slipped inside silently.
A side-chamber full of paper crates, a wooden altar decorated with cold steel, a startlingly-white cavern that stunk of inebriation, and the bedding. Blood-soaked, uncleaned bedding.
With absolute silence, she clambered up onto the sleeping space and breathed deeply. Yes, this was a pure scent. Old, but untainted by another like the fabric had been. This would be a much better source to use. She discarded the fabric and griped the bedding in her jaws. She listened for the weeping man, readied herself, and as soon as he hiccuped another sob, she tore at a corner of the cloth.
It wasn’t enough to hide the sound.
”U-Uh? Sh-Shaun?”
She cursed the quietness of the cottage and finished the tearing quickly.
”Shaun!? Is that y-you!?”
Cotton trailing from the damage like blood, she wheeled about and leapt through the windowsill. Not a second later, she heard the chamber door crash open as she returned to the Earth on the other side of the fence.
All Jack MacGregor sees is a discarded flat-cap, a torn comforter, and the tip of a dark-colored tail vanishing into thin air.
- - -
Shaun groaned as sat up. Another day...just another day... It was early, again. He kept waking up early. It sucked, but today it was somewhat useful. Before Alexis or even the sun were moving about the apartment, Shaun crept into the kitchen and as quietly as possible started cooking. Not breakfast though. He had a tradition to continue today.
He was lucky that Shayera’s help were so thorough. He didn’t have the cash to buy ingredients this year, but luckily the cupboards had everything he needed. Eggs, sugar, frosting, food-dye, flour, and of course a paper wrapper.
A few minutes later, and a singular vanilla cupcake with pink frosting and sprinkles sat on the counter.
Shaun sighed as he considered the small dessert. Why do I even still do this? It’s not like it matters.
“Another year, another day. Nobody cares and nobody will.”
He dug the collapsed baker’s box and wax candle out of his hoodie pocket. I should just throw it out. It’s not like it’ll be any good anyway... With gentle hands he packed up the cupcake for later. Just another day...
Somewhere in the apartment, Alexis footsteps sound.
He quickly shoves the treat away and busies himself with the dishes. Trying to sound casual, he asks if she wants 15 or 20 slices of toast today, his mind still off in its musings...
- - -
Shaun drops onto the folding bench in a huff. Today had not been going well. He had decided to go on patrol all afternoon, which had been less than successful. Nothing life-shattering, but very, very annoying. He was almost certain that the forums were already passing around that clip of him getting smacked in the face by a plastic baseball bat. (Who the f%+* even robs a toy store!?) He hadn’t bothered to check though. He was still in his birthday funk.
I don’t even get why I bother. Nobody’s celebrated my birthday for years. I’m not even “celebrating” it. I just made a stupid cupcake. And not even a whole batch! Just one! What a waste of food... He extracts the hand-sized baker’s box and gazed at the pastel-colored frosting through the plastic window, his distorted features looking back. What a waste...
As you look for a seat by the bleachers, you notice a man in his thirties pacing and whispering into a phone. He's wearing a red suit with a black turtleneck and gold chain underneath. "You're serious? This is unbelievable. I can't...what am I going to do? I can't just...well, yeah, maybe, but who could I...?" He mutters, scanning around - before locking eyes with Shaun. "You!" He snaps his fingers, gesturing to him. "How would you like to make, err...a hundred bucks?"
Shaun blinks in surprise as he stows the baker’s box. At first he had thought the man was about to expose him for not paying for a ticket. The Scotsman had had to sneak in through a side door to the gym in order to get in, which was probably illegal, but there was a possible identity theft to solve here.
He cocks an eyebrow at red-suit. ”Depends lad. What f’r?” And can I use that money to buy you a less sketchy outfit?
Kaoru's stomach flipped in a mix of emotions. Alexandra coming over hadn't exactly been the response she expected, and the sudden bout of unexpected nerves had completely pushed perhaps the more important part of the girl's message out of her head. She quickly looked about her room, grabbing the plastic wrapping that had come with her new computer and hurriedly throwing it out before looking about for other things she needed to tidy up. The fact that there were none didn't seem to stop her.
Wait, shit, who said she'd be coming to my room? That's a bit presumptuous. And sends the entirely wrong message. She started towards the door to check the living room and make sure that was presentable but stopped. Wait, do I need to change my clothes? She had already ventured out today, so her chest was already carefully bound. She hadn't exactly expected to see anyone she knew today, but it wasn't like she looked bad or anything. She just hadn't thought that much about what she put on. As such she was wearing an open, button-up shirt over a t-shirt declaring that her password was the last 7 digits of pi and a grommet belt holding up her stylistically ripped black jeans. Was the shirt dumb? It might be dumb. Maybe she should button up the collared shirt and tuck it in. But would that look overly formal with her pants? They might clash. Maybe she could change her pants? But then what if Alexandra arrived and she was literally caught with her pants down? Crap, how long had it taken her to get from her place to Kaoru's yesterday? She had been too out of it to really pay attention. But probably not enough time for a complete wardrobe change.
She resumed her trek downstairs. It didn't matter. She looked fine. She shouldn't worry. Especially when she wasn't even sure what kind of style Alexandra liked other than formal (and apparently armor). Not that what she liked mattered. She wasn't, like, trying to impress her or anything. It was just, looking nice felt nice. When it wasn't reminding her of all her deficiencies, that is. Really, if anything, she should be dressing to get people to avoid noticing her since she hated feeling the judgement in their gaze.
Crap, what had she come downstairs to do again? Oh right! Make sure the living room was presentable. Which it was. How could it not be when it was basically never used. Well, except for apparently cuddling on the couch yesterday. That had been nice. Really nice. Wait, was taking Alexandra to the living room also presumptuous? No, it couldn't be. That was the obvious place to spend time. Where else would they hang out? Dining room? Kitchen? Spare bedroom that was currently serving as a storage room? We should probably unpack the rest of those boxes at some point... But it's not like anybody's going to be using that room in the near future, so there's no rush. Maybe next weekend? If I don't spend all of it defending my computer setup again... Ok, so living room was fine. Though there was also ice cream in the freezer, if Alexandra wanted any of that.
She spun around, a little at a loss for what to do while waiting for Alexandra to show up. Wait! Coffee! I can make her coffee! Did she even drink coffee at night? Making it couldn't hurt though, right? Worst case scenario, she would just end up throwing it out. Plus it was probably a better use of her time than nervously fidgeting for no clear reason.
The suited man waves his hands up defensively. "Nothing shady, kid, wouldn't do that to you. But you look jacked as all hell and I'm in desperate need. I need myself a star act for our main event." He lowers his voice, though you doubt anyone would hear him over the crowd as Cassidy goes through another speed burst.
"One of the guys I was counting on isn't showing. Son of a b$%!& got poached by MetaBrawl at the last minute. Which means that I have to find a new wrestler. Which is impossible to get, seeing as all the wrestlers here are already booked for their matches. But, a guy like you, with your build, you could get into some borrowed trunks and a mask and help bring the show down."
He grinned at Shaun. "What do you say, you want to go toe to toe with the Kilt?"
What does Shaun do?
Shaun's mood improves dramatically. Ho. Lee. Shit. Did I seriously just get THAT lucky? He tries to tone down his puckish grin as he hops to his feet and stows the confection box. "Heh, solid hundred f'a little action? An' against the Kilt? Sounds like fun! Quick question though, ye'mind if I add some...personal touches ta' my get-up? I'm a bit of an enthusiast f'this myself."
This is gonna be perfect! I get to blow off some steam, expose an imposter, and earn some cash all at once! Hell, maybe I can even use this to build some hype! This day might not be so bad after all...!
"Hey kid, don't put the cart before the horse here. You got zero ring experience, you just look the part," The promoter pointed out, dragging Shaun out somewhere a bit more private. "If you're going to be in the ring, it's going to be in a mask. Your job is going to be making the Kilt look like a real superhero, got it? You'll get to give him a couple of licks, some corner stomps and lariats to help sell it, but for the most part we have to get his character over with the rest of the audience, so don't pull anything fancy."
The promoter (Salvatori was the name Shaun heard him call by as they passed the locker room guard) brought him into the locker room, where several other male wrestlers stood around and looked at him curiously.
"Who's this dude?"
"Last minute replacement for the Gremlin. Here we go," He said with a nod as he handed Shaun a pair of neon orange wrestling trunks, knee high soft-soled boots and an orange mask with white trimming. "This is your gear, you can add anything else, as long as you wear this stuff and for the sake of self respect, wear the damn mask. You might be going down tonight, but if you want to get into this business, not having been seen getting your ass kicked before will help out immensely. Hey, Bobby!"
A wrestler came over, wearing tight black trunks and looking quite tan - except after a moment to really look, Shaun sees that his skin is actually metallic looking, a pale yellow-orange. "Kid, this is Bobby Brass. Bobby, you got an hour to try and show him how to sell and take a bump without getting hurt, all right?"
"Sure thing, I can show him at least how to lock up too." Bobby grinned, and even his teeth shined like polished brass. "Get your gear on kid and we'll go over what I can before my match."
Salvatori looked grateful, glancing around the locker room and grumbling. "Where the heck is Kilt?"
"I think his new manager upgraded him to a private locker room. Came in to have a word, and they just left," Another wrestler said.
"The hell is up with that? Guy comes up with a solid character and thinks he can hire some legal aide to try and get a bigger piece of the take," Salvatori grumbled, leaving to go and find his star.
Shaun finds himself in the locker room with Bobby Brass waiting on him so they can start their crash course. What does he do?
Alexandra walks over, Brain moving a mile a minute. Just tell her. She deserves to know. She sighs If she's going to be sending a lot of time near you, she should know you're psychic.
she fidgets, wishing she had bothered to dress properly. If you actually are. They could be full of shit, and he has a minor confusion power. She thinks for a moment which nets them... F$!!, no, they almost certainly are right. Just no one has bothered to suppress your and dads powers...
She walks in the door. She hasnt slept more than a couple hours. her hair is a bit of a mess, but in a braid. She leans on the doorway for a moment, checking that Kaoru's mum was out, before she entered fully, and started talking.
Sorry I dragged you into an enemy hacker. but I think I've figured that out. She says Sorry I haven't seen you in a couple days... it's been... busy. Juggling the Triakosia, Bron, Wing's dad, and... well, one other thing...
Cassie's scanned the crowd and did a double-take when she, at first, thought she saw Shaun before realising that this must be his older brother.... (I think this is the first time Cassie's actually seen him). For a moment, she couldn't help but stare and, involuntarily took a step backward to try to stay out of sight before she steeled herself - The charm was more effective when she was in plain sight than if she made any overt move to disguise or hide herself. She just hoped that Duncan didn't share his brother's unaccountable and unfortunate ability to see past the obfuscation.
Doing her best to retain the appearance of nonchalance whilst keeping an eye on the doorway Duncan had dissapeared through, she poked Bron. "Shaun's big brother's here." she said, leaning closer as if looking at a particularly garish tank top. "It can't be a coincidence with 'Kilt' on the bill..."
Cassie's scanned the crowd and did a double-take when she saw the familiar form from the park. For a moment, she couldn't help but stare. Stepping back to place Bron's larger frame between herself and the man, since she couldn't be sure the charm would be effective against him. "Don't look now," she said, as quietly as possible, to the other girl. "But the Sineater's here. He just went through there."
Kaoru silently held the door open for Alexandra, letting her walk in, handing her a mug of coffee prepared to her taste. She looked like she needed it. And given that she had apparently forgotten they had seen each other just the day before, she also sounded like she needed it. Or...maybe she was reading too much into things? Maybe what she had thought was a deep and meaningful connection had been...just another Saturday for the PI. Did she have clients breaking down in tears in front of her all the time? Each sharing their own personal trauma or pain? Just 'cause she didn't cry a lot didn't mean there weren't others who spewed waterworks at the drop of a hat. Maybe it just hadn't been that big of a deal.
She tried to push those thoughts away and focus on what Alexandra was saying. But she was also dressed pretty drastically differently from normal. A lot more casual (and a lot more skin than normal? Or was that in her head?) It was actually kind of weirdly endearing. If you ignored how tired she looked. How much sleep did she even get last night? Maybe I shouldn't have given her coffee. Maybe I should have just dragged her upstairs and thrown her in bed. ...ok, definitely glad I didn't say that out loud because that definitely would be taken the wrong way. But no, Alexandra was a grown (or at least, mostly grown) woman, capable of making her own choices. And Kaoru had never exactly responded well to Chloe attempting to strong-arm her into sleeping more. Even if Chloe had eventually managed to find an almost sure-fire way to get her to sleep.
Sorry I dragged you into an enemy hacker. but I think I've figured that out. She says Sorry I haven't seen you in a couple days... it's been... busy. Juggling the Triakosia, Bron, Wing's dad, and... well, one other thing...
Kaoru shook her head. "No, it's fine. They didn't do any real damage. The image of that one guy has been deleted though. And it looks like he's not a speedster; they just removed the frames surrounding it. I probably should have caught that sooner. But it looks like whomever their computer person is might be trying to get me to go to the Hawkins Rec Center for some reason. I thought I should probably see why you wanted me to look into the camera footage before deciding to just show up there. Sounds like I might want to take back up if I go, just to be safe." She had considered asking Alexandra to go. But if she was tired, that probably wasn't a good idea unless she postponed the trip.
Bronwyn chewed the inside of her cheek. I mean, angry dull-red glow of magic didn't **seem** like a good sign, but there's enough Powers here I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
We should really start passing around pictures of our bad guys. I'm the only one left who's seen Scythe, especially since I never ended up showing Shayera that memory stone since-
Okay, focus. Bad guy.
It looks like he whammied that guard, but from what everyone told me, he could do a lot worse.
Bronwyn focused, trying to isolate the distinctive sulfurous taste of the Sineater's magic. If he did any major workings, she'd know.
"Okay. So he's probably here to eat some Pride, he went backstage so he could be after some Avarice, or planning on stoking some Wrath or... Well, obviously nothing good, right?
"You squared off with this guy. If we've got Bran on stand-by, you feel up to making sure he doesn't get up to... well really any of those things?
"Either way... we've gotta get backstage. Any ideas?"
"I don't think strong magic is a good idea." she whispers, doing her best to keep a surreptitious eye on the door. "There's a good chance that someone like him would be able to sense something going on." She pasues in thought,... There was one time me and some of the girls managed to get backstage at a Flyboys concert - don't look at me like that. We were young and stupid. Anyway, you'd be surprised how far you can get by flirting with bouncers when you're wearing the right clothes."
Cassie peers around the stalls before she smiles as her eyes settle on a small one near the corner of the room. Turning back to Bron she grins, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "How about trying a bit of a 'Kilt' fan-girl thing? They've got some pretty cute plaid skirts over at the stall selling Kilt merch....?"
Bronwyn winced. "Okay... Just remember before you tell Shaun about this, that I can tell him this was your idea! And that I'm friends with an 8' demigod with a spear that eats spells!"
Her earnestness cracks into a mischievous grin of her own before with a stricken look she adds. "Oh, umm, could you spot me? I don't have a lot of cash on me, and my card's been on the fritz." Technically that's all true...
Alexandra looks at Kaoru, and then the room around her, not bothering with the Stare. But Kaoru feels it anyway, something focused on him, even as she examines the room. doing everything but making eye contact.
Don't fight it. embrace the impossible knowledge... stop trying to pretend you're logical, and I bet it comes easier she thinks, testing out her powers... gods, it was still weird to think about *Her* powers.
She accepts the Coffee with a smile Hawkins rec centre... weird. You think we should go check it out? she asks, knowing she had none of her equipent.
Did I tell you that Wing and I had another little spat. This time about her supervillain father.
And, apparenly, a few members of the team were approached by the church fo nephilim. Alexis, Bran, Wing... and Me.
Cassie grins in antipation. "Cheer up. This is going to be fun!" she says, taking Bron's hand and pulling her towards the stall. "I don't have much in my account, but I think it should be enough." At the stall, she leans forward and starts going through the items on offer.
"OK, so we'll need the skirts, obviously, they're pretty crappy quality, but that's to be expected. What else? We need to avoid the schoolgirl look so,... OK, these tartan sashes and sporran thingies, and maybe a plastic sword each? And we'll need some body paint for the Braveheart look. - Do you think he knows its, like, totally anachronistic with the rest?
As the girls take the time to dress for the occasion (and even though the kilts they get still hang off of them like schoolgirl skirts), Bronwyn can sense the sulfurous magic of the Sineater as he walks out of the locker room, quietly talking to a wrestler.
He has shoulders broader than tree trunks, light brown hair hanging loosely back from underneath a half-mask covering his eyes and forehead. He wears a green and grey kilt, has body paint all over his torso, and is at least seven feet tall. So tall that he is stooping slightly while the Sineater whispers quietly into his ear.
The pair move off away from the locker room for now. In the girls' way are the Hermanas and their fans, a navigational hazard that would take too long to get through politely to catch up with Sineater and the Kilt.
What do they do?
Cassie cursed silently as the Sineater and the other Kilt emerged from the locker room and began to move off. "Bugger. Still, we might be able to make this work anyway." she whispered to Bron, pulling the charm from her neck - the Sineater might be able to see past its effect anyway and, dressed in the tartan gear and with blue makeup covering her face, she didn't much resemble herself from the park. Hopefully it'd be enough to keep him from recognising her. "Follow my lead"
"Oh my god, that's him!" she squealed, grabbing Bron's shoulders and bouncing up and down like an excited fan-girl. Careless of making a scene, she turned and began to move forward, pushing past the Hermana's fans. "Out've my way! I'm goin' to get his autograph! Move it!"
because Kaoru angst is fun...
Kaoru tilted her head slightly as Alexandra proceeded to look at everything but her. Was she avoiding her? No, if she were, she wouldn't have come over in the first place. And she wasn't ignoring her exactly. If anything she seemed very aware of exactly what Kaoru was doing. It was still weird behavior though, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Avoiding eye-contact typically wasn't a great sign though. Especially since Alexandra tended to make more of it than she did anyway. Uncertain of what exactly was going on, Kaoru simply stayed where she was, leaning against the wall slightly, engaging is unrelated (?) chatter as she waited to see where things were headed.
Hawkins rec centre... weird. You think we should go check it out?
"Perhaps. It's not like the message came with a ticking clock though. Or like the message itself was obvious. It's possible I'm not even reading it correctly. If you're tired though, I could probably get someone else to go as my backup."
Did I tell you that Wing and I had another little spat. This time about her supervillain father.
Kaoru shook her head. "You mentioned something about him, but not that you and Wingblade had fought. Is she..." She paused, trying to think of what was a likely cause of a fight on the topic. "...still on good terms with him? Or at least, I suppose, still believes he can be saved or something? Family can be tricky like that. Love often blinds you to the truth, and it's not always worthwhile to try to open their eyes."
And, apparenly, a few members of the team were approached by the church fo nephilim. Alexis, Bran, Wing... and Me.
It took a moment to recall where (and what) exactly the Church of Nephilim was. "Oh? And what did they want? I don't suppose it was to confess all the sketchy, cult activities they've been up to, so they could be arrested? But if they've made contact with members, that could make it easier for us to infiltrate them if we need to. Though we'd still have to look into if they have someone with mind control powers first and how to counter that."
I don't know... how did they contact you? Actually, nevermind. Sorry I didn't mean to bring you in on something that might put us in the sights of the Triakosia. Find some way to rid yourself of that hacker, then eave this... sorry I wasted your time.
she slumps onto the couch, Far too good. f*$+ put a bunch of false memories into her. not important. What is important is that Alexis... gods, so weird to call a guy that...needs some neuro-surgical stuff, and Wing decided that Her dad could provide it. I told her no, not letting him get his hands on her brain too. Alexandra gestures She did not take this well. she flew off. and now I have to either talk Alexis out of it, or sabotage her dad... she says.
they were making recruitment pitches. trying to get superhumans on their roster. Haven't gotten a close look at the psychic, juts the perception-alter-er,and the power-canceler
Kaoru shrugged. "In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess. Besides, I don't think the hack was malicious. It didn't really try to do anything all that bad. Mostly just locked me out of my computer until I could restore it. Could be worth at least seeing what supposed to be at this location. But I'll be smart and make sure not to go alone."
She sat down next to Alexandra, close but not quite touching her. "Well, is her 'dad' even an expert in neural science? And I mean, the first step isn't going to immediately be surgery. He's going to need to do scans and stuff to know what he's looking at. All that's non-invasive, and so long as he doesn't alter those, it doesn't really matter who does them. Should at least buy some time. Though...honestly, I'm not sure how much of a say we have in this matter. Unless your family has some great connections, which you might, I at least don't have the cash to front for a specialist. And I doubt Wingblade is going to cough up the dough for one if she wants her dad to do it. She's also our closest link to the Defenders, so I'm not sure how we could get any of them on board. How urgent is this neural stuff? Our best hope might just be to postpone work until another time."
"Oh, they have a perception alter-er? I'll add that to the file along with any other insights you had on the power-cancler. Were they hoping to get access to any super contacts you had? Please tell me they weren't trying to get in on any powered people you've apprehended; they'd have to be pretty cocky to show their hand so openly like that."
As Cassie plays fangirl and tries to shove her way through the Hermanas' fans, she finds that the crowd seems confused, milling about but not getting out of her way.
It's not only the fans that Cassie has gotten the attention of, as the Hermanas' step up, their gold and silver lucha masks calling attention to their revealed and metallic painted lips. "You shouldn't shove our fans around just to get to your crush," one of them tells her in Spanish accented English. "You should apologize for such rude behavior," the other sister added. The fans rumble and agree with the Hermanas.
Both Cassie and Bron lose sight of Sineater and the Kilt during this confrontation - if they hurry, they might be able to still catch up to them. The ring of the bell inside the auditorium signals the current match has ended, meaning only two more matches until the main event.
What do they do?
Okay... but not today. I haven't slept enough Alexandra concedes
Well... I'd rather she didn't receive the treatment at all, than getting it from him... I'm not giving the evil f#+! another pet. she says and, I suspect we can get her something... We can ask around, ask the defenders. anything but Him or the Triakosia.
They didn't want me for my information... well, they kinda did, but they wanted to recruit me, because of my... low grade psychic powers...
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Kaoru shrugged. "Well, it still may not be up to us. It is Alexis' body. Though I can easily seem him being manipulated; he's pretty naive. So we'll have to be on the lookout for that and have appropriate counter-measures in place."
"Why would they think you have low-grade psychic powers?" And why would they want to recruit someone with low-grade psychic powers as opposed to, y'know, *high*-grade psychic powers?
Bronwyn put a quick smile on her face and slid between Cassie and the Hermanas.
"Mira mira. She's very sorry. Todos podemos ser amigas aquí, ¿Verdad? No one meant to shove anyone."
Yeah. But If Wing says it's safe, she'll listen to her. and maybe not us... she says and, if it comes down to it, I'll take desperate measures to prevent her from being turned into a weapon.
They think so because I do have an array of low-grade psychic powers. she says
Apparently, normal people can't master martial arts, investigation, reading body language, manipulation and social engineering, in the span of two years.... while attending school... In hindsight, this one is pretty obvious.... she says And, I've felt what being normal is under the effects of the power canceler. I didn't know this until last night. she says.
She watches Kaoru. where is the fear. the disgust. the disappointment. how is he taking this?
Kaoru was about to argue further. But then she realized that Alexandra had a point (even if she wasn't actually saying it). It wasn't just about Alexis and what he wanted. Alexis being turned into a weapon that then could be aimed at them very much affected them. Best case scenario, it happened after they had built their counter-measures, and they were able to neutralize him. Worst case it happened a lot sooner, which was also where things naturally looked like they were leaning. Alexis as an enemy was bad. Alexis AND Wingblade as enemies was even worse. Two supers who were basically unkillable and therefore nigh unstoppable. If Wingblade had already aligned herself with a villain though, why was she even on the team? She at least didn't seem completely mind-controlled. But maybe that was just because the team's goals weren't yet at odds with her father's. After all, they could be taking down his competition for all they knew. She rubbed her eyes. No wonder Alexandra was tired.
"We should try to postpone any real work as long as possible. That should hopefully at least keep things amicable while we buy time for ourselves to prepare for a worst-case scenario. It might also be good to look into Wingblade's 'dad,' to see if we can figure out what sort of things he's into. Figuring out his motivations will go a long way towards predicting his actions. I would imagine he's not happy about me becoming leader though since I'm not under his control."
She blinked at Alexandra's next statement, trying to process the sudden influx of emotions as she hurriedly continued on her explanation. Surprise was pretty easy for her to pick out. Then there was something that gave her the impulse to ask a bunch of questions to get the precise details of this and what exactly was meant by "low-grade" and how would that even help with learning martial arts and... She quickly bit her tongue to stop the questions from spilling out; she didn't think Alexandra needed the inquisition in response to her admission. Ok, well, on the bright side, it's not like she was lying to you or anything. She *said* she just found out. This is probably big deal to her. Don't be selfish and make it all about you and...whatever the hell it is you're feeling about this.
She hesitantly placed an arm lightly around Alexandra's shoulders, "And...are you ok with this?"
Zoe, the slightly taller of the lucha sisters, looks pleased to see someone using her native tongue with her. "Calma a tu amigo y ve a sentarte a ver el espectáculo," She requests Bron. Her sister Elize smirks and gestures to Cassie in her fangirl get up.
"Tal vez ella quiere luchar con nosotros? Puedo conseguirle unas medias," She asks Zoe, amusement in her tone of voice. The elder sister seems to be more responsible and puts her foot down.
"Deja de molestarla porque no entiende, no es agradable," She chastises, before switching back to English. "No need for apologies. I don't understand the appeal you have for the Kilt, though."
"Yeah, this is his first match under that name. Did you know him when he wrestled as the Executioner?" Elize asked. "He's apparently done well enough in the UK for himself. I think the Kilt persona is to help appeal to everyone as a babyface. Also using his heritage as an edge. Certainly needs it.
Zoe sighed. "He just needs to redevelop in the indie promotions like this one before he can get back to the main stage. Learn some humility," She told her sister.
As they give small details, Bron and Cassie realize that the Sineater and the Kilt are gone. They'll have to find them again, but they don't have much time before his main event match.
What do they do?
I don't know. she says Last night I took it hard, but... Well, someone helped me, a little. she says But, everything is contextualized, right? How much of what I've done counts? How smart am I, actually, and how much of me is just... a quirk of genetics. that little art of my brain that whispers things I could not know, and steals knowledge from those around me. she says
But...well, I'm super. So is Dad, and Gill... Lily too, gods, that's so weird, She'd be pissed if I told her. But there's no point fighting it... just gotta accept it. Just gotta live with being... a cape, A psychic.
Honestly, I'm more worried about the others. Wing and Alexis haven't ever been anything but super, so I probably shouldn't go on about how it makes my achievements not count in front of them. If Shaun finds out, I'll die of smugness. Cassie.... well, I barely know her, honestly... and Bran.... would get it, I think. or his host would, anyway. maybe he's been going through the same thing. maybe B too, but She'd never admit it to me... She doesn't say anything about the 8th team member... But he can tell she was about to say something.
Bronwyn grins a little shamefacedly, "La tela escocesa no es realmente mi color, pero no tiene que gustarle todo lo que le gusta a su amiga. Creo que los chicos altos tienen demasiadas chicas bonitas, pero ¿qué puedes hacer?" She gestured high above her head with a wink and a resigned shake off her head, then explained to Cassie, "Well unless you're going to take them up on their offer of masking up and joining them in the ring, we'll have to find another way." A thought visibly struck her, and she turned back to Las Hermanas, "Do you know anything about that guy who was with The Kilt? The kinda sketchy guy in the suit? If he's his manager or something we could maybe talk to him about getting someone an autograph." She reached down to rest her hand on Cassie's back leaving no don't who that someone was.
Cassie looked confessedly between Bron and the sisters as they spoke. She caught a few of the words, but her basic latin knowledge wasn't much help - Something about sitting and a show? After that, she was totally lost.
"Join them in the ring?" she shakes her head, looking at the women. "No, I don't think that'd be much of a match." she frowns. "Now he's gone and I really wanted to meet him! Could you help us get backstage or something? I'd be soooo grateful! I've been wanting to watch him fight since forever and this is the first chance I've had. Please?"
Crap, last night? I should've checked in on her! Kaoru dismissed the thought almost as soon as it had popped up. It was ridiculous. She had no way of knowing Alexandra might have needed comforting last night. And she couldn't exactly text her every night just in case something had happened. She wasn't quite sure if she should mentally thank whomever had been there for Alexandra...or mentally stab them in the face, so she could take their place. It was a weird feeling since she was pretty sure the correct answer was "thank them." She very much didn't like the idea of Alexandra being hurt. She just...couldn't help but wish she had been the one there for her instead of this mystery person. But that didn't mean she couldn't be here now.
She raised an eyebrow at her companion, "And you don't think intelligence is somehow a quirk of genetics? Some people are just born smarter than others. Just like some people are born natural athletes. But that's not all there is to an ability. Sure, it gives you a head start, but it's not going to guarantee that you stay ahead. That takes hard work and grit." She turned her body slightly to allow her free arm to wrap lightly around Alexandra's waist in a loose hug. "I've seen how hard you work and how much pressure you put on yourself. Whether you're smart or have some low-level psychic ability, neither takes away from that. Your accomplishments are a testament to the effort you put in. That's not something that can be so easily taken away." Her thumb started idly stroking Alexandra's side through the fabric of her tank top. "I know there's not much point in telling you not to feel the way you feel, and I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me these sorts of things, but I at least don't think this in any way subtracts from your accomplishments or diminishes the hero you are." Her lips twitched into a slight smile. "And I'm pretty sure I could digitally kick the ass of anyone who said otherwise. Plus my ass-kicking has a much wider reach than a physical one for ultimate, and permanent, humiliation. In the incredibly unlikely event that Shaun doesn't already have some hugely embarrassing secret out there already, it wouldn't be that hard to make some."
Zoe looks thoughtful as she looks over the girls. "You are suppose to have purchased a VIP Pass to mingle backstage with the other wrestlers and the tech crew. So long as you promise not to interfere with anyone, I think we can show you where it is - I can't say anything about someone else kicking you out," She emphasized for the pair as she led them off.
Elize followed, grinning at Bron and whispering to her. "Tu novia es muy hermosa, pero usa su belleza para obtener lo que quiere. Espero que ella no te meta en más problemas. Sé que mi novia también puede ser problemática," She confides with the girl, winking at her.
In the back section, the girls can see where the magic happens, with the video crew at a bank of monitors wearing headsets and speaking to the people holding cameras out by the ring as they follow the action. Despite there being a few wrestlers here, including one with skin like brass and another in bright orange trunks and a lucha mask, they don't see Kilt or the Sineater. Bron's sense of him has become muddled as well, as there are several wrestlers who seem to have minor magical powers that interfere with her senses.
"We'll stick around until the main event for you guys, so let us know if someone is bothering you," Zoe says cheerfully, going to grab some bottled water from a table set up for crew and talent alike.
"Sólo somos amigas. Ella es una de esas bonitas bugas." Bronwyn's instinctive smile at hearing another woman talk about her girlfriend gradually turned rueful. That should keep them from making us kiss or something at least... She wouldn't like, try to matchmake is or something would she?
Backstage she kept a careful eye on the monitors, and made sure to look very excited, but she was tensed internally waiting for something to happen. She hadn't expected to track Sineater while he wasn't acting up, but a place like this gave her the best chance to home in quickly if he started any major workings.
Running around without any idea of what they were even trying to stop could only lead to trouble...
Alexandra is touched by the words. She wasn't expecting that. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. I don't... I guess i hadn't considered the genetics angle... but, , I don't know. it changes things, doesn't it... She asks
I just... You don't have powers either... does that scare you? Does it mean there's some, inherent power imbalance here? I can do the next best thing to reading your mind. Does this work, if we... now that you know this. she says
I wont deny, I thought about just not telling anyone...
Cassie claps in excitement as they're led through to the backstage area. "Thanks soooo much! When is your match? We'll totally be rooting for you. You're the best!" she says to them with a grateful smile before turning to Bron. "We should see if we can find him!" she says, to Bron, doing her best to maintain her fan-girl excitement. "I'd hate to miss seeing him before the title match. I'm sure he's got something amazing planned for the fight!"
Kaoru's eyes got a faraway look as she considered Alexandra's words. She was admittedly a little relieved to hear that she couldn't actually read her thoughts. That would be...awkward. She thought all kinds of dumb or stupid things that she didn't even always mean, and she wasn't keen on the idea of having a witness to that. She spoke slowly, "I don't...think anything has to change, does it? I mean, I guess it'd probably be a good idea for you to try testing your limits and seeing if you could extend them. Which, I mean, since you did tell me, I could probably help you with on the DL. If you wanted, I mean. But you wouldn't have to change anything if you didn't want to."
"I mean, not having powers doesn't inherently scare me. Some of the situations I've been in since I've gotten to Halcyon admittedly haven't been great. Though I gotta say, the city isn't all bad. There are one or two things I rather like about it." She gave a small smile and lightly squeezed Alexandra. "Going up against people with powers...definitely isn't exactly top 10 best experiences or anything. But I think I've acquitted myself pretty well. I mean, I've been in and-or near four different fights with powered people, and there isn't a scratch on me. From those anyway. Or really from anything I hadn't planned for." By now the bruises from her encounter with Todd and co had all healed.
"And it's kinda like I said earlier, with some people being born smart and others being born athletes. Just because I don't have powers, doesn't mean I can't ruin someone's life as easily as someone who did." She paused abruptly. Had she said too much? But Alexandra seemed kind of worried about her, and she really didn't want her to be. She continued more slowly, voice lowered. "You...do realize how much of our lives nowadays is digital, right? Money is 1's and 0's in a bank. You want to buy a house? They check your credit score. You want a job? They check for a criminal record. If you have the wrong flags on your ID, you can't fly or even leave the country. I may not be able to crush someone's skull with my bare hands, but give me time and an internet connection, and I can end it for all intents and purposes. I mean, I haven't done anything like that." She quickly added. "But I could. And that's not exactly something most people can say." She chewed on her lip, self-consciously giving a half shrug and pulling away very slightly.
She gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry if that's a little...yeah. But, I am glad you told me. And I have, like, ice cream if that would help at all. Mint chocolate chip?"
do... do you want me to get more powerful... What If I can read minds... She asks Sorry, it's just... kinda scary, you know. I'm not more powerful than I was yesterday, but knowing it wasn't normal, just makes me wonder. Also, if I have mental powers, how real is my personality. How much of me is the power shaping me. she says. I know lots of things, now that I'm not fighting it, making it dress up the knowledge in logic. I know you're repressing the feelings about this for now, so you can be here for me. I know, after I first told you, you tried to keep calm until I gamve you directions. that's why you hesitated. I know that you won't kiss me, until I ask.
You're not wrong. but... well, all that takes a lot of time. We should see of you can pick up anything that works faster. she says
Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite, how did you- Cassie, right. She nodsYeah, Ice cream sounds good.
Kaoru tensed slightly, and resisted the urge to immediately defend herself. She wasn't *attacking* you. She was just telling you what she read in you. It didn't ease the urge to immediately prove her wrong. To point out the slight inaccuracies in her statements. She could totally just kiss Alexandra now! Except...what if she didn't want her to kiss her? That would be pretty bad, right? What if she had done way worse than she thought in their lessons and now the thought of kissing her made Alexandra's skin crawl? She wasn't going to force herself on Alexandra just to prove some dumb point. And the fact that maybe Alexandra didn't want that was definitely a contributing factor to the intense nervousness she felt at the prospect. A large factor even! Definitely. Definitely mostly that. Yup. Nothing else. Probably. Maybe.
"Reading minds...would be awkward." She slowly started. "But not knowing your limits could be dangerous. I don't...want you to get hurt in the field because you didn't know what they were. And if your personality were shaped by your abilities, I would expect you have a more unstable personality. More volatile. More likely to take on the traits of those around you. I suppose you could ask if a blind person would have a different personality if they were born with sight. It's possibly they might, after all nurture vs nature. But that doesn't make them any less themself."
She paused before finally giving in to at least some of her urges and muttering. "And your powers aren't perfect; I'm not repressing any feelings. They're just kind of confusing and it takes me a while to figure out what they are or if they're real." Like the part where she still wasn't really sure what she felt for Alexandra or if that was the same as Alexandra's feelings for her. It didn't stop her from proving the girl wrong(ish) and darting her head forward to plant a quick peck on her cheek before immediately leaping up and heading for the kitchen before the girl saw how red her face was. She somewhat loudly rummaged through the drawers to grab a pair of bowls and spoons, calling out without looking back. "Did you, like, want anything else with the ice cream? I've got chocolate or caramel topping, nuts, cherries, fudge, sprinkles, and whipped cream." Her voice was slightly deeper than she normally projected it. She may have also gone slightly overboard on the ice cream toppings. But it's not like Cassie's question had included asking about this, so she had to do her best to cover all her bases.
The small community park, missing the lone streetlight that would have illuminated the two grills, trash can, and park bench, sits quietly enshrouded in shadow. Four lithe figures converge and wait for several minutes, not speaking and straining their powerful senses for signs of pursuit.
After a length of time where no sounds of feathered wings can be heard, they reach up and pull off their masks in unison.
Shu Zi pulls back the sleeve of her black bodysuit and inspects her arm. <Not a mark! I really like having quick healing.>
Xiu Ying gasps, however, not interested in receiving taser burns that fade in moments. <What are we going to do! Whip's been looking for us! She knew about the places we hit!>
Yin Ying scoffs. <So, we'll just be more careful next time.>
Shaking her head vigorously, Xiu Ying responds, <No, she's smart. She'll have more flare quills next time.>
<She can't fight all of us. She trained you, remember? If we all-->
<No. I don't want it to come to that. I'll... I'll think of something.>
Shu Zi groans. <And in the meantime, we'll all be anxious. Let's decide together.> Shu Zi puts her mask back on, followed by Yin Ying and Yu Hiu. Xiu Ying reluctantly puts hers back on as well. Minutes pass in silence as the quartet thinks over their dilemma. After a while, they pull their masks off simultaneously.
"Sure," Wingblade mutters as she tucks the mask under an arm and activates her pendant. "See you all tomorrow." With her wings revealed, she takes flight.
Sorry. repressing was the wrong word. She said But, you're putting off dealing with yours while you deal with mine She nods.
But, falibiliy is good to keep in mind, especially if I stop going off stuff a person could deduce. the power, I think, goes in its own direction. I think it assumed B had powers because it veers toward weirder explanations. it expects the unusual. she says Or, maybe , I just do that, as I interpret what it gives me... I'm not sure where the power ends, where my thoughts begin.
Whipped cream sounds fine. hot fudge too. she says, smiling. Thanks, Kay.