As her lips met the goddess', Mattie felt a jolt of energy surge through her body and she gasped, pushing herself forward against Kayla's? - the goddess' body. Hungrily, she let her desire overwhelm her and she skirted even further forward, straddling the other girl's - The goddess'? - legs and letting her hands move over her figure.....
Isaiah considered the events of the day. And also his promise to keep Whippoorwill in touch. So he sent her a message (e-mail, text, recording, whatever). (assuming such can be done securely. Otherwise, he'll arrange a meeting.)
'Did a little experiment with Dusk/Horizon's time loop there, had an opportunity. Time loop appears to be slightly unstable; there is a 'natural' line it follows, but changes are possible. Dusk appears to receive some level of feedback, retroactive memory, from Horizon's activities, while also having memory of the 'most likely' timeline after present. Time loop seems to resist large changes; small, gradual alterations more effective. Further updates if I run across them.'
Isaiah/Inquiry also began preparations for some upgrades. It was time to get serious, with all the heavies running about. Dr. Dread, the Archdeacon, Apotheosis... Way too many high-level threats. They needed to be ready.
Kayla found her own hands betraying her, as instead of pushing Mattie off of her, she found them wandering as well. This lasted for several minutes, amazing minutes that felt like eternity. Minutes that reminded her of...
”Stop,” Kayla gasped as she pulled her lips away from Mattie’s. She put her hands on Mattie’s shoulders and said again, ”Mattie...we have to stop...we...we can’t...” she panted, her words half to Mattie, half to herself. She used as little of her strength as necessary to hold Mattie away to catch her breath and clear her head...which seemed to be taking some time.
Mattie gasped as the goddess - Kayla pushed her away, fighting desperately against allowing their bodies to separate with an unexpected strength. As Kayla stared at her, Mattie fought almost violently to pull herself forward, and her face seemed to shift, taking on a darkly beautiful and more animalistic tone, framed by the scales dotting her brow. "We have to. I need you!" she growled, exposing her fang-like teeth as the water of the hot tub began to boil.
”Mattie! Mattie stop!” she said earnestly, now growing concerned for her!
Hoping to snap her out of it, Kayla lifts her Mattie up into the air and dives the pair into the icy (in comparison now) pool! She maintains her grip on Mattie’s shoulders and brings her to the surface to see if she had any luck...
Mattie surfaced spluttering and finding herself in Kayla's arms. She felt,... strange. As if she'd had something yanked away just before she'd been able to reach it, together with a residual feeling of,.. what? - Arousal?, Anger?, Adoration? - all of them jumbled into an incoherent mess of emotions and all directed at Kayla (The goddess something whispered in her mind ).
"Wha,... What? Kayla? Where are we? I remember,.. a dream." she gasped, conscious of the feeling of Kayla's hands on her shoulders.
”Mattie?” Kayla asked, concern heavy in her voice. When she sees recognition in the girls eyes, she pulls her in for a reassuring hug. ”Oh, thank God! I was worried...”
What...what was that...was that her...or something else...and why did I let it go so far...
"Kayla, Why are you so worried?" Mattie asked, as she let the other girl's arms envelop her, causing her heart to flutter with the sensation of their bodies contacting each other. "What happened?"
Kayla steps back a bit through the water. ”You...you don’t remember?” Kayla asks.
”You surprised me in the hot tub...gave me a foot rub. It...” she blushes, ”...it led to more. A lot more...then you...” she pauses as her own heart started racing as she thought back on the scene moments ago, ”I had to stop us...it wasn’t right. And when I did, you changed...”
"I did?" Mattie replies, feeling a sting of disappointment as their bodies separate. "I don't remember,.. there was a dream. What do you mean changed?" she answers, a hint of fear entering her voice.
"...You can peek in my head if you want. It hurts, but I can endure it for you."
She didn't pull her head back from where it rested against Shin's, but she slowly shook her head.
"I can wait." Her smile was barely a twitch of her lips as she added, "Not forever, but I can wait."
***
"Are you joking?!"
Their boiling emotions had woken Psyche up in a very unpleasant way, and very quickly her sending was followed by doors opening before her as she floated into the room.
"How many times does this need to happen? Do neither of you get it? Do you need a hint? You can't safely f&*$ each other!"
"What,...?" Mattie's head whipped around to face the pool's doorway before Kylie appeared in it, the fury on her face echoed in the force her psychic sending. "What do you mean? I didn't,.. We didn't do anything,.." she glanced at Kayla, doubt in her voice,.. "did we?"
"I can wait." Her smile was barely a twitch of her lips as she added, "Not forever, but I can wait."
Shin nodded, grabbing onto her hands. "...You're the best part of this future. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose myself. I want us to have time with each other that we can be just lovey dovey kids and not feel like the world's going to end if we're not careful. So...I'll do what I can to get better as quickly as I can. Then I'd like you to come see the day my parents drove me and all my siblings all the way to Washington, just so we could have a picnic under real cherry blossom trees in bloom. I think you'd like it a lot."
He held her for a moment longer before letting her go. "...Do you want me to stay? I think...I might sleep a little better knowing you're close. I hope you feel the same."
Kylie shook her head gently. "Shin, if we slept next to each other, you would wake up with a splitting headache, there's just too much activity around here for me not to put ripples through your mind. I don't want to hurt you. Let's just watch your movie. But if I fall asleep, promise me you'll go?"
***
"I'm not talking about who put whose fingers where. That's a conversation Kayla needs to have with Rory, again, but that's the only explanation like that either of you owe anyone. But when you start pulling s*+! like this, both of you lose control. Did you not tell them anything at Dawkins!? How can this possibly be something you don't understand?!"
Kayla begins wading out of the water. ”We didn’t do anything like that, first of all! And second, it just...happened! And third, something has Mattie’s mind clouded, obviously! She doesn’t remember it clearly, and wasn’t acting herself! So of the two of us, who has the mind powers that most likely caused THAT! You!” Kayla rants, poking a finger at Kylie as she stands poolside.
”And what are you even doing eavesdropping, anyway? That’s incredibly rude! How would you like it if I just barged through the walls to your room just because I can!?!?” she says angrily. ”You keep claiming you just hear thoughts passively, but you seem quite selective about whose you focus on. You telling me Mattie and my mind were the only ones you could hear making out right now? As big of an area you keep saying you can hear thoughts, in the middle of downtown Halcyon, I find that hard to believe!”
It was true enough that the simple psychic presences around him caused pain. He wondered if everyone with a brain injury felt that way around psychics. He really hated feeling this distance between them though.
He put on the movie, booting up the menu and starting Casablanca for them both to watch, curling up with her on her bed. "I'll leave when my headache gets too much to handle," He promised her. As the beginning credits rolled, he figured that he would ask.
"...Did...did Dusk say anything to you? I don't know why he'd simply show up and then just leave, unless you made him. I guess that means he remembers you."
She snuggled up, it wasn't as good as being in his head, but it was better than nothing. "He remembers a lot of what's happening now, or at least he's pretending to. He hasn't said anything he couldn't have learned other ways. I don't think there's really anything for you to learn from what he has to say; he plays too many games."
***
"You're kidding. Right? Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is you both being too mule-stupid to stay at a safe distance from each other! Kayla, this isn't the first time that both of your minds have fogged over, I know it's something that's hard to fight once it happens, that's why you need to Not. Start. But if you're determined to do this, sure, take a look at the times when Mattie's powers have flared and she's been changed. Look at the changes that are hurting her. Look at what you keep g#$%%%ned doing to one another! You're the one who managed to stop her just now, think about why you did that. Kayla, do you really think that you two were heading in a healthy direction?"
”Yeah, it’s funny, I didn’t start having those ‘fog overs’ until you started just hanging around inside all of our heads all the time! Never had a problem like that before, and my uncle is one of the strongest telepaths there is! You like to keep pointing all the blame onto me because it is convenient for you, but ever thought you are having a bigger role in this than you want to admit? Instead of trying to put all of this on me? Or even Mattie, who is the one suffering here? Did you even check on her, while she was in Dawkins? I did! Because she’s my friend and I would never do anything to purposely hurt her!”
She looks at Mattie, her eyes going from angry to sad. ”I’m sorry. You know I wouldn’t ever hurt you, and I will try and help you however I can. Apparently to Miss Know-It-All here, that means I gotta go,” she says as tears start rolling down her cheeks.
She turns and runs off down the hall to the elevator, crying the whole way. She steps inside and steps into the side out of sight of the doorway into the car as the doors close.
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Shin nodded, wanting to ask a dozen more questions on the matter. But Kylie was tired, and he was supposed to be there for her, not to grill her on his potential future. So he let it go for now, content to hold her and lace their fingers together.
The movie was actually pretty good. He powered through as Psyche drifted a bit and his headache started to get worse. The ending scene with Bogart sending off Bergman was definitely heartfelt and stirring. He wondered if one day, if he had to return to the past, Kylie would be his Bogart telling him he'd regret it if he stayed here for her.
But he didn't think right now he'd ever get on that plane.
He didn't know if Kylie was pretending to sleep to have him leave or if she'd truly drifted off. In either case, he tucked her into her bed, kissed her goodnight on the cheek, and left her bouquet in its vase by her bed stand. He'd get over this damn head injury and let her inside again.
He wanted her to always be with him.
He leans in until Psyche can see the reflection of herself - smiling - in his dark eyes. "After all, you've never left my side. You're always with me."
***
Sleep did wonders still. He was under orders to rest and recover from Whippoorwill. That meant no training, no patrolling, no stressful activities.
So of course this was the best time for him to get a cell phone for himself. Of course, he needed someone to help him figure out what to get. He checked comms to see who was available right now.
Kylie dropped out of Kayla's mind before she did something she'd regret. The force that had been about to land with, would have been unpleasant at the very best. And could have easily been worse.
Still, she tried to explain. "Kayla, you're both suffering, that's what I'm trying to... stop." She looked helplessly on as Kayla fled.
"Mattie? Are you okay? What *did* they have to say at Dawkins"
I swear, if they didn't even help you... I'd still have taken you to whoever I thought could help.
Isaiah/Inquiry spent the time the others were spending in mild squabbly-fits and apology-fests cocooned up inside Blockbuster Base. They opened a line back home, and exchanged a hefty info-dump about the recent events for some plans and advanced materials to go with the metal they'd collected in order to work on some upgrades, as well as a bit of reassurance that things back home were still going well.
---
Isaiah did answer Shin's comm-call. "Well, I could go shopping with you, though you might want to ask someone else as well. I'll be busy resisting the temptation to make superior products."
"Kayla, Stop!" Mattie uselessly cried after the blonde's departing form, tears springing to her eyes. As Kayla disappeared she turned to Kylie. "Are you happy?" she asked, accusatorially, "I don't know, .. I don't remember what happened, but I think it was something I did! And now she's gone and you're fighting and its all my fault!" she says, her voice rising as the tears begin to flow. "You want to know what they told me? They told me that this is going to get worse!" she holds up her hand, indicating the scales. "They told me that I'm going to turn into a freak!" she sobs. "Everything's going wrong.. My powers,... Kayla,.. its all going wrong because of me! You'd all be better off if I just left. Then you and Shin could be together like he wants, and I wouldn't hurt Rory or Kayla and,... and maybe everything'd be better for everyone."
Shin set his comm to Team chat, a handy function to let everyone in on the conversation. He didn't want anyone to feel left out.
"I guess we could go, but I was hoping for someone that knew something about cell phones. I feel that having just my comm isn't enough, I need a more...traditional method of communicating with everyone? But I don't get all the stuff that I've looked up. Like, Instagraph and Tweeter, or The Facebook. But it's like, everyone uses them and I feel sort of excluded. Plus, I think it's time that I replace my glasses. Tape can only hold the frames together for so long before it's completely gone. By the way, Isaiah, any luck on making me a helmet? I figure it's better than the visor. Though I didn't quite understand the, uh, weird messages it made in my vision."
"Oh, hey, Mattie, if you're around, I could use your help on this. I mean, I figure it would do us both some good to get out and stretch our legs."
"Sure," Mattie replies, limiting the reply to Shin, rather than including the rest of the team. "I need to get out of here for a bit. It'll take me a while to get ready though. I gotta figure out how to keep a low profile with,... well, you know... Meet at 12:00?"
When they meet up, Mattie is dressed in casual, loose-fitting clothes over Silver Shield's old suit. She's wearing a baseball cap and gloves, and her hair hangs down over her brow, covering the new scales. She seems tired, but gives Shin a weak grin. "So, Time to join the 21st century at last? Have you done any research or are you going to trust me to find you something good?"
"I don't think anyone wants you to leave Mattie. I want you to stay."
"If I didn't think it could hurt you, I'd take you in my arms right now. I'm so sorry for what's happening to you. But we will get through this. I know what it's like to have more power than you can control. I know what it's like to have to pull yourself away from something because you know that if you keep going you'll never be able to stop. Your changes don't make you a freak, Mattie. They just mean we've got more work to do."
Kylie could feel it right now. She just wanted to push away the rest of the world and do whatever it took to make Mattie feel safe, to banish the rest of the world's intrustions. Just to make her smile.
But the world wasn't hers to push away.
"If you woke up already out of control though, we'll need to make sure you go to sleep somewhere where you're safe. What did they tell you at Dawkins about your link with Kayla?"
Shin is wearing something that's a fusion between more modern fashion and his own old fashioned sensibilities in a pair of slacks with suspenders over a printed tee and vest. His busted up glasses rest on the bridge of his nose as he stands waiting for Mattie. He waves to her when she comes up, looking oddly at her choice of attire. It was apparently going to be a pretty warm afternoon, so he hoped she was all right with those layers.
"Isaiah's coming later. Apparently he's been tinkering again in Inquiry," Shin mentioned. "I haven't talked to you for a bit. It's a good time to catch up. And I'm relying on your expertise to pick me out a good phone. And maybe help me figure out how to do this social media stuff so I can talk to everyone without the comms. So, uh, maybe you can tell me which ones I can join or sign up and how to access them?"
He heads to the mall with Mattie, trying to find a good topic of discussion that wouldn't be a total wreck for both of them. "So, uh, is this low profile because of what happened with Dr. Dread?" He finally asked her.
Mattie looks up, at Kylie, wiping away her tears. "They couldn't even tell me how far the scales are going to speed." she replies, "My powers are too hard to predict, especially if I integrate anyone else's DNA. Shield's given me a suit to stop that from happening, and Dawkins is working on something to slow, me turning into,.. whatever it is that's happening, but,.. he thinks it'll be difficult and their might be side-effects of some sort." she pauses. "He couldn't ell me much about the link, except that its probably to do with the DNA, the power I assimilated from you. That, and the transfusion of her blood. I don't know what made me do,.. whatever it wa that i did.. I still don't remember. I can only remember fragments of,.. like a dream. There was a goddess or an angel or something - you know wings and everything and columns and a pool, but that's all i can remember. I don't know,.. I don't think it was my dream - not really, I,.. I think maybe its Kayla's?"
Mattie smiles at Shin. "So,.. Looks like you're going for a sort of retro-hipster vibe. Cool." she says. "Right. So I guess we should start with a new phone? Well then, there's only one place for that."
Mattie leads Shin through the mall, stopping occasionally to check out some things in the shop windows. When he asks about her clothes, she pauses, turning to look at him. "Yeah. Umm, did no-one tell you what happened?" she steps closer, glancing around to check that no-one's close enough to see and pulls back the hair covering her forehead and revealing the scales. "They're on my hands and arm too. And some other places. They're kind've hard to hide if I don't want to draw attention to myself. Actually, While we're here, I need some new clothes" she says "Some long-sleeved tops and stuff. Is that OK? You won't be too bored if I try some things on?"
"...Wow. I got to say...those scales look actually pretty cool," Shin told Mattie. He didn't think she needed to hide them at all. There were stranger heroes in the world with odder bodies. Compared to them, Mattie's scales looked at least nice enough to show off.
"I don't think there's any reason to hide them. Granted, if you're trying to keep your secret identity, I get that, but there's bound to be other ways to go about that. And even if the cat's out of the bag, that means you can show it off proudly, right?" Shin suggested to her. "I mean, unless they're painful or something, they're a part of you. You should make the most of them." He pauses, before tapping his side. "My body's changing, too. Got some scars that are so black they look like empty holes in me. But I'm not going to let them stop me from being myself. Neither should you."
The feather's touch of Kylie's mind brushed across Mattie's forehead before settling on top of one of her hands. "It'll be okay, Mattie. I don't know how everything's going to work out, but I'm going to help. Kayla will too. We just all have to figure out how to do that without making things worse.
And if that dream started with Kayla, that's the next place to look. Well, I wanted to patch things up anyways.
"But just so you know... You're beautiful in scales too."
Mattie sighed. "I know they don't look to bad, don't make me look like a monster now." she says, "but they said it'd probably get worse,... Who knows how far it'll go? Maybe I'll become some kind've animal or something? They said the scales were something to do with the costume I was wearing and the whole snake theme and the fire and the crowd... Like it was because everyone was seeing me as a dragon. Why couldn't I have been wearing the Psyche costume? Maybe then I'd just be turning into an amazing looking girl, instead of,.. whatever it is I'm turning into?"
Mattie looked down "That's what Kylie said. I know they're OK for now, but they're going to get worse - I don't know how far its going to spread. I know my face is kind've known now, but it'd still be nice if people didn't just recognise me straight away and I can have some anonymity.... The scales are kind've a give-away... I didn't know about your scars. I,... I'm sorry. I guess I've been so wrapped up in my own things that we haven't really had time to talk."
Further into the mall, Mattie pulls Shin into a phone shop and helps him pick out a top of the line model. After setting everything up, they head for the food court and she begins to talk, feeling almost like a normal person. "OK, So you'll need Facebook, Instagraph and Tweeter... Maybe one for you and one for she lowers her voice Horizon. Lots of heroes have an online presence now days - Mosaic used to say it was a good way to keep in touch with fans and, sometimes hear about things that are going down before the mainstream media pick it up."
Shin shrugged as Mattie consoled him about his scars. "I'd be more freaked out if they actually were weird holes in my body, but I can feel the skin on them. I'm also sure that there's ways that you'll be able to keep your anonymity in public. For example," He suggested. "I've heard that it's all the rage now for young kids and teens to do some costume play at school or out having fun. If you popularize your look, and others imitate you, it'll be easier for you to pass off as just another fan. If push comes to shove, ask Silver Shield for help. I'm sure there's some kind of disguise ray or something else she's got to help you blend in as yourself."
"Okay. Uh. Hmm. So making two of each Tweet and Instagraph, and...uh..." It was definitely confusing and confounding. The accounts wanted all sorts of information as well that he wasn't sure he could give. "Uh, Horizon is taken as a name...AuthenticHorizon sounds better. Oh, and one for me personally, right?"
Kylie rolled her eyes, but a touch of warmth in her sending betrayed her. "Flatterer."
"So what will this containment suit be like? And... what should we do about you waking up in a reverie?"
"Uhh, yeah, I guess AuthenticHorizon sounds alright. Yeah, you def need a private one too. Your own name if you want, but you could choose something else if you want... online you can be whatever you want."
After eating, she leads Shin to a clothing store, making him wait as she tries on several shirts. She ends up buying enough too wear every day,... long sleeved shirts that extended over her hands and hooked over a finger... doing a reasonably good job of hiding the scales over her hands.
Mattie gives a weak smile. The suit? Well, The Shield gave me one of her old ones for now, but I guess I can design a new one. You won't like it though,... It'd have to cover pretty much all my skin... Maybe you could help me come up with something good?"
Kayla didn't sleep the rest of the night. At around seven, she got ready and put on a nice sun dress and went to find Angela. You aren't going to cry...you aren't going to cry...
She walks through the common room, purposely ignoring anyone who might be there with as good of a poker face as she can muster, and heads to the elevator to go to the level with the other Taylor's personal suites. She could hear Freddie's snoring as the doors opened, and rolled her eyes.
She walked quickly down the hall and made her way to Angela's room. She could hear her already talking on the phone with someone, sounded like she was scheduling some sort of interview. She knocked on her door and waited.
By the time Angela opened it, Kayla was already starting to cry. Angela sighed in frustration, and stepped aside to let Kayla walk in.
"The most important thing is that it keeps you safe. We'll figure out the rest. As much as I really was enjoying your outfit, I only nudge you into things like that because I think you like to go walking around without your shell, and I think it's good for you to see that that's okay. But *you're* what I care about, not what you're wearing."
Mattie smiles at the other girl's words. "Thanks Kylie. I,.. guess there's only so much I can do. I'll just have to take things a day at a time." she stands there awkwardly. "I feel a bit better now... Like I can handle whatever happens - as long as you're around to help. You and the others. But,... we need to look after Kayla too. If she's affected my our link like I am then I don't think its fair to blame her for,.. whatever happened. We need to help her too and,... I think yo need to apologise. I don't think shouting at her,... at either of us, helps. You know she didn't mean what she said about your powers causing this? Not really,.. She just felt like she was being attacked. You're right that we need to stop it happening again though. That's why,.. I think maybe I should move back to Blockbuster."
Isaiah meets up with Mattie and Shin, a bit late but still arriving.
"So, how's the trip going so far?"
Isaiah lurks in Praetor Tower, waiting until an opportune moment to try to assuage some of the tensions inside, but not wanting to intrude on any ongoing conversations.
"Just got finished shopping for some new clothes for Mattie. Actually..." Shin takes Isaiah off to the side.
As Shin mentions this, Isaiah notes a girl in glasses watching them, staying at a distance and pretending to be looking at her phone.
Shin goes back. "So, yeah, I think it's time to replace my glasses. Which is weird. I've have these since my dad passed the frames down to me," He mentioned nostalgically, heading with everyone to the Lensmakers.
"You're right. I just- I really hate what she's doing to your brother. Even if she's having a hard time fighting it, I just want her to do better. I don't like it when people cheat. I'll apologize though. I don't think it's her fault, not really."
A very tired-looking Silver Shield enters the complex, helmet under her arm and shield strapped to her back. She starts up Blockbuster and logs in while she heads to the garage where the Rhino is parked.
After a moment of searching, she hits the comms. "Rory, I need you front and center. Where's that suit that you got from the auction? I need a couple of its specs."
Kayla was frustrated at herself for crying in front of Angela, which made her cry even more. But, she didn’t know who else to go to.
Angela stood off to the side as Kayla sat on a seat and composed herself. ”So...what happened this time?” Angela asked with a “Let’s get on with it” tone.
Kayla, sniffling, looked down at the floor between her knees and stared in silence a minute as she thought about everything that had happened. Eventually, she muttered something, which Angela couldn’t hear.
”What was that? You gotta speak up if you want to talk, Kayla. It’s rude to mumble,” Angela said with a sigh.
”I said I think you were right!” Kayla said forcefully.
Angela raised an eyebrow, even smirking a bit while Kayla’s head was turned before walking over and sitting beside her niece on the couch. ”I take it something else happened?”
Kayla nodded. ”We had another fight. Me and Psyche. And it was because of...Scorch’s condition,” she lied, ”Psyche thinks it’s worse when she’s near me. So we argued. Again. And it’s going to lead to a fight with me and Frostbite. I...I don’t know why, but I don’t think any of them even like me, or won’t like me anymore after last night...”
”Who cares?” Angela replies, causing Kayla’s head to snap up. ”Kayla. You are better than them. Your powers are better. Your training has been better. You are nicer than them. And they are jealous of what you have. It comes with being a Taylor. People either try to use you for what you have, or hate you for it, or both. That’s it. It’s a curse, but it doesn’t have to be a bad one,” she says as she brushes Kayla’s hair out of her eyes.
”Come here,” she adds as she takes Kayla’s hand and leads her to her make-up chair and mirror. She guides Kayla to sit and face the mirror as she takes a brush and begins brushing Kayla’s hair, trying to relax her nerves. ”I used to do this for Sarah when she was younger and upset,” she explained as she ran the brush repeatedly through her hair.
”Look, Kayla. I know you want to have friends. Everyone your age does. It’s understandable. But these kids you are grouped with, how many actual fun times have you had with them? You all seemed pretty tense after your trip to the Retreat. And since then, I’ve seen or heard about several more fights you have all had. Do you think friends really fight that much? And this Frostbite kid, he’s not right for you either. Has he even taken you out on a proper date? I bet it’s always been you footing the bill, hasn’t it?”
Kayla thought back as she stared at herself in the mirror, and couldn’t deny what Angela was saying. On the trip, she volunteered to pay for everything. Since then, it’s been movies in that she owned, or fights. ”He’s using you, sweetie. Typical for a boy his age. Especially for a catch like you. You need to find someone on more equal social level, who sees you as a Lady, not as a winning lottery ticket.”
”How about this. I have some things to handle today, some of them actually involving you,” Angela added. Kayla looked at her quizzically. ”Your fight at that rally has been on the news. We need to get ahead of the spin on it before they paint us as white supremicist nut jobs. You did good work there, but certain news stations will only air what they want, so I’ve had my publicist collecting as much film as he could, and we’ve got enough to shut down any false spins. I was going to handle it myself, but I think you doing the interviews personally would be a good experience for you. The car will be downstairs in fifteen. Your dress is actually very nice for this. Why don’t you come along with me and we will show the world the Real Praetoria?”
Kayla thought about it. It was a team effort there. Sort of. Not all the team was there, though. It wasn’t an official assignment either, just a side thing for Horizon. Shouldn’t the team be doing this together?
Kayla nodded in reply. She walked along with Angela downstairs and climbed into the backseat of the car, which pulled out and headed off into Downtown.
The drone buzzes, and then the doorbell rings. The intercom comes on. "-- but when the team's got two locations, you make it a little confusing on the person who's trying to find one of the team members. Thankfully there's a tracer drone on the subject; otherwise it'd be pure luck for whoever's trying to track them down. But-- Oh! Hey! Ragnarok here. I'm trying to find Psyche? I'm the court-appointed guardian for the time between, well, now, and whenever it is that her court matter is resolved. So could you--"
Finally shutting off the comm and meeting him in person doesn't seem to stop the Herald from talking. He's dressed casually -- blue jeans, white T-shirt that can barely constrain his muscles, sunglasses -- almost identical to when Psyche saw the regular companion to Gothic in Rustside.
When he is finally face-to-face with Psyche, he extends his hand for a shake, while talking. "Good to meet you. I'm sure you're wondering about why someone of African descent would name himself after the Norse word for the end of days, but as it turns out it's a really nice name and no one has complained about it and then not immediately complained of serious bruises. Which is a complete fabrication but also a downright funny joke if you have a sense of humor.
"You might also be wondering, why me? Well, this job was given to me to make sure you understand that you can't just go up to major genetics research centers with the capability of designing the worst kind of diseases and crack it open like an egg. So, do you want to tell me how you arrived at the conclusion that ripping a sealed door open would be okay?"
"Rory *sssshhk* front and center. *Zzzkkk* suit you got *kshksh* auction. I need *bzzzzd*" the message came through the comm unit and jerked Frostbite into conciousness as if being ripped for a deep slumber, but he wasn't in bed. He was standing in front of a mirror back at Blockbuster, How the hell did I wind up back here, he thought nervously as he ran a hand through his hair noticing it was damp he assumed he must have just gotten out of the shower, the towel around his waist confirmed the suspicion. Quickly throwing on a pair of sweatpants and flip flops Rory grab his comm to reply and it made a evil hiss at him, "On my way," he replied as he hustled to meet with Silver Shield and try to explain what happened.
With the rear hatch open Silver Shield stood examining its empty contents with her back towards the door as her protege approached, who she could easily hear. "Where is my armor and where are..." her questions cut short as she turned to see her young charge walking up shirtless, "What the on Earth happened to you," she asked sounding seriously concerned, "Are you ok? I thought you where going to lay low... Med bay NOW!" she exclaimed as she got a look at the bruising on his torso and the mostly healed gash on his head.
As they walked to the med bay Rory explained getting jumped and losing the armor and gauntlets, the hoverboard and the explosion, and the events at the rally, the whole time apologizing.
Argh. Captain Stereo-Sound? I'm going to have such a headache...
"Ah, yes. We've actually met before, and I believe- yes, you brought up your na- Ah, yes. Very funny.
"Truthfully? I was in a hurry, and didn't realize the door was sealed. If I had, I would have knocked more politely."