|
Andressa and Hux sat humming to themselves in their own sort of chit-chatty way waiting for an answer to their questions. Eventually they got a bit antsy and spoke however, "Oh I should check the computer to see if it found anything regarding The Alien be a good idea to make sure there isn't some Nuovan invasion force on it's way and all that."
With that she and Hux, now securely curled around her body traveled to the main hub for Blockbuster to see if the search spat anything out.
Siphon gestures to her assigned room. The half-open door shows a suitcase open loaded with clothes. "Doing okay, right now. But, can't say I'm not at least a little intrigued. Is it all just basic stuff, or can you get fancy? Like, knockoffs of designer labels?"
Valerie laughs at Andressa's questions. "Whiskey Snowglobe is a band. Post-modern punk meets industrial rave. The Blackout is the name of the place where they'll be playing. Age means they don't let anyone in under 21, but like I said, I know some of the people at the venue. I can get us in."
Shin gets a text back from Grace. "Oh! The Hierarchs are playing the Braves Saturday night!"
Meanwhile, Whippoorwill stands at the ledge of the skyscraper. "It's primarily an office building. The vault's underground, and their security is not too bad."
She gestures for him to step over to the ledge, the height over street-level truly dizzying. Only those gifted with the powers of flight would feel comfortable at such a zenith. The hero looks at Shin with a serious expression. "I've heard about Praetoria leaving. And I've spoken at length with Silver Shield about your team's 'newest member.' But I'd like to hear your perspective before I make any decisions. What do you think is the current state of the team, and whether there's a reason we should extend this Siphon the benefit of the doubt?"
What does he do??
Checking Blockbuster, you find that the computer has pulled up numerous miniaturized newspaper articles from what's commonly called the Golden Age about the Alien.
The synopsis of the articles concludes that the Alien was an actual hero, fighting against the Nazis and Axis powers during WWII and remaining active until the mid-1950s. He identified as male, and exhibited powers of telekinesis. One newspaper, the Halcyon Caller, managed to get an interview with him in 1949 wherein he gave his non-Terran name -- V'Kovens.
Nothing in the research indicates an impending Nuvoan invasion, though nothing mentions V'Kovens' fate, either. He either died anonymously, returned home without fanfare, or retired quietly.
Yeah, she regrets me leaving because she wanted another shot at my powers. Watch your back around her.
Never heard of a Steel Guardian. Must be yet another newcomer to the scene.
I’m fine. I guess. Says a lot that you are the only person to reach out to me, even though the rest knew me way longer.
Bub still not talking to me.
Saturday night - let me see if I can get tickets, Shin texted back before putting his phone away when Whippoorwill floated on down. He put the idea of hanging out with someone who shared his love of the game on the back burner as he was asked about Siphon, putting on his serious face.
"I more than anyone else on the team believe strongly in giving people second chances. I believe that if she wants redemption, then she should be given the opportunity to seek it out," He tells his mentor, looking over the ledge at all of the tiny, any like figures below. "That said...I'll be honest. Prae's constantly had teamwork issues even before this, and before her press conference after she stormed out... again... we were having a team meeting about whether or not we should suspend her from the team. So part of my recommendation for Siphon to join the team came from a place of anger. I'm not sure she's ready for that, but I at least want to give her the chance to try."
He glanced up at the skyline. "The team's hanging on by threads. Kylie's been more closed off since the school year started, Rory's on thin ice with Silver Shield over Siphon, which leaves us 'outsiders' on the team trying to work our way through school unguided, so to speak. Though Triplight's probably the one bright spot in this - they're adapting better to this world than I did."
He shifted and crossed his arms. "...Tactically, Siphon can be an asset. She doesn't just copy powers, she takes them away from others. She's an asset the team could need in the future, against Shard... or Dusk," He admits. "Though I'd want her to test her power on me first to see if it's possible to take mine."
"That depends a bit. The base stitchers mostly do mundane stuff, but can mimic just about any normal clothes you can punch in the specs for, which does include the designer stuff. I don't spoof the labels though. If I bring in Inquiry... well, using a manaforge for ordinary clothing is just plain overkill. Then the question becomes 'do you want nanoweave armor woven in with that?'. With the good stuff, I can make it look however you want while still being a vacuum-rated pressure suit that can resist rifle fire. Comfy, too."
Isaiah popped around as Andressa was checking on Blockbuster.
"Oh, hello. Doing some research?"
|
|
Hux was the first to notice Isaiah pop around the corner and gave a greeting chirp in his direction, with that same sing-song melodical tone, prompting Andressa to turn. "Ah Isaiah, yes i'm looking into a being I heard about at one of the club functions at the school." She points to the monitor showing The Alien.
"No doubt you remember this species from your time connecting with me in the verse? Nuovan, this one is called V'Kovens and it seems in his time here he was quite a hero fighting against something called Axis-Germany and the Nazi people? I wanted to do a further dive into his presence to make sure that there wasn't some secret plot to invade and consume Terra into the Nuovan empire here, but the information here does not even say where V'Kovens subsists now."
Andressa inclined her head trying to think of how long Nuovan's lived but coming to the realization that she didn't know that much about their biology. She turned with a bit of concern reading on her face to the outsider, "Do you think I should talk with the Alliance and see if I can secure a meeting with him?"
I can't begin to say I understand them all, or know of them all, but I believe it all is meant for the best.
I don't know what Siphon's reasons for being disheartened are but I don't believe they are quite so dark.
I shall endeavor to keep my wits about me, it goes without saying i've learned to do that in my time among the stars. This may come as a shock, but my choices of adventure didn't always lead me to have many friends or allies. You must do what you must to survive before anything else.
How goes your training and studies? I'm looking into an old hero known as The Alien when I return to blockbuster.
Whippoorwill listens to Shin intently, and he can see her mind working behind her eyes. After a few minutes while she processes, she nods. "Thank you. Silver Shield has her own desired approach to this; I'm a little more content to take a wait-and-see approach. But that doesn't mean Siphon's not potentially a danger. Taking powers... it makes me uneasy. Though you're right, it's an enormous asset. Though, I'm not sure I'd be so quick to volunteer her testing out her ability against yours." Her face is twisted like she ate something unpleasant.
"Just, watch her for me. See how she interacts with the others who aren't Frostbite. Is she trying to be a team player, or is she a distraction? Listen to your gut, trust your instincts, but never assume they're infallible. Okay?"
Siphon giggles. "Oh, yeah. I totally want a crop top and skinny jeans that can let me survive in space. Pull that off, and you can design all my clothes. I'll even model them for you."
"Oh, I plan to keep my eyes on her," Shin told Whippoorwill. "Honestly, I'm more worried about Kylie. She's been more distant than usual. I've been kind of...distracting myself from that with school activities, because I don't know how to help her."
Verbalizing it certainly gave some clarity to Shin about how he was shaping this new friendship with Grace. Really, he just needed to talk to Psyche soon to clear the air between them.
"...Well, since we're here and since we're suited up, I feel like it's a good day to go on patrol, show Halcyon City we're looking out for them, maybe even fight some menacing villain if they dare to show their face! What do you say, sensei?" Shin asked, switching gears if only to do something that he felt they both could use to get the bad taste out of their mouths.
Isaiah shrugged nonchalantly to Triplight.
"Yeah, I remember them. Folks like them rise now and again, grow big and strong, and eventually get overwhelmed or split apart at the seams. As for here... well, Halcyon is a magnet for the weird and improbable, and there's members of at least two other usually-hostile alien species working as heroes here currently that I know of. It's not beyond imagining that this one could have been a rouge. Or, if they are indeed a forward scout... well, as far as I can tell the answer to that is 'they can get in line'. Too many invasions have happened here to be statistically probable, and they've all been defeated, often equally improbably. Investigating the whole mess is the main reason I'm even here. That said, looking into them couldn't hurt. You can never be too prepared."
Isaiah hovered thoughtfully for a moment.
"I've been considering going over to the Alliance and actually offering to help them with some things sometime. A few things that annoy me, and also some ulterior motives of my own. Maybe we could make a trip of it?"
Isaiah chuckled over the comms. "As long as you don't mind some essentially-invisible, barely feelable covering over the 'bare skin' areas, that can be arranged. Armor does no good for body parts that aren't actually covered, but just because they're covered doesn't mean they have to look or feel that way. I'll have to bring Inquiry home to run the fabrication though. Need a good full-body scan to make it all fit snug too. If you're not comfortable with that, I can work around, but it won't be as comfortable, especially in vacuum."
|
|
Trip thought on that for a while, "This place does seem to have a higher than usual propensity for strangeness. Maybe it's just something in this verse that makes it... appealing to strive for something better? I think we could go with you, if just for a bit to ask about a few things myself. I really would like to get to the bottom of any possible invasions before they happen, and maybe see if there's been any signal from the princess about that whole bounty on our heads situation."