"Would you wanna grab a cup of coffee with me?"
Search Posts
Years had passed, more heroes had left the life for some reason or another, but both the years and their hardships fell lightly on Megan's mighty shoulders. She was aging, after all; even when her vitals refused to show any sign of it, she could still feel those grains of sand slowly slipping through her fingers. She was oddly okay with it. She didn't relish having the strength seep from her arms or the speed from her movements, but the idea of being in some kind of immobile stasis was even worse. So she kept moving, she kept learning, she kept growing. It was good, but it wasn't great.
The Mountain: "Hey hey hey, chill out bra." Megan holds her hands up with a smile as she shrinks back to her more human form.
" 'S not that complicated. I asked you if you thought it was a smart plan 'cause I wanted your answer. You're always thinking, but you don't carry the same baggage about it as Derbs, so I figured I could just ask you if it was a good idea as opposed to one you where you were proud of how clever it was." She shrugs, tucking her hands into her armpits for warmth. "Seems to me we care more about getting intel from the mercs than keeping a relationship with 'em, and 's kinda the other way around for the treznaks. Ambushing Carbine and Shell with your trick sounds like a good way to make it all work."
"I think this is a misunderstanding. I know her suit is very lifelike, but it's just a very expensive accessory. It's a social thing, not a sex thing." Megan walks forward with palms outstretched until the guns are all pointed away from her more fragile teammates. "Whoa! Look, we're all just on this planet to learn, right?"
"I recommend just learning to make do: Eat what you can catch, whether it's fish, or boots, or license plates..."
Megan glances over at 86's feet, pulling her own winterwear closer in around herself. "Not alone... 'S probably not the Combat-Reactive Aquatic Battalion, but 's there a sketchy spy agency up on land?"
Megan stays (relatively) small to try to keep from looking too concerning, and also to minimize how much surface area she was exposing to the chill. "So Fuzzbutt. If your crew finds one of us without you, is there something we should say so they'll believe we're friendly?"
Megan narrows her eyes in mild consternation. "If Fuzzbutt's talking about cold, I might need to go shopping. My winter-wear is pretty much just a top with sleeves."
"So..." Megan interjects, regretting even bringing up Carmen's prosthesis when so many 'fixers' like Derby were hovering, "How likely's the pack to be happy we find 'em, uh, 86?"
"They do, but 's like 3:1 odds you get an evil clone out of the deal who chops it back off. 'S still better odds than most regen treatments I've seen."
Megan gives a big sigh. "No. I showed my face as Amazonia again just to see if I could keep that cover going, and apparently I'm a fantastic actor? 'S a surprise to me, but useful I guess? Does mean I didn't get in any good scraps though." Her gaze drifts over to 86 as she sized her up in return. "Basically just had a long weekend while I waited for Lil Ziss to get you all back." Stretching out one of her powerful arms, she gave Carmen's gloved hand a quick tap. "How's the new hand treating you?"
"...So you just brought an entire alien home with you?" Megan asks, her precise expression hidden behind an eyepatch and a big fake beard. "That's fantastic! I was worried going teen-hero'd mean I'd be demoted to street level forever, but getting an alien -and not a cute sidekick, but a big ball of fur and claws- is exactly what we need to go big league!"
'S too much to hope that she just needed the head... Megan/Amazonia stalked in after Spinneret. "I'm disappointed, Spinneret. Did you step in some heroes and track them into the house?" One of us needs to grab Carmen and jet, one of us needs to get out safe afterwards... Actually, Diego and I are probably the best two at either of those.
Megan sneers at the approaching guards. "At least you're smart enough to call for backup. And believe me: Any time, any place - once we're off the clock." Just hope 's going okay behind the lines. I guess I could claim they're getting squirrely and need to check things out, but 's definitely an escalation.
Megan was worried. Don't think Tumbles is ready to face Spinneret. Even only from hiding. 'S not like we're just gonna leave though... With a scowl on her face that she didn't need to fake, Megan stalked over to the guards, eyes narrowing in on the slightest hint of sloppiness. As they noticed her approach she let her mouth curve into an unpleasant smile. "Is this what you think we expect from security? Don't look at him, look at me. Hmm?" Before they could get so much as a word out she cut them off. "Quiet damnit! You think these people need to know what a crap job you're doing? You wouldn't last two seconds back in Halcyon..."
Blending a few Amazonia-esque accessories with formal wear had actually been very helpful. Megan didn't need to not stand out, but she didn't need to have the costume perfect either. Her dress was long and annoyingly constricting, but hey, I can just flex and burst free of everything above my singlet, so fair's fair. Derbs getting stuck with the bill 's just gravy.
"Happy to be your backup, Lil, but 's not exactly gonna be the subtlest."
"'S not quite either. I had some kind of rare genetic muscle dystrophy. Didn't kick in right away, so I remember when things felt normal, and when things kept getting harder and harder... Not lots of fun. Happy ending though.""...I'm glad you got to recover from that. But I think you probably understand better than the others just what I'm dealing with here. I'm sorry to burden you with it. Who knows, maybe one day I'll become a super hot Amazonian girl too," She suggests with some humor. "...You want to maybe come back to my place?" Megan grins. "Maybe some other time. 'S probly a good idea to make sure Lil Ziss didn't get 'ported into a volcano or another dimension again." ***
"Not going as a shark 's an important start, but I'll still stand out... Thoughts?"
"'S not quite either. I had some kind of rare genetic muscle dystrophy. Didn't kick in right away, so I remember when things felt normal, and when things kept getting harder and harder... Not lots of fun. Happy ending though."
Megan finishes her drinks with a look of total concentration on her face. "Sorry. Takes a lot of focus to keep my body from just immediately throwing that kinda thing back or metabolizing it before it hits. Didn't think a quiet couple drinks would go so fast." She scowls, blinking a little too heavily to be fully sober. "So what, Diego try to get you a robot hand, Tumbles? 'S nothing wrong with finding a fix when your body's not right, but that's a big swing without talking to your first... Hey lemme ask: An' I'll take a 'screw you' as an answer, but, when you dream, is your hand still there? I wasn't really ready to do anything till I was the way I was in my dreams."
Once Magpie was gone, Megan had done a quick change back to her more human appearance and duds. "Trust me, Tumbles, 's not any gold at the bottom of the sea hasn't been discovered by someone or other." Looking around with muted interest she opined. "Same kinda goes for the whole hide the lamp plan. Magic mirror's aren't the the only thing that helps find things, better to keep it protected than hope no one's looking too hard. 'S how I see it at least. 'S why I'd rather just thump Panopticon too. Least then you know where you stand."
"Okay Lil Ziss, you got it. We can get you a two-piece if you want; one-pieces can look plenty grown up though. Like with mine, pop a section or two out the side and no one's thinking it's a kid's suit, but also... I mean, you kinda are a kid, right? 'S not a bad thing, and everyone takes you serious anyways... Ohhhhh. You're trying to catch someone's eye? Like someone on the team? Who is it?"
"What? Uh, sure thing Lil Ziss. 'S there something you need?"
Megan looks a little confused, and more than a little annoyed. "Really had to call in a favor for some underwear? Might be news to the Hattists, but that's something you can just buy, at, like, a store. 'S not like you've got a build where you have to go custom-made, Wes; 'S more like you're just making this hard so you can be a big damn hero, Derbs."
"Yeah sure, I can carry those, Ziss."
***
Megan shrugs, not really on sure ground when it comes to mystical stuff. "'S kinda how changes happen though. I go through them pretty much every day. Wasn't my idea to start with, but I wouldn't change anything that happened. 'Sides, you've got all the magic, right? So all we need to do is give the Curator a thump, maybe two, and then we're all jawesome, right?"
Megan laughs and crowds in closer to watch the video. "That's awesome Lil Ziss. And dancing's basically the only way you can get those things to be honest." With a murderously self-pleased grin she points to the screen. "Otherwise, See? Lyin'."
Megan puts on a mock-offended face. "Don't judge the boob-pocket. Judge the people charging ten grand for the shiny rocks. Besides, diamonds are murder on a phone screen and I have only one pocket in this wetsuit. But that's what I'm talking about, when that urge is building up, you've just gotta find a better way to scratch it. That's why I do so much surfing, and volleyball, and rollerskating, and... well you get the idea."
Megan's brows knit as Ziss starts throwing up a lot of chaff in the way of what she was asking Locke. "Yeah, but she just said she didn't need to take this one. Stealing from people is like hitting them. Just cause some people sometimes need to do it to survive, and just 'cause there's bad people you should do it to, doesn't mean you should just do it because it's fun and you're pretty sure you'll get away with it." She takes the diamonds and tucks them into her top. "Scratchy. I'll bring 'em back for you. 'S not like I want anyone adding two and two together and derailing your spot on the team. But I get it. If the fighting wasn't part of the whole hero thing, that'd be a real hard thing to give up. Just tag me in or someone when you need to take the off, okay? Second chances are great, and you've earned one, but getting one doesn't mean you get to coast."
When Tumbler hands the bag off, it's partially unzipped. The shark girl notices a tennis bracelet disappearing into her sleeve! Huh. *** Megan quietly eats about half of a small gelato (the darkest, bitterest chocolate they have). She smiles along with Ziss's anecdote, blanches when her Lil Ziss explains what Japanese/Razzaran people look like, ("That thing with the eyes is rude to do on Earth, Lil," but mostly she thinks. Eventually she's turned the bracelet over in her head enough, and she asks Carmen, "Why'd you take the bracelet, Tumbles? 'S far as I can figure, stealing it when we're giving it back isn't really any better than stealing it right out of the store, and that's all we were running Chrome down for. "I think I'm sposed to just go to the Team Leader or someone about this, but that means Derbs, and that sounds annoying, so I figured I'd just ask. You're smart. You know you can't just steal from people and be a hero."
""I mean, just because you're part shark doesn't mean that you have to fight only sea themed villains. White Rabbit was at wits with Atomic Knight, the Silver Sting, Whippoorwill, Horus, even Kix and Knuckles," She name drops some heroes. "Just saying, there's...oh gods can't believe I'm saying this...plenty of fish in the sea." “That's what I'm doing up here! I was Sea King's sidekick for almost like, six years. And there's only like... five other undersea heroes? One's just a scientist in a modified scuba suit, and two of them are aliens or something too, so they're not always around. So basically every villainous oceanic scheme was down to us two, but I was still just- Hey! Speaking of rematches!” "Lil Ziss - get the boards back to shore, remember, stay between them and the waves!" "Man, I liked this suit..."
"Whoa. How did you even come up with an idea like that DD? And uh, why out the butt?" As Derby withdraws back into the house, Megan takes a moment and gives Ziss's question some real thought. "Not really? Like, I look awesome, and I don't have a problem with other people knowing it, but this is just comfy. I'd dress the same if no one was around too. Why? You feeling shy Lil Ziss?"
Megan shows up in a different sharkbite-themed swimsuit, gives Diego the time of day ("Nice necklace - is that one of mine?"), but then immediately beelines for the breakers, calling over her shoulder to Tumbler, "You can only follow my lead if you keep up!"
"Why's it taking so long for you to get downstairs, brah? I know you're not afraid of a little drop like that. 'Sides, I'd catch you anyways." With a gesture she offered to carry Ziss's board, and with a toss of one shoulder offered a ride to Ziss herself. Before leaving though, with a reluctant sigh she asked, "Should we bring DD? She says she doesn't have powers but that was a hell of a guilt trip."
Megan staggered as space warped around her, digging her heel deep into the sand to keep her balance, then abruptly she stopped, facing due north, and took a looong sniff. She opened her eyes, a humanly toothy grin spreading from cheek to cheek. "Dude, I haven't been to Mediterranean in ages. Last time there were these Magmons threatening to pull down... Crate? One of the islands, whatever, but yeah, they were gonna melt through the bottom of it and send the whole thing sliding into the sea. And I was like 'Yeah? Nah' and they were like trying to cook me or trap me in a lava vent, but then Sea King shows up and- "Nah, yeah, it's been a minute. Love the Mediterranean though, it's like the chillest place to float." ***
**clank** **clank** **CLONK** An arrhythmic rapping loudly sounds against the window a couple rooms down from Ziss. Megan is outside with her surfboard, a big smile and a few more rocks to try signalling with. "Jailbreak time lil dude! We've got some gnarly waves hitting the beach for the next bit so everyone's gonna be there. Let's make a day of it!"
"'S no secret night swimming's a trip anyways, Lil Ziss," Megan says with a broad smile. She holds up a finger in the universal 'wait a sec' gesture as she gradually sheds some of her bulk, her battle wetsuit hanging looser and looser off her still mighty frame. She then fiddled with a bit of ornamentation down just below the bottom of the zipper and with a rubbery squeak, it sucked itself down to a practically vac-sealed fit. "But if we're heading somewhere sunny, let's hit up the Reef! I've got some, uh, family out there..."
"Maaaan, not even a name drop? We gotta find even more great villains like the Pinniped if we're really gonna make a mark." "...But there's [bigger]no way we should be called Pizza Face! And if you think that you're not sober enough to skate!"
"Skinny people?" Megan gave Ziss a quick tickling poke to the side of her belly. "You're sposeda be a super sleuth, Derbs, you should know that just 'cause someone's a lil squirt doesn't mean they're exactly going hungry!" "Nerd glasses is right though, Lil Ziss. That's the first proper super villain we've taken down with the whole team - I figure I should eat something and that's either the pizza or the table, so what's the best slice?
***
"They're uh, people and animals and stuff that aren't from here. Like Earth-here. Flying saucers? Little green dudes? Hoverboards probably? I dunno, I've never been off world; are you from space?"
Megan bobs her head amiably, but doesn't order any food. "So do you guys get a lot of Sea Crime here? I was worried that there were a bunch of villains and stuff I wouldn't see anymore, but-" **BAM** She slapped her palm on the table, "There's an army of sea lions to wake me up in the morning. Just great stuff." She reached over to scoop Ziss up and perched her on her shoulder a little too close to the fan. "So was that the first time you've seen a sea lion? Normally they only go after fish like that."
'Whaaaat? C'mon, do I really not look human?” Megan made an exaggeratedly sad face. ”Nah yeah, I get it. I've got some sharky goodness going on, but I'm a 100% home-grown human. I'm Megan, and I've never met an alien with that name, so you know I'm human. But uh... is a hoverboard what it sounds like? Seems like the balance would be easier when air doesn't push as hard as the waves uhhhh the uh, up and down water.” She stops for a moment to consider before asking: ”So are you an alien, Lil Ziss?”
"Sure thing little dude!" Megan beamed down at Ziss with a mouth full of teeth that were too numerous and too sharp. Her swimsuit made the comparison to a shark's bite even easier. 'Whoops, uh, don't mind the chompers. Don't worry, I'm not gill-ty of anything bad." The grin she made at her own joke(?) was back to mostly human standard. "'S pretty simple. We'll practice getting a dry pop on land, then once you've got that down, we'll paddle out to the mush and try it the fun way. Oh, and once your board's in the water, make sure it's always pointing in and out, and never let it get between you and a wave, kay? Or you're gonna have a bad time. Ocean's real big, little dude. You wanna ride the waves, not fight 'em."
Figured I should also drop in this account too! When Crimson Tide isn't as visibly sharkified, she goes by Megan Benchley, but it doesn't exactly help her disappear into the crowd. She's about a foot and a half shorter when she looks more human, but that still leaves her taller than most people, and for that matter, most professional basketball players. She's very easy going and relaxed, perpetually dressing in beach casual unless she's been told (and reminded) to fancy it up. Aside from her obvious physical power Meg's got amazing balance and loves working out and other physical activities - she'd rather go do something rather than just move things around in the gym, but she'll take what she can get. She will definitely strap on her skates to hang out with the Darling Derby. |