OK, that's fair enough, and it does make sense. Still, giving her regen and physical stronkth is still in, right?
Hell, would it be possible to convert her current combat arm to a power armour arm (obviously the massive internal stuff would need to go, but besides that) and use the regen to grow back a regular-ass biological arm/bones/ect? Not that I'd be down for that, considering the littlest cyborg is adorable, or that she'd likely even take it due to it being a combat downgrade, but it'd be nice to give her the option.
OK, that's fair enough, and it does make sense. Still, giving her regen and physical stronkth is still in, right?
Hell, would it be possible to convert her current combat arm to a power armour arm (obviously the massive internal stuff would need to go, but besides that) and use the regen to grow back a regular-ass biological arm/bones/ect? Not that I'd be down for that, considering the littlest cyborg is adorable, or that she'd likely even take it due to it being a combat downgrade, but it'd be nice to give her the option.
Regenerating old injuries are not within the capabilities of the serum, apparently, as that was the answer given for why it wouldn't help Danny.
Actually, I think a lost limb was already mentioned as specifically not being something it could handle. All the serum would do would be to heal the stump, not grow a new arm.
Oh absolutely they're still in. Each Boost serum is its own effect, and they do not compete or interfere with each other. Between the first and second Tech Enhancement trainings, there are 6 serums in total, and someone can have all of them.
Hell, would it be possible to convert her current combat arm to a power armour arm (obviously the massive internal stuff would need to go, but besides that) and use the regen to grow back a regular-ass biological arm/bones/ect?
Considering it's five mutations to minimise the chance of horrific mutation when the Linker Core mutation is applied, this feels intentional. Good to know, though - I know where all my votes will be going in terms of tech development in the future.
Considering it's five mutations to minimise the chance of horrific mutation when the Linker Core mutation is applied, this feels intentional. Good to know, though - I know where all my votes will be going in terms of tech development in the future.
[] Do something with Missy
-[] Join Kayleigh and Laura's game
Suntan 13.3
It really should be no surprise to anyone what you choose to do. Missy is the girl you are closest to in this group despite Kayleigh's best efforts, and she is a guest you invited to come with you. If she is having a bad time, it is your responsibility to make things better. "Hey," you say as you sit in the chair next to her. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she says, still staring into the shimmering sea before you.
"Really?" The disbelief in your voice distracts her from her wave-watching and pulls her eyes to you. "You don't look fine."
She looks away, but you can see your words eating at her. Finally she speaks. "Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn't figure something out, but not because it's hard or complicated? It's just that you were so stupid you couldn't see the answer staring you in the face?"
The first complicated situation that comes to mind is the fall of the Privateers, but you cannot see a simple answer to that even in hindsight. The Endbringers come to mind yet, and that one you can be forgiven for not having a quick solution. "I'm sure I have, but none are coming to mind," you eventually say with a frown of your own.
The blonde gives you a distracted nod and jerks her head behind her at all the other beachgoers. "Look at them. What do you see?"
"I'm starting to think this might be one of those situations for me," you tell her in a droll voice. You look at small crowd enjoying a Friday afternoon on the beach, and no matter how you tilt your head, you can not find an angle that brings enlightenment. "People? With umbrellas?"
"Civilians." You glance back at her to find her gazing unseeing at them. "That's what I see. A bunch of civilians going about their lives, utterly blind to the fact that if we were villains, we could kill them all as easily as snapping our fingers."
"That's… dark." Other words come to mind, too, but none that would help the conversation. You do have to worry if the stress of dealing with the Wards is about to make Missy crack and go on a homicidal rampage, though.
Unaware of your concerns about her mental health, she just nods. "It is. They run around blind and deaf to the threats around them. And here I am, a hero who's on vacation. Off duty, you might say. And you know what?" You shake your head. "I have no clue what I'm supposed to do."
"…I don't follow."
She waves at herself. "I'm not Vista out here. I'm just a thirteen-year-old girl, doing thirteen-year-old girl things. Except I don't know what thirteen-year-old girl things are. I've never done them."
It is strange, you agree with that, and you have to wonder why that is. You admittedly were not in the best headspace at thirteen either, not with your mother's death still so fresh in your mind, and after that you were isolated thanks to the actions of Emma and her cronies— Alright, maybe you do not have room to criticize. "What do your friends at school do?"
"I don't have any." She shrugs, the brass armlet covering her prosthetic's connection ring glinting in the light. "Not just since we moved to Philly. I didn't have any friends at school in Brockton Bay, either. Why would I be friends with them? They were petty girls with petty worries. Was I supposed to distract the Merchants by gushing over Justin Bieber with them? Was the latest Maggie Holt book going to help me not get pulped by Hookwolf? Would Lung stop rampaging to stare at the new skirt I bought?" Missy snorts, the sound mocking. "Please. I had bigger things on my mind. More important things than anything they could conceive of. They were just more civilians living their meaningless lives, and I was a cape who actually mattered.
"It's terrible to say all that, and worse that it is all in my head and I never even thought about it. I just accepted it, that I was above them. It's like I'm a closet cape-Nazi and didn't realize it. The only reason I'm thinking about it now is because of your friend. All those dumb questions she was asking on the plane, I didn't have good answers to. It was stuff I never cared about. I was— No offense, but I was wondering what in the world was wrong with her, and then I look at everyone else around us and see the same thing." She wipes her face, and the motion draws your attention to the tears welling up in her eyes. "There isn't anything wrong with her, is there? There's something wrong with me. I spent years thinking of myself as apart from the rest of the world, above it because I was a hero and they were people who needed me to protect them, and somewhere along the way I threw away everything that wasn't relevant to being Vista. But there is a big difference between not wanting to be Missy and not remembering how."
You wrap your arm around her and pull her to your side. She looks like she dearly needs a hug and someone who can give her actual advice, and while you have nothing of the second, the first is something you can do. "How come you never told me you didn't have any friends?"
"I did have friends back in Brockton Bay. It was the other Wards. We were each other's friends, and the more I think about it we were more or less each other's only friends. We just never had time to do anything that wasn't work, so all we had was each other. We didn't do civilian stuff except go to school, and that was just someplace we had to act like we cared for a few hours when what we really wanted was to get back to the Rig. What is Romeo and Juliet or algebra going to matter in what I do for a living? The last time I did anything not cape-related was…"
She trails off, and you look down at her. "Was?" you prompt.
"Maybe I'm just forgetting, and I hope I am, but I can't remember doing anything non-cape besides school since I Triggered." You blink in speechless shock at that admission. "That was almost four years ago. I mean, there's the stuff you and I did together, but you're a cape too, so it's not the same as hanging out with a bunch of civilians. We see things similarly. Now I'm lost in a whole new world without a map to guide me back to what I know.
"Maybe that's why I haven't been able to get along with Flambé or Cherry Bomb, either," she adds softly. "They may be in the Wards, but they don't think like Wards. They're still civilians at heart."
You wish now more than ever that you had something wise and worldly to say to that, but you simply don't. You can only hope that will be enough for her to hear. "I'm no expert on what's normal for teenagers," you admit. "Even before I found Perfect Storm and went off heroing, I didn't have any friends of my own. The one girl I had considered a friend turned on me when we started high school and made it her goal to make my life a living hell. I'm still trying to figure this all out myself."
Missy's face falls.
"But I know one way for us to do it. It's probably not the best way," you warn when she looks back up at you, "but it's a way." You stand and pull her to her feet alongside you. "Let's jump in the deep end and see if we can swim."
The shorter girl stares up at you and lets out a startled laugh. "You're right. That can't be the best way." She gives you a weak grin. "But you know what? Let's do it."
A quick walk down the beach is all it takes to find Kayleigh and Laura, the former shamelessly flirting with the three boys while the latter levels a glare at them. Considering the girl's taste in dancing partners, it is little surprise she has no interest in drawing their attention, which seems to amuse Kayleigh all the more. Your social butterfly of a friend turns around and waves when she spots you. "There you are! You want to join too, Missy?"
Missy shrugs with nonchalance that is at odds with the insecurities she just revealed to you. The skill with which she puts on an act is impressive and, now that your mind is focused on why she would learn such a skill, disturbing. "Sure, I'll play."
"Cool." She turns back to the guys and cocks her hip. "You got another friend running around so we can do a four-on-four?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure we do," the ringleader of the boys says, his expression far less confident than his words implied. "Lemme just… grab him."
"Oh, we've got this in the bag," Kayleigh says with an evil grin when the boys run off. "Did you see the look on his face? He may have another friend, but I don't think it was someone he wanted to involve in this. He isn't confident in winning with that guy included."
"Are you that sure we're going to win?" asks Missy.
"Hell yeah. Those boys are cute, sure, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't kick their asses." Apparently having appointed herself team captain, Kayleigh focuses her attention on the Ward. "Have you ever played volleyball before? It's okay," she says when Missy shakes her head, "I'll walk you through it. You and me, we'll be in the back. Our job is to keep the ball from hitting the sand and passing it to Laura and Taylor. They'll be in the front trying to score, Laura because I know she's good at this game and Taylor because, well, you're taller than any of those guys."
You shrug. It is about time being just a hair shy of six foot played to your advantage.
"Anyway, the rules are simple enough…"
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
You turn around in bed. No matter how you twist, though, sleep refuses to be captured. You do not know if it is due to spending the morning cooped up on a plane, the nap you took on the beach, lingering adrenaline from utterly thrashing those boys during the game, or being used to staying up late to go on the occasional patrol, but regardless of the reason, you just are not tired right now.
"Sam, you awake?"
No reply comes from the raccoon, and you glance over at the other bed in the room. This one is also empty; Missy said maybe an hour ago that she was going for a walk to clear her head, and she has yet to return. You are sure she is not in any kind of trouble – if anyone tried to attack her, they would be in danger – so if she is still missing, it is because she is not in the mood to come back.
Light shifting beneath the door to the bedroom distracts you for a moment before you dismiss it. You know what that is: Cassiel doing something in the living room. What that is, you are not sure, but it is no surprise that she is still awake and active. Dragon explained before you left Philadelphia that she and Cassiel would likely monopolize the living room at night because as Unison Devices, they only need two or three hours of sleep over the course of the day, and that can be either in a single stretch or split up in multiple naps.
Your mind shifts as you think about people who might be up, and you tilt your head to look at your Intelligent Device sitting on the nightstand. "Hey, Storm, can you check to see if Kayleigh and Laura are in their rooms or if they're awake? I don't know how you'd do that—"
"Phones belonging to friends of Mistress not in temporary domicile. Not in near proximity to one another. Supposition: awake and mobile. Can provide coordinates."
"Neat. Can you find Missy, too?"
"Affirmative."
So all your friends are up as well. Rolling out from under the thin sheet, you pull on underwear and a pair of shorts before grabbing a tank top from your suitcase. You have not decided which of the other girls you want to bother, but one thing is clear.
It is a much better use of your time than laying awake in bed.
Poor Missy. I'm starting to feel bad for all the shit I'm piling on her.
Someone on one of the threads I follow – it might have been Alchemical Solutions – pointed out something very interesting a few months ago. According to the Youth Guard stuff Wildbow put out for PRT Quest, one of the first "punishments" the YG can put on a misbehaving PRT branch is restricting the Wards' on call schedules to just five days a week. Which raises the implication that even in cities where everything is on the level, the Wards may still be expected to be on base every day. That doesn't leave much time for social interaction except for with each other at a very important stage of their psychological growth. Then add in that their only mentors would be the full Protectorate heroes, since they'd be at base at the same time. When the people you look up to are all in the Protectorate, and your only friends are all joining the Protectorate, what do you think a teenage hero plans to do once they hit 18? There's no way they would choose to leave. They've spent years thoroughly isolated from society at large.
Add in the fact that the Protectorate is seeking out fundamentally broken individuals and essentially telling them "come to us, we're the only ones who understand you and can give you purpose", and it's almost cultish in a way. I don't know if that was intentional or not.
It might be more disturbing if it wasn't.
Sleepless nights are the worst, but if you're going to have one, the best time is when there's someone you can use as entertainment. Who will serve that role for you?
[ ] Kayleigh
[ ] Laura
[ ] Missy
[ ] Cassiel
Each of these people will be doing something already when you find them, but
[ ] Is there anything specific you want to talk about?
Obviously you are more than welcome and even encouraged to vote based on what you want to see from a narrative perspective. But for those of you who are all about the mechanical benefits (you know who you are), the current social event tally is 3 for Kayleigh, 6 for Laura, and oodles for Missy. Cassiel, already being magical, doesn't have an event count.
