Ideologue 4.8
- Location
- Canada
April 14th, 2011
Brockton Bay, NH
"Your mother loved this movie," Danny said. Taylor smiled up at him from her place on the couch. Both father and daughter were exhausted, but Heberts were a stubborn breed. Half-asleep and propped up only by tea and coffee, the pair were determined to finish this movie together.
"I remember," Taylor said. "She would read the...script to me, with little voices and sound effects. We would turn off the lights and just imagine.
"She was a remarkable woman, wasn't she Dad?"
"Mm, one of a kind. She was like a force of nature sometimes, never boisterous, but she just had this...gravitas to her. You couldn't say no. Hell, you wouldn't want to."
"I miss her."
"Me too kiddo. Me too."
On the screen, the Man in Black duelled Inigo Montoya for the fate of the fair Buttercup. Taylor thought it was a well-done scene. You weren't sure who was the bad guy, and most of them, Vizzini aside, had a tragic backstory. The end was the best though, the catharsis was real. Taylor wondered if she'd ever love someone so fully as Wesley and Buttercup. Would she have that moment of 'Too Blathe' that would keep her going? Or was she like the six-fingered man, just making things worse?
Hands pressed into her sides and she screamed mightily, though her father would later call it a squeak, as the traitor parent began to tickle her.
She huffed. She had survived a clothing store with Victoria Dallon, he would not beat her here! Her initial attempts to retaliate failed, so she went limp. Her Dad grinned and pulled away, contents with his victory, unaware of her ruse. Like a viper, her hands bit into his sides, causing the man to make a sound somewhere between a hoot and a sneeze. Her foe let out a yelp, though he would later claim it was a roar of defiance, and fell to the ground laughing.
Taylor calmly walked back to the couch, taking her rightful place next to the teapot, and tried not to burst into unladylike snickering. Danny eventually hauled himself up, wincing as he stretched, and sat down in his chair once more. Synchronised slurping filled the air, tea and coffee flowing in equal measure, and they set their attention back to the movie. They didn't manage to finish it, but the family night was still a resounding success.
"Why does she need so many two by fours?"
Francis sighed at Luke's question. His fellow Traveller was getting antsy about their newest employee, something that Francis could understand. What he had a problem with was the constant questions, asking the same thing over and over.
"I don't know, Luke," he said. "Why would somebody want metric shitloads of construction material? It's almost like she wants to build something."
"Fuck off, Krouse, I'm just tired of this minion crap." The bigger man squared his shoulders and glared down at him, but Francis was used to this behaviour, encouraged it even. He would dismiss Luke's concerns like Cody always did, get him worked up, and then Luke would vent to Mars, Oliver, and Jess. Group cohesion would go up, and he wouldn't have to listen to Luke's whining about working for a pair of teenagers for the rest of the day. Noelle hadn't liked his leadership plan at first, but eventually she admitted that it worked.
"Get used to it, man," Francis said. "It's a good look for you."
Luke scowled and threw down the last of his wood before storming off. Francis smiled wearily once the door shut. He'd always liked playing control units in their team games. Buffs and Debuffs were crucial in the more competitive circles, in the world of capes? That, at least, remained the same. Sometimes he felt like he was too good at it, though.
Francis looked at the back of the pickup and sighed. He had freaking teleportation powers and it would still be just as hard to move the rest of the supplies. Life just didn't give breaks.
An hour later, Francis walked out of the supply room and made his way down to Noelle's room. The large chamber had been custom built for her at Coil's request, and Script had been quick to offer it once more. Francis wasn't an idiot, he knew that Janus was Coil. The villain had run afoul of Script and paid the price, whatever that had ended up being. He didn't care, really, Script was giving them the same deal Coil would have, she obviously still had the contacts, and no matter what Luke said, Script's jobs had been the easiest they'd ever had.
Something rotten yadda-yadda. It didn't sit well with him. The girl was plain creepy, even Tattletale didn't like hanging around her too often. Francis couldn't help but wonder what her plan was. The basic job of a control player was figuring out the enemy plan, after all.
"All I'm saying is that we've done our part." Francis heard Luke through the door as he approached and stopped to listen. "We should just leave."
"And abandon Noelle?" Mars asked.
"Just because you had the hots for her doesn't mean we have to stick around."
"You mother-"
"Enough, Both of you!" Francis was almost impressed, Jess had one hell of a set of lungs on her to be that loud. "Luke, that was uncalled for. Mars, we aren't talking about ditching Noelle. We're talking about ditching Krouse."
Oh.
Huh.
Francis shook his head. He knew they didn't like him. He'd barely been a part of the team before the tournament. Before the Simurgh. Still, they wanted to get rid of him. They wanted to take Noelle away from him and leave. Huh. It actually hurt a bit.
"F-Francis!" Oliver. Whatever he'd been about to do was cut off when he saw Francis outside the door. "Hey, uhh."
"It's fine, Oli," Francis said. When did his mouth start moving, anyways? "I heard. You can stop pretending."
The perpetually attractive man quieted down and rubbed the back of his neck. The others did much the same, the shuffling feet and busy hands, except for Luke, who glared.
"Oh. I, uh, I see. Look it's nothing personal, but-"
"It's very personal, Krouse," Luke said. "You are probably the worst leader we could've gotten. Hell, if Noelle wasn't in the shape she is she wouldn't look twice at you. So yeah, Krouse, make your shit jokes and snide comments. First chance I get? I'm gone."
Francis stepped to the side, letting Luke shoulder past him, and turned to the rest of his team.
"You all think the same?"
They were silent.
Francis opened his mouth, but closed it again when he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he nodded and left. Maybe Noelle would have an idea to help. She'd always known what to do.
April 15th, 2011
Brockton Bay, NH
Sophia bit her lip and hit the call end button again before throwing her phone across the room. It was Emma, of course, because who the hell else would be calling at two-thirty in the morning? It had been like this for a week. Emma keeping her up as she babbled nonsense over the phone. She tried to be understanding at first, but 'designated crying shoulder' was not a role she ever wanted to be playing. The calls kept coming, and Sophia started ignoring them. More calls, more annoyance, more times to hit the denial button.
'But which one?' she thought.
She'd made a deal with herself years ago, she wouldn't have 'friends' just a group who could...keep up with her. People on her level. The Darwinist example she gave Emma was a bit barebones, but nonetheless true. She wanted to surround herself with others who got it, the strong ones who didn't need validation. That was the plan, and she'd been pleasantly surprised by both Emma and little Madison. They'd been strong in their own ways, though Emma's fixation on getting rid of her past was worrying, so having a couple of people to hang out with hadn't been the worst thing ever. She'd been getting used to it, in fact. Now? Everything was falling to shit. Emma was having mental breakdowns every hour, on the hour, and with both of them being Wards, it was becoming hard to keep their secret identities. Madison had noticed she'd been left behind in some way, and had been spending less time with them as a result. Sophia couldn't tell if her friend thought that she and Emma were dating, or just ignoring her.
Somehow, this was all Hebert's fault. Her phone began buzzing again and she growled, leaping across her room and ripping the battery out.
"Sophia! Go to bed, young lady!" her mother yelled, banging on the wall.
"Fu- for sure, ma!" she yelled back.
Just what the hell did Emma want anyway?
Sophia grumbled, fiddling with the phone again, before turning it back on. She impatiently waited while it booted up and then used speed-dial.
"What?" she asked when the call was answered.
"Sophia? Where were- never mind. I just...can you teach me how to fight?" Emma sounded tired, her usually confident voice cracking.
"Fight?! Emma, it's the middle of the night! We're both going to be at headquarters tomorrow, sorry today, and I can show you then. Was that it?" Was she cranky? Yes, yes she was. Sue her.
"Um, I. Yes, sorry Sophia, you're right."
"Wait, Em-"
Fucking dial tones, worst invention ever.
"Sophia! Bed!" her mom yelled.
"Fine!" As if. She pulled on her shoes as quietly as she could and flipped up the hood of her track team jacket. She made she both phones were secure in her pocket before activating her power. A giddy sense of weightlessness enveloped her and she grinned as she phased out the window. Walls were too dangerous without her real suit to check for current.
She hoped Emma was ok. Then she berated herself for caring. Then she felt disgusted for caring that she was caring. Finally, she told her feelings to shut the fuck up and let her deal with this; They were less than cooperative.
'This is stupid,' Sophia thought. Nevertheless, she found herself standing outside of the Barnes' residence, wondering how to best get in. The window was her best bet, but getting up there could prove difficult without some way to get height. Sophia looked around and snorted. Duh, just go for the obvious.
The telephone pole had those handy little steps hammered into the side, and she'd abused the crap out of those before as Shadow Stalker. She walked over and began to climb, not particularly afraid of falling, it wouldn't do much to her anyways. Once she was satisfied, Sophia kicked off and used her power to glide. She landed on the roof with a soft thud and winced, waiting a few moments to see if anyone would wake up. She heard nothing and made her way over to Emma's window. One quick lurch and she was floating over her friend's bed, staring down at her widening eyes. Huh, guess she wasn't asleep after all. Not that she expected her to be, Emma had been texting her at all hours for days.
"Ahem," a man said, the onomatopoeia (thank you, Liam) tinged with sarcasm. "Sophia? Would you mind not hovering over my daughter like Dracula?"
Shit.
Sophia settled on the ground before turning tangible. She pulled off her hood trying to look embarrassed, something that wasn't exactly hard when someone got the drop on her of all people. "Uh, good morning Mr Barnes."
''Good morning?', how lame can you get, brain?'
"I think we need to have a talk," Alan said, crossing his arms. "Living room, both of you."
Sophia shared a look with Emma, the redheaded girl shrugging as she mouthed 'Sorry', and made her way to the Barnes' living room. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the stuff her friend had. Sophia's family had never been very well off, and it had been even worse when her father...left. All the members of the Hess house had to work to stay afloat. At first, it was paper routes, but soon enough her brother was working at a diner. Sophia had been working as a courier before she got her powers. Seeing this much gaudy crap in one room had pissed her off at first, but she learned to deal with it. It wasn't the Barnes' fault they had money, it was just the way things were.
Alan walked in a moment later, his wife Zoe rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she followed him. The Barnes' sat on the opposite side of the table from Sophia and Emma, with both looking to the other one to begin. Zoe finally sprang up and muttered about making tea, leaving Alan to berate them.
Great.
"Girls, I think you know why we're here," he said.
"Because I snuck in Emma's window?" Sophia said, rolling her eyes. Hey, if you're going to state the obvious, you might as well do it in style.
"That...uh, that's part of it, yes," he said. "Emma, you know your mother and I will always love you, no matter what choices you make."
Was this about being in the Wards? Alan hadn't liked it but...wait.
"In fact, you might not know this, but...well, Annette and Zoe...uh. Well they..."
Oh no. Nope, not happening. Nope, nope, nope.
"What Alan is trying to say, honey," Zoe said, slipping in with the kettle. "Is that college is a place where people...experiment."
Emma was catching on at this point, flushing so red that Sophia wondered when the steam would come out of her ears. It was bad enough for her, once she had an idea where this was going, but to Emma? Hearing about your parent's...romantic dalliances would mortify anyone.
"We dated for a time, and I want you to know that your father and I don't mind. You don't need to sneak around behind our backs."
"Mom!"
"Honey I know this is an awkward thing to bring up, but you and Sophia are both young adults. The world is a very different place than when I was young, and I think you'll find a lot of your friends will support you."
"Mom! We aren't dating!"
"Emma, I'm trying to help you. You don't have to be embarrassed by who you are."
"I'm...we...argh!" The youngest Barnes flew out of the room so fast she could qualify for a mover rating. Sophia cleared her throat and put on a serious expression. Dennis would have killed for a moment like this, and by god, she wouldn't let it go to waste.
"Mr and Mrs Barnes, I know I'm not exactly 'bring home to the parents' material, but," she paused for effect. "Can I marry your daughter?"
The two adults went stock-still, with Alan beginning to hyperventilate. Emma ran back down into the room with a shriek of "Sophia, no!" and Zoe looked like she was trying to decide whether to support her daughter, tell her they were too young, or pass out, though she seemed to be leaning towards the last one. Sophia let the silent hang for a moment and then cracked a smile.
"Kidding~"
Everyone started yelling at once, and Sophia just started cackling. Worth it.
"That was mean," Emma said. "Mom and Dad didn't know what to say, and I'm sure they still think we're dating."
"Eh, let 'em 'Ems," Sophia said. "People come to their own answers all the time."
"Mmm."
The silence was comfortable, the two girls long since past the point of awkward conversation. Not that it took long to get away from that, saving someone's life tends to catapult relationships.
"So what did you want to talk about, Emma," she asked finally.
"What? Oh, you know, just that fighting thing."
"Don't lie to me, Emma. Something's bothering you."
"I can't turn it off."
Sophia frowned, motioning for Emma to continue.
"I can't turn off my power."
Oh. Oh.
"Shit, Emma. Are you...now?"
"About five minutes to the left, she'll be assaulted. Not the first time. Neither one will talk to the police, they never do. He'll do it again later."
"Tell me where."
"Sophia, there's no point, don't you get it? It'll happen again. And even if you stopped it? Then there's the murder ten minutes from now or the gunshot wound in half and hour, it never stops!"
Sophia thought hard about what to do. Emma was having a nervous breakdown (again) and her fucked up head wasn't going to be any help (again). She couldn't calm her friend down with words. She grabbed Emma by the shoulders, squared their bodies so they were facing each other, and stared at her.
"Emma," she said.
"Y-yeah?"
"Snap out of it." Then she slapped her.
"Ow!, Sophia, what the hell?!"
"If you just give up? That's when you die, Emma," she said. "I'm not going to let that happen, dumbass, never."
"Sophia..."
"I will knock you the fuck out if that's what it takes, but you are going to sleep and we are going to talk about this tomorrow. Understood?"
"I, yeah. I understand. Thanks, Soph."
"Thanks, nothing, just tell me where your PJs are. I'm fucking exhausted and I need to wear this again tomorrow."
Good times.
April 16th, 2011
Brockton Bay, NH
"Thank you, scary lady," the toddler said as Crystal handed the errant balloon back. The parent looked less than enthused but gave Crystal a tired smile. She wasn't used to this level of wariness from the populace, but that's what happens when an unknown parahuman swoops in, right?
"I used to tie it around a finger," she said. Her smile was obviously not seen by anyone, so she made sure to exaggerate her motions in a friendly way. The young boy just nodded and shuffled back to his mother's side. "Uh, I. I should go."
Her flight, as always, was easy. And she accelerated up to where Victoria was waiting with ease. Her cousin was twiddling her thumbs, waving at the people who stopped to stare.
"Uh, back to work then?" she asked when she got closer.
"'I should go'?" Victoria teased. "Are you trying to sound like a video game protagonist?"
"What? No, I just didn't know what to say," she said.
"Just spam the blue option, then you're the best hero ever."
"What are you even talking about?"
"Nevermind," her cousin said with a sigh. "Work it is, Lady Lameball of Lametown."
"Whatever you say, Vicky, whatever you say."
The skies above Brockton Bay were clear, the sun providing a welcome break from the chill in the air. Eric had an exam for school and was busy, but Victoria had been already dressed when Crystal called. They'd started their patrol in New Wave's stomping grounds, but soon started looping around the docks, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The balloon had been in their path, and it was a snap decision that led to Crystal bringing it back to the crying child. Still...
"Do I look scary?" she asked.
"Eh, maybe in the wrong light. I think it's dark and mysterious. Very broody, I hear fangirls love it."
"I really don't want fangirls, Vicky."
"Too late. You should hit up PHO more often, they're everywhere."
"PHO is overrated, I don't know how you spend so much time on that site."
"Better than that blog stuff you read."
"Hey-"
"Shh. Trouble."
In an alleyway, Crystal could see two hooded figures moving around the back of a van. One guy was waving his hands as they talked while the other held a gun, inspecting it.
"Weapons dealer. Go in hot, I'll wipe the guns." Her cousin nodded and the two flew down. Not for the first time, Crystal marvelled at how different two flight powers could be. Where she pivoted in place and applied a downward force, Victoria turned like a jet and shot down. Crystal lined up her shots, waiting for the dealer to move away from the car. She was nervous, this was the first time that the Stars would do anything. Her hands shook. Not yet, she didn't trust her aim.
She looked at Victoria, her cousin flashing a quick peace sign and thumbs up.
Yeah...yeah, they could do it.
They timed it almost perfectly. Victoria hit the ground, cracking the cement with her landing, and as the criminals turned to face her, Crystal opened fire. Her power lanced through the back of the utility van, turning the contents into bits of slag and splatter. Her own landing on the roof of the vehicle was less forceful but no less effective.
"Hey!" Victoria, Andromeda now, said. "That looks kinda shady to me. What do you think, Polaris?"
"Guns in an alley? Looks automatic, too," she said with more bravado than she felt. "That's a big no-no."
"You'd think they'd smarten up with the Guard in town."
The men shared a look before running for it. Andromeda groaned and picked up a piece of concrete, flinging it at one man's leg. He fell with a sharp crack and started to clutch his face. Nose bleeding everywhere.
Crystal's own target went down just as easy. She shot the ground in front of him and waggled a finger. The man took a long look at the melted bits of metal in the van and put his hands up.
"What do you know, Andromeda, they can think."
Together they zap-strapped the men's hands. And Andromeda took a small medical kit out of her pouch.
"When did you learn first aid?"
"After the last time. You-know-who made me take a first aid class...three times."
Crystal's cousin made short work of cleaning up the man's nose while she called the cops. The handoff was, again, tenser than she was used to, but she couldn't help but grin. It was the first arrest the Stars had made, and they were off to one hell of a good start.
"Hey, boss!" One of the officers said after reading the dealer his rights. "Take a look at this!"
Crystal couldn't help herself, she followed the sergeant over to the back of the van, where the officer was holding the partial remains of a wooden crate. She gasped. This bust might turn out bigger than she first thought. The box was labelled with a lot of numbers and jargon, but she understood the important part. The weapons were National Guard property.
"Huh," Andromeda said as she craned her head to see for herself. "Well...Fuck."
Brockton Bay, NH
"Your mother loved this movie," Danny said. Taylor smiled up at him from her place on the couch. Both father and daughter were exhausted, but Heberts were a stubborn breed. Half-asleep and propped up only by tea and coffee, the pair were determined to finish this movie together.
"I remember," Taylor said. "She would read the...script to me, with little voices and sound effects. We would turn off the lights and just imagine.
"She was a remarkable woman, wasn't she Dad?"
"Mm, one of a kind. She was like a force of nature sometimes, never boisterous, but she just had this...gravitas to her. You couldn't say no. Hell, you wouldn't want to."
"I miss her."
"Me too kiddo. Me too."
On the screen, the Man in Black duelled Inigo Montoya for the fate of the fair Buttercup. Taylor thought it was a well-done scene. You weren't sure who was the bad guy, and most of them, Vizzini aside, had a tragic backstory. The end was the best though, the catharsis was real. Taylor wondered if she'd ever love someone so fully as Wesley and Buttercup. Would she have that moment of 'Too Blathe' that would keep her going? Or was she like the six-fingered man, just making things worse?
Hands pressed into her sides and she screamed mightily, though her father would later call it a squeak, as the traitor parent began to tickle her.
She huffed. She had survived a clothing store with Victoria Dallon, he would not beat her here! Her initial attempts to retaliate failed, so she went limp. Her Dad grinned and pulled away, contents with his victory, unaware of her ruse. Like a viper, her hands bit into his sides, causing the man to make a sound somewhere between a hoot and a sneeze. Her foe let out a yelp, though he would later claim it was a roar of defiance, and fell to the ground laughing.
Taylor calmly walked back to the couch, taking her rightful place next to the teapot, and tried not to burst into unladylike snickering. Danny eventually hauled himself up, wincing as he stretched, and sat down in his chair once more. Synchronised slurping filled the air, tea and coffee flowing in equal measure, and they set their attention back to the movie. They didn't manage to finish it, but the family night was still a resounding success.
"Why does she need so many two by fours?"
Francis sighed at Luke's question. His fellow Traveller was getting antsy about their newest employee, something that Francis could understand. What he had a problem with was the constant questions, asking the same thing over and over.
"I don't know, Luke," he said. "Why would somebody want metric shitloads of construction material? It's almost like she wants to build something."
"Fuck off, Krouse, I'm just tired of this minion crap." The bigger man squared his shoulders and glared down at him, but Francis was used to this behaviour, encouraged it even. He would dismiss Luke's concerns like Cody always did, get him worked up, and then Luke would vent to Mars, Oliver, and Jess. Group cohesion would go up, and he wouldn't have to listen to Luke's whining about working for a pair of teenagers for the rest of the day. Noelle hadn't liked his leadership plan at first, but eventually she admitted that it worked.
"Get used to it, man," Francis said. "It's a good look for you."
Luke scowled and threw down the last of his wood before storming off. Francis smiled wearily once the door shut. He'd always liked playing control units in their team games. Buffs and Debuffs were crucial in the more competitive circles, in the world of capes? That, at least, remained the same. Sometimes he felt like he was too good at it, though.
Francis looked at the back of the pickup and sighed. He had freaking teleportation powers and it would still be just as hard to move the rest of the supplies. Life just didn't give breaks.
An hour later, Francis walked out of the supply room and made his way down to Noelle's room. The large chamber had been custom built for her at Coil's request, and Script had been quick to offer it once more. Francis wasn't an idiot, he knew that Janus was Coil. The villain had run afoul of Script and paid the price, whatever that had ended up being. He didn't care, really, Script was giving them the same deal Coil would have, she obviously still had the contacts, and no matter what Luke said, Script's jobs had been the easiest they'd ever had.
Something rotten yadda-yadda. It didn't sit well with him. The girl was plain creepy, even Tattletale didn't like hanging around her too often. Francis couldn't help but wonder what her plan was. The basic job of a control player was figuring out the enemy plan, after all.
"All I'm saying is that we've done our part." Francis heard Luke through the door as he approached and stopped to listen. "We should just leave."
"And abandon Noelle?" Mars asked.
"Just because you had the hots for her doesn't mean we have to stick around."
"You mother-"
"Enough, Both of you!" Francis was almost impressed, Jess had one hell of a set of lungs on her to be that loud. "Luke, that was uncalled for. Mars, we aren't talking about ditching Noelle. We're talking about ditching Krouse."
Oh.
Huh.
Francis shook his head. He knew they didn't like him. He'd barely been a part of the team before the tournament. Before the Simurgh. Still, they wanted to get rid of him. They wanted to take Noelle away from him and leave. Huh. It actually hurt a bit.
"F-Francis!" Oliver. Whatever he'd been about to do was cut off when he saw Francis outside the door. "Hey, uhh."
"It's fine, Oli," Francis said. When did his mouth start moving, anyways? "I heard. You can stop pretending."
The perpetually attractive man quieted down and rubbed the back of his neck. The others did much the same, the shuffling feet and busy hands, except for Luke, who glared.
"Oh. I, uh, I see. Look it's nothing personal, but-"
"It's very personal, Krouse," Luke said. "You are probably the worst leader we could've gotten. Hell, if Noelle wasn't in the shape she is she wouldn't look twice at you. So yeah, Krouse, make your shit jokes and snide comments. First chance I get? I'm gone."
Francis stepped to the side, letting Luke shoulder past him, and turned to the rest of his team.
"You all think the same?"
They were silent.
Francis opened his mouth, but closed it again when he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he nodded and left. Maybe Noelle would have an idea to help. She'd always known what to do.
April 15th, 2011
Brockton Bay, NH
Sophia bit her lip and hit the call end button again before throwing her phone across the room. It was Emma, of course, because who the hell else would be calling at two-thirty in the morning? It had been like this for a week. Emma keeping her up as she babbled nonsense over the phone. She tried to be understanding at first, but 'designated crying shoulder' was not a role she ever wanted to be playing. The calls kept coming, and Sophia started ignoring them. More calls, more annoyance, more times to hit the denial button.
'But which one?' she thought.
She'd made a deal with herself years ago, she wouldn't have 'friends' just a group who could...keep up with her. People on her level. The Darwinist example she gave Emma was a bit barebones, but nonetheless true. She wanted to surround herself with others who got it, the strong ones who didn't need validation. That was the plan, and she'd been pleasantly surprised by both Emma and little Madison. They'd been strong in their own ways, though Emma's fixation on getting rid of her past was worrying, so having a couple of people to hang out with hadn't been the worst thing ever. She'd been getting used to it, in fact. Now? Everything was falling to shit. Emma was having mental breakdowns every hour, on the hour, and with both of them being Wards, it was becoming hard to keep their secret identities. Madison had noticed she'd been left behind in some way, and had been spending less time with them as a result. Sophia couldn't tell if her friend thought that she and Emma were dating, or just ignoring her.
Somehow, this was all Hebert's fault. Her phone began buzzing again and she growled, leaping across her room and ripping the battery out.
"Sophia! Go to bed, young lady!" her mother yelled, banging on the wall.
"Fu- for sure, ma!" she yelled back.
Just what the hell did Emma want anyway?
Sophia grumbled, fiddling with the phone again, before turning it back on. She impatiently waited while it booted up and then used speed-dial.
"What?" she asked when the call was answered.
"Sophia? Where were- never mind. I just...can you teach me how to fight?" Emma sounded tired, her usually confident voice cracking.
"Fight?! Emma, it's the middle of the night! We're both going to be at headquarters tomorrow, sorry today, and I can show you then. Was that it?" Was she cranky? Yes, yes she was. Sue her.
"Um, I. Yes, sorry Sophia, you're right."
"Wait, Em-"
Fucking dial tones, worst invention ever.
"Sophia! Bed!" her mom yelled.
"Fine!" As if. She pulled on her shoes as quietly as she could and flipped up the hood of her track team jacket. She made she both phones were secure in her pocket before activating her power. A giddy sense of weightlessness enveloped her and she grinned as she phased out the window. Walls were too dangerous without her real suit to check for current.
She hoped Emma was ok. Then she berated herself for caring. Then she felt disgusted for caring that she was caring. Finally, she told her feelings to shut the fuck up and let her deal with this; They were less than cooperative.
'This is stupid,' Sophia thought. Nevertheless, she found herself standing outside of the Barnes' residence, wondering how to best get in. The window was her best bet, but getting up there could prove difficult without some way to get height. Sophia looked around and snorted. Duh, just go for the obvious.
The telephone pole had those handy little steps hammered into the side, and she'd abused the crap out of those before as Shadow Stalker. She walked over and began to climb, not particularly afraid of falling, it wouldn't do much to her anyways. Once she was satisfied, Sophia kicked off and used her power to glide. She landed on the roof with a soft thud and winced, waiting a few moments to see if anyone would wake up. She heard nothing and made her way over to Emma's window. One quick lurch and she was floating over her friend's bed, staring down at her widening eyes. Huh, guess she wasn't asleep after all. Not that she expected her to be, Emma had been texting her at all hours for days.
"Ahem," a man said, the onomatopoeia (thank you, Liam) tinged with sarcasm. "Sophia? Would you mind not hovering over my daughter like Dracula?"
Shit.
Sophia settled on the ground before turning tangible. She pulled off her hood trying to look embarrassed, something that wasn't exactly hard when someone got the drop on her of all people. "Uh, good morning Mr Barnes."
''Good morning?', how lame can you get, brain?'
"I think we need to have a talk," Alan said, crossing his arms. "Living room, both of you."
Sophia shared a look with Emma, the redheaded girl shrugging as she mouthed 'Sorry', and made her way to the Barnes' living room. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the stuff her friend had. Sophia's family had never been very well off, and it had been even worse when her father...left. All the members of the Hess house had to work to stay afloat. At first, it was paper routes, but soon enough her brother was working at a diner. Sophia had been working as a courier before she got her powers. Seeing this much gaudy crap in one room had pissed her off at first, but she learned to deal with it. It wasn't the Barnes' fault they had money, it was just the way things were.
Alan walked in a moment later, his wife Zoe rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she followed him. The Barnes' sat on the opposite side of the table from Sophia and Emma, with both looking to the other one to begin. Zoe finally sprang up and muttered about making tea, leaving Alan to berate them.
Great.
"Girls, I think you know why we're here," he said.
"Because I snuck in Emma's window?" Sophia said, rolling her eyes. Hey, if you're going to state the obvious, you might as well do it in style.
"That...uh, that's part of it, yes," he said. "Emma, you know your mother and I will always love you, no matter what choices you make."
Was this about being in the Wards? Alan hadn't liked it but...wait.
"In fact, you might not know this, but...well, Annette and Zoe...uh. Well they..."
Oh no. Nope, not happening. Nope, nope, nope.
"What Alan is trying to say, honey," Zoe said, slipping in with the kettle. "Is that college is a place where people...experiment."
Emma was catching on at this point, flushing so red that Sophia wondered when the steam would come out of her ears. It was bad enough for her, once she had an idea where this was going, but to Emma? Hearing about your parent's...romantic dalliances would mortify anyone.
"We dated for a time, and I want you to know that your father and I don't mind. You don't need to sneak around behind our backs."
"Mom!"
"Honey I know this is an awkward thing to bring up, but you and Sophia are both young adults. The world is a very different place than when I was young, and I think you'll find a lot of your friends will support you."
"Mom! We aren't dating!"
"Emma, I'm trying to help you. You don't have to be embarrassed by who you are."
"I'm...we...argh!" The youngest Barnes flew out of the room so fast she could qualify for a mover rating. Sophia cleared her throat and put on a serious expression. Dennis would have killed for a moment like this, and by god, she wouldn't let it go to waste.
"Mr and Mrs Barnes, I know I'm not exactly 'bring home to the parents' material, but," she paused for effect. "Can I marry your daughter?"
The two adults went stock-still, with Alan beginning to hyperventilate. Emma ran back down into the room with a shriek of "Sophia, no!" and Zoe looked like she was trying to decide whether to support her daughter, tell her they were too young, or pass out, though she seemed to be leaning towards the last one. Sophia let the silent hang for a moment and then cracked a smile.
"Kidding~"
Everyone started yelling at once, and Sophia just started cackling. Worth it.
"That was mean," Emma said. "Mom and Dad didn't know what to say, and I'm sure they still think we're dating."
"Eh, let 'em 'Ems," Sophia said. "People come to their own answers all the time."
"Mmm."
The silence was comfortable, the two girls long since past the point of awkward conversation. Not that it took long to get away from that, saving someone's life tends to catapult relationships.
"So what did you want to talk about, Emma," she asked finally.
"What? Oh, you know, just that fighting thing."
"Don't lie to me, Emma. Something's bothering you."
"I can't turn it off."
Sophia frowned, motioning for Emma to continue.
"I can't turn off my power."
Oh. Oh.
"Shit, Emma. Are you...now?"
"About five minutes to the left, she'll be assaulted. Not the first time. Neither one will talk to the police, they never do. He'll do it again later."
"Tell me where."
"Sophia, there's no point, don't you get it? It'll happen again. And even if you stopped it? Then there's the murder ten minutes from now or the gunshot wound in half and hour, it never stops!"
Sophia thought hard about what to do. Emma was having a nervous breakdown (again) and her fucked up head wasn't going to be any help (again). She couldn't calm her friend down with words. She grabbed Emma by the shoulders, squared their bodies so they were facing each other, and stared at her.
"Emma," she said.
"Y-yeah?"
"Snap out of it." Then she slapped her.
"Ow!, Sophia, what the hell?!"
"If you just give up? That's when you die, Emma," she said. "I'm not going to let that happen, dumbass, never."
"Sophia..."
"I will knock you the fuck out if that's what it takes, but you are going to sleep and we are going to talk about this tomorrow. Understood?"
"I, yeah. I understand. Thanks, Soph."
"Thanks, nothing, just tell me where your PJs are. I'm fucking exhausted and I need to wear this again tomorrow."
Good times.
April 16th, 2011
Brockton Bay, NH
"Thank you, scary lady," the toddler said as Crystal handed the errant balloon back. The parent looked less than enthused but gave Crystal a tired smile. She wasn't used to this level of wariness from the populace, but that's what happens when an unknown parahuman swoops in, right?
"I used to tie it around a finger," she said. Her smile was obviously not seen by anyone, so she made sure to exaggerate her motions in a friendly way. The young boy just nodded and shuffled back to his mother's side. "Uh, I. I should go."
Her flight, as always, was easy. And she accelerated up to where Victoria was waiting with ease. Her cousin was twiddling her thumbs, waving at the people who stopped to stare.
"Uh, back to work then?" she asked when she got closer.
"'I should go'?" Victoria teased. "Are you trying to sound like a video game protagonist?"
"What? No, I just didn't know what to say," she said.
"Just spam the blue option, then you're the best hero ever."
"What are you even talking about?"
"Nevermind," her cousin said with a sigh. "Work it is, Lady Lameball of Lametown."
"Whatever you say, Vicky, whatever you say."
The skies above Brockton Bay were clear, the sun providing a welcome break from the chill in the air. Eric had an exam for school and was busy, but Victoria had been already dressed when Crystal called. They'd started their patrol in New Wave's stomping grounds, but soon started looping around the docks, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The balloon had been in their path, and it was a snap decision that led to Crystal bringing it back to the crying child. Still...
"Do I look scary?" she asked.
"Eh, maybe in the wrong light. I think it's dark and mysterious. Very broody, I hear fangirls love it."
"I really don't want fangirls, Vicky."
"Too late. You should hit up PHO more often, they're everywhere."
"PHO is overrated, I don't know how you spend so much time on that site."
"Better than that blog stuff you read."
"Hey-"
"Shh. Trouble."
In an alleyway, Crystal could see two hooded figures moving around the back of a van. One guy was waving his hands as they talked while the other held a gun, inspecting it.
"Weapons dealer. Go in hot, I'll wipe the guns." Her cousin nodded and the two flew down. Not for the first time, Crystal marvelled at how different two flight powers could be. Where she pivoted in place and applied a downward force, Victoria turned like a jet and shot down. Crystal lined up her shots, waiting for the dealer to move away from the car. She was nervous, this was the first time that the Stars would do anything. Her hands shook. Not yet, she didn't trust her aim.
She looked at Victoria, her cousin flashing a quick peace sign and thumbs up.
Yeah...yeah, they could do it.
They timed it almost perfectly. Victoria hit the ground, cracking the cement with her landing, and as the criminals turned to face her, Crystal opened fire. Her power lanced through the back of the utility van, turning the contents into bits of slag and splatter. Her own landing on the roof of the vehicle was less forceful but no less effective.
"Hey!" Victoria, Andromeda now, said. "That looks kinda shady to me. What do you think, Polaris?"
"Guns in an alley? Looks automatic, too," she said with more bravado than she felt. "That's a big no-no."
"You'd think they'd smarten up with the Guard in town."
The men shared a look before running for it. Andromeda groaned and picked up a piece of concrete, flinging it at one man's leg. He fell with a sharp crack and started to clutch his face. Nose bleeding everywhere.
Crystal's own target went down just as easy. She shot the ground in front of him and waggled a finger. The man took a long look at the melted bits of metal in the van and put his hands up.
"What do you know, Andromeda, they can think."
Together they zap-strapped the men's hands. And Andromeda took a small medical kit out of her pouch.
"When did you learn first aid?"
"After the last time. You-know-who made me take a first aid class...three times."
Crystal's cousin made short work of cleaning up the man's nose while she called the cops. The handoff was, again, tenser than she was used to, but she couldn't help but grin. It was the first arrest the Stars had made, and they were off to one hell of a good start.
"Hey, boss!" One of the officers said after reading the dealer his rights. "Take a look at this!"
Crystal couldn't help herself, she followed the sergeant over to the back of the van, where the officer was holding the partial remains of a wooden crate. She gasped. This bust might turn out bigger than she first thought. The box was labelled with a lot of numbers and jargon, but she understood the important part. The weapons were National Guard property.
"Huh," Andromeda said as she craned her head to see for herself. "Well...Fuck."
Happy times (sorta) for everyone! except Krouse...poor, poor Krouse.
The Emma/Sophia thing kinda came out of nowhere, so I'm not sure if it will stick or just be a one-time thing.
Next time: Kaiser gets serious, Lung is unimpressed, Polaris and the Stars fight their worst enemies, Being Amy is meh, And Jacob writes his own material thank you very much.
Also: Finally broke 100k, woo!
The Emma/Sophia thing kinda came out of nowhere, so I'm not sure if it will stick or just be a one-time thing.
Next time: Kaiser gets serious, Lung is unimpressed, Polaris and the Stars fight their worst enemies, Being Amy is meh, And Jacob writes his own material thank you very much.
Also: Finally broke 100k, woo!