Title: Back to the Future
Who: Daybreak, Flashback, Flora, Spook and Thorn
When: September 17th, 2010
Where: De la Vega Memorial Park, then Thorn's Redwood
What: An impromptu gathering of supers shoot the breeze until Rebecca Sharp appears in their midst, returning to a world which isn't quite the one she used to know.
===< de la Vega Memorial Park - Residential District >< #178 >===
A sprawling expanse encompassing multiple city blocks, de la Vega Memorial Park seems determined to instill color amidst the office buildings and paved streets around it. The walkways sectioning off areas of the park are composed of whitewashed brick with borders of curved Red bricks in an almost Spanish 'S' style like those seen on roofs.
At the south end of the park is a large fountain of polished white marble composed of four dolphins facing the four cardinal compass points, spewing water. Included on the south side of the park is a few open fields for picnics and a skate park. Between the north and south ends of the park are large fields, flower beds of brightly colored flowers, and numerous trees, from Oak to huge Redwoods.
The north end of de la Vega Memorial Park is considered the 'main' entrance, despite there being multiple entrances into the park passing through the seven-feet high red-brick walls with white-tile capstone crenellations every ten feet. The main entrance is an arch of black-lacquered steel in winding vine patterns leading into a brick-laid plaza which includes a granite statue of Zorro: A man in a mask, large hat and flowing half-cape wielding a rapier in one hand and a coiled whip in the other.
EXITS
Redwood……………………<R> Exit………………………<O>
===---------------===
It's after dark, and the Park is closed as a pair of figures hover over the wall. One of them is dressed in…natural clothing. A wooden harness that's sprouting beating insect-like wings made from some leaf-like material. A pair of bracers adorn his forearms, with a crossbow mounted on the left one, along with a pair of tinted goggles that cover his eyes, with twisting branches that hold them to his head. In recent news reports, Thorn has shown up, notably from Virtuoso's attack on a bank, and follow up reports of crackdowns on crime; carjackings, muggings, break-ins. He's been going all out.
And lately, he's been seen with another Super, who hasn't been identified by the papers so far, mostly because Thorn has avoided talking to reporters lately.
As he hovers inside the park, zipping around the Diego De La Vega statue for the park is named, the winged hero lets out a quick chuckle. "Sorry about that stray shot," he admits. "I'm used to working solo."
That mystery Super being spotted in the company of Thorn is none other than Spook, a man who has maintained a superheroic identity for some time but has only recently started using it regularly. And it's him who is hovering around the park with Thorn right now, bedecked in his usual white-fading-into-black costume, complete with its distinctive hood. He's not zipping around quite so much as his trigger-happy friend. His movements would be better described as floaty. Still, at least he's visible at all, which makes a change. The hood he wears doesn't cover his whole face, meaning his broad grin can be seen easily enough. "It is fine, my friend. Shoot at me all you wish," he offers, swiping his intangible hand through a nearby branch to display why it's not a problem if Thorn wants to go nuts with the crossbow. "Though please try not to when I am solid."
Flora is stopping to make a quick check on the park. Which means a 'walk' that teleports from here to there, seeming to step out of one plant, then step into the next, vanishing. She pauses in her flitting when she sees the pair of heroes. "Thorn. You're well?" She leans against a tree, the better to make a quick escape if needed. Her green costume fits her like a second skin, though she pretends to adjust her gloves just to give herself something to do.
"I'm not that shoot-happy," Thorn mildly protests, calming down as he hovers near the masked man again. "My ammunition is non-lethal, in any case. Entrapment. Paralysis spores that are not poisonous, all safe long-term. Still, shooting your partner is against the hero code, I'm sure. Or just bad form." His head turns as he hears a familiar voice, surprised because the park is usually empty after dark. "I am, tonight," he says, and floats down to face the woman, waving the man in black over. "Spook, this is Flora. Flora, Spook. Spook's new to the area, Flora I've met some time ago."
"Lethal or not, paralysis spores sound scary enough," Spook asserts, though the ever-present grin on his lips implies that he's not actually scared of his superheroic buddy. In fact, he looks quite the opposite, entirely relaxed and in a fantastic mood. That aura of cheeriness is momentarily suspended when a voice draws his attention to the costumed woman leaning against a tree. Briefly, he tenses. One never knows if a costume denotes a potential ally or a crazy psychopath. Sadly, he's met more crazies than good guys so far. Thorn's reaction tells him that he needn't worry, however, so he hovers towards the pair, becoming solid and alighting on the grass. "Hello!" he chirps in his accented voice. "It is nice to meet another good guy."
Flora nods to Thorn, "You had a bad day, it happens. You've been doing good work since then." She smiles thinly, "You should read how the press raked me over hot coals for letting that mobile plant escape… I still haven't found it, though it's eaten some of the fertilizer 'meals' I've left behind so it survived. Those two young hotheads who attacked it probably scared it under ground for the next decade."
Flora nods to Spook, "Nice to meet you. Though some will argue over how 'good' I am."
Once Spook lands, Thorn sets feet on the ground, his 'wings' stopping their beating and folding downward, like an insect's. "I don't know many," he confides to Spook. "But Flora here is one of the good ones." His head turns towards the plant controller, looking very interested. "You were there for that? I've tried seeking it out, but I wasn't seeing any signs. Who else was there?" A chance to study something like the plant creature? It's written all over Thorn's face.
Spook smiles in response to Flora's reassurance to Thorn. "You see? I told you not to worry so much." He just smiles at Flora's assertion that some may not regard her as entirely good, seemingly unconcerned. Apparently, Thorn's recommendation is good enough for him. As his companions discuss an altercation with some kind of creature, he listens with interest, a relaxed smile still sitting on his lips, his hands knitting together behind him. "Mobile plant?" he enquires, seemingly having no idea what they might be referring to. He should probably read the papers more. He's not going to pick up on many superheroing leads by perusing the fashion spreads.
Flora frowns, "Those two young hot heads, Dusk and Spectrum. I had the creature under control, had gotten it to release the person it was holding… and they attacked it. My control shattered in the face of it's pain." She smiles faintly, "I picked up every piece I could from the scene… the ones that lacked enough layers to be viable, I deep froze. But there were some complete cross sections, and I got three of them to root." Her face lights up at that. "It's a totally new species! I sent one of them to the New York Arboretum Special Collections, and its doing well. I'm raising the other two babies myself." She looks over at Spook, "The adult form is fully motile, capable of burrowing through the earth at more than twenty miles an hour… it managed only about five or six above ground. The infant form isn't fully mobile, but they have the cutest little tentacles they wiggle at the sun."
Before Thorn explains the news story about the mobile planet, Flora explains what she has seen, and what she has done. "A new species?" Of plant? Thorn is definitely into this. "Do you think it evolved naturally, or was it engineered? And it can burrow…what appendages does it use to do that? Do you have any of the non-viable samples?" He purses his lips. "I haven't met those two," he admits. "I don't…aren't they young?"
Spook looks suitably impressed by Flora's explanation, his raised eyebrows just visible in the eye-holes of his hood. "Burrowing at twenty miles an hour?" he whistles under his breath. He knows nothing more than the average person about plants but that sounds pretty incredible to him. An affectionate smile touches his lips as he watches the two discuss this unusual plant, their excitement evident. No wonder these two get along. "Dusk and Spectrum," he says, repeating the unfamiliar names. "They are bad guys?"
Flora nods, "I suspect it is engineered, so I really don't want it lose in the wild, but I can't support killing it either. It burrows using its roots and a special circle of tendrils around the base. I don't have any of the non-viables on me, but I can retrieve them in nothing flat." She looks over at Spook, "No, a pair of want to be heroes. If either of them is old enough to drink, I'd be surprised." She sighs, and shakes her head. "And like most adolescent male animals, their first instinct when confronted with something strange is to feel threatened. And when threatened, to turn violent."
At the explination, Thorn shakes his head. "If they're that young, their hearts are probably in the right place, but it's not something you start lightly. Jeez," he says. "Hmm," he thinks. "How many base generations they had to go through to get that result, instilling mobility as a positive trait then adjusting the extremities and a nervous system to burrow, not to mention increasing the physical resistance so they can burrow without breaking a limb…" A few hundred formulas scream through his mind. "I wonder how they did it." Ah, Science!
The sciencey planty talk is beginning to get technical enough that Spook is a little lost. He doesn't seem to mind though, he's perfectly happy to stand around and chat with other supers. Besides, he's become friends with Thorn so he really has to expect some plant chat now and again. He'll get his revenge by telling Colin all about how exciting the tunics at Milan Fashion Week were this year. At length. Hee. "I worry about young heroes. I am not sure they really understand how dangerous it is." He draws in a breath before his sunny smile returns. "We will watch out for them and be sure they do not come to harm." There, problem solved.
Flora's eyes sparkle as she speaks, "It gets better, it uses cholorphyll, but isn't dependent on it.. it has -three- different energy processing cycles going, with the most elaborate set of symbiotic microorganisms. I was analyzing soil samples in the area and some of what I found… well, I'll get you the data if you like." She tilts her head, smiling at Spook. "I worry about them too. I might not think much of humanity in the generic sense, but I tend to like them in the specific."
"I would appreciate that. Very much," Thorn admits, the scientist in him nearly jumping for joy over this. He touches the edge of his own goggles, considering his options. He knows what most eco-supporters think of him, and he's guessing Flora runs with them. He might be wrong. "If I run into one of them, I'll chat them up a bit, see what they're up to." He takes a breath, and puts his hand down for the moment.
Spook reaches out to pluck a browning leaf from an overhanging branch but then thinks better of it. These two are Plant People, they might get cross with him if he hurts a leaf. Instead, he just runs a gloved finger along the branch before letting his hand drop back down to his side. "I would offer to help you research but it is not my area," he smiles. Although he could certainly give the plant a lovely outfit to wear. "But if I can help in some other way, say the word," he adds to Thorn, since the other man is aware of his skillset. His ability to move unnoticed might help him to track the big plant without scaring it off, who knows.
Flora smiles thinly at Thorn, "Your lab is probably better than mine. I may not always agree with your work… But we've never found cross-contamination from your creations in the wild. And you don't work for Monsanto." If there is an Anti-christ on earth right now, as far as she is concerned, it is Monsanto's president. She looks over at Spook and smiles, "If something comes up, I will let you know. Though I probably should be offering to help you. From all I've read, the two of you have been much more active than I have."
There's a noise — like traffic is building up. Which is odd, considering that the nearest traffic's almost a mile away. A breeze kicks up - nothing to write home about. Warm.
Of course, then the two seem to increase at the same time. The traffic sound starts to sound more like ripping silk, some kind of glowing, shimmering light effect filling a small area about 50 feet away. Finally, there's a soft, muffled *boom* and an according hard rush of air as the glow solidifies into something like a doorway.
From which walks a blonde woman as though she were coming down a staircase or a ladder or something — and she's talking to whoever's on the other side while things are still open. "Listen, thanks for your help but I'm NOT changing my mind. I'm done. Take care of Ricochet, we all know he needs SOMEONE to watch his back — I just can't do it anymore."
Once on the ground, the woman tosses some kind of a device back into the 'doorway' as it starts to close. And then she dusts off her hands, and takes a deep, cleansing breath.
"These boots were made for walkin'," sings Leigh to herself, the telltale glow of a light-based heroine appearing in the sky off to the east and growing both larger and brighter as she closes on this location. "And that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." She continues humming as she looks down, the sound of traffic and breeze drawing her attention. Ripping silk. Shimmering light. We-eird. And so the teenaged heroine, oblivious to the fact that there are already adult heroes on the scene, drops down from the sky to see what's going on. Maybe she'll get to be the first to meet somebody from a new interdimensional race! Her face would be all over the news!
"Monsanto? That butcher?" Thorn has some people he just will not work with. "No way, but…we can always use any help, and I believe-" Whatever the plant-tech based hero was about to say is cut off by the sudden rush of noise. "Supposed to be empty in here," he says, nearly jumping out of his harness when there's an explosion-like sound. "The heck," he mutters, as the wings start to beat once he sees there's a…big glowing thing. And there's someone coming! On top of that, there's a glow from a portal, and a glow in the sky as well. His left arm comes up, the crossbow mounted there auto-loading. "Okay," he says. "Stay together until we can figure out what's…" A younger girl, and a woman. Both human-appearing? "Wait…who are you?"
Spook smiles when Flora refers to the recent elevation in his and Thorn's superheroing activity levels. "It is good… to…" His words trail off as the breeze and distant sound of traffic catch his attention. Instinct tells him something unnatural is going on. He knows all about unnatural things, being one himself. Distracted, he tilts his head around, tugging the edge of his hood so that he can get a better look at the park. Quickly, it becomes apparent that he was right to be concerned. The hard rush of air that accompanies the muffled boom passes straight through him as he shifts into intangibility and lifts off a few feet from the ground. His gaze snaps between the woman who emerges from the… whatever that was, and another girl who appears from the sky. He nods at Thorn's instructions, watching the strangers to see how they react.
Flora forms up on the side of Spook opposite Thorn, trying to put the plant powered heroes further apart, just incase the enemy comes armed with Agent Orange or something. If it is an enemy. Wait, she recognizes the girl at least. "Daybreak, right?" She gestures the younger hero over. "I remember you… you did a good job against those glowing cockroaches." Flora looks over at the adult woman… Now HER, Flora doesn't recognize. Or does.. hrm… nyah, can't be. "Welcome to Earth, Miss. Or is it 'Welcome back?'."
"Ease up, Crossbow, I'm a registered hero," Rebecca states plainly but without malice — even a smile — "I'm going to get my card out of my jacket, mmkay?" She moves at a comfortable pace while she opens the left side of her leather jacket and starts fishing around in the inner pocket, eyes flicking briefly to each of the others present — sizing up, no doubt. "…Hmmm. Hold on, not in that pocket." She starts patting her jacket pockets, eyes narrowing a touch while she does her best 'I'm Not Panicking!' face, and then she moves down to her legs. AHA! Back pocket.
Pulling out her card, any currently registered heroes present would notice right away it's OLD. It's in -great- shape, but the style is definitely old. "I go by Glitter."
Daybreak beams at the recognition. Flora remembers her, and this is just awesome. She's about to react in typically 'I'm a wannabe hero and recognition is my life's blood' fashion when the newly arrived blonde utters her codename. Leigh pauses, turns, stares.
"OHMIGOD!!!"
Only a teenager could speak the three words as one that way. "Ohmigod, you're really her!" Glitter might recognize aspects of one of her own costumes in the solid gold disco suit that's Leigh's hero-costume. Leigh has just crossed the line from wannabe to fangirl and seems capable of saying little more than, "Ohmigod!! You're so totally my hero!!" Pause. "Aren't you dead?"
As Flora greets the younger hero by name, Thorn relaxes just a little bit. It's the woman who just stepped out of the glowing portal that gets his attention. He watches her hand, only tensing up more when she said it's the other pocket. But when he sees the ID itself, he tilts forward, since he's hovering. "That's an ID. But that's…" He's catching the words from everyone around him, and for the moment he lowers his weapon. "Wait. Glitter?" He's trying to think. Something about that name seems familiar…
Like Thorn, Spook also relaxes a little when Flora recognises the younger of the two mystery women. Since Flora doesn't seem to think Daybreak is about to beat them up, he offers her a nod and a quick smile before turning his attention back to the lady with the hero card. Drifting forward to Thorn's side, he also peers down at the card, lifting his eyebrows. "Is this a special retro card?" he asks in his accented voice. "I did not know they were available in different styles." He wants one now. When the lady names herself, his gaze shoots back to her with recognition. He works in fashion, an industry populated largely by gay men. He knows who Glitter is. "Glitter! Hello! I am Spook!" He hesitates, growing confused. "But you… you are… you are looking very good for your age," he notes. He means it in a nice way.
Flora gives Glitter a sympathetic look, "I hate to tell you, but it's now Twenty Ten, Glitter. You've been gone for a while now." She looks at the group, "Do you registered type have a support group or something? Because she's going to need one when someone tells her about the book…" Oops, Flora just did! Hee! Bad little heroine. No cookie.
See the look? At first, it's just a raised eyebrow in response to Daybreak — "Uhm, no?" But it progresses as Thorn expresses some kind of issue, and when Spook first is sassy, and then gushes, her mood goes up! And then he says the eight words every woman over thirty but under sixty HATES HEARING. "Charmed, I'm sure," Rebecca sasses back only somewhat acidly, the rest of her retort stopped in mid-thought by Flora. And her mouth hangs open a little, and there's an awkward pause.
"Hahaha, that's a good one. You're really funny. There's no WAY it's 2010, nuh uh. Look at me, do I -look- sixty? I've been gone six years, seven TOPS. It can't possibly be any later than 1992." … Wait. "What book?"
Leigh hesitates. "Um. Ms. Glitter…" She doesn't know how to say this. This is her hero. Really. The music, the costumes, the powers. Everything. Just look at her — she's practically Glitter's sidekick to begin with. "It really is 2010," she says, voice pitched low. "I'd show you my driver's license, but, you know, my secret identity's on it and stuff." This -is- Glitter, and she'd probably show it if these other people weren't around.
"Holy crap, Glitter," Thorn mutters, as the others jog his memory. "But…" He lowers the hover, his feet hitting pavement again. He looks to the others, who recognize her for who she is. "Good lord," he mutters, and shakes his head. "No, no, they're right, Ms. Sharp," he says. "I've read the book, it is Two Thousand and Ten, and you've been missing since Nineteen Eighty Five." Pause. "I was born in April of Nineteen Eighty Five…" He looks around, and lets out a breath. "I have the book at my place."
Following Thorn's lead, which seems to be a trend, Spook also lands back on firm ground, becoming solid again in the process. As it dawns on him that Glitter is somewhat displaced from time and isn't a sixty year old woman with a great plastic surgeon, he cringes. This'll be more than a little confusing for her. He grins as he glances at Colin, nodding his head enthusiastically. "I have the book too!" He cringes then as he realises the book might not be a good thing for Glitter. It does have her secret identity in it, after all. Hesitating, he fishes in a pocket rendered practically invisible among the black of the lower half of his costume, producing from it his own hero card and stepping towards Glitter to show it to her. It doesn't have today's date on it but it doesn't expire until 2016, which is probably a clue that this isn't '92. "Um, the book was written by your, uh, your father," he explains symapthetically. He'll leave somebody else to go into the gory details.
Flora does the dirty deed, "The title is 'My Daughter, Glitter'… A tell-all book about your rise to stardom, and how your misplaced devotion to the powered lifestyle destroyed your music career. Your father made a small fortune off of it. Still shows up from time to time on those awful daytime talk shows when some young heroine is outed and her parents go on the air to wail about it. But hey, it keeps your name in the press, right?" And she steps behind Thorn, just in case Glitter loses her temper over that little revelation.
Rebecca suddenly looks really pale. She points at Thorn when he says her last name — but she stops herself from commenting to look at Spook's registration card. "So… what you're all saying is that I've been gone for -25 years-, I've been declared legally dead, my father has written a salacious tell-all book about my life," and here she looks at Daybreak, a mild form of horror disturbing her expression, "And that fashion has moved far enough forward that my castoffs are COOL again?" Her palm goes right up over her forehead - it's all too much to focus on any ONE of those things right now. In fact, she looks like she'd really rather just sit down — and can't. "This is what I get for trying to be subtle instead of making a grand entrance downtown," she groans.
"I'm a trend-setter," Daybreak points out, crossing her arms over her chest at the idea that she's possibly not cool. She is awesome, and don't you forget it. "Anyway, there aren't that many light-casting teenaged heroines around to take up the mantle and pay homage to you, you know?" Her teeth catch her lower lip for a moment and she takes a look down at herself. "You don't like it?"
"No, considering…" Thorn considers this for a few moments. "We were just here talking. Any other night it would have been empty, but imagine if you popped into the middle of downtown…" The hero flinches at that thought, and steps forward with a hand out as Rebecca seems to get overwhelmed by the news. "Okay, my place is closest," he says. He glances to Spook. "I wanted to show you another day, to talk about it, but I think Ms. Sharp needs to sit down."
Sliding his card back into his pocket, Spook cringes at Flora's description of the book. It's entirely accurate and not delivered in a cruel manner but still, it's not the most comfortable revelation to bear witness to. His sympathy shifts to Daybreak. He understands how important her outfit is to her. His livelihood depends on people caring about such things. "I think you look very nice," he offers meekly, painful aware that while Tiago Ferruguento's opinion of her wardrobe would carry some weight, Spook's means nothing. His looks back at Glitter with concern before Thorn catches his attention again. A smile touches his lips in response as he moves back to the other man's side. "It is okay, this is more important." He leans closer, a playful grin on his lips as he lowers his voice. "But I still expect dinner some other night."
Flora tries to comfort Daybreak. "It's alright, she's just in shock hun. My mom felt the same when the 60s came back into fashion. You look -great-." Says the woman with the fringe-topped green leather boots and beaded belt. She looks over at Thorn, then Spook, then Glitter. "Maybe you should take her back then, and I'll slip out. I'm not one of the registered-play-nice crowd… and I can always get you those plant samples later."
Rebecca shakes her head at Daybreak, "No, no, kid, you look awesome, I didn't mean it like that — I just…" And sudden shock does funny things to the brain, "…I MISSED an ENTIRE FASHION CYCLE!" There was all KINDS of awesome stuff she didn't get to wear and then feel stupid in and look terrible! She almost starts to -cry-. And then Flora's leaving, "You don't have to go because of me. I mean, I'm pretty sure I arrested your mom once, but really there's a whole lot of what the FUCK going on with me right now and a Voice of Reason that isn't afraid to say stuff that might upset me would be great." … Looking at the others, she adds, "Not that fans aren't awesome." Oh, and one more thing. "And since my ID is spelled out in a tell-all book, could you PLEASE all just call me Becky? Ms. Sharp makes me feel about a hundred."
"Oh. Um. 'Kay, Becky," murmurs Daybreak, moving closer to the heroine whose life she's tried to pattern her own after. A little. Without, hopefully, the dad taking advantage of her death. Her dad's rich as it is, sort of, so he probably doesn't need to, and she isn't going to die, so she's not that worried. She drifts closer to gently pat the woman's shoulder. "If there's anything I can do…"
"Well." Thorn says, and starts to lead the throng off. "On the plus side, it's safe to say everyone will be happy you're not actually dead. Though this is going to be a shocker. And it's Thorn. Not Crossbow." He stops, and turns. "Flora, that doesn't matter, especially right now. The invitation is for all of you." He adds a small smile to that statement, as he heads further into the woods.
Upon reaching a huge redwood tree, The tech-based hero taps the side of his goggles. "Rose," he says. "I come with four guests, granting access." Slowly, divisions appear in the trunk of the giant tree, and a door opens, leading inside!
Spook understands Becky's pain. "Do not worry, Becky. I… know a little about fashion," he admits, glancing to Thorn as he does so. "I can walk you through everything you missed, and I will make sure you are wearing all the right things by the end of the week. Everything will be okay." Spook probably doesn't really believe that everything will be okay once she's sorted out her wardrobe but… well, okay, he might think that. He offers Flora one of his big smiles as he moves to follow Thorn. "Yes, come with us! We can see Thorn's home!" This is a source of excitement for him, mainly because he's nosey. His curiosity is well rewarded once they reach the Redwood. He was expecting a plant theme inside, maybe some floral wallpaper but this… wowser. "Thorn…" he whispers, again leaning in to his friend. "You live in a tree!"
Flora smiles a little, "Alright then, I'll tag along." She pauses as the redwood opens, eyes widening. "Do you have any idea how many times I've lounged in the branches of this tree? Or used it for a teleportation anchor?!?" She mock swipes at Thorn's head, missing by a good six inches, then just laughs. "I'm descended from trees, but I never thought of living in one… I think I'm a little jealous."
Becky follows the others to the tree - at least temporarily soothed by Spook's reassurance about fashion - although there's something else that's bothering her but she can't really place her finger on it at the moment. But it's definitely backfiled, for sure. "Well, for hiding in plain sight, it probably doesn't get any better. I really appreciate this, I… if I'm dead, I've got no money, I've got nowhere to go… although I SUPPOSE I could go crawling back to dad…." and then she laughs. "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaah, that'll happen."
Daybreak pauses, then withdraws a cell phone from her costume and checks the time. Her eyes go wide, and she bites her lip again. "Ms. Gl… uh… Becky, it's SO great to meet you and everything and I really can't wait to learn everything from you but… uh… I'm out way past curfew and dad's gonna check my bed in a couple minutes so I gotta run." With this run-on sentence behind her she leaps up and flies away rapidly. "BYEEEE!!!"
===< The Redwood >---------—-< #300 >===
Inside the giant redwood, there is actually living space, and due to the size, there's a lot of room to go around. The main area is a parlor of sorts, with wooden-framed furniture grown out of the wooden floor, the upholstery on which seems to resemble thick leaves and petals, and are as comfortable as any cushion. There are monitors all over the place, as well as a large one in front of the furniture that resembles a television, save that the casing seems to be grown out of the same wood as the floors and furniture. Off to the right is a multi-monitored computer array, the interface and chair also grown out of the walls and floor. There are at least four doors that can be seen leading out of the main room, presumable to living facilities and amenities. The lights that dot the walls and the 30-foot high ceiling inside the tree are seemingly made of a soft phosphorescent fungus.
EXITS
Out……………………….<O>
===---------------===
As Daybreak flies away, Thorn waves, and wishes her a good journey before leading the remaining three heroes through the door into the tree. Inside, it's hollowed out mostly, since the giant redwood functions as his home. "Flora, no worries," he says. "I grew the tree to have this opening, so no carving's been done. If I ever shut this place down for any reason, then the tree will still live." It seems important for him to get her opinion on this, considering her background. "But one day you'll have to tell me about the born of Trees bit."
Once they enter the main area, Thorn takes off his goggles. Spook knows who he is; he might also be recognized as young botanical scientist Dr. Colin Reed. Looks pretty young for a doctor, too. "Rose, this is Spook, Flora, and Glitter."
The large monitor screen…which is made of something that looks like glass, glows. "Nice to meet you," the computer says, in a feminine voice. "Glitter? According to my databanks, the only hero named Glitter was believed to have died-"
"Greatly exagerrated," Colin replies.
"Don't sass me."
"I am /not/ sassing you."
"Well, at least this gathering makes it look like you have a life."
"We have a bit of a problem," Colin says.
"I stand corrected," Rose says in a try computerized tone. "What is it?"
"One, please set the kitchen to active mode. Coffee, hot water, and I can get my own beer because this is going to be a long one." He then takes a seed from a pouch on his pocket, and sets it out on the floor, before lifting his hand. The seed sprouts into…chairs and a table, with some monitors and interface keyboards. "Patch into the setup there, please," he says. "And bring up my E-file of My Daughter, Glitter."
"Are you sure this is the late Rebecca Sharp, Colin? If this is her, she should be much older than she appears."
The young man knows enough to glare at his AI. "Dimensional Travel on a differential parallel of our universe Spacetime vector."
"Understood."
"And I will need more beer."
"Also understood."
Spook also offers a cheery wave to the departing Daybreak before entering the tree. It feels somewhat surreal to be walking into a tree, which happens to be the home of his crossbow-wielding friend. Life has certainly taken him down a curious path. His jaw hangs open as he looks around at the interior of Thorn's Redwood, eyes round as saucers under his hood. When his friend begins addressing the screen, Spook is almost unsurprised to hear it respond verbally. It's crazy and off-the-wall enough to fit in perfectly with tonights events. "It… is nice to meet you too, miss," he offers tentatively. Somehow, he manages to break from his reverie long enough to return his attention to Becky. He considers taking off his hood since Colin has just revealed his face but decides against it for now. He's not sure why. "Do not worry, you will not need to go back to your father," he says gently to Becky. "We will do everything we can to help you… uh…" The Portuguese man pauses as he searches for the right word in English. "Reintegrate! Yes, we will help you reintegrate back into society. You will be okay."
Flora is looking around, her hand running over the tree surfaces. Despite Colin outing himself, she keeps her mask on. She's also putting out plant pheromones, almost despite herself. "Hmm… well, the short version is that my mother, the first Flora, wasn't human. She's what used to be referred to as a Dryad. My father's human… Well, assuming he -is- my father, that she didn't just self-pollinate. She refuses to give me a straight answer on that." She smiles at Becky, "That's why the jails couldn't hold her. They didn't understand what they were up against. And it's why I can't register… revealing my identity to the government would reveal hers."
Reintegrate? "I wasn't in PRISON, I was in another dimension!" Becky tells Spook through a 'Really?' face. "Needing to go back to my father isn't really a question anyway. He cut me off after college when I decided to pursue music, we've spoken all of… I think twice since then." Colin of course has said many fancy words, but the ones immediately preceding the use of her old codename stuck. "E-File?"
"Electronic file," Colin explains, rubbing his hands together. It's not a gleeful gesture; it's just an affection for when his brain is going a mile a minute. "A text file to be viewed on the computer there," he indicates the table grown with his powers. "Searchable, saves natural resources since it's not on physical paper, too, and…" Something hits him. Twenty Five /Years./ "And I will make sure Rose installs the tutorial interface for you, Becky," he says. "Technology has taken some leaps in the time you've been away." He turns. "I'll get the drinks," he adds, before heading out elsewhere.
Spook looks suitably chastised when Becky is less than thrilled with his choice of words. This isn't a new experience for him, saying the right thing in English isn't always an easy task for him. "Well… I will try to help any way I can," he offers meekly. He should probably stick to the clothes. He sits himself down on one of Colin's awesome plant chair thingies and listens to Flora's amazing story, before watching as his friend makes his exit. A smile touches his lips as Colin disappears from sight, before he looks back to Becky. "So… where did you go? Another dimension, you said? Were you kidnapped?"
Rebecca gets a little miffed. "We had Gopher and CompuServe's CB Simulator in our bases when I was with the First Metahuman Brigade, I'm not UTTERLY helpless." Of course, never mind that she was only just getting started using that stuff when she bailed for the Extradimensional Adventure of a Lifetime. She sits herself down at the table, though, she can't help but make a smirking face at the cover image from the book on the screen. At least the picture doesn't suck. She looks over her shoulder at Spook, and shakes her head. "No. I met a boy, fell in love. He turned out to be from another dimension and needed help fighting a revolutionary war back at home, so I went with him."
Flora smiles, "Love's what made my mother retire from being an eco-terrorist. So you went back with him… But you're here now. The revolution is over? Or things didn't work out between you?" She heads to the kitchen, fixing herself a glass of water. "And can I get you a cup of coffee since it's going?"
Gopher? CompuServe? Spook knows not of what Becky speaks but he nods politely anyway. He smiles when Becky says she left for the boy she loved, and when Flora notes that her mother quit crime for love. He's an old romantic. "I would like a coffee if you do not mind," he offers to Flora with a smile, before returning his attention to Becky to hear more of her story. It's quite a tale so far.
"I think it's ALWAYS a Revolution there. And things worked out hunky dory for us for… well, clearly for a lot longer than I was thinking. But it's weird—" Becky's ignoring the screen now. She hasn't had the chance to say this all OUT LOUD yet, so she's definitely taking the opportunity. "When we met Ricochet, he couldn't remember anything but his name. And then when he remembered and I went back to 'his place' with him, things were good. And then he lost his memory again and disappeared, and I would have to go find him. I'd remind him who I was and who he was and what was going on, and we'd be in love again and go back and rejoin the fight."
Becky takes off her jacket, twisting a little awkwardly to hang it over the back of her chair, then resumes her story. "It happened more than once, too. After three times, I stopped counting. Every time we'd come back, something had changed, and we'd have to fight even harder. But it kept happening - again with the amnesia, again with the dimension-hopping… it started wearing on me."
Flora brings Spook his coffee, and Becky a cup just in case. She herself sticks with the water, sipping it to be polite. "I can imagine… Having to start over again like that, again and again… and with the fighting." She sips her water, frowning. And the saddest part is, with his amnesia, this Ricochet will likely not even remember her. "Actually, no I can't. I can't imagine what that must have felt like. And now you've come home, only to find everything has changed." She goes pale as a thought hits her, and she looks over at Spook. "She… wasn't here for The Quake."
Spook accepts the coffee and uses a smile to get across his gratitude so that he doesn't have to speak while Becky is telling her tale. He sips gravely at the steaming drink, contemplating the same thoughts Flora speaks aloud. He's about to comment on it himself when Flora mentions The Quake. "Oh. Yes." Exchanging a glance with her, he swallows hard before turning back to Becky. "Something happened while you were gone," he starts gently. "There was… an earthquake. A big one. A lot of people died." He pauses, skin growing cold as he remembers just how awful those days were. "Los Angeles was destroyed. A new city was built in its place… San Angeles. That is where you are now."
National Tragedy on top of great personal existential angst doesn't wear too well on Rebecca. So instead, she deflects! "Just my luck - the Big One finally hits, and my dad lived through it to write a book." She doesn't laugh, though, because none of it is funny. "Ok, so on top of everything else I have to contend with, not knowing exactly where I am can be added to the list. Fantastic."
Flora gets up, and starts pacing. "Yeah, it was THE Big One. Some asshat built a mall called The Quake, and I swear if I ever go villain, I'll burn it to the ground." Her eyes show whites around the edges. "Berkley fell into the ocean. San Jose, Hollister, the Diablo mountain range? Sea front property now. San Angeles stretches now from Simi Valley to Chula Vista… I came out in the Quake." She gives Spook a faint smile, "Lots of heroes did." She looks over at Rebecca, "Some super scientists got together, and well, we're now about four to six stories above the old Los Angeles - San Diego area on an Earthquake proof platform. It also means the largest completely man-made eco system on earth… not a natural hill or creek to be found."
"Yes, I always think that the mall is not very tasty." He means 'tasteful'. Spook smiles when Flora mentions coming out in the aftermath of The Quake, nodding his head slightly to indicate that he did the same thing. He even helped in the building of San Angeles, though his contribution was miniscule at best. The are only so many ways a ghosty guy can be helpful in such an endeavour. "Now, San Angeles is a thriving city. It has its problems, of course, but that is what we are here to deal with," he says, again throwing a smile in Flora's direction. "Colin's computer will be able to give you maps of the area, I am sure," he adds, though he imagines the inconvenience of finding her way around will be the least of Becky's troubles.
With the conversation turned to things she barely knows about, let alone can really let sink in to process to have actual feelings about for the moment, Becky has turned back to the screen and - ignored the mouse, going straight for the 'page down' key. She pages pretty quickly, skimming through things… then goes back several pages. Glares. Starts paging down again furiously, "Oh, I am nooooot a happy camper."
Flora glances at the screen. "Um… you might want to get a good night's sleep before you hit chapter nine… I'm just saying." She glances worriedly at the back of Glitter's head, then looks away. Trying to change the subject, she looks over at Spook. "So… How long have you and Thorn been dating?"
"And chapter twelve," Spook adds, through a cringe. Poor Becky. He eyes her for a moment or two, just to be sure she isn't about to implode and level Thorn's lovely tree in a blinding berserker rage. She does look very cross but he's pretty sure she's not about to turn violent. He doesn't get to contemplate it any further though, as Flora's question catches him off guard. "Oh. We're… um. Oh." He's usually quite confident and unembarrassed about matters of the heart but there's something about addressing such things while he's Spook rather than Tiago which throws him. Who knows why. "We are not dating. I mean… he's nice. And… he's nice. But no. Not dating." Smooth. He hesitates, glancing at the door in case Colin is about to return. "But he is nice."
"Handsome, too - not dating why?" The opportunity to talk about New Friends is priceless, and Becky's not going to pass THAT up. Of course, she IS a little distracted - "I SO DID NOT!" clickclickclickclickclick!
Flora grins, "Yes, why not? I mean, he's cute, he's nice… Ok, he's a gene-warper, but he's responsible about it. You're both heroes, you've been going out on patrol together I hear… So it's not like you'd have to hide your other life from him. And well, it seemed the two of you were… getting along well."
Spook squirms a little, which is most unlike him in situations such as this and he isn't at all happy with his reaction. "Um, I do not know. I mean, we have not known each other for very long. But… he is… he is… yes. I do like him." Ooh, an admission. "I was planning to… I mean, I was thinking about asking him on a date. So. It is early days. We will see." It doesn't occur to him that Colin's clever computer probably heard that whole exchange. Oops. By this point, he has virtually squirmed himself into another dimension and decides that it's high time someone else talked. "What about you?" he asks Flora. "Are you seeing anybody? It is hard to make a relationship work when we do what we do, yes?"
Flora shakes her head. "No… I mean, I met a guy before the quake, he was a plant-human hybrid, lab born not natural… but he was the only person who I met who stimulated my mind and my body. But he died in the Quake…" She sighs, looking off broodingly. "Physically, I'm more interested in pollination than sex. But mentally, my mind needs more stimulation than just an orchard in spring, you know?"
"Oh, you two are precious. It's like anything else - you date the kind of people you live and work with, just like everyone else. And relationships are -always- hard." Becky's still listening. "You can make anything work as long as you want it bad enough. It just doesn't always turn out how you plan - but at least you've got the memories of the good things. Don't let the bad things keep you from moving on." She gets to the first page of chapter 5, though, and her face turns bright red. And not in an embarrassed way.
Spook nods along with what Flora's saying, sympathetically. He can relate to being different and viewing the world, and the people in it, differently as a result. His worldview isn't quite as problematic relationship-wise as Flora's though. "I can see why that makes it hard to meet guys," he replies. He seems quite inspired by Becky's speech, a smile touching his lips. "Yes. Yes, you are right. We will be okay, I am sure."
Flora says, "Well, if I /did/ date, it would have to be a hero. Otherwise, sooner or later she or he'd notice I don't need to sleep, or breath, or eat or… well, any of that human stuff." She blinks. "Oh, that's right… you all need to sleep and it's late. I'm sorry, I've been being thoughtless… and I should get back to patrol."
"It was nice to meet you, Flora - tell your mom I'm glad she found love and gave up being evil." Of course, Becky'll probably be up all night reading this damned book.
"It is okay!" Spook says quickly, with a smile. "It is very nice to meet you. I do not have many hero friends, it is always good to make new ones. Be safe on your patrol," he adds, before glancing in Becky's direction. "I will leave you with your book for a moment while I find out where Thorn has got to," he says, before disappearing through a wall in search of the missing Colin. Maybe he fell into his beer.
Flora says, "It was nice meeting you… And I'll tell mom." She grins impishly, "Though she maintains she was never evil, of course."
Flora steps out into the wall of the tree and just vanishes.
