Summary:Firestar and Flare foil a baddie and make friends. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
  |
Life is good for a genetically-engineered uber-fraulein in a universe not her own.
It has been some time since she was throw out of her world into this one. From 1993 to 2019, and such CHANGES! She is in a state of continual amazement at all the advances in food, technology, medicine…everything! She now had a "smart phone" (although she still had to tell it what to do, so how smart could it be?) and had even gotten a few modeling jobs under her belt. Even THOSE were different. Two of them were for companies that made VIDEO GAMES, and don't get her started on how THOSE have changed.
She also had her own place now - no more austere room at the SHIELD base. Her own ID, her own address, and even a bank account now.
But right now, it was going back to basics - the black costume, the white half-cape, the domino mask, the star earrings, and the flared boots.
Teresa was FLARE now, and she was soaring almost lazily through the sky, a bright point of light in the late dusk of the day.
And then some DUMMKOPF has to ruin it by yanking a woman out of a car and jumping into it to drive off.
Flare marked the direction, and sighed. Time to be a heroine again.
Angelica Jones is, on the other hand, still really new to all this stuff. She's had her powers for a while, since puberty, but she had a bit of a bad experience and took some time off. But now she's got a costume and some plans to do…something good, in the long term. This patrolling thing still seems a little weird. Like, how do you know when bad things are going to happen?
Oh, wait. There's a thing. That woman seemes very, very unhappy about being pulled around like that. As you would.
"Hey! Not nice!" she says, swooping down, her own figure wreathed in radiant light as she lands, hands on her hips in her golden bodysuit, face hidden behind a stylized domino mask.
The woman, a rather dignified businesswoman, looks at the car receding in the distance. She brushes herself off, then blinks as Firestar lands near her.
She says quickly, "I'm all right, really young lady, don't mind me. It's my CAR, though. That young man took it!" She points down the street as they see the object of light soar off after it.
Think, think, think. What can she do? The car looks expensive, so blasting it is poor planning. Marksman would have lectured her about it. At length.
Maybe he will listen to reason.
She flies lower.
Mick is grinning. Got away clean, and the chop shop is two miles away. He can make a grand off this car, eas…
Someone knocks on the window.
Mick looks to his left, and is flabbergasted to see a beautiful blonde smiling at him. Then he sees the mask and cape. Flare actually sees him say "Oh CRAP!" even though the window is closed. So so motions to him to roll down the window, of course. Can't have a proper dialogue otherwise.
"Oh. Yes. I. Well. I just wanted to make sure you were okay!" she says.
She takes off and goes to fly in pursuit of the car only to see someone else fly up beside it. Guess she's not the only hero in the neighborhood.
She tilts her body a bit and swerves off to the side, speeding up until she's on the other side of the car, waving to Flare cheerfully as she begins to engage the thief in question.
Mick rolls down the window just enough for him to sneer at the blonde, "Forget it! I ain't going back to prison!"
Flare spots Firestar and smiles. Oh, good, she doesn't have to do this alone, and two minds are superior to one. Plus, she can hear him now.
"I really think you do not have a choice. I think it's just a matter of HOW it happens. I think the car you stole really means a lot to the one you stole it from. I would HATE to have to damage it. And she and I will just follow you until you get to where you planned to go."
"She?" Mick looked around and sees Firestar and GROANS.
Angelica Jones nods in agreement, "She's right. It would be really easy to stop you but, like, I would definitely hurt the car, especiallyw ith you going so fast. And maybe you, because you'd be like OH NO MY TIRES and you'd crash into a post or something. C'mon, just slow down and give up, pretty please?" she shouts. She does keep checking herself as she flies along, making sure she doesn't crash along the way as the two of them fly alongside the stolen car.
Mick tries bravado. "When I get there, you two are TOAST!"
Flare smiles. "I think not. I'm willing to wager your 'friends' will not be happy to see you driving into their property with a two-superheroine escort. I have faith the fiery redhead is VERY capable. So imagine how they will feel about YOU after the police raid their home…after we're through with it, anyway."
She was guessing, but the stricken look revealed it was a good guess.
"So…slow down, stop, step out, give yourself up to the gendarmes, and get a lighter sentence. Plus, imagine how your friends feel once they heard you turned yourself in rather than bring trouble to their doorstep?"
Angelica Jones flies around and manages to land on the hood, settling on her knees as she just gives off a powerful, radiant heat. It won't damage the car, but it's still intense enough to make Mick there break out in a sweat. People tend to feel more pressured when they get all sticky and uncomfortable.
"Or bring us! We'd be happy to say hi! Then you'll all go to jail together. I'm sure you'd have fun slumber parties!"
Mick is convinced. Flare can tell by the fact he is slowing down. And maybe it's because his windshield is occupied by brightly-glowing girl and he is sweating like a politician in front of a grand jury.
When the car stops and he jumps out, he is bathed in sweat. He sweats badly, though. The inside might need cleaning.
Flare smiles to Firestar, then beams at the carjacker as a cop car pulls up. "I think you're in good hands now. And remember, if we see you doing this again, we are going to have MORE fun than we did today."
Flare turns to Firestar, then points up to a nearby building with a water tower. "Join me up there?"
Angelica Jones smiles to the police, "Hi. I didn't write a report. Sorry," she says. Her last team up with Heavensent included him filling out an incident report for the cops. It was all very official.
She flies up when asked, swooping around and moving to land on the rooftop, grinning, "It's always easier when they just give up! Nice to meet you. I'm Firestar!"
Flare rises up, glowing slightly as she glides up to the roof. She smiles as she lands in front of Firestar. "Pleased to meet you, Firestar. Cute code name. My name is Teresa, but I go by the code name Flare. My powers are photokinetic in nature." She winks. "I'm a living solar battery."
Angelica Jones cocks her head, "Are we supposed to exchange real names? Is that bad? I dunno. I tend to keep mine quiet, but I don't want to be rude!" she says. "That's neat. My power is microwaves. I can melt guns and tires and I can cook an egg in ten seconds," she grins.
Flare chuckles. "It's all right if you don't reveal your name. All the enemies I would have to worry about are in the universe I came from, and I wasn't exactly keeping it a secret there, either. So you don't have to tell me your name…unless you truly want to." She winks, then looks down at Mick being cuffed. "I was hoping he would see reason. No sense causing destruction if the end result is the same and the victim doesn't have to suffer because of it."
Angelica Jones blinks, "The…universe you…came from," she says, shaking her head for a moment. "Well, um…yeah, that's something I should get used to, I guess," she grins. She hasn't been in the superhero world much and is still kind of a regular girl in a lot of ways. "Angelica," she says at last. Why not? There are lots of Angelicas in New York.
Teresa smiles. "A lovely name. It suits you. Hello, Angelica." She looks around. "Well, I hope I can get used to it as quickly as you do. Two weeks ago, it was 1993. The culture shock has been startling very frequently. The World Wide Web…sorry, you call it the Internet now…has grown beyond anything I could have guessed. There are networking websites for models, now. It certainly makes my life much easier when looking for work. Modeling and acting."
Angelica Jones blinks, "I wasn't even born in 1993," she admits, "Yeah, I bet that would be, like, really confusing. I can maybe help a little bit with the latter. I do a little bit of modeling. I mean, not big time or anything, but I know a few people. You definitely need to figure out the Internet thing, though. Everything's digital now."
Teresa nods, still smiling. "I did have a very fun modeling gig. Playing a space commander for a game company at a video game convention. Oh! I have pictures!"
She reaches into her cleavage and promptly produces a slim smartphone. She presses the button on the side, then taps icons. "Let's see. Gallery…one week ago…Ah!"
She holds up the phone for Angelica to see, and it shows two people in a convention room. A booth with a starscape in the background and spaceships framing it.Teresa is there in a skintight latex catsuit with shiny armor plates over it. Next to her is an orange-skinned toned redhead in armor reminiscent of the alien from the PREDATOR movies (fishnets and scared armor plates), looking suitably ferocious while smiling.
Angelica Jones grins, "Wow, those are pretty neat! I usually just get to wear, like, denim skirts and pretend to be a high school kid for online catalogs. Back to school gear!" she says with a playful grin. "I can still pass for a little younger, for now, at least. I'd show you my ph one, but I can't carry one in my costume. My powers usually fry 'em."
Teresa ohs. "Oh…oh, yes, of course. Microwaves. That makes complete sense. I wonder if what Sparkplug wore would work. My sister, but her powers were from electricity, not sunlight." He looks thoughtful. "A quandary." She stops, then asks, "If I'm not being too forward, how old are you?"
Angelica Jones laughs, "No, it's fine, um, I'm 21. In college," she says. "Well, most of the time. When I can pay for classes. WHich is usually lately, although I don't take as many credits as I should. But I'm still not sure what I want to do, so my dad says it's okay if I take my time."
Teresa blushes slightly. "Well, I apologize, and yes, you are very good at modeling, indeed." She takes a breath. "I miss having someone to talk to like this. I used to talk to Rose, our telepath., all the time about things. She and I came from different backgrounds, but we could always talk."
Angelica Jones smiles, "I know what you mean. I used to have, like, classmates who were mutants like me, but…that didn't really work out," she says. "And I don't know any other superheroes really. I was thinking about trying to join a superteam, but I don't even know how you do that. Like, do I send in an application?" she says, blushing a bit at the compliment.
Teresa chuckles. "There actually was a government agency that was like a matchmaking service, finding teams for solo heroes or newly-discovered heroes. I don't know if they have that here, though." She beams. "But, I can give you my number? We can try working together, and maybe we can find others who feel the same way we do about helping people and doing it smart instead of going in powers blazing."
Angelica Jones smiles, "That sounds great! Probably easier to give you my number since, like, I don't have my phone," she says. "I know there's SHIELD here but they're like spies and stuff. I know a guy who does work with them some. There's paperwork. Gross."
Teresa looks thoughtful. "Well, that should work out. I can call you if I am thinking about patrolling and such and seeif you can join me. And if one of us finds modeling work and can recruit the other? Apartments are EXPENSIVE here."
Angelica Jones laughs and grins, "I know, I still live with my dad and my Nana," she admits. "I do have to help him out a little at his work, too. Which I don' tmind. At least I know how to fix things around the house!"
Teresa looks puzzled. "What is wrong with living with your family?" She taps her phone to find the place to create a new contact. "My sister, Olga, joined the Champions, and we have worked together many times. Family is important."
She steps closer, holding up the screen where the name field says simply 'Angelica.' "Is that correct?"
Angelica Jones smiles, "Thank you! I totally agree, but a lot of people expect you to be independent by this point. Don't get me wrong, I'd like the privacy, but it's the best I can do right now. Plus, like I said, I can help," she says, looking at the screen, "Yup, that's me!"
Teresa smiles softly. "All right then." She hands the phone to Angelica, her exposed fingertips (fingerless gloves, odd fashion statement in 2019) lightly touching Angelica's in the hand-off. Teresa' s cheeks flush slightly at the contact, but says nothing.