Disclaimer: I don't own.
:}
Jade felt good as she made her way home. 'Cat's powers are easy enough to learn. Their nature, kinda telekinetic, that takes some understanding, how she generates some kind of telekinetic exoframe that enhances her strength and resistance, even reducing the actual amount of force and damage she felt to a fraction of it's normal. Cat is a juggernaut, and can dish out and take loads and loads of damage when her field is up. Plus, it distorts light enough that she looks different, while also protecting against light based attacks. Betting she can also move that exoframe, which means flying. Girl can potently even find a way to trap air, or filter air, so she's gonna be able to survive a LOT of different environment. Also, the symbiote hinted she might be able to develop other psionic powers. No idea what she'll be able to do, probably won't be that strong, but she may be able to communicate mentally during a fight. Only downside, we'd be able to communicate, unobstructed, at most times, and that means she can tell me all about her brother, or whatever other crazy things going on in her life, and I won't have an easy excuse to just tune her out. So, maybe we make sure I can disconnect if we teach her that part.' Jade smiled, thinking of the possibilities.
"And you're home." Eric told her. "Wild, how much things have changed, huh?"
Jade looked at her probation worker, wondering what he was hinting at. "Oh, right, you're a bit behind the times as to whats going on in Project Redemption. Yea, things changed loads after Masters was ousted, but V, she's been very direct as to where we've been going, so after the initial shift, things just, they've felt like they're changing slowly. Guessing if you only see it from time to time, it looks drastic."
Mister Walker sighed. "I'm dropping two other people off today, including the new recruit. That's all the way in Venice. Not that long ago, it looked like they'd only ever have one, maybe two there, and probably no one was leaving without a court order."
"Or in cuffs." Jade nodded. "Yea, V's made the place someplace I don't mind doing my community service. Only downside, I'm kinda dating…" Her blue eyes focused. 'What do I tell him…'
"Wildcard." Eric said. "Who we're not supposed to know is V's daughter. Yea, I was briefed. Turns out, she took what was supposed to be Steel Coppers job of grounding you. From what I've heard, the nature of her powers, maybe the best choice…"
"Yea, but it's starting to play havoc with my mental stability." Jade admitted. "I mean, I'm happy to have so many friends there, but Cat, she's my oldest, and possibly best, friend, and to have her infected by some alien virus thingy, even if it worked out in the end, kinda freaky."
"And you blame Wildcard?" Eric pushed.
"I blame her powers." The pale girl clarified. "Long term, having someone with those powers around would only help." She took a deep breath. "Problem is, while I can see why Cat was chosen, cause she is my friend, and I CAN see how Tori's powers influenced how Cat gained her powers, what kind and how much control she has now, I'm still very protective of her. Cat that is. Not sure I ever want her exposed to the kinds of dangers we'll face."
"Except, with her powers, maybe she'll be better able to survive." The probation assistant countered. "Not just heading in, facing it straight. Given the threats out there, the things you're inevitably gonna face, just being one of your friends may come to be a dangerous proposition. Having those powers may well save her, and others, lives."
"Okay, then how do I get some powers for Harris." Jade wondered, stepping out of the car.
"Constable already… You didn't mean him, did you." Eric wished he'd just driven off as soon as she was out of his car.
"Naturally!" Jade groaned. "Look, go, give Cat and… Who's the other ride?"
"That Shapiro kid." Eric said. "And he's not even probation."
"Tell him to just get a ride with Steel Copper." Jade snapped. "Next time. Right now, I doubt Copper stuck around. Boys a good guy, but he doesn't often think of his friends the right way. Ask for help, he's all in, but if you just need someone, him being proactive, I think he works best if he has someone with him to think of what needs doing, and to help him do it."
"Maybe he missed what you needed, but I can't believe he never took initiative." Eric felt odd, defending a man he hardly knew.
"He did, when it came to Vega." Jade sighed. "Sometimes, I think he really wanted to be her man. Then, we broke up, and he wound up…." Her blue eyes focused somewhere else. "Single. Man, this is gonna be hell, cause no way in hell he stays that way, and the best option, now, is someone he has no interest in. So…." She exhaled. "Man, this is gonna be a problem."
"I don't work tomorrow, so someone else will be picking you up." Eric told her. "Given how early you're meeting, I'd expect an eight AM Pickup, to give you time to get to headquarters get changed, and THEN get to your meeting."
"Right, see you Monday then." Jade told him before rushing in and taking on her homework. 'Never assume that there will be time later, cause even as good as Misses V is, things do happen...'
The next morning came far quicker then the goth would have liked. She'd been up a while, doing her homework, making sure she was maintaining her grades. After the whole Masters fiasco, she'd needed all the help she could get to drag her grades back up. 'Hate to admit it, but it really wasn't that long ago when I gave up. I honestly gave up, was ready to die, and I was saved by V, and her desire to have this program run humanely. Fuck, she even does it based on the science, what has the best results, and it's fucking humane.' It made her want to succeed, simply because they believed in her ability to be better. That, and they were willing to fulfill her grandfathers wish, give her a shot at the life she wanted.
The pale girl had been up for an hour, finishing up her work and getting ready for this meeting, and so wasn't surprised when a text came in letting her now her ride was there. She was, however, surprised, and a touch fearful for her life, when she saw who was driving. 'Trina!?'
"Hurry up, we don't have a lot of time, and need to get you changed." Trina called.
"HIIIIIIIII" Cat added from her place in the back seat.
Jade got in, and buckled up. "So, to headquarters?"
"Yea, and I wanted to go over whats gonna happen." Trina explained. "Wildcard is with Dad, and once we get you changed, we'll all ride in with Blue Steel. Told him I needed my own car, a special type car like he has, but then V insisted, I only get one if I go full time, and I'm not ready to do that yet."
Cat leaned forward, and whispered just loud enough for the front seat to hear. "I think Trina's in this somehow, and not just because her mother looks like this V person. Do you think, maybe, Tori's in this too?"
"At the meeting, if we decide to go public, at least with our code names… If we speak with the press," Jade told her friend, "You, don't talk. Just, let us handle all the tough questions, like, well, even if they ask you something, let us handle it, kay."
"Kay kay." Cat agreed, and settled in for the ride to this mysterious meeting.
"She didn't know, did she?" Trina asked Jade.
"Yea, guess it gets so easy to assume, given how this group is... I have no idea. Whatever." Jade inhaled. "So, when does Dre get powers?"
"You do know his cousin is Constable, right?" Trina asked. "Yea, guessing I'm just giving away the farm today, aren't I?"
"Purpose of this meeting is to give us all a chance to come clean." Jade surmised. "Cat, gonna have to talk to Karl, see what we can do to prevent her from just telling everyone. I mean, god, this group. How the holy hell did we wind up with so many members from…." She stopped herself before she told her best friend something the loose lipped girl would text to the world. As is, only the cell blockers Trina had in her car were keeping their secrets safe long enough to help Cat learn a touch more self control.
"Yea, sometimes it feels like she has no self control." Trina agreed, even as she was smiling at the normality of the conversation.
"Guys, I have self control." Cat exclaimed. "Why else do you think Rob is still a virgin?"
"His off putting personality?" Trina guessed.
"Damn, you took mine." Jade added. "Wait, lets just say Rex."
"Okay, there is THAT!" The petite girl admitted. "Still, I don't share everything. Most things, yes, but not everything. I mean, I wanted to tell people about my new abilities, but how do I do so without admitting I did something naughty. I destroyed cars on the beach. I.. I'm a monster…" Her mood was taking a nose dive.
"I did more damage on my first outing." Jade shifted, trying to comfort her friend. "Course, it was down town, and so it was way easy to tear things up. Plus, okay, I haven't calculated the cost of those RV's you tossed about, but some of them weren't damaged that badly, and... God, this isn't a contest, okay!" She snapped towards the end.
"How's the burn?" Trina asked Jade.
"Karl got me this salve, and it's helping." The pale girl admitted. "Said he couldn't risk me being de-powered too much longer. It means, the amount of power I had with I faced Cat, and damn, more then I thought I had, but that's kinda gonna be my limit for a touch longer. However, after another week, with that chiz, he swears I'll have my full strength again. THEN, I leave enchantment to the experts, and focus on my strengths."
"Funny, Jade's mom is dating a Karl." Cat told Trina. "I wonder, same person?"
"There are a lot of Karls in this world." Jade told her friend. "But yea, and he thinks it's dumb to just call him K. Thinks he deserves a better code name, like The Enchanter."
"Kay kay." Cat chirped. "Jadey, I think something funny is going on, cause from what I can tell, our friends, or my friends, cause before this, you and Trina here, not friends, while you both were mine. However, for whatever reason, my friends seem to be having the weirdest things happening to them, cause you, Trina here, both seem to be in this new life I'm living. Plus, from what you said earlier, I can only assume both Beck and Robbie are somehow involved. Don't worry, you don't need to tell me, I'll figure this out, all on my own. Just…" The girls face shifted into a far away smile, something that worried both the girls in the front seat.
They reached the police headquarters, and quickly made their way down to the project space and got changed. "Thinking she'll start working with Reggie soon." Trina speculated as they all headed to their respective rooms. Cat found her costume was a jumpsuit, a courtesy mask, and her TK field distorting her visage. She was debating some other costume, something cuter, as she got dressed. "Time enough to change this chiz later, after." Trina had told her.
"Okay everyone, let me have your attention please." Came over the loudspeaker. "Dahlia will be traveling with Blue Steel. Wildcard and Warpath will go with. Achilles Junior and Steel Copper will both travel together, with Copper flying, and Junior using his ability to glide to just be towed. Bastion, I'm not happy about this, too many traveling in one car, but you can ride with Blue Steel. Should have Dahlia fly, except we're pushing the idea she's Steels sidekick, and as such, riding with him."
"What about Phantom?" Someone asked.
"The Velvet Phantom will be meeting you there." The loudspeaker replied. "If she's willing, she can give people rides back. Maybe make Steels car less crowded."
"Okay, folks, our chariot awaits." Warpath called, letting everyone know the now tall and solid woman was ready.
"Where's Wildcard?" Dahlia asked.
"Already at the car." The warrior woman explained. "Lets see if we can squeeze in, or if they should just sign me out a motorcycle."
"Like the last option." Jade smirked. "Okay, lets see what we can do."
Blue Steels car was a modified police cruiser, an SUV with enough rear space to fit three people, plus one passenger in the front. As they settled in, with Jade in the front seat with her mentor, Cat noticed she'd been squeezed in between the two other girls in the back seat. Taking a second to look Wildcard over, she leaned over to ask the girl "I think Blue Steel is your father."
"What now?" The fledgling heroine asked.
"Tori, I think Blue Steel is your dad." Cat repeated. "Same body type, plus it would explain how you got that neat costume without me making it for you. I should have sewed myself something, cause this costume, it's not cute. Maybe something in pink and purple?"
Shrugging, Cat then leaned forward and asked "Mister Tori's dad, did you know your daughter was Wildcard? And why is she called that? Does she have some kind of trump power? Can she maybe sell real estate?" She giggled at her own joke. "Seriously, did you know… You did, didn't you, cause the way your trying to ignore me says you're very well aware that both your daughters are now metaheros, and that would mean this tall mass of female muscle is.. Trina…?"
Jade glanced at her mentor. "Scary, right? Cat can put things together fast sometimes, so we're gonna have to stay on top of what she knows, and make sure she's not sharing that with just about everyone. Girls has trouble knowing what not to share sometimes. I have the Enchanter working on it."
"Yea, that names kinda long for a support person." Blue Steel told his sidekick. "Okay, Bastion, we keep this kind of thing secret, cause…"
"Which one is Robbie?" Cat asked. "I know he got himself a job with probation, cause of Jade, but I doubt anyone wanted him teaching how to have more Rex's, so I'm assuming he is somehow one of the other two." She glanced again at Warpath. "I'm gonna assume, based on the fact I didn't see him, that he can shift forms, or that armor isn't as form fitting as it looked. Based on how it moved, I'll guess it adds at most a few inches, making Beck the most likely to be inside, cause you guys gave a nod hello, saying you knew him, and that armors more Beck sized. THAT means that Robbie is somehow that tall mass of muscle and nervous energy I saw. God, he was so cute. I wanted to show him off, maybe all over my friendspace profile? Anyways, that Has to be Robbie, cause no way in hell anyone that good looking would be as awkward around me, even for the few seconds we passed in the hall, so I'm thinking it's our boy, and how the holy hell are people doing that? I mean, please, he must have weighed in at over two fifty, easy."
"CAT!" Jade snapped. "Just, lets not worry about any of that. We have a meeting to go to, and from there, we decide what we're gonna do., You and me, we're working off our probation, so we have to do some heroing. The others, all volunteers."
"Cat, relax." Warpath said, her deep voice calm. "Soon enough, we'll make it all really clear. Soon. Just, time for a meeting, cause Blue Steels car, it may not travel any faster then any other when in city mode, but we weren't that far from LA Justice's base. Yea, people, it's showtime!"
The car stopped a short drive later, and the well known police hero let the four girls out of his car and released them to the waiting press. They'd not bothered to announce the meeting, but the simple fact that the city had reserved a meeting hall in the LA Justice base had raised eyebrows. Now, seeing two known heroes getting out of a very known vehicle, only for the police hero to then drive off, left the press hungry to know more of what was happening. Pictures were being taken, reporters selling this as a major shift in the law and order community. Something huge was happening, that's what everyone seemed to think, and so Jade found herself polity avoiding questions as she walked towards the building.
"Warpath! Warpath! Can you tell us whats going in inside? And the girl in the black dress, she was seen fighting the short one just a few days ago, at the beach? Can you explain whats going on?"
"At least introduce everyone." Someone else called.
"God, people, read your press releases." Warpath said, stopping long enough to give a few quick words. "The Black Dahlia is one of our redemption projects, being shepherded by Blue Steel himself. It's working out so well, we decided to give this poor, confused girl, code named Bastion, a shot at becoming a hero too. In fact, that's the whole reason for this meeting. So many young heroes popping up, the police decided we needed to talk things out, make sure we're all on the same page. And don't you worry none, Dahlia and me, we're here to make sure Bastion plays by the rules. Gonna be so good when we succeed, cause her strength, greater then UltraBro."
"And who are you?" Someone asked Tori.
"Wildcard, reservist and someone you don't wanna see if your a lawbreaker." Tori smirked. "Odds of you getting away disappear when I'm on the scene." She looked at Jade's concealed, but annoyed face. "Look, we gotta get going. There WILL be a press release once we're done here. Several new recruits to introduce, and we have… Lets just say, things are gonna be so sweet now, what with us protecting the city."
The girls walked in, and Jade whispered to her girlfriend. "Did you HAVE to say it like that? And whats this about a press release?"
"Dahlia, relax." Tori purred. "Just giving them something to write about. I get it, you're our big gun. Me, I just tweak the odds in our favor, and help bring new people to the fold. I mean, think, of all the people who could have discovered that alien thingy, Cat found it. Cat, who we know is good. Gonna make her the best hero."
"I want a Girafficorn on my costume." Cat said, and Jade glared at her friend. "It's like a unicorn, but a giraffe…"
"Yo, Super chick dudes!" UltraBro called out. "Glad to see you made it. Dahlia, they tell me, we haven't seen your true power yet. So looking forward to the day we do. Bastion, glad to have you on our side. Warpath, you over eighteen?"
"You DON'T wanna find out." The known heroin replied, walking past the friendly surfer hero.
"Pleased to meet you." Cat said to him, shaking his hand as she walked past. The tall, solid surfer just smiled and nodded.
"Dude, it's too early to be stoned." Jade snarked, and made her way past.
"Ignore her, she's just…" Tori looked for the words.
"Yo, no prob. I totally get it." Bro said. "Girly is on the rag. I cause that sometimes. Just, yea, whatevs, right?"
'So wanted to like him.' Tori thought as she walked into the meeting room. A commotion caught their attention, and Tori was able to peek out to see Velvet Phantom making her appearance. She seemed more then happy to speak with the press, giving a quick interview before being herded in by Achilles Junior and Steel Copper.
"Everyone here?" Warpath asked.
"For the first meeting." Phantom replied. "Got us some others who'll be here for part two, after the very important part one." She scanned the room. "Make sure we're alone, kay?"
"On it." Jade said, sending her familiar, Koval, to secure the space. "Okay, no one can spy on us now."
Meredith took off her domino mask, thus disabling the perception field, reveling herself to everyone. "Since I kinda, sorta read minds, I know who everyone is, so…"
After a brief pause, Warpath finished the thought. "Welcome to the Hollywood Arts part of the meeting." With a deep breath, she released the alternate form, shrinking to her Katrina form. "You all know me. In fact, you all know everyone here."
:}
So, there you have it. Lots of prep, but it's time for the Hollywood Arts members of the metahuman community to come clean and explain themselves. It helps that they can now help control Cat, who is far to observant for her own good.