Aberrant: 200X - Twin City Duet

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

Sean arched down through the clouds, grinning as he confirmed that he could read a map. Minneapolis’s City Hall was below him, rapidly coming into focus as Sean finished the last leg of his trip. The young nova was a little tired; he’d used a lot of Q getting here, and getting through customs in the Keys had been a pain in the ass. The US officials had given him a lot of stink eye and made a lot of unpleasant noises, but they’d let him through.

His red hair glistened with a healthy sheen as Sean flew in, dropping onto the sidewalk before the building. It was a forbidding place, though the style was familiar to someone who had lived on the east coast most of his life. The dark bricks rose to copper roofs, now green with tarnish. An honest-to-god clock was in the tallest tower. The grounds were nice, though the heat was a little annoying. After the cooler backwards winter climate of South Africa, the muddy heat of the Midwest in high summer was a bit much. He hadn’t notice while in mid-flight but now it hit full-force.

Well, Ensign Minneapolis said to meet her here, Sean thought, looking around and tugging his black eufiber t-shirt straight. His jeans hugged his body comfortably, down to his steel-toed boots where a flare in the fabric allowed for the tops of the shoes to fit under with ease. I’ve heard she’s hot – hope she is. While he was willing to play nice and make friends, he would enjoy this a lot more if his guide was as interesting as the scenery.

Clearing his throat and nodding at the kid staring at him, Sean took a seat on a bench and waited.

[The Mariner]

One of the LRT trains rolls by in plain view down the former avenue re-purposed as a light-rail route. The Hennipen County Government Center looms larger, but the open space in the center of the building still allows light to reach the plaza in front of the hall in the winter and spring. But with the sun over head and temperatures in the soupy 90s, a result of a never-ending chain of recent thunderstorms in the area, it is obviously a Minnesota summer.

Mary walks up to Sean, her shoulder-legnth red hair done up in a bun on the lower back of her head with a scrunchie and a dark navy-blue outfit that has a nautical touch to it. The wide brimmed, navy blue hat shades her face, although she's not worried about sunburn, it is cute. Not that she needed help. She walks to his bench and offers a hand.

"Hello. You must be Sean." She says with a friendly, warm tone. Very much in contrast to her previous work as a XWF fighter. Also the lack of a Minnesotan accent was very obvious. She sounded more of the city mouse. Speaking in a clean American English. "I'm Mary... Mary Masters. Of course you know my other name... but let's keep this informal." She adds with a smile.

This is the best part of the job. Previously she only got to meet novas either in the ring or in promos. And that was behind a full robot suit. And the encounters were usually... hostile.

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

“I am Sean,” the young nova said, standing and taking the offered hand. His voice had the sound of somewhere east but it was muted and mixed with hints of a South African accent. Sean was one of those people who couldn’t live somewhere without it leaching into his voice, at least a little. His smile was easy and relaxed as they shook and released. He was definitely not hostile toward her.

She is pretty, he mused to himself, deciding that this vacation was likely not to be a waste of time after all. If nothing else, his guide should make for some nice scenery. “Thanks again for agreeing to show me around. Let me know if I’m taking too much of your time. I mean… don’t you have to do defense stuff? I’m not sure what a muni-def does, in all honesty. All I’ve ever done is work as an Elite.”

[The Mariner]

"Well, my position is mostly a PR thing it seems... I'm just here if needed otherwise I have to make Minneapolis look good. Although I wager if St. Paul ever got a Public Defender, I'm sure some sort of duel would be arranged moments later." She says with a frown, but then her expression improves.

"So, I hope your trip here was uneventful, and I wager since you flew here you're probably drained a bit. If there's one thing there is plenty of here are restaurants. Any particular thing you prefer?"

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

“Wow, that’s nice of you,” Sean said with a grin. Sitting down for a while and eating did sound like a great idea. He’d recoup some of his quantum just sitting on his ass and stuffing his face. “I really could go for something all-American,” he told her. “They’ve got really good food in Windhoek, but it doesn’t taste right. I’m not sure why – must be the knowledge that I’m not chowing down on it in the U.S. of A. That doable? I can do something else if not.”

He really didn’t want to make the choice. Sean was the guest but he had always felt more comfortable letting others call these kind of shots. What if she was a vegetarian and got sick watching him scarf down grilled cow? One couldn’t be too careful when making a good impression on a hot babe.

[The Mariner]

Mary looks relieved. He made an easy pick. "My favorite recently closed down, unfortunately, but I've found a new place that is an adequate replacement. It's just down the way in the south side. They make the best bar food around." She says with a smile.

"So, don't mind being carried as I fly there?" She asks just in case he'd rather take public transportation.

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

"I still have enough juice to fly myself," Sean said quickly. Not that he objected to being carried by the sexy sailor, but he had a reputation to maintain. He couldn't be seen being carried around like a little kid.

To prove it, he lifted off the ground a handspan. "Just lead the way." He gave her a crooked grin that had charmed lots of women, hoping it would work this time.

[The Mariner]

"Excellent... Just mind any metal objects you own, please." Mary says stepping away from anything that is ferrous.

She then starts to hover, a metal pendant around her neck floats up as if influenced by anti-gravity. "Magnetic manipulation. The core of most my abilities... That's why I gave warning. Follow me." She says, slowly and silently rising up into the sky.

She rotates around to get a lay of the land before finding a land route to take reference from. Namely Cedar Avenue. "Okay! Let's go!" She goes horizontal and flies at a save pace back down to tree-top level, to stay out of the air-traffic leaving MSP.

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

Ok. So a naval theme going on with the uniform and the name... but not with the powers? Sean gamely shrugged after a moment of contemplative flight. He was tired but a good tired, and there were few things better than a casual flight through a new city with a pretty lady. A pretty lady who had given him zero vibes of interest, sadly. Still, a bachelor about the town took what he could get. Especially when his two best female friends were wicked pissed at him. Sean still wasn't sure what had caused that situation. He stayed far enough away from her to not make her nervous, but he didn't need to worry about her magnetic manipulation; even the sunglasses pushed up into his red hair were made of eufiber and he hadn't carried any change in a long time.

[The Mariner]

She looks at Loki. Not what she expected. He seemed... reserved for an elite. He was interesting to her, in a way that someone from a new land is to anyone who sees the strange visitor.

She's not a stranger to conflict. She's had a few, but someone who's a known warrior is a different beast all together.

She pulls along side as they clear the Metrodome. "So... tell me about yourself."

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

"Eh?" Sean blinked at Mary; he'd been absorbed in his own thoughts and watching the city pass by under their bodies. "Oh, well. Not much to tell. I was a normal kid, then I erupted. You had to have heard about it - I set off an EMP blast in a hospital ER. A mugger was brought in by the cops and he pulled a gun and shot my mom." He frowned, his hazel eyes troubled. "I didn't mean to - you know how it can be in an eruption. But I killed some people, and caught the NIC ward, too. It was a couple of years ago in Baltimore. Anyway, Utopia was trying to make me a ward and making it hard for the Danaes who were serving as my wards and DeVries offered to take me, too. So I went with them. They've been training me and paying my legal bills. I mean, there wasn't a big trial over the eruption - no nova's been prosecuted for erupting, yet, even if there's collatoral. But some of the families have filed civil cases against me."

Sean shut himself up before he went any further. The civil cases really bothered him, in part because he agreed with them. But he also wasn't really at fault; he'd have done anything to not cause that tradegy. "Anyway, that's me in a nutshell. What about you? How'd you come to be Minneapolis's muni-def?"

[The Mariner]

"Well, you are aware of my participation with the XWF? On my last match I sort of had a coming out. I can't really discuss much of my background, NDAs are more effective of a muzzle than a gun to your head at times." She says with a chuckle. "But after the match, I talked with the Mayor who was looking to bring on a nova as a Public Defender... bit of a face, yet fully capable of defending herself and the city if needed."

She adjusts her dress as she reaches Franklin and Cedar, and starts to follow the southbound Cedar. "The Mayor was looking for a local girl. Someone not a DeVries node for hire who'd probably forget where they were a week into the job. So... everyone got together and figured out what sort of identity I'd have on my duties. I thought the mautical theme was rather cute... most others would have protested but this is the city of lakes, in the land of 10,000 lakes and a bloody big lake north of here. So yeah..."

She chuckles as they reach Lake Street. "So I did a little training, rode with the police on a couple cases, and here I am."

She sees that perhaps her words softened him from the depth of bad and worse he was drowning in.

[z-Sean "Loki" McCline]

The red-headed 'DeVries node for hire' was quiet for a moment. "I have forgotten where I was occasionally," he deadpanned, then flashed her a grin when she glanced at him. It was a grin that had charmed many women in the past. "I'm usually good to know where I am after a week in one place, though.

"Got any family in the area? I assume so, if you're a local girl," Sean asked, looping over and floating under her so he could face her. Putting his hands behind his head and crossing his ankles, he looked utterly relaxed. He'd look like any other teen boy lounging on a couch, only he was floating on nothing as he smiled at Mary.

[The Mariner]

Mary giggles "Yeah. They live over near Lake Nokomis in the more high-tax area along the Minnehaha Parkway. Nice area if you can stand the airplane noise from the airport. Even with the sound baffling technology in aircraft these says you still hear a low-frequency whine." She says, looking up ahead. "And here we are." She says happily with a giggle as she hovers down gracefully to land in front of what looks like a bar built into a duplex. Large red letters emblazoned saying "MATT'S" on the front and side.

"Welcome to Matt's Bar, home of the Jucy Lucy. And Nova friendly I discovered in portions. Gotta pay a little extra but you get the nomms."