[Fiction] From The Ashes

[Mithril]

From her vantage point on the floor, Meghan watched Danielle launch herself into the ceiling and become stuck there like a dart in a board.

"Oh, nice," she mumbled under her breath, feeling the beginning of a good rage coming on, "my date can't handle her high." More loudly and with a hint of forced formality she continued: "Yes, let us. I think some air would be a good idea."

Instead of the front door, however, Meghan led Danielle -- by the elbow -- to the ladies' room.

"You're not going outside covered in plaster," Meghan explained in a tone that would brook no argument, "Not unless that's how you also want to be seen on N! tomorrow morning. We'll get you cleaned up first, and we'll figure out what next from there."

What next indeed? she wondered. No matter. Sort that out later. First get her presentable again, and sober would help.

[Magnum Opus]

Knockout feels her stomach sink. Oh great. Great. Oh God. I bunged it.

She lets herself get dragged into the ladies' room. She's mad. Shit. I just - I leapt too high and I didn't want to land on her and -

I don't feel drunk. Am I?

Hey, this place is classy.

Knockout looks aroudn the ladies' room for a moment as she enters. How is it that all women's restrooms look so much nicer than the men's? They have flowers in here and music, and I was always lucky if the men's room had soap. Is that a couch?

The men's room always looks like shit 'cause it's maintained by men, that's why. Knockout feels her blood run a little cold. And I think I just reminded her that I still think like one.

[Mithril]

Meghan made a beeline for the vanity, where she retrieved two hand towels. She soaked one, wrung it out, and looked over her shoulder to Danielle.

"Come here please," she said with elaborate patience as Danielle continued to stand awkwardly just inside the entrace. "It's time we cleaned you up."

Proffering the damp towel, Meghan looked Danielle over carefully and decided that Danielle's eufiber was now too soiled to go outside as it was.

"Your eufiber is pretty grimy now," Meghan pointed out. "You ought to take it off and rinse it in the sink while we're at it."

[Magnum Opus]

Knockout nods numbly at the first thing Meghan says, but freezes slightly at the second.

Take it off? But - but -

"But... it's all I have on. I..."

You know, everyone on the OpNet's seen that video. And she's naked too. And you screwed up. And you are filthy. And...

She sighs, and puts one hand in the sink. The eufiber liquifies, returning to its default grey shade, and flows off her body, revealing more and more flesh by the moment. She pauses to remove her wallet and a few personal electronics, depositing them to the side, the finishes the process. She stands back from the sink as the last of it trails away, leaving her in the altogether, and Meghan might notice that she's trying hard not to look at herself in the mirror.

She turns back to GMOT, nude except for the concrete dust on her face, looking clearly embarassed. She sucks in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I just - " She sighs, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry."

[Mithril]

Meghan smiled and sighed as she dabbed at Danielle's face with the moist towel. With an epic show of restraint her eyes resisted the incredible gravity well in Danielle's bosom, and she looked Danielle in the eyes as she worked.

"It's not that big of a deal," Meghan said, her tone softening, "nothing we can't fix, anyway."

With a few final dabs, Meghan had removed most of the dust and rubble from Danielle's face.

"Clean your outfit and get dressed," Meghan said, and have a seat on the sofa so I can fix your hair. Meghan tossed the grimy hand towel into a basket and crossed to the sofa to wait there.

And to watch Danielle dress.

[Magnum Opus]

Knockout turns back to the sink, washing the eufiber furiously.

"I shouldn't have lept up that high, I know. I just got lost in dancing and then someone moved in right where I was going to land, and I panicked and..."

Her shoulders slump. "And I hope they don't make me pay for the ceiling I just flew into."

I don't think she cares. I think she's just embarassed that I couldn't hold a couple of those drinks. Hell, I'm embarassed. I wonder what the others are saying about us...

Satisfied, she touches the eufiber again, resolving it back into her usual white/black/blue bodysuit with short cape and belt, the latter of which she stuffs full of her personal items. It's lost its silver sheen.

She walks over to the couch and sits, examining the floor tiles.

I ruined her evening. She wanted to dance, or have sex; I just wanted to talk. And she's cleaning up after me because i was tossing down drinks like Coca-Cola. Christ. Fuck. Can't even do this right.

[Mithril]

Meghan closed her right hand and concentrated on a new shape. Her fingers knitted together and a hairbrush formed from her metal flesh, as if she'd gripped it in her hand. Meghan began brushing the dust and rubble from Danielle's hair, occasionally sweeping bits of the debris from where it landed on her shoulders.

"So you made a mistake," Meghan said, gently running her brush-hand through Danielle's hair, "no big deal. I'm sure lots worse things than that happen here all the time."

Meghan picked through her thoughts for other subjects to discuss, so that she could spend more time brushing Danielle's hair. She enjoyed the quiet and non-sexual intimacy of the moment immensely. It was an almost simian pleasure, grooming someone she cared for. Meghan hoped that Danielle would find it equally soothing.

"So, you said something about fresh air. Did you have anyplace in mind?"

[Magnum Opus]

Knockout calms down quite a bit at the sensation of Meghan's brush-hand in her hair. Mm. That's... nice.

"I, uh. I saw a beach on the way in. It's deserted this time of night. I know it's kind of late, but sometimes when I get nervous I put on this chip of the sound of the ocean and... and I could sure use it now." Knockout forces herself to stop bouncing her knee.

So, I wonder why you're nervous. Could it be the fact you're in a strange city where you don't speak the language, and where you have no passport? Or that you're in a club full of novas that're freaking you out? Or that one of them wants to have sex with you after knowing you for an hour?

I just want out of here now. I want to go somewhere and be alone with my own thoughts.

... no. No I don't. I'm so tired of being alone. God, I'm so alone.

"I was going to just go there on my own, but..." She takes a deep breath, and reaches up, grasping the brush-hand gently. "I'll understand if you wanna stay, and I don't think I'm drunk so I'll be fine, but..."

Spit it out, you monumental pussy.

Hey, now. That's not an insult any more, is it?

"Did you maybe want to come along...?"

[Mithril]

"Okay," Meghan said simply. As she continued brushing Danielle's hair, her thoughts wandered.

Poor kid, she thought. I'll bet she had nobody to help her after she erupted, nobody to welcome her to the club and help her understand what it means to be a nova.

"You're not very comfortable around other novas yet, are you?" Meghan asked, emphasizing the word other. "It's pretty plain to see. You really need to spend some time getting used to the idea that you too are a nova now, and that those people out there are the only ones on earth that will truly understand you."

"That doesn't mean every nova will be your friend or your best confidant, though," Meghan continued. "We're all damaged in some way. Eruption leaves scars on a lot of us, and thanks to nova politics we're just trading a set of baseline problems for a set of nova problems. A lot of novas have baggage which makes them downright loony."

"Still," Meghan concluded, "You are who you are now, and there's no going back. You're going to have to learn to accept who you are and make peace with it and live your life by the new rules and make the best of what you've got."

Meghan finished brushing Danielle's hair, and she stood from the sofa and extended her hand to her.

"Rule one is that when you find a nova who is less damaged than the others, you listen to her advice," she smiled. "Let's go listen to some waves."

[Magnum Opus]

Hmm. Ptesan-Wi said the same thing. Maybe they have a point.

... then again, I've never really felt like anyone really understood me. I never talked to anyone, not really. There was always a wall. I thought things between me and Carol were going that way, but...

Maybe tonight's a good time to change.

"Okay. Waves. Yeah."

She stands up and stretches. "Uh... can you fly, too, or do you want me to carry you? Oh, also - that reminds me - "

She digs through her belt, pulling her digital camera free. "I, uh, sort of promised this online pal of mine I'd take some snaps of this place. Do you mind...?"

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

Stellar looked over to the stranger, a small bit of surprise which faded almost instantly as she seemed just to be happy meeting other novas and relaxing. She beams her infectious smile and slips a cigarette from the pack, placing it between her lips as she lifts a hand, extending one finger, the very tip of which suddenly bursts into flame. She taps the end of his cigarette, setting it alight and does the same with her own, tapping it just a bit father past her tender lips before the flame fades away, her finger none the worse for wear.

“Thanks.” She says, lifting her glass up and nodding slightly before taking a drink.

“A rush, eh? Hmm.. maybe I have some quantum expression I didn’t know about.” Stellar joked giving a wry grin as she took a drag off the cigarette, watching the end flare and burn down a bit. She blinked several times, surprise obvious on her face as she pulled the cigarette away and looked at it and the pack on the table.

“What the hell?”

[Machina]

This girl deserves her name every inch, I can tell that much, already. Her quantum shtick ain't working on me, but even without it, she's all stellar, alright. Makes me wonder what I'd think of her if I could dorm down. She flahes me a coy little smile, takes a nail from the pack and lights both of ours with a flick of her finger. I gotta admit, though, it ain't her finger I'm watching. Those lips are something diabolical. Girl's got class, too. Goddamn.

She takes a drag, and I smile a little bit myself as I get the typical reaction whenever I share my smokes. Taking a long, cool drag that sets my blood on fire, she flutters her eyes in confusion for a sec before drawing back, checking out the nail and then the pack. "What the hell?"

I chuckle a little bit, taking a long drag, myself, blowing the smoke in a jet towards the ceiling. "Sorry, I shoulda warned you. Straight-up tobacco ain't done it for me in damn near a decade, so I lace my Luckies with a little Andrenocilin. S'the only thing that gives me a bit'a kick, y'know?"

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

Stellar stared at the cigarette for a moment, listening to the explination and then shrugged, slipping it between her lips once more.

“That’s pretty spiffy.” She commented with a amused grin, taking another drag and blowing the smoke away out of the side of her mouth. She took another drink and set it back on the bar, casually looking the stranger over.

“So what brings you here? Hoping to entice women with the promise of a nicotine rush?” Stellar asked, a grin lingering on her lips as she adjusted her sitting position at the bar, slipping one foot behind and around the other, catching the foot rest between the heel of her sandal and the arch.

[Mithril]

Meghan smiled at Danielle.

"I can fly," Meghan said, "But if you want to carry me, that's okay too. I don't know about the camera, though. That's kind of touristy. I think it'd annoy a lot of people."

[Magnum Opus]

"Oh. Well, one of just you, then? I promised him I'd snap at least one."

,,

Quote:

MegaFlex: And you're gonna snap me all the little pictures you can?

Kayo: I'm sure gonna try. I dunno how subtle I can be though.

MegaFlex: Dude, even one would be cool. I hear that the Phoenix Room is a league apart from the old Amp Room. I would kill to get a peek inside.

Kayo: I'll do my best.

Okay, granted, I think the last place he wants me to take snaps is the women's bathroom...

Then again, you never know. They have a couch. Wow.

[Mithril]

"Okay," Meghan replied without hesitation. Anything to get this over with and get to the beach, she thought. Meghan reclined on the sofa and flashed a smile. "Will this do?"

[Machina]

I smiled back, dashing the stub of my cigarette out on the bar and snatching another, packing it in a little bit to pass time while I talk. "Nah, nothin' so insidious, beautiful. I don't get out too much, and when I heard that Frankie and Ronnie were having this little party, I reckoned a few people I know might show up, too. For catching up with old friends or f'r makin' long-overdue introductions to others, I figure this is about as close to ideal as a guy like me's gonna get." I cracked her a smile that told her I wasn't taking myself too seriously. "'Sides, I ain't done much enticin' of anyone of late. Most dames, they just don't interest me." I draw my Zippo and light my smoke, inhaling deeply.

I let out a small laugh, as if just remembering something, which I just am. "Christ, here I am yammering on and I ain't even told you my name yet. You," I point my voice at her, "You're Erin Donovan, I know that much. I've seen some of your fights. You're damn good. And me?" I stab myself in the chest with my outstretched thumb. "You can call me Gerry." I breathe smoke, and inhale again, smiling a little wryly. "Figure you'd probably know me as 'Machina', though."

I shove my mitt out to shake, wondering if she's going to take it, knowing who I am, and more importantly knowing what I am, or at least what kind of reputation I've got, namely that of being a real pain in the ass to some folks who'd like to see me take a long sleep, and a real bastard of one, at that.

"Good to meet ya' close up."

[Magnum Opus]

"That's great. Hang on..."

Knockout turns on the camera, and nods her head side to side in frustration. "Sorry, it takes a while to warm up. Doo dee doo dee - there we go."

"Now just put your leg up like that... yes, and tilt your head - perfect. Now hold that - "

click! vzzzzt

"Awesome." She shows the pic to Meghan for her approval. "Shall we, then?"

[Mithril]

Meghan rose gracefully from the sofa, not by moving her limbs, but by changing the shape of her body such that she flowed from the prone poistion to a standing one in a liquid manner.

It was something she'd practiced at Flicker's house when she was bored, and she hoped it was erotic. She thought it was.

"Yes," Meghan purred. "Let us."

[Magnum Opus]

Knockout takes a deep breath as Meghan changes shape in front of her.

Oh, be still my beating heart. What she could do with that...

A side effect of Knockout gaining rudimentary super-speed is that her mind works equally as quickly when she wants it to. It does so now, ticking down a laundry list of possibilities at super-speed.

Okay, stop. Don't get ahead of yourself here.

Knockout grins, and hooks elbows with Meghan as they leave the restroom. They beeline straight for the same exit that Knockout entered through, for those who preferred to fly.

As she exits, she spots the same bouncer. She blows him a raspberry as she lifts off, Meghan shifted into the form of a giant falcon, flying alongside her as they head for the coast.

(off to new thread: "Life\'s a Beach." )

[Li Ai Jun Yen]

Ai was much surprised when a waiter came up with Procyon's drink - which sounded a little too... exotic for her - and a fruit smoothie and handed them over.

Her eyes flashed to Procyon and she murmured a soft thanks before taking her drink, sipping it delicately as she remained silent amongst the novas of her partner's acquaintance.

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

“Thanks. So you’re Machina, eh? Odd. I figured you could stand to set foot in this place. The music would dive you mad or something. That, or you’d start ranting and assault the DJ and try to find some place to play your cassette tape.” Stellar said with a amused chuckle.

“But hey, I tell you what. I am having a much needed break and a great time at this club. Screw it up for me, and you’ll be taking your teeth home in a baggie. Otherwise, cool. Nice to meet you.” she added as she took another drink and jingled the ice around in her glass casually before setting it down and taking another drag from the cigarette, causing the end to flare for a moment.

“So what bring you here then? Frankie and Ronnie?” Stellar asked as she looks around for a moment, casually scanning the crowd looking some recognizable nova who might fit either of those names.

[Machina]

The little lady catches me laughing at myself. She ain't bad at all. Busting my rocks like a champ and I've barely introduced myself. Awfully snarky. Awfully rotten. Awfully mean.

Awfully goddamned cute.

I grin widely to let her know I'm playing along. I like a woman who can take as well as she gives. She asks me who Frankie and Ronnie are. Funny. I figured everybody'd know. I gesture with my thumb over to the knot of crazies buzzing around the pair. "Singularity and Co- Samhra, over there. Frankie and Ronnie. Word on the street says they put this little prom on." I smile at her with a wicked eye and take another drag. "As for what brought me here, well, if you'd asked me a few minutes ago, I woulda told you that Vulcan was looking for a rare night of socialization up on Olympus and thought he'd check out the new digs." I give her a long, hard look, taking in the bumper curves she's hiding underneath her clothing. "But I gotta be honest, if you're askin' me now, well, I gotta say I came for you, y'beautiful, blonde, ball-breaker."

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

“Ohh. I really don’t know their names.” Stellar commented, looking over at the group of novas. “They are just Sing and Samhra to me. But yeah, they suggested we all come here tonight. Honestly, haven’t met them yet. I walked in and didn’t know anybody, so I just started dancing and blowing off steam. Figured I am hella recognizable, so sooner or later on of them would grab me.” She spun around in her seat, turning her back to the bar and lifting her elbows to let them rest on it as she reclined a bit which had the unfortunate effect of pushing her bust out a bit. The blonde nova looked over the crowd, her eyes moving from the group of novas to scan over the dance floor.

“And it looks like as soon as I step off the dance floor they start dancing in droves.” Stellar said, her eyes still drifting over the crowd, identifying a few novas from what she knew of them on the boards.

“Vulcan, eh? I prefer the Greek names. Hephaestus has a much nicer ring to it. So if you are Vulcan or Hephaestus, then who does that make me?” She asked as she turned to look at him, a wry grin on her lips as she took another drag from the cigarette.

[Machina]

It'd be downright criminal of me not to sneak a look at the goods while they're there, so I do. She can't blame me for this one; she ought not put 'em on display so nicely if she didn't want the attention. Who'm I kidding? She probably loves every second of it. I know her type. I bet nothing does it for her like watching a tough guy squirm under the stiletto-heeled boot of her feminine wiles. I'll play along and enjoy every second of it.

I flash her a knowing grin, taking my gaze from her body slow enough to let her know I was looking, and tell her "Yeah, but Hephaestus was an ugly bastard who was raised by a Nymph. Vulcan lived in a volcano and was played by Oliver Reed." I chuckle to myself, exhaling the last drag of smoke from my cig like dragon's fire and crush the butt out in a nearby tin. "I prefer the Greeks, too, though. Like you...you'd be Astraea." I scrunch up my chin as a smile, seeing if she picks up the reference, and light another cigarette.

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

Stellar thought for a moment, running the name through her head trying to place it.

“She had other names or was identified with others..” Stellar said thoughtfully trying to recall. “..Hmm.. I think another was.. Dike..”

Stellar blinked, her eyes growing wide as her head snapped to the side to look at Machina.

“Dike? You’re calling me a dike!?” she asked, in surprise and shock.

[Machina]

Please, Christ, I hope she's just tuggin' my dick. Dyke? Shit, and here I was trying to pay her a compliment. I'd be angry at myself for fucking it up if I didn't know damn well I was doing the exact opposite. I chuckly acidly and take a long drag, resting my elbow at the bar, eyes directed elsewhere. My tongue rolls over the top row of my teeth, and I exhale. "Astraea was also the daughter of Zeus and Themis, called the 'star maiden'. She was the personification of justice, and lived among mortals during the Golden Age. Both the constellations virgo and libra are named for her. And rather damn appropriately."

My eyes slide back over to her, my head not budging an inch. "Goddess of the stars, love."

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

Stellar rolled her eyes and laughed softly, shaking her head a little.

“I know who she is, otherwise I would not have known she was identified with Dike. And she ascended into the heavens and became Virgo. Libra was her scales… I think.” she pointed out as she twisted in her seat and reached to the bar behind her, grabbing her glass and taking another drink.

“You really need to loosen up. This is a club. We are here for a good time. Or at least I am.” Stellar commented with her infectious smile, her sparkling aura starting to intensify a bit as she lifted the glass, pressing it to her forehead and rolling it from side to side, letting the cool ripples wash over her, causing her eyes to nearly close and a pleased smile to play over her lips.

[Machina]

Loosen up? Christ. S'hard to loosen up when it's taking an act of iron fucking will to just hold my tongue about the jackass on the stool next to me and his stupid tattoos, the couple dancing in the corner like a couple of lobotomized monkeys, the group at the table over there who won't shut the fuck up about the latest Spielberg abortion, or that guy, over there, who I just plain don't like. Clamming up about the epic jackassery going on all around me it like trying to hold back a charging bull, and she wants me to loosen up. I grind my teeth inaudibly, my jaw set. Well, fuck it. That's what I came for, after all.

I turn to her and smile, trying my damndest to filter out everyone around me. I gotta admit, when my eyes are only on her, this joint ain't half bad. "I ain't too used to having a good time, beautiful. Think I mighta forgot, it's been so long, in fact. Mind helping me remember?"

[Erin 'Stellar' Donovan]

Stellar lets out a long, joyful laugh, lowering her drink from her forehead and leaning forward slightly as she does.

”Now that is smooth. Damn. You must get all the girls.” Stellar manages to say in a chortle.

“Not many guys have the guts to try a line like that, especially on me. For some reason, being seen beating the hell out of other novas on a near weekly basis seems to intimidate most men.”

[Machina]

Yeah, smooth as sandpaper. Nice job, douchebag. Maybe for an encore you can blow smoke in her face and ask her what her sign is.

I've got to say, she's got my number, though. I mock a glower at her and smirk, "Yeah, well, not too many guys are strong enough to handle a woman like you. Y'can't really blame 'em, gorgeous. I bet a dame like you frightens the piss outta most guys. Most guys, from what I seen, are scared shitless terrified of a woman who challenges their masculinity. They all want a girl like mom."

I smile at her like a wolf and take another drag, flaring my nostrils as I exhale. "Not me. I happen to like women, and I'll have no brook with one who can't match me. I ain't interested in no saffron-scented, doe-eyed babies. Hell, any woman'd have to be a goddamn bruiser to put up with a thug like me!" I chuckle, and growl out, "It's true, though. We all do want a gal like mom. Mine just happened to be a tough old bitch, and the only woman ornery enough to tame my old man."