[MM3]Sunstormers IC

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Neo-Paladin
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[MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Neo-Paladin »

Across the US, Chicago is known as " The Windy City" and in winter, the name is especially apt, as chill breezes howl through the streets day in, day out. A normal winter, except that this year, nothing is normal. The city is still plagued by rolling blackouts, with districts only having electricity for a few precious hours before the power is being directed elsewhere. City officials have stated that the problem should be alleviated within the next 7-10 days, but until then, heat and electricity are valuable commodities.

The same goes for food. As the world recovers after the solar eruption, supply chains, already strained thanks to the pandemic, are still mostly broken, leading to empty shelves. Thankfully, the National Guard has been called to not only help police the streets but also to make sure that no one starves or freezes to death. Several supply posts have been set up in the city and the surrounding area, with the largest being in Federal Plaza.
Civilians who want to help out are welcome and thanks to the patio heaters set up, the plaza offers a reprieve from the cold.
Meaning that it is pretty much packed 24/7, with civilians waiting for their rations, the homeless just looking for a place to stay warm and civilian helpers pretty much tripping over each other. Order is maintained by several police officers and, of course, the National Guard themselves.

The disaster seems to have replaced COVID as the number one worry in many people's minds, otherwise such a crowded place would certainly make many people anxious. But right now, this does not seem to matter as much, as no one even appears to enforce any sort of distancing or mask regulation.

//where are your characters and what are they doing?
Last edited by Neo-Paladin on Sun Jan 30, 2022 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

Deborah steps out of the Starbucks with two lattés in hand. She trips as she exits the store but manages not to fall down. "Clumsy, me, right Goldies?" she says to the camera held by her friend Becca, walking backwards holding a phone on a gimble. She hands the second latté to Becca and the walk up Jackson Blvd toward Federal Plaza. "It's day seven and today I'm heading to Federal Plaza to help out. I hope you are all helping out as well as you can." She looks down at her own phone. "According to my phone, the Goldies have donated nearly $60,000 to the food drive we're sponsoring. Oh, one hundred dollars from CatsPajama. Thanks you so much, Cats. I'll be stopping by the offices of the Chicago Food Service this afternoon with a check for twice of what my Goldies donate by 3pm today. So keep on donating.

"We are passing the post office now, such a modern building. Get a shot of the post office, Becca." As she does so, Deborah takes a sip of her latté. "As you can see, Federal Plaza is swamped with people. I think we're going to sign off here so Becca doesn't get hurt walking backwards into a sea of people. Keep those donations coming and Stay Golden."

"And we're out," Becca says, taking a sip of her drink. "I can't believe you tripped."

"It was on brand." Deborah says, acknowledging that she's always been something of a klutz was probably what got her her early following.

"I think we need to head over there," Becca says, pointing to makeshift platform setup at the back of the post office. She rushes off toward the platform.

Deborah takes her scarf and wraps it around her again, less a fashion statement now, more protection from the cold. She catches up to Becca who introduces her to Brady, a project manager at Chicago Food Service. "We can't thank you enough for helping out, Ms Gold. I was told you wanted to do a few short videos."

"It's only 7:30, a bit early for that, Brady. First, let's not get in the way of helping out these people. We'll go live around 10 am or so. For now, what can we do to help?"

Brady is surprised by this but is glad for the help.
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

As the first truck in the aid convoy came to a halt, Khemis nimbly jumped the twelve feet down from the roof of its cab to the ground, as usual dressed far too lightly for the freezing weather in a long, long-sleeved green shirt under a high-vis vest, loose calf-length black trousers, a green headscarf partly covering the mass of constantly-shifting tentacles that had replaced her hair, and flip-flops on her feet.

She had been perched up there as the truck drove from the edge of the city to the Federal Plaza. The police had picked up rumours that looters might try another hijacking and she had volunteered to be Chicago's oddest hood ornament, just in case. Perhaps the rumours were wrong, or perhaps her presence had discouraged the looters. In any case the trip had been uneventful and the truck and the vital supplies it carried had reached their destination.

Now what? She gave a wave to the surprised-looking truck driver, and looked around. Gabe, the Chicago Food Service volunteer who was supervising the unloading of the truckloads of supplies, was walking over as others opened up the rear doors of the truck.

"Can you put it over there please, Khemis!" shouted Gabe over the hubbub of the plaza.

"Sure!" nodded Khemis.

She moved to a point midway between the truck and the ration distribution stations and her arm whipped out, it and her hand stretching like rubber, wrapping around the first pallet of supplies and lifting them effortlessly out of the truck and swinging them carefully over to the distribution station, keeping it at above head height as it went.

With the pallet deposited in its assigned place, her arm snapped back to the truck and began to repeat the process with the rest of the pallets of supplies.

She did her best to ignore the inevitable staring and pointing of people who had not seen her doing this before, and the equally inevitable filming of her actions that came along with it.
Last edited by Tony Jones on Sat Apr 09, 2022 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Shadowmask
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Shadowmask »

Image

Helen stood by her post at the Jackson station right outside the range of the radiators and gritted her teeth against the biting cold as she adjusted her parka, wishing it was also as bulletproof as the Kevlar vest she wore underneath. On the bright side, her black turtle neck pullover sweater which covered her mouth prevented people from seeing the sneer on her face as she watched the media circus unfold around her. Idly, she wondered if people were as giving to charity off camera or offline as on.

Leave it for the politicians to set up a crisis center in the middle of a tourist stop like the Farmers Market. Also as usual (in her point of view), the feds including the marshals aren't stirring out of their warm comfortable offices in the Administration building next door due to what they term 'hands off approach toward anything outside federal jurisdiction unless of course the crowd of squatters grew beyond control'. It was all a political dog and pony show for those staying at home who can't get access to Netflix. Still her precinct chief had his orders which was sent down to the Louies*. The overall situation with the looting and off and on riots throughout the city was hectic and for the last few hours, she along with several officers comprising of a half dozen units were stationed here at the Flamingo statue area to help maintain some semblance of order and check unconfirmed reports of suspicious activity. Helen looked up at the sky in case it went all crazy like before.

"Today's horoscope says: Success is just within your reach today as Mercury retrograde aligns with Pluto in your professional sector, but you may have to make one final push before you can claim victory." she said candidly to one of the other officers standing nearby. "Bad signs. I can feel it."

The other cop, a part time desk warrior named Reynolds rolled his eyes. "Ya gotta stop believing in that astrology crap, Hel. Ain't healthy. So, you're putting some money to the betting pool for the next game or what?"

Helen felt her St. Christopher medallion over her chest, it's heavy weight reassured her..... at least for the time being.

"Yeah sure. I could use with a little luck. Put me down for 20 bucks to the pool. No lousy point spread garbage either. We can get a flute** once our shift is over. The chief can call Officer McCann*** for backup for all i care. Betcha we won't get overtime for this detail."

OOC: * Louie or Lou: Lieutenant/s. **Flute: slang for a bottle of Pepsi or Coca-Cola mixed with rum. ***McCann: Whenever the police receive a unwanted call from civilians, they often referred them to either a Detective or Officer McCann or 'in the can', meaning the case or complaint gets filed ( if ever) and forgotten.
Last edited by Shadowmask on Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
pathfinderq1
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by pathfinderq1 »

Vickie Pulaski

Vickie looked over as the trucks pulled in, her gaze lingering as it always did on the black (not Black) woman riding on the top of the lead vehicle. She shook her head, just once, and went back to passing out the trays of food to the seemingly never-ending line of needy people. It must be nice to have that degree of confidence in your relatively new abilities- but then again, given the woman's appearance, perhaps it was the simpler choice. If she looked like that all the time now, why not Own It?

And the woman, Khemis apparently, did look like that all the time it seemed. She had been here every time that Vickie had pulled a volunteer shift, part of U Chicago's community outreach project; other students and college personnel were hard at work keeping the University's systems functional (or as functional as possible, given the situation), but there was a sign-up sheet and a regular rotation of people helping out in the nearby community as well. Most of the time Vickie had been down here, her roommate Rashida had been with her but the other girl had some duties at home today (being a Chicago native meant that the family was close enough to rope you in when needed), but today's project hadn't required Vickie to tag along, so she was down here on the plaza instead.

Strictly speaking, at least now, Vickie was also close enough to help out at home. She had practiced her new abilities THAT much at least- she could be home very quickly if she needed to. She had a Zoom session with the parents scheduled later tonight- they were almost done with their quarantine, waiting on another set of negative tests to show that their recovery was complete. Then she could, at least, in theory, do an in-person visit. If, that is, she could find some way to explain how she had traveled 800 miles under current conditions. Still working on THAT explanation...

Vickie passed over the next tray- another half-hour or so and she could rotate out and get her own lunch. Dressed in a good North Face parka over a U Chicago sweatshirt (over her Captain Marvel sweater, just in case- she had read enough Origin Event stories to know that the suddenly empowered masses were often just as suddenly needed), she wasn't cold, even this far from the heaters, but the grind of working the line was still draining a bit.

What she was really looking forward to was a practice flight out over the lake before she headed back to the dorm and her stack of textbooks. In addition to the course work for next (or was it 'this') semester, there was a physics text as well, part of her new learning curve.

With a sigh, she offered a broad smile to the next person in line ("smile with your eyes" was the mask-era mantra, and even outdoors those serving food wore masks, for courtesy if nothing else), and turned to reach for the next tray of food...
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

Deborah Gold

"Ready for the next shoot?" Becca said.

"I don't think so," Deborah said. "Look at how many people are here. The lines are endless. Let's wait until afternoon." She hands a box, weighing at least ten pounds to a woman who approached the table she was standing behind. Handing the woman one of the boxes, each of which felt more and more inadequate as the day went, she said, "I hope this helps." It was sincere in her mind but she could see the woman eying her cashmere scarf, her perfect makeup, her designer mask, and could tell she knew Deborah was going back to warm rich condo later. The rolling blackouts did not affect her condo so much as it did other parts of the city.

What did the other people helping out think about the rich girl lending a hand? No time to speculate as the next needy hand reached for the box she was handing them.
kenmadragon
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by kenmadragon »

Sunny

"I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon / After all I knew, it had to be something to do with — ack! Bloody pigeons!" Sunny spat as he spiraled in flight, narrowly avoiding the rush of several pigeons deciding to take flight from a ledge right in front of him.

He sighed, landing on the roof of an old, brick building. It wasn't as simple as it sounded, considering the icy edges of the ledges and crenelations as well as the piles of snow atop what would otherwise be flat surfaces. Landing thus meant re-orienting himself in mid-air while slowing himself down so that he didn't crash into the roof with his full momentum. Physics at work, Sunny knew, already able to visualize the rough diagrams for the kinematic equations at work in his mind's eye. HIghschool Physics class - that was a fun memory.

He glanced down. Gridlock was a fact of life in the city, he had grown to realize. It was one of the greatest of annoyances in Sunny's life - the layouts of cities and their roadmaps were unnecessarily confusing and complicated to the point that even with his eidetic memory and good head-for-directions, he could still get lost in the rush of traffic. Now, the problem was exacerbated by the other, more pressing problems that plagued the Windy City. Rolling blackouts and disruption of supply chains for food would be the death of many of the city's most vulnerable... a breeding ground for desperate people making stupid decisions. Or stupid people making even stupider decisions.

So Sunny watched from above as a convoy of food was delivered deep into the city center. He understood that the National Guard station was nearby, but the logistics of the delivery destination felt absurd to Sunny. Federal Plaza was deep in downtown, but the most vulnerable of Chicago didn't live in downtown. The ones who most needed the food and various other supplies being delivered lived elsewhere, meaning they would need to make the trip to Federal Plaza in the middle of a brutal winter. Those who weren't choking the streets with traffic trying to reach Federal Plaza by car (or worse, searching for a parking spot that wouldn't charge outrageous prices) would be forced to walk through that chill, just to reach the promise of heat, electricity, food and some other sundry toiletries in order to survive. It wasn't just the homeless who made their pilgrimage to Federal Plaza, but the impoverished as well who were unable to survive in their homes without power or heat. And by having all those supplies and those heaters in Federal Plaza, it made those in charge look good for 'providing aide to the city', even if not everyone who needed this help were actually able ot get here to get it. Not everyone in the crowds below looked like they were poor or homeless, to Sunny's eye. Some of them looked like they just wanted access to heat, to power, to food...

A chill breeze blew past, ruffling past his face, teasing at the strands of hair that escaped his cloth cap. Once, the winter winds would have reddened his cheeks and nipped his nose, sending him shivering from the feeling. Now, he barely noticed the cold as little more than a sensation. His body simply seemed to be full of energy and heat in comparison, untouched by the chill (despite that not being how thermodynamics worked). He walked across the roof, hopping lightly over a humming ventilation duct with ease that was still shocking to him. On the other side of the building, he could look out over Federal Plaza... hundreds of people, crowded together in complete violation of social-distancing guidelines that the city-folk were pressed into abiding by out of fear of the pandemic. Now, the threat was still there, but people were far too troubled by the effects of the Sunstorm to care as much.

Sunny focused, eyes sharpening as the scene before him unfolded into full splendor. The world was awash with color more vibrant than otherwise seemed real, snapping everything into perspective as he details that were hazy at a distance became readily clear. Noise threatened to drown him, car engines roaring, wheels crunching upon salted roads, the humming of electronics everywhere, the sound of hundreds of human bodies in close proximity, just living and existing and talking...

A woman below was singing softly, rocking a child in her arms. They were both bundled in what seemed like well-worn coats, their boots weathered, and gloves had frayed edges. They must have been wearing six scarfs between the both of them, and the pom-pom on the child's wool hat was loose. And even so, the mother trundled towards Federal Plaza with purpose, walking carefully so as not to trip or bump into any of the others on the sidewalks, mindful to keep her bag away from wandering hands. And as she walked, she made sure that her child didn't fidget and that the boy's mind was off the cold or any of the worries about their lack of power with her soft songs.

Sunny listened to her sing for a time. He didn't recognize the language - Scandinavian, perhaps? No, it sounded closer to Polish. She had a beautiful voice made rough by the dry air and cold, biting winds that howled through the tall buildings that surrounded Federal Plaza. Focusing upon that sound was nice, he decided, then turned his attentions away.

Flickering motion in the electromagnetic spectrum bordering light drew his eye. What was that...? No, there. A shape forged of darkness, molded into the body of a human female. He recognized that one - she called herself "Khemis". Sunny wasn't sure if that was just a nickname or if she had somehow managed to come up with a super-powered alter-ego and name to go with it before Sunny could — everything he came up with either felt derivative or looked/sounded stupid. She also seemed to be wearing what looked like... normal-ish clothes? But was also employing her shadow-body's ability to extend itself without loosing that super-strength she possessed in order to unload a truck of rations. It was like seeing Mr. Fantastic or Monkey D. Luffy at work IRL... only it was a woman, and she had the skin complexion of a drow.

Sunny could hear the crowd's reaction from up here, looking down on the events below. Their words of wonder... of fear. The omni-present phones out to record everything, which would be uploaded online anywhere between by the end of day, to instantaneously for hundreds/thousands/millions to see and judge.

No one seemed to have noticed him yet. He could have swooped down into the crowd, sure... but then Sunny took a look at himself, and realized that he didn't quite look as impressive nor stand out quite so much. Going down there would mean having to deal with a crowd, and that wasn't something Sunny wanted to do. Sure, he wanted to contribute to charitable works that would help people - an ideal his parents had made sure to instill in him - but the complications involved in showing up as a vigilante-Sunstormer made him hesitate. He could have signed up as a volunteer, but that would tie Sunny to serving here for hours in his civilian identity and keep him from continuing to patrol the city for the time he had today.

Maybe he would just stick around for a while, up here where he could "keep an eye on things"... After all, Sunny'd taken advantage of a few hours of power to use super-speed and finish all his work for the day (and most of the next few days), so it wasn't like he was needed immediately at work (considering it was mostly remote these days). If he was, the email would be on his phone as well.

Sunny took a seat on the roof, looking out over Federal Plaza, humming to the tune of that song the mother had been singing. The energy fluctuations in the area were strange. Something about how the cosmic dance of light played in the cramped area made him think there was more that just himself and Khemis in the area, but he couldn't figure out how or who. That, or the presence of two Sunstormers in the area was throwing off his usual observations of the area, coloring the environment. There was too much about his new powers that confused Sunny... so much he didn't understand or simply didn't know about.

For now, though, he would take a break from flying around the city to deal with petty criminals before the police were called and watch over the events in Federal Plaza. He could always move on to flying around another part of the city in search of potential trouble later.
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

"Just going to take a quick coffee break!" Khemis shouted to Gabe and the other aid workers once she had finished unloading the last of the trucks unloaded.

Looking around she made a beeline for the nearest coffee cart, ignoring the sideways looks and whispering that accompanied her passing.

"A large black one please!" she told the vendor.

As the vendor handed over the steaming paper cup of caffeinated goodness, she waved away Khemis' attempt to hand over money in return. "No way lady! I've seen you do enough here that I think you deserve more than a free coffee, but coffee's all I've got, so here you go!"

"Thank you so much, but I really can't!" replied Khemis. "I'm just trying to help, as I would hope anyone who got the power to do so would. It's very kind of you, but I don't want to be rewarded for doing the right thing! Doing the right thing should be the reward for doing the right thing!"

She placed the money on the counter of the coffee cart and politely stared the vendor down until she put it in the till. "Thank you," Khemis told her.

"No, thank you!" replied the vendor with a grin. "Keep up the good work!"

"Thanks! I will!" She took a sip of the still-hot brew, savouring the taste as the she looked around at the crowd.

---

I'm glad I was able to convince her to take my money, thought Khemis as she sipped a brew that was still far too hot for a normal human mouth to bear. I do not want people to think I require their gratitude to do this. Their tribute. To do what I would do - should do - anyway. That feels like a slippery slope to me. One that will not end in a good place.
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

Deborah spots Khemis taking a break and over to her. "Excuse me," she says. "You seem very brave. May I ask you a few questions?" Deborah makes no reference to who she is but Khemis probably can see the occasional person pointing at Deborah with "is that really her?" look on their face.
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Shadowmask
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Shadowmask »

From their position at the station, Helen and Reynolds were joined by one of the junior grade uniformed Louies, an African-American named Omar Hobbs. "Good news and bad news, folks." he announced. "Bad news, you may have to pull double shifts for a while until your relief comes in."

"For Cryin' freaking out, Lou. Me and Paladino have standing here almost six hours straight already and freezing our butts off since dawn." Reynolds protested at the same time Helen resisted the urge to shove her nightstick down Hobbs' smug throat.

"So what's the good news?" she asked, trying her best not to shiver too much. Easier said than done in this weather. "I'm starving and would literally kill for a meatball parm hero sandwich and a pitcher of beer right about now."

"There isn't any good news, Paladino. I may be a lieutenant but the end of the day, i am just a glorified errand boy. Sorry people but it can't be helped, I'm afraid. With the regular homeless shelters full to capacity and food banks stretched thin, Human Services especially the Public Health department is crawling all over the Mayor and the Commissioner about on how why poverty is a serious city wide issue right now when it wasn't even considered at all in the city budget meetings before the pandemic and the...'solar flare crisis' hit. Don't go hating the bearer of bad news." Hobbs did his best to carefully stress the words 'solar flare' noncommittally though his sour expression said otherwise. "Just hold on until you're relieved. That is all."

Helen learned long ago even as a rookie that one shouldn't or wouldn't press the issue on anything that made the higher ups nervous. Nervous enough to break out the tear gas canisters and riot gear if one spark rips the city apart.

Hobbs moved away to spread the bad news to the others scattered in the plaza.

"Hey!" Reynolds suddenly exclaimed excitedly and pointed. "It's that Gold lady! Man oh man, what i wouldn't give for her autograph."

Helen chuckled behind her makeshift "mask". "Yeah right. Get her phone number you mean. Keep it inside your pants, pervert."
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

jmucchiello wrote: Mon Jan 31, 2022 9:11 pm Deborah spots Khemis taking a break and over to her. "Excuse me," she says. "You seem very brave. May I ask you a few questions?" Deborah makes no reference to who she is but Khemis probably can see the occasional person pointing at Deborah with "is that really her?" look on their face.
"Hello," she says in her raspy, slightly accented voice. The mixture of matt and glossy black on her skin makes her face a little hard to focus on, but she seems to give a smile. She seems utterly unconcerned by the bitter wind, despite the light clothing she is wearing. "It’s Deborah Stetson Gold isn't it? Pleased to meet you!"

"I wouldn't say I'm brave though," she continues, taking a sip of her coffee. "Just trying to do the best I can with what Allah has granted me. Help where I can. But yes, how can I help you?"
Last edited by Tony Jones on Mon Jan 31, 2022 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

"Yes, I think what you are doing, just being seen as a, well, I guess, they call them sunstormers, is incredibly brave," Deborah says. "You could be hiding in your home. Instead... Well, I don't want to put words in your mouth. But I was wondering if you might want to spread the word about being... changed. Eventually, some idiot is going to figure out they are different and believe the rules of society don't apply to them. I thought you might want to tell the world about the good you are doing. Maybe head off some of the eventual backlash.

"You don't have to decide now. I can give you my number and we can talk when there isn't all this to do here."
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Tony Jones
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by Tony Jones »

"It doesn't feel brave," she says, shaking her head and glancing down. "It just feels... right. And don't think I didn't consider hiding in a cave and hoping all this would go away! Because I most certainly did! But I thought, and prayed. And with Allah's help I realised that even if I am different now there are plenty of people far worse off than me. And that if I can help them it would be wrong not to. And so - here I am!"

As she speaks her words sound a little rehearsed, not like she is a professional speaker, but certainly someone familiar with 'wordsmithing'.

"Speaking about my experiences and maybe helping steer other Sunstormers onto a righteous path definitely sounds like a good idea to me. And so does trying to avoid any backlash. We don't need another persecuted minority, especially not one with super powers!"

"So yes, if I can have your number that would be great!"

"I have met another Sunstormer too - he can fly, and called himself Peter Kent. Unfortunately I don't have any contact details for him though. Sorry."

"If you want to read it, I've been writing posts about all of this on social media," she says a little hesitantly. "Which might help explain a bit about what I've been doing. Search for 'Khemis' and you should find it. If you want to."
jmucchiello
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by jmucchiello »

"That sounds great," Deborah says. They exchange contact info with their phones. "I will run that search when I get home.

"Flying must be so... liberating." She looks like she's about to say more but stops herself. "When you first found you could fly did you end up flying too fast or too far away? I can imagine not wanting to stop flying."
kenmadragon
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Re: [MM3]Sunstormers IC

Post by kenmadragon »

Was it rude to eavesdrop like this? Well, it wasn't Sunny's fault that the wind could carry their voices, and that he had very acute hearing when he was bothered to pay attention.

But the real trick? That would be making sense of the noise. Unlike Superman, who had spent time in his early years adjusting to the sensations of super-senses while living on a farm and with the ability to take months getting full control over it, Sunny was a young adult man who had just about a week with it and lived in a heavily populated city.

So, he took the oppurtunity to practice with it and get a grasp of the mood of the gathering beyond just basking in the ambiance. Focusing on the sounds of people talking was easier each day, allowing him to set the background noises to the wayside. From there, he had to distinguish between the voices, hear more than just the sound of a voice, but what the voice was saying. And once he knew what they were saying, he had to stitch the contexts together along with what he could tell from where the noises were coming from to determine who was talking to who, what they were talking about and why. After that, it just came down to filtering out the conversations that simply failed to draw Sunny's interest.

And honestly, his ears were burning from what he heard, and not because of the fact that his body-temperature seemed unaffected by the chill outside. Honestly, he hadn't thought that the shadow-woman, Khemis, who had only met him the once would be talking about him to random strangers. It was a bit... embarrassing? Yeah, that felt about right. She even remembered that throwaway alias he had given her as a joke!

Aaaah! Looking back on that entire encounter was so embarrassing! He wanted to curl up and scream into a pillow at the way this woman (with her super-husky, accented voice that sounded strange) seemed to be talking about his ability to fly! She had written about "Peter Kent" and posted it online! It was going to be up there forever!

'Cool it, Sunny-boy. Cool... calm... collected.' He told himself in the privacy of his thoughts. 'You're a superhero now... super-vigilante... whatever. You can't just freak out about stuff like that... even if, in hindsight, you think you sounded like you were cosplaying a superhero and the thought makes you think that you're a late-blooming chuuni who has a dark, forbidden power sealed within your eye that you will use to save the work from an even greater darkness!'

Now that Sunny thought about it, given how random Sunstormer powers posted online seemed to be, there was a very likely possibility that some random teenager somewhere who suffered from chuunibyou now had an actual superpower... That was actually quite concerning, and Sunny was thankful that the only kid he'd met thus far that had become a Sunstormer was some girl who he had briefly encountered testing her own limits in flight around the city, just as Sunny had been doing. But a teenager with fantastical delusions waking up from a three-day coma to find they had superpowers and thus vindication for their delusions was just not something Sunny wanted to contemplate for too long.

...And now they were talking about flying. If Sunny were a part of that conversation, he would have said that it was exhilarating - the sense of freedom and liberation and pants-ruining terror that accompanied his first flight (that wasn't bound by his apartment's ceiling) was an unforgettable experience. But he wasn't a part of the conversation since he was lurking on a rooftop, eavesdropping, and just showing up down below to offer his opinion on the subject would be a really difficult matter to explain... what with the whole randomly-showing-up thing, the uninvited interruption in their conversation, not to mention the fact he had been eavesdropping in order to know they were talking about him and about being able to fly...

Yeah. Too embarrassing. Sunny'd just stick around up here where he wasn't being bothered... Maybe he would wait until a majority of people were looking away before he flew off and started looking for trouble ("not to cause it, but to stop it," he assured himself). Just in case they saw him and caused some kind of misunderstanding or something.
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