it's alright once you're in the air

[teamsad]

Who: Jessica Drew & YOU!!
Where: Alpha Tower & around LA
When: Mid-February, various times
What: The most awkward member of Alpha Force is back in town.
Warnings: N/A

Alpha Tower; day of Jessica's arrival
Jessica never liked going through the lobby - she has to deal with receptionists, avoid people, take elevators, all kinds of unnecessary annoyances. Instead, she takes the aerial route. The landing area on top of the building is meant for helicopters, but works just as well for flying superhumans, and the heat of the sun reflecting off the windows of the tower is more than enough to generate the lift she needs to make it there.

She touches down lightly, scans her handprint on the security pad beside the roof entrance and takes the stairs into the building... only to stops when she reaches the first common area. It's quiet. She's been here when it's this quiet before, but the silence seems heavier this time. Everything feels emptier. Maybe it's just the knowledge that the team's so small now...

"Is anyone home?" she calls out, still hovering near the door to the stairwell. "Hello?"

Beachfront; evening
Jess hasn't been able to fly for months. That's the nature of undercover work - you keep your head down, pretend to be someone else entirely, try not to wear your flashy superhero costume where other people can see you... Which is all well and good, except that she can't fly without hers, and she's been getting restless in Madripoor without being able to take to the skies.

Now that she has the chance to, she's taking advantage of the evening breezes off the ocean and gliding through the skies over the water, occasionally diving and spinning in ways that would probably send her plummeting into the Pacific if she lost lift... but it's worth the risk when she's been unable to do it for so damn long.

Eventually she lands on the sand, reclining on a dune (still in full costume) to watch the sun set as she catches her breath. Flying (or, really, gliding) when it's not part of your powerset is a lot more exhausting than it looks.

Comments

[teamsad]

"So the team's half robots now. That's... great." Okay, mostly it's weird. She likes Tron and all, but she's used to a few more humans to balance it out...

"Yeah. I remember her. Be nice to have a little more backup in case things go to hell..."

Or in case they lose someone else. When no one knows exactly what happened to the last three... there's no way of knowing it won't happen again.

[sunmedallion]

"Exactly," Celestia says. "Of course, I hope as much as anyone that they weren't, but..." She clasps her hands together in front of her. "I have a feeling that whatever did happen to Zeke, Fiona and Dana... we haven't seen the last of it."

[teamsad]

"Of course not," Jessica says dryly. She's a lot more pessimistic and paranoid than Celestia, though - she always thinks things are coming back to bite them. If Celestia thinks so too... that's probably a bad sign. "Do we even have a theory about what happened, or...?"

[sunmedallion]

Celestia shakes her head. "The second sinkhole was definitely linked, and the crystalline substance that we found at both sites is... definitely supernatural in origin, and it seems just from the effects we've seen as if the holes themselves may be the result of some kind of interdimensional transport... but it's impossible to tell if this is merely a side effect of something that's happening somewhere else, or if someone or something is making it happen for a reason."

[teamsad]

"Well that's great." Realizing that sounded a little rude, she smiles apologetically and adds, "I mean. It's frustrating. Being in the dark like this."

And she doesn't know what else to say now. She'll read the reports on the incident when she gets a chance, but supernatural and interdimensional stuff is not her specialty, and nothing she can do would change the situation. This whole mess stinks.

"...so I've been on a plane for the better part of a day, and airline food is not to be trusted. Can we move to the kitchen so I can get a sandwich or something? Or... I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"

[sunmedallion]

"Oh – not at all," Celestia replies, clasping her hands together. "Please forgive me, I was just so glad to see you –!"

[teamsad]

Jess smiles softly, warmth blooming in her chest. No one makes her feel more at home - like she has a home, and maybe a family - than Celestia, and a part of her wants to hug her for that. She doesn't. She's bad at that sort of thing. But the feeling's there.

"It's fine. I'm glad to see you too. Really."

[sunmedallion]

Celestia could so go for the hug, honestly, but she does like to maintain a little dignity; she puts a hand on Jessica's shoulder and smiles, and says, "I know. Get yourself something to eat. And make yourself at home."