9:02 PM, July 7th
Kasimir Castle Hangar, Gotham City
A soft humming filled the air, the sound just barely surviving against the whip of wind coming from the open mouth of the hangar and accompanied by the clink of metal. Zoey's gloved fingers almost danced over the metal object as she looked it over for anything amiss, not for the first time that day or even that hour. Of course that was rather prudent to do, considering she was about to trust the wings contained in this little jetpack-like contraption with her life.
Well, not entirely.
"Thanks for coming, by the way. I'll make sure to finish up quickly so you can get home at a decent hour," Zoey's voice was unmodulated despite being in her Grim suit, the gas mask and voice modulator resting around her neck, the balaclava in her pocket and goggles pulled up to sweep her crimson bangs back at the moment. It seemed silly to do a stress test when not in the gear that would be worn with it, after all. "My previous tests all say it should be fine, but considering I'm about to jump off a cliff I do appreciate your presence." The redhead glanced up, her steel blue gaze pausing on the other woman in the hangar to give her a small, playful smirk. Further back the Grim Jet sat quietly, along with a mostly built satellite - just a bit more work on that. Of course those two items where further back the runway, while just to Zoey's right was the steep drop off of the hangar mouth, leading into the coastal waters of Gotham.
"So! Ready to help an old dog fly?"
Lady Arcana smiled up at her...friend, lightly nodding. "All ready here! Don't worry, the Speed of Hermes won't let you down!"
Grim had asked her to come over to help her test a device that she had designed, it's intended purpose to give her greater mobility in the changing world they lived in. Not so long ago there was no magic, at least not like there is now. But in this time of mysterious drug-mages and flying Supermen and plant monsters, her closest ally felt like she needed a little something extra of her own to stay competitive...and honestly, Karen couldn't argue the point. As awesome, beautiful, and incredible of a woman as Zoey was, she was still a normal human. It wasn't easy finding a way to compensate for that fact, though Lady Arcana would always be there to help her if possible.
"You'll like it, I guarantee it," she continued to encourage the other heroine. "Flying is just plain rad AF."
"Rad AF?" A perfectly shaped eyebrow quirked up as Zoey glanced to Karen, a chuckle escaping her lips. "It was interesting. I'm wounded you haven't offered again." The redhead finally stood up straight, hefting the dark metal pack up with her. Positioning it against her back snugly she quickly began to strap it in properly, double and triple checking that all the metallic straps were connected and there was absolutely no wear on the reinforced materials connecting them. Finally satisfied Zoey gave a slight nod, briefly removing her goggles to pull the black cloth mask over her head before replacing them and lifting the voice modulator. Tapping against the forearm computer located in her suit when Grim spoke it was back to the deep, slightly artificial male tone that rumbled against the gas mask.
"Live test one of the Grim Glider, July seventh. Drop of at least three hundred feet." Another couple of taps to start recording the specs of the glider in action Grim finally turned and stepped to the open hangar bay, feet resting against the edge as she peered down it. It was a steep drop off. Taking a deep, calming breath to center herself the vigilante glanced back to Lady Arcana, raised a hand to give a small two-fingered salute, and then dived off the edge.
Lady Arcana moved quickly when Grim leaped from the edge of the hangar, quickly outpacing the speed of her fall as she remained closely by her side. In case something went wrong, she would be right there to catch her. Not that she was predicting a failure, mind you: Zoey was an unparalleled inventor from what she had seen, and it was difficult to imagine anything she made just failing. Still, this was the reason she called her, and Karen was going to make sure and do a good job!
"Let's hope the smog doesn't congest the engines," Arcana joked, noting the perpetually brown clouds above.
Gotham and Hub City had that in common.
Falling was ... something, alright. Those survival instincts Grim often lamented that other vigilantes lacked were currently screaming in her ears in a universal voice of 'what the fuck did you just do?!' At the same time it was exhilirating, not having her feet on the ground and knowing that her own fate was in her hands at the moment. Well, she was also in Lady Arcana's hands if something went wrong, which was reassuring in itself. She'd have spent at least another couple of weeks testing this to be sure if she didn't have that fail safe. Really convenient, having her number.
Briefly, Grim noted she might need a wind-reduced speaker and mouthpiece - it was hard to hear while in a free fall.
"Please, as if I hadn't accounted for the smog!" It was hard to convey the teasing tone in Grim's usual voice, but it didn't matter much anyway. As the waters approached rapidly the engines hummed against Grim's back, and finally in a swift motion accompanied by what almost sounded like a blade unsheathing the wings extended from their folded position inside the glider. Each one reached just over seven feet, made up of multiple thin, dark metallic 'feathers' with cutting edges of various sizes - smaller near the base, longer the further out they went. Creating an actual human-sized set of wings for flight was a tall task, considering how much fuel would have to be blown through for any sustained use. As such the wings themselves were based of an actual avian's rather than a plane's, intended to be able to move and glide in smooth, sharp motions. Honestly, the engines on the back were mostly for emergencies - safety first, kids!
A shift in weight was the first sign of the wings responding, the bladed feathers moving with an unseen command. The air against them smoothly changed the near suicidal drop to less of a pitfall and more like the glide it was intended, path shifting from the water to go almost parallel with the water - though still dropping slowly due to having no actual 'flap' power.
"That works well enough, now let's see..." A movement of her arm had the left wing abruptly move up, catching the wind once more to begin pivoting, only for a bend of the metal to make it a rather sharp turn. The sudden change in direction caused another dip of turbulance but a shift in weight made it even out as Grim circled back around back to the rocks. All seemed to be going well so far.
As she neared the cliff the wings once more changed to put the vigilante almost standing in the air, and promptly lost their momentum in a few feet due to having no wind. Of course that was to be expected without the engine on, they weren't made to fly without them - but that was the next part of the test. Extending her left wrist the hookshot slammed out into the rocky cliffside high above her, the powerful mechanism immediately yanking her upward. When the hookshot withdrew it managed to give her another thirty feet with the wings, but not much before it wanted to once more dip. Deciding that was enough Grim quickly hit a button on the wings - she'd make sure to put another on her gloves if this went well - which started the engine humming with far more power, then a red light building as the engines activated fully. It was easy to steer with the wings even going up, and before long Grim shot over the edge of the cliff. An alert in her visor from the computer telling her of the quickly extinguishing fuel had her discarding the idea of going back to the hangar, and the burn of the engines cut off to let her drop the few feet to the grassy cliff side, the wings quickly withdrawing back into the pack.
Grim took a moment, hands on her hips and leaning forward to catch her breath before throwing her head back and laughing. The sound rumbled in her mask oddly but she didn't mind.
"That was pretty fun!"
Lady Arcana watched Grim plummet towards the water below with a light smile. Even through the mask she was now wearing, she could somehow tell that she was having fun. It reminded her of when she had first started flying regularly. How she would soar high into the stratosphere, and then let herself fall for miles. It was like having the greatest rollercoaster ride at your beck-and-call, and even now she would sometimes indulge in that little game when there wasn't anything better to do.
Watching Grim struggle slightly to get the hang of controlling her new wings only served to remind Karen of how challenging it had initially been for her to learn how to fly. While she'd never used any kind of device like Zoey had now, she imagined it was somewhat different. In her own case, precise control over her strength was essential when it came to steering herself in midair. Her first few attempts had ended with her smashing head first into either an alleyway or simply the ground due to her inability to turn in time. It made her appreciate Sam's restrictions, how she'd forced her to wear that red coat for a whole month in order to master her magic muscle-control.
In the eight months since she had shed that coat, she'd gone a long ways towards refining her aerial control. She was now confident in her ability to make precise, split-second turns and even elaborate maneuvers when she needed to. She could perform sudden stops, and land softly without any worry for causing property damage. It was for that reason she was honestly glad that Zoey had waited until now to try and test this, so that her own failings wouldn't endanger her friend.
After observing how her new flight pack worked, it was clear that it was mainly a glider, rather than something that would enable true flight. It relied on wind currents and lift to keep it going, with the rockets only kicking in when neither of those things were present. Zoey seemed to need to trigger them manually, however. Karen hoped she would in time figure out how to make some sort of automatic system that would keep track of aerial conditions for her and activate the jets when required.
When she landed on a grassy cliff side, the Wizardess quickly descended to meet her, offering her a slight round of appaluse. "Great first flight! Looks like it went off without a hitch, right?"
"Mostly," Grim's laughing calmed at Lady Arcana's question, though she didn't look to the heroine. Instead her gaze drifted skyward, to the smog-infected night air. "My hookshot didn't provide me as much lift as I hoped, I might need to look at getting a stronger mechanism for that. Plus the fuel was absolutely eaten through when the jets were on, I'm going to have to either try and find a way to make them more efficient or pack more fuel away. Of course since I'm still based in Gotham I don't think that second part is too high priority - I can leave the real flying to you." Grim reached up, pulling the voice modulator down once more to rest against her collarbone from where it hung off her neck, finally turning to face Karen. In the corner of her eye she could spot Kasimir Castle, a distant speck of light from the cliff to make sure the jet not only had a decent run way but that there wasn't a jet just shooting off from her backyard.
"Overall not bad work for a couple months of effort. I do appreciate you being here, even if you weren't needed." A slight grin moved across her lips, hidden beneath the cloth that still covered her head though her voice was once again natural. "After all, catching falling women must be rather mundane for you by now."
Lady Arcana snickered at her comment about catching falling women. She wasn't wrong, though. Catching all sorts of things - not necessarily just people - had become pretty common place as of late. She'd even caught a few falling planes here and there, which was challenging only in that if she didn't grab them in just the right way, they would want to rip apart on her.
Stepping towards Grim, Karen extended her hand towards Zoey, a warm smile now overtaking her face. "Want a lift back to the castle, then? Or maybe even a little trip through the countryside?"
Honestly, she just enjoyed spending time around her. There weren't many people she could really talk to who understood what it felt like to constantly hold people's lives in your hand. To come close to failure and feel your heart clench tight in terror at the thought that you might screw up, and cause someone to die. It was that feeling that had made her start taking this whole thing a lot more seriously. The last thing she wanted was blood on her hands, much less the blood of someone who was counting on her to save them.
"I'd like a trip through the countryside more if I could actually see the stars," Grim waved her hand skyward, huffing lightly. "The only time I get to see a clear sky is when I travel. I miss that about Blackrock." Still Zoey reached out to take Karen's hand in her own gloved one, giving a short nod of thanks. In truth her suit still felt a little odd lately, and she didn't mean the Grim Glider on her back. It had been a busy few months, churning out or tweaking more and more devices to keep her on the cutting edge in the vigilante business. Grim didn't think she was overconfident when she said she was a powerhouse of a fighter hand to hand, but the sudden surge of magic from eight months ago didn't seem to be waning at all. New threats, new bullshit magic, new vigilantes who had no concept of danger.
And most annoying of all was that she wasn't just an Urban Legend anymore. Grim was confirmed. It was in those riots, unable to keep her usual low profile, and her picture had ended up plastered all over those old Grim-spotting websites that were traditionally based in Gotham. As bothersome as it was, it at least gave her an excuse to be more flashy with her gear. Though she still wasn't going to start branding everything with the wolf head icon.
"Still, I wouldn't mind a lift. You can eat the entire stock of Henry's pastries again - I think he's finally stopped trying to figure out how you put it all down."
Karen couldn't help but blush at her mentioning her appetite for pastries. It was true, she could really pack them away when given half the chance. The fact that her Arcana form didn't really have a limit to what her stomach could hold and never became sick also helped tremendously with that. Still, she had never really got to enjoy sweet stuff in any great amount before she started visiting Zoey every week, so she felt like a little indulgence on her part wouldn't hurt anything.
Gently closing her hand around Grim's when it was offered, Lady Arcana lifted off the ground. Immediately, she knew that Zoey would feel a sense of weightlessness. That was what happened when people were in contact with her while she was flying, they would become a part of her little bubble of gravity defiance. Offering a momentary glance to the smog-layered sky, she quickly quickly began her ascent. "You might want to hold your breath, we're going to have to go right through it if we want to see what's on the other side!"
And so they did. Plowing right through the lower of pollution, it took less than a second for her to pop out the other side into the clearness of the undirtied night sky. In truth, it all happened so quickly that it was unlikely that Zoey even could have smelled anything in that short a time...but better safe than sorry, right?
Tilting her head back, Lady Arcana exhaled gently, watching the stars twinkle in the heavens above. She could understand why Zoey missed them now...they really were beautiful.
"Wait, Kar-" Zoey's hand shot up to grab her gas mask, only getting it halfway to her face before they ended up on the other side of the thick layer of smog and pollution. The redhead blinked, glancing down and under the balaclava her face twisting into disgust. It almost looked like you could walk on it from above. At least they were through so quick that nothing clung to her goggles.
"This doesn't look like home," The vigilante finally noted in a gentle ribbing as she turned her gaze away from the smog, only to give pause as her breath caught in her throat. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Karen was acting on Zoey's previous comment, but the sight still caught her off guard. Seeing the expanse of stars before them was mesmerizing, and after a moment Zoey dropped the gas mask to instead grab her goggles and remove them, lifting the balaclava off as well. With her face free and not fearing anyone being able to see up here - she doubted even supervision could get around all that filth - Zoey breathed in deeply of the cleaner air, a grin tugging at her lips before she turned her steel-blue gaze to Lady Arcana.
"You know, if you weren't impressed with my glider you could've just told me instead of showing off," The redhead commented, without the voice modulator the more playful tone obvious.
The night sky truly was beautiful when shielded from humanity. In fact, it was better here than it would ever be in most places. If the smog had one use, it was in drowning out the light pollution from below with...well, actual pollution. Now, they were free to see the stars as people centuries ago once did before massive skyscrapers and billboards, before cities of several million parted the night.
When Zoey smiled to her, Lady Arcana was quick to return it, gently bringing them closer together until their arms touched, a gentle show of affection. Looking away slightly, she tried to suppress her reddening cheeks, but it wasn't terribly effective. "Nothing you've ever done has failed to impress me, your glider included."
"It's honestly been a while since I saw a night this clear myself. Maybe if you make a space suit for yourself, we'll go to moon next," she joked, scratching at the side of her face, before gesturing to the great white sphere in the sky. "Fun fact: Selene is the patron Goddess of the Moon."
The usual soft hum she often did escaped Zoey at the fact, her gaze roaming along the open expanse of sky, drinking it in like a dying man. Finally those eyes flicked to glance to Lady Arcana, and the redhead quickly hid the little smile that threatened to bloom seeing how red she was. Karen really was a sweet girl, even with the pure destructive power she could wield as Lady Arcana. It was a little reassuring actually, that someone such as ... say, The Question didn't have her powers. He'd probably tear every Government building apart looking for clues to his conspiracies.
Zoey also didn't need to have years of experience in investigating to realize that this woman, a virtual God, had grown a crush on her. It was both rather cute, and a little humbling. Aside from the fact that Lady Arcana could more than likely level cities, she was also at least fifteen years younger than her. No doubt Karen would grow out of it soon enough, but for now it was quite flattering.
"Thank you, Karen. That sounds like it'd be a fun adventure one night, but I'd hate to see how confused any prospective stargazers would be." A slight smirk formed. "Though I suppose it wouldn't be too bad - no one would even notice me there when they can gaze upon you after all."
It was still a little fun to make her red, though.
And Karen was red, having to keep herself from pulling her hood up reflexively. No matter how many times it happened, she just couldn't help embarrassing herself by glowing like a traffic light. Pursing her lips, she returned to looking up at the stars for a moment, briefly lost in her own thoughts.
While she didn't live there, Gotham was a city that she really felt like she knew. A city she understood. The crime, the corruption, the cruelty and neglect. It was all so terribly familiar to her that it actually sent a brief chill up her spine when she thought about it. Like with Hub City, something about it made the back of her neck tingle when she was in her Lady Arcana form. There was something evil here, an unnatural malice that seeped into everything and tried to snuff the light out from within.
And it was in this place that Grim, that Zoey had been fighting all alone for so very long. She didn't have the power of six Gods at her disposal like she did with Hub City. No, she only had her wits, her intelligence and her human body to overcome whatever horrors were thrown at her. How she had managed it was beyond Karen's understanding. She knew she couldn't have. She wasn't nearly that brilliant.
"Thank you," she finally responded, glancing over to the other woman. "But I'm not that impressive. I had all this power handed to me on a silver platter, while others spend their whole lives trying to achieve far less. But you..."
Karen once again faced her. "I can tell you worked so hard for everything you've managed to achieve, and you did it without the Strength of Alcaeus or the Might of Atlas, or anything really but the Power of Zoey Kasimir. You've saved so many people even though you put your life at risk every night you go out there. That's why, if someone ever asks me to show them what it means to be a hero, I'll just tell them about you."
This time it was Zoey's turn to become red, feeling the flush of heat in her face and across her nose. Her lips had parted, wanting to say something but unable to find the words, eyes just focused on Karen with a surprised intensity. A warmth, a surge of affection flared in her chest at this little ray of sunshine in the night, finally her lips closing with a smile playing at the edges of them.
"Karen," The redhead trailed off, finally shaking her head before bringing her eyes to Lady Arcana's. "I... thank you. It's," Hah, was she, Zoey Kasimir actually tongue tied? An odd feeling to be sure. She's heard plenty of thanks through the years, usually from the trembling or awed voices of those that the urban legend had saved, even websites and the occasional news special dedicated to Grim. She didn't do any of this for fame, but it was disconcerting being completely overshadowed by all these new beings of magic that had been showing up. Stressing over if she'd be able to do anything if one of them turned their gaze on Gotham, planning and building and planning some more. To hear the words from Lady Arcana, someone Zoey had mentally classified as being near a God despite her inexperience, was humbling. Still, she ended up looking away, laughing softly as she raised the hand not in Karen's to run through her hair and brush her crimson bangs back.
"It's nice to be appreciated," She finally ended up saying, finding the words dull on her tongue and not expressing everything she wanted to say. "But you know, you're a hero in your own right. You'll only grow into your own legend the more time passes, not just for your strength but your compassion. People will look up to you." Zoey's gut twisted lightly, knowing what that admiration would bring. Those who would want to copy her, be heroes by themselves and make the world a better place. She hoped Karen never learned of anyone doing it in her name.
Karen slowly glanced down at the smog beneath them when Zoey reassured her that she was also a hero, that people would one day admire her. In some ways she knew that would be flattering, but in others it was absolutely terrifying. "I just hope that if that ever happens, I don't disappoint them. My..."
Lady Arcana closed her eyes, drawing a heavy breath. The warmth of the pure summer's air eased her lungs and allowed her to continue. "My biggest fear is that one day, I'll let someone down when they need me the most. That I'll fail, and someone will die because of me. Because I wasn't good enough...that despite all these powers, the girl behind them just wasn't worthy of them in the end and somebody paid the ultimate price for my inadequacy."
She still had nightmares about it at times. About holding the body of a small child in her arms, broken and bloody. She'd never seen anything that horrible in all her life, so she didn't understand why she would see something like that in her dreams. Sometimes, she was worried that - like Clarissa - she was seeing a vision. She desperately hoped that wasn't the case.
"Sorry," she finally apologized, quickly shaking her head. "I really do appreciate what you said, Zoey. I didn't mean to go all emo on you like that."
"It's alright," Zoey studied Karen closely, taking in the small signs of stress, the worry, the fear. She sighed softly before reaching forward, placing her hand on Karen's arm. "Karen... I won't lie to you, there may be a day that you can't save everyone. I've... had my own incidents in the past, where I was too late, or made a mistake, or just wasn't good enough. I remember every single one." The redhead went quiet for a moment, her eyes closing.
"There's so much wrong with the world, you won't be able to stem it all. All we can do is get up, to move forward, because the world won't stop because we've failed. People will look up to you even when you feel your lowest, and all we can do is hope we've inspired good in those who need it."
Karen knew she was right, of course. Common sense dictated that even she couldn't be everywhere at once, no matter how fast she was able to fly. In a way, she felt like that kind of made it crueler. A normal person at least knows precisely what their limits are, they know they couldn't possibly stop a disaster a country away. But when she hears about a flood in China that kills thousands, or an earthquake that destroys the livelihoods of countless people, she has to live with the knowledge that she could have been there, that she could have done something...if only she had been more alert.
But Zoey knew what she was talking about, and she knew she should listen. Offering her a warm smile of gratitude, Lady Arcana nodded. "I guess having to live with your failures is just a part of being human, right? That never changes, no matter what fancy powers you gain."
"It doesn't, but it's still hard. If you ever feel like the pressure of being Lady Arcana is suffocating you, Karen, my home will always be open to you." Zoey squeezed the hand in her own lightly, just a small comforting motion. Finally she offered her a small smile, gesturing to the ground. She didn't want Lady Arcana to end up flying off with these thoughts swirling in her head. "As it is now. Why don't we head inside for a bit before you fly home? I wasn't kidding about those pastries."
Lady Arcana nodded, returning the squeeze with one of her own as they descended back to the Earth. Kasimir castle wasn't a difficult thing to find, no matter where you were in Gotham, much less above it. When she first came here, she thought it was pretentious. Now she saw it as practically a home away from home, a sign of comfort. A reminder that she wasn't alone in this.
Floating down to the hanger, her feet touched the metallic floor as she came to a stop, allowing Zoey to gently descend as well. "There we are!"
"Thank you again, Karen," With her feet back on the ground and the weightless feeling gone when her hand left Lady Arcana's Zoey took a moment to roll her shoulders and shift her weight, letting everything settle. She began unbuckling the Grim Glider even as her feet started carrying her forward, once it was off letting the machine hang off her left arm. "Come on, I'll get changed out of my gear and we can drop by the kitchen." Just as she was passing the Grim Jet there was a buzz on her arm, buried under the glider. A frown tugged at Zoey's lips as she glanced over, only seeing a peek of red light from the computer screen on her gauntlet around the bulky machine. Her pace picked up to the door that led back to the labs at the back of the hangar, offering her handprint and code to it quickly.
As the door slid open it was obvious something was wrong, red light spilling across the ground from the large computer screen, lit up with one of the many alerts she had set up. The Tracker that had been powered by Lady Arcana practically hummed from its position, and splashed across the large computer screen against the wall was a map of the world displaying those results. Nestled in the middle east a certain section was lit up, practically illuminating the whole area. Zoey quickly moved to the computer, zooming in. All across the Arab Federation were pin pricks of light, each one a surge of the specific magic they had been tracking. Hundreds, maybe thousands that nearly made up the entire area.
"Arcana, I don't think you'll have time to fly home tonight."
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