I'm good with moving on and bringing everyone back to set.
Starwinter
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Currently in New Orleans for the first time ever. Holy crap this city is wonderful.
8 yrs ago
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- Starwinter 10 yrs ago
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8 yrs ago
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Currently in New Orleans for the first time ever. Holy crap this city is wonderful.
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Are we continuing with the dinner or are we moving on from that too?
I can post tomorrow for Kait if we are starting off the next day in the show.
Currently Orlando. Tomorrow I will be in Tampa for a bit. But yeah, straight rain the whole time I'm here.
I'm invading your state for the week.
Literally the weather right now is better back in Boston where I live. It's like 90 in MA right now.
Literally the weather right now is better back in Boston where I live. It's like 90 in MA right now.
So after being awake for almost 24 hours I'm getting my butt on a plane and will be out of state for the next week.
That being said, I do have my laptop with me. My posting will be limited but I will be following along with everything still :)
That being said, I do have my laptop with me. My posting will be limited but I will be following along with everything still :)
So after being awake for almost 24 hours I'm getting on a plane and heading down to Florida for the week. I have my lap top but will have limited time to post, so I may not put Kait in the flashback episode.
When current day moves to the next morning I will post for her.
When current day moves to the next morning I will post for her.
Alright, Switcher and Barrage are on scene after many, many hours of writing.
|| Location || RiverWalk → The streets of Detroit → Welcome to your destination, you're running out of time!
|| Interacting with || This insane bitch Reni; (Briefly Ren talks to Nathaniel @Universorum)
Reaching the parking lot, Serenity was welcomed by a well-known cameo. Of course, Wyn was here. When was she not on the search for her? And yet, the mad scientist was not in her vehicle. A usual too. Before lifting her wrist watch up to her lips, to give a voice command, which would call her own vehicle to her, from it’s hiding place (Ren was possessive over it), she scanned the area for her coworker and friend. Her stoic expression was as calm as the dead sea and her hair blew with the gentle breeze. It was a beautiful day, even with all that was going on for the team.
Cherish these short, welcoming moments. That was the best way to take on each day because nothing was for certain. In a split second, everything could change. Someone could die. Peace may be seen as a distant reach but without someone to believe in, without a hero, or heroes, there would be no hope. As long as one person stood firm and believed in the cause, there would always be hope. A hope for a better tomorrow. A hope for… a life of happiness.
Serenity wanted to optimize her abilities. Sure, she was good at what she did because if she wasn’t she would be absolutely destructive, but she knew she wasn’t ‘there’ yet. She wasn’t the best she could be and she wanted to be. She needed to be. With the faceless villain on the loose, not knowing if he would return or not, she couldn’t sit around and wait for him to make his next move. Waiting was something Ren wasn’t fond of doing. Unfortunately, there were somethings that not even The Coalition could do. Were they Superman or Batman? They protected a city, not the world. And as powerful as they were, they were still… human.
The conversation between Ted and Abigail lasted a few minutes more before Abigail said her goodbyes and made the walk back towards the lot where she had left her car. The gentle breeze off the water that played with her blond locks of hair soothed her. She wondered now if there would ever be a time when a light wind wouldn't remind her of the old man who helped her when she needed it most, even if he didn't realize it. Funny how when you spend so much time helping others, you are hardly able to recognize when you may need help yourself.
Abigail pulled sunglasses down over her blue eyes with her right hand, while her left hand spun the key to her Audi S8 around her index finger. One of Abby's favorite thing about wearing sunglasses was that she could scan the crowds around her, without anyone knowing she was watching them. Whether that habit was born from her profession or her natural nosiness, she wasn't sure.
It was while employing this little habit of hers that Abby's attention caught on the sun glinting off a familiar head of dark chocolate. Even mostly concealed by a too big sweatshirt, Abigail would recognize Serenity anywhere.
“Reni!” she called out, hoping to catch Serenity's attention. Although her car was in the opposite direction, Abby changed her course, hurrying instead towards the brunette. Again she found herself fighting against that all too familiar twinge in her right knee as she picked up her pace. She would deal with it... eventually.
Already alert to her surroundings, Serenity did catch the voice of not Dr. Thomas, but Miss Walker instead. There was an underlying feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was off because Wyn would have appeared by now. Wouldn’t she? The doctor looked at Ren as a prized test subject of some sort, doing things like spiking Ren’s food or drink with harmless experiments. A week ago, prior to the Mayor incident, Wyn had appeared out of nowhere, like she usually does, and asked if Serenity had ‘fun’ the previous night with Nathaniel. Prying into Ren’s sex life more so than she usually did.
Turns out, Wyn attempted to activate Ren’s lust by setting a chemical reaction within her body. The results? No comment. And yet, if there was one thing Ren knew about this mad scientist… Wyn was not one to stay in the shadows forever. Her car was here, but not her. Was there a chance that she came to RiverWalk with no aim but to enjoy the breeze? That was kind of unlikely for someone like Wyn.
“Abigail.” Although Ren did not shout, her voice was prominently clear, as she turned her attention to her colleague. Crossing her arms, she strided toward one of her fellow teammates and with raised eyebrows, she asked, “Have you seen Wyn around?”
Abby met Reni at the middle ground between the two, still scanning her surroundings. Now though, it was for a completely different reason as Ren had asked about Wyn.
“No,” Abigail answered with honesty, and a little confusion as well. “Is she supposed to be here?” At that moment, Abby spotted Wyn's car in the direction Serenity had walked from and furrowed her brow. “I'm surprised she left the watchtower. She doesn't usually do things like crowds, sunlight... social interactions.”
Abigail used her fingers to list off all the reasons she was surprised to hear that Wyn had left her secluded hidey-hole in the watchtower. She liked Wyn, well enough, but the two women were never close. Abby found the bustling energy and erratic behavior of Dr.Thomas rather... unsettling at times.
“Unless it involves research.” Serenity turned her head to look behind her, as if for a moment she felt eyes on them, but she was starting to think ever since the mayor died she was getting far too paranoid for her own good. Briefly, she cleared her throat and softened her expression. Surely, Wyn was fine. She could take care of herself, right? There was no use on worrying until they had evidence that something was wrong - Wyn wouldn’t have gotten herself in a heap amount of trouble. That rarely, if ever, happened.
Opening her lips to ask Abigail something else, she stopped herself at the sound of their watches going off. Turning her wrist over, while unfolding her arms, she glanced at the message and her relaxed mode became solemn in a split second, “We need to head to the airport.”
Behind her sunglasses, Abby narrowed her eyes at Serenity. Not in any form of anger or annoyance, but one of contemplation. She was beginning to get the feeling that there was something her friend wasn't telling her. Between the mention of Wyn leaving due to research (a terrifying thought), and the fact that Reni was showing concern over Wyn not being present...
Abigail always found it interesting how quickly things can shift. She didn't even have time to voice her concern, as with a simple beep from a watch the priorities of both girls changed. She was no longer “just Abby Walker”, that beep signified that it was time to become Switcher. Although her external appearance did not change, her mindset certainly did.
Making no move to check her own watch, Switcher fell into step beside Barrage, silently wondering about the mission they were heading towards. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't nervous, she always felt at least a small amount of nerves going into a mission. She liked the nerves though, they kept her focused, aware. But this, this was different. This would be her first time out since what she had taken to referring to simply as “the disaster”.
Abby was so busy thinking of exactly what role she would be able to play on a mission involving the airport, that she hadn't noticed Serenity had led her away from her own vehicle. She cursed, her steps faltering for only a brief moment as she saw exactly where her friend had led her.
Or more like, what was meeting up with them. Serenity had taken a moment to bring her wrist watch to her lips and softly say the voice command: “Snowflake.” A pristine, seemingly normal white motorcycle with white led lights came out of hiding in plain sight (it was behind a restaurant dumpster in an alleyway). As if it had it’s own mind, it came to halt in front of the two women. Without any hesitation, Serenity grabbed the helmet strapped to the right handle and tossed it to Switcher. “Put this on.” She locked her blue gaze with the fair blonde, “I’m not going to waste time. You are going to get on this bike and we’re going together. It takes twenty five minutes to get to DTW, my vehicle can cut that by a lot and leaving right now will be in our best interest.” Switcher and Barrage may have not been suited for this emergency, but that should never stop a hero from taking on an obstacle. If you can think on your feet, anything was possible.
Hopping on her bike, she quickly pressed onto the surface of the gas tank, which revealed that there was a subtle touch screen device connected to it and when her finger pressed on the veneer, that area specifically glowed brightly, momentarily. Out of Nathaniel's sweatshirt pocket, she took out her 1.1 FORESITE goggles, which had a field ocular reader installed in it, evaluated strategic intel, technology, and energy, while also protected her eyes. Quickly putting them on, she clipped, “Well?” If there was any hero that got deadly serious, it was Serenity. She took her job undoubtedly serious than most because she knew how it was to lose someone. If Abigail didn’t get on this bike in the next minute, Ren would have no choice but to leave her and that would definitely be noted in Abby’s record back at the base.
It felt like forever, standing there, vacillating between getting on the bike and heading to her own car. However, only mere seconds was all that had passed. Nerves aside, Abby couldn't deny that Reni was correct in her logic. So, with a muttered curse, Abby grabbed the helmet and hopped on to the snow white bike.
She didn't shake, scream, or cry. Only her rigid posture betrayed how nervous she was. Abby had had many conversations with Reni about that death trap that was her preferred method of transportation. Call her crazy, but Abby preferred to have layers of steel and rubber between her and the world when she drove. It made her feel safer. Ironic, since the car usually transported her to a completely unsafe situation. But hey, to each their own.
Speaking of transport, Abby was beginning to seriously wonder about the merits of transporting herself via wings, when Reni hit the gas, sending them off in a white blur like a bat out of hell. With an embarrassing squeak, Abby did the only thing she could, and held on tighter.
Usually, no one first hand, maybe besides Nathaniel and Austin, witnessed Serenity arrive on scene because more often than not she was already there. How her bike looked at the beginning and the end was entirely different during how it looked during its journey. That was something her and Austin had been working hard on for the past couple of years - perfecting what she considered was her child. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was her’s. In Austin’s terms this was the SF211 Model TS 62, but to simplify it, Ren dubbed her motorcycle, Snowflake.
“We got eyes in the sky.” Austin’s voice fluttered in the air out of their smart watches, phones, and Ren’s goggles. The corner of Serenity’s goggles and all the other devices that were connected to the Coalition network, broadcasted live surveillance footage of the plane swooping down - fast - and all that was around it. This was so they could take this mission on at different angles - and think of a plan.
Serenity’s first priority: Get there.
Reading the coordinates, she leaned forward and glided her hand toward the end of her right handle, “Hang on.” She warned Abigail. And without further ado, Serenity took a sharp turn to the left, causing the motorcycle to lean unnervingly close to the ground, all the while pressing on a button, hiding within it. A spark appeared at the end of the back wheel from the rough, yet necessary turn.
As they darted down W Lafayette Blvd, Snowflake transformed into an impressively modfied cycle, which looked like it came straight out of a comic. The bike was powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine and geared low, for the pure sake of faster acceleration. There was no exhaust pipes, in actually. The bike Abigail had witnessed before was merely a mirage of what Snowflake truly was. The sudden change was not enough to prepare the poor girl for not only the rush of being on bike, a bike made specifically for someone as bold as Barrage, but for the rapidly building momentum and the shocking hurl in the air, like they were on a fucking rollercoaster without the track. Yepp, this baby had a jump jet and they were airborne! Unfortunately, there was no time to dissect the model and what it can and cannot do.
Clenching her eyes closed, Abigail tried to think of anything other than the fact that her body was dangerously close to scraping the ground at break neck speeds more times than she was comfortable with. Admittedly, the number of times she was comfortable with their speed and angle was a very low one. Zero, if you wanted to be precise. So she thought of anything else that would distract her.
First on her mind was how stupid the name “snowflake” was for the metal beast currently between her legs. Snowflakes were fragile and delicate. They drifted slowly to the ground. The motorcycle did drift, but none too slowly. Matter of fact, the comparison began and ended at the fact that they were both white.
Around her, over the whir of the bike, Switcher heard voices. Some coming from the coms, the other coming from Barrage. Admittedly it was difficult for Abby to register exactly what they were saying. How the Hell Barrage traveled at this speed and still managed to keep her wits about her was beyond comprehension for Abs.
She barely managed to hear Barrage give the instructions to hang on (like Abby would even consider doing anything other than that) before the feeling under the bike switched. Instead of feeling the consistency of the road beneath her she felt... nothing. Switcher had flown many times, it was one of her favorite things to do. Without opening her eyes she knew the damn bike was airborne. Leave it to Reni to have a fucking flying bike.
Oh no, Abigail. This wasn’t a flying bike. As high in the air as they were, as wonderful as it would have been to stay in the air, the motorcycle descended as fast as it went up. It lept, not flew. That was an upgrade for later. The tires were built to handle the pressure and the genius man that was Serenity’s best friend made sure that the landing was always safe, even if it was slightly on the bumpy side. Her eyes weren’t on the road anymore, they were focused on the plummeting plane at the top right of her goggles.
Man, today was a bad day to go jogging at the farthest place possible from the airport. They were running out of time. They needed to go faster. The bike whipped through Southern Ave, passing a green light and causing a traffic jam - no accidents, just a jam. Angry honks could be heard behind them, but faded away as they kept moving forward. Always moving forward.
Time to cut their time even more.
Revving the engine, Serenity smiled to herself as Snowflake roared with pride. Her left hand spent a moment searching for a switch and then... click. This was hardly the amount of speed her baby could do. It was time to rock her nitrous oxide engine. Without a doubt, Ren was on a mission and increasing the internal combustion engine power, especially after Austin’s modifications, which would allow her to do this. Lifting the bike so that they were on one wheel and partially using her energy propulsion ability, which aimed toward the ground, the bike forcibly hit a brick building and then started riding up it. Taking another harsh right, they were suddenly driving across the side of the fucking buildings.
When the bike returned to the ground, Switcher had a brief moment of gratitude. She loved the ground. She would never leave the ground again. If she ever got to stand on it again, she may kiss it. Kiss it, hug it, whisper sweet nothings in it's nonexistent ears... anything to let it know how sorry she was for ever leaving it.
Of course, whatever gratitude she felt was fleeting as another burst of speed came from the bike. The term “bike” didn't seem quite right though. Metalic monster. Hell beast. Death on wheels. All far more appropriate for mass of metal that was suddenly… vertical? Tentatively Abby opened one eye, promptly closing it once she confirmed what her gut already knew. The death trap was scaling the side of a fucking building. Like… what? No. Just… no. As soon as Abigail was off the motorcycle she was going to suggest a name change to her friend. Fuck calling calling it “snowflake”. Screw referring to it as a “motorcycle”. This thing needed to be locked up and never released. She would rather face Cerberus at the gates of hell than ride this thing with her friend ever again.
Speaking of friend, that brought her to the second thought that was circulating through her mind as she did her best to ignore the butterflies swarming around in her stomach. Abigail was seriously starting to consider the fact that Serenity wasn't her friend at all. Maybe, the other girl secretly hated Abigail and all the harmless “do you trust me” moments (which Abby had always blindly responded “yes” to) had culminated in this. Well, shit, wouldn't that be a devious plan. Of course it was far more logical that Abigail was over reacting, but one could never be too sure.
“Nathaniel. How’s it looking? You there yet?” Nonchalantly, Barrage was making a call on her comm connected to her goggles. Although she seemed calm and composed, her surroundings blurring out as they went from building to building, she was anxious because by the looks of it the plane could hit the ground before they even got there. Too much had been going wrong this week. If they failed this, that would add insult to injury. And, well, people would die.
“No. I can’t fly at the speed of light, you know… There’s a bit of a distance. Are you there yet? I think I have to… catch the plane. I don’t have any other ideas. You got anything?”
“Almost. Five minutes, give or take.” Serenity started heading downward, back to the ground, but if Abigail were to open her eyes, she would feel like she was heading straight down to her death. “That’s… what was on my mind too. Realistically, you’re the only one who has any chance at catching it.” Usually, once the Coalition alarms were set off, first responders were too informed and given the deets so they could determine whether this was something they should pursue as well. In this case, yes. If Nathanial was successful, which he would be, positive thinking, there would be a lot of unnerved people that needed to be taken care of.
“I’m thinking waffles if I don’t die. What do you think? Waffles?”
Humor was nice in stressful situations. “Apple cinnamon.” Yes, waffles would be wonderful if this went without a hitch.
Abigail mused silently while the conversation flowed around her. Waffles? Were they kidding. While they planned their next breakfast, Abby’s stomach roiled. Her only focus was not vomiting up the butterflies that had made their home in her gut. They liked it there, They were happy to be smuggled from one side of the city to the other.
“Guys,” she said through tight lips.“i’m all for the yay we will live to see another day talk… but can you lovebirds focus on anything other than food? I’m trying to keep mine down currently.”
Abby’s mouth was dry as sandpaper as she spoke, and although neither of her friend’s responded to her plea, they did stop the talk of waffles, and she could have sworn she heard a chuckle or two over the wind as they all raced towards their current disaster.
“See you there.”
“I love you.” And on that phrase, Serenity’s bike inclined once more until thankfully for Abigail, once again, they were on ground. The airport, and the plane, could be seen off the distance. They were almost there.
“I love you too. Stay safe.”
After another minute had past, the demon vehicle finally came to a halt and if Serenity’s assumptions were right, it was heading straight toward the FedEx Building 723. It looked like it would miss the runway and go straight into the small building. “Come on, we’re running out of time.”
The moment when the bike came to a complete stop ranked on the list of the top ten happiest moments of Abigail’s life. Gingerly, as if expecting it to turn around and bite her, Abigail extracted herself from Satan’s steed, formerly known as Snowflake. She took off her helmet with one hand, shaking out of her mane of blond locks as she steadied herself with her other hand. It would take a few moments to trust her own legs.
“I think we are already on borrowed time, let’s move” Abby said with a muttered curse. Being on scene, seeing the plane and knowing what was at stake, Abby shut off everything in her mind that was detrimental to Switcher. Hopes for the future, fears of motorcycles that defied gravity, all of it was gone as her mind went through every possible outcome of the situation in front of her… and most of those outcomes, despite everything they would try, weren’t promising as the plane hurtled towards the ground without mercy.
Cherish these short, welcoming moments. That was the best way to take on each day because nothing was for certain. In a split second, everything could change. Someone could die. Peace may be seen as a distant reach but without someone to believe in, without a hero, or heroes, there would be no hope. As long as one person stood firm and believed in the cause, there would always be hope. A hope for a better tomorrow. A hope for… a life of happiness.
Serenity wanted to optimize her abilities. Sure, she was good at what she did because if she wasn’t she would be absolutely destructive, but she knew she wasn’t ‘there’ yet. She wasn’t the best she could be and she wanted to be. She needed to be. With the faceless villain on the loose, not knowing if he would return or not, she couldn’t sit around and wait for him to make his next move. Waiting was something Ren wasn’t fond of doing. Unfortunately, there were somethings that not even The Coalition could do. Were they Superman or Batman? They protected a city, not the world. And as powerful as they were, they were still… human.
The conversation between Ted and Abigail lasted a few minutes more before Abigail said her goodbyes and made the walk back towards the lot where she had left her car. The gentle breeze off the water that played with her blond locks of hair soothed her. She wondered now if there would ever be a time when a light wind wouldn't remind her of the old man who helped her when she needed it most, even if he didn't realize it. Funny how when you spend so much time helping others, you are hardly able to recognize when you may need help yourself.
Abigail pulled sunglasses down over her blue eyes with her right hand, while her left hand spun the key to her Audi S8 around her index finger. One of Abby's favorite thing about wearing sunglasses was that she could scan the crowds around her, without anyone knowing she was watching them. Whether that habit was born from her profession or her natural nosiness, she wasn't sure.
It was while employing this little habit of hers that Abby's attention caught on the sun glinting off a familiar head of dark chocolate. Even mostly concealed by a too big sweatshirt, Abigail would recognize Serenity anywhere.
“Reni!” she called out, hoping to catch Serenity's attention. Although her car was in the opposite direction, Abby changed her course, hurrying instead towards the brunette. Again she found herself fighting against that all too familiar twinge in her right knee as she picked up her pace. She would deal with it... eventually.
Already alert to her surroundings, Serenity did catch the voice of not Dr. Thomas, but Miss Walker instead. There was an underlying feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was off because Wyn would have appeared by now. Wouldn’t she? The doctor looked at Ren as a prized test subject of some sort, doing things like spiking Ren’s food or drink with harmless experiments. A week ago, prior to the Mayor incident, Wyn had appeared out of nowhere, like she usually does, and asked if Serenity had ‘fun’ the previous night with Nathaniel. Prying into Ren’s sex life more so than she usually did.
Turns out, Wyn attempted to activate Ren’s lust by setting a chemical reaction within her body. The results? No comment. And yet, if there was one thing Ren knew about this mad scientist… Wyn was not one to stay in the shadows forever. Her car was here, but not her. Was there a chance that she came to RiverWalk with no aim but to enjoy the breeze? That was kind of unlikely for someone like Wyn.
“Abigail.” Although Ren did not shout, her voice was prominently clear, as she turned her attention to her colleague. Crossing her arms, she strided toward one of her fellow teammates and with raised eyebrows, she asked, “Have you seen Wyn around?”
Abby met Reni at the middle ground between the two, still scanning her surroundings. Now though, it was for a completely different reason as Ren had asked about Wyn.
“No,” Abigail answered with honesty, and a little confusion as well. “Is she supposed to be here?” At that moment, Abby spotted Wyn's car in the direction Serenity had walked from and furrowed her brow. “I'm surprised she left the watchtower. She doesn't usually do things like crowds, sunlight... social interactions.”
Abigail used her fingers to list off all the reasons she was surprised to hear that Wyn had left her secluded hidey-hole in the watchtower. She liked Wyn, well enough, but the two women were never close. Abby found the bustling energy and erratic behavior of Dr.Thomas rather... unsettling at times.
“Unless it involves research.” Serenity turned her head to look behind her, as if for a moment she felt eyes on them, but she was starting to think ever since the mayor died she was getting far too paranoid for her own good. Briefly, she cleared her throat and softened her expression. Surely, Wyn was fine. She could take care of herself, right? There was no use on worrying until they had evidence that something was wrong - Wyn wouldn’t have gotten herself in a heap amount of trouble. That rarely, if ever, happened.
Opening her lips to ask Abigail something else, she stopped herself at the sound of their watches going off. Turning her wrist over, while unfolding her arms, she glanced at the message and her relaxed mode became solemn in a split second, “We need to head to the airport.”
Behind her sunglasses, Abby narrowed her eyes at Serenity. Not in any form of anger or annoyance, but one of contemplation. She was beginning to get the feeling that there was something her friend wasn't telling her. Between the mention of Wyn leaving due to research (a terrifying thought), and the fact that Reni was showing concern over Wyn not being present...
Abigail always found it interesting how quickly things can shift. She didn't even have time to voice her concern, as with a simple beep from a watch the priorities of both girls changed. She was no longer “just Abby Walker”, that beep signified that it was time to become Switcher. Although her external appearance did not change, her mindset certainly did.
Making no move to check her own watch, Switcher fell into step beside Barrage, silently wondering about the mission they were heading towards. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't nervous, she always felt at least a small amount of nerves going into a mission. She liked the nerves though, they kept her focused, aware. But this, this was different. This would be her first time out since what she had taken to referring to simply as “the disaster”.
Abby was so busy thinking of exactly what role she would be able to play on a mission involving the airport, that she hadn't noticed Serenity had led her away from her own vehicle. She cursed, her steps faltering for only a brief moment as she saw exactly where her friend had led her.
Or more like, what was meeting up with them. Serenity had taken a moment to bring her wrist watch to her lips and softly say the voice command: “Snowflake.” A pristine, seemingly normal white motorcycle with white led lights came out of hiding in plain sight (it was behind a restaurant dumpster in an alleyway). As if it had it’s own mind, it came to halt in front of the two women. Without any hesitation, Serenity grabbed the helmet strapped to the right handle and tossed it to Switcher. “Put this on.” She locked her blue gaze with the fair blonde, “I’m not going to waste time. You are going to get on this bike and we’re going together. It takes twenty five minutes to get to DTW, my vehicle can cut that by a lot and leaving right now will be in our best interest.” Switcher and Barrage may have not been suited for this emergency, but that should never stop a hero from taking on an obstacle. If you can think on your feet, anything was possible.
Hopping on her bike, she quickly pressed onto the surface of the gas tank, which revealed that there was a subtle touch screen device connected to it and when her finger pressed on the veneer, that area specifically glowed brightly, momentarily. Out of Nathaniel's sweatshirt pocket, she took out her 1.1 FORESITE goggles, which had a field ocular reader installed in it, evaluated strategic intel, technology, and energy, while also protected her eyes. Quickly putting them on, she clipped, “Well?” If there was any hero that got deadly serious, it was Serenity. She took her job undoubtedly serious than most because she knew how it was to lose someone. If Abigail didn’t get on this bike in the next minute, Ren would have no choice but to leave her and that would definitely be noted in Abby’s record back at the base.
It felt like forever, standing there, vacillating between getting on the bike and heading to her own car. However, only mere seconds was all that had passed. Nerves aside, Abby couldn't deny that Reni was correct in her logic. So, with a muttered curse, Abby grabbed the helmet and hopped on to the snow white bike.
She didn't shake, scream, or cry. Only her rigid posture betrayed how nervous she was. Abby had had many conversations with Reni about that death trap that was her preferred method of transportation. Call her crazy, but Abby preferred to have layers of steel and rubber between her and the world when she drove. It made her feel safer. Ironic, since the car usually transported her to a completely unsafe situation. But hey, to each their own.
Speaking of transport, Abby was beginning to seriously wonder about the merits of transporting herself via wings, when Reni hit the gas, sending them off in a white blur like a bat out of hell. With an embarrassing squeak, Abby did the only thing she could, and held on tighter.
Usually, no one first hand, maybe besides Nathaniel and Austin, witnessed Serenity arrive on scene because more often than not she was already there. How her bike looked at the beginning and the end was entirely different during how it looked during its journey. That was something her and Austin had been working hard on for the past couple of years - perfecting what she considered was her child. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was her’s. In Austin’s terms this was the SF211 Model TS 62, but to simplify it, Ren dubbed her motorcycle, Snowflake.
“We got eyes in the sky.” Austin’s voice fluttered in the air out of their smart watches, phones, and Ren’s goggles. The corner of Serenity’s goggles and all the other devices that were connected to the Coalition network, broadcasted live surveillance footage of the plane swooping down - fast - and all that was around it. This was so they could take this mission on at different angles - and think of a plan.
Serenity’s first priority: Get there.
Reading the coordinates, she leaned forward and glided her hand toward the end of her right handle, “Hang on.” She warned Abigail. And without further ado, Serenity took a sharp turn to the left, causing the motorcycle to lean unnervingly close to the ground, all the while pressing on a button, hiding within it. A spark appeared at the end of the back wheel from the rough, yet necessary turn.
As they darted down W Lafayette Blvd, Snowflake transformed into an impressively modfied cycle, which looked like it came straight out of a comic. The bike was powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine and geared low, for the pure sake of faster acceleration. There was no exhaust pipes, in actually. The bike Abigail had witnessed before was merely a mirage of what Snowflake truly was. The sudden change was not enough to prepare the poor girl for not only the rush of being on bike, a bike made specifically for someone as bold as Barrage, but for the rapidly building momentum and the shocking hurl in the air, like they were on a fucking rollercoaster without the track. Yepp, this baby had a jump jet and they were airborne! Unfortunately, there was no time to dissect the model and what it can and cannot do.
Clenching her eyes closed, Abigail tried to think of anything other than the fact that her body was dangerously close to scraping the ground at break neck speeds more times than she was comfortable with. Admittedly, the number of times she was comfortable with their speed and angle was a very low one. Zero, if you wanted to be precise. So she thought of anything else that would distract her.
First on her mind was how stupid the name “snowflake” was for the metal beast currently between her legs. Snowflakes were fragile and delicate. They drifted slowly to the ground. The motorcycle did drift, but none too slowly. Matter of fact, the comparison began and ended at the fact that they were both white.
Around her, over the whir of the bike, Switcher heard voices. Some coming from the coms, the other coming from Barrage. Admittedly it was difficult for Abby to register exactly what they were saying. How the Hell Barrage traveled at this speed and still managed to keep her wits about her was beyond comprehension for Abs.
She barely managed to hear Barrage give the instructions to hang on (like Abby would even consider doing anything other than that) before the feeling under the bike switched. Instead of feeling the consistency of the road beneath her she felt... nothing. Switcher had flown many times, it was one of her favorite things to do. Without opening her eyes she knew the damn bike was airborne. Leave it to Reni to have a fucking flying bike.
Oh no, Abigail. This wasn’t a flying bike. As high in the air as they were, as wonderful as it would have been to stay in the air, the motorcycle descended as fast as it went up. It lept, not flew. That was an upgrade for later. The tires were built to handle the pressure and the genius man that was Serenity’s best friend made sure that the landing was always safe, even if it was slightly on the bumpy side. Her eyes weren’t on the road anymore, they were focused on the plummeting plane at the top right of her goggles.
Man, today was a bad day to go jogging at the farthest place possible from the airport. They were running out of time. They needed to go faster. The bike whipped through Southern Ave, passing a green light and causing a traffic jam - no accidents, just a jam. Angry honks could be heard behind them, but faded away as they kept moving forward. Always moving forward.
Time to cut their time even more.
Revving the engine, Serenity smiled to herself as Snowflake roared with pride. Her left hand spent a moment searching for a switch and then... click. This was hardly the amount of speed her baby could do. It was time to rock her nitrous oxide engine. Without a doubt, Ren was on a mission and increasing the internal combustion engine power, especially after Austin’s modifications, which would allow her to do this. Lifting the bike so that they were on one wheel and partially using her energy propulsion ability, which aimed toward the ground, the bike forcibly hit a brick building and then started riding up it. Taking another harsh right, they were suddenly driving across the side of the fucking buildings.
When the bike returned to the ground, Switcher had a brief moment of gratitude. She loved the ground. She would never leave the ground again. If she ever got to stand on it again, she may kiss it. Kiss it, hug it, whisper sweet nothings in it's nonexistent ears... anything to let it know how sorry she was for ever leaving it.
Of course, whatever gratitude she felt was fleeting as another burst of speed came from the bike. The term “bike” didn't seem quite right though. Metalic monster. Hell beast. Death on wheels. All far more appropriate for mass of metal that was suddenly… vertical? Tentatively Abby opened one eye, promptly closing it once she confirmed what her gut already knew. The death trap was scaling the side of a fucking building. Like… what? No. Just… no. As soon as Abigail was off the motorcycle she was going to suggest a name change to her friend. Fuck calling calling it “snowflake”. Screw referring to it as a “motorcycle”. This thing needed to be locked up and never released. She would rather face Cerberus at the gates of hell than ride this thing with her friend ever again.
Speaking of friend, that brought her to the second thought that was circulating through her mind as she did her best to ignore the butterflies swarming around in her stomach. Abigail was seriously starting to consider the fact that Serenity wasn't her friend at all. Maybe, the other girl secretly hated Abigail and all the harmless “do you trust me” moments (which Abby had always blindly responded “yes” to) had culminated in this. Well, shit, wouldn't that be a devious plan. Of course it was far more logical that Abigail was over reacting, but one could never be too sure.
“Nathaniel. How’s it looking? You there yet?” Nonchalantly, Barrage was making a call on her comm connected to her goggles. Although she seemed calm and composed, her surroundings blurring out as they went from building to building, she was anxious because by the looks of it the plane could hit the ground before they even got there. Too much had been going wrong this week. If they failed this, that would add insult to injury. And, well, people would die.
“No. I can’t fly at the speed of light, you know… There’s a bit of a distance. Are you there yet? I think I have to… catch the plane. I don’t have any other ideas. You got anything?”
“Almost. Five minutes, give or take.” Serenity started heading downward, back to the ground, but if Abigail were to open her eyes, she would feel like she was heading straight down to her death. “That’s… what was on my mind too. Realistically, you’re the only one who has any chance at catching it.” Usually, once the Coalition alarms were set off, first responders were too informed and given the deets so they could determine whether this was something they should pursue as well. In this case, yes. If Nathanial was successful, which he would be, positive thinking, there would be a lot of unnerved people that needed to be taken care of.
“I’m thinking waffles if I don’t die. What do you think? Waffles?”
Humor was nice in stressful situations. “Apple cinnamon.” Yes, waffles would be wonderful if this went without a hitch.
Abigail mused silently while the conversation flowed around her. Waffles? Were they kidding. While they planned their next breakfast, Abby’s stomach roiled. Her only focus was not vomiting up the butterflies that had made their home in her gut. They liked it there, They were happy to be smuggled from one side of the city to the other.
“Guys,” she said through tight lips.“i’m all for the yay we will live to see another day talk… but can you lovebirds focus on anything other than food? I’m trying to keep mine down currently.”
Abby’s mouth was dry as sandpaper as she spoke, and although neither of her friend’s responded to her plea, they did stop the talk of waffles, and she could have sworn she heard a chuckle or two over the wind as they all raced towards their current disaster.
“See you there.”
“I love you.” And on that phrase, Serenity’s bike inclined once more until thankfully for Abigail, once again, they were on ground. The airport, and the plane, could be seen off the distance. They were almost there.
“I love you too. Stay safe.”
After another minute had past, the demon vehicle finally came to a halt and if Serenity’s assumptions were right, it was heading straight toward the FedEx Building 723. It looked like it would miss the runway and go straight into the small building. “Come on, we’re running out of time.”
The moment when the bike came to a complete stop ranked on the list of the top ten happiest moments of Abigail’s life. Gingerly, as if expecting it to turn around and bite her, Abigail extracted herself from Satan’s steed, formerly known as Snowflake. She took off her helmet with one hand, shaking out of her mane of blond locks as she steadied herself with her other hand. It would take a few moments to trust her own legs.
“I think we are already on borrowed time, let’s move” Abby said with a muttered curse. Being on scene, seeing the plane and knowing what was at stake, Abby shut off everything in her mind that was detrimental to Switcher. Hopes for the future, fears of motorcycles that defied gravity, all of it was gone as her mind went through every possible outcome of the situation in front of her… and most of those outcomes, despite everything they would try, weren’t promising as the plane hurtled towards the ground without mercy.
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