8FOLD/HCC: Journey Into # 19, "Wobblies on a Train!"

[Andrew Perron]

On 6/29/2014 2:00 PM, Tom Russell wrote:
<snip>
> DRAMATIS PERSONAE.
> - Kate Morgan, DR. METRONOME II.
>    Can phase through matter.
>    Piano tutor, aged 23 in 2008.
>    Outlaw due to the Fitzwalter Rule.
> - Bethany Clayton, KNOCKOUT MOUSE.
>    Controls the density of her right hook.
>    Graduate student, aged 25 in 2008.
>    Lying due to the Fitzwalter Rule.

Oooooh. Doublegasp.

> Kate used to spend a lot of time worrying about Simon and all
> the time he spent watching train DVDs and talking about gauges. But
> then she realized that it made him happy, or as happy as he ever got
> anyway, and she was okay with that. She'd settle for that.
>     It might not be the best parenting strategy, and some nights she
> wonders if she's screwing them up.

Honestly, seems like a good parenting strategy to me.

>     Of course she spoke too soon. The metronome belt not only pulls her
> atoms apart whenever she needs to slide through solid matter, it also
> makes her incredibly sensitive to the presence of other people whose
> powers, whether natural or technological, allow them to defy the laws
> of physics for fun and/or profit.

Tesla Index!

> Bethany is a little surprised by the number of people in the station.
> An airport, she would understand. Maybe even a bus station. But a
> train? Who rides a train these days?

FEH >:/

>     He clearly doesn't feel the same way. Indeed, he seems furious that
> she dared to impede his path. "What's done cannot be undone," he
> huffs. He doesn't even help her up.

What the hell, man. I hope you're the bad guy. >:/

>     Got to get her talking. "Whatcha got planned?"
>     She mutters something.
>     "Pardon? I didn't catch that."
>     "I said I was going to a concert!" She's sharp. Hiding something.
>
> "Whatcha got planned?"
>     "I, um, I'm going to a concert."
>     "Pardon? I didn't catch that."
>     "I said I was going to a concert," she says, flustered. Bethany
> hates it when she has to repeat herself, and hates herself for having
> to do it so often.

Nice viewpoint shifting.

>     "Maybe for you," says Bethany. "I don't. I'm not good at. With
> strangers. Meeting people. I."
>     Kate smiles good-naturedly. "None of what you just said was a sentence."

*snerk*

> The woman smirks smugly. "None of what you just said was a sentence."

*Very* nice viewpoint shifting.

>     Bethany scrambles unnoticed to the bathroom. A moment later,
> Knockout Mouse emerges, and comes face to face with the woman who was
> annoying her. Who is also wearing a union and domino. "You!"
>     "You're Knockout Mouse. Makes sense now."
>     "Dr. Metronome, right?"
>     "Kate," she says quietly. "Only fair. Sorry about all that. I thought..."
>     Bethany dismisses it with a wave of her Singularity Gauntlet. "Team-up?"
>     "After you."
>     They head into the next car.

Well that turned out nicely. <3

>     "Oh brave new world," he hisses with contempt, "that has such...
> people in it."

Ah, Hotspur!

>     "Um," says Bethany.
>     "Oh, cool," says Kate. "We get to fight on top of a train."
>     "That's not... not necessarily the word I would use."

Bwahaha <3

>     "Yeppers." Bethany slams her fist against the ball. To her
> surprise, the impact sends her bouncing back. In the space of a
> breath, Bethany can see herself colliding with the swaying train and
> rolling right off.
>     That doesn't happen, though. Kate leaps towards her and for a
> split-second Bethany feels Kate's hand on her leg, then feels her
> atoms shimmering again. She sinks into the car, then Kate pulls her
> back up.

Good teaming <3 <3 <3

>     "Here comes another," says Kate. "I have an idea." She grabs
> Bethany by the arm, and with her free hand, touches the car. Suddenly
> everything is vibrating: Kate, Bethany, the car itself, its
> passengers, all a blur of atoms. Everything, that is, except Hotspur,
> who sinks into the train. The ball of energy stays in midair, passing
> through Bethany and tasting slightly of mint.

Ohhhh, nice. <3

>     "Oh, Hotspur's not a man," says Bethany. She tightens her fist with
> glee. "He's a robot." She punches him with the force of a waterjet
> cutter.

Heeheehee <3

>     "This is the chase: I am gone for ever." (He dies.)

Exit Hotspur, accompanied by sparks.

> "So, my lovelies," says Dr. Fay over the speaker phone,

DOCTOR FAY WOO

>     "Have you seen the 1994 film SPEED, winner of two Academy Awards?"
>     "Um... yes?"

Heeheehee

>     "Still not super-thrilled. Would you be comfortable lying to me?"
>     "I am completely confident in my ability to do this."
>     "Works for me," says Bethany.

BEST TEAMUP

>     "My brother, Simon. He was sitting next to me. Get him off the
> train, keep an eye on him? I'll meet you in Ann Arbor. Grizzly Peak
> Brewery? You can drop him off, we'll have a bite to eat?"
>     "Sure," says Bethany. "That'd be great."
>     With that, Kate sinks beneath the train. It passes over her and
> through her, and leaves her behind.

Such yay. <3

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, rly cute story.