***
Robert Barnes pulled his head out of the shower stream at sound of the doorbell. "Just a minute!" he yelled, spinning the taps and climbing out,
grabbing a towel. "Every single time lately," he grumbled, speed drying before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading out of the bathroom.
Reaching the front door, he checked through the spy hole, then smiled and opened the door. "Oh, it's you. Should have spent a little more time in the
water."
His younger sister grinned. "You waste enough of that anyway," Miranda said, stepping inside. The bodysuit she wore to contain her electrical powers
was mostly hidden under street clothes, leaving only the shocking blue hair that most people would assume was a dye job as a clue to her other life as Miss
Lightning. "Go and get dressed, I'll be fine," she said, heading into the kitchen.
Robert came back out in casual clothes a few minutes later, finding Mir waiting for him with a fresh cup of coffee. "Did you just get up?" she asked
curiously. As he nodded, she raised an eyebrow. "Rob, it's nearly four in the afternoon."
"And I was up all night dealing with the Devoured over in Talos," he said. "Kidnapping scientists for some reason for another..." He
shrugged, sipping at his coffee. "Who knows how those things think."
Mir chuckled, drinking her own coffee. "Don't look at me. I'm still working on Hellions and Skulls."
Her brother gave her an amused look. "You know, Ifrit's leaving you in the dust," he teased. Miranda rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him,
small electrical arcs crackling in the air and making Robert back up slightly with a laugh. "Touchy!" he grinned.
"Unlike you two, I'm too busy to run around in spandex full time," Miranda said. "The perils of a more conventional career."
"A Freedom Corps technician is conventional?" he asked, getting another zap for his teasing. "Ow ow okay I give!" he laughed.
Mir smirked, making a pistol with her fingers and 'blowing the smoke away'. "Smart boy."
"Speaking of Ifrit, I heard you've gone and joined Riot Force 6.1," Rob said, changing the subject. "She shared what the six-point-one
means?"
The blue-haired woman smiled and shrugged. "Not a clue, to be honest. I asked, but she loves her mysteries."
The tech hero shrugged, finishing his coffee. "How's she doing there? I've been a bit busy with the Legendary and such," he commented.
"I'm still a bit surprised she made a supergroup... not something I would have considered doing."
"She's doing good," Miranda said. "We're mostly doing small scale work, but I think we're doing good work." She chuckled.
"We've got some variety. Idealists like Star, outright mercenaries like Sword, but... well, we're making a difference I think."
Robert smiled, going to make another coffee.
***
"Dammit, I can't see anything. If he's there, he's not opening the curtains," grumbled the Sky Raider trooper sitting at a window in one
of the broken skyscrapers in Faultlines crater.
The Raider Engineer with him sighed "Just be patient, would you? We set up this surveillance an hour ago, you can't expect miracles."
"Look, if Knight does live there, why not sneak in, plant some cameras and bombs, and blow him up when he comes home?"
He looked up at a short laugh from the Engineer. "Christ, you are new."
"And what the hell does that mean?" he scowled.
"Two things newbie. One, He's a registered hero. Which means, if that is his apartment, the Freedom Corps have added their own layer of security on
top of the already impressive shit you see in any of the new buildings in this zone. We try and sneak in or plant bombs, and they'll know. Hell, waiting
for him to step on the balcony and sniping him would leave a pretty ripple pattern on the forcefield generators and not much else." The Engineer chuckled.
"They may be cape-licking little snots, but the Corps do good work."
The Trooper looked up to him. "What's the other thing?"
His amused look shifted to a scowl. "We're not making this shits death quick. His interference has cost us a lot, in money, men and equipment. Captain
Castillo is going to make him suffer before the end."
***
Robert Barnes pulled his head out of the shower stream at sound of the doorbell. "Just a minute!" he yelled, spinning the taps and climbing out,
grabbing a towel. "Every single time lately," he grumbled, speed drying before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading out of the bathroom.
Reaching the front door, he checked through the spy hole, then smiled and opened the door. "Oh, it's you. Should have spent a little more time in the
water."
His younger sister grinned. "You waste enough of that anyway," Miranda said, stepping inside. The bodysuit she wore to contain her electrical powers
was mostly hidden under street clothes, leaving only the shocking blue hair that most people would assume was a dye job as a clue to her other life as Miss
Lightning. "Go and get dressed, I'll be fine," she said, heading into the kitchen.
Robert came back out in casual clothes a few minutes later, finding Mir waiting for him with a fresh cup of coffee. "Did you just get up?" she asked
curiously. As he nodded, she raised an eyebrow. "Rob, it's nearly four in the afternoon."
"And I was up all night dealing with the Devoured over in Talos," he said. "Kidnapping scientists for some reason for another..." He
shrugged, sipping at his coffee. "Who knows how those things think."
Mir chuckled, drinking her own coffee. "Don't look at me. I'm still working on Hellions and Skulls."
Her brother gave her an amused look. "You know, Ifrit's leaving you in the dust," he teased. Miranda rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him,
small electrical arcs crackling in the air and making Robert back up slightly with a laugh. "Touchy!" he grinned.
"Unlike you two, I'm too busy to run around in spandex full time," Miranda said. "The perils of a more conventional career."
"A Freedom Corps technician is conventional?" he asked, getting another zap for his teasing. "Ow ow okay I give!" he laughed.
Mir smirked, making a pistol with her fingers and 'blowing the smoke away'. "Smart boy."
"Speaking of Ifrit, I heard you've gone and joined Riot Force 6.1," Rob said, changing the subject. "She shared what the six-point-one
means?"
The blue-haired woman smiled and shrugged. "Not a clue, to be honest. I asked, but she loves her mysteries."
The tech hero shrugged, finishing his coffee. "How's she doing there? I've been a bit busy with the Legendary and such," he commented.
"I'm still a bit surprised she made a supergroup... not something I would have considered doing."
"She's doing good," Miranda said. "We're mostly doing small scale work, but I think we're doing good work." She chuckled.
"We've got some variety. Idealists like Star, outright mercenaries like Sword, but... well, we're making a difference I think."
Robert smiled, going to make another coffee.
***
"Dammit, I can't see anything. If he's there, he's not opening the curtains," grumbled the Sky Raider trooper sitting at a window in one
of the broken skyscrapers in Faultlines crater.
The Raider Engineer with him sighed "Just be patient, would you? We set up this surveillance an hour ago, you can't expect miracles."
"Look, if Knight does live there, why not sneak in, plant some cameras and bombs, and blow him up when he comes home?"
He looked up at a short laugh from the Engineer. "Christ, you are new."
"And what the hell does that mean?" he scowled.
"Two things newbie. One, He's a registered hero. Which means, if that is his apartment, the Freedom Corps have added their own layer of security on
top of the already impressive shit you see in any of the new buildings in this zone. We try and sneak in or plant bombs, and they'll know. Hell, waiting
for him to step on the balcony and sniping him would leave a pretty ripple pattern on the forcefield generators and not much else." The Engineer chuckled.
"They may be cape-licking little snots, but the Corps do good work."
The Trooper looked up to him. "What's the other thing?"
His amused look shifted to a scowl. "We're not making this shits death quick. His interference has cost us a lot, in money, men and equipment. Captain
Castillo is going to make him suffer before the end."
***