Cold Case [IC]

[Electra]

Wander jerked as the bones began to move, her hand going automatically to her bat before she forced herself to relax, at least for the moment. The skeletons had been no trouble the first time, she was confident that she could handle them again if need be. "Next time leave them to their rest and we'll all have a better night," she told the zombie acerbically.

She looked over to Lady Winter. "If you need help, I think I can probably find you a place to stay, at least till you get a place of your own. And maybe somebody to help sort out your papers, too. That can be a real hassle when you just get here, no matter where you're coming from."

[Darksider42]

Lady Winter took a step away from the moving bones. The Zombie might have agreed he was wrong in attacking her, but she was not going to stay too close to him doing his "work". She was at least glad she had some help if that came to that.

She turned back to Wander, managing a smile despite her fears. "Thank you. That would help me tremendously for the time being." Her eyes darted back to the reanimating beings, making her feel even more uncomfortable before darting back to Wander. "Let us be off."

[Dr Archeville]

'Well, sir, I am sorry for attacking you based on your appearance, too'. Typical living...

The zombie ignored the two women, and supervised the skeletons as they crawled back into their graves and re-buried themselves, pulling the dirt in as they burrowed back down. "Alright, now, gents -- an' ladies -- everyone back in yer homes. Sorry fer inconveniencein' ya, false alarm an' all that. Mebe next time, right?"

Once they were all gone, the zombie used its shovel to smooth out the ground as best it could. "Hunh, need t'call that Fleur gal," it murmured, "get her ta re-do th' grounds. Wonder if she's awake?"

The zombie began to trudge southward.

[Electra]

Wander nodded, keeping a very close eye on the zombie until its work was done and it began trudging away. "Good idea. I'm on foot tonight, but I can catch us a ride if you don't have a way to travel." Reaching down to her belt, she activated her communicator. "Psyche, this is Wander. Okay with you if I bring someone back to base? She's a new hero type in town, and got roughed up by that zombie I told you about. She needs a place to stay."

[alderwitch]

The voice that chirped across the communicator was high and young sounding, "Of course. Civvie or super hero? If she's the former, I can arrange a safe house instead if that would be more appropriate." Alex was actually at the base herself and she kicked across on the rolling chair over to the massive computer array, "Whatever you need."

[Electra]

Erin looked over at the stranger, then back. "Superhero. I think she could use some help getting started on some red tape. She's not from around here. We'll be there in just a second." She deactivated the communicator and looked at Lady Winter. "I'm Wander, by the way, and that was Psyche. We're part of Young Freedom. You ready?"

[Darksider42]

"I can travel in different ways." Lady Winter said with a shrug. At that moment, her Ice hammer fell apart into a puddle of slush and water. It quickly moved towards the grass and plants, something that technically shouldn't happen. She waited patiently as Wander called Psyche and nodded once the conversation was over. "Yes I am. Point the way and I will follow." She said, frost starting to cover the ground a few center meters around the Blue Russians feet.

[Electra]

Wander activated her beacon, and a moment later the two of them were teleported into Young Freedom's base. It was an interesting looking place, like a view of the future as seen from 1960 or so, but with sophisticated updates to keep up with current technology. "Can you turn off that frosting thing, or is that constant?" she asked Lady Winter. "Might be easier if you can, but we can figure out something. Psyche?" she called, heading out down a corridor towards the computer room. "You around?"

[Darksider42]

Lady Winter blinked for a moment, looking around surprised that her surroundings had changed so quickly. The frost quickly stopped before it could affect the ground in any way. "Its controllable...Err, I was not expecting this." She had to admit it was a nice place, if a little too retro for her tastes. It as still a little strange and the lack of familiarity was making her a little uncomfortable.

[alderwitch]

"Hello!" A petite redhead popped around the corner. She was sixteen but her slender build and wide eyed expression gave her an aura of innocence. Psyche had on her costume, a red bodysuit and white skirt sans mask. She smiled and stuck her hand out for Lady Winter, "Hi, I'm Psyche, welcome to Young Freedom's HQ. Sorry, Wander, I was tinkering with the computers again."

[Electra]

"No problem," Erin replied. Now that they were back in the light, she could see and brush off the bone fragments from her blue and gold uniform, which she did while Psyche was getting introduced. "This is Lady Winter, she's new in town and doesn't have a place to stay. She was hanging out in the cemetery when that damned zombie showed up again and started harassing her. I happened to be passing by and gave her a hand."

[Darksider42]

"A pleasure to meet you." Lady Winter said, shaking Psyche's hand. She could feel the distinct chill of the Russians skin, It was a lot like touching ice. "Thank you for letting me come here. You have quite a interesting place here. I am surprised someone so young could get their hands on such things." She did wonder briefly if she could afford something like this, but she knew that she didn't have that much in all her bank accounts. No matter...

[alderwitch]

Psyche blinked a little at the question and then gave another sunny smile, "I just helped fixed it up. Its a family thing. But, if we'd had to build it from scratch, we could have. We have a speedster or two on the team. A lot of the upgrades are mine, however. Feel free to give her the tour if you'd like, Wander. Can I get you something to eat? And you need a place to stay? What sort of place?"

Psyche cheerfully chatted at the woman as she led the way back over to the large computer screen console. There were about a half dozen large screens all hanging on a giant display with a huge console below and a few comfortable rolling chairs. "Like a secret lair or like, you know, an apartment?"

[Darksider42]

Lady Winter smiled. "Why thank you, but I am not feeling hungry at the moment." She did find the girls attitude was helping her shake of the recent memories of Dead Head, which she found reassuring. She followed the petite redhead to the computer screens. "I am unsure. I doubt I could afford the luxury of a elaborate base for long. Apartment I could get for some time until funds dry up. Money is...hard to come by when one looks as I do. Though I do have quite a bit kept away." She said as she fidgeted. "I am paying you back, correct?" She was feeling easier around Psyche, but not as much as she would like.

[alderwitch]

"If you'd like," Alex said with a remarkable lack of concern, "People generally feel a lot better when they do, I find, but it really doesn't matter to me. So, apartment it is."

Her fingers flew rapidly over the odd key pad after she'd sat down in one of the rolling chairs and kicked herself back over to the console, humming cheerfully, "Yeah, the power to run this thing is absurd. If we didn't have the fusion, we'd black out the whole neighborhood. Considering how many secret bases are in Freedom City alone, it's sort of a wonder we don't glow from outerspace. Of course, hopefully everyone's using proper shielding and I hear that a lot of folks are going solar these days."

Alex chattered on cheerfully as she tapped on the keyboard.

[Darksider42]

"Once again, Thank you." Lady Winter said. She tried her best to follow everything Psyche said, though she did admit she never really factored in energy costs with bases. "How long have you been doing this?" She asked the redhead. "Superheroing I mean. I am curious about everything after all." Truth be told, she had a faint idea, but it seemed to be largely what the public knew. But there was always bound to be a few things even they did not know.

[alderwitch]

"For about a year now, I guess." Psyche said, glancing up from the monitors to swivvel her chair around. "We made our super hero debut at a ball game last summer when there were these wannabe super thugs. And we found the base on my birthday and started fixing it up."

She tilted her head to the side and politely returned the question, "What about you?"

[Electra]

Now that the zombie had been subdued and left behind, the lost hero delivered to help and safety, Erin felt more comfortable fading into the background of the conversation. Alex was a thousand times better than she was in drawing people out and learning more about who they were and what they needed. Personally, Erin felt reasonably proud to have elicited a code name and the fact that Lady Winter was currently homeless. She brushed a few skeleton chips off her uniform and listened.

[Darksider42]

"Only a few days ago. I woke up weeks ago floating off the coast in a mass of ice I managed to break out of. I remember some of my life before that moment...But how got there, why my skin changed colour and my powers still escapes me." Lady Winter said, feeling a little sad. Truth be told, she could remember a lot more of that. The people she robbed blind while they smiled and nodded, the Mafiya and the deals she helped seal. But what lead to that, was still a looming gap in her mind. For some reason, she felt that the cause or reasons for it would horrify her somehow.

She shook her head and pushed it out of her mind. "I will likely remember in time. That I am sure of." Lady Winter turned around, hearing the sound of fractured bone hitting the ground. "Oh, How rude of me. I get absorbed in conversation sometimes. When did you begin?"

[Electra]

It was obvious to Erin that Lady Winter wasn't telling the entire truth, you didn't need to be a telepath to see that she was holding back. But Erin let it be for the moment, figuring that if it turned out to be important, Alex was the best one to elicit the information from her. "I joined Young Freedom at the same time Psyche did," she replied. "That was last spring. Do you remember your civilian name?" she asked. "That's probably going to be important for your paperwork."

[alderwitch]

"Well, we're all founding members, so more founded than joined, but yes." Psyche pointed out with her usual need for specifics. She looked up at the woman curious if she was going to pretend to have forgotten her name or not. It didn't matter much to Alex, she knew how sensitive people could be about the secret identity thing. A phenomena she could understand if not share. "And what sorta neighborhood you wanna live in?"

[Darksider42]

"I do remember it...Don't go by it much. What has happened to me does not want to hide from prying eyes." Lady Winter said to Erin. "I do not have much of a preference of where, though someplace near water would be good. It is only time I can be alone in the cold and not bother others with it." She said to Psyche, though she did sound a little uncertain if it could be done.

[Electra]

"That shouldn't be too hard," Erin guessed, "no place around Freedom City is more than a few miles from the water anyway, really. "Maybe eventually you can get a place that's insulated like the inside of a freezer, and you can do whatever you want with it. But probably not right away. So that... that frost thing," she said, waving a vague hand, "you like doing it?"

[alderwitch]

"Near water, no problem!" Alex said and turned back around to tap a few more keys and start scanning through apartments on the multiple screens. Pictures whizzed in and out of the frames as she trundled along, "Environmental control is always a special needs niche. My Granpa was telling me just the other day about an aquatic super-hero he helped track down a base. They ended up purchasing an abandoned aquarium and retrofitting it. You just have to think outside the box."

[Darksider42]

"I honestly cannot help myself." Lady Winter said to Wander. "Ever since I came back, I do not feel comfortable unless I am in a place that is as cold as the arctic." She stopped for a second, slipping an arm out of her coat and showing it to Wander. Half of her arm was already covered in a thin layer of ice that just seemed to grow slightly thicker away from her coat. "I am freezing over parts of myself just to feel comfortable in the Summer. I do not realize it half of the time. It is something that worries me actually." she told her as she slipped her arm back into her coat.

She took her time looking at the the screens with Psyche. There was a some much choice. "Hmmm....I am unsure...That one?" Lady Winter said, pointing to one of the display screens just to the left.