That's The Way You Need It

[Avenger Assembled]

March 1, 2015 

Claremont Academy 

 

When Wander arrived at Duncan Summers' office, the headmaster emeritus was there to greet her as if it was still old times and she was still a Claremont student. She'd heard the old man was dialing back these days, gradually shifting the load of running the school to his daughter Callie, but in his black sweater and slacks, he certainly looked as hale and hearty as he ever had. Of course, when you spent a lot of time around Travis Hunter, a generation older than Duncan, maybe the Old Man didn't look so old after all. "Good afternoon, Ms. White," he told her cordially from behind his desk. As usual, thanks to his bad leg, he was seated at her approach. 

 

"Thank you for coming. I need you to do for one of my students what Fulcrum did for you when you were a student here." He didn't ask - evidently trusting her answer already. "I understand you've worked with Atlanteans in the past?" 

[Electra]

It was weird going back onto the Claremont campus, Erin decided, sort of like taking a brief trip back to her high school years. Which wasn't something she was exactly keen to do, for all she'd had some good times to go along with the hardships. Claremont had seen her lowest and highest points, her greatest victory and her most crushing defeats, but she'd found that she really preferred life in the quieter middle of the road. Coming into Duncan Summers office was definitely a reminder of some of those low points, and she found herself bracing for detention without even realizing it. 

 

She blinked in surprise when she heard Summers' request. Her time with Fulcrum had been interesting, and she'd picked up a few tips on living as an adult superhero, but they hadn't exactly been smooth sailing. After Thunderstanding had dumped her as a student, Erin hadn't been interested in another mentor relationship, and had made that clear in ways she was kind of embarrassed to remember. She hadn't been a very good, what, mentee? and she wasn't at all sure she'd do any better on the other side of the equation. "Um, I've been to Atlantis, she offered uncertainly, "a few years ago. And my double's roommate at Project Freedom is a Deep One, but they don't really get along." She shifted from one foot to the other, not quite willing to sit. "I don't know if I'm the sort of mentor you need," she admitted. "I'm sure there are better heroes in the city." 

[Avenger Assembled]

"We have a student from another world who is strong, fast, and has had some trouble fitting in with her peers. She reminds me of Erin White a few years ago," admitted Summers. "You might know her as the heroine Glamazon. She comes from a martial people and considers herself a warrior - which means she's a great admirer of yours. In fact," he added, his tone giving great gravity to what might have been light words from anyone else, "she might call herself your biggest fan. I'm an old man, the Freedom League is a surface team, and Nereid is too busy with undersea politics for the surface these days. Thaelia looks up to you like no one else in the superhuman community these days." 

[Electra]

Erin ran a hand through her hair, at a loss for words for a moment. The Liberty League had fans, same as Young Freedom had, she was used to that by now. But the admirers had always gravitated towards her more attractive colleagues and their flashier powers, which was fine with her. She did not mind being at the back of the group photos. The idea of someone being a fan specifically of hers was a little odd. But she did, sort of, a little bit, see the similarities Summers was talking about. "I'm afraid I'll only disillusion her in person, then," she admitted wryly, "but I guess I can't hurt to give it a shot. No commitment, right? If it doesn't work out, nobody's in trouble." 

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia turned the knob on the door, nervously.  She wasn't sure who to expect standing on the otherside.  When the headmaster proposed setting her up with a mentor, she had contemplated if she were in trouble.  Most of her circle of friends had graduated the year before,  Which left a lot of cooler heads who acted as a great filter for the inevitable confrontations that seemed to follow Thaelia when interacting with students she wasn't familiar out of the way.  Ranging from simple spats over training equipment or the like, there was a small level of entitlement that the princess still failed at avoiding.  

 

She had expected Siren.  The heroine using her grandmother's namesake.  Whom Thaelia had in fact met before.  It was the obvious choice.  Much like her former roommate, the headmaster seemed to think keeping her around people who could survive in her environment worked best.  Not that the Atlantean could complain considering she considered Claremont alum her closest friend.  But, still it did fell a bit stereotypical.

 

What she hadn't expected was the woman who actually was standing in the room.  It was Wander!  The Wander.  For her given money, the surface world had produced a fascinating mix of warriors.  Maxima was certainly someone to look up to.  There was even something to be said.  But, for Thaelia's money there was one heroine for heroes to aspire to.  The woman who single handedly saved Atlantis (The actual events might've varied a bit, maybe some other people helped in the background, but Thaelia didn't care about the full truth of that tale).

 

There were two things Thaelia ever researched in the school library.  Arcane lore and Wander.  There was a brief moment in which the normally talkative girl, or rather young woman having turned eighteen not too long ago, could muster up.  Those familiar with a beluga whale might've been able to place the nearest equivalent of the noise that escaped the Atlantean's lips in her native tongue as she couldn't contain her excitement.

[Avenger Assembled]

Summers smiled fractionally - or did the lines in his face just get a little deeper? It was hard to tell with the old man. Either way he had a neutral expression on his face by the time the others were paying much attention to him again. "Excellent. Thaelia, Ms. White, Glamazon, Wander - I'm sure you'll have a lot to discuss with each other." He looked at the two young women expectantly. "Thaelia, I'm expecting a full report on what you've learned from your time with Ms. White. Today my job is easy - I give one of my finest students over to one of my finest graduates." He gave them both a serious look that made the temperature in the room drop ever-so-slightly. "Don't make my job difficult." 

[Electra]

Erin looked taken aback for a moment at Thaelia's squeak of excitement, but recovered quickly and smiled at her new student. "It's nice to meet you. When we're out of uniform like this, just call me Erin." She extended a hand to the Atlantean princess. "Headmaster Summers says we've got a lot in common." 

 

At the last words from the headmaster, Erin looked in his direction and swallowed visibly. "Ah, yessir. We'll do our best." Looking back to Thaelia, she jerked her head towards the door suggestively. "You wanna go grab lunch someplace besides the cafeteria? My treat." 

[Brown Dynamite]

It was a testament to how effective that glare was that Thaelia's excitement had been stunted.  If even for a moment.  Trepidation setting in as the fear of Summers entered its way into her consciousness.  For the girl who charged into without a care in the world she was taken aback.  That's just who Headmaster Summers was.  She was positive he had to have been some sort of fear controlling demon in his heroing days.
 
"I assure you Praetor Summers.  Your job shall be one of ease.  You have my word as a princess of Atlantis!"  Thaelia pounded her fist over her chest with enough enthusiasm for a metal clan on the armored plating to echo forth.  It hurt.  Not that she was going to admit that.  And lose face in front of the Wander.  Or 'Erin' as she had called herself.
 
"Thaelia."  Thaelia replied dumbstruck.  She was on a first name basis with Wander.  Exhale, inhale. "I like fish." There was an internal groan. Of course she liked fish. That didn't need explaining there wasn't exactly a litany of options for fine dining underwater.  But the demigoddess known for boisterous braggart nature was still having trouble finding her tongue.

[Electra]

"Fish is good," Erin agreed as they walked out of the office and into the much less intimidating corridor, pretending not to notice the younger girl's nerves. "There's a place down almost under the Pramas Bridge, I can't even remember the name of it, but they do a really good fish sandwich. My friends and I used to go there sometimes after patrol. You, ah, you can change into your civvies first if you want to, might attract a little less attention?" She herself was wearing blue jeans and a Freedom City University sweatshirt that made her look like any of a thousand local college students. "You don't have to, though." 

[Brown Dynamite]

At the mention of it being a hangout spot for Erin's friends she opened her mouth to ask a question.  Stopping by focusing simply on the wardrobe change possibility.  It was probably for the best to do so.

 

"I will change."  Thaelia repeated.  Personally, she didn't mind standing out.  If someone recognized her it wasn't a cause for concern as she treated her heroic identity as more of a title than a cover.  There was no secret id to hide her from prying eyes.  No doubt in part to the fact, that she could swim home to an undersea castle whenever needed.  However, in her time of Claremont Thaelia had learned to respect that her friends did not have the same options and valued their privacy.

 

That said the amount of attire that she owned that wasn't flashy was very limited.  No doubt in part to the fact that she considered the mermaid dress she wore to the Freedom League holiday party amongst the more subued numbers.  Ready to lead the way back to the dorms Thaelia kept walking through the corridor.  

[Electra]

"Sounds good." Erin smiled a little as they walked out of the main building, across the quad and into the dormitory. There was a definite sense of nostalgia at being back in her old stomping grounds, the first real home she'd had on Earth Prime. "They haven't changed things up much," she observed aloud. "Looks like they finally replaced the couch in the common room. James and I, he was Hellion, we would stay up all night playing Mario Kart because neither of us had to that often." Because neither of us wanted to sleep and face the nightmares, she thought but did not say. "How do you like living here? It's got to be different than where you come from." 

[Brown Dynamite]

"Mmm It is a fit home.  No, that does not explain it.  I get to be myself.  Not the princess with a world of responsibilities.  Not some figurehead to give a less than reassuring speech before someone with more education and a better way with words takes over.  A warrior fighting fiends with friends."  Thaelia answered before walking up to her single room dorm.  Having moved to a roommate less set up after Giang graduated.

 

Quickly changing into a different set of clothes Thaelia emerged shortly afterwards.  Her new clothing consisted of jean shorts and boots.  A white cotton top with a small brown half jacket (that was still pretty large considering her large build).  Not addressing the fact that her clothes were more fit for spring than the current temperature norms she resumed the conversation without hesitation.   "What is this Kart of the Marios?"  

 

She wasn't a video game user.  Due in no small part that excitement meant possibly being less precise with her strength.  Push too hard and a controller was left in smithereens.  Setting aside that she could now lift hundreds more tons compared to when she first enrolled in the academy.

[Electra]

"It's a game, a racing game, for the Wii," Erin explained as they walked back down the hall. She paused for a moment in front of the door to her old room, but it was closed and there was no indication of who might be living there now. Trying the handle would be very rude, and Alex and Oliver wouldn't be waiting behind it anyway. "You drive around a course and pull dirty tricks on other drivers to try and get your cart to the finish line first. I think I broke half-a-dozen wiimotes while I was getting the hang of it, but luckily James is really rich so he just replaced them for me. That fine muscle control is a pain, isn't it?" 

 

As they stepped out of the dorm, Erin shoved her hands into the pockets of her oversize sweater. "So are you on a team here?" 

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia paid ttention to the explanation.  It wasn't too far off from the underwater chariot races she had participated in with Temperant and Tsunami.  All the game needed was Captain Kraken suddenly arriving.  That and to be staged underwater.  "Surface contraptions are made so fragile."  Thaelia mused not noticing the lingered stared Erin gave one of the dorms.
 
"Next Gen.  My sist-I mean cousin's team.  It was reformed at the beginning of the year.  A great honor to bear the same banner as my own kin."  Starting out booming, as Thaelia kept speaking her voice began to soften ever so slightly.  "I worry.  After the eldest students graduate if the remaining members of Next-Gen will wish to continue fighting as a unit."
 

[Electra]

Erin nodded. "Yeah, it's weird when part of a team graduates and the rest stays behind. But if you're lucky, you'll pick up some good younger students and you can teach them all the stuff you've learned about working in a team. But even if the team doesn't stick together, that doesn't mean you can't work with your friends. If they stay in the city and keep doing hero work, you'll probably run into them all the time anyhow. Neireid's your cousin, right? I sort-of knew her, or we went to school together anyhow. Next Gen and Young Freedom weren't exactly on good terms in those days." She grinned in rueful remembrance. "But Neireid was one of the good ones, worked hard." 

[Brown Dynamite]

"I was raised by the king.  Not adopted, some less than cordial members of the council would otherwise claim Theseus as trying to artificially expand the number of his direct heirs.  By blood we are cousins.  Her dedication has always been inspiration to I who did not inherit our grandmothers abilities."  Thaelia summarized her relationship with her cousin.  Becoming flustered as she continued

 

"I was there...When you saved my cousin.  No, when you saved all of Atlantis.  Claimed by the Dark Mother.  I still remember the hunger."  It was a long enough time ago for Thaelia to have been a little girl.  A far sight from the young woman standing near Erin.  Not that she saw her saviors directly while vamped out.  It was far easier for the guards to keep Thaelia at bay than say Nereid at the time.

[Electra]

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Erin said soberly. "You must've been just a kid. I'm glad we were able to help." She smiled a little. "The king threw us a party afterwards, more kinds of fish than I've ever seen in my entire life. I was just glad he wasn't mad at me for pushing him out of the way when Neireid started attacking. I think I probably broke some kind of rule for dealing with royalty there." With a little chuckle, she led the way through the gates and down the street towards the Pramas bridge. "Do you go home to visit often?" 

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia laughed.  "Gods.  The king is not an Atlantean so easily shackled by proper etiquette.  The elected council may have had some members offended.  But, the king would never give such action too much concern.  Lives were saved that is what matters most.  It is why he is a king most excellent."  She smiled beaming ear to ear.  Having missed the party herself, needing to sleep after all the excitement.

 

"I visit for the holidays.  The four Atlantean palaces are an hour and a half away.  Perhaps less if I really, really push it.  This previous vacation was the first holiday I i did not go home for."  Thaelia hadn't actually checked in with anyone back home.  She was certain the invasion hadn't reached the depths of the sea.  Though having no one send a swimmer to check on hurt admittedly hurt.  Despite being aware that the nation's isolationist tendencies meant they likely hadn't even received word of all the surface commotion.

 

It was a petty and childish thing to be upset..  And Thaelia knew that.  But, she also grew up never knowing her parents.  And despite her many attempts to invite the Olympian Sea Gods over on her birthday the god never answered her summons.  It always hurt when her family didn't respond in the way she wanted.  "How, often do you still run into your team?"

[Electra]

Erin grinned. "Well, I live with Midnight, so I see him pretty often," she told the younger girl. "And Edge is on the Liberty League with me, so we're still teammates. I don't see Sage, I mean Blue Fox quite as often, but we still keep in touch, and we get together with Cobalt Templar sometimes to do stuff. We worked together during the whole Communion thing. Some of my other teammates, the ones who graduated before me especially, I've kind of lost touch with. I see Geckoman around every once in awhile, he's hard to miss." 

 

She kicked at a snowball laying on the edge of the sidewalk as they went along, watching it paff into powder. "So what do you guys do for fun at Claremont these days?" 

[Brown Dynamite]

"I sold my soul during the Communion thing."  Thaelia commented.  It wasn't a literal soul selling situation.  But, she equated a deal with Medea to be akin to be a nefarious exchange.  "Geckoman, he is the one that burned down the hospital?"  Even Thaelia had heard of Geckoman's recent bout of infamy before the news long forgot about it moving to another flavor.  Then moving to the whole Communion thing.
 
"Argue."  Thaelia half joked.  "Movies, training, parties, prom is coming up.  I shall have to purchase a dress most eye catching"  She mused.  Not realizing how quickly she had eased into a normal conversation.  "Errant, this boy I know, wishes to arrange a campfire gathering.  We do not have many large group gatherings.  But they occur.  Everyone was concerned about growing up to be a hero.  Then we were the only heroes in the city.  I think, now the common emotion is enjoying the time in the educational facility."

Thaelia shrugged not mentioning where she stood on either side of that fence. "Field trips are most exciting.  Some students even went to the moon.  Rampart tells me she traveled back in time.  I do not believe her.  Time travel is an endeavor most far-fetched.  Villains would just erase us from history if that was an option!"

[Electra]

"I had to sell a piece of my soul once," Erin commented, "but I have it on good authority that they grow back, if you keep doing good things and having a positive attitude or something like that." She rubbed her chest absently, still able to vaguely remember the ache of that missing piece. "But that thing with Geckoman and the hospital was totally exaggerated," she told Thaelia with great assurance. "I don't know why, but some journalists just seem to have it out for that guy. Well no, I know why," she corrected with a half smile. "He's totally annoying a lot of the time. But he's a good hero." 

 

She tipped her head back to look at the sky when Thaelia mentioned time travel, staring at the gray clouds. "Time travel is possible," she finally said, "but it doesn't fix things. It doesn't change things, I mean, not really. Every once in awhile you'll get a stable time loop, where you can go back and seem like you've changed something, but it's an illusion. Most of the time if you try and change something, you either detonate your timeline or spin out a new one where the change happened, and your own timeline is totally unaffected. That's why most people don't bother with it." Even though her words were matter-of-fact, there was sadness hidden in her voice. 

[Brown Dynamite]

"I am not so sure if Medea has a grip that is so easily softened"  Thaelia replied.  "She is the worst family."  Recounting that through very distant connections.  Very distant.  Like not invted to family reunions (not that Thaelia was either) distant.  Medea was related to the Olympians by blood.  Grand Daughter of Helios, Titan of the Sun.  Which meant she was related to Thaelia.  Which was a weird thought.  But, not as uncommon logistics would imply by when measuring any family line that far back.

 

Thaelia wasn't sure if to be happy or not about the fact that time could not really be changed.  It meant Cho might have been telling the truth.  And that was a thing.  But it also meant, if she ever was to try.  She couldn't go back and save her mom.  "Time travel is blowing then."  She muttered.  Messing up on the word blows all the while.  "Did you try to change something?  Wait no.  Too personal.  Do not feel compelled to answer."  

 

Thaelia wasn't someone with the keenest sense of situations.  But, she could guess when hesitation might have meant words were kept measured.  Came with the territory of being  bit of a powder keg herself.

[Electra]

"I never tried," Erin said, her face very bleak for a moment. "I wanted to, very much, but my best friend sat me down and explained that it wouldn't work the way I wanted it to, and then she let me cry all over her, and then I had to let it go." She ran one hand through her hair, letting the disordered strands blow in the breeze. "You're right about Medea, though," she went on, deliberately jumping off the topic. "Definitely the worst. One of these days I'm going to put her in the deepest, darkest cell in Blackstone and turn the key myself. What did she do to you?" 

[Brown Dynamite]

"She saved me."  It was definitely not the worst part of that story.  And probably the only part, Thaelia shouldn't have been ashamed about.  But, it was what she led with.  Giving a moment to stand there silently.  Seemingly as flustered as when she walked into Summers' office.

 

"Doctor Stratos attempted to destroy the Freedom League building with a giant drill.  Instead of his considerable powers.  Gods know why he would attempt such a ridiculous notion. There were three of us, we lost.  Medea had been assisting Doctor Stratos until she betrayed him.  Offering to aid us, in exchange for our binding word on the River Styx that we shall owe her a favor in the future.  The magical bindings when one swears on the River Styx are um binding."

 

It was actually the first time she had recounted the tale since it occurred.  And it lacked her usual dramatic flash.  "A debt sealed in magic to a wretch  of a fiend."

[Electra]

"Ugh, Stratos too? I thought he was locked up in Providence again. You guys had a hell of a time," Erin commented sympathetically. "Those two together, not only evil but incredibly obnoxious! But you did what you had to do. And yeah, maybe you owe Medea a favor, but you don't owe her your loyalty. Even if you have to do something for her in the future, I'm sure you can figure out a way to foil whatever she's planning at the same time. You could even give me a call," she suggested with some enthusiasm. "I've been waiting for another chance at her, and this time I'll be ready for that mind control garbage." Erin's grin was predatory now. "But don't feel bad about doing what you had to, okay? Nobody got hurt, the day was saved."