A Vestige

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

He gave a mild shrug before he answered, the action carrying a little more weight than it should.

“Totally. It’s not even hard, really.” He rubbed his fingers together absentmindedly in the moment of silence, mind elsewhere. “But all I can control is the physical, and you bet even geese have enough presence of mind to be terrified when they stop having a say in their own bodies.”

He gave a sudden unprompted grin, abruptly resting back and laying a hand on Goliath’s head. He shot a brief glance at Del’s new gloves as he answered.

“Loss of control sucks. I don’t feel that’s gonna be much of an argument.”

#no idea where to go XD #roleplay #slateofargent #SH!AU #doggone luck rp

‘Fair.’ She glanced at the stage, where the newest kid to step up was getting a bucket’s worth of water to dance. She drummed her fingers, before huffing a laugh. ‘Different topic? Preferably lighter.’

#super!au #not my writing #slateofargent #inbox memes

♟:Patching up a wound

“Didn’t you get caught in the fires? Shouldn’t you be getting that looked at too?”

Slate gave a non-committal hum as he laid Del down on one of the beds in the back of the training facility. He’d been getting some odd looks from her the entire way back for the bridal carry-but then, she had a piece of shrapnel the size of his thumb sticking out of her thigh and everyone else had been busy, so he felt he’d earned a little weirdness. Of course, part of the weirdness may have been his uncharacteristic quietness. Normally, the team fought to get him to shut up when in costume, something he was aware of.

“It was just a glancing burn, I got a barrier up in time to divert most of it. Yours might be half an inch from an artery, so I’m gonna focus on holding you tight until one of Arimathea’s docs can get here. My arm can wait.”

That got him a glare.

“Show me the arm, Slate. I’m calling pact.”

That ground his mental train of thought to a halt, pausing in his gathering of a pressure bandage. The pact was something they’d come up with after a long, difficult talk about his actions and justifications in leading the group. She’d call him out whenever he lapsed too much into the “heroic” role of leader he’d concocted and was being either an idiot or an asshole.

So, without complaint he put the bandage down and rolled up what was left of his sleeve, revealing the skin underneath to be red, angry, and peeling in places, but within the limit of something that could be delayed until her wound was dealt with.

That earned him a raise of the eyebrows, and he gave a sheepish grin before returning to the bandages.

“Thanks, Del. But seriously-I must have caught the edge of the explosion. And been lucky to avoid any of the shrapnel, like you’ve caught a leg full of.”

Del’s view had been quite clear- Baskerville had been nearer to the centre of the blast than she had been, and the state of his costume only confirmed it. But for now, he was trying to help. Any investigation to the curious phenomenon could wait.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

He hummed his agreement, considering if maybe there was some mysterious use of his own powers that would hit him that hard. More likely his were just too mild to reach that level.

“Simon Slate! SIMON SLATE!”

Simon jumped halfway out of his seat, along with what felt like half the class, and made his way to the stage amidst a smattering of laughter.

Past the initial disapproving look however, the Coach proceeded straight on, pulling a large animal carrier up from the side of the stage. For a moment Simon was afraid it was going to be a cooped up lion or something- he was yet to meet a cat who would listen to him.

Instead, what tottered out looked like the preschool at a farmyard: a piglet, a puppy, a lamb, and a very disgruntled young goose. What the school had managed to find on short notice, he supposed.

Simon made it back to his seat soon after, glowing and grinning at the excitement regardless of the new marks joining the many faded ones on his hands.

“Well, three out of four isn’t bad. In my defence, that goose had the temperament and vocabulary of the most briny of sailors.” He wiped off the bites with a cloth from a back pocket, still quite satisfied with the results. “I mean, I could have insisted, but…”

‘You don’t like to.’ It came out a statement, but Del drew a question mark in the air a second later. It was in line with what she’d observed about him so far, but she didn’t want to sound presumptive. Some were off-put by that. ‘How well can you, though?’

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

“Only a little, honestly. It’s mostly unconscious. Trying to direct it is… difficult. And then there’s occasionally the rebound.’ She sat carefully. More than once had something broken after playing with the odds. Once she was certain it wouldn’t, though, she turned to face Simon fully, keeping an idle eye on the proceedings.

…And steadfastly ignoring those shooting glances towards her, still.

The urge to pry was there, definitely. No-one liked being the only person not in on a reference. Still, Del had been cool all morning and clearly wasn’t comfortable with this kind of attention, so he was willing to follow her lead and trust she’d explain if she ever wanted to.

“Makes sense,” he replied, equally ignoring the mild attention. “Mine’s more of an equal exchange-the more I talk to an animal, the smarter it gets. Not Goliath though-my current reigning theory is that he fell to earth in a furry meteor.”

Goliath gave a mild offended whine, but soon lapsed into a pleased silence as he started being scratched in return.

“You played around with your powers much at home? I’m not sure I’d be able to resist.”

Del laughed, a low sound, her hand joining Simon's in his task, choosing to scratch under his chin. Thankfully the doc's handiwork didn't interfere with that.

'Sometimes,' she said, once she found the strength to pull away. 'Honestly, it's more trouble than it's worth some days, trying to do it on purpose. Literal headaches, and sometimes other side effects.'

On the stage, a girl made a small seed grow into a healthy looking bush, complete with tiny white flowers.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

Slate leant up, trying to catch a look at what was happening from his vantage point. He was definitely getting the feeling that, first year or not, a lot of the people here knew more about Del than he did.

He considered nudging the girl next to him, asking why so many people seemed to recognise her, but she was already deep in conversation with someone on her other side. At least he overheard what people were placing her power as-probability manipulation, or luck. To Simon’s ears, a pretty awesome power-which made it all the more curious that quite a few of the other teenagers faces wore expressions of sympathy, maybe even pity.

Slate was increasingly feeling that he was missing something important.

“That was pretty cool,” he murmured as Del made her way back to her seat. “How much control do you have over it?” A quick check towards the center showed the Coach was far too busy to notice any quiet talking, and Simon’s name wouldn’t be coming for sometime, so he felt this was a good time to talk.

“Only a little, honestly. It’s mostly unconscious. Trying to direct it is... difficult. And then there’s occasionally the rebound.’ She sat carefully. More than once had something broken after playing with the odds. Once she was certain it wouldn’t, though, she turned to face Simon fully, keeping an idle eye on the proceedings.

...And steadfastly ignoring those shooting glances towards her, still.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

Simon stayed silent through the exchange, first through a mix of politeness and not knowing what was going on, then with a growing sense of awe as Del tried out her new gift. His head snapped up to get another look at the helpful woman, but she was already disappearing into the crowd of students. Slate could only shake his head, speechless, and follow his friend.

Tinkers were so cool.

They stuck together through the initial assembly, and introduction from the senior staff, nearly all of them famous past heroes, but the whispers among the new students soon had most of them paying attention to the man in sports clothes on the edge of the stage. Supposedly this was Coach Boomer, who’d have the sole say on the results of each initiation. Seemingly aware of the less-than-subtle attention being paid to him, a slow smile spread over the man’s face, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Simon slipped his hand down to rest on Goliath’s shoulder where he lay in the aisle, and silently hoped whatever system had replaced sidekicks wasn’t quite so bad.

When they made their way into the gym for the initiation proper he found a seat next to Del, one row back from the front.

“You’ll be early, right, if they’re doing it by register order?” He whispered, as the coach explained the rules. Simon knew he’d be later on, and was still deciding if that was good or bad.

Del nodded, eyes on the coach, before turning to Simon to sign and mouth, “I was part of early registration. Dad always wanted me to go.” It wasn’t quite synced up with the voice Mal had given her, and a few nearby looked over in surprise, but Del was satisfied, and shot polite smiles until they turned away.

He did quick test, One kid flew, another spun metal into a dozen shards. The list shortened, name by name.

When she was called, she heard murmurs from staff and students alike, and more than a few heads craned to look at her better. Some eyes she met were beyond the usual pity. Held her gaze for the moment they met, and it eased the mounting tension for her.

It came from bad circumstance, but she was glad to have a bond already, here.

Coach Boomer nodded, once she reached centre stage, and tossed her a cup with a cap. It rattled when she caught it. “Chiteron. You know the drill, yeah?”

She nodded, and without ado, pulled the cap off and tossed the contents into the air. Her eyes narrowed to thin slits as she focused on the outcome.

Five dice came to stop, all with a singular dot on the top face.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

They said you could tell the quality of a person from the company they kept, and the news that Del was a dog owner only solidified his hunch that she really was Good People. Of course, she’d been right earlier- Goliath made this a lot easier, as they passed the rest of the trip up to the school talking dogs and utterly spoiling Goliath silly.

In fact, it came as a surprise when Simon glanced out of his window and saw the school grounds coming up to meet them. He trailed off, the thud of the bus setting down a moment later explaining why.

“Did your parents say what we should expect?” He asked, a tad of the nervousness creeping back. “What little I found online was all about a ‘sidekick program”, but there was nothing about it in the last few years.” He glanced down at Goliath and grinned. “ Of course, I’m covered in that respect too.”

#roleplay #slateofargent #doggone luck rp #SH!AU

‘An assessment,’ was all she said, before flipping her notebook shut. He’d find out pretty quick how things worked around here, and it’d be easier to see than for her to explain.

Plus, she had someone she needed to find.

To her surprise they were there waiting in the lot, and gave her a little nod when their eyes met. ‘Del,’ Professor Mal signed, ‘How’s your mother?’

‘She’s well. You should come out of your lab more often to say hello.’

The professor’s mouth twitched. ‘Saying the same nonsense as ever I see. Perhaps I should just to clean your brain of it.’ They rummaged in their pockets, and tossed Del two gloves. ‘Early birthday gift, congrats. Hopefully this makes things a little easier for you.’

‘I don’t doubt it. Thanks.’

Mal just waved it off. ‘Get those on and head onto assessment. ‘s in the gym.’

Del waved, and promptly did as instructed, opening and closing her hands before turning them on. To test, she brought her hand towards her face, touching her lip with the middle finger with the rest straight and stretched before turning her hand outward.

‘Luck,’ a robotic voice said a heartbeat later.

She smiled, then turned towards Simon to jerk her head towards the school.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

Simon grinned, giving Goliath an affectionate rub as Del’s friendly manner slowly drained the tension he’d been feeling.

“Don’t give him too much credit. I said he was the coolest thing I’d ever seen when I was about six, and he’s been following me around ever since. You can pet him if you like, but he’ll never leave you alone.”

Goliath let out an offended whine, straightening up and holding one paw to his chest in a passable “who, me?” Expression. Simon paid him no attention, trying to bury his smile at his furry friend’s antics.

“You’re pretty cool too, by the way,” he directed at Del. “It’s not like I know anyone here, and I’m not really sure what I was expecting.”

‘We’re in the same boat there, really. I only know what ma’s told me.’ The corner of her mouth quirking up at the surprisingly human gesture of Goliath, she chose to scratch under his chin. Her smile stretched into a full grin when he pressed against it. Switching the pen into her free hand, she added, ‘I’ve my own dog actually. She’d like you both.’

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

He nodded along, interested.

“My parents are big into the whole “secret identity” thing, so we’re not really involved in the hero community,” he said mildly, scratching at his hair a little, distractedly. “It actually came down really close as to whether they’d allow me to come here or not. Eventually they agreed to let me, but only if I registered under a false name.”

He caught the curious look and quickly raised a hand as he realised what he’d implied.

“Not the Simon bit! Just the other name. Honestly, it’ll all be worth it just to have people that I can be open about my powers with that aren’t Goliath.”

Goliath, for his part, didn’t seem to mind, wagging happily.

“Huh.” Making a mental note to ask her mum what heroes might fit the description he’d just given her, she said, ‘Well, he’ll help you make lots of friends, that’s for sure. Everyone loves a friendly animal speaker. And equally friendly partner, of course.”

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

Simon grinned guiltily at being caught staring at the charms, but Del seemed to have taken it good naturedly.

“In theory Goliath was my birthday gift one year,” he shared, glancing out the window as the street started to fly by again. “Not that he sees it quite that way.”

Del looked about his age, and hadn’t seemed to greet anyone getting on that he’d noticed, so he assumed she was new to the school too. It felt a little rude, asking questions when she had to quickly write her answers on a notepad considering how cramped they were already. But, if he was honest with himself, Simon was just that excited to finally be able to talk to someone about the whole super thing.

“What do you think its going to be like? My parents had never even heard of the school until they somehow managed to slip a flyer for it into the belt of Mom’s costume.”

‘Ah, that would be the principal’s work. The flyer. Used to be the super and sidekick division, but they did a lot of revision to the curriculum, after the incident a few years back.’ She flipped the page, and wrote on the next, ‘Some general classes, lot of work with similar powers, and some individualised teaching. More in the last year though.’ Catching the bemusement, she added, ‘Da’s an alumni. Ma’s power was small, so she didn’t go, but they met when he was here. She talks a lot about those days.’

It’d been part of their healing together.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

Simon blinked uncertainly, at first just glad she hadn’t screamed at the sudden invasion of personal space before she wrote out the message and he realised that didn’t really seem to be an option for her. At least she didn’t seem to mind-Simon feared the day Goliath would glomp someone who turned out to be allergic.

“Uh, yeah,” he managed, face heating up in mild embarrassment. “And animal control, when it’s not Mount Doesn’t-Understand-Personal-Space here.”

Goliath just wagged, face unapologetic. Simon managed a smile and raised his hand to the girl in a quick greeting of his own.

“I’m Simon, this is Goliath. He says he’s- uh, we’re both happy to meet you.”

He glanced over the other teenager, trying to gauge what her own powers might be. He saw a band of tokens or charms around one wrist-a magic user, maybe?

‘Del,’ she wrote, lowering the paper slightly so the dog-Goliath, she muttered internally, and pressed the name firmly into her mind-could see as well. ‘And likewise.’

She considered what he’d told for a moment. While they didn’t say everything, powers did say something about personality, if only in the way the person chose to wield it. That he didn’t just enforce his will-or couldn’t, over an animal who was probably more family than anything-spoke well of Simon.

Catching his not-so-subtle curiosity, Del grinned. ‘They don’t have any power,’ she said, jangling the charms for emphasis. ‘Just gifts.’

The bus lurched then, and Del put any further writing on hold as the bus started rolling once more.

He’d see soon enough anyway.

Doggone Luck [OneintheDells]

Simon huddled against the window, fingers tapping arhythmically against his bag as home and neighbourhood disappeared behind the bus. Soon it’d disappear below the clouds as the bus headed up to his new school-the renowned, mysterious Sky High.

At least, mysterious to him. His parents had insisted on their secret identities up until now, meaning he didn’t actually know any other kids with Powers. While all his friends headed off to midtown, he’d dropped off the map for his first year at the real Super-school, all on his own.

Well, figuratively speaking. But that was neither here nor there.

He’d been one of the last to be picked up on this bus, meaning that as the last few kids filed on his was one of the last few seats remaining. There might have been more nearer the back, but a massive furry lump fairly filled the aisle a little further back, the nearby kids happily prodding at it.

Of course, Simon was buried in thought until someone slipped into the seat next to him. He jumped, tongue fumbling for a second as he tried to get out a warning, prepare them in advance, but the girl just turned to give him a confused look before the furry mound rose up to fill the corridor and laid an enormous paw across her lap.

“Goliath! Down, you’ll get us in trouble!” Simon exclaimed, shooting a look down towards the driver, before glancing worriedly at the girl as the enormous hound snuffled curiously and offered a shaggy paw in greeting. Slate sighed defeatedly- This was not the first time his furry companion had decided to spontaneously introduce them both in his own way.