Anthem City: Fall of the Possum

[Harri-chan]

Georgia's mouth fell open, as Suzie's pink laptop caught her eye. "That's your computer?", she asked. "I've never seen one that was... pink". Her own computer had been years out of date, although she hadn't realised that. It was beige, and dull, just as uncool as the phone she'd left on Suze's bedside table.

"It's so small... ", she murmured, seeming rather interested in the machine as she watched Suzie expertly open up her applications and navigate around the internet. "Wow, you're so fast... ". There was a little tinge of bitterness inside her as she listened to the news report on Kinetic's first appearance, but she nodded her head to Suzie's suggestion.

"Yeah... maybe write about his first appearance, and then a list of all the things he's done with his powers. We could balance it out with a list of weaknesses? All heroes have a weakness... ", she said with a nod. Her gaze drifted towards the window, and she found herself wondering what Kinetic would be up to right now. Or what Lady Neuro would be doing... or the Hellchemist.

[Blaze]

Suzie laughs and pats her Mackbook.

"Jeez Auntie, this is just a basic model. What kind of clunkers are you used to working with?"

She starts skimming news reports on Kinetic, writing down a list of skills he's been observed using.

"Speeding himself up... empowering his attacks... high jumps... stopping bullets... slowing down people who are falling... Apparently, he can only absorb energy a certain distance from himself. If he tries to absorb energy from something too close to him, he runs the risk of throwing his body out of whack by slowing down his own bloodstream. Gruesome, huh Auntie?"

[Harri-chan]

Georgia blushed, "Nothing like this, that's for sure. My computer would still be loading up right now... ", she muttered, her eyes still fixed on the screen as she spoke. Each power Suzie listed made her wince a little, and she looked down slightly over his skinny, teenage figure. Maybe there was a reason Amanda had seemed almost happy with the fact Georgia wouldn't be out fighting crime for a couple of days.

Her nose wrinkled at the last fact, and she nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, but there's a weakness for sure. If a villain got close, they could prevent him using his powers... and then what? See, if I was in that situation I'd be able to take them down, hand to hand. I'd be able to succeed where Kinetic failed", she said, coming across very much as a rather jealous schoolgirl talking about a rival. "Maybe you should put that in there?".

[Blaze]

Suzie stops writing for a moment and turns her chair to face Georgia, her face full of concern.

"Auntie... are you okay? You sound kinda upset..."

[Harri-chan]

Georgia looked a little suprised at Suzie stopped and turned to face her. While she'd lived with these feelings of bitterness for a long time, she'd never really had anyone to share them with. In the beginning, when she'd worked with Amanda, the pair of them had been more popular... it was only in the last ten to fifteen years that the Possum had become such a joke.

"Sorry... I... I just don't get why everyone is so... mean", she blushed, her voice and words sounding so childish when she spoke out loud. "You know, like the people that write the newspapers, or the cops, and even people that see me around the city... they're just so mean! Maybe with the Possum gone for a few days, they'll realise how much they miss her... ".

[Blaze]

"Oh Auntie..."

Suzie pulls Georiga into another hug. Unlike the previous ones which were more signs of affection, this is purely an act of comfort.

"Let it all out... the school counselor told me that keeping stuff inside is bad..."

[Harri-chan]

"You have... counsellors... at school?", she murmured in a tone of disbelief as she leaned into the hug without restraint. She wasn't used to all this close contact. Amanda had really been her only friend, and even though they'd been extremely close, she'd always felt a bit too reserved to go breaking into spontaneous embraces. She was quickly finding that hugs felt good however, and once more wrapped her arms around Suzie, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"Why do they do that, Suzie? What do I have to do to to become more... popular?". All this time, her desire to been seen more favourably had felt so reasonably, but spoken aloud, it didn't sound somewhat childish, but that could just be her new voice tainting the words. It was getting hard to tell if certain feelings were her own, or brought on by the sudden return to puberty.

[Blaze]

"Auntie... I'm not a her like you but..."

Suzie breaks the hug and gives Georgia a serious look.

"But I feel... a true hero wouldn't worry what people thought of her. They would keep doing what they were doing because they knew it was the right thing to do."

[Harri-chan]

Georgia's eyes widened a little. Suzie was right, one hundred percent. That it had taken a teenager to point how how a Hero should think however, made her cringe. Now her desire for popularity definitely seemed childish, and in turn she felt deeply ashamed for feeling that way.

"I know... I'm sorry... ", she said in a quiet, voice. Her brown eyes shifted back to the textbooks, with Suzie's words echoing through her head. A true hero wouldn't worry... but she had. Did that mean she wasn't a true hero? Looking down at herself, it was hard to feel like any kind of hero now, all she saw was a skinny little teenager.

[Blaze]

Georgia shakes her head.

"Auntie... you still did it, even when people made fun of you right? it's okay to get upset, you're still human... but that fact you kept going out there means you're a real her to me."

[Harri-chan]

Suzie meant well, and while her words were comforting, it made Georgia feel even more embarrassed that she was the one all upset, while the fifteen year old was the one trying to calm her down. It should have been the other way around. Lifting a hand, she rubbed at her face before sucking in a deep breath and nodded to Suzie, "I think... I just need to clear my head. Maybe some fresh air will help. Do you think your Mom will let us head over to my place to pick up some things I need? We already made a start on the homework, and we still have tomorrow to finish... right?".

[Blaze]

Suzie nods and plants a gentle kiss on Georgia's forehead.

"Yeah, it's not due for a week or so. I'll go ask Mom, okay?"

She stands up and leaves the room, leaving Georgia all alone.

[Harri-chan]

She smiled at the kiss, watching Suzie go in silence. Once alone, she rose from the chair, and turned away from the computer, pacing back and forth near the end of the bed, before she caught sight of photographs framed on the wall. Moving over for a closer look, she saw they were mostly of Suzie and her Mother, with a few more of the teen and her friends. She smiled, a warm, comforting sensation spreading through her as she studied them. "I didn't know she played soccer...", she murmured, looking up at one of a delighted looking Suzie, clutching a huge trophy, while wearing a white jersey, short, red pleated sports skirt and long white socks, with a soccer ball at her feet.

[Blaze]

After a few minutes, Suzie comes back with a smile.

"Mom said we'll go in a few minutes. I think I got an old pair of shoes you can borrow."

She goes to her closet and opens it, revealing quite the mess. She starts rummaging through it.

[Harri-chan]

Georgia turned around as Suzie came back in, and she pointed up at the photograph. "You play soccer? You must be pretty good to win a trophy like that", she said with a smile before wandering over to the closet. "Sorry... it must be a pain lending all your old clothes to me... ", she blushed. "I'll make it up to you when this is over. I'll take you shopping, and buy a bunch of new stuff. Sound good?".