runningstart | MASK OR MENACE IC INBOX

MASK OR MENACE IC INBOX

WALLY WEST
"You've reached the personal voice mail of the Wall-man. The honor is yours! Leave your deets, I'll holla back atcha."
[ BEEP. ]

KID FLASH
"This is the contact for Kid Flash. If it's an emergency, call Robin; he'll know where I am. Otherwise, leave your info and I'll get you back ASAP."
[ BEEP. ]

[ voice | text | email | action ]

( Please specify in tag subject line if the contact is for Wally West or Kid Flash! )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well-

...no. But I wouldn't put it past him to try!

Old drunkard complainer.

[ She says, gesturing to Wally. ]

His legitimate threats aren't going to be focused on you. Especially not if you get out of that place.

I dunno; when he gets that thing out and taps it on his shoulder while staring right at me, the threat seems pretty legitimate. [Wally shrugs and shoves another cupcake in his mouth.] But yeah, I'm gonna seriously look into moving out. [With Robin in tow, obviously.] You live up in NC, right? Is it nice up there? Snow in the winter?

I wouldn't know from experience, I've only been here since what month... May? No, the end of April. But people do talk about snow in the winter.

[ She shrugs, picking up the front of her hoodie and holding it off her chest. The air conditioned air that slips in feels nice. ]

It's less humid, gets more rain. I like the thunderstorms. I hear tornados hit every so often... not where I am, but elsewhere. I hadn't heard of those before now. Or hurricanes, as a matter of fact. Aside from the Hornet issue, Nonah's not a bad city to be near.

[Snow, yes. Wally doesn't think he can survive without snow in the winter, it's just unheard of.]

What's the Hornet issue? [He leans forward, resting his chin in his hand.]

[ She lifts her eyebrows. Really? ... Okay, so she does need to adjust her expectations of what people pay attention to, she knows that, but it still keeps taking her by surprise. ]

Did you pay attention to much of Holiday's communication with us a few weeks ago? The Hornets are native heroes. or former ones - people who aren't fond of outsiders being the tools used to shape their world. They're responsible for the monorail incident in Nonah, which was... well. When you were here before.

[ Things she pays attention to and never brings up until they're relevant: a case study. ]

[no he did not really pay attention]

Wait, you knew me before?

I wrote to you once.

[ She shrugs, unconcerned. ]

I wouldn't call that knowing.

Okay, fair, [Wally says under his breath.]

So what do the Hornets do, then? They, what, attack imPorts? Or something? Picket?

Bomb public transit? They're listed as being a violent protesting organization here in the states.

Wha- are you serious? [wally ffs pay attention to the world you live in now] Heroes are doing this?!

[ This is one of many of Annie's unimpressed faces. He really isn't paying attention. Isn't that a teenage fallacy? ]

People native to this country aren't allowed to be heroes. They were outlawed years ago. Wouldn't you find that difficult to accept? When no imPorts were here, the ban was universal, but people still did what they felt was right. Then we show up, given power few know about, and we're not only allowed to do what they can't, we're celebrated for it. We're the only people allowed to be heroes on United States land.

[Wally sits back, stunned.

No, he didn't know any of this.]

No way!

[Maybe this is why you should leave Heropa for more than just a theme park or a run, Wally.]

Holiday said all that?

Holiday's not the only one.

[ Annie glances around the cafe, pressing her lips together in a thin line. Heropa isolates people into a certain mindset, one that's less omnipresent in the other cities. There's still that edge of hysterical reverence, but dulled, dimmed down, escapable.

She turns her focus back to Wally. ]

You were so intent on learning if you could skip out on school altogether you missed the biggest reasons why showing up is to your advantage. Are you too comfortable with this world because it's similar to your own? It's not your home. This place doesn't care about you, and as soon as they can figure out how, we're getting jettisoned back.

Just like the last group of imPorts. We can only hope that's before any of us settle in and have families, or we get that same enforced separation and forcible ejection as they did.

[ They're being so well and thoroughly used. Annie acknowledges it; she sure as hell doesn't like it, but it's there, plain to see. Their worth and return to functionality is just as weapons.

Nothing new there, except for whatever reason, the word "hero" had been slapped on to make it more palatable. ]

[Wally rubs his arm, where his wristband hides his glaring "REGISTERED" tattoo. He's frowning down at the table because on some level, he already knew some of what Annie is telling him. He knows they're being used, and he knows this isn't his home, but hearing someone else say it...]

Then- what do I even do? If I want to go back home anyway, shouldn't I just help them? [But even that doesn't feel right. If what Annie says is true -and he's got no reason to doubt her- then this country is up to some really shady shit. Is it right for him to do whatever he can to save his own skin when there's something so obviously wrong going on? What kind of hero does that make him?]

Should you?

[ Annie stays settled back, eyes wandering again. He's asking her, but he really needs his own answers found for himself. Besides... she'll freely admit her advice isn't what most people should follow. ]

I don't know. I'm not you. You're taking this hero thing more seriously than I can.

[ After all, she isn't, and hasn't, ever been a hero. ]

But if you're asking for suggestions, I suggest sticking close, watching them while they watch you, and using them while they use you. Though if you want to go home in the end... even if you cooperate fully, can anyone blame you for just doing what you must to get to where you want to be?

[ Yes, people can, and will, and do, but that's not a fair thing to have done either. ]

It's not about if people are gonna blame me though. [Wally glares down at the table. This is all stuff he's worried about for a while- or most of it is. The Hornet thing is new.]

...What about you? Would you do whatever you needed to get back home? Even if you screwed someone else over on the way?

... No.

[ Not because she's a good person. In fact, precisely because she isn't. ]

I don't even want to go home, necessarily... there's only one thing waiting for me there, and the person I have to return to, I don't know if I'll be able to. He's beyond where I can reach.

[ Ones she can't even be sure she supports one way or another. ]

[Which could mean a lot of different things.]

If you could, would it be different?

He's all I have. I suppose it would have to be.

[ Be different, that is. There's nothing else. She can't complete the mission she doesn't believe in, as far as she knows, and her father is the only person who will take her back even after failing so entirely.

It'd have to be different, if she had the guarantee, wouldn't it? ]

Yeah. Guess so. [They are getting some seriously dirty looks from the Starbucks manager over there for sitting in their coffeehouse and not ordering anything, so Wally sighs and leans back, repacking the (almost empty) cupcake box.]

Thanks. For these. And...for giving me stuff to think about, I guess.

[ Annie slides on up and out, making a dismissive motion with her hand. ]

You're welcome. For both.

[ Happy thinking, Wally. Annie takes that as her cue to be able to slip gracefully away... or as gracefully as one does in a hoodie and with a grimace at the too-sunny outdoors.

Maybe she really is a masochist at heart. Oh well. ]

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