AND
Collab post by Wisteria Cresting and Starlight77
Cecelia spun around in her chair for what seemed like the billionth time as she searched for resturants on her phone. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair with a sigh. "What about that new Chinese place on Main? They have some pretty good reviews," as she spoke, she turned back to the computer screens on her desk. In the background, she could hear the low murmur of the police scanner and a few small beeps here and there. "I don't know. What do you want?"
"Hmm... I wouldn't be against getting some Chinese..." Erika spoke as she jogged along, ears pricked and alert. "Maybe Italian? Haven't had good pasta in a while." She practically hummed. She seemed to have taken a particular liking to Italian food. She paused at the edge of the building she had been standing upon. Tilting her head down, she sized up just how high up she was. More than a dozen stories at least. A few steps back, one sprint forward, and she leapt the gap between buildings, landing on the one just across from it. It had dropped down a story or two, Erika honestly couldn't tell, but she ended up having to tuck and roll so she didn't break an ankle. She stood, dusted herself off, and continued with the conversation. "But if you want Chinese, we can get Chinese."
"Italian sounds good. Plus, Kindle would kill me if I got Chinese without her," Cecelia pulled up Italian resturants, searching for one she hadn't been to. She briefly wondered if they should just go to Olive Garden. With a shrug, she pushed herself into a spin again. "How does Olive Garden sound? Where are you anyways?" To be honest, she was just too lazy to pull up a map to locate Erika. Instead she turned on some music. Nothing too loud. Before Erika could answer though, the police scanner picked up something. Curious, Cecelia pushed herself over to it, adjusting the knob.
Fire on Beverly Road and East 57th. Requesting immediate assistance. Cecelia glided across the concrete floor over to the screens again and easily pulled up a map where Erika's position was a small blue blimp. She was around Foster Avenue, a few blocks away. "Erika, there's a fire near you in Brooklyn. You wanna check it out? Might just be a little one, but better safe than sorry, right?"
Erika opened her mouth, probably to barrage Cecelia with some sort of witty-in-her-eyes comment, but she was cut off by Cecelia informing her of a fire nearby. It wasn't too far off. Doing a quick 360 scan of her surroundings, she caught sight of the smoke billowing off of an aparement building. "That looks far from a small fire." She grumbled under her breath.
Erika made her way to the burning building as fast as possible. It looked pretty bad, but probably nothing the firemen couldn't handle. Soon enough, she found herself back at street level. The police had managed to close off the street and move most citizens away from the raging fire, but soon enough, once Erika entered the scene, commotion started to build. Probably had something to do with the black super suit and white mask. Maybe it was the tail? Who knows. "Whoa." She said quietly once she saw the blazing building fully. The entire thing was on fire with flames spilling out of most of the windows. There were at least a dozen firemen trying to control the blaze with water hoses, but not much was being done. They were at least keeping it from spreading to other buildings...
"Seems like they have it under control," Cecelia commented, watching the camera feed on one of her screens. She bit her lip and tilted her head.
"You should leave it to them, Erika. Nothing you can really do at this point."Erika knew Cecelia was probably right. What would she be able to do anyways? Its not like she had water powers or anything. However, despite this sudden feeling of helplessness, she managed to grab the attention of one of the firemen who wasn't busy with a hose.
"Do you know if there's anyone left inside?" Erika practically had to shout over the sound of the blaze slowly consuming the building.
"Ahh..." Erika could smell the stress coming off of him in waves.
"As far as we know.. Well... We're pretty sure that there's no one-" At that point, she realized the firemen probably weren't going to be of any assistance. Without even waiting for him to finish talking, she turned towards the building. With a quick flick of her ears, she angled them towards the fire and hoped to detect anyone trapped within.
Mere moments passed before Erika's entire body grew tense.
"There's someone inside."The fireman looked rather shocked.
"Wh-what do you mean? We made sure to get everyone out before-" "Well, you're wrong." Erika snapped. It was as if a switch had been flipped within her. Someone was in trouble. They needed help. It was her duty to help them.
"I have to go inside.""The fire... it's too strong-""I have to." She couldn't help but glare at him, her eyes displaying her seriousness.
"Erika..." Cecelia leaned forward, planting her feet on the ground. She groaned and dropped her head on the table. There was no way she was going to stop her.
"Be careful, okay? I'd really hate to have to bandage you up again." She hoped some humor would relieve the tension building up in her chest, but it didn't do much.
"Let me know if you need some help." That was about all she could do for now.
"Thanks." Erika nodded curtly, even though she knew Cecelia wasn't going ot be able to see it. Its not like that mattered. She had a job to do. It required all of her attention.
"I need to find a way inside first. They're on the fourth floor." Her eyes scanned the structure, searching for a window that was both not on fire and at least near the fourth floor. Her prayers had been answered. An empty window on the floor she needed. Now came the climbing. It was tricky, with both the fire and the decreasing structural soundness of the complex, but she managed to make her way to the window. Erika gripped the bottom of it and tried jerking it open; of course it was locked.
"For the love of..." This was not her day. She could already tell she was going to be aching after this one. Pulling a clenched fist back, she smashed the window with one powerful blow. At least it was cheap glass. It didn't hurt too bad. She was going for not sustaining any injuries, but that was highly unlikely.
Once Erika was inside, it was as if the severity of the situation dawned on her. It was blisteringly hot; not to mention she was already having trouble breathing. There was fire everywhere.
"Focus." The loud sounds of crackling wood filled her ears. The smell of smoke flooded her sense of smell, making her eyes water. She immediately dropped as low as possible, still listening intently for whoever was stuck inside. A sudden loud wail from a room nearby caught her attention.
Erika tried to get there as fast as possible, but considering she almost fell through a hole the dropped four stories she decided this would require a bit more... precision. At least whoever was trapped was crying now. This made them much easier to find. She came across the only closed door, and without even bothering to try to go about this delicately, she kicked the door open. The person inside was merely a child. Not an infant, not a teenager, but somewhere in between. Eight, perhaps. Erika took a step forward; the scared little girl shuffled back.
"Don't worry. My name is Weiss. I'm going to help you get out-" She barely even managed to finish her sentence. There was a loud crashing sound behind them. The girl jumped, but Erika tried to stay calm.
Cecelia chewed on her fingernails, wincing every time she heard a crash through the communicator.
"Please, be okay..." she whispered.
"We don't have much time." Erika's tone was growing a bit more urgent, but she knew if she were to start panicking nothing good would follow. The girl nodded, silently, almost numbly, and walked towards Erika. She could smell the immense waves of fear coming off of her.
"Let's go." She scooped her up, wrapping the girl's small arms around her neck and her frail legs around Erika's waist.
"Whatever you do, whatever happens, don't let go of me, understand?" The girl nodded.
Now all Erika needed was a way out. Shouldn't be too hard, right? She barely had enough time to dart out of the room before one of the walls collapsed. Her breathing was escalating rapidly, desperation flaring in her chest. A window. A weak wall. A staircase, maybe. Anything.
"To your left," Cecelia said clearly into the microphone, turning up the volume.
"There's a window that drops directly onto an alley. Break your landing with some of the garbage there."Erika almost jumped when Cecelia spoke through the earpiece. She had almost forgotten she was there.
"Thanks." She said once more. It's rather hard to be conversational when you're inside a burning building. Erika looked to her left, seeing a short straightaway to a closed window. Taking a step forward, she heard something crumble beneath her. If not for her quick reflexes, she would have dropped through four floors. She managed to sprint forwards, ignoring the collapsing floor. She ran with all her might, her arms wrapping around the girl clinging to her chest. Clenching her jaw, she ducked down her head, stuck out her right shoulder, and slammed into the window as hard as she could, hoping it would give.
With a loud shattering sound, Erika crashed through the window, her forward momentum sending her flying. She managed to angle herself with the help of her tail. She landed on her feet, feeling pain arch up her legs. She let her knees buckle so she rolled forwards, hoping that was enough to prevent her from breaking one of her legs. She came to a stop, her limbs sprawled and her bangs sticking to her forehead due to a layer of sweat. Erika was bombarded by first responders, the paramedics lifting the small girl off of her chest and helping Erika to her feet. She watched as they took the girl away, giving her oxygen. One of the doctors flashed her a reassuring smile. The girl was going to be alright.
The paramedics around her were asking her questions, but she wasn't paying much attention. She smiled wide as if a weight had been lifted off of her chest.
"Hey Cece, I told you I'd be alright." Cecelia let out a breath of relief as she turned down the volume of her microphone slightly.
"Do you need me to come get you?" she questioned, ready to grab her keys and jump into her car if necessary.
"Or are you fine to walk back to base?" She liked calling her abandoned building "base"; it made her feel like a superhero from a comic book or something. Not that she actually did much...
Erika took a few cautious steps, testing out her knees and ankles. Already a bit sore, but she'll live.
"I'm good. I need to walk this off. I'll be fine." She waved away the paramedics who went to help any others who needed it. Erika began walking back to the base, a grimace on her face. Not to mention the mixed reactions she got from passersby. It was only a few blocks away, but it felt like miles on aching legs. By the time she arrived, her breathing was labored and her eyes were dull with pain.
Cecelia hurried over to Erika, grumbling under her breath.
"Fine my ass." She led Erika over to one of the chairs and sat her down before slowing moving her hands up and down her legs. She touched her ankle as she looked for any type of reaction.
Erika flinched, her leg tensing and her hands clenching into fists.
"I... I said I was fine.." "No, you're not," Cecelia leaned in close.
"Don't try denying it. You sprained your ankle, dummy." With that, she stalked over to her first aid kit before plopping down on the floor. She rolled up Erika's pant leg and eased off her shoe. Slowly and methodically, she bandaged up her foot.
"You really should be more careful.""I'm surprised I got out of that one with just a sprained ankle. I thought I was going to had third degree burns." Erika chuckled lightly, allowing Cecelia to patch her up. It was rather calming. At least in comparison to going to a hospital.
"I should probably take a shower before we head out for lunch..."Cecelia finished up and stood.
"Yes, I don't think they'd want someone reeking of smoke in their restaurant. A bath would be better though," she suggested.
"That way you don't have to undo your bandages. I laid out some clothes for you in the bathroom already. Can't have you going as Weiss." she smiled warmly.
Erika frowned.
"I don't like baths..." She grumbled, leaning forwards in her seat. She stood up, but she didn't put any pressure on her sprained ankle. Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward and immediately stumbled, almost falling flat on her face. Now that the adrenaline was gone, the pain had practically tripled.
"Fuck...""Come on, Erika," Cecelia said and slung the other woman's arm over her shoulders.
"Small steps, okay? One, two, three." She eased forward with Erika, pausing after each step. Eventually, they made it to the bathroom.
"Do you need anything else?" she asked after she made Erika sit on the toilet. She reached under the cabinet and took out the clothes she'd grabbed for her before she left the house, placing them on the counter along with a towel.
"I think I'm good. Just listen out in case I fall getting into the tub or something." Erika laughed, shaking her head.
"Okay, well... Scream if you need anything," Cecelia backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. She walked back over to her desk to get some of her actual work done.
Erika peeled off her super suit, sighing happily to be free of the constricting fabric. She managed to stumble into the bathtub, her ankle propped up on the side so it didn't get in the water. She bathed as she pleased, humming a soft tune.
"Hey, Cecelia!?" She called.
"We going to Olive Garden or what?"Cecelia looked up from the reports she was reading about some new particle accelerator to look over at the bathroom door.
"Yup! That's okay with you, right? We could go somewhere else. I could make reservations at Marea." Marea was one of the many five star restaurants in New York City and although Cecelia wasn't filthy stinking rich, she still made a pretty good living at Research and Development. She was one of their regulars.
Erika thought quietly as she scrubbed her fuzzy ears.
"Hmm... Not entirely sure if I wanna do fancy today. I just want a nice meal and a long nap." She made sure to speak loud enough that Cece would hear, however she didn't have to shout. Not too long after, Erika dragged herself out of the tub, dried herself off, and got dressed. She limped out of the bathroom slowly, taking small steps as Cece said.
The blonde woman walked over to her companion,
"I will take you to a fancy dinner someday, Erika. I swear it." She made Erika sit down and adjusted a hat on her head. As wonderful as Erika's ears were, they couldn't exactly have people knowing she was Weiss, just like Cecelia made herself difficult to track so people didn't know she was the "Source". What a terrible alias. After a moment, she helped Erika stand and they headed towards the garage and Cecelia's simple KIA Soul. Once Erika was in the car, she pulled herself in and they drove off towards the best restaurant in New York City, Olive Garden.