VIII-Spinning Stardust Into Steel [Invite]

[Reggie Sawyer]

What a shame, what a shame we all remain
such fragile, broken things
A beauty has betrayed
Butterflies with punctured wings

There was a burst of light quite suddenly. Tilting her head away, she realized she had been staring at the ceiling. The fluorescent lights made her blink. Looking around, she found herself in a very generic convenience store, surrounded by various brands of chips. She shook her head and took a few steps, then realized there was a shopping basket in her hand. In the bag was loaf of bread, a carton of a half-dozen eggs, a liter of milk, and a small package of condoms. She blinked again. "Okay."

She took a few more steps, then halted again. What was she doing in this store anyway? Bringing food home to her family? Where was her family? Where was she? Her head hurt; the last thing she really remembered was being in Atlanta, and then the blast-

"Ma'am? Need help?"

A boy had stepped into the aisle with her. She ran. The shopping basket went with her, which meant the shopkeeper ran after her too. The boy stayed in the doorway, confused. Reggie outpaced the pudgy little shopkeeper easily, but she had no idea where she was going. She had no idea where she was.

She looked for signs. Things she might remember. Nothing looked familiar at all. There was an odd noise to her left, and she froze, like a deer in headlights, which was appropriate because she was standing dead center of a Mustang's front bumper. The driver had honked at her, and he continued to do so. Adrian, she thought.

But he wasn't Adrian. This was an older man. Old and decrepit. Adrian was younger, as she recalled. Recalled? Reggie had never met anyone named Adrian. Except for a kid in second grade, but hadn't her name been Adrienne?

Her instincts kicked in then, and she fled again, this time into an alley. Dropping the handbasket at last, she jumped and caught a foldout fire escape. She climbed up it more deftly than she could have expected, and flipped herself into a room. In there was a couple having sex, which came to a sudden stop as Reggie jumped in and dashed through the room. "Sorry!" she yelled just before exiting into a hallway. She found a stairway and ran up it, still unsure of what her body was doing, but her mind seemed to know what was going on, so she let it do what it wanted.

The stairs opened onto the roof. No one was pursuing her anymore, but her body acted as though there was something right on her tail. Running faster and faster, she crossed to the edge of the roof; before she knew what she was doing, she had put one foot on the raised edge, vaulted herself up with the other, and went plunging over the edge.

She was falling now. Clapping her hands together, she created a warm bubble through a little bit of her reserves of solar energy, which were rather small now that she thought about it, and directed the bubble downward. Then, when she and the bubble reached the ground, it landed first, and she bounced off it and did a perfect somersault. That was so, so strange. She didn't have that much control of her ability to pull off something like that. She never hand. What was up with this now?

She dusted herself off. She was wearing rather cheap clothes, she finally noticed. Not the type of stuff she normally would. A black Nirvana T-shirt, some denim shorts, and short black boots. And some odd choices in bracelets. What, had she dressed in the dark?

This part of town was different. A bit more seedy. A man glared at her through a window, and suddenly she had a crazily quick thought, Adrian, but that wasn't him either, she knew somehow even though she had never met him. Actually, no, she had met him. She had worked with him briefly as part of the Rogue Society, and helped with the attack on DC. He would know what to do. He would miss her. She needed to find Adrian.

But first she had to get out of wherever the fuck she was.

Words: 709.
Attire: this.
Lyrics: Paramore, "Part II (Let The Flames Begin)."
Comments: Reggie's back! Again! With 100% more Dido!

[Alexandria Constant]

To the right, to the left,
We will fight to the death,
To the edge of the earth,
It's a brave new world from the last to the first

The roar of the engine from the motorcycle between her thighs was the only sound on the lonely deserted highway. The wind force generated by her accelerated speeds rippled across the leather jacket she wore and pushed back the denim of her jeans. The maroon helmet protected her face from bugs and other undesirable effects of streaking through the Nevada desert. With luck, her trip would be at an end following this latest leg across the country, but luck had seldom been her friend over the last year and a half or so.

It was hard for Eliza to imagine that she had been chasing shadows and ghosts for so long. Granted there was that break when she was left helpless herself thanks to the global power outage for Specials. Those had been interesting months spent with her sister and her family, especially Gabriel. There was something very off about him, though what it was she could not entirely put her finger on it. He was kind and thoughtful during her stay, but Eliza could not shake the feeling that there was just something else going on beneath the surface. Whatever it was however, she was fairly certainly Alexandria knew how to deal with it.

Still, the better part of two years she had been searching for shadows across the country. She had abandoned everything for the chase, even her promising racing career. That path though seemed so meaningless after watching the destruction of an entire city first hand. Eliza knew she was probably the only one in the entire world who had witnessed what had caused Atlanta's downfall and knew the true perpetrator of the event. That was exactly why she was on this pursuit, despite it seeming like a fool's chase. Eliza had been there and witnessed with her own eyes how the strange woman had manipulated Reggie into an overload of her powers.

No one knew that it was Reggie who had caused the event. All the same, if whoever had Reggie managed to force her to talk about her powers, well Eliza doubted Reggie even knew what had caused her to go supernova. In her own mind, Eliza was the only one looking out for the best interests of Reggie. Nevermind those nitwits of the Secret Service, they let the girl get kidnapped not once but twice. Someone with a little bit on the line, with the dedication outside of a paycheck needed to be spearheading the search.

This latest rumor had Reggie placed in the city of Angels, which itself was a nice tip. However Los Angeles was a huge and sprawling city in Southern California, with Eliza having been in Kansas City when she had gotten the tip. For all she knew, even if it was Reggie, she was long gone by the time she would even enter the city limits. It was a risk worth taking though, Eliza would go to the ends of the Earth as a penny less beggar if she had to, if it meant Reggie would be found and reunited with her father.

The glow of the city grew and grew until she was inside the city limits once more. The last time she was here was for some race where she had looked to win, until some asshole clipped her with ten laps left and ruined her day. That was years ago and the world had changed drastically since then, but Eliza had not. She was still the headstrong, stubborn, and persistent girl from Pittsburgh. More than that, she was a Hardt, a family famous for their integrity and loyalty to those they held in high regard.

Parking next to a little cafe, Eliza pulled off her helmet, revealing dove earrings, a red choker with the ying-yang symbol, and her hair up in high pony. She let out a sigh as she wiped the sweat from her brow, wondering where to start her search and hoping it was not another dead end. Almost out of desperation, Eliza pulled her cell phone out from the inside jacket pocket. Scrolling through the contact list until she came to "Find Reggie", she took a deep breath and hit the dial button.

Even as she heard the ringing begin, Eliza knew that it was totally a fruitless effort. How many times had she tried to call this number the last few months and never gotten an answer? There was no reason tonight was going to be any different, but it was the first in a long list of things to scratch off in the pursuit of her friend.

Lyrics: This is War - 30 Seconds To Mars
Outift: This
Mood: Hungry

[Adrian Kilvayne]

Adrian Kilvayne had been holed up in the Nevada desert bored to death for months. Sure, the fun with Mike and Frank was a thing that happened, but it did nothing to move his long term plans forward. His Rogue Society had been broken, such a short time after it was his. And he was having a hell of a time tracking the old gang down again. Underground sort of meant hard to find, as it turned out. So he took to trolling the new Intelliwhatisit thing that replaced the Ark chat-room, hoping to find someone from his old clique. That was a dead end, and far less amusing without too many of his old foes lurking about to provoke.

So he was thrilled to open an email from [e-mail] entitled "Important Information". It could be a scam, but he had nothing to scam. Assets frozen, an identity with a thousand warrants, and a name on the no-fly list. He was pretty safe from hackers, all in all. Besides, he was using stolen identities himself anyway. Fair is fair, and unfair was Adrian.

And this wasn't a scam at all. Wild goose chase, maybe. But no scam. This was the first and only tip he had to the whereabouts of Dido Moncrieffe since DC. He had to follow up this lead. He just had to. Adventure in Los Angeles was worth the trip, whether he found Dido or not. He left his subterranean bunker, and unveiled the camouflage concealed Jeep Rubicon that was his way to Tinseltown. Soon, he was on the highway, with images of a pretty blond girl dancing in his head. Also, he thought of all the fun things they would show the world when they brought their innovative minds into unity once again. They were mostly innovators of destruction, but Adrian was sure there was room for such in the cosmic order of things. Chaos was in the fabric of reality, after all, penetrating everything. Or whatever.

When he made the City of Angels, he was feeling a bit hungry. He spotted a cafe, and a blond girl. Too easy, it couldn't be that easy. She was probably some other blond girl. She didn't look quite right. She rode a motorcycle and there were no cybernetic enhancements. She was calling someone. Would Dido have access to a phone? It was hard telling what could have happened. Adrian had heard stories of people switching bodies, regrowing lost limbs, waking up with completely different memories and a whole other life being impressively environmental without any kind of sane explanation. Abilities had made the concept of sanity outdated, to say the least. so anything could have happened, really.

Adrian parked his vehicle at the curb, and exited. He approached the blond girl on her phone, and decided to maybe test her out, see if she was the new and improved (debatable if so) Dido, or if she was some random chick. Either outcome could prove fruitful for Adrian, in the grand scheme of things.


"I hope I haven't kept you waiting long, my dear," Adrian said, with smooth confidence in every syllable.

"I myself have missed you greatly since our last dance in DC."

[Reggie Sawyer]

If you run back
When this time has passed
And we live this memory in your head
Together we control the sunlight

Wherever she was, it was not anywhere she had been before. Reggie continued to look around, but there weren't any landmarks that said anything about where she was. It was a big city. Okay, but it could have been any big city anywhere. A few halting steps forward, and she had an idea of what to do. It was pretty simple: Just ask someone. They would probably think she was crazy, but that was better than being lost and clueless.

She found a café and went inside. Maybe she could get something to eat. She dug through the pockets of her alarmingly short shorts, but found nothing except a small cellphone.. Maybe she would retrace her steps and pick up the basket of food she had accidentally stolen and dropped. She might run into the grocer, though. But she needed food.

While she thought about that, her eyes settled on a small stand that bore a stack of newspapers. She stepped toward it, glancing over its words as she drew closer.

Los Angeles. She was definitely in Los Angeles.

Well. That settled that. But how would she get home with no cash? There was a whole continent between her and her family. But Adrian was in Las Vegas. Why was she thinking so much about this Adrian? She had no real idea who that was. Maybe she had met him in passing and was having some sort of psychological event. Whatever it was, it was weird.

She was trying to decide whether to sit down in the café or walk out when the cellphone suddenly began to vibrate. She glanced at it. There was a call. The number was unfamiliar. But it was so strange that she had this phone randomly and it was randomly ringing that she answered it, just as her feet took her outside. "Hello?"

She stopped suddenly just outside the café. There was a blonde on a motorcycle directly in front of her, as well as a man in a Jeep right at the curb. She had two thoughts at the exact time: Eliza! and Adrian!

She remembered Eliza from Atlanta, although she could not recall how that meeting had come to pass or how it had ended. Besides, she had been a fan of the racecar driver for a long time. But she also recognized Adrian. They had been in Las Vegas, and then DC, and something had happened in DC, but she didn't really remember much of that either. Actually, she was feeling a little dizzy. Maybe it was the heat. It was hot, all of a sudden.

Stop it. Control yourself. Reggie realized that she was the one that was hot. Or causing the heat. She didn't know how to stop it, though. She looked at Eliza helplessly, and the cellphone in her hand grew too warm, and she dropped it, and the sound of it cracking against the sidewalk brought her to her senses. With a deep breath, she pulled the solar energy back into herself and contained it. Then, in an uncharacteristically smooth voice, she addressed both Eliza and Adrian.

"Well… I'm certainly happy to see both of you."

Words: 528.
Attire: this.
Lyrics: Reggie's theme song, I mean, Aly & Fila, "We Control the Sunlight."
Comments: Yes, I recycled the icons. I cba. lol

[Alexandria Constant]

I remember when
We used to laugh
And now I wish those nights would last

Eliza nearly dropped her phone as the ringing was replaced by a very cautious hello. Though it had been months since she had heard that voice, Eliza knew almost right away that it was Reggie on the other line. It didn't make any sense to Eliza why now after so long that there would be an answer on the other end of the line. Yet hearing her friends voice once again after such a long and tiresome chase, it was not something Eliza was going to concern herself with for now. There would be time for questions and explanations later.

Before Eliza could even begin to answer her friend, she was interrupted rather rudely in a clear case of mistaken identity. She turned around to simply dismiss whoever it was that had confused her for one of their friends when her eyes lit up. It was none other than Adrian Kilvayne, the leader of the attack on D.C. which Eliza had inadvertently stumbled into in her pursuit of Reggie. He was supposed to be locked away in Jung after that battle, not out loose like he appeared to be.

"I don't know who you think I am Mr. Kilvayne, but unless you want me to inform the authorities of your wherabouts, I suggest you turn around." Another night where her hopeful phone call had not been answered, she would have done more than just give him a verbal warning. Yet Reggie was on the other end of the line and Eliza needed to find out where her friend was and see how she could help her out. As much as she felt sickened by Adrian's appearance and that he was not secure in the Jung Facility, there were more important things to do than set him straight.

Putting the phone back up to her ear, she tried to get her friend to answer again. "Reggie? Reggie is that you dear? Do you know where you are?" Eliza asked but there was no answer on the other end. Eliza could hear Reggie's breath and her taking steps through the phone, so she knew that Reggie had not hung up on her but was on the move. Dammit, if she was on the move again, then Reggie was going to be that much harder to locate. What Eliza didn't realize though, was that her friend was now standing in front of her.

Until a crash coming through the line caused Eliza to pull the phone from her ear and her eyes went up. There was a phone crashing along the pavement right in front of her. As her eyes searched forward, across the exposed legs of the woman in the short shorts and across her chest to her face. This time Eliza did let out a gasp, somehow fortune had smiled completely upon her. Not only was Reggie in LA, but she had been at the very cafe that Eliza had decided to stop at.

However... it seemed that Reggie had come into contact with Adrian during her absence as she said she was happy to see the both of them. Did that mean that Adrian had been the one who had captured and had been holding her hostage this entire time? No... Reggie would not have been happy to see him if that was the case, not unless she was experiencing some form of Stockholm Syndrome.

"Reggie! How do you know this unscrupulous pest?" Eliza said, torn between wanting to go and squeeze her friend and beating up Adrian. Eliza swore that if Adrian had been the one who had taken Reggie, she was going to beat him into a bloody pulp.

[Adrian Kilvayne]

You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey, they don't pay no mind
The President's kid won't be doin' any time!
Hey, come out and play

I don't know who you think I am Mr. Kilvayne, but unless you want me to inform the authorities of your whereabouts, I suggest you turn around."

Adrian was slightly taken aback to discover that this particular blond girl was Eliza Hardt, the popular female race car driver. Adrian wasn't one to be star struck, nor to be cowed by silly threats that had no teeth. He could give two wet shits about the authorities learning his whereabouts. More dead pigs wouldn't break his heart. He wasn't entirely sure what the best approach in this situation would be, however. She wasn't anything to do with his objective, and she was too high profile culturally, and she was politically insignificant. It was a fucking mess, for sure. Too much too lose and nothing to gain. He would have to find his fun elsewhere...

" Relax. I'm just a fan of your work," Adrian said with a serpentine smile on his face.


"Well… I'm certainly happy to see both of you."

Adrian turned to the source of the angelic voice. Now Adrian was essentially shitting bricks. The girl speaking was none other than the First Daughter herself. Reggie Sawyer. What to do about this one? How would she of all people be happy to see Adrian...unless she was not merely Reggie Sawyer. It was entirely possible in their world, after all. Dido's mind in her body? It was not unheard of.

It was rather warm for a moment, and that made Adrian rather worried. Fortunately, the girl chilled after her initial excitement, and that was decidedly a good thing. Adrian was beginning to make a connection. She may have had something to do with the solar event that took away everyone's abilities. That was interesting information. Very interesting.

"Reggie! How do you know this unscrupulous pest?"


"You say that like it's a bad thing," Adrian chimed in, as he regained his mental footing. This was unexpected, but it was terribly fortunate for his long term plans. If his hypothesis were proven correct, that is. He wondered how to test it...

"Dido, are you in there?"

Adrian Kilvayne was unconcerned if Ms. Hardt thought he was crazy. Or if Eliza thought so. It didn't hurt to ask, after all. The direct route was often the best way to go. So Adrian had decided to be blunt about it. She was essential to his goals, and well aware of that fact, so if she were in the girl's mind she would not waste time getting in control of the situation. He knew her competent nature would win out. So he just had to ask her to come out and play.

"Ms. Sawyer, be a dear, and please let Dido come out and play."

[Reggie Sawyer]

Somehow, Reggie knew who Dido was. Whether they had met before, she was unsure. She knew Dido was not another personality. they weren’t dissociative identities. But… Dido’s thoughts went through her head as naturally as Reggie’s did, and she liked things that Dido liked - partying, sex, Adrian - that were not characteristic of Reggie. Something weird had happened. Maybe Dido had had an ability that had backfired. Or more likely, Reggie had done this herself.

As Eliza and Adrian fought over her, she fought her own thoughts against Dido’s. One inclination drew her toward the young woman; the other drew her toward the young man. One way would get Reggie safely home. The other would lead to adventures and fun, or at least, what Dido considered fun. Reggie was not sure she liked that, and she was the one in control in the end; Dido only had a say in things when Reggie asked for it. Yet somehow she knew the Dido thoughts would find ways to come to the forefront.

But they would not do so today. Not right now.

“I am Dido,” she told them both. “And I’m Reggie. I’m trying to decide whether Dido gets her way this time.” She frowned and looked from one to the other.

“I miss my family,” she finally said. “It’s been so long. Eliza, please take me to them.”

[Fin Reggie/Dido.]

[Alexandria Constant]

Is she not right?
Is she insane?
Will she run for her life
In the battle that ends this day?

Eliza rolled her eyes at Adrian, she highly doubted someone of his nature would be any sort of fan of hers. Whatever, even if he was, he was hardly the sort that she wanted to have anything to do with. There were fans that you would be happy to sign autographs for and others you wanted to kick upside their backside and clear into orbit, Adrian was part of the latter group if he was indeed in a part of her fandom. It was not as if she really needed the sort of bad publicity that came with the criminally insane as being a major fan either...

However more concerning was how he was treating Reggie, acting like she was this Dido person. What the hell was he getting at, letting Dido come out and play? "Excuse me psycho irrelevant, my friend here is not so insane as you really are. So step off and go seek the help you so desperately need." Ugh, he was so freaking creepy, sleazy, and slimy. She felt like she needed a shower just from being near him and the ickiness that he exuded from his person.

Reggie dropped her though when she said that she was indeed this strange Dido person. "Say what now?" What the hell was this, when did her friend develop a split personality? And how on Earth did that personality know of the skeezebag that Adrian Kilvayne was? Was he the one who was keeping her hostage this entire time? If so, it seemed he had lost the prize, as Reggie, Dido, or whoever the hell she was decided that she wanted to go home to her family. After all this time, there was no force in Heaven or Hell or on Earth that would stop her from fulfilling her friends request.

"Here, take this." Eliza said as she tossed Reggie a purple motorcycle helmet with a neon green feathered mohawk. It was not one that she liked too much but it was her spare and it would do well to conceal Reggie's identity as they made the cross country trip back to D.C, hopefully without incident. Sliding her own helmet back on, she gave a look back towards Adrian to make sure the creep was not intent on visibly following them. She was going to take the long way around and avoid all the big cities, hopefully that would throw anyone who was tracking them off her trail.

With a rev of the engine and Reggie's hands hugging her hips, Reggie blazed them from the outskirts of LA and back into the Nevada desert, back towards her family and reality. There were many questions now running through her head now that she had her friend back, but for now she was just happy her search had come to an end...

FIN Eliza