A different world (for Taylor)

[shahrrehth]

There’s any number of worlds where the last son of Krypton lands in a relatively mundane world, or a world with a few heroes. But it just so happens that the last daughter of Krypton lands in Kansas on a world full of other heroes. And that changes the course of things. It’s why the Kent’s don’t stay in Smallville, why they end up in Brockton Bay, because it’s easier to Hide in a crowd. And that is why on the first day of school for a particularly important year in Taylor Herbert’s life, that she’ll walk into her class to see a pretty girl in a sundress being introduced to the class as their new transfer student.

And since there’s no one with a last name starting in J, Clara is told to take the seat beside Miss Herbert. She’ll start with a bright memory…

Comments

[shahrrehth]

She actually blushes at that, and then she nods.

"It's not because it's a secret. It's for windspeed. Eyes are... they're delicate. And I have some ways to protect you but this is for safety."

[skitter]

There's still a hesitation, but she nods, and pulls the straps of her pack tight, zipping her coat up. Pulling the hat down, she steps in, shoulders stiff.

[shahrrehth]

Clara will nod and wrap her arms around her before murmuring 'breath in deep and hold it'.

And once she feels Taylor do just that? Taylor will feel herself be picked up and moved. There's the sensation of wind rushing past her, the sensation of pressure... and then a stop.

And they are somewhere else. Somewhere warm and sunkissed and open grass around them. To one side, there's an old but well-maintained barn. To another, a fence where a number of cows are spending their time grazing lazily.

There are definitely bugs.

It is nowhere in Brockton Bay. Not even close.

[skitter]

The sudden relocation staggers Taylor, and she clutches Clara's shoulders, taking a moment to get up the will to open her eyes again. Everything about this is unfamiliar - the scents, the dry warmth, the susurrus of wind in grass.

Grasshoppers stream to them, pelting the grass around their legs like soft hail.

"... how-" she gasps, as she pushes the hat back, looking around them in awe.

[shahrrehth]

She takes a moment to blush and nod, like she's confirming the reality of the barn and the grass and the cows and even the empty farmhouse that's not very far at all. Her grandfather owns the land now, and said he'd keep the house up even if they're not living there. He suspects he'll rent it out eventually since he knows how to use his funds but even then, it'll be kept because he knows that land's been in the Kent family for generations and that kind of thing is something he respects.

The same way he respected them moving for Clara's well being. She loves her Pawpaw a lot. There's a reason she spent summers in his law library.

She swallows, though and after stepping back a little, she'll push off the ground, floating a couple of feet off.

"I've... got the Alexandria package... plus a few other things."

[skitter]

Taylor swears under her breath, taking a step back as she looks up at her.

"... Clara." She doesn't even have eyes for the cows which is something because this is literally the first time she's ever seen one in person. Questions crowd her thoughts, and as she pushes the overflow out, the insects around them go silent, a widening span of non-sound.

"-you've had this your whole life?"

[shahrrehth]

She nods as she lowers herself back to the ground, feet crunching in the grass. She swallows a little because she's so far out right now, this is so much, she's telling so much, it's so new-

But Taylor needs her. And she can't leave her alone.

"Since I was a baby. Broke my ma's fingers a few times over. When I say she has the patience of a saint, I mean it."

[skitter]

"How did you ever keep it secret?" Because Taylor's had a power for about fifteen minutes and is sure it's only through sheer luck she's kept it under wraps.

[shahrrehth]

She points to the farm house.

"It's easier when you don't have neighbors other than family for miles," she points out. Then she ducks her head. "People don't expect kids that little to have powers. And my parents kept me away from folks. I was kind of lonely but... it was better than the alternative."

[skitter]

She shakes her head. "No daycare for you, I guess. That's... wow.

"... We're in Kansas."

[shahrrehth]

She grins and nods.

"Yup, Smallville, Kansas. 45,001 souls. Creamed corn capital of the world."

[skitter]

"First, gross. Second, that's like two thousand miles!"

[shahrrehth]

She nods.

"I've been further." She wonders what Taylor will say to her if she admits where Luna is, where her cat is resting. The historical confusion she's going to cause one day.

"But... sometimes I come back here just to be home. That barn? It's where I worked out how to focus some of what I can do. It was the first thing I thought of."

[skitter]

Taylor bats at the grasshoppers, which are becoming something of a flurry around her, drawn to the unfocused powers.

"I don't think Alexandria is that fast. Hell, I don't know if Scion is that fast. Did we teleport?"

[shahrrehth]

"No," she says with a shake of her head, "we flew and I buffered you from the wind with my body. I... think I have something that helps stabilize things. A small amount of control close to my body."

She reaches down to a bare patch of earth and puts her hand down there and a few little rocks and dust particles swirl around her fist. She pulls away and stands up again.

"And I'm... really fast."

[skitter]

Taylor draws her hand down her face, looking over her fingers at Clara.

"How is Sophia a Ward and not you?"

And how was she even bothering with Taylor?

[shahrrehth]

Because Taylor is her friend.

It's as simple as that.

"Because I don't trust any organization that keeps Sophia on the payroll."

[skitter]

That gets a bit of a grim smile. "Does kind of dull the shine. Thought they were better than the cops."

[shahrrehth]

She gives a very wry smile.

"One thing you'll learn around a place like this is that 'good country folk' don't much like the cops. They like the sheriff, cause they know him, probably went to school with him, but you get the state boys in here, and you'll see lips go tighter than Fort Knox.

"Seems pretty similar to the Wards from what I've seen so far."

[skitter]

Taylor shakes her head. "City kids don't like cops either. We've all seen someone get frisked on the ground for laughing at a bike cop."

She pushes her hands through her hair again, pulling her hat off in the process, and looks around.

"Okay. Limited amount of time. So... I feel all of them for- I don't know how far. A long way. I can..." She doesn't shut her eyes, but they go vague. "I can feel them in the ground, too, going a long way down."

[shahrrehth]

She nods and holds out a hand.

"Let's go in the barn so you can sit. If you don't have to stand, you can focus better."

[skitter]

Taylor nods, brushing the grasshoppers off with some squeamishness, and heads that way, twisting her hat in her hands.

"Do you get tornadoes here?"

[shahrrehth]

She nods immediately.

"Oh yeah, plenty. We've got a storm shelter under the house for that kind of thing. We almost lost my Pa a few years back when we were on the freeway and one spun up."

[skitter]

"That is terrifying," she says, meaning it. "Reminds me, though. I'll show you where the nearest shelter is when we get home, if you haven't found it already."

[shahrrehth]

“My parents made sure we knew as soon as we moved in.”

Yeah, no playing around with that.

“Can you feel all the bugs here too?”