She Waited For Help, But Nobody Came

Mia received her third text moments ago. She was just getting finished up with her papers for the day cause she knew as well as anyone if she took this shit home she wasn’t gonna do it there. With her hero costume stuffed in her duffel bag and dressed in her casuals for the walk home, she was just packing everything back up in her desk when she caught the sound of her phone going off again, shifting back from the… undersized furniture, for her at least, and looking to her phone as Cait texted her once again.

‘Papers done. On my way’.

Was she always so…what’s the word? Not clingy, they weren’t a couple or anything, Whatever. Mia wasn’t exactly in a position to judge what with all the shit she was going through lately herself. Wearing a plaid open shirt, a white tank top and some scuffed up cargo pants, she’d start making her way to the door, waving to Serperior in his own office on the way out, and getting out to the front of campus as quickly as she could without putting too much rush into her step, looking about until she spotted the usual multi-armed form of an old buddy of hers.

“Heeeeey spindly.” She teased, trying to pick a ‘spider esque’ nickname for the friend she hadn’t seen in so long. “Where ya been? Government didn’t give us much info when you up and disappeared…”

“Itsy huh? Fair nuff.~” She chimed back with a warm smile not at all minding the correction on the potential nickname there and more than happy to call her that as a sly nickname if that was better for her, resting her back against part of the school gate as she let herself take in whatever the girl before her was about to say. She definitely seemed nervous, and that wasn’t exactly the girl Mia remembered… maybe that was just her poor memory at work, but all the same she offered her full attention. Went back home huh? Probably something personal but… if she wanted to share… “Hey er… if it’s uncomfortable ya don’t actually have to… ya know.”

Of course, she got an answer all the same but she was glad to have offered the courtesy. A family emergency huh? Well Mia wasn’t about to pry. They were friends but it wasn’t like with Jaz or Freya. She didn’t feel close enough to weigh in on that. From… the sounds of things maybe someone passed away? Too risky to offer condolences if she was wrong but at the very least- “Well I’m sorry to hear that. I hope everything’s okay now?” She offered, a soft smile perking at the edges of her lips, just trying to offer a bit of a branch there. If she wanted to share or talk more that was fine, if not they could just… catch up in a more neutral topic. In fact- “Here we should get moving before a student catches me and starts asking some questions about the homework. Pretty sure I made a big typo on one of the questions.” She’d give Caitlyn a light pat on the back, guiding her to start walking away from the school.

“Lady lavender… can’t say I personally recall it. Musta been someone in you guys’ neighbourhood…” Mia didn’t exactly watch the news afterall and if she hadn’t encountered a villain herself, it took a really big name to get her attention. Also helped her feel extra smug when she could literally tell a cocky villain to their face she hadn’t heard of them before. Still, as they walked she got the question of what had been up with her, letting out a heavy breath.

“Well… you’ll probably get brief on it sooner or later so… I’ve been through some shirt.” She lowered her head back down with another hefty sigh and shook her head in disappointment at herself. “My quirk’s been having some issues, there’s like, an aspect of it that can put me in like, a rage filled state and… there was a criminal big enough I couldn’t beat him. He pushed me to my limits and my limits weren’t pretty. Ended up tearing through a few Tokyo blocks till the other heroes stopped me…” She gestured back to the building they were leaving behind with a scoff. “That’s why they got me working at the school. Keep me off the streets till they can trust I got this under control. They’re running tests on me like… daily. But. I’ll make it through. They can’t keep me off the streets forever…”

She paused as she recalled something. “Oh er… the general public though. They think I got affected by the quirk of the guy I was fighting so… unless your talking to another hero, that’s the story. The government can’t let the people think their number 1 hero is a nuke waiting to go off… eheh… “She let out a bit of a defeated chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck. She… wasn’t a huge fan of that lie, but it helped her save a lot of face…

Mia could notice the light distance between them but she didn’t really mind it. Even as Caitlyn got closer she seemed to still be holding her distance a little and this was far from unusual for the heroine. Her size just seemed to naturally have an almost warding effect on those around her. It was like staring up at a tall building and getting a sense similar to vertigo. You just felt the need to back off a bit and she hardly minded that. It was just naturaly at this point. At least, that’s why she assumed Caitlyn kept a short distance between them. “Well that’s good to hear at least. Good to have ya back too. Been a bit er… ‘strict’ without a calmer head like yours in the mix. Always feel like all the other heroes are judging me or something… though given recent events I can’t exactly blame ‘em…” She rolled her shoulders back, trying not to linger on that bummer of a topic.

“Hah!” She barked out a brief laugh at Caitlyn’s summary of the situation, nodding along. “Yeah it’s a punishment alright. I mean… yeah, I’m lucky. I didn’t get outright fired or worse fucking jailed for the shit I put people through thanks to my quirk but… this is still a punishment. I wanna be out there actually making a difference on the streets but here I am teaching kids and… they’re great kids, and I wanna see them be great heroes but… I ain’t the person to teach them. I just ain’t built for that stuff, head wise, ya know?” She asked with a tilt of her head, wondering if Caitlyn could in any way relate, but shrugging it off if she couldn’t. “Either way, when my probations over I still gotta teach here, so even if I’m allowed back on field duty, I’m forced to spend most of my time here… just for safety sake…”

At the question of her tests, she shrugged. “A handful of doctors. I was getting tested for Drugs by Nimue and then I got handed off to a specialist called Dr sequoia, but there’s been a few others specialists here and there I’ve been handed around. Mostly blood and skin samples to see if they can figure out my quirk. They can’t really risk a stress test afterall…”

With a soft sigh through her nose she turned her eyes back to Caitlyn. “Anyway, enough of the downer topics. What’s up with you now that you’re back? Been settling back in o-“ Her question became a little interrupted by the question if she could train caitlyn, stopping her walk and looking at the woman a little curiously, rubbing at the back of her neck with some confusion.

“Well er… I mean… I’d never turn down a chance to help a fellow hero train but… I mean heck we ain’t exactly on the same playing field itsy. I mean if I remember your more the… scary, shifty type, with your bugs doin’ the fightin’ and all… don’t know what I could offer you unless you just wanna test your metal against me…?”

“…Alright.” Mia didn’t really wanna pry on what Caitlyn had been about to say there, but it was clear she seemed to be holding something back. The girl had been pretty much off kilter since they’d met back up… heck since she even showed back up in the pro hero chat. She felt like she should push. Maybe delve into whatever was on her mind but… Mia wasn’t someone to push. She was a strong personality sure and she’d make someone push through an issue… but only if they revealed it. If Caitlyn didn’t have the want, or the nerve to get it out there, Mia wasn’t the one to drag it out.

Still. The girl went on to explain her situation with wanting to train her strength, Mia folding her arms as she took it in. It seemed to be the logic of just… wanting to change her image maybe? Or just learn from someone who represented the strength she wanted to take on? Hard for Mia to really follow, but the idea of pushing herself against Mia wasn’t something she could argue against, scoffing with a smirk at the idea. “Well alright… I’d be more than happy to work with ya sometime!~ Like I said I’m still on probation, but if you come to school and we pretend it’s an exhibition class or something we can definitely spar a few rounds. What’ya say?”

She threw in a mild nudge of the other girl’s shoulder, shaking her head. “And as far as being ‘weak compared to everyone’… bitch shut up. I know a few heroes who don’t even measure up to you. So don’t fret. Aye?” She offered a warm smile. Her words may not have been the brightest or the wisest, but she tried to be supportive where she could.

Mia was glad to see that they were making some sense of.. progress? She guessed? In this whole idea of helping Caitlyn get on the path to being stronger but even as she struggled to deal with people and their issues Mia still got the impression that something was up here beyond Caitlyn just wanting to beef herself up to some extent. She took a slow breath and nodded along, forcing out a little chuckle at the idea of the woman being honoured. “Ah shut it. We’re just buddies working through some things. Don’t think you should be ‘honored’ by me just offering to lend a hand you know?”

She rested her hands deep in her pockets and looked over the girl before her, taking in how she still seemed to low energy and rubbing the back of her neck as she struggled to think of how to speak next, but eventually just… forcing it out, blunt or not, as Mia often did. “Look Caitlyn I… Maybe I’m off base but I’m getting the feeling something’s up your not telling me so how about we cut the crap and all? I mean I can tell ya how life’s been. I can tell ya things have been good for me since Jaz came back from America and I got my Protégé back to keep me busy while my work life goes to hell but… come on. I’m dense but I ain’t a total idiot. There’s something on your chest or something right?”

She held up a quick finger. “Now. Don’t get me wrong. You don’t wanna tell me? Fine. I ain’t ever gonna make you tell me. But, if you wanna go… grab a few drinks, and see if it starts spilling out. I’m up for that too. You just… it feels like everything your saying is being second guessed before you let it out and I don’t want you havin’ to feel that way around me if I can help it… so what’s got your tongue Caitlyn?”

Mia couldn’t help but scoff a little as her co-worker suggested they not get drunk so they were good to go for the next day, Mia just shaking her head in borderline disbelief. Ah, she had been gone a while huh? Guess they never knew eachother long enough for it to get to the point for her to know about Mia’s own resistance to alcohol, tapping the woman’s back. “Tell ya what, I know a nice bar, quiet booths, does virgin cocktails too. Or ya can order a soda if ya like. For me though I’m getting some beer. It takes like a fucking gallon of the stuff to even get me tipsy, so ya don’t have to worry about me in that regards aye?”

Mia wouldn’t waste any time assuming Caitlyn agreed. If she didn’t maybe they’d find a nice coffee shop that was open later in the day like this, but if she was okay with it Mia would take her to the Babylon gardens bar. It was a bit of a ‘rowdy’ place but in the high end sense. Stuff going on like a singer on a small stage and some side-services like a hot spring in the back, but Mia just made sure they found a nice little booth to hide away while she went to go get the spider girl drinks. As before, she wasn’t entirely sure how to handle such a situation. Anyone could tell she wasn’t a touchy feely person. She was very much the type to headbutt a problem till it submitted or she realized it wasn’t worth the effort to worry or panic about, but if one of her friends was struggling…? Well, she’d do what she could. Café or bar, she’d return to where they found their seats with drinks in hand, 4 bottles of a generic booze brand for her, and whatever Caitlyn would have ordered for her. “So… you gonna start talking or do I actually need to find a way to get you drunk without alcohol to talk?”

Mia was a little surprised when Caitlyn decided she’d have a drink afterall, but she wasn’t exactly about to complain either. It was hard for her to get drunk herself but she could always have a bit of fun watching someone else slip into the realm of being tipsy. Never hurt at the end of the day, so long as Caitlyn knew how to handle herself should she dip a little further into tipsy land than she perhaps anticipated. Coming back with several beers for herself and a few cocktails as requested, she’d ease back into her side of the booth, ready to hear the oddly nervous seeming Caitlyn finally open up a bit about whatever seemed to be on their mind.

“Lady Lavander?” She’d question from the get go, more idly sipping her drinks a bit more casually, though for a woman her size she was still practically swigging them each time she lifted the bottle for a sip, resting on her elbows against the table between them, just generally absorbing the information she was being given. She didn’t remember any villains called ‘lady lavander’ but maybe she was just missing a memory, or maybe it was a Korean villain or something. Caitlyn was still finding it hard to communicate, but she had enough of Mia’s attention that the blonde clearly was willing to take her time to understand, leaning over the table between them a little more.

“Oi oi. Don’t get worked up. Take your time… who did they kill? You said your parents already passed away so… what happened? Who did this ‘lady lavander’ hurt or… kill?” She narrowed her gaze a little, keeping her voice low, not wanting Caitlyn to feel her issues were being aired out all over the bloody bar thanks to Mia’s typically energetic and booming voice broadcasting it to everyone within earshot. “Seriously just… take a breath if ya need to. I got all night.”