Looking For a Stranger
Jan. 23rd, 2013 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angelswannawearmyredshoes[These entries take place after "After Life Conquers Death..." (which can be found here: http://dc-nation.dreamwidth.org/208819.html)]
Linda was feeling more like herself than she had in a long time. She liked nights patrolling around Leesburg in her wig and the outfit just Supergirl-ing--if that wasn't a word, it was now. She had done this for years and would continue to do so for...God only knew how long, but Linda was happy enough to wait and see.
The night, thankfully, was free of the usual aliens and supernatural oddities that dropped by. As Linda patrolled, she caught a glimpse of a purse snatcher and a little old lady in an alley. Nothing too complex, really. A well-placed TK blast and a bit of banter--that was all the situation called for.
"Look, up in the sky," Linda called out as she descended to the earth. "It's a bird--"
The purse snatcher fired a round from a simple handgun and Linda fell with a thud to the earth.
Quickly, Linda arose with a grin, "I really don't know why people still try that on me."
The guy fired more rounds and Linda simply kept grinning as she harmlessly deflected each bullet with TK blasts. The little old lady was Mrs. Jones--Linda remembered seeing her around at her parish. The assailant? Linda didn't recognize him. He didn't attend Leesburg High--Linda would have recognized him from the art classes she taught. He was tall, red-haired, a pretty hardy build for his age--late teens or early adulthood. Maybe he was from out-of-town.
"Thank you, Supergirl but...um...aren't you a bit too old to dress up so...youthfully?" Mrs. Jones asked her as Charlie prepped to throw the gun and run--Linda felt a bit odd calling him Purse Snatcher and figured she could do him a favor by giving him a name.
"Oh, Mrs. Jones, you know I'm just a girl at heart," Linda bantered quickly as she disarmed him with a TK blast and, while Charlie gawked, and gave him a good sock in the jaw. "I say, if you've got it, flaunt it. And if you flaunt it, keep at it while you've still got--"
Mrs. Jones cut in with a scream.
Charlie wasn't breathing normally, twitching, beating his chest. Linda recognized what was happening; she didn't have Super-hearing to listen to his abnormal pulse and she certainly didn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of human health in a Super-brain, but she made herself recognize these signs.
Charlie was...Charlie was going into cardiac arrest.
"Hang on," Linda cried out as she set Charlie down and began administering chest compressions. "Mrs. Jones, there's a payphone over there--call the Paramedics."
Linda let her pride get the better of herself yet again...it's been years since she began this beat and she still made the same old mistakes. Or, somedays when she was feeling like she wanted to change things up, she found new ways of screwing up. When she made mistakes like this, she still found herself thinking, 'Mae wouldn't have done this.'
Linda laughed at herself; she didn't have time for this self-pitying--he certainly didn't. This self-pitying was just another form of her pride. Even if she didn't have Mae anymore to fall back on, she knew she had compassion and strength enough to keep going. She'd just have to save the pitying for another time. For Charlie.
Okay, Linda really had to ask for his real name after this was through.
Speaking of Charlie, he wasn't easing up.
Mrs. Jones got off the phone."They're on their way, Supergirl."
Linda feared it wouldn't be soon enough.
"Mrs. Jones," Linda spoke calmly, to keep Charlie and Mrs. Jones calm."I think I need to grab a defibrillator. Do you know CPR?"
A beat.
"Mrs. Jones, I know it's hard to empathize with the guy who just tried to take your purse--"
"I know, I know, Supergirl...I can take over," Mrs. Jones sighed as she rolled up her sleeves and began the chest compressions--with quite a lot of vigor.
With that, Linda took off into the skies.
There was no way she was letting another person die from a heart attack on her watch.
Linda was feeling more like herself than she had in a long time. She liked nights patrolling around Leesburg in her wig and the outfit just Supergirl-ing--if that wasn't a word, it was now. She had done this for years and would continue to do so for...God only knew how long, but Linda was happy enough to wait and see.
The night, thankfully, was free of the usual aliens and supernatural oddities that dropped by. As Linda patrolled, she caught a glimpse of a purse snatcher and a little old lady in an alley. Nothing too complex, really. A well-placed TK blast and a bit of banter--that was all the situation called for.
"Look, up in the sky," Linda called out as she descended to the earth. "It's a bird--"
The purse snatcher fired a round from a simple handgun and Linda fell with a thud to the earth.
Quickly, Linda arose with a grin, "I really don't know why people still try that on me."
The guy fired more rounds and Linda simply kept grinning as she harmlessly deflected each bullet with TK blasts. The little old lady was Mrs. Jones--Linda remembered seeing her around at her parish. The assailant? Linda didn't recognize him. He didn't attend Leesburg High--Linda would have recognized him from the art classes she taught. He was tall, red-haired, a pretty hardy build for his age--late teens or early adulthood. Maybe he was from out-of-town.
"Thank you, Supergirl but...um...aren't you a bit too old to dress up so...youthfully?" Mrs. Jones asked her as Charlie prepped to throw the gun and run--Linda felt a bit odd calling him Purse Snatcher and figured she could do him a favor by giving him a name.
"Oh, Mrs. Jones, you know I'm just a girl at heart," Linda bantered quickly as she disarmed him with a TK blast and, while Charlie gawked, and gave him a good sock in the jaw. "I say, if you've got it, flaunt it. And if you flaunt it, keep at it while you've still got--"
Mrs. Jones cut in with a scream.
Charlie wasn't breathing normally, twitching, beating his chest. Linda recognized what was happening; she didn't have Super-hearing to listen to his abnormal pulse and she certainly didn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of human health in a Super-brain, but she made herself recognize these signs.
Charlie was...Charlie was going into cardiac arrest.
"Hang on," Linda cried out as she set Charlie down and began administering chest compressions. "Mrs. Jones, there's a payphone over there--call the Paramedics."
Linda let her pride get the better of herself yet again...it's been years since she began this beat and she still made the same old mistakes. Or, somedays when she was feeling like she wanted to change things up, she found new ways of screwing up. When she made mistakes like this, she still found herself thinking, 'Mae wouldn't have done this.'
Linda laughed at herself; she didn't have time for this self-pitying--he certainly didn't. This self-pitying was just another form of her pride. Even if she didn't have Mae anymore to fall back on, she knew she had compassion and strength enough to keep going. She'd just have to save the pitying for another time. For Charlie.
Okay, Linda really had to ask for his real name after this was through.
Speaking of Charlie, he wasn't easing up.
Mrs. Jones got off the phone."They're on their way, Supergirl."
Linda feared it wouldn't be soon enough.
"Mrs. Jones," Linda spoke calmly, to keep Charlie and Mrs. Jones calm."I think I need to grab a defibrillator. Do you know CPR?"
A beat.
"Mrs. Jones, I know it's hard to empathize with the guy who just tried to take your purse--"
"I know, I know, Supergirl...I can take over," Mrs. Jones sighed as she rolled up her sleeves and began the chest compressions--with quite a lot of vigor.
With that, Linda took off into the skies.
There was no way she was letting another person die from a heart attack on her watch.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 03:46 am (UTC)It gave her less time to think about herself.
There was a bolt of blue above Linda's head, and suddenly, there she was: Strange Visitor. Sharon looked down at Supergirl, tilting her head curiously. "Supergirl, right? Do you need some assistance?"
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Date: 2013-01-24 03:50 am (UTC)Linda ventured a guess that the S meant she was a Super-person like her--which meant she could help. As fun as it would be to just hang around in the sky and just get aquainted with this stranger, Charlie was down there going into cardiac arrest.
"You don't happen to have a defibrillator on you, do you?"
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Date: 2013-01-24 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 04:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 04:04 am (UTC)Once Mrs. Jones was clear, Sharon sent a small bolt of electricity from her fingertips into Charlie's body. His body jumped from the shock.
She leaned down, pressing her ear against Charlie's chest, then sat up and shook her head, her expression grim. "Trying again." She sent another jolt, then listened to his chest again... and smiled. "There we go, Charlie. That's much better."
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Date: 2013-01-24 04:10 am (UTC)Mrs. Jones smacked Pete in the head--a bit lightly, of course. Mrs. Jones was sensitive enough to the fact that he almost went into cardiac arrest.
Linda saw no crime committed--prevented, but no real harm done. Linda broke up Pete's gun and let the two somewhat reconcile and they parted ways with nervous thank you's.
"All in a day's work," Linda said, rubbing her hands in a neat motion of completeness, "For Supergirl and Super...?"
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Date: 2013-01-24 04:20 am (UTC)She eyes Pete as he leaves. She'll want to visit him later -- he's got some problems, if he was so desperate to try to steal a woman's purse. She'll want to check on him, to make sure he was okay, and that he wouldn't try anything like that again. But for now, she's happy to chat with one of Superman's friends.
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Date: 2013-01-24 04:31 am (UTC)If not, well, Petey-boy had a Supergirl and a Su-Strange Visitor to deal with.
Linda just remembered they had some paramedics to deal with when the sirens rang.
Things like this slipped Linda's mind, these days...
"Hey, Pete, you're looking good, but maybe before you make your getaway you should talk to the nice Paramedics that are here to see you," Supergirl called out. She turned back to Strange Visitor, "Oh, where are my manners, Strange Visitor? I know a nice diner nearby--we can talk about name changes over some hashbrowns."
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Date: 2013-01-24 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 04:38 am (UTC)Sharon swallowed a bite of her hashbrowns. "I don't know. I'd like to keep 'Super' in the title somewhere, assuming Superman doesn't mind, but... Strange Visitor was just sort of a media name that stuck."
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Date: 2013-01-24 04:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 04:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 05:22 am (UTC)"I mean," Linda began as politely as she could, shoving another forkfull of hashbrowns in her mouthhole, "in our line of work we can't really call off sick days when people don't trust us--we have to...we have to give them something they can believe in, even when they don't want to believe."
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Date: 2013-01-24 05:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 05:41 am (UTC)Linda wasn't one to pass judgement--well, not as much after her angel days were behind her, really. Well, Strange Visitor seemed uncomfortable about talking on the media and Linda felt she ought to change the topic.
"If it's alright, just of curiousity, how did you get the suit? I think Supes had one like it, unless my memory's really gotten that bad."
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Date: 2013-01-24 05:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 05:56 am (UTC)The angel thing Linda was always glad to tell anyone--how a screw-up like her had her life saved and how she became Supergirl. It gave people hope.
"Well, it's a really weird story," even Linda had to admit, "I was a pretty awful teen who had a literally demonic boyfriend that tricked me into joining a cult and I was saved by the previous Supergirl, Mae--did Ma and Pa ever tell you about Mae?"
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Date: 2013-01-24 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 06:09 am (UTC)Clark would probably let Sharon meet them in his own time and Linda felt she had to respect that.
"Superman and, you know, the missus," Linda lied, "I guess not. Mae was just...great. Kind, compassionate, wonderful. Anyway, she selflessly laid down her life for me as I was dying and we merged together to form sort of a new being, an earthborn angel."
It...it almost hurt to talk about Mae again but...Mae...was so much a part of Linda that she had to talk about her.
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:11 am (UTC)"I... understand," she says gently. "I got my powers from a merging of souls, too. Sort of."
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:23 am (UTC)"Small world, isn't it? Two Super-ish gals who merged souls with other beings," Linda smiled through some salty tears--really, odd little miracles like this never ceased to amaze Linda. "If it's alright for me to ask, who was your...better half?" Linda really couldn't think of another word to describe it.
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:28 am (UTC)"We sacrificed ourselves to give Superman the strength to defeat Imperiex. We died."
She bit her lip in thought before continuing quietly. "Then, during that whole Blackest Night thing... I came back. But Kismet didn't. For the first time since I was a child, I'm... just me."
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:40 am (UTC)Linda was talking to Sharon--not to just Strange Visitor.
And Linda wasn't going to let this turn into a sob-fest--what would people think, seeing two gals under the S-banner sobbing over hashbrowns?
"Hey," the former angel tried to comfort girl who'd merged with fate, "Nothing wrong with being just you, right? Being alive and...and whole. And you're...you're never really just you. You're all of these other people--you're a composite of old and new friends, of enemies, of people you saved, and even people you haven't met yet..."
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:43 am (UTC)"I think I know why I came here today," she admitted finally. "And it wasn't just to save Pete. Thank you, Supergirl."
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:52 am (UTC)"Hey," she said with a smile, "all in a day's work. I'm picking up the tab, of course--it's what a good host's supposed to do. You want to get a pie before you head off...wherever it is you're heading off to?"
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Date: 2013-01-24 06:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-01-24 07:05 am (UTC)