5.04 – Facing reality
Dynamech looked to the Midnight Avenger. “Well, as paranoid as Mr. Dark-of-Night is, I’m sure it’ll be OK to let her roam a bit for now, don’t you think, Aurora?” he asked as he walked to Aurora’s side and oddly at that moment one of the eye lights on his helmet went out for a moment, and that gave the impression of some kind of an emulated wink.
Redline Racer grumbled. “Heyheyheyheynow!” she slipped and returned to her rapid-fired speech pattern in her frustration. “Shesnotavillain! S-She’s way too sweet for this.”
The Midnight Avenger shook his head. “She’s threatened this city.”
Mocha gasped and replied sharply, “That was part of my father’s plan! Part of which was to get revenge on you, Midnight Avenger,” Mocha heatedly added.
“Whoa… seriously?” Racer asked cluelessly.
Aurora sighed and shook her hands, wringing them. “It’s the truth. More or less. She has… she had robotic clones of her father that would have driven anyone up a wall with them on your backside, telling you to kill. They tried to influence her, told her their plans and expected her to follow their directives in the name of her father. She had ultimate authority over them, but it was a tug-of-war struggle for leadership with those clones of her father. Because she refused to kill.”
“A reporter was captured by them and she refused to execute her to prove loyalty to some ‘grand’ fate proclaimed by her dad. Mocha here has every bit as much of an amazing sense of Justice that everyone here does.” Aurora smiled encouragingly at Mocha. “She’d make an absolutely fabulous hero… she would, assuming she chose to become one. As we spoke, I began to see that in her. I had to act. She’s an amazing person. If you talked with her the same way I have, you’d think so too.”
The Avenger shook his head negatively again. “I do understand how you feel and what you say could be true given Mocha’s current good behavior, keep in mind that she is still a fugitive from justice.”
Redline Racer huffed in response to the Midnight Avenger’s cautionary words. Even though Aurora knew this woman absolutely was not Quinn, Aurora couldn’t help seeing something of her in this heroine adding into the impression a look she shot at M.A. for a moment as she spoke and turned back to Mocha, “Sorry, Mocha. The boys are just being trolls right now. It’s true that you’re wanted by the cops, but don’t worry. From what I was told, you’re a fugitive but you have a questionable legal status, so we’ll keep you safe until the word comes from Vanguard.”
Aurora smiled from her heart, finding that she liked Redline Racer far more than she did from afar after seeing this side of her. She seemed a bit overrated if you read about her and saw the footage, but that was far from the truth of who she was. Seeing the cousin she missed where she wouldn’t have expected to find her only made Aurora like the speedster all the more.
“Anyways,” Aurora cut into the conversation, “I decided that no matter what, I couldn’t let Extensive Enterprises take Mocha. I’m hoping that Vanguard will be able to arrange a solution that will allow Mocha to live the life she wants going forward. It’s true that she was involved in the scheme that caused a great deal of damage to this city, but given the circumstances and the way she was raised, just the fact that in the end she chose to think for herself instead of fighting says a great deal about her character.”
Dynamech mused as he rubbed his helmet’s chin, “Hmmm… I wonder if we could pop her in a corner or a closet and have her hibernate until this whole thing blows over?”
“We’re not doing that,” the Avenger said sharply. “Try not to be entirely insensitive, huh?”
Dynamech raised his gauntlets in a gesture of surrender. “Alright. Alright. But if she’s mechanical… and my sensors are screaming that, I’m not inclined to just let her go.”
“Come on! That’s a part of the problem!” Aurora yelled, flushing. “Mocha was raised like any NORMAL girl should be,” she emphasized the word and hoped these bores would read between the lines.
“I get what you’re floating here, angel.” Dynamech said, “Just hold on a sec… Hey, Mocha would you mind standing still while I get a full-body scan of you?”
Mocha crossed her arms beneath her breasts and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not very trusting of scans,” she said. She looked at Aurora who smiled reassuringly, nodding. Mocha sighed and nodded in return. “All right.” She stood back and raised her arms. “Like this?”
Dynamech nodded and reached out to open his hands towards her, light shimmering in the palms of his hands and coruscating around the circle on his chest. “Wow… hmm… this is something else. This is going to take a while to decipher. The scan’s almost done.”
The Avenger quietly stepped beside Aurora and whispered into her ear, “Dynamech is part of a team. The man inside the armor’s good in a fight, but its his team that deciphers the scans and works the tech.”
Aurora suppressed a giggle. According to this, Dynamech was a bit of a jarhead! “That’s interesting to know. It makes me feel a little better since I don’t know much about him.” Aurora lost control and laughed. “I mean really, I’m personally as a heroine not as knowledgeable as I’d like.”
“Don’t feel bad,” The Midnight Avenger said, “After all, you’re not the only novice hero who needs a bit of a leg up sometimes.”
“... annnnnnnnnnd… OK. I’m all set.” Dynamech said. “I have everything I can handle right now. It’s going to take a bit to make heads or tails of it all, so I’m just going to relax and work on it. Let me know if you need me,” he said while going over to sit on one of the overstuffed chairs in the corner that looked like they came from a local garage sale but were actually rather comfortable and soft.
Redline Racer let out a yawn. “Ah, sorry. We’re just back from a mission in space, actually. I had to run around an alien battleship, wrecking things, which is like, totally contrary to my beliefs.” She grinned. “I used to do a lot of street racing. In cars, I mean, I wasn’t always as fast as I really am,” she grinned a bit more after having said that, showing some pride.
“I’m sorry, Molly, right?” Mocha asked. “Are you fast?”
“Am I …?” Redline sputtered. “I’m… like the fastest ever! I mean, there’s a few who can really go faster than me… but they’re like… totally cheating by flying or teleporting or stuff. Their feet don’t touch the ground, so they don’t count. I’ll say that at least here on Earth, I mean in the Universe even, there’s maybe two people as fast as me and one of them is like… dedicated to exploring the universe, so he’d have to be, right? Anyway, that’s why I’m the Redline Racer… y’know?”
Mocha blinked in response. “OK, I’m not really familiar with your exploits, but I’ll look into it. Thanks, Molly. You’re being very nice to me like Aurora.” She smiled and then blushed deeply when Redline Racer reached over to tousle her brown hair.
“Aha… well, y'know this is a peace mission. We’re not looking to bust ya, after all!” Molly laughed.
“That’s not entirely true,” the Midnight Avenger interjected. “We will probably need to take her into custody just to prevent any action taken by Extensive Enterprises. Thankfully, according to our charter with the United States, we have the authority to temporarily hold individuals and equipment both until a proper chain of custody can be determined.”
Mocha bristed on the spot at what he was suggesting and her cheeks puffed and she tensed again when she’d finally started to relax.
Aurora sighed. “I understand. It’s true that for every action there is a reaction. It’s physics and society both.” She put her hands on Mocha’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “We’re going to make sure that we reach the best outcome possible here. I want to do everything I can to make sure you can live that life you deserve.” She threw her arms around the tense girl in a hug. “I know it’s hard to hear these facts right now, but I’m hoping that it won’t be as bad as it sounds.” She turned her eyes to the Midnight Avenger pleadingly.
“Please do everything you can for her sake. I know that you will because you’re here to start with. I know. But I’m still worried to death for her.” Aurora chewed her lip.