The normal font is Speedfreak.
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"Greetings, Jody".
"Liz. I got your message, what's up?"
"Just fancied coffee and a catch up..."
She sits back down on the park bench.
"Do sit..."
They do so. Othergirl stretches out her arms. Speedfreak sits awkwardly.
"You do drink coffee, right?"
"No..."
"We didn't have it before, it's a rather cute little earth thing that St- someone introduced me to".
Speedfreak knows who she's referring to but carries on.
"Fair. How are you finding the 21st century? I trust Visionarie and Erin have treated you well?"
"It's a little slow..."
She makes an unimpressed face.
"Earth is nicer than our time though. Much more intact".
"From what you've told me, I have all that to look forward to".
"Oh, definitely. Got any money on you?"
"What for?"
As far as Speedfreak's concerned, this conversation is a bit strange. As is the meeting. And Othergirl is acting strangely...
"Coffee, idiot. Failing that, go and nick me one".
Speedfreak thinks for a moment before vanishing. A few seconds later, he returns with a coffee for Othergirl and a lemonade for himself. He unscrews the lid and sips from it.
"It was 2 sugars and soy milk, wasn't it?"
"That's the one. Cheers".
She smiles and sips the coffee. They look around.
"I like Southampton during the day..."
"It's nice isn't it!"
"Yeah..."
Speedfreak closes his eyes and enjoys the serenity, despite being in a city.
"How are you, anyway? How's the war?"
"Your war? Or the war against superassholes?"
"It was never MY war. But yes, that war".
"I haven't reached that point yet. I'm still waiting to be called up".
"Run for your life!"
Othergirl laughs. Speedfreak hasn't seen her laugh before...this was definitely weird.
"That was punny!"
"You're doing puns now? God, you're becoming like Leviathan. I saw him again the other day. Asshole".
"I had the joy of meeting him".
"Yeah. Helped you take down that Russian, didn't he?"
"Yep. Once he'd stopped trying to get in my pants..."
She looks annoyed as she remembers.
"And Visionarie's..."
"Yeah, sounds about right. Sorry about that"
"I broke his arm..."
She sips once more.
"And a couple of other things..."
"Good! He had it coming"
Sips lemonade.
"But no, everything's fine. Laura's fine. Trillingham's fine and everyone else is fine. I've even...ummm..."
"Yes...?"
"...Met someone..."
Othergirl looks at him surprised.
"Oooooh, spill!"
"Well, she's called Elizabeth. Elizabeth Morrison. She's a redhead and she's a science masters student".
"Nice!"
She smiles sweetly.
"Thanks. How are you and...you know..."
"We're good!"
They both smile.
"Good! I'm glad"
Speedfreak still feels somewhat uneasy about this. Something's wrong.
"We got each other's backs! She gave Leviathan some beautifully weird visions while I broke his arm".
She smiles remembering.
"Ha! You know, out of everyone I know, he's the only one whose real identity I don't know".
"He's nothing special. He's a bit of a bore!"
Speedfreak looks surprised.
"So you found out who he really was? Do tell!"
"Spoilers..."
"Oh come on...Don't River Song me..."
Othergirl raises her eyebrows.
"Secret identities, Jody. They're kinda... secret".
Speedfreak sighed.
"Goddamn it, almost had him..."
"Sorry, Jody".
"It's ok..."
He sips his lemonade once again.
"So, tell me more...OH!"
Suddenly, Othergirl's expression gets wicked. Almost like she's digging for something...
"What happens when you... you know?"
"What?"
"Have sex?"
She smirks.
"I mean, what if you go supersonic and kill her?"
"I wouldn't know..."
"...What!?"
"What?"
Othergirl looks shocked.
"Aww, cmon.You're a superhero. You must get laid loads!"
"You're a superhero too! You're half-cybernetic. Do you give your partner a computer virus?"
"How rude. I've been thoroughly tested..."
"What do you want to know about my sex life for anyway? Not that I have one but...why?"
She shrugs.
"Just makin' conversation".
Speedfreak sighs.
"If you must know, I'm asexual. Grey asexual I think it's called".
"Welcome to the club, boyo".
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. Don't let the tits and the talk fool you!"
"Fair. I just assumed you and...you know...might've...you know..."
"God, no. Well, not yet anyway...although she does do these amazing visions..."
She smirks dirtily.
"Lovely..."
"Well, you asked..."
"Well, at least you have the option to at some stage. I haven't told Elizabeth who I am yet or...where I'm from..."
"I'm sure it'd be OK, Jody. You're a great guy".
"Thanks. I appreciate that. But there's no easy way to explain this to someone I actually feel for. 'By the way, I'm the guy in purple and black that runs around saving people and, also, I'm an alien from a distant planet'".
He sighs.
"It doesn't change who you are though..."
Speedfreak smiles.
"How's the coffee?"
"It's good!"
Othergirl smiles once more. Silence then falls.
"So...ummmm..."
"Yes...?"
"...is a catch-up all you wanted? Getting your message was quite out of the blue..."
Othergirl looks at him.
"Jody...not everything has to have an ulterior motive".
He sighs.
"Sorry. After spending years away looking over my shoulder...it makes one paranoid".
"It's ok. So, what's Elizabeth like? Is she...nice? Normal?"
"She's...amazing. She's human. Plain old human but she's...beautiful!"
"One head, two boobs, nothing mutanty?"
"She's like a...you what, Liz?"
She chuckles.
"Just teasing".
He chuckles too.
"There's nothing 'mutanty' about her".
"Good to know".
She smiles.
"I think you'd like her..."
"You should introduce it!"
She smiles.
"When I get the chance, I will".
"Sounds good..."
Speedfreak's phone rings.
"Excuse me...Hello?"
He looks around while listening.
"Oh, hey, Sarah!"
Othergirl sighs and looks around.
"...He did what!?"
He sighs.
"Look, I'm a little busy right now. Can't Miss Invincible sort it?"
"This sounds like fun..."
He sighs again.
"Fine. Give me, like, 10 minutes?"
Othergirl smiles.
"...Ok. See you in a bit. See ya!"
Puts the phone away.
"So...where we headed?"
"Not 'we'. Just me. Karma got into a fight and got thrown through a building. Apparently, I need to sort it out".
Othergirl pouts in disagreement.
"Why can't I come?"
"You've got your work cut out here. Besides, the guy Karma's fighting is...ridiculously strong..."
"Jody, darling, it's my day off. I'm bored. Please..."
"I'm sure there's a problem Aug in Southampton to keep you occupied..."
"Stop making excuses, I can handle it!"
"I don't doubt it. I just think you'd be better off here".
He stands up, preparing to leave.
"Jody..."
She opens her jacket to reveal a gun.
"I got this. C'mon........ we won't tell Visionarie, she'll sulk!"
"That's the main reason I don't think you should come. You know what she can do! One time I took her best friend to a fight and she filled my head with rocking horses for hours..."
"Well, I won't tell if you don't..."
"She's a mind reader...do you see the problem with that statement?"
"Jody...this is a radium gun..."
He laughs.
"No. That's not a radium gun. They don't exist yet".
She looks unimpressed. She removes it from the holster and cocks her eyebrow. She fires it at Speedfreak's tow. He lets out an agonising scream. It was radium.
"OW. FUCK! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"
"You didn't believe me, darling".
"YOU COULD'VE TESTED IT ON A TREE"
He tries to run at super speed but he can't.
"I CAN'T RUN NOW!"
"Oh you'll recover".
He falls to the floor, nursing his toe.
"Drama, drama, drama".
"I'M ALLERGIC"
"I know. But you don't look terribly dead..."
Speedfreak grits his teeth.
"THAT'S BECAUSE, LUCKILY, IT'S A SMALL DOSE!"
She crouches down and pats Speedfreak on the cheek.
"Now now, darling. I've got Karma to deal with. You lie here and be nice to my girlfriend. If you ask nicely, I'm sure she'll offer you some morphine visions..."
"LIZ...LIZ...COME BACK...YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH",
She walks off into the distance.
"...Shit".
"I'm sure I can handle it, dearest!"
She walks over to her motorbike which is parked on the edge of the common. She gets on it and rides away...
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