Chapter Three: Changing


    “Yes, yes, I know that I have not always been a perfect man, but I swear to my constituents that I will be the man they need in Washington DC, just as I was for so long in the streets of New York City! If I can wrestle a Kaiju outside of Madison Square Garden, I sure as hell can wrestle the budget as your congressman!”


    “What? Oh, yes, Marilyn and I have chosen to be wed in the summer, now that she’s, um… completed her master’s degree and time as an intern on Capitol Hill, yes.”-Richard Garibaldi, the Empire Statesman, announcing his run for reelection.


    “How prosaic.” Elizabeth took a breath, hating that the mission that had stolen her from time was in the end meaningless. “Well lieutenant, shall you show me to the lockers and maybe a shower? I am feeling rather grubby after my dousing.”


    “I can imagine.” Trying to conceal a limp, Penny led the smaller woman to a bank of elevators, punching a code into a pad to summon a car. The lift didn''t have any buttons on the inside and seemed fast enough it was likely a direct express route between two locations.


    A stack of clothing sat on what looked to be a normal bench with a small note with Elizabeth’s name on it. In fact, the whole room was strangely familiar, like a dozen other rooms of the same kind she’d seen over the years, if perhaps cleaner and more colorfully painted. A stack of clothing, including the undress uniform she recognized as similar to what others in the garage had been wearing as well as what seemed to be gym clothes, underthings, and a set of flight coveralls. “Looks like she grabbed you a full set of the basics. Not fashionable, but at least it’s more than a blanket.”


    Elizabeth glanced over at the young woman, who was putting her own uniform on over the rather skimpy suit she’d been wearing, Solaris remembered other armored heroes wearing something similar if slightly heavier for piloting robots. “Shower?”


    “Through there. The body wash is in a dispenser on the wall and works as a shampoo too. It’s not great stuff, but it’ll get you clean.”


    “Thank you. Now sit down and rest. There is no reason to strain yourself.” The blonde told her. “I can tell your leg is bothering you.” She continued as she selected a locker, her small and sensible heels making a louder clang than expected as they were put inside.


    Sitting as she was told, Penny watched as the blonde pulled a dozen or more pins to let the long hair free. Penny sighed and started massaging her thigh. She watched as the heroine removed a golden necklace and hung it in the locker with care, then winced as she took off her watch. “Killed another one, I suppose.”


    “Might get a Divers watch. Mine’s rated for something like 400 meters. Not that I plan on going that deep, ever.”


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    “Something to think about. If you don’t mind my asking what happened? I assume you were injured in your last combat.” She removed her blouse “This is a total loss.” She tossed it in a nearby garbage can. “And I was a nurse long before I was a “hero”, so you don’t have to pretend it’s not bothering you. If I could see Breakneck through malaria, I think I can assure you anyone can be laid low, from time to time.”


    Penny sighed. “You had the Black Hand back in your time, so you know what kind of bastards they are.” The smaller woman’s wince was all the confirmation she needed. “Terrorists fear them, and my dumb ass got between one of their enhanced assassins and a target. Good news, I won. Bad news, I did it by activating the escape function on the armor while the bastard was squeezing the life out of me. One leg didn’t escape with the rest of me. I would have died, but a super with healing abilities was there but even then… the fact the surgeons and super could reattach the leg alone was a miracle, but it’s not… all right. Nerves aren’t all connected right, it gets chilly faster than the rest of me, and ghost pains hit sometimes.” She glared at an armor rack. “And for some reason the feedback from the neural interface causes a nasty ache. I think it just needs to be tuned or adjusted more for me, but the techs don’t agree.”


    “I am sorry to hear that. I’d say I’d ask around but I’m afraid my contacts are a bit out of date. She pulled her skirt off, tossing it to the trash. Then began undoing her garter belt, the nylons almost literally disintegrating as she did. “Considering everything, you move well in your mech. I knew a few armored types, and few walked so naturally.”


    “Yeah. I love piloting the suits. I qualified on the old Privateer suits before the Surfmen came online and even took extra tech classes in the academy about them, but the neurofeedback can be a beast. “


    “Tankman always complained about his shoulders after he wore his suit for a while.” She walked into the shower and turned on the water, washing her hair and getting the salt and port gunk off her skin. “But he always found one thing to be cheerful about and one thing to complain about.”


    “Australians. Comes with everything on the continent trying to kill you. “.


    “It could be worse. It was only one shark.” Chuckling, Solaris came out drying her hair. “It is an interesting place. Very good steak. She began dressing, taking a Moment to look over the sports bra before shrugging and putting it on, using her hair pins to assemble her long golden hair into a tight bun.


    Penny had pulled herself together at that time, her pixie cut hair less demanding. She put the other clothes into a sports bag for the other woman and gestured towards the door. “This way, ma’am. It’s mostly going to be what happened and debrief. I think the current most popular theory is an alternate universe, but I am thinking of a mystical time trap?”


    Solaris slid her shoes back on, “Nothing so fancy, I think it was some sort of freeze trap. I’m not sure what caused me to thaw.”


    “My bet is Lasersaurus knocked something over. That kids his own worst enemy. And why did he add tentacles? Creepy little bastard. “


    “He was a rude young man, and his robot’s head was far too easy to remove, not nearly enough reinforcement on the neck.”


    “Yeah. He’s going to get himself killed one day… hopefully before he kills someone else. “


    They entered an area with several people working at desks, screens displaying news channels and vid feeds from operational areas. The directors office was glass walled and raised to see all of her domain. She stood and gestured to the chairs. “Sit ladies. Let’s chat. First off, welcome back Ms. Summers. Are you feeling healthy and whole? And do you prefer your name or Solaris?”


    Either is fine with me, when I’m not in uniform I prefer my name, but I’m a public hero, so I’m used to my call sign being used.


    “Fair enough. So… for the record what happened? Why did you disappear?”


    With a deep breath, Elizabeth began to give her report.


    “With help from a snitch I managed to find Senator McCarthy’s bunker in Hell''s Kitchen. I went to find the evidence confirming that he was working with the Black Hand. Using their intel to find communist sympathizers in exchange for helping to remove or inconvenience their opponents. I found the bunker and managed to find all the intel we’d need. but I hit some sort of trap when I was leaving. My next aware moment, the bunker was dusty and shut down. I made my way back up to the surface and I believe you know what happens from there.”