CoH Fic: "Hot Water"
I'm still here! Still writing! And it occurs to me that all I ever post here anymore is stories. XD;; I really need to remedy that soon. Anyway! The gates have reopened, it seems, as I'm getting ideas and such for writing...even if it's for my CoH characters. Ah well; it's writing!
Title: Hot Water
Fandom: City of Heroes
Characters: Allerdyce Scheele, Echida (Lucy), Chester Neutron
Word Count: 1,410
It was the height of summer, and Paragon City was deep in the grip of the longest heatwave the city had seen in a very long time. Some citizens even muttered that the heat wave was due to a villainous plot, except no villain would claim it, and even the villains themselves were having a hard time with the heat. Even the areas along the waterfront were sweltering hot, and the City had started issuing advisories for anyone with ice-based mutant powers, who would be susceptible to the heat, at the same time they asked for those with cooling powers to assist with emergency actions to help people keep cool. The city had even started implementing rolling blackouts, to help ease the stress on the power grid as people turned up their air conditioning.
Allerdyce lay stretched out on his back in the grove in the Secret Order of Eden's underground base. The grove, and the fact that the base was underground, did mean it was cooler inside than it was outside, but it was still hot, and somewhat stuffy, due to being indoors. It did not help that the underground river, usually so effective at keeping the base cool, had slowed to a trickle, thanks to the heat and lack of rain. Allerdyce was dressed lightly in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, sweat making the fabric stick to his skin. His black hair lay lank against the back of his neck, and plastered itself to his forehead with sweat.
"Hey, Ally." Lucy walked into the grove, looking equally as hot and uncomfortable as he felt.
"Hey, babe," he replied, smiling at her, and she flopped down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she said, wrinkling her nose and giggling as he turned his head to kiss her cheek.
"Tryin' to keep as still as possible," he groaned, flopping back over onto his back. "If I don't move, I don't overheat so fast." He snorted. "I'd better not be up on patrol duty today, at least, not before sunset. I'd never make it. I'd probably end up melting into a puddle on the sidewalk."
"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "I mean, it used to get hot, in Praetoria, but never this bad. Or for this long. This stinks." She peered at him out of the corner of one eye. "I'm surprised you're not out at Kin's place."
"Are you kidding? No way. There's not enough water there to really cool it down, and now there's even less than usual, since there hasn't been much rain. The ponds are all drying up. But it's not a desert there, and with all that plant life generating a lot of humidity, it's like a greenhouse. It's almost worse there than it is in the middle of the city."
"You really don't like the heat, do you?"
Allerdyce shook his head. "It never got this hot, back home on the Iron Range, and if it did, it never lasted for more than a few days. I'm dyin' here," he groaned. "What I wouldn't give for a snowbank. Just one."
"What would you do with it?"
He laughed. "Lots of things...roll in it, just lie in it, make snow angels. It'd feel great."
"Huh," she replied. "Sounds crazy to me, but...wait!" She sat up slightly, propping herself on one elbow. "What about the chalet, in Pocket D? There's lots of snow there."
"Tried it," he groaned, sounding miserable. "I wasn't the only one to think of it. They shut it down 'cause it got overwhelmed with people trying to cool off. Apparently, alpine mountains stashed in a pocket dimension have a limit to the amount of people they can hold, before it starts to get too warm and the snow starts to melt." He rubbed his forehead. "Last I saw, DJ Zero was completely spazzing out, demanding if anyone knew how expensive it was to set up that kind of pocket dimension, not to mention how difficult it is, and griping that we'd all be lucky if he got it stabilized in time for Christmas."
Lucy stared at him as he shifted slightly onto a cooler patch of moss. "Weird," she grunted, then flopped down, herself. "Well, there's gotta be another option. I thought I heard something about a--"
"Was it the ice party, sponsored by the Crystalline Coalition?" said a new voice. "'Cause if it was, you can forget about that plan, too." They both looked up as Chester Neutron strolled into the room.
"The what?" Allerdyce stared at him, eyebrows raised.
"Well. You know the Crystalline Coalition, right? The one where you can only join if your powers are ice-based, in some way? Well, they had some kinda gala...made a snow mountain near the beach on Talos Island, invited heroes and citizens to come by and cool off. Only problem is, making all that ice and snow wore out a lot of their heavy-hitters. Last I heard, the Tsoo had formed a huge mob, dropped by and were picking 'em off like they were newborn kittens, 'cause they're all too tired to defend themselves, much less their lower-ranking members who don't normally have the security clearance to patrol Talos. It's complete chaos. PPD had to pull in a team to rescue the Coalition. Quite a few of the guests ended up rescuing their hosts, too, which defeats the purpose of trying to cool down. Oh, and the ice pile melted, of course."
"What a mess," groaned Lucy. "And that sounded like it might have been a good idea, too." She peered at Chester. "Got any other ideas? We're fresh out. And don't suggest the D; Ally already tried it, and--"
"And DJ Zero is on the warpath, 'cause too many heroes overloaded his precious little chalet, and he's throwing a hissyfit about it being damaged," finished Chester. "Yeah, I waded into that mess, too. Oh, and don't think about turning rogue, 'cause the Isles might be cooler, being on the ocean and all--they're not. I heard from Ricky a little while ago, and he says the Isles are just as hot as the City, and really humid, to boot. Plus, their beaches really suck. Not worth it."
"Well, I'm outta ideas," grunted Allerdyce. "I'm open to suggestions, if you've got any."
"Why not just go swimming, somewhere in Paragon?" suggested Chester. "The water's not cold, but it's cooler than just sitting here, and the bays get a lot of good breezes. It's a temporary solution, but it's better than lying on your back in the grove, hoping for a cool breeze."
Allerdyce felt himself going pale. "I dunno, Chess..."
"What's wrong? It's a great idea. You got a better one?"
"Yeah, maybe I do. How about you sit here and fan us with your wings."
"Very funny, Ally; very funny," Chess replied, flipping him a rude gesture. "You don't wanna see your girl in a bikini? I thought you'd jump at the chance."
"Huh?" Allerdyce paused, fear warring with intrigue. It was a tempting prospect... "I dunno..."
"Whaddya mean, you don't know? Ally, you're my friend, but you're nuts, dude."
"Hey!"
Lucy cleared her throat. "Do I get a say in all of this?" She stared at the two of them, eyebrows raised. "So nice to know you two are making decisions for me about how I will dress, and when!"
Allerdyce flushed. "I'm sorry, Babe, I didn't mean it that way..."
"Good. And, as luck would have it, I just got a new bikini...and what's wrong with swimming? It sounds like a good idea. It's gotta be better than lying around here."
"Well..." Allerdyce looked at Lucy. She stared back expectantly. He looked over at Chester. Chess grinned, nodding his head in a gesture toward Lucy, clearly thinking he was doing Allerdyce a favor. "Well, I don't have any swimming trunks..."
"Oh, that is easy to fix; Paragon Mart is having a sale on swimming suits. Where do you think I got my new bikini? C'mon, we'll go shopping, and then go to the beach, how's that?"
"...and we could get sunburns...I mean, you are kinda pale, babe..."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Pff, now you're just fishing for excuses. What's the problem? You put on sunscreen, bam, problem solved. We can pick that up at Paragon Mart, too."
Allerdyce sighed, tamping down his fear. He was well and truly stuck.
More to come, soon!
Title: Hot Water
Fandom: City of Heroes
Characters: Allerdyce Scheele, Echida (Lucy), Chester Neutron
Word Count: 1,410
It was the height of summer, and Paragon City was deep in the grip of the longest heatwave the city had seen in a very long time. Some citizens even muttered that the heat wave was due to a villainous plot, except no villain would claim it, and even the villains themselves were having a hard time with the heat. Even the areas along the waterfront were sweltering hot, and the City had started issuing advisories for anyone with ice-based mutant powers, who would be susceptible to the heat, at the same time they asked for those with cooling powers to assist with emergency actions to help people keep cool. The city had even started implementing rolling blackouts, to help ease the stress on the power grid as people turned up their air conditioning.
Allerdyce lay stretched out on his back in the grove in the Secret Order of Eden's underground base. The grove, and the fact that the base was underground, did mean it was cooler inside than it was outside, but it was still hot, and somewhat stuffy, due to being indoors. It did not help that the underground river, usually so effective at keeping the base cool, had slowed to a trickle, thanks to the heat and lack of rain. Allerdyce was dressed lightly in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, sweat making the fabric stick to his skin. His black hair lay lank against the back of his neck, and plastered itself to his forehead with sweat.
"Hey, Ally." Lucy walked into the grove, looking equally as hot and uncomfortable as he felt.
"Hey, babe," he replied, smiling at her, and she flopped down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she said, wrinkling her nose and giggling as he turned his head to kiss her cheek.
"Tryin' to keep as still as possible," he groaned, flopping back over onto his back. "If I don't move, I don't overheat so fast." He snorted. "I'd better not be up on patrol duty today, at least, not before sunset. I'd never make it. I'd probably end up melting into a puddle on the sidewalk."
"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "I mean, it used to get hot, in Praetoria, but never this bad. Or for this long. This stinks." She peered at him out of the corner of one eye. "I'm surprised you're not out at Kin's place."
"Are you kidding? No way. There's not enough water there to really cool it down, and now there's even less than usual, since there hasn't been much rain. The ponds are all drying up. But it's not a desert there, and with all that plant life generating a lot of humidity, it's like a greenhouse. It's almost worse there than it is in the middle of the city."
"You really don't like the heat, do you?"
Allerdyce shook his head. "It never got this hot, back home on the Iron Range, and if it did, it never lasted for more than a few days. I'm dyin' here," he groaned. "What I wouldn't give for a snowbank. Just one."
"What would you do with it?"
He laughed. "Lots of things...roll in it, just lie in it, make snow angels. It'd feel great."
"Huh," she replied. "Sounds crazy to me, but...wait!" She sat up slightly, propping herself on one elbow. "What about the chalet, in Pocket D? There's lots of snow there."
"Tried it," he groaned, sounding miserable. "I wasn't the only one to think of it. They shut it down 'cause it got overwhelmed with people trying to cool off. Apparently, alpine mountains stashed in a pocket dimension have a limit to the amount of people they can hold, before it starts to get too warm and the snow starts to melt." He rubbed his forehead. "Last I saw, DJ Zero was completely spazzing out, demanding if anyone knew how expensive it was to set up that kind of pocket dimension, not to mention how difficult it is, and griping that we'd all be lucky if he got it stabilized in time for Christmas."
Lucy stared at him as he shifted slightly onto a cooler patch of moss. "Weird," she grunted, then flopped down, herself. "Well, there's gotta be another option. I thought I heard something about a--"
"Was it the ice party, sponsored by the Crystalline Coalition?" said a new voice. "'Cause if it was, you can forget about that plan, too." They both looked up as Chester Neutron strolled into the room.
"The what?" Allerdyce stared at him, eyebrows raised.
"Well. You know the Crystalline Coalition, right? The one where you can only join if your powers are ice-based, in some way? Well, they had some kinda gala...made a snow mountain near the beach on Talos Island, invited heroes and citizens to come by and cool off. Only problem is, making all that ice and snow wore out a lot of their heavy-hitters. Last I heard, the Tsoo had formed a huge mob, dropped by and were picking 'em off like they were newborn kittens, 'cause they're all too tired to defend themselves, much less their lower-ranking members who don't normally have the security clearance to patrol Talos. It's complete chaos. PPD had to pull in a team to rescue the Coalition. Quite a few of the guests ended up rescuing their hosts, too, which defeats the purpose of trying to cool down. Oh, and the ice pile melted, of course."
"What a mess," groaned Lucy. "And that sounded like it might have been a good idea, too." She peered at Chester. "Got any other ideas? We're fresh out. And don't suggest the D; Ally already tried it, and--"
"And DJ Zero is on the warpath, 'cause too many heroes overloaded his precious little chalet, and he's throwing a hissyfit about it being damaged," finished Chester. "Yeah, I waded into that mess, too. Oh, and don't think about turning rogue, 'cause the Isles might be cooler, being on the ocean and all--they're not. I heard from Ricky a little while ago, and he says the Isles are just as hot as the City, and really humid, to boot. Plus, their beaches really suck. Not worth it."
"Well, I'm outta ideas," grunted Allerdyce. "I'm open to suggestions, if you've got any."
"Why not just go swimming, somewhere in Paragon?" suggested Chester. "The water's not cold, but it's cooler than just sitting here, and the bays get a lot of good breezes. It's a temporary solution, but it's better than lying on your back in the grove, hoping for a cool breeze."
Allerdyce felt himself going pale. "I dunno, Chess..."
"What's wrong? It's a great idea. You got a better one?"
"Yeah, maybe I do. How about you sit here and fan us with your wings."
"Very funny, Ally; very funny," Chess replied, flipping him a rude gesture. "You don't wanna see your girl in a bikini? I thought you'd jump at the chance."
"Huh?" Allerdyce paused, fear warring with intrigue. It was a tempting prospect... "I dunno..."
"Whaddya mean, you don't know? Ally, you're my friend, but you're nuts, dude."
"Hey!"
Lucy cleared her throat. "Do I get a say in all of this?" She stared at the two of them, eyebrows raised. "So nice to know you two are making decisions for me about how I will dress, and when!"
Allerdyce flushed. "I'm sorry, Babe, I didn't mean it that way..."
"Good. And, as luck would have it, I just got a new bikini...and what's wrong with swimming? It sounds like a good idea. It's gotta be better than lying around here."
"Well..." Allerdyce looked at Lucy. She stared back expectantly. He looked over at Chester. Chess grinned, nodding his head in a gesture toward Lucy, clearly thinking he was doing Allerdyce a favor. "Well, I don't have any swimming trunks..."
"Oh, that is easy to fix; Paragon Mart is having a sale on swimming suits. Where do you think I got my new bikini? C'mon, we'll go shopping, and then go to the beach, how's that?"
"...and we could get sunburns...I mean, you are kinda pale, babe..."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Pff, now you're just fishing for excuses. What's the problem? You put on sunscreen, bam, problem solved. We can pick that up at Paragon Mart, too."
Allerdyce sighed, tamping down his fear. He was well and truly stuck.
More to come, soon!