CTC29 writing sprint weekend day 1

This is both my writing from today, and the campaign log for a Mutants and Masterminds game I'm in. The words are all mine, but the story is stolen :)

It's 2054. Every hero who had ever tried to help others gathered to fight this threat. Only the four of them survived. They'd faced an army, and won through. Together, they raced to the Time Button - only this could save the world from certain destruction. She'd known these heroes back when they were all young and just starting out. If only they had started out working together, they might have prevented this. Miraculously, they got there, one of them slammed the button. There was a flash of white light...

Zoe jerked awake, confused to be in the bed from her old apartment. Wait, no, this is her apartment. She sat up, turned on the lamp, and took long, deep breaths to clear her head. She was at home, in her very nice not at all old bed, in her own apartment, in 2014. She was 28 years old, although if the dream was to be believed she aged pretty well. She still preferred her current age, thank you very much.

Parts of the dream were already fading. The sense of urgent danger stayed with her, as did the thought that having teamed up with other heroes could have prevented this danger, or stopped it sooner. Maybe this was her subconscious's way of suggesting a direction for her to go? The dream, if it was a dream, felt much more real than her dreams normally felt. What if, in some fashion, this really was some kind of communication from 40 years in the future? Was that really any more impossible than suddenly developing the ability to teleport? The more she thought about it, the more she thought this had to be some kind of real communication. This vision was important. She got out of bed, feeling more like herself than she had in weeks. She had to to put together a superhero team. She even knew who to call to get it started. Her team could be the inspiration for others. Whatever the coming threat turned out to be, she was going to make sure they were ready for it.

There was more to the session, of course. I'll write that part out tomorrow. I rather like this stopping point, and I really do need to get some sleep. Can't wait for tomorrow's writing time!

#CTC29 Day 20: Narrative Distance

Today's challenge is to write the same scene three ways, with varying narrative distance. I don't usually give much/any thought to narrative distance - I'm glad to be more aware of it after this exercise :) I'm not sure that Version 1 is actually any closer than version 2, despite aiming for that goal. I'm so comfortable with riding along right there in my character's brain - it's keeping a distance that's a challenge for me.

Version 1:

Zoe hadn't been to Danny's Bar & Grill since her "medical" leave. So many cops frequented the place you could leave anything you liked out on your table; it would be there when you got back. She'd stopped by a couple other bars, but just couldn't relax. Even if the force didn't consider her a cop any more, her neighbors did. Each time, she drank her beer in a bubble of quiet and space. No one seemed to notice her come in. It hurt more than she expected to not be greeted as soon as she came in. She took a stool at the end of the bar, ordered her usual, not sure if she wanted to be left alone or hoped someone would acknowledge her.

Version 2:

Zoe hadn't been to Danny's Bar & Grill since her "medical" leave. So many cops frequented the place you could leave anything you liked out on your table; it would be there when you got back. Familiar smells of wood polish, good beer, and homemade fries greeted her - none of the people seemed to notice her. Her sneakers felt strange on the wood floor, where she'd walked so often in uniform shoes. Her feet turned toward the tables, where she plowed into the wall of no one meeting her gaze. Without hesitation, she continued on past the beeping video games. She touched the cool plastic controller as she passed. She'd only ever played to compete with, now former, coworkers.

Version 3:

Danny's Bar & Grill companionably abutted shops and walk-up apartments on a relatively quiet side street. It didn't stand out to the casual observer. Locals knew you could almost always find at least one or two police officers having a meal or post-shift beer. The whole street stayed remarkably free of graffiti.

No one visibly reacted to the woman walking in. No one met her eye as she glanced around the room. From a stool at the end of the bar, she ordered her usual beer and fries. She hadn't had Danny's homemade fries in quite a long time.

CTC day 13 The Beginning

Very first draft, but I'm rather pleased with this :)

"You have the right to remain silent."

Zoe looked up at the TV, surprised to hear her own voice. She saw shaky news footage of an arrest she had made months ago, before her "medical" leave. The view shifted to the anchor, who said, "While ex-officer Alvarez, a known mutant, has left the force, could there be others like her..." Zoe threw cash on the diner table and left. She walked, too angry to sit still.

The words "ex-officer Alvarez" played over and over in her mind. No one had said, "We don't want your kind," but that's what all the soft, meaningless words meant. The city called it a "Medical leave with early retirement." She wasn't sick, and it wasn't her fault she, like many others, developed a mutant ability. She could teleport - go from one place to another in an instant. Despite calm, logical explanations - how useful this ability could be, how it didn't give her any more chance of violating civil rights than any other officer, pointing out her excellent record and how well she could control the ability, she was still an ex-cop.

Eventually she found herself in the neighborhood on the one other mutant she knew personally. A young man named {AC}. She smiled, remembering that they had met when she'd arrested him. He was a good kid. His one bad decision had gotten him 4 years in prison, and an odd mix of infamy and celebrity. Zoe had kept up with him, and tried to help him out when she could. It might do them both good to have a visit.

Two blocks from his apartment building, she heard a young voice shout, "Stop, criminal!" She broke into a run. It was probably kids playing, but police habits die hard. As soon as she turned the corner, she teleported closer to the two men grappling on the sidewalk. She relaxed slightly seeing no weapons. She barked, "Hey! Break it up!" Sometimes a shout was enough to stop a hands and feet altercation. To her surprise, it was {AC} being restrained by another young man. They both started shouting, {AC} at his captor and the other young man at her. The latter yelled louder, "Miss! Call the police! This is a dangerous criminal who's escaped from justice!" Zoe blinked at him, then laughed. He was so eager, and so determined, and so very, very mistaken. They both glared at her.

"Let him go," she said, "He's been released from prison, and isn't a danger." With an effort of will, she didn't laugh as she added, "He's paid his debt to society." {AC} was considering becoming a Hero, fighting crime in conjunction with the police. It appears a possible partner had found him.

CTC29 day 12 Archetype: The Fool

This story/scene takes place after this scene and before This one.

Zoe sighed and shook her head. "Yes, I could fight it, but I would lose. My options are take the medical leave and early retirement, or spend a whole lot of money for attorneys and court fees, and still not be a cop."

Her cousin nodded sadly, saying, "which is no choice at all."

"Yup. Pretty much." They fell into silence. Her nieces were somewhere in the laughing mass of kids on the playground. Zoe sounded much calmer about this than she felt. She could control her teleportation now. Despite losing her temper quite a few times, she hadn't rage teleported in over 6 months. Still, she wasn't going to be allowed back to the job she'd wanted since she was a kid.

Zoe looked up when her cousin jumped up and jogged to one of the trees. Zoe followed her slowly at first, then faster when she realized her older niece had climbed very high into that tree. Her cousin first sounded annoyed, then worried. The little girl was too scared to climb back down.

"I'll get her," Zoe told her cousin.

"No, I don't want you both to fall. I'll call for help..." She trailed off, phone in hand. Zoe vanished from the ground, reappearing on the branch next to her niece. The girl shrieked as her aunt hugged her close. Then both reappeared next to Zoe's stunned cousin. For a moment, everything was silence, then the park exploded with noise - the rescued niece bursting into tears, her mother laughing and crying at the same time, and everyone else shouting in surprise and confusion. Some of the children were whisked away by nervous parents. Others, eventually, returned to playing.

Zoe's younger niece, wide eyed, whispered a question, "Are you a superhero?" Zoe's mind tilted. The big black "Ex-cop" stamped across her self image cracked.

"I just might be," she answered, giving her a hug.

"You can do, aunt Zoe!" she said encouragingly, then ran off to join her friends.

CTC29 day 9

Two women dashed through the lab door. They tipped a workbench against the door seconds before something began pounding the other side. 

Zoe spoke as she pushed a cabinet against the door. "Paige, I told you this would happen."

"Really?  You told me we'd be barricading the door to keep out a crazed chimp?"  

"Shut up and figure out how to kill the damn monkey."

"No!  I need to run tests - the serum works, can't you see that? 

Zoe stared at her one-time friend. "That thing almost killed 3 people.  It's trying to get in here to kill us."

Paige dropped her eyes. "The murderous rage wasn't part of the plan, no."

Zoe shook Paige's arm gently. "It doesn't matter right now. Now we need to stop that chimp before someone else gets hurt."  Paige sagged against the wall, nodding.  

"We can try a sedative. If you can distract him, I can inject him. It should knock him right out."

"You have got to be kidding me."  The both jumped as the cabinet fell away from the cracked door. "Ah hell." 

Paige jerked drawers open, collecting supplies then made up the syringe. As the door splintered, they each took position - Paige out of sight on the side, Zoe square in front of the doorway rubble. 

The chimp burst into the room, screaming its fury. Zoe screamed right back and punched it in the muzzle. The chimp seemed more surprised than injured. That moment was all Paige needed. She stepped out, emptying the syringe into the chimp's neck.   It whirled, lifted Paige off her feet, then dropped into a heap. 

Zoe helped Paige up, not seeing the second needle until it stabbed her arm.  Paige said "I have to finish my work." As Zoe passed out. 

Zoe woke up with only a headache - Paige, her notes, and the chimp were gone. 

Larger-than-Life Zoe

Zoe barely heard the footstep before the mugger had cut her purse strap and run. "Gotcha," she said, vanished, reappearing in front of the mugger. He ran right into her fist. He fell, dazed. Shaking his head to clear it, he glared daggers at her.

"You just can't resist, can you?" Zoe asked, shaking her head.

"Hey, you're not a real cop! You're that mutie bitch from the news!" He struggled to his feet as he blustered. Zoe watched him, looking amused. "Don't you try that mutant crap on me again," he went on, "I don't want to hurt you."

He jumped when a voice from the end of the alley responded, "That's good. Maybe the judge will put that in your favor." The would-be mugger whipped out a knife as he turned.

"I wouldn't pull a knife on an real cop," Zoe helpfully suggested. Officers Martin and Horowitz stepped into the dim light, guns trained on the mugger. Without a word, he dropped the knife, and put his hands over his head.

Officer Horowitz cuffed and Mirandized the perpetrator, while Officer Martin bagged the evidence. "Thanks Offi... Ms. Alvarez." He looked away, embarrassed at the slip.

Zoe pretended not to notice. "Happy to help. Being able to teleport makes me excellent bait." They both grinned. She looked longingly at the purse. "Ya know, when you're all done with that bag..."

Officer Martin looked at Zoe, the bag, then back to Zoe, confused.

"It's a good purse. It's not like Coach bags grow on trees."

Officer Martin snorted a laugh, "I'll see what I can do." He followed his partner to their car, and Zoe teleported back to her apartment.

Ordinary Zoe

Zoe sat very still, staring across the table at her date. She stood deliberately, tucking her chair under the table. Her face dangerously cold she said, "You've mistaken me for someone willing to share a meal with a racist. Goodnight."  Without a pause, she turned on her heel to leave.  After a moment of shock, he lurched after her. 

"No, babe, I didn't  mean it like that," grabbing her arm as he caught up to her.   In one fluid whirl she pulled her arm free, stomped his instep, and vanished. 

Seconds later, standing on a rooftop, she dropped her cocked fist, took a deep breath, then swore quietly as she explored the roof. 

The next morning she wore a suit instead  of her police uniform. Her colleagues pretended not to notice as she walked through to the boss' office. "I need to take that medical leave."

"Are you sure?"  

"Yes. I teleported to a roof this time."

Her boss slumped in his chair, sighing. "Shit."

"Yeah," she agreed, dropping into a chair. They'd been over this before. She was a damn fine cop - and teleportation could be very useful once she had it under control.  If it were up to him, she'd go on leave long enough for her mutant power to stabilize, then put her back to work. Taking the leave was the right decision - blinking away on the job could get someone killed. The problem was the city giving in to anti-mutant paranoia. If she went on leave, she probably wouldn't be back. 

In silence she put her gun and badge on his desk. He straightened in his chair, then they both stood. They shook hands formally. "You'll stay in touch." He said - it wasn't a question. 

"You just want to have Mama's cooking," Zoe teased. 

"Not just that, he said smiling."

Zoe nodded, to close to tears to trust her voice. She walked out with more confidence than she felt.