Scene 5 - October 20th

MLED Compound, Continuous

Holly Koval

After they left, Canaveral pushed a button on the wall, activating a microphone to the console room. “Vulcan, call Anima and Sequoia in from patrol, if you haven’t already.”

“They’re on their way,” came the quiet voice of the metal man. “Do we have a plan, sir?”

He rubbed his temples. “I’m working on one, Adam. Give me some time.”

“You’ll need our help,” Simone said. “New Venice isn’t exactly a one-horse town - you need us to help you cover it.”

“I hate to admit it, but you’re right,” Alvarez agreed.

“Hey!”

“It’s dangerous,” Canaveral protested.

The shapeshifter shook her head. “Nic works at a distance, and Legion doesn’t have anything that will hurt him when he’s projecting - we need him to help scout the city. Simone can be transport only, that won’t be too dangerous either.”

“I can work from a distance too,” I offered. “I know my hand-to-hand skills aren’t going to be worth much against Legion, but I bet I can use lasers to cut off parts of her body mass.”

He sighed. “Fine. But only from a distance. And only because you’re all over 18 - Sequoia will have to go home too, once he and Miriam get back.”

“Jack can help too!” said Hypnos. “He turns 18 in only a few weeks!”

“He’s still under 18 until then,” Canaveral shot back. “You’re just going to have to live with your boyfriend staying a safe distance from the dangerous supervilain.”

“Well, when you put it that way...”

With my involvement approved, I took a moment to shift into Loki. It was an adjustment I had made a probably a thousand times in the years since I joined the Journeymen - I had been a member since I was 15, and at this point I have more experience than many full-fledged heroes. With all that practice, the change is quick, and a moment later the appearance of loose, flowing clothes that I had worn over the kevlar body suit I actually wore whenever I went to the Compound was gone, and replaced by Loki’s costume. My long blonde hair is gone too, covered by stylishly-unkempt black hair - a style that PR spent hours perfecting, since I never need to let it actually get ruined. Of course, my hair isn’t actually that short, but no one would notice me pinning it up when the actual movement of my body wasn’t what my illusory self is doing. I’ve always thought that it was an excellent disguise - as Loki I’m six inches taller than I am as Holly, with short black hair rather than long blonde curls and dark eyes rather than baby blues, plus a more muscular (and more masculine) build. Not to mention that I used different pronouns - I don’t think hat anyone could guess my secret identity.

“Alright, I think I have the beginnings of a plan,” Canaveral said, and I refocused myself yet again.