My bunny slippers just ran for cover

[will_you_still]

Morgan doesn't strictly need to sleep. Even if she didn't want to put up with the annoyance of constantly having a caffeine buzz and having to ask for coffee on almost every summon, there are naps. Naps can keep a daeva going for quite a long time.

But there's something unutterably pleasant about curling up in a proper bed in pajamas and just sleeping. And then waking up and getting breakfast in those pajamas. So she does that, because immortality's a long unpleasant time if you don't enjoy the little things every now and then. Like adorable bunny slippers and soft pajamas and sleeping in.

She's midway through a fruity salad thing that counts as the standard fairy breakfast when she feels the summon. Showing up to a summon in pajamas? Eh. If they're proper summoners she bets they've seen worse, and she doesn't particularly care if they think she's unprofessional.

She puts her spoon down and accepts the summon.

Comments

[acanofworms]

"Well. Given that either your arrival here is a terribly lucky fluke or you are one of the strongest parahumans or parahuman-effects to ever appear, we should make the best of it. What are your plans?"

[will_you_still]

"Lawyer. Possibly followed by talking to a superhero outfit designer of some kind so I can easily fit in instead of running around in clothes a size too big that someone handed to me. Then something large scale and helpful that'll net me a lot of money very quickly, followed by hiring someone to manage my PR and an agent to help me sort through all of the things I need to do, along with living conditions and general amenities. During down time, researching everyone of interest in the world, paying special attention to villains that seem like they've been handed a bad hand in life."

[acanofworms]

He blinks. "Well, I'm glad you have it all figured out, then. And I promised you I'd find the number of a good lawyer when we arrived, right. Let's go find it. And the Protectorate can pay for your housing while you don't have any money, I'm pretty sure, you're not technically a victim of the Leviathan attack but you did end up homeless because of it, in a roundabout way."

[will_you_still]

Morgan snorts. "I mean, I'd like a place to live, but I don't need to eat or sleep, so it's not a huge priority of mine. I'd rather have a comfortable fortune and people to help me use my powers intelligently first."

[acanofworms]

"I'm glad to hear it."

He leads the way to his office.

[will_you_still]

And she follows!

"That being said, if you could get me an unlimited supply of coffee and bagels or something, that'd be great."

[acanofworms]

He laughs. "That can certainly be arranged. Now, let's see..." He doesn't sit, looking for a certain business card in his first drawer.

His office is quite well-organized, with neat little piles of papers that seem to indicate someone who is very busy but also very on top of it, with labels and files and neat little boxes.

[will_you_still]

Morgan doesn't snoop. She waits for her business card with utmost patience.

[acanofworms]

He finds it fast enough, and hands it to her. "There we go. Mrs. Dallon is one of the best you'll find. She's based in Brockton Bay, but she's reachable by phone and email easily enough."

[will_you_still]

Nod.

"... A phone. I'll need a phone," she says, with dawning realization.

[acanofworms]

"...yes, yes you will." He unlocks his computer and taps a few things. "You'll get a PRT-issue disposable one, as well as information about a bank account that will have some money from the relief fund, it should be enough to buy you a better one and food and live in a hostel for a while though you won't be needing that I think. You'll get more money soon, but it won't be as much as your account started with."

[will_you_still]

"Excellent. Thanks."

[acanofworms]

Legend smiles. It's a smile that has probably melted the hearts of hundreds, maybe thousands, and goes a long way towards explaining why he's the face of the Protectorate.

"Was there anything else you might need?"

[will_you_still]

Morgan's heart doesn't do anything like melting. It pumps blood throughout her body, just like it always has.

(He's not her type, pretty though he is.)

"If there's an obvious project that'll do a lot of good and make me a fortune that you can point me at, I'd appreciate it. But other than that, no, I should be okay."

[acanofworms]

"Not off the top of my head, no," he chuckles. "Well, good luck, then."

[will_you_still]

"Thanks! You too."

She gets a PRT disposable phone. She gets money from the relief fund, and then her own bank account in which to put the money in. Then she buys a better cell phone, and after finding out how expensive lawyers are, and how long having someone make her a costume will take, she goes with large-scale projects that will net her a fortune.

...

Turns out, taking nasty villains to space: pretty good way to get a fortune. Okay then. She does some research on her phone on someone called the 'Ash Beast,' deems it possible for him to go on a field trip without hurting her or anyone else very much, and then checks to make sure that A: it is not illegal, and B: she will get a reward for it.

[peterxy]

Both A and B are true!

It is not as large a reward as, say, taking out the Slaughterhouse Nine, but if it's confirmed she did indeed do it she will be rewarded.

[will_you_still]

Good enough for her.

She buys a set of binoculars, then goes and locates the Ash Beast from someplace very very high up. Then the Ash Beast goes on a magical adventure straight up into space. He must be so very excited about it.

(She makes a 'pchooo' sound effect while sending him to space. It seems appropriate.)

[peterxy]

The Ash Beast continues exploding a lot as he makes his way up. He tries creating wings to escape his moving prison but does not succeed.

Bye, Ash Beast!

[will_you_still]

She corrects his trajectory so he's in something resembling a stable orbit around the sun, but if it's not stable, she doesn't really care. Space might kill him anyway, his regen's good but maybe not that good. And he's the sort of resource Morgan doesn't want to use - too much of a hassle. Too unpredictable.

Now! Does she get money for this?

[peterxy]

Yes! Yes she does! Sweet money!

[will_you_still]

Excellent. Now she can attempt to hire various people to do the following: make sure she's not doing anything illegal, get her a list of things that could use her telekinetic powers, make her a costume that fits the style of superheroes while being able to hold up to re-entry. The money won't last very long (Ash Beast was a very predictable sort of terrible, and thus the money paid for his removal was less than it could have been) but it's enough for now.

Besides, she can go make more money, can't she? Someone's got to be willing to hire her for construction.

[peterxy]

As for the illegal part, one Carol Dallon has been recommended for a good reason: she's a cape herself, called Brandish, part of a movement trying to push for less secretiveness and more accountability for heroes. She has quite reasonable rates, for Morgan's expected earnings, too. And if she's contacted about jobs, she will helpfully inform Morgan of various regulatory hoops she will have to jump through to be allowed to use her powers for a regular job.

Unfortunately, there aren't any people publicly offering services in figuring out how to do good with macro telekinesis. The Parahumans Online Forums have been abuzz with activity relating to her ever since she disappeared the Ash Beast. For that matter, she has in fact made the news, though she's "an unknown parahuman." The Forums have a few people speculating about whether she had anything to do with the Leviathan, and some even wonder about the Simurgh, but those are mostly being labeled tinfoil hats.

People who work on costumes exist, in large quantities, but her requirements about it might make them pretty expensive - perhaps more than she has left, depending on how she's been spending it.

[will_you_still]

Morgan does consult Carol Dallon about jobs! And then gets to doing requisite paperwork. Ugh.

At least it's something to do while her costume gets sorted out. She can afford someone to work on an expensive costume, but it will definitely deplete her savings. After some research she calls someone whose aesthetic for costumes she approves of, and explains what sort of clothes she'd like to wear while superheroing. The person would like to meet her to get measurements if she's not going to be having a secret identity (and the words 'Case 53' make the designer very anxious to meet them in person to account for physical oddities) and Morgan agrees. She goes to the designer, the designer takes measurements, they talk more about costume ideas. Morgan is shown pretty little drawings of potential what-ifs along with some reference pictures, and picks out what she does and doesn't like.

A concept is decided upon, savings are depleted in the name of fashion, a costume begins being made, and Morgan is still stuck doing paperwork. Ugh. What else is there to do while she waits for everything to be legal?

...

Clearly the internet is the answer. She goes onto the Parahumans Online Forums, and she makes an account by the name of notinoz (She has a fondness for the Wizard of Oz, and couldn't reasonably call herself notinkansas because she probably will end up in Kansas at some point) and sends a PM to an admin about some way to verify that she's a hero so she doesn't jump into a topic sounding like someone pretending to be a super hero.

[peterxy]

The admin informs her that there is a program that automatically detects whether she is or is not who she's claiming to be after she has posted a couple of times.