riverviewlogs | i was lightning -

[What exactly does a courier for Orange Leaf Delivery Service deliver? Who cares! Certainly not Tommy; he's glad to have a job where he can put his mutant talents to use again. Not a bad way to see more of the quarantine area and get paid while he's at it. So maybe you've ordered something, and it comes delivered by a blur of green and white. You wanted it fast, right?]

[ In an effort to stem the spread of the disease that's been sweeping the Quarantine, some pharmacies had settled on a policy: if you were sick, you could call in, tell them what you needed, and they would charge you remotely, package everything up and send it by courier to your door. It was a smart move; sick people didn't have to leave the house and expose others, if they needed more cough syrup or what have you.

Which is why Cisco is waiting by the door, looking a little ragged with his PJs and his hair in a messy ponytail, for his medicine to arrive. He'd just sent for some over the counter fever-reducers; things aren't that bad, yet, and he's still clinging to the hope that after one more good night's sleep he'll be right as rain.

He is, of course, hardly expecting the delivery to be so prompt, or so... on foot. When Tommy runs up, Cisco startles, and then just stands there blinking at him for several moments. His fever's not that bad, right? He's not hallucinating right now? Is it really... ]

You're a speedster?

[ There'd been something off about that blur - not just the color, but something else. And Cisco doesn't recognize this guy at all. It'd be one thing if it was only Wally, but this is just too baffling for his somewhat compromised head right now. ]

[Poor Cisco. In fairness, Tommy is pretty impressive, or so he thinks. Still, it’s not often he gets recognized for his talents.]

Sure am, [he says, grinning as he holds up Cisco’s delivery package.] Name’s Speed. You heard of me?

[Probably not - not here, anyway. New York would be a different story. But a mutant can dream, right?]

[ Cisco takes the package from Tommy without bothering to look at it, his brow furrowed. This is just... a lot to process, and it probably would be even if he were't running 101 degrees or so. Maybe this is a dream. This seems like it would be a dream. ]

Nooooo, can't say I have. Your- your code name is just... Speed? For real?

[ That is just a can of Keanu Reeves jokes waiting to be cracked open. Cisco asks the question in all earnestness, eyebrows raised. The superpowers, the nickname - all of that he just accepts as if it's perfectly ordinary. And in his life, it is. ]

Uh, you ever heard of the Flash?

[ Who knows, maybe this guy is from the future of Cisco's own world, and he'll have heard of some history that'll make that clear. Or possibly he's from some other corner of the multiverse altogether. Gotta love that Quarantine uncertainty. ]

Yeah, f'real! Just one word - tells you all you need to know.

[He's quite pleased with himself for thinking that up, yes, thanks for asking. Cisco's question leaves Tommy rapidly drumming two fingers on the end of his chin while he takes 0.7 seconds to think - it certainly sounds like the sort of name another speedster would pick, based on the grand pool of two speedsters Tommy knows, himself and Quicksilver. It doesn't ring any bells, though, so Tommy shakes his head.]

Nah, should I?

[ Cisco shrugs; he'll grant that, it's definitely efficient. And considering the way the Quarantine works, it's possible this guy comes from a world where that movie doesn't even exist - though if he does that is a real tragedy and Cisco is going to have to remedy that as soon as possible. ]

If you were from my universe, yeah. But sounds like you're probably not.

[ It would be pretty difficult by this point to not have heard of the Flash. He had run right into the sky and closed a black hole, and that had been filmed by a whole lot of people. He was pretty much world famous by this point. That's not arrogance, it's just a fact. And Cisco thinks, as well, that if there were another speedster in his world, he would know about it.

He holds out his hand for Tommy to shake, remembers a moment later he is sick and pulls it back again, saying apologetically: ]

Shit, nevermind, I'm all germ-y. Uh. Cisco Ramon. Which you probably know from the delivery order, but. Nice to meet you.

[ He gives a little wave, instead. Despite the fact that Cisco is clearly not at his healthiest, there's a bright interest in his eyes. This is the first time he's met a speedster who wasn't at least aware of Barry, and he's very curious. ]

So are you a metahuman? Mutant? Wizard?

[ It's possible! Cisco has lots of magic friends now, okay? ]

[ The moment Wally sees a blur run by he taps into his own powers, the bluish-white lightning that comes with it crackling around him as he does, and chases after it. It's not like he doesn't know there's another speedster here, the two have talked on the network that one time, but he hasn't met them in the flesh yet and now seems as good a time as any.

It only takes him a fraction of a second before he is running alongside the younger speedster with a rather cheeky grin on his face. ]

Please don't tell me this is what you call fast.

This? [Tommy laughs, mirroring a grin right back.] Nah, dude, this is a cakewalk, I'm barely breakin' a sweat here!

[He does remember that conversation, though the other party didn't exactly spell out that they were also a speedster. Still, it's nice to find a fellow-feathered bird, even in a weird place like this. Tommy turns around so he's running backwards and increases his speed a small fraction. No sense in pulling out all the stops - not yet, anyway.]

How're you doing that lightning stuff? [That's ... actually pretty cool.]

[ Wally good-naturedly rolls his eyes (and some people have the audacity of calling him a showboat) at Tommy's backward antics. ]

The lightning is all part of the speedster package back home.

[ A sign that one is connected to the extra-dimensional energy known as the Speed Force. It has been theorized that the Speed Force serves as the source of power for speedsters across the multiverse, but Wally doesn't sense any connection between it and the guy running alongside him. An interesting nugget for later.

But for now, Wally intends to see if Tommy has the goods to back up the talk. ]

Running backwards is a cute trick, kid. But speed is the name of the game. So let's see if you can keep up!

[ And with that, he zooms ahead of the other speedster at a pace that should still be easy to match if the previous speed was truly a cakewalk. ]

( Honestly, while she's super thankful that she has a job, Clarice could definitely do without working today. There's a persistent headache behind her eyes, and she can practically feel her bed calling for her from across the quarantine. What she wouldn't give to go back and climb under the covers. Maybe Zingo would come with.

But, she's here, because money. She wants money.

There's a long parcel in her arms as she exits the depo, hands already sparking with energy the minute she's outside. Clarice widens her fingers until the hole in space is large enough to fit through, the top of the package poking out into a faraway street. She's about to step through when a gust of wind suddenly blows past her and through the door behind. Between the shitty pain and the surprise, she loses control quickly, portal snapping shut. The parcel severs neatly, and Clarice is left holding a cardboard box that now has only half a lamp inside of it. )

Aw, man. Really?

( Goodbye, money. )

[Sorry, Clarice, Tommy's just too good at being fast. The portal is a neat trick - flashy, the sort of thing Billy might go for, if he gave up teleportation and took up portals as an alternate method of transportation. Neat trick, but it doesn't slow him down much, though he does return to the site of the attempted portal-ing once he has a new package in hand, smiling broadly as he whooshes up to Clarice and points to the air where the portal was moments before.]

Whoa. Did you do that? [Obviously, Tommy.] You a witch or something?

Edited 2018-06-05 15:11 (UTC)

No.

( There's a pause where she weighs up whether or not she wants to feel offended. She's been called worse, actually. But this is the first time someone's assumed it was magic rather than genetics. ) I'm a mutant. ( And Speedy Gonzales here, well. Let's just say Clarice has a feeling. ) It's my superpower. I make portals. And apparently destroy lamps.

( What is she gonna do with half a lamp now? This is ridiculous. She doesn't want to be the asshole who delivers broken items with the cheery, sarcastic sticker attached. )

You're the new guy, right? Timmy, or something?

i was lightning -

just a young gun with a quick fuse

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