A subtle nod was returned to the other supe's thumbs up. Truth be told, Britannia was still completely winging it. She could see Ashley pacing a little in the distance, looking perhaps a little worried, though then again, when didn't that woman look stressed about something or another.
"Even after the sprinkler incident?" She shot a small glance towards the camera, a look on her face that was halfway between holding back a laugh and apologetic. "Sorry again about the rug Ashley. In my defence, there wasn't a sign telling me I couldn't smoke in there. I am certainly not used to that part at the very least, it used to be far more common."
Britannia's pause was longer on that question. Her mind thought back to just a week after she had been freed from the tube. She was stood atop the viewing platform on the Empire State Building, simply looking down at the world. Everything was different, the clothes, the attitudes, even the small details in people's mannerisms and language had changed to the point where she felt almost like an alien on a strange world, or a ghost from the past trapped in its own era while the rest of the world had moved on. Even surrounded by a sea of people in a bustling city, she had never felt more isolated, more terrified on a deep existential level than she had ever been before in her entire life at that moment.
"It ehm, the answer to that one is more complicated than you might think. In short as to what has changed, it would be quicker to list the few things that have not. I'm afraid I don't have a quick and snappy answer for you."
The supe had even considered throwing herself off the edge right there and then, even though that likely would have done a whole lot of nothing save for making a scene what with all the enhancements granted to her for a purpose that no longer really existed by people now long returned to the earth. It was then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and heard a simple "are you ok there?"
"My government coined the term "enhanced combatant" for people like myself and Soldier Boy. Our purpose was rather singular, as you can probably gather from the name."
She snapped around, hands instantly burning with barely concealed power, her well trained mental "safety switch" holding back against startled defensive instinct for that brief moment before conscious thought stepped back into the room as she saw herself looking at a tall man with tan skin, slick black hair, and a concerned look upon his well defined features. She simply gave the man a quick answer to the affirmative teamed with a slightly shaky falsified smile.
"Now I believe the term used today is 'super abled', no? I feel like that's fairly telling in of itself. People like myself don't have to be 'enhanced combatants' anymore. A good example of this is sitting right next to me in fact. A singer, an actress, a performer as well as a superhero. That certainly took me by surprise."
They talked until the dark murky blue of the very early morning gave way to the amber glow of the sun poking through the horizon, glinting against the impossible skyline of steel and glass that stretched before them. She never said who she really was to him, the years of training and experience in espionage tradecraft made it no hard matter for her to paint just enough of the picture without revealing all of it as they spoke of the world, of Britain, of America, of the news, even of the weather at one point and how she had expected it to be smoggier. It all helped, even if she had to keep the core of the matter hidden under a veil.
"I'm looking forward to it all, I must say. This is the world we fought for, even if it makes me feel like a bit of a relic at points. We took up arms against an Axis of evil, went forth like fire from the barrel of a gun, so that the generations after us wouldn't have to."
It was only as the two were turning to leave that the man dropped the hint that he knew at least partially who she was. Saying that he only knew her as a "concerned citizen of his majesty's commonwealth", the throwaway line she had used when ambushed by the media near immediately following her unearthing, and would much rather know her by her actual name instead.
"I'll let you all in on a, well, I suppose it's not a secret as such. When I was a child, I always wanted to be on the silver screen. To have my name up in lights one day like Vera Lynn. Even during my service, my thoughts were sometimes on just what I would do and what would become of me once my time was done."
"What? You were on TV. It's ok, I'll go first. Name's Alex." He extended a hand towards her, a slightly goofy smile having long since replaced the look of concern on his face. "Unless you know, all the suave mysterious cloak and dagger is part of the whole thing. I know what they're li-"
She cut him off, returning his smile and reaching out her own hand to shake his. "Eliza. My name's Eliza, and um.. a-and it's been nice meeting you."
"I never really had a plan for that before though. Not really. I didn't have time to. Everything was duty and service. I supposed I figured that I would just have to cross that bridge when I came to it."
She hadn't figured that she would ever meet him again. New York was a big place after all, even in her time, let alone today's. Though she could not help but notice one of the figures standing hands-on-hips in a heroic pose, all decked out in a mostly white costume with a red star adorning the chest, and with a slightly goofy smile upon his well defined features.
"Well. I suppose this may just be the bridge. Not the one I was expecting, a rather unusual one for sure, but when does life ever turn out exactly the way we expect?"
@MATT @Morrigan