<div class="floatleft">(http://i4.ifrm.com/5941/107/upload/p22002925.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Idris Raleigh - Astraflare<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Near the Courts (After the Daken fight)<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Everybody Here!<br/><hr/><br/>"<em>Useless.</em>" The word repeated itself in Idris' mind whenever she thought back to the fight against Daken. When it began a week ago, she was in the middle of parading in front of a changing room mirror when she heard the crash of something heavy smashing through window nearby. Of all the things that could have been when she peeked her head out, seeing Nuo trading blows with a feral mutant was the last thing she would have ever expected. Both mutants displayed skill, speed, and power in ways that both terrified and awed her but she didn't gawk for long.<br/><br/>Heedless of the shattered glass littering the storefront grounds and the fact that she was only clad in her socks and the slip and lingerie she'd been trying on -while in the midst of daydreaming about showing them off to Nuo, no less- she ran towards the fight then grimaced and cursed under her breath as sharp glass punctured her feet. She did her best to ignore the pain and mentally prayed that Nuo would hold out as she focused on the ground in front of her then used her power over gravity to rip free a slab of concrete and levitate it in the air. Another moment and she was able to ignite it with the power of her mind.<br/><br/>Not that she was able to do anything with her makeshift meteor to help Nuo... The brutal exchange of punches and kicks kept the two too close for her to launch the massive rock at their enemy until Nuo was down. Even then, she was too slow. Whether it was the shock of seeing Nuo so violently pummeled or Daken just being too damned fast, her attempt to smash him with the firey slab did nothing but launch the deadly object into a nearby car and cause an explosion. The man moved so fast that she was sure that she would have been beaten to a pulp in seconds had Ragnar not gotten between them.<br/><br/>The ensuing exchange of claws and blades horrified her and she found she could barely think straight as she panicked and tried to think of a way to aid Ragnar that wouldn't also endanger him. She couldn't freeze or ignite their enemy without potentially burning or chilling her shapeshifting friend as well. Launching another projectile would carry the risk of smashing the wrong person. Instead, she attempted to reach out and seize control of the villain's center of gravity. If she could just slow or crush him, that'd swing things in Ragnar's favor...so why? Why couldn't she focus enough to do that? Why weren't his bones snapping or his movements slowing? What was wrong with her?<br/><br/>Another curse under her breath and she gave up trying to manipulate their enemy's mass. Instead, she'd have to risk herself to save her friend. She quickly looked around until her gaze settled on a clothing rack and an idea came to mind. After darting over, she seized one of its poles and froze it over before wrenching it free so she could ignite it and turn it into a fiery staff. If she could just get one good blow in up close, maybe she could stop him before he shredded Ragnar.<br/><br/>And then, it suddenly didn't matter because three other heroes arrived on the scene to do what she couldn't...<br/><br/>What use would her powers ever be to anyone if she was too slow, weak, and afraid to actually land them on anything? On top of that, she forgot her clothing in that changing room during all of the chaos and with it, her personal things as well as a certain credit card given to them by Ororo. As much as she wanted to get away from the mansion and return home in shame after the battle, she couldn't bring herself to run away. And yet, she couldn't face them, either. In the week since then, the social butterfly was nowhere to be seen. She avoided everyone as best she could and spent almost all of her time finding new ways to hasten and amplify her powers then apply them in new ways. Whenever she found the Danger Room unoccupied, she ran training programs that pit her against Daken only to find herself repeatedly shredded or beaten by these duplicates of a man that had quickly become her worst nightmare.<br/><br/>She was lost in her thoughts when she came upon them without realizing. She'd grown in power and skill since that day and yet, she was still only successful in being<em>less</em>useless. Like Nuo, her figure was clad in black underarmor though the injuries Idris sported weren't leftovers from that fateful battle but rather bruising to her sides from Danger Room sessions. She made it a point to seek out just enough healing to keep the evidence of her brutal training hidden, but present enough to remind her of her mistakes with dull aches. She was useless that day because of her fear of pain. Better to get intimate with it so that such fear won't make the same scene repeat itself in the future.<br/><br/>Ragnar's shout took her out of her thoughts and into the present and the sight of Nuo turning her training onto him anchored her there. She stared on in a mixture of surprise and worry. Unleashing their powers against opponents generated by the Danger Room was one thing...but doing so against each other?