"...I am angry." Alexis said as they surveyed the blackened room. Had it been the cultists, or their former comrades? The cultists most likely, since the scene was so sloppy. "I am...I'm sorry about your home. That your family was attacked and hurt. I'm sorry I couldn't keep your family unharmed. I'm sorry the Triakosia were involved and hurt people."
They checked the closet with the dresses that seemed all right, browsing for something that was not too fancy. A skirt and blouse seemed the best option there, so they started to change while continuing the conversation. "When I let myself be angry, I hurt people. I destroy things people like. So I will hold it down until it's gone or I can punch something no one likes."
The mirror was cracked from the heat but still serviceable for them to look at their reflection, which was...shocking. Seeing Bronwyn's face instead of a stranger's. At least the outfit looked better than the ragged athletic clothes they had discarded. "...Are you okay? I'm sorry I took your face. I don't know how it happened. I...do you want me to change that, too?" They asked timidly.
"No, not at- Why aren't you angry at me?" She lifted the lid of the fire-blackened chest and shook out an older hauberk from when she'd limited herself to early medieval designs. "For the whole Bran thing?"
" I'm sorry I took your face. I don't know how it happened. I...do you want me to change that, too?"
"It's... pretty weird. But I want it to change a lot less than I want you not to be hurt. Will it uh, make it hard to do things as you? I'm worried we might need to find some other ways for you to still do things like school or other stuff."
"No, not at- Why aren't you angry at me?" She lifted the lid of the fire-blackened chest and shook out an older hauberk from when she'd limited herself to early medieval designs. "For the whole Bran thing?"
"...I don't understand. Why should I be angry about that?" Alexis glanced out at Bronwyn from the closet. "Though I don't really understand it...was it like what Camila is now, another person inside of you?"
"It's... pretty weird. But I want it to change a lot less than I want you not to be hurt. Will it uh, make it hard to do things as you? I'm worried we might need to find some other ways for you to still do things like school or other stuff."
"I think I need to take more time before I go back," They admit to Bronwyn. "I need to understand why I am the way I am. Talk to the doctor and decide what would be good for me to do. I don't think that I could go to school like this without causing you a lot of trouble anyways," They point out. They wiggle their bare toes as they look around the room for some shoes to put on.
Shayera swallows hard and gives Bronwyn a tight nod. "Yeah. Legends are sometimes true, huh?"
"Truer than I'd like." Bronwyn responds. "So umm... that happened, and I thought I was, y'know, gone. But I think I was just Elsewhere, where I go when I change into- I mean, when I changed into Bran. Where that weird magician sent me too.
"So... I was there, and Bran wasn't since... well... But there were these other people there too! I couldn't really see what most of them looked like I only recognized Polyphemus, the uh, Cyclops, but they were talking about Bran like he wasn't just a one-off, and like there's this Mantle, and... Honestly it was pretty confusing!
"They were basically allergic to giving straight answers, which wasn't helpful, and I could see what was going on back on Earth, so... I dunno, I kinda skipped a lot of what they were probably trying to tell me."
Shayera starts to give Bronwyn a hug, but remembers one hand is busted and the other bloody. She turns to rinse off in the nearby sink. "Um, what happens now? Can you change into Bran? It doesn't seem right if he's a head, but then you've seen him as a head before."
"No. There's nothing there. There's still some sort of link, but it's not connected to anything."
After a silence, Shayera nods her head toward the main floor. "You want to get out of the med bay?" "Yeah, let's get out of here." Leading Shayera towards the kitchen she grabbed a pair of tongs and started piling her girlfriend's plate high with fajitas while she figured out how to talk about everything.
Shayera gives Abacus a few voice commands in Chinese and the equipment starts shutting down. She grabs her plate with her good hand and goes to the bar next to the kitchen. "I, uh, saw you against Balor. You still have powers. And the spear."
Her eyes suddenly go wide. "Not that I wouldn't love you without powers! It's just that... you'd still want them, right? And I want... what you want..."
"Uh.. yeah. I mean, ever since I turned into Bran, I've had the powers, pretty much no matter what I looked like. And the one time I got to actually talk to him, he said that Gae-Dearg wasn't his spear, and...
"...I think I could've said no. And still come back, I mean. I had to make a choice to keep them, so I guess I do want them. Even more than... I guess more than I thought I did.
"I might have to come up with a new superhero-name though, and armor I guess - especially if I can't just put Bran back into Elsewhere to heal."
"Yeah. Fast healing's a good thing." She waves her plastic-encased hand.
Eating fajitas with only one hand was messy, but Shayera manages. She gets quiet, studying the juices and dropped pieces of meat and vegetables on her plate. She sets her jaw as she looks up, meeting Bronwyn's eyes. "What happened to Camila was my fault. I missed a window to protect her. Those Balorinas on the train? I beat them, tied them up, and left to go find Camila without ascertaining their target.
"Then, when I picked up Camila's trail from her school and traced her steps, it was the same train!!!" She shakes her head and drops her gaze. "I was so dumb. So reckless. Why didn't I check? It would have taken a few seconds. That's all."
Bronwyn closed her eyes. "That... that really sucks. I get it, I understand why- But- Give me a minute with that one."
Shayera's lower lip trembles. "Whip's going to come down hard on me for that one. Probably worse than stealing from her. I just-- I hate messing up. And... it's your family. God, Bronwyn, I am so sorry."
"It's not-" She balled up her fists and unclenched them before she opened her eyes. "That it was Camila they were after was just bad luck. The problem is that you decided that whatever they were after wasn't important. It's because you were trying so hard to be perfect for Camila that this happened!"
Shayera nods silently. "I thought the police would handle it. That whoever it was would be safe. I was wrong." She shudders hard, hating herself for giving excuses.
"Yeah. I know.
Look... I understand that- It's not your fault that bad people did a bad thing.
"Okay?
"I can't be mad at you while you're balled up in self-recriminations and I really want to be!"
Shayera lifts her head just enough she can make eye contact with Bronwyn. "You have every right to be mad. If you need time, or space, I understand. Totally. If you wanna-- I mean, I'd get it, even though..." Tears well in her eyes and start pouring down her cheeks. "This weekend... the Gala, and Dane, and that dream charm, and all that's happened this evening. I got arrested, I escaped, I went all the way into the Red..." She squeezes her eyes shut and pitches her head back. She takes a few tremulous breaths. "Bronwyn, I--" she trails off, not knowing the words to continue.
"No. What happened to Camila is different. All I got at first was the name of the spear and of the guy I turned into. No skills, no visions, I didn't even know I'd picked up some languages until I met Thor Girl."
She fidgeted slightly to give herself something else to focus on while she kept explaining, "Eventually I had, like, some weird dreams about Bran, but even then he was something external. I'm not possessed by him, and I'm not him reborn - I don't even think he was the first one like us. I'm just... the guardian who has the next watch."
Protectiveness that Bronwyn simply didn't have over her clothes that had survived flared as Alexis started looking through her shoes. Knock it off Bron. You can't make her- **Them** go barefoot. And they'll tear up those flats they're looking at in no timem, and none of my heels are a good idea either..."
"I've got some old running shoes in that box there until we get you some new ones." The shoes in question were simple black and white shoes with all the white laboriously colored in with fading yellow. The tread of the shoes was a bit worn - just far enough to where they weren't perfectly grippy. [b]"The spikes are out so they're fine for everyday, just, uh... try to be careful with 'em till we get you some of your own, okay?"
"Now, I don't think anyone's coming back tonight. If I hear different I'll call and let you know. I'll use comms or your phone, or even the home line if I have to, but let the machine take it first so you know it's me calling, got it? You don't have to sleep in here; there's a bunch of beds that don't get used except at Christmas anyways. Have whatever food you want, but try to stay out of sight. I'll make sure you've got somewhere to go tomorrow, but I've got more stops to make tonight if I'm gonna keep everyone safe... Oh!" She fished out her phone.
Kaoru (Phone Savior): As such, I'm turning off my phone now
Bronwyn: Okay.
Bronwyn: Feel better.
I guess time is a flat circle or whatever. I should really check in though. Not that he's likely to be in a better mood...
Bronwyn: Hey just touching base since I haven't heard from you since the thing
Bronwyn: You ok?
Bronwyn: do we need to talk?
Bronwyn: I mean I know we need to talk, but do we Need to Talk?
Alexis takes the shoes gratefully, looking them over as they wiggle their toes. "Okay. I'll try to leave before anyone sees me. But...my phone is with my armor. My comm was destroyed in the fight," Alexis explains. "Do you have a spare that I can use?" Otherwise the only way would be to listen for the phone.
They laid back for a moment on Bronwyn's mattress, looking up at the ceiling. "...I don't understand what is going on too well. I don't get magic or gods at all. I'm glad that you're safe. And your family. And that none of us died."
After a couple of moments, they speak up again while closing their eyes. "...Who is Thor Girl?" They ask, listening while drifting off into deep sleep. It would be a short minute until their chest was rising and falling steadily and their posture had relaxed.
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Kaoru blinked as the facts took far longer than they should have to filter through his tired brain and fall into place. When they finally did, it just made him feel even more tired. "I guess she and Wing didn't really break up then..."
He wrapped his arms around Alexandra's bare waist and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. "Trust isn't as simple as a binary 'do or don't'. You can't trust her to tell you the truth, so don't. If you still wanted to be on the team with her, I'd ask if you trust that she's a competent fighter because that can still be used. But if we're quitting the team, the two of you never really seemed like you were really close, so what does it matter if you don't trust her?"
He stiffened slightly as Alexandra once again questioned her own ability. He sat up slightly, pressing his temple lightly against hers, moving one arm up to lightly hold her head in place. He then murmured soothingly into her ear. "Relax. Open your mind and reach out to mine with your powers. Stop looking at your performance through your eyes-" or whatever other a!&~*&+ has given you unrealistic double standards "- and see yourself as I see you for a moment."
He focused his thoughts, slowly picturing all the amazing things Alexandra was capable of. Her observational skills, quickly picking out his secret where so many others had completely missed it. Her bravery, charging into fights where she was both outnumbered, outgunned, and sometimes already hurt. The incredible skill it took to do that, and not only not-die, but also actually manage to come out on top. All the super fights he had looked into with people who had gone into them with more than what Alexandra had and came out much worse. For good measure, he threw in a few memories of some of the better-written fan ravings about her amazing prowess (some of which had admittedly turned a bit *ahem* uncomfortable). Throughout all of it, he laced the feeling of warmth and safety he felt with her, and his supreme confidence in her abilities.
"If you want to keep being a hero, you are absolutely good enough to continue doing it, whether it's with this team or solo or with just me. And if you're only quitting because you think otherwise, that's not a good enough reason. If you quit, it's gotta be because you want to. Not because of some feeling like you have to or because you think you can't cut it because you can."
His lips flicked upwards in a sudden smile, a gesture that could be felt in the light kiss he placed on her jaw and heard in the teasing note his low voice took on. "Plus if you're only trying to quit because of some silly notion that you're not good enough, as team leader, I could simply command you to stay."
"She's another hero that Shayera and Br- That I used to work with..." She trailed off as Alexis settled into sleep. Yeah, doesn't matter. She's gone anyways.
She left a key, and a last message for Kaoru...
Bronwyn: do we need to talk?
Bronwyn: I mean I know we need to talk, but do we Need to Talk?
Bronwyn: Ugh, sorry, aside from that, can you touch base with Alexis? You've got their armor and their phone and all their stuff
Bronwyn: they're staying at my house for now (212-555-0943)
...and then with a loud clang she was gone.
***
"You have every right to be mad. If you need time, or space, I understand. Totally. If you wanna-- I mean, I'd get it, even though..." Tears well in her eyes and start pouring down her cheeks. "This weekend... the Gala, and Dane, and that dream charm, and all that's happened this evening. I got arrested, I escaped, I went all the way into the Red..." She squeezes her eyes shut and pitches her head back. She takes a few tremulous breaths. "Bronwyn, I--" she trails off, not knowing the words to continue.
Bronwyn scoops Shayera up in her arms, burying her own, unaccountably wet face into the crook of her girlfriend's neck. "I know, I know. I don't want space - we already have too much space! I just-" she squeezes Shayera tighter, "It's been too much. It's been too much for anyone.
"Look, tomorrow, or whenever, I'm gonna have to talk about how I've been lying to the team and see if they're gonna kick me out over it. We're gonna be dealing with the whole Efnysien situation for a while too. There's so much ahead of us, and I just... I want you there. With me."
The dam bursts and Shayera sobs as she returns the hug with as much strength as she can muster. "I'll be there. I swear to God I'll be there." Her mouth searches out hers for a kiss made salty from their tears. "The team won't kick you out if I have anything to say about it," she says when their kiss breaks. "And in a day or two I'll be able to deal with Effy, especially once we find a way to pull him out of her."
Bronwyn files away Shayera's plans for later, but doesn't ask any questions, yet. "Okay, but no moves without me and the team, okay? We've seen how dangerous he is when he's forced to fight."
Shayera agrees vigorously. "Sure. Yeah. I don't know any of this magic stuff." She sniffs and tries to compose herself after all the earlier tears. She leans her head against Bronwyn and goes silent, just focusing on their closeness. It goes on long enough that Bronwyn may start to wonder if Shayera has fallen asleep.
She stirs, however, and lifts her head up after several minutes. She looks exhausted, but there's a slight smile of contentment on her lips. "I just about fell asleep there, but I know we've still got a lot to unpack. Maybe pick this up tomorrow? You can stay here if you like. I'll take the couch." Bronwyn met her eyes.
"I'd rather share the bed."
Shayera's almond-shaped eyes go wide, suddenly fully awake. She searches Bronwyn's face, looking for signs of hesitation... or something else?
"Not for, uh, stuff, but this'll be our last chance for a while, right?" Bronwyn adds.
She guesses Bronwyn's hidden meaning and shakes her head. "No. I don't care about Dad right now. I'd rather be your girlfriend."
"No, I mean... I'm moving back in with my parents."
Shayera blinks. "Oh. That's good, right? I, um, saw them this evening." She grows quiet as she remembers the fear and uncertainty they all faced at the hands of the Balor cultists. "Yeah, that's a good thing."
Bronwyn shrugged distractedly, "Yeah, maybe? I'll be able to keep them safe at least.
"Should keep Mary-Beth safe too."
Shayera frowns. "There can't be any cultists left, you think?" She shakes away that thought. "Nevermind, I get it." She sighs heavily.
"Alexandra mentioned a seer from one of her visions, Watis. He seemed like the leader of the cult, except for, y'know, Balor. He was the one who was predicting how we might react and sending the Triakosia to counter us, and. I didn't see anyone like that, did you?
"Besides, apparently the house caught fire, so they're going to be staying with Anna for a while anyways. So it'll let me keep an eye on Camila too."
Shayera's eyes droop, since most of her attention had been on Camila, and then subsumed within the Red. Hearing about the Pascals' displacement because of the fire, she glances up. "Do you need money?"
"What? No they're fine. They're not like you-rich, but they'll be fine. I made them promise to pay back Mrs. Browne for all her help too."
"I'd like to help anyway. Somehow."
"Shayera, I'll tell you if they need help, but they'll be fine. If you want to give away some money, I've got a list of places where it would help more people who need it more."
She nods. "Sure. That'll be nice." She starts to walk slowly to her bedroom. "Are the bars staying?"
A look of pure innocence enveloped Bronwyn's face. "Y'know, I went by to see how bad the damage was, and see if there was anything I could salvage, and in all the fire damage, it looks like the bars might have fallen off into a dozen or so pieces."
Shayera's eyes go wide and suddenly she bursts into genuine laughter. It's high, and cathartic, and just what she needed. She jumps into Bronwyn's arms and lets herself be carried into her bedroom.
The dream shifts as they do to strange sights. Kaoru wearing barrack fatigues and Alexandra sitting with him on a bunk, facing away. Shayera and Bronwyn laying together on the top. Mercy reaches and find a hand and tries to squeeze, but their fingers pass through them like a ghost. Their partner has no face. They silently scream.
They are falling again, so quickly and yet so slow, thinking about someone. How much they will be disappointed. They look and see them waiting before, ready to catch Mercy. No, it can't happen. They won't go back, but they can't fight gravity and they're about fall into their arms-
After waking up, Alexis stared at the soot-stained ceiling for a few moments before slowly sitting up. Their stomach protested a lack of nutrition. They should eat and wait for a call from Bronwyn.
Slipping down into the kitchen, they gathered what food they could that needed no preparation and ate while considering their next step. Maybe making sure everyone was okay. Kaoru was definitely someone they had to see, make sure he was all right and retrieve their armor and phone. Something to do with Bronwyn.
Bronwyn happily obliged, before laying Shayera down on the bed with a lingering kiss. "I should really change out of these clothes." She sprang up off the bed with a broad, teasing grin and ducked into Shayera's closet where she knew she'd have some nightdresses waiting for her.
"So seriously," she called, voice slightly muffled, "What do you think I should do for names and costume-y things? I'm gonna have the same magic spear, and Bran's gonna be gone, so I should probably at least, like, reference him or something right?"
Shayera thought a bit while stretching out on her bed. Sleep was now being held at bay thanks to some butterflies and the anticipation of lying next to her girlfriend. "Um, 'Branwen' seems like a very bad idea. What's the Welsh word for 'warrior'? I'm going to assume you'll make yourself some armor that fits you. So you'll look like some sort of medieval knight, right?"
"No Welsh names!" Bronwyn shot back, "I don't want to be charging into battle and telling people to beware the wrath of 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!'
And I probably won't keep it proper medieval this time? Like, I started off trying to keep Bran vaguely authentic, but when I realized no one really cared or noticed what era his armor looked like, I just kept upping the technology and metallurgy on it. Armor still makes sense, since I can carry around the hundred pounds or so of steel it takes to be mostly bullet-proof without it really slowing me down, but... I don't think I want to pretend to be an ancient knight any more. Even if a helmet or something does make sense."
Shayera giggled at the strange Welsh name. "Okay, then. Less old-school. We can go see Whetstone. Maybe use some of that Dyna-cloth that Whip uses in her outfits." She grows quiet in thought for a moment, thinking about all the abuse she willingly takes that could be lessened if she just wore something sturdier. She sits up and props her head on her hand. "Maybe we can both look into new uniforms?"
"I was thinking... maybe something with Crows or Ravens? Kind of an homage to Big B without just taking his name? 'Cause yeah, lotta reasons not to go by Branwen." She poked her head and one bare shoulder out from behind the door. "I don't know if adding some feathers to a cape or something would be getting in too much on your shtick?"
Shayera shook her head. "I don't see how it would. I mean, maybe, a little, but I don't think anyone's going to get us mixed up." She thinks for a minute. "Ravens sound cooler than crows. Maybe... Ravenspear? Eh, that's just mashing words together. But what they hey, I'm called wing-blade."
Back when Tiffany had been helping Shayera pick out clothes for Bronwyn, clothes which would mostly end up in the donation bin at St. Ambrose, Shayera had gamely gone along with most of her suggestions. After all, once Tiffany had Bronwyn's measurements, palette, and general style, it was easy for her to put together a personalized ensemble to make anyone drool with envy. The only part where Shayera had pushed back was on the nightgowns. Over and over she'd fought for lower hemlines, "She won't want to wear something like that!" Tiffany had gone along, shaking her head with a rueful smile, but had gotten Shayera to agree to "just one for a special occasion. You'll thank me later."
"Yeah, Ravenspear is probably a bit on the nose. I like getting Gae-Dearg in there too though. Well... if Alexandra can be the Silver Shadow, then what about the Red Raven?" Slowly Bronwyn stepped out, dressed in the lush crimson of Tiffany's special-occasion nighty, a small smile on her face as her eyes searched Shayera's face.
Shayera's breath catches when she sees Bronwyn step out. Her eyes roam over her for several heartbeats, then she breaks into an excited smile. "You look so beautiful!" she exclaims while pushing herself up to her knees on the bed. Shayera glances down at her own shorts and sports bra with a frown, but then looks up excitedly. "Hang on!"
She marches on her knees to the edge of the bed, hops down and closes the distance between her and the entrance to her closet. Stopping briefly at Bronwyn to give her a quick squeeze and a kiss, she tries to slip past to get to her own collection of sexy nightthings.
Bronwyn's hand found Shayera's hip almost by instinct as she deepened the kiss, not wanting to let her go for an instant, but quickly realizing that Shayera wasn't expecting to be diverted.
"Don't-"force me to imagine you peeling those off "- take too long. Okay?"
She flopped heavily on the giant bed as Shayera disappeared behind the closed door. Eyes defiantly fixed on the ceiling she waited until the rustles and elastic snaps in the closet forced her to cover her face and ears with a pillow.
Shayera nods and slips into her cavernous closet. She hastily shimmies out of her shorts and sports bra, knowing exactly what she wanted to wear to bed. She has to dig through her drawers to find it but thankfully its bright jade-green color stands out. It takes her longer to put on than she'd like with one hand in a brace, meaning that she had to forego the stockings. Instead, she quickly runs a tube of lipstick over her lips and spares a couple seconds to apply some mascara before stepping back out into her bedroom.
She almost turns back around, realizing that she had some heels that would probably match her nightie, but she's already there and Bronwyn's looking at her. She spins once on her toes and shimmies her shoulders, watching for a reaction.
"... How do you always find a way to be even more beautiful..."
Shayera flushed, dropping her eyes in a self-conscious manner. "I, uh, just have a knack, I guess," she offered, wishing she could think of something witty. She looked back up, making eye contact. "... and you're so pretty. I love the way you look at me." She snuggled up to Bronwyn, comparing their red and green nighties pressed together. "Look at us. We should take a selfie or something."
Really? "Okay," Bronwyn breathed, gathering her courage, "But then do you want to... do some Homework?"
Shayera rocked back, eyes wide. She glanced down at Bronwyn's "special occasion" nightie and took a sharp breath, then looked back to Bronwyn's face with a question in her eyes. She let out her breath slowly and nodded. Before the moment became too protracted, she rolls over to grab the cell phone she got from her publicist off her dresser. "Selfie first. Real quick."
After a real tight shot of their faces, Shayera planted a kiss on Bronwyn's lips to transfer some of the lipstick to her, then snapped a couple more. Her smile became more and more playful as she held the phone out farther to take a wider shot. She handed it to Bron. "You've got a longer reach than me," with a cheeky grin.
Bronwyn grinned a bit sheepishly and took the phone. "If you post this, I swear..."
Shayera's expression at the idea of posting their pics is suitably horrified. She vigorously shakes her head. "Just for us, I swear." While Bronwyn still had the phone in camera mode, Shayera rolled away and tried to strike a sexy pose for her.
Bronwyn dutifully took the picture, her eyes a little off center on screen as she focused more on what Shayera was doing behind her, then she gently underhanded the phone away. Turning back to Shayera, something stopped her from just pouncing on her with kisses. She's stalling. "You know we don't have to do this. Or we don't have to do this like this, or... What do you want, Shayera?"
"I..." she started. She swallowed hard, staring deep into Bronwyn's eyes. "I want to do my homework, with you. I want to figure out if we can do this together. But I don't want to break your rules. I don't want you feeling guilty, that you did a bad thing." She let her eyes drop, down and away. "I don't want you eventually deciding this was a mistake."
"I'm... Shayera, I've made mistakes before, God knows I'll make them again, but this? You? This doesn't feel like a mistake."
Shayera feels a swell of emotion in her chest, and when she looks back up at Bronwyn it's all over her face. Relief from the release of pent-up anxiety shows in her glistening eyes, and a tired but joyous smile is on her lips. "Okay, then," is all she can figure out to say, but she sits up from her pose and starts to pull off her top.
Bronwyn frantically looked away to instinctually give Shayera her privacy, before realizing that that was very against the point. "Sorry. I just wasn't expecting... Sorry. Just uh, tell me what I can do to help. Well not do! But..."
Shayera's brows furrow as she sees Bronwyn's eyes dart around after she took her top off. She glances down; she wasn't naturally endowed, and her intensive exercise regimen kept them compact. She scooches back over close to her girlfriend and lies on her back. "Umm, you could take over for this hand?" she holds up her right hand still encased in plastic.
Panic practically poured off of Bronwyn in waves. "Take over? I'm not sure if I... You know I've never... done This, right?"
Shayera blinks in surprise. "Never? As in, never? Really?" She bites her lip in a bit of sudden bashfulness as she meets her eyes. "Well, it's not hard." A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "I mean, I've read, watched videos... It's not supposed to be, anyway."
Videos?! How much is there to learn about this?!
Okay, okay. You can do it. Bronwyn slid over, her head a little above Shayera's navel so she could see her face without having what Shayera's left hand was up to in her peripheral.
Do I just grab them? That was always so weird when Marco did it! ...Okay that might be for other reasons. But she's ace. What if it's the same thing?!
You're being crazy. Even if she's not horny that doesn't mean she doesn't want to do this. She just asked you to do this.
You're in love with her; you're going to marry her; this is what her doctor suggested kind of, so it's okay. Just- Go!
...Go!
3, 2, 1- "Hey, could we, uh, kiss or something too? I feel weird just like.. grabbing your boob out of nowhere? And I know it's not like, 'out of nowhere' like 'who's this strange girl in my bed' out of nowhere, or 'I've got a brilliant idea how to transform her back' out of nowhere-" Shayera snaked her right arm around the back of Bronwyn's neck and pulled her up towards her face, just as her neck craned closer. Her lips searched out Bronwyn's for a kiss. She coaxed her to lie down next to her as she broke the kiss but kept her face close so they shared each other's breath. "Shhhh. I just want to feel you close to me."
Bronwyn gratefully kissed her back, a smile slowly spreading against Shayera's lips. "Sorry for freaking out on you." She kissed her again with a short smack, "And it's not like I've never thought about it or anything," Another kiss, deeper this time. "I just... I kinda thought it was something that would happen" Deeper again, her eyes shining, "While we were caught up in the moment and uh..." Oh. Wow. A part of her tensed up, worried that she'd gone too far, but Shayera seemed fine, great even. Maybe a little amused. "Just so you know, even if you used sneaky martial arts stuff to put my hand there, I'm still taking this as a personal win."
"Mmmm," is all Shayera vocalized in response. Shayera's right arm applied just enough pressure to keep Bronwyn's face close to hers. Her eyes became heavy-lidded as her left hand explored in time with Bronwyn's gentle caresses around her breasts. Shayera's breathing becames heavy for a moment, but then evened out to a steady rhythm as she drifted off to sleep.
***
Well now what?
This is nice -Really Nice!- but now my arm's asleep, and **I'm** very much not.
It probably hadn't been that long, but while there were a lot of things for Bronwyn to put her mind to, there was nothing she could do to solve them from here.
And nothing really I can do about all this lower-case-god stuff either. Especially not without talking to Mary-Beth. God, I hope she's okay. She still sounded so weird. I hope they didn't hurt her. I should actually have Shayera pay for their door though. Mary-Beth and Mrs. Browne don't deserve to have bad stuff happen just because they gave me a place to stay...
Okay if I'm **ever** gonna sleep again, I've gotta run some of this off.
Gingerly, she slid out of bed, brushing her lips against Shayera's temple when she stirred. Quietly she slunk into the closet, changing her lingerie for loose running clothes, with a suddenly stormy expression. That was stupid and you know it.
Okay... Halcyon's about 30-40 miles around, right? I'll figure out what to do with the rest of the night once that's done...
The morning light streams into Shayera's bedroom, rousing her slowly from a deep sleep. She draws in a deep breath and rolls over in her bed. The lingering scent of Bronwyn on her sheets immediately recalls last night and she searches her memory for details. What she remembers is fuzzy. I was so exhausted. Did we--?
Shayera looks down and sees that the top half of her jade-green nightie is still off. Huh. So, that part really happened, at least, she thinks with a small smile to herself.
The sight of her charm sitting in between her breasts causes her to remember more about the day before. A lot, actually, and stuff that she'd would prefer to forget. She takes the plastic case off her right hand and tests her grip, then wiggles her fingers to her satisfaction. Then tentatively, she reaches behind her neck and unfastens the charm's cord causing her wings to reappear.
The pain also returns, shooting through the metal and registering in her back and the base of her skull. She grits her teeth against it, trying to force it away, but it pervaded her entire being and demanded to be recognized. Her muscles tense and cramp, and a strangled groan escapes her throat before she finally reties the cord of her charm.
The pain dissipates with sweeping relief. That... is going to be a problem, she thinks. She sits quiet and still on her bed for a few moments, trying not to dwell on her damaged wing.
Her attention is drawn to a muffled clanging happening outside her bedroom but still definitely within her apartment. Was there more repairs scheduled for this morning? she thinks as she hops out of bed.
She gets closer to the door and realizes there are no fresh scents of anyone. Her apartment still had the lingering traces of all the people who had been through it the last couple days repairing the damage caused by Balor's corruption, but nothing new. Just Bronwyn.
Her smile returns as she realizes that her girlfriend had actually spent the night. She steps out of her bedroom and silently crosses her living area to see that Bronwyn had found the super-weights she had ordered for Alexis after they'd destroyed her normal exercise equipment. But the gear hadn't gotten a chance to be used since Alexis decided to stay elsewhere before it had arrived.
Shayera quietly hops up to sit on the rail of the second level and watches as Bronwyn strains against the hydraulic press that is simulating several tons of weight.
When she finishes her set, she asks aloud, "So how many was that? I counted thirty-eight."
Kaoru woke up the next morning feeling groggy, alone, and inexplicably cold. He smacked at his phone a couple of times to quiet its alarm before attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. Still rubbing at one eye, he checked his phone notifications: two messages from Bronwyn. He opened them.
< Can you touch base with Alexis? You've got their armor and their phone and all their stuff
< they're staying at my house for now (212-555-0943)
He rolled his eyes. Yes, I almost died but sure, getting Alexis her dumb armor back is *clearly* the priority. Thanks for asking. He bit back the bile in his throat. It was too early to call, and he'd see Alexis at school and could just give back the dumb armor then. Sending a text in the middle of the night saying to call someone had to be just about the dumbest thing ever. But then, clearly she hadn't bothered to think a single damn thing through.
Annoyed, he climbed out of bed. He wanted to get this week over with already. Gods, how was it only Tuesday? He moved stiffly towards his bathroom to begin his morning routine. Shortly thereafter, a yell of surprise and shock broke the silence of the otherwise empty house, causing Shadow to look up from his cat bed with some alarm.
Kaoru had managed to calm down significantly. Enough that he was no longer in full-blown panic mode about the thing dangling between his legs that definitely didn't belong there. Enough to conclude that this was probably some damn side effect of Balor's corrupting magic or whatever. It was definitely magical, there simply was no other explanation for it. Or...if there was, Alexandra would know about it and be able to tell him. Because right now, he was more than a little freaked out by what he didn't know. He hated that feeling of not knowing. It wasn't just that; he was so out of his comfort zone that he didn't even know how to begin researching this. He was pretty sure most of the "magic" that was on the internet was a hoax. But Alexandra would know. She always knew. She'd be able to help him. He sent her a hurried text.
> Call me when you get this.
> Something's happened.
> I need your help.
Of course, the instant he sent the last message he began cursing himself. Why hadn't he just called her? Sure it was early, but damnit, this was important. But now of course, he couldn't call her. Not right after texting her. That would be dumb.
Gritting his teeth, he finished his business in the bathroom. He hadn't yet worked up the courage to do more than vaguely prod at it with a wad of toilet paper to confirm it was really there, so it was about the same experience as normal. Except, he supposed, with a larger amount of pointedly looking elsewhere.
As such, his first big dilemma came when he started to pull up his pants. To be quite frank, he wasn't exactly sure how this worked, logistically speaking. The only solution that came to mind he found offended his sense of symmetry. For the first time in...well...ever, he found himself almost wishing he could just wear a skirt. It just...made more sense.
"Fking Scots might actually have been on to something..."
Eventually he caved and just picked a side. Now fully dressed, he padded quietly into his mother's room to check out how he looked. The difference was surprisingly subtle. Part of him found that disappointing while the other part reasoned that he had been going to great lengths to achieve exactly that effect. And now he was getting it with none of the effort. Maybe it'd be more obvious if he actually got some tailored clothes?
Almost against his will, he felt his gaze keep shifting lower. Would people be able to tell? He didn't think so. It wasn't like his pants were particularly tight. And he had never noticed on any guys he had been around. Of course, he also hadn't bothered to look. He was pretty sure no one would notice. Except maybe Alexandra because she was Alexandra. He was actually positive no one would notice. Or at least as positive as that niggling thread of anxiety in the back of his mind would let him be while it played tricks with his mind.
Before he could obsess over his appearance for much longer, he grabbed his things, quickly checking that no, Alexandra hadn't called him (which he already knew because he would have heard it), and headed. "No sweat, you can do this. Absolutely. Just a normal day like any other."
This is probably better for testing raw upper limits, but even my janky car-weights are better for whole body stuff. Getting isometrics and working different angles in a hydraulic press might be dangerous, but I can't be the first hero to wonder about this stuff. Or do other super-strong types just not workout? I could see that! Figuring out the physiology of workouts for other capes could be a real thing, a useful thing for me to do once-
"So how many was that? I counted thirty-eight."
"Then you just woke up," Bronwyn shot back with a grin, her head angling minutely as she searched her girlfriend out by sound.
"Oh!" Naked!
"You're uh-" Naked! "I mean, you look-" cold - No! Hot? No!!
"Did you umm..."I didn't like, tear it or... No she took it off... Bronwyn abruptly realized she'd been half-miming throwing something off to the side, and clutched her hands together to stop it.
"Oh, or do your wings not fit well in that top?" she asked the nearby floor.
Shayera goes through a series of facial expressions at Bronwyn's discomfort at her lack of a top. Mostly amusement, laced with some concern that her girlfriend doesn't want to look at her, then some strain when she mentions her wings, and finally a pout when Bron decides she'd rather look at the floor.
She slips off the balcony and lands lightly on the first floor and moves deftly up to her. "My wings aren't out," she says, "and you'd know that if you actually looked at me."
Shayera solves the problem of her exposed breasts by hugging Bronwyn tight and therefore blocking them from anyone's view. She didn't mind the sweat she was transferring to herself with the embrace; she breathes in Bronwyn's workout scent. "Thank you for staying," she whispers.
The "problem" really wasn't solved by having topless-Shayera hug her, especially since unless Bronwyn picked her up, hugs usually meant that *Shayera* was getting a faceful of cleavage I mean, in a different bra I'd have cleavage but it was far, far beyond Bronwyn to complain.
"Yeah... Sorry I wasn't still in bed. I just couldn't sleep at all last night."
Somewhat surreptitiously one of her hands trailed higher along the muscles of Shayera's back. Holy crap... "Holy crap."
"I mean-" she covered with the truth, "Your back is really tense; you've practically got boulders where your wings should be.
"You okay?"
Shayera's breath catches for a brief instant. Then she looks up with a grin, raising her busted hand into view. She wiggles her fingers. "Lots better. As long as I don't put a lot of strain on it, it should be back to normal by this afternoon."
"Okay... But I'm going to just maul your back with some Tiger Balm later if it still feels like that."
Shayera nods, but doesn't say anything to that. She slips from Bronwyn's arms and heads back to her bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "I'll get changed. Then maybe we can have breakfast together?"
Shayera's bedroom door muffles Bron's response. She voice-activates Abacus while heading into her closet to find out the weather forecast, and receives a message that school had been cancelled because of the series of attacks the night before. The pressure off of her having to pull together a school ensemble, she just opts for a t-shirt and athletic shorts for a "villain day."
Her thoughts of having a relaxing morning come crashing down when she steps out of her bedroom and sees Whippoorwill gliding in through the balcony.
Whippoorwill had to admit, she was relieved when she saw Shayera's apartment was occupied. The last night had been a long one for the Defenders, and the wrap-up/clean-up made it even longer. She worked with the SCA and the other heroes all night dealing with the aftermath of dozens of coordinated kidnappings throughout the city.
By the time the sun was rising, most of the chaos and confusion had been sorted out, but it was going to be a long while before the city of Halcyon feels as secure as it usually does.
All the while, her concern for her protégé lingered in the back of her mind -- at first a nebulous wonder why Shayera would go so far as to break into her apartment and steal some of her most potent offensive weapons. Then it crystallized when Whippoorwill learned that César Pascal had been one of the victims of a kidnapping attempt, and that one of the missing children had been Bronwyn Pascal's cousin.
Her concern turned to fear when she was called out to Rustside to investigate the aftermath of a definite superpowered battle.
Though she her body cried out for a bed, she needed to talk with Shayera before she could do anything else.
She steps into Shayera's apartment, noticing that Bronwyn was there. She gives her a nod of acknowledgment before turning to Shayera. "You. Let's fly." Whippoorwill was going to have some hard questions for her protégé, so she didn't need Bronwyn's presence.
Shayera's hand goes toward the charm around her neck, but she doesn't remove it. "Uh, actually, can we stay? I know you gotta grill me. And chew me out, but... well, Bronwyn was there for a lot of it. And she talked me down from doing something really stupid. So... maybe she should be a part of this?"
Whippoorwill stares at Shayera for a moment, then glances over to Bronwyn. She tries gauging whether Shayera was trying to use Bronwyn as shield, and she doesn't get that sense. But she could sense the reluctance in her protégé.
Deciding to pick her battles, Whippoorwill assents. She heads to the kitchen and starts a kettle of tea. Might as well take advantage of the kitchen.
While the water is heating, Whip turns to glare at Shayera. "You bypassed my security." She nods. "You took ordnance without permission." Another nod. "You wiped out every traffic sign and signal pole for three blocks." An expression that she had forgotten about that, but another nod. "And there were a lot of bodies at the site in Rustside."
"We engaged Balor at Rustside. He possessed one of the SCA brutes, like he took over Abacus. And the hostage trade? They..." she looks over at Bronwyn, "... they bound one of the figures of the Mabinogion into the hostage. It was bad. Real bad." Shayera hangs her head, looking contrite. "The bodies were of the cultists twisted by Balor's corruption. I, um, lost control. All the way."
Whippoorwill rubs her face and eyes, digesting what Shayera just said. The teapot starts whistling, giving her a moment to think about what she needed to ask her. She grabs the tea with the most caffeine in it, realizing she was going to need it. Once the tea was poured, Whippoorwill sits down and directs Shayera to sit as well.
"All right. From the beginning."
Alexandra hadn't been able to answer Kay's questions. she couldn't make up her mind. or maybe she could, but... but didn't like the answer.
she had composed the email to Whip 6 different ways, but nothing felt.... right. This was hard.
but regardless, she gets the text, frantic by Kay's standards. She took a moment to down some coffee, and hit Kay's contact. the phone started ringing.
Kay, what's with the texts?
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A full stomach and half a dozen cans in the recycling bin helped Alexis to focus for the morning. There was no call yet from anyone. Bronwyn wasn't back. They didn't have a way to call anyone they knew because they didn't know their numbers - cell phones had made them lazy. They would try to memorize numbers when they had a chance. Still, they had nowhere to be or go. The house was also still quite a mess.
Which was why after eating they started to work on cleaning up what they could. The fire damage wasn't something they could deal with, but sweeping up broken glass and salvaging old photographs that had fallen was a start. It made them feel useful.
Bronwyn with her parents, and sisters. Bronwyn with many other people with similar faces, relatives older and younger than her. Alexis picked up one frame that hadn't shattered, and notices the translucent reflection of their new face over that of Bronwyn standing by a relative in a square cap and black gown. Almost the same to her.
They fretted, thinking to themselves, before continuing to clean. Ignoring the mounting darkness that threatened to overwhelm them. It was best to focus on getting what cleaning they could do finished and hope no one would come that would wonder what a fake Bronwyn was doing here.
Bronwyn doesn't give Shayera a full head-turning look of surprise, but still looks askance when she chooses to skip flying.
"The cultists, the Eyeblighted ones... They were already gone, Whippoorwill. They just hadn't laid down and accepted it yet. As for the rest of what happened in Rustside, the Balorites had everything they needed from their raid on the SCA's headquarters, but they must have already known about the armory and those Brutes. They were moving too fast otherwise. It wasn't Shayera's fault that things were starting from such a bad place."
Recounting everything that happened the night before took the better part of the morning. Whippoorwill remained mostly silent, only asking a few questions for clarification on certain events as Shayera explained them.
Whippoorwill didn't interrupt to come down hard for Wingblade's mistakes, though she looked at times deeply disappointed at her protégé. When the relevant details were finally laid bare, she stands and rubs her eyes.
"All right," Whippoorwill begins, "it's good that you recognize where you screwed up. I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to do anything right now. I'm going to sleep on it, and decide what to do later." She makes a twirling motion. "Before I go, let me see them."
Shayera had been feeling raw under her mentor's interrogation, but now she looks up in alarm. "What?"
"Your wings. You glossed over that little detail, but I caught it. I want to see how badly damaged your wing is."
Taking a deep breath, Shayera slowly stands and turns around. She holds it as she unfastens the charm, bringing back her wings. The pain returns like a sledgehammer to her back. She manages to stay silent through force of will, letting her held breath slowly leak out through her clenched teeth and fighting to not tremble.
Whippoorwill's eyes go wide as she spots the bent wing. She touches it gingerly. "Shayera, the alloy of your wings is rated higher than most industrial-grade steel. And a possessed child did that?"
"Yep," she says, trying to keep the strain out of her voice. "Really something, huh?"
"At least it's only one feather. I'll get with Whetstone. We'll get you into that wind tunnel, see how this affects your flight speed. You'll also need to practice your maneuverability, and precision, at least until we can figure out a way to get it bent back properly."
"Copy. I'll get on that," Shayera says as she turns around and puts her charm back around her neck. She tries to relax her tensed muscles slowly.
Whippoorwill gives Shayera a long look, and then exchanges a glance with Bronwyn. "You're all right?" She nods vigorously. "Okay, then. You've got the day off. You should regroup with your team. Go over everything. Make sure everyone else is okay. You've all gone through a traumatizing fight. Prop each other up. Support each other. Got it?"
Shayera nods again. "Got it. Get some rest for yourself, okay?"
Whippoorwill sighs wearily. "Yeah. I'll see you this evening."
As Kaoru walked to school, he kept rubbing his clammy palms along the fabric of his jeans, often turning the gesture into a nervous tug. Were his pants always this tight? They felt tight. Or he supposed more accurately, he was acutely aware of the jeans on his body. Normally people grew accustomed to the feeling of cloth on their skin and stopped noticing it, but for whatever reason, that wasn't happening with his pants. It felt like he was aware of every place the fabric was touching him, every place it bunched up, and it was trying to drive him nuts.
It was a testament to his distraction that he didn't realize the school was closed until the front door refused to open with his tug. It was then that he noticed there also wasn't anybody in the area. Sure, it was early, but it wasn't that early. There should have been people around. A quick online search told him why this wasn't the case. His head lolled back as he let out an aggravated growl at the sky. Only in Halcyon would there be 'Villain Days'. Only in g#*!#+n Halcyon. Gods he hated this place.
His frustration was cut short by the ringing of his phone. His heart leapt in a sudden feeling of terror and uncertainty, but he pushed past it to accept the call anyway.
"Xan?" His voice was low. Close enough to his fake voice to full acquaintances and for everybody else to pass it off as a cold -- or possibly that voice-changing thing guys were supposed to go through? -- but to a trained ear like his or, no doubt, Alexandra's, it was a signal flare at night. "It'll, uhh, make more sense in person. Meet me at Monument Park as soon as you can?" He waited for confirmation before texting her the coordinates and making his way there at a dead sprint.
*****
The burning in his chest and lungs only distracted him for so long before the fear and anxiety took over and he started pacing, eyes darting about for any sign of his approaching girlfriend. Over and over he rehearsed in his head what he might say to her. How he might explain. He knew it was just a product of his anxiety, that she would no doubt see him long before he saw her and immediately notice his sudden sex-change. He knew it, but he still couldn't stop his brain from its planning. It was like a dog with a bone, insisting upon worrying it to bits.
When he finally saw her, he rushed over, stopping just short of embracing her like he had intended as a sudden wave of self-conscious nervousness washed over him. "I don't know what happened. I just woke up like this." He blurted. "I don't know what to do. What do I do?"
Alexandra is taken aback as Kay gives the response. Kay seemed... Off. But she had just confessed that she had almost died. That could be it... Or maybe there was more weirdness, someone blackmailing Kay... Friggin halcyon. She dressed, something nice for a day off, showing a little belly, and did her hair in it's braid, and realised she had another... Well, possibly person. He was still quiet but she feels bad just leaving him under a cardigan, so she gets a glass of juice, and puts a straw at the side of his mouth. Sorry, I don't know what else to... You'd tell me if I could do something, right? Unless you're actually a corpse, in which case... Well, I guess this isn't that bad, as psychotic breaks go.
She arrives at Monument park, and finishes her ice coffee... Too sweet, as these things went, but that was ice coffee for you. She proffers a matcha to Kaoru, and looks them up and down. They were upset, in school clothes, but... woke up like wha- and her power filled in the blanks rapidly, putting clues directly into her cerebrocortex. Even for halcyon... I mean, usually it's either more, or nothing... she looks at her boyfriend, who had a s@@%ty little ghost mustache, and took a deep breath.
Well... First things first, how quickly do you want to treat it... Cause this is a straight up "I wonder if" scenario, but I'm also maybe terminally curious, and you seem pretty upset... There's a few magic experts, but there's no easy way to do this, if there was, a lot more people would... Defenders, it eldritch academy first? she more or less stream of consciousness-es.
"I mean, it's gotta be Balor-related, right? Put some kind of big magic hoodoo on me or something? And if it was him, who knows what other kinds of side effects it might have! For all I know, I'm going to start slowly rotting from the inside out!"
Kaoru stopped and rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to take a deep breath to calm down a bit as he took a grateful sip of the matcha drink Alexandra had brought, though he barely tasted it. He had chosen a fairly isolated place to meet, which was helped by the early hour. "It's...it's all the unknowns that are killing me. Is this permanent? If I take my shirt off outside, do I need to worry about suddenly going 'poof' and flashing everybody? Am I Ranma now? So what I want right now is some g$~#&~n answers. But I mean, how do I even go about doing that?"
He rubbed his face vigorously, taking another deep breath. "I dunno. I guess check out this Eldritch Academy thing? Do you know anyone who can be, y'know, discreet about this? You know what they say about the only way to keep a secret, and we're already up to at least three people knowing about me. I'd rather not push that too much further."
He vaguely wondered if this were the sort of thing alcohol would help with. By and large he avoided the stuff just because he thought it tasted terrible. But if it helped with the knot of uncertainty and anxiety in his gut, he'd be willing to push through downing a few shots. Anything to stop this feeling of spinning his wheels in the mud and going nowhere. Though he also got the impression there was something socially taboo about drinking in the morning. Which obviously wasn't completely true or Irish coffees wouldn't be a thing.
Shayera watches Whippoorwill take off from her balcony and bank towards her own penthouse apartment. "Good talk," she mutters under her breath.
She heads back inside and gives Abacus a few commands in Chinese. One of the screens comes to life with a map of Halcyon. A pair of blips appear in Northside. "Well, looks like Alexis is still at your parents' place," she says to Bronwyn. "Huh. And for some reason, Kay and Alexandra are at Monument Park. That seems like a good enough spot for a team meeting, whatcha think?
"You could go get Alexis, and I'll fly straight to the park. I'll make sure those two don't leave before we're all together. Okay?" She crosses the floor and gives Bronwyn a hug and kiss. "Thanks for sticking up for me. I really messed up last night, so, you know, it's good that you're still..." Shayera trails off, not really sure how to end that statement. "You know."
Balor, yeah. Has to be. Unless you've been mucking about with more powers lately. she says Yeah, we should check for other effects. Abbers could probably do some for it, give you a full body scan. I think we have him back online. But for reversal, Eldritch of the Coven are our best bet, and The doc works with The Defenders sometimes, they'd have his contact info. she offers
Okay. fair, lots of UK's here. And what the f~@% is a Ranma? Anyway, we can go to the academy first. there'll be a few prof's there doing research, regardless of the impromptu holiday she half drags Kay to the car, figuring a little pulling was in order, given the state he was like to be in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Alexandra stood talking to a crystal orb 10 minutes later, getting frustrated Look, I know it's closed, but I'm the g+~!!*ned shadow, and it's on official business. we're members of the young defenders!
You'll have to come back tomorrow, our hours of operation are- the reception-spirit reply's
No! Go get professor Rayne, tell him if he doesn't see us. I'll send an email with the details of his monthly bulk orders from the apothecary on 17th. she says
a moment passes, and suddenly, the cobblestones around Alexandra and Kaoru glow, and the pair find themselves in a spacious room, like a chem lab, but with a lot more exotic equipment, labels like "eye of newt" and "Blood of hog". And a stuffed alligator hung from the ceiling for reasons unknown.
You are a singularly irritating person, Miss Walker a tall man in a cardigan and labcoat, wielding an ash and ruby rod, with facial hair delicately sculpted into a goatee.
Look, I needed help. do this, and I'll forget all about the rabbit reagent and moonwater. she says
What, precisely, is your problem? Professor Rayne sighs
Alexandra looks to Kay expectantly.
"I'd rather leave Abacus out of it, thanks. It's about as secure as your average senile grandpa's computer. I mean, who leaves voice command on for a device connected to the internet? You realize in order for that to work it has to be constantly listening to everything you say, right? And if it's connected to the internet, that's someone's way in. Besides, it's not the bio or tech side I'm worried about; I'm pretty sure I could find a way to get that sort of thing myself. It's just the magic stuff where I'm out of my depth. And Ranma's a manga. And I think an anime."
*****
As Alexandra fiddled with some crystal thing, Kaoru was messing with her phone. He had long ago put in place measures to make sure he wasn't tracked; if he was going to be spending more time with Alexandra, which he hoped he was, it was about time to make sure her stuff was equally up to snuff. Plus it was a good distraction. Well...trying to upgrade her more unusual things were a good distraction. De-trackifying the phone, earbuds, etc. was just uploading a program he had already written and therefore kind of dull.
He almost wished he hadn't done it when they were suddenly teleported somewhere else. He had to admit to a great deal of curiosity about how technology and magic interacted. He was pretty sure there could be some really awesome applications of-- ok, now probably wasn't the time.
He coughed, closing his computer and handing back the gadget he had been fiddling with. "I...was turned into a male. From a female." There wasn't exactly a point in beating around the bush. It would only waste time. Time he may or may not have. "It happened sometime last night between 2am and 7am. Full extent of transformation and cause unknown but definitely an external change at least. Came into contact with some corruption magic yesterday afternoon that might be related." He gave Alexandra a sideways glance before continuing. "Also interacted with some healing magic before that. And possibly some kind of divination magic? It was unclear if that was real Magic or just a normal tarot reading. I...need to know the exact parameters of this magic in case the next step is to turn into a toad or something."
Alexandra takes a seat as the Professor impassively regards Kaoru. She takes a bottle from a shelf, sniffs it, and discovers it still holds it's original contents.
Kindly do not drink that. the professor intones, not even looking up from Kay. It is for the Libation we give to Adjassou weekly, and you are as much a Loa as I am a hero. He says, before moving closer to Kaoru.
Major corruption magic? I'll need to examine how muck. A hair and boy fluid sample would be appreciated. I assume you'd prefer saliva. he passes a small cup Else, I could go get an anthame. They are sterilised. As Kay complies, the various substances are poured into a beaker, along with a viscous cyan glop, a yellow powder, and what appears to be a mouse skull, and placed over a bunsen burner. He nods as the sbstances boils, and the flame under it turns green-yellow.
Yep, that's some real mojo you were exposed to. he says, placing a large jar over the beaker, and picking up a lid with holes drilled into it. A moment later, an enormous fruit bat flies up out of the beaker, and is captured in the jar. Acerodon jubatus. Extreme. he amends.
Okay. You've mentioned the cards have had some veracity with you before. good, I'll use those. he says, drawing up a battered deck from a drawer. Leave the room, Miss Walker. Take the vermouth if you must.. As Alexandra complies, he sits Kay opposite him, and creates a simple cross. He turns over the first, X-The Wheel of fate
What have you gained in the past month that you are least willing to lose?
The next flip, the left spoke, as Kaoru sees it, V-The Heirophant. Who do you most look up to? Whose authority do you respect?
The third flips, IX-the Hermit. If you could correct any flaw with yourself, what would it be?
The fourth, the bottom spoke, 0-the fool. If this is permanent, what are you least prepared for?
and finally, the centre, He flips XVI-The Tower. What is the worst thing you could imagine happening to you? he says, eyes intense
Kaoru managed to avoid grimacing at the man's lack of professional terminology. He hoped that and his inability to listen properly weren't a portent of his ability as a magic user. Though honestly, the fact that he jumped to incorrect conclusions so easily wasn't the best sign. Still, he gave up a hair and saliva sample.
He then responded to the man's questions much the same as he had the original tarot reading. After all, if he had already had "some veracity" with them using his own style, the man could hardly complain when he simply replicated the situation that had given some results before.
What have you gained in the past month that you are least willing to lose?
"That which can be shared but not owned, given but not taken. "
Who do you most look up to? Whose authority do you respect?
"Sultan Kösen and the Fifth Phalange."
If you could correct any flaw with yourself, what would it be?
"My biggest one."
If this is permanent, what are you least prepared for?
"By definition, that of which I cannot conceive. Everything else I can prepare for to some degree."
]What is the worst thing you could imagine happening to you?
"Going to Hell because I'm pretty sure it's someone's job to do worse than I could possibly imagine."
[spoiler=Silver Shadow]
Bronwyn's expression was a bit reserved as Shayera planned to head out. "Two things first. Could I borrow your uh, platinum card or whatever color's past that for materials? I've gotta ramp things up fast if I'm going to get my new armor in process, and also get Alexis set up with... Well with whatever we're gonna do with them, I guess. Oh, and could you get me the specs on your 'totally fine' wings? I know you're used to things getting better on their own, but maybe hiding this was a bit... Selfish? Stupid? Look, you know, right?"
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The professor takes out a cleaning cloth and rubs off his glasses. Worried magic might be killing you, and you're still a wisearse. No wonder the Shadow likes you. he sighs
Okay... Love or friendship, though the more traditional answer is love. You think foreknowledge is inherent preparation, and you believe in hell. And it tells me that you resist processes designed to induce introspection. Is that the induction, or the Introspection you resist? he waves his hand and the cards return themselves o the drawer.
Either way, this is enough to give me the read. Some corruption magic is an understatement, I haven't seen this much since a bunch of students summoned Nergal when they meant to call Astarte. he shakes his head, as if this were a "Police car atop the library" style prank. Friggin' Halcyon.
it IS a side effect of the corruption magic, or rather, your body processing it. Theoretically, I could fix it, but it doesn't look like it'll have many big effects. Mostly this, maybe some propensity for illness, wild animals might dislike you. He pauses to put a complex equation on the board. it bears a lot of resemblance to coulomb's equations, but with odd sub-equations in place of variables. And fixing it would be tricky. you're a big resevoir of energy right now, and we'd have to safely discharge that... which isn't easy. it would hurt.
My advice? Give it a month or two for the magic to osmose out, might even reverse itself. It won't hurt you, just.... might make things awkward for a while. But you're young, awkward is the way. He sips his tea any questions, while you have the wizard?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Xan returns sighing. She needed her things before she went to have a word with Wing and B. She saw the juice cup empty. Knew I wasn't nuts she mutters. She gets her costume out of the closet, and what gadgets had survived or she'd made backups of.
The sound of a throat clearing came from behind her...
Wingblade gives Bronwyn a long look without saying anything. She bites her lip while she considers what to say to her. To stall, she heads over to where a purse is slung over a chair and fishes out her bank card.
She hands it over while making eye contact. "It's just pain. I'm used to pain. I can still fly, I can still fight. I just have to get used to this, too, if it doesn't go away."
To make her point, she pulls off the pendant and her wings reappear. She maintains eye contact, even though her head swims with the sudden onset of agony. "See?" she says, even though every nerve was screaming at her to put the pendant back on.
Instead, she tells Bronwyn, "I'll see you at the park," and heads over to the balcony. She jumps before her resolve cracks, and puts her wings to work. Shayera knew she had flown during the fight after her wing had been damaged, so she knew her wings would keep her in the air.
She just wasn't sure how long she'd be able to stay there.
She pulls out of her freefall and tries to push aside the pain to enjoy the flight and speed, and to focus on not slamming into the side of a building. The pain, however, refuses to go quietly and still radiates from her back and into her skull. She grits her teeth, thankful that the whimpering sounds escaping her throat are lost in the wind.
She realizes that she's not going to be able to fly all the way to Northside. With a groan, she angles her flight toward one of the sky rails and watches for one of the train cars to rush by. She drops onto the roof, snagging a hold of the side before she's pitched off. Once she's braced between two cars she ties the pendant back on with a gasp of relief.
===================
Wingblade drops out of the sky and lands hard, stumbles and faceplants. She pushes herself up and with shaking hands reties the pendant around her neck. She'd chosen a secluded spot so that no one saw. She tests the air and stretches her senses to make sure there weren't any observers, then removes her mask and walks out into the park.
She wanders around the main area a bit, catching the faintest whiffs of Alexandra and Kaoru, but nothing that indicated they were still around. She groans in frustration, dreading the thought of trying to fly back home.
She finds a bench and sits, waiting for Bronwyn and Alexis.
Kaoru had to admit, he wasn't impressed by this Professor Rayne fellow. He knew enough to have heard of a common riddle, but just as he had suspected, he tended to jump to false conclusions. After all, he had asked what the worse thing he could imagine happening to him was. Not what the worst thing he thought possible was. Singing in a church choir meant he was aware of the typical Christian beliefs about the afterlife even if he didn't personally believe in it. Not that he disbelieved it either. He wasn't even sure what his point was about his "foreknowledge is inherent preparation" crack. It was a simple truth that if you couldn't conceive of something happening, you couldn't prepare for it. It was a basic requisite. How could you prepare for an alien invasion if it never occurred to you that there might be life on another planet? Plus there was the nitpicky fact that he had used "osmose" incorrectly, but to be fair, so did pretty much every single English-speaking person he had ever heard use it outside of a scientific context. At this point, it was just a personal pet-peeve.
It was all rather...disappointing. He could only hope that even if 90% of what the guy said was made up b!!+$&$+ that he was right about it not being life-threatening. He might need to find a second opinion though. If he could find one. Still, it did make him feel a bit better. And he was at least grateful for the man's time, so he kept his face a calm neutral. "No magical questions, Professor. Thank you for your time. I trust you'll keep this discreet?"
He acquired the requisite promises from the man -- the fact that Alexandra apparently had dirt on him most likely aiding in that endeavor (and hopefully ensuring that he kept his word) -- and headed out to meet back up with Alexandra and get zapped out of there.
Alexandra was sitting on the steps, taking a sip from the bottle and apparently practicing saying something. -Just need the space to figure this out.... She starts when Kay comes out.
What's the verdict? She asks, getting up and gesturing to a weird circle like they one at the entrance. Do I need to get my "dark sorceress" outfit on? is it permanent? are you gonna be okay? she starts out flippant, but seems to kinda deflate, like she can't maintain it.
Sorry, I've dealing with stress through humour. what's the skinny?
She needed a moment, so she kept herself busy. Her workout space needed a wipe-down; so did the kitchen. After all, Abacus was back online, so it wasn't really 'safe' here. But what home **is** safe?"
The moment hadn't really been long enough, but Bronwyn still needed to get moving. A fresh top and pair of shorts was all she snagged before leaving. I have to go a lot slower by daylight too... But not as slow if I look like I'm still practicing...
***
She'd been lucky, just the one detour on her way back to her parent's house, and by the time she'd made it from the secluded little copse near there her eyes weren't red and her smile was steady.
"Alexis?" she called as she stepped beneath the yellow tape. Once she found them, she carefully kept her eyes focused a little bit above her theirs, somewhere on their forehead. "Hey did Kaoru ever sync up with you? We're trying to get a whole team meeting thing going," Probably to see if they're kicking me off the team "But we should really find a way for you to be a little less, uh, conspicuous. Have any thoughts?"
Shayera continues sitting on the park bench, trying to keep her thoughts from straying into dark places. She almost jumps when her phone buzzes.
"Oh! Mr. Phat! How are you?" she asks when she sees who it is.
"Wingblade! Where've you been? I haven't seen anything streamed! All that ruckus last night, were you involved?"
"Uh, yeah. But I didn't stream anything. It was... it was pretty bad. Better that no one saw."
There's a brief pause on the other end. "All right, I suppose that's good then. But what are you doing now? There's a lot of traffic on your sites, but everyone's speculating and spreading rumors about the attacks. You should get on there, post something positive. Give us a message, you know?"
"Um, sure. I'll get on that."
"Also, what's your Thursday like?"
"I dunno. Depends. What's on Thursday?"
"Well, Gloria from Halcyon Haute called me up when she heard the news that I'm your publicist now. She mentioned you and her talked at the gala, and you were open to doing a photo shoot for their teen magazine. They've got a spot on Thursday for you, early. What do you say?"
Shayera's head spins. "I-- I'm not sure. I go to school. How early?"
"I'll get 'em to push it to after school hours. I thought you'd be home schooled or something. That's fine. This'll be great! Get on that stream, now!" J.P. hangs up.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow at Alexandra before giving her a deadpan look. "Yes, I'm absolutely dying and you need to show me this 'dark sorceress' outfit post-haste." The slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips and look of affectionate amusement in his eyes were dead giveaways though. He reached a hand out to help her up, being just forceful enough to pull her into a hug. "According to the prof, this transformation should be the main effect. Nothing else life-threatening. He thinks it'll wear out in a month or two."
He breathed in before slowly exhaling and changing the subject. "So, have any fun plans for our impromptu day off? I was thinking I might go swimming. It's something I used to really enjoy but haven't really been able to do since coming to Halcyon. I found a nice secluded place when Chloe was here; thought I might as well give this whole thing--" he waved vaguely at himself "--a try now that I'm a 'real boy' or whatever. Or if you wanted a distraction or help de-stressing, I could bust out some calming music and lavender oil and give you a proper massage. Or I suppose just break into my mom's liquor cabinet if you wanted something other than vermouth." His smile was half-joking but mostly just watching her reaction. He was aware it had been a bad couple of days for her -- him as well for that matter -- but he wanted to do what he could to help. And if that meant busting out his mom's booze at far-too-early-in-the-morning, so be it. It's not like she kept it locked or would even notice it was missing.
Alexis was dirt covered when Bronwyn arrived. They were currently finishing up with sweeping all of the ash and soot and broken bits into a large enough pile to fill a trash bag. They wiped their hands clean, though the damage was done to the dress they were currently wearing. Seeing Bronwyn arrived made them perk up attentively.
"Kaoru didn't call. I thought about calling you...but I don't remember your number." They admitted, getting up from their work. "I thought I could clean up a little. I think there is more to be done, but it's a start."
They think about how to best go about look inconspicuous. Which was hard when they looked like Bronwyn and had to travel with Bronwyn. "A big coat with a hood? Um, and sunglasses. Unless it's too dark outside for that. I just have to look less like you," They point out. A perfect disguise was unnecessary.
"...How is Shayera doing?" They asked, hoping for some good news. "Is she all right?"
Alexandra watches as Kay fires back, and smiles. Should have figured you'd be into outfits. Doubt I'd have to bring my own riding crop... she says, smiling. So, you're a boy for a while... that'll be fun. I'm going to ask for notes sometime. she says as they walk back to the car.
I think Swimming sounds lovely... but I do need to go deal with B and Shay at some point... explain some stuff to the team... But it can wait. she says.
They stop at her house, and she retrieves towels and a swimsuit, and refill's Bran's juice. She considers grabbing her dads swimming trunks, but they'd not fit Kay's frame, and it would have been kinda odd besides
So... about the team... I talked a little about this tomorrow, but i think I've made up my mind... she says as they reach the water.
Stream. Great. What do I even talk about? It's not like I can share much. And then there's the problem with my wings. Maybe a close-up shot so they don't notice the wings aren't there? Or I can film something else. Anything but a wide-angle shot. Shayera looks around and suddenly realizes she's at Monument Park. There's plenty of stuff to talk about and focus on other than her wings.
She pulls her mask back on and starts up a live stream, making sure the camera on the phone was pointed up to catch the large monuments looming high above her. "Hey, Bladers! Wingblade here, and I'm at Monument Park! I thought I'd take a look at some of the great heroes of Halcyon's past! Whaddya think?"
She glances at the monument behind her. "That's Captain Lightness behind me. He was a hero back in the Sixties. He fought against heavies like the Cheerstealer, Frostburn, and Professor Pluto. Man, you don't see villains like Professor Pluto anymore. He'd build himself a giant robot suit and then go downtown to rob a jewelry store."
Wingblade takes a few steps until she sees another monument behind her. "Oh! Check it out!" she exclaims as she turns the phone to zoom in on the larger-than-life hero. "The Aquatic! He could, like, psychically control water and would ride this huge wave into battles. He's the reason why Halcyon has the best storm sewers in the country."
Moving on to the next monument, she tells her streaming viewers, "And that's the Cat. One of the earliest heroes, he was from the Forties and Fifties. They call his generation the Golden Age of heroes, along with Whisper, the Eagle, Midsummer, and the Knight. Geez, it was such a sausage-fest back then. Except Midsummer, I guess. Anyway, let's see if we can find all their monuments." She wanders around the park, chatting and pointing out other monuments until she's stood below each one of the Golden Age heroes.
"And here we go," Wingblade says as she stands beneath her favorite monument. "This one makes my head spin every time I think about him. The Forgotten Hero. Whippoorwill explained to me that the legend is, he (or at least, we think he was a he), was a major hero in Halcyon somewhere in the seventies or eighties. He saved the city from a temporal anomaly that would have erased the entire city from the timestream. But he got caught in a time vortex or something, and got swept away from history. Every newspaper article and photograph got, like, rewritten or something, and no one can remember who he was or even what he looked like. There's a few bits of evidence that he existed if you know where to look, 'cause like, the people he saved while heroing are still alive. So the city put up this memorial to a hero that it can't remember."
She turns the camera to a tight closeup when she senses someone approaching. "Well, that's it for now, everyone! Gotta go!"
I can't keep doing this... I'll break it to the others, but... Until the rules are lifted, until I can train a little more... Well, a lot more... I'm not going to be can active hero for a while. Maybe a few years.
She points out a monument to a tall figure wearing a familiar coat and hat. "Oh! That's the original Silver Shadow! He fought Nazis, commies, and crooks back in the day. He foiled plots like trying to poison the city's water supply, or put hypnotic messages in rock music. Heh. So old school.
"It's cool that I'm actually on a team with the current Silver Shadow. It's funny; I actually got to first team up with her fighting a giant robot. More things change, huh?"
Kaoru frowned. "Would a Dark Sorceress be proficient in riding crops? It seems a little...incongruent. But maybe I'm just picturing it wrong."
He was a little surprised with Alexandra agreed to go swimming with him. A little surprised and a lot unexpectedly nervous. Part of the point of going to a private location was for him to get acclimated to his new form, which would be easiest alone. But it was just Alexandra, so that would be ok, right?
He nodded slowly as she spoke, toe gingerly testing out the water. He was still wearing his undershirt. He hadn't quite worked up the courage to take it off yet. Intellectually he knew it was ok. But for some reason, it still felt like he would be flashing her. And what if she didn't like his male body? I mean, she'll like it more than my normal body, which is a plus. But that doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly have a six-pack or anything... Which meant he should probably start working out. He heard testosterone helped build muscle mass quickly, so now that he had more of it, it should be easy, right?
"That makes sense. And as I said, I support you in whatever direction you want to go in. And if people give you s~#* about it, I'll ruin their credit score for you. But, I was thinking: you should totally teach me to use a crossbow. And do you know how to use a sword? 'Cause I was thinking it might be cool to buy one. They would probably just sit in my room after Friday, but they'd make fun decorations. And I read somewhere that if someone breaks into your home, a sword makes a good weapon for self-defense because they can't just grab the blade and a judge isn't going to ask all those 'was that really necessary' type questions that you get with a gun since if they were close enough for you to hit with a sword, they're too close."
"Yeah... hoodie and sunglasses should work..." Not sure even Gaby's contouring game is that strong, but we need to do something more. "...for now at least."
"Shayera's hand's doing better, but her wing's not healing by itself... I've got some thoughts, but she has to, y'know, admit something's wrong first!
"Sorry. It's somehow already been a really long day..."
"Metal is hard to reshape," Alexis said as they came back down from upstairs. A heavy hooded sweatshirt three sizes bigger than either of them and horn-rimmed sunglasses with a crack in one of the lenses came down with them. "I hope that she can still fly." They wriggled into the hoodie, their fingertips just barely able to be seen from the sleeves. "Okay, I'm ready to go." They fitted the sunglasses on and put up the hood. It was not the most inconspicuous look for them, especially after they picked up their sword and stuffed it in the back to conceal it from view.
"The day only just started," They pointed out to Bronwyn, following her. "But yesterday was also long. And I still...am uncertain what to do with myself now." They fretted. "...The Triakosia may take more jobs here in Halcyon, the longer I stay. They won't leave without me. That might hurt a lot of people."
You're f#*+ing with me. no one is that pblivious, Kay. she says, teasing.
As they arrive, Kay is hesitant at disrobing. it was honestly odd sometimes, just how modest Kay was. She dips her feet into the water as she says her piece.
I'm... glad you understand. I hope B and Wing don't take it too badly. sh says, ollowedby giggling. Yeah, I can teach you to use a crossow. actually shooting it is eas, like a gun with less range and recoil... the real trick is reloading. I can show you have to make a mechanism to help you with that. And I studied a little kendo, enough to make you appear competent, and I think Wing has some too. she offers That said, don't buy a sword online. there are actual blacksmiths in Halcyon, find one, and explain that you need it for combat. You probably want a little shy of 80 centimetres on the blade. she says. Guestimating with her powers and what she remembered.