The interview is set up at the W-HCY building just a block away from Kirby Tower in the center of town. A car is sent for Connie if she doesn't elect to take the Shuster Skyrail to the headquarters of one of the biggest broadcast media giants in town. The sides of the skyscraper wear huge flashing billboards showing the logos of Halcyon Today, Behind the Mask, and RHOHC -- Real Heroes of Halcyon City.
The lobby is similarly grand, with people bustling to and fro, from tour groups hoping to catch a glimpse of television personalities, to all manner of employees going about their frantic business, to security guards watching out for any villains who may be attempting to take over the airwaves to broadcast their manifestos.
Connie is guided into a much quieter studio, set up to look homey and comfortable. Big chairs and leather-upholstered couches are set up for the one-on-one interview.
Gary is in a makeup chair when Connie enters, but he quickly stands and makes his way over to her. He's much taller than he looks on TV. "Welcome Ms. Mathers! Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Now, it's not live, so you don't have to worry about getting it all right and smooth on your first go. We can chat a little to help you feel more comfortable, get you used to the cameras being there. But if you focus on me and try to ignore them, it'll go fine."
A team of make-up artists step in, coaxing Connie to a chair. "We just need to make sure you don't come across as too shiny or washed out," one of them explains.
"Yep. Familiar with the use of makeup..." Oookay, this one can't go that bad. He still wants you to come back for the big group drama bomb...
"Great! My name's Karli, and I'll take care of you," says the make-up artist.
Gary returns to his chair and finishes his prep while Karli works on Connie.
Various lighting and camera techs take measurements as they guide her to the chairs. She has her pick of several different chairs or the couch.
"It's a lot, I know," Gary says. "While the team is doing their thing, why don't you tell me a little about yourself. Have you been thinking about colleges? Majors?"
Connie shrugs. "I can't imagine I'll be pursuing that traditional a path. Frankly there aren't any curricula up to my level in uh," she coughs, " 'local' institutions? At least in my foci? There's plenty of other secondary things I plan to learn, I mean, I've been auditing courses for years, but an experiential method of learning is generally more to my taste."
Gary Grumman nods understandingly. "I like that. I also never felt that the straightforward academic model of learning was for me. I read everything I could get my hands on. There are so many different perspectives... ways of seeing the world... You seem to recognize that not everything is as it's presented to us."
He settles in his regular high-backed, leather chair. "It's my understanding you've been through the foster system. Could you try to enlighten us? What's it like, in the state system these days? Or, at least, your experiences."
Connie's response is quick, bouncing from point to point, though the emotion that undergirds it keeps it from sounding robotic. "The impersonal stuff can suck, but it's a lot better than the wrong personal stuff. Big group homes make it easier to have at least one friend, which is safer, and to not to be the kid that gets bullied the most, which is safest. Some foster families can be good, but there are often a lot of expectations, and if you don't meet those and can't convincingly fake them 'til you're 18, they're usually a lot worse, so learn to pack quickly. Obviously the right Forever Home is the goal, but if you don't get that right after birth, the odds go way down. And if you've been waiting for more than three years? The odds go way down. And if you get old enough to actually say 'No' to being adopted by a family with bad vibes? Basically nil. Accepting that Forever probably won't happen helps spare you a lot of heartache."
Gary listens with a practiced, professional expression of concern. He nods along, absorbing Connie's words as she relates her experience. "That's powerful. Thank you. So, did you think you found your Forever with William Westscott Mathers?"
Connie nods, trying to keep things calm without being flat. "It was pretty clear I didn't get brought home because he just had too much love to give. It's not an accident that he has seven kids, his plan was that Septimius was his #7 son.
"But he only had five kids already, so he needed a sixth within a pretty specific age-band. Hard not to notice that I was filling an empty seat more than I was filling a hole in his heart. And hey, I was eleven years, eleven months and eleven days old when he brought me home I assume, I've never seen my original birth certificate. Just a few weeks too young to say 'No, the vibes are off, please leave me in the System...'"
She trails off before making a face at herself and shaking off what's in danger of welling up.
"Well like I said, a Forever Home is hard to say no too, who knows if that would've been what I chose. And no matter the vibes, it was clear right away it was Forever."
"So, being adopted at eleven, nearly twelve, is quite different from being adopted as an infant or young child," Gary begins. "What was it like, joining his family? Was he strict? Did he show you any sort of kindness or love?"
Connie works her jaw silently for a moment while she chooses her words. "I don't think it would be best for me to just say something reductive like 'he was a monster,' when we're trying to take a fuller look.
"He's certainly very big on the family unit. Even the ones who weren't still full-time at the house when I was brought home are still very much my brothers, and that's because it was important to him. He was definitely strict, but he was willing to use the carrot if you pleased him by meeting his expectations."
Gary follows up on that. "What sort of expectations? Regular ones, like good grades and chores? Or something else?"
"Those too, though that kind of thing couldn't really get you the carrot. But he didn't always want you to follow every rule, as long as you're breaking it in the way he expects..."
Clasping his hands and resting his chin on them, Gary looks sympathetic. "What were the rewards he offered?"
Connie gives Grumman a bland look. "Sometimes we'd go out for ice cream. Why do you care what the rewards were?"
His shoulders rise and drop. "Well, he's a... wizard? Sorcerer? Was there any magic in the household? Did he teach you anything?"
"...Obviously. I mean, I wasn't even his prize pupil, but it's not like he'd waste the potential disciple when he could sharpen his favorites' skills against-" she pauses, considers "Other practitioners. Or at least people who weren't too feeble to hold a warding charm."
Gary frowns, tilting his head slightly. "I'm not sure I follow. He taught you and your other siblings magic, right? Did he have a purpose? Goals for what you were to use the magic for?"
"There's an ongoing legal case I'm involved in, Mr. Grumman. I can't divulge any secrets in this venue"
"Are you talking about the criminal charges against your father? You're not part of the prosecution, so you can talk. Or," he adds, "is this about the Wayfinding devices? Did he show you how to build those?"
"I'm allowed to, yes, but I've been asked to limit my public comments to avoid compromising any potential testimony."
Gary checks his notes. "All right. I am curious about Wayfinders -- you know, the dowsing rods. There was a lot of controversy surrounding them, since they were used to uncover secret identities, or by stalkers to find their victims... did Mathers have a hand in helping you create or sell them?"
"Not that I'm aware. They never did make it to shelves though, once the failsafe was discovered to be breachable."
"They still created a bit of a stir, didn't they? Thankfully you were too young to be legally liable for the harm caused by the ones that did make it to the public. Your adoptive father truly had no involvement?"
"Just father, 'adoptive' is only useful as a distinguishing adjective. Any given action and decision has links of causality stretching back far beyond it. Was he a part of that? Yes, he's the most significant person in my life. Was he directly involved? No, not that I'm aware."
"All right," Gary says, transitioning to another topic. "How would you describe magic? How does one learn magic? Could you teach me a spell?"
"Maybe. A spell needs power and form. Form is all about the intent of a spell, and more importantly, avoiding the unintended. It's also an efficiency point. The more narrow the focus of a spell, the less energy is required to achieve a greater effect. The other main way is with working with appropriate symbols. Practitioners around here love using wands, staves etc. because everyone knows that's how magic works... And that makes it easier to make the magic actually work. Now just using a wand doesn't do all that much by itself, but you can start to see the shape of things. Rarity can help increase efficiency too."
She shifts, eyes lighting up as she touches on a pet theory. "It might be broader than I've been able to prove too. So if anyone watching this happens to get yeeted into the distant past it's Halcyon, it could happen, please try to make a working circuit board and circuits and tell me if gold used to be as useful and conductive for that purpose. You will also have to develop your own means of acquiring electricity and a way home, but if you leave me a note in the historical record, I will do my very best to get you back to your original reality/timeish."
"But uh, back to your spell. The real issue is power. Essentially everyone's got some degree of potential for this stuff, but in general most people don't have the kind of personal battery necessary to power anything flashy enough to be visible, especially with amateurish form. If you're willing to take 15 minutes I could teach you to levitate a pencil, but only if you're in the top... 92% of humanity. 96% if you want the spell to work on a pen too."
"Fascinating," Gary says as he concentrates to follow Connie's explanations. "This 'battery' you're talking about. Everyone has some potential, but not enough to do anything? How is it that we know about psychic powers, and people with telekinesis, and the magic we're witnessing is not just... another form of that?"
"It's the same way that we can tell when something is moved by a gust of wind instead of telekinesis. It can be hard to tell if you're just seeing one of them for the first time, but a lot easier the more you get to know their little foibles and eccentricities. Unless whatever's doing it is particularly sneaky." She shrugs. "Even then, wind, psychic stuff, magic: it all comes from somewhere, and if you're collecting all the data you can always figure out where."
Gary steeples his fingers as he nods along. "So, what do you think of what's been said about your father's supposed plan? That he was bringing magic into the world so that it could be harnessed and used like science? Would that excite you?"
"That isn't how I would characterize his plan."
His eyebrows rise in interest. "And how would you?"
"Feya noted that his ritual wasn't designed to not so simply make magic more available to everyone, but instead to funnel that increased power to himself and a chosen few."
"That's what Feya stated, yes. I was asking how you would describe it. With him being your father, do you have any insights?"
"It would be very presumptive of me to disagree with her analysis without a very good reason. I don't believe anyone has decided they know the whole of my father's plans. I certainly don't. I'm still investigating, and I'm not alone in that, but I don't have any further insights to share yet."
"But as someone trained to use magic, I'm asking you if you have an op--"
Gary is cut off by a loud crash and commotion! Doors to the studio burst open and a man in a dark outfit with mechanized spider legs appears, flanked by a couple henchmen in costumes sharing similar motifs.
"This just in!!" the head villain announces as the henchmen train oversized gun-shaped objects at the station personnel. "Don't mind us, ladies and gentlemen, the Spider King needs to take over the airwaves for a moment!"
Gary sits up in his chair in alarm, but doesn't make a move. He motions to Connie, indicating that she should stay put. An intern tries to make a run for it, but a henchman blasts him with their gun, sending a spray of webbing that sticks him to the wall!
The station director, holding his hands up, says to the Spider King, "We'll comply. The villain studio's right there." He points to a corner where there is a desk and a single camera.
What does Conflux do?
Connie is just watching.
The Spider King looks over to where the director points. He glances back at him almost to confirm, then says, "Excellent! Prepare to broadcast!"
The arachnoid villain takes a seat behind the desk and motions to one of his henchmen who stands at his side. "Are we live?" He looks over to the studio staff.
The other henchman points his weapon at a camera operator to get her moving. She hurries behind the camera and begins recording.
A red sign that reads LIVE lights up, and the Spider King begins talking while the henchman behind him starts translating in sign language. "People of Halcyon City, sorry to interrupt your nightly quiz show or rerun of MASH. This is the Spider King with a message for Tenfold: you escaped my web last time, but it will not be so easy for you now. You see, I have hidden containers of the most deadly venomous spiders in various buildings throughout the city! Apartment buildings, subway cars, office buildings... they could be anywhere! With a press of a button, I will release them, unless you face me in Ditko Park! Tonight!"
While this is going on, Grumman leans over to Connie and whispers, "Sorry about this. Usually they come, issue their ultimatum, and go quietly. These interruptions are happening less and less these days. The social media is good for something, anyway."
Connie observes from her chair, noticing that the gear and outfits of the Spider King and his henchmen are technological in origin. His reference to pressing a button indicates that there's probably some kind of signal -- though the containers are probably not broadcasting and are just set to receive. The best way to discover them would be to identify his minions and retrace their steps. Nothing is in immediate danger, since it seems like the villain is more interested in broadcasting his challenge and not likely to start indiscriminately harming the station personnel.
The Spider King finishes his broadcast. He rises from behind the desk and his henchmen move to flank him. "Thank you for your cooperation, ladies and gentlemen. You may now go about your mundane lives."
He stomps out, oblivious to or not caring that some of the staff had already started getting back to work or were checking their phones.
"Well, a little bit of excitement for you," Gary grins reassuringly. "Are you all right?"
Before the broadcast finishes, Connie takes out a sealed vial of ultrafine glitter, pokes a couple holes in the seal with a safety pin from her top, and rolls it in a wide arc across the Spider King and his henchman's exit route.
She then settles back in to enjoy the show.
"What? Yeah, I'm fine. I've been in bigger danger from a good-" she coughs. "Never mind. I am glad you knew the score though. I would've kept everyone safe if someone had gotten stupid, but better to keep that kind of variable minimized."
Gary gives Connie a considering look when she says she would have kept everyone safe. "All right. Well, I think we've got enough for the initial interview. I hope you'll consider being part of the group interview with your brothers. You want a W-HCY coffee mug? Or a Behind the Mask poster?"
"Yes please!" Connie responds with actual enthusiasm.
It’s dinner time, Friday. Femtite is having sweet-spotted fungi and doing a lot of thinking.
She decides to text the team.
☀️: Hi.
☀️: I have something important to tell you all about that overheard conversation between my Mother and my Mom.
☀️: It was not from this timeline.
☀️: So I am truly an only child, and DD’s vision makes sense to me now.
☀️: It aligns with the Doom Prophecy about me.
☀️: That includes the part where it’s MY fault.
☀️: It may be too late, but please take this warning seriously:
☀️: Do not look further into this timeline—no visions, no questions, NOTHING!—and please understand I will stop using my power to delve between subatomic structures.
☀️: Also, whatever you think of my Mother, she immediately forgave me. And so there’s no confusion, of my Mother and myself, my sin is considerably worse.
…
☀️: Anyway, I’m not trying to bum you all out. Just try not to think or talk about the person who doesn’t exist anyway, and maybe my planet won’t get nuked by a temporal paradox.
☀️: Also, if there’s trouble in Halcyon City, I’m just a comm-call away!
☀️: Later dudes!
What?
Femtite is about to dictate a text to Chastity. But after rereading her wall of text, she instead tells the AI, “Please change my text settings to Receive Only.”
Percy and Caio are unable to find any clues in the school about the missing time earlier in the week.
Femtite shrinks to her subatomic size and later sends a series of texts to the group.
Connie is done with her interview at W-HCY. A mid-tier supervillain has issued a challenge to Tenfold of the Heralds for him to meet and do battle with him at Ditko Park. The hero complies and battles the arachnid-themed villain while several of his duplicates manages to locate the containers of venomous spiders and keep them from releasing their creepy-crawly contents.
It's the usual weekend excitement of Haylcyon City as night falls on the late November evening.
Femtite: Anyway, I’m not trying to bum you all out. Just try not to think or talk about the person who doesn’t exist anyway, and maybe my planet won’t get nuked by a temporal paradox.
Femtite: Also, if there’s trouble in Halcyon City, I’m just a comm-call away!
Femtite: Later dudes!
Connie: ...
Connie: ...
Connie: Femtite what the f!+* are you talking about. Why would that have to do with subatomic structures anyways? In what way is this a sin? (Specific word choice btw. many more questions about that) Don't temporal paradoxes have more to do with gaps in causality rather than asking questions about things that just don't exist? Like... asking about unicorns doesn't cause them to-
Don't extend the conversation in case she's right. You can always dig into it later.
Connie: k
Connie: Hey
Connie: I think you need a week where you don't make big decisions
Connie: obv not in cases where there are immediate lives at stake
Connie: but for serious, you keep running into brick walls at full speed
Connie: it's bad for you, it's bad for the walls, it's bad for anyone else trying to follow the same path
Connie: just like... try it
Connie: don't start anything big for seven days in a row
♥️: it's bad for you, it's bad for the walls, it's bad for anyone else trying to follow the same path
♥️: just like... try it
♥️: don't start anything big for seven days in a row
☀️: HI hiiiiiiii!!
☀️: Don’t worry, Connie. I am laying low and doing absolutely no decision making.
Femtite relaxes in the heatwave pool and pops another fungi in her mou—
Oh, I can’t be short with Connie.
☀️: Yes. Brick walls. I know.
…
☀️: It’s been hard ever since Don’t you DARE bring that up! Don’t do that to HER!
…
☀️: I’ve been on a losing streak lately.
☀️: Everything keeps blowing up in my face.
☀️: So yes, I keep running into brick walls hoping to break one down!
☀️: On the bright side, dooming my entire species is making all of my other problems seem relatively insignificant.
☀️: Oh, but I failed you again.
☀️: It would have been distasteful to convince my mother to apologize to you after I
Femi, don’t be a penis to her.
☀️: But not completely, right?
☀️: Last night, I’m really glad we talked.
☀️: And just now, too.
☀️: What you said means so much more to me than the literal definitions of your words.
Caio learns that Skyler went home Friday night and is spending the weekend off campus.
The varsity cheerleading squad is traveling to Riverton High School (about three hours away) by bus for a competition. Connie is invited to ride with them.
Maeve/Femtite receives no texts from Chastity.
Cyan and Scarlet invite Max to the Gates of Hell to catch up and maybe blow off a little steam.
Fuzzbat reports no unusual happenings in or around the campus to Percy. However, he notices some strange ley line activity around Rustside.
Whippoorwill asks Horizon to spend some time patrolling the waterfront. There have been some reports of the Busted Flush Gang seen around the docks and she'd like for him to reconnaissance.
Caio gets a response from the Corps about the missing time. They don't have any ideas about what it could be.
|
With no headway made at the school Percy separates from Caio for the weekend, "Just let us know the second something weird happens okay. That rune I put on your hand'll act like a beacon so I can find and get to you quickly, but it won't let me know when you're in danger."
Indy: I'll just hold my tongue on the possible sister thing, but know that I've got thoughts.
Indy: Also glad your mom forgave you for, I honestly don't even know what anymore. But good for you?
After waking up at the base from an awkward and back murdering nap Percy heads into the former employee's break room turned home kitchen to make hismelf some food when he feels the preening of the leyline's. Like a brush against some long forgotten muscles, he pushes it to the side for a moment and quickly pours himself a bowl of cereal. "Guess I'll not be having a heartier breakfast after all." He sits down to eat and punches out another text to the team. Before staring into the bowl of milk after he's eaten the wholesome raisin and wheat cereal.
Indy: Hey got a weird twinge about the leylines over in Rustside, gonna go check em out in a bit. Anyone wanna join me?
Indy: Really would have liked a more filling breakfast but.. I guess no rest for the wicked.
The need to supervise and intercede on the team's behalf was probably unhealthy for Horizon. So he was a little relieved to be asked to patrol an area of the city he didn't normally attend. It was good to get out of his head and comfort zone sometimes.
Plus, flying always seemed to be useful for helping him to focus his thoughts and energy. It was a lot like running he supposed? In any case, he should focus up and look for any signs of the BFG.
"Busted Flush Gang - literal card-carrying villains. Wasn't there a similar gang the Radiant Man fought back in my old era?" He muses out loud while flying overhead. "Probably people trying to use that legacy for clout. Unless there's a family connection..."
Femtite replies to Percy’s message.
☀️: She forgave me for meddling with a power that might destroy my entire planet, as the seers predicted I would do.
☀️: She could have disowned me and I wouldn’t have
Don’t…
When Femtite sees Percy’s second message, she considers her availability.
☀️: My morning is free. I’m happy to join you!
The district of Halcyon City known as Rustside is a large swath of active, old, or abandoned factories, mills, rail yards, power plants, and other structures relegated to an industrial zone. Some operational facilities still belch steam or smoke into the air and provide a rhythmic clanging or rumble, while other factories lie dormant like rust-colored carcasses with cranes, smoke stacks, and towers jutting into the air like corroded metal bones.
Indarius stretches out his senses as he tracks the distorted ley lines, still showing disruptive ebbs and flows of power. He realizes that they're bending as if being drawn to the area like some sort of giant magnet. Power seems to be flowing into one of the empty and abandoned factories for some reason. As he approaches, he sees from faded signs that the factory used to be the old Arbco Foundry.
Horizon spends the morning stealthily flying around the Waterfront, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. After a couple hours where he doesn't see anything overtly concerning, he notices a cargo ship flying the flag of Rodovka unloading several containers. There are several heavily armed guards watching over the transfer of cargo.
What does he do?
Maeve: My morning is crazy busy, but I should be available tonight, assuming I don’t get called in to work.
Maeve: See you at the station!
Femtite flies over to Rustside and is immediately fascinated!
“Wow! This place might be a great place to find old Earth gadgets that I can repurpose!
“How does all of this ancient technology connect to magic, Per… Indy?”
And wanting to get the uncomfortable question out of the way, she asks, “And would you happen to know which realm is connected here, such as a dragon-specific, fey-specific, or anthropomorph-specific realm?”
|
|
Indy: Alright meet you there in an hour or so.
Indarius shows up and waits for Femtite to show up, "Good catch. Probably still not a place you want to steal from, but if it's in a garbage pile or more likely an abandoned building probably free game."
He shook his head from under the hood, "Not any that I know of. If it's tied to any specific... uhh planar binding then it's new to me. Honestly Fems alot of this greater magic stuff is still pretty new territory. Comes with having any and all traces of magic being erased or held very close to the chest. Let me see where we're going though."
Indarius focuses and enters a sort of trance and follows the flow of arcane energy like some sort of animated character floating along the scent lines of a fluffy fresh pie. And he seems to snap out of the trance before they enter the building. "Alright wanna sneak in and check it out? Shouldn't be any people in there but this os where all the ley energy is being funneled towards. It smells vibrant."
Femtite likes the idea of sneaking inside!
She says, “Check your phone for a video feed. I’ll scout ahead!”
She becomes a spark, enters her tiny craft, and zips to the building.
This ‘universe’ shrinks away and is soon replaced by the interior of a building, as if seen through the eye of an insect or tiny mouse!
When Femtite expands back to an observable size, she hears voices. There are at least three of them, and seem to be young. There are some shouts, some yelps, and even some laughing going on.
When she gets into view in the large open area inside the factory, she can see a group of teens floating in mid air! She sees one climb up to a rickety scaffold, and jump onto a large floating gear like it's a surfboard. Three others are floating, using a tangle of chains like vines to propel themselves from side of the area to the other.
“Indy? I’m not sure how bad this is, but a magical safety net may be in order.”
Femtite grows and wears her Bug as a gem on her tiara. (The camera is still feeding to Percy’s device if he’s watching.) Femtite floats up to the nearest teen.
“Greetings, Earthlings! Am I correct to assume that you are not fellow super-teens. but that you have in fact stumbled onto a Zero-Gravity zone?”
|
|
Indarius pulls out his phone a bit crude but it works, he tries to not look at the rotating nuclei too hard. When Femtite grows to show that kids are using magic the hair on the back of his neck raises sharply like hackles as he quickly remembers his first experiences with magic.
"Femtite don't-" he was cut off by her interrupting them, the worst thing you could do for a young super of any kind. Disrupt or even worse surprise them in the middle of practicing their new abilities. He quickly gets on the team wide communicator.
"We've got some younger kids using magic out here at Rustside. Femtite and I are approaching them. Gonna try to keep the situation calm. Horizon get into contact with Feya and the Alliance if you can, but make sure to let them know no shock and awe entrance. Last thing we need is for one of them to lose focus and get hurt."
He then shuffled into the building following the path as best he could that Femtite did. He feels the need to be abrasive but he's honestly more scared for the kids. He approaches but keeps out of soght if he can, ready to step in if he's needed or if someone looks like they might get hurt.
The youths all look surprised when Femtite announces herself. Indarius is soon there with her, looking at the floating kids. They look like they range from around ten to fifteen, and don't look like the usual Halcyon Prep students. Their clothes are not in as good a condition, and nothing they're wearing is name-brand.
Caught in the middle of their play, they all look sullen. Finally one of them answers Femtite. "Yeah... We were being careful!"
"Shut up!" one of the older youths shushes the one who spoke. "They're like aliens or something." He glares at Femtite. "We don't have to talk to you!"
Femtite looks at the children with sympathy, then fixes her eyes on the older one.
“Oh, that was not a correct assumption. I am an alien but my friend is from Earth as you are. Now if you’re being careful, then there’s nothing to worry about, is there?” She sits in there demurely, crossing one leg over the other. “But there’s no harm in talking to fellow gravity-defiers either, is there?”
Femtite tries to reach the boy, but she finds that—like her Mother—she can’t quite grasp how the human mind works.
Well, it was likely to be just a standard shipment of imports from a foreign country. Or it could be smuggling in chemicals, weapons or illegal technology. Horizon wouldn't be able to tell without getting up close - however, he had some tricks still up his sleeve for this type of recon.
Clocktower could patch in to all sorts of sensors and cameras, and getting the old supercomputer to find a connection to hone in more closely on what was being brought in and the faces of the people doing the hauling would give him more information - without tipping his hand if they were up to no good.
Blowing off steam is exactly what Max is looking to do. She takes some time to get glammed up and configures her red dress into a striking number as she makes her way to the Gates of Hell to meet with Cyan and Scarlet.
With Skyler gone for the weekend and no additional clues about the mysterious missing time, Caio decides to spend some time playing videogames and watching movies. He though about going with Percy, but since Femtite had already volunteered, he thought it was enough.
By the end of the day, he decides to walk around and try to locate Terrier, just to check if she was doing alright.
The youths don't seem convinced by the pair. The one who had used a large gear as a surfboard shouts, "Run!" and kicks off of his makeshift floating platform. It drifts lazily toward Femtite and then suddenly drops like the heavy chunk of metal it is, landing hard right in front of her and kicking up a cloud of iron-flavored dust.
All the kids scramble away in different directions, grabbing ahold of scaffolding or slipping out of windows devoid of glass. Once they flee the big central area, they all seem affected by gravity normally as they run away as fast as they can.
What do you do?
Clocktower reports that the ship is registered with the Port Authority, as having come from Rodovka by way of Rangipoor. Rangipoor is a city-state notorious for its corruption and black-market tech.
As he watches, he sees the a group of people with playing card motifs on their jackets arrive. There's and exchange of words, then one of the crates is opened up. Inside is a sleek sports car that looks more like a rocket ship to Shin's 1940s eyes.
The day is a little warmer than usual for mid-November, but the cloud cover threatens rain. Caio walks around, but realizes he doesn't have the senses he used to so it would be more likely for Terrier to find him than the other way around.
The nightclub has its usual busy crowd when Max arrives. She is let in immediately by the bouncers, passing by a shivering crowd standing outside in line. It takes her little time to reach the Ninth Circle and find her sisters lounging on some couches.
Cyan and Scarlet are with Angel Taylor, who is wearing an even more scandalous dress than the two succubi and seated on the red demon's lap. Cyan rises to greet Max, giving her a big hug. "Maxie! So glad you could make it! Love your dress! Come on, sit! Tell us, how are you?"
Femtite feels her insecurities kicking back in. I’ll never understand humans. So let them see the alien then.
“I’ll go to the one who spoke to me.”
Femtite easily races ahead of the ten year old. She appears as the Greek Goddess Aphrodite would in a kid-friendly depiction, with an angelic robe and great gossamer wings! She is surrounded by a soft rainbow… one that does not obscure vision, should the child wish to continue running.
When she speaks, her voice is calm, like that of a loving big sister. “I’m not here to arrest you for breaking the law of gravity. I’m just curious… is the power in the building? Or is the power in you, and the magic in the building simply awakened it?
“Aren’t you curious as well?”
(The camera on her tiara continues to record.)
On the one hand, fighting a bunch of known criminals would be easy enough for him to do. But Horizon wasn't about to leap into battle just yet. All the evidence that he had was circumstantial at best, and if he wanted anything to stick to these guys he had to follow the proper procedures, recording everything to be uploaded back to Clocktower and to Alliance HQ. A record of evidence was necessary for the law to prosecute them properly.
Of course, he wasn't yet sure if they were actually doing anything illegal. He thought for a moment about calling the rest of the team to see if he could get some backup, but this seemed like something that he could handle on his own.
Keeping to the shadows and dimming the ambient light with his power to keep himself from being seen, Horizon flies silently like a ghost to get a better look at the crates, and try to listen in on the conversation to record it. If they came from Rangipoor, these might be some stolen vehicles being smuggled in for profit. Or based on their futuristic designs, they might actually be some kind of armored vehicles meant for warfare!
While walking alone, Caio do remembers that he'll need to buy some warmer clothes this winter now that he doesn't have the Wolf anymore. That and the fact that he can't easily find Terrier work as a reminder that he is much more vulnerable now. He tries to send this thought away.
Putting on his hood, Caio heads to the more rough parts of Halcyon, where he had last seen Terrier. Much like in their first encounter, he was hoping to attract her attention. While he felt his frame and appearance could still dissuade common muggers, he did not want to risk getting killed by accident, to he kept to the main streets.
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Indarius moves to shield himself and Femtite from the thrown rusted gear, but it lands quite shy of them and kicks up a storm of iron flavored dust which he coughs at.
He hears Femtite quickly respond after the clearing of the dust, "I’ll go to the one who spoke to me." And he opens his mouth to respond again only to suck down another mouthful of dust which causes him to cough and sputter. By the time he can choke out a "Wait." She's gone to the races, he understands the situation with folks under the age of eighteen is delicate and he doesn't want to chase them down and look like some kind of monster. Though that older kid did rub him the wrong way at the plain disrespect for a creature so powerful in the arcane arts. That some deep down need to be listened to overrode his concern for the law for just long enough that he to gave pursuit.
Rising back to his full height Indarius slams his staff down at the insolence blowing away the cloud of rust-dust and causing the temperature just around him to sharply drop. Spreading dangerously quickly from his position slick ice spread out across all the surfaces of the factory freezing any wayward machinery bits and making the floor slick as snot while covering any errant bits of metal or jagged edges one could become injured on creating a safe, but difficult to navigate terrain. Oddly the temperature in the building as a whole didn't suffer for all the new permafrost.
Indarius spreads ice over everything, sending the kids slipping and sliding. Their efforts at escape is stymied, but they keep going, moving into the shadowy areas of the old foundry and trying to hide.
One thing Indarius notices is that none of them are flying or showing any signs of controlling gravity once they've left the central area.
The one Femtite singled out collapses in awe of the warmth and heavenly light -- a stark contrast to the icy rime coating the rest of the factory floor. "Am I dead?" she asks, gasping. "We were just playing!"
Horizon easily gets close enough to listen in and get a better look at the car.
"Car is beautiful, no?" he hears one say in a throaty eastern European accent.
"Oh, yeah," says a Busted Flush Gang member, running his hand along the car. "She got the upgrades we asked for?"
"Da. Full camouflage, ablative armor, countermeasures... your boss will like."
A couple of the gang members nearly giggle.
"And now you. You have the items?"
A few smaller crates are pulled out of the BFG van. "Here you go. Had to wrestle them from the Scrappers, but it's all there."
Horizon hears the crates unlatch and moves to a spot where he catches a glimpse of broken pieces of tech. He suddenly recognizes them as pieces of Alcott's drones!
What does he do??
Caio walks past the most recent spots where he'd found Terrier in the past, but doesn't have any luck. Mindful of his own safety, he doesn't press his luck by going down any of the darker alleyways. He's found himself in Old Town, a long distance from the Halcyon Prep campus and a pretty tangled maze of old streets and narrow alleys. Despite his best efforts, he gets turned around a few times before he finds a main thoroughfare that he knows would lead him back to more familiar streets.
Thankfully, nothing jumped out at him, but neither did Terrier. Without finding any sign of the former Mongrel, it's easy to begin to wonder if she's moved on for good.
On his way back, he passes beneath a streetlight that is out, causing a deeper patch of shadow than normal. From out of the gloom, he hears a familiar voice, dripping with disappointment. "I left three scent trails and you passed by all of them. And now I'm practically standing out in the open and you still haven't noticed me. Do you have a cold?" Peering into a dark alcove, Caio finally picks out a pair of yellowish eyes he recognizes.
What does he do??
Femtite lowers herself to the ground and kneels by the child.
“You’re alive and you’re safe. My name is Femtite. What is yours?”
Well, that was conclusive evidence of a crime. Seeing Alcott's drones and knowing first hand what destruction they could wreak, he couldn't risk the chance of them slipping away. Now it was time to act, sending a signal to Whippoorwill to let her know what was happening.
"Busted Flush Gang are trading Alcott's salvaged drones for some super cars from Rangipoor. I'm going to try and tie them up here until back-up arrives," He tells his mentor. "Don't worry, I have a plan."
If that car was as souped up as the Rangipoor smuggler made it out to be, it had to be advanced enough for someone to try and access it remotely. Running into the middle of two dozen men armed with guns would just end up with him in the hospital again. But if he could link Clocktower with the car...
This is a bad idea.
He hesitated.
"...How do you think I can keep them occupied without causing a lot of damage?" He asks Whippoorwill over comms, doubt creeping in on him.
Connie isn't expecting to perform-perform with the rest of the Panthers, but after her 'team-up' with Tenfold had fizzled- Bro couldn't give me Any credit? I literally handed him a street map of where every goon had gone to ground and not so much as a capital letter C in the write-up! -getting out of town with the team cheer team sounded pretty good.
And hey, with Femtite off the team this team I'm for sure their best source of special effects.
The nightclub has its usual busy crowd when Max arrives. She is let in immediately by the bouncers, passing by a shivering crowd standing outside in line. It takes her little time to reach the Ninth Circle and find her sisters lounging on some couches.
Cyan and Scarlet are with Angel Taylor, who is wearing an even more scandalous dress than the two succubi and seated on the red demon's lap. Cyan rises to greet Max, giving her a big hug. "Maxie! So glad you could make it! Love your dress! Come on, sit! Tell us, how are you?"
Max returns the hug, though she keeps Cyan at arm's length. As she sits on the couch and crosses her legs, she looks at Angel and Scarlet. "I'm fine. So, is this a...a thing now?" she asks, a hint of bemusement in her voice.
Caio half smiles and walks towards Terrier, feeling her disappointment. "Something like that..." He starts, knowing how sensitive the topic of 'healing' would be for her.
"...You know that huge magical thing that happened last week?" He asks, knowing it was almost impossible for her not to have at least heard about it as the news were all over the place with the story. "So, during the fight, I lost the Wolf... and my limited skills with magic as well. It all got sucked away from me, leaving me with no powers whatsoever."
He wasn't sure if she was still counting on him to work on some magical solution for her mutation, but he felt the need to apologise anyway. "That project we were working to perhaps help you with magic is totally impossible now... I'm really sorry."
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Indarius finds himself about to pursue the kids but then finds himself drawn once more to the strange phenomena of the centralized ley-well. He walks across the icy surface seemingly unaffected by it's slick properties himself. Feeling out for the most intense pocket of energy.
Finding it without much issue he slows to examine the tangle of aetheric energy and see what it's doing or perhaps more importantly why. Either way Femtite can see that Indarius has given up any potential chase of the children, and even the ice begins to fade from the place, not leaving any puddles like one would think Ice would normally.
Femtite’s sees Percy trying to focus. The ice dissipates, and he’s not interested in the children—just the ley line.
Maybe I can help get the kids out so he ca focus.
She removes the tiara from her head. It dissipates into energy, leaving only the amethyst ‘gem’ hovering by her forehead. Femtite wonders if the little girl will be curious as to what the hovering gem truly is.
The girl seems to settle, though she still appears scared. "LaQesha," she answers. "Are we in trouble?"
The rest of the kids take advantage of Indarius' shift in priorities and scramble away. Their shouts grow more distant as they slip out of holes in the structure, though Femtite can hear their muffled voices.
"Let's go! Come on!"
"Wait! Where's 'Qesha?"
"We gotta go!"
"LaQesha!"
Before Femtite, LaQesha's eyes go even wider at the gem, but hears her name being called. She looks to the glowing alien for permission to go.
Indarius, meanwhile, weaves some magic to try to understand what's pulling these ley lines toward this location.
The ground beneath the null gravity zone is densely packed dirt, metal shavings and the detritus of countless years of factory work. He gets the sense that the ley line is pouring into the earth at that spot. Trying to unveil whatever it might be that's pulling the energy, Indarius' powers uncover an old filthy stuffed rabbit. Its fake fur is matted and caked with so much dirt that it's impossible to tell what color it had been; its one remaining glass eye is cracked, and its stuffing has long rotted away. It promptly disintegrates within the ley lines' power.
Indarius feels the ley lines slowly begin to return to their normal positions.
What does he do?
"That's where those things disappeared to," she grumbles. Whippoorwill's voice is soft but firm over the communicator. "Be very certain backup is on its way before you engage. I can't be there in time. But think: nothing in this deal is worth dying over. You have time. Drones are a priority. Cars are just cars. Once the drone parts are on the ship you know where they'll be for days. Can you place a tracker on anything?"
Connie and the rest of the cheer squad disembark from the bus, stretching and bending to start working out the kinks of sitting for three hours. They file into the Riverton High School where several classrooms are designated for the visiting teams.
It's still roughly an hour before the competition, so the cheerleaders follow the coach to the gym for some stretching and warm-ups. Other schools are also arriving or already in their warmup routines. It's inevitable that the competition is checked out, and it's clear that the other teams are doing the same with the Halcyon Prep squad. The looks of disdain from some of the other teams are epic, though Jade returns coolly withering glares herself. Pru gives Connie an elbow. "Don't let them get to you. It's all intimidation tactics."
After the brief practice, the girls return to their designated classrooms to change into their outfits and apply their makeup. It's controlled chaos as skirts and blouses are donned, hair is fixed, and false eyelashes are applied, and one thing or another is misplaced, frantically searched for, and found with a sigh of relief.
Jade, the captain, maintains control and keeps everyone on task. She's no-nonsense, and when she spots Sanvi sporting a pair of black cat ears, she's having none of it. "Let's cut it out. Panther Pride, sure, but these are not part of the outfit!" She tries to yank them off, but Sanvi yelps in pain when one is pinched.
"Hey! That hurt!"
Jade recoils. "Those felt-- Sanvi! Your eyes!"
On the other side of the classroom, Pru shrieks. "Chae-Won! You have a tail!"
After a heartbeat, Jade looks furious. "You said you never took those drugs!"
Sanvi shakes her head desperately, her pointed ears twitching in the directions of other gasps and shrieks. "I never! I swear!"
All around the room, the cheerleading squad react with panic as they spot feline features on themselves and each other. Connie suddenly feels an itching in her fingers and sees her nails are now curved claws!
What does she do??
Scarlet smiles at Max, then nuzzles Angel's neck causing her to giggle. "Oh, yeah, this is a thing. Angel's fallen for me, haven't you?" The demoness gives the woman on her lap a possessive squeeze.
The winged PR expert leans into the hug. "Oh, yeah. I've never felt this way. So relaxed. I've stressed for so many years over image and likes and upvotes..." She cups the sides of Scarlet's face and eyes her with utter devotion. "It's like I'm finally free."
"And you are," the red demon responds, then pats Angel on her behind. "How about getting some more drinks for us?" She immediately bounces up and heads over to the bar.
Cyan positions herself behind Max and starts rubbing her shoulders. "This PR stuff has so much potential. And with the buyout, we'll have access to all of Infini-corp's resources!"
What does Max do??
Terrier's eyes run through a series of emotions when Caio tells her he can't help her. She sinks back into the shadows and he loses all track of her.
Suddenly, there's a blur as she lunges out of the darkness and grabs him, hauling him over her shoulder. She starts running through the darkened alleys, taking several hard turns and leaping over low walls. Caio loses all sense of direction and if he tries to call out she slaps a paw-like hand over his mouth.
Terrier pulls open a heavy door in the side of a building and slips inside, going down a steep set of stairs into a completely dark basement. She throws him down onto a cold, earthen floor that smells of must and wild animal. He hears Terrier growl in the pitch-black room.
"How could you! How dare you!!" You promised!! Her voice is ragged. "I should slit your throat. Human. Weak. Pathetic." Contempt drips from her words.
After a pause, Terrier's voice is softer. "Do you miss it? The strength? The power? Look at you, blind, groping in the dark. Is that why you sought me out? Do you want to be like this again?" she growls.
What does he do??
Femtite smiles warmly at the girl. “It was a pleasure meeting you, LaQuesha. You are the youngest human I have ever spoken to, and I see a kindness and goodness in you from our brief exchange.”
Femtite then redirects her rainbow light to highlight the nearest and safest exit. “You’re not in trouble. Go to your friends, ’Quesha.”
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Partially relieved that the ley-lines are returning to normal, Percy picks up the glass eye of the rabbit. It isn't much hut perhaps with Connie's help he can backtrace the aetheric signature of the toy.
He drops it into a purple M&Ms tube meant for simple and small dusted herbs and stands. Looking around for Femtite, or the kids, "Femtite?"
He spots the slowly withering ice receding and his eyes search for something in it all. There's a warmth to the chill of his magic a bit of pride perhaps. He keyed his communicator, "Line is returning to normal Femtite meet you outside." Then he started to the doorway back to Rustside proper.
I wonder if the others are having a good day.
"I can mark the crates with a tracker. It feels wrong to let them just get away with making the deal," Horizon says, but goes with his mentor's suggestion. There was no way that he'd come out of a scrape with all of them on his own without suffering some injury at least. Better to mark the targets and then assemble the team to back him up. That's what Connie would probably tell him.
He slinks forward through the shadows, keeping himself out of sight as he takes out some tags to place on the crates. These were the isotope tags that he'd be able to sense with his powers, with a small signal that could be detected by any of the team's comms as well. They should work fine for this task, as he carefully slips a tracker onto the crate. He looks for any potential other targets that could use a tracker as well. The car would be opportune if he could get it on there.
He waits and watches as they chat more, and decides to try and slip another tracker inside one of the crates just in case. He's being cautious and keeping his head down as much as he can, hoping to get this done before slipping away. There's the fear of failing, of getting caught - compounded with some other fears that's he's been supressing lately.
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Connie rolls her eyes and starts rummaging in her bag, projecting to the whole bus without raising her head or making eye contact. "Jesus f*##ing christ at least there's no stripy thigh highs in sight or this would be a whole-ass stereotype. Okay, okay everyone. Look, I'm nyat taking the drugs either. So let's nyat- f+~@ let's AVOID throwing blame ameownd damnit for a second while I figure out what happened.
"Then we can purrsue what we- Okay that one was just my fault. Nyat my finest mom- damnit. Just gimme a second!"
"Samples, samples samples... I've got some stuff from the last outbreak and... Here we are! "
After watching the child exit, Femtite is figuratively-in-addition-to-literally glowing! She turns to her Bug Cam.
“Saturday, November—” She gives the date and time. “I have made contact with a prepubescent human. There is so much to learn! I must find out who among my human friends has younger siblings. Perhaps an infant would not be intmmm… huh? Oh. Coming Per—um—Indy!
“Recording stop.”
• • •
Outside, Femtite air-pirouettes over to Percy. “Oh, what joy! Little humans are adorable! But did you find what you were looking for? Is your mission accomplished?
“I wasn’t really sure what I could offer, honestly. But with my Mother off to the fey realm, I should probably learn more about these magical connections.”
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Indarius shrugged under his cloak, walking away from the building with his staff in hand. "Ah well not sure about exactly what I came for. Don't know why an ancient stuffed rabbit would be the focus of the ley-line. But I don't think it's going to be something that's immediately resolved, gonna have to get with Conflux about it. It all sort of fell apart in my hands when I tried to check it out. I don't think those kids were actually mages though, speaking of where'd they go?"
Walking for a bit more he soon cast a flight spell on himself and started back towards the city proper.
Femtite says, “I believe they went home, and without a magical field, they will only get into mundane mischief.”
Her Bug is in hand now, ready to be grown into a flying car anytime.
“Do you want a ride back to the station, Percy?”
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"That's good, I didn't mean to scare them off or erupt like that at them."
Already flying, Indarius shook his head and actively groaned. "Femtite, you CAN'T call me that while I'm like this, doing this, there are serious consequences to this whole thing now." There's a sharp bite in his tone when he says she can't. Though it's hard to tell if it's his current agitation or if it's because he's being very serious.
“Oh, sorry, Indy,” Femtite says sincerely. “I should be more careful about secret identities, now that I have one.
“It is actually quite nice to go out in public without people commenting on my glowing hair.” She slips the shrunken Bug in said glowing hair, flying alongside Percy. Indarius.
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"It's not... It's not just that." He turns to keep flying, "That spell, the one that Conflux and I made to bind the ley-lines again. It's crucial that I don't, I dunno become more of one or the other I think. Spells don't always work off of exact wording, intention is a big part of them and I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind when I cobbled together the rules of that one."
He falls silent to let that sink in a bit, "But yes I'm sure it's good to go out and be just like everyone else, normal or whatever."
Femtite’s eyes widen at the realization of how her words came out.
“Oh sorry Per—Indy—arius. I…” Her eyes flicker to the scales that aren’t covered up. If not for her glow, and already knowing where to look, the hooded costume would hide the transformation. Or maybe it’s that “I see you as human.
“DD and Caio—when he was the wolf—as well. I was surprised the children saw you as alien, especially with me right there to display the obvious difference.”
She thinks about it rather than jumping in.
“Do you want to talk about it? The transformation you’re going through, I mean. I Will understand completely if you prefer not to…” The word ‘completely’ comes out bitter, but Fem softens her tone when she gets to the point: “But I would gladly listen, and probably ‘get it.’ Sixteen years of not being able to blend in anywhere, y’know?”
Instead of relaxing from the shoulder rub, Max stiffens at Cyan's touch. The way Angel is acting is not normal, and the demoness assumes the succubi sisters have used their powers to enthrall her.
"Buyout? What are you talking about?" Max asks warily.
Caio tries to squirm out of Terrier's grasp but without the Wolf he isn't strong enough to do so. In vain, he tries to call her out just to be shut up. Thrown on the floor, Caio's head moves around trying to see anything at all, the realization that he was at her mercy and completely defenseless was quickly downing on him.
This wasn't the first time this happened, though, and one thing he knew for sure was that showing just how much he was afraid would not help him in the least. Crouching, he moves his hands along the ground, looking for anything at all.
"I did promise you I'd try to help and I did that, even while you lied to me and went behind my back with another plan to expose others to your condition." He says, sighing. "But the way you are talking now... it is as if you don't want to become human, weak, and pathetic again."
Noticing the change in her voice, he feels she is somewhat controlling herself again. He thinks about her words. "I do miss parts of it... everything is darker, quieter, blander. Colors are not as beautiful, food is not as tasty and as fragrant. I miss my strength and speed and I feel as if I'm constantly walking inside a pool of syrup... I'm more afraid than before."
He shrugs. "I do not miss the stench of Halcyon or how loud it is, or the blinding lights everywhere. How bad people smell, knowing secrets that are not my concern, knowing when they are on afraid or horny... I don't miss people being afraid of me and how the Wolf liked it, or seeing fertile girls as mates."
"I guess everyone would always want the good parts if they could get rid of the bad ones... no Terrier, I do not want to be like that again, and this is not why I sought you." He says, looking at the direction she last spoke. "I sought you out to talk and see how you were doing and see if you need some help with anything. I might not be able to help you change back anymore, but at least I'll do what I can to keep your mind as human as possible."
LaQesha looks unsure at Femtite's words of comfort. The calls of her friends continue, so she takes the opportunity given and she runs away.
As Indarius and Femtite leave the factory, they see the kids on rickety bikes pedaling as fast as they can toward a cluster of tightly-grouped homes and trailers neighboring the factories of Rustside.
"People before property," his mentor says. "Good luck.
It's tense as Horizon maneuvers silently, staying hidden, trying to tag the containers and vehicles with trackers.
The smugglers are eager to conclude their business, while the playing card gang members' excitement builds over their new sweet rides. However, the Rodovkans insist on inspecting each crate of drone parts, giving Horizon his opportunity.
He's able to drop a tracker into two out of the three crates by lurking above them shrouded in his power.
He's able to tag the vehicle's rear wheel just before it's driven off with a roar of its engine.
The cheerleaders huddle together in barely-restrained panic, meowing plaintively. Jade paces like a predatory animal, her tail swishing in agitation. "This can't-- this isn't-- Rrrrr" her voice trails off into a growl.
When Connie shouts, the mutating girls move closer and watch her activate her magic. The samples of the pills she took from the Mongrels dance when the reagents are applied. The scientific chemical reacts to the sympathetic magic, their opposite natures creating a dissonant hum.
Connie's upper lip tickles as long whiskers grow out and catch subtle vibrations in the air. The cheer squad's worried breathing echoes loudly in her ears and she can smell their sweat.
She traces the connections her spell is exposing. She doesn't find any signs of magic -- and there would be a lot if this was being caused by magic -- but interestingly the samples of the drug do not also seem the root cause (with the exception of a slight connection due to everyone's knowledge of the scandal and what happened to Grace and Ne'veah).
With the two most obvious causes eliminated, something metahuman in origin seems the most likely. Feeding more components into the spell, Connie expands her search. As she does, she feels something poking out from under her skirt behind her and feels her teeth sharpen.
Pru grabs Connie's shoulder. "Cannnyyyou stop it?" she says thickly. Her upper lip has split and her eyes have turned green.
The spell completes, and Connie senses all the girls are connected psychically. An etheric energy is pulsing from one girl to another, getting stronger as it bounces across their minds! She's not sure if these changes are real, but they're getting stronger as each girl's panic grows!
What do you do??