Money for Nothing (IC)

[Electra]

"I'm still not sure I understand what you're trying to do," Erin told Alex as they sat together in front of Alex's computer. "I mean, I get it in general, but not really. How are you going to play the stock market when you can't even buy stocks? I'm pretty sure they don't sell to teenagers." The start of Christmas break meant they all had more time on their hands, time for all sorts of extracurricular activities. Erin had mostly intended to spend her break catching up on television, but Alex had other ideas.

Erin studied the voluminous page of trading terms and conditions that Alex was scanning through, but couldn't make heads or tails of it. She suspected it was in English, it was just that the sentences didn't line up into any sort of rational order. "And how can you be sure you're going to make money off of it?"

[alderwitch]

"I can't buy stock in my own name but the corporation I got James to help me set up can. Playing the market takes a series of educated risks and a bit of luck. The trick is to buy shares low when you know they're going to rise and then dump them when they peak. Between knowing the details of the companies we're investing in, and a bit of help from Mark, its a sure way to gain the liquid capitol we need to start making some real money. See, I have a chart," Alex turned and pulled over a sparkly rainbow notebook filled with neat columns of information on the stocks Alex had researched. It appeared that instead of taking calculous notes, ALex had plotted out the optimum range to buy and sell stock for hundreds of companies. Someone had been using their esp powers for personal gain it appeared.

Alex beamed at Erin, "We just have to include some calculated losses as we'll.

[Electra]

Erin studied the chart for a minute. "I have no idea what any of this means," she admitted. "I don't even pay attention to the market reports on the news. But if you and Mark and James are all working on it, you're guaranteed to make a mint. And the losses are to keep anybody from paying too much attention to some company that always guesses right?" She handed back the notebook and looked again at the screen. "What do you need me for?"

[alderwitch]

"[Color#008080]You don't need to sleep like the rest of us, which means you can keep up on market fluctuation better than anyone. The buy and sell margins are pretty small to maximize profits." Alex beamed at her and gestured to the pages of her notebook. "I've tried to minimize the amount of times I'll need to use my powers as it doesn't really seem sporting. I haven't mentioned it to Mark yet but I don't think he'll be difficult to convince to help."

[Electra]

Erin gave the screen another dubious look, hoping that Alex would provide detailed and simple instructions for what a market fluctuation was supposed to look like. "I'm sure he'll help, when he knows it's for a good cause," Erin agreed. "It isn't like you're just trying to get rich for the heck of it. College is really expensive." She leaned back in her chair. "Have you checked with Zoe to see where she wants to go?"

[alderwitch]

"Zoe's still testy over the last time I 'meddled'. I have a feeling she wasa daddy's girl. Mike doesn't set off her temper half so often," Alex said wearily as she ran her delicate fingertips over her neat writing. "At this point she'd probably insist that she's going to join Eddie's band and be famous and rich and in love forever and ever. I'll cross that bridge when I get there, I guess."

[Electra]

"A lot of supers don't go to college," Erin pointed out. "I mean, if you're going to spend a lifetime hitting people, you don't exactly need a BA. But it'll be nice for her to have the option if she wants it." She wasn't even going to touch the subject of Zoe's relationship with Eddie, because that was a sore point for Alex, and grossed Erin out more the more she thought about it. "And if she doesn't want it, you can always save it for your other kids, or set up a scholarship or something like that. She doesn't know you're doing this at all?"

[alderwitch]

"I haven't mentioned it to Zoe or Mike. It is my giant brain to do what I'd like with it. In Mike's case he'd try to help and there really isn't anything for him to help with." Alex shrugged her slender shoulders, her fingertips clicking away without pause at the keys as she chatted. "Honestly, I intended to make my fortune in college but I'm planning on jumping straight to post grad work now so might as well get on with it. Neither Mike nor I are planning on careers that pay super well so this will allow us to pursue those plans without financial concern."

[Electra]

"You haven't told Mike?" Erin asked, surprised. "Don't you think it's gonna cause trouble if you've got this big project going on and you've told Mark and James but not him?" Erin didn't claim to be any kind of expert on relationships, but that sounded like a bad plan to her. Of course, Alex had been wrangling Mike since they were toddlers. Surely she knew what she was doing. "Are you just gonna tell him when you've got the money already?"

[alderwitch]

Alex shrugged with remarkable unconcern, "Its just one more of my projects to Mike, I'm sure. He listens good naturedly when I babble about them and doesn't give it more of a thought than that. I don't really mind telling him but it hasn't come up. Kinda like me asking him about his poetry I guess."

[Electra]

"Okay," Erin agreed with a shrug in return. Even if she didn't really understand, it wasn't any of her business. They seemed to be getting along just fine without any interference. "I didn't know he writes poetry. Just for fun, not for school assignments or anything?" It was an odd concept, especially with a guy like Mike, but everybody had hidden depths. "So when do we start on this big project? Can we do it all during break, or is it for longer?"

[alderwitch]

Alex laughed and shook her head hard enough to set her curls bouncing, "Mike doesn't take notes in the journals he carries everywhere. Instead he doodles in the corners and writes dark and grim poetry. Although its gotten a bit lighter lately."

She ducked her head at that, a blush turning her pale chinks a bright pink. Her smile softened before she shook herself a bit to answer Erin's question, "It'll probably take a bit longer than that but it won't be without reward. As its a real corporation, if tiny, I have to follow wage laws for the work you do. At the moment I have you set up as minimum wage but with some stock in the company."

Alex looked up at her with wide hazel eyes that seemed a little mischevious. Considering that the stocks in the end would be worth more than any wage she could pay, it was a good hearted sort of sneaky.

[Electra]

"Um, okay," Erin agreed. She hadn't really thought about getting paid for participating in Alex's scheme, but she wasn't going to say no to it, assuming the whole thing worked. A few hours at eight-fifty an hour wasn't going to put a dent in the nest egg Alex was building, and it sounded like some sort of legal thing anyway. "You'll get to be the first name on my resume," she pointed out, then grinned. "Guess I better do a good job in case I need you for a reference some day. So does Mike let you read his poetry?"

[alderwitch]

"Of course. Who else is going to help him come up with things like the 'stygian black well of my tormented soul' without teasing him mercilessly," Alex giggled, her hazel eyes sparkling with fond amusement. "I intend to save all his books of poetry so that when he gripes about where his kids 'get this kind of stuff. Seriously, how hard is it to be a white middle class teenager', I can just point."

[Electra]

Erin laughed. "What rhymes with stygian, anyway? All I can think of pigeon, sort of. And they're probably not dark and tormented enough. Maybe he should get together with Eddie and Zoe and give them some lyrics for their band. Depressing sad music with nonsense lyrics is really popular. And maybe he and Zoe could bond over that or something."

She looked again at the long page of rules on the computer screen as Alex accepted the EULA and clicked through to the trading site. "What happens if we get caught doing this, anyway? How much trouble are we likely to be in?"

[alderwitch]

"Legally? None. There are no laws currently governing the use of powers like I and Mark have, and everything else is aboveboard. My folks have agreed to legally emancipate me if I need it. Now, were it to get brought up in public media, I suppose I could end up facing an uncomfortable level of scrutiny, but there is nothing *wrong* that we're doing." Alex assured her as she swivvled to face Erin, "Ethically, I think we're okay as long as we use the money we don't need to give back. I think superheroing is about more than facing villians. This will he'll with that part."

[Electra]

"What money are you using to start it?" Erin asked, taking all that in. It seemed a little shaky, but if there were no laws against it yet, she was pretty sure the first people to do it couldn't get in trouble for it. "Is James putting in the starting money?" Somehow it didn't seem like Alex's allowance was going to fund her plan very quickly, regardless of how clever her investment scheme was. But James had more money than he seemed to know what to do with, or even to care about.

[alderwitch]

"Is my college trust fund, around 45 thousand give or take. Even if I lose it all, I could easily get a scholarship or two with my grades and test scores. James offered his money bu I'd rather use my own." Alex grinned suddenly, "I did offer to turn his piles of money into bigger piles but he seemed uninterested."

[Electra]

Erin's eyes widened a bit at that. "Your parents are just letting you play with forty-five thousand dollars? That's a lot of trust in your stock picking abilities." She shook her head, a bit incredulously. "Guess you better get them something really nice for Christmas." The thought of handling that much money, even by proxy over a computer screen just in case of middle-of-the-night fluctuations, was a little daunting. "And maybe I better get a book or do some research or something before I sign onto this. I don't want to lose everything on beet futures by accident or something. I don't even know what futures are, except that they're mostly for farm products."

[alderwitch]

"You'll do fine. After all, its only money which is really just one more commodity. If it'll make you feel better, I can give you a quick mental starter's guide the fast way. I've got one stored up here." Alex tapped her temple helpfully.

[Electra]

Erin grimaced. Getting an infodump from Alex was a little like being hit in the brain by a semi full of knowledge, but it was a lot faster than going to the library and generally more reliable than looking at the internet. This seemed like an area where she didn't want to risk getting a lot of misinformation, with so much money at stake. "All right, lay it on me," she finally agreed with a half-laugh.

[alderwitch]

"Sorry, I'll try and be gentle," Alex offered ruefully. Even 'slow' the information was a little much to handle. Alex rested a hand on Erin's hair. She didn't need the physical contact but it was a good way to signify to Erin when she was done. True to her word, Alex kept it to the bare primer that would help Erin know the basics and how to weed through the piles of information out there as well as the details of the strategy she intended to follow. When she removered her hand and her light touch from Erin's mind, Alex gave her a few minutes to reorient herself again, happily clicking away at the lap top while Erin got herself situated again. "Just let me know when you're okay."

[Electra]

Erin kept her eyes closed for a couple minutes while she sorted through the primer's worth of information Alex had just poured into her head. She blinked a few times, then took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I get it now, or at least the basics. It seems risky, but I guess that's why we have Mark around. Seems like we could just take him to Vegas and do as well for ourselves, but we'd probably get thrown out of all the casinos." She rubbed her temples. "All right, let's get started."