alderwitch

Taylor's shoulders moved a little uncomfortabally at the reminder but her cheeks dimpled with a quick and rueful smile. She continued in whispered tones, "Don't remind me. I'm not really used to it. I keep fretting that I'm going to phase out and give everyone something to really talk about for years rather than the usual stories of which uncle had too much to drink. I held it together when Grim jumped me but only because I saw her coming. It was closer than I like."

"Doesn't affect me. I don't generally eat either." Taylor murmured in response. For all of that statement, she had a menu open and appeared to be perusing it with genuine interest rather than the usual vague dread she generally treated the food-and-socializing thing to. She chocked it up to Moira's presence. It really was always easy to get swept up in Moira's general nature. That was what came of hanging out with the greek goddess of hedonism after all. Whatever it was, everything looked delightfully tasty for once. "But don't let me hold you back."

Phantom's going to get the guy in the corner with the eeire dimensional woojie with a tk grapple. Roll to hit: 1d20+10=27 Grapple check: 1d20+22=34

Psyche +2 to Int for a Int 28, +1 to Wisdom for a Wis 32 Phantom 3 points into her array. Magic Array (36 pp) (PF: Alternate Power x 9) [45pp] BE: Blast 11 (Extra: Affects Corporeal, PF: Accurate 1, Affect Insubstantial x 2) {36} AP: Blast 11 (Extra: Affects Corporeal, Area, Selective, Flaw: Range: Touch, Action: Full Round, Power Feats: Affect Insubstantial x 2) {35} AP: Comprehend 8 (Animals 2, Codes 1, Languages 4, Spirits 1; Extra: Affects Others, Area Burst) {32} AP: Detect Magic: Ranged, (Acute, Analytical, Accurate, Radius, Tracking (3), Extended (5)), Detect Dimensional: Ranged, (Acute, Analytical, Accurate, Radius, Tracking (3), Extended (5)) {30} AP: Dimensional Pocket 6 (500,000 lbs; Extra: Continuous, PF: Progression x 6) {36} AP: ESP 9 (20,000 miles, Sight/Hearing; Extra: Duration/Sustained, Flaw: Standard Action; PF: Dimensional, Rapid x7, Subtle) {36} AP: Nullify Field 9 (40 Feet) (All Powers (Drawback: Only Magical and Dimensional Descriptors), Area Burst, Touch; Extra: Duration/Concentration) {35} AP: Stun 11 (Extras: Affects Corporeal, Ranged; Flaws: Action/Full; PF: Accurate x 1, Affect Insubstantial x 2) {36} AP: Telekinesis 15 (Str 75; PF: Accurate, Precise, Indirect, Affects Insubstantial x 2) {35} AP: Teleport 10 (200,000 miles; Extra: Accurate PF: Change Velocity, Easy, Progression x 4 [x20 mass] {36} +2 to her Will save. Also, please change the skill mastery from concentration to knowledge: history. Done By Angrydurf

"Probably. I'm going for therapist which has mandated fieldwork hours as part of its requirements. I could probably get some of that waived considering my natural abilities, it's true," Alex agreed with a grin, "As for high school, I think the socialization is important. Especially since Mike and I never attended a regular sort of school after kindergarden. If it was just Mike, I'd stay in for him, of course, but I think you'd all miss me. Erin is doing much, much better but she still needs a little help handling things now and then. So does everyone, really. Equally important, I really do enjoy all of this. So it's equal parts selfish as not."

Taylor didn't have time to argue with James as she was neatly handed back to her husband but she did eloquently express that she thought that was a silly explanation for Jack's appearance with a roll of her eyes at him and a chuckle. "If it wasn't an official request before, I'm making it one now. Thank you, James." She went back into Jack's arms, skin tingling slightly and she repressed a little shiver. With so many people of mystical and metaphysical persuasion, her senses had been firing off randomly all evening but she hadn't expected to have that reaction to Jack. He shouldn't have been using any of his abilities. Taylor arched a single brow at him as she rested one hand lightly on his shoulder. Lowering her voice, she murmured in a tone meant for his ears only, "Jack... Unless you were trapped with Aunt Agnes, I don't think its really time to use all your, ah, skills."

Taylor blushed despite her best efforts not to and followed it with a stern frown that really didn't have the punch that it did when she was in costume. Instead of grim defender of the realms it was a bit more angry school librarian. Really, it was a futile effort to keep James from teasing while she was in costume so Taylor didn't know why she'd even tried it out. "Pfft, please. You have a string of rich debutantes to keep you quite busy enough." Taylor said with a laugh. "You could start with the 'bombshell' as you call her over by the bar. She's an Olympian goddess, by the way. You could even call keeping an eye on her the start of covering some of my duties."

1d20=17 As is Psyche :D

"I don't know. Alien things aren't exactly my baliwick, but this all looks like earth tech to me." Taylor flipped one of the pieces of the device in her fingers over and peered at the writing, a faint frown creasing her forehead, "This has been filed down but I can just make out some kind of writing on this piece here. It's only a few marks left legible but I can read it. It's Chinese." Sadly it wasn't enough for Taylor to make out any useful information, just enough to identify the language. "If I was going to make a guess, I'd say this is a fire and forget sort of thing and these guys just happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time. But considering your speed, if you want to check first before we fire this back up, go ahead. Guys?" Taylor glanced up to include the other two in the conversation of what to do now and blinked. Jack had managed to soothe the outrage of his winged charge. He was grumbling on Jack's lap and rustling his wings in agitation occasionally but relatively mollified by the offerings of a bread stick and watching the struggle of his sister with Stesha. The little brick had worked his way through another half of the pizza and most of its cardboard box while Stesha tried to collect the aquatic offspring from the water. "Uh, you need some help with that?"

"Best laid plans," Alex teased him good naturedly, before her expression smoothed out into something more thoughtful, "I'm not so sure I'll do it the same way this time as I did in Zoe's time line. I always planned on marrying Mike after college and then having a child after we were established. I know Mike's not doing the college thing but I always planned to. Now, if things work out the way I've set them up, I'll go straight into grad school and be done with that by my early twenties. Things have changed, mostly due to Zoe's presence here and now."

1d20+15=20 Notice

"Temporal mechanics isn't my thing either, although I have tried to do a bit more research into all of that, all things considered," Alex said with a smile. Not only Zoe, but with Erin's occasional musings about her world it was best to be prepared. "Of course she'd need to be in the loop on the matter but a bit of research is never a bad idea. What Zoe saw happen and what really did happen could be actually vastly different situations. I can't believe the entire world is destroyed. There must still be people who love her and are worried about her. If I'm anything like I am now, I would have done my best to ensure that was the case. If one is going to be a superhero and a parent, I think it requires more preparation than just a will and the usual stuff one needs."

"You know, it's my wedding day. You could at least make vague noises about me being at least passabally attractive," Taylor rejoined wryly, her expression far too amused at being informed that she was 'not James type'. It was hardly a surprise. After all, she'd seen the sort of arm candy he favored. He was also a much better dancer than she was, she noted as she let him guide her into one of those spins that always made her fret she was going to end up on her butt rather than the ball of her foot, "And I'm not betting money with you on anything. Talk about being out of someone's league."

Taylor rolled her eyes and gave a very unconvincing shiver. It was downright sarcastic but she headed in through the doors first. Moira was overkill to get by even a Freedom City bouncer. Taylor was of course carded on her way through the doors but that part at least she'd been prepared for. Tucking her wallet back in her pocket, where it promptly vanished back into the Void, she stopped shortly inside. It was a lot noiser than she'd thought a sushi place would be. Of course, when Moira had enthusiastically suggested sushi, Taylor had something a little different in mind. Maybe some nice hole in the wall place. Something with lots of quiet background noise. Not something in the hip-twenty-something nightspot range. Taylor hadn't even noticed places like this existed. Raising her voice to be heard over the crowd, Taylor asked, "Booth or bar?"

"We're big on red. I think my mom would have a fit if I didn't incorporate red into the decorations. And she's not even the Chinese parent. It's actually all Mom on the not wanting to lose Dad's cultural heritage half the time, bless her." Taylor said with obvious affection for both parents. "We're doing the tea ceremony in the morning, which will involve some real slight of hand and then a small ceremony. No church. For obvious reasons."

"I'm sure. I'll be best left to my own devices for a few hours. Jack's in the apartment, he's just over in his office. We're both burying into work, I think. There's certainly plenty of that." Taylor added the last wryly. Her voice softened and she added, "I appreciate it, Stesha, and I promise I'll call back when I know what's going on. Or if I need anything. Thank you." And before Taylor could disolve into tears again and ensure the plant controller crawing out of her desk plant, she said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone.

Taylor's brow creased as she tried to recount back anything off, "No one that we haven't spent time around with before all of this. There's a regenerating zombie that we've also added to our list of companions but while some cultures have some necromantic fertility associations, it's hardly his balliwick. The invasion seems unlikely as well although Jack did injest a rather large quantity of demon blood during it. However the 're-wind' that happens would have negated any lasting effects from that encounter." Shaking her head, Taylor did her best to run backwards through enough odd encounters to fill a book, ticking them off on slender fingertips, "It would have to be something we were both there for, which does narrow the list down. We also spent part of the time on an actual vacation. While eventful, there's nothing I can think of as a likely contributing factor. I did help summon a genie, but Jack wasn't there for that one. The only other summoning was Moira and it isn't really part of her baliwick to go enducing fertility either. It's possible that there's something I missed during the ritual that might have had wierd effects on me but it really seems unlikely..." Taylor slanted another blushing glance at Jack as she ran through the events of that particular day. As unpleasant as the whole affair had been, it had been a day that ended well. Reluctantly and in the interest of full disclosure she added, "But I have to allow that we did certainly do things conducive to creating this current predicament not long after."

For a moment, it felt like every nerve in Phantom's head went buzz-twang. Although reeling, she was already moving. "Avenger, we're taking the two groups on the right. Sorry, Deadhead." Without hesitation, she flowed forward and wrapped her arms around the revoltin' revenant's waist. She spread her hands accross his torso, fingers digging into the leather of his jacket. Not wanting to accidentally leave some part of him behind, Phantom made certain her cloak was around the entirety of both of them before they vanished into the Void. For Deadhead, there was a moment void of any sensation but the endless night and the white hiss-crackle of eldritch fire accross the seemingly endless amount of space. It was only a second or two, and they popped into existance once more in front of a pair of startled cultists. "I'll be back to pick you up once I grab the two that went down the middle corridor."

Okay, picking up Deadhead, teleporting down in front of one group and then releasing Deadhead. Next round, she'll teleport away for the other cultists.

"Hope springs eternal. Unfortunately, so does worry." Alex said wryly. She paused before adding musingly, "I am very good, however, and don't spy. Not even down the psychic link I've got to her. It is often tempting. I wonder how I stand it in the future." Alex shrugged and lifted her face to the night sky after a moment, her eyes half closing. It was hard to tell if she was just looking inward or actually looking elsewhere. "I sometimes wonder that if the best thing I could do for Zoe is to help her find her way home. At first, I thought the best place was where she would be loved by at least some version of her parents. Now, I am less certain. Its rare for me to misjudge a situation but not impossible. Merely improbable."

"My flakey sister-in-law is pretty into the rescue movement, actually. I'll take the dogs to her emergency vet." Taylor said, reaching for her cloak and swishing it around her shoulders. Considering how large the extended Chun family was, and how dedicated to the medical community most of its members were, it wasn't exactly a surpise. "They'll have good contacts for getting them into a program. Should only take me a few moments while you wrap up the muggers upstairs for their trip." Taylor ran a gloved hand down his arm, pausing to squeeze his broad hand before heading over to kneel down by the box once more so the folds of her cloak fell around it. It'd be easiest just to shift the box rather than taking each dog and within what she could carry in a single hop. She flashed him a bright smile. There was no way she'd rather spend the holiday. "Time me."

"Do you like schlocky horror movies?" Taylor asked eagerly, stepping forward a bit from the tombstone she'd been leaning against. She was quite genuine in her enthusiasm. It was rare, somehow especially among their small community of supernaturals to find people interested in a good horror flick. It might be because they were generally cast as the bad guys. Frankly, Taylor didn't think Jack had a lot of room to complain, at least vampires were cast as romantic villians. They certainly weren't ever painted green. "Jack's not a fan of the genre but I have an epic collection. I like a good disaster flick now and again but nothing beats the classics."

Taylor rolled her eyes at that and made a face, "I don't think Jack would get jealous if I stripped and danced on the table for everyone. Ace sets him off but that's mostly that stupid rivalry thing that they do. Besides, he really has nothing to worry about and he knows it." Her expression smoothed out to studied blankness as she caught sight of Moira over James' shoulder. Jack really wasn't the jealous one in the relationship. At least, he certainly wasn't the one to have reason for jealousy. With determination, she forced her voice back to lightness as she teased, "Besides, you're a little too young for me. Maybe after you're legal we'll talk."

"Is that connection marked on my soul?" Alex asked curiously but she didn't sound surprised. Better than most, Alex understood the depth of that connection forged between her and Mike from the cradle. She tilted her face up at him, her wide eyes more intent than usual on his face, "I think hoping for that sort of connection - although ideal - is unrealistic. I do think that a relationship forged out of the embers of a childhood crush on a rockstar is more unhealthy than I really approve of. For either of them. It could, of course, grow into something true and sweet but I think its just moving too fast to not burn out."

Taylor threaded her fingers through Jack's, squeezing them in return as she cast him a grateful glance. She had been expecting a good deal of personal questions but that didn't make it any easier to field them. In a steady voice, although her cheeks still remained flushed with color, Taylor slipped into the realm of metaphysics, "There are ways for vampire to father off spring on human women. Most folklore is easily explained away as excuses for ill-gotten offspring on unwed mothers but there is a kernal of occult fact to it. It is possible, even within the realm of my arcane knowledge to accomplish such a task but it isn't something you just do by accident. And that's for the realm of normal human, which I clearly no longer am. " Her voice rose a trifle unsteady at certain points. Taylor was feeling woefully out of her depth for once. A rare and rather unpleasant experience, and the fight over all of this hadn't helped her emotional state one bit. This time it was Taylor's finger's tightening on Jack's as she tried for a steady tone of voice that kept the thread of crackling tension to a minimum, "We haven't had any sort of weird metaphysical sex with any weird necromantic rituals. Nothing has changed! There weren't any altars, no fetility rites, none of that."