alderwitch

Alex listened to the angel's explanation with her head cocked to one side and her bright eyes pinned on the winged guest to the congregation. "Thank you," Alex said politely, "I didn't mean to interrupt but you can understand, I'm sure, all the questions that everyone is bound to have. It is only polite, I think, to ask if there is anything I can answer for you. I'm Alexandra Albright, by the way, and this is Mike." She gestured to the large boy next to her.

"He's extraordinarily useful. Considering Jack's love of high gloss dark surfaces, I find the help invaluable. After all, half of us still leave fingerprints," Taylor said truthfully as she did her best not to wince at Archevielle's discordance to her sixth sense. She did step back quickly to let Jack shake the good doctor's hand. She hesitated and exchanged a look with Jack over the second part of Archeville's question, "As for the rest of it, I'm hoping you can help us with answering a few medical and metaphysical questions." Taylor paused, reluctant to blurt it out a second time today. After all, last time that hadn't ended too well.

Alex gave Mike's fingers a quick squeeze before she stood up. Slight and delicately built, she had wide hazel eyes that gave her an air of startled wonder but it was easy to see the clear intelligence in her solemn too-old eyes. Although the clothing was eyeblindingly bright, the soft corona of energy around her was a bit more noticable than even a watermelon themed parka. ""Excuse me," Alex said politely, her young voice high and clear in the church. "We were wondering about your stance on those of other faiths. I don't mean any insult, but its something very important to my friends and I. Are you more of a, 'They will know us by our actions' sort of angel or a 'Let those that would turn their face from God, let every hand be turned against them' sort of angel?"

Alex tilted her head curiously at the angel, her hazel eyes were bright and fearless in her pale face. She snuck her hand back into his, her lips pursed in almost pensive thought. The Judeo-Christian pantheon had as great a tendancy for one-true-way-ism as much as they did for forgiveness and compassion. She merely hoped this angel fell more towards the forgiveness and compassion end of the spectrum. She wasn't sure if he was making a speech or looking for a dialog, it was kind of difficult to tell from the way he spoke. So, Alex settled on the sort of thing that always worked in class. She tightened her fingers around Mike's hand and raised the other one tenatively in a little wave.

Alex touched a fingertip to Mike's lips gently, although he hadn't spoken aloud. Her hazel eyes were bemused and twinkling over her pink cheeks, We were just talking about a demon invasion and one peaceful angel you have more of a mental upset over? The chiding was gentle and playful. Resolutely, Alex turned back to finish her hymns undisturbed, It doesn't matter what he really is, does it? He's quite peaceful. His aura is radiant. Content. Even concerned. Finish the song, Mike. This is one of my favorites.

Taylor wrinkled her nose at him as he hung up the phone, "I hope the realm of super science has moved beyond those paper shirts that open down the back. I remember hating those. Maybe he just has some sort of beam that will tell him everything." She looked hopeful for a moment, knitting her fingers together in her lap and idly fidgeting with her rings, "I haven't had a doctor's appointment in ages. I guess the last one I had was a physical before college. I imagine this is going to be vastly different."

Jes! :D

It was going to be a bad day to be a thug. Anyone who was out robbing people on Christmas, however, deserved what they got in Taylor's estimation. She released Jack and floated over to the edge, her cloak billowing out around her. The white snow dotted its folds and melted away without leaving marks. Occasionally it passed right through her instead as she flickered in and out of solid form like a sputtering candle flame. "Do you want me to bother scanning or are we just doing it the old fashioned way? I say we leave them tied up with pretty bows in front of the police station. I even have extra ribbon." She flashed him a wicked smile before turning that lambent gaze to the seedy street corners.

This was still Alex's favorite part. Although all of the sermons had been interesting, Alex privately thought that if you were going to worship any god, it was best to do it in joyful song. She bounced to her feet, her snowboots squeaking on the floor. She tucked her chilled fingertips into Mike's warm hand and added her cheer piping soprano to the congregation's hymn. 'I'm glad we came.' It was more emotions than words that she transmitted at him, but the sentiment was quite clear along with an even more wordless burst of love. Not just love for him but a warm 'love of fellow man' sort of feeling. Unsurprisingly, this was Alex's favorite holiday.

Whoops, I meant JANUARY 3rd. <.< Nothing to see here!

"As long as we're not burning crackhouse logs here," Taylor agreed with a twinkle in her eye as she reached up for the amulet at her throat, "We'd never get that smell out of the carpet." The Eye of Heshem winked between her fingertips and Taylor's holiday clothing fell away to the floor with the soft whisper of cloth hitting the floor. It was replaced with the leotard-and-leather costume of Phantom beneath her volumnious cloak. She could have just as easily stored the clothing in her pocket, and usually did. Her wardrobe bill would be astronimical if she just left clothing lying around every time she changed. Leaving them here, however, she would have nothing in her pocket to change back into once she wished away her costume. Normally, that would be a hindrence but it was tonight it was part of the plan. Stepping away from the clothing pile, she gave Avenger a saucy grin from under her hood and held out her gloved hand. "The Fens?"

Alex shrugged at him, her slender shoulders rustling under the parka as she shifted. She scooted in next to him on the pew and tucked her shoulder under his arm companionabally, "Well, first since none of it happened in the first place, of course it didn't get sucked into hell. But in the future we were in, it did. It gets convoluted like that. But the sanctity of any place can be corrupted, especially once the people fall. If you think about it, the faith comes from people in the first place. This is just a place where a lot of pure and not-so-pure hearts worshiped. Without that, its just a pretty building." Alex waved her gloved hands at the inside of the church before tugging off the gloves, "Before the building was built, it was just empty land. Now, some cultures believe the land itself is sacred but if you ask me, its sacred because they believe. Does that make sense or have I strayed way out there again?"

"Everyone needs a check on their actions, even me," Alex said with a chuckle. She paused to take out one of the largest piles of leaves they'd come accross, scattering them with cheerful kicks of her ladybug print rainboots. She was breathless and her cheeks were flushed when she scampered back up to James' side, laughing softly, "As for my family, Mike is just as much a registered factor as I am. My mom's and grandad are both retired super heroes. I think the secret identity as safety is false comfort, really. Even out, my parents are more likely to die in a car crash than at the hand of an archenemy. Even here in Freedom City."

Attending the Christmas service was a common occurence for both the Albright and Harris families but this year, Alex was actually excited about it. She had chattered Mike's ear off on their way over, well, his mental ear equivalent. She was very enthusiastic about the compare-contrast metric of the different individuals talking and apparently had done some research into the matter. Of course, Alex had been on a theological bent since November. Be prepared might have been the boy scouts motto but Alex was content to borrow it. She stomped through the snow with childlike glee, heavily bundled in a blindingly bright green snow parka that was trimmed with crimson red in the cuffs and hood. For once, her snow boots matched, but her tights were a vibrant lemon yellow. She had one gloved hand tucked into Mike's as they made their way into the church and briefly sidetracked her theological theories for a brief history of the church as they made their way to their pew. "...And that's what happened during the Invasion here." Alex finally paused for air.

"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."

"If Ace calls me an abomination, he's going to find out just how unpleasant immortality can be," Taylor grumbled mostly to herself as she buckled herself into the passenger seat. Jack's next question caught her attention and she fixed him with an almost comical look of dismay, "I *hope* not. I put such effort into convincing my mother that the very idea was rediculous. Maybe it happened afterwards on the honeymoon."

Taylor nodded at that. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face, "We were going to hang out this morning and I teleported in like I usually do but its been making me all woozy lately. Which wasn't so bad until she started cooking sausage. Then I threw up in her bathroom." She made a face, turning a little green at the memory, "Years of not even having so much as the sniffles has definately spoiled me. So we bickered over what it could be and she suggested the test. I really didn't think anything would come of it, so I figured what the hell. The joke was on me, though. Then I pretty much panicked. She did call Ace to ask him who he thought would be a good pick for a metahuman doctor but she didn't mention my name or anything."

"This is certainly up there on the list though," Taylor opinioned with a watery smile. "Would you mind calling Archevielle? You've known him longer than I have." She burrowed back into his arms as she waited for his response. Taylor tucked her cheek against his silent chest, her eyes squinched closed. "Can I get a ride home with you? Teleporting makes me sick to my stomach and I'm a little leery of phasing down through the ceiling."

7

She lifted troubled eyes to him, "There's Archeveille. He gives me the creeps but he's brilliant and knows who and what we are." Unaware of what Jack as picturing, Taylor slipped her palms into his, her fingertips closing over his wrists. "Jack, I'm scared out of my mind here." Taylor admitted quietly, the temper draining out of her small frame, "I'd be scared if we were normal. You're a vampire and I spend most of my time intangible. Everything I know says that its impossible or at least extrodinarily dangerous. I have already played through just how horrible could this be on the way over. And I haven't even started in on research yet."

Yelling at one's newly pregnant wife was never the best idea under any circumstances. Doing so, followed by accusations of stupidity and threats of some sketchy doctor 'taking care of it' was perhaps an even worse idea. Having this arguement under the noonday sun when one's wife had no such constraints made it downright suicidal. Taylor drew in an offended gasp and her fists clenched at her sides with her hands crackling ominously, "Why does everyone think that my brain goes right out the window whenever you're involved? I am one of the best damn arcane experts in this entire plain and if you think I'm going to some butcher exorcist to get carved like a turkey-!" The threat might have ended with a bit more omph if the thought of it hadn't set her stomach roiling. Instead, Taylor had to settle for folding her arms protectively in front of her chest, lips compressed, "I am well aware that this should all be impossible without serious mystical intervention, none of which I'm aware of happening!"

Taylor beamed at him and threw her arms around his neck in an enthusiastic hug. She pressed another kiss to his cool cheek and bounced back on her toes cheerfully. Taylor knew full well that any mage Jack knew was most likely a necromancer, but necromancy wasn't by nature evil. Just frequently used for it. "Thank you! That's perfect. I hate when I get caught with work and can't cross back to let you all know. Or on the rare occasion I get in over my head." Taylor winked at that. It might be a little more often than rare. Just a touch. She tilted her chin up and gave him that impish smile as she asked, "So shall we snuggle in front of the fire or hit the fens for lowlifes?"

"I don't know," Taylor burst out, her voice rising to match his. She took in the look on his face and her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. She had expected the disbelief but that didn't mean it wasn't infuriating to see on his face. Planting her hands on her hips, Taylor hissed at him, "If you're thinking I was unfaithful, why don't you just come out and say as much. Never mind you're the one who's had sex with goddesses and super models and I lost my virginity to you in your car." Then to Taylor's own horror, she felt her eyes start to sting with tears. Still, she did her valiant best to glare at him through watery eyes. Hell, she blamed him for the tears too.

Taylor shook her head sharply, "No, no. I haven't been feeling well for a few weeks but I didn't say anything. At first I thought it was just exhaustion, then maybe a curse." She looked guilty over that omission before she rushed over her next words. It was like ripping a bandaid off. Soonest done and all that, "If the test - well, the four tests - Stesha suggested I take was accurate, I'm not sick, I'm pregnant."

Right after pressing concerns, dec 3rd