alderwitch

"But the thing is other people can understand. Especially you. I mean loot at me. Really, look at me," Alex stopped along their walk and spread her hands to her side, "What burdens do I carry, James? What's my 'rock'?"

"I'm going to assume that the reason I don't count as an innocent is because if moved to do so, I could probably hurt you very badly. And not that it was because I was in the process of losing that innocence in your car," Taylor said very quietly, without moving a finger from where she lounged in one of the squishy chairs that adorned the throne room. Her fingers were laced accross her stomach, and thankfully weren't currently crackling with eldritch light. But Taylor looked at Jack like she was considering smacking him against the wall again. Her eyes glittered dangerously at him before she turned that gaze to Moira, where they narrowed. Having recently been treated to the entire debacle from Jack's point of view, Taylor didn't know if she was more pissed about Moira's speech earlier or having been treated to memories of Jack's sex with Moira. Or about Stesha's accusations because of it all. Actually, there was a lot to be rather testy over. "Speaking of which. Hello, Moira. Would you like to assist in the illumination? It's a lot of fun and no one's even been slammed into a wall." She paused before adding a little too sweetly as her gaze slid back to Jack, "Yet."

Phantom floated over to the shadow ward that the cultists were frantically maintaining, ignoring the hectic battle to all outward appearances. After glancing at the magic circle for a second or two, her cloak parted and Phantom stretched out a single transluscent hand that she gathered the shadow energy into like a child gathering cotton candy, and with about as much effort. Once she had leached the power out of it, she tossed the shadows wreathing her hand almost casually at the circle itself which shattered with an audible crack. "The ward versus the undead is down. Now let me see if I can unravel all these tendrils animating the zombies," Phantom lifted her hands up, her fingertips moving slightly as if she was playing strands of yarn between her hands that only she could see.

1d20+17=35 vs DC21 for the Ward. Le Smashed. Then switching my array to my detection spell.

Taylor slanted an unreadable glance at Jack before she sighed. Somewhat reluctantly, Taylor explained, "While its true that anyone can really be broken, I've got far more controls on my behavior than most. I'm the Chosen of Heshem and granted both abilities and duties by that goddess. I have to patrol the barriers of the dimensions and put things right when they go wrong. I'm bound to it. Although when I was human, I was born in this city, I don't really belong to this world any more. Or any of them." Resisting the urge to glance away, Taylor continued on doggedly, "I generally end up at loggerheads with everyone eventually over those duties. I don't expect any of you to stand by me, but you should know that its neccessary."

The smile Alex gave him was beyond radiant. She'd been waiting on Mike for years and although it would be years yet before they were adults, Mike's admission of his feelings was really all Alex had ever been waiting for. She simply agreed, "Yeah, its a really good thing." She went quiet and thoughtful, her ponytail swishing back and forth as she either nodded or shook her head, "A little guilt is a good thing but only for so long. Yeah, you messed up and, yeah, when people like us mess up, its pretty dire. Really, though, you should realize you're not alone with that burden. Mike's never been able to forget his mistakes either and it almost destroyed the person he could become into someone ever so much smaller. Erin's survivor guilt is pretty much a daily struggle, and everyone thinks their an island, and that no one could understand. So they just carry this rock with them everywhere they go."

Taylor's nose wrinkled up and she shifted uncomfortabally at the Scarab's clinical recitation of the nature of vampire hickeys. Taylor was intimately aware of how the entire process worked after all, but it was really just as uncomfortable as Moira talking about how she just couldn't keep her hands off of him Taylor slanted Jack an unhappy glance that seemed to adequently sum up, 'Do you really have to have past with absolutely everyone we know?'. "Now, Elena, you have amassed centuries of experience and I am a mystic of no small talent or skill, and I daresay both of us reacted emotionally the first time that we found out what Jack was," Taylor opinioned reasonabally, stretching one hand out to squeeze Jack's hand to mitigate the sting of her words. "Stesha knows next to nothing of the city's monsters save what popular cinema has provided and has only ever been presented with the very worst. Its not an unreasonable reaction." Her voice was a little detached even as she deflected the criticsm of Stesha. While all that was true and very logical, it didn't make Stesha's accusations hurt less. Taking a small breath, Taylor continued on gamely "I don't think any of us believe things happened quite that way with Moira and Jack, but unravelling things so that it doesn't get out of hand is a good plan. Dark Star was just as upset. Maybe more so." Speak of the devil, Taylor glanced up as Dark Star flew into the room. Her greeting was quiet, "There's nothing to apologize for."

Alex was quiet and thoughtful for a moment, as she tried to find the best way to succinctly explain the jump in her powers. "I'm still adjusting. Although the terminus energy surge has faded, my powers are either still increasing or I simply haven't uncovered every change yet. I'm still running numbers. Here, look." She stopped by one of the benches that had recently gotten crunched in an overly rambunctious game of frisbee. Extending her hands over it, the bench rapidly reassembled itself as it knit back together at a molecular level until it was as good as new. The entire process was somewhere under ten seconds and Alex wasn't winded. Before, levitating herself had really stretched the bounderies of her abilities. Alex dropped her hands to her sides and reshouldered her backpack to continue along side him, "Molecular manipulation. I knew I was theoretically capable of it. Now, its an actuality. I'll feel better once I've finished cataloguing my abilities. How about you?" She fixed him with her wide, too perceptive eyes.

"Hello, James," Alex said cheerfully as she swung her legs and got up off the bench, as if there wasn't anythign bizzare about her behavior. From Alex's point of view, there really wasn't. She collected up her bag and book and quickly caught up to him Alex was used to stretching her legs to keep up with Mike, after all. "You keep kinda odd hours and I thought we should chat, so I napped this afternoon." She volunteered easily, smiling up at him with her usual sunny nature.

OOC, James and Alex although hopfully there won't be rolls :D

Alex might have been the smallest of Young Freedom's members, but whatever she lacked in size, she made up for in determination. Although James did tend to keep to himself, one could only hide from a psychic powerhouse for so long. Especially when that psychic had made you her top priority. So, Alex was sitting outside, patiently waiting for James to walk by, late at night. It was eaiser to catch him by himself after hours, so that was when Alex sat out to wait. Although she had a book with her, it was sitting by her thigh closed on the bench along with her everpresent book bag. Although she was still eye-blindingly Alex, the events had left her perhaps the most physically changed of the team. Although Mike had grown in what was hopefully his last growth spurt, Alex was still surrounded by an everpresent glowing corona of energy that she hadn't had the time to work on repressing. Beyond that, though, Alex finally seemed comfortable in her own skin. It might have been any one of many factors but sitting there wating for James, she didn't fidget or hunch her shoulders. She simply tucked her hands into her lap and waited confidently for him to stroll by.

Phantom froze as the horde vanished. She was battered from toe to throat, covered with livid bruises and slowly healing wounds under her tattered costume. As if unbelieving, she pushed her hood back from her face slowly, all senses scanning the horizon to make sure that it wasn't false hope. Or one last cruel trick. "It's allunravelling," It was a hoarse whisper of wonder. Phantom reached out for Avenger, almost giddy with relief, as she turned bright eyes up to him, "It's all being undone." She threw herself into his arms, her face buried against his chest. She could have cried with relief. Her desperate gamble had payed off and better than she could have even prayed for, "It worked. We won!"

"His father is one of the demon lords. The part that James is leaving out is that he was captured by his father, beaten and broken. He lasted a full week in hell before he succumbed to the corruption," Phantom volunteered quietly, "He was used as the weapon he was bred to be. James was also the one the who closed the gate. He was the only one who could." She raised her shoulders in a shrug and leaned her hands back against the grave marker only to frown as she encountered the snow on it. Frowning, she brushed the moisture from her hands as she added, "For whatever my word is worth, I vouch for James."

Alex sagged to the ground, the rocks that she'd been floating thudding down around her. She hung her head down, hands braced on the ground to keep herself from faceplanting into the mud. She'd never kept up such a prolonged psychic attack, never dreamed she could. It left her feeling about as lively as three day old kitten. "Someone should let Chris know we lived. Mark - I mean, Edge, could you radio in? I'm not sure I can even project past my nose right now," Alex admitted wearily. Her head pounded in time with her heartbeat and Alex was completely positive that she'd overdone it. She was also completely positive that it had been worth it. She sat on the muddy ground and tried to gather up enough energy to stand up and start the trek back to school. First step, standing.

Will save vs. Illusion. Magic, non infernal.

Taylor remained very quiet, although she flinched and blanched at intervals. Her hands never left her pockets, and her shoulders squared under the grueling onslaught. Sometimes it was better than her fears, sometimes wose. Eventually, she pulled one trembling hand from her pocket and rubbed her eyes. 'It will take me a long time to decide if that was a gift or a curse,' Taylor thought honestly, her lips flatening into a stark line, 'Either way, I'd appreciate you providing the same from my thoughts. It only seems fair. Time permitting.' She returned her hand to her pocket, gaze slipping down to the floor as she dredged up her own past. Peeling down to the memories that were hardest. The abadonment of her beloved brother to save a world was foremost in her thoughts but not the only weight, merely the most recent. Past a thousand refugees, each clamoring not to go back to whatever personal hell awaited them, and down to a sunny day in a park, with the streamers and balloons of a children's birthday, and a young girl's stark horror that she would lose them all again. Pale and shaky, Taylor inclined her head to the Scarab respectfully, before she retreated from the throne and collapsed bonelessly on one of the pillows, denim clad legs crossed over one end.

"Let me catch my breath first," Taylor protested laughingly to Jack. Once Grim finished her turn at the machine, Taylor let herself get pulled to her feet. A little breathless still as Doc dragged people up to dance with him, she was smoothing down her skirt when Grim headed up. As Taylor saw Grim coming, Grim's hug closed around the mystic's body rather than air and Taylor flashed her a sweet if slightly self concious smile, "Thank you. Really." She let herself be pulled away, catching up to Jack's long strides as she enquired, "What did you have in mind?"

It was basically identical to the first time that Taylor had arrived in the Lair. She'd thought the setting overdramatic and pretentious then, now it merely made her sad. She squeezed Jack's hand one last time before letting go to make her way up to the throne at the far end of the audience chamber. Taylor gave into the urge to scrub the sleeve of her sweater accross her face, although it wasn't going to do a thing about the redness around her eyes. Dressed in scrubby jeans and an oversize turtleneck sweater, she looked younger than usual and more vulnerable than she would have liked walking accross the hallway to Scarab's throne. She stopped at the base of the throne, thrusting her hands into her pockets as she tilted her face up to Scarab. Although still as youthful as the day Heshem had plucked her from the world, the recent trials and tribulations had left their marks in the faint bruising under her eyes that spoke of sleepless nights and a lingering sorrow in her dark brown eyes. 'Hello, Elena,' Taylor didn't bother to vocalize her words as she set about pulling down her usual mental defenses, 'If you don't mind, I'd rather go first.' And get it over with, really. Taylor didn't try to hide the thought from Elena, it would have been both ludicrous and insulting since she was leaving her mind open for the psychic, anyways. Not to mention, Elena knew how she felt about having her thoughts sorted through. It wasn't a judgement on Elena, so much as an extension of just how private a person Taylor was. The cloak of Phantom was just as much barrier between herself and the world as Scarab's armor. The barrier Taylor kept between herself and the world was a neccessary one. With her brother's recent capture, Taylor felt that even more keenly than usual. Despite her own emotional reservations, the mystic didn't hesitate as she methodically stripped her sheilds down to nothing and patiently waited for Scarab's examination.

Also, take an HP for the fiated unwilling dimensional movement attack.

"Then it's time," She reached up, pulling her facemask into place before tugging the hood up to shield her features. The white glow from Phantom's eyes cast eerie shadows from under her hood, "Take my hands." She extended gloved hands to both of them, encased in black leather. It was hard to say if it was the situation or Phantom's mood reflecting into the stark endless space, but the Void they traveled through seemed darker and colder than 'usual', it's brilliant flashes of light starker against the backdrop of space. Or perhaps that was merely in contrast with the sudden blast of heat and noise that crashed in on their senses as the Void gave way to hell itself. For a brief moment, they were standing in the archetypal hell-world, complete with brimstone smell and overwhelming heat. In the distance, there were pools of lava and the screaming of the damned. They only had a moment to look blink and adjust but as they dropped their linked hands, each was treated to that twisting, tearing sensation of transport once again. Before there was time to cry out, each hero found themselves deposited into a bare, four-walled room, with only one door on the far wall.

I didn't realize I didn't make an OOC thread until I needed to have folks make rolls In the interest of time, lets just get a few Will Saves: Phantom: (1d20:20+8=28)

"Aliens, of course! No wonderI didn't recognize them. I found them in the park, not too far from the apartment actually. They were up in a tree, oddly enough." Taylor looked vastly relieved that it was something out of her perview rather than a lack of knowledge. After not recognizing Jack as a vampire for so long, she was more than a little sensative to any gaps in her mystic knowledge. Swimming to the side of the pool, Taylor easily pulled herself out and grabbed up a towel that she quickly wrapped around her torso. She didn't want to leave wet footprints through the house that would just have to be cleaned up later. "Well, I can cast a spell to translate just about any language," She volunteered as she headed past Stesha and Derrick, onward to get the pizza, "But it doesn't change the fact that even a small planet would prove difficult to search. The dimensional trail was faint when I was there but I look for magic, not science. We could check the park again, I suppose. Stesha and I were sort of focused on rounding them up, not looking for clues." She headed through the house, leaving the trio outside do deal with the alien children while she paid for the pizza.

"I think its more about the fact that our outsider status makes us a little more understanding about each other's oddities," Taylor opinioned thoughtfully, pausing before she spoke, "Jack and I both think we could all work pretty well together as a team when the need arises. This conversation is really about what we need to do that. The last team we were on crumpled under the weight of several secrets. My particular duties tend to make me close-mouthed but I'm here to answer any questions persoanlly or professionally. We can't build the level of trust up in a day but we can get off on the right foot." Taylor chuckled, "Although its certainly easier for me to talk like this than as Phantom. I've played the role in costume for so long that its just second nature to be the taciturn mystic."

Taylor groaned but she was laughing as she pulled away, dimple flashing reluctantly in her cheek. She left her fingers tangled with his as they continued heading down the corridor, "That does not help disuade me from eloping. They love you at least, so that should go well. Unless you've just jinxed us." She pulled a face at him, "My mother was a tiny tyrant with my sister's wedding. I am not signing up for that."

"It was," Taylor agreed quietly, although she squeezed his fingers back to take the sting out of her words, "You've hidden so much from people for so long, it's just a mess to undo. I know why, I mean, I could have told Stesha. Maybe I should have, but every person who knows what you are could go after you." She lifted her shoulders in a rather miserable shrug, her gaze still downcast as they made their way through the grandiose hall. For once, Taylor didn't even look up at the Egyptain carvings she usually found fascinating. Taylor hesitated for a moment, before sharing the opinion she'd mentioned to Ace earlier, "Maybe we really should just elope. I just want one happy day. I know its tough. I know that we've really got the odds against us, but I just want the wedding to be one day where none of that matters."