alderwitch

"Just be careful taking in refugees from the Terminus. You really don't want to get too many in the same location all at once," Taylor warned, after having listened intently, her fingertips still tracing circles on the wine glass. She smiled then, a corner of her mouth kicking up, "But it really has grown by leaps and bounds since then it sounds like. I didn't sense any sort of instability when I popped in but I can always take a look around if you get concerned, or ever notice anything odd. Well, odder than usual." Taylor added the last with a low laugh, rather sure that 'normal' for Sanctuary was a little left of what most people might consider typical. She shifted in her chair since Amaryllis had to take a nap in the near future, "If you need me to go..." She offered, the words trailing off before she cleared her throat. "It's really something what you've done. How far you've come. It was only a few years ago that you were just getting a start on your powers - remember the sweatshirt you started in at the very beginning? - And now, saving the worlds and working with the League.... and all while raising Ammy. You should be really proud Stesha. It's incredible."

"I don't think so," Taylor said after a long, quiet moment of searching through her memory to connect names and faces to people she might have tripped over in the past, "If I did, it was very brief and a long time ago, at least." Taylor set her half empty wine glass back down on the counter, watching Amaryllis continue to demolish her cheesecake with the sort of unfettered enthusiasm unique to small children, a small smile curving her lips. Her dark gaze transferred back to Stesha, clearly much more relaxed than when she'd first shown up penitent on Stesha's door step. "Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet them sooner than later. I feel woefully out of touch with the community these days - my own fault and I've always occupied the fringes even before we vanished...." Her voice trailed off and she circled one fingertip along the rim of the wineglass, her gaze dropping to the crimson liquid for a long moment. "It's a lot bigger than I remember it, your Sanctuary."

The fact that time continued to march on in Colt's home dimension, Taylor left unspoken but her expression was sympathetic. Hopefully the kids had inherited their mom's longevity but there was never any telling and doubtless, over the generations the fairy blood would be diluted. One hand came up to play with the pendant on its chain absently, her fingertips twisting the Eye of Heshem in what had always been a nervous gesture. She nodded agreeably with Lynn's choices and was mutely grateful for a change of subject. "Oh, I think I saw her when we came in," Taylor said as the disembodied voice floated over the racks. Her smile kicked up then at the correction that floated back, her cheeks dimpling, "I'll say a proper hello not bellowed over the bookstore, I think." Her gaze flickered over, once again mentally casting out her senses to ensure that, yes, the teenager was still back there looking for magic tomes. Oh, Taylor was well aware that he was off looking for magic books rather than light reading but in that, at least, she wasn't disapproving. The study of the mystery of cosmos was more or less mandated in their house hold. It was at the very least encouraged. "So, doing the super-hero thing now that you're back? How's that going?" Taylor added as they started to move towards the hidden voice. "How goes training the next generation?"

Chaos gods. Phantom really should have known better. She let out an undignified squeak that certainly sounded odd in her usually sepulchral tones. Her gloved elbow was warm under the leather and the cloak billowed out behind her. Phantom came to the conclusion rapidly that she had a very small list of options in dealing with this curveball. Really, she should have expected the curve ball but now it was too late. She could risk offending the pair of gods - very likely with their pantheon if she cried off from an invitation. Also, it would prove that she was too old and crochety for amusement parks which was hard to admit after all the ribbing. She could be drug through the park looking absurd in her costume. And distinctive. Or, she could go along willingly and hope that there weren't any more curveballs ahead. "I am sure my humanity is not in a corndog." It was the same voice but without the commanding boom of Phantom's tones. The leather under Set's fingertips faded like so much mist as the costume became shadow that was quickly sucked into her amulet before they stepped foot back onto the fair grounds, leaving her holding onto a bare arm as without her costume, Phantom had dressed for summer days. Without the cloak and cowl, she was a small woman with distinctly asiatic features and her sleek black hair pulled back into a simple pony tail. She blended in much better this way with the crowd and tugged along by Set, especially as she didn't appear all that much older in her shorts and tank top. Except for the Eye that remained a glittering dark presence at her throat and the worn wedding band on her finger, Phantom could have been any college student out visiting the amusement park with friends. She cast Sekhmet a look of mute commiseration at the plans to introduce her to corn dogs, "They're not good. The funnel cake is better. At least, it used to be." In for a penny.

"Hmmm," That was a noise that Stesha usually heard from Taylor when she was all cloak and cowled up and trying to temporize about mystical anomalies that may or may not try to eat their faces. It had a definitely different timber when it was just Taylor making the noise. Taylor was trying very hard to walk the line between 'normal human relationships' and not tromping on the very strongly held opinions her spouse had of his business, especially his vampire business, being talked about. She finally settled on, "Whatever problems there might be with his absence and return, I don't think its anything Jack can't handle." Which, really, covered an unfortunately large swath of territory. Taylor's voice was apologetic then as she added, "Jack's always been touchy about discussing the vampire side of things and that's not changed much. We don't always see eye to eye about it, but I'm not a vampire so..." She spread her hands wide then in a seated version of a shrug. Taylor, after all, had expressed more than once to her spouse that she thought he'd be better getting out of vampire politics all together. "We are all adjusting." Taylor's dimples flashed then, "You would be JJ's most favorite person, I think, if we did that. He's infatuated with all things super-hero at the moment. We watch a lot of the old cartoons and, well, he knows his parents are superheroes although I think he thinks its a lot more 'pow!' 'zorch!' than the way I work. Though, I imagine my heavily edited bed time tails of exploits of all of us probably hasn't helped that comparison." She gave a little 'what can you do' shrug and then brightened. "So, how is working for the League?"

Phantom lifted one hand up, touching the glittering gem at the hollow of her throat and from that drew the shadows that coiled around her fingertips into a proper mask as she slid them over her face before removing her hat. It wasn't the full cloak and cowl, but it would offer some privacy from those she didn't know while still largely wearing her civvies. As she did so, her body shifted, turning ephemeral and ghostly although she still 'stood' there on the ground in booted feet. Complicated. Things were always so very complicated. "I wasn't here to offer any sort of warning - at least it wasn't my plan. I've been... away for a while and there are a few cross dimensional entities that have more potential of, hmm, how would I put this... hrm." Phantom was clearly trying to find some way of putting more esoteric terms into layman's words. "...Static. Dimensional noise, if you will. When I noticed the anomaly, I came over to investigate. I hadn't intended to disturb you or your companion." That was said with, again, a curious, thoughtful glance to Aquaria before that same curious look travelled to Indira, as her head tipped to the side, "I did not count on being noticed by your compatriots." Was Phantom the sort to lurk and scan people for mystic problems without even saying 'hello'? Why, yes. Yes, she was. "I am truly apologetic if I caused alarm. It wasn't my intent."

But its her... SECRET ORIGIN And, yay! One down!

Phantom stiffened, slightly but perceptibly for those who were inclined to notice such things. That she was protective of that knowledge was an understatement to say the least and she was surprised that Jessie was aware of it. Her assumption, at the moment, was that it had been mentioned to Jessie by her dimensional counterpart but it was certainly not knowledge that she was expecting the young woman to have. For a moment, the shadows under her hat shifted, showing wide brown eyes before she tipped her head again and the shadows settled. "I do usually wear a purple cloak. But as you were doing mundane things in mundane clothes, it seemed like that would be less appreciated so I dressed down," She agreed, leaving the topic of her offspring untouched and hopefully, quickly forgotten. "And no, she didn't. I've been circling through checking up on Freedom Cities non-natives as I've been, ah, otherwise occupied and its good to know if any problems are cropping up. Lay of the land." Her head tipped to the side then, the curve of her jaw showing below the wide brim of her hat and her gaze moved from young woman to young woman, "I'm not actually trying to be overly cryptic - despite rumors to the contrary - but we are standing in the frozen foods aisle of a supermarket that I imagine will become a regular place that you go and I really am trying not to make that more difficult for you in the future." At least having a child had made Phantom more sympathetic in trying to keep their secret identity untainted. "Neither stealth or duplicity are strong suites of mine."

Taylor's expression of alarm grew as Grim talked until it turned to one of horror as the tears started. Taylor loathed crying in front of other people. Emotional vulnerability was so very much not her strong suite but she reached out hesitantly to give Grim's shoulder an awkward couple of pats. "Oh, hey. It's okay," She offered, her voice dropping as she continued to stand there, giving Grim's shoulder what she hoped were soothing pats even as her gaze scanned the store for someone that might be better suited to comforting the upset pixie. Alas, no one materialized so she continued onward valiantly. "Look, everyone deals with things their own way... It's normal to want to protect your kids and being, well, what we are - we probably see more bad guys than most but just because they need a little more room doesn't mean they're rejecting you or anything." Taylor offered a hesitant smile, "With Colt's - Bill's - death, its pretty normal to wrap yourself up in the kids. I'm sure all they want is for you to be happy again, you know, find a life again after your spouse rather than burying yourself in them instead. It's just because they love you." Those were all guesses on Taylor's part as she'd never met any of the children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren in question but she hoped she was somewhere in the right ballpark. "And it seems like you're doing that here with the bookstore... right?"

Unbeknownst to Nighthawk, her mother was actually an exile from the Hyperborea that had struck out from her people to see the great world and discovered she would rather live a simple life in Freedom City than with all the splendors that the Arctic had to offer. The 'robbers' were Serpent People and Nighthawk has no knowledge of her mother's ancestry. She assumes her strength and speed come from devotion and training. She's wrong, but she's only sixteen.

Lost but not forgotten - Fox Phantom She needs a fluff update, adding the blurb below to replace the last paragraph of her history: Adjust knowledge skills to max Arcane and Cosmology [5 PP] Adjust Super Senses from existing to: [2 PP Spent Total]Super Senses [Magic Awareness(mental)] [3] Super Senses [Dimensional Awareness(mental)] [1] Super Senses [Mental; Ranged] [1] Adjust Super Sense power within her array from existing to: [0 PP Spent]Super Senses [All Mental Senses: Accurate(4), Acute(2), Anlytical(2), Counters Concealment(2), Counters Illusion(2), Counters Obscure(5), Extended {Five Mile Increments}(5), Penetrates Concealment(4), Radius(2), Rapidx12{Search full area in normal time}(24), Tracking all-out(3)] {55} And since EP is no longer in Joint HQ, spent as following (4 ranks for 20 EP): The full sheet in the spoiler below:

"You're right. You're closer to human than I am now." Phantom's response came, her features unchanged at least from what little could be seen of her mask and with its unnatural echo, her voice was usually more difficult to read but these two were used to voices that didn't touch the range of human. It sounded, perhaps, a little tired. Maybe even a little sad, "I was mortal once but it's a memory - one that grows ever more distant. That was the choice I made. Very different, I think, from yours." "All that I've said is that it is hard to choose. Remember, Set, I know of the laws that bind your kind. Those are a more heavy burden when you care for those that are not - cannot - be what you are. You might be closer to mortal at the moment but you are not mortal. Eventually, that will catch up to both of you. I have expressed no doubts in your capacity to be a hero - indeed, I believe you capable - only that I hope the price that you pay is not too high a cost." Phantom had expected the anger and defiance in a way. Why she thought these teenagers might listen when she couldn't even manage that with the one at home, Phantom had no idea. Silently she extended one gloved hand, fingertip out towards them. At the tip, a card appeared, fluttering down to the ground slowly. "If you have no use for my concerns, then I offer this instead. I have little doubt that I would be the last person called on but I know of a few young magi who are just as passionate about proving themselves and perhaps, if you do find yourself in the sort of trouble that you need more than your stalwart companion's aid..." Phantom inclined her head then to the figure of Sekhmet then, "... and before I must step in in a more... official capacity." On the card was the sigil of a snake eating its own tail on one side and held Ouroboros' number on the back without any further writing. Personally, Phantom found the very idea of a calling card absurd, and it seemed overly cryptic and dramatic in her opinion to have had them printed in the first place but since Huang had them, she might as well give one out rather than just write the number down on scratch paper. She, of course, had summoned one from Huang's messy desk in the Void. Phantom was reasonably sure that putting her son and these teen gods in direct communication was one of her absolute worst ideas but she didn't think, somehow, that Set would ever contact her before things had well and truly hit the fan. Sekhmet might. There was that slim hope, but... Huang was ever on about how she should just 'trust him'.

"It's a little surreal, honestly. It's not the life I pictured," Taylor admitted, her gaze still straying towards where Huang had disappeared, automatically reaching for the sixth sense that told her that he hadn't blipped out when turning the corner. It wasn't an idyllic life, honestly. Taylor was still herself and Jack was still himself and, although she loved the man to all distraction - and was confident in its return, their life wasn't without its ups and downs. There was laughter in the Farretti household, but arguments too, and the constant worry about how people might react to the kids was never all that far from Taylor's mind. "We've been tucked away for the last year because, you know..." Demons. Or possibly vampires. Or perhaps a cultist. Pick any of the above threats. "It's always something. But the kids need some structure. School, all of that!" Taylor added, turning the question away from Jack, not because things weren't well but the Farrettis had always been rather private about their relationship, especially considering some of the early reactions to their union. The slight smile, however, was a contented one and the touch that lingered on her wedding ring was affectionate, rather than wistful before she dropped her hands to her side once more and tucked her hands into her jean pockets. "But it's a good sort of surreal. That's quite the extended family. Are any of them on Prime?" That might have been a loaded question, considering what Phantom did, but Taylor seemed relaxed as she asked it, certainly much more interested friend then scowling inter-dimensional cop.

"Huang, don't just... I'm sorry," She gave up on talking after the lanky teen as he vanished, apologizing for his manners. "I swear he has better manners than that. He's just mad at me today. Well, in general at the moment." Having apologized for her moody offspring, she turned back to Lynn with a light laugh at the last question. She had totally ignored the poor clerk, indeed. Normally, Taylor was more polite but with the chance to catch up with an old friend, she'd unintentionally shut the young woman out. Unaware of the unintentional slight, she turned a dimpled smile to Lynn, "We're still married, still together. Trust me, it takes a united force to deal with that." She gave a little wave of her hand towards Huang's wake and gave Lynn her full attention, "Despite all the odds, we're good. Jack's good. He's not exactly retired but between his, ah, political efforts and being a father, he's not keeping up with his former night life as much these days. I can sometimes coax him out for an adventure but he has a lot of demand on his time. We both do. Maybe when the kids are a little older." Taylor's tone turned a little wistful, her fingertips twisting the wedding band on her ring finger absently. She had fond memories of their days dealing with Freedom City's underbelly and missed those, in many ways, simpler days but his vampiric duties weren't exactly the sort of thing one stepped away from. "But he's good, over all. Just busy." Moving the topic away from her family, she offered a small, sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry to hear that about Colt. That can't be easy, I know. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope those decades were happy ones." At least of all people, Taylor was not going to blink an eye about having lived a full life in a different dimension, and could understand what it was to outlive a mortal life span, even if her immediate family were all like Taylor, un-aging.

"Maybe you can find something for your dorm room while we're here," Taylor suggested, a smile dimpling her cheeks with obvious maternal affection as the lanky teen shot past her to begin perusing the books. Teenagers, you had to love them because they couldn't just be smothered in their sleep. Especially this teenager as like his parents, he had no need of oxygen. "Nothing infernal, though." Taylor added that last, probably to rolled eyes when she turned her attention to Lynn and her question for Huang. Her dimples flashed again, "Well, yes, and no. He's going by his middle name, Huang, at the moment and he's had a time skip forward. JJ is still only five and is at home with Jack. So, I, more or less ended up with twins that are about ten years apart. Because of course I did. Doesn't he look like his dad?" Taylor offered Lynn the short, short version, glancing over at the teenager in question before her gaze went back to Lynn and took in the latest changes. She offered a friendly smile, "You look great! How have you been, Lynn?"

Phantom glanced up about the comment about her scent, seeming perhaps startled before she glanced down at herself almost reflexively. She sighed, it was a hollow, rattling sound, more suitable for a haunted horror movie. "My name is Phantom." She offered, briefly bemused that even her kinder, gentler tactics were about to get her whacked. Still, Jessie's 'sister' had watched JJ during one of the worst periods of Phantom's life so she felt as if her inter dimensional twin certainly deserved a bit more than the usual professional courtesy. "And I know your, ah, 'twin'," she hesitated there, the pause clear before she settled on a word of choice. "If you'd like to call her while I'm getting the lobster..." She let the offer hang, fairly confident she could find them again even if there was bolting going on, her dark gaze taking in the surrounding environments as well thoughtfully, "Because your friend here probably has the right idea about checking out sooner than later if you're looking to avoid attention being drawn."

Phantom's hovering lowered to the ground until her booted feet touched down, her cloak spread out around her on the ground. Standing, even in her boots, Phantom was only a little over five feet. The cloak really added volume to her presence that deflated somewhat when it was no longer writhing around her. She fixed Set with her burning gaze and she would have the sensation of her words being silently weighed. So young. They are so, so young. Internally, however, as Set's posturing deflated, she reminded Phantom of her son's would be defiance to be the sort of hero his parents were - and some of his despair of never measuring up. It was that memory that finally softened the echo of her voice to something that was at least not booming, "It takes more than combat to walk the path that Horus the Avenger took before you. It takes a dedication and a depth of understanding of what it takes to be a hero that one can learn only over time." Phantom sighed, the sound soft and echoing. "Hero - or god - be careful how you use your platforms to talk to people. For the gods that abandon their godhead to serve mortal and heroic - it is a delicate path that most of those born mortal don't share. And won't understand entirely." Apparently plain speaking had gained Set a measure of respect from the cowled figure in front of them. "You may one day find yourself torn between those two worlds. It is not easy. For that, I am sorry."

Phantom gave Set a truly disgruntled look, both mollified and infinitely disturbed by the backhanded compliment about her legs even if there was another 'old' crack buried in there. Trickster gods, man. They were always - always - a pain in the ass. She sighed and it was purely for effect since she clearly didn't need to draw in air to even speak but, since there was one polite goddess there, Phantom would deal with that one first. She was not unaware of the history of the Egyptian gods nor their legends. "I bid you welcome and greeting, Oh /Mistress of Dread/," Phantom's command of Egyptian was as flawless as her English and she gave the title its proper due in old Egyptian, lifting one hand in front of her chest in respect, "Your compatriot, unsurprisingly, bends the terms of the Pact which does not bar your presence - although it is frowned on - but it is a thin line between worshipers and followers. A matter, which if it should prove... problematic becomes my domain to see dealt with." The fact that Set had made contact with tens of thousands of mortals made Phantom cranky, even more so since it was a decidedly grey area. As a keeper of the balance, grey areas were a perpetual headache. Having dealt with Sehkmet with respect, she turned her gaze to Set and took in the facsimile of her boots on her posing form. "You might be surprised what sort of benefits my costume has provided in the past. It is not without its uses. Or advantages." There was a flash of white teeth under the hood of the cloak. Was that a joke? Humor? Perhaps even innuendo? Who knew. Before she gave Set time to parse her words, Phantom's voice echoed once more, "I do not take issue with your need for attention. I expect it from gods. But what you do with that devotion is a matter of more concern. My concern. It should be yours as well."

"You never know what the future holds," Taylor said, keeping things vague in honor of the giggling Amaryllis, but her look was meaningful. Stesha was young, there was no reason she should give up on the family and life that she wanted just because things had ended badly with Dark Star. She smiled slightly at the little girl, adding, "She's gotten so big too. I alway pictured JJ and Ammy playing together as they grew up. Well, once we got the biting thing under control. Other than that, he's always been a real little charmer." Once Stesha's coughs had subsided, offered, "Well our schedule is wide open until school starts so when ever you'd like, I'm happy to come by. You can come visit us or we can meet some place else." Taylor offered, trying to make it as easy as possible. She was still feeling guilty and likely would for some time where her few friends were concerned. "JJ's very much into the Centurion and the old heroes right now. Lots of running around the house with crashing noises and everything on his bedding is all blue and gold. He's got this adorable little lisp but does not like when it's mentioned. At all." Taylor's features lit up with real pleasure at mentioning her kids, her affection obvious.

...Why you little...I don't even turn thirty until later this year!! It was perhaps... not the best of things to have said to Phantom - too reminiscent of her latest struggles with a surly teenager that she often felt under equipped to handle. There was a glint of warning from the eye at Phantom's throat, a flash of eldritch light along the dark surface of the eye of Heshem, almost as if the closed eye squinted open. There was a soft creak of leather as Phantom's hands tightened into fists. It was not unlike the quiet before the storm. "I understand how the internet works, godling," Phantom said through clenched teeth, her body flickering like a picture with bad static, too furious to stay anchored for any length of time as she flickered between insubstantial and solid. "I have come to talk to you about your use of it and the body of followers you have gained. It is not impossible to draw power from worshipers, even through a different medium. I have come to see if you intend to violate the pact." She glowered from beneath her cowl, her next words almost hopeful, "But if you don't want to have a civil discussion there are always... other methods."

"I think its a risk of being a very loved only child," Taylor said with a small smile that showed the dimples in her cheeks as she, too, looked at Stesha's sweet-faced daughter. It was a very different reason than hers for seeking out Nicholson. JJ very much had the sort of powers that could be problematic for a normal sort of school experience. Her thoughts going to her young son, Taylor added, "We could set up a few play dates with Ammy and JJ so she'd know someone there by the time she went. JJ doesn't really have any friends his own age with the way we've been living the last few years. Actually... Huang doesn't either." Taylor frowned, "Although he's got a pair of entities that he's summoned that he calls friends but its really not the same thing at all." She gave a shake of her head, "You have a year to prepare her for the potential jump and to think it over. For JJ, it's really been that he needs to make friends with people in an environment that's capable of handling his quirks. And not panicking when he runs into the Void."

"Ahhh..." Taylor temporized, "Largely." In that JJ had stopped biting when hungry but resorted to it when frightened or feeling threatened - or needing to display his dominance. "JJ's starting Nicholson this year and they've assured me they can handle what he's capable of. I'm still uneasy about sending him off to school. Honestly, I'll probably spend the first day lurking around the edges in my car just in case." Taylor admitted that and took a sip of wine before she pointed out, "You know, some schools of thought think its better if your child isn't in a school that you teach or take part in. It means that you don't have to ever feel like you have to play both roles. I mean, its nothing I've had personal experience but I've read a lot of books about parenting lately. So many books about parenting. I swear, someone should write one for parents with powers." She pulled her plate over and began to pick at her own slice of cake, giving a shrug of one of her shoulders, "Or you could contact Nicholson and put together an exchange program. I mean, we're a small community and chances are good that all the kids are going to need to know about both worlds. Maybe you can set up something so students spend part time in both schools. Like a sister school thing."

"Well, he wasn't really living alone before so much as lurking in his lair in the void and sneaking out in the middle of the night to raid the fridge." Life of a teenage dhampir right there. Taylor gave a small smile of thanks as her wine glass was refilled and pulled it back towards her chest. She sighed, about to go on when Ammy burst back into the room. Taylor couldn't help but smile at that, "I really like your wings, Ammy. They're very pretty." Taylor watched with amusement as the girl claimed her slice of cake and added, "We're sending him to Claremont - which is partially why we're back. He's going to Claremont and JJ's going to kindergarten. It makes Jack nervous - me too, honestly - but what can I do? Huang - JJ the elder - is so mad about it. He thinks its some sort of punishment, or that we're sending him away. It's a bit of a disaster." She turned slightly, including Ammy in the conversation, "What about you, honey, are you in pre-school these days? I'm Taylor, I'm an old friend of your mothers. It's nice to meet you again."

Phantom made an annoyed noise as the gods shifted and turned towards the other direction, "Always with the running..." Still, it was better than outrage, Phantom supposed. She turned her head, nonplussed to watch as they vaulted over the fence, with the long shadows her cowl cost keeping her face in shadows but for the firm set of her mouth. It seemed like she was unaware of the panic of the crowd until she raised one hand, and with a gesture righted a patron that had fell down in their effort to escape, "Please return to your festivities. There is nothing to be alarmed over." Phantom's dubiously comforting words rumbled through the air as she floated after towards where Sekhmet went to make her stand, passing ephemeral through the chain link before she floated up to be eye to eye with the reincarnated Egyptian gods, hovering like a baleful specter as the clouds rumbled with the warning of Set's power. Eyeing the gods once she folded her arms in front of her chest, "So. Would you care to explain your cult?" Her scowl deepened and she boomed, "On the twitter!"