alderwitch

Alex came around, she was prepared for this part and dutifully pointed out the numbers, "Well, I did get the lion's share of the fortunate too," Alex pointed out with a quick grin. It was true, she was impossibly wealthy thanks to her lucrative corporation. "I gave you a small percentage and I even kept it completely in line with other comparable start ups, just a small percentage that vested when we rolled it into AEON. Both you and James were given the same amount and the option to roll it over or cash it out at the merger." Alex beamed at that, "But when you did, you had stock in AEON which went up like crazy practically over night and now those shares instead of being worth pennies on the dollar are quite worth while. I promise, it is entirely legitimate. The only thing I kind of cheated on, was I didn't give you a chance to turn it down because I knew it was a gamble that was going to pay out." Her smile faltered then and she sighed, "Which I really do feel guilty over but I wanted it to be sort of a surprise. Also, I was afraid you'd say no if I laid it out all ahead of time. So, happy graduation?" Alex looked up at her hopefully.

"Sort of. It's actually yours. You remember when we started AEON, well, the stock trading company that became AEON? And I said part of your wages was a buy in to the company?" Alex said, shifting slightly on her sneakered toes. She looked away and cleared her throat before thrusting the portfolio out to Erin. It was something she'd recognize as Erin's work in the company had involved buying and selling the stocks that Alex had laid out. "Well, here. I rolled it into AEON, so here's the shares you have and I jotted down what they're worth. It's conservative with the current market fluctuations. I was going to cash you out...." Alex looked up, entirely embarrassed, "But I was afraid you'd think it was charity if I didn't have all the paperwork to show that it IS yours. I waited until now, well, because I thought that after graduation you'd know what you wanted to do with it. It's more than enough to go to college or get a place of your own, if that's what you wanted. It's... you know. A nest egg. And you earned it all. I just held onto it for you."

"Mike's settling in at the fire-house. He's out to all of his bunk mates and that... was nerve wracking for him but he's loving it. He' s in his element getting trained. I don't know if it will be what he ends up doing, but it's been good for him," Alex smiled, the expression softening as she talked about her fiance. Her gaze flicked up to Erin's hair and her expression brightened, "I love that. It's really cute. It makes you look older, but in a good way." She stepped back and shifted the paperwork to the front of her chest carefully, her expression just a bit nervous. "I, uhm, have a present for you. A graduation present." Alex looked briefly guilty which was an uncommon expression to filter across her face. She knew that she'd been sneaky about this, even if she'd skirted outright deceit.

Thank you, Doc! I am still getting everything straight!

Wander and Psyche go visit Blackstone and Singularity. Before ArcheEvil I think?

Now, while Alex had been genuinely busy - running a corporation, planning a wedding and tackling post-college course work WAS a full workload - she'd put off this particular visit deliberately. Oh, it wasn't the first leg to visit Erin that she had quietly been dreading. No, her available hang-out time had been genuinely eaten into by countless obligations. The second leg, to visit Erin's alter-ego in prison - that was not a visit Alex had ever wanted to take. She had hoped, despite the odds, that one of the other counselors could undo the machinations of Pathos. Really, it would have been better for Singularity herself as Alex's visible appearance was not one that was going to help at all, but so far no one had made any significant headway. Alex wasn't surprised, but she was saddened. She looked not much different than she had at graduation when she knocked on the door of the manor Erin was sharing with her boyfriend. Her bright red hair was pulled back in a simple tail that made her look younger and for once she wasn't dressed for the office. No, it was Old Alex, with her brightly colored clashing sneakers and tank top, a light jacket covering her slim shoulders. The only jewelry she wore was the bright engagement ring and as a nod to adult hood, small hoops in her ears. In her off hand, she held a simple closed portfolio and the smile she gave Erin when the door opened was bright and beaming, despite the faint shadows under her eyes. Alex had been burning the midnight oil a lot lately. "Erin! I'm sorry that it took a necessary errand to get me to come visit but how are you?" Alex started talking the moment the door was open. She'd already knew who was on the other side, of course.

For Phantom, finding the locus of the problems was easy. It was a pulsing wound on the fabric reality and even had it not been personal, she would have been drawn there by the weight of the jewel around her throat. The guardian of the dimensions would be on the forefront of this battle no matter what. The fact that it was a one-time friend, the fact that her home, her child, had been targets and only the warning given at speed of thought had prevented that... Oh, it was so very personal. In a crack of eldritch lightning, reality parted and the long folds of Phantom's cloak unfolded from the Void itself, not at the forefront of the battle but high where Scarab's astral presence was floating. She'd already dropped Avenger off to deal with the physicality of the assault. She would be more effective undoing the twists of magic and insanity that had brought this monstrosity to be. Rage crackled off of her psyche, dancing along her skin like the lightening she called but it was cold, controlled and boundless. Like Avenger, she did not handle threats to her home or family well. Your mystical knowledge is formidable, my friend, but I think in this task we can be of aid to each other, Phantom didn't bother speaking aloud but she did extend her ephemeral hand towards the Scarab in silent offer of combining her powers with the psychic.

Taylor opened the doors of the church to stick her head out, obviously looking for her husband and son but she smiled bright enough to flash her dimples at the assembled guests. Her hair was still down which meant she'd decided to check on her family and any possible.... antics before she sat down to get her hair twisted up. The silvery skirts swished around her legs as she stepped out. Petite, her voice was surprisingly husky as she added her welcome to Jack's. "Yes, please come inside if you'd like. Hello, everyone. I thought I'd see how our contingent was doing." She stepped out to smile and offer greetings to those she know, and still polite but less warm ones to the ones she didn't. The glittering Eye at her throat didn't exactly go with the dress but sometimes, exceptions had to be made. Taylor leaned into tickle her son and press a quick kiss to Jack's cheek in the process as she murmured almost without moving her lips, "Are you really going to sit out here the *entire* time?" Before she straightened slightly. "I should get back into Stesha and help with all the last minute things in just a second or two."

"Because you can't wear jeans to a wedding, silly boy. At least not one that's not held in a backyard." Talya responded with a slight smile, lifting her hand as well to raise it in farewell to Jack's mother. She turned to face him, tossing her bangs out of her face with a quick tilt of her chin so that both bright blue eyes sparkled at him. She wore less makeup than usual and it made her look younger. Talya had a tendency to use dramatic bold colors to make the angles of her features stand out. Tonight, however, the touch was softer and the age she'd been frozen at less masked than usual. "It seems only fair. We have rules, you and I. Our relationship - whatever it is - is with masks and rooftops. I broke those rules tonight and I always pay my debts. So, if you'd like, you have an invitation to join me to my event tonight. There's no case, no thieves or heroes. I have an old promise to keep and you're welcome to join me. But we do have to hurry if you're along for the ride as I'm running just a touch late."

It took no more thought to hold the portal than stepping through the worlds did. Phantom took one last lingering glance through as, really, there hadn't been nearly enough destruction to make her feel that the job was well and truely done, but they could always come back. She closed the portal once she was certain the last bees were through and floated down to solidify on the ground below. She came up behind Stesha, having noticed her moment of wavering after they exited and shot her a look of concern, although it was probably hard to see in the shadows of her hood and behind her mask.

"Well, he's a superhero, something awful is bound to happen to him eventually," Alex pointed out with world-weary truth in her tone, "But that's the life we all picked, or was picked for us. It really doesn't matter. Bad things are going to happen and so are wonderful things. All we can ever do is try and stop the bad and enjoy the good, that's all anyone can do. But, we're superheroes. We've got kinda the advantage on changing fate. I mean, we get to hang out with kings and gods and angels. We can change the world. Only a fool is unafraid but you can't let it choke you in life any more than you can in a fight, cuz, really, it's the same thing, different scale."

Can I get a mind reading attempt on the creature? Its perception ranged.

"Well, wherever they put it, it's up to us to slow it down." Psyche said, her voice a little higher pitched than usual but steady enough. "I don't think it's possible to talk sense into it, but I'll see what I can do. If not, maybe I can stun it to give you all an advantage. Edge, why don't you shore up the ground. Wander, Phalanx.... you know what to do." Psyche suggested, turning to Edge to give the go-ahead for the assault before she turned her attention to trying to see if the creature even had a mind to touch in the first place.

"We're a lot stronger than you give us credit for," was all Alex said but she let the subject drop, having anticipated this answer but made the offer anyways. "And you do him a disservice by thinking that you are less than he deserves. He might not be as tough or as showy as the rest of us, but he's capable of making his own calls on things. That includes loving you and the best thing to do - the smart thing to do - is realize that love freely given is the sort of gift that you just accept and are grateful for." She turned towards Erin and shrugged her shoulders, "If he wants to love you, let him. He sees a lot more than you think he does. You know I'm going to tell you that he's the one who's lucky to have you but more than that, you really don't want to make choices for him. Look, I'm a billion times smarter than Mike. I probably would always make the better choice but I don't have the right to take that away from him. It's the same thing, just because you think he deserves better, he still should be able to choose you. And he is going to choose you."

Alex pointed her finger at the pillow like a gun, punching it up into the middle of the ones she was juggling as she went quiet. Alex rarely went quiet and when she did, it meant she was weighing options in her mind. "I could show him." Alex said finally after a moment of thought. She 'tossed' the pillows up to the top of the bed again and turned to look at Erin, "You know how I don't forget things. I... I know enough of your dreams that I could making a waking dream. Show him your world as it was. A bit like a danger room scenario. All illusions. I'd do it, if you wanted. I think you're ready to look back into it but that's a call only you can make. But if you want me to, and he agrees, I can show him what life was like for you."

Phantom +5 to Will save for a +16 Bombshell Add: Staggered (1/round) [4 PP] to regen. DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN

She watched him for a moment or two, but seemed to take his vow very seriously so, after a very tense moment, she nodded, "Very well, Corbin, we will go get... pizza. We will get pizza and you will take me to see the romantic comedy. I would like to do this thing." Quo-Dis smiled at him, "And if that goes well, perhaps we can speak of study-dates as well. But first, we should do something outside of school, I think. Yes?"

"Who says the chase ends with a kiss," Bombshell teased in response, letting her head tilt back as he ran fingers through the heavy locks. "Personally, I think this means the best part is just starting." She ran her fingertips down his shirt and straightened his tie with a soft touch of fingertips, glancing down at his waitstaff disguise as she quipped, "I've always had a weakness for a man in uniform."

"You're over thinking things," Alex said without a trace of irony in her tone. She began to float pillows up, bouncing them into the air with a light telekinetic touch as she tried to see just how many she could keep up while she chatted with Erin. "I mean, you just go at your pace and either he can handle that or he can't. If he can't, then it's better that things end then because someone who really loves you can wait, well, forever. I should know. It's really hard to not push at Mike because I can tell what he wants but it's important to him to wait. So, we wait. I think Trevor can wait until you're ready. He loves you and he's the patient sort."

Psyche flung her hands up without a second thought, the glittering pink that constantly surrounded her spreading out a heart beat after Edge's to form a glowing sphere. She was looking right into the fire as it washed over them, held at bay. Except for her mental might, the tiny heroine was human in most basic regards so she winced and squinted at the deafening noise. "I can't hear anything. Phalanx, relay, please." She called over the noise, putting the power of her projection behind it to Phalanx as she firmed up the concentration to take over the shield as she reached one gloved hand for Edge's to better mesh her powers with his. "Avalanche, incoming. Phalanx! Edge, can you give him a gap to punch out of? We need him airborne."

So close! 1d20+2=20

"More or less, served their time," Talya agreed, her eyes twinkling at that with utter amusement, "I will admit that I took more 'day trips' than was perhaps an acceptable average but I did always return in time for lights-out. Considering my trial was a sham, I rather thought it ended up a fair trade." She turned that laughing smile up to Jack, "And you really should make sure you stay in touch. Cell phones. They really are a wonder. I never leave home without mine. Sometimes its hard to find a place to put it never let it be said that I am not creative."

"Sage advice is sort of my thing," Taylor teased and tucked the baby against her shoulder as he started to drowse. "And, I should probably get this little guy home before he starts towards meltdown mode. It's been a busy day and the sun wears him out quickly. But, if you do need help, call me. In the meanwhile, Jack and I will think of who we can suggest for aid. I'll toss a bit of scrying out there just on the off chance I luck out but I don't think he's going to be anywhere in my range."

Alex's eyes crinkled up at the corners as she smiled but told Erin, "You know I don't give out details. I really do try not to peek... I mean, would you want me telling Trevor what you were thinking?" Alex teased, arching her eyebrows high in question but she did reach out a reassuring hand to squeeze Erin's gently. "I'll just say this, you have rattled his focus. It was very cute, very sweet and very, very not platonic."

"We'll leave directly. As to how," Phantom floated up to make the wide portal that would serve as a door between this world and the other. Transport was something that came easily to the dimensionally empowered mystic and it took but a second to toss her cloak wide and transform its folds into a huge shimmering portal to the place that Stesha called home. She glanced down at the pile of leaves, giving Stesha a vague shrug as if to say that was all her call. Phantom had already tossed her bid in for immolation.