Gizmo
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"Well, now I'm all glad I didn't put on the sexy spiderweb corset this morning," Jill drawled as Dragonfly pulled out her equipment and went about setting it up, ineffectively attempting to stifle a laugh as the petite inventor delivered a quick thump with her boot. "Sorry, that was just kinda cuuuuuoh my goodness, there's two of you." The healer placed one hand lightly on her chest as she blinked, looking back and forth between the pair. "And you're both- that's, uh- is this like that thing with the cat in the box?"
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Trevor returned the Doktor's courteous nod in kind as the guests moved inside, wondering for a moment whether it had been altogether wise to wear his inherited hat to an event so heavily attended by this particular demographic. The gregarious scientist either didn't make the connection to their brief collaboration over the Havok incident or was polite enough not to let on. The dark haired young man paused at the side of the doorway to turn to the Farettis. "Anything could be doing to help?" the soft spoken student inquired. He'd gotten the impression that his teacher's ceremony had been a bit rushed, and was no stranger to the organizational hurdles of formal affairs.
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"Little pressure's a good thing, yeah?" Jill grinned lopsidedly. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, anyway. And I get having trouble saying what you mean sometimes, too," she added with a commiserating sigh. Sometimes it felt like the only time she wasn't letting her mouth get ahead of her brain was when she was avoiding revealing anything at all. "Touché. At least I'm bending the laws of physics the traditional way!" the coltish teen laughed. "Go for it, now I'm all curious."
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As she stepped over the the car, Trevor let out a quiet breath of relief. On one hand, he'd known that it was going to be a difficult time for Erin regardless, and feeling like she had to keep up a strong front with him around only would have made things worse. On the other, rationalizing the need and accepting it on a gut level were two separate things, at least when it came to the auburn haired young woman. "Mmn. Some of the cars down there need a lot of work. Figured this would be fun."
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"I hear that," Jill agreed emphatically as she followed Dragonfly out of the elevator and through the hallway of the new floor. "'Living on your own terms'. Definitely an 'easier said than done' scenario, but the studying thing I've got down, at least." There was a weary note in the teen's voice, but it was mingled with enough self-aware humour to avoid coming across as bitterness. She moved about the office a bit, murmuring appreciatively at the view of the city before glancing over at the desk and pausing. "Wow, you really weren't kidding about that 'bending the laws of physics' thing, huh?"
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Trevor glanced over his shoulder as the elevated platform slid into place level with the garage floor, locking with a solid noise. "Seemed apropos," he confirmed. The car was indeed the same one they'd taken to the charity dinner several month previous. It had already been restored to working condition, unlike many of the vehicles in the chambers below, but could certainly still use the work. Looking back around, he gave Erin a more somber look. "Is everything... are you alright?" he asked slowly. He'd done his best to give her the space she needed during the season, but it had been a hard thing to do, knowing how difficult a time it was for her.
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"Knock knock, party people," a familiar voice called from the foyer as Erik Espadas stepped into the larger room, a large, white plastic bag balanced under each arm of his brown, wool lined coat. The young man appeared to be in unusually high spirits for his civilian identity, grinning broadly and looking around appreciatively at the decorations. "I come bearing copious amounts of Chinese take-out!" Close behind him, Ellie followed, arms equally laden with wrapped parcels stacked up to the flourish of red scarf peeking out the top of her black peacoat. "I can't believe you did that..." the teen sighed, shaking her head in chagrined embarrassment. The elder sibling scoffed. "It's called being culturally sensitive, hermanita," he insisted.
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Following Dragonfly into the elevator, Jill pursed her lips. "Pfft, you don't have to apologize, c'mon." She ginned ruefully as the elevator doors closed and they began moving downward. "Actually learning Latin is the sort of thing a legitimately crazy person would do, so s'flattering more than anything." Her expression grew more serious as her mouth set in a hard line. "I do okay, but I'm not super smart like you guys, so I have to work at it, right? Not going to wait around until somebody else says I'm ready to learn how to save lives."
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There was the sound of heavy pneumatics working within the garage for a few moments before the side door opened, spilling yellow fluorescent light into the snowy grey walkway. Erin had a moment to observe the classic limo rising up from below the floor on a broad platform before Trevor wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her inside and leaned down to kiss her, his thin lips warm against the lingering winter chill. Breaking away after a long moment, the young man's cheeks coloured slightly with soot hued blood as he offered her a small grin. "Sorry. Been waiting to do that for a while."
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"Hm? Ah, no, the Latin is for the medicine, actually!" Jill chuckled, tossing her cup in the receptacle located next to the elevator. "Textbooks, that sort of thing. I'm not really a... eugh, spellcaster? I guess? I'm still magic, apparently, but I control it the way other metahumans control fire or magnets whatever. Kinda cheaty, but." The younger woman shrugged, gloved palms upward. She'd begun doing some research into the specific nature of her abilities, but hadn't made much progress. Her brother was no help, and the few relevant books she'd found in the Claremont library had proven surprisingly temperamental.
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Trevor Hunter sauntered slowly down the rows of vehicles housed beneath his family estate in the grand series of subterranean chambers known as the Midnight Manor. Smoothed stone walls and floors mingled with elements of hardwood and marble in the cool dimness to create a unique atmosphere about the lean young man, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and faded jeans he didn't mind getting dirty. He'd arrived back from Chicago the evening before, his head feeling cleared after the long trip there and back, but the solitude of the road had only emphasized how much he'd missed seeing Erin over the holidays. Tuning up another of the extensive vehicle pool his grandfather had acquired over his time as the original Midnight seemed as good an excuse as any to remedy that. Now it was simply a matter of choosing one. Struck by a sudden thought, he made his way over to familiar old limousine, running his hand over the grill as he pulled the tarp from its roof.
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"Thanks," Jill repeated, this time more quietly, genuine gratitude colouring her voice as a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth despite her attempts at composed aloofness. "French? Oh, ah, no, actually. Like I said, papá cut out before I was born. Supposedly for our own good, but it's not like the evil wizards didn't try to kill us anyway and wow does that make me sound like a crazy person when I say it out loud," she grimaced wryly. "Anyway, spoke English and Spanish growing up, and I'm pretty good with Latin these days, but there wasn't anybody around to teach me French. Men, huh?"
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"Oh, hey, no, I'm fine! I mean, stuff happens, right? Whatever." Jill waved he free hand dismissively back and forth through the air in front of her quickly. Her cheeks coloured slightly in embarrassment, but her crimson mask and deep skin tone managed to conceal it well. "So. Thanks, still, but it's cool." The offer of assistance actually meant a lot to her, but she felt a irrational but insistent need to look good in front of the wildly successful technical genius.
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"Oh, ha. Well, I wouldn't have minded that much, but my brother tends to be a spazz about that stuff." She paused for a long moment before offering, "It was my dad, for me. Don't actually know the guy that well, but yeah. Long line of magic, French super-soldier types, apparently." She took one hand off of her cup to brush her black bangs away, ignoring them as they slipped passed the bandanna covered ear to land back in front of her eyes. "Still getting used to the whole 'powers' thing."
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"Bad day for breakout." Placing one foot back a step to steady himself, Midnight triggered the makeshift cannon, letting loose a torrent of daka radiation, the unleashed energies leaking into the visible spectrum with a blinding light. The beam struck the beast unerringly as it leapt after Wander and Edge, pumping it weakening rays into its flesh at several times the dosage of mere ambient exposure. His target stumbled as it landed, legs buckling. The creature tried to raise it's massive bulk, but under Midnight's assault instead collapsed clumsily into the crater, sliding helplessly down into the pile of gathered crystals. As its eyes fluttered, then closed again, the black clad vigilante finally released the firing stud on his weapon. "Have plans tonight."
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"Oh, you cannot," Jill scoffed out of hand without looking away from the medical equipment until realization slowly dawned. "...seriously? That's how you got your contact info on my phone! Snap." The coltish young woman rubbed the back of her masked head, bemused. "That... explains a lot, actually. Inherited, huh? Mom or dad?" Her tone had grow surprisingly sober and a little quieter, both hands cupping around her coffee as she leaned against the operating room's glass window.
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Jack blinked a few times, a little surprised by the nature of the invitation, and by Talya's suddenly earnest demeanor. "Well, hell, already dipped into the closet the old man left behind, might as well," he blustered nonchalantly with a small shrug. "And, ah, y'know. Might be nice, yeah?" he added more quietly, studiously looking elsewhere before coughing slightly and raising a warding finger as he asked, "Just to be clear, I'm not the one getting married right?"
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Jill was silent for a moment as she gave Dragonfly a sidelong glance. She hadn't been sure if she was imagining it in the elevator or not, but she'd definitely seen something going on behind the other girl's visor this time. "Hee, that thing your eyes do when you're concentrating is really, ah, neat," she finished lamely, covering with a longer pull on her coffee. "The power dampeners are probably a good idea, anyway," she continued quickly. "What if you had like a meta-parasite or something, right?"
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"The context is pretty much 'they make you not die'," Jill admitted, pausing to peer through a large glass window into a sterile room at the equipment within. "Looks like a lot of the stuff in there is automated, or at least remote control. Guess if you were dealing with a lot of question marks you'd want to keep stuff as quarantined as possible. Is that a teleporter, there?" she asked, pointing out a large cylindrical fixture on the ceiling.
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"Dios, swap 'punch' for 'stab' and you've just sundered my brother's entire life philosophy," Jill drawled, rolling her eyes. She hadn't missed Dragonfly's offhand reference to penance, but decided not to pursue it. "Expert? Guess I am. Huh." Despite her demonstrable skills, it was rare for her medical expertise to be recognized like that outside of academic testing. Standing a little straighter, she looked about the winding hallway as they walked. "Well, I like the floor design, anyway. Decontamination chambers, looks like, in front of all the ORs. Infection is always a huge concern. Having the testing equipment right there cuts down on the number of beds, but I'll bet it cuts down on diagnosis time, too."
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"Ugh, money. Yeah, that I get," Jill commiserated with a mild grimace, covering the look with another sip from her cup. "But, I mean, all this... it's good, y'know? You're successful, sure. Really, really successful. But you're using your gifts to help so many people at once. That's the really amazing part." Her cheeks coloured slightly as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes absently. "And I don't usually gush like this. Sorry. Just impressed, I guess."
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Jill covered her mouth with the back of her free hand as she coughed, nearly spitting up her mouthful of coffee at Dragonfly's sullen threat of moderate violence. "Heh. Don't mess with the boss lady, huh?" she managed as she caught her breath through a mix of sputtering and chuckling. "It's pretty nuts that you're one of the 'founders' of this place. I mean, just... wow. Impressive stuff. Obviously, like you need me to tell you." The coltish teen looked about the medical facilities, trying to take as much of it in as possible.
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"Wow, way to fill a gal with confidence there, Powergloves," Jill drawled as Dragonfly finished listing the variety of situation in which medical facilities would be useful. She found the shorter girl's stream of consciousness style of speech oddly endearing; it gave the impression of honesty, and you could practically hear the gears turning in the blonde's head. "Makes sense, honestly. I mean, Dok A alone is a total omni-discipline genius. Might as well go for broke and throw in the kitchen sink." It was exactly the sort of thing she wished more superhumans were doing rather than spending all their energy on fighting, necessary though it often proved to be.
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Jill raised her eyebrow over her bandanna mask, her interested piqued as she took a sip from her own cup. "Yeah? I thought you guys were mostly robots and ray guns and that kind of stuff." She raised her free hand to wave off her own statement. "Which is totally cool, still! Just not, y'know, my thing." Quietly clearing her throat, she smirked a little. "So, yes, I would love to see the med floors. Thank you."
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The sound of a motorcycle engine growing closer then turning off announced the arrival of another guest a little ways down the road. While this particular vehicle could have been whisper silent, its rider had decided that would be conspicuous enough to defeat the purpose of bright blue and chrome paint job currently disguising its surfaces. Dismounting, a young man in a subdued but obviously well tailored suit sauntered over to the church, hands in his pockets. A beaten black fedora sat low over tinted sunglasses, obscuring a considerable amount of his lean face as he inclined his chin briefly at Mark then Faretti and the baby. Giving the rest of the crowd waiting outside a glance, Trevor Hunter raised an eyebrow just over one oval lens. "Not allowed in?" he asked in a soft baritone.
