Gizmo
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Jack of all Blades Initiative: 1d20+9 19 Metaceptor Initiative: 1d20+9 25 Grue Initiative: 1d20+3 10 Echo is up first!
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"Lucked out or just doing a poor job of playing nicely with the other children?" Set teased, poking Huang in the side and visibly relaxing at the warm reception. Fortunately it didn't take much to convince the outgoing godling that someone did indeed find him attractive and desired his presence. Looking up at the taller teenager, he tilted his head slightly to one side, following the lines of Huang's chin and mouth. "How are you fangs? I promise I did not expect my blood to have such a... potent effect." He carefully didn't bring up the dhampir's purported lack of experience but if that had been the first time his fangs had fully extended then Set didn't know nearly enough about half-vampire physiology to even guess what other discomforts it might have caused.
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Making a pained little noise, Erik pinched the bridge of his nose and looked away from Steve. "No, it's-- forget it. Just took something the wrong way, don't worry about it, man." It had been an interesting few weeks and he had to admit that he might not have been adapting quite so seamlessly as he might have liked. Things were good, very good, but he still wasn't really sure how much they were telling whom about what and if he was snapping at Steve of all people it was clearly putting him a little on edge. Opening the fridge he produced the sausage in question and brandished it pointedly at the somber cyborg before setting down heavily on the counter. "Here, see? Just grab a seat, I'll go get the ladies." Slipping out of the apartment and back to the stairwell he jogged down two steps at a time and pushed open the door to find the scene palpably tense. "You two ready to eat?" "Yeah, I think we're done here," Ellie agreed coolly, walking past Talya without a backward glance and heading up the stairs, leaving her brother to shoot the blonde a confused look, palms upturned.
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Jack was a little distracted by the floating head as Geckoman began probing the pair of new arrivals. It didn't look exactly like the Gorgon but there was more than enough commonality to bring his unconventional sister-in-law to mind. With strange family ties in turned back to the pair of blonds and frowned. "Hey, let's not be impolite," he suggested, stepping toward the front of the dinosaur's saddle to get a better look. "Introductions, yeah? This is Gecko and Echo, fastest guns beneath the sun. You can call me Jack. Might say I'm the Jack." Playing his hunch, wild though it might have been, he planted a boot on the edge of the saddle and launched himself over, somersaulting through the air to land nimbly in front of the pair. "You're French, yeah? Mercenaries, maybe? You boys like... cards?" He cocked his head slightly and gave them a significant look, his lighter palmed unseen in his left hand just in case.
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"An eternity by any measure," Set agreed with a broad smile of perfect, gleaming teeth. Leaning forward to press his bare chest against Huang he tilted his head up and caught the dhampir's grin in a kiss. The godling was trying not to make it obvious but it lacked the aggression of their impromptu makeout session on Heroes' Knoll, an underlying note of probing for permission making the gesture less like a sudden torrential downpour and more like a stillness in the air that suggested the weather might turn either way at any moment. Easing back down onto his heels Set made a show of nonchalantly looking around the room while keeping one eye on Huang's reaction. "Adore what you've done with the place."
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Erik waited an extra fraction of a second before launching himself into motion this time, dropping down halfway to one knee then smoothly straightening back up as the knife sailed past to join the first in the wall. While he made it look easy it was pretty clear that a moment too slow or an inch too far in the wrong direction and Talya's throw would have landed in the grinning swordsman. "It's like anything, though. You want to get to a point where you don't have to actually think about it. Like, you don't actually sound out words when you're reading like you had to when you were just learning, yeah?" He plucked the pair of knives out of the wall behind him to set aside. "It just takes a lot of practice. Ideally with something that weren't hurt quite so much as these would if you screw it up!" He thought he deserved special credit for stay professional and not making any jokes about carefully observing Talya's body and shot her a grinning look that communicated that sentiment clearly.
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Kimber puffed out one cheek and gave Jessie a concerned look. "I think talking about something is just about always better than not talking about it but you don't have to if you don't want to, I guess. I'm really glad you like the waffles either way! I could make more if you wanted! Indira and I can't really eat and people food isn't good for Avro and some people I'd, um, just be maybe more embarrassed about cooking for at least for now?" She coughed a little as the train of thought went somewhere she obviously hadn't intended for it to go before quickly recovering, all smiles again. "Oh, the castle is really great! Certain types of places are just way more fun to haunt - I mean stay in! It's so big and rad and my best friends are here!"
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Talya's continued good cheer and coy tone were starting to annoy Ellie almost as much as the blatant passes at Erik but she refused to give the blonde woman the satisfaction of knowing she was getting under her skin. Letting go of the rope she fell backward, slipping her foot out of the loop as her hands touched the padded mats on the training room floor. Her languid backflip brought the tips of her well worn trainers deliberately close to Talya's nose before she came up easily to a standing position. "You seem like you know how far you can push something before it snaps, sure," she shot back, folding her arms and waiting for the other woman to dismount. "Dios, Steve!" Erik blurted, juggling the last burrito out of the bag for a moment as he almost dropped it in surprise. There was no way that could have been an accident, right? On the other hand he had a really hard time believing that Steve would make that kind of comment on purpose, either. "I-- it's in the fridge, top right." He turned around to look at the big man directly, grabbing the edge of the counter as he leaned against it. "Look, if there's something you want to ask about you can just come out and say it. Has Chris been trying to teach you how to be funny again? Because we talked about how that's a terrible idea, right?"
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"Everybody accuses Eve of wanting to go mountain climbing but nobody ever thinks that maybe I just want to go snorkeling," Becky countered, stumbling only a little bit over the unusually bold statement and jutting out her chin a little in the hopes it would hide some of her returning blush. Even if Lane hadn't set the bantering tone of the conversation already a tattoo parlour didn't seem like the place to come across as prudish, not if she didn't want to embarrass Eve in front of her friend. Slipping around to stand just behind her girlfriend, the brunette crossed her arms over the shorter woman's stomach so that her hands rested on either of Eve's hips. "Nice to meet you, Ciara." She might have also been feeling just a little bit territorial now that she was putting a face to the woman who'd done Eve's more private work, the wendigo growling faintly in the far corner of her mind. "Big fan of your work." The redhead laughed brightly, nose crinkling less at Becky's words and more at the tone of voice. "Glad to know it was received by an appreciative audience, then, ha! So, who's getting what done tonight?"
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Set perked up a bit at Talya's probing, touching one finger to her own nose and pointing with her other hand to the super spy. "Ah, just so! With the delightful regionalism and all!" Both snogging and necking sounded like exceptional goals to have, particularly with the inflection that Bombshell was able to give them. The godling popped the cap off of the bottle of water and absently took a long pull from it, mind churning. It was difficult for a goddess of the desert to actually become dehydrated but then Dimitri's potato sweat was fairly potent. "Pray, continue speaking! You as well, old man, so that I might contrast and know from your example what not to do," she added sweetly, encouraging his dirty uncle shtick in her own way. Set knew something about leaning into an exaggerated persona, after all. She supposed everyone in the room did, at that. What a gathering they made!
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"Anything works," Trevor assured Erin, more for the peace of mind of their guests than to clarifying his order with her; she already knew he didn't give his eating habits enough thought to have a strong preference. Stopping by the refrigerator he retrieved a bottle of cider and passed it to Joe on his way back to taking a seat at the table. He winced very slightly at Mark's distress over Mike's e-mail situation, hiding the gesture with a sip of coffee. The retelling of adventures and mission was important enough to the gregarious UNISON worker that Trevor made a point of reading each of his newsletters as they arrived in his inbox just in case they came up in conversation. Well. Skimmed them at least. "Can tell him in person, then," he suggested in a calm deadpan.
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Sekhemt dropped the weights the moment the portal began to appear, eyes narrowing into predatory slits as she crouched into a wary stance. Set, for his part, looked especially pleased, planting his hands on his hips and observing the underpinnings of the spell with the appreciation of a craftsman. Looking over his shoulder toward the scowling goddess he affected an exaggerated look of display. "Oh woe, a sinister portal of completely unknown origin," he cried in a comically flat tone, stepping backward toward the hole in the air. "A mysterious force be pulling me through. Alas. Alack." Even if she didn't entirely know what was going on, Sekhmet wasn't thick. "Liesmith, do not dare," she growled in warning. "No, Sekhmet, stay back, save yourself," Set continued to drawl unconvincingly, breaking into a smirk as he stepped through into Huang's dorm room. "And do not wait up."
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"This sounds like it might be an all hands on deck situation," Ellie commented, tugging on her costume's jacket and tossing her work clothes unceremoniously into the hamper she was standing next to. After a full EMT-B shift she'd been hoping that the stakeout would be a bust and she could just take advantage of her brother's washing machine, change into something that didn't smell like other people's puke and maybe spend a little bit of time with her girlfriend in between science experiments but that clearly wasn't happening. At least the bandanna mask would probably hide the circles under her eyes. "I think we'll all feel better the sooner we get the boys back to the future. Mi hermano doesn't even know how to play Johnny B. Goode."
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Let's see some Initiative!
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Jack opened his mouth to reply, though whether he was about to agree or suggest coming up with a plan first was rendered moot when his alien doppelganger rushed forward crowing, "Villains! Interceptors, intercept!" With an acrobatic leap he sprung off of the lip of the tunnel and into the larger cavern, arms elongated into flame-wreathed blades and he aimed himself directly for the middle of the startled formation of Grue. Several of them reached for dangerous looking sidearms at their sides while the rest raised their hands to make arcane gestures and begin chanting. "Yeah, he gets that from me," the original swashbuckler sighed, cracking his neck and jumping into the fray right behind the amalgamation. "And that's not our battle cry!"
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A sly smile spread across Set's face at the suggestion. Fortunately Sekhmet still wasn't bothering to actually look up from her arm curls and missed the unsubtle cue that something of which she did not approve was about to happen. Now there be a delightful idea Yes please! Sliding off of the couch and stretching nonchalantly, the godling sauntered over to a more open spot in the apartment where there was nothing to be disturbed by a sudden arrival. Pretending to continue looking at his phone he kept one eye on Sekhmet, resisting the urge to whistle innocently.
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The most dramatic thing about the way Erik dodged the whirling length of deadly steel was that there was very little dramatic about it. He didn't cartwheel to the side or fall backward in slow motion, he simply pivoted half a step backward on one heel so that the knife sailed past him and collided solidly with the wall, sinking a good inch or so into the drywall and quivering in place. "You're not really dodging the knife or the bolt or whatever," he explained to Raina, calmly pivoting back into his original position. "You're dodging the throw. When someone throws a punch at you, you're not trying to block where their fist is, you're blocking where the rest of their body says they're fist is going to be. Same idea."
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"Uh...?" Erik articulately requested clarification, pausing in the middle of setting the two paper bags down on the counter. "It... can get a little crowded?" He ran back over his recent conversations with Steve until something clicked. "Oh, wait, you mean Eden? Haha, yeah, alright, that makes a lot more sense. No, she's been doing a lot better lately." He started taking out the foil wrapped burritos, deciphering their contents from the letters scrawled on the side in black sharpie. "So, ah, seemed like you get along with Talya, yeah? She's going to be around a lot now, so... yeah. That'd be good." It was a little hesitant and awkwardly phrased for the loquacious swordsman but it wasn't as if the broad shouldered cyborg let himself be overly distracted by such things. Downstairs Ellie gave Talya a look that suggested she was trying to figure out if there was a good way for her to yank the blonde off of the rope without her simply landing on her feet. "You'd think, but as the one who's been patching him up for years I can tell you he doesn't always know what's good for him," she shot back, her tone layered with false sweetness and a distinct chill. "Luckily he has people who care about him and watch out for him. Me. His wife."
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Set very nearly fell off of the couch as he arched his back a little too quick and stared down at the lines of text. He read it over three times in rapid succession, trying to catch any bit of sarcasm or alternate intent that he might have somehow missed on the first pass. Really, though, it seemed awfully, wonderfully direct. But really, who could fail to fancy Set in any form he mused as he sat up, allowing himself a little burst of returning confidence. So imagine what your birthday will be like Give me a moment to speak with my of warden handsome Looking over the back of the couch the godling began, "Sekhmet, I--" "Nay," came the terse reply as the goddess continued her workout without even looking up. "Nay, listen--" "Nay." Mayhaps several moments
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The shop had more than one artist but as luck had it Lane herself was leaning behind the counter as the two women entered and straightened to beam as she recognized one of them. "Eve, you adorable wee terror, good to see you! And who's this?" She looked Becky up and down before turning sidelong back to Eve. "Are you sure you're tall enough to ride that ride, dear?" Becky, who had been distracted by the samples of art and photos of satisfied customers that plastered every available square inch of wall space blinked and looked back down to the parlor's proprietor, not sure if she should be annoyed or not. "Sorry?" "Oh, don't mind me, luv, needling people is what I do for a living," Lane assured her with a grin that suggested that that joke never got old no matter how many times she got to use it. The taller woman's light accent sparked a bit of recognition, however. "Ooh, is this the girlfriend from Canada, then? I thought you were made up."
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Set bristled in the way only a teenager feeling condescended to could, turning up her nose slightly. "I should think you both old enough to know the difference between lust and infatuation," she shot back primly before shifting back and forth a bit uncomfortably. "Mayhaps a truly, truly minor amount of infatuation," the godling admitted after a moment. "He banished a greater demon pretending to be me to fool some bargain store cultists. Twas endearing." Dimitri's suggestion, however, earned a quick and emphatic, "No." Looking like someone had just run electrical current through her Set shook her head. "Dimitri, do you know what happens when gods play about with jealously. Nothing good, ever. Gah. Ra's aching wisdom teeth." She snatched up the new shot Talya had placed in front of her and downed in one gulp.
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That didn't actually answer Set's actual question but he supposed that was what happened when one didn't deign to ask one's actual question. Obviously a little more directness was in order. Which was fine. Set was all about direct. Set did what Set wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought. Set was also stalling. Sighing an imaginative curse under his breath he tapped away quickly at the display before he could change his mind. I meant tis a 'boy day' For me We can reschedule of course if tis an issue That was explicit enough, surely, and he'd given Huang a graceful enough out. The rescheduling would probably never happen, of course, but at least everyone would be able to save face. The godling fell forward onto the cough face first, holding the phone at arm's length and burying his face in the couch cushions with an extended groan.
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. . . Set was halfway through writing something about actual Nazis when he smacked himself in the forehead with his free hand. Of course Huang had only ever seen him in person in female form and whether or not he was familiar with the godling's shapeshifting ability of course he'd assume that was the form he was wearing just then. That was just how mortals - or close enough - thought and he was an idiot for not seeing it coming. Would that be an issue for the dhampir? It wasn't as if Set could change forms if he wanted to but just then he didn't want to. Perhaps it was worth it to accommodate Huang. So I might spend the entire encounter uncomfortable and on edge? A poor plan. Groaning aloud, he pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at the screen. He had to say something, the pause was surely becoming obvious at this point. He looked up at Sekhmet, considering asking her for advice and quickly deciding against it. Hitting his forehead with the heel of his palm a few more times he finally settled on an ambiguous: And not-girls?
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Without taking the offered hand, Ellie placed her foot in the loop and lifted herself up into the air with a show of fluid grace and toned strength that demonstrated that even if she didn't have quite the obsessive approach to training and conditioning that her brother did the younger Espadas sibling was nobody's idea of a slouch. "Funny, I was getting the impression you were pretty concerned about his backside," the med student mused as she grabbed hold of the rope with one hand and looked up at the upside down woman without only nominal attention spent on the rings they were theoretically testing. There was a distinct lack of joviality in the quip compared to the way she'd been teasing her brother, not quite icy but certainly with a note of challenge. Clearing his throat audibly, Erik raised an eyebrow as he followed Steve up the stairwell. As far as he knew the big man didn't really do off-colour jokes, though he certainly had the poker face for it. "We tried to make her feel welcome, yeah," he replied carefully, gauging his friend's reaction. He wasn't entirely sure if the specifics of that were something either of them actually wanted to discuss. "We actually met before I took over the team. She's been out of town for a few years but it's really good to have her back."
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"Oh, so now we're complaining about my mouth and impressive flexibility? Funny," Erik hummed with mock-outrage looking over his bare shoulder toward Min and sniffing haughtily. Grabbing a trio of sweet peppers from a basket on the end of the counter near the refrigerator he tossed them up in the air one by one, effortlessly juggling them as he walked back over to the cutting board. "And your life does seem pretty glamourous, Talya. Meeting exciting people on rooftops, engaging in passionate romances, enjoying the finest in high class dining..." He caught the airborne peppers in one hand and put them down on the board while retrieving a nearby knife from its block. The vegetables were quickly slicing into quarters before he began dicing them with a rapid staccato of chops, the muscles in his back responding in a pleasant show for the women seated behind him. "What more could a renowned lady of mystery ask for?"
