ic Cosmic Love

[Fox]

"Sure!" Elizabeth flashed a smile, looking up from a gentle inspection of one of the flowers. "You know me, always happy to lend a pair of hands, or two. I've never done much gardening - it might be an adventure!"

 

She stood back up straight, glancing to Alice for a half-second, still beaming that smile. "And if any of you need anything, any help, you'll know where to find me. Please don't hesitate if anything comes up."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah's face cycled through several emotions almost at once. This was definitely not what he'd wanted. 

 

"I...look, this ain't about fightin'. Alice and I were just trying to enjoy the garden."

 

His face darkened, just a bit.

 

"I mean. Isn't much of your business how new she is, is it? I.."

 

He shook his head, as if trying to clear it.

 

"No, no. I...yeah, this...Let's just go somewhere else, Alice. The cafeteria? I'm thirsty."

 

His eyes darted between all of the ladies present, sensing the tension, but not quite able to pick up everything. 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Alice's eyes stayed right on Judy the entire time. Not leaving for even a moment, not even when Ashley spoke up. Or when Micah tried to make them leave the current place.

 

"No. I don't think so. I want to see the garden."

 

She stepped closer to Judy, stepping away from Micah for a second. it was almost like the distance made it just a bit easier for Micah to clear his head.

 

"Why do you think it is your business that Micah and I are together?" Her tone like ice. Her eyes were starting to glow, shifting between several colors. "Tell me, Micah. Why do you think Judy should have any business dealing with our love?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Judy's eyes lit up - literally. "What do you want from me?" she asked uncertainly as rainbow light spilled from her eyes and across her skin, her voice growing echoey and distant. "What's the matter with you?"

 

Behind her, Ashley pulled a gun out of her jacket pocket - or maybe it was her belt? The movement was too fast but in a moment it was aimed at Alice's torso as the 'big sister' interposed herself between Judy and Alice. She slapped her collar and her red collapsible helmet erupted over her face, the internal capacitor in her sidearm whining as it revved up to full power. When she spoke it wasn't Ashley's normal voice at all. "Power down! Right now!" 

[Fox]

Well, this had gotten tense pretty quickly. Elizabeth stepped slightly to the side, and couldn't stop one hand from dropping to her hip where an innocuous mask token was hanging off her belt. "So, you know, speaking of newness," she said, keeping a careful eye on Alice, "I was really hoping it was nothing but I found them in the first place because a beam of light came down from the sky? And there's a little burning crater in the roof up there. I figured, maybe a new kid's showing off, and maybe that could be some fun trouble, or they'd just really gotten into each other and someone had literally sparked something, which could also be fun. But then I went up there and found, um...."

 

She gestured at Micah and Alice a if that explained a lot, which in fairness, it sort of did. Her off hand never left the surface of her mask. "My dates cancelled on me and I was really hoping it was just that lovely blush of new love, but Micah, she has you acting kind of spooky."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah blinked as Alice stepped a few feet away from him. His mind fought off some of the fog that had been there, the remaining tingles from when the new girl had run her hands through his hair. It took him a moment to understand the situation in front of him.

 

"Hey!"

 

Suddenly, the sky above was dark, and thunder cracked once, twice.

 

"Everyone calm down! Alice, I didn't come here to start a fight. Back off, please?"

 

He took a couple of steps toward her. He heard Elizabeth as he did, but somehow it was like cotton was in his ears.

 

"Look, I think for some reason we're all tense. Let's just take a breath, yeah? And stop pointing...guns and glows."

 

He shook his head, and the weather outside calmed and cleared. When he spoke again, his voice had less conviction in it. 

 

"No...I...no fighting. Please."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

If lights were spilling from Judy's eyes, the Alice was starting to positively glow with rainbow light. Alice seemed quite unimpressed with Ashley standing between them, looking straight past her and at Judy again. "You want him, don't you? You want my Micah?"

 

As the sky darkened and Micah called out, it seemed like she finally noticed Ashley and the gun. Her eyes went wide, the rainbow glow fading as she quickly stepped back, hiding behind Micah. Whatever made it easier to clear his head, whatever made him able to think clearly? The moment she touched him again, her hands on his shoulder, that seemed to be gone

 

"Micah! Look what they're doing! She's gonna shoot me!"

[Avenger Assembled]

"I...have a fiance!" yelled Daystar from behind Ashley's shoulder, glowing like a pocket star. "I..." She took a step back as she stared at Alice and said, "Oh Jesus! You're -" She put a hand on her chest and swallowed hard. "-you're from space!" 

 

"I don't know how you found her," snarled Ashley, "but this is not your planet, and this is not your boyfriend." She jinked to the left, trying to keep Alice in view and keep a gun pointed at the girl. She hesitated just a moment, then said, "Micah, remember what you said at youth group? About how you weren't ready for a girlfriend until God showed you the way? Do you really think this is what He'd want?" 

[Fox]

Elizabeth looked at Micah. Elizabeth looked at Ashley. Elizabeth looked at Ashley's gun. Elizabeth looked at Alice. Elizabeth looked at Judy. Elizabeth looked at Alice's eyes.

 

Elizabeth had a lot of questions.

 

She reached behind her back and pulled out a long crook staff that could not have possibly been hidden there, taking a half-step to the left; she also took a half-step to the right, and the Elizabeths gripped the cloth wrapping at the center of their staffs tightly as they eyed both Alice and the gun. "Please don't fight in here," said left-Elizabeth, very slowly and carefully. "It's so nice," agreed right-Elizabeth. "Maybe we can do this peacefully, without what's probably brainwashing or mind control?"

[KnightDisciple]

Micah stepped in between Alice and the others, his face a deep frown. The sky darkened once again, and was accented with faint rumbles.

 

"D...don't shoo....shoot her. Don't shoot her, Ashley."

 

His eyes glowed a bit. He seemed to be almost struggling to speak instead of just act.

 

"Are you...trying to say I should just keep being single? Not all of us guys are...party animals or exotic princes. We struggle to be...be noticed. And when someone notices me, and likes me, and tells me they like me...suddenly that's bad?"

 

His face twisted, now almost a snarl.

 

"So I don't get to be happy no matter what, is that it?"

 

And then Elizabeth's words hit him. He blinked, and looked around himself. He looked up, and then back at Alice.

 

"Alice. Step...step back. We're going to back out. This...this is not a place for a fight. We should go outside. I'll keep you safe."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Don't listen to them, Micah! They don't want us to be happy!" She continued to hide behind Micah, but despite the gun, her eyes didn't seem to focus on Ashley in the least, instead staying firmly on Judy. "Don't listen to them, Micah. I just like you! They're just jealous that there's someone that likes you for you, they don't want you to be happy! They just want you to wait around, be their little backup."

 

She leaned in close to Micah, almost-but-not-quite whispering in his ear, the others clearly being able to hear her. "Just look at her. Elizabeth clearly thought that Judy would care about you, but she already got a fiancee? She's clearly just been keeping you around in case that doesn't work out. Are you really gonna let them get away with threating you like that?" 

 

Alice pulled a bit further away, slowly starting to pull back at Micah, still glaring at Judy. She almost seemed to make a point out of not replying to Judy's claim of Alice being from space.

[Avenger Assembled]

"You _told_ her about that?" demanded Judy of Elizabeth, scandalized. "All Ah said was that Micah is very cute, and very nice, and that it was a shame he didn't have a girlfriend!" she reassured Micah. "It wasn't some kind of weird sex thing! You're the only boy here who's halfway normal, Micah, you're mah friend!"  

 

Watchdog seemed to vibrate all over, but her gun didn't waver as she aimed it past Micah's head. "Nobody has the right to be noticed," she told Micah softly. "You're just a kid, you don't need to have a girlfriend to make you happy. The right person will come along when you need her, even if it's when you least expect it. C'mon, Micah, step aside." 

[Fox]

"I didn't tell her," defended an Elizabeth, looking as offended as possible for someone caught saying things she shouldn't oughta. "I may have made an...insinuation."

 

"Implied," agreed the other. "It wasn't my fault! I had some bad intel. Maybe read too much, you know? Mostly I was hoping to knock some sense into Micah."

 

The first Elizabeth shook her head, frowning back toward Micah himself. "You've known her for a day, Micah. One day! What kind of new friend would immediately try to turn you against other friends? That's...not a healthy start to a relationship. Isn't social isolation one of those warning signs they talked about when we had the Very Special Class about staying safe in relationships?"

 

 

[KnightDisciple]

Micah's face turned conflicted. Emotions cycled in his eyes, his hands clenched and unclenched, and above the greenhouse, dark clouds turned slowly. This is clearly not something he enjoys. First, he looked at Judy, sad and angry all at once.

 

"Yeah, no, I get it, Judy. Normal. Too normal to be anything but your friend, and I was too shy to say anything different. Doesn't matter now. We both have someone who...who...who appreciates us."

 

His eyes flicked over to Elizabeth. He frowned, but this time in what looked like confusion.

 

"I...wait."

 

He blinked and looked back at Alice for a moment, then back to Elizabeth.

 

"I don't..I don't want to not have other friends. Ashley pointed...pointed a gun."

 

He was clearly not himself at this point. His emotional state was compromised and his speech was almost slurred. 

 

"She didn't say she wanted me not to...not to have other friends. Just...I just don't want people shooting people!"

 

Then his gaze turned to Ashley. For several long moments, genuine anger was there. But then...something caused it to soften.

 

"My....my father. He used to...to say. That a good woman is like a...a good cake. Gotta...wait a while."

 

His brow furrowed.

 

"I...I have a right to my own emotions, though? I...can't I feel...lonely? Can't I...want...something good?"

 

His eyes clenched shut, and his left hand rested on his temple.

 

"Head hurts. Too much shouting. I...can't we...put guns away? Get some...tea?"

 

Micah was still in Ashley's way; his body blocked a good shot. 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Don't listen to them, Micah." Alice's calm voice has a soft echo, not that Micah was likely to recognize it. The others would hear it clearly. "I like your friends, but if they treat you like this, then are they really your friends?"

 

She held her hand on Micah's shoulder, stayed in close contact. "You have waited so long. You don't have to wait anymore. I'm here, just for you. Your dad was wrong, you don't have to wait for me, I am right here."

 

"Come on, Micah, let's get out of here. Find your real friends."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah nodded at Alice's first set of words. It made sense, to him; friends supported you, right? But then...

 

Quote

Your dad was wrong, you don't have to wait for me, I am right here."

 

At those words, Micah frowned. No, he scowled. He stood up a  bit straighter, and went very still. At that exact same moment, the slight breeze that had been in the greenhouse stopped, the air seeming to almost lock in place.

 

The same thing happened for hundreds of feet around them, outside. The air went dead-still. The silence for several moments was almost deafening.

 

"What...what did you say about my dad's advice?"

[Fox]

"I'm pretty sure she said your dad was wrong," said an Elizabeth, concern in her voice. She knew a button to push when she saw one.

 

"Do you normally date people who think your dad gives bad advice?" said the other, who, unsurprisingly, also knew a button to push when she saw one. "That seems super rude. And I don't think you do like us?"

 

Elizabeth Left was still on guard, crook staff held ready but business-end-down, but the other was leaning on hers, hanging from one hand while she wagged a thoughtful finger with the other. "You're mean to basically everyone you meet because you think they're going to steal Micah, who's, you know, cute, but he doesn't have five whole girls hanging off him. No offense, Micah!"

 

She did seem genuinely apologetic as the other picked up where she'd left off. "We've been nice to you, and only really got rough when you did the thing with the spooky eyes and spooky voice because that's some mind control weirdness, and if you really liked him you wouldn't need that."

[Avenger Assembled]

Judy had fallen silent behind Ashley, but as the conversation seemed to turn against Alice she put her hands in front of her and began to speak. "Micah, do you have ears to hear? Do you think she can say this with you? Our Father, who art In Heaven, hallowed be thy Name..." 

 

While Judy recited the Lord's Prayer, Ashley lowered the barrel of her pistol without actually putting it away. With deep tension in her shoulders, she said, "They're just kids. It doesn't have to end like this." 

 

"...on Earth, as it is in Heaven..." If Judy's voice broke on the last word, she moved on from it quickly. 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Alice seemed utterly confused about what was happening, as if she didn't understand it at all. "What... why? I'm right here Micah, you don't have to wait for me at all!" She seemed genuinely hurt, seemed almost like she was shrinking away from them, letting go of Micah.

 

She stared at Judy, her confusion only growing.

 

"Micah... Micah, what is she doing? What's she saying?"

[KnightDisciple]

Micah's eyes started to clear as he looked to Elizabeth first. He seemed to focus intently on her declaration of Alice rejecting his father's advice. He tilted his head slightly to one side at the "five girls" comment.

 

"Don't want five girls. Just one good one."

 

He turned toward Judy as she moved away from topics of romance to something old and familiar to him. At first he simply listened, but then he started to join in.
 

"Give us this day our daily bread..."

As he spoke, his back straightened slightly, and his jaw got less clenched, as if he felt less pain.

 

"...but deliver us from evil..."

Then Alice asked a question in a confused voice. Micah blinked and turned to her.

 

"It's the Lord's Prayer. Wait, you've never heard it? That....hm. But you....wait. You never did say anything about....what church you go to. Don't want...."

 

He seemed to almost be fighting something now. The breeze stirred around them, just a bit.

 

"Don't want to break my mother's heart. Mom always wanted me to....to...to marry a Christian girl. Not to be...mean...wanted me to be happy. Be...content. Talked about how good she and dad had things, being 'equally yoked'."

 

He seemed introspective at the statement. 

[Fox]

"It's important to know what you want in a partner," affirmed an Elizabeth, gently. "Some people have a small list and some people have a long one, but it's important to stick with the important parts! Not everyone's in high school to get married, you know, but I think we all kind of enjoy the fantasy."

 

"And it's definitely important to make sure you can take your partner home to meet your family," lied the other Elizabeth, nodding. "And it's very important to you. What would they think? What would you think?"

 

The white-haired teen took a half-step to the side, trying to get a better view on 'Alice'. "Take it from someone who knows a thing or two about tricks and illusions, and really think. Step back from what you think you know; what's more likely? That, in one day, you fell head-over-heels for someone who doesn't share your values, or what's important, who doesn't like your friends, about whom you know basically nothing, and who your parents really wouldn't approve of? Or, maybe, that she's done something to your head?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Judy took a few tentative steps towards Micah - and then, impulsively, darted forward and took his hand. She had never touched Micah as Daystar before and he could feel how warm she was - hotter even than her usual fever-hot temperatures, not quite painful but with a deep, radiant heat that filled his body from the connection. "Your mother was a good Christian woman," she told him, her voice resonant inside her glowing chest, her eyes deep pools of rainbow light. "She would want you to be safe. Just like Ah do." 

 

Ashley stared at Alice, gun out and aimed at her again, relaxing the mental connections between finger and brain, ready to fire without conscious thought if the space traveler made so much as a move towards Judy. She was aiming center mass, just like you were supposed to. 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Alice didn't follow Micah. Her confusion seemed to give away to frustration. Her hands tightened into fists, she stomped her foot into the ground.

 

"No. No, no, no, no! Don't touch her!" She didn't even seemed to notice Ashley having raised the gun. "Who cares about what your mother thinks? I'm here for you, not for her! Teach me this thing if is so important to you! I'll learn, I'll be just what you want me to be!" She seemed to be flaring up again, starting to glow. Angry bursts of light while her voice rose to yells and screams.. "You... you're all just... you just don't want Micah to be happy! I can make you happy, Micah! I can make you love me! Don't do this to me... to us! Don't do this to us! You're better than this!"

[KnightDisciple]

For a few moments, Micah just stood there. Then, he spoke softly into the still air. His voice echoed, despite how little volume he lent it.

 

"I care what my mother things."

 

He turned and faced her slowly. As he turned, his posture straightened a bit at a time. His eyes cleared, and began to glow softly. When he was facing Alice fully, he stopped moving.

 

"I care what she thinks. Because I love her. You...you don't actually care about me, do you? You don't want actual love. Love isn't just sitting around singing and giving each other goo-goo eyes."

 

He took a single step forward. The air began to move, a breeze blowing from behind Micah. The doors of the greenhouse rattled, just a bit. 

 

"Love isn't just touching and feeling and sitting next to each other. Do you know what Love is?"

 

He took another step. The air began to move more rapidly. Micah's eyes were glowing green entirely.
 

"It's a man who works extra hours so his wife doesn't have to. It's a mother who holds her son and explains, through the tears, why his father's never coming home. It's a mother working overtime to keep him fed. It's a husband who writes his wife love letters after 50 years of marriage, when they're grey and wrinkled. It's a man who only talks about his wife as the greatest woman in the world, no matter where he's at or who he's with. It's love letters when he's away for a week because of his job protecting others."

 

Outside, the skies were dark. The windows began to rattle. The doors shook as the wind picked up.

 

"You can't make someone love you like that. Either they choose to love you like that, or they don't love you at all."

 

Wings of lightning shrouded in the fell flames of the aurora borealis manifested from Micah's back.

 

"Get away from me. You don't know what it means to really love me, and I don't love you."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

It was like something just broke in Alice. Her eyes glazed over, her arms fell to her sides as she stared at Micah, mouth opening and closing like she wanted to stay something.

 

"Yo-... you... You can't do this... you can't do this to me..." Her voice was small, any power she had over Micah just moments before was gone. "I love you, Micah... I truly do. Why can't you just accept that?" She barely seemed phased by the weather effects around them, only focusing on Micah's words.

 

Her lip was trembling, before she stomped her foot into the ground and steeled herself.

 

"Fine. Fine! If you don't want me, if you're all turning against me, then I'll find someone who will!"

 

She glowed again. A brief, powerful glow.

 

Then she was gone.