Abra Kadabra [IC]

[alderwitch]

Taylor shrugged, glancing at the now human Derrick and held her hands out, palms up, "I'll 'drive'."

Without giving anyone much of a chance to voice their protests, Taylor hisked them through the inky black of the void to deposit them neatly in the private room that Ace had arranged. Taylor dropped the contact with the others, but left her fingers threaded through Jacks's as they made their way to the table, letting the others fill the air with conversation.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack waited until they'd all taken a seat before he spoke, Ace's private room giving them a chance to unwind without any prying ears around. With the look on Taylor's face, he knew what he wanted to say and do. "Well, there is one big thing. This is something Taylor and I have been talking about for a while, and I don't think there's a better time to do it than in front of all our friends." Well, Ace and Stesha were Taylor's friends, but they still counted in the way he meant. He slid out of his chair and onto the carpeted floor, kneeling at Taylor's feet. Reaching into his suit pocket, he pulled out a little black felt box that held inside it a simple diamond ring. "Taylor Chun, you have changed my life for the better. I love you. Will you marry me?"

[alderwitch]

Taylor's eyes went round as Jack went down on one knee. She was a very bright lady, of course, and knew what he was about to do the moment he knelt. She just hadn't expected anything so formal. The original proposal had been in the middle of the battlefield, after all.

Her lips moved soundlessly for a moment before she flashed him a smile as fully dazzling as the diamond ring he offered and threw her arms around his neck in an unusual public display. Sometimes, the moment really did outweigh any bout of shyness.

Taylor pulled back, still smiling and suspiciously misty eyed and nodded before she trusted her voice to come out steady, "Of course!"

[Electra]

Stesha paled, her eyes widening at the sudden announcement. Apparently she'd substantially overestimated the amount of time they had to get Taylor back into a rational frame of mind. She drained half her water glass in one gulp and fixed a smile on her face. "That's just lovely," she managed, with just enough sincerity to possibly fool Derrick. "This seems like the perfect opportunity to pull Taylor off for a little girl talk, right Moira?" She rose from her seat, glancing over at the goddess.

[angrydurf]

If Ace was taken aback by the display it didn't show, then again he rarely let slip expresion that wasn't exactly what he intended.

"Well it sounds as if congratulations are in order." He said with a silky smile. As the ladies headed to 'powder their noses' he made a quick request of the staff and returned with a small oak humidor under one arm.

He offered one of hte fine cubans to Jack and Derrik in turn before taking one himself lighting it as he sat. "So?" He inquired somewhat rhetorically, "Marriage."

[Moira Morley]

Jack was now playing his game like a chessmaster or he'd gone of his rocker. What did this girl have? Moira surmised that she was either rich or mind controlling the poor boy. If it was the former, she couldn't help but think Jack knew how to play the game like a champ. A dirty dirty champ. If it was the latter she'd become sidewalk paste real soon. Though in all the confusion she couldn't help but act the part. She smiled and went, "Awwwww." When Stesha spoke up she reiterated what she had planned to do after the little shindig was over. But hey, she could fix things right now. She nodded to Stesha then Taylor. "Yes," she gleefully said with a smile, playing her part still. She stood up after Stesha and beckoned Taylor, "You're almost family now. Let's go talk."

[alderwitch]

The happy light in Taylor's eyes dimmed briefly as she glanced from Stesha's tight expression to Moira's startled one. Taylor blinked slowly and her hand unconciously tightened on Jack. It was clearly not going to be a happy sort of girl talk but Taylor squared her shoulders and slipped out to follow the women.

She leaned down to kiss his cheek and murmur, "If I'm gone too long, send a rescue party."

She straightened and allowed herself to be hustled off to the restroom, her head held subbornly high. Once she reached the restroom, Taylor took one of the corners, putting her back into it with her hip resting against the sink. She arched a black brow at the two women and waited for the outrage.

[Cyroa]

Derrick took Taylor's hand without pause, eventually finding his seat beside Stesha happily. When Jack proposed, he couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see things work out well. He wasn't entirely blind; he knew their relationship was going to have more than its fair share of problems. But they were good friends and he sincerely wished the best for them. He nodded at Stesha's words. "Indeed! Congratulations you two!" He shook his head at Ace, with simple 'no thank you' before reaching out to shake Jack's hand. 'Girl talk' seemed perfectly normal and he thought nothing of it as the three ladies retreated. "You two make one heck of a couple. I'm glad for you. Congratulations again my friend."

[Electra]

Stesha paused for a minute when they got to the bathroom, not quite sure of where to start. She wanted to shake Taylor and ask if she was out of her cotton-picking mind, but suspected that the conversation would be unproductive from there. "This is really a surprise," she said instead. "You and Jack have only been dating for three or four months, haven't you? I had no idea it was so serious."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Thanks, Derrick," said Jack, smiling a little. "We actually made that commitment on the battlefield during the invasion, but I wanted to give her a real proposal in a nice place, surrounded by friends and well-wishers." He thanked Ace for the cigar, but didn't light it, instead toying idly with the expensive piece of Cuban tobacco. "I'm sure you can understand that this is something that's going to be very difficult for us, given Taylor's work and my nature. We're going to be very dependent on our friends to make this work."

[alderwitch]

"Since August," Taylor confirmed quietly, her arms folded up against her chest. "I moved into his apartment a month or two ago. It's been an eventful few months."

She lifted her shoulder in an uncomfortable shrug, although her expression remained smooth. "Believe me, I'm aware of the rather large list of difficulties to deal with, but he really does love me, and I really do love him. I'd kick myself forever if I didn't fight for any chance we might have at this."

[Cyroa]

"I don't remember that. But I was not there for a lot of it...and the ending is something of a blank." Derrick nodded earnestly. "I suppose all relationships have complications. But we're heroes. You'll certainly overcome any obstacles I'm certain. Well, anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. We'll all be there for anything you need of course."

[Moira Morley]

Moira put her hands on Taylor's shoulders from behind and gently rubbed them to lighten her mood. Stesha was being the stern one and she would be the light one. It helps if people you know are stern with you. Complete strangers would be weird doing so. Though if Taylor were in the wrong this would be the perfect vantage point to take her down. Ares was an excellent ambush teacher.

"So I never got the story of you two. Much less the story of you. How did you guys meet?"

[alderwitch]

By an act of sheer will, Taylor kept herself solid as Moira moved around behind her and began her massage. Her shoulders remained tense under Moira's fingertips, a mixture of reaction to feeling surrounded and being touched by a virtual stranger, no matter how charming that stranger might be. Taylor had never been a very hands-on person herself. Still, she didn't want to be rude, so she settled for bracing her feet apart and forcing her arms down to her sides, trying to keep the palms open and relaxed. One hand strayed up to the amulet at her throat and began to fiddle with the black gem.

"In costume. We met in costume, the day the explosion happened in Riverside," A smile briefly flickered accross Taylor's face at the rather embarrassing memory of herding cats, "I had to ask him for a favor, out of costume, and things just sort of happened from there. I moved in with him, oh, after that whole mess with the zealot."

[Electra]

Stesha took a seat in one of the padded chairs in the powder room, tacitly giving Taylor the door if she wanted it. It wasn't going to help a thing if they chased her through a dimensional portal. "Of course you should be happy, and if you're happy I want to be happy for you," she said earnestly. "But how much do you really know about Jack, after such a short period of time? It's been a pretty intense four months, and I'm sure you feel really close right now, but are you sure that you actually know the kind of person he is, and that he's someone you can spend the rest of your life with? He's not always been a very upstanding guy." She looked to Moira for backup on that.

[angrydurf]

Ace gently released a puff of smoke from his lips, skillfully steering it clear of Derrik. He cocked an eyebrow at Jack, "You have a marvelous gift for understatement there Jack." He said with a thoughtfull nod. To say the woudl face 'some' difficulties wasn't even the tip of the iceberg in Aces opinion, But this kind of mistake was the perogative of youth.

He casually examined Jack unsure if the Vampire King was really this out of touch, he was exceptionally young for his station after all.

[Moira Morley]

Moira nodded after Stesha said what she said. She still didn't know who was in the wrong here, but maybe she could avert the whole thing if she got them away from each other. If Taylor was a mind controlling harpy, she'd come back for a piece of Jack. She would be ready for her then. If Jack was swindling her for her money, well, maybe she needed to know the 'truth'.

"Jack is the freewheeling type," Moira said sympathetically still trying to make Taylor comfortable by lightly (but with enough force for her to feel it) moving down her back, "Not that there's anything wrong with freewheeling. I myself am a freewheeler. But as such I don't want people to get hurt. Emotionally or physically." She stopped herself and put the night in question in her head. Yes it was half-truthed, but half-truths where still truths. "Stesha, do you want to tell her how this all started?"

[Electra]

Stesha gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I already told my story to Taylor, but as she pointed out, it was mostly what I heard from you, and I have a credibility problem where Jack's concerned. I don't remember much of what happened the night you and I went to see Jack, mostly what you and I talked about later. And he was your friend. It's your story to tell."

[alderwitch]

Oh no. Oh, hell no. Taylor didn't want to sit here and listen to this goddess talk about the night of wild sex she'd had with Jack. She was willing to put up with this little intervention, as she knew that it was motiviated by concern for her, at least on Stesha's part. Heshem only knew what Moira's motivation was out of all of this. She quickly stepped away from Moira's grip, phasing to do so as she crossed to the wall and turned back to face them.

"Look, I've already heard as much as I really want to hear about that night. Jack told me it was consensual, and I believe him. Yes, he was a jerk for the entire situation. Even Jack admits that." She set her shoulders back against the wall, turning solid enough to do so and folded her arms up under her breasts, "So, I'd really prefer we skip the details and get straight to the point."

[Moira Morley]

Moira smiled and spoke softly, "We're only here to help you, Taylor. We're here to warn you about Jack's past so you can decide for yourself. Hopefully the right decision." Hoppinjg up on a counter, she crossed her legs ad cleared her throat. "One night, near midnight, Stesha showed up on my doorstep. She had been in a tussle with someone just to add to her pain. She told me about the fight and how she thought she wasn't cut out for heroics." She winked at Stesha, "I'm sure she's grown since then." Moira looked to Taylor again, "I consoled her and we had a few drinks. We eventually got to talking about love that had soured. How she met Jack when he needed flowers for an orgy party. How he ditched her in the middle of two dates, even when they were going hot and heavy. So, getting a few more drinks in we found the courage to meet him in person. When we got there we got into a big argument and Jack scared Stesha away! Like she hopped into her hair and left! I had to appeal to Jack to help me find her. It took some time, but he finally relented. We found the poor girl wrapped around a tree humming incoherently and then passed out. When I asked if he would drive us home I guess that's when he started playing his manipulation games with me. The hands on thing started in the car. We almost ran off the road three times while doing it. And I was helpless to stop, It was like he was trying to get me to touch him. By the time we got back to my place he sealed the deal with a few words. I put Stesha on the couch and then, well, we retreated to my room." Moira hung her head in shame, "I was weak. I blame the drinks. And the man you're about to marry's skilled manipulation." She had not told one single lie while she was telling the story. Some stretches of truths needed to be done to drive home the point. Hopefully she had put a little bit of knowledge into Taylor about Jack's playa attitude. Which is hopefully what Stesha wanted.

[alderwitch]

Taylor looked at from one to the other of them, her smooth expression crumpling in dismay. She lifted her chin defiantly, her eyes glittering with tears she refused to shed. Taylor swallowed and said with tight control. What Moira said sounded so believable but Taylor knew that Jack wouldn't utilize his abilities like that. She couldn't believe that of him. Clinging to both her convicition in Jack and the shreds of her dignity, "I don't think you're here to help me at all. If you wanted to hurt me, you've succeeded. Excuse me."

Before she let the tears fall in front of them, Taylor vanished through the wall behind her and hurried back to the table with the men. Angrily she wiped the tears from her cheeks as quickly as they fell. She had the advantage of taking the most direct route as she simply ghosted through any obstacle in her way, including one very startled waiter. As Jack stood at her approach, Taylor didn't even hesitate as she solidified and hid in his embrace. Muffled against his chest, Taylor's words were a little garbled between that and her palpable distress, "They keep saying you took advantage of Moira and I just don't understand. There was all these details that I don't even want to know. You wouldn't do that! You wouldn't!"

Her tone rose at the last, audible even against his shirt somewhere between outraged and hysterical and very clogged with tears that she was trying desperately not to shed.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack put his arms around Taylor, hugging her tight and wordlessly. "Sssh, it's all right," he reassured her, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Nothing happened between Moira and I," he said, looking down at her with comfort on his lean face. "All we did was have sex." He shot a sharp look at Moira and Stesha as they came out the slow way, through the bathroom door. "As for the two of you, I thought we were past all this foolishness! I thought the hardest thing was going to be telling you that I'm a vampire. But no, it's that you're both insane." He demonstrated that, showing his fangs for just a moment, before going back to Taylor. "C'mon, love, let's get out of here."

[Cyroa]

Derrick was really, really confused. One minute everyone was happy and congratulating the happy couple about their impending wedding and the next Taylor was in tears and say impossible things. "Jack wouldn't do that to people! He wouldn't take advantage of someone. I'm sure there's been some kind of mistake. I don't understand what's going on here but don't go. We need work this out. It's just a misunderstanding, I'm certain. Let's work this out. We're friends!" This was like the Knights all over again. Somehow his friends were suddenly angry and he had no idea what was going on, just that things were falling apart!

[Moira Morley]

Moira watched Taylor go through the wall with a bit of accomplishment. If Taylor were the evil mastermind Moira though she was, Jack would be rampaging get Stesha and/or her. If Jack was the cad, he would have to explain a lot to Taylor. Looking to Stesha, Moira shrugged, "Wanna go watch the festivities?"

Stesha went first with Moira in tow. When Jack popped fangs, Moira was shocked! A life of decadence led to him becoming a horrible undead monster! She didn't know what to think. Was he still the same Jack? Was he absconding with Taylor to eat her? This had gotten ten times more serious. She had to get Taylor away from him. "Unhand her, Jack!" Moira shouted as she rushed towards him while he was unaware.

[Electra]

After a stunned moment, Stesha snagged Moira by the arm before she could go much more than a step towards Jack. Though Moira could easily have dragged her along if she'd wanted, it was enough to stay her for now. "Don't you dare go anywhere until you explain that," she told Jack, her voice tight. "If that's just a figure of speech, it's a really inappropriate one." Seeing the fangs made her stomach do a quick flip, and she held on a little tighter to Moira's arm, more for support than restraint.