ic Save Tonight [IC]

[N/A]

Zoe blushed, shook her head, and let out a chuckle as Eddie commandeered the sound system. When he offered her his hand, she shrugged, smiled, and followed him out onto the floor. When they really got moving, and Eddie Ozan suddenly turned into Gene Kelly, she managed to keep up, but had no idea how.

OK, Mom taught me a few waltz steps, but this...how am I doing this? How is he doing this?

Nevermind, Z. Just go with it. Just enjoy it, for as long as it lasts. This stuff never does.

As she had done so many times before, in so many different ways, Zoe lost herself in Eddie's arms, following his lead as he tore up the dance floor.

[alderwitch]

Time passed as Freedom City's most unique student body proceeded to party like it was 2010. Pictures were taken, dinner was served along the side until the clock started to wind down. Eventually, one of the other students took the stage to get everyone's attention. It wasn't Daisy but it was one of her croney frenemies and she smiled her usual sugary smile as she prepared to read off the announcement of Prom Queen and King.

"So... our new Queen is, Zoe MacMillan and her king... James Prophet!"

[Cyroa]

James put the phone away. There were no magical or dimensional issues at the moment. He wasn't sure if he was happy or disappointed at that fact. His friends were dancing happily, he noted with a smile. He moved over and filled the cards out. He voted for Eddie and Zoe. He wanted to vote for Erin but just couldn't bring himself to vote for Trevor. Alex and Mike were perfect and meant to be together; they didn't need this. Eddie, as could be seen on the dance floor, was the showboating king and Zoe wasn't exactly an autumn flower either. (And he could honestly say his vote had nothing to do with what had happened with him and Zoe, not that he signed the card.)

After voting and listing a few song requests, James turned and looked over the crowd. He was a social creature despite the last few months. So, he turned and began to mingle with the rest of the student body. It had been a while after all since he'd even been around but blended in as easily as ever.

Which is why when he heard his name for prom king, he paused with a blink before turning towards the stage. Oh damn.

[quotemyname]

When Zoe's name was mentioned, Eddie smiled at her. It couldn't have happened to a better girl. He was expecting his name, but he heard James instead. Eddie gave Zoe, and James (across the table) a quizzical look, shrugged, smiled, and just started clapping.

So... Maybe that girl switched sides and hates Daisy now? he thought as he urged his girlfriend to walk up to the stage with one of his best friends. I'll bet she somehow rigged the votes, and this is just a thank you for when Zoe and James knocked Daisy down a few pegs.

Eddie wondered briefly what type of speech Zoe had prepared.

The votes are always rigged...

"Whooooooo!"

[Electra]

Erin stood with Trevor and clapped politely as the names were read off. She'd voted for Alex and Mike, but Zoe and James were definitely flashier people, and that always attracted votes. Although she'd hoped to get a chance to talk with James that evening, he'd never seemed to be exactly where she was, so it would just have to wait, again. He seemed so preoccupied lately, and it seemed like more than the difficult job he'd been saddled with. She leaned in towards Trevor. "You know, I always kinda thought they elected couples for this thing. Guess I watch too many movies."

[N/A]

"So... our new Queen is, Zoe MacMillan and her king...James Prophet!"

Zoe stood motionless, frozen in time, a deer in headlights. No. NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo... Her jaw hung halfway open, but she wasn't smiling anymore. The color had drained from her face. Her eyes looked shiny, as though tears might be welling up in them.

She glanced back and forth between Daisy's minion and James, glaring daggers at them both. What the fark, James? Was this your plan? Throw me under the bus to save yourself? No, James isn't that big a jerk. But they know. He must've cracked. He must've told someone, and it got back to the Queen Bee of Claremont. Who did you tell, J? How exactly did you fark us both beyond recovery?

Zoe didn't move an inch toward the stage. "...Mistake...a mistake..."

[angrydurf]

Mike beamed as his friends names were read off though eh was as surprised as anyone with the names. He joined int he applause and smiled down to Alex, "I thought we could only vote for Juniors." He said with a shrug discarding the thought just to be happy for his friends victory. He glaced around and gave a small jerk of his head for Zoe to get moving, 'Come on its your big shot.' he said in her thoughts.

[quotemyname]

Zoe didn't move an inch toward the stage. "...Mistake...a mistake..."

"No way! Why would you think that?" Eddie saw that she still wasn't moving. Then he noticed that she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Aww, she's probably just surprised. I'd better help her out!

In one smooth motion, Eddie ceased clapping, and scooped Zoe up in his arms! Carrying her like he was about to cross the threshold into a newlywed house, he walked her up to the low stage at the front of the dance floor. Standing below the stage, he set Zoe down on top of it. "Congratulations." he whispered in her ear before he backed away and stood about 10 feet from the stage. I want to see this! Eddie renewed his clapping once more.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Go, Zoe and James! Woo!" Mark usually didn't pay attention to his friends' love lives, especially lately, so he assumed a coupling had happened that he hadn't heard about. "I wanna see a slow dance!" He applauded, then took the opportunity to lean over to Zarana and whisper, "They may be king and queen, but you are the true empress of the jungle."

She stared at him, blinked, and said aloud, "Zuzu's beard! Why does that work so well?!" before laughing and planting a kiss on him, the necking couple losing sight of the action by the stage.

[alderwitch]

'Baby? What's wrong...?" Alex frowned at the palpable distress radiating off of Zoe and then her gaze flicked to James' dread. Her hazel eyes narrowed in obvious thought before they widened. As the tableau froze, Alex looked at the two of them and disappointment filled her expression. However, not even Alex was expected the pounding back-beat that filled the speakers around the room.

"Sweat, baby, sweat, baby. Sex is the Texas drought..."

The projector that had earlier been used to throw up images from the school year flickered to life and in grade-a-porno style complete with grainy appearance on the film, a down right obscene highlights reel of James and Zoe's drunken one night stand flickered to vibrant life. For a good ten seconds of film, no one moved a muscle and not a single voice broke the sound of the Blood Hound Gangs back-beat that didn't quite cover the sounds from the video.

[angrydurf]

Mike looked up at the screen with growing horror, his mind trying to desperately parse what he was seeing. He flushed both with anger that someone would do this and embarrassment, hands clenching into fists. He didn't really think about any of it riding a wave of conflicting emotions from the recesses of his mind where Zoe's psychic signature had wedged itself upon her arrival as 'His little girl'. With an outraged roar he brought his fists down on the floor in a brutal double ax handle chop. The jacket of his already too tight Tux splitting seams along his back and shoulders to hang loosely, the impact splintering the wood and sending fissures spidering out in the wake of a buffeting shockwave as the whole floor shook under the force of his blow sending all but the strongest and most agile students to the ground and toppling the projector with a crash. Face flushed, and still crouched he glared around the room in a red haze looking for something or someone to vent his anger upon. His heaving breath radiating almost palpable wrath at this stunt.

[N/A]

Oh SPRAK! He's gonna kill someone! Great job, Z!

Zoe raced over to her future Daddy, weaving around fallen students and shattered floorboards until she was right up in his face, doing all she could to take up his entire field of vision despite their significant height difference. DAD! She shouted into his mind, then grabbed onto his massive shoulders. "You need to slow down!"

Zoe had been able to share her great speed with others for quite a while now. It had never occurred to her that, if she could give speed, then perhaps she could take it away, too. She clenched her eyes shut, concentrated on sharing her energy with Mike, and then imagined herself pulling that energy away instead of pushing it over him.

"This isn't your fight. Don't get sucked into my farked-up drama any more than you already have."

[alderwitch]

Time rippled and stopped around Mike, halting him in his tracks for a barely perceptible heart beat before the Terminus energy around him seemed to flex and warp. Before this moment, Phalanx had ever been a bastion of all that was good and right with this world but in his rage, the Terminus felt just the kind destructive potential in the youth and pushed. Zoe's own Terminus energy was no match for that sort of power and time sprung back on its normal course with a teeth grinding squeal to those who could perceive it.

[Electra]

Erin had been staring open-mouthed at the screen, unable to look away from James and Zoe's naked writhing, so it was only her impeccably honed reflexes that kept her on her feet when Mike started freaking out. She leapt over a folding chair that blew past her and landed at a run that took her straight to Mike, then stopped herself as Zoe tried to... whatever she was trying to do. Erin felt a ripple of nausea pass over her as the air seemed to twist and warp for a second, but then it was gone, and she still had work to do.

Jumping onto Mike's back, she attempted to hold him down before he could hurt anyone, for all he was much stronger than she was, and entirely beyond reason at the moment. "Mike, come on!" she demanded. "Stop and think about this! Somebody's going to get hurt!" But between his strength and the many distractions surrounding them, Erin just couldn't get a good grip on him.

[quotemyname]

As the racy scenes played across the screen on the stage, Eddie stood in stunned silence. He had a front row seat, after all. His face was ghost white and showed no expression what so ever. His arms fell limply to his sides as they failed to continue clapping completely of their own accord.

Ten seconds past. Ten whole agonizingly long seconds of watching the love of his life in the throws of passion with another man, one of his best friends. In ten seconds, he could not count the times he felt his heart break. He'd lost count.

Ten seconds of suffering came and went without so much as a peep from the master of music and sound. And then the earth exploded.

Eddie never saw Mike wind up, or hit the ground with all of his might. He didn't see it because he didn't care. He didn't so much react, as he did vibrate. When the shock wave hit him, the minute vibrations running through his body were enough to combat the forces of the shaking earth and kept him upright. Even when one of the large fissures in the ground sped toward his feet he did not move. The vibrations of his feet simply slid him out of the way.

Zoe charged from the stage. She reacted first. Just as he knew she would. She would come running towards him, and tell him about the lies. But she instead ran to Mike, and Eddie's heart broke all over again.

Erin joined Zoe, and the two of them made a valiant effort to restrain Mike. Though it seemed to no avail.

Then, everything went quiet. The entire room seemed like it had the volume on it turned down by about half. When Eddie finally spoke, his seemed like the only voice in the room. When he spoke, his voice lacked emotion just like his face. It was a hollow shell of his usual bright and cheery tone. His voice was chillingly quiet. Barely above a whisper. It sounded even, and subdued. Yet everyone in the room could hear it with no problem. "No more lies, Zo." His voice cracked. Eddie's beautiful perfect sing-song voice broke mid sentence. "Tell me you didn't do it." He closed his eyes for the first time in the many precious seconds since the movie clip had started and when they shut, a single tear rolled down his face.

Eddie always had a smile on his face. It was always the type of smile that brightened a room, and made children laugh. If ever he wasn't wearing that smile, it was only because something was very and truly wrong. Today, Eddie cried, and watching the tears roll down his face was like watching a star in the night sky blink out forever.

His face turned towards Mike, Erin, and Zoe. He didn't have to wait for her to speak. He knew instantly when he saw her face what her answer would be. Slowly, he shook his head, not wanting to believe it. "I should have known."

Eddie turned his now tear streaked face towards James, one of the only others in the room who was still standing. "How could you?"

One more look at Zoe, "Goodbye, Zoe." and all of the molecules in Eddie's body vibrated furiously. In the next instant, he was gone. With his departure, the sound in the room returned to normal.

Seconds later, the sound of tires squealing could be heard in the parking lot many stories below.

[Gizmo]

When the video of James and Zoe appeared on the screen, Trevor took a reflexive half-step backward in surprise, bursts of midnight mist pouring from his tear duct involuntarily to obscure his wincing vision as a garbled exclamation caught in his throat. "Gnnn..." Mike's outburst blew the small stygnian cloud apart and bowled the unbalanced youth off his feet. By the time he'd gracefully recovered, Erin had already sprinted forward to restrain her enraged friend. Trusting her to take care of that, Trevor scanned the crowd with narrowed eyes amidst the sudden chaos. Rather than concerning himself with the social implications, the first thought that occurred to him was that someone had to have intentionally set all of it into motion, tapering with the projector. Drama, the dark haired young man thought with an inward sigh just as he spotted a student who'd been sent sprawling from beside the device by the shockwave. Wordlessly, Trevor sprinted in that direction, intent on dealing with the situation at its source.

[angrydurf]

Mike struggled with Erin for a moment as she tried to tackle him then raised her over his head and threw her in James direction with a growled, "Get off me." In his enraged state his aim was off and she slammed into the wall next to him. When he missed he grumbled as he closed the distance quickly between James and himself only to Have Erin thrust herself in the path of his attack. Frustration mounting Mike spun flinging her once again across the room and out of his way.

[Electra]

Erin barely had time to react as Mike plucked her effortlessly off his shoulders and launched her at James. She tucked herself into a ball and missed hitting him, but at the cost of slamming into the stage wall next to him with enough force to crack the plaster. Spinning, she was just in time to see Mike bounding up towards James with murder in his eyes. Shrugging off the momentary disorientation of her flight and impact, she stepped into his path. "Mike, think about this, you don't-" She didn't even have time to finish before he was tossing her again, but at least this time she was ready for it. Meeting the far wall of the room with her outstretched hands, she bounced harmlessly to the floor and wobbled on her heels a moment before turning back to the fray.

[Avenger Assembled]

Mark checked on his battered date and pulled himself to his feet. "I'll be right back," he promised Zarana, stealing a quick kiss before running pell-mell to the confrontation between Mike and James. Just as Mike tossed Erin aside, Mark ran between Mike and James. He didn't hesitate a fraction: instead he ripped open his tux and white shirt, sending buttons flying everywhere as he exposed his fragile pink torso to Mike's fists. "You gonna hit me too, Mike?" he asked, disappointment in his eyes. "I'm not as tough as Erin, but I'm still going to put myself in front of your fists before you do something you'll regret later."

[Cyroa]

James stood on the short stage and stared as the projector came to life and played over that night. So many thoughts went raging through his head, even as he watched, pretty much as unable to turn away as anyone else. He betrayed his friend, friends really. Destroyed their trust in him. All because he'd been wallowing in self pity and too drunk to use his brain. It wasn't like he'd never slept with a girl who had a boyfriend before. But this was the first time that mattered to him. That the boyfriend was his friend. Of course he was also thinking that Daisy needed a trip to one of the lower levels of hell for this...It was fleeting but it was satisfying despite its brevity.

About then, Mike, another one of his best friends, Zoe's sort of father, got angry. A ridiculously rare event. For good reason apparently as the floor exploded. James staggered a step, remaining standing as much through habit as luck. Then there a whallop of a sudden spiking headache as Zoe and Mike's energies clashed; his overly used senses of late practically overwhelmed by the strength of the burst.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Erin trying to stop Mike with about as much success as she could wrestle a force of nature which Mike very much seemed to be at the moment. But James' eyes were on Eddie. The one who James had really hurt. The one who he'd betrayed. He heard Eddie's words with crystal clarity but what could he say? Sorry just didn't cut it. There were no words that would; nothing could justify what had happened. And while he knew he wasn't entirely blameless, James knew damn well his own guilt. Before he could even open his mouth Eddie was gone.

He almost went after him, should have, but Erin flying at his head proved to be a more immediate concern. She was up and back at Mike in the blink of an eye, only to meet the same unstoppable force. Then Mark too stood in front of the angry paragon, ready to take a beating he didn't deserve.

"You gonna hit me too, Mike?" he asked, disappointment in his eyes. "I'm not as tough as Erin, but I'm still going to put myself in front of your fists before you do something you'll regret later."

James could have left, turned invisible, done any one of a dozen things. But he wasn't going to run. "No you're not Mark. Move," he said, stepping forward and pushing Mark gently, if insistently, out of the way. He stood in front of the imposing teen and didn't move. "Mike. You want to vent, to hit someone, to hit me? Then do it. I won't move. I deserve it and worse besides." The fact that Mike could likely punch him through this building and the next two beyond it was not lost on him. While he didn't particularly want to be crushed, on some level he kind of wanted it to happen. "I'm not going to justify it or apologize to you. The only person I should be apologizing to just left. That doesn't mean I didn't hurt you and everyone else though and I know it. And you have no idea how sorry I am that I did so. That probably doesn't mean much to you anymore, but it's true." He stood stock still, looking up a little at Mike and waited to see how badly he had hurt the titanic youth.

[alderwitch]

Like the others, Alex had been knocked down in Mike's burst of temper but unlike the rest of them, she didn't surge to her feet again. Sitting on the floor of the ballroom, she'd had time to weigh her options before deciding on a course of action. Altering the minds of others was about as morally reprehensible a thing Alex could think of to do but when weighing that against the additional layers of hurt that these memories would cause Zoe...

'I am so very, very sorry.'

Everyone in the ballroom heard Alex's mental voice and one by one in too rapid succession for anyone but Zoe to track, the faces of the teenagers of Claremont went first blank, and then confused as they looked around and tried to make sense of a scene that they simply didn't remember the last half a minute of. As for those centrally affected, they felt the pulse of power whoosh by and around them, wiping the students on either side but leaving them untouched. When the last memory had been altered, Alex simply put her head down on her knees, arms locked tight around them and shuddered.

[angrydurf]

Mike turned back towards James but already his mind was beginning to catch up with his reactions. As Mark stepped between him and James his raised fist dropped to his side. He shook his head slowly, "No Mark I'm not." he said eyes downcast with shame. He strained every moment of every day to hold back and he had slipped and almost hurt someone he once called a friend. His eyes slid to James with a small shake of his head, "I'm sorry James. I just lost it, I ..." he trailed off. He couldn't really explain what had driven him into that anger, he didn't even really know. He turned to Zoe and just shook his head in disappointment, 'We'll talk about this later.' he thought to her disappointment thick in his thoughts.

[quotemyname]

I can't believe that mike is the one they're worried about. Eddie thought to himself as he pulled onto the freeway. He shifted Jame's Mustang into 6th gear and floored the accelerator, rapidly coming up to speed.

The radio clicked on. Killswitch Engage's "My Curse" blasted through the speakers.

Suddenly, the car began moving faster. The music was flowing into him, and through him to the car. He was briefly reminded of earlier in the day when Zoe pulled the same stunt. That only made him angrier. He gripped the steering wheel tighter.

The needle on the car's odometer had long ago reached the maximum of "250mph". The car kept speeding up. Eddie thought of the ballroom and all those inside it. His friends on Young Freedom with their communicators. His radio senses tracked the locations of those communicators. There were at least three of them... He quickly triangulated the location of a few of the things in the room.

"I watched you walk AWAAAAAY!

Helpless, with nothing to say."

"Here's your @#$%ing car back, James. I don't think I'm going to need it anymore."

"I strain my eyes

Hoping to see you AGAAAA-" The car vanished from the highway.

----

There had finally been a few seconds of quiet in the ballroom. Things were suddenly becoming sensible again. And then a bright blue 2010 Shelby Mustang GT came screaming out of the air, aimed straight at James "AAAIN!!!"

[Electra]

Erin had run back across the ballroom the moment she'd finished being thrown around it, but by the time she got back to Mike and James, the situation had started to calm down. Relieved, she looked around for Trevor, hoping he hadn't gotten thrown down too hard or hit by something flying through the air. The appearance of a car squealing tires in the middle of the ballroom put an end to the search pretty quickly. Erin didn't bother to think; she'd had too many practice sessions with Archer to succumb to that folly. She grabbed James and tossed him out of the path of the car, then dove herself, tucking and rolling as the tires passed an inch away from the hem of her now very battered dress.

[angrydurf]

Mike had neither Erins situational awareness nor reflexes. He barely noticed the car squealing towards them by the time his faster teammate had already pushed James out of the way and rolled clear. He didn't have time to move, he hardly had time to turn and sweep Mark behind him before the impact.

Throwing his free arm up to shield his face he planted his feet and braced for the impact just as the car hit. With titanic force and a deafening crash the sleek sports car slammed into him. It was almost like slow motion to his eyes the bumper wrapping around his legs as the panels crumpled and glass shattered outwards. Jagged shrapnel of the impact sliced through his tattered Tux and bit into his impervious skin. The vehicle flattened against him crushing around his steely form. As the dust cleared the car was mangled almost beyond recognition Eddies unconscious form trapped within the tangled wreckage.