ic Autumn in the Park

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack's eyes widened, fangs popping in his own mouth, but instead of roaring imprecations at Set he turned to Comrade Frost and declared, "Fangs! Dimitri, he has fangs!" 

The two vampires ignored Set, and for that matter Huang, and they actually embraced right there in front of everyone. "Wonderful news, Jack!" declared Comrade Frost, thumping his friend on the back as he looked down at the red-eyed and bloody-mouthed younger Faretti. "Such a day. He has tried so hard to make boy mature," he said expansively to Set, proud as an uncle should be, "and now it has happened. Perhaps boy just needed dose of Vitamin S, eh?" he winked at Set, earning himself a glare from Jack that made him roll his eyes affectionately. "Oh, boy is sixteen! What were you then?" 

"Alive," replied Faretti. "I...all right." A bit sulkily, the elder Faretti said, "Set, I shouldn't have called you a bloodwhore." He looked down at Huang. "Yes! Bite me, son! Sink in those teeth! You're almost done." 

Dimitri caught Set's eye and made a 'I don't even know' face. "Porheps a little more weather illusion could keep any bystanders from spying such...ah, things? We could build a SNOWMAN!" he said grandly. 

[Gizmo]

The bizarre father-son subtext of the scene didn't seem to bother Set on bit, given her own unusual upbringing, but that didn't mean she didn't find plenty of other elements objectionable. "I do not believe I am comfortable with you attributing honorifics to any part of my form, Frost, least of all my fluids," she muttered, though with a wave of her hand the godling followed his suggestion and darkened the clouds over the park until they clearly threatened renewed showers. After taking a moment to snap her fingers to instantly dry out her own clothing she glowered at Jack. "Magnanimous indeed, yet I find myself still ill deposed toward your charms, curiously." From her expression there was every chance the godling might have taken the opportunity to demonstrate her annoyance more physically had Huang not still been feeding, that fact fortunately giving her pause enough to forego her less forgiving instincts and instead let ill-concealed self-reproach surface instead. "...he be recovering, then? Truly I did not think my... diminished power would elicit such a reaction."

[angrydurf]

Huang backed off from Jacks arm at his firs opportunity while the potent blood of the elder vampire was almost intoxicating in its own right it was as well a source of grave cognitive dissonance for hte already addled teen.  He sat down hard on the ground closing his eyes as he tried to focus his mind and senses  though now with Jacks blood coursing through him as well every rustle of leaves, or swish of fabric thundered in his ears.  Every gust of wind prickled his skin as he felt the breeze more keenly than before, every blade of grass like a an imprint against his palm the details firing into his mind on the amplified nerves of his awakened vampiric potency.  

With a shuddering breath he slowly stood and opened his eyes, the dark clouds remained though the vibrant predatory red throbbed through for a few long moments before he with some effort retracted his fangs to their former length.  He glared at Jack with the angst only a teen could really manage for their parent and shied away from Frost and the horrorshow that was his astral locale.  Breathing deeply he finally muttered out, "Recovered enough."  he revealed and with some effort looked around as the ghostly afterimages of the astral became easier to distinguish from reality.  He glared again at Jack, "And I don't need to buy companionship."  he groused frowning at the elder Faretti.  

He shook his head slightly to Set, "Not exactly the potency of your blood, my inexperience."  he admitted with an uncharacteristic blush and self awareness.  He frowned at the ground for a long time, "Your power though diminished opened my eyes wide to other realms."  he offered with a shrug, "Nothing any of us could really anticipate,"  he added frankly and feeling a bit more himself offered a wry grin, "I am unique,"  he offered following it with a sarcastic, "Yay."  and celebratory twirl of one finger.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Feh, I am charming old gentleman, as well you know." Frost rubbed his chin. "Well, porheps not gentleman in technical parlance," he conceded. 

"You shouldn't be having _any_ kind of companionship," said Jack firmly, pulling his shirtsleeve back down and buttoning at his wrist again. "You are sixteen." He had evidently missed, or not quite understood, his son's spiritual awakening. He looked at Set and said, "And I don't know how old you are right now," he admitted, "but you should be staying away from sixteen year olds too." He looked at Huang and said, "Boy, we are going to find your teacher and they are going to explain to me what you're doing in the park, then we are going to take you home so your mother can have words with you. I need the keys, Dimitri. This is going to be a family talk." Frost tossed Faretti the keys as the father firmly began escorting his son across the park and towards the nearby museum where the boy was supposed to be.   

"Well," said Frost after a time as father and son began to head in the opposite direction. "Sounds like you were having more fun today than I was!" He smiled at Set, a little awkwardly. "Sooo....probably a raw deal, eh? He'll get over it, you know how young people are. Hey, you want to go to party?" he asked suddenly. "I know lady who would like to meet you! She is fun times!"

[Gizmo]

"Unique be good, handsome. Get some rest." Although she had more she would have liked to say to Huang's father the godling wasn't on the mortal plane because she wanted to get into heated arguments with other people's obnoxious relatives. Instead she let the pair leave without objection; obviously the dhampir was going to need time to recuperate and the mood had certainly been irreparably damaged. Planting her hands on her hips once they were out of earshot she confided to Frost, "Well, not so raw a deal. I placed my number in his phone whist we waited. And set the ringtone to a terribly catchy Janelle Monáe track. And made a rather flattering self portrait of myself his wallpaper." She glanced over at Frost and looked fairly smug for someone who'd been caught accidentally getting her impromptu makout partner high. "Quite fetching, even. I have every confidence a second date be imminent." Tilting her head to one side she considered his offer. "...actual fun or Russian 'fun'?"

[angrydurf]

Frowning at Jack though still reeling a bit from the astral overlay he was still trying to process less schizophrenically he grumbled several unflattering things about his father and his doubtless lonesome and useless teen years.  He offered a wan smile to Set as he was unceremoniously hauled off to pay the piper, "Until next time then."  he replied shooting his father a defiant glare the flash of vampiric red burning for a moment through the cloudy black Sets blood had turned his gaze.

Huang stiffly marched at Jacks side back to the museum only occasionally side stepping entities that only he could make out, "I was getting it under control."  He argued fruitlessly, "And the museum is dull and tired and you know it." He glanced to Jack, "Youd've bailed too."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Why on Earth would you want to be like me as a teenager?" Avenger rounded on his son, bafflement on his face. "I was an arrogant, ungrateful bastard. You are lucky I have matured in the years since, boy." 

Jack wound up chewing out Jack Jr's completely mortified chaperone with vigor, right there in front of all the other boys! Afterwards, with a promise of an imminent conference with the headmaster, Jack dragged his son back to the car and loaded him in the backseat - right next to JJ's booster seat. The elder Faretti trusted that the message was not lost on his son. After driving peevishly into traffic, peering unhappily through his sunglasses, he finally said, "So...real fangs, eh? That must feel pretty good. You know, the last time I fed off the divine, I..." Huang listened to his father fall silent for a time, then reach over and pick up the phone and dial his mother. "Your mother is going to be disappointed in you. And in that school." 

[angrydurf]

Huang shrugged, "Didn't say I wanted to be like you."  he grumbled ducking under a low lintel that was not actually low.  "Yea times change."  Huang jibed back with a sarcastic smile and waved a hand directing Jack towards the hapless chaperone who stammered out mingled apologies and excuses before finally agreeing to a meeting with the headmistress huang spent most of the time making bored faces at his dads back and rolling his eyes at his classmates with a, 'what're you gonna do.  Parents right.' kinda shrug from the likely almost as mortified students.  At least Matt could rest assured his conflict with the busy body docent over his dogs wouldn't be the biggest issue to come out of the trip.

Back in the car huang slumped half sideways in the back and leaned his head against the glass of hte window both to star out at the astral sky unfolding above and try to ignore whatever gross things his dad was going to talk about next.  "Pretty sure last time you fed off the divine Mom threw a table at you and wouldn't let it go for fifteen years."  he pointed out archly, "also that is so not something we ever need to discuss again."  he added with a shudder.  He watched his dad dial and slumped back against the window with a belaboured sigh, "Great round two of hypocrisy live."  he sneered, "Woooo."

[alderwitch]

"Hey, honey. One second," Taylor's warm voice floated out over the car's speakers, cheerfully ignorant of any hijinks currently unfolding. In the background, heightened senses could certainly pick up the faint hiss-pop of a gate snapping open and beyond that, faint outrage in a language that wasn't English. Taylor paused, putting one gloved hand over the mouthpiece of her phone as she pushed the artifact back into its proper dimension. Her phone crackled as she teleported - no reason to rack up international minutes if she didn't need to, after all.

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to call. Did your meetings finish up early? Want to come join me for a bit before picking up JJ? We could break out your old costume," Taylor suggested, clearly having far more pleasant activities in mind for the afternoon. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Y-our son is in the doghouse," replied Jack with the tone of voice of a man who just realized he wasn't going to get any this afternoon after all. "I just picked him up from his school field trip where evidently he snuck away to get high with Set on godblood." He punctuated the words the way he punctuated a beating - with gusto. "He's currently tripping his damn balls off in the backseat of the BMW. I'm on my way home, where I've told him that you will have some words with him about misusing his precious gift of life on stupid teenage buffoonery. On the plus side, he finally managed to grow his damn fangs. We can have a party after I chew off somebody's head at that school of his."

[angrydurf]

"ohhh ohhh Ewwww nooooo stop now."  Huang barked in the back seat as his mom began making with the suggestive talk, "That just is not right."  he scolded with a shake of his head disgusted by the prospect of his parents sex life like only someone mistaken for a significant other more often than child could be.

"And I did not sneak off to get high on anything!"  he argued hotly, "That just happened after we banished the demon and mopped up the cultists!"  he explained mater of factly as if that was a perfectly normal outing and precursor to making out.  On the plus side given his audience it probably was.  It was certainly the basis of him thinking it not out of the ordinary.  He crossed his arms hunching his shoulders at the harsh words from his father grumbling, "And I'm pretty sure I'm not tripping balls."  he countered though it would be more believable if he wasn't wincing away from the astral entities flying through the windshield as Jack sped down the expressway.

[alderwitch]

Taylor did not have supernatural hearing but she was practiced at picking out Jack's deeper voice from the noise of youthful complaints at this point. There was a long pause from the phone which was never a good sign. Taylor - or Phantom - had the pregnant pause down to a fine art. It wasn't hard to picture the thousand yard stare that was wasted on a cell phone. 

"What?" She finally said, although it was less question and perhaps more prayer. Taylor had such a nice afternoon planned. This was not that nice afternoon. Still, start with the easy task, "Oh, Heshem's teeth, Huang. I didn't even say anything ribald to your father. There are worse things than having two parents that are still together and affectionate. And you, my son, have little room to throw stones today. You snuck out of class to fight cultists? Do you have a death wish?"

The hollow boom of Phantom's voice didn't quite translate through the phone's speaker but it was clear enough. "And Set?"

There was a sudden pause, this one different than the former, before Taylor finally managed, "Hrmmmm."

Now, Taylor had many 'hm's, like any good mystic. That one, at least to Jack's ear, had the distinct timber of 'I have something I probably should have mentioned but failed to do so'. It wasn't the worst of 'hm's but it was not a GOOD one either. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Yes, Set. They were canoodling right there on Heroes' Knoll - right where anyone with the senses to make out a vampire could be watching, ready to destroy the monster polluting their sacred spot. Except his teachers, evidently." With long experience, Taylor could tell Jack was staring right at the Bluetooth, trying to pry what had been left unsaid by his lovely wife. "That's the one you met at the park the other day, wasn't it? The one with the cat girlfriend and the website? If I hadn't known Set switched genders, I'd have thought it was his randy sister." Sometimes Jack didn't really pay attention when his wife spoke, but he usually caught most of the pertinent details. "Did you think to ask, boy, if perhaps a 5000 year old god might be the wrong person to fool around with?" he went on. "That they might have ancient enemies, and old lovers, that would gladly feed you your liver?" 

[angrydurf]

Huang huffed and crossed his arms scowling at the world and trying to close out the astral interlopers to his vision with little success.  He let out a slow sigh and rolled his eyes as hard as he could, "I didn't sneak out to fight cultists the cultists were just there what was I supposed to do let them summon a demon of the fourth circle and worship it as a god?"  he grumbled about the double standards he had to live with and frowned at his mothers assumptions about his abilities, "They were hopped up humans with terminal stupidity the demon made them think they were raising old Set."  he pointed out as if it was ll a misunderstanding and his actions had been perfectly above board.  "I banished the Demon and Set took down the Cultists they couldn't even manage to hit me they were strictly amature hour."  he argued petulantly.

At Jacks words his frown deepened, "We were hidden from the knoll so the cops wouldn't find me and call you guys."  he pointed out smugly, "uh I mean..."  he prevaricated briefly and shook his head, "It doesn't even matter and Sets enemies are Horus the Avenger who I don't exactly see storming the gates of prime to kick his old foes new boyfriend.  Even the heliopeans aren't that big of dicks." he argued fervently, "Not like I was playing pass the ambrosia with some olympian I have some standards."

[alderwitch]

Taylor's hiss was audible through the phone. Bringing up Olympians and canoodling in the same breath was certainly a short ticket to Taylor's temper showing up. This time, Taylor's pause was all about counting to ten before she started shouting, likely in multiple languages. 

"I'll see if Stesha will watch JJ so we can deal with this," Taylor said which was perfectly sound and reasonable although the words were testy. "Hopefully the worst of it will have run its course by the time you're home I can figure out exactly what sort of affect its had on his physiology. Yes, Set and Sehkmet were the ones I met the other day at the park. Actually..."

Taylor paused and sighed, "I gave Set our son's number as they're not the sort to call on more authoritative figures like me but I never thought it would turn into this, clearly. I don't know what his professors are thinking. You're welcome to call and read who ever you'd like the riot act when you get home, honey." 

That, right there, was tacit apology for Taylor's failure to mention she'd given Set their son's number. Taylor almost never washed her hands of Jack terrifying people in their social circles these days. It also helped that Taylor, too, was irritated at the school. But mostly it was apology. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"I will," promised Avenger. "See you soon." 

He hung up the phone and father and son drove in silence for a while. "You're lucky she didn't teleport into the car," he said firmly. "Or teleport you out of it, directly into your bedroom closet." Ah, so many nights trying to build the boy's night-vision. "Anyway, you already know what you did was very foolish. You don't need to hear it again from me. What was so boring about that museum you had to slip anyway, anyway? Don't you know we know people in that place?" 

[angrydurf]

Huang rolled his eyes slightly at the empty threats.  If he was to be punished it would be far more targeted and far less unilateral and he knew it.  "Of course I know that."  he huffed with a shake of his head, parents just didn't understand, "You told me at least twelve times when you found out we were going."  he pointed out omitting they of course had not found out from Huang of course.  Shooting his father a wild eyed 'you have to be kidding me' look that would have been a better effect were all his looks not a bit wild eyed and crazed at the moment, the petulant teen explained, "You told me all about them over and over."  with biting sarcasm.

He fixed hi gaze on the foot-well and let the car roll along for several minutes before further elucidating, "I knew everything in there already, I've met half those peoples and heard first hand tellings of most of those displays." he argued archly, "So yea I bailed."  he offered as they pulled into the garage and he stomped through the door shouting back over his shoulder, "I was trying to research Hepcat, who the museums pretty much ignore other than that one awkward photo."  he said crossing his arms across his chest and tucking his chin as he leaned against the counter ready for whatever verbal barrage his parents were going to launch.

[alderwitch]

"Hepcat? The magic-by-music hero?" Taylor's voice preceded her into the kitchen. The ghosts were conspicuously absent from the area. They were always less active during the day but usually there was one or two around to at least say hello when the arguably more living members of the household returned. She eyed her son for a moment, taking in the black eyes as she crossed over in front of him to peer at him with all of her mystic senses. Huang was steadily approaching his father's height so Taylor had to reach up to press her thumbs to either side of his temples.

"He's alright, Jack," Taylor reassured her spouse over her shoulder, although the bulk of her concentration was on summoning magic to her fingertips. The healing spells Taylor knew were familiar to Huang as he'd been the recipient of them many times in the past so the warmth of his mom's fingertips was a familiar one whether or not he followed along with the spell. It took more effort than usual as it wasn't something so simple as a scraped knee this time. As the black cleared from Huang's eyes and his vision refocused on just this dimension, Taylor's shoulders sagged slightly, "There, let's just have one world to look at instead of all of them, hm?"

Taylor stepped back then towards Jack, leaving the teenager to reestablish his space, her fingertips twisting the amulet on the chain thoughtfully. She'd had time to think, at least, since the phone had hung up. There was thus far no shouting nor threats of grounding from everything forever. That had failed to prove successful, "Alright, so, let's have a conversation about today."

She reached out to lightly touch Jack's arm, "There was something you said that I think we ought to talk about first and we can get to, well, the rest of it later. You seem to think that your father and I don't have faith in your ability to handle yourself, which, perhaps warrants a deeper conversation. There is a very large difference between what we think you are capable of and what we want you to have to deal with."

Taylor's gaze turned up towards Jack, a question in her dark eyes as she included him in the conversation, "We were adults - adults who made choices to pick this kind of life but you were born into it. Your father was an adult when he was made a vampire and had a few years of that life before he became Avenger. I had training with the keepers before I became Phantom full time. Sure, honey, we've told you stories about it but..." Taylor hesitated and then carried on into new territory, "...But not all of it. Not of how scared I was the first time I was out there alone. Or the many, many times I came home bruised and battered to my college apartment to wait for things to heal, or worse. Do I think you can handle some of the things I dealt with? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean I want you to."

[angrydurf]

Huang shook his head to clear the last of the ghosted imagery once his mother sealed the veil to his sight once more.  Peering out under unkempt bangs he was wary of the change in tact.  He had been prepared for yelling and recriminations, had great lines about making friends being why he was at the dumb school in the first place, or that he was supposed to let a potent demon just roam free because some deluded cultists actually believed the scaly bastard was Set.  But now that was all useless because his mother was playing some kind of earnest heart to heart card.  Man parents never fought fair.

As her words washed over him his features gentled slightly and he blew out a slow breath, "So then why send me away?"  he snapped perhaps harsher than he intended but he was a teen boy and transforming feels to anger was second nature, "You or Dad could give me ten times the preparation they do, or you could finally call in one of the zillion favors Eldritch or the other magi owe you."  he pointed out huffing to blow one bang out of his eyes.  He looked back and forth between them, "You're right I was born into this so the whole training wheels for super tykes things chafes a bit."

[Avenger Assembled]

"You deserve better than that," replied Jack, the words almost shooting out of his mouth as he caught the resentment in his son's voice. "I don't know what happened in the original timeline," because you couldn't be honest with us about that from the start, "but you deserve better than growing up a super-brat, with nothing but our capes between you and the world out there. Whatever may have happened today," he said, unconsciously rubbing the spot where his son had bitten him earlier, "you are not some alien from the future, and you are not Ouroboros when you're not in costume and fighting crime. You are a human boy, and you deserve to grow up like one." By now, because that was the kind of father Jack was, he was practically standing nose-to-nose with Jack Jr. "We sent you to that school because we love you!" 

[angrydurf]

Huang met Jacks gaze and to his credit for longer than most were able to hold it before breaking away.  Staring at the floor he merely shook his head, "Yea because any of us have any idea what that would even be like."  he murmured pugnaciously and shrugged, "But sure fine we can play this game of pretending I'm a real boy."  he said and glanced to taylor then Jack, "But real boys don't like dreary museums to human hubris and do like pretty girls if I'm supposed to be out playing at normal that's what I was doing, meeting people making friends."  he threw up his hands despairingly, "If they'll even talk to me after my dad ran in to call them a whore."

The young Dhampir huffed again in the general direction of Jack at that and looked to Taylor curiously, "So what am I grounded from now?"

[alderwitch]

"Well, that never stopped me talking to your father and I think that may be the only thing Claudia has ever called me. Dracula too. Honestly, most of your father's associates fire that one off at some point, come to think of it," Taylor paused, briefly distracted from her reassurance to frown. There were many, many good reasons that Taylor didn't show up to almost any of the vampiric functions of her spouse. She reached out to rest her fingertips on Jack's arm, the touch light, "Regardless, things will work out there one way or another."

It was a bit vague on the reassurances but Taylor had gotten only the briefest of details of that particular venue, "There will be plenty of time to be a hero in your near immortal life span. Enjoy just being a teenager for a bit. Just... try. Please."

Taylor's brown eyes remained troubled and she sighed then, "Your father and I will talk about appropriate punishment. We're running out of things to ground you from at this rate."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Forget that, I don't want you hanging around with that Set character until we know exactly what that blood did to you," said Jack, looking unrepentant for his name-calling. After all, he'd already apologized! "That means no visits, no phonecalls, no emails, without our permission." He folded his arms, reaching down to put one hand on top of Taylor's. "I think you have schoolwork you need to be doing." he said, shooting a pointed glance in the direction of Huang's room. "You'll be in enough trouble when you get back there tomorrow. There's no point n making it worse."

[angrydurf]

Huang rolled his eyes at both of them and stalked off toward his room at the commandment turning to glare back at them, "I WAS trying then there were cultists summoning a greater aspect of Ba'al!" he screamed and stormed into his room slamming the door hard enough to make the hinges screech in complaint and the jamb to crack and threaten to splinter which was also new...

[alderwitch]

"You know that's only going to encourage him in seeking out the relationship," Taylor sighed as their son stormed off with a resounding crash. She closed her eyes briefly, leaning into the support that Jack's shoulder provided. With her eyes still shut, she added, "Well, at least we know the fangs aren't the only thing he's woken up with whatever happened today. We'll have to keep an eye... make sure that it's nothing that he can't handle... Maybe one of my books..."

Taylor's thoughts turned into fragmented mumbling that Jack was largely used to by this point. She stopped and patted his stomach, the gesture soothing, "It'll be alright, Jack. We can handle this too."