Gizmo Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 Jack's shoulder clap was unexpected enough to rock Erik forward slightly but he returned the broader man's smile easily enough, a quiet note of relief in the arch of his eyebrows. "This is nothing, you should see us try to fit everybody in one room at Thanksgiving," he chuckled, with the odd little realization that he was speaking as one family man to another. He took Taylor's offered hand in a loose handshake. "Thanks. It's good to see you guys are... good." Since becoming a father himself he'd begun to better understand the concerns the Farrettis had had about their son's safety and he'd occasionally wondered about their absence from his sphere of interaction after the debacle with Archeville. JJ certainly seemed fine, running around like a tiny bull in a china shop but Erik still tilted his head slightly to one side as he spoke to Taylor, an implied question about the family's continued safety left unspoken.Ellie blinked several times as she tried to reconcile the familiar face with the setting. "Um. Elis. Suuure...? Ah, this is Mara and Yolanda, mi hermano and his wife are over there," she continued a little awkwardly, trying to parse the proper etiquette. "Doct-- Elis is an anesthesiologist at FMC. He's done a few lectures for my program," she explained for Mara's sake, flicking her attention back and forth between the doctor and Yolanda's reaction to her classmate's presence. "I'm a little surprised you recognize me, honestly, given the size of those classes. Plus, uh, I guess you're... in the community? Are we talking about that? Is that a thing we're dealing with?"
Electra Posted September 26, 2015 Posted September 26, 2015 "Why don't we get out the bocce ball," Stesha suggested, walking back towards Ellis and Ellie with Mia tucked securely in one arm. The baby was attempting to eat the big pink flower she clutched in her tiny fist, or maybe pull it apart, but she seemed entertained either way. "It takes so much less time to set up than croquet, and Ammy can teach the other children to play. Then maybe in a little while we'll open that very thoughtful bottle of wine," she suggested to Ellis with an approving smile. "I guess you two already know each other?" she ventured, looking between him and Ellie. "From the university?"
angrydurf Posted September 26, 2015 Posted September 26, 2015 Ellis shrugged to taylor and nodded agreement with Ellies explanation, "Yes, Ms. Espadas was in a few of my Seminars." he explained easily in agreement with the young lady in question. He offered a firm handshake to Jack and the others and gentle smile for Ellie, "Well I don't get a large number of Pre-med students in my CE seminars." he offered and added with a small laugh, "Even rarer they out perform the fellows." he praised easily. He uncertainly shrugged at the quierie about how much of the other side of the gatherings identities were being bandied about. "I," he shrugged, "Am not sure what the social norm there is." he said honestly, "I met Taylor first in that capacity before this gracious invitation was offered." he explained with a nod to Stesha as he passed the basket off."Just a little something I had at the house no trouble." he demurred casually, "Bocce sounds great though Gabe gets rather inventive with the rules, his grandparents are ever indulgent." he excused in advance as he glanced over at the children with that ever roaming parental eye.
Avenger Assembled Posted September 27, 2015 Posted September 27, 2015 "Ah, college," said Fast-Forward expansively, deciding the kids could probably handle themselves, and leaving Holly and Yolanda to head over and find their own snacks. The older kids were probably too big to play bocce ball, but he was confident they'd find ways of entertaining themselves. "I never had any book learning myself," he said with a wink as he zipped back over to the other adult group. "Never even went to high school. You kids are so lucky these days, with your medical school and your college." He put his hand in the pocket of his pastel jacket and came out with a can of beer that had been in the cooler a half-second earlier. "What are you studying?" he asked. "Emergency room stuff, super-medicine...?" -Over the cooler, Holly and Yolanda were standing near each other, socializing in the way that kids who don't really like each other but don't have anyone else their age to to talk to sometimes will do. "Your dad talks a lot," Yolanda opined, shooting a beetle-browed look at Holly as she opened her canned fruit punch. "He's done a lot of cool things," said Holly, once she was absolutely sure her father wasn't listening to their conversation. "He can talk about whatever he wants."
alderwitch Posted September 27, 2015 Author Posted September 27, 2015 "We're good," Taylor confirmed, the words quiet and she gave a slight tip of her head to indicate that she'd heard the unspoken question. "Good enough. Although, the older version of JJ you've met isn't, as it turns out, that much older. So we have an angry teenager around the house. Which is endlessly exciting, let me tell you. The kids have been safe, though, perhaps a little too safe in some ways."Taylor gave a helpless shrug of her shoulders. It was a little hard to impress consequences on the whole 'I'm teenage so I'm immortal' thing when everyone in the house was, in fact, immortal. Taylor would have gone on to say more when she realized the uncomfortable uncertainty that Ellis had about secret identities, "Oh, sorry, Elis. He's just come into things a bit abruptly. I knew his wife - she was in a line of work not all that dissimilar from what I do - which Elis has taken over." Taylor said, apologetically as she delicately maneuvered around his deceased predecessor and spouse. "But you know mystics. We tend to end up working alone and it's not always so great so I thought a few introductions might not be amiss."Taylor paused and then added, helpfully, "I teleported into his car in costume. Perhaps not my most subtle of moments." She still failed to look entirely apologetic.
Gizmo Posted September 29, 2015 Posted September 29, 2015 "Ha! What is he, like eighteen?" Erik asked, recalling his brief rooftop run-in with the fun-sized Avenger knock-off. "That's explain the whole trying-to-be-Dad-but-won't-admit-it vibe. I get a lot of teenagers at the school-- oh, I'm teaching self-defense now." He walked over and retrieved a couple of beers from the cooler while Talyor was reassuring her doctor friend and sauntered back over. "They all figure they'll take a couple of classes and turn into Bruce Lee, right? Usually a couple of good kids who stick with in from every bunch, though." Handing one of the cans to Elis he popped the tab on the other for himself. "Family thing, huh? We know how that goes, eh love?" he commiserated, looking over to his wife but otherwise leaving it at that. He caught Jack's eye as the broader man looked over and offered a small shrug. Not that long ago he would have had a lot more to say about a new face walking around with everybody unmasked but the doctor had some good character witnesses and Erik supposed he'd mellowed some. Maybe."Oh, um," Ellie began, a little distracted as she strained her neck to keep an eye on Yolanda with a small frown at her reaction to the other girl, "well, a lot of those guys honestly aren't that bright so--" Her brain caught up to her mouth and she realized that she wasn't exactly achieving the desired level of humility in response to Elis' compliment. "Ah! I mean... thank you...?" She caught Mara's hand and gave it a small squeeze, hoping against hope that her girlfriend could rise to the occasion and be the less socially awkward between them. "I'm just glad there was the option to take more advanced courses. And emergency medicine, yeah," she added in response to the older guy with super-speed who looked a little familiar even if she couldn't place him exactly.
Fox Posted September 30, 2015 Posted September 30, 2015 (edited) Mara had found herself highly distracted by Yolanda's socializing as well, but being somewhat shorter and trying not to hover over the child had left her with few options and a deep desire to deploy a drone. For careful monitoring purposes. Which was basically spying, come to think of it, and probably not okay for a would-be parent and maybe a faux pas for a party but then she hadn't been to many parties and?--Her girlfriend's squeeze brought her attention back to the party like a rubber band snapping, looking blankly at the group like her brain had shifted without a clutch. One would swear one could almost hear the gears turning in her head as her brain played the group conversation back to her."Mara. Hallomen, I mean. You knew the Mara part," she introduced herself, frowning. "Not actually sure how you deal with 'community'...things, really. Hasn't come up much. Wouldn't object to wine, later. Good idea in moderation. Pretty confident Ellie can out-perform anyone, she is great. Didn't do much school either, myself; didn't have...many opportunities. Worked out okay. Own a tech company now, so. Sympathies on teleporting; teleport into a car is fairly impressive, especially if it was moving. Small target. Understand having to make snap decisions sometimes. At least the idiots who think two hours of lessons will turn them into Bruce Lee get corrected quickly. Really stupid people never realize they're being stupid."She paused for a beat, reviewing, before coming back to Earth and blinking. "....think that was it. S...sorry. Had a bit to unspool. ...not as weird as I sound, promise. Maybe." Edited September 30, 2015 by Fox
Avenger Assembled Posted October 1, 2015 Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) "Nah, that's okay," said Richard, waving his hand sociably at Mara. "I got most of the stuff I could understand. Nice to be around someone else that can talk really fast even if I don't know all the words you're using. Hah-hah, we could probably talk at super-speed, but I wouldn't get any of the science stuff. But I've known my share of scientists, heh-heh, when I was a kid I used to spend summers at Madame Zero's place while my mom ran errands for her. Ah, good times, good times," he said, speaking of the notorious ice controller and murderous science criminal. "So what kind of science do you do?" he asked. -"Your mom talks a lot," said Holly, a little frostily, having caught the conversation between the adults. "She sounds weird." "My mom is a genius," replied Yolanda with unshakeable faith. "And I bet she's done more than your mom or dad both. What do they even do, just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo on television?" Edited October 1, 2015 by Avenger Assembled
Fox Posted October 1, 2015 Posted October 1, 2015 (edited) Mara winced part way through opening her mouth to answer, but couldn't quite hide the smile behind her concern at overhearing Yolanda's prodding. She'd really hoped that some of her less social habits wouldn't rub off on the girl, but as long as they didn't start fighting.... "Many kinds," she answered, recovering on a subject she could at least sound competent in. "Physics, metallurgy, high-energy, entropy, programming. Chemistry, sometimes, though it's not a specialty. I...dabble, I guess," she admitted, shrugging. "Really I just like building things. Robotics, practical applications of exotic sciences. I do...special projects, sometimes, but my company - HAX, H-A-X - mostly consults. Work out bugs in other people's stuff, improve it, optimize it. Good business these days. Not bad for someone with a GED, I'm told. Lot of respect for people doing normal education, though. Not easy. Never envy Ellie's homework." Edited October 1, 2015 by Fox
angrydurf Posted October 2, 2015 Posted October 2, 2015 Ellis flashed an amused smile at the awkward genius pair and shook his head to Ellie, "No thanks needed it's just the truth you just keep it up and I'll be calling you doctor in no time." he said with a small laugh, "Or boss, that is also a distinct possibility." he added with a shrug as he followed Stesha to help unpack and distribute the Bocce set. "Thank you again for having me." he was quick to say as he caught up, "I know almost no one in the biz as it were and I know it can't be easy to open all this to a near stranger." he said graciously, "It is most appreciated." he added finally as he really would be rather lost how to approach any of this without the vague familiarity of a party even if it was in an extradimensional world of giant bees and who knew what else.
Avenger Assembled Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 "My mom and dad have been heroes since before your moms were wearing diapers," seethed Holly in an angry whisper. "They fought in the Terminus Invasion, they-" "They did?" There was not much childish in the look Yolanda gave Holly - before she suddenly looked away. "I...okay." She looked back at Holly and said, "You...you wanna go play bocce ball?" "Yeah," said Holly, giving Yolanda a searching look of her own - and then a tentative, warming smile much like her dad's. "Let's play." -"Radical," said Richard, nodding along with Mara's words. "Science is awesome. My boy is talking about nuclear physics these days, but you know how kids are, every month they're into some new thing." He hmmed. "Hey, with all the science and engineering stuff you know, do you know how to fix an eight-track player?" He held Mara's gaze, then laughed. "Hah! I'm just kidding. Obviously a scientist like yourself has everything on CD by now."
alderwitch Posted October 3, 2015 Author Posted October 3, 2015 "Sixteen," Taylor answered, "And don't ask me whether he's just been stuck at sixteen for a few years or if he was younger when you met him. I don't actually know. It is a real pain trying to get anything like a straight answer from him. So frustrating." She relaxed back, glancing over to her five year old once more before her gaze flicked back to Erik, "Hmmm. Classes you say?" Taylor asked, "I'm trying to keep that kid's schedule as full as I possibly can. I swear, he's trying to see if he can give me grey hairs. Which, if it was physically possible, he'd totally have managed. I can't even successfully keep him out of my library with any regularity. I did ground him from ritual magic. That took some doing. I swear, it's like he has some strange death wish. So how is parenthood treating you thus far?"
Electra Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 "Oh, I'm happy to have you, and your kids," Stesha told Ellis expansively, joggling the baby on her hip. "The more the merrier, right? And they're having fun." She looked over to where some kind of elaborate game of tag was starting to form up, now that Holly and Yolanda had reached detente and joined the other children. Amaryllis and JJ were both attempting to balance precariously on a cooler while shoving at each other with their fingertips, but since the ground was soft and Ammy's nascent gravitational powers were letting her keep up with the bigger JJ, she let them go at it for the moment. "It's good to get to know the good side of hero work and not just the bad." She pointed him to the duffle bag that held the bocce ball set, being slightly too preoccupied with cooing baby talk to Mia to help set it up right away. "I can't believe how big you've gotten, sweet thing! I need to come visit more often, that's the only thing to do! That's right! Or maybe you come visit me more often, you can crawl around in all this nice grass! We'll get you green leggies and everything!" Raising her voice, she called out to the group. "So I've got a big grill getting hot, and a cooler of steaks and chicken and portabella mushrooms. Does anybody know how to cook it?"
Avenger Assembled Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 As the echoes of Stesha's words died away, Richard vanished for a barely perceptible instant. "Dammit forgot my-"When he returned, he'd lost his pastel jacket - and was wearing a crisp black apron with the somewhat unlikely slogan of God Bless The Cook that Stesha recognized as coming from the nearby monastery's kitchen."On it!" he called to the gregarious plant controller, glad to have a role among all these kids and their young families. "All righty," he said, just as quickly uncovering the barbecue fork and tongs hanging from the side of the grill. "That's looking nice...all right, gentlemen," he said, turning to address the other fathers. "Nothing is more important than a good summertime cookout." He snapped open the cooler with the meat and declared, "It's time to raise the steaks! I have one important question for you, though. Do any of you have a chef's hat?"
Gizmo Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 "Oh no. I've had barbecue made by a speedster before," Erik objected, shaking his head as he headed over to the the grill. "Not everything is better faster, Mixtape. Maybe if we want the whole cooler's worth ruined in record time." Harsh words aside, the younger man's challenging smirk made it clear that this wasn't an actual accusation so much as an opening salvo of well-intentioned banter. Beer in one hand he peered over Richard's shoulder into the cooler. "Is this all local?" he asked Stesha, turning to where the florakinetic was dealing admirably with a fussy infant, Mia having gone from crabby sounds to giggles in short order. "It's good to be queen!"
angrydurf Posted October 15, 2015 Posted October 15, 2015 Ellis smiled a little wistfully at the baby, it all rushed by so quickly, not that he was eager to be back to diapers and midnight wake calls, actually those last just ceased being from his children. He offered Stesha pleasant nod, "Yes nice to see that some work life separation is possible, I can't imagine the strain of always trying to do more." he said somewhat morosely, "What I mean is it's good to see people living life despite all the strains. He brightened from the somewhat darker bent he had nearly gone, "Can't save the world if you're not part of it you know." he joked with a light smile and made his way to the Bocce set and quickly unpacked it for the kids pulling Gabe aside to reiterate that bocce was not a full contact sport no matter what grandpa said.Making his way to the man off in progress he approaches the grill eyeing the coals appraisingly he grinned lightly, "Well clearly there is only one way to settle this gentlemen." he suggested with a laugh. He looked between the two not having anything to prove and preferring gas himself regardless, "I think this calls for a grill off, best man wins?" He suggested a good natured competition like the clueless normal he practically was.
Avenger Assembled Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 "Let's see if your steaks are as saucy as your mouth, buddy," said Richard with a wink Erik's way. Damn, if there wasn't something familiar about that guy...shaking off the impression, he turned to Elis to include him in the conversation. "All right, you gentlemen want to make a competition out of it? Let's make a competition." He looked around conspiratorially before gesturing the two younger men to come closer, taking all of them into his confidence."Here's the deal. Now I'm not like your garden-variety speedsters, no offense to Johnny Rocket, but I am blessed with the power to control not just speed but the flow of time itself." Long-time fans of Supercrime! had heard this familiar monologue before. "That means I can speed up both you boys _and_ the grill here, so everything gets cooked evenly." He laughed and said to Elis, pointing Erik's way, "because he's not lying about cooking at super-speed if you screw it up, that's for sure. Hah!"Looking back at the others, he went on, "If you boys think you can handle it, we can all get a turn. You cook your stuff, I cook my stuff, and we let the audience decide who's got the barbecue mojo. C'mon," he teased, "my little girl used to let me do this so she could finish coloring her princess books. You boys can handle being put on fast-forward, right?"
Electra Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 "You boys just be sure to play nice now," Stesha admonished teasingly as she walked past the grill to the trays of snacks set out on a picnic table. "And the chicken and mushrooms are locally grown and harvested, but we haven't slaughtered cows yet this year. They wanted to wait a few more weeks, till it's cooler and there'll be less flies. I've got a food-for-food arrangement with an organic beef co-op in Pennsylvania, all of these cuts come from there. The rest of those particular beeves are getting cooked up in the villages, so it's a bit of a party all over tonight. Okay, who's ready for juice boxes?" Stesha passed out juice boxes and bags of popcorn to the kids, who were mostly persuaded to pause long enough for a quick snack. "I figured after supper, we could start up the firepit and do marshmallows."
Gizmo Posted October 17, 2015 Posted October 17, 2015 "Is that a catchphrase? Are you catchphrasing us?" Erik laughed at Richard's boisterous challenge, his own grin looking like he was used to being in front of an audience himself. "Alright, if it means everybody gets to eat sooner, I think we'll manage, right Doc?" He gave Elis a bump with his elbow, roping the single father into the competition he'd suggested whether he'd meant to participate or not. His usual method of making friends would have involved a more literal sparring match but this seemed to be about the same level of throwing someone into the deep end to teach the swim that he was most comfortable with. "No hard feelings when I show you two up, though, right?"
angrydurf Posted October 17, 2015 Posted October 17, 2015 Elis had not been intending to compete himself and hesitated a moment before shrugging, "Alright I'm game I suppose." he said finally looking over the large grill to ensure space wasn't at too great a premium. He gave his head a rueful shake and glanced over to Stesha, "You have ht e PB and J on standby when this all goes awry right?" He asked with a light laugh creasing his dimples as he cast about for the requisite equipment and looked between the other dads, "Been awhile since I did much grilling might be fun to give it a try again." He suggested with a little nod. "So what're the ground rules here how we going to ensure the fix isn't in on the panel." he said with a wink to eric and his family making up half the guests.
Fox Posted October 17, 2015 Posted October 17, 2015 "...guessing this is a 'boy thing'," Mara noted, eyeing the grill-oriented banter and competition; there wasn't much malice in her voice, though, and despite herself the corner of her mouth turned into what was probably a smile if you squinted hard enough. "....or just a thing-thing. Would probably react like that if a colleague challenged me to a build-off."She gave Ellie a friendly hip-bump, clasping her hands behind her back as she peered around the area. very hard to not deploy drones "It's...nice, here," she offered Stesha - an introvert's attempt at small talk. "Quiet, though. Too...low-tech, no chatter, other than cell phones that can't find satellites. What do you use for power?"
Avenger Assembled Posted October 18, 2015 Posted October 18, 2015 "Need a neutral," said Richard thoughtfully, before picking out the one father who hadn't joined the conclave. "Hey, Faretti!" he called to Jack, the big man having tried unsuccessfully to lurk quietly in the shade nearby, as if keeping an ear out for the distant drone of far-off bees, or an eye out for sudden impalements from behind. "We need somebody running the taste-test jury who isn't on any of the dad teams here. You up for it?" "...yes, all right," said Faretti from his position under the trees after just a minute's hesitation. "Can you make it rare?" "Rare as they get, buddy!" said Fast-Forward confidently. "He seems like an OK joe." He winked at Erik and said, "You're damn straight I catchphrased you. Bein' a dad's just like being a superhero. Never pass up a chance to make a pun, use a catchphrase, or cook a steak." He took out a coin and said "All right, I'll take thirdsies. You boys wanna call it?" He flipped the penny in the air, turned it over on his wrist, and came up with Erik's call. "Tails! Have at it, buddy."
alderwitch Posted October 18, 2015 Author Posted October 18, 2015 Taylor had been laughing at the exchange, well aware of what Elis had unknowingly started with a slow shake of her head. Of course, she stopped laughing as Richard roped her spouse into being the judge, "Ahhh," Taylor said, arching her brows up in silent question at her husband. She drifted over that direction, in case interference needed to be run, "Are you sure about that?"She paused to watch the kids run past in a small herd, "That doesn't even look a little like bocce... Oh, well, no one's throwing the balls," Taylor added as she gestured for her offspring take it down a notch. "...Yet."Taylor added as she raised her voice so the men grilling could hear her, "If there's a giant fireball over there in a few seconds, I know who I'm going to blame."
Gizmo Posted October 18, 2015 Posted October 18, 2015 "I think they're going for a 'dad thing', muñequita," Ellie drawled, responding to Mara's hip bump by slipping an arm around the blonde's waist as they chatted with their hostess. "I can never believe how much more you've done with the place every time I visit." The couple of month's she'd spent stranded on the Curator's ringworld had adjusted her standards for what constituted 'low-tech' but she knew the lack of machines and wireless signals was a little disconcerting for her girlfriend.Erik scoffed at Elis' concern over impartial judging. "Are you kidding? I brought all my toughest critics with me!" Still, he had no objections to Faretti stepping in and was more than happy to take the first turn at the grill. Making a show of stretching his arms and back like he was about to enter a weightlifting competition he gave Richard a broad grin. "Then I better beat you to the punch," he began, waving both hands over the heat of the grill, "and cut to the chase!" Fire roared upward to his waiting fingers, coalescing into a pair of long, thin blades made of raw heat, visible by the way they rippled the air. "That's your barbecue, Mixtape; speed it up!"
angrydurf Posted October 20, 2015 Posted October 20, 2015 Elis laughed lightly at the posturing as he poked about the cooler and other supplies to see what they had to work with. He shrugged good naturedly at the loss of hte coin toss and glanced at the critics Erik referenced with a smile, "Well then you should be doubly glad we have an impartial judge now eh?" he teased lightly. He was still new to the group of friends so kept his banter light and friendly one eye going to the kids with a small wince. It hadn't turned into murder bocce at least so there was that he supposed. He looked expectantly to Erik and Richard, "Hmmm. Seems the competition is getting, Heated?" he suggested with a grin. He may not be a master of the grill but he certainly could hold his own on Dad Jokes.
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