[h1][center]Shield Town, Black Iron Workshop[/center][/h1]
[hr]


Alex was talking to her, and though his words were [i]heard[/i], they weren’t really fully grasped. The hug was a pleasant enough thing, sending skittering spirals of ‘oh this is nice’ throughout her body.
The apathetic screaming that was trying to drown everything else? Significantly less pleasant.

All the same, Jemma smiled up at him. “[color=DarkMagenta]Okay first? Rude! I’ve always been this tall! [i]You’re[/i] the one who turned into the eight foot colossus from ‘Not Greek but not NOT Greek!’ Thank you very much.[/color]” She barked without heat, cackling soon after.
The levity vanished for a moment, as her face became a startlingly blank mask.
“[color=DarkMagenta]I promise I’m not goin’ anywhere. The cult [i]didn’t[/i] do this to me. … But uh, can we PLEASE go inside so I can change? Y’know what, I’ll just, y’know, go. Be right back![/color]”

She shuffled in place, forcing herself to look only at Alex to avoid making eye contact with anyone else. Cold intelligence noted that his emotional state would make for all but the best meals, if you ate mana and emotions.
Anyways! Ignoring that.
Jemma coughed before only [i]slightly[/i] awkwardly sliding around Alex to [i]dart[/i] inside the workshop proper. Her admittedly shaky memory didn’t fail her, thankfully, as she sprinted for the employee bathrooms.

The moment the door was closed behind her, ink [b]roared[/b] over her body. Wings, chitin, bone and claw all disappeared under the tide of pitch. She heaved a sigh before shaking her head. For a moment, her gaze caught the mirror… And then swiftly looked away.
Her hair had points of blue-green luminescence throughout, and her face was dotted with freckles.
She didn’t have freckles, not normally. And she couldn’t normally feel the magnetic field of the world around her like a tickle on her skin.
Fuck. Focus. 
Jemma dressed rapidly, flinching only slightly at the way the uniform anchored her. Another breath was taken, a sigh left her lips, and determination steeled in her spine. 

It only took her a minute or two before she was poking her head back out the doors of the building. Her eyes locked on Alex again as she waved. “[color=DarkMagenta]Right… Hey! If you’re not one of the two enormous men I for sure know and worked with, or any of the people who worked here, can I ask for y’all to…[/color]” she trailed off, before snapping her fingers. “[color=DarkMagenta]Right! Can I ask for some privacy with them? I promise I’ll probably explain my shit later! To everyone, maybe. Just, not right now! Thanks![/color]”
And with that, Jemma zipped back inside. Anxiety and apathy both warred under her skin. A small instinct in the back of her mind cried for her to [i]run[/i]. But, no. 

This was happening now, she guessed.