Ashley could nothing but watch Luka act like he owned everything (which might actually be the case here to be honest). It seems that she had made a mistake and not realize that Luka is far more ridiculous than she initially thought.

Although that act of his, can she call it one of generosity? expediency? Or of vanity? She doesn't know the answer and not like it mattered for her.

"Wait no need to..." she tried to speak to Luka but her pleas aren't heard as she heard the DJ and be put on the spotlight. Ashley desperately wishes that this won't reach the ears of her classmates.

Her eyes momentary met one of the guest, it was Eliza the class representative and the source of gossip of the entire class. She was sporting a surprised expression than slowly morphed into amusement.

She's so fucking dead.

But it seems Eliza was content on letting her be for now, as she returned to chatting other guests as Luka finished setting the party's mood.

"Okay..." Ashley's voice was softer than normal as she let Luka handle the reins. It seems she felt more out of place in this party than the time she forced a stalemate with a government agency.

"Okay..."

At this, Luka paused and looked back at Ashley, wincing when he saw how out of her depth she looked. With a flex of his willpower, the loud music and the clamor of the party faded into a distant, muffled quiet for the two of them as Luka stepped back off the dance floor. "My apologies." Luka said. "Sometimes I forget all of this can be overwhelming for some people. Especially when they're new to it and are abruptly thrust into the situation. There should be a way to the VIP lounge that goes around the dance floor if you'd prefer."

Regardless of which route they ended up taking, Luka and Ashley would arrive at a cordoned off flight of stairs that led upwards. There was a sign next to the cordon which read 'VIPs Only'. Needless to say, Luka and Ashley were allowed through without delay. "Your fixer is already up there, Mister Durand." The bouncer watching the stairs to the VIP lounge remarked as they passed him by. "They seemed very keen to talk to you about something, but they wouldn't say what."

"Thanks for the heads up." Luka said as he ascended the steps with Ashley. On their way up. Luka spoke to Ashley. "Fair warning: While they are one of the most competent fixers in the state, Jesse is something of an oddball. When I said before that keeping people guessing is a hobby of theirs, I meant it a lot more than you realize. It is very hard to predict what they are going to speak like, behave like, or even look like between one meeting and the next. So my advice? Brace yourself." Shortly after saying this, Luka and Ashley reached the top of the stairs and made their way into the VIP lounge.

The VIP lounge was located on a large balcony that overlooked the rest of the party. It came with a wide variety of comfortable seats and couches, a private bar, and a small dance floor among other things. Jesse was throwing some moves on the dance floor when Luka and Ashley arrived. "I see you are enjoying yourself." Luka said as he sat down on the couch closest to the dance floor. "Always good to know that my parties continue to meet your high standards."

Jesse's eyes follow Luka and Ashley as they walk into the VIP section, but instead of responding right away, they continued their solitary dance for the few seconds it takes the DJ to transition to the next track. As the high-tempo track resolves into something more sedate, they make their way to the bar, calling over their shoulder.

"A lot of people have said a lot of things about you, Luka, but I've never heard anyone say you don't know how to party." Ice clinks, liquid is poured, but when they set the three old-fashioned glasses on the table, a first taste would confirms that they contain only soda with a splash of lime--no alcohol. Jesse settles down on a chair kitty-corner from Luka and leans back, legs crossed and fingers tented.

"Miss," they nod a greeting to Ashley. "It's good to formally meet you, though I hadn't expected you to be here for this." Jesse turns their gaze to Luka. "But you learn to expect the unexpected when working with Mr. Durand. Who I'm glad to see is ok, by the way." An eyebrow goes up. "Apparently there was some kind of gas leak reported at Mario's yesterday morning, though from what I understand, the fire department couldn't find anything when they showed up. Other than a big mess in the kitchen, that is." They picked up their soda and lime and took a long sip; the tone of the comment is light, but their eyes slowly and deliberately meet both Luka's and Ashley's in turn.

@rush99999 @Digmata

"It's Herrera." Ashley corrected as she pushed back the drink, not trusting it or feeling thirsty at the moment. She focused on the guy across the table, Jeese. If she is being honest, he looked unimpressive.

Or is he a she? It is a little bit hard to figure out.

Hey eyebrows raised when Jeese mentioned the so called gas leak at Mario's. She could at least call the guy through or at least the type to keep an eye to his friends.

"It was a really weird incident, we left as soon as we could when we heard the gas leak." she answered with a nonchalant tone.

"Regardless I don't I'm someone worth being tabs on by a stranger." she remarked looking if it would bait Jeese to show what that mind of his knew.

Luka happily accepted the offered beverage as he took a seat across from his fixer. From what he could tell, Jesse was in a cautious and professional mood today if their businesslike demeanor and indirect mentioning of dawn's events were anything to go by. Though their insistence on dancing until the song was finished hinted at a small amount of playfulness to their current outlook. Luka waterfalled Jesse's sip before speaking up. "It was an interesting turn of events to be sure." Luka commented. "A real see it to believe it moment. Couldn't have planned a finer way to wrap up Day Two and commence Day Three myself... But I digress." Luka took another sip before continuing. "You wanted to speak with me about something. As it so happens, I wanted to speak with you about something too." Luka said. "Did you want to speak first or should I?"

Jesse nodded to Ashley. "Herrera, sorry." Their gaze flicked to her, softening by degrees, as did their tone. "Don't take it personally. It's my job to solve problems, and my best tool is information. Frankly, I'd be neglecting my duties if I hadn't spent some time... following up." As they leaned forward and put their glass down on the table, their eyes flicked over to Luka. "And as much as I hate to call you a liar, I know that you did not, in fact, leave the diner as soon with everyone else." They regarded Luka coolly for a beat, then let out a long breath.

"Luka, look. You're the boss. You say you need tickets, I say 'Broadway or baseball?'. You bring down the roof with one of your parties, I'm on the phone with the contractor putting it back on." They frowned, fingers folded. "But I need to know what's going on to do my job, and I think it's about time you let me in on whatever's going on."

It seemed Jesse didn't want to be as indirect about things as Luka initially surmised. He didn't mind being wrong about that. The indirect approach had never really been Luka's style anyway. "Why Jesse, I'm surprised at you." Luka declared. "I thought someone of your talents would have been able to piece together what was going on from what you saw in the limo." Luka willed the passage of time to speed up for himself and his two conversation partners. To the point that everything else seemed to freeze in place. "But not to worry. I'd be more than happy to slip you the answer." Luka flicked his star shades down over his eyes. With a flex of his will power, he had assumed his Reveler guise and put Ashley in her Reader guise. "To put it in simple terms," Luka said as he levitated up and off the couch, now looking like he was sitting on the air itself. "At dawn today, myself, Miss Herrera, and two others at Mario's... became DEMIGODS."

As he spoke that final word, the seat of the Great Unicycle of the World from Luka's tarot card appeared beneath him. The support pillar holding the seat aloft appeared to be floating about three feet off the floor as a glass of fine wine, a martini glass with garnish, a mimosa, and a lowball of whiskey faded into existence an began orbiting around Luka himself. "If that makes you concerned for your job security, allow me to assuage those fears now." Luka then said with all the casual calm of someone having a completely mundane conversation. "Even though my soul has become a superpowered avatar of my will that allows me to impose my wants upon the world, I still require other people to provide me with the things that I need. So rest assured, I won't be thinking of laying you off any time soon, Jesse."

Ashley closed her eyes and considered her options, she could see that Jeese is not a fool nor unprepared. It means that normal lies won't work on this moment but she didn't feel that she needed to use her powers at this situation. In fact she felt that it is a good for thins to backfire for her and Luka. Now how should she go about this?

She needed to mix lies with truth, she could claim that she was asleep when the gas leak announcement occurred and walked away when she finally woke up and smelled the gas. That should clear things up and provide an explanation. She was about the speak the words to Jeese when Luka suddenly spoke. She didn't need to use a Bootstrap Paradox to know what's going to happen next.

Reality warped around herself as her clothes changed into a familiar costume. Ashley could do nothing but watch as the idiot leaked everything in front of his friend. He didn't even bother to ask for her opinion about this!

Or the Crow's or Emily's.

"It was actually a bit later in the morning." Ashley corrected as she covered her face, seriously considering the viability of hitting Luka. "And we're not Demigods, just fools confused youths who may or may not antagonized a secret government agency." she spoke, leaning to his lead and showing Jeese a badge.

Jesse's face went completely blank as they watched Luka lift into the air. The only hint of expression on their face was a wideness around the eyes. Nor did they say anything; instead, they wordlessly rose from the chair, walked over to the bar, and made themselves another drink--a dirty one, this time. They stood there for a second, and facing away from Luka and Ashley, took a pair of deep breaths and a deep sip of the drink.

That accomplished, Jesse walked back over to the table. They stared at the badge Ashley had presented, pursing their lips. "IDLN, huh? Yeah, I can't say I've heard of them. Do you mind if I take some pictures?"

Their eyes went to Luka. "Well, I suppose you did answer my question, even if I have a lot more now than I did before." Finally, something cracked the mask--a chuckle. "Glad to hear I still have a job, at least." It faded, and the mask reasserted itself, though softened by something like concern.

"So, your turn--you said you needed something. Is it related to..." They waved a hand as they took a seat on the arm of the couch. "The whole this-ness?"

"Oh no. Nothing so supernatural as this." Luka said as he willed the martini into his grasp. "You see my friend here has been having some bother changing her name. Now, while I'm sure bureaucracy taking it sweet time getting anything done should come as no surprise to you, that's not the real problem. That distinction goes to her father. Some political bigwig with enough clout to make himself quite the stubborn obstacle in this process." Luka paused then and took a sip from his martini before continuing. "But between my family's superior clout and your good work behind the scenes, I'm sure we can arrange for the removal of this obstacle in short order, yes?"

"He was too stubborn for his own good." Ashley weakly added showing lack of interest about solving her problem.

"I would rather not bother you too much with this if possible." Ashley added before looking at her glass and Jeese before continuing.

"I'm more concerned about the agency we antagonized to be honest, you can work on that instead."

(Sorry for being short)

"I would appreciate it if you did not toss my mundane fixer at supernatural problems." Luka said with the tiniest hint of mild annoyance in his voice.

Ashley would notice the annoyance and correct herself. "Sorry about that, I got sidetracked." she muttered.

"But if you need a name, the name Victor Whitlock should be familiar enough for right? Considering how frequent the press covers his potential as a mayoral candidate."

Jesse's eyebrows climbed towards the ceiling. If they were less shocked by the identity of Ashley's father than by Luka's display of supernatural power, it showed more in their expression.

"Victor Whitlock's daughter, huh?" They shook their head. "'Mundane' I might be, but I guess that's proof enough you still have faith in my talents." The looked over at Ashley with renewed interest, clearly re-evaluating their first impression in light of the new information. "I didn't know he had a kid. Any idea why he's blocking the name change?" Jesse attempted to meet Ashley's eyes, tone and expression sincere. "Luka--Mr. Durand is right. His family's name has a lot of horsepower at City Hall, and I really am very good at my job. But Whitlock is pretty well connected himself, and it would help if I had some idea of what angle he's working here."

Ashley clicked her tongue before answering the fixer. "Herrera was my mother's name and she's not my father's wife." the implied illegitimacy of Ashley is not lost to anyone in the room.

"When mom died, he showed up in the middle of the funeral, searched for me and try to drag me away. He failed but he'd been persistent since then." she took a sip of her drink, giving her time to breath.

"The name change was the start, a way to connect him to me. He said it was for my sake but I know it's not." Ashley spoke with venom. "I don't need him, I don't want him. He should stay in his perfect life and leave me at my own story."

She doesn't need his pity.

Jesse considered Ashley's words, nodding thoughtfully as she spoke. When she finished, they slapped their knees and looked over at Luka.

"Yeah, boss, I can make this happen. It'll take some misdirection, but the man's running for Mayor of New York City. He can't have enough people or money to keep all his plates in the air. With some prodding--and with the Durand family name to drop--I should be able to put his guys on the back foot and ram this through before they have a chance to recover." They tilted their head towards Ashley. "Do you mind if I get your number? I can give you a call when your new birth certificate and driver's license are ready. Once those are done, all of the other bits should fall into place more easily, but if you need I can put you in contact with a lawyer I know who can help you get those changes reflected at school, or on your bank account, etc etc."

For a moment, Ashley simply sat there contemplating about Jeese words. Is it really going to be over just like that? The problem, the dilemma that she is dealing for nearly a year now would now soon be a matter of time.

Ashley took a moment to look at Luka, as if asking him if he is pulling ber leg. For the first time, she wished that Bootstrap Paradox foresight is a long term one.

She took a deep breath and faced Jeese.

"I don't have a driver's license, a bike was enough for my needs and commuting is more convenient." she spoke to Jeese before turning to Luka.

"Hey, no matter if this works or not you had my thanks." Ashley spoke a little smile on her face. It might be a small thing for him but for her, it was a rope she needed

---

If approved Ashley's bond with Luka changes

2 Ashley considers herself indebted to Luka. 2

"Hey, no matter if this works or not you had my thanks."

At the sound of this, Luka shut his eyes as a serene expression appeared on his face. The Great Unicycle of the World's seat vanished from beneath him and he slowly floated back down onto the couch, sighing contentedly all the way. Ashley's words of gratitude were a music to Luka's ears that no amount of praise from no amount faceless fanatics created by his power could ever hope to replicate. Even with the flaw of Ashley implying the possibility of failure on his part.

Then again... Luka could think of an interesting way for that to happen.

"You needn't worry about this not working." Luka reassured Ashley. "The only way Jesse could fail now is if your father jeopardized his mayoral campaign to contest Jesse's maneuvers directly... What a concept that would be though." Luka paused to take a sip of his drink before continuing. "The idea of a father giving up on becoming mayor for the sake of his daughter. As petty a crown as the mayoral top hat may be, the people who could countenance such an idea are few in number. It will most certainly make things interesting if your father is one of them though... But we will not be finding that out this day! This day we party!" With a snap of his fingers, Luka and Ashley were back in their civilian attire and the trio had rejoined the normal time stream. "Let's dance!" With that said, Luka hopped to his feet, strutted out onto the empty VIP lounge dance floor, and began throwing some very impressive moves.

The Crow nodded along as Emily spoke, doing his best to understand to her conundrum... though admittedly, it was difficult. From his knowledge about humans, they were very serious about the whole concept of 'personal property'. If he took something from another animal, they would give chase and try to get it back, but once he was far enough away with his prize, there was nothing they could really do about it and would usually accept it. Crows were a little more tenacious, but even they sometime had to admit when something was a lost cause. Humans weren't like that. They were attached to their things, so much so they had all these rules about what belonged to who, and would go through great lengths to get their things back or at least get some sort of compensation.

The Crow supposed there was something admirable about that, though he got the sense that Emily might not be in the position to do much within the boundaries of human law.

So he suggested an alternative.

"Well, when people wrong me, I don't sit in distress," he said. "I'm angry, yes, but I use that anger. If someone has wronged you, you should do something to, how do you say, 'get even' with them." He nodded sagely. "Sometimes I tell other crows about it, and then we all band together to harass them." He gave another, more affirmative nod. "So who is this person? Me and the boys will go find them and show them what's what."

Emily blinks at the Crow's suggestion of getting even with the person who did them wrong. Upon hearing that he tells other crows about it and they harass a person, she remembers hearing that particular bird fact in the past. She remembers that they can even pass that information down to younger crows and they remember it.

She seems to think about it before the Crow offers to tell the boys about the person who wronged her and harass her. She smiles at the Crow, and she answers him, "I appreciate that, thank you. But...I don't think that will be necessary," She didn't want to endanger the crows in general.

She then tells the Crow, "Simply harassing her would be letting her off easy. The best way to get back at her would be to ensure that she feels the same pain that I felt,"

She then comments, "But that's something I'll have to think about. Thank you again," She then realized something, and she asks the Crow, "Right...Just calling you 'Crow' doesn't feel right. We should decide on a name for you. How does Nevermore sound?"

"Same pain you felt...?" the Crow responds, tilting his head to the side. Well, he'd have to think on that one. If this person who had wronged Emily had stolen from her, and by doing so ruined her reputation, the Crow would have to devise a similar payback. He had no idea how he would go about that though. Emily said she would think on it, so maybe he'd leave her to work on the details. She understood humans better than him after all, and he was still getting used to his newly increased sapience.

It was at that point Emily suggested a new name for him. "Nevermore?" he said, tilting his head now to the opposite side. "Never... more... ne... ver.... moooooreee..." He rolled the word of his tongue. It didn't sounded bad. "I accept this name. You may refer to me as that if you wish. But I am still The Crow." He nodded proudly. "All my names are me, after all."