---

---

---

"I'm fine," Leah put her free arm around April's shoulders when Danni hopped over. "Gideon. Listen to her. Put the damn sword down, and quit threatening that girl. No one's fighting anybody right now," She warned. "Andy can handle herself, and it really doesn't look like anyone here needs to be protected from anything. I'm hoping nobody in here decided to just gang up on whoever this is over a misunderstanding... If they want want to talk alone, leave them be." It seemed that she walked in one something tense. Leah knew she wasn't the best at that sort of thing.

Was that someone Andy actually knew? Another time traveling Underground mutant who actually got younger? That was weird. But Andy's life was weird, as far as Leah understood. She followed after April, back outside sat down by the outer wall near the entrance, legs crossed, resting her huge sword flat against the snowy ground by the others outside. Leah decided she'd give them some sense of privacy if those two needed to work something out, but she still wanted to be present in case somebody, for some reason, needed her assistance. Like if Gideon actually started swinging on whoever "Glimpse" was.

"Tried being friendly with this Frost Giant girl who was out there," She said, keeping quiet. Leah reached into her pocket and withdrew her rune pouch. "I don't think I've ever fucked anything up that bad. You remember how I was when we first became friends? She's worse. I'll tell you more later..." One thing at a time. "The hell's going on?"

---

---

Marlena felt her heart jump into her throat when the ice queen screamed. The imagined that Sabine laying everything out nice and simple was the only reason Marlena wasn't running for her life from someone bigger and likely faster than her. Without taking her eyes off of the bickering Carlie and her brother were doing, she awkwardly accepted the knife. Then she tucked it away. "Dancing... All of Excelsior? I don't- I'm not a superhero, don't really want to be one. Maybe I'm just hanging with them? April, maybe with Sabine or Chase? Hmm..." She wasn't the sort of person who know a lot about how to see the future.

"And why would I be hanging from a rope? Am... I'm not dead when you see that, am I?" She was thinking out loud, now. "Swords. Half of Exclesior's packing swords. Maybe that means something? I don't suppose any of you knew a bear at some point or another?" Her face scrunched up in pondering. This was interesting all of a sudden, a hell of a lot more interesting than trying to make friends with Australian Elsa.

Then, her eyes lit up. "Wait a minute." She fished out her phone and typed something in. She pulled up pictures of a tarot deck. "There's this guy back home who has this inked on his arm. This look familiar?" She stepped around and showed them her screen. A man hanging beneath the branch of a tree, arms behind his head with a noose around his ankle. The Hanged Man, the tarot card of sacrifices. She didn't know much about it, but the guy once described it as such.

"And you saw swords. Like the King of Swords? Huh..."

---

---

---

Luna looked over at Andy when Gideon yelled that she was her girlfriend. Luna smiled brightly at Andy, completely disregarding the sword pointed at her. ”You have a girlfriend? That’s…Andy that’s amazing.” Glimpse didn’t exactly have time for Andy when she first came onto the scene, and Veil sort of took the girl under her own wing, but it was a relief to hear that Andy had really stepped into her own.

Luna turned back to look at the newcomer who stood between her and Gideon now. Gideon’s insults fell off Luna like a summer breeze. Honestly, she had been called worse. Besides, there was a small mirror dancing in front of her now. Everyone kept saying she looked like a teenager now. May as well see for herself. Luna snatched the mirror from the air and examined her face.

Shock. Disbelief. ”Are you fucking kidding me? Bloody hell…” Luna grumbled, while she pushed and prodded at her face. ’I’m the same age as my fucking kids.”



The memory of Saturyne came on so quickly before it was gone again. Why now? Luna snapped the compact shut and looked at the children around her. Mortals in the eyes of the Otherworld. Whereas Luna was half. Could that be why…no.

”Look. I don’t know what the fucking hell is going on, alright? I don’t know why I’m younger. I have no idea why I’m here either. I would love to get back home, okay? But as for this current situation,” Luna stepped back and pulled the tarot cards out once more. She pulled Temperance back out and handed it to Andy. ”I got between you and your girlfriend because I didn’t know who she was, but she is on that card, and she shouldn’t be. But if you trust her, fine. I’m not the one doing the threatening. As for the rest of you, believe me or don’t. I couldn’t fucking care less. My home is under attack, and my Lady sent me here for reasons I honestly can’t remember. All I know is she stripped me of my title as Captain Britain. My birthright. And now I’m back on this bloody planet, and you keep throwing around Ser Nemo’s name. I don’t know what your business with him is, but he is due to be executed at my home, the Otherworld, for crimes against the TVA.” Luna crossed her arms, glaring at everyone except Andy.

She felt the deck of cards dig into her arm and pulled back. ”I won’t read your minds because the Underground hated when I did that. I can’t tell you what number you’re thinking of, but if you still know James, contact him. He was my only friend when I was here. He knows things about me, and I know things about him that others might not know from those days. Call him if you don’t believe me. But I need to go home. And I need your help to get there.”

Luna pulled another card, examining the only thing she had left from home. Well, only thing that she knew of.

---

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---

Sabine ignored the whining coming from the frosty giant as she focused on Carlos and his visions of the future. Or potential futures, as he claimed. Wasn't that always the way with seers? The future was ever-changing, and nothing could be picked out perfectly. What he saw though, them dancing, swords, a bear? A hodgepodge of randomness, but still something connected. "I mean, there was a guy back when school started. His name was...Teddy, I believe. He was bear-adjacent, I guess? He was a big softie, like a Teddy Bear. That could be him, maybe?

Sabine stared at Marlena's phone as she highlighted the Hanged Man Tarot card. She wasn't familiar with Tarot, really, but she recalled Tarot being somehow connected to them. "So this is all connected to Tarot Cards? Would make sense. We should ask someone more versed in it, though." Her mind itched, like something was nagging her, but she couldn't get it.

"Also side note: Bridgerton is already very gay."

---

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There was a lot happening, with more people coming and joining the collective. Millicent worried, albeit briefly, that the sheer number of people who were joining would cause the girl, Glimpse, to freak out and lash out. Millicent was sure the team could handle it, but she also didn't think Glimpse intended to cause harm. If what was being discussed was true, the Glimpse was a fish out of water and really only Andy could understand.

"No amount of chocolate milk seems to be driving people away to give them some space, which like, respect, but also she was encased in ice and seems to have traveled through time, so I'm giving her grace. Plus, if things do go sideways, I am pretty sure Andy can handle it. Didn't she break America's leg or something?"

Her focus, though, returned to Dorian. "So you astral projected, you think, to where Nemo is? And you saw him? And you have done this before? That's wild then. Why would he lie? Is he in hiding from someone or something?" Would be the case, she figured. She had a feeling more drama was on the horizon. "Drama seems to follow you all wherever you go, even in your sleep. So, what's this about a frost giant?" she directed that last part to Leah.

---

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The more that everyone was beginning to bombard Dorian with questions, the more his physical body had begun to fade away. His hands turning translucent as the affliction crept up his arms then chest and neck, as he slowly began to fade away. His eyes darted from person to person as all their voices began to meld together into a cacophony of sound until finally he burst. Waves of telekinetic energy exploded out of him and rippled past everyone, bending the blades of grass they stood on and shoving some snow further out from him as the tent rippled with the energy. ”Stop! Just all of you Stop! Danni I am not mad at you, what time would I ‘ave even ‘ad today to be able to tell you?! On top of t’at I told you I didn’t want aunty’in’ to ruin Perce’s birt’day and t’at included t’is news! I was waitin’ for a good time but t’ere never seems to be a good time wit’ any of you! It’s just one t’in’ after anot’er every day and I can’t keep ‘oldin’ some of t’is stuff in waitin’ for a day t’at someone from Excelsior isn’t becomin’ a tabloid or in distress because t’at’s never gonna ‘appen is it?! I don’t need your lectures or April’s about any of t’is! You ‘ave no idea ‘ow difficult t’ese powers can be to control, ‘ow ‘ard it is to not slip while I’m sleepin. I asked yall to wait until we can all talk about t’is and all you’ve done is bombard me wit’ questions. I don’t ‘ave all t’e answers, if I did t’en I’d ‘ave given t’em to you.”

Dorian’s form had come back, solidified as he let out his frustrations. He took a breath, trying to level himself as he began to recall the details of the dream from this morning. ”I don’t know where ‘e is. T’ere was not’in’ wit’in’ t’e cell ‘e was kept in. T’ere was old blood, a bucket of water, and some skylight t’at looked out to stars I didn’t know. At first I t’ought it was me in t’e dream, everyt’in’ was in my POV, but when I looked into t’e water, I saw his face, Nemo’s face. ‘E…’e said my name, told me I can’t let t’em find me t’ere, and t’at I ‘ad to leave, and t’en…and t’en -...I woke up.” Tears welled up in his eyes, the feeling of helplessness creeping into him, similar to when he had faced Arcade and couldn’t save anyone amongst them. Similar to the dance when he went into the maze and faced a Dark Entity that tried to kill him. Similar to the feeling he had when he stood and watched the graves of everyone he loved right before him as the world lay decimated. He was just a kid, and there was too much that he couldn’t handle on his own, too much he was helpless to act on or do.

---

---

”Oh sick, it’s the girl from the dance floor back at the little victory party. But wouldn’t make the gravity up make it harder to float? Seems like a waste of time if you ask me. Honestly this schools ability to do anything so far is a bit lackluster compared to what I thought that they could do.” Chase spared only a mere glance at Vicky’s direction before he focused back up onto Glimpse, his attention stolen for just a second as Percy decided to thank him in the best way that he could. Andy seemed to pipe up, which ofcourse she would when her girlfriend was on the line. It was cute if not also absolutely disgusting to see. ”I’m with discount Shadow the Hedgehog and The Not-So Jolly Green Giant over here. I don’t get why fighting seems to be the first reaction to literally anything that goes on around here, but it seems like some words could be exchanged before the swords are. Honestly you’d think they were making a school for Villains the way some people here are so aggro to fight, and besides do you really want to do a fight with a big toothpick? At least wait till you get that Buster Blade back so you can do a fight proper.” Did Chase understand anything that was going on around here? No. Who was the MU? Why did they matter and what did that have to do with this angry sprite of a teenager that everyone seemed so sure was a time traveler.

Then Glimpse said the quite part out loud. If she wasn’t a time traveler, then she certainly was a special on Sixteen and Pregnant. Chase looked at her sympathetically. He could understand the feeling of being lost and confused, of being plucked out from your life and shunted into another in the blink of an eye without any idea as to why or how. She seemed to be going through some things, and that much he understood. ”Hey…that’s…rough my guy. I know a thing or two about being displaced like this myself, so does my little Benny Boy over there. I have some fresh hot tea if you’d like. It’s English Breakfast, brought it to stay warm out here but haven’t had much use of it with all the running around that’s been going on. You can have some while you two talk things out, a nice cuppa tends to help settle the nerves I’ve grown to find out.” Chase held out his camping thermos full of hot black tea, holding it towards Glimpse in the event that the English sounding stranger who threw out the title of Captain Britain (which ofcourse made Chase wonder how many more there were out there and what they all did) would like a taste of home.

Danni took half a step back as Dorian yelled at him. And April, but definitely him. He could feel the tears start to well up and his lip start to tremble, Amélie poking her head up out of her bundle of warmth at the sudden noise. Danni opened his mouth once, twice and instead took a deep breath, fighting back the bubbling storm of emotions inside. He waited until Dorian had said his piece, had more of a grasp on himself, before he picked up Amélie and dropped her in Ben’s arms so he could crush Dorian in a bonebreaking hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean ta get ya all stressy spaghestti.. I was just jokin’ ‘bout tellin’ Pa, btw. I’m not gunna tell him. Don’t be actual- Ya know, let’s just move past t’at, but I am sorry. We’re gunna just go get ‘im and t’en ‘e won’t be in a spooky cell any more and we can make ‘im treat us all ta ice cream or somet’in, like Riley said.” Danni apologized, shifting to make room for April and sent a meaningful look at Percy to get his butt in on the hug.

“But nah, Spicy. Dee’s never been able ta keep it perf under control when he’s all ‘eepy. Sometimes he just falls t’rough t’e floor, ‘e used ta ‘ave dreams ‘e was sleepin’ wit’ t;’e fishes and it’s ‘cause ‘e was out in t’e ocean, once ‘e even slipped inta me when we were ‘avin’ a sleep over! Best sleep ever, let me tell ya.” Danni explained on Dorian’s behalf, hanging off his brother with comfortable ease as he turned back to Ben as Amélie realized she was on a new person and immediately started exploring, nosing at his face and starting to climb up onto his shoulders to stretch her wings.. “Oh, totes stay! Like Milli-illie said, drama is kinda our bread and butter ‘ere. Like, cooonstantly And we’ve barely ‘ung out t’is whole time so you gooootta stay! Let t’e girlies and Sauna Boi figure out what’s goin’ on over t’ere, ‘elp us plan a jail break, and t’en we’ll see what ‘appens next! Ooooh, maybs we can set up t’at D&D game we talked ‘bout when I went over ta your ‘ouse! Like, Mattie Matt ain’t ‘ere but Beanie’s a super good storyteller and she’s good at keepin’ everyone on task. Don’t know where she is but we can ask ‘er! Oooh and we can tots go do karaoke! Milli-illie, ya wanna do some wit’ me or ya wanna keep t’em vocals all nice and rested?” Danni bounced on Dorian’s shoulders excitedly as he talked, the tension of earlier already forgotten.

“Speakin’ o’ which, Spicy once you’re feelin’ chill, we gotta do anot’er besties trip. I ‘eard one o’ my followers posted a fashion museum t’ingy. I know you like museums and I like fashion, so I was like Omg, Spicy’s gunna love t’is! Little bit for me, little bit for you, lots and lots o’ fun! Lemme know, idk ‘ow long it’s round, but we can go whenevs!” Danni gasped as he realized all his plans were foiled for the day. “I didn’t get ingredients. Omg, ‘ow am I gunna cook dinner for everyone?! Omg, I’m t’e worst friend ever. Millie-illie never ate my stuff so it was gunna be ‘er first time, I was so excited! Leah, Leah do you ‘ave any stuff on ‘and? Oh gosh, I’m t’e worst friend! Okay, okay, okay t’ink Danni, t’ink. Do we ‘ave time? But I gotta plan a jail break. But can we plan on empty stomachs? Maybe I can cook while we talk? When are we talkin’? Where are we talkin' Ugh, I wish Beanie was ‘ere. T'en, Dee wouldn't 'afta figure out t'e where by 'imself when he's feelin' down. Actually…” Danni whipped out his phone and fired off a rapid fire text.

---

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@Blizz@PatientBean: Carlos angled himself as he took in the image Marlena had shown him. A sudden flash of her superimposed in that position hit him and he spun around, eager to have a visual aid. Yes! Exactly like that! He tilted the other way, though, at the specification of the King of Swords. Can you show me what that card is supposed to look like? I don’t remember seeing any kings, but maybe it will help!

Have you dealt with a lot of tarot things before? Carlos asked. He ignored Sabine’s comment about Bridgerton. His only response would have been to point out it was only very gay by the standards of the late 2010s and they were far beyond that now - and that wouldn’t have been very nice of him to do. I don’t know much about it, I think I’m supposed to learn it from Prof. Maximoff this year.

@Kirah@KazAlkemi@Forsythe@Trainerblue192: Gideon couldn’t help but huff as Andy said there wouldn’t be any murder happening. She still didn’t like this girl, and she liked even less how everyone suddenly remembered her name, only to scold her for wanting to defend her girlfriend. And to make matters worse, not only was she not allowed to fight, now the lore was coming out. Gideon hated lore. She just wanted to fight people, she wanted the reasons to be simple - she didn’t want to listen to lengthy speeches or encounter complex motivations. God forbid she have to fight someone with a weird magic system.

“I’ll keep a perimeter,” Gideon grumbled, before adding under her breath - directed at everyone but Andy - “fucking losers.” And she stomped a bit away from the group, sword still drawn as she kept watch.

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Old habits died hard - especially for a teen from a family of (unofficial) immortals. April had spent the last semester pushing their feelings deep down, running away from them rather than allowing them to happen. It was a defense mechanism, a shield they could hide behind. Better that than to face the truth, to feel the pain and the discomfort. So as Dorian yelled at April and Danni for their reaction, his own pain driving him intangible, kicking up telekinetic waves, they froze. You’re fine, you’re fine, you’re fine, they insisted, as every defensive wall shot back up, and they schooled their expression to keep the tears at bay. They knew who Dorian meant when he said someone from Excelsior was always about to break down, always about to end up in the tabloids. They could drown in shame and embarrassment and regret later.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m stopping!” April stammered out. They joined in on the hug Danni had initiated, the tips of their fingers ice cold as Dorian recounted his dream. It was horrifying. Dried blood, a cell, his own reflection being Nemo’s? It wasn’t a dream - it was a nightmare. And if it was real… “Why would Nimue tell everyone he was dead?” they swallowed. “And if Nemo faked his death, why’s he in trouble like this? Who wanted to hurt him? He was just… old.” They hadn’t heard what maybe-Glimpse had exclaimed over with Andy - hadn’t heard that Nemo was being held in Otherworld.

Could they jailbreak him - without being grounded for life? April bit their lip, before looking over at Leah. She’d been practicing magic. “D’you have a way to find Nemo, maybe? Some sort of really handy spell you’ve been secretly practicing and can’t wait to show us?” This didn’t seem like the sort of problem that would be solved in time for Danni’s dinner.

---

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Percy had never seen Dorian upset before like this. He couldn’t hide the flash of panic across his face as his boyfriend became incorporeal or stifle the slight pinpricks of fear as he saw the telekinetic blasts. But most of all, he couldn’t help but feel that he was the problem here - that Dorian had gone to all these lengths just to make his birthday perfect, and that had it not been for him, his boyfriend wouldn’t be hurting so deeply right now. He hadn’t wanted to celebrate his birthday, he hated celebrating it really - and had he not been certain it would only start a fresh wave of tears, he would have told Dorian that it was fine, that the only person so far who had ruined his birthday had been Danni.

“You don’t need to worry about my birthday,” Percy said quietly instead. “I dislike celebrating it. Nothing good has ever happened on it either. So please, let us focus on you and help you for once. Put down the sky - there’s no need to be Atlas today. Let me shoulder your burden.” He didn’t join in on the hug. He didn’t think he could stomach the idea of being touched by Danni and April right now.

It was a burden. The dream Dorian described was unsettling to say the least, even with Percy’s dislike for Ser Nemo. But still, there were clues to be found in it. Dorian hadn’t known where he was, but he had caught a glimpse of the sky. He hadn’t been able to identify the stars. For most, Percy would have assumed they just had no idea what constellations to expect - but for Dorian, he knew that he’d be able to find them without too much trouble, even ones from the other hemisphere, he was so well traveled and so sharp. So Ser Nemo was elsewhere then - he was not on Earth. There was something on the tip of his tongue, something important he could hardly recall - Ser Nemo’s husband was from… where? “Do you know where his husband is from? I remember it was somewhere fantastical, but it may as well have been Asgard for all I can recall. At any rate, perhaps we start there - see if we can pull star charts from other lands and find one that seems familiar to you.”

He wasn’t much in the mood for a large dinner or karaoke - or even making plans to a fashion museum. Percy felt ill and the only thing he wanted to do was to work this problem, to fix things for Dorian so his boyfriend could rest a little easier. “Perhaps another time, Danni,” he excused. Already, he was trying to remember what information the library held on other planets, other worlds - could the architecture of the cell shed some light as well?

April was right, of course. Nimue’s behavior was perplexing. Either Nemo had tricked her, or…

Percy grimaced.

Another subject Chase would be helpful with.

Of course.

---

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Leah was not the best reader of people, but she knew that Dorian Gray was not known for screaming at people. Sat there on the ground, she just observed him ramble and phase between here and the Astral. He dreamed of Nemo in a bleak place, he must have been holding that in for a while. It just wasn't like him to behave this way. Things like that were hard to carry alone, even if there was never a good time to air it out. She didn't know how to help with what he was unraveling right now, but he was a friend. Dorian was always so level-headed, a better hero than she was. And Leah took a guess he just needed to scream. So she just did nothing. It was easy to do nothing, and sometimes it was the most sensible option. Could she have jumped in there? Sure. Could she have just walked away? Absolutely. But she did nothing.

Nemo was missing. Leah knew, the moment she heard of his alleged death, that it was nonsense. She voiced that opinion back in New Orleans. Loudly, in fact. A time traveler who was always prepared for a disaster with enough foresight to save someone from suicide, being taken out by a heart attack? No. He'd know when it was coming, he'd have the resources to be sure he'd survive it if there was no way to circumvent it. For all anyone knew, the old man probably had a mechanical heart or a pacemaker or some fucking immortality shit going on. How would they know if he didn't? It was bullshit. Sometimes, paranoia had its upsides.

"I don't know how we find him, April. The only spells I've got fix injuries, stop people from hurting each other, and make things last longer." She reached into her jacket and withdrew her rune pouch. "But... I don't think I need a spell for that."

It was sat down on the Thousand-Faced Rose's blade, and then Leah started rubbing her hands together. "There's a way to get answers for the future and the past with runes. Normally, the way it works is you ask a question and lay them out left to right. Left being the past, middle being the present, right being the future. The ones you pull are your answer, but it's like a riddle. It's cryptic, you figure the rest out yourself. Since I'm not that great with this yet, I'm gonna do just one."

She held out one hand over the pouch. The stones inside started to glow gold through the fabric.

”How do we find Ser Nemo?”

A rune stone flew out, and stopped above the ground. It twisted and turned and… It the Ansuz rune.

Leah squinted. ”Not what I expected, but okay. That’s Ansuz, the rune of wisdom and mental clarity. Messages, inspiration, that sort of thing. It’s Odin’s rune. So, I’m guessing that we just… Use what we already know? Start by looking around us, learn what we can. Maybe we already have the answers and just need to back up and think, and there’s something we’re not paying attention to.”

If that was to be believed, what were they missing? Getting everyone on the same page was just smart, and the team could stand to coordinate. Was that Luna girl part of this? Leah would have to ask.

Maybe they could ask Heimdall to send them to him, but that almost sounded too easy.

”I dunno about cooking a big dinner for everyone, but Danni and I can get some food going for a trip to wherever he is. The kitchen we used last time’s probably not empty. If there’s time, and we’re not leaving in an hour or whatever.” The thought of Sabine or Andy trying that turbo-spiced stir fry they made crossed her mind, and amused her.

Leah reached out and let the Ansuz stone float down into her hand, and stopped. It felt… Slimy. She looked at it and noticed something on the surface. ”Is that fucking ectoplasm? Weird.” She stuffed it back in the pouch and noticed the rest weren’t that way.

---

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"I've never dealt with a lot of anything fantastical," Marlena admitted. "Pretty boring, actually. I don't do sorcery or see the future. I can make a mean top though." She tugged at the opened collar of her shirt, pulling up a page about the King of Swords.

A man sat on a throne, sword raised, dressed like a nobleman. "The King of Swords radiates intellectual power, clear thinking, truth, and authority," Marlena read, word-for-word. "He understands that power holds great responsibility...Huh, like Spiderman." She kept reading, and it seemed there was a running theme of thought and controlled emotions. Ethical standards, objectivity, rationality and high moral standards. The opposite, or the reverse, seemed to be abusive and greed, power-hungry, emotionally unwell. She scrolled slowly so Carlos and Sabine could read along with her if they wanted.

"So... Swords mean the moral high ground? Being a bigger person? This is beyond me, but maybe if you're seeing swords and there's that pattern, maybe it's a reference to a king? Do you know how many swords in particular you saw? Or what they looked like? Looks like there's a whole card suit of them. Fifty-six between swords, cups, wands and... Pentacles. Not seeing anything about a bear, maybe your Teddy Bear's something else." She scrolled a bit more.

Through what looked like a quick description of every single card in the deck, major and minor. Marlena was already losing track of what few details she actually took in. ”Wow, okay, that’s a lot. Glad I’m not studying that, can’t say I envy anyone who has to. Any chance either of you know an expert? I'm invested now, thinking it's time for a side quest.”

---

Paying attention to both of the conversations below and next to her at the same time was a little bit of a struggle, especially with all three of the K-G motormouths running at full throttle. She got the gist of it though - Both groups' goals seemed to overlap, and neither group seemed overly aware of it.

Let's see you talk up to me when your gob alone weighs 120 kilos. Victoria thought for herself at what Chase said. She wasn't about to divulge any tactical info until the situation was deescalated though. She did have a good snort and a chuckle at Chase calling Gideon's sword a toothpick.

If she was to be honest, Victoria didn't have an overly high opinion of Gideon. She could summarize what passed for her personality as 'one braincell' - One that decided to bang its signal at 'find girl' or 'find fight', whichever was currently more missing in her life. Fortunatly, her 'found girl' seemed to have Gideon on a firm enough leash.

As the sword enthusiast departed, Victoria dropped to the ground, having decided the situation was handled enough. "Apologies for butting in, but the lot over yonder-" she pointed over her shoulder, "-seems keen on finding Nemo, who you say is in your homeland, where youwish to return. Either way, you and they both want to go there. Might I suggest talking together and possibly filling each others' blanks? Then perhaps we might have something approaching actionable intel."

Turning around and approaching the other group, he waved. "Hi. Devil's advocate here. Do we have to rescue Nemo? Because Blond and Displaced over there said he is to be executed for crimes against the TVA. Don't get me wrong, I would love to burn the TVA down with my own hardware on the grounds of them being peak authoritatian fucks, but shouldn't we at least find out what the charges are, before we potentially spring a criminal out of prison? Prison probably managed by said authoritatian fucks, who are supposedly dictating what the timeline would be? Is a teacher of, lets face it, dubious motivation like every teacher in this place, worth taking on all that? I sure rate that as kind of a difficult thing to pull off, and frankly, I wasn't that impressed by the guy. she tried to give a sanity check.

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Sabine thought for a minute. She knew from general French history that Tarot originated as a playing card game and grew in popularity. She also recalled back at the start of the school year (had it really only been a couple of months?!?) that Agatha had read everyone's fortunes. Her memory clicked when she remembered that she had been dealt the Hanged Man card, among others.

"I don't really engage in it myself, but when we started the school year Agatha had a fortune-telling tent where she drew Tarot cards and offered fortunes. One of my cards was the Hanged One and she said it deals with new perspectives and surrender. That was for my past, but I know each card has a meaning and it means something when it is reversed or standard. If you are seeing Marlena as the Hanged One, then maybe that's what it means for you." She directed the last part to Marlena. "We could ask her when we find the time. I am sure she's busy, but she might know how to interpret the imagery."

She felt her phone buzz and she pulled it up to read the message from Danni. A jailbreak? Just what the hell was going on over there? Still, that was the bestie call to action. Needed help burying a body? No problem, hand me a shovel.

"Seems I am being called away to handle something. It was nice to meet and talk to you Carlos. Let's exchange contact info. You're really chill. Marlena, you can come with if you want." Sabine didn't wait for a response from Marlena, she honestly didn't expect Marlena to follow, as she replied.

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Millicent felt herself fall inwardly as Dorian wailed about the pressure, the bombardment of questions, and the seemingly daunting task of being able to see the person you thought dead be somewhere else, possibly in trouble, possibly hurt, and feeling like there wasn't much you could do.

She was cautious with Glimpse and forgot herself with her own cousin.

"I am so sorry Dorian. I should have realized how scary that would be or how much pressure you felt. Worry over him. It's natural to be curious and want answers, but it shouldn't be at your expense. We can figure this out together, but also if you want to take a step back and just relax, we can do that too."

Danni still flew at a thousand miles a minute, and she was sure April felt some guilt, but things were still moving forward. "Isn't Sabine like good with the mind stuff? Couldn't she help with the memory mumbo jumbo and dream stuff and see about pinpointing his location? Or maybe someone else magically attuned?"

It was nice to see everyone show up for Dorian, though. "A besties trip sounds so needed right now. Karaoke is exactly what the doctor prescribed. And lots of food. I don't think I ever had something like that growing up. No sleepover or anything in that vein." Millicent left the part out as to why. No need to drag things down below the ground.

---

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Andy wanted to tell Glimpse what had happened to her. The whole story. She wanted to find out where Glimpse had gone after the fight and the tunnels. But Glimpse dropped a conversational bomb. Nemo was alive, but for how much longer? He was being held for execution. Andy’s eyes went big, and she started to move, pacing, but froze with Victoria joining the group that had gathered mostly out of earshot. She closed her eyes and sighed. Victoria had to be telling them. She had been encouraging Glimpse and everyone else to talk so they could fill in blanks. Victoria wasn't wrong in Andy's opinion but she understood how overwhelmed Glimpse must be feeling. She hadn't ever had to deal with the full force of the group like she had just now. She imagined if when she had come to school she had just been dropped into the middle of the group, maybe right when Danni lit Percy's jacket on fire. Andy shuddered.

As for Chase, Andy was mostly ignoring him. No one fucking understood. Give me some privacy. She understood, hell, she was nervous about if this was a trap and even more so now. Because she knew Danni and Dorian.

“Chase, will you please tell them to stay put over there." There was a good chance he wouldn't, or the group wouldn't listen to him. But at least it would give a bit of a chance to slow down the others. She turned back to Glimpse. “Well, you fell into the lap of the right group of people. Any moment now, when Victoria tells them what you just said, you’re probably going to get swarmed again. I’ll do my best to keep between them and you. I know they can be a lot. They are going to want to save him. He is our teacher and one of our coaches. I don’t know what the plan will be yet. But there is no way they are going to leave this alone.” Andy wished she could teleport so the three of them could just leave the area and not be followed. That would give them time to talk. “How do you want to do this?"

---

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Danni put Amélie into Ben's arms and she was exploring his face with her nose. He giggled a little as it tickled. She was warm and it was comforting all things considering. He offered her a hand for support as she climbed onto his shoulder.

Ben didn’t know who Nemo was; everyone else seemed to know him, though. He understood that Dorian had had a dream that took him to this Nemo. From the dream Dorian had learned that Nemo was in jail and in trouble.

A blonde girl that Ben didn’t recognize from the fight joined and told them that the guy they were yelling about was in the other girl’s homeland on death row. Ben rubbed at his face. This group was a lot. It didn’t help that he had joined in the middle of the chaos. No one said anything about whether he was welcome or not, but that was mostly because they were all freaking out. Either yelling at Dorian or Dorian yelling at them.

---

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The Moon. Luna stared at yet another altered tarot card. She frowned. What was her Lady trying to tell her? Saturnyne must have known where she was sending Luna. Did she send her to the students of Ser Nemo to save him? Why? Luna shook her head, a flash of a cloak being ripped off before she stumbled to her knees, begging. Had it all been an act?

Luna turned her head in an effort to hide that she was on the verge of tears, and flipped the tarot card around to show Andy.

”That's the second card that has been altered to show one of your friends.” In place of the usual wolves howling at the Lady in the Moon was April. She sat on a crescent moon, holding two theatre masks. One sad, the other happy.

Luna slipped the deck back into her pocket. She wasn't ready for more revelations today. She frowned at Chase. Having no clue what his references meant but at the sound of a hot cup of tea, she relaxed. ”Actually, that would be lovely…. Thank you,” she said after a minute of hesitation. Just because Luna was 17 again, didn't mean she had to act like the stand off teenager she had been. Bloody hell, she was a 47 year old woman!

Luna turned to Andy after pouring herself a cuppa. Hopefully the American knew how to create a proper cup. She inhaled the sharp scent and sighed.

”Yes. I'd like to talk before the peanut gallery returns,” she joked. Oh gods and goddesses, did they even understand that reference here? Maybe she would have to get slang lessons from the children here. Maybe then her youngest would stop rolling her eyes at her mother every time Luna tried to sound relevant. She had pulled The Moon after all.

The card represented intuition and fear. About trusting your instincts and the interplay between consciousness and your shadow selves. And if Luna was correct in her instincts, she was back on this Earth for a reason. Perhaps to heal the child she had been when she was last here. To reconnect her humanity to her fae self, or to save her home.

Luna sipped her tea and outwardly groaned before taking another sip. ”You are now my new favourite,” she informed Chase.

”What would be easier for you?” Luna asked, returning to her conversation with Andy. She was simply glad Andy wanted to talk to her and was willing to do so, even if her overprotective and twitchy girlfriend lurked in the near distance.

---

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Dorians shoulders began to lose some of the tension that was stored in him as his siblings forgave him for his outbursts and everyone immediately jumped in to helping save Sir Nemo. Why hadnt he told them before? What was he so afraid of? Everyone was here and willing to aid, and he felt a tear tug at the corner of his eye as he hugged everyone back. ”I sure wish Beanie was ‘ere…but I t’ink I know t'e charges V. Over break I spent a day readin’ and decipherin’ a book Nemo gave me. Turns out t'ere was a lot we didn't know about ‘im. T'e first few chapters are on t'e TVA, its structure ‘ow it works, all of it. Apparently ‘e used to work for t'em but formally asked to retire and move into t'is timeline. At first I wasn't sure why t'is one until I kept readin’.

T’ere was a whole letter, an apology written to ‘is late boyfriend, who mind you must be from t'is ot'er world t'at ‘is ‘usband is from because ‘is name was Gift and ‘ow weird of a name is t'at? Anyways, it goes on to say t'at ‘e would do whatever ‘e could to save ‘im and stop ‘im from commitin’ suicide. T'at's when t'e journal gets a bit…weirder. It's plans and formulas about time travel and makin’ changes to time wit'out creatin' new realities or splinter ones so t'at t'e TVA cant delete t'em. From t'at I think ‘e chose t'is timeline because it must be somewhere he cant start t'e change for ‘is plans. So if I ‘ad to guess, ‘e's in jail for doin’ what you would like to do Vicky, stickin' it to t'e TVA… and alterin’ time for a loved one. But I don't ‘ave a way to get to ‘im and even if we stole anot'er sling ring I couldn't get us to a place I can't picture…I'm not very good wit’ t'em yet.”

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Chase looked over towards where Ben had been. Spotting Danni handing him an entire dragon, and giving him enough of a distraction that he was certain Ben's neurons weren't able to fire. That's what it felt like sometimes when talking to Danni, as if you just had to shut your brain off to let the sheer amount of words flow through you and vibe instead of attempting to search for any deeper meaning. The blonde gravity bender seemed to have an idea or two about what was happening all around. Unfortunately for them, that didn't matter if this Glimpse didn't feel comfortable enough to help yet, and he was certain that if Andy was correct and everyone rushed back in to ask their questions, then surely it would become a lost cause.

”Let me get this straight, you punched me for absolutely no reason, and now you're asking me for a favour?” Chase raised his eyebrow at Andy, letting out a sigh before he felt the weight in his hands get lighter as Glimpse took the offered drink. Crazy, you'd think to check for poison first in a strange new world. Either way she seemed pleased with the way Ben had made the tea. ”Alright, well since I'm your favorite person I guess I can help you two out.” He smiled, kicking at the dirt in a playful bashful manner. Chase turned around to face the others, holding his hands out as he closed his eyes and felt for the shadows. From Vicky, Andy, Glimpse, Leah, Danni, April, Millie, himself, and Amelie, sprung copies of themselves. Dark silhouettes who's only difference was that they were all in knights armor, even Amelie. Chase stepped through the wall of knights that now separated the two parties so that Andy and Glimpse could talk alone. ”Listen up, those two want a bit of privacy so let's give it to them before we start asking for questions or favors of the old newcomer. Hey Danni-Boy, how've you been? Sorry we kept missin you today.

“Well, obvi its later silly! We ‘ave Poisson-Pas savin’ ta do! I mean, wit’ t'e star chart stuff maybe we go Sea'awk style and swt some boats on fire instead!” Danni laughed at Percy's reply before turning eagerly to Leah as April asked about a magic spell.

“Ooooh, yeah we can kick someone off one of t'e sets for a bit and make travel snacks!!!! Wit’ spicies ‘cause ot'erwise stuff'll go bad unless ya cool it but if we're traveling can we? Like, Rillie could make ice over and over and over and over and over but like, do ya think that's gonna be enough? Or like, what if Rillie gets too tired ans t'en all our food is bad? We should make like, idk jerky? But jerky takes time ta make, but it would be delicious. But we don't ‘ave time? Might not ‘ave time? Idk where time is ‘ere ‘cause like, idk where can ‘old a fish like t'at, ya know?” Danni rambled, now acutely concerned about what they were going to eat. Would there be food that was safe where they went? Would it taste good? He would prefer to eat yummy but unsafe food, if he was being honest. Like, what if there was a mushroom that was super poisonous but it tasted like curry? Danni was pulled out of his musings when Leah mentioned ecoplasam. “Ooooh, t'ats like t'at gooey, blasting stuff Dee was workin’ on over break. Its like an echoblast or somet'in’. Etho-pulse? Ecto-beam? Idr tbh but it's gooey and sizzly! Pa trained wit’ ‘im in it and it was weird ta suddenly ‘ave ‘im blastin’ his goo at me in practice, ya know? Total surprise but super fun!”

Danni, as a mature teenager, blew a raspberry at Vicky. “Nah, Poisson-Pas is one of us. If any o’ us gets snapped up by crazy people, we gotta go get t'em. T'at's t'e friendship rules! You're all stuck wit’ me and t'at means when ya get kidnapped, we all gotta show up!” Danni glanced down as his phone buzzed and quickly fired back.



“Oookay, Beanie's in on t'e jailbreak. Gotta do fit checks after food and Sugar Cube is on ‘is way too! Beanie is def t'e ome ta ask for ‘elp on t'is.” Danni agreed with Millie, waiving his phone up triumphant until he caught sight of something wildly adorable. Amélie had climbed up on Ben's shoulders, pulled herself up so her two front feet were on his head, and her wings were stretched out as she puffed smoke out, her tail wrapped loosely around Ben's neck. Danni cooed and snapped a few pictures in quick succession.



Danni startled as Chase suddenly appeared, chatting at him, but he beamed and propped his elbow up on Chase's shoulder. “It's fiiiiiine, I guess. Ya just ‘afta make it up ta me. Aaaaaaall t'is time ya coulda been ‘an'in’ wit’ me.” Danni whined playfully. “T'ough that'll ‘afta be a rain check ‘cause we're plannin’ ta pop over ta some other world and recuse our fishie in distress. ‘pparently, Dee snatched up book or somet'in’ t'at like detailed ‘is plans ta now up time or somwt'in’ and so ‘e got locked up but he was doin’ it ‘cause ‘is ex took t'e fast way down from a tall buildin’, ya know? So like, we all kinda fuck wit’ it ‘cause ‘e just wanted ‘us man back and who can resist t'at kinda story, ya know?” Danni peered at the wall of people behind Chase.

“Wait, who are t'ese guys? Do I know t'em? I feel like I woulda remembered a buncha armored, shadowy peeps t'o.”

---

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April frowned, thinking over what Leah’s rune meant - that they already had everything they needed to get to Ser Nemo. It felt a lot like when they’d do an escape room and get so stumped, they’d ask for a hint, only to be told that they were on the right track. And that track was… confusing. Were they supposed to ask someone here for help? Combine their powers in a shocking and cool new way? They’d been a little jealous to be left out of the mutant circuit Danni and Dorian had done, was it time to revive that concept? Or were there clues waiting for them, right in front of them but being entirely ignored? Was the universe trying to tell them something and they were deaf to it all?

However, thoughts of logistics went out of mind as Vicky dropped two bombs - 1) Nemo was being held by the TVA for execution and 2) she didn’t think they should save him. Their jaw dropped. They knew that the robot could be callous and cruel, but this…? “No way are we abandoning someone who needs help!” April crossed their arms defiantly. “I’d break him out of jail if the flatscan cops nabbed him, too. ACAB! Including time cops! And b-besides, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Nemo… He saved my life. If heroism isn’t enough, then balancing the karmic scales ought to be.”

Their resolve was only strengthened with Dorian’s information - that Ser Nemo was explicitly being tried for trying to save his old boyfriend from suicide. There was no question. April had to go. They had to go help him. If none of their friends were willing to go, they’d go by themself - they’d help him and make things right, not just because they owed him, but because it was the right thing to do. It was what heroes do. “I’m extra going now. How hard can a jail break be, anyway, for the literal Champions? We beat the Hex Girls, we beat the Young Avengers, we beat Arcade - we can beat some stuck up asshole cops. And like the runes said, we have everything we need - because we are all here, and that’s enough.”

They paused for a moment, eyeing Chase’s construction of a shadowy wall. They could see why Danni liked spending time with him. It was extra as hell. If Andy and maybe!Glimpse wanted to talk while they figured out how to save Nemo, that was fine. Andy would show up when it counted.

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Several realizations hit Percy in rapid succession, as his heart momentarily ceased beating:

The name of Nemo’s lost love was Gift. Dorian’s name translated as Gift.

Nemo was not a reference to a lost clownfish or a sailor. It meant No One - the alias Odysseus used to trick Polyphemus. Percy’s superheroic alias was Odysseus.

Ser Nemo’s specialties were temporal teleportation and languages. Those were Percy’s powers.

When he interacted with Nemo, he had become irrationally angry with the old man, even ill. Nemo had given him medication to take, claiming it was a side effect of their similar powers. It was not. It was, however, a possible symptom of paradox psychosis.

Ser Nemo had not chosen to retire in this universe and teach at the school just to cause the changes he sought in the timeline. He had done it because it was his home, because these were his friends. He had done it because Percy would have done it - because Percy will do it.

In Agatha’s reading, she had warned Percy that he would fall in love - and then see that love torn away from him forever - that much like his beloved Greek heroes, his story would end in tragedy.

Dorian was Ser Nemo’s boyfriend who committed suicide.

Percy was Ser Nemo.

Ser Nemo was Percy.

“Ser Nemo is my future self.” His voice shook, overwhelmed with the weight of his realization. “He’s - I’m trying to save you.” He looked at Dorian. “And I’m going to die.”

He fainted immediately.

---

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Can I come too? Carlos asked Sabine, waiting for a moment before floating along after her. He hoped Marlena was coming. He had an idea on how to answer her questions better. He wasn’t a superhero on the level of everyone in Excelsior or the Young Avengers, but he still wanted to help. His dream must have been important, and while he wasn’t very good at interpreting everything, he still knew that it was his responsibility to try to share it. I have an idea, if you’re okay with it. I can’t show people images with my telepathy - but if you could look into my memories of it, maybe you could! And then maybe something I’ve saw that doesn’t mean anything to me could mean everything to you and your friends. Whatever it is you’re facing, I think it’s important, so please let me do the right thing and help!

Sabine hadn’t expected it, but she liked Carlos and if he could help them and make sense of his dreams, then she would be a fool to deny his help. ”Of course you can come with. That’s a good idea, too. Better than having to explain it with word only. A lot of our team are visual learners, I feel.”

Sabine walked with Carlos as they neared the group. Sabine immediately clocked that something was going on. The lot of them were all speaking to each other at varying decibels. Sabine pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. ”Let me talk to them first and get them in order. Easier said than done.”

She made her way over to the group proper before she clapped her hands for attention. Once she was satisfied everyone was quiet and/or listening to her, she continued. ”Listen up, everyone. I am not sure what is currently going on, but I may have something that can help. This is Carlos. Carlos, this is everyone else. Carlos is incredibly cool and he has a prophecy he shared with Marlena and me. I think it is best if we all see it and try to make sense of it as I am reasonably sure it will help with whatever problem you have going on is. I am going to broadcast the prophecy into your minds. Please raise your hand if you want to opt out of that. If you’re cool, we can proceed.”

I promise the information I have is super helpful! You were all in my dreams - so many blondes with swords, it’s hard for me to sort it all out, but hopefully you all can! Carlos flew after Sabine, a glowing green cube bounding through the air, and twirling as he got to his destination. He didn’t mind too much the giant wall of darkness soldiers, as he could still speak to those inside - could still feel that they needed to see this too.

And in a moment, having taken into account any who opted out, they proceeded. The combined powers of Sabine and Carlos sent a series of images flashing through the minds of all gathered, even those closed off by Chase.

A shadowy army, marching on a gleaming, floating palace.

Marlena dangling upside down, a rope around her ankle.

April sitting on the crescent moon, two masks in their hands.

Dorian with wands, pentacles, coin, and swords at his disposal.

Andy atop a chariot, wind in her hair.

Vicky with a bag affixed to a stick slung over her shoulder, crossing a river as the sun glared down upon her - a version of her that was entirely human.

Danni atop a grown Amelie, the sun bright and prominent behind him.

Percy seated on a stone chair, stars in the sky like eyes all around him, an ancient tome in his lap.

Leah and her human self embracing one another, wings on their backs, and an angel above.

Sabine with great horns sprouting from her head, a pentagram of blood hovering before her - and an odd shimmer to her skin.

Chase strapped to a wheel, strange symbols inscribed all around, beasts looking on as he turned.

Millie knelt in water, stars glistening all around, pouring her cups into the pool.

A bear.

Ben astride a white horse, a skull where his face ought to have been, and a black flag held aloft before him.

Gideon, upside down, pouring water from one cup into another.

All fourteen of them at the side of a White Witch, as they faced the shadowy hoard together.

A woman who looked eerily like Sabine.

Ser Nemo.

A ball.

And swords. So many fucking swords.

Did any of that mean anything to you? Carlos piped up.

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Chase’s wall of shadowy knights damn near made Leah jump out of her skin. That was useful, though, and honestly pretty damn cool. What else could he do?

”Of course we’re going to do something, Vicky. April almost died and would have if he didn’t stop it. I know you two can’t help but kill each other if you’re locked in a room together, but… We owe him that.” Leah didn’t know how it’d even work. He deserved a chance, though. And if they were going to hold him for trying to save another life, using time itself, then it suggested a few things She wasn’t that well-versed in time travel or the TVA, but what little she knew of magic meant she could extrapolate. Magic warped reality, the runes she studied were a kind of code that dictated the course reality went down. The old Eddas described Yggdrasil as having them carved into its bark by the Norns, the three old women that represented the past, present, and the future. Being a Witch, as she had learned after a brief lesson, meant there was a risk to that.

Something as simple as warming herself risked permanent burns, with the use of a single rune. What kind of damage could Ser Nemo get up to, with his powers and what he had access to?

”We can’t just rush in, though,” She gave her hot, manic ex a pointed look. ”Bad idea to just charge straight at this, and that’s coming from me. How much do we know about the TVA? Or why they do things the way they do? I want to know them better before we do anything drastic.”

When Sabine came running over with a floating cube she had been talking to back at the tubing area… There was a lot to react to. Sure enough, they came over with some clues that Leah had mentioned earlier. They had what they needed, they just had to arrange the pieces. So she let Sabine do her thing. Her powers were normal to Leah by now, she had let her in enough before.

The visions she saw of everyone were… A lot. Two of them stood out to her. The first was herself. Her slightly shorter, human self with her brown skin and visible scars. And the Leah of today, taller and gray from head to toe, eyes glowing gold. There were wings on their backs, and above them was an angel staring down. The vision reminded her of what she saw on Jotunheim, when she found Sjafnamarr at the bottom of a cave, surrounded by herself.

And then the second one was… A bear. It didn’t look quite like Kodiak, the fur didn’t look the same color she remembered. And wasn’t his werebeast form bigger?

When the visions were through, she didn’t know what to think. She looked back at Chase’s shadow soldiers, with a bit more scrutiny this time. She’d have to talk to him later.

”Alright. We’ve got shit to do. I’m going to get everyone some food packed for later, so make sure you let me know if there’s something you can’t- Where’s Percy?”

She looked over at where he was standing… And he was on the ground.

”Percy!” She immediately leapt to her feet and knelt over him.

---

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Marlena did, in fact, come along. She picked up the pace and followed them over, gears turning in her head. She wasn’t clued into this stuff the way Sabine and her friends were. What did this involve? Was it a coincidence, was Marlena just looking for an excuse to put off hero school? Probably! But who could blame her? Besides, classes weren’t starting today, were they? Nope! She propped her tube up somewhere and took the out from Ice Bitch’s general vicinity.

The first thing she noticed walking over was an army of knights made from shadows. Chase’s power was clearly better-trained than she imagined. Or maybe he just happened to be pretty damn good at summoning shadow minions to do his bidding. Go my minions! Sting them in the name of all that is Mobius!

”Afternoon, friends,” She greeted everyone sticking behind Sabine and Carlos while they started speeching the crowd. They were going to quickly catch everyone up, it seemed. So Marlena paid attention.

It felt weird.

Marlena had never been hit with psychic messages before, it was almost like dreaming from her point of view. Images flashing over her eyes and thoughts in place of everything else. She saw everyone, from April to herself, in positions not unlike what Carlos described. There she was, upside down hanging from a tree by her leg. There April was, holding masks in her hands. Swords everywhere, a pale woman, and all of them together before an army of dark things.

”Woah…”

When the images passed, she couldn’t help but feel disquieted.

”Oh… So, I don’t know what’s going on, but if I’m involved, then I’m in,” She told them, walking forward. ”I’m hoping I don’t have to fight any monsters, but I’ve never been one to back off from something new.”

Her eyes went wide when the twink went down, talking about someone named Ser Nemo.

”Sabine? That wasn’t your power, was it?” She asked, as the Boulder immediately tended to him.

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Andy took the card from Glimpse and looked at it. The card was obviously April. She looked up at Chase. She rolled her eyes. Thankful that he was just going away. She wanted privacy. Mostly for Glimpse’s sake. But at least he had helped a bit by giving her the tea. She’d give him the point for that.

“I’ll be honest I don’t know much about this sort of thing. I... haven’t really paid it much mind. It is weird that you have cards with us on them - “

Andy is cut off as Sabine’s vision hits her. She tries to push it away but as soon as she realizes what is happening she stops trying to stop it. As soon as the vision is over she looks at the card again.

“Well fuck. Alright. Let’s start with where your home is and how the hell we can get there. Some big shit seems to be going down and we’re all embroiled in it.”

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Ben smiles for the pictures, a little nervous. He does stick his tongue out for one of them, being silly. He holds one hand up so that if Amélie falls he can catch her. She isn’t a bug for him to talk to, which makes him a little sad. He wishes he could talk to the dragon. Ben waves with his free hand at Chase when he joins them. It is a little bit of a relief to have him near.

What happened next was a whole lot of crazy. Dorian had explained he had a notebook from the missing teacher. Percy realized he was apparently this missing teacher and passed out. Sabine came over with someone Ben didn’t know at all, and they were given a vision. Ben didn’t understand any of it. But the faces matched the group. He knew his bible and knew the white horse imagery meant death. What.... The... Fuck.

Ben didn’t know what to do with that information. He was scared. He glanced around the group, edging closer to Chase. The shadow army in the vision... well... it was hard to not make the comparison. And this group was way too punch happy.

---

As she got responses, Victoria waited until more people chimed in to build a more complete picture of the situation before she made a decision. She would still prefer that Andy and the newcomer joined them, but that didn't seem to be on the menu for what she assumed were reasons related to having one's control systems operate on chemistry.

What Dorian said was interesting on many levels, but what immediately caught Tori's ear was that the guy possessed a book that amounted to 'All you wanted to know about TVA', which was something she was interested in regardless of the current situation.

As he described what was Sir Nemo's history - or were they plans? - she was still on the fence. On one hand, if he knew of the organization's laws, and still chose to break them, then it was no wonder he wound up where he currently was. But on the other hand... Wanting to loose the dictate of fate some organization one didn't vote for resonated deeply with her.

Finally, once the surprise of her own shadow deciding to up and leave worn off and Danni and April chimed in, she broke her silence, looking between the two siblings. "I sympathize, you two, I don't like people railroading my life either. But our society works based on the rule of law, not karma. I just told death she can't have you two yet too, but for future reference, if I ever justly land behind bars, I expect to be left there to do my time."

She frowned and pinched her nose in deliberation. "It's still a guess as to what his charges are. He could be jailed for defying the timeline the TVA wants to impose, yes, in which case, I'm all for helping him out if we can, I'll never condone of a world without free will. However, he could also be there because in his quest to save one life he did care for, he ruined far more of those he didn't. I'm just urging caution until we know more. That said, we probably need to get closer to actually find out." She raised one arm in a defeated half-shrug.

She wanted to address just how hard an engagement involving time fuckerry could be, but that was when Percy decided to drop a bomb. So, Nemo was Percy, somewhere down the line. That... Didn't change things, but it did open up some new avenues of investigation.

She was about to say something again, when Sabine crashed the party and shared some sort of dream slash vision that involved them. When Carlos pipped up with his question, the android shrugged. "I don't know tarot, so no idea. I do know that whoever wants to put my soul into a human body will have to pry it out of my busted, cold chassis." she shuddered. Dorian brought this option up when she was in C.A.G.E. She rejected then, and absolutely nothing happened since that would change her mind, not even the further instances of her magic vulnerability.

Leah was thinking along the same lines of something being owed to someone for their past deeds, with blatant disregard to their deeds as an absolute measure, just like the rest seemed to be. Unlike April though, she at least didn't seem to have the Top Gear style 'how hard could it be?' line of thought, for which the android was thankful. The second part of what she said made her eyebrows rise though. "No, we're fine, actually, didn't we tell you?" She looked at April and whispered. _{"We're fine, right?"}

She sighed and dragged a palm down her face. "Okay. Alright. Tell you what. You!" She snapped her fingers and pointed at Dorian, "I'd appreciate a copy of that TVA handbook. I want to know if there are laws that Ol'Percy broke. Are there courts? Appeals? Some legal way to get him out or at least off death row."

She turned back to April, Danni and Leah, the latter of whom was now tending to Percy who, understandably, wasn't taking the revelation very well. "Failing that, we need to check if there is some equal power we could ally with, because if you need an example of how hard it is to be in conflict with people that can time travel, ask Arcade how well that went for him. And we should really get Percy to read Nemo's diary, because if anyone is going to have good insight into it, it'd be him." she thought out loud.

Her hands reached up to her hair and yanked at it in frustration as she realized something. She gave a resigned sigh. "And... I think I know a guy who can most likely get us there, regardless of wherever it is we actually need to go, but... He's going to ask for unspecified favors in return, and you have to be very, very specific and careful with how you word your ask. I'd really rather not go to him at all, but if we find no other options, well, he threw me through more worlds than I could remember as a troll, so chances are he can help."

While Leah was tending to Percy, Victoria made her way to Dorian so that only he was in earshot of her whisper. _{"You okay, buddy? I don't know what future holds, but that can't be the only answer to it. Remember you got friends if you are in the dumps, okay?"}

But on the side note, she sent a worried thought to Sabine: "Forget damage control on socials. This group needs a suicide watch. There's two now."

---

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---

Once the group consented to the telepathic intrusion, Sabine connected with Carlos and broadcast his vision into all of their minds. She also paid careful attention to the vision. She knew it would involve Tarot cards, but there had to be more at play. Perhaps something to do with Nemo and what the group was worried about.

The vision played out. Each of them is connected to something. Likely a Tarot card, though Sabine knew little about them. Millicent was open to the whole memory mind palace thing Sabine had going on, mainly because it was wild to think of one of them being able to open up people's minds and fuck with their memories and dreams and shit. Millicent knew, from talk as well as observation, that Sabine was more careful with her powers now. More considerate of others and not going into their minds without permission. Millicent had to imagine a psychic's powers being judged harshly.

Millicent observed the vision, seeing each of her friends in various forms, and all of them coming together to fight off a shadow army. Didn't Chase play with shadows? Was this vision telling them he was somehow involved? That couldn't be true, could it? She didn't know him very well, but maybe she was wrong.

Sabine, however, was having her own fucked up moment. Because the vision towards the end showed someone she immediately recognized. Someone she hadn't seen in years. Someone she thought had been dead. Because there was no way this person was alive, because they would have reached out to her to let her know. They would have told her they were alive if for no other reason than to show Sabine she wasn't alone, that she wasn't left on her own.

The woman who looked so much like herself. Sabine's own mother.

The vision ended and Millicent noticed Percy had dropped. Was it from the vision itself? She walked over to check on him. "Diva down here. Is he okay? Should we get the nurse? I was on my way to with the other chick, but I think Percy needs them more."

Sabine stood there a moment, aware that people were talking to her, looking at her. Vicky had sent a thought her way, but Sabine only heard it peripherally. Her mind raced with thoughts. Everything she knew to be true was a lie. Nemo was alive, but held prisoner and somehow, some way, her mother was involved. Was she responsible for it? Did her own mother hate her so much that she left when she was only a child and pretended to be dead? Leaving her with a father who threw money at her and married a woman who made her life miserable?

Sabine felt her very bones shake. She clamped down on her wrist, willing herself to snap out of it, but she couldn't. "I'm...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." she muttered and turned and walked away. She didn't know where and she didn't know why. She knew she needed a minute; otherwise she would scream.

And they already had one breakdown today. There was no time for another.

---

---

”It’s an ecto-blast, and yeah…I’ve been workin’ on a move to ‘elp me do more t’an just possess people. I didn’t like t’e way t’ey looked at me afterwards even if it was for t’e tournament it felt…wrong some’ow. So I worked on findin’ a way to use my Astral powers differently, by concentratin’ t’em and blastin’ it out into a sort of beam. Not’in’ too fancy…” Dorian said a bit meekly as Danni portrayed his powers in such a vulgar way as he always did. He hadn’t expected for Percy to have any personal revelations about the news he was giving out, especially not the fact that he was somehow past Nemo and that Dorian was the weirdly names boyfriend who ended up killing himself. Percy had began to faint, and before Dorian could react, Sabine had washed them over with a memory. He’d already removed his sword as his way of letting her know he was fine with the vision, but hadn’t anticipated Percy fainting like that. When he came back to, Percy was on the ground and Leah had rushed beside him. There was so much information to take in, between the prophecy, the cards, Glimpse, Nemo, everything, and whats more…he was going to kill himself.

Dorian’s mind wracked itself with the whys and hows. Questioning the motives of a future him for answer’s he couldn’t possibly know because the events themselves hadn’t even happened yet. But one thing kept on ringing clear in his mind, one thought that would come back over and over and over again, and as he looked at that Shadow Army Chase had summoned, and he felt that pit of anger and hatred again towards him, he knew this had to be the reason why. Dorian, somewhere down the line, must have failed to be a Hero. Failed to do the one thing he has always set out to do, and in that great failure, whomever he failed to rescue…the karmic scales must’ve been too great to count. A failure so catastrophic that the only achievable answer to fix them was to remove himself from the equation. But when, why, and how he failed was never mentioned, and it was something he now desperately needed to ask Nemo about. He had to know how to fix his future mistakes, how to become the Hero he knows he can be. Dorian fell to his knees next to Percy, a tear dropping down onto his boyfriends cheek. ”Sorry Perce…I’ll try to do better, to be better. Startin’ here wit’ savin Poissan-pas.”

Dorian wiped his tears, looking over at Vicky as she tried to get more answers and help figure out what they could possibly even do. ”It’s not so much a ‘andbook so much as a diary containin’ everyt’in’ ‘e knows on t’em from ‘is time workin’ t’ere. Also…Perce can’t read t’is writin’ I don’t t’ink. It isn’t so much a language to read so much as…a skill? It’s ‘ard to describe ‘ow to do it, but I ain’t even sure you’d be able to unless your purposely made yourself faulty in order to do it. But if you ‘ave a last resort person we could use I’m all ears, after we see if t’ere is no ot’er way for us to get t’ere on our own merit. _{and I’m fine…for now I t’ink, but t’anks for askin’. I’m more concerned about…} Dorian glanced over towards the Shadowy Knights that stood by Chase, the ones who bore and eerie similarity to the ones in the vision they all just shared.

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Danni’s ramblings were beginning to become a common delight for Chase. Not that he could actually understand everything that Danni was saying, or even follow half of the strands of thoughts that came out of him before being promptly abandoned and tossed aside for potential later use. He had heard Danni talking about some way to make traveling food, given they were going to an undisclosed land with unknown amounts of potential to eat, it would probably serve them best to try and make some simpler dishes that would ration out for longer than to make some complex meal that wouldn’t go past a day. He figured that perhaps some Historical Pocket Soup would work well here. Danni could season and spice it as much as he wanted and they could ensure some Vitamin C was added in to help prevent any unwanted illnesses.

Something April said had struck a chord with Chase. If heroism isn’t enough, then balancing the karmic scales ought to be. What would that look like for him? For everything he had done, how much would he need to do or endure before his scales became balanced? Chase wasn’t entirely certain, but as Sabine came in with a prophecy, it began to feel unbearably clear. She’d been in his mind before, offering comfort when others wouldn’t, and so he didn’t deny her the need to access it again for the sake of helping another. But as the visions pressed on, and he saw the army of shadows marching forth at a floating palace, as he saw the way others looked at him once they’d all snapped back out of the vision, as he saw the tell tale signs of Heroes staring down a Villain, he knew his scales were a sisyphean task. He would climb up high enough for others to trust him or begin to trust him only for the floor to fall from beneath his feet and have him start again. Chase’s mind went back to a memory, to a day in therapy as he had begun to start the process of working through everything that had happened to him and everything he had done.


The Giant’s gaze didn’t escape him, but her willingness to not say anything outright was more than appreciated, and she reminded him of what he was about to say before he was painted as yet another villain. ”Pocket Soup. You two should prepare some pocket soup. It’s what they used back in the day when traveling long distances on ships. You create a broth with a lot of collagen in it and let it set and it becomes like jello. Cube it, store it, then when you want to make a soup we just need hot water and that cube and the broth is all there. I’m…I think I need to take a walk…I dunno.” Chase clasped his hand onto Ben’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze as he tried to force out a smile for his boyfriend, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Darkness filled them, a wash of sadness lurking behind his sight as he began to come to terms that he would never be good enough.

Beanie and Sugar Cubes visions nearly swept Danni off his feet. They were amazing and wonderful and a little spooky, but everyone looked so cool. “Omg, omg, omg! Did ya all see me?! Amelie, baby, we were flyin’ target’er and every’in’!” Danni babbled the moment the vision was over, sweeping his dragon off of Ben’s head and spun around. The dragon let out chittering laughter and flapped her wings like she was flying. “And Rillie was on t’e moon so I t’ink we’re goin’ ta t’e moon and t’ere was Beanie and t’en like grown up, super cool Beanie so she’s gunna get some muscles so I t’ink Leah must be gettin’ Beanie ta do weights and t’en she’s gettin’ sups cool wit’ ‘er sword, and t’en Spicy’s gettin’ a reaaaaaaally uncomfy chair for ‘is b-day ‘pparently ‘less ‘e really like stone chairs. Didn’t t’ink ‘bout t’at but it looked like ‘is jam wit’ a book and every’in’. Dee is gunna get real good wit’ jugglin’. Chase is real cool and summonin’ an army like t’ose but t’en I t’ink someone steals t’em ‘cause t’en we’re all fightin’ t’em, ‘im included so I’m super confused on t’at one. I also feel like someone needs ta check out Beanie ‘cause Idk if peeps are supposed ta ‘ave bloody stuff over t’eir ‘eads, Andy’s gettin’ a dope t’in’ pulled by ‘orses ya know? I want ta ‘ave a ride on t’at one day. Leah’s gettin’ really inta self love which is great ‘cause she was ooooone insecure person t’is year and we love a emotion glow up. Vicky is lookin’ good in t’at skin - def usin’ my skin care tips and if I ain’t gettin’ an invite ta whatever trip she’s goin’ on, friendship cancelled.And Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen, why didn’t ya tell me ya knew ‘ow ta ride a ‘orse?! I wanna ride a ‘oooorse!” Danni whined after he finished recapping the vision to Amelie, who was protesting the lack of spinning and flying. He laughed and gave her a few more spins before settling her on his shoulders.

“‘iiiiiii Sugar Cube! See, t’is is ‘ow I know you still love me! I was def t’e coolest person in t’at vision and t’at’s ‘ow ya know I’m t’e biggest one in ‘is brain!” dAnni blew Carlos a kiss and then gasped at Chase’s suggestion. “OMG, yeeeeeees. Pocket soup! Like pocket sand, but chewier! OMg, LEah can we do pocket soup?! T’at sounds so fun! I wanna carry soup in my pocket! Well, maybe not my pocket in case I go all fiery. Maybe someone else’s pocket. OMG, Dee best trick! Pocket soup prank! We just put pocket soup in everyone’s pockets! Like could you imagine suddenly havin’ soup in your pocket? Rillie can shoot water in t’e pocket, I can shoot a little fire, it’ll be great!” Danni turned to see why his suggestion hadn’t yet been hailed as the next Kingston-Grey genuins when he gasped at Percy on the ground. He bolted, stumbling as he hit his knees next to Peryc, draping himself over Dorian.

“Wait, did ya say, you’re Poisson-Pas, but like t’e munchkin verson? OMG, we gotta talk like, can we style t’e mustache any ot’er way. I felt like our fashion ‘an’out shoulda told ya t’at. And like, can we please talk ‘bout t’e… actually, t’e bombs kinda make even more sense knowin’ t’ey’re your exercises.” Danni gasped again and shook Dorian violently. “DID HE SAY YOU’RE T’E ONE WHO TOOK T’E QUICK WAY DOWN FROM A TALL BUILDIN’?! DEE, YOU CAN LIT FLY! WHY IN T’E WORLD DID YA DO T’AT? RILLIE, WE NEED WATER FOR BOT’ T’ESE DUMDUMS STAT! DEE NEEDS T’E SQUIRT BOTTLE IN CASE ‘E GOES NEAR ANY TALL BUILDINGS AND SPICY NEEDS LIKE A BUCKET OF IT TA WAKE UP!”