---

---

Sabine was a fae? Leah thought she was Inhuman. Was she fucking born here, on some far away piece of the world and only just now learning about it? Fuck, Leah knew how that felt. It hurt like hell when it happened to her, too. Luna's comments on the situation made her feel a bit less frantic. Ben was Inhuman, and he wasn't convulsing on the ground. So it wasn't a moon people thing, at least. They just had to let her go through the process... However long it took. While Vicky was slowly dying, and while nefarious people prowled the sands. Because of course.

Leah sat the kit Vicky offered up next to her. She ignored Jean-Luc barking up a storm, ignored the others getting their bearings, and focused on the immediate situation. Leah's two runes floated into her palm, and she whispered something into them. They stacked over each other and the glyph appeared again. The magic energy that coated Sabine was a little brighter, the awful pain she was an extra step diminished.

"That's about the best I can do right now," Leah told her, gently. She leaned back on one knee, rolling the two stones around in her hand. Would the Wreath help? Whatever was happening to her didn't quite seem like damage, just a change.

"If some of you are going, I'll stay here for defense." Leah laid Sjafnamarr on the ground beside Sabine, out of the way so she didn't roll over the massive blade and slice herself. With her free hand, Leah felt the sand underneath them. It was warm, and felt familiar enough to work with. She clamped a fist around the sand, it shifted under everyone's feet. Twenty feet away, in every direction, it climbed over itself and formed circular walls, until they were twenty feet high. Directly in front of them, a door opened wide enough for two people to walk through at once. It faced the crawling structure off in the distance.

The dome solidified into sandstone, the exterior dim on the inside.

"Now we have cover to hide in. We'll probably be hard to spot that far away. If Danni goes, he can make a fire to signal us after he gets their attention, and maybe Andy can shoot a bolt up so we don't lost anyone. Unless Sabine and Vicky can use their connection to find each other, but we don't want to push either of them right now. Chase, you can probably find us quicker than Percy if you can lock onto someone's shadow. I have no idea if Dorian can get in and out of the Astral from here... If we get swarmed, I can close the door." She looked at everyone gathered around. Splitting up was objectively a risky idea, but it wouldn't do to move Sabine or even abandon her.

"Stay together and be damn sure you don't lean too hard on any one person. Just like the Contest… Luna, here-" Leah reached into her bag and withdrew one of the pieces of her collection that she brought with her. A grey, hexagonal pyramid no larger than a baseball. There were geometric lines running across its surface, as if it had been used to practice manipulation of mineral structures.

She sat it down between her and the other girl.

”It’s Magnetite. If the dwarves need to be paid off to help us, give them that.” And with that, she grabbed her seven foot-sword again, pocketed her runes, and stood guard right outside the entrance.

---

---

Bandits.

In Marlena's unprofessional opinion, she preferred Luna's idea of forming a circle over turtling up. It made sense to not be exposed, but she wasn't going to fight anybody. If Sandbenders from The Last Airbender showed up ready to rob them of their dragon companion, then Marlena was of a mind to just scatter the group to the four winds. The dome that Leah put over them was useful, though. Even as the sun was going down. Marlena couldn't bring herself to watch Sabine's body reshape itself. It'd be nice if she could do something, but she didn't have healing spells. The Story Magic that dictated how things went seemed capable of changing a person physically, considering the fact that Percy had cat ears. What purpose did it serve to subject somebody to this? Was she being retconned into being a fae? When they went home, would she be back to normal?

”I’ll go,” She decided. ”I can’t fight, but I can probably reason with the dwarves in that mountain. And, I think…”

She tossed her board out in front of her. It didn’t hit the sand, instead floating a few inches above it. Marlena’s telekinetic power kept it there, and it was difficult to see her grin in the dim light.

”Cool.” She stepped on it, and to her surprise, it didn’t knock her off. She floated towards one of the walls of the sandstone beachhead that Leah made, standing on the board. ”I’m mobile. I can get around okay like this, I think. If anyone’s stalking us, maybe I can fly higher and call it out. How long can we afford to stay here?”

The prospect of a fight with bandits while she was in another universe made her nervous. Were they magical bandits? Were they werewolves, vampires, some other fantastical creature? And how many of them were there? Marlena didn’t want to fight anyone.

---

---

---

Sabine's body felt like it wanted to break out of its shell, like a butterfly exiting the cocoon that had kept them safe. She could hear the others talking, but the pain was making her head swim and she could not pinpoint if any of them were concerned for her or for their situation. She could feel some warmth spread through her as the pain became a bit more manageable, the others obviously doing what they could to ease her suffering.

And then, all at once, it stopped. The pain was gone and, in its stead, was a sense of peace. Of bliss. It was as if the pain was a roadmap and she had reached her destination, the hardships overtaken by pleasure.

Sabine took a beat to ensure she was okay and that she was no longer dying. Once she was sure she would be fine to move, she tried to stand up, only to feel her legs buckle, and she fell over. Did the pain weaken her? She looked around and felt something moving behind her. She glanced back as a quick flicker of pink mixed with shimmer swept in her gaze. She kept looking and, sure enough, it came back. She could feel it now, connected to her as an extension of herself.

Sabine had fucking wings!

She stood up again, getting a sense of it. Her body felt the same, but was definitely different. To those who could see her, Sabine's eyes were now pink, the same color as her wings. Her ears were pointed and elongated. Her limbs had grown. And her hair now shimmered in the light. Sabine took a step forward and found herself nearly falling again. Whatever metamorphosis she had experienced had now changed her body. What was it Luna had said? Fae? She was...fae?

Sabine wanted to deny the reality, but it was clear that something was different with her. But...why? She was inhuman, wasn't she? It explained her powers. If she was fae, then that meant.....her mother was here for a reason.

"Well, that's going to take some getting used to." She looked at the others, both to keep herself calm as well as to ensure she was okay. And at least she was. Vicky was another matter. "I don't think I am in the best shape to be moving around, so I'll stay back and help as needed, but...yeah I have some things to get used to and know how to use. We can discuss and also freak out after we are safe."

Danni had expelled himself and Amelie was...fucking huge now. Jean-Luc was being taken care of and seemed content now. And all of this was chaos incarnate. Also..."Wait....Percy is a catboy now?!?"

---

---

---

Things were quickly spiraling as some of them rushed to help Sabine out with whatever the chick was going through. Fairy puberty by the sounds of it. At least they had someone here familiar with all of this. But to think of of them was fae. Did it make sense? No. But then again, they just used a mushroom circle to transport to some world where they could barter with shiny rocks and saying thank you might mean you give up your firstborn child.

Millie's head was swimming, but at least she held her breakfast.

She walked over to Danni, offering a comforting hand on his back. "You okay, cuz? If you need a moment, then take one." Even though the threats of everything seemed to be buckling down on them, it would not do them any good to have multiple people having medical or mental crises.

Sabine had stopped screaming and stood up only to faceplant. Millicent got a good look now. The girl had shifted all right. She now had a set of beautiful wings along with a shiny makeover in the vein of her hair catching the light and fucking sparkling. She looked taller now, too. Sabine was definitely not human anymore, if she ever was. "So, is this a permanent change then? Like, if she goes back to our world, will the wings still be there, or is there going to be another painful shift back?" Millicent didn't know if she would be as strong.

Vicky needed the immediate attention now, and it sounded like the group would be separating, which made sense even if her gut instinct was to not to split the party. That often did not go well. "If we are splitting the group, I'll go with the others who are heading out. I may not have experience fighting actual people, but my aunts and uncles did train me. I can hold my own if need be." Millicnet put a pin in all of the other questions she had that could be asked when they were safe, like why was Danni's dragon so big now, why was there a giant moving mountain, and WHY was Percy a cat?

Sabine hadn't thought of it that way when Millicent mentioned going back. Would she have to go through the painful process again? She could feel pressure building up in her chest, and her breath hitched. And then she felt like...something inside of her yearned to burst through, to manifest in matter.

And in front of her, from the literal sand, a vine bashed through. The vine itself was covered in thorns, and it wrapped itself around Andy, Chase, and Marlena and began to tighten and constrict.

Sabine nearly fell back again as this...thing emanated in front of her. She did not have plant powers. And yet, she felt connected to the thorny vine as if it were an extension of herself. "Shit!" she said as she tried to will herself to pull the vine back, to stop it from harming her friends. She reached out mentally and, to her surprise, emotionally, and felt the connection. She managed to gain some semblance of control, and the vine released Andy and Chase, but still wound itself around Marlena. Much as she tried, she couldn't stop it. "I'm sorry, I can't stop it. I don't know what's happening!"

---

---

Everyone kept telling them that they couldn’t move Sabine, they couldn’t touch Sabine, and Dorian was already agitated with the fact that he was helpless to help in this situation. The constant reminders pushing him more and more to want to call for action in some capacity. Glimpse stated she was blooming, changing into a fae and couldn’t be tampered with while they did so. She also said that the mountain was their destination and that Vicky needed the aid of the people there, yet Sabine couldn’t move, but Vicky was dying, all of it felt like the world's worst trolley problem, and Dorian had always been one to try and find the smart ass solution to it where no one dies in the end. ”I’m with Perce on t’is one. We’re gonna ‘ave to split the party if we want to ‘elp everyone ‘ere. Beanie can’t move and Vicky needs our ‘elp as well. We can’t just sit and wait and see ‘ow long eit’er of t’em can last.” He watched as Leah poured more magic into Sabine, helping to ease the pain as best she could. His heart sank slightly at the touching sight. The ways in which Leah had grown as a person, the way in which she was so caring and protective now with her skills. She learned magic and used it to help aid others, no blasting spells or things to harm, just things to take care of those she loved. Dorian was surrounded by magical tutors and friends, and yet here he was without a single spell in hand to help anyone here. He clenched his teeth as he tried not to think about it, walls coming up and surrounding them as shade overtook the area and blocked out the sinking Sun. Dorian blinked, then realized it was Leah at work once again, preparing them for the worst of it.

Chase spoke up, offering his two cents into all of this, acting as if he knew everybody and was so sure of everything they could do. Dorians teeth found purchase onto his cheek as he tried hard not to say anything, before finally sighing and rolling his eyes as he made his way over towards Marlena, trying to ignore the commands that Chase was giving, and the paper he’d given to Vicky. He would ask about it later, but for now he was ready to head out. Dorian looked over at Marlena, nodding as they mentioned they were ready to head out. He wasn't about to leave Percy alone with his former bully however, so he grabbed Percy's hand before looking pointedly at Chase. ”Percy is mote t'an capable of decidin’ if ‘e wants to go or stay. And ofcourse ‘e's gonna be comin’ wit’ me.” The same shimmer of telekinetic energy that had wrapped Percy many times before, now enveloped him again as Dorian used it to lift the pair and make his way out of the construct that Leah had made. Flying out towards the mountain that was wandering the desert. ”T'e nerve.”

---

---

Chase would have to explain the names and meanings to Andy some other time. Maybe once they were all settled down and turning in for the night, he could finally decided to answer her question. He’d lie to some extent of course, telling her that they were the names of Knights from Ben’s kingdom that he had once employed, and that Kay was a bully all the same as he was a knight. How she would take it would be up to her, but he didn’t exactly care at the moment. If anything, it was all just a bit to him, and one he’d run into the ground until he found diamonds. She did however have some sense to ask the one person here who might know of what was happening, what's happening. Turned out being alive wasn’t the only thing that Sabine's mother was keeping from her. She was fae as well…unless her father was somehow the fae and a bug person fucked a fae person and made a fae bug…probable. He’d have to ask Sabine or her mother later somehow. Beyond all that Avalon was 100% real and he was cheesing over it big time. He could actually meet some of the Knights, or Arthur or Merlin! He could walked the storied halls that he’d spent so much time in his life looking into. What’s more, he could tell Glimpse to stick it and that they’d still use the names he chose because people can share names it wasn’t weird. Besides, perhaps pulling up into towns with names that fit a story would work better than some random names they could come up with on the fly. What? Was he supposed to try and call Andy ‘Elvira’ now? Absolutely not. Walls began to form around them, and Chase turned to look at Leah, before letting out a breath of relief when he’d seen how large she made the space. They could do with losing a few people inside of it though to help relieve a bit more so that Ben wouldn’t feel all too confined. Watching her, he saw more similarities between themselves, and he realized that this asshat may actually have a type. He hated that.

”Like I said. Don’t move unless you know what's going on. And what's going on is that we should most definitely not move her. So, here’s the game plan. Percival's right, we need to split the group up to divide and conquer. April (They/Themue aka the Laddy of the Lake), Percival, Leah (Lancelot), Ben (Galahad), Gideon (Bedivere) and I should all hang back. Everyone else should go forth and try and get to the walking mountain. Get the help of those there and see why the story needed Vicky to get there. Do Not use your real names while there.” Chase rummaged through his pack and found that his notebook and art supplies hadn’t been tampered with. He wrote down everyone's listed codenames next to their real names on a piece of paper and handed it to Vicky. Inscribed on it was ‘Andy - Kay, Danni- Gawain, Vicky - Isolde, Dorian - Emrys, Marlena - Bors, Millie - Lionel, and Glimpse - Tristan.’ ”Keep your names and the names of your teammates memorized. From what I've read the fae hate when they find out they’re the ones who have been tricked or lied to. All of you listed can fly in some way shape or form. So…fly you fools! And seek help.” Chase unclipped his skateboard from the back of his bag, tossing it over towards Andy. ”Board means more to me than you know, so dont fuck it up. You can use your lightning powers to fly with it yeah?” He didn't know a lot about heroes or villains or what classified a mutant or not. But he did know science, it was how he was able to get into the school he attended before AA. His grades waved the fees and allowed him to stay so long as he maintained his GPA. Lightning was basically one big electromagnetic phenomenon, and that same phenomenon is what was used for high speed rails and hover tech, electromagnetism. So if sparky could have enough of an imagination then perhaps she could use his board to fly with the rest.

Dorian had flown out alongside Percy, Chase figured the motherfucker was clingy as hell. That or he just really hated him. He wasn't going to sit around and worry about it though, not when things were finally deciding to look up as Sabine's screaming subsided and her form finally took shape. ”Bug people…” Chase offered quietly to himself in awe as he immediately began to poke Ben's back to see if he was going to be growing wings anytime soon. His investigation turned up nothing, save for a thorny vine that erupted from the ground and wrapped itself around Chase. Apparently her form change came with new powers, great. ”Love the new look, but I usually like a date and food before I'm tied up and whipped.” The plant didn't last long however as Sabine managed to wrangle it back and Chase took in a deep breath, noting Marlena was still entangled. He tried to use the shadows formed from the dome to free Marlena, but they barely budged an inch around her. ”Huh…maybe if I try something smaller…” He spotted Millie comforting Danni as he puked up chunks, deciding that he didn't want or need that here especially in a closed location, so he tried to move the shadows around the spew. They swallowed the vomit and vanished, but as to where he wasn't sure. The location he'd originally tried for was blocked by some form of defenses, but it wasn't here and that was all that mattered. ”So you're like…what? Double bug now?”

---

"Legs are good!“ Victoria called out to Chase happily.

Biting her cheek about the lack of defensive elements on Leah's structure and trying to pay a place called Everforge with what amounted to iron ore, she looked Marlena's way. "I'd stay low. If they're used to hiding in the dunes, they'll see you long before you see them. But they can't see you behind another dune. The means of survival have an order: Don't be there, followed by don't be seen, don't be acquired, don't be hit, don't be wounded and ending with don't be killed."

Seeing no change in Sabine, she quickly pulled the bracelet off and pocketed it. Then it happened. Wings. Victoria wasn't gobsmacked easily, but on this occasion her jaw hung a little loose. Suddenly her seeming ten years older for no reason didn't seem relevant. And they look pretty too...

Fortunately, Luna found a legit sounding reason to not use the names Chase dished out. She didn't want to break his spirit early on, but she absolutely hated Isolde. It sounded like someone's favorite aunt. What, was Matilda taken?

As she listened to Chase list out his proposals for fake identities again and read the paper he gave her, she frowned. Victoria walked over to him, tapped his shoulder to get his attention, and nodded towards the exit of the hut, leading them out so they could have a private chat.

"I noticed the distinct lack of arthurian name when you referred to yourself. By process of elimination I can only conclude that you think of yourself as Mordred... Aren't you trying a little bit too hard to put Jello's vision into existence?“

She gave him a look that was both an amused smirk and an annoyed glare. "Get a clue, clownie. This whole mission is about sticking it to an organization that ordains how people's lives should happen. If I had the time to embroil mission patches before we left, they would include the TVA logo, a raised middle finger, and the tag line would be 'Fuck destiny'. So do your part and don't submit to it, hm?"

She sighed, looking at the sunset. "Look, I have you on my radar for all of three days, and already I think you are one of the most rational and agreeable people of this lot. I kinda consider that rare and I would so hate for this subset of people to be growing smaller."

Then she chuckled. "Besides, if I hate something in stories, it is repetition and copycats. Take it from someone who had the control of her body taken away on multiple occasions: Shit gets old real quick."

"Now, you weren't there for it, but we've already had a traitor in our midst story with Arcade. And from what I've seen so far, I don't peg you for someone who wants their story to be a sloppy second."

Victoria's eyes turned back to meet his. "Basically... Don't be that guy. So could I ask you for a favor? Next time we meet, have a different name for yourself. I'll be eagerly awaiting the introduction." she gave him a final smile, pat on the back, and went to pack her stuff up for the trip.

"I think I'll risk a flight. I don't know how fast this will progress, so there's a non-zero chance of me falling out of the sky, and it will take a chunk out of my power reserve, but I think crashing closer to the mountain is preferrable to safely malfunctioning further out." none of the options sounded good to be honest, but her armor and shell survived being slammed around like a ragdoll by Rada into a concrete wall, so taking a high speed tumble into soft sand was something she was willing to chance. "I'm banking on a place called Everforge having enough waste heat to give me a charge boost once I'm there."

Then she addressed the last risk item on her list. "If I'm not in a state to bargain for myself once we get there..." she brought up, tearing two pieces of paper of her own and writing something on them, before handing them in Luna's and Marlena's directions, "These are my top limits unless anyone else wishes to chip in on my behalf. Past that, I'd ask to change the request to being sent back home, if that's viable."

So much was happening and Danni had so little attention, doubly less when he was trembling at the knees and groaning as a kind hand rubbed his back. His stomach was still shaky and honestly, Danni couldn’t be mad as he finally opened his eyes. Bones under skin… Danni felt his stomach rumble uneasily again and he chased that thought away. “God, t’at was awful. T’ats a terrible way ta start an adventure. T’anks, illi-pede.” Danni muttered as the shadows washed all of his retching away. Danni winced as he pushed himself up again and his stomach protested the movement, but now was not the time for a weak stomach. Vicky and Chase were outside doing something so he couldn’t thank him for the whole clean up crew. “Okay, okay, what was goin’ on now? I was ‘eadin’ ta Dee for somet’in’... Oye, where did t’e sky go? When did we make a dome? I def t’ought all t’at rumblin’ was just me tummy bein’ all upsetti and t’e shakin’ just me, but dan’ t’is is kinda cool yeah know? It’s like a super secret ‘ideout. And like, who is gunna see us in t’is place? We’re gunna look like a rock like all t’e ot’er rocks, yeah? 10/10, would recommend one rocky gal for t’e smartest person award!”

He gasped. Beanie. Had. Wings. Danni helped himself to Beanie’s personal space in half a heart beat, snuggling in close as he poked and prodded at the wings. “T’ese are so cool. Pleaaaaaase tell me you’re gunna keep ‘em after all t’is? I love t’ese. T’ough I don’t t’ink I would want ta rock t’em, I’m ‘appy wit’ t’e fire and t’e flames, but do ya know what t’is means, do ya know what t’is means?! Fly dates! We can go flyin’ taget’er now! Omg, Beanie. Just listen ta me. Ya know ‘ow we ‘an’gout and we like ta dance when t’in’s get like, stressi spaghetti, yeah? Just imagine we do bot’. T’ink of t’e photos. Omg, we can dance for fun and frame it wit’ t’e moon when it’s really big and get photos of it! Oh! We can actually dance on clouds!” Danni was practically vibrating as he ran his hand down the top edge of the wing and slipped into the slit of her clothes to feel where it connected with the skin. “I’mma manniest t’is for us. T’ese are def gunna stay, specially since t’ey seem ta be fully part o’ ya? Like, I don’t t’ink t’at’s comin’ off tbh. T’at’s def like attached ta somet’in’ in ya. Probs your heart. Mhm mhm mhm.” Danni nodded before he gasped dramnatically again.

“Amelie, baby. You’re so big!” Danni rushed away from Sabine and tackled his dragon, sending them rolling through the sand. Danni cackled wildly as Amelie yelped in surprise at the wrestling, but eagerly matched his energy, until the collided with the side of the dome with a heavy thud. They were quiet for a moment before Danni started howling with laughter and Amelie was slipping out from Danni’s arms and bouncing on him over and over. “Wai- Amelie, no you’re not- OOF- You’re not smal-GOD- Stop please!” Danni couldn’t stop laughing as Amelie kept bouncing up and down on him until he finally wiggled out from under her and tapped her on the nose. She playfully bit at it.

“Okay, you’re not a smol anymore baby girl, t’at’s for sure.” Danni huffed a laugh. He felt around for his bag, realized he dropped them both further away, and sighed as Amelie nose around his pockets for anything to eat. “Don’tcha worry. I brought your treats! You’ll - no, I don’t ‘ave t’em on me. You’re gunna ‘afta wait a second.” Danni snorted at the irritated hiss that Amelie gave at the idea of waiting. “I’ll getcha a treat in a sec and t’en we’ll find somewhere wit’ some AC and a real comfy bed ‘cause I t’ink we deserve t’at after gettin’ tossed t’rough anot’er dimmy. Dang, Eli woulda like t’is place too - hm, do ya t’ink ‘e’s gunna be spicy t’at I didn’t tell ‘im I was comin’ ‘ere? Nah, t’ey’re dealin’ wit’ Vengy stuff, we’ll be back before t’ey even notice.” Danni looked around the dome and frowned.

Now why was there a vine around… “Omg, are t’ere secret plant peeps under t’e ground? Are t’ey ‘ere ta eat ya brains? Omg, girlie I don’t really know, I gotcha, I gotcha. Okay, okay, okay, okay don’t worry. I gotcha. I am an expert at t’e whole fire t’in’y, never once set not’in’ on fire I didn’t want ta.” Danni held up a finger gun and popped his hand, a condensed fireball flying out and burning away the vine. He blew on the tips of his finger and mimed holstering a gun. “See look at t’at. Perf shot, 20/10 would recommend. Oh t’at floaty t’in’ is sups cool! Can ya fly too? Wait, where is Dee? Wait, where’s Spicy? Omg, who is t’e old lady? Did t’ey turn inta a old lady t’is time?! Y’all’s choice of glam is wild. But if ya wanna be old, t'at's on you. Don't gotta flex t'e time powers like t'at. T'ough, def a step up - no mustache. I liek t'at a lot.”

---

---

---

Luna pinched the bridge of her nose. ”I mean, sure. Have more than half of us go to the Everforge and leave the rest back here to defend and protect themselves in a sand structure that does not belong here. That’s not a beacon for anyone around, either. Nope. Not at all.” Luna would have preferred a smaller party to venture to entreat with the dwarves. For the danger is likely to be greater in the middle of this desert.

Luna accepted the stone and paper from Leah and Victoria, respectively. She pocketed both items. ”I will do the negotiating with my friend. Perhaps she will let me cash in a favour. The rest of you, don’t die. And Chase, if you call me Tristan, I will punch you. Use Glimpse or Luna. I am known here. My name is not as powerful as my former title was.” She walked out of the small doorway, nodding at Leah. ”Have fun. Hopefully, we won’t be long.”

She watched Dorian and Percy fly away. Without the others. ”Bloody fucking idiots,” Luna cursed. ”Oi! If we’re going, we go now. Or those two are going to be the ones negotiating,” Luna called back to the rest of the leaving party.

---

---

---

---

“I’m not leaving Sabine if she’s hurt. I have actual first aid training.” Andy hadn’t taken as much opportunity to learn from the direct brain downloads on Genosha as she wished she had. However, First Aid had been one of the things she had learned. Andy closed her eyes. The screaming from Sabine and the thought of Genosha brought up horrible memories of the attack. Of the bodies and death that had followed. Danni had been adopted by Casper and James after that attack. His bio parents had died that day, She didn’t even know who they had been. She took a deep breath.

Chase tossed her his board. She stared at him for a moment, processing what the fuck he was saying. She turned the board over. There wasn’t a lot of metal on it. She wasn’t actually Magneto’s daughter, just adopted. Her ability with lightning and metal had been tested. She had for a moment in a training fight with Magneto caused him to lose some control over the metal he was using. So she knew it was possible. Usually she didn’t use her lighting to cause metal to fly. Her experience with it had been to use it as a channel to expand her range.

“I can’t promise that I won’t damage the board. I’ve never used my lightning to fly. I know I can control metal, but Magneto may be my father, but he adopted me. If this board means that much to you... I think it would be best if I didn’t experiment with it.”

"Yeah I dunno who this Mags guy is, but your parentage doesn't determine what you can or can't do. You determine that. Aaaaand for right now, me too. You got this, just...try not to fuck it up." Chase was insisting though. She sighed. She’d give it a try. A part of her was amused that Chase didn’t know who Magneto was. During her youth, prior to the time travel, he was the big bad. Everyone had been afraid of him.

Andy was grateful she had put away her mug of coffee. It would have made a big mess, even covered when Sabine picked her up with her plant tentacle arm things. Thorns digging in but not breaking the skin. Well at least she wasn’t screaming anymore. The dome had really made the screaming unbearable... and the memories hadn’t helped.

“Sabine... you look... fly af.” Andy cracked a huge smile. The phrasing was older than her. “Though I don’t think we need to split the party now.”

Sabine let her go, and she took a couple steps back. Not particularly wanting to get pulled in again. “Do you think you could walk?” Sabine did seem a little bit like a fresh born calf with how she was walking now. Sabine expressed that she didn’t want to move around. Andy thought it might be good for her, but she wasn’t going to push it.

Why the fuck is Dorian acting like that? Danni had burned away the vines that had still held Marlena. Andy watched Sabine to see if she looked like that hurt her. It seemed like it hadn’t hurt her, which was good.

Part of the group, Dorian and Percy had been the first ones to leave, and several others were leaving. She sighed. She should stay with Victoria if she were now in the most danger. If anything she could send some electricity into Victoria’s chassis to help with her charge. “I probably should stay with Victoria as I can give her a boost if she needs extra power.”

She looked to Chase one more time. “You sure? Like really sure?” He continued to insist. She shook her head. Fine. Andy spent a moment examining the board again. This might be easier if she took off her boots, but she was not going to do that. She had channeled her lightning through her feet before, even with shoes. Andy stood on the board. She had never actually used a skateboard before. Well that wasn’t totally true. She had a couple of times back in Foster care. A million years ago, at least that is how it felt. But, she wasn’t riding it like that so she wasn’t too worried. She thought about the practice fight with Magneto and how she had felt when the metal had stopped moving because of her. She thought of the rail gun her and Mary Sue had made. Andy frowned and let the electricity that lived inside her, always on the edge of her awareness spread out. Maintaining it was a bit different, but she had had practice with that with her sword. There was a cracking sound. She winced. She could see fractals burned into the board. Chase had insisted. At least it didn’t shatter. She would have felt bad about that.

Now how the fuck was she supposed to fly? Well, she could control lightning. Not easy, but she could. So she mentally lifted it. Andy had always used metal to control how the lightning moved. That was why she wore the jacket she used to wear all the time. That’s why she had the gloves or the sword as mediums for the lighting. This was just a different medium.

The lightning obeyed. The board with it. Fuck. Okay. This could be cool. Holy shit. Andy pushed and pulled and followed after the others toward Everforge.

---

---

---

---

Ben was relieved he wasn’t the one who had been messed up. It sucked to be wrong, but April seemed fine clearing it up. He nodded. “Thanks, sorry.” He wasn’t sure why he was apologizing but it felt like the right thing to do.

There wasn’t much he could do about Sabine and he felt bad about that. He wished he could help, but unless she wanted to be swarmed by insects.... “Bloody hell, April are you okay? Did the heat get to you?” He wasn’t sure why she almost passed out just standing there after making the binoculars for Chase, but he hoped it wasn’t the desert. They’d be in even more trouble if another of their group couldn’t handle the Otherworld.

Suddenly they were in the shade. Ben froze for a moment as he took stock of what had just happened. It seemed Leah had pulled an April but with stone instead of Ice. At least there was two obvious exits. The one at the top of the dome and an actual opening on the ground. He moved closer to the ‘door’. The space was big and with the clear and obvious exit that Ben could reach, he was able to keep the panic that rose at first at bay.

Sabine stopped screaming. That was a relief. Especially now that they were in an enclosed space. He looked over and saw that she now had wings. Andy, Chase and Marlena were all near her, and vines whipped out and grabbed all three of them. Sabine was able to control it enough to let go of Andy and Chase, which with as little as he knew about Andy was probably a good idea. Marlena was still wrapped up. Ben went to try to help Chase pull her free, but Danni sent a blast of fire, he backed up quickly to avoid getting caught up in the backsplash.

“Seriously, we aren’t bugs.” Ben sighed. He still didn’t completely understand how that idea had become the main theory about Inhumans. He also was starting to think Sabine wasn’t an Inhuman. If this was some secondary metamorphosis, like his uncle had gone through, that was really weird because there was no Mist here. She also didn’t go into the pod thing that helped facilitate the transformation. He made a mental note to ask her about how she got her first power.

Victoria, who did in fact look like whatever was wrong with her had aged her like twenty years, pulled Chase aside to talk to him. Ben wanted to listen in, but instead he took up his position by the ‘door’ again. He took a moment to look around and assess - Amelie, oh shit she’s huge! He stared. How? What the fuck?

Half the group was starting to leave. Those that either of their own volition or that Chase had suggested to go. Luna... Glimpse? Both names sounded fake so he didn’t think it mattered which he used. Glimpse had said, sarcastically, that it wasn’t a good idea to split them, and now that Sabine was... better? They probably didn’t have to split the group. He also didn’t feel too upset about staying. Though he was curious about Everforge, and why it was so important for Victoria to go there.