Blizz

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

I see Layla's on her Eidolon arc

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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The Greenwood Coven.

Interactions: Their arch-nemesis.

The Halloween Festival. Cracker Island. Outside the chaos.

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The plan had gone off smoothly, and all Naomi had to do was go and give the Chalice back to Sully and make sure he didn’t lose it again! She almost made it to the rooftop's edge, which meant all she had to do was make it, then she could hop to the other side…

… Someone grabbed her.

No, something. It began to yank her back, and Naomi quickly stuck out her hands. The glowing webs emerged from the ground and affixed her to the rooftop by her free hand. Try as he might, Jack would be having difficulty breaking these webs - he’d probably tear Naomi’s jacket first. She glanced over her shoulder as she couldn’t get a good look at him, though she could hear him juuuuuust fine.

"That does not belong to you."

Jack(ass)

“... Yeah, I know,” Naomi rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to get it back to my homeboy; now let go of me before you fuck up my costume.”

”I don’t believe you.” He asked. ”Do you think I'll let you leave that easily? What is his name?” Jack didn’t trust this thief to just conveniently want to return it to Sully, especially when he didn’t recognize her.

“Sullivan McPherson. A member of the Greenwood Coven,” Naomi answered as she tugged against the arm, as if it was a test of its strength. “I was keeping an eye on the little toga party in case that wacko does something.”

The arm holding her had a grip like a bear trap, but it let go when she mentioned Sully. ”Like stealing from a drunken fool parading around like a child? And almost setting someone on fire for stopping her?”

“Thank you,” Naomi said, as she twisted around to see if there was any damage. “Taking the Chalice… Ion mean to be a dick, but what business those two got ain’t none of mine.”

No damage. Jack stopped his Night Terror spell, and the shadows that obscured him vanished. ”Ken is one of us, I’m sure he just happened to have the same idea as you. How did Emily steal the Chalice from him? He can be an idiot from time to time, but I didn’t think he would let it out of his sight long enough for that.”

“No clue,” Naomi shrugged as she held the Chalice in both hands. “I just saw Emily walking off with it… Wait, when you say ‘one of us’ you mean…”

Naomi paused.

“... You’re Sycamore, aren’t you?”

He nodded. ”Yes, I am. My name is Jack Hawthorne, do we know each other?”

“No, we do not,” Naomi began. “I’m friends with Sully, though… And I met quite a few members of your Coven last week.”

She began to laugh.

“I hope you have more sense than that crazy bitch with th-”

James flew on the rooftop surrounded by fire like a fireball, and he pounded the rooftop, creating a burst of fire. He stood straight up as the fire dissipated…

… He aimed the axe at Jack.

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James ran up to the scene, stroller in hand, and someone had already confronted Emily. He had zero idea who this mothafucka’ was, but he was something straight out of a Japanese Anime! Though, given that its Emily, it was probably someone she pissed off, but far as he could tell, this had nothing to do with the Greenwood Coven. So, he saw no option other than staying out of this. Pearl, Amelia, and Autumn ran up to him… and at this point, Naomi had swiped the Chalice out of Emily’s hand.

“Booyah!” James said, sticking his hand up for a high-five, only to get left hanging. “Aw…”

Autumn’s eyes went up to the rooftop, however…

“... There’s a Purple and Red Adept up there,” Autumn noted.

“Wait… Did Naomi get off?!” James asked as his heart skipped a beat.

“I’m not sure,” Autumn answered.

“Fuck discretion,” James said as he immediately reached inside the stroller and pulled out his axe.

“Wait, James, don’t go up there!” Amelia shouted.

“Wait, James!” Pearl said.

“James, no!” Amelia said.

And it all fell on deaf ears as he flew up to the rooftop. Autumn summoned the Apparition of Geneva Benard, and she was able to float up to the rooftop.

“Hold on,” Amelia said, wrapping her arms around Pearl and floating up to the rooftop… Autumn could still see his aura, and as long as he was in her range, Jack wouldn’t be able to hide from her.

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James aimed the axe at Jack. The right side of his body was surrounded by electricity, and the left side ignited like a torch! He grinned as he stared Jack down.

“Hey, Robert Pattinson,” James said, “Take a big step back and explain the fuck were you thinking trying to jump my girl!?”

Jack calmly turned around and looked in the direction of the burning, sparking man with an axe. ”...Who?” He didn’t seem to give much of a fuck that he was holding Shango’s axe.

“... James, no!” Pearl shouted as she was hoisted onto the rooftop by Amelia, and Autumn landed on the rooftop. Amelia released her, and she ran by his side (well, far enough away so she didn’t get electrocuted/burned). “We are not having another repeat of the situation with Alizee…” She shook her head.

His head snapped around, and looked at Amelia like she just grew a second head.

She took a step forward, then asked.

“What’s going on here? Did anyone get hurt?”

”No. No one was hurt,” he answered. ”I saw someone running away with the Chalice, and apparently we are both friends with its owner. So this was a misunderstanding.

“Yeah, he’s one of Sully’s friends,” Naomi said. “We good.”

“James,” Pearl turned to him, “Power down.”

James rolled his eyes as the fire was extinguished, and the electric dissipated. He crossed his arms as he looked at Jack. Then he walked over to him,

“Sorry for the misunderstanding, bro!” James shouted, before he stuck his hand out. “Dab me up!”

Jack had absolutely no idea what the fuck that meant. But he assumed it was some sort of handshake-advancer thing. So he rolled with it, and stuck his hand out in return, and got the most awkward dab in existence.

“… You don’t know how to dab, do you?” James raised an eyebrow.

“Clearly he don’t, dickhead!” Naomi laughed, grabbing her stomach.

“Yes, I apologize for the misunderstanding, Sully is one of us and Emily…?” Pearl began, “She’s our sworn enemy, but allow us to introduce ourselves, I’m Pearl.”

“Naomi!”

“James,”

“Amelia…”

“Autumn,”

”Jack,” he repeated, introducing himself to the rest of them.

”Sully is one of us, as well- The Sycamore coven. What’s left of it, at least. If you are friends with him, I don’t see any reason to be suspicious of you. I apologize for almost attacking you,” he said to Naomi.

“Shit, I thought he was w-“ James tried to say before Naomi ran over to him and put a finger to his lips and whispered something into his ear. Then turned to Jack, “It’s no problem, don’t worry about it!”

”Good. Now, I have a question for all of you. What do you know about Alizee’s murder?” All Jack knew was that she was killed by bikers.

They all looked in between each other.

“… You want the short version or the long version?” Naomi asked.

“Let me do the talking,” Pearl shook her head.

“Do the talking then, boss!” James laughed.

Jack crossed his arms. He didn’t have anywhere to be right now. ”The long version, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Hmmm…We were at Veni Vedi Veni on our own mission to kill Judas Bennet,” Pearl began her explanation. “We had one of our friends, Jessica Rosefey, be in the club itself as a lookout. She was just at the bar.”

Pearl then shook her head, “I heard all of this second-hand, but she began acting unhinged, and when she was about to get thrown out, she walked out with Jess.”

“She probably thought Jess waa bad and was aching to-“ James joked until Naomi jabbed him with her elbow.

“That was when we stepped in, Naomi, Autumn, Amelia, and Kashmira - who you haven’t met - and myself went to confront her. The former three went first as they were far more agile than myself and Kashmira… but by the time I got there, they were already fighting,” Pearl explained.

“That’s because she was acting batshit crazy!” Naomi said. “She squeezed Jess like a chewtoy, so I did what I had to.” Her eyes landed on Jack.

”You shot her?”

“No,” Naomi said. “But, if she didn’t back down… I would’ve had to do something.”

“Irrelevant,” Pearl said to Naomi before she spoke to Jack. They attacked her, attempting to free our friend. After we exchanged blows, we managed to get her to back down and release Jess.”

“Don’t forget the Wolfman!” James said.

“… And there was a Wolfman,” Pearl added.

”That would be Leon,” Jack offered. He hadn’t spoken to Leon since he came home. Maybe he should.

”Alizee was… Sick, to put it lightly. She was adjoined to something that fed off of humans to sustain itself. And it did so through her,” he explained.

”That parasite of hers had a tendency to drive her mad, occasionally. She wouldn’t have attacked someone unless there was a reason for it, or unless she didn’t have a choice.”

“We are aware an Apparition was influencing her actions,” Pearl flatly answered.

“Well, I know Jess, and I know she wouldn’t have given Alizee a reason,” Naomi shrugged.

“Wasn’t she asking ya’ll about the Wolfpack?” James asked.

“Oh yeah!” Naomi pipped up. “Almost forgot.”

“She said that she would let Jess go if we told her what we had to do with the Wolfpack,” Amelia noted.

“Well, I had no clue who she was, and going around telling wackos that you’re trying to ice one of the city’s biggest crime lords’ is…” Naomi trailed off. “... Okay, dumb as fuck. But I stand by my decision to jump her.”

Jack thought about something, before speaking again. ”Someone called Father Wolf has been hunting us down, and murdering us. We thought it was the same Father Wolf leading the Wolfpack. Alizee must have been there because of that.”

”Unfortunately, we were wrong.”

“Hey, it happens, bro!” James said with a wide-smile. “Ruby thought one of the pet Nazis Judas has under his wing had something we wanted! So…” He laughed.

“I mean,” Naomi shrugged. “It’s a fair guess because Judas occasionally does something… weird.”

”What?”

“Like, he usually just sells fet and smack to the baseheads around town, but occasionally they like rob a place or attack someone,” Naomi began. “... And I don’t mean like a convenience store or someone that owes them money, but like randomly roll up to Seattle and rob some artifact collector of their supply. Or attack someone who, otherwise, had nothing to do with the Wolfpack.”

“Maaaaaaaan, you’re putting too much thought into it,“ James laughed. “Judas was just some fuckin’ loser that watched too many movies. Nothing more… nothing less.”

”He was paranormal, that alone makes almost anyone a credible threat… Do you know what artifacts he went after? Any specific ones?”

Naomi shrugged.

“I’m not sure, but whatever he got, he didn’t keep,” She began. “Which was extraaaaaaaa weird, if you ask me. Because wouldn’t someone like him be keeping them to use or give to his biker buddies?”

”Or to someone who would consider him useful if he was passing along artifacts.” Interesting information, but not terribly useful since Judas was confirmed to be dead. Allegedly thanks to the PRA.

Plenty of people would be more than glad to put up with drug-peddling bikers if they could deal in artifacts. He’d have to talk to the others about that.

”People like Judas make many enemies. He could’ve had someone else funding the Wolfpack in exchange for artifacts. They might be powerful, but the Blind understand money more than magic.”

“Who in the world would be working with them, though?” Naomi asked. “You probably ain’t have to seen or interact with them, but they’re not…”

“They’re a buncha dumbasses!” James laughed.

“... A ‘buncha dumbasses’ that gained some remarkably powerful Abstractions,” Pearl also added.

“Yeah, that too!” Naomi noted. “They don’t fall out of the sky you know!”

“... Didn’t yo Apparition literally just pick you out of the blue?” James asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naomi was silent.

“... That’s besides the point.”

”Perhaps someone who was clever enough to manipulate Judas. Keep him in line, make sure he didn’t do or say something that went against their wishes,” he mused. ”If Judas was as stupid as you think he is, someone else may be pulling the strings.”

“I didn’t say he was stupid per se…” Naomi shrugged. “Most of his followers are, though.”

“That’s what happens when you surround yourself in baseheads!” James shouted.

“... Though, I have to admit that Shayton sticks out like a sore thumb,” Pearl noted. “Though, I think we’ve gotten off topic… you wanted to know what exactly happened to your friend, correct?”

”Correct.”

“Okay,” Pearl said. “Where was I?”

“You’re forgetting that weird-ass kid that just walked in the middle of the fight and went “I’m lost”!” Naomi laughed. “It was kinda crazy at first, but now that I think about it, it was funny as fuuuuuuuck!” Then laughed, then James rolled his eyes.

“Okay… after Alizee backed down and released Jess, Kashmira began healing her, and then more members of your group showed up, I didn’t quite get names…” Pearl said.

“Sully was one of them - we all know Sully - we also know Britney showed up,” Naomi said. “Then there was that one bitch that was with 8th Street. Then there was that tall MF with the beard and the hero complex!” Naomi laughed again.

“Yes… Sully helped heal Jess, while Britney asked for an explanation and…” Pearl’s eyes landed on Naomi. “.... Then Stormy and Naomi ganged up on Alizee, and she flew off the handle and attacked both of them.”

“Hey now!” Naomi shouted, “I was only hard on her because she pissed me off with that! I mean! If I had known the Apparition was pulling the strings….”

“... It's not important anymore; what’s done is done,” Pearl shook her head. “She attacked Stormy and then attempted to attack Naomi, but Sully pushed her out of the way and took the attack for her while Britney was trying to talk her down.”

“Broooooo! I had to keep Ruby from going down there!” James shouted with a grin, “She was ready to shove her staff directly up Alizee’s ass!”

“As much as I would love to see that… the Wolfpack then showed up,” Pearl noted.

”You only tried to stop her, then. I see,” He’d have to ask Britney about how true this all was, some other time.

”Was there a specific reason for the Wolfpack to arrive? Were they responding to the situation?”

“I mean, there was a huge ass fight in their turf, at one of the businesses under their “protection,” that also so happened to be their favorite club,” Naomi shrugged.

“I’m not sure, but when they arrived, they asked about who killed a member of their gang named Joe Skinner and one of them asked for Alizee specifically,” Pearl explained.

“The Viking-Nazi, boul,” Naomi laughed.

“... The Viking-Nazi,” Pearl explained. “Far as I can tell, none of us killed Joe Skinner. So it was either Alizee, or someone else. The point was that they thought that someone there killed him. And they wouldn’t let anyone leave until they got an answer.”

“... Then they capped a kid and all hell broke loose,” Naomi said.

”They- Wait. There was a child there… Did he seem aggressive? Unwilling to let anyone talk to him for more than a few minutes? Was he paranormal?” Could it be the same kid that was at the church?

“I’m not sure. I didn’t pay much attention to him, but some other girl there talked to him for a moment,” Pearl said.

“The Orange-Adept,” Autumn said. “She helped us out a bit in the fight.”

“The kid seemed a little goofy,” Naomi rolled her eyes. “But, I dunno, the one chick that was there just up and blasted him. Then that was when man’s with the beard made a shield.”

“... Then got teleported away!” James laughed.

“Then got teleported away…” Naomi rolled her eyes. “Honestly, we would have left if they didn’t grab Sully.”

“That was when Wolfman went Super Saiyan and ran off with Alizee,” James added.

”If they left, who was it that shot her?” He asked. That was the part he was most concerned with.

“I’m not fully aware of what happened,” Pearl said.

“... They came back,” James rolled his eyes. “Well, Alizee went after the bitch that held Sully hostage, and she rag-dolled him and then went after her.”

“That was Elodie,” Pearl noted. “I’m not sure what exactly happened because we were fighting for our lives there. But eventually… Cyril Noctis of the Wolfpack shot her dead.”

“I saw it at the corner of my eye,” Naomi said. “She was trying to save that spooky testicle for some reason and walked out in the open. That was when Cyril capped her.”

Jack sighed, she died in the most disappointing way imaginable. Trying to save something that would just manifest again, she should’ve known better. ”They will be held responsible for what they’ve done,” he said. It was more of a promise to himself than to these strangers. ”As you said, what’s done is done. I hope no one else in your group was injured badly,” he assumed they were some sort of paranormal group. They all seemed to have Abstractions, after all.

”Regardless,” he continued. ”I don’t blame any of you for defending yourselves against her. Even if she wasn’t fully aware of what she was doing, which she likely was not, I would’ve done the same thing in your position.”

“She wasn’t giving us a lot of choices, sadly,” Pearl said. “I would have loved to avoid that whole situation.”

“I think we all would have!” Naomi awkwardly laughed. “Say, there’s nobody else in Sycamore that likes to kidnap people, right? Right?”

It pained Jack to have to genuinely think about that question for a moment. ”Not to my knowledge, there isn’t.”

“Then I think, from here on, there shouldn’t be any problems,” Naomi laughed.

“Yeah, we chill… well…” James looked to the side. “... Except for our fearless leader. But, she’s more goofy than anything for-real, for-real.” He laughed.

“It’s mostly the other assholes we got problems with,” Naomi said.

“I would like to touch ground with Sycamore so we can avoid anymore incidents like that,” Pearl said. “I know Ruby does too.”

”I cannot speak for the others, but I am open to that, personally. We are not as unified as you might think,” Jack admitted.

“Sully was like ‘Sycamore kinda reformed’ and Ruby was all ‘either you’re a Coven, or you’re not’!” Naomi said, making her best impression of both Sully and Ruby. “Something I agree on, but it ain’t my place to say anything.”

“You all reformed to solve the murders, yes?” Pearl asked.

”In a way, yes. I wouldn’t call the coven “reformed,” given the state that we are in, but that is why most of us have returned.”

“Perhaps we can help each other,” Pearl suggested. “We can share information and work together, as we do not want to lose Sully no less than you do.”

“And we can party!” James shouted.

“Only if you lose the 8th Street broad!” Naomi added with a laugh.

”Emily? She is not one of us,” he assured. ”We removed her from the old coven for a reason.”

“Oh no,” Naomi said, “Eve. You know, the dusty bitch with the blonde hair. She’s one of Emily’s lapdogs.”

”You mean the other shadow magic user, aside from me, who the PRA arrested last week? Are we thinking of the same Eve? I… Was not aware that she was working for 8th Street.”

“Well, the Eve in the strip club parking lot,” Naomi said. “She used shadow magic, and other shit.”

“I believe we are referring to the same Eve,” Pearl said.

“Weren’t a couple of former members of Sycamore in 8th?” James raised an eyebrow, asking Jack.

”Yes. Emily is one of them. I have never had many negative things to say about anyone in Sycamore, but Emily always had been, and always will be an exception to that,” he answered. ”Paige Auclair, Vasthi Nour, Lynette Dominguez… There were quite a few who broke off from us after we fell apart.”

“Auclair…” Naomi laughed.

“That’s funny,” James said, laughing himself. “But, we’ll talk about that another time.”

“Regardless of who they are or why they joined 8th Street,” Pearl said, “They have chosen to terrorize St. Portwell under Emily G. Reed’s command. Which makes them our sworn enemy.”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up for a moment. ”Is that so? You consider yourselves responsible for this city? I’m surprised I have not heard of you, then.” He would’ve imagined Sloane or the PRA mentioning them. Though, the PRA hadn’t been around him much, and Sloane…

That wasn’t likely, either.

“Sort of,” Naomi said. “They’re just assholes that like to wreck shit.”

“Our fearless leader likes to say we-” James laughed as he finger quoted. “-’Protect nature’ but that’s really just bullshit.”

“Yeah, she just wants to get high, party, and have little adventures,” Naomi chuckled. “But, hey, I guess the name Greenwood ain’t as big as we thought!” She said as she looked at her friends.

”In my defense, I only returned to Shimmer last week,” he said. ”I have missed more than a few things about my home city. But, trading information and working together would be wonderful. We don’t have many options or allies, at the moment.”

“Well, we don’t got any allies right now,” James said. “It’s hard making friends when every other faction in the city is a psychopath or a cult!”

“There’s the 317…” Naomi said.

“Well, we’re kind of cool,” James shrugged.

“I would love to make this alliance formal… however, we must speak to Ruby and the rest of Greenwood - who aren’t here - and I presume you must bring this up to the rest of your Coven?” Pearl said.

“Tell ‘im we party hard and smoke weed, hahahaha-” James laughed before Naomi jammed an elbow into his side.

”Assuming anyone in mine would be willing to discuss this more formally. If not, I’ll see to it myself.”

“I’m certain they will,” Pearl said, before she looked back at Naomi, “We’re going to get this back to Sully before he gets worried… I presume your friend can handle Emily?”

”He should be fine. I’ll check in on him, just in case. If he hasn’t changed any more than the rest of us, Emily won’t stand a chance. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.”

“You want my phone number?” Pearl asked.

“Awwwww Pearl’s tryna’ get booed up,” James said, putting his shoulder on Naomi’s with a shit eating grin on his face.

“Awwww, isn’t that sweet?” Naomi put her hands together as she smiled.

Pearl rolled her eyes.

“... So we may have a line of communication,” Pearl said.

”Yes, that would help.” Jack reached into a pocket and pulled out an iPhone 5 to type the number in.

Pearl gave him her number and then nodded her head. “Ruby wants us to lay low, but when the time is right, we can meet and hopefully forget about that dreadful mess at that strip club.”

”I think we would all appreciate that,” he said, putting his phone away once he got the number. ”Until then.”

“Until then…” Pearl nodded her head as she walked over to James, whom wrapped an arm around her, and then the two of them floated off. Amelia and Autumn floated off the rooftop behind them. This left Naomi, who dug into her pocket and pulled out a blunt, “... You want it? Also don’t accept any blunts from Ruby, because she eats ass.”

”Pass. I have places to be, and that would make me teleport into a wall,” he said.

Naomi shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” She said before she took off in a sprint and lept off the rooftop. “... Until next time, Jackaboy!”

Jack teleported to the other side of the street, checked on Ken quickly, and then vanished into the night.

This festival was a waste of time.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Rohan

Rohan.

??? | Rohan | He/Him [hr//]"You'll figure everything out eventually. Everyone does."

Description:

About five years ago, a man found his way to St. Portwell. He kept his head down and avoided the paranormal groups in the city, and started leaving flyers on telephone poles and street corners for woodworking services. Flooring, roofing, a fix for a broken cabinet, anything that didn’t require paperwork and paid. He was content to nickel and dime his way around without much fuss, but an accident with his magic, he found himself chasing down a small wooden creature that sprang to life and ran off on him. Chasing the tiny creature down to avoid a predicament, the man encountered Octavia of the 317.

A fight broke out, thanks to Octavia’s temperament. After everyone calmed down, the man simply introduced himself as “Rohan,” saying he accidentally created the creature he was chasing. Octavia was impressed by the golem’s sophistication, and decided to welcome Rohan to the 317. He readily accepted, since he had been living out of an old Toyota Corolla until then. After he moved in, Rohan started producing magical works of craftsmanship for a living, and applying his trade to the mundane world when possible.

The story that Rohan tells others, should they ask, is that he is a second generation Japanese American, whose parents came over before he was born. He doesn’t talk to them anymore, but does give out the names of his actual parents when asked. When asked about his name, Rohan says that it was an old nickname he got after getting drunk as a kid, when it’s really just a fake name to escape his old life. Rohan is known in the 317 to have not a single evil bone in his body. Always patient with others, always gentle with his worlds, and he never has anything bad to say about anybody. Rohan is everyone’s friend, and always listens when someone is going through something.

Abstraction: Afflicted | Namiki’s Last Laugh

Rohan was cursed by a very old creature known as Namiki. He was a tree spirit that rebelled in conspiring against mortals, and setting up schemes that ended in them sealing their own fate. In essence, he was a wicked trickster of the forest, and some rumors said that his plots allowed the forests of Japan to flourish in spite of human development. Rohan was a special case, as he managed to outwit Namiki just barely enough to injure him gravely. At least, Rohan thinks he outsmarted the tree spirit, as Namiki is now a pile of ashes in the wind.

Rohan’s Abstraction consists of magical properties, and physical changes to his body that can be seen by the blind. Any object he makes out of wood, such as a new door or a wooden box, possesses some innate magical ability. Rohan cannot make something out of wood that doesn’t have magical power, but he can influence what effect it has. Often, he will focus on willing things to be supernaturally sturdy when he doesn’t need something fancy. This prevents things from being broken, but also prevents the blind from suddenly having fruit grow from their new kitchen cabinets.

There are patterns and certain creative concepts that Rohan has figured out, which he can use to further specify the magical properties he wishes to create in something. An example of this is his Ashen Scepter. It is a wooden staff with bands of metal at both ends, made from charred ash wood. Ironically, it can spew a stream of fire capable of burning away virtually any mundane material it comes into contact with, such as metal or stone. Other examples include carving the likeness of an apparition into a box for a more powerful method of sealing, making a ring out of Purple Heartwood to enhance purple Lux, and using wooden nails in place of metal nails to make a structure repair itself overtime.

When Rohan touches wood with his bare hands, it is magically nourished and strengthened as if he were healing it. The longer he does this, the more healthy a piece of wood will become, to the point that plywood could grow fresh bark. In some cases, Rohan can bring dead trees back to life, and mend broken wood like human bones. This is useful, but like other parts of his Abstraction, it cannot be turned off. This can be awkward when he is replacing rotten floorboards, which are suddenly no longer rotten.

Rohan’s curse also comes with physical changes, which can be seen rising up through his skin. Around his heart and lungs are patches of petrified wood, which spread out across his skin just subtly enough to be easily concealed. This makes him more vulnerable to being set on fire than the average person, but gives him a way to heal his injuries by simply standing in the sun for a while. Lastly, in his veins is tree sap, rather than blood. His “blood” can spread the petrified growth to others if they get it on them, and can’t get it off. This is very painful to others, and will slowly turn them to wood like a gorgon would turn them into stone.

Rohan’s Collection of Craftsmanship

Steelfeather: A wooden bow, adorned with winding patterns of black linework. Steelfeather is enchanted to make any projectile fired by it totally weightless until it hits something. This means that any arrow can fly forever and hit something from any distance, while flying much further than anything an ordinary bow could accomplish. The Steelfeather bow has a draw weight of 20 pounds, making it incredibly easy to use. Once an arrow hits something, it regains its mass and weight, allowing it to sink into a target as a normal arrow should.

Juno: A small golem that Rohan created by accident. Juno stands at about 9 inches tall, and is inconsistently intelligent as a person. He can count and write, but he can’t speak. Juno took on his own personality, making him a mischievous little prankster who often gets up to no good around the 317’s complex.

Mask of the Antelope: A mask carved from lightweight Alder wood, shaped to resemble an antelope’s head. Whoever wears the mask is instilled with supernatural agility, allowing them to run at 150 feet per second, jump 10 feet in the air, and completely ignore the fatigue associated with physical exertion. The mask also gives its wearer a grainy, black and white form of night vision.

The Storyteller: An unassuming pipe made of old red oak. The Storyteller Pipe blows rings of smoke that become windows into the possible future, which vague and hazy, but can potentially be very enlightening. The longer a person tries to view a possible future, the clearer it will become, but they will feel weaker and weaker as they do. Eventually, this fatigue will pass, but people who view the future with the Storyteller will feel tempted to use it more often. The only way to deal with this temptation is to ignore it, as it will eventually pass.

Briar Needle: A gnarled spear carved from birch wood. The Briar Needle is supernaturally tough, meaning it is nearly impossible to damage or break. Its main power, however, takes the form of a healing aura that extends outwards in a 20 foot radius. This aura steadily heals wounds up to the severity of broken bones and brain damage, and includes the wielder.

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

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Jack Hawthorne

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Location: The Sanctum Sanctorum
Skills: Magic Combat, Magic Expertise
Spells: Star of the Abyss
Outfit

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Jax- Jack could feel the cloak and Eye of Agamotto flying off of him. When he looked down, he saw Strange was alive and well again. The universe worked in mysterious ways, such a thing was not the oddest event to occur. But couldn't the universe have done this just thirty minutes sooner to spare them the trouble? Jack watched Max fly off on his own to catch up with Strange. Touching as that was, he had something to take care of. Jack floated upwards, higher into the air until he had a clear view of the entire city, end-to-end. Up here, in relative quiet, he could contemplate the last few hours.

Life was cruel. And the ways of magic were such that even with absolute power, even with an entire plane of reality under one's whim, you couldn't always break even. Someone would die, and their soul would be wilted beyond recovery. Someone could simply have their neck snapped before their companions could react. People could do everything perfectly, make absolutely zero fumbles, and save reality from being played with like wet clay. And they could still come up short. Lives were lost, all because of Ananym. What did she want in all this? He could have tried to stop her sooner, couldn't he? Jack could have check in with Ananym's young self, tried to steer her off this path and stop an entire future from unfolding.

But he didn't. He was absent.

It made him angry towards himself, and Jack didn't consider himself an angry man. So he pushed the thoughts aside and reaches out overhead. The sky above New York City darkened, as a swirling black portal manifested just underneath the cloud. Those on the ground might think a solar eclipse was happening, right before the Everdark was brought through the Veil and down onto the heads of the demons. It mixed with the inferno of Runa's magic in a display that gods would tremble at, had they not been cast out already.

A meteor shower of dark energy, casting the burning sky in hues of black and faint purple, hammered down on the legions of hellspawn. Demons were knocked out of the sky like birds hit with stones. Here in the light of the mortal world and the fire of Asgardian magic, the corrupting energy would have nowhere to go, meaning once it spread, no one would be harmed. But the demons he struck with his rain of black fire would be withered to absolute nothingness; Shriveled husks that would crumble in the fire, to be forgotten as the world kept turning.

For a moment, one could imagine that Earth was about to collide with yet another world.

Jack allowed the rift to close naturally as he drifted downwards to the Sanctum's doorstep. Once he touched the ground, the onslaught from his spell would conclude. Day would overtake again, and not a single mortal soul would be harmed. Jack walked up to where others were gathering, and met Strange with a weary smile.

"You are not the only sorcerer capable of preserving worlds, my friend." Everything would be much easier now, with him back. "What happened to you? How are you back home? We were informed that you had been killed."

Parahumans: Earth Drega

Bridgewater Bank

---

_{@TheMushroomLord}

Being teleported directly to the hostages meant that Tandem was treated to a sight that only Muninn would've had a chance to see from outside. And even then, the fly-by didn't truly do the scene justice. She was on the very top floor of the bank, and sure enough, there were a few dozen people huddled in one corner of what seemed to be a ruined floor for cubicles. Computers were trashed, desks, plastic partitions and fake potted plants were in a heap off to one side, and the halogen lights in the ceiling were a wreck. Some of them were spilled out across the floor, mingling with a finely scattered layer of broken glass. But Tandem's attention wouldn't be grabbed by the many office workers huddled together out of fear. The first thing she'd note would likely be the liquified puddles of silvery liquid that dotted the floor. It was like someone had spilled mercury everywhere, and it hadn't spread past a few feet in each spot.

The second thing she would notice would be the hostages quietly pleading with her to get the hell out.

"No- No! Leave! They aren't hurting us! They'll kill us if they see you!"

"You'll wake it up! He'll be back any second!"

"Please, you'll get us hurt!"

They whispered, frantically, as if something was watching them. Tandem, however, didn't have time to question them or even look around much before something stomped its way around the corner. It was no shorter than eight feel tall, and a humanoid shape. It was a construct created by Kintsugi's power, which absorbed the matter from underneath its footsteps as it came into view. Shreds of plastic plants meant to give this soulless building a semblance of personality poked out through its stony, concrete-clad form. Though it did not have a proper face, it shrieked at Tandem with a sound akin to sand in a blender. The puddles of liquid metal began to shake and ripple.

And then the construct charged forth.

_@Duoya

As Keystone took stairs outside to get up higher, his power would tell him that there was a flaw in the fire escape. It was solid steel, six inches thick at every possible spot one could measure, but it had been compromised because being here on these stairs did not mean he was avoiding conflict. If he stopped and paid attention, he would note little flecks of silverly metal splattered across the railings. The higher up he went, the more of it he would see. This was, in a manner of speaking, a problem. It meant that Ironsides had managed to spread his influence across this area as well.

But something wasn't adding up here. Blackburn hadn't hit the building that long ago. It was true that they had managed to get the hostages in line alarmingly fast, but that was normal. They were Blackburn, they were professionals. Working quickly and efficiently was part of their job description. But if Keystone tried to find an exploitable flaw in the distribution of Ironsides' metal, he find nothing. Blackburn were good at what they did, but powers behaved a certain way no matter what. And ordinarily, Ironsides wasn't known to have this much influence over an area in this little amount of time...

_@Mintz

Taking to the air was a wise decision for Muninn. Circling around the building, he could see through the windows well enough to get a clear, albeit two-dimensional lay of the land. At least half a dozen floors were completely whited out, their windows smeared by a silvery metal that glared against Muninn's avian eyes. Above those floors were exactly three that had been overtaken by a small horde of monsters. They were Kintsugi's work, and resembled twisted, messy works of art carved from wood by an amateur. They were hideous things, and Muninn could see that they resembled the same husks that his team saw littering the ground outside the bank. Only these were moving, where as the previous ones were dead on the ground. If he looked closely enough, he'd see a construct looking remarkably different from them on the top floor, about to flatten Tandem like a pancake!

Or, he might see the silhouette of someone moving down the stairwells at an alarming pace. As if they had somewhere to be.

_{@Silver Carrot@Aku the Samurai}

An assault rifle lay on the floor, having clattered away towards the entrance in the heat of battle. Richter and Decree could see Shattercrash trading blows with the Blackburn member known as Ironsides. He wore an ugly costume reminiscent of patchwork metal and leather. His body rippled with layers of liquid metal, eating up the worst of Shattercrash's punches, which let off vibrant explosions of pink sparks with each swing. Ironsides was taller than her, and looked to be a bit on the heavy side. Though, it might have simply been his power beefing him up. The two were in what seemed to be a boxing match, where Shattercrash hit fast and hard, but Ironsides hit slow and hard.

Shattercrash was able to dodge his punches, and she was hitting him way more than her. But she didn't seem to be doing much damage.

"Give it up, brat!" He shouted, his voice like a watery roar. "Can't win 'em all!"

"WATCH ME!!!" Shattercrash channeled her power into both of her fists, and ducked under another one of Ironsides' swings. She jumped up and clapped him across both of his ears. The force reverberated through his "helmet" and caused him to stumble backwards. The attack shook the ground beneath Decree and Richter's feet.

Shattercrash leapt backwards towards them both as Ironsides writhed on the ground. "Get out of your head right the fuck now, Decree!" she jabbed. "You're in the big leagues now. You freeze up, you fucking die! You come in without a plan, that's one thing- But when you start, you don't stop 'til it's over!"

"Pretty sure I blew his eardrums. He's gonna be feeling that for a bit, but something's wrong here. He's too damn strong right now- His power takes time to ramp up, and he's ramped up too fucking fast for the amount of time he's had control here." She sounded calm, in the sense that all three of them were in the eye of a tornado.

"There should be a PA system around here you can try your powers on! Move your ass so I can cover you! Richter, you want to try fucking up the big guy?"

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: The Toad, the Witch, and the audacity of a certain Bitch.

Cracker Barrel

---

Jack walked down an empty street, not all that far from where he had teleported away with Sloane and Anya after seeing Drake. He could hear the distant shouting of the Toga Conga Line marching onwards. For a moment, he allowed himself to think that they might welcome him into their nonsense. It was foolish, yes, but foolish in the way that allowed friendships to grow deeper. Jack dismissed that thought as they went off further into the night, away from where he could hear. Tonight was turning out to be a lonely one. He could've gone back to the Shadowzone and entertained himself with the remnants of his house, and all the curiosities he had gathered over the decade. At least there, in the silence of an infinite darkness, he have a place that was familiar.

As Jack walked, he heard a familiar voice. Was that...

He hurried along down the corner of a street, and saw him. Kenshiro Murakin. He was back, just like everyone else. Jack had no idea that he had managed to return... And he was confronting Emily about the fucking CHALICE.

Jack walked forward, about to tear that maggot into pieces before a fucking spiderweb came out of nowhere. Alone with a blur of what he assumed was a thief who had come to steal it. He couldn't recognize that Abstraction, or whoever it was that had just fucked up royally. Jack looked back and saw Emily trying to melt Ken's face off. That wasn't going to do, so Jack made an orb of darkness in one hand. He then teleported behind Emily and her rancid apparition, throwing the orb to hit her in the back of the head. It would initially feel like getting slapped with a huge blob of super glue. The shadow orb expanded and swirled around Emily's entire head like a black tornado, completely blinding her.

His hood slipped off, revealing his face.

Kenshiro! My old friend, it has been far too long," He said, loudly, over what would no doubt be screams of the damned and screams of Emily Reed's bitching. "As much as I would love to make up for lost time, I'm afraid I have a thief to chase! Take care not to get too close to this one, here." He took a few steps backwards, grinning like a trickster at Babylon, who he hoped would recognize it as him taunting her to distract her long enough for Kenshiro to make a move. "Or the vapid excuse human she attached herself to!"

Jack made a dramatic motion with one of his arms, as if he were throw a curtain in front of himself like a stage magician. He cast a spell that adorned him in a cloak of shadows, rendering him all but invisible in the gloom of the late night.

"I will see you soon, old friend!" He exclaimed, before teleporting up to the rooftops. He saw the stranger swinging away, eyed up a spot along her path, and teleported out in front of them. The spell he cast on himself made him blend in with the darkness, like a sort of supernatural camouflage. He quickly stuck out his shadow hand, hoping he could grab the thief with a sneak attack before they had time to react and realize someone was even there.

"That does not belong to you."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Oh, you know.

Cracker Barrel

---

Sloane was carrying a lot in her heart, lately. Jack was caught off guard by her sudden outburst, saying he should’ve just left her alone. Was he really being that much of a nuisance by having the nerve to care, when he could’ve simply left Sloane to wallow in her troubles? Jack liked to think that he had enough of her trust that his intentions were obvious. He just wanted to look after someone that he well and truly considered a friend.

And that was why he was grateful that he never forgot how to put on a cold face.

“My best friend is dead and I’ll never get to talk to her again, and now her husband hates me and will never talk to me again. My other best friend probably only spends time with me out of pity because she probably realizes what a mess I’d be without her. It’s so unfair to put that on her. I just weigh her down. My dad’s trying to work his way back into my life, which means he’s either working an angle or, worse, he actually just cares about me and I can’t do the same for him. I finally worked up the courage to ask the boy I liked out for a dinner date after ten years and he was murdered before I had the chance to do it. Now I can only think about how much I respected and idolized him growing up, and how much time I wasted fearing rejection, and how he’s now stashed in, in, I don’t know, in some shoebox or something in his sister’s linen closet, and I just can’t even bear to think about th—”

So, the answer to his question was, “everything.” How did he comfort her through all that? How could he? Jack wished he could, he wished he could go back to being that kid who everyone found weird, but trusted to mean business where it mattered. But here he was, a stranger among his own people, unable to do anything meaningful to help someone for which the bar was low enough to step over.

It made him feel powerless, but he couldn’t let Sloane notice that.

“While you and Anya kept everyone safe last week, I managed to get myself jerked around by 8th street and accomplished nothing. I’m starting to realize that accomplishing nothing is probably the best for everyone, because I destroy everything I touch. I lost a bunch of artifacts, including a bunch of knockoffs that I made that could absolutely devastate communities if not entire countries, and I can’t even do anything about it because I’m scared. I’m scared. I don’t know why nobody else acts like it, but I’m so fucking scared that I’m going to die like everybody I ever cared about or continue be a disappointment like everyone else.”

You kept this entire city safe for a decade, Don’t be so cruel to yourself. It’s just a twist of the knife she stuck in Jack, talking about herself like she was worthless. As if Sloan wasn’t the one who made Jack’s childhood goals into her own and made them happen. His expression was stone, weathering her harsh words like they were but more raindrops from the sky.

“It’s not just Jasper. Everybody hates me. I don’t even get it. They just hate me. They found the first excuse they could use and kicked me out as quickly as they could. Seriously, like, how did Britney, who robbed so many people of their future, who used innocents as sacrificial pawns, who, for all intents and purposes, was a war criminal, stay in longer than me? Gets welcomed back and immediately forgiven while I’m still looked at with suspicion and disdain? Is allowed to sneak behind people’s backs and make calls she has no right to make that put people’s lives in danger and not get called out for it? It’s unfair. It’s just so unfair. Not a single thing has changed. It’s all just another popularity contest. Fine. Let them hate me. I hate them all, too.”

”I don’t-“

“And that includes you. Stop pretending like you know me. Stop pretending that you care about me.”

She hated him. ”Pretending? Sloane, that is not-“

”I don’t know if you just feel guilty for abandoning us that you have to constantly hovering around like a helicopter parent, or if you’re actually just secretly a good guy, but please just stop. Hate me like everyone else. It’ll be so much easier for you. Don’t do what Anya did to herself. I don’t want to have to carry the weight of being the reason another person is made into a social pariah. I’m a curse given human form. That's just the way it is.”

“So please, Fuck off.”

There was a brief moment where the mask cracked. The corner of Jack’s mouth turned downward for a moment, and a moment of sadness flashed across his eyes. It was blinked away as quickly as it could have been spotted. Sloane didn’t want him here, she didn’t want him anywhere.

Why did he come home, if this was waiting for him?

Jack stood and there the hood of his costume over his head. ”The Sycamore Tree Coven was family to me, once. The only family I’ve ever known,” he admitted. ”Brothers and sisters all, for which I would lay down my life without a second’s hesitation. I never turned down an opportunity to aid anyone, or be there in their time of need.” Even when it rewarded him with life-changing injuries.

He turned to leave. ”And you are part of that. You always have been, Sloane. And you always will be. Remember that.”

Jack did not teleport away. Rather, he simply walked off, until he was gone from sight.

If he had left tonight, gone back to the Void to explore its deeper regions, would he be missed? If he finally got around to exploring some of those distant places he had been studying outside of Shimmmer, would Auri try to get ahold of him again? Would Anya pay a visit to his dreams?

Or would the wheels continue to turn all the same without him? Jack felt something in his chest twist into a knot. He didn’t want to leave, back when they were kids. He tried to preserve the coven, tried to push it in a better direction. But there was nothing left to save in the end.

These people were strangers now. But they were all he had left.

Interactions: A Gaggle of Dipshits, and his Friends

Isle of Cracks

---

Stormy might’ve accepted their offer for a drink in return, were it not for the fact that his attention was grabbed by the Maiden acting up again. That wasn’t too surprising. His aura had been running low, and he didn’t think to renew it. Understandably, the whole table was a bit concerned. And he almost succumbed to the temptation to fold Trevor in half the wrong way at his comment. Stormy tapped his hand to his chest, and his Phantombane aura quickly renewed back to normal. The green smoke returned to visible levels. That should hopefully have a good enough effect on the Maiden that she decalamitied her mammaries. Stormy wasn’t about to let that get out of hand again.

Stormy kept an eye on the feathers and the talons sprouting from Lila’s hand. He wasn’t too worried, but he was taking the circumstance seriously regardless. If all else failed, he could offer to give Lila the aura as soon as he was able. That would be as close to it as the Maiden could possibly get. Everyone started talking about an after party, and a healer.

”Lila, I can lend you the Phantombane aura I’m using in about… Fifteen minutes, once it wears off. I’d need your permission first, but the Maiden won’t have anywhere to go.” And it would give Lila some space between her and Stormy after this little “peace talk.”

He kept an eye on Trevor as he walked over to heal Lila. Meifeng did say not to be weird, but surely she’d understand if he flattened the little shit if he did get weird.

”If Emily does try anything,” he cut in, after Max’s offer. ”I’ll handle it. She’s an Adjoined, and I’m good at countering them better than most paranormal.” Was that a flex? Probably not, but it sounded like on- Holy shit was that fucking Kenshiro?

”Good to see you, Toad Man,” he said with a grin.

And then the others invited him to the party. Jasper… Whispered in his ear? That was weird. But if they needed help, who was he to say no?

Oh, there goes Ken. Poof.

”Of course I will,” he answered Lila. ”I’m not sure I want to know what Emily is doing this time, or what a “toga conga line” looks like. I’m not sure I want to find out, either. I’m ready whenever you all are. I’m sure Ken can handle Emily himself. He has friends in high places, after all.”

He turned and addressed the agents gathered at the table. ”Hopefully, we won’t be running into each other too much in the near future. But still, I appreciate being able to talk without violence. Thank you for that.”

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

Jack Hawthorne/Maximillian Gray

Now it was Max's turn to listen. Jack made some valid points. They had to have been chosen for a reason. Perhaps it was to be different than Strange. To do things he wouldn't do, or couldn't do. A part of him wanted to say to be better than Strange, but he didn't think that possible. He was to be the best of them. Frankly Max didn't think Strange could die until this night. Even then he still grappled with that fact, as if walking throughout a dream this whole evening, waiting to wake up from the nightmare. ”What exactly is our own way then?”

His original point would have been that they had their own means of banishing a god. Jack could have simply banished it to his realm, and as far as he knew, Max could theoretically snap it out of existence with his own magic. But as the god disappeared and the sky seemed to turn almost normal, there was another set of problems to deal with. Comparatively minor, but problems nonetheless. Wong was being attacked by demons, the Pentagram was still active, and Witchfire was on the ground.

They had to break that Pentragram, Wong could defend himself a little longer.

We do what we know best, Jack said, as the two moved backward beyond what would hopefully be the full blast radius in case this went wrong.

They got into position to remove the Everdark rifts from the Pentagram, breaking it to help dissipate the magic within. But as soon as they were about to break the enchantments they placed, the Veil began to renew, the Pentagram dissipating on its own as the other world's began to fade into the distance once more. They didn't know what had transpired, but whatever it was he was glad it had happened. Too little too late for Wong however, as a hoard began to enshroud him and attack. But once again as they lifted their hands to free Max's friend, Carolina came out and banished the damned things. It seemed their allies were finally coming out of the woodwork to help out. Madalyne had been doing her part, sure, but the others Max hadn't seen since the squabble.

”Then we must call upon an old friend first. To help us with our…condition.” Max said as he opened a portal between himself and James. He was currently sitting at his clinic, the most obvious place to find him, especially if you were a mutant in need. ”James! It's Max, well…sort of. We go by Jax, I'm bound to another at the moment and if we part we die. If you could give this old man some youth again?”

James paused, eyebrows raised as he put down the book he just picked up. "Well, I have to admit, you finally surprised me again. Ben and Dorian are fine, though I recommend a really nice bouquet when you get yourself sorted out." James gave his best friend's most recent mishap a look over. "So, what's the trick here? Do you just need to be younger, or do you need me to support while you pull apart?"

…DORIAN?

”Just make us younger. We need the combined might to fight off the demons invading New York City.” Max snapped back like a crotchety old man. ”Ever second longer this portal stays open is a second longer to allow the demons armies to invade through it. So time is of the essence.”

"It's only been an... You know what, not important. You're the only one who'd stumble into this without us so fast." James shook his head in fond exasperation, reaching out to take both Jax's hands. James closed his eyes, sinking into the familiar feeling of their vitals syncing up, and nearly disconnected. His own heart was barely beating; he could hardly believe Jax was still alive!

He focused, bringing Jax back from the brink, unwinding the clock as carefully as he could. It took a few moments but finally, James stumbled back with sweat on his brow. "Christ, Jax. I haven't had to fix anyone up like that since we brought our last batch back from death. Please try to stay alive and make sure you bringing your friends by the clinic when you clean all this up; they'll probably need a touch up too."

”Whoever you are, thank you,” the other half of Jax said. ”…Wait just a moment. You knew Strange, Max. I thought you seemed familiar when we first met. This “Dorian” person is your son, isn’t he?”

”Yes? But I don't see what that has anything to do with this?”

”…I am from your relative future. And you’re from my relative past,” He explained. ”Strange’s death pulled us all from different times, and our times were not so far apart. I likely should not be telling you this, but when I was young, I went to a school for superhumans. With Dorian Gray.”

Max looked at James sheepishly before stepping backwards into the portal and closing it behind himself. He'd have held up a finger to Jack to tell him to shut it if they weren't cohabitating a body. ”Not another word. This is a delicate balance we have right now, and any information about the future could change the future, create a paradox, or worse…write it into stone. Nothing good ever came from peering ahead. When the time is right, I will know.” Jack was clearly from a not too distant future, after all Dorian was slated to go to Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters when he became of age, or at least that was the current idea Max had had. He didn't know whether or not Ben would bite, he hated that school, but if Jack's already spilled the beans on that then it means Ben agreed in the end.

”Apologies.”

”So. The demons. You thinking banishment or just kill them all? Ones less risky and avoids collateral damage to both human lives and buildings. The other…well its more to the point with less risk of failure.”

”Banishment would mean we tamper with the Veil, which he went through enough trouble already to repair. But, we cannot be slow when they are taking human lives…We can renew the Veil indefinitely, at this point: Banishment is quicker.”

”Then let's do this. Care to try that spell once more? Should be easier to handle that it's small fry and not the literal hand of god.”

”By all means. I’ll follow your lead.”

Max took the lead, once again attempting one of Strange’s spells. His most difficult one it seemed. The Flames of Faltine conjured with ease, as too did the Crimson Bands, yet try and try again Max couldn't summon the Winds of Watoomb to aid him like Strange had. But this time was different. ”By the Whirling Winds of Watoomb I banish you back to Limbo you fiery fiends!” Max proclaimed as winds erupted from around him and blew a handful of demons back into their plane. A grin spread across his face. He turned to face another group and did much the same, diminishing the numbers slowly but succinctly.

Good, it was working. ”They've been cut off from this world. There is little more to do than return them from where they came.” But he looked down before, and saw that Witchfire and Annika were… Gone?

”We will need the others.”

X-Men: GenetiX

Days went by, and Ryder seemed to learn to accept her new reality insofar as any new environment could be adjusted to. She observed, she kept her distance, and she studied the people who came and went. There was never a real moment where Ryder allowed herself to believe someone wouldn’t sneak up on her. Even when some of the mutants her age ventured to interact with her, she kept a proverbial shield up, until they decided she was more trouble than she was worth. Perhaps it was undeniably monumental, then, that Ryder made no conscious efforts to instigate anything with anyone who didn’t instigate themselves. If there was any solace in her presence, it was that she truly did not have any desire to fuel any fires.

She had healed from her injuries to a well enough point that a medical exam- as little of one she would allow without a fight- showed she was in good shape. Others had noted that Ryder had a grasp of her powers that most mutants her age couldn’t possibly dream of, only making her more of a target for temporary attention. Due to her recovery, and her potential, the X-Men decided that they could stand to live up to the big words they had preached. Ryder was given a rundown on how they did things. How they had a fancy jet for getting across borders in secrecy, and how they kept contacts with people overseas.

And for reasons that were far removed from the realm of logic that Ryder occupied, they were bringing her along. It was an excuse for her to get out of that school, and it made sense. She could always just hijack the thing and run it into the ocean if they pulled something. Rather than show up in some hideous spandex like some idiotic superheroes did, Ryder just showed up dressed as if she had recently rolled out of bed. She walked into the hangar where the jet was due to fly.

As odd as it was to have a jet under a school, she wasn’t impressed.

”I’m here. Now what?”

Avengers Academy 💥

---

Location: The Framework
Skills:
Framework Fashion

---

---

Against everything that was being thrown at her, Leah managed to deal.

Classes got harder, but she was always good at numbers. So that was never an issue for her. Hell, she could help both Sabine and April at the same time with their numbers-related assignments at the same time that she worked on her own. The school’s definition of combat was a joke. She was going through far worse training at 12 years old than this. Usagi was the only element that made it annoying to deal with. But still, she managed to deal. The promotional shit, though? That was unusual. She was officially “Jotunn” to the world now, as much as she didn’t care for people taking pictures of her unless it was her girlfriends. Unfortunately for all the internet people without a life, she didn’t give out interviews or bubbly smiles, she sucked at things like that.

As a strategist who liked to think she could finesse someone smart as Vision out of a chess game, Leah spent more time than most reviewing the Young Avengers’ strategies. She did all of this before 9pm, every day. When it was dark out, she went through her own training routine. Adamantium-fiber punching bags for an hour, a thousand pound leg press session for 30 minutes, 500 sit-ups, a thousand pull-ups with an added 750lbs in weights strapped to her waist, and once she was warmed up? She ran a marathon on a treadmill built for people with super speed.

Leah refused to slow down and rest. She didn’t need rest. Leah could keep going when everyone else couldn’t, and that hee contribution to her team. Even if it didn’t matter to her, it mattered to others who she owed it to. But tonight, something different seemed to be happening. The suspicious Technotwink had some sort of scheme to even the playing field a little. Something to unrig the rigged game. Strategically, it made sense. If they were going to put the golden children on a pedestal and expect the rest to climb, what difference did it make if they chipped away at the pedestal?

Leah had decided to stay in for this one until it was time. She didn’t want to be sweaty and knee-deep in a workout when she got to see Ed’s master plan. Just in case someone was stalking her. It was getting late, and time to go. Leah checked her phone and saw April sent a text… What were the chances someone could read their messages? The wifi was public, after all.

@April, @Sabine

If anyone asks, we saw nothing. The walls have eyes. Not literally, I hope.

Leah got her shit together, and climbed out the window. The last thing she needed was Bruunhilde (who she didn’t want to run into for reasons) or fucking Firestar to ask her why she wasn’t training to kill god himself barehanded. She dropped into a tree, then down to the ground and stalked through the shadows as a certain wizard would have done. She made sure no one would see her that neither a sight nor a sound would alert anyone to her presence. There was more to bring a hero than flashy dramatics, after all. The coast was clear, so Leah let herself into the gym, then showed herself in the Framework.

This was going to be hell on her hair.

It looked like she was the first one here.

"Okay, Ed. Show yourself already."