View source for 12693/Maximoff Magical Mayhem

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2022/09/07
|Location=Greenwich Village
|Synopsis=As it turns out, chaos magic is NOT a reliable magic 8-ball.
|Cast of Characters=2661,1924,546,446,3879,33,343
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So, let's get it out of the way right off the bat: this was a terrible idea from the start.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's a shame, too, because it's a beautiful day in New York City. After yesterday's torrential rainfall washed away the heat of the weekend, it'd been nothing but blue skies and a light breeze all day. Sure, there were at least three C-tier villains out causing trouble, but it's New York, baby! That's nothing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hopefully someone out there is knocking on wood. Crossing their fingers. Circle circle, dot dot, now I have my... wait, no. Different thing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's something heavy in the air down in the Village, though. A haze, sort of, despite the balmy weather that's started to drop down from the comfortable mid-seventies it's been all day, as dusk arrives. Nothing noticeable enough to draw any real attention until you make your way to this particular corner of Bleecker Street, just down the block from the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, the Stonewall monument just beyond.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Not that this location was chosen for any particular reason, but it's a good thematic fit.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Billy and Tommy are on the rooftop of a men's clothing store, and here's the real reason for why they're at this precise place: Tommy's bent over a takeout container of the best fucking risotto you can get in Manhattan (per his own opinion) from the Italian place next door. He eats when he's nervous -- well, he eats all the time, but right now he's nervous -- so as Billy sets up his, uh, you know... magical stuff, Tommy's stuffing his face.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And he can't even say why he's nervous. This was his idea, more or less. Sort of. At least half his idea. But call it what you want: some latent chaos magic, or maybe just good old-fashioned common sense, they're nearly done and Tommy is starting to think maybe they should just give up.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I could just text Lorna -- uh, her royal highness Queen Lorna, whatever -- and maybe get some DNA tests done?" This is, of course, not what Tommy wants to do, not really. The thought of anyone else coming to prod him for his DNA or his mutant powers is enough to make him want to barf up risotto (he's on his fifth container) but something has him wigged out enough that the hairs on his arms are starting to stand up. He whips out his phone and starts typing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1924|Billy Kaplan (1924)}} has posed:'''<br>"Believe something and the Universe is on its way to being changed. Because you've changed, by believing. Once you've changed, other things start to follow. Isn't that the way it works?"<br><br>Diane Duane, So You Want to Be a Wizard<br><br>At first, Billy thought about a spell in Latin. Latin was a popular language for magic due to the fact that the vast majority of surviving grimoires were written in that language and not because there is something inherently magical about the language. That's it, the appeal of tradition and precedent. No ancient Romans were walking around accidentally summoning demons while ordering their meals, which is yet another example of the m any ways in which the best possible timeline fails to manifest itself in service of plain old banality. <br><br>But the problem with a lot of spells in Latin is that Billy Kaplan is rather bad at Latin so far. It's been only two years of self-directed courses, and at the moment he is absolutely fed up with grammatical cases and declensions, and of the spells related to blood relations, siblinghood and family, he couldn't really make heads nor tails about what was being asked, specifically, and he just knew that if he tried his hand at writing anything on his own, the grammatical goethia that would result would probably do something rather awful and terrible. <br><br>He also briefly considered his research on the Kabbalah. On this, he was on more solid ground, since he had done a fair amount of study of the Hebrew language as part of his family's faith and had kept practicing at his mother's recommendation. Hebrew nouns are not inflected for case and therefore their nominal structure is not considered to be declensional, so the branching nonsense of Latin could stuff itself. However, what kept Billy from employing that language for the spell was a practical consideration, as he had read somewhere that it could be potentially dicey for a starting wizard to conflate the language of worship and the language of magic, because it could sub-consciously condition to work magic at the wrong times. He didn't know how much water that warning held, but he decided to err on the side of caution.<br><br>"Yeah, we COULD," Billy mumbles, dabbing another long line of paint on the rooftop, "But we both know you don't want to, and you'd kick and scream all the way through it, and look like you swallowed a porcupine afterwards, and sulk for three hours?" He glances over at Tommy and gives him a flash of a smile before returning his attention to the task at hand, "Okay, this is the part that requires concentration."<br><br>No Latin. No Hebrew. No English, even- instead of all that, Billy decided to go with the symbolic logic of magical systems as proposed by one Doctor Helena Carnacki. Admittedly, her work had been purely theoretical and not exactly practical- it was the cataloguing of specific themes, actions, prohibitions and pre-requisites found in folk spells, grimoires and different traditions all over the globe. What Child did for the cataloguing of story-types, she did for the cataloging of spell-types. And then, probably because she was absolutely bored stiff and needed to publish more in order to justify her tenure, she created a symbolic language as a companion piece. Billy clamped on to that like a pitbull on his favorite squeaky toy.<br><br>He stands back and looks at the rather sizable circle created by the symbols, all of them carefully chosen, with indicators that show where the 'sentence' starts and where it ends. Or, rather, the question- for that's what it was. Far too many spells in many languages were too vague, too nebulous. This was a simple request, a simple demand for knowledge. <br><br>Is this man my brother?<br><br>Clear, elegant, simple- a yes/no answer.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1924|Billy Kaplan (1924)}} has posed:'''<br>"So..." he mutters, gesturing towards the candle that was set in the center of the circle, "The way I've set it up, we both have to light the candle at the same time, and then I pour juice into the spell," he gestures at the circle. "And if we are, y'know, brothers, the flame is supposed to grow three feet tall. And if we aren't, it's supposed to extinguish." He rubs his forehead with the back of his hand, and glances at the symbols again, making sure he didn't miss anything. The formulation could get pretty complicated.<br><br>"Simple, right?" He peers at Tommy, "... but if you'd like to call, uh, her Royal higness over... if you think it'd /help/."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:546|America Chavez (546)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sky over the clothing store shatters away to reveal a door sized five pointed star in electric blue energy and a single figure in black athletic pants a white V-neck tee and red hightops falls out of it. Or at least she does for all of a second. The moment free fall initiates, America rights herself and just hovers in place; defying the will of gravity as easy as she defies the will of everything she comes across, even dimensional and temporal reality.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A wave of her hand disperses the Star Portal she used to get here and she looks down on the pair getting up to no-good below. She lowers herself to the rooftop softly, high tops crunching on errant gravel and makes sure to stay clear of any of Billy's various accoutrements as eyes the pair. "Boys," she says in greeting, giving Billy a smile and Tommy a friendly and companionable nod (even if he doesn't consider them so strongly attached.) "I could feel something important going down and figured I'd look into it. Didn't expect to find you two here, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Finally going to figure out why you look so alike?" she asks with an arched brow. The smirk on her face a tell-tale sign that -she- knows the truth, but she wants them to figure it out for themselves. After all, it'd be more believable that way.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She looks to Wiccan--how the young man might become her Creator still baffles her, but it is what it is--and smirks. "So going from tossing lightning to calling on external forces to give you an answer?" she asks the young wizard. "Good to see you're expanding your repetoir, but that's dicey. Mind if I stick around to chaperone, just in case the wrong set of eyes takes notice?" she asks. It's probably futile to try and deny her; she's sticking around, especially for these two.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:446|Pietro Maximoff (446)}} has posed:'''<br>Texts are sent, texts are received. There was a brief discussion between Lorna and Pietro via text, and another between Micola and Pietro in person. All things being said, the trio thought it best to go look into this potential issue that Tommy had forewarned about. Magic. Pietro rolled his eyes every time he heard about that - he got enough of that from Wanda, after all. It was all mumbo-jumbo to him - it wasn't among his many studies.<br><br>It was easy enough for Pietro and Micola to get to Tommy - they were in the general vicinity. With Micola in his arms, the older Maximoff brother blurred through the city unfazed by traffic. Or physics, in some instances. The pair ran up the side of the building, arriving on the rooftop just as Lorna was blipped in via her captain of the guard. Teleportation - it rocks.<br><br>Setting Micola down, Pietro's eyes narrow a bit. The silver-haired man looks from Billy, to America, to Tommy. "Care to explain what's happening? Who are these two?" His trademarked scowl is fully in place.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3879|Micola Lykaios (3879)}} has posed:'''<br>Pietro forgets that his fiancee is a sorceress as well. Micola is obviously happy to go on a trip with the scowly Prince though. The blue haired woman has a knack for closing her eyes now and not opening them until the rush of the wind and things stops. The woman is also happy to see Tommy and when she is settled down by the white haired man she gives a smile and a wave, "Hey Tommy." she greets him. "And hello everyone." she gives a nod to those she doesn't know.<br><br>She then takes up a spot next to the fiance and is quiet as things are unfolding. She does lean in to whisper to him gently before kissing his cheek though.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Lorna Dane (33)}} has posed:'''<br>The little electric pink teleportation that zots Lorna into the area is aimed rather well, as she'd requested her arrival be in the air. She ends up nearest to America then as she momentarily freefalls for all of a few inches. Then the magnetic energies around her sworl into activity catching her, and letting her bob back up with green hair flowing around her.<br><br>The scene is taken in with one quick glance: Pietro and Micola. Tommy whom she knew. Billy... and her gaze slides over to America as well with an arch of one finely manicured eyebrow.<br><br>"Yes, please do tell us what's going on, Tommy," she requests looking back down to the twins that had apparently made a magical circle. "Oh. This never results in anything good in my experience. Good to see you again, Micola," she adds not forgetting her manners.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:343|Karen Starr (343)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York isn't necessarily Karen's typical haunt, but it isn't necessarily far from it. As a member of the Avengers, she is occasionally obliged to patrol the city and its outlying areas.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Flying overhead, Karen spots something of an odd sight- this rooftop gathering happens to be a mild nexus of people she has and hasn't met- but what gets her attention is the high-speed approach of Pietro.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While this doesn't look all that ominous, Karen can't help but pay it some attention. Swooping down and drifting slowly to the surface of the roof from the air, the blonde form of Power Girl arrives unceremoniously.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Uh, hey everybody." she calls, looking around at the assembled heroes. "Not sure what's going on, but is there any way I can help?" Cluelessly enough, Karen is the only one present that has absolutely /no/ idea what's happening, aside from that there's a circle, some candles, and that typically any grouping of this many powered individuals has to have some sort of purpose.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's something like a law. Just, unwritten. Something's gotta happen when there's a get-together like this.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At least it's not blood magic. Tommy would not be thrilled about blood magic. Mostly on account of the blood.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Simple," Tommy repeats, but he doesn't quite sound like he's buying it. Still, he stands up and approaches the circle, though he's also scarfing down the rest of his risotto. Which he's eating at regular human speed, to savor it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah. It's that good.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He nearly flings a spoonful of the stuff into the air when said air shatters like a glass pane; the shatterer in question is saved from a faceful of (delicious) risotto by Tommy's quick reflexes. No one has to know he had to catch a bunch of rice grains out of midair with his mouth to avoid it. Superspeed, aww yeah.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;America gets a concerned look, because her appearance here is not exactly a herald of good news; Billy on the other hand gets a nod and a thumbs up -- yes, Tommy's totally faking it to be supportive -- but he also confirms that "Yeah, I sent her a text," which is an immediate prelude to the pink teleportal that deposits said maybe-relative, definite-Queen... also up in the air.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the space of a millisecond, Tommy looks from Lorna, to America, to... oh, it's Pietro too, and then everyone else is someone Tommy doesn't know. Wait, that woman knows his name. Wait! Right. Ice-cream-volunteer-woman. It makes sense in his head which is good enough for Tommy. Sorry, Micola. He doesn't remember your name, but that's nothing against you personally. Same to Power Girl; Billy has all the superhero-fanboy-knowledge (Tommy can talk your ear off about Minor League Baseball though, if anyone's interested).<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All this gets a lackluster "Sup," from Tommy. A flex of his fingers and the now-empty food container vaporizes in his hands, and then he dusts his hands off on his jeans.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But then he looks over at Billy, and Tommy already knows the kind of expression his probably-brother is going to aim at him, so Tommy's head drops back and he groans at the sky. "Okay fine. Found my twin in the middle of NYC Pride. All this family crap happening, no way it's a coincedence at this point. So, who the hell are we? Because pretty sure one of our moms would've noticed a WHOLE EXTRA BABY comingouttanowhere!" He throws his hands up in the air.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is about the point that he starts talking too fast for regular human perception to parse, but the basic summary involves clones, plans to take down the Brotherhood from the inside via sleeper agent personas implanted in said clones, alternate universe de-aged versions of either Magneto or Pietro, secret families on the side. It's the whole gamut of crazy conspiracy theories about their origins.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Sowe'regonnafigureitoutrightnowokay!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then he gestures for Billy to light the candle.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And by "he gestures for Billy to light the candle," we mean Tommy lights the candle himself, but slow enough for Billy to catch on and do the same. Since, y'know, they're supposed to do it together.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1924|Billy Kaplan (1924)}} has posed:'''<br>"I figured we'd do the Do-It-Yourself route, America," Billy smiles at his team-mate, gesturing towards the circle, "I think I got the logic down pat. I think. I mean-"<br><br>Billy's eyes widen. First, there is- "Oh gosh, you're-" Pietro knows who he is, Billy. He doesn't need you to tell him. Then there is a Lorna. She is lucky that he is already trying very hard to keep his tongue in check. When Power Girl herself arrives, Billy Kaplan is close to plotzing.<br><br> It is only the timely intervention of his twin that saves him from geeky embarrassment. He nods quickly at Tommy's words. "RIght. Twin. Pride. We need to-" and then Tommy is reaching over to light the candle, an the young mage leans in as well, so they do it at the same time. And as soon as the candle lights, he feeds it the juice, which flows towards the circle, and which flows through the symbols, executing the instructions one after the other. <br><br>THere is a moment of tension as the circuit closes, with the two young men at the core.<br><br>And then, the universe is asked The Question.<br><br>It's a simple, yes/no question. Easy, right?<br><br>And then, everything goes wrong.<br><br>The candle flame shoots up, easily thirty feet up in the air, causing the twins to probably scoot back because of the intense heat.<br><br>And then, the flame is gone, as if it had never been.<br><br>And then, the flame is back again.<br><br>And then, it is gone.<br><br>The intervals between the candle being there and being gone get shorter and shorter, until it looks like the towering flame is a strobe light of heat and power, followed by a towering shape of shadow, a negative image of the flame, exuding numbing, biting cold. <br><br>"... oh... oh no!" Bill says, paralyzed momentarily, contemplating at what he has done.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:546|America Chavez (546)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;America gives Pietro, Micola, and Lorna a wave. "Ms. America," she says for her own introduction. "No, not the pageant, the superhero" she heads off any note of the question that she gets from time to time. Power Girl's arrival is met with a smile. "Hey, keep bumping into you around town, don't I?" she asks the Krptonian in friendly greeting. But then her attention goes to the boys.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's worked before, might as well give it a shot here, too, right?" she says and gestures for the pair of them to have at it. The candle flaring and strobing is given a sigh. "Except, this time of course it won't..." She leans her head to one side and then the other, loosening the muscles of her neck and shoudlers in preparation for whatever mayhem Wiccan's cooked up this time around.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Billy, we're going to have to talk about checking your work. That is, if we get out of this" she replies, shrugging off the biting freeze of the cold flame. She balls up her fists and stares hard at the shadowy pillar of nullflame.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:446|Pietro Maximoff (446)}} has posed:'''<br>As Micola whispers to Pietro, his expression changes to one more steeped in neutrality. He nods to her, even affxing a slight smile to his visage for a brief moment. He offers a quick wave to Lorna, before focusing on the others. Karen is given... a greeting wave of sorts, as is America. "Pietro." Credentials are likely evident - still a working member of the Avengers and all! <br><br>As Tommy starts speaking, Pietro's focus is solely on him. The theatrics of the catching of the risotto is not missed - the two move at similar speeds after all! He's not going to rat him out, of course. Quicksilver follows the spitfire rambling of Tommy, eyes narrowing as the conspiricies start to form around himself and Magneto.<br><br>Then a candle is lit... and that happens.<br><br>"Please tell me that is expected." He knows it isn't, but still... he can hope. He subtly moves to stand between Micola and the fire geyser. "Is this something we can manage?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3879|Micola Lykaios (3879)}} has posed:'''<br>Micola isn't offended that Tommy doesn't remember her name. She is amused though. Maybe because he looks like Pietro, but there are differences. "I'm Micola." she gives her introduction. There is a look to Karen when she lands and then back to the others as things get started. The candle flame shooting up so high causes her to startle and she calls on her magic to make a eerily green shield of energy that blocks her, Pietro and Lorna from said flame while it does that. Just in case!<br><br>"I don't think that was a good thing." she states with a worried look to the two young men. Yep, magic was a dangerous thing! She reaches out to place her hand on Pietro's arm, "It's fine, my love." she tells him gently.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Lorna Dane (33)}} has posed:'''<br>Lorna Dane inclines her head in greeting to America when the introduction is given. "I wouldn't have presumed," she assures the younger woman. Typically you didn't see beauty pageant winners flying around after all. Though in this day and age, who knew? Still her regard is mostly on Tommy while she listens to the explanation including the sped up part.<br><br>"It's okay," she assures Tommy calmly being quite used to when Pietro would on occasion get frustrated enough to just speed-chatter. Whether she really understood or not? That's hard to tell. She was rather good at a poker face. Being a Queen demanded it at times.<br><br>"We are all curious as well. If this will solve the mystery, then..." Ah, but it was already lit and spitting flames into the air. Again. And again.<br><br>"Right. Going out on a limb that this was *not* what was intended."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:343|Karen Starr (343)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Karen offers Billy a friendly smile- one of the few faces here she doesn't recognize at all. She's heard of Billy, at least- Tommy, she knows nothing about. Pietro, she knows of. Never met, but she knows /of/ him, well enough. Lorna she's met, at least in passing. Micola is, to Power Girl, another stranger. To all of these, she offers a calm nod of her head in greeting, still trying to appraise what's going on.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Hey America," she begins, "Yeah, we're pretty likely to end up in a lot of the same places." she notes, "Care to explain what all this is about, though? Seems like something you've practiced?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She hopes.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That's when the fuel seems to hit the fan, and for a moment, the pyrotechnic display of the candles erupting in flames causes her brow to raise, and her arms to fold in that ever-so-unfair way. It is clear, in this moment, that she disapproves. Sure, it could just be because she doesn't like magic- not one bit, really- but it's also because the sorcerer in question is not reacting as if the spell has gone the way it's supposed to. There's no fear in her, though- even as the flame warps to cold, and her stern expression never shifts from gazing upon it as she waits for either the magically inclined to call it to a halt, or for her to have something to punch, as is the typical situation.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Doesn't really matter." she responds, to Pietro. "We're going to have to."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For anyone in the audience with sensitive ears, you're in luck today. Because Tommy curses at superspeed as he stumbles backward (also at superspeed) to put distance between himself and the flame/not-flame. "What does that even mean?" he ask-slash-yells in Billy's general direction, though he can't actually see his twin on account of, you know... the giant pillar of flame.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So he runs around the circle and grabs hold of Billy by the arm. Maybe he also backpedals them both a little bit farther, just to be safe. "The spell's not working, you gotta shut it off." He'll make time to be frustrated about the lack of real answer from the universe later. Right now there are more important things to worry about, like, ugh, innocent lives and everything. Because this thing is a hazard.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No, he's not a hero. Stop asking!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"What do we do to turn it off?" he asks, then Tommy turns towards where the others are gathered, focus mostly on the Genoshan royalty currently pleasant. The last thing he wants is for this to turn into some kind of... like... diplomatic thing. "I can blow it up if you think that'll help?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When does that ever help?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1924|Billy Kaplan (1924)}} has posed:'''<br>"It doesn't- I mean... this isn't yes, it isn't no, it doesn't make any sense!" Billy calls out. His frustration would be huge, but at the moment it is taking a bow to the understudy: Panic. Panic because he can see more than meets the eye with this spell- as Micola most likely can as well. His lack of experience doesn't give him much on how to interpret what he sees, though. All around the, the circle of symbols glows with blue light that begins to shift to purple, which is when things start /really/ getting strange. Inside the flame, something seems to be spooling, pulling at surrouding reality in the desperate, feckless way in which a drunken socialite wakes up in the morning and pulls frantically at the covers once she discovers her absolute 35th favorite diamond ring ever has gone missing. It is an anxious, aimless questing.<br><br>And then there is one /massive/ pull, and everything around them changes. <br><br>For starters, the upper third of an office building suddenly appears in mid-air, hanging over the street.<br><br>"Oh no-" Billy says, and points. Fortunately, it appears that wherever the building was pulled from, it was clearly past punch-out time because there are no signs of life within. The same could not be said for the street below, busy with pedestrians and traffic. And right in the path of the impact, should it fall. <br><br>The building isn't falling. It is hanging there, suspended in mid-air exactly the way that bricks... well, you've read Addams. You know how it goes.<br><br>"Oh god, somebody s-" Billy starts. And that's when a large, emptry truck, and a speedboat, materialize over the street as well. Billy lets out a squeak. And then, just like that, the building and the vehicles snap out of whatever surreal detente they had been in, and they begin to fall. "Stop them! Get the people on the stree-"<br><br>Reality is acting up in other ways around them, too. Parts of the air surrounding them are starting to fracture, like a mirror that has just received a deep impact. Refractions of other places, other people. There's Pietro reflected there for a moment, but he has brown hair. There's someone in scarlet, but soon they are gone. There's Tommy and Billy, older, but different. For a moment, right across the street on a neighboring rooftop, an identical scene to the one being played out appears to exist for a heartbeat, except that America isn't there, Tommy and Billy are crouched over a circle, and a woman with flowing blac hair and purple robes is standing over them like some sort of guardian. But then, the scene is gone, and yet another vehicle manifests from thin air to begin its descent below.<br><br>"No, I've got to-" Billy lets go of Tommy's hand and pushes away from him, running towards the candle, he begins to chant something- but a blast from the black-and-white candle leaves him frozen in place, as if he were nothing more than a memory suspended in midair.<br><br>And all around them, the pulling continues.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:546|America Chavez (546)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;America cringes back from the visions and memories from a myriad of different worlds are flashing around them. "Dammit Billy... next time, just ask" she mutters and jumps off the roof down to catch a truck in mid-drop. "Everyone get out of here!" she yells to the street below as she lowers the vehicle to the ground.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Time to play reverse whack a mole..." she says as she cracks her knuckles and prepares the Star Portal anything that isn't caught by the others. "One of you, get Billy out of the suspension state he's in" she yells back up to the roof. "We need him to turn it off..." under her breath she adds the casual, "somehow."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:446|Pietro Maximoff (446)}} has posed:'''<br>A blur. Pietro leans over and kisses Micola's cheek. "Keep safe." He comments, before bolting down to the streets. People are moved - lifted, carried and blurred out of danger. Back and forth, there and back. The safety of civilians is what he can manage - magic, not so much at the moment. So it's all about whizzing through the streets to save people.<br><br>He's confident Lorna and Micola will be able to handle whatever they need to. Judging from America, Billy, Karen and Tommy - he's fairly certain they will manage in any number of ways.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3879|Micola Lykaios (3879)}} has posed:'''<br>Micola gives a look over her shoulder and there's a look to Charon who suddenly gives her one of those 'What the hell are you doing?' looks. Nothing boss! She takes the time to accept Pietro's cheek kiss, "You be safe. I'm in no trouble." she tells him. She then shakes her head and then looks back to the group, "Sooooo...." she gives Pietro's arm a squeeze and then steps past him, "Your spell is trying to seek answers in a realm that it shouldn't. The realm of the dead is a finicky place." she tells Billy. "I'm not sure if it is reaching other realties or planes, but we should head this off pretty quickly. I can help push it out of the death realm though." she epxlains with a smile.<br><br>Yes, Micola was super weird. Psychopomps were like that sometimes! "We can do this!" she gives them a smile for encouragement.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Lorna Dane (33)}} has posed:'''<br>As the world beigns to flicker and change, as *reality* begins to warp showing off what after a few images burned into her retinas make her think 'alternate realities', Lorna goes from casually supportive watcher to tense and prepared to act.<br><br>Flinging her hands in opposite directions more out of a sense of needing to prioritize than any need to point for her powers to work, she too catches at some of the suddenly appearing objects. The speedboat is caught aloft in the air by the engine as the majority was fiberglass. The front falls downward swinging from the point of the engine caught in her magnetic grip.<br><br>That she could deal with well enough. It was the building, brick though it may be, that she manages to keep hefted up as well by it's nails, screws, support beams. Anything which she can keep alfot she does with teeth grit. "The bricks--" she starts to warn of her inability to hold onto them. There wasn't enough metallic content in them for her to manage.<br><br>Her thoughts are scattered completely though when one flickering image brings her face-to-face with a dark haired woman wearing the all-too-familiar Scarlet Witch outfit that she'd seen Wanda in before. Though the face was completely different. "Wanda?" Was the dark haired man Pietro then? From somewhere else?<br><br>Somehow it suddenly makes sense: The unknown twins were Wanda's fault. Somehow. No wonder she wasn't present currently.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:343|Karen Starr (343)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm going to say this once, for posterity." Karen starts, the odd sensation of /pulling/ catching her only so off guard that she drifts into the air, resisting it. "I /hate/ magic." This is addressed to nobody in particular, but really, someone was going to have to say it, and it might as well have been her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Power Girl has been at this sort of thing for two decades- punching above her weight class, back when that was a concept that could be fathomed. Breaking every rule in doing so. She knows when things have gone bad, and this is just about going /worse./<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"If you're fast, get the people. If you're strong, catch a heavy thing. If you have any idea what's going on, make it not." Those orders barked, Karen doesn't linger long, because she doesn't /have/ long to linger. The objects, ripped from other realities, or other places, begin to fall; And she won't be having any of that.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is, as it were, the noise of thunder. Power Girl is not delicate with the sound barrier, snapping it as if it were balsa wood, as she surges violently into the air: She has no idea if anyone else present has the strength to stop it, but a bunch of vehicles can drop onto the road. Those aren't her concern.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The building, though, manages to fall but a few inches before, impossibly, incredibly, it arrests again in midair. Boughing somewhat around where her arms have it clasped at the center, but the structure seems to remain whole, as quite possibly the strongest woman in the world carries it upon her back.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I have it, focus on everything else!" she calls, down to Lorna. Let the blonde carry the heaviest thing- because she isn't about to be everywhere at once.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In so much time as it takes to arrest the building's fall, it then begins to rise once more. "One thing I hadn't thought of," she mutters to herself, "Is where the hell this is going to /go./"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's Billy that is frozen by the candle, but Tommy hasn't budged from his his spot on the roof. What he should be doing is precisely what Pietro has already begun working on; the evacuation of the street below, which at this early evening hour is chock full of people.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A group of teenagers are eating ice cream cones, clustered around a stoop.<br>Two guys are arguing over the best flavor of Mountain Dew outside the bodega.<br>A middle-aged couple has just stepped out from the Italian restaurant, and neither of them tried the risotto.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of them are totally unawares of what's about to happen, though a few have the vantage point to actually see the pillar of flame that first emerges from the candle. Everything goes to hell in a handbasket within seconds, and people begin to scatter at America's call for them to do so. Unfortunately with very little sense of where the danger is and where it isn't, given that most of it is beginning to materialize out of thin air.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's Lorna's cry about the bricks that finally prompts Tommy into motion. He blinks to himself, breaths in for the first time in too long, and then he's gone.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A couple blocks away seems a safe distance. He manages to catch up to Pietro in-between shepherding people around to confer on where exactly that is, and then the two moving blurs separate to continue on their way.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Debris begins to fall to the pavement, some heavy enough to leave craters. Tommy manages to scoop up a barking dog (and its owner) and carry them out of the way before half of a fire escape lands on them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Whaddawedotofixit?" he asks as he skids to a stop back up on the rooftop, ostensibly here to check on Billy. But then a statue of some dead white dude from who knows how long ago appears in the sky, and rather than run down to save the people below from being pancaked, he extends a hand as he stands on the edge of the rooftop. The statue begins to tremble violently before it explodes into thousands of tiny pebbles.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which, okay, are not particularly pleasant as they pelt down the ice cream-eating teens previously mentioned, but all it really does is get in their dessert. Oh well.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No chance of Tommy being able to do that to the school bus that has also appeared, given that A. it's directly behind him, so he doesn't see it and B. it's a school bus! It's huge!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1924|Billy Kaplan (1924)}} has posed:'''<br>There is a sudden burst of power, and Billy somehow manages to bring himself back to the present moment. A teenage boy, living in the present? That is some serious feat of magic, alright.<br><br>He falls to his knees, spent from the effort of fighting against the candle, but he manages to catch Micola's words, and nods. "We... yes. Push... push it out! A-America-" he turns to the enigmatic multiversal traveler, "When she does... I think I can give you a trail... in between dimensions. You've just got to... there's going to be some sort of portal within, reaching out. When she pulls it out of the realm of the dead... you should be able to see it. Can you just... punch it real hard?" And then, he looks at Tommy. "Tommy! When she does that... we-" he points to the candle, "try to extinguish it. It may bet he only way... I think."<br><br>Power Girl's actions save the lives of a lot of people. The same can be said for Pietro, whose blink-and-you-didn't-see-it speed helps put people out of harm's way, and Lorna's magnetic marvels prevent a lot of people from being flattened by randomly-appearing conveyances. Hopefullys he can spot the bus that's spawned behind Tommy, as Billy hasn't seen it because he has turned his attention to the candle, mumbling and chanting repeatedly, trying to picture a spool of thread in his mind, streaming from the candle's place between dimensions. It's bound to work. It has to, otherwise... well. It won't be pretty, at all.<br><br>Lorna is briefly surrounded by several versions of herself- some of them quite similar to her, and others very, very different, icluding one that seems to wear a punk rocker outfit, but with a Mad Maxx apocalyptic twist to it. Brief though their appearances may be, each one reaches out to help in one way or another, like a cascading collaboration of co-existing copies.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:546|America Chavez (546)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;America is marvelling at Power Girl's prodigious feat of strength. "Oh... this isn't going to feel good..." she says before jumping into the air. "Do you thing, I'll handle the other side of it" she says as she passes Micola to join the Kryptonian in the air. "Here... let me give you a place there that can feel at home."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She shoots up past the building and turns mid-air to kick off of... something.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A tremendous portion of the sky overhead just shatters like a pane of glass and the woman is hurtling back down toward the rooftop. The vista from the other side of the giant star portal is a realm where broken buildings from a variety of worlds and an equal variety of times float suspended in a miasma of nebulous clouds and phantom light. A flickering sparkle of something far beyond the opening of the portal sends a shimmering cascade over the surrounding area.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The pause of falling debris gives Micola enough time to work her own special magic and with a shift of her hips the ill-thought-out magical construct of Billy's spell gives way to an eerie purple light trailing into the far distance.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;America lands back down, looking winded but determined. "I see it..." she says before she jumps toward the revelaed portal. Her image seems to stretch and blur in place, her body moving in slow motion.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In her own reality she's flying at speeds that she doesn't often go at. She can see the swirling mass of dark magic. She mutters again. "Dammit, Billy... the things I do for you to be able to create my reality..." she rears back a hand. "Let's hope this works." As she punches she lets out a cry of effort as her fist connects with the swirling, pulling thing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Lorna Dane (33)}} has posed:'''<br>It's a relief when Karen takes hold of the skyscraper that Lorna had been trying to keep up to the best of her ability. The weight is given over, easing off the magnetism as gently yet quickly as she can without making it TOO jarring of a transition. "Got it," she agrees without hesitation. <br><br>This frees her up to lower the boat down into an alley where she just drops it letting it be propped up by the dumpster there. There was no one else there, so it seemed safe enough. Just in time for the bus to appear.<br><br>A little lurching jump of her heart comes at the sight of a bus. Silently hoping it's not FULL of children she catches it without hesitation. This she lowers smoothly to the street newly freed of pedestrians. A bit of the shattered statue crumbles ontop but otherwise it's safe.<br><br>"Do what needs to be done but hurry!" Of coruse it was already being done as America leaps into action, and she's momentarily left amid the duplicates of 'herself' from other worlds all working together.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:343|Karen Starr (343)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What isn't tremendously frightening about the kryptonian holding up the building is that it's happening at all- rather, it's that she doesn't look like it's heavy. For whatever reason, whether it's because she's just /that/ strong, or because she's just been at this so long that she knows how to make it look like she is, Karen doesn't seem to be straining to hold up the building.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Indeed, she almost looks like she could do this all day.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Luckily, she doesn't have to. Sure, it probably doesn't feel great for America to help out, but all the same, it is sorely needed: Somedays, you just can't get rid of the upper half of a building.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is, without a moment's hesitation, a lurch in how the building is oriented. It spins midair, pushed off of Power Girl's back, and rotating just so, such that its apex now points directly towards the star portal.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As if to answer the question poised mere moments ago, Power Girl is at its base in the blink of an eye. One arm barred out, as she pushes forward in defiance of gravity, and with an impossibly powerful push, as if the building was a mere shotput, she flings the thing into the star portal that had been opened for her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There isn't a moment's notice- she's gone again, a pink blur that is moving around whatever stragglers Pietro and Tommy haven't had a chance to get to yet: The decried word of "Thanks!" in America's direction reaching Ms. Chavez long after Karen has reached the first people whom still need saving.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Each tiny fraction of a second between words as Billy speaks is time for Tommy to run down the side of the building to the street and relocate another innocent pedestrian. Which means he's not exactly following the plot one hundred percent, let's be honest. He's definitely forgotten a few of them, but he's got the basic gist of what Billy's saying. At least the part that involves him.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Overhead, the building soars overhead, out of this reality and into the next; a couple of bricks do end up crashing down to the ground as it passes through the dimensional barrier but Power Girl has already long since relocated anyone who would have been endangered from that. There are still more multiversal detritus appearing overhead, mostly more -- unoccupied -- vehicles for Lorna to catch with her magnetic abilities. Maybe another boat, too. Smaller, though.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which really just leaves the candle now. Well, if you ignore the glimpses of alternate dimensions overhead, which Tommy is trying very hard to do. He puts a steadying hand on Billy's shoulder, while the other extends towards the candle. "Ready when you are!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But he's also burning through that risotto at a prodigious rate. Really should have included some healthy proteins in there for sustained energy, Tommy! "How do we know when though?" Tommy asks, but then he hears America's voice through the portal. "Oh."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1924|Billy Kaplan (1924)}} has posed:'''<br>Oh indeed. Now is the time, and Billy Kaplan tries to focus his will to truly be in the moment, reaching out towards the candle to extinguish it in the same motion as his lookalike? brother? twin? Self from another reality? How can he explain all of this coming from such a simple spell? <br><br>A spell whose parameters were very simple: Find the answer to a yes/no question.<br><br>Then it dawns on him that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a yes or no question. That the answer, like Deadpool's relationship status on Facebook, was 'It's Complicated.' That's something to be considered at another moment, as the moment to act comes and cannot be allowed to pass.<br><br>The connections severed, the dimensional harmonics set up by the spell are upset by the meddling of a Psychopomp and a traveller-<br><br>And two hands douse the flame that suddenly goes down to a manageable size.<br><br>The flame goes out, and for a moment everything is perfectly crystallized, like a stained-glass window, floating in an infinity of seconds, existing between heartbeats forever.<br><br>And then reality, as it actually is, reasserts itself. Bulidings, buses, vehicles, they are all gone, back to wherever it was they came from.<br><br>And Billy's eyes roll back and his knees give way. After everything, it does seem to be like a good time for a nap.<br><br>Tommy will probably catch him before he hits the floor. Right?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:546|America Chavez (546)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;America's effort exhausted and the situation under control forces the young woman back to the present time and place in an instant. She's breathing a little heavy and her hands rest on her knees but she has a smile on her face. "Crisis... averted... mostly..." she says to those nearby.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A peek over the edge of the building shows a little collateral damage but nothing too extreme. She moves to the pair of twins and frowns. "I'm going to need to have a long talk with the both of you... so that this" she gestures around them all, "doesn't end up happening again. But... you both need rest after it all and just..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns and shakes her head before finding a wall and leaning against it to catch a breather herself. "...boys..." She says like an overly exasperated mother. Someone needs to be in this situation.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:2661|Tommy Shepherd (2661)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the end (it doesn't even matter) it only takes a tiny little puff of power from Tommy's end to put out the candle. Just a quick little vibration and whoosh, it's out. Aiming at the wick of a candle is apparently within his capabilities, even though he's usually trying to blow up much bigger things.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Huh. Who woulda known.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He looks over in time to notice Billy crumpling like a... thing that crumples. Wow, okay, Tommy's brain is kind of done too, but he is at least still on his feete. So yes, Billy, Tommy catches you before you hit the ground.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yeah," is all Tommy can say to America's chastisement. Yep. Their fault. Definitely going to get a talking-to, probably from the entire Genoshan contigent that arrived, too. He hefts Billy up and can only offer a sheepish "Thanks," to everyone as they reassemble on the rooftop. Off in the distance, sirens begin to approach.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both the twins are unusually quiet as they catch a ride to the Genoshan embassy with Lorna. Billy's still unconscious, and Tommy's too tired to be snarky. Will wonders never cease.<br> <br>
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