18849/Bikers in Mutant Town

Bikers in Mutant Town
Date of Scene:	16 August 2024
Location:	Alleyways - Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Out for a date night stroll, Joshua and Aria are set upon by a motorcycle gang of anti-mutant bigots. Thankfully, Casey Jones and Pixie are close by to come to their rescue!
Cast of Characters:	Aria Seraphine, Joshua Foley, Casey Jones, Megan Gwynn

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Aria Seraphine has posed:
The night in Mutant Town is thick with the sounds of distant traffic and the faint hum of urban life. Aria and Joshua walk side by side, their casual date night attire blending into the nocturnal backdrop. Aria's snug leather jacket clings to her form, and her jeans hug her curves as she moves with an easy grace. Joshua, with his golden skin shimmering under the dim streetlights, draws glances from passersby, but the couple is used to the attention. Between Aria's intangible aura that seems to draw attention towards her like a magnet and Joshua's metallic golden skin, they're hard to miss, even on a dimly lit sidewalk.

As they near Mootant Town Milkshakes, the roar of motorcycles breaks the peace, growing louder with each passing second. The rumble intensifies until six bikers, clad in leather and radiating hostility, screech to a halt around them, engines growling like a pack of hungry predators.

The leader of the group, a broad-shouldered man with a mean glint in his eye, dismounts first. His boots hit the pavement with a solid thud, and his gaze fixes on Joshua, then shifts to Aria. The disdain in his eyes is unmistakable. He spits on the ground, signaling the others, who follow suit, pulling out clubs and gripping them tightly, ready for a confrontation.

Aria draws up short, tugging Joshua to a stop as her gaze shifts between them, but she remains composed. She tugs at him, her voice firm yet calm. "Come on," she whispers, trying to mask the urgency in her tone. "We'll go another way."

There was an alley not far back. It's _through_ one of the bikers, but if they skirt around, maybe...

The leader of the bikers sneers as he steps forward, his gaze flicking between Joshua's golden skin and Aria's determined face. "Ain't it just like a freak to go slumming with a human? You think you're better than us just 'cause you got some shiny skin and a pretty girl on your arm? We don't take kindly to mutants playing house with humans."

The alley Aria's pulling Josh into seems to grow narrower towards the back, the shadows closing in as the group slowly advances, but it's the only possible escape route. It's not like either of them can fly. Her mind races, eyes flickering, calculating their options, but they're surrounded. The bikers close ranks, their clubs tapping rhythmically against their palms, a menacing drumbeat that echoes through the alley.

Joshua Foley has posed:
Dressed in a form fitting tee-shirt in black and blue jeans, Joshua's skin shines even more in contrast with the golden skin - and draws the wrong type of attention. As the pair are chased into the alley, Joshua finds himself in the bottleneck with Aira with a gang advancing on them. Not wanting to get Aria hurt, Joshua steps in front of her protectively. "Look, she's not a mutant, just let her..."

The solid whack of a club against his arm and a scream from Joshua cuts off his words.

"We're gonna finish you... and then take care of the mutie lover. Show her what real men can do."

And Joshua goes to his knees, clutching his arm in pain as another biker steps up.

One can hear the crack of bone to metal as the bat comes down on the top of Joshua's head. A killing blow, really as it collapses the front part of his skull and Joshua falls face-forward on the ground in a limp pile.

"You idiot!" One biker slaps the one that took the kill shot. "We were gonna have some fun with him!"

"Just means..." the leader says as he looks to Aria. "...we get to have more time with you." His sneer says all it needs to say about the danger that Aria is in.

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey Jones is looking for a fight.

He might not be a Mutant, but Casey hates bullies and bigots and fascists and...the list goes on. Basically, if you use your perceived strength or influence to take advantage of other people, he wants to put a boot on your neck and show you how it feels. The man doesn't really have a piece in the Mutants vs Humans drama, but he doesn't need one. Not tonight. Not any night. He'd been trailing the bikers for awhile now in his '68 Mustang hardtop, sitting back in the driver's seat as he cruises along a few cars behind them, watching the men get more and more aggressive to passerbys as they build themselves up for violence. He'd seen it before in groups like this. They hype themselves up before doing something horrible.

Well, tonight Casey plans on being the one doing something horrible. He parks his car as he watches the bikers dismount and begin accosting the couple. Sure, he can't help but stare a moment at the two, also, but it passes quickly. He spends a lot of time with mutant animal ninjas, afterall. What's a gold-skinned dude got that they don't? He reaches into the backseat and unzips his sports bag. He pulls free his battered, hard-edged hockey mask and slides it down over his face. Then comes a baseball bat with the word 'CONSEQUENCE' painted down the side. Finally, he unrolls a long length of thick chain with a very heavy looking padlock on one end.

The man climbs from the car and wanders over, soon behind the group of yelling bigots. He brings the baseball bat down on one of their bikes, loudly knocking off one of their rearview mirros, and sending broken glass across the asphalt. "Hey! You're makin' us normies look bad!" Then his chain whips out like a flail, carving along the paint and metal of another bike crudely. "Too much'a pussies to play with me? Just gotta push around some muties? You make me f***in' sick! Come on!"

He takes an aggressive step towards them, clearly trying to turn their attention away from the couple.

...And then the bikers start swinging on Joshua. Casey moves forward in a rush, his bat swinging about in a wide arc to catch the attacker's jaw with a very brutal sound crunch. As soon as he does so his chain is whipping out to crack against another man's wrist.

"GOONGALA!" Whatever the heck that means.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn is flying overhead when she hears the scuffle. Not one. to go out of her way to hide her own mutation given her big bright sparkly wings are obvious and hard to conceal, she doesn't seem to care who notices her. At least it's easier for her to flee if needed. But it seems some of her people are trapped below.

She frowns as she angels downward, focusing on the thugs, "Looks like you punks need a time out!" she flutters her wings more quickly, brushing the glitter over her hands and blows a 'kiss' towards the punks, releasing a cloud of hallucinogenic dust towards them.

Aria Seraphine has posed:
Most of the time, it would be hard to mistake Aria Seraphine as anything other than some combination of Disney Princess and that blonde girl that grew up next door that never minded having to cancel her plans when she was asked to babysit last minute. She's sweet and kind, and that radiates from her almost palpably. She's the kind of girl that seems like she might have blue birds and chipmunks helping her with the laundry.

But that's only most of the time.

Casey might have caught a glimpse of that happy face as he was pulling up and getting out -- the way she smiled up at Joshua like she couldn't possibly be any happier. Right up until the couple were suddenly retreating for their lives into that alley, trying to get away from the bikers that kept closing.

"Please..." the girl starts towards the men, gripping at Joshua when he steps in front of her and trying to drag him back further. Away from them. Away from danger. Away from a date-night turned nightmare.

Fear starts to close in on her, though, and that aura that she projects starts to change. The alley begins to darken and become more foreboding, closing in even tighter like the walls are pressing in.

"NO!!"

It's the first hit that breaks Joshua's arm that has Aria's shrill scream filling the alley. She refuses to let him go, already bowing her head and muttering words over and over again -- a recitation, a spell, maybe a prayer. Her hands begin to glow. But the second blow caves in the top of Joshua's head, and the next sound she makes isn't even human.

She screeches in rage and anguish, her blue eyes going wide as she stares in horror at the leader of that gang that threatens 'time with her,' and the innocent girl that was once there shifts -- if only in the perception of those present -- to something monstrous with dark skin and antlers and claws.

"I WILL MURDER YOU," she growls, her voice reverberating between the alley walls.

Pixie's hallucinogenic dust adds to that effect. Not only does it make the bikers see Aria as some truly straight-from-hell beast, they begin to see others around her, crawling up out of the ground and the walls. Some hell-on-earth demonic hellscape of creatures that all wriggle and scitter towards them, to surround them, even as Casey's shout of 'GOONGALA' (whatever the heck that means) rings out and he starts carving through them, one in the jaw, another in the wrist.

There are only four left after those first two hits, and though Aria stands over Josh like some Demonic Queen guarding her offspring, she makes no move to join the fight, instead savoring the screams of the bikers that now wail in agony from Casey's club or scream in absolute terror and try to get away from Pixie.

Joshua Foley has posed:
As madness descends in the from of pixie dust and is punctuated with the demonic roar of an angel - from Joshua there is nothing. Blood oozes out of his ears in tiny rivelets, and trickles from his nose in a steady stream. His eyes stare blankly ahead of his last glimpse of life before they were closed down for good.

It doesn't take much to realize he's dead.

With high on hell coming with the crushing of bones, and the screams of horror, there are a few that were unaffected. Two of them among those who remain. One of those two is backing away and pulling out a pistol. "FREAKS! You're all freaks!" He twists upward at the winged girl above. "You did this!" he yells, and starts to pull the trigger, sending shot after shot towards Megan, thinking if he brings her down, the others will get over themselves.

Another one of the two grabs his switchblade and advances on Casey, swinging the blade back and forth threateningly as he attempts to find an opening to attack in.

Finally, the two that are affected try to get closer to Aria, worshiping the demon goddess. "We spilled blood for you! Share with us your wisdom!"

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey can't help but jumping in surprise when Megan suddenly shows up on the scene, and he does his best not to stare. He has a fight to focus on, afterall! Aaaaaaand then Aria is transforming, and the man is pretty certain he didn't need to bother showing up. But he isn't the type to be outshone, and he was in the mood for a fight, anyways. He assumes Aria's whole thing is some freaky mutant schtick, and while it's scary a.f. he tries to focus on the remaining racists.

He smirks under his mask as the man approaches him with a switchblade. "That all you got, punk? I'm just givin' you what you deserve. You're f***in' scum. Racists get ass kickin's. It's basic math, and even I can do that!" He lunges in, causing the man to go for a stab. But Casey pulls suddenly to the side and the bat comes down hard on the man's hand, shattering fingers and sending the knife clattering across the asphalt. His chain-wrapped fist then comes around to deliver a brutal blow to the man's cheek.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn smirks at the thug who calls them freaks. "Hah! Look who's talking!"she twists and turns in the air with surprising agility as the thug starts shooting at her, dodging most of the bullets although one or two do manage to glance off her insectoid wings..

Of course those pretty glittery fairy wings are for more than just show, they're actually a lot tougher than they appear. But even then, with all the bullets flying at such a close position as she angles closer to get a look at Josh's condition, that she does get thrown off course with, stumbling and. falling to the ground.

"Woah!" it's not enough to injure her to any major extent, although she quickly gathers herself from the ground, marroon eyes narrowed on Josh, concern evident. "Josh! Is he okay?" she summons her soul dagger now that she is in close quarters, ready for a more personal fight as she tries to get closer to Josh to check on him.

Aria Seraphine has posed:
Getting closer to Aria -- and therefore getting closer to Joshua -- doesn't seem to be a great idea. She's standing over him in full demonic-bitch-mode, breathing hard.

The two goons that try to get closer to her make her hiss menacingly, completely disregarding their worshiping praises, but it's Pixie's question that has her snapping that hellish visage full of scowling, jagged teeth and burning eyes back on Pixie.

"He's DEAD," she snaps angrily, her voice resonating like it's coming from several planes of existence at once. "He'll be FINE."

Casey's doing his thing, though, and Pixie's got that dagger out... _also_ getting closer to Joshua, which Aria doesn't seem to approve of in the least. So, instead of waiting for her to get close enough to do something with that dagger, Aria reaches for the closest of the two 'worshipers' that are still trying to get closer to her and grabs one by his leather-clad shoulders, _heaving_ him (with some considerable amount of effort) towards Megan and her dagger.

"HAVE ONE OF THESE!"

The other she sweeps the legs out from under, shoving the palm of her hand down into his chest and driving him into the ground.

It's worth mentioning that Aria doesn't have anything like superhuman strength. In fact, she hasn't even ACTUALLY transformed into anything. Her power -- her Divine Aura -- acts on the mind. If anyone were watching this fight played back, they'd just see plain old Aria, 5'5" with blonde hair, doing martial arts against a couple of bikers twice her size.

Joshua Foley has posed:
Josh is indeed dead. But apparently something is working. With Aria over him in protective girlfriend mode, Josh's broken arm straightens back up and snaps back into place, the noise probably missed over the sounds of battle. What isn't missed though is how his skull starts to reform, pushing back out where it collapsed and forming back into place. It'll be a few more minutes, but his self-healing is in overdrive to heal himself since he's dead.

Having downed Pixie, the biker with the gun finds his clip empty. "Fuck it, I'm outta here!" he yells as he turns to flee the scene, hopefully while Casey is busy demolishing switchblade dude!

Which, by the way, is being destroyed. Hand smashed, he screams as Casey rocks his jaw and knocks him flat to the ground. He's out of the fight - leaving only the fleeing one and the two worshipping Aria - one of which just got thrown by tiny girl.

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey delivers one final punch to the man with the ruined hand, and turns to see the final one fleeing. He leaps up to land on the hood of a car parked on the curb and lashes out with his chain, the padlock cracking across the fleeing man's ankle. "DOWN YOU GO!" He then hops down off of the car and delivers a steel-toed kick to the man's face.

Once that last one is down he turns, and his eyes widen as he watches Josh basically ressurect. He stumbles back and ends up leaning back against the car he'd used as a boost. "What the f*** man?," he asks nobody in particular. The hockey mask wearing vigilante grips the bat tighter, trying to calm himself at such an unnatural sight, and he manages to steel himself as he glances about at the scattered bodies.

"Everyone alright?," he asks the non-racists as he glances up again with a grunt.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
It's hard to keep track of everything that's going on, especially with over angry crazy girlfriend hovering melodramatically and over protectively over Josh, but Megan does notice his arm fixing itself, followe by his skull reforming..Well, maybe his powers have evolved too, she thinks with a relieved smile..

Of course having a thug hurled at her is less than welcome but she has little time to retort, bringing up her glowing pink dagger to defend herself! which - contrary to popular belief is more like a short sword than a bitter knife - and uses it to parry the thug's strikes before attempting to stab him through..Wait what?

Fortunately, her dagger, while capable of taking solid form like a normal dagger, is more commonly used to attack the spiritual form of her targets, and she does so now, something that will cause her target great pain and likely knock him out for several minutes should it connect.

Aria Seraphine has posed:
The fight is over.

The thugs who were either too terrified to approach her once she went full-demon or started worshiping her had been dealt with, and Aria was left with spending a few seconds just watching Casey and Pixie handle clean up. The fact that Pixie's dagger doesn't actually result in a splatter of blood seems to be noted -- though it does seem to have been effective, regardless, sending the man to the ground and unconscious at her feet.

A few breaths later, and that whole demonic aura -- the shadows that gripped the alley like dark fingers, closing it in like a cage, the darkened, mottled skin, the flaming eyes, and even the girl's antlers -- seems to recede like it was simply blown away on a breeze.

In its wake, that aura leaves behind just Aria -- her blonde ponytail hanging down behind her, her thin leather jacket still hanging on dainty shoulders. And as she kneels down beside Joshua's head, pulling him gently up onto her thighs without regard to the blood or gore that surrounds him, she wraps her arms around him and holds him.

"We'll... we'll be okay, now," comes her voice, so much softer and more pleasant than before, almost melodic.

Where there once was a 'demon queen,' there now seems almost a guardian angel, her aura so pure and concerned as to create something that resembles a soft halo of light around her.

"Thank you... Thank you both."

Big, crystal blue eyes -- almost too big, too bright, too innocent -- sweep up between Casey and Megan, her barely-there smile apologetic towards the girl.

"I'm sorry. I... I couldn't risk anything else happening to him."

Her hand hovers over Joshua's forehead, just an inch above, and for a moment, there's a golden glow underneath... but nothing happens. It leaves her sighing softly.

Casey Jones has posed:
The masked man glances between Megan and Aria with a small sigh. He calms a bit when that demonic aura dims, and he reaches back to brush his fingers through his long, dark hair, sweeping it out of his masked face.

"I was tracking those guys as soon as they got into Mutant Town. Looked like trouble. After awhile you can just sense hate, y'know?"

He rubs a bit at his sore shoulder from the hit he got, glancing between the two again. He's told the man is going to be fine...somehow...so he does his best not to look directly at him.

Now that the fight is over he seems like he isn't exactly surte what to say. "...I need a beer."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn breathes a sigh of relief as the battle comes to a quick end. And with the threat over, Aria returns to her normal self. Oddly enough, Megan doesn't seem too phased, probably because she has encountered all sorts of demonic, angelic and everything in between in the past before.

She smiles, dispelling her dagger, nodding to Casey "Heh, I dunno who you are but. thanks for helping me protect my friend.." peering back at Josh and Aria, she cautiously takes a step towards them both, "How's he doing? I could port you both some place safer if you like..?"

Aria Seraphine has posed:
"I'm grateful for that... for you stepping in," Aria offers to Casey, fingers tenderly and absently stroking through Joshua's hair as she seems to have resolved herself sitting and just... waiting. "It's not the violence we're afraid of. Either of us. It's... it's what can come after. It's the loss of control. Being... taken."

Joshua was resurrecting himself from the dead. Aria was on her knees, cradling him, and occasionally trying to do something -- presumably heal him -- with a glow of gold under her palm.

For a lot of these 'bad guy' organizations, getting their hands on a healer would be a game-changer. Someone that couldn't die? That could heal their army from mortal injuries in an instant or perhaps even bring them back from the dead? That kind of power is priceless... and it takes only having one of them in a cage, then finding the right pressure point to make them sing like a songbird.

It's the phrase 'my friend' that has Aria's gaze living back to Megan, her expression confused and... hopeful?

"He's... working on it. It might be a few minutes, but I hesitate to try to move him until he's breathing. Can you.. maybe in a few minutes?"

Her smile softens. "My name's Aria. You... You know Josh, then? You know the shop? Once he's awake... that's where we'll need to go." She pauses, a little tilt of her head warming her smile. "You do portal magic, too?"

The Candle, Booke and Belle -- once Nettie Crowe's shop, now Joshua's.

Casey Jones has posed:
He offers a nod to Megan and gives her a thumbs up before resting his bat back on his shoulder. "I'm Casey," he finally says, pushing his mask up into his hair. He sucks at secret identities. Besides, the mask is more for the vibe and protecting his face. Speaking of his face, he turns out to be a pretty good looking guy, in a rough and tumble kind of way.

"So, he comes back from the dead? That's crazy. I mean, I've seen all kindsa nutso stuff over the years. I run with the Ninja Turtles. Mighta seen them in the newspaper if you spend a lot o' time here in New York."

"Kinda glad they've gone a bit quiet, though. Spent all my damn time fightin' ninja and robots and weird mutant animals when I was runnin' with them. I'll take dumb racists, anyday."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn tilts her head as she watches the tender exchange between the two lovebirds..There is a faint sadness in her eyes too, perhaps reminded of a past lost love maybe? She forces a smile and nods, "Hi! I'm Megan, I'm a mutant..Like him, we both studied atXaviers.."

She glances at Casey and arches a brow, "Ninja turtles? I've heard stories..Are they real? Aren't they like, mutants too?" she seems interested to learn more.

Aria Seraphine has posed:
Casey's banter actually has Aria laughing softly. It's small and quiet, but it's laughter nonetheless.

"Josh took me to a skate park a couple of weeks ago," she says, her voice warm but distant as she gazes down into the face of the gold-skinned man she still has cradled on her thighs. "I got to see Michelangelo skate against a Gecko that I... didn't get the name of."

Abruptly, that warmth and laughter fades as a memory moves back in over her expression like a dark cloud.

"The Reavers came to the skate park. Caved in a tunnel. Attacked people... mutants. They tried to take Josh."

There's pain on her face. Worry. Twice in as many weeks, she and Josh had been attacked in public, and she... had no idea what to do about that.

"I'm grateful to meet both of you," she says after a moment, briefly casting her gaze back up. "I'm sorry it's not under better circumstances." Her smile is grim, but that halo seems to remain around her.

"I'm..." What is she? What was she even telling people, these days? "...not a mutant."

She'd figure that out later, too. So much to figure out later.

Her eyes cast back down to Josh, fingers once more brushing across his brow before she hover her hand above his forehead again, that golden glow once more shining on his golden skin.

"Please, Josh..."

Joshua Foley has posed:
*Pop*

That's the sound Joshua's skull popping back into place. It's only a couple of moments later before he's heaving in a breath. Then another as his body twitches and spasms from being on the ground as he slowly moves to sit up. "Owww." he groans, a hand to his forehead. "Ugh. I hate that." he manages as he rubs his forehead. "Head trauma is the /worst/."

Then he blinks his eyes a couple of times. Oh hey. "Hi, Aria. I'm back." he offers with another huff of breath. "It's okay. Sorry I scared you." It'll be a while before he does that stunt again. "Everyone alright?"

Casey Jones has posed:
"I mean...kinda? From what they told me they were normal turtles and then some weird ooze got on 'em and now they're...I dunno...ninja turtles." He shrugs a bit. "Don't even ask how one thing became the other. I'm not a scientist. I fix cars for a livin' and beat up a$$holes." His gaze lingers on Megan for a moment more before he looks away. Was he checking the winged woman out? Yes. Is he also trying not to make it awkward? Also yes.

He turns his attention to Aria, then, and listens. "Aaaaaaaah, nice. Yeah, that sounds about right..." The man chuckles and plucks his mask fully off, tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans. "And yeah, that also sounds about right. The Reavers, I mean..." He trails off and then shrugs a shoulder when she says she is grateful. "It's nothin'." When that pop occurs, Casey shivers and glances at the man, finally.

"Didn't even take you three days. Damn."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles fondly as she listens, reminded of her own tender memories with a special someone.."Sounds fun..I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. We mutants gotta stick together.." she tilts her head towards him, "He'll be okay, he always was strong, and now he has you.."

She grins at Casey, "Cool! I'd love to meet these Ninja turtles some time, I wonder if they're familiar with the Morlocks, y'know, living in the sewers..They DO live there, right?"

She frowns at mention of the Reavers, suddenly lost in thought..

Aria Seraphine has posed:
Did Aria notice Casey's gaze on Megan when she was glancing up and speaking to them? Almost certainly. It's likely the source of the quiet little smile on her lips. But she said nothing about it.

"It's not nothing," she insists at Casey's dismissal. "Stepping in and helping strangers... the world needs more of that. Keeping them from taking Josh or..."

...Or the much more likely scenario, given this situation -- that they were going to make good on their threat of taking _her_ somewhere and doing God knows what, if they could get past that seemingly demonic nature.

"...or me. It's not nothing. We owe both of you."

Then there's a pop, and Aria's eyes go wide.

"JOSH!"

Aria practically squeals his name when he starts to sit up, and by the time he's saying he's back, she's already just short of tackling him in a hug, clinging and burying her face in his neck.

It may not be the most comfortable of things for him, given the circumstances, but it doesn't seem to be something Aria can stop herself from doing. After all, if she'd been dating a 'normal' guy, he wouldn't be sitting up after having his head bashed on. Maybe she's allowed a little _extra_ relief, given the circumstances.

Bringing her hand back as far as his cheek, Aria leans in and presses her lips to his for a few seconds, then blows out a breath of relief once she's sitting back.

"Welcome back," she says, an amused curl to her lips. "Josh.. this is Casey. And.. you already know Megan?"

It's not until that moment that she gets a chance to look back over at Casey, though, and offer another laugh at his 'three days' reference. "I haven't seen him walk on water or turn it to wine yet, though, so we're safe for the time being."

Joshua Foley has posed:
As he struggles awake, he's tackled and pinned back to the ground by Aria. "Aria..." Joshua manages, "I mean, I'm _not_ complaining, but..." he murmurs as he is suddenly kissed - there's no complaints about that, and he moves to sit up again. "Casey... hello." he greets. "I caught a glimpse of you just before the whole..." hand wobble thing.

"It only took me three days the first time I died. That was a giant rhinocerous guy dressed like a military reject." Joshua stretches and makes sure his fingers and toes work, before he glances over to where Megan is. "...yeah, that's Megan alright. She's on the team with us." he explains to Aria. JL Dark is what he means by that. "Been a while, glad to see you again Pix."

And with that, he's finally stirring. "I think it's safe for me to get back on my feet, Sera."

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey looks uncomfortable as Aria praises him more, and he tucks some dark hair behind his ear as he glances away. He clears his throat and idly kicks at one of the downed bikers. When she introduces him, though, he turns to look back over.

"Well, if you start turning water into wine and whatever like she said, gimme a warning. I ain't been to church since I was a kid," he grunts jokingly.

His gaze flicks back to Megan, then. "Megan, huh? Those are some cool wings. They, uh...they...look good on you." What are you saying, man? He drapes the chain over his free shoulder so he has something to do with his hands.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn makes a face at Josh, "Oh yeah! You're on that other team too.." she sighs wistfully and has been fairly absent on both lately, caught up with her own personal struggles. "Glad to see you're back with us didn't realize your powers had grown so much..I think it's safe to say you had us all a little worried for a moment there." She grins and winks at him.

Glancing to Casey she smiles warmly and nods to him. Maybe she missed the whole 'scoping her out' thing, although she gives him an appraising once over with a short nod, "Thanks! These usually get me into trouble as it's not easy to hide em, but I can take care of myself..Those were some pretty killer moves back there." she grins and winks at him.

Aria Seraphine has posed:
"Yes, you are. But you took a baseball bat to the forehead, and I had to watch you die, so you can tolerate this for five seconds," Aria mutters when Josh mentions not complaining, her smile so broad it's audible in her voice. The last words are even carried on a little light, trailing laughter.

She does, in fact, let him up... but only after she's gotten her five seconds of affection. Deal with it.

'...on the team with us.'

_Us?_

She's only on ONE team, and... oh! OHH!

"OH! Right. The... _team_."

Was it a SECRET team? she makes it sound like a secret team. She makes it sound like she forgot the super deliberate and obvious wink that was supposed to go with it. Then again, she never really got handed a welcome pamphlet, a manual, or even much of a team-meeting that didn't involve Colorado nearly burning to the ground...

"That's not as important as people think it is," Aria offers to Casey's statement about having been to church. Her tone is _deadly_ serious, like she's letting him in on some kind of secret. But lots of people have rabid opinions on religious stuff, so maybe it's not all that weird.

She takes a few more seconds to watch the interaction between Casey and Megan, then gets herself to her feet and offers her hands to Josh to help him back up, smiling.

"Megan... would it be too much to ask you for that port back to the shop, now? Josh could use some rest... and we both need a shower." They were both covered in his blood, after all.

Her gaze does drift back to Casey just for another moment, though. "It was nice to meet you. Stop by the Candle, Booke and Belle, sometime, if you like. Josh makes a great cup of coffee."

Joshua Foley has posed:
Joshus chuckles as Aria gets clued in on things. That's what she gets... not that he'd ever, every complain about extra affection. And he soaks it up like a sponge before he slips his hand into Aria's. "It's usually tea." Joshua admits - but for some reason, it decided Aria liked coffee better?" he asks with a shrug of his shoulders. "Probably becasue I like my own coffee, it was projecting."

"But yes, a portal back to the shop will be great, Megan, so you and Casey can stay and chat and exchange numbers." Wingman Joshua in the house.

Casey Jones has posed:
Casey arches an eyebrow at Aria's comment about church and he gives a bit of a nod. He didn't have any intention of going to church, anyways. He glances between them all when they start talking about portals and stuff, and it becomes clear that folks are getting ready to clear out. He turns back towards Megan, then.

"Hey, if you're takin' off, can I get your number?" Might as well just go for it. Casey is a lot of things, but lacking in confidence is not one of them. "They got a great pizza place around the corner. We could grab a slice sometime."

Yes, he casually just asked that while surrounded by downed enemies. The man has his priorities, at least.

He glances back over at Aria and nods a bit. "Bell, Book and Candle. Got it. I can always go for some coffee. I keep myself goin' on caffeine, so...could always use more. And tea's fine."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles at Aria and nods, "Sure thing!" and once she has confirmed the coordinates of said store, quite surprised perhaps that it's in fact the head quarters of JLDark even no sweat, a very well known location to her!) she traces a fancy circle in the air in front of her, reciting, "Sihal Novarum Chinoth!" a crackling pink portal appears before them and she bows, waving an arm in the direction of said portal. "Whenever you're ready.."

To Casey, she offers him another warm smile and nod. "It was awesome fighting alongside you, Casey, let's do it again sometime!" she pauses at the request and smiles, scribbling down something and offering it to him, "You know what, I'd love to meet you again..Maybe you could give me some combat pointers, maybe introduce me to your turtle friends?'" and then with a nod and wave she stretches those glittering faerie wings, gliding into the air once more, "Til then, see you around!" and with that, Pixie flies ever skyward until she is a mere sparkling dot of pink in the sky.