More Meteor Showers Bring Even Stranger Powers. (O/A)

[Nova Blancke]

Legio looked up to match her gaze.

"Stockholm Syndrome." He replied. "Hmmmm, could humor be applied here? Ah, that or you're in love-."

"Spa day huh? I'm down for that." The ride over was smooth as to be expected. She could definitely get used to this kind of lifestyle.

Liv too let out a sigh of relief when they got started on her and actually yawned a bit. Heather's question made sense. There wasn't that much they knew about each other.

"Ahhh, part of that is...something I'll tell you about later. Not the right place for that. But before that I was basically just traveling, Instagram modeling, Money was never really an issue like that. I mean...sponsorships aside, Onlyfans was a godsend at times. Actually...it's been a while since I've uploaded anything. Times have been a bit hectic as of late."

"Alright...I'll keep in touch." Theo said and left. He wandered the halls for a bit staring at his phone. What the hell would he even say? Of coursed he missed her but did he even deserve call her? He instead called his assistant to call her to inform his mother that Leonard was fine and at Valhalla. But instructed her not to mention him.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Before Legio could finish his sentence, Fenris' right palm struck out at him across the cheek while it shone with the yellow aura. There was no explosion at the point of impact that time. She did not want to cause any destruction with her action. She just wanted him to feel it. The aura left her hand as she took a second to stare daggers at him. For a moment, she could see him.

"Do you love me, Freya?"

"I need you."

"Do this for me."

"I can give you what you've always wanted."

"Prove your devotion."

"Kill."

Fenris' hands dropped to her sides, clenched to the point where she could feel her claws dig into her palms. The fur around her eyes glistened as she blinked. She glared down at him and snarled, "Go to Hell."

She turned and stormed out of the cafeteria. The people who saw what happened immediately gave her space. The women who were witness to the slap looked disapprovingly at Legio and shook their heads before going on with their days.

Heron looked to Legio and asked, "Are you alright, sir? She struck so quickly. Though I'd heard she was capable of hitting much harder."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oooh. You'll have to share your Insta profile with me. Although I would maybe like a personal photo shoot just for me." she mused aloud.

"After I left my father, I moved in with my mom and stepdad. Lawrence was only three or four at the time. He was so damn cute. Things were nice until he dug up a meteor from our backyard and shared it with me. The changes happened overnight. He wasn't as big as you saw him, but things went downhill quickly after that. We ended up spending the next five years at the Matron house until Daedalus attacked and burned down the tree."

Her more somber tone became more chipper when she said, "The next day we came to Valhalla, and I saw a walking, talking, smiling centerfold model stand out from the rest. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes after Theonis' assistant made the call, a ringtone chimed from his phone. On the other side of the line was a woman who would not be denied an opportunity to talk with her only son.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Lokelonni looked to Kerana and sighed with amused resignation. "I suppose there is no convincing you otherwise, is there? Very well. If you would be so kind as to lend me an arm, it would make the walk a bit easier."

While they walked, Lokelonni took the time to inform Ilex of what to look out for in the new world. Be wary of cars. Dogs come in more sizes and varieties than before. It is called an airplane, not a steel bird.

"If you see what looks like taffy stuck to the underside of a bench or rail, that is actually colored chewing gum that has already been used and discarded. Do not eat it." she advised as they approached her dorm.

Ilex blushed with embarrassment at how she was being spoken to. "Despite my juvenile appearance I am, in essence, a grown woman. I do not need to be cautioned like a toddling babe."

Lokelonni merely placatively smiled and said, "Of course, dear. Forgive me."

The royal turned to Kerana and bowed her head. "I thank you for your assistance, Kerana. I can manage from here. I should be right as rain in a few hours. If, for any reason, I am still asleep then it would be best to wait until tomorrow to continue our lessons."

She leaned close to Kerana's ear and whispered, "I ask that you be patient with Ilex. For her, it was only yesterday that she watched over the forests and gardens while being revered as a Goddess. Her thorns will dull once you get to know one another."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

"Hmph." Ilex scoffed. "I will do no such thing, and neither should you. Our visage should be adulated by those who are not touched by Mater Terra. You are a child of Inari, and your second tail is proof of a rare trait that is only present in a chosen few of your bloodline. You should carry yourself as the magnificent young woman you are, and not shy away from the gazes of jealousy and ignorance."

Ilex stepped forward, put her left hand on her hip, and raised her right index finger to the sky triumphantly. "Come, Kerana Carter! Let us make way to the park! There, we shall commune with living world! Should any aspersions be cast our way, we will hold our heads high and pity their idiocy!"

As Ilex made her declaration, a pair of girls from the classroom next to Kerana's watched silently until she finished.

"Oh my God. That is so cute!"

"Aww, She looks like a baby Poison Ivy."

Ilex's face scrunched up and turned red again. She clenched her fists to her side, stood on her tip toes, and squeaked, "I am not cute! I am the embodiment of nature's sublime beauty! Revere me!"

The girls put their hands to their mouths, giggled and walked away while they mused about Kerana's relationship to the little cutie.  

[Nova Blancke]

The sensation was sharp. He could feel blood rush to his cheek as a response to the impact. Was this.....pain? It felt as if his cheek was glowing. His neutral expression dropped. Replaced with genuine confusion and a hint of pain. This was mirrored by the change in color of his hair and eyes. His tongue licked the inside of his cheek and tasted ....iron. Blood. A taste he was familiar with.

"She.....is." Legio responded a bit softer than usual. He was frowning in contemplation. He felt....odd. Wrong almost?

"Strange..."

"Oh, I wouldn't mind doing some spicy shoots."Liv responded.

She thought back to Larry. It was hard to imagine him being a kid with that frame. He was a good kid.

"Oh yes, I do tend to stand out."

She sighed,"Might as well get this out of the way. I used to be a massive weeb. Still watch the stuff. Doesn't fit my stereotype but here it is. "She mumbled a bit at the end

Theo stared at the number for a while. Trying to gather his thoughts. Of course she wouldn't take no for an answer if she knew he was here. Unlike his dad who runs on logic, his mom was split between emotion and logic...but mostly leaned towards emotion. Almost a polar opposite of his dad.

Part of him wanted to ignore it. To hang up. But it wouldn't stop her. He took a deep breath and picked up.

"....Hey mom."  

[PixelMuse]

Nova Blancke

[…]
"Ah sorry...didn't mean to go off like that. Still anxious, it's...too quiet here at times. Like it's about to burst and the chaos would start again." She said as she looked around a bit."It's nice to being able to try and relax but hard to actually do." Looking down she sighed again and noticed she had been bouncing her foot the entire time.

"Hey....if something happens to me....could you please look after him?"

"Sorry....that's..never mind."

Trinity placed a finger on Crystalion’s lips hushing her in the process of asking that dreadful question. She pulled away when she saw that she realized what she asked allowing her to apologize. “If it eases your mind… yes, of course I will. He and the other kids are under Valhalla’s protection, my protection, down to my very last breath.”

She placed her hand on Chrystalian’s knee that was attached to her twitching foot. “I know it’s hard but do try to enjoy the calm, the quiet. Perhaps meditation can help. Give yourself a moment of mindfulness a moment to calm your head. It’s what I do at times when it’s the calm before the battle or find some other distraction.” When she mentioned that she let go of her knee and looked down and away remembering how Theonis was her favorite distraction. She shook it off.

“Right. You were about to head out before I stopped by. Where were you planning to go? If you don’t mind my asking.”  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

"What's strange, Sir?" Heronn asked as he offered Legio a napkin to dab any blood. "That she slapped you, or that she didn't slap you as hard as she could?"

Heron looked around and got a general feel for the murmuring. A lot of people wondering what the new guy did to get slapped by a werewolf. "If you don't mind my asking, are you new to social interaction? I may be young for an Elf, but even I can tell that the way you speak and carry yourself is quite odd."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh?" Heather said in an amused tone. There was a very real temptation to tease Liv, but she decided to take it a different route.

"You can't be that bad. It's not like you searched high and low for as many keychains, blankets, plush dolls, stickers, or vinyl figures of Haruka Tenou and Michiru Kaiou because they were what awakened your little gay heart. Or, for that matter, scheming to buy out a few streaming services so that every piece of Sailor Moon media is easily available to anyone who wants to see it. Even the goofy DIC dub."

A few seconds of silence passed before she calmly sang, "Fighting evil by moonlight..."

She listened to see if Liv would sing the next line in the song.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clara Acula wasted no time.

"Hey Mom?! That's what you have to say to your mother after letting her think you were dead for months?! Then I hear you're alive through your father, and even then I still don't get a phone call!"

"You tell him, Clara!" shouted someone in the background who had a heavy Swedish accent.

Clara hastily put a hand over the receiver and barked, "Can it, Sigge! You don't get to horn in on family business until you've met my son and can get through one rehearsal without snorting a line! Don't look at me like that! You need to lock that down before your d**k shrivels up more than it already has!"

There was a collection of laughter and Clara got back on the phone. "Then I get a call from a nice young woman who informs me that, after almost a month of silence, your father is being cared for in Valhalla. 'The same Valhalla at which my son, Theonis, is currently residing?' I ask. Then she gets very quiet. Almost as if she wasn't supposed to say anything about you. A few seconds of persuasion and I've got your personal number."

There was only a moment of dead, awkward air until she spoke up again. "Are you alright, Theonis? Are you eating well? Please tell me you weren't involved in that madness I saw on TV last night." she said in a much more calm tone.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Ilex kept her eyes glued to the scenes outside the windows during their ride. She gasped and "ooh'd" at the display of human ingenuity before her. There were so many questions to ask, but she would ask the Earth.

When she finally touched down on the forest, baby's breath bloomed around her small feet. She took a deep breath in and frowned. The air was heavy. It smelled and tasted off. It reminded her of the smoke that would come from fires, but it was radically different.

She was about to lay down and commune with the Earth when she heard the laughter of children. Her mood visibly picked up. She adored children. Her desire to protect and care for them motivated the Matron Tree's behavior.

Without a word, she followed the her ears toward the playground in a sprint. The flora and fauna seemed to gravitate toward her as she ran. If one who were sensitive to the sounds of nature listened closely, they could hear the joyous greetings of long separated friends.

Ilex ran to the wood line and gazed wide eyed at the site. She was amazed at the strange fixtures and how the children interacted with them. She was surprised to see that adults stood guard around the perimeter of the area, and some even participated in the activities. She was particularly impressed by the steel swing set. She'd made similar things from vines for the little ones that visited her garden.

She turned excitedly to Kerana and bounced on her toes like the child she swore she wasn't. "Kerana Carter!" she yipped while she pointed at the playground. "What are those colorful structures the children amuse themselves on?"  

[Nova Blancke]

"She could have hit so much harder. I am fully aware of that and have experienced that before. But she held back. But meant for it to hurt." Legio responded as he accepted the napkin to dab the blood.

"That is correct. You are older than I am by many years. I am roughly a month old. Less than a few hours even if you'd consider this form."

"I am sure this is all confusing for you. My nature was different from when I found you."

"Can't say that I have. Did not that the same resources at my disposal."

"Getting pounded by daylight. No wait that's a different version. I think I used that as a caption for one of my OF posts." Liv mused.

"Also....Dub or sub? This is important!"

Theo held the phone at bit further from his ear as his mother unloaded but quickly pulled it closer again after she was done. As he was moving he found a quiet secluded spot and sat down.

He tried to suppress a smile but failed. His mom always was feisty. How he missed hearing her voice and her attitude even if it was often aimed at him. Then he heard how she got his number. He couldn't blame Julia for caving. Mom could be very....insistant.

"Yeah....I am." He responded." To all three of those questions. A lot of things happened....so many things. I....Say what did dad tell you about me and my...situation?"  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

"A bit, yes. All I know of you is that you came to the middle of the ocean to save my life. That says a lot about your character and your priorities. That's all that matters to me."

"Although, if I might make a suggestion, perhaps you should shelf becoming a master chef for now. If you have no basis for how to behave when interacting with someone, it may behoove you to study societal norms."

Heron collected his tray and stood up. "Is there anything else you need of me, Sir? If not, I'd like to take my leave and continue my studies of human culture."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh subs, by far. The only reason I would consider watching a dub is if the story is set somewhere that isn't in Japan or East Asia. Y'know, like "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood" or "Cowboy Bebop." If you don't, then you get stupid s**t like Naruto saying, 'believe it' in place of datebayo."

Heather chuckled and said, "A friend of mine got me into the wider scope of anime when I was in middle school. Before that, all I knew was "Sailor Moon." So don't feel like you have to act cool in front of me. I already think you're awesome."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Almost nothing! All he told me was that you were alive, and that you were living in Agatha Morris' underground fortress. Then he goes and disappears for weeks on end with only the occasional phone call. Granted, I've been keeping myself busy with..."

She turned and addressed the band, "What name did you guys settle on?"

"Deficake. Y'know, like taking a s**t on a cake."

"Wh-no! That's worse than the last four. Try again!"

The turned back to her phone and continued, "These clowns, just to keep myself from getting sick with worry. Why? Is there something I should know. Maybe something about a flying college and a huge chunk of a city being swallowed by a black hole?"  

[Nova Blancke]

"Perhaps" Legio nodded.

"No, that will be all. Feel free to continue with your studies."

He dismissed Heron and absent-mindedly rubbed his cheek.The pain lingered lightly, which he turned off in his head. An easy thing to do. But strangely....not all of the feeling left him.

"How....odd."

"Yeah, I get that. For something bits of slang, it doesn't make sense. Honestly...I prefer Dragonball Z in English."

"Oh but I am cool. I don't need to act like it. I'll show you my Sailor Venus cosplay later. Those skirts are so short. Though...I am sure I can show you some other spicy ones"

"That's....a lot to talk about over the phone. Long story short. I'm a Meta human. I...look a bit different as well. It's why I kept quiet for a long time. Considering dad's work with Daedelus. Only way I knew how to keep you both away from it." Theo said.

"Where....where are you right now? I might be able to visit. I can fly so...that helps."

Her shoulders slumped a bit out of relief as Trinity answered.

She chuckled "Mindfulness...my mind is full...all of the time. I don't think I'll ever be able to..relax as I used to before it all happened."

"Hmm? Oh..actually....I have no idea.For the first time I don't have anything to do. Nothing to kill, nothing to salvage or forage.I.....i...just..don't know."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Meanwhile, Fenris entered Valhalla's bar in a bad state. The memories of that man and his lies wouldn't leave her mind. She went up to the bar top, sat down, placed her head in her hands, and barked, "Hey you! Get me the strongest thing you have!"

The bartender turned around and grimaced at the return of the one who, in one night, unseated Freya Soichi as their most problematic drinker. "You again? I told you last night-"

Fenris slammed a palm down on the table and cracked the marble countertop. "Not a request! Look, just give me the bottle and I'll leave you alone."

Not wanting a problem, the man put a bottle of 60% Everclear into a paper bag and handed it to Fenris. She snatched it out of his hand and left without a word. After a moment, he thought it might be better to warn their head of security about a possible angry, drunken werewolf in the facility. He took out his phone, sighed, and dialed Trinity Smith's number.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the cafeteria, one of the women who heard and saw what happened took pity on the poor fool. She looked to her boyfriend and said she would be back. He rolled his eyes a bit, which drew a look from her. She explained her intentions, which helped him understand that she meant well. He nodded, and she stood up. The young woman, a literal cowgirl, swished her tail as she walked up to the opposite side of the table Legio sat at. She placed her hands on her hips and huffed through her broad nostrils.

"Boy, you looked more confused than a cross eyed nag." she quipped in an accent that is heard most often in South East Oklahoma. "Mind if I take a load off?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heather gasped slowly and said in an excitedly breathy way, "We can cosplay as Uranus and Neptune! I've always wanted to do that!"

"All done on this side." said the stylist working on Heather's hair.

"Oh!" Heather gasped as she covered her eyes. "Okay, spin me around and take the divider away. I want to hear what she says."

The staff on Heather's side moved like they had rehearsed that moment daily. The divider was removed just as Heather was turned around in her chair. Her hair, which before had been white with brown roots, had been colored into a dark ash blonde, styled with an undercut waterfall bob.

"Okay. Let me know when you're ready!" she chirped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Theo, I had already figured you were a meta human when your father said you lived at Valhalla. Though I understand why you'd distance yourself from your father's work with those awful people. Daedalus, I told him they were no damn good. I'm working to change it, he says. They're trying to help, he says. My a**. No one is terrified of people 'trying to help.'"

Clara almost choked on her monster and sputtered, "Fly?! And take a chance at getting sliced apart by a jet engine or plowing through a flock of birds? I don't think so, young man. I'm in L.A. right now, but I'll be taking the first flight this afternoon to the private airport in Knoxburg. So you just keep your super powered butt right where it is, mister."

"I also plan on giving Agatha Morris a piece of my mind when I get there. Is there anything I should know; so I don't put my food in my mouth?"