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

[Nova Blancke]

Liv chuckled as she noticed Heather struggling.

"Alright sweetie. Try and hold back." Liv responded to seeing her girlfriend flustered. "I do like a good pretzel."

As her girlfriend left, the temperature's stabilized again. She chuckled to herself. It felt nice to have this much power over someone. To know you are...wanted to this degree.

Liv called the clerks a few times to help her pick out a few nice sets. One was Black Lace and another just straight up Red and....not covering much. Combined with what she bought at the previous place, she knew Heather would love that. Maybe she should make another OnlyFans post before that though. Been a while.

"Maybe Dad wo-"Theo responded before Gidget got a call. From the way she responded he thought it was someone up high. But then she said it was his mom and he thought that it was about on point for her as it could be.

"Yeah, I've had it on me but....hard to pick up the phone when getting golf balls fired at you."

"Theo couldn't help but laugh a bit. Part of him wanted to see his mom tear into Gidget."Maybe...we'll see.You shouldn't have said that. But I'l try to hold her back"  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Heather nibbled on her pretzel slowly as she waited for Liv to finish her shopping. That's when she heard a familiar voice.

"Heather? Heather Reynolds?"

She felt her whole body tense up. She swallowed the little bit of pretzel in her mouth and turned to the person who had asked for her. It was Nancy McCormick. Her first in more ways than one. She was a little heavier than Heather remembered, but she still recognized those eyes. What surprised Heather more than meeting someone from old life, was seeing that someone pushing a sleeping infant in a stroller.

"Nancy?"

That's when the smile came. That damn smile, punctuated with dimples. She trotted up to Heather, pushing the stroller in a gentle enough way to not disturb the baby, and threw an arm around her. Heather made a half hearted attempt at putting an arm around her as well.

"My god! After your house came down we all thought you were dead or taken by Daedalus!"

"It was close." Heather replied a bit curtly. "I was on the run with Lawrence for a while afterwards. I didn't think it'd be safe to go back. But what're you doing here? I thought you were going to Uni out of state after graduation."

"I was, but then I met Kaiden's father. One thing led to another, and now I'm married and a stay at home mom."

"Married? To a guy? I thought-"

"Turns out it was just a phase. After you ran out, I realized that I wasn't really like that."

"Ran out? Funny, that's not how I remember it."

"Excuse me?"

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

At the private tarmac, Clara Acula stepped down the airstairs of her personal jet in a purposeful way. Her hair, her attire, the way she carried herself, the undoubtedly stern gaze that hid behind her sunglasses, everything about her was surgical and precise. Which was ironic, since she was very tempted to rip her husband a new hole once they were in the same room again.  

[Nova Blancke]

Theo changed back into his normal attire which at this point as become his black suit. It looked good on him and he felt good in it. Plus he did have to look the part. He arranged for a driver to take him to the private airport,

Upon arriving there he saw that she was about to land. Good timing, Putting on his sunglasses he got out of the car and walked over towards his mother. The sun was bright enough to warrant for one but they also hid his eyes. Those she hasn't seen yet. Same went for his hair but that'd be more difficult to hide. She seemed to be, just like how he remembered her when she was in work mode. It did make him nervous in a different way.

He did a sweep of the area both visually and with his powers before breaking the silence.

"Hey mom."

Liv was pleased with what she had bought. She knew she wasn't the only one who'd be pleased with it. Giving on last look in a mirror she knew that she'd turn even more heads than before. She really did feel like a 10 out of 10 ever since Ascending.

When she left the building she saw Heather talking to someone with a baby stroller. Didn't think she knew that many people considering she used to be on the run. The tone of the last moments of that interaction didn't seem too friendly.

"Babe, I'm done here. Oh, someone you know?"  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Clara strut up to Theonis, took off her sunglasses, and placed them in her bag. She took a moment to size him up. She then put her hand to his cheek and gently removed his sunglasses so she could look into his eyes. Her eyes lost their steely gaze and became more concerned. She was worried for him. As any good mother would be. She allowed herself a moment to lose her poise, and tenderly hugged her son.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." she directed him with a whisper.

She pulled let go, dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tips of her fingers to wipe away what would have been falling tears, and regained her composure. She entered the car and checked her eye make-up with a compact mirror while she waited for Theonis to get seated.

"I've cleared my schedule and given Camille the week off. You have my full and undivided attention."

She looked him over again and asked with a tone of well meaning ignorance, "Can you see with your eyes like that, or do you have some sort of night vision now? Is that one of your powers?"

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

Heather was about to reply when Liv walked up. She looked from her girlfriend to Nancy and smirked. She floated over to Liv and snaked an arm around her waist. "Nancy, this is my girlfriend, Liv."

Nancy smiled in a way that was demonstrably false. No movement around the eyes. That rehearsed smile of someone who had their picture taken often. "Ah, I see. It wasn't just a phase for you."

"Nope."

"Well good for you. Got yourself cured of those awful scales and found yourself a hot lesbian. Too bad about the eyes though."

Heather's eye twitched and she smiled tightly. "Christ, was she always this awful?" She asked to herself.

"Well it was...nice, seeing you again, Nance, but we should really get going. Got a lotta of being gay to do. Cute kid. Have fun being a trad-wife. Bye now."

Heather nudged Liv so they could get away from the situation. Nancy shrugged and walked into the lingerie store with her baby. Heather huffed and offered both pretzels to Liv. "You can have the rest of mine. I'm not hungry anymore."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

"If what you hear sounds similar to the songs of whales, and feels like a sunbeam on your heart, then yes. You are hearing the voice of the Earth." Ilex confirmed with a smile.

The grass and leaves around them swirled and rustled with the wind that carried the melodic chimes of the planet. Ilex closed her eyes and took a calming breath. She smiled blissfully and listened to the oratorio that graced her ears and touched her soul. It was like meeting an old friend.

"Open yourself to her song, and you may parse the words that are meant only for you from her abstract hymn." Ilex hummed.

If Kerana listened well enough, she would hear the words fade in and out with a melodious chime.

~Hello, child.~  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

~We are the collective of all that lives. From the tallest peak, to the deepest trench. From the smallest organism, to the greatest beast. Though time means little to us, long has it been since we have communed with one who can hear the songs within the wind. ~

Ilex seemed to be having her own conversation with the planet, but she paused to inform Kerana, "She says a lot to say so little, does she not? A bit of advice. She does not think or speak as you or I do. That is to say, she is a bit beyond us in terms of existence. Daunting, I know, but an experience like none other."  

[Nova Blancke]

Theo recoiled slightly as she reached for his sunglasses. But just slightly. There was this odd fear of rejection. He knew she wouldn't but the fear was there. Then she hugged him and he took a deep breath. Returning the hug he visibly relaxed and his shoulders no longer tense.

"No promises."

Theo nodded and followed her to the car.

"I can see just fine. Better if I focus. But I could do that before well..."he pointed to his eyes." these progressed."

Getting into the car he just sat and closed the door.

"No, I control pressure and Wind. Reflexes are better than before and I am a...very quick study." He said before telling the driver to take them back to Valhalla.

Normally she wasn't a fan of being paraded like a trophy but she was at the moment. Heather's Trophy. Something that she was very much okay with.

She remained quiet for this exchange and smiled back. But this was a smile of superiority.

After walking away she accepted the pretzels.

"Damn that b***h was toxic. What was that about?"  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Clara nodded and replied, "That's good. Perhaps we can get you a into a school that can accommodate your needs. That way you can finish getting your degree and move on from this. You're much to young to be running an entire facility. I don't know what Agatha Morris was thinking. And what's a 'Gidget?' The woman has almost as much money as Charles Ray and she answers the phone with a cutesy nickname. Honestly."

She sighed and rubbed her right temple. "I'm sorry. There is so much to take in. You, your father, the fact that you were both involved in whatever insanity happened yesterday. What're you going to tell me next? That you're part of some clandestine group of metahumans brought together to save mankind?"

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

Heather ruminated on it for a second before she decided it would better not to keep secrets.

"You remember how there was something that just clicked when you were growing up? Something that said you weren't quite 'the norm.' Nancy flipped that switch. It's a long story. In short, I was in her bathroom the morning after a sleep over when I started to change. She screamed, threw things at me, and then her dad chased me out with a gun."

Bags still in hand, she hugged her upper arms and looked out and toward the ground. "I'm sorry. Awful people from my past just keep wrecking our big day out."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

~For one so young, you speak with much wisdom. What you say is true. Vivi was the last. Prior to her, we communed often with the one before you. She is smaller than we remember.~

The wind carried leaves around Kerana. ~You are familiar to us. We feel, but we do not hear. Do not see. You are bright. Like Ilex was before her fall. Tell us about yourself, child. Your name would be a wonderful place to start, and you may call us Gaia.~

Across from Kerana, Ilex began to look less and less pleased by the conversation she was having with Gaia.  

[Nova Blancke]

Theo remained silent during her talk about a new school. He knew better than to interrupt her when she was like that.

"Don't be silly. If that were the case I'd never tell you. Anyway, I am not some special needs child. I don't need something to accommodate my....needs. Besides, I've gotten my degree online. Went a lot faster when you can get everything right with 2 to 3 tries."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Clara raised a brow at Theonis and replied, "Is that so? Well, I suppose I should thank Agatha for giving you the means to accomplish something normal. I do hope you plan on pursuing higher degrees. It's good to have a fall back plan in case something doesn't work out. I wanted to be a producer, you know. But even a Master's in music business doesn't always break the glass ceiling."

She raised her index finger and recited her personal axiom. "To be overly prepared is to be properly prepared."

She put her hand back down and asked, "Anyway, I'm glad to see you're safe. What about your father? I assume he's gotten himself in some trouble?"  

[Nova Blancke]

"Oh she had nothing to do with it. Internet is amazing. It was basically just testing how fast I could learn and kinda got into the flow. Honestly it took me like...a few days to finishes the course. Hell,I don't need courses that last for years anymore. We'll see."

Yeah he's heard that one many times.

"He's eh...recovering. So go easy on him. We had to do some surgery on him so yeah." It wouldn't be long for them to reach Valhalla.

"One quick thing. I don't know how much exposure you've had to....my people. But...well, you'll see." He said as the pulled up to the complex.

Liv thought to when she was growing up after she accidentally killed her sister out of a fit of childish jealousy. She's always been far from the 'norm'.

"Ohhhh bad timing. s**t sorry to hear that baby." She dropped both bags and pretzels, they seemed to vaporize in a golden glow before even hitting the ground. It's been a while she went shopping, there was no need for her to carry things when she can put it in the Light Realm.

Giving her girlfriend a hug she kissed her forehead. "The more we get out of the way today, the less it affects us later, yeah? But it IS weird we get interrupted so often."