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Rumor was floating around about a keg party Saturday.  Some people found out about it and might go.

Alicia tracks down Rhys between classes at school.

"Hey," she greets him. Without preamble or hesitation, she asks, "Heard there was a party going down this weekend. You going?"

Rhys' eyebrows go up. "Why, Miss Vega! Are you asking me out?" he asks with an impish grin.

Alicia gives him the River face. (y'know, from the Serenity movie? Dangit, you'd think sombeody'd have a screen shot of it!)

"Please. Are you going or not?"

{I could capture one tonight...}


Rhys gives her a big smile. "Of course. You think I'd miss out on a party? My first one in America!"

Alicia nods. "Good. Sammy invited me over to watch you guys play at her place that day. We can head to the party afterwards."

"If we show up to the kegger together, it'll really fuel the rumour mill that we're dating..." He gives her a mock-innocent look.

Alicia stares at him. "Well, if that's what you're worried about..."

With the swiftness of a snake striking, she grabs his shirt front and pulls him towards her, then proceeds to explore his tonsils with her tongue. It's raspier than a normal one, and she seems quite adept at using it.

Before he can react, she pulls back and lets go. She regards him with a flash of a smug grin, then turns and stalks away, oblivious to the stares of passers-by.

Rhys gets a lot of 'thumbs up' signs, some jealous stares, and a few smug raised noses.

{If Alicia's sense of touch is as overly sensitive as her other senses, she feels something a little odd about Rhys' shirt. Maybe it's a little too warm, a little too soft, maybe it feels like there's nothing between it and the skin underneath - if there is any skin underneath. While it feels enough like normal cloth to fool ordinary people, it isn't perfect.}


He looks around with that quasi-smug fourteen-year-old look that says "Yeah. That was me. I meant for that to happen. I'm the man." etc., before finding an uninhabited corner where he can let his knees quiver.

OOC: No worries there. Besides, she wasn't paying attention to her hands at that moment. ;D


Once out of sight, Alicia pauses to lean against a wall and let her heartbeat slow down back to normal. One of the advantages of darker skin is that blushes don't show up as much.

*zwip* Sarah ported around the corner from the party and headed for the door.  Let's see what's going on...

She'd dug around in her closet and found some clothes that looked decent but could handle beer stains... she hoped.  She'd never really had beer spilled on her.  She'd settled on tight black jeans, a thermal longsleeve that she'd cropped and a Star Trek 'Expendable' t-shirt over the top equally cropped. 

Maybe I should have worn mom's black dress again?  Those cleaners got monster ectoplasm off of it no problem.  Nah, too dressy. 

She wrapped her arms around her middle covering up her stomach to the winter chill and walked quickly around to the party entrance.  She smiled and nodded to the kids hanging by the door, handed over her money and went inside...

Abandoned building parties are more common in the warmer months.  They still happen in winter, but the buildings tend to be in nice shape.  This one is in the remnants of a textile factory.  It probably made cloths or something similar, and looks like it's been closed a decade or less.

Generators provide the power for strings of Christmas lights and the sound system.  The parties tend to be far enough from residential areas to avoid annoying the neighbors, save for the occasional vagrant.  you get enough bodies in a fairly closed space though, and body heat eventually makes it bearable.  the party is rolling by about 9PM, and people will generally shed their jackets before midnight.  Some will shed other cloths as well.

Although beer is a common fixture, and the reason most people come, there are other trendy chemical amusement aids but they are less favored this year due to the recent Jazz incidents.  And then there is the music.  Pounding urban techno and ambient rhythms pour out of custom build speakers powered by high priced amps and driven by iPods.  The sound systems would rival any club downtown, and the mystique of the events along with the $5 cover charge make them popular with the underage drinking crowd.  The organizers tend to be white middle class kids with friends, and the text message network protects them from getting nabbed for setting these things up.  It's like being a criminal, without actually running much of a risk.

Alicia and Rhys arrive fashionably late.

Alicia had used Sammy's place to change into more appropriate clothes. She's still wearing the form-fitting chain pants and 14-hole Doc Martens, but the T-shirt has been replaced by a black front-laced cloth-and-wire bustier that ends mid-riff. Over it is a black silk-like dress shirt, unbuttoned and with the sleeves partway rolled-up. Around her neck is a wide spiked choker necklace, with a ring holding a cross made out of carpenter nails. Her regular gloves have been replaced by black studded ones.

It's an outfit guaranteed to give her mother a heart attack, where she ever able to see her daughter wearing it.

When she arrives at the door, she makes a show out of reaching in her bustier for the cover charge.

Since Alicia seemed to want to go for the "liquid sex in pants" look, Rhys decided to join in. He's wearing black leather. Pants, boots, shirt (open all the way down so he had to muscle up a bit - not too much, just enough to look good). His black ponytail is held back by a strip of knotted leather, and he also is wearing a collar.


"Oh, no," he says, putting his hand on her arm as she fishes in her cleavage, "allow me." The image is somewhat ruined, however, by his pulling out a crumpled wad of bills and declaiming his confusion about them all being the same color...

Donnie stands in front of the mirror, messing with the mohawk. He never thought he'd ever get a haircut like this, but then again he'd never expected to get one side of his head get crisped by a laser beam shot out of a WWII robot either.

Behind him Pip pauses in mauling an empty coke can to churrip at him.

"Shut it lizard. I am not preening."

Pip makes a small hacking noise as if something were stuck in his throat and Donnie grins. "Okay, maybe a little bit."

He snagged the black leather jacket he'd received as a birthday gift the year before and never wore. He pulled it on and was a bit surprised when he realized it was tight over his shoulders. Hmph. Maybe those sessions with Jack are paying off a bit. Shrugging it on over a black t-shirt he pauses in front of the mirror. Damn, son. You look like you'd fit in with Kel if he were around anymore.

He left a scrawled note on his bed in case his mom checked in on him, and popped the screen off the window. He concentrates for a moment, and finds himself weightless as his Gravity spell takes effect. He pulls himself out the window and turns, pulling the window closed and setting the screen back in.

Another moment of concentration and he is floating higher. Pip wings in circles around him, chirping happily. "Not quite flying yet, buddy. Someday." Soon his house is fifty feet or so underneath him, and Althea dives out of the sky, snatching him from that air and flying lazily until Donnie gets himself into place. Another minor cantrip and the freezing temperature around him stops effecting as a Protection spell is set in place. Pip lands in Donnie's lap and climbs into the jacket. He was fast but not as fast as Althea.

The cerulean drake keeps a chattering monologue that Donnie only half listens too, replying at appropriate moments. She too was excited to see Donnie floating in the air. "Let's go, beautiful. Kegger awaits!"

The beat of the music pounds at the two as Alicia and Rhys enter the building. Alicia's mouth stretches in a grin as she drinks in the smells and sounds surrounding her.

Turning to Rhys, she brings her face close to talk to him, her breath tickling his ear.

"No fair. I was hoping to show off my dancing tonight, but Sammy and you made me spoil the surprise. So now I wanna see how well you dance."

With that, she grabs his hand and pulls him to the dance area, among the writhing bodies.

Rhys lets himself go and enjoys the dancing, the atmosphere, and the exciting, alluring girl he's with this evening. He's not above a little showing off, but he feels that Alicia could probably smell pretense from a mile away, so he keeps it genuine and just goes with the beat, pulling her close and grinding away.

After everybody has cleared out, Sammy and Elrod clean up the mess in the kitchen and the house.  When they're done, Sammy flops onto the sofa, pulling Elrod down with her and somehow winding up in his lap.

"I'm glad you didn't want to go to that kegger tonight," she says.  "Want anything before we start the first movie?"

Alicia moves with the music, expressing it with her body. She lets him lead, moving in concert while adding her own elements to it.

She's not showing off. It clearly comes across that she's dancing for the joy of moving, for the pleasure of physical expression.

She never comes in contact, stumbles or brushes against another dancer. At one point, she ducks to avoid an arm flung out from behind her unseen, fluidly turning the movement into just another part of her performance. As far as she is concerned, the two of them are the only ones on the dance floor.

Sarah wipes her hands on her jeans.  She was already feeling a little nervous.  Which was odd but then she'd never gone to a keg party before and didn't really know how to react.  She hadn't mentioned she was going to anyone, especially not Colin.  She picked up a cup of something from a tray of similar ones and sipped at it.  Sticky sweet with something weird on the end of the taste... That must be the alcohol.  Almost immediately she felt a little bit warmer.  Whether it was from alcohol or the fact that she was doing something like this she wasn't really sure.  She took a few more sips as she wandered around the place, looking at faces and checking over the crowd.

Donnie and Sylvia walk up to the party under the protection of his cantrip, happily snuggled, if walking a bit slow. Donnie seems eager to go to the party. Perhaps to show off his new mohawk, or just simply just excited to be out at an unchaperoned party with Sylvia. He pays their way in and resists the impulse to use his night vision. Didn't want to freak out the party-gowers with glowing eyes.

Alicia pushes it to her limit, but not beyond. She finally brings her dancing to a close, draping herself on Rhys and gesturing with her head to move off the floor. She leads him unerringly towards the quietest area of the building, though still in the actual party area.

Finding an empty place to sit, she collapses bonelessly on it, out of breath and grinning from ear to ear.

"Too bad this isn't the Halloween party," Sylvia says, happy to have her hand warm in his.  "We look like a couple of punk zombies."

Rhys pants next to her. "Wow." He looks over at her. "Wow." He pants a moment more before asking "You want me to go get us some drinks?"

Alicia can only nod, the sheen of sweat bright on her skin. She is the perfect image of a woman in the throes of afterglow.

Rhys stands on shaky legs and begins to walk away, and once he is out of easy striking distance, turns back and asks "Beer? Liquor? A saucer of cream?" with a saucy smile on his face. "Mistress's wish is my command."

Alicia sticks her tongue out at him in response, then pauses as she realizes the import of the question.

What do I say? If I ask for something non-alcoholic, will he think I'm a wuss? Do they even have anything non-alcoholic here? But the last thing I need right now is to get s**t-faced. Gah!

Finally, trying to make her request casual, she drawls. "Oh, beer sounds good," theatrically waving her hand as if dismissing a servant.

Donnie staggers, moaning "BRAAAAAAAINS!"

He makes for the drinks table and gets a couple cans of pop before screwing his courage up ehough to brave the dance floor. He wasn't a terrible dancer, but didn't want to drag his girlfriend into something she couldn't handle because of her healing injuries. That was the excuse he was telling himself, at least. He's here mostly to forget about the horrible week and check out how the wild kids play. 

Rhys grins and bows slightly. "Of course, my lady." And with a laugh, he's off to the kegs to grab some beers for both of them. He returns a minute later, handing Alicia hers and taking a deep drink from his own. "Even the beer is different over here. It really is like a whole different world."

Alicia takes a careful sniff of her cup before taking a dainty sip. Leaning back on her chair, she regards Rhys with a smile.

"What is so different?"

{I, knowing nothing whatsoever about beer - foreign or domestic - am going to make it up based on things I've heard other people say. Please forgive me if I'm talking out of my ass and get it all wrong.  :) }

"It's thinner for one - piso dryw. I mean, you know, less alcoholic and more watery. Lighter. The flavor's very different, but that of course can vary significantly from one beer to the next anyway. I just find that what's more popular here isn't what's popular back home." He seems to enjoy it just fine, though, as he downs the other half in a single swig.

Alicia takes another small sip. She looks at him coquettishly, lowering her head so that he can see her eyes over her shades.

"Is the beer the only thing different?"

How do the wild kids play?  No doubt by now clots of writhing teenagers are forming on the dance floor, wearing what in Chicago passes for not much.  Sylvia wishes she could get out there and dance and be the cool, hot, sexy one, but that's a bad idea for so many reasons.  Instead, she chats with Donnie and occasionally runs her hand over the stiff zebra mane of his hair.  "I'm grateful to Sammy for dating Elrod so we can get invited to parties that make this one seem kind of lame," she says in wry thanksgiving.

Donnie watches all around him, sipping his coke. "Yeah. I know I need to talk to Elrod about.. what happened. I am just chickenshit about it. Kind of why I avoided the get together and music thing over at Sammy's tonight. Plus I am still not sure if I am forgiven over the whole 'My Weir' comment."

When Sylvia runs her hand through his mohawk, Donnie shakes his leg like a dog being scratched, eyes mock-rolled in ecstasy.

"I wonder if anyone else is coming to this. I don't really see Jakob or Colin coming to a kegger."

"Have you seen the way Jakob eats?  He wouldn't even notice if you gave him a cup of beer except to tell you your iced tea had gone off."

"What can I tell you?  A growing boy needs his lunch."

Only the din of the party and a multitude of distractions could have rendered Jakob's entrance unnoticeable.
He's got on yet another flannel shirt and some exceedingly comfortable-looking jeans.  His clothes are, as usual, cut a little bigger then his size.

"Actually, us Poles tend to like a good ale.  Iced tea is for city-wusses and the less said about American beer the better."

Donnie turns and smiles up at the massive freshman. "Well, I can't say I haven't been wrong before. Guess I'll chalk another notch in my 'wrong again' column."  Donnie salutes Jakob with his can of coke. "Can't say anything about beer. I don't drink. Kind of wondering if that is the only thing at keggers is dancing, beer, and stupid human tricks."

"Stupid human tricks?" Sylvia asks.  "Like what?  Show me one."

Sarah keeps wandering deeper into the building looking for... well herself, which seemed sort of futile.  She takes another drink and keeps wondering.  She opened her mouth to ask someone if they'd seen her when she realizes just how stoned that sounds.  She'd either get tossed or set upon by the guys looking to score with the terminally brain dead, or mugged or a combination of the three.  Well at least it would certainly help to loosen my stomach up.  A fight against a normal kid wouldn't even be worth encounter points because of the difference in challenge rating.  Whoops my geek is showing.  Still it's always a chance to pull off those tricky finishing moves you never risk in the boss fights.  Maybe TJ or Kel is around?  Or maybe I'm off looking for me somewhere else?  Hardly.  I mean why would I?  Did I honestly just think that I wasn't cool enough to hang out with myself?  Where did that low self esteem thing come from?

She watched as two couples were having a chicken fight and both were losing.  They tipped over in an epic crash next to a guy in a mohawk.. oh hey Donnie!  And Syl.. Sarah ducks and moves farther into the party.  Was that Jakob next to them?  Nah, couldn't be could it?  I thought he went to bed early to wake up and milk the chickens or whatever.

"Well, there's no one quite like you over there, if that's what you mean." He grins back at her, before slipping his arm around her waist. "Makes me real glad I came."

Donnie and Jakob quickly shimmy Sylvia away as two couples come crashing down near them. The women, screeching like banshees and laughing like lunatics continue to wrestle with each other, even though their boyfriend 'mounts' had already gotten back up from the fall. The to guys laugh uproarously, and spray their girlfriends with beer.

Donnie looks over at Sylvia and arches one near invisible eyebrow. "Need I day more?"

Jakob just sort of nods.

"Yeah... that's just great.  I've seen cows with more grace."

He looks around - "Was that Sarah I just saw over there?  Excuse me."

Jakob wades into the crowd in search of his teleportation-enabled friend.

OOC: Is she going to make him roll a search to find her or what?

Somehow, Alicia manages to squirm so that Rhys ends up sitting on the chair with her draped on his lap. Without spilling a drop of her beer.

She slips the shades off, revealing her yellow-green eyes gazing half-lidded at Rhys. Close enough to feel her breath on his cheek as she speaks, she purrs, "Aren't you afraid that I might freak out and try to scratch your eyes out?"

OOC: Jakob - Nope - You're tall and can probably see over the crowd.  With those legs you'll catch up in no time. 

"Lame," Sylvia says.  "If we get drunk, can we show them stupid superhuman tricks?"

Donnie purses his lips and taps one cheek meditatively. He seems to be giving it some serious thought. "I dunno, Syl. I mean, if you got drunk, the place might turn into an orgy or Fight Club, depending on your mood. I'm not sure what I'd do. Friends don't let Friends Cast Wizard Spells Drunk."

He plucks an errant length of red streamer that has slowly settled onto Sylvia's head.

Rhys appears nonchalant. "Hadn't thought of that. Were you planning on scratching my eyes out?"

She laughs and bats away the red streamer.  "I sort of wish we'd brought something to do, but they'd probably kick us out for breaking out a Scrabble board or the D&D books.  Entertain me," she commands with light-hearted imperiousness.

Her face is inches from his, her eyes searching. The reflected light makes them glow.

Her voice is soberingly solemn. "I don't know. Are you planning to do something that would make me?"

"I guess that depends on how you'd react to something like this, then." He leans in and begins kissing her. He lets his other arm drop the empty plastic cup as it snakes its way around her side to pull her tighter.

There is a token struggle, then she returns the favor. There is an intensity to her, like someone sitting at the first meal after a long fast, or a drowning man reaching for a lifesaver.

After an interminable time, she bites his lip, just short of drawing blood, and uses the distraction to eel out of his grasp.

She's standing a few feet back, tauntingly out of reach, her eyes bright and a wicked smile on her lips.

"Oh, no, loverboy. You're going to have to earn it. Catch me if you can."

She hops back a couple of steps and disappears into the crowd.

Now what are the rules of this game? Nah, she doesn't exactly seem like the type to go by anybody's rules - least of all her own...

Rhys puts on another subtle change in his form, giving himself a few more inches as he stands to more easily see over the heads of the dancers, hoping people will be too drunk or too high on the music to care or remember. He scans the area, looking for Alicia's characteristic purple-streaked hair. After all, if she wants to be found, she's not going to make this too hard...

Sure enough, he sees Alicia perched on a stanchion, a short distance away. She catches his eye, blows him a kiss, then dives back into the throng.

OOC: I'm assuming Rhys will try to catch up with her?

She's obviously leading him along, as she pauses at times to taunt him, always just a little further on. She heads away from the main party area into the more secluded areas, where other partygoers have obviously moved for more private entertainment.

She's a wraith, a tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp, her sultry laugh dripping with challenge and invitation.

Finally, in a quiet unoccupied corner of the building, she seems to have vanished.

{Yup, he is.}

Finding her gone when he arrives at the last place he saw her, he begins to look around, quietly murmuring "here, kitty, kitty."

There's a rush of air behind him, and a body collides with him, pushing him into an empty room.

It's Alicia, intent on pinning him to the ground.

OOC: So, does Rhys let himself be captured, or attempt to turn the tables on Alicia? Perspiring minds want to know... :)

{Well, by this point, it's pretty obvious she likes things a little rough, so he'll put up the token fight. Not so much to seem like he's not interested, but enough that it works them both up.}

OOC: So glad I'm walking away from that.  You two are acting like a couple of over sexed teen... oh right.  well done. 

IC: 
Sarah glances over her shoulder and sees an iceberg pushing through the waters unhindered and she stops and waits.  When he is close enough to yell at Sarah says, "Hey Jakob.  Nice to see you!"

OOC: So he'll let her win? How disappointing... >:D

After some rolling back and forth, Rhys finds himself on his back, Alicia straddling him in a classic Judo pin.

Her hair disheveled, her cat-like eyes bright in the dim-lit room, she grins down at her prisoner, panting, "Hah! Get beaten by a girl. Not very impressive, Ree-is Grif-fiss." The Latino accent is thick in her voice. "Not gonna get very much of that kind of action here if you're not going to bring your A-game." She mimics his voice when using his words from earlier that day.

Rhys grins up at her. "So that's really how you want to play? Pretty effective pin; or at least it would be against someone who can't change shape..." His body flows out from her grip, almost liquid, before re-forming elsewhere, larger and more muscled than before. "Bet you can't pin me again."

Alicia rolls out and crouches in a fighting stance, her grin still at full wattage. "You're on. No more Play-Doh moves, though."

OOC: We can talk this one out or leave it to chance and die rolls, sir. She won't try to break Rhys (so no truly damaging attacks), but it's obvious she won't go down (pun fully intended) without a fight.

The struggle this time is more measured, without the element of surprise to unbalance things.

Alicia gives a valiant effort, but finally it's over. The tables are now turned, as she lies pinned by a grinning Rhys.

She struggles futilely, and finally subsides, her chest heaving from the exertion.

She grumbles reluctantly, "Fine. You win. What do you want?"

She looks up at him defiantly.

Rhys smiles down at her and then shifts his grip away from a pin and into more of an embrace. He leans in and kisses her again, this time breaking away before she bites him.

"Well, you started this merry chase - where did you hope it would lead?" He looks around them. "Into an abandoned room where we could be all alone? Now whatever could you have in mind..." he muses as he buries his face in the hollow of her neck and tries to make her purr.

Alicia hisses in pleasure as his ministrations succeed in sending a delicious shiver through her body.

"Pendejo..." She murmurs, one last act of defiance before total surrender.

OOC: And there, boys and girls, is where we fade to the fireplace... >:D

OOC:  is it?

"Well, well, well" says a disgustingly perky voice from somewhere above the doorway.  "Look at what the cat dragged in!  A mockingbird!"  Sammy drops to the ground.  "Sorry I'm late, but"  she grins smugly.  "You know."  She waves at the two of them.  "I'll leave you two alone.  Give me a shout if you get bored."  She zips up and out toward the crowd.

"Hey!  I thought that was you.  I didn't expect to see you here.  To tell you the truth, I didn't expect to see ME here.  How are you?"

OOC: Am I to infer from your statement that Sammy just walked in on Rhys and Alicia? O_o

Sarah smiles and says, "Good.  You know."  She glances down at the cup in her hands and looks a little embarrassed.  "Just um so you decided to try out the Oak Park night life?"

Rhys sighs. "Guess we should have known better than to expect privacy at a crowded party." He looks after Sammy and scowls. "That girl knows how to ruin a mood. She could have quietly slipped out. What's her game?" He looks back at Alicia. "Sorry."

OOC: I guess we're going with it. I've got my ticket for the A-ride.

Alicia frowns, then her eyes snap open as a realization hits her like a bucket of cold water.

"Get off." Her voice is cold and business-like.

OOC: Assuming Rhys complies..

Alicia rushes to where Sammy stood, her nose twitching.

OOC: Sniff test! Was that really Sammy? As in our Sammy? Ugh, not that great a roll. Notice (1d20 10=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1858624/)

Sammy comes down in a darker spot past the edge of the crowd, behind some abandoned crates -- not like anybody ever looks up anyhow -- and makes her way through the mob to a convenient keg.  She fills a red plastic cup and drains it as she scans the crowd.  Then she loses her bulky clothes, fills her cup again, and moves onto the dance floor.  Her body moves in perfect synchronization with the insistent beat of the music, or is it the music moving with her?  She starts off dancing alone, but after a minute or two has a couple of old teens / younger men dancing with her.

There are a lot of scents in the building, but Sammy has a fairly distinct scent.  You can pick it up certainly, but there are differences to the scent of the girl you know.

Crap. Crap! CRAP!

She spins towards Rhys, explaining as she struggles to free her cellphone from her pants pocket.

"Takes too long to explain. There are dimensional doubles of some of the guys. That was probably not Sammy. At least not 'our' Sammy. Call everyone, text them, I don't know, just let them know the 'other' Sammy's at the keg party."

She hands the phone to Rhys and starts out the door. "I'll try to track her down."

Alicia rushes through the building, straining her senses to pinpoint her target's location.

OOC: Would that be a Notice or Search roll?

The most logical thing he can think to do at first is to call "their" Sammy. He looks momentarily at the phone Alicia handed him, before slipping it in his pocket and using his own.

OOC: Yeah, that's right. Alicia automatically assumed Rhys didn't have a cell phone. :D

Alicia doesn't have to hunt long to find Sammy.  she's dancing with some older boys.

OOC: Alicia make a Will Save DC 20

Alicia moves through the crowd, and finds Sammy.  But it's one of the people she's dancing with that flattens her.  His darker skin is a contrast to Sammy's, but his features are unmistakable.  Marco looks up as Alicia makes her way into view.  "Hiya chica.  Long time no see."

Sammy pouts as dark and sexy's attention is drawn away by the other girl.  She redoubles her attention toward the other guys.

OOC: You... you... you bastard!

Alicia stops stock still. Her throat constricts as her heart trip-hammers in her chest. Her mind blanks as it skips like a broken record.

Oh s**t. Oh s**t. Oh s**t. Oh s**t. Oh s**t. Oh s**t...

She takes a ragged breath. Her voice almost manages to mask the trembling in her body.

"Marco. Wh-what are you doing here?"

Sammy's cell phone buzzes on the table across the room.

Elrod looks over.  "Are you going to get that?" he asks.

Sammy's reply is a soft laugh.  The phone rings, unanswered.

Sammy's phone unanswered, he thinks it might be a good idea to send out a general SOS. He texts everyone that he has contact info for:

Alt Sammy at keg party

That done, he dials the one he takes for their de facto leader - John. As it rings, he heads back out into the crowd to try to keep an eye on Alicia.

Sylvia, who sometimes takes herself for their de facto leader, looks at her phone and then shows Donnie.  "Crap.  We have to stop coming to these things."

Donnie bows in a courtly manner. "Alas, my lady. I have brought neither my juggling pins or trained monkey to caper and entertain you. What do you wish?"

Donnie pulls out his cell phone and looks at the message. "For crissakes. Can't a teenage superhero just go to a party anymore?" He takes Sylvia's hand and looks for where the massive Jakob went. "Can you 'call' Jakob in the crowd here? We ought to let him know if he doesn't."
"

Sylvia is less familiar with Jakob than the others, but she quests out to find him telepathically, hopping to see above the crowd and maybe spot him the easy way.

Donnie mutters something and Sylvia suddenly feels much lighter. He easily picks her up as if she weighed nest to nothing and lifts her to look for Jakob.

ooc: Gravity spell on Sylvia alone. She weighs about 30 lbs at the moment.

Sylvia gives him a wide-eyed look.  Wow, those free weights are really paying off for you.

Ha! I wish I was this strong. I'm just cheating the laws of nature again sweetie. Don't mind me.. He grins up at her.

Marco smiles.  "Just dancing and enjoying myself."  he looks her up and down, "You seem a bit flushed.  Having a good time I hope?"

Alicia struggles to reassert herself. The words come unbidden in her head. Focus, girl! Focus!

She takes a deep breath and lets it out as a sibilant whisper between her lips.

She spares a glance at the other girl, the stranger wearing her friend's body, but she has higher priorities right now.

In a game attempt at confidence, she retorts, "I was until you showed up."

Sammy isn't sure what's going on, but it looks to ruin the evening's fun.  She looks at Alicia and says "Weren't you just -- why are you here right now?  Oh.  Yeah.  Hey, I'm sorry about that, but I thought you were somebody else.  My bad."  She touches dark and sexy's arm and tries to lure him back into the dance.

All of Alicia's fear and panic burns away in a wash of rage.

"Get your f**king hands off him, puta!"

Marco smiles at Sammy and then seems shocked at Alicia's reaction.  "Little possessive of you, don't you think gata callejera?"

Sammy becomes alert.  "Whoa!  Easy girl!  I'm only here to have a good time.  All I want to do is dance, ok?"

Alicia lashes at Marco, using her anger to crowd any other, complicating emotions. "Shut up!"

At Sammy, she hisses, her eyes slitted and her teeth pulled back in a feral snarl. "You don't belong here, maricona. There's already a Sammy here and she doesn't need you around to f**k up her life. Go back to where you came from and never come back."

Comprehension is followed by carefully controlled anger.  "Hey -- I am not here to frack up anybody's life.  I just. want. to. dance."  Sammy rolls her eyes and turns her back as she says in rough mimicry of Alicia "Go back where you came from, you ee-bil beetch you, we don't need no stinkin' tourists.  Blah, blah, blah."  Her hand makes a yapping dog (quacking duck?) gesture, then slides down Marco's arm, not grabbing but feather touching it.  She asks him, "Wouldn't you rather dance than talk?"

"You read my mind belleza"  he says, instantly flowing back into the music.

Rhys calls John's phone, which rings a few times before he picks it up.  "Where is the party?"  Is John's answer, and his tone tells Rhys he took his message very seriously.

ooc: Any luck for us bystanders a) finding Jakob/Sarah, or b) finding Sammy/Alica?

OOC: Jakob is easy to find, and he appears to be talking to Sarah.  And the Sammy/Alicia group is not hard to spot either.

Sylvia transmits what could pass for pure data to Jakob, Sarah, and Donnie:  the location and status of a Sammy and the boiling froth Alicia seems to be working herself into.  It's like a series of snapshots.  All that Sylvia can see from her perch on Donnie's arm is sent by telepathic news feed to the others.

She reads the contemptuous anger off the interdimensional exchange student and the way she's draping herself over the boy beside her and concludes that she's not theirs.  Where's our Sammy, guys?  She searches, telepathy tinged with worry.  Sammy?

OOC: Especially with what's about to happen. ;D Sheesh, you think Marco would've learned by now.

Alicia's mood collapses from fiery rage to stone cold laser-like precision.

She says, in a softly dangerous voice. "You wanna dance, chica? Let's dance."

OOC: Alicia moves up and opens a can of whupass on Sammy-2. This is not a repeat of her berserk charge at Sylvia; it's a direct calculated attack. The actual maneuver will be a classic takedown: punch to the kidneys, kick to the knee, hammerfist to the head. Unfortunately, I don't see anything in the rules that allows you to increase the damage save, so we'll see how effective it'll be. Attack! (1d20+4=11) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1859025/)

OOC:  depending on how far Sylvia can reach with her mind, she'll find Sammy is in a warm, happy place, snuggled up on a couch next to Elrod under a big crocheted blanket.  They are watching a date movie on DVD, taking turns feeding each other pieces of popcorn.

[Oh heck.  We've been mumbling through this for so long that I don't know if she can actually find her.  No matter.]

OOC:  SO is going to have to say if Sammy is able to dodge or otherwise resist Alicia's attack.  If she gets a chance to scream before anything happens, she'll scream "TEEEEE-JAAAAAY!"

If she gets to fight back, Alicia is picked up and slammed hard into the nearest wall or support column, and held there, well away from Sammy.

OOC: Pinning Alicia down might not be that easy. She may not hit hard but she's definitely hard to hit. >:D

OOC:  Yeah, but she's busy trying to kill Sammy.  All Sammy has to do is wrap a bubble of air around the area where Alicia is, and she stands a chance.  I think.

Of course, Sammy could stumble and crack her head on something on the way down too, rendering her incapable of self defense.  This leaves Marco to fight it out with Alicia.

OOC: Not Marco's style.

There is a phrase, it should sum this up well.

Everyone roll initiative.  Yeah, that's the phrase I was looking for.

OOC: Ah, but you see, Alicia is not trying to kill anyone. That's why I described it as a takedown. If Alicia was in a killing mood, the claws would be out and she'd be playing tic-tac-toe on Sammy's face. ;D

Hmm, would Marco join in? That's something to wonder...

Ah, and the GM steps in to clear that point. thank you.

Initiative? Spoilsport. :P ;)

Initiative (1d20+4=23) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1859046/)

Notice Roll to hear the others calling for him 1d20+9=11

Jakob was about to answer her when he felt his cell phone vibrate.  He checks the message.

"Crap... alternate Sammy's in the house.  Where are the others?"

Initiative: 1d20+1=16

Sarah nods to Jakob, her nervous banter forgotten along with the booze in the cup falling from her hand.  "I'm all over it big guy.  Let's see if we can avoid a fight this time... unless it's another alternagirl cat fight."  She vaults up onto his shoulders to have a look around.

Acrobatics check: 1d20+10=29 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1859107/)

Sarah can easily see the Sammy/Alicia cluster.  She can also see Sylvia and Sylvia sees Sarah come up onto Jakob's shoulders. 

So the assumption is that Alicia moved in to attack Sammy.  Sammy was not totally caught off-guard by this and thus was able to avoid the attack. 

[Initiative 26]
Sarah's action

Sammy screamed for TJ as she dodged Alicia's attack.

I opened my big mouth.  The words came out and now all the stupid is happening.  

The weight vanishes from Jakob's shoulders as Sarah ports *tweedle* next to Sammy, touches her shoulder and says in her vorst Ahnold, "Come wit me if you vant to live" and hopefully takes Sammy with her up to the roof. *deedum*

OOC:
Double Move Teleport.

Rhys tells John of the keg party and its location. After closing the phone, he wades into the crowd in the direction of the commotion.

Sarah appears next to Sammy and then the pair vanish.

Marco raises an eyebrow, "You've gained some interesting new friends gata callejera."  Marco says.  He shifts his weight some, relaxing more as the room seems to begin to adjust to the space that is not Sammy-less

John says he'll be there as soon as he can.

OOC:Unless someone has an objection, I can step us out of combat time.  But, since it's not decided yet.

[Initiative 23]
Alicia's Action

Alicia snarls in frustration. Her mind whirls. Was that the 'other' Sarah, stepping in? Dammit!

At Marco's words, she spins to confront him. "Stay away from me, Marco. We're done with."

She concentrates on keeping her anger fueled, using it as a dam against the flood of emotions from seeing Marco that threaten to overwhelm her.

At the same time, she stays alert for any potential attackers, her head jerking back and forth to try and cover as much of her surroundings as possible.

Sammy thanks Sarah profusely.  "She's crazy!  What is wrong with her?"

"No chica.  You're done with me."  Marco says, and he makes his way into the crowd.

A few seconds later John comes in.  He's steaming like he just came out of the shower, and he scans the room for familiar faces.

Rhys runs up next to John. "Sarah appeared out of nowhere, touched Sammy, and then they both vanished. I have no idea where she took her."

He then turns to Alicia. "You okay? You look... wired."

Alicia follows Marco with her eyes until he's gone. It's not until she's sure he's nowhere near that she relaxes just enough to acknowledge the two next to her.

To John, she expands. "I couldn't tell if it was the 'other' Sarah who took her; it happened too fast. I'm sorry I lost her." Her fists are clenching and unclenching as she speaks. If she had a tail, it would be lashing about.

All Rhys gets is a curt "I'm fine" before she stalks off. Must be using some new definition of "fine."

"I'll look for Sarah, you try to make sure she's....Not unfine."  John says, obviously not sure what to say, and moves through the crowd.

Sarah looks at Sammy with concern, "You okay Sammy?"

Sammy nods.  "Yes.  I'm okay."  She paces around nervously.  "She's not coming up here, is she?  She's crazy.  I don't want to have to hurt her.  I just wanted to dance."

Sarah says, "Yeah... " she points downwards and says, "She's a little jumpy isn't she?  Was there something that set her off?  Did you say something?  Or your dance partner?  Who was that anyway?  Anybody?  I was just having a drink across the way when this cat fight broke out.  Figured you weren't looking for a fight."

She gestures to Sammy with hope, "You said you were looking to dance.  So what happened?"

"When I uh,  got here,  I walked in on her and a guy named Rhys.  Do you know him?  He's a musician.  Not everybody knows him... fewer people know her.  Anyhow, they were all hot and heavy, and I couldn't get out without going right over them, so... well, she looked like somebody I know, so I joked with her the way I do with the girl I know.  Mistake; I should have just tried to sneak out.  Anyhow, I came here to dance, so I left them alone, and went to the dance floor and there were some guys so I started dancing with them and then *bamm* she's in my face and threatening me.  I just wanted to dance, but she kept pushing, and I got rude and stupid.  Then she comes clawing at me.  She is definitely not who I mistook her for.  People are so different...  and I just wanted to dance."  Sammy shivers in the cold winter night air.  "My sweaters are down there.  So's my ride home."

A puddle of ooze glides up the stairs, and forms into TJ, carrying Sammy's sweaters.  "Sorry, you vanished and it took me a little time to figure out where you went."

Sarah nods, starting to shiver as well.  So much for adrenaline.  Then the puddle of ooze arrived.  TJ!  Alterna TJ.  Hrm.. uh.  Oh lightning fast brain.  Just go back to playing hold music. "Hey TJ.  Cold enough for ya?"

Sammy grabs the sweaters and steps beside him as she puts them on.  "She got me out.  Did you see what happened down there?  What is wrong with Ally?  She's nothing like--"  She stops.

Busted?  You've got the man of the hour here finally.  Now's your chance!  "Yeah... almost like she's from another dimension?  Weird huh?  Like maybe things happened a little different here and she doesn't really know you from a hill of beans."  She gives alterna Sammy a grin.

TJ smiles, "Well, I told you that things might be different.  I've already run into a not so nice me, and a few others that are..uh...well..different."  He looks towards Sarah, "Thanks for helping her out.  We should get going."  He takes a cell phone looking thing from his pocket and dials it, then points it at an open space on the roof.  There is a sound like thunder, and then a swirling vortex opens.  "This is a popular dimension I guess.  I saw another me earlier too.  I thought it was the me from here, but turns out he's from somewhere else too."  TJ waits for Sammy to go, and then follows her.

OOC: I'll wait to see if Sammy or Sarah have any parting comments before I assume they've left.

Rhys follows her. "Not very convincing, I'm afraid. You're far from fine. I'd like to help, if I can."

"Just leave me alone!" She rushes off, threading through the crowd like it isn't there.

Alicia storms through the hall, seething as a stew of emotions bubbles in her mind.

Interrupted lust (Now whatever could you have in mind), frustrated anger (Go back where you came from, you ee-bil beetch you), heart-fluttering panic (No chica.  You're done with me.), all wrestle for top priority on her mental queue. The resultant turmoil makes her feel like her head will tear itself wide open and let all the ugliness in her soul seep out.

With a snarl, she bangs a closed door with her fist as she walks by it, startling the amorous couple she could hear hiding their tryst on the other side. A dark glee slithers through her thoughts for a moment. If she’s not getting any, why should they?

She’s always sought comfort in movement, using action as a way of purging her mind of troubling thoughts. But lately even that refuge is denied her. She can’t run away from them anymore. Trouble just seems to find her anyway.

This sparks another spike of emotion. Marco. Dammit, why did he have to be here tonight? I could’ve handled the dopple-wanger puta no problem, but seeing him with her just…

She growls in frustration as the tangled mess of emotions that just the mention of that name brings into the mix all by itself drags her back into the maelstrom in her mind.

She stops as she notices she’s reached some destination. With a start she realizes she’d unconsciously walked back to the niche she’d led Rhys to for their private encounter.

The sheer unfairness of it all finally makes her snap. She throws her head back to utter a guttural scream of pure white rage. Finding no easy target to direct her anger at, she directs it at herself.

A convenient wall offers itself as she begins to rain blows at it. Hands, feet, elbows, knees, it’s like she’s trying to tear the building down by sheer effort. The dingy wall starts to discolor as bloody stains spread along it. In some remote still-rational corner of her mind, the pain registers, but no one’s answering the phone.

OOC: Assuming Rhys tries to follow Alicia, this is the scene he'll come to when he arrives.

Rhys, against his initial (better?) judgement, decides to follow her. Seeing her bloodying herself against the unforgiving brick reassures him that he did the right thing. He shifts to angel-form, but not quite so large, channeling the unspent energy into toughening himself up. He then spreads his wings wide and calls out to her.

"Alicia. You don't have to hurt yourself or anyone else. Let it go. If you feel you need to vent, loose your frustration on me - I can take it. What I can't take is seeing you tear yourself up like this. Come to me. Let me help you. Please."

{OOC: Maybe it's a bad idea showing up like this just now, but he's a teenager and thinks he can solve all the world's problems...

He's taking points away from Growth to buff up Protection as much as possible.}

Sammy shrugs, and looks disappointed.  "I know.  I just hoped they'd be nicer this time.  The hate is getting old.  I think this is my last trip."  She smiles at Sarah.  "At least you were nice.  Thanks."

Sarah shrugs and says,  "Aww... I'd do it for any Sammy.  Listen, what's the deal anyway?  They don't have clubs in your dimension?  You really freaked this Sammy out playing with both guys she's interested in.  And by interested I don't mean knocking boots." She grins and says, "I always wanted to say that one.  For your others sanity if you drop by again can you play nice or at least play somewhere far away?  Give me a call if you and my other self want to hang out sometime.  Doubles tennis?  And if you see her tell your Sarah I want to talk to her sometime if she's in the neighborhood.  Have a good trip."

The urge to jump through the portal tingled along her skin.  Another universe!  A different and apparently sluttier past.  TJ could probably get her back when she was ready...

"Me?  Not me.  I've never been here before.  That was somebody else.  And I don't play with boys I know... not if I can help it.  I just wanted to dance someplace far away from trouble.  Ha."  She resignedly turns to TJ.  "I can't control where we come in; he does that.  And he's got the keys to go home.  Ready, Teedge."  She steps toward the portal.

Sarah waves goodbye and ports down into the building.  *plink*

She hunts up Jakob to apologize... Then there was Alicia. 

Alicia pauses in her assault to turn towards Rhys. Tear streaks paint her cheeks as blood drips from her torn gloves.

She hiccups a sob. "I... can't... I can't..."

She collapses into a heap like a puppet with its strings cut, sobbing.

TJ nods, "Sorry for any confusion we caused."  He says towards Sarah, and then the pair go into the vortex.  It's there for a few more seconds, before it collapses and leaves nothing behind to indicate it had ever happened.

Rhys moves over to her, stands her back up, and wraps his arms and his wings around her and holds her tight and secure.

"I don't know what this is all about, and I don't need to know; but you're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you." etc, etc. Rhys murmurs protective sounds at her, trying to get her turbulent emotions to subside.

Alicia clutches Rhys for physical and emotional support as her body shudders from her bawling. The dam is down; the flood has broken through. It takes a while for it to subside.

Finally, sheer exhaustion wins over, and the weeping settles down to infrequent hiccupy sobs. She blinks her red puffy eyes as she becomes aware of where she is. She looks up in confusion. "Ree... Ree-is?"

"Yes. It's me." He smiles at her in an attempt to show that all is well.

Alicia closes her eyes and rests her head against his chest. "I'm sorry. I f**ked up.

"When I saw the Sammy double, I figured she was here to mess Sammy's life up again, and I wasn't going to let her do that. I was just going to stop her, set her aside and lay down the rules, but then he... things got out of hand. I f**ked things up again."

Only fatigue keeps her from spiraling back down into crying. There's still enough fire, though, to wrap her words with harsh bitterness. "I always f**k things up. It's all I'm good for. Fighting and f**king."

The words have the tinge of an oft-heard accusation.

Rhys strokes her hair as he holds her tight to him. "No. I don't believe that. Someone has abused you - and badly, by the sound of it - so much that you've come to believe them. Now you can put that behind you and start listening to me. I'll tell you as much as you need to hear it until you start to believe me that you're more than that. You're vibrant and full of life and passion. You're special and beautiful and worthwhile. You're someone to be loved and love in return."

Rhys can feel the frown on her face against his skin.

"How can you say that? You don't know me. We've barely met and in just that short time, I've either been trying to kick someone's ass, or get into your pants. I'm bad news. A walking disas..."

She halts as his choice of words penetrates her consciousness.

She lifts her head to stare at him with some alarm. "Did you just say 'love'?"

"Yes, and I meant it. Anyone who builds up walls as effectively and completely as you have obviously has a great capacity for love. If you didn't feel so deeply, there'd be no need to shield yourself so strongly. Maybe it's time to try some positive emotions for a change?" He smiles down at her and hugs her tighter.

Alicia struggles against his grasp and backs off a step, looking at Rhys suspiciously.

"If this is your idea of a joke, it's not funny. I don't know how things are over there in Welshland, but here you don't throw that word out like it was a treat. Well, some people do, OK, a lot of people do, but... never mind.

"The point is, you can't really mean it."

"No joke. And I didn't say 'I love you.' I said that you were somebody worthy of love. Which I do believe. Everything I've said I meant."

"Oh." She stands there, feeling like she's lost her place in the conversational two-step.

She puts her hand to her head to steady herself. "Still... Look, Ree-is, I really appreciate your... being here and all, and it's very nice of you to say those things about me, but the fact is that just saying them doesn't make them true.

"You don't know me. You don't know who I am and the things that I've done. So you'll have to excuse me if I take your statements with a big chunk of sal..."

Her legs begin to tremble as the post-adrenaline crash kicks in. "Aw crap," she mutters as she hugs herself to try and control the shivering in her limbs. "G-god-d-damn sh-shakes..."

Rhys shrinks as he assumes his normal form once more. He moves to the nearest wall and sits on the floor with his back against it. He pats the floor next to him.

"Come over here and sit before you shake yourself to bits and fall down."

Whether she complies or not, he continues.

"You're right - I don't know you that well. But the things you've done and the person you were don't matter. I'm just going on the person I see in front of me right now. And you can take everything I say with a chunk of salt the size of Cardiff for all I care - as long as you listen. You don't have to believe me. All I ask is that you hear me."

Sarah leans back against a wall and starts typing to everyone...

Hey.  Sorry I stole alterna Sammy away.  Didn't want any more trans dimensional show downs. 
Wasn't same TJ and Sammy as before.  Multiple dimensional incursions. 
Guess we're a nice vacation spot.  Everyone okay?

She wades though the crowds until she finds the towering form of Jakob.  "Hey big guy.  Sorry I used you as a perch.  That was kinda rude, but your really, really sturdy and you looked safer than the speaker tower." 

Alicia reluctantly moves to join him on the floor. She assumes the familiar position, legs tucked up against her, arms around her legs, head resting on her knees.


"Oh-okay." She falls silent as she appears to mull over what's been said.

After a bit, she looks over at Rhys and, biting her lip with an apologetic look, says, "Could you just hold me?"

"Sure." He leans in close and puts his arms around her. Of course, in this shape, he's hardly any bigger than her; but this is his own strange way of lowering his defenses and being "real" with someone. He doesn't say anything more - he just sits there and holds her.

Alicia snuggles in, somehow able to contort herself to fit in close to him, her head on his chest, and still look comfortable. She emits a small sigh of relief, using his warmth to help her recover hers.

After a few seconds, though, she grunts in faint annoyance. "Hold on, my phone has a text message."

Unself-consciously, she reaches over and fishes her phone from his pocket and snaps it open.


She grumbles and shows Rhys the message. "It just keeps getting better. The Sammy I went medieval on wasn't even the one that caused all the trouble last time. I wonder if our dimension has an extradition policy for attempted assault."

Sitting up, she types her own message back on the list. She hisses in slight pain as her finger movements pull at the bloodied knuckles on her hands.

My f**kup. Sorry.

Snapping the phone close, she looks at Rhys. She's hesitant, unsure, and the mood erases a number of years from her face.

"Sorry for spoiling the evening." She quirks a small smile. "It did feel good while it lasted."

"That it did," he returns with a smile of his own. He leans in and gives her a light kiss. "Maybe there will be other opportunities."

She looks down, embarrassed. This close, the blush is not hard to see.

Trying to cover her awkwardness, she stands up. "Ow."

She looks down at the ruined knees of her pants, torn and blood-stained.

"Damn, I really liked these pants."

She looks at Rhys as a thought strikes her. "Hey, it just occurred to me. You just... make those clothes by shifting into them. So, for all intents and purposes, you're pretty much walking around naked."

Rhys looks back, openly and unashamed. "For a given definition of naked, yeah," he replies with an impish grin. "Nobody's complained yet."

For some reason, this strikes Alicia as funny. She claps her hand to her mouth to contain a giggle, then gives it up as a lost cause.

She laughs in cathartic release, purging the dark remnants of the evening's ugliness from her mind. Again, the street-scarred mask is pulled back to show the girl beneath.

Shaking her head, she walks over to pick up her discarded shades. Bending down elicits another "Ow" and another round of giggles.

Putting the shades on, she composes himself. "Okay, I'm ready. We need to get back to the others."

She hesitantly puts out her hand towards Rhys in a mute offer.

Rhys laughs right along with her, acknowledging the necessity of it, and knowing that it's not directed at him.


He steps forward, taking her hand as gently as he can to avoid hurting her further, and walks with her back out into the main body of the party in search of the others.

John looks so out of place it's comical.  He seems uncomfortable as he scans the crowd.  He makes eye contact with Alicia and Rhys and nods, the smile isn't like that of someone having a good time but someone with no clue what facial expression he should have.

Rhys leans in to Alicia. "Is it just me or is he entirely too cute? Looking so awkward, like a little boy lost."

When they get up to him, he says "It's a party, John. You're supposed to loosen up and have a good time. Go find someone to dance with and stop looking like such a boy scout."

John looks slightly at a loss.  "I am relaxed."  he says, sounding a little defensive.  "I take it no catastrophe took place since you called?"

"If you mean concerning the alternate dimension Sammy, you'll have to ask Sarah. It was all over too quickly and I didn't get a chance to get involved. But everything seems okay now."

Alicia glances at Rhys and then steps up to John. She says, in a solemn voice, "I'm sorry, John. It's my fault. We... bumped into the alternate Sammy at the party, and I thought she was the one who'd messed things up last time. I was planning to take her aside and tell her to leave, but things got out of hand. Sarah was smart and got the girl out of the way before it got messy and found out she wasn't even the same Sammy as before.

She lowers her head. "I messed up and I'm sorry."

She sounds sincerely contrite.

She finds him more or less where she left him.  He looks thoroughly confused and a little on-edge, as if he's not convinced that the mayhem is really over.

"Not a problem, Sarah."

He smiles, still scanning the room for signs of trouble - which is rather pointless as he still has no real idea what the trouble was in the first place.

"That's what I'm here for."

"Ah.  Ok."  he says, and it's clear he's not sure why she's apologizing.  "It doesn't look like anyone noticed."

"We should probably check with Sarah to find out exactly what she talked to the 'other' Sammy and... TJ? about."

Alicia frowns. "She made it sound in the message like there's more than one of these dimensional doubles around. What's going on?"

She cocks her head. "She's in the building somewhere. I'm pretty sure I heard her voice, but it's hard to pinpoint a location."

John looks around the room, his arm comes up to point, "She's right over there next to Jakob."  he says and he swings his gaze around the room one more time.  "Sylvia and Donnie are here too."

Alicia is shocked. "Je-Cobb is here? And Donnie and Sylvia? I didn't think this was their sort of scene."

Her mind churns with chagrin. Great. That means they probably saw my fail with Sammy-dupe. I can just hear Donnie now, being all how-could-you and you-should've-known-better. Gah!

"C'mon, let's get this over with." She fits her hand back in Rhys's grasp for reassurance and heads over to Sarah and Jacob.

She rolls her eyes at Jakob.  "You're here for a lot more than that.  I think fate is bringing us together.  We're needed here... not at this party but you know... around here.  Maybe something is supposed to happen.  Maybe not.  Maybe we're just all here because highschool is tough enough when your normal.  It's good to have friends around who know what you're going through."

OOC: I'm assuming Rhys comes along willingly. That's what he gets for volunteering to be Alicia's security blanket. ;D

Alicia and Rhys join up with Jacob and Sarah.

"Hey," says Alicia eloquently.

She swallows and says to Sarah, "Thanks for the save."

"Ok then."  John says, "Since there is no disaster, I'm heading home.  Good night guys."  He begins to make his way out through the crowd.

Alicia looks back, surprised. She was expecting John to join them.

She bites her lip. "Okay, g'night."

She mutters under her breath. "I'm just a freakin' ray of sunshine, ruining everyone's evening so far."

Rhys leans over and kisses her on her cheek and smiles. "Not mine."

Alicia's body shivers a bit in response, but she still gives Rhys a skeptical look.

It's obvious she enjoys the attention, but is trying hard not to show it.

Sarah gives Alicia a look of concern.  "Are you okay?  Can I ask what happened?"

Alicia grimaces. "I thought that that Sammy was the one who'd messed things up for ours last time, so I was planning to just set her aside and put the fear of God in her, y'know, let her know doing that sort of thing wasn't appreciated around here."

She looks uncomfortable. "Well... she started blowing me off, things got out of hand, um..." She struggles to find a way of explaining her behavior without including Marco's presence. That's one topic she'd rather not go into right then, if at all.

Lamely, she finishes up. "I figured I'd take her down, nothing more than that. I wasn't planning to really hurt her, really."

She looks down. "I screwed up. You did the right thing, Sarah. She wasn't even the evil Sammy after all."

She's clenching Rhys' hand hard enough for him to feel the pinpricks of her finger-claws on his skin.

Sarah says, "Well I'm glad you weren't planning on it... only... it didn't look that way and most people don't stand around and let the first punch land before they do something.  I was only there for a second but you looked pretty upset.  If you're sure you're okay I'll drop it.  I'm around to talk.  So is Colin.  Well, he's always around to talk.  He's best at it.  Mostly I just try and knock sense into people."

She looks over at Rhys and grins adding, "Uh.. I'm glad your helping the new kid acclimate to the states?"

"I'm going to write up a message and send it to everyone about our out of town guests.  I also think I am going to find another one of those funny colored drinks.  I didn't get to give the first one a fair try before events got confusing."

Darn it... I'll never get to find myself.

Alicia refrains from defending her fighting skills and just shrugs. "I'm fine." She steals a quick glance to Rhys after saying it.


A flash of mischief crosses her face with a grin. "We're having a cultural exchange." She has no idea what that means, but it sounds like the right thing to say.


Alicia frowns. "Did I get what you sent before right? They're not the only ones, ah, 'crossing over'? What gives? What is it about here that everyone wants to drop by? Can we hang some sort of 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the dimensional door?"

It's obvious she's bothered about the idea of dimensional travel.

At Sarah's last comment, Alicia offers advice, "Watch out for the ones with the medicine smell."

Sarah blinks and asks, "What ones with the medicine smell?  They all smell like juice box drinks to me."

She shrugs and says, "The very short conversation I had with this particular TJ revealed that he had encountered two other versions of himself here.  I think we must be a nice place to visit or something.  This other dimensional Sammy was kind of confused as to why you would attack her.  Your other you and she are close but apparently their dimension kind of sucks.  They're escaping to here to get away from it for a while."

Alicia opens her mouth to answer then pauses as she realizes Sarah's ability to differentiate smells is not quite up to par with hers. "Um, just be careful what you drink, ok?"


Alicia's face goes white at the thought of another version of herself from a dimension worse than this one. She nods stiffly and says, in a slightly squeaky voice. "Oh-kay. I'll keep that in mind."

She turns to Rhys and says in a trying-to-make-light-of-a-scary-concept kind of voice, "Um, Ree-is, if for some reason you meet up with a me from another dimension, I have one suggestion. Run."

Sarah thinks about it for a second.  "Well then I'd better keep you around.  Come on.  There were some green ones over here."
She reaches for Alicia's hand to tow her across the floor through the crowd.

"Oh?" he looks every bit as impish as she's ever seen him. "You don't think I could charm her, too?"

In a deadpan voice, she replies, "She might not give you a chance to before she rips your throat out."


She's not sure about hanging around knowing that Marco is out there, but her desire to fit with this new set of friends and help Sarah out wins over her hesitation.

With a questioning look toward Rhys, she takes Sarah's hand and follows, careful to keep the girl's grip from pressing on her bruised knuckles.

Trying to make conversation and gain some insight, she asks Sarah, "I... heard Donnie and Sylvia were here. Do they normally come to parties like these?"

Sarah slows down and says, "I don't really know.  This is the first party like this I've ever been to.  Maybe they have.  I.."  she pauses with a thoughtful expression.  "I haven't really ever hung out with Donnie and Sylvia as a couple.  I mean I game with Donnie and we're all on the newspaper staff though the last time I submitted an article was a while ago.  Sylvia goes her own way a lot.  I think she was raised to be pretty individualistic.  It's all that health food.  She's a vegivore.  There's none of those comforting lay back and be lazy animal proteins in her system."

Arriving at the drinks she waves her hands over them.  She says to Alicia, "Do that voodoo that you do so well.  If you spot something bad just ditch it.  And feel free to do the same to anybody holding a drink like that.  I'll back you up.  Donnie's good to have around for that sort of thing.  You're new here but he's managed to garner a little bit of a rep as an unofficial badass.  Unfortunately for us we are just cute innocent helpless flowers and when we tell someone not to try anything they don't believe us and we have to hand them their ass to get the message across.  Every stupid time.  I'd be really happy to know that nobody got taken advantage of because of drugs from this place."

After Alicia checks out the drinks Sarah takes a sip of one and continues on, "Our school is a little wary about the drug thing these days.  I don't mean we're all 'Drugs Are Bad M'kay?'  We were one of the schools that got hit with the Superman drug as well as love potions that nearly got a couple of us turned into paste."

Alicia ponders this information. "My guess is that Sylvia sticks to herself 'cause she doesn't want her emotional mojo affecting people." Her voice lowers. "I learned that about her."

She looks at Sylvia. "Vegivore? Vegetables aren't food. They're what food eats." She says this with the conviction of a fervent carnivore.


As Alicia carefully applies the sniff test to the repertoire of potables, she remarks, "Donnie, a bad-ass? You're kidding me, right? I mean, yeah, you gotta respect being able to order around giant flying lizards, but take 'em away and what does he have?"


Alicia shudders. "Yeah, I've had to deal with Supies before. Not fun."

She pauses. "Love potions? For sure? That's freaky."

Sarah grins, "Don't be like that.  I know you and Donnie got off to a bad start but he's a good guy with a mixed bag of talents.  He's got his friends and he knows how to fight.  We've all been taking practice from a guy when we get the chance.  Donnie is really serious sometimes and very.. whats the right way to say this.  Logical?  Practical?  If he's got your back it's all the way.  I think the scary thing is that you and Donnie are sort of alike but you're coming at it from different directions."

That'll probably make her choke!  Ah evil thoughts are good thoughts.  And this is a tasty beverage.


Sarah nods, "Love potions, Love water, Love gas.. a lot of love.  Though 'love' is not really a proper description.  More like overpowering desire.  Mega ecstasy.  If that little mood enhancer of Sylvia's set you off, I'd recommend bringing your own bottled water to school."  She takes another drink and grins feeling her cheeks warm up.

Alicia snorts, "I think the term you're looking for is 'stick up his ass.'"

She sighs. "I've met the kind before, Sarah. He's decided the world is supposed to function a certain way and if you disagree, you're either deluded or the enemy."


She shrugs. "I'm not planning to throw down with him or anything, but I'm not holding my breath about us getting chummy."

At Sarah's last comment, Alicia snorts and looks at the cup in her friend's hand. "Let me check that one again. I think someone's slipped some loco juice in it."


"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Alicia points at the drink table.  "You noticed I ain't touching those? I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm a cheap drunk. For some reason, my metabolism sucks up drugs and alcohol and shoots 'em through my body lickety-split. 'S a pain in the butt most of the time."

She turns to look at Rhys, frowning. "And don't even think about it, vato."

Sarah's phone let's her know she has a text message.  It's from Dave.

Gena Balestra was Jessica Rabbit @ Halloween Party.

Rhys assumes an angelic, innocent face. "Wouldn't dream of it," he says with a smile wide enough that it threatens to split his head in two.

"Uh-huh," she says, unconvinced.


Alicia waits for Sarah to check her phone. "What's up?"

Meanwhile...

Sammy extricates herself from the couch and gets up to refill the Cokes.  She checks her phone on the way past.

crud!  glad I wasn't there!

"Nothing important, like I thought."

"Ok."  Elrod says, adjusting the pillows.  "Not so much ice this time please."

"Some like it hot," she replies, and comes back with cokes that have been chilled, no ice, with some ice on the side in a bowl.  "Did you ever see that movie, 'Some Like it Hot'?  My mom giggles at my dad every time she hears the line about, the Marily n Monroe character, what's her name, Sugar, how she moves like Jello on springs.  I think Dad must have used that one on her a long time ago."

Sarah shows her phone to Alicia and Rhys.  "Looks like we've got a lead on our construction site mystery."

She forwards the message on to the US group and then types another message.

Dave - as always - U Rock!   After sending she says, "It's a little late to hunt anyone up tonight."

Elrod nods.  "I can almost imagine your mom having that effect on your dad.  She's got a nice figure for a woman that doesn't spend ninety minutes a day on the treadmill."  He smiles, "And it's certainly nice to think that your dad could get away with cheesy lines with her.  Improves my chances of slipping some past you."  He pulls her back to the couch after she's set everything down.

Rhys' eyebrows go up in obvious confusion - he has no idea what she's talking about.

Alicia frowns, then pipes up, "The lipstick on the beer cans!"

She explains quickly to Rhys, "We were checking out the construction sites that had been trashed and found some beer cans with lipstick on them, probably from whoever was there when the trashing had occurred. Someone... was it you or Sammy, Sarah? recognized the lipstick from someone dressed as Jessica Rabbit at the Halloween party last year."

Alicia beams, proud to be recognize the connection. "Gena Ballestra was the girl John saved from getting skewered during the robot fight. So it's probably not a coincidence that someone may have been trying to off her."

She puts a finger to her lip as she ponders the situation. "Yeah, it's too late to track her down tonight, but we may need to move fast on this, in case whoever it is tries again. We'll get John to point her out on Monday and, I dunno, have Sylvia chat  her up?" She looks to Sarah for her opinion.

Sarah shakes her head at Alicia, "It wasn't me so I guess it was Sammy.  I don't know lipsticks.  I'd just say... reddish.  Yeah tomorrow we can talk to Gena Balestra or quietly tail her around for a couple of days and see if it gets us anywhere.  These whole go up to their front door and  *ding dong* concerned citizens calling things we've done haven't exactly been working out so well.  Well except for the vampire.  She was nice and she's a really good baker."

Alicia opens her mouth but thinks better of it.

"OK. But tomorrow? Today is... wait, is it already after 12? Damn, the night's going too fast."

Sarah puts down her empty cup and takes another.  "So are these.  They're yummy!  And they make my ears warm like I'm wearing earmuffs."

"Wait, did you just say 'vampire?'" It's hard to tell if Rhys is more scared or excited.

Alicia presses her lips to hide a grin. Why am I not surprised?

Not that she'd ever admit to being curious herself.

Sarah waves it off, "Yeah vampire... no big deal, she's cool.  Besides more things in heaven and earth or whatever.  We've all got strange gifts so why should you be surprised that ancient legends have some truth behind them?  I've never met a werewolf but with all the creations we've encountered a Frankenstein monster can't be far behind though I imagine it would be more like the popular media image and less like the original story."

Jakob finds himself a wall that looks like it needs holding up and leans against it.  He's out of his element and it shows.  Not knowing which of his friends are ACTUALLY his friends - the ones he's ACTUALLY met in person at school, that is - only adds to his discomfort.

A couple of kids walk by him, double take at his height, and stop to make the requisite big guy jokes.  He smiles in a good-natured way and accepts the cup of beer he's handed.  The kids go on their way and Jakob leans back further into the wall.

Sylvia, who probably comes up to Jakob's armpit at most, slinks up out of nowhere with a can of grape soda in her hand.  Donnie was headed for the lavatory, last she heard, and given the lines, he might have given up and headed outside for a chilly walk to a private place.  "You look like you come to these things all the time," she says, smiling up at him.

She lets him.  "Who could resist a guy who throws himself at your feet?  Who literally falls for you?  After that kind of introduction, no cheesy line is too cheesy."

"Yep.  I'm a regular party animal.  That's me."

He leans down to speak close to Sylvia's ear.

"So - there's an alternate Sammy and an alternate John you've met so far?  Who else?  Is there an alternate me?"

Sarah helps herself to another plastic cup and gives Alicia and Rhys a sideways look.  "So have you guys found any actual school related activities your into?  Do you like sports or art or news?   Rhys you mentioned music right?  What about you Alicia?  We don't have a gymnastics team but we've got cheerleading."

"Alternate T.J.  Alternate me.  No you that we've seen yet, but in theory they're out there.  In another dimension," she adds, trying to be comforting.  "Not necessarily here with us."

Alicia gives Sarah an incredulous you're-kidding look. "Cheerleading? I don't think so."

She shrugs. "Dunno. Didn't really do much at my previous school. Didn't really have much to do, 'cept sit in class and try not to fall asleep."

Sarah grins, "We've got all sorts of stuff to do here I mean besides sit in class bored and stick our noses into anything weird that goes on.  Plus maybe if you look around you will find a niche for yourselves.  I'm volunteering at a hospital and I do the occasional courier jobs when I need some cash.  The hard part is finding places to hide my bike where it wont get stolen.  If you ever want to get the low down on anything at the school ask one of us or better yet ask Dave.  He knows all."

"Courier jobs? Hmm..." Alicia considers the option with interest.

Coming back from reverie, she asks, "I heard you do some rooftop runnin'. Any other folks y'know are into it?"

Sarah smiles and says, "It's a good job and they are always looking for help.  I can give you a few numbers if you are interested.  It's a good way to get around and look at the city, make some cash.  No fun in the rain and not much fun in general this time of year.  I've got an advantage but I only work on weekends when I've got free time and I pull two jobs at once.  One is under the table cash."

Alicia's curiosity is piqued. "Really? And what's that job?"

"Sorry, I mean I've work for two courier services on the same day at the same time.  Twice as many jobs, twice as much pay, half the time.  I just have to remember to get my bike back from whatever roof top I've ditched it on before walking back into the station." says Sarah attempting to clear up her comment.  "I think it will be more fun when it gets nice out.  I want to save up some money to do some traveling this summer." 

Alicia nods. "OK. Mom has been making noises about me finding something to do to 'keep me off the streets' and extra cash would be cool. Any chance you can put in a good word with the folks in charge?"

She grins. "I don't have a bike but I have a pair of wicked in-lines and can pretty much give any biker a run for his money on the track."

"But they seem to be free to pop into our dimension whenever they want to.  I don't want to flatten one of you by mistake here."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I can help you with that.  How about if we have a secret signal?  If you come after me, I'll scream and run."

Jakob grins.  "Sounds like a plan. Then again... I seem to have that effect on most girls so we may need a better signal."

Sylvia puckers over the urge to say something.  She flicks her gaze from the top of Jakob's head to the bottom of his clodhoppers and back again.  "Uh-huh.  May I recommend Internet romance?"

"Nah.  I'm waiting 'til I'm 18 - then I can try mail-order.  Some nice girl from the old country."

He deadpans this and manages to hold the expression - for a few seconds before he laughs.  A little.

Sylvia dimples up at him.  "Seriously, you should just get to know us.  I mean, if I'm acting weird, don't trust anything.  Don't trust me.  Don't trust reality.  Don't trust what you think or feel.  But if it's anyone else, between us we can probably figure out the difference eventually.  It's just, I'm not in the habit of looking in people's brains unless someone makes me curious.  It's probably stupid, but I think I'd be running short on friends by now if I were reading their minds on a regular basis."

OOC: That, or body parts. >:D

"Blades?  In Chicago in winter?" asks Sarah, "Yikes.  Where it's not slush it's an ice rink.  We can set you up with a hybrid or a mountain bike with some chains and you can pay it back in a month or two.  No big deal.  Oh and about the running around.  I haven't done any of that in a while.  I think it's because I'm not a big fan of the cold even though I know that five minutes in I'll be warm enough.  If you're looking for a partner I'll drag myself out if you'd like.  The closer into  the city you get the tighter the buildings so it make for better locations.  The problem is the weather though.  All the ice on everything can turn easy stuff into epic fails."

Alicia reacts in a subdued fashion to the offer of a bike. "Thanks."

In response to Sarah's comment about ice, she perks up. "That's what makes it fun," she replies with a impish grin.

Sarah shakes her head in worried awe, "You're a little crazy.  I like the ground when it stays under my feet the way it should."

She moves back to the blue drinks because they tasted better.  Before long she starts to yawn.  "I think I should head home soon.  I don't want to fall asleep here.  Do you want a ride home?"

Alicia shrugs. She's long given up hope of anything in her life being stable, including the ground.


Alicia looks at Rhys uncertaintly, then declines politely. "Um, no thanks, I gotta take care of a couple of things 'fore I get home." She gestures vaguely at her torn shirt and pants.

Sarah smiles in a dreamy kind of way, puts down her cup and gives Alicia and Rhys hugs.  "Bye guys.  I'll see you back in school unless something blows up before then." 

With a wave she vanishes *poit*

And appears on the roof again and shivers.  "Dang it's just too cold for this!"

She gets her bearings, which takes a little longer than usual and ports again... and again until she's standing on a familiar rooftop.  Across the way she could see Colin's window, dark in the night.  That's when the smell of coffee reached her.  She looked down and saw an espresso grande on the slanting roof and by the smell a mocha still wafting steam from the cap hole.  She looked back at Colin's window.  Down below was a face in the glass, framed by the street light, looking at her for a moment.

She ported into the peaceful darkness of Colin's room and squinted into the dark room.  The only person she found was Colin and his steady quiet breathing told her he was was sound asleep.  The warmth of his room made her shiver with relief.  She looked back out the window and for a moment her face was framed in the street light as she looked up to the same place where the same person was picking up the coffee before vanishing once more. 

"Guess I'm looking for familiar faces," says Sarah aloud before covering her mouth.  She looks over to Colin who still seems to be asleep.  She sits down at the foot of the bed and looks at her boy.  She realizes the spot is still warm from it's last occupant.  We both really care about you.

The sleepy, tipsy portion of her brain was telling her that there was enough room under those covers for two people and it would be so nice and warm.  The don't be an idiot portion grabs a spare sweatshirt from him and vanishes. 

Back at home she sits up typing a note to herself in bold print on her computer.  She sets the note as a moving screen saver and tries to get to sleep.  At least the lateness and the drink helped with that. 

Dear ME:
- It's OK -
Talk 2 Me
We can figure it out