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Dave begins to drop off the Usual Suspects at Sylvia's house.  Sarah is in one of the early batches, apparently feeling much better then she did yesterday.

Sammy's mom brings her to the house and comes to the door with her, Mitzi and Carolyn meet them and Sammy's mom and Sylvia's moms chat for a few minutes and are laughing before Kim leaves, telling Sam to call her when she's ready for a ride.

OOC: Sammy's schedule means she wont be able to post until later this evening, but I'm pretty sure she reads during the day.  So don't expect her to say anything until probably after 7PM EST (GMT -5)

The Banners arrive a little before the time they said they'd be there.  Of the two Betty appears to be the one with the harder edge and David certainly does not look like he's a super hero at all.  David is polite and introduces himself and his wife and then the pair sit down on the couch.  "I thought we could start with some questions, if anyone has any they'd like to ask."  David begins, "I know that right after you get your powers can be a rough time, learning to adjust and reevaluating yourself some."

Colin raises his hand. "I have questions."

He is leaning on a wall, after giving his seat to someone else. He's still in turmoil after what happened in the last few days, and after what Sylvia told him before. He's very glad Sarah could make it though. He hopes he's got a little time to talk to her after this.

"I am Colin Crow and well... how can I say it... I can see spirits and ask them to do something for me. Thank you for being here. How do we learn control?  How do we learn to use our...powers when we want, and not accidentally or against our will?" This is for Sylvia. "And how are we supposed to defend ourselves from people that would use us to get to our talents?" And this is for himself.

T.J takes a seat in a small wooden chair and examines the Banners. He isn't really impressed, but looks can be deceiving. He nods at Colin's question and adds one of his own. "And who do you suggest we should tell about our powers? Parents? No one?"

Sylvia, who's still a little skeptical that the guy in the corduroy pants is the Hulk, isn't paying full attention to the nice old people.  Matt's missing, and she thought Matt would be there before everyone, permanent marker in hand so he could ask David to sign his chest and shake the hand Matt never planned to wash again.  It's weird that he's not here, and she's worried.  The witches might have gotten him.  She tells herself to give it another five minutes, and then she'll call.

Megan had watched a few of the others arrive at Sylvia’s house from the roof of a nearby house who’s owners were either out of town or out for the evening.  She still wondered why she was even considering going to the gathering, her little experience with the group yesterday had been anything but enjoyable.  Well, maybe they were stressed about these witches Greg mentioned.  She thought, not sure if she really believed that. 

Then a car pulled up and a couple got out and started towards the house.  She figured that must be David Banner and either his assistant or his wife.  Seems like pretty much everyone is there.  She thought.

Deciding that she was here and there was nothing else she could really do to help Katie tonight, she might as well go in and see what was up.  If it sucked or was really boring, she would just leave.  Figuring Sylvia’s parents would not be too thrilled of a costumed superhero being seen showing up at their front door, Megan ran down from the roof and around the block and into the backyard of Sylvia’s house.  Coming up to the back door, she knocked as loudly as she could.

Sarah just sips from her bottle of water and lets the others get the ball rolling.  She doesn't feel very super yet.  No matter what the voices in her head say. 

A tall blonde answered the back door and smiled, "Hi.  Ah, everyone is in the living room."  She says, pointing across the kitchen, "Make yourself at home."  There was another woman standing near the sink, she smiled and waved at Velocity.

"She's going to need a costume too I suppose."  The woman near the sink says.

Megan was a bit surprised by the casualness of the woman that answered the door, but quickly smiled back and returned the wave of the other woman at the sink.  â€œThanks, I am so sorry I didn’t bring anything, but had to run downtown to get something to the PCD.  Very nice house you have by the way.”   She says, addressing it mainly to the blond woman, as she was the one that answered the door and neither immediately seemed to be Sylvia’s mother, so perhaps she was adopted.

Then she zipped into the living room, coming to a sudden halt to one side of group.  The brown ponytail swished out to the side because of the sudden stop before settling back down in place as she stood with one hand on her hip.  “Hey there, I’m Velocity…in case you didn’t figure that.  A little bird told me of this gathering and I figured it would be cool to meet some of the other superteens in the area.  I would have been here on time but had to run downtown to get something for the PCD, even superspeed can only get you places so fast.”  She said with a grin.  “The ninja-smasher over there can vouch for me.”  She quickly adds, pointing over towards Kel.

David stands up and takes his jacket off, rolling up his sleeves.  the act makes him seem even more professor like then he looked before.  "Control is the hardest part sometimes."  He says, walking around some, "I think better when I walk."  He goes around behind the couch, "The part of the brain that controls most paranormal powers is connected to the emotional centers.  Adolecense is when the frontal lobe changes, basically rewriting your personality, and this along with the hormonal changes can cause severe emotional instability.  Studies have shown that paranormals actually do a littl ebetter on the average during this time because their powers can become a focusing element in their personalities."

"David."  Betty says drawing his attention.  "They need the basics, not your Berkley lecture."  David lowers his head and smiles.

"Okay.  Conscious control is a matter of practice.  Just like any other habit formed in the brain, the more you do something the more natural it becomes.  Don't be afraid to use them either, that can cause you to form subconscious barriers to using them, and that can lead to problems and not being able to control them when you want to use them.  As for defending yourselves from other people, that's tricky.  There will always be people who can get to you, that's true even if you don't have powers.  If you actually do this, use your powers to help other people, then you're going to get hurt.  Physicaly and mentally.  You're going to loose battles, it's the nature of the beast.  You can't always be right, and you can't always win.  You just have to do what you feel is right.  There are people with super powers that do good all the time, but not by fighting super villains."

"As for who to tell, that depends on your situation.  You guys have each other, and that's important.  I hate to say this, but it's like AA.  You face a situation that is stressful and sets you apart from most everyone else.  You have to have people you can go to.  Parents, if you think they'd understand.  Friends that you would trust with your most embarrassing secret.  You have to go with your heart on that one.  I didn't tell anyone for a long time, and it cost me a lot."  He looks at his wife and smiles, "Eventually I found someone to trust and that helped me get through the tough times."

David looks up at Velocity.  "I'm David and this is my wife Betty.  Nice to meet you."

Sylvia gives Velocity a wave, but her smile doesn't seem exactly enthusiastic.  There's something funny about being exposed as a paranormal one of the people in attendance is wearing a mask.

Wow!  Velocity's outfit is totally hot!  Man, where do I get a superhero costume like that?  Oh right like I'd be caught dead in that.  At least she can run away after a fight and not have to call Dave to come pick her up.  Totally unfair.  Why couldn't my power have been teleportation?  Then you just pop in and out and you could super in the nude if you wanted because nobody could pin you down to look at you.  Not that I'd want to get into a fight naked.  That would probably be bad.  Seriously do I need to go on medication or what lately?  My brain is all over the place.  No wonder Morpheus or whatever told me to focus.  Luke Skywalker with ADD lovely.  Though Greg does make a good Yoda.

Sarah realizes she's been staring absently in the direction of Velocity during her internal monologue and tries to focus back on what Mr. Banner had to say in the way of helpful hints of superheroing.  I really do need to figure out how to disguise myself though.  I mean who's going to take Sarah Collins student loser seriously as a threat?  Especially if I'm going to drop in on Janey for a little lesson in manners.

She involuntarily grins at that thought. 

Colin's jaw drops when Velocity appears. Partly because Kel said she was hot, and boy, was he right. Partly because Chris told him they didn't have Velocity's number, and that even if they had it, he couldn't give it to him. Colin so asked him to leave a message for her, and since Sylvia didn't want him to use her address or phone number, he left his own, in case she contacted the PCD. But she never called. Maybe she dropped by his home and Alex told her where to find them? Nah, she would have mentioned it. She likely never received his message. And there she is anyway. Maybe the Banners told some other superhero friend what they would be doing. Oh well, he's glad she made it anyway. Kel will be happy. Matt probably even more so.

He nods to her with respect. After all, she is already doing what they all would like to be doing. Then he decides to look at her and at the Banners with his ghost sight, just to see how they look.

"Mr. Banner, what about the law? Should we all go to the PCD like velocity did, so they know we're the good guys? Should we make ourselves costumes as well?"

"Uh, unless there's some underground funding organization for superhero costumes mine is totally going to suck.  I mean I can NOT sew.  I'd bleed myself to death before I finished the mask let alone the outfit."

Sarah glances at Velocity's outfit once more, this time with envy.

Matt comes wandering in a little late, having forced Dave to wait for him while he just gathered some brief 'research material' and emerged ten minutes later with a packed backpack, much to Dave's likely irritation of being too late for the meeting. He stumbles into the living room, and starts asking "Hey, am I too late, is--" then he runs into the just arriving Velocity and get's eyes big as saucers, then turns around and realizes he's probably just interrupted the Hulk's lecture, and his jaw tries to fall out of his skull. Before anyone can say anything he hurries to the back, where he plunks down, not concidering himself much more than a fanboy at this point, ready to just listen in...

Donnie was nervous. As nervous as when he went with Sylvia to the dance. Since Syvia's mom had the odd alchemical ingredients he was looking into, he had decided to gift to Carolyn one of the books he had recently ordered and received, a book on herbal remedies and recipies. Dave dropped him off and it did not seem that the Banners were there yet. He rang the doorbell, wiping suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans. Sylvia answered the door, looking attractive as ever, but Donnie immediately caught that she was tense and awkward. "Hi Sylvia. Anyone else here yet?" Walking down the hall behind her he saw Carolyn, and Donnie gave her a smile.
"Hello Mrs Avery-Vaughn. How are you?" Carolyn smiled broadly, obviously amused. "It's just Avery, actually, but you can call me Carolyn." She shook Donnie's hand and accepted the book.

"I thought you may like this, since you use a lot of natural herbs and ingredients."  Donnie said, releived he was not receiving the intense once over like the first time he had met the imposing woman. Carolyn's smile grew even broader. "Oh, not me. Mitzi will love this though."

Donnie's head cocked slightly, as a confused look came over his face. From behind Carolyn came a stunningly attractive blonde woman, acheiving withoutmake-up what Donnie's mother spent hours on every morning in front of her beauty mirror doing. "Donnie! It's a pleasure to meet you finally. Sylvia has told us about you."  

Sylvia looked uncomfortable, not looking at Donnie's face. "This is mom and momda."

Donnie looked confused for a moment, the realization struck. "Oh, uh. Hi uh, Ms. Vaughn." He shook her hand as she reached out her own and was blushing furiously. He was cursing silently to himself, knowing his palms were clammy. "Thank you for the talcum powder and the sandalwood oil. I know that stuff is expensive as heck now that the export from India has slowed to a crawl. Do you order it online or go to a local shop?" Donnie knew he was babbling, but couldn't seem to stop. "I was wondering in case I needed to get some more or other ingredients for recipies and stuff. Unless you'd not say, if it is a private seller or something; I'd understand."  

Mitzi smiled at Donnie. "Oh, I have my sources. We can talk about it later after the gathering tonight. Your friends Colin and Sarah are already here and are in the living room. PLease, make yourself at home. Thank you very much for the book; I do not think I have this volume yet." She indicated with one slim hand the living room, and Donnie obediently entered the room, seeing Sarah and Colin. He smiled shakily and walked towards them, nodding hello. "Hi Sarah. Glad to hear your feeling better."

He did not look to see if Sylvia follwed him in. He was so embarrassed that he had made a fool of himself in front of Sylvia's parents. Two moms. Why hadn't she told me before tonight, dropping it like a bomb in front of me? Didn't she want me to know? Had she done it intentionally to shock me? Embarrass me? Dammit. She makes no sense sometimes. I can't read her at all. This night sucks so far. I could be online with my friends that don't hide things from me.  Goddammit, shut up Donnie. You have more important things to worry about..

He sat down on the couch and tried to silence his inner voice.

Kel has been casually lounging in a chair by the door, sipping on some soda, teetering back onto one or two legs of the chair every once in a while as the questions and more importantly answers begin.  Velocity knows how to make an entrance, and now that she's standing still he finally gets a good look at her and is more than pleased, a dirty smirk is on his face.  He silently gestures for Velocity to take an open seat near him as Colin asks about the law, it after all was an important question.

T.J looks up at Velocity and holds up a hand in greeting. "Hello." He then returns to listening to David Banner. "Thanks for that. Also, just so you know, I'm T.J and I'm a bit of a science wiz and I can do... other things." He listens earnestly for the answer to Colin’s question.

Velocity's aura is a blur of color and streakes of light.  It seems to be moving even though she's standing still.

Betty Banner has an aura that could light a room if it were visible.  It has a singluar purity to it that makes Colin think it makes her look like a nun.  It's warm light seems almost soothing to Colin, in contrast to her physical features which seem somewhat tense."

When Colin turns his ghost sight on David Banner he almost jumps back.  David'a aura is eight feet tall and muscular, and it turns to look at Colin when his ghost sight illuminates it.  It's a silent movie as it bears it's teeth and seems to yell, silently, then it morphs into a soft red aura, then back into the monster.


"That's another tricky thing.  I know the Inspector in charge of PCD in Chicago, Kevin Kiernan.  He's very familiar with paranormals and would probably jumpt at the offer of help, but that's a very personal thing.  Some of you may not want to fight crime, some do.  Just please, try to remember to be kids too.  you're all becoming adults, just don't forget to enjoy your youth too."

"As far as costumes.  Protecting your identity is important unless you plan on letting the world know, and even then sometimes people tend to not be able to associate people they know with a super hero personae they've seen."

Donnie greets everyone as they enter, fighting the urge to scowl at Kel who snatched up a soda and lounged on a chair, seeming totally at home in the Avery-Vaughn household. I'm sure KEL knew about this. When Velocity makes her appearance, he was agog at her and her outfit. Holy @#$%! Now I feel like I really am in a comic book.. He looks away after saying hi, concentrating on keeping his eyes above the neckline.

Matt chuckles low in the back, saying a word sounding like 'glasses' inbetween chuckles, thinking about the numerous heroes who've tried and gotten away with that trick in comics and probably in real life as well.

When Donnie arrives, Sylvia finds it even harder to pay attention to the Banners.  She makes sure he's got a seat and a drink, and then, despite the importance of what's going on, he seems to be what her eyes come back to rest upon whenever they've made a circuit of the room.  His face, his hands.  Maybe she's looking for Pip.

Megan gave Sarah a smile as she had mentioned the difficulty of sewing a costume.  “Sewing does totally suck, but one of the nice fringe benefits of my speed is I do pretty much EVERYTHING waaaaay faster than normal.”   Then as Matt arrived, he had just barely jostled her than she was on the other side of the room behind the chair that Kel had pointed too, leaning on the back. 

“Thanks, I think I’ll stand.”  She replied to Kel.  Looking around and gauging peoples reactions, it was obvious that the fact she was a paranormal like…most of them made their reactions more friendly, that and the fact she knew that the tight costume went a long way with the boys as well.  She wondered if their reaction would be much different if they knew what face was beneath the mask.

As Banner mentioned Inspector Kiernan, she looks back up and speaks up.  “Oh yeah, I spoke with Kevin earlier, he wished he could have meet up with you, but things have been really crazy for him lately.”

Kel seems slightly miffed at her response, but shrugs and lets it roll off his shoulders or attempts to at least it is hard to deal with being snubbed by a hot superheroine but at least she's close by.  He lets his eyes watch over her, trying to figure out who might be beneath the mask, but sighs after all it could be anyone.  He then looks over at the Banners, and then says, "Assuming that we do end up fighting crime, supervillains, or whatever, any suggestions you have on coordinating our powers in combat or at least practicing them, or is that something that you only find out with practice in the field?"

"If you decide to be a team, some or all of you, then you need to spend time practicing.  To be really effective you have to know what to expect from the other people, mainly so you're not getting in each others way.  Sometimes it's easy to follow someone else, some people don't do well unless they're the leader.  That's something you'll have to work out if you plan to work together.  Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, you just have to spend some time and find out what those are and learnt o cover for each other."

David nods when Velocity mentions Kevin Kiernan.  "Yeah, we were hoping to see him but things here have kind of exploded.  The fact that you're all here, suggests that there might be a reason for it.  Some could call it fate, some divine intervention, and some might say it's just a collision of probability factors.  Whatever it is, you're all here at the same time in the same general place.  Don't get wrapped up in thinking you have some huge destiny hanging over your heads, but keep in mind that something big might happen.  At the very least a lot of little somethings might happen, and someone needs to be there to do something about it."

Donnie speaks up. "We are current;y dealing with a coven of witches who have cast a number of spells on students, some friends, and others not. Do you have any suggestions for how to deal with them? We are pretty positive we have identified at least three, and there may be a connection between them and the superman drug. As you can see,"  Donnie continues, pointing to the purplish bruise on the side of his head, "there was a bogus summons to the office that was likely done by two of the girls, and Kel and I were seperately attacked. Kel is a super-ninja baddass, but I would have likely had my head caved in had it not been for Samantha intervening."  He tips his head to where Sam sits. "They were identified positively as hopped up n superman when they were taken in by the police after Kel, Sam, and another, uh, friend took them out. Sylvia said her mom might have some knowledge of witchery and the Craft, and I'd really like to hear about it, but I was wondering if you had anything to suggest too."

Sylvia pulls her gaze away from Donnie.  "What if we run into something we can't handle?  That's what we--what I--wanted to contact the Avengers for.  They can't help?  They can't sweep in here and take all the bad guys away?"  Why risk their necks after all, when there are grown-ups around?

OOC:What? Sylvia's looking at me?

Donnie's Notice to catch Sylvia staring at him. ;) (1d20+1=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=687534)

Totally oblivious..

 :laugh:

"Well, I wont lie to you and tell you it'll be easy.  If you do run into something that you can't handle then you try to contact people who can.  There is nothing wrong with asking for help.  I've done it plenty of times."

But he's not offering to Hulk out, storm the school, and cart away the miscreants to some juvenile branch of Arizona Flats.  Sylvia's disappointed in the Banners.  What are superheroes good for, after all?  Maybe it's because he's retired.

She nods, looking disconsolate, and thinks of Rory.  Next meeting, forget the Avengers.  She wants to talk to Colin's not-quite-dad and this Kiernan guy.

Colin involuntary takes a step back and nearly makes a vase fall over as he looks at David's aura. He wonders how that... monster noticed him. He remembers Bobby telling him not to stare. He wonders what it means to have to live together with that thing. It makes him see Mr. Banner on a different light, as a man really worthy of respect.

He catches Sylvia staring at Donnie, and wonders what her decision is. He hopes she's not denying herself a chance to be happy.

"Who should we ask? I mean, you'll be in New York. Do you know anyone around here we could ask?"

Megan listens to Banner’s explanation as to potential reasons why there is the sudden increase in supepowered individuals in the area.  She wasn’t completely sure she liked the idea that something big might happen.  She also listened as Donnie started explaining the witches, but then noticed Colin start backward and almost knock over a vase.  In a quick movement, she was over there holding the vase in place, just in case.  “Careful, don’t want to mess up this nice house.”  She said quietly so as not to interrupt Donnie, giving Colin a little smile. 

Hearing the rest of what Donnie had to say, she had to be impressed with Kel being able to fight off some guys on “superman”, and somewhat amazed Donnie was still breathing if he had been as well.  She was pretty sure that guy she saved the cop from that first night had likely been on “superman”, and he had been scary.  She looked over at Sammy when Donnie mentioned her, recognizing her as the girl from the locker room and the ice girl incident.  If she had helped fight the guy off, then she had learned a lot from that day as well.  Hopefully she wouldn’t make a connection with her from that, she did after all have the brunette wig ponytail to hide her hair color and was also quite a bit faster than she had been then. 

The questions started arising about what sort of help they might be able to get.  It sounded like these witches were being a real problem for most everyone here, especially if they were attacking them at school.  Megan was very glad for her anonymity at the moment, hoping it would remain.  As Colin asked who was around here to help them, she spoke up.  “Well, I have just started working with them, but the PCD seem to have some experience.  They netted two of those fakes posing as me last night on their own.  There are likely others out there that might be able to help.  I don’t know where he stands, but there is a boy out there calling himself Spark that can throw around bolts of electricity.  But when I met him Monday night he was taking the money from a drug dealer he had shocked unconscious.   And destroying the drugs he had.”   She added the last bit part quickly, not wanting to make Spark sound completely bad.

"Well.  Kevin is a good source of help.  If you're fighting someone chances are it's because they're doing something wrong and involving the police could help.  I'll give you my card, and if you have a problem that you think is something that's beyond the police or that you think might be something they just can't help with you can call me and I can get you some help."  He takes out his wallet and sets a card on the coffee table.

"I wish there was some really stirring speech I could give you that would help.  As a father of two my real advice should be don't go running around being super heroes until you're grown up and had years of training.  Unfortunately there isn't really much in the way of training out there.  I know some people who might be able to coach you on self-defense techniques and the like, and give practical advice on investigating, but there really is no super hero school.  The world has always just needed them, and they've always seemed to be there.  Usually it's people that just want to help others.  Sometimes I think that people like you, young people who are just discovering they have powers and wanting to do good with them are the best example of humanity."

Sarah takes another drink of water while she listen.  After Mr. Banners advice she stands up and looks over the group.  "So lets do it.  We can start practicing together.  Figuring out our powers together."  She looks at Velocity again and sighs, "Maybe sewing together?" she adds hopefully, "Otherwise I'm going to go buy some close fitting workout clothes and a mask and probably get written up in the paper as the vigilante jogger."

Sammy sat quietly attentive in a chair placed on the side of the room.  She was interested in what Dr. Banner had to say, but not as interested in that as in the questions the other kids had to ask, and in the way they acted around each other.  She felt somewhat awkward, not really knowing anybody in the room, and she was terrified of asking a stupid, or worse yet, naive question.  "Velocity" has a nice costume, but it looks cold.  Looks like Kel would be happy to warm her up.  And Donnie.  And Colin.  I'd never be able to pull off a costume like that, not without a couple of rolls of toilet paper for padding.

Sammy startles herself by speaking.  "Ice skater's clothing.  It'll look nicer than workout clothes or unitards."  She flushes self-consciously.  "I've been looking in books for ideas."

"Does anyone have powers that are particularly hard on cloths?"  Betty asks.  "If you wanted something fairly simple so that you all sort of matched I'm sure we could make some calls and come up with something."

Sammy chokes on her cola, but manages not to spray it over the pleasantly decorated room.
And look totally inadequate compared to Velocity by wearing the same costume?  Hell no!
"I kind of liked the idea of having my own costume."

Kel nods in agreement with Sammy, "While none of our powers are not exactly that difficult on clothes, what our powers actually allow us to do will affect what we need costume wise.  Some of us are probably going to be getting into the center of combat so we're not going to want anything loose or easy to snag, while others might need something with lots of pockets to carry whatever we need.  Plus of course, we should at least try to look good in what we do."  His eyes float over to Velocity when he says the last sentence, but then he quickly tries to cover over his straying eyes by letting his eyes wander over everyone else as well.

"Yeah."  Betty says, smiling, "I know what you mean.  Sometimes it's nice to look good in your own outfit."

"Genius!  Pure genius!" Sarah pipes up. 
"Now all we need is a flashy superfast ride to get around town in so we're not explaining to bus drivers why a bunch of us are always off to costume parties every other night... in the same costumes.  No offense to the VanGo and it's noble and altrustic navigator Dave but it's not exactly cutting edge technology.  Too bad we couldn't fix it up a little."

Donnie frowns, a bit annoyed his question had been passed over for a discussion on costumes. Maybe the Banners knew nothing on magic. His eyes strayed over to Sylvia, emotions flip flopping in his stomach. Don't think about that right now. We need to focus. For just a brief moment, he felt as if Pip was curled around his neck again, the hot, sandy scent of reptile, and the feeling of his breath whuffing in his hair. He calmed after that, and allowed the conversation to go where it will. Perhaps after the 'official' meeting, he could get a chance to talk to Carolyn or Mitzi, whoever was familiar with witchcraft. Probably Mitzi. Was she Mom or Momda? I'll have to ask how they wish to be addressed..

Megan almost chuckled as Sarah brought up the idea of sewing together and costumes.  While normally she would love talking about clothes, the looks Sarah was giving her, and Sammy as well, told her that it might not be too good an idea right now, not unless she wanted all the girls present to be out for her head.  Some of the boys sure seemed to enjoy how she looked in her costume, which was partially the idea.  Of course thinking of boys had her thinking of Cal and the fact they had not see much of each other so far this week.

Pushing the depressing though from her head, she continued to listen to the costume discussion.  When Sammy mentioned ice skater’s clothing, she nodded.  “Yeah, I have looked at some of those myself, skin suits and the like.  So far it has been okay, but I am worried that if I keep getting faster the stitches of this fifteen hours or so of sewing crammed into three hours is going to start coming apart on me.”   

When Sarah then turned to the idea of a fast vehicle, she put her hands up.  “Don’t look at me.  I’m fast, not superstrong.”

Sammy notices Donnie's frown, and realizes that his concerns had been blown over.  "Maybe we should save the superhero bling discussion for another time, like after we decide if we are even all going to work together or not, after we find out what each other can do, why we're doing it, what we need to succeed.  I don't know anything about any of you.  You only know about me because I found Kel and because I acted without a disguise and was seen by some of you.  Donnie... you need to know more about magic?  Is that what you do, magic?  I do air stuff.  I can fly, and make air move around.  I can also bring up a protective wall of wind around me that I might be able to make bigger to protect other people if I keep working at it.  I don't know anything about magic though."

"Someone asked about magical expertise?"  Betty said, pointing to donnie, "You right?  We're not really the right people for that, I can make some calls though andsee if anyone in the area can help."

"That would be great Mrs. Banner." He turns to Sam. "I managed to cast one spell, after like a week of research and writing Donnie's Dweomer Tracer. It allowed Colin, Kel, Matt, TJ, and Sylvia to track down the witch that cast the spell on Colin. I guess they did something similar to find me, 'cause it was the next morning I almost had my block knocked off." Donnie blushed slightlly, murmuring to Sarah near him "Too much DnD, I know."

When Megan heard Donnie mention casting a spell to track down the witch that had cast some spells on Colin, she suddenly fixed her gaze on him as she spoke up, her tone far more serious than it had been so far.  “Do you think you could do a spell that could track down a person if you had something that belonged too her?”

"Ah."  Betty begins, "I get the feeling you were easier to find then you think.  Most of you site together at lunch, don't you?"

Sammy shakes her head no.  "Not me.  I don't even know half the people here.  I only just contacted Kel when I figured out who he was, and I stepped up to protect Donnie when I saw him being attacked.  I... I think I might have my own set of people after me, or maybe its the same people for a different reason."

"Yeah, but I didn't go with them to track the witch down. You think it might have been random who they chose?" He responded to Velocity. "Possibly. I would have to do a lot more work.."

"I meant how they found Donnie.  They looked at all of you and using what they knew and what was obvious guessed the rest.  They must have though you were a serious threat if they singled you out."  Betty seemed to see things in a more big picture way then David, it might have been everyone's imagination.

Megan felt a little bit down at Donnie’s less than confident answer.  She still figured it might be something to tell Kevin they might want to try if the sensitive he was talking about didn’t pan out.  While things continued about how the witches found Donnie and Sammy’s concern that people might be after her, Megan just remained silent.

"Me? A threat?" Donnie gave a short self depreciating laugh. "I doubt that."

"Well, they only attacked two of you.  They must have thought you were some kind of threat.  Maybe they figured out you were able to cast spells."

Donnie looked thoughtful. He looked over at Sam, who had now endangered herself for his sake. "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this Samantha."

"It's better than being bait for a trap to catch me.  Things keep happening in front of me, around me.  I feel like a weirdness magnet.  I think maybe somebody went after a friend of mine in an attempt to pull me out, to see what I would do, what I could do."

"What friend?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Banner. Maybe we could deal with the witches, but we know about something bigger too, that already caused the death of a friend of ours. If we are to face that, we're gonna need all the help we can get."


"Maybe I could help you with that, Velocity.  I already managed once to find something that was stolen. I might not be able to tell you where she is now, but at least what happened to her. I hope at least. There's rearely anything to be sure about what I can do."


"Donnie, I could tell if you were casting a spell just by looking at you. I didn't know their names, but I could tell the other witches that were looking for us. Kel and I tried to stay clear of you until they were gone, just because I didn't want them to find you. It looks like it wasn't enough. I'm sorry."


"Welcome to the club." he whispers. Those were the same words Bobby used to describe Colin.

"Well, we pretty much know what happened to her, least partly.  Its finding where she is now that is the next step.  The PCD is bringing in a 'sensitive', so maybe that might help."   Megan replied.  She then looked back at David Banner, there was something she had been thinking of and wanted to ask him, but did not want to ask it in front of the others as it would likely be enough information for them to piece some things together.  She would just have to catch the Banners on their way out, not a particularly hard thing to do when you were super fast.

"Honestly, the only way to know if I I could be of help or not would be trying. Would you like to have my number, in case you change your mind and want to give it a try?"

“True, but the PCD already has the item that belonged to her.”  Megan replies to Colin’s comment.  “Don’t worry, if things don’t work out with the PCD’s plan, I am sure I can find you.”  She says with a smile. 

Sam's head hurts.  It seems like there are 10 conversations going on all at once.  In a lowered tone, she speaks directly to Sylvia.  It's not meant to be a private conversation, just an effort to reduce the overall chaos.


"Did you hear about the bees on the school roof, the ones that stung the gym teacher and a student?  They weren't normal bees.  They were genetically engineered to deliver some sort of sleep drug in their sting.  They knocked out the teacher, then attacked my friend and carried her to the roof of the pool building.  She was missing from band practice, so I went looking for her. There was a trail of dead bees leading up to the roof, so I followed it.  I noticed the swarm in the air conditioning units.  I got their attention and made them follow me.  I led them into the car wash at a gas station down the road from school, and they drowned.  I collected some of the carcasses because they looked wrong, and I took them to Mr. Heep, one of the science teachers.  He's the one who figured out they were gengineered."

"Mr. Heep and I started talking about why anybody would make a bee that could put someone to sleep then carry them away.  He remembered that a supervillain did something similar in the late 60s or early 70s.  He used the bees to kidnap people.  Heather is normal, no powers as far as I know.  Her family isn't rich, or powerful, or anything out of the ordinary.  But she is my friend.  I think there's a strong chance that someone was trying to flush me out of the bushes, either to see what I could do or to try to make me the next kidnap victim.  There are a couple of good reasons why this might be true.  I don't think it was your witches, mostly because I don't think they knew about me then.  Then..."

Sammy flashes a guilty smile.

"In a sick kind of way, I'm glad the witches were probably the ones after Donnie.  Otherwise I'd think that he was set up to pull me out too, and I'd feel really guilty about that.  I have enough to worry about as it is."

Sylvia looks concerned.  The bee story had come across the newspaper desk, but this takes it from sinister to menacing.  "Who knows you're a paranormal?  I mean, have you always been the UFG?"

"Well," David says, begining to roll his sleeves down, "I hope that I've helped.  You have my numbers, if you need any advice or even just someone to talk to, don't hesitate to call.  Does anyone have anything else they'd like to ask?"

Donnie hands Mrs. Banner his cell phone number. "This is my cell phone. If you wouldn't mind letting me know who to contact locally, I'd appreciate it." He was looking forward to talking to Mitzi afterwards, especially if the Witches had decided to target him.

Betty smiles and  puts her hand on his shoulder, he's almost sure she's about to cry but she takes a deep breath.  "You keep getting younger all the time.  It's not fair to you guys."

David gets his coat and he and Betty start to go.  They say good-bye to everyone and shake hands.  "It's been nice meeting all of you."  David says as they go out the door towards their car.

Megan looked over as Banner made it sound like he was done for the moment, with little else he could do to advise them just now.  She really wanted to ask her question, but did not want to do so with everyone there.  Figuring it could wait or just did not really matter, she looked around at the others, wondering what they were planning to do now.  If it was just sit around and talk more, she was not so sure she would stick around long for that.  In some way, dressed as Velocity, she found it a bit hard to sit still.  Besides, as she far preferred helping people, such as pulling them out of in front of an out of control car or something, sitting around talking and planning would not lead to chances to do that.

Sylvia looks pensive.  "That was really . . . "  She can't shake the feeling that, while the Banners gave them a heap of moral support, they're still pretty much on their own.  " . . . entertaining.  I'm thinking, though, that, before we deal with costumes and training, we should probably deal with those girls.  They pose a threat to all of us, except Velocity, and we should figure out how to . . . "  Another pause.  She doesn't like the finality of the first word that comes to mind.  " . . . neutralize them."

She looks at Mitzi, hoping Mommy will make it all better.  Well, really her hope of finding a hero to save them has dwindled since meeting the Avengers' ambassadors.  What she wants now is tactical advice.

"A wise man once said that super heroing was easy.  It basically boils doen to a few simple rules.  Know your enemy.  Do what needs to be done.  Learn to communicate.  Expect adversity.  Never go off half-cocked."  David seems a little more solid, like those simple words had a very deep meaning for him.  "So, knowledge is power.  Learn what you can, even a little knowledge can turn the tide.  Being a super hero means always thinking outside the box.  An opponent might not have a weakness or vilnerability, but a clever application of logic might save the day."

"Do what needs to be done.  No plan survives enemy contact intact, so be prepared to improvise.  Be prepared to get bruised and bloody and hurt, but until the job is done you have to keep going.  That's where the hero part of super hero comes from."

"Communication is important.  It's more then takling, it's communicating ideas and intentions and the most important part is honesty.  Cell phones, radios, hand signals and good old fashion yelling.  Communicationg what you're capable of and what you plan to do might save someone from repeating your effort or doing somthing counter to it."

"Expect adversity.  Get used to it, and learn to adapt to it.  If you end up doing this, even part-time, you'll have to come to expect the totally unexpected and the incredibly unlikely.  Keep your head, do what needs to be done.  Learn to fall apart afterwards."

"That's the fundamentals of what the Avengers did for over twenty-five years.  They were distilled into that philosophy by one of my best friends and he lived by them until the day he died."

Betty puts her hand up, 'There is one more thing.  You will have fun."  she smiles, "There is an enormous thrill being even on the sidelines when you stop something horrible from happening.  When you save a life, or help someone, or overcome something really terrible for a greater good there is a power thrill.  Try to remember that, because it'll make your failures bearable.  One victory is more uplifting then the weight of a dozen failures.  You just have to keep faith and keep going."

Megan listened to the Banners’ parting words, and was not so sure about some of it.  She did not feel cut out to be a warrior or fighter or something like that, though she did realize she was getting a bit more used too it.  But Betty’s final words did hit home some.  Running around as Velocity was fun, and she definitely remembered how she felt when she saved the police officer that first night, and again when she saw him last night.

But she was not so sure that one victory would overcome several failures.  Thinking of Katie, she felt her failure fare supplanted anything she had managed to do so far.  And she was not even sure she would be able to do anything to correct it.  With an inward sigh, she looked back at the group as Sylvia spoke up, brining everyone back to focus on the problem with the witches. 

Sammy's first response to this is a carefully neutral stare at Sylvia.  In a quiet voice she asks,  "What's a UFG?"
It had better not be anything that starts with Ugly...

"I don't think a lot of people know what I am.  My mom knew before I did; she has powers but doesn't use them.  Its a long story... but  she had her babies tested for the R Factor  right after each of us was born.  My sisters don't know yet, neither does my dad.  Other than that... you guys know.  Maybe Elrod, because of what happened at that party.  Megan Howell might suspect something.  I think she saw me fly the first time it happened, when the ice girl came into the locker room.  Oh, one of the school counselors knows.  I got really upset when that boy died because the attack happened right in front of me and I didn't know then how to help him.  I got scared because it looked like he had powers, and he used them, and he died.  I was afraid that if I tried to use my powers I'd get in over my head too, and I would die.  So I told the counselor, but he promised anything I told him was confidential."    She thinks some more.  "Or maybe somebody just saw me and I don't know about it."

The Banners had only just gone out the front door when Megan figured she might as well go ask her question while everyone seemed focused on discussing the witches more now.  â€œBe right back, just realized something I had forgotten to ask.”  She says as she runs back out the front door and after the Banners.  She rushes up just ahead of them as they neared their car and came to a stop.

“Sorry, had a question I did want to ask…just not in front of the others.”  She says as she looked at David Banner.  “Mr. Banner, have you ever heard of cases where someone has gotten powers through some sort of accident and they wind up harming them?”

"Yeah, there have been a few cases like that.  You think that your powers might be potentially harmful?"

The answer Banner gave her was not quite what she would have hoped, but was not too surprising.  “Well, I don’t think so, but I believe they were caused by this accident I was in at a lab a month or so ago.  It seems so natural and everything now, but I was just wondering if it was possible if powers that were unnatural to a person could be somehow harmful to the them.  I guess I’ll just have to watch for any signs of things not feeling right or something.”

"It's very rare that someone gets powers that are dangerous to them.  If you feel that there might be something wrong, call.  I know some doctors who specialize in paranormals and know what to look for.  Like I said, as rare as getting powers is, getting powers that are a danger to your health is even more rare."

"Sorry," Sylvia says.  "It's what we were calling you.  Unidentified Flying Girl."


Sylvia hasn't met the counselor yet and so assumes he's the kind of soft, granola-crunching, self-help-book-reading, bachelor's-in-psych-having, plaid-shirt-wearing guy they import from Oregon these days.  "That's creepy, the idea that someone might be keeping track of you.  Hey, I know you're new and all--with us, I mean--but you know, if you run into trouble, we're here.  We're learning to be useful."

Megan felt a feeling of relief wash over her as she smiled at the Banners.  “Thanks, that is something of a relief.  It was really nice of both of you to take the time to come out and meet with us.  Not that many adults take those our age all that seriously, its nice to be treated a bit more as equals for a change.  Hope you have a good trip back home.”  She said as she stood aside to they could get into their car.

Colin raises his eyebrows. How? Why does everybody seem to know where to find me??? There's a guide at there? 'There you can see the Crow Mansion. Be sure to try Mama Walters' cookies, but stay clear of her rolling pin'?

He tries to memorize David's rules. He likes them. They make the job seem simple. Difficult but simple. And at this moment in his life, he likes simple. He needs simple.
It's not too hard. We can do it. Just keep telling yourself that, and maybe it'll become true.



"Oh, sorry, that's my doing. I didn't know how to call you after the party. It looks like Kel could identify you quite well, actually, but he kept your secret."


Colin's eyes become deadly serious. "You're talking about Rory. Rory didn't have powers. What happened to him was the result of someone using him as a guinea-pig for a necromantic spell. A curse. There are many ways to call what has been done to him. I call it murder."


He relaxes a bit. "Yes, Sylvia is right. Maybe we could help each other a bit with our problems. You saved Donnie today. Maybe we can find a way to help you find out about those bees and who sent them."

She smiles at him.  "That would be nice.  Just some help keeping watch over my innocent friends would be nice.  I don't want them hurt because of me.  One other thing --  everybody keeps forgetting something important.  Donnie saved me too.  The crazy boy was about to really hurt me, and I couldn't touch him at all.  Then a dragon appeared and suddenly there was no more problem.  I didn't do that.  You didn't do that.  That leaves Donnie.  So really, Donnie saved Donnie."

Somehow, this triggers a thought into Colin. He takes a look around.

Sylvia - illusions. She can fool anyone. Check.
Kel - super kung-fu moves. Check.
Sarah - magical weapons of ass-kicking. Check.
Donnie - dragons that appears out of nowhere to defend him. Check.
T.J. - attacks go rights through him. Check.
Sammy - shields of wind. Check.

Uhmmm....

Blackbird, how come I'm the only one who can't defend himself? Not that I'm complaining about my gifts, but... please just tell me that I still have to learn many things, and that all will be clear at will make sense at some point, because, right now, it looks to me they all got powers after they knew me... so they could keep me out of trouble. It's not that way, is it? Tell me they haven't got their powers because of me.

"They got their powers because they were supposed to.  They're here because they're supposed to be.  They will look after you because they want to.
"

Colin sighs in relief.

Oh God and Great Spirit thank you. I couldn't really stand being responsible for that too. Now it's a matter of making myself less helpless, I guess. Maybe I'll see if Chris can find me a self-defense course somewhere.

Kel has casually lounged throughout the entire thing, he notices Velocity steps out as the Banners leave.  Fearing that they might lose their only current masked crime-fighting ally before things have even started, he slips out and goes around the long way, through the back and eventually coming out in front of her.  He looks up at her standing alone after the Banners have left and says, "Not planning on leaving anytime soon I hope."

Megan looks over at Kel as he comes outside as the Banner’s car disappears down the street.  “Hmm, not sure.  You guys seem to talk a lot.  I am not really one to like standing still for too long.”  She replied with a smile.  â€œIt hard to save someone from something if I am sitting around talking.”

Kel laughs a bit, "I figured as much.  Bothers me too, all talk no action.  Hopefully though we'll be on the move soon, in more than a few ways."  He looks around to make sure they're alone, "A few of us are going out to patrol the streets on Friday, just to get a feel for it, and being in costume, before we track down these witches.  Which reminds me, would be in for that?  We could sure use someone who's fast when we go after these girls, who knows what they're going to do really, we want to be every step ahead of them that we can."

“By Friday you mean tomorrow right?”  Megan replied with a grin.  â€œI would be happy to provide what help I can when you are ready to face these girls.  Tomorrow night I have some other things to do though.”

Kel nods, "Yes, we're not going after these girls for another few days, need time for them to prepare the spells. figure out exactly what's happeninng and probably.." He heaves a heavy sigh, "talk it over a few thousand times."  He then looks at her and says, "Is there anyway of getting in touch with you so we can get you there when it all goes down?"

“Well, you could always start another ninja brawl on your front lawn.”  Megan replies with a sly smile.  “But, no right now don’t have any easy way of reaching me.  Don’t worry about it though, I am sure I will hear about it when things are ready.”

Kel chuckles a bit at her joke, and a bit downtrodden when she can't think of any good way for contact to be established.  He then looks up at the sky and says, "Well, here's to hoping you hear about it."  He takes the steps up to the door, standing shoulder to shoulder with Velocity he says, "I'll be seeing you I guess."  He then wanders in the house to make a few quick goodbyes before heading home himself.

“Oh, I am sure you will, I get around to a lot of places after all.”  Megan replies with a grin.  She zips in front of Kel just as he is at the door.  “I should say goodbye as well.”   Opening the door, she zips inside to say goodbye to everyone, thank Sylvia’s mom’s for having them over and again what a nice house they have and then is off to head for home.

Matt still sat up against the wall, his arms around his bunched up legs, having listened in mostly silence for the whole time. He thinks about the old newspaper he's got in his bag, dated Monday, August 13, 1973, with the headline 'Avengers Assemble!', and he's glad he didnt bring it out. Fanboyism was not something these folks deserved.

He'd been so exited about this meeting, and when it happened he naturally had nothing to ask these folks without turning on his inner geek and going 'what's the most dangerous super villain you've ever faced Mr Hulk, huh?!' And that would just have been stupid. In the end he didnt really have anything to do here, he wasnt even a sidekick when it came down to it, just the tag-along that most of them probably didnt even like.

Except... he glances over at Sarah. He'd been wondering ever since she told him what she saw if she could have been right, but had mostly just filed it away in the back of his head for some reason, figuring that there was just no way. But right now he was in the living room with a whole bunch of super heroes, one even costumed, and the Hulk had just left! Expect the unexpected and the highly unlikely? Maybe he needed to think about trying out that camera option, filming himself during sleep to see if he changed into... anything. He just didnt 1) have any idea how to set up something like that and 2) certainly didnt have the gear for it, so odds are it wouldnt happen any time soon.

He gets up, picks up the buisness card left behind by David Banner, and makes a note of his number, figuring he'll try to call him later and ask if he's got any advice if someone doesnt even know if they got powers or not...

Mitzi and Carolyn both thank Velocity for coming and for the nice things she said about the house.  "you're always welcom."  Mitzi says, "All of you."

Colin can't resist the temptation to take a brief look, just a blink, at Sylvia's moms aura. He likes them too much.

He shakes Velocity's hand as she takes leave, trying to look at her eys behind the mask. "Good luck! Not you need it of course. If you ever think we could be of help... you know where to find us."

He notices Matt has been strangely silent. He walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Matt, is it alright?" It's been quite some time since they had that heated discussion, and though he expressed his dislike of the witches rather violently, he has been more friendly and controlled lately. Maybe Shelia had a good influence on him. Colin just looks for a moment at him as he did that day, hoping to see the rift in his soul on the road of recovery, and those flames quenched.

Before Dave brings them all home, he tries to talk to Sarah in private for a moment. "I have to ask you something, and it's probably really stupid, but I have to ask you all the same. When you think of me, you think something like 'he's cute, but he's Colin'?"

Carolyn has a warm red aura, while Mitzi's is yellow.


Matt's aura is almost like Banners'.  It's a strange blob of low intensity light that looks like a shadow cast by someone else.  It's indistinct and slightly distorted, and it's almost as though the shape were plugging the hole that Colin had seen before.

Matt glances up at Colin. "Yea, I'm alright. Just, y'know, starstruck I guess." He smiles. "No, I didnt hear anything else from Sheila, it's just... nothing. I'll catch you tomorrow, I'm no good with the magic crap, so I'll just head out." He starts toward the door, figuring he'll walk home just as well, give him some time to clear his mind.

"Well, good night then, Matt." He looks at his friend go, a litttle worried. This just strenghtens his resolve for what he's planning later in the night.

Sarah blinks at Colin for a few seconds.  "Huh?  Where did that come from?  There should be no but in that statement.  You are cute and there's no denying you're Colin.  There's nothing in my mind seperating those two things.  There is nothing about being Colin that detracts from your cuteness in anyway.  At least in my opinion.  Why?"

Colin is so happy to hear that, that no matter how much he tries to hide it, it just exudes from his every pore. It's just like he suddenly became a couple of inches higher.

"Well, it just came out of a weird conversation with Sylvia before... Speaking of which, she has not many friends here in Oak Park, yet, and she spends most of her time with us, so... well she really would have liked to talk with you, to talk with a girl friend, and you were sick, so she really had no one else to ask... I think she's a bit confused, and she wouldn't talk to me of it all, when her eyes started sending lightnings, I thought it was time to let things go. What I mean is, maybe you should take some time to talk with her. I think she'd appreciate that. Just don't tell her I told you, ok?"

Sarah nods to Colin, "I'd be hapy to.  I actually wanted to talk with her about some stuff anyway."