The Return of Gravity Dad

Participants:

geneva_icon.gif hailey_icon.gif joe_icon.gif magnes2_icon2.gif weasel_icon.gif

Scene Title The Return of Gravity Dad
Synopsis What starts as Magnes flying around to clear his head quickly turns into a small Lighthouse reunion.
Date February 13, 2019

The Bronx Zoo


It's been difficult transitioning back to life in this world, but it could be said that it's partially Magnes' own fault for not immediately using the resources made available to him by the government. Right now, he's mostly focused on working up the nerve to see Elaine again, and gaining access to Yamagato.

Unfortunately, that requires a phone call, and the phones in this world suck.

So he finds himself procrastinating. He can't get his daughter back right now, he can't see Elaine right now, and still hasn't called her, so why not just explore?

After talking to local people about the general state of the city, big and small events, things that might have gone down, one thing catches his interest.

The fact that there's a zoo with some wild animals roaming around in it.

When he flies to the Bronx Zoo, it's mostly out of curiosity. He gives the place a general parameter sweep, since he's heard of Humanis First remnant attacking people. But when that seems fine, he lands in a rather wide open clearing, in an area with some old rusty cages. Perhaps monkey or bird cages, he isn't exactly a zoo expert.

His long buttoned up coat and shoulder length hair sort of combine to create a bit of an imposing figure, in stark contrast to how he carried himself years ago. But he does, under all the extra head hair and the bit of facial hair, still fundamentally look like himself.

He's gone through so much, had so many things weighing on his mind, he just has to let something out, he has to free some part of his mind from emotional turmoil. So he just, very loudly, sings, "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight!"

The cages are empty, for the most part. There's rats, mice, other small wildlife, but the large animals have been vacated long ago. Most of them. As he flies overhead, he can see the barbed and twisted remains of the enclosures have been stripped away for parts. Only three of them strengthened to the point where nothing larger than a raven can get through by air or land, not unless the main gate is used.

Inside the first is a large field, scrub and shrubs have grown over most of the bars, blocking the view. In response to his singing, there's a low growl. Further in the distance, there's a mournful howl. It's accompanied by another, then another, until a virtual symphony of lupine voices resonates in his head.

Anyone who's seen a documentary about the species knows it's a call to arms.

Through the gate, he can see inside to the field. In the middle, a young woman with long blonde hair is surrounded by a pack of large wolves. She's frozen in her tracks and seems too afraid to move.

When you've literally been in a world where you had to react quickly to giant flying robots, it tends to teach someone not to hesitate when you see something very alarming.

Magnes immediately pushes himself up off the ground, causing dust and debris to push out from under his feet. Then he quickly flies toward the girl and snatches her up, with anyone else who might be immediately near her getting pulled up in his gravitational field and stuck in a general orbit with him, before rising a good ten feet into the air. "Are you okay?" he asks, staring down at the wolves.

It's clear he doesn't immediately recognize her.

Joe hasn't been out to Hailey's Menagerie in awhile, but he checked for her at Gillian's and when he didn't find her there it's out into the ruins he goes. He's keeping quiet though, not letting his mouth run like it normally would. He and Lance haven't dealt with the slavers yet. He's not sure they will at this point, with Lance joining SESA now. But with slavers still running around he's keeping any conversation to a minimum. Lighthouse Cant if at all possible. He picks his way through the ruins, pausing near the enclosures, his eyes scoping the place out. But the animals he can see look calm for the most part so it doesn't look like there's violence of any kind. He drops down the side of an enclosure, hitting the bottom in a roll and coming up onto his feet.

Then he resumes his walk, striking up a whistling tune to let anyone home know that he's out there. Then he spots Hailey and her pack of wolves, and the Magnes. "Crap." And then Joe is running, full tilt in Hailey and Magnes' direction. "BAD DOGS! BAD DOGS! COME BITE ME!!!" He's… waving his hands like a crazy person. "Don't hurt them!" He calls over his shoulder to Geneva as he goes careening towards the wolf pack, making ALL the noise and making ALL the sudden movements. The wolves can chew on him all day and he won't be worried about it. But Hailey is soft. “HI MAGNES! GLAD YOU’RE NOT DEAD!!! OH!!!” He pauses as he’s… picked up. Floating? “Uhhhh… PRIMAL!!!” Joe perfectly content to be snatched up. He crosses his arms before unfolding them to make rude gestures at the wolf pack. Joe takes these things in stride.

It has also been a while since Geneva has had the opportunity to visit Hailey's zoo, but this has decidedly not been out of choice. Spending literal weeks trapped in the form of a tiny, feathered body one has no desire of being inside can have that particular consequence. If the girl has been even grouchier than her normal self lately, this is precisely the reason why— readjustment to normal life has been taking awhile. It has been… difficult.

…Which is why, when she feels herself suddenly levitating a significant distance off the ground, many of those miserable feelings come rushing back in a torrent. "Motherfucker, put me the FUCK down," she bellows, both of her balled fists reddening with instinctive flares of heat even as her feet dangle uselessly beneath her.

Enough with all this flying shit already.

It wasn’t the wolves that had Hailey scared, it was their warning and call to hunt. Danger was near, danger that swooped her up and—

“MAGNES!!” Instantly her arms wrap around her saviour and she hugs him tightly, tears spilling form her eyes. “Oh my god, you’re dead,” she sobs, but he’s not because for the first time in nearly a decade, she’s flying like they used to. “You’re not dead..”

A rush of relief and calm, then ecstatic happiness washes over the pack. The wolves, though warily looking up above to her, disperse slowly. Like shadows on the snow at dawn, they recede toward the brush and are gone. She’s not in danger, so they watch from a place of safety.

Magnes reacted without really thinking much, he was more concerned with getting people away from the wolves. Slowly, he lowers himself and everyone else down to the ground. He lowers Hailey's legs but doesn't push her away, he mostly looks confused. "Geneva?" he asks, looking over at the angry woman. But then he shakes his head, different Geneva, the other one… yeah. "Oh, no, sorry, I heard someone say your name earlier, when I was flying."

But then he stares down at Hailey clinging to him, looking genuinely shocked and confused at her reaction. Then he looks over at Joe, who also knows his name. But when he notices the wolves walk away, just, magically calm down, he stares at Hailey again. "Wait, Hailey? You're so big!"

Then, looking over at Joe, he squints, "Help me out here." regarding which kid he is.

"Whoah. Gen. Calms down yo. It's just flying. No big deal. Quiet the fire girl. It's good times. Magnes isn't dead see." Joe gestures at the amazing Gravity Lad as if Geneva can't see him floating there and floating the rest of them. "Act like you've never flown before." Joe snorts and rolls his eyes a bit, but he actually has a big grin on his face.

"Told everyone you weren't dead. Saw that video you guys did. Trying to get the portal open. So did you guys hear the big booming creepy voice on your end? It seemed like you did. Cuz when we played the tape it totally played on our end. In Caspian's house. And fried electronics. It also talked to Lance and I think Brynn? Our newest little sister Squeaks found the tape underground. Knew you were our Magnes and not an alternate one cuz well… you mentioned Denisa and Mala being gone and getting the ones from where you were back here safe. Did you by the by?" Joe, floating through the air, having a conversation with a guy who probably doesn't even realize who he is at the moment.

When they get put down Joe sliiides himself between Geneva and Magnes, cuz Geneva is all hot hands right now and Joe doesn't want her trying to burn their long lost friend. "You used to read us comic books. I used to run at Mala and she'd flip me through the air. Cuz she could, and I couldn't get hurt." Joe will step over and extend a hand out to Magnes. "Joe. Brian's first little adoptee." Joe's grin is big and wide. "Primal. Knew you guys weren't dead. Joe wins the chalk battle again. Can't wait to rub this in Lance's face."

The raging fire doesn't die down from Geneva's eyes until both her feet are solidly planted on firm ground once more, but even then, it does not disappear entirely. "GODDAMNIT JOE, I've been spending the entire last month as a goddamn bird, don't you even talk to me about how much I've flown-" Here she tries to get her breathing under control somewhat, with mixed results. It is not Joe's fault that he did not know. Gene hadn't exactly been forthcoming about her recent adventures until right this moment, after all. Her fists come unclenched, ever so slightly- enough for some of the collected heat to visibly dissipate away.

With a still-angry exhalation, she slides her gaze across at Magnes, staring him up and down. He is an unfamiliar figure— and, yet. "…Wait. Fuck. I've seen you, somewhere. How did you know my name?"

The other voices, Joe and Geneva, are only half listened to squabbles for the time being. The contents of their elation and grousing not being processed as the empath stares, teary eyed at Magnes. “Yeah it’s me!!” She all but squeals, her voice taking the same excited high pitch as all of them would remember from her childhood. For Geneva and Joe, it’s been a long time since they’ve heard it. Almost as many years as Magnes himself.

She points toward the exit, “You guys will all be safe over there. The wolves won’t hurt you or Gene… for now.” Hailey doesn’t guarantee either of their safety when she’s not around. Joe? He can take care of himself, they all know it. His only soft and tender parts are his feelings. “I have a cave! Well.. had.. But I get there’s still stuff there, we can scramble together. Like tea or something.” If no one minds boiled snow as water.

"So the video made it here. I guess that explains what happened to it." Magnes patiently listens to Joe, raising a hand to gently pat Hailey's head. "Well, first, I should say that the alternate worlds and things like that are classified information. The government doesn't want it getting out, and I agree. It's dangerous. If you want to know why, you don't need to know much more than the fact that we had to topple a government that was creating giant universe traveling robots. People don't need to know about alternate worlds."

He sounds very serious, but Geneva's already heard it now, so it's a bit late. "I knew you in the last world." he says with some measure of strain in his tone. "You were brave, we fought pirates together. Incidentally, if we ever fight pirates again, listen to me. It'll go much better."

But he focuses back on Joe now, nodding. He doesn't go into detail, they don't need to know all the awful things. "Yeah. Mala, Denisa, Lucy. They're here in this world. But you need to know that they're not yours, they're not replacements. Don't expect them to be that. I think they're staying with their Doyle, not sure. I've been busy trying to get my daughter back, so I haven't caught up with anyone I came here with."

"Squeaks, I know her, I just don't know your Squeaks. I did see her when we got here. The one I knew, she stayed behind, so did…" It only just hit him, thinking about Lance. "Is Lance okay here?" he wonders.

"Anyway, yeah, we made it through. I have plenty of stories to tell you, I don't really need to tell you comic book stories anymore." He reaches out with the hand that isn't occupied with Hailey's head, and pushes against empty space, causing it to bend inward slightly, then allows it to snap back to normal, like rubber. "Tearing open holes in the universe is dangerous, but we got very good at it. We lost a lot of people, a lot of very important people, but we made it. And yeah… we killed that thing eventually, when we got here." he says with deep disgust in his voice, a clear hatred for that thing.

Joe turns at Geneva's continued fury and anger and then she's shouting about being a bird for the last month. "You were a bird for a month?" Joe looks utterly confused at that, his head tiiiiilting to the side ever so slowly, peering at Geneva, cuz he's pivoted a bit so he can see her. "THAT'S PRIMAL! You were a bird for a month? How cool! What was it like? Flying is an awesome power. Though I guess as a bird it wasn't really a power but still! So cool! I wish people would tell me stuff. I'd have totally brought you like bird feed or whatever. What kind of bird were you Gen? You gotta tell me all about it. Maybe in a bit though. Cuz coming back from an alternate timeline trumps bird time.”

Joe offers Geneva an apologetic look. “Sorry. But I totally wanna hear about your bird time. It's not like it's unimportant just… like Gravity Lad versus Bird Girl I'm gonna read the issue of Gravity Lad first. But totally gonna read Bird Girl mini series after that. Aaaaand he probably met another you in whatever world he was in. Cuz the videotape was definitely not from our world. Plus it was made after he got sucked into a black hole that he made so there's that too. Couldn't have made the tape in this world. Primal that it made it through though." Joe's mouth just… runs. It's what it does.

There's a jerk of his head when he hears Hailey… squeal?!? Joe's lips part, a slight jaw drop at it. "Whoah. Hailey just… primal." He dips his head a couple times in rapid nods. "Need help rounding the wolves up Hails?" When Magnes confirms the videotape Joe crows and pumps his hand into the air, then even does a little wiggle hipped sort of happy dance. "Awww yisss. Gonna rub Lance's face in it so hard." Joe dances around a bit more before settling down, then barking out a laugh. "Uhhh well given that like most of the Ferry knew about alternate timelines. And all of us Lighthouse Kids know about alternate timelines. And… I didn't know it was classified stuff I've told lots of people about it." Joe's eyes dart right and then left, then back center forwards again. "Woops."

Joe… doesn't seem overly concerned about it though and turns his focus back to Magnes when he starts talking about Mala and Denisa. "Oh I know they're not the ones from here. Just like that Lady Zeus and that Mister Ruiz weren't our Lynette and Mateo." Joe taps the side of his head with his big wide grin still in place. "I got it trust me. Cuz like… grew up with it all. That's totally Primal that you saved them though…." Joe stops dead when Magnes mentions Doyle. "You… you brought a Doyle back too?" Tears well in Joe's eyes almost immediately. "Our Doyle gave his life… to save kids and…"

Joe breathes in deep, holds it a few moments and then lets it out, wiping a hand at his eyes. "Sorry. I know he's not the same Doyle but… that's awesome. I'd love to go see them all sometime." Joe's head noddles rapidly. "Lance is fine here. A bunch of us live together. But yeah Lance is fine. About to start a SESA internship. That's Primal that you know Squeaks, even if it's not our Squeaks." Joe blinks wide when Magnes says that they killed the Entity. "You sure? Cuz uhhh I ran into a red cloud thing that spit lighting and reminded me a lot of what I saw in that video. Like I just ran into it a week and a half ago or so? But it didn't have golden eyes so maybe just some side effect of you guys coming back to this world? Did Miss Elisabeth make it too?"

Joe’s eyes widen when Magnes does a thing. He peers at it, then to Magnes, then back to the spot in the air. “That is wicked. Totally Primal. I love my power and all but sometimes I wish I had powers that could like project and do other things. I mean don’t get me wrong. Being nearly invulnerable is totally awesome but I can’t do like cool things like that. Or like Lady Zeus and Mister Ruiz, or even like Silvia. She can turn into sand. It’s primal. She’s Mateo and Lynette’s adopted daughter. She’ll totally want to put you in her comic books she’s doing of us. Us being Lance and I and the other LHK’s as guest starts. But it’s the adventures of Joe and Lance. She’ll definitely wanna put you in there too. Wait you fought pirates?”

"I ate birdseed and sugar water for a month and almost fucking died," is Geneva's curt response to Joe, nearly just as icy as the scene which she is describing. The wretched sensations of alternately freezing and starving, often both at once, return to the forefront of her mind and her fingers briefly curl in on themselves in the semblance of a claw. "I was a hummingbird in the middle of winter. I'm still not sure how I'm still alive, to be completely honest. I have Kaylee and Emily to thank for that."

Her demeanor stays rigid as she listens to the others converse, especially Joe's lengthy gabbling; most of the names being bantered about mean nothing to her, and now she has been reminded once more of the memory of her experience, it is hard to shake loose again for a few minutes.

"If I hadn't gone through what I had in the past few weeks, I'd say you were all lunatics. But…" She tries hard to focus on Magnes' face, squinting in the process of attempted recognition. "…I've seen you, too. I'm pretty sure you ran your mouth at some dinner and got me— well, me—" she makes air quotes as she says this. "…Killed. Fucking murdered. A lot of other people, too."

In true sister fashion, Hailey’s selective hearing turns on and off while Joe is talking. There’s so much to absorb and she’s not a sponge today. Still, there are pieces where she double takes between Magnes, Joe, and Geneva. Bird, Gravity, Died, Zeus, Alternate… “SANTA?!?!” Doyle is the more familiar name but that’s not how they know him. He’s Santa. And then, their childhood friends, almost all of the ones they were going to—-

“We need to find them! Now!” Hailey says as she lets go and tries kicking her way through the air, ground being her goal. She’s not a flyer either, she’s a walker. “The wolves stay here Joe, they can take care of themselves… unless you want to see the cubs.” Because babies are the most primal thing to her.

She somersaults in the air, rather than actually landing and pauses for a beat as she eyes Geneva. “Wait… whatchu talkin’ about Willis? You got murderlated?” Her eyes slide toward Magnes and she presses her lips together, “Magnes, don’t you remember what you taught me about being a hero?”

"Tell me where you saw the red cloud and I'll check it out later." There's some concern on Magnes' face, because a lot of things they barely understood happened that day. What even is death when you're a thing like that? "No, she's right. I needed to get myself arrested, just in case someone was alive, the only person who could get us out of there. I didn't realize how crazy he would be, how he'd react… At most, I thought he'd maybe shoot me, maybe. But there's no excuse…"

He sounds full of regret, because how couldn't he be, and he just pulls Hailey a bit closer, almost protectively. "A lot of people died, before and after that. Us getting home, there was so much loss and sacrifice, but also a lot of mistakes, a lot of desperation. The most difficult thing I learned is that no matter how much or how little you think something through, there's no way to be sure that everyone will be okay after."

Looking to Geneva, he looks as if he doesn't even know what to say. "I just… I don't really have all the answers to anything. When I'm doing what I think I need to do, I never know how to feel or what to think about the outcome when people die. When you do something you think is necessary, losing people's lives still doesn't feel worth it. Sorry won't bring back all the people I failed to save or lower the losses of any decisions I made, I don't really know what the answer is."

He looks to Joe, to Hailey, then back to Geneva. "If you want revenge, I won't fight you." The hand around Hailey starts to release her now, stepping away from her to continue staring at Geneva.

Joe's eyes light up as Geneva talks about her time as a bird. Joe apparently doesn't see the issue here and just looks confused at her anger. His lips part to speak, but then close, then open again, then close once more. "You were a hummingbird? Primal! I mean wintertime sucks for them right? But that's awesome and… Emily? Ems knew?" Joe's eyes narrow a little bit. "She should have told me! I'd have gotten you a space heater and a cool little hummingbird safety cage while we got it all figured out. I'd have been helpful. Also how did you get turned into a Hummingbird? Never heard of an opposite shapeshifter. Some kind of consciousness transfer? That'd be a nifty power. But that's pretty primal Gen. Dunno why you're so mad. How many people can say they got to be a bird for a month? I mean people dream about stuff like that. You actually got to do it! Primal!" Joe… doesn't get it. He thinks it's the coolest shit in the world that Geneva got to be a bird.

"You died? When did you die Geneva? I don't remember you dying. Did I miss something? I miss things a lot, like you being a bird." Joe joins Hailey in her confusion over Geneva's death. And her excitement over Santa. Well maybe not as excited as Hailey is. He's excited though, but also a little hesitant. "They won't know us Hails. Remember. We'll know them, well sort of them. But they might not know us. There might not have been an us for them to know in their world. Just saying. Like… be ready for that part." He smiles and reaches over to pat his sister on the shoulder. "Also I'd love to see the wolf cubs. Puppies are awesome. And their mothers can't hurt me if they don't like me near the cubs so there's that. Though I also don't want them like breaking their teeth on me so maybe you could impress upon them that I'm safe? When we see the puppies that is I mean."

"Oh I found it at a rave in the Bronx. Like it was being drawn there by the lights and the sound. I'll show you where I found it, and then where I chased it to. It was electrocuting people but well.. I'm pretty resistant to electricity so it didn't hurt me. I mean a couple of stings but that's about it. Burnt my clothes though. Wasn't happy about that at all. And… oh. Serious moment my bad." Joe goes quiet for a few seconds, but his eyes widen a bit, nodding along to what Magnes says. Joe clearly knows those feels. Not knowing what actions are the right ones, worrying about other people getting hurt. But then he steps to the side so Geneva can go after him if she wants. "Nope." Joe says in a firm tone, and he'll move to put himself between Geneva and Magnes. "Not gonna happen. Unless you're willing to go through me first." He is staring at Geneva now, his back to Magnes and Hailey. He's not letting her try to murder the guy who just came back from the dead.

"It wasn't by choice. I can tell you that." There is both a firmness and an unexpected tiredness to Geneva's voice. "I guess you didn't hear the part where I almost died, Joe. Hummingbirds aren't even supposed to be here right now." Her gaze sweeps across the wintry ground. "And they have to eat about four times an hour. The exact right food. Or they die. It's fun." Her voice is getting progressively less happy in tone as she continues on, and finally, she trails off entirely and simply sighs.

"I'm fine now. I mean, obviously, I'm right here. But, you know how you have those dreams where you actually die? I had one of those— but it wasn't a dream. It was one of those… visions people have been having." She winces internally as she says this; she is still not used to the lunacy of how this sounds. "Like the one I was supposedly put in the hospital for. He was there," there is a nod towards Magnes. "We were at some kind of fancy banquet. He stood up, said something, and then it all went to complete shit. There was so much blood."

Gene places a hand right where her heart is. "I was shot, right here. Then… I woke up." She drags her other hand across the bottom of her forehead, giving her left eye a rub. "I mean, it's not like I want revenge. It wasn’t technically me, even though it was. You can cool off, Joe.” There is a small twinge of annoyance at this, but she quashes it down. His intentions were sound.

“She’s right Joe,” Hailey quips with an air of authority on the matter. Of all of them, she is the animal expert. “Hummingbirds don’t live in the cold, she could have flapped her wings for the last time if she’d gone outside for even a minute.” Adventure or not, the gravity of the situation doesn’t slip past Hailey, not after seeing her roommate full of tubes and hoses to keep her alive. All of this though, it’s leaving her unsettled in the face of what should be a happy reunion. So she turns to Magnes again with an excited grin.

“I had a baby,” she announces, out of context, “and my head exploded. That was the weirdest feeling I’ve ever had.”

Take that for news, Joe.

“Let’s get out of the air and into the cave,” she pokes, reminding them all that the windchill is so much worse where they are now than where they could be. “We can trade all sorts of stories there and we won’t bother the wolves anymore.” She looks toward the brush, seeing what the others can’t because they don’t have her ability to feel the presence. “They’re still nervous about strangers.”

"She wasn't you, but she was real." Magnes stares at Hailey, and, hopefully, he reads into the context of the situation correctly. "You mean in one of the visions?" he asks, like a father whose daughter has just come out of nowhere to announce her pregnancy.

But he starts heading after Hailey, apparently intending to join them in the cave. "I assume ending up in a bird had something to do with Eileen. Probably the same Eileen who kidnapped my daughter. With Kazimir inside of her, she did a lot of awful things, I hear."

"I'm just glad you're all healthy, and okay. I'll be calling Kimiko to see if I can get a job at Yamagato, so you can all visit me or sleep there if I manage to get one of those futuristic apartments." he offers, trying to move onto more pleasant topics for the time being.

She heard the wolves, so her animals are all up trees — and she made sure to send a little note to all of the creatures in her area to stay in the trees as well. Hailey might have ‘control’ of them, but she’d much rather keep her ‘kids’ safe.

The musteloid telepath feels a little bit lost without her companions, but she ventures out all the same, wearily eying the older man who her siblings seem quite comfortable with. “Who are you?” Clara doesn’t mince words as she comes up next to Geneva, giving Magnes the stink eye as she reaches for her warm sibling’s hand. It’s cold, man.

"I mean yeah. I heard you say you almost died. But you didn't. We've almost died most of our lives Gen." Joe doesn't understand the hang up there. It's quite clear he doesn't. "Buuuut you didn't die. You're alive. And well. Angry but well so…" Joe's eyes dart right, then dart left, then dart right again. "Like I said though I'd have totally brought you food. Sugar water and birdseed and a space heater. People should call me more when they get in trouble. Obviously ou couldn't call me you didn't have hands. But Emily could have. Gonna give her a talking to over that." His head bobbles up and down a few times before he does the opposite and shakes his head. "Dying isn't really… like something that bugs me. Most things can't hurt me. No I have bad dreams about losing all of you. Losing my family. That's what gives me nightmares." Joe remarks, his tone softer, a little more quiet cuz like… serious stuff. But then it brightens again. When she says he can cool off he takes her at her word. "Only if you're cooling off too." He winks at her. Cuz her power. Heat. Cool off. Hurrhurr Joe made a funny.

Joe's head jerks to the side and he looks at Hailey. "Wait what??? Is this a vision thingy too like Geneva? Or did you actually have a baby? How would you have hidden that? You couldn't have had a baby. Nevermind. I'm being dumb. It was a vision thingy too right?" Joe's head tips to the side cuz while he's sure it was he neeeeds her to confirm that that's all it was. "Wait Eileen is alive again? Primal! Wait why would Eileen be turning people into birds? I thought Aunt Eileen just like… bird telepath right? I need to find Aunt Eileen now. Gotta go say hi. Sorry Aunt Eileen turned you into a bird Gen. Even if it does sound like it was a different Eileen. Who is Kazimir? That name isn't familiar. Should it be? Maybe it is and I'm just forgetting." Joe trundles along with the group, heading for Hailey's house. Cave. Thing. Previous place of residence. "That would be cool. I was sad when they said you were dead. Cuz you were always a cool guy." This to Magnes clearly. "Read us comic books and stuff. Hung out. Didn't treat us like we were children. I mean yeah but not the same way the adults did yah know? So did Miss Elisabeth make it back too? I asked but I don't think you answered. But I also talked a lot. Talk a lot. Easy to miss things. Or did you answer and I missed it?"

"Weasel Magnes, Magnes Weasel. Magnes was dead. Well most people thought he was dead. Now he's not. Only apparently we're not supposed to talk about it. Not sure how you don't talk about someone coming back to life but oh well. Lance can slap me on the wrist or something when he becomes a SESA agent. Hailey you want me to start the tea?" Joe knows where everything is after all. He helped come out and tend the animals when she got shot. “Assuming everything is still where it is from when you got shot. Not sure who’s gonna help me take down the slavers now that Lance is joining SESA. He probably can’t help it’d get him in trouble. Maybe you could help Magnes. You used to fight crime and stuff. Wanna help take down some human slavers that shot Hailey and kidnapped Squeakers?”

For the sake of her own sanity, Geneva has taken to mostly tuning out Joe by this point in the conversation, though she does close her eyes in brief defeat at the horrific pun he makes. The news about Hailey's baby and head exploding(???) does make her pop one eye back open, however. "Jesus," she comments, all of how taken aback she feels loaded into that single word. "Guys, are we all just fucking insane at this point?"

The next thing she knows, Weasel has slid her hand into her own. Gene breathes a little sigh of relief as she looks backwards at her newly-arrived sibling, as if relieved by the presence of some kind of normalcy. Well. Relatively speaking. Obligingly she causes that palm to radiate with a new level of heat that can be felt by all around her, but it is gentle and soothing in nature, rather than threatening.

"Think it's my first time meeting you, too. Um. Hi, Magnes. Also, if anybody is going after the fucks who shot Hailey, I'm coming along with." This is not presented as a question.

Magnes was dead doesn’t seem to be enough of an explanation for Hailey and the young woman wraps her arms around one of the stranger’s and hugs it tight. “If I had a dad at the Lighthouse… Magnes was mine,” she says. “Joe had Brian, Mala had Santa… I had Magnes.”

As it was before, it is now. The empath is glued to the “gravity-man’s” side all the way to the cave and doesn’t let go until it’s time to play hostess in her wild woman digs. “Magnes, this was my cave before I got shot…” she pauses there and frowns a little, risking a quick glance his way before joining Joe. “Then I had to move in with Gillian, they didn’t trust the wolves to keep me safe. I brought my reindeer though.” Speaking of which…

Hailey zips to one of the makeshift cupboards and pulls the flap aside with a bit of a frown. Whatever cloth wrapped goodies were in there have been scavenged by vermin long long ago. All that’s left is a tatty piece of muslin covered in crumbs and excrement. “I guess we don’t have cheese to go with… uhhh…” Then she pulls out a sealed can, “TEA!”

"Elisabeth is back, yeah. She's with Cardinal, he's apparently rich now." Magnes gives Weasel a little wave, allowing the others to explain him however they think makes the most sense. "I helped stop slavers before. A few times, actually. Slavers are dangerous, definitely not people you go after alone. The first step is to find out if anyone else is going after them, and if you can help."

Then, pointing at Joe accusingly. "And never get too confident in your ability to get you through everything. Everyone has a weakness. Kazimir, to answer your question, is a very dangerous entity that can possess people and is effectively immortal. But even Kazimir has a weakness." He nods to Geneva. "Hey. You know, your ability is a bit terrifying. I've seen you push it before. But yeah, uh, who even is the new, I guess Ferry now? I'd think they'd be taking care of the slavers."

"You are absolutely not allowed to live in a cave. When I get my daughter back, you can stay with me and watch her." he offers, but then when Hailey heads to her cupboards, something suddenly occurs to him. "Hey, uh, Hailey. Do people know who your biological parents are in this world?"

Weasel peers quietly at Magnes. “Your hair is really long,” she points out, Captain Obvious. The rest of the conversation is a bit baffling to her, so she rather quietly follows along, as one does when entirely unfamiliar with a conversation.

The cave itself is regarded with some interest; Clara hasn’t been here. If it wasn’t for the wolves, this would be a good place to hide away, should she find herself outside of the Safe Zone. Not that she ever really does that these days.

"I'm still gathering info on them. Well sort of. Have info. Been trying to scout their locations some. Not been easy. They're not exactly professional but they have a lot of guys and getting close without being seen has not been easy. And I'm only one guy. Two with Lance but again lance is probably out. So been hard. But I'm working my way up to being able to start striking at them." Joe flashes a grin at Geneva. This isn't one of his normal happy go lucky grins. This one is different. A little predatory. He wants to take those assholes down. Hard. "Anyone who wants in can be in. They shot Hailey and took Squeaks. If it wasn't for some pirate guys she'd be gone.”

“My old boss Keira.." There's a sad look on Joe's face when he mentions her name. "Put us in touch with this guy who gave us more info. We know the names of the big guys in charge, and their SESA contact as well. There's a dirty agent working with them." All this while Joe sets about getting tea started. Including a quick duck outside to find some clean snow to melt. "Gen would you do the honors?" He asks handing her a metal container full of frozen snow. "Get it nice and bubbly if you can so the tea steeps right." Joe shrugs his shoulders at the lack of food. "We can find some in the city. I can go talk to Tanith too. I still do jobs for her. Work security some. Not like I was for Keira but… yeah. If anyone's short on food I can help."

Joe's head tips. "Yeah. He's rich now. And he goes by Richard Ray now. I called him Cardinal and he got grumpy faced. So I just reverted to what I called him when I was little. Mister Shades. Easier than dealing with name changes. Cuz Aunt Quinn is now Robyn, and Cardinal is now Richard Ray and like half the people we used to know go by different names now. Maybe not half but a lot." Joe's shoulders shrug to Magnes question. "As far as I know no one else is actively going after them. There's this Alister guy who wants them put out of business but I think it's just Lance and me right now. But we know who they are. And where they operate so there's that. We just didn't really have the force necessary to take them down. So we've just been info gathering."

Joe's cheeks puff out a bit. "I guess we're kinda the new Ferry now? I mean the old Ferry are all still like allies but they're not the Ferry anymore. We've been taking people in, helping them where we can. Looking out for people. So I mean… if anyone could be considered the new Ferry it'd be us. Fitting really. That the Lighthouse Kids take over the job. We're the ones who got word to the people who needed to know about you guys being trapped in the alternate world. We were investigating the food shortages to make them stop. Found the electric cannibal sewer rats. Oh and Samson Grey. Gabriel's dad. I guess he's not a monster either since he didn't kill Lance and Brynn and Squeakers. Richard said he's dangerous but Richard is a pompous ass sometimes so there's that."

Then Magnes asks about parents and Joe actually goes quiet, his eyes tracking between everyone. Yeah, Joe realizes this is not a moment for Joe the motormouth. This is a moment for Joe the quiet and understanding sibling. Be wary though, he's like an Abra. he disappears real quick, so best get the serious out of the way before he starts talking again.

"Fuck, yes." This is voiced as a murmur the moment Joe says his piece about the slavers— mostly to herself, though it is clearly audible to anyone nearby. Not having hands for the past month has, not so oddly, given Geneva an incredibly itchy trigger finger now that she is human once more. She takes the snow-filled container from him with an imperceptible nod, spreading her fingers across the freezing surface obligingly. Within moments, an appreciable aura of heat has begun seeping into the metal.

"Richard's my boss now, actually," she contributes with a nonchalant tilt of her head. "'Mister Shades?' I'll have to remember to start calling him that." The comment about Richard being a pompous ass makes her breathe out through her nose quickly in amusement, and she looks as though she is about to say more, but then— what is this about parents?

She, too, falls silent at the question in the air, glancing between Hailey and Magnes and then back again. There is a mental note made to ask Magnes about the ability of her other self at a later date.

Clang

The tin can just falls to the hard earthen floor, its dried contents spilling all over, now spoiled. “M-my…” Speechless, Hailey just shakes her head as her eyebrows slowly come down to hood her eyes. It’s not a look of anger, or even worry, more like extreme concern. As if she were a skier looking over a cliff that she’s supposed to be jumping off of. “N-no.. we don’t remember.”

We — Meaning Lance and she.

It’s subject they don’t talk about, not at all. Since being brought to the Lighthouse, there was a bit of speculation, but never anything more. Lance was nonverbal and Hailey… well she talked about anything but.

“Sorry.. I wrecked the good tea..” she mumbles turning away and from Joe’s proximity, he’s the only one that can see the tears forming along her lower lids.

Magnes walks over, moving to wrap an arm around her shoulders even if he can't see any tears. "Don, he knew a lot of things about us, I think because he kept listening to things from other worlds. Kind of a long story. But Lance was with us, a different Lance from yours. And somehow Don knew who your parents were, I think. They looked like you, they kept staring at Lance. We never spoke or anything, I got myself arrested for a reason, but it's only now that I'm realizing how important that was."

"Ashleigh and Gerard Gerken were their names. So, it's a lead if you want me to help you look into that." It's also perhaps good timing to shift them all away from slavers. He'll figure out how to address that one later. But, to Weasel, he reaches up with his free hand to lightly tug at his hair. "Not many barbers in robot apocalypses and pirate worlds." Though he stopped cutting his hair a lot earlier than those worlds.

Brows raise as Magnes drops the bombshell of who Hailey’s parents are, Weasel staring wide-eyed at the man for a long moment. It occurs to the Musteloid telepath that Magnes, with his nonchalant demeanor when it comes to conversation, doesn’t quite realize how amazing what he just said was. The girl turns to look at Hailey for a long moment, then back to the man.

She doesn’t respond to his explanation on the hair just yet — she instead keeps her silence, letting Hailey have her moment to process this new information. She might also be a little jealous — but that’s something she’ll definitely keep to herself.

Joe is happy to wait as the container and it's snow is heated up, watching as it happens, his eyes moving around the room a bit. "Yeah. Mister Shades. I met him in the park one day. I was with Brian and his girlfriend at the time and we ran into Richard. Brian didn't know him yet. But Goddamnit Cardinal became a pretty regular utterance around the Lighthouse later on so… there's that. But yes. Mister Shades." But then it's parents time! Joe stoops down with quick hands and catches the tea can before it spills ALL of it's contents onto the floor. He saves enough that they should be able to make some tea. It might be a bit weak. But it can still be made.

He picks up the fallen can and holds it in one hand while putting the other on Hailey's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. They might not be blood related but she is his sister damnit and he's gonna be there for her. "I'm here Hails." He whispers to her, finding somewhere to put the mostly empty can of tea down, a glance to Geneva to see if she'll put the tea in the water when it's done heating. He shifts his hand from her shoulder down to her hand, holding it when Magnes goes in to hug her around the shoulders. Not breaking contact but also not wanting to intrude on other people comforting Hailey too.

"Ooooo. You went to Wasteland /and/ Flood? Primal. Was that where you guys did the video was Wasteland? Look people talked at the Lighthouse when they didn't know we were listening. Also Lance was the BEST at helping us eavesdrop. Like the absolute best. The whole silence field and what not." Running his mouth is normal, and he imagines Hailey needs a touch of normal after that bomb that Magnes just dropped on her. He'll squeeze her hand gently and then look around the room, a glance to Weasel. He offers her a small smile. Even if she doesn't show it, he can imagine how she feels. Probably the same way ever orphan would feel. Happy for the other, but also jealous.

He’ll squeeze Hailey’s hand again, and then let it go, unless she keeps hold of it.

When the news is broken, all Geneva can do is stare from one face to the other— not quite open-mouthed, but close enough. The container of fast-melting snow hangs from one hand, all but forgotten at the moment. Tea is absolutely the last thing on her mind right now. "Oh shit, Hailey," she breathes. There is a strong urge to go and give the other girl a hug, but with Magnes and Joe already crowding around her, there seems little space to do so right now.

Certainly at a later point, however.

"We're here for you, d'you hear. Whatever you need." Just as Hailey had been there for her— sitting at the side of her hospital bed, talking, reading to her, all those weeks that she had been comatose.

Hailey sniffles, then nods, and swipes at her eyes with the back of her arm. “‘m’good,” she says too quickly, “I don’t remember them anyway… Magnes and Gillian, they’re the ones that taught me everything I really needed to know. Santa and Brian, they did good too…” Until the one exploded and the other one disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, she turns back to the group as a whole and pastes a brave smile on her face. “So… Joe…” she says, darting her eyes toward him as a mischievous expression makes its way across her face. “What do you think about grabbing Brynn and putting up that mural now? Mala, Denisa, and Lucy will definitely know we’re looking for them if we do it.” It’s not a prank suggestion at least.

"By the way, stay away from Samson if you can. I was in a world where Samson basically ruled the world, locked me in a secret prison that I just barely escaped, and then he tried to kill us. I'd rather not have to fight Samson again if he tries to hurt one of you. I don't trust him, at all, he's insane." Magnes seems rather firm on that. He doesn't normally judge people on the actions of their alternate selves, but… "I've also met him in this world before, years ago when you were kids. He was insane then too."

Looking to Joe, he does nod at one question. "I went to four worlds. The video was from the Virus world. I'd say it was the worst world, but it's really hard to choose between the world where I literally exploded and got thrown into a secret prison, got stabbed with garden shears and had my daughter kidnapped, the world with giant flying robots and a dystopian futuristic government, and a world ruled by literally Satan possessing Gabriel Grey's body while a deadly virus is in the air."

"To be perfectly honest…" he shrugs. "The Flood world was pretty great by comparison, aside from the fact that Kazimir was in that world too. I kind of hope that battle went well. I think Captain Sawyer was going to go help everyone else with her pirate fleet, so I doubt the Vanguard stood a chance."

“I think I saw the flood world,” Weasel pipes up, brows raising. “I had a tribe of sea otters, and I sold fish and shellfish. I think I was happy?” She shrugs, moving to lean against a wall to quietly listen to the others talk — she feels rather weird without any of her companions, and the wolves’ presence has ensured that her favored animals are nowhere within range.

She raises her brows a bit, glancing toward Hailey with a concerned look — she won’t press, of course, but she does want to make sure her sister is okay.

Joe breathes in slowly and holds the breath at Hailey's question. "I did suggest we put up the mural to honor them. No reason we don't go ahead and do it now. Need to find a good spot to put it though. Where people will see it and wont' try to strip it down. I mean that's not really doable with her power unless they like completely take down the wall but still. Somewhere big. Public…" Joe is pondering. He squeezes Hailey's hand again, then lets it go and turns to take the piping hot snow container from Geneva, not worrying about it burning his hands, and drops some of the tea leaves right into it since there's not really anything to strain it through. He gives the container a good swirl, then finds a spot to put it down so the tea can steep. He dusts his hands off, then turns back to the room at large.

"He didn't debrain anyone though. Unless maybe he just didn't need their abilities. So could just be that. I wasn't there when they ran across him. But he actually saved their lives. Lance, Brynn and Squeaks got washed down a sewer drain and he fishes them out of the river. They were investigating the evolved rats we found. And also looking for William. The ghost we found. Speaking of I need to get back down there and try to find him again. Want to help him." Joe's eyes widen steadily as Magnes talks about the different futures. "Four? You went to four? THAT'S TOTALLY PRIMAL!!!" Joe is all but vibrating with excitement at that point. "You're going to have to tell me all about them. We can save that for another time but I wanna hear all about it. That means you went to some of them even before people came back from them to prevent them. Wonder how that will affect the timeline? Or would it just spawn different alternate futures of the alternate futures? Does that mean we could get visitors from even more of those same futures? Well alternates of them." Joe's brow pinches a bit as he gets a little too chalk even for himself.

"Sounds like Kazimir is a bad bad dude." He comments as he walks around and leans up against a spot of wall near Weasel, reaching over to bump her with his shoulder, his focus mostly on the conversation at hand though. "Well that's awesome that you made it back, along with others. And primal that you got to go to all those worlds. Even if bad stuff did happen in them. How many people can say they've been reality hopping? I mean… I guess more than a few in our circles. But you know what I mean."

Despite the way she is feeling in regards to both Hailey and herself, something which is still spilling heavily into her general mood, Geneva cannot help but look intrigued as Magnes rattles off his list of exploits in alternate worlds. It is not everyday that she finds herself sharing some (or any) of Joe's blind enthusiasm on a subject, but in this case, she has a more personal reason for it. "Like I said, normally I'd say you belonged in the fucking asylum, but even with everything that's happened to me over the last month… it sounds like you've been through a lot more."

She vaguely allows Joe to pry the now-boiling container out of her grasp, aware that it will not hurt him any more than it has been doing to her. "Um. So, which world was it that you met 'me' in? And what was I like?" she inquires of Magnes, sliding an interested look towards Weasel when she describes selling shellfish in the so-called 'flood world.'

As the tea is prepared, Hailey bustles around the place looking for things to serve it in. Most of the modern day comforts had been moved out long ago, back when she first started reclaiming the brownstone in Park Slope. Her ears are tweaked to the talk about other worlds and the issues surrounding them but her focus is on finding five vessels suitable for drinking.

In the end, what the ragtag little group has to settle on is two chipped tea cups, a glass vase, a small stoneware cereal bowl, and a tin can that could have once contained cat food. Hailey doesn’t assign any of them but lays them out one by one on the stump near the long dead firepit in the center of the room. “Sorry guys, I forgot that I moved practically everything last fall.”

"I've drank from worse." Magnes moves to grab the tin, not wanting the kids to drink from it. Then he steps back and takes a sip. "It's still better than whatever it was they called tea in the Flood world. At least it's actually tea."

"I'm glad that he saved you, but stay away from Samson." he firmly reiterates, carefully considering reach question he's asked, how to answer it, and what's the most important answer they really need right now. "The alternate worlds, I think we were reaching a point where they were shifting away. I had this theory, because of everything going on, that the timelines shift around almost like an orbit, or a tapestry."

He sits down on the air, space bending slightly around his butt where he chooses to sit.

Totally responsible use of his ability.

"Consider for a moment that there's what we think of as the universe, what we can perceive, and then there's a greater universe, I guess we can call it the megaverse, an infinite expanse of time and space. That megaverse is constantly moving like any other natural phenomena, so what if the auroras are what happen when similar universes get too close, despite usually being nearly infinitely far apart." He stares at Joe for a long moment, to give him time to process. "The past, present, future, sideways, they all have an effect on each other. But the further away they are, the less causally linked they are, even though they are still linked. You reach a point where another path is simply closed, far too infinitely away from us to matter."

"So, I guess my point is, we may never see those worlds again, but we may see different ones. Who knows. But ultimately, it's better to stay grounded in our own universe, and do our best to keep everyone where they belong." That seems to be the end of his little thesis there, though he does add, "I'm a physicist now, by the way."

Finally he addresses Geneva, taking another sip of his cat food tin tea. "I met you in the Flood world. You were in Remi's crew. We fought pirates together and it was a bit of a disaster. I hope you don't entirely lose your cool and melt a ship in this universe when I'm trying to negotiate."

He considers for a moment, in deep thought, and adds, "I felt infinite worlds, infinite timelines. I was connected to them all. I could feel it, that whole… megaverse. I was in that space between everything."

Joe’s shoulder bump prompts a small but gentle shove back from Weasel, her dark eyes turning to her brother with a small grin. The tension since the fur farm has been pretty palpable between the two, but that doesn’t stop her from adoring her little brother all the same. She reminds herself to tackle him later.

For now, dark brown eyes turn back to Magnes, brows raising at his explanation. “That’s fucking crazy. If not for these guys,” she gestures to her siblings, “I would agree with Genie’s assessment that you might belong in an asylum.”

She tilts her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. “What’s the government think of all this? I mean, there’s not some suit in SESA getting in front of cameras and telling the world about all of this, so…is this some classified shit you’re telling us?” She leans a little against Joe as she talks, elbowing him gently in the side.

Joe's enthusiasm isn't so much blind as… untempered. He understands that being a bird for a month was stressful to Geneva. He understands that there were dark and bad times when Magnes was world hopping. Those facts just don't temper the raw enthusiasm for the experiences themselves. "If Magnes belongs in an asylum a heck of a lot of us belong in one too. I mean really. I talk about world hopping, government conspiracies and what not on a regular basis. And while Lance might smack me in the head and tell me I'm being dumb he still engages in the conversation. He just has a greater desire to be normal than I do is all." Joe prattles as he steps over and gives the tea container a good swirl, picking it up, then resumes leaning against the wall once more.

"You're good Hails. I'm not big on tea anyhow so everyone else can take the non cat food tin cans." He flashes their sister a quick smile, then pauses to look around the little cave a bit. "It does look less like yours these days." Joe admits before his attention is snatched by Magnes talking about stuff again. "Oh! Like that fantasy series? The Wheel of Time? We had some of it up at the cabin. The books were too big to interest most of the other kids but I gave them a read. In those books time, reality was a tapestry woven of different events and people. Or you could go The Doctor route and call it Timey Wimey. It shifts and changes as it needs to around certain immutable events. Well immutable for that timeline. Like the Flood future will always be the flood future for some reason or another. Sure /we/ evaded it. But they never can."

And then Magnes sits on empty air. Joe leeeeans over and swings a foot out underneath Magnes. Not trying to kick the guy, no he's checking to make sure there's nothing there under the man. "Primal." He murmurs, then takes his foot back and grins wide once more. "Soooo how do we know people are from our universe and not one very very close to it? Like how do you know you're home and not just in a place where the only difference is like… in this world there's like a single politician alive that was killed during the civil war or something in your actual reality? You've been gone so you'd never know. But how do you know you know?"

Joe's head tilts to the side curiously. There has been tension since the fur farm, from Joe's end that's mostly him keeping a close eye on Weasel and Geneva, at least when he's around them. "Well I mean clearly the government wants it all covered up. More secrets. Because you know, those didn't already cause a civil war in this country and the death of countless people. They're still digging bodies out of rubble in the warzones. There are thousands of people still missing and not even confirmed dead. Some people we'll probably never know. Gotta love those secrets."

Joe pumps his right arm across his chest to the left in an 'aw shucks' sort of gesture before he snorts and rolls his head, leaning his head back against the stone wall, hard, the thump is audible. Not that he appears to feel it. Joe gets elbowed and he slowly starts to tip to the side until he puts out a foot to stop himself, then pushes himself back the other way until he's leaning against Weasel, then lets more and more of his weight lean sideways against her. Is this going to end up with him dumped on the floor? Probably.

"And I hope you don't entirely lose your cool and get half a dinner party killed, when I'm trying to eat," Gene fires back coolly at Magnes, choosing the stoneware cereal bowl from among the mishmash of available wares. As the gravity manipulator crafts an invisible seat for himself, she ignores this entire course of action as well as Joe's reaction to it, busily focusing on filling her 'cup.' Tea had never been one of her hugest likes; she was more of a grumpy coffee person. Ever since a particular dream she had had recently, however, she has found herself far more receptive to pleasant herbal scents such as this one. Mmm. And also hmmph.

As the level of steaming-hot tea rises in the bowl, a word that Magnes had said suddenly triggers something in her brain. "…Remi?" she repeats, sounding out the name as if to make sure she had gotten it correct. "As in, Soleil Remi Davignon?" This was a name very fresh in her mind after her latest experience with a certain ex-Vanguard member, vividly recalled from the lines of a Raytech memo.

Apparently, Hailey isn’t as polite as some of her guests. Once Magnes and Joe finish their showdown for the tin can and Gene claims the cereal bowl, she grabs one of the real cups. The tea isn’t anything special but it’s warm and the heavy carpet over the entrance to the cave isn’t the best for keeping out the cold. If the empath were really living here, the place would be winterized properly and it would be much cozier than it is now. As it is, Hailey isn’t used to living this roughly anymore.

She sips, sits, and listens to the conversation. She only had a couple of visions, which she attributed to daydreams up until they became big news. There’s not much Hailey can add, unfortunately, for all of her distrust in the government past and present, Joe eclipses her in the conspiracy theory department. “They cover everything up, because they always want to land on the right side of history.”

Magnes looks to Geneva. He doesn't say anything, instead focusing on answering Weasel's question, largely backing up what the others have already said. "They don't want the world to know, this is all classified information that they will make people disappear over." he says this while staring squarely at Joe. "Which is why we shouldn't just tell everyone we see. The main secret is that there are other worlds, and I agree that people shouldn't know. Over and over again, the idea that some awful person would realize other worlds exist and come here was a constant thing we worried about and tried to stop."

"You don't need to know everything I saw, everything that I know, but you do need to know that I experienced enough to understand that this isn't information that the world should have, that corporations and powerful people should have." He stares into the tea looking quite exhausted. He clearly hasn't slept much, now that they have time to really examine his face. "No matter how much you trust someone, if they don't already know, don't tell them."

"And I know that this is my world because every world has a, well, I'll just say it's a vibration, something that everyone and everything from a particular world has. If I concentrate hard enough, I can feel that. The strings, like in string theory." He holds up his free hand, focusing very hard, until a very small ball of space starts wildly bending and stretching around in his hand. But he quickly stops, creasing his brown in clear strain. "It's like squinting very hard at very small text, gives me a headache. There's easier ways to do it, but there's really no point in any of that anymore. I'm not going anywhere."

"So… yeah, I know it's my world because this world vibrates in the same way that me and Elisabeth do. For me it's as simple as having a particular kind of smell, or flavor. No other world could feel like this, it seems to be a fundamental unbreakable law of the nature of reality, the basis for a lot of experimental science to be functional at all." He doesn't go into detail about said science, he doesn't mention the Looking Glass.

Things they really don't need to know.

"I think Cardinal is probably on the same page as me about needing a way to detect invaders from other universes. Luckily the technology already exists, because I got to work with it in another world already." He does reflect on that though, looking thoughtful. "I kind of miss the futuristic phones and video games. Do we have Netflix in this world? Or that 21 Jump Street crossover with Men in Black? That movie was amazing. I think it was called MiB 23."

Weasel’s brows raise just a bit higher as Magnes answers her question, frowning a bit. “I’m cool with being in the know and all, but man, discretion isn’t your strong suit, is it?” The girl smirks, shaking her head and reaching for one of the cups of tea — she goes for the vase. Taking a sip, she tilts her head toward Joe.

“I know shutting up isn’t your thing, brother,” she murmurs, reaching out to gently poke him in the side. “But be careful with this one, okay? I really don’t want to suddenly notice that you’re not around any more. That would suck a little.” She wrinkles her nose in Joe’s direction.

Joe noddles his head to Hailey's statement. "They do. But you'd think they'd learn that keeping secrets from the people of America is the wrong side of history. I mean it hasn't worked out terribly well for them so far. But oh well. We'll just buckle up, hold on and be ready for the next fight when it comes. Cuz it will come. So long as the government keeps pulling this sort of stuff the next fight will come. The bad guys breed in the shadows. It's where they multiply and grow strong." Joe's eyes roll dramatically and he breathes out a long suffering sigh. It's then that he notices the pointed stare from Magnes. Joe blinks only once, looking at Magnes then trying to track the subject of his stare, looking right and left. Weasel? No. Blank spot of wall? No. Joe? "Me? Why are you staring at me?" Joe asks innocently.

"Oh wait? Government make me disappear? Yeah that would not be a good idea. At all. I mean… yeah. Not a good idea at all." Joe grins and doesn't seem overly worried about that possibility. He's assuming the government is too smart to try and disappear someone as well connected as he is. He doesn't realize that the government as a whole is dumb. "Look I know I run my mouth a lot. Lance smacks me in the head for it all the time. Like every time I tell people that Gabriel wasn't a monster he smacks me in the head and says I shouldn't tell people we knew Gabriel. But I mean… he just sat in the living room and played sad songs and stuff. If he was the monster people claimed pretty sure he'd have brain popped a whole bunch of us kids with really good abilities."

Joe's head tilts to the side a bit. "But if we could build a stable bridge to these other worlds we could help them. We could go through and help the people. Sounds like these people need help. And we could provide aid. Relocation for some. I dunno… I don't like the thought of worlds of people in need out there when we could maybe figure out a way of helping them." Joe's normal grin pulls into a frown. Joe is a caretaker and a defender at heart. And he wears his heart on his sleeve. "Coool." Joe remarks when Magnes tells them about the vibrational frequencies. "Like in DC comics? Don't they have frequencies when they're from other worlds? Or well everyone has frequencies but they're different?" Joe's eyes widen a little more at the mention of detectors. "Oh please tell me you guys are gonna form like a squad of world hopping police types. That would be utterly primal. Like so so awesome."

Joe's head tiiiiilts to the side once more as Magnes starts talking about MiB 23. "What? What is 21 jump street? Do we have something called 21 Jump Street?" He asks looking around at the rest of the group, then back to Magnes. "I mean we totally have Netflix yeah. But stuff here kind of got put on a back burner cuz… civil war. But Yamagato and Praxis and what not have some pretty serious tech." Joe’s shoulders shrug and he just flashes a grin over at Weasel. “You’d miss me terrible and you know it. Even if I do annoy you with my morality and not wanting to murder people.” He pulls a face at her and scoots to the side a couple of feet smirking.

For her part in the continuing discourse, Geneva mostly relegates herself to lounging off to one side and quite comfortably sipping at her still scalding-hot tea. There are a few things she cannot help herself from commenting on, however. "Joe, exciting as that sounds, we should probably focus on our own world first. You know, it's pretty fucked up as it is." To prove her point, she merely raises her eyes to the ruined skyline visible on the horizon to them all— a reminder of what New York had once been, the pulsing metropolitan heart of the country. Now, city and country both are husks.

"Invaders from another universe, though. Corny as that sounds, that sounds like a problem. Are we expecting it to be one?" A spontaneously sullen moment is taken to reflect on the face of the woman responsible for her nearly fatal metamorphosis. She had supposedly been from one of these other universes, after all. "…Could there be people crossing over now, without us even knowing?"

After nodding in agreement with Geneva, Hailey flits her attention between Joe and Magnes. Her expression parrots that of her hot handed roommate and when Geneva pauses, she pipes in. “Would we even know if there was people crossing now? This country is pretty big and it wouldn’t take much to just slip through the cracks… especially here and now. You could move into Staten and nobody would even look twice, unless they wanted to sell you.”

She rubs her shoulder with one hand, massaging pain that isn’t there anymore.

“Netflix isn’t really that good, it takes forever for them to send DVDs and half the time they’re all so scratched you can’t even play them.” She falls silent for a moment, her expression sinking into one of depression. “I never even got to find out what happens in Lost.”

Magnes stares at Hailey when she talks about Netflix, his eyes a bit wide. "Oh god it's worse than I thought here…" But he addresses a few concerns now, as he starts to stand up, stretching and leaving his can floating in the air for someone to grab. "We'll work on a way to detect people coming into the universe, it should be simple because the technology already exists somewhere else. But for now, I wouldn't worry about people just slipping in. Time travelers, sure, that happens. But crossing universes is huge, it's not something that you can do without anyone noticing, and it requires very careful timing and specific circumstances. I've been doing this for years, trust me."

Taking out a pen and some paper to write something down, he holds his number out to Hailey. "I'm telling this to you all because chances are Joe is going to find out and tell you anyway, and I'd rather you all have some solid context for the information. You'll all be safe, there won't be an interdimensional police force because you can't save infinite worlds, and you might destroy the universe doing stuff like that." He turns around then, heading for the cave exit as he holds a hand up to wave without looking back.

"I need to take care of some business. Don't worry about other universes, keep your head grounded. Give my number to the other Lighthouse Kids, and call if you need anything." With that, he steps outside and leaps into the air, leaving the others to talk amongst themselves.

The prospect of other universes is certainly a scary thing, but at the very least, Magnes seems to be confident that they have it under control.

But this universe's Netflix is a terrifying thing.


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