Ponn

Symphony on High

I have a bad feeling about this…
-Ashley Avenir

Giving voice to a small sigh of relief when it seemed that the tense situation had finally been resolved, if only for the moment, Ashley refocused her thoughts on the coming operation. With the addition of Paradise and the twins, their team’s size would reach six members, the same number of agents that had gone on the raid against Justin’s mansion about a month earlier. To say that particular operation had gone rather poorly would have been a fairly massive understatement, and that was with a decently well-coordinated team, composed of mostly veteran agents. This impending operation, on the other hand, promised to be at least equally difficult, and the Knight of Tomorrow was growing increasingly concerned that her current, dysfunctional team of embittered (and possibly unhinged) teenagers, along with more experienced agents with whom she’d never worked before, would be utterly incapable of meeting the challenge ahead of them.

“Hello,” Ashley greeted the final three agents as they piled into the van, the high-tech heroine mustering the most welcoming smile she could manage, given the circumstances, while doing her best not to roll her eyes after hearing Finn’s little quip. “It’s good to see you all again.”

She had met Raven, aka Paradise, shortly after the bird-themed agent had transferred in, and while the Knight of Tomorrow hadn’t gotten to know her exceptionally well, the young woman seemed pleasant enough, and brought a welcome level of maturity that was in distressingly short supply of late. It also didn’t hurt that Raven shared a similar ultra-tech aesthetic to Ashley’s own. Unlike the more combat-oriented Paradise, Cereza and Cerise were healers and administrative specialists first and foremost. In fact, in her time with G.E.M.I.N.I.’s Pax Septimus branch, Ashley hadn’t once seen the pair take part in a field operation, even if their miraculous post op medical treatments had made them figures of considerable renown, both among their fellow agents and the imperiled populace of the city in general. With that in mind, the high-tech heroine couldn’t help but worry that the crimson-haired siblings would be more than a bit out of their depth in the middle of what could very likely become a full scale battle…

Initially, Ashley had considered employing freelancers to bolster her team’s numbers, but that idea turned out to be something of a disappointment. The latest post on Noble Spark’s Shimmer page was a comic review that was nearly three weeks old, while Elzy’s Shimmer page made it quite clear that she only handled issues involving goblins. The city’s other freelancers, such as Dead Head and Gale, had either taken other jobs, or didn’t want to risk dealing with a threat of this magnitude, especially so soon after the Diver’s catastrophic visit. Thus, the Knight of Tomorrow was forced to resign herself to the fact that the motley collection of espers surrounding her was all she had to rely on.

Truly an unpleasant thought, indeed…

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Are you giving me orders, vomit head?
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

Nyxia’s sadistic grin broadened as she watched several of the Omega Obliterator’s beams slam into the bone ship and gouge huge chunks out of its skeletal form. However, that grin abruptly faded a moment later, when the captain used its katana to reflect her eye beams back at her. Or rather, at her beloved weapon…

“FUCK!!!” the Neon Tempest snarled as a molten scar was seared into the side of the massive energy cannon. “I’m sorry, baby! I’m sorry!” she rapidly apologized, while gently caressing the wounded weapon, before turning a hate-filled glare at the Miseria captain. “You fucking cock sucking piece of…” Nyxia’s profanity-filled tirade cut off mid-stream as hail of metal pellets rained down on her. The attack wasn’t strong enough to inflict any serious harm, but it was enough of an annoyance to cause the already enraged Neon Tempest to turn the full force of her ire upon its source. “Tha fuck?!” she swore, her head snapping up to see the squadron of airborne Miseria. “You asswipes can fly now?! Well, ya won’t be fuckin’ around up there for long!”

Even as Tsubomi’s shouted instructions to attack the fliers dimly registered in Nyxia’s rage-filled mind, the Neon Tempest charged up the Omega Obliterator, the mystic power restoring the death ray to its former, undamaged condition, before disgorging another writhing torrent of glowing destruction. The crackling, teal-tinted tube swept across the sky, vaporizing any Miseria in its path as it wildly flailed about. This onslaught was joined by two smaller beams, emanating from Nyxia’s twin point defense drones, which picked off any of the flying pirates that might have managed to escape the main attack.

“Tha fuck ya think I’m doin’?!” Nyxia snapped at Acid Drop (who was probably too far away by now to hear her). “And don’t you dare give me orders!”

Symphony on High

I trust you to disappoint me.
-Ashley Avenir

Unfortunately, but predictably, Finn responded to Ashley’s question with yet another moody outburst, one which painted Ashley herself as the problem, the one looking for an excuse to be rid of him, while he only wished to do his job. Of course, his concluding quip that he’d be an “obedient little killer”, made the Knight of Tomorrow more than a little doubtful of the sincerity of that response. Yet, even as Ashley was trying to figure out the best way of dealing with Finn’s disruptive behavior, Mika seemed to have her own idea. Slowing down considerably, she parked the van on the side of the road, noted the other agents who would be joining them, and asked the Knight of Tomorrow to confirm that a standard G.E.M.I.N.I. squad consisted of only five members. The purpose behind this wasn’t lost on Ashley, although she was a bit surprised that it was Mika who had decided to take the role of the parent stopping the car to deal with a petulant child. Regardless, this was an ultimatum for not only Finn, but Ashley as well, since she would now have to come to a swift decision on how to proceed in regard to the team’s youngest member.

“Correct,” Ashley confirmed after taking a deep breath and exhaling it in a tired sigh. “But Timekeeper has committed to fulfilling his responsibilities as a G.E.M.I.N.I. agent, so I will take him at his word.” Against my better judgement… she kept to herself. Yet, for all the various red flags and warning signs inherent in Finn’s recent behavior, the young agent was right about one thing. They’d be facing a major threat, very likely one approaching, or even equalling the power of the Diver. With that in mind, they needed as much strength as they could muster, and with the recent loss of Ellie and the even more recent incapacitation of Estelle due to a weretiger ambush, they were already two agents short. The Knight of Tomorrow only hoped that keeping Finn on the team wouldn’t be a decision she’d later regret…

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

An AI Made Adventure?

Guess this is dead as a door nail, huh?

A pity.

I was looking forward to seeing how this played out.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Looks like I spoke too soon…
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

Nyxia’s deranged laughter slowly subsided as she realized her target still hadn’t been destroyed, despite all the destructive power unleashed upon it. In fact, the bone ship hadn’t even been touched, the Omega Obliterator’s blinding beam having somehow been blocked by the captain’s cutlass katana.

“THA FUCK?!!” Nyxia swore, her eyes widening in utter incredulity.

An instant later, the Neon Tempest was forced to leap out of the way as the crackling cylinder of destruction was redirected back towards the beach.

Maybe these shit stains’ll be more of a challenge than I thought… she grudgingly conceded, before a sadistic grin returned to her face. “Nice trick,” she commended her piratical foe. “But let’s see how ya handle THIS!!!”

Once more, a crackling torrent of teal energy shot forth from Nyxia’s oversized weapon, but this time, the ruinous cylinder split into a quartet of slightly smaller beams, each zeroing in on a different part of the dutchman. Simultaneously, from the Neon Tempest’s now glowing eyes lanced out an even smaller, but no less potent, pair of beams, which streaked towards where the captain was currently standing. If it wished to block any of the other death rays from striking its ship, then it would need to leave its current spot at the mercy of being pierced by Nyxia’s eye beams. Needless to say, the Neon Tempest was eager to see how it chose to respond…

Symphony on High

Well, now I’m really starting to get concerned…
-Ashley Avenir

Predictably, Mika had not, in fact, informed Dr. Moller of the dossier on Finn she’d found in the charred diner, but Ashley didn’t allow herself to be too concerned by this fact. After all, Mika’s reasoning for doing so was sound in light of the need for secrecy, and besides, the Knight of Tomorrow had a far larger problem to deal with…

Ashley’s eyes widened in shock as Finn went on his little rant. She knew he’d been having a hard time, and that he was still just a child, but the cruel vindictiveness he was exhibiting was taking things to another level. To say that it was worrying would have been a massive understatement. Especially when he joked(?) about her murdering Olivia to keep the girl quiet.

“Kill her?” the Knight of Tomorrow repeated. “Finn, what has gotten into you? Clearly I’ve struck some kind of nerve, but that still doesn’t give you the right to start acting like a deranged psychopath! Look,” she added after taking a deep breath. “I don’t think you’re the mole. All I’m saying is that I’m worried you might inadvertently reveal sensitive information, based upon your recent actions. Furthermore, I don’t think Olivia is a spy either, but as you said, she’s both talkative and innocent. If you tell her something, who knows who else she might naively reveal it to? As for Betty, no, I don’t think she’d willingly serve The Hand, but she was brainwashed by one of their members, so I think it would be foolish to discount the possibility that they may still have some form of influence over her.”

Finn then inquired if Faith or Binky had been acting oddly of late, as if his recent outburst hadn’t even happened, making said inquiry all the more ironic. Mika followed that up with some comments of her own, before asking how they should go about discovering the mole’s identity.

“Well, first off, I think we should try to get the Director alone and bring all we’ve learned to her attention,” Ashley began. “Then perhaps we could have her share false information with each of the suspects one by one and see if The Hand responds. I’m afraid I haven’t spent a lot of time with Binky since we rescued her,” the high-tech heroine continued. “But when I did, she seemed like her normal self. Faith is an… interesting person. She’s certainly acted rather strange on the few times we’ve conversed, but I don’t know how much of her eccentricities are natural aspects of her personalty, or signs of mental manipulation. We also can’t rule out the possibility that they don’t even know they’re supplying our enemies with information. Based on what we’ve seen so far, I think it's safe to say that implanting hidden surveillance technology or employing magical means to replicate the same effect is well within their capabilities. That said, there’s a more immediate concern I’d like to address.”

Taking another deep breath, she turned back to fix Finn with an intense gaze.

“I don’t know what, exactly, is causing you to act out like this, but if things are too much for you right now, then I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if you sit this mission out,” she told the young agent in a firm tone. “I can’t say we don’t need all the help we can get against a threat of this size, but if you’re just going act like an unhinged loose cannon, instead of a GEMINI agent, then your presence will do far more harm than good. So, what will it be, Timekeeper? Can we count on you to control yourself and cooperate with your fellow team members, or should we leave you behind to work through whatever problems you’re dealing with?”

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Well, shiver my timbers…
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

To Nyxia’s great delight, the Miseria were perishing in droves. Indeed, the Neon Tempest was so fixated on her little slaughter fest, that Oros’s own Miseria make out session went blissfuly unnoticed. However, its resulting effect on said Miseria soon made itself unmistakably apparent…

“What tha fuck?!” Nyxia exclaimed, her wild eyes widening in disbelief. “Is that a fuckin’ pirate ship?!”

Yes, it did, indeed, seem to be just that, crewed, appropriately enough, by pirate Miseria. Though somewhat comical in appearance, the shadowy swashbucklers wasted no time in joining the fray, firing themselves out of their ship’s cannons to impact the beach with considerable force. Perhaps predictably, Nyxia didn’t really change her single-minded tactics in response to this latest development, merely her target.

Satisfied that Roche and the others could handle the incoming pirates, along with what few Miseria had survived her initial deluge of devastation, Nyxia swung the barrel of her massive energy cannon to face the skeletal galleon. “Looks like that was just the appetizer, baby,” she told her beloved weapon as an even more psychotic grin spread across her face. “TIME FOR THE MAIN COURSE!!! HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”

Once more, the ruinous cylinder of glowing, teal-tinted annihilation vomited forth, vaporizing any sand thrown up in its path, along with any unfortunate Misiera that happened to get in the way. Since it was not only quite sizable, but also hovering above the waves, the buccaneers’ bone ship was an easy target, despite the beach’s steadily worsening visibility. Plus, besides being the most imposing enemy to target, if this worked at all like any of the video games she’d played with her brother, then destroying the pirates’ ship would deal a fatal blow to the remaining Miseria. As her sadistic laughter continued to ring out, the Neon Tempest kept her finger pressed tight against the Omega Obliterator’s trigger, sending any Miseria that dared to approach her flying away with a powerful kick (at least the ones who got past her hovering point defense drones) and using that same superhuman leg strength to simply leap out of the way of any of the bone galleon’s incoming cannon fire.

“IS THAT REALLY ALL YOU GOT?!!” she sneered at her foe. “AND HERE I THOUGHT THIS WAS GONNA BE A CHALLENGE!!! HAHAHAHAAA!!!”

Symphony on High

Okay, time for a difficult conversation...
-Ashley Avenir

As Ashley walked the short distance from her apartment to Mika’s van, the light drizzle rapidly intensified into a torrential downpour. Thankfully, like Olivia, she had remembered to bring an umbrella, and so her seat remained relatively dry after she stepped through the van’s front passenger door. A quick look around the vehicle’s interior revealed that she was apparently the first agent to be picked up, thus, the ensuing ride to their next destination passed in a predictably awkward silence. However, that all changed once Finn stepped inside. As soon as they had begun moving again, Mika brought up the possible mole in their ranks, noting that she had recovered info about Finn from the ruins of Dante’s diner. Opening the glove box as she was directed, the Knight of Tomorrow found the dossier in question and began reading over it. The information it listed was troubling enough, but that wasn’t the only thing that concerned the high-tech heroine…

“Does Director Moller know about this?” Ashley inquired, although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. A part of her could understand keeping the information out of the hands of a potential spy, but if the mole was actually the director herself, then they were in far more trouble than the Knight of Tomorrow cared to imagine.

“As for potential suspects, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think the most likely candidates are Faith and Binky. The later was recently held captive by The Hand, and it’s very likely that The Hand was responsible for inserting the former into the Diver as a power source. In addition, they both have access to a great deal of sensitive information, including most of Director Moller’s plans. Now, I don’t mean to say that they are knowingly betraying us,” she hastened to clarify. “It’s very possible that they were brainwashed, or were simply implanted with some form of hidden surveillance equipment. That said, there’s one other significant possibility.” Pausing for a moment to take a breath, she continued. “While Betty isn’t a part of GEMINI’s command structure, you’ve been spending a lot of time with her, Finn,” she noted, turning to face the young agent. “Have you told her any potentially sensitive information? On a related note, I was just informed by my neighbor that, in addition to giving her tours of the city, you also revealed to her that you were an esper. I sincerely hope you didn’t tell her that you worked for GEMINI as well, or mentioned any classified mission details, but even if you didn’t, can you see how that was still a massive security risk?” she inquired, her eyes and voice filled with a mixture of disappointment and concern.

Although this really wasn’t a conversation Ashley wanted to have, it was better to get it out of the way now, as opposed to after the other agents were present as well.

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Fucking finally!
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

Nyxia paid little mind to the charred and battered husk of Oros as the blood witch pitifully crawled away, nor did she bother to acknowledge Acid Drop’s surprisingly snide comment about not thinking. Maybe this result wasn’t exactly what she’d been hoping for, but the Neon Tempest wanted Miseria to slaughter, and now she had them, so as far as the teal-haired terror was concerned, their plan had been a success.

“Hahahahaaaa!” Nyxia laughed in psychotic glee as she aimed the Omega Obliterator to fire a flanking shot along the advancing line of Miseria. “See that, baby?! It’s a fucking feast! So EAT UP!!!”

Squeezing the trigger of her massive weapon and pumping her magic into it at a prodigious rate, the Neon Tempest unleashed a writhing, crackling torrent of glowing teal annihilation, the death ray’s quartet of newly formed supplementary barrels sending ancillary streams to pour into and further engorge the already sizable primary cylinder of ruinous energies as it cut a swath of devastation along the beach. Indeed, the tubular technomantic tendril served as a barrier in its own right, remaining in place to vaporize each successive wave of the seemingly endless tide of Miseria emerging from the sea after completely disintegrating the first with contemptuous ease. Simultaneously, any Miseria that might have somehow managed to get past this kill zone would find themselves subjected to a hail of lesser, yet still potent energy beams disgorged by a pair of hovering weapon drones that resembled larger versions of the Neon Tempest’s octahedral hair decorations.

“That’s right you fucking shit stains!” Nyxia cried as dozens of Miseria burst apart into clouds of swiftly dissipating mist in rapid succession. “Die for me! Die! Die! DIEEEE!!!”

Symphony on High

Why do you always have to make things difficult, Finn?
-Ashley Avenir

Ashley frowned when she saw Mika’s text about offering to pick up the various agents, rather than meeting at GEMINI HQ and moving out from there. While the Knight of Tomorrow understood and respected the need for caution in light of the deeply unsettling fact that there was likely a mole among their ranks, she had no great desire to have the perpetually annoyed Mika cross paths with her perpetually chatty neighbor. Thus, she had requested that Mika park a block away from her apartment in an effort to curtail such a meeting. As if to validate her concerns, no sooner had she stepped into the hall, then a nasally voice called out to her.

“Hi, Ashley!”

“Oh, hi, Olivia,” Ashley greeted the bespectacled brunette with what she hoped was a friendly smile.

Despite the fact that the talkative girl had been nothing but personable, if a little annoying, Ashley still couldn’t help but feel that there was something off about Olivia. While her recent mission to rescue the kidnapped Marrywell students had confirmed that her neighbor was in no way involved with said incident, Olivia’s interest in espers and anything related to the paranormal, to say nothing of the bespectacled brunette’s frequent talk of single-student field trips, magical girls, and her “darling Xolys”, seemed far more than merely the products of an overactive imagination. Indeed, when returning from late patrols, Ashley could sometimes make out the faint sounds of conversation emanating from the other side of Olivia’s door. One voice was female, but sounded far sweeter and more melodious than Olivia’s normal, nasally tones, while the second was male, and sounded quite polite and cordial. Still, Ashley wasn’t about to investigate this oddity, not when there were far more pressing matters in need of her attention…

“It’s really getting stormy out there, huh?” Olivia observed. “It’s a really good thing I remembered to bring my umbrella!” she added with a giggle/snort.

Ostensibly the result of two approaching severe weather systems, the worsening conditions were actually an early warning that a pair of Behemoth-class monsters would soon arrive in Pax Septimus. After the catastrophic damage the Diver had so recently caused, GEMINI wanted to ensure that this latest pair were stopped well short of the city, and Ashley had vowed to do all she could in pursuit of that goal. Yet, she couldn’t exactly tell Olivia that, even if the strange girl was more than she appeared, and so the Knight of Tomorrow forced herself to maintain a casual demeanor.

“It’s supposed to get a lot worse later on, so I’d recommend staying indoors for the rest of the day,” she advised.

“Oh, don’t worry, I will!” Olivia reassured her. “Plus, I’ve had lots of experience with extreme weather,” she added. “Like I was telling that person when we first met, my home town would frequently get buried under a considerable quantity of snow during winter storms, and it rained a lot in London during my time there, especially when this one Pageless that could control the weather showed up!”

“I see…” Ashley replied, not exactly sure what a “Pageless” even was. “So, um, how have your explorations of the city been going?” she inquired.

“Oh, they’ve been great!” Olivia replied with an excited smile. “I mean, I haven’t seen any ghosts or monsters up close yet, but with my tour guide’s help, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time!” she added with another giggle/snort. “Like, the other day, we went down into the catacombs beneath the historic library via a secret tunnel in its archives, and we almost saw a real ghost! Well, I think it was a ghost,” Olivia added with a frown. “I mean, we only caught a few glimpses of its cape and never actually caught up to it, but we heard the laughter of a young boy, and there wouldn't be any young boys in the catacombs unless they were a ghost, right? Then again, I suppose he could have been an esper…” she reflected, her visage one of thoughtful contemplation, before brightening up once again. “Oh! And speaking of espers, my guide actually is one!”

“H-He is…?!” Ashley asked, more than a little taken aback by this revelation.

“Yes!” Olivia confirmed with an enthusiastic nod. “I know you warned me about them being dangerous, but Finn is super nice, and I felt very safe with him!”

Finn?!

“It was actually rather fortunate, too, since if we ran into trouble down there, I don’t think darling Xolys would have been able to help much, since he’d have probably been too big to fit!” Olivia continued before giving voice to another giggle/snort.

However, Ashley barely heard her. The Knight of Tomorrow’s mind was reeling.

Finn?! Finn’s her tour guide?! And he revealed himself as an esper?! What was he thinking?!

Indeed, it was bad enough that GEMINI’s Pax Septimus branch had been compromised, but now a fellow agent who had already proven himself to be a discipline problem was also becoming a security risk?! This was bad. How much did he tell Olivia? Did he mention that he worked for GEMINI? Had he given away classified information about recent operations? Ashley had no way of knowing, other than asking Olivia or confronting Finn directly. Doing the latter right before the start of a pivotal operation was decidedly less than ideal, but asking her chatty neighbor was out of the question. Even if Olivia was utterly innocent, her naiveté, coupled with her talkative tendencies, made the idea of revealing herself as an esper a very bad move. There was no telling who she might go on to inadvertently reveal that information to. It was problematic enough that Finn was potentially compromised, and Ashley wasn’t about to add herself to that number…

“Well, he seems nice enough,” Ashley conceded, doing her best not to show the considerable annoyance and worry she felt.

“Yeah, he really is!” Olivia reiterated. “And he has such fascinating abilities, oh, and his esper form looks sort of like a jointed doll! Isn’t that cool?!”

“Uh, yes, very cool,” Ashley agreed in a slightly awkward tone she hoped Olivia wouldn’t pink up on.

“So, um, where are you heading off to?” the bespectacled brunette inquired.

“I’m helping some colleagues from work prepare for the storm,” Ashley replied with practiced ease. Plus, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Well, stay safe out there!” Olivia told her with a wave.

“I’ll do my best,” Ashley replied with a smile as she headed for the stairs.

She only hoped her best would be enough…

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000