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While Claire settled in to take pictures and Rhiannon seemed content to stand by and be the casual observer, Marissa make a b-line for the air hockey table and gave Michael a look like she expected him to follow. There were already two teenagers at the table, but one of them seemed to be losing pretty badly, so she didn't expect it'd be long before the table actually freed up.

For the time being, she stood by to wait, sparing a glance at Michael when he was close enough but putting most of her attention into the swiftly ending game.

“So...” she began, “... Peter sneaks out at night to be a superhero and fight monsters?”

There was still a chance that it was nothing more than make-believe. She wasn't around the kid enough to think she knew him well, but he seemed to have a pretty active imagination. Then again, wasn't he twelve-years-old already? Most, if not all, of her older kid's make-believe games had ended at that point, if she remembered correctly.

Not that she wanted what she suspected to be true, but she didn't like beingleft in the dark either.

When the game between the teeenagers ended, Marissa approached the air hockey table and fished the puck out to toss it on top.

“Pick a side,” she said.

She chuckled as he struggled with the idea of trying to win her a prize. She didn't know if the games here were rigged or not but her husband wasn't the most athletic soul. Sometimes she wondered why he didn't hurt himself randomly.

Oh, wait, she was the really clutzy one between them.

"Oh, Tony, I wish you wouldn't fuss. I'm pregnant, not dying."

She batted him away as he tried to help her sit down, thinking she remembered how to do that properly even with a ginourmous belly in the way. She knew how, it just took longer. She took a minute or two but finally her butt hit the wood. She smiled a little and watched Dogby sniff the entire carnival in her pervue.

"We should have come tonight. I can't deal with being treated like an invalid. I'm not even that old. There's little risk."

She'd been cooped up much too long. in their house and hadn't allowed herself to go out much because he was so protective of her. She'd been doing her best to play the pregnant wife but occasionally she had to land a low blow and and use the puppy dog eyes.

If Ricky wasn't excited before at the prospect of receiving help to find his way out of this mirror house, he was excited now! He heard the soft voice of a woman calling out - not to him in particular - but it meant somebody else was in the house! They might be just as lost, or may know the quickest way to the exit.

"Come on!" he said to Marlin as he patted - or more along the lines of a five-star slap - him on the back and charged off towards the voice of Eliza, screaming loud enough for anyone in the mirror house to hear. "HELLO? IS THAT SOMEONE ELSE IN HERE? WE'RE LOST, DANG IT! WHERE ARE YA?"

It didn't take long for Ricky to find the source of the voice, Eliza (yet finding the exit still seemed an impossible feat), and his excitement just grew even further.

"Hey, I know you! You're..." he exclaimed, nearly giving away her secret identity as a fellow Knight of Chronos, but stopping himself upon realizing there was other company around. "...a girl." Much better.

"I'm Ricky," he introduced to the boy Isha.







"Oof, yeah, I think I'm fine," Haley said to the girl, Gwen. Sure, her elbow was cut and swollen and her knees were scraped up and would probably bruise, but she's been through worse. She quickly examined her body and found that she was only bleeding at her elbow, at least. "Thanks for the help..."

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a band-aid, would you?" she questioned. "Or something to clean up this scrape with."

It was then that Haley decided she could try licking the wound clean, and attempted to lick the cut on her elbow. Of course, this was impossible, but that didn't mean she didn't give it her best effort.

"I'm Haley, by the way," she said, her tongue still out, looking entirely ridiculous.

Great. Now she also bit her tongue, too.

Michael grinned as he followed the older woman to the table, picking up one of the abandoned air hockey mallets so he could take his position to defend the goal. He hadn't played a game in years, but it couldn't be that difficult to pick back up, right?

"Kids these days," he said with a simple shrug, waiting for the score to reset. "They'll say and do the darnedest things."

Of course, he knew what she meant. He also knew that she happened to be right about Peter. He was a senshi, and he'd only found out recently himself. In fact, there were many things she might find rather interesting, but he wasn't just willing to give the information up that easily.

"What will you give me if I tell you?" he grinned, wondering if she would realize that there might be more to what he was willing to tell her if she gave him something in return. After all, there might be some things that she would find very interesting... and also horrifying, but interesting all the same.

"It's great to see you too, Eliza! Of all the places!" It took him a moment to figure out what was going on. All of a sudden, there were quite a few people in the mirrors around him.

"Oh, Hello! I'm Isha, it's a pleasure to meet you." A small wave was given to the person in the background, Marlin, who he had not yet spoken too, but all deserved to be addressed!

"Well.. Seems like everyone is getting lost, huh?" He couldn't help but chuckled at all of the people who started to show up in this one, centralized area, though it wasn't that uncomfortable that Ricky had shown up either. The more the Merrier! It was is Eliza had summoned a bunch of knights in shining armor to go about and rescue her! Of course, he was never much of a knight himself, but he was more than glad to go about and help in any way that he could.

"I suppose no one here really knows the hand on the mirror trick to get out? Or are you not too worried about escaping just yet?"

Titan felt reassured, maybe, when they'd received their assignments from the small General. He knew Buddingtonite, at least, though the man's uniform had certainly changed. Being in the center, at The Big Top, felt comforting in a way. Carnivals, with their side shows and performances, were part of where he felt at home personally, and at the center was both where there would be large crowds of people to blend in and easily gather energy as well as a ready supply of distractions to keep the eyes of the masses off of their operations. Tents were useful for shadows, scrims of ripstop to hide costumes changes or waiting performers to make cues. Catwalks and production lights or mist makers. It was a good location, maybe even useful for practicing the toss maneuver he and Buddy had worked out.

Listening to Buddy talk to the unknown, at least part of his wondering was answered - 'I was promoted' ! He is a Captain now. Is it something to congratulate? Or is that rude on a mission?

He didn't know the other agent working with them, Lieutenant Amethyst , but there wasn't anything quite like working together to make acquaintance. It was a little worrying to hear that the man was not wholly prepared to do everything and anything necessary unless directly ordered....but was he, Titan, himself? Maybe that was what many Lieutenants struggled with. Well, he didn't need Obsidian's personal orders in every instance to have a pretty good guess that killing, maiming and other generalized violence was not only on continuous order, but probably expected and required. Violence was the speech of the sword that General carried, and Titan had been given a hammer (foam or not) to speak for himself.

Maybe they should be scoping out the seating and decor for likely places to pull patrons aside for starseeding, where to blend in best in the swaths of red, purple and silver. At least in all blacks, even as big as he was, Titan didn't stick out as badly as were his uniform something other or more traditionally strongman. Leopard print and barbell weights gladly not the dress for the occasion.

Buddy telling the other not to worry about maiming? Maybe other divisions were less 'kill everything'. "The jaws must here close on many hands, not Týr's alone. We must all be sharp tonight."









Quenton couldn't wait. He loved getting to see new things, well, new as in not seen before more than not know of. He had seen other circuses and carnivals in his life time, but a local deal? THIS one? Neither. There was always something to be gained in the way of dreams by witnessing the presentation of visions from another. Carnivals were like walking in waking dream lands, full of laughter and delight, excitement and eustress.

He bounced on his heels in the line, waiting politely but eagerly for his turn through the stile and the arc of light. Entering 'Fate'? fortuitous in 'Destiny' City, rather.

He wished he could have convinced a friend to come along, but maybe he could find someone else there stag and looking for a partner on the rides or at the games. But first, FIRST he wanted to see the shows. Games could come after, when they were a little less crowded as others went to the show. He made his way to the little ticket machine amid others, making a face that there wasn't an actual person giving out tickets. Well, maybe it was cheaper not to pay someone. Still, having someone to interact and joke with the guests, get them revved for the performance, like french-styled clowns or barkers, would have been a plus. He wondered if concessions would be hawked inside The Big Top or not?

So Quenton wandered some of the nearest stands to the Center tent, seeing what was available before he would look to find a seat.



Schörl didn't know if she was pleased or displeased in finally seeing the woman who had brought her into this dance again. Painite certainly seemed keyed up for the operation, so either way it looked like this was going to be a promising debacle whether it ended out successful or a horrible idea. It probably depended on whether or not they could all keep their cool and keep cover while reaping harvest.

At least with a crop she might look like she had some idea or some business around horses, having been assigned and making her casual way to the Animal Pens. Like a trainer. Or ....something. First things first would be maybe trying to get to know if the two assigned the same station were going to be working with or against her. Things always went better if teamwork panned out, but there was never really any telling if it would. She was supposedly assigned with a Richterite and Opal.

Either way, it was harder to tell who was who when they weren't in uniform. So she stood to the side, occasionally crouching next to the iron bars closest the horses to pick up a handful of sweet hay they'd dropped and offer it out to a snuffling nose on the other side. She loved the clopping sound that their lips made when they reached for things they wanted. At least until that sound was interrupted by a girl shouting and stomping like a cheerleader , oh...no, no more like a demonstrator. Sounded like an eco-nazi. Some young girl was coming to the eco-girl's rescue, and it looked like the fallen ecotard could use it. Looking at her tongue sticking out of her mouth while still trying to talk confirmed some suspicions.

"Obviously someone's never heard of the finer points of bars and leashes. " But it was under her own breath.

Leucite nodded at the general, and looking around to ensure the area was still clear, he moved over to the unconscious man. He took a deep breath and knelt down, placing his hand against the man's chest.

It took him a bit to finally focus and get his hand INTO the man's chest. It was a strange sensation and when he got a firm grip on the Starseed he pulled, slowly at first, until finally it came free in his hand. Holding the Starseed he marveled at the heft of it, before it too went into his uniform. Slowly standing to look at the general.

"Okay, so I guess we find a place to hide this..."

The gravity of what he had just done had sunk in, but he was choosing to address it later.

Leucite saluted the general. "Si... Benitoite," he caught himself mid sentence and nodded to the other male, before quietly slipping out of the blind corner and once again blending into the shadows as best he could. His hands were shaking and he felt sick to his stomach.

His father said your first kill was always the hardest. Especially if you had to do it up close. His dad never talked about his first kill - and Lecuite now understood why. Right now, all he wanted to do was find a nice seculuded corner and be sick and cry.

But he had to be made of sterner stuff than that. His father had said it never got easier - but he'd always talked about any other time he'd killed someone like it was nothing - so maybe that wasn't entirely true.

But still - he didn't know if that man had, had family. He could have been a father, a husband. He was someone's son. People didn't just pop into existence.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself together as best he could, and once again started to scout about the rides, keeping an eye out for potential energy targets. He didn't think he'd be able to pull another Starseed that evening, but he'd have to wait and see. He wanted to ensure he was an asset to the Negaverse. They were doing the right thing.

Wars had collateral damage after all...