Gamma Emission: Unintended Side-effects

[Sofaspud]

Nice! Social engineering for fun and profit.

-Exa-hertz? Yikes.

... we don't need no stinkin' Terra Volta! Just get Gamma good and angry, then plug 'er in!

I'm liking this. Want MOAR!

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Sweno]

For those who aren't as into the high energy physics as I am, or wikipedia happy as I am:
1 Exahertz = 10^18 Hertz
1 Petahertz = 10^15 Hertz
1 Terahertz = 10^12 Hertz

we have a image of the EM spectrum
as well as a breakdown of various bands of the spectrum

Lisa basically puts out everything from near infrared to medium energy gamma rays, with the bulk of her output in the X-ray range.
And if your yikes-ing at Exaherts, the high end of the gamma rays hit the Yottahertz (10^24) range, but that is a little bit outside Lisa's range.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Norgarth]

'Yottahertz'? sounds more like 'Lottahertz'. 8P
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[Sweno]

Ok everyone, blame Spud and Terrence for this. They have now hijacked the story thread with their ideas full of win. So instead of Pair Production part 3, I
now bring you:

-----------------------------

Gamma Emission:

Cascade Effects (pt 1)

The two biggest obstacles to my success were the Shivan skulls and a mage knowledgeable enough to craft a blood filter. The first could be harvested with help
from Terrence. There was no way I was going to go Shivan hunting in Bloody Bay without some backup, and Terrence is the best backup I know. The second was bit
more complicated. I didn't know any mages who where good enough to craft a hospital grade blood filter, but I did know someone who might. According to one
of the radiology pre-docs who was studying the effects radiation on magic, my best bet for such a mage was Larry Jackobson. The radiology pre-doc also agreed
to repair the equipment in 3A; as long as I wore a few the talismans he was testing on my next trip into Terra Volta. I considered that a win/win situation,
one of the harder tasks taken care of, and building a working relationship with one of the guys who might be able to figure out effective warding for me.

All of that meant I was waiting in the third floor lobby for the controlled chaos to die down a bit when I felt it. "I'm thinking we should hit the
Bay tomorrow morning, the earlier the better. I want to minimize the chance of running into the stalkers there and Tuesdays seem to be -" I trailed off as
the sensation washed over me, like a warm breeze and taking a hit off a pixie stick at the same time. Oh that wasn't good. I knew it wasn't actual
wind, my coat hadn't moved at all. And I was two heavily shielded floors away from the radiology department.

"Lisa? You ok?" Terrence's voice sounded a little worried as it came out of my cell phones small speaker.

"I'm gonna have to call you back, something just happened." I said as I closed my phone. I waited and the warm breeze came again. I tried to
pinpoint the direction it was coming from, but before I was able to people started to pour out of one of the connecting hallways. Both doctors and patients,
some of whom looked like they shouldn't be moving. Taking that for an obvious sign of something going wrong I started to weave my way between the influx of
people, trying to make it down the hallway as fast as I could. I told myself that my pounding heart was due to stress and not a response to the rads that were
washing down the hallway. By the time the breeze came again I was sprinting down the hallway, a task made much easier by it's now deserted nature.

As I rounded a corner I saw the source of the disturbance. Four doctors were huddled near one of the operating rooms in full getup, arguing in hushed voices.
The wards on the door to the where visibly glowing in their effort to contain the radiation, but they were not designed to handle doses that were being put
out. The reason the doctors where huddled outside became clear as I ran towards the group, the plaque above the doors was flashing red. A big radioactive
symbol blinking on and off twice a second. I recognized that from my first few panic filled days on fifth floor, lethal level of radiation.

"What's the situation?" I ask as I stop near the group.

The nearest doctor turned around at my question. "We're not sure. The patient was ported in from the abandoned sewer network, we were still doing the
initial evaluation when she regained consciousness and started to panic." All four of them flinched as the fourth wave of radiation passed over us. The
wards on their robes briefly becoming visible, and a device on one of their belts beeped in warning. "She started emitting at lethal levels right away,
right now we are waiting on a suit from Terra Volta." He glanced at his watch. "It'll be another seven minutes at least."

"How long are the wards going to last?" I asked as I gave the door another look.

"Three, maybe five minutes." He said, clearly not liking the situation but not knowing what else to do.

Another one of the doctors decided to voice his earlier argument. "You should have let me stay and sedate her." He was quickly shot down by the
third. "You wouldn't have even been able to make it next to her, let alone find a vein."

I interrupted them before it deteriorated further. "What are you using? I'm registered nurse and that dosage won't kill me." It wasn't a
lie. I would still be a registered nurse for another five months. And the amount of radiation the patient was putting out wouldn't do more than make me hot
and bothered, I hoped.

One of them fished a bottle and syringe out of his robes and passed them to me. Trapanal. As fast acting as they come, but sucks on the duration end of the
spectrum. "700 ml should do it. We'll get her up to the fifth floor as soon as she's out." He assured me.

I took a steading breath as I walked to the door of the OR, I could do this. Go in, calm the patient down, give her a shot. Simple. Easy.

I pushed my way through the door and found my self in a situation that was neither simple nor easy. It felt like Terra Volta all over again, a slight sense of
detachment and euphoria made it hard to think. The woman on the operating table was glowing with a radiance I found all to familiar and crying about someone
named 'Mr. Whiskers'. As I made may way over to her, she screamed the name again and the radiation kicked up a notch. Screw calming her down, if I hung
out here long enough for that to happen I would be glowing as much as she was. And then the wards would give out twice as fast. I popped the cap off the
syringe, filled it to the 700 ml mark, and then purged it of any remaining air bubbles.

The woman looked up at me as I approached, and she didn't appreciate the syringe in my right hand. Her hands shot in my direction and all I saw for a
second was green light. It felt like taking a hit off of an oxygen tank, more energy than my body knew what do with. I grabbed her right hand with my left and
drove my right shoulder into her chest. Her back hit the operating table with thunk. Pinning her to the table with my own weight I was able to stretch her
right arm out in front of me. She started to glow brighter, but it just made me feel stronger. The veins clearly stood out on the inside of her elbow. The
syringe was in, depressed, and out before she had a chance to explode again in that glorious green light.

I rolled off of her and backed away. A small part of my mind warning me not take too many of those blasts, regardless of how good they felt. She had enough
time to look confused at my actions before the Trapanal hit her brain and she went out like a light. My euphoria crashed with her and I felt worn out, worn out
and frustrated. Dammit, these had been on of my few remaining pairs of pants. I ignored the signals my neither regions where sending my brain for the moment,
having the doctors rush in and find me with a hand down my pants is not something I wanted to feed the hospital rumor mill. Now that I could think clearly the
pieces fell into place and I recognized the woman. Redhead, radioactive, a penchant for military style garb (at least from what I could tell of the mess she
currently had on), and stuffed cat called Mr. Whiskers (obviously missing). It all added up to one very distressed Emerald Blast. I hadn't run any missions
with her, at least that I remembered. But I had been warned not make insinuations about the cat. Not that the warnings were necessary, I had seen enough weird
shit come in and go out of the ER to take enchanted stuffed cats at face value. Heck, I had heard some of the legendary talking about an invisible penguin. If
Emerald Blast says the cat talks to her, it talks to her.

My dazed internal monologue was disrupted by the sudden entrance of the four doctors. Three of them quickly checked Emerald's vitals and rushed her out the
door. One of them attempted to check on me, but I waved off his effort. "What were her starting coordinates?" I asked him instead.

He looked a little taken back by the question at first, but didn't waste time pulling out his palmtop and looking the information up. I gave him a cursory
thanks and started to make my way back to the lobby. I got about halfway there when Terrence came careening around the corner and enveloped me in a hug.

"You weren't answering you cell. I got worried. What happened?" His voice was concerned as he spoke into my hair.

I didn't have the energy to explain the situation that I only half understood, and my libido was becoming rather instant. So I settled on explaining what
was going to happen instead. "We are finding Emerald's cat, we are bringing it back, and then we are going to my apartment. Is this clear?" I
made myself one rule when I found out how wound up I could get during missions: you finish the mission first. And this was a mission I couldn't say no to.

Terrence pulled back from the hug to give me a bit of a worried look, but that quickly was replaced by a smile when he saw my expression. "Sure, where do
we start?" He knew better than to argue with me when I was angry and horny. I told him the coordinates as we made our way out of the hospital.

It was a quick trip down to the scene of Emerald's fight. Terrence can do a very good impression of a freight train when properly motivated, and this was
no exception. He would hit a group and knock them to the ground, I followed up with enough radiation to leave them wondering which way was up, and we moved on.
The objective was to find a stuffed cat, not clear a path. When we arrived at our destination there were a few hydra scraping the remains of their brethren off
the walls and eating it. Terrence and I made quick work of them, as Emerald had already put significant dent in their numbers. Looking at the misshapen hydra
corpses that littered the area, and what they had been doing when we arrived gave me a horrible thought. I really didn't want to dig through hydra stomachs
for stuffed animals, and hoped that Mr Whiskers was buried under the one of hydra chunks that littered the area instead.

After briefly confirming that Terrence didn't know what Mr. Whiskers looked like either, we got to the less than pleasant task of sorting Hydra chunks. If
my clothes hadn't already been a lost cause due to radiation they would be now due to the smell. Fifteen minutes of piling blobs of gelatinous flesh later,
and I was starting to seriously consider dissection on one of the hydra we a killed when we arrived.

Fortunately Terrence's cry of "Found it! ... I think." stopped me before I got to that point. He pulled out a slime covered stuffed cat that had
gotten itself jammed between the wall and one of the conduits that intersected the sewers at regular intervals. It was disgusting and dripping but it was most
definitely a stuffed cat.

"Ug, give it here." I said, knowing that returning it in it's present condition would not be a wise idea. At least not when I'm my own
walking microwave, kinda. Terrence passed me the cat and I gingerly took it. I ignored the way it squished between my hands and closed my eyes. A few shallow
breaths (I was still in a sewer) later and I started to emit in the high end of the infrared spectrum. I had to be careful when doing this not to set the
object I was drying (or my clothes) on fire. But soon enough we had one stuffed cat covered in dried slime, which mostly flaked off after a few quick shakes.
"Alright, lets get out of here." I was now dirty, tired, and horny, and my libido was singing a siren song about Terrence and shower that I fully
intended to listen to.

One quick detour through Ouroboros later and we where on our way back to the hospital. The people in elevator didn't seem to appreciate our smell, but at
this point I didn't care. Dr. Shaw was waiting in the fifth floor lobby. He smiled at me as we stepped out of the elevator and said "She's in
OR-5C, I just wanted to say good job about earlier. We can go over the specifics later."

I managed to smile back at him and mutter a "Thanks". The walk to Emerald's room wasn't a pleasant one for me, there where too many bad
memories associated with that place. Terrence's silent presence was reassuring in it's solidity. When we arrived I discarded my original plan of
leaving the stuffed cat on her bed. I couldn't leave her in that room when she reminded me far to much of myself. She was unconscious on the bed with an IV
in her arm, feeding her enough sedatives to keep her under. I placed the cat on her bed, and after a quick look at the label on the IV bag, removed the needle
from her arm. I needed to know that she would be ok. So I sat down and waited while my libido curled up in a corner of my mind to grumble. It didn't take
more than a few minutes before Emerald's eyes opened up.

Her expression was worried for a moment as she spotted me, obviously remembering our earlier confrontation, then she noticed the stuffed cat. "Mr.
Whiskers!" she exclaimed happily while scooping him up for a hug. Emerald seem to be in her own happy place for about ten seconds before she remember
there where other people in the room.

"You brought Mr. Whiskers back!" was all the warning I had before I was knocked off the bed by a redheaded missile. I hit the floor with
'Oof' as I was enveloped in a very enthusiastic hug. One that she didn't seem inclined to stop any time soon.

Suddenly her gushing thanks stopped mid word and her head popped up to look at me. Only after seeing her expression did I realize where my hands had wandered.
Two nice handfuls of spandex covered behind. Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, I am not supposed to molest teammates. I am not suppo- I am getting kissed. And yeah,
that's a tongue.

After being ignored for so long my libido was all too happy to take advantage of the mental gear slippage that was happening. Before I realized it I was quite
happily squirming underneath Emerald on the hospital room floor. Only the 'thump' from Terrence's general direction gave me enough of a start to
look over at him. He was now sitting on the floor and watching us with a slightly dazed smile on his face. Emerald took advantage of my exposed neck to start
nibbling. I shivered at the sensation before realizing that I was starting to glow. Crap, I had to put this on pause!

"Terrence. Terrence!" The second time I shouted his name he perked up. "We need to go to my apartment. NOW! I'm not doing this here."
They had this room under surveillance, and there would be enough rumors about us without getting naked and sweaty on camera.

"But, but..." Emerald studdered. I turned back to see her sitting on my lap with a look of utter devastation on her face. "But I can't hurt
you, and you started-" I didn't understand what had caused the change until I played back what I had just said from her prospective.

"You can't hurt Terrence either" I cut her off before she started to cry "And your coming with us." I had enough time to see a smile
threaten to split her face before she got thrown over Terrence's shoulder. I had a brief view of the behind I had manhandled earlier before I joined her
over Terrence's other shoulder. The ride to my apartment was a little bumpy but you can't beat it for speed, and Emerald was clutching Mr. Whiskers and
laughing the whole time.

-----------------------------

Morning after fun to be added later.

ETA: minor spelling/grammar changes, and correct for nitpick
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Logan Darklighter]

O_O

Oh... my...

Check, please! *thump*

[Bob Schroeck]

Okay, I wasn't expecting that.

But I enjoyed it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Wiregeek]

I totally dig the 'fade to black, cut scene to next morning' handling - feels like Anita Blake without the tawdriness. Well Done, Sweno!
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

[Morganite]

Gamma's love life will be starting to remind Alexis of her own.

(Or at least, what it's been like at some points in the past.)

Whether that's good or bad might depend on who you ask...

-Morgan.

[Sofaspud]

Ok, I know we came up with a crapload of win the other night? But you just kicked it up another notch. Nicely done. I especially liked the hydra reference,
'cause, yeah, Emerald's been down there so many times lately that that's not only feasible, but incredibly likely. And I don't remember even
suggesting it, so again, kudos.

Only nitpick: Em doesn't have any costumes with denim. It's all either superhero standard issue Super-Spandex, or leather (for her clubbing outfit).
Just sayin'.

Heh. And y'all thought she was obscenely cheerful before...

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Morganite]

... Now we'll think she's cheerfully obscene?

-Morgan, is filed under "poor impulse control".

[Terrenceknight]

This last section is made of win, Epic levels of win. I congratulated you on the legendary chat channle and I'll do so again here. This is very good and
amuseing stuff. You got Terrence spot on with the whole "Freight train impressin when properly motivated' thing. Good lord..So many possibilitys in
the bedroom. Accelerated Metabolism., Adrenaline boost..Recovery Aura, Oh my god.. *Becomes a dried up husk by morning* So Spud We going to see something
written up from Emeralds point of view soon? *grin*

[Sofaspud]

Re: Emerald's POV, I don't think it's necessary for this sequence. I can't improve on what Sweno wrote, and -- in all honesty -- Emerald spent
most of the time out of her flippin' gourd. Hardly the sort of thing to make for an interesting read, unless
you're a psychiatrist.

(And let's not even get into the mental contortions I'd need to write it, for that matter.)

However, I've got a couple ideas in mind for other events. Next time all three of us are online I'll bounce 'em off ya.

Oh, and: I'm with Wiregeek -- very nicely done on the 'fade out' scene. Always better implied than examined in detail, in my opinion. I said
it before, but it's worth repeating: great work, Sweno!

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Sweno]

as promised here is the morning (kinda) after

----------

Gamma Emission:

Cascade Effects (pt 2)

There shouldn't be shadows on the ceiling, but that is what I'm looking at. Three indistinct dark blobs against a pale green backdrop. The ceiling is
supposed to be eggshell white. Rhea mumbles happily in her sleep and I feel the bed shift a bit as two of the shadows merge. The clock on the wall says
it's 5 o'clock. I have no clue if it's AM or PM. I think it's tuesday.

I should really get up and figure out if we need breakfast or dinner, but all I want to do is lie here like a lizard on a warm rock. After half an hour of
listening to Rhea and Terrence sleep I finally get up, and nearly stumble into the wall. The first time Terrence and I did this I was sore in the morning, now
with Rhea in the mix I have muscles that just won't cooperate. As I slowly make my way to the door the sight of their naked bodies curled up on the glowing
bed brings a smile to my lips. I would never have thought that I could feel like this about two people at the same time, let alone of different genders.
Terrence makes me feel safe and accepted, I want to do the same for Rhea.

I don't bother to turn on the hallway lights as I make my way to the kitchen, the faint glow from the bedroom is enough for me to find my way. The kitchen
is a study in shadow on shadow, the various electronic lights only giving off enough light to vaguely hint at general shapes. That combined with memory is
enough to navigate around. The clock on the stove informs me that it's 5:37 pm. Which means we didn't leave the bedroom to do anything other than raid
the fridge for almost 14 hours. Well that would explain how worn out I feel. I swear that girl is insatiable, inventive, and has the power to make you feel up
for anything. And Terrence won't stop till you've had enough.

Making coffee would be a mistake, I need actual food. And I know there isn't anything left in the fridge. I would even eat peanut butter with a spoon, but
I know that was used up last night. So instead I make my way over to the laundry room. Rhea had looked at me funny yesterday when I made sure that everyone
stripped and deposited their clothing here. But keeping as much lead as possible between clothing and the bedroom is a hard learned lesson. Having to call
someone to buy and bring me clothing is not an experience I want to repeat. Getting to look at their cute butts as Rhea dragged Terrence to the bedroom was
purely a side benefit. The light blinds me for a second, and I have to blink while my eyes adjust. It seems like I'm in luck, I have enough clean clothes
to make myself presentable. After donning the necessities to go out in public I kill the light and make my way to the front door.

The orange glow of sunset that greets me as I step outside feels more like sunrise. But a lack of daylight inside is something I've gotten used to. One of
the drawback of living in rad-proofed housing is a lack of windows, sure leaded glass and enchantments could help, but they could never stop it all. Walking
the two blocks to the local grocery store serves to wake my hunger up. I start to make a list in my head as pile items in my basket: steak, eggs, potatoes,
milk, oranges, -- ooh they have honey.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Matrix Dragon]

*Chuckles* Oh, I am loving this story.

[Sofaspud]

I blame Wiregeek for kicking this off, with his crazy talk about a fangirl obsessed with Terrence in Legendary chat. It started wheels turning.

Then these other two jokers got involved, and before ya know it, my muse is kicking me impatiently while I try to get work done. *sigh*

----------------------

Tales of the Legendary

Emerald Blast: Physical Therapy

----------------------

I woke up slowly, which isn't the usual routine but a change that I welcomed. Usually it's ... not the case.

My dreams are rarely pleasant. I never remember them as anything but a half-understood echo of what they may have been -- grayscale and covered in fog, out of
focus, with the soundtrack a half-second out of synch and playing through crappy speakers, versus the Dolby stereo, full Technicolor, Hollywood extravaganza
everyone else seems to describe. I just remember that they're not good. It didn't bother me anymore. I didn't let it. It didn't need to
bother me -- Mr. Whiskers and I could take it. Who needed good dreams anyway?

This -- morning? afternoon? evening? -- was different. It wasn't that I suddenly remembered my dreams, it was more that I wasn't upset. I just
felt... good. And while the sheets were still sweat-soaked and tangled around my legs, my pillow was dry and comfortable, instead of being damp with tears
like it usually was. That was a nice change too.

I smiled and snuggled into the bed a bit more. I didn't need to be anywhere. I could sleep in, stay in bed all day for a change, if that's what I
wanted. I wasn't even going to open my eyes... just lay here, drift back to sleep, and enjoy the soft rumble of Mr. Whiskers snoring gently next to me.

(I'm doing what?)

My eyes shot open. For a moment, I thought I was having a flashback to that night back in Basic -- but then the brain cells kicked in and ID'd my
companion. Well-defined cheeks, strong chin, shock of dark hair that even in his sleep fought the good fight and stood at attention... yeah, that's
Terrence Knight. Oh, ok, it's only Terrence. He's one of your teammates, Rhea. In The Legendary. See? It's all good.

(You are in BED... with Terrence. Wow. Must've been some mission, girl.)

What the HELL? Had I been drinking again? I bit my lip and tried frantically to scrub away the fog shrouding my memory of the day before. I'd been
fighting off some hydra, helping out some heroes who'd gotten in over their heads. I remembered that. Mr. Whiskers tackled the one trying to sneak up
behind me, I channeled his power at the one in front -- lots of green glowy stuff flying out of my hands, always a rush... then a big shrug. Sorry, ma'am,
no memories here. Didja try in that other guys head?

The shower cut off, and only then did I register that the noise of it had been in the background the whole time I'd been awake. That meant... what,
exactly? This looked like an apartment -- it wasn't MY apartment, but all apartments have that apartment-like feel to them, and anyway, it wasn't big
enough to be a house, and... Rhea, you're getting sidetracked. Focus, girl! You're in Terrence's apartment, you're -- let's make sure,
yeah, you're naked -- and someone else just got out of the shower.

... this really IS that night in Basic all over again.

It must be his girlfriend, what's-her-name. Oh, it doesn't matter, what matters is, he's GOT A GIRLFRIEND, you crazy bitch, why'd you sleep
with him if he's got a girlfriend?! And... oh, damn. She must have come in, didn't realize you were here, Terrence must have blocked her view. That
cheating bastard! Why'd he sleep with you if he's got a girlfriend?

(*Did* you sleep with him?)

Oh, man, there's no way to tell... but I felt pretty good when I woke up. Yeah, I did, I know I did. Dammit. It's been a long time, sure I needed
that with a capital NEED, but, still...

I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

Radiation. Dear god, had I cooked Terrence in my addled passion last night? He was snoring, he seemed okay... but radiation's a tricky thing like that.
He could have had a fatal dose. I *knew* better, dammit. This is why I don't drink anymore, why I stay calm and cheerful all the time. Mr. Whiskers is
one tough kitty, but even he can't keep his powers under control if I'm all stressed out and excited. He explained that to me a long time ago, that
was the price he had to pay for saving my life.

... and even if you didn't kill Terrence, what if he wants kids someday? Jesus, Rhea! What the hell were you THINKING?!

(Well, you can just heal him, right?)

Oh, don't be silly, that doesn't work on cancer, remember? Or any genetic stuff... it's only good for the usual things, like breaks and cuts and
stuff. And stop distracting me, I've gotta get out of here before SHE realizes we're here. She wouldn't mind YOU, you little furball, but I'm
dogmeat if she catches me.

Deep breath. Calm. Cheerful. Om mani pad my wallet. Okay. Here's the plan: clothes, quick quick like a cat, out that door, why are there no windows in
here, fly away, change my name, send Terrence an apology note later and donate something in his name for the cure for testicular cancer. Hope you had fun
there Terrence, I'm sure I did, just wish I could remember it. Sorry about your girlfriend and your beanbag. Oh, god.

As if on cue, the bathroom door opened.

My eyes met hers from across the room, I opened my mouth to say something -- probably "It's not what you think," or maybe "Don't shoot,
I'm unarmed," -- but she beat me to it.

"Oh, you're awake," she said quietly, scrubbing her hair with a towel. She was nude, and seemed unconcerned about it. Well, at least we were on
even footing there. "Sleep well?" I'd seen her somewhere before, I was sure of it...

The hospital. Mr. Whiskers. I spun frantically, found him where he belonged next to my pillow, turned back around and sat up, clutching him to my chest. It
all came back in a rush. Her holding me up. The relief and the joy. The hug. The hospital floor. The kiss -- oh, god, the KISS. I had tackled her and
kissed her and must have passed out, she took me home for safekeeping, then I went and slept with her boyfriend. That's it, I'm going to Hell.

I took a moment to gather myself. Calm. Cheerful. Collected. I had to stay calm, so I could apologize for sleeping with her boyfriend, for letting my
hormones get out of control and ravishing her in the hospital room, oh god... Why had I done that? I *must* have been drinking before I wound up there,
there's no other explanation...

(It's okay, she knows. She was there. They were there. You weren't drinking, you were just... relaxed, and having fun.)

I was?

(Very much so. Here, let me show you.) Another rush of images, some that brought a flush to my cheek in their vividness. (You see? You can't hurt
either of them. You can let go.)

I can let go?

(You can let go.)

I felt all the tension drain out of me, and with that the first hint of my usual impishness came back.

"I... didn't sleep much at all, actually. And neither did you."

Gamma Emission -- Lisa, as I'd learned last night -- grinned. "I think we broke Terrence."

"... nrrggh," commented the subject of our discussion.

I poked him in the ribs, causing him to open one eye but not accomplishing much else. "He's a big boy, he can take it."

Lisa chuckled as she opened a strange metallic box at the foot of the bed and pulled out some clothes. She dropped the clothes on her side of the bed and
grimaced, stretching out sore muscles loosened by the shower. Happily, I didn't seem to have any of those... chalk up another benefit to Mr. Whiskers
healing powers.

"...cmon back ta bed..." Terrence mumbled, closing his eye and beginning to snore again.

In the shadows, I finally noticed the unhealthy glow surrounding most of the hard objects in the sparse apartment. Lisa noticed me checking it out and
grimaced. "I really need those sheets," she muttered. "Everything in here is emitting."

I thought back to the night before, and blushed. "We, um, kinda went overboard, didn't we?"



"... man overboard, whee..." Terrence mumbled into his pillow. Lisa and I ignored him.

"Well... the neighbors haven't complained. Yet."

"Heh."

Terrence sat up, yawned and stretched, then scratched at his chest. "If you two are going to insist on being active at whatever way-too-early time this
is... I guess I'd better get up too."

I looked at Lisa, she looked at me. In unison we turned away and said, "Nah. Too easy."

"What?" Terrence blinked, then blushed. "Oh. Hey! That's not what I meant." He looked around and whistled. "Hey Lisa... I
think I owe you a new bed."

I snorted. "You owe her a night out to dinner and dancing, you big lug. At the very least."

He grinned. "Done!"

"Hey, wait, don't I get a vote?" Lisa pouted.

"Only for who gets to go first," I replied. That did it; we all broke down laughing. When it passed, I spoke up again. "Okay, I'm up for
some food. Anyone else hungry?"

Terrence opened his mouth to speak and his stomach growled, so loudly I thought it must have hurt. He blinked. "Um..."

"That's a yes," Lisa put in, leaning over to plant a kiss on his stubbled cheek. "He'll need his strength." She straightened up
and grinned. "I just went shopping for groceries, we cleaned the place out."

"Let's go out," I said. "My treat."

Terrence looked back and forth between me and Lisa, apparently content to let us decide it. Lisa shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Just let me get dressed," I said. More bits and pieces were coming back -- I knew I hadn't been drinking, now, but whatever had been in those
needles had made that first step a doozy. So it was with only mild confusion that I stumbled down the hall to retrieve my clothes, cell phone, and assorted
other pocket plunder.

Hm. I'd missed some calls, looks like. And ... oh, wow. I wandered back to the bedroom, entering to find the two of them staring at me and my giggling.
I held up my cell phone in explanation.

"I'm missing a day," I said. "And I don't regret it, don't even START looking like that!" I added as Terrence started to cloud
up.

"So what's so funny?" Lisa asked.

"I missed my appointment with my therapist. And I just thought, wow, how am I going to explain THIS one to him?" I was laughing so hard I could
barely talk, leaning back against the gently glowing wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. For a moment they held it back, but then both of them joined
me.

"He's- he's- he's been worried that I-" I choked out. "-that I need to socialize more, that I don't have enough friends in
town." That brought on another howl. Terrence in particular looked like he was having trouble breathing.

When we calmed down I rose and sat on the bed, still giggling. I planted a kiss on both of them. "Thank you... thank you both," I said. Before
they could reply, I chirped, "Now let's go get some food into Terrence so he can keep up with us later!"

So saying, I untangled my costume... then sighed. I held it up and looked at it sadly. The material is great stuff, those geniuses over at Icon really know
how to work it. It'll stop bullets, Vahz vomit, flame bursts, and grape juice without a qualm, washes clean and air dries in minutes, and never loses its
shape. It is the wonder material of our age. And even so, it can't stand up to a hospital. Why they felt it necessary to cut away so much of it I'll
never know.

"Say, Lisa, you wouldn't happen to have some clothes I could borrow, would you?" I asked, indicating the sad remains of my favorite costume.

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, and with an evil grin said, "I think I have *just* the thing."

As we wandered down the street arm-in-arm-in-arm in search of food, I kept catching flashes of myself in the windows we passed by, and mentally itemized a
checklist.

Tight black jeans: $50

Tighter green t-shirt with a large green radioactivity symbol: $25

The look on Terrence's face walking between Lisa and me: Priceless.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[OpMegs]

The hospital. Mr. Whiskers. I spun frantically, found him where he belonged next to my pillow, turned back around and sat up, clutching him to my chest. It
all came back in a rush. Her holding me up. The relief and the joy. The hug. The hospital floor. The kiss -- oh, god, the KISS. I had tackled her and kissed
her and must have passed out, she took me home for safekeeping, then I went and slept with her boyfriend. That's it, I'm going to Hell.

I'm sorry, but this portion right here, and indeed most of the train of thought, just reduced me to incoherent giggles. Because she sounds
like it's perfectly logical.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[Logan Darklighter]

I'll be commenting as soon as I can stop laughing long enough.

See you next Thursday, then! ^_^

*goes back to ROTFL mode*

[Morganite]

There seem to be a growing number of people writing fic that makes us blush around here. I approve! ^-^

(In that way of considering random unlikely situations that I have, I ended up trying to figure out what might happen if Alexis ended up in some sort of
...intimate situation... with Gamma. Conclusion: "No thanks, she doesn't really need the repair bills on top of everything else." '.' )

-Morgan. That'd go for pretty much anyone who emits a lot of radiation in non-combat situations, really.

"The second rule of survival is: To ignore the first rule of survival."

[HDTrio]

Hehe! go Terry, Rhea, and Lisa. Terry, You're in for some -serious- teasing when Stephnie finds out about this. ^_^

[Sweno]

Gamma Emission:

Cascade Effects (pt 2)

What had started out as a dinner outing quickly turned into dinner and clothes shopping when Rhea learned that I didn't have any clothes fit for clubbing.
Or at least clothes that she deemed fit for clubbing. The debate had started while desert was being served and had continued until our present location,
waiting at a street corner to the walk signal to blink our way.

"I'm still not understanding what's wrong with going clubbing in my standard outfit. I got enough appreciative looks and offers." I said,
defending what I saw as pragmatic and rational solution. The fact that none of the offers went past that stage is not the fault of the outfit.

"But you do your hero-ing in that outfit, you can't have fun at a club in it." Rhea argued as the light changed in our favor and we crossed the
street. "It would be like me going dancing in my tights. It just wouldn't work."

I had to suppress the metal vision I had of Rhea bouncing and gyrating in her skin tight green number before I could formulate an intelligent response. I knew
there was some leap of logic Rhea was making that I just wasn't getting. "I would contest that statement. Explain to me -step by step- why it
wouldn't work, cause I'm missing something." I knew I wouldn't be getting any help from Terrence on this front, he had bowed out of the
argument before the check was payed, claiming 'I don't know fashion, I just know what I like.'

Rhea pouted thoughtfully for a minute as we walked along, mildly confused at my inability to grasp the apparently obvious. Finally she responded, "The
point of going dancing is to have fun, right?"

"Right."

"And you can't have fun when your not relaxed, right?"

"Well not much."

"And we want to have lots of fun!" Rhea chirped with a smile. "Do you ever feel relaxed on a mission?"

"No, not really." I replied after a moment. There were times when I was relieved, or happy, or just plain tired, but never relaxed.

"Then how can you have fun in it?"

"Because we're not a mission now."

"But it's like you are." Rhea protested. "Ready for battle at the first signs of an ambush. It's like standing at attention for four
hours, even doing nothing can be exhausting." That did make a certain amount of sense. And there were bad nights when I wished that someone had attempted
to take over the club I was in, if only for the chance to blast someone in the face without getting in trouble for it. The idea of heading out for the night in
an outfit that I couldn't fight in without ruining wasn't something that sat easily with me.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to try it out." I conceded. Then a wicked thought blossomed from earlier "If I don't agree, will you
dance with Terrence in your green one-piece?" The sound of Terrence stumbling behind us let me know he approved of this idea as much as I did.

"Hmm, sure." Rhea said while glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Terrence was ok. There was a hint of a blush to his cheeks, and he was
trying to glare at me. But the effect was ruined by the smile he had on.

"So where are we getting these clubbing clothes?" I asked after a minute of walking in comfortable silence. All Rhea had told us was that she
'knew the perfect store'.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise, besides we are almost there." I should really learn to be afraid when Rhea smiles like that, but so far she
hasn't steered us wrong.

True to her word, it wasn't more than two blocks later when she danced ahead of us to pirouette in front of a store and announce "Ta-Da! The solution
to all of our clubbing problems." The sign above the door proclaimed it to be 'Second Skin: Leather and Lace for the discerning super'. I
couldn't do more than stare in shock as she giggled at Terrence and me, and went inside.

"I don't know if I should be impressed or scared that she knows about a place like this." I said after I found my voice again.

"Impressed that she knows about it, scared about what she will chose for us if we don't participate." Terrence answered as he guided me inside.

The inside was as fear inducing as I had first imagined. It was laid out in a straightforward fashion. Men's wear on the right, women's on the left;
public items (jackets, pants, and the like) up front, transitioning to bedroom wear in the back. "Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad." Of course
those words had barely left my mouth before Rhea came bouncing up to us with a dark green and black dress that seemed to have more straps and fasteners than it
actually needed, and less coverage than was strictly proper.

"Isn't this place the best." she said while holding the dress up to her front and looking in one of the mirrors distributed around the store.
"I'm going to go try this on!"

I actually heard Terrence's pants creak, and one look at his expression was all the confirmation I needed. I snagged Rhea's elbow before she got more
than half way to the changing rooms and whispered in her ear "If you try that on, I'm going to be left with Terrence's wallet to pay for the
dress. And you are going to be over his shoulder and in my apartment before you can say 'Do I look good in this?'." The impish smile that she wore
was not the response I was looking for, so I brought out the big guns. "And if I'm left here to pay for the clothes that are all to quickly going to
end up in my floor, I will pay for the dress, and follow you home. And when I get there I will see just how long I can keep you on edge." Her impish smile
quickly turned to a playful frown.

"Meanie." Rhea said will a small pout.

"Hey, I have no problem with a fireman's carry to orgasm-ville. But if the two of you are riding the light fantastic, I won't have anyone to help
me pick out a dress."

The impish smile was back, "So if we find you a dress or two before I try this on you'll join us without a chip on your shoulder?" I swear the
girl is part rabbit. I'd tease her about it but I'm not sure how Mr. Whiskers would take that.

"Fine." I sighed with a smile. "But first I want to see Terrence in pair of those leather pants."

Rhea perked up at that thought. "Ooh, good idea." she said, looking at Terrence as he perused the leather jackets. And after a glance at the back of
the shop added "with one of those fishnet tops."

"You and your handholds."

"Handholds are important."

-----

In the end I left the store with two bags of clothes and a new pair of boots. One bag contained one pair leather pants for Terrence, one strapless leather
dress and one black lace teddy for me, and one nice pair green bra/panties for Rhea. The boots were steel toed, black leather, and laced up to my knees,
perfect for jumping five stories or kicking someone in the jimmies. In my other hand I had a second bag of clothes, Rhea's clothes. True to her word she
had helped me convince Terrence to try on the leather pants, pick out my dress and few other things, and only then had she tried on her dress. I was trying to
convince Terrence on the benefits of silk boxers when we heard Rhea ask "Does this fit?". I turned around to see Rhea in the dress, I didn't know
how she had gotten it on without help, but I was willing to help her take it off. Unfortunately Terrence was quicker to respond and I was left holding his
wallet and watching Rhea giggle as she was carried out of the store.

For once I was happy that we had made a bit of a scene at the store, as it didn't take too much of an effort to pay for all of the clothing with
Terrence's credit card. I just hoped that they had the good sense to take the dress off before they reached the bedroom, because it would be shame to only
wear something that nice in public only once.

----------

Next up (I hope) is the delayed Pair Production 3. Thought the title is no longer nearly as appropriate.

ETA: added a few lines for clarity and fixed some grammatical errors that slipped by the first time.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Morganite]

I just hoped that they had the good sense to take the dress off before they reached the bedroom, because it would be shame to only wear something that nice in public only once.

You know, the library near here used to get and lend out random issues of Analog magazine. One contained a story about a man who created a machine that supressed radioactive decay in things. (Someone had been in an accident moving around radioactive material and got covered in it, and he created the machine with the hope of saving her from dying with it.)

I suspect that these three could get a lot of use out of such a device...

(Alexis would consider it an absolute necessity. Part of being a cosplay fetishist. '.' )

-Morgan. Incidentally, if anyone recognizes that story and remembers the title/author, I'd be glad to be reminded...

[Sweno]

Ok, a short little snippet that is filling in some cracks between Cascade Effects (pt 2) and Pair Production (pt 3).

-------------

Gamma Emission:

Cascade Effects (pt 2.5)

The walk home to the apartment gave me some to time to contemplate the rather rapid changes my life had recently gone through. Less than a month ago I was
bemoaning the lack of extracurricular use that my bedroom got. Now I'm involved with two people happy to make up for the past neglect, and who are most
likely doing so now. The fairly rapid swing I've taken from enforced celibacy to polygamy does worry me a bit on the intellectual level, but it's not
entirely out of the blue. The idea of switch hitting, so to speak, was something I was contemplating before I met Terrence.

Being repeatedly frustrated with dating inquires deteriorating into apologies and backpedaling can widen ones horizons significantly. But I had thought the
topic shelved under 'unnecessary exploration' when I found Terrence. 'Unnecessary exploration' quickly turned into 'fully funded mapping
expedition' after being tacked to the hospital floor by an appreciative redhead. I will freely admit that my decision making abilities when I half dragged
Rhea into this relationship where not at their top form. I assumed that she was into guys, that Terrence didn't mind me inviting another person into our
bed, that the three of us can make this work somehow once the hormones die down. I really hope we can, cause there aren't many people who are safe to be in
relationships with for Rhea and myself. And Terrence deserves better than to have my hormonally driven impulses break up something great.

Planning, or lack thereof, was slowly becoming a reoccurring problem for me. I used to be able to get by without it. In the ER we had no idea what would show
up, we prepared and strategized for things as best we could, but actual plans were few and far between. Planning requires three things; knowing of where you
are; knowing where you want to be; and having some idea of what is coming.

I had some shaky ideas about where we were relationship wise, certainly nothing explicitly mentioned. I avoided the few opportunities to discuss the topic that
had presented themselves. And if I was honest with myself it was because I was afraid of the answers I could get. I didn't know where I wanted to be
besides together with Terrence and Rhea. And I was as clueless as to what was coming as I used to be. Except now I didn't have the excuse of working in the
ER.

And where did all this worrying leave me? It left me standing at my front door without a plan, but at least I knew I needed one. After unlocking the door and
stepping inside I made my way to the laundry room. On the way I was pleasantly surprised to find Rhea's new dress, which could apparently separate in two,
on the hallway floor along with Terence's shirt and pants. I collected their scattered clothing and left it along with my own and our new purchases in the
laundry room. From the sounds that were making it past the bedroom door the two of them had gotten started without me. Not that I blamed them, Rhea looked
absolutely delicious in that dress, and the sight of Terrence in leather pants and a fishnet top sent a warm tingle up my spine.

I just needed to make sure we stayed together long enough to figure this whole thing out.

---------

Lisa isn't normally so angsty, but she has just come to the realization about how screwed up her life could be if things hadn't worked out like they
did. And She intends to not endanger their happiness like that again. Unfortunately that requires planning, something she is just getting used to.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Sweno]

Ok everyone, here is Pair Production 3. With an added bonus content by Sofa.
----------
Gamma Emission:
Pair Production (pt 3)

It's 2:43 am and I'm staring at the celling again. Not because I'm not tired, but because I can't sleep. Literally. My bed is now giving off enough rads that it feels like I've been sipping at a cup of coffee all night long. I've been staring at the celling since a little past midnight for two reasons. Firstly because Rhea has apparently decided I make an excellent pillow, and having her curled up against me is giving me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Secondly because I can think in here just as well as I can elsewhere. Unfortunately I have only reached one conclusion. I need to have a serious relationship discussion with Rhea and Terrence.

Part of me, the same part that is feeling warm fuzzies right now, thinks that everything is going to be fine. That they both care for me as much as I care for them. And as much as I want to believe that is true, I can't afford to walk into a serious discussion tomorrow with the both of them and hope for the best. I also need to plan for the worst. And the worst I can think of right now is that Rhea is just in this for the sex. And once she is hormonally sated she'll move on, and the breakup will cause all sorts of arguments between myself and Terrence. Because I know he wouldn't take it nearly as well as I tell my self I will. A dark fearful sliver of my mind says that Terrence will leave me for Rhea, because she is far more energetic and enthusiastic than I could ever let myself be. But I know that is just my irrational fears talking, and I try not to listen.

But as well as I know Terrence, Rhea is still a still largely a black box to me. I know there is more to her than just the cheerful happy exterior she shows to the world, but I have no clue what those depths hold. And I've had enough education thought my nursing certification to know that I don't know jack about psychiatry. So poking at those dark places is a bad idea. I know she's seeing a therapist of some sort, but doesn't tell me anything. Half of the hero's in capes are seeing a therapist, either over guilt because they couldn't save someone, or cause a few too many fights have ended in body bags.

The best I can come up is that Terrence and I are safe, that she never has to worry about maintaing strict control of her powers around us, that she can relax every once in a while. And while that is important in a friendship or a relationship, it doesn't infer one. I glance over at Mr. Whiskers, carefully propped up between a pillow and the headboard. "I don't suppose you have any insights you would like to share." Silence and blank button eyes are the only response I get. Not that I've ever gotten an answer to any of the late night questions I've asked. I guess getting the silent treatment from an animal companion isn't nearly as bad as it could be. I heard some horror stories from the mages about animal companions to new magical girls attempting to control every aspect of their life, leaving the girls incapable of making their own decisions. Mr. Whiskers seems content to only express himself to Rhea.

I'm getting nowhere fast, maybe if I get some actual sleep an idea will come to me. After tickling Rhea for a few seconds I get her to turn over and use Terrence as a pillow instead. I slip out of bed and grab the spare blanked from the hall closet. The couch isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it's not glowing. And right now that's all that matters.

*****
[[The following bit was written by Sofa from Rhea's point of view. It fits so well that I have included it, with his permission]

I woke up to an empty bed. No, wait, Mr. Whiskers was still there. I smiled and patted him on the head, then sat up and looked around.

I was starting to get used to the green glow -- and I've always liked the color -- but to even my eyes it was starting to be a bit much. I didn't want to say anything... I was a guest, and if Lisa wanted to turn up the glow until you could see it from Mars, hey, it's her place.

I climbed out of bed and found a t-shirt in the metal hamper at the foot of the bed. It was big on me -- probably one of Terrence's, then, since Lisa was smaller than I am. She's petite and athletic, unlike my Amazon build. Even though I'm taller than both of them, it just doesn't seem to matter much.

(Well, when you're laying down, you're all the same height anyway, right?)

I grinned at Mr. Whiskers and stuck my tongue out at him. He'd been more cheerful lately, and had taken to making comments to me at the most inopportune times. Lucky for me, both Lisa and Terrence seemed to enjoy his sense of humor -- the parts I shared, at any rate. I don't think they'd have appreciated the comparison to a tabby in heat, though.

I sniffed the air. Somebody was cooking. That meant food. "C'mon, furball," I said, scooping Mr. Whiskers up and settling him on my shoulder. "Let's get some grub."

As I made my way towards the kitchen I caught sight of Lisa, snoring gently on the couch under a thin blanket. I frowned. I couldn't think of any reason she'd have slept there. I knew she'd been in bed with us last night, after Terrence proved just how much he liked my new outfit. I didn't think she was mad about being left at the store, either -- she'd have said something, right?

Of course she would, I told myself firmly. One thing I knew, for all that I still barely knew her, was that Lisa was not afraid to speak up. Whether it was a quip in the middle of combat, or a teasing remark in more intimate moments, she was never afraid to say what was on her mind. I admired that about her.

I leaned back against the wall, watching Lisa sleep, and felt a silly grin spreading on my face. Laying between her and Terrence these past few nights had been a welcome change. I hoped that it would last, but since I knew that couldn't be the case, I was going to enjoy and treasure every minute of it I could. From years of having nobody --

(Except me.)

-- except Mr. Whiskers, to having not just one but two people who at least pretended to care about me, to believe me... I didn't know what I'd done to be so lucky, but I was going to savor it, dammit!

I'd have to watch for the signs. If nothing else I wanted -- needed -- to save the friendship that had developed. So when they started to hint about not wanting me around, I needed to respond the right way. You hear me, Mr. Whiskers? You watch for it too. Let me know if you spot them acting... well, y'know. Uncomfortable. That'll be our cue to bow out. Last thing I need on my conscience is breaking them up. You and me, we'll be okay, we'll get by. We always do. But we can't bust up what they have. It wouldn't be right.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. So help me, I'd fallen for the two of them, but whatever I did I couldn't let on. That would only cause them more pain when it came time for them to leave me.

Cheerful. Upbeat. I could relax and let down my guard, but when it's time for them to move on, you suck it up and deal like a big girl, get me, Rhea?

You'll help, right, furball?

(Of course.)

I took a deep breath and felt the smile settle back on my face. Well. For now, at least, I didn't have to worry. I wasn't going to borrow trouble. Lisa would say something when it was time. That, at least, I could count on.

I blew a kiss at Lisa, then turned and caught sight of Terrence, standing in the doorway at the end of the hall.

"Mornin'" he rumbled quietly. I loved his voice. Deep and resonant, without being ponderous or dramatic. I could listen to him talk all day.

"Hi, Terr," I replied just as quietly.

"Want some breakfast?"

"Sounds great," I admitted. "I'm starving."

He smiled and stepped back, indicating the kitchen beyond. "After you."

I settled myself at the table, hiding my grin as I caught Terrence sneaking a peek at my legs where they poked out of his t-shirt, and settled Mr. Whiskers next to my plate. I picked up knife and fork, fixed a serious look on my face, and intoned in as deep a voice as I could muster, "Feed me, Seymour. Feed me now!"

Terrence laughed and gave a half-mocking bow. "As my lady wishes." He busied himself at the stove and quickly dished up scrambled eggs with mushrooms and onions and steak and I don't know what else, but it was good, and toast and orange juice and jam. More food was sizzling on the range as well. One thing I had to give the two of them, they knew how to eat well. I'd always been blessed with the sort of metabolism that doesn't need much maintenance, but if I was going to keep fitting my tights I needed to make sure I kept up on the exercise.

(What, you're not getting enough at night?)

I choked on the food and tried not to spew it across the table as a laugh welled up inside me. Terr gave me a worried look, which I shook my head to and pointed at Mr. Whiskers. He nodded understanding and turned back to the stove.

A zombie appeared in the doorway. Terrence glanced back over his shoulder.

"Hey Lisa, just in time. Steak and eggs?"

*****

The smell of cooking meat greeted my nose as I woke up, and I contemplated going back to sleep before my stomach vociferously protests it's empty state. I spent a few minutes sleepily struggling out of the cocoon that the blanket had become and stumbled to my feet. And my back reminded me why I don't normally sleep on the couch. A night of strenuous activity plus sleeping on the uneven cushions has not left my lower back much happier than my stomach. But right now my stomach was louder, so food before a shower. I wraped the blanket around me like a cloak and make my way into the kitchen.

The lights are actually turned on in the kitchen and I stand in the doorway blinking slowly while my eyes adjust. Rhea is sitting at the table and happily eating scrambled eggs with something, and Terrence is standing over the stove cooking the steaks I smelled earlier. My stomach grumbled again and Terrence looked over his shoulder at the sound.

"Hey Lisa. Just in time." He greeted "Steak and eggs?"

"Please" I said, easing my way into the seat next to Rhea and stealing a piece of toast off her plate.

"Morning Lisa." Rhea chirped in between bites of her scrambled eggs.

I hummed a response before swallowing the toast and reaching for the OJ. I would have preferred coffee, but that would require waiting. And right now the acidic drink would do just as well to cut through the film that sleep had left in my mouth. The sugar didn't hurt either. Rhea waited until I had poured myself a glass and consumed half of it before asking "Any reason you slept on the couch? I know your not in the dog house with me, and I can't imagine Terr being mad enough at you to kick you out of bed."

"I couldn't sleep. I was too wound up."

"Awww, you should have woken one of us up." Rhea said with a smile "I'm sure we could have gotten rid of that tension. We did kinda get started without you." Rhea flicked a glance at Mr. Whiskers, who was on the table at her other side. "Your not mad about that are you?"

"No, not at all" I reassured her. "I would have slept in the bed if I could. It's just with our recent activities, the bed is giving off a few too many rads for me to fall asleep."

Terrence turned around with a worried look on his face "Oh geeze, sorry Lisa. I'll -" he began to apologize. I cut him off before he got too far along.

"Hey! No saying sorry." I smiled at him to show I wasn't mad and continued "I don't remember to telling you to stop at any point last night."

Rhea giggled and added "no, you were limited to 'harder', 'faster', and 'oh god yes'."

That got both of us blushing and Rhea giggled some more at our reactions. I chose to ignore her for the time being and instead focused on Terrence as he brought the steaks over. "We'll have to pick up a new bed sometime this weekend. A few nights on the couch isn't going to kill me." I took one of the stakes and ladled some of the scrambled eggs onto my plate as well.

"Well ok, but I still don't feel right about you not being able to sleep in your own bed." Terrence said we dug into breakfast. "When are you going to get the special sheets?"

I took a moment to swallow and glanced at the clock, only 10am, I hadn't slept in too badly. "If everything goes according to plan, Friday. But we will need to made a raid on the Bloody Bay tomorrow morning to pick up the Shivan skulls. Everything else I have in storage, in the base, or I can pickup at Went's. I have the full list in my jacket."

Terrence nodded and asked "What time tomorrow?"

"The earlier the better. I'm thinking seven-ish?" I said turning to Rhea. "what time works for you?"

"Seven is a great time for action and adventure! Right Mr. Whiskers?" Rhea answered, and after a second nodded in agreement with something Mr. Whiskers had said.

"Great, so seven o'clock at the Skyway Helicopter." Terrence said with a nod. "Lisa, if you tell me what your missing off of your list, I can see what I have in storage."

I hummed assent at that around a fork full of scrambled eggs. Conversation quieted down in favor of food and I felt like this could work, the three of us living together. That thought brought a warm feeling of hope that left me smiling slightly. At least until I tried to get up to clear the dishes. Getting out of my chair was aborted half way through with a pained grunt. As happy as my stomach was right now my back wasn't, and had decided to go on strike.

Rhea and Terrence gave me worried looks. "Ok, so maybe sleeping on the couch was a bad idea." I explained. "My back is a little stiff, that's all"

Terrence frowned in thought while Rhea eased the blanket off my shoulders. Her "Let me have a look." was half question and half order. I pushed my plate to the center of the table and pillowed my head on my arms, scooting as far forward on the chair as I could. The cooler air against my bare chest was quickly forgotten as Rhea began to run her hands up and down my back. Her touch left trails of warmth and relaxation in muscles that were previously threatening to seize up. I just hummed happily into my arms and let her work. The sound of clinking plates as Terrence cleaned the table made me feel a little guilty, but that was forgotten as Rhea's hands made another pass over a particularly stubborn muscle group. Once she was satisfied that my back was relaxed the touches migrated to my side and front.

I turned my head to look at Rhea, from this angle I couldn't tell if she had anything on besides the large t-shirt she was wearing. I restrained the impulse to pull her into my lap and find out, instead saying "Keep that up and your joining me in the shower." The grin I got in response told me what she thought of that idea.

"It is partially my fault you're not feeling great, so I should fix that if I can." Rhea apologized.

"I'm sure you will." I said with a smile as I got up. This time I didn't have any problems as I grabbed one of Rhea's hands and pulled her towards the bathroom. The sound of Terrence chuckling followed us down the hall. I ignored the voice in the back of my head that said I was avoiding the more important topics. I told myself that I wasn't avoiding the situation, I was just giving her incentive to stay.

-----

In the end the shower took longer than I originally planned and it was noon before I left the apartment with an empty duffel bag. That left me with 36 hours to find all the ingredients and convince people to do a collection of large and small enchantments. Not an easy task given that a big chunk of tomorrow was going to be taken up with hunting down shivan skulls in Bloody Bay. I figured I'd tackle the quick stuff first. First stop: The Legendary base for salvage.

The base was quiet when I arrived, the only sound aside from my footsteps is the hum of various machinery. I hit my personal storage first and managed to check off a third of the items on the list. The communal salvage store was hit next, and another third was taken care of. I felt a little bad raiding the communal storage like that, when I never got much of a chance to put anything in. I promised myself I'd deposit my next mission check into the supergroup account, and run a mission or two wearing the abbreviated legendary outfit I came up with. While I was at the base I took the opportunity to email Terrence the list of things I was missing. He always seemed to have a large collection of arcane salvage, so chances were he would have it all. A quick stop by the base teleporters and I was on my way to the hospital.

It felt a little strange walking down the street like a pedestrian with a duffle bag full of salvage. But some of the pieces were rather fragile and I didn't want to risk the abrupt landing that my jumps can sometimes have. A few of the street toughs noticed the duffel bag, but didn't do anything more than that. After sending enough of them to the hospital the locals had apparently learned that I wasn't to be trifled with. Sure, cracking down on them didn't do anything for my security ranking, but it bought me peace. Whether that peace came from fear or respect I really didn't care; they stopped bothering me and I didn't go after them unless they were actively doing something illegal.

I eventually reached the hospital and made my way to the third floor without incident. It was quicker this time to find Marcus, even if he was in a different lab. The meeting was brief and too the point. I put the bag on the end of the table he was working on and waited until he looked in my direction. "Here is most of the stuff, you'll have the rest by friday."

His response of "Yeah, sure." was a little distracted, but at least he was looking at me when he said it. I really couldn't expect much more out of someone in the middle of an experiment.

I wasn't able to track down Larry Jackobson, but I did run into a few magical pre-docs who where happy to take care of the minor enchantment refreshes and medium ward refresh. Apparently my actions on monday had earned me a fair amount of good will from those at the low end of the magical totem pole. They would never be called on to recraft the wards to the OR, that would be left to the department heads. But if the department heads were busy recrafting the OR wards, they couldn't do their normal jobs. The work just tended to cascade down in an ugly version of the trickle down theory. And those at the bottom ended up the worse off. I had lived through a similar day or two when I still worked here. Apparently the Longbow and the Skyraiders got into some big fight, all that I remember was that the bodies didn't stop coming in.

I stopped by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee and wrack my brain on who to ask about the magical blood filter. The hospital coffee wasn't anything I would normally call 'good', but it had grown on me while I worked here. It's particular kind of bad was permanently associated with relaxing in my mind. If I had time to grab a cup of coffee, no one was dying. My moment of mutilated caffeine zen was interrupted by a cry of "Lisa!" and a thump into the seat next to me.

It was Julie, and I didn't have time to do much more than register her presence before the accusations started. "Where have you been? You pull that stunt on monday and then you disappear for two days! You don't answer your phone. You don't answer your door. Dr. Shaw won't tell me anything. And half of the people in radiology have been coming to me for answers!"

I held up my hands in surrender and waited for the verbal torrent to stop. After a few seconds she wound down and just glared at me. "First of all, I haven't gotten any calls since monday -" I trailed off as the obvious hit me. Terrence had even mentioned it, I has just forgotten about it. Pulling out my cell confirmed it, dead. The electronics themselves were hardened against radiation, but the batteries could never take it. "- sorry?" I finished lamely.

Seeing the look on her face, 'sorry' wasn't going to cut it. And this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have in the cafeteria. "The thing on monday wasn't a stunt. And we are not discussing it here."

Julie glanced around and had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. Her original outburst had attracted a few discrete observers. But the embarrassment was quickly shed in favor of a more determined look. "Fine." She stood up and quickly made her way out of the cafeteria. I followed in her wake, only making a quick detour to trash the coffee on my way out. Any sense of zen it may have imbued was gone.

The trip to one of the examination rooms on floor five was quick. Once we were both inside Julie hit the privacy button next to the door, ensuring that someone wouldn't just barge in. "Now are you going to tell me why you walked into a room putting out enough rads to kill the wards in under ten minutes? You could have been hurt."

"I've taken worse and been fine. You were there at Terra Volta. My fears about cancer notwithstanding, I'm not going to die from exposure."

"I saw you stumble out of Terra Volta, barley able to stay on your feet. And you were still out of it the next day. For all I knew you were out of your mind, people are saying you had to be carried out of the hospital. I have no idea why they let you leave." Julie's accusations about the past two days hit rather close to the truth, just not in the way she was thinking. I'd like to see anyone stop try and stop Terrence when he was that motivated. I had to fight to keep from laughing or blushing, neither would be appreciated.

"The amount Terra Volta puts out would have blown through those wards in less than a minute." I countered. "Heck, it would blow through the wards in 5C in less than an hour. I am fine. I was the only person there who could have done it. So I weighed the risks and took my chances. I couldn't just stand around and wait for a rad suit that would have been two minutes too late. Besides, she was one of The Legendary, I had to help her."

"You know her?" Julie grasped onto this new bit of information, and I was happy to let it sidetrack the conversation.

"She goes by Emerald Blast. She's a magical girl, her animal companion was still down in the sewers. She freaked out a bit." I said, trying to summarize. Julie's expression said she clearly didn't agree with the 'a bit' part. "She's not some air headed spell slinger that calls out her attacks and can't take a piss without detailed instructions from a shoulder monkey." I sighed when I realized how that had come out. "Sorry, I know you didn't say that. It's just that we have a lot in common. She's been afraid to let people get close to her for years. We have a lot to talk about." Not that we had done a whole lot of talking the past two days, but if I could get out of this conversation without bringing up what we had been doing I'd be happy.

"Ok, I get it, you feel protective." Julie dropped the topic in favor of something far more juicy in her eyes. "You do realize that Dr. Shaw has been lording your little stunt over Dr. Rauf." Dr. Rauf was the head of the warding and enchantments department, and he had as big an ego as Dr. Shaw. The two of them were engaged in a constant battle over who's ideas were better. It had been going on long before I had joined the hospital, and was expected to continue until one of them dropped dead from being workaholics.

"Great, and just when I could use his help." He normally was too busy to spare more than a few words to anyone not in his department, and now he probably wouldn't even give me the time of day.

"And why would you need Dr. Rauf's help?" Julie asked, obviously intrigued by my departure from into the magical. Normally I would stay as far away as possible, as the whole field made no sense to me.

"Because I owe a favor, and I'm trying to find someone to craft a replacement blood filter for 3A by friday." I said, mentally wincing at how tall an order that was.

"Well I'm sure if you asked nicely and stroked his ego a bit he'd do it himself, if only for the chance to lord it over Dr. Shaw." Julie's idea did make a certain amount of sense, but I was hesitant to fan the flames of their conflict. "Come on, who else is going to be able to do on such short notice?"

"Ok, Ok. I'll ask, just don't be surprised if their little competition kicks into high gear for a few days."

"Oh like that hasn't happened before." Julie said dismissively. She was about to continue her impromptu interrogation when her watch beeped at her. "Crap, I've got to get back to my rounds. But hey, next time change your battery." She said with smile as she lightly punched my arm before darting out the room.

I turned off the privacy signal and made my way at a more sedate pace to Dr. Rauf's office. Hopefully I would be able to convince him to craft the blood filter with a minimal amount of pleading.

----------
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Sofaspud]

Very nice, Sweno. Though I should curse you. Because now, I can't get the phrase "air headed spell slinger that calls out her attacks and can't
take a piss without detailed instructions from a shoulder monkey" out of my head.

Please, sir, may I have another?

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Bob Schroeck]

Yes, that is a line that has to be saved for posterity.

Nice work, both of you.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.