***
If I'd needed clues that I was now rather messed up, it was the observations in the back of my head that one, Nene's shirt and legs were very nice to
look at, and two, I was jealous of how well she filled out that shirt compared to me. Sighing slightly, I looked away from her and glanced at Amy. The tense
look on her face caught my attention, despite her best efforts to hide it. The death grip on the steering wheel didn't help matters. It didn't take a
genius to work out the source of her unease was sitting in the passenger seat (Which my brain was still insisting was the drivers seat, why isn't she
watching the road?!)
Considering OM and Uni's situation, I was suddenly very glad I hadn't been logged in as Ifrit. Or did Nene wish I was? How much of each made up the
redhead now? Trying to work it out was giving me a headache again... and it could wait. "Listen guys, once we're out of the car, there's something
we all have too do," I said, drawing their attention. "It'll be hardest on you two," I said, looking at Rhea and Spud, who currently seemed
to only have a single curious expression on her face. "We can NOT, under any circumstances, draw attention to ourselves. We can't act by what passes
for unusual by local standards. Which means you can't talk Brian, and Rhea, you can't let any radiation out. Make sure to do what Mister Whiskers says
in regards to that, but don't talk to him where anyone can see you."
"What?!" they both exclaimed, in a voice that seemed to be a hilarious mix of both of them, leaving her momentarily rubbing at a sore throat.
Seeing she wasn't immediately going to argue, due to her throat, I pressed on. "This world is a lot more primitive then ours," I pointed out.
"They have no artificial intelligence, limited spaceflight, they've never breached the dimensional barrier or truly cracked the genetic code. Hell,
most of them don't even believe in magic. From their point of view, if they see a girl talking in two voices, they'd think she's crazy."
"I'm not crazy!" Rhea protested, folding her arms under her chest and glaring at me. Then her body language shifted in a heartbeat, as Spuds
voice and movements took over.
"No, he's right. They'd freak out and assume we were crazy-"
"We're not! Well, I'm not and I know Mister Whiskers isn't, but I'm not so sure about you really," she pointed out, cuddling the
panda.
Spud sighed. "I'm wondering that myself right now," she admitted. "But what we mean is, they'd assume we were crazy. And there's a
lot more of them then there are us. And if they found out about your- about Mister Whiskers powers, then they'd try to study them. And that's the last
thing that we want."
Rhea paused, giving the panda another cuddle that briefly made my envy Mister Whiskers. "Okay, point made," she agreed. "But you need to keep
quiet out there too!"
"Agreed," Brian replied.
"Okay, that explains Rhea and Brian," Amy said. "And the rest of us?"
"Well, mostly me and Chris," Nene pointed out. "I mean, I don't legally exist. At all. No Nene Romanova, and right now I'm a bit too
cute to be Ben," she pouted, missing Amys slight scowl.
"And I have my drivers license, which is from Australia. If they ask for a passport, I'm in serious shit." I leaned back and sighed. "And
then there's the other thing, the big worrying problem. There is no Citizen Crime Fighting Act here. If we were to do what comes naturally to us
here-"
"I'd need Lisa for that," Rhea pointed out with a helpful smile.
"... Besides that," I said, pausing to consider that wonderful image, made better then ever by the sight of Rheas sexy form in the flesh.
"Besides that, we'd be arrested and charged for vigilante crimes, and quite possibly a host of other crimes. Destruction of property, endangering
lives, illegal possession of radioactive materials..." Looking around, I saw that I'd gotten their attention with that. "We're not in
Paragon, so we need to be damn careful."
Nene sighed, pulling her legs up. "Oh brave new world..." I frowned briefly, before leaning forward and messing up her hair. "Hey!" she
protested.
"Don't you worry," I said with a grin. "Amy's worked out shapeshifting, I've got it, Rhea's gotten a version from somewhere...
once we track down a wizard, you'll be you again in no time." I noticed Amy relax ever so slightly, even as I noticed the... mixed expression on Nenes
face.
"... You have a really sexy accent," Rhea decided, making me blink and give her an odd look.
"Huh?" I responded with the conversational skills of two lives.
"Well, you do," she shrugged.
"I noticed you had the same accent earlier as Tam," Amy laughed, earning a pained expression from me.
It was a familiar debate, and it always threw me for a loop even as it amused me. "What is it about my accent that facinates you lot so much?" I
demanded as Amy pulled us into a parking spot.
***
If I'd needed clues that I was now rather messed up, it was the observations in the back of my head that one, Nene's shirt and legs were very nice to
look at, and two, I was jealous of how well she filled out that shirt compared to me. Sighing slightly, I looked away from her and glanced at Amy. The tense
look on her face caught my attention, despite her best efforts to hide it. The death grip on the steering wheel didn't help matters. It didn't take a
genius to work out the source of her unease was sitting in the passenger seat (Which my brain was still insisting was the drivers seat, why isn't she
watching the road?!)
Considering OM and Uni's situation, I was suddenly very glad I hadn't been logged in as Ifrit. Or did Nene wish I was? How much of each made up the
redhead now? Trying to work it out was giving me a headache again... and it could wait. "Listen guys, once we're out of the car, there's something
we all have too do," I said, drawing their attention. "It'll be hardest on you two," I said, looking at Rhea and Spud, who currently seemed
to only have a single curious expression on her face. "We can NOT, under any circumstances, draw attention to ourselves. We can't act by what passes
for unusual by local standards. Which means you can't talk Brian, and Rhea, you can't let any radiation out. Make sure to do what Mister Whiskers says
in regards to that, but don't talk to him where anyone can see you."
"What?!" they both exclaimed, in a voice that seemed to be a hilarious mix of both of them, leaving her momentarily rubbing at a sore throat.
Seeing she wasn't immediately going to argue, due to her throat, I pressed on. "This world is a lot more primitive then ours," I pointed out.
"They have no artificial intelligence, limited spaceflight, they've never breached the dimensional barrier or truly cracked the genetic code. Hell,
most of them don't even believe in magic. From their point of view, if they see a girl talking in two voices, they'd think she's crazy."
"I'm not crazy!" Rhea protested, folding her arms under her chest and glaring at me. Then her body language shifted in a heartbeat, as Spuds
voice and movements took over.
"No, he's right. They'd freak out and assume we were crazy-"
"We're not! Well, I'm not and I know Mister Whiskers isn't, but I'm not so sure about you really," she pointed out, cuddling the
panda.
Spud sighed. "I'm wondering that myself right now," she admitted. "But what we mean is, they'd assume we were crazy. And there's a
lot more of them then there are us. And if they found out about your- about Mister Whiskers powers, then they'd try to study them. And that's the last
thing that we want."
Rhea paused, giving the panda another cuddle that briefly made my envy Mister Whiskers. "Okay, point made," she agreed. "But you need to keep
quiet out there too!"
"Agreed," Brian replied.
"Okay, that explains Rhea and Brian," Amy said. "And the rest of us?"
"Well, mostly me and Chris," Nene pointed out. "I mean, I don't legally exist. At all. No Nene Romanova, and right now I'm a bit too
cute to be Ben," she pouted, missing Amys slight scowl.
"And I have my drivers license, which is from Australia. If they ask for a passport, I'm in serious shit." I leaned back and sighed. "And
then there's the other thing, the big worrying problem. There is no Citizen Crime Fighting Act here. If we were to do what comes naturally to us
here-"
"I'd need Lisa for that," Rhea pointed out with a helpful smile.
"... Besides that," I said, pausing to consider that wonderful image, made better then ever by the sight of Rheas sexy form in the flesh.
"Besides that, we'd be arrested and charged for vigilante crimes, and quite possibly a host of other crimes. Destruction of property, endangering
lives, illegal possession of radioactive materials..." Looking around, I saw that I'd gotten their attention with that. "We're not in
Paragon, so we need to be damn careful."
Nene sighed, pulling her legs up. "Oh brave new world..." I frowned briefly, before leaning forward and messing up her hair. "Hey!" she
protested.
"Don't you worry," I said with a grin. "Amy's worked out shapeshifting, I've got it, Rhea's gotten a version from somewhere...
once we track down a wizard, you'll be you again in no time." I noticed Amy relax ever so slightly, even as I noticed the... mixed expression on Nenes
face.
"... You have a really sexy accent," Rhea decided, making me blink and give her an odd look.
"Huh?" I responded with the conversational skills of two lives.
"Well, you do," she shrugged.
"I noticed you had the same accent earlier as Tam," Amy laughed, earning a pained expression from me.
It was a familiar debate, and it always threw me for a loop even as it amused me. "What is it about my accent that facinates you lot so much?" I
demanded as Amy pulled us into a parking spot.
***