Re: Union (Dar)

As the game began, Wrath took to the skies. Jemmy teleported above and in front of him, giving him plenty of time to dodge. Between Jemmy's teleportation and Rico's natural speed, they were going to make this hard for him. This game was silly. It was senseless. It was fun. Anyone watching them, super powers aside, would have thought they were a normal, happy family. And perhaps, if even just for that moment, they were.

The game went on until all three of them were sweaty and tired. Considering the nearly limitless stamina of the family, that meant the game lasted a very long time. Jemmy finally collapsed, sprawled out on the soft grass. This was nice, she decided. Having a family was nice.

Her stomach grumbled. Jemmy looked over at Wrath. "Hey Wrath, do you know how to cook? I can teleport us back to your house, if you guys are guys are getting hungry." Her stomach growled again.

Kyte blinked, moving out of the way of Jemmy. She had given him plenty of time but he had difficulty getting out of the way in time. As he veered out of the way, though, Rico took advantage and leaped high from the ground, showing Jemmy her strength once more.

"I've got you Daddy!" she giggled slightly, flying for him. He blinked, spazzing out and falling toward the ground to avoid her, flapping his wings to regain balance.

"Christ, you guys are determined."

Tags had exchanged a few times before the day was out, as Kyte, responsibly, didn't want to hog attention all to himself. When they were finished, he dropped and sat on the ground, grinning as he breathed. Jemmy asked if he knew how to cook as Rico dropped, panting.

"Of course I do. I've lived by myself for a long time. Of course I usually order pizza, but Rico likes other things. You like ice cream, though. So I can make dinner, but I have a gallon or two at home."

Jemmy raised an eyebrow. Ice cream? Wrath seemed to know a lot about her, especially considering they had once been enemies. Had they been friends at some time before?

Jemmy sat up. Rico was her daughter, so at some time in the past, Jemmy had been a grown up. Had she always been a grown up before losing her memory? That couldn't be. Wrath had recognized her right away. That meant that she could shape-shift...right?

Jemmy stared at the palm of her hand, trying to focus her magic into altering her own body. It seemed like a natural thing to do, to change her own form. As a cosmic being, she should be able to choose whatever form she wished.

But nothing happened. He hand stayed the same. She tried growing claws, turning blue, turning invisible, turning to stone. Nothing. It was odd. That power was gone. The best way she could describe it, it was like losing a hand but still being able to feel it. What had happened to her power? Just what had happened to her a few days ago?

There it was again, the feeling that something was wrong. The problem was, Jemmy didn't even know what the problem was.

Jemmy realized she was frowning. She didn't want to draw too much attention, so she put a smile back on her face. "Ice cream? Are you trying to seduce me, Wrath? Anyways, supper sounds great." Touching both of them, Jemmy teleported the small family back to Kyte's living room. "So...Wrath. You've taught me some things about myself. Tell me about you. What have you been up to the last few hundred years?"

Kyte watched Jemmy as she seemed deep in thought, but she smiled and asked if he was trying to seduce her, which disturbed Kyte a great deal, but he was able to laugh a little all the same. They were teleported again, and Rico looked at them both. "I have a few more assignments to do, so I'll be right back," she said, and went to put her gun away.

Kyte left his coat on the rack and his boots at the door, before stepping into the kitchen. He had some chicken pulled out, so he decided to bread it and fry it up before washing his hands off. Jemmy said that Wrath had told her about herself, and now she wanted to know about him, asking what he had been up to for the last few hundred years.

He blinked, thinking.

"Mostly? Getting my roots down in Jump City. I figured out an old friend-" he said friend very meaningfully, as if implying something, "Of ours was planted here. I hadn't spoken to him for a while, and he was here all along."

"Of all the people I've met, us three are the most powerful on this earth. He's a Lord of Order. You're a Lord of Chaos. And I'm...well, something in between. Or at least that's the way I see it."

"He must be a really good friend if you moved all this way just to be near him. Of course, I wouldn't remember him." Wrath said that this Lord of Order, Jemmy, and Wrath himself were the three most powerful people on earth right now. Jemmy thought that was strange. There was nobody stronger? Actual names and faces eluded her, but she had a feeling that there were supposed to be people with a lot more power than her. Here again, the real world didn't seem to be meeting her innate expectations.

Jemmy didn't really care who the strongest three people in the world were. Being powerful hadn't given her any less lonely, or given her some sort of idea about what she was supposed to do with her life. But hanging out with Wrath and Rico had been fun and rewarding. But Wrath said that he was 'something in between.' Did he not know what he was? Or what the purpose of his life was?

Or perhaps mentioning their power level was just Wrath's way of saying he considered Jemmy his equal, or something like that. He was a warrior, right? That seemed like something a warrior would say, so Jemmy decided to view the comment as a compliment.

Jemmy sat in a chair and put her feet on the kitchen table, watching Wrath as he cooked. "Do you have another name, besides Wrath? Like, do you go to the grocery store and introduce yourself as Wrath? What do you do for fun?" Jemmy knew Wrath's name, but she wanted to know who he was as a person. After hearing his answers, she would pose more questions to him. "I know if might be a little early for this. Just today you still hated me, but...do you hate me now? Do you think...you might...you know...like me, eventually? It's just, these last few days, I've felt so..." She decided to tell him. It wasn't like she had any closer friends. "I've felt trapped. I can't change what I look like, but I should be able to. I'm also trapped on this planet. I can't get to Chaos. I think Chaos broke."

He chuckled gently when Jemmy remarked that he must have been a really good friend with Malan'tai to come all this way for him.

"Well, he's been there fore me on more than just a few occasions. Even considering the time we've been apart, I'd say he's arguably my closest friend. In fact I'd say my alliance with him is what's kept me alive so long. Even though we're about equal, it's better to have overwhelming defense than just equal."

He let the chicken get the heat deep inside it to seal in the flavor and made some macaroni and cheese, along with some fried potatoes. While he did, Jemmy asked him if he had another name, and also joked (Or at least he hoped she was joking) about him going to the grocery store and introducing himself as Wrath. It produced a chuckle from him as he noted her remark about what he did for fun, as well.

"I often keep myself secure in a very securely weaved web of lies. I'm of the opinion that the best way to protect yourself is to keep yourself hidden. And if no one knows who you really are..." He'd let her finish the sentence herself, one way or another. "But the name I most commonly use is Kyte Avytrius. As for fun, I'm an enforcer. I'm not with the official group, but I help where I can."

She then moved on to a more serious topic, asking if he could like her, at the very least eventually. He froze in place for a second before getting back to work, the gears in his head turning. She said she felt trapped, because she couldn't shapeshift, and she couldn't leave earth. He looked back to her.

"You've been able to shapeshift since the day we met. Are you sure you just haven't figured out how to yet?" He thought for a moment longer. "Look, Jemmy. I do like how you are the way you are now. But I can't answer that question. I'd have to get to know the new you a lot better. And even then...I'm not sure. Again, I appreciate who you are right now. But as it is...you look like Rico, but even a little younger. So you must understand why I can't really say anything on that as it is."

He stirred the food a bit.

"But once you can find a way to...you know, do your usual thing, then I could come a bit closer to considering something like that. No offense."

It seemed that Wrath was still afraid, just not of Jemmy at the moment. He talked about creating a web of lies in order to protect himself, about an overwhelming need to hide. She thought it was strange that a man named Wrath was so fearful. Certainly, he couldn't always have been that way. Was that all her fault? Had finally meeting an equal terrified Wrath so much that it had made him paranoid?

He left a sentence hanging. 'If no one knows who you really are...' Jemmy didn't finish it, not immediately.

So he finally gave her a 'real name.' Kyte. It was a much less aggressive name than Wrath. Jemmy liked it. For fun, it sounded like he worked. Odd, but being an 'enforcer' probably involved fighting people, and that was something Wrath should be well suited for.

Kyte seemed to freeze up when she asked if he could ever like him. Had she hit a nerve? He said that she had always been able to shape-shift, and asked if she simply hadn't figured out how to do it yet. Jemmy frowned. Learning wasn't really her thing, and his words only confirmed that something was wrong with her.

He said that he liked her personality, at least he liked it a lot better than the old her. They were still essentially strangers, though, and he said he would need to get to know her better before giving a final answer. It took her a moment to understand the rest of what he was saying. Without her shapeshifting power, she was stuck as a child, and Kyte couldn't really feel attracted to her. It made sense, she supposed. She had the body of a child, and it was often difficult for her to not act like one. It made even more sense when he brought up Rico. Of course Kyte wouldn't be attracted to his daughter.

Now it was Jemmy's turn to chuckle. "You are a very interesting person, Kyte. I guess I won't be offended." She giggled again. "You love your daughter very much, and I can tell she loves you, too. It isn't a romantic love, but it's still good. Even if you don't like me, I just want you to like me, kinda like that. Not exactly like that, though. If you treated me like your daughter, that would be weird. Does that make sense?"

"As for who I am, there isn't much to tell. I'm a Shallow, and my race is appropriately named. I couldn't really tell you much about who I am myself."

That reminded her of what Kyte had said earlier. "You know Kyte, please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't have to be scared anymore. If no one knows who you are, then you probably won't have many friends. You said that that Lord of Order guy and me are the strongest people you've ever met. Now both of us are your friends. We're on your side, so who is going to hurt you now? Why would anyone want to hurt you in the first place? I'm not saying you need to walk around with a target painted on your back, but I think you'd be a bit happier if you lightened up a bit."

Kyte listened to Jemmy intently as she said that he was interesting, and that she wouldn't be offended, quirking an eyebrow and unable to resist smiling a bit as she giggled. She said she saw that he loved Rico very much, and that she loved him.

She said that she wanted Kyte to love her much in the same way. Not exactly the same, obviously, but as someone close.

"Yeah, I see what you're saying, Jemmy. Understood. In that case I do like you." He smiled gently.

Then she said he didn't need to be scared anymore, and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. She said he probably wouldn't have many friends if he didn't tell anyone who he was, and said that since both she and Malan'tai were on his side now, that no one would be able to hurt him.

"You misunderstand. It's not really me that I'm worried about. I can take care of myself. But now I have Rico. And I do have friends that I care about. I've found some strangely accepting people, but...usually introducing myself as Wrath, the Acrimonious doesn't work out so well."

Jemmy smiled. Hearing Kyte say that he liked her made her feel all bubbly inside.

So he was worried about Rico? From her shooting skills, Jemmy was sure Rico could take care of herself. Besides, the child of a Lord of Chaos could hardly be defenseless. But Jemmy knew that she knew very little, losing all your memories would do that to you. She needed to learn more about the world before she would be able to help anyone. And she would need to help people before they started to like her. One day, Jemmy wanted to have friends that she cared about, just like Kyte did.

Kyte finished saying that introducing himself as Wrath wouldn't exactly turn out for the best. Jemmy nodded. "I suppose not." Jemmy's expression became more serious. "Hey Kyte, are you really as strong as I am?" She was curious. It made her feel less lonely to think there were others like her. "Because if you are, I want you to stop me from becoming a mean person. I think I might lose my memories again. You see, I'm...I'm sick. If I die, I think I'll forget everything all over again. If that happens, just tell me everything, all over again. And keep liking me."

Kyte looked at Jemmy, and saw she was feeling really happy. For some reason, that made him happy, too. He turned the stove off and called Rico down for dinner.

"Rico! Food's on!"

He looked at her again. "To be honest? All the power I attained was to try and defeat you. And I've beaten you once before. But it looks like your powers have changed. I don't see your balloon anywhere. So it would all depend on what you can do now.

But I'll help you. Call me if you need my help so I can stop you from dying, and...I'll keep in mind to remind you who you are."

OOC: An appropriate place to end, I think. Thank you for a delightful thread.

OOC: I'm only sorry it took so long for me to reply. I've had duties. But thank you, Dar, for another thread as well.