Stanford Isaac Rhodes IV was having a marvelous day. He had finally bested his own personal record, he finally managed to get a proper apology out to Grace, and he even managed to get his favourite soda on the way back to base.

Yes, Stanford was having a very good day indeed.

Stanford was leaning on the Reverb, feeling the vibrations of his latest mix from the car at his back, sipping on his drink and letting the other ambient sounds filter in. Sage and Tezz at her work stations, the Cortezes tinkering with the Buster, Zoom and Agura having a conversation with AJ listening raptly. Everything was as it should be. Except… Vert wasn't there. With no immediate threats, Vert should be either in the Hub maintaining or upgrading the Saber, or above ground tearing up the track. And given that the car was underground and Vert was not, Stanford had to wonder where their fearless leader had gone off to.

"Where's Vert?" Stanford asked quietly.

"He said he was going to the post office, I think," Zoom said after a moment's pause.

As if summoned, the elevator opened up to reveal Vert Wheeler himself, dressed in jeans and what was clearly his favourite white-and-red T-shirt, wading through the post and absentmindedly muttering under his breath.

"Bill… Bill… sweepstakes contest no-one's interested in… ad… bill…bill… b- oh."

Vert stopped and stared at the letter in his hand for a moment before turning to Stanford with a raised brow.

"It's for you Stan."

Stanford looked up at the nickname and set his drink down on the floor, not willing to risk it spilling by resting it on the hood. He thanked Vert and took the letter. He noticed that both the mailing and return addresses were printed in crisp golden cursive font. This was definitely an invitation to some formal event. He silently sighed and opened it, reading the cover of the card aloud.

"You're invited to a wedding…"

That drew the attention of everyone.

"What is a 'wedding'?" Sage asked curiously.

"A wedding is a human ceremony where two people legally— and in religious practices, spiritually—bind themselves to one another," Sherman explained. "The ceremony itself is when the people bind themselves in front of their guests as a symbol of commitment, and then afterwards there's a ceremony, called a reception, where their guest celebrate the union and wish them well."

"Sounds like you've been to a lot of weddings," Vert said with a smile.

"We have a really big family," Spinner said. "So, yes. We've been to a lot of weddings."

"So, whose wedding are you going to Stanford?" Zoom asked eagerly.

"I still have to read the card, love," Stanford said. "Although, I do wonder if Uncle Ian finally wore down Madame Ottley."

Stanford opened up the card, cleared his throat, and began reading the contents for the room to hear.

"It says: 'Dearest Stanford, you are cordially invited to the wedding of Simon Ian Rhodes II and… GENEVIEVE ELIZABETH ATKINSON'!?"

And at that moment, Stanford felt his entire world tilt. And then it went dark. The first thing Standford saw when he next opened his eyes was Sage, scanning him with some medical apparatus he didn't have the foggiest idea what to call. The next thing he became aware of were his friends, all looking at him with varying degrees of worry and concern. As usual, Vert was the first to speak up.

"You fainted and hit your head. Don't try to sit up yet, you've been out for almost an hour."

For a few more seconds, Stanford struggled to collect his thoughts and string a few words together. When he finally managed some coherency, the first thing out of his mouth was a soft plea to their leader.

"Vert… Please tell me that the wedding invitation I received was all some hallucination due to head trauma and not real."

Vert only offered a silent and wry smile. It was all Stanford needed. So that was it then, Simon really was getting married. To Genevieve of all people. Stanford held his head and let out a pained moan. Not due to physical ailment either.

Suffice it to say, Stanford's day was officially ruined.