A/N: Hi kids. I'm sure there is some confusion tonight. I'm more than happy to explain it (however tersely) after our feature presentation!
"Her. I'm certain of it." Davies said, stabbing a finger at the image of Max on the screen. "In the, what is that? The t-shirt. Who's Invader Zim?"
"Oh, my kid brother loves that damn show."
Wright peered over the other woman's shoulder. "What? The girl with the brown hair pulled back into a ponytail? I'm gonna seriously regret asking, but why her?"
"Look. Just look. It's so obvious."
Wright and Reese both stared for few seconds at their superior officer.
"Obvious to you, Ms. Considers-Calculus-To-Be-Foreplay, but I'm pretty sure Mere and I don't..."
Reese clapped his hands together. "I get it! I totally get it. I mean, I don't think I would have if you hadn't pointed it out, but yeah-ha!"
Wright shook her head, "You're just saying that to look smart."
"No! Really, it's ah...okay, look at all the kids other than her. You see anything weird?"
"You know I don't! Seem like the same damn bored-as-hell kids in any school and...oh."
"Yeah, yeah, you get it?"
"You mean how girly in the middle looks like she's high as a kite, the way she's smiling end to end? Yeah, that sticks out. On the other hand, I suppose she could be legitimately tripping on something, but given the situation, I'm gonna guess no."
"Precisely." Davies said "Like you said, she sticks out. Everyone else in that classroom is playing their part. But not our little miss, here. No. She seems positively delighted, radiant even. Like she knows something."
"You mean like the answers to next week's test?"
"Or...or maybe someone tried to bully her, so she went back and killed their grandfather so they wouldn't be born?"
The British woman snorted sharply. "Good lord, Reese!"
"What? I'm just saying, you give a junior high kid a bit of reality-warping power, and they turn into total little assholes. At least, that's how *I* remember school."
"Well, no one in that school's going to be warping anything now. I just saw to that." Wright reported, with just a hint of a smirk.
"Good thinking. How long can you hold the stasis field?"
"If I'm just painting the building and nothing else? Shit, I can do this all day. I mean, don't ake all day, but there's no real rush."
Reese chimed in. "And I've just hacked the local cell tower. Looks like our mystery girl's got a itch to text. Maybe she's gonna tell her girlfriends 'Look at me! I can totally guess next week's Powerball! And the numbers are gonna be...dot dot dot..."
"Man, that's a pretty specific fantasy you've got going there."
He shrugged and tapped away, clicking through various icons and typing in lines of commands. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like a little more than just my Damocles pension to retire on, thank you very much." He paused, then transferred what was on his screen to the main display.
"There it is. At least I think it's her. Shit, these kids like to text a lot. God, I would have killed to have a cell phone when I was in eighth grade."
maxthemad: Che.
che-burger: what?
maxthemad: Che!
che-burger: what!?
maxthemad: ..u mad? :)
che-burger: no smileys! god i am too cool for you now
maxthemad: no ur not
che-burger: i am, but chem is sooooo boring, i'll still talk. n-e how, sup?
maxthemad: 2 whales after school?
che-burger: sure. ill scam mom to get us fries
maxthemad: yes! i got sick news for you
che-burger: o rily?
maxthemad: ya rily. awesome awesome. so awesome. hella awesome
che-burger: sensing a theme here
maxthemad: had to figure out how to explain it to you. but ill totes show you at 2W
che-burger: werd. oh shit, gotta go!
maxthemad: lates
"Explain to me again why *I* have to be the one to go undercover? And why now? Can't we just snag her when she goes home?"
Reese was smoothing out his blazer, hastily changing out of his field uniform into a generic black business suit kept on hand for just this sort of situation.
"Number one, we're only ninety-nine percent certain. It could go extremely pear-shaped if we're wrong on this, so I need the last bit of confirmation. The watch you're now wearing is a close contact sensor of my own design. It works through the body's own bio-electrical field, so you'll need to touch her, for about five to ten seconds. Once it has a solid enough reading, it will send back the results, which I can then confirm. Number two, it needs to be YOU, because a devastatingly gorgeous, brilliant to the nines British woman, and a...smart, classy..."
"You can just say 'a black woman', Cammie. Believe me, I know you and I are way too memorable for keeping a low profile in Whitebread Bay. Especially when the local yokel cops are bristly as hell because we're operating in their neck of the woods. Reese, not only do you look like you belong here, but," she turned to the other man and said, "You can just zap their brains a little afterwards. "
"Not while you've got your field up."
"Actually, you can. I'm SO damn good at nulling these days, I can exclude you from it. It's...complicated to explain." Wright turned to Davies and added, "Now, that kind of trick does put an extra strain on me, so no one fucking dawdle, alright?"
"Hopefully, this will go fine and dandy. Public schools are more or less conditioned to respond to shows of authority. On the other hand, small town schools are a little less trusting. Again, why we're sending you in there. If we wait to track that young girl down, and find out that her parents are not only rich, but litigious...well, it doesn't exactly stop us, but it makes things much more unpleasant. Especially if it turns out we have the wrong girl, highly unlikely as that seems."
Reese was still largely unconvinced, and tilted his head towards Wright, "But can't you, oh, I don't know. Sense her somehow? I mean, if you can exclude me from being nulled, but not her, you need to be able to sense us in some fashion, right? So if she tries to use her power, and you stop her, can't you, uh, you know, feel the vibrations? Yes? No? Maybe? Like how a spider feels things on a web?"
"Mmm-nnn. Doesn't work like that. Like I said, it's complicated. Once I see you in front of me, I'm able to tell the part of my brain that nulls to just ignore you. And it does, for the most part. But detecting Specials, let alone 'feeling' them when you can't see them? Doesn't do that. Never has for any other Null I've heard about, either. Be nice if it did. Instant Special detector. Maybe next Emergence, we'll get lucky and pick one of those up."
After helping him with his tie and suit jacket, Davies handed Reese a badge. "I pulled this from our falsified credentials pile. Say hello to the new you: Special Agent Harold Vakarian of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Technically, we have their permission to be doing this sort of thing, but in practice, it makes them rather tetchy, so please don't push your luck."
Reese scrubbed at his face, before grabbing the badge and peering closely at it. "Good...God! Really? Do you have any names that sound, you know, even faker than this one?"
"What? It tested quite well in all the psychodynamic simulations I ran it through."
"Yeah well, computers don't know everything."
Wright clapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon, Reese. This'll be a fucking milk run for you, so get to it."
Shaking his head, he opened the door from the back of the van and slumped his way out. After taking a minute to compose himself and put together a quick cover story, he slowly walked into the school.
He reached up, turned on his earpiece, and put on a pair of black shades.
"I really hope you've got a backup plan, bosslady." Wright grumbled as she watched Reese depart.
"Oh I have six. But really, all he has to do is get us that scan and confirm what we're already pretty sure is the truth. How hard can that be?"
Looking down at the fresh wad of bills she'd recently scored, Wright grinned. "I've got fifty bucks, if you're looking for a wager."
A static, crackly announcement rang out across the school PA system: "Max Caulfield to the Principal's office. Max Caulfield, please report to the Principal's office."
There was a tight, thick knot sitting heavily in her stomach as Max slowly trudged her way over. A million paranoid worries plagued her mind.
OhGodohGodohGod. It's...it's the...I don't know. The Government? The Karma Police? Oh God, I'm in such trouble now! Fuck! Oh fuck. I was only trying to help people. Just trying to be good. Wait! Wait, maybe this is good news! Yeah, like people have been talking about how awesome I'm being today, and they want to just give me an award or something.
...
Oh I am so screwed!
Wait. Wait wait wait. C'mon! This is...this is stupid! Don't be a baby, this is stupid! I'm sure they're not calling you up because of your powers, and not because of you being Ms. Awesome Citizen but then...
Oh God! What if something's wrong with my parents! What if they got into a car accident, and they're hurt, and that's why they're calling for me?!
There was no use running. If she WAS in real trouble, they'd find her, one way or the other. Still, she thought about trying to rewind as far as she could, then fake being sick. If she was fast enough, maybe she could get out of the building before the PA announcement was made, so she could fake ignorance.
She even gave it a shot, but found that her powers had suddenly abandoned her.
Great! What a fricken time to get an anxiety attack! Probably messing up...up whatever this power is. Or maybe it stopped? Great! Thanks! Thanks God, I put all this time in to make sure good things happen to people, and you take my time-winding away just when I need it most.
Be cool, Max. They can't prove anything.
She put a nervous smile on her lips, and walked through the door.
"Uh. Hi? I'm here. Did...is there something wrong?"
Principal Kitteridge, sixties, of medium build, graying at the temples, turned from the man he was speaking with, affixing Max with an even, comforting smile. "Hello, Maxine. Thank you for coming. And no, there isn't any problem. At least you're not in trouble, according to the Agent here?" He looked over at the man with a confident, albeit somewhat suspicions stare.
"Oh, no no no. Ms. Caulfield, please believe me, YOU'RE not in trouble at all, I promise." He held up his badge, and then walked over, holding out a hand. "Special Agent Harold Vakarian. I'm with the FBI, but please don't be alarmed."
Max took the hand gingerly, enough for a brief shake, but dropped it as fast as should could.
FBI? OMG! How the hell could they even find out so fast? This is really getting scary now!
A voice hissed in Reese's earpiece, "Damnit. Too quick, I didn't get a proper reading."
"I just need to ask you some questions. Principal Kitteridge, I'm afraid I need to ask for just a few minutes of privacy. Do you mind if Max and I use your office?"
"Not at all, go right ahead. It'll, ah, give me time to check on a few things." The other man looked meaningfully at the phone.
Reaching out and gently holding onto his shoulder, the agent retorted, "Oh, but I seem to remember you were going to get us a couple cups of coffee, right? I could really use that. And Max, you like coffee, right? Who doesn't, mmmm...love that java. Right, so...if you wouldn't mind? Three cups maybe?"
A grey cloud of confusion drifted across the Principal's face "Oh...oh of course, I uh...I must have forgotten about it earlier. My apologies. Certainly. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Max stared at her Principal, then back to the FBI guy.
Okay..that? That was kind of creepy. Oh fuck, I am SO in trouble.
A few seconds later, the pair walked into the Principal's office, sitting down at the large mahogany desk.
"Sooo...Max. Or is it Maxine? Do you have a preference?"
She started to stammer "I-I just. Max. That's fine. Thanks. I don't really like Maxine."
"Yeah, I thought not. Now...Max." He reached out again, placing a firm hand around her arm. "Okay, look, let me just reassure you, everything's okay. You aren't in trouble. We just have a few concerns about some of the people you might be friends with. People you probably don't even realize pose some, oh, shall we say, concerns."
Is this about Chloe?! What? No! Chloe's not dumb enough to get wrapped up in weird shit.
"Almost, just hold it a few seconds longer." hissed the earpiece.
The two of them stared at each other, an uncomfortable silence filling the air.
"That's it! I'll just need another minute to crunch the results. Keep her occupied!"
Max glanced down at the hand the agent had on her, and then back to him. He blushed before quickly removing it.
"Ahem. Anyhow, our records indicate that, ahh..." He paused, as if trying to recall something. "You...ah...opened a Facebook account. Yesterday. At 4:32 p.m."
Max's eyes widened, then tilted her head, "Wait. R-really? You're here because of Facebook?"
Chloe! Fuck you, I told you we should have stuck with Myspace!
"Oh, oh yeah. Yes. See, I'm with a branch of the FBI that handles...uh...social media. Awareness. Yes, new program. We randomly pick new Facebook enrollees at random," he paused to wince, realizing how awkward the statement sounded, "and we sit down, have a friendly chat with them. You know, about how to stay safe online, , 'stranger danger', that sort of thing. It's educational. Just a public service to the community."
Max felt more confused than scared now. There was something clearly off about this entire situation.
"Uhh. Okay. No offense, I'm sure you're really good at your job, but this seems really...excessive?"
The agent paused, then chuckled, "I suppose it does look that way. Just a little. But you know, the brass upstairs, they figure, "Wouldn't it REALLY get the kids attention if we sent out actual agents. Make a big impression? I mean, it obviously has with you, right?"
With wide eyes, Max nodded. "Y-yeah. It has."
This can't be real. There's no way my luck could be this good! But...maybe? Jesus, I was almost the first thirteen year old to ever die of a heart attack.
"See. There you go! So we'll have a little chat, and then you go off and tell your friends all about how serious the FBI is about making sure they stay safe online."
In the van, Wright was laughing until tears came out, as she taunted Reese over the earpiece, "Oh my God! You...you're terrible at this! And you have a girl's name! Ha ha ha!"
"Nicole, please! Reese, I've got confirmation. It's her, I repeat, it's her. You need to try and convince her to come with us. The less of a scene we make the better."
Max felt a flood of relief, as well as disbelief sweep through her. She wanted to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible. "Mr...uh...Agent? Thanks but, I-I think I know all about being safe online. My parents? You know, they had this conversation with me last year. You can call them up and ask if you don't believe me. Anyhow, can I go?" She started to rise up, without really meaning to.
Okay. This is total bullshit, right? I mean, the government spies on everyone these days, but who wastes money sending out FBI agents to go randomly talk to kids in school? Guy's probably like...a kidnapper or something. I should go and tell the Principal something's funny.
Quickly raising both his hands in a pleading gesture, the man that Max strongly began to suspect was not actually with the FBI said, "Alright. Okay. Look, just sit down a moment Max. We'll cut through the crap, and get to the truth, yeah?"
It was enough to give her pause, though she didn't immediately sit back down.
He cleared his throat and loosened his tie. "So tell me, Max. You have any interesting life developments lately? This past Friday? You know, out of the ordinary? Strange. Maybe good, maybe bad, but definitely the sort of thing that makes you question what you know about space. Space, and especially time?"
OH FUCKSHITSHITFUCK!
Max gasped, far louder than she intended. Her head swam. She didn't so much sit back down as fall into her chair from shock.
"Gotcha."
There was another long pause as Max's mind raced. Unable to fathom how she was found out. More than that, it was like a slap across the face. It brought her back to reality, off the cloud she had been floating on since she came back from saving William.
Oh God. It's real! This is all real. It really happened! There's no...I'm...I'm in trouble! Such huge, fucking trouble! The government knows, and they probably have laws about going back and changing the past, and they're gonna lock me up in Guantanamo Bay, and I'll never see my parents again and...
She bowed her head, and started to sob piteously.
The agent kept his voice as calm and quiet as possible. Clearly trying to be reassuring.
"Max. Please. Just...just come clean with me, okay? I promise, I really do, you're not in trouble. I just want to understand what's happened. Can you tell me? What you did? How it happened?"
Eyes wet, bottom lip trembling, voice tight and high pitched, she began to blubber out her explanation, "I-I only wanted to help. I really did. I wasn't going to do anything bad. It's just - *hcck* it's just Chloe was so sad about her Dad dying, you know? It hurt so much *hcck* *hcck* seeing her in pain like that. It wasn't fair. I don't even know how it happened, HOW I did it...but I went back in time. I went back a couple weeks, and I saved him, and time suddenly - just - it caught up. But different. He was alive! I saved him! But I swear I don't know how!"
He handed her the box of tissues, and she wiped hard at her eyes, blowing her nose. It all poured out of her, in a frenzied torrent. "I changed - I changed the past. I thought it was a dream at first, but then I found out when I came back I could still rewind time around me, too. Not a lot, you know, just by a few minutes? But I'm promise, I'm being good! I'm only trying to help people with it! I'm not...I'm not going to commit a crime or anything with it. I swear!"
"My God." Davies whispered in awe.
"...shit." Wright added.
"I believe you, Max. I believe you. Look, my name's not Harold, obviously, although I am with the US Government. But my name's actually Mere-" He paused.
"Reese. Call me Agent Reese." He tried his best to reassure her, placing an honest hand on her shoulder this time. "I know you're scared now. Probably confused, too. Although you looked pretty happy back there, for a while? Like you said, when you were helping people. But we don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to give you the quick and dirty version: you're a Special. You have powers. I - I have them too. Like I said before, I represent a branch of the US Government that administers and trains people like us and...uh...we help people."
Max wiped at her eyes again, and looked up, fear transmuting to confusion. "Wait. Are you...am I a superhero?" The rising note in her voice was ringing with curiosity, even hope.
"Ahhhh-ha-haaaa yeah. You know, I hate that term. Why don't we leave it at having powers, and helping people?"
Where before there had been only icy cold dread, and a panicky despair, she now began to feel - well, she wouldn't call it elation. But it was definitely something positive. Like this was going to be the start of something great.
Barely smiling through her tears, she asked, "Do you have a codename? You know, like a secret agent superhero?"
Groaning at that, he answered, "No. Not really. I mean, when the organization first started, they thought it was cool to do that sort of thing, but that's the Sixties for you. I think Rising Sun, which is another group of people like us, is still all about the codenames, but you know hey...Japan. For everyone else, that kind of thing went out by the 1990's. These days, we just go by each other's name, or field codes if we think there'll be an open channel. Althoooough..." He smiled roguishly at her now. "Bit of a rite of passage. Once one of us graduates to full field agent status, the rest of the group stick the poor sucker with a fake codename. You know, just for shits and grins. Not that it really gets used."
"Oh? Cool, what's yours?"
"Retcon. But ah...we can talk about that later. Look, here's the important thing, Max. When a Special...well...we call it Emergence, but when a Special gains their powers, it can be dangerous. Not always, but sometimes. Dangerous, as in, strange and alarming things can happen in the nearby world around them, for a good week or two."
A fresh wave of fear welled up in her sternum. What only minutes before seemed like a source of carefree joy, a blessing that any kid would kill for now felt like a dark and bitter curse. She hugged herself, willing her heart to stop beating so hard.
She made the connection, probably a lot quicker than Reese expected her to.
"Oh...shit! The whales! Are you saying the whales were...me?" She squeaked the last word out, a fresh wave of guilt-induced tears ready to pour forth.
"Max, now calm down. It's alright. Not your fault, I promise you. No one is angry over that. It's a thing that happens. Like a fire or an avalanche or a tornado..."
My nightmare!
"I - oh no - I. The day, when I saved Chloe's dad? After all that, and I went to bed? I - had. Nightmare. I dreamt a tornado came and destroyed everything! The whole town! Oh God! It's going to happen! A tornado's going to destroy everything, and it's my fault!"
Davies calmly, but forcefully intoned through the earpiece, "Reese! You have to get that girl out of school right now. We need to get her to her parents and resolve this issue, but by hook or crook, we are moving her out of town tonight!"
Despite the comfort and calm he put into his voice now, Max could feel the tension lurking just underneath it.
"Max, it's going to be okay, I promise you. I'm sure that was just a dream. Now listen to me, because this part is important". He got out of his chair and then kneeled down, meeting her just a bit below her eye level. "One thing that we've discovered, in the case of Emergences that are..." he paused, as if trying to find the right word. "...one's that are strong. It's that if we get that person out of the area, the problems with reality start to defuse quickly. Like pulling magnets away from each other. So what I'm saying is that if there might be a tornado coming because of your Emergence? The best chance we have to stop it is to get you out of Arcadia Bay for a while."
Max shook. She feared she might not be able to breathe.
"I know I've just laid a huge truthbomb on you, and you're gonna need to process, but we also need to get you out of school, alright? I promise though, we're going straight to see your Mom and Dad. Think you can hold it together, at least 'til we get to the van?"
It took her a minute. She nodded quickly, but she didn't mean it, not at first. She grimaced, forcing down everything raging inside her mind, smashing it into a tight ball to be dealt with at a later date. Gave her eyes a final wipe and sniffled, "If I go with you...will everyone be okay? Will they all be safe?"
"I-I think so. Believe me, Max, we have some of the smartest people in the world on top of this right now. No matter what happens, everyone's in good hands. So just let me know when you're ready to go. Although we probably shouldn't take too long."
"Y-yeah. Just gotta...give me another minute, okay? I should totally calm down. I don't know why, but it seems to be making my powers not work."
"Oh! Yeah well that...that's..." He paused. "That happens too sometimes, in the beginning. Comes and goes. Don't worry though. In fact, it would probably be best if you used your powers as little as possible until further notice."
Giving herself a tight hug, she closed her eyes, and focused.
Okay Max. Okay. You've got this. You're not in trouble. You're...you're being recruited. By the government. Wow! Like Tony Stark at the end of Iron Man! You're going to go and help people. I know this seems totally scary right now, especially with the dead whales and maybe a tornado. But these guys seem nice! At least Reese does, even if he's kind of a dork. But he sounds like he knows what he's talking about. So right. Yeah. No more crying. No more freaking out, at least for today. Time to be a superhero now, Max! Go!
"Alright. I think I'm ready to go now."
She and Reese stepped out from the office, just as the Principal was coming back with coffee.
"Is-is everything alright, then?"
Placing another firm hand on the other man's shoulder, Reese smiled. "Yes! Quiet. Thank you for looking after Max. I'll take her home now, so she can get some rest."
There was a faraway look in Kitteridge's eyes as he paused. "Right. Of course. I completely understand." He looked to Max, "And what you're going through is perfectly natural, Max. All part of growing up. I know you'll feel better in a couple of days."
As the pair exited the school, Max looked up and asked, "Uh, did you just do...like your thing to the Principal?"
"Mmmmhmmm. I-uh. Well, I can change memories around on the fly. Add, take away, that kind of thing. Your Principal's now under the distinct impression I'm your Uncle Harold, come to take you home because ah-God. How do I say this? You've got a really bad case of cramps today."
Max was aghast.
"WHAT?! Dude! That's so wrong! Damn embarrassing! Don't take this the wrong way b-but you suck as a superhero!"
"Yeah, but you and I share something in common, kiddo. We can make people forget what we did to them. Something tells me you're going to make me look like an amateur."
"W-wow? Really? You think? Coooool! And that's compared to all the other awesome guys you have? I mean, you probably have like a whole base filled with people who can walk through fire, and blow things up with their eyes, and...and tear apart metal, and all kinds of things. Oh man! I can't believe...I'm going to be a superhero! This is cool! Oh, oh! Call me Flashback, okay? No, no, wait Princess Flashback! No, wait. That's way dumb. Just Flashback. No wait...okay, I'll figure it out later, alright?"
Trying his hardest to hide the pained expression on his face, Reese opened up the door to the back of the van and waved Max in.
He hesitated a moment before joining her.
She's young. She's too damned young for this. Surely Martinet's going to see that. And then...maybe...?
He was going to finish his thought with the word "normal" popping in somewhere. Then realized that wasn't meant for the likes of girls like Max.
Not anymore.
A/N: Woo hoo! Welcome to Black Swan Saturday!
That's...a thing I'm trying to make happen. At least for a little bit. I have this chapter and the next all queued up and ready to go. Chapter 6 is finished and needs editing, Chapter 7's almost done, Chapter 8 is done-ish and needs revisions before I send it to editing, and Chapter 9 is about 30% written. Everything else is in a combination of "my head" or written down in plot synopsis format. But man, I gotta tell you, writing a series with a significant buffer ready to go? Awesome. Absolutely awesome. So yeah, long story short, maybe for once, I'll actually be able to publish on a regular schedule, at least for a month or two.
A YOOOGE hug and thanks to Corentin IV who kindly proofed two chapters at once. I'll try not to overload her like that for a good long while :-)
Things You Should Check Out This Weekend:
Princess Of The Blacks by Silently Watches: Harry is Jennifer Black, one of the worlds most powerful Voodoo Queens. I usually eschew these "Harry is pissed, precious and powerful" pieces, but Jen Black is a fun, awesome character. And let's be honest, we all like to watch Dumbledore get kicked in the dick on occasion. Still, despite her initial Mary Sueness, she actually makes sense as a character, in the way she gets away with stuff, but not without a lot of clever strategy, plotting, and having one's childhood ripped away from them in the most terrible fashion possible.
The Unsung War by RED78910: My bud RED just finished this ME series today, so now you can read it from start to finish. He takes the unusual tactic in writing mostly with OC's, filling in the cracks and the background details of what's going on when the camera isn't on the canon heroes. You'll wish Allan, Herja and the rest of the crazy gang were at least given their own DLC.
The Downward Spiral by Szept: I'm not a LoL fan, but he's gotten me interested in it with this gritty, noir take on the property. Lets be honest, if you don't know anything about LoL, you still know who Jinx is. I'm just curious to see how this works out to be a classic "diametrically opposed personalities become yuri lovers" sort of thing. It should be a hoot!
Second Date by rowanred81: Pricefield at it's most disgustingly adorkable.
Okay, so that's out of the way. So people are possibly asking: Who is this Lyta Halifax, and what did she do with Hugo?
Highlander style, I have challenged him in the ancient ways, defeated him, decapitated him and taken his power for my own. Nommy, nommy power!
Ok...I don't want to write a long and involved explanation as to what's really going on. Some of it is in my profile now. People who know me best know why the account name changed. Others who are curious enough are more than happy to inquire of me privately. I guess I just want to say that this is the culmination of a long journey, pretty much since I first started writing here. And people who should be thanked know who they are, and have already been done so. :)
Anyhow, I'll see you here next Saturday night. Have a good rest of the weekend!