{*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*] *~Multiverse Mysteries~*[*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*}
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-FutureFalloutVerse*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*~8~*
Chapter 5:
Work & Play
{*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^} *-Magnus-*-Magnus-*-Magnus-*-Magnus-*-Magnus-* {*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^}"Ugh damnit!" Alec snapped, glaring irritatedly at the traffic in front of them before glancing over at Magnus, huffing.
"I told you we didn't have time this morning!"
Magnus chuckled, brow quirking, smirking teasingly.
"You weren't exactly complaining."
Alec sputtered, cheeks flushing prettily, heatlessly glaring.
"Not the point. I told you we needed to leave earlier. I have my morning routine set for a reason. Now I'm gonna be late- again!"
Magnus shrugged, flashing a faintly amused smile.
"Well we'll be closer to on time than yesterday...and even closer than the day before. Most it'll be is five minutes. That's practically on time. That's progress yes?"
Alec huffed exasperatedly, shaking his head.
"Late is late. Doesn't matter if it's two minutes, twenty minutes or two hours- late's still late."
Magnus smirked, glancing over, mischievously waggling his eyebrow.
"So what I'm hearing is we could have had another two hours?"
Alec gave a surprised laugh, rolling not only his eyes but his whole head in exasperated amusement.
"Uh no..."
Magnus chuckled, sliding across the seat, settling close to Alec's side, cuddling in, nuzzling against his neck.
"Well as you said; late is late..." he murmured, humming softly, nipping lightly at his earlobe.
Alec chuckled, lightly nudging him away, gesturing out the windshield at the traffic zipping along.
"Come on Mags, I'm driving."
Magnus huffed out a faint laugh, shaking his head.
"Sweetheart the car is driving. You have about as much control over what the car does as I do. Face it; we're both passengers. Though if you don't have to focus on driving I can think of a few OTHER things you could focus on..." He hummed, nuzzling again.
Alec laughed, shaking his head.
"Mags come on; It's in manual, not automatic. I am driving, that's why it has the different settings."
Magnus huffed, giving an unconcerned shrug.
"Alec? It has anti-collision reflexes, autocorrected steering, driver error failsafes, a two hundred foot, 360 degree view of the surroundings specifically designed to pinpoint and safeguard against any and all possible unexpected hazards, automated breaking, pre-programmed navigation for the fastest route, weather adjustments, pre-set speed and is preforming about seven hundred different calculations and adjustments a second.
You're not driving, you're glaring out the window and fiddling with knobs, levers and peddles that are basically just there as a mental placebo to keep the drivers hands busy and let control freaks have the illusion they actually still have some form of control.
People haven't been 'driving' their cars for nearly a century."
Alec chuckled, shaking his head, one arm slipping around Magnus.
"That's not true- I still have some control."
Magnus snickered, nodding, lightly patting his cheek.
"Of course you do sweetheart, you keep right on thinking that."
Alec huffed out a disbelieving laugh.
"I do! And I like manual driving."
Magnus snorted, rolling his eyes affectionately.
"No surprise there gorgeous. Like I said it gives control freaks the illusion of control."
Alec huffed, casting a heatless glare Magnus's way. He chuckled, giving a slight shrug, head tilting consideringly, brow quirking.
"Though if all you really want is something to fiddle with and keep your hands busy I can think of a few other ways to keep you occupied."
Alec snorted, brow quirking teasingly.
"Uh yeah...that's kinda how we got in this situation in the first place."
Magnus gave a flippant wave, smirking.
"True...still we could j-"
"No we couldn't."
Magnus nodded animatedly.
"Sure we could, just switch over to automatic, flip on the privacy setting on the windows and we're good to go."
"Yeah, we're really not."
"But we could be..." He singsonged, brow waggling, giving a little wave.
"Hey this could totally be a solution to our on time problem. You know sometimes the best way to solve a time management issue is to simply find ways to consolidate and multitask..." He smirked, flashing a flirty wink.
"I am VERY good at multitasking..."
Alec snorted, rolling his eyes, nodding in amusement.
"Very much aware...big part of why we're in this predicament in the first place."
Magnus shrugged, smirking.
"Hey like I said this could be a solution-"
"No it really couldn't."
"Sure it could-I know; I'm a scientist. I'm kinda an expert in problem solving. You should totally be following my directives."
Alec chuckled, brow quirking.
"You're not the only expert in problem solving you know. I'm a soldier with over a decade of experience in the field. I am just as capable of taking the lead here."
Magnus smirked, gave a little wave half challenge, half invitation.
"Oh by all means, please do."
Alec swallowed, blinking, cheeks flushing, pretty pear colored eyes sparking in interest before startling. He huffs, rolling his eyes, glaring heatlessly, near pouting.
"You are incorrigible."
"Aww thank you gorgeous; I think you're pretty incredible too!"
Alec laughed, again shaking his head.
"We're not starting that again..."
Magnus shrugged, leaning in, kissing his neck, hand resting on his knee, sliding up.
"Well in that cas-"
Alec chuckled, catching his hand, squeezing it, shaking his head teasingly, unable to stop a playful little smile.
"Yeah- we're not starting that either..." he paused, nodding towards the window as the car glided through the entrance to the underground garage.
"Besides we're here, don't have time."
Magnus smirked.
"We could."
"We're not fooling around in the parking lot."
"Why not? Like you said; late's late. We're already three minutes late, may as well make it an even thirty..."
Alec gave a disbelieving laugh, brow quirking.
"Mags the parking platform automatically senses which cars arrive and when. That means the security knows when we arrived...which means they- and Valerie and Bindy and her smug, smirky, judgey eyebrows- know. She already knows we're late and she'll be all too happy to take a guess at why, no need to add fuel to that fire."
Magnus laughed, shrugging.
"She won't know know. Maybe we had trouble finding a parking space?"
"You have your own reserved spot!"
"True but mayb-"
"Mags! Babe, come on now, we can't. Besides the parking platform is technically at work. You know the rule."
Magnus huffed playfully, affectionately rolling his eyes, nodding.
"Yes, yes, no fun at work." He smirked, pressing a quick kiss to Alec's cheek before sliding back across the seat, opening his door, climbing out quickly beginning across the parking lot to the transport pods.
Alec chuckled, following his lead, falling into step beside him, shaking his head, flashing a warm smile, catching his eye, waving faintly.
"Not 'no fun' just not THAT kind of fun. There has to be some boundaries. Mixing work and personal is complicated and can cause a lot of issues really quickly. Everything I've read about making a professional/personal entanglement work suggests setting clear distinctions and boundaries for work and for off the clock and sticking to them."
Magnus laughed softly, unable to stop an amused smile, nudging his shoulder.
"I cannot believe you researched this...or that you actually put together a presentation..."
Alec laughed, eyes widening.
"Oh it wasn't that bad-"
Magnus laughed brightly, brows raising to his eyebrows.
"It was over two hours and there was a pop quiz at the end!"
"I-o-okay so that might have been a bit over the top b-"
"A bit?"
Alec shrugged, head tilting concedingly.
"Okay so a lot over the top."
Magnus laughed, nodding animatedly, hitting the button to activate one of the pods. The metal grate on the ground slid back, the pod rising up, a smooth, sleek frosted glass and metal cylinder hovering in front of them. The frosted glass flashed green, the cylinder rotating, door sliding open silently, giving a soft, musical tone, the glass flashing again indicated it was ready for transport.
Alec smiled, cheeks flushing lightly, stepping forward, standing in the entrance, gesturing for Magnus to enter. Magnus grinned, slipping past Alec a fair bit closer than necessary. Alec turned behind him, entering the pod, shifting over to the control panel, hitting the sequence for the security bay before turning back to Magnus, reaching up, scratching shyly at the back of his neck, flashing a sweetly sheepish grin.
"Yeah, alright I know it was a lot, probably way over the top. I just...I just really want this to work."
Magnus gave a soft laugh, settling close, catching his hand, entangling their fingers, squeezing lightly, glancing up, meeting his gaze, giving a soft nod.
"I do too sweetheart, I really do. And I am more than happy to put in the work to make sure it does..." He chuckled, head tilting, giving a faintly teasing little grin, nudging his shoulder.
"Even when that 'work' includes literal homework and pop quizzes."
Alec chuckled, shrugging.
"Hey there's nothing wrong with being prepared."
"Of course not gorgeous." Magnus murmured, leaning up, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Alec chuckled softly, brow quirking, hand subconsciously settling on the small of his back.
"What did we just say?"
Magnus smirked teasingly, giving a flippantly casual wave and amused little brow quirk.
"Yes, yes I know-I remember the lecture. Work and personal is to be kept separate as much as possible. Workplace interactions between romantic partners should be no different than workplace interactions with any other colleague or workplace acquaintance."
Alec nodded.
"Exactly so-"
"So I AM acting no different with you than I would with any other workplace acquaintance. I'm always friendly, boundary blurring and tend towards physically affectionate. I hug, kiss, tease and flirt with near everyone I interact with. If I don't do it with you than that's flying right in the face of your own rules. Can't have that now can we?"
Alec froze, blinking before giving a faint groan, covering his eyes exasperatedly.
"Ah crap...I did not think this through."
Magnus laughed brightly, squeezing his arm, patting lightly.
"Oh darling you most definitely did- to an endearingly excessive degree- you just forgot one key data point; Me." He sighed dramatically, flashing a teasing smile.
"I'll try not to take it too personally."
Alec rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic look and an indulgent smile, squeezing lightly at his waist, subconsciously shifting him closer.
"Gee thanks."
"No problem gorgeous." Magnus smiled, slipping his arm around him.
Alec huffed out a faint laugh before catching himself, shaking his head faintly.
"Mags we have to have some kind of work/personal limits."
Magnus nodded.
"I agree darling, we absolutely do. And we will. It'll just take some trial and error to hammer out the details and get down the specifics. It's like setting up a project or an experiment. Obviously we have to set our parameters. Once we get that sorted everything else will fall into place.
I mean the idea of cutting out physical affection at work altogether won't really work- at least when it's me- but full on making out and pawing at each other would be somewhat out of line. It'll take a bit of work but I'm sure we'll figure it out. Should be fairly straight forward; all we have to do is matrix the array of tactile affection admissible in a professional ecosphere.
Easy as pi; yes?"
Alec snickered, rolling his eyes affectionately.
"Yes...Easy..." he trailed off on a faint chuckle, brow quirking, glancing over in amusement.
"I-okay I gotta ask because it's you- When you say 'easy as Pie' do you mean pie as in the tasty dessert or Pi as in the tricky math thing?"
He snorted, waving animatedly.
"Oh obviously the math version. It says 'easy'- clearly that's the math version. Pie is not easy.
I tried making it once when me and Raph lived together. Ended with scorched curtains, a parma-stained blue/violet kitchen and a good part of the setting room that we ended up having to just incorporate into the new design as it was bonded on a molecular level to near everything it touched, visits from the fire department AND homeland security and a building wide petition banning me from using the stove...that Raph signed...
Twice.
He may have actually started it.
Personally I think it was a bit of an overreaction but he can be rather touchy at times. I actually liked the blue/violet and the place had a lovely sweet berry sent for the rest of the time we lived there so I really think it was a blessing in disguise."
Alec blinked, swallowing back a laugh, clearing his throat, nodding in agreement.
"Ah yeah...clearly..." he shook his head, glancing over curiously, head tilting, holding up a finger.
"Umm...how did baking a pie end with a visit from Homeland security and molecular what I'm assuming blueberry stains?"
He shrugged, giving a flippant wave.
"Eh when the pie exploded something in the berries and sugar reacted with the endothermic plasma generator I was using to speed up the cooking process and it kind of vaporized and molecularized the filling to the point where it expanded and combusted...a lot. A LOT a lot.
I guess the giant disbursement cloud of semi-iridescent blue-violet particles shooting thirty feet out the window seemed kind of chemical-weapony to some observers from the street...and a few other surrounding buildings...and the local news station.
Even so it was all sorted easy enough. The agents were calm and professional, actually pretty amused by the whole thing. It wasn't really an official inquisition, just a quick check in. They were actually really nice about it- I even got a date with one of them so it all worked out in the end.
So see- clearly when you say 'easy as Pi' it's obviously referring to the simple math one and not the overly complicated, unexpectedly combustible dessert one."
Alec laughed, shaking his head in disbelief, unable to stop an affectionate grin.
"Uh yeah-O-obviously. Guess I've been wrong, but yeah...You're right; easy as Pi...
I think. Gotta admit I don't actually know what 'Matrixing the tactile affection of a professional ecosphere' means but I think that's just science jargon for find and set our work place limits...yeah?"
Magnus beamed nodding.
"Exactly! See? I knew you'd understand it."
Alec chuckled, nodding, brow quirking teasingly, leaning a bit closer.
"I do...and I also know you just did that complicated, science jargon thing because you know how sexy I think you are when you do that."
Magnus gave an innocently wide eyed look, hand going to his chest in blatantly fake shock.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about- I was just saying what we have to do. I suppose I did slip into technical scientific linguistics but it was purely happenstance, that's all. The appeal it has to you never even entered my mind."
Alec chuckled giving a totally fake nod.
"Oh of course, I'm just projecting."
Magnus grinned, nodding.
"Obviously. And back to the original topic, it really is a good idea for us to get our limits set as quickly as possible. The sooner we do the easier it will be to navigate the introduction of admissible tactile affection in a professional ecosphere."
Alec chuckled softly, biting lightly at his lower lip, gaze flickering over Magnus, settling closer.
"Of course...and how exactly are we gonna determine the 'admissible tactile affection in a professional ecosphere'?"
Magnus smirked, giving a casual shrug and a little wave.
"Well; I'm a scientist, you're a soldier well versed in tactical missions and analytics. Stands to reason we just approach it logically using common sense.
For example a kiss like this..." he paused, leaning up, brushing a soft kiss to Alec's cheek before pulling back.
"Would be work appropriate. It's friendly, affectionate but not overly intimate. Yes?"
Alec shrugged, giving a faint nod, unable to stop an amused little smile. Magnus grinned.
"Exactly...totally work appropriate." He nodded again before smirking impishly, shifting, hand trailing up Alec's arm, reaching up, brushing his hair back, tracing along his cheek.
"On the other hand This..." He murmured, tugging Alec down into a slow, deep, head spinning kiss.
Alec gasped lightly, arms automatically wrapping around Magnus. He hummed approvingly, taking the opening and running with it, deepening the kiss, shifting, pressing Alec back against the wall of the transport. He gives a soft, purr like growl, fingers tangling in Alec's hair, tugging him in, shifting his head just so to get the exact right angle. He lingered for a few moments finally beginning to shift back when air became necessary, pausing to nip lightly at Alec's lower lip before pulling back the rest of the way.
"Not so much...yes?" He murmured, squeezing his arm.
Alec swallowed, nodding shakily, leaning rather heavily against the wall.
"Yea-uh-y-yeah...wow..." he stammered, nodding like a bobblehead, eyes wide, cheeks flushed a pretty pink, hair mussed.
Magnus couldn't help an approving little hum, gaze flickering over the other man excitedly, lingering on his lips before catching himself, smirking giving a slight nod.
"Okay so we have our parameters set; might have to do a bit more fine tuning but it's a good start. Think we're doing quite well on this professional/personal balance, don't you?"
Alec again gulped, nodding.
"Y-"
"Oh you're doing something alright." A snarkily amused voice chimed in.
The two startled apart, turning as one towards the now open door of the transport, meeting Bindy's amused eyebrow quirk. Alec shifted, awkwardly pushing himself off the wall, trying to go for a professional look.
"Uh-I know we're late bu-"
"Let me guess, traffic?"
Alec blushed, awkwardly scratching at his neck, nodding quickly.
"Yeah...see there was a jam o-"
Bindy chuckled rolling her eyes, waving her off.
"Yeah as entertaining as it is to watch you spin and flail in your attempt at deception it's not really necessary. So long as you're not blowing off a mission or sneaking off in the middle of a dino attack to play kissy face I don't care what you two do. For now we need to get moving." She shrugged, giving a dismissive little wave, turning on heel, heading for the hall to the main area just expecting the other two to follow along.
"You guys may be close to on time but you're still late and we don't really have time budgeted to watch you squirm...least not right now. Might pick it up later when we have a lull and need some entertainment.
Right now we have a mission. Something came through a anomaly about twenty minutes ago. Divya has the prelims, we're gonna meet in Simon's office for the rundown. She seems to think it'd be a good first outing for the newbie."
Magnus perked up, a bit more of a bounce in his step, speeding up a bit, falling into step beside Bindy, Alec right beside m
"Any idea what the mission is?"
She shrugged, head tilting.
"Not really. A flash anomaly opened on one of the Channel Islands; only open for maybe ten minutes but still something managed to come through. It's a nature preserve and this time of year totally closed off from visitors so not much risk of outside interference. With it being a predominately closed environment and no unforeseen outside threats it seems like it'd be a good way for the new guy to get his sea legs. It's gonna be him, me, you two and Dani in case we need medical backup."
Magnus beamed, nodding.
"Oh wonderful, nothing like hitting the ground running. Does he seem to be settling in alright so far?"
Bindy chuckled shrugging, a curious little smirk tugging at her lip.
"Seemed to be- at least he did when they stopped by the security office for a bit on his tour. Actually seemed like a kid on their first trip through Disneyland. He was positively giddy, bouncing around, trying to see everything at once, babbling on so long without stopping for breath it's a wonder he didn't pass out.
It was pretty cute for the few minutes they were in security but that was over an hour ago. Kinda hoping he's burnt off a bit of that excess energy with the rest of the tour and seeing his lab. It was cute for the five minutes he was in the Sec bay but thinking it'd be a bit grating for the entirety of a mission."
Magnus huffed, rolling his eyes, waving her off.
"Oh you're just cranky. Guy's adorable- positively charming. We need a bit more positive energy and enthusiasm around here. So many people here are far too stuffy and serious. We need a breath of fresh air; guy will be a perfect addition. He had a great energy."
Bindy snorted, head shaking.
"Well I'll agree the guy's definitely got a lot of energy. Really don't know how Raph put up with it."
Magnus again waved her off.
"Oh I'm sure they're first official meeting went fine. I know Raph can be a bit prickly but despite what you all think he does have a heart. Not saying the man doesn't like to screw with people but he's hardly one to punch down just for the hell of it. The guy's young and pretty far out of his depths; I'm sure half the babbling and erratic energy is just adjusting to a new environment. Sure once he settles in it'll even out.
No doubt kid probably irritated him a bit but Raph isn't gonna lash out at the dear for something like that. Besides it was just a quick formally meeting the boss thing, couldn't have been more than a half hour at most. I'm sure Raph could keep his cool for that long."
Bindy chuckled, head tiling.
"Actually it was more like several hours. Divya got called away for a conference call, Raph ended up giving Simon the Oasis tour."
"What?!" Magnus exclaimed, eyes wide and concerned.
"Oh that poor guy." Alec muttered.
Bindy glanced over, quirking her eyebrow.
"Simon or Raph?"
Alec scoffed disbelievingly, looking at her like she'd grown a second head.
"Simon of course! Poor kid, getting tossed to the wolves- or wolf. Hope he didn't scare him too bad. I know the guy seemed like a lot but from what Mags explained to me about the Anomaly based projects he's already mentioned he'll be a huge asset to the company. Not to mention tormenting someone as bright, cheery and eager as him would be like scolding a puppy.
Kid put up a hell of a brave front when we first met and he's definitely tougher than he looks but hell, so is Raphael...and he literally looks like a supervillain.
Do NOT like the odds there.
Really hope he hasn't traumatized the poor guy too much." He huffed faintly, looking near troubled, moving a bit quicker as the trio cut around the Bio dome platform, making their way around the animal enclosures.
Magnus sighed, giving a faintly unsure shrug.
"I-I think it should be okay. As I said the dear does quite enjoy tormenting people but it's not overly malicious and he's never really went in for bullying underlings. I mean he might poke at them a bit just for fun but he knows limits and despite a seeming total lack of empathy he's actually quite perceptive of emotions.
He might poke at the guy a bit just to test his resolve but the moment he senses the guy is getting uncomfortable he'd lay off, I'm sure of it."
Alec glanced over, brow quirking.
"How sure?"
"Very...but...um...we should probably get in there and see if we need to do any damage control." He finished, speeding up a bit before his steps kind of falter, catching sight of Divya leaning casually against the wall just beside Magnus's bright fuchsia-violet door, idly scrolling through something or other on her briefing tablet.
As the trio approached she glanced up, pushing off the wall falling into step next to Bindy, glancing over at Alec and Magnus brow quirking knowingly, flashing a teasing little smirk.
"Hey guys, nice of you to show up...traffic huh?"
Bindy snickered, Alec glared faintly, Magnus chuckled, brow quirking mischievously, returning the smirk.
"Well if you REALLY want to know-"
Alec's eyes widened, nudging Magnus, the glare shifting from Divya to Magnus.
"She doesn't."
Divya nodded quickly, jabbing her finger at Alec.
"He's right; she doesn't. she really REALLY doesn't." she shook her head, nose crinkling.
Magnus chuckled, shrugging unconcerned.
"Hey you brought it up-"
"And I deeply regret it- moving on. Ready to go? It's not an overly pressing mission but likely the faster we get out there the better. Briefing shouldn't take too long, pretty straightforward and we don't have a ton of info to go on but going by what I can gather I'm thinking it'll be a really good mission for Simon to get his sea legs.
I've already briefed Dani; she's getting the transport ready and checking her med supplies. She'll meet you in the transport bay in an hour. That should give us plenty of time to get all situated."
Alec nodded, glancing over.
"Yeah- why are you waiting out here? Figured you'd be in there going over the basics with Simon. If this is supposed to be his first official mission seems like it'd be a good idea to give him time to ask any questions. Or at the very least just make sure Raphael didn't scare him too much during the tour and he's not in their putting together his resignation."
Divya snorted.
"Uh yeah, no; he's fine. Guy's not going anywhere. Besides you're not even leaving for nearly an hour and it's a thirty minute trip to Anacapa Island. That's more than enough time for any and all questions he has-or it would be for most people...guy can talk. Even so I'm sure it'll be fine. Figured I'd just wait till you all got here so I only have to go over the info once...
Also I didn't really feel like being the third wheel."
Magnus blinked in confusion, head tilting.
"The third wheel? Wha-?" Divya gave a faint shrug, reaching up, pressing her hand to the keypad on Simon's office, a knowing little smirk tugging at her lips, eyes sparking with a bright, impish light.
The door slid open with a soft whoosh, a bright musical welcome chime sounding, the sound all but lost in a burst of bright, delighted, near giggling laughter.
"-h my god, y-you're kidding! You didn't actually-"
"I did...I absolutely did. The general all but ran out of the meeting, refused to come back to Oasis and anytime we'd meet he'd always show up wearing a cross and a small vial of holy water."
"H-how did you know he had holy water?"
Raphael chuckled, shrugging.
"His assistant told me- she thought it was hilarious. Even played it up just to screw with him- the position was just a stepping stone in her career and she wasn't a big fan of his.
Though part of that could've been that she was married to his niece and he was always a condescending jackass about her being a free spirit and going into the arts instead of following the majority of the family into the military or medical fields.
They still screw with him about it."
Simon laughed, gasping trying to catch his breath, shaking his head, leaning slightly against his side for support. The two are standing side by side, relaxing against one of the many countertops running along the walls. They both look quite comfortable, near cozy; clearly neither of them noticing the door opening or the new arrivals.
"B-but-okay so you had help keeping it going but like HOW do you convince a freaking military general you're a vampire? How is that even a thing that can happen? Like what kind of grown man believes in literal vampires?"
Raphael shrugged, giving a smug little smirk.
"I'm just that good."
Simon snorted, rolling his eyes teasingly, nudging his shoulder.
"Wow...amazing with all that you somehow managed to keep so grounded and down to earth."
Raphael smirked, winking.
"Isn't it?"
Simon giggled, again kind of nudging his shoulder, glancing over, catching his eye, lingering a bit. One of Raphael's hands was resting casually on the lab table the two were leaning against, just a hairsbreadth from Simon's. Raphael chuckled softly, relaxing a bit closer, smirk shifting to a soft, surprisingly warm smile, hand slipping over a bit, lightly brushing against Simon's. The younger guy gave a soft little laugh, cheeks warming, subconsciously settling closer.
Huh...well...that's rather unexpected...and just what is Raph wearing? Is there a high ranking meeting he's forgotten about or is there another reason for Raph's signature 'intimidating seduction' suit?
Hmm...Curious...
Raphael gave another light huff of a laugh, shrugging.
"Eh maybe I do have my moments. So w-"
"Ahem..."
The two startled at Divya clearing her throat, quickly pushing away from the table, turning to face the door, shifting away from each other.
"Oh! Um-h-hey guys!" Simon stammered, cheeks coloring lightly, giving a bright smile and an adorably geeky wave, reaching up, nervously pushing his hair back, fidgeting.
"Wha-um...w-what are you guys doing here?"
Magnus positively beamed, practically gliding forward, giving a theatrical wave.
"Why welcoming you on your first day of course. I wanted you to have a warm welcome and a friendly face to greet you..." He trailed off as he came to a stop just beside them, glancing between the two, shrugging.
"Though it would appear I needn't have worried. Raph here seems quite adapt...much to the surprise of...well...everyone." He shifted, gaze slipping from Simon over to Raphael, gaze flickering pointedly over his tell-tell suit, brow quirking, a near giddy grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Well, well, don't you look sharp today? What's the occasion? Meeting?"
Raphael started faintly, near imperceptibly before catching himself, giving a faint chuckle, shrugging.
"Well apparently not, I'd thought so but it's actually in a couple weeks- apparently I inverted the numbers. It's on the 21st, not the 12th. Must have been in a rush when I put it in." He chuckled again, shrugging unconcerned, head tilting, glancing over his curiously.
"What are you doing in so early? Thought you weren't supposed to be in till noon?"
Bindy snorted, brow quirking.
"Actually? They were late...again. It's nearly 12:30."
Simon started, looking over at Raphael apologetically.
"What?! Oh geez...Raph why didn't you say anything? I know I get to going on but dude if you were waiting for me to run out of breath or take a subtle hint it's gonna be a loooong wait. Like seriously- you don't even know. I'm so sorry! Didn't mean to waste your entire morning."
Raphael shook his head, waving him off.
"Nonsense, it wasn't a waste; you needed to get familiar with the place and like Divya said I had a very light schedule today."
Simon shook his head right back.
"E-even so you had to have more important things to do than listen to me prattle on. I mean it was really nice of you to keep listening- when I get going like this even Becks'll tune m-Becks?" he trailed off, glancing around, eyes landing on the technicolored tredectipod curled up, nestled into the elbow joint of the water pipe for the cryostabilization tube.
He looks even smaller than usual, tendrils wrapped around the tube, color pulsating a soft sea green to sky blue in a slow, smooth rhythm not unlike a heartbeat. A soft, buzzy, low little hum type sound emanated from the little robosquid.
Magnus blinked in concern, glancing over at Simon.
"Is he alright?"
Simon huffed faintly, exasperatedly rolling his eyes, waving dismissively.
"He's fine- he's napping. Apparently my rambling is enough to put a robot to sleep." He gave a faintly huffing little laugh, glancing over at Raphael.
"You should have let me know if I was being that bad."
Raphael chuckled, shaking his head, smiling.
"You weren't. He must have just been tired. Probably wore out from all the excitement of the day." He paused, glancing up curiously, gesturing towards the little robosquid.
"You're quite sure he's okay though? I hope none of the equipment is having a negative effect on him. I know there's quite a lot and most of it is highly specialized and/or classified. You don't think any of his systems are reacting adversely to anything, do you?"
Simon smiled, seemingly quite touched by the what sounded like genuine concern for the little cyber-critter, shaking his head.
"No I'm positive. He's fine- he's freaking snoring- that's the little buzzy, hummy sound. It's basically the tredectipod version of a cats purr. Just means he's happy and relaxed. Must be pretty cool there, that's all. He loves cool places, especially when he can hear water running. The cool really helps with his servers and the sound...well...that he just finds soothing.
I actually have a little aquarium at home that he likes to nap on. It's kind of a thing of his. For a while I had fish in there but he complained they were too noisy and- I quote- haughty. He insisted they were constantly judging him. I ended up giving the fish to my friend Gem and just put in a few of those bubbling diver things and a few glow in the dark plants." He gave a faint laugh shrugging in a what-are-you-gonna-do type move, cheeks coloring lightly.
"A-anyways yeah he's fine...just bored and comfortable apparently." He turned from them, glancing back up at the little robosquid, giving a quick little whistle and a few clicks.
The little contraption startled, making a staticy, squeaky type sound, popping up, nearly losing his balance, stumbling on the pipe. He flails, a few of the tendrils waving erratically before grasping at the pipe steadying himself. He freezes a moment, clearly getting his bearings before looking over, glaring irritatedly at Simon.
He huffs faintly, lifting one tendril, a cacophony of squeaks, boops and clicks irrupting, gesturing animatedly. Simon coughed faintly trying to hide a laugh, holding his hands up placatingly in an attempt to stem the apparent tredectipod dressing down.
"O-okay! It was rude, sorry. I know I could have found a nicer way to wake you up but you're not supposed to sleep at work."
Beck snorted, very obviously rolling his ocular sensor, gesturing towards Simon holding up a tendril, making a very distinct 'blah, blah, blah' type gesture.
Simon gave a disbelieving laugh, head shaking animatedly.
"Oh I was nowhere near that bad! And even if I was talking I was talking to my boss. Talking to my boss on my-our- first day at work. This place is really complicated and there's a lot to catch up on. Of course there was a lot of talking- it was for work."
Becks made a very distinct 'pfft' sound, head tilting sarcastically, gesturing between Simon and Raph, a trilling beeping series of sounds following.
Simon huffs, cheeks coloring brightly, shaking his head.
"What-we w-I was...I no...You're sensors must be adjusting or something. We were just talking. I was getting to know my new work and my new boss, that's all. Besides it's never appropriate to nap at work- especially in front of our boss...and coworkers." He paused, tilting his head towards the newcomers.
Becks trailed off mid rant, freezing, blinking, ocular sensor shifting from Simon and Raph over to the other three. His ocular sensor widens, setting up straighter, kind of fidgeting, giving an awkward little wave and squeak hello.
Magnus beamed, raising his hand, sending a twinkling little wave right back.
"Hello Becks, lovely to see you again sweetheart."
Becks perked up, nodding eagerly, quickly clamoring over, skittering across the pipe, bounding off, gliding down, landing on Simon's head before scrambling down to his shoulder, nudging him, gesturing towards Magnus.
Simon huffed out a faint laugh, nudging him right back.
"You really think after you berate me and grouse at me and use my head as a landing pad I'm gonna walk you over so you can climb over to him?"
Becks nods. Simon snorted, gesturing towards Magnus.
"Why didn't you just land on him?"
Becks snorted right back, giving an amusingly exasperated, near pitying look, again gesturing towards Magnus, squeaking and clicking.
Simon blinked, laughing disbelievingly.
"You didn't want to be rude? Oh but you're totally fine using my head as a landing pad?"
Two squeaks and a quick nod. Simon snorted.
"Well thank you for the consideration sweetheart but in this case it's hardly necessary." Magnus chuckled softly, moving closer, smiling brightly at Becks, stepping closer, extending his hand towards the snarky little cyber-critter.
Becks chirped happily, lightly bouncing before hopping off of Simon's shoulder onto Magnus's hand, skittering up his arm, settling on his shoulder, bouncing excitedly, chirping, trilling and booping, gesturing animatedly around the lab and towards the door, color shifting from cheery yellow to the same fuchsia violet as his door.
Aww...he's so damn cute.
He really wishes he had some idea what he was saying, he had a feeling it was quite complimentary. Magnus chuckled, glancing from the little chatterbox happily perched on his shoulder over to Simon, raising his brow curiously.
Simon laughed, shaking his head faintly, gesturing towards the little robot.
"He says he's happy to see you. He's really excited to be here and he's happy we have the lab next to yours and he really wants a tour of your lab cause he bets it's really pretty, and he likes your door."
Becks flailed faintly gesturing at Magnus before gesturing back towards Simon. Simon rolled his eyes faintly, giving a bit of a wave.
"And your outfit and makeup today. He says he really likes the red- it's his eighth favorite color."
Magnus gave a delighted laugh, gesturing towards his outfit of the day; a pair of deep crimson leather pants, a well fitted black top with an artistic black and white cityscape accented with brushes of red and a few glittering shimmers indicating stars. The looks pulled together with a pair of sharp black boots with blood red soles and with his usual assortment of jewelry.
His makeup is a bit bolder today, sharp kohl line and a sweep of metallic crimson shadow accenting his dark brown eyes, a touch of shimmer on his cheeks and a sharp red lip.
Topping the look off he had his hair blending from the usual glossy, shimmery raven black to a bold brick red and swept up into a complicated, purposefully messy kind of way.
Admittedly it was a bit avant-garde for a work day but it was one of his favorites. It was gonna be so nice having someone else on the team who appreciated his fashion flair.
Magnus positively beams, giving a flamboyant little pose.
"Well thank you Becks- high praise indeed."
Beck practically beamed, nodding animatedly, happily bouncing. Magnus glanced over at the little fashionista, head tilting curiously.
"Red is your eighth favorite color?"
Becks nodded.
Magnus chuckled, head tilting faintly.
"Well at least you like it a bit."
Simon laughed, shrugging.
"Actually that's pretty good- the list goes through 16777217 different places. He has a ranking for every color represented on the hexadecimal color codes so really anywhere in the top fifty is really good."
Magnus blinked, brows raising, looking from Simon back over to Becks.
"Really?"
Becks beamed, bouncing eagerly, nodding, projecting a brightly illuminated color chart, gesturing animatedly towards it, beeping, squeaking and trilling excitedly, clearly explaining something about the colors, them zooming in and out.
Magnus again blinked, nodding.
"Wow...that really is something else."
Simon snorted, nodding animatedly.
"Oh it's something alright. He's most definitely given it some thought."
Becks pouted faintly, kind of deflating. Magnus smiled, shaking his head.
"Something good...most definitely. I've put a lot of thought into it too but I'm afraid you're a fair bit ahead of me. I only have mine worked out to my top twenty. I really like that though, you've clearly put a lot of thought, time and effort into this and clearly it's something that is important to you.
I'll most definitely have to give you a tour of my office. I'm getting rather bored with it and I was thinking about making a few updates. I'd love it if you could help me with it? When you have time of course..."
Becks bounced up eagerly, animatedly nodding, squeaking and gesturing towards the door, clearly ready to get started. Magnus chuckled, head tilting faintly.
"I'm afraid it'll have to wait a bit darling. We have a mission right now and we really have to get it underway. But I promise once we get back and get things situated we'll most definitely do a tour and get some ideas going."
Simon startled, looking over them in surprise.
"A mission? W-you have a mission?"
Magnus beamed, shaking his head, shifting closer, slipping his arm around his shoulders.
"No darling WE have a mission."
Divya smiled, nodding, stepping closer to Raph, Simon and Magnus, Alec and Bindy following suit, setting in for the briefing.
"Yes as Mags said; YOU guys have a mission. If of course you're good with tha-"
Simon laughed, bouncing excitedly, bright honey brown eyes wide.
"Are you kidding? A real, life mission my very first day? Dude that's awesome! Why didn't you lead with that?"
Divya chuckled, shrugging.
"Eh we got there, that's the important part. In any case this one doesn't seem overly dangerous. Seems like it'll be a good starting point for your first official mission."
She shifted, beginning the briefing, hitting a few buttons on her tablet, a projection of a birds eye view of a small chain of islands shimmering into focus.
"Okay so this is the Channel Islands, a small nature preserve off the coast of California." She hit another button, the picture shifting, zooming into one specific island.
"And this is Anacapa Island, the second largest of the chain. Approximately half an hour ago there was a flash-anomaly-" She glanced over, catching Simon's eye, head tilting.
"A flash-anomaly is a semi-stabilized anomaly. They only open for a matter of minutes at a time. Good news is generally they stabilize and open multiple times in the same place but it's rather quick and generally only happens a handful of times."
Simon nodded, giving a faint chuckle.
"Oh the candle gateways!"
Raphael glanced over, head tilting curiously.
"Candle gateways?"
Simon shrugged, kind of faltering.
"That's just kinda what I call them. They're a lot brighter and more intense than the other rifts but they relight. They kind of remind me of those old trick candles you'd get for birthdays that keep relighting.
Yeah, those things are something else."
Raphael gave a faintly impressed, curious nod.
"So you've dealt with them before?"
Simon shrugged.
"A few times. Haven't really got too many chances to look into them for obvious reasons but they are pretty interesting."
The others looked around, fairly impressed. Divya flashed an approving nod, continuing.
"Well I'm glad you're familiar with them. And you are right the reemergence is particularly fascinating...and in this case it's gonna be key.
See usually these barely even register as a curiosity, they're generally not open long enough to be much of an issue however it would seem this is the exception to that rule. During the ten minutes it was open it appears something came through.
Well something AND someone..."
Simon blinked.
"Someone?"
Divya nodded.
"More specifically someones- plural. Five someone's. From what we can tell from the readout what came through was a vehicle of some kind. A vehicle with five occupants. It closed too quickly for us to get a reading of the time but if it's a vehicle it's clearly people from semi-modern times.
From the readouts it's not registering any GPS, mapping or even anything over a fairly rudimentary electric system. Most of the readouts seem to indicate a system from sometime around the 1950's s-"
"So there's five people from the 1950's trapped on an island nature preserve?" Alec interrupted.
Divya shrugged.
"Looks like it. And odds are they're pretty confused so it's probably best if this is handled fairly quickly. The good thing is it's on the island which is closed to visitors this time of year so no one will be there and as it's in on an island there's only so far they can go.
This should be fairly simple to contain, we just need to go assess the damage, ensure none of the passengers were hurt and figure out a way to ease them through this. First step will be getting them here, well get their info, do backgrounds, see if we can get an idea of what happened and how we're gonna cover the disappearance/reappearance.
We'll set up an alarm and monitors so we can see the second flair. Once that happens we'll be able to get the data we need and then with any luck we'll be able to send them back through the third." He paused, glancing over at flashing a faint smile.
"So good thing nothing's gonna be trying to eat you this mission...Bad thing is 1950s not really the most accepting time period so odds are this isn't gonna be the most pleasant group to work with but...well...we've dealt with worse. Hopefully it won't be too bad."
Simon shrugged, waving her off.
"Don't worry about me; I'm tougher than I look. Besides if I can face dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, komodo dragons and the meathead jocks on campus I think I can handle a few escapees from Happy Days."
Raphael chuckled, nudging him.
"I'm sure you'll do fine. And if they are an issue- well...that's where working for a supervillain comes in handy."
Simon huffed out a faint laugh, nudging him back.
"Oh come on; you're not really gonna torment some poor, confused people lost in time are you?"
He shrugged carelessly.
"Not unless they deserve it."
Simon laughed softly, shaking his head.
"I don't think that'd be necessary. I mean if they're really that bad why not just send them back through the second flair and then you could get your data from the next one? Unless of course you just really need to get the readings while they're on this side..."
Magnus sighed, shrugging, giving a faint wave.
"Well ideally we'd be able to send them back then but that would be predicated on us being their when the anomaly again opens. It could be hours, days, even weeks or months. We can't just set on an uninhabited island, twiddling our thumbs waiting for it to open back up."
Simon shrugged.
"Well yeah obviously you can't but if you measure the gamma distribution, electromagnetic thermodynamics and subsonic resonance disturbance you can extrapolate it to an approximate date and time..."
Magnus blinked, brows rising.
"You can?"
Simon blinked right back, brow rising in confusion.
"You can't?" Simon blinked again before freezing, realizing how that came out, flailing animatedly.
"Oh crap! That sounded super obnoxious. SO not my intention- that wasn't a judgey, snarky question, it was just a surprised, caught off guard question. No disrespect meant I j-"
Magnus laughed brightly, waving him off, positively beaming, clapping him firmly on the shoulder, squeezing tightly.
"Sweetheart never apologize for knowing something someone else doesn't. You're a scientist, that's what you're supposed to do- solve the mysteries of the universe. And this one...you solved, yes?"
He started, hesitating, shrugging.
"I-w-well...I wouldn't say 'solved' it. I can't like make them open on command or anything, I can just have Becks collect the data and run it through an algorithm I came up with to give a highly probable time table to determine when the spikes are most likely to reoccur."
Raphael chuckled, smirking, head tilting towards Simon.
"So that's a yes, he solved it."
Simon gave a slightly nervous laugh, shaking his head, cheeks flushing faintly.
"I- again not 'solved'; just found a way to predict the most likely window of time when it will again stabilize. And in truth it's not even THAT small of a window. I mean I have it down to about a two hour window but that's hardly precise."
Bindy snorted, head tilting approvingly, jerking her finger towards Magnus and the others.
"Hell of a lot more precise then what we got."
Magnus nodded, smiling brightly, looking him over excitedly.
"She's quite right darling. This sounds like it'd be extremely useful. Would you be willing to let me go over your findings? I'm not trying to be nosy- I am just genuinely curious and would very much like to see how you came up with this...if of course you don't mind. I know as it's your first day you may be a bit wary about turning over your own personal research b-"
Simon shook his head, positively beaming, eyes wide and bright.
"Are you kidding? I'd take it as an honor. I'd love to hear what you think of it." He bounced excitedly, gesturing towards Becks.
"Becks has all the info stored and since Divya gave him the Data pack he has all the personnel contact info. If you're good with it I can have him send it to you...heck if you want I can have him send you the rundown on all my projects and you could just see what jumps out at you...
J-just if you actually wanted of course- don't feel obligat-"
Magnus laughed brightly, eyes glittering, near vibrating with excitement.
"Obligated nothing! I can't wait! Send absolutely everything you have. I would love to see what that amazing mind of yours has come up with." He paused, glancing over, catching Becks ocular sensor, smiling hopefully.
Becks chirped, tendrils flickering, nodding. A little chime sounded from Magnus's holowatch. He gasped excitedly, unable to wait, quickly lifting his wrist, flickering through the files...
And files...
And files...
Multiple terabytes worth...
Magnus blinked.
"Woah..."
Simon shifted, glancing over Magnus's shoulder at the projection from the holowatch before groaning, face palming. He huffed faintly, casting a somewhat irritated glare at Becks before shifting back to Magnus, fidgeting nervously, shrugging, reaching up, nervously scratching at the back of his neck.
"U-um...yeah...oops. You told him everything so he sent the whole ball of insanity. I-it's kind of a lot. Like a LOT a lot. My brain kind of spins and spirals and runs in about a million directions at once and sometimes even I can't keep track of all the randomness.
Some of it's probably pretty out there. Sorry, maybe you should have been more specific. Like just files pertaining to rifts...or just ones from this year...or month...o-or week.
Honestly even that would probably seem like a lot of random. Again sorry.
I-If you want I can have him recalculate the order and just send you a more limited selection to go through. That might be better. Just delete that a-"
Magnus gasped, near scandalized, holding his holowatch almost protectively, shaking his head.
"What? No way!" He laughed softly, head shaking, smiling in amazement, gesturing towards the watch.
"Darling this is amazing, absolutely astonishing. Thank you for sharing, I cannot wait to go through this..." he shook his head, shrugging, glancing at the others somewhat apologetically.
"I-I literally can't. Sorry, I'm not blowing off the mission but it doesn't sound like there's an immediate need for me out in the field for the initial meet and there's no dangers of runaway dinosaurs or creatures to be outsmarted. I'm sure you guys can handle it perfectly well without me and just with a quick glance at the file for Simon's algorithm for the candle rifts if I can get the information integrated into our system and you all send me the data from the scene I'll likely be able to have the second spike prediction before you even get back.
That would be an absolute game changer." He paused, glancing over, catching Alec's eye, shrugging apologetically.
"Sorry sweetheart. I hate to just leave you in the lurch like this b-"
Alec huffed, rolling his eyes teasingly.
"Oh of course you're backing out. No overt danger, no primordial monsters, no crazy natural hazards...
I shouldn't even be surprised."
"Well you know if I'm not gonna have an excuse for you to use your gorgeous body to heroically shield me from danger it just doesn't really have the same oomph."
Alec chuckled; Magnus waved him off with a smile.
"Oh I'm not just bailing cause it's a more humdrum case. I genuinely think with this I can be much more help here than there. Besides kinda get the feeling a guy in crimson lipstick, a midriff baring top, leather pants and heeled boots might be a bit startling for some transports from I Love Lucy.
It's better all-around if I stay behind."
Alec snorted.
"Uh huh...you just want to stay back here and geek out on that data dump."
Magnus beamed, nodding eagerly.
"I do- I really, REALLY do." He glanced over at Simon, grinning, bouncing lightly on his heels.
"I really cannot wait to see what all you've come up with sweetheart."
Simon blushed faintly, giving a nervous little shrug.
"W-well just...don't get your hopes up too high. I mean not gonna lie there's some pretty good things I've came up with in there that I'm really proud of but...well...like I said it's EVERYTHING so mixed in with that are the things that flamed out, blew up, ran into the ground, hit a wall or I totally forgot about and wandered away to something else.
Also bear in mind I'm a total Sci-fi geek and mixing that with a techie can result in a lot of crazy. There's a lot of projects that were inspired or heavily influenced by sci-fi so...uh...yeah...j-just a little heads up." He trailed off, shrugging, glancing away near bashfully.
Raphael chuckled, the sound warm and soft, curiously devoid of the standard Raph mockery. He settles in next to the newbie, reaching up, resting his hand on Simon's shoulder in what is one of the least intimidate-y gestures Magnus has likely ever seen from the younger man, giving an unconcerned shrug and genuinely encouraging smile right back.
"You say that as if it is a bad thing. Some of the best inventions got their start in the realm of fantasy." He paused, shifting a little closer, catching Simon's eye, head tilting, expression faintly hopeful but almost hesitant, as if he's worried he may be overstepping.
Since when is that a consideration for him?
Usually it's the goal.
Hmm...
Curiouser and curiouser...
"I would actually be quite interested in seeing what all you have come up with as well. If, of course, you would be okay with that. You are under absolutely no obligation to say yes."
Simon blinked, somewhat shocked, cheeks warming brighter, reaching up, nervously tucking a few wayward curls behind his ear, glancing up shyly with a painfully endearing, bashful little smile.
"I-w-well yeah you can if you really want but honestly it sounds a lot more interesting than it is. Like I told Magnus it's a lot and it's pretty jumbled and honestly the bulk of it is SUPER random. Basically it's like stumbling through my mind...and even I get lost in there sometimes.
Also I know I said it multiple times but it really is a lot...like a LOT a lot and I'm sure you have way better things to do than sift through my random thought spirals. You're more than welcome to go through it but please don't feel obligated to go through like ALL of it just to like be nice or whatever."
Raphael swallowed, the slightest flicker of something shimmering in those dark eyes before it's gone just as fast, slipping behind the standard Raph brow quirk and charmingly teasing smile, leaning in just the tiniest bit more.
"Angel, I don't really do 'obligated' or 'nice'. If I decide it's not worth my time I wouldn't waste it..." He paused, shrugging, head tilting.
"Though I get the feeling that's hardly going to be the case here. So you sure you would be okay if I went through them as well?"
Simon shrugged, flushing lightly, giving a faint nod and an adorable little smile, flashing a cute little glimpse of dimples.
"I-yeah. Well...so long as you promise not to hold any of the random, insane, absurdity against me and keep in mind that I DID give you ample warning for the crazy brain spirals."
Raphael chuckled, head tilting concedingly.
"Fair enough..." he paused, glancing over at Becks.
Becks blinked faintly before glancing over at Simon for conformation. Simon smiled, giving a quick nod. Becks nodded back, Raphael's holowatch chiming with the incoming message.
Raphael flashed a surprisingly warm smile, catching Becks ocular sensor, giving an elegant head tilt.
"Thank you little one, I appreciate that. Glad you're on the team."
Becks made a little squeaky noise, kind of shrugging shyly, color shifting to a soft rosy pink. Simon snorted, shaking his head.
"Oh man...Can't believe you can make a freaking robosquid blush...this does NOT bode well for me."
Raphael smirked, flashing a teasing wink.
"Does for me though."
Simon huffed faintly, giving a slightly sarcastic look.
"Well that-"
"Can wait for another time..." Divya cut in, flashing a faintly apologetic smile Simon's way before shifting to the others.
"Sorry cutie but we are kind of on a time crunch- don't really have time budgeted for flirting-"
"Flirting! I was-"
Divya gave a dismissive wave.
"Again don't have the time budgeted for it. We do have a mission to get to and by now Dani is likely already heading to the transport so we really need to move this along.
Bindy, Dani, Simon, Becks and Alec will head out to the location, intercept the travelers and bring them back here. Becks will collect the data needed for Simon's algorithm and Magnus will stay back here and get the algorithm integrated into our system.
We have the mission, does anyone have any questions?" she paused glancing over the others.
Alec, Bindy, Magnus and Simon all shook their heads. Raphael looked over the group before shifting back over to Divya, head tilting.
"What am I supposed to do during all of this?"
Divya snorted, quirking his eyebrow.
"Wild guess? Primp in your fancy suit, peruse Simon's notes, work out how you're gonna screw with some Likely homophobic/bigoted guys from the 'good ol' days' and plot world domination."
Raphael chuckled, head tilting concedingly.
"Sounds about right.
Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get started."
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*****End Of Chapter Notes*****
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Yay! Another one down. Sorry for the extended wait on this one, just kept having things get in my way, but in any case finally got this one done. I liked the domestic type part with Mags and Alec and as with like likely near every chapter he's in I absolutely adore Becks. He's just so damn cute. AND we're finally getting into the actual case type part of the story so yay!
A Start Of Something New (Verse 7)
The Guy/Demon In The Mirror (Verse 4)
Nosey Neighbors (Verse 9)
Love Bug (Verse 2)
Picture Perfect (Verse 8)
You Can't Go Home Again (Verse 1)
A Study In Chaos (Verse 6)
Death Was Just The Beginning (Verse 3)
So next up is V1- honestly that's kind of the hardest for me to get the motivation to work on (Don't get me wrong I love it- it's the very first verse I started- it's just one of the only verses without magic or scifi or spies or any of the other spices...I don't love it any less but it's kinda the vanilla verse in comparison to the others.) Even so I do really like the story were in there and I am pretty excited about it.
So what do you think so far?
*~Page 30 of 30~*
{ *^*^*^ *^*^*^*^*^*^*]8*- Future Fallout Verse*-8 [ *^*^*^ *^*^*^*^*^*^*}