2013.06.06 - Donut Panic

After the 'training exercise' last night, Merle stayed in the team members quarters in the subbasement of the Xavier Institute. In the morning, midnight blue in 'wild bedhead' mode and wearing her white silk pajamas (or pyjamas as she says it in her British accent -- http://heromux.com/File:Merle%27s_White_Pyjamas.jpeg), she stumbled into the kitchen and met a redhead she didn't know -- Jocelyn. They introduced each other and confirmed/corrected assumptions about each other's identity (Merle confirming she is a daughter of Kurt's even though she is not the daughter of this world's Kurt and Jocelyn correcting Merle when asked if she was a Grey). After having breakfast together they decided to take in a morning show in The City. Now, early afternoon, they are leaving the theater where an avantgarde presentation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead has just finished and are looking for a place to have lunch. Merle is allowing Jocelyn to take the lead as this is the redhead's world after all.

After the 'training exercise' last night, Merle stayed in the team members quarters in the subbasement of the Xavier Institute. In the morning, midnight blue in 'wild bedhead' mode and wearing her white silk, she stumbled into the kitchen and met a redhead she didn't know -- Jocelyn. They introduced each other and confirmed/corrected assumptions about each other's identity (Merle confirming she is a daughter of Kurt's even though she is not the daughter of this world's Kurt and Jocelyn correcting Merle when asked if she was a Grey). After having breakfast together they decided to take in a morning show in The City. Now, early afternoon and dressed for the city, they are leaving the theater where an avant-garde presentation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead has just finished and are looking for a place to have lunch. Merle is allowing Jocelyn to take the lead as this is the redhead's world after all.

(NOTE: Merle's Outfit consists of a with )

Jocelyn had been up early. She had scheduled herself an early morning Danger Room session of her own, and had a conversation with Scott prior to bumping into Merle. Jocelyn hadn't been too bothered by the whole alternate world thing. She'd run into a few different alternate types, and had been time traveling herself, so it wasn't like this was some weird, foreign idea to her.

Normally, the theatre wasn't Jocelyn's main thing. She was way more into the whole sports scene herself, but she didn't dislike it. It was, however, expensive, and that was something Jocelyn was rather aware of. So, she's browsing for places to eat as they walk along. "So, Merle. What sorts of places do you like? I come from Detroit, so I'm pretty good with just about anything. I know the restaurants around here reasonably well though, so if you give me a few options to pick from, I can find something," the tall redhead comments as they walk.

R&GaD isn't your typical theater fare at least, what with it being a thought provoking, comedy back story of Hamlet told from the points of view of minor characters from the original Shakespeare play. Also, yes, pricy as even Off Broadway can be this was done on "dad's" dime. Merle definitely enjoyed it, as it was reminiscent of times visiting various West End theaters back home.

As she walks along with Jocelyn, Merle looks around as well. "Well, since its doubtful we'll find a good curry joint or a place we could get decent fish `n` chips I think I will defer to you Jocelyn," Merle says even though she continues looking for places that might catch her eye.

Oh, indeed it was. Though Jocelyn's recollection of Hamlet was sketchy at best. It had been a long time since she'd read that particular play, or seen it performed. Well, she'd never seen it performed live, but that was beside the point.

"Curry? Oh, we can find some Indian places that are pretty authentic. And there are some good seafood places, but those are really best down near the docks, if you can stomach some of the crowd that sometimes shows up. Can be a little rough," Jocelyn explains. "But the food is by far some of the best there for seafood, if you want authentic". And don't want super expensive crazily prepared dishes. "There is an Indian place, as I recall, about three blocks down this way," she adds as she thinks about her mental map of the city.

Of course, if there's anyone who's developed a good mental map of the city it's someone who's required to travel it on a daily basis, like a cabbie, or a bus driver.... or a courier. It's the latter that's seen next, running down the sidewalk with a cardboard tube tucked under his arm, and fingers dialing madly on his ancient cellular as he weaves in and out of foot traffic. It seems someone's in a hurry!

...and at least one of the girls might recognize the teen dressed in black, and even if she doesn't recognize him, Terry certainly recognizes her. Stopping in almost a skid when he realizes that there's a friendly face around, he reaches out to try and tap her shoulder to get her attention. "Situation. About a block behind me. Be there in a second, passing the word."

...and that's all Terry says for the moment before he runs off again, ducking his way down an alley. Hey, he's at work. Gotta store the cargo before the heroics can begin properly.

Someone who knows Jocelyn, check. Situation... ok, trouble is assumed, check. Merle glances about the street and decides to be a bit discrete. In order to do so she grabs Jocelyn's hand and -- unless the taller girl resists this -- drags her along into the alley that the boy just went into. Along the say she says, "I suggest we uniform up... I can do that for you if you'd like... and then I'll `port us over and we can see what's going on!"

A simple nod is given to Terry, though she doesn't speak until he's out of line of hearing. "Friend of mine. Not at the institute, but knows what he's doing". In other words, a little bit of caution might be advised. Jocelyn knew a lot of people. It was as much her superpower as energy manipulation was. A look is given in the direction that Terry indicated. "Nothing weird on the energy side of things," she says. "Go ahead and do it, but port us a good hundred feet in the air and hang onto me," Jocelyn instructs. "I can fly, and I'd rather see the situation before teleporting blindly into it".

When they come in the alley they'll see exactly why he sent in there. He's carefully setting that cardboard tube behind a dumpster, leaned up against the wall of the building it serves. Then when he turns around and spies Jocelyn and the other girl she was with... he freezes a bit. Did he just blow Jocelyn's cover? He cringes a bit at that thought, but it's too late to do anything about it just yet. "Uh... hi." is all he has to say about it at first, before shaking it off and nodding to himself.

"I'm going in on foot. I've got to get close before I can, you know, do anything." ...and for those who haven't seen, it can be a trip to the horror show for less than the cost of a large popcorn. "I can be distraction or cavalry, I'll let your moves dictate it." ...and with that said he's off again. Doesn't stick around very much right now, does he?

Once she is deep enough in the alley, Merle begins casting spells as quickly as she can. First she throws her arms up into the air and weaves them snake-like down until, with a flourish, she snaps them outward -- with the hip swaying she included in this she looked to be dancing as she chants "Aufer modo larva" (literally "Remove only mask" in Latin); this is accompanied by a bright yellow glow from her eyes and purple sparkles as she resumes her natural blue coloration. Next, still looking to be dancing and without missing a beat, she closes her eyes and waves her arms to the left twice and then to the right twice while chanting "Sicut vestem mutabis volo" (literally "I want to change as dress" in Latin); as she finishes this ritual a wave of purple light passes over herself and Jocelyn changing their clothing from their civilian clothes to Merle's X-Man uniform with the hoods drawn up over their heads casting shadows across their features.

"I'll grab you when we materialize as I need my hands free for this," she says to Jocelyn and then looks over at Terrance. Not knowing what preparation he might need she simply says, "Grab hold of my shoulders or Jocelyn here if you're coming along otherwise see you there!"

Merle then does what looks to be a whole body wave with her arms up in the air and then she and her passengers disappear in a cloud of sulfurous smoke with a loud ***PAMPH***

A block away and a hundred or so feet up in the air a similar cloud and sound appear as Merle hits the target fairly tightly and then Merle quickly grabs Jocelyn around the waist as she begins to fall towards the ground counting on her new teammate to keep the anticipated impact from occurring.

Well, that was a new take on magic. Jocelyn watches the magic weave and dance, even if most people couldn't see the energy move about. Jocelyn's ability does allow her to watch the magic weave together to do the spells. Certainly it was different than what she'd seen from either Amanda or Billy. "Right. And from here out, I'm Channel," Jocelyn adds. It was her codename.

Once they teleport, they only drop for maybe a couple feet before Jocelyn's flight kicks in, and she's pulling in other energy to enhance her physical capabilities significantly. One hand reaches out to grab hold of Merle, and Jocelyn will be able to comfortably hold onto the woman and keep her from falling without a problem.

"Now. What have we got here?" she asks as she scans the area, trying to get a read on what was going on.

At some point later on, Terry would probably mention that what Merle was doing? Looked pretty darn awesome. Especially the results. However, he'd already taken off before he could properly comment. There was heroics to do.

When the girls arrive overhead, they may not be able to make out /too/ clearly what's going on down below. There's definitely a couple squad cars parked outside of what looks to be... a donut shop? Well, that's nothing unusual! ...with the small exception being the fact that rather than being inside and feasting on delicious pastries, the patrolmen belonging to those vehicles are currently using them as cover. Not to mention there's a growing gathering of civilians amassing outside as more people decide to get in the way to see what's about to happen. /Especially/ in New York where crime and it's punishment are usually more interesting than not. Inside, Channel at least (and possibly Merle depending on how their angle is) would be able to see that there were a total of six people inside. Five of them moving around, one of them still as can be. If she looks around she'll also be able to see -- because of his distinct energy signature -- Trauma making his way through the alleyways at a rapid, but decidedly human pace.

Stupid civilians. There's a possible shootout going on inside and they're milling about? Lovely.

"Merle. Get us in the back. Western back corner is clear," Channel says, picking a spot that looks clear from her vision. "We'll do it quietly. Yes, I know your stuff makes noise. I'll muffle it," Channel assures her. Sound energy was something she could absorb, so if she timed it right, they could do a silent teleport. "I can't tell who the bad guys are and who the civilians are - I just see energy signatures. Once we're inside, we try and knock out the bad guys. I'll absorb kinetic energy from the guns to try and neutralize them if they're fired. Can you do the honors of knocking the targets out?" she asks. She knew Mr. Wagner had a teleport knockout move he employed. She was guessing that Merle could do something similar. "We do this quick, we do it quiet, and we give the police their criminals," the teenager suggests.

And here is the serious flaw in Channel's plan...

"I can't teleport if I can't cast the spell and I need my arms free to do that," Merle explains quickly. Upon hearing that Channel flies them to the nearest roof -- still unobserved by the authorities and civilians below.

Midflight, Merle says, "I can try to put them all to sleep but I haven't completely mastered that spell." Once her feet are on the roof, she repeats her teleportation ritual, as before -- ***PAMPH*** -- but muffled as promised by Channel, the two of them vanish from the rooftop and appear for the barest of instances inside one of the shelves within the shop and then -- ***PAMPH*** -- a few feet away near the back exit. Luckily for both Blue and Channel, the redhead was prepared to dampen the noise of pamphing because the emergency teleport hits them both for a moment -- Merle's vision swims for a moment and she has to (very carefully to avoid a lot of noise) brace herself against the shelf that for a split second had mingled its atoms with hers.

So far so good for our heroines; they've gone unnoticed by the various groups, both outside and inside the shop as they made their entrance, with one exception.

Outside the shop, in the crowd of the civilians a little girl was perched on her father's shoulders, scanning the skies for one of the city's finest to appear. She catches sight of the two for a moment, but by the time she gets out "Look, Daddy!", the girls are gone and only the cloud remains.

Inside, Channel and Merle have arrived in the stockroom of the donut shop. Channel will be able to see through the walls to spy two of the ones moving around -- although one's stopped moving and is lower to the ground than before -- behind the wall to her side. The other four, including the one that's not moving are closer to the front of the building. There's a door that leads that way, and of course the door behind them that leads to the alleyway behind them.

Shaking her head to clear herself, Channel takes a breath and pulls in a little more energy. Okay, that was disorienting, and it left her a touch tired, but the woman wasn't going to let that stop her. "I've got point. Anyone with a gun, knock them out," Jocelyn says quietly to Merle as she moves silently towards that door towards the main shop. She reaches out to open it. If it's locked, well, Jocelyn is currently strong enough that the lock should easily give way to her raw strength.

Once inside, the teen both surveys the scene and immediately looks for any guns, her absorption abilities ready to drain kinetic energy to keep them from firing at them.

For good measure, she also grabs a little bit of infrared energy to scramble the images that the cameras in the shop, if there are any, are making of them. After all, while she didn't think she'd get ID'd in costume, it was good practice, and the film already had enough evidence of the criminals on it.

Knock them out. Yeah, Merle knows how to do that she thinks as she withdraws her staff -- in its smallest form -- from a concealed pocket situated above her tailbone. In this form it serves ideally as a yawara and she is quite skilled with it in any form. She also steadies herself for any possible magic she may still have to perform. Slinking though the the backroom like this, Merle contemplates finding the circuit breaker so she could turn out the lights and use her shadow blending ability but decides not to do so. Instead she quietly follows Channel into the front room and moves to a position where she can see all six individuals in one of the security mirrors and begins to chant -- at a whisper -- in Latin: "Nunc igitur vade ad somnum" (literally "Now go to sleep") while making stroking motions with her free hand as if petting a cat to calm it.

Her spell is targeting all of them but, depending on how hyped up they are each man could react differently ranging from a quick, deep sleep to simple drowsiness or... if strong willed enough... an angry defiance as they would know something had been pulled on them and no other effect.

As the door is opened the kitchen of the donut shop is revealed -- where two of the crooks stand with weapons drawn and aimed away from the girls. That's the good news. The bad news is that the opening of the door wasn't silenced, and that the pair turn from their positions to draw on the girls.

"Freeze!" yells one.

"Forget freeze, they're supers, fire!"

...so they do! It does very little good thanks to Channel's siphoning of the kinetic energy at work. This should give our heroines the upper hand!

Meanwhile, they're getting sleepy, sleepy... in another room, there's now a criminal snoozing on top of the safe while his partner fights off a yawn. The civilian in the 'main room' and the crook watching him similarly get tired. However, the ones they're facing off with are wide awake.

Having time to prepare to drain kinetic energy tends to help Channel out a fair bit when it comes to gunmen. As some of that magical energy does nothing against the two facing them, Channel grabs that energy and launches a purple bolt at the man on Channel's left, effectively trying to use that leftover/failed bit of magical energy as a blunt force knockout blast on him. Merle may be able to detect Jocelyn 'use' the magical energy, though it isn't any recognizable spell. It's just raw magical energy fused into a bolt form.

Even as she does so, Channel darts towards the other gunman and attempts to put him in a sleeper hold. Both attempts are to knock the men out, rather than cause any long-lasting harm. She was content to let Merle continue putting the rest of the criminals to sleep. She didn't know how much focus the woman needed to do that, so she'd leave that to Merle. Wolverine pages: Thanks! Been meaning to do that but my focus-able downtime has been limited as hell lately. You paged Wolverine with 'Check the rosters for X-Men and the institute. I think I got them both done now but I could have missed someone.'

Trusting her companion, Merle continues focusing on the men in the front of the store as she sees them in the mirror. Still chanting "Nunc igitur vade ad somnum" and making the stroking motion she focuses the spell on the two that are not yet asleep, trusting the others to remain asleep unless disturbed -- as the spell encourages its targets to do once they succumb to its influence.

*BAM!* The bolt of energy strikes one guy in the chest and sends him flying right into the sink - on top of the dirty dishes no less. The other one is successfully grabbed in that sleeper hold, he struggles to try and get out of it, arms flailing to try and attack the heroine.

In the meantime, Merle's efforts are proving fruitful as the two in the front are falling fully asleep where they stand/sit.

At least, that's until there's a loud *CRASH* from another room in the donut shop... followed very shortly by a thud against one of the walls, and another crook running out of the room they haven't seen - the office - screaming, with his hands up in surrender.

"You know, in my current state I can juggle someone like you. It's far easier if you just let sleep come," Channel says to the man who she continues to apply the sleeper hold to, the man's flailing appearing to have little effect on the woman. A little more force now, though not a ton more, is applied. Again, she's only going for the knockout here. A glance is given to Merle. "I think that's our informant, though I can't confirm it from here," she points out to Merle, assuming she'll know who the informant is. "We clear otherwise?" She'll continue to apply the sleeper hold until this guy finally gives up and passes out. Stubborn criminals are annoying.

The screaming criminal is met by a glare from Merle who then literally leaps into action. Grabbing his right wrist with her left hand she spins him so that they are both looking back at the direction he came from and she presses her weapon into the base of his skull with her right hand. "Quite!" she snaps at him with a firm but quite tone of voice.

Eventually, whether it's the realization that yes, Channel could juggle him like a ball right now, or just a matter of the girl's strength, but the man is taken down. Another one bites the dust!

The fleeing criminal is grabbed by Merle because he's got something else on his mind... evident from the fact that he's still pulling and trying to get away. Frantic. Terrified. "You don't understand! He's in there! I give up, just lemme...-"

*CRASH*

That's the sound of the office door flying off its hinges - and into the face of the criminal who was woken up by the screaming. "Oh no... it's too late. I'm sorry, big guy! I never shoulda called you a moron!" yells the criminal in Merle's grasp.

Meanwhile, the wall where the door was starts to crack... and eventually gives way as something bigger than what was meant to go through it forces its way through. Something; no, some/one/ big. Someone strong. Someone fairly infamous.

"Nothing stops the Juggernaut!" ... and if either girl has seen the armored felon before? ... he looks like he's grown a foot or two.  Trauma says, "... and yes, still radiating magic. XD"

Oh. Lovely. The Juggernaut. Not that Channel actually knows who that is, but this still can't be a good thing, right? Channel reaches out and just starts draining some of that radiated magic away from the man, even as she starts backing away. Maybe if she drained that magical energy out, it would slow the guy down? Then again, it kind of looked like Trauma's energy signature. She wasn't sure. The criminals that are unconscious are getting energy-pushed out the door to the police. They needed to be arrested, not stomped into pieces.

"Get him out of here," Channel tells Merle, hoping to get the criminal out of here and into the hands of the authorities. Then they could deal with this problem, if it was, in fact, a problem.

Merle's first thoughts are unlady like and unfit to print. Magic, yeah, she felt it but hoped it was unrelated or something easily manageable... but its the freaking Juggernaut. Unlike her companion Merle is quite aware of who that is and how bad the situation has become.

Using the panicked criminal's trembling muscles to help her, Merle practically throws him in the direction of the front door. "Go surrender to the cops while we deal with this," she yells in his direction while giving a silent prayer that he has the smarts to follow the instructions -- or is cowardly enough to abandon two girls to this threat at the very least.

Miss Wagner doesn't take her eyes off the threatening figure before her while she moves to block the clear path between him and the front door where the sleeping men are being woken by the commotion and fleeing themselves. With a snap of her wrist she extends her staff to its full length -- nearly six feet -- and takes a defensive posture. "Stand where you are miscreant," she says to the Juggernaut, her eyes flaring with anger at the thought of all the people around who are at risk from this monster of a man's presence.

Juggernaut's gaze seems fixated on the terrified criminal -- even as Merle holds him. "Look, youse broads. I ain't got issues with you, get outta my way." the mammoth figure orders the girls... at least until he feels... something happening. Something that he can't quite put a finger on. Those watching closely might even notice a little color fading from his armor as the energy is sapped from him by Channel.

Of course, the confusion goes away pretty quickly as Merle releases the criminal focus of the big man, who goes running for the cops and cowardly abandons the girls in the face of danger.

That's something that seems to effect the monster more, for even as he starts to move once again -- fully intent on walking through the girls if he has to -- he's slowing down. A combination of the sapping by Channel and the object of focus getting further and further. Once that last criminal is just far enough, the color fades from the beast properly and the pupils of his eyes disappear. His size starts to shrink as well -- and pretty rapidly. When it's all said and done? What was the Juggernaut gives way to what is Trauma -- back in his civilian clothing as he'd been seen before. Breathing heavier than usual, but whether or not that's from the running or something else is hard to say.

Good gamble. Good, good gamble, Channel. Though she had some backup ideas that mostly involved running away and pushing every 'OMG HELP' button she had on her smartphone. Which was considerable, all things considered.

"Okay. I suggest we get out of here," the teen says, looking to Merle as their best way out of here as she offers Merle a hand. She'd been using infrared energy to mess with the cameras, so that should be taken care of, and the criminals should be in the hands of the police. "Unless we want to have a nice chat with the boys in blue. Not sure about you, but that doesn't sound like a great way to spend one of my days of summer vacation".

''Wait... what...''

At first Merle is caught in a moment of confusion and then she recognizes Trauma as Jocelyn's friend from earlier. And then it registers... get out of here... well that's her queue. In a nearly conditioned response she prepares to cast a spell by flourishing her staff which collapses into its storage form mid spin and is then tucked into the pocket she pulled it from earlier.

Again the dancing, arms upward and -- ***PAMPH*** -- the trio vanish from the store and appear back on the roof top, this time far enough back from the edge that the little girl is unlikely to see them.

"That... was intense." Terry finally says, once they're safely up on the roof and out of the sight of the general public, the sounds of sirens and criminals being cuffed being heard below. "...and it's nice to see we had more backup than I would've expected. I'd texted the team, but I guess the rest of them were busy."

Then there's a pause as he looks between the girls. And a blink. "Matching costumes? That's new." ...and he's hopeful that it's not something the team is planning on.

"Hi Trauma," Channel says easily. "Trauma, this is a friend of mine. Trauma is a member of the Young Allies". The phrasing of that statement should be enough to tip Trauma off that she has not divulged her affiliation with the Young Allies to Merle at this time. She wasn't interested in being outed today. She had reasons about who she told. Also, she figured Merle might have her own codename she wants to use. "New for me, too. First time I've ever had the whole instant costume thing," the teenager explains.

"In the field I'm called Blue," Merle says, "Nice to meet you Trauma." She looks Terrance over and asks, "Have you actually met Juggernaut?" While waiting for an answer she continues to examine him, focusing on her magical sense to examine him and try to determine exactly what he is.

Yep, it's enough of a tip for the boy the way it's phrased. He's pretty good at observing people! "Hey, Channel, nice to meet you Blue." he greets the girls politely, finally nodding to the explanation of the costumes. Phew. Okay, that's one bullet dodged. He's gone into battle without wearing a costume -- well, without wearing a costume of his own. Juggernaut's, Thor's armor? Different story entirely. That part's beyond his control, in more ways than one.

"Haven't met the Juggernaut, no." Terry explains, "Saw him on TV once. But that guy in there? He knows the Juggernaut pretty well." Depending on how astute Blue's senses are? She might determine a few things. The magical 'aura' has faded into the more normalized 'hum' he puts off in human form. More specifically, his powers come from a demonic realm and the boy is a half-breed himself. These are things he definitely doesn't know, and likewise would not know how to mask if it can be read off of him.

Merle nods at Terry's explanation. "Makes sense..." she says as she tries to figure out what it is she is feeling from him with her magical sense. She doesn't have much experience with demons so she can't quite put a finger on it.

Then she asks, "Young Allies, associated with the Avengers on my world. Are you here or..." she trails off, because she's hesitant to probe into the differences between her world and this one sometimes... almost like picking at a scab.

"That's a step better than I am. I can't really explain what I do beyond, well, show and tell as it were." He'd go into more that he does know, but discretion is the better part of valor sometimes. Especially with someone who he doesn't know all that well yet.

To the question, he shakes his head. "Not really. I mean, some of us have connections with some of the Avengers," Thor in particular comes to mind. He's an ally of quite a few members of the team. "...wait a second, did you just say you’re world?" he echoes, blinking. He'd heard of quite a few strange things since getting involved in the superhero business, but that one... takes the cake. Especially since it seems that there's another set of Young Allies in that world.

(Note:  Channel had to leave for RL purposes. She approved the ending pose mention of her when she came back but had an event to attend.)

Merle throws back her hood and pulls her hair out, shaking it loose. "Yeah, my world," she says, "I'm from another dimension, Trauma. But I've met the parent's counterparts here and am... I guess I'm assimilating into the culture." She waves at the city around her and says, "This is one of the weird parts. Back home New York is a crater."

"Oh. Wow." That's really all Terry can say to the explanation at first. Left with his mouth hanging open for a few moments. There's a lot there that required mental processing. To say the least. "Uh... if you don't mind me asking... how'd you get here?"

"Mishap. Sometimes magic goes wrong you see," Merle explains. "In this case... it was an interaction with the technology that was in the lab I was `porting out of and my magic.... I don't know much more than that unfortunately."

"Well... if nothing else, it could be worse?" he offers in a commiserating tone. At least her parents are alive somewhere and she can talk to a version of them here. For Terry, his mother's in a mental ward and his father blames him - rightfully - for it. That's something that has bothered him for quite a while -- and likely will for years to come. "If I knew the first thing about how to help, I'd offer. Although..." Maybe the Spider? He certainly has quite a few connections out there with the tech industry, after all.

Merle reaches out and lays her hand on the back of Terry's arm, because while she isn't psychic she can still tell that something is bothering him. "Yeah, heck I oculd have ended up in a world full of zombies or something," she says jokingly. "I'm not powerful enough to reproduce the accident intentionally so I'm having to resign myself... and like you said, it could have been worse."

Channel, who had been listening to the interaction between her two friends, suddenly says, "Oh, I need to go see someone!" And starts to depart then asks Blue, "Will you be ok on your own?"

Merle nods and says, "I would be, sure, but I need to go as well." She then asks, "Shall I return us 'home'?"

Channel nods in agreement quickly and steps close to Blue for the return teleport.

Terry waves a quick goodbye to the girls and says, "Nice to meet you," to Blue again before they depart.

Again the dance-like casting and -- ***PAMPH*** -- Blue and Channel are gone.