2013.05.26 - Family Reunion - Part One - An Accidental Summons

It's late Sunday evening. Amanda has had her third medicinal potion since Mystique's attack on Friday and is, as a result, finally mobile once again. This isn't to say she's not tired as all hell, and still sore. Her back muscles ache and have that tightness of healing. She still has bandages over her wounds, because they're still red and angry looking -- though they're no longer gaping, bleeding holes or even thickly scabbed scars so that's a vast improvement. One more potion (tomorrow) and she'll be back in fighting form. Well, more or less, at least.

Thus, earlier this afternoon, she convinced Kurt to take her back home to her apartment, to let her rest there. She prefers the energy of New York City to that of Westchester County. The urban environment invigorates her, and being in the center of her seat of mystical power makes her feel... well, safer, actually. Mystique's ambush shook her more than she likes to admit. Certainly more than she'll admit to Kurt anytime soon (if only because she doesn't want him to go all hovery and over-protective... not that he won't, anyway; this whole ordeal has scared both of them badly, no doubt).

As the waning moon rises, the sorceress settles herself in the center of the protective circle within the sizeable walk-in closet in her bedroom that she's repurposed as her mystic cloister. While she's not necessarily strong enough for a full and deep meditation session, even a brief one, she imagines, may help her feel better -- replenish her energies and help speed her healing just that little bit more.

Settling into a meditative state isn't easy, however. Her mind keeps wandering to the events of the last few days and her focus keeps slipping. She actually becomes quite impatient with herself for several long minutes, which complicates it further. Nevertheless, she is nothing if not disciplined. So, though it takes her longer than usual, eventually, she does slip into a light meditative state, feeling the city's energy surge and swirl gently around her... like stepping into a warm, inviting pool after a long day at work.

She feels at least a little of her tension begin to release.

Across the country, an anomalous burst of energy accompanied by a roiling cloud of sulfurous gasses and a loud *PAMPH* sound occurs in the middle of the Blue Oak Ranch Reserve near San Jose. Twilight is settling over the foothills of the Diablo Range and since this event is not occurring near any of the designated camp sites it remains unobserved -- although potentially setting off various weird science detectors around the region or possibly even the world and anyone with magical sensitivity might detect it if this part of California is within their range.

As the cloud clears a young woman with blue hair and skin wearing a dark colored uniform can be seen in the middle of the area it had concealed. This is the X-Man Blue -- Merle Margali Wagner -- who does not belong in this world. The spot she appeared in is precisely where she intended to be -- about seven miles out from the center of San Jose as the crow flies -- as long as you adjust for being in the wrong reality.

Merle's brow furrows as she sees the city in the distance and recognizes it isn't the post-apocalyptic ruin she expected to be looking upon. But still, caution is important she runs for the cover of a corpse of trees before crouching to the ground and trying to reach the helicarrier on her comm. Receiving nothing but unintelligible static her frown deepens as she begins to imagine the fullness of the mishap which she may have just experienced.

She takes a deep breath and focuses her energies before beginning to chant as she starts to cast a divination spell to try to discern anything she can about the place she has found herself to be.

Magic that happens on the other side of the continent -- particularly in a rural environment, instead of an urban one, really shouldn't have any great effect on Amanda at all. Not usually, anyway. But, magic that ripples across the Winding Way, reaching out to join itself to energies it no doubt perceives as sympathetic in order to stabilize and strengthen... well, that's something else again. At least, it is in Amanda's currently weakened state.

Normally, such a ripple would do little more than simply attract her attention (as it may have similarly attracted her mother's, though Margali isn't nearly in as direct a line as her daughter is, being further removed both physically and generationally). Tonight, however, it's akin to being buffeted with a whitecap breaker when you were expecting nothing more than a gentle ripple. The sorceress finds herself drawn away from her center in New York and tossed upon the Way, only to find herself astrally drawn to a relatively barren spot in the middle of California.

What the hell?!?

The camp environment appears around her. And although she's not actually physically there, and her spirit is no more substantial than a ghost's in the west coast environment, she can see the trees and the wilderness as clearly as she might her own room were she looking through physical eyes instead of spiritual ones.

A fierce scowl settles on her face and fire blazes in her pale blue eyes. "Alright," she growls. "Who summoned me?" Slowly, she turns in a circle, until she finds herself facing the blue-skinned interloper... who is not TJ.

That voice cuts though Merle's concentration like a red hot knife though room temperature butter. She has enough remaining to wrangle the energies she was gathering into a burst of purple light which shines black light out from her causing some of the plants around her to fluoresce. Her eyes flare with eyeshine turning solid yellow.

Having successfully ground the energy she looks around and stands on seeing her mother's astral form. Yes, it’s a younger woman than Merle is accustomed to, but she remembers that face from pictures of her parents' courtship. "I... no summons was intended," she says with only a slight hesitation. She knows there is no way this woman could know her, but there is doubt still as she doesn't know where, or now when, she has found herself.

Amanda arches a brow and lets out a soft sigh. The blue girl looks startled enough not to be hostile. Her astrally pale eyes study the summoner. "Right," she says a trifle wearily, giving a wry half-smile. "Then I have three questions for you." She holds up her hand and ticks them off on her fingers. "What did you intend? Who are you? And what relation do you have to Nightcrawler?" Because, seriously... Blue skin, glowing yellow eyes... Amanda's not a stupid woman, after all.

This causes Merle to experience an 'Oh boy' moment but she nods as the questions are quite reasonable to be asked. However, she chooses the order to answer them very carefully. "Yes," she says as she delays another moment to gather her thoughts on this and then continues by saying, "He is my father," to answer the last question. She then switches to the first question and says, "Intend? My intention was to contact the helicarrier and get support for my team, but... well, I don't think this is my world and I am not getting a response from my comm attempt." And then there is that other question. There's the natural shoe to drop but she dodges it for a moment by saying, "My code name is Blue."

Amanda has her own 'oh boy' moment as Blue gives her answers. Another time jumper? "Well, you're obviously not Nocturne," she says with a wry smile. Her face shows some strain and fatigue, now. "Are you her sister?" Does TJ even have a sister? Amanda has no idea.

However, she inhales a steadying breath, now, evident even in astral form. "Blue, you said. I think we need to speak further. However, this astral distance is... somewhat inconvenient for me, at the moment." She looks around the campground and copse of trees. "I have a better idea: Why don't you come to New York and meet me. I can open you a portal." It's a risk, to be sure. Especially without Kurt or anyone else around to back her up, but it seems the most direct way to deal with the situation. And, somehow, Amanda just isn't parsing Blue as being as big a threat as she may in reality be.

In spite of her paranoia about Mystique.

"Nocturne?" Merle asks obviously never having heard the name before. "If you want me to come to you you'll definitely have to do it for me. I'm not that well versed in magic," she explains and then says, "I'm an only child," to address the question about being TJ's sister.

Merle then begins to wait for more questions, or the portal, or something like that. But it also becomes obvious that she is withholding some fact and that it is nagging at her in this circumstance for some reason or another.

Amanda's eyes narrow some, reading the body language fairly clearly. "What aren't you telling me, Blue," she says now, a certain sternness in her tone. Yes, she's willing to take a risk. No, she's not willing to take that big a risk...

Merle takes a formal tone and addresses Amanda by her code name, but even that sounds like she is hiding something behind it -- not that that isn't fully illuminated when she finishes speaking. "Daytripper, you neglected to ask me two questions that I believe you ought to have. Those are who my mother is and for me to tell you my name instead of my code name."

After a slight pause she goes on to say: "I can understand your hesitation though, seeing as how you have such a long history with him you must be trying to figure this out... and maybe you already have."

Merle smiles and allows another brief pause to linger for a moment before addressing the questions she raised by saying: "My name is Merle Margali Wagner. My parents named me after my grandmothers but went French instead of English for my first name."

Amanda's eyes flash at the high-handed tone of voice. She's too tired and too defensive to suffer berating graciously. "Do not play games with me," she warns the interloper when she's lectured on what questions to ask or not ask. And, certainly, as the girl dances around the question for another moment, the sorceress' patience begins to wear a trifle thin. (Being quite literally sick and tired as she is, makes her far, far less even-keeled than her 'daughter' might normally expect.)

It's only when the girl finally answers her own questions that the woman's scowl disappears -- or, rather, fades somewhat. Her brows rise and, if it's possible for an astral shade to grow pale, she does so. Certainly, she inhales a sharp breath, and then can be seen to wince as the movement causes her pain. Instinctively, automatically, her hand moves to press against her back where Mystique's spaded blade pierced her torso. The moment of pain passes and she opens her eyes again to regard the girl, expression too mixed to register any single, clear emotion for more than a fleeting second at best.

"I see..." she says slowly, now. "In that case, you should very definitely come to New York." And she should very definitely call Kurt.

"I'll open you a portal. My strength is limited tonight. Please don't linger."

With effort, then, she pulls herself away from the girl's magic, her astral self fading. Long moment's pass. Finally, a violet oval opens in the middle of the air, not so far from where Blue stands. Beyond it is Amanda's living room (not her inner sanctum), the woman herself holding it open with a fantastic strength of will alone.

Merle steps though the portal, leaving the twilight of California behind her as she enters her mother's New York apartment.

Continued in 2013.05.26 - Family Reunion - Part Two - Two I Say