[LOCKED: April, DBFS Journals] Vortex Traps Aftermath

[twinpharaohs]

((OOC: The following journals are likely to turn up at some point: twinviziers, fmalchemist160/Edward Elric, stonebluesorrow/Zelgadis Graywords, toreador_saviour, lionheartedgangrel/Harry Potter, and any of the DBFS NPC journals (all begin with "dbfs_").))

When Yugi turns up in the Nexus to meet April, he looks considerably more battered than he ever has before, bandages wound around one arm and several cuts on his face held shut with those little white medical strips they use for small cuts. One of his legs bounces nervously, and he's rubbing at his bandaged arm. He's twirling what appears to be a Tarot card—or at least, something superficially similar to a Tarot card—between two fingers. Yami is nowhere in sight—for now.

Comments

[lionheartedgangrel]

Harry's quiet for a moment. Then he replies, "There's a difference between controlling one's Beast and keeping one's true nature and abilities low-key. Whether you're meant to help Kat or not remains to be seen; in the meantime, you keep trying. I have my own ways of controlling my Beast, and they're effective. For me. They might not work for Kat; in fact, I somehow doubt they will, given the differences in our ages and Clans. Your methods, however, seem to be working."

[slayers_desire]

"I am glad my methods are working. I want to help Kat find her own inner peace and balance with her Beast."

[lionheartedgangrel]

Cue a flattered sort of smile from Kat. Harry smiles a bit and replies, "There are still things that I need to teach her, other aspects of being Kindred. But as far as self-control goes, I think you may be of more help to her."

After a moment, Kat adds, "There are things I could learn from pretty much everyone here. Zel's a master swordsman, among other things. Ed's one of the most talented Alchemists on his homeworld."

"Didn't Ed already start teaching you the basics?" Yugi asks.

"Yeah, in London," Ed answers.

[slayers_desire]

"Sounds like you have a well-rounded education."

[toreador_saviour]

"Will have," Kat corrects gently, smiling a bit. "Only just starting to learn most of this stuff, and my first lessons were when we were more or less in the heat of combat."

[slayers_desire]

"That must be one advantage of working as a team, you all learn from each other. And become stronger because of the people you are learning from."

[toreador_saviour]

Kat's smile broadens. "Very true." Then she sobers. "Unfortunately, not all of the teams are able to work as smoothly. Chris's team comes to mind; Inuyasha is... kind of a contrarian, sometimes."

[slayers_desire]

"Clark had struggles with the Justice League. But he is really coming into his own leadership now."

"You just have to find the balance between different personalities."

[toreador_saviour]

Kat snorts a bit. "Easier said than done with some people." She shrugs. "Though Inuyasha and Chris work together well enough under pressure."

"Think we'll ever be large—or coordinated—enough to need a... I guess, a general leader?" Yugi wonders aloud.

"Who knows?" Kat replies with a snort. "Even if we do end up needing one, probably won't be me."

"Oh, I dunno," Yugi tells her, smiling a bit, "you stepped up to the plate pretty well during some of the Traps."

[slayers_desire]

"Clark didn't think that he would be able to lead the Justice League, but he now is... and doing wonderful."

[stonebluesorrow]

Kat smiles, the expression a bit tight. "Not sure I have the necessary charisma. But I guess we'll burn that bridge when we come to it."

After remaining silent for most of the conversation, Zel asks April, "So, Ms. Kent... this alternate of mine you met. Did the two of us talk about anything in particular?"

[slayers_desire]

"He asked about promises, and what lengths one would go to keep those promises. At that time, I had promised Jor-El not to enter the Fortress without permission..."

[stonebluesorrow]

Zel smiles a bit. "I see. Who's Jor-El? And to what lengths would you have gone to keep that promise?"

"I don't break my promises," Ed notes, casually.

"No, generally speaking, I don't either," Zel responds, "except when the person I made the promise to breaks their end of the bargain first."

[slayers_desire]

"Clark's father... sort of... the Artificial Intelligence of his birth father. And I stayed away from the Fortress, kept my word. Even when I was worried about Clark himself, I didn't go in the Fortress."

But did stand outside it once talking to the door.

"I try not to promise anything lightly, especially since keeping promises are important." And especially for her friends.

[stonebluesorrow]

Zel smiles a bit. "That goes without saying. Though not for everyone, I suppose."

Ed pipes up with a curious question about then. "You said you promised not to enter without permission. Were there any times when you got permission to go in?"

[slayers_desire]

"A couple of times. Clark gave me permission to enter, when the Fortress had been inactive, and I was able to help bring it back to life. And of course, we recently went there... to tell Jor-El that I am pregnant."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed blinks. "How does one 'bring a fortress back to life'?"

At the "pregnant" bit, Ed turns a just a leeetle bit pink; apparently he's something of a prude. (Cut him some slack, he was raised in the equivalent of a 1910's-20's.) After a moment, he smiles and replies, "Moms are amazing. They bring new life into the world without needing to sacrifice anything. No alchemist can do that."

"What did Jor-El say when you told him?"

[slayers_desire]

"We channeled sunlight into the crystals that powered the Fortress. It... took away my voices for a while. It was strange...."

Hey, April is married and pregnant. Nothing wrong with that. "He gave us a message, from the real Jor-El and his wife, a message made when Clark's world was being destroyed and they sacrificed everything to save their son."

Laet reply is laet. Past few days have been pretty hectic.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed blinks, then replies, "Probably didn't get this across, but the implied secondary question was how a fortress could be alive in the first place." Ed has apparently never heard of the concept of a Genius Loci—though the phrase may not apply to the Fortress of Solitude anyway.

It's not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that Ed feels embarrassed when talking about things related to sex in general. At any rate, the message part piques Kat's interest, and she asks, "What was the message? If you don't mind sharing."

no probs

[slayers_desire]

"Clark threw a crystal into the frozen tundra of the Arctic, and the Fortress sprung to life. Kryptonian science... I don't get it..." April smiles apologetically.

April frowned slightly at Kat's question. "It was Clark's message. To him from his parents. They made it moments before their world was destroyed... so I don't think I should share it without his permission."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed sits there with his jaw hanging slack for a moment, then shakes his head and mutters to himself, "Things just keep getting weirder and weirder..." He sighs and shrugs. "I don't get it either, but then, I'm kinda new to all this anyway."

"You'll get used to it," Kat tells him evenly. She turns back to April and smiles a bit to let her know she doesn't mind. "That's okay. I totally get it. Maybe I'll ask Clark, if I ever get a chance to meet him."

[slayers_desire]

"To know me, is to accept my weirdness. and the weirdness of my husband. Neither of us are human. Neither of us regret the abilities we have, or the paths that we have taken." April smiles softly.

[fmalchemist160]

"No, Kat's right," Ed sighs, "I'll get used to it eventually. It's just... It's been a long few days."

"Hear, hear," Kat and Yugi chorus.

Ed snorts in amusement and adds, after a hesitant pause, "I regret the path I took. All the damned time... At the same time, I know there's nothing I can do to change the past."

[slayers_desire]

"The trick is to accept the past, and how it has made you the person you are today."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed laughs a bit, though there's a touch of sadness to the noise. "You know, a old war veteran I met said almost the exact same thing to me. He lost his leg in the Ishbalan war, and that was more or less the reason he didn't want to get an automail prosthetic for his leg."

He's quiet for several long moments. "I could tell you the story. What happened to me. The only thing is that, if I do, I want you to tell me something from your past too. Alchemy is about equivalency, that you can't get something for nothing, and that Law is also a personal philosophy of mine."