Clarissa leaned against Ozzy's hip as she said "Well . . . MOST of the time, it seems to drive folks temporarily nuts.  So maybe they didn't get you with the mutagen?"  She patted Ozzy's knee behind her butt as she spoke.

Fiona shook her head a little. "I'm not sure... I guess if I had been hit, something would already be happening? How long until we know for sure?" She turned her head (slowly, so as not to throw Wind off) and looked back at herself, to see if she still looked the same.

Ozzy smiled and said, "If it was gonna happen, it would've by now. I don't see any wounds, so while they may have hurt, I don't think they actually broke your skin. Just bruised you and scratched up your scales a bit. Or maybe because you're a shapeshifter, you're immune to it."

Fiona exhaled softly, visibly relieved. "I hope you're right." She looked around a little. Hopefully Lin and Meg would be here soon.

Ozzy nodded and said, "I hope so too. There's been enough people turned today, and as far as I know, this shit's permanent. It is for both me and Clarissa, anyway."

He then picked Clarissa up and asked, "You all right? None of them got you, did they?"

*Funeral*

After a few words were said by the minister overseeing the service (a very endearing eulogy to the enigma known only as Mirage), it was time to put the Femme Fatale to rest.

With their hearts evidently heavy, even under masks or helmets, Dragon Fist, Captain Jordan, Donald Derring, and several of the fine officers of the Weston PD (including one up and detective named Esteban Martinez) carried the casket to the hearse, where it immediately made its way to the local cemetary, where a greatly decorated headstone could be seen honoring the Lady In Red.

  Clarissa leaned against him, smiling, and said "None of them got me, I'm good, love.  We'll have to see how many of them change back, if any."  She was perfectly happy to sit on his forearm and lean against his chest.  Those wings of hers folded neatly behind her, and her tail wound around his wrist like a fuzzy shackle.

  Meg sent to Ozzy {{Just at the graveside, Ozzy.  I'll get there after that, and you can tell her I'll bring Mom along.}}

Ozzy said, "They're at the graveside now, Fiona. They'll be here shortly, I hope. Wish we could be there, but we need to stay here, I think. Folks might get freaked out, and there may be some kinda plan B. Who knows?"

He then hugged Clarissa and said, "Sucks about Mirage. She was really cool, ya know? I worked with her a couple times. Her and Dragon Fist actually gave us Defenders a chance to prove ourselves, instead of just talking down to us like Lady Psyche did."

Fiona curled up her long body, like a gigantic snake. She was still feeling rather shaken from the fight, and from knowing that if she'd been hit a little harder, or if she had been in a different form, some of the mutagen might have gotten through and she'd have become like them. She was glad that at least some people had gotten away without being mutated and that the crazed mutants were being locked up, but she wasn't feeling like a hero right now.

  Clarissa nodded, and said softly "Some of us ARE relatively untried, you know.  Gods know I am.   I'm just glad I've got my own personal hero-trainer."  She looked up at Ozzy as she mentioned her own 'personal hero-trainer', and them kissed his chest, and looked at Fiona.  "You okay there?  Ozzy and I are happy with our mutations, but I doubt that many other people would be."

Fiona turned her head towards Clarissa and sighed softly. "I'll be fine. I'm just... I've never been in a fight. Not one like this, anyway." She hugged the end of her tail; her body was still trembling slightly. "I just felt, when I saw what was going on, I had to do something, since I'm in this big and strong body... I wasn't feeling scared then, but now..."

Ozzy smiled and said, "Hey, you did good. Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's the ability to act in spite of it. I know it's rough, being in your first real life-or-death scrap. Just let it all out."

A few tears rolled down Fiona's cheeks. Right now, she didn't really look like the gigantic, regal dragon she maybe ought to be. She sniffled, stretching a forelimb up to her face to wipe the tears off. "I'm sorry..." she whimpered softly and buried her face in her coils.

  Clarissa nodded, and said "Ozzy's got it dead on the mark.  It takes some adjusting.  I know I'm still not very used to it, but then again, I kept MOSTLY out of reach of everything but a flying anything.  Wings are nice for that."  She arched one wing, showing Fiona her source of 'courage', aside from her big, green-skinned husband.

Fiona looked at Clarissa, her face still full of tears. "Heh, I wish I could fly right now... but as a dragon, I guess you need magic for that. I don't think I could have done much from the air, anyway." A soft chuckle escaped her. "I wish I could hug you, but I don't want to crush you." Considering she was almost as wide as Ozzy was tall and as long as several buses, that fear was probably justified.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:43, Wed 08 Aug 2012.

  Clarissa said "Hey, no apologizing.  We all start out new at this stuff, and it can be SCARY.  Ozzy's had to rescue me a couple times from this and that already.  Don't be upset because you FELT scared or anything.  You still *acted*, which is a big one up on MOST people."

A small smile appeared on Fiona's face. As gently as she could, she brushed her giant snout against Clarissa affectionately. "Thank you," she rumbled softly in her deep, draconic voice.

   Clarissa patted her nose, and brushed that wing along her cheek, a soft caress that felt very good.  She said "More than welcome, Fiona."

Ozzy smiled and, "You've definitely got your control down. You practice martial arts or anything? It was interesting adjusting to THIS body. You've probably had one hell of a time getting used to being that big. Not to mention strong enough to hold all those mutants."

A small smile crossed Fiona's face. "Maybe it comes with being a shapeshifter... being able to adjust to different forms. It wasn't easy when I woke up like this... my room was way too small for me. I'm glad I'm still elastic... otherwise I might have broken the walls down."

Ozzy laughed and said, "You're preaching to the choir, sister! I swear, ever since I got this big, I've been feeling like the whole world's a few sizes too small. Must've been really interesting for you getting out of there. It's good you didn't break your house, though. That would've been bad."

He then grinned and said, "Still, thanks for saving the day. Without you containing the mutants, the sniper would've likely gotten away, and who knows how many of the mutants would've gotten out and spread the mutagen to people who weren't at the rally? The whole city could've become a war-zone!"

If Fiona's face wasn't covered in black scales, it would have turned slightly pink. "I... I just did what I could to help. I felt like I had to... as big as I am, there aren't many people who could have done that."

Again, she smiled slightly. "I guess we can be glad that we've got Meg. If I have to stay like this, at least she'll have a place for me where everything doesn't seem like a tiny-scale model."

  Clarissa smiled, and said "I'm sort of lucky, I stayed little enough that the world didn't change sizes for me.  But I have my Ozzy, who is big and snuggly and makes me happy as can be."  She grinned up at him and gave him a wink.

Ozzy smiled and said, "Well, I wouldn't have thought any less of ya for not doing so. Nobody HAS to be a hero, no matter how big or strong."

He then wrapped his wings and arms around Clarisa and said, "And I still have you, my dainty little darling Clarissa. We're an awesome combination, love."