Mittens dries her eyes & blows her nose after she parks then leans over to kiss her Baby Bro Best Friend Forever on the cheek.

"And it helps to hear you say that.  Thanks."

She gets out to join the others.  "Handy your place is close, Reaver.  I plan to throw us an ice cream party at HQ when we finish up.  So I'll swing by a grocery store on the way back.  Well this is your show to run, Reaver.  Just let us know how we can help."

She then lightbulbs and starts texting on her phone.

"Either a U-haul and do one trip or my van and take a few trips. I'd say the van, since it wont cost any extra money," Michael said and nods towards an old beat up VW Van. It looks like it hasn't been used in a while, though it has been quite nice lately, so Michael must use his bike a lot.
http://static7.userland.com/ul...ges/mootmom/VW01.jpg

"The couch fit in the first time. We just need to play a bit of tetris with it," he said as he walked to the apartment door, unlocked it and started up the stairs.

The stairwell was a normal apartment stairs, functional but not very nice. He stopped in front of the door marked 3B, unlocked it then stopped. Looking back he said sheepishly,"Sorry about the mess," and opened the door to the least messy mess you've ever seen.

The apartment was a nice sized studio. The only mess that could be seen was an unmade bed, some clothes on the couch and a few cups on the counter top.

The couch was a old, ugly thing, but it look comfortable enough. The tv was a a 30" flat screen and was mounted to the wall across from the couch.  A full sized bed was in the corner, it's green sheets and comforter a tangled mess. A dresser and book shelf were nearby, both stacked with books of all kinds. The kitchen area had a few cabinets, a fridge, microwave, and oven/stove combo, though it lacked a dishwasher.

Angel frowns and nods, impressed by the van. "Yep. That van should do the trick."

Liberty seemed eager. Once they all made it up to Michael's apartment, Liberty went straight for the couch, removed the strewn clothes, and went for one of the sides. "Ready when you are." she said, looking ready to pick up that side of the couch.

Emerald stepped in around that time and smiled. "Well... I guess she is the strongest one besides you, Michael. So lemme know what I can do since I'm not exactly good for heavy lifting..."

Angel says, "Well the couch will need to go in first anyways, so we can figure out how to fit everything else around it."

Timothius just stays near Mittens.

Mittens scans the apartment and smiles.  "Nice place!  If you think this is messy, you should see my room, heh.  Speaking of the couch...  HQ already has one and your bedroom'll be kinda cramped if you try to squeeze it and the rest of your stuff in it.  Might I suggest donating the couch to charity?  That or the bed.  Just a though.  Throwing it out there."

Not one to hold still, she grabs a shirt from off the couch and goes to wrap a glass in it.  "And how 'bout the fridge?  Is it yours of the landlord's?"

((OOC: Tetris!  Yay homage to the classic!))

  So, here's a question.  Is a station wagon more or less stylish than a camper van?  Certain parties would say the Station Wagon is totally superior in class, but then they would be biased as they own said vehicle.  Case in point, Joe's Father David Darkthorne parking and heading upstairs.

  "So I hear someone is moving in with my Son.  Or would that be my Son is moving in with someone else?  Eh, details."

OOC Style: Sniper approves of Michael's Van.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:07, Wed 16 May 2012.

"The fridge stays here. Everything else is mine. The couch... Yeah the couch has seen better days. Actually, now that I think of it, how furnished are the rooms back at HQ," Michael asks, having not looked at any of the rooms.

"I have some totes in the closet there, if you want to get the stuff in the kitchen packed up," he says to Em, pointing towards the closet. Inside are empty totes stacked together, with lids inside. The walls have shelving with random stuff: board games, a SNES & N64, an old computer tower, a baseball & a softball mitt, plus some other odds and ends.

Liberty notices David and ducks her head, halfway hiding behind the couch she was ready to lift.

Emerald nods at Michael. "Sure." then notices David, smiles, and says, "So you're here to help? Great! Just check with Michael on what to do."

Emmy then rushes off to the closet, tail swishing happily as she gathers the totes.

Angel hmms? "Your son? Are you Michael's father?"

  "Not unless Joe got a name change and a Manliness implant, no."  He looks over to Michael, "You aren't right? Way things are in this town wouldn't be too surprising.  But you're still not adopted."

OOC Style: My brain keeps registering Michael as "Grizzled Ex-Cop", even though I don't think he actually was one.

"Ohai Mr. Darkthorne!" Mittens chimes at the announcement of the new arrival, "This is Joe's dad, Angel."

She nods to Reaver.  "Pretty well furnished last I checked.  If you're thinking of donating the bed too, feel free.  Each of the bedrooms has a bed, closet, and chest of drawers.  It's practically a hotel.  Kitchen's well stocked too.  If you're keeping the bed, that should go in the van first followed by the TV to protect the screen.

"Thanks for getting on that, Emmy."

She leans over to whisper to her bro. 

She the smiles at David.  "If you're looking for aforementioned Son, he's prepping a victory party for us.  We did just save the day.  Again.  I wonder if The Marvel woulda put it that way...  Anyhow!  I can text him if ya want."

She doesn't wait for an answer and starts tapping on her phone. 

She looks up from her phone.  "If I failed to give proper thanks between the emergency room visit and the police debriefing and the impromptu press conference and the national security officer visit, I apologize.  Thank you all soooo much for your part.  I can't tell you how much it means to me."

She keeps herself busy with packing up.  "Cool stuff, Reaver!"

"He looks very much alive, so not my father," Michael says in a dismissive tone.

"If the rooms have all that Mittens, then I really don't need all these things." He then opens his phone and looks up a number for a place to donate furniture to. One that will pick it up. Pressing the dial button, he talks to a lady about coming to pick up a mattress, couch and dresser.

Michael just shakes his head to David. 'Strange man. Apple doesn't fall far I guess,' he thinks.


OOC: Grizzled ex-cop is a good way to think of him. Though you're right, he isn't nor was he a cop.

Timothius quietly got to Liberty and talks quietly with her.

Emerald says, "Angel really spoiled us with that place, yeah."

Angel says, "Up to you what you take, Reaver. If the couch is comfy, I say why not? We could at the least set it up in the entertainment room for extra seating. I guess I'm just worried as beat up as it is, nobody will take it. So may as well use it until it can't be used, know what I'm saying?"

Emerald raises an eyebrow. "So... parents didn't spoil you, Angel?"

Angel says, "I wasn't handed everything on a silver platter, no... but they certainly show me a lot of love and taught me how to be careful with whatever wealth I or others have."

  "I prefer to be more sudden and unexpected.  Like a slasher movie antagonist wielding parental embarrassment instead of a knife.  Though if you really want you, you can tell Joe 'soon'."

  David looks to the furnishings.  "A free sofa is a free sofa.  Unless you had a habit of... Unfortunate, stain origins hitting it those in need of a sofa should be less picky."

"Alrighty then!" Mittens chimes, "Donated furniture means quicker easier work!  Thanks, Reaver!  I guess this means the TV should go first followed by clothes.  I think we have enough to get a bucket brigade going so we don't have to run up 'n down the stairs so much."

She resumes texting then checks on her bro before returning to enthusiastically packing small stuff, leaving the TV to the heavy lifters.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Wed 06 June 2012.

"I'm sure someone will take the sofa. Besides, this one would look really out of place alongside the nice, new one we have over there," Michael said before heading over to the tv, which he would lift and take out to the van with whoever was helping him. He either didn't hear or decided toignore David's comment, though there would be nothing wrong with the couch.

For people putting things in the boxes/totes, a few things may pop up. A few photo albums with Reaver and a lady, a jewelery box which has items that Michael would never be wearing, the softball mitt in the closet, and a few other items that say a lady at some point lived here.


TAG: Liberty/Angel/Tim/Em, Joe/David
This message was last edited by the player at 16:48, Fri 08 June 2012.

Liberty briefly considers hopping out the window with TV in hand. Then realizes she's probably not be able to keep her balance when she lands and thus, fall over with the TV, probably breaking it. So she thinks better of it.

Liberty notices one of the photos and says, "Oh say, Michael. I haven't met her yet. Where's she at?" she points out the lady in one of the photos.

Emerald and Angel look in Michael's direction out of curiosity.

Timothius seems fine, though he too winds up curious and then quickly gets a little nervous when Liberty asks her question.

TAG: Mittens
This message was last edited by the player at 22:31, Thu 14 June 2012.

  "One less heavy thing to carry then."

  David knows a potential drama bomb when he sees one... Or hears one.  He passes on hiding behind the sofa however, and instead keeps at the whole Get It In The Box segment of moving preparations.

"I believe that would be the late Mrs. Reaver," Mittens interjects in case Michael gets tongue tied.  She doesn't want the guy to feel like he has to go into detail about his painful memories, and even if he did, he's probably empathic enough to wind up feeling guilty for making a child cry by answering her innocent question with a sad story.

"Should I say more, Reaver?"

There's quite a few people present, and he might not want his personal life brought up in front of each and every one...  Even then, he might rather the story come from his own lips.

Michael stops in his tracks, completely tense for a moment, his back to most of the group. Letting his breath out slowly, his seems to relax slightly. When he turns around, his mouth is turned in a sad smile, his eyes showing more emotion than had been seen by anyone present yet.

He tries a few times, but can't speak right away and gives a nod to Mittens at her first statement. Finally he says,"Thank you Mittens, but it's all right. Liberty, that would be Lucy, my wife. Smartest woman I've ever met and could kick my ass every time. She helped me learn to control my powers and to love life again.

She saved my life and in the end, I couldn't save hers."

Liberty looks a little sad, but Emerald speaks up, "Well... if it's OK then, would you mind sharing some more about Lucy? Some good times you two had together? Why she smart and able to kick your butt?"

Liberty gulps, glancing at Emerald. Timothius looks worried too, but Angel keeps a calm expression, watching for the answer.

  David nods, knowing what it's like being Married to a wonderful woman who could casually kill you and nobody would ever find the body is she felt like it...  Hmm, it's less romantic when we put it that way.

  "Well, I'm sure you've already been told more than enough times not to blame yourself.  Unless you took her bungee jumping and it went wrong, then yeah. Blame yourself."

"If he could reliably save people from terminal illness, he'd be doing better than even Timothius' miracle healing," Mittens comments to no one in particular.  She continues to pack up with a sad look on her face, remembering the times her lil bro came home in tears because he "let another one slip away."  As if he had the power to dropkick the Grim Reaper!  Though after today, Mittens has a better understanding for feeling guilty over something way beyond her control.

Michael didn't respond right away, working on packing a few boxes up with a few things that he would end up looking at for a little longer than others. Finally he spoke again when he pulled a photo album out and started flipping through it, still packing other things, but looking mostly at the pictures.

"Lucy, ah where to start," he said with a small smile. "Well we first met at a martial arts dojo. I had been looking to learn something new and it was near campus, so I decided to check it out. Lucy was the assistant instructor there, helping with the judo instructions and teaching the aikido classes herself. I don't really know how we started talking, but after one class we did and just sort of clicked. We would train together a lot, though I never actually ended up as a victor. Any time I thought I had her pinned, she'd slip right out and have me in some strange way and the match was over." Michael chuckled at this, remembering some funny times.

"The crazy time came when my powers went a bit haywire. I hadn't ported in years, not needing it and trying not to think about it, since at the time I thought it made me a freak and just didn't want to think about it. She came over one evening after her class, worried since I hadn't been there, and I never missed a class, at least without letting her know. Anyway, my powers had gotten out of control. I could move without porting. Not very far, but over and over again, and most of you have seen what happens when I do that repeatedly. Not a pretty sight by any means. She came in and found me laying on the floor, a complete mess and barely conscious. She started speaking, though not to me, just out loud. I'm still not sure what she was saying, but listening to it calmed me. She told me later on it was her mantra, something she said to herself whenever she needed to calm down," he looked at the beads around his wrist, his own mantra beads. "I came up with my own and it helps. There are times still, if I go to long without using my powers, that I need to use them. As long as I focus though, calm myself, I can do it without hurting myself. Takes longer to do, but is safe. Without Lucy, I'm not sure if I'd have made it through that night."

Liberty smiles a little, giggling. The thought of a man big as Michael being out-maneuvered by some woman even after constant training had Liberty amused. "Gosh. Well I'm glad you're here, Michael. You're a good guy and she had good taste to pick you."

Emerald says, "Thanks for sharing, Michael." she gives him a smile. "What kinds of things did you share in common? I mean, obviously martial arts."

Timothius doesn't interrupt, but seems to be smiling some since the atmosphere of the room changed from tense to pleasant.

Angel is attentive, although still helping with packing.

  "Well, I can see why she always beat you in Judo then.  If she can keep someone in place in space time, just grabbing them is gonna be so easy by comparison."  That was one way of looking at it we guess.  Like most of the others, David keeps up the packing pace so that Michael can get out of here sooner rather than later.

  Well, Michael could leave now actually.  But then he wouldn't have all his stuff.

"What Lib said," Mittens agrees with a nod, "And sounds like he had good taste too."

Boxes of stuff are beginning to stack up by the door as progress is made.