xp_logs | Moira/Nathan, Alison/Bridge, Angelo/Domino, Tuesday morning (Reply)

Nathan wakes up from a nightmare, and Moira's there to reassure him that yes, she's still alive. They get their first chance to really talk a bit since Saturday before he drifts back off to sleep.

No time. Not even a moment to shield her this time, and Nathan ran desperately into the sunroom, coughing on the smoke. "Moira!" he cried out, seeing her huddled form on the floor. "Moira, no, Moira..." Blue eyes staring vacantly up at the ceiling, and he screamed, shattering the dreamworld around him.

Moira jerked awake as she heard Nathan scream from the hospital bed. He had barely stopped his first scream by the time she had reached his side, reaching out to the link while grabbing his hand. "Nathan! Stop strugglin'! Yer all right, I'm all right, shhhh." There was still some panicked fight left in him but she kept touching the link, trying to send soothing thoughts back down to him.

It took a long moment for the terror from the dream to fade, and it left him slumped and shaking. "M-Moira," he choked out, his vision red-tinged at the edges from the pain. But she was leaning over him, alive and all right and peering down at him worriedly, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus, to calm down.

"Aye, Moira," she responded, smoothing down his rumpled hair. Carefully, she nudged the link a little more, trying to get a good enough grasp on the chaotic thoughts to help calm him down. Right now, all she felt was a rolling wave of fear. "Ye okay?"

"Dream... just a dream," he said raggedly, breathing as deeply as he could and then opening his eyes again, drinking in the sight of her. He squeezed her hand, savoring the solid, undisputable fact of her presence. "Can... I just say ow?" he said, managing a weak smile.

"As many times as ye want," Moira assured him, squeezing his hand back. She blinked and then frowned a little as she caught a sliver of what he had been dreaming about. "Ye okay, really, I mean?"

"You're... okay," he said hoarsely, the pain really starting to register. "S-So I'm okay."

"Yer as far away from okay as probably ye can be," she pointed out, reaching for the pain medicine. "Want more? Ye dinnae look so good." With a worried sigh, Moira trailed her fingers down the side of his face, glad that he was awake even for a little bit.

Breathe, Nathan told himself, trying one of the pain-control exercises they'd been taught at Mistra. Wasn't working, he thought disjointedly. Really wasn't working. "Think...so," he whispered.

Slowly, Moira upped the dosage. They still had him on some IVs considering the amount of sleeping they wanted him to do. Pills would mean waking him up when he needed the rest. "There, tha' should 'elp ye," she murmured, looking back down, face tight with worry.

He could feel the drugs kicking in almost immediately. "Better," he murmured, trying to smile at her again. She was still holding his hand. "So glad you're all right..."

"So am I. Even more glad tha' yer goin' ta pull through. I swear, I am goin' ta get an ulcer at this rate." Moira gave a little laugh and brought up his hand to kiss the back of it.

"Mmm... I know..." He started to relax as the pain started to fade into the distance again. "Everyone else okay?" he asked fuzzily.

She shrugged. "Eh, as well as it should. I'm...nay on speakin' terms wit' Rory, currently," Moira admitted, quietly.

Nathan frowned, trying to focus. "He was angry," he murmured uncertainly. "I... couldn't keep him out, he was shouting at me in his head..."

"I know. 'e bloody well should 'ave known better, 'e knows yer a psi." Moira sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to sit on anything that was attached to Nathan. Even though the healing spell had worked wonders, she still was far from being completely better. "Punched 'im."

He blinked up at her. "You punched Rory." He thought about it for a long, long moment, then managed a weak little grin. "And I didn't... get to see? Meanie."

She couldn't help but giggle a little at that. "Next time, I'll let ye watch, promise." Moira thought for a second and then concentrated enough to recall that memory and push it down the link. "Will this do, for now?"

"Oooh... " Nathan blinked, embarassed as something very close to a giggle slipped out.

"Awww, tha's so cute." She grinned down at him. "So me beatin' up Rory 'elps ye feel better?"

"Oh, bunches..." Nathan sighed deeply, still holding onto her hand. "So," he murmured, staring up at her and resolutely not letting himself drift off again. "How bad...?"

"Pretty bad, nay goin' ta lie t' ye." Moira looked down at their joined hands and frowned. "When I got 'it, I guess ye dropped yer guard...nailed in th' leg pretty damned badly. We 'ad ta work ta fix th' artery. Pretty bad shot t' th' shoulder an' only marginally less worse shot ta th' 'ead. Yer nay so bad right now because Amanda 'ealed ye some, but...pretty bad."

"Damn," Nathan whispered, sighing again. "What the hell's with my luck lately..."

"It'll be okay," Moira whispered back, rubbing his hand. "It 'as ta be."

"Definitely... good I'm retiring," he said, trying to make it a joke. "Losing my edge."

"Nay yer not, dinnae say tha'." She swallowed as her voice cracked a bit. "Jus' ta drugged. I'll be 'avin' a talk wit' W.H.O...shit, who'd we piss off in th' universe this time?"

"Usual... suspects, probably." Struggling to stay focused, he frowned up at her. "They were... after you. I think."

"Wha'? I thought--they were jus' left overs. People who, well, dinnae want ta clear out." A flash of fear spiked down the link and she struggled to hold it back.

"Think they were.... not sure..." Nathan tried to hold onto the memory but couldn't. "Damn," he muttered again, fitfully.

"Wha's wron'?"

"Can't think...." It sounded petulant, even to him.

She couldn't help but chuckle. "Go ta sleep, then? Probably wha' yer body's tellin' ye ta do, love."

"If you do, too..." She was far too tired. He could feel it.

"I dinnae want ta leave," she grumbled. "An' th' damned chair's nay t' comfortable. An' yer *nay* pullin' another floatin' another 'ospital bed in 'ere, Maddie'll 'ave a cow. I can sleep later."

#Stubborn woman...# And he couldn't even reach out and make her sleep.

#If ye werenae so big, I could curl up 'ere,# Moira teased gently, leaning down to brush his forehead with her lips.

Bridge, trying to email the members of the Pack on Muir Island and finding out how awkward it is to type with one hand, meets first Miles, then Alison. He and Alison have a rather nice talk about their lives and How Things Change.

Someone had been kind enough to show him to a computer so that he could do a little necessary emailing, but he hadn't really thought about how awkward this was going to be with one arm. "Should've gotten Dom to do this," Bridge muttered fitfully, pecking away at the keyboard with one hand. But she was down lurking at Nathan's bedside again, and she had growled at him when he had suggested she take a break. He shifted in the chair, wincing at the jolt of pain that went through his arm and shoulder. He had been trying to avoid the pain pills this morning, but he was beginning to suspect that wasn't happening...

Perhaps it was the intent stare directed his way, blue eyes peering at him with undisguised curiosity from somewhere in the library, but it didn't take long for Bridge to realize that he wasn't alone in the quiet room anymore. A few seconds later a low scuffing sound reached him and the small form hovering behind one of the stacks was easy for him to spot, shoulder and head visible as whoever it was leaned forward to keep peering at him, otherwise fairly well hidden within the shadows cast by the tall wooden shelves.

"Hey there," Bridge said tentatively, mustering a smile. "You can come out if you want. I don't bite, I promise."

There was a quietly indignant huff at that and a relatively small green skinned boy stepped out from the shadows, frowning at him a bit still, not sure he liked new people invading the mansion without any warning. "Miles know that," was the firm reply, although Miles knew better than to assume the new man couldn't make any teeth all of a sudden. He just knew that if they weren't evident, then they'd be useless near him anyway. Which was a comfort, silly as it was.

Bridge's smile widened a little bit. "Just making sure," he said lightly. The kid was cute, green skin or no - and he wasn't particularly bothered by physical evidence of mutation, not after having spent this many years around Theo and Mina. "Thought you might have met my friend Theo already. Now, he looks like he'd bite."

"Cookies!" was the staunch reply in defence of Miles' newly acquired friend and eminently entertaining play companion at that. "Theo bites cookies only." He stayed where he was, eyeing Bridge uncertainly still, clearly considering if the man's presence was acceptable or not in the world according to Miles. The sound of very familiar footsteps entering the library didn't deter his evaluation, though it did bring a certain gleam to his eyes.

"Miles! Sweetie, there's a big bear looking for you in the kitch-" Alison rounded the corner and paused, both eyebrows going up at the scene she was confronted with.

"Umm... hi," Bridge said a little uncertainly, not sure who this was. He really hadn't been in the shape to get much in the way of introductions last night. "Uhh... Miles... and I were just talking about how I don't bite."

Alison grinned widely, unable to repress the first thought that came to mind. "Really? Some would say that's a pity," she declared, nodding wisely. Nose wrinkling in amusement she shifted her gaze from him to Miles, gifting the young boy with a raised eyebrow. "And how many cookies have we fed Theo, dear?" Miles toed the ground and tried to look sheepish, the pose somewhat ruined by the look of glee he snuck up towards her.

"Uhh..." Bridge wasn't sure whether it was the pain, or just the fact that he hadn't slept very well, but he had probably taken that Entirely The Wrong Way, he told himself as firmly as he could. "So long as the cookies weren't chocolate," he said a bit weakly. "Chocolate makes Theo sick, but he won't stay away from it. Does funky things to his metabolism."

Miles paused in mid-sway, a patented "Oh gosh aren't I the cutest" expression freezing on his face before he turned to sneak a look at Bridge. "...are chocolate chip cookies bad for Theo the Bear?" he asked weakly, eyes widening in dismay.

Oh, crap. "Uh, yeah... unfortunately," Bridge said with a sigh. "But he knows that, Miles, so if he winds up sick it's his fault."

A frown greeted that statement, Miles not entirely thrilled with that explanation. He gave Bridge a less than fond look and trotted over to Alison, raising both arms towards her and being rewarded as she knelt down to hug him, settling on her heels and balancing while he spoke to her, nose to nose almost. "Miles will go take Theo to see Hank," he declared solemnly, then paused. "Should Miles leave Alison alone?" he stage whispered, sneaking a suspicious look at Bridge over his shoulder.

Alison chuckled at his actions, reaching over the turn his head by tucking a fingertip under his chin, giving him a solemn look in return. "I think I'm safe, hon," she nodded, pausing to give him a kiss on the forehead before straightening up.

"Your son?" Bridge ventured as Miles wandered out.

Oh, that earned him a frightening amount of brownie points all in about one second. Alison gave him a brilliant smile at that, walking closer to him as Miles' footsteps faded, the little boy determined to get his new friend to the med lab as soon as possible. "Yep. Since the summer." It was the first time someone made that assumption when seeing Miles in his true form, in fact.

"He's cute," Bridge said, rubbing at his eyes for a moment. "Although I wish Theo hadn't exploited him for chocolate-chip cookies. He's really shameless about that..."

"Well, Miles is kinda shameless about sharing them," was the amused chuckle. "Odds are he was just as thrilled to find a companion in cookiedom. Artie was running about showing little pictures of the both of them getting bear rides too, so I'm thinking it was a quick conquest sort of thing..." She leaned on the corner of the desk, tilting her head to the side.

Bridge abruptly remembered his manners. "Uh, I'd be G.W.," he said, automatically going to reach out his right hand until he remembered that arm was in a sling and not really in the mood to be moved at the moment. "Ow," he muttered, then offered his left hand instead. "Came on the plane from Muir..."

"I'm Alison," she grinned, shaking his hand firmly if carefully at first in case there were any injuries there as well. "Nathan mentioned something about people tagging along." She leaned forward and very lightly re-adjusted the sling, patting his shoulder with a feather light touch. "Nathan needs to stop getting hurt. I need his brains. Honestly, the man has no sense of priorities."

Bridge gave her a bewildered look. "You need... his brains." He pondered that for a moment, before giving a half-shrug. "You're right, though. He needs to stop getting hurt. Not really like him - he's either getting sloppy or having a real run of bad luck."

"No shrugging," she reminded him, lips quirking. "And he's got the Askani songs in that brain. That music is mine." She laughed quietly, although there was an undeniably music-hungry air about her as she mentioned the Askani music. "Plus, Moira will whup his sorry behind if he keeps getting hurt like that." There was a list of people willing to do that Alison guessed, but Moira would win top of the list hands down, she had no doubt.

"He was protecting her," Bridge murmured, reminding himself that he really needed to talk to Moira about that. The little guilt-fest she was indulging in wasn't necessary.

"Oh. Oh... so she's blaming herself for it now, isn't she?" Alison asked, wincing.

"Yeah," Bridge said heavily, unable to help a sigh. "I mean, she tends to do that about all kinds of things. But she's beating herself up but good over this. Won't listen to anyone who tells her differently, either." He glanced at his barely-begun email to David, and sighed. "Why do I have to have friends who're so into self-flagellation?" he asked wistfully.

"Like calls to like and you do it too?" Well, it made sense and it looked like all of Nathan's friends indulged in this little past-time. That Alison herself would have felt guilty in a similar situation went unsaid, of course.

Bridge eyed her, smiling a little. "Hey, not me. Original easy-going guy, here. Nate just picked me up by the side of the road six years ago and decided to keep me."

Warm laughter bubbled up at that. "Followed him home, did you?" She could see Nathan doing something of the sort, really. "Sounds like there's something of a story to be heard as to how you met up."

Tilting his head at her, Bridge decided that volunteering the succinct version wouldn't hurt. "I was CIA," he said easily. "Got sold out, left for dead on the side of a very deserted road in Cambodia. I very dimly remember him leaning over me grumbling something about how this was fucking up his schedule." He grinned wryly. "Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a private hospital in Saigon. Nate was sitting beside the bed glaring at me."

Alison nodded gravely at this, although there was a hint of amusement lurking in her eyes, knowing that in a retrospective recounting this would be acceptable, most likely. "Hasn't let you out of his sight since, has he?" she murmured, smiling faintly. "Looks like you're liking where you are." A light nod at the wounded arm. "Regardless of all that."

"It's got its pluses," Bridge said. "Getting in the way of the occasional hail of bullets aside." He studied her for a moment, thoughtfully. "So what about you? What's the attraction of this place? I'm all curious, since my partner seems to be quite contentedly setting down roots."

"Came here because a stalker was taking pot shots at me with a sniper rifle," she said, finding the words surprisingly easy - but it had been a year now, she reflected, a hint of wistfulness edging her voice. "Hit one of my bodyguards and I just couldn't let them be at risk any longer so I went in hiding. I miss it sometimes, what it was like before I came out as a mutant." She shrugged and smiled a bit. "But I'd not give up Miles for anything in the world. And if I hadn't come here... well. I've done a lot of growing up in the past year."

"Came out..." Bridge stopped, blinking, and then laughed tiredly. "Shit, I'm slow today. Alison Blaire, right?"

"Yep!" There was always pleasure at being recognized, even more so these days as it happened so rarely. "I've changed some since then," she granted him that much with a mock-generous nod before laughing lowly. "I teach the music class," she added solemnly.

"You're teaching the music class... world-famous doctors teaching sciences... Wisdom's teaching self-defense and being the guidance counselor..." He snorted helplessly. "Yeah, I suppose Nate'll fit right in."

"You're going to miss him," she stated gently, giving him a sympathetic look. "He's settling down here with us but you lot will be going on and he won't be with you anymore."

Bridge tried to shrug again, then winced. "He was burning out," he said, his voice low as he started to type one-handed again. "Even before all the stuff with his precognition. It's better for him to be here. Even if it leaves me trying to fill some awfully big shoes." He gave her a faint smile. "I'm not a mutant, and we've got a mixed team."

"S'not what you got, it's what you do with it." Alison shrugged for him, a knowing look in her eyes. "I'm not sure I'm up to any of the stuff we do sometimes. I'm a rock star, not a hero..." she murmured, looking up and out the window. "Well. Was a rock star." She was glad to see the bitterness at this was still absent from her voice, a fact merely being stated and nothing more.

Bridge watched her for a moment, aware that there was probably a lot more behind the words than she was letting on. "I keep telling myself that things change," he said softly. "Not really all that comforting, but I figure if I keep saying it, I might wind up believing it one of these days."

"They do." She nodded slowly, hugging herself and still looking out the window. "Sometimes it just takes longer than you have for them to change though." Her throat tightened at the thought, what had before been about going back to her life as a singer now being about making certain Miles had a place in the world when he grew up. "Why don't I help you type up that email, if it's not anything too confidential?" she offered, smiling to dispel the mood and brighten things up a bit.

He smiled back at her. "Nothing confidential," he said dryly. "Just a status report to the teammates we left behind to mind the store on Muir. You could help me come up with a delicate euphemism for 'Behave yourselves and don't blow anything up or I'm docking your next paycheques'."

Alison cackled and cracked her fingers, waggling them at him with an evil gleam in her eyes. "Oooh, now see, now we're talking." She tapped her chin and pretended to think it over before snapping her fingers. "How about 'I entrust the security and pristine condition of the locale within your hands, knowing I can rely on you all to ensure not a single piece of the very delicate and costly equipment and other things of sentimental value come to harm while we're gone' for starters?"

Bridge chuckled softly. "You're very good at this."

"You learn quick while trying to keep a pack of hormonal teenagers who can blow up the planet if they should so much as sneeze in line, every now and then," was the absolutely deadpan answer, before Alison broke out into a smile, winking at him merrily. "Now scoot over and we can get this done so I can get you down to the medlab and something for the pain in you, mmm?"

Bridge gazed at her for a moment, then smiled again and scooted over, surrendering to the inevitable. He knew when he was outgunned.

Angelo is enjoying the smoker's porch when a recently-awakened Domino appears. They talk about Manuel, Nate, and even Pym! Domino has a minor jealous moment, but doesn't let herself get carried away. Angelo falls victim to one of her well-practiced 'Let's distract the adolescent male' moves.

Angelo, in a break from his classes, had made straight for the medlab to check on Nathan but found him sleeping, so had gone back up to the smokers' porch for a cigarette. He was sitting idly watching the birds when he heard the door open behind him.

"Well, hello there," Domino said, her throaty voice dry as she saw Angelo puffing away like a chimney. "Filthy habit," she observed, going over and sitting down in another one of the chairs, close enough that they didn't have to yell across the porch at each other yet far enough away that she wouldn't be breathing smoke. "But I'm sure Nate's told you that already," she quipped, slouching in the chair and propping her feet on the porch railing.

Angelo glanced around at her with a grin. "Hey, Domino. Yeah, he has - 'long with most everybody else here."

"I went through a phase where I smoked," Domino said casually, running a hand through her still-damp hair. She had crashed hard last night, sleeping in much later than usual, and had needed a correspondingly longer cold shower this morning to wake up. "Then we had a job in Vietnam that wound up involving about five miles of sprinting through rice paddies and I decided that it was really better if I quit."

Angelo winced. "Yeah, I can see how you'd want to be in top shape for that."

"Oh, that was a light day," Domino said with a dismissive wave and sipped at her coffee. "So," she said, eyeing him mirthfully, "Lizard Boy didn't track you down and slap you in the face with the gauntlet he undoubtedly keeps handy for getting too close to his girl?"

Angelo glanced at her with some amusement. "He probably would've done if he'd known. Guy needs to learn when he does and doesn't need to be jealous."

"He needs to learn many things, I've gathered." Domino tilted her head to one side, rubbing at her neck. "I should have slept longer," she muttered.

Angelo chuckled. "You could say that. People keep tellin' me he's makin' progress, though..."

"Hopefully he makes enough before he hits that moment when he pushes someone too far," Domino said, thinking about some of the things Nathan had confessed to her in email over the past few weeks.

Angelo eyed her a little warily. "Yeah. I'm tryin' to stay away from him, but I'm not the only one he pisses off..."

"Yes, I'm told there's a long list," Domino said, and then decided to drop the subject. It was too nice a day, and her mood was still touchy enough that she didn't want to make it any worse. "So, Nate's taken quite a shine to you," she said casually, letting her eyes rest on Angelo and taking another sip of her coffee.

Angelo met her gaze honestly. "Yeah. He's been helpin' me out a lot."

"Nate's more or less two people," Domino said wickedly, her violet eyes sparkling as she studied Angelo. "A big softie, and one of those people you really, really don't want to meet in a dark alleyway. It's when those two start overlapping that things get confused, because then you have this terribly earnest and startlingly compassionate would-be father-figure doing terrible sadistic things to you 'for your own good'."

Angelo raised an eyebrow, wondering how much Nathan had told her. "Yeah. Yeah, he's done that."

"Not to worry, kiddo, he hasn't been spilling your secrets or anything. I'm just taking a wild guess based on some of the things he did to me when I was your age."

Angelo grinned. "It wasn't all that bad, actually, I guess. Just a bit of an... interesting kind of therapy."

"Mmm. I remember him telling me it was therapeutic when he made me climb the Eiger with him when I was eighteen. At the time, I thought he was just enjoying watching me suffer." Domino laughed softly at the memory, but then grimaced as her mind insisted on presenting her with the picture of Nathan on belay, hanging off the side of a sheer rock face and grinning up at her as she stopped halfway up the pitch to call him names. It hurt to compare that to the fresher mental image of him lying down there in the medlab, pale and somehow... old-looking.

Angelo blinked, then looked at her with concern. "He'll be okay, you know", he told her, taking a guess at what the problem was. "Now Amanda's done her thing, he'll be fine."

"Maybe, but it's going to take a while," she said quietly. "Those were not good places to get shot. Nerve damage, shattered bones..."

"Which is why it's good Amanda's here", he pointed out. "He won't have to just let things take their course, an' wait."

"And how much is it costing her to help him?" Domino asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not that I have any objections, but you can be damned sure Nate will, once he's awake for more than five minutes at a time."

"Not as much as it would normally", Angelo told her. He hesitated, then continued, "She's not really doin' anythin' she shouldn't - she's keepin' her pendant on, so her power's still limited - but she went out an' got herself a magical thing just so she could help him. Maybe best to let her tell him that part, though."

Domino glanced heavenward for a moment, but then smiled brightly at Angelo. "I haven't lived this long by getting in the middle of fights that have nothing to do with me, trust me."

Angelo grinned wryly. "Oh, believe me, I had a few things to say about her goin' to get it alone. But that part's done, an' she's promised to tell her tutor she's got it. An' hey - she's helpin'."

"He's very fond of her, too," Domino said, smiling a bit wryly at the flash of jealousy she felt. "You all have your hooks into him but good, I must admit."

Angelo eyed her a little warily. "Not sure I'd put it quite like that. He's pretty well-liked round here, too."

"I suppose it was inevitable," Domino said, knowing that she was being pretty petty, but not really caring all that much. "Give Nate a quiet, safe place and show him some kindness, and he's pretty much sold. Not like he's ever had much of either in his life. Add in a few kids who need some surrogate-fathering and you could get him to do just about anything."

Angelo was still watching her, a little edgily. "Well, granted on the safety, but it seems t'me he had kindness or somethin' like it with you guys."

Domino told herself to behave. Angelo was a good kid, who seemed to genuinely care about Nathan, and she had no business going all Inigo-Montoya-esque, 'You stole my Nate - prepare to die!' on him. "It's a little different," she said more easily. "With us... well, he was the one in charge. The boss. He kept us together, kept us going during the bad times... we leaned on him." She smiled, and if the expression came out a little twisted, her voice stayed calm enough that she figured Angelo would know it wasn't really directed at him. "I can count on the fingers of one hand that it happened vice versa, and he never voluntarily showed weakness to any of us."

Angelo nodded, starting to understand. "Yeah, he hasn't changed there, I don't think. Stubborn as hell, like a lot of us here."

"I suppose the only surprising thing is that he didn't burn himself out years ago." Domino took a deep breath, then downed the rest of her coffee. "Things change," she said, staring out at the grounds. "People move on. I suppose I just never expected Nate to do it. He's been such a constant in my life for so long."

"He's still in your life", Angelo reminded her quietly. "Maybe not the way he was, an' you won't see him every day anymore, but he hasn't left you behind."

"I know. Doesn't make me miss his 'come near me without coffee and I'll kill you' face at the breakfast table any less, though," Domino said, and winked at Angelo.

Angelo laughed. "Yeah, that's an... interestin' one. Must find out if anyone's got it on camera, actually."

"I have all kinds of incriminating pictures," Domino said blithely. "I could send you some. Might be useful for future leverage."

He grinned broadly. "Oh, I'd so owe you if you did that."

Domino set her empty mug down, then folded her hands behind her head, smiling brightly. "Deal, then," she said. "I'll have to give some thought as to what I want in return." Just to freak the kid out a little, she gave him a long, slow, up-and-down look, tossing in an appreciative little smile.

Well, looking couldn't hurt. If she decided she wanted to do more than look, he'd deal with it then. So he just raised an eyebrow at her, not quite challenging but close.

Oh, he was cute, Domino thought merrily. Slouching a little more in her chair, she gave a sigh, fanning herself for a moment as if the morning had turned hot, and then undid the first couple of buttons on her already low-cut shirt.

Angelo, who, after all, was a seventeen-year-old boy, couldn't resist a quick glance downward that turned into something not quite as quick as he'd hoped. Paige wasn't on the porch, after all, and it wasn't like he was going to do anything... Catching himself, he looked back up, suddenly thankful that his skin didn't show it on the rare occasions that he blushed.

Domino laughed softly, then winked at Angelo again. "Not to worry," she said. "I save my real wiles for those who really deserve it. Like Pym."

"Oh, the stalker?" Angelo asked. "What did you do to him, then?"

"Nothing permanent," Domino said, a bit evasively. "I let him take me home and play with me a little." Just long enough to let him feel smug and complacent. "Then I turned the tables on him, took pictures of him tied up and wearing women's underwear, and sent them to the tabloid with the biggest circulation in the US." She gave him her brightest smile. "Some of the UK tabloids picked it up not long after. I hadn't bargained on that, but hey."

Angelo gaped at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Remind me never to piss you off. You're obviously evil."

"To the core, dear. I love my knives and have a big soft spot for a nice gun, but this - " She paused, indicating her body with a wave, " - is every bit as much of a weapon, and I have no problem using it that way."

"Well, you use what you got", he agreed, still laughing.

"It's a good philosophy," Domino said agreeably.