Frozen

[Orion]

The Parthenon New York - The Situation Room

Zach got a chance to calm down in the situation room during the down time waiting for Karen, Mike and Delilah to brief the Six. It was an awkward, long pause but everyone pretty much kept to themselves. He assumed there would only be a fleeting respite before the next big fight, with the way Frost handled herself.

The door opened and the other group streamed in. There was a sense almost of a transference of responsibility here, from the Birds of Prey to the Six. That was fine by Zach, really. He couldn't work with this woman, despite being a diplomat and developing a reputation for dealing with some very obstinate people on a daily basis.

The last two to join the party were Cameron and Haleigh. Haleigh gave Zach a small smile and looked at someone else almost immediately. Did she think he could only sense the underlying guilt if they made eye contact? He could also sense Alycia's response. The disappointment, the disaffection coming from her resonated with his own. He wondered if Alycia knew something he didn't. He and Haleigh hadn't exactly been very communicative lately. Alycia glared at Haleigh, Zach glared at Cameron, but now was not the time to deal with their personal lives.

There was a moment where Karen and Blaze attempted to reach out, and it looked like they might break the ice. Then Jasmine went emotionally sub-zero on them and cruelly rejected Blaze and aggressively questioned Karen. Haleigh sprung into action the way only SHE could, attracting most of Frost's attention. Zach moved in quickly towards Blaze and Karen, focusing on helping them work through their emotions with a subtle drain on the worst of the heartbreak. Blaze improved rapidly, Karen was a bit more challenging for some reason.

Cameron stepped in, and so did many others. The room started getting cold again, a temporal juxtaposition against the rising of more than a couple of tempers. Zach caught a signal from Haleigh, directing his attention to a cabinet on the far wall under the large flatscreen.

Ah, YES..... a tranq. We're gonna need it soon!

He left Karen briefly as the temperature of the room got so cold he could see his own breath. Karen needed his help, but Frost was becoming so aggressive that unfortunately, something HAD to be done to stop her as she ATTACKED Haleigh and Cameron. He knelt at the cabinet and searched the supplies for the injector, the dose, some gloves... The chill made his fingers stiff and numb, and the thin nitrile gloves didn't offer much. Stripping the packaging on the dose and loading it into the 'gun' style injector wasn't as easy as it should be either, as he started to shiver. He also noticed the little vial of liquid was starting to ice up in his hands.

MERDA!

He thought to himself, trying to rub the vial between his hands and warm it. Firebird had recovered enough to step in, and just in time. She counteracted Frost and brought the danger level down to something more manageable. Zach's attention went straight to Karen, who was suffering what seemed to be an anxiety attack! There was some interference with Zach's ability to help her, she was RESISTING, but there was something else too. He didn't have time to find a solution. Shadow Weaver totally lost her composure, even MORESO than she had in the Infirmary. She immobilizes those individuals at the nucleus of the conflict and berates them. Zach gets as close as he dares, but with the orbs swirling around her, he doesn't attempt contact.

Karen: I CAN'T TAKE IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT!

Sharon: ALL OF YOU! Shadow Weaver is in DANGER! her internal rhythms, particularly her BLOOD FLOW are indicating a possible TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACK!

Haleigh: Karen, you're taking this a bit too far here, we haven't done anything but try to protect you from this girl, but we'll stop, if that's what you want.

Her voice was a lot gentler than it had been before, placating now. Delilah, who been pushed back moments before came over to help. Zach tried to de-escalate as well. His powers weren't doing enough.

"Doctor, it's alright now, everything's okay. It's over, you can release them."

 

[MorningStar]

The Situation Room

Haleigh refused to see reason – acting so much like her old self it was eerie – and Cameron was pulling no punches with Jasmine. Delilah was beginning to think it would have been better if Karen had never called them. But Jasmine wasn’t helping matters – Delilah could not understand why she wouldn’t BELIEVE Blaze when she said she wanted to help, why she would reject a family just for not being her’s from this timeline. Frankly, Jasmine had never met HER Blaze, and was willing to start over with a new Morgan and Blaze in another timeline, so why was she objecting now? OTHER than just to be difficult.

Cameron and Haleigh were really piling it on now, and Jasmine was giving it back in full, with Vivica throwing her 11 cents in. Karen looked like she was ready to collapse, her face drawn and in clear distress. This was too much for her.

It was getting to be too much for HER too.

“Stop this! Everyone!”

But her plea fell on deaf ears.

EVERYONE...PLEASE...let's just TAKE A STEP BACK for a moment.

But even as Alycia pleaded for sanity, the room began to ice over, and Cameron and Haleigh were caught in the horrifying grip of Frost’s power.

Michael, Delilah....get Karen out of here, now! Silver Swan, Orion, and Myself...we'll assist Recall, Ruby and Firebird in...

She began to help usher Karen out the door.

“Come on, Karen, there’s no talking to her right now. We need to let her calm down first…”

But Karen wasn’t hearing her, she was having some kind of attack. Delilah touched her arm but

NO!

Delilah found herself thrown BACKWARDS by Karen!

“Karen…what are you doing…?!”

Dark magick swirled about Shadow Weaver as she positively had a TANTRUM – but more than that, she was on a RAMPAGE!

SCREAMING, BINDING Jasmine, Haleigh, Blaze and Cameron!

Delilah pleaded with her.

"Karen, please! Release them! We can all talk this out, there’s no need for…ANY OF THIS!”

ALL OF YOU! Shadow Weaver is in DANGER! her internal rhythms, particularly her BLOOD FLOW are indicating a possible TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACK!

“Please Karen, you’re hurting yourself – you have to calm down.”

Again Delilah tried casting a soothing light, all around Karen this time.

"Doctor, it's alright now, everything's okay. It's over, you can release them."

“Listen to us, Karen, please!”

 

[Oracle]

The Clocktower

“Like I said, there are other ways of getting to the bottom of things, Ash.”

Zizi, Ashley, Mina and a newly arrived Steel were back at The Clocktower, watching the live feed from Recall with interest.

Firebird and Shadow Weaver had just entered the room where Frost was waiting. Ashley leaned in towards the screen, talking to the figures there as if they could hear her.

Ashley: “Eat it, fuckers!”

Ashley took a handful of popcorn from the bowl in her lap (made during the boring parts) and popped it into her mouth, happily munching as if she were watching a soap opera. Steel stood behind her, looking a tad confused.

Steel: “So let me get this straight – the girl fell out of a giant gem, and now she’s about to meet her sister, who isn’t really her sister, because she’s from another timeline? I don’t know how you lot keep all this straight.”

Ashley: “It’s exhausting, believe me.”

Mina: “Please. You have never put in enough effort at anything to be exhausted in all your life.”

Ashley: “Tell me again why you’re even here? It’s not as if you can SEE what’s happening.”

Mina: “Your running commentary paints a vivid enough picture, I don’t need to see it for myself.”

“Ladies, please! I’m trying to listen. It’s touching, really – two sisters reunited across the bounds of time and space…”

Ashley rolled her eyes, Mina looked bored.

What looked to be a teary-eyed reunion turned hellish fast, as Jasmine REJECTED Blaze.

“Oh no!”

Ashley: “NOW this is getting interesting.”

The Six were bickering amongst each other – never a good sign – AND pleading with Jasmine for reason. Zizi clucked her tongue.

“They’re never going to get through to her THAT way…”

"My life was HELL. I knew only TORTURE and EXPERIMENTATION and PAIN for longer than I EVER knew FREEDOM. I knew HATE and DISPAR before I EVER knew LOVE. The ONLY person who accepted me and loved me for me was MORGAN and BLAZE, and they both DIED. So I wanted to leave. I wanted a new life BEYOND MYSTECH. So FUCK YOU BOTH for thinking that I can't handle my SHIT because you can't even COMPREHEND the SHIT that I HAVE handled! [to Haleigh] You wanted frostbite, cupcake? Here's your FUCKING frostbite."

Ashley: [scooting closer to the screen] “Ooh, I LIKE her!”

Alarms began to go off as various monitors in the room came to life and switched to security feeds from the Parthenon and the surrounding area being covered with ice.

“Okay, that’s our cue. We need to get help to those civilians. John?”

Steel: “I’m on it.”

He was already on his cell calling in for medical assistance as he moved to the door.

“Valkyrie I need you on the ground. Mina, stand by.”

Valkyrie: “You got it. Record this in case anything interesting happens – I don’t want to miss anything. Maybe Frost will punch Karen in the face next. That could be my Christmas card photo.”

Zizi called after them.

“And keep your coms on, we’re not done with the Frost situation yet.”

She continued to monitor Recall’s feed. The situation was NOT improving. Karen Victoria was in clear distress, and Sharon was calling for the others to help her. The effects of Frost’s power were dissipating in the room, and Black Widow and Prophet looked to be recovering, but Shadow Weaver was worsening. Zach had returned to Recall’s line of vision carrying a syringe.

Zizi spoke into Zach’s com piece:

“Orion, you mustn’t hesitate: use that if you need to. For her safety as well as the others’.”

 

[Prophet]

The Parthenon Hotel - NYC - Situation Room

Jasmine: "Oh SPARE me you self righteousness, Cameron! You have NO PLACE to talk! Are you seriously chastising ME for wanting a better life when all you EVER did was RUN AWAY from yours?! You were a SCARED little BOY who didn't have the BALLS to stay in the game. Why are you even HERE? How are you even RELEVANT to his conversation?! You disappeared during Master Mold! You DISAPPEARED when MY SISTER died. You ABANDONED her JUST like HALEIGH did! How are you even BACK here with these people after the bullshit that you've pulled?! You HATED Morgan. You HATED you're own DAMN sister, and yet here you are, sitting high and looking down your nose at ME for wanting to start a new life? Calling it a QUICK FIX?! Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?! You are the DEFINITION of a spineless bastard. You only care about yourself and what benefits YOU. THAT'S why you ran, Cameron. Don't FUCKING twist it."

[Cameron laughed]

"I don't need a history lesson, you idiot. You can talk as much shit as you want, because you've been gone FAR longer than you were ever relevant. I've done more for BOTH of your sisters than you could ever possibly hope to do. If I only cared about myself, I would have mind nuked your ass the second I laid eyes on you. It would save EVERYBODY a world of trouble."

Jasmine: "I'm DONE with BOTH of you."

Jasmine had struck a chord with Cameron, ignited his anger and he was finding himself having a hard time holding it together. As much as he initially wanted to help her, she was goading him. He may have been chastising her, but she wasn't listening, and she wasn't making sense, and now that she had thrown the gauntlet, Cameron wouldn't fall back. She wanted to poke the bear, she was going to get mauled.

Jasmine: "You look at me like I'm a child who's toy got stolen. You look at me and think i'm a weak, selfish, little girl who can't handle her shit."

Immediately Cameron felt his body go EXTREMELY cold. He was freezing, and that was when he lost it. He didn't need his body to take Frost out and if she even THOUGHT of hurting the others, he WOULD. He dropped to his knees, finding it hard to breathe as his body became deprived of oxygen. The room began to freeze over as Cameron realized that her attack was not just limited to them, but EVERYWHERE..it meant that the people upstairs, HIS paying guests would be experiencing this freeze.

"That's....IT."

Jasmine: "My life was HELL. I knew only TORTURE and EXPERIMENTATION and PAIN for longer than I EVER knew FREEDOM. I knew HATE and DISPAR before I EVER knew LOVE. The ONLY person who accepted me and loved me for me was MORGAN and BLAZE, and they both DIED. So I wanted to leave. I wanted a new life BEYOND MYSTECH. So FUCK YOU BOTH for thinking that I can't handle my SHIT because you can't even COMPREHEND the SHIT that I HAVE handled! [to Haleigh] You wanted frostbite, cupcake? Here's your FUCKING frostbite."

He began to fight back from the attack, something he was uniquely qualified to do. She may had been tortured at the hands of Christopher Victory...but Cameron had the pleasure of being tortured by The White Queen herself. She didn't KNOW torture like he did. His crackling red energy signature began to manifest around him. Her words were seeming to feed his anger and if she didn't stop and SOON..he was going to BLAST her into oblivion, making sure whatever fragmented pieces she might have left of herself would be cast across the astral plane lost forever.

The others began to intervene. Vivica and Alycia choosing the perfect time to agree with each other. Even Cassie tried to bridge the gap between them, but they didn't understand. Jasmine had attacked The Parthenon, by all accounts his CHILD. The place HE protected at all costs. She was inconsequential at this point, they're WORDS were inconsequential. He watched as Sharon and Alycia made contact, through his gasping breath, and ICE cold body, he was using his own psionic energy to warm himself up. It wasn't working very well, but he just needed a window.

Haleigh: "IF NOBODY....STOPS HER...I'M GOING... TO HAVE TO... KILL HER."

[he shot a look at Haleigh]

"WAY....AHEAD OF YOU...."

They were all distracted, trying to CALM Frost and get her back to center, but Cameron had enough of their words. It was clear it wasn't working. There was only one way to stop this. He pulled himself up, his left hand CHARGED with PSI energy, ready to unleash a telekinetic BIO blast on the woman when....

NO! << she shouts...as she instinctively flings her arms out to either side, REPULSING Delilah and Michael (but not HURTING them).>>

NO. NO. NO. NO!

<< flinging her arms up and down, she was having a FIT!>>

<< she continues to SHOUT as she shakes her head and STORMS over to the conference table and holds her hands up above her head, EYES still closed, and she's still shaking her head. A mystical chime sounds off, as a LARGE "GLOBE" of dark magick forms all around her uplifted hands.>>

NO. NO. NO!

<< Eyes still shut tightly, she brings her hands down, VIOLENTLY SLAMMING the "GLOBE" of dark magick, which GREW in size. It CRASHES into the conference table with a force BEYOND that of a WRECKING BALL, DESTROYING IT with an explosive effect!>>

DAMMIT! THAT IS JUST ABOUT ENOUGH!

<< Shadow Weaver disappears, suddenly REAPPEARING between FROST, Firebird, and Black Widow and Cameron!>>

ALL OF YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTHS, YOU STUPID, SELFISH, MALDAPTIVE BASTARDS!

I'VE HAD IT! I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS WHOLE MESS, DO YOU HEAR ME!?

<< ZZZZAP!>>

<< Shadow Weaver gestures rapidly, activating her magicks, as she SCRAMBLES Frost's powers, ALONG WITH Firebird, Black Widow AND Prophet.>>

I'VE HAD IT, LITTLE GIRL!

<< Karen's tone, her demeanor...she was VERY much like she was when she confronted AVA on Aerie after Ava- in a fit of psychotic rage- had GUTTED Michael!Black Widow and Prophet are COMPLETELY FREED from Frost's attack. The effects around the room and the BUILDING begin to REVERSE, and the four of them CANNOT access their powers just now. Shadow Weaver "MOVES" Firebird, causing her to disappear from where she was, and BACK to Ruby and Recall's side.>>

<< She ALSO IMMOBILIZES Frost, Black Widow and Cameron, binding ALL three of them in mystic chains! Even more surprising, and disturbing, is that she's immobilized FIREBIRD as well. Recall and Ruby see the look of disorientation and WORRY in Firebird's eyes. >>

<< The situation had now suddenly SHIFTED, but the CRISIS was NOT averted, it had only taken on a NEW FORM as Shadow Weaver was ERUPTING.>>

<< Shadow Weaver's face was enshrouded in shadow, and halos of dark magick encased her hands>>

YOUHORRIBLE, WRETCHED CREATURE! YOU ARE EVERY BIT YOUR FATHER'S DAUGHTER! EVERY BIT THE SELFISH, SOULESS, SOCIOPATHIC MONSTER THAT HE WAS. WILL YOU NOT BE SATISFIED UNTIL YOU FORCE ME TO DESTROY YOU? !

<< She then turns her WRATH on Haleigh and Cameron.>>

YOU TWO ARE THE MOST DISPICABLE PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET!

<< She SCREAMS with such force>>

ANYONE WHO IS WEAK, WHO IS DIVERGENT FROM THE TWO OF YOU AND WHAT YOU THINK IS ACCEPTABLE, YOU CIRCLE AROUND LIKE SHARKS AT A FEEDING FRENZY. YOU DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'VE GORGED ON YOUR FEAST OF BULLYING, ANTAGONIZING AND DESTRUCTION! YOU DRIVE A PERSON TO DO THE MOST EXTREME THINGS AND YOU REVEL IN IT! YOU DID IT MY DAUGHTER, YOU DID IT TO FOXFIRE, AND NOW FROST! YOU REVEL IN THE FAILINGS OF OTHERS BECAUSE IT'S A DIRECT REFLECTION OF YOUR OWN AMORAL, FRACTURED PSYCHES!

I CAN'T TAKE IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT!

<< She REPEATS this again and again as Orbs of magick swirl around her rapidly as she continues to rage! the doctor's EXPLOSION has NOW surpassed any previously known event of extreme anger that she's displayed. There's something SERIOUSLY wrong. It's NOT merely a "reversion" on her part.>>

<< While Black Widow was immobilized, and her powers scrambled, she STILL had the benefit of the LINK established between her and RECALL. She was somehow able to "REMOTE IN", and with the DATA that RECALL was gathering, she compared it to established vitals for the doctor. Karen was completely apoplectic! Her mind and her body had WILDLY rocketed from the verge of a PANIC attack to a state presented some symptoms associated with a PSYCHOTIC episode! This was a pattern of PSYCHOSIS! >>

Karen Victoria had COMPLETELY lost it, though she HAD been effective at stopping Jasmine, even if she DID lock Cameron, Haleigh and Frost in mystic chains. She was screaming and she made no sense. Whatever had attacked her had done more than just scare here, it seemed to have effected her PSYCHE. Cameron, who had been SO enraged at Frost became incredibly "sober" at looking at how much pain Karen was in. He didn't want this, but that WOMAN, that miserable woman had pushed him too far..and now Karen Victoria looked as if she were about to have a HEART ATTACK. He joined in the greek chorus who was trying to help Karen calm down and center herself. He looked over at Zach. He had a syringe. This might be the only way...but HOW was anybody supposed to approach her. She could scramble them all and take control over the whole CITY if she wanted.

"Karen...please...I'm sorry, just PLEASE...calm yourself. PLEASE!"

 

[Silver Swan]

The Situation Room

[Orion and Charope were already thinking on their feet. They approached Frost from two different angles, while Silver Swan closed in from behind.]

[Frost was so focused on Prophet and Black Widow, had left herself wide open, and Silver Swan was about to knock her OUT for the remainder of this confrontation in a way that would have done minimal physical damage to her- using her sonic scream.]

[ Recall and Charope were also attempting to draw her attention, which would make this even EASIER. Sharon and Alycia exchanged looks from where they were, and as the mutate inhaled....FIREBIRD rose up and checked her sister, counteracting her elemental attack with her own powers. Sharon did not want to hit Blaze with her sonic attack, and it seemed that she was pushing Frost back, at least as far as her physical assault. But there was always the chance that Blaze might falter given the situation, and Sharon would STILL have to put Frost down for the count. ]

[Time was running OUT. Black Widow would ultimately survive, but Prophet would likely not. The Parthenon itself was in danger, and others in the situation room would fall. ]

This MUST end.

[ And then it happened. Shadow Weaver's rage ERUPTED. She NEUTRALIZED the threat of Frost, but she ALSO included Black Widow, Prophet and FIREBIRD in her attack as well!]

Athena!!!!

[ Not since the Set caper, and it's horrible aftermath had Sharon seen Karen so enraged...so...UNHINGED! But Sharon COULD identify. SHE was out of control when SHE first returned and was UNLEASHED upon the unsuspected populace of NYC as the vengeful silver swan! Many lives were cut down by her wrath, and she carried that guilt, that SHAME with her to this day.]

[ She could NOT let Karen lose herself and possibly HURT her friends, or even worse, her DAUGHTER. The doctor would NEVER forgive herself if she realized what she'd done afterward! IF she even LIVED! If she continued much longer, she'd have a MINI STROKE!]

[ Everyone else, more or less, was now on the same page. The crisis hadn't been ended, it merely MUTATED, but THIS time, it WOULD be handled differently. Sharon would MAKE SURE of it.]

"Karen...please...I'm sorry, just PLEASE...calm yourself. PLEASE!"

Orion, continue using your empathic power, but keep your physical proximity AWAY from Shadow Weaver.

Arsenal, you've GOT to restrain her. Of all of us, YOU are the one who she will reflexively ALLOW to be so physically close to her person.

[ She knew Michael was hesitant. He didn't want to be injured by Karen's personal wards, she didn't blame him.]

Trust me, Michael. Move forward and take action. She will undoubtedly be jarred and offer a reaction, but HOLD her as best you can! You will not be alone in your effort.

“Please Karen, you’re hurting yourself – you have to calm down.”

Again Delilah tried casting a soothing light, all around Karen this time.

[Silver Swan moved around, now BEHIND MorningStar, placing her armored hand on Delilah's back]

“Listen to us, Karen, please!”

[ And at that moment, As MorningStar's immersive, intricate light show - along with ORION siphoning off the TREMENDOUS excess amount of NEGATIVE emotion that was almost FEEDING ITSELF in a vicious cycle when Karen had worked herself into a FRENZY, The combined effort was FINALLY starting to effect Karen, with visible signs of her FINALLY starting to relent and ease down, Michael, who had carefully crept up behind Karen, GRABBED HER and constrained her.]

[ Shadow Weaver's immediate reaction was VIOLENT, as she SCREAMED in savage protest and was about to unleash a POWERFUL blast of dark magick that would injure Michael and Delilah....but ]

HUSH, Shadow Weaver!

[ Silver Swan's SONIC power was heard by ALL, and the initial release of it was jarring for many of them, but then....]


SHHHHHHH! Hush now, dear Karen.

[ MorningStar GOT the silent cue that Sharon had given her when she placed her hand on her back. Sharon began to use her sonic power in a most unusual way. Unlike the average banshee or sonic producer, Silver Swan, who was intended to be a living weapon/hunter for mystech, can use her sonic power to influence and even CONTROL humans to a certain degree, she can induce a hypnotic state, she can even cause a person to fall in love with her- regardless of gender or sexual orientation- and easily compell them to do her bidding, tell her whatever she wants to know.]

[It's an aspect of her power that she RARELY displays, and even a person with a PSI SCREEN is not protected from it.]

[ And so, Shadow Weaver is surrounded by, and bathed in the soothing, calming, warm, reassuring LIGHTS generated by MorningStar, while Silver Swan backs her play with her sonics.]

Everryyyythinggg is goingggg to beeee allll rightttt now, Karen. You've doneeeee suchhhh a wonderfullll jobbbb and nowwww? It'ssss timeeee to RESSSST.

[ For some present, this was their first time seeing THIS aspect of Sharon's sonic power. It was intriguing. Her voice was truly an intstrument. Oracle had been VERY wise to recruit her by way of Orion.]

Shadow Weaver << Her eyes fluttered a bit, she was visibly weakening, visibly becoming more and more relaxed, tranquil...hypnotized>> rest....

Yesss, Karennnn. Resssst! Breathheeeee innnn....andddd outttt. Oncceeee moreeee. Andddd againnnn. That'sssss itttt! With each breath, you are now movinggg awayyy from a place off violenceeee and to a place of calmmmm.

You're not angryyyy, you're just sleepyyyyyy!!!

Youuuuu are safeeee....the warm, soothing lightssss are all around youuuuu and youuuu areeeee safeeeee! Breathe....let gooooo....be stilllllll and......ressssttttt

[ Karen totally relaxes in Michael's hold, and he moves to gather her up in his arms, as she finally let's go....and closes her eyes....and....]

Shadow Weaver: << in a quiet, lulled tone>> rest....

[ MorningStar continues to surround her in the soft, soothing, patterns of light a bit longer, until Sharon confirms]

Her vitals have come down to safe levels. She is stable. She is now resting.

[ Sharon looks around the room for the FIRST time since this began...things were QUIET.]

[ The mutate moves out from behind Delilah, and stands along side her, as Delilah gently brushes some of Karen's blonde hair away from her now (finally) calm, resting face.]

Michael, take her away from here. She's had more than enough for one night.

If ANYONE does ANYTHING out of order now, you'll answer to ME.

[NOT an idle threat.]

 

[Arsenal]

STILL IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM...FML

And this is how it falls apart. Karen resisted Mike's attempt to extricate her, and before he knew it, he was cast aside. Nothing like outside the apothecary, but she definitely made sure she was free from their grasp. And then....

Karen Victoria had COMPLETELY lost it, though she HAD been effective at stopping Jasmine, even if she DID lock Cameron, Haleigh and Frost in mystic chains. She was screaming and she made no sense. Whatever had attacked her had done more than just scare here, it seemed to have effected her PSYCHE. Cameron, who had been SO enraged at Frost became incredibly "sober" at looking at how much pain Karen was in. He didn't want this, but that WOMAN, that miserable woman had pushed him too far..and now Karen Victoria looked as if she were about to have a HEART ATTACK. He joined in the greek chorus who was trying to help Karen calm down and center herself. He looked over at Zach. He had a syringe. This might be the only way...but HOW was anybody supposed to approach her. She could scramble them all and take control over the whole CITY if she wanted.

Nope. Not like this. Not if he knew her the way the thought he did.

KAREN!

Mike was thinking of how to get closer without getting zapped and being useless for a week...

Arsenal, you've GOT to restrain her. Of all of us, YOU are the one who she will reflexively ALLOW to be so physically close to her person.

[ She knew Michael was hesitant. He didn't want to be injured by Karen's personal wards, she didn't blame him.]

Trust me, Michael. Move forward and take action. She will undoubtedly be jarred and offer a reaction, but HOLD her as best you can! You will not be alone in your effort.

Moving with a speed that belied his size, Mike moved off into her periphery as everyone else took a turn at trying to calm her. It managed to disorient her more than disrupt her, but then the moment of truth came. Mike came up in her blind spot grabbed her by her wrists, easily overpowering her and enveloping her in his arms from behind. Any other time Karen would not be able to feel more safe than this position and they shared many hours with him holding her from behind relaxing, but she was not herself, she was barely registering Mike and at this moment, he wondered if she though he was someone else as she recoiled...

[ Shadow Weaver's immediate reaction was VIOLENT, as she SCREAMED in savage protest and was about to unleash a POWERFUL blast of dark magick that would injure Michael and Delilah....but ]

Sharon and Delilah engaged in a light and sound show that was working, had managed to transfix Karen as they engaged to calm her. Mike could feel her pulse slowing as he grasped her wrists, holding her to him. Finally, she was lulled into a sleep and fell back into him. Delilah brushed a bit of her hair aside as Mike easily lifted her. Doc did not fight him this time and he was already turning to leave...

Michael, take her away from here. She's had more than enough for one night.

Goddamn right she has. Good night.

Mike moved quickly and easily with Karen, making sure not to jar her as he sought to take her to rest...

 

[Ruby]

The Parthenon - The Situation Room





:: World War THREE was breaking out right in the middle of the damn Situation Room AND in the middle of a FUCKING ice age! Cass was very nearly reaching her breaking point. Jasmine was attempting to murder both Haleigh AND Cameron, Karen looked as if she was going to pass out any second from SCREAMING at the top of her lungs, Blaze looked disoriented and worried from Karen’s spell, and Cass was getting a headache. ::

Damn it, people!

:: She thought about what both Cameron and Blaze had told her about the Six. Cameron had SHOWN her what exactly happened during the Inferno…and how it was all started because Cameron kept butting heads with Morgan. She thought of what happened during the Blue Moon, and how THAT is STILL happening all because they took Delilah’s baby from her without her consent. Though their motives and intentions were pure and good of heart, they still took somebody’s baby away from them without their consent. She thought about how they, as a team AND as individuals [], never thought of the consequences. EVER. But perhaps they SHOULD think of the consequences NOW, before it was too late. She didn’t want the Six to keep repeating the same vicious circle. She looked at Jasmine. ::

So much like BLAZE…but with obvious differences.

:: She looked over at everybody crowding around Karen, trying to calm her down. ::

Hmmm…I WONDER…

:: She looked over at Vivi and Blaze, nodded at them, and gave Blaze’s hand a squeeze. It was a long shot, but CASS would try to calm Jasmine down. She made her way over to the woman. ::

“Jasmine? Hi, we don’t know each other. My name is Cass. This world…is not at all like the one you remember, am I right? I know a little about that.”

:: There was no harshness in Cass’ tone; no judgmental overtures. Her expression was soft and friendly; NOT filled with anger and rage. But Cass knew something about being displaced and LOST and without family. You didn’t need to be an empath to have compassion and empathy for people, like Cass did. ::

 

[Seer]

Trying a different approach

<< Frost found herself being CHECKED both powerwise and PHYSICALLY by Firebird. No one BUT one of her sisters, PARTICULARLY Foxfire or...FIREBIRD, WOULD be able to counteract her powers like THIS. If Jasmine doubted Blaze because of her origins, then she would HAVE to acknowledge GENETICS. If she had wanted to test Firebird, she'd find herself in for one HELL of a fight, and a physical beating- for Firebird was a vicious physical fighter, having spent some time as a spy/assassin in her native timeline- just like Foxfire had in the mainstream.>>

<< But before Frost and Firebird could get into it....something ELSE happened.>>

<< EVERYONE, including FROST has SOME sense of self preservation. Frost, because of her horrific, traumatic background, had a much HIGHER threshold than some others when it came to risk and danger. Some might even say she had a "risk addiction." But the moment she was attacked by SHADOW WEAVER in the Situation Room, being confronted by this woman who was now in an absolute apoplectic RAGE, berating her and condemning her to a position WORSE than her father, the ice elemenetal couldn't help but wonder if she should've been careful what she wished for when she said she wanted to DIE.>>

<< Frost had not been present for Karen's transformation into Shadow Weaver during the Set caper. She'd not seen the other timelines where Karen had been violent, BRUTAL and VENGEFUL. Well she was getting an upclose, personal experience NOW, as Shadow Weaver scrambled her powers and IMMOBILIZED her, and now threatened to DESTROY Her utterly, and there would be precious LITTLE anyone could (IF they even wanted to) do to stop Karen at this point. >>

<< Shadow Weaver HATED her husband for all he'd done to her, to her daughters...and even his OTHER daughters. Whatever her mistakes before regarding Blaze, she'd done MUCH to rectify those mistakes and prove that she was not the woman she one was. Frost had unknowingly struck a VERY raw nerve with her cruel attack on Karen. and now, depowered and defenseless...more than anything Haleigh or Cameron would be capable of doing to her, Frost was about to experience the unbrilded WRATH of Shadow Weaver.>>

<< But because Black Widow, Prophet and even Firebird were ALSO being effected by Karen's attack, AND because Karen HERSELF was in mortal physical danger due to an emerging HEALTH crisis, the Birds of Prey, along with MorningStar and Arsenal stepped in. >>

<< It is ONLY because of their efforts that Frost is ALIVE at this very moment. The young woman has a sobering realization that she's on BORROWED time. Shadow Weaver, having been calmed and lulled by the efforts of Orion, MorningStar and Silver Swan, is carried away by Arsenal, who has now totally written Frost off as a liability who should be PUT DOWN. >>

<< Frost, and the others, are FINALLY freed from the effects of Shadow Weaver's attack. It takes a few minutes for each of them to recover, and Frost happens to look upon Silver Swan..>>

If ANYONE does ANYTHING out of order now, you'll answer to ME.

[NOT an idle threat.]

<< The mutate looked RIGHT at Frost. If Frost didn't have sense enough to restrain herself with anyone ELSE....she'd JUST learned that Shadow Weaver was not one to cross, and something told her that Silver Swan would be ANOTHER one not to risk crossing. But at the same time, Silver Swan's MATTER OF FACT statement would be one BIG factor that kept Black Widow and Prophet from retaliating as well.>>

Here she was, seemingly no further, no BETTER OFF from when she LEFT, and she'd just SQUANDERED the opportunity that Karen and Blaze tried to provide her. NOW she was surrounded by MORE than a half dozen individuals, most of whom were now thinking the best thing to do with her is to KILL her. Is that what she REALLY wanted? If she looked DEEP inside herself, she knew the answer was NO. She'd heard Alycia earlier. Her father was GONE. She'd heard Karen- backed by Delilah, Haleigh, and Cameron- Her SISTERS were ALIVE. She HAD a chance to have what she wanted in the first place. Maybe she should try a different approach to this? But HOW? No one there would help her NOW.>>

<< But then...>>

:: She looked over at Vivi and Blaze, nodded at them, and gave Blaze’s hand a squeeze. It was a long shot, but CASS would try to calm Jasmine down. She made her way over to the woman. ::

“Jasmine? Hi, we don’t know each other. My name is Cass. This world…is not at all like the one you remember, am I right? I know a little about that.”

:: There was no harshness in Cass’ tone; no judgmental overtures. Her expression was soft and friendly; NOT filled with anger and rage. But Cass knew something about being displaced and LOST and without family. You didn’t need to be an empath to have compassion and empathy for people, like Cass did. ::

<< RUBY, the newest member of the Six. A beautiful, youthful looking psionic succubuss with psychokinetic powers. She was the team's YOUTH, the SWEETNESS. There was a certain naivete about her, at times, but it was a much needed BALANCE to the sarcastic, weather worn, dark, maladaptive behavior and personalities that were ever present on this team, it's family dynamics.>>

<< Ruby was the one person on the team that Frost had no history or point of reference with. She was ALSO quite close to Blaze Victory. She'd won the trust and respect of MOST of her teammates, and was well on her way in applying the lessons she'd learned since being apart of the team, as well as applying the advice given to her by Prophet, Silver Swan, Rampage, Charope, and Shadow Weaver.>>

<< Perhaps more than than anything else, Ruby DID have empathy for Frost. A person who was an outsider in her own native timeline. A person who's family had been destroyed, and she herself had been tortured, experimented upon, and even sexually assaulted. She knew what it was like to be cold, alone, unwanted, misunderstood. BUT she'd also come to learn that she had an opportunity and FORTUNE that none of her original had, and that if she wanted to HONOR them, and ensure that her bloodline's legacy was something she took back and controlled, she'd HAVE to look ahead. The things that Prophet had tried to teach her were now very crystalized for her, and now the SIX was her family and she could NOT let history repeat itself!>>

<< She stepped forward, and broke the uncertain silence in the situation room, reaching out to Frost in a simple, plaintive but no less genuine way.>>

Frost, this is your LAST CHANCE.

<< Sharon didn't need to elaborate on what would happen if Frost acted up. She would be KNOCKED OUT immediately and then put in CONFINEMENT. Would Frost THINK before she spoke? Would she be smart enough to recognize this WAS her last chance?>>

<< All eyes were on her at this point, including Firebird's.>>

 

[Frost]

The room had went cold, in more ways than one. She wanted to kill Cameron and Haleigh, and she was prepared to when Karen lost her shit and Blaze stepped in. Her power completely counter acted her own! It was like the ying to her yang as Blaze reversed what Jasmine had just done. It was actually remarkable because she remembered so vividly how they used to tease one another about being 'better' than the other and trying to one up each other.

Despite Blaze's intervention, Karen restrained herself, Cameron, Haleigh, AND Blaze while leaving a verbal assault on EVERYONE that was something she had never witness from Karen before. Jasmine watched as the woman looked like she was about to have a stroke, causing her to have a moment of concern. Delilah and the hot Samoan stepped in to try and defuse the situation, and finally Sharon. She almost sang to her in a lullaby-like way, completely calming Karen. Jasmine looked down at the cuffs around her wrist and sighed.

Sharon: If ANYONE does ANYTHING out of order now, you answer to ME.

Looking up at Sharon, the woman was staring right at her as she issued her warning. Jasmine raised her hands up in a 'i surrender' type way, showing she wasn't going to do anything at this point. Even if she could, she wouldn't be able to anyway.

Cass: Jasmine? Hi, we don’t know each other. My name is Cass. This world…is not at all like the one you remember, am I right? I know a little about that.

The young girl seemed genuine--more genuine than these other assholes. She had no idea who this chick was, but maybe that was a good thing. Everyone in this room knew who Jasmine was--knew her reputation--and came in expecting the worse out of her. Maybe dealing with a third party like this Cass girl was the best option to actually figure out what the hell was going on and not getting into a brawl at every impasse.

Sharon: Frost, this is your LAST chance.

"I heard your LAST threat loud and clear, thanks."

She snipped back as she rolled her eyes.

[to Cass] "You seem sweet....how the hell did you get wrapped up with these douche canoes? Nevermind, it doesn't matter. You wanna talk? Lets go somewhere away from THEM. I'm tired of fighting."

 

[Arsenal]

Karen's suite, the Parthenon

Arriving quickly at Karen's room at the Parthenon, Mike placed her on the bed, removing her shoes and doing a quick triage. She was resting well, pulse seemed fine now at least. But the warning of a possible stroke worried him and so he went to the well-appointed medicine cabinet and pulled a baby aspirin, placing it under Karen's tongue to dissolve. He began to pace, furious at himself for not pushing back against this when he saw Doc was fading, for not shooting that ice-bitch in the fucking face just now, for seeing her like...like THIS.

Moving quickly to the closet door, Mike opened it the wrong way, triggering the enchantment on the door and opening a portal to Aerie. Standing at the opening, he blew on a silent whistle and waited, his back to the opening and he grabbed a chair and watched Karen sleep.

Suddenly, silently, in entered Zeus and Apollo, Mike's Dire Wolves. The circled him as they saw their Daddy, but they immediately turned, looking at Mommy. Something was not right, and they turned to Mike, already whining softly...

Mommy is not feeling so well right now, she will be fine. Take your places and watch. If you see or sense anything, call. If someone comes in, call. NO ONE TOUCHES MOMMY UNLESS I SAY. Go.

They hesitated, heads resting on either side of Karen and they whimpered to stay closer. A look and click of the tongue was additionally needed to move them to the shadowy corners of the room, nearly invisible and completely silent.

Mike moved to the restroom, washing his face in the sink and getting himself together. He pulled his phone and sent a text to Haleigh.

Doc is resting. I don't care who SHE is, Icebox is a loose end that needs tying. Before I allow her to hurt Karen or make her sick, I will find a way to file 13 her ass. Holla back when you have time to find out about the attack today.

 

[Ruby]

The Parthenon - The Situation Room





:: One can never predict how circumstances/people that are volatile would go/react. Cass knew that she was taking a big risk when she approached Jasmine because she had no idea how she would react. Already the situation was filled with tension and anger. There was no telling how Jasmine would react. Still, Cass had to TRY. ::

Sharon: “Frost, this is your LAST chance.”

Sharon…SHUT UP.

:: Cass whirled around and FROWNED at Sharon. Jasmine didn’t need warnings, or threats, or anger, or even a beating. What she needed was a FRIEND, and Cass was happy to oblige, that is, if Jasmine would let her. She turned back to Jasmine. ::

Jasmine: *snippy*: “I heard your LAST threat loud and clear, thanks.”

:: A half-smile came upon Cass’ face. She was really amused by what Jasmine said. Oh, how much she was like CASS was when she first joined the team, reluctantly as she did. She had butted heads with quite a few people herself! ::

Jasmine: "You seem sweet....how the hell did you get wrapped up with these douche canoes? Nevermind, it doesn't matter. You wanna talk? Let’s go somewhere away from THEM. I'm tired of fighting."

:: Cass chuckled. She could see Blaze watching them with a hopeful expression on her face. Cass nodded at her friend and took a serious liberty by taking Jasmine’s hand. Again, she was struck by how DIFFERENT Jasmine was compared to Blaze. Blaze was warm whereas Jasmine was COOL. She squeezed Jasmine’s hand in a friendly way. ::

“We can definitely go somewhere else, and I don’t blame you for wanting that. However, would it be okay if my best friend comes with us? I assure you that you won’t have to talk to her, but that she would only LISTEN. I trust her more than anybody else in this room.”

:: A hesitant look came over Cass’ face. ::

*hesitantly*: “It’s…Blaze.” *hurriedly*: “Again, I’d like to be very clear that you don’t have to talk to her; you can talk to only ME if you choose to do so, but Blaze would be right there.”

:: Jasmine audibly sighed and Cass knew that it meant that Blaze could come. She nodded at her friend, who came right over, and the three of them headed for the door. Haleigh opened her mouth to protest. ::

“Not right now, Hales. We’re doing this MY way.”

:: She appreciated Haleigh’s concern, but Cass was tired of all the fighting/bickering/yelling/insulting/etc. Jasmine didn’t need that; hell, SHE didn’t need that! No, she would offer Jasmine her compassion, empathy, and, hopefully, her FRIENDSHIP. Cass felt Jasmine tense as they walked past the others. ::

*gentle*: “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

:: She gave Jasmine’s hand a comforting squeeze. The three women left the room so that Jasmine could feel free – and safe enough – to talk. ::

 

[Firebird]

The Situation Room

There had a moment of shock in Frost's icy blue eyes as she was confronted by Blaze in this way.

That's RIGHT. ONLY your SISTER could get you together when you need it, and if you DON'T STOP, I WILL!

But that "come to jesus" moment was UPENDED when Shadow Weaver went BALLISTIC, DESTROYING a hefty piece of furniture in the situation room. Then the most unexpected, unsettling thing happened...

"MOM!?"

<< She SCRAMBLES the powers Black Widow, Prophet, Frost AND Firebird! >>

I....can't move! MOM! PLEASE!

Tears began to fall from Blaze's apple green eyes as she shut them tightly. Karen was coming down on Frost like a ton of BOULDERS- she was even threatening to DESTROY Frost. She was ALSO doing the same to Black Widow and Prophet! She didn't include Blaze in her withering verbal rebuke.

Things were bad, and Blaze shouldve realized sooner that they were THIS bad when Karen STOPPED communicating with her via the spell she'd cast between them. She'd NEVER seen Karen this way before, not even in HER timeline. This was beyond what she displayed during the Set caper, and it was...it was terrifying. Even more so, Blaze had a "captive audience" view of the utter turmoil that Karen's mind was in as she rapidly moved past rage to the point of utter CHAOS, and Sharon then confirmed that she was going to have a mini stroke!

Ruby and Recall were unable to free Firebird, but Charope Silver Swan, Orion, Arsenal and MorningStar were moving in , and THANKFULLY, Orion, MorningStar, Arsenal and Silver Swan were able to contain the fury of Shadow Weaver, and calm her down!

Soon the magick bindings faded and the effect of the power scramble wore off and Blaze was free.

Arsenal was carrying a now resting Karen away, she looked at him, and he met her apple green eyes with his gaze. He'd take care of her. She trusted him.

If ANYONE does ANYTHING out of order now, you'll answer to ME.

[NOT an idle threat.]

Blaze knew that Frost was just as jarred by Karen's erruption as she was, as they ALL had been. The ice elemental kept herself in check this time. But what now? Blaze wasn't exactly in a conciliatory mood toward her sister, and was ready to drag her out of the Situation Room by her hair and BEAT HER like she'd done her native timeline's Cameron in the aftermath of the Inferno.

But her best friend, Cass, proved how in tune she was with Blaze's feelings right now. Ruby could somehow sense just how ANGRY she was Frost, and that if Frost made one false move, Silver Swan would take her down before ANYBODY else could get to her. But sometimes, a person too close to the situation is not the best person for the solution!

:: She looked over at Vivi and Blaze, nodded at them, and gave Blaze’s hand a squeeze. It was a long shot, but CASS would try to calm Jasmine down. She made her way over to the woman. ::

:: There was no harshness in Cass’ tone; no judgmental overtures. Her expression was soft and friendly; NOT filled with anger and rage. But Cass knew something about being displaced and LOST and without family. You didn’t need to be an empath to have compassion and empathy for people, like Cass did. ::

<< She stepped forward, and broke the uncertain silence in the situation room, reaching out to Frost in a simple, plaintive but no less genuine way.>>

Sharon: Frost, this is your LAST chance.

"I heard your LAST threat loud and clear, thanks."

She snipped back as she rolled her eyes.

Blaze couldn't help but smirk. Talking back to Sharon wasn't the smartest thing to do...BUT Frost WAS a Victory, and both she AND Blaze had done their fair share of talking back to their father. In his case, They HAD to. They suffered for it, but they HAD to.

[to Cass] "You seem sweet....how the hell did you get wrapped up with these douche canoes? Nevermind, it doesn't matter. You wanna talk? Lets go somewhere away from THEM. I'm tired of fighting."

Blaze ran her hand through her auburn hair, and slowly exhaled

Thank the goddess!

She watched Cass, and her facial expression melted from one of grim concern to that was more hopeful.

:: Cass chuckled. She could see Blaze watching them with a hopeful expression on her face. Cass nodded at her friend and took a serious liberty by taking Jasmine’s hand. Again, she was struck by how DIFFERENT Jasmine was compared to Blaze. Blaze was warm whereas Jasmine was COOL. She squeezed Jasmine’s hand in a friendly way. ::

“We can definitely go somewhere else, and I don’t blame you for wanting that. However, would it be okay if my best friend comes with us? I assure you that you won’t have to talk to her, but that she would only LISTEN. I trust her more than anybody else in this room.”

:: A hesitant look came over Cass’ face. ::

*hesitantly*: “It’s…Blaze.” *hurriedly*: “Again, I’d like to be very clear that you don’t have to talk to her; you can talk to only ME if you choose to do so, but Blaze would be right there.”

Well...THIS was unexpected. But Cass was prooving them ALL wrong in this moment!

:: Jasmine audibly sighed and Cass knew that it meant that Blaze could come. She nodded at her friend, who came right over, and the three of them headed for the door. Haleigh opened her mouth to protest. ::

Blaze smirked once more and lifted her eyebrows as Jasmine RELENTED.

Oh MORG, if only you could see THIS.

The fire elemental decided to take a moment to LIGHTEN THE MOOD. As she her way to Ruby and Frost, who were heading for the door. She immediately stopped as she intersected with them, and BOWED, gesturing toward the door for Ruby and Frost to proceed as if Frost were a celebrity. It was definitely meant to be a joke, to indicate how much of a DEMENTED DIVA Frost coming across as.

After a stifled giggle, Blaze stands up right, and follows the pair, passing by Vivica, she runs her hand over Viv's arm, letting her know "it's okay. SHE'S okay." Black Widow started to protest, only to be decisively countered by Ruby!

“Not right now, Hales. We’re doing this MY way.”

:: She appreciated Haleigh’s concern, but Cass was tired of all the fighting/bickering/yelling/insulting/etc. Jasmine didn’t need that; hell, SHE didn’t need that! No, she would offer Jasmine her compassion, empathy, and, hopefully, her FRIENDSHIP. Cass felt Jasmine tense as they walked past the others. ::

*gentle*: “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Okay, Ruby! Way to be ASSERTIVE! I've got your back.

Blaze turned back to Black Widow and gave her that "TRUST ME!" look, silently nodding to the affirmative. IF something went wrong, Blaze would immediately contact Haleigh, and THEN do whatever she had to to CONTAIN Frost, but her instincts told her that Frost was ready to TURN THE PAGE, and they NEEDED to give her this last chance to do it.

:: She gave Jasmine’s hand a comforting squeeze. The three women left the room so that Jasmine could feel free – and safe enough – to talk. ::

Blaze was the last to exit. Turning back to everyone, she nodded once more, and then closed the doors behind them, leaving members of the Six and Birds of Prey together, without their "guest of honor." for the first time since all of this began.

 

[Seer]

And So

<< Black Widow was able to restore the furniture that Shadow Weaver had destroyed, given that there were enough metallic properties in it for her to control it on a molecular level. Black Widow, Prophet, MorningStar, along with their guests Silver Swan, Charope, Recall, and Orion were now seated at the conference table.>>

<< Ruby, Frost and Firebird had left, and were now at the Starlight Lounge. Ruby, now leading an effort to connect Frost with Firebird, decided to try a different approach, one that began with some drinks to take the edge off. >>

<< Arsenal and his dire wolves were attending the sleeping Shadow Weaver in the executive suite she was staying in while she was visitng at the parthenon. >>

<< the time for the Six and the Birds of Prey to discuss was now at hand.>>

 

[Black Widow]

The Parthenon New York - The Situation Room

Firebird: FROST. ENOUGH. You can rage at ME all you want, but I'm NOT going to let you hurt Karen or ANYONE ELSE in this room. You either stand down, or I'll KNOCK YOU DOWN. Understand this- NO ONE fights quite like SIBLINGS, and if you DOUBT that WE are sisters...I'll SHOW you in a way that NEITHER of us will like.

"MELT her ass into a puddle, Blaze."

Haleigh glowered, no mercy whatsoever in her bloodthirsty scowl. But Blaze had brought the conflict to a standstill and wasn't any more aggressive than that. Haleigh considered manifesting a flamethrower, but she saw Cameron raise a hand charged with psi energy, and she watched him in anticipation.

Do it, Stud, she needs a lobotomy!

But before Jasmine could get her just desserts, Karen went absolutely BERSERK on them. She destroyed the conference table, immobilized them all, and scrambled their powers even. Her vehemence was beyond anything that could be expected, and snapped Haleigh out of murder mode through sheer surprise.

Haleigh didn't like being trapped, and she absolutely HATED being powerless. She'd taken many steps to circumvent any attempt to render her powerless. First of all, her biological systems all worked independently of her powers, and were 'programmed' to continue running. In the past, she'd suffered tremendously when her power were scrambled, because part of her innate abilities gave her the balance needed for the TO virus. But Haleigh had evolved past that, and created a system that adapted her kidneys to regulate the virus itself.

So she wasn't in danger of going total zombie on them all here, which was good. And of course her HUD wasn't part of her powers, it was an actual evolution of her vision and brain. But Haleigh hadn't stopped there. She also 'installed' some other handy hacks that weren't power based, but actually bio-mechanical. She had built in wifi, for example, and could connect with Recall's server. This allowed her to compare Karen's current state with some known vital readings, not just HERS, but some patterns Recall had documented. This had not been the FIRST time today that the doctor had spiked, but this was certainly worse than what Recall had recorded earlier. That was something Haleigh would need to seek more information on. For now, Karen was berating Frost, and that would have been fine by Haleigh, but what came next gave her great concern.

Karen: YOU TWO ARE THE MOST DISPICABLE PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET!

"Karen, have you LOST YOUR MIND?"

She asked, sounding somewhat astonished. This was a condemnation from Karen she'd hoped to never get again. In fact, she'd JUST started trusting Karen to keep her cool and no longer jump to judgmental conclusions.

Karen: ANYONE WHO IS WEAK, WHO IS DIVERGENT FROM THE TWO OF YOU AND WHAT YOU THINK IS ACCEPTABLE, YOU CIRCLE AROUND LIKE SHARKS AT A FEEDING FRENZY. YOU DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'VE GORGED ON YOUR FEAST OF BULLYING, ANTAGONIZING AND DESTRUCTION! YOU DRIVE A PERSON TO DO THE MOST EXTREME THINGS AND YOU REVEL IN IT! YOU DID IT MY DAUGHTER, YOU DID IT TO FOXFIRE, AND NOW FROST! YOU REVEL IN THE FAILINGS OF OTHERS BECAUSE IT'S A DIRECT REFLECTION OF YOUR OWN AMORAL, FRACTURED PSYCHES!

I CAN'T TAKE IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT!

Sharon: ALL OF YOU! Shadow Weaver is in DANGER! her internal rhythms, particularly her BLOOD FLOW are indicating a possible TRANSIENT ISCHEMIC ATTACK!

Haleigh tried to keep her cool here. It was clear that Karen was deeply disturbed right now and without the information on ALL of the day's events, she couldn't make a call on what exactly was wrong, but she knew this wasn't right. It couldn't be a regression on Karen's part. There was something else at work here. Or at least that's what she hoped. She'd truly miss having Karen's support if she was wrong. She started to diffuse, not because she no longer wanted to eliminate Frost, but because she cared more about saving Karen at this point.

"Karen, you're taking this a bit too far here, we haven't done anything but try to protect you from this girl, but we'll stop, if that's what you want."

No aggression, no argument, just a retraction of claws and an agreement to be civil. Cameron did the same. Frost was silent, thankfully. Many others joined in to talk Karen down and get everyone released. Karen was lead out to rest, and Haleigh started working on putting all the steel shavings of the frame and crumbled black marble tabletop back together.

Sharon: If ANYONE does ANYTHING out of order now, you'll answer to ME.

Haleigh glared at Frost, DARING her to test Sharon, a beat down she'd LOVE to see and assist with. Cass stepped in a tried to be nice, though experience should have taught her that it was futile. But Frost actually accepted this time. Clearly Mommy's dose of discipline had straightened her ass out for the moment. Haleigh, however, took issue with the idea of Cj, Blaze, and Jasmine going off alone together.

"Cj, wait up, we haven't even run all the tests and verified--"

Cass: Not right now, Hales. We’re doing this MY way.

It was like when your younger sister showed a bit of spine shrugged off your concern, taking that responsibility for herself. Haleigh couldn't hide the amused half smile, and she looked at Blaze, who gave her the 'be cool' look.

"Alright, but I WILL be keeping an eye on you two."

Out they went. Haleigh programmed the surveillance system to track them as high priority targets and put the stream in a small box in her HUD. After the door shut behind them, Haleigh turned to Sharon grimly.

"We should just KILL her and tell Karen it was all a horrible dream."

Several people looked at her like they weren't going to be on board with THAT idea. A couple seemed to be considering it. Mike texted Haleigh with an update on Karen and the offer to tell her about the attack. Haleigh sent a text back with a request for a FULL report and any video he could provide. Then she sat on the reconstructed conference table.

"Alright, if we aren't going to get rid of her then at least tell me EVERYTHING. Something is obviously wrong with Karen. Recall noted a spike in vitals at the Infirmary. Obviously Frost triggered it, her extra special gift is pissing people off. But give us all the details you can so Cameron and I can figure out how to even address this problem."

 

[MorningStar]

The Situation Room

Sharon joined her powers to Delilah’s, and Karen fell into a deep sleep. Mike thankfully took her out of the Situation Room, where she could get much needed rest.

Cassie, Jasmine and Blaze went off to “talk”. Delilah hoped they went some place private, and that Blaze could handle things if Jasmine got out of control again. She knew Haleigh would make good on her promise to be watching, in case they had to intervene.

"We should just KILL her and tell Karen it was all a horrible dream."

“You’ve clearly never tried to lie to her.”

Delilah pulled out a chair and sat down at the conference table, now that Haleigh had put it back together.

"Alright, if we aren't going to get rid of her then at least tell me EVERYTHING. Something is obviously wrong with Karen. Recall noted a spike in vitals at the Infirmary. Obviously Frost triggered it, her extra special gift is pissing people off. But give us all the details you can so Cameron and I can figure out how to even address this problem."

“We will ALL figure out how to address this problem – together. But KAREN is not the problem. FROST is. How she got here, and why.”

Delilah massaged her temples for a minute.

“So, for my part, I was walking by the old Illustra building. The air sort of shimmered and the Siege Perilous appeared. A female form took shape, and then in a flash of blue orbs Jasmine was lying on the pavement in front of me, unconscious and, to be frank, nude. I brought her to Alycia and Sharon for help, and we took her to Charope’s Infirmary. One of Oracle’s team arrived there to tell us that Isis refused to come, so I went to Karen, informed her of what had happened and she helped to revive Jasmine. We all SAW Jasmine’s memories – Christopher, going into the Siege Perilous. When she woke up she was very agitated. The only way Karen calmed her was by telling her she would take her to see Blaze. We’ve not been able to confirm or deny that Jasmine came back through the Siege Perilous.”

She paused for a moment, clearly at odds with herself.

“Maybe we should contact Alison and ask her about the Siege…”

 

[Prophet]

The Situation Room

Thanks to the combined efforts of many of the others in the room, including an incredible display of power by Sharon Kelly, Karen was subdued, removed from the room and taken to her suite at The Parthenon with Mike in tow. In a surprising display of moxy, Cassie went to take Jasmine and Blaze to talk, much to the chagrin of Cameron. His concern was not Jasmine at this point, in fact he could have cared less. His concern was Karen Victoria and the fact that she was clearly suffering from a psychotic break. As the remaining people in the room gathered to discuss things in a less hostile way, Cameron took a seat.

"The only reason she is alive is a favor to Blaze. Cassie has about ten minutes before Jasmine is to be removed from my hotel. I'm not entertaining this insanity for much longer. She's a walking hazard who just tried to kill everybody here and we think it's appropriate or safe for the thousands of people walking in and out of the halls upstairs to be in her presence? I've had just about enough. I don't care if she is Blaze's sister. She's a danger to herself and others."

Haleigh: "We should just KILL her and tell Karen it was all a horrible dream."

Delilah: "You've clearly never tried to lie to her."

Haleigh: "Alright, if we aren't going to get rid of her then at least tell me EVERYTHING. Something is obviously wrong with Karen. Recall noted a spike in vitals at the Infirmary. Obviously Frost triggered it, her extra special gift is pissing people off. But give us all the details you can so Cameron and I can figure out how to even address this problem."

Delilah: "We will ALL figure out hw to address this problem - together. But KAREN is not the problem. FROST is. How she got here, and why."

Cameron didn't necessarily agree with THAT. Karen had clearly lost it and seemingly for no reason. She was a psychotherapist. She was used to conflict and mental disorder...this was HER field, and it should have been a very natural thing for her to orchestrate. There was something deeper than just the fact that it was Jasmine who had been returned.

Delilah: "So, for my part, I was walking by the old Illustra building. The air sort of shimmered and the Siege Perilous appeared. A female form took shape, and then in a flash of blue orbs Jasmine was lying on the pavement in front of me, unconscious and, to be frank, nude. I brought her to Alycia and Sharon for help, and we took her to Charope’s Infirmary. One of Oracle’s team arrived there to tell us that Isis refused to come, so I went to Karen, informed her of what had happened and she helped to revive Jasmine. We all SAW Jasmine’s memories – Christopher, going into the Siege Perilous. When she woke up she was very agitated. The only way Karen calmed her was by telling her she would take her to see Blaze. We’ve not been able to confirm or deny that Jasmine came back through the Siege Perilous.”

"This all just...sounds so random? It can't be the work of the Siege...can it? I mean, it doesn't just spit people out like that."

Delilah: "Maybe we should contact Alison and ask her about the Siege..."

"Not to intentionally continue my trend of being wildly unhelpful tonight, but Alison is NOT an option, not after--the dream. Nobody is to contact her until further notice. I mean that."

[shaking his head]

"And we're being crazy. Who the hell cares about Jasmine Klein right now? I don't care if she crawled out from the pits of HELL. Something is VERY wrong with Karen. Something far bigger than the maniacal ramblings of a pathetic ice cube. The person we NEED to reach out to is Morgan. She's better suited for this...and to be honest, she'll care more. She's BEEN through the Siege, Jasmine is her sister...and something is VERY wrong with her mother. She'd want to know what's going on. We need to find a way to contact her. I can partner with Nicolas, see if that's a possibility."

 

[Recall]

The Situation Room

:: Her attempt to smooth things over with Jasmine went over about as well as she thought. The only thing more bizarre than Jasmine's reactions to everybody was the fact that Alycia Barnett had just stood next to Vivica and agreed with her. Clearly, if THEY could make progress with each other, even if it had come from a rather exhaustive verbal/physical beatdown, then surely Jasmine could shut the hell up and take the help that was being offered her. ::

"Damn...maybe they just need to go a few rounds with each other."

:: But that wasn't an option as Jasmine unleashed one HELL of a brutal assault against Haleigh, Cameron and the Parthenon as a hole. Vivica's eyes widened as the cold washed over her. This was insane, she was putting everybody in danger. It didn't matter if she had been pushed to that point. THIS was why people hated mutants, and THIS was why the Birds of Prey were necessary. The Six lived in a completely different world than everybody else. In fact, they sometimes lived in a vacuum. A display like this was normal to them. A fight like them was normal to them. However, that fear that people had of mutants, who would use their power to destroy people, simply because they felt like it, this was being highlighted by Jasmine, THIS was the REAL WORLD, and THIS was the world that Vivica wanted to protect. If somebody were to see this, a service worker, a nosy journalist, an innocent bystander, they could use this information to harm ALL mutants. Vivica was desperate to try and help smooth things over, but then they went incredibly chaotic. Karen lashed out in an absolutely crazy way, unleashing a brutal verbal assault on ALL of the parties involved in the fight. It was scary to say the least. Thankfully, Delilah along with Sharon were able to calm the situation down enough to get Karen removed from the situation to rest and relax. ::

:: Cassie stood up and tried to help Jasmine, which initially made Vivica nervous. Cassandra was a sweet girl, and a lot of the time people looked at that, especially people like those in The Six, and they preyed on it. She was easy to be mean to, to insult, because she was the new girl, because she was somewhat naive, and because she just didn't fight back because she wanted to be accepted by them so much. She didn't want Jasmine to railroad Cassie in this instance, and thankfully she didn't. Vivica cocked an eyebrow as Blaze seemed to be on board with it, and though there were a few objections, including Vivica. She didn't think it was a good idea to just send the three of them without a security detail, despite how powerful they all were. She shot an eye towards Haleigh, who thankfully said she'd keep an eye on them. She knew that Oracle would to. ::

:: Finally they all gathered in the restored Situation Room to discuss the task at hand. ::

Delilah: “So, for my part, I was walking by the old Illustra building. The air sort of shimmered and the Siege Perilous appeared. A female form took shape, and then in a flash of blue orbs Jasmine was lying on the pavement in front of me, unconscious and, to be frank, nude. I brought her to Alycia and Sharon for help, and we took her to Charope’s Infirmary. One of Oracle’s team arrived there to tell us that Isis refused to come, so I went to Karen, informed her of what had happened and she helped to revive Jasmine. We all SAW Jasmine’s memories – Christopher, going into the Siege Perilous. When she woke up she was very agitated. The only way Karen calmed her was by telling her she would take her to see Blaze. We’ve not been able to confirm or deny that Jasmine came back through the Siege Perilous.”

Cameron: "This all just...sounds so random? It can't be the work of the Siege...can it? I mean, it doesn't just spit people out like that."

"The thing is though...not ALL of us DID see those memories. I looked around the room...certain members of OUR team didn't see those memories of Christopher. I noticed it almost immediately. And those memories. They didn't seem like memories, they seemed like illusions. Take a look..."

:: Vivica hit a button on the main table of the situation room, that had a rather complex computer system at it's center, allowing for The Six to access a good deal of information, test scenarios with complex holographic projections. The tech of course was Clandestine issued, so Vivica was very familiar. She began touching a number of buttons from the holographic menu in front of her as she began to access the very server that housed her "brain" essentially. She had been livestreaming most of the events for brevity as well as her desire to archive things. She found the feed of Jasmine's arrival at the infirmary and she pulled it up as it began to play in a holograph replay in the center of the table. ::

<< That should have been IT! The spell should have concluded, but something ELSE happens. Jasmine's body on the table shows signs of increasing distress, and Karen, sitting at the head of the bed, is struggling as well.>>


<< There's another moment...a MEMORY(?) Almost like a "one last scare" kind of moment. What's more, is that ONLY Sharon, Alycia, Zach, Michael, Delilah and Vivica- all of whom either knew Jasmine or have a relationship with Karen- are the only ones to see this last, disturbing turn of events in the spell! >>

<< Jasmine, laying on an operating table in the dark, cold, terrifying bio systems lab, with a twisted, perverted, DEMONIC Christopher Victory leaning over her, leering ather as he holds an instrument of pain and smiles at her. He's NOTHING that a father should be.>>

<< But then something odd...something WRONG happens. The apparitio of Christopher looks up...at SHADOW WEAVER. This SHOULDN'T be happening.>>

Christopher: I'm almost there, Karen. AL....MOST....THEREEE.....

<< He PLUNGES the instrument down into Jasmine's chest, and her cry of pain is heard by them all. He then opens his mouth, and with a predatory YELL, he LUNGES at Karen, as he's gained life of his own and is now independent of this sad and terrifying memory. >>

Karen and Jasmine: NO!!!!

<< Karen's gasp of shock and FRIGHT is heard as she instinctively BREAKS the spell...and she and Jasmine BOTH cry out. Jasmine bolts up and falls off the table on to the floor, flailing out in a desperate bid to defend herself, with Karen staggering back, clutching her chest as if she were having a HEART attack and falling into Delilah's arms>>

:: She watched their various reactions to the feed, before shutting the projection function off. It was always odd to show people "footage" from her mind. They would see it as she saw, they would be looking here she had looked when the event happened. It was like getting a peak inside her head. There wasn't many people she trusted to see things like that. Normally it was only Zizi, but she needed to highlight something important. ::

"See? That's weird, right? You can see that..[thinking quickly] people who didn't know Jasmine didn't see her! I'm beginning to think that this isn't the work of the Siege, but a spell. Not to toot my own horn, but it doesn't normally take me this long to figure things out. As much as it pains me to say it, I think Jasmine's return signifies something...bad."

Delilah: "Maybe we should contact Alison and ask her about the Siege..."

Cameron: "Not to intentionally continue my trend of being wildly unhelpful tonight, but Alison is NOT an option, not after--the dream. Nobody is to contact her until further notice. I mean that."

"Well you won't have to worry about that from me."

Cameron: "And we're being crazy. Who the hell cares about Jasmine Klein right now? I don't care if she crawled out from the pits of HELL. Something is VERY wrong with Karen. Something far bigger than the maniacal ramblings of a pathetic ice cube. The person we NEED to reach out to is Morgan. She's better suited for this...and to be honest, she'll care more. She's BEEN through the Siege, Jasmine is her sister...and something is VERY wrong with her mother. She'd want to know what's going on. We need to find a way to contact her. I can partner with Nicolas, see if that's a possibility."

[she shot a glance over to him]

"Cameron..there are members of your TEAM that care about Jasmine, so cool it with all the heat. We get it, you don't like her and you don't want her here, but you guys ARE going to have to deal with her. If it's what i've suspected, the work of a spell, than this could REALLY hurt Blaze...AND Morgan..not to mention.."

:: Vivica looked down for a moment. She knew that many of the people in this room were incredibly protective of Karen, but she was beginning to think it was a little too much. Something was wrong with Karen, and it seemed like some of the people in this room didn't want to talk about it, at least not in the way that Vivica was thinking. ::

"This hasn't been Karen's first outburst tonight. I'm sorry, but we need to look at the whole picture. She all but tried to murder Valkyrie in the infirmary over something so small and stupid, or at least..something that normally wouldn't ruffle her feathers. It was erratic and after what just happened it's becoming problematic. I know she has a lot of guilt over the things that Christopher Victory did...but don't you think that the memories of Christopher...the return of Jasmine..it's all tied to something bigger? This doesn't seem like fate or the work of the Siege."

 

[Arsenal]

Mike sat at the consoles, trying not to look at Karen right now, trying to get himself together. He saw that Blaze and Cass were trying to hug it out with Jasmine, and he kept up a portion of the screen for that as he detailed everything from the apothecary attack and warning Karen received afterwards. He pulled up footage from the street level itself and attached it to the report and forwarded it directly to Haleigh.

Afterwards he sat, trying to decide if he would shout for Nicolas. On the positive, the extra firepower could be needed and he had medical training that exceeded anyone aside from Karen herself. The negative is that he would be irritated that all of this was going on without him being brought in sooner and he would shit kittens if he saw Karen like this. It was a mistake in his mind but he held off. He could handle the boy after they fixed this. It would be certainly preferable to dealing with him at this moment.

For now he would stay firmly in his lane and care for Doc. He would trust Haleigh to deal with the rest. He removed Karen's outer garments and tucked her into bed, moving her so gently she did not even react at all. He placed food and water out for his babies and removed his extra sidearms and placed his chair beside her, watching Karen as he rested sitting upright.

 

[MorningStar]

The Situation Room

"The only reason she is alive is a favor to Blaze. Cassie has about ten minutes before Jasmine is to be removed from my hotel. I'm not entertaining this insanity for much longer. She's a walking hazard who just tried to kill everybody here and we think it's appropriate or safe for the thousands of people walking in and out of the halls upstairs to be in her presence? I've had just about enough. I don't care if she is Blaze's sister. She's a danger to herself and others."

“Come on, Cameron. What if we’d taken that attitude with Morgan…or Haleigh, Sharon, YOU? Or Karen just now? Jasmine was our ally when she left to go through the Siege – she was not the same girl she was when we all first met her. She’s just been through a huge trauma. She deserves a little compassion – let her at least get her bearings.”

"Not to intentionally continue my trend of being wildly unhelpful tonight, but Alison is NOT an option, not after--the dream. Nobody is to contact her until further notice. I mean that."

“She probably wouldn’t have answered us anyway.”

"And we're being crazy. Who the hell cares about Jasmine Klein right now? I don't care if she crawled out from the pits of HELL. Something is VERY wrong with Karen. Something far bigger than the maniacal ramblings of a pathetic ice cube. The person we NEED to reach out to is Morgan. She's better suited for this...and to be honest, she'll care more. She's BEEN through the Siege, Jasmine is her sister...and something is VERY wrong with her mother. She'd want to know what's going on. We need to find a way to contact her. I can partner with Nicolas, see if that's a possibility."

“Karen…Karen was accosted earlier today, just before I found her to bring her to the Infirmary. She’s fine, but it shook her up. SHE deserves a break too. Having your monster of a dead husband’s daughter show up would push anyone to the edge.”

"The thing is though...not ALL of us DID see those memories. I looked around the room...certain members of OUR team didn't see those memories of Christopher.”

“Could it be…some aspect of Karen’s spell? That only those of us who were there saw it?”

"Cameron..there are members of your TEAM that care about Jasmine, so cool it with all the heat. We get it, you don't like her and you don't want her here, but you guys ARE going to have to deal with her. If it's what i've suspected, the work of a spell, than this could REALLY hurt Blaze...AND Morgan..not to mention.."

“And regardless of how we feel about Jasmine – this isn’t a usual occurrence and we need to know what it means. And then we can send her on her merry way for all I care.”

"This hasn't been Karen's first outburst tonight. I'm sorry, but we need to look at the whole picture. She all but tried to murder Valkyrie in the infirmary over something so small and stupid, or at least..something that normally wouldn't ruffle her feathers. It was erratic and after what just happened it's becoming problematic. I know she has a lot of guilt over the things that Christopher Victory did...but don't you think that the memories of Christopher...the return of Jasmine..it's all tied to something bigger? This doesn't seem like fate or the work of the Siege."

Delilah’s eyes narrowed. As if most of the people in the room hadn’t gone after someone with little to no provocation. And with all Karen was going through, of COURSE she had a short fuse. And what gave Vivica the right to talk about Karen like she knew her? She knew nothing about her.

“Look, you’re focusing on the wrong thing here: there’s nothing wrong with Karen. A lot of us would act a lot worse under the same circumstances. So let’s focus: how do we figure out exactly what’s behind Jasmine’s appearance? Cameron’s idea about contacting Spellbinder…as much as I hate to say it…makes sense. She might be able to”

She waved her hands in the air.

“Sense something we’re missing. And I’m sure it would help Karen to have her here right now. Maybe Isis?”

 

[Silver Swan]

The Situation Room

[ Sharon was seated with Alycia on her right, and Zach on her left. She commanded her silver eye mask to receed from her face as Black Widow began the discussion, asking for more information about what happened with Karen earlier. Delilah filled them in up to the point that she'd arrived at the clocktower with a nude and amnesiac Frost, and then Sharon and Alycia, along with certain other members of the BoP took her to the Infirmary at Charope's. ]

Cameron: "This all just...sounds so random? It can't be the work of the Siege...can it? I mean, it doesn't just spit people out like that."

Recall: "The thing is though...not ALL of us DID see those memories. I looked around the room...certain members of OUR team didn't see those memories of Christopher. I noticed it almost immediately. And those memories. They didn't seem like memories, they seemed like illusions. Take a look..."

[Recall provided a clear playback of Karen's magickal restoration of Frost's memories. the most disturbing finding was that only certain individuals saw the very last, and perhaps most terrifying memory. That LAST memory of Christopher...Sharon was among those to see it. She wasn't going to assume that it was a hallucination, but what what then!? Only people who knew Frost in any way had seen that, while others in the room had not. But what was the significance of THAT? This was something that a magick user would have to answer- Alison or Morgan. ]

[ Cameron, like some others before him this evening, questioned the nature of Frost's arrival.]

We didn't question Firebird's arrival. She emerged from a stepping disc on Aerie, MONTHS after the Six had rescued Alison and Ava from HER native timeline. Morgan immediately welcomed her, and you all remarked on how much of an emotional impact she had on most of you when you first encountered her in her native timeline...and Nicolas and Alison spoke about the curious fact that the telempathic rapport that Morgan had with Foxfire seemed to be INTACT with Firebird, even though the slightest genetic variance SHOULD negate such a thing.

It appears that there's some version of that between Firebird and Frost as well. Does that not mean something?

[Speaking of Alison, Haleigh and Delilah were in favor of contacting her, but Cameron immediately shot that idea down.]

Cameron, Alison is the current guardian of the Siege, she was the one who warned you and Nicolas of Firebird's attempt to use it...perhaps...

[ But Cameron was adamant that his sister NOT be contacted at this time, and some among them- namely Vivica, seemed RELIEVED by that, while Delilah wasn't so certain the precog would have even responded.]

[Cameron then went on to slam Jasmine, hard. Echoing Haleigh's earlier sentiment about killing her and attempting to cover it up to Karen. Sharon was surprised and disappointed in both of them. BUT she couldn't blame Haleigh TOO heavily. Sharon had almost...HOPED that Frost would give her a reason to knock her out!]

"Cameron..there are members of your TEAM that care about Jasmine, so cool it with all the heat. We get it, you don't like her and you don't want her here, but you guys ARE going to have to deal with her. If it's what i've suspected, the work of a spell, than this could REALLY hurt Blaze...AND Morgan..."

“Come on, Cameron. What if we’d taken that attitude with Morgan…or Haleigh? Or Karen just now? Jasmine was our ally when she left to go through the Siege – she was not the same girl she was when we all first met her. She’s just been through a huge trauma. She deserves a little compassion – let her at least get her bearings.”

Agreed. You're being incredibly dismissive and unkind. If this same kind of thought had been applied to YOU in the past, where would you be now? Where would *I* be if that was the attitude you had chosen to take with ME when I was revived against my will, twisted into something I couldn't have imagined myself ever being, and then set loose on the unsuspecting populace?

[ The subject was moved from Frost, to KAREN. There was a growing concensus that something was WRONG with her. Vivica ADDED to that with her relay of Karen's reaction to Valkyrie in the infirmary]

[ This drew looks...GLARES of disapproval from Sharon, and Alycia toward Vivica, along with looks of disapproval or disagreement from Zachary and Delilah.]

[MorningStar was not willing to agree with this idea that Karen was going bonkers, and Sharon wasn't either...not just yet.]

Some of you are making it sound like the woman is INSANE.

She was ATTACKED this evening- we still don't know who it was that attacked her, and not even Michael was there to see exactly what happened. Not long after that, Delilah came to her with this sudden, unexpected emergency regarding Frost, another daughter of a man who abused and tried to murder her....TWICE...a man who drove her into HIDING.

Can any of you, who has NOT been married , much less to a man who was apart of the POWER behind Mystech, and who left a legacy of violence and abuse for her AND all of his daughters, possibly understand what this must feel like for her?

The physical STRAIN and PRESSURE she is suffering from was apparent to ME when she arrived. Her Body's internal rhythms SCREAMED to me in the infirmary. That doesn't mean she's going insane. That simply mean's she's enduring more than any ONE person should have to, and if WE don't do what we can to shoulder than burden with her, it COULD lead to further complications...

[ she stopped short of saying "like Karen going insane." BUT it was in the back of her mind. Still, she wasn't THERE yet]

[ This "rang a bell" for Haleigh, who recalled what the doctor said about the strain she was feeling when they had their emergency session just several nights earlier!]

As for the Infirmary incident, Vivica, Valkryie was not a victim. She was being the way she always is. a BITCH. Perhaps if she learned even the most BASIC idea of how to communicate with civility, she wouldn't have gotten that reaction. ZIZI may tolerate Ashley's cantankerous behavior, and the rest of us, out of respect for ZIZI, PUT UP with it, but that was NOT the time her to speak to Karen the way she did. You don't know what a person is going through, and someone like Valkyrie, who doesn't care how she comes across to anyone, was the WRONG person to be allowed to speak to Karen.

If that were MY son on the table, and she'd talked to ME like that? I would've sent her to the MOON.

Let's just give Karen some SPACE, and let her REST. Michael is with her, Delilah and I will back him up and provide whatever protection necessary.

Delilah’s eyes narrowed. As if most of the people in the room hadn’t gone after someone with little to no provocation. And with all Karen was going through, of COURSE she had a short fuse. And what gave Vivica the right to talk about Karen like she knew her? She knew nothing about her.

“Look, you’re focusing on the wrong thing here: there’s nothing wrong with Karen. A lot of us would act a lot worse under the same circumstances. So let’s focus: how do we figure out exactly what’s behind Jasmine’s appearance? Cameron’s idea about contacting Spellbinder…as much as I hate to say it…makes sense. She might be able to”

She waved her hands in the air.

“Sense something we’re missing. And I’m sure it would help Karen to have her here right now. Maybe Isis?”

Isis rejected Oracle's call the first time, but it was because she, along with Mina Harker, were in agreement that something was "WRONG" with Jasmine. With Dominique and Mina in agreement, I think that Vivica's right that there's a magickal component here, and since Alison is not an option, Morgan will be the person to contact. And in the meantime, since Ruby seems to be making headway with Jasmine, and Blaze is with them...we must allow that to be the course of action, but we keep watch from a VARIETY of vantage points.

There's enough of us in this room that we CAN continue to work on solving the mystery of Frost's return, while also monitoring and if necessary, CONTAINING Jasmine. However she came to be here...now that she IS here, we can do something about it either way, but she DESERVES the same chance that Firebird, myself, and even YOU have been given, Cameron.

[She looks at Cameron and Haleigh, agreeing with Cameron on one of his points most definitely]

The time for Morgan being absent may have reached it's end now. If Isis, Mina and Recall are all pointing to some kind of MAGICK at work here, and with Alison not being an option, Spellbinder will be needed by her mother AND her sisters.