10-18-2017, 05:44 PM
Greg’s family was a hoot. His son was twelve and getting in the stage where he loved all things comics. Greg had the boy, Kelso, in his lap so they could both watch the video again and again. The boy was almost a spitting image of his father, with black hair, cut mid length to show off curls, and a low cut jaw. He had his mother’s hazel eyes.
While they were enjoying the video in the den, Stein was with Greg’s Wife in the kitchen, hissing as she cleaned and bandaged the cuts on his busted nose and cheek. Those were the only two that had broken skin, meaning that Fred guy hit harder than a five hundred meter fall. Wonderful. “Quit being such a baby, you’d think a man like you’d be a bit tougher than this,” scolded miss Amanda with a smirk.
She was a classy lady, her dark brown stresses lined with gray, but she did not dye them. The bridge of her nose held a pair of glasses. She wore an apron, since he was also cooking dinner while tending to Stein. From what he could tell, Greg worked two jobs so that his wife could be a stay-at-home mother with their son. It was a cute family dynamic, and miss Amanda seemed happy with the old school way of life. She practically oozed motherly instinct, after all.
“To be fair, that guy hit like a runaway, invisible train.” He winced as she runs another alcohol swab across the bridge of his nose. “And alcohol is like the flames of hell reaching up through the cracks in wounded earth to burn your very soul.” Stein lifted his glass of chocolate milk for a sip, just to announce his total strength of character. Yup. Nothing wrong with this at all.
Amanda finally stuck a broad adhesive bandage over the bridge of his nose, then patted his blonde mop. “You are free to go. Dinner will be ready in a few, please tell Greg and Kelso to wash their hands. You too, I don’t tolerate dirty boys at the dinner table.” She reminds me of Mom so much… He tried to get that similarity out of his head. He did not need that kind of depression again.
Stein made his way to the den, poked both Greg and Kelso in the back of the head, and continued on his way to the guest bathroom. “Warden says we needs our hands clean before we gets the gruel,” he rasps, wiggling his digits in the air. “Warden demands it, she does!” Greg laughs, but Kelso does not seem to get the humor. That, or he was too wrapped up in the video to really focus.
Once all washed up, smelling of lavender and some assortment of other smell-goods, he headed back in the kitchen, plopping into a chair. His wounds itched. They were already mostly healed, and had Amanda not demanded the sterilization, they would have healed up fine without it. Greg joined him at the head of the table and Kelso sat beside him. Amanda was busy setting various bowls and platters down in the center of the dining table.
Conversation began. It was casual family talk. Amanda asked Greg about his day, before meeting Stein. She had heard all about that already. Greg relayed a few tidbits, but eventually he passed the torch onto Kelso, asking about school. The boy was ecstatic about the topic and went on for a few good minutes talking about the new game at recess. Greg then turned it back to Amanda. She seemed happy as a clam as she described her morning of “me time” involving a matinee with the girls before laundry, a walk around the neighborhood, and a nap before Kelso returned from school. This family really seemed to have it figured out.
Amanda turned it over to Stein. “How was your day, before you and Greg met?” Not much of a day, really.
“Well, I met this girl named Franky.”
“Oooh, was she cute?”
Stein chuckled. “Gorgeous. Tough girl too, sword toating, freckled… about my age too.” Greg nodded in approval. “Sadly, she was from Camelot. When I realized it was sort of a pre-modern Verse, I kinda just… turned around, said my goodbyes and left.”
“Aww,” Amanda sighed. “Did you at least get her number?”
“They don’t even know what cellphones are, love. It’s pretty simple over there.” Greg informed his wife. “Now, I’m not heavy into politics, I know the Empire and the Kingdom are at each other’s throats… but maybe you should swing through there one of these days. See if you two really click you know?” Stein had thought about it. “That’s just my two cents worth, though.”
Amanda smiled at her husband from across the table. “I’m from Costa del Sol… so cross-verse relationships aren’t unheard of. I’m pretty sure Coruscant-Camelot couples exist out there.” As she sat, she gave each of the boys a little look. “But enough of that for now, let’s just enjoy dinner.” Kelso was immediately reaching for the bowl of macaroni and cheese.
Dinner was more than excellent. Macaroni, obviously Kelso’s favorite, a hearty meatloaf, Greg’s – and now Stein’s favorite, steamed vegetables, liquid cheese and homemade biscuits. Stein was a forward thinker here. Cutting the biscuit in half, he built sandwitches of meatloaf meatloaf and veggies, with hot cheese… and then mixed some steamed veggies into his macaroni to boot. Kelso took to the latter, but Greg was more interested in the sandwitch. Miss Amanda just shook her head, smiling as the three worked to outdo each other with their masterpieces. “Why did I even bother giving you forks?”
After everyone had their fill, Stein offered to help with dishes, but Amanda declined. “Wouldn’t be much of a housewife if I had you do my work for me, now would I?” She smiled, patting his hair with a wet hand, matting his already wild locks. “Besides, I heard about the generous little tip. Greg’s already ordered us all something special.” She turned him about and gave him a nudge between the shoulders. “You can help by hitting the play button on your way out.”
Stein did as requested, hitting the play button on an old boombox. The music that played seemed decades old – and he was GLAD she let him leave before his brain was fossilized by the dusty old lyrics. It was funny how so many people seemed to rage against this sort of life style, while a few like Amanda seemed to crave it.
On the porch with the boys, Stein took up one of the rocking chairs, lit up a cancer stick offered by Greg, and watched as Kelso flailed about in the yard under the porch lights, pretending to fight some unknown baddies. A smirk formed on the Hero’s lips as he noticed him employ the use of make believe Palm shields. Greg was laughing. “We’ll never hear the end of this, you know.”
“I could really mess with you… In the morning, I could actually teach him to make one of those.” The old man’s brow rose. “It’s not that hard. I learned it in a couple months and it was basically one lesson over and over.”
A gravelly chuckle filled the air. “What about that quick healing you got? Think you can teach an old man that trick?” This time, Greg received a shrug. “Didn’t think so. That seemed more like a natural thing than a learned power. Can’t blame an old man from trying, am I right?”
“I can teach you to heal yourself… as soon as I learn how to do it again. I lost a lot coming to the Omniverse.” A sympathetic nod from a wisened old coot suggested it was not a new story. “But, I have the basis for a bit of everything. Healing, tough skin, shields...” He sighed. It was not a sad sigh, more of a What do I do now type sigh.
“Just a thought. Primes here are notorious for growing stronger faster than us Secondaries… You could learn a few extra tricks. I know you’re not one for direct or devastating attacks, but maybe pick up some other powers, work on speed… Or make shields that have other utility effects? Ohh!” An idea popped into Greg’s head. He leaned forward in his rocking chair, a grin forming beneath that salt and pepper mustache. “You need Crowd Control… You said you’re a gamer, right? What’s the worst thing about being a tank?”
“Low DPS?” Stein suggested. Greg waves a hand, telling him there was more to it than just that. After a moment of thought, he figured it out too. “Agro. Right, so I need a way to make myself more of a nuicense…”
“Bingo. You’re a tough nut, my boy, but a SMART fighter’ll just ignore you if you can’t fight or at the very least fuck with them a bit.” Greg had a point. Before, he could throw shields to block enemies, or trap them in shields to mess with them, but… those took a long time to perfect, and sometimes they were useless due to their limited size and range. “If you could pick up another skill tree,”
“I like the way you think… Any thoughts?”
“Now that’s the million dollar question, ain’t it? Maybe an Elemental thing, change your shields into something like fire, lightning or stone?”
“Hmm, that’s nice, but still only shields.”
“Burning Comet shield.” Greg stated simply, slowed down and annunciated for effect.
Stein leans back in his chair. “Lightning Comet Shield.”
“Stone Prison Shield.” They were going back and forth now, imagining so many possible variants. “Just keep that in mind for later, after you figure out all your shields. And that little psychic Foresight you got… maybe there’s more to it if you dig.”
While they were enjoying the video in the den, Stein was with Greg’s Wife in the kitchen, hissing as she cleaned and bandaged the cuts on his busted nose and cheek. Those were the only two that had broken skin, meaning that Fred guy hit harder than a five hundred meter fall. Wonderful. “Quit being such a baby, you’d think a man like you’d be a bit tougher than this,” scolded miss Amanda with a smirk.
She was a classy lady, her dark brown stresses lined with gray, but she did not dye them. The bridge of her nose held a pair of glasses. She wore an apron, since he was also cooking dinner while tending to Stein. From what he could tell, Greg worked two jobs so that his wife could be a stay-at-home mother with their son. It was a cute family dynamic, and miss Amanda seemed happy with the old school way of life. She practically oozed motherly instinct, after all.
“To be fair, that guy hit like a runaway, invisible train.” He winced as she runs another alcohol swab across the bridge of his nose. “And alcohol is like the flames of hell reaching up through the cracks in wounded earth to burn your very soul.” Stein lifted his glass of chocolate milk for a sip, just to announce his total strength of character. Yup. Nothing wrong with this at all.
Amanda finally stuck a broad adhesive bandage over the bridge of his nose, then patted his blonde mop. “You are free to go. Dinner will be ready in a few, please tell Greg and Kelso to wash their hands. You too, I don’t tolerate dirty boys at the dinner table.” She reminds me of Mom so much… He tried to get that similarity out of his head. He did not need that kind of depression again.
Stein made his way to the den, poked both Greg and Kelso in the back of the head, and continued on his way to the guest bathroom. “Warden says we needs our hands clean before we gets the gruel,” he rasps, wiggling his digits in the air. “Warden demands it, she does!” Greg laughs, but Kelso does not seem to get the humor. That, or he was too wrapped up in the video to really focus.
Once all washed up, smelling of lavender and some assortment of other smell-goods, he headed back in the kitchen, plopping into a chair. His wounds itched. They were already mostly healed, and had Amanda not demanded the sterilization, they would have healed up fine without it. Greg joined him at the head of the table and Kelso sat beside him. Amanda was busy setting various bowls and platters down in the center of the dining table.
Conversation began. It was casual family talk. Amanda asked Greg about his day, before meeting Stein. She had heard all about that already. Greg relayed a few tidbits, but eventually he passed the torch onto Kelso, asking about school. The boy was ecstatic about the topic and went on for a few good minutes talking about the new game at recess. Greg then turned it back to Amanda. She seemed happy as a clam as she described her morning of “me time” involving a matinee with the girls before laundry, a walk around the neighborhood, and a nap before Kelso returned from school. This family really seemed to have it figured out.
Amanda turned it over to Stein. “How was your day, before you and Greg met?” Not much of a day, really.
“Well, I met this girl named Franky.”
“Oooh, was she cute?”
Stein chuckled. “Gorgeous. Tough girl too, sword toating, freckled… about my age too.” Greg nodded in approval. “Sadly, she was from Camelot. When I realized it was sort of a pre-modern Verse, I kinda just… turned around, said my goodbyes and left.”
“Aww,” Amanda sighed. “Did you at least get her number?”
“They don’t even know what cellphones are, love. It’s pretty simple over there.” Greg informed his wife. “Now, I’m not heavy into politics, I know the Empire and the Kingdom are at each other’s throats… but maybe you should swing through there one of these days. See if you two really click you know?” Stein had thought about it. “That’s just my two cents worth, though.”
Amanda smiled at her husband from across the table. “I’m from Costa del Sol… so cross-verse relationships aren’t unheard of. I’m pretty sure Coruscant-Camelot couples exist out there.” As she sat, she gave each of the boys a little look. “But enough of that for now, let’s just enjoy dinner.” Kelso was immediately reaching for the bowl of macaroni and cheese.
Dinner was more than excellent. Macaroni, obviously Kelso’s favorite, a hearty meatloaf, Greg’s – and now Stein’s favorite, steamed vegetables, liquid cheese and homemade biscuits. Stein was a forward thinker here. Cutting the biscuit in half, he built sandwitches of meatloaf meatloaf and veggies, with hot cheese… and then mixed some steamed veggies into his macaroni to boot. Kelso took to the latter, but Greg was more interested in the sandwitch. Miss Amanda just shook her head, smiling as the three worked to outdo each other with their masterpieces. “Why did I even bother giving you forks?”
After everyone had their fill, Stein offered to help with dishes, but Amanda declined. “Wouldn’t be much of a housewife if I had you do my work for me, now would I?” She smiled, patting his hair with a wet hand, matting his already wild locks. “Besides, I heard about the generous little tip. Greg’s already ordered us all something special.” She turned him about and gave him a nudge between the shoulders. “You can help by hitting the play button on your way out.”
Stein did as requested, hitting the play button on an old boombox. The music that played seemed decades old – and he was GLAD she let him leave before his brain was fossilized by the dusty old lyrics. It was funny how so many people seemed to rage against this sort of life style, while a few like Amanda seemed to crave it.
On the porch with the boys, Stein took up one of the rocking chairs, lit up a cancer stick offered by Greg, and watched as Kelso flailed about in the yard under the porch lights, pretending to fight some unknown baddies. A smirk formed on the Hero’s lips as he noticed him employ the use of make believe Palm shields. Greg was laughing. “We’ll never hear the end of this, you know.”
“I could really mess with you… In the morning, I could actually teach him to make one of those.” The old man’s brow rose. “It’s not that hard. I learned it in a couple months and it was basically one lesson over and over.”
A gravelly chuckle filled the air. “What about that quick healing you got? Think you can teach an old man that trick?” This time, Greg received a shrug. “Didn’t think so. That seemed more like a natural thing than a learned power. Can’t blame an old man from trying, am I right?”
“I can teach you to heal yourself… as soon as I learn how to do it again. I lost a lot coming to the Omniverse.” A sympathetic nod from a wisened old coot suggested it was not a new story. “But, I have the basis for a bit of everything. Healing, tough skin, shields...” He sighed. It was not a sad sigh, more of a What do I do now type sigh.
“Just a thought. Primes here are notorious for growing stronger faster than us Secondaries… You could learn a few extra tricks. I know you’re not one for direct or devastating attacks, but maybe pick up some other powers, work on speed… Or make shields that have other utility effects? Ohh!” An idea popped into Greg’s head. He leaned forward in his rocking chair, a grin forming beneath that salt and pepper mustache. “You need Crowd Control… You said you’re a gamer, right? What’s the worst thing about being a tank?”
“Low DPS?” Stein suggested. Greg waves a hand, telling him there was more to it than just that. After a moment of thought, he figured it out too. “Agro. Right, so I need a way to make myself more of a nuicense…”
“Bingo. You’re a tough nut, my boy, but a SMART fighter’ll just ignore you if you can’t fight or at the very least fuck with them a bit.” Greg had a point. Before, he could throw shields to block enemies, or trap them in shields to mess with them, but… those took a long time to perfect, and sometimes they were useless due to their limited size and range. “If you could pick up another skill tree,”
“I like the way you think… Any thoughts?”
“Now that’s the million dollar question, ain’t it? Maybe an Elemental thing, change your shields into something like fire, lightning or stone?”
“Hmm, that’s nice, but still only shields.”
“Burning Comet shield.” Greg stated simply, slowed down and annunciated for effect.
Stein leans back in his chair. “Lightning Comet Shield.”
“Stone Prison Shield.” They were going back and forth now, imagining so many possible variants. “Just keep that in mind for later, after you figure out all your shields. And that little psychic Foresight you got… maybe there’s more to it if you dig.”