Xaviers!

“Where are the ordinary, everyday women? They don't exist because this is a movie!"
"No, this is California.”

Before the sun had set, the Jaguar had stood out from the Fiestas, Corsas, and Golfs that populated the grassy field marked with parking spaces. Now that the sky was dark and the screen illuminated by the flickering camera feed it was just another silhouette in the darkness. The stereo was probably never intended to play movie audio over the FM receiver, but it made it sound quite good.

"This movie is way smarter than people give it credit." Victor softly commented before shoving some popcorn into his mouth.

"Query: Why does your universe have so many stuffy old man British villains and not more freaky glass eye beardy ones?"

"Children are taught not to run with scissors in this universe."

"Man, this place really is backwards. " She quipped back.

"Tell me about it. You have to be 18 to buy scissors here. Unless they're antiques."

"Almost had me going. Almost. "

"The best way to lie is to tell the truth."

Victor adjusted the seat back a bit and took a sip of his soda.

"... I really wasted this year, huh? We could've been doing stuff like this all the time."

"To procrastinate is human.

To avoid everything new to the point of detriment is Freud.


That's a fancy way of saying I'm used to it."

"My condolences."

Emilie rolled her eyes, smirking.

"Fuck you." She replied, though her tone implied she was mostly joking.

Mostly.

Victor's demeanor suggested that he wasn't offended, taking it mostly as a joke and maybe partially deserving it. Still, he was quiet for a little bit while he watched the movie. They were into the second act before he piped up again with a topic other than commenting on what was on the screen.

"Do you think not having your powers might break the cycle?"

"Doubt it." She replied.

"Like I said, this has happened before and I've still moved afterward."

"Like, happened permanently?" Victor mused softly. "This is sounding more and more like a monkey's paw situation."

"I have straight up reappeared with no powers at all.

That's why I know whatever is up with me isn't power related."

"Yeah, definitely a bad juju sitch, not a freaky scifi sitch. Not my forte, I'll have to call in some favours."

"From who? Your lawyer friend Lebowski?

I don't think this is their forte'."

"Dunno. I gotta make the friends first, and then get them to owe me favours."

"Work harder. The only friend I know you got with any special skills is me." She laughed.

"True. I gotta go to the wrong side of the tracks, start sitting with the spooky kids at lunch."

"You already sit with the spookiest, isn't that enough?"

Apparently not, as we haven't solved this mystery yet. We have to go spookier."

" How much spoop are we willing to subject ourselves to for answers?"

"Why, have you got a lead?"

"Well I would have said we hit up the wizard again, but the friendly one is AWOL.


What happened to Quinn?"

"Hmm, good question. How likely do you think he is to co-operate?"

"Uncertain to not fucking likely."

"And we have nothing to bargain with, nothing we could offer him. Except his freedom, but I sure as fuck ain't giving him that. He was stabbin' people."

"So who else we got?"

"... do you think that Professor Odd guy ever checks his emails?"

"I mean, I brushed elbows with Steven in other realities and he tended to have a pretty large social media presence before the whole magic thing... but like, I don't feel like I'd pull enough importance for the Sorcerer Supreme of this reality to care."

"Guess I'm gonna have to stop by Tesco on the way back and pick up a Ouija board. That or ask the principal if she can help."

"She's not much for 'magic'. Her brain can't wrap itself around it."

"Yeah but she's got a database that's gotta have at least one magic person in there, right?"

"If she feels they're worth noting I guess.

Maybe labeled under 'crackpots and snake oil men'. "

"Aren't there, like a half-dozen magical kids at school? Would she file them under that too?"

"Uh, yea! Probably!" She replied with only a touch of sarcasm.

“Then she’s probably got the number of some wizard or sorceress that she calls when things get a little too spoopy and she doesn’t know how to handle it. I mean, she got you fake papers and stuff, in for a penny in for a pound at this point, right?”

"I mean, I don't doubt her ability. Just how open her third eye is."

“I dunno dude, as far as I know she’s the best lead we’ve got to finding someone who can help you break your cycle.”

"Whatever you thinks best." She relented, picking at her popcorn.