Saturday, September 24, 2016 - early morning
Poe Cottage, Whateley Academy
Yikes, Laura is a heavy sleeper not to wake up when her alarm goes off, would have thought the noise invading her dreams would jolt her awake before Bailey did. Hehehe, that is one way to wake someone up. 15 minutes, Laura needs one of those alarms that gets louder the longer it is on. At least the reminder of work finally wakes her up. *eyes bug out* Wish I could get fully awake that quickly.
Melville Cottage, Whateley Academy
Good grief, Hikaru still such a guy when it comes to laundry.
Hikaru was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma?
That sounds right to me. *facepalms* Leaving gun parts out like that. Ack! The poor wolf plushie should have known it would be harshly treated. *sigh* Laura, she is just going to roast the new wolf plushie. I want a cabinet like that for my books!
Good advice on the gun parts and Hikaru listens. And I just knew the stuffed wolf would cause an issue. At least once she knows Kako isn't involved Hikaru isn't upset at Laura about the wolf plushie.
"She'll probably get upset if I use you for target practice, too," she muttered unhappily. "And I don't think I could find a decent excuse for frying your mangy ass!"
And now Hikaru is stuck with a wolf plushie she can't fry without upsetting a friend, hope this doesn't make her too grumpy.
mid-afternoon New York City, NY
Who is this man and how has he heard of Whateley before?
No matter how much he thought, the memories wouldn't come; the damned spell - some called it a curse - that kept resurrecting him when he died - stole some memories every time he came back from being dead.
Could it be alumni who did something horrible and got cursed for it? And the mystery deepens the more he thinks about it. At least a dozen times coming back from death, no idea how long he has been cursed or alive, yikes.
One thing not known to him was that every time his body had to reanimate itself, the magic also robbed a bit of sanity, but just as a lunatic in an asylum was not self-aware that he was insane, the man wasn't aware of that darker aspect of the spell. Lost in the forgotten memories was an important detail - the spell wasn't a deal with the devil, but was much darker, forbidden magic of the type that men usually avoided at all costs.
Don't tell me he used GOO-based magic or had it used on him, starting to feel sorry for this man. That poor secretary.
Mr. Oscar G. Rouch
Please say that is a reference to something.
Information on Whateley, hiring assets this Mr. Rouch has there, uh oh. Whoever this man is he has a lot of demands, the curse making him paranoid no doubt. Codenames and fake offices for corporations and the guy just lied to his agent on-site about being exclusive and no details to the home office. Okay, not like this guy now. What is he planning to do that involves Whateley?
late morning Cody Apartment, The Village, Whateley Academy
Wyatt home with the kids while Elaine is out, going to be gone most of the afternoon, Laura has her work cut out for her with these 3. Dinner at the Brown Moose if they behave, wonder if Steven even heard that as he rushed off. Don't tell me Vanessa and Jake need Laura to babysit the new addition to their family as well, or at least inform her of who their daughter once was to avoid any future issues.
And yup, they are sharing the news of their daughter and who she once was, no wonder they are so serious. What happened to Val, she is a new person and needs help settling in her new life.
"The Codys are going with us today for our final interview with the Department of Children's Services and to finish paperwork, and then tomorrow, she'll be coming home with us."
Yay! Mentor and part-time sister to Val while helping out Vanessa, I hope Laura doesn't on too much more work or she is going to be exhausted most days.
A 5-year-old girl is a handful, there is an understatement. Playtime at the park and ice cream sounds fun. So cute how Steven looks up to Laura.
late morning New York City, NY
Servant woman and her mistress, talk about rich with how the penthouse apartment is outfitted. *eyes bug out* Just who is this woman? Asking where Dupraeve is, told playing with Heather and Carrie. Nick Dupraeve, already don't like the sound of him. Wait, is this the same Dupraeve mentioned in Diamonds are a Vamp's Best Friend Part 3? As in Nicholas Dupraeve formerly of the Masterminds who had to flee Whateley in the 2005-2006 school year after his scheme was thwarted? I should have remembered he hooked up with Freya after she broke out of prison.
FREYA! That B is still free, someone needs to end her once and for all, wouldn't shock me if all these women are brainwashed victims of her power. Taking control of a building and mention of caves extending for miles and miles, don't tell this is part of her plan to invade Whateley and get revenge. Mention of wards makes it almost certain. Teleporter network left at Whateley by Dupraeve and the Puppetmaster in the phonecall earlier was his agent inside, oh crap.
*eyes bug out big* Hypnos' Eye, Freya is after that artifact to use in their takeover of Whateley, beyond bad. Ugh, Freya is just twisted, can't see everything was her own fault and wants revenge on Carson. I hope something throws a spanner in the works of their plans fast.
early afternoon
Park in The Village, Whateley Academy
Steven watching Laura because he is left out fo the games Connie and Wyatt Junior are playing, aww. And Nigel is there as well. Hehe, I would have tried to stratch behind Nigel's ears as well when he is in wolf form. The nickname of 'Scooby', cute.
Karma showing up to declare king of the hill on the play tower, that girl has so much of her mother in her. Steven can't catch a break, showing off for Laura on the swings and the others come off and do jumps off them.
"You know better than that! You know to keep your center-of-gravity low when you jump so you can control your landing and roll so you don't break an arm or a leg!"
Karma eased herself down onto the seat. "Yes, mama," she replied sullenly.
Imp lecturing her daughter about jumping technique, perfect. Karma going with Imp to town, she knows her little girl too well to leave her home alone. Karma tries to get Laura to watch her, Laura has common sense, I would sooner watch the Gen 1 kids group alone than Karma. And tried to swipe Laura's neural neutralizer, Karma is one precocious kid. Ack! Movie with 5 kids and only one of her friends along to help watch them. I won't even ask how much trouble this could lead to.
Dunwich Theater, Dunwich NH
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Morgana came along, Gadget Weekend at the movie theater sounds fun. Bwahaha, that is one way to make a point about someone watching the same movies a lot. Now that is a classic theater. Oh no, Statler and Waldorf.
"I wonder how bad they were," the other asked.
"What makes you think they were bad?" the first spirit asked.
"If they weren't bad, why would their parents punish them by making them sit through this movie?" "Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho!" the pair chuckled.
"In the Muppet Show, Statler and Waldorf criticize the other skits and other Muppets with bad jokes," Karma explained.
"Did she say our jokes are bad?" the first spirit asked.
"She only says that because she hasn't seen the film to compare the jokes to!" "Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho!"
Thank you for this, those two are classics and I love them.
"The Muppets, Roadrunner, Tom and Jerry, Gilligan's Island - you know. The classics." She smirked. "Mama says she studied secret agent and superhero tactics from Get Smart and Super Chicken."
Now that is proper education in the classics.
Darn, burned out projector, the kids are missing out on a great movie. Morgana is right, with Karma along that is cruel and unusual punishment, glad Laura sees reason even if she is upset some. The kids tricked Morgana and ditched her, I knew this trip would be trouble! Now they have to find the kids and hope they don't get found by someone horrible first.
Alley behind 'Manor of Attire', Dunwich NH
Steven, the youngest, is the most sensible of the kids, knowing they are going to be in big trouble while the others treat this as a big game of hide and seek. Connie and Wyatt Junior consider this fun, these two need a good scare to break them of this habit. And the girls teasing Steven about having a crush on Laura, that is just mean. Karma has some of Misfit's tools and knows how to open locks, they are going to stumble in big trouble at this rate.
And the bad plan is getting worse, Karma's idea could get them trapped with someone or something bad in that basement. Using the clothes from the mannequins to play pretend, wonder why this place is basically abandoned. Ack, little girls shouldn't be playing with corsets like those.
"Perry doesn't like it here. Something doesn't feel right."
Connie nodded. "Winnie doesn't like it either. She doesn't know what, but she doesn't like it."
I knew this was bad, a hidden stairway leading down almost never leads to anything good.
Main Street, Dunwich NH
Laura and Morgana already searched the whole street, and Laura discovers Karma cut the security line and took her neural neutralizer, at least the kids have some form of defense. Ooo, tracker in it so they can find the kids, smart idea, Laura. Discover where the kids went, but Laura doesn't wish to break and enter, plus the signal disappeared, eek.
Back at the Basement of 'Manor of Attire', Dunwich NH with the kids. Torches like that, not electrical or regular, magical possibly? Yup, with the description of this place, everything in it, definitely magic involved. Magic security on the cabinet with the rings, medallions, and other items, good, don't want Karma becoming even more unpredictable. And Nigel opens a chest with more magical items, oh boy. Wait, is this the place that Freya wishes to purchase and has an artifact she is after in it? With how Wyatt reacted could that staff Karma picked up be Hypnos' Eye?
Alley behind 'Manor of Attire', Dunwich NH
Mrs. Aldrich, guessing she is the widow who Freya mentioned earlier. At least Mrs. Aldrich is letting them in, nice to see some trust. Imp is there, the dust being disturbed recently is convincing evidence. And Imp discovers the hidden stairway which Mrs. Aldrich never heard of before. Morgana staying behind as Imp and Laura decend the stairway, nice security feature for the hidden entrance to close up shortly afterwards.
Hhm, nobody down there for years, Imp thinks there is another hidden entrance, what is going on? Found the other secret door and everyone goes down after the kids this time.
When Morgana and the old woman emerged into the secret room, Imp was scanning one of the bookcases, while the kids sat contritely and silently on the floor, backs against another wall and lined up like suspects in police custody, with Laura watching over them. From her expression, they knew that if she had the means, she'd have handcuffed all of them. And put them in leg irons.
Those kids are in for a huge grounding after this stunt.
Imp's experience with magical items comes in handy, wonder what kind of magic Mrs. Aldrich's grandfather was working. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of magical items, possibly irreplaceable tomes, whoa. And Freya's plans are foiled thanks to the kids and Imp, horray!
"Uh, Ms Imp? I really wouldn't get too close to any of that stuff in the cabinets or shelves." The Imp turned to give her a questioning look, as the tall girl continued. "There's definitely magic involved, some of the things are quite powerful, and there is some sort of magic shield covering it all. I really don't think we should touch anything until we get an expert to take a look."
Experts in to assess and inventory everything here by tomorrow, Imp can work miracles with her contacts.
"Susan Moira Chambers!" Imp scolded her daughter sharply, using the all-three-names-you're-in-big-trouble-now form of addressing her. "What are you hiding?"
We finally know Karma's full name, yippee!
"How about this - you and the kids pick out some small items, Morgana can make sure they don't have powerful magic, and we can have them checked by Mrs. Barton when we get back home to make sure they're safe. Is that okay?"
Smartest way to go about it, hope Hypnos' Eye is one of the things the kids take, out of Freya's reach.
late afternoon Cody's Apartment, The Village, Whateley Academy
Wyatt and Elaine show back up in a good mood, which means the adoption went well. Ouch, Laura in tears, afraid she is in trouble and having to be told by Wyatt she isn't the one who misbehaved. Mrs. Cody having to assure Laura and Morgana they aren't in trouble for what happen, good grief.
Given a bag of holding and Karma still tried to sneak more items out then she gave them, that girl needs a harsh lesson in not abusing those who are kind to you. Despite the good that came out of their actions, it doesn't excuse what the kids did. Grounded for a week and no using their gifts for two weeks, good. *facepalms* Karma does that in the labs for fun, she needs to be put in something to keep her busy.
"I may ask Laura to miniaturize her tracking circuit into an implantable size so nobody will lose track of you again!" Imp said with a mischievous grin.
"I suppose that's doable," Laura immediately reflected on what Imp had said. "I'd have to reduce the power a lot so the effective range would be reduced, and make a bio-compatible housing that wouldn't interfere ...."
Imp rolled her eyes and sighed. "That was a joke," she interrupted Laura. Then she cocked her head a bit. "But if you could actually do that ...."
"If you can, sign us up for three," Wyatt Cody said, looking evenly at his children in a way that they didn't know if he was serious or not.
Please, for the sanity of everyone at Whateley, do it, Laura! A talk with Vanessa about tomorrow, more about Val.
Vanessa nodded. "If you kids learn only one thing today, it should be what your mother just said. Even weak spells can very quickly get you in a world of trouble."
Excellent advice, hope the kids take it to heart. Very nice bracelet, handy for a spy or someone working undercover I bet. And thank you, Imp, for stopping Karma in her tracks.
Vanessa shook her head. "Sorry, hon, it's not to 'general' past. More like, to a personal past, like maybe ancestry or something."
Wonder if it only sees Mrs. Aldrich's ancestry or does it work for anyone who holds it. Never thought I'd see a figurine like that in a story, handy magic too.
"Did you know that sometimes, a magic bag like this will take a few of your things and deposit them in another dimension, lost forever?" Imp asked her daughter, winking at Vanessa as she spoke.
Lying to her daughter to keep her away from another item she doesn't want her to have, heh. Bwahaha, love the bit between Wyatt Junior and Nigel.
"This is a Saint's medal to St. Honorius, the patron saint of bakers," Vanessa explained as she took one of the unclaimed éclairs. "The medal manifests baked goods. I estimate it's good for about one to one-and-a-half pounds of baked goods a day."
*starts to drool at the thought of all the deserts* And Karma gets it, though I can see why Vanessa wanted it, I would be tempted to keep it myself. Wyatt Jr. with the bracelet.
"You can have the bakery medal, then," Imp told Karma. "But the first time you spoil your appetite by eating a lot of baked goods, I keep it for day. The second time, two days. The third time, four days, and so on. Every time I have to take it from you, I keep it for twice as long as the last time. Understand?"
Karma thought a little bit, her eyes widening with surprise as she digested the implications of her mom's conditions. "Yes, ma'am," she said, gulping.
Imp is a great mother. Poor Laura, she thought she wouldn't be babysitting for the Cody's anymore, she needs to learn how to relax a little more.
Wyatt laughed. "These kids are a handful for us," he admitted. "We don't expect you to do better keeping them out of trouble than we've managed! So as long as you learn and don't let them use this trick on you again, of course we'll have you babysit the kids!"
Know I want to know what kind of trouble these kids have gotten into which their parents have had to deal with before. And another adventure tomorrow with the Bartons to pick up Val, hope Vanessa isn't too full of nerves to sleep.
early evening Between The Village and Poe, Whateley Academy
Hehe, even Morgana can see Steven has a crush on Laura, yet Laura doesn't think so. Karma plus the twins together, I would have cloaked spy drones following them constantly when they get together. Whoa, Laura is that huge of a Star Trek fan. And yes, never seen Discovery but that isn't Star Trek, read enough about it. Morgana hangs out in the labs, talks tech with the guys, and uses 'they give me coffee' as an excuse.
Laura gestured for Morgana to be quiet, but after a moment of scanning the area, she sighed and shook her head. "I thought I heard something - like a rustling sound of someone stepping on pine needles and dried leaves."
Did one of the spies slip up or is it Stahlfaust? Ooo, Laura can feel that someone is following and watching her, these spies are slipping up or Laura has stronger senses than expected. And she hears footsteps from a direction, who is following her this time?
Giving Morgana an idea to think about and zone out contemplating, hehe. And what funny pods did Laura find. Cacao pods that can grow in non-tropical environments, yes please. Coffee over chocolate, I would have words with you, Morgana. And now I have to wonder if the devisor chocolate will have a side-effect.
Sunday, September 25, 2016, mid-morning
Poe Cottage, Whateley Academy
Yikes, Laura, you should answer your phone so this kind of thing doesn't happen. Wonder why the Bartons are calling, did Laura sleep through her alarm and is late for her pick-up? Figures, alarm 9 am and Laura slept through her alarm, again. Up until 2 am in the labs on an important project for Mrs. Barton, Laura, you need sleep.
Show Jake the project she is working on for Vanessa, wonder what he will think. An adventure for all of them today, Arkham Research Consortium an hour drive, plenty of time to chat. The banter between them is so fun to read, teasing about Jake giving too much history homework, Laura rather be inventing than eating if she could, Jake teasing vanessa about how she was when they went to Whateley and she was in the magic labs for hours on end.
Arkham Research Consortium, New Hampshire
Laura gets a pretty good read on what ARC is fast.
"They probably don't have little sisters," Laura said with a scowl. "I know what kids can and can't handle. She'll get more upset by a sequence of new things one after another than all of them at once."
They need someone like Laura on staff at ARC, someone with experience with little kids. Thank you, Laura, for taking the step needed to help out Valerie despite what the staff of ARC said.
Dang, you got me tearing up reading the scene between Laura, Valerie, and Vanessa, this is something Vanessa and Valerie needed. I'm not spoiling any of this scene, it is too good and pure.
The Village, Whateley Academy
Vanessa able to push Valerie on the swings, darn it, tearing up again. Laura having to explain to the Cody kids about Valerie and where she grew up, definitely makes a huge point about how different the staff at ARK treated her from a normal child her age. Well, that went about as best as be expected, at least they didn't scare Valerie on purpose.
Aww, seeing Steven play in the swing inspires Valerie to try and swing herself like he does, determined little girl.
"Part of being a kid," she explained, lightly touching Vanessa on the arm. "Sometimes, she'll want help, and other times, you'll feel like she's pushing you away." Laura smiled. "That's what Mom told me I did, and what I saw my little sister do."
Good thing Vanessa has Laura there, being a mother is a lot harder than most expect.
Laura nodded. "Same for the rest of you. I bet you were too young to remember the first time you fell off a swing. You all learned how to fall and land safely from a lot of little falls. But Valerie never did that. If you fell jumping from a swing, you might twist your ankle, but Valerie might break her leg, or worse." She watched the kids' faces as they began to understand. "I want you guys to help her learn."
Boy, Laura is going to be a great mother when she grows up, already incredible with kids and explaining things in ways they understand. One of the things I like best about her.
Movie time at the Barton's apartment and Morgana helping out Laura once more. The kids giggle and laugh at her dragon form, good grief, those kids have guts. The kids insisted on How to Train Your Dragon, a nice, kid-safe movie.
Dinnertime
Crystal Hall, Whateley Academy
Laura shows up and is upset, Bianca teasing Morgana about it being her fault, upset at Hikaru for gifting her the furisode due to how expensive it is. $8k! And Hikaru will give it Goodwill if Laura doesn't take it, that is blackmail. *sigh* Laura feels like it is a bribe or leverage over her, girl can't accept a gift. Tia, did you have to make Laura more upset with the suggestion.
*facepalms again* I can't Hikaru is like this, I know she doesn't like wearing clothes in colors other than her favorites but this is silly.
"Well, that was entertaining," Vic said dryly after he sensed that the exchanges between Laura and Hikaru were done. "What's the dinner show tomorrow night?"
Vic, you need to read the room better.
"I was up real late last night, and I can't get past an unstable feedback problem on the regenerative plasma trap circuit of the PFG I'm trying to make for you."
Regenerative plasma trap circuit, interesting solution for the power issues for a force field. Seesh, Morgana, 9 times out of 10 sound like good odds to you, not to those around you besides your opponents. Yikes, Laura is right, those ideas are bloodthirsty especially the hypersonic pulse weapon.
The team looked around at each other for a few seconds. "Do you suppose we should end 'tease Laura night' early tonight?" Tia finally asked with a wicked grin. "I think she's too tired to enjoy our humor."
Laura gawked at her. "Oh, pbthhhh!" she finally shot a raspberry at the rabbit-girl.
Friends like these, sometimes you want to smack them, other times you want to hug them.
Evening
Labs, Beneath Kane Hall, Whateley Academy
Horace Bishop asking how many more cacao pods there are, several trees worth, whoa.
"I've done some research, and whoever hybridized these things was no dummy. There's genetic material from a premium cacao variety called Criollo," Horace explained.
*tries to reach through screen to grab some chocolate made from those cacao pods* Is 'Shine living in the Village, took up running the bar there from the sounds of it, perfect job. The process for turning cacao pods into chocolate is a lot of work.
A day of shopping to choose furniture for Valerie, letting her pick herself, and she exhausted herself, little cutie out like a light. Laura not answering her phone again and Jake wondering if Laura can babysit for them again tomorrow, and Laura goes to get Jake's opinion on her invention for Vanessa.
The model was a scale replica of part of Vanessa's car. At first glance, it seemed normal, but a second view showed some significant alterations in the driver's side doors.
"What is it?" Jake asked.
"It'd be easier if I just demonstrate." Laura flipped a switch which caused some indicator LEDs to light up, then she pressed a button on the model base. The doors opened, sliding along the front and rear fenders, revealing the lack of a B-pillar. Next, a mechanism inside the model extended from the back seat area, moving something out and down. Meanwhile, the driver's seat rotated and then moved on an articulated frame out to the side and down, bringing the driver clear of the car and adjacent to the small model of a power chair that had deployed from the back seat and unfolded. The driver would be perfectly positioned to transfer from the driver's seat into the chair. When Laura pressed a second button, the driver's seat rotated back into the car, while the power chair was undocked from its lift, which likewise retracted. Finally, the doors closed back up.
*mouth gapped open in shock* That would revolutionize cars for paraplegics or anyone needs a wheelchair.
"Watch this." Laura moved the model of the chair a bit, then she pressed another button. The chair docking mechanism deployed, and this time, it was in what Laura called 'seeker mode' whereby it hunted for the chair, docked with it, and then moved the chair to its 'transfer' location. The driver's seat deployed, and when Laura pushed a button to continue, the seat and the power chair were both pulled back into their places in the car and the doors closed.
Laura, you have created something incredible. The tears in Jake's eyes, Laura is the nicest girl, if not person, ever.
"If you keep this up, Vanessa is going to try to adopt you, you know."
Didn't Wyatt say Elaine would want to adopt Laura if she keep things up as well, so many wanting to adopt Laura. Or am I remembering wrong?
Monday, September 26, 2016, Evening
The Village, Whateley Academy
I see what Laura is doing here, Vanessa needs to build that bond with Valerie so Laura is doing what she can to help.
"I'm not her new mom," Laura said simply.
"So ... you're pushing Vanessa to take care of Val, and you're pushing Val to rely on Vanessa?" Jake smiled. "I bet Wyatt would recognize your ploy in a heartbeat, and he'd approve."
It is what Vanessa and Val both need right now. A mother reading a story to her little girl, so heartwarming. And giving them time to finish the book, brought a tear to my eye. Spaghetti balls, I remember doing the same thing, such fun at that age. The old noodle slurp, Laura knows how to have fun at dinner.
Movie with the parents while Laura cleans up, nice happy home. Homemade caramel corn, yum. And Valerie sleeping in Vanessa's lap is just the most adorable thing. Val insisting Laura will be her sister so wants a bed for her, bunkbeds, too cute.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016, Early Afternoon
New York City, NY
Oh I just love seeing Freya's plan fall apart.
"It may not be related, but there was a report to the sheriff's office Sunday afternoon about some young children who were lost in Dunwich. They were located and the incident closed."
And finding out about the items being removed from the basement, I would love a picture of her reaction face right then. And already working on a Plan B, I hope her plans keep getting disrupted unintentionally by kids from Whateley, it would be too perfect.
This story was great with a lot of energy, excitement and emotion. Babysitting those kids was never going to be an easy job, who knew it would lead to such a discovery, or completely derail Freya's Plan A for revenge on Whateley. The scene at ARC between Laura, Valerie, and Vanessa, tears of joy at reading the scene slowed me down for several minutes, that scene was perfect. I loved all the interactions between Laura, the Bartons and their new daughter, just so great she is helping a little girl to adjust to the wide open world and Vanessa into being a mother, Laura is wise beyond her years.
Even the teasing from her friends was a fun scene when you realize it is goodnatured like always. And Laura's invention for Vanessa, I wish such an advanced system existed in the real world, seen some similar advertised but none as advanced or easy to use. The last part, seeing Freya so infuriated with her plan falling apart, was wonderful. And to think it happened due to unplanned actions by a bunch of kids and their babysitters. I can't wait to see how the Bartons continue to grow closer as a family, what the kids get up to with their magical items, and what future inventions Laura comes up with.
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