--Previous Message--
: Zeo nodded. Her Biblical grasp wasn't that
: great, despite her resolve to read up more
: so she could argue better with the
: preachers who came to her door. "You
: guys do what you want. I'll be
: over...there," she said, waving in a
: general direction far from the scene.
: Despite the lingering heat of the day, she
: still felt chilled through. When she felt
: she'd put enough distance between herself
: and the creeps, she clutched her Backpack
: tightly and slid down the wall, knees as
: close to her chest as she could manage,
: shaking with the events of the past hour.
: Her hair fell around her shoulders and
: arms, acting as a sort of blanket. But
: still she shook, her teeth chattering with
: the chill she didn't think would ever go
: away.
: "It was a near miss this time," she
: whispered. "But what if there's a
: next time? What happens then? Oh god,
: what happens then?"
: She buried her face in the comforting
: familiarity of the Backpack, inhaling
: deeply. If she strained, she could still
: catch the scents of OtakuWord: Diet Coke,
: okonomiyaki, ramen, Pixie Stix, and a
: faint twinge of Jawa. "Why was I
: pulled to this world?" she wondered.
: "It's not like I have any magic or
: anything. So far, I've carried bagpipes,
: shot at Diana, got separated from the
: group and nearly got raped and/or
: killed!" She dug in the bag and
: pulled out another familiar comfort: the
: kawaii blue-mohawked, trenchcoat-wearing
: plushie that was her lone souvenier of the
: Wars! She cuddled it close, her eyes on
: the brink of glazing over as she sat,
: rocking, her back to the stone wall.
: ((sorry guys. I'm in a fairly maudlin mood,
: so I'm gonna go get some sleep, and maybe
: Zeo'll be back to her perky self in the
: morning))
:
:
"Actually Zeo," Cole said with a fair amount of concern in his voice, "I have no idea about how powerful the gem really is. I've been weary of trying to do anything too extreme with it." The mentalist cautioned, "It's possible that a 'Penance Stare'* could be done, but it's something I've never tried befo-" The mentalist stopped talking as Zeo walked away from the scene.
Seeing that she was really shaken up by the event, the mentalist soon followed, removing the blue cape from his costume. "I know that its not exactly a blanket, but if you would like to use it as one..." Cole whispered to Zeo as he kneeled beside her, his cape folded over his right arm. Del Tigre then struggled to find the words to console his friend, but could only say "Everything will be alright, Zeo. I'm...I mean, We're not going to let anything happen to you, I promise."
Cole has always been hesitant toward making promises, especially the kind that seemed doomed to failure as this one was. Still, he said it, and was resolved to follow through with it no matter what. Looking at the man Tommy had pinned, Cole reflected on the events of the hour, chiding himself for his inability to prevent the incident from occurring in the first place. His only consolation is that Zeo's attackers didn't physically harm her, but for the emotional trauma they induced they would surely have to pay.
((* 'the Penance Stare' is a power weilded by Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider, the Spirit of Vengance. It's essentially what Zeo mentioned about making a person feel the suffering and pain they have done unto others, except GR's penance stare magnifies it one-thousandfold!))
