Note: I wrote this one up quick because I was momentarily inspired to and I hoped that it wouldn't screw up any ongoing plots. Adventures In Parodyverse - Tempered Part 1     It was quite a long journey this time, not easy like the last. She was used to simply slipping across dimensions as if she were crossing a residential street late at night. This time she had to plot a careful course, because crossing those lines was more like trying to cross a heavily travelled freeway during the day. Not only did she have to avoid colliding with the many entities moving through, but she had to avoid detection by them as well.          She couldn't risk being noticed. Not that they would recognize her personally, but they might interpret anyone who could cross their domain at will to be a threat to them. And there were billions of them and only one of her.          Lara Night finally appeared at the Lair Mansion feeling mentally exhausted, which translated into general physical tiredness. She sighed and straightened herself up, rebalancing the weight of the large duffel bag she brought with her - it was several nights' provisions in case she was too tired or weak to make the trip back in short order.          Her first destination was Sir Mumphrey Wilton's office. He was a man in serious danger, she thought to herself for a moment. It was one of the unexplained premonitions she got from time to time. She'd learned from experience not to act on those until she had some inkling of the type of danger first - it was just as likely that giving an unsolicited warning might be what causes him to place himself in peril, after all.          A quiet knock at the door tore Sir Mumphrey away from his research. Since SR 1066 was written and virtually guaranteed to become law he developed a newfound need to research American case law and become as familiar with it as possible.          "Come in," he urged as he looked up. He was as surprised to see Lara standing there as she was at being there. "Have a seat, please." He stood as soon as she entered the office, noting that she looked tired. "Would you like some tea?"          "Yes, please." Lara didn't bother to try to turn it down. She knew he'd insist, and at that point she really did need the caffeine to restore her energy. She sat down in a deep chair in front of Mumph's desk and crossed her legs, waiting politely.          Sir Mumphrey handed her a real china cup and saucer and then poured in some hot Earl Grey tea. He suggested a cube of sugar but waited for her to nod before dropping it into the beverage. "You've changed your mind, what?"          "Hmm?" Lara was sipping tea, letting it warm and comfort her, at the time of his question and didn't really comprehend it at first. "Oh, you mean coming back here."          He nodded and slid back behind his desk, and into his comfortable chair, groaning as he sat down. "I'm not as young as I once was," he said. "Never thought of myself as someone who could depend on others for help." He shook his head. "Time is starting to betray even me." He looked at the pocket watch ticking quietly on his desk.          "Is that your way of saying you should have asked me to stay and help?" Lara asked. He leaned back and smiled at her, but didn't say a word. Lara smiled too, and took another sip of tea. "So now that I'm here...what can I do?"     "The Lair Legion's best have been meeting tragedy lately," he said. "Mine is in the past...but theirs is still fresh. Mr. Boaz saw Zdenka leave for Candia. Visionary...lost Pricilla. We've seen a couple of members go. Morale isn't too good right now."          "Lost as in...?" Lara asked delicately. Her instincts answered the question already but she wanted to confirm it.          Sir Mumphrey simply nodded once.          "Oh." Lara responded in a soft voice as her expression saddened. "I'm sorry to hear that. He must really be hurting." She thought for a moment. "So...you want me to cheer him up, is that it?"          "He'll be glad to see you, certainly," Mumph told her. "Your presence alone will keep his thoughts off his troubles. I want you to do something more."          "I'm listening."          "Get involved," Sir Mumphrey suggested, his voice hardening to one of a commander rather than a friendly old gentleman. "This meta hunt and our recent losses have everyone feeling down. Show them some courage, what? With your sunny disposition you're bound to bring up the mood."          Lara took another sip of tea, and kept the cup close enough to her face that the sound of her exhale was reflected from the cup. "Yeah. Sure, I'll help," she replied quietly with a slight nod.          "One more thing," Mumph added. He held up his pocket watch. "I noticed you looking at this, and I'm curious...what do you see?"          "It's like a star at the center of a galaxy," Lara replied quickly, as if the comparison were just something she came up with from the top of her head. "It has so much energy coming from it. Feels like it's tied to everything around it."          Sir Mumphrey leaned forward, holding out the watch by its chain, dangling it over the edge of the desk above Lara's lap. Lara gently held out a hand and caught it as it was lowered into her palm. She understood completely, though, that he wasn't willing to let go of the chain.          "It's beautiful," she said. "It feels like it sits in a...hole in the universe."          "Curious." Sir Mumphrey raised an eyebrow as she let go of it so he could draw it back by its chain. "I've heard you had some interesting senses, Miss Night. I thought I might try an experiment. I'm sorry if it embarrassed you at all."          "No, it was cool." Lara smiled. She placed the teacup and saucer on the desk and leaned forward. "I guess I should get started at trying to cheer people up. Soon as I figure out which room to stay in."          "I'll have Mr. Boaz show you to your room." Mumph stood and straightened out his clothing. "He'll be glad to see you, and he needs the distraction." ---     Jay Boaz was shocked to see Lara Night waiting in Sir Mumphrey's office. The shock was partly from the fact that Lara insisted she had to go far away from the Parodyverse until its troubles were over, and partly because he wasn't sure if he could take someone still so unfamiliar visiting the Lair Mansion while he was still moping about Zdenka leaving.          He entered the office and stood in the doorway looking exhausted, as if the very trip across the mansion was a chore.          But when Lara stood and smiled at him, the exhaustion drained away temporarily. "Lara," he tried to say calmly. The attempted lack of enthusiasm in his voice betrayed him when she approached and insisted on moving close, and then she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a full bear hug.          "How have you been?" she asked in a whisper.          "Okay, considering." Jay replied almost a little nervously. He gave her a quick smile as he added, "I missed working with you."          "Oh, I wasn't that good," Lara laughed and gave a little shrug. "The usual guys you work with are better."          "You can learn," Jay pointed out. "But you'll also always be much nicer to work with in small spaces. You look and smell better than CSFB! or Trickshot. Except when CSFB! has been eating strawberry flavored candy, maybe."          Lara bent over to pick up her bad and then rose to allow Jay to lead her to her room. He immediately took the bag from her, and she didn't protest the gesture. "Let me know if you want me to come along for a mission or something," she said. "Maybe I'll bring some strawberry candy too."          "I know you're here to cheer me up," Jay suddenly went straight to the point. "Which is fine, because it's working." He smiled slightly for a moment. "At least until night time when I'm alone again."          Lara took his free hand and held it across his wrist reassuringly. "I'm a night person, Jay. I'll hang out with you until you fall asleep if you need the company."          "Nah, I need some daily alone time to think," he told her with a shrug.          She nodded and followed him the rest of the way to the room. Having a love leave her once, she understood that sometimes space was needed and sometimes reassurance. She had to leave it up to him to decide.          "I appreciate the offer, though." He said suddenly when they arrived at the door to her room. He sounded more serious as he added in a quiet voice, "I might even take you up on it. Sometimes I get to thinking and I become kind of sad."          Lara opened the door, took the bag from him, and placed it just inside the door. She then gave Jay another hug. "Take care of yourself, okay?"          "I will." Jay nearly walked away but then remembered what else he thought of to tell her before he arrived at Sir Mumphrey's office. "You really should talk to Visionary," he said. "He's a wreck. He lost all drive to get involved around the mansion, and now he's in the lighthouse nearly all the time."          "The lighthouse?" Lara asked.          Jay walked through her room quickly and pointed out the window. Sure enough, there was a tall lighthouse with a rotating lamp casting a stream of light through falling rain outside.          "Wow," Lara commented. "I transported directly to the mansion, I didn't even see that. I didn't know it was raining either." She looked away from the window and nodded at Jay. "I'll go talk to Visionary," she reassured him.          "Thanks." Jay smiled at her briefly and left the room. As he turned to go, Lara could see a glimpse of sadness cross his eyes...and then he closed the door. ---     "Ack!" Visionary spilled milk all over himself, and then the kitchen floor, when a blonde suddenly appeared in front of him without warning at his lighthouse home. The mess didn't seem to make much difference on him since his clothing was already wrinkled and disheveled, and his hair was uncombed.          "I'm so sorry," Lara apologized. She quickly grabbed the roll of paper towels sitting nearby on the counter - she figured there would always be paper towels available in Visionary's kitchen - and gently dabbed his face clean first, and then tried to dry his shirt. "I didn't think you'd be in the kitchen so I--"          "It's okay, it's okay." Visionary sighed as he took some paper towels too, and tried to dry his pants to save Lara the embarrassment of trying to do that herself. Instead she cleaned up the spill in the floor. "I'm glad to see you again."          "I'm glad to see you again too." Lara stood and leaned forward to hug him but he stopped her, so she only got as far as placing her wrists on his shoulders.          "I don't want to mess your clothing up," he said.          "Oh. Right." She smiled, her hands still on his shoulders. "If you want I can wait while you change your clothes."          "Yes. Change. Okay." Visionary left the kitchen quickly, nearly tripping over the empty milk container on the floor as he left.          By the time he returned downstairs, Lara was no longer in the kitchen, and the floor was spotless. The milk carton was missing too. He slowly made his way into the living room where he found her looking at a newspaper. The living room was silent except for the ticking of a wall clock and the rain hitting the outside of the small window pane.          "You didn't have to do that. Clean up the kitchen, I mean."          Lara dropped the newspaper and looked at him. "It felt like the right thing to do." Lara walked over to Visionary and hugged him. "Now I can give you a real hug."          He smiled at first, and closed his eyes, immersing himself in the warmth of her arms and the gentle flowery scent of her hair. It hadn't been that long since he lost Pricilla but he even missed some of the simpler aspects of that relationship already. He also missed those gentle feminine curves that ran down the waist, and around the back...          Lara pulled away gently, and Visionary realized it was because his hands had wandered to the lower part of her waist during the hug.          "I'm so sorry," Visionary tried to apologize. "I was daydreaming. It's just that the last girl I hugged--"          "--had sex with you for hours right after, I know." Lara laughed as she completed the sentence for him.          "Yeah," Visionary replied absent-mindedly, staring off into space with a blank expression on his face. His silent daydream ended with him looking at the blonde standing before him and thinking.          "I know what you're thinking," she said. "But we can't. I know you don't remember why but let's just say it might destroy the universe...again."          Visionary sighed. He already figured she would say no, but he wasn't quite clear-minded to anticipate that before dropping hints first. "I didn't mean to...I mean, all I wanted to do was--"          "Take a deep breath," Lara suggested. "And then tell me what's on your mind. No hurry, I'm listening."          He did as she suggested, taking in a deep, cleansing breath and then exhaling. As he did, he felt a wave of sadness as memory of why he was depressed in the first place came rushing back. And he realized that all he wanted was to get away from those feelings. "I'm just wishing because...I need to...not feel like this for a while."          Lara's smile disappeared as she noticed a deep sadness in his eyes. "You need to get out," she suggested quietly. "To get away from this place."          "I don't much feel like doing...anything," he mumbled.          She smirked slightly as a plan began to form in her mind. "That's why you must," she said. "And I have just the cure for you." ---     "Back already?" Jay asked when Lara appeared inside his room at the Lair Mansion. Like Visionary, he was shocked to see her pop in out of nowhere, but being significantly less prone to panic he took it relatively in stride.          "I arranged something for Vish," she told Jay. She folded her arms and looked at him suspiciously. "Now what are we going to do to keep you occupied?"          "I'm keeping busy," he replied quickly.          "Busy...yeah," she sighed as she spoke, placing her hands on his shoulders again. "But you're never really distracted, are you? Zdenka's always haunting you everywhere you go."          Jay visibly winced at that assessment, it hit home perfectly. It prompted him to think about why...and discovered it was because while he did keep busy, none of the work was fun for him like it used to be. Unless someone was with him, keeping his spirits up, like CSFB!. Or perhaps... "I have some things to do," he said. "And we worked well together last time. Maybe you can help me out."          "Sure," Lara replied in her characteristic calm yet enthusiastic way. "Are you going as Hatman or Jay?"          Jay produced his Hatman ballcap, tee-shirt, and cape from a drawer in his room. "What do you think?"          Lara smiled at him a little mischievously as she told him, "I've got a surprise for you, then."     "A surprise?" Jay asked, stopping midway in putting on his costume.          "Mmhmm." Lara nodded. "Wait here for me." She headed out of the room, glancing back at him in an almost teasing manner just before closing the door behind her.          While he waited, Jay started to practically hear Dream's voice in his head, telling him way more than he wanted to know about the fling between him and Lara. How Dream summed up the experience by telling Jay that Lara was like a shaken soda bottle daring to be opened by someone who could handle the resulting explosion and feel so refreshed. He began to worry, remembering Dream telling him that Lara was a lot more brave than she seemed at first glance. Jay worried about what exactly she was going to surprise him with.          "Hey." Lara appeared behind him and placed one hand on each of his shoulders, preventing him from turning around at first. "Before I show you this you have to promise not to laugh."          "Okay." The worry Jay felt started to melt away when he realized that the tone of her voice sounded nervous rather than daring or brave. "I won't laugh."          Lara took a couple of steps back, allowing Jay to turn around and look. She had changed into a body hugging yet modest costume of her own - mostly black, with single a white stripe running down each side of the pants, continuing up into a white V-shaped belt and downward into the boots. The upper part was a shirt running up to her neck with the chest area marked by a large white shape looking like the lower part of a diamond, and a single stripe on each arm matching the ones on the pants.     "It's very nice," Jay told her. He wasn't going to say more, but she still seemed to be waiting for more approval. "I like it. It's...warm, practical, yet sexy."          She finally smiled. "I have a matching cape too but I'm afraid to try it until I know I won't get it stuck in doors and such."          "Where did you get it?" he asked. He reached out for the fabric on her arm, a little curious about how it felt. She moved closer to him, allowing him to touch. "Nice. Feels comfortable."          "You give such understated compliments, Jay," Lara teased him.          "I'm just a little blown away," he explained. "That you could make something as nice as this. And I'm a little reluctant to say, I guess...I'm also blown away at how um...physically fit you are. It's more difficult to tell in civilian clothing."          "Didn't Dream spend an entire day bragging to you about that?"          "Yes." Jay smiled at that. "But hearing about it and seeing it are two different things. I still think it's nice, though, that you designed something so modest for yourself. I mean...I'm genuinely impressed. There are so many excessively revealing costumes out there."          She shrugged. "There's a lot about me you don't know," she said. "I'd rather be comfortable and warm than attract attention. Besides--" she smiled as she added one last part, "--I already seem to get plenty of attention without showing off."          Jay put his mind back on track again as he quickly put on his Hatman cap and his cape. "Are you ready for your costume's first test drive?" he asked, as he offered her his arm.          "Sure." Lara replied with a smile. She took his arm and followed him out.      TO BE CONTINUED -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2006 by Jason Froikin, and may not be -- reprinted without permission. -- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow -- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin -- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

To the Spirit of the Night, I surrender...