Dexter was lying in a drunken stupor against the wall of a dark alley when a blade suddenly appeared in front of him, just inches from his nose. His eyes opened wide as he watched it slice upwards, seeming to cut through the very fabric of reality as it went. Bright light spilled through the rift as the blade withdrew. A shadow in the middle of the rift resolved itself into two delicate, gloved hands, which grasped the sides of the rift and pulled them apart like paper. He was blinded by the light for a moment, but it was mercifully blocked by the body of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen as she walked through it.
She didn't seem to notice him, as she turned and pulled the rift back together again. It disappeared without a trace, leaving them both in darkness. Only, it wasn't as dark as it had been, as this beautiful creature seemed to glow from within, softly illuminating the alley around her. As his eyes adjusted to the light he saw that she was wearing thigh high white boots with a metallic sheen to them. Her arms were encased in satiny white gloves with the same look to them, from her hands to halfway up her upper arms. She wore a short skirt made from the same material, which seemed to be made up of many overlapping sections, like the petals of a flower. Her top was also the same material, but only covered her to the top of her breasts in front, and sloped down sharply in back, leaving most of her upper body bare.
One hand rested lightly on her delicate silver chain belt, her fingers touching but not grasping one of a pair of silver wands that were threaded through it, as she glanced around the dank alley where she'd appeared. Her long satiny white hair flowed around her like a cloak, reaching all the way down to her knees. There was no sign of the blade, or anywhere where she could be hiding it. She didn't seem to notice Dexter lying there as she delicately stepped over an overturned garbage can and glided out of the alley and out of his sight.
Dexter shook his head to clear it and thought, When you start hallucinating, that's when it's time to stop drinking!
She looked around with interest at everything around her as she went, comparing it to what she had known. She stopped to look at a newspaper and was amused to see that the name of the president was even the same as it was then. As she followed her senses they took her farther away from the commercial area of the town and into the residential area. Soon she found herself at an apartment complex, not so different from one where she had once lived.
Almost immediately upon entering the complex she became aware of the presence of several magical beings, and one Null. She was surprised to find a Null among these first awakened people. She also noticed that someone was watching them. She'd intended to introduce herself to the traveler, but she decided to investigate this watcher, first.
Deciding to keep a low profile lest she be detected, she swapped her clothes with something that would fit in a little better. The long black skirt and black velvet top were quite comfortable, and she simply changed the color of her boots to black. That taken care of, she stealthily entered his apartment, careful to use only her telepathic abilities to hide herself from him lest the traveler detect her. He was on the balcony, adjusting a camera that was pointed at the traveler's apartment.
This will give me a perfect opportunity to observe this traveler, and see what kind of person they are. she thought as she watched the video feed on his computer. However, his cameras couldn't see much inside the apartments, and it soon became evident that he was watching someone who was shadowing the traveler more than he was watching the traveler, herself. With a quick touch to his mind she realized that he was likely to cause this traveler a great deal of trouble if he continued as he was.
Perhaps I should provide a distraction for him, while I do a more in depth investigation of this traveler. she thought. But I'll need an audience for that, so I think I'll wait until morning. I haven't slept in a while anyway. With that she left the apartment and found a park nearby. Changing back to the clothes she wore when she arrived, she climbed up a tree and made herself comfortable, making sure her stealth ward would keep anyone from noticing her while she slept.
In the morning she made her way back to the area where she arrived, as it was a busy business district and would provide plenty of witnesses for her 'distraction'. Hmm, what to do? It should be flashy, but not too flashy. Don't want the entire world to know about magic all at once, after all. Maybe a super strong guy doing some damage would do. she thought. She spotted a large SUV sitting across the street from a bank.
I'll use illusion for this, I don't want to take a male form again. she thought as she formed an illusory man, big and muscular enough that some would be able to fool themselves that he was just hyped up on steroids or something. She directed this illusion to walk up to the SUV. She made the illusion solid and had it pick up the car and throw it at the bank. She realized she might have overdone it, when the SUV smashed right through the bank wall and landed inside on its side.
Oh well, what's done is done. she thought as she had her illusion knock down a couple of streetlights and then run away. Once it was out of sight of everyone she simply let the illusion fade away.
After that she returned to the apartment building to see how this affected the watcher, or if it did at all. Sure enough, he was called in to investigate it and spent all day running around trying to figure out what happened, and who did it. She kept a magical eye on him and went back to observe the traveler. She was disturbed to see that she'd been abused as a child, and was transsexual until her magical transformation. Just what this world needs, a mentally disturbed person with more power than everyone else on the planet combined! I'd better watch her closely, I don't want to leave this world with a woman who can take over the entire world at her whim once she's fully developed her powers. she thought.
While she could understand where the traveler was coming from, she was not happy to see her transform her father into a teenage girl. I think your watcher needs another distraction tomorrow so I can find out what kind of person you really are. It's too bad I can't just look in your mind, but your shields are too strong to do that without alerting you to what I'm doing. she thought as she went back to the park to wait for the next day.
At dawn she was up again, touring Main Street. Does every city have a Main Street? she mused as she looked around for ideas for her next distraction. That's when she saw the woman in a wheel chair. A quick look confirmed that this world's medical technology was insufficient to repair her body.
Hmm, a healing angel sounds like the sort of thing that would attract plenty of attention. And there are security cameras all over this street, so the watcher will have plenty of evidence to keep him occupied. she thought as she grew wings from her back and clothed herself in a white robe as angels were often depicted to wear. Flying up into the air she removed her invisibility enchantment and flew down to the wheel chair bound woman.
The woman gasped when she landed next to her, and again as she laid her hands on her and healed her body. With a smile she launched herself into the air and flew away. After a short flight she resumed her invisibility and landed, reabsorbing her wings upon landing. That should get his attention! she thought in satisfaction as she headed back to the traveler's apartment.
She knew the mutated imp would detect her if she didn't cloak her magic, and her mind, very carefully, so she took her time getting there while she layered spells upon herself that would make it seem as if she wasn't there to all senses, even magical and psychic ones. Once she was sure nobody could detect her, she made her way inside the traveler's apartment.
She stayed glued to the traveler's side throughout her day, carefully observing everything she said and did. She was clearly worried about her father, which she found comforting. She also had a soul bond with her lover, the Null ironically enough, and their behavior was also reassuring. She has learned only a few 'tricks' so far, she's still quite a ways from achieving her potential. And she has good friends and her soul mate to keep her balanced. I think her watcher is the biggest problem this girl has at this point. I think I'll turn my attention to him, for now, and see what I can do to make things easier for her. she thought as she reviewed what she'd seen of her over the day.
She decided to continue with what she'd done the last two days, so she went downtown to look for something interesting to do. She found a bright, shiny red corvette parked on the street and decided it would work nicely. Leaving a magical marker on the car she wandered around until she found the police station. Perfect! Let's see what he makes of this! she thought as she teleported the car onto the roof of the police station. She made sure someone found it, and then returned to the watcher.
She followed him as he went to investigate the appearance of the car on the police station roof and was alarmed to see that he had already figured out that someone was playing with him. He hadn't figured out the reaon, though. She decided to continue with her plans and went looking for something else to do. Nothing really stood out, until she noticed an ATM machine. That should be interesting... she thought. She decided to put her plans into motion the next day, though, and went to see how the traveler was doing.
She was very glad to see that the traveler changed her father back. She's very well balanced considering all that has happened to her. I might just be able to leave her as is. Hmm, and her bond is evolving, I see. she thought. Satisfied that things were going well with the traveler, she went back to begin her preparations for her next 'distraction'.
Her plan went off without a hitch, and all the ATM machines in the city ejected all the money in them at the exact same time. She was watching the watcher when she activated her spell, so was able to see how quickly he learned of her little trick. She was disappointed to see that he sent someone else off to investigate, and that he was more convinced than ever that her 'distractions' were being perpetuated by the same person to confuse him.
She went back to watching the traveler after that. She and her friends were finally looking into ways to benefit financially from her powers. She'd expected them to do that at some point, and was gratified to see that they weren't stealing from other worlds to do it. Although one could technically call what they'd done theft, or graverobbing, but she knew that no one living had any rights to that treasure, so there was no harm to it.
After the incident with the other agent accosting the traveler's friend, she decided that the watcher needed something a little more...extreme to keep his attention. So, first thing in the morning she summoned up a fire elemental and set it loose on Main Street. She kept close to it, however, so as to make sure it didn't hurt anyone. If this doesn't take his attention away from the traveler and her friends, nothing will! she thought smugly.
She was about to do just that when the traveler arrived with her friends. She decided to wait and see what she would do. To everyone else the traveler seemed to be just standing there with her eyes closed, but she knew that the traveler was actually tracing the connection the elemental had to its home world. Good, she's going to send it home. I'm really starting to like this traveler. she thought.
While she was doing that her friend transformed into an invisible giant and blew out the flames on the firetruck. Another of her friends used telekinesis to hem the elemental in and keep it from getting away. She was obviously new to telekinesis, or she'd be moving the elemental itself instead of erecting walls of force in its path. The Shadowkin, a fairly rare magical type that she had only seen once before, used her shadows to hide her friends from the cameras of the news crew.
Finally the traveler had found the correct world, and just in time as her friend was nearly out of energy. She opened a portal to its home plane and swept it up in it when it tried to get away. Fire elementals never want to go back, not as much fuel in their home worlds. she thought.
After that the traveler opened another portal and they all returned to her apartment. That could have gone better. On the other hand, the traveler has proven herself to be caring enough to put herself at risk to protect others. And she made no effort to take credit for it, either. I think it's safe to assume that her presence here will be good for this world. she thought.
The damage from the elemental's visit was minimal, at least. Sighing, she thought, Still, I'd better talk to them. I should apologize for putting her and her friends in danger. And perhaps they would like to know some of what I know about them...
To her surprise, he was quickly distracted from that by a kidnapping incident. It involved a psychic, whom the police assumed was an accomplice of the kidnapper because she led them right to the kidnapped boy and described the kidnapper. She was quite impressed with the agent sent to investigate, as he put his own disbelief in psychic abilities aside and ascertained the truth of the situation.
By then the traveler was getting off of work, so she went to her home to wait for all of them to gather together. Once they had, she changed her outfit again and knocked on the door. Belatedly, she remembered to drop the wards hiding her presence from them as the traveler opened the door. That turned out to be a mistake, though, as she and the others, with the expected exception of the Null, were overwhelmed by her presence.
Once some of her wards were back up she was able to tell them a little about what was happening, and answer a few questions. She sensed that they were getting overwhelmed with all the new information, some of which went against what they thought they knew, so she got up to leave. Something Jill, one of the traveler's friends, said brought back part of her reason for visiting and she made her apologies for her mistake with the fire elemental.
After that she went back to see what the watcher was up to. He had joined his agent and helped him clear up the mess with the psychic. His agent found the real kidnapper and they proved the psychic had nothing to do with the crime. The watcher also talked to the psychic afterward and gave her his card. He's beginning to believe. she thought, Now he's starting to see the advantages of developing contacts with people who have magical abilities. No doubt he'll approach Sarah and her friends before long.
Her attention was brought back to the watcher when his agent told him that the other agent had been injured. She followed them to find that this other agent had shot the Null, and been blasted by Sarah for his trouble. She was glad the Null had the chrysalis to heal her, since her own powers would not work on a Null. She could probably use the Weave to assist her healing, but it would be difficult.
The watcher dealt with the situation well and was indeed looking to approach Sarah and her friends for their help, but wisely held back and only left his card with Michael. Mana decided the situation was under control, so she went flying to relax. Afterward she settled in on the roof over the watcher's apartment and slept until morning.
Mana was amused by how distracting her cooking methods were, and enjoyed the conversation with Sarah and her friends. She tried to answer all of their questions. She also made some changes, at his request, to Vash, the mutated imp who had imprinted on Jill, to give him back some of the defensive abilities he'd lost when he came to this world.
She was somewhat surprised to find herself volunteering to help take photographs for their eBay store the next day. She wanted to get going to see what other connections she could make in the world before moving on to the next one. But she figured it wouldn't take that long, and she did enjoy their company. Deciding to check on the watcher one last time in the morning, she went back to her rooftop roost to rest.
After another interesting conversation over lunch they went to the empty world Sarah had found to store the items they collected on other worlds. They had setup an entire photography studio in the front half of the storefront where they stored everything. The items they wanted to photograph were there, as well. It was a larger collection than she'd realized.
With her help the work was done very quickly. While she was working she checked in on Marvin and saw that he was making contact with more of the magical community. It didn't look like he would cause any more problems, so she erased the tracer and concentrated on what she was doing.
Afterward they returned to Sarah's apartment to talk again. Eventually, all the questions were answered and she felt that it was time to go. Sarah seemed sad to see her go, which got her a little teary-eyed, as well. Who would have thought I would grow so attached to them in such a short time! Perhaps I'll come back someday, after my work is done. she thought.