The Universe's Mixer

Billy remembered a pinch on his shoulder. Being the sort of person who could casually drive a spork into his own thigh meant he barely noticed the arrow. Whatever it was, it was unimportant. What consumed the mad scientist's attention was the ebon haired beauty across the way. What was there left to do besides duck for cover.

Billy then spent the next week hiding from his one true love: He wore disguises with fake mustaches, hid in bushes, dove behind railings only to fall down a flight of stairs. There was no way he could make verbal contact with her. He didn't even know her name. She didn't even do laundry.

Currently he sat on a bench at the bus stop, a newspaper was held up high to obfuscate his presence.

It had been a very strange morning. Raven had stepped out onto the street and found chaos; a huge increase in new couples (she recognized the signs - she'd lived through the early days of Gabe and Poe's courtship) and the occasional winged creature swooping overhead. To be honest, she wasn't sure what to make of it all, but several people had warned her that the City was a downright odd place to live, so she hadn't let the insanity keep her inside.

She'd made it halfway to school when a hoard of giggling children pulled her off the street. "Come on," one little girl said, wrapping both hands around Raven's wrist and tugging her towards the fort that had been haphazardly constructed of leftover liquor boxes. "Come on, they're storming the castle."

Raven turned a perplexed stare on the child. "What?"

"The uruk-hai." A bespectacled older boy announced, as if it should be obvious. "They have archers. We need reinforcements."

That made sense; Raven had never read The Lord of the Rings, but she'd seen the movies. And, well, if the kids needed an elven defender, so be it. Raven had the pointed ears to go with the part.

"Legolas to the rescue," she announced, and gestured towards an open door. "But don't you think we should move to a real castle with walls?"

"We can't go in there." One of the children said, "We tried and the guy at the door kicked us out."

Raven glanced back over her shoulder, and only then spotted the wooden sign hanging over the entrance: 'Hog's Head Pub.' Oh.

Gwen had been on a simple mission for coffee and to start getting the cover aka coffee house set up for Torchwood when it happened. She ended up chasing after a flying person shooting arrows at people,"Well at least its more orignal than weevils!" as she dove into an alley mid chase. She spotted a nearby building so as she turned to see if there was anyone inside was when Cupid's arrow struck the younger woman,"Your aim is worse than Owen on a bad day!" as she dove inside to avoid more flying arrows. She was trying to pull the arrow now loged in her shirt when she felt something she could not explain, whoever crossed her path would be in for a suprise to say the least. "Anyone see anything crazy in the last couple of hours?" she called, hoping someone would answer her.

The day was crisp and clear. Only a slight warm breeze made the leaves of the trees move, making the dappled light on the ground below shimmer and dance. Playing shadows over the faces of the playing children and the walking couples in the area.

The Valentine's day spirit had taken up residence in many, and was showing thusly in the store windows. Nobody had yet taken down their decorations. The sales for jewelry and candy went on, with the hope that more would be bought and lavished upon those who were loved and loving.

There was a man carrying balloons for sale. A woman carrying a basket of assorted flowers that never seemed to empty, no matter how many of her beautiful wares were bought. Another man pushing an ice cream cart, and a lady in a colorful outfit giving out free cotton candy and selling roasted nuts. There were performers of every sort. People on stilts, people juggling. A fire breather, yes, right in the middle of it all, carefully showing what she could do. A belly dancer dancing around in a circle, a sword swallower doing his thing in the middle of that circle. It was almost like a circus, this show for the lovers.

It seemed as if everything was greener. The sky bluer. The flowers more radiant and filled with scent. The water of the lake clearer, with paddle boats and row boats gliding over it's surface easily. The birds sang sweeter. All was perfect.

( ooc )

Simon had gone home happy, or content. He'd had a few good days at work; he'd spent a nice evening at Jennifer's, and it looked as if he might be doing something right for a change. Hell, the watch dog nurse assigned to him even seemed to be on the upswing when it came to moods. So, after saving a few lives, helping deliver a baby or two, even reassuring some poor kid that, no, he was not going to go blind after enjoying...personal time - very awkward discussion that one, and Simon did have to wonder if that rule applied in the City - the good Doctor Tam went home in a very decent mood. He didn't even mind the rather ridiculous people around him; there were couples galore, and they were certainly affectionate. He even thought he saw someone who looked a lot like Jennifer making out with some other woman, but then it couldn't be Jennifer.

It looked like even the doorman was having a happy, loving day because the man was busy getting cozy with Mrs. Applebottom, the poodle-happy octogenarian on the 3rd floor. Strange, but Simon wasn't going to comment; he wasn't going to think to hard about it. He was going to get in the elevator and ride to his apartment; then he was going to call Jennifer to see if she wanted to have dinner. They were going to have an actual dinner. That had been the plan anyway.

Instead, the City in the form of one majorly ugly Cupid decided to step in. Or fly in as the case may be. Dr. Tam was certainly hit by the arrow, but the elevator doors closed before Simon could see who hit him. When he tried finding whatever it was, nothing presented itself. He shrugged and waited for the elevator to start moving. He had pushed the right floor button, right?

Love was in the air, and Fred hated it. Not hated it, but it just felt all sorts of wrong. Of course, she was alone, and she didn't have anyone. Her heart was full of possibilities, but her mind just kept telling her to forget about it. So, she put her mind into working out the City; there had to be some equation, some formula, some way to put the City into a working model. That had been her plan, to try and ignore the love-fest by solving the world around her.

She'd picked a nice cafe to curl up with a muffin and her clipboard, her pencil moving quickly over the paper, taking notes, writing figures, just keeping busy. While she was trying to factor in the idea of nonlinear time, which was something to say the least, she noticed a certain older man. He didn't look like what she remembered, if she had ever really seen him in the flesh before, but she knew who he was. He was that mean editor who had a stick up his butt about Spiderman. She'd have to be careful not to say Peter Parker, but she could keep the webslinger's identity hidden, she could. She had a few alter-egos hidden away in her head, and she wasn't going to give this man the power over them; but, she was going to have a word. Seriously, when was she ever going to get to do this again?

After tossing the empty muffin wrapper, she gathered up her clipboard, tucking the pencil away, and headed rather determinedly over. She wasn't going to let him frighten her; she'd faced demons, vampires, and Cordelia on a bad hair day - she could face him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Jameson. I'd like to have a word with you." Yes, she could definitely do this.

The City was cold and quiet at 2 AM. Laura Kinney was wandering alone through town, an uncharacteristic habit she had picked up as of late. Now that she had the ability to go where ever she chose whenever she wanted to, Laura found it increasingly difficult to stay in one place for long. Especially if Billy was busy plotting or attending ELE meetings.

The cold didn't bother Laura much, and neither did the complete lack of streetlight (there was something to be said about her mutant DNA). Night time was her favorite time to go out, as most of the strange inhabitants of this strange City were off the streets, giving her the opportunity to roam without unnecessary interaction.

Laura could not define what happened as she turned the corner. The dark figure in the corner meant she was no longer alone, but the tell-tale signs of a human presence were entirely missing. She had never encountered anyone or thing like whatever was in that street with her in her sixteen years, a fact which made her only slightly nervous.

She had been created as a weapon; built to adapt herself to any situation. Stepping carefully forward, Laura called out to the dark shape. "What are you?" It was straight to the chase with this one.

Jennifer stood looking at the blond girl across the way in the bar. She had no idea why this girl held such a fascination. No, it was more than that. It was a lot more than that. It was attraction. Never in her life had Jennifer ever been attracted to a female, but here she was, finding herself extremely enamored.

Her mouth was dry. Her heart was pounding in her chest. These were all the regular symptoms of a crush, or even love.

What would Simon say? Any normal male would have been excited by this prospect. Two girls. Going at it. But Simon wasn't any normal guy. He was shy, and caring. She'd built up what they had slowly over time. She liked it that way. She thought that this might crush him entirely.

But she couldn't help it. The guilt that sprang up was immediately washed away by the feelings she was having toward the blond.

Get to know her, something inside was telling her. Go over there and find out who she is. Find out how you can spend the rest of your life with her. Yes! That was exactly what had to happen.

Jennifer straightened her shirt, making sure it wasn't stained or too wrinkled, and made her way over.

Robin had not wanted to let her go out alone, he worried overly much for her. But Marian insisted that she need some air some space. In reality she just needed time away from him. The more time she spent close to him the more she felt...the more she felt inclined to him. She had no idea how or why she was growing more attached to him but it had come to the point that even her dreams were filled with images of him some memories some possible portents of the future he foretold. She did not hate him, not by any means but this was all so overwhelming she needed time to cope with it, time to understand her own feelings and how things could proceed from here.

Robin had not pushed more on her, though his tiny shows of affection were far more effective than they had been upon his return from the Holy Land. Why her heart jumped when he took her hand, or her breath stilled when she turned to find his gaze lingering on her, were beyond her. Even more baffling was the fact that she had all but stopped chiding him about it. She was warming to him, she knew that much, but things were happening very fast and the recent appearance of a version of her home, set up to hold a half dozen people, well that had given her reason enough to need the time to think.

Walking in the fresh air, or as fresh as could be had in this city, had been bracing for her. It made her feel more at ease even if her surroundings were more than alien, walking was soothing and her newly gifted horse, which she needed to stable soon, was rejuvenating. Marian took her time on the ride, a long meandering ride through the park from whence she had originally emerged. Dark was beginning to set in when she hit one of the shadowy paths near the edge of the forest, where some prettily lit eatery sat in the park.

Marian allowed her gaze to leave the path as she looked on at the fancy dining place and the people who were seated nearest the garden path, a handsome man sat surrounded by pretty women in ornate jewels and not much else to speak of. Her low laugh at the pomposity of such a man who entertained such company was cut short by a thorn of some such jabbing into her thigh. She brushed it off and checked her skirt but could find no hole, as if it had dissolved off like mist. She frowned before turning back to the diners, this time her breath catching with a full on look at the man. He was...handsome. He was beautiful. Marian could not stop herself as she edged the horse closer over to the railed patio that housed this man of such noble countance that she felt she had to see him without the distance between them.

George's temporary solution to the cupid dilemma was to walk around The City under the protection of the umbrella. It wasn't the falling in love part that bothered her, it was the potential for sleeping with someone and never getting a call back that the reaper didn't wish to repeat. Sometimes the living caught glimpses of Cupid. It was sort of like a graveling in that George could follow its movement perfectly. Cupid was bloated and pudgy like a baby with an old man's face.

It sort of scared George.

Staring up ahead on the street George spotted a kid. This struck George as a very bad idea. She didn't want to see some creepy adult man get shot with an arrow and while George was loathe to get involved, she started booking it forward. "Hey! Kid! Look out!"

If they could get indoors somewhere, maybe they would be safe from the insanity outside.

Elle was enjoying the city. Sure, it could be really boring and frustrating with all the moving around. But so far she'd met some interesting people along the way. Peitro and Crowley were interesting guys. Now all she needed to do was establish the company here and recuit. Crowley would help, she knew he would. He wanted to stir up trouble, she could see it in his eyes. He just needed convincing. Elle was walking out of the coffee shop, drinking from a clear plastic container some yummy lemonade. Pink. Red.

Damn it was Valentine's day wasn't it? Elle passed by a group of women, all carrying some kind of gift. Elle noticed the balloon first. It had to go. With a point and a small spark of electricity it popped, and crackled. Elle kept walking, hiding a giggle.

She hated Valentine's day. Who did she have to celebrate it with anyway? People at the company didn't give her flowers, or candies, or anything stupid like that. Still.

Elle was jealous.

She stopped around the corner and pressed her back against the wall, pouting and drinking out of her straw. She wanted a valentine too. She rested one hand at her side and let the little sparks of electricity hit the wall over and over again. Next person with a stuffed animal was going to see the teddy explode and burn.

Sir Guy of Gisborne was doing what he did best; brooding. Everything around him was celebrating love and romance. That, of course, made him think of Marian. And how she had left him on their wedding day. Why could she not see that everything he did was to assure their future? A good future with the power and position that they both deserved.

He would never find a woman he loved as much as he loved Marian.

Guy leaned against the side of a building, watching people as they walked by. He thought they were a little too open with showing their affections for one another. But he was starting to learn that this was just another part of the strangeness of The City. He didn’t think he would ever get use to it. He knew he didn’t want to get use to it. He wanted to return to Nottingham.

He wanted Marian.

He felt a slight sting to the back of his shoulder. He brushed off his leather coat and looked back. Nothing was there that could have hurt him. It was probably just a large insect. He turned back to continue watching the people and then he saw her. She was so delicate and more beautiful than even Marian. Guy’s heart leapt as he watched her. She would be his.

He strolled up to the young lady and gave her his best smile. “Pardon me, milady. You should not walk through town unescorted. I am Sir Guy of Gisborne. Please allow me the honor of your company.” Guy bowed slightly as he introduced himself, offering her his arm.

Ted was oblivious.

It just didn't occur to him what was going on in the world. He vaguely registered that it was the Valentine season. The hearts and flowers everywhere. Store windows touting that they had the perfect gift to give your loved one. Pink and red everything no matter where you were or where you looked. It just didn't particularly matter to him. He didn't have anyone to share it with. Even with Charlie, who could be aptly called his hetero lifemate, it just wasn't the sort of thing you did with another guy. Of course, Charlie might argue that. Maybe. Ted just didn't know. He might return home to some balloons or something. He just couldn't ever predict what Charlie was going to do. But he felt that giving his best friend some card filled with Valentine sentiment just wasn't something that was going to happen. He felt pretty sure that he wouldn't wind up with a box of chocolates.

He also couldn't help that notice that the Danish he'd ordered was not only strawberry, but shaped like a heart. If he'd gone the whole day without noticing anything else, he would have picked up on what was going on through that.

"Thanks." He said, looking at it. Knowing that it wasn't meant for him specifically, but still feeling a little strange about the whole thing.

Ted picked a table that was out of the way of things and set up his laptop. He wanted to see if he could find a stock market in this place. He wanted to invest some of George's money for her. Even though she didn't really need more, considering what she was getting weekly. He thought it might be a good idea for somebody as young as she was to have something saved up. Besides, she might get outright giddy at the prospect of so much more coming in. And Ted did like to please his clients.

It was fantastic.

It was almost better than the rampant zombies.

People everywhere, falling into gaga lovey land all over each other, everywhere he looked. Stupid googoo eyes on all the people he passed. All due to some hideous looking cherub. Firing arrows randomly.

He couldn't have done it better if he'd set it up himself, really. He could admit that.

Chaos.

Pure, beautiful chaos.

This did make it quite a bit more difficult to find Harley, though. There were throngs of people to search through, and all of them were moving around so much that her tiny cute little frame wouldn't really stick out unless she was in her red and black. He didn't think she'd be doing that with this many love sick folks milling about. At least, she'd better not. They might try to blame her, what with the colors.

He had to give it up for the time being. An unhappy thought. But he was content to just watch everything unfold. Laugh in the face of love. There was likely some way to cause a lot of mischief in all this. He'd have to give it some thought. It would be hard to put a cherry topper on this, though. It was so fantastic on it's own.

These people were falling in love with people they wouldn't normally be with, and that was pudding. Smooth, chocolate pudding. Aw. Harley. She called him Puddin all the time. Well. As soon as this was all done, he was going to find that girl. Yes he was. He'd been far too long without his Harl. Even if she did annoy the snot out of him a lot.

Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled on, whistling.

Schmendrick was older than he looked, and he'd seen a lot of weird things in his day. Perhaps that was why, as a wave of swooning romantic sentiment overtook the City, he went casually about his routine as if nothing were off. He purchased a coffee at the corner store, picked up a newspaper, and made his way into the park to find a bench and start his morning. The quiet flipping of pages was interrupted only occasionally, when the tall hook-nosed man glanced up to watch clingy couples walk by.

For a showman, Schmendrick had always been a restrained sort when it came to romance. Youth had long since passed him by, and while he was earnest, he wasn't effusive. Perhaps that's why the couples made him smile; just because the sentiment behind Valentine's Day was no longer new and fresh for him didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate the joy of others.

He folded his paper. He wasn't likely to get much reading done with the City in such a worked-up state.

Bella Swan was the kind of girl who could blend into her surroundings….well, usually. There was no way she could fit amongst the smitten couples, gaudy bouquets of flowers, and ridiculous balloons which plagued every corner of the City. Even with her head down, and ipod jammed in her ears, they still insisted in shoving sneeze inducing roses and sickly candies in her face. Could they not tell that she was one of the most un-valentines girls in the world?!

It wasn’t because she didn’t have a significant other, or anything. Boys didn’t give plain old her a second glance. Valentines day was just….stupid. and commercial. And embarrassing too. Why wait for one day during the year to tell someone how much they mean to you?

She was trying to avoid one of the rose selling men when she felt something hitting her square in the back. And being the spectacularly coordinated girl she was, Bella lost her balance, and tumbled into the person infront of her.

“Sorry” she muttered, checking herself for bumps or bruises. Typical Bella.

For a day in the middle of February, the weather wasn’t half bad. Compared to how nasty Perivale got around this time every year, the City was a nice place. Ace decided to take advantage of the non-snow day and work outside. It was always safer to mix explosives in a large, open area than in a cramped hotel room. As long as the police weren’t around to stop you. Besides, what else were you suppose to do on Valentine’s Day?

Ace went exploring The City, trying to find the best place to set up a work area. Nothing was really suitable, if she was honest. It was starting to look like she was going to have to stick with the lab in the TARDIS. Maybe she could get something small set up in the hotel room she was renting. That could work if she remembered to keep the maids out. Cleaning crews always seemed to throw out the stuff she needed.

( She found a bench )

The grocery store was a place of wonder; the food was right there and fresh. It begged to be touched, caressed, taken, which was exactly what Zoe was doing. She'd decided that since she found her husband and since the power was working, that she'd have to make dinner. Actually, seeing as no one was around to do it, she was making something more appetizing than those damn protein bars that Wash had returned to eating since he boarded Serenity again.

Actually, the Amazon was happy to be cooking with real food; it was a rarity that wouldn't grow old too soon. They had to scrimp and save for real berries, berries that Kaylee loved, and now they could simply go get them at a store, a grocery store. The Amazon was feeling motherly, so she put a few containers of the berries into the basket. She'd already stacked different vegetables and fruits into the buggy, some she knew, some she didn't - it didn't matter, they were going to try them all.

Moving from produce to meat, Zoe smiled. They would have real meat on board, meat that didn't moo or create a mess. It was already dead and butchered for cooking. All they had to do was cook it. She started looking over the different cuts; stew seemed the easiest and quickest, and it could take a good many of the vegetables. Stew meat, she even liked that the packages were marked. Who knew that she could be so very domestic? Sometimes she wondered if the City hadn't changed her, hadn't made her into a new person.

Little did she know that she was about to become an even newer, and possibly not so improved, Zoe Washburne.

Elizabeth had found herself in this place in a state of bewilderment. She was an astute and clever minded woman but even her notions of propriety were challenged by being here alone with no connection, no one to properly introduce her to society. In some respects it had been a freeing experience, liberation of a kind she would never have dreamed possible. Women walked about and made themselves known to men with no chaperone. Men walked about with little or no regard for the ladies around them. People spoke most plainly about matters and had no issue with the so called delicacies of the fairer sex. How decidedly queer.

It had taken her days to settle in, she was still trying to understand so much but the boarding house she found for young ladies, was accommodating enough. Though she missed her family terribly, Jane most of all. Her beloved sister was her best friend and there was no other that could replace her in Elizabeth's bereaved and empty heart. How shall she ever manage? No pap to laugh with at the silliness of her sister, no Jane to be her confident and most trusted friend. No Charlotte to chat with over tea...tea..that would make her feel a bit better.

The boarding house had given her excellent directions to a tea shop a short walk away, walking for Lizzy was a joy. She had no mind about the short jaunt and took to it with great enthusiasm, her long skirts sweeping the paving stones as she made way to the shop. It was a store which sold only books, and they would allow one to read there! She was delighted with the place, in purest heaven to find such an escape.

The dark haired woman took her tea and sat at one of the outer tables while she sipped and enjoyed the works of a rather good writer. She was of no mind to read some of the more modern works, as they had been called. Filled with fright and subjects not fit for a gentlewoman to read. So sitting with her tea and her book Lizzy was quite content, for the moment.

Jack was rather ambivalent about Valentine's Day. He liked it, because when he had a long term significant other -long term meaning a couple weeks, he received gifts and Jack liked receiving gifts. However, when Jack was painfully alone, as he was now, it was just depressing to watch the slew of straights wander about gushing over chocolates, candies and shades of rouge. Maybe it was because he was lonely, but he stood out on the street corner, looking out over the City with a certain degree of frown on his features.

This, to be plain about it, sucked. Valentine's Day alone sucked. But Jack would endure, he always had before. He'd just order some flowers, have them delivered to himself with a mystery note attached and make it look to all around him like he was involved.

He didn't feel it at first. The shift in his emotions and a sting in his heart. He didn't notice it until his eyes caught sight of a young girl crossing is path. "Hello," he said, trying to draw her attention. Something was off, something was not right.