What happened

Snow herself, had not slept after Bigby had been forcibly expelled from her bedroom. She'd been much to worked up to think about getting any rest, or closing her eyes or anything. She didn't trust this Bigby enough not to do what she said, since he'd clearly couldn't understand the simple concept that she was not nor had never been pregnant by him.

Around five in the morning, she'd pulled herself out of bed, and had drawn herself a hot, steamy bath, in one of the over-the-top spas that this apartment seemed to have coming out of its ears. For another hour or so she relaxed in the bath, occasionally playing with the bubbles that had come out of no where, but mostly just brooding.

By six, she'd pulled herself from the bath, and had climbed into the clothes she'd been wearing when she'd driven into this god-forsaken city. With cane in hand, she pulled all of the cash from Charming's wallet (Alimony, she justified it as in her head) and pushed it into a pocket. She had some shopping to do. Clothes, both functional day clothes, the usual underwear and pyjamas, and maybe one nice dress. You never knew when you might need a nice dress.

By seven, she was eating a nice breakfast in a nice cafe, with a good strong cup of coffee nursed between her hands. She dearly hoped that Bigby had decided that tailing after her and watching her would not be a smart move today. Snow really needed a little me time, and since she had a wad of cash in her pocket, retail therapy seemed the best way to go.

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Hopefully it was a female neighbour. Prince Charming knew exactly how to deal with women- well, at least he did initially, his relationships all seem to crumble in the end- and it was just in his nature to acquire allies, no matter where he was or how long he was staying. Call it whatever you like, but it stemmed from the politics one must actively participate in if one was to become a successful King; Charming was well-trained in this regard.

There was no peace offering, so to speak, because Charming knew if words didn't work, then cookies were not likely to change that. His best weapon was his grasp and manipulation of the English language, anything else would be hindersome.

He had a brief meeting with the superintendent, at the request of his fellow Fables. The woman said that it was absolutely no problem, what he was asking for, and had expressed an interest in seeing Charming again. He couldn't possibly deny her that pleasure.

Everything seemed to be going his way this week. A happy song in his head, Prince Charming knocked.

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Max was just relaxing. Not that she hadn't gotten plenty of that in the night before (if sitting in a musty corner with her computer counted as relaxing) but this was a better quality of relaxing. For the most part. She had a book, a magazine, and her computer. Against her better judgment and really her interests, the magazine was getting most of the attention. It was easier to concentrate on than the book or the programing, because it didn't require reading so much as looking at pictures of clothing, which was easier to do when one's eyes were drooping and crossing slightly.

Maybe she needed a nap; the thought occurred to her right as her laptop beeped at her and then proceeded to go from 75% finished back down to a paltry 13%. God, hacking was just not as easy as it used to be. Max glared at the screen and wondered briefly whether the police department had suddenly decided to beef up security or something, though she doubted it.

She sighed and grabbed at the magazine again. No napping until business was done, unfortunately, no matter how comfortable Jesse's couch was. Hopefully the thing would hurry up, in the meantime, she'd finish looking at the pretty dresses and try to remember how to be a normal teenaged girl.

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Who- Jesse and Max
What- Max can't sleep and proceeds to do weird things to Jesse
When- during the jury recess [night]

Max: Sleep had helped the emotionally drained feeling she'd had the night before. Though, technically it was still that night. It probably didn't speak too well to Max's mental state if she was waking up at one in the morning. She'd dosed off at around eight that evening, almost as soon she'd gotten back from her walk. She hadn't even waited for Jesse.

But now, awake, she saw him sleeping next to her in bed and she grinned a bit before laying back down. She had to sleep, or else tomorrow her time in the courtroom would seem doubly long.

Twenty minutes later she was still awake. And thirty minutes. And forty minutes later she was still staring at the ceiling. Max sat up again, bored out of her mind. Trying not to think about things was a hard process, and one that didn't really work. She needed a distraction.

Max: About ten minutes later she was sitting crosslegged on her bed with a variety of tubes and square color pallets sitting around her. She'd managed to turn Jesse around so that his face was facing her and she had easy access. And in result, his face was many different shades of pretty colors. Mostly in pinks in purples, as those were the colors Max used when she put on makeup.

Max ran a tube of lipstick across his lips, spreading it with her finger. He was probably going to kill her when he woke up, but it was worth it. Jack was no longer the most prominent thing on her mind, and perhaps she'd be able to sleep soon.

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It had begun like any other trial. Smoothly. Calmly. The judge entered and the people silenced. The baliff called for everybody to stand, and they did so, respectably. They sat just as silently, just as calmly when the judge called for them to do so. Judge Scott McRiley presiding...

It was just as the judge was settling in that the first mishap occured.

Jack Napier stood up to introduce himself to the court. And to the audience of people attending. He did so with a flourish and a bout of laughter so nerve-wracking that it took Judge McRiley a good ten minutes to quiet everybody down again.

"That is the last we'll have of that, I hope." He stated, looking Jack directly in the eye as he spoke.

Little did the poor judge know that this was only a pre-cursor to the sorts of things that could go on in a trial like this. A trial against Jack Napier. Maybe the only truly insane genius The City had ever seen. The misguided fellow might actually mistake to think he'd be able to control The Joker.

Jack himself spent a good few moments blowing kisses at Harvey Dent while Judge McRiley tried to call for order and the beginning of the trial.

He looked out at the lawyers and nodded. "Prosecution? You may begin."

And then he sat back, ready to hear this fantastic case.

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Max fed her key into the lock thinking very hard and looking very absent. Instead of going straight back to the manor after her little detour with Kate, she'd chosen Jesse's instead. It was closer and if she didn't tell him what was going on right away she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. Mostly because he was the only person outside of Kate that she could tell.

She twisted the key in the lock and opened the door, not shouting out her arrival as she normally did. Instead she dropped her backpack, kicked off her shoes and started padding through the apartment in an attempt to find him on her own. She was still a little giddy with excitement over what she and Kate had decided on, but at the same time wondering to herself what Jesse was going to think. And just worrying in general. It was what she wanted to do, but denying that it was going to take a lot of work would have been stupid.

Still thinking, Max continued back, peeking into the kitchen and then looking in on Kojack before making her way to his room.

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Continued from here. The warning still stands. This may get ... probably will get ... dirty. Just cause the last one didn't make it there doesn't mean anything.

Jesse got Max back to the apartment without any falls, or futher pokings. But there was plenty of laughter on his part. And a little on hers as well. It was fun, as always. Mostly for him. But he was sure she was enjoying it as well. How could she not?

Upstairs, he discovered the cake untouched, but mostly because it looked as if Kojak didn't have an off button when it came to steaks and potatoes. He'd eaten it all, and was laying pathetically on his side near his water bowl, groaning. Jesse laughed again, this time at the dog's expense.

"Your fault, pal."

Jesse left the dog there and took Max to the couch and sat her down.

"Want more cake, darlin?"

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OOC: Warning: This will most likely become NSFW

She wasn't going to say anything, but Max felt like Babs had gotten awfully maternal since letting that pipsqueak come live with her. Not that Jake was a bad kid, he was kinda cool for a ten year old, but all the maternalness that Babs couldn't use on Jake during the school day seemed to be being transfered to her.

Well, this once, at least. But Max was taking it as a sign of things to come. Forget that fact that what Babs was telling her was actually rather legit, it was still awfully maternal. If she heard 'be careful' one more time she was going to scream. Max got out of the library as fast as was possible once three o'clock rolled around, without seeming rude. Saying she didn't want to keep Alfred waiting wasn't really a lie, or it wouldn't be once five thirty rolled around.

It was her birthday, yet she was still sticking around after school in the computer labs which had become something of a hangout for her as she voluntarily worked on extra credit assignments for her computer science class. Today it was just because Max didn't want to go back for the manor for just a few hours. She was planning on spending the night at Jesse's and was going over by five thirty, so that she'd arrive in time for dinner. Alfred knew, and that's why he was picking her up then instead of directly after school. Babs knew as well, which was why she'd gotten the maternal lecture. Definitely not something Max wanted to experience again.

She worked on some programing for the few hours and at a quarter after five she went and grabbed her stuff from her locked before going out to meet Alfred.

Luckily Alfred didn't have the same words of warning Babs had, just a simple cheery 'happy birthday', a card, and news that there would be a cake waiting for her tomorrow, information which Max appreciated greatly. She was in a good mood by the time she was clambering out of the car in front of Jesse's complex, and by the time she'd reached his door and was grabbing for her keys, it was even better.
Current Mood: content

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During Easter Break Max finally got an answer to one of her emails to Jesse that she liked. One that said it was alright to come over. She was in the drug store when she got it buying hair stuff, as it was time for the bi-monthly dying. Her roots had been bothering her again and so instead of sitting in the manor and staring into a mirror Max deiced it would probably be better to actually do something about it.

She put her computer back into her bag, smiling, and with two boxes of dye and peroxide in her hands, she went over to pay for things and then left the store.

Because the necessity of it had been drilled into her mind and because it was faster, Max hailed a cab and took it over to Jesse's apartment. She grinned at the doorman when she walked inside, headed straight over to the elevator and went up. She fumbled around in her bag for the keys during the ride.

It didn't phase her much when she found that Jesse wasn't home. Not after she thought about it at least. He must've thought that she was still in school this week. It was 2:15 now and Max didn't usually get out of school until 3:15. He'd be home by then, she figured. She dropped her purse on the couch, that way he'd know she was there when he got back.

Didn't take her long to decide what to do. Max took her plastic shopping bag and made her way into the bathroom. She'd been dying her hair for a few years now and knew how to do it without making a mess, even in a bathroom like this. She found some older towels and laid them out on the ground before she started mixing up the dye, pulled of her shirt and wet her hair with the shower hose. Pulling on the plastic gloves that came with the kit, Max took the tub of dye and put it up on one of the elevated counters where she could reach it and then after picking up the brush and dipping it in, she started dying.

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Jesse had managed to stay drunk for several days. Not even a small break in the haze. He'd be proud of himself later, when he could remember what was going on. The talk with House was now a hazy dream-like memory. He could sort of recall what had gone on.

Which was why he was drinking more now.

Trying to forget.

He hadn't seen Max in a few days. Hadn't answered her emails. Except once. To tell her to not come over until he sent a message. Why she'd decided to listen to him now was beyond him, but he was glad of it. She really didn't need to see him like this.

Currently, he sat on the couch, bottle in hand, staring at a blank television.

The voices had tried to intervene, but he'd just had more to drink and they'd faded off into the darkness. Jesse was pretty sure that Genesis had never been this drunk, and that The Duke had no desire to watch him in this state.

It was a good kind of quiet.

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His cane was pushing past its regular mileage. It would need a tune-up at this rate. There hadn’t been much rest since his had stepped out of his apartment a few days ago. The city was a fascinating creature.

Most of the residents of this new world didn’t see the fractures. They didn’t see the precise cracks in the pavement or how the grass changed oh-so subtly in the parks. No, they couldn’t see the rigorous work that someone or something was doing to piece this Humpty Dumpty together.

He was feeling a bit parched and ducked into a bar that looked like some set-dressing for a movie about The Troubles. He heard what sounded like Leprechauns barking to each other at the bar and opted to sit at a table.

“Hope you don’t mind,” House said to the current populace of the table – a black haired man that hadn’t seen the sun in years and had a yellow tint to his skin signifying he more than likely had cigarettes on him. “But it was either steal your territory or pretend that I was a martyr for the goddess Bridgit. And since I don't play dead well...”

[ Custer ]

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Max dashed out of school on Tuesday afternoon. The sling was off, so now she really could dash, and without falling. She ran out of the school gates and onto the streets, even though she knew she still technically wasn't supposed to be walking over by herself. It was only a few blocks away anyway. She wasn't completely helpless.

She made it safely across the first intersection and set off down the sidewalk humming happily to herself. Maybe it wasn't a good thing, but she enjoyed it immensely when the people at the manor just weren't around. She hadn't been at the manor much at all lately, choosing to spend most of her time at Jesse's when she could.

Max stopped at the next intersection, bouncing on her heels and eyes focused on the apartment complex two blocks ahead.

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Who: Max and Jesse
When: March 9th
What: It's Jesse's birthday and he's celebrated by getting himself pretty tipsy. Max comes over to help him celebrate and pretty soon she's well on her way to drunken stupidity



Jesse: It was his birthday. Thirty years old today. Out of one stigma and into another. Jesse wondered if it meant he could be stupid and arrogant anymore. Well, tough shit, because that's what he was. Pride was Jesse's sin.

And drinking.

He'd been drinking all afternoon. Happy drinking. Celebratory drinking. He'd lived through his twenties, with very few scratches. He'd learned, he'd seen. And now he was drunk.

A happy drunk.

Happy drunk didn't happen often for him. He was normally a broody drunk. An angry, but not violent, drunk. So this was a nice change.

Jesse stumbled home. Nearly tripped up the stairs to the condo complex, and sang to himself in the elevator. He opened his door with a flourish and managed to get to the couch before falling over.

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The first thought Kyle had when he felt the earth shake was, 'Damn. There aren't any signs up about how to handle earthquakes. We never had earthquake drills'. Then he looked at his light board which had fallen off of his desk smashed to the floor, and thought, 'Fuck.'

Then he saw the smoke.

That was when he finally thought to stand up and look away from his desk. How were his coworkers handling the impromptu earthquake. Or whatever it was. They weren't handling it very well at all, actually. For all he could see, they were running through the resulting smoke like chickens with their heads cut off. Kyle couldn't really blame them; they probably weren't used to stuff like this. Hell, he wasn't even completely used to stuff like this.

The art department for The City's newspaper was on one of the lower floors, so when Kyle finally got his wits together and started yelling and ushering people out of the doors, he could at least have some comfort in knowing they all had a good chance of getting out safely. No one seemed to notice when he backed away from the stairwell and ran back into the main area of the floor where all the artists had their desks set up.

He moved slowly through the smoke, making sure no one else was trapped in the room and once he was relatively sure, he raised his hand. A green gas mask covered his face, and Kyle took a deep breath, hoping that he hadn't already inhaled too much smoke. Next he created a lantern, which shined brightly through the smoke, allowing him to move quickly to the large windows.

Where was the smoke coming from? Kyle wasn't immediately sure, but he was definitely leaning more towards an explosion now. He just didn't know from where. Looking out of the windows, he could see smoke pouring from some of the lowers floors as well, and a slightly grey tinge in the air above make him think that something had to going on on the higher floors as well. Across the street people were pouring out of another office building and onto the street, pointing up at both buildings. Grey smoke was pouring from their windows as well.

The building shook again, and this time Kyle could hear an explosion coming from upstairs. It was time to get out.

Kyle backed away from the window, back into the smoke where he was sure no one would be able to see him as a green glow engulfed his body. When it died down, he was suited up completely, mask included. He had to help somehow.

Though, as he started breaking through the window so that he could fly out, Kyle couldn't help but hope that some of the other heroes in this place had heard the explosions. Because he was pretty damn sure that alone he wasn't going to be much good.

OOC: Just a note, as stated before, everyone can participate in this, whether your character wants to be a bystander or wants to try to rescue people or even wants to try and make the situation worse. Any of those options is cool! NPCs may even come and interact with your characters.

Don't worry. Something will come of this. So yes. Post!

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Who Max and Jesse
What Jesse comes to get Max at school for the start of their weekend and runs into prying teenage girls
When Friday Afternoon
TBC through comments

him be looking for the computer nerd girl then?">


Jesse: He thought it would be fun to surprise her. To show up without being called or emailed. He had this vision that he would saunter in and wisk into her class and take her home where they could spend the whole weekend shut in his new condo with no interruptions.

This was the idea he had.

He had not, of course, thought it all the way through.

There were some basics about school that Jesse was not aware of. Like the principal's office and how one should visit that first. Or the fact that Max wouldn't be the only student in said school.

So he walked in the front doors like he owned the place. Went right past the office doors and started to look for the classroom Max would be in.

Another thing had slipped his mind. He had no idea what class she would be in right now. Or where that class might be located.

And then there was the added problem of how the bell was now ringing to signal the change of classes. It was loud and unexpected. Jesse stood in the middle of the hallway not sure what was going on.

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Max had been being very good, in her eyes at least. Since she'd started back to school, she hadn't skipped, hadn't even ditched one class. She was going through the motions just like every other kid in the place. The motions were simple really, as was being proved by her A average. There wasn't a lot of effort being put in at all on her part, she was almost thinking about switching classes again.

When the last bell rang, Max even found herself walking by the dean of students' door. Except it seemed like other kids had the same idea to fix their schedules as well. Max quickly decided that it wasn't that important and she could do it tomorrow if she really cared that much. Besides, her purse started beeping, meaning she had a message. She pulled out her computer quickly after getting to her locker and read the message from Jesse.

Alfred was waiting in the car outside as was usual and she requested a ride over to the hotel today, promising to take a cab home later.

Max left her backpack in the car when they reached the hotel and was quickly out of the car and running into the hotel lobby. The people who worked the front desk had long ago stopped looking at her oddly when she came dashing and and went running towards the back rooms. She stopped in front of the last door, Jesse's, and knocked.

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Once Barbara had described the way the City seemed to work, Crowley made quick work of finding his things. The flat was first, but it was there and waiting for him already, in a choice piece of real estate near the City's center. And facing away from the huge naked statue that he was getting the distinct feeling he wanted to avoid.

The flat was just where he expected, and, just as he'd expected, there was a private garage for the Bentley. He parked, added a few dozen shields and wards to the garage to ensure that no one else would be able to get near the car.

Plants, sound system, entertainment system, telephones, his private safe, bedroom, study, the sleek computer that looked like it could exceed the speed limit... it was all there. Once he was sure that everything was in it's place, Crowley dove for the phone and dialed the number to a certain bookshop in Soho.

"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is not in service at this time."

Crowley stared at the phone for a moment before slamming it back onto the cradle. Of course it had been a cordless, but sometimes you just needed to slam a phone. He headed for the door, and it slammed behind him.

It was time to look for a book store.

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He'd gone to bed the night before, thinking of all the things he'd do for Max if he had the money for it. He'd send her an obsenely large bouquet of purple orchids and lilys. This would have been better had she been in school again. He could just imagine the blush it would bring on. But sending it to her home would have been good enough.

And then, he figured that if he were going to imagine, he might as well get out of hand with it.

He pictured sending her a dress too. Though, he couldn't quite come up with a style or color that seemed right. He was no good with things like that. There'd be a card too, that professed his love and joy at getting to spend this silly holiday with her, and getting to spoil her like this. And then a car would pick her up. An overly long limo. Maybe deep red. Just to be different. It would bring her to his hotel room, which would be decorated with dozens and dozens of flowers and hundreds of candles. He'd be there waiting in a really nice pinstripe suit. The table would be set for two. A nice steak dinner would be waiting for them. They would eat, and he would present her with a beautiful gift. A necklace. Or something. Music would be playing. Sinatra or Harry Connick Jr.

Just a quiet evening, just them.

He'd drifted off to sleep, wishing that he could do this, and disappointed that he didn't have the means to.

Upon waking, though, he was greeted with a strange sight. Candles waiting to be lit. Flowers everywhere. He got up and found a suit in the closet. The little table was set beautifully. He knew he didn't have dinnerware like that.

It made him wonder if everything else was working out too.


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EDIT:Gets a little naughty toward the end...

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It was her first time getting out of the mansion since the attack, other than going to the hospital. Max had been looking forward to it, because it was her also first time seeing Jesse since he'd left on Wednesday morning. She'd had enough sense to wait until she could walk by herself again to ask for this trip, and even when she had asked very strict guidelines had been laid down.

Max had three hours at Jesse's, and Alfred had to drive her there and back. She was to wait inside the hotel for him to pull up, at eight on the dot exactly. They didn't want her on the streets by herself for even a few minutes, a precaution Max could fully understand and appreciate.

She emailed Jesse early in the afternoon letting him know what time she'd be there, and at a exactly five Alfred was dropping her off and escourting her into the lobby. Max spent a few more minutes convincing Alfred he didn't need to walk her back to Jesse's room, and then happily walked towards the back of the hotel as quickly as she could. It wasn't long before she was knocking on his door, smiling as much as she could with the one side of her face.

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