Nova "Flicker" Madigan peeked into the oven again, imaptiently willing her batch of chocolate with chocolate-chip cookies to bake faster. Despite being able to teleport to Mercury in a bikini to work on her tan, she could not influence the cookies to hurry up. Lacking any nova super baking abilities, Nova had to wait for her cookies to bake the same as any baseline would. As was her custom lately, she left her Mazarin-Rashoud node active and accepted the bizarre physical appearance that accompanied her new life as a nova. She blinked in and out of complete transparency in a rapid and random pattern, much the same way as an old fluorescent light bulb blinks off and on.

Nova's mother Carol Madigan appeared in the open kitchen doorway, dressed in a worn and faded flannel shirt and comfortable jeans. Carol took a sip from her mug of tea--the mug had been a gift from Nova, and it said "World's Greatest Mom"--and watched her daughter hurrying around the kitchen. While she'd been working two jobs to keep the roof over their heads, her baby girl had grown up into a good high school student, track and cross-country runner, part-time cashier at Burger King, and now a nova. In another month her baby girl would graduate high school.

My little baby girl is making cookies for a nova party, she thought, still amazed at the direction their lives had taken. She could never have predicted this outcome in 1989, when she'd hastily married Bryan Madigan after discovering she was with child. Bryan had left three years later, but that had probably been for the best. He turned out to be bad news with a capital B and N. Carol had heard that Bryan was serving five-to-ten in Columbus for running a meth lab, but she hardly cared.

"Heya Mom," Nova said cheerfully, leaning against the countertop. "They're almost done." She glanced at the clock on the microwave oven: it read 12:50.

"You're going to be late to your own party if you're not careful," Carol advised, crossing the kitchen to turn down the small color television which faced the table and chairs. N! was blaring loudly, and she found it distracting.

"Got it covered," Nova replied as she rummaged around in the cupboard for a plastic tub large enough to hold the batch of cookies. "They'll be out in a minute, and then I can teleport to the park."

"Well that's good," Carol said, playfully pinching her daughter's cheek and grinning. Nova grinned and turned her head and pretended try to dodge the pinch, but she allowed her mother the privledge. "Is that what you're wearing?"

Nova looked down at her own outfit: snug-fitting low-cut blue jeans with a few holes and frayed cuffs, a studded belt, an oversized grey cross-country hoodie, and bright red Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers.

"Yep," she said, deliberately not mentioning that her outfit was actually her Eufiber colony, and that she could make it take on any appearance she wished, and would probably do so as soon as she was out of her mother's sight. "It's still a little chilly down by the lake, so I'm taking my hoodie."

"That's your Eufiber, isn't it?" Carol asked.

"Um, maybe?" Nova replied, peeking at the cookies again to hide her embarassment. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I just put your cross-country hoodie in the washing machine," Carol smiled. Gotcha.

Nova pulled the baking sheet from the oven and started moving cookies from the pan to the plastic tub. Impulsively, she popped one in her mouth. It should have burned her mouth like hot lava, but she'd become immune to minor scrapes and burns when she'd become a nova. The sensation of molten double-chocolate cookie in her mouth was one of pure bliss. Nova rolled her eyes happily. After she swallowed, she scooped three cookies onto a small plate.

"They're still too hot to eat," Nova said with a smile. "I mean, for baselines--no offense Mom--but these three are for you." Nova snapped the lid on the plastic tub of cookies, sealing the warmth and aroma of chocolate inside. "Okay, I guess I ought to go now."

Carol hugged her daughter, being careful not to spill her tea.

"Have a good time with your nova friends," Carol said, stepping away from the embrace. "And remember, no mischief. You're a celebrity now and anything you do could end up on the news, good or bad."

"Don't worry Mom," Nova replied with a wink and a grin. "Anyone who starts trouble gets a one-way ticket to Venus."

Carol tried to ignore the icy ball of dread which materialized in the pit of her stomach every time her daughter joked about marooning someone on another planet. Her daughter joked about what was essentially murder with disturbing regularity.

"I know you can take care of yourself," Carol replied softly. "You had to grow up awfully fast, kiddo."

Nova recognized the look in her mother's eyes. Carol was endlessly remorseful about working two jobs for nearly Nova's entire life. Most days they only saw each other only an hour or two. As a young girl Nova had learned very quickly that she had to do her part around the house, and as a teenager she took on part-time jobs to pay for her own activities. In-between she learned that if she had a hot meal waiting for her mother at dinnertime, they would be guaranteed a half-hour together at the kitchen table before Carol changed outfits and dashed off to her night job.

"It's okay Mom," Nova said reassuringly with a smile. "You did what you had to do. That makes you my hero." She glanced at the clock again. "I've really got to get going now. I'll be back later this afternoon probably. I can't see this lasting all day."

"Call me if you need anything," Carol replied, trying to imagine what her strong and independent nova daughter could possibly need from her anymore.

"Will do," Nova replied, meaning it. "See ya later!" Nova thought of the park on the shore of Lake Erie which nestled at the foot of the Cleveland skyline, and then she was there.

A strong breeze blew in from Lake Erie, and the cool lake air contrasted with the sun-warmed pavement bricks at her feet. Nova looked around and found a picnic table which was partially screened from the breeze by a few trees covered in bright green buds. Spring was returning to Cleveland, and the sun was once again effectively pushing the chill from the air. Offshore seagulls (lake gulls? Flicker wondered) swooped and hovered, looking for treats in the lake tide.

Nova briefly considered changing her Eufiber outfit to something more flashy, then changed her mind. A hoodie and jeans suited her too, she decided.

"I hope people start showing up soon," she mused as she watched the playing gulls. Overhead a small business jet buzzed into the sky as it departed the adjacent downtown airport. Nova hoped that the flying novas would have enough sense to look out for airplanes.

Dozer grinned as he pulled up to a parking spot with his cargo van. He stepped out of the van, ignoring the looks of the baselines. He walked around the van to the rear doors, and swung them wide open. Looking inside, Dozer checked the contents of the 4 large coolers filled with tupperware bowls filled with Tiramisu from Cafe Lalo. He stacked 2 on each shoulder and makes his way to the meeting point. His outfit for the day consisted of his good jeans and a flannel shirt. He eventually spotted the young lady who seemed to flicker in and out of visibility, and he approached her, still carrying the coolers.

"Excuse me, miss. But are you Flicker? I'm Dozer. Where can I put these coolers?"

Nova had not expected anyone to arrive by land, so she was startled by Dozer's approach. She knew from reading the OpNet and watching N! that Dozer was extremely tall, but that didn't prepare her to meet a seven-footer. It seemed to her as if he could begin flying simply by reaching up and grabbing onto a passing cloud.

"Oh, hi!" she said, quickly jumping to her feet. "I'm Flicker, but you can call me Nova, too. You're--" she paused. "You're really tall. Wow."

Nova gestured to the picnic table where her own container of hot cookies sat.

"I figure we can use this table," she suggested.

Dozer smiles, nods, and puts down the coolers near the table, "Mmmmm. Those cookies smell good. I'll wait for the rest of the people to arrive to grab a couple. I figured on our nova appetites, so I brought alot of Tiramisu. It's in the coolers."

He grins and looks over at the airport, "Wish I could fly. It looks cool. Oops. Almost forgot. I have another cooler in the front of the van. I brought some drinks, too. Mainly milk. Milk and baked goods go well together." He walks back to the van, pulls out the cooler from the front seat and heads back to the picnic table, placing the small cooler on top of the others. "There."

"Milk is good," Nova replied. "I can't believe I didn't think of that myself."

Ryusei nods as the clock rolls around to the appointed time. "At least I got enough sleep, I hope everyone likes these." He regarded himself in the mirror, wearing his Eufiber in what passed for casual for him, A simple Grey Button-down with Black jeans. He carried the three trays with him as he went and put on his shoes and focused on them, attuning them to himself. He recalled the pictures from the park and smiled. Permitting himself a slight chuckles he whispered "Instant Transmission."

He vanished in a flash of blue-white light and reappeared, Amout Twenty meters inland from the seawall, right near one of the lightposts. He felt the familiar pulse of active nodes in the area and spotted A young woman talking to a giant of a man. He offers them both a smile as he walks over "Good afternoon to you both, I take it you must be Flicker." He nods to the large male nova. He was at least a full foot taller than Ryusei and looked like he could take down a mountain. "You must be Dozer, It's good to see that they let you out of the facility in time."

He nods his head once. "I am Ryusei, it is a pleasure to meet you both."

He picks up both his arms which are holding three covered trays. "I don't know how well my traditional baked snacks will go over, so I tried my hand at a couple of western-style treats. Is there somewhere i can set them down?" Through it all Ryusei speaks with only the slightest hint of an accent.

"Good to meet ya, Ryusei," Nova said, flashing a broad smile and sizing up the newcomer. She hadn't known what to expect, and she was absolutely surprised at how tall, dark, and attractive he was. The sound of his voice made sweet love to her ears, and she had to force herself not to sigh out loud. Flicker turned sideways to the Japanese teen and gestured to the picnic table she'd commandeered.

"You can set those here," she said. After a moment, she rewound the conversation mentally and remembered that she'd not introduced herself. "Oh, yeah, I'm Flicker. This is Dozer."

"It is nice to put so lovely a face to the name online."

"I take it Dozer and I are the first to arrive." He sets his trays down on the table and smiles.

"My Sister sends her regards, but she's been setting up her workshop at home and couldn't be torn away. Thank you for planning all this by the way, it's pretty cool to get to meet other novas beyond the one's I've known for awhile."

As he approached the meeting place, a subtle change overtook Praxis's appearance. When they had spoken online, she had said "whatever you did there, do more of it". Who was he to refuse a lady? He channeled a small amount of his energy into his appearance and, by extension, his vocal cords. He wasn't entirely sure how that worked, but whatever, he wasn't going to complain.

Praxis was quite surprised to be the first actual flier to the fly-in and bake-off. In the distance, he could easily have been mistaken for a bird, as his chosen manifestation of his power was a pair of massive, white feathered wings. As he approached the site, he could hear, more than see, a plane flying up behind him. Most cases he wouldn't think twice of it, as planes flew much higher than he did as a general rule. Still, this close to an airport, he had to look back to be sure.

Moving considerably faster than he was, a little propeller plane came up behind him. Probably had a passenger load of about 30, tops. Praxis glanced forward to his destination and could see it below. Deciding that now was as good a time as any to make a grand entrance, he went higher, making an almost 90 degree turn straight up and allowing the plane to pass underneath him.

As the plane continued its own landing pattern, Praxis's flight path was a wide arc that slowly brought him to a 180 degree difference in trajectory as he wrapped the illusory wings around him and let gravity take its course, making mild adjustments as necessary. Falling from the sky, very much resembling an angel being cast from the heavens, Praxis spread his wings and slowed to a controllable speed very close to the ground. Landing in a crouch, holding a package securely in his arms with a with enough impact heard and seen, but not enough to actually hurt.

As Praxis stood, he spread his wings towards the sky and they dissipated, discorporating into feathers which simply seemed to blow away and vanish. He looked around at the others who had been milling about in the area. "Hey, I'm assuming I'm not too late" He opened the package and placed it on the table, revealing two complete trays of chilled fudge squares. "Not quite a 'baked good', but it's good regardless, I assure you. How are you all today? I am Praxis"

((Edit: move this post one post down, so as to maintain continuity))

((Editing the edit: nvm))

"Yep, we're the first," Nova replied, stealing a glance at Ryusei's toned butt as he bent over to deposit his load onto the picnic table. She looked to Dozer and then to Ryusei again. "You know what, my cookies are still oven-hot. I think they're better that way. Can I offer you one?"

Before they could reply, Praxis made his spectacular entrance. Nova could only stare.

Praxis looked over at Dozer, who was just a bit taller than he himself was. Then, glancing over towards Ryusei and finally over to Flicker. He knew her to be Flicker because 1) she was the only female here, and, well, this was her show. And 2) She kept popping in and out of visibility. "Are you ok?"

Nova was not at all okay. She was beside herself with desire for two of the three novas who had arrived. It wasn't the first time an inhumanly-beautiful nova had cast a spell over her, and she wondered if she would ever get used to it happening.

"I'm okay," Nova said quietly, with a serene smile. "Would you like a cookie? It's double chocolate--chocolate with chocolate chips--and still hot from the oven."

Praxis sighed ever-so-slightly as he recognized 'that look' in Flicker's eyes as responded. Apparently she hadn't learned the fine art of subtle people-watching yet. Either that or she just hadn't gotten used to the 'attractive' side of Club Novus. Praxis nodded at much the same pace she did. "Ok, just making sure." He reached out a hand and removed one cookie from the rest. "I would love a cookie, thank you."

Dozer nodded to each new arrival, and then reached into one of the large coolers he had brought with him. He pulled out 3 tupperware bowls, each with a spoon on top, and handed one to each of the other novas, "Here you go. Tiramisu, the finest in New York City. Eat up. And there's milk in the small cooler over there." He indicated the smaller cooler sitting on top of the large coolers. When he finished handing out the Tiramisu, he turns to Ryusei and Praxis, " A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Dozer. And i'm glad that I was released on time too. It was a little bit of a chore to get here without flight or transportation powers but I'm glad I came."

"Do you, er. Do you have anything to declare, ma'am?"

Miranda stood in the midst of a crowd, flashbulbs going off all around her. She held up a tin box. "Six sealed tins of Kentworth Haynes Olde English Tea Biscuits. They won't be following me back."

"Of course. Er. Sign, er, here and here...?"

Miranda took the pen in hand, signing her name. She felt a little cramped, in the midst of the crowds - unable to stretch her wings and fly. Bad enough that she'd had to buy a row of first-class tickets to accomodate her wings...

Soon enough.

Her business was finished. She turned around, and the questions came fast and furious.

"Miss Skye! Miss Skye, over here - "

" - reaction to the cancellation of your project - "

" what's your business in America, Miranda?"

Miranda shook her head. "Sorry. No speako Americano. Outto ofo myo wayo."

They were slow to relent, but relent they did - Miranda might have only been able to fly, but you never knew with novas. A few minutes later she stepped out the doors, and left the crowd behind as she took wing.

Within minutes she'd spotted where Flicker had set up the get-together, and flapped her wings carefully as she descended. She spotted Praxis and felt her heart flutter. Oh sweet Lord. He's supremely fuckable. And dammit, he can fly too, can't he? She shook her head, trying to slam the gates of detachment down, feeling them catch on the lodged sixpence of being only human.

She landed, shaking her wings. A feather or two fluttered to the ground. "Hello, here, then. Pleased to meet you all."

Dozer grined as Miranda descended, and he dug into the cooler for another tupperware bowl of Tiramisu, "Hello. You must be Ms. Skye. I'm Dozer. Welcome to the festivites. This is Tiramisu. Enjoy." He handed her the bowl and a spoon. "There's milk in the smaller cooler if you wish."

Miranda takes the tupperware. "Milk, you say? Milk sounds good. How're you then, Mister Dozer, correct?"

"Just call me Dozer. I'm doing good, since I left the facility. How are you?" Dozer smiled and looks around at the semi-idyllic setting, his gaze settling back on Miranda once again.

Nova accepted the plastic bowl of tiramisu from Dozer, thankful for the distraction. She'd had it many times before from her Italian neighbors the Santinis, but the promise of New York's Finest tiramisu tantalized her. She nibbled a spoonful and let the flavor suffuse her taste buds.

"Mmmm," she mmmed, feeling goosebumps on her arms. "That's really good."

As she ate, she saw Miranda Skye land on her feathery wings and join the party.

"Miranda Skye!" Nova said cheerfully around a mouthful of the heavenly tiramisu. "Glad you could drop in!"

Praxis munched contentedly on his cookie, glancing at Flicker every once in a while. When the winged woman landed, he smiled. Finally, one who had the same abilities as he did. He watched her feather drift to the ground and sit, then looked up at her. It occurred to him suddenly that her wings weren't going away. They were real? While this processed in his mind, he watched the two converse.

It makes sense, hers look like they're there for a reason. Mine are obviously more than a little over the top. But that's ok, mine are pretty good looking, even if they aren't real. Though hers are pretty nice too.

As the two talked back and forth, Praxis simply leaned against a table, not quite striking a pose but not exactly slouching either. He simply waited as it would not work to interrupt.

"I'm well, thanks, considering." Miranda takes the goggles off of her face and lets them drop around her neck. "No new jobs yet, but hey. I'll make it work. Hello there... Flicker, yes? Flicker. Thanks for the invite. Who all is coming, again?"

Ryusei smiled warmly as Praxis and shortly there after Miranda descended on the grouping. He'd done a little research on them both, and none of the pcitures did Praxis justice. "It is a pleasure to meet you both I am Ryusei."

He uncovered all three of his containers and smiled as he offered them to the gathered novas. "Peanut-butter cookies, Walnut-chews, and Rakugan, a more traditional Japanese treat. Please help yourselves."

He took some of both the offered cookies and a small bowl of Tiramisu for starters and retieved one of the small bottles of milk from a cooler.

He nods to Dozer "You're a lifesaver with the milk, nothing washes great sweets down better."

Nova picked up her container of hot double-chocolate cookies and offered them around as she replied to Miranda and stole the odd glance at Praxis and Ryusei. She helped herself to Ryusei's peanut butter cookies and rakugan. The peanut butter cookies were delicious and moist, and the rakugan--despite resembling a confection mah jongg tile--was surprisingly tasty.

"Well," she said, "Jael Carver, some guy named Jason Grant, Ausrine with many squiggles in her name, Vixen, Sampajanna, and maybe Daniel Fox if he heals up from his beating. I don't think I missed anyone. Lots of times, though, more people say they will come to a party than really show up. We'll see."

"If I remember right, Rapture was going to come as well. I personally hope everyone who was in the conversation comes. Though I have to say the present company is pretty exceptional." He glanced at Miranda. "Miranda Skye, I believe I've heard of you. My name's Jake, though most people call me Praxis." He glanced around at the rest of the novas gathered. "I have no preference personally. It is nice to meet you"

"Hhhnnnmmmffuh, nice to meet you, yes, yes." Miranda looks Praxis over despite herself. "I like Jake. Jake's a good name. Fuh. Yes. Hmmm."

Keep it together, Miranda. Try at least acting professional. Are you drooling? Stop that.

Praxis sent her one of his heart-stopping smiles that he had practiced in front of a camera so often before. Though some part of him told him that he was being more than a little bit of a disturbance in this little pond, he simply dismissed it. These people are novas and there are people that are above and beyond even me. If I was "on" like I am onstage, that would be different. But I'm not. This is me, I can't stop being me just because I look better than everyone else.

Praxis tried a piece of Tiramisu. It wasn't that bad. To be honest, it was actually pretty good. Better than what he brought, actually. Ah well, such is the way of things. He would have to get some later. "So tell me, what do you all do when you're not mingling at nova baking parties?"

"Oh I like to shoot films really, only I don't literally shoot them at least not with a gun, I film things although not at present, I'm not filming at the moment, if that's what you're asking, and I'm sort of a tiny bit smidgen between jobs at present and so I'm not shooting anyone. Or anything. At all, really. Mmm." She drinks some milk.

"I'm a Student at Jindai Private Academy in Tokyo. Beyond that I tend to hang out with friends in a setting pretty similar to this, though with far fewer novas."

"I'm a senior in high school," Nova added. "Ordinarily this would be track season, but I was disqualified from the team this year for being a nova." Nova frowned.

"I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do, now. But previous to my accident I was a steel-worker." He grinned and sighed. "I doubt the union will be happy with my nova-hood, since it'll make people want me at their job-site ahead of those senior to me."

He wears a kind of amused smile on his face as Miranda tries to make sure she's saying what she's saying and if that's what she wants to be saying. He turns and looks at Ryusei as he mentions his student status. Was he the only one here above voting age? There was Dozer, but he wasn't exactly saying much. Though there was something to be said for being a seven foot everyman. Kind of a contradiction in terms, but whatever.

"A student, you say? Tokyo, wow, I can't say I have ever been there, though I have thought about it several times. I'm not sure how they would receive my music, or my performances"

He looked at Flicker, and her statement about the track team. "That is unfortunate, Nova. Do you know of any local sports leagues that would allow you membership? I know how our changes can make finding competition a little difficult, but I've found there is always some out there if you look hard enough"