Saint Joseph School

((OOC: This is my thread for showing what all Kris is thinking about during her absence, and should be considered information not for use by other characters... Except maybe some of this, for those who end up rescuing Kris, and for Karl.))

Kris sat in the apartment, and wondered if it was all just a dream. The Rogue Isles were nothing like what Statesman and Longbow claimed. The people might not like the villains who operated here, but it was hardly a land of lawlessness, and they reaped certain rewards for going along with things. It was by no means the US, but these islands weren't what she had thought at all.

She remebered hearing a small number of people talk about Hero Corps, back in Paragon City, like it was legalized muscle, and judging from the activities of Longbow in the Isles, Kris was coming to believe those few detractors. She couldn't believe she just went along with these people all of this time, thinking they were helping the Rogue Isles. Not after seeing how they just indiscriminantly attacked people. It was a good thing, though, that Karl had arranged for her to have the suit that kept her id secret.

And then... Then there was Lycia. According to Karl, some deranged monster had killed Lycia. She reserved thinking about Lycia for times like these, when Karl was gone. She didn't feel like showing him how her heart was mangled, and how she wanted the world to just go away. Lish was gone, and there was no telling what Stasi and Lucky were going through, not to mention Arrow. Huge tears welled up in her eyes, and the girl burried her face in the cushion of her couch to sob. She hoped to God, the Saints, and the Angelic Host that Karl was just being mean. She wasn't sure if her heart could bear this sort of burden.

Crying, she fell asleep, and her thoughts drifted to Stasis Kiss, her personal paladin. Her very own replacement for Sister Psyche, who was cool, but not hers. Not like Stasis was. Stasi was her rock, and the girl had to be going through hell, right now. Q5 was never going to be the same. Not ever again. She needed someone to be her comforter, right now, but had no hope of one.

The sound of seagulls woke her, and Kris could see it was nightfall. The full moon hung over the ocean like a giant pearl above a bed of liquid silver. A breeze caught her face, coming in through the window, and she could smell coffee brewing somewhere below. Karl would most likely be along any moment, so she cleaned her face, and prepared herself for his entrance.

((Girl, you know very well that in fact, I am your rock.

Stasis is your, like, shiny ice-cube or something.))

((Oh, B! I'm sorry! In all of the hullabaloo, I forgot all about you... Yes! And I assure you, that between you and Nieves, Kris' mom won't be pulling her from the school!))

Barrier wrote:((Girl, you know very well that in fact, I am your rock. Stasis is your, like, shiny ice-cube or something.))

/keels over, laughing.

you .. you.. you GO, girl!

Kris was taken to dinner with Karl. It was intriguing that the two of them were just sitting around with the Mafia, and having linguini like it was nothing. Don Marcelli and his "boys" were quite the group. It was a shame that if she came across any of the in Paragon City, she was hauling them in. Using her empathy, Kris was able to mask her true feelings about the whole situation, and thus her surprise, when she noticed "Little Donnie" had no adam's apple. She wondered if the others knew that one of the "boys" was really a girl...

Kris suddenly woke up to the sound of some sort. A lump rose in her thought of Snakes, Infected, RIPD, or worse yet, Longbow breaking in. Karl VonMandrake, bloodied and bruised hobbled in and collapsed upon the floor. Eyes bulging, Kris flew to the door, closing and locking it, before going to Karl's side.

"Mother Mary," she gasped as she saw he had been very thoroughly beaten to a pulp. "Karl! What happened? No, no... Wait. Let me heal you, then talk."

Pouring her emotions of goodwill and concern for his wounds forth, Kris was slowly transformed into a bruised, scuffed and lightly cut version of herself as she transfered some of his wounds to her, then mended what was left. Waving his hands away from her, she looked to make sure he was okay, and to also calm herself down from the waves of pleasure that rippled through her body from healing him.

After she began to slowly regenerate, she looked to Karl, and spoke again, "What happened, Karl? Who did that to you?"

"Arachnos," he said as he checked himself over. "They detained me for my fraternization with Sant Joseph's School students. They wanted information on you. I should hope that things clear up enough to get you safely to the caring arms of your family and friends, Kristina. Things are becoming quite unfriendly in the Rogue Isles, now."

"You really did protect me, didn't you," she asked just before hugging Karl. "Thank you! Anything I can do to help you, I will do... I'm sorry I caused this to happen!"

Kris closed her eyes tight at the thought of how much suffering had ocurred due to her absence. Because she wasn't there, her best friend was dead. And now, this dark prince had become a victim in keeping her safe. When she got back home, she was putting her foot down. No more court. No more running. She was going to St Joseph's, and she was going to become a healing heroine. No exceptions, and no strings attached.

((you go Karl!, cant wait for you to be home Kris ))

Karl moved to the couch in the "living room" of the small apartment he had secured on Mercy Isle. He had almost laughed at the landlord for what she was asking for the small place when he saw it, even if it HAD been fully furnished. However, he hadn't had much time to negotiate, and had taken it anyway.

Now, Karl's head was still pounding from the beating he had received. There was still residual pain from where the handle of the Arachnos gun had connected with his forehead.

"I thank you, Ms. O'Sullivan. It is actually quite difficult to find any sort of skilled healer in these Isles, and I would have had a very hard time explaining why I had been detained if the Lady had asked me directly. I must also admit, my reputation would suffer a bit if I had shown up like that at the Academy..."

A flick of the wrist, and Karl summoned a glass from the cabinet in the kitchen into his hand. A gutteral incantation and a container of orange juice was brought from the refridgerator to the coffee table.

"Scheize (**phoenetic translation, apologies to those who know the true spelling.**), my head hurts. Kristina, if you would once again show me some kindness and find some asprin. I know it's somewhere, but I am unable to remember it's exact location, so apportation is quite impossible at this moment."

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah, I think I saw some in the bathroom! I'll be right back!"

Quickly Kris got up and rushed to the bathroom as Karl poured the orange liquid out, swirling as it entered the glass. It was going to be a long night...

((*Scheiss...but actually what you should say in slang German is "Mist" or "Ach Mist"....it conveys the point...anyway keep it up..I like it!))

Franky X

**Thank you, oh linguistic one. Do you have any recommendations for german phrase finders online? I'm begining to run low on what I've retained from elementary school.**

((If you are just looking for some useful salt and pepper phrases then I would suggest:

http://www.smartphrase.com/German/ge_ge ... _phr.shtml

or if you are more topic based:

http://www.army.mod.uk/gutersloh/new_ar ... hrases.htm

Hope this helps...or you can send me a PM and I'd be happy to help out! I love languages...eeeeeee!!))

Franky X

Kris hurried back with the pain relievers, and quietly offered them to Karl. As he took the bottle, she went around behind him, and placed her fingertips on his temples, sending a little more healing energy to help his body metabolize the medicine, and possibly to alieviate the pain. As she looked down at him, she became aware of how much she missed Tony. She hoped she wasn't projecting that, as well. She really needed to get back to school, so she could learn more about her powers.

"Tell me something, Karl," she said as she looked at his face upside down, still leaning over him from behind the couch and rubbing his temples. "If you're such a prince of a man, why are you here? Is it to make yourself stronger?"

She closed her eyes, as the pleasure response rippled through her from healing him. She considered how her powers could create a problem if developed unchecked. She had only just begun reading abour Grierson's Syndrome, a debilitating disease specific to telepaths and empaths. The mentalist became either addicted to the use of their powers and reactions to using them, or were unable to lock others out of their mind, or worse yet, a combination of the two. She didn't want to be a slave to her powers. But, she couldn't stand the thought of others languishing in pain, when she held the key to their well-being.

Kris was awakened by Karl's barging in with a very no nonsense look on his face. He grabbed her by the elbow, and told her that Arachnos was searching street by street, now. It seemed that he had another place to take her, and make sure she was safe. Kris would do her best to let everyone know that Karl had been, for the most part, a gentleman. In her head, she knew it had been almost fourteen days since she had seen home. She was beginning to feel fatigued from her time away, and needed to have her family (her mother and her dorm mates) close by. As they hustled along, she couldn't help but begin to cry. The stress was beginning to be too much, now.

((I miss you so much!))

Karl moved with Kristina swiftly down the street, his eyes darting back and forth as they walked through the city of Mercy. in his mind, her question still rang from earlier in the night,

"If you're such a prince of a man, why are you here? Is it to make yourself stronger?"

Karl hadn't answered her question with anything more that the standard "The Academy is my school, and these waters offer the best protection for those who go there" before she curled up on the recliner and fell asleep during small talk.

The answer truely was that he was being tested not only academically at Bloodvine, but also mentally here in the Isles. Karl had to be ready for his future, and his father was constantly reminding him of that.

Karl needed to be faster. He needed to be stronger. He needed to be able to lead.

He needed to make sure that the Arachnos patrol that was rounding the corner didn't have time to report back to base.