Taralynn’s Desk

Robynne stretched as she walked back into her apartment. She was grinning from ear to ear. The apartment just seemed brighter this Saturday. Her sunny demeanor didn’t escape Kara. “Well, someone is sure chipper today. I take it spending last night talking to your uncle was cathartic for you.”

Robynne shrugged, still unable to contain her smile. “I don’t know what cathartic means, but it was definitely what I needed. I just…” Robynne mulled over her words, not quite sure what she wanted to say.

“You just what¸ Robynne?”

“I don’t know. I guess I mean I just needed… all of it. To talk to my uncle openly. To hear someone call me Robert. To know that I screwed up but he forgives me for it.” Robynne inhaled deeply and sighed. “To know that despite the fact that who I am has changed, that our relationship hasn’t.”

Kara stood up and dusted off her skirt. “Were you really worried about all that?”

“I guess I was. I mean… I wasn’t ever thinking about those things, but I guess they were always there in the back of my head.” Robynne shook her head. “Bah, let’s get off all this sappy stuff. What all happened after I left? Did you girls get back together and finish the sleepover?”

Mary burst into the living room. She put her hands on her hips, trying to act angry despite the grin that she couldn’t peel off her face. “No! We didn’t finish the sleepover I had so meticulously planned! You and your uncle had to go ruin it with your silly drama. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out you called him and told him to fly over just so you could get out of it. You are a sneaky and mean person!”

Robynne rolled her eyes and walked into her room. “Yup, you got me Mary. I secretly planned the whole thing as a way to escape your slumber party.”

“I knew it! Very well, then for punishment… go to your room, young lady!”

Robynne turned around and leaned out her bedroom door. “Mary, I’m already in my room.”

“Then it worked.” Mary nodded her head authoritatively.

“No, it didn’t work. I was already in here.”

“See, it worked really well then.”

“What? No. Telling me to go into my room when I’m already in it is like trying to command a twinkie to be a twinkie. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Ah, but it did work.”

Robynne shook her head. “Never mind. I need to shower and get a change of clothes. I didn’t bring anything to my uncle’s hotel room so I had to sleep in these.”

Mary giggled, obviously amused with herself. “Speaking of your uncle, where is he anyway?”

“He went to the school. He’s meeting up with Ms. Kuna to lecture her on putting the lives of young women in danger.”

“Does he think he’ll make a difference?”

“I think he believes he might be able to find out more information about why Fate chose me. I told him I don’t think Kunapipi knows any more than I do but I guess it’s a parent’s right to yell at faculty.”

“You think he’s going to yell at her?”

“Nah, he very rarely yells. Probably just make some threats about removing me from school here if he doesn’t get some answers. He’s understandably pissed off that he was never informed that I was in life threatening situations but at the same time seems to understand that there doesn’t seem to be much he can do about it.”

Mary nodded. “Your uncle sounds like a pretty chill guy.”

Robynne beamed. “He really is.”

“So how long is he going to be in town? Leaving after the break?”

“He was originally but he decided he’s going to try to get a job around here so he can be closer. He’s going to stay till next Sunday so he can find a job and hang out some more with me. I’ll probably bring him by at some point to introduce you all to him.”

A mischievous light flashed across Mary’s eyes. “Till next Sunday you say?”

Robynne raised an eyebrow, not liking Mary’s change in tone. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no big reason. I just wondered if had told him that you joined the Cheer Squad.”

“Uh, as a matter of fact, no. I didn’t.”

“Well, then I can’t wait to see his face when he comes to the football game on Friday and gets to see you cheer the Octopi onto victory, pompom!” Mary erupted into a fit of giggles.

“Oh sugar! I forgot about that!”

Robynne licked at the mint chocolate chip ice cream and sighed happily. It was her favorite. “So what did you find out then?”

Taylor puffed his lips out and poked at his sundae “Not much really. Well, not much more than you told me. I really think she has no idea what’s going on. With the thought of my nephew being out there risking her life, that is not a comforting thought.”

Robynne took another lick. “Niece.”

Taylor grumbled. “You’re right Robert, niece. Still getting used to that.”

Robynne looked past her uncle and saw a few kids from school. She didn’t know who they were but she recognized their faces. She sighed, “We probably should stop referring to me as Robert too.”

Taylor stuck his tongue out. “And what should I call you then? Robynne? Just doesn’t sound right to me. Besides I saw your new birth certificate. What the hell is up with spelling your name with a ‘y’, an extra ‘n’, and a completely unnecessary ‘e’? That’s just about the dumbest thing I’ve seen.”

The redhead chuckled. “You won’t get any arguments from me, Uncle.” She looked up at the ceiling of the food court. The damage from her fight with Day LaMode was still there. She smiled, “You know, I remember Grandma always called me Robby. Robby could still be a nickname for a Robynne.”

Taylor nodded and took a bite. “I could go for that, at least until I get used to this Robynne idea.”

“So you really didn’t find out anything from Ms. Kuna?”

“Well, how should I say this?” Taylor closed his eyes, working through his words in his mind. “I did find out a few things. How much you did or did not know I am not sure. So it starts with this Ms. Kuna fellow. I basically started by questioning her credentials.”

“Geez, went straight for the throat.”

Taylor shook his head. “What? I did it politely and with a professional tone.”

“Yeah but when you start off questioning whether or not she’s fit for her job it’s going to be at least a little tense.”

“Hey, ever since you’ve been left in her care you’ve had your genders changed, one of your friends almost killed, your hands damaged, you…”

“Can we avoid the listing of grievances? I know how poorly managed this entire situation has been.”

Taylor smirked. “You just want me to stop before I get to the part where a boy rescued you from certain doom.” A vein bulged in Robynne’s temples. “All right, all right, I’ll stop teasing you about that. Your face was just so funny to look at when you told me that story. You would think someone had just kicked you in the gut rather than save your life.”

“Yes, I appreciate that it’s rather humorous from your perspective, but can we get on with what you learned from Ms. Kuna?”

“All right. I learned that Ms. Kuna has been a guide before, just not of magical girls. She wouldn’t go into details but I get the feeling she didn’t like the career change. She also tried to stress how if she had been more experienced with working as a magical girl guide she wouldn’t have relied on another guides ‘template’ that is responsible for you using sugary euphemisms. She seems to feel pretty remorseful about that.”

Robynne sighed. “Donut right she should be sorry.”
Taylor folded his arms. “I agree that it’s ridiculous, Rober… Robby. But you didn’t ever really swear at all before this situation.”

“What’s your point?”

“Robby, I don’t think you’re swearing because you’re frustrated. I think you’re swearing just because you can’t.”

“I’m not technically swearing though!”

“True, but one of the things she promised me was that she’s trying to figure out how to undo the trigger on your brain that prevents you from swearing. I’m worried that once she does fix this, that you’ll be swearing like a sailor. I’m not saying you should start talking like a nun. I’m just saying that you should limit your swearing to mostly the battlefield. It’s the principle of there being a time and place for everything.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll try and keep the swearing to the battlefield. Happy?”

“Yes. Okay, what else did I learn? Well, I learned I’m the only parent who knows about what you girls do. I’m still not comfortable with that. Parents should know if their kids are in danger. Especially the parents who have the daughter who is a member of the team and a son who seems to have your kind of danger follow him.”

“Tell me you’re not going to try and contact them. It would be a nightmare for us if they all knew.”

Taylor waved Robynne’s worries off. “I’m not going to try and call them. But it’s not because I think it’s good to keep them in the dark. It’s because I don’t know their families and it would risk putting your identities in danger. All it would take is for one of the girls to have an attention whore for a parent and all the work of the Hush Corps that you keep telling me about would be wasted.” Taylor’s eyes lit up. “That reminds me, have you seen some of the pictures that Hush Corps boy touched up?”

“You mean Ray’s work? He’s pretty good, ain’t he?”

“He’s amazing. I saw one photo where he somehow made it look like you had green hair. Green hair! And it looked real. It was incredible. How did he do that?”

Robynne smiled. “Ray is a Photoshop wiz. I’m not exactly sure on how he did it; I just know he can edit any picture you see.”

“Still remarkable. I have to say, that part of Ms. Kuna’s operation seems to be working flawlessly. Your identities have been kept under wraps and no one seems to be any the wiser.”

Robynne saw someone familiar flash in the corner of her eye. She turned to her right, and saw no one she recognized. She kept looking in that direction. “Yeah, I have no complaints there.”

Taylor didn’t seem to notice Robynne’s preoccupation. “Oh, I also get the impression that you have been a good help to the leader girl. Angelica was her name?”

“Angela.” Robynne was sure she spotted someone she knew duck into the hobby store.

“Yeah, her. Ms. Kuna said you’ve been playing your stupid computer game with her a lot. I guess that’s meant a lot to her.”

Ray? Robynne saw his face for but a moment but a small hand snatched him from between the aisles of the store. What was Ray doing here? “Hey Uncle, I think I just saw Ray, the Photoshop kid. Wanna go meet him?”

Taylor smiled and stood up. “Sure, the mall was getting boring anyway. Have to say, I’m impressed how orderly the place looks. From the way you told your story about the fight I would have thought this place should still look like a warzone.”

Robynne shrugged. “They’ve had magical girls and monsters battling it out for about a year now. I’m starting to think the repair companies are getting really good around here. They’ve sure had a lot of practice.”

“Mmm, hey Platy. You have got to try one of these sometime.”

“Trace! What have I said about bringing food into my lab.”

“Oh, don’t get your panties all in a wad. I’m not going to dangle it over any of your precious equipment. You’re such a little bitch when it comes to what I can and cannot do here. No smoking. No eating. No touching anything you don’t hand to me. Control freak, much?”

“Trace, I am in no mood for your antics. I have been working my ass off to get ready for Phase Gamma.”

“No mood for my antics? Well, then I’m not in any mood to share my new discovery.”

“New discovery? You actually went out and found intel on your own?”

Trace raised an eyebrow and held her food up. “No. My new discovery is this. It’s a little taco shop called Colina’s and they sell the best surf’n’turf burrito. It’s got carne asada, fresh guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and some delicious shrimp. I know how much you love shrimp.”

Platicore rubbed his eyes. “Traaaaaace…”

“It’s probably as unhealthy as sin but, damn, it’s delicious. It almost makes me feel bad that we’re going to wax this plane.”

“Enough with your lunch! I don’t care! There is work to be done!”

Trace rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She dug into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a slightly filled orb. “You know, I don’t like this whole, delivering the energy the monster collected once a week thing.”

“Yes. I’m sure it destroys what little free time you have. I work you to the bone.” He took it from her and hooked it up to some machine. “But the benefits have been worth your sizable sacrifices, I assure you. Because I’m getting a steady stream of energy in, as opposed to giant lump sums, you see this energy gives me enough to work on another monster. Everything else we get from this one is now bonus that goes towards Phase Gamma.”

Trace took one last bite of her burrito. “That’s good to hear. I actually had a question on that though. We’re testing it out first right? I mean, I don’t want to get in that thing and come out with an arm growing out of my ass or something.”

“Loathe as I am to admit it, Trace, I have invested too much in you to just use you as the initial test. Of course we will be having a trial run or two. It will cause us to have to expend more energy, but I think guaranteeing you don’t end up with arms growing out of your ass is worth it.”

“Do you already have those test subjects ready?”

“No, but I have decided on who they will be.”

“Do tell.”

All right. Chapter up. I wanted it up on Thursday but things got a little busy for me and… well they didn’t go up on Thursday. But here they are today. I hope it was worth the wait.

@Platicore- WHAT? WHAT DO YOU NEED TEST SUBJECTS FOR? TELL MEEEEEEE! Oh wait, I already know. Silly me, overreacting. By the way, surf’n’turf burritos are absolutely amazing.

I love Mary so much. I think she’s become my favorite character to write. I just can do some of my more crazy ideas with her and not have them seem out of place. I think everyone needs a character like Mary they can fall to when they have an idea they think is funny.

In other news, I love this picture. It makes me laugh.

Taralynn, signing out.