nysm / tvd } { if you will, please move in closer

[onebehind]

In another lifetime, Dylan Rhodes never existed. In another lifetime, he didn't need to, because Lionel Shrike never drown in the Hudson River, Dylan Rhodes stayed Jacob Shrike, and his life went in a very different direction.

At age fifteen, his father started teaching him the tricks of the trade: sleight of hand, how to build a rig, how to do a little bit of actual magic, despite the fact that probably wasn't something he should be sharing, just yet. Shortly after that, Jacob met a young Alma Dray, tagging along with her grandfather, a friend of his father's, stopping by to check up on him. They grew up together, life continued on, and Jacob eventually went to college for Theatre Design and Stagecraft. At twenty-two, just after graduation, Jacob was chosen to join the Eye, his test to help the LVPD clear the name of another magician, despite all the evidence in the world making him seem guilty as sin. There, Jacob met Michael Fuller, his partner a lifetime away, and the two became friends as they managed, despite all odds, to pull off what had been asked of Jacob by the Eye. He continued on into a career as a stage magician in the Eye, eventually married Alma, and continued to occasionally work with Fuller as a consultant, when time allowed.

Over the course of the next few decades, Jacob and Alma tried to have children and failed, and eventually adopted one Jack Wilder, age 10. Using Eye resources, he helped Merritt McKinney get a good lawyer and clear his name after his brother screwed him over. He followed the rising stars that were J. Daniel Atlas and Henley Reeves, and when they decided to call it quits, pulled the both of them back together, forcing Daniel to give Henley a more active role in the show. And eventually, yes, he called the four of them together, not for revenge but something similar, to get them into the Eye. And somewhere along the way, Jacob and Alma tried for children again, and this time managed, giving Jack a brother, Lio, Lionel, named after his grandfather.

Basically, this is the best possible timeline.

And now, it's just after dinner, Jacob off to his nightly rehearsal at 5Pointz, that his space, now, like his father before him. He takes a detour tonight, though, to grab a cup of coffee, beforehand, a little bit of magic pulled around him, to make himself not completely invisible, but at least a little less noticeable. Normally, he doesn't mind showing off or signing autographs, when a fan approaches, and fans do often approach, his notoriety somewhere up there with Penn and Teller, Seigfried and Roy, but -- not tonight. He's not feeling it tonight, a little tired for whatever reason, hence the coffee, so magic it is. And now he's sitting at a table, idly people-watching as he leans into his cup. Have at him, if you can still see him (or, maybe, in certain party's cases, sense him) despite his best efforts.

Comments

[polydeukes]

It doesn't take long to make the arrangements. Finch says yes, she does intend to follow the twins on this cross-country adventure. She also makes the arrangements to pick up Lizzie in Chicago, though she said she would probably talk MG out of tagging along. They don't want to tax their resources.

There was also a rant about her meeting and learning magic from Jacob Shrike and not telling her sister, but Josie will spare Jacob that too.

And she and Finch will arrive at the agreed upon meeting spot, and when she spots Jacob, she smiles.

"Hey. So how specific can these portals be? Does it have to be somewhere you've seen?"

[onebehind]

"More like -- " He pauses, raking his tongue over his teeth as he tries to decide how to explain. " -- you ever seen Harry Potter?"

He'd be really surprised if she hadn't, but it's better to ask and to be sure than to use a metaphor that will go right over her head. He can find something else if she's never seen the movies or read the books behind them.

[polydeukes]

"We tried to convince our teachers to let us play Quidditch, but they were smart enough to say no so we didn't all kill ourselves on flying brooms."

So yes, she's seen Harry Potter.

"Is it like Apparating?"

[onebehind]

"Like the Floo Network," Dylan corrects, shaking his head. "I don't need a fireplace or powder or whatever, but I do need a door. Doesn't really matter what kind of door or where."

He, himself, has used his ability to travel on-stage, in fact, stepping into a cabinet and reappearing at the front of the theatre or in the green room, where he can step back onto stage nowhere near where he left. It's a fun little trick and the skeptics usually write it off as him having a trapdoor or something somewhere, so they never catch on.

Unfortunately, "There is kind of a caveat, though, in that I can only go to places the Eye has magicked beforehand." So, it's less about going somewhere he's been before and more about going somewhere the Eye has and has deemed important. "Good news is, there's at least a couple dozen endpoints in every major city, so ... "

So, he should be able to find something close to their final destination.

[polydeukes]

"Okay. So my sister lives in Chicago, specifically at the University of Chicago." Josie grabs her phone to pull up a map, giving her a chance to visualize how they'll have to arrange that. "What do you think the closest endpoint is to that?"

Traveling by Floo Powder will be kind of cool though, even if it's just metaphorical floo powder.

[onebehind]

Dylan thinks for a moment before he asks, "That's on the South Side, right?"

He thinks so, but it's been a long time since he's been in Chicago for more than a few nights -- and longer since he's been outside the Loop.

Either way, he leans over her and her phone, hoping to catch a glance at the map. Either way, regardless of how she answers and despite his relative unfamiliarity, he's pretty sure he already knows the answer to that question. "I know there's a couple of endpoints on Randolph Street."

[polydeukes]

"The Medicine and Biosciences building is on Randolph Street near Millenium Park. We can meet her there?"

She's been to Chicago a couple times to visit her sister, and she's aware that in a city as large as Chicago it might not be that simple. Randolph Street itself is very long. But it's a landmark both she and Lizzie know, so easy to communicate.

[onebehind]

He's silent for another long, thoughtful moment, tongue raking over his teeth, and then he nods. "Yeah, that works. We may have to walk a couple of blocks, but it beats the alternative."

Which is having to travel by mundane means.

"That work for you?"

[polydeukes]

"Walking a couple of blocks is nothing," Josie nods, reaching for her phone to send a text to her sister. It's probably going to be the least strenuous part of this entire trip. A few minutes later, Lizzie thumbs-ups the text to indicate she'll be there and Josie nods.

"Okay, she's in." There's a pause as she pulls her phone down. "I'm just ... going to apologize for her in advance. She has a ... strong personality."

[onebehind]

"Should I be expecting her to throw a shoe at me or something?"

His first thought is not that she might be an overly excitable fan. His first thought is that she may not appreciate him hanging out with her sister and try to give him a piece of her mind -- or worse.

[polydeukes]

"No shoes, but she's probably gonna call you Gandalf," Finch volunteers. "For some reason she pulls a lot from Lord of the Rings."

"Sometimes she picks Star Wars." Josie that's not the ringing endorsement you think it is. "She's protective. For similar reasons to why Finch is protective." Josie shrugs. "She also prides herself on being a force to be reckoned with, so it's hard to say how first meetings are going to go."

[onebehind]

"Dibs on being Obi-Wan," Dylan decides as he moves away, apparently placated and heading for the nearest door.

He takes a quick moment to check it, to make sure it's not locked -- not that it would be much of a problem if it was, just another step in the process -- and then pushes it closed. Pulling his hand back, he rubs his fingers together, magic gathering at their tips like static electricity. This metaphor persists as he reaches to touch its handle and sparks jump from his fingers to the metal, albeit seemingly painlessly for him. When he pulls the door open again, it leads not to where it was meant to but to what appears to be a narrow alley. He can't help but smirk as he gestures Finch and Josie through it.

"Ladies first."

[polydeukes]

Josie smirks as she grabs her backpack and turns to head out the door, Finch not far behind her. They step through into the alley, pausing until Dylan has a chance to join them before Josie orients herself and leads the way down the couple of blocks to where they're meeting Lizzie.

The willowy blond stands poised on a street corner and throws up her hands when she spots her sister.

"There you are! I am packed and ready to go on this - " Her voice cuts off as her eyes land on Jacob and her jaw drops. " - Oh my god."

[onebehind]

"Jacob, actually," Dylan corrects, teasing. He figures he can't go wrong with a little humor. No matter how she actually means that, it should help to break the ice.

[polydeukes]

"No, I know, you're ..." Lizzie clamps her mouth closed for a moment, before she takes a breath to regain her composure, holding out a hand. "Lizzie Saltzman. Big fan."

Josie smirks at her sister as she moves to stand next to her. "Jacob is going to get us to Portland and then go with us to the house, see if we can confirm our theory about how the curse happened."

[onebehind]

Dylan's expression turns from wry to genuinely warm as he reaches out to take her hand. Before he steps back, he offers the expected but genuine, "Nice to meet you."

A beat.

"And uh, whenever you guys're ready."

He won't rush them if they want to take a moment. He also doesn't need to take any time to recover, either, however, so he wants to make it clear that they're not waiting on him. Whenever they're ready, like he said.

[polydeukes]

"Then let's do this. I want to get this trip down horror show memory lane over with."

Josie doesn't blame her sister for this. The Parker side of the family is something that they've both struggled with but also never really knew. It feels like stepping on people's ghosts, but those ghosts are also their past too.

"Is there a best place for us to leave from?"

[onebehind]

Dylan shakes his head. "Not any more than it mattered where we left from, getting here."

They can leave from anywhere. Where they end up, however, is another story -- he can only get them as far as the nearest endpoint the Eye has set up. They'll have to walk the rest of the way.

"We just gotta find a door."

Preferably one down an alley or somewhere equally shielded from view, to keep from freaking out the mundanes, but again, it's not a necessity.

[polydeukes]

Lizzie nods, before glancing over her shoulder. "I know a place not too far from here." She turns and points in the direction they're heading, and Josie nods, before falling in step next to her sister and catching up as they go.

Finch falls in step next to Dylan and sighs. "The twins can be a lot when they're together. Just so you know."

[onebehind]

"A lot how?" Dylan asks, more amused than anything else. He has two sons -- one of who is still a toddler. He's not really sure how two girls about Jack's age can compare with that, twins or otherwise. At least he won't have to ask either of them to stop throwing popcorn at the dog.

[polydeukes]

"They're ... a package deal. For better or worse. Lizzie has a very strong personality, but she's also been through a lot. Some of which Josie put her through. So Josie is very protective of her sister, and so when they both decide that you're wrong it's ..." Finch makes a face as she tries to figure out how to best phrase it. " ... like you're being hit with a wall of Saltzman."

Basically, they're your average twins, but given that they're supernatural women in a supernatural world, everything seems turned up to eleven.

[onebehind]

"I'll keep that in mind," Dylan promises, his amusement fading in measures. "I do really wanna help them, though, so ... " So, maybe he won't have to struggle with the wall Finch mentioned.

[polydeukes]

Finch nods. "No, I know. And I believe you. But you've only dealt with Josie. You haven't dealt with the twins as a united front. Just wanted to make sure you knew what you're walking into."

She shrugs, before glancing up with a smirk.

"Could have been worse, though. Lizzie could have brought Hope as her chaperone."

[onebehind]

"Mikaelson, right?"

The narration can't remember if her name has come up in this verse, but even if it hasn't, Dylan's not stupid. He can do the math. There aren't a whole lot of people named Hope that would be the twins' age and a bad choice as far as chaperones go. Add in the fact that the twins are who they are, everything he's learned about their family history so far, and -- yeah. He's really not surprised.

He's also not letting show, if that bothers him.

[polydeukes]

"That's the one. She's intense, but given everything she's been through it makes sense that she's protective of the people she loves."

Hope has always treated Finch fairly, so she does her best to give Hope the benefit of the doubt. But she does have eyes, and every Mikaelson she's ever met has been equally intense, so maybe it's genetic.