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So here's the thing. Stationed outside of New York as it is has afforded Amanda a few opportunities. While she was essentially 'home schooled' by her mother, she has always had the desire to learn more. So here she is at university, having decided to see if there was something she could do to further her education. The people she spoke were, surprisingly, empathetic to her situation and some checking was done to see what they could do. She was told she needed to wait for someone else, and so Amanda is just killing time, enjoying the campus' atmosphere.
And sitting at the base of a tree in the Quad is Mary Jane Watson, aka lead singer/guitarist for the Mary Janes (didn't name them, it was Gwen's idea!) and she's got an acoustic guitar in her lap. She's busy trying out some chords, trying to get the song that she's got in her head to flow just right as she strums experimentally.
Of course, because she's distracted, she doesn't notice the tentacle-like vines creeping along towards her. Because, well, how often does that happen on campus?
Why do the nasty things have gross tentacles? Always with the gross tentacles. Being on campus complicates the matter. Amanda pulls her hands into her sleeves, but gestures a little. She notices. Of course she does. She's standing outside, right across from Mary Jane. Her simple gesture flashes a small wall of force between the tendrils and Mary Jane. Buying the songstress a bit of time, Amanda quickly shrinks the distance between herself and the redhead. "Ah, hi there…"
MJ blinks, "Oh, hi!" She looks up, giving Amanda a grin, "How's it going?" She looks like she might say something else, but then she glances over her shoulder and immediately leaps to her feet, "AUGH WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS?!?"
Those things, being the tendrils that the wall of force is keeping at bay… and there's more of them, swarming around to try and get around the barrier!
Amanda Sefton latches onto MJ's hand and quickly drags her away. She mutters something under her breath. Another word follows and she quickly gestures with her free hand. The simple spell is meant to freeze the writhing mass in place, but who knows. "Somewhere safer, yes?"
The tentacles freeze in place, and Mary Jane shakes her head, "Um, yeah, definitely a good idea!" She holds onto her guitar and looks at Amanda, "What are those things, and how did you… er, what DID you do?" The girl seems pretty confused, but not too shellshocked at least.
"I have no idea!" she insists. Only answering one question, of course. "Let's… keep moving, right?" What're the chances someone else will handle this? Probably not at all. Too localized for anyone with bigger credentials than her own.
Mary Jane nods, "Well, okay, that sounds go*OOF!*" Suddenly, the girl trips, falling onto the ground. Why did she fall? Well, one of the tendrils did a good job of snagging her ankle, as apparently that freezing spell did catch all of them. MJ's eyes go a bit wide as she yells at the thing, "Um, I have a boyfriend thanks!!!"
Amanda Sefton produces a throwing knife from within her coat - never leave home without some practical defense - and instead of throwing it, brings it own hard into the tendril. "Trying to get it off…" Her fingers trace out a quick little pattern designed to heat the blade's edge. She hates having to be more subtle, but it is what it is. "You attract this kind of trouble a lot?"
MJ shakes her head, "Well, no… I mean, I was kidnapped that one time, and then there was the time I was caught in the middle of the bank robbery…" Which might be where Amanda could recognize the redhead from, as she continues, "Oh, and there was another time where a werewolf chased me but Spider-Man saved me… but this is totally new." The tendril gets sliced off easily thanks to the enhanced blade, and MJ picks herself up as there's a faint squealing in the distance as apparently whatever is behind this felt the burn from Amanda's knife.
"…so trouble really likes you." Oh boy. Amanda latches onto MJ's hand and tugs her towards one of the buildings. "This way!" Because that yelp? Never a good side. Something's going to be mad. …Wait, did she say bank robbery?
Mary Jane follows along, "Yeah, I seem to have a knack for finding it, when you put it that way… how did you do that trick? Because that seems like something that'd be cool to learn." Meanwhile, there's a faint rustling as the tentacles aren't visible, but they do seem to be in hot pursuit of the two ladies…
Amanda Sefton tries to look as innocent as possible. "What trick? Knife in my coat? My mother said it was a good idea." Plus, she's circus folk. She smiles winningly at MJ and tugs the door open. "Come on!" Of course she's just going to let MJ go in first. That's only polite.
MJ doesn't argue that point, going in first, "Yeah, I think I need to start doing tha…" She pauses, and stops at the entryway, "Um, are we sure we want to go in here?"
Since, well, there's vine-like tendrils embedded in the walls of the physics building, which seems to be mostly empty of students. Or professors.
Or anyone. It's a little creepy, though at least the tendrils don't seem to be reacting to either of you. Yet. At which point MJ says, "Um… why are these things in the physics building? Wouldn't this be like, biology or botany or something?"
"….are there any other people around campus but us?" A thought occurs, and Amanda turns around. She doesn't spot anyone. At all. "…I wonder." It would just be her luck that the university sits on a convenient access point to some other dimension.
Mary Jane blinks, "Well, you'd think so… um, where is everyone, really?" She frowns a bit, and looks at Amanda, "Please tell me you have an idea on what's going on, because this is way beyond, well… anything I know about."
At which point, the vines along the building walls start rustling, as if sensing that there's prey nearby, but not quite sure where…
Sigh. Of all days. All she wanted to do was pretend she was normal. Amanda raises a finger to her lips and carefully backs away, though she keeps a hand on MJ's arm. "I think we slipped into another dimension," she murmurs. No sense in keeping up the act now, right?
MJ blinks, "Another…" She keeps her voice down, and looks at Amanda with a perplexed look, "Okay, I'll buy that, but how exactly do we get back? I have finals to get ready for!" Ah, priorities!
Well, at least the worries are mundane. Expected. "That's a good question." Amanda frowns. "Let me try.." And she immediately attempts to teleport. There's a bright flash of light, aaaand…
… suddenly there's a rather normal looking physics building! Complete with a pair of shocked upperclassmen that may have been engaged in… ahem, "studying." The girl shrieks in surprise and the boy jumps about a foot in the air before going, "Er, we're just leaving, er I'm just leaving! Bye!" The study room looks mercifully free of tendrils, tentacles, or other weirdnesses.
MJ, for her part, looks a bit relieved, then blinks as she thinks of something, "Wait, if that was another dimension… how the heck did I get there in the first place?!?"
Without trying to be… rude about it, Amanda clamps a hand over MJ's mouth. "Not too loud," she grumbles. "And… I don't know. It could be a lot of things. Like a nearby portal you walked into, or a rip in our world…"
Mary Jane mmmphs, then nods, keeping her voice down, "Okay, though… well, yeah, that was weird. Maybe… um, we should look into this? I mean, I only manipulate quantum mechanics in the normal way but maybe I could snoop around a bit."
Amanda Sefton frowns. She thinks on it a moment. "It would be… useful to have someone keep an eye on things, since I don't know if I'm going to even be here…" Things looked hopeful, but she's learned not to get too worked up. Just in case. "But…"
MJ nods, "Well, if you're not going to be around… maybe I can keep an eye on things and see what exactly is going on. Um, do you have a phone number or something?"
Amanda shakes her head. "No… sorry. Um. You know the circus out in Westchester? I… work there. And live there." Inwardly she winces, waiting for the judgement. Carny. Etc, etc. "So… you'd have to come out there to find me. Sorry."
Mary Jane smiles, "Okay, oh, and hey, I'm Mary Jane. But everyone calls me MJ." She nods, "And I can see if I can convince my friend to give me a lift. I don't have a car, so…" She shrugs a little, "But yeah, I'm glad you were here to save me."
"Amanda," she replies. "If you do get down there, just… look for the fortune-teller's spot. That's me." She does, despite her misgivings about the job, sound very proud at that fact. "It's… probably easier for me to come visit you, so… how about I check in tomorrow?"
MJ nods, "Sounds good to me. Here's my dorm number, I'm on the top floor there." She grins a bit wryly, "No roomies, so less questions to ask, but it's pretty cramped up there."
"Okay. See you tomorrow, then. Just around supper?" She assumes that'll work. And just to be on the safe side, Amanda adds, "Here… let's see that dorm before I go. Just so I can find it again." IE, teleport. "And to make sure you don't go into tendril-land again." And off they go!