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<span class="mu-s">“Thank you guys! Thank you so much!”</span> she shouted, her voice straining a bit from disuse. She barely had words to express the raw emotions she’d been bottling up this entire. Even with the mask covering her face, you could tell that she was crying tears of joy.
All at once, the Desperados, the Order of the Web, and even those that had just tagged along for the ride were congratulating Cindy and thanking one another for their efforts in making this a reality. It was simultaneously overwhelming, and extremely heartening to see this many people celebrating over a common goal that took more than a little effort to accomplish. You’d never been much of a team player growing up, but you were beginning to see the appeal. Having a trusted contact was very different from having a trusted ally watching your back.
Shortly after the emotional rush had begun, however, you felt an overwhelming sense of relief, which gave way to an overbearing feeling of bone deep exhaustion. Your limbs grew heavy, and you found it hard to focus all of a sudden. All the tension from before had drained away, and not even the current wave of excitement was enough to keep you in the present for much longer.
So, you were forced to interrupt the festivities so that you could run down your checklist.
<span class="mu-r">“Hold it! Hold on just a minute!”</span> you demanded, waving your arms back and forth wildly. Everyone quieted slightly and started giving you strange looks. <span class="mu-r">“I need to make sure of a few things. Pandora, is there any weird magic stuff happening in our area?”</span>
Pandora raised an eyebrow, her easygoing smile faltering slightly. <span class="mu-b">“You mean besides this? No, not that I know of.”</span>
You nodded, turning your attention to Cassandra. <span class="mu-r">“Webb? Not picking up on any unusual psychic energies?”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“No. Not right now.”</span> she replied, a flash of worry crossing her lined face.
<span class="mu-r">“Valkyrie? Anything going on in Asgard? No life-threatening emergencies?”</span> you asked.
The beautiful, blonde warrior shrugged, but she didn’t seem to think that there was anything worth worrying about. You nodded to yourself, did a quick count of the people present, and then did a mental count of the people that weren’t present. You knew where your immediate family was, and almost all of you friends were here tonight.
Good. That was good.
Finally, you glanced down at Cindy. <span class="mu-r">“Any drama bombs you wanna drop on me before we wrap things up?”</span>
She narrowed her eyes in confusion, having to crane her neck to look at you, as she was still in the process of hugging you. <span class="mu-s">“Uhhhh…no?”</span>
Her words weren’t anything particularly special or elegant, but it was still enough to bring a smile to your face.
<span class="mu-r">“Alright, peace!”</span> you exclaimed, leaning down to kiss her forehead before waving at everyone else in the audience. <span class="mu-r">“Goodnight, New York!”</span>
(Cont.)
