“This is the most fun I have had in a while!” Marty exclaimed with a laugh. “Seriously, your life is better than any game I've played lately. Aliens, magic, and now the FBI!? I swear, this is practically a gamer wet dream!”

  “I'm glad you're enjoying yourself at my expense.” Oliver respond with dry sarcasm, though the small smile on his face took any sting out of the words. “But, seriously, I'm looking for input here.”

  Marty shrugged, taking a sip of his boba tea. The small shop they met at wasn't particularly busy this early in the day, though it did pick up a bit later as people got out of class. But, for the moment, the trio practically had it to themselves.

  Oliver hadn't even known that the place had opened, but, as a fan of a good tea, it was a pleasant surprise... Of course, he didn't really understand the fascination with boba. A nice, simple hot tea was good enough for him.

  'Their tea blends are pretty nice...' Oliver mused to himself, taking a sip of the lovely hibiscus ginger tea he had chosen. He knew he should be more worried about the whole situation- it certainly had the potential to go terribly wrong. But, between the lack of urgency and the sharp tang of his tea(sweetened with just a touch of honey), it was easy enough to put his concerns at arms length and truly examine them.

  “Honestly, I think you guys probably have a handle on it. Just keep an eye on the magic to see if it fades and wait it out. Though, I have an idea...” Marty answered slowly, idly brushing at his new goatee- a new look he was 'experimenting with' that seemed to oddly fit him. “While I don't know exactly how these magic items work, it has to follow at least some understandable rules, right?”

  Leaning forward excitedly, he gestured broadly s he spoke. “I mean, like the spells you have that you explained to us... Fireball is a perfect example. The fire isn't created from nothing, it is actually fueled by your mana. Fairly logical, right?”

  Oliver could only nod in agreement; while it was magic, it still made sense. The fire still needed fuel, but, in the case of his spell, the mana was the fuel. While he hadn't really considered how his spells created such effects, he could at least see a bit of logic to it. The mana was the base, shaped by his Will, and it created an effect of some sort...

  “If magic is fueled by mana...” Marty drew out his words dramatically, grinning the entire time. “Is it possible for us to speed up the rate at which the enchantment uses the mana?”

  “Kinda like running down the batteries?” Polina asked, a thoughtful look on her face. Seeing both men focused on her, she smiled shyly. “I mean, the things is sort of like a one way radio, right? And if a radio is constantly broadcasting, it runs the batteries down faster...”

  “A point for the pretty lady!” Marty exclaimed with a chuckle. “That was my thinking. Man, this is awesome! If this was a Cyberpunk game, we would be a kick-ass team!”

  Polina blushed slightly at the compliment. “Well, I don't know much about those games, but we are definitely a good team.”

  “Absolutely.” Marty grinned wider. “I mean, Oli has the assassin vibe going for him- all dark and brooding, but secretly a sweetheart. And I would bet every penny I've got that you're the gun bunny-”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “And what, exactly, is a 'gun bunny'?” Polina asked sweetly, though with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

  An awkward chuckle escaped Marty as he waved his hands as though to deflect the slight tension- he didn't think Poli would actually hurt him, but she was surprisingly scary at times... Though, she was dating Oliver, so it kind of fit... “Ah, it's actually a good thing! I promise! A gun bunny is usually just the character with an obscene number of weapons and a willingness to use them...”

  “And is typically an attractive female as well.” Oliver chimed in, smirking as his friend started to sweat.

  “Oh! Well, that sounds like fun actually. That reminds me, we need to go by my mom's house soon, Oli. Not only does she want to see you, but I can pick up the rest of my guns from my dad's old safe.” Polina said with a bright smile as she leaned back in her chair, letting Marty off the hook- Oliver's friends were amusing... and a bit fun to pick at.

  A small sigh of relief escaped Marty. “Yeah...” Shaking his head slowly, he shrugged off her joke after a second. “And I'm focused on research, obviously. So I'm kinda like the Giles of the group!”

  Being on the receiving end of two blank stares, Marty sighed- loudly this time. “Seriously? Rupert Giles? The character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

  Sharing a glance, the duo shrugged in unison as Oliver answered. “I don't think I ever saw that movie.”

  Marty face-palmed so hard, Oliver was concerned he may have hurt himself...

  “The TV show... I mean, there was a movie. But that wasn't...” With an annoyed sigh, Marty glared at Oliver. “Seriously, man? Iconic TV show about a teenage girl that hunted vampires? Her friends helped her out a lot?”

  Staring into Oliver's expressionless face, Marty threw his hands up in defeat. “Oh, come on! Giles was even played by the legendary Anthony Stewart Head!”

  “Oh! I know who that is!” Oliver perked up suddenly, turning to Polina. “He did a lot of musical theater and has an amazing singing voice! His cover of 'Behind Blue Eyes'? Absolutely incredible! And the album 'Music for Elevators'? I think I still have it on my laptop at the house; we should definitely listen to it later!”

  Seeing Oliver's sudden enthusiasm, Polina couldn't help but smile fondly. “If it's half as good as you make it sound, then we should.” Glancing at the now listless Marty, she nodded in his direction. “But I think we should focus on what we came here for first, don't you?”

  With their attention returned to him, Marty shook his head helplessly. “...never seen Buffy, but you can quote obscure albums... No, I'm not going to go there...”

  “Anyway...” Marty quickly pushed past their derailed conversation. “Like I said, maybe we can try to 'run down' the enchantment. Maybe get everyone together for a game night and cookout or something? It's a good enough excuse to test the theory. And, as long as everyone knows not to talk about any secrets, then it should be fine.”

  “And even if it doesn't work, we'll still get to hang out and have fun. So, it's a win-win.”

  Polina nudged Oliver with her shoulder, the wicked smirk and glint of amusement in her eyes setting off alarm bells in his head. “We can even invite my mother! Not only would it help to keep everyone away from dangerous subjects, but she's really excited to see you again. You have no idea how happy she is that we are working things out...”

  Letting out the breath that he had been holding, Oliver slowly relaxed- that wasn't nearly as bad as Poli acted like it was. Sure, her mom was a bit... enthusiastic. But he didn't mind, really. She was a very sweet woman, and a good mother. Inviting her to a cookout couldn't be that bad, right?

  Right?

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