The Cathedral had a lot of space, and not a lot of people to fill it. The public areas often afforded a great deal of privacy, and Avatar sometimes brought a research project into the cafeteria, where he could spread things out. Tonight he was only taking up half a table, most of that given over to a seemingly random arrangement of colorful, oversized playing cards. There was an open book on the table before him, and another in his lap. A sandwich, half eaten and entirely forgotten, sat forlornly out of reach.

"More Blavatsky bullshit," the psychic muttered. He wrote something hastily in a small notebook then irritably threw the pen down. With a deep sigh he closed his eyes and let his head fall back. The faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights was peaceful, in a way...until footsteps intruded.

Avatar turned his head towards the door, eyes still closed, and gravely intoned,"By the pricking of my thumbs, something incandescent this way comes."

"What was that?" Heatwave asked, moving to the refrigerator to get herself a drink. She preferred her drinks warm but whoever kept the Cathedral stocked always forgot to leave any out and the small stash she kept in her room was gone. After popping the top on her Sprite she walked up behind Avatar and stood looking over his shoulder. "What are you working on?"

"I've been researching the genealogy of the LeMastres," Avatar replied. "If you read between the lines, it seems the family has a talent for magic. Or...something. For example, in 1885 or '86, Charity Lemastre became a Spiritualist. She produced reams of bizarre poetry through automatic writing. None of which was preserved, but the interesting thing is-"

The man was warming to his subject. His hands waved as he continued. "-that later her grand-nephew, Stuart Hudson, came back from the great war with shellshock and an unshakable conviction that Charity's lost writings were incredibly important. He wrote at length-" Avatar tapped the book on the table for emphasis - "about how they were a blueprint for the future.

"But as far as I've been able to discover," he continued, "this journal is all he wrote. And there's nothing specific in it about what Charity saw. I think he wrote in code, but I'm damned if I can figure it out. I've been comparing it against Tarot symbology, but no joy."

The recitation ground to a halt and he cast an apologetic look at Heatwave. "But that's more than you wanted to know," he murmured. His hands moved over the cards with skill, rounding them up into an orderly pile.

"Do you mind?" Heatwave indicated the seat across form him and waited for his okay before sitting and setting her drink down making sure it was far enough away from the cards to prevent an accidental spill from ruining them. As usual her mask covered her face but it couldn't disguise the beauty lurking beneath it.

"Maybe he used something else. Have you tried comparing it to astrology?" Heatwave asked. From anyone else the question might have seemed condescending but Avatar could tell she really did not know the difference and was trying to be helpful.

"That's a thought," he said. "I'll have to try that next." He idly began shuffling the deck, sending the cards through weaves and riffles with the easy grace of a casino dealer. In his sharp grey suit he looked more like a young professional out on a Friday night than a superhero - except for the mask under his shaggy blonde hair. "And what are you up to tonight?"

"Not much. It's Phase's turn to keep an eye on things, I'm just staying out of her way." Heatwave answered from across the table. "I'm surprised she didn't hit you up to take her turn for her since you're still here."

"Oh, she did. She's not as slick as she thinks."

"I'm glad you weren't taken in." Heatwave leaned forward, propping herself on the table. "Does that stuff really work?"

"Wanna find out?" Avatar asked with a mischievous smile. "Cross my palm with silver and I will tell your fortune."

"Sure, why not?" Heatwave answered. "What do I have to do?"

"Well," he drawled, "do you want a general reading, or is there something in particular on your mind?"

"There is something I'm looking for." Heatwave said thoughtfully. "More specifically, someone. Would that work?"

"Absolutely."

Avatar carefully slid the deck across the table. "Hold the cards for a moment," he said, "and think about the person you're looking for."

Heatwave took the offered cards and thought about the night her family died and the unanswered questions she still had. Tears welled in her eyes and one rolled, unnoticed, down her cheek before she carefully handed them back.

Avatar shuffled the deck again, pretending to look at the shifting cards and not his teammate, and wondered how to play the scene. She was wound even tighter than he'd thought, and it seemed she was going to take this seriously. He ought to tell her it was all in fun...but then, people ought to have common sense. Then again, he didn't want to leave her feeling burned.

Or get burned himself. Literally.

"The cards often produce more questions than answers," he hedged. "I'm going to do a simple spread that hopefully will offer some insight into the situation.

"The first card represents the person you seek." 

He cut the deck, deftly turned over the top card, and laid it on the table. "Huh," he said neutrally. The card depicted a man dangling upside down from a tree. The figure seemed unconcerned with his predicament.

Heatwave tried to hide her disappointment at the upturned card. Knowing only that her teammate was an expert in the mystic arts she had done as he told her and had concentrated on the person she was trying to find. She didn't know what she had expected, the cards to transform and show the face of the one she sought, a picture of where she could find him, or what. She did know she hadn't expected nothing more than a fortune teller's trick.

Still, she had agreed to this so she might as well see it through. "What's that mean?" she asked.

Avatar tapped the card once. "Notice how serene he looks," he observed. "He's found wisdom, or at least a new perspective, but he hasn't acted on it yet. The card suggests reflection, a stop along the way. If we apply this to your question literally...but then, we should get the whole picture first."

He dealt two more cards and laid them below the first.

"This card is what you have to look out for, what's working against your finding this person. It represents moving on, especially from something that was unfulfilling. Maybe this person doesn't want to be found, at least by you."

I'll bet he doesn't. Heatwave thought but remained silent.

Realizing that might sound flip, he hurried on. "Your advantage, what's working in your favor, is the Five of Wands. That's interesting." He frowned and scratched his neck. Usually when he went in for fortunetelling he read the person, not the cards. But the pieces could always be put together somehow.

"It suggests struggle but not necessarily in a good way," he mused. "Especially reversed, which connotes trickery. But in the positive spot I'd say it means you can cut through the lies and deception if you're dogged enough. You may have to use trickery yourself to find what you're looking for."

Not wanting to break Avatar's concentration, Heatwave continued to remain quiet and only nodded. So far he hadn't told her anything she didn't already know but every little insight could be valuable in her search.

He laid the final card on the table and considered it a moment. "This one is, well, the answer basically. If you want to be literal, this is where the person is. More likely it's the key to finding him. I assume it's a him you're looking for, because of the Knight. But reversed...well, he's no knight in shining armor. Unreliable at best. Or maybe...yes..." His eyes darted over the cards.

"Well," he said finally, "I see three ways to read this. First, if you want to make literal sense out of the reading, the person you seek has undergone some kind of major life change. He's escaped bad circumstances, bad relationships. He's surrounded by lies, probably changed his identity or gone underground. You will meet an unreliable man who knows the answers, but it won't be easy to get the truth out of him.

Heatwave frowned in disappointment. None of that would help her in her search. She doubted the person responsible had gone underground though she doubted he was operating in the open either. As for the man with the answers who didn't want to talk, she was sure she would be able to persuade him. Most men seemed to be very attached to certain parts of their bodies and with the right threats and judicial use of her power she was sure she could get him to talk. But Avatar wasn't finished.

"On a more symbolic level, I see that this search is a very personal one for you. And that's holding you back." He tapped the Eight of Cups. "Old relationships, old circumstances. Cups represent emotions. The danger is that you may dwell on emotion too much, and get as lost as the moody, deceptive Knight of Cups. What you need is the clarity of the Five of Wands. Perhaps you need to rethink the problem."

"And that," he said gently, "leads into the third reading. See how we have two water cards here with negative connotations? And contrasted with Wands, which represent fire, and The Hanged Man, which is associated with the sun. It's possible that the first card actually represents you.

"You've been through some kind of experience, a really bad experience. And now you're at a crossroads. Your old life is gone but you won't let go of it. But you can't move forward until you do."

Heatwave was silent as Avatar finished his reading, torn between believing him nothing more than a carnival fortune teller and that he could somehow help her find the answers she sought. She wanted to think she was hard to read but Avatar had come very close to describing her exact situation. Which meant she was easier to read than she thought, it was an unsettling coincidence, or Avatar really did have some psychic power that could possibly help her.

While the first was probably the correct answer she couldn't rule out the third possibility. If Avatar could somehow help her she couldn't pass up the opportunity. Nodding thoughtfully she said, "There is something that happened to me last year, something bad, and I'm looking for the person responsible. What's the possibility your cards could help me further?"

"Slim to none," Avatar replied honestly. "The cards just help you look at problems in new ways, maybe find new solutions. Like stop worrying about 'the man that got away."  He studied her carefully.

"That's not an option." Heatwave replied with unusual force. "The person I'm looking for is going to pay and pay dearly."

Avatar was a bit taken aback by her vehemence. It's always the quiet ones, he thought.

He rubbed his chin and considered the problem. "You're looking for someone, but with all the resources of the Conquistadors you can't find them. Perhaps it's time for less conventional methods."

"I haven't used any of the team's resources. This is personal and I don't want it to become team business." Heatwave answered. "What did you have in mind?"

Again, Avatar was taken aback; not just by her words buy by the emotions he now sensed. An old, cold anger radiated from her. He swallowed. It wasn't so long ago that he'd disapproved of violence. But the Conquistadors were a corrupting influence. Swim with the sharks or get eaten. But if he could share in Heatwave's ugly secret, they would be allies of a sort.

He leaned back, steepled his fingers, and regarded her with a faint but sympathetic smile.

"The Knight of Cups, at your service," he said.