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[h1][centre]GM Post - The Auditorium[/centre][/h1]

The commotion was over, for now.  It seemed like those who were going to yell out or react violently had done their bit.

[i]Only four this time?  Not so bad this time.[/i]

Elisa turned back to face the remaining group, seeing the anger, terror and confusion across all their faces; mixed up into one pot of frightened children ready to lash out at anything at a moment's notice.  This had always been the crucial point of the programme, getting the kids on board at the earliest stage possible to contain their abilities and stop them harming themselves and others by accident.  She dropped her smile a little, wearing the slightly sterner look her companion had adopted (or rather, wore permanently).  The removal of the screaming girl from earlier had made the atmosphere a bit cooler and it would rub people the wrong way to continue grinning.

"Let me answer your... queries in turn.  First you, Irina."  Of course, Elisa had memorised all their names, backgrounds and everything bit of information they had on each of them.  "Kidnapping is an offence, you are correct.  Isolating potentially dangerous persons is not.  Under government rules we have taken you, with permission from your countries, to isolate you from others until we can understand your abilities properly.  Think of it like this: if you had a disease or an illness that could kill you very easily, and could spread to those around you by merely being near them, would you resist being kept away from them or would you go willingly until you were better?"  Her eyes hardened.

"Take you, for example.  You know you can hear others' thoughts, yes?  Earlier, before we turned on the nullifier, you were in pain, yes?" She was walking towards Irina, towering over the girl who was sitting down (it turns out Elisa was rather tall, even without the slight heels she was wearing), her voice low as she hammered the points home. "Now imagine this: what if you let that get out of control?  Imagine if you accidentally let everyone around you hear that without even realising you were doing that?  Do you think it might drive them mad?  Imagine the secrets you would pour out unwillingly?  And then think of yourself... powers grow as you get older, whether you use them or not.  If you don't learn how to control your power, to use it when you wish to, you will drive yourself insane with the constant thoughts in your head."  She looked around the room coolly.

"We brought you all hear to stop that happening to you all.  We are treating you as if you were a bio-hazard.  You are dangerous to people without even meaning to be.  Above all, you are dangerous to yourself.  Once you are better able to control your powers we can let you out, until then we have a duty of care to protect you and those around you.  That includes your family and friends."

Here, Christopher glanced at Nikolai.  ["I believe that answers your question about legitimacy, Nikolai.  We are contracted by governments individually, you are here because your government charged us with reducing the dangers associated with empowered persons."]

Now Elisa had stalked to another part of the room so that she was opposite Mara, staring the girl down.

"And you, Amara.  Your family have been notified.  I have been nothing but honest with you about how or why you were brought here.  Everything was done in a way to minimise risk to people around you, not just yourself.  After the preliminary tests you will be allowed to call your family, or vidchat with them, whichever you choose."

There was a pause, silence descending on the room.  Then one hand was slowly raised.

[hr]

[centre][color=6ecff6][h1]Arthur Ragnarson[/h1][/color][/centre]

In the stunned silence that had descended on the room, Arthur looked around and saw the shock and horror on all the faces of his fellow inmates.  He too felt the same but... however, why ever, felt strangely calm.  Well, more like [i]empty.[/i]  He found his hand raised calmly, like he was in class.  A twisted, horror show of a class.

"Yes, Arthur?" Elisa had called on him and suddenly he felt the attention on him.  He had barely formed what he wanted to ask in his head and found himself, suddenly on the spot, at a loss at what to do.  Slowly, Arthur stood, buying time while trying to remain calm and collected.

[color=6ecff6]"You say we might be a danger to others.  I say that if we develop our powers then, while we may be less of a danger by accident, we may be more dangerous by design.  What is your purpose in this?  This is no charitably funded organisation, there's private money here.  So, where's the catch?"[/color]  He stared at Elisa, unconcerned by the hard look on her eyes.  There was a coldness behind them, like she was looking at a machine rather than a human being.  Arthur supposed that was how one was like when they became a research of living organisms or else the stress would become too great.

The scientists paused, observing the young man, before replying.  "We receive funding from governments to not only contain and develop those with powers but also pass on research developments to other projects.  Things that were previously impossible become possible.  For example, in your case, if you ability to heal rapidly can be developed properly then we might be able to develop methods to cure illnesses or increase the success rate of risky operations."  She smiled.  "A lot of people are interested in the application of such developments and will fund this research.  Whether for greedy reasons or for philanthropic reasons, it does not matter to us.  Our core mission is the same: protect you, develop you and in so doing protect those around you."

Arthur nodded, sitting down.

[color=6ecff6]"In that case, I'm ready to see this coach of mine.  I can't speak for everyone here but I'd rather have a shot at leaving her than being stuck here as an unwilling specimen.  I'll take my shot at freedom, even if it means gambling on much worse."[/color]  His meaning was clear:

[i]I don't trust you, but I've got no choice.[/i]

[hr]

[h1][centre]GM Post - The Auditorium[/centre][/h1]

With a nod from Elisa, Christopher spoke into into a microphone on his lapel and the doors to the auditorium opened. A stream of men and women entered.  They were a weird group wearing anything from lab coats to jeans and a vest. Men and women, young to middle aged.  They spread out to line up at the front of the room as if they were on show, or on parade.

"These will be your coaches.  We have already matched you with whoever has had the most previous experience with abilities like yours.  Like I said, you are not the first group we've had here and we're discovering new methods to enhance your abilities all the time.  Your first session will be establishing a dialogue with your coach, having a DNA swab and maybe a blood test depending upon your power, and then discussing the next steps."  She stepped back, gesturing for the coaches to begin taking their chosen 'student' away.

[hr]

[centre][color=6ecff6][h1]Arthur Ragnarson[/h1][/color][/centre]

"Arthur Ragnarson.  Please follow me."

The one who had called his name was a younger woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties, wearing a business suit (trousers, blouse and jacket) but despite her severe choice of clothes she had a gentle look and gestured for him to follow him.  Arthur smiled to his two very newly made friends, squeezing out of the row and following the coach out of the room.

"My name is Gisela.  I was employed in a private clinic before I came here, which is why I took you on as my pupil."  They exited out of the door at the right hand end of the corridor into another corridor lined with rooms with number plaques on them.

[color=6ecff6]"So your experience is relevant to my 'power'? I have to be honest, I'm not convinced I have a power.  I just happen to heal faster than other people but it's not anything miraculous."[/color]  He followed her into a room that looked a lot like a counselling office.  There was an armchair, a couch and a coffee table.  A bookcase filled with books and files that looked to be mostly medical journals was against one wall while a sink and a few cupboards was against another.  As with the rest of the facility there were no windows in the room, just the fake natural light-emitting glass frames.

"Something like that.  We have a way of locating people with powers and it also tells us what their power is.  It's one hundred percent accurate so there's no mistake.  You have a power, even if you find that hard to believe now." A wry smile and then she gestured to the sofa.  "Please, take a seat and then we will begin."