---

He wouldn’t talk, and it was becoming increasingly frustrating to deal with the man. At least that’s what Anya could make out from behind the door. She kept hearing her superior in the next room continue to press Dr. Scott for answers; hell for anything of use, but he failed to talk. Dr. Scott was punched a few times, slapped, threatened, and he still wouldn’t say a word. Anya heard her name being called and she immediately walked through the double doors into the scientist’s dining room where he was tied up to a chair.

“He’s not talking, you know what to do." The heavy Russian accent made Dr. Scott look up at them, his face filled with concern. Blood that had poured from his nose and mouth caked on his face. His hair was disheveled and his white button-up shirt was a mess. Just about anyone else would have felt sorry for the man, but not Anya. She simply nodded at her superior as he turned around to leave the room.

“My apologies, Dr. Scott. You know what happens next.”

A solemn face stared back at her. Dr. Scott didn’t respond, and in a weird way Anya admired him for it. Just then, the scientist’s phone went off. They both looked at the device before Anya walked over to the table. “Princess” was popping up on the screen along with a picture of a young woman, and Anya guessed it to be Dr. Scott’s daughter. She certainly looked like him.

“Damn spammers,” she whispered loud enough for Dr. Scott to hear her. He still remained silent, and it was then Anya walked around and positioned herself behind him. He attempted to look back to try to keep his eyes on her, however, Anya didn’t hesitate to grip his head and without an ounce of emotion she proceeded to break his neck, the loud crunch reassuring her he was dead. Anya then wasted no time in cleaning up, including disposing of Dr. Scott’s body. The FSS had certain protocol to follow when cleaning up, and Anya always followed such guidelines to a tee.

After everything had been taken care of, Anya made her way over to Botanical Garden. She’d wait for Marcus there and deliver the news which may possibly make his day a little worse, but she also had an offer for him as well.

---

---

---

Shit. “Please hurry.” Michele hung up the phone, her eyes on the man approaching her as she took a few steps back. She considered taking him on, but it would be a losing battle even if she did outnumber him. His victims were already dead, and she could very well join them if she fought the man. Nonetheless, she could confront him about his actions.

“Why didn’t you—”

Michele was suddenly cut off by some form of chaos behind her. She quickly turned around, seeing a giant woman amongst the buildings. Michele could only stare with a shocked expression on her face. That certainly was a first for her.

"I'm just saying, I don't understand why we don't eat them, too." Rafael and his roommate found themselves lazily sprawled out on their own individual mismatched couches in a dimly lit living room, their eyes glued to the television playing in front of them. The air was hazy and odorous, a remnant of the herbs they had just burned. Raf, the huskier half, was in his 'work uniform': a single off-white sock, black basketball shorts and a faded blue shirt that was clearly a size too small. His roommate, Dave, was only slightly more presentable. The man was skinny, clean shaven and his outfit was complete with a pair of jeans, two socks (both clean!) and an appropriately fitting dark shirt. However, resting on the top of Dave's head was a meticulously groomed mullet that the man assured everyone was just for the ladies.

"The fuck are you talking about, bro," asked Raf, hardly moving his limp body as he took in the nature program on the screen.

"I mean, we eat chickens, right?"

"...yeah..." Raf's eyebrow began to raise a little.

"Because they can't really fly. They're easy to catch, y'know," insisted Dave.

"...yeah, but-"

"Now, hold on a sec," Dave interrupted. "We also eat turkeys, right? Got a whole gah'dang holiday for it, man! You feel me?" Raf's eyes began to furrow, but his gaze still refused to leave the television set as he took in Dave's musings. "Turkeys are shitty at flying, too! Therefore..."

"Dude!" Raf quickly sat up. And by quickly, I mean there was was a minor struggle, several bodily adjustments, and one split second of utter panic when he thought he might fall off the couch. "No one wants to eat penguins, you stupid ass redneck looking idiota! Look at them!" Rafael gestured toward the screen where the nature show was broadcasting a mother penguin cozying up to her chicks. "They're cute! No one wants to eat cute shit!"

"People eat rabbits. Rabbits are cute," Dave retorted.

"Your people eat rabbits, pinche gringo." Rafael stood up and stretched a bit before turning toward the kitchen. "You want a beer?" Dave responded with an elevated thumbs up before letting his arm fall back down lifelessly with a thud.

Rafael opened the old refrigerator and stared into the darkness within. The lightbulb had gone out last week. Dave, Rafael and their other roommate, Tom, had an intense tournament of 3-way Roshambo. The loser would have to go to the store to get the bulb. After several losses, a temper tantrum and a thrown fork, Rafael accepted defeat and the responsibility of taking care of the light.

"Too high," he muttered to himself as an excuse. "Gonna have to do it tomorrow." It was his daily mantra. He reached into the darkness and came back with two cold bottles of brew. Usually Tom would be drinking with his roommates as well, but he actually had a legitimate 9-5 job as a janitor in some hoity toity office building. Tom had given the name of the company several times, but Raf couldn't be bothered to remember.

He kicked the fridge shut with his bare foot and turned to return to the living area. He suddenly paused for a moment and stood very still. He could have sworn...

"Ay, man, did you feel that?"

"I feel ma'dang tongue drying up with you taking so damn long," Dave called back.

Then Raf felt it again. A tremor. He recalled a trick he learned from a documentary about dinosaurs or something that he saw a while back. He put the beer bottles down on the countertop and stared into them. Just as suspected, simultaneous ripples formed within just as Raf felt a third tremor.

"Oh shit... OH SHIT, DUDE!" He yelled out as he took a double-fisted grip of his own long, unkempt, black hair.

"What is it, man?" Dave asked, looking slightly annoyed as he sat up. "Why the hell are you freaking out?"

"The fucking ripples, bro! There's...!" Rafael quickly looked for the nearest window. He spotting the one just above the sink and hurried over to it, manhandling the blinds for a peak outside. "There's a fucking T-Rex coming! I can literally fucking feel it!"

"You have lost your damn mind. Do you really think you need that beer right now?" Begrudgingly, Dave stood up and started walking toward the same window. Then the tremor hit again, but harder. Closer. Dave's eyes went wide like a deer in headlights. The doubt he once had almost completely vanished as he pushed Rafael aside to get his own glimpse into the outside world.

"I told you, bro! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Do you see it? Is it out there?" Rafael began pacing frantically around the kitchen, his hands shaking with adrenaline.

"I don't... wait! I think I... Aw maaan."

"What is it?! What do you see?!" Raf demanded. Dave took his hands off the blinds, letting them snap back into position before picking up the beer bottles and shoving one into Rafael's chest.

"Ain't no damn T-Rex's out there, you simple bastard. Just some giant lady knocking shit over. T-Rex's aren't real." Dave casually made his way over to his preferred couch before plopping down and opening his beer.

Raf wasn't totally sure how to process that information. He sort of looked at his hands for a minute and then back at the closed window. This is some good ass weed, he decided. I probably oughtta up the price. A business man at work. He then looked back to Dave. "Hey, bro, we should order a pizza, right?" Dave hoisted up the thumb of approval.

Time: Late Morning
Location: Buena Vista Park, San Francisco
Interaction: Jason @chulance

---

Jason's approach was a bit abrasive but, Marcus had dealt with far worse in his life. He found the mental-powered alter to be smug and confident. At least for now, anyway.

If Marcus had to be honest, he would have probably killed Jason if not for his powers. Then again, if not for his powers, perhaps Jason would have kept to the crowd of people instead of approaching him so confidently. For now, the two were on the same page. Straight to business.

"The real enemy? For me, that entity changes on a weekly basis… Now, you and I both want something. I already told you what I want, so what do you need from me… And how much does it pay, if it even does." Marcus wanted to get over on this negotiation as best he could, but he would also easily settle for providing a favor for the favor of Jason getting him to Angel. It was the fairest idea, but Marcus didn't want fair, he wanted advantage.

---

"You need to come home!"

"No, dad. I'm alright, I'm not in any sort of danger!"

"That's a goddamn lie! Have you seen the news? That place is quickly becoming a hellhole and you're caught up in the middle of it! Your mother doesn't approve of you staying there either."

"I finished my first semester of medical school, why would I go back now?"

"If I have to I will go there myself and drag—shit, work is calling. This conversation isn't over!"

"Yeah yeah, okay bye."

Olivia sighed as she hung up the phone. She didn't understand her father's logic at all. DC had its own problems too, he was just simply urging her to come home because he was being overprotective and wanted to keep her safe. That much may be true, but she didn't want to go home just yet. Going home now would mean she'd be under her father's eye and she didn't feel like reverting back to her childhood years, even if it meant her family being angry with her. And she was an adult, so her feelings ought to be respected as well.

The young woman put her phone down and headed to the kitchen. She was hungry, but when she checked her pantry, she noticed she was out of chips. She was out of a lot of things, actually, realizing that she had to make a quick run to the store in order to buy groceries to be able to cook dinner for herself that evening. That was one of her faults, being a procrastinator. While in undergrad, Olivia had nearly failed one of her classes for putting off studying for a major exam. That experience made her realize she couldn't leave everything as a last minute chore, but that didn't mean she had her schedule figured out now. Olivia then grabbed her belongings to make her way to the store, seeing that her grandfather had sent her a message as well. Apparently her entire family had rallied to get her to go back home, and it honestly pissed her off that they would gang up on her like that.

Can't talk. She texted her grandfather, lying to him for possibly the first time in her life. As she was stepping outside, a group of police cars sped down the road, lights and sirens in all their glory. Wonder what that's about?

Time: Late Morning
Location: San Francisco, Hospital
Interaction: @Martian

---

Jonah had his work cut out for him, with Marcus quitting being one of the many numerous things he had on his plate. Being one of the lead directors of Liberty was a busy job more so then any position he'd held in the past. As of now he was relieved that the majority of his mission had him positioned in San Francisco, California near the rest of his family. But it also made his blood boil more to know there were so many dangerous criminals & crimes for that matter taking place in the same state the people he treasured the most lived in.

Entering the hospital that was the main thing on his mind, was how he had to put his all into the mission to keep his family safe. He was here to question a suspected altered human with ice manipulating abilities who'd got into a fight in the streets of San Francisco with another altered human who like the murderous Shade he was already investigating had great strength & acted as a vigilante in a one man crusade against crime. He flipped through the pages of some files he had in a folder as he rode the elevator up to the floor the ice thief was. Apparently as a result of the fight he'd been rushed to the hospital right after the police defused the situation as he was in no condition medically to be take straight to the jail. He was relieved to see the man was hand-cuffed to the bed when he entered the room.

"Xavier" Jonah spoke softly calling out the man's name, he briefly looked down at one of the pages in his hands to ensure he'd gotten the name right for ice cold man with 7/11 sticky fingers.

"What's it to you....I already talked to the cops and the feds and I took ur little test, but you guys already knew I was a freak. Ain't this some bullshit I use my powers to try to get my piece of the pie and end up getting beat up by Super Fist & grilled by all the alphabet boys." Xavier pouted in response to Jonah calling out his government name.

To that end Jonah pulled out his badge holding it up for him to see. "Listen up kid, you've got a bunch of charges against you. Destruction of Property, Public Endangerment, Felony Theft, plus all the new altered laws you violated. It's best you co-operate or I'll have you detained as an enemy combatant with no jury or trial."

"W-W-What you can't do that, that's illegal!" Xavier exclaimed at Jonah's thinly veiled threat to cage him up until he talked. Jonah invaded the man's personal space bubble and slapped him. Xavier yelled out in pain as Jonah put his hands around his collar shoving him and the hospital bed he was laying in against the wall. An audible thud in both nearby rooms were heard as JOnah opted to pummel his new target with his fists. After a few well placed blows on the already injured bedridden altered human he managed to bruise the information out of him. Once that was succesful Jonah whipped out a pen taking notes on the information Xavier had been reluctant to volunteer at first.

"So not one but two more, the one that rightfully beat the shit out of you and the native american whom you say used his own power to help you?" Jonah remarked while unknowingly pulling on his bottom lip. This was the type of intel he wanted, he took out his phone to message people working at HQ to obtain & review the traffic light footage from the fight to try to get a visual of the native american who prevented Xavier from dying, as well as putting in another request to run facial recognition software on the guy if they found him to see if there was a match in the system. Jonah was hoping he already had been arrested for some crime before either in California or another state. Xavier seemed very guilty about giving up the guy that literally saved his life, but his survival instincts had overwhelmed his morality whilst Jonah beat him down for the knowledge in the first place. In the end while he wa grateful Thomas saved his life, if he didn't share that with Jonah he feared he wouldn't have a life anymore at all.

"All in all you were very co-operative, and as such I'm going to offer you a reward for your services." Jonah dug in his left pants pocket and took out a wad of cash placing it on Xavier's lap. "That's all yours now was that so bad, oh and one more thing, I read up on your history, your a big fan of drugs particularly ketamine & GHB well I happen to have a syringe full of both, what can I say like to party too, and as a measure of good faith I'll let you keep it."

True to his word Jonah produced a syringe full of liquid from his left pants pocket before handing it to Xavier. His eyes lit up when the syringe full of drugs was given to him. “Wait this ain’t no set up shit right like you not finna hop up and throw some cuffs on me are you?” That was his response as his eyebrows scrunched up while fidgeting with the syringe in his hands.

“I’m not that type of agent, I’ve got bigger fish to fry, long as you don’t go around trying to freeze 7/11 owners for we won’t see each other again. If we do I won’t be coming with cuffs.” Jonah responded while standing up and drawing his eyes to his tucked pistol , showcasing a non thinly veiled threat to remove him from the living world if they crossed paths again. Even now as he made his way towards the exit of the hospital room he didn’t want to leave Xavier a free man. In the wise words of Linkin Park in the end it doesn’t even matter as he was already cuffed to a hospital bed by the regular authorities so he wasn’t making any movements any time soon.

Jonah peeked at his watch once again as he was making his way out of the elevator. Outside the hospital a black Mercedes awaited him in the front where a well dressed black woman was seen at the wheel. Jonah leaned down to verify the identity of the driver before opening the passenger door and sliding into the vehicle pulling his seat belt across his body to fasten it. “Alright Kalina, I’ve got what we needed let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Yes sir, so I take it everything went according to plan Jonah.” Kalina responded as she looked into the rear view mirror taking note of her surroundings before pulling out of the hospital.

“Of course, managed to get information on not one but two of them.”

“Oh a bonus, I know your excited, I understand you have quite a strong stance against my kind don’t you?” Kalina retorted not even turning to look at Jonah adjust his collar, as her commentary had made him slightly uncomfortable. Seeing as she was an Altered human herself he didn’t want to rouse her too much with words of how he truly felt about the superhuman populace that was rapidly growing throughout the country.

“I’m not Xavier I’m not one to fall for bait of any sort, indeed there’s no reason for me to answer that as you already know just about everything I could possibly say, let’s get back to HQ, I’m sure we’re about to have a busy day thanks to Forrester’s announcement.” Jonah replied clearly not in the mood to debate about the morality of his job or anything else of that nature. He looked down to check his watch again before taking out his phone to respond to some other Liberty Agents who were texting him. Within the walls of the hospital Xavier’s body lay motionless in his hospital bed, his monitor letting off one long beep indicating that he was no longer among the living. The syringe Jonah had given him was still plunged into his arm as medical personnel rushed into the room to see what had triggered his sudden passing.




Time: Late Morning
Location: FEMA Camp, San Francisco
Interaction: Marcus @FunnyGuy

---

Jason made sure to maintain the telekinetic field around his body not allowing it to falter as he faced up against Marcus. His superior speed left him defenseless in the event that it dropped, having no way to react in time to someone with his power.

“Pay? Is money what you seek?” Jason chuckled money was the least of his concerns. The world was rapidly changing, and the United States treated the altered like a most unwelcome change to society. Using his powers he caused an image of Angel to appear in Marcus’s mind as well as the exact co-ordinates to where he’d spotted Angel in the camp.

“As you said or rather thought straight to business, I’ve provided you with both Angel’s appearance & location. What I need from you is your help, your power, to change the world. Like so many other different people before us we have been labeled as outcasts & dangerous just for existing because we’re different. I want to ensure our people survive, more than that really I want us the altered to thrive in this new world that deems our continued breathing a liability to society’s functioning. I’m putting together a team, for lack of a better word of like minded powered individuals to fight back. The Blood tests, & the President’s new restrictions are just the tip of the iceberg of what these bastards in Washington have planned for us. I implore you to join me on my crusade to take the offensive against Forrester’s administration to liberate our people. As for financial compensation whatever funds you desire can be yours, simply point out a person and I’ll happily compel them to give you whatever money you want, what do you say Marcus?”

A smirk came across the light skinned superhuman’s face as he finished delivering his spill to former veteran. Money was the least of his concerns, he had bigger things in mind, he was focused on revolution.




Time: Late Morning
Location: FEMA Camp, San Francisco
Interaction: Sanzhar @The Man Emperor

---

Jace groaned as the mutant creature was back on it’s feet. It appeared to be able to take a beating far better than most humans, this fight was far more difficult than any of the gangsters he’d easily torn to shreds thus far. The mutant lunged forward claws drawn as it slashed at Jace’s chest drawing blood then kicked him in the chest catapulting him into an SUV that was trying to swerve away from the conflict.

“RRRGNAHNAHA” The creature roared clearly unable to speak any sort of language, resorting to animalistic noises to communicate. As Jace collided with the SUV killing both occupants upon impact, the whirring blades of a helicopter were heard as well as soldiers yelling commands.

Jace’s body ached in ways it hadn’t since he’d first gained these powers. Two armored vehicles turned a corner and began opening fire on the mutant, the chopper doing the same. The mutant yelled out as the rapid gun-fire seemed to be more then a deterrent to the beast actually injuring him. In response the mutant leapt into the air colliding with the helicopter and bringing it down crashing into one of the armored vehicles causing an explosion that took the lives of everyone involved.

“PULL BACK!!! PULL BACK!!! WE NEED BACK-UP, there’s some fucking …monster out here tearing us apart!” One of the soldiers was yelling into a communication device from the other armored vehicle, as the mutant emerged from the flaming wreckage bleeding but not dead. One of the soldiers on-board the armored truck fired a rocket from an RPG at the mutant.

The mutant moved swiftly with speed that didn’t seem to be possible for the creature’s height & stature dodging the missile. The mutant lunged forward stabbing it’s claws through the soldier then throwing him through the window of a fifth story apartment building on the same street, before going to tear apart the other soldiers on-board the armored truck.

“HELP!!!” A woman yelled as the mutant rushed towards her only for Jace to tackle the beast now wearing his mask.

“Get the fuck outta here stupid bitch!!!” Jace yelled at the woman as the mutant kicked him sending him flying into a fire hydrant that burst upon impact. As the water sprayed him he had little time to rest as the mutant rushed towards Jace slashing him with it’s claws again before Jace grabbed the creature’s left arm and yanked it breaking the creature’s arm then punched it in the chest absorbing strength from the creature. “Ooooh shit you gotta fuck ton of power.” Jace let out as his heart beat was racing from the strength he siphoned from the creature. He went on the offensive beginning to throw punch after punch on the beast knocking it back before the creature le out a inhuman scry fixing it’s arm and growing even more muscular before smacking Jace knocking him into the ground forming a small crater in the asphalt upon impact.

“Ah fuck no...the hell is you on, monster steroids?!” Jace let out feeling as though this battle was getting more difficult and perhaps he should have picked his fights better. The mutant charged Jace now moving even faster and began beating him down not letting up as it pounded Jace deeper into the crater that had formed.

Blood spewed from Jace’s mouth as the monster’s fist plowed into his face. Jace ended up using both of his legs to double kick the beast sending him crashing into another store-front. Breathing heavily Jace stood up now battered & bloody from the creature’s brutal beat-down. He struggled to maintain his stance and stay on his feet. If I don’t figure something out soon I’m gonna fucking die I gotta do something, fuck fuck fuck Jace was now starting to panic, for the first time since getting his powers he was on the loosing end of a physical confrontation. Not only had breaking the beast’s arm not helped him it had seemed to make the creature stronger.

He watched as the creature began flinging objects at him, and Jace ran rolling out of the way. As a metal bin was flung towards him Jace ducked again only to see it hurtling towards an asian man on the sidewalk who seemed stunned by the conflict. “LOOK OUT!!!!” Jace yelled towards Sanzhar knowing if the bin collided with the man at that speed it could be fatal.

To his utter shock & surprise the man used a power of his own stopping the bin from hitting him. “Oh shit.” Jace jaw dropped beneath his mask seeing another altered human. However the time for surprise was over as the creature beat his chest & roared before charging towards him again.

“Alright round 2 with the super ugly motherfucker.” Jace balled up his fists using his power to raise the limits of his strength again taking in a deep breath. His energy reserves were low from constantly using his power to survive this battle, and he decided on a strategy to use to try to end this fight.

But it seemed God was on his side today, as the other superhuman decided to enter the fray. He’d turned the metal bin into metallic restraints and used them to restrain the creature. The help didn’t stop there as Sanzhar’s powers were used to cause the metallic restraints to dig deeper into the ground restraining the monster. “Oh shit preciate that bruh I was finna fucking die, big & ugly over there is something else.” Jace said in between gasps for breath showing how tired & drained he’d become using his powers against the monster.

The creature began screaming it’s muscles growing as it struggled against Sanzhar’s restraints. Jace fearing the creature would soon break free decided it was now or never. He rushed towards the discarded rocket launcher from the soldier who’d failed to kill the beast. Right as he picked up the RPG the creature burst free from Sanzhar’s restraints and growled before turning to Sanzhar and beginning to rush towards him.

“Nigh Night bitch.” Jace pulled the trigger firing a rocket at the creature using his power to ramp up the strength of the missile causing it to blow the creature apart upon contact. The Guts of the creature scattered across the street as Jace dropped the weapon and coughed up blood as he walked over to the man who’d come to his rescue. The tremors of Adora’s giant foot-steps in the distance nearly caused him to trip as he sluggishly made his way over to Sanzhar. “Yo…preciate the back-up but I think we should get the hell out of here, we saved the day but I’m pretty sure we broke every law the President just passed about not using powers out in public.” Jace said as he dug into his pocket to take out the keys to his Jeep. The bodies of the monster’s victim were littered across the street and he didn’t want to stick around for questions.

“Hey!!!! Stop moving, get on the ground now! You two are BOTH under arrest.” Jace turned to see police approaching with national guard as well. Jace was beaten, weary & agitated from the prolonged battle with the murderous mutant monster the last thing he needed was additional confrontation with law enforcement. Just fucking great, help stop the mutant DEEBO from ripping people limb from limb and now I’m finna get arrested Jace huffed as the officers & soldiers drew their weapons down on the two. “HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK ON THE GROUND OR WE WILLL SHOOT!!!!!” One of the officers with a mega phone spoke barking orders to the two altered who’d just used their powers to stop the mutant’s massacre only moments ago.

“OKAY OKAY…fuck it.” Jace put his hands behind his back then quickly kicked a parked Camry towards the convoy of LEO’s & their vehicles. Immediately he jetted towards his parked Jeep which had luckily not been smashed during the fight and hopped in the driver seat putting his keys in the ignition as the sound of gun-shots rung in the air. “Get in!!!” Jace yelled towards Sanzhar as he reached across to open the passenger door getting ready to pull off in seconds whether the metal bender hopped in or not.




Time: Late Morning
Location: Downtown San Francisco
Interaction: @FunnyGuy @The Man Emperor @AliceFalling @Xandrya

---

Adora was thrilled at the damage & chaos that had followed the start of her rampage. It felt so good to be able to cut loose & cause damage. The best part of all of this was it wasn’t her image getting stained but Lori’s instead. At least the poor girl wouldn’t be around to watch her name get tarnished, dragged through the mud & labeled as one of the biggest altered human terrorists in the country.

Adora punched a hole clean through the hospital then began violently kicking the hospital bringing the medical facility down while laughing. “DIE DIE DIE!!!!!!! I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR PRESIDENT FORRESTER AND HIS NEW LAWS! GO TO HELL!!! THE ALTERED WILL NEVER LISTEN, WE WONT FOLLOW ANY RULES, AND WE WILL MURDER ALL OF YOU!!!!”

Adora screamed out her response to the president’s decree, at her size the ringing of her loud voice shattered several windows in the area. Adora was giddy with joy at the sheer agony & suffering she was causing with her own abilities. She turned to step on more people and vehicles marching away from the decimated hospital when the unexpected happened. Thanks to Eric King’s meddling with time, she was ensured in a trap so to speak. As his response to her vicious attack occurred while time was paused she was unable to respond.

“What the fu-“ Adora cursed as she was suddenly dealing with the make-shift fabric chain he’d composed for her. The giant woman lost her balance, while simultaneously getting her foot soaked as if she’d stepped in some massive puddle and struggled as she fell backwards collapsing into a building then falling onto the streets crushing people & vehicles alike while also injuring herself from the unplanned fall.

“Damn it!” Adora said angry as she slammed her first down on a store causing it to cave in on the people inside as she got up dusting off her knees seeing more soldiers in armored vehicles approaching while they tried to evacuate people from the area with police assistance. “Oh no no no, nobody gets away, everyone dies!!!” As she moved towards the soldier a bus swerving by slammed into her shoe. She instinctively scrunched her toe when the vehicle hit her cursing as the bus quickly pulled into reverse and turned to pull away.

“OH fuck you too.” Adora reached down grabbing the bus full of people picking it up laughing at all the people screaming inside. “Shut up! Shut up!!!” Adora commanded towards the passengers on the bus, turning to see more helicopters approaching. “Ooooh welcome to the party.” Adora tossed the bus into her mouth and gulped down the vehicle before roaring like an animal. As the helicopters opened fire she responded by spitting two helicopters getting downed by wads of spit crashing into buildings, followed by her unleashing a telekinetic blast that demolished an entire street blasting people, vehicles & buildings.

Reaching down she grabbed two girls who were running for their lives and flung them at a third helicopter. The women screamed as they slammed into chopper, only to be cut in the chopper’s blades and gruesomely torn apart while also destroying the blades causing the chopper to go down crashing into a burger joint. Her eyes surged with red energy before spinning around unleashing destructive beams in multiple directions tearing through buildings. Using her power she lifted some vehicles into the air then smacked them sending hurtling the vehicles into the soldier’s armored vehicles. Followed by clasping her hands around the top of a building ripping it in half and flinging the top half in the air. The altered human’s hands clapped in satisfaction as the top half of the building was flung across a few blocks before colliding with another building causing both to crumble to the ground slaughtering several people.

On the ground amongst the chaos was Jonah Hanes partner Angela Fields who had a gun drawn and was helping LEO’s evacuate people from the chaotic scene. Her phone rung and she quickly picked up. “Hanes!!!! We have a major problem, Lori Martinez the altered woman with optic beams who was taken into custody for blasting her fiancee while catching him cheating is killing everyone! She’s fucking huge.”

“What the fuck is going on today?!! Jonah yelled on the other end, Angela switched the call to face-time and flipped her phone around allowing Jonah to witness Adora’s murderous rampage. “Laser eyes & giant size?! That’s two powers, she has two powers?” The realization set in as Jonah responded realizing the severity of the predicament going on in downtown San Francisco with an altered human who was apparently demonstrating two different powers.

“Yeah Liberty’s worst fear has come to pass, a superhuman with more then one ability & she’s not happy about what the President said.” Right as Angela responded she screamed out as a blast of electricity flew over her head and wiped out an Italian restaurant across the street from her. “Make that three!!”

“Get the fuck outta there, now!!!!! There’s nothing, you hear me nothing you can do!!!!! Get back to HQ now, there about to deploy the jets! Forget the people, we can’t save them not from this, leave that’s an order!!” Jonah yelled out to his partner fearing for her life witnessing the violent rampage on the other end of the face time.

“You don’t have to order me! I’m gone!!!” Angela retorted and looked around the area trying to figure a way out. She spotted a manhole and decided to go for it rushing towards it and opening it, hopping down the ladder to make her escape hanging up to focus on getting away.

The coffee table was decorated with an empty, greasy pizza box surrounded by several empty bottles of cheap beer, a bag of Rafael's surprisingly potent herbs, and a dirty rolling tray. Rafael and Dave were laying on their respective couches, their eyes bloodshot and glimmering as they stared at the television screen. The program they were watching had come to an end and the credits began to roll.

"Coming up next, stay tuned for more of our Party With The Penguins Marathon..." declared the television announcer.

"No!," Dave moaned, "No more penguins. Something else. Anything else!" Rafael scoffed, but abided the request as he grabbed the remote control and began flipping through channels.

"...we were ON A BREAK... kshhh ...gives you wings... kshh ...confirmed fatalities in the San Francisco area... kshh ...Well, fuck you guys! I'm going home!"

"Wait, go back! Go back one more," Dave demanded. Raf looked to him, slightly confused. Dave was not one who typically liked to watch the news. Regardless, he flipped the channel back.

"...got our eye in the sky, Kristi Phillips. Kristi, what are you seeing out there," asked the news anchor to their helicopter correspondent.

"Michael, the situation is very volatile, as one would expect. Authorities are moving in and... Oh my god! The terrorist just hurled two people at... oh, I'm going to be sick. Two people were just thrown into a helicopter. So much blood-"

"Bro, fuck this. I'm going back to South Park," Rafael declared before delivering on that statement. Dave wanted to protest, but his apathy was supercharged with intoxication and herbal influence. Instead, he just watched on as the cartoon kids ripped on eachother. Then came a forceful, urgent knock on the door.

It wasn't the knock of a friend coming by or a solicitor going door-to-door to sell some crappy product or service. This knock was specific, unique. Raf and Dave knew exactly who was on the other side. They both looked at eachother, their faces painted with panic.

"Cops!"

"Shit!" Raf exclaimed. They were each hit with that surge of adrenaline you get right before you know you're about to get caught doing something wrong. They launched themselves off the couch and onto their feet before surveying the room to quickly count how many transgressions they had committed.

"It's the police!" shouted a voice on the other side of their apartment door. "Open up!"

"Aw shit, man! Should I go flush it?!" Dave was not maintaining his cool at all. He looked at the bag on the table as if it were a murder weapon before gazing back up at his roommate.

"Fuck no," Raf said incredulously. "That shit is like green gold. Go put it in my Fun Box with the rest of my shit - in my room, bottom of the closet, underneath the dirty boxers." he instructed. The dirty boxers was Raf's ingenious added layer of security for the container of all his illegal substances. He figured if no one wanted to touch those boxers, they couldn't possibly get to his Fun Box underneath. "I'll try and get rid of them, but you have to play it cool, got it?" Dave nodded and did as he was told while Raf made his way to the closed door. "Hi, uh, officer," he called out loudly while looking through the peephole. He could see two uniformed men on the other side. Neither one looked very happy. "What's up?"

"Open the door, son," one of the officers repeated forcefully. "We're in a state of emergency. Everyone needs to evacuate."

Relief coated Rafael's entire body. This wasn't a raid afterall. He turned the doorknob and cracked it open just a bit before sticking his head out. "Oh, thank god. I thought you were here because of all the dru-, uh, drrragonss..."

"Excuse me? Did you say 'dragons'?" asked the officer's partner.

"N-no." Rafael's mind was working at half speed, the haze of the drug and drink combination working in full effect.

"You clearly said 'dragons'."

"You said dragons," Raf shot back, showcasing his unparalleled wit. He then raised his eyebrows as if silently asking the officers if that retort was good enough to move on passed this subject.

"Listen, we don't have time for this. I'm sure you know by now that there is a dangerous situation in progress and everyone is encouraged to leave the city, at least temporarily. Get what you absolutely need and get out as quickly as possible, alright?" Before Rafael could answer, the two police officers walked away, heading to the next door down to deliver the same message to Raf's neighbors. He slowly shut the door and looked back to see Dave standing in the kitchen with sunglasses on.

"What are you doing? What's with the shades?" Raf asked.

"If they saw my eyes, they'd know we were fucked up. Plus they make me look like a badass. No one wants to mess with a badass." Dave gave a little flex before shifting back to a state of concern. "They're gone, though, right?"

"Ya. They said we gotta go. I guess because of that stuff on the news," he deduced.

"Yeah, the giant lady. I tried to tell you earlier," Dave pointed out. "It's getting wild out there with these altered folk."

"Altered folk? Wait, how giant was this lady?" Raf was finally connecting dots. In response, Dave held his hand out flat right by his own forehead, showing his own height. He then went slightly higher, signalling that she was taller than that. He then started jumping up and down, pointing skyward in obnoxious exaggeration. Clearly this woman was supernaturally massive.

At this point, curiosity was getting the better of Rafael. With a small squint, he turned around and opened the door once more before heading outside. Dave called out behind him, asking where he was going, but Raf didn't bother to respond. He made his way out to the sidewalk where people were running around like crazy. Cars were honking, helicopters could be heard overhead. Police and ambulance sirens were blaring out in multiple directions. And that's when he saw her...

The star of the show, an altered human just less than a mile off in the distance that stood a couple of hundred feet high. Rafael's jaw dropped. His vision began to tunnel as his body went on autopilot, moving slowly toward this massive woman with small, uncalculated steps. Soon his was off the sidewalk, walking into the street between idle cars to get a better look. He could hardly believe it.

Normally something like this would scare the hell out of him. He wasn't sure if it was the buzz from the alcohol or the high, but the only thing he felt currently was an odd curiosity.

Then he felt a speeding truck.
And then he felt the wind through his hair as he went airborne.
Finally, he felt the asphalt with his face, and then his legs and, of course, his arms as he went tumbling down the street.

He heard a woman scream, but soon realized it was just Dave. His roommate ran up to him and struggled to get words out of his mouth.

"Ohmyg, hoah, jeezus, are you okay, man?!" he finally managed to sputter. "Why the hell did you go wandering in the street like that? I can't believe that asshole in the Chevy just plowed right through you! What the hell is wrong with people these days? Why aren't you talking? Oh, lordy, do you have brain damage? Blink once if you can hear me! Was that a blink? Was that a normal blink or a 'I can hear you' blink? Damnit, now I can't stop blinking..."

"Ugh, fuck off, I'm fine," Rafael finally said, pulling himself up off the road with minor strain.

"Oh... good. But, uh... why are you fine?" Dave asked, perplexed. It was a fair question, Raf realized. As he came to his feet, he looked down at himself. His shorts were a little tattered and his shirt was now torn in several spots, exposing portions of his soft midsection. However, there was no blood, no wounds, and no scratches to speak of. Rafael froze for a moment, trying to process what had just happened, but Dave was a little quicker on the draw.

"Oh, man. You're one of them, aren't you?" The mulletted stoner began backing up slowly, cautiously, while pointing an accusatory finger at his roommate. "Holy shit, you're Altered."

Time: Late Morning
Location: San Francisco, Hospital
Interaction: California Liberty Office

---

“Meet me at your office NOW Jonah it’s important.”

Jonah looked at his phone once again to see the message sent to him. It was from none other then Nathan Forrester, the infamous CEO of the Forrester Corporation. He knew if he had a meeting with Nathan then that was his ass. Ever since he’d been transferred to California his life had grown harder than ever before.

After interrogating Xavier & slipping him recreational drugs laced with cyanide he was back at the office. It was during the brief interlude between Kalina picking him up from the hospital & his arrival back at Liberty’s California Headquarters where he’d received the somewhat urgent text message from Nathan Forrester.

After getting dropped him off, he told Kalina to report to her desk & see what paper-work was required of her while he went to go meet the President’s older brother. A lump formed in his throat as he neared his office, wondering why the President had sent his brother down to Liberty’s office to meet him in person or worst if Nathan had come on his accord because of personal business hey had done together in the past.

With no time to contemplate if he was going to be chewed out or not he slipped into his office. Nathan had taken the liberty, pun intended of taking a seat at his desk. He spotted a bottle of wine on the table, and saw two silver goblets one of which Nathan had filled for himself. “Oh I see you’ve made yourself at home Nathan.” Jonah replied with a hint of anger in his tone that Nathan was sitting at his prized desk. Jonah didn’t want to argue or raise a fuss so he took a seat in one of the three chairs in-front of his desk.

“You know for someone whose close to the chopping block, you have some nerve to have that spunk in your voice Jonah. Listen to me and listen closely, David, my brother didn’t send me, I came here myself to speak to you in person. As you know I’m quite busy with my company’s blood tests now being federally mandated by American Citizens, you can imagine I have several places I need to be, and your office isn’t one of them.” Nathan retorted picking up the silver cup and taking a few sips of his wine. “Would you like a drink Jonah? “

“No sir, you know how I feel about drinking on the job.” Jonah remarked turning down Nathan’s offer to imbibe on the alcoholic beverage. He liked to maintain a clear head and aside from that with Nathan being mad at him he didn’t trust any beverage he offered. He knew very well who Nathan Forrester was, and a man like him had so many connections that even if he did something under-handed to Jonah there was little chance he’d face any severe punishment if any was given at all.

“Have you ever heard the saying, never trust a man that doesn’t drink. ?” Nathan said in response to Jonah’s refusal to partake before moving on clearly not in the mood to further reference Crumley’s advice. “Now I need you to be very clear with me, Hanes. Why the hell did you drop this last video, we already had everything we needed today. But what you did was playing with fire, quite frankly you’re going too far..”

“Going too far? What the hell are you talking about, I didn’t make any other videos, I’m sticking to the schedule Nathan, are you serious? What kind of bullshit are you on about.” Jonah huffed clearly mad about whatever Nathan was accusing him of.

“Oh….” Nathan bit his lower lip a few times and examined his cup before downing the rest ad setting the goblet on the table. “Your quite the capable liar, but I’m an even better one. I say this to say lying is a very useful skill when utilized for the right reasons, mastery of that ability also requires one to know the opposite the people are telling the truth, and unfortunately it seems like you are. I wanted to look you in the eyes when I poised that question, then it seems the other video was not merely a one time incident, someone has actually taken up the mantle.” Nathan responded and took out his cell phone setting it on the desk.

Jonah raised an eyebrow wondering why Nathan had whipped out his cell phone, and a few beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Nathan quickly opened up his youtube app and produced the latest upload by the radical altered terrorist Reaper. Jonah’s eyes widened in shock as the video played out.

“I have warned you people enough, but now you see President Forrester’s true colors. This nation’s true color. Should the new laws surprise you, absolutely not. This country was BUILT on the backs of enslaved africans and slaughtered native Americans. That spirt of inequality and racism has lived on throughout the years as evident by our current president. It is time for utter & absolute war, destruction of this administration & it’s government! I declare war on the Forrester Administration & all of America! I advise all Altered to side with me against Forrester and participate in the eradication of the United States Empire. It is time for their mighty empire to fall, all great empires have been slaughtered In the past including the Roman Empire, America is no different! An empire built on greed & inequality of others shall not stand not thanks to these powers we have been granted! DESTROY THEM ALL!!!!” Reaper screamed out and the video ended, with the screen fading too black.

“Fuck” Jonah said as the Reaper clip ended and Nathan took his phone back, pocketing it then pouring himself another glass of wine. “Pour me one too Nathan.” Jonah grinned his teeth and hissed as the CEO obliged his request pouring him a glass of wine.

“Now I know your not lying, the drink aside all the color’s been drained out of your face. So your little project’s taken a life of its own. I admired your ingenuity & initiative at creating Reaper, I mean it was nothing short of genius how could I not support the idea? Rather then waiting for some bastard to rise up and take charge of the altered. We created our own villain to demonize those genetic beasts, which gave us control of the narrative. But now.” Nathan’s voice faltered off as he took a swig of the wine as the realization sunk in of what was going on.

“Now there’s a real Reaper, you know damn well I didn’t upload this video. I don’t even know why you asked, spirit of inequity hah. These wetbacks and monkeys should be glad we brought they’re ancestors to this country otherwise they wouldn’t have the priveledge of living in the greatest nation on earth. But we’re not here to discuss ungrateful colored criminals now are we Nathan, I understand you had to make sure that I wasn’t getting into character too much especially at a sensitive time like this..”

“Correct, our worst fears been realized. I’d hoped the last Reaper video was just a one-off thing, perhaps a prank or at most some over-zealous idiot trying to take on the mantle just to stir up the internet, but this is no troll. Someone out there took the bait, and assumed the identity of the enemy we created. And now there trying to use it to rally up the Altered against the Government, perhaps the only good thing to come from this situation is at least we don’t have to figure out anyone to blame for being the Real Reaper.”

“Yeah because now we have one.” Jonah responded and downed the glass of wine with one chug, shaking his head as the warm feeling of the alcohol settled into his stomach.


Jonah was pacing around the room furious with the situation. A Giant woman was attacking the city, a nine foot mutant had been spotted tearing people apart, Shade had been spotted with an accomplice & a call had been placed to the police about some national guardsmen being melted alive at a check-point.

Just as Nathan had feared & predicted Reaper’s message was inciting violence. Not only that the reports of protests in other cities against the President’s new emergency act were starting to get violent. Maybe I made a mistake with creating Reaper, at the time it seemed like the perfect idea. Had I known that Sanchez kid was going to sink his high School in Chicago that would have been enough.

Jonah was furious at the situation, and now the military was being deployed to deal with the giant woman tearing up downtown. Another thing that had him worried was his partner Angela Fields who he’d just got off face-time with, she was out there in the thick of things. He’d witnessed a lightning bolt almost take her head off. “Angela I hope you get out of there.”

“Mr. Hanes.” Jonah looked up to see his secretary Patricia had popped into the room, and he motioned for her to step into the office.

“What’s going on, what update do you have for me?”

“Well your family’s been secured, they’ve boarded the chopper & are on the way to the Liberty Base in Nevada. I just thought you’d want to know they’re safe. In other news the tail you placed on Agent Green turned out to be more than necessary.” Patricia responded and walked over to Jonah’s desk handing him a slim folder with some files & papers in-between.

Jonah took the folder from her, setting it down on the desk and flipping through the pages skimming the information & notes. Austin Green was an agent of Liberty, who’d been part of the organization since it’s formation three months ago. He’d been plucked from the CIA & was someone who was personally recommended to him by the agency as a stellar agent who’d serve Liberty well. In recent weeks he’d begun to suspect that Agent Green had ulterior motives for being part of the organization or at the very least was allowing confidential information from Liberty to be delivered elsewhere. As his suspicions grew he’d placed a tap on his cell phone as well as getting a tail on him to track his every move. The results of that had been brought back to him and he was’t happy.

“So I was right about Agent Green, he’s been giving out intel on Liberty targets. I assume you’ve brought him into custody correct? I don’t mean to be rude Patricia, but I’m not exactly happy to be right about Green, as you and not many others know he’s the second agent that’s defected today. Anyway while this information is important & much appreciated I’d much rather get a play by play of the military’s response to Lori Martinez, right now that’s the biggest problem on our hands aside from Reaper. Anyway your dismissed.” Jonah opened up a drawer at his desk to put the files away when Patricia made a noise to indicate she had something else to say. “What is it Patricia.”

“Well Director Hanes, I..I.. took the initiative to look through the files. Apologies sir, but I know your busy as is everyone else with everything going on right now. You know one thing I’m good at is paying attention to detail in situations when many others don’t. Martinez is one of the targets Agent Green gave out intel about, & another thing the other eight targets have been reported missing or dead as well within the same time-frame that Green gave out their information. I’ve concluded or well highly suspect that Green’s source has a direct connection to the rampage going on downtown right now. In-fact according to the information we recovered, Green’s source acquired Lori Martinez’s information this morning.”

Jonah paused listening to what his secretary was saying and getting more upset at by the minute, but also more & more impressed with Patricia’s investigative abilities. He closed the drawer and took out the folder spreading the files about on his desk to take a second look on the information connected to Agent Green’s betrayal of the agency. “So your saying you think there’s a connection between Agent Green’s source, and big bitch stomping around. What do you think that is?”

“That I don’t know director, but what I do know is there is one. It’s importance might not be relative, but it also could be very pertinent perhaps even having to do with why Miss Martinez is demonstrating more then one power unlike all the other Altered we’ve encountered thus far.” Patricia concluded not having the answers Jonah sought for what the exact connection between Green’s source, defecting & the attack on downtown had.

“Alright you’ve done enough, in a good way. I know I’m hard on you sometimes, well all the times but you did good. I’m sorry if I’ve taken out any anger on you, it’s just being surrounded by monkeys & mutants all day is starting to get to me. Thanks to you we have a lead, and instead of sitting on our asses we’re going to follow it, let’s go have a word with Agent Green.” Jonah rose up from his desk clenching his fist thinking about the agent who was now a traitor causing his blood to boil. Luckily he had a way to take out his frustrations and that way was Agent Green.

Time: Late Morning
Location: Buena Vista Park -> Botanical Garden, San Francisco
Interaction: Jason @chulance, then Anya @Xandrya

---

Marcus took in Jason's speech that reminded him of something Professor Xavier would say in a comic book or movie. Marcus was in agreement with Jason in believing the newest restrictions were just the tip of the iceberg. President Forrester wouldn't stop here, and Liberty would follow the man as far as he would take them. Ridding the world of the dangerous, the killers, and the monsters is what he did, but this recent turn of events he would eventually see himself harming those that did not deserve it.

Still not sure about the rebellion, but interested in the opportunity of getting paid, Marcus figured he could play insurgent for a bit.

"Count me in then. You got me till you can't afford me, or until I feel like leaving you out to dry… Take my phone number of whatever my next move is. I have shit to do." Marcus purposely thought out the number to his personal phone for Jason to record and keep.

With that, Marcus sped off, but managed to slow down after a few blocks upon seeing a giant woman wrecking the city in the distance.

"The fuck… I have to meet with Donovan. That big bitch ain't on my list." Marcus made a detour, being careful not to go too fast for too long so he wouldn't risk destroying his cellphone.

When he arrived at the Botanical Garden, he took his time to walk along the walkway, eyeing the entry points while being ready to activate his powers at the first sign of danger.

---

Captain Holt’s knuckles were turning white as he gripped the edge of the table while witnessing the chaos from the live footage displayed across the numerous screens mounted on the wall. He was currently in the intelligence briefing room in the San Diego naval base surrounded by a number of subordinates as well as civilian counterparts. Yet, despite the large room full of people, Captain Holt felt alone, and it was an odd feeling. Not alone in a physical sense, but rather the sense of urgency as they demanded a response from him which turned out to be a surprisingly lonely experience. One of his commanders, Commander Jones, was on the line with The White House, and Lieutenant Commander Avery was on the line with Fleet Admiral Pearson’s office. All parties involved were working conjunctively to mitigate the single largest threat the Pacific Fleet has encountered in modern times.

Suddenly, the room grew quiet when a knock was heard on the door. MA1 Wong then saw Captain Holt motion for her to open the door, and after doing so, a young sailor entered the room. MA1 Wong then closed the door snapped back to the position of attention adjacent to the door as she was before. Her partner, MA2 Rodriguez, mirrored her actions as he was securing access to the room from out in the hall.

“S-sir, I believe I may be of help.”

Captain Holt raised an eyebrow, trying his best to not let his temper get the better of him. Was this a joke? A junior sailor with possibly a solution to the biggest challenge he’s ever faced in his entire naval career?

“Sir, I just got on the phone with Norfolk, they have been trying to reach us,” an intelligence officer interjected from the back of the room. “It seems Seaman Gonzalez can save San Francisco after all.”

Back in the Pacific Ocean, 500 nautical miles from the San Francisco bay, the crew aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln was getting ready for their plan of action. Two jets had gone wheels up less than five minutes ago, but their work was only getting started. The carrier was on its way to San Francisco when an incoming message scrapped their previous plan. Apparently, the ship was to hold fast in its current location for now. The jets en route to San Francisco were also alerted of the changes, and they altered their course to comply with the new orders that were put out.

“Alright son, now you know what to do,” Captain Holt said, placing his hand on Gonzalez’ shoulder. The young man nodded with a salute, then he disappeared from sight. Having been in San Diego a moment ago, Gonzalez teleported to downtown San Francisco. The destruction depicted on TV did not do any justice to the damage thus far sustained in the immediate area. He looked around momentarily before the giant woman drew his attention. Gonzalez then said a quick prayer. He wasn’t the overly religious type, but he could use any help he could get at that point. The young man then teleported himself closer to the giant. In fact, he spawned on her shoulder and right away scrambled to grip the collar of her shirt in order to prevent himself from falling.

“You’re done, you hear me!” Gonzalez yelled a moment before he touched her shoulder with his bare hand. In an instant, both Gonzalez and Adora disappeared from sight.

Some of the crew from the carrier gasped when a giant suddenly appeared high above them in the sky. It looked as if she was suspended in the air momentarily before she started falling down to the vast ocean below. “HOLD YOUR FIRE!” Lieutenant Clark ordered. He knew his team was a little too trigger happy and he had to keep them in check. His orders were to open fire on the woman if she presented an immediate threat, but otherwise he would be unable to engage. Above them, off in the distance, the jets were approaching.

Gonzalez felt himself falling. He attempted to teleport on to the ship but found himself unable to do so. Apparently taking a giant on the little trip had absolutely drained him and now he had nowhere to go but down.

---

Since Anya arrived at the botanical garden, she’d been on and off the phone with Moscow and the Rezidentura. She had found out that apparently one of the Altered had grown to an estimated 200 feet and was wreaking havoc in the downtown area. The agents currently assigned to San Francisco, to include herself, were on the verge of being evacuated. Anya hadn't yet received final word on what to expect, so she waited for Marcus as planned until she was sent additional instructions. She was leaning against a wall when he just so happened to walk by.

"Looks like I found you," she smiled, walking up to him as she put her phone away. "I'm sure you're aware of what's going on downtown so I'll make this brief. Hanes advised you quit. It's a shame, really, given your expertise and acquired ability, and I thought it best your experience shouldn't go to waste. With that said, I actually work for an employer outside of the American government. You'd be an asset to our organization as you'd be helping us with work similar to what takes place in Liberty. We don't go after the Altered, however, as we have other targets we focus on." Anya stopped for a moment to let him take in what she had said so far. She walked over to the bridge overlooking one of the ponds and leaned forward to rest her forearms on the edge. "You know, Hanes also told me that finding you was my main priority at the moment as you had betrayed Liberty. I get it, though. You used to work there this morning and now you're out here on your own with God knows how many secrets stored away in your mind. But lucky for you, I don't necessarily follow Hanes' orders."

While Anya hadn't necessarily threatened Marcus, she was making it known that she was tasked with bringing him in.

@FunnyGuy

---

---

Sanzhar hesitated for but a moment. In the span of a second, the thought of turning into a fugitive simply because he helped someone not get killed wormed its way into his mind, filling his imagination with images of running around the country, chased by the government for a nonexistent crime. His family will be questioned, asked where their wonder boy went.

The shouts of the man that he had served from almost certain death, though, pushed him back to reality, and no sooner did the gunshots of the officers ring out all around him while he ran full speed towards the car. He won't be arrested today. This is not the time to get caught, not when the certainty of being callously used as some tool by his captors was absolute in his mind.

Shutting the door, he sat smack on the passenger's seat, breathing heavily as the car began to speed away from the scene. Sanzhar took of his mask and inhaled deeply before turning to the black man that he had just saved from the mutant creature. The din of the titan's footsteps didn't escape his ears, either, and Sanzhar shuddered somewhat as the twin problems of the law and a giant Altered presented themselves to him.

"I'm so screwed." Sanzhar blurted out, placing his hands on his temples. "Ah, crap. What's your name, by the way?" He asked the guy. "I'm Sanzhar. Sanzhar Kravchenko..."

Jace took off as soon as Sanzhar hopped in the car, he was ready to leave whether he came or not. But he did believe in Karma, and felt he'd get some bad if he left him to die considering he'd just saved his life from the mutant. The sound of gunfire behind him didn't deter or alter his focus from the road ahead of him. The tremors from the giant woman rampaging through the city however did causing him to briefly almost loose control of the vehicle. Luckily he managed to get a grip spinning the wheel around and whipping his car around at high speeds turning to head in the opposite direction from the massive woman's rampage downtown.

Jace couldn't help but chuckle at Sanzhar's comment, but it was far from a comedic nature as he completely related to Sanzhar's comments. Just like his metal bending rescuer he discarded his mask flinging it into the back-seat of the jeep, to wanting any fabric to obscure his vision whilst trying to escape the law. "You and me both buddy, the name's Jace, I'd shake your hand but right now I think it's best if I keep both of mine on the wheel. Oh and thanks for the help, I might not be driving right now if you hadn't jumped in when you did, I'm sorry you got roped into this bullshit. Kill a monster running through the streets literally ripping people apart and the reward is the cops on our ass, totally fair." Jace remarked with frustrated sarcasm peeping into the rear-view mirror to see police cruisers behind them with sirens blaring, with officers yelling over mega-phone to pull over and surrender.

"This government is a bunch of inept idiots, that's all I can say. " Sanzhar hissed as he looked back towards the police cruisers that relentlessly chased them through the streets. "They can't see that the best way to fight bad people with powers is to throw good people with powers at them... you know what I mean?"

Taking another glance at their pursuers, Sanzhar closed his eyes, whimpering at his misfortune. "I'm going to get fired, my brother and parents are screwed, ah! If this was the kind of crap I as going to experience here, we should have just remained in Kazakhstan or went somewhere else that is not here." Coughing, Sanzhar continued as he contemplated calling one of his relatives, but decided against it. "Where the hell did that thing come from anyway?" He asked Jace, clearly referring to the mutant from earlier. "None of the Altered I know of are that ugly!"

"Idiots is a word for the Government that I think fits them well considering the circumstances." Jace found himself nodding his head in agreement to what his new ally Sanzhar said. This Government, I wonder if he's from some other country besides here, maybe he's had the luxury of being a citizen outside of the United States Right about now Jace was partially wishing that he himself lived in another country in order to evade the madness of the new restrictive laws President Forrester had implemented for Altered humans to "help" control them.

"According to them none of us are good, they see us all as bad." Jace rattled off as he sped through a red light narrowly avoiding a collision with a mini van, a loud BANG behind let him know that one of the cruisers hadn't been so lucky but three more as well as two military armored vehicles were still in pursuit and gaining. "I don't have the slightest clue where that beast came from, I was speaking with my girl and stepped outside to get some air, I heard some blood curling scream went to investigate and then I was locked into a brutal battle with that creature." As Jace concluded his contemplation about the monster the sound of glass shattering was heard as a bullet smashed through the back wind-shield the armored vehicle had produced a machine gun and was opening fire, the rapid gun-fire sprayed the back of the car hiting one of the tires and three of the bullets nearly hitting Jace & Sanzhar. In response Jace slammed on the gas taking the car to it's max speed, then used his power to increase the strength of the vehicle's engine allowing him to take it pass the built limit of 120 mph to 160 mph speeding up to dangerously fast levels and swerving in-between cars to try to escape the soldiers and also driving near civilians to get them to stop shooting. Fuck Fuck FUCK!!! "You got any bright ideas?! If this tire pops or we run out civilians to duck behind we're screwed." Jace yelled looking into the rear-view mirror keeping an eye o the LEO's & soldiers after them.

"Chyort, these people really won't let up, won't they?" Sanzhar ducked as the machine gun bullets slammed through the glass. This was the single worst day in his history of days, and that's saying something, as he certainly didn't grow up with vast privilege. He glanced to the side, his eyes glued towards the street lamp posts. Those were made of metal, and one was not too heavy for him to pry out of the ground. But that would be too long and cumbersome...

There were the bins and benches, though. If they were made of metal, and weren't more than one quarter of a ton in weight, he'll do just fine with bending them around. Still, trying to take them while driving at such high speed would be dangerous. Not just to the bystanders, but to himself.

"You have anything metal in here, Jace?" Sanzhar asked. "If there's like a tumbler or a wrench, I could bend it to become a sharp projectile that can pop tires. Once I do that, though, I'll need you to slow down a little bit so that I can focus on it. How's that for an idea?"

"Yeah doesn't look like there giving us a break anytime soon!" Jace braced himself for impact as a car pulled in-front of them but at the last minute Jace managed to jerk the car to the left avoiding colliding with the black truck that had pulled out in-front of them. Metal Metal metal what the fuck do I have that's metal shit if I knew I was gonna be working with Magneto I would have stocked up Jace frantically thought about anything he had in the jeep that would be of use to Sanzhar's abilities before a light bulb popped above his head. "I got something, in my bag I got 2 screwdrivers, & some knives, there's a pair of scissors on the floor in the back too and my girl's hair dryer is in the trunk." Jace finished as the cruisers and armored trucks were getting dangerously close and he saw up ahead that traffic was lessoning so the soldiers would be able to resume opening fire with the machine guns.

"That will do." Sanzhar replied as he turned towards the back of the car and took hold of Jace's bag. True to his words, there were quite a few knives in there and a pair of screwdrivers. The knives were too many for his taste, which made Sanzhar question whether this guy had a thing for collecting sharp objects or made a living as a butcher in the meat shop. Anyways.

Pulling out a pair of the knives, he levitated both of them over his hands, forcefully bending their metal components into one sphere of melded grey steel. Then, he molded the sphere into a sharp V shaped projectile, small enough to pass pop any tire while having the density to withstand its job.

"Alright." Sanzhar held the floating spear over his palm. "Here goes nothing."

Sanzhar peered over the open window, and with a single gesture, sent the projectile speeding through the air with the velocity of a bullet. The sound of tires popping rang into their ears, and the nearest cruiser began skidding into a stop, then an armored truck.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" Sanzhar muttered lowly as the vehicles began to stop chasing them as their tires got popped.

But still more pursued.

"Man don't apologize they trying to lock us up, we getting the eff outta here too." Jace responded at Sanzhar's apologetic commentary about using the knives to slash the tires of the LEO's in pursuit. The sound of the popped tires was like music to his ears, but the following crashes that occurred from the vehicles spinning out of control made him scrunch his shoulder a bit. He was content with murdering gangsters & violent criminals, but he had no desire for innocents to get caught in the crossfire of his vengeance.
The relentless chase was getting on his nerves, and he was ready to make an escape. Luckily Sanzhar's helpful actions had led to a pile-up of vehicles finally putting some distance between them. Jace used his power once again to ramp up the speed all the way to 180 pushing the Jeep to speeds it wasn't suppose to normally reach. Audible creaks & other sounds he figured his car wasn't suppose to make could be heard as Jace ramped up the vehicle's speed with his power. The smell of burned rubber assaulted his nostrils with the high speeds his power had allowed them to reach.

"We have them within sight! They just made a left down-" The whirring of helicopter blades hit Jace's ear-drum, and looking in the mirror he saw a police helicopter had descended upon them. With the chopper on them escape would be impossible, Jace briefly hesitated before using his power on the chopper. Draining the strength of the helicopter's engine causing it to spin out of control and crash onto the last batch of cruisers behind them. The sudden act of harnessing his power on the chopper forced him to withdraw the amped up strength of the jeep. He was severely drained from using his powers in succession back to back from the fight to the mutant to the chase draining his stamina limiting his ability to run multiple applications of his power at once.

A surge of electricity from the huge woman roared above the jeep nearly taking out the roof and convinently demolished part of the road behind them. Jace swung the wheel to the left escaping that street, and getting out of the city going off road. Moments later the vehicle came to a halt under some trees, and Jace hopped out the car huffing, puffing & sweating nearly collapsing from his injuries sustained in the beat-down with the mutant on top of pushing his body to it's limits by using his powers so many times in the past hour. "Okay...well that was fun... not really, we need to ditch this car and I've got less then a quarter in my tank anyway. I got a safe house that's about 15-20 minutes away on foot if you wanna tag along, usually I don't let people tag along, but I'm offering since you saved my ass." Jace explained as he went into the back-seat grabbing his backpack, and tossing a few belongings inside including his Shade mask. His heart was still pounding from everything that just went down, and he wanted to lay low.

Compared to Jace, who was just all beat, Sanzhar stepped out of the car pretty much fine, if not a little shaken. "You have a safehouse?" Sanzhar tilted his head a bit at Jace, taking off his facemask and cap. "What can I say... you're one resourceful person..."

Sanzhar then took out his phone, and texted his family's group chat, telling them that he's probably not coming home tonight, and they shouldn't go looking for him, lest they be endangered as well.

With the message sent, he took out the sim card and snapped it in two pieces. "And off we go. Looking forward to the start of a beautiful friendship."

Seeing him snap the SIM card in half caused him to just nod his head a bit. Fuck that I had my mask on most of the fight I’m not breaking my shit, I need my phone for everything I do. Jace briefly pondered if he was making a mistake by not tossing his cell before not worrying. His legitimate career with YouTube & consulting relied on him having a phone, plus he was secure in his encryption.

“I’m not real big on making new friends, but I’ll make an exception for people who get me outta hot water with monsters on steroids.” Jace finally joked seeing as how there hadn’t been any moment prior that was appropriate for any comedic rhetoric. He was off by a bit, but 23 minutes later they were making there way inside the safe-house Jace locking the front-door behind them. Right about now he was glad the property was a two bed-room because he wasn’t about to share a bed with another dude no matter the circumstances.

Grabbing the remote he pressed the power button allowing the TV to flicker on. It was already on the news channel which was reporting about the giant woman attacking San Francisco, he changed to another news channel that was reporting about riots taking place live in different major cities in response to the President’s new emergency altered act, apparently several minorities who weren’t altered were also protesting the new laws for their own reasons including having relatives who were altered and some who feared that the new laws would be unjustly used to rope in & target minority citizens who weren’t altered.

“Well well well it looks like the world’s going to hell in a hand-basket cause of people like us huh, lemme ask you where do you think all this is going, oh and not that I’m not grateful then a motherfucker but why’d you step in my fight with big, tall and ugly?” Jace finished making reference to the now stain mutant monster.

"I'm not even sure why I stepped in when I did." Sanzhar replied, fidgeting awkwardly. "I've been trying to keep it all a secret ever since I started bending metals, but... I don't know. I didn't have a choice, I guess. The bin would have killed me at that speed. And then I saw you struggling, and... helping others comes naturally, I think."

"Well first off don't downplay what you did you always have a choice, I mean not with stopping the bin unless you wanted to be road kill, but you coulda ski-daddled after that."Jace responded wanting Sanzhar to embrace the credit he felt he deserved for his heroic actions. As he was carrying out a one man mission to purge the streets of the plague of organized crime he'd come to respect people who took action. "And struggling?! C'mon now I just had to catch a breath you act like I was getting my ass beat." Jace added rolling his eyes but with a tone that indicated he was trying his hand at some humor to lighten the situation rather than actually being defensive. "Naw but at first I thought you hopped in because you were a fan." Jace retorted pointing at the Shade mask when he did.

"Oh, so you're that..." Sanzhar nodded, not sure how to respond to that one. He wasn't really a fan of vigilante actions, but seeing how the police were acting, it would make sense that people will take matters into their own hands. "Nah, not really a fan. Not until the law started shooting at me and you, anyway."

"Ohhh." Jace frowned a bit at his response, although he didn't say he was 100% against his actions he could tell he wasn't in full support of them either. "Yeah I'm use to being on the wrong side of a cop aiming his gun cause I'm black, but actually GETTING shot at, that's new to me. " Jace let out an exasperated sigh showing dissatisfaction with the police's behavior. "I mean I get it people are scared of us, but we just saved a whole bunch of people by taking out that creature and they still tried to arrest us, oh by the way I know you tore up ya phone and told ya folks you wouldn't be back but you had on a mask right? I know a girl whose got friends in high places, I can probably find out if the cops actually got a good look at your real face or not." Jace offered trying to present some good news to his new friend.

"That's very nice of you." Sanzhar nodded with a faint smile on his face. "That would be good, yes... so that I can know if going back is safe or not..."

"Shit it's the least I can do bruh." Jace could tell the news was welcoming but with the possibility of being a fugitive looming over his shoulder the worry was still present. Taking out his own phone he saw he had several misses messages from Nikita who hadn't seen him since the mutant went on the attack. Whew I'm so happy she's okay Jace went in the kitchen grabbing two beers from the fridge while texting her back. He cracked open both coronas with a simple flex of his wrist and set the other one down by Sanzhar. "So what you do huh, career work wise I mean?"

Taking the beer, Sanzhar looked down, and nervously opened the bottle. "I write stuff." Sanzhar replied, still fidgeting. "Published some novels, gotten some articles in the Times, and so on. Can't believe that the stuff I once used to simply imagine as part of some strange new world has become reality."

Jace downed some of the contents of his corona before setting it back down on the table listening to his new ally. "A journalist huh, so your half Clark Kent half Magneto." Jace added making reference to the pop culture characters he reminded him of the most. "Yeah as much as I like my powers things were a-lot simpler before I had em, I know you said your not a fan of what I do but I just wanna help people with my gifts, make the world better, make a difference."

"I'm not really Magneto when I manipulate the metal itself, rather than projecting magnetic fields." Sanzhar replied succinctly. "I can also use copper, so there's that. And... yes. Yours is a noble purpose."

"Yeah so noble that the cops are trying to lock me up, meanwhile people doing actually crimes are running around free, the world is fucked." Jace decided shaking his head about the world's current state of affairs. "And that's interesting you manipulate metal directly, so what does that make your power more or less versatile than his?" Jace asked.

"Yep... I guess it is." Sanzhar nodded, looking out of the window with the bottle in his hand. "So, what are our next moves?"

Jace took another sip from the bottle, taking glances at the TV to see what else the news was reporting about. "Huh next moves? What do you mean?"

Sanzhar shrugged. "Your next moves, I mean. Do you get chased a lot?"

"Hoping for no more monsters, but I'm going back to business as usual. trying to eliminate gangs & thugs." Jace answered matter of factly, eager to resume his regular life mission. "And naw I don't usually get chased."

"Okay then." Sanzhar nodded, eyeing the outside. "I think I'll rest for now."

---

---

Shit. “Please hurry.” Michele hung up the phone, her eyes on the man approaching her as she took a few steps back. She considered taking him on, but it would be a losing battle even if she did outnumber him. His victims were already dead, and she could very well join them if she fought the man. Nonetheless, she could confront him about his actions.

“Why didn’t you—”

Michele was suddenly cut off by some form of chaos behind her. She quickly turned around, seeing a giant woman amongst the buildings. Michele could only stare with a shocked expression on her face. That certainly was a first for her.

"Why didn't I what?" Karagoz asked with a hissing tone that could make one think that he was a talking snake. The tongues of flame that had rendered the dead into ash snaked towards his hands, curling up into silver serpents that spun like a pair of wheels around his wrists. His gas mask hid his mouth and noise, protecting him from choking from the oxygen deprivation that his own fire was causing by burning so hotly and so fiercely, but if one looked at his eyes beneath the shadow of his hood, something... dark can be seen. His eyes had this express expression of nothingness, a dead stare that looked straight ahead to a future of no hope. To a particularly perceptive person, this man has probably lost everything to the storm and the place, and as such has been locked in a mental cage of absolute nihilism. He didn't even bat an eye as the giant woman rampaged in the background, as if he knew that it would have happened right here, right now, though he most certainly didn't. He just didn't care.

"Go on..." Karagoz hissed once again, the flames crawling towards him like a roiling wave of heat and death. "What were you going to ask. eh..?"

Time: Late Morning
Location: Downtown San Francisco
Interaction:

---

The screams of horror from everyone inside the building Adora collapsed made her giggle. The suffering of the citizens of downtown San Francisco was music to her demented violent ears. She had no sympathy for these people, feeling as though she was delivering the same energy to them as they had given to Altered Humans. Had the city erupted into a violent protest against the national guard & the President’s declaration of martial law in response to the altered’ right violations she might have spared the city this giant sized thrashing.

But then again maybe not, she had a bone pick with the city & Lori was the final key in her plan before her rampage could begin anyway. Adora spotted Kristi Philips news-crew in the chopper, noticing the camera pointed at her. She overheard the conversation they were having about her on live air. “Oh attention news people! It’s VERY rude to have a conversation about someone and not include them, when they are right here!” Adora’s voice bellowed towards them, directing the sound primarily at them getting there attention & no doubt stirring up true fear in them as Adora stepped forward stepping on some citizens running for their lives as she did. Inching closer to the crew menacingly she was taken aback when a man dressed in military garb appeared on her shoulder.

“You’re done, you hear me!”

“You think you can tell ME what to do little man, I-“ Before Adora could continue her stern talk to the sailor she was enveloped by his power. One minute she was standing in the middle of downtown San Francisco wreaking havoc the next she was air-borne. The fuck?! She heard someone from the ship speaking below, and began laughing as her descent began.

Her fall towards the ocean below stopped abruptly and she twisted her giant figure around in the sky having the power to fly. She directed her telekinetic power to the carrier below flipping it over while unleashing devastating beams of energy from her eyes towards the naval base. She faded from visibility and jetted back towards the city the sound of a massive sonic boom occurring as she took off towards the city.

Within moments she became visible again as she deliberately flew into a building crash landing and rolling through the street crushing several people. The dispatched Jets had changed course upon getting reports of the giant’s return crash into the city. Screams of terror escaped from citizens as Adora had landed in a new part of the city a few blocks away from where she’d been ported away. Electrical arcs emerged from her finger tips drilling through the streets tearing innocent people, cops & national guard soldiers apart. As the Jets neared her they went on the offensive unleashing missiles. Adora saw the missiles and cackled. Using her mass powers she altered her own density to the point of intangibility causing the batch of missiles launched at her to harmlessly phase through her body and zoom into the streets wiping out pedestrians and hitting an apartment complex behind her.

In response she clapped her hands at using the jet’s own weaponry to demolish more innocents. She used her telekinetic power to steer one of the jets in a downward spiral causing it to collide with a gas station causing an even bigger explosion. The other jet had maneuvered around the billowing flames that erupted from the wield out gasoline station and launched another missile at Adora who’d become solid again to grab a bill-board and toss it into a fast food restaurant.

In response Adora used her powers to cause the opposite effect hardening her density to raise her already heightened durability due to her massive size. She punched the missile causing an explosion, the second jet pulling away as two more jets flew in having been deployed as back-up. They circled around the smoke cloud where Adora once stood and as the smoke cleared Adora wasn’t seen. Suddenly the two jets that had joined the battle downtown vanished, and remaining jet skirted away from that area trying to figure out what happened.

Adora had once again become invisible and grabbed both jets crushing them. Unleashing heat beams she took down the last jet then became visible again. “Back to you guys.” Adora teased at Kristi’s news crew whom she was now back to being close by. They screamed as Adora snatched them out of the sky ripping the chopper’s blades off and tossing them into the window of a nearby apartment slicing through the residents inside. “So you fuckers like to record huh, looking for a story?!! At my expense, huh answer me!!!” Adora barked as she ripped the roof the chopper off dumping Kristi, the pilot & two camera-men Into the palm of her hand.

“P…P..Please put us down we were just doing our jobs!!!!”

“Put you down, bitch what? Fine” Adora balled her fist and pulled her arm back rapidly causing the four to scream in terror as Adora acted as if she was about to throw them to their deaths. She let out an ahhh sound and slowly Brought her hand back around opening her hand seeing the four clutching at her palm screaming in terror thinking they were about to be flung to their very painful deaths.

“Never-mind, I mean sure I’m on a roll fucking San Fran up, but like you said you guys are just doing your job, recording a good story for all the good folks at home to see right? You didn’t mean to piss me off, did ya Kristi??”

“N..No..No of course not!!!” Kristi stumbled forward in the folds of Adora’s hand nearly throwing up out of fear. Her heart was racing at 100mph, and one of the camera man happened to still be recording, the other one having dropped his camera down to the streets below when Adora had just cocked her arm back moments ago.

“Ladies & gentlemen, for those at home watching everything you’ve seen today is only the beginning. I will not stop until this whole country is in ruins, until every city is pile of debris & dead bodies are littered in the streets across America. This isn’t just for me, this is for Reaper, this is for ALL the altered humans, END our oppression & submit to our rule or prepare for your doom.” Adora laughed evilly as she finished her announcement the cowering of the news employees in her hand was like a rush to her similar to that from a line of good cocaine.

“I..I…don’t support President Forrester, I voted for the other guy, you people deserve rights! Please spare us!” Kristi begged clasping her hands together as some tears rolled down her face as she pleaded with Adora for mercy. She’d witnessed her vicious attacks on the rest of the city and the images of her violence flooded her mind as she pleaded with the gargantuan superhuman to let her & her crew retain their lives.

“Shut up bitch I don’t believe you, I just needed you all to deliver my message, maybe if you had minded your fucking business instead of recording me you’d be okay.” Before the four could protest Adora raised her hand to her face inhaling the news workers alive. She burst out laughing at the four screaming as she downed them camera and all. “So much for lights, cameras, actions huh.”

She turned around to see more military army reinforcements arriving while also feeling a gurgling in her stomach. “BLEEHHHH” What followed was a burp kicked up several notches with her sound powers. The result was a devastating omnidirectional sound blast that tore through the surrounding area and a few city blocks around her like a bomb. The blast ensnared the approaching military aid as well, and massive mushroom cloud of smoke, debris & fire billowed through the air from the sheer & utter destruction her sonic burp had caused. "Ahem Excuse me, not that anyone around me survived that hahaha."

Feeling satisfied with getting her point/message across & the gruesomeness of her final attacks she faded away from sight for the last time. Returning to a state of invisibility she raised herself into the sky going higher and higher into the upper atmosphere while also miniaturizing her size back to normal once she was way up in the sky. From her current altitude San Francisco appeared very far away. Smiling once more at the destruction & chaos she’d delivered to the city, still invisible she took off in the opposite direction a sonic boom accompanying her departure once more as she took off finally departing from her blood thirsty rampage downtown.

Time: Late Morning
Location: Botanical Garden, San Francisco
Interaction: Anya @Xandrya

---

"Lucky for me?" Marcus questioned with a tad bit of venom in his tone. If it were not for the previous topics she spoke of and his amicable relationship with Agent Donovan, he might put her in her place. And for someone like herself, it would not be comfortable.

Marcus respected the woman, and he also respected Jonah Hanes to some degree, but respect alone has its limits.

"If we're honest, you should be lucky I even showed up here. I've done you favors and you've done the same for me. Do I consider us friends, no, but I'll hear you out…" Marcus kept his distance, but a smirk crept onto his face. "...as a favor. Who's the employer and what type of targets are we talking about if they're not one of those monsters?"

Time: Afternoon
Location: San Francisco, Rita’s Apartment
Interaction:

---

“God damn it, so now you’ve made enemies with a guy whose a walking tin can.” Rita retorted shaking her head. Floyd had swung by her place with Darius to inform her of everything that went down at TAP. She was upset, but Floyd didn’t know.or understand the full extent of her irritation.

She was skimming weight off the top of her loads from her brother & the rest of the Salzaras Cartel. That was the source of the drugs she was selling Floyd, the cause of his newfound wealth and an integral part of their relationship. It was more like a work-lationship, with an emphasis on “work”. But now this Lionel character was getting involved, this could make things more hectic. The arrival of altered humans & their various powers had served to complicate matters.

Rita was of course grateful for her own powers as well as Floyd’s. In-fact without his own abilities she wouldn’t be sitting across the table from him right now. Lionel would have snapped his neck with utter ease & maybe Darius too. Why the hell am I thinking about Darius, I mean I wouldn’t mind letting him hit once or twice. I dunno if he can handle all this ass, but I’m down to let him try Rita smirked amused at her own inner dirty thoughts about Floyd’s friend. If her brother were around he’d make a remark about how she certainly lived up to her reputation as a home-wrecker and friendship crusher.

“Well I’ve got more bad news guys.” Darius had just walked back into the living room where Floyd & Rita were chatting about the Lionel situation. “Seth’s closing the place down, this fight was the last straw, you know he already had some health code violations & a pending investigation because of all the inconsiderate ass people dealing at the bar.” Darius glared at Floyd as he made his last comment, as Taste of Paradise was his favorite spot to hang. He derived lots of inspiration from kicking it there talking to strippers & other patrons.

Floyd ignored Darius’s look, knowing he was making a sub jab at him. Sure he made some plays at TAP, but it’s not like he posted up there like he was out on the block. It just so happened that plenty of people wanted coke & pills at the club especially one filled with as many gorgeous strippers as that place. “Ok fuck, I mean wait I got an idea about TAP right, remember a few weeks ago how Seth was talking about selling the spot for like 50 racks.”

“Yeah I remember, but the hell does that matter, I don’t have 50 racks, if you about to start going on and on about going into business again forget it. I like being able to rely on a paycheck, I’m not trying to go from that to worrying about paying a bunch of other people without even knowing how Imma get paid.” Darius refused he’d briefly entertained the idea of going into business with Floyd a few times over the past few months seeing how well Plug Rich Media was doing. But Floyd’s illicit activities worried him, and they’d stress him out if he was actually on paper with him.

“Okay but look I do, and I got an idea, I’ll fund it, and even put you on payroll for the first 2 months we can sign the paper-work and everything, guanrateed out my pocket. And I’ve to a shell company I forgot about that I can use as the buyer, so me and you are’t tied together on paper, come on, you know it’s better to run TAP on your current salary with the potential to get way more by doing it, besides you’ll have more time to focus on graphic design if you run a business rather then work for one.”

“Oooh, having an establishment like that under our possession would be useful, with my connects I can ensure we don’t have the same problems as your friend from any sort of investigation.” Rita chimed in, admiring Floyd’s business mind. She regretted her sexual thoughts about Darius, forgetting how much she liked being around Floyd & his business sense.

“Shit the same salary…right now to run TAP, and still be a co owner & manager.” Darius asked raising an eyebrow, this offer was a little bit harder to refuse. As much as Floyd’s activities were worrying, if he had a legitimate shell company with history to pose as the buyer & front the funds he’d feel way more comfortable getting involved in the venture. At the end of the day he wasn’t touching or selling drugs, and as long as they didn’t convert the bathroom into a full blown dope operation he was far enough away that he felt he could sustain the place past the two months when he’d have to fully rely on the establishment’s income.

Floyd’s mind was already spinning with ideas, ever since the conversation with Seth about selling the place that idea had been in the back of his mind. With the money he was touching form working with the Salzaras he wanted to expand his financial portfolio into other things besides stocks & crypto currency. But seeing as how he was already running Plug Rich on top of everything he was doing with Rita he didn’t have enough time in his schedule to occupy Plug Rich. That’s where Darius had came in, he’d worked with him in the past in the earlier days of Plug Rich back when they had both lived in Atlanta. That was in the earliest days of their friendship when Jo had first linked them together and he was at the drawing board with his media company. Unfortunately financial instability & a fall-out with his publisher as well as TIG limiting their opportunities for drastic company growth had strained Darius’s participation in the venture.

Then moving to California last year was the straw that not just broke, but shattered the camel’s back. Floyd had missed working with him, and now that they both lived in the same city again, San Francisco of course he wanted to re-visit the idea of them working together. The most fun they’d had in the past was doing marketing & promo projects for strip clubs back in Atlanta, which had gained them free entry as well as making them popular with several of the strippers at the clubs the promoted. Shit my nig ya know you wanna do this, we really going be getting paper at that point. Then washing all my bread from Rita going be even easier, dumb simple A gleam was in Floyd’s eyes as his brain

“Alright fuck it if you draw up that paper-work I’m with it.” Darius finally gave in and Floyd grinned going to Rita’s desktop to put together the contract. Rita put a thumb to her in chin engaging in introspective thought about what Floyd’s purchase of this bar would mean for the future prosperity of his business & their illicit ventures.

Two Hours Later
Floyd had set up everything contract wise with Darius to make a move on TAP. Another reason he wanted to secure that location & business was everything going on with Altered Humans. He made plenty enough money right now, but in the event that he needed to immediately without warning disengage from illegal activities he wanted to rely on both TAP & Plug Rich Media.

TAP was an already booming popular bar & strip club, of course being in California the rent for the property monthly was expense. But if he could get his hands on the current customer base Seth had already accumulated he felt confident he’d do well. Meanwhile he had another idea for a business venture that was forming in the corners of his mind. While he was prepared for a rematch with Lionel or rather as Rita suggested he needed to be training for one. He did want to dip his hands into another illicit venture.

He was doing research on the market for artificial identification, searching customer bases on the hidden regions of the internet to accumulate numbers for his research. While he was doing that his phone started buzzing, and he took it out frowning when he didn’t recognize the number. He tented to avoid calls from contacts that weren’t saved in his line of business it was better to not be reached by some people.

Still he had a feeling about this call, and decided to answer. “Hello.” Floyd answered nervously wondering who it was.

“Is this Banker, Floyd banker.” A voice Floyd didn’t recognize spoke, he cursed mentally feeling a bit nervous that this could be related to Lionel in some way.

“Depends whose this?”

“Depends bruh, look I’m looking for Floyd, my names Brock, Brock Joiner, Frank’s dead, he told me to call this number if-“ Brock got cut off as Floyd let out a gasp and almost dropped the phone. Hearing the news about Frank’s sudden passing was shocking and had his head spinning.

“Frank Lenatro?! How what happened, wait Brock…I..” Floyd paused for a second in the middle of his conversation. “I think he brought you up, one of his homies in the states, a pilot right, you use to run..”

“Aye Aye we on the phone look bruh, Frank told me he was paranoid. He said he’d been working with you, and he thought somebody been on him the past two weeks. The way he was talking I thought it was the folks, but he told me it wasn’t He said he was doing a job for you out in Utah three days ago, and I found out he got clapped two days ago. They found his body lifeless at a hotel, no signs of blunt trauma or poison or anything shit’s crazy. “ Brock continued talking explaining the situation with Frank the best he could while being on the phone with him.

After finishing he delivered one final message to Floyd, who was clearly upset with Frank’s untimely passing. Of course worry for himeslf was in the back of his mind, as Frank was someone he had moving weight to nearby illegal states. He’d started working with Frank five to six weeks ago, when he’d tried to pick pocket him. Frank had been unsuccessful which happened to be the first time that happened to him since the manifestation of his power invisibility. Thanks to the nature of Floyd’s ability he was able to witness him in the act, and prevent him shocking the invisible thief. From that point onward the confrontation was relatively time and shockingly enough ended up with Floyd offering Frank a job. Upon finding out he was an illegal immigrant who lost his job after a fight on the job with a racist co=worker. Admittedly he was a bit iffy involving Frank with him work wise since he’d first met him trying to steal. But realizing that Frank was using his powers for petty crime to feed his two four year old daughters had softened Floyd’s heart a bit. Besides his security team could use an invisible helping hand, but the real money had came from having him deliver pounds with his powers stealthily.

But alas, all good things come to an end. Thus was the case with his operation with Frank, whom Brock was reporting had suffered a quite unusual end. After getting off the phone with Brock Floyd went to talk to Rita. H told her about Brock’s call & Frank’s reported death as well as what it meant for the & out of state deliveries. With that in mind he went to meet Brock in person who happened to not be far wanting to get a message, now the final message left to him from and by Frank.

---

Michele looked back at the man. At that point, she duplicated herself. Michele left a clone in her place and walked out to be adjacent to it alongside her other copies.  It seemed he was dead set on having her clear up the question she'd attempted to pose but never quite finished. To say she was terrified of the slow, menacing way in which he was approaching them was an understatement. "Why didn't you turn around? Those people did n-not deserve to die, they were simply following orders..." One of the copies spoke up with a nervous tone. Maybe the question would be sufficient for him, but she knew better than that. Ideally, Michele wouldn't have to witness any murders as she had seen more than enough of her fair share back in Brazil, but this was different, much more different. The war between the Altered and the normals was only getting started, and Michele knew for a fact it was only going to get worse from this point on. "Look, I don't mean to tell you what to do, but we can't allow ourselves to contribute any more to this division. It will make it worse for us.”

@The Man Emperor

---

"I work for the Federal Security Service; I take it you’ve heard of us given your expertise in the field. No, I’m not actually American. I mean, I wasn’t even raised here,” she pointed out with a chuckle, turning around at that point. “Our targets vary depending on the mission. It could be a scientist,” she went on, recalling her job from earlier that day, “or it could be a high level official. Whatever they need, we’re tasked with making sure it gets done. Families are broken up and lives are sacrificed, and if you can look past that, then you’re suitable to work for me.”

Anya then walked over to Marcus, invading his personal space as she ran her hands down the length of his arms. “You know, you’d be a lot better off if you had the Russian government backing you up. What do you say?” she added, looking up at him.

@FunnyGuy

---

Floyd made it back to his apartment and got to pacing around the room. After the Lionel incident he ended up meeting with Rita to tell her about the super powered drug lord who was determined to extort money out of their drug operation. In other news she'd informed him of the military being out in the streets gathering at heavily populated areas to administer the new blood tests. This had triggered a light bulb above Floyd's head leading him to develop another business venture on the fly. Fake ID's, specifically ones that had negative altered test results. Using his invisibility he'd snuck into a driving center with a flash drive & extracted a copy of the new state ID & Driver License templates for altered human status. Now was for the hard part getting a copy drawn up and going to his own company PlugRich Media's Graphic department to get the 3D Graphic rendition made. But first he'd need an artist who could expertly draw up a copy of the ID. He was a decent graphic designer himself but had nowhere near the genuine artistic ability to draw a perfect rendition of the ID. As he sat in his apartment frivolously coating his hands in metallic coating the person he needed to call hit him. "Amalia" Floyd uttered aloud softly as he took out his phone and texted her. * Hey Amalia it's Floyd, remember how I said I could get you a merchandise deal for some of your clothes for 30%. Well I haven't made that happen yet, but I've got another way for you to make a lot of money call me ASAP soon as you get this text *Floyd clicked send & shot the text to her.

Amalia felt heavy, her body seemed to be drained after her visit to the FEMA camp, it felt like she literally had weight on her shoulders. Everything seemed to hit at once in such a short time. Going to the FEMA camp, meeting a man who was out for fellow altered humans, a fight broke out in the FEMA camp, running into the wrong corner street where she had no choice but to plaster a smile on her face and get her blood tested. Oh, and don't forget on the news the very giant women who crushed at least a hundred, if not more, people. She had barely gotten out of there alive. Luckily for her she was small and people never really seemed to pay attention to her. She had learned how to be mentally invisible to people after the shit she went through back in New York. Amalia didn't want to be seen by anyone, not after the pain that she went through with her mother and her ex boyfriend. Even in college she stayed in the background and let her clothes speak for her. Although she didn't want to leave her house again. Amalia sat on her couch, just arriving home, she hadn't even bothered to turn on any lights. The curtains were shut that normally shed light from the outside and the street lamps below. The dim darkness in her apartment matched her heaviness. It hurt, she couldn't be invisible now that she had her blood tested and had a fresh new idea that screamed louder than she ever could. She was spiraling until her phone chimed, it was silent in her apartment otherwise so it made her jump. Amalia took a moment to look at her phone, collecting her thoughts together again. 'What in the...' she thought to herself, her mind now twisting into another direction. Physically she rubbed her head hoping to help ease her mind from the sudden switch of impending doom to curious hope. A few taps into her phone and she was calling Floyd up without a second thought. Hey Floyd...

The Lionel situation was occupying Floyd's thoughts, thinking about the superhuman menace he'd made. Rita was right he needed to practice his ability if he was to face him again and win. Since he'd catapulted him into a brick wall with a column of fire it was likely that their next encounter would end with one of them dead and he didn't want it to be him. His phone started buzzing and he snatched it out of his pocket. Glancing at the Caller ID he noticed it was Amalia calling and his face lit up. Hearing her voice on the other hand he felt a wave of relief, it was time for the next phase of his plan to make a boat-load of money that Lionel wouldn't know about. "Hey Amalia, I'm glad you got my message. So Listen, I gotta job for you, I've got this super complex design and I need you to draw the splitting image of it, so I can take that image and get a 3D Graphic rendition at my company's graphic department. What do you say, I'll give you $1500 in cash if you can do it right now." Floyd went into his pockets taking out a wad of cash he had and quickly counted out $1500 in blue hundreds separating the small part of his bankroll to the side as payment for Amalia if she agreed to the task at hand. "What do you say?" Floyd was about to mention the designs he needed drawn were stolen layouts of the Negative Altered Status State ID & Driver License, but he rather divulged that part in person and didn't want to be on record saying that over the phone anyway.

Amalia hesitated, she wasn't sure why. It was Floyd after all, she trusted him and he was offering a good amount of money. If she did get fired from her job after they saw her new positive ID, which screamed, "I am a menace to society!" Then $1500 would come in handy. "Super complex?" She questioned. Amalia had always been good at drawing and recreating images. She used to do it all the time as a kid, she would see a dress she liked and she would draw it up, change what she wanted too, and then her mom would help her sew it before she learned how to sew herself. If Amalia wasn't planning on being a designer she always thought about pursuing an arts career, or even architecture. "Floyd, I really could use the money. I don't want to make any big promises though if it is super complex and without hearing the other details, but, if you need it then you know I am in." Honestly, Floyd didn't even need to offer her the cash. She would have talked herself out into helping him anyways. The cash was a nice perk which helped her decision making process go a bit faster.

Floyd was full of anticipation as he awaited Amalis'a answer, he could already see dollar signs in his head. Artificial Negative status ID Cards would go for a-lot of money in this increasingly anti Altered human climate. "I mean super complex for me but not for you with your talent." Floyd goaded trying to further stroke Amalia's ego to warm her up to the task at hand. "Perfect then let' get it, I've got the schematics for the design with me. Where do you want to meet up your place or mine" Floyd asked it didn't matter to him but he had a car and he knew Amalia didn't as far as he was aware so he realized he might need to be the one in charge of transportation regardless of where she chose to meet

"Cute, but you just want to butter me up. Don't think I can't tell." Amalia laughed, she did appreciate the compliment, it had been awhile since she was complimented on her actual talent, not just her powers that made her seem like a good cook or well off in money. "I have already used up my ride privileges from my neighbor, I might have to actually sleep with him or let him have some under the shirt action if I ask him for another ride today," She responded, "but I can always ask him again if you want me to whore myself out." Amalia spoke sarcastically but with a lightness to her voice. Her sarcasm was never as pronounced as most people's who exaggerated words or made it so obvious that even a dense person could tell they were not being serious. Her sarcasm could take some getting used too, it was gentle, sweet, but had that slight bite to it.

"What no way not me I'm just speaking facts because your talented and beautiful so I'm just telling the truth." Floyd spoke slipping in the beautiful comment. Of course he thought Amalia was pretty smart & very good looking too. Still, truth or not he WAS indeed saying these things to make Amalia feel good as a way of convincing her a trait he'd transferred from the business world to his personal life. "Ah don't do that if your gonna sleep with anyone for rides I gotchu I'll do the double the rides there offering." Floyd said in response not that he'd actually try to make her do anything for something as simple as a ride. The neighbor guy sounded like a real piece of work or someone who should think about doing Uber on the side. "Alright then well it sounds like I should be heading to my car I'll see you in a little bit Amalia." Floyd finished as he fumbled through his pocket for his keys

"Spitting facts at me does help, I won't lie to you," Amalia put the phone up to ear with her shoulder and walked to turn on the lights, if Floyd was coming over she would probably at least clean up the table she used to sketch her ideas. She also cleaned up her draft table to have it ready in case it needed the professional touch. "I can't promise I'll take you up on that, I know you're busy. I can handle one guy," She wanted to tell a joke about Floyd whoring her out instead, but he sounded sincere to her. "I'll see you soon!" She hung up her phone and started to clean up faster now. Thankfully the rest of her apartment was much cleaner, it was just her living room with her designs that never seemed to stay clean.

It wasn't long before Floyd was on his way to Amalia's place. He took a few puffs from a backwood he'd rolled up before just pocketing a few nugs and some wraps to take with him as well as a pack of sour patch edibles. It never hurt to be prepared right? After another try at dealing with San Francisco traffic, and also avoiding getting pulled over by SFPD he had made it outside her place. Looking to his left & right making sure the coast was clear he pulled forward then parked his vehicle. It would be infuriating to crash now after he drove all the way here so he was extra cautious. He was carrying his nike book bag with him that he liked to take everywhere, of course the bag had far less incriminating evidence in it then when he'd met up with Darius at. Taste of Paradise earlier. Slinging the bag that now contained his trusty macbook over his shoulder to re-adjust it accordingly he got out his car, locking the doors, and going over to Amalia's door knocking a few times then waiting for her to come to the door. "Now for the moment of truth." Floyd mentioned out-loud wondering how Amalia would react to the schematics and what he was really trying to get her to write. As long as she didn't harbor any hatred for altered humans or fake ID's she'd probably go along with the idea after all she was getting paid for it

Amalia had just finished tidying up when Floyd arrived. The living room was now closer to what a living room would look like for a normal person, except for the odd arrangements of the three tables. "Floyd," She opened up her door to let him in but let out an audible gasp. He looked like he had taken not just one good punch but multiple, "what? What happened to you? You called about drawing something up but didn't even bother to mention that you look like you just came from a bar fight?" She left her door open to let him come in and started thinking about what she had around the house medicine wise to help him. 'I could draw something for him. I don't think I have much besides an ice pack.'

Floyd was welcome to Amalia's neat & tidy place. He always applauded her on the cleanliness of her place & wished his own was in as good condition as hers was constantly. "Amalia" He responded to her at the door hearing her gasp which was no doubt because of the condition Lionel had left him in after their brawl. "Oh me nothing much I got attacked by a guy who wouldn't take no for an answer to extortion." He replied smoothly as if it was just a nuisance, not wanting to let on to how truly concerned he was about the situation with another dangerous altered human after him. He stepped into the apartment and briefly winced accidentally applying some pressure that caused a jolt of pain to shoot up his right leg. Unlike the false bravado he attempted to demonstrate to his friend when he stepped into the apartment this pain and the tinges of pain it sent through his body couldn't be hidden from her especially the facial expression of agony it caused. He had his handy nike bag slung around his shoulder, and reached for the zipper pulling it downwards to open up the bag. His macbook wrapped in the charger chord was the first object that poked out the bag. "I've got the schematics on my laptop why don't we sit down and let me show you to see if your up for it." He continued on not wanting the conversation to drift to focusing on his current physical condition. This was another reason he wanted to venture into the fake ID's a source of revenue Lionel wasn't aware of, so there was no way he'd deal with any extortion related to it

Amalia stared at him, her eyebrows slightly furrowed while watching Floyd walk into her apartment. She saw the look of agony on his face, it made her realize that it wasn't just his face that took a beating but his whole body. She didn't like that he was getting into trouble with someone, especially over extortion. Amalia was not mad at Floyd but mad at whoever thought it would be a good idea to physically harm him. "I am sorry someone is trying to extort you. If need some medicine or ice, I can get you some." She then went over and pulled up two chairs in front of her normal drawing table, there was an outlet just beside it for her own laptop. "Here is a seat for you, but please," Amalia sighed, "let me know if you need something for your pain. I can help, okay?" She stood beside the chair she had pulled out for him. She knew he would try to hide his pain and be determined to keep moving forward, but that's what she was there for. To bug her friends into caring about themselves as much as she cared about them.

"Thanks Amalia" Floyd said in response to the seat being offered to him, truthfully he prefered to sit down rather then stand up. He was able to stand on his feet just fine but after the beating he took he had no complaints sitting. As the seat was offered he gladly took it plopping down and letting out a relaxing ahhh indicating he was happy to be seated. "As far medecine I've got myself covered in that category perks of the job." Floyd said with a slight grin a pun on the word perks as he was a fan of prescription pain medication for recreational use, his only chemical vice aside from smoking weed. He dug into his nike bag taking out three white percocet pills, and a cold bottle of sprite he'd picked up from the gas station on the way over here. Unscrewing the cap he downed the three pills with a gulp of soda then took a few more swigs before tightening the cap and putting it back in the bag. It wouldn't be long before the three ten milligram pills kicked in & soothed the aches in his body as well as got him quite high considering he'd eaten two edible sour patches on the way here & had been smoking with Rita all afternoon and with Darius at the bar before Lionel pummeled the cannabis outta his pores. "Okay so don't get alarmed but here's what I need you to draw..I can explain." Floyd opened up his laptop and set it on the drawing table turning it to face Amalia. As the screen came alit, he typed in his password and the first thing tha was shown was a split screen. Two different schematics one was negative altered status California State ID & the other was negative altered status California Driver License. "Don't..call the cops okay..L o L." Floyd said the last three words out-loud with a dry tone contrasting what the trio of words stood for when put together. His attempt to disffuse any tension that might arise from what he just showed her

Amalia watched as Floyd self medicated. She made a mental note of what he might need if he ended up crashing here, because who knows what else he had taken during the day before he arrived. On top of the pills... Amalia shook her head, she knew what he did on the side and considering his pain right now it was lucky he could get his hands on medication to ease the pain. She didn't have the time to judge, he wasn't hurting anyone anyways. Amalia proceeded to sit down in the chair next to him and stared at his laptop her eyes growing wide at the two pictures. Of course she knew what the altered ID looked like, she had her own fresh copy in her purse right now, but was he asking her to make fake ID's? "Wait, you want me to," she licked her lips very slightly while thinking, "draw fake ID's? Like, make altered ones into real ones?" Her mind went into multiple directions, she was so tired of having such split emotions all the time. This was either a really good plan and would even help save her, but it also could be a really bad plan.

Floyd hadn't even remembered he had any percocet pills on his person until Amalia had mentioned taking any medication. Considering he used them for recreation some time since working in the music/entertainment industry he was surprised he'd forgotten them when was actually having acute pain. Of course getting hit in the gut by a metallic man tended to cause you to only focus on the essentials in the moment. As Amalia spoke he reached into his pocket and pulled out the $1500 setting it on the table. "Well that would be the idea, you already know my company has a top of the line graphic department. If you can draw both of these I can get a 3D Graphic rendition made, then it's as simple as printing up the ID's. Of course that's a basic summary but when it comes to alternate identification I've dabbled with that "Business" in the past." Floyd had a brief period in college where he'd messed around with making fakes but had decided to err on the side of caution & quit while ahead as the money wasn't worth the potential consequences to him. In this case with altered ID's the penalties were FAR more severe however the financial reward was far greater. But beyond all that or any profit was the fact that he was an altered human and this could let him avoid the harsh penalties being passed along on his kind. Not just him but any other altered who potentially got their hands on these and just wanted to live in peace not torment innocents with their powers. "Look I know what I'm asking in-fact I can pay you another $500 upfront so 2K total, it's not just about the money for me with this one Am..I..I..I'm one of those things..not things those people Altered." Floyd corrected himself feeling things was a detrimental term to label any group as let alone one he himself was part of. It was very risky confessing the truth of the matter but he knew Amalia was a moral person and money couldn't corrupt everyone but he could appeal to the side of hers that wanted to help others.

"I, uh," Amalia stuttered. The rational side of her brain was telling her that this was so incredibly illegal. It wasn't even funny one bit how illegal this was and the consequences of getting caught. Not only were altered humans being stripped of basic rights but anyone seen helping them like this. Could this be labelled as treason? She instinctively started to rub her head again as the other thoughts starting pouring in. Their basic rights could be taken away but easily salvageable if they at least had an ID that didn't stick out. It could help people even if it wasn't legal and wasn't that worth it? And what did it matter to her? She would just draw it up, make sure it was accurate, and then leave the rest to Floyd. Amalia looked at the money then up at Floyd's face when he confessed to be an altered human. It was still an odd label but she could tell from his stutter that it was hard to confess. She knew that feeling all to well as she looked at him. "Floyd," she almost wanted to say no, but she couldn't, "take your money back." She looked at him very seriously, holding it for a moment, deciding it would be a good moment to see if she could make him smile. "I can do it. Easy. If it means helping you and other people, even if you are selling them, then I will do it." Amalia reached over the desk and grabbed her pen and paper, "I know a guy who can help push them too, we can talk about that in a minute. I do ask that we also give some away for free, just so we can have some good karma, of course." She smiled as she started to sketch it out. If he was going to print them, it would need to be as accurate as possible, however, Amalia knew that if she could make it mostly accurate she could bring it to life herself. Give him his own ID right now that he could use today and then sketch out an even more perfect copy for printing. That would be a nice surprise for her friend.

Floyd knew he was making a heavy request to Amalia, the consequences of this were even more severe then if he'd asked her to get involved with the weed business. Of course this situation could provide desperate help to a marginalized people in need. "No I can't do that keep the money I make enough of it go around I'm sure you can use it you deserve it for helping out with this." Floyd wasn't trying to take the money back nor take no for an answer. Besides helping her out he did feel as though the cash served as a sense of finality & responsibility to get the project done. Besides he was going to make plenty more money with the finished product with how bad things were getting with President Forrester's new laws. "I'm bound to give some away, this is crime not a charity but If I find others like me who don't have the money for it and need them they can have em." Floyd wasn't just talking while he was very motivated to make money he didn't put it before people's lives. "You have no idea how it feels being one of them. Having these strange abilities that people judge you for but you just got sick, got better and got like this. I didn't ask for this and I don't think anyone else did, sometimes I wonder if it's a blessing or a curse." Floyd pondered speaking his thoughts aloud reflecting on the whole being altered human situation

"Okay, I'll take the original amount we discussed to make you feel better." She let out a small inaudible chuckle. Amalia was quiet for a moment while he spoke, her mind on sketching the image in front of her. She listened to his words and understood where he was coming from, more than he could even understand at this moment. "Just a few every now and then. I know you need to make money on it, but it will make me feel better if someone down bad gets a little bit of light in their life. You know?" Amalia continued to sketch the ID. For her to manifest one it wouldn't need to be exact, in fact, having the pictures in front of her along with the sketch one would make it really easy for her to manifest this one. "I can make it look exact, that will take more time, obviously. But," she showed him the first sketch with was pretty similar but it had some small continuity issues. "I always hate telling someone I know exactly how they feel, because everyone feels different," Amalia put the paper down after showing him then covered it with her hand, concentrating on both the picture on his laptop and her drawing. When she manifested things there was no special effect like how she would picture her power in the movies. She thought it would be cooler if there was some kind of sparkle or glow, but no, the item would just appear. Amalia turned back to Floyd and held out an physical ID with his name on it, one that freed him of the insignia of being an Altered, "I would like to think it is blessing as long as we use it right."

"Oh, man. You're one of them, aren't you?" The mulletted stoner began backing up slowly, cautiously, while pointing an accusatory finger at his roommate. "Holy shit, you're Altered."

The accusation sent a chill down Rafael's spine. The sounds of mayhem and commotion in the background was instantly muted as the young, portly Hispanic man stared up at his roommate. Dave's horrified stare pierced him like daggers. He knew this would change things, not only for the relationship between the two of them, but for his entire life. Rafael was one of them. For better or worse, Raf was altered. For the longest time, he thought he was unaffected after surviving the plague but today proved otherwise. Even still, he couldn't understand the beginnings or the ends of his abilities. All he knew was that he should be broken as he laid on the street, but he was quite the opposite. He wasn't even hurt.

"Dave, I don't know what's going on, bro. I'm, you know, I'm still me, I just-"

Dave turned away. His demeanor was different. Fear, confusion... perhaps even betrayal were all feelings that floated in his mind. His best friend shared altered DNA with terrorists and hate mongers like Reaper and this giant rampaging woman who was already responsible for countless deaths. Dave didn't truly know how to feel. So... he fled.

"Dave!" Rafael shouted out to David's back. "Dave, I'm still me!" His eyes became hot as tears began to well up into his eyes. His friend didn't slow his retreat, however. Raf watched as Dave disappeared into the panicked crowd, leaving him alone to deal with the life changing revelation. "I'm still me," he repeated in a sorrowful whisper.



"That one," proclaimed the masked man sitting in the back of the Ford sedan, his presence hidden behind dark tinted windows. The specimen was perfect. He was young, but not too young, and exhibited traits and attributes that exemplified someone of pure breeding. The hair was a dead giveaway. "That's the one. Get him. Now," came the ominous command from the back seat. The driver of the sedan, a mountain of a man who was the embodiment of the word 'burly', exited the vehicle and started his pursuit. His neck was completely concealed by a massive dark beard. His body was wrapped in an expensive black business suit. His head reflected the light of the street lamps above, being completely bald.

This massive individual was not built for running. Instead he walk briskly, with purpose, while relocated anyone in his way with a forceful sweep on the arm. The visage of the yokel grew as the hulking figure drew closer. Soon, his prey was within arm's reach. The massive man reached back into his coat and retrieved a syringe. It was only moments later when the syringe was plunged into its victim's neck. The body fell limp, but not before the large goon took hold of it and hoisted it over his shoulder before returning to the car.

"Excellent work," noted the man in the back. "This young fellow may very well be the key to evening the playing field." The giant loaded the unconscious person sloppily into the trunk. As the door slammed down, it caught a small lock of the man's hair in the latch. The excess of his mullet. "Very good, Brock. Now, back to the lab." The driver complied, creating a screeching sound as he accelerated the vehicle at an alarming rate.



Crushed didn't seem like an adequate word for how Rafael felt. Defeated, deflated, low... The idea that he was now a member of a fraction of society that was automatically deemed terroristic and malicious was overwhelming. After Dave ran off, Rafael lifted himself up to his feet and made his way back to the sidewalk. He looked on as the giant altered woman continued to wreck havoc in the city. Part of him wanted to embrace this new life and jump into the fray, but another part couldn't help but acknowledge that he had no idea how any of this worked. He heard rumors and reports that these abilities were only granted upon people of color who recovered from the energy plague. He just seemed a bit late on the trigger, whatever the trigger was.

With nowhere else to go, Rafael moved slowly back toward his apartment, his feet dragging with each step as his mind raced. There was still another roommate who would need to know about the new development. And his parents, dear lordy, he was going to have to tell them, too. As the stress built up, he could feel the pulse in his neck. He opened the door to his home and shuffled inside before sitting on one of the couches. In front of him was a television set that had been turned off earlier. He stared at the black screen, looking at his own fuzzy reflection. He couldn't really make out his facial features in the dark image. It was just as well. Perhaps even an apt metaphor: he didn't recognize the person looking back at him.



"W-where the fuck am I?" Dave cried out, his voice quivering. "What the fuck is this?!" He struggled to move, but it was no use. His arms and legs were strapped down as he laid uncomfortably upon a metal slab. He could feel the chinstrap that held some sort of apparatus upon his head in place.

"Oh, dear boy," called out a voice from beyond Dave's field of vision. It was muffled, but enthusiastic. The owner of said voice soon came into frame, wearing a suit and mask usually reserved for work around hazardous materials. "You find yourself here, in my lab, at the precipice of evolution." The eerie masked man leaned closer, getting within an inch of Dave's ear. "I'm going to make you greater than you ever could have hoped to be. A pioneer. A game changer."

Goosebumps appeared over Dave's skin as he took in the words. He tried once more to break his limbs free of their restraints, but the effort was for naught. While he couldn't move his head much, he could move it just enough to realize he wasn't alone in this predicament. Just across the way was another metal slab with another victim laying restrained and unconscious atop. Only, the other victim was distinctively different...

"Is that a fucking penguin?!" Dave shouted in disbelief.

"Ah, why yes it is. A mere containment vessel, I assure you. The beast itself is of no consequence. You see, dear boy, I have been following the effects of the plague since it first began. I've been monitoring the subjects who have had notable reactions, studying their histories, their biology, their specific moments of ascension. Do you know that, to date, there are no living cases of altered caucasian subjects? Can you believe it?! A travesty, for sure. My goal is to correct this natural oversight," the masked man explained. "And you are my Patient Zero."

"Unfortunately, in my pursuit of ascension, several subjects have met their end. However, I believe that it's all going to be worth it, now. You see, I've been frustratingly unsuccessful at directly transferring the powers of an 'altered' person into any persons of Anglo descent. I've tried transfusions, creating a direct line between brain waves by utilizing and harnessing neural networks and even transplanting organs from one subject to the other. Individually, all my attempts have failed," he explained. He then looked back toward the unconscious penguin. "But I believe all I was truly missing was a buffer." A slow, ominous laugh rumbled out of this odd man's throat.

"You are batshit crazy, man! " Dave shouted out. "This is- this is just fucking insane!"

"Every innovator in history faced the same accusation before they changed the world. I take it as a compliment. You see, I believe I have successfully taken the abilities of an altered human and transferred them to this honorable fowl. Unlike the caucasion subjects before him, the beast remains alive, albeit unresponsive. A vegetative state, but still its body functions as it should with dormant supernatural traits beyond its feeble mind's ability to comprehend. Now that I've successfully transferred some hapless future radical's powers to it, I am now going to attempt to transfer those said powers over to you," the mad scientist announced.

"Transferred... radical... ?" Even the smallest parts of what the scientist was saying was confusing and appalling, "You're killing people, man! You're kidnapping people off the streets are you just killing them!"

"So dramatic. I'm not sacrificing leaders of industry or philanthropic Samaritans. But science does have a price. In this case, it came at the cost of an Asian bartender with a gift that made the entire world his playground. And now, if successful, that gift can be yours, my boy!" The scientist announced it with a sense of pride. In his eyes, he was doing this young pariah a great and amazing favor. He was elevating him to a life that would not be attained on the boy's own. In truth, instead of all this complaining, he would have sooner wanted to just hear 'Thank you'.

"You psycho mother fucker. Who even are you?! If you-!"

"That's quite enough of that," the scientist said before quickly applying some strong adhesive tape over Dave's mouth. "When this is over, you'll realize why it was necessary and what it means for the future of our society." He then moved away from the two subjects' bedsides and disappeared out of side to an adjacent control room, protected by thick glass.

"And as for who I am," came his voice broadcasting through a speaker system in the lab. "I am Dr. Thadeus Hyde, visionary and scientist supreme. Momentarily we will be initializing Neural Transfer. The abilities harnessed in the bestial vessel will be become your own," Dr. Hyde announced. Dave struggled, moaned and squirmed. He didn't know what else he could do. He was helpless and scared as he realized his life may no longer be measured in years, but seconds. "Initiating in 3..." Dave kicked and bucked, screaming muffled cries of defiance. "2..." He twisted and jerked in place, but the restraints held strong. "1!" Suddenly the lights flickered as the building's power all diverted to the device that encased the heads of Dave and the fowl. Dave's vision went blurry and soon the world went completely dark.

Washington D.C - Norman Chaplin - CyberCorp HeadQuarters

Norman had scheduled a meeting in Washington to debut CyberCorp’s new technology. The company had finished developing their new robotic warriors to serve the United States Military & Law Enforcement. Being the Forrester Corporation’s primary rivals, it was a hard sell as they had to get around several barriers instated by the Forrester’s Presidency & lobbying to prevent their company from securing any defense contracts with the US Military.



The head of the United States Defense was present, as well as some other Washington D.C officials. They were present at a military base in an area set up for weapons testing & target practice. A row of CyberCorp Drones were seen present against the wall of the facility, armed & ready for action.

“Ladies & gentlemen I present to you the XP9, state of the art robotic defense. Extremely durable, and well equipped death machine for law enforcement & justice! After recent events that are transpired we as a country and a nation need more defense against the rise of the Altered Threat. In San Francisco a devastating attack done by Lori Martinez caused the lives of 29,000 plus lives, half of downtown San Francisco is wrecked, the destruction is violent.”

The room went quite as the deaths were mentioned caused by Lori’s violent rampage that took place yesterday. The people around erupted into silent chat & murmur as Norman went on to explain the benefit & effectiveness of the new system he developed for the XP9.

A simulation was ran as some targets were put up, and the robots activated. They unleashed several bullets, rockets & lasers demolishing the target. Following a silence in the room, people spoke & discussed what they witnessed. A grin spread over Norman’s face as he gauged the reaction of the people who attended the defense meeting.

“Alright Mr. Chaplin, we’ve taken a vote, in light of the recent occurence’s, especially related to the violent attack by the giant altered woman, we will be extending you the benefit of a military contract for CyberCorp & the XP9’s. Right now in the midst of this war we’ve entered amongst our country & citizens, we see a direct need for the implementnation of the XP9’s in our military & law enforcement, welcome board.”

“Thank you sir, and you will not be disappointed. Together we will make America a safer place, and restore order to the United States of America.” Norman added feeling huge amounts of satisfaction about the approval for the military contract for the XP9’s. CyberCorp was well on it’s way to revolutinizing the United States Military & Law Enforcement. The next phase/step of the plan would be the greatest, Operation KIVA.

[quote=@AliceFalling]

---

She's stubborn well at least she'll let me pay here at all Floyd thought to himself when Amalia settled on the original amount but not the extra $500 he offered. That was fine he didn't want to appear pushy, as if he had ulterior motives for paying her for the work. That was't the case to him one of the best parts about making money was able to positively impact others with the excess especially if it was paid work. "Alright that works." Floyd said seeing the finances of the initial transaction were settled. "And I do know, like I said I won't lie I'm doing this for money, but I wanna help people to. That might sound odd coming from a guy like me huh, but I've always wanted to do good in the world. I guess where I came from, and what I've learned over my life has just got me in bed with some rotten people." Floyd's voice trailed off towards the end, thinking on if poverty & painful origins were an excuse to get money from crime or just an over played cliche. Either way his life was already rolling forward on the path he was on. The past was cemented, the future was unknown but the present was wide open to any & all changes. Floyd's eyes widened as he witnessed Amalia manifest him a fake altered ID out of thin air. She'd brought the sketch to life with nothing but her will. His jaw dropped momentarily as he realized she understood far more then he intially realized the plight of being an altered human. After recovering from the shock he reached out to accept the ID she'd created and examined it beeming with joy. "Wow! I feel like an idiot talking about how you don't understand." For the first time since getting to her apartment he allowed himself a pain free moment of pure joy happy to have an ID in hand which took a weight off his shoulder plus finding out one of his friends and one of the most sexiest ones at that was a altered human like him. "So your like me huh, you gotta teach me how do that." Floyd said as he turned invisible then back to normal.

"Just because you are the second shadiest person I know, doesn't mean your core personality is shady or rotten." She gave him a little wink. Amalia was happy to see his reaction, more so because he looked happy. She did like the theatrics of revealing her own powers to him but being able to make him his own ID right away to help him ease that burden made her happy. If she could do this for other people, even if it was a business, she couldn't see why it was bad. They could get some justice together and be able to spend more time together. Amalia laughed internally, she wasn't sure why she was looking forward to spending time with him. He was nice to her and she was sincere to him, she didn't think that just because he had ended up in bed with the wrong people made him a bad person. "It's okay, I should have just told you when you admitted to it. You know, it is hard to admit it. Suddenly we have this label on us and I don't even know what to do with it." She watched Floyd with wide eyes herself this time as he turned invisible and back to normal, "Oh! I like it! It increases your stealth level." She wanted to ask more questions about it, but held back. It had already been eventful for her to even reveal her power. She laughed at herself though, she realized right then she was basically a human 3D machine.

"The second shadiest." Floyd retorted in a whimisical tone wondering who the first was and why he was on her shady list at all. Was it the marijuana trafficking, the fake Id's or the crowds he sometimes kept. "Well I'm glad you don't think my "core personality is rotten," Floyd looked at the bright side at least she saw the inner goodness in him even if he himself didn't always see it. He was ecstatic to see that Amalia had super powers just like him. It turned out that confessing that he was an altered human to her was the very right move. "It is kinda scary huh, and the way there talking about us in the news like were less then, less then human really." Floyd reflected on rhetoric used by the president & other politcians. The new laws made it so they werent even a protected group anymore. He felt a brief fluttering sensation of his heart as Amalia spoke and raised an eyebrow. He decided to pay it no. mind, this moment right here right now with Amalia was a great one, one he'd remember in a postive life. It was something about her that made him feel happy calm safe and serene around her. Maybe it was just her infectious good spirited smile, shining white teeth or her magnetically gorgeous personality. "Yeah it does but that's not all unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it." Floyd caused his right hand to be engulfed in blue fire that quickly dissipated leaving no burns or any signs of general discomfort or pain that a regular person would experience from having their hand covered in fire. "I'm like a sponge, a power sponge, I soak up the powers of other altered people when I'm exposed to their powers like yours too now I suppose." Floyd finished with that fact wondering what Amalia's power would feel like and if she'd even consider showing him how to use it.

"Yeah, the second. The first being someone who might be able to help you sell IDs, actually." She gave him a small wink and spun the pen around in her hand while listening to him, "I am really glad you showed me. I felt really alone in all of this. I think the first few days I couldn't breath. Any time I saw myself I was scared of who I was and what was going to become of me," She admitted, unsure why she was opening up so much to Floyd. Normally she was the kind of person who was there for other people and would share very little and carefully, but she enjoyed Floyd's presence and for the first time in the last few hours the two different voices in her head seemed to calm down. "They say crazy things about us. And I get it, some people are using these abilities for such awful things. But to put us all into the same group," She shook her head, "I know they are just scared and doing what scared people do, act on their first instinct instead of stopping to outweigh real options." Amalia sighed and put the pen down, staring at it for a moment then looking up at Floyd. He was handsome, a little shady, but overall she could sense he wasn't as dangerous as other people. "I like that you are a sponge, I think that is a good metaphor for you in general. You should use mine! You could have fun with it. I am still learning, I can create small things but larger things are harder. And sometimes food tastes funny, so watch out for that."

"Oh so that's who your talking about." Floyd didn't actually KNOW who she was talking about, but if he was more shady then him he'd be of some use. All this time he was getting this plan together he realized that he might not have a super good market for doctored identification. Sure he pushed dope but getting caught with drugs didn't usually result in people seeking a new life and ID well at least for customers & their amounts. "Yeah who are you telling, at least you could see yourself when I turned invisible the first time you'd think it was awesome until you realize that no one can see you and I didn't know how to be seen again." Floyd shuddered thinking about how his first experience with that power wasn't as fun as he'd imagined having it would be not when you didn't know how to turn it off that was scary. Hearing Amalia talk about her ability was interesting perhaps more so then anything else he'd ran into so far. "Shit If I can draw up some popeyes that would be wonderful but ah shit...damn." Floyd paused as if he had uncovered some deep mystery. "I can't draw...not like you I dunno how Imma use this power." Floyd frowned as the practical realization set in that he was no skilled artist like Amalia, so any "Food" he drew might not even be edible powers or no powers.

"I cannot imagine that part though, being invisible. Although..." She trailed off, she knew what it felt like to be mentally invisible but not so much physically. Amalia decided it was for the best though not to mention that, she couldn't get too sappy on him here. She smiled at him and said, "I was thinking that you could draw up your own weed myself, save yourself some money! You don't need to be the best artist, I don't think. Actually, I wouldn't know. It's half mental. For example, I drew out most of what the ID looked like, right? But then I focused when I manifested it and it came out exact." Amalia started to doodle again for a moment while still talking, "I can't make them in batches though, so I will have to draw up a perfect design for you to 3D print yourself. I can make them in a pinch though, if you have an emergency client." Amalia finished her doodle, it was a small pink bandage with little butterflies on it. She put her hand over it and felt the same sensation, suddenly the bandage was in her hand. She smiled at Floyd and stuck it on his arm.

Floyd winced for a second at the sensation of the bandaid being placed on one of his wounds. But that was followed by a feeling of relief with a little bit of itchiness. However part of that was the painkillers he'd popped earlier kicking in. He felt the sensations of euphoria rushing through his body, as well as a heaviness and a tad bit of bluriness in his eyes. He raised his had to rub at his eyelid as his eyes started to redden. The combination of both the percocet pills & the edibles were beginning to take effect. "Yeah but I can't lie it's fun you know you can go anywhere and people are different animals when they don't think anyone's watching." Floyd immediately regretted what he said he didn't want Amalia to think he was someone who was walking around stalking people while invisible. He just happened to be unseen a couple times in the recent past and stumbled upon people who didn't see him. "I mean I'm like following people around with my powers or anything ugh that came out wrong." Floyd felt like he mentally shot himself in the foot, feeling some embarrassment. "But But ya know drawing up my own weed would be cool, shit maybe I can learn to draw. I mean I'm pretty decent at graphic design there's people way better at my company but maybe if I can use the power to manifest stuff I make graphically?" Floyd remarked in an inquisitive tone not knowing the mechanics behind Amalia's powers. "And I'm honestly happy I've got my own like I said it's so much stress gone, you really helped me out Amalia.
"So however much time you need to get the perfect design you've got it, I mean the quicker the better but you can't rush the type of greatness you have" Floyd found himself smiling without noticing as he complimented Amalia again. Wow Amalia looks good mhmm woah where that come from. Shit gotta be all these drugs making me feel some type of way Floyd was briefly lost in thought mainly from the edibles starting to kick his ass when he remembered something. "Oh wow I feel like a dick, I forgot to thank you for the band-aid, It just came outta nowhere but thanks." Floyd finally responded sheepishly not wanting to seem unappreciative.

"You know, I didn't take it creepily until you said something." Amalia brushed her hair back behind her ears and grinned, "And if you did creep on people, it's not my business. Just don't creep on me while I am changing, okay?" Amalia noticed the red eyes and how he was rubbing them, along with his speech pattern as well. He was on something for sure, which worried Amalia. She was scared for both his physical and mental health but happy she could at least relieve some obvious tension he had with the new ID. "You could always try to manifest it with graphic art, I actually haven't tried that myself! I do most of my designs the old school way, paper and pencil." She did have a nice computer in her place that had the programs she learned at school loaded onto it, she was surprised that she never thought to try it out that way and found the idea interesting, although she was very attached to her paper and pencil. "I will work on it, it shouldn't take too long at all." Amalia was very detailed in most of her work, she liked to have a good idea of what things would look like once they were not on paper. She started to wonder about her powers and how, for her at least, they really were just an extension of her. She wondered if it was true for everybody or if it really was just random and a pure coincidence.

"Hey, you should really take care of yourself. The bandage really won't do anything to help what is going on with you," Amalia looked at Floyd in his red eyes with concern, "if you need to stay here tonight, you can. I have the couch here with a blanket! Or you can come cuddle with me."

"Yeah I guess I messed that up." Floyd scratched behind his head the embarassment starting to subside mostly. Sometimes impulsiveness worked against him when he just blurted things out without thinking about them too much. "Ya know what I'm gonna try it then no reason not to try right." Floyd figured there was no other way he was going to feasibly use the power unless that method worked out so he had no intention of not trying. If he could use the pixlr app to make free weed or other fun stuff he was down to try. "Oh wow the couch that'll be great for my back." Floyd responded with a little more sarcasm then he intended but he was mostly teasing Amalia. Although he wasn't jumping to lay on a couch blanket or no blanket after the bar fight with Lionel. "But cuddling with you on the other hand sounds promising." He found those words slipping out as the substances he took were now fully running through his system synergising for a stronger and more enjoyable feeling then either alone provided. He did tend to be a bit more forward with people when he was spun but wasn't everyone?

Amalia wanted to playfully smack him when he spoke sarcastically about the couch, but caught herself seeing as he was in pain, so instead she just smiled. Amalia got up from the chair and grabbed the blanket from the couch then came up behind him and wrapped him gently in it, "Yes, promising. As in, promising to get a good nights rest with a good cuddle buddy." She gave him a little wink before pulling away, leaving the blanket on him. "Welcome to my humble abode, you will find the only bedroom in this house on the door to your right. Bathroom right next to it, in case you need to puke up whatever you took tonight!" Amalia then snuck into the bedroom for a quick moment to change into pajamas, while doing so she yelled, "Don't go invisible on me now!" When she reappeared she was in a pair of black shorts and a giant grey sweater. "I will work on the ID tomorrow morning and have it done before the night, I promise. Right now is sleep time for the both of us, we have had an eventful day," She then proceeded to hold out her hand for Floyd.

Floyd let a knowing smile come upon him when Amalia set the blanket on him. He had a soft spot for girls that were caring & nurturing, probably because his own mom was a nurse. "That's all." Floyd questioned with a grin then going hmmm going for a humorous mood & tone rather then aggressive. "The one and only, but far cleaner the mine most likely." Floyd carried on not that he was a total slob, but having ADHD meant his room tended to get un-organized with little prompting. "Luckily for you I'm a professional I won't be throwing up now if I had a date with Honey Jack Daniels that'd be a different story." Floyd recalled memories from his heavy drinking phase in his early 20's when he was living a slightly stereotypical college party lifestyle. "Lead the way gorgeous." Floyd extended his hand out to Amalia's interlocking his fingers with hers

"Ah yes, a true professional. Comes to a girl's house on god knows what," Amalia laughed at him and held his hand, leading him to the bedroom. Her bed was a queen sized bed with light purple sheets, a matching purple blanket, but also a grey colored blanket with roses on it on top. While still holding Floyd's hand she pulled up the covers and then turned to guide him to the bed, "No funny business, mister." She winked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Marijuana thats what." Floyd added with a cheeky tone, forgetting for a moment that he took pain pills as well. But seeing as how he took them to nurse the legitimate pain he was in he didn't consider it recreational at this point. Ooooh purple the color of royalty, she's got good taste Floyd thought to himself upon seeing the color of her queen sized bed, and felt the roses on her gray colored blanket fit the artsy vibe he felt from her in general. "Funny business whaaat I'm not a comedian or anything." Floyd said as she joined him under the covers and adjusted himself slightly to cuddle with her closer. "Just getting comfortable ya know."

Amalia pulled up the blankets on the other side and cuddled into bed next to Floyd. "Uh huh, sure. I believe that you only are high on marijuana right now." She said very lightly, the sarcasm being faint. She could tell something else was going on with him, he had to have taken something else by the way he was acting, but she didn't want to press. Amalia wasn't quite sure why she was so worried about Floyd but being around him made her feel a little less like her brain was splitting in two. "Let me know if I cuddle up next to something that hurts, okay?" Amalia kissed his cheek and then laid her head gently on him. When Amalia was a kid she loved being physical with people, hugs, kisses, cuddling. However after her first real relationship and the disaster that it was, plus losing the love from her mother, made her grow distant. She still cared about people, but it was more rare for her to be physical with people. The past few years she had been living alone though with very few close friends, she felt that she was getting better. She wanted to achieve the happiness she had as a child and part of that happiness was not only being there for people mentally but also being able to show her love and appreciation physically, just like she used to be able to do. A small grin grew on Amalia's face as she laid next to Floyd.

"Of courseeee Amalia I wudnt wie to wuuu." Floyd said intentionally speaking like that on purpouse to further tease her. Oh shit I am high on them pills too, shit thats why I'm not hurting no more that or the bandaid she stuck on me Floyd found himself smirking at his own internal humor, one thing about him is his ability to always entertain himself. Feeling her lips on his cheek made his heart flutter a bit, everything feeling more sensual with the narcotics flowing through his bloodstream. With her head rested on him he felt the effects of the blood rushing to his second brain which sometimes had a mind of its own regardless of what he thought. He found himself gently running his hands through her black hair. Should I A brief thought was entertained before making his decision. Turning his head towards Amalia he leaned forward to kiss her.

Amalia chuckled at his teasing, she enjoyed his light heart and his playfulness. Amalia felt her eyes close on her as he played with her hair, feeling relaxed with him. She opened up her eyes for just a moment to find him moving to kiss her. Her eyes fluttered closed again as she leaned in to accept it. But only after moment her heart rate went up, in a bad way. Her thoughts starting to race between two different feelings. She liked Floyd, despite what he did for a living, she wanted to believe that he was still a good person over all. The other thoughts though, those were the bad ones. She had a sudden flash of a six foot three basketball player punching her in the face and then proceeding to kiss her. Her ex boyfriend, the one she dated for two years who continually abused her, punished her, made her feel like he was as good as she would ever get. She wanted to enjoy this moment with Floyd, it had been years since she escaped her ex, but the trauma was still there. He made an impact on her formative years and made sure that even though she was far away from him now that he would still never leave her mentally. "Floyd..." Amalia said as she pulled away slightly, her voice coming out raspy and fearful.

"Floyd" Hearing those words from her always made it seem like time slowed down time or come to a halt temporarily. The first kiss was always the one that came with the most hesitation when it was with women he had an established relationship with that hadn't went in a romantic direction yet. As he locked lips with her however he felt a sudden shift in the vibes and not necessarily in a good way. Call it intuition which is something that he tended to have in spades. Hearing the sudden weakness in her voice alarmed him. Sure he was use to making women weak in the knees but not in this way, the feeling her voice resonated was the exact opposite of pleasure. "Amalia.." He said softly "What's wrong..?" Floyd asked with concern in his eyes, clearly this was more then just instant regret from locking lips. As someone, no a man in tune with his emotions he felt that he had triggered something that she'd pushed into the depths of her memory & mind.

Guilt swept over Amalia as she looked Floyd in the eyes, she saw the concern in them and felt at a loss for words. For a moment she was quiet, staring at him with a mixture of fear and sadness. Her stomach knotted but she knew, she just knew, that she had to tell him. She had never told anyone, people always overlooked her and the bruises on her arms and the black eyes she almost always sported during her last year of high school. "If only I could be invisible like Floyd, that would be a neat power for someone like me...' "I think you are good," Amalia heard herself say, not sure where her words were heading, "I have only ever been with one person. When I moved to New York from the Philippines. And he, he wasn't good." She put one hand on his chest and stared at that hand instead of his eyes. Feeling his heart beat underneath her small hand. 'I want to be okay again. I want to trust someone. Not everyone will be like him. She let out a small but shaky breath, "We joke about you being shady. But there is a difference between shady and being good," her words were quiet, "he used to hurt me. I remember one time thinking about how I might have a permanent black eye from what he used to do to me. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Amalia looked back up in his brown eyes, "I don't want to hold onto that trauma anymore. I don't want to project it onto anyone else either. I think it's important for you to know though, because I do like you. I just need," Amalia felt her heart go up even more, she bit her lip, "I just need to be treated gently." She was worried that she sounded horrible but she didn't know how else to communicate that she did want him, she wanted to kiss him and feel him and not be afraid, but she owed it to both him and herself to be honest with her past.''

Floyd listened intently to what Amalia was saying, as she poured out her emotions confessing to him the abuse & torment she suffered at the hands of her ex. Hearing about what she went through made his blood boil. It made him irate to know there were people no predators in this world who could deliver some harsh treatment to pure souls such as hers. "I understand." The tone in Floyd's voice shifted to one with additional seriousness & calmness. "I can handle you with care, I know what it's like to walk around with trauma, it's like an invisible weight that you carry around every day. But since it's unseen no one else can see it, they cant visualize the burden that's holding you down so they don't understand it." Floyd paused for a moment as he reached to gently twirl his fingers through Amalia's hair while staring into her eyes wanting to peer into her soul as he spoke. "And I know I can be a little shady, maybe...that's why I'm drawn to someone pure like you the light I need. People can be so judgemental, I know it's not easy to share certain things but......, but you can trust me and I promise I won't ever hurt you Amalia." Floyd found himself slowing down to really think about each and every word he was saying. He had his own inner demons and skeletons from his past that he didn't advertise to the world. They were different from Amalia's of course, but he could relate not to the exact horrendous experience she had but that feeling of unworthiness of maybe this is all I'm getting because maybe this is all I deserve. But just like he learned that wasn't the case he wanted Amalia to also know & realize that wasn't true for her either. Finally like a light bulb that appeared above a protagonist in a cartoon when they solved a problem he felt the spark that enlightened him to the words he needed to speak"There's no pressure we don't have to rush, I can't say I've only been with one person, but I can easily see you being my last."

Amalia listened intensely to him the distress in her heart started off high, even after Floyd said that he understood. She heard the shift in his voice but was scared to hear what would come next. But as she listened she felt the burden not feel so heavy as he twirled his fingers in her hair. She found herself gently tracing the muscles on his chest with her hand while looking into his sincere and warm eyes. Melting, she felt like she was melting. The fear, the pain, the voices in her head the screamed at her that she would never be good enough for a person to look out after, the echoes of her ex screaming at her to not speak out of line, to only talk to him, to worship only him, started to melt. No one had ever called her pure, no one ever complimented her as she spent the last six years of her life being invisible. Her eyes started to get glossy as they held back tears, her face turning hot from his gentle words. He knew what it was like in his own way to feel the way she felt. It was interesting to her that two people could walk unrelated lives and have different experiences but yet still end up feeling the same. 'I can easily see you being my last...' The words felt free. Amalia let out a small half gasp and half laugh when he finished. "I know you called me pure but I think you have so much heart in you then you know." Amalia responded, almost in a whisper. She moved her hand onto his face and looked him in the eyes before gently kissing him, this time not feeling so much fear.

"Really?" Floyd asked with beady eyes looking at Amalia, the comment about heart made him feel all giddy inside. He didn't think of himself as an evil man or anything of the sort, but the lifestyle he was in presented limited occurrences when people made good comments about his character as of late. Floyd once again locked lips with Amalia this time feeling much better as it seemed his comforting words seemed to settle some of her tension from her turbulent past. The physical attraction he felt for her had blossomed into something more, it so relaxing to be with someone like her. He felt the most enjoyment out of life when he could share it with someone he cared about, who really & truly cared about him. "Wow I'm so happy I called you, ya know I think I always liked you." Floyd said as they seperated from there last kiss, confessing that he'd had a crush on her but was hesitant to act on it as he still valued their friendship.

"Really." Amalia put a hand on his cheek and rubbed her hand back forth, feeling his skin. She liked the look in his eyes, it was a look she hadn't seen before. Amalia tried her best to act with the kindness in her heart, but there was days that she felt the storm fight. She only spent two years in New York, but those two years haunted her. They had changed her in a way she didn't recognize and took years to come back from. She never wanted to be like who she was in New York again, so she distanced herself from anything that reminded her of that. Looking at Floyd now was the first time she was next to someone feeling that difference, the storm was farther away, she could keep running from it. "You always liked me? I didn't think I was your type." Amalia smiled at him, she honestly didn't think she was his type, but in a way sometimes the people you never expect end of being someone special to you. You can have your checklist on what you like in a person, but there is always bound to be someone who comes along and changes that checklist. "I think I always liked you too."

"You didn't think you were my type, I was worried I wasn't yours." Floyd admitted with an uncharacteristic grin. "I mean I didn't know if you were a fan of chocolate, even though it's the best flavor some people have weird taste." Floyd felt his humor returning as the tension & tense emotions fully left him. He was at his happiest when he was able to point out & address the comedic aspects of his situation. "I'm glad to know the feeling's mutual though." Floyd added before wrapping his arms around Amalia's waist and pulling her closer as he went to kiss her passionately.

Time: Noon
Location: Botanical Garden, San Francisco
Interaction: Anya @Xandrya

---

His slight smirk formed into a neutral expression at Agent Donovan's shocking revelations. The words had left him dumbfounded in her presence, which was one of welcoming and friendly. It was unfortunate that her words struck with contempt and deceit.

Federal Security service… FSS… 'not actually American'... Russian… government…

Those words were practically pinned to the forefront of his mind. It somewhat alarmed him with how she spoke of it so effortlessly, facing him with a pleasant smile. She could have been talking about anything else. Maybe even just the middle part about who the targets were and being okay with breaking up families. Marcus could fly with that, but this? She was practically serving him spoiled meat with A1 customer service. He pulled away from her with a scowl on his face, putting distance between them.

"Breaking families and killing people who got it coming to them is shit I've been doing the last decade." His body started to vibrate finely and with it, heat began to radiate from him. "But I'd be DAMNED if I work for the fuckin' Russians!" As furious as he was, he wouldn't harm her. "Lose my damned number." Marcus zipped away in a blur, the heat finally burning away the aesthetic portions of his suit, leaving black form fitting weave reinforced with a heat resistant plating.

---

Time: Morning
Location: Motel 6, Oakland
Interaction:

---

Phone? Melted. Apartment? Compromised. Accounts? Still intact… for now. Mood? Ready to put hands on someone!

After his meeting with Donovan, Marcus visited his stash in the garage he had purchased when he first arrived here in San Francisco. His work life was always shady and gritty, and he anticipated there might be a time where whatever agency he found himself under would leave him high and dry. His original plan was always simple. Car, tangible cash, nearest border crossing. The current situation was a bit different, and he was still coming to terms with it. Jonah wanted him dead and Donovan was tasked with doing so, all while being a Russian spy. It would only be a matter of time until Jonah sent others after him, and they wouldn't be showing up with potential job offers. Now thinking of it, he looked at the hunk of metal and plastic that was his phone from his bed where he sat comfortably in thought.

Without it, he wouldn't be able to reach Jason about that job. He just had the list. Maybe while asking around at the FEMA camp, he can find Jason again. He needed allies and he also needed to figure out a way to kill a new target.

Grabbing the remote at his side, he flipped on the news, watching the coverage of the giant altered who ravaged San Francisco.

You on my list now and I think I'm gonna put you an express pass to the top.